Ves' Trooper Guide (Work in progress)

[B-rub]

One big question:

For combat medic, when we want to dps during supercharged cell buff, we suppose to spam Full assault or Charged bolt or both of them alternatively? Which one bring the best dps?

 

With the Flashpoint spec suggested on M.E.C.H I will generally spam GR and HS and throw in an FA when it is off CD. I have not tried any other CM healing specs so I honestly couldn't say atm, but I will find out.

[Mecho_Rykspin]

What damage skills are recommended for a combat medic when not healing (when solo leveling, etc.)?

[KorroMan]

Thought I'd give my two cents on the Assault Specialist skill priority, since I still don't see anything under that section.

 

AS is basically a game of trying to proc free High Impact Bolts. In case it isn't obvious, the reason for this is that with AS spec your HIB - when proc'd - becomes a high damage, instant cast spell that generates one ammo unit.

 

So, the first question you must ask yourself before engaging a target is - will the target live long enough for Incendiary Round to be worthwhile? If you're clearing trash in a group or solo'ing, IR is generally a waste of ammo. Just open with Full Auto and then start cycling Charged Bolts until Plasma Cell procs, at which point you can HIB and repeat.

 

Against a boss or similarly tough enemy, you want to open with IR. Then you go into FA and CB until you proc a free HIB (It shows up as a buff, learn what the icon looks like). In this manner you rarely need to hammershot, as FA and HIB procs are both easy on the ammo. If and when you get an unlucky string of no procs, pop your Reserve Powercell and carry on.

 

I can't speak to how AS spec stacks up against Gunnery without a damage meter, but I can say that I'm often pushing my limits threat-wise, suggesting that I'm doing as much damage as a responsible DPSer can without dying. This spec is able to go from 0 to 60 (so to speak) much faster than Gunnery, which I like.

 

Note: I do not yet have Assault Plastique, so others can comment on how to work that in. I would assume you just use it when it's up, and possibly have to work hammer shot in depending on how it effects ammo usage.

 

Gear Notes: I like to build up my crit gear when I can, because of the built in Surge from the Assault Trooper talent point. The CBs hit really hard and cause threat spikes when I'm critting CBs and tossing instant HIBs all at once.

 

TL;DR

 

Low HP Enemy = FA -> CB -> HIB (when proc'd)

High HP Enemy = IR -> FA -> CB -> HIB (when proc'd)

[Chuck_Diesel]

Thus, Supercharge Cells should be activated whenever a) it's off cooldown and b) you have 1-10 ammo.

 

Perhaps not. Using SCC makes several heals cheaper and restores 2 energy, but at the cost of of a 3% decrease in healing power until your CSC refills. If you don't need the ammo regen, I say save the SCC so you can continue to put out 3% more healing.

 

Edit:

Unless of course you are doing this:

 

 

After building 30 Stacks of Supercharged I always use my SC, and throw KB at M1-4X or tank, this allows for the 10% for 15 second damage reduction shield to fall on the tank.

Edited January 24, 2012 by Chuck_Diesel

[blackmanaic]

Could you also share some pointers in the guide in regards to talent selection i.e. build a talent tree with respect to level.

 

I just got my first few talent points and I am kinda confused on which trees/skills to assign them to?

 

Any help will be appreciated.

[TaramCaldar]

Personally I do bottom tier DPS first then bottom tier healing then 2nd & 3rd tier DPS then whatever 2nd tier healing I'm going to get (I only do 2 skills on 2nd tier healing personally on my hybrid build and then later (40's) re-talent and take some off of there to finish off my DPS tree.

 

But I go:

Gunnery bottom

Healing Bottom

Gunnery 2

Gunnery 3

Healing 2

Gunnery the rest of the way...

 

The only real kicker is at Gunnery tier 3 get the barrier skill trained before bothering with anything else. I've found it's FAR more useful to have than anything else in that tier and you can make do fine with charged bolt until you finish training it and then train Grav Round next... then the rest of the tier.

 

When choosing abilities try to pick them in the order that they'll help you most "now". Also keep in mind your playstyle when making choices... if you only ever group up and have a good tank with you you would probably choose grav round before barrier, as an example.

[Vexxation]

Which cells are you using most often for dps pve (my trooper is a baby still at 26) - I was using the plasma cells but my friend told me I should be using hte AP cells now?

[JoxerNL]

So is this guide ever going to be updated with Assault stuff, or did the guide creator quit the game?

[B-rub]

I am still here, sorry about the wait for updates, I am active duty military, I plan on spending some time tonight doing a some big updates

[TeddyBearSniper]

Which cells are you using most often for dps pve (my trooper is a baby still at 26) - I was using the plasma cells but my friend told me I should be using hte AP cells now?

 

Depends on which tree you're focusing on.

 

AP for gunnery.

Plasma for assault.

[TeddyBearSniper]

Question:

 

What's with people's obsession with FA?

 

 

I'm level 24 and I haven't found a single use for it.

 

 

Also, what does CoF mean?

[AKIHA]

Hi

 

Thanx for the good work in this guide, but i've been looking in this section information about the commando for my boyfriend, he its making the AS tree.. and i dind't find a good build for this tree, can someone give me and advice here?

Edited February 15, 2012 by AKIHA

[B-rub]

FA becomes very useful as you level up I didn’t use it much before 30 or so, cause I just never really felt a benefit to it. However, when you get the Curtain of Fire (CoF) skilled it becomes used a lot. Nice thing about FA is it usually recharges its ammo cost while it is being channelled.

 

I am doing a lot of research on the AS build and role atm, not one I have played so I am making sure I have some good information before I post anything, sorry for the wait, but thanks for the patients

Edited February 15, 2012 by B-rub

[B-rub]

Added a Build to AS section, and my thoughts on it, and also added some information in the AS section of ability priorities and rotations portion of the guide. Still working on getting more AS info, anyone with some threads or info to share is welcome to do so.

[TeddyBearSniper]

FA becomes very useful as you level up I didn’t use it much before 30 or so, cause I just never really felt a benefit to it. However, when you get the Curtain of Fire (CoF) skilled it becomes used a lot. Nice thing about FA is it usually recharges its ammo cost while it is being channelled.

 

I am doing a lot of research on the AS build and role atm, not one i have played so I am making sure i have some good information before I post anything, sorry for the way, but thanks for the patients

 

Thanks!

[Xzenorath]

Just wanted to give my 2 cents for AoE as Gunnery

 

If you want your group to take as little damage as possible versus a group of clustered weak enemies and your Mortar volley is on CD, always open with:

 

(Reserve Powercell)Plasma Grenade > Sticky Grenade > Hail of Bolts

*This actually does more damage than Volley but obviously burns a lot of ammo.

 

If you're within decent range of the mob, you can also lob your Plasma Grenade, run in as you toss your Sticky Grenade and once you reach the necessary range, use Pulse Cannon. This is cheaper and does more damage than the Hail of Bolts rotation, however you're closer and can be CC'd, interrupted, knocked back, etc.

 

Anywho, this effectively stuns all the weak mobs with your Plasma 'Nade, knocks them down with Sticky Grenade, and you finish off whatever HP they have left with either HoB or PC. This usually leads to you taking 0 damage or so during the entire time it takes to clear out 3-5 weak enemies. (Quick Pro-tip: This is also amazing while doing the Ilum daily in the tunnel where you're gathering the shield items from the mobs. Lobbing your Plasma Grenade in first stuns the mobs and prevents them from activating their shield which reduces your damage by a lot. This effectively allows you to clear out the group without taking damage and doing so much faster than having to deal damage through their shields). Rotating this with Mortar Volley every other pull allows you to solo that quest much faster than anyone else doing this solo

 

This combo is also ridiculously deadly versus larger groups during hard modes where you'll have 3-5 weaks with 1-3 strongs:

 

(Relic(Crit&Surge))Sticky Grenade > (Tech Override + Reserve Powercell) Plasma Grenade > (Diversion) Mortar Volley... and if there's elites thrown into the mix, that's usually when I have to use Reactive Shield, Adrenaline Rush, and Cryo Grenade to stay alive and reduce stress on my healers as we mop up what's left. I'd LOVE to see the damage meters on THAT fight

 

Hope this helps!

Edited February 15, 2012 by Xzenorath

[Xzenorath]

Question:

 

What's with people's obsession with FA?

 

 

I'm level 24 and I haven't found a single use for it.

 

 

Also, what does CoF mean?

It's amazing later on for sure. Say you have a pack of 3 weak enemies; 2 clustered, 1 off to the side.

 

I'll Sticky Grenade 1 of the 2 guys clustered (this stuns him), I'll Full Auto the enemy off to the side (this stuns him), at the last moment of Full Auto, I'll High Impact Bolt him, instantly killing him. The other 2 enemies are currently on their butts, finish 1 off, then the other.

 

Sticky Grenade and Full Auto reduced your damage taken from 3 enemies down to 1 enemy.

 

Off the top of my head, this is one really good use for soloing, aside from the fact that it's pretty much a free ability.

Edited February 15, 2012 by Xzenorath

[B-rub]

Thanks for the info.

 

Added a short section on Ammo Cells under the mechanics portion of the guide.

[B-rub]

@Xzenorath, I used your input to replace my "Point on Groups" section becaue it was an excellent system to use. Thanks for the pro tip.

[Alpha-three]

Thanks alot! This is a very helpful guide.

[B-rub]

Thank you for the support. Currently I am playing AS so I can learn through doing

[Nehril]

i use that combo all the time, its great. however i lead off with plasma grenade then sticky grenade as its more bursty. long cast time of plasma means that while its in the air insta sticky grenade, they get there at about the same time as my leadoff full auto, which sets off the grenade. very good in pvp if you can get the drop on someone and their buddies are all lemminged up together.

 

slot earplugs for the screams of surprise and terror and "mommy!" in warzones.

[Gannacus]

i use that combo all the time, its great. however i lead off with plasma grenade then sticky grenade as its more bursty. long cast time of plasma means that while its in the air insta sticky grenade, they get there at about the same time as my leadoff full auto, which sets off the grenade. very good in pvp if you can get the drop on someone and their buddies are all lemminged up together.

 

slot earplugs for the screams of surprise and terror and "mommy!" in warzones.

 

Lvl 42 fully spec'd combat Medic - and have started using this opening attack a lot as well. Its great for bunched mobs with a couple of tougher opponents - after the sticky grenade is launched I have been charging in to close quarters and letting go a quick pulse cannon followed by a concussion charge then using the 4 seconds of slowed movement to back out of the fight and start recharging ammo using heal hammer shot on tanno who by now is engaging and drawing attack - then healing duties start. Probably sounds more like I should be a vanguard but its fun regardless. The 2 grenades at the start are great. Maybe even a quick high impact bolt thrown in for good measure as well. Don't use full auto often though.

 

Very interesting thread and some great tips taken out of it - I probably dont pay enough attention to the best rotations based on maximising ammo usage and times etc but then again there are so many variables where different strategies are required for different situations/other party members etc.

 

Happy healing/hunting

[Jeditheos]

ANyone have a quality built for assault spec pvp?

 

I'm a lvl 50 gunnery 67BM doing about 450k dmg in pvp...but I'm wondering if assault is better suited for pvp and it might also be better after 1.2 since they decided to nerf us.

 

Just curious. And can assault do more dmg?

 

Thank you.

[Thekze]

After further thinking and discussion with my guildmates a couple of weeks ago, I decided to use alacrity with my gunnery commando.

 

I went 1/2 First Responder (50% chance of +5% alacrity for 6 seconds when dealing crit damage) in Combat Medic and 1/2 Weapons Calibration (2% alacrity) in Assault Spec. I hit 5.40% activation speed (~100 alacrity with items) and 10.40% when First Responder procs. Gives me 1.3 seconds cast on grav round.

 

I realized it was barely a hit on our ammo regeneration… just apply a small pause in between your grav rounds and you will enjoy the DPS boost in the long run!

 

I'd say when you have over 30% critical chance, going all-out in damage becomes very dangerous for the enemy. My Ilum/Belsavis dailies are also very easy to farm… try it!