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:
- you can stun your opponent after pulling them into an acid or fire pit
- 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/
Taugrim's MMO Blog 
Hey Ed , can you post your spec for a pvp vanguard please
Updated the post to include my spec @ 34.
Off the topic of grapple, there has been some Tactics tree bashing lately on the Vanguard forums in favor of alleged higher DPS in the assault tree or a shield/gut spec. I’m sticking with Tactics as I like being in the enemy’s face, but was curious if you tried any of the other specs for your powertech/vanguard.
I am using the same tactics on huttball, but I’m afraid that this will be nerfed or changed soon.
Nah, the map has been specifically designed for cheesy play. It’s intentional. :P
/agree
Many classes have counters to getting pulled.
The “Warrior” ACs can charge out of it.
The clothies can sprint out of it.
A Tactics Vanguard or Advanced Prototype Powertech can sprint out of it.
I really hope so, i love playing around on this map. Its much fun as it is, imho!
Great video…harpoon has been one of my favorites for warzones as well. The only thing I would add is to be aware of the pull where you drag the flag carrier towards your acid pit right when they grab the flag. That’s actually helping them get closer to their goal, and can sometimes pull them out of AOE, away from friendlies who just force leaped on to them etc. It’s still often helpful, but a lvl 50 tank enemy flag carrier with some healing will shrug off the 2ish ticks of acid (untalented harpoon) and thank you for helping them move in the right direction.
Yes, I typically pull them into the acid pit on their side. If they have no one in position and I have a pal waiting near their goal line it’s a score.
Understood and agreed.
I usually pull them into the pit on my side when other friendlies are nearby (e.g. when an opponent picks up the flag at the start of the match). This is also why it’s important note to pull them into the edge of the pit, which is easy to get out of.
Higher-level opponents I often pull into the middle of the acid so that they have to eat the snare and more than 2 ticks.
I like the jump in-and-out of the acid pit to stick them further into it. Helpful for when our stun is on cooldown. Didn’t think of doing that. I have some bridge pulls in Voidstar and the jump path to middle in Alderaan in my last movie. Noticed you were asking about that in your stream last night.
Thanks Oozo. That was great. I like the humor and obviously the skills. The sekret path was a pro tip for sure as well as the voidstar snatches. Gonna find more of your videos also.
Hey, great video! Don’t shut up, keep up the good work. Very entertaining and informative :)
Great video, Tugrim, and good tips. Grapple is great in huttball.
It’s also useful in Alderaan if you’re defending mid and you see enemies crossing under the tunnel to attack your other node, you can pull one up onto the wing ledge and help blunt their attack (and kill him by kiting back to the center node where you have help).
And in Void Star, if you’re at the second set of doors and about to die (with no hope of heals) you can take someone at full health with you if you suicide off the bridge or ledge. That’s a last ditch strategy, but still useful.
Lastly, it’s important to note that pulling someone into acid or fire can be too tempting. It is so much fun, but as your stream viewers know, it’s easy to get caught up in trying to pull off the perfect grapple into a trap. :)