New Marauder questions

[DarthGygax]

I just picked Marauder for my advanced class and i have 2 questons regarding Marauders, First, What is the difference between Annihilation & Carnage, I've read alot of guides pushing one of these two specs but they never explain why or how they differ, I be using this toon mostly for PVE, my other question is regarding endgame level crystals, I wanna buy the +41's while their available, Which is better for endgame content, Power or Crit

[Shatterstar]

Anni spec is dot damage, expect a consistent level of damage through a fight. Carnage is burst dps, so you will have big spikes, and then lulls until your big abilities come off cd. Rage is also bust, but specializes in the ae aspect, through use of smash.

 

As for the crystals, I am not sure how a brand new player would afford any of them. That being said, you can't go wrong with power crystals, power always scales, while crit has a soft cap.

[DarthGygax]

Im not a new player, I've been playing since January, My main is a Sith Juggernaut (tank spec), I also have a Sniper, But my personal favorite class is a melee type

[Aarchaelen]

Shatterstar is correct in his breakdown between annihilation and carnage specs. But let me add to it for you.

 

Annihilation is the interrupt king in the game. It's interrupts cd is lowered by 2 seconds making it every 6 seconds and force charge minimum range is set to zero which allows it to be used as a interrupt and rage building attack. Interrupts are valuable in PvE and PvP. Annihilation spec also affords you the ability to extend your HP through self healing when your dots critical hit, of which you can ensure happens regularly through the use of Berserk.

 

Carnage spec is burst damage and for immobizing you opponent, if you chose that talent. (is great for defending in hut ball and allowing you to root and kill people kiting you) Carnage also is good for allowing you to bypass your opponents armor when attacking. This armor penetration is for you only, not your party.

 

In both trees, regardless of your spec there are a few talents you need: enraged slash, duel wield mastery, and defensive forms. These three talents enhance both classes emmensely.

Edited March 7, 2012 by Aarchaelen

[DarthGygax]

Thanks, I'll probably go Annihilation, It sounds more useful in the long run

[qwertypoi]

I started as Annihilation and stuggled with any pulls that had more than 2 mobs ( to be honest I just switched back at level 46 and I still do ) . I found leveling as rage to be a joke. Force choke/smash is so OP for leveling. Once you hit level 40, force crush has the same effect on a much shorter cd ( and is a great attack in hutball ). I could actually pull 2 packs and destroy them

 

Annihilation, on the other had makes elites a cake walk

[Shatterstar]

Yeah, I went with the basics only. I forgot about the cd lowering of the interrupt, actually. Of all the things in anni, I miss the 0 range force charge the most. But they are also the most gear dependent, as they really need to get their crit/surge up to be most effective, which is very hard to do at lower levels.

Really, start with one and try it out, if you don't care for it, switch to another and try that. Qwety is right, Anni is great for killing golds, and doing it quickly, while rage is great for ripping down packs of mobs, especially if their is a silver mixxed in.

 

As for the initial question of crystal, I still say power. It always scales, and if you change spec you won't have to be concerned with having "excessive" crit for a different spec. (Carnage and rage can talent for auto-crit on their primary attacks.)