How viable is assault for pvp?

[PacificaSolaria]

Would that be this? http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#8000cZMckZfhbbdGhrs.1

 

 

I'm still in the early 20s with my commando and I'm curious should I rush up the assault tree before putting the rest of the points into medic and gunnery trees?

Edited April 25, 2012 by PacificaSolaria

[Senscith]

Not sure which would be better, the extra 3% crit or not having my **** pushed in whenever I try and cast Charged Bolts.

 

I've been running 0/10/31 pretty successfully the last few days. Though my crit is low as hell since battlemaster gear is terribly itemized still.

[azhrione]

Would that be this? http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#8000cZMckZfhbbdGhrs.1

 

 

I'm still in the early 20s with my commando and I'm curious should I rush up the assault tree before putting the rest of the points into medic and gunnery trees?

 

That spec is missing some very important skills.

 

If doing this for PVP, then Degauss and Reflexive Shield are a must. I am not a fan of Nightvision Scope since it doesn't reduce casting time.

 

This is how I run Assault for PVP: http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/skills/commando#30-732-92ki1eek3

 

If you must use it for PVE swap Parallactic Combat Stims for Rapid Recharge

 

As an added note, Gunnery is flat out better than Assault in every WZ other than Huttball. Right now you have to burst down players taking heals. DOTs invite removal or just ignoring them in favor of healing. The biggest issue is that your triggered ability (Plasma Cell) which most of your other skills require to be truly effective is RNG dependent. If the RNG gods do not favor you, your dps WILL suck. Gunnery is just more consistent and has a stronger buildup into burst.

 

In regards to leveling, I strongly recommend you stick with Gunnery since it is a straight shot up the tree. Assault requires you put 7 points into Gunnery before you really move up the tree. Muzzle Fluting is an absolute requirement if leveling as Assault which at least gets you Havok Rounds, but it leaves you well into your 40s before you flush out the Assault tree.

[PacificaSolaria]

So even post 1.2 Gunnery still out does Assault? The few commandos I've talked to in game suggest that Gunnery is just spamming Grav round which now leaves you with an empty bar. That doesn't sound fun at all, hence why I am interested in Assault.

[azhrione]

So even post 1.2 Gunnery still out does Assault? The few commandos I've talked to in game suggest that Gunnery is just spamming Grav round which now leaves you with an empty bar. That doesn't sound fun at all, hence why I am interested in Assault.

 

Anyone who casts Grav Round more than three times in a row in PVP without some sort of other rotation is likely a fool. It is no worse than it was before, and the ability to stack into heavy burst just outright trumps Assault in any WZ other than Huttball which presents a specific set of issues for Gunnery Commandos. Even if you are just spamming Grav Round and weaving in Full Auto procs, Cell Charger should take care of most of your ammo issues.

 

Even mobility isn't that bad, just like Assault we really only have two abilities that require us to plant ourselves, Full Auto and Grav Round.

[DarkSideTOR]

I'd love using Assault for PVP more, but it really needs an interrupt/pushback protection scheme built into the tree. I want to put 3 points into Field Training but that means I'd have to give up Steadied Aim. Less crit but more pushback protection?

 

They nerfed Charged Bolts by 10% in 1.2 but didn't give anything back to compensate so instead of forcing us to take Muzzle Fluting, they should make Weapon Calibrations give a flat alacrity increase like it does AND reduce the casting time of Charged Bolts/Full Auto when interrupted, OR give us Unshakeable buff for a few seconds after interrupts.

 

After all that's the strength of Assault right? the extra mobility. Makes no sense that you have to stop and cast CB to proc HIB.

 

Another thing, assault should place a healing debuff on burning targets if they dispell your DoTs.

Edited April 26, 2012 by DarkSideTOR
adding

[PacificaSolaria]

Anyone who casts Grav Round more than three times in a row in PVP without some sort of other rotation is likely a fool. It is no worse than it was before, and the ability to stack into heavy burst just outright trumps Assault in any WZ other than Huttball which presents a specific set of issues for Gunnery Commandos. Even if you are just spamming Grav Round and weaving in Full Auto procs, Cell Charger should take care of most of your ammo issues.

 

Even mobility isn't that bad, just like Assault we really only have two abilities that require us to plant ourselves, Full Auto and Grav Round.

 

Well I can say after last night I loathe Gunnery in PvP, though I did get a lot of huttball matches and people actually knew what an interrupt was. Planting to cast Grav round even twice in a row was a lot more trouble than I expected. Incendiary Round and HiB felt so much easier to get off.

 

In PvE though gunnery felt miles ahead of Assault. Again this is coming from a now level 25. How much does the dynamics change later?

Edited April 26, 2012 by PacificaSolaria

[azhrione]

Well I can say after last night I loathe Gunnery in PvP, though I did get a lot of huttball matches and people actually knew what an interrupt was. Planting to cast Grav round even twice in a row was a lot more trouble than I expected. Incendiary Round and HiB felt so much easier to get off.

 

In PvE though gunnery felt miles ahead of Assault. Again this is coming from a now level 25. How much does the dynamics change later?

 

Huttball is the lone exception, Assault really shines there since it's mobile and Hammer Shot can trigger a snare. Gunnery has big issues since the entire field is effectively a LOS object, the entire game is mobile, and we have no way bypassing obstacles.

 

The other games are defined by static points that have be attacked and defended, mobility is useful but not required and there are plenty of spots you can plant and go to town which makes Gunnery much better. I consistently hit 350-400k (good, but not great) in Civil War and Voidstar with Gunnery and I'm lucky to hit 200k with Assault.

 

At level 40 in Gunnery you get Demo Round and it'll help a lot and give Gunnery a better feel, as will the higher level Full Auto skills.

 

When using Gunnery remember you have a good amount of instant abilities.

 

Sticky Grenade

HiB

Demo Round

Hammer Shot

Concussion Charge

Shockstrike

Cyro Grenade

 

It isn't as immobile as it looks, with only Grav Round and Full Auto being abilities you really want to use that require you to stand still. I've found it pretty useful to also take a quick step between casts of Grav Round or Full Auto. A little movement between shots will allow you to put Flying Monkeys into bad positioning when they leap and could LOS a Sorc or Sniper. It doesn't have to be much, just a tiny adjustment in any direction.

[oaceen]

the problem with assault vs gunnery and saying one is immobile and the other isn't is the frequency of those channeled/cast abilities.

 

grav round and full auto are gunnery's bread and butter attacks

 

assault doesn't completely revolve around charged bolts. that said, moving around does hamper things a little bit. charged bolts and full auto are necessary for ion charger.

and instead of using charged bolts as assault's bread and butter attack, it's hammer shot. although it does a lot more damage in assault than gunnery, it's not as good as charged bolts (outside of getting plasma cell to activate).

 

 

assault is more mobile than gunnery, period.

but assault isn't 100% mobile. full auto and charged bolts are still necessary tools

[Srepos]

Assault Ftw! Gunnery is so fail its not even funny. I went gunnery last week just to see what they tweaked...... one warzone and i went back to assault. I'll take my 4.5 k plastique, 4k hib,1.5k FA, 4k HIb anyday over that action eating cant deeps through a paper bag gunnery spec. My only worry is that its gonna get nerfed on account of the powertechs/vangaurds.

[wishihadaname]

Wow, you guys really rolled with my thread. What do you think of this twist on the assault spec? I'm going for something of a heal/dps hybrid. Right now (lvl 20) its working well. I can break 150k dps and still get 75k healing. If I see a friendly in need of help, i'll switch cells to combat support and start healing. Once it looks like they are good, I switch back to plasma and its back to burning stuff.

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#800rdR0ozZMZbIMrzGGM.1

[kuey]

Wow, you guys really rolled with my thread. What do you think of this twist on the assault spec? I'm going for something of a heal/dps hybrid. Right now (lvl 20) its working well. I can break 150k dps and still get 75k healing. If I see a friendly in need of help, i'll switch cells to combat support and start healing. Once it looks like they are good, I switch back to plasma and its back to burning stuff.

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#800rdR0ozZMZbIMrzGGM.1

 

Interesting idea, however, your ammo usage will be horrendous.

[PacificaSolaria]

The only issue I really have in pvp now is healers, I'm having issues doing more damage than they can heal before a buddy comes along to help. This is also assuming Cryo Grenade & Concussion Charge are down. Will demo round or assault plastique provide a big enough burst to burn them down? Edited April 29, 2012 by PacificaSolaria

[driddo]

Ap, ir, pg, hib, tech overide, charged bolts, hopefully the hib procs.

 

Boom headshot.

[Gragus]

Wow, you guys really rolled with my thread. What do you think of this twist on the assault spec? I'm going for something of a heal/dps hybrid. Right now (lvl 20) its working well. I can break 150k dps and still get 75k healing. If I see a friendly in need of help, i'll switch cells to combat support and start healing. Once it looks like they are good, I switch back to plasma and its back to burning stuff.

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#800rdR0ozZMZbIMrzGGM.1

 

This is almost exactly the spec I run on my 48 mercenary. I chose increased stealth detection (nightvision scope) and recharged energy on stun/incapacitation (parallactic) over the snare and endurance. I run with Plasma (merc equiv) over Combat Support in all PVP and most FP encounters aside from boss fights. At 50, I will choose Kolto Bomb over Assault Plastique. The AOE heal is simply that important, and I use it constantly since it's instant and I'm always on the move.

 

In PVP, this spec is much less "turret-y" and hella fun. You need great situational awareness of enemies and friendlies to know when to DPS vs heal. You'll want to stay mobile which, incidentally, helps with heat/ammo regen. Moving in between heals instead of using the ghostbuster beam (well, green lasers on my merc) prevents you from getting targetted as much. Most folks who aren't brain dead will switch to the guy shooting the giant green beam or, worse, mark him which will make his life hell. When heat/ammo becomes an issue, just can run around rapid/hammer shotting people proc'ing the DOT. This DOT is underrated and I suspect it contributes a ton to overall damage.

 

It is uncommon that I DON'T hit top-3 in BOTH damage and healing in a WZ. The gap to dedicated healers can be quite large, though. This makes sense, as I usually spend >50% of my time DPS'ing.

 

I know things may well change at 50, but this hybrid spec is VERY fun and effective right now.

 

Incidentally, the playstyle is quite similar to my Assault Vanguard, which makes it easy to switch back and forth between the two!

Edited April 30, 2012 by Gragus

[Pavixx]

I would say that CM/Gunnery is a better hybrid build

Something along the lines of

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#800rfR0RbcdkZMIkbR0z.1

or

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#800rfR0RbcdkVZMIk0o.1

Position is super important in these builds as you are very much immobile but you can heal pretty well and be moderate DPS when needed.

How I would play that is to spot heal if anyone below 60% HP. If everyone is > 60% and things look to be under control (healers aren't being mauraderaped) then help burn down the DPS's target.

 

If you wanted to use your own build (I can see how you would like the mobility. I'm a huge fan of Assault, myself) I would drop Combat shield and supercharge cells but that's just imo

I certainly wouldn't stop using plasma cell at any point. No sense giving up the GCD/cast time for the tiny heal and you don't benefit enough from supercharge cells to make it worthwhile.

 

Seems like its an ok build if you aren't trying to fill both roles at once.

[Jinkblade]

If you want to spec assault you should have rolled vanguard.

[Gragus]

If you wanted to use your own build (I can see how you would like the mobility. I'm a huge fan of Assault, myself) I would drop Combat shield and supercharge cells but that's just imo

I certainly wouldn't stop using plasma cell at any point. No sense giving up the GCD/cast time for the tiny heal and you don't benefit enough from supercharge cells to make it worthwhile.

 

Seems like its an ok build if you aren't trying to fill both roles at once.

 

I agree with his build, aside from the points in Soldier's Endurance. I find Combat Shield to be extremely helpful in PVP, and it only costs a single point. Same with Supercharge Cells in PVE when I'm running Combat Support.

 

I concur with running Plasma Cell over over Combat Support in PVP. Plasma's DOT damage is significant compared to the miniscule heal (and "hey everyone, I'm a healer" flag) of Combat Support. Not to mention, with Plasma Cell you aren't complete dead wood when out of ammo. You can run around hammer shotting until the DOT procs, switch target and repeat. All while your ammo regens.

 

I think the Gunnery/CM hybrid would be similarly effective, but that is much too stationary for my own tastes. Hence I've no experience with that build.

 

Too bad they gutted CM/Bodyguard. I just don't see enough goodies at the top of the tree to invest all those points, especially considering what you can get in the other two trees.

 

And, well, I'm now sort of addicted to the DPS+heal hybrid playstyle.

Edited April 30, 2012 by Gragus

[Gragus]

If you want to spec assault you should have rolled vanguard.

 

I used to think that too, until I spec'd 12/2/27 on my Mercenary. In terms of pure offense and utility, yes my Assault Vanguard is stronger. But my Merc isn't far behind, and I can usually score top-3 in healing at the same time.

 

In my book, that's pretty effective.

[Jinkblade]

I used to think that too, until I spec'd 12/2/27 on my Mercenary. In terms of pure offense and utility, yes my Assault Vanguard is stronger. But my Merc isn't far behind, and I can usually score top-3 in healing at the same time.

 

In my book, that's pretty effective.

 

My statement stands

[Gothon]

So I started reading this thread yesterday. I have to say once you ignore the jerk off saying roll Vanguard you can get a lot of useful info. I spent most of my time leveling combat med or gunnery. Spent a little bit of time as a hybrid CM/Gun. Up until yesterday Gun was my favorite spec hands down for dps. I had tried Assault several time but could never really get a handle on it. When specing assault it always seemed like I was a free kill in WZ. That was until I read this post yesterday. Once getting the full grasp of how important hammer shot is to assault and putting explosive shot back on my hot bar life became much easier. I love assualt spec now, I cant get enought. My survivability went up. Once mach last night on civil war I did not die a single time while leading on damage and kills. That was in solo ques btw so no pocket healer to save my butt. Yes I know that it was full of baddies but still as gun at some point someone would of noted me standing still and killed me. Not sayin assault is the end all be all but I did have a lot of fun and that's the important part:cool:

[Pavixx]

So I started reading this thread yesterday. I have to say once you ignore the jerk off saying roll Vanguard you can get a lot of useful info. I spent most of my time leveling combat med or gunnery. Spent a little bit of time as a hybrid CM/Gun. Up until yesterday Gun was my favorite spec hands down for dps. I had tried Assault several time but could never really get a handle on it. When specing assault it always seemed like I was a free kill in WZ. That was until I read this post yesterday. Once getting the full grasp of how important hammer shot is to assault and putting explosive shot back on my hot bar life became much easier. I love assualt spec now, I cant get enought. My survivability went up. Once mach last night on civil war I did not die a single time while leading on damage and kills. That was in solo ques btw so no pocket healer to save my butt. Yes I know that it was full of baddies but still as gun at some point someone would of noted me standing still and killed me. Not sayin assault is the end all be all but I did have a lot of fun and that's the important part:cool:

I'm happy the thread was useful to you and most of all I'm glad you're enjoying your commando!

 

If you ever want any tips or have questions, feel free to post them on these forums and people will gladly help you out

[SneakyErvin]

Went from arsenal to pyro on my merc around level 40, havent looked back since. Changed the spec from 3/7/31 to 0/10/31 after 1.2 and it works really great.

 

The 3% crit from the heal tree just arent worth it compared to the 75% pushback reduction on your shot/cc.

 

Assault/pyro is a very viable pvp spec.

[FrogSkin]

I recently switched to Assault and am loving it. Also if you utilise Plastics/Incindary Round and Hib correctly you can have some nice spike damage.

 

Before 1.2 I played a Gunnery Commando and wouldn't have considered Assault.

 

Post 1.2 I gave Combat Medic a really try, however I found I was not able to heal while being smashed by a Marauder/Jug.

 

Assault spec as mentioned dose allow you to more easily kite the mallee enemies that see you as an easy kill.

 

As mentioned if I want to spike damage I can.

 

One last point, the whole its easy to negate a Assault Commando because you can remove out DOTs. Sure you can, but we can reapply them far quicker than someone can remove them while also throwing in additional damage. Once they get into a defensive mode we will win the war of attrition and we are nullifying there effect in the war zone.

 

Assault post 1.2 is the PvP spec that's more fun to play in my book.

[Rigsta]

If you want to spec assault you should have rolled vanguard.

 

I you wanted to use assault spec, and be a melee class, and have tanking options instead of healing options, then yes vanguard is more suitable.

 

Assault spec is perfectly viable for both PvE and PvP. Gunnery has higher DPS under ideal circumstances and a simpler rotation, but assault maintains higher damage while moving thanks to the DoTs, and increased single-target burst with assault plastique and the HiB cooldown reset.