mykaelmjr Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 I leveled up both a guardian and vanguard once the game hit and now I'm stuck trying to pick which one to dps with. My guild has enough tanks and during the interim I want to use one to dps and be able to OT on certain bosses. Which would be better in the dps department? My vanguard is currently assault and my guardian is vigilance. I will be leveling up a dps class during this but just want to know which will help out more with dps during that waiting period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skodan Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 i have a vanguard. i would say the vanguard (assault spec.) would be better in the sense that most attacks can be made out of melee range and can kite really well. once you get a good rotation going ammo isnt really a problem. im only a level 27, but i get 2, plasma cell burning (100% chance w/ ion pulse) and the incendiary grenade thing (18 sec) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthMarcin Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Yesterday I grouped with Guardian for Belsavis dailies and he basically massacred everything with his large AoE. I'd be ashamed to use nerfed 5-meter-radius "rain of pillows". So if it's AoE that you looking for - Vanguard is worse choice of the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philosomanic Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 I don't know how we compare to guardians, but I can tell you that we have infinitely better AoE than Shadows do. I'm only level 12, and I already have Sticky Grenade, Pulse Cannon, and Mortar Volley. Add in Aric Jorgan in AoE mode, and I'm shocked at how fast I can disintegrate a group of mobs. It's one of the many things I'm loving about the class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blurps Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 (edited) If you're talking PvE only all four of the two ACs' DPS trees should get the job done quite comfortably and the issues with usability of Focus and Tactics aren't really a problem. That said, let's have a look at the individual trees: Assault should provide the best single target damage by a considerable margin and you have the option to stay at range for a limited time if the encounter demands it, but with the 1.2 changes you can't just switch to tanky stance on the fly. Without Ionic Accelerator you're screwed. Tactics and Vigilance otoh will allow that with only minimal adjustments in playstyle, as a Tactics Vanguard you basically just have to be a little more conservative with ammo use and most Vigilance Guardians are sporting some form of Vigilance/Def hybrid anyway. WIth Commanding Awe now being a 5th tier talent those are even easier to design than before. Personally I think Tactics is still somewhat awkward and the general design of the tree needs more work. Focus provides excellent AoE damage and with the overall changes to Guardians is probably not far behind Assault in single target damage if the encounter allows you to stay in melee range, you also can switch to tank stance with less of a penalty than Assault, as the core mechanics of the tree will remain functional, but you don't get the improved defense and utility of Tactics or Vigilance. tl;dr: My recommendation: If you'll dps most of the time, go Assault. If you frequently have to offtank, go Vigilance. Edited April 18, 2012 by Blurps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts