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Don't spec Vigilance until after Act 1


Jinsaru

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To my fellow DPS Guardians,

 

Please save yourself the frustration and do not spec in the Vigilance tree until you get the healing companion in Act 2 on the planet of Balmorra. Without a healing companion (not counting C2N2 for he is far too weak) it is extremely difficult to DPS without getting killed. After nearly ripping my hair out while questing on Tatooine, I decided to respec Defense and it definitely paid off. Questing was still a challenge but the difficulty was manageable and I was able to get through Act 1 with little to no issues. Just spec Defense from the start and only use Kira (the DPS companion). You will finish Act 1 with no issues if you follow some of the helpful guides people have posted on the forums.

 

To save yourself frustration, follow these steps:

 

1. Spec in the Defense tree throughout all of Act 1 (although I highly recommend placing a few points in the Vigilance tree to get the Sunder Armor talent for the extra sundering). Use Soresu (Defense) form at all times.

 

2. Use the DPS companion Kira as soon as you get her and keep her gear up to date (as well as your own).

 

3. Use ALL of your interrupt skills when fighting bosses!! When the boss is casting, be sure to either Kick, Stasis, Hilt Strike, or Force Push. Keep rotating throughout the fight and you should be OK.

 

4. Stock up on Medpacks. Without a healer you will need some way to stay alive during a fight --- especially boss fights. Carry at least 6 medpacks within your level.

 

5. Use Saber Ward to avoid taking damage early in a fight. Use Warding Call when you get to around 50% health and pop a medpack to stay in the fight.

 

6. Use Call of the Force once you've used your medpack to ensure you do not die to a strong attack.

 

7. Taunt all enemies and bosses away from Kira! If your DPS companion dies you will almost definitely wipe. You can also use Guard on her to ensure her safety although I did this rarely.

 

8. Respec to Vigilance in Act 2 once you get towards the end of the Balmorra quest line and receive your healing companion.

 

Once you receive your healing companion things get a lot more fun! Just hang in there and stick it out to Act 2. Spec Defense to make it less frustrating until you get to that point.

 

UPDATE: Nugeneration posted a great recommendation: use Soresu form but spec in the Vigilance tree. I highly recommend you try this first before fully spec'ing Defense. You might find it more enjoyable.

 

I stayed Vigilance and made it just as easy, though I've been going with a pvp focused build and it utilizes Soresu form.

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#500crhczZhRrMrhdzMM.1

 

There is the spec if you're curious. You can make it as vigilance just as easy a time with that spec. The main killer for most people using Vigilance spec when leveling is they don't use Soresu form. That form to me makes a WORLD of difference pre-healing companion.

Edited by Jinsaru
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I stayed Vigilance and made it just as easy, though I've been going with a pvp focused build and it utilizes Soresu form.

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#500crhczZhRrMrhdzMM.1

 

There is the spec if you're curious. You can make it as vigilance just as easy a time with that spec. The main killer for most people using Vigilance spec when leveling is they don't use Soresu form. That form to me makes a WORLD of difference pre-healing companion.

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I stayed Vigilance and made it just as easy, though I've been going with a pvp focused build and it utilizes Soresu form.

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#500crhczZhRrMrhdzMM.1

 

There is the spec if you're curious. You can make it as vigilance just as easy a time with that spec. The main killer for most people using Vigilance spec when leveling is they don't use Soresu form. That form to me makes a WORLD of difference pre-healing companion.

 

I was actually wondering about this as I formulated my post. I think you're right --- the real issue is not using the Soresu form. Using the Soresu form with Vigilance sounds feasible. I'm going to update my original post. Thanks for contributing!

Edited by Jinsaru
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Thanks for the advice. I am currently level 31 (leveling as vigilance), and I have had some frustrations when leveling.

 

I've actually been able to manage since I always carry medpacks with me and utilize my interrupts.

 

Also, my rl friends and I like to play together, so I usually don't have to worry about soloing ;).

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I've leveled using Vigilance from 1 to 45 (so far) and, while it was no walk in the park sometimes, I never had any real problems. Tatooine was a step up in difficulty but I expected as much from talking to other people. I used Shii-Cho, follwed by Shien once I unlocked it (around level 20 or so), and only switched to Soresu for fights where I persistently kept dying. I used Kira and kept both of our equipment updated, so DPS was high.

 

You can certainly spec Defense to go through Chapter 1, but you will be severely gimping your damage output by doing so, and it will hence take longer to level up. None of the Chapter 1 content is impossible to solo or even particularly hard. I can think of only two places that might pose a real challenge - the Tatooine end boss and the end boss for Chapter 1.

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