This video covers my “Iron Fist” 25/14/2 PVP tank spec for the Bounty Hunter Powertech and Trooper Vanguard advanced classes in Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR). Vanguard and Powertech are mirrors so this video is applicable to players of both classes.

I designed the spec after discerning the limitations of the Defense (avoidance) and Shield (block) mechanics for tanks in PVP. Mitigation is king in SWTOR, and therefore the spec provides a significant amount of flat mitigation against all damage types. Mitigation is king in SWTOR PVP. The two 2% mitigation talents and 5% mitigation from the tanking stance stack additively to provide 9% mitigation against all damage types (i.e. Elemental, Energy, Internal, and Kinetic) – you can see this by mousing over Damage Reduction on your Character window.

The 4-pc Tech set bonus, Flame Shield (Static Shield) talent, and Flame Surge (Static Surge) talent synergize to generate a high frequency of high-damage Rocket Punch (Stockstrike) crits.

Here is the spec used in the video:

• Powertech: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#301GRGozRroMZMcrroZb.1
• Vanguard: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#801GRGozRroMZMcrroZb.1

The “Iron Fist” spec has been very effective for me in PVP, both group play and solo. It’s designed to support aggressive close-quarters combat gameplay: you can tank and burn down MDPS and pressure and shutdown casters and healers, while retaining Guard, charge, and debuff capability.

For more information about Powertech / Vanguard PVP, please refer to my free in-depth Guide.

I queued solo for the Huttball match shown in the video.

Comments / Errata:

1. I had an incorrect Relic bound on my Quickslot bar. The point made in the video still stands: the level 50 Crit buff stacks with a Relic

To see me PVP’ing live, check out my TwitchTV channel. My stream features real-time commentary – and to the extent possible interaction with the Chat Room.

Follow Me

Twitter: @taugrim
Stream: http://twitch.tv/taugrim
YouTube: http://youtube.com/taugrimtaugrim
Facebook: http://facebook.com/taugrim
GAMEBREAKER Host for “The Republic” SWTOR show: http://www.gamebreaker.tv/category/the-republic/

This video covers four PVP specs at level 50 for the Bounty Hunter Powertech and Trooper Vanguard advanced classes in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Vanguard and Powertech are mirrors so this video is applicable to players of both classes.

The video provides detailed commentary on the following specs:

1. 26/13/2
2. 21/2/18
3. 1/22/18
4. 4/6/31

For the links to the specs, please refer to the Specs section in my PVP Guide.

The video discusses the mechanics for Defense and Shield, which should be considered when spec’ing into the tanking tree. For more details, read my article on Understanding the Defense and Shield Mechanics for Tanks in PVP.

To see me PVP’ing live, check out my TwitchTV channel. My stream features real-time narration and commentary – and to the extent possible interaction with the Chat Room.

Follow Me

Twitter: @taugrim
Stream: http://twitch.tv/taugrim
YouTube: http://youtube.com/taugrimtaugrim
Facebook: http://facebook.com/taugrim
GAMEBREAKER Host for “The Republic” SWTOR show: http://www.gamebreaker.tv/category/the-republic/

Defense is the Avoidance mechanic and Shield is one of the Mitigation mechanics. In this article I use the terms “defense” and “avoidance” interchangeably.

Avoidance and Mitigation in SWTOR

To quickly define terms:

• Avoidance: not being hit
• Mitigation: reducing damage taken when hit

There are 3 categories of Avoidance as captured in the Defence Chance tooltip:

1. Melee Dodge: base of 5%, boosted by Defense Rating, talents, and buffs
2. Ranged Dodge: base of 5%, boosted by Defense Rating, talents, and buffs
3. Resistance: base of 0%, boosted by talents and buffs. This is against “spells” (Force and Tech attacks)

Mitigation comes from multiple sources:

1. Expertise: stat that provides mitigation against all damage types
2. Armor: mitigation against 2 of the 4 damage types: Energy and Kinetic. Keep in mind that for attacks that deal “weapon damage”, to understand whether Armor factors in, you have to check the damage type of the weapon itself. E.g. blasters and rifles deal Energy damage
3. Talents that provide flat damage reduction
4. Shield Chance / Shield Absorption: provided when you have a Shield offhand equipped and successfully Shield an attack that hit. The amount of damage mitigated (absorbed) is based on the offhand (e.g. 20%), your Absorption Rating, and talents in the tanking tree. SWTOR’s Shield functions similarly to WoW’s Block mechanic. The main difference is that in SWTOR you don’t have to keep oppponents in your frontal facing to Shield
5. “Bubbles”: mitigation against all damage types

The 2-Roll System

SWTOR leverages a 2-roll system for determining the outcome of an opponent’s attack as explained by BioWare’s Georg Zoeller (references: 1 2), bold emphasis mine:

First is a hit roll, accuracy versus defense, and if the attacker misses then no damage occurs. If the attacker rolled poorly enough to miss even discounting the target’s defense then a “Miss” result occurs. If he misses because of the defense then the result varies based on the attack type, the cover state of the target, and the target’s equipped weapons. All the possible results – Dodge, Parry, Deflect, Resist, Cover – are mathematically the same, but they can trigger different effects and are visualized in different ways.

If the attacker hits, then a second roll is made with the crit chance of the attacker versus the shield chance of the target. If a Crit or a Shield occurs then the damage is adjusted up or down (based on Surge/Absorb), and then it goes through to the armor and damage resistance. A critical can never be shielded, and an attacker with a high enough crit chance can push the target’s shield chance off the table. It shouldn’t be possible to get your passive crit chance high enough to start pushing off the target’s shield chance, but there are short-duration buffs that push these chances high enough to come into conflict.

Which Attack Types are Defensible and Shieldable

There are 4 attack types: Force, Melee, Ranged, and Tech.

The attack types should not be confused with the 4 damage types: Elemental, Energy, Internal, and Kinetic.

Melee and Ranged attacks are Defensible and Shieldable, whereas Force and Tech attacks are not. This is consistent with other games such as WoW and RIFT, where “spell” attacks are not dodgeable / parryable and not blockable.

Based on what Georg wrote , here is my guess on what the roll table for Crit-vs-Shield looks like for Melee and Ranged attacks that were not Defended.

Scenario 1

• Attacker’s Crit Chance: 30%
• Defender’s Shield Chance: 30%
• So remaining 40% is normal hit (not Crit, not Shielded)

Scenario 2

• Attacker’s Crit Chance: 60%
• Defender’s Shield Chance: 30%
• So remaining 10% is normal hit (not Crit, not Shielded)

Scenario 3: Shield Chance reduced

• Attacker’s Crit Chance: 80%
• Defender’s Shield Chance: 30%, but for the roll calculation it’s treated as 20% because the Crit Chance pushed 10% off the table

Scenario 4: Shield Chance negated

• Attacker’s Crit Chance: 100% (e.g. due to a proc buff that makes the attack Crit)
• Defender’s Shield Chance: 30%, but for the roll calculation it’s treated as 0%
• Therefore, the attack is a guaranteed non-Shielded Crit

Implications for Tanks in PVP

A critical consideration for SWTOR is that all classes have either Force or Tech attacks. You can see the attack type by looking at the Abilities tab for a given character and looking at the right-hand column. Therefore, an implication is that you may not get as much mileage out of your Defense and Shield-related talents as you might expect. E.g.

• Stun-based abilities across all Advanced Classes are classified as either Force or Tech attacks, so the target’s defensive capability doesn’t come into play
• I play Bounty Hunter and Trooper and most of my key abilities are classified as Tech

Keep in mind per Georg’s post that the attacker’s Crit Chance can push Shield Chance off the table. There are a lot of buffs (e.g. talent-based, from Relic, etc) that boost Crit Chance, and the implication is that when you most need to Shield heavy incoming damage, your Shield Chance may be reduced significantly or completely. Given that, and the fact that Shield Chance is calculated after the hit roll, Shield Chance is not a strong mechanic in PVP.

Another implication is that the talents for boosting mitigation may be stronger than we might have expected. In particular, this explains why in my experience Guardians and Juggernauts tanks take the longest time-to-kill: they have multiple bubble mechanics in their tank tree, including Invincible (Warding Call) and Sonic Barrier (Blade Barrier), and these excellent abilities provide mitigation against all damage types.

I shared some of the thoughts in this article on a thread for my Guide to Powertech Mechanics and PVP a week ago, and some 50 Powertechs including chainsawsamurai tested and confirmed that the Avoidance and Shield-related talents do not work against Force and Tech attacks.

When I run as a tank-spec’d Vanguard, I will likely use a DPS PVP set based on the game mechanics and avoid (no pun intended) the talents related to Melee Defense, Ranged Defense, and Shield Chance, unless they provide some additional benefit (e.g. the Ammo-regen effect from Shield Cycler).

This is not to say that you shouldn’t take the talents and tank PVP gear. If you want to max out your survivability, invest in them. It’s just important to understand what benefit you get out of them and the mechanics.

Acknowledgements

Huge thanks to Kjollborn, who helped me to realize that the attack type not the damage type is what is factored into Melee Defense, Ranged Defense, and Shield Chance.

Thanks to Lightweight, a 50 Combat Medic Commando in my guild, for helping me with testing.

UPDATE (2012/01/24): a copy of this article has been stickied on the SWTOR official Tanking forum.

Follow Me

Twitter: @taugrim
Stream: http://twitch.tv/taugrim
YouTube: http://youtube.com/taugrimtaugrim
Facebook: http://facebook.com/taugrim
GAMEBREAKER Host for “The Republic” SWTOR show: http://www.gamebreaker.tv/category/the-republic/

Here are links to the spec: Powertech | Vanguard

I did not take the 31-pt talent Thermal Detonator (Assault Plastique). TD (AP) is an excellent ability and hits for ~50% harder than the base Explosive Dart (Sticky Grenade). That being said, keep in mind the ability has a 15-sec cooldown and I decided to go with the interrupt talent instead.

As Powertech and Vanguard Advanced Classes are mirrors, I reference the corresponding Vanguard talents and abilities in parentheses below.

Spec Strengths

1. Strong sustained and burst damage mechanics:
   • +6% total Tech Crit Chance
   • +6% Crit Chance for fire (Elemental) attacks. Keep in mind all of our fire attacks are Tech attacks, so this stacks with the previous bullet point
   • 60% armor penetration and 30% armor penetration for the talents for Rail Shot (High Impact Bolt)
   • The proc-reset talent for Rail Shot (High Impact Bolt)
   • +9% damage to burning targets for key abilities including Rail Shot (High Impact Bolt), Rocket Punch (Stockstrike), and Rapid Shots (Hammer Shot)
   • +30% Crit damage bonus for Rail Shot (High Impact Bolt), Incendiary Missile (Incendiary Round), and Combustible Gas Cylinder (Plasma Cell)
2. Good CC capability:
   • Interrupt with a 6-sec cooldown instead of the base 8-sec default. This is very helpful for shutting down healers / casters
   • Ranged pull on a 35-sec cooldown instead of 45-sec. In Huttball I use the ranged pull to disrupt EFCs and to pull people into the acid and fire pits

Spec Weaknesses

Spec’ing is all about tradeoff decisions. As such, here are the things you give up with this spec:

1. Limited mobility. This spec lacks Charge capability from the tanking tree and the passive movement buff and on-demand unstoppable sprint in the middle tree
2. Guard capability, since this spec is most effective at DPS’ing when running Combustible Gas Cylinder (Plasma Cell)

Narrated PVP Footage

The following video contains gameplay footage of my Vanguard with this spec and includes real-time commentary from me and my team mates:

http://www.twitch.tv/taugrim/b/305733320

Our <Maven> premade consisted of:

• Ris’ek 26 healing Sage: this is Justin Lowe, co-founder of darthhater.com and my co-host on GAMEBREAKER’s SWTOR The Republic show
• Tamgros 38 Shadow: this is Matt, my co-host on GAMEBREAKER’s RIFT The Sanctum show
• Talac 42 healing Sage, later replaced by Liral a lowbie healing Sage not from our guild, later replaced by Swartz 43 DPS Commando

We won 10 consecutive matches (including a lame 11v8 in Alderaan) as I completed my 50 warzone weeklies for the first time. Speaking of gear, in the video I started with 3 pieces of Champion gear, and during the stream I acquired another 2 pieces. So far I’m 5 for 11 on bags

If you are looking for more in-depth information on Powertech / Vanguard, check out my Guide on Powertech / Vanguard Mechanics and PVP.

Let me know your questions and feedback.

UPDATE (2012/01/19): based on exphryl’s (and others’) feedback I swapped out Degauss for the Infrared Sensors (Nightvision Scope), as the talented Stealth Scan ability provides far more value than the movement-breaking effect from Degauss.

Follow Me

Twitter: @taugrim
Stream: http://twitch.tv/taugrim
YouTube: http://youtube.com/taugrimtaugrim
Facebook: http://facebook.com/taugrim
GAMEBREAKER Host for “The Republic” SWTOR show: http://www.gamebreaker.tv/category/the-republic/

We won this match in 4:59.

Both sides had 50s:

• Republic had 2
• Empire had 2+

The 50 Sages from <Vendetta> said this was the fastest win for their guild ever. Ditto for me.

To top things off, I had some DIAF- and acid-pull kills

I’ve been streaming all day – either PUG or sub-50 premade – and things have gone well. Right now 50s have a faceroll advantage, but sub-50s can still make a difference and outplay 50s.

EDIT (2011/01/12): OK, this wasn’t the fastest Huttball I’ve been a part of. We won in 4:40 in a guild premade back on Jan 1st when I was level 31. But that was a premade and we likely didn’t face multiple 50s.

Here’s how it works:

• While a target’s Resolve bar is empty or filling up, that target can be CC’d
• Once the target’s Resolve bar is full (>= 1000), the bar begins to drain and the target can’t be CC’d until the bar is empty

To understand how Resolve builds, let’s look at this in-game mail from Ryndar (he’s the Sage who healed for 400k+ in his 30s, which is the highest output I’ve seen in Beta or live across servers sub-50):

Reosir and I tested Resolve stuff and thought I’d let you know what we found out (I can elaborate more in vent).

Resolve provides CC immunity when it reaches 1000.  The Resolve bar under the nameplates is a bar that is actually out of 800, so you’ll notice it fills but doesn’t go white right away sometimes.

Stuns give 200 Resolve per second of the stun.
Mez (breaks on damage) gives 100 Resolve per second.
Knockbacks and pulls generate 400 Resolve.

When you reach or exceed the Resolve threshold of 1000, 50% additional Resolve is generated for the CC ability. So a 4-second stun generates 800 Resolve and if it goes over 1000 you get an extra 400.  So two 4-second stuns used back to back will generate 2000 Resolve (800 + 1200).

OK, so that gets us to the point where Resolve grants CC immunity until the bar has drained fully.

The next question is, how does Resolve drain? It depends on the state of the player in question.

If they have not yet reached CC immunity, i.e. Resolve < 1000:

• Resolve starts to drain when the CC effect ends
• Resolve drains at a rate of 25 Resolve per second

Example 1: 4-second stun gives 800 Resolve, which will take 36 seconds to drain completly (4 seconds for the stun and when it ends an additional 32 seconds).

Example 2: 8-second mez gives 800 Resolve and is canceled immediately will take 32 seconds to drain (drain starts instantly if the mez ends instantly and it will take 32 seconds to drain).

If they have reached CC immunity, i.e. Resolve >= 1000:

• Resolve starts to drain immediately when the player becomes immune
• Resolve drains at a rate of 100 Resolve per second

Example: 8-second mez followed immediately by a 4-second stun gives 2000 Resolve, which will drain in 20 seconds (whether you sit through the entire stun or break out of it immediately).

It’s important to note that snares (i.e. movement debuffs) and roots are not factored into the Resolve system. That is, they do not build Resolve, and their effects still apply to targets that have CC immunity.

The Resolve mechanic is the most elegant CC immunity / DR (Diminishing Returns) mechanic I’ve seen in any game, because it provides visibility into the immunity state of your target, when they will likely go immune (e.g. next CC applied), and how long they will be immune for. You can also “game” your Resolve to know when to pop your CC breaker.

In some games CC immunity / DR is tracked by the game but not made visible to the player.

As I’ve said elsewhere, SWTOR provides the highest skill-cap in terms of PVP for any game I’ve played, and the Resolve mechanic is another example of elegant, innovative design by BioWare.

UPDATE (2011/01/10): added drain rate information, per testing by Ryndar and Reosir.

UPDATE (2012/01/26): added notes about snares and roots and for abilities that apply multiple Resolve-building effects.

Follow Me

Twitter: @taugrim
Stream: http://twitch.tv/taugrim
YouTube: http://youtube.com/taugrimtaugrim
Facebook: http://facebook.com/taugrim
GAMEBREAKER Host for “The Republic” SWTOR show: http://www.gamebreaker.tv/category/the-republic/

The Powertech and Vanguard ACs are mirrors of one another: the ability tooltips and talent trees are identical. As such, I am covering both ACs together in one Guide.

For ease of reading, whenever mentioning a Powertech ability or talent I will also provide the Vanguard mirror in parentheses.

Please post your feedback, tips, and questions!

Revision History

The first version of this Guide was posted on January 4, 2012. Here is the change log for recent revisions:

• Jan 28, 2012: added the “Iron Fist” PVP tank video. Removed the “Shutdown Tank” 26/13/2 spec as the Iron Fist is mechanically superior to it. Updated rotations section
• Jan 27, 2012: revised Talent Tree Analysis. Added my “Iron Fist” build
• Jan 26, 2012: added in PVP gear sets to Section 12. Added stats scaling chart and soft caps

Table of Contents

1. Advanced Class Overview and Playstyle
2. Talent Tree and Stance Overview
3. Talent Tree and Stance Pairings
4. Talent Tree Analysis
5. Heat (Ammo) Mechanics
6. Damage Mechanics
7. Defense Mechanics
8. Crowd Control and Debuff Mechanics
9. Mobility and CC Counter Mechanics
10. DPS Rotation
11. Recommended Specs
12. Stats and Gear
13. Narrated Gameplay Videos
14. About the Author

1. Advanced Class Overview and Playstyle

Powertech (Vanguard) is the “can-tank” AC for the Bounty Hunter (Trooper) base class.

Players often ask which they should play: Powertech (Vanguard) or Mercenary (Commando).

You should roll Powertech (Vanguard) if:

• You want to tank in PVE and in PVP. By tanking in PVP, I mean that you want to be able to Guard a friendly target, which redirects 50% of the incoming damage from them to you, and be able to Taunt opponents to debuff their damage on your friendlies
• You are comfortable engaging in near-quarters (0-10m) combat
• You want to maximize your ability to control casters and healers with interrupts
• You want to have tools to close gaps to opponents and to increase your in-combat movement speed

You should roll Mercenary (Commando) if:

• You want to be able to meaningfully heal yourself and your friendlies
• You want to beef up your 30m RDPS capability
• You want the option of playing a cast-time nuking spec, Arsenal (Gunnery)
• You prefer to have abilities that keep opponents at range and support a gap-control playstyle (e.g. kiting) with CC

I’m a huge fan of melee strafing, i.e. running circles around stationary targets to break their Line of Sight (LoS) to lower their offensive and defensive capability, and kite-strafing MDPS while I burn them down, so Powertech (Vanguard) fits my preferred playstyle.

2. Talent Tree and Stance Overview

Before discussing the 3 talent trees, it’s important to note the design philosophy of BioWare: all ACs are well-rounded in terms of their capabilities. E.g. tanks can dish out meaningful damage in PVP, healers are not healbots, they can functionally CC and DPS, etc. So keep that in mind when reading the following information.

All 3 trees are viable in PVP – your choice for your primary tree simply depends on what playstyle and capabilities you want to maximize.

The AC has 3 talent trees from left-to-right, 1 for tanking and 2 for DPS:

• Shield Tech (Shield Specialist): this is the tanking tree. As you’d expect, this is the tree to spec into for PVE tanking; there are talents that boost durability via Armor-based mitigation, flat mitigation, increased Shield Chance / Shield Absorption, etc. This tree provides excellent utility in PVP including an in-combat charge, -Accuracy PBAoE debuff, a proc-snare effect, and maximizes the usage and effect of our base melee attack. The main downside to this tree is that your overall ranged burst and sustained damage is lower compared to the other 2 trees
• Advanced Prototype (Tactics): this DPS tree provides a passive movement buff, an on-demand movement buff that provides movement-related CC immunity, excellent short-range (0-10m) capability, increased elemental and internal damage, crit mechanics, passive heat venting (ammo regen), and strong CC capability. The main downside to this tree relative to Pyrotech (Assault Specialist) is that your burst and sustained damage is lower
• Pyrotech (Assault Specialist): this DPS tree provides mechanics that revolve around a proc-reset for the cooldown of Rail Shot (High Impact Bolt) and strong Damage Over Time (DoT) damage and related damage buffs. This tree provides the strongest > 10m ranged capability of the trees, a proc-snare effect, high sustained damage, and excellent burst via the talent to reset the cooldown of Rail Shot (High Impact Bolt). The main downsides to this tree are the lack of movement capability and high heat generation (ammo consumption)

Before discussing the trees further, it’s important to understand the 3 “stances” that the AC can choose from. Each stances provide benefits that synergize with a particular talent tree:

• Ion Gas Cylinder (Ion Cell): this tanking stance provides increased threat, mitigation, and shield chance and a damage proc for ranged attacks. You must be using this stance to activate the Guard ability
• Energy Gas Cylinder (High Energy Cell): this DPS stance increases your elemental and internal damage, which are not mitigated by armor
• Combustible Gas Cylinder (Plasma Cell): this DPS stance provides a chance for ranged attacks to proc a 6-sec elemental DoT

Note that unlike the other “can-tank” ACs, switching stances for Powertech (Vanguard) requires a 1.5 sec cast time.

3. Talent Tree and Stance Pairings

Based on the talent tree design, here are the pairings that make sense based on the mechanics for your main talent tree, in no particular order:

• Shield Tech (Shield Specialist) + Ion Gas Cylinder (Ion Cell): this pairing improves your  durability, although maybe not as much as you might expect – see the Defense Mechanics section. This pairing provides Guard capability, a DoT proc that snares your target, a charge ability in Jet Charge (Storm), a 20% Accuracy Point Blank AOE (PBAoE) debuff, and a 3-sec root for the ranged pull Grapple (Harpoon)
• Advanced Prototype (Tactics) + Ion Gas Cylinder (Ion Cell): this pairing provides solid burst / sustained damage mechanics, strong CC capability, an on-demand movement buff that provides movement-related CC immunity, and retains the ability to Guard
• Advanced Prototype (Tactics) + Energy Gas Cylinder (High Energy Cell): this pairing provides good burst / sustained damage mechanics, strong CC capability, a passive movement buff, and an on-demand movement buff that provides movement-related CC immunity
• Pyrotech (Assault Specialist) + Combustible Gas Cylinder (Plasma Cell): this pairing provides excellent ranged burst with the proc-reset for the cooldown of Rail Shot (High Impact Bolt), excellent sustained damage, multiple ranged DoTs, and an easy-to-apply ranged snare.

As far as secondary and tertiary trees go, here are some common combinations (going from left-to-right with primary tree):

• ST (SS) primary, AP (T) secondary
• ST (SS) primary, PT (AS) secondary
• AP (T) primary, ST (SS) secondary
• AP (T) primary, PT (AS) secondary
• PT (AS) primary, AP (T) secondary

Note that if you invest >8 points in both the ST (SS) and PT (AS) trees, you may have to burn talent points that buff different stances.

You can and should consider investing talents in a 3rd tree if they synergize with the capabilities you are trying to maximize.

4. Talent Tree Analysis

Instead of breaking down every talent, let me short-circuit that by explaining the talents you can pass or should pass on.

Shield Tech (Shield Specialist)

• Combust (Static Field) is must-have for PVE tanking, but the debuff is also solid for PVP
• Rebraced Armor is must-have for PVE tanking. For PVP, you can skip this talent as it buffs Armor, which only works for 2 of the 4 damage types
• Shield Vents (Shield Cycler) is must-have for PVE but for PVP 1/2 is fine given the internal cooldown and because Shield is a weak mechanic in PVP. See the Defense Mechanics section for the limitations of Shield
• Ablative Upgrades (Ceramic Plating) is should-have for PVE but should be skipped for PVP
• No Escape (Defensive Measures) can be skipped for PVE but is must-have for PVP
• Ion Screen (Ion Shield) is must-have for PVE. Given the weakness of the Shield mechanic in PVP, this is a solid choice for PVP as well
• Jet Speed (Charge!) is must-have for PVP
• Empowered Tech (Counterattack) is must-have for PVE but can should be skipped for PVP given the limitations of the Shield mechanic

Advanced Prototype (Tactics)

• Prototype Electric Surge (Containment Tactics) is not needed for PVE, but it’s solid for PVP prior to getting the AOE stun at 46. At 46+ for PVP, take your pick of this talent or Power Armor in the next tier
• Prototype Cylinders (Blaster Augs) is an excellent talent when running Energy Gas Cylinder (High Energy Cell) or Combustible Gas Cylinder (Plasma Cell) but is optional if you’re using Ion Gas Cylinder (Ion Cell)
• Power Armor is very good for PVE tanking. For PVP it’s a solid choice, as it provides 2% mitigation against all damage types
• If you are running Energy Gas Cylinder (High Energy Cell): the Pneumatic Boots (Battlefield Training) is must-have for PVP, and for PVE and PVP, Prototype Cylinder Ventilation (Cell Generator) is must-have
• Serrated Blades + Charged Gauntlets (Combat Tactics): this is a controversial choice for PVP. Serrated Blades only buffs the DoT portion of Retractable Blade (Gut) by 15%, so that’s a poor ROI for 3 talent points. Charged Gauntlets (Combat Tactics) is an excellent talent, but keep in mind that unless you spec 18 points into Pyrotech (Assault Specialist), you’re only going to be able to use Rail Shot (High Impact Bolt) at most once every 15 seconds. For this reason for a heavy Advanced Prototype (Tactics) build (i.e. > 23 points) I recommend skipping these talents
• Hydraulic Overrides (Hold the Line) is must-have for PVP but can be skipped for PVE
• Kolto Vents (Kolto Recharge): this can be skipped for any context, as the HoT is very weak and only procs when you use your Vent Heat (Recharge Cells) ability. The HoT won’t proc off the other vent heat (cell regen) effects
• Stabilized Armor (Shock Absorbers) is a decent talent for PVP but should be skipped for PVE

Pyrotech (Assault Specialist)

• Integrated Cardio Package (Soldier’s Endurance) should be skipped except for PVE tanking. For PVP, the exception to this rule is if you are investing 18 points in the tree to get Prototype Particle Accelerator (Ionic Accelerator) talent but are not using Combustible Gas Cylinder (Plasma Cell), in which case this talent makes sense so you don’t waste talent points in Bursting Flame (Ionized Ignition)
• Gyroscopic Alignment Jets (Parallactic Combat Stims) should be skipped for PVE DPS. For PVP, if you are concerned about managing Heat (Ammo), consider taking Rapid Venting (Rapid Recharge) instead of this talent, as GAJ (PCS) only procs when you are CC’d, and if you are stunned / knocked down / incapacitated, you are already passively venting Heat instead of building it up (regenerating Ammo instead of consuming it)
• Infrared Sensors (Nightvision Scope) should be skipped for PVE. For PVP, this provides not only better Stealth San capability but also increased avoidance against melee and ranged attacks (but not against Force or Tech attacks), and it is the best choice for the last 2 points to get to 15 to open up the 4th tier of the tree
• Degauss should be skipped for PVE. For PVP, Degauss adds a root/snare-breaking effect to Energy Shield (Reactive Shield) which is situationally useful. That being said, my experience is that Infrared Sensors (Nightvision Scope) provides better utility in PVP, so I take that talent over Degauss to open up the 4th tier of the tree
• Rapid Venting (Rapid Recharge) is valuable in PVE for sustained DPS in long boss fights. It is also a very good choice for PVP
• Energy Rebounder (Reflexive Shield) should be skipped for PVE but is useful for PVP. Given the internal cooldown, you get the most bang for your buck at 1 talent point
• You can skip Automated Defenses (Adrenaline Fueled)
• Thermal Detonator (Assault Plastique) should be taken for full 31+ builds. Keep in mind that this ability replaces the base Explosive Dart (Sticky Grenade) and they share the 15-sec cooldown

5. Heat (Ammo) Mechanics

The “mana” bar for the AC goes different directions depending on your faction but they are functionally equivalent:

• For Powertech, Heat builds up as you use abilities
• For Vanguard, Ammo cells are consumed as you use abilities

The most important thing to understand about our “mana” bar is that it depletes (regens) at a non-linear rate. This is a rather unique mechanic, and the implication is that if you spam mana-heavy abilities, you will bury yourself in a resource deficit. Therefore, you want to manage your ability use carefully.

To see the rates of heat venting (ammo regen), mouse over the >>>> mini-bar to the right of your resource bar while using abilities.

There are talents that boost your ability to vent heat (regen ammo), and there is an on-use ability on a base 2 min cooldown called Vent Heat (Recharge Cells) that will lower your heat (regen ammo).

At level 42, we get the ability Thermal Sensor Override (Reserve Powercell) that causes the next ability to not generate heat (not consume ammo).

6. Damage Mechanics

The AC delivers a combination of the following damage types:

• Elemental damage
• Kinetic damage
• Weapon damage

Elemental damage rocks because it is not mitigated by armor, and as our Elemental attacks are Tech-based, they are not Dodgeable nor Shieldable. If you’ve read my PVP Guides across games (e.g. WoW Prot Pally, WAR Swordmaster), I prefer “non-physical” damage types because they make targets feel equally squishy in terms of your damage output.

At level 10, the AC gets the core 10m ranged Elemental attack Flame Burst (Ion Pulse). Many of the talents in the non-tanking trees revolve around this ability, so we tend to deal our best single-target damage when within 10m of a target. The Pyrotech (Assault Specialist) tree provides strong Elemental DoT capability via Combustible Gas Cylinder (Plasma Cell) procs and Incendiary Missile (Incendiary Round).

As a Bounty Hunter (Trooper), we have the excellent channeled AoE abilities Death From Above (Mortar Volley) and Flame Thrower (Pulse Cannon). DFA (MV) can wreck multiple opponents, so you should use it whenever they’re clumped together. The area-of-effect for DFA (MV) is several meters larger than the ground target icon. Flame Thrower (Pulse Cannon) is a 10m conal AoE which deals solid single-target damage, and you can rotate your character while channeling the ability the change the direction of the cone. FT (PC) is very effective against targets that are on a stationary object (e.g. a node) or are not moving.

Note that for DFA (MV), you do not have to wait until the channeled bar is complete – you will still get the last tick if you cancel the channel right before the channel cast bar is complete.

We have an excellent 30m ranged burst ability in Rail Shot (High Impact Bolt). This ability has a 15 sec cooldown, which can be reset only via the Prototype Particle Accelerator (Ionic Accelerator). The most important talents for buffing the damage on a RS (HIB) cast are the 60% armor penetration in the middle tree and the 30% armor penetration 12-pt talent in the right tree.

There is a delay before the damage from Explosive Dart (Sticky Grenade) triggers, but in PVP this is awesome as you’ll generate spike damage from the damage trigger plus other abilities.

Per the class mechanics, there are a few abilities that you should be careful about using:

• Flame Sweep (Explosive Surge): this PBAoE ability has high “mana” cost and low damage output without talents in the tanking tree. For AoE damage situations, DFA (MV) and FT (PC) are typically better options in terms of damage. The use cases for this ability are for tank-spec’d players to debuff the damage of multiple opponents or to knock opponents trying to cap a flag. Also note that the range of the PBAoE is 5m, so your targets need to be near-melee range
• Missile Blast (Explosive Round): this instant-cast ranged AoE ability deals low damage relative to the high “mana” cost so don’t spam it. It is an effective tool for preventing a node cap, especially when you are closing the distance to multiple opponents capping a node.
• Unload (Full Auto): this is a channeled 3-sec ability. As discussed above, this is a highly-mobile spec that tends to be most effective when within 10m of your target. This ability is a long self-root, there is a delay before the first tick lands, and it can be interrupted. There is only 1 talent across all 3 trees that buffs this ability, and that’s in the shared Mercenary (Commando) tree. The main use case where this ability makes sense is when you are at long-range from a target who will remain in your field-of-fire for 3 seconds and your Explosive Dart (Sticky Grenade) and Rail Shot (High Impact Bolt) are on cooldown

7. Defense Mechanics

Avoidance, Mitigation, and Bubble Mechanics

This section is a sub-set of the information that I provided in a separate article, so check that article out for more detail than what is provided below.

This AC has 3 types of mechanics that boost the character’s survivability:

• Avoidance: not being hit
• Mitigation: reducing damage taken when hit
• Bubbles: an additional type of mitigation provided by Energy Shield (Reactive Shield)

SWTOR leverages a 2-roll system for determining the outcome of an opponent’s attack as explained by BioWare’s Georg Zoeller (references: 1 2), bold emphasis mine:

First is a hit roll, accuracy versus defense, and if the attacker misses then no damage occurs. If the attacker rolled poorly enough to miss even discounting the target’s defense then a “Miss” result occurs. If he misses because of the defense then the result varies based on the attack type, the cover state of the target, and the target’s equipped weapons. All the possible results – Dodge, Parry, Deflect, Resist, Cover – are mathematically the same, but they can trigger different effects and are visualized in different ways.

If the attacker hits, then a second roll is made with the crit chance of the attacker versus the shield chance of the target. If a Crit or a Shield occurs then the damage is adjusted up or down (based on Surge/Absorb), and then it goes through to the armor and damage resistance. A critical can never be shielded, and an attacker with a high enough crit chance can push the target’s shield chance off the table. It shouldn’t be possible to get your passive crit chance high enough to start pushing off the target’s shield chance, but there are short-duration buffs that push these chances high enough to come into conflict.

There are 3 categories of Avoidance as captured in the Defence Chance tooltip:

1. Melee Dodge: base of 5%, boosted by Defense, talents, and buffs
2. Ranged Dodge: base of 5%, boosted by Defense, talents, and buffs
3. Resistance: base of 0%, boosted by talents and buffs. This is against spells

There are several categories of Mitigation (we’ll cover bubbles in the next section):

1. Damage Reduction: provided by Armor against Energy and Kinetic damage, flat damage reduction via talents and Expertise, and a bubble in Energy Shield (Reactive Shield)
2. Shield Chance / Shield Absorption: provided when you have a Shield offhand equipped and successfully Shield an attack that hit. The amount of damage mitigated (absorbed) is based on the offhand (e.g. 20%) and talents in the tanking tree

SWTOR’s Shield functions similarly to WoW’s Block or RIFT’s Block mechanic. The main difference is that in SWTOR you don’t have to keep oppponents in your frontal facing to Shield.

The important thing to understand are which types of attacks are Avoidable and Shieldable and which are not. There are 4 types of attacks: Force, Melee, Ranged, and Tech. Melee and Ranged types are Avoidable and Shieldable, whereas Force and Tech attacks are not. This is consistent with other games such as WoW and RIFT, where “spell” attacks are not dodgeable / parryable and not blockable. That being said, the main consideration for SWTOR is that all classes have either Force or Tech attacks. Therefore, you may not get as much mileage out of your Avoidance and Shield-related talents as you might expect. E.g. the melee stun and melee attack for the Imperial Agent (Smuggler) class are Tech and therefore given sufficient accuracy will always hit.

The AC has an on-demand mitigation bubble in Energy Shield (Reactive Shield). This ability provides 25% mitigation against all damage types for 12 sec, so it’s important to activate it as soon as you start taking focus fire or you may die before the bubble expires.

Protection Mechanics

You can reduce damage to friendlies via Taunts or redirect 50% their incoming damage to you via Guard.

Taunts reduce the damage on debuffed opponents by 30% against anyone except you. Taunts are off the GCD so use them liberally.

SWTOR has thankfully implemented the Guard mechanic from WAR

Guard is a buff you can put on a friendly player when you’re in the tanking stance. Guard provides a flat 5% mitigation for the guarded friendly, and 50% of the incoming damage is redirected to you. This is an excellent tool for keeping your guarded target (e.g. a healer, flag carrier, etc) alive under focus fire.

The main catch with Guard is that you have to be in the tanking stance, and keep in mind the following:

• Unlike the other 2 tank AC mirrors, we can not switch stances instantly. We have a 1.5-sec cast time. As this AC relies heavily on a mobile playstyle and staying within 10m of your target in most situations, stopping to switch stances may not always be ideal
• If you invested talent points in the non-tanking stances, those talent points are not leveraged when you are in the tanking stance

Miscellaneous

Stealth detection is provided by the Stealth Scan ability, and it’s a terrific counter against an opponent who uses an in-combat stealth.

For a detailed writeup on tanking, check out Gankstah’s excellent Tanking: A Primer thread on the SWTOR tanking forum.

8. Crowd Control and Debuff Mechanics

I recommend that you read my article, Understanding SWTOR’s Resolve Mechanic, so that you understand how Resolve works.

The AC as a variety of CC’s to work with regardless of spec:

• 30m range 4-sec stun in Electro Dart (Cryo Grenade) which has a 60 sec cooldown, 50 sec with Prototype Electro Surge (Containment Tactics)
• 30m range pull in Grapple (Harpoon) which has a 45 sec cooldown, 35 sec with Advanced Tools (Tactical Tools). You can add a 3-sec root effect with the tanking tree talent No Escape (Defensive Measures). Keep in mind the root effect builds Resolve
• 4m range interrupt in Quell (Riot Strike) which has an 8-sec cooldown, 6 sec with Hitman / Frontline Defense. The interrupt locks the target out of using the interrupted spell for 4 sec. The interrupt is fantastic for shutting down healers and interrupting dangerous channeled abilities
• PBAoE 2.5-sec stun in Carbonize (Neural Surge) which has a 45-sec cooldown

In addition, there are tree-specific CC effects:

• 3-sec root effect and a ranged interrupt from the charge ability Jet Charge (Storm) in the tank tree
• 50% snare for 2 sec from the Neural Overload talent in the tank tree
• 50% snare for 2 sec from the Sweltering Heat talent in the Pyrotech (Assault Specialist) tree

The tank tree provides the following debuffs:

• a PBAoE debuff in Oil Slick (Smoke Grenade) that lowers Ranged and Melee Accuracy by 20% for 18 sec
• Flame Burst (Ion Pulse) and Flame Sweep (Explosive Surge) debuff the target’s damage by 4% for 15 sec

9. Mobility and CC Counter Mechanics

Mobility is king in PVP, even moreso given our 10m single-target mechanics and the design of the warzones, which have an emphasis on covering ground quickly.

There are talents that improve your mobility:

• Shield Tech (Shield Specialist) provides an in-combat charge called Jet Charge (Storm), which can be further talented to provide a 30% movement buff for 4 sec
• Advanced Prototype (Tactics) provides a passive 15% movement buff in Pneumatic Boots (Battlefield Training) and a 30% movement buff for 8 sec in Hydraulic Overrides (Hold the Line) that provides full immunity to movement-related CCs and knockbacks. You can use HO (HtL) as a CC breaker, and it has a relatively short 30-sec cooldown

When CC’d, we have the same base ability to break all CC effects in Tenacity (Determination) on a base 2-min cooldown that all classes get.

Aside from Tenacity, you can counter the following CC effects:

• Roots / snares / knockbacks with HO (HtL) and Jet Charge (Storm)
• Roots / snares with the Degauss talent for Energy Shield (Reactive Shield). The extent to which you can use this as a CC breaker depends on how many procs you get from Energy Rebounder (Reflexive Shield)

10. DPS Rotation

General

• Weave in Rapid Shots (Hammer Shot) as needed to keep your Heat low (Ammo high)
• Use Explosive Fuel (Battle Focus) as needed for the huge buff to Ranged and Tech Crit Chance

AOE Rotation

Death From Above (Mortar Volley) > Flame Thrower (Pulse Cannon)

In PVE against standard and weak mobs, Explosive Dart (Sticky Grenade) is a good damage + AOE knockdown, but remember that the AOE knockdown will disperse your targets.

If you are spec’d into Shield Tech (Shield Specialist), your Flame Sweep (Explosive Surge) is a good choice for PBAoE damage and debuffing your targets’ damage.

Single-Target Rotation for 18+ in Pyrotech (Assault Specialist)

Specs with 18+ points in Pyrotech (Assault Specialist) revolve around the Superheated Rail (High Friction Bolts) talent, which provides a proc to reset the cooldown of Rail Shots (High Impact Bolt).

1. If the target is not going to die quickly, Incendiary Missile (Incendiary Round) for the DoT effect
2. Rail Shot (High Impact Bolt) – this will only cost a net of 8 Heat (1 Ammo) when the target is burning
3. From range, Explosive Dart (Sticky Grenade) or the 31-pt replacement Thermal Detonator (Assault Plastique). You can choose to open up with this ability for #1, but one minor consideration is you often want to use IM (IR) first due to the regen mechanics
4. While closing the gap, Rapid Shots (Hammer Shot)
5. Rocket Punch (Stockstrike) and Flame Burst (Ion Pulse) to try to proc the cooldown reset for Rail Shot (High Impact Bolt)
6. If you get a cooldown reset for Rail Shot (High Impact Bolt), use it
7. Rinse and repeat

Do not overwrite your IM (IR) DoT unless there is a good reason to do so, e.g. you are about to die and hope to kill your opponent with the DoT, you are trying to DoT targets to prevent a node cap, etc.

If you have IM (IR) and Retractable Blade (Gut), keep in mind that while the latter ability deals good damage, it is a use of the GCD and does not synergize with the Prototype Particle Accelerator (Ionic Accelerator) talent.

Single-Target Rotation for Shield Tech (Shield Specialist) with < 18 points in Pyrotech (Assault Specialist)

The key single-target damaging ability for this spec is Rocket Punch (Stockstrike), thanks to the 30% Crit Chance and 30% Crit damage bonus. Note that you also can reset the cooldown for Rocket Punch (Stockstrike) when you Shield. Therefore, you want to use Rocket Punch (Stockstrike) as soon as possible.

Aside from Rocket Punch (Stockstrike), you want to use Rail Shot (High Impact Bolt) ASAP to get the 15-sec cooldown ticking.

Aside from those abilities, here is the rotation:

1. From range, Explosive Dart (Sticky Grenade)
2. While closing to melee range, Rail Shot (High Impact Bolt) if possible, Rapid Shots (Hammer Shot) if not
3. As soon as you close to melee range, Rocket Punch (Stockstrike) and when that’s on cooldown, Flame Burst (Ion Pulse) until you can Rocket Punch (Stockstrike) again
4. Rinse and repeat

If you have Retractable Blade (Gut), in general you want to use Rocket Punch (Stockstrike) first, so that you apply the snare and have the opportunity to reset the cooldown of Rocket Punch (Stockstrike) via the Flame Shield (Static Shield) talent.

Single-Target Rotation for Advanced Prototype (Tactics) with < 18 points in Pyrotech (Assault Specialist)

You want to use Rail Shot (High Impact Bolt) and Immolate (Fire Pulse) whenever possible, as these are two of your hardest-hitting single-target abilities and they have 15-sec cooldowns.

Aside from those abilities, here is the rotation:

1. From range, Explosive Dart (Sticky Grenade)
2. While closing to melee range, Rail Shot (High Impact Bolt) and Immolate (Fire Pulse) if possible, Rapid Shots (Hammer Shot) if not
3. Close to melee range, Retractable Blade (Gut)
4. Rocket Punch (Stockstrike) and Flame Burst (Ion Pulse)
5. Rinse and repeat

Do not overwrite your RB (G) DoT unless there is a good reason to do so, e.g. you are about to die and hope to kill your opponent with the DoT, you are trying to DoT targets to prevent a node cap, etc.

11. Recommended Specs

I intentionally put this section after all of the previous ones, to make sure you understand the mechanics of your class before copying someone else’s spec. Too often on the forums people ask for specs but don’t understand the mechanics and therefore how to play them correctly.

PVP

I cover several specs below in my narrated Spec Guide video, so check that out for more information.

Here is a list of some of the viable PVP specs from “left-to-right”:

• Taugrim’s “Iron Fist”: 25/14/2 Powertech (Vanguard): provides charge, Guard, excellent melee capability and passive mitigation. Limited ranged capability. My favorite spec, as this build offers group utility and soloing capability. For more info, check out the blog article
• Carolina Parakeet: 21/2/18 Powertech (Vanguard): combines the capability to charge and Guard with the excellent cooldown reset proc for Rail Shot (High Impact Bolt). Popular spec on the Powertech forum
• Short-Range Shutdown DPS: 8/31/2 Powertech (Vanguard): provides high mobility, strong elemental and internal damage mechanics, and short CC cooldowns
• Run-and-Gun: 1/22/18 Powertech (Vanguard): blends the cooldown reset proc for Rail Shot (High Impact Bolt) with the in-combat sprint and short CC cooldowns of the middle tree. For more durability, swap out the points in Flame Barrage (Battering Ram) for Power Armor
• DPS with CC: 0/12/29 Powertech (Vanguard): provides excellent sustained and burst damage mechanics with good CC capability. For more info, check out the blog article
• Full DPS: 4/6/31 Powertech (Vanguard): delivers the highest burst and sustained DPS at the cost of limited mobility

I do not recommend investing in the upper 6 points in the tanking tree. The 31-pt talent is good but the 5 points to boost Shield Chance aren’t worth it as Tech and Force attacks are not Shieldable.

PVE

TBD.

12. Stats and Gear

For the “secondary” stats, there is diminishing returns. Check out tuskake’s post on the official forums for a chart and numbers. Based on tuskake’s post, here are “soft caps” for some of the secondary stats relevant to this AC:

• Crit Rating: 300
• Surge Rating: 150

PVP

• Primary stats: Aim = Endurance, favor one over the other for damage vs time-to-live
• Secondary stats:
  • DPS builds: Expertise > Crit Rating > Power = Surge Rating > Accuracy Rating > Alacrity Rating = Defense Rating > Shield Rating
  • Max durability builds: Expertise > Defense Rating > Shield Rating > Crit Rating > Power = Surge Rating > Accuracy Rating > Alacrity Rating

Alacrity is similar to WoW’s Haste mechanic, and as the vast majority of your GCDs will be spent on instant-cast abilities, this stat is mostly wasted. Alacrity does shorten channeled ability cast times but all of our meaningful channeled abilities have significant cooldowns.

PVE

Expertise is useless in PVE.

• Tanking
  • Primary stats: Endurance > Aim
  • Secondary stats: Accuracy Rating (under Hit cap) > Defense Rating = Shield Rating > Accuracy Rating (at/above Hit cap) > Power = Crit Rating > Surge Rating > Alacrity Rating

• DPS
  • Primary stats: Aim > Endurance
  • Secondary stats: Accuracy Rating* (under Hit cap) > Crit Rating > Power = Surg Ratinge > Accuracy Rating (at/above Hit cap) > Alacrity Rating > Defense Rating > Shield Rating

* Note: I have not tested yet to see whether Accuracy is worth stacking over the Hit cap to reduce your target’s defenses.

Offhand

• If you are running the tanking stance, you can not Shield unless you have a Shield offhand equipped, so use a Shield offhand
• Otherwise use a Generator offhand

PVP Gear Sets

There are 3 “tiers” of PVP gear

1. Centurion: purchasable via Centurion commendations, which are what you get when you open Champion bags
2. Champion: purchasable via Champion commendations. Champion bags cost 200 Warzone Commendations + 200 Mercenary Commendations. Champion bags have a chance to drop a random Champion piece and provide Centurion commendations
3. Battlemaster: purchaseable via Battlemaster commendations. Requires Valor Rank 60+. Battlemaster bags as of Patch 1.1 give Battlemaster or Champion commendations. The Earpiece and Implant pieces are purchaseable for the same price of Champion bags

There are 3 sets to consider for this AC (in alphabetical order) and their set bonuses:

1. Combat Tech: this is a good choice for offensively-oriented tank and hybrid builds
   
   • 2-pc: +0.5 seconds to duration of PBAoE stun, reduces CC breaker cooldown by 15 sec
   • 4-pc: +15% Crit Chance to Rocket Punch (Stockstrike)
2. Eliminator: this is a good choice for specs with 18+ points in Pyrotech (Assault Specialist)
   
   • 2-pc: N/A
   • 4-pc: +15% Crit Chance to Rail Shot (Eliminator)
3. Supercommando: this is a good choice for specs with 21+ points in the tanking tree
   
   • 2-pc: -1.5 second to cooldown for Heat Blast (Energy Blast) and Jet Charge (Storm)
   • 4-pc: +5% damage while Guarding

13. Narrated Gameplay Videos

Writing Guides like this is part of what I contribute to the community. The other 2 major pieces of content that I provide are:

1. Streaming live gameplay with commentary: http://twitch.tv/taugrim
2. Narrated videos on YouTube: http://youtube.com/taugrimtaugrim

My narrated videos for this AC are included below in reverse-chronological order:

Taugrim’s “Iron Fist” PVP Tank Spec (25/14/2) Video

I designed this spec after discerning the limitations of the Defense (avoidance) and Shield (block) mechanics for tanks in PVP. Mitigation is king in SWTOR; therefore the spec provides a significant amount of flat mitigation against all damage types.

The 4-pc Tech set bonus, Flame Shield (Static Shield) talent, and Flame Surge (Static Surge) talent synergize to generate a high frequency of high-damage Rocket Punch (Stockstrike) crits.

<3 this spec, it rocks

50 PVP Spec Guide

I discuss four PVP specs at level 50 in terms of their key talents, tradeoff decisions, and pros and cons.

Tips for Using the Ranged Pull Ability Grapple (Harpoon)

One of the best abilities of the AC is the ranged pull, which can be used to wreck enemy players and peel for friendlies.

Powertech PVP @ 20 as Advanced Prototype Spec in Huttball

In this PUG match I led all players with 273k damage, 51 kills, 23 killing blows, and 2 solo kills while using the tanking stance. Not that stats are the most important thing, but this gives you an idea of the offensive capability of the AC.

Vanguard PVP @ 14 as Tactics Spec in Alderaan

PUG match where I discuss the core class mechanics, match tactics, and combat tips.

14. About the Author

I’ve written Guides across multiple MMORPGs, including:

• RIFT Riftblade PVP Guide and M*A*S*H Melee Healer PVP Guide
• The stickied Protection Paladin Cataclysm PVP Guide on the WoW Pally forum. The copy of the Guide on my blog has ~1000 comments. During my time in Cataclysm, I was the only Prot Pally rated 2k+ in the 2v2 and 3v3 Arena brackets in my battlegroup
• Warhammer Online Swordmaster and Bright Wizard Guides and videos
• LOTRO Captain and Orc Reaver Guides and videos

Follow Me

Twitter: @taugrim
Stream: http://twitch.tv/taugrim
YouTube: http://youtube.com/taugrimtaugrim
Facebook: http://facebook.com/taugrim
GAMEBREAKER Host for “The Republic” SWTOR show: http://www.gamebreaker.tv/category/the-republic/

This is my third gameplay / guide video for the Trooper Vanguard / Bounty Hunter Powertech advanced class in Star Wars: The Old Republic. The material covered in this video is relevant to players of Vanguard and Powertech as they’re mirror classes.

The video provides detailed educational commentary on tactics for the Harpoon (Grapple) ability in Huttball, which is a ranged pull that can be used for killing opponents, preventing them from scoring, and peeling for friendly players.

As discussed in the video, to maximize the impact of a pull:

1. you can stun your opponent after pulling them into an acid or fire pit
2. you can spec into the tanking tree to gain a 3-sec root effect

Make sure to not waste your pull ability on a target with a full or a declining Resolve bar as the target is immune to CC in both cases.

To see me PVP’ing live, check out the streaming schedule on TwitchTV. My stream features real-time narration and commentary – and to the extent possible interaction with the Chat Room.

EDIT (2011/01/03): people are asking for my spec, so here it is at level 34:
http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#801ZrsMrRrbzz.1

Note that I’m skipping the Serrated Blades + Combat Tactics talents. I like the Combat Tactics talent but keep in mind you have to invest 4 points to get it. The 3 points in Serrated Blades only buff the DoT portion of Gut by 15%, so Serrated Blades provides a poor return-on-investment. In addition, while leveling with a Tactics spec, High Impact Bolt is usable only once every 15 seconds, so this limits the value of the Combat Tactics talent.

For hybrid 0/23/18 specs, Combat Tactics is definitely worth taking because you get the proc reset of the High Impact Bolt cooldown.

Follow Me

Twitter: @taugrim
Stream: http://twitch.tv/taugrim
YouTube: http://youtube.com/taugrimtaugrim
Facebook: http://facebook.com/taugrim
GAMEBREAKER Host for “The Republic” SWTOR show: http://www.gamebreaker.tv/category/the-republic/

Viewers of my YouTube videos have posted comments similar to this one:

Wait if your level 18 in PvP why is there a level 50? Or is there a way that they even up the fight

SWTOR implements a Bolster PVP mechanic to help lowbies compete with higher-level opponents.

Here’s how Bolster works:

1. Bolster scales your damage / healing tooltips to level 50
2. Bolster scales your stats to level 50
3. Bolster does not provide the talent points that a sub-50 would have earned by 50
4. Bolster does not provide new abilities that are not trainable until a higher level

Does Bolster provide parity for lowbies against higher-level opponents? No, but it does help to minimize the gap and help lowbies to be competitive if not equal.

An interesting implication of #2 is that a low-level player who is geared in solid greens and blues for their level can hit hard in PVP. I’ve put up 200k damage with various RDPS classes at levels 10-12 in PUGs while focusing on winning the match not padding my stats. On an early Sniper stream, I delivered ~9k damage with 3 abilities thanks to crits.

If you keep the same gear across levels, you’ll find that your damage / healing decreases as your level increases. Bolster takes your current stats and scales them as if you were level 50. As such, a level 15 player in 13-15 greens and blues hits harder than a level 40 player in 30 greens for the same ability, assuming it’s not talented (e.g. the armor ignore talent for Powertech / Vanguard in the Advanced Prototype / Tactics tree). Therefore it’s important to keep your gear relatively up-to-date. The other thing to consider is that as classes level up, they gain abilities that provide utility, e.g. CC, buffs, debuffs, etc. What I’ve found as I’ve leveled up my Bounty Hunter Powertech and Trooper Vanguard is that I spend a lower % of GCDs for damage abilities compared to other abilities. While your abilities may hit or heal for less at higher levels, this is more than offset by the increase in utility and survivability gained with talents and abilities.

In addition, from a stats perspective, level 50 characters have access to level 50 PVP gear, which has the PVP stat Expertise. Expertise increases damage / healing and reduces damage takent in PVP, and the stat is not available on lower-level gear. This is a significant advantage for level 50s over level 10s.

In my opinion 10-49 should be one bracket and 50 should be a separate bracket. As I discussed in my streams during Beta, the last thing I want is to face level 10 players when I’m level 50 – it would be unchallenging.

Per the recent Best Buy Dev Chat, BioWare said they’ll be putting level 50s in a separate bracket:

Guest-346: In regards to PvP, are you guys planning on bracketing off level 50′s in warzones once there is a high population of them?

Gaming-BBY: >>Gabe: Yes, stay tuned for a Developer’s Blog with more on this and other PvP features coming soon.

When 50s are moved into their own bracket, I think having 10-49 all together will be fine.

On a related topic, the red buffs in warzones do provide +15% Expertise, so even if you are below level 50 you benefit from getting the buff.

Follow Me

Twitter: @taugrim
Stream: http://twitch.tv/taugrim
YouTube: http://youtube.com/taugrimtaugrim
Facebook: http://facebook.com/taugrim
GAMEBREAKER Host for “The Republic” SWTOR show: http://www.gamebreaker.tv/category/the-republic/

This is my first gameplay / guide video for the Powertech advanced class in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Powertech is the mirror class to the Trooper Vanguard, so the material covered in this video is relevant to players of either class.

The video provides detailed educational commentary on Powertech’s single-target and AOE damage mechanics, CC abilities, defensive tactics, and analysis of match play in Huttball.

Here is the spec used in the video:
http://db.darthhater.com/skill_calc/bounty_hunter/powertech/#::f20efe2f5ef4e2f21

I queued solo for this match and finished with 273k damage, 51 kills (23 killing blows, 2 solo kills), and 15k Protection.

Also included is a clip of my 20 Powertech soloing a 28 Trooper Commando (at 35% health) and 28 Jedi Consular Sage.

Comments / Errata:

1. I sometimes referred to Powertech abilities by their counterpart Vanguard names. E.g. Mortar Volley instead of Death From Above, Gut instead of Retractable Blade
2. the Jedi Consular who punted me was Shadow not Sage spec’d
3. one thing I didn’t mention was Neural Dart. As a Taunt, it debuffs your target’s damage by 30% against any friendly except for you

For more information on Powertech PVP, please refer to my in-depth Guide.

To see me PVP’ing live, check out the streaming schedule on TwitchTV. My stream features real-time narration and commentary – and to the extent possible interaction with the Chat Room.

Follow Me

Twitter: @taugrim
Stream: http://twitch.tv/taugrim
YouTube: http://youtube.com/taugrimtaugrim
Facebook: http://facebook.com/taugrim
GAMEBREAKER Host for “The Republic” SWTOR show: http://www.gamebreaker.tv/category/the-republic/