Acento Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 I was just wondering what spec's different Mercs are trying to maintain DPS viability. I should mention that I am primarily concerned with PvE...PvP has always been secondary to me, and not something I usually bother speccing for. Pre 1.2 I was just like every other Arsenal specced Merc out there, but now with some of the changes, I decided to give Pyrotech a try. I used a cookie cutter spec (3/10/28) I found, that doesn't include speccing into Thermal Detonator. At first I was wary, but after seeing how much more attention I have to pay to heat management, I can kind of see why it's left out. I'm not sure I like the playstyle, and I'm especially having trouble finding a rotation that does anywhere near the damage I used to do as Arsenal. The spec is frustrating as well, as I don't see why I have to go into Tier 2 of Arsenal to get 2 key talents for Pyrotech (Muzzle Fluting and Upgraded Arsenal)...I can see why they're necessary, but it costs too much to get them, and I can't tell for certain if having those two talents is worth giving up Thermal Detonator. So far, I've worked out the following priority rotation: Incendiary Missile Rail Shot Unload Rail Shot (seems to me that most times I cast Unload, the proc that finishes the CD on Rail Shot happens) Power Shot as a CD filler. It works OK, but it seems to me that, if I'm going to be in a spec that is primarily based in DoT damage, I need more than just Incendiary Missile ticking. Fusion Missile doesn't really fit because it's heat cost is astronomical and has too long of a CD. Don't really know what else to put in here, other than do everything I can to ensure CGC is proccing. It also seems like, with as much as I'm using Power Shot, I would almost want to start stacking alacrity. It barely consumes much heat, but a 1.5 second cast for the damage it does just seems like a waste. Plus, at a 1.5 second cast, it almost keeps me as much of a turret as Arsenal did. Anybody have any [constructive] input here? I'd appreciate people leaving out "Just re-roll, we suck now" comments, as they don't help anyone become a better player. Somewhere, there's a BH spec and play style that can still keep up with the rest of them as long as the player knows what he/she is doing. I intend to stick with my Merc...I have a level 50 Mara and Sorc, and frankly, my Merc is my favorite, so I'm actually hoping to spur a discussion about the best way to stay at the top of the food chain. I don't believe it doesn't exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diddley Posted April 30, 2012 Share Posted April 30, 2012 (edited) Please show me your spec. You really need TD to keep your damage up! Also, get automated defenses. Pretty crucial to get TSO off cooldown, and remember to put it with fusion always, and use then whenever both are off cooldown i.e. at the front of your rotation to start. With all 3 of your dots up the damage is fantastic. The key to heat management is to weave in rapid shots which also keeps your cgc dot up. Also try not to put your heat above 50 if you can help it. Try : TD (sooner thrown, sooner off cd) - IM - Rapid shots (til dot up) - TSO + FM - Rail shot - unload - rail shot - Rapid shots - TD now off cd - power shot - rail shot - repeat etc, fitting fusion and TSO in, and keeping IM dot up when possible. In pve I find it hard to keep up sustained rotations as they are easy to get in a muddle but it's more or less like that. Remember to be smart with heat management and weave in those rapid shots. Cast times and channels are you friend. Be very hesitant when using power surge as it can tip you over the edge in heat management. Edited April 30, 2012 by Diddley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acento Posted April 30, 2012 Author Share Posted April 30, 2012 Please show me your spec. You really need TD to keep your damage up! Also, get automated defenses. Pretty crucial to get TSO off cooldown, and remember to put it with fusion always, and use then whenever both are off cooldown i.e. at the front of your rotation to start. With all 3 of your dots up the damage is fantastic. The key to heat management is to weave in rapid shots which also keeps your cgc dot up. Also try not to put your heat above 50 if you can help it. Try : TD (sooner thrown, sooner off cd) - IM - Rapid shots (til dot up) - TSO + FM - Rail shot - unload - rail shot - Rapid shots - TD now off cd - power shot - rail shot - repeat etc, fitting fusion and TSO in, and keeping IM dot up when possible. In pve I find it hard to keep up sustained rotations as they are easy to get in a muddle but it's more or less like that. Remember to be smart with heat management and weave in those rapid shots. Cast times and channels are you friend. Be very hesitant when using power surge as it can tip you over the edge in heat management. Thanks for your input...I can't believe I didn't think to use TSO with TM, but that makes a lot of sense, as does weaving in more rapid shots. I think my biggest question, related to my current spec, is how important are the 5 points put into the second tier of the Arsenal tree? Especially Stabilizers and Upgraded Arsenal...Do you have a spec you use that you could post? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diddley Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 (edited) This is the spec I use which is mainly for pvp: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#3000MZMckZMIMrzGrrs.1 I use TSO and rapid shots to manage my heat so went for improved crits. I also spec into both automated defenses AND energy rebounder. Perhaps controversial but both are great skills, particularly when energy rebounder is matched with degauss. I raid with this spec on the side and it works fine for me. However, if I was raiding the majority of the time I would go for a more heat manageable spec: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#300MZMckZMIrbzGhrs.1 Fwiw, I do not believe either spec really needs reduced power shot pushback (stabilizers) - for me it is not used often enough in my rotation (if it was more effective I might) though the 50% you have spec'd for is interesting for PvP. For PvE you should not need stabilizers at all though. Edited May 1, 2012 by Diddley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poe_ Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 (edited) I tried Arsenal again last night, after speccing pyro last week, I just wanted to go back. Sadly, it was crap. I was effective in warzones, and wasin the top 5 or so for damage overall, but clearly was less impactful than ever before. I just wish BW would respond to these issues, like the fact that our dps is supposed to be top-shelf, and that HSM seems not to be affected one way or the other with stacked tracer debuffs. Really am having a hard time without Dev responses to this. It's fine for them to play the 'lern2play' or 'you're in line with our dps targets now', but it seems like an entire Community of players is disgruntled. It's just sort of staggering. Pyro seems the only viable pvp merc spec atm. Sadly, it's no where near as fun as shootin' missiles imho. But meh, it's what we have to work with. Edited May 1, 2012 by Poe_ added info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twickers Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Still arsenal, I just love shooting missiles too much, though I'm currently working on a sniper too, so I can have another ranged toon to use for raiding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reno_Tarshil Posted May 1, 2012 Share Posted May 1, 2012 Still Arsenal, because I'm only Level 47 and stuff still dies when I launch a Barrage of Missiles Lasers and Rail Shots at them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Individual Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Im no spec. I rerolled. The class is absolutly worthless in my eyes now. I play mostly pvp, and I can't stand playing my bh in PVP. They get owned too hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Individual Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 Still Arsenal, because I'm only Level 47 and stuff still dies when I launch a Barrage of Missiles Lasers and Rail Shots at them. Just wait till you hit lvl 50. The game changes a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doozzer Posted May 2, 2012 Share Posted May 2, 2012 It also seems like, with as much as I'm using Power Shot, I would almost want to start stacking alacrity. It barely consumes much heat, but a 1.5 second cast for the damage it does just seems like a waste. Plus, at a 1.5 second cast, it almost keeps me as much of a turret as Arsenal did. there's nothing you could possibly do to improve this and stacking alacrity is a waste, and would produce no damage increase. The only thing you would gain is quality-of-life, seeing the shot go off faster. You have a 1.5 second global cooldown, which means that if you shoot off a 1.2 second alacrity-assisted missile, you're still waiting .3 seconds to hit the button again. You can't go any faster than 1.5, and if you did you would be sacrificing other desirable stats like crit, power, and surge to get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNinjaboy Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Right now Necromancer with Staff + Axe / Warhorn. I'm thinking about trying out the Dagger / Dagger spec but I really like staff for WvWvW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phrase Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 BH/BM It's a bit tricky at first but with a dps pet like a cat, or a dot pet like a lizard, you should do alright. The Enforcer set works best with this build. Just remember the first priority is keeping your pet alive. If I were to go full BH spec I would spec into Rifles with the Flawless set, esp with a good acid/ kinetic rifle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ImariKurumi Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 I went full Bodyguard spec as a DPS BH cos i see my DPS almost as high as a Full DPS Spec ROFL... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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