Vodrin Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 So I've spent the last few weeks going back and forth between combat spec and watchman. While I don't think the difference in DPS is as large as some on these boards will have you believe, watchman and focus spec definitely put out more damage than combat. The difference is about 15% or so across a warzone assuming a player that can play each spec with equal skill. I think a few simple changes could close this gap and make combat feel better for those that prefer it's style and advantages without making it noticeably stronger than the other specs. 1. Reduce precision strike cooldown to 12 seconds. Shaving 3 seconds off the cooldown on the spec's primary burst ability is not too extreme, but will help the spec substantially. 2. Add slash to the list of abilities affected by saber storm 3. Make opportune strike actually have a 100% chance to proc off of ataru strikes. This should bring combat DPS pretty close to the other two trees without having a negative impact on either of the other two trees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enexemander Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Blade storm should be either elemental or internal damage with the spec, as well. It really sucks to have blade storm CRIT for 1300 when precision isn't up. It's just ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ainianu Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 (edited) 1. Reduce precision strike cooldown to 12 seconds. Shaving 3 seconds off the cooldown on the spec's primary burst ability is not too extreme, but will help the spec substantially. If i was to change precision strike, i would change it to increased duration, or effect a number of attacks in similar fashion to overload saber. (To make it less susceptible to being wasted via CC as is the spec's real weakness imo) 2. Add slash to the list of abilities affected by saber storm Slash is not used in combat spec. 3. Make opportune strike actually have a 100% chance to proc off of ataru strikes. i do not understand... this is the pve ability to hit slowed/immobilised targets? This should bring combat DPS pretty close to the other two trees without having a negative impact on either of the other two trees. unsure where you get your info that combat dps is lower than other two trees, but it is bad info Having tested it myself using npc, Combat is very marginal ahead of Watchman on a very long timeframe fight (6 and half mins roughly) so marginal that id say they was about equal. Combat has a lot higher burst however pulling well ahead in SHORT fights... and Watchman has its healing. Ive been going back and forth between the spec's and asside from Combat being able to get 'gimped' a bit through well timed CC in pvp, they are fairly balanced. And Focus? doesnt compare to either watchman or combat for single target dps Edited March 17, 2012 by Ainianu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfessorWalsh Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 The new change to Master Strike is actually quite good for Combat Sentinels. Now not only is it a root but is is now unable to be interrupted. Nothing used to annoy me more than popping MS on someone, after spending points to make it root, and then having them just pop an interrupt on me and run away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodrin Posted March 17, 2012 Author Share Posted March 17, 2012 (edited) If i was to change precision strike, i would change it to increased duration, or effect a number of attacks in similar fashion to overload saber. (To make it less susceptible to being wasted via CC as is the spec's real weakness imo) A legit suggestion, but I find right now that my ability to determine when I can pop it without being CC'd is a big part of having the skill to get the most out of combat. Just increasing the duration would probably be too large a boost, but having it affect say the next 3 attacks in 15-20 seconds would be reasonable Slash is not used in combat spec. It should be. Right now it's debatable whether or not it provides more damage than blade rush (after one preceeding blade rush anyways), but the only reason there should be any thought to spamming blade rush with zen instead of hitting blade rush once and following it with two slash attacks is that blade rush gets the crit damage boost from saber storm and slash does not. This is particularly true if you spec swift slash. Give slash the bonus from saber storm as well and spamming blade rush is definitely less damage i do not understand... this is the pve ability to hit slowed/immobilised targets? No. Currently the tooltip on this talent is bugged for sentinels. It states that it gives a chance to buff the damage of the next focus spending attack by 10%. Currently it's a 30% chance after any ataru proc. The sentinel tooltip says it's a 100% chance to occur, but that is incorrect. I have tested it several times and the marauder tooltip is definitely correct. The buff occurs about 30% of the time. I'm stating it should proc 100% of the time as the current sentinel tooltip states. unsure where you get your info that combat dps is lower than other two trees, but it is bad info Having tested it myself using npc, Combat is very marginal ahead of Watchman on a very long timeframe fight (6 and half mins roughly) so marginal that id say they was about equal. Combat has a lot higher burst however pulling well ahead in SHORT fights... and Watchman has its healing. Ive been going back and forth between the spec's and asside from Combat being able to get 'gimped' a bit through well timed CC in pvp, they are fairly balanced. And Focus? doesnt compare to either watchman or combat for single target dps I'm not sure where you are getting your information, but there was a previous thread that referenced a level 36 world boss whose damage can easily be healed through until it enrages at 50. That sentinel did a total of 10 runs each with watchman and combat spec beating on the boss until it's 6 minute enrage timer went off. He consistently dropped it to around 12% health with watchman, while he struggled to pull it down to 25% health with combat. It's possible that there was a skill differential with the two spec's, but several others chimed in the thread to state the poster was a very skilled player with both spec's (in PvE anyways). This also backs up my personal experience the with the two spec's in PvP. Combat has slightly better short term burst, and I find it a bit easier to manage focus with (due to several of your primary damage dealers having a lower focus cost), but my damage with watchman is consistently 10-15% higher over the course of a warzone. From a skill perspective I would say I am probably a little better with combat as well. As for how focus tree damage compares on a single target, it may lag slightly behind combat, but if it does it's only because of how much more difficult it is to generate and manage focus with that spec. The primary damage sequence from focus generates more damage than either of the other trees on a single target. If you get a lucky crit on blade storm and have good timing it is very possible to put 8K damage on a target in 3 GCD's. Neither of the other two spec's can do that. I will submit that any definitive assessment of combat damage will have to wait until we have a combat log and effective parses, but as one of the long time defenders of the combat tree for PvP I have to admit that it seems like combat damage is a bit lacking compared to watchman and focus. We'll see soon if I am correct, and if I am then these suggestions may be helpful to boost combat damage. The new change to Master Strike is actually quite good for Combat Sentinels. Now not only is it a root but is is now unable to be interrupted. Nothing used to annoy me more than popping MS on someone, after spending points to make it root, and then having them just pop an interrupt on me and run away. Agreed. Considering Master focus (a talent in the focus tree that any combat sentinel can easily get) will also now buff master strike damage, the changes are very good. I was seeing final hits on master strike of up to 4K with precision active. A boost to that could mean a good deal of additional spike damage. Edited March 17, 2012 by Vodrin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ainianu Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 (edited) I'm not sure where you are getting your information, but there was a previous thread that referenced a level 36 world boss whose damage can easily be healed through until it enrages at 50. That sentinel did a total of 10 runs each with watchman and combat spec beating on the boss until it's 6 minute enrage timer went off. He consistently dropped it to around 12% health with watchman, while he struggled to pull it down to 25% health with combat. As stated i did this same test myself using Watchman and Combat and got the Quesh world boss to around the same health total each time in either spec, also used the Tatooine world boss and found i killed it slightly faster in combat than watchman, but only very slightly It's possible that there was a skill differential with the two spec's, but several others chimed in the thread to state the poster was a very skilled player with both spec's (in PvE anyways). I have a feeling this is true, since i have a friend of mine who tried this same test on tatooine world boss, he plays watchman mostly and when he tried this with combat... he actualy just dies >< and he is pretty amazing at watchman, i would say better than i with watchman (in pvp at least) I will submit that any definitive assessment of combat damage will have to wait until we have a combat log and effective parses . I agree, the only reason i never bothered to post my own tests and finding is it is little more than opinion, and the tests i have done (as others have done) proove very little. I mostly did them for my self(and my brother) and not to 'proove' anything to anyone When real combat logs come in, it may give a lot more information for parsing. Edit: having seen 1.2 patch notes now, it would appear Combat is getting a boost anyway, with master strike being no longer being interrupted, and Valour from watchman being on 1st tier. Edited March 17, 2012 by Ainianu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts