Best PvE DPS Spec for Mara 3.0?

[amitchev]

I've been unable to play for a while so I've been out of loop for Maras for 3.0. Could anyone tell me what the best PvE DPS spec is for maras for 3.0?

[TerminalPoint]

Please take what I say with a grain of salt. My opinions are coming from level 1-42 experience, holding less than 100k credits at a time, and obviously not the most funded mara out there. I was Carnage pre-3.0, but quickly realized my output just couldn't keep up with what they were dishing. I've tried both Annhil and Fury spec, and Fury has the best survival rating out of the lot. I'm speaking purely about personal experience not mathematically figuring theoretical situations. If I were you, I'd just give each a try.

[sloasdaylight]

It's looking like it's going to be Watchman/Annihilation from what I've seen an read

[GEWill]

I've been unable to play for a while so I've been out of loop for Maras for 3.0. Could anyone tell me what the best PvE DPS spec is for maras for 3.0?

 

Right now Annihilation is beasting. The rotation is extremely fluid and application of DoT's has never been easier with a 0 cooldown Rupture. Just keep your Fury up and you will be able to maximize the crit opportunities of the spec. A lot of people are nagging about Carnage (I can't really speak on it since I have disliked it since beta) but after being very resistant to Rage (now Fury) I like it, but not more then Anni.

 

At the moment I am 59 (close to 60 but The Shadowlands crashed) so I can't really give you parsing numbers in the near gear. That being said, Anni has been FOTM since its last update, but if you had experience with it before it was buffed then you will easily be able to hop back in after a long absence.

[Drevv]

Granted I have to raid a bit more and cannot comment on other classes DPS out puts. I'm currently in mostly NIM gear w/ a the pre-3.0 4-set bonus. I've hit sustainable numbers just shy of 4k w/ overall consistent numbers of 3.7k on raid bosses. No I do not have saved parses. I've raided in all specs and Anni is so far the best but Fury seems quiet promising as well. DPS output certainly is contingent on fight and you spec for best DPS. Hope this helps. I'd say get to know both specs very well. Edited December 8, 2014 by Drevv

[bluemustache]

i always played annihilation.. tried the 3.0 one, enjoyed.

i never liked carnage at all, but i tried... i dont like how it is played, cant really tell

i tried fury for a change.. really viabe, now we can double proc crits because of raging blast!! (force charge/berserk/smash + force crush, obliterate and raging blast)!!! i barely have any use for the new lv57 skill, but it have its uses

i even killed revan using fury spec, no glitches

and you dont even really need the berserk/force crush proc at all, u can crit for 10k even without it

[Idaho-D]

Concentration is working well for me. It bursts damage when I need high damage and mostly has the Focus to do so. No trouble with any PvE elite boss so far, but I am a 2 levels higher than them. Still I would expect to compete with them well if at my level. That's what the description said and this is how I like to play melee scrappers.

[Ardarell_Solo]

Annihilation is extremely strong concerning sustained damage, but has gotten worse in target switching and bursting stuff. For 3 of the 10 HC bosses you simply cannot play Anni, you MUST play Smash.

 

That being said, Smash has beome the second strongest Single Target specc and its AoE is of course excellent. Plus you have a lot of mid range options.

 

So for daily stuff and even FPs you want to go Smash, for serious long fights with not too much target switching you go Anni.

 

Mind you though, that if you want to play the new Anni to its full potential the rotation differs A LOT from what it used to be: It's basically 36 seconds long with fixed Spots for Rupture, Force Rend & Master Strike, all the while keeping Annihilate and Deadly Saber on Cooldown. This doesn't translate all too well from Dummy rotation practice to actual raid encounters...

[Projawa]

Annihilation is extremely strong concerning sustained damage, but has gotten worse in target switching and bursting stuff. For 3 of the 10 HC bosses you simply cannot play Anni, you MUST play Smash.

 

That being said, Smash has beome the second strongest Single Target specc and its AoE is of course excellent. Plus you have a lot of mid range options.

 

So for daily stuff and even FPs you want to go Smash, for serious long fights with not too much target switching you go Anni.

 

Mind you though, that if you want to play the new Anni to its full potential the rotation differs A LOT from what it used to be: It's basically 36 seconds long with fixed Spots for Rupture, Force Rend & Master Strike, all the while keeping Annihilate and Deadly Saber on Cooldown. This doesn't translate all too well from Dummy rotation practice to actual raid encounters...

 

What about carnage?

[Ardarell_Solo]

It's the "Jack of all Trades in between spec". You can try it, if you don't want to optimize for bosses: It has less sustained dps than Watchman and about the same as Concentration + less burst than Concentration but a lot more than Watchman...

[Projawa]

It's the "Jack of all Trades in between spec". You can try it, if you don't want to optimize for bosses: It has less sustained dps than Watchman and about the same as Concentration + less burst than Concentration but a lot more than Watchman...

 

Have you tried combat in the new ops? If so, on hm or just sm?

[Vodrin]

It's the "Jack of all Trades in between spec". You can try it, if you don't want to optimize for bosses: It has less sustained dps than Watchman and about the same as Concentration + less burst than Concentration but a lot more than Watchman...

 

I have been parcing a little better with combat than I can get with concentration, but I had to start using MS primarily outside my PS windows and my priority for burst windows is CB>Dispatch>MS>BR. That priority means that you are using MS in only one of every 4 burst windows or so. You also need to make sure you use MS prior to dispatch whenever possible to ensure the auto crit proc from the set bonus.

[Horano_Heresy]

Just to give you an idea of the 3 Marauder specs;

 

• Annihilation — Sustained spec
  
• Carnage — Hybrid spec, sustained damage with some burst
  
• Fury — Burst spec
  

 

I would suggest learning them all, as each is good for certain situations. Annihilation is generally best for longer fights where you're sticking to a single target for long periods of time. Fury is best for short fights, or fights where you're changing targets regularly. Carnage is good for both situations.

[Kurkina]

While Watchman / Anni has the potential for the highest parses, I just don't see that long "36 second" rotation as viable in the fast paced, movement-intensive ops that are live now. What if you have to move right when MasterStrike/Ravage is due? What if you can't beat on one target but have to switch around between several adds?

 

This is no problem whatsoever for the "bursty-ness" of Combat, but completely destroys the Watchman's damage potential.