New to FOCUS: What rotation to use?!

[Brump]

Hello all,

Im a 35 sentinel and just went from Watchman to Focus.

Mainly cos i pvp during levelling and try and get a good feel with that (aiming for pvp when 55).

 

I have been reading a lot about Focus spec and think i found a nice one that helps me level aswell as pvp during.

 

For some reason i cant seem to find a rotation for focus?

My questions therefor are easy:

 

Can anyone give me some info about the Focus rotation?

What spell(s) is the tree build around?

What is a "NO NO!-spell" when using focus build? (if any)

What is a "MUST KNOW" when using focus build?

 

Thanks in advance!

Lisae

[arkitip]

There isn't a ROTATION

 

There isn't a class or spec in this game that uses a ROTATION

 

Everything is PRIORITY based, so you need to take the time to learn your abilities and focus management.

 

Your biggest PRIORITY is Force Sweep with 3 stacks of Singularity and the Leap/Zealous Leap buff. So you always build those 2 buffs ASAP.

 

From there... well it depends. This is where YOU need to test to find YOUR flow. This game isn't WoW. There isn't a mod that tells you to press this button now. I can say that Slash is the next highest % of damage after Force Sweep.

[Brump]

Thanks on the reply.

 

I practiced a lot now and found out its a great spec (when u have focus ofc).

[Karaya_One]

I would second the proposition that there is no set rotation.

 

There, however, a few general rules I try to follow when I play Focus:

 

- Use Blade Storm whenever it's off c/d and Sweep is on c/d as it costs no focus when used after a leap or zealous leap and reduces the c/d of Sweep

 

- Spam slash as it reduces c/d of Sweep and helps build Centering for Zen

 

Provided I start with Valorous Call, I usually am able to get into a nice flow going from Zen to Exhaustion w/o being focus starved and w/o having to use Zealous Strike as I'll be able to pop Zen again right as I'm running out of Focus. I like to use Master Strike whenever I think it is feasible -- e.g., I'm not getting kited -- but I'm not sure if this produces optimal dps.

 

I'm sure there are many more experienced players who might be able to provide superior advice, but hopefully this provides some help.

 

Regards,

[KeyboardNinja]

I play Focus situationally, but I usually parse about 4% lower in Focus than in Combat (which is my main spec). My girlfriend plays Focus as her main spec though, and sits pretty high in the torparse leaderboards for almost every HM fight (and essentially always the highest-parsing sentinel/marauder in Focus spec). I've picked up a few things…

 

First, you want to use Master Strike and Blade Storm always following a Force Sweep. At level 35, you won't have the talent which makes this amazing just yet, but get into the habit. Blade Storm is great, but try to save it if it comes off CD between Force Sweeps but after the buff falls off (if that happens, your timing is probably off anyway). Aside from that, your priority is to reduce the CD on Zealous Leap, which is the bounding factor on the rotation. You do this by spamming Slash. NEVER HIT STRIKE. Focus is *swimming* in focus, between Zen and Twin Saber Throw. If you hit Strike after the first 30 seconds of the fight, you made a mistake.

 

Cauterize is a very heavy hitter, and a good one to nail if you fall into a situation where Zealous is about to come up and further reducing the CD gains you nothing (i.e. choice between Slash > Zealous or Cauterize > Zealous). In practice, this means hitting Cauterize essentially on cooldown.

 

Practically, the rotation at 55 looks something like this:

 

(Valorous) > Leap > (Zen) Force Sweep > Master Strike > Blade Storm > Force Exhaustion > Zealous Leap > Slash > Zealous Strike > Cauterize > Force Sweep > Twin Saber Throw > Slash > Blade Storm > Zealous Leap > Slash > (Zen) Force Sweep > etc

 

You tend to see a lot of variation as abilities move through your rotation. The main thing is to always get your Zealous Leap off exactly on CD, and thus your Force Sweep as well. Remember that every other Force Sweep will be proc'd by Zen rather than Force Exhaustion. For this reason, Focus spec actually *loses* DPS whenever it has Inspiration. Thus, if you can, try to get your raid group to move you out of the Inspiration-getting DPS group. If you have Inspiration, click it off (optionally following a Force Sweep).