Any good PvP CM/Assault hybrid specs?

[NoFishing]

Although I'm still relatively new to PvP, I've concluded that even in assault spec, my commando is mostly pointless in that environment, for reasons that I'm sure most of you know.

 

So I'm thinking going full medic...but I really don't want the green beam of lemme-mark-myself-imma-healer. So I would like keep plasma cell equipped, and throw out some burns or heals depending on the situation. And if I have plasma cell equipped, it seems like I should take some skills from the assault tree that benefit that.

 

So are there any good hybrid CM/assault specs out there? I'm thinking of something like:

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#800dfR0RzfZMcoZcGMrz.2

 

I'm not looking to be top DPS or top heals in WZs, just to be able to feel useful and support the group with burning down a priority target or defending a node.

[Gyronamics]

SCC is in there, it wont ever be charged if you are using Plasma.

 

Also locking yourself to one role is more helpful.

 

With the free respecs available to subscribers you just need to buy field respec from legacy to respec within a wz.

 

If I fight you, a commando hybrid, you can neither out-heal me or do enough credible damage to kill me.

 

And you will be dead.

 

This is from my point of view as an assault commando with a lot of experience in both being killed and killing.

 

I do not believe there is a single hybrid spec available to commandos atm which is viable over a pure spec.

 

Used to be, used to be able to spam some nasty CB as a medic/gunnery during SCC after popping click relics.

 

Of course various things nerfed that to oblivion. Now there's nothing.

Edited December 2, 2012 by Gyronamics

[NoFishing]

Thanks Gyro. I agree the point in SCC cells is probably pointless. Although MP builds charges as well, I can't see myself using SCC very often. The only other place I could put that would be Cell Capacitor, but ammo doesn't really seem to ever be an issue in PvP.

 

I guess I'm ok if I can't win a 1v1 fight...hell, I can't win them now against most classes! And I accept that I still have something to learn about assault commando's in PvP. But it would seem useful to be able to do either at certain times, at least in most PuG WZs.

 

Unfortunately, I think you are right about the spec not being good enough at anything to be useful. I tried it out for a few hours tonight, and just never seemed to have any real impact. Some damage, some kills, and some healing, but nothing that really turned the tide or held up an attack for any period of time. It may just be too complicated to play. I may give it another chance, but it seems likely I will end up full CM for PvP, with a respec if there are too many healers in the group.

[klham]

I find the three separate talent trees for Commando don't synergize well to make a hybrid viable, and even on Vanguard the Assault tree synergizes the least with the other two Vanguard trees (at launch several customized Tactics + Shield Specialist hybrids were popular in PvP - players wanted to DPS, be tanky, and have mobility with either Storm or Hold the Line). Some ACs still have viable hybrids (Assassin/Shadow) but Commando isn't one of them - all the abilities that might make it worthwhile are too far up, and each tree needs its capstone ability to be effective at its job.

[thamightyboro]

short answer is no you only gimp yourself I tried similar just last week and it was horrid.

[NoFishing]

Yeah, I've given up on this. Went full CM, green-beam-of-death and all. I had a bit more fun than with assault....it's great when the enemy team just stuns me to full resolve, I hit reactive shield, and can hold off 4 or more attackers for about 15s. Helped my team to cap the other door that way twice.

 

Of course it doesn't work when the other team vastly outgears me (which is a lot of teams right now), but even then it's a bit better.

[Aaoogaa]

It isn't possible for CM to run a viable dual spec because of our ammo loadouts. Either we are dps or we are heals. Unlike sage and smuggler commando can "effectively" (as long as you're not gunnery) only do one at a time. Edited December 5, 2012 by Aaoogaa

[oaceen]

if only grav round was an upgrade to charged bolts, we'd be in business with hybrid specs.

 

as it is, they're pretty useless imo

[Trevalion]

As far as CM hybrid builds, there are no really good ones because you sacrifice to much to pick up the healing/survivability in the CM tree.

 

I do have a nice gunnery/assault hybrid that I find works pretty well running in Plasma Cell:

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#800ZrIkMMr0RZcGrbzh.2

 

It is based on the idea that the damage of full auto in the gunnery spec is prime and that casting charged bolts simply takes too long. The rotation is the same as a full assault (w/out assault plastique of course) and spamming hammer shot on cooldown. It's pretty fun, you should check it out

[oaceen]

As far as CM hybrid builds, there are no really good ones because you sacrifice to much to pick up the healing/survivability in the CM tree.

 

I do have a nice gunnery/assault hybrid that I find works pretty well running in Plasma Cell:

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#800ZrIkMMr0RZcGrbzh.2

 

It is based on the idea that the damage of full auto in the gunnery spec is prime and that casting charged bolts simply takes too long. The rotation is the same as a full assault (w/out assault plastique of course) and spamming hammer shot on cooldown. It's pretty fun, you should check it out

i tried to come up with something similar, but was still using grav round. i was trying to figure out if getting ionic accelerator or curtain of fire was better, my head started hurting at the thought of trying to think up a rotation, and scrapped the idea.

 

how is your experience with it?

[Gyronamics]

Looks iffy.

 

Boosting an attack you can't use much, dropping all secondary ammo recovery skills and losing damage boosters for virtually everything as assault.

[Trevalion]

So the hybrid that I posted actually does pretty well. The burst damage DOES all come from FA + HiB procs, but with FA boosted in damage it still hits like a truck. As a hybrid, your always sacrificing something in order to gain somewhere else. This hybrid build does sacrifice much of the Assault tree to get up to the damage boost on FA.

 

In using it, I can say that my personal experience is pretty rewarding. I have the mobility of assault, I still dot people up with hammershot (and slow them occasionally!). FA is off cooldown often enough that I rarely have to cast charged bolts. FA hits like a truck (Im in mostly BiS war hero) often times ticking for over 3k to final damage numbers up past 6k followed on by HiB.

 

I have to admit though, that the burst of this hybrid is not super high, but it does put out great pressure damage. The DoTs combined with FA +HiB will lock a healer down pretty fast. I rarely run out of ammo in this spec, and I have a good time with it.

 

That being said, I play it for fun. I am recommending it because it's entertaining to try out different specs, not because it's OP or makes playing a mando in PvP any easier. Take it for what it is.

[Gyronamics]

Well I've tried it myself now and I rather liked the damage it can do if everything is available.

 

You lose out damage on a lot of things for a lot of damage on one thing.

 

I shall try it out in EC NiM Kephess where I'm likely to be the guy duelling the warriors.

 

 

*Don't like it for sustained fire.

Edited December 10, 2012 by Gyronamics

[Aaoogaa]

It doesn't really qualify as a hybrid spec..it is an alternative dps spec. Hybrid would be dps/healing combo.