Crixaliss Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 I leveled my powertech from the start as a tank and have carried that all the way through to where I am now, with full columi supercommando gear, currently going with a 31/8/2 build though have previously fiddled around with a build inclusive of retractable blade. What I want now as I arrive at the end-game tank bottleneck (not requiring a scalable number of 1 tank per 4 players as you go into 8/16 man ops), is to have my options open by putting together a dps gear set from hardmodes, so that if too many tanks show up for an op night I can switch to a dps spec. As someone who has never dabbled at all into a dps spec with his powertech, I have some questions Are powertechs a viable dps choice for starters? Or will I get shunned in favour of other dps classes? Is there any one PvE dps spec currently accepted by the majority as the 'best'? (pyro > AP?) And if so, how does it work and what are my priority skills, etc? Gear. I've often run HMs with undergeared dps (Im talking green sub-50 mods), and its been a real pain. Will I be fine to start dpsing if I stick some gear full of the purple-L50 daily armouring/mods/enchancements? And when I'm gearing up, what are my priorities? I get the impression of power = crit > surge at the moment.. but I could be way off. Any other info to help a tank learn how to dps here would also be welcome. N.B. I DONT do PvP, so anyone suggesting for me to just grab some champ gear or whatever is not going to be useful advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoopi Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Hey, I mainly PvP, so my opinions may not compare with those who solely run PvE 5 nights a week etc, but I do run enough operations to have a fair idea. First off, I'd definitely say we're a viable melee dps, pulling substantial dps without the 'stand behind boss' requirements some other melee have to deal with. The only time I can see you getting 'shunned' for another dps is if that dps is ranged, since pretty much every boss fight is 100% easier without melee. Having run HM & NM mode EV/KP as both AP and Pyro, I would agree with the general consensus that pyro>AP. That opinion is based solely on the speed of which I tend to kill my marauder on infernal council with both speccs. Without an actual dps meter, who knows? As for gear, if the rest of your dps aren't up to scratch, it wont matter if your rolling in full rakata. As a starter dps, since you've opted out of the pvp gear, a quick fix for gear if you don't fancy running endless flashpoints would be to grab a load of the orange gear and simply throw in the highest lvl mods, armours etc like you said. Best you can do to keep competitive till you pick up some columi/rakata bits. After the surge rating nerf, I don't know where it stands in the stat priority queue, but I've always opted for power=crit anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crixaliss Posted February 20, 2012 Author Share Posted February 20, 2012 So would I be along the right lines with this build? http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#301hMZMcZfIobzGhrs.1 Or are there better alternatives? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shredzz Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 You can try my spec High Energy Pyro heres a link to my thread http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=315853 lemme know what you think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suneater Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 So the 3 % endurance is worthless even for tanks. Do the math and you will figure it out by yourself. Gyroscopic alignment jets is a good choice for filler cause in a lot of fights you got stunned - Boss 1,3 EV KP - 4th boss, not to mention Fps.The 2nd build is not suited for pve fights, more like benefits from less heating from both specs and you can unload everything. You are probably using the high energy gas cylinder but its not boosting your dmg that much compared to the combustible gas cylinder which in most cases crits for 1k which is much more than whatever dmg the HEGC ads. Missing the burnout effect is crucial to boss fights cause when you pass 30% hp you get the big numbers from incend missile. Plus you need a very tight use of your cds - the pyrotech build is highly dependent on power so a relic with power is a must. Adrenals with crit and power also helps. Im usually combining power relic with flammable fuel on pull and after that crit adrenal with crit and surge relic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theKalmo Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 If u wanna pvp and pve well I would recommend this: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#301oMZMcZfhrrzGGMs.1 AP spec would be very good in pve but I don't like it in pvp at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shredzz Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 (edited) So the 3 % endurance is worthless even for tanks. Do the math and you will figure it out by yourself. Gyroscopic alignment jets is a good choice for filler cause in a lot of fights you got stunned - Boss 1,3 EV KP - 4th boss, not to mention Fps. The 2nd build is not suited for pve fights, more like benefits from less heating from both specs and you can unload everything. You are probably using the high energy gas cylinder but its not boosting your dmg that much compared to the combustible gas cylinder which in most cases crits for 1k which is much more than whatever dmg the HEGC ads. Missing the burnout effect is crucial to boss fights cause when you pass 30% hp you get the big numbers from incend missile. Plus you need a very tight use of your cds - the pyrotech build is highly dependent on power so a relic with power is a must. Adrenals with crit and power also helps. Im usually combining power relic with flammable fuel on pull and after that crit adrenal with crit and surge relic. The 2nd build your mentioning is focusing on flame burst spam and railshot spam with rocket punch when off cd and keeping incendiary up not dot dmg(+theres an option to scrap intimidation for burnout if you read my thread). High energy cyclinder buffs incendiary missile and flame burst by 8% and your saying that isnt much? a 1k dot tick is nice but its like your saying my flame burst doesnt crit for alot as well. And why a very tight use of yours cds, its more or less a spammable rotation? Edited February 20, 2012 by Shredzz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suneater Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 No way to prove it anyway its just the way im feeling it ive seen the numbers believe me you see big crits. We talk about 4k+ on rail shot and thermal detonator. The cd rotation is tight because when you open you use a lot abilities start with incendiary missile>flame detonator> rail shot>rocket punch>rail shot if it resets> if not you use flame burst > little chance to reset than rocket punch but still. In this situation you might get lucky and reset 2ce. That means you got your heat good but if they do not reset you must drop unload. By that time IM dot will be removed >thermal sensor override( you may start with it to easy up the cooling) the rotation is not the full one. It changes due to heating but its important to unleash at least those abilities which i mentioned while you use your relic and flammable fuel. Sometimes you need to use vent heat immediately cause you havent proced free rail shot but you have used your relics and you need to unload everything at once. adding rapid shot between the first 2 abilities IM and TD is good but we know thats a waste if you can vent heat. The 2nd pair of cd left could be used when the 1st 2 finish but that means you need a tight heat management and rail shot procs. The pyrotech build can put really good dps but its mostly for single target. Flame sweep and flamethrower are as good as useless mainly because the advanced prototype build is where they shine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shredzz Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 ye im just saying the advantages of high energy pyro is -8 heat every 6secs so your heat management is much much easier, you basically get a free flame burst every 12secs, which gives you a chance at a free railshot which will dump an extra 8. Atleast try it when your bored. +the 8% more elemental makes flamethrower not that bad for aoe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshPrime Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Pyro is overall the best dps Pve spec when you consider its high damage and mobility. The basics of the spec are applying the dot from Incendiary Missile and CGC, using railshot on cooldown, and using Flame Burst and Rocket Punch to reset railshot. The challenge comes from managing your heat, its not passive like AP and ST (to some degree). Your Rail Shots vent heat and there is no internal cd so you can get very lucky with procs and burn through enemies, but you can get unlucky and you will have to actively thread in Rapid Shots in order to keep heat down. the spec I run with is: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#301hMhZMsZfhrbzGhMM.1 -Thermal Detonator is a bit of a debate, some say its good, some say its bad, its up to you whether to use it or not. I prefer bigger Rail Shots and higher overall damage. (I don't like TD because it doesn't seem to fit into the rotation or the spec very much. It feels more bursty/pvpish. it doesn't proc anything, it doesn't interact with any of the other abilities in the rotation, It just costs heat.) This spec also performs very well at pvp even though thats not your thing. I only pvp when I'm bored and I and top 3 damage every single match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suneater Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Well by far Td is a matter of choice but i think about it that way - multiple targets - the better choice is obviously explosive dart. On single target fight TD is better cause of the dmg. And While ED has 25 heat consumption Td has 16. Its easier to combine TD with Im than IM with ED. Not sure if the dps in pvp is something to be compared with cause its pvp. Sometimes your opponents will not allow you to dps that much - they may focus you, stuns etc. the other part is when you nuke them and no one interferes. ON BT HM just before the bonus boss - the robot, they are 2 mobs droids - gold stars. So me and a guildie made that contest to see whose dps was better - who will kill the mob 1st. It was juggy and by far i won the duel with like 20k ahead of him and i didnt had my stim on Oo. So if you ask me you can compare your dps in similar environment - similar mobs and post your results here in the forums . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowmon Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 (edited) like you i started out as PvE tank, and only resently moved to dps to start gearing mostly in pvp but also in pve. Spec: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#301bMZMsZfhbrzGhrs.1 the 2 points i put in Degauss are basically free, put them in Degauss, Infrared Sensrs or sweltering heat, just personal choice. your damage is coming from fire dots and rail shots. your 4 most important spells will be: Rail shot (refreshes Dot from Flame Burst) Incendiary Missle (applies DoT) Flame Burst (applies another DoT, and chance to refresh Rail shot) Rocket Punch (chance to refresh Rail shot) fillers while u wait for rail shot procs will be rapid shots and unload. i would say your initial rotation would begin with: IM > FB > RS > RP from here its fillers/procs, but always make sure you got them DoTs up 100% of the time and use Rail Shot as soon as its off CD. thats about all you need to know, very mobile in both pvp & pve only thing u gotta stand still for is the Unload filler. Edited February 21, 2012 by snowmon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts