Do Shield Techs make good use of Unload?

[JLazarillo]

Here's the deal, I want to like my Powertechs more, but I feel so silly waving a pistol around and then never using it. It looks there are only three abilities PTs get at all that fire the gun: Rapid Shots, Unload, and Heat Blast (assuming the icon is accurate). So it looks like if I want to use my weapon at all, tanking is going to be the way to go...after level 45. So with that in mind, I'm wondering how useful Unload is. Will I be making use of it, or should I just play another Merc?

[ScytheEleven]

Nope. Never touch Unload unless for some odd reason you are stuck at further than 10m.

 

Plus the animation is stupid gangsta so meh

[cidbahamut]

Here's the deal, I want to like my Powertechs more, but I feel so silly waving a pistol around and then never using it.

If you aren't pistol whipping enemies to interrupt them then you're doing something wrong.

Edited April 30, 2013 by cidbahamut

[JLazarillo]

If you aren't pistol whipping enemies to interrupt them then you're doing something wrong.

 

Pistol whipping is using it, granted, but it's using it wrong!

 

Thanks, though, guys, not the answer I was hoping for, but at least I know now.

[Sinbary]

Imo the above peeps are wrong. Unload is a perfect filler if everything else is on cooldown, but you'd have to do more then the usual rocket punch/Rail shot rotation it seems most people are so fond of here.

[Kaos_KidSWTOR]

Imo the above peeps are wrong. Unload is a perfect filler if everything else is on cooldown, but you'd have to do more then the usual rocket punch/Rail shot rotation it seems most people are so fond of here.

 

 

Also to boot Unload can proc your Ion Cell. Every hit of Unload has the same % chance to proc Ion Cell as if you were using Rapid Shots. Early tanking you will be using and abusing it. Later on, not so much. as a Vanguard at 53 i barely use it. Ive actualy had to use mouse buttons to allow for all of my abilities that i use so often.

 

My ususal rotation for my Vanguard is Storm > 2x Explosive Surge > Ion Pulse > Stockstrike > High Impact Bolt > (if 3 stacks energy shield) Energy Blast > (if not 3 stacks energy shield) Ion Pulse. wash rinse repeat.

Edited May 3, 2013 by Kaos_KidSWTOR

[Sardonyyx]

Yah that rotation is....not great. In tank spec you will ALWAYS have heat problems if you're doing it right. Save your free Flame sweeps/explosive surges to weave in between attacks to save your resource. I lasts for about 20 seconds I think. And if you taunt and use flamethrower once the taunt is up you shouldn't have an aggro problem.

 

And for powertechs in general Unload is a filler, sure you can use it to get your cylinder to proc, but you have other attacks that do the same thing with 100% chance. So if you got room for it, unload away, if not then its not hurting.

[Marb]

While I can see the reasoning behind using unload as a heat efficient filler, it doesn't have channel protection like flamethrower, which means you are never going to get all of the ticks of damage when you are tanking. This makes unload very inefficient. Edited May 8, 2013 by Marb

[cidbahamut]

Yeah, with all the pushback would you really even get all the damage out of it? Seems to me like it might be better to just use your auto-attack depending on how much damage you're losing due to push back.

[Mc_Gregor]

Yeah, with all the pushback would you really even get all the damage out of it? Seems to me like it might be better to just use your auto-attack depending on how much damage you're losing due to push back.

 

You will always loose at least 1 tick of unload due to interrupt. Sometimes more. And since you pay with heat up front it makes for a very inefficient use of resources. And its no longer ticking away several times per second so our default attack has higher chance of proccing IGC thanks to several ticks on a single attack.