Time to regret going Sentinel yet?

[KaltesFeuer]

Hey guys,

 

Level 29 Jedi Sentinel focused in the combat tree. Since I arrived on Tatooine, it appeared that I began suffering from problems. For quite awhile I was a good 1-2 levels above the rest of the quests and mobs, but going about things seemed to change drastically and become more and more incredibly difficult.

 

I prefer to use T7 as a tank, who used to never have a problem. We would dispatch enemies and have plenty of health left. However since Tatooine, even going up against one "strong" enemy would leave T7 with 1/4 - 1/2 remaining health. I've kept him as remotely upgraded as possible by using armor modifications from commendation vendors and whatever gear would come his way, but it doesn't seem to be doing the trick. I died numerous times against the "Sand Demon", level 27 elite and I was level 28.

 

I've run out of ideas. I've scoured this forum looking for tips and tricks, and I walked away with two things: Either the Sentinel class is surprisingly weak, or that we aren't weak we just need much better armor to compete (See: Weak). I've played MMO's before so I have my casting rotation down pretty solid, but am not able to keep T7 alive long at all no matter what I do.

 

Am I missing anything in this game that would give T7 a much needed boost? I prefer to solo as much as possible, so is there a class besides Sentinel that would be better suited to my game play? Would I be better respeccing towards another tree?

 

As per my class skills I went Artifice based on what I thought were recommendations, so I don't know if that was also a problem as well. I'm able to keep my light sabers relatively upgraded no problem, but it looks as though armoring becomes an issue. I have always been focusing on strength, and threw in some crit here and there but I don't even know if that suffices anymore.

 

Thanks for the read, and I'm sorry for the long post for my first.

[K_osss]

There are a couple step changes in difficulty leveling up - at least that's what i noticed in the process. I leveled as Focus spec the whole way because I'm not a dot based damage kind of guy - but I'd recommend watchman spec for the quicker focus building and also the self healing through dot crits/zen. That will be noticeable. Between Defensive Forms (1st tier in the combat tree) and Valor you should build centering extremely quickly. I assume you're read the stickies for sentinel - they are invaluable. Keep your rebuke up as much as possible and make use of your short cooldown defensive cooldowns at each fight since they're only 45-60 sec till you can use them again. Trade aggro between T7 and you - or you can let T7 take all the damage and then after the fight mount up and then dismount and he'll be resummoned at 100% health - quicker than meditating.

[Sylriana]

Not necessarily weak period, but Sentinel is probably the weakest soloer in the game.

 

The only real advice here is to stay entirely on top of your gear upgrades and keep stims/me's packs handy (this was the mistake I made at first, since on my Op I only upgraded gear every couple planets or so and only used consumables when soloing heroics... which the Sent generally can't do.)

 

For tough enemies, I like to start with aggro on myself and manually have T7 taunt off of me partway through the fight. It extends our overall killing power (by increasing the amount of time I have T7 shooting ) and means I can often get a second Rebuke and Medpac in there ( blade ward too if I pop heroic moment after T7 taunts ).

 

As for spec. I prefer watchman or focus for leveling, as both tend to have better sustainability and survivability compared to Combat (IMO combat's single target kill power doesn't make up for focus' AoE and tankiness or Watchman's almost as good single target and self healing )

Edited February 17, 2012 by Sylriana

[KaltesFeuer]

I could be enticed to switch a spec... any recommended builds for the most efficient watchman or focus?

[tkshinoda]

I am currently leveling up a sentinel (27 now) same planet as you are i felt the increase in damage taken, but my kill speed is still mental compared to say my vanguard when i leveld him up, once i hit 28 that will probably change as i get my hands on the level 28 Orange Sabers with 148 Max dmg.

 

Here are some tips

- Send in your companion first (will reduce the damage you take by a lot and if your companion is low hp after the fight DO NOT REST UP simply resummon them they come back with 100% hp)

- Don't be afraid to blow cooldowns such as rebuke

- try and have those passive food buffs % hp regen out of combat etc (can be bought from cantinas)

- Biochem, i can not stress enough how powerful this profession is compared to EVERYTHING ELSE when leveling and even endgame due to the reuseable boosts/medpacks.

 

Also you could try a different spec, i myself play watchman and i find that to give a higher kill speed due to our burn damage seem to ignore all forms of armor (not sure if this is true) but atm my burns can crit up towards 500 a pop with relic up 350~ish on normal without relic.

 

Hope that helps you out a bit.

Edited February 17, 2012 by tkshinoda

[HarrySachx]

Around 36 when you get you're healing companion Doc, things get ALOT better.

 

I am playing watchman spec atm, which really begin to shine at lvl 38-40.

If you play watchman enough the ability timers becomes alot easier to manage, when this happen you will be murdering both mobs and ppl in pvp:cool:.

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#501bIbRrRMcGzZhMbZh.1

 

This is the build i use.

[Frogstomp]

I leveled Watchmen 10-50 and still play it.

 

I would probably use something similar to this:

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#501bIbRroM.1

 

In my opinion, Biochem is more useful than Artifice. If you reverse engineer yourself health packs and stims you'll find yourself stopping to rest a lot less.

 

If you can hold out until you get your next companion (healer), and then keep him upgraded - you'll be fine. I was able to solo 4 man quests with him when I was only 3-4 levels above the req and the quests were still green. Cooldown management + heal companion = win.

 

Good luck

 

ps. Tatooine is just rough for Sentinel. I remember it being far easier on my trooper.

[Chessack]

Not necessarily weak period, but Sentinel is probably the weakest soloer in the game.

 

Wow, I don't agree with this at all. My BH has a much tougher time against elites or 2-strong pairs than my Sentinel had at equivalent levels (the BH is only 25, so maybe that will change later). The BH is also a lower level but has died way more often while soloing.

 

To the OP:

 

You need to watch what is happening to figure out which companion is best. I remember on Tatooine going up against some Sith Elites in one of the class quests. With T7, I kept getting my butt handed to me, barely winning, even (which had up to that point been unheard of) dying. I finally realized the problem was that I was not burning them down fast enough.

 

I switched to Kira, who of course can't tank, but T7 was being eaten up anyway, but Kira does better DPS than T7, at least as I have them equipped (since T7 is geared as a defensive/tank character). Sure enough, we owned the elites with no problem. Yes I had to watch my health, but a medpack was all I needed to stay alive (and you can't medpack T7!). Kira basically never lost any health, and we did so much damage so fast that the Elites never had a chance.

 

So... sometimes it depends what you are fighting. Sometimes you need to deflect damage, but sometimes you need to do more damage. Watch what is happening in your fights and change NPCs accordingly.

 

I did not find Tatooine particularly hard, but I did have to switch companions a couple of times to suit the situation. I usually used T7 but sometimes swapped to Kira. Neither are especially ubergeared, though I did find a nice set of light armor for Kira on the GTN that was somewhat better than her "Kira" set for that level. And I have made her a VERY good saber since I am an Artificer.

[SteveGarbage]

Some things, rehashing a few points already made:

1) The difficulty for Sentinels really ramps up in the Tatooine/Alderaan series, and many people do begin to struggle in this area.

 

2) The Sand Demon is a very tough fight if you're not significantly above it's level, so that is normal too.

 

3) T7 serves as a pretty good tank early but he begins to lose his effectiveness as you near Level 30. A lot of people will say that he's always good, but in my experience, he can't keep step well after that point.

 

4) As said by others, once you get your healer, things get marginally easier for Sentinels.

 

5) You noted that you're only one level above the content. I would suggest trying to stay at least three levels up. Sentinels do have some difficulty soloing content and I found in my playthrough that being at least three levels up really, really makes a difference. Make sure to complete bonuses on missions, finish all the content, and complete some daily space missions to get a couple legs up. Also, log off on your ship, on the fleet or in a cantina to get the rested Double XP bonus.

 

6) Interrupt! I don't know how religious you are about using Force Kick, but that's probably the best skill you have for keeping you alive against enemies who channel skills. It doesn't help against straight up beefy attackers, but should give you the edge on everyone else.

 

7) Combat spec is regarded as the weakest of the three Sentinel options. I'd highly suggest switching to Watchman, which most people use and is considered by a lot to be the best spec. Watchman offers self-healing, reduced Force Leap cooldown and range, reduced CD on Force Kick and high-sustained damage from burn effects, although it does require a bit more attention and skill to play that other specs.

 

8) Don't neglect your ancillary equipment - earpieces, implants, relics, bracers and belts. If you haven't come across some top-of-the-line stuff, consider looking for some deals on the GTN to boost those stats.

 

Really my best advice is to get a couple extra levels. The additional stats you can get from another tier of gear can really make all the difference. I was often 3 to 6 levels above the content and it made soloing the content that much easier.

[Chessack]

You definitely want to use the Force Kick interrupt liberally. Especially vs. Elites. Preventing them from doing their most powerful attacks is a HUGE damage mitigator.

 

C

[DwightEisenhower]

Some things, rehashing a few points already made:

1) The difficulty for Sentinels really ramps up in the Tatooine/Alderaan series, and many people do begin to struggle in this area.

 

2) The Sand Demon is a very tough fight if you're not significantly above it's level, so that is normal too.

 

3) T7 serves as a pretty good tank early but he begins to lose his effectiveness as you near Level 30. A lot of people will say that he's always good, but in my experience, he can't keep step well after that point.

 

4) As said by others, once you get your healer, things get marginally easier for Sentinels.

 

5) You noted that you're only one level above the content. I would suggest trying to stay at least three levels up. Sentinels do have some difficulty soloing content and I found in my playthrough that being at least three levels up really, really makes a difference. Make sure to complete bonuses on missions, finish all the content, and complete some daily space missions to get a couple legs up. Also, log off on your ship, on the fleet or in a cantina to get the rested Double XP bonus.

 

6) Interrupt! I don't know how religious you are about using Force Kick, but that's probably the best skill you have for keeping you alive against enemies who channel skills. It doesn't help against straight up beefy attackers, but should give you the edge on everyone else.

 

7) Combat spec is regarded as the weakest of the three Sentinel options. I'd highly suggest switching to Watchman, which most people use and is considered by a lot to be the best spec. Watchman offers self-healing, reduced Force Leap cooldown and range, reduced CD on Force Kick and high-sustained damage from burn effects, although it does require a bit more attention and skill to play that other specs.

 

8) Don't neglect your ancillary equipment - earpieces, implants, relics, bracers and belts. If you haven't come across some top-of-the-line stuff, consider looking for some deals on the GTN to boost those stats.

 

Really my best advice is to get a couple extra levels. The additional stats you can get from another tier of gear can really make all the difference. I was often 3 to 6 levels above the content and it made soloing the content that much easier.

This.

 

As a level 50 Sentinel specced as Watchman, I want to say that you this class isn't about putting on Force Might, and then leaping into enemies and trying to spam attack abilities (I am not saying that the reader definitely does this). To be effective, you will want to keep Rebuke up and use Saber Ward when Rebuke is on cooldown. That should make you bleed a lot slower. On top of that, put up Overload Saber and similar abilities up a lot. I was also really above my content. At my peak, I was 9-10 levels above my content, and even ceased gaining XP from anything on my current class quest planet.

 

Another advantage of Watchman, is that point-blank Force leap effectively gives you an extra interrupt and a focus builder. Which can make fighting casters and PvP a lot easier. That and Merciless Slash is awesome.

 

Earlier today, I got on my Sentinel that i mean to eventually replace my current one as my main and tried out some PvP. After getting used to having to put up Defensive Cooldowns and the like, I went into a Warzone of 30's-40's as a level 15 Sentinel with crappy abilities and wiped the floor with everyone else. I got back to back MVP with no stims or medpacks. All I did was place up Defensive Cooldowns and use my pre-obtained knowledge of the class's mechanics, and I proceeded to tear through enemies that were much stronger than me. That is without any of the Interrupts or any of the awesome abilities we get later on.

Edited February 18, 2012 by DwightEisenhower

[KaltesFeuer]

If I switch over to Watchman which is looking better and better, do you guys recommend the aforementioned build here: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#501bIbRroM.1 ?

 

Also, what do you recommend the rotation being? I already see to keep rebuke and saber ward up as much as possible alternating between the two. I need to know how to initiate combat and how to drive everything throughout the fight. Withing officially making the change over I don't know what abilities would be cast. It looks like Cauterize would be one of the first abilities applied to the mob (correct me if I'm wrong).

[Chessack]

If I switch over to Watchman which is looking better and better, do you guys recommend the aforementioned build here: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#501bIbRroM.1 ?

 

Looks fine for a level 29 build.

 

I would definitely get Watchguard next, however. I do not agree with it only being useful in PVP. Each rank of it drops the cooldown (CD) of Force Kick, which is your best interrupt. Given that Stasis and 0-range Force Leap also interrupt just about all Strongs and most Elites, between the 3 of them with a shortened kick CD timer, you can interrupt Strongs and Elites over, and over, and over again. They can get almost NOTHING off against you except their weakest attacks -- if you time things right. And if you have Kick's CD timer reduced. Therefore I highly recommend getting both ranks of Watchguard. I've had it since around your level and never regretted it.

 

Also, what do you recommend the rotation being? I already see to keep rebuke and saber ward up as much as possible alternating between the two. I need to know how to initiate combat and how to drive everything throughout the fight. Withing officially making the change over I don't know what abilities would be cast. It looks like Cauterize would be one of the first abilities applied to the mob (correct me if I'm wrong).

 

I'm not sure anyone can give you an "always" correct rotation. I have some general rules of thumb.

 

1. I do not waste burns on regular mobs. They die so fast it's not worth the bother or the focus of either doing Overload Saber or Cauterize. You're better off with AOEs or just basic attacks like Slash against regular mobs.

 

2. I would never, ever, waste Zen against regular mobs either. They just don't do enough damage to warrant the HoT of it.

 

3. Against Strong mobs and above, I do the opposite, and get the burns started very, very early. Assuming everything is "up" (and it isn't always), my sequence is Rebuke, Force Leap in, Overload Saber, Zelous Strike, Cauterize, and then we'll see... Frequently it's time to throw in a Force Kick at that point to interrupt. Then I do some melee moves to finish up the Overload Saber burn ticks... I might pop a Zen vs. a strong, but probably not (usually I don't bother with it unless I'm fighting an Elite, especially with Doc as a companion).

 

But the most important thing is to watch what is going on in the battle and account for it. Oh look the mob is starting an interruptable ability. Force Kick is not up yet. Force Leap is? Oh good, 0 range Force Leap... Interrupted! Etc.

 

Another thing I like to do is get all the burn DoTs going and then hit Stasis. Let them burn while they are held, and watch their HP drop like a stone. By the time Stasis is done all my best CDs are back, and now I can go back to Force Leap/Zelous and re-initiate the burn sequence.

 

As a Watchman, my bread-and-butter moves are generally Leap, Zealous, Overload, Cauterize, Mater Strike, Force Kick, and Stasis. And of course I use Rebuke and Saber Ward as needed (Rebuke more often because it is up more frequently). And, of course, Zen.

[Hizoka]

Not necessarily weak period, but Sentinel is probably the weakest soloer in the game.

 

The only real advice here is to stay entirely on top of your gear upgrades and keep stims/me's packs handy (this was the mistake I made at first, since on my Op I only upgraded gear every couple planets or so and only used consumables when soloing heroics... which the Sent generally can't do.)

 

For tough enemies, I like to start with aggro on myself and manually have T7 taunt off of me partway through the fight. It extends our overall killing power (by increasing the amount of time I have T7 shooting ) and means I can often get a second Rebuke and Medpac in there ( blade ward too if I pop heroic moment after T7 taunts ).

 

As for spec. I prefer watchman or focus for leveling, as both tend to have better sustainability and survivability compared to Combat (IMO combat's single target kill power doesn't make up for focus' AoE and tankiness or Watchman's almost as good single target and self healing )

 

ignore everything this guy says. Sentinels are great in all aspects of the game, however if the person control the character is a bad player it is more apparent with a sentinel then any other class.

 

 

Sentinels cannot be don't half way you are either good with them or bad with them, they are commandos where a dippy bird hitting grav round over and over will do the job.

 

 

Not to mention Combat is inferior to watchmen in every aspect at this time, so do not ever spec combat unless you like making things worse.

[Victheslic]

I know it seems somewhat counter intuitive, but I think placing 2 points in defensive forms is win for leveling. Defensive forms+valor are amazing for building centering and getting your guaranteed crits+healing more often.

[KaltesFeuer]

This is all very good information, thank you guys. I am going to give Watchman a try, though I fear it will take some getting used to using it appropriately. I hope that doesn't make things worse before it makes things better.

 

1) What form would I remain in the entire time, Juyo?

 

2) What stats should i look for in gear besides Str / End?

[Tedroni]

This is all very good information, thank you guys. I am going to give Watchman a try, though I fear it will take some getting used to using it appropriately. I hope that doesn't make things worse before it makes things better.

 

1) What form would I remain in the entire time, Juyo?

 

2) What stats should i look for in gear besides Str / End?

 

Endurance generally takes care of itself since there's at least some Endurance on every mod you'll find.

 

Yes, use Juyo. Besides Strength, you'll want Critical (frequent crit hits), Power (higher output on all skills), and/or Surge (bigger crit hits) ratings.

 

Sentinels *are* a complicated class to play, and they only get moreso as time goes on. Remember to use your burn skills (Overload Saber and Cauterize) as much as possible.

[Parathax]

Lots of good advice here. I'll just add, after playing a Sentinel to 50, every other class I've tried except Gunslinger/Sniper is somewhat boring. The others are fine in their own way, and I still play them, but they're not nearly as enjoyable as Sentinel.

 

I leveled to 49 as Watchman, and then switched to Combat for 49 (doing mostly pvp) and then Focus at 50 (again, mostly pvp). I've still done some pve at 50, and I'll say that Watchman is definitely my preference for pve, and the other two are great for pvp (tho Watchman is also great for pvp).

 

Try Watchman. You'll like it. Just keep your burns on the strong enemies, and it'll be much easier for ya.

[Chessack]

Lots of good advice here. I'll just add, after playing a Sentinel to 50, every other class I've tried except Gunslinger/Sniper is somewhat boring. The others are fine in their own way, and I still play them, but they're not nearly as enjoyable as Sentinel.

 

^^^ This.

 

I think Sentinels are so much more about timing and thinking on your feet combo-wise, that they really make the other classes seem somewhat lackluster. I have not tried Sniper or Gunslinger... but BH is definitely less stimulating to play. It's fun don't get me wrong... but BH is what I play on nights when I feel tired and don't want to think too much. That tells ya something right there.

[KaltesFeuer]

Thanks for the updates. With the stats to look for, is there a specific priority I would worry about when getting these stats? Example, Crit first, then if no crit go power, and if no power go surge? I have a quest right now that's giving me either a crit item or a power item, and I think i'm going to go power, but for future reference I wanna know what I should go for.

[Tedroni]

Thanks for the updates. With the stats to look for, is there a specific priority I would worry about when getting these stats? Example, Crit first, then if no crit go power, and if no power go surge? I have a quest right now that's giving me either a crit item or a power item, and I think i'm going to go power, but for future reference I wanna know what I should go for.

 

It really comes down to what works for you. We don't have a combat log so it's diffcult to pull reliable, unbiased numbers.

 

For what it's worth, I'd recommend:

1. Strength

2. Critical

3. Power

4. Surge

[KaltesFeuer]

Thank you for the advice.

 

Are there any recommended Watchman builds after 30? That way I know what to build towards!

[Chessack]

Here is my build to level 39.

 

To this point I have absolutely loved it. A lot of people say that Watchman doesn't need Watchguard for PVE... I completely disagree. It's incredibly valuable to drop the CD of Force Kick by 2 seconds. I use Force Kick all the time against Elites and even some Strongs depending on what they can do. There is no substitute for good damage mitigation.

 

At level 40 I will finish out the tree with Merciless Slash. I don't see the need for the remaining talents, so I'm going to pull some from Focus and Combat as needed. Haven't 100% decided what yet for the last 10 points.

 

I never use Force Camouflage or Transcendence so I have seen no advantage to picking up the 2 high level talents that enhance them.

 

I've been running with mostly orange gear, modded with current or 1-back commendation mods ("1-back" meaning mods from the previous planet while I am still doing this one, e.g., mods from Balmorra while doing Quesh). The only blues I have left are belt and bracers... I just have not found orange ones from the GTN or commendation vendors yet.

 

Sabers are orange and updated by myself, since I am an artificer (I can make all but the mod slot).

 

I tend to go Str>End, and Power = Surge > Crit. Honestly I do not see a value of increasing the crit value. Even piling it on to max only increases the chance but a few %... and I don't see the value in a battle that lasts less than 20 hits, of increasing my chance of a crit from 15% to 18% or something. At most once extra hit will crit, and by that point the mob is dead. I'd rather have all my regular attacks do more damage and, if a crit happens, have it do more damage. But that's personal taste of course.