Rome-fu's Resolve Guide

[alderdale]

Sorry, I don't quite understand what you're trying to say. The thing is, the more people are attacking me at the same time, the more CCs they use. The more CCs they use, the faster they make my resolve full. It actually takes them to throw 2-3 stuns at me to fill the bar, at which point I use my CC-break, pop up defensive CDs, use a WZ stimpack and do whatever I will for the next 15-20 secs. After that I might die, yes. Or they might die. And when we meet again, my CC-breaker is off CD again. I used this tactics a lot of times to score in Huttball, it never failed me.

 

And really, what's the deal with that being dead instantly? I play as one of the squishiest classes (scoundrel), and yet fully BM-geared I survive long enough to LoS successfully or to shake the attackers off when need be. Bioware put so much effort into making PvP "longer" in SWTOR that it's not even a problem anymore to survive unless focused by most of the enemies' team.

 

its not 15 or 20 secs after resolve fills its about 10 and during the 10 secs you are still able to be stuned interupted and knocked back at that point your resolve bar is reset and it starts all over again.

[Baredevil]

I prefer the effectiveness of stuns to diminish as they are used more frequently as opposed to always being stunned for the full duration every time I am stunned. If a stealther opens on my sorcerer with my cc break on cd, I just can't recover from two consecutive stuns of 4+ seconds. Edited April 6, 2012 by Baredevil

[Scerion]

It's pretty obvious resolve is totally useless. The whole pvp system is a joke really. 2 people can easily stunlock 1 to death. In some cases, 1 player pretty much can. PVP is no fun at all - I just AFK for the free cash and XP when I can't be bothered to quest. Edited April 6, 2012 by Scerion

[SerikFox]

I prefer the effectiveness of stuns to diminish as they are used more frequently as opposed to always being stunned for the full duration every time I am stunned. If a stealther opens on my sorcerer with my cc break on cd, I just can't recover from two consecutive stuns of 4+ seconds.

 

This. I like this.

[ehryk]

Allrighty, the OPs guide is so full of sh... crap, it aint funny. With full resolve, I was repeatedly CCd (often chain CC) until dead. I do not pay to sit with my thumb up my *** waiting to die. I pay to PLAY. I quit DAoC in the old "stunguard" days and this is just as bad. I will quit this game over this as well. No, you can't have my stuff, FOAD. If you are such a suck player you need to use CC, thats just sad, L2P without forcing others not to be able to. Remove all CC until you fix resolve. Maybe people will realize they dont need CC afterall.

[TwitchWINs]

GJ funny thing is most people actualy need this

[nebulas]

Allrighty, the OPs guide is so full of sh... crap, it aint funny. With full resolve, I was repeatedly CCd (often chain CC) until dead. I do not pay to sit with my thumb up my *** waiting to die. I pay to PLAY. I quit DAoC in the old "stunguard" days and this is just as bad. I will quit this game over this as well. No, you can't have my stuff, FOAD. If you are such a suck player you need to use CC, thats just sad, L2P without forcing others not to be able to. Remove all CC until you fix resolve. Maybe people will realize they dont need CC afterall.

 

As all dedicated Republic players know by now Bioware plays Empire. Free valor for Imp's, working turrets in Ilum, generally OP Impirial stats, no timer on Bounty Hunter attacks that are comparable to Trooper Mortar Volley that has a timed activation, and a resolve bar that works for Empire and is totally useless for Republic.

 

Read the OP. Know the what they are saying, also know that what they are saying is full of **** for Rep. I'm fully geared Battlemaster and watch myself get chain stunned to death with full resolve bar. Also watch Imp's run straight through my Harpoon and Cryo without full resolve. And this is balanced how?

 

I know these things are being addressed with 1.2 but please, I know so many that have already left because of the **** PvP offered with release that I really hope with rated WZ's coming you have done a better effort at balancing things before offering.

 

I may sound like I'm winging and so be it, but I don't run with an Imp character I'm Rep all the way. I've got to a stage that I'm proud of my DPS Vanguard and whilst probably not the best on my PvP server I like to think I work hard ( not 1 button spamming) to get reasonable results. All I want is a reasonably level playing field before rated. ( I know Rep will always be underdog lol). Just don't make it such a grind.

 

Luck to all and looking forward to future changes.

[Baron_Samedi]

As I stated here once or twice - strange, people didn't answer - sometimes I break Awe in front of Imps that do not have reslove bar... but they are NOT stunned!

 

Is it because sometimes I break awe while I am moving? But then it is not fair! Because I use it, it goes on cd, and produces no effect!

 

Or implement that a character is stopped in the second of using Awe, just like using Force Push!

[Tiber_Septim]

This resolve system is still rather garbage, treating snares, mezzes and stuns with pretty much the same importance. You still die to an equal geared operative by the time you're white no matter where you use your ability.

[FromAbove]

im done with this game because of cc. i have tried to give it a go ya know, i know how cc works, i know use your cc break when u have full resolve, etc. im a 65 rank valor jugg, so not the best, but i have done my share of wzs, and when i go thru 3 full resolve bars, yes 3, and not even moving half way up 1 side, thats bullcrap. that they can root and slow me that much, that when my resolve ticks down and i have stun imm, i still cant move? 3 freaking full resolve bars, and moving i didnt even make it to the start of their ramps, from ours going thru 3 full resolve cycles, freaking crap, sorry for the run on sentence, but u lost another customer due to this bull.

 

and to the whole pass thing, before u get on about that, same thing happens to that dude, im the only one on the team who can handle that much of a beating without dying.

 

I think your post proves why CC is an essential part of the game. If you couldn't be repetitively stunned, that ability you have to take a beating would make tanks literally unstoppable while carrying the ball. I often see tanks crying about getting yanked into a hazard and stunned-- "Wahh, that's the only way you can kill me, wahhh!" Yeah, it may well be-- because you're a tank and really hard to kill when there's a healer or two in the area.

 

On the other hand, I'm also in the camp that thinks the Resolve bar is usually going to be pretty useless for me so long as my stun break is on a 2 minute cool-down. I'm not sure if every class has to wait 2 minutes, but I think the cool-down should either never be more than a minute (at least in PvP) or, at the least, the ability should refresh every time the player dies in addition to the 2 minute CD. 2 minutes certainly doesn't cut it in a WZ against a team with 4 Operatives on it, and I really don't think I should have to gingerly flit around on the edges of a fire-fight trying not to be noticed because I'm a sitting duck until that cool-down wears off.

[FeLoNiouS]

I had to seriously lawl at how incorrect this guide is. What's even more funny is how many people agreed with it. No wonder 98% of the "pvp'rs" are truly baddies.

[Krashnburn]

I had to seriously lawl at how incorrect this guide is. What's even more funny is how many people agreed with it. No wonder 98% of the "pvp'rs" are truly baddies.

 

Well, thanks for setting that right. This is good information that helps pvpers learn to play better.......oh wait....

[Wattyzehotty]

Great post it clarified alot for me thank you

[DarthKhaos]

TBH I did not go through all the pages however I haven't seen anyone talk about force choke or force stasis which appears to still CC the player even if their resolve bar is full. Warriors & Knights can chain CC (ever had 3 of em happen to you in a row after a stun from another class? I have) a player and ignore the resolve bar.

[Oshimo]

Resolve is terribly designed. Its a failed attempt at a glorious idea. Since it doesn't impact movement, rooting, slowing ... the general effect for all but tank classes is that resolve is a white bar indicating death ... it pops as you die then you sit and watch the pretty white bar shrink to 0 while waiting behind the penalty box gate. Redesign. Edited April 17, 2012 by Oshimo
misspelling

[Nostrom]

SWTOR is just a badly designed PvP game. Any game that prevents you from playing through lock outs, glass doors, timers on speeders, and chain cc is just poorly designed and will frustrate those of us who want to fight but are stuck "waiting".

They can pass out as many free months as they want, but this game is a joke to most of the best pvpers that I know.

[JediDuckling]

Resolve, Crowd Control (CC) and You

 

Players first coming to SWTOR often complain that the “resolve” system doesn't work. In my opinion, it represents a unique solution to the problem of chain CC. For those who understand how it works, like my readers at the end of this guide, resolve offers a system in which good players will make good choices and thereby reap the benefits that lesser knowledgeable players will complain don't work.

 

First, what is crowd control (CC)?

Crowd control, or CC as it's abbreviated, was originally intended in MMO's as an ability used by certain low dps classes to make them worthwhile in a group. The abilities range from a short term stun that allows continued damage of the target, to a long term sleep used out of combat to make a mob no longer take actions until it receives damage. PvPers immediately saw the value in these abilities and adopted them for their own uses often to the scorn of those pvpers that didn't have them.

 

In SWTOR we have three types of CC:

Snares: an ability that slows the target by a percent up to 100%

Mezz: an ability which causes a target to no longer have the ability to take action for a period of time or until damage is taken (whichever comes first). Sometimes these abilities can only be used against certain types of targets (droid) or when a target is out of combat.

Stun: an ability of a short term duration that prevents a target from taking action regardless of the amount of damage taken

 

In PvP the three above categories have specific uses to consider. First, one will usually always keep one's target snared so that one can keep on top of them as a melee, or away from them as a ranged. Even in a ranged versus ranged fight, putting a snare on the enemy will help to unbalance his gameplay a bit and reduce the chance he can successfully use LOS (line of sight) to avoid one. Second, Mezz can be useful in a small engagement where AoE will unlikely occur. For example, in Voidstar the disarm bomb ability is much shorter in length than the time a Whirlwind will take a player out of action. Lastly, stuns work best either in a chain with another player to maximize the amount of time an enemy has to endure damage OR when the other player is in a hazardous situation (environmental damage area). Additionally, stuns can be used a cast interrupt against healers OR as an actual stun to kill a player that doesn't know what he's doing or perhaps burned his CC Breaker earlier.

 

Secondly, what is a CC Breaker?

In SWTOR, every character has a stun ability and a CC breaker. The CC breaker is an ability that BREAKS CC. Different classes have different names for this ability. Not all classes have the same cooldown between uses of this ability. Not much more to say about that other than learn when to use it. Although all characters get a CC breaker, not everyone knows when to use it properly (to be elaborated on).

 

Thirdly, what is Resolve?

Resolve is SWTOR's method of preventing chain CC. Generally, for those leveling up through the pvp bracket, Resolve seems to do nothing. I myself have played part to numerous occassions in which I've been stunned, broken the stun with my CC breaker, only to get immediately stunned again. While quite frustrating, I eventually came to realize I was not using my CC break at the right moment.

 

Resolve is a bar that fills up next to one's avatar and the avatar of one's enemy. When the bar fills up, the person gains immunity to further CC. The length of this immunity is almost long enough to run a huttball from the beginning of the ramps to the goal with a bit of luck. The problem is, most players find that the bar doesn't fill up until they're just about dead. Even when the bar does fill up, the immunity doesn't matter until the cc that filled one's bar wears off. This is where an experienced player knows why resolve is kinda cool.

 

Finally, how do I take advantage of this system?

An experienced player uses his damage mitigation abilities in preperation of an incoming CC. Then, while stunned and taking a beating, he doesn't take as much damage as the enemy is hoping to inflict. Thus the CC wears off and the player resumes his PvP having SAVED his CC breaker. Now, when the player gets CC'd again, he immediately uses his CC breaker (because two stuns will fill the bar) and gains immunity to all further CC for a good length of time. Getting this to work in Huttball while carrying the ball works wonders since most players have no idea their CC won't work when the target has a white bar of resolve.

 

Its very important to remember that CC does not work on a player who has a white bar of resolve. Its also important to realize that using CC on someone will give them immunity to further uses once the bar fills up HOWEVER, resolve does not affect snares. So when the resolve bar fills up, one can still snare the player even to the point of zero movement. Furthermore, snaring a player does not increase his resolve bar. So use snares as often as needed without any worry. For those warriors with the ability to cause a 100% snare, remember that it will ALWAYS cause this effect. There is no immunity against it.

 

Another simple strategy to use regarding CC is to test a player's knowledge. Instead of opening up with one's awesome 6 second stun, try using a garbage mezz on the player. If one has an addition stun like many melee classes do, try using that first. A less sophisticated player will automatically use their CC breaker, thus allowing one to immediately follow up with the long 6 second stun whenever it tactically suits one. I use this strategy all the time.

 

In reverse, its important to know what stuns to break and which to eat. Anytime someone stuns one's character in a manner that throws one on the ground, beware using the CC break. A stun that floors a player will only last between 2 and 3 seconds. Stealthers will often mezz a player before starting a fight, just to see if the player will try to break it. If the situation will allow it, save one's CC break. Additionally, don't use a CC break on a snare unless absolutely necessary since snares usually have VERY short cooldowns and can rapidly reapply.

 

Examples of CC not to break include, snares that result from getting pushed. Snipers and some Sorcerors have a 100% snare they do when they AoE push people away. Unless one is taking damage or really want to kill the pusher, consider eating this one. If one's character gets slept, don't break it. As mentioned twice above, abilities that cause a lose of control belonging to the "Mezz" class of CC breaks if one takes damage. So when tactically unnecessary for one to take action, just ride it out. There is only one objective in game that can be capped in the 8 seconds and that's the disarm bomb in voidstar.

 

So in retrospect, resolve may seem like a broken system, but actually has some interesting layers of complexity to it. Those players who know these tricks, will see that resolve not only does work, but can be gamed to work for one.

 

the resolve system does not work how its suppose to, you have to be a complete utter idiot to think otherwise and after 1.2 its even worse.

 

you can get stun locked with a solid white resolve bar and you can be immune to CC with an empty one i cant put it and simpler than that for the simple minded folk to understand.

[Bugattiboy]

swtor is just a badly designed pvp game. Any game that prevents you from playing through lock outs, glass doors, timers on speeders, and chain cc is just poorly designed and will frustrate those of us who want to fight but are stuck "waiting".

They can pass out as many free months as they want, but this game is a joke to most of the best pvpers that i know.

+9001

 

Exactly what I was thinking.

Edited April 22, 2012 by Bugattiboy

[Malanoth]

Reolve is broken imo too. You know what, why can't they create an MMO where there is zero stuns, zero knockbacks? There is plenty of scope for class mechanics to not have those dreadful abilities in pvp.

[Aussiedroid]

I am glad I am not the only one who is finding this doesnt work at all!

 

I read the guide several times to understand it then took this knowledge into the Warzones.

 

Let my bar fill up and still find I am CC'd .. I simply do not understand how people can say it works. I have monitored this for a long time now and for my Sage and Shadow it doesnt work. I feel like I am spending half the match as a spectator. It happens multiple times every match I play where I get filled ... attempt to attack and get CC again and again...

 

From what I have read there is multiple skills that stun, but are not considered a CC ability and dont count on the resolve system. How can this be?

 

Anything that stops you from moving is CC IMO, and should not be allowed to stop you dead when your bar is full. Calling it a stun or something else is irrelevant.

 

I have given up expecting this will function now and just use my get out of jail skill as soon as I can otherwise I do no damage to opponents at all since I just stay stunned till death.

 

Please remove this horrible system or fix it so it works ALL THE TIME!

[hoosin]

I read this guide some time ago and started monitoring my resolve bar as a result. It has never worked as described here. It doesn't work at all. I am always hit by a stun!

[madtycoon]

Thanks for posting this guide.

[Kuronan]

I'm going to have to directly disagree. The resolve system seems currently borked. It's a nice theory but it doesn't work. Lets run through a few things.

 

1. It simply is not reliable.

 

I've had people shrug off CC with no resolve and I've been CC with full resolve. In fact my Vanguard did his job and tanked and ate cc, but once was locked down for 30-45 seconds straight. I was out literally the entire fight. In this time I BARELY got to perform perhaps 3 actions even with a CC breaker use at full resolve. I lived through great healing and I did my job tanking....but it was nothing but frustrating for me.

 

That is plainly not supposed to happen under the currently intended system so obviously SOMETHING is broke.

 

2. Most people die within 2 stacked stuns.

 

Get stunned twice in a row and your CC breaker is down? Congrats your dead. Yes I know this works for both sides but it's not fun nor fair for the CC'd player.

 

3. CC breaker CD is 2 minutes, stuns are 1 minute.

 

Oh sweet you did everything right but the fight lasts longer than 60 seconds, too bad your still chain CC/killed. Yes I know this works for both sides but it's not fun nor fair for the CC'd player.

 

4. It's more advantageous for some characters than others.

 

When you wait till mid fight to pop a CC as half of the classes you can get a significant advantage. If they break free you just mezz with these classes and then heal up. Suddenly they are STILL helpless facing a now full hp foe ready to womp them.

 

5. By the time you need it your dead or half dead and guaranteed to lose.

 

You speak of gaming the system to get an advantage VS CC being used upon. HOWEVER the fact is that it's far easier to game the system as the CC user due to lesser CD's, kbs, and snares/roots not being affected.

This is pretty much my opinion on the Resolve Bar. He (being a Vanguard) forgot to mention Cryo Grenade lasts way too long for an instant stun with a 30 yard range. Some classes are designed with an immunity to CC during certain situations which is probably what he was facing when he listed the first reason for #2, like Sith Juggernauts can get the Unstoppable talent, which makes them immune to all CC for 4 seconds after a charge (Note the shield you may notice on the center of the player.)

 

Other then that the above is pretty much true. What I think needs to be done is make the resolve bar activate directly after two stuns or one mezz effect. Too many times I have been tranquilized, stunned by a Dirty Fighting Scoundrel's Shoot First stun, Back Blasted, and then finally gotten up only to get Dirty Kicked and either finished off, or have 40% health against a fully healed Scoundrel. That's not considering he has friends, which, he almost always does.

[Otega]

TBH I did not go through all the pages however I haven't seen anyone talk about force choke or force stasis which appears to still CC the player even if their resolve bar is full. Warriors & Knights can chain CC (ever had 3 of em happen to you in a row after a stun from another class? I have) a player and ignore the resolve bar.

 

This is what I find as well. I am almost always force choked AFTER my bar hits white and I've gone through mutliple stuns.

 

Likewise, I haven't seen anything recently in this thread about pulls. Resolve seems to randomly affect pulls. I can be pulled through a full resolve bar, or my resolve bar draining. Which, I can also on occasion do that to my target. It seems to me that it's random. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, which i don't think was intended.

[Dartagon]

This is what I find as well. I am almost always force choked AFTER my bar hits white and I've gone through mutliple stuns.

 

Likewise, I haven't seen anything recently in this thread about pulls. Resolve seems to randomly affect pulls. I can be pulled through a full resolve bar, or my resolve bar draining. Which, I can also on occasion do that to my target. It seems to me that it's random. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, which i don't think was intended.

 

Being choked 3 times in a row is just not fun. Had it happen today. I just sipped my coffee.