An Easy Guide to Primary Stats and Others

[BossALike]

I play Sith Sorcerer and just re-specced from dps to healer. And Iam not sure on what stats I should focus on for best healing. Same as dps? Willpower + Power ? (PVE)

[BlackRifle]

I play Sith Sorcerer and just re-specced from dps to healer. And Iam not sure on what stats I should focus on for best healing. Same as dps? Willpower + Power ? (PVE)

 

Whether it's damage, healing, or both, the primary stat of the Sith Inquisitor (Assassin/Sorcerer) is Willpower. Bonus stats that you may want to consider raising as a healer are Alacrity Rating, Critical Rating, Power, and Surge Rating.

Edited January 4, 2012 by BlackRifle

[KindBudhArsh]

for all the low item wearing ppls (mainly done to match or RP) i recommend stacking up on Endurance to compensate for the low armor rating.

[halfhourofpower]

You got the "primary stat" right. However, endurance is the number 1 stat for any and all classes really (not just for tanks, as you say).

 

I play IA Operative. Cunning will make me do more damage, and it will make me heal more. But I can't do any damage if I'm dead, and I can't heal anything if I'm dead. So since endurance makes me not die, Endurance is the number 1 stat. Cunning is 2nd only.

 

For most people, the primary stat should be fairly obvious, since most of your quest gear is aimed towards this stat and also the PvP armor that is class specific etc. But nice of you to write a guide for those that didn't notice the hint.

 

This is so wrong. You're basing Endurance being the n1 stat for everyone based solely on personal speculation. In PvE, if you're a dps or healer your job isn't to be taking any damage at all. All unavoidable damage, ie. area damage, won't be anything your base health pool won't be able to take so stacking endurance is not only redundant but inefficient. As a dps, for example, you should be maximizing damage output over all else, getting endurance will -hurt- your ability to deal maximum potential dps. The same applies to healers. In pvp the more, say, cunning you sacrifice the slower you'll kill your target. By getting endurance while not being a tank you may last a little bit longer but so will they with the damage you're sacrificing.

[Seattlite]

What is Surge Rating?

[BlackRifle]

What is Surge Rating?

 

As stated in the OP:

 

Surge Rating provides a bonus to Critical Multiplier.

Critical Multiplier: Critical hits or heals increase the damage dealt or health restored by this percentage.

Edited January 4, 2012 by BlackRifle

[ISpartanVI]

On my lightsaber i have +135 Force Power. What exactly does this do? Also u should put it in ur OP. Thanks

[ylaenna]

Very useful, concise, and well-written. Thanks!

[BlackRifle]

I updated the OP to try to make it more clear of what the original intention of this guide was meant to be. I added a link to the Character Sheet web page of the official SWTOR game manual. I also edited the bonus stats section to hopefully make it easier to understand. Edited January 12, 2012 by BlackRifle

[BlackRifle]

On my lightsaber i have +135 Force Power. What exactly does this do? Also u should put it in ur OP. Thanks

 

There are some stats in the game that don't seem to have crystal clear information of what exactly they do. There is Force Power and Tech Power. I'm going to assume that Force Power is a stat for the damage and healing output of Force abilities, and Tech Power is a stat for the damage and healing output of Tech abilities.

[IcyFisty]

While I understand that you are not trying to get really technical, I would like everyone, and the OP's, opinion.

 

I have a level 38 Marauder. I've always, as you've said, raised strength first even over endurance. (I have all might mods and might armorings and might hilts).

 

My question comes with which is better for a marauder: Power or Critical Rating? Since I started this character I have always favored Critical Rating. In fact, I have zero bonus to power, but my critical chance is almost 35% and I just recently started adding surge bonuses, which have brought my multiplier up to around 65%. Is this a better route to take over going all power? (I would test this myself, but ack there are always so many other things to do than gather the mats for a total switch over to power enhancements)

 

Let me be clear, I have had almost no trouble with getting through story quests myself as well as being a good group participant. So I don't believe the route I took is wrong per se, but I want to confirm the wisdom of choosing a route that increases critical chance and critical damage as opposed to increasing bonus damage.

 

Or is it a good idea to grab a mix? I'm just not sure and opinions on this would be pretty invaluable. Some guild mates say having higher power is better for PvE and better crit is better for PvP. Is there any wisdom in those statements?

 

What do you think?

Edited January 4, 2012 by IcyFisty

[skybluejedi]

Thanks for this info, makes things a lot clearer as I have only just got the game yesterday!

[BlackRifle]

IcyFisty,

 

Without combat logs, it's not easy to analyze and decipher stats in the game. Even if there were combat logs (they existed in beta), I don't have the time to dig deeper, so I count on other players who do have the time to dig deeper to help figure this all out.

 

Power provides an effective bonus to both damage and healing overall. Here's a quoted post of what someone else mentioned earlier in this thread.

 

Question about Stats? Sith Warrior primary Stat is Str, has anyone noticed that power seems increase primary and in my case secondary overall weapon dam significantly more than str point for point. I spent many credits removing modifications crystals, etc. to investigate this, so has anyone else discovered that power gives you more bang for your buck then strength and more than likely does the same for other classes primary stats, cunning, aim etc.?

 

Irishsmoke may be on to something here. In my opinion, I believe raising both the primary stat and Power is highly effective in the long run, but I'm going by logic here, not scientific analysis.

 

I'm going to assume that Power is constant, meaning the bonus provided to Power applies to all damage and healing output continuously. In other words, all of your attacks and healing will have the Power bonus applied. Critical Rating provides a bonus to Critical Chance, but Critical Chance is the chance that a successful attack or heal will deal critical damage or perform a critical heal. Emphasis on the word "chance." So criticals are not guaranteed to execute with every attack or heal. Of course, the higher your Critical Chance and Critical Rating, the greater the chance of performing a critical attack or heal.

 

Perhaps it's really a matter of personal preference. So is it a good idea to grab a mix, you asked? I don't see it being a bad idea, and I'm not sure if one is better than the other when it comes to PvE or PvP respectively. Without combat logs, it may be a tough challenge to really see the truth in numbers. Hopefully, BioWare will restore combat logs as they were enabled in beta, but were removed in late beta.

Edited January 4, 2012 by BlackRifle

[IcyFisty]

I understood perfectly prior to asking what power was. I know it is a universal bonus to (at least in a marauder's case) damage output for every attack. I also knew that critical chance is not universal and that at a 25% chance, one out of every four attacks will crit and apply the critical multiplier to the damage given. It makes sense. I was merely questioning the wisdom of going for just one, and it seems you've taken your shot at answering, so thanks!

 

In the end, it seems that we just don't have enough data, and I don't have the creds or patience to spend time really experimenting. Maybe today however, when I log on tonight, I will replace enough Enhancements with +Endurance +Crit +Surge with +Endurance +Power +Surge enhancements to at least keep my crit rating above or around 20%. 1 out of 5 seems like a nice even ratio to shoot for when trying to get a balance between power and crit and since I'm still experimenting with surge I'll probably keep that as well.

 

Anyway, thanks again for the opinion.

[CrashXVII]

Thanks for this post, I'm an a (an?) MMO veteran, but didn't know what stats were important in this game. This was exactly what I was looking for.

[Freizen]

Whats the deference between a Basic Accuracy and the Accuracy for Special Attacks? Special Attacks already have a 100% chance to hit. What attacks are considered Basic and what attacks are considered special?

[BlackRifle]

Whats the deference between a Basic Accuracy and the Accuracy for Special Attacks? Special Attacks already have a 100% chance to hit. What attacks are considered Basic and what attacks are considered special?

Sorry, I don't have an answer for you. Hopefully, someone else will.

[thespis]

Last updated January 4, 2012

 

For a listing of main stats found on your character and companion sheets along with brief descriptions of each one, visit the link below.

 

 

My apologies, I just don't see on that page where the page that shows the Primary stats for each companion is. Please help?

[BlackRifle]

My apologies, I just don't see on that page where the page that shows the Primary stats for each companion is. Please help?

 

Sorry, I did not say the link leads to a page that shows the primary stats for each companion. The link actually leads to a page that shows a listing of various stats that can be found on your character sheet and also your companion sheets, along with brief descriptions of each stat. In the sentence of mine that you quoted, perhaps the word "main" confused you. I edited the OP and replaced the word "main" with "various."

 

To find out what your companion's primary stat is, open your Codex by pressing L, then click on the Persons of Note section. From there, look for your companion's name and then review the entry for your companion. The entry will reveal your companion's primary stat and also other information such as their background story and what they like or dislike.

 

Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Edited January 5, 2012 by BlackRifle

[LembPesh]

I am a total newb to MMO's and this post helps alot. Thank You

[Elizar_Naki]

Thanks for the quick-reference guide, it's really gonna help me and my wife figure out how to gear ourselves. Question, though: you list the primary stat to focus on for each BASE class, but not for ADVANCED classes. Are there situations where the two differ? The generic Consular and Inquisitor, for example, focus more on the use of Force powers than lightsaber attacks, so willpower makes sense for them. But if you go Shadow or Assassin, should you still focus on willpower or start gearing for strength instead? I'm sure this is probably a noob question, but I haven't had much chance to play yet, so figuring out how each class's attacks work and which stats influence what for who isn't something I've managed to do yet.

[BlackRifle]

Thanks for the quick-reference guide, it's really gonna help me and my wife figure out how to gear ourselves. Question, though: you list the primary stat to focus on for each BASE class, but not for ADVANCED classes. Are there situations where the two differ? The generic Consular and Inquisitor, for example, focus more on the use of Force powers than lightsaber attacks, so willpower makes sense for them. But if you go Shadow or Assassin, should you still focus on willpower or start gearing for strength instead? I'm sure this is probably a noob question, but I haven't had much chance to play yet, so figuring out how each class's attacks work and which stats influence what for who isn't something I've managed to do yet.

 

The class primary stat concept applies through the advanced classes for the entire lives of your characters and their companions, all the way to level 50.

 

For example, if you start a Sith Inquisitor and then choose the Sorcerer advanced class, the primary stat will remain as Willpower all the way to level 50. The same applies if you choose the Assassin advanced class instead, the primary stat will still continue to be Willpower. As another example, if you start a Bounty Hunter, your primary stat for the BH will be Aim all the way to level 50 and this applies to both the Mercenary and Powertech advanced classes.

 

I have updated the OP to add an entire paragraph that directly addresses this question.

Edited January 6, 2012 by BlackRifle

[ScottsdaleRose]

It's players like you that pave the way for this game to be great.

 

Thanks for taking the time and effort to keep this thread informative and on-point.

 

You rock.

 

~

[KyaniteD]

If you want to know how the attributes affect your abilities and attacks, try the tooltips in the detailed stats sheet:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/Kyanite/248487456_cut.jpg

 

Looks like AIM is doing something for gunslingers. While it may not be something to actively boost, at least it's not "wasted" if you end up with AIM gear.

[scratcha]

Last updated January 6, 2012

You can find the primary attribute or stat of your character and your companions by opening the Codex (under the sections Game Rules and Persons of Note) and reviewing the information there. To open the Codex, press L and then click on the Codex tab at the bottom.

 

Overall, I found your Guide remarkably informative and well written; however, the above quote confuses me. After doing exactly as you advised (several times) I was unable to find any data concerning primary attributes for my character. Granted, I am only a level-5 JK, thus perhaps this information hasn't shown up yet. If this data doesn't appear until higher levels perhaps you could clarify in your guide.

 

One other nitpick concerns the updating of stats. I'm a long-time player of other MMORPGs wherein players must manually allocate stat points whenever they level up. Quite naturally, I thought SWTOR would be the same, and even after reading your Guide I'm not 100-percent certain this still isn't the case (though, following a thorough search of game screens I've found no facility for doing so). Far down in your Guide you do mention points being allocated automatically at level up, and you add that other points are added by way of gear. My presumption at this point is discretionary primary/secondary stat points come only from gear. If this is the case, perhaps you may want to clarify this very early in your Guide. If my presumption is incorrect, could someone please indicate how stat points are adjusted.

 

Again, thank you so much for providing an invaluable Guide for us SWTOR newbs.