3 Days as an Advanced Prototype on live: An in-depth Pyro BH’s look

[dardack]

Thanks for the replies. Very annoying when I pop all my CDs and then watch people stand in the graphic and take no damage, lol.

 

 

 

Yeah, defintely BS.

 

I will probably skip picking it up. I am not having problems with anyone getting away from me on live anyway.

 

I only have issues with your pub jedi healers running around pillars in VS sometimes. Are you Tactics on your vanguard? You should post your toons name in your sig so I knew it was you.

[CrunkShizzle]

you said you pvp'd

 

im kinda curious how the changes to ap in 1.2 are gonna effect that.cuz im thinkin since im gettin up there close to 50 on my main about rollin alts and powertech was one of the class's i looked at that looked fun

 

advanced prototype looked more appealing then pyro and the changes to it looked more pvp based to me then pve

[Cryowolf]

I only have issues with your pub jedi healers running around pillars in VS sometimes. Are you Tactics on your vanguard? You should post your toons name in your sig so I knew it was you.

 

Yeah been tactics since this weekend (tried it before, but have been assault mostly). Planning to stick with it into 1.2 and beyond. I absolutely love it for Huttball. Scored more this week than the whole time as assault, haha.

 

Sig updated

[dardack]

Yeah been tactics since this weekend (tried it before, but have been assault mostly). Planning to stick with it into 1.2 and beyond. I absolutely love it for Huttball. Scored more this week than the whole time as assault, haha.

 

Sig updated

 

TY. Good to know another is semi active on forums.

 

Yea i've been AP for about a month now. I originally went to it because of the insane amount of HB i get as Imp. Learned to really love the play style.

[Terrorshard]

I simply can;t switch and try it against because it requires the combat tech set and I am stuck with eliminator.

[dardack]

I simply can;t switch and try it against because it requires the combat tech set and I am stuck with eliminator.

 

Only took me a week of dailies to get CT after having Elim. In 1.2 be super easy with just WZ comms to buy.

 

BUt i ran in Elim for that week and was fine.

Edited April 11, 2012 by dardack

[Terrorshard]

Only took me a week of dailies to get CT after having Elim. In 1.2 be super easy with just WZ comms to buy.

 

I got my full elim about 2 weeks ago and haven't had a BM comm since. I am have serious bad luck lately.

[Karandor]

I got my full elim about 2 weeks ago and haven't had a BM comm since. I am have serious bad luck lately.

 

Honestly the 15% crit on RP is not a big deal for AP spec. Sure it hits hard but it is not the main focus of the build like it is with Ironfist.

[Coramac]

I got my full elim about 2 weeks ago and haven't had a BM comm since. I am have serious bad luck lately.

 

Eliminator is fine to run with Tactics. You lose out a little bit, but it's nothing worth worrying about. The set bonuses for Combat Tech do not benefit the spec on near the level that Eliminator benefits Assault.

[exphryl]

Totally off the wall.

 

But I personally like to use Two Piece Combat Medic and Two Piece Combat Tech when I spec AP. Having the longer energy shield, even just a few seconds, is pretty amazing. Longer Carbonize is obvious.

 

Like the above poster said, the 4 PC is "nice" but kind of Meh. Rather stay alive longer to do more damage then rely on a "chance" of a crit.

 

Same for my use of PvE Combat Tech for the Damage bonus over BM Elim for Pyro. Although I'm forced to use that 15% crit bonus with patch

Edited April 11, 2012 by exphryl

[CrunkShizzle]

Honestly the 15% crit on RP is not a big deal for AP spec. Sure it hits hard but it is not the main focus of the build like it is with Ironfist.

 

so what is then

 

cuz i thought rp(assuming you mean rocket punch)was kinda one of the main skills in the rotation i saw for ap

 

but i dont know,i kinda take sithwarriors guide with a grain of salt since apparently they dont know how to make a rotation list without putting the same abilities twice

 

iron fist looks kinda fun though from videos i watched so i dont know,i might end up tryin it if its still viable in 1.2

Edited April 11, 2012 by CrunkShizzle

[Karandor]

so what is then

 

cuz i thought rp(assuming you mean rocket punch)was kinda one of the main skills in the rotation i saw for ap

 

but i dont know,i kinda take sithwarriors guide with a grain of salt since apparently they dont know how to make a rotation list without putting the same abilities twice

 

iron fist looks kinda fun though from videos i watched so i dont know,i might end up tryin it if its still viable in 1.2

 

None of the set bonuses are that big a deal for tactics. 15% crit on RP is nice but it doesn't make or break the spec like 15% on RS for pyros.

[dardack]

so what is then

 

cuz i thought rp(assuming you mean rocket punch)was kinda one of the main skills in the rotation i saw for ap

 

but i dont know,i kinda take sithwarriors guide with a grain of salt since apparently they dont know how to make a rotation list without putting the same abilities twice

 

iron fist looks kinda fun though from videos i watched so i dont know,i might end up tryin it if its still viable in 1.2

 

Flame Burst is your main ability (This is assuming a non RS build).

 

Many of us go Non RS build to be able to spam FB, get 5 stacks quicker, and not have heat issues. We ONLY us RB when it's free. So the 4pc is meh for many of us. Even in a RS build it's probably still meh.

 

Just haven't decided what I want. Ob the 2pc for combat tech is awesome. Just haven't decided if i want to go 2pc medic or just stick with 4pc CT.

[CrunkShizzle]

hmm

 

do they have any builds that use retractable blade and rocket punch more though.i mean,i dont really wanna go ap and use a bunch of fire related skills,id go pyro if i wanted that

 

or is iron fist pretty much what id want in that regard

Edited April 11, 2012 by CrunkShizzle

[dardack]

hmm

 

do they have any builds that use retractable blade and rocket punch more though.i mean,i dont really wanna go ap and use a bunch of fire related skills,id go pyro if i wanted that

 

or is iron fist pretty much what id want in that regard

 

RB is meh. It's weak even with the buffs for the heat it costs. If you go RS build then sure use it, since the bleed ticks will proc the RS auto crit buff. But remember RB is more of a bleed effect, not a main heavy hitter.

 

You can use RP more, esp if you spec into the 2 points in Pyro. But TBH, the CD is what 10 seconds, between it being auto free from immolate, and 30% from FB. It's always free for me when it comes off CD.

 

Sounds like you want a RS build more then a non RS build tho.

[Agooz]

hmm

 

do they have any builds that use retractable blade and rocket punch more though.i mean,i dont really wanna go ap and use a bunch of fire related skills,id go pyro if i wanted that

 

or is iron fist pretty much what id want in that regard

 

Rocket Punch I can understand, but what is your obsession with RB? it's prob the worst talent ability PTs have. That said, here is a build that I am seriously considering myself. It is a tank pvp spec that relies on HO instead of Jet charge, which I think is many cases is better. It also makes use of Rocket Punch as its main damage ability. I would use Combat Tech set with this spec.

 

http://r2-db.com/skill-tree/calculator/9/bounty-hunter/powertech#build=f1fe00e002f2ec6e1000600000000

Edited April 11, 2012 by Agooz

[CrunkShizzle]

it gives the dot to use rail shot though

 

from what ive read about,the chances to use rail shot are less with advanced prototype then they are with pyro just cuz of how pyro works

[Blurps]

None of the set bonuses are that big a deal for tactics.

 

Yup. The 15% on both RP and RS are kinda useful ( the RS/non RS debate is being blown way out of proportion here tbh ), but both attacks are medium priority at best. If you're running AP in Ion I'd argue the Supercommando set bonus is best in fact and I don't even rate that one.

[Blurps]

Rocket Punch I can understand, but what is your obsession with RB? it's prob the worst talent ability PTs have. That said, here is a build that I am seriously considering myself. It is a tank pvp spec that relies on HO instead of Jet charge, which I think is many cases is better. It also makes use of Rocket Punch as its main damage ability. I would use Combat Tech set with this spec.

 

http://r2-db.com/skill-tree/calculator/9/bounty-hunter/powertech#build=f1fe00e002f2ec6e1000600000000

 

I've tried that and did better with the staple 8/31/2 running Ion. Imo the additional points in Shield benefit you less in offense as well as defense than going the AP tree up to the top.

 

Shield Vents and Rebraced Armour are PvE talents, in PvP you'll run with a generator rather than a shield anyway and there's just too much stuff ignoring armour straight away. Ion Screen is pretty decent for 2 talent points but so is 20% less damage when being stunned and that's when you will most likely need damage reduction the most anyway.

 

Making pretty much any use of Flame Shield required me to go into melee much more often than I was comfortable with, AP works best as a close quarters rather than a melee spec. In addition not having Flame Surge really hurt the damage potential of RP and that's probably the point most detrimental to this build. If you take the risk going into the melee you have to make sure the impact is being felt by your opponents and Iron Fist just does a better job at that.

 

If a melee build is what you're looking for otoh you'll really want to avoid the dreadfully terrible middle tree of AP. Spending four points on the bad joke that is Serrated Blades and the occasional free RP just to have HO rather than Jet Charge ? Not worth it by a long shot imo.

[CrunkShizzle]

I've tried that and did better with the staple 8/31/2 running Ion. Imo the additional points in Shield benefit you less in offense as well as defense than going the AP tree up to the top.

 

Shield Vents and Rebraced Armour are PvE talents, in PvP you'll run with a generator rather than a shield anyway and there's just too much stuff ignoring armour straight away. Ion Screen is pretty decent for 2 talent points but so is 20% less damage when being stunned and that's when you will most likely need damage reduction the most anyway.

 

Making pretty much any use of Flame Shield required me to go into melee much more often than I was comfortable with, AP works best as a close quarters rather than a melee spec. In addition not having Flame Surge really hurt the damage potential of RP and that's probably the point most detrimental to this build. If you take the risk going into the melee you have to make sure the impact is being felt by your opponents and Iron Fist just does a better job at that.

 

If a melee build is what you're looking for otoh you'll really want to avoid the dreadfully terrible middle tree of AP. Spending four points on the bad joke that is Serrated Blades and the occasional free RP just to have HO rather than Jet Charge ? Not worth it by a long shot imo.

 

so pretty much,if i wanted a melee spec that wasnt pyrotech it would be better to go iron fist then full ap?

 

i mean,i figured since.iron fist is a tank spec,that if i wanted to do both pve and pvp that it would be better to go full ap cuz i dont wanna go pyrotech.but i dont know,ive heard people using tank specs and wearing pve gear and still doing good damage so maybe its different in this game then my last and you can still be a viable dps with a tank spec

Edited April 12, 2012 by CrunkShizzle

[Blurps]

so pretty much

 

for a dps spec,its eather you spec pyro or just forget playing a powertech?

 

i dont wanna go pyro,which is why i wanna go ap

 

 

iron fist looked kinda fun though(well at least from a vanguard point of view,but taugrim makes more vanguard videos then he does powertech i guess).but i figured,if i wanna do pve content with this toon and dps.its better to go a full dps spec then a tank spec,which is what i thought iron fist was

 

Iron Fist is a PvP tank spec providing a good mix of survivability, utility and damage and ( before 1.2 ) it's tanky enough for most PvE content.

 

DPS isn't the purpose of either IF nor the build linked by Agooz though and both specs will be substantially behind damage centered ones. If you don't like Assault, full Tactics running in High Energy Cell would be your pretty much only other option. Personally I think it works well enough in PvE, most of the tree's issues are PvP specific. I'm not much of an expert on PvE content in this game though.

[Kothakk]

TheOpf - Man i love you, i honestly do. I cannot wait to try AP. And Im reading everything here to soak up as much intel as possible ... please please PLEASE do a 1.2 AP guide. Please!

[CrunkShizzle]

actually in terms of ap,i just found something that i remembered i didnt really like hearing about ap

 

is it right that theres like,no margine for error in your rotation.meaning if i didnt have a perfect rotation that my dps would suck

 

i mean overall in general im not planning anything serious just doing warzones,maybe puggin a operation up every now and then and flashpoints but i just found the thread that i remembered hearing that in

[Mapex]

actually in terms of ap,i just found something that i remembered i didnt really like hearing about ap

 

is it right that theres like,no margine for error in your rotation.meaning if i didnt have a perfect rotation that my dps would suck

 

i mean overall in general im not planning anything serious just doing warzones,maybe puggin a operation up every now and then and flashpoints but i just found the thread that i remembered hearing that in

 

It's really not that difficult. It's a priority rotation; just make sure you are keeping Immolate on cooldown, using Rocket Punch only when it is Heatless, and otherwise spamming Flame Burst to get more PFT stacks and unleashing Flame Thrower at 5xPFT stacks. If you want to use RB and RS, feel free to throw those in liberally (only RS when it's a crit, which should be often enough tomorrow).

 

It is more involved than PyroTech's FB/RP into RS rotation for sure, but that rotation was a broken rotation that is going to be drastically changed tomorrow as well. PyroTechs will be weaving many more abilities, especially blaster attacks, so there will be more cooldowns to juggle for them as well.

Edited April 12, 2012 by Mapex

[Fredcat]

Nice post OP, you pretty much summed up why AP is the least desirable spec right now. Hopefully BioWare will beef it up in the future.