Commando Hybrid Build Thoughts.

[Krendor]

I decided to roll up yet another char to take to 50 at this point I have already played the counter part to the Commando having both a 50 Merc/Pow BH. Both chars I've pvped up to rank 50+ and done all the current raid content. I've spent alot of time going over rotations and after looking at the same tree for the Commando going dps I came up with the following. With the changes coming in 1.3 and looking to maxamize dps I think this is probly one of the most viable builds. Its probly the first time I haven't gone with a pure 31 pointer. In this case giving up Assault plastique since we already have sticky grenade on the same cool down. This is what I believe is a small dps loss for dps gained thru other areas. Anyways posting it up to see what you guys think some of the points in support utility can be moved around to suit your needs.

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#8000cZMIkboZcIMbkGhM.1

[oaceen]

why go for field training when you can get burnout?

 

i would imagine a 30% increase in damage to all burns on targets below 30% would more than make up for 3% ranged crit

 

 

also, i would drop nightvision scope (i really want to love this talent, but it's never really useful), a point in soldier's endurance or target lock and get Degauss or Parallactic Combat Stims

[Krendor]

Alot more is going on then just that 3% crit thats really nothing by the time your end game geared your dumping crit for other stats. Either way its a trade off for 1% hps or defense plus other passives that are marginaly usefull in pvp. More of the synergy with this build comes from the armor pen from grav round while still being able to use plasma cell. While being able to make the most of frequently resetting high impact bolt for better burst dps. Burnout only works passed 30% and only has a benefit on mobs that are almost dead. Going that deep in Assault eats up atleast 8 points for marginal dps gains when that can be dumped back into Gunnery for gains that not only effect your dps but everyone elses.

[azhrione]

I fail to see the value in Field Training over Burnout if you are going with a Grav Round hybrid build. The reasoning being that Grav Round is Tech and gains the 3% Crit from Burnout. Since you are not using Charged Bolts the additional Ranged Crit from Field Training is less useful. The additional burn under 30% is amazing in both PVE and PVP and is a massive boost to DPS. This is hard to test on dummies because you never see it there, but test it on a boss and see.

 

Also since you are going 13 deep into Gunnery, Concussive Force is so much better to take than Charged Barrier. Charged Barrier is a nerfed almost worthless skill since it only applies 1% reduction per 1.5 cast. To get a 5% reduction in damage taken it takes 5GCDs or 7.5 seconds, and if you are taking a sustained 100dps over the course of a minute it will prevent less than 300 damage (considering the time to buildup). Concussive Force buys you that much or more mitigation by just removing the offending dps from range on a much shorter cooldown. Also consider that even Reflexive Shield is just as good and doesn't require the buildup. If you are taking 100dps, 12 seconds of 25% every minute is the exact same damage reduction as Charged Barrier, not to mention it also breaks snare/root when you use it.

 

To get the effect you are looking for I would build it like this:

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#800ZMIk0RZcGrrzhhMc.1

 

If I was going to build a hybrid Assault Spec, I would only attempt it for PVP and I would build it like this:

 

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

 

Note Kolto Bomb is designed to be used as an instant self heal, and I would gear using Combat Medic gear in order to maximize Alacrity to make sure Charged Bolts can be spammed with minimal chance for interruption. The other heals make you really tough to break down and give you something to do if your DPS is interrupted. Combat Shield, with the Combat Medic PVP set bonus, gives you 15 seconds of interrupt protection. So once the resolve bar goes full, pop this and hit them with everything you have as they're not stopping the casts. The problem is damage will not be as good, and you won't burst down any healers. However melee/ranged DPS should have fits with you, as you're pretty much impossible to kill.

[Krendor]

On my BH-Merc I did a very heavy healing/dps build that made me nearly immune to death unless 3+ people got on me though dmg wasn't really sustainable. Last night after a bit more time I moved the build around a bit playing off the full auto synergy resetting high impact bolt. I dropped the crit which was my intention after gearing up because its so easy to get over the soft cap. I did a few test runs last night in pvp and was alot more mobile as incendiary round allows you to go right into a high impact bolt. Followed by a full auto to reset if I have time to plant and not chase someone you can easily go into grav round spam, high impact, and reset it with full auto and keep your dot up. I was pulling over 400k mostly single target, which normaly I haven't seen those numbers unless I was aoeing large packs of players before the nerf to mortar volley/death from above. Also in this build giving up the dmg boost on dots below 30% I think is somewhat made up for by charged barell and rotary cannon which tie into the whole synergy I was talking about earlier in this specific rotation. Anyways this is what I changed over to let me know what you think.

 

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

Edited June 22, 2012 by Krendor

[oaceen]

Alot more is going on then just that 3% crit thats really nothing by the time your end game geared your dumping crit for other stats. Either way its a trade off for 1% hps or defense plus other passives that are marginaly usefull in pvp. More of the synergy with this build comes from the armor pen from grav round while still being able to use plasma cell. While being able to make the most of frequently resetting high impact bolt for better burst dps. Burnout only works passed 30% and only has a benefit on mobs that are almost dead. Going that deep in Assault eats up atleast 8 points for marginal dps gains when that can be dumped back into Gunnery for gains that not only effect your dps but everyone elses.

i'm not sure if you understand exactly what i was suggesting or if you think i simply don't understand how commando works.

 

 

also, i don't think you understand the importance of burnout, especially since you're giving up assault plastique (grav round is useful, but does not provide any burst damage).

 

and what 8 points are you talking about for 'marginal dps gains'? i'm talking about moving 3 points into something else. you already have 25 points in assault. you literally don't have to change anything around in your build... AT ALL except put the 3 points into burnout instead of field training. you're keeping the 3% tech crit and exchanging 3% ranged crit chance for a 30% boost to your burns on anything below 30% which is literally the only finisher commando even has.

[Krendor]

You need to read the build again it seems you didnt look at it after the first post. That will help you see why I said the 8 points shifted around getting burn out is alot more of a point invenstment then your seeing.

[oaceen]

You need to read the build again it seems you didnt look at it after the first post. That will help you see why I said the 8 points shifted around getting burn out is alot more of a point invenstment then your seeing.

you have a 3/13/25 build in your first post.

 

i'm suggesting a 0/13/28

 

how is that 8 points?

 

 

if you posted the wrong build, then by all means, ignore me.

if you're referring to the build in your 5th post, then i really don't know what to say as you posted that long after you said anything about 8 points (and the math doesn't add up to 8 points anyway)

Edited June 25, 2012 by oaceen

[TheMB]

I actually tried this build just last week (lol) when coming up with some builds to help Commandos in pvp. Results are is that it lacks a lot of DPS and has some poor ammo management in the process. Tested it out several times in 50 pvp and I just wasn't feeling that this build was hitting hard at all. I think the Assault Tree really requires a full 31 spec into it to produce high amounts of DPS. Commandos really don't have that much hybridization in them but there are some good build out there. But of course this is my opinion.

[azhrione]

On my BH-Merc I did a very heavy healing/dps build that made me nearly immune to death unless 3+ people got on me though dmg wasn't really sustainable. Last night after a bit more time I moved the build around a bit playing off the full auto synergy resetting high impact bolt. I dropped the crit which was my intention after gearing up because its so easy to get over the soft cap. I did a few test runs last night in pvp and was alot more mobile as incendiary round allows you to go right into a high impact bolt. Followed by a full auto to reset if I have time to plant and not chase someone you can easily go into grav round spam, high impact, and reset it with full auto and keep your dot up. I was pulling over 400k mostly single target, which normaly I haven't seen those numbers unless I was aoeing large packs of players before the nerf to mortar volley/death from above. Also in this build giving up the dmg boost on dots below 30% I think is somewhat made up for by charged barell and rotary cannon which tie into the whole synergy I was talking about earlier in this specific rotation. Anyways this is what I changed over to let me know what you think.

 

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

 

This build is silly, you are far better off going full Gunnery if you are investing all the way up to Rotary Cannon. Ammo management is a nightmare on this build because of the lack of Cell Charger. Sure you are going to get off a lot of HiB but the reality is that it is still roughly one every 15 seconds once you factor in the need to keep using Grav Round.

 

If you insist on sticking with it, then move the two points in Deadly Cannon to Tenacious Defense as Deadly Cannon is currently bugged and does not apply bonus damage to Full Auto. Also move Nightvision Scope to Parallatic Combat Stims, since one is an active, situational talent and the other is a passive and improves the worst aspect of the build, Ammo Management.

[Krendor]

So far I haven't had any issues with ammo managment if you spam like any class your going to end up useing your base atk. As for HiB you don't need to use gravity round very often unless your planeted. Thats the nice thing about the build is alot of mobility provided by incindeary round allows you to proc HiB and then refresh it with full auto. See Ionic accelerator 75% chance to reset it happens a lot more often then 15 secs I can proc 2 HiB's with in the GCD that it takes to fire full auto. Then reset and do the same thing over with the bonuses to HiB you can proc 6k hits easy for alot of burst dps. If your relying on just spamming grav round for armor debuffs then your not working this build properly. Right now my base rotation is IR,HiB,FA,HiB, mixed with GR or Mortar Volley etc until I pick another target for pvp. Pve the rotation is nearly the same just refreshing IR ever 15 secs followed by HiB,FA,HiB spam while stacking GR inbetween.