DPS rundown

[Cidanel]

As background, my main is a lvl 50 sawbones, and I am very happy healing. When we do larger ops, I always run healing. That being said, the group in my guild that I play with more often than not has both me and a sage, so the sage and I take turns respeccing to DPS on smaller runs. Basically my problem is this. I grew up as a healer and I have no damn clue how to DPS as a soundrel. which build should I go with? Can anyone give me a rundown on how to not be so pathetic as a non-healing scoundrel?

[Wainamoinen]

Scrapper's probably easier for you to get a handle on then.

 

Maybe some kind of scrapper/sawbones hybrid if you still want to heal a bit or get survivability, although this means your damage will be gimped.

 

Specific advice a bit tricky, given there's a new expansion and talent tree today, but good luck.

[oaceen]

i don't really have much experience with dirty fighting, but i main scrapper in PVE as a serious raider, having completed HM TFB and quite a bit of NiM EC with him on live as well as HM Scum and Villiany on pts

 

the main philosophy for dps scoundrel (dirty fighting or scrapper) is keep 1 stack of upper hand up at all times for the +2% dmg buff

whenever you get 2, use sucker punch right away. every 10s, you'll have a chance to gain another upper hand, so go ahead and use it again

if something is close to dying or if you're about to enter a transition phase, go ahead and try to use up all of your upper hands as quickly as possible so they aren't 'wasted'

 

 

 

here is a build for you at 55

 

main dps moves include:

 

blaster whip (keep this on CD as much as you can unless you have 2 stacks of upper hand)

sucker punch (pretty much just spam this ability now. it has a 70% chance every time you use it to gain 10 energy back and every 10s get an extra stack of upper hand.)

flechette round (this is a buff that adds a 6s bleed to backblast and shoot first. you'll have to get used to the cadence of this move, but i suggest only using it immediately after or before using shoot first or backblast. it's a permanent buff now, so as soon as you apply it's up forever until you logout/load in)

backblast (keep on cd with flechette round)

vital shot (keep this up at all times)

quickshot (you'll have a lot of energy, so if everything else is on CD, you're out of upper hands, and your energy is almost full, use this in lieu of flurry of bolts)

flurry of bolts (use whenever you get close to 60 energy)

xs freighter flyby (use on CD even in single target fights. great for trash. save for big add phases for boss fights though, if there aren't any, then just use it as normal)

sabotage charge (not as useful as it used to be since it costs so much now. basically use it when you have to run more than 10m from something or for some quick burst)

 

 

 

at the beginning of pulls, try to stealth and run ahead of the group to pop off a shoot first on someone. it'll knock them down, and give everyone a good 1.5s to attack them.

also, through long fights or just in general if you need to knock something down for a second, use disappearing act + flechette round + shoot first

 

for boss fights, with a little practice, you can time your flechette round perfectly. it's a 6s DOT while backblast is on a 12s CD

 

so the rotation is FR + BB > move 1 > 2 > 3 > DA + FR + SF > 4 > 5 > 6 > FR + BB

this will give you 18s of uninterrupted flechette round. if you start a fight with FR + SF, you can get 24s of it

just keep in mine that, since it's a 6s DOT, you'll use 3 attacks after backblast or shoot first then use the other

if you time a power clicky relic and/or adrenal with this rotation, you'll do a lot of extra dps

 

 

be sure to ask for a guard, because you will be able to pull very easily, even with disappearing act

 

 

 

also, be sure to use kolto pack during transition phases if you still have upper hand up. otherwise it's basically going to be lost.

i know kolto pack doesn't get much use as a healer, but it's a good, quick heal for those transition phases

 

 

at 51, you'll get scamper. i'm sure you'll get used to this skill as a healer and as a dps, but it's slittle different for scrapper. slippery devil reduces to cost from 25 to 21 and gives a 50% chance to trigger dodge for 1s

 

you also have another mobility tool. sneak is on a lowered 45s cd and can be used out of stealth for a 50% movement increase for 6s. use it. out of combat, you can sneak > stealth > unstealth > sneak indefinitely. you can also scamper (almost) indefinitely too, but they're both very fun.

Edited April 9, 2013 by oaceen

[Wainamoinen]

Just a note on sabo charge - its damage has been buffed in 2.0. It's not far behind Shoot First now, was doing more than Back Blast on PTS. Doesn't apply Flechette Round of course, so BB is still preferable. Edited April 9, 2013 by Wainamoinen

[Cidanel]

oaceen, thanks for the guide, it helps a lot. I will have to memorize some of those rotations.

 

I am less concerned about more intense ops, as any time we go out with 8+ people I will run healing. The typical group I run with for the non-serious ops is me, a sage, a sentinel, and a tank, so the sage and I always switch off being DPS, so I am more interested in the one-off 4 person jobs than the serious ops.

 

I am definitely not used to using sneak before battle, but using that to get in position is something that I have to get used to.

 

Thanks again