Sentinal/Marauder eludes me, please help.

[jawesomer]

I personally feel almost all of the classes are strong in their own way, I can easily solo quests with almost all classes.

However, Sentinal/Marauder is the only class which I have difficulty even doing regular side quests. I've looked at many guides on plenty of sites, but no matter how i play or what spec i use i seem to die faster then i kill. Even in a regular group of 3 normal mobs i end the fight with me at 50% or lower, always, if i beat a gold mob its because I used all of my cooldowns and i still end the fight at 20% at the MOST. Im not sure what im doing wrong.

 

I play a level 26 sentinal, my gear is up to par, not super fantastic but better geared than many other characters i level'd with ease. Im useing Kira as a companion.

 

I know useing a dps companion as dps isnt the smartest thing to do, but can i really be doing that terrible just because of the companion? If someone could give me a solid answer, or even a build that was good for you, i would really appreciate it

[errant_knight]

You can succeed with any companion. I know this because my sniper used his dps companion until endgame, then switched to a companion who could use his cast off endgame gear, who happened to be a healer.

 

The odds are pretty good that you have a rotation problem. It's not an easy class to play optimally. If fact a lot of people enjoy it because of the challenge. Check out Noxxic or Dulfy for some ideas about that., 'cause I suspect something is awry, even though you've checked. You're pretty squishy, so stay well geared. Sounds like you're on that, though. You king want to post in the sent/mara forums to get some advice from peopl who don't usually play snipers, lol.

Edited July 2, 2014 by errant_knight

[jawesomer]

Alright i'll check there, thanks for the advice, i'll also look at noxxic again.

[AMulls]

You could try using T7 and see how things go. Maybe it will make a bigger difference than you think.

 

Also, watchman has some self healing available which might help, depending on what your spec is.

[Kremsau]

I used T7.

 

He can keep some of the enemies off you while you whittle their health down. At some point they'll switch to you, but they should be near dead at that point.

 

I know you feel like you should save your Heroic Moment, for any surprise upcoming big fight. Don't. Use that bad boy frequently, or else it'll just go to waste. If you need it for a boss and it's on cooldown, wait a while and get EXP on some surrounding lowbies.

[DOHboy]

as with anything defensive cooldowns, interrupts, and crowd control will be your friend. Trying to play tank in DPS spec/armor is going to end badly. It will always come down to a kill them before they kill you. pre fight stuns are also a must (but only on droids). Thinks like AWE and Pacify will help in crowd control. Also taking out the small quickly killed adds will be better than trying to take on the boss with all the adds for later.

 

1) if using kira either let her go in first and take some of the initial aggro or use your detaunt/aggro dump and let her pick some of it up.

 

2) rotation/spec mean a big difference. Watchman is great for single target DOT, combat is single target burst, focus is great AOE but less sustained single target damage so depending on the fight one will have an advantage over the other. Maintaining a rotation that finds the balance between focus (force) and your damage output is keen. Being focused starved and all your heavy hitting skills off CD is not a key to victory, must maintain proper focus so when your skills go off CD you are ready to use them again.

3) pick your fights, trying to solo a champion mod 3 or 4 levels above you is going to be difficult, adding in 3 or 4 other adds will be virtually impossible. So make sure you are above or at char level (run KDY if necessary to increase your level at given time).

4) as i said previously interrupts, CCs and defensive cooldowns, will be your saving grace. need to learn when and how to use them properly. starting out with a guarded by the force is not a good thing, keep it for the end before you die and have a med pack ready. other Defensive cooldowns should be used when off CD but try to use them just before you take the most damage as many will have a longer cooldown than ability (15 second ability with a 30 second cooldown), so save it for when you need it but make sure to use it

[RatPoison]

I would highly recommend staying away from Noxxic, even with their revamp of that grossly incorrect information they once had.

 

Additionally, the diversity of the classes only really starts to bloom at the point you are at. What a lot of marauders/sentinels tend to rely on is their healing companion as unlike the sniper referenced above, you're in the thick of battle taking damage from its onset where as the sniper has the benefit of pecking down weaker mobs before they get in range. Quinn (or Doc) will keep you alive for virtually all trash pulls presuming you keep their gear relatively in check.

 

Additionally, the specs for the class lend itself to pros and cons in the leveling process. Annihilation (dot spec) works well initially because everything has low health, but later on it fades away due to its ramp up time (which you never get to the top off for trash pulls). But at your point, and into the thirties and beyond, smash spec works well since you can start beefing up your surge stat and should have enough points to put into the smash spec to get the automatic crits. This works great for clearing out the weak mobs in packs quickly. Carnage on the other 1hand... is a tad more difficult than the other two due to its learning curve, plus its dependence on RNG for procs in the end. Played correctly, and towards the end game it is a devastating spec for strong single targets... though that doesn't do much for places with mobs in packs like Makeb and Oricon, it is completely manageable when you pick and down particular targets quickly in said packs.

 

Learning to take advantage of your defensive cooldowns also will play heavy into your success. Recognize the value of your threat drop, utilize your cloak of pain often, save your saber ward for golds, and undying rage for the desperate fights you're losing towards the end. Don't forget the medpack at the end of its duration for lolz.

[DerSchneider]

Smash spec + ship droid = profit.

I struggled too when I was leveling my sent, but I found that even droid is more applicable for lowbie sent than t7 or kira. So try to use it till you get a fully healing companion (about 34-36 level).

PS: note that you must set 2 points to the watchman tree to rapidly acquire zen.

Edited July 2, 2014 by DerSchneider

[Rafaman]

Ok. So first check out Dulfy's: http://dulfy.net/2014/02/11/swtor-sentinel-dps-class-guide/

 

You may have already seen this, but it really nails down everything from a PvE perspective in terms of skills trees etc.

 

Generally. Sent and Maras are really more of a heoric class. You are super squishy, in medium armor, and don't have your really great dps abilities until level 32 or so. For Sents, they don't even get a healer until after Chapter 1 so, yeah, don't feel bad about it, it is harder.

 

Second. About those cool downs... don't forget Awe and Pacify while you are leveling. When you use them can be just as important as using them. Awe, Force Stasis, and Force Camo can be used as interrupts, so keep them handy at all times. Pacify is key when taking on the tougher elites. Use it well and you will take a lot less damage. You can read all about the different abilities, but the trick with Sents and Maras is situational awareness. More then any class you have to be ready to use most if not all of your abilities. It is not a spam rotation.

 

Last. As it relates to your companions, play your class. I know many Sents and Maras that secretly wish they were tanks and play like tanks. Don't do that. Your kill order should be the same as it is a group scenario, trash then strong/boss. If you are playing with a healer companion, this works great because heals will usually cc one mob and it usually is the strong/boss. If you are playing with a tank companion, let the tank start the fight on the boss, you take care of the trash fast and get back to boss. If you are playing with a dps companion, same deal, but you have to be faster.

 

In broad strokes, it will be more challenging until you get to about level 40 or so, then, you will see the high dps kick in and realize the true benefits of the class in terms of leveling. So.. hang in there. It is well worth it. When you are through you will really know your class and this will help you in group content as well.

[DocHoneydew]

Yeah, with this class you really need patience. Squishy early on, but once you get into the mid 30s and beyond, then you'll shine.

[deltadt]

don't forget to use medpacks. they can help

[venomlash]

i'll also look at noxxic again.

 

IT'S A TRAP! dot bee em pee. Don't use Noxxic; it is terribad.

[SgtJeremy]

I used T7.

 

He can keep some of the enemies off you while you whittle their health down. At some point they'll switch to you, but they should be near dead at that point.

 

I know you feel like you should save your Heroic Moment, for any surprise upcoming big fight. Don't. Use that bad boy frequently, or else it'll just go to waste. If you need it for a boss and it's on cooldown, wait a while and get EXP on some surrounding lowbies.

 

I don't think I've used mine once. Most skills with long cooldown times I usually forget I have it. But that may just be me.

 

I've been having some trouble with surviving prolonged fights with bosses and stronger mobs on my Marauder until I started spamming Cloak of Pain I think it's called. Beautiful.