Arash's Marauder Corner (Warning, it is a mess in here)

[thebad]

@thebad

Check out page 4, I talk a bit about having a low TTK and so renewing the vindicator set bonus is a bit redundant for me. Ravage? Dunno, when someone breaks that 4m range and kites you, even if they did eat your full Ravage, it'll hurt you more than it hurts them trust me, especially if it's a good PT/Vanguard. But if it works for you (the Ravage, not the eating someone else's DPS lol) then that's great too.

 

I was expecting a non-1337 answer as opposed to 'I already melt face so it's redudant'. The rest of us average marauders might want to work on increasing our dps to try reaching but never achieving your greatness.

[AsiriusNazriel]

I was expecting a non-1337 answer as opposed to 'I already melt face so it's redudant'. The rest of us average marauders might want to work on increasing our dps to try reaching but never achieving your greatness.

 

I wasn't really trying to be elitist about it. There are my parses, I am doing about 1800+ (1800-1820 I would estimate) dps a sec, that would put it somewhere within 12 seconds so I think it is redundant for me to spend points on CQ. It most certainly wasn't my intention to come off that way, I just figured (correctly) that you didn't see my post on the other page so instead of retyping everything I pointed you there.

 

It's unfortunate that you took it this way, I'm far from elitist and wouldn't have bothered making this thread, or replying to it, if I was. Frankly this thread was originally posted in the Ebon Hawk forums but some Bioware mod decided to move it here (I didn't want trolling and wanted to help my direct community). I, as do those who drop into this thread to read it, do appreciate all comments and opinions though and yours are most certainly welcome.

Edited October 18, 2012 by AsiriusNazriel

[Ashuranrx]

I am a seasoned PvPer who is currently leveling up a Sentinel. My main is a Gunslinger. Although I havn’t done any 50 PvP with a Sentinel yet, I work with good ones for ranked PvP. I just want to throw my opinions here and agree with Arash’s analysis.

 

1. Carnage gets countered hard by bubble stun in high level ranked PvP. The 3s AoE stun can be activated reactively or proactively by anyone with it, and it builds so little resolve that it is abusively OP. Once the burst rotation gets broken by the stun, you are not bursting anymore and you got to wait for the cool downs to be available again to give it another try, which is also again susceptible to bubble stun.

 

2. Separating tanks and healers don’t work well against good tanks, especially Juggs. All they need to do is break stun and intercede and they are right back by the healer’s side. Multiple good tanks know how to swap guards to different healers on the fly depending on their position and HP.

 

3. Focus fire strategy does not always work and can backfire. When a group is getting cluster together, it is easy to chain AoE mez them and isolate them. Sniper’s Flash Bang is a 8s AoE Mez, which is the same timer as cap time. Bubble stun is also a good counter to focus fire.

 

I am not saying what is better than what. I am saying that against average ranked teams, you can usually stick with one strategy and win a good percent of games. But against top of the top teams, you really have to adapt on the fly and change your tactics base on the battlefield situation. Arash is right that no one spec is better than others in PvP. Some spec may work better with certain other specs of other classes and with a certain strategy, but all specs can work in PvP with various strategies and tactics. However, don't just stick with one strategy always. Good players will eventually figure out how to counter it and there should always be a plan B.

[AsiriusNazriel]

Just wanted to post my Ask Mr. Robot character. This is the exact copy of what I am running atm.

 

http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/character/31cd646e-52ed-48c7-b37a-7da8defc03b1

[Frequencyz]

Carnage does get ***** by bubble stun.....let me tell you......I think bubble stun might be the best thing in the world....ever...maybe even better than bacon...

[garethdlowe]

As someone new to the marauder I'd like to thank you for writing this, awfull lot of good info here, so cheers.

 

My marauder is lvl 23 at the moment, I'm pretty much just doing class quests and a daily FP for the comms and levelling using PvP.

 

I do have a couple of questions:

 

1) With regards to the skill tree when do I put points into the other 2 trees. I'm just sticking everything in annihilation at the moment, do I fill this up before putting points into things like dual wield?

 

2) I know we're squidgy but I seem to die quite regularly, so much so I rarely get to pop Zen and really hurt people. On the other hand at the end of the battle, although the numbers may vary, I'm always in the top 3 damage wise, and occasionally first, so I'm doing something right

 

I get the feeling that if I could build up my stack quicker and pop zen more often I would survive long enough to not only do more damage at that instance but be able to finish others, retreat and heal, not spending so much time spawning would make my numbers go through the roof.

[AsiriusNazriel]

As someone new to the marauder I'd like to thank you for writing this, awfull lot of good info here, so cheers.

 

My marauder is lvl 23 at the moment, I'm pretty much just doing class quests and a daily FP for the comms and levelling using PvP.

 

I do have a couple of questions:

 

1) With regards to the skill tree when do I put points into the other 2 trees. I'm just sticking everything in annihilation at the moment, do I fill this up before putting points into things like dual wield?

 

2) I know we're squidgy but I seem to die quite regularly, so much so I rarely get to pop Zen and really hurt people. On the other hand at the end of the battle, although the numbers may vary, I'm always in the top 3 damage wise, and occasionally first, so I'm doing something right

 

I get the feeling that if I could build up my stack quicker and pop zen more often I would survive long enough to not only do more damage at that instance but be able to finish others, retreat and heal, not spending so much time spawning would make my numbers go through the roof.

 

First off, thank you.

 

As far as skill points go, I'd recommend going up all the way through the Annihilation tree first, then getting 5 points in the Carnage tree with Dual Wield Master and Defensive forms, followed by Malice in the Rage tree. The last 2 points I put into are Defensive Roll because of heavier use of AOEs in 50 WZs that have occured after 1.4 dropped.

 

Survivability-wise it doesn't matter what you play below 50, it's when your gear starts to affect your crit, surge, power, that is where you start to differentiate. When you have 43%+ force crit chance, you are basically a self healing machine. In under 50, especially level 20-30 you don't ever notice how important the self heals are, but I think that they are still there. When you level as PVE you definitely see a difference in survivability.

 

As far as dying regularly, avoid 1v1 situations. Yes it is the perfect spec/tree for 1v1, but at lower levels you just don't have enough abilities to really shine. So stick to playing team-oriented PVP WZs and that will improve the success % of your entire team and get you better accustomed to playing for objectives instead of deathmatching.

 

Damage-wise this spec is super sick, when you get good, when you get the timings right, you almost know when an ability is about to get off of CD, it becomes second nature in a way, but that takes months of play. That's often the separating factor between players of different specs and classes that are the elites on specific toons.

 

Marauders are a class that blossoms at 40-50, as do pretty much all classes when they get their capstone ability, so that's your goal.

[TheronFett]

Well, Arash...I gave it a shot.

 

Switched from Carnage to Annihilation last week and ran it through the paces in both PvE and PvP. My PvP damage went up by 30% or so, earned more medals due to heals, and had significantly more up time and less deaths. I feel like I have the rotation down, and was able to make the spec work to the best of my ability.

 

All that said, I'm going back to Carnage. I miss the burst, roots, and speed. One thing I was able to do quite well as Carnage was chase and burn down secondary targets, like the Sage trying to get ahead for a pull or pass in Huttball. I feel like my situational awareness is tuned a bit better than the average player's, and Carnage feels better suited for my style of play.

[Kel-el]

Just wanted to post my Ask Mr. Robot character. This is the exact copy of what I am running atm.

 

http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/character/31cd646e-52ed-48c7-b37a-7da8defc03b1

 

Hi Arash,

 

Quick question regarding Vindicator War Hero gear.

 

When you bought a War Hero Vindicator piece, are you taking ALL the mods and putting them in Custom piece, OR are you just taking the armoring piece and using the Weapon master Mod and Enhancement?

 

I hope I worded that clearly. If not, I will try and explain in greater detail.

[AsiriusNazriel]

Well, Arash...I gave it a shot.

 

Switched from Carnage to Annihilation last week and ran it through the paces in both PvE and PvP. My PvP damage went up by 30% or so, earned more medals due to heals, and had significantly more up time and less deaths. I feel like I have the rotation down, and was able to make the spec work to the best of my ability.

 

All that said, I'm going back to Carnage. I miss the burst, roots, and speed. One thing I was able to do quite well as Carnage was chase and burn down secondary targets, like the Sage trying to get ahead for a pull or pass in Huttball. I feel like my situational awareness is tuned a bit better than the average player's, and Carnage feels better suited for my style of play.

 

Hey man, not everything is for everybody. Carnage is probably a more fun spec to play and I hope you have a good run with it. Whenever I run Carnage it's alot of fun and hopefully with free respecs I'll be doing it more often for PVE. Gotta make sure we have great Maras representing all specs.

 

Hi Arash,

 

Quick question regarding Vindicator War Hero gear.

 

When you bought a War Hero Vindicator piece, are you taking ALL the mods and putting them in Custom piece, OR are you just taking the armoring piece and using the Weapon master Mod and Enhancement?

 

I hope I worded that clearly. If not, I will try and explain in greater detail.

 

Basically you take out the Armorings that you need and the low endurance high dps modifier that you need. Once you get the Vindicator set bonus, you're looking to buy mainhands for 2k rated comms with the enhancement/mod that you think will suit you better. If you click on the specific Enhancement/Mod on that website, it'll tell you what piece of gear has it. So you can then get that gear for that specific piece. Am I coming off clearly?

[Fischer_Black]

First off, +1000 for a really insightful discussion and a helpful community

 

My marauder may only be lvl 20 and not be the current top priority among my alts, but I absolutely enjoy reading this thread and am already readying myself for future anni mayhem.

 

I have a question. I am always trying to improve my gameplay. Therefore, I recently switched from clicking and KB turning to keybinds and mouse movement to make the most of my classes in PVP, especially when I eventually start playing the pure melee (M/Guardian) classes. Although the first games have been atrocious, I already see an improvement after a hard couple of days (I move forward/backward with E/D, so I have more buttons available for the left hand).

 

Do you have any specific movement tips against ranged classes (I already figured to save charge) and other melee classes, for example against the notorious strafing of vans/PTs?

 

Would be greatly appreciated

 

Cheers

FB

[Kel-el]

 

Basically you take out the Armorings that you need and the low endurance high dps modifier that you need. Once you get the Vindicator set bonus, you're looking to buy mainhands for 2k rated comms with the enhancement/mod that you think will suit you better. If you click on the specific Enhancement/Mod on that website, it'll tell you what piece of gear has it. So you can then get that gear for that specific piece. Am I coming off clearly?

 

Thank you Arash! Super helpful. Man, wish you had a direct chat link - like 24/7 Maurader/Sentinel help chat line.

[AsiriusNazriel]

Thank you Arash! Super helpful. Man, wish you had a direct chat link - like 24/7 Maurader/Sentinel help chat line.

 

Thanks! Yeah, I should probably get a hotline.

 

First off, +1000 for a really insightful discussion and a helpful community

 

My marauder may only be lvl 20 and not be the current top priority among my alts, but I absolutely enjoy reading this thread and am already readying myself for future anni mayhem.

 

I have a question. I am always trying to improve my gameplay. Therefore, I recently switched from clicking and KB turning to keybinds and mouse movement to make the most of my classes in PVP, especially when I eventually start playing the pure melee (M/Guardian) classes. Although the first games have been atrocious, I already see an improvement after a hard couple of days (I move forward/backward with E/D, so I have more buttons available for the left hand).

 

Do you have any specific movement tips against ranged classes (I already figured to save charge) and other melee classes, for example against the notorious strafing of vans/PTs?

 

Would be greatly appreciated

 

Cheers

FB

 

So the easiest way to do any kind of binding/keybinding is simply to unbind S from backpeddling. I got one of my fellow guildies to do it, I was appalled when I found out he was backpeddling, when me and him were doing a training session to get him to be a better evasive healer. So first off, you unbind backpeddle. I also recommend unbinding A and D and instead binding strafe to A and D, that way you can use the right mouse button for camera viewing. It takes a bit getting used to but once it's there and you're forced to play like that, it's alot easier.

 

HUGE THING HERE

It is very important to make shortcuts to abilities that you use most often. Recently I was messing around with my Assassin in a full 5/5/31 Madness build. It is alot more complicated than a Marauder because in addition to using more abilities you have to keep track of the status symbols of your target. I got good at this spec and used it well, but the biggest thing about it, just like with my Marauder, is BINDING SHORTCUTS FOR FASTEST FINGER RESPONSE. Basically, you're looking at binding your most used abilities to the buttons that are easiest to access WHILE YOU ARE ON THE MOVE. Being mobile is very important in PVP and that's where I come from, so you need to design your layout in such a way as to easily access your abilities. I don't have a naga, I have a g700, so I don't have 12 side buttons, I only have 4+1. So I make sure to incorporate shift and extensively. There's a section on bindings on the first page in my first post I think. Can't stress enough how important bindings and "quickest access" bindings are to your success.

 

Against ranged classes you want to make sure that you stay on top of them. This is why I'm not a proponent of Ravage/Masterstrike. This ability gives your target the chance to break 4m and kite you, so I stick to my basic attacks, my bleeds, and Annihilate (with some Vicious Slashes thrown in when I have 10-12 Rage). Other than that, most classes have a slow ability. I don't use it because I tend to stick like glue and I think that I have seen better results when I don't use crippling slash versus when I do. I don't know if that is really the case but I think it may be, at least for me. If you feel like your opponent is getting away from you, use crippling slash to annoy them and slow them down. So use Ravage/Masterstrike, but keep this in mind and possibly use it when your force charge is getting off of gcd or is ready. That way if your opponent runs away you can get back in there.

 

Also against good tanksins, I definitely use Ravage. They'll try to run circles around you and make it hard to target them. You can use this opportunity to hit them with Ravage/Masterstrike.

 

Lastly, the more mobile you are, the more often you are actively getting behind your target and running circles around them, the more difficult it is for them to target you and the less damage you take. This is why proper key bindings and easy shortcut access is crucial.

[Voxx_Voltaare]

I know it is not within a lot of people's means but if you can afford one of those Razer Naga Epics and even the Nostromo, it makes a world of difference. I use both of those and the only time I use the keyboard is to chat.

 

Most of my main abilities are mapped to the Naga. I also have three modifiers mapped to the Nostromo(Ctrl, Shift, Alt). Since I find some of the buttons on the Naga a bit hard to reach quickly, many of my abilities are mapped using a modifier. That gives each button on the Naga the capability of 4 different abilities. Multiply that by 12 buttons total and that's a potential 48, or every quickbar slot available. Then you have tons of buttons on the Nostromo to work with as well. I use it for movement, targeting, and calling up UI screens, etc. You can also create multiple pages so I can have one layout for PvE, another for PvP. Throw in macros and the possibilities are endless.

 

There can be a steep learning curve though, especially if you are already used to doing things a certain way. You have to get that muscle memory down. But once you do, you can get really fast.

[AsiriusNazriel]

I know it is not within a lot of people's means but if you can afford one of those Razer Naga Epics and even the Nostromo, it makes a world of difference. I use both of those and the only time I use the keyboard is to chat.

 

Most of my main abilities are mapped to the Naga. I also have three modifiers mapped to the Nostromo(Ctrl, Shift, Alt). Since I find some of the buttons on the Naga a bit hard to reach quickly, many of my abilities are mapped using a modifier. That gives each button on the Naga the capability of 4 different abilities. Multiply that by 12 buttons total and that's a potential 48, or every quickbar slot available. Then you have tons of buttons on the Nostromo to work with as well. I use it for movement, targeting, and calling up UI screens, etc. You can also create multiple pages so I can have one layout for PvE, another for PvP. Throw in macros and the possibilities are endless.

 

There can be a steep learning curve though, especially if you are already used to doing things a certain way. You have to get that muscle memory down. But once you do, you can get really fast.

 

+1, basically what this gentleman says. Doesn't have to be a Naga or a Nostromo, but bindings are super crucial.

 

When I work on new builds, such as my 5/5/31 Madness Assassin or Rage Marauder (which I just switched to yesterday) I literally spend at least 15 minutes figuring out how to map my abilities so that I can activate them based upon frequency and importance to the build, as well as making sure that I don't accidently misfire or fail to activate in the heat of combat. It is super important to get the bindings down, to get rid of backpeddle, to remap strafe.

 

On a personal note, I ran Rage spec last night and I think it is stooooopid OP atm. Especially on Marauders. In at least 2 WZs, I literally nuked a node that within seconds was cleared of enemies because of the AOE. I'm not running a high power build and my mainhand damage range (xxxx-1080) after Rakata stim. Don't think I'll be switching to Power Mods/Enhancements just yet, I like having the high crit percentage and because I utilize Force Scream & Vicious Slash, the single target burst on Crits is more reliable. So on undergeared players I'm getting 6.5-6.8k bombs and on geared it's about 5-5.k, which is perfectly fine for me. Undergeared are gonna die anyways and the geared will be taken out with VS and FS.

 

Having a dedicated healer is a must, so since I'm running with groups who have them, I have no issues with staying alive.

 

Don't know how long I'll be running this for, I definitely understand why people are praising and/or complaining about it. Needs a huge change because as it is right now, no healer or team can keep up with 2 or more of these monsters.

 

The other crazy thing is that my single target DPS is still ridonkulous so yeah I'm pretty impressed. Had a couple of issues with screwing up rotation, but even with that I came out of 1 CW with 18 killing blows, 4 solo kills, 0 deaths, top DPS. The second biggest number of killing blows on my team was 6 and 0 solo kills. That's stupid bad and skewed. Crazy part of this was that I wasn't even being followed by a dedicated healer throughout the WZ.

[PoliteAssasin]

I'm sorry but I must say this guide has some of the worst advice I have seen so far. Don't take this in the wrong way, but given your examples of specs/rotations/priorities if you're considered the best mara on your server, it must be full of average players. Now this post is simply going to cover the portions of your guide I disagree with. Don't take it to be 100% negative as some of the points in your guide I find to be correct, this is just pointing out the information I consider to be bad advice. I'll try to cover a few points that grabbed my attention:

 

 

I try not to engage a group of baddies by myself (unless they are undergeared), that is just silly and poor PVP choice unless you need to run interference.

 

As annihilation you should be running into groups of people and decimating them, whether they're geared or not. Our spec works best under group pressure, it would be silly to wait until you see lower numbers in order to attack as that'd be a waste of time. This lit the first red flag for me on this guide as the best marauders/sentinels, of whom you claim to be a part, we have no issue running into groups of enemies and taking out or severely damaging multiple targets before dying. Then again, not many know how to engage more than 2 at a time.

 

 

My rotation is generally run in (or force leap) starting with Battering Assault to build up rage, Deadly Sabers. Rupture. Assault until you have enough for Annihilate, Assault until Battering Assault is off cd. Once your bleed attacks are off cd or proc like Rupture does, use them. You want to apply bleeds as often as possible, they and assault (slash for Sentinels) are your bread & butter. The more bleeds (and the quicker) you can apply the more damage you will do. Deadly Sabers are off the GCD and I can activate it (if I have enough Rage) in the middle of any ability. The next ability will be Assault (build up rage until I have enough to activate Annihilate). After Annihilate I am using Assault as much as possible to build up rage. If I managed to proc Rupture, I’m using that.

 

In essence I am using Assault, Rupture, Deadly Saber, and Annihilate. Whenever I have the opportunity to activate retaliate, I do. It’s off the GCD and I can use another ability at the same time as I am dishing out Retaliate. NEVER use Smash as Annihilation. Annihilation is single target and Smash has no place in your rotation, it only wastes Rage. This is my opinion on the Smash/Forcesweep in Annihilation/Watchman rotation.

 

 

This is where I have the issue. You claim that all you focus on is assault, rupture, ds, and annihilate. Assault seems to be your in between attack when Anni/Rupt is on CD. You should be throwing in vicious slash in there, not just spamming assault, you're not going to be doing enough damage relying on that alone. Another reason to use vic slash, not only for its 3k crit damage, but also because of the fact that it has a chance to proc rupture as well, which means more bleeds. Additionally retaliation is a waste unless you have Cloak of Annihilation, which even that you don't really need as it isn't really worth it. I will agree though that smash doesn't belong in the rotation, it shouldn't even be on your bar. But I would add bladestorm/force scream to that as well for anni/watchmen.

 

Another thing to point out with your opening which goes into your spec is that you're using the vindicator set bonus, as am I, but are essentially wasting it given that you haven't specced into CQ, and that Enraged Charge would give you enough rage to activate Anni after the rupture within the 5 seconds of the set bonus, basically eliminating the need to spam assault as you do in order to get off an Annihilation. You should not have the vindicator bonus at all if you don't use CQ as it is a waste of a set bonus, might as well use the weaponmaster one.

 

Ravage is a great ability that is pretty amazing when it completes. Don’t ever use it unless you’re sure that your opponent will stand still and it completes or opponent is CC’s by another player. That’s generally my take on it. It is pretty easy to stop with CCs, knockbacks, disappearing, and running away. The only big thing is that you can’t stand in front of a SW or JK who is using Ravage/Masterstrike. You identify it and then you react accordingly. Nowadays I don't use Ravage as much, sometimes I'll use it to burst a Sage/Sorc. bubble, but it's not my dmg go to ability, I prefer Assault/Bleeds/Annihilate.

 

 

While yes Ravage/MS is easy to counter, generally players aren't quick enough to react to it before the first two hits are applied. Unless your resolve bar is full you're going to be CC'd during a ravage, but that CC will more than likely come after the first two hits. As far as not standing in front of a SW or JK during their ravage/ms, that would go for any class except for maras/sents who can actually stand in front of them as all they need to do is pacify the target. This works even better with combat/carnage sents/maras because as soon as you see them apply their 100% armor pen, you know that a ravage/ms is coming next meaning you can pacify/obfuscate the entire channel. Another issue with your spec is that you don't spec into ravager, which would make ravage slightly weaker for you. You're actually missing out on extra damage by choosing not to use this ability, especially with the vindi bonus/ravager combination much better suited to those specced into CQ.

 

Invisibility Cloak is useful for escaping or getting the jump on someone (but I recommend to leave it for escape purposes). 6 second disappearance is very nice. So often I’ll be in Civil War and fight at a turret and when my HP drops to very low numbers I’ll activate it and run to the nearest green HP booster.

 

This is terrible right here. Cloak should not be used to run away from fights. So many maras/sents I have seen do this and they die regardless. No Sent/Mara should run from a fight. Ever. Cloak should be used to either wait out something such as resilience, or to ensure your self heals get off without being negated during a fight. It should also be used as a gap closer for snipers as this is how good maras/sents are able to lay waste to them without receiving too much damage after the initial knockback/root.

 

 

Undying Rage is very situational. It saves butt, but lets not kid ourselves, if you pop Undying Rage, you'll still probably die after it finishes. Everyone cries about it, but as it is only useful when the other opponents don’t react properly. It has indeed saved me on countless occasions. Use it when you’re at less than 2k health, more like 1.5k. When it runs out you’ll most likely be killed, so it’s a last ditch attempt to wreak havoc on anyone and everything around you for 5 seconds.

 

The only way you die after using UR is if you don't pop a medpac/self heals after you use it. You should only use the ability at around 10-15% health. If you see that your health is about to go below 30%, you need to make sure that the next 30 stacks of fury/zen you have aren't used until you pop UR/GBTF. Then you pop a medpac, zen, and a cauterize and proceed to kill the enemy. If valorous call is off CD, and you've procced a cauterize or have overload saber up, you can do two zens back to back which gives more healing further ensuring your survival. If you have cloak up you can even use that after popping the second zen/cauterize in order to ensure those heals get off. The main reason of using UR/GBTF along with self heals is that they can't be negated. Using a second zen/caut along with cloak ensures your second set of heals aren't negated, and when you come out of that you can finish off your opponent with significantly more health than you had around 10 seconds ago.

 

In all honesty 1on1 you’re probably going get owned by a good Assassin/Shadow or Sniper/Gunslinger. They are great counters for melee classes.

 

Gonna have to disagree with you on snipers/gunslingers as a Watchman, and also go into specifics to say that the only Assassin/Shadow that should be able to kill any sentinel is a full tank spec/dps hybrid. The other specs are extremely squishy and aren't as effective as the aforementioned hybrid.

 

Tough healer classes are always Smugglers/Operatives, you can shut them down and get them out of the WZ, but it's hard to kill them, even for me. But eventually they die, it just takes a literal minute, which is too long in my book. Good Sages/Sorcerors are difficult to completely kill when they are in Hybrid form.

 

This goes back to your spec/rotation/priorities. As a sentinel/marauder in general you should have no issues 1v1ing a healer at all, no matter which class or hybrid/full spec. Spamming assault may be a reason as to why you are having difficulties in this area.

 

 

It is not my intention to be overly critical, but these are points where I'm sorry to say but you're misleading the people who are reading your guide. You made a couple good points in your post, but it is easily outweighed by the amount of bad information you are suggesting others heed. I've been playing this class since I got the game in January, I have lots of experience with it. IIRC you have been playing longer, since beta. If that's the case I have to say I'm shocked that you've made numerous errors in your guide, especially from someone claiming to be the best marauder all across the forums. The intent of my post is to correct them so that misinformation won't be spread throughout the community.

[AsiriusNazriel]

@PoliteAssasin

 

I've addressed all of the issues you mentioned within the 7 pages of this guide. Suffice to say I stand fully behind what I have written. I have gotten countless positive responses both in game, on the forums, and in private messages regarding this thread.

 

If someone doesn't agree with what I wrote, that's your choice. You saying that I'm giving out misinformation is BULL. There's just no one who's been putting up better numbers than me on a consistent basis while in running Juyo. Yes I have a big ego and yes I do push myself harder whenever I see someone who is close to my level of performance. Lastly, we have some great Maras/Sents who I know have benefited from the opinions shared in this thread, not just mine.

 

- I've addressed the importance of keeping a 10-12 Rage pool. People overuse Vicious Slash and end up lacking rage for DOT abilities when they get off of CD.

- I've addressed Ravage/CQ and letting your opponent break 4m range. Vindicator set bonus really is not what everyone claims it is. It's nice but there are other, more important, issues such as Rage management and DOT application.

- When I use force cloak in CW, 9/10 I am able to escape and find a heal pack, survive and am back in action before respawn time. Self preservation is a good habit, dying in suicide manner is not unless you're the solo defender of a node or a door.

- Running into a group of enemy players is suicide and stupid. Maybe you play against a bunch of bads but on my server this is certain death against good players and as a good player who is concious about staying alive and who's success at DPS is consistent with his up-time, I wholely stand by this. I have won 1on1s, 2on1s, 3on1s, and 4on1s. I've also won 5on2s and proceeded to 3 cap. So what? Against an equally geared player it's just not gonna happen. That is a blatant untruth.

- It all depends on the Assassin/Shadow. I've you run into someone like Dizeren, who is probably the best Shadow on Ebon Hawk, he plays hybrid as well as full balance spec on a different level (oh and he's a clicker btw). 1on1, we're pretty even IMO, but he's sick with whatever he's running. Discounting player skill level over a spec or a class is a mistake. Player almost always > Class/Spec.

- I have no problems 1v1 with healers. If you're telling me that you have no problems with a hybrid Sorc/Sage healer in a WZ then I'm calling you a liar.

- Once I hit my gear cap I have yet to have a real issue or problem with any Sniper/Gunslinger. A lot of people have issues with them, I don't. Frankly as Annihilation spec I have no problems with any class or spec 1v1 (elite Tanksins are probably of comprable difficulty to me, it becomes a close coin flip). The only issue becomes in a WZ when you have a hybrid healer, and even then I've been finding ways to deal with these guys.

- Spamming assault keeps your Rage pool at 10-12, anytime you have 10-12 Rage feel free to use a Rage spender. Otherwise when you get Rupture (2), Deadly Saber (3), and Annihilate (5) comming off of CD at once, 10 Rage points, you won't have the resource to use them.

- Retaliation is a superb ability because it is off of the GCD and it can't be defended. When you have a huge resource pool of Rage and it procs, not using it is foolish, an extra 1.7k uncritted is a sizable hit. I personally don't know if anyone other than me is using it, I do and it is beastly, especially in a 1v1 spot where you can get it to proc and get a sizable free hit in.

 

 

REreading your post I don't know or think that you went through the 7 pages that's been posted or discussed. The breadth of the discussin and advice is along the entire thread. That first post is just the tip of the iceberg.

 

I'll say it AGAIN, in case you didn't read or heed the entry paragraphs. This is my opinion and views on Annihilation spec, Maras/Sents, and PVP in general. It IS accurate. And this is how the best Annihilation player on the Ebon Hawk plays. I don't care if it sounds arrogant I stand by my claims and if anyone wants to argue my credentials I always direct them to make a thread on the Ebon Hawk forums. I have built my reputation of every server I played, I have built it through Solo Queueing, I have gotten Premade invites through my demonstrated skills in Solo Queues, and I have gotten invites to play with the best Imperial players in Ranked Warzones based on my shown abilities. If anyone doubts this, Ebon Hawk forums please.

 

This guide is to help other players. It was first and foremost an internal memo for my guild. It was then created as a thread on my server, the Ebon Hawk, forums. Then it was moved by a mod here (against my wishes). I wanted to share with my direct community because of the positive responses I received and I'm a very "giving back" kinda guy (and to avoid trolls). So now everyone sees it and since it's here for everyone, I am more than happy to share my experiences with you guys.

 

This advice has done nothing but make people better and I've gotten some very positive responses from players who I consider good, but have gotten even better. Nothing personal man, but your advice is dead wrong in my opinon. But I think people should try it out and see if they get a better result. Better yet, maybe you can make your own thread with how you run Annihilation spec.

 

P.S.

Lastly, I've been running Rage spec for about 1 and a half days now and it's a Trollololol-smash-a-thon of OPness. Gonna play around with it for a while, suffice to say I recommend Annihilation spec for solo queueing and to get a feel for the class. Once you're good, once you're breaking 100 heals per second on a regular basis, when you feel like you can solo just about anyone, play around.

 

Hell, guys play around with other builds and specs in general. It will only make you better players. The more you know, the more versatile you are, the better you'll be, hands down. ALSO, not everything is for everybody. Don't think Annihilation is the end-all-be-all. Carnage and Rage have superberb players who have shown superb success. All 3 specs are super-viable and should be experimented with.

 

IIMPORTANT

The best way to build and get a rotation down is by using the ship WZ dummy. Basically you have to figure the rotation first. You can do this by looking it up and by experimenting. Then off of the optimal rotation (relative optimal rotation, because you won't always be perfect, but try) you make a comfortable key-ability layout for your shortcuts. Your rotation has to take into account Rage requirements, this is crucial. IMO, Annihilatiion and Carnage require a high Rage pool for optimal use, especially when your burst period through beserk becomes available, and Rage is sorta more medium Rage pool (6ish give or take). I'm still getting accustomed to Rage, but I'm already doing obscene damage. Will definitely keep people posted.

 

I redo my key layouts countless times in the course of days when I'm working on rotation memory, optimal bindings, and optimal ability activation through Rage management. I have experience with this using Rage Maras and Madness Assassins, which I consider to be 2 of the more difficult ones because timings need to be memorized and become second nature as well as figuring out the Force/Rage management issues (priorities).

 

I apologize if anything is convoluted, re-reading it can confuse me too, but I think that it's pretty much on point.

Edited November 3, 2012 by AsiriusNazriel

[PoliteAssasin]

@AsiriusNazriel

 

Sorry, but claiming that all you need to do in between rupture/annihilate is spam assault and that you're the best is spreading misinformation. You are leaving out vicious slash with guarantees more dots as it has a 33% chance to proc rupture. If all you do is spam assault, you're wasting not only dps but rage. I find it laughable that with this sloppy spec and rotation/priorities that you've written you claim to be the best marauder. If only server transfers were live, I and so many other sentinels on my server would have crushed your ego long ago. Playing against bad players doesn't make you good. I don't even need to see you play, hearing about it from your own mouth is enough.

 

If you have rage management issues then thats on you, but just because you can't seem to manage doesn't mean others can't either. Keep watering down your dps though, you are the best right?

 

The vindicator bonus IS highly beneficial, but for watchman/annihilation only. You not taking CQ makes it a waste of a set bonus. You make it seem like using the set bonus, managing rage, and applying dots can't all be done with ease. Is it that difficult for you that you have to prioritize one over the other?

 

Self preservation isn't the question. If you're already at the point of death, chances are I'll bring you back there regardless of whether you grab a medpac or not. I've done it before, especially with marauders/sentinels. If you're watchman/annihilation and you're running away to grab a medpac, that is shameful as we have self heals basically ever time we apply dots, and guaranteed heals on zen. Everyone dies in the game, unless you're running around with a pocket healer. I solo queue, I rely on no one but myself. If I see a group of enemies, regardless of the number I'm going go jump in there and take as many with me as I can. Geared, or ungeared. Sorry if that's your shortcoming. Our spec works best under pressure, for someone claiming to be the best you should know that.

 

Assassins, I already set the criteria for that. Deception and Madness are easy kills. Full Darkness tanks are easy kills. It's the hybrid of full Darkness with dps gear that is literally impossible to kill if an equally skilled player is behind the controls. You're not going to convince me that you can kill one, especially spamming assault. You make the assumption that I'm a keybind elitist, just like you make many other assumptions, cute.

 

You said it took you a minute to kill an operative/scoundrel healer. That sounds like a problem to me. You also said you can't kill a hybrid, again an issue. Call me a liar all you want, just because the self proclaimed "best marauder" can't spam assault a healer to death doesn't mean its impossible. Maybe you should fix your spec and rotation and see how you do.

 

You said in your OP that snipers as well as assassins were issues for you. Your words, not mine.

 

Again, you may be referring to full tankasins, i'm talking about tank spec with dps gear. Don't kid yourself into thinking you'd even come close at the end of the fight. You must be playing with some terribly skilled players if you sincerely believe that.

 

You wouldn't have issues with rage if you specced into CQ, and Enraged Charge along with Empowerment. You have Empowerment, and are still complaining about rage? o_0

 

You are correct I did not read entirely through this thread, I couldn't stand the ego and delusions that you were the bestest marauder ever. If you're going to be arrogant, at least be good. No your opinions are not accurate, they're completely off. I did not claim that people think you may be a bad player, i'm telling you that based on what you're "advising" you aren't the annihilation god you make yourself our to be. But just because some average players thinks a slightly above average player is the best doesn't make it so. If you want to really argue credentials, look me up when server transfers or cross server queues come, whichever's first, gonna be a fun day regardless when a lot of egos get bruised.

 

The guides intent may have been to help players, but you've done a poor job of it. You can read my post above for examples, I won't go through them again. I don't take anything you said personal, I just view your opinions as misguided, which they are. You are the one who's dead wrong, not me. And to answer your suggestion, I'd rather not make my own thread. There's only one or two sentinels on my server who can do what I do. Knowledge is power, and I don't see a need to spread what i've learned over nearly a years worth of playing dual wield. I simply felt an obligation to newcomers to point out that this information isn't going to get them very far. I would also add that I never claimed that carnage/rage aren't viable. You're putting words into my mouth, again how cute. If you're only getting around to rage right now, then I'm sorry to inform you that you're a bit late to the party. Judging by your hostile and exaggerated response, you seem to have taken offense to my original post. Again, it wasn't personal, simply pointing out mistakes you are "advising" to people.

 

Have a nice day champ.

[AsiriusNazriel]

@ServerFirstEliteWarlordOfBeregrenColony

 

You are entitled to your opinions.

Edited November 3, 2012 by AsiriusNazriel

[PoliteAssasin]

@ChuckNorrisofTheEbonHawk

 

Right back at ya.

[Alhxor]

Any chance you'll be streaming?

[AsiriusNazriel]

Any chance you'll be streaming?

 

I'll look into it, won't promise anything. I play on a 12.5" laptop with all the settings turned down, so it wouldn't look pretty.

[VarekRayth]

Names A'zrael on Ebon Hawk, relative new to the 50 game as a hybrid Juggy tank. I got to run with Arash the other day before and after he switched to Rage and I can't give enough praise to this guys skills. Straight up melts people. I spent much of the match with him as my guard target and he just tore folks apart. Made getting that PVP daily that much quicker as we roflstomped some Pubs.

 

Keep it up!

[Kaos_KidSWTOR]

One thing i will say that will help maras and any class in general is the Merc Stealth keyboard (only about $80) it has a side area that has condenced the 1-= keys down to 2 rows of small circles making it easyer to hit the 5-= keys.

[Valzanik]

Stopped reading after you didn't take short leap. This + the vindicator set is extremely viable and useful. However I can see why you went with the 30% aoe reduction because of all the smash monkies. The short leap + vindicator helps our burst which this class lacks.