Shadows mature late

[Jolafade]

I was about to give up on my shadow but kept at it after watching some pvp and end-game videos. Im glad I did, finally hit 40 and im seeing huge dps improvements after tweaking my opening and burst rotation and using my CD's strategically. Im infiltration specced right now and every day im learning to play this class and get better and better. Im already consistently finishing in the top 3-5 in warzones, while maintaing objectives and winning, not just zerging. Anyone else share the same experience with your shadow?

[DaShuk]

Agreed, I can't tell you the number of times I almost gave up on Shadow between 20-30 only to grind it out and find out how awesome it can be once you really start to get your skill tree points filled out and all your abilities and tools. At 42 now I am loving it.

 

Theran also helps immensely, as no matter how well I gear Qyzen, he has been completely useless to me as a Shadow, however he's been awesome on my Sage.

[Jolafade]

glad someone else posted! I totally agree, at 40 ive been able to get some nice pvp gear, implants and such. I agree about Thoran as well, I really dont even bother with my other companions at this point, they're just errand boys and crew skills fodder lol. Just hope they fix some of the mechanics in future patches and that we dont get nerfed for some reason. BTW which tree are you specced? Im INF mostly right now. Edited February 11, 2012 by Jolafade

[Garodan]

I disagree, levels 20-30 were very easy on my shadow, both PvE and PvP.

 

At 30, I had nearly 8k hp, never died on tatooine doing any quest (including the heroic 2s), and have survived 1v2 PvP situations.

 

Damage wise I feel a bit weak, but being tank specced that's somewhat expected. Either way, the combination of durability, sustainability, and sustained damage is strong at any level.

 

 

Also, stealth > all.

[Xinika]

Really depends on the spec. Infiltration matures @ 40+. Kinetic has it good all the way.

[lordhelmos]

When you get your 4 piece bonus as a full infiltration shadow, you become a killing machine.

[Xinika]

When you get your 4 piece bonus as a full infiltration shadow, you become a killing machine.

 

That's at 50...

[Mizzan]

There is a skill called Tumult that for some buggy reason it doesnt work on a stunned target, so has anyone else heard a fix for that?

 

And off topic, hey BIOWARE!!! Nerf sith lightning and powertech? Really? will this game be like a cookie cutter of MMOs where if your evil=OP? WOW and LOTRO are the same way. Or is it like that in all games, good=wussies and evil=bada** Mother****that are meant to be OP so everyone would play an IMP, HORDE, CREEP?

[gurugeorge]

There is a skill called Tumult that for some buggy reason it doesnt work on a stunned target, so has anyone else heard a fix for that?

 

Hmm, it always works for me based off my own stuns, that's precisely what it's for.

 

Perchance, have you got Tharan using the Holiday hologram CC freely? Tumult won't work immediately after a Holiday CC, IIRC (it's deliberate, I think it's in the tooltip for the Holiday ability, don't have access to the game atm).

 

Love Tumult btw, very stylish ability, and hits hard

 

As to the OP, I'm finding my Kinetic Shadow is a gift that keeps on giving, I'm having soooo much fun with it in PvE (41 now), and can even use it to some effect in PvP too. Looking forward to messing around with other specs once I have all my yummy points.

Edited February 13, 2012 by gurugeorge

[DaShuk]

Also, stealth > all.

 

Agreed, I get so annoyed on my other characters now when I'm +2/+3 levels to the content and have to fight through all the trash mobs in a map instead of just stealthing to the objective/boss and beating it in like 2 minutes, lol. Stealth has completely spoiled me.

[Shardie]

Hmm, it always works for me based off my own stuns, that's precisely what it's for.

 

Perchance, have you got Tharan using the Holiday hologram CC freely? Tumult won't work immediately after a Holiday CC, IIRC (it's deliberate, I think it's in the tooltip for the Holiday ability, don't have access to the game atm).

 

Love Tumult btw, very stylish ability, and hits hard

 

As to the OP, I'm finding my Kinetic Shadow is a gift that keeps on giving, I'm having soooo much fun with it in PvE (41 now), and can even use it to some effect in PvP too. Looking forward to messing around with other specs once I have all my yummy points.

 

Tumult doesnt work on elites or champions ether; that could be the problem

[Philosomanic]

And off topic, hey BIOWARE!!! Nerf sith lightning and powertech? Really? will this game be like a cookie cutter of MMOs where if your evil=OP? WOW and LOTRO are the same way. Or is it like that in all games, good=wussies and evil=bada** Mother****that are meant to be OP so everyone would play an IMP, HORDE, CREEP?

 

 

What exactly is your problem with Sages and Vanguards? Why do you want them nerfed?

 

Also, I'm not sure if you've ever played LOTRO, but it was the freeps that were OP. Freeps had a much bigger advantage in terms of skills, mechanics, and stats. Sure, the creeps could win with superior teamwork and tactics, but in a fight of even skill and coordination, the freeps would always win.

 

Here, however, the two sides are perfectly balanced. The only real difference is that they made Siths cooler, so more people play Sith. However, in terms of stats and mechanics, we're equal.

[Deathstroke]

Really depends on the spec. Infiltration matures @ 40+. Kinetic has it good all the way.

 

 

This.

 

The primary reason is because at around lvl 20 KC gets Kinetic ward which is one of the defining moves for Shadows talented into the KC tree. Shadows talented into infiltration get either masked assault (lame as defining ability but nonetheless very useful) Shadow technique....probably our "defining ability" but its synergy with the talent tree isn't noticeable until higher lvls

[Philosomanic]

I got a large boost from Shadow Technique just because of Force Breach. For most landscape mobs, Force Technique FB was nearly worthless. If I can burn a mob down in 6 seconds, I'm not going to bother with a DoT that takes 15s to be worth it. Shadow Technique made FB worth using in solo PvE, and gave me a nice DPS boost.

[Sresk]

Shadows are late bloomers in all of their trees. I've gone kinetic tank from 1-50. (Just hit 50 last night woot!) and yeah 15-25 where painful. 25-35 I've started to shine and 35+ has been a blast. I actually dropped theran in my late 30's in favor of Zenith or nadia. And still solo elites and champs without the healing.

 

Also PvP really turns around post 40. As a tank spec I'm usually in the top 5 damage wise and just recently have hit the number 1 spot a few times on both damage and kills. (with of course the top spot in damage taken and sheilded)

 

Now of course I'm a brand new 50 going in without expertise gear so the next few days of pvp might be painful

[allexj]

i specked balance first then went tank i atm only have 10 pints in balance and 12 kinetic and i have a problem but when i specked tank first (this is my second shadow) i was always win, but atm i am haveing issues

[Rejectoo]

Shadows are late bloomers in all of their trees. I've gone kinetic tank from 1-50. (Just hit 50 last night woot!) and yeah 15-25 where painful. 25-35 I've started to shine and 35+ has been a blast. I actually dropped theran in my late 30's in favor of Zenith or nadia. And still solo elites and champs without the healing.

 

Also PvP really turns around post 40. As a tank spec I'm usually in the top 5 damage wise and just recently have hit the number 1 spot a few times on both damage and kills. (with of course the top spot in damage taken and sheilded)

 

Now of course I'm a brand new 50 going in without expertise gear so the next few days of pvp might be painful

 

 

Gear will make a big big difference. Right now I am full Champ gear for PvP. I hate to change gear but without meters to know I swap out my full Rakata/Columi for the Champ gear.

 

Champ Gear self buffed I am at 21k HP and 6.2k armor

PvE gear I run 23k+ and 7k armor

 

Make sure you work those daily to get your implants and ear piece.

[MastaGigs]

Just got Shadow tec and it really does feel useless with it alone an none of the supporting talents to it. Almost seems like i have to run in combat stance if i want to live vs anything in pvp that i don't out level or know how to counter extremely well.

 

For lv 50 gear though is it just better overall to run with the stalker set regardless of build? I have no plans to be a dedicated ball runner and seeing how anything to do with shield and pvp is worthless.

[Englez]

I'm glad it gets better. My shadow just dinged 29 and I'm just about to start the tatooine bonus series. So far the only good thing about my shadow IS stealth.

 

Perhaps my mistake is playing rogues in other games and expecting a shadow to be like that.

 

I am infil spec.

[Rejectoo]

My guild has 4 main tanks between our 2 8 man ops groups. Out of those 4 tanks 2 are Shadows. While not in the same one but we both are MTs in our ops groups. We have both tanked every boss in Normal and Hard and I have tanked a few on NightMare too. So believe me it gets much better later on.

 

Has for stalker gear no matter the build just can not give up the End/Def/Absorption/Shield

[Grafikk]

It gets even better at 50 with a few pieces of champ gear... I run 5/33/3 spec using combat technique in pvp and survive a lot and do great dmg. it's a ton of fun.

[GenXCub]

I'm glad it gets better. My shadow just dinged 29 and I'm just about to start the tatooine bonus series. So far the only good thing about my shadow IS stealth.

 

Perhaps my mistake is playing rogues in other games and expecting a shadow to be like that.

 

I am infil spec.

 

Off topic, but onto your topic, Operative/Scoundrel with the healing tree is 10 kinds of fun. You get the stealth, and the backstabbing, and at level 20, the healing DoT will easily take you through any fight and you can just DPS tough stuff down.

 

So if you were wanting the Shadow/Assassin to be rogue-y, Operative.. I get my WoW rogue/cat itch scratched.

[MastaGigs]

Really hope it gets better, atm this has to be one of the most useless painful overall trash class i have yet to play. My sniper could live longer with people on him then my shadow.

 

Have seen what they can do and im not a sub par player and just beyond aggravating to be dropped to 10% hp from anything that looks at you and pray you can kill the lv10 your fighting. Dont want to rage quit on the class but ya, fun stoped at lv11.

[Englez]

Off topic, but onto your topic, Operative/Scoundrel with the healing tree is 10 kinds of fun. You get the stealth, and the backstabbing, and at level 20, the healing DoT will easily take you through any fight and you can just DPS tough stuff down.

 

So if you were wanting the Shadow/Assassin to be rogue-y, Operative.. I get my WoW rogue/cat itch scratched.

 

Thanks, this was a good suggestion. Having fun so far.

[Sithgrayjedi]

Not sure what the issue is. My shadow is level 16 and thus far has been the most overpowered class since my pt bounty hunter. I specced infiltration and wear all orange gear and upgraded all of the items wih commendation modifications, there has been no survivability issue.

 

I am curious, though because I remember playing with some terrible shadows in the past and I wonder if it may just not scale with levels.

 

Pvp has been rather awesome wih scaling damage in the warzones. I critter some poor guy for 4800 shadow strike followed by 2300 non crit and he dropped before he could turn around. Maybe the diminishing dps doesn't scale as you level or something because it's been freakin easy so far to butcher people out of stealth and I have like 1/5 of my abilities unlocked.