New Lv 50 Sentinel needs help!

[HK-Impaler]

Hi!

My Sentinels name is Smarky, I just recently reached lv 50. And I have to say I am really struggling, to be honest I get my butt kicked way to often. I can barely hold my own against even small groups of enemys, who are lv 45! If there are more than two of them I'm going get destroyed. I know that as a DPS that strength is the most important stat for me, fallowed by endurance. Currently they are 1090 and 1080 respectively. I am nearly broke because I spent most of my credits on updates for my armor and I could only afford to hit 124. I think 150 is the highest armor rating right? Well anyway not only am I having all this trouble I also just got promoted to Guild master of my guild! We are a small guild and I feel kinda like the blind leading the blind here. There isn't anyone more qualified to run things and I do my best to help but I feel like I need to get better equipped and stronger to be a more effective Guild leader. Can anyone help me with outfitting and skill distribution? because If I can't get him in order as a Jedi, I'm switching to my Commando a and making him Guild leader. For some reason he does so much better in combat, but I want to fix my Sentinel because he was my first toon. Please help!

[Helig]

Hi!

My Sentinels name is Smarky, I just recently reached lv 50. And I have to say I am really struggling, to be honest I get my butt kicked way to often. I can barely hold my own against even small groups of enemys, who are lv 45! If there are more than two of them I'm going get destroyed. I know that as a DPS that strength is the most important stat for me, fallowed by endurance. Currently they are 1090 and 1080 respectively. I am nearly broke because I spent most of my credits on updates for my armor and I could only afford to hit 124. I think 150 is the highest armor rating right? Well anyway not only am I having all this trouble I also just got promoted to Guild master of my guild! We are a small guild and I feel kinda like the blind leading the blind here. There isn't anyone more qualified to run things and I do my best to help but I feel like I need to get better equipped and stronger to be a more effective Guild leader. Can anyone help me with outfitting and skill distribution? because If I can't get him in order as a Jedi, I'm switching to my Commando a and making him Guild leader. For some reason he does so much better in combat, but I want to fix my Sentinel because he was my first toon. Please help!

Take a deep breath.

 

Rule of the thumb is, you want the best hilts for your weapons asap. Do some daily quests and you can have easy-to-reach rating 126 (I think) hilts and armorings, which will allow you to perform more than fine in entry-level endgame. Your stats should include a "soft-cap" on Surge, which is around 75% critical damage bonus (might bring it up to 80, but only when you have around 2k Str), 20-25% unbuffed crit rating, around 1200 Str for starters. You'll also need about 110% (base) accuracy for raid bosses. 115% is more suitable for hard modes, but 110 will get you through story modes just fine.

 

Second, what is your spec? How do you use your skills? If you're struggling with priorities/rotations, leave Annihilation and Carnage for a time when you're more comfortable with the class. Spec Focus - it is very, very straightforward. You charge in, put exhaustion on one mob, wait 1 GCD (use something else like Zealous Strike), then autocrit for a nice fat number with Force Sweep. Don't forget the first-tier Watchman talent that makes Slash cheap and the one that increases Centering generation - between Shii-Cho Zen and Zealous Strike, you will barely use Strike to get Focus.

 

Third, you have the most powerful defensive cooldowns in the game. Use them. Rebuke should be your go-to cooldown for most fights. Pacify powerful enemies who deal "white" damage (those who shoot and swing melee weapons a lot), use Camouflage to break a DPS train on yourself, use Guarded by the Force if you're low on health and are about to recieve a big hit.

 

Can't think of anything else - not with the amount of information provided

Edited November 23, 2012 by Helig

[Phoeniixx]

I'll just correct few technical mistakes.

 

Your stats should include a "soft-cap" on Surge, which is around 75% critical damage bonus (might bring it up to 80, but only when you have around 2k Str)

 

Yes, you want 75% surge and no, your str will not add to it, so you won't have 80% unless with 550 surge rate or so.

 

You'll also need about 110% (base) accuracy for raid bosses. 115% is more suitable for hard modes, but 110 will get you through story modes just fine.

 

110% BASE accuracy is really bad. You want 110% SPECIAL accuracy which is 100% base (around 280 accuracy rate) and you never want go higher than that.

[Helig]

Yes, you want 75% surge and no, your str will not add to it, so you won't have 80% unless with 550 surge rate or so.

I meant that there's little sense stacking Surge to 80-81% at the expense of Str/Pow. 75% is sufficient, beyond that it suffers heavily from diminishing returns.

110% BASE accuracy is really bad. You want 110% SPECIAL accuracy which is 100% base (around 280 accuracy rate) and you never want go higher than that.

Must have mistyped. Base as in "minimum". Definitely meant special. And parses showed that I got Force power resists at 110%. They were eliminated at 115%.

Edited November 23, 2012 by Helig

[SteveGarbage]

Hold on, before we start talking about operations and hard mode flashpoints, I think we need to focus on general gameplay. If you're having a hard time mopping up standard mobs, there are more serious problems than thinking about tackling end-game content.

 

Here's some general tips to help you play the Sentinel class at a high level:

1) Utilize Pommel Strike and Opportune Strike. Both of these skills cost no focus, but have specific uses. Opportune Strike only works against opponents that are slowed and snared, so use it on regulars/lieutenant grade enemies right after using Force Leap, since it snares. Use Opportune Strike to quickly dispatch regular enemies after hitting them with a Force Sweep (since they're stunned). Those two skills can help you quickly get low-grade enemies off you who don't have a lot of life but do a fair amount of damage.

 

2) Interrupt! If you are not interrupting skills you will die a lot. I have Force Kick on my tilde key right next to 1 so I can always easily reach it. Remember that Force Leap and Force Stasis can also interrupt. Even against weaker enemies, interrupting something like Full Auto can seriously help your survivability.

 

3) Roll with Doc. Doc is easily your best companion because of his heals. Turn off his Carbonite skill since it wastes time that he could be healing you and make sure he's got his healing stance activated. Keep his gear up as best you can (focusing on Cunning) so that his heals will be bigger. As long as you're not biting off more than you can chew, he should rarely draw aggro so you'll be getting nothing but heals without having to worry about him. With a good-geared Doc, you should have no problem with anything less than an Elite or Champ level.

 

4) Utilize your defensive skills. You have several - Rebuke, Saber Ward, Awe, Guarded by the Force and Force Camoflague (and maybe Unity too if you have it unlocked through Legacy). I like to start fights with Rebuke since it cools down quickly. Pop Saber Ward if your life is dropping quickly. Guarded by the Force heals you over time. Awe is your only AOE stun that can buy you a few seconds. And Force Camoflague will drop your aggro, effectively translating it to your companion. When you use all of these in the right way, Sentinels are very hard to kill because of your high damage. Also, use Stun Droid to stun droids. It will knock them out of the fight for 60 seconds.

 

5) Focus on your hilts and armoring. Hilts control the base damage of your sabers while armoring sets the base armor value. By level 50 you should pretty much be wearing all orange-grade. Mods can be expensive to craft or buy, but you want to make sure that those two are at the highest level first, since they're affecting base stats and not just secondary stats.

 

6) Although some people might argue now after a recent nerf, I still think Watchman provides the overall best damage and survivability. The spec offers good sustained damage and the ability to self-heal, which can be critical over a long fight against a strong opponent. Make sure to utilize Zen when you have your burns available to get a quick healing jolt. Also remember that Valorous Call will instantly give you 30 Centering for a free Zen if you need another jolt of healing.

 

7) Use Dispatch when available. If you're specced properly, it costs 3 Focus and does more damage than Slash. You can only use it on enemies with less than 30 percent health, but it's high damage for a low focus cost.

 

8) Focus weaker enemies first. This may seem the wrong way to go about it, but as I pointed out before, although they have lower hitpoints, they hit just about as hard at most lieutenant enemies. So you want to kill them quicker to get that damage off you. In team fights, tanks have the priority of focusing the strongest enemies, while DPS like Sents should rip through the weak enemies.

 

9) Make sure to keep up your Force Might buff. Also adding a stim can help your performance. Try to grab the buffs from other classes too if you can. I like to "drive-by buff" people in the field and they usually return the favor.

 

10) Don't try to tackle Heroic 2+s without help. You may think you're strong enough to handle a 2+ on your own, but late in the game they become too much to handle alone unless you have great gear. So grab a friend if you're going to try to take those. I remember trying to do so on Hoth by myself and continually getting put in my place.

 

Having great gear can help you out, but playing Sentinel at a high level takes more skill and focus than other classes who can sit back and spam a few skills. You have to actively manage 10+ skills at the same time to be an effective Sent. It's not for the weak of heart. But once you get a good rhythm and feel for playing it efficiently, you'll find that there are few enemies that can stand in front of you. Once you can get some higher PVE gear from Daily Commendations or Black Hole on Corellia you'll be better set to tackle further stuff too.

[Helig]

Having great gear can help you out, but playing Sentinel at a high level takes more skill and focus than other classes who can sit back and spam a few skills. You have to actively manage 10+ skills at the same time to be an effective Sent. It's not for the weak of heart. But once you get a good rhythm and feel for playing it efficiently, you'll find that there are few enemies that can stand in front of you. Once you can get some higher PVE gear from Daily Commendations or Black Hole on Corellia you'll be better set to tackle further stuff too.

 

I'd agree with the bolded statement if I didn't haven't levelled 2 Guardians (Defense, Vigilance, third still levelling - as Focus), along with my marauders. Guards seem to be significantly more unforgiving, as far as resource system and skill priorities are concerned. As Marauder, I can sometimes derp and still swim in Rage.

Edited November 23, 2012 by Helig

[Phoeniixx]

I meant that there's little sense stacking Surge to 80-81% at the expense of Str/Pow. 75% is sufficient, beyond that it suffers heavily from diminishing returns.

 

Well, you can change surge only for accuracy or alacrity. Alacrity is nonsense so you you are at 100% accu, you can stack surge as you want. For example my combat sent has 477 surge. :-)

Anyway I saw force resist only on my alt which was really underleveled for those mobs. Never saw it at 50.

[Helig]

Well, you can change surge only for accuracy or alacrity. Alacrity is nonsense so you you are at 100% accu, you can stack surge as you want. For example my combat sent has 477 surge. :-)

Anyway I saw force resist only on my alt which was really underleveled for those mobs. Never saw it at 50.

Well, you can trade some Surge for Power as far as enhancements and Augments are concerned.

[HK-Impaler]

Ok, well first of all I must be a serious idiot. I don't even have half the attacks you all listed, Awe, Guarded by the force, and many others. When I leveled up and went to the trainer a lot of the new things seemed to me to be useless, but I am by no means any kind of authority, this is my first PC game and the console RPGs I've played don't have this level of complexity. I do have Rebuke, and Saber Ward and I use them often. As for my spec I kinda split between Focus and Combat, I have nothing in Watchmen. When I read the stats to choose from In Watchmen, most of them seemed useless. I currently use Kira as my companion because I was able to out fit her for free, a friend gave me a bunch of sweet gear for her so now sadly she is better equipped than I. I do have all orange gear and my top armor number is 124, my lowest is 112. My saber hilts are both 124, and I have Black-on-blue and Black-on-orange color crystals. As for mods and enhancements I am seriously lacking. I have a full set of PVP gear I got for free at lv50, and a valor rank of 33. I tried to use Doc when I got him, but her couldn't heal me much before whatever I was fighting toasted him, so I went back to Kira. I have been running the Athiss FP by my self over and over to make some credits. I usually make about 15,000 Creds per run, but it takes about 30 min each time. I will do what I can to pick up these other attacks and ability's that you all have listed. As for stat distribution should I go with the Watchmen track exclusively? Or can I continue my split between the other two?

Also what is the best light saber form to use? To be honest I don't really see any difference between them in combat.

Thanks to all of you for your help so far! I really appreciate it and I'm glad you've all been so kind about it.

In a nut shell, thanks for not calling me dumb:)

[Helig]

Ok, well first of all I must be a serious idiot. I don't even have half the attacks you all listed, Awe, Guarded by the force, and many others. When I leveled up and went to the trainer a lot of the new things seemed to me to be useless, but I am by no means any kind of authority, this is my first PC game and the console RPGs I've played don't have this level of complexity. I do have Rebuke, and Saber Ward and I use them often. As for my spec I kinda split between Focus and Combat, I have nothing in Watchmen. When I read the stats to choose from In Watchmen, most of them seemed useless.

 

As for stat distribution should I go with the Watchmen track exclusively? Or can I continue my split between the other two?

 

Also what is the best light saber form to use? To be honest I don't really see any difference between them in combat.

Rule of the thumb for a DPS character is - all forms of control and mitigation cooldowns are integral for survival.

 

Sentinels do not genrally do well in hybrid builds at the moment. Pick a spec and stick with it. Lightsaber Form must be chosen according to that spec. Wathmen utilize Juyo because talents are cut out to support this Form (increased DoT crit chance etc). Combat uses Ataru because Combat Trance is an integral part of its combat system. Focus uses Shii-Cho because you get significant cooldown reductions on your main attack skill in this Form.

 

Specs are not about separate talents which may or may not seem useless on their own, but rather the synergy between mechanics introduced by your talents and baseline skills of your class.

 

I currently use Kira as my companion because I was able to out fit her for free, a friend gave me a bunch of sweet gear for her so now sadly she is better equipped than I. I do have all orange gear and my top armor number is 124, my lowest is 112. My saber hilts are both 124, and I have Black-on-blue and Black-on-orange color crystals. As for mods and enhancements I am seriously lacking. I have a full set of PVP gear I got for free at lv50, and a valor rank of 33. I tried to use Doc when I got him, but her couldn't heal me much before whatever I was fighting toasted him, so I went back to Kira. I have been running the Athiss FP by my self over and over to make some credits. I usually make about 15,000 Creds per run, but it takes about 30 min each time. I will do what I can to pick up these other attacks and ability's that you all have listed.

Thanks to all of you for your help so far! I really appreciate it and I'm glad you've all been so kind about it.

In a nut shell, thanks for not calling me dumb:)

When running with a healer, be sure to tap all enemies around you so that they don't instantly aggro on the said healer. Each enemy has a "threat" list. They attack the first character to engage them by default, but they will switch target once they "realize" that there's something of a "higher" threat than a guy who is just beating on one of them - and that's usually another person who damages them, or the one that heals their target. Be sure to slap them with Sweep to solidify your "threat".

 

Also, stop running Athiss. Just straighten out your talents. and run "usual" daily quests - you'll earn credits faster this way.

 

I recommend Focus as the easiest to get the hang of. You charge in, you use Force Exhaustion, you hit Zealous Strike, and then unload Force Sweep. Boom! For easy Surge and Power (integral for strong Force Sweep criticals), grab something like Discipline enhancements, even if they're blue.

 

Use Shii-Cho Zen liberally and you'll be swimming in Focus.

Edited November 24, 2012 by Helig

[Phoeniixx]

Well, you can trade some Surge for Power as far as enhancements and Augments are concerned.

 

Augments maybe. But you really really really cant trade power for surge with enhancements. Surge is in category with accuracy and alacrity. Power is with critical. So you have enhancements like power/surge, crit/surge, power/accuracy, crit/accuracy, ...

[Helig]

Augments maybe. But you really really really cant trade power for surge with enhancements. Surge is in category with accuracy and alacrity. Power is with critical. So you have enhancements like power/surge, crit/surge, power/accuracy, crit/accuracy, ...

 

True enough. You can trade Surge for crit, though. Wouldn't hurt, unless you're already sitting at 40-ish % raidbuffed. But then again, pushing one hardcap instead of the other is a matter of parsing and fine-tuning.

 

And mods allow you to trade Crit for Power, so it's pretty flexible.

Edited November 25, 2012 by Helig

[Phoeniixx]

No no no. :-) You can't trade surge for crit. Atleast not on lvl 50 gear. You could do that with augments, but comon, who doesn't use main stat or power on them.

 

Stats are divided in three (maybe) categories.

 

Category one: main stat. You can trade STR for Willpower or AIM or whatever.

Category two: power, crit. You can trade power for crit or the other way around.

Category Three: accuracy, surge, alacrity. You can again trade stats in this category.

 

Armorings give you category one only (+ endurence).

Mods give you category one + category two (+ endurence).

Enhancements give you category two + category three (+ endurence).

 

This applies for lvl 50 ops and pvp dps gear. I don't know much about tank gear categories though.

[SteveGarbage]

Well, I think we've gotten to the bottom of the problem now! From your second post I see a variety of problems already.

 

1) You should invest in and use most if not all of your skills. They all have uses. Pretty much with my Sentinel the only skills I don't regularly use are Blade Storm (because I'm Watchman), Transcendence (again because Zen is superior for Watchman), Leg Sweep (since slowing enemies is really of no use in PvE) and Riposte (because it messes up my Focus management). Other than that, I use nearly every skill available —*not all the time, but they are needed.

 

As I said before, Opportune Strike and Pommel Strike are free skills (no focus cost) that can up your DPs by helping you eliminate weak enemies quickly. Awe is an AOE stun that is useful when fighting multiple enemies. Force Camouflage can dump your threat. Pretty much every skill is useful in some way or in a particular situation. Train them and test them out. If you have questions about a particular skill or why it is useful, feel free to ask and I'll help you out.

 

2) As was said early, Sentinel is one class that really doesn't benefit from a hybrid build. Pick one of the three trees and go with it. You'll want a 31/x/x build of some type. I personally like Watchman, but Combat and Focus are both good too. The form you use will be determined by which tree you spec in — Watchman used Juyo, Combat uses Ataru and Focus uses Shii-Cho.

 

Watchman utilizes damage-over-time skills and has self-healing, which Combat and Focus offer more burst damage possibilities. Personally I like the measured rhythm of Watchman, but I'd suggest experimenting.

 

3) Also as was said, the best way to keep fire off of your healer companion is to use Force Sweep. It has a wide range and does good damage which should draw the aggro of every enemy near you. Also, since you leap in, you'll get additional proximity threat compared to Doc, who should be 30 meters away. If you rip through the first enemy with a combo of Leap/Opportune Strike (which usually is enough on a regular grade baddie), you can occupy a second leaving only one or two even capable of breaking away to Doc.

 

Kira is good for the midgame, but late she really doesn't have the beefiness to hold up in prolonged combat. Doc will allow you to stay in there nearly indefinitely. Even trying to solo a Champion grade, he should give you enough healing to survive for several minutes.

 

I'll leave it at that for now. It's nothing to be embarrassed about if this is really your first MMO. It is for me too, although I had dabbled in others and played a lot of CRPGs in my day. They are complex and can be confusing. My suggestion is to keep asking questions and look for some guides.

 

There used to be a guide stickied to the top of the forum but I guess that's gone now. Reading a guide really helped me to learn how to play the class at a high level by explaining how skills work, why they're useful and what kind of stats to focus on. But since we don't have one, feel free to ask whatever questions you need and I'll give you a hand.

 

EDIT: Also what server are you on? If you happen to be on Ebon Hawk we can possibly meet up in game and I'll give you some pointers.

Edited November 28, 2012 by SteveGarbage