is shatter good?

[doublechees]

reading the tooltip it jusy seems so mopey a 500 dmg hit with a 500 dot ovet x seconds, impale says it hits harder. So is this mainly just a pve talent, or is it just bad. What am I missing.

[Invictos]

reading the tooltip it jusy seems so mopey a 500 dmg hit with a 500 dot ovet x seconds, impale says it hits harder. So is this mainly just a pve talent, or is it just bad. What am I missing.

 

1. Like Impale, Shatter sets up a near-guaranteed crit on Scream and Vicious Throw. (If you have the appropriate talent.)

2. Like Impale, Shatter has a chance to reset the cooldown on Ravage if you have the appropriate talent.

3. Unlike pretty much all of the rest of your attacks (with the exceptions of Smash and Scream), Shatter is pure elemental damage. It bypasses your opponent's armor, in other words.

4. Personally, I think Shatter costs too much Rage for what it does, but as a full-Vengeance Juggernaut you should generally have more Rage than you need, anyway.

 

So yeah, I'd say Shatter's a good ability. The key is to be mindful of when/how to use it. Against a mid-to-high-HP target, you generally want to prioritize Shatter first so that the DoT has a chance to work. Against a high-HP target with less than 30% HP, you can alternate between Shatter and Impale to set up crits on Scream and Vicious Throw, respectively.

 

And against a target with high mitigation -- the force damage from Shatter, combined with the force damage from your mini DoTs (if you took the appropriate talents to enhance Scream and Impale), Scream, and Smash, will make a huge difference.

 

If you're asking whether Shatter has the same general utility as a more bursty attack like Scream or Impale, then the answer is no. If all you're concerned about, for example, is solo PvE, then you might consider skipping Shatter (I wouldn't, but it'd be a defensible decision). But Shatter enhances your other bread-and-butter attacks so much that in my view, it's a total game changer.

[doublechees]

Thanks for the reply did not realize it wss elemental. Ive been using a 2/28/11 build for pvp and was wondering guesd ill just keep my obliterate.

[Terro_Fett]

Shatter is good.

 

Damage tool-tips In my DPS gear:

 

Impale: Deals 2465-2739. Due to talents, it also bleeds for an additional 586

Total impale damage: 3051-3325

 

Shatter: Deals 1299-1380. Applies DOT for 1690

Total Shatter damage: 2989-3070

 

Now as you can see, impale hits harder. But shatter is entirely internal damage (which means it bypasses armor) where as impale's initial damage will be reduced (the bleed is internal).

 

Obviously since impale does most of its damage upfront, Impale will crit for more than shatter as well. However, Shatter counts as a Force ability, thus it benefits from the talent that grants an additional 6% chance to crit with force powers in the first tier of the rage tree.

Edited August 26, 2012 by Terro_Fett

[wadecounty]

1. Like Impale, Shatter sets up a near-guaranteed crit on Scream and Vicious Throw. (If you have the appropriate talent.)

2. Like Impale, Shatter has a chance to reset the cooldown on Ravage if you have the appropriate talent.

3. Unlike pretty much all of the rest of your attacks (with the exceptions of Smash and Scream), Shatter is pure elemental damage. It bypasses your opponent's armor, in other words.

4. Personally, I think Shatter costs too much Rage for what it does, but as a full-Vengeance Juggernaut you should generally have more Rage than you need, anyway.

 

So yeah, I'd say Shatter's a good ability. The key is to be mindful of when/how to use it. Against a mid-to-high-HP target, you generally want to prioritize Shatter first so that the DoT has a chance to work. Against a high-HP target with less than 30% HP, you can alternate between Shatter and Impale to set up crits on Scream and Vicious Throw, respectively.

 

And against a target with high mitigation -- the force damage from Shatter, combined with the force damage from your mini DoTs (if you took the appropriate talents to enhance Scream and Impale), Scream, and Smash, will make a huge difference.

 

If you're asking whether Shatter has the same general utility as a more bursty attack like Scream or Impale, then the answer is no. If all you're concerned about, for example, is solo PvE, then you might consider skipping Shatter (I wouldn't, but it'd be a defensible decision). But Shatter enhances your other bread-and-butter attacks so much that in my view, it's a total game changer.

 

This just about sums it up.

 

In PvP its less useful because of how important burst is, but its a great attack to lead with on a tank. In PvE its absolutely vital to maximizing your DPS as a Vengeance Juggernaut, you can't live without it.

[Elyx]

This just about sums it up.

 

In PvP its less useful because of how important burst is, but its a great attack to lead with on a tank. In PvE its absolutely vital to maximizing your DPS as a Vengeance Juggernaut, you can't live without it.

 

I'll add to this sentiment. As a melee class (that has to move allot in boss fights), the more DoT's we can have up, the better our damage is overall. In my opinion this makes Shatter better then obliterate for pure PvE purposes.

 

But if you PvP allot, your hybrid may be better for your personal playstyle. but make sure you still have Rampage in your setup...Ravage is a huge part of our DPS atm.