Guardian vs Sent vs Shadow

[elyaas]

Hi all,

 

I am having a really hard time picking between these three classes. My guardian is highest (at 40) and my Shadow is a bit behind (at 33), but all three are my "sort" of playstyle.

 

I have always either played a rogue type class and/or a warrior type class in MMOs. I love going in and getting my hands dirty, but I am hopping around all three (I also had a scoundrel, but their resource system is not for me).

 

Any thoughts towards one. I know that the guard and shadow can tank as well, but again, I'm unsure what to push forward.

[Aidank]

Out of the three main dps specs, it really depends on what you like

 

Watchman sent: Highest dps, very survivable with cds up, very difficult to play, very little CC.

 

Infiltration shadow: Great dps, amazing burst damage, not very survivable, a lot of CC.

 

Madness shadow: Great dps, more survivable than infiltration, pretty difficult to play, the most CC out of any of these classes.

 

Focus guardian: Okay dps, amazing burst, amazing AoE, very survivable pretty much all the time, and a decent amount of cc.

 

Out of the tank specs, at least IMO, guardians are a bit more survivable than shadows, but shadows have much better dps. Their cc/mobility is different but overall it's pretty similar.

[elyaas]

Thanks for the breakdown. I have never tried focus on my guard; maybe I should...

[Shardie]

 

Madness shadow: Great dps, more survivable than infiltration, pretty difficult to play, the most CC out of any of these classes.

 

Balance Shadow... You have to play the infiltrator smart if you want it to succeed in PvP; picking your battles and such-forthwith. Kinetic Shadow rules when leveling up; but only after lvls 20 and 40 respectively the fun factor arises (particle acceleration and that AoE Slow). Infiltration Shadows are boring to play till you get Clairvoyant Strike where they really become killing machines (imo).

 

A part of the boringness of the rotations of early infiltration and kinetic shadows has to do with the DS spam; that is you spam DS and Force Breach exclusively unless something procs or a conditional skill is useable. And there are not many procs in the early levels. Havent specced Balance so I cant give facts on that.

Edited March 4, 2012 by Shardie

[GarfieldJL]

Out of the three main dps specs, it really depends on what you like

 

Watchman sent: Highest dps, very survivable with cds up, very difficult to play, very little CC.

 

Infiltration shadow: Great dps, amazing burst damage, not very survivable, a lot of CC.

 

Madness shadow: Great dps, more survivable than infiltration, pretty difficult to play, the most CC out of any of these classes.

 

Focus guardian: Okay dps, amazing burst, amazing AoE, very survivable pretty much all the time, and a decent amount of cc.

 

Out of the tank specs, at least IMO, guardians are a bit more survivable than shadows, but shadows have much better dps. Their cc/mobility is different but overall it's pretty similar.

 

What CC does a Guardian have? I may not be focus tree oriented, but last I checked the closes thing Guardian has to a CC is Awe, which is a 6 sec area interrupt that distracts a group of enemies for 6 seconds unless they take damage and then they start attacking.

 

We don't have CCs like other classes do that last for like a minute.

[Caelrie]

What CC does a Guardian have? I may not be focus tree oriented, but last I checked the closes thing Guardian has to a CC is Awe, which is a 6 sec area interrupt that distracts a group of enemies for 6 seconds unless they take damage and then they start attacking.

 

We don't have CCs like other classes do that last for like a minute.

 

CC that lasts a minute is irrelevant in PvP, since no CC lasts longer than a few seconds. So when people say Guardians have decent CC, they're talking about PvP.