ConradLionhart Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 (edited) Hey all, I just came back to the game last month and I feel like taking it easy and just do solo stuff, like heroics. I am a Jedi Guardian, and I have been running as a tank with dps companion since the start, but I changed to Vigilance to test it out. I am looking for efficiency, and to kill things as fast as possible. I also need to remain as one spec because I plan to craft 220 gear and I don't want to waste expensive mats on the wrong gear. I am still unsure which combination is better. Tank with tank gear + dps companion? Tank with dps gear + dps companion? Dps with dps gear + healer companion? Which spec is ideal for me as a solo player? Edited May 16, 2016 by ConradLionhart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinQCowart Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 Tank in DPS gear, use a ranged DPS comoanion so they dont get in your way and put guard on them for DR and threat reduction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabenschwinge Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 (edited) The fastest way to doing it is quite obviously with a damage companion when you're a damage dealer yourself. Guardians are relatively good on self heals and a vigilance guardian hardly ever has to stop and rest. On Voss, Corellia and Makeb this solution might not be ideal, depending on your companion influence level, because you will have to heal up relatively often, and some fights might actually get tough. But on all other planets you can pave your way to glory in record time in a damage/damage combination. On a side note: You do realize that you have to reverse engineer loot drops from hard mode operations and then use resources from operations to craft rating 220 item modifcations? For comparison: An Advanced Versatile Hilt 43 costs roughly 2 million credits on my server, the materials are worth roughly 1.6 million credits, but in order to have the schematic you have to obtain a one item of the kind you want to create from an operation and destroy it. The chance for success is 60%. But if you're out of luck you destroy an item that would cost you 2 million credits if you'd buy it from the market and get nothing for it. If you have a high influence companion and the proper legacy unlocks it's still a good deal, because there is a fair chance that the crafting crits and you get two hilts for the mats of one, but if all you want to do is equipping your own character, not seriously trade with operations gear, simply buying one is the far easier solution. Edited May 16, 2016 by Rabenschwinge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caelrie Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 Fastest is DPS with DPS companion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConradLionhart Posted May 16, 2016 Author Share Posted May 16, 2016 Fastest is DPS with DPS companion. But wouldn't this give me trouble in the more difficult heroics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabenschwinge Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 But wouldn't this give me trouble in the more difficult heroics? You can always set your companion to heal for the few fights that are actually difficult, not necessarily for the entire flashpoint. (Particularly two on Makeb pop in mind.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConradLionhart Posted May 16, 2016 Author Share Posted May 16, 2016 You can always set your companion to heal for the few fights that are actually difficult, not necessarily for the entire flashpoint. (Particularly two on Makeb pop in mind.) I'm probably over-thinking it but, wouldn't then tank+dps companion be better than dps+healer companion for those situations where I need a healer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabenschwinge Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 I'm probably over-thinking it but, wouldn't then tank+dps companion be better than dps+healer companion for those situations where I need a healer? Hm. You will survive either way and healer companions still do deal damage if they don't have to heal because, say, you trigger your defenses. (In which case they have you healed up really fast, even in difficult situations.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exfell Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 Someone talked about crafting gear...You can craft 220 rated unmoddable MK-26 gear without raiding. That gear generally has better stat distribution than crystal bought gear but, again, is unmoddable. Does need re-engineering though so might be cheaper just to buy the piece you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessie Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 I'm probably over-thinking it but, wouldn't then tank+dps companion be better than dps+healer companion for those situations where I need a healer? Its easy to switch companion roles. A benefit of healer companions is that they will keep your health topped off between fights without you slowing down to self heal. Having DPS gear feels like the most versatile. Especially if you want to put it into legacy gear to share with alts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabenschwinge Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 (edited) Someone talked about crafting gear...You can craft 220 rated unmoddable MK-26 gear without raiding. That gear generally has better stat distribution than crystal bought gear but, again, is unmoddable. Does need re-engineering though so might be cheaper just to buy the piece you want. That's 216 gear. You need a strategic resource matrix and 8 exotic isotope stabilizers for it, plus reverse engineer the rating 212 schematics you get from the trainer first (for which you need at least 6 exotic isotope stabilizers). If you're in it for the money it's worthwhile at the moment, at least on my server. Material value 750k, cheapest offers available 1.7M. Not sure whether they actually sell for that price, though. It's not a big leap to rating 220 hilt from there. Made a screenshot with the crafting interface and the resulting equipment: Defiant Lightsaber Crafting Good thing someone mentioned it, this way I noticed that I forget to outfit it with an augment slot. Edited May 16, 2016 by Rabenschwinge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsillah Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 I'm probably over-thinking it but, wouldn't then tank+dps companion be better than dps+healer companion for those situations where I need a healer? DPS + DPS is fastest. If you find that some heroics get you killed switch your companion to healer for that particular situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savej Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 (edited) Dps + dps companion is fastest. Dps + healer companion is often best in longer solo boss fights because the fights will end before your companion gets tricked into standing in a puddle (and dies) or your companion runs out of resources - tanks can have problems in that case. There are some fights where being a tank might be better but I can't off-hand think of any that my dps guardian can't win. He got through the EC in 216s and 220s without my reading anything about the fights or having any serious trouble. If I go for a speed run I'll be using that character/spec with better gear. Edited May 16, 2016 by Savej Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exfell Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 (edited) That's 216 gear. You need a strategic resource matrix and 8 exotic isotope stabilizers for it, plus reverse engineer the rating 212 schematics you get from the trainer first (for which you need at least 6 exotic isotope stabilizers). If you're in it for the money it's worthwhile at the moment, at least on my server. Material value 750k, cheapest offers available 1.7M. Not sure whether they actually sell for that price, though. It's not a big leap to rating 220 hilt from there. Made a screenshot with the crafting interface and the resulting equipment: Defiant Lightsaber Crafting Good thing someone mentioned it, this way I noticed that I forget to outfit it with an augment slot. Then you re that 216 Mk-26 gear to get 220 MK-26 gear that takes 3 strategic resource matrixes and an even higher amount of exotic isotopes to craft. In no way disagreeing with you that it is too expensive for own use only. But it can be done. Edited May 16, 2016 by exfell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ngamok Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 You could always put your companion on Tank and just load up on DPS 200 blues in your tank stance. They do really well keeping aggro and they do a fair amount of DPS as well while tanking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llayles Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 DPS in DPS gear with a couple tank pieces and a healer comp is normally what I do for solo stuff. I'm doing a lot less stuff solo now seeing the benefits of grouping, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teclado Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 Welcome back to the game. One thing that you may not be aware of is the fact that they nerfed the game difficulty quite significantly with level sync. Heroics are not very hard anymore. Just do it with a dps + healer companion. Using dps + dps companion may be faster during combat, but then you have to heal up after a fight before you can move on to the next. You don't need tank gear or spec to solo heroics anymore - just straight up dps gear with healer companion is best IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benmas Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 here is what i would suggest DPS with DPS gear+ DPS or healer companion heroics are no longer challenging but if it is taking to long switch out the healer with a DPS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightSaberAddiCt Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 But wouldn't this give me trouble in the more difficult heroics? I never had a problem in heroics with my guardian DPS. The big thing is, if you want to be very proficient, is dont use crap green drop gear. Get mods and swap them out every 8-10 levels then you will be powering through heroics as a DPS guardian, or even a tank guardian with DPS gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabenschwinge Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 (edited) Then you re that 216 Mk-26 gear to get 220 MK-26 gear that takes 3 strategic resource matrixes and an even higher amount of exotic isotopes to craft. In no way disagreeing with you that it is too expensive for own use only. But it can be done. Nice. I didn't realize that. I might pick one item, like a Relic of Devestating Vengeance, and start creating those at rating 220. Hopefully there is a sufficiently large market those. The main hand weapon is always a little tricky. On the one hand it's essential for many damage dealers, on the other hand, it's the only thing that shows when you wield it and cannot be overridden by an appearance slot. Edited May 16, 2016 by Rabenschwinge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vhaegrant Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 The heroics are pretty straight forward since level sync (4.0) but you should see a definite step up in the potential for mobs to damage you from Belsavis onwards. Running with a DPS companion hasn't seemed a lot faster, there's a lot of overkill and time wasted if they are using an ability with a cast time. I find it a smoother experience to set the companion to heal and just relax that very little is going to touch the character (unless the companion you are using is Treek, watch out for the spikes and bursts with her healing). Personally, I don't find the Heroics on the Republic side that friendly for speedy soloing. I do all my credit grinding on the Imperial side where the majority of Heroics are behind a phase wall and quick to complete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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