Vanguard Soloing

[Carandrian]

Greetings! I'm looking to add a tank to my roster and was considering a Vanguard. But I have a question for the veteran Vanguards out there...

 

How well does the SS Vanguard handle solo content? I'll have access to some limited grouping opportunities with friends, but it's very erratic, so I'll do a good amount of soloing as well. I've tried a JK Guard a bit and sometimes he doesn't always feel as 'tank-ish' as I'd expect, especially with storyline boss fights. How does the Van feel?

 

I thank you in advance for your time and feedback!

[rabnnod]

I have been leveling up a Vanguard as an alt on a new more popular server and the solo experience has been hit and miss early on but around 20 you get a healing underling and things get a LOT easier. Things got a lot easier when I got Ion Cell as well. Not that things were difficult but it took some LoS and medpacs / stims for me to clear a few of the heroics solo. If you are not trying to solo heroics then you shouldn't have a problem other then unfamiliarity with the class.

[Galbatorrix]

You'll get Elara (healer) at around level 23-24. After that, it is impossible to die with any solo quests (well, at least up until level 40, which is where I'm at.. about to go to Quesh) and if you're like me, and are always out leveling the planets you're on, you can some times do Heroic 2's by yourself as well (normally just depends on the quest.. one gold plus 2 strongs is normally fine. 2 or 3 golds... uh, no. Though most champions/bosses are easy for me if they are by themselves.. though they do normally take a while to bring down).

 

Either way, it's awesome. I'll Mortar Volley a bunched up group, sticky grenade, storm in, grapple the ranged guy shooting me from afar, and then pulse cannon the lot of them (not to mention the satisfying "crunch" sound when I stock strike!). I love how mobile the class is. So much fun to play.

 

I'm not sure about the DPS specs though... I've been in tank spec since I started.

Edited April 24, 2012 by Galbatorrix

[Philosomanic]

Yeah, even DPS spec it's really a great class for soloing. You should never, ever have an issue with content made to be soloed. I'm actually running with Aric Jorgan (DPS companion) for speed kills. Even against multiple strongs or a lone elite, I've yet to die without making several horrible mistakes. I only need Elara (healing companion) for elites with backup. My server's pretty active, so I haven't had issues finding a group for Heroics. However, I have done 2-man heroics where I was tanking and my companion was healing, and we got through just fine. I'd imagine that soloing it would be the same but slower.

 

Even though we can do fairly well while soloing difficult content, Vanguards truly shine for landscape PvE. We have such overwhelming amounts of AoE that it's not funny, and the ability to do ranged damage as we close means for faster kills. Mortar Volley has a 1-minute cooldown, and it stuns and kills all normal/weak enemies within it's 5-meter radius. Sticky grenade -> Pulse Cannon will wipe a group of normal/weak mobs down to extremely low health, and one Explosive Surge is usually enough to finish them. You'll tear through quest mobs crazy fast, and with very little downtime.

 

On a side note, I'd strongly recommend going Armormech. All of your companions (or at least your ranged DPS and healer) take heavy armor with aim. This means that by going Armormech, you can keep yourself geared out and gear out your companions without much extra effort. Aric Jorgan has better gear than many players I run into. We're both running around in purples and augmented blues.

[Carandrian]

I have been leveling up a Vanguard as an alt on a new more popular server and the solo experience has been hit and miss early on but around 20 you get a healing underling and things get a LOT easier. Things got a lot easier when I got Ion Cell as well. Not that things were difficult but it took some LoS and medpacs / stims for me to clear a few of the heroics solo. If you are not trying to solo heroics then you shouldn't have a problem other then unfamiliarity with the class.

 

Is it safe to assume that all three of the tank classes are similar in this regard? That they have their squishy moments until they get their healing companion?

 

My only concern is that with the lower dps of the tank spec, that our healing companion might not be able to out heal the incoming damage from yellow stars faster than we can drop the boss. But if I read the responses correctly, my concern is incorrect.

 

Thanks.

Edited April 24, 2012 by Carandrian

[Keypek]

Easiest class by far to solo on, especially as a SS or ironfist spec. Pull out Aric and burn stuff down for easy kills and pull out Elara and simply never die to anything again.

[Sanzorz]

Is it safe to assume that all three of the tank classes are similar in this regard? That they have their squishy moments until they get their healing companion?

 

My only concern is that with the lower dps of the tank spec, that our healing companion might not be able to out heal the incoming damage from yellow stars faster than we can drop the boss. But if I read the responses correctly, my concern is incorrect.

 

Thanks.

 

I can't say regarding the other classes, but later on when you get decent gear and more talents, you certainly don't feel squishy anymore. Typical caster mobs that deal elemental or internal damage are your bane, so try interupt or lock these down for minimal damage. Any other mob dosen't damage you alot. You'll only struggle a little in the beginning due to limited skills and talents, but after that and possible after pimping a damage companion then you will fly through content.

 

Elara will be your "better safe than sorry healer companion", but she's incredibly slow and healer comps have low damage. As previously stated, then go with armormech for easily upgrading your companions. The only one being an issue is M1-4X, but you can buy gear with commendations, Market or mission rewards. Personally I skipped using Elara, went with Aric, Forex later in full damage gear rather than a tank, Tanno in full damage aswell as he's a bit easier to manage due to melee and in the end with Yuun being the melee damage ****** he is. In many cases you can manage elite types without a healer. Yes, you will have to rest a bit, but this is fast and easy compared to using Elara.

[Eldrimner]

I thought I was the only one using a dps companinon. It was just so much faster to clear packs of mobs with them. Killing champs was easy because you could just let him take aggro at start, let him have it until his health dropped and then taunt the mob. Or if things went really bad just "run around a pillar" holding aggro while he dps the mob.

[Carandrian]

So it sounds like running with a dps comp, except for end story bosses is the most efficient way to go?

 

And if so, is there any dps difference between equally geared companions I'd dps mode?

 

Thanks!

[Sanzorz]

So it sounds like running with a dps comp, except for end story bosses is the most efficient way to go?

 

And if so, is there any dps difference between equally geared companions I'd dps mode?

 

Thanks!

 

I think using a dps companion is far more efficient than using Elara. People tend to believe they have no downtime, but in theory they do as they take longer to kill mobs and Reload heals you insanely quickly after the fight.

 

As for the dps companion difference, then switch to Forex as fast you can after gearing him abit. Aric hits hard, but his dps is worse as he's a burst type. This means his inbetween shots that often overkill mobs make him slower comapred to Forex that constantly fire with his blaster rifle.

After that go with Tanno as he is melee. He'll be able to walk between targets and dish out damage easier, as Forex has to be managed with his close range abilities. If you however are bothered to manage this, then Tanno can't keep up in term of dps.

Yuun in the end will be your final option. He jumps into battle and more or less insta frag the first target from his channeled damage burst. Tanno is much like Qyzen Fess, which have a small attack delay due to their weapon draw and using their charge. Properly geared, which is easier now with moddable tech staves, then Yuun crit champions easily for 3k on hits.

[FourPawnBenoni]

Fighting groups of more than 3, bring a DPS companion otherwise your energy will run out and you'll be peppering them with hammer shot and it just takes a while.

[Wallsie]

Fighting groups of more than 3, bring a DPS companion otherwise your energy will run out and you'll be peppering them with hammer shot and it just takes a while.

 

If you don't understand how a sustained dps rotation works, then yeah. You should be rotating your ammo cost abilities with Hammer Shot to keep your regen at its highest. This is a pretty basic trooper mechanic.

[Gragus]

Another tip for quicker soloing is line of sight (LOS) pulling on groups. Shoot the nearest mob from max range, run around some terrain feature (they seem to be able to shoot through most trees, though) and then use pulse cannon when they're all bunched up. Sticky grenade to clean up. Easy peasy. Oh... if using LOS on the pull, put your companion on passive until you AOE.