How to fix sentinel in a nutshell.

[James_Mcturney]

Ok so, remaking the whole thread because of 4.0. Anihilation is very good now from what i've seen in PVE and probably very good in PvP too (from my perspective only though).

 

My 2 cents: increase self heals and nerf group heals, in a manner that the sentinel can actually regen number similarly to operative with 2 doses of slow-release medpac or a bit higher depending on the number of affected targets by both main dots (3 or more cauterized/force melted enemies) while reducing group heals, or maybe only reducing the group heals AOE so people can't stack lots of marauders/sents and become invulnerable in ops/group pvp... Maybe increasing self heals a bit without nerfing the group heals wouldn't be unbalanced.

 

Increase quality of life a bit: >increase duration of zen stacks, make sentinel/marauder gain centering while meditating without having to waste a heroic utility (then change that heroic utility to give some other useful effect).

> Decrease blade blitz cooldown because that heroic utility for a 45 sec root breaker is totally not worth it (this skill is not even affected by alacrity) or attach a cooldown reduction to some other utility.

> Attach cc immunities to stuff other than a 3 minutes cooldown skill or reduce cooldown on blade ward/guarded by the force, also make any of its cooldowns usable while CCed baseline, just like guardian's focused defense. Bold idea: remove guarded by the force and reduce saber ward cooldown to 90 or 120 seconds, make the heroic utility related to this skill apply this effect to saber ward (reduce cooldown by -30 secs increase duration by 2 seconds).

> Make force camouflage always cleanse roots, because the heroic utility that cleanses stuff is barely worth it, since almost no Dot is cleansable anymore, so remove this utility for something else.

> Make stoic baseline, it's not a choice, everyone MUST take this utility, always.

> Remove leg strike and add the -20% heal debuff to saber throw (should last 9 seconds both -heal - slow, nerf the slow a bit maybe).

 

If 2 or maybe 3 of these changes happen then sentinel would be on par with the best classes atm (sorc healing/dot spec etc)... Offtopic: nerf sorc heals/dots ;p

Edited October 30, 2015 by James_Mcturney

[James_Mcturney]

i'm checking the ammount of awful threads about marauder here O.o no one wants to say anything about these ideas? Ofc that i'm just trying to use the common sense on other threads and talks about sentinel to make an ideal which should be pursued, not a static claim to what exactly should be done.

[jauvtus]

Pick at least two of the following, bioware: 2 stacks of merciless slash should instantly reset force melt duration, or/and force sweep should reset the duration of cauterize, or even better, remove cauterize and apply its dot effect to force sweep; don't forget to increase its range by 2~3 meters (for anihilation only; it's the worst dot spread in the game). Maybe rework that passive that grants critical chance bonus for each juyo stack, make it grant a critical damage bonus, since it doesn't stack with zen, pretty stupid.

That would fix the specs rotation, although it still is too squishy for pvp, so more changes in the defense area please, see as follow.

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

Sentinel/marauder really requires an extra passive skill: remove guarded by the force or the force camouflage (tier 2) utility and make it a passive (i.e. the skill gets it automatically without needing to spend an utility point)... substitute it with another utility no one will ever use... there are so many of those that we don't even care.

The root breaking ability of mad dash should be imbued in the skill, not a freaking utility that we will never use.

 

Another thing, remove cripling slash and implement it's effect (healing penalty) on dual saber throw. Sentinel already is one of the classes with the highest number of hotkeys (skills) that need to be used in pvp, like 28, and even so it's underperforming so much when compared to classes that use only +- 20 hotkeys.

 

Those are simply my ideas on how to improve the class, i have tons of hours on this class more than the others and i know these are it's main flaws... abusive strange rotation on anihilation (imo there is no rotation anymore, just opening+skill priority) lack of defense, mobility, not enough utility points, not enough hotkeys for all the skills. If at least 2 changes similar to what i've said are implemented, then there is hope after 1+ year of being amongst the worst classes.

 

Watchman changes dont make sense, Force Melt reset would make sense but to fix WM, we need to remove Force Melt completely. Force Sweep is far from the worst dotspreading ability in the game, have you ever checked other classes at all??? Guardians: Force Sweep replacement, only difference its free; shadows: Whirling Blow, which is a cleave and white attack while Force Sweep is 360 degrees and yellow; Sages: now they have the one of the best yeah with FiB; Commando: Plasma Grenade (1,5s cast)+ Sticky Grenade (delayed dmg) for 2 different dots; Vanguards: cleave yellow attack Ion Cannon (only 1 dot); Gunslingers: easiest, 1 dot (which is aoe) spreads the other dot; Scoundrels: 1 dot is aoe, the other one spreads with Blaster Volley, the worst ability in the game from all specs. About actual WM fixes: we talked about them quite a few times.

The utility system needs a complete rework, your suggestion is far from enough. Crippling Slash utilities should be only one (and change it back to Crippling Throw...).

Sentinels are not in a good place. But we are around 5th both PvP and PvE. We can still be viable. Dont get me wrong, I agree we need a lot of changes to put the class back ahere it belongs, but saying we are the worst is stupid and suggests l2p.

[Niko_Storm]

In my opinion this is what should be done to fix mara/sentinel

 

Passive ability - increases damage given by 40% while damage taken for 10 seconds. CD of this passive ability is 45 seconds

Cloak of Pain - reduces damage taken by 25 percent and while active no stuns/roots can be applied for 15 seconds of it's activation.

Ravage - increase dps in 40 percent.

 

Utility - Cloak of healing - when Cloak of pain is activated it will heal the user to it's 100 percent of health over 10 seconds.

Obviously Cloak of pain CD remains 1 minute.

[jauvtus]

In my opinion this is what should be done to fix mara/sentinel

 

Passive ability - increases damage given by 40% while damage taken for 10 seconds. CD of this passive ability is 45 seconds

Cloak of Pain - reduces damage taken by 25 percent and while active no stuns/roots can be applied for 15 seconds of it's activation.

Ravage - increase dps in 40 percent.

 

Utility - Cloak of healing - when Cloak of pain is activated it will heal the user to it's 100 percent of health over 10 seconds.

Obviously Cloak of pain CD remains 1 minute.

 

No, you dont want to fix sentinel, you want to create a new godOP FOTM class. 40% dmg increase? 15s CC immunity every 60s? 25% uptime??? H2F every 60s? These would make us god-monster, not a balanced class.

[James_Mcturney]

Watchman changes dont make sense, Force Melt reset would make sense but to fix WM, we need to remove Force Melt completely. Force Sweep is far from the worst dotspreading ability in the game, have you ever checked other classes at all??? Guardians: Force Sweep replacement, only difference its free; shadows: Whirling Blow, which is a cleave and white attack while Force Sweep is 360 degrees and yellow; Sages: now they have the one of the best yeah with FiB; Commando: Plasma Grenade (1,5s cast)+ Sticky Grenade (delayed dmg) for 2 different dots; Vanguards: cleave yellow attack Ion Cannon (only 1 dot); Gunslingers: easiest, 1 dot (which is aoe) spreads the other dot; Scoundrels: 1 dot is aoe, the other one spreads with Blaster Volley, the worst ability in the game from all specs. About actual WM fixes: we talked about them quite a few times.

The utility system needs a complete rework, your suggestion is far from enough. Crippling Slash utilities should be only one (and change it back to Crippling Throw...).

Sentinels are not in a good place. But we are around 5th both PvP and PvE. We can still be viable. Dont get me wrong, I agree we need a lot of changes to put the class back ahere it belongs, but saying we are the worst is stupid and suggests l2p.

 

Well, the only dot spread worst than force sweep imo is shadow's then, cause guardian/shadow/sent dot spread is restricted to be around them, while the others can kinda aim (even if it's just a bit like vanguard), guardian does a lot of damage + free cast. You want it changed back to crippling throw because of the range? i agree on that, i.e., another utility that we need but can't afford, if dual saber throw got the healing debuff then it would be a really strong skill, trust me, it makes a lot of sense and i know h2p. 1- dual saber throw has a wide aoe and range, 2- it does decent damage 3- it already slows everything, imagine if it could slow AND put a debuff healing on everything. On ranked? 4x -20% for 10 seconds? ho-ly-****. Plus, it's one free Global Cooldown (and space on the hotkey bars, lol), which means more fillers = more damage. See? lots of sense.

And then substitute cripling slash utilities for one that increases force sweep range by 3 meters +10~15% damage.

 

Also i prefer force melt anyday than cauterize (just needs a better animation (any pre-existing animation) and higher initial damage), cauterize only lasts 6 seconds, in pvp applying force melt may prevents shadows or operators from escaping/healing, while also making the rotation easier. If it was instantly reapplied by 2 consecutive merciless slash or force sweep then it would become much stronger, very nice dps increase + easier rotation. I loved the dot reset on other specs, it's a MUST HAVE.

But anyway, i don't care what it is as long as they make something in that line, also i can use master strike in my pve rotation, pvp not so much, maybe reduce master strike channeling by 0.6 seconds on watchmen (0.1 for each juyo stack), or make it always root (i.e. another "free" utility as i said before) or/and make it on the move... etc

 

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=828616 also this thread proves that sentinel is around 6th class like i said (bottom 3 worst classes), BOYAAH.

Edited September 7, 2015 by James_Mcturney

[Huggsnotdruggs]

I did not read anything in this thread. All I want to say is Maras and sents are awful compared to how they used to be. I took a 19 month break and came back. I will not touch mine again until massive changes are made. Primarily bringing self healing back to it's former glory.

 

Things change and I dealt with it by not playing mine.

[Kaos_KidSWTOR]

Watchman changes dont make sense, Force Melt reset would make sense but to fix WM, we need to remove Force Melt completely. Force Sweep is far from the worst dotspreading ability in the game, have you ever checked other classes at all??? Guardians: Force Sweep replacement, only difference its free; shadows: Whirling Blow, which is a cleave and white attack while Force Sweep is 360 degrees and yellow; Sages: now they have the one of the best yeah with FiB; Commando: Plasma Grenade (1,5s cast)+ Sticky Grenade (delayed dmg) for 2 different dots; Vanguards: cleave yellow attack Ion Cannon (only 1 dot); Gunslingers: easiest, 1 dot (which is aoe) spreads the other dot; Scoundrels: 1 dot is aoe, the other one spreads with Blaster Volley, the worst ability in the game from all specs. About actual WM fixes: we talked about them quite a few times.

The utility system needs a complete rework, your suggestion is far from enough. Crippling Slash utilities should be only one (and change it back to Crippling Throw...).

Sentinels are not in a good place. But we are around 5th both PvP and PvE. We can still be viable. Dont get me wrong, I agree we need a lot of changes to put the class back ahere it belongs, but saying we are the worst is stupid and suggests l2p.

 

Whirling Blow is NOT a cleave, it is 360.

[Bonzenaattori]

Pick at least two of the following, bioware: 2 stacks of merciless slash should instantly reset force melt duration, or/and force sweep should reset the duration of cauterize, or even better, remove cauterize and apply its dot effect to force sweep; don't forget to increase its range by 2~3 meters (for anihilation only; it's the worst dot spread in the game). Maybe rework that passive that grants critical chance bonus for each juyo stack, make it grant a critical damage bonus, since it doesn't stack with zen, pretty stupid.

That would fix the specs rotation, although it still is too squishy for pvp, so more changes in the defense area please, see as follow.

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

Sentinel/marauder really requires an extra passive skill: remove guarded by the force or the force camouflage (tier 2) utility and make it a passive (i.e. the skill gets it automatically without needing to spend an utility point)... substitute it with another utility no one will ever use... there are so many of those that we don't even care.

The root breaking ability of mad dash should be imbued in the skill, not a freaking utility that we will never use.

 

Another thing, remove cripling slash and implement it's effect (healing penalty) on dual saber throw. Sentinel already is one of the classes with the highest number of hotkeys (skills) that need to be used in pvp, like 28, and even so it's underperforming so much when compared to classes that use only +- 20 hotkeys.

 

Those are simply my ideas on how to improve the class, i have tons of hours on this class more than the others and i know these are it's main flaws... abusive strange rotation on anihilation (imo there is no rotation anymore, just opening+skill priority) lack of defense, mobility, not enough utility points, not enough hotkeys for all the skills. If at least 2 changes similar to what i've said are implemented, then there is hope after 1+ year of being amongst the worst classes.

 

How to REALLY fix Sentinels:

 

Realize they aren't broken and play the f*ckin game

Learn and get better like everybody else please...

 

thanks

Edited September 15, 2015 by Bonzenaattori

[Giliodor]

How to REALLY fix Sentinels:

 

Realize they aren't broken and play the f*ckin game

Learn and get better like everybody else please...

 

thanks

 

This, pretty much. Not entirely, though. I do believe sents are relatively weak, but at the same time, they have a great potential to deal damage. Often I end up as #1 damage dealer, despite dying several times... because yes, we do die often (unless we play very defensively). Well, I can live with that.

Other classes just shouldn't be doing both a lot of damage and self healing at the same time.

[Grimsblood]

I did not read anything in this thread. All I want to say is Maras and sents are awful compared to how they used to be. I took a 19 month break and came back. I will not touch mine again until massive changes are made. Primarily bringing self healing back to it's former glory.

 

Things change and I dealt with it by not playing mine.

 

This. They just sucked the fun out of playing sentinels when the level cap raised to 55. This idea to make Watchmen easier and then completely change they way Zen Functioned for Combat. Not to mentioned the sweeping changes that were made to make procs easier to handle for ALL classes. Takes the skill out of the class. THEN they decided to give a SINGLE TARGET DOT spec an AoE DoT SPREAD? Like wut?! You want AoE, go to Focus. You want quick burst, you go to Combat. You want High Sustained damage, you go to Watchmen. Instead of making each spec strong in one area, they decided to try and make each spec OK in all areas.

 

I get on my sent every now and then or watch old YouTube videos of raids. I get all nostalgic and want to play again. Then I log in and read and get depressed.

[James_Mcturney]

This. They just sucked the fun out of playing sentinels when the level cap raised to 55. This idea to make Watchmen easier and then completely change they way Zen Functioned for Combat. Not to mentioned the sweeping changes that were made to make procs easier to handle for ALL classes. Takes the skill out of the class. THEN they decided to give a SINGLE TARGET DOT spec an AoE DoT SPREAD? Like wut?! You want AoE, go to Focus. You want quick burst, you go to Combat. You want High Sustained damage, you go to Watchmen. Instead of making each spec strong in one area, they decided to try and make each spec OK in all areas.

 

I get on my sent every now and then or watch old YouTube videos of raids. I get all nostalgic and want to play again. Then I log in and read and get depressed.

 

The idea of limiting each spec to specific beahviours like you said doesn't pleases me, even if they are "ok" in many areas they are still very different in how they behave, therefore you still have to choose the best option for each situtation. The only problem is how this is done, the utility system is too simplistic and easy, doesn't customize much, theorycrafters can easily figure out which are the best utilities for most situations or X, Y, Z situations, in pve this makes chosing them more of a chore than a choice. Gearing doesn't help, therefore, the way things are now, you have one spec for pve and one spec for pvp, while combat is being used for both but it still simply is the worst of the two, ofc its very useful for some battles (revan and underlurker ive heard, although i strongly disagree on UL, dot spreading adds>boss>adds can be very useful, if only the dot spread wasnt restricted to a petty 5 m area around yourself > how i wish for a +3 meter bonus aoe utility).

[Cuiwe]

Watchman changes dont make sense, Force Melt reset would make sense but to fix WM, we need to remove Force Melt completely. Force Sweep is far from the worst dotspreading ability in the game, have you ever checked other classes at all??? Guardians: Force Sweep replacement, only difference its free; shadows: Whirling Blow, which is a cleave and white attack while Force Sweep is 360 degrees and yellow; Sages: now they have the one of the best yeah with FiB; Commando: Plasma Grenade (1,5s cast)+ Sticky Grenade (delayed dmg) for 2 different dots; Vanguards: cleave yellow attack Ion Cannon (only 1 dot); Gunslingers: easiest, 1 dot (which is aoe) spreads the other dot; Scoundrels: 1 dot is aoe, the other one spreads with Blaster Volley, the worst ability in the game from all specs. About actual WM fixes: we talked about them quite a few times.

The utility system needs a complete rework, your suggestion is far from enough. Crippling Slash utilities should be only one (and change it back to Crippling Throw...).

Sentinels are not in a good place. But we are around 5th both PvP and PvE. We can still be viable. Dont get me wrong, I agree we need a lot of changes to put the class back ahere it belongs, but saying we are the worst is stupid and suggests l2p.

 

Yes, but your comparison between dotspreads doesn't make sense. We are not talking about the usefulness of a dotspread, but about the ability to dotspread with an ability in a normal fashion. So, let's see about that:

 

Vigilance: well, their DoT abilities are only there to assist their DPS and mostly to proc stuff. Anyhow, Vigilant Thrust is kinda problematic as a dotspread due to its immense power. Its usefulness on the other hand is awesome-it clears out the riff raff while keeping the DoTs on a priority target.

 

Balance: FiB is really sexy as a dotspread: DoT1(Weaken Mind) -> DoT2(Sever Force) -> FiB. It also does wonders to Balance discipline because it heavily relies on DoTs in the first place.

 

Serenity: Whirling Strike is an useless ability by itself, but it's nice to spread DoTs around. DoT1(Force Breach) -> DoT2(Sever Force) -> FiB. Would I prefer the old way(FiBway)? Of course I would! But this isn't bad by itself either. While I doubt that Serenity needs this in the first place(it's mostly a single target discipline), it is a nice boon to have, for sure.

 

D.Fighting: Yeah, this one is even simpler than Balance's. DoT1(Vital Shot) -> DoT2(Shrap Bomb) / dotspread(Shrap Bomb). Gotta love this one.

 

Ruffian: While Blaster Volley is all kinds of meh, it isn't that bad at dotspreading. It IS HORRIBLE, otoh, when compared to Slinger's dotspread: but then again Slinger does have the simplest and the most effective dotspread in the game(even though D.Fighting IS a 100% Single Target discipline). DoT1(Vital Shot) -> Volley -> DoT2(Shrap Bomb).

 

PlasmaTech: Pulse Cannon REALLY shouldn't be a dotspread imo. I'd like if Explosive Surge became the primary dotspread for PlasmaTech, but meh. With Pulse Cannon as a dotspread, you at least have a LOT of dmg, even though you delay your dotspread. It is iffy, I agree.

 

Assault Specialist: The idea of two DoTs being spread by two different abilities is highly logical and intuitive, yes, but it is horrible in practice. It ties your hands too much. Well, at the very least, Plasma Grenade completely disables everything sub-strong-which is an awesome perk to have, to be sure. And seeing how DoTs are the mainstay of an AS...the dance of DoTs comes out very nice. It's just very iffy-the most iffy way to dotspread in the game imo. DoT1(Incendiary Round) -> Plasma Grenade(dotspread1) -> DoT2(Serrated Bolt) -> Sticky Grenade(dotspread2). At the very least, you'll keep Strong / Elite / Champion damaged while wiping the floor with sub-strongs.

 

With the possible exception of Vigilance(which isn't a DoT discipline tbh, it's a hybrid discipline), every other DoT discipline can and will dotspread. Watchman...unless you actually attack a Strong / Elite / Champion, you simply won't be able to dotspread due to huge dmg inflicted. Hell, even if you attack Strong enemy, you are not guaranteed to dotspread(due to obscene dmg inflicted)! There are 2 ways to go about this:

 

1. F.Melt -> F.Leap -> Zealous Slash -> Cauterise -> F.Sweep(dotspread) -> Overload Sabre (really, you can't even use Melt to soften up enemies!!! ***)

2. F.Melt -> F.Leap -> Zealous Slash -> Overload Sabre -> Cauterise -> F.Sweep(dotspread) (same as above FFS!)

 

Since we are talking about the dotspreads, I can't involve single target rotation(s). And this amount of actions for a dotspread...ridiculous(only matched with Vigilance and Assault dotspreads)-but even worse is the fact that indeed, you will have trouble spreading them(unlike even Assault-Vigi doesn't care mostly). This NEEDS changing! It is obvious ffs! But let's analyse those two rotations:

 

If you attack Elite / Champion enemy with the first ( 1. ) rotation, you'll LOSE dps! But you will dotspread(even vs Strongs).

If you attack Elite / Champion enemy with the second ( 2 . ) rotation, you'll have DPS, but you WILL NOT dotspread(especially vs anything sub-elite)!

 

Really, a discipline shouldn't be about choosing whether to dotspread or not. If you have the ability to dotspread and you are in a mass battle(4 or more enemies), you will use an AoE focused rotation and hence you should dotspread! But you can't dotspread unless you sacrifice OS and then you lose DPS! WHAT THE HELL!!!

 

Also, please do keep in mind the way that you should handle enemies: does it go from top-down or from down-top? Indeed! You should eliminate the weak uns first, but if you do that, you put your skills on CD when you progress to more stronger uns and gimp your dps in the process. So, you are left wailing on an Elite / Champion and praying that you don't break aggro due to obscene dps. Or that you don't get AoE / Cleaved in half. ...really brilliant design lol! Well at the very least our DoTs remain behind us...

 

...really playing a Watchman Sentinel is like playing a Trooper story: lose or lose-choose your loss . Remember Fuse, remember Dagger Wing, remember your liaison? That's the exact situation that Sents face every day! And why? Change because of change-what was SO wrong with pre 3,0 Watchman exactly? It was fun, it was dynamic and it was difficult-everything needed to have some good quality time or in other words, indeed, to have fun.

 

Force Melt is anti fun and doesn't fit a melee character! Ruffian is similar in that it doesn't necessarily fit the concept of a melee character, but then again Ruffian isn't purely melee character! And Brutal Shots fit the concept of a melee character FAR MORE than anything that Sent/Mara do indeed have(yes, this applies even to Merciless Slash / Annihilate due to their cooldowns)! Something should really be done about Watchman / Annihilation.

Edited September 17, 2015 by Cuiwe

[Cuiwe]

Also, I am posting this as a separate reply due to clarity. You wouldn't see anything if I added further info to that colossal post up there. I just wanted to reflect on yet another problem that not only Sentinel faces:

 

Bioware is hell bent on catering disciplines to ACTIVITIES instead of PLAYSTYLES! As has been said, it used to be like this:

 

Watchman: Great sustained single target discipline, somewhat bursty, weak AoE. group / solo / pvp

Combat: Average at everything and this is how it should've stayed. VERY visceral. pvp / solo / group

Concentration: Great at bursts-single target AND AoE. Pathetic at sustained dps. solo / pvp / group

 

This is how they are now:

 

Watchman: weakened version of its previous state. It's supposed to be a "GROUP / RAIDING" discipline

Combat: even easier than ever before. It is a "SOLO / LEVELING" discipline

Concentration: due to its bursty nature and due to heavy nerfs to AoE(which is especially visible here with KoAN{Kind of Another Nerf } nerf), it must be a "PvP discipline", right? And it is because it's too unwieldy for Group PvE(bursts pose too much of a threat for a tank) and too...boring / fragmented for solo PvE(really, nothing in solo PvE requires THOSE bursts!)

 

You can observe that all over the place. You only need to look. ffs Bioware, bring back fun! Singularity F.Sweep was VERY FUN. KoAN F.Sweep is annoying! Stop designing disciplines for activities and just hire a decent balance specialist!! How hard can it be?

Edited September 17, 2015 by Cuiwe

[Kaos_KidSWTOR]

Also, I am posting this as a separate reply due to clarity. You wouldn't see anything if I added further info to that colossal post up there. I just wanted to reflect on yet another problem that not only Sentinel faces:

 

Bioware is hell bent on catering disciplines to ACTIVITIES instead of PLAYSTYLES! As has been said, it used to be like this:

 

Watchman: Great sustained single target discipline, somewhat bursty, weak AoE. group / solo / pvp

Combat: Average at everything and this is how it should've stayed. VERY visceral. pvp / solo / group

Concentration: Great at bursts-single target AND AoE. Pathetic at sustained dps. solo / pvp / group

 

This is how they are now:

 

Watchman: weakened version of its previous state. It's supposed to be a "GROUP / RAIDING" discipline

Combat: even easier than ever before. It is a "SOLO / LEVELING" discipline

Concentration: due to its bursty nature and due to heavy nerfs to AoE(which is especially visible here with KoAN{Kind of Another Nerf } nerf), it must be a "PvP discipline", right? And it is because it's too unwieldy for Group PvE(bursts pose too much of a threat for a tank) and too...boring / fragmented for solo PvE(really, nothing in solo PvE requires THOSE bursts!)

 

You can observe that all over the place. You only need to look. ffs Bioware, bring back fun! Singularity F.Sweep was VERY FUN. KoAN F.Sweep is annoying! Stop designing disciplines for activities and just hire a decent balance specialist!! How hard can it be?

 

The problem is, All three specs have their own purpose. And you are seeing it wrong. Watchman is the Sustained DoT damage spec, meant to do lower burst numbers, but better damage for long boss fights with high uptime (E.X Malaphar The Savage, Master and Blaster, Torque, Bulo, and Sword Squadron.) Combat (Did not get simpler, it got easier to play, RNG Combat sucked *** and was THE HARDEST class to play) is the Burst/Sustained hybrid. Meant for bosses with medium uptime (E.X Underlurker, Revan, Corratani and Rugaar). Finally, Concentration is meant for bosses with low uptime because it is a Burst spec (E.X Revanite Commanders, Sparky, Operator IX, and Dread Commanders) Also, Stacking Singularity thing was a pain in the ***, you had to wait essentially an extra GCD to pull off your Force Sweep, the 3.0 change to no stacks was a VERY needed change.

[Cuiwe]

The problem is, All three specs have their own purpose. And you are seeing it wrong. Watchman is the Sustained DoT damage spec, meant to do lower burst numbers, but better damage for long boss fights with high uptime (E.X Malaphar The Savage, Master and Blaster, Torque, Bulo, and Sword Squadron.) Combat (Did not get simpler, it got easier to play, RNG Combat sucked *** and was THE HARDEST class to play) is the Burst/Sustained hybrid. Meant for bosses with medium uptime (E.X Underlurker, Revan, Corratani and Rugaar). Finally, Concentration is meant for bosses with low uptime because it is a Burst spec (E.X Revanite Commanders, Sparky, Operator IX, and Dread Commanders) Also, Stacking Singularity thing was a pain in the ***, you had to wait essentially an extra GCD to pull off your Force Sweep, the 3.0 change to no stacks was a VERY needed change.

 

How can't you see it? Perhaps stop tunnel visioning onto raids(raids are a dying breed) and start seeing wider picture?

 

edit: sorry for a personal attack, but Sentinel has far bigger problems than just raids. They completely ruined it with 80% of unnecessary changes in 3,0.

Edited September 17, 2015 by Cuiwe

[Kaos_KidSWTOR]

How can't you see it? Perhaps stop tunnel visioning onto raids(raids are a dying breed) and start seeing wider picture?

 

edit: sorry for a personal attack, but Sentinel has far bigger problems than just raids. They completely ruined it with 80% of unnecessary changes in 3,0.

 

I don't raid on my Sentinel/Marauder. I PvP. Why? Not because Sentinels and Marauders aren't viable in Raiding. It's because Melee DPS is not viable as a whole, unless you are an Advanced Prototype Powertech. Watchman, while it has it's own innate flaws with Force Melt/Rend, is a pretty solid spec. Combat and Concentration are great at what they do and work very well for the 50 and 55 raids, but they drop off in the 60 cap raids, due to Melee Hindering mechanics. Not because they designed the classes for Solo/PvP/Raiding, it's due to the fact that Melee DPS sucks in raiding in the 60 cap due to Boss Mechanics.

[James_Mcturney]

Yup, as a meele dps, i have a hard time, and i still dps most than everyone, but if some very good ranged dps come in, i know they can wipe my dps's "backside" with their huge strong consistent dps ;p

 

Combat: most stupid spec ive ever known in a game, way to easy to use, way to predictable to counter (after 1 or 2 hits you may pop your stuff and if you are a guardian, your reflect, cause he WILL use dispatch + clash on precision window, or just wait for the animation cause even if its fast, it still is slow, specially if he starts with dispatch), only useful if you have ping lower than 50. Also no cc immunity, decent defense.

 

Anihilation: useless for pvp mostly, very easy to burst down (no cc immunity) + lowest defense, rotation is annoying in pve and very ugly (force melt ugggh): make force sweep reset (or apply the burn effect of force melt, while removing force melt altogheter) and increase it's single target damage + aoe (at least an utility that increases its aoe by like 3 m while also improving cyclone slash, just to make it more complete). bounty hunters/troopers have those aoe skills that do great damage to the first target... why can't force sweep also be like that? to closest target? therefore making it useful in pve and single target pvp.

Also, we sentinels, specially in anihilation, don't have space in hotkeys for more skills. Removing force melt while giving us that change would not only be a boost, make the rotation funnier and stronger, but it would also reduce the ammount of skills/hotkeys needed. WIN WIN. Self heals in anihilation = useless, wish it was something on pair with operative/scoundrel self heal (not talking group heals, as anihilation group heal is "ok-ish") =/

 

Concentration: decent for pvp, 1/5 of the time cc immunity (6 secs duration 30 secs cd on force exhaustion), highest defense (C.slice gives tech/force resistance, not only meele/ranged def), decent burst.

Edited September 19, 2015 by James_Mcturney

[Grimsblood]

The idea of limiting each spec to specific beahviours like you said doesn't pleases me, even if they are "ok" in many areas they are still very different in how they behave, therefore you still have to choose the best option for each situtation. The only problem is how this is done, the utility system is too simplistic and easy, doesn't customize much, theorycrafters can easily figure out which are the best utilities for most situations or X, Y, Z situations, in pve this makes chosing them more of a chore than a choice. Gearing doesn't help, therefore, the way things are now, you have one spec for pve and one spec for pvp, while combat is being used for both but it still simply is the worst of the two, ofc its very useful for some battles (revan and underlurker ive heard, although i strongly disagree on UL, dot spreading adds>boss>adds can be very useful, if only the dot spread wasnt restricted to a petty 5 m area around yourself > how i wish for a +3 meter bonus aoe utility).

 

What you are asking for is for every spec to be good at everything. Simplistically, you just want a slight different rotation with different animations but doing the same thing as the others. If you want that, I guess you don't have to pick an AC? Specs are supposed to be different for a reason. Each has a different focus. Their are strengths and weaknesses. If one spec becomes too strong in everything, then you have something that breaks the game. Go look up the launch hybrid build for Sages or the old Hybrid Builds for Slingers. Both specs were strong at single target, sustain and AoE. Those specs are gone. I miss them, but they were very strong.

[capizm]

on the damage side there is nothing wrong with sents atm, if there is for you, you do it totaly wrong. for watchman the only fix they need are to bring back group heals. the one ability that made us such a great player for groups. im sorry but bio dances around the issue all the time. admit you blew it by maken the heal suck, fix it to what it was and move on. doing that offsets are horrid defense. cause thats what we are, wind bags. that dps alot. to the person who says watchman isent viable, please go back to your premade imp group and pocket healer. or your deception sin or op sage. ill play my sent. and in watchman. the spec is totaly fine. just put heals the way they were...simple really.

[capizm]

also, yes force melt is just stupid, while the extra dps ability is nice, just make an existing ability have another dot. the rotation was perfect with overload and other dot working way they did. the only bad part to the spec is we have group heals that simply do not heal enuff, when ranged classes and other dps are taken half health in one hit, or killing you in a globel. fix the dam heal already, it negates other classes dpsing heal out of you and group. you never ever try and fix something thats not broke. bio totaly screwed up and made alot of people leave the class due to heals sucking now....

[Kaos_KidSWTOR]

From what i've seen of the datamined content, we are getting a really good QoL buff with Force Melt/Rend. I'm not gonna say anything else other than go look it up for yourself.

[DNGDangerous]

4.0 is giving away abilities to other classes wholesale.

 

Force leaping interceding agents and smugglers. Teleporting sorcs. Mercs geting a back peddle on a fast cd (i actually like this ability- good job bioware).

 

Can sentinels and marauders get an abilitiy that makes us immune to damage and imparing effects for a long duration (in order to balance this, make it so we cant do anything during the duration of this ability). Please then add a utility that heals said sentinel and marauder to maximum hp value.

 

Please add another utility talent that adds a passive +50% movement speed bonus for 6 seconds on our rage/focus dump abilities. Put a restriction that this can only proc once every 12 seconds (for balance purposes).

 

And if its not too much to ask, can you increase all our 3m (as well as powertechs) attacks to 30m range?

 

If not, can you make sorcs and sages attacks decreased to 3m! Dont worry- you can give them force leap / force charge and intercede if you want! Might as well right?

[LegionAlpha]

Too much complaining about a class that is just fine. I main a sentinel/Mara and have since launch. Ya sure, some things have changed for the worse compared to what they once were. However, the class performs just as well as before 3.0. The issue ppl are having with Anni is the complexity factor. The "rotation" changed a bit from how it used to be, but that doesn't mean the class is broken. It means you need to learn how to play it to be good at it. Anni is hands down one of the most complicated specs in game, which means it is the most rewarding once mastered. The ppl that will cry and complain over Anni are the lazy ppl that don't deserve to be good or decent at the class to begin with... The QQ and self entitlement of an easy spec like other classes should stop and you should just learn the class. Edited September 29, 2015 by LegionAlpha

[James_Mcturney]

Too much complaining about a class that is just fine. I main a sentinel/Mara and have since launch. Ya sure, some things have changed for the worse compared to what they once were. However, the class performs just as well as before 3.0. The issue ppl are having with Anni is the complexity factor. The "rotation" changed a bit from how it used to be, but that doesn't mean the class is broken. It means you need to learn how to play it to be good at it. Anni is hands down one of the most complicated specs in game, which means it is the most rewarding once mastered. The ppl that will cry and complain over Anni are the lazy ppl that don't deserve to be good or decent at the class to begin with... The QQ and self entitlement of an easy spec like other classes should stop and you should just learn the class.

 

The only usable (talking ranked, which should be priority #1) pvp spec is concentration, unless for a solid ranked group with decent tank/healer, even so the lack of burst can be a really bad problem.

 

Also is this kind of post reportable? I guess i will try. Annihilation doesn't even have a rotation now, btw, mate, unless you are talking about dummies, cause in most boss fights you don't get to stand still and hit for so long (i think the rotation is 72 secs now? never checked the guides anymore cause its useless), good annihilators only use skill priority and quick thinking, no more rotations.

Edited September 29, 2015 by James_Mcturney