Help me not to suck in PvP

[Suprakh]

LvL 50 Marauder with the Carnage cookie cutter spec (http://db.darthhater.com/skill_calc/sith_warrior/marauder/#::f4ef8ef4ce7fe10f6ef12:)

 

I'd like to stay in Carnage but I want to improve in PvP.

So far my absolutely best round is somewhere around 10 medals and 140-150k dmg.

Which I know sucks pretty bad since there are always other marauders doing way more in each match.

 

So my gear isn't the best but I'm working on improving that as well. (hence the PvP)

 

What I'm looking for is more specific tips on how to improve myself in PvP and what to consider in a match. I've read the awesome PvP guide located here: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=249025 but now I'm looking for you guys who more than often excel in the matches.

 

Who to target? What to look for? etc...

 

(yeah I know it's a L2P issue mainly but hey, that's what I'm trying to do here)

 

Thanks in advance.

[Ruction]

Make sure that you're focusing on objectives. It's going to get you further if you focus on winning than focus on topping damage meters.

 

Focus Healers first priority (unless someone is attempting to ninja an objective or carry the ball), and then squishy DPS.

 

I'm not sure what to say and what you know so I suppose I'll just wrap it up by saying that you need to learn to enjoy PvP. If you're trying to avidly PvP and not enjoying it, it won't work, and you're most likely going to do bad.

 

Good Hunting!

[Omite]

This small change to your build might help.

http://db.darthhater.com/skill_calc/sith_warrior/marauder/#::f4ef8ef5e18f6ef12:

 

Using the point you left out and moving 1 from Narrowed Hatred to cloak of Carnage.

Getting more rage is always good. Nothing worse than trying to pop an ability in PvP just to notice that you have no rage left and battering is on cool down.

 

I recommend reading the Mach 5 Massacre sticky too. It helped me a lot with my rotations.

[Blloodbane]

I play a Carnage Mara as well and let me tell youa few things...

 

Your attacks have penetration value, especially with gore, so expect lower damage numbers.

 

My spec doesnt use narrow hatred as I sit in mostly BM gear (2 pieces missing) and my accuracy is 103% which is good enough.

 

I dont use Enraged Assault either, as i only need to use battering assault occasionally to build some rage and I am not stuggling for rage after that, if some how I am, battering assualt is usually refreshed.

 

Cloak of pain is your primary defense and decent for damage when people attack you, and it builds rage for me, especially now I have a big target symbol painted on my chest.

 

I also went with Decimate, if your in a big cluster of baddies in PVP, some might be low on health, if you have good situational awarness you can spot the opertunties to use it and squeeze out a kill or two. But you can use those 2 points else where easily. If I ever ditched this, it would be for Narrowed Hatred over Enraged Assault.

 

The rest of it is just taking time to learn your class, learn how other classes fight you, pick your target, and learn the WZ's (I find that makes a huge difference as well).

Edited April 16, 2012 by Blloodbane

[atreyuz]

LvL 50 Marauder with the Carnage cookie cutter spec (http://db.darthhater.com/skill_calc/sith_warrior/marauder/#::f4ef8ef4ce7fe10f6ef12:)

 

I'd like to stay in Carnage but I want to improve in PvP.

So far my absolutely best round is somewhere around 10 medals and 140-150k dmg.

Which I know sucks pretty bad since there are always other marauders doing way more in each match.

 

So my gear isn't the best but I'm working on improving that as well. (hence the PvP)

 

What I'm looking for is more specific tips on how to improve myself in PvP and what to consider in a match. I've read the awesome PvP guide located here: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=249025 but now I'm looking for you guys who more than often excel in the matches.

 

Who to target? What to look for? etc...

 

(yeah I know it's a L2P issue mainly but hey, that's what I'm trying to do here)

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Keybinds. Do you use em?

 

Seriously all the rest is secondary, if you do not keybind.

 

After that...like the others said focus healers sorcs/sages pref...or squishy dpsers or bad geared people(especially these guys).

Even tanks IF bad geared and with GORE up just MELT, but they should be the lowest priority anyway.

 

And get that BM gear, should be easy nowadays to full it.

Edited April 16, 2012 by atreyuz

[Dacer]

A big difference in a 1v1 situation and in over all group fighting.

 

Ppl tend to underestimate how well our -90% accuracy debuff works.

 

Use it: no rage cost and with carnage it has a larger range.

 

like when an assassin sneaks up on you:

 

you can break their opening rotation with our mezz, hit them with the defuff deadly throw( because they love running in circles) battering- massace -gore- ravage -scream.

 

Its a great counter to those other bursty dps classes.

[Suprakh]

Thanks for all the tips.

 

I usually go with these rotations:

If no rage >> Battering assault - Deadly throw - Gore - Ravage - Force Scream - Massacre

Then spam massacre and just add rage builders when necessary.

 

If I've got enough rage >> Deadly throw - Gore - Ravage - Force Scream.

 

Sometimes I throw in crippling slash if they start to run away.

 

I've stopped using Force charge as the first attack on as I've noticed I get punted away alot. So I save it for closing in after being punted/snared etc...

 

I think full BM gear will help alot with the damage aspect so I guess I'll keep working on getting it. And hopefully learning some more tips & tricks in the process.

 

Thanks again for all the tips.

[Yescek]

This small change to your build might help.

http://db.darthhater.com/skill_calc/sith_warrior/marauder/#::f4ef8ef5e18f6ef12:

 

A small tweak, take Narrowed Hatred instead. The extra 1 second isn't going to make as much difference when you compare it to being able to take even MORE Accuracy OUT of your gear and replace it with something like crit or power. Gear Flexibility > 1 second extra any day.

[CrazyAl]

A small tweak, take Narrowed Hatred instead. The extra 1 second isn't going to make as much difference when you compare it to being able to take even MORE Accuracy OUT of your gear and replace it with something like crit or power. Gear Flexibility > 1 second extra any day.

 

agree with this

 

stagger is a sub par talent

 

narrowed hatred allows for more flexibility in your gear, which equates to more power/surge/crit

 

so take stagger out and 1/2 in cloak of carnage, and put 3/3 in narrowed hatred intead

 

then swap out accuracy enhancements when you get to much

[Stavroz]

LvL 50 Marauder with the Carnage cookie cutter spec (http://db.darthhater.com/skill_calc/sith_warrior/marauder/#::f4ef8ef4ce7fe10f6ef12:)

 

I'd like to stay in Carnage but I want to improve in PvP.

So far my absolutely best round is somewhere around 10 medals and 140-150k dmg.

Which I know sucks pretty bad since there are always other marauders doing way more in each match.

 

So my gear isn't the best but I'm working on improving that as well. (hence the PvP)

 

What I'm looking for is more specific tips on how to improve myself in PvP and what to consider in a match. I've read the awesome PvP guide located here: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=249025 but now I'm looking for you guys who more than often excel in the matches.

 

Who to target? What to look for? etc...

 

(yeah I know it's a L2P issue mainly but hey, that's what I'm trying to do here)

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Solution is easy.

Its usually a 3 step solution the road map to not sucking but seeing as you already are a marauder u can bypass the "reroll a Mara" step

 

SO

 

STEP ONE

 

Don't mouse click your abilaties and don't keyboard turn

 

IF STEP ONE Does note solve yor issues uninstall the game as u have no hope if u suck as a Mara

Edited April 17, 2012 by Stavroz

[Suprakh]

Solution is easy.

Its usually a 3 step solution the road map to not sucking but seeing as you already are a marauder u can bypass the "reroll a Mara" step

 

SO

 

STEP ONE

 

Don't mouse click your abilaties and don't keyboard turn

 

IF STEP ONE Does note solve yor issues uninstall the game as u have no hope if u suck as a Mara

 

Well this is the kind of post I wasn't interested in getting. While other people have been really helpful you think I should un-install the game if I don't rule as an Marauder? Well I'm not going to even if I'm the worst PvP player on the face of the earth. As I wrote before I play mostly PvE and I just want to improve in PvP because I find it quite fun as a different challenge to PvE.

 

But the general take-aways from your replies is that I should start using keybinds more frequently.

I will get that sorted in the next couple of days. I recon I can use my G15 better.

 

Thanks to all of you who actually took the time to give me some tips and tricks. If you have chars on Frostclaw look me up (Thrakk in-game) and we'll duel

[REiiGN]

It's alright bro, he should just unplug his computer because he sucks grammar. I mean really, there's a spell check on these things.

 

Anyways, he is correct on not clicking abilities and using hotkeys. Plus, he is also talking about just using the mouse for movement. That way you still got your fingers on them abilities.

[justinmichael]

Just wanted to add that I am a converted key binder. I used to use mouse (with some keybindings) and didn't understand all the fuss as I sucked at playing with keybindings. I decided to give it a try but it felt really unnatural, so I took the drastic step to actually unbind my movement keys until I got the hang of it. It has improved my control of PvP 10 fold. It is so much easier to target enemies on the fly but took my a couple of weeks to get used to. Keybinding next / nearest target really helps also as both are valid in different situations. Also find there is little point in keybinding things far away from your hand. The 7 / 8 keys can be very difficult to judge. I use a macbook so found the F1 - F6 keys just as easy to hit as 1 - 6.

 

Sounds like you have the carnage rotation sorted, I find ravage hits like a truck now (talent says +8% but I am feeling a lot more) and scream and ravage work great with gore (100% armour pen). Managing your defensive abilities is the hardest thing as a mara in my opinion as you have fury based cool downs that are all situational, buffs like cloak of pain and sabre ward and debuts like obfuscate. Finally there are the OMG buffs like Undying Rage and the best button in the world (which I forgot the correct name of) force camo(?). Managing all four types keeps you in the fray longer, doing more damage. Lastly, if you can remember to pop your stims and trinkets before the big fights you should manage to knock em down.

 

Massacre guarantees a crit on scream so use it so that you don't have to watch your ability bar for the buff window. Means you can focus on your next kill. I find trusting this helps a lot.

 

Still learning myself, but I think I am getting somewhere now and thought I'd post what I learned, as I have been (or still am in a way) in your position.

[Suprakh]

Just wanted to add that I am a converted key binder. I used to use mouse (with some keybindings) and didn't understand all the fuss as I sucked at playing with keybindings. I decided to give it a try but it felt really unnatural, so I took the drastic step to actually unbind my movement keys until I got the hang of it. It has improved my control of PvP 10 fold. It is so much easier to target enemies on the fly but took my a couple of weeks to get used to. Keybinding next / nearest target really helps also as both are valid in different situations. Also find there is little point in keybinding things far away from your hand. The 7 / 8 keys can be very difficult to judge. I use a macbook so found the F1 - F6 keys just as easy to hit as 1 - 6.

 

Sounds like you have the carnage rotation sorted, I find ravage hits like a truck now (talent says +8% but I am feeling a lot more) and scream and ravage work great with gore (100% armour pen). Managing your defensive abilities is the hardest thing as a mara in my opinion as you have fury based cool downs that are all situational, buffs like cloak of pain and sabre ward and debuts like obfuscate. Finally there are the OMG buffs like Undying Rage and the best button in the world (which I forgot the correct name of) force camo(?). Managing all four types keeps you in the fray longer, doing more damage. Lastly, if you can remember to pop your stims and trinkets before the big fights you should manage to knock em down.

 

Massacre guarantees a crit on scream so use it so that you don't have to watch your ability bar for the buff window. Means you can focus on your next kill. I find trusting this helps a lot.

 

Still learning myself, but I think I am getting somewhere now and thought I'd post what I learned, as I have been (or still am in a way) in your position.

 

Thanks for the great tips. I'm going to setup some more keybinds tonight. Maybe I'll even try the same approach you did and unbind my movement keys for a while until I get used to the keybinds.

 

Thanks again all for the helpful tips & tricks.

[furiousferret]

I play all 3 of my classes very well, and since I'm Annihilation I will give you 3 universal pieces of advice:

 

1. Dont overextend. As melee you have to be 'on' the target to do damage, and the field is typically set up with melee in the middle and ranged at the ends eating up melee. Do not be the first melee to attack. Wait for your opponent to attack your side, so then no only are you focusing him, but the ranged guys on your side are as well. Let them come to you, and be patient.

 

2. Self evaluation. After every encounter, ask yourself, 'what could I have done better?' There is always an answer, and once you start being honest and try to improve the next time, it really improves your skillcap.

 

3. Use every ability. I used to be 'wait until I need it' guy with long term abilities but now I try to use them whenever the situation calls and they're up. Obsfucate, Camo, Undying, Pred, etc. They all get used.

 

Thats about it, those things really help and remember its not all about damage. No warzone is won by damage. I'll argue that with anyone. Play the objectives, and be smart about your attacks.

[Grimnoire]

I play all 3 of my classes very well, and since I'm Annihilation I will give you 3 universal pieces of advice:

 

1. Dont overextend. As melee you have to be 'on' the target to do damage, and the field is typically set up with melee in the middle and ranged at the ends eating up melee. Do not be the first melee to attack. Wait for your opponent to attack your side, so then no only are you focusing him, but the ranged guys on your side are as well. Let them come to you, and be patient.

 

2. Self evaluation. After every encounter, ask yourself, 'what could I have done better?' There is always an answer, and once you start being honest and try to improve the next time, it really improves your skillcap.

 

3. Use every ability. I used to be 'wait until I need it' guy with long term abilities but now I try to use them whenever the situation calls and they're up. Obsfucate, Camo, Undying, Pred, etc. They all get used.

 

Thats about it, those things really help and remember its not all about damage. No warzone is won by damage. I'll argue that with anyone. Play the objectives, and be smart about your attacks.

 

I think people don't appreciate the importance of using every ability you have at your disposal. For example, if you die and any of your defensive cooldowns are still up; you're doing it wrong. There will be times when you get stun locked but that should happen pretty rarely.

 

Maras really shine at sticking to a target and burning it down to the exclusion of all else; one trick I find very useful is when you are running into a fight; try and leap to a target that has the lowest HP in the group. Remember that a player with 1% of his health still does 100% of his damage or healing. Taking a player out of the game is always the best option, even if there is a healer nearby.

Edited April 19, 2012 by Grimnoire

[Jemshank]

Disregard the 'if u suk as a mara u shuld quit' guy. He kind of sounds to me like he got killed by a competent marauder and is cranky about it. Marauder isn't really an easy to pick up for a lot of people, there are a lot of FOTM re-rolls who find that out the hard way. There are quite a few threads on here with people talking about how many buttons the class has to press. The class always came pretty naturally to me, personally, but I'm still a long way from being a marauder rock star.

 

I second what the others have told you, there is some wonderful advice in this thread. I just wanted to post my encouragement for you, and tell you to stick with it. Just keep practicing, keep developing your keybinds, and remember to stay mobile in fights. Outmaneuvering your opponent is a hell of an advantage.

 

Good luck!

Edited April 20, 2012 by Jemshank

[Lilouk]

Disregard the 'if u suk as a mara u shuld quit' guy. He kind of sounds to me like he got killed by a competent marauder and is cranky about it. Marauder isn't really an easy to pick up for a lot of people, there are a lot of FOTM re-rolls who find that out the hard way. There are quite a few threads on here with people talking about how many buttons the class has to press. The class always came pretty naturally to me, personally, but I'm still a long way from being a marauder rock star.

 

I second what the others have told you, there is some wonderful advice in this thread. I just wanted to post my encouragement for you, and tell you to stick with it. Just keep practicing, keep developing your keybinds, and remember to stay mobile in fights. Outmaneuvering your opponent is a hell of an advantage.

 

Good luck!

 

One of the best answers so far. Even some of the greatest marauders/sentinels will admit that they struggled, that they still haven't truly mastered the class. So yeah, anyone who says 'if you suck at mara quit' is talkin complete bull, it's not an easy class to master, it's a lot of trial and error.

[Suprakh]

One of the best answers so far. Even some of the greatest marauders/sentinels will admit that they struggled, that they still haven't truly mastered the class. So yeah, anyone who says 'if you suck at mara quit' is talkin complete bull, it's not an easy class to master, it's a lot of trial and error.

 

I have to agree and thank Jemshank. And yet once again thank everyone that took the time to help me out.

 

I've set-up my keybinds and are now in the process of getting used to use them in combat. And I have already seen some results in my performance. Although I am focusing on the main objectives first I can react faster to potential threats. I just gotta remember where my defensive cooldowns are

 

I've noticed that my biggest problems are keeping track of my Rage and remembering where my interrupts and defensive CD's are located. Sometimes I find myself looking down to find them and Bam..I'm dead. But it's getting there.

 

Got me some better gear as well which helps quite a bit. So I'm (much thanks to you) definately on my way to becoming a better PvP player and a better help for my team.

[Darth_Sookie]

Button 1: Force Charge

Button 2: Gore

Button 3: Ravage

Button 4: Viscious Throw

 

Repeat.

 

Rest of hotkeys: Undying Rage on every button.