Watchman or Combat for PVE?

[Lynnx]

I've searched this subject, but mostly found older posts.

 

Some say that Watchman is better all around and some say that combat is better for low level levelling while Watchman is better for endgame.

 

Which do you think is better?

[Toweleeeie]

Right now, Watchmen for everything. After 1.2 comes out Im going back to Combat.

[Lynnx]

Will combat get extra bonuses after 1.2?

[Toweleeeie]

Will combat get extra bonuses after 1.2?

 

More like being brought up to speed.

 

General

 

Awe no longer costs Focus to activate.

 

Dispatch can now be used on targets at or below 30% of maximum health (up from 20%).

 

Force Kick no longer costs Focus to activate.

 

Master Strike can no longer be interrupted.

 

 

Sentinel

 

Due to changes in the Sentinel skill trees, Sentinels have had their skill points refunded.

 

Crippling Throw's "Trauma" effect can no longer be cleansed.

 

Force Camouflage now additionally reduces all damage taken by 50% while active.

 

Pacify no longer has a Focus cost and is no longer limited by the global cooldown.

 

Transcendence now affects all Operation Group members.

 

Zen (while in Ataru Form) now additionally reduces the Focus cost and global cooldown of Cyclone Slash.

 

Watchman

 

Focused Pursuit has been replaced by Focused Leap, which increases the Focus generated by Force Leap.

 

Force Fade no longer grants damage reduction while Force Camouflage is active. It now increases the duration of Force Camouflage by 1 second per point and increases the movement speed bonus of Force Camouflage by 10% per point.

 

Inflammation now applies a 50% movement speed reduction (up from 30%).

 

Valor is now located in Tier 1 of the skill tree.

 

 

Combat

 

Ataru Form damage effects (procs) now deal weapon-based damage instead of Force-based damage. The overall damage of these effects has been increased by approximately 10%.

 

Ataru Form now correctly triggers when fighting very large targets.

 

Fleetfooted now additionally increases the movement speed bonus granted by Transcendence by 15% per point.

 

Temperance has been replaced by Stagger, which increases Force Leap's immobilize effect.

 

 

Focus (Sentinel)

 

Felling Blow is now a 3-point skill with the same overall effect. The effect now lasts 20 seconds (up from 15).

 

Force Exhaustion's cooldown has been reduced to 18 seconds. Its overall effect is unchanged.

 

Gravity now specifically affects Leg Slash and Force Exhaustion.

 

Inner Focus has been redesigned. It now requires 2 points in Singularity and causes Zen (while in Shii-Cho Form) to immediately grant 2 stacks of Singularity per point.

 

Master Focus now increases the damage of Master Strike instead of affecting Force Stasis.

 

Singularity's buff effects now last 20 seconds (up from 15).

 

Swelling Winds is now located in Tier 1 of the Focus skill tree. It increases the damage dealt by Force Sweep and Cyclone Slash and reduces the cooldown of Force Sweep.

 

Unwavering Focus has been removed from the game.

 

Zealous Leap now immobilizes the target for 1 second.

 

Zephyr has been replaced by Zephyrean Slash, which allows Slash critical hits to have a chance to refund 2 points of Focus while the Sentinel is in Shii-Cho Form.

[Rafaman]

I'm still using Combat spec and with great success.

 

For me it comes down to playing style. I prefer bursts of damage as opposed to damage over time (dot). And for me, the Blade Rush and Blade Storm combinations and the bonus in Arturu forrm make a huge difference. I do have a standard rotation which, of course, I have to modify during a fight from time to time but it is effective and great deal of fun when bringing down an elite or champ.

 

So... in my view it comes down to this, Watchman stacks burns and heals (a little bit) for DOT while Combat does big damage and stacks Armor penetration to finish a fight quickly. Which do you prefer?

 

The changes in 1.2 will really help me, but I'm satisfied with Combat and can hold my own in most situations.

[LeonBraun]

Combat Sentinels can be really fun to play as well as extremely damage effective if played well. Combat is decent at any level for the Knight but truly shines after level 40, when they get their main ability “Blade Rush.”

 

Here are a couple links that may be useful for you:

 

http://www.jedispecs.com/jedi-knight-sentinel/

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#501bcZhGrbddMorsZG.1

 

I will also add a basic and sample rotation here:

 

Basic Rotation:

 

Force Leap

Zealous Strike

Precision Slash

Blade Rush

Blade Storm

Master Stike

 

Rinse/Repeat (Aside from Force Leap)

 

CD’s and Utility:

 

One of the things that really adds to this spec are nicely placed cool downs and utility to get the most out of the spec.

 

Important CD’s and Utility:

 

Rebuke (Damage reduction of 20% for up to 30 seconds)

Pacify (Hostile target damage reducer)

Force Stasis (A nice clutch moment ability to stun the target, generate focus and get heals)

Guarded By The Force (Sacrifice 50% health for 99% damage reduction, Clutch ability)

Medpack (Great for using right after Guarded By The Force)

Force Kick (Interrupts enemy casting and channeled abilities)

Heroic Moment (Refreshes CD on Saber Ward)

Disable Droid (Our CC, use on droids if multiples in mobs)

 

Sample Rotation:

 

Always make sure to pre-buff with Might Stim and your Force Might class buff.

 

Force Leap (Gap closer, Stun, Focus Builder)

Force Sweep (Can be used anywhere in your rotation to stun the target or interrupt)

Saber Ward (Use before or during a large incoming damage attack)

Zealous Strike (Generates 6 focus, use “Strike” for an attack or two if this in on CD)

Zen (Always build this by using Blade Rush and spend before using Blade Rush)

Precision Slash (Reduces target armor, use to increase damage on main abilities)

Blade Rush (Your main attack, use Slash until level 40 and use this after level 40)

Blade Storm (Always use when up)

Master Stike (Always use when up)

 

Sprinkle your various CD's and interrupts where needed through this rotation and watch poetry in motion!

 

Special Notes:

 

-Zen is very important to this rotation; always make sure to generate using Blade Rush or Slash, and use whenever possible, or save for hard and elites.

 

-Stack your damage increasing abilites wherever possible; for example, use Precision Slash immediately following Zen.

 

-Force Kick is a great interrupt, use it often to interrupt your enemies.

 

-Have Rebuke, Pacify, Saber Ward, Force Stasis, Medpacks etc available on another hotbar for quick use; they are very handy.

 

Good Luck!

Edited March 21, 2012 by LeonBraun

[Cooperal]

It has to be watchman for PvE. It deals superior damage to combat and also provides a gradual self-heal from critical burn effects, which is a 100% chance per tick with zen active.

 

The same advantages of course carry over to PvP. PvP is where Combat can shine in a more thoughtful fashion as they get two more immobilizes (note not stuns) which go heavily underestimated. Master-strike gets one for it's duration (I don't know why people say it's hard to land, it's very, very easy) and crippling throw gets one for 3 seconds. Not bad for a 12 second cooldown. Blowing one immoblize as the other finishes (and force stasis) without any other complications thrown in, a combat sentinel can hold one guy still for roughly 15 seconds. Slows not included.

 

This makes them a really good counter for circle strafers where you and your team might otherwise have to waste time readjusting their direction or re-finding your enemy in the fray instead of hitting. It's also gives much, much greater room for error when attempting to take advantage of huttball traps and delaying enemies as they attempt to interrupt your bomb-planter/turret capturer. For obvious reasons none of this has any meaning when applied to enemy NPCs.

[Cabroncito]

I agree with LeonBraun.

As a 43 Combat Spec, i have had a blast playing this game. i've solo'd all my class quests and go through them on the first try, with the exception of Darth Angral (took about 4 tries) and Lord Scourge (2nd time was the charm).

I really dont care that Watchman hits for more damage, for me its all about perception. And as far as I'm concerned, I blow throw Golds and mobs with great speed using the above mentioned rotations.

once you get Doc, things go even faster as you really dont ever have to worry about health.

No, I have not tried Watchman before, so what? If I can cut throw enemies as fast as I do, is saving a second or two with Watchman going to make me enjoy the class anymore? Probably not. Sure you could say the 1 or 2 sec is the difference between life and death, but I've only had that problem at 2 points in the game. The animations are great, the "feel" is what I would expect a Jedi is actually supposed to fight like.

I guess bottom line is if you are more of a Min/Maxer then go Watchman. I just think that you get more immersion playing Combat.

[Ashu-ri]

I'm still using Combat spec and with great success.

 

For me it comes down to playing style. I prefer bursts of damage as opposed to damage over time (dot). And for me, the Blade Rush and Blade Storm combinations and the bonus in Arturu forrm make a huge difference. I do have a standard rotation which, of course, I have to modify during a fight from time to time but it is effective and great deal of fun when bringing down an elite or champ.

 

So... in my view it comes down to this, Watchman stacks burns and heals (a little bit) for DOT while Combat does big damage and stacks Armor penetration to finish a fight quickly. Which do you prefer?

 

The changes in 1.2 will really help me, but I'm satisfied with Combat and can hold my own in most situations.

 

I prefer outright damage to bleeds as a well, a holdover from grouping when a target might have to be cc'd, which is why I switched to combat stance.

[TristQueloon]

Maybe you guys can help me out then.

 

Im a level 42 Sentinel.

 

Up till 35 I was watchman, and decided to give combat a try.

 

At level 35 as watchman i would usually do around 240k in warzones.

 

Since switching to combat, and gaining 7 levels, my highest warzone was 143k dps.

 

I dont think im playing it wrong.

 

 

My basic rotation for the most part is

 

Leap

Zealous

Precision

if Combat Trance has proc'd his Bladestorm, If not BladeRush then Bladestorm

Masterstrike

 

When ever I have enough for zen i load up on focus

Hit Zen, precision, and then just bladerush spam untill the last ammount of focus and blade storm.

 

I really like combats utility, immobilizes, run speed boost, and playstyle. But to be honest I feel like i have to work twice as hard, and have sub par effectiveness.

 

I really want to like combat, but watchman was just easier for more dps. So what am I doing wrong?

[grunttwice]

I changed from combat to watchman around level 28 and it has made such a difference. I highly recommend watchman spec.

[LeonBraun]

I changed from combat to watchman around level 28 and it has made such a difference. I highly recommend watchman spec.

 

Combat really starts to shine later on... It's not as good as it needs to be in the 25-35 area levels... It's very good beyond that and I absolutely love my combat Sentinel.

[nachoman_randy]

I played both, full columi.

 

I know the rotations.

 

With all that said, Watchman is superior to Combat in everyway. Is not perception.

 

Watchman is THE sentinel tree for everything, hope this change in 1.2, but until then go watchman.

[PowerReaper]

Watchman all the way, the healing, the steady damage, the epic interrupts ( Force Kick and no minimum range Leap ) is awesome. Can Combat do that? can combat heal all the time in Zen? don't get me started on how we build Focus and Centering faster not to mention Merciless Slash. My opinion go Watchman!!!

 

Damage Rotation

 

Force Leap - If you get far into Watchman there's no minimum range...

 

Overload Saber

 

Zealous Strike

 

Cauterize

 

Merciless Slash ( if you have it, if not use something else )...

[PowerReaper]

I played both, full columi.

 

I know the rotations.

 

With all that said, Watchman is superior to Combat in everyway. Is not perception.

 

Watchman is THE sentinel tree for everything, hope this change in 1.2, but until then go watchman.

 

I couldn't agree any other way, Watchman destroys Combat in everything.