Does the Jedi Knight get better at higher levels in PvP?(sentinel)

[wombinator]

I rolled a Jedi Knight Sentinel and I'm at lvl 29 right now. But In Warzones, I get my *** handed to me all the time.

I consider myself a decent player, I know what buttons to press, probably not at the right time but I know what I'm doing(or atleast I think so).

 

I charge at someone and generally if their a higher level then I get murdered. That and everyone goes after melee, so once I'm in the spotlight I'm a goner.

 

My question is, does the sentinel get better in warzones when I level up and get more abilities like force camo?

I'm combat spec right now, I tried smash spec but I didn't really do all that much more damage.

[-ThEoNe-]

I rolled a Jedi Knight Sentinel and I'm at lvl 29 right now. But In Warzones, I get my *** handed to me all the time.

I consider myself a decent player, I know what buttons to press, probably not at the right time but I know what I'm doing(or atleast I think so).

 

I charge at someone and generally if their a higher level then I get murdered. That and everyone goes after melee, so once I'm in the spotlight I'm a goner.

 

My question is, does the sentinel get better in warzones when I level up and get more abilities like force camo?

I'm combat spec right now, I tried smash spec but I didn't really do all that much more damage.

 

Oh yeah, it gets better.

 

I leveled as watchman till 40, then tried the 3 different specs. Stuck it out with watchman at the time, but honestly Sentinel is in a really good place overall (save for some minor love to be done to the watchman tree) and is one of the stronger PvP classes. Sentinel is a damage dishing beast @ 50.

 

Do you use keybinds? Are you waiting for your procs? Whats your priority list atm? Make sure you are using WZ adrenals and stims. Whats your current spec?

 

http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/skills/sentinel#0-218882k-0

 

If you are planning to continue leveling as Combat and plan on just putting points in the Combat tree (so @ 40 you get the top tier ability) I would use something like the above, or you can take two points out of combat and put them in one of the lower tiered boxes like "Master Focus" to increase your master strike damage, "Valor" to help build centering. Wouldn't drop the points in "Focused Slash" since you don't have Dispatch or Blade Rush yet, but if you are having focus problems and find yourself using Slash a ton, then go for it.

 

Make sure to keep up with your gear. This is huge when progressing through WZs, and many people neglect it. You will see a fair amount of people saying that since you get the PvP Scaling Boost in lowbies then there isn't any real reward for really keeping your gear upgraded. So make sure you keep your gear updated.

[ezrafetch]

Honestly, I'm currently leveling as a Focus Sentinel (lvl27 spec here) and as soon as I got the autocrit Force Sweep, life got a lot better for me for PvP. Without access to any of the defensive cooldowns it requires you to pick your fights a bit more since you can't just lolGBTFkthxbai and save your behind, but you can stick on targets with Zealous Leap, which will set up more autocrit Sweeps. If you want a healer or ballcarrier dead, you have plenty of tools to control them enough to get sufficient damage on them. For node maps (i.e. CW, NC), you're going to die a lot more, since everyone clumps up. Until you pick up cooldowns though, you will die. That's going to be a fact, especially without cooldowns. The smarter you pick your fights, the less you'll die, though.

 

Anecdotal evidence: I successfully went 100k+ damage, 20k+ objective points in a game of Huttball just yesterday with my limited CDs, offensive capabilities Focus Sentinel. I should've screencapped it, but alas. I also solo-killed a lvl49 node-guarding Assassin as Focus on NC, so Sentinels are capable of performing passably well at low-ish levels. Take it as you will though, since it's all anecdotal evidence.

Edited January 12, 2013 by ezrafetch

[Aelaias]

My marauder is 38 which is apparently a few levels above the point at which the combat carnage spec gets insane. Until yesterday I was Annihilation/Watchman and hated the awkward backloaded cleansable burst. Decided to give carnage a go, took a few seconds to figure out the winning combo and quickly realized how OP it is. Give it a go.

[Senden]

Honestly I think it's a l2p issue here.. From level 11 onwards (when I first went into a warzone) I found myself doing very well. The trick is not to just charge in recklessly but choose your fights and stay around people so as to not draw too much attention to yourself. Having a good team helps but really, Sentinel is imho the strongest pvp class in the game leveling up wise at least.

[jupezz]

Stick to Watchman till at least level 40, after that all specs are very good all the way to level 50 where Watchman seriously falls off.

Other than that I can only give you the standard tips: position yourself wisely, choose your fights, don't rush into zergs as a melee and try to pick off isolated targets and you should be doing just fine.

When it comes to the performance (and overall difficulty) of Melee classes in low level PvP it's probably something like Shadow > Sent/Vanguard > Scoundrel > Guardian.

[Draksen]

Honestly I think it's a l2p issue here.. From level 11 onwards (when I first went into a warzone) I found myself doing very well. The trick is not to just charge in recklessly but choose your fights and stay around people so as to not draw too much attention to yourself. Having a good team helps but really, Sentinel is imho the strongest pvp class in the game leveling up wise at least.

In before a "at level 1 I was already soloing 3 level 50 with ease"

It's a standard, every post in an mmo forum need its "lol noob" reply

[Ekoth]

Your experience in WZs will get better as you get to the higher levels. One thing with a JK, especially a Sentinel, is that while you will start with good damage dealing, your survivability is low because you don't have the defensive tools/talents/abilities that your class is dependent on. So just stick with it, your experience will get better. Just know that you're not a tank class; once you get focused in a WZ make sure you get out because you won't survive long (it's like that even at level 50).

[KruelhandJorb]

Sentinel can be a bit of a pain in the *** till you're in your 30's and from that point on you should be dominating PvP and once you hit 40 you should be pretty much unstopable.

 

If you want to do any of the 3 trees they're fine in low tier PvP because most healers don't cleanse dots of Watchman, all you need in watchman to really kick *** is Overload Sabre and start to get the dot talents to increase their dmg and your faster interupt

 

Once you can take precision slash in combat, you can really start to hurt people and do some nice burst.

 

Focus will be the weak of the 3 trees sub lvl 40, but once you get lvl 40, the Focus tree just blows people up, dealing insane dmg. All 3 trees once you can take the top lvl talent really get exponentially better (especially Focus and Watchman). A poorly played Focus sentinel is probably more effective then an average of most other classes in PvP because of the ease of rotation, mobility and AOE burst dmg.

[DarthMeridian]

Sentinels only do good, when they are not focused or they are permanently healed, otherwise you need to play very cautiously, dont attract atention or you will get burned fast even with ur defensive cds on ( the light from two lightsabres really attracts opponents).

I have 25 lvl imperial sniper and can already see why the ranged classes are advantageous in pvp - i dished out higher damage numbers than with recruit lvl 50 sentinel wtih less deaths ofcourse.

 

My favourite experience with lvl 50 sentinel is running to entrenched sniper with transedence - two shots - 50percent hp - cover pulse (knockback) - another two shots and i am dead (didnt even touched him)

Edited January 17, 2013 by DarthMeridian

[Fletchernator]

Sentinels only do good, when they are not focused or they are permanently healed, otherwise you need to play very cautiously, dont attract atention or you will get burned fast even with ur defensive cds on ( the light from two lightsabres really attracts opponents).

I have 25 lvl imperial sniper and can already see why the ranged classes are advantageous in pvp - i dished out higher damage numbers than with recruit lvl 50 sentinel wtih less deaths ofcourse.

 

My favourite experience with lvl 50 sentinel is running to entrenched sniper with transedence - two shots - 50percent hp - cover pulse (knockback) - another two shots and i am dead (didnt even touched him)

 

Depends what call and advantage. You can dish out all the damage you want but if no one goes in captures the points flags or doors you will loose the battle. If you consider a WZ performance purely by the amount of damage you do yes ranged dps of course has an advantage but I can't think off a single WZ that can be won by dps. I would say my Guardian has just as much advantage as your sniper in hut ball and I can win a match for my team but if you look at the damage done afterwards of course the sniper will be on top but who won the game?

[DarthMeridian]

Depends what call and advantage. You can dish out all the damage you want but if no one goes in captures the points flags or doors you will loose the battle. If you consider a WZ performance purely by the amount of damage you do yes ranged dps of course has an advantage but I can't think off a single WZ that can be won by dps. I would say my Guardian has just as much advantage as your sniper in hut ball and I can win a match for my team but if you look at the damage done afterwards of course the sniper will be on top but who won the game?

 

As somebody mentioned in a pvp guide.

Number one priority is the objective of WZ

Number two priority is killing/dpsing the opponent

 

Number two helps a lot in achieving number one objective

[Racter]

Sounds like some of you people have serious l2p issues if you're struggling in the lowbie bracket. I've been top 3 in damage all but six matches since level 21 on my Marauder and the same was true for my Sentinel when I leveled him (both entirely through PVP, haven't even been to Balmora yet on Mara and am currently level 38).

 

Some tips:

 

Do not use any spec other than focus/rage until 20. Do not use any spec other than watchmen/annihilation 20-40. Combat/Carnage is crap without blade rush/massacre. Focus/Rage sucks without crush/whateveritscalledforpubs and is ESPECIALLY BAD without shockwave/singularity and the autocrit buff. Do not put a single point into any tree other than watchmen/annihilation until 40. Just don't do it. You only go focus/rage from 10-20 because you have limited attacks and the bottom tiers of focus/rage contains buffs for pretty much all of them.

 

Overload/Deadly Saber on cooldown. It is off the GCD and should always be used mid-air if you're leaping to a target. Cauterize/Rupture on cooldown. When you get three stacks of OS/DS and cauterize/rupture on a target, choke them. Zero damage received with a lot coming out. Rebuke/Cloak of Pain any time you're in combat with anything ever. Saber ward when a sniper is on you in general and get LOS ASAP. Pacify/Obfuscate a sniper if you have to fight them. 99% of the time they will knock you back and root you. If you get any burns and an obfuscate up, you have a reasonable chance of success. When pacify/obfuscate wears off, saber ward. Try to avoid snipers in general really, they can pretty easily pwn your face if they're halfway good.

 

Hear a powertech laughing? Pacify. Hear anyone using master strike/ravage? Pacify. Sniper? Pacify. Sin with red light saber buff? Pacify. Sin running through/around/over/all around you? Pacify. Super useful ability. Interrupt everything you can in a 1v1 or 2v1 situation. Any time you're fighting someone that can heal or is getting healed, keep crippling throw/deadly throw up. Cauterize/Rupture has a slow built in for watchmen/anni, but if you're playing another spec occasionally throw a low slash in here and there if you're getting kited. Choke has a relatively long range, use it to prevent that pesky sage/sorc from force speeding away. They also love to throw dots on us, which is super helpful in keeping rebuke/cop active, especially since the dots are pretty weak and not a major concern.

 

Try not to waste master strike/ravage. If you see someone choking or stunning an enemy player, that is typically a free window to get all three hits in. Also remember that ms/ravage applies the dots from os/ds, so that's a 2 for 1 deal. Save scream for when people attempt to flee. Any time you leap to a commando/merc, sage/sorc or gunslinger/sniper, be prepared to get knocked back. They can talent into kb roots, or kb slows, both of which should be expected. Very important to strafe IMMEDIATELY UPON LANDING from leap. Sage/sorcs no longer have an aoe kb so you can pretty easily avoid it now, the other two are likely to just happen and you have to deal with it. Conveniently, these classes like to sit places where there are objects you can use to block the max range of your kb. For example, those little ledges that los you in hutt ball on the railings, the sand bags past the first fire, even the posts on the edges of the fire traps can all keep you from getting knocked out of range. There are similar objects in every warzone that function identically. Avoid using leap as a gap closer; if you can run in do so.

 

Always mark the healers and be on point in the job of killing them. Always. Stay at max range and if possible run away from any jk/sw with the shockwave buff until you see them smash. Stay right on everyone else's face as often as possible.

 

Exploit the hell out of leap rooting people for 1s. Leap on people in fire traps,cannot count how many times I've single handedly stopped a score in hb by suicide leaping the ball carrier in the fire, especially sins who can become immune to just about everything else you can do to someone to prevent them from scoring. Leap on people getting out of spawn in voidstar to prevent them from gaining LOS on the door your team is planting on. Leap on people running from spawn in acw so your team can cap. Leap on people in nc for the same purpose. Leap to people in ah to keep them out of range or los of the node when capping. Leap to people chasing your healers so your healers can make a gap. Leap into leg slash, os/ds+rupture on landing and/or choke for greater effect. Roots are one of the most crucially useful things in this game. You have one. USE IT.

 

Key bind everything. Don't click. Don't keyboard turn. Don't back peddle. Don't be the noob standing there trying to turret. Constantly press to be behind your target and you can void almost all of a bad's damage. Normal basics for successful play. Keep your gear up to date, use stims if you have access to them. Don't leap into the middle of the enemy team in mid at the start of the warzone, hang back for a second (preferably LOS).

 

Life will become a lot easier once you get camo (32). Better still when you get gbtf/undying rage (38). Even mo betta when you get your AOE mez (40) and dispatch/vicious throw (44).

 

Don't waste zen/bezerk on someone that is already going to die. Don't waste if you're going to die. Don't waste it if you don't have both dots rolling. Don't waste your defensive cooldowns if you're very obviously going to die (4v1 getting focused a mile away from your healer? med pack on cooldown and you're a mile away from the one in the warzone?) Don't pop gbtf! Eat the death!

 

Do pop transcendance/predation when your team needs to get somewhere quickly (rotating doors on d in vs, rotating nodes in acw, hutt ball in general, AH when the pylon is about to wipe your team). Do pop trans/pred if you're obviously going to die and can't do anything about it, but have 30 stacks. Don't pop trans/pred at the start of a voidstar round, save it for when you rotate or get the first door/bridge.

 

Do pop inspiration/blood thirst (blood lust) when your team is hitting a node hard against several people. The group's 15% increase is over 9000x better than your free buffed smash, burns or blade rush/massacre spam. Do pop insp/bt when your entire team is focusing a ball carrier that wont die. Do pop inspiration/bt in mid in AH when it's a big fight (at least 4v4). Don't pop inspiration pretty much any other time imo, that's kind of an opinion thing but in my experience zen/zerk or trans/pred is better in just about every other situation.

 

If you're bad at combat/carnage, don't play it! If you're bad at focus/rage, don't play it! Especially x65000 the last one. I am almost always ahead of the derpsmash re-rolls and every last bit of my damage is single target. Use that ****** aoe saber sweep (cyclone slash?) to interrupt multiple people spam capping if smash is on cd, and use it when out of combat between fights or when rotating nodes to build stacks of centering/fury. Don't let that rage go to waste!

 

Load of general tips to both improve your personal performance and make you useful to the team as something other than a killing machine.

 

Also, ancient hypergate and voidstar are won almost entirely through damage, followed directly by proper use of cc. The sooner you burn their healer(s) down the sooner you can wipe their team. The sooner you can wipe their team, the faster you win. Sents/maras excel at doing just that.

Edited January 18, 2013 by Racter

[DarthMeridian]

One thing i disagree is leaping in the mid of opponents (which u dont recommend) and using awe (aoe soft cc) and then falling back quickly (using camo if some of them break cc early on) - its a good thing to slow them or to waste their cc breaker.

One blunder i used to do was popping transedance at the start of the WZ to get my team to postion to cap sooner, now i save it for inspiration in first major clash.

Another tip you forgot to mention is to use valorous call at the preparations time before WZ starts (but its quite obvious) - time it well so the centering does not disappear before u can use it and the cd on valorous call keeps rolling.

Edited January 19, 2013 by DarthMeridian

[Racter]

One thing i disagree is leaping in the mid of opponents (which u dont recommend) and using awe (aoe soft cc) and then falling back quickly (using camo if some of them break cc early on) - its a good thing to slow them or to waste their cc breaker.

One blunder i used to do was popping transedance at the start of the WZ to get my team to postion to cap sooner, now i save it for inspiration in first major clash.

Another tip you forgot to mention is to use valorous call at the preparations time before WZ starts (but its quite obvious) - time it well so the centering does not disappear before u can use it and the cd on valorous call keeps rolling.

 

Guy isn't 50 yet, can't do any of that or I would have considered it. Leap awe is bad in VS okay elsewhere. Definitely the bomb in huttball!