Leveling as Jedi Sentinal, Dying a lot, Any advice?

[HumbleJedi]

Howdy everyone.

 

I was wondering if i could chase some advice regarding my Jedi Sentinal class.

 

This is my current spec:

http://imageshack.com/a/img543/4009/n74f.jpg

 

Is anyone able to provide some advice or a surviable spec path, where im not dying so much at all please?

 

Im currently level 29

[CosmicKat]

Sentinel is the class I find the "hardest".

 

Been a while since I've played mine but here's things I learned...

 

- You need to use the defensive abilities against any silvers on up. Saber Ward I think is the main one?

- Study the forms you have. Some give you extra damage and/or extra AOE damage, which really are overkill in levelling and will draw agro from your companion. If you have one that gives you any defensive bonus, use that.

- Use medkits. Sentinel and Marauder are the only classes I ever use them regularly with.

- Concentrate on weaker enemies first.

- Use orange or adaptive armor and keep your mods within a couple of levels of your character level.

- Everything gets far easier when you get a healing companion.

- Pick your fights till you have a healer companion.

- When you have to fight golds, pay close attention to their "big attacks" and interrupt them. I think you have 2 interrupts at fairly low level.

- Try different companions if you have more than 1. Some work better than others, depending on your abilities and playstyle.

[Slicka]

Howdy everyone.

 

I was wondering if i could chase some advice regarding my Jedi Sentinal class.

 

This is my current spec:

http://imageshack.com/a/img543/4009/n74f.jpg

 

Is anyone able to provide some advice or a surviable spec path, where im not dying so much at all please?

 

Im currently level 29

 

Assuming you're just talking about leveling on planets, T7 should be doing well as a decent tank for most mobs. I don't know how much damage combat does, but I once ran around doing quests on two Sith Warriors. I always found I was finishing my own story instance a lot faster while playing Watchman (using Sentinel terms). It's a fun spec and a lot of talents help increase survivability through healing while burning your target with multiple burn DoTs.

 

Here's a basic spec for leveling: Watchman Leveling Spec

 

Hope this helps.

[EzioMessi]

Use Rebuke whenever you attack multiple enemies. It reduces incoming damage, and causes them to take some damage for every hit.

 

If attacking a group of enemies, hit the strongest one with Pacify. That will make most of their attacks miss.

 

If there's a a strong or elite level droid, use Droid Disable on it.

 

Saber Ward is your buddy. Use it for any and all big fights.

 

If an enemy is casting a big hitting ability (the way Lord Valis and Lord Praven do) use Force Kick to interrupt them. That takes away a big chunk of their damage.

 

Any hard to defeat fights are supposed to be defeated with your Heroic Moment.

 

Force Stasis is useless. It stuns the enemy, and leaves you as a sitting duck too, and does very little damage.

 

Zen is your best offensive cooldown. When it is up, and you're fighting, use it.

 

Change your spec for now. Get rid of the talent which you have in the Watchman Tree. It is useful, but I wouldn't delve into either of the other trees until level 45. The 3 points you just freed up should be invested in the branching skills of the "Opportune Attack" talent.

 

Whenever you see Opportune Attack in your buffs, use Bladestorm. It does 10% more damage and is an autocrit (if you follow the above spec I mentioned).

 

Hope that helped.

[Corsiero]

My Guardian is level 35 on Balmorra with full 34 mods while Kira is full 30 mods. Sentinels are a bit squishier than Guardians. What is your gear level? What planet are you on? What is your attack approach? I say this because Kira manages to hold aggro on a target if I don't attack it. That means if you engage three basic troops and one silver if you have them all focus firing you. This is important as it divides the damage between you and your companion.

In Combat? ( Carnage ) your proper rotation doesn't begin until you get Gore ( don't know the Sentinel equivalent ) so you should focus on single targets and finishing them off before moving to the next one. This helps to mitigate incoming damage and should you die you have less targets the next round. Also know the limitations of your character and the defensives. Can't say much more without more info.

[EzioMessi]

My Guardian is level 35 on Balmorra with full 34 mods while Kira is full 30 mods. Sentinels are a bit squishier than Guardians. What is your gear level? What planet are you on? What is your attack approach? I say this because Kira manages to hold aggro on a target if I don't attack it. That means if you engage three basic troops and one silver if you have them all focus firing you. This is important as it divides the damage between you and your companion.

In Combat? ( Carnage ) your proper rotation doesn't begin until you get Gore ( don't know the Sentinel equivalent ) so you should focus on single targets and finishing them off before moving to the next one. This helps to mitigate incoming damage and should you die you have less targets the next round. Also know the limitations of your character and the defensives. Can't say much more without more info.

 

^^ He's right. Split up aggro between you and your companion.

 

And the Sentinel equivalent of Gore is called Precision Slash. Most useful ability in the Combat rotation. In the spec tree it will look like 2 crossed sabers witha blue background and a green lining.

 

In my earlier post I mentioned hitting Blade Storm the moment Opportune Attack appears. Once you spec into this talent, hit Precision Slash and then Master Strike or Blade Storm or both for huge damage.

[HumbleJedi]

Assuming you're just talking about leveling on planets, T7 should be doing well as a decent tank for most mobs. I don't know how much damage combat does, but I once ran around doing quests on two Sith Warriors. I always found I was finishing my own story instance a lot faster while playing Watchman (using Sentinel terms). It's a fun spec and a lot of talents help increase survivability through healing while burning your target with multiple burn DoTs.

 

Here's a basic spec for leveling: Watchman Leveling Spec

 

Hope this helps.

 

Hmm an interesting spec, i shall give it a go

[Andryah]

For leveling.....

 

Either use a tanking companion and let them get the agro first while you jump in a couple seconds later and peel and kill, or go in with you and a good dps and split the agro, and rely on pace of kill to inoculate you from severe damage.

 

Any other scenario is going to be painful with a Sentinel.

 

Personally, I prefer the dual dps and split agro.. but even then.. I send the dps companion in first to get agro then hop in and peel an kill.

 

I have not leveled a Sent with Treek, but if I were leveling one today... Treek would be my go-to companion, in tank stance. I don't really think you can die (or even be seriously injured) with Treek at your side unless you are way out of your league level wise or playing nekkid.

Edited February 3, 2014 by Andryah

[Foxtrotmikelima]

The truth is a Jedi Sent is just one of the squishiest classes in the game. But the payoff is at Cap as you become one of the hardest hitting DPS in any group.

 

1.) What you really need to focus on is keeping the mobs focus off of you. Sending in your companion first to draw aggro before popping zen and launching in afterwards.

 

2.) Also. Find a rotation of abilities that works for you. And dont forget to keep your focus up at least to 7 bars. By mixing in the focus building abilities between your attacks youll be able to easily keep this up. Popping Precision Slash before Blade Storm will net you a significant amount of damage. My rotation that I try to stick to closely is as follows

 

(Valorous Call) --> (Zen) --> (Zealous Strike) --> (Strike) --> (Precision Slash) --> (Blade Storm) --> (Slash) --> (Strike) --> (Master Strike) --> (Cauterize) --> (Strike) --> (Dispatch) ((After that I mix in other attacks that I might have depending on level like Blade Rush, which I add in between Strike and Precision Slash sometimes, Riposte and I cant recall the name now but at a higher level Sentinels get a third Lightsaber Throwing ability that doesnt cost any focus its really helpful as an inbetween ability when youre waiting for Zealous Strike to come off Cooldown.)) I run a Combat Build but there are plenty of other acceptable builds for PvE.

 

3.) Always carry 10-20 medpacks that are closest to your level. Youll find yourself burning through them often especially when youre soloing. If youre like me and enjoy the challenge I run with Kira and she can be a pain in the ***. So expect to use these often.

 

4.) Ensure your gear is always within 3-4 levels of your actual level. And keep an eye out for when its getting low. When the gear starts to get to low youll experience frequent wipes against even the most common mobs.

 

5.) Keep an eye on your companions. They have a tendency to aggro more then what you and your companion is capable of handling if you dont keep them on a short leash. Their AoE attacks should always remain manuel so that its not popped in the automatic rotation the AI goes through. This prevents your Companion from pulling those pesky patrolling Mobs at the wrong time.

 

6.) If youre running a Tank Companion or DPS make sure to turn them loose on the strongest mob (or the second strongest if you stunned the strongest) and use that time to clean up the trash mobs. If you come upon a group of mobs that has an Elite, A Strong and a handful of trash mobs. Stun the Elite..turn your Companion on the Strong and clean up the trash. Then help finish the Strong before moving in on the Elite. Again. Let your Companion pull the aggro. This will give you the breathing room to go to work and do serious damage to the mob without being pounded into the ground.

 

7.) Utilize your interrupt abilities. Its very easy to forget you have these but theyre essential to preventing a mob from dropping deathblows. You will find even Elites can be rather easy to dispatch once you get into the rhythem of a rotation and stay attentive to anything he/she is channelling.

 

As someone before said. Its one of the harder classes to play. Youre getting up close and personal with the mobs and youre working with less health then your Guardian Tank counterpart. (Atleast with Sages/Shadows you can put some distance between you and the mob with ranged abilities much like Scoundrels and Troopers). Learning your weaknesses, your strengths and being patient before jumping in to pick a fight will save you a lot of time and credits.

[Reno_Tarshil]

Use Rebuke whenever you attack multiple enemies. It reduces incoming damage, and causes them to take some damage for every hit.

 

If attacking a group of enemies, hit the strongest one with Pacify. That will make most of their attacks miss.

 

If there's a a strong or elite level droid, use Droid Disable on it.

 

Saber Ward is your buddy. Use it for any and all big fights.

 

If an enemy is casting a big hitting ability (the way Lord Valis and Lord Praven do) use Force Kick to interrupt them. That takes away a big chunk of their damage.

 

Any hard to defeat fights are supposed to be defeated with your Heroic Moment.

 

Force Stasis is useless. It stuns the enemy, and leaves you as a sitting duck too, and does very little damage.

 

Zen is your best offensive cooldown. When it is up, and you're fighting, use it.

 

Change your spec for now. Get rid of the talent which you have in the Watchman Tree. It is useful, but I wouldn't delve into either of the other trees until level 45. The 3 points you just freed up should be invested in the branching skills of the "Opportune Attack" talent.

 

Whenever you see Opportune Attack in your buffs, use Bladestorm. It does 10% more damage and is an autocrit (if you follow the above spec I mentioned).

 

Hope that helped.

 

The only issue I have with your Advice is about Force Stasis being useless. It's not, it stuns the enemy and does damage at the same time.

[Corsiero]

It's useless on bosses. Okay as an interrupt on golds or elites with no boss immunity. Damage is negligible. Good as a replacement stun on Elder Corrupted Subteroth. Better for PvP.

[Reno_Tarshil]

It's useless on bosses. Okay as an interrupt on golds or elites with no boss immunity. Damage is negligible. Good as a replacement stun on Elder Corrupted Subteroth. Better for PvP.

 

And exactly how many Boss immune mobs are you going to run into Solo? It also generates Focus/Rage. It's too good not to use regardless if it stuns or not.

[EzioMessi]

The only issue I have with your Advice is about Force Stasis being useless. It's not, it stuns the enemy and does damage at the same time.

 

It is quite useless in solo PvE. Maybe some use as an interrupt, or a very situational finisher, but that's about it.

 

The only times i use Stasis in PvE is when All other interrupts are on CD, or if both I and the boss is on extreme low health, so I just stun him to death to avoid the risk of losing.

 

In storymode PvE, the interrupt is rarely needed, Force Kick is more than enough. And I have never had to use that as a last ditch finisher.

 

It is far, far, more useful in PvP, where a combination of leap > Stasis > Crippling Throw > Master Strike > Awe can be used to buy your friends at the off-node a lot of time, and that's not even mentioning that we have enough slows to make sure that when they're not rooted, they're crawling.

[Spetulhu]

The truth is a Jedi Sent is just one of the squishiest classes in the game. But the payoff is at Cap as you become one of the hardest hitting DPS in any group.

 

 

Yup... I found Sith Warrior (Marauder) to be about the same. Many quests require me to make sure my healing companion doesn't get aggro, much more careful than if I was a tank. But when done right I also burn down mobs much faster than any other class I've tried.

[Reno_Tarshil]

It is quite useless in solo PvE. Maybe some use as an interrupt, or a very situational finisher, but that's about it.

 

The only times i use Stasis in PvE is when All other interrupts are on CD, or if both I and the boss is on extreme low health, so I just stun him to death to avoid the risk of losing.

 

In storymode PvE, the interrupt is rarely needed, Force Kick is more than enough. And I have never had to use that as a last ditch finisher.

 

It is far, far, more useful in PvP, where a combination of leap > Stasis > Crippling Throw > Master Strike > Awe can be used to buy your friends at the off-node a lot of time, and that's not even mentioning that we have enough slows to make sure that when they're not rooted, they're crawling.

 

It stuns an enemy.

It damages an enemy while stunning it.

It generates Focus for you while you channel it.

It gives you a breather for your healing companion to heal you up for a few seconds.

 

You arn't going to fight that many Boss immune enemies by yourself in Solo PvE to force you into never using it normally.

 

And you said it leaves you open? It barely lasts that long to matter at all.

 

It's far from useless in Solo PvE and just too good to not use normally, seriously it won't get you killed.

[EzioMessi]

It stuns an enemy.

It damages an enemy while stunning it.

It generates Focus for you while you channel it.

It gives you a breather for your healing companion to heal you up for a few seconds.

 

You arn't going to fight that many Boss immune enemies by yourself in Solo PvE to force you into never using it normally.

 

And you said it leaves you open? It barely lasts that long to matter at all.

 

It's far from useless in Solo PvE and just too good to not use normally, seriously it won't get you killed.

 

It stuns an enemy... And pretty much roots you in place.

It does damage... That roughly equals one Slash.

It generates focus... That is about half of how much focus 3 Strikes will do in the same duration. Oh and the 3 strikes will deal more damage.

It gives you a breather... And gives your healer the perfect chance to pull aggro. And no, that **** happens when playing Co,bat because we are a single target spec. Fail to hit a single mob, and your heals are shut down. Oh,a nd did. I mention, Awe is a much better breather?

 

Boss immunity is a different issue. Nothing to do with Solo PvE.

 

4 seconds is not a very long time I agree. So why reduce your own damage for 4 seconds of breathing room?

 

"Too good not to use"? I consider it too meh to even bother using.

 

I'm not saying it is entirely useless. It has its uses. But they are far too situational, which is why I told the OP to not bother using it. He has a lot to learn, and expecting him to figure out exactly when to use Stasis is way too much.

[Reno_Tarshil]

It stuns an enemy... And pretty much roots you in place.

It does damage... That roughly equals one Slash.

It generates focus... That is about half of how much focus 3 Strikes will do in the same duration. Oh and the 3 strikes will deal more damage.

It gives you a breather... And gives your healer the perfect chance to pull aggro. And no, that **** happens when playing Co,bat because we are a single target spec. Fail to hit a single mob, and your heals are shut down. Oh,a nd did. I mention, Awe is a much better breather?

 

Boss immunity is a different issue. Nothing to do with Solo PvE.

 

4 seconds is not a very long time I agree. So why reduce your own damage for 4 seconds of breathing room?

 

"Too good not to use"? I consider it too meh to even bother using.

 

I'm not saying it is entirely useless. It has its uses. But they are far too situational, which is why I told the OP to not bother using it. He has a lot to learn, and expecting him to figure out exactly when to use Stasis is way too much.

 

1.) Being Rooted in place isn't an issue. Unless you're about have an AOE dropped on you, you can remain pretty much stationary the entire fight using Force Leap to get around.

 

2.) Damage is still Damage, especially when it's doing several other affects at once compared to just a generic slash.

 

3.) See Point 2 and Replace Damage with Focus and the same concept is applied.

 

4.) Healer pull aggro? Really? On a Sentinel? If you're doing Solo PvE with your healer and you're anywhere a decent sentinel your Healer companion gaining aggro over you is non existent. If your healer is somehow gaining aggro over you, you arn't DPSing hard enough.

[GoddessDaVida]

For leveling.....

 

Either use a tanking companion and let them get the agro first while you jump in a couple seconds later and peel and kill, or go in with you and a good dps and split the agro, and rely on pace of kill to inoculate you from severe damage.

 

^ this is what I think is the most significant advice given so far. Ctrl+1 is your friend.

 

Especially for Sentinels, but also really every class except tanks paired with a heals companion. In ops, you would be performing the same way, letting a tank take the abuse while you grind his attacker down with your superior damage spec. That works as well in solo play, so long as you keep the companion gear upgraded. Plus, repairs on a dead companion are cheap compared to those for yourself.

[reclipsed]

The most important upgrade you need to keep up with is your hilt. Something that I have gotten used to is sending your tank companion into the fray before your leap in. [ if you keep their gear up to date they can take down your targets] Hot key companion ability 1 to something easy to reach like shift+D or F and let it build some threat.

 

Something else to remember to make leveling quicker and easier. It does not matter if the battle ends with your companions health at 2%. If you're outside just quickly engage your speeder then disengage it for a full heal, they also get full heals if they are dead or dismissed and called back.

 

 

Around lvl 29-30 the far right tree really shines against mob packs, that extra leap with auto crit is very nice.

Edited February 3, 2014 by reclipsed

[Rafaman]

The only issue I have with your Advice is about Force Stasis being useless. It's not, it stuns the enemy and does damage at the same time.

 

And... it generates focus and is also and interrupt. And you can't have enough of those if you are a squishy Sent.

 

Great advice in general given here OP. I leveled as a Combat Sent. It was my first toon and I'm glad I chose to go with it right out of the box because it really helps you learn how to play this game. A few tips in general for you.

 

Combat Sent is not a 4 button spamming fight. Your abilities, all of your abilities, even early on, are required to play well. So get your key bindings ready and when you get a new ability get used to using it.

 

Remember, you have to build focus and then dump it with your big attacks. Speed is the key. You have to know what builds focus and what uses focus; what builds combat trance and what uses combat trance. And then be ready with the associated attacks.

 

Hang in there. You will get Doc on Balmorra and Precision Strike right before that which make things considerably easier. Precision Strike has a great armor penetration bonus, and you should always use it to setup your big hitting attacks.

 

Anyway... there is a lot to it, but it is a lot of fun and very rewarding once you see it all come together in later levels. Check out the Class forums. There is quite a bit written in the Sentinel sub forum that will help you a great deal.

[Slicka]

Hmm an interesting spec, i shall give it a go

 

Appreciate you taking my advice.

 

Everyone else on here is giving good information, but I think you were typically asking about a possible talent spec. Like everyone else says, Sentinels and Marauders typically are squishy and rely on their CDs a lot more than other classes.

 

If you like Combat as a spec though, maybe sending a PM to one of them would help give a possible talent spec for that tree.

[Projawa]

Sentinels get their healing companion after Balmorra, early 30s. If you have access to Treek, use her as a healing companion.

[-DG-]

Several good thoughts/tips in here. And a few not all that good.

 

It's useless on bosses. Okay as an interrupt on golds or elites with no boss immunity. Damage is negligible. Good as a replacement stun on Elder Corrupted Subteroth. Better for PvP.

 

It stuns an enemy... And pretty much roots you in place.

It does damage... That roughly equals one Slash.

It generates focus... That is about half of how much focus 3 Strikes will do in the same duration. Oh and the 3 strikes will deal more damage.

It gives you a breather... And gives your healer the perfect chance to pull aggro. And no, that **** happens when playing Co,bat because we are a single target spec. Fail to hit a single mob, and your heals are shut down. Oh,a nd did. I mention, Awe is a much better breather?

 

Boss immunity is a different issue. Nothing to do with Solo PvE.

 

4 seconds is not a very long time I agree. So why reduce your own damage for 4 seconds of breathing room?

 

"Too good not to use"? I consider it too meh to even bother using.

 

I'm not saying it is entirely useless. It has its uses. But they are far too situational, which is why I told the OP to not bother using it. He has a lot to learn, and expecting him to figure out exactly when to use Stasis is way too much.

 

If using the Watchman tree and having access to Overload saber, the stasis ability is really good vs. say 1 tough mob/gold/semi boss. Dump the stackable crit-burns/dots(= short timered Heal Over Timer) followed by stasis and you'll get this:

- Fair amount of combined damage(several Damage Over Time abilites ticking, including stasis itself).

- Gaining health.

- Gaining focus.

- Effectively hindering/stunning mob from do damage to you(getting you somewhat closer to next defensive pop)..

- If using healer companion you gain a few seconds to have the comp heal you(and itself) as well.

 

Solo PvE becomes notable easier with Sent/Mara, if using Stasis ever so often(in a somwhat wise fashion).

 

That said, for the FUN of it, around level 37-40 I went Combat tree and while losing the self-healing, I combined:

- 5% baseline defence.

- 6% Defence from Saber Screen(up with a few seconds of dps'ing).

- 10% Transcendence.

- 12-18% Defence from augments and enhancements

 

... meaning that a few seconds into a fight I had about 23-28% "static" defence and with Transcendence that became 33-38% defence(often trying to pop this when the other defensive abilities were down - thus maintaining a almost steady "stream" if not THAT bad semi-tankish ability). I'm sure I had some relic to further increase the defence some additional 30 seconds. Not overly effective, but worked well enough for solo exping.

 

Was fun though and allowed me to be more tankish than some real tank classes who either didn't have enough stats nor defensive abilites. Or/and who was yet to learn their class.

[DarthVengeant]

Healer companion.

 

Always stay 4-5 levels ahead of every quest, that means PVPing up. The second you get to fleet after starter world PVP up to lvl 15 and stay 4-5 levels ahead the rest of the game. Do the PVP daily and weekly when needed. (doing the PVP will get you xp and credits, and more xp if you use legacy perks and warzone xp boost which you can get on GTN for 900-2000 credits each. you can use the pvp comms to trade in for planet comms or credit boxes).

 

Gear yourself to full orange/modable gear when you hit lvl 15 with mods/armor/enhancements. Then about every 5 lvls do it again. Keep updating it with Planet comms vendor modifications, or craft it with an alt. Staying well geared and 4-5 lvls ahead also means you can solo all the Heroic 2's.

Edited February 3, 2014 by DarthVengeant

[HaoZhao]

Many claim that carnage is garbage without massacre. Well, if that's the case, carnage is stinking garbage without gore. It's not your fault (maybe), because you're missing stuff that makes carnage viable at all. Some builds are just like that.