AP Spec Questions

[Brunner_Venda]

I'm currently slogging through the 30's level-wise. I have been using Pyro to level, because honestly, pre-nerf CGC made the game easy-mode.

 

Now I want to try close to pure AP, but I want to know more about the spec.

 

1. How and where does AP get the damage? What do the rotations look like? Pyro is obvious, you get it from proc'ing rail on almost every 6-second rotation and keeping the IM/CGC dots on. (Translation: keep facerolling the same three or four buttons, and you can rail shot again and again.)

 

2. Anyone have an AP pvp guide? I prefer to stay flagged at all times, it's really fun fighting the occasional guy while leveling. You win some and you lose some, but it's fun and keeps the game fresh.

 

Come on, help an AP newbie.

[af_raptura]

the rotation is a bit more comlicated than pyro.

 

retractable blade, immolate, rocket punch, flame burst, flame burst, flamethrower is basically the key. Weave in a rail shot in there after the rocket punch proc if its not on cooldown and your retractable blade dot is on the target. A huge amount of damage comes from channeling the flamethrower with 3 stacks of PFT, which are generated by flame burst, immolate, and flame sweep. You can even use flame sweep before engaging a target in combat to build stacks of PFT and open with flamethrower.

[Hizoka]

the rotation is a bit more comlicated than pyro.

 

retractable blade, immolate, rocket punch, flame burst, flame burst, flamethrower is basically the key. Weave in a rail shot in there after the rocket punch proc if its not on cooldown and your retractable blade dot is on the target. A huge amount of damage comes from channeling the flamethrower with 3 stacks of PFT, which are generated by flame burst, immolate, and flame sweep. You can even use flame sweep before engaging a target in combat to build stacks of PFT and open with flamethrower.

the onyl thing i will add is with the supposed "nerfs" the baddies are QQing about, Rocket punch makes the next rail shot 100% crit, so basically you use railshot off cooldown and it will always crit as you will be rocket punching more often then the cooldown of rail shot.

 

APs damage actually went up a good bit. What the forum QQers don't grasp is that were was more then just talent changes, some abilities had their modifiers changed... like with no gear changed my Immolate went from doing 3600 crits to over 4100 crits. AP is very very good damage if you are good enough to play it.

 

The caveat is that most powertechs are too stupid to play AP right so they write it off as a worthless spec... however it looks like now that it does every bit as much if not more damage then pyro or even the hybrid when played correctly.

[JimmyTheCannon]

My single-target rotation in 2.0 should look like this:

 

Explosive Dart (optional opener from range)

Immolate (when within 10 meters)

Retractable Blade on melee range

Rocket Punch

Rail Shot (Rail Shot proc from charged gauntlets is now on EVERY Rocket Punch)

Flame Burst

Flame Burst

Flamethrower (use Hydraulic Overrides before it if you're worried about getting knocked back)

Flame Burst spam til cooldowns are up.

 

It's simpler than 1.7 because you don't have to wait for the Charged Gauntlets proc anymore, it's automatic from your Rocket Punch.

 

As was mentioned, you can go into a fight with full stacks of PTF by using Flame Sweep between combats, but the stacks wear off fast. If you choose do to that you can either open with the Flamethrower, then go into the normal rotation, or simply take out the two Flame Bursts post-Rail Shot and go right to Flamethrower there.

 

If you're going to use Explosive Fuel, make sure the Flamethrower gets full benefit from it. It's nice to have it on Rocket Punch and RB as well, but Rail Shot does NOT need it due to autocrit. My PT is only recently 50 and I'm still working out when is proper to use EF.

[Werdan]

the onyl thing i will add is with the supposed "nerfs" the baddies are QQing about, Rocket punch makes the next rail shot 100% crit, so basically you use railshot off cooldown and it will always crit as you will be rocket punching more often then the cooldown of rail shot.

 

APs damage actually went up a good bit. What the forum QQers don't grasp is that were was more then just talent changes, some abilities had their modifiers changed... like with no gear changed my Immolate went from doing 3600 crits to over 4100 crits. AP is very very good damage if you are good enough to play it.

 

The caveat is that most powertechs are too stupid to play AP right so they write it off as a worthless spec... however it looks like now that it does every bit as much if not more damage then pyro or even the hybrid when played correctly.

 

5 stars

I switched from pyro to AP around level 35ish (started levelling this toon last week) and don't plan on turning back at all. The spec is really fun to play and can dish out very good damage in both PvE and PvP. I just hit 50 today and feel like the spec is viable enough if played by the right person. Due to my guild being nearly dead I doubt I'll get to do much rated wz's but I think I could do well with it if given the chance. While not as bursty as some of the crazy abilities we're seeing now, I think it's still pretty good.

 

My single-target rotation in 2.0 should look like this:

 

Explosive Dart (optional opener from range)

Immolate (when within 10 meters)

Retractable Blade on melee range

Rocket Punch

Rail Shot (Rail Shot proc from charged gauntlets is now on EVERY Rocket Punch)

Flame Burst

Flame Burst

Flamethrower (use Hydraulic Overrides before it if you're worried about getting knocked back)

Flame Burst spam til cooldowns are up.

 

It's simpler than 1.7 because you don't have to wait for the Charged Gauntlets proc anymore, it's automatic from your Rocket Punch.

 

As was mentioned, you can go into a fight with full stacks of PTF by using Flame Sweep between combats, but the stacks wear off fast. If you choose do to that you can either open with the Flamethrower, then go into the normal rotation, or simply take out the two Flame Bursts post-Rail Shot and go right to Flamethrower there.

 

If you're going to use Explosive Fuel, make sure the Flamethrower gets full benefit from it. It's nice to have it on Rocket Punch and RB as well, but Rail Shot does NOT need it due to autocrit. My PT is only recently 50 and I'm still working out when is proper to use EF.

 

Rotation is pretty spot on but depending on the situation, can easily be trimmed by stacking FS before a fight as the buff lasts 30s and refreshes with every stack (ie time your stacks out to just before the previous one ends). In PvE this is very easy. In PvP it's a bit harder but can still be done. I'd agree on holding off on EF until you know you're going to use FT.

 

Again, loving the spec and hoping to tinker with it so that it's as maximized as possible. Unfortunately I preordered the xpac late so I can't do much else till Sunday but I'm currently using this, and aiming for this. Both would be for mixed PvE and PvP. Off the top of my head, the few changes I'd like to see would be...

 

-Increase the slow on Hamstring to at least 9 seconds. 12s would be fantastic.

-Add knockback immunity when using FT with Prototype Flame Thrower. I know, we could easily use HO but would be nice to see.

-Add Retractable Blade (initial damage) to Prototype Weapon Systems.

-Change Power Loaders to tech crit +3. Rail Shot is already auto crit when used correctly and I would think most AP's don't use Unload all that often. tech crit makes more sense.

[Cmblaster]

I'm not only new the class but new to the game. I started about a week before 2.0 hit and was planning on running a pyro spec. for PVE. I don't PVP and am looking just to get the most out of the story line. Now that the pyro tree has changed I'm looking to re-spec to AP sense I'm only lvl 16 and haven't really put too much into the skill trees. Can anyone point to a good PVE AP build?

[Werdan]

I'm not only new the class but new to the game. I started about a week before 2.0 hit and was planning on running a pyro spec. for PVE. I don't PVP and am looking just to get the most out of the story line. Now that the pyro tree has changed I'm looking to re-spec to AP sense I'm only lvl 16 and haven't really put too much into the skill trees. Can anyone point to a good PVE AP build?

 

The second link I posted above yours should do quite well for PvE. There are a few changes you could make depending on your play style. For instance, if you want a little more DPS at the expense of armor you could swap out Rebraced Armor for Iron Fist. Stabilized Armor is another you might swap out as well if you find you're not doing content where mobs have a lot of AOE. This could be swapped for Advanced Tools or Hitman. However I feel both of those combined aren't as useful as the talent they'd replace, especially for PvE.

 

Starting with Steely Resolve for your first 3 points will give you a nice bang for your buck. Follow with Puncture and Rail Loaders then work your way up the AP tree and you'll do well.

 

Here's another link to the spec I'm using.

 

http://pts.swtor-spy.com/skill-tree-calculator/powertech/231/?build=003200320000000000000000000000000223120002120212211102300230001000000000000000000000000000000000&ver=20

[Zunayson]

If you want to manage your heat the absolute best, don't start off w/ immolate + rocket punch because that's only 8 heat over 3 seconds, even though you vent 15 heat over that 3 seconds.

 

I say start off by walking towards them w/ flameburst x2, then do Retractable blade, immolate, rocket punch, railshot, flamethrower. That's a backloaded burst rotation, though I'm not sure how viable - been pvping all day on my operative lol!

[JimmyTheCannon]

If you want to manage your heat the absolute best, don't start off w/ immolate + rocket punch because that's only 8 heat over 3 seconds, even though you vent 15 heat over that 3 seconds.

 

I say start off by walking towards them w/ flameburst x2, then do Retractable blade, immolate, rocket punch, railshot, flamethrower. That's a backloaded burst rotation, though I'm not sure how viable - been pvping all day on my operative lol!

 

EDIT: I should point out I'm not advocating Immo + Rocket Punch as an opener, but rather the rotation I posted earlier - Immo > Retractable Blade > THEN Rocket Punch.

 

That might be a good idea if you're having aggro problems. If you're not, though, I'd think you want those heavy hitters up there first. Immolate hits big, Rocket Punch and Rail Shot are your other big hits. Putting them behind two Flamebursts will delay your burst over the entire fight because of their cooldowns.

 

On the other hand, this causes *all* of your burst to hit in a row, which is generally bad for aggro as well. I'd say play around with it in raids - you might want to do this for fights that have burn phases, but then, in any fight where you know there's burn phases it's simple enough to just delay your heavy burst when you know it's coming.

 

This could be swapped for Advanced Tools or Hitman. However I feel both of those combined aren't as useful as the talent they'd replace, especially for PvE.

 

15 second cooldown on Flamethrower, bringing it in line with your other cooldowns (Immolate, Rocket Punch and Rail Shot) isn't worth it in PVE? It's fantastic. You actually get a regular rotation. Keep RB up, hit cooldowns when they come off cooldown, spam Flame Burst the rest of the time.

 

It gives you a lot more Flamethrowers per boss fight, and since that's what the spec is built around, it's VERY useful. The CD reduction on Grapple is less important, but sometimes useful for trash.

Edited April 14, 2013 by JimmyTheCannon

[TrooperSev]

I love playing my AP PT and I will say that Immolate is my favorite ability animation.

 

My rotation usually goes Explosive Dart, Retractible Blade(for dmg buff), Immolate, RP, RS, Flame Burst X2, Flamethrower.

 

After that priority is getting 3 stacks for flamethower while keeping bleed effect up.

[quirez]

i tried AP spec for both leveling up to 55 (still only 53 tho) and pvp and i can say i like it, enjoy it and i feel its perfectly viable.

 

that said i did not try any HM fps, as i do them only as a tank

 

the thing im surprised most about in here is all people say about rotations with immo/RS/RB/PFT etc etc, and the thing i found brilliant is the 7rockets burst from my shoulder cannon - its GREAT - and still nobody talks about it here.

 

the only thing i find frustrating is that i cant shoot my shoulder cannon WHILE channeling prototype flame thrower - that would be the real deal

 

note to devs :

 

!! PLEASE MAKE SHOULDER CANNON USABLE WHILE CHANNELING FLAME THROWER !!

[Cmblaster]

Which fuel cylinder would you use for an AP spec?

[quirez]

Which fuel cylinder would you use for an AP spec?

 

 

High energy gas cylinder of course, as it enables the auto-crit on RS and helps managing heat.

[hallucigenocide]

i tried AP spec for both leveling up to 55 (still only 53 tho) and pvp and i can say i like it, enjoy it and i feel its perfectly viable.

 

that said i did not try any HM fps, as i do them only as a tank

 

the thing im surprised most about in here is all people say about rotations with immo/RS/RB/PFT etc etc, and the thing i found brilliant is the 7rockets burst from my shoulder cannon - its GREAT - and still nobody talks about it here.

 

the only thing i find frustrating is that i cant shoot my shoulder cannon WHILE channeling prototype flame thrower - that would be the real deal

 

note to devs :

 

!! PLEASE MAKE SHOULDER CANNON USABLE WHILE CHANNELING FLAME THROWER !!

 

yeah i agree the 7 missiles we get to use with shoulder cannon really makes me feel like a beast.. i just weave one missile in with every attack til they're all used up and it completely wrecks!

[af_raptura]

i tried AP spec for both leveling up to 55 (still only 53 tho) and pvp and i can say i like it, enjoy it and i feel its perfectly viable.

 

that said i did not try any HM fps, as i do them only as a tank

 

the thing im surprised most about in here is all people say about rotations with immo/RS/RB/PFT etc etc, and the thing i found brilliant is the 7rockets burst from my shoulder cannon - its GREAT - and still nobody talks about it here.

 

the only thing i find frustrating is that i cant shoot my shoulder cannon WHILE channeling prototype flame thrower - that would be the real deal

 

note to devs :

 

!! PLEASE MAKE SHOULDER CANNON USABLE WHILE CHANNELING FLAME THROWER !!

 

I've been trying out the rockets a little. I did not have early access, so I did not get shoulder cannon until yesterday. It is fun, ans you see a lot of damage text fly all over the place, but I'm still getting used to it.

[Werdan]

i tried AP spec for both leveling up to 55 (still only 53 tho) and pvp and i can say i like it, enjoy it and i feel its perfectly viable.

 

that said i did not try any HM fps, as i do them only as a tank

 

the thing im surprised most about in here is all people say about rotations with immo/RS/RB/PFT etc etc, and the thing i found brilliant is the 7rockets burst from my shoulder cannon - its GREAT - and still nobody talks about it here.

 

the only thing i find frustrating is that i cant shoot my shoulder cannon WHILE channeling prototype flame thrower - that would be the real deal

 

note to devs :

 

!! PLEASE MAKE SHOULDER CANNON USABLE WHILE CHANNELING FLAME THROWER !!

 

I wasn't 51 yet when I wrote up my post but YES. I love SC, especially in WZ's when you just know you're gonna get stunned. You could almost sense the other player (usually a stealth ganker) wondering "*** who is attacking me?".

 

As it doesn't respect the GCD, they should make it so that it doesn't interrupt channels or casts (Unload for those that still use it and DFA). However, Riposte (Knight/Warrior attack) interrupts your current channel if you use it and it too doesn't respect the GCD. I'd assume Shoulder Cannon was meant to work this way.

[af_raptura]

Making the cannon work with the flamethrower without interrupting the cast would be pretty kick a** and add synergy to the tree, if the devs are only going to make small improvements to the powertech, if anything, this might be kind of cool. I don't know if it would be difficult to program, though.