is there any reason to keep playing a sentinel

[LeonBraun]

finished my 1st chapter, banged my head against the *********** wall all night just to beat angrel and now I am just sent on more errands to fight unbalanced mobs and elites that are on my level that i have to whack at forever at 61 damage a hit and use all my cooldowns and heals just to stay alive to the end where 3 attacks doesnt burn down the enemys last 200 hp

 

is the rest of leveling from 33 t0 50 going to be this underpowered because I play alts to have fun not die and fustrate myself to the point that I am starting to hate my character (and this game)

 

just wandering if i am ever going to beable to do some damage to or if the future quests are reasonably soloable or at least fun to do and not banging your head against the wall [because I know that everyone likes to spout off about how easy this game is but there are some really unbalanced areas and quests that kill all of you forward progression]

 

It gets better after Chapter 1, in both story and gameplay. The Sent really does not shine until after Chapter 1 talent/gameplay wise...

 

After Chapter 1 you should be fine.

[Vis-Tecum]

I have a hard time deciding what my answer to this question is. Marauder was my first class in SWTOR, and I *loved* the challenge of it. It made the game very fun and is what made me decide to buy/sub (jumped in on a friend trial).

 

Afterwards, I tried some other classes, and was surprised to find that they all seemed far easier to play.

 

So no, I don't think it's "balanced" on the the skill level required to play it. Other classes are easier, no question. I don't want to discuss if it's balanced in terms of optimal play compared to optimal play for other classes, that's not relevant to this thread.

 

That said, I hope they don't change it personally. I love playing the class far more than others because of the challenging "rotation", and the low margin for error. I wouldn't quit over it, but I would be annoyed.

 

Also, I feel like Guardian/Juggernaut is more iconic to the Star Wars universe than Sentinel/Marauder, how many iconic Star Wars characters DW sabers? And the Gaurdian/Juggernaut (so I am told, haven't tried myself) is much easier to solo. If you just want to try the story, try those.

 

i dont nessasrily find the ability intensive gameplay to be the difficult part but there is deffinatly something about the combat tree that I am not understanding. it should not be this hard to burn down 1 elite on my same level, and also everyone seems to claim the sentinel has awesome surviveability but as soon as i pull aggro my health drops in huge chunks very fast

 

the difficulty I am having a problem with is that there is no room for error with the lack of suriveability. I feel that if there is a ability I dont get off right away it equals death. no cushion just do the optimal rotation and do it perfect every time or die.

[Vis-Tecum]

well I got him [lvl 32 class quest guided by the force sith harrower] down to 200 hp on the last try but same thing as all the times before, at the end of the fight my dps goes to crap and I feel like I am just whacking at him for something to do not for any damage

 

he gets a buff at the end of the fight but the tool tip does not say what it does only how long it lasts

 

why does this fight seem even harder than the horrible Angrel fight

 

hopefully by the end of the week I will be able to advance my story again

[Vis-Tecum]

It gets better after Chapter 1, in both story and gameplay. The Sent really does not shine until after Chapter 1 talent/gameplay wise...

 

After Chapter 1 you should be fine.

 

I sure hope I can get there one day to find out

[LeonBraun]

Personally I play Combat and absolutely love it... It's one of the things that I totally love about this game...

 

I have a thread here somewhere I made about how to play a Combat Sent... I'll have to find the link for you...

 

Ah, yes... Here.

 

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=370936

[Onyx]

Unless I missed it, I don't see what AC(s) you're using. I have been playing a watchman/combat hybrid and having great luck with that spec for leveling. I've been running way under-level on quests. I got my 4th companion at 36 and finished chapter 2/got my final companion as I hit 37. I have not pvp'd as of yet--more because I've been enjoying doing other things than anything--and haven't had issues gaining levels or fighting.

 

In re-reading through your comments in this thread, I almost wonder if you are over-thinking it.

 

The damage you say you are doing sounds very low and you're burning through types of buffs that I rarely, if ever, use. I have never used adrenals, didn't use relics (beyond equipping them) until level 42. My stim-use is sporadic, usually I'll have an endurance one active for quest boss fights. Med-packs I have to use once in gold-elite fights, some of the time in silver-elite fights and rarely in normal mob fights. Heroic moment I usually only need for end-of-quest gold-elite bosses.

 

I'm going to guess that once you get your healing companion (you're close to that now) and learn to adapt to fighting with him at your side, things might be easier for you.

 

So a few questions in addition to which advanced class(es) you have points in:

1. What stance are you keeping active?
   
2. Are you using Zen as much as possible?
   
3. Have you tried not "saving" the cooldowns on the higher-damage attacks? i.e. doing as much damage as possible as soon as possible
   
4. Which stats are you trying to maximize most?
   

 

I had one more to ask but it escaped my mind completely:( I'll post it when I remember it.

 

I do feel that fights got a lot easier after chapter 1 than during it, so don't dispair. It's a fabulous class to play though perhaps it may be less forgiving than others.

[Gerinth]

well I got him [lvl 32 class quest guided by the force sith harrower] down to 200 hp on the last try but same thing as all the times before, at the end of the fight my dps goes to crap and I feel like I am just whacking at him for something to do not for any damage

 

he gets a buff at the end of the fight but the tool tip does not say what it does only how long it lasts

 

why does this fight seem even harder than the horrible Angrel fight

 

hopefully by the end of the week I will be able to advance my story again

 

I hate to break it to you, but there's 3 Harrowers. Be sure to wait for your CDs for each fight. They enrage when they get low health. Pretty sure it made them immune to stuns, and hit harder. Probably the buff you were seeing.

[Vis-Tecum]

Personally I play Combat and absolutely love it... It's one of the things that I totally love about this game...

 

I have a thread here somewhere I made about how to play a Combat Sent... I'll have to find the link for you...

 

Ah, yes... Here.

 

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=370936

 

thanks I have been reading up on it all day trying to figure out what Im doing wrong but just cant land the kill

 

you post is really easy to read though so hopefully I get something out of it this time around

 

thanks again

[Onyx]

well I got him [lvl 32 class quest guided by the force sith harrower] down to 200 hp on the last try but same thing as all the times before, at the end of the fight my dps goes to crap and I feel like I am just whacking at him for something to do not for any damage

 

he gets a buff at the end of the fight but the tool tip does not say what it does only how long it lasts

 

why does this fight seem even harder than the horrible Angrel fight

 

hopefully by the end of the week I will be able to advance my story again

 

That little section was annoying to me--I had more trouble with the Harrowers than I'd had with most other elites up to that point.

 

Here's a trick I used. Fight one (or more) of the other mobs in the area to get Zen ready to be triggered. Then, activate Zen immediately after force leaping onto the harrower. If you feel comfortable managing your force stasis cooldown, try to make the second time you use it right after you come out of camo and have switched aggro to your companion (that's if you aren't sending the companion in first).

[Vis-Tecum]

I hate to break it to you, but there's 3 Harrowers. Be sure to wait for your CDs for each fight. They enrage when they get low health. Pretty sure it made them immune to stuns, and hit harder. Probably the buff you were seeing.

 

oh I am painfully aware I have to do this 2 more times if I ever beat this first guy

 

would it have been so hard for bioware to throw people like me a bone and make one of the harrowers lvl 31 so I can just farm him 3 times and all the super elite can still go after the harder guys if they want the challange or put a champ with a chest to reward the hardcore players with a little challange and better reward insted of going haha you suck you cant play anymore thanks for cash sucker

 

I cant even get any help on this dead planet

Edited April 4, 2012 by Vis-Tecum

[hfxRos]

oh I am painfully aware I have to do this 2 more times if I ever beat this first guy

 

would it have been so hard for bioware to throw people like me a bone and make one of the harrowers lvl 31 so I can just farm him 3 times and all the super elite can still go after the harder guys if they want the challange or put a champ with a chest to reward the hardcore players with a little challange and better reward insted of going haha you suck you cant play anymore thanks for cash sucker

 

I cant even get any help on this dead planet

 

This may have already come up, but are you keeping your gear up to date? Most specifically, level appropriate blue/purple quality saber hilts? They actually make a huge difference, more-so than other gear pieces.

[violentarea]

sigh i hear they are going to buff sentinels in next patch which imo is absolutley laughable sentinels are hard to play yes but when u play them right u do more dps than most dps classes by a long way. I mean really stop whining about your class being broken when it clearly isnt because i for one do not want to have sentinels buffed because then they will literally be unstoppable in pvp pve anything. instead try learning your class and bettering yourself as a player not begging bioware to fix something that doesnt need it at all!

[Vis-Tecum]

This may have already come up, but are you keeping your gear up to date? Most specifically, level appropriate blue/purple quality saber hilts? They actually make a huge difference, more-so than other gear pieces.

 

orange gear lowest mod is a 26 purple all other mods are 30 - 32 I also have a good earpeice with augmented implants and good modable sabers a 30 blue and 32 blue hilt everything else 30+ only my crystals are 26 probably need new ones

 

I am new to mmos but am a long time rpg player so I am good at keeping my gear and stats up to level, for some reason I just am not getting something about this class.

 

everytime I get right to the end of the fight and the harrower enrages [i guess the tool tip say nothing] and my dps and defense goes to 0 [not really but close] and I can not land that killing blow

 

that last fights I am also keeping blade ward, pacify and my defense relic till he enrages but I am still not able to survive long enough to burn down that last 1-2k hp before I die

Edited April 4, 2012 by Vis-Tecum

[Vis-Tecum]

sigh i hear they are going to buff sentinels in next patch which imo is absolutley laughable sentinels are hard to play yes but when u play them right u do more dps than most dps classes by a long way. I mean really stop whining about your class being broken when it clearly isnt because i for one do not want to have sentinels buffed because then they will literally be unstoppable in pvp pve anything. instead try learning your class and bettering yourself as a player not begging bioware to fix something that doesnt need it at all!

 

very constructive

 

so what rotation did you use at lvl 30 that is so super awesome that you pawned everthing in your way

[Vis-Tecum]

Unless I missed it, I don't see what AC(s) you're using. I have been playing a watchman/combat hybrid and having great luck with that spec for leveling. I've been running way under-level on quests. I got my 4th companion at 36 and finished chapter 2/got my final companion as I hit 37. I have not pvp'd as of yet--more because I've been enjoying doing other things than anything--and haven't had issues gaining levels or fighting.

 

In re-reading through your comments in this thread, I almost wonder if you are over-thinking it.

 

The damage you say you are doing sounds very low and you're burning through types of buffs that I rarely, if ever, use. I have never used adrenals, didn't use relics (beyond equipping them) until level 42. My stim-use is sporadic, usually I'll have an endurance one active for quest boss fights. Med-packs I have to use once in gold-elite fights, some of the time in silver-elite fights and rarely in normal mob fights. Heroic moment I usually only need for end-of-quest gold-elite bosses.

 

I'm going to guess that once you get your healing companion (you're close to that now) and learn to adapt to fighting with him at your side, things might be easier for you.

 

So a few questions in addition to which advanced class(es) you have points in:

1. What stance are you keeping active?
   
2. Are you using Zen as much as possible?
   
3. Have you tried not "saving" the cooldowns on the higher-damage attacks? i.e. doing as much damage as possible as soon as possible
   
4. Which stats are you trying to maximize most?
   

 

I had one more to ask but it escaped my mind completely:( I'll post it when I remember it.

 

I do feel that fights got a lot easier after chapter 1 than during it, so don't dispair. It's a fabulous class to play though perhaps it may be less forgiving than others.

 

sorry I missed your post earlier but to answer you questions

 

-combat tree with combat trance speced

-ataryu stance

-yes when I can

-I have tried many diffrent rotatoins my first ones did burn my damage cooldowns right away but now I have them more paced and try to make sure master strike and blade storm are not on cooldown at the end when he enrages to try to burn down his last hp faster but this does not seem to be working

-I stack power on my armor and have high crit stats on my ear and implants just for some crit chance

[Vis-Tecum]

if any body has advice on the best way to counter the fury reborn buff that the harrowers get I would appreciate it, it triggers at about 3500 hp and I can not burn his hp down before he kills me from there

[Vis-Tecum]

well 40k and all day banging my head against these harrowers and 2 down 1 to go

 

starting to feel heroic

[Droidist]

I think the trick should be easy to play, but hard to master. I know we have all heard this elsewhere, but it makes sense and it works.

[Darianth]

finished my 1st chapter, banged my head against the *********** wall all night just to beat angrel and now I am just sent on more errands to fight unbalanced mobs and elites that are on my level that i have to whack at forever at 61 damage a hit and use all my cooldowns and heals just to stay alive to the end where 3 attacks doesnt burn down the enemys last 200 hp

 

is the rest of leveling from 33 t0 50 going to be this underpowered because I play alts to have fun not die and fustrate myself to the point that I am starting to hate my character (and this game)

 

just wandering if i am ever going to beable to do some damage to or if the future quests are reasonably soloable or at least fun to do and not banging your head against the wall [because I know that everyone likes to spout off about how easy this game is but there are some really unbalanced areas and quests that kill all of you forward progression]

 

See if your gear is up to par Im lvl 29 with almost good gear and im hitting 100 with my base attack almost every hit

[Darianth]

sadly this is what i get is my only option from reading this forum and similar ones at darth hater torhead and mmo champ. that really sucks because I really wanted to play through the jedi knight story line but it is such a irritating class to play.

 

and this sucks because now I dont get to experiance the story for the most iconic class in starwars because I am not a hard core mmo player who hasnt been grinding away in wow for the last 7 years. I am a long time rpg player and know how to level and gear up [though mmo gearing is lame and restrictive] but that is not how mmo are designed and if you dont play the class exactly how the game wants you to play it then you die and die and die and die and die and die.....

 

the other classes I have played, merc, scoundral, trooper, and shadow were fine and I have fun on those characters but the jedi sentinel is wearing me down and is not fun to play. I mean the rotation and abilities are fun and the story is awesome but my surviveability and damage is crap and makes even a single strong feel like I am fighting boss level hp [its not, I just dont burn it down at a reasonable rate] and taking way to much damage

 

really all i think the class needs is 1 or 2 more low level abilities that actually do straight damage and not tickle the enemy while building.

 

Keep t7 tanking away(make sure his gear is up to date) and you can wack away all you want and not have to worry about getting pushed around so much

[Onyx]

if any body has advice on the best way to counter the fury reborn buff that the harrowers get I would appreciate it, it triggers at about 3500 hp and I can not burn his hp down before he kills me from there

 

Did you see my comment on having Zen available at the beginning of the fight? That makes a world of difference in some fights. You take less damage at the outset, which can give an edge later on.

 

Also, since you said you are stacking power, I found that in some fights--especially those where I was taking a lot of damage--bumping endurance up really helped.

[Veniras]

granted I am a mmo noob

Me too. Been learning a lot about that fast though. (The need/greed-options threw me at first )

 

First the actual advice:

1) Somebody said it before - but it is key - so I reiterate. Use interrupts on those heavy abilities the enemy uses.

2) As me you are combat-specced. Use Slash (spam it when Zen is up) from time to time. It does damage. Zealous Strike everytime you're low on focus. And of Course cauterize helps too and should be used everytime it's up.

3) Pacify! Don't forget to use pacify!

 

Don't start with Force Stasis. Use Zealous instead. Use Stasis as an interrupt or just a breather when things get hairy.

 

3) Rebuke should only be used after they start hitting you. If you are using T7 then this is usually after he is dead (as he holds aggro like a champ).

 

what is really turning me off is the no room for mistakes playstyle, it seems if you are not absolutly on top of every second and make no mistakes, you just MIGHT be able to survive.

That might be true. I like the challenge of that, but I agree. Sentinel is an "on the edge"-char.

 

I know this is a mmo but I just dont like to play like that. its like having your older brother beat the end boss for you, did you really beat the game then?

Totally agree. For me it's easy decision. The non-heroics are meant to be soloable. If I can't solo one (on level), then I need to learn some strategy. I like the strategic aspect, being an old RPG'er too.

 

as a mmo player do you feel that this class is balanced for a varying level of skill or only for the players that want a difficult class to play?[/Quote]

Not sure. My sage was easy to play until I hit Voss (where the difficulty level went somewhat up). But then again he was usually over-leveled. I do think the playstyle is easier though.

 

Guardian (easier than sentinel, due to more survivability) and Sentinel is more difficult, I think. Mainly based on the need for focus-balancing. Some fights I hardly look up, but look at the cooldowns instead of the fight. :-/

I feel that this class is not designed for a casual player or new player which is sad that they didnt put enough effort in to game design to actually make the class enjoyable for new and veteran players alike, being that it is the most iconic starwars classe with arguably the most important conclusion to the story.

you might be right, it might not be the class for "casual" players.

When I started the game I thought the ordinary mob-fights were too easy with my sage. There was no need for strategy until I encountered heroics and elites. So when I started the guardian I liked the added challenge of focus-generation (and loved the leap). Which kept me going.

Edited April 4, 2012 by Veniras

[Veniras]

As assassin I could come to the planet being 4 (!) levels under the planet's level and finish the story arc.

 

Dude. That is not intended. And just freakish

[ShawnSixtyTwo]

Lots of good advice in here. Glad to see you're making progress, too.

 

I'm also a total MMO n00b and stupidly assumed the Sentinel would be the easiest to play. I was SO wrong and am SO happy about it. After taking my sent to 50 all others seem trivial. In fact, I can't really get my alts rolling because I'm still having fun getting better at the dailies with my main.

 

It WAS, however, a mighty struggle for me at times. My biggest mistakes were not using my interrupts, not really understanding focus, and completely ignoring centering because I just plain didn't get it. I also didn't fully appreciate the value of orange gear and taking commendations instead of a new piece of green gear that got me a small stat gain probably until well into the 30s.

 

The OP as well as others I've seen on the forum have called the class "iconic". I agree. But I don't think it fails to live up to that status nor do I think that to do so it should be easier to play. The Shelby Cobra is an iconic car. It is also a handful to drive at its limits. That's what we are - the Cobra of the Old Republic. Big engine, short wheelbase.

 

Of course, that said... I find myself green with envy every time i see consulars use their CC and Troops clear a room with their mortar shot... but I digress.

 

I can't offer a whole lot more advice than others here already have: keep gear up for you and your companions, use your interrupts and defensive cooldowns, kill groups starting with the weakest and working up, and try to keep a level or three above your quests to make things less painful. Just know that you're not the only MMO virgin that got his/her butt kicked by this class at first and that you'll be better off for it in the end.

[kivanos]

if any body has advice on the best way to counter the fury reborn buff that the harrowers get I would appreciate it, it triggers at about 3500 hp and I can not burn his hp down before he kills me from there

 

Not sure if you are still struggling with this or not but the easiest counter is to run away while this buff is up. It sounds stupid but they get a huge damage buff, and take almost no damage (in face I think they might be immune all together. Don't remember for sure)

 

It is still a difficult fight, you will be limping along the finish line but you can do it. Unfortunately companions are going to get trashed by this ability, but you just have to make sure you have enough gas in the tank to finish up.

 

As far as general tips go there was a lot of good information. I struggled with my sentinel at first, but now it is my favorite character. I still die when I run mental auto pilot but that is part of the fun.

 

I'll just give my few tips in for general leveling.

 

1. If you are getting hit every 5 seconds or so hit rebuke. It is best used when you can get the full duration out of it, and it is one of the most important abilities you have.

 

2. Stuns are absolutely vital. You have no decent CC unless you are fighting a droid so anything you can do to interrupt damage sources use it. Force sweep on cool down for any pull with more than one standard or weak enemy. It will help hedge off damage

 

3. Master strike. Use it. Most often it is best used on targets it will also stun. Not only will it stop them from hitting you, but it will likely kill them, or bring them to near death in the span of 3 seconds, at no focus cost.

 

4. Use your defensive CD's liberally. The only CD I didn't use all the time was blade ward and that has got me killed a few times because I have a habit of trying to "Save it for something important". Usually when you find you are in that moment it is already too late. It is better to survive and have to wait on a cool down than to keep dying and get frustrated, because then you start to make mistakes.

 

5. Elites are a gamble, but it is a dps war. Use your important tools early and often. Rebuke, pacify, force stasis, blade ward. Also use cauterize no matter what spec you are. It's a low focus cost DoT and will make a huge difference.

 

6. Finally sents become exponentially more powerful as they get more talents to support their base skills. All classes show that to some extent but it is more true with sentinels than any other class I have played. Once you get that level 40 talent power you start to feel godly.

 

 

Keep at it. It is one of the hardest classes to play, as you are a single target melee class but it is a hell of a lot of fun once you start crushing things.