All things AdvProto: PvE Guide and Discussion.

[AshPrime]

I thought it might be beneficial to have a post out here to discuss the most efficient way to AdvProto dps. I'll add what I know, you add what you know, you correct me when I am wrong, and I'll try and update when I can. So without further ado:

 

Abbreviations

 

Abilities

IM-Immolate

RB-Retractable Blade

RP-Rocket Punch

RS-Rail Shot

RSac-Rail Shot AutoCrit

FB-Flame Burst

FS-Flame Sweep

FTh-Flame Thrower

Hgas- High Energy Gas Cylinder

Qu-Quell

DfA-Death From Above

RpS-Rapid Shots

VH-Vent Heat

HO-Hydraulic Override

 

Skills

FlBar-Flame Barrage

PWS-Prototype Weapon Systems

PFT-Prototype Flame Thrower

CG-Charged Gauntlets

PCV-Prototype Cylinder Ventilation

PB-Pneumatic Boots

 

Skill build:

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#301hMhZMsrbRrfkzsZb.1

 

This is a pretty standard build, I don't see too much variation, but some does exist. This build has the most efficient output of damage with some useful utility.

 

Stats:

 

Prime:

 

Aim-Most Important stat, increases ranged damage as well as crit chance. Highest priority from what I've seen.

 

Endurance- Not a dps priority as it only increases health, but still a good stat to have. Never stack endurance.

 

Cunning- Increases tech damage as well as crit chance. Much less important than Aim but still a dps increase.

 

Secondary:

 

Accuracy-Increases hit chance, I assume you will stack this to a cap asap.

 

Crit- Increases crit chance. I forsee this being pretty important to AP based on the skill PWS which increases the crit damage of immolate, flame burst, and rocket punch, where are your primary attacks.

 

Surge- Increases the bonus damage of from critical hits. A good stat to have whenever you have crits, and the skill CG gives auto Rail Shot crits.

 

Power- Increases melee, force, ranged, and tech damage. Good to have if you can get it.

 

Tech Power- simply increases tech damage. Found on weapons. We will be using weapons with this stat.

 

These stats are in no particular order considering I don't know their precise stat weights. However, based on skills it is clear to me that these skills are weighed over the others.

 

Rotation/Priority Queue

 

High Energy Gas Cylinder should be used at all times when dpsing as AdvProto. It increases all the damage of all fire based abilities as well as the internal damage from RB bleed. It also vents 8 heat every 6 sec from PCV and increases your movement speed by 15% from PB, which is really freaking awesome.

 

 

Single Target

 

 

>Retractable Blade- if no bleed present

>Flame Thrower- only with 5 stacks of PFT

>Rail Shot- only if you have the autocrit buff

>Rocket Punch- only if you have the no cost buff from FlBar

>Immolate

>Flame Burst

>Rapid Shots

>Retractable Blade

 

 

Basically the "true" rotation is IM>RP>FB, they all benefit from PWS and have the highest damage output, and for the most part should be used on cooldown. However, based on ability procs, and heat efficiency you don't want to simply spam these abilities.

 

RB is the most important ability to use if your main target does not have the bleed. The dot is a lot of internal damage (which ignores armor), and allows the use of sexy RBac. RB on its own, however, has very poor heat efficiency(damage/heat), not to mention the dot does not stack with itself. RB should only be used for its dot.

 

FTh is the next highest in the queue, but only if you have 5 stacks of PFT. I haven't been able to crunch the numbers, so this might actually be lower on the list, but I don't foresee anything out-damaging a 50% dmg buff on FTh.

 

RSac is next for a few reasons. It does a buttload of damage on its own, and with the auto crit it has by far the highest heat to damage ratio. The other reason it appear before RP in the queue is RP has a chance to proc the autocrit effect, so if you have the buff already you want to put RS on cooldown and give yourself 15 secs to build another buff. RS should NEVER be used without the autocrit buff.

 

Free RP comes next. RP is huge damage on its own, benefits from PWS, Procs RS cits and looks really freakin cool. I'm am not exactly sure, but I believe based on the proc rate from IM and FB, the free RP from FlBar should be frequent enough that RP should only be used with the free buff.

 

IM is a really cool ability, and with a bunch of damage, and a long cooldown. It should be used on cooldown unless one of the afore mentioned procs is up. IM also benefits from PWS crit bonus, as well as has a 50% chance to proc FlBar and fee RPs.

 

FB is going to primarily be your filler. It has no cooldown, does good damage, benefits from PWS, procs Free RPs, but on its own it is not particularly heat efficient. It should not be spammed, unless you are in a burn phase and are prepared to pop VH.

 

Rapid Shots has no heat cost and is going to be used whenever out of range of your other abilities, or if you are trying to be heat efficient.

 

Finally RB cause be used in certain situations even if the bleed is active, but it is a dps/heat loss for the most part.

 

 

Multiple Targets

 

 

I don't actually know what the most heat efficient way to burn down multiple targets is, so If anyone has any ideas they would be appreciated.

 

However, it seems that a combination of Flame Sweep, Flame Burst, and a 5 stacked Flame Thrower would be best.

 

 

Major Cooldowns

 

 

Explosive Fuel, Thermal Sensor Override, Kolto Overload, and Energy Shield are your major cooldowns. Explosive Fuel should be uses on cooldown during important fights, however, make sure to reserve it for burn phases when applicable. Thermal Sensor Override is a bit more situational, but can be uses to squeak out a high damage ability even when at max heat. Kolto Overload and Energy shield are obviously defensive abilities and should be used to get out of an "oh sh*t" situation or whenever they would lessen the strain on the healer.

[badalchemist]

What kind of visual indicator do you get to know that your next RP is free or next RS will crit?

[manteats]

Charged Gauntlet icon in the skill calc for RS.

Probably the Flame Barrage icon for RP

I never got that high in the tree myself, I noticed it in some utube clips

[badalchemist]

Charged Gauntlet icon in the skill calc for RS.

Probably the Flame Barrage icon for RP

I never got that high in the tree myself, I noticed it in some utube clips

 

That sounds like one of the downsides of a reactive-dependent build. It's bad enough having to keep your eyes on the hotbar to track cooldowns, but now you have to also keep an eye out for reactive icons. It seems like it'd be difficult to keep track of the action around you.

[BlazingShadow]

I don't understand why people are skipping Electro Surge. It's a 10sec reduction on your most useful stun's cooldown

 

Furthermore, why would you skip stabilized armor which would be very effective in helping you survive smuggler encounters? 20% damage reduction is no laughing matter, not in SWTOR's pvp at least

[kellindae]

Because this is a pve spec as the title states

[AshPrime]

Well this is about Advanced Prototype PvE. Electro Surge is useful in pvp and so is Stabilized Armor, but they have little use for PvE. Putting 4 points into them would be a dps loss.

[BlazingShadow]

Ah, okay, my mistake. I always think of my specs in terms of balance as well as pvp.

 

So, in the spirit of PvE...

 

You're not missing much DPS by cutting down the wait time between your stuns (great vs gold NPCs btw)

[AshPrime]

I mean I can see speccing out the point from Kolto Vents (considering that skill is somewhat lacking) to put into Electro Surge, but I doubt the stun will be anything but situational in pve. If there is ever a fight where you need to be stunning something i doubt the 10 seconds off will really be a game changer, chances are there will be other class stuns available.

[Kikilicious]

I bookmarked the same build a week ago XD Posted it on one of mine, I think.

[Stooge]

I'm actually torn between this exact spec and a Merc spec.

 

I've always played a melee class, but the Merc build looked cool. However, the more I learn about the AP build the more I like it.

 

It seems to have a nice combination of range and melee, and seems to be a more viable spec for PvP.

 

What are the advantages of this over a Merc-Arsenal build?

[AshPrime]

all i would say is I prefer more fast paced classes, AP has constant heat venting suggesting that it will be a bit more interactive. Arsenal Mercenary is like a ranged caster, all about heavy hitting abilities with cast times. Too slow for me...

 

as for pvp, from what ive heard AP is much more mobile, and is better for 1v1s, whereas Arsenal is stationary, and one of the worst at 1v1. Although with support arsenal can put out a buttload of damage.

 

but its really up to you, ones melee there other is a ranged.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

also 1 pistol is more ****** than 2 XD

[Renamesk]

Imho this is a better build http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#301hMhMZMsMMRrfkds.1

[AshPrime]

Why exactly is that? Just because its more defense based? I am not sure I agree with that. In fact power armor might offer more damage reduction than rebraced armor, considering armor only reduced kinetic damage done and not elemental nor internal. Stabilized armor is a great skill, but it definitively for pvp. And bonus damage on RP is too good to give up. I mean these are simply my opinion, I like to hear your reasoning behind these skills.

[JohnAntilles]

Ah, okay, my mistake. I always think of my specs in terms of balance as well as pvp.

 

So, in the spirit of PvE...

 

You're not missing much DPS by cutting down the wait time between your stuns (great vs gold NPCs btw)

 

To be quite honest, and I don't wan to sound like a jerk, but Electro Surge is actually a practically useless talent, in any situation.

 

As a rule with talent builds in this game, you want every talent point you use to have the most effect on the things you do all the time. Electro Dart, while it might feel like your using it all the time, should really only ever be used when you absolutely need to, never on cooldown.

 

Therefor, those talents that give like 3% bonus for 3 points, and almost (some exceptions apply to certain classes) all cooldown reductions are ones to be avoided if at all possible.

[BlazingShadow]

To be quite honest, and I don't wan to sound like a jerk, but Electro Surge is actually a practically useless talent, in any situation.

 

As a rule with talent builds in this game, you want every talent point you use to have the most effect on the things you do all the time. Electro Dart, while it might feel like your using it all the time, should really only ever be used when you absolutely need to, never on cooldown.

 

Therefor, those talents that give like 3% bonus for 3 points, and almost (some exceptions apply to certain classes) all cooldown reductions are ones to be avoided if at all possible.

I understand what you're saying, but...

 

I disagree

 

If there's any box in the AP line to avoid like the plague, it's flame barriage. As it is, Rocket Punch isn't a very high-heat attack, and it's on a cooldown, not instant. 2 points to eliminate its heat cost, especially when we automatically vent an additional 8 heat every 6 seconds or so, just isn't worthwhile.

 

The sooner I can hit electro-dart versus the gold units, the less I have to worry about healing and cooldowns... and believe me, if you have played to lvl30 at least, you will understand how long a fight with gold and champion bosses can last.

 

You're going to need electro-dart if you're ever 2manning flashpoints or heroics. PvE is different than PvP: You're going to use your stuns often in order to mitigate the most potential damage. In PvE, with predictable AI, a stun in the first five seconds of the fight is as effective as a stun in the later part of the fight, except one thing: Cooldown. There are, of course, obvious exceptions, but most of those exceptions are Champion mobs which cannot be stunned at any rate... however, their cast specials can be quelled

 

Sure, if you're always wandering around trash mobs or with a full grp of 4 for heroics/flashpoints, then no, you're not going to really need defensive measures because someone else will have CC under control. Then again, you're not going to need to do anything besides faceroll your rotation.

 

Furthermore, quite a few of the more challenging (and more annoying) mobs have stuns, and they aren't on very long cooldowns... Also, raid bosses (like Ebolnare in the Eternity Vault) have area stuns, so you will definitely reap benefit from Balanced Armor, and though that benefit isn't something you can hit on the fly or apply to general damage, it is a potent defense that assists when you are most vulnerable.

 

I always take a more balanced approach to things. That is why I take Rebraced Armor over the Aim box, why I don't mind having 1 second of Quell cd Reduction, especially against Caster mobs; it falls in line with the Powertech philosophy, that is: wear your armor like a second skin.

 

However, as I said, I do see what you're saying, and one change I am considering is taking the 6% firecrit box over Advance Tools because I know grapple is an ability you'll really only need in PVP as an AdvProto, and the only time you really need it is when you're catching the runners.

 

This is a very helpful thread. Best of luck to my fellow powertechs

Edited December 14, 2011 by BlazingShadow

[AshPrime]

Jesus this spec is fun to play. I fully recommend it to anyone who is unsure about what AC to play.

[Malaraj]

Thanks for this, very helpful.

 

Malaraj

[ClogMan]

I haven't really paid much attention on stacking up buffs/debuff when playing, so what skill(s) are used in order to achieve this ?:

 

"5 stacked Flame Thrower"

 

Obvious one would ofc be "Flame thrower" but it seems a bit mind boggling to imagine it being used 5 times to generate 5 stacks, thinking about the accumulated time in cool downs.

 

Edit: Duhh..reading the actual skill might help :/ so i guess Flame sweep and Flame burst are the 2 skills used to gather up the stacks.

Edited December 19, 2011 by ClogMan

[Lanj]

good build, i use the same one but with the 2 points from hitman in electro dart

[badalchemist]

Bottom line is that if you only want to go 31 points into AP, that leaves 6 points not distributed into talents you don't want. All of the following I see as potential contenders, depending on your playstyle, whether you're focusing on PvE vs PvP, etc.

 

Cooldown reducers (6 possible points):

 

Rank 1 - Prototype Electric Surge - 2 points: Electrodart CD- 10s

Rank 2 - Advanced Tools - 2 points: Flamethrower CD - 3s & Grapple CD - 10s

Rank 3 - Hitman - 2 points: Quell CD - 2s

 

% modifiers (6 possible points):

 

Rank 1 - Prototype Burn Enhancers - 2 points: Fire crit chance + 6%

Rank 2 - Hot Iron - 2 points: FB & RP damage + 6%

Rank 2 - Power Armor - 2 points: Damage received - 2%

 

Procs (4 possible points):

 

Rank 4 - Flame Barrage - 2 points: FB/IM have 30%/100% chance for free RP

Rank 5 - Prototype Flame Thrower - 2 points: FB/FS stack 10% FT buff (up to 5 stacks)

 

Personally, I don't find myself wanting Electrodart, Flamethrower, or Grapple more often, so I can cut 4 points right there. Then, I don't see myself really needing a free Rocket Punch when it's already pretty cheap at only 16 Heat.

 

I just thought it might be easier to visualize this as "Which 6 points don't you want".

[AshPrime]

Flame Barrage might not seem like its needed, but I think at level 50 fighting in an Operation it will allow you to be more sustainable and heat efficient. The more efficient you can be with your heat, the more flame bursts you can throw in your rotation and the less Rapid Shots you will have to use to stop from overheating.

[TOGGetafix]

I'm tanking as Shield Tech atm, but doing some research on AP just in case.

 

Quick question, does the heat vent from Prototype Cylinder Ventilation proc Kolto Vents? If so that would mean you have a constant HoT running on you which would be pretty handy.

[AshPrime]

Kolto Vents only affects the ability Vent Heat, and is therefore somewhat lackluster. It's a weird utility skill and I don't think it is particularly useful. It's basically a free talent point that can go anywhere, I just prefer to have it over 1 point of advanced tools or electrodart. I hope Bioware makes some tweaks to it tho...

[Crontholis]

what gear set arfe you using for this .... eliminator or Combat tech