Just hit 60. Holy snicker-doodles.

[Zexum]

And, holy cow. This has not been a pleasant experience for me. This is the first character I've hit 60 with. I originally was a Smuggler, but I tried out Marauder on a whim and it felt so fun, that I stuck with it. Now I'm looking into PvP, and...Ow.

 

Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow.

 

Looking around the forums, well, I didn't know I was playing,

 

STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC - DARK SOULS EDITION

 

by playing Marauder. I mean, I don't mind being a bit gimped as it makes it all the more satisfying when you do pull good stuff off, but...

 

I dunno. Can someone throw me some advice? Besides "Go level an X/Y/Z"? From what I'm feeling, it's kinda about pushing your luck, 24/7. 'Cause the second, and I literally mean second, you get CC'd/focused, you're dead and there isn't a gosh darn thing you can do about it. So I figure it's about kinda skirting around and Force Camo'ing the moment more than 1 person's hitting you.

 

Which is often, since the Marauder class emblem means "CC ME - KILL HERE."

 

All saltyness aside, though, really. I'm in Basic Yavin stuff, got like 3 pieces of PvP gear, I looked up some guides but, I'unno. Anyone mind throwing me insight?

 

Or hell, better yet - if you're on BC, add me and teach me some stuff. It'll be fun. \o/

 

Appreciate any advice you guys can throw my way!

 

 

 

 

EDIT: Also, anyone have any tips on controlling the damn camera? Like, seriously, it's so damn hard to actually keep track of everyone running everywhere doing all the things. Like, I try to stick to one person and make 'em go boom, but they're running around so much that it drives me nuts.

 

Stop moving! Let me hit you with my glowsticks!

Edited March 25, 2015 by Zexum

[AdrianDmitruk]

You're in basic yavin stuff. That's a big contributor to the problem.

 

Basic yavin=186 gear. PVP gear caps out at 174.

 

You want to have all your gear at 174 or below, or bolster will fook you over by docking you expertise (PVP stat). That makes you squishier. Bolster is convoluted and semi-exploitable, and there are more detailed guides about how to min-max it around the PVP forums, but that's the quick and dirty version.

 

There's also a bolsterizer terminal somewhere around either the Gav Daragon or Ziost Shadow (forget which) that'll let you experiment with how bolster affects your gear before you enter a warzone. I suggest you fiddle around with it.

[MystbladeWA]

You're in basic yavin stuff. That's a big contributor to the problem.

 

Basic yavin=186 gear. PVP gear caps out at 174.

 

162 max

[Vandriss]

And, holy cow. This has not been a pleasant experience for me. This is the first character I've hit 60 with. I originally was a Smuggler, but I tried out Marauder on a whim and it felt so fun, that I stuck with it. Now I'm looking into PvP, and...Ow.

 

EDIT: Also, anyone have any tips on controlling the damn camera? Like, seriously, it's so damn hard to actually keep track of everyone running everywhere doing all the things. Like, I try to stick to one person and make 'em go boom, but they're running around so much that it drives me nuts.

 

After reading the last comment you wrote (see my quote), I am curious: do you use keybinds, and mouse move?

Apart from the obvious gear problem, I have a hunch you possibly need a little time to adapt by using your mouse more for movement.

 

As for reducing your pain and squishyness, have a look at this informative video about bolster mechanics.

It's a complex system, but you want to get your expertise to 2018 in order to both deal and mitigate as much damage as possible until you have all your pvp items.

 

All that remains to say is - stay positive and bring some friends!

Otherwise, stick with the groups till you get some proper pvp items.

It's a big step from 59 to 60 PvP wise, you'll basically be at the bottom of the foodchain and when players notice how quick you drop - you'll be focused even more.

Just push forward, and practice !

 

EDIT: as mentioned before, i you wish to check your Expertise rating, go to the bridge of Ziost Shadow on fleet. On the northern part of the map, slightly left is a terminal and 2 test dummies where you can see your current Expertise value.

Edited March 25, 2015 by Vandriss

[Eggsalicious]

162 max

 

162 max, and MH/OH should be lower or stat creep starts to negate bolster expertise.

 

You can do all aug'd 162 with 162 hilt/barrel and maybe 146 mods in MH OH. I haven't tried higher than 146.

[Sudo]

It's all about bolster like the above have mentioned.

 

 

That being said, it wont change the core issues Sents/Maras have been pointing out since 3.0 and you hit it on the head

Which is often, since the Marauder class emblem means "CC ME - KILL HERE."

 

Gluck, get that bolster to 2018 and see if that will help with your class enjoyment in pvp.

[waterboytkd]

Like what many said about the gear, stick to lower level stuff, like rating 162, to maximize bolster, until you get your PvP gear.

 

As for your class, it's not completely hopeless, but it is hard. Also, until you feel good with the class (and have full Exhumed gear, at least), you want to stay out of Ranked, as it is unforgiving, especially for Marauders.

 

Here's my recommendation for a positive PvP experience while playing Mara:

 

First, go Carnage. It has good burst, it feels kinda fast, but mostly importantly, it's the spec least affected by not using Berserk. Not using Berserk? That's right, you're going to be spamming Predation whenever you get your 30 stacks of Fury. It's unreal how much of a difference that makes in PvP.

 

The utilities I would say are a must are:

SKILLFUL TIER

Defensive Forms

Overwhelm

Inexorable

 

HEROIC TIER

Unbound

Expunging Camo

 

That leaves you two to play around with. Currently, I'm running Maiming Reach in skillful and Interceptor in Masterful, which gives me a lot of slows, and also makes my . Also worth noting: Defensive Roll for more AoE reduction, Displacement for the +6m to Obfuscate range and Cloak or Pain while stunned, Cloak of Carnage for a little more out of Cloak of Pain, and Strangulation, which is actually very good now that Force Choke is a 4s hard stun. In fact, as I write this, I'm changing up my optionals...

 

Now, you may find with Predation spamming that you're not getting much out of Expunging Camo. If so, feel free to experiment. But I've found Expunging Camo too valuable to give up.

 

Last bit of advice: you are not a frontline fighter. Do not be the first one to attack the mobs. Hang back a little bit and look for targets taking damage from your allies, then jump them. Your burst as Carnage is a great finisher, and you'll maximize your effectiveness (and increase your survival time) by focusing on targets already taking fire.

 

Hope that helps. Marauders aren't a complete lost cause yet (at least for Regs), so if you liked the way it played, stick with it, take your lumps, push down frustrations, and always look for ways to get better and maximize your effectiveness.

[Ld-Siris]

Most of what has been said is good. Remember, the marauder is a pure offensive class. With the marauder you will die. to over come this try to bring a friend to help you out. Once you get that PvP gear and augments you should fair a lot better.

 

I also have a video guide for the Carnage Marauder here -

Hope that helps.

[Atlanis]

I shall respect the Threadopener for his legit piece of literate Art. I have amused myself quite a bit;)

[Zexum]

Most of what has been said is good. Remember, the marauder is a pure offensive class. With the marauder you will die. to over come this try to bring a friend to help you out. Once you get that PvP gear and augments you should fair a lot better.

 

I also have a video guide for the Carnage Marauder here -

Hope that helps.

 

Hey! Yeah, I saw this video already. I disagree with your thoughts on Brooding, but I picked up Phantom since it said so in your video and I love it! Thanks for the insight into the skill-trees.

 

I've been PvPing my butt off all day, and I've managed to get all the left-side stuff PvP gear. Unfortunately, that means I'm still in Yavin basic stuff armor pieces. But it's a start! I looked into bolstering and how it works, and am in the process of upping my Cybertech a bit more to craft some 168-ish stuff (can we? I have no idea. Hopefully.)

 

But yeah, who'd have thought that 186 = Bad. Like, really bad. I had no idea. But I'm starting to see the effect that Expertise, etc, has on us stat-wise. Also, your video mentioned actually getting like 5% Alacrity.

 

How? Augmentations? I've never touched them, so I have no idea on those either. Sorry I'm super ignorant to all this, this is my first 60.

 

EDIT: Also, I love using the Gore window w/ Devastating + Throw! Definitely hitting a lot harder than Ravage. Thanks for showing me that!

Edited March 25, 2015 by Zexum

[Ld-Siris]

Hey! Yeah, I saw this video already. I disagree with your thoughts on Brooding, but I picked up Phantom since it said so in your video and I love it! Thanks for the insight into the skill-trees.

 

I've been PvPing my butt off all day, and I've managed to get all the left-side stuff PvP gear. Unfortunately, that means I'm still in Yavin basic stuff armor pieces. But it's a start! I looked into bolstering and how it works, and am in the process of upping my Cybertech a bit more to craft some 168-ish stuff (can we? I have no idea. Hopefully.)

 

But yeah, who'd have thought that 186 = Bad. Like, really bad. I had no idea. But I'm starting to see the effect that Expertise, etc, has on us stat-wise. Also, your video mentioned actually getting like 5% Alacrity.

 

How? Augmentations? I've never touched them, so I have no idea on those either. Sorry I'm super ignorant to all this, this is my first 60.

 

EDIT: Also, I love using the Gore window w/ Devastating + Throw! Definitely hitting a lot harder than Ravage. Thanks for showing me that!

 

No problem! Glad I could help. At the end of the video, I go through a bit of my gear, but I'll explain here as well. First off, Ataru form gives you 3% alacrity. I then get 2% from the gear. One of the Challenger pieces has an enhancement in it that has alacrity on it, and the other I get the power alacrity ear piece. The marauder has been the only class I have been able to gear that I didn't have to swap out mods and enh to min/max as you can buy everything you need by mixing Challenger and Weapon Master pieces. I also get a 3% accuracy from gear as well. I get both implants with power accuracy and one of the armor pieces has accuracy. That combined with that comp 1% accuracy gives me 94%. Everything else is power surge.

 

For the Yavin pieces, if you still have any basic coms you can just buy the makeb armorings (140) as they are pretty cheap. However, yes you can craft 168 stuff.

 

Edit: All my augments are mainstat. I like the mainstat augments just to get a little bump to crit for massacre. My crit is only 19-20%

Edited March 25, 2015 by Ld-Siris

[Oldus_Tatham]

As for augments some of my friends go with power, to make massacre hit harder. I however go mainstat for the boost in crit so i don't have to pick up to much in my gear.

 

also when buying PVP gear i would suggest wading through the Challenger/Weapon-master sets and picking up each piece that has power and surge already on the enhancements and power on the mods. its really up to you as far as alacrity ( I think its nice to a point) but that depends on your server ping. i tend to have OK ping so i run with a bit of alacrity, around 4-5% and i do fine, got to love the static 3% boost from ataru form.

 

when i run around with one of my marauder friends on my healer i like watching his target of target and seeing the health bars just get, excuse the pun, massacred. he has mostly power and power surge pieces and most if not all of his augments are power and he does ridiculously well.

 

hope this info helps out and good luck my fellow marauders!

[Zexum]

No problem! Glad I could help. At the end of the video, I go through a bit of my gear, but I'll explain here as well. First off, Ataru form gives you 3% alacrity. I then get 2% from the gear. One of the Challenger pieces has an enhancement in it that has alacrity on it, and the other I get the power alacrity ear piece. The marauder has been the only class I have been able to gear that I didn't have to swap out mods and enh to min/max as you can buy everything you need by mixing Challenger and Weapon Master pieces. I also get a 3% accuracy from gear as well. I get both implants with power accuracy and one of the armor pieces has accuracy. That combined with that comp 1% accuracy gives me 94%. Everything else is power surge.

 

For the Yavin pieces, if you still have any basic coms you can just buy the makeb armorings (140) as they are pretty cheap. However, yes you can craft 168 stuff.

 

Edit: All my augments are mainstat. I like the mainstat augments just to get a little bump to crit for massacre. My crit is only 19-20%

 

Okay! So I'm up to 3 pieces of PvP armor now, and I'm definitely feeling waaaaay better. Plus, I'm in in the process of making some 168 mods to get out of that dookie yavin stuff.

 

Also, I wanted to say, I'm running the Crippling Slash traits (10m) and Inescapable. I feel like the biggest problem I have is sticking to people. I feel like Ravage is pretty much *********** useless. Unbound/Brooding isn't worth the point, as well. Here's my logic as to why. 1) Channel Hatred can only be used out of combat, meaning that literally the only thing you can from it (Outside of the CDR on Intimidating Roar) is that 30 stacked-fury, going into a fight. Which, is nice, you can pop a Predation or go in already Berzerked, but this is going to happen *once.*

 

Inescapable, I feel, brings more utility. With Expunging Camo + Phantom, you can be pretty slippery, too. Unbound, is only helpful if you've got the 30 stacks, which'll break one slow/root.

 

Which you can do with expunging camo, anyways.

 

The main problem I have is just *sticking* to people. Since I'm getting pushed around, kited, etc, the root + 10m range on Crippling is really helpful, and it can be applied pretty often (and it's also just 1 rage). Interceptor isn't worth it, since force leap's just 1 root, while Devastating isn't really meant to be spent on just slowing people. That's a lot of rage, and your burst, that you're sacrificing if you use it in that manner.

 

But, yeah. I think I'm starting to get a feel for things, much more so now that I'm getting screwed less by the Bolstering system.

 

I'm kinda playing as an 'Execution' kinda person. I find someone's that's like, under 1/2, leap at them, and then burst them down before they can get heals spammed on them. Either that, or I stick to a healer and make their life *********** hell with interrupts/roots/slows.

 

If I'm making people go boom, I use Berzerk. If I'm just being a huge *********** nuisance, I spam Predation to help me stick.

 

But yeah. Ravage is kinda ******. By kinda, I mean 'Super ******.' Since I don't have full-PvP gear yet, it's kinda pointless.

 

 

Also, I'm getting those alacrity pieces like you said. It's looking good!

[Ld-Siris]

The stuff you said.

Yes, sticking to targets is the greatest challenge, but here are some things you can do. First, remember, dual saber through has a slow on it. I do see a lot of marauders DST before they even close to their target. That is a mistake. You should only do it after you have closed with your target and your target then slips away. that way you can use the slow to get back up on them. I just comes down to balancing DST, crippling slash, force charge, and force choke. When your abilities are on CD and you have no way of catching your target, don't be afraid of switching to a closer target. That way you can still supply pressure to the enemy team while your controlling skills come off of CD. You will see in a lot of my videos on techniques on closing with the enemy as well as me instantly switching targets. Our ability to stick to targets is a bit lacking right now but there is still plenty that we can do.

 

Now, some of the utilities. I don't take interceptor anymore and did put an annotation in the guide that I instead take defensive roll. It's really a must right now with all the AOE. Now for brooding, I like to get it because I like to open with both blood thirst and berserk. yes in a long constant fight it won't amount to a lot, but most battles will dwindle and you will have a chance to charge up. Plus brooding also knocks 15 seconds off of intimidating roar so that is nice as well. Tho at times I still wonder if brooding is worth it. I would like maiming reach but there isn't anything that I would want to give up for it. Also, inescapable is def not worth a heroic point.

 

Ravage is still a good skill. It may not do the damage as it did before, but it procs the VT crit as well as I get the root for it so it does help as a cc as well.

 

I play marauder extremely aggressively so these are just my opinions but it works very well for me. I just hope this helps you out.

Edited March 26, 2015 by Ld-Siris

[Ahavery]

Now, some of the utilities. I don't take interceptor anymore and did put an annotation in the guide that I instead take defensive roll. It's really a must right now with all the AOE. Now for brooding, I like to get it because I like to open with both blood thirst and berserk. yes in a long constant fight it won't amount to a lot, but most battles will dwindle and you will have a chance to charge up. Plus brooding also knocks 15 seconds off of intimidating roar so that is nice as well. Tho at times I still wonder if brooding is worth it. I would like maiming reach but there isn't anything that I would want to give up for it. Also, inescapable is def not worth a heroic point.

 

Just some thoughts on utility selection. I have a 60 carnage mara that I pvp with quite a bit. I've found that I like different utilities depending on if I'm queing for ranked or regs. And I imagine my selections will change over time as I improve as a player. Here are my current selections:

 

Skillfull: Defensive forms, maiming reach, overwhelm

Masterful: phantom, strangulate

Heroic: Unbound, I forget what it's called, but it's the one that increases duration of UR by 2 seconds

 

These utilities are really optimized for my style of ranked play, where the battles are usually shorter, smaller (4man) and CD's are reset after each round. I find DF and Overwhelm are musts, and I opt for maiming reach for both an extra slow and a 1 rage trauma. If a healer is around at all trauma is incredibly useful and having it at 1 rage instead of 3 means I don't run out of rage for my dps rotation. Phantom I believe a lot of people take, it's benefits are obvious. I take strangulate so that if I force choke early I have a chance of using it again to finish someone off in a ranked match. Defensive roll is more suited to regs where the battles are 8man and people use more aoes because they are not as worried about ccing. Since you are still building your set in regs, I agree with the previous post that def roll would be good. Unbound is my most important utility. Being carnage, I can spam predation with the least amount of dps cost. I find that in both regs and ranked my team is more effective when I spam predation. Remember, it is a root break for everyone, so if anyone else is being kited it really helps them out. I save my Frenzy for when I am rooted at a crucial moment. By spamming predation along with using leg slash, force choke, leap, and DST I find I have very good time on target, so no need for inescapable. In time with practice I'm pretty sure you'd come to the same conclusion. that leaves 1 heroic point you can do whatever with. I take the 6s UR because in ranked its 3min CD is reset every round. For regs that is not as effective. I would go with either brooding or expunging camo for regs. I will probably even take brooding for ranked down the road as I improve, when hopefully I don't need to rely on UR as a crutch.

 

Hope this helps.

[Ld-Siris]

Just some thoughts on utility selection. I have a 60 carnage mara that I pvp with quite a bit. I've found that I like different utilities depending on if I'm queing for ranked or regs. And I imagine my selections will change over time as I improve as a player. Here are my current selections:

 

Skillfull: Defensive forms, maiming reach, overwhelm

Masterful: phantom, strangulate

Heroic: Unbound, I forget what it's called, but it's the one that increases duration of UR by 2 seconds

 

These utilities are really optimized for my style of ranked play, where the battles are usually shorter, smaller (4man) and CD's are reset after each round. I find DF and Overwhelm are musts, and I opt for maiming reach for both an extra slow and a 1 rage trauma. If a healer is around at all trauma is incredibly useful and having it at 1 rage instead of 3 means I don't run out of rage for my dps rotation. Phantom I believe a lot of people take, it's benefits are obvious. I take strangulate so that if I force choke early I have a chance of using it again to finish someone off in a ranked match. Defensive roll is more suited to regs where the battles are 8man and people use more aoes because they are not as worried about ccing. Since you are still building your set in regs, I agree with the previous post that def roll would be good. Unbound is my most important utility. Being carnage, I can spam predation with the least amount of dps cost. I find that in both regs and ranked my team is more effective when I spam predation. Remember, it is a root break for everyone, so if anyone else is being kited it really helps them out. I save my Frenzy for when I am rooted at a crucial moment. By spamming predation along with using leg slash, force choke, leap, and DST I find I have very good time on target, so no need for inescapable. In time with practice I'm pretty sure you'd come to the same conclusion. that leaves 1 heroic point you can do whatever with. I take the 6s UR because in ranked its 3min CD is reset every round. For regs that is not as effective. I would go with either brooding or expunging camo for regs. I will probably even take brooding for ranked down the road as I improve, when hopefully I don't need to rely on UR as a crutch.

 

Hope this helps.

 

I mostly agree. I do change up my utilities for ranked and find the extra 2 s on UR extremely useful. I haven't really tried the force choke talent so I'm not sure about that one myself.

[Aztian]

reroll

[calebicard]

@ OP

 

You can get a full set of 162 gear that will work with bolster buy running a few solo instances, see:

 

Forged Alliances