Jedi Sentinel. Underpowered, no fun

[Venator-Falco]

When I said " until I learned how to play it." I thought everyone would understand my skill was the problem and once I improved on that. I have become a better player.

 

As for helping for leveling, I never really found a spec I liked. I just kind of suffered through it. If I did it again, I would level Watchman, but you don't get a lot of the good stuff until higher level.

 

Make sure you put 2 talent points in Jedi Crusader under the combat tree. Put the rest in Watchman until you get Merciless Slash. Then You can put more into combat.

 

Open with Zealous strike > Rebuke > Overload Saber > Cauterize > Slash > Slash > Force stasis *Throw Strike in there when you don't have focus. Use Master Strike a lot too.

 

Good Stuff.

Could I suggest an improvement on that as a way to open, Rebuke is not on the GCD, and can be executed while you are in the air from a Force Leap, So while you are levelling what I found to be very effective is to

Force Leap, Rebuke (Or Sabre Ward If Rebuke is unavailable) The next key is a power-up (Overload Sabre For Watchment, Precision Slash for Combat) then a Big Hitting Strike (Cauterize or Blade Storm) that is the Key to Sentinel, power up first then hit with something big.

 

someone said we dont have interupts or stuns...

ummm force sweep=stunn on lower mobs,

blade storm=stun

kick is an interupt, as is force leap. and stasis.

 

sorry if this was already posted. i only read 2 pages...

 

i lvled steadily using the watchmen class and solod my entire class quest and almost all planet quests.

just make sure you get your skill upgrades when you lvl

Yeah it has been said, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth pointing out again we have good stun options specifically against standard mobs, and we have some really powerful effects that leverage them effectively (Opportune and Pommel Strike)

BTW You missed Awe which is an PB AOE Stun

[Algohan]

All of you are referring to end game content. He is talking about leveling. Im having the same problem at level 33. I CANNOT kill Darth Angral. Its just *********** impossible. After 10+ Deaths and trying each spec out i just gave up on her. I should not have to **** out miracles just to solo quest.

[Hizoka]

All of you are referring to end game content. He is talking about leveling. Im having the same problem at level 33. I CANNOT kill Darth Angral. Its just *********** impossible. After 10+ Deaths and trying each spec out i just gave up on her. I should not have to **** out miracles just to solo quest.

 

i lost less then 1/4 of my HP an Angrel. if you cannot kill any boss on your story its because you are a bad player, there is NO OTHER explination.

[Assaultrooper]

Then switch to another class.

 

Sentinels are NOT underpowered, they're one of the more difficult classes to play. So if you can't handle it, then switch to an easier one like Trooper.

 

This game is the easiest MMO i've ever played. It boggles my mind that people find it hard or their classes are underpowered. Are all your gear up to date? Are your companions gear up to date? Are you using consumables like stims, food/drinks? Are you using clickies like relics?

 

Before you come here and declare the problem is the game or your class, try looking at yourself first.

 

im just gonna go ahead and say ANYTHING in this mmo is harder than in that one over ther ->

 

 

where the design philosophy are 3 button rotations. The trooper that you mention for instance has a rotation involving 6 skills! double wats considered "ideal" in wow.

[Mrrshan]

I am not sure what to tell you guys.

My sentinel is now lvl 44 and it's gone from strength to strength. We have so many options on how to deal with single enemies, groups, elites , etc.

Darth Angral was a very easy fight for me, got him in first attempt.

All I did was interrupt his skills ( at that level I didn't have all the tools I have now for interrupting and now is much easier ), pop my defensive skills at the right moment.

Basically the fight starts, I sent Kira in ( and she had horible equipment at that level as i never bothered with her. ). When she had like 20-30% hp left I went mad on damage and stole aggro back from her, popping my defensive skills one by one as they were eaten through. Once everything was on cooldown I popped my 20 min cd skill and after that he died.

 

I was actually a bit afraid of that fight as the whole story was leading towards that moment, but no, nothing special really.

 

I am specced watchman and i have to say i love it, my sent is so strong in PVE that I don't really pay much attention, just jump right in and whack them all.

[Mrrshan]

The issues is exactly what you guys are talking about..

 

I have a lvl 50 combat sent. I struggled through everything.. too like forever to get to lvl 50. Dieing was constant. Gear was max lvl I could get, all orange.

 

The issue: is that you HAVE to key bind HAVE to set up a rotation and you HAVE to have your timing down.

 

Then you will slaughter everything.

 

All of the other classes, you do not HAVE to key bind (sure they help) you do not HAVE to set up a rotation, you do not HAVE to have your timing down.

 

On my BH, I feel like I can screw around a little bit.. and mow through people without dieing at all.

 

With Duel Spec it won't matter..

 

I disagree with you completely, no key binding here, no rotation whatsoever, but timing is the most important skill. I cannot stress how important is to use skills at the right moment , not sooner, not later. if you can't do that, after leveling a sent then you haven't learnt anything.

[Mrrshan]

What spec are you? I can tell you I went from playing combat to watchman around level 25ish and I actually felt overpowered. As mentioned before, keybinds are your best friend as well. You have to be able to pay attention to cast bars and such so having to look at keys is a bad thing. Honestly, do people really click still now a days?

 

With watchman, you can just force leap, use overload saber, followed by a zealous strike, a cauterize, and a merciless slash and a strong is half dead. Also, force leap has no minimum range so you can use it as an interrupt.

 

One thing I will say is, I felt like I needed Doc. How people leveled with Kira the whole game baffles me. Doc is great and the only companion I still use. Also, use rebuke. And kick. YOu have no idea how many sentinels I run in to where I ask if they use that stuff, and they are like, what? /facepalm

 

Yup, clicking is fine and works well. I don't really understand why people have an issue clicking keys, must be an xbox inheritance I suppose. You use those skills all the time so if you cannot tell what does what then really nothing can help you.

[Mrrshan]

From my experiences, (I'm a level 50 Sentinel) Leveling a Sentinel sucks so bad. (Gets a little better when you get Doc)

 

Once you hit 50 the good news is it still sucks, but once you are geared and learn to play your class you will be impressed. Took me awhile to figure out the rotations and the spec I like the most. I started to do really well. I mostly do PVP, and I'm wearing full champions. Watchman spec. I am really enjoying the Sentinel now.

 

I really hated this class and wanted to re-roll every day even when I hit 50. until I learned how to play it.

 

So moral of the story. Class sucks to level, but it is worth it in the end.

 

Of course, from those of us who can think a bit, I wonder if you have learnt to play your class as you were leveling it, wouldn't that made it easy and enjoyable ? Just saying ...

Sent is a blast to level up, a real killer, but I guess it depends how you play it.

[Cuddlezz]

sentinals and marauders are the strongest pvp class at 50, this is a fact, my brother plays a marauder and he got so used to constantly pulling and facerolling everything with his healer companion later he started dieing becuase he never watched his health bar, maybe this is you? XD

[Xerain]

Unsubbed til Marauders and Sentinels, among other things, are fixed. Knight combat animations are crap too, especially compared to Warrior.

 

lolwut? i play both classes we have almost all the same animations.

[Hizoka]

im just gonna go ahead and say ANYTHING in this mmo is harder than in that one over ther ->

 

 

where the design philosophy are 3 button rotations. The trooper that you mention for instance has a rotation involving 6 skills! double wats considered "ideal" in wow.

 

actually when you get enough gear trooper uses only 3, that is why there are so many troopers, they are ******* proof.

[LimaCharlie]

I have been a Sentinel Focus buid since day -3. I swear that right around the arrival on Tatooine is the only time I felt underpowered. The one thing that being a JS focus build has taught me is how to play the game. I am not squishy, I deal massive damage when I don't panic, and I can hold my own in a group. The JS is not underpowered. You have to stick with it. But you can't quit there, you always need to be looking for the next best armor, weapon, accesory, or rotation you are going to use. It has taught me how to play the game good. I understand CDs now, timing, the skills I have, the skills I have no use for in PvE or PvP. I think every class has a period of underpowerness, like the Jedi Counslar I started is weak as ever right now. Edited February 23, 2012 by LimaCharlie
grammar

[Xzaver]

sentinel is fine

 

you must " learn To play "

 

true story:p

[LimaCharlie]

sentinel is fine

 

you must " learn To play "

 

true story:p

 

Agreed.

[nemhook]

I think the sentinel is just fine right now apart from one or 2 issues, but regarding your levelling issues, i found it was the quest npc's which where a little OP for our certain mellee abilities, which is why its always best to be a level or 2 about the quest.

[DosPeros]

Having finished Tattooine, I went back to Nar Shaadaa to clear up a couple of heroic quests there that I had left. Found some bint in the space port that had a bonus quest line to do.

 

At the start of the quest I was level 33, using Kira as my companion. Both of us in mainly blues and orange gear, since I already had to blow huge amounts of cash on making Kira even remotely useful in quests.

 

After half an hour of the Bonus quest line in NS, I am fairly confident in saying that the Jedi Sentinel is a pile of rubbish.

 

Every pull there is massive damage being taken, and the mobs being pulled are only lvl 30. The Sentinel has no crowd control ability beyond channeled one (except against droids). Both mitigation abilities that the Sentinel has are weak. Their only force heal is on a massive cooldown. Damage output is not comparable to other classes - my level 20 commando seems to do as much damage as my lvl 33 Sentinel.

 

Bioware, you should address some of the issues around the Jedi Sentinel. Look around the forum, this is not the only post highlighting problems with what should be a much better designed class.

 

 

Ok some constructive advice on playing Sentinel-

 

First I am a lvl 50 watchman spec with max points in dual wield. Though I PVE'd my way to 50 I exclusively PVP now with level 59 valor.

 

Sentinels can not handle ranged mobs (plural being the operative word here) very well. They will eat your health line like a fat kid in a candy store. If you see a white flag Mob with two or three normal Mobs do not go after the boss. Take down the normals first. Send your companion after the boss.

 

You will be surprised at the difference.

 

Once you get your healer you will never use the other companions.. or at least need to..

 

Also use all of your buffs and defensive abilities... They are critical to damage mitigation, remember sometimes a good offense is a good defense. You are not going to be a guardian strong defender but with you combinations you can burn them down.

 

Attack rotation is very important.. Not sure what is right? Experiment. Just keep in mind that some attacks become more powerful when used in combination and you have to be patient, let them stack...

 

Finally I came close to dropping my toon once I hit level 50 and was acting as a token machine for the IMPS. But now... I would not play any other class.

[Assaultrooper]

actually when you get enough gear trooper uses only 3, that is why there are so many troopers, they are ******* proof.

 

I am sorry my bad. I should of especified Vanguard Troopers use a 6 button rotation which is by no means the most complex in the game, YET is as complex as the most complex spec in wow (Destro Locks)

[Vodrin]

I am sorry my bad. I should of especified Vanguard Troopers use a 6 button rotation which is by no means the most complex in the game, YET is as complex as the most complex spec in wow (Destro Locks)

 

He is exaggerating as most who come to these forums tend to do. Commando has 3 CC's when gunnery spec, so that's three buttons right there. You can get away with spamming grav round alone for damage, but that is not your max damage output. You should be using sticky grenade, high impact bolt, and full auto with it for max DPS.

 

So 2 knockbacks, a stun, and 4 damage abilities for max performance, and that is assuming you never use your CC break, ammo restore, or bubble. You could, conceivably, be north of 12 buttons for max efficiency. That said, a commando is far easier to play than a sentinel and has much fewer keybinds, just not to the extent that some have made it out to be.

[bhortos]

They aren't really underpowered.

 

Yea, they take pretty much dmg, but you actually learn to control the amount of damage you receive in time.

 

Rebuke = FTW. Really helpful ability.

[Assaultrooper]

He is exaggerating as most who come to these forums tend to do. Commando has 3 CC's when gunnery spec, so that's three buttons right there. You can get away with spamming grav round alone for damage, but that is not your max damage output. You should be using sticky grenade, high impact bolt, and full auto with it for max DPS.

 

So 2 knockbacks, a stun, and 4 damage abilities for max performance, and that is assuming you never use your CC break, ammo restore, or bubble. You could, conceivably, be north of 12 buttons for max efficiency. That said, a commando is far easier to play than a sentinel and has much fewer keybinds, just not to the extent that some have made it out to be.

 

If you actually read the post you'd notice a) I'm not talking about commandos but of vanguards. B) I'm not saying they are the most complex (I especifically say they aren't). And c) I am referring to "rotation" those 4 "damaging abilities" is what people in this day and age call rotation.

 

That said pls try not to do the same mistake twice. L2read.

[ammarjaafar]

Wait what?!!! we're ***king underpowered?! da***?!

 

I started SWTOR with my first character as sentinel and i have had a lot of struggles here and there levelling up but I had never fell in love with a class like the sentinel.

 

Sentinels are one of the toughest classes to level up as we require a certain level of "skill" and patience when pve-ing. Though I am not an expert in other classes, nor do I consider myself one as a sentinel however, unlike the other dps spec classes,[not considering the tanks and healer spec classes] I have come to understand that playing this class requires one to pay attention to every single aspect of your surroundings.

 

We have a lot of interruptions, mini stuns, supression skills and defensive abilities that if specced, gives us focus in order to continue our damage output while outnumbered.

 

I agree, i feel your suffering that it may seem that we're underpowered at the level you are at however, keybind your skills, observe the skills cast, interrupt them.(we have 4 interrupts vs normal mobs, 2 vs strong and 2 vs elite. use them wisely mate) That force stasis is very powerful and should always be used as a second resort. Force kick should be maxed so ur cd is 6 secondsi nstead of 9.

 

Everythign is beatable. Just gear up and farm up.

 

This class is not for the feint hearted to give up so fast.

 

Observe, interrupt and cauterize your enemies to daeth.

 

Inspector

The Harbinger

[plompkin]

Oh come on...

 

Look, the "Sent is hard lolz u gotz b gud l2p" attitude is dumb. Someone equally as good with any other class will outperform you with less effort. You have to be so far better than an equally geared opponent to have a chance at beating them (the Kuroda effect for fellow SF3 players).

 

If we're gonna tell anecdotal stories, I manage to /lol and /spit on probably the best battlemaster sentinel on our server before killing him 1v1 on my Powertech. I'm in mostly cent with some champion (rng bags ftw?).

 

The class is underpowered in PvP.

[Silversable]

The biggest problem with Sentinels (and marauders) is that they are visually extremely appealing (dual wielding glowing blades ftw), have tons of fancy moves, but are one of the harder classes to play even adequately because of the multiple things you need to keep in mind and keep an eye out for.

 

Which is, IMHO, a design fault : if you plan a class that is visually attractive (and, as such, that will attract many people outside the "veteran core" group), you should design it with simplicity in mind, because that's what those people will expect.

 

For instance, I would understand having complexity in a Vanguard trooper : it does not have the visual appeal of a JK tank, nor the menacing mien of an assault cannon-toting commando. It goes close, but not really melee. Its role is not defined by its primary weapon stance. People who choose the class will know beforehand that they will have to master intricacies of a mixed bag, playing with abilities at various range.

 

Not so with the Sentinel.

 

I think the point is that many people basically feel they have been lied to - not explicitly, but their assumptions have been broken by what the class requires compared to what it offers. It has very little to do with the absolute performance of the class, and much more to do with the difference between the expectations and the actual handling.

[Hizoka]

The biggest problem with Sentinels (and marauders) is that they are visually extremely appealing (dual wielding glowing blades ftw), have tons of fancy moves, but are one of the harder classes to play even adequately because of the multiple things you need to keep in mind and keep an eye out for.

 

Which is, IMHO, a design fault : if you plan a class that is visually attractive (and, as such, that will attract many people outside the "veteran core" group), you should design it with simplicity in mind, because that's what those people will expect.

 

For instance, I would understand having complexity in a Vanguard trooper : it does not have the visual appeal of a JK tank, nor the menacing mien of an assault cannon-toting commando. It goes close, but not really melee. Its role is not defined by its primary weapon stance. People who choose the class will know beforehand that they will have to master intricacies of a mixed bag, playing with abilities at various range.

 

Not so with the Sentinel.

 

I think the point is that many people basically feel they have been lied to - not explicitly, but their assumptions have been broken by what the class requires compared to what it offers. It has very little to do with the absolute performance of the class, and much more to do with the difference between the expectations and the actual handling.

 

you are wrong. You do not need to make a class dirt simple.... IMO they need to make the harder classes actually perform better then the simple ones.... Something like a gunnery Trooper should do crap damage next to a properly played Sentinel simply because the person playing the sent is FAR more skills to play it well. Sorry but anyone can put a dippy bird next to they keyboard and have it spam grav round.

 

Bioware needs to make the classes perform based on skill needed to play it, the harder it is to play the better it performs when played well. I'm sick and tired of this crap of everything should be dirt simple to play because kids now are lazy and do not want to put effort into anything. If you think every class should have 3-6 skills for their rotation then go back to wow.

[Psybin]

snip

Have you considered the thought that maybe, bioware suspected the class would be vastly over subscribed due to it's visual appeal and iconic status, and deliberately made it have a high skill threshold?

 

 

And the guy posting before about how someone with equal skill on any other class will out perform a sent/mara really has no clue what he's talking about...