Why Rage?

[comeonucrazyguy]

I see lots of hate, I enjoy the endless battles that exist between the OP proponents and those (like me) who disagree. For no other reason than to provide a different and somewhat less emotional take on things (before the whining begins), here is why I personally stick with rage.

 

I know everyone's always looking for the 'best' spec but, as evidenced by every thread in existence on the topic, 'best' is entirely subjective. I played anni from launch up until about 3 months ago, loved it. Switched to Carnage for the next two months, loved it. Have been playing rage for the last 4-6 weeks, LOVE it. Obviously my gear has changed a lot since then, but in general this is what I've found (I'm sure there are others who have different experiences):

 

Anni-Greatly increased survivability, heals are ok, lacked a strong finishing move and I felt I relied too much on hoping DOTs would finish off kills. Still great for PVE, use it often, but for PVP I never felt as strong as I thought I should be.

 

Carnage-Excellent single target finisher, great for taking down healers. Increased Pred FTW. Good crits, overall good power, but I always felt that the offset between decreased survivability and increased damage was a push or close to it.

 

Rage-My favorite to date for this reason alone: a good rage spec'd mara is FEARED. You will be marked, you will be cussed at, your 'skill' is questioned, your manhood is insulted...because everyone hates playing AGAINST you (funny how the haters seem to vanish when you're on their team). You can jump into a group of squishies and take out a third of each of their healths in a single blow, which is nice (and satisfying). However, more important than the damage is the result that follows: The group scatters, forcing them to heal themselves, while the rest of your team does their thing (hopefully finishing off the squishies). As a Rage marauder you are the disruptor, the epitome of a double bladed thorn in the side, the distraction that brings tanks running back to protect their healers. This to me is the essence of what the marauder is meant to be, why I will continue playing and enjoying my spec despite all the hate, and why I truly hope they do not change this spec in such a way that it loses it's effectiveness.

 

I know a lot of people get anal about the DPS numbers (my top DPS output as a Marauder is roughly 900k, I've seen sorcs do 50% more than that with no one complaining), and I know there are lots of people who do care about what their numbers are. However, while I may more often than not top the charts, my goal is not to have the highest numbers but to be the biggest pain in the other team's ***** to allow YOU to do your thing as well as to do what I can to lead the team to victory. Maybe I'm in the minority, but my goal is always to do what I think is best to help the team win. That should be yours as well.

 

Rage on.

[cycao]

People typically break rage into 3 things that are somewhat "wrong" with the spec.

 

1) Overly simple to play. I have played rage on my jug and its pretty easy, I have half the keybinds that I use on my assassin.

 

2) Auto crit. This means you can stack power all day and not need to worry about balancing out your stats like other classes can.

 

3) Its AoE.

 

 

Now I really do not have to many issues with rage, I think its necessary to have high damage AoE attack in this game. Most people tend to lean towards focus/rage for obvious reasons but I rather play vengeance on my jug, I can put out almost the same dps and its all single target for the most part which I rather have as I will double the killing blows on vengeance than a rage jug.

[UltimateKrucible]

 

snip

 

You can jump into a group of squishies and take out a third of each of their healths in a single blow, which is nice (and satisfying).

 

 

What can you say about this, other than that it's unbalanced? I don't know why this state of affairs has been allowed to continue (actually, I do. Because:Bioware) but one can only hope that it gets rectified sooner rather than later.

[KettleBelll]

What can you say about this, other than that it's unbalanced? I don't know why this state of affairs has been allowed to continue (actually, I do. Because:Bioware) but one can only hope that it gets rectified sooner rather than later.

 

 

What is wrong with you?

 

 

Clearly you prefer games where ranged DPS all gather on the best vantage point, getting ideal line of sight, sitting in each other's Plasma Probe, enjoying being in the radius of each others AoE knockbacks.

 

 

EDIT: I forgot to include all the above in a healing puddle from a sage. Or just groups LOSing behind a pillar in a healing puddle, or an Shadow with healing phase walk dropped, guarding a sage in a puddle.

 

 

Strong PBAOE is important in MMOs, and in SWTOR. Deal with it.

Edited May 3, 2013 by KettleBelll

[DharmaPolice]

I used to play a focus Sentinel prior to the buff it got in 1.6/1.7 (or whenever it was). I switched to Combat a month or so into the new patch because I felt Focus it was a little too strong (and I actually preferred the older mechanics).

 

The main issue was when there's two or more well geared Smashers - something that was almost unheard before the focus/rage tree buff but became common (if not normal) eventually. The resulting games were not really much fun and healing in particular became a frustrating ordeal. After being on the receiving end of that many times when healing, I realised that I had no desire to participate in that against other teams. For the same reason I had no desire to spec my Sage into Bubble Stun pre 2.0 - it's an incredible annoying mechanic to face - so no real desire to inflict it on other people.

 

I think the arguments about how much (or little) skill Rage/Focus requires are irrelevant. I don't care how much skill a spec takes to play - only whether it results in enjoyable PVP overall.

 

I haven't tried Focus since 2.0, but it doesn't seem as bad now.

Edited May 3, 2013 by DharmaPolice

[RougeBeaver]

I too was once blinded by the ignorance of believing ragesmash to be OP. (It was never as OP as pyro pts anyway.)

 

Well, if people are still crying about it nowadays that's their problem. Force Choke no longer builds those shockwave stacks so those super-powerful smashes can't be used nearly as often as before, and due to overall higher health pools a single 7-8k smash isn't that big a deal. Seriously.

 

Rage spec did seem to get somewhat higher damage on their moves in-between smashes, and that's a good thing. They're less of a one-trick pony! Hehe.

 

The overall game balance is in a very good place right now, no matter what baddies and criers whine about! Rage on!

[madcappah]

I'm a Dauktor and I approve of this message.

[sirullrich]

Snipers **** on rage/focus imo so I cannot see it being too strong. I agree with the OP and it's just fun. I usually tank with my guardian, but every once in awhile I will play focus just for the luls.

[madcappah]

Snipers **** on rage/focus imo so I cannot see it being too strong.

 

 

Yes, snipers give me cleveland steamers all the time. If I'm ever close to a sniper and I see them use their knockback without it affecting me, they are dead. I'm going in for the kill. I'm doing it for the thrill.

Edited May 3, 2013 by madcappah

[PhatMcMuffins]

8k from an AoE roflsmash... Thats just shy of a similarly geared assassin's single target crit... My opinion is OP. Doesn't make me right, but an opinion doesn't have to be

[Ottoattack]

I love rage murders, because they soak all the damage and CCs. They grab most of the enemies attention giving my sorc healer and my dps pyro tech enough space to heal or dps. They are not great finishers and are easily countered, but the distort the enemy and do not allow enemies to pile up in one spot for massive aoe heals. They soften couple of targets at once. Quite frankly, since the slight nerf in 2.0 they are exactly were they need to be.

 

Also if smash got nerfed severely, TTK in well competitive games will raise significantly, making zergs semi endless.

 

My pyro tech has retired from PvP since the expansion to avoid embarrassment

Edited May 3, 2013 by Ottoattack

[comeonucrazyguy]

I love rage murders, because they soak all the damage and CCs. They grab most of the enemies attention giving my sorc healer and my dps pyro tech enough space to heal or dps. They are not great finishers and are easily countered, but the distort the enemy and do not allow enemies to pile up in one spot for massive aoe heals. They soften couple of targets at once. Quite frankly, since the slight nerf in 2.0 they are exactly were they need to be.

 

Also if smash got nerfed severely, TTK in well competitive games will raise significantly, making zergs semi endless.

 

My pyro tech has retired from PvP since the expansion to avoid embarrassment

 

Exactly! They are the distraction to allow the rest of the team to set up and kill.

[comeonucrazyguy]

Rage FTW!

[Caeasar]

The OP is spot on. For every Smasher there is a class that has an equally effective tool that is considered overpowered. An effective Rage specced Marauder will cause havoc on the field and make a huge difference in how the game goes. But that can be said for just about any class in the game.

 

Case in point, as a marauder I took the grassy knoll in Civil War against 2 players. Now, I have seen Operatives, Assassins and other classes do the same thing. But not many Operatives or Assassins that I know will be the focus target of the enemy because of the pure distraction they cause with their damage. Not as much as a well played Rage Marauder. This is of course my opinion, but also from what I have seen in these many WZ's that I have played.

 

As for being easy to play, if your timing as a Rage Marauder isn't right on, you are not effective. I usually smash once then single target healers till I see a group of half health groupies. Then its smash time again, however I have to stay alive long enough to do this. And THAT is not so easy. Once I am on a healer, I usually get the focus.

 

So in summary, the Marauder is right where it should be on the Rage spec. If I catch you in a 8K smash, it's because you were not ready for it. And THAT is your fault.

 

Now Anni could use some PVP lovin...but that's another topic.

[CommanderJitis]

Really in what servers do you play? In my server fully geared smashers hit average 9.5k, and maximum 10.5k per smash against light armor, and about 1k less against medium. Not 7-8k.