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Powertech/Vanguard DPS Compendium - kray - 12-01-2011 07:43 AM

Powertech/Vanguard DPS Compendium
Updated for Patch 1.1.5

Recent Changes as of 3/12/12:
  • Created the post

Table of Contents:
I. Welcome
II. Powertech/Vanguard Basics III. Specs
IV. Gearing
V. Consumables
VI. Crew Skills


I. Welcome
First off, a huge thank you to the entire community at sithwarrior.com. Previous discussion has been extremely informed and intelligent – let’s keep it that way. Additionally, thank you to Sol for starting the original thread, and the people over in the Game Mechanics forum who continue to completely ignore the lack of combat log and provide us the basis for some serious theorycrafting.

Much of the information in this guide is based off of observance and common sense, but where those fail us, my simulator is used to fill in the gaps. With no combat log and a relatively minimal set of data to work with, I cannot guarantee its accuracy 100%, but I welcome anyone to take a look at it and point out any errors they see.

Much of the format from this guide was taken from Sol and Alratan. <3

--Back to Top--

II. Powertech/Vanguard Basics
IIa. Introduction to the AC
Powertechs and Vanguards are, in my humble opinion, one of the most versatile DPS classes in the game. In addition to the capacity to spec as a tank, PT/VGs have a number of survivability cooldowns, stuns, and DPS cooldowns to fit any situation. Although a subset of Bounty Hunters and Troopers respectively, this class functions as a melee hybrid, spending most of their time in the 4-10 meter range. However, if forced to long range, PT/VGs are able to maintain a respectable DPS with a number of 30-meter attacks.

There are three skill trees available to us: one focused on tanking, one on heavy melee DPS, and one on hybrid melee-ranged. In addition to the standard 31-point specs for each tree, a number of partial or full hybrids can be used to provide additional utility or even more DPS in some situations. All of this is explained in more detail in the appropriate section. For now, some information that applies to all Powertechs and Vanguards.

IIb. Heat / Ammo
Bounty Hunters and Troopers share a similar resource mechanic to the energy of Imperial Agents and Smugglers, with a few key differences. Heat, which is specific to Bounty Hunters, starts at 0 and ranges up to 100. Using abilities generates a certain amount of heat, which is then dissipated passively, with talented procs, or manually using certain abilities. In this sytem, you are unable to activate an ability that would push your heat above 100. Our main source of resource regeneration is passive dissipation, which works on a tiered system; the less heat you have the quicker you’ll dissipate, as noted in the chart below. Heat regenerates one tick every second.

Current Heat
Level		Dissipation
per second
0-405
40-803
80-1002

Troopers, on the other hand, use Ammo. Ammo functions nearly identical to Heat, except it’s inverted. Instead of starting at 0 Ammo, Troopers start with 12 Ammo, which is then consumed by attacks. For all intents and purposes, 1 Ammo is equal to about 8 Heat, and regenerates at the same rates as Bounty Hunters. With this in mind, Trooper Ammo regeneration can be represented as:

Current Ammo
Level		Regeneration
per second
7.2-120.625
2.4-7.20.375
0-2.40.25

Resource regeneration for Powertechs and Vanguards follows these rates at all times, in and out of combat. The passive regeneration rates shown are not affected by any talents or skills, and cannot be slowed or stopped by any external force. Any additional Heat/Ammo regeneration seen in talent trees is added to these numbers.

Using this model for our resources means that we want to always maintain under 40 Heat or over 7.2 Ammo in order to maximize regeneration. This is best done by setting a Heat/Ammo Limit that, once crossed, means you will no longer use any attack that costs resources. The generally accepted Heat/Ammo Limit is 20-25 Heat/2.5-3 Ammo. If you cross this threshold, do not spend any more resources!

One thing to note, however, is the ability Vent Heat
Vent Heat
Bounty Hunter

Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 120 secs
Mirror: Recharge Cells

Rapidly vent 60 heat over <<1[%d seconds/%d second/%d seconds]>>.
/ Recharge Cells
Recharge Cells
Trooper

Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 120 secs
Mirror: Vent Heat

Recharges 6 cells over 3 seconds.
, which regenerates half of your resources over a 3 second interval. With a cooldown of 90seconds, this skill is more of a DPS cooldown than a real resource management tool. The regeneration effect granted is in addition to passive regeneration.

IIc. Cylinders / Cells
Powertechs/Vanguards come equipped with cylinders and cells respectively, acting as self-buff “stances” seen in other MMOs and granting effects based on which buff is currently active. These buffs are:
  • Combustible Gas Cylinder
    Combustible Gas Cylinder
    Bounty Hunter

    Activation time: 2.0 secs
    Damage Type: Elemental
    Mirror: Plasma Cell

    Loads your blaster with combustible gas, giving all of your blaster attacks a 10% chance to deal [?] additional elemental damage over 6 seconds. Only one cylinder can be active at a time.
    / Plasma Cell
    Plasma Cell
    Trooper

    Activation time: 2.0 secs
    Damage Type: Elemental
    Mirror: Combustible Gas Cylinder

    Loads your rifle with a plasma powercell, giving all of your rifle attacks a 10% chance to deal [<1>] additional elemental damage every 3 seconds for 6 seconds. Only one cell can be active at a time.
    – Grants a chance for ranged attacks to proc a powerful DoT on the target
  • High Energy Gas Cylinder/High Energy Cell – Improves internal/elemental damage done.
  • Ion Gas Cylinder
    Ion Gas Cylinder
    Bounty Hunter (Powertech)

    Activation time: 2.0 secs
    Mirror: Ion Cell

    Load your blaster with ion-charged gas. giving ranged attacks a chance to deal <<1>> additional energy damage. While this cylinder is active threat generated is increased by 50%. Increases armor by 60%. decreases all damage taken by 5%. and increases shield chance by 20%. Only one Cylinder can be active at a time. Ion Jolts can only occur once every 1.5 seconds.
    / Ion Cell
    Ion Cell
    Trooper (Vanguard)

    Activation time: 2.0 secs
    Mirror: Ion Gas Cylinder

    Loads your rifle with an ion powercell, giving ranged attacks a 15% chance to deal X additional energy damage. Increases armor by 60%, decreases all damage taken by 5% and increases shield chance by 15%. While Ion Cell is active, threat generated is increased by 50%. Only one cell can be active at a time. Ion Jolts can only occur once every 1.5 seconds.
    – Tanking cylinder which improves defensive stats and adds a chance for a small shock effect to ranged attacks.

In the current design, each talent tree focuses on a single cylinder to do it’s damage: Ion Gas for Shield Tech/Specialist, High Energy for Advanced Prototype/Tactics, and Combustible Gas for Pyrotech/Assault Specialist. Due to this design, and the fact that changing buffs requires a 1.5 second cast, it is not necessary or viable to ever swap cylinders.

IId. Base Abilities
Here is a list of base abilities that you’ll need as a DPS Powertech/Vanguard, full descriptions available in the tooltips.

SINGLE TARGET:
  • Flame Burst
    Flame Burst
    Bounty Hunter (Powertech)

    Range: 10m
    Activation time: Instant
    Damage Type: Elemental
    Mirror: Ion Pulse

    Fires a burst of flame at the target that deals [?] elemental damage.
    / Ion Pulse
    Ion Pulse
    Trooper (Vanguard)

    Ammo: -2
    Range: 10m
    Activation time: Instant
    Damage Type: Elemental
    Mirror: Flame Burst

    Fires an ion pulse at the target, dealing [?] elemental damage.
    [Tech]– Our spammable resource-using tech attack
  • Rail Shot
    Rail Shot
    Bounty Hunter

    Heat: 16
    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 15 secs
    Damage Type: Weapon
    Mirror: High Impact Bolt

    Fires a very powerful shot at the target that deals <<1>> damage. Only useable against incapacitated targets and targets suffering from periodic damage.
    / High Impact Bolt
    High Impact Bolt
    Trooper

    Ammo: -2
    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 15 secs
    Mirror: Rail Shot

    Fires a very powerful round at the target, dealing [<1>] weapon damage. Only usable against incapacitated targets and targets suffering from periodic damage.
    [Ranged]– Powerful ranged attack. Requires a DoT or stun.
  • Rocket Punch
    Rocket Punch
    Bounty Hunter

    Heat: 16
    Range: Melee (4m)
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 9 secs
    Damage Type: Kinetic
    Mirror: Stockstrike

    Close range gauntlet attack that does <<1>> damage.
    / Stockstrike
    Stockstrike
    Trooper

    Ammo: -2
    Range: Melee (4m)
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 9 secs
    Damage Type: Kinetic
    Mirror: Rocket Punch

    Strikes the target with the butt of the rifle, dealing [<1>] kinetic damage.
    [Tech]– Our staple melee ability. Both specs use this to generate procs.
  • Rapid Shots
    Rapid Shots
    Bounty Hunter

    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant
    Damage Type: Weapon
    Mirror: Hammer Shot

    Fires a quick stream of bolts. causing <<1>> damage.
    / Hammer Shot
    Hammer Shot
    Trooper

    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant
    Damage Type: Weapon
    Mirror: Rapid Shots

    Fires a series of hammering shots that deals [<1>] weapon damage to the target.
    [Ranged]– The free, “basic” ranged attack. Low damage, but uses no resources.
  • Shoulder Slam
    Shoulder Slam
    Bounty Hunter

    Range: Melee (4m)
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 45 secs
    Damage Type: Kinetic
    Mirror: Blitz

    Bashes the target, dealing [<1>] kinetic damage to weak and standard targets or [<2>] kinetic damage to strong targets. Only usable on incapacitated targets.
    / Blitz
    Blitz
    Trooper

    Range: Melee (4m)
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 45 secs
    Damage Type: Kinetic
    Mirror: Shoulder Slam

    Bashes the target, dealing [<1>] kinetic damage to weak and standard targets or [<2>] kinetic damage to strong targets. Only usable on incapacitated targets.
    [Tech]– An extremely strong tech attack useable only on stunned weak/normal/strong enemies.
Note: Unload
Unload
Bounty Hunter

Heat: 16
Range: 30m
Channel time: 3.0 secs
Cooldown: 15 secs
Damage Type: Weapon
Mirror: Full Auto

Unload your blaster into the target. dealing <<1>> weapon damage every second. Weak and Standard enemies caught in the blaster fire are stunned for the duration. Fires both blasters if dual wielding.
/ Full Auto
Full Auto
Trooper

Ammo: -2
Range: 30m
Channel time: 3.0 secs
Cooldown: 15 secs
Damage Type: Weapon
Mirror: Unload

Fires a continuous stream of bolts that deals [<1>] weapon damage every second. Weak and standard enemies caught in the blaster fire are stunned for the duration.
and Missile Blast
Missile Blast
Bounty Hunter

Heat: 25
Range: 30m
Activation time: Instant
Damage Type: Kinetic
Mirror: Explosive Round

Deals <<1>> damage to the target and <<2>> additional damage to up to 3 nearby enemies in a 5m radius. If the first target is a weak or standard enemy they are knocked to the ground.
/ Explosive Round
Explosive Round
Trooper

Ammo: -3
Range: 30m
Activation time: Instant
Damage Type: Kinetic
Mirror: Missile Blast

Fires a heavy round that deals [<1>] kinetic damage to the primary target and [<2>] kinetic damage to up to 3 targets within 5 meters. If the primary target is a weak or standard enemy, it is knocked to the ground.
were not included in this list due to their extremely poor scaling and lack of talent support. These attacks are designed for Mercenaries and Commandos, not us.

AOE:
  • Death From Above
    Death From Above
    Bounty Hunter

    Heat: 25
    Range: 5m - 30m
    Channel time: 3.0 secs
    Cooldown: 60 secs
    Damage Type: Kinetic
    Mirror: Mortar Volley

    The Bounty Hunter flies to a safe distance and sprays the area with blaster fire dealing <<1>> damage per second for 3 seconds. finishing with a missile blast which deals <<2>> damage.
    / Mortar Volley
    Mortar Volley
    Trooper

    Ammo: -3
    Range: 5m - 30m
    Channel time: 3.0 secs
    Cooldown: 60 secs
    Damage Type: Kinetic
    Mirror: Death From Above

    Launches a volley of mortar shells at the target area, dealing [<1>] kinetic damage to up to 5 targets within 8 meters over the duration. Standard and weak targets are knocked down by the blasts.
    [Tech]– Our highest damage, channeled tech attack.
  • Explosive Dart
    Explosive Dart
    Bounty Hunter

    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 15 secs
    Damage Type: Kinetic
    Mirror: Sticky Grenade

    Fires a dart that that will detonate after several seconds. Standard and weak enemies enter a state of panic when the dart is active. The explosion deals <<1>> kinetic damage to up to 3 targets. Standard and weak targets are knocked back from the blast.
    / Sticky Grenade
    Sticky Grenade
    Trooper

    Ammo: -2
    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 15 secs
    Damage Type: Kinetic
    Mirror: Explosive Dart

    Throws a sticky grenade that will detonate after several seconds. Standard and weak enemies enter a state of panic when the grenade is active. The explosion deals [<1>] kinetic damage when it detonates. Standard and weak targets are knocked back from the blast.
    [Tech]– An explosion on a 3-second delay.
  • Flame Sweep
    Flame Sweep
    Bounty Hunter

    Heat: 16
    Activation time: Instant
    Damage Type: Elemental
    Mirror: Explosive Surge

    A 360 degree spin that burns up to 3 nearby targets for <<1>> damage.
    / Explosive Surge
    Explosive Surge
    Trooper (Vanguard)

    Ammo: -3
    Range: 5m
    Activation time: Instant
    Damage Type: Elemental
    Mirror: Flame Sweep

    Emits an explosive surge, dealing [?] elemental damage to up to 5 enemies within 5 meters.
    [Tech]– The AoE equivalent of Flame Burst – spammable tech AoE.
  • Flame Thrower
    Flame Thrower
    Bounty Hunter

    Heat: 25
    Range: 10m
    Channel time: 3.0 secs
    Cooldown: 18 secs
    Damage Type: Elemental
    Mirror: Pulse Cannon

    Torches everything in a 10 meter cone with a flamethrower. dealing [?] elemental damage over the duration.
    / Pulse Cannon
    Pulse Cannon
    Trooper

    Ammo: -3
    Channel time: 3.0 secs
    Cooldown: 18 secs
    Damage Type: Elemental
    Mirror: Flame Thrower

    Sprays waves of ionizing energy at targets in a 10-meter cone, dealing [<1>] elemental damage over the duration.
    [Tech]– A channeled 10m cone tech attack.

UTILITY:
  • Determination
    Determination
    Bounty Hunter

    Heat: 8
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 120 secs
    Mirror: Tenacity

    Removes all incapacitating effects.
    / Tenacity
    Tenacity
    Trooper

    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 120 secs
    Mirror: Determination

    Removes all incapacitating and movement-impairing effects.
    – Removes all movement/control impairing effects (knockdown, stun, etc)
  • Kolto Overload
    Kolto Overload
    Bounty Hunter

    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 180 secs
    Mirror: Adrenaline Rush

    Restores 15% of maximum health over 10 seconds.
    / Adrenaline Rush
    Adrenaline Rush
    Trooper

    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 180 secs
    Mirror: Kolto Overload

    Restores 15% of maximum health over 10 seconds.
    – A relatively weak instant self-heal for 10%, followed by 5% more over a few seconds.
  • Quell
    Quell
    Bounty Hunter

    Heat: 8
    Range: Melee (4m)
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 8 secs

    Interrupts the target's current action and prevents that ability from being used for the next 4 seconds.
    /Riot Strike – Melee interrupt.
Note: Taunts and stuns were not included on this list – they are used far too situationally to warrant mention.

IIe. Cooldowns
The following are DPS-enhancing cooldowns available to us:
  • Explosive Fuel
    Explosive Fuel
    Bounty Hunter

    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 120 secs

    Increases crit chance by 25% for <<1[%d seconds/%d second/%d seconds]>>.
    /Battle Focus
  • Thermal Sensor Override
    Thermal Sensor Override
    Bounty Hunter

    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 120 secs

    Your next ability generates no heat. Effect lasts <<1[%d seconds/%d second/%d seconds]>>.
    / Reserve Powercell
    Reserve Powercell
    Trooper

    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 120 secs

    Your next ability's energy cell cost is reduced by 100%. Effect lasts 15 seconds.
  • Vent Heat
    Vent Heat
    Bounty Hunter

    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 120 secs
    Mirror: Recharge Cells

    Rapidly vent 60 heat over <<1[%d seconds/%d second/%d seconds]>>.
    / Recharge Cells
    Recharge Cells
    Trooper

    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 120 secs
    Mirror: Vent Heat

    Recharges 6 cells over 3 seconds.
In order to achieve maximum usage, these abilities should be used in line with each other and adrenals or Bloodthirst/Inspiration whenever possible, and used immediately when available if no combinations are available. During a cooldown phase when you have one or more of these effects active, you’ll want to ignore your resource limit to quickly build up to a high Heat/low Ammo level, at which point use Vent Heat to return to normal resource levels and continue with your standard priority list. If Vent Heat is not available, do not be tempted to dip into the second tier of resource regeneration while your cooldowns are active… this will lead to an overall DPS loss!

--Back to Top--

III. Specs
IIIa. Advanced Prototype/Tactics
There is only one widely-accepted spec for AP/Tac characters to use.
TALENTED ABILITIES:
AP/Tac gains 2 special abilities in their tree.
  • Retractable Blade/Gut [Tech]– A melee DoT attack, that, when talented, has a chance to make Rail Shot automatically crit.
  • Immolate
    Immolate
    Bounty Hunter (Powertech)

    Range: 10m
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 150 secs

    Sprays the target with fuel and ignites it into a fireball that deals [?] elemental damage.
    /Fire Pulse [Tech]– An extremely cheap elemental attack which guarantees a free Rocket Punch. Think of it as a beefed up Flame Burst
    Flame Burst
    Bounty Hunter (Powertech)

    Range: 10m
    Activation time: Instant
    Damage Type: Elemental
    Mirror: Ion Pulse

    Fires a burst of flame at the target that deals [?] elemental damage.
    / Ion Pulse
    Ion Pulse
    Trooper (Vanguard)

    Ammo: -2
    Range: 10m
    Activation time: Instant
    Damage Type: Elemental
    Mirror: Flame Burst

    Fires an ion pulse at the target, dealing [?] elemental damage.
    .

CYLINDER:
The self-buff you’ll use in this spec is High Energy Gas Cylinder. By default you’ll gain +5% Internal/Elemental damage dealt, and when properly specced you’ll gain an additional 3% on top of a constant resource regeneration buff (a key factor to the spec).

PRIORITY LIST:
The general single target priority for us here is as follows
  1. Retractable Blade/Gut
  2. Flame Thrower
    Flame Thrower
    Bounty Hunter

    Heat: 25
    Range: 10m
    Channel time: 3.0 secs
    Cooldown: 18 secs
    Damage Type: Elemental
    Mirror: Pulse Cannon

    Torches everything in a 10 meter cone with a flamethrower. dealing [?] elemental damage over the duration.
    / Pulse Cannon
    Pulse Cannon
    Trooper

    Ammo: -3
    Channel time: 3.0 secs
    Cooldown: 18 secs
    Damage Type: Elemental
    Mirror: Flame Thrower

    Sprays waves of ionizing energy at targets in a 10-meter cone, dealing [<1>] elemental damage over the duration.
  3. Rail Shot
    Rail Shot
    Bounty Hunter

    Heat: 16
    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 15 secs
    Damage Type: Weapon
    Mirror: High Impact Bolt

    Fires a very powerful shot at the target that deals <<1>> damage. Only useable against incapacitated targets and targets suffering from periodic damage.
    / High Impact Bolt
    High Impact Bolt
    Trooper

    Ammo: -2
    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 15 secs
    Mirror: Rail Shot

    Fires a very powerful round at the target, dealing [<1>] weapon damage. Only usable against incapacitated targets and targets suffering from periodic damage.
    (Procced)
  4. Rocket Punch
    Rocket Punch
    Bounty Hunter

    Heat: 16
    Range: Melee (4m)
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 9 secs
    Damage Type: Kinetic
    Mirror: Stockstrike

    Close range gauntlet attack that does <<1>> damage.
    / Stockstrike
    Stockstrike
    Trooper

    Ammo: -2
    Range: Melee (4m)
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 9 secs
    Damage Type: Kinetic
    Mirror: Rocket Punch

    Strikes the target with the butt of the rifle, dealing [<1>] kinetic damage.
    (Procced)
  5. Immolate
    Immolate
    Bounty Hunter (Powertech)

    Range: 10m
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 150 secs

    Sprays the target with fuel and ignites it into a fireball that deals [?] elemental damage.
    /Fire Pulse
  6. Rocket Punch
    Rocket Punch
    Bounty Hunter

    Heat: 16
    Range: Melee (4m)
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 9 secs
    Damage Type: Kinetic
    Mirror: Stockstrike

    Close range gauntlet attack that does <<1>> damage.
    / Stockstrike
    Stockstrike
    Trooper

    Ammo: -2
    Range: Melee (4m)
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 9 secs
    Damage Type: Kinetic
    Mirror: Rocket Punch

    Strikes the target with the butt of the rifle, dealing [<1>] kinetic damage.
  7. Rail Shot
    Rail Shot
    Bounty Hunter

    Heat: 16
    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 15 secs
    Damage Type: Weapon
    Mirror: High Impact Bolt

    Fires a very powerful shot at the target that deals <<1>> damage. Only useable against incapacitated targets and targets suffering from periodic damage.
    / High Impact Bolt
    High Impact Bolt
    Trooper

    Ammo: -2
    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 15 secs
    Mirror: Rail Shot

    Fires a very powerful round at the target, dealing [<1>] weapon damage. Only usable against incapacitated targets and targets suffering from periodic damage.
  8. Flame Burst
    Flame Burst
    Bounty Hunter (Powertech)

    Range: 10m
    Activation time: Instant
    Damage Type: Elemental
    Mirror: Ion Pulse

    Fires a burst of flame at the target that deals [?] elemental damage.
    / Ion Pulse
    Ion Pulse
    Trooper (Vanguard)

    Ammo: -2
    Range: 10m
    Activation time: Instant
    Damage Type: Elemental
    Mirror: Flame Burst

    Fires an ion pulse at the target, dealing [?] elemental damage.

This may look complicated, but it’s truly not. Keep Retractable Blade/Gut up at all times, take care of your procced attacks, then follow a simple priority order.

With Flame Thrower/Pulse Cannon, you have 2 options: use it immediately every cooldown or wait until 5 stacks of Prototype Flame Thrower/Pulse Generator. Though it is technically a DPS increase to wait for 5 stacks, the increase is extremely minor (~1% with BiS gear), so just use it whenever you feel like it. HOWEVER, it is a definite DPS LOSS to sit on 5 stacks of the buff and never cast Flame Thrower, so don’t delay it any longer than you have to.

AoE as as AP/Tac is a bit fluid, specifically due to Prototype FT/Pulse Gen. Typically, you’ll want to open with Death from Above
Death From Above
Bounty Hunter

Heat: 25
Range: 5m - 30m
Channel time: 3.0 secs
Cooldown: 60 secs
Damage Type: Kinetic
Mirror: Mortar Volley

The Bounty Hunter flies to a safe distance and sprays the area with blaster fire dealing <<1>> damage per second for 3 seconds. finishing with a missile blast which deals <<2>> damage.
/ Mortar Volley
Mortar Volley
Trooper

Ammo: -3
Range: 5m - 30m
Channel time: 3.0 secs
Cooldown: 60 secs
Damage Type: Kinetic
Mirror: Death From Above

Launches a volley of mortar shells at the target area, dealing [<1>] kinetic damage to up to 5 targets within 8 meters over the duration. Standard and weak targets are knocked down by the blasts.
and Explosive Dart
Explosive Dart
Bounty Hunter

Range: 30m
Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 15 secs
Damage Type: Kinetic
Mirror: Sticky Grenade

Fires a dart that that will detonate after several seconds. Standard and weak enemies enter a state of panic when the dart is active. The explosion deals <<1>> kinetic damage to up to 3 targets. Standard and weak targets are knocked back from the blast.
/ Sticky Grenade
Sticky Grenade
Trooper

Ammo: -2
Range: 30m
Activation time: Instant
Cooldown: 15 secs
Damage Type: Kinetic
Mirror: Explosive Dart

Throws a sticky grenade that will detonate after several seconds. Standard and weak enemies enter a state of panic when the grenade is active. The explosion deals [<1>] kinetic damage when it detonates. Standard and weak targets are knocked back from the blast.
, then decide whether or not the enemies will be alive long enough to get two FT/PCs off. If so, hit FT/PC immediately, then stack the damage buff as quickly as possible to fire off a fully buffed followup.

STAT WEIGHTS:
As always, you should generate your OWN STAT WEIGHTS for your particular gear set. Depending on your ratings, you might see wildly different results than I post here. These stats are generated using the default gearsets with NO modifications switched out, to be viewed as ROUGH GUIDELINES. As your gear changes, so do the weights.
(All weights given in Aim Equivalence Points)

Tionese:
Surge > Aim > Power > Tech Power > Crit > Accuracy
    StatAEP
    Surge1.45
    Aim1.00
    Power0.87
    Tech Power0.71
    Crit0.54
    Accuracy0.17

Columi:
Aim >= Power > Surge > Tech Power > Crit > Accuracy
    StatAEP
    Aim1.00
    Power0.94
    Surge0.79
    Tech Power0.73
    Crit0.54
    Accuracy0.12

Rakata:
Aim > Power > Surge >= Tech Power > Crit > Accuracy
    StatAEP
    Aim1.00
    Power0.88
    Surge0.76
    Tech Power0.73
    Crit0.64
    Accuracy0.14

PERFORMANCE / NOTES:
Unfortunately, Advanced Prototype/Tactics lags a bit behind Pyrotech/Assault in damage output, pumping out around 1500 DPS in top end gear compared to Pyro’s 1650. Not only that, but it’s much more reliant on staying in melee range.

The saving grace, however, is that resource management in AP/Tac is almost completely negligible. Due to the low cost of Immolate/Fire Pulse and the passive regen granted by Cylinder Ventilation/Cell Generator, you can go an extremely long time without ever having to fire your basic attack. AP/Tac is the “easier” of the two specs, but has much steadier DPS and is nowhere near as proc-reliant. If you find yourself overheating constantly as a Pyro/Assault or want a more reliable output, definitely go with this spec.

--Back to Top--

IIIb. Pyrotech/Assault Specialist
There are 3 widely-accepted specs that Pyro/Assaults use right now.
    7/5/28 (+1) (Powertech / Vanguard)– Highest theoretical DPS. Sacrifices Thermal Detonator
    Thermal Detonator
    Bounty Hunter (Mercenary)

    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 150 secs

    Hurls a thermal detonator that adheres to the target and detonates after several seconds. Standard and weak enemies enter a state of panic while the explosive is active. The explosion deals [?] kinetic damage when it detonates. Standard and weak targets are knocked back from the blast. Shares a 15 second cooldown with Explosive Dart.
    /Assault Plastique for all the basic percentage boosts possible. The final point can be placed to get 3% Aim or 3% Tech Crit at your discretion -- there's no discernible DPS difference between the two.
    4/6/31 (Powertech / Vanguard) – Takes TD/AP and 3% tech crit.
    8/2/31 (Powertech / Vanguard) – Takes TD/AP and 9% Aim.

Choosing what spec is mostly a matter of preference. The 28-point build provides the highest theoretical DPS, but at the expense of utility and a 30m range attack. If you find yourself at max range often doing nothing but your basic attack, try out a 31-point build and use TD/AP as an “oh crap, I’m far away and have nothing better to use” attack. In BiS gear, the difference between a 31pt and a 28pt build is about 50 DPS (1600 vs 1650).

Between the 31 point builds, I recommend 8/2/31 for anyone over 1700 Aim (while buffed & stimmed). Otherwise, I recommend 4/6/31.

TALENTED ABILITIES:
Pyrotechs/Assault Specs gain 2 special abilities in their tree.
  • Incendiary Missile
    Incendiary Missile
    Bounty Hunter (Mercenary)

    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant

    Fires a missile that explodes on contact, igniting the target for [?] elemental damage and an additional [?] elemental damage over 18 seconds.
    /Incendiary Round [Tech]– A moderate damage DoT effect that mainly exists to ensure Pyrotechs always have a burn effect up on our target, as many talents and attacks require it.
  • Thermal Detonator
    Thermal Detonator
    Bounty Hunter (Mercenary)

    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 150 secs

    Hurls a thermal detonator that adheres to the target and detonates after several seconds. Standard and weak enemies enter a state of panic while the explosive is active. The explosion deals [?] kinetic damage when it detonates. Standard and weak targets are knocked back from the blast. Shares a 15 second cooldown with Explosive Dart.
    /Assault Plastique [Tech]– A single-target only replacement for Explosive Dart/Sticky Grenade. Though it hits hard and scales well, it is mitigated by Armor and typically not worth using unless you’re stuck at range.

CYLINDER:
The self-buff used by this spec is Combustible Gas Cylinder
Combustible Gas Cylinder
Bounty Hunter

Activation time: 2.0 secs
Damage Type: Elemental
Mirror: Plasma Cell

Loads your blaster with combustible gas, giving all of your blaster attacks a 10% chance to deal [?] additional elemental damage over 6 seconds. Only one cylinder can be active at a time.
/ Plasma Cell
Plasma Cell
Trooper

Activation time: 2.0 secs
Damage Type: Elemental
Mirror: Combustible Gas Cylinder

Loads your rifle with a plasma powercell, giving all of your rifle attacks a 10% chance to deal [<1>] additional elemental damage every 3 seconds for 6 seconds. Only one cell can be active at a time.
, which has a chance to proc a heavy-hitting DoT effect that ends up doing about a quarter of our overall damage! Talented properly, Flame Burst/Ion Pulse will *always* proc this effect, and Rail Shot/High Impact Bolt will refresh it.

If talented into Prototype Cylinders/Blaster Augs, CGC/PC also grants 3% Tech critical chance.

PRIORITY LIST:
For single target fights, your priority list should be as follows:
  1. Incendiary Missile
    Incendiary Missile
    Bounty Hunter (Mercenary)

    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant

    Fires a missile that explodes on contact, igniting the target for [?] elemental damage and an additional [?] elemental damage over 18 seconds.
    /Incendiary Round
  2. Rail Shot
    Rail Shot
    Bounty Hunter

    Heat: 16
    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 15 secs
    Damage Type: Weapon
    Mirror: High Impact Bolt

    Fires a very powerful shot at the target that deals <<1>> damage. Only useable against incapacitated targets and targets suffering from periodic damage.
    / High Impact Bolt
    High Impact Bolt
    Trooper

    Ammo: -2
    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 15 secs
    Mirror: Rail Shot

    Fires a very powerful round at the target, dealing [<1>] weapon damage. Only usable against incapacitated targets and targets suffering from periodic damage.
  3. Rocket Punch
    Rocket Punch
    Bounty Hunter

    Heat: 16
    Range: Melee (4m)
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 9 secs
    Damage Type: Kinetic
    Mirror: Stockstrike

    Close range gauntlet attack that does <<1>> damage.
    / Stockstrike
    Stockstrike
    Trooper

    Ammo: -2
    Range: Melee (4m)
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 9 secs
    Damage Type: Kinetic
    Mirror: Rocket Punch

    Strikes the target with the butt of the rifle, dealing [<1>] kinetic damage.
  4. Flame Burst
    Flame Burst
    Bounty Hunter (Powertech)

    Range: 10m
    Activation time: Instant
    Damage Type: Elemental
    Mirror: Ion Pulse

    Fires a burst of flame at the target that deals [?] elemental damage.
    / Ion Pulse
    Ion Pulse
    Trooper (Vanguard)

    Ammo: -2
    Range: 10m
    Activation time: Instant
    Damage Type: Elemental
    Mirror: Flame Burst

    Fires an ion pulse at the target, dealing [?] elemental damage.

Please note, using Thermal Detonator/Assault Plastique is currently a slight DPS LOSS, unless you're stuck at range.

Keep Incendiary Missile/Round up, use Rail Shot/HIB every time you can, and fill with Rocket Punch/Stockstrike and Flame Burst/Ion Pulse, waiting for Prototype Particle Accelerator/Ionic Accelerator to proc.

For AoE fights, your priority list should be as follows:
  1. Death from Above
    Death From Above
    Bounty Hunter

    Heat: 25
    Range: 5m - 30m
    Channel time: 3.0 secs
    Cooldown: 60 secs
    Damage Type: Kinetic
    Mirror: Mortar Volley

    The Bounty Hunter flies to a safe distance and sprays the area with blaster fire dealing <<1>> damage per second for 3 seconds. finishing with a missile blast which deals <<2>> damage.
    / Mortar Volley
    Mortar Volley
    Trooper

    Ammo: -3
    Range: 5m - 30m
    Channel time: 3.0 secs
    Cooldown: 60 secs
    Damage Type: Kinetic
    Mirror: Death From Above

    Launches a volley of mortar shells at the target area, dealing [<1>] kinetic damage to up to 5 targets within 8 meters over the duration. Standard and weak targets are knocked down by the blasts.
  2. Flame Thrower
    Flame Thrower
    Bounty Hunter

    Heat: 25
    Range: 10m
    Channel time: 3.0 secs
    Cooldown: 18 secs
    Damage Type: Elemental
    Mirror: Pulse Cannon

    Torches everything in a 10 meter cone with a flamethrower. dealing [?] elemental damage over the duration.
    / Pulse Cannon
    Pulse Cannon
    Trooper

    Ammo: -3
    Channel time: 3.0 secs
    Cooldown: 18 secs
    Damage Type: Elemental
    Mirror: Flame Thrower

    Sprays waves of ionizing energy at targets in a 10-meter cone, dealing [<1>] elemental damage over the duration.
  3. Explosive Dart
    Explosive Dart
    Bounty Hunter

    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 15 secs
    Damage Type: Kinetic
    Mirror: Sticky Grenade

    Fires a dart that that will detonate after several seconds. Standard and weak enemies enter a state of panic when the dart is active. The explosion deals <<1>> kinetic damage to up to 3 targets. Standard and weak targets are knocked back from the blast.
    / Sticky Grenade
    Sticky Grenade
    Trooper

    Ammo: -2
    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 15 secs
    Damage Type: Kinetic
    Mirror: Explosive Dart

    Throws a sticky grenade that will detonate after several seconds. Standard and weak enemies enter a state of panic when the grenade is active. The explosion deals [<1>] kinetic damage when it detonates. Standard and weak targets are knocked back from the blast.

At this point, begin tab-targetting and hitting Flame Burst/Ion Pulse to apply your DoT to everyone you can, using Rail Shot/HIB when it procs, and using your AoEs as they come off cooldown.

STAT WEIGHTS:
As always, you should generate your OWN STAT WEIGHTS for your particular gear set. Depending on your ratings, you might see wildly different results than I post here. These stats are generated using the default gearsets with NO modifications switched out, to be viewed as ROUGH GUIDELINES. As your gear changes, so do the weights.
(All weights given in Aim Equivalence Points)

Tionese:
Surge > Aim > Power > Crit = Tech Power > Accuracy
    StatAEP
    Surge1.23
    Aim1.00
    Power0.85
    Crit0.61
    Tech Power0.61
    Accuracy0.35

Columi:
Aim > Power > Surge >= Crit > Tech Power > Accuracy
    StatAEP
    Aim1.00
    Power0.87
    Surge0.70
    Crit0.64
    Tech Power0.60
    Accuracy0.35

Rakata:
Aim > Power > Crit = Surge > Tech Power > Accuracy
    StatAEP
    Aim1.00
    Power0.86
    Crit0.73
    Surge0.73
    Tech Power0.63
    Accuracy0.30

PERFORMANCE / NOTES:
Pyro/Assault, specifically the 28 point build, contains the highest DPS possible for Powertechs and Vanguards right now. However, that DPS comes at a cost – managing your resources is pointedly more challenging than Advanced Prototype/Tactics, and you’ll find yourself using your basic attack quite a bit more often as you wait for your resources. In top end, BiS gear, you’ll be hitting around 1650 DPS in an ideal fight.

As far as playstyle goes, these specs benefit from a relatively low reliance on melee attacks, and can still output most of their damage from a 10m range. Damage output is very proc-reliant, however, and you’ll see a significant difference in your damage between multiple short fights.

IIIc. Tank/DPS Hybrids
x/x/x - Carolina Parakeet:
Info on this spec coming soon!

--Back to Top--

IV. Gearing
As noted above in the specs section, there are 3 tiers of PvE gear available in-game right now: Tionese, Columi, and Rakata. Conveniently enough, these all share the same set bonus and are interchangeable, meaning that you can replace Tionese Boots with Columi Boots and not lose your set bonus. The set name for Powertech/Vanguards is Combat Tech, and there’s no real reason for you to use anything else.
  • Combat Tech 2-Piece – Reduce the cooldown of Explosive Fuel
    Explosive Fuel
    Bounty Hunter

    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 120 secs

    Increases crit chance by 25% for <<1[%d seconds/%d second/%d seconds]>>.
    /Battle Focus by 15sec
  • Combat Tech 4-Piece – Increase the damage of Rail Shot
    Rail Shot
    Bounty Hunter

    Heat: 16
    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 15 secs
    Damage Type: Weapon
    Mirror: High Impact Bolt

    Fires a very powerful shot at the target that deals <<1>> damage. Only useable against incapacitated targets and targets suffering from periodic damage.
    / High Impact Bolt
    High Impact Bolt
    Trooper

    Ammo: -2
    Range: 30m
    Activation time: Instant
    Cooldown: 15 secs
    Mirror: Rail Shot

    Fires a very powerful round at the target, dealing [<1>] weapon damage. Only usable against incapacitated targets and targets suffering from periodic damage.
    by 8%

As far as stats go, I’ve said it twice and will say it a hundred times: there are no real set stat weights. Because crit, surge, accuracy, and even Aim experience some form of diminishing returns from the very first point, it’s impossible to tell you what will be best without knowing your current gear. If you look at the Tionese weights I listed above and stack Surge to 500 rating, you will be shooting yourself in the foot, and nowhere near as good as if you had put some thought into things.

That said, you’ll want to get your Surge to a decent level (around 200), then stack as much Power, Surge, and Crit as possible, ensuring to not let one stat get too far ahead of the others. Accuracy is universally our worst stat, as most of our attacks are Tech based and thus cannot miss.

--Back to Top--

V. Consumables
There are two types of DPS-enhancing consumables available in the game right now.

Stims
Stims are the “flasks” of SWTOR – large stat boosts that last an hour or more, giving you a boost for entire Operations or Flashpoints. Buying stims is the single largest DPS boost you can get from a single item! The type of stims we use are Reflex stims, and give either Aim or both Aim and Power.

The best rank of stim available is the Exotech Reflex Stim.

Adrenals
If stims are flasks, then adrenals are potions. You can use one of these every 3 minutes for a temporary huge stat boost, best lined up with other cooldowns. There are 3 types of adrenals available: Attack (Power), Crit (Crit), and Force (Surge). If your critical multiplier is under 60%, definitely go with Force adrenals, otherwise stick with Attack. Remember, Power isn’t hit by diminishing returns, so you’ll benefit from every point.

The best rank of adrenal available is the Exotech Attack/Crit/Force Adrenal.

--Back to Top--

VI. Crew Skills
Not much to say on Crew Skills right now. Check back in 1.2 after the rebalancing for some actual information.

RE: Powertech/Vanguard DPS Compendium - Xorak - 12-09-2011 05:23 AM

Friend of mine started working on one here. Has some nice info and a good read.

http://empirebailbonds.enjin.com/forum/m/2182173/viewthread/1741902-bounty-hunter-powertech-advanced-prototype-dps-compendium

RE: Powertech/Vanguard DPS Compendium - ArgentusRex - 12-13-2011 03:15 AM

Quote:Friend of mine started working on one here. Has some nice info and a good read.

http://empirebailbonds.enjin.com/forum/m...compendium

Quote:Beginning of Fight:
Death From Above --> Explosive Dart --> Flame Thrower --> Rail Shot

After this you will have to prioritize your moves according to cooldown. I generally like to follow Flame Thrower up with a Flame Burst.
Rail Shot is also amazingly effective after Retractable Blade because you have 15seconds to utilize your Rail Shot.

Other moves to throw into your rotation:
1.) Retractable Blade
2.) Rocket Punch
3.) Shoulder Slam
4.) Immolate

Depending on your play style you can sprinkle in other abilities and buffs as well.

He has basically listed the PT talents/abilities, provided minimal useful commentary, and proceeded to come up with some "rotation" that is more likely to confuse anyone than help them... Moves to "throw in" to your rotation? Really? No mention of prototype flamethrower? Among other things...
He also doesn't mention the fundamental underlying concept of the heat system, namely that you have to maintain it at around ~>40 heat for optimal regeneration. There are just the first couple things I noticed.

I'd recommend anyone making their way into this thread to hold out for Sol's compendium. If all you're looking for is a spec, mess around with http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#301hMhZMsMrRrfkzsZb.1 . You have a couple filler points in the AP tree but I'm pretty sure the best way to spend them is to decrease the CD on your interrupt (Quell) and grab Kolto Vents. 6 CD on Quell lets you shutdown any interruptible mobs almost completely and Kolto Vents COULD come in handy depending on the mechanics of a fight. Certainly better than 10% less damage while stunned, a 5s shorter CD on your stun, or 1% less damage, which are the alternatives.

RE: Powertech/Vanguard DPS Compendium - Sol - 12-14-2011 03:20 PM

Hey guys the guide is up. There are some tooltip links not working as they are yet to be entered in the database, however the mirror is there to look at in almost every case. I'll try to get the DB updated in the next week.

If there are any mistakes or inconsistencies I apologise in advance, as I only constructed the guide to have some reliable matierial for launch. It isn't as fleshed out as my others, however I'm confidant that 95% of the material is appropriate and it's a great base to start the discussion off with.

We are also looking for someone with the knowledge, skill and desire to maintain it going forward. If you think you're that guy or girl then please have a chat to Alratan or Master Killer. Remember, this place is only as good as those that take part so please, help out if you can and help make the site even better =)

RE: Powertech/Vanguard DPS Compendium - Isawa_Chuckles - 12-25-2011 05:37 AM

>This entire post is for Advanced Prototype

I don't know if I necessarily agree with holding on to Railshot and Rocket Punch for only when you have a proc available. Their Damage Per Cooldown/Heat are on the order of 3-4 times higher than Flame Burst filler even *without* procs (This being, of course, dependent on the Resistance percentages Bioware gives the bosses. However, even up through 63-70% Physical Resist/0% Elemental resist, Rocket Punch maintains superiority without proc, and Rail Shot maintains superiority even further.

Two out of three rocket punches will naturally have their cost reduced to 0 by Immolating on cooldown. The remaining one will likely have 3ish Flame Bursts leading into it, for a decent shot at being free. And barring being free, it's still more efficient than pretty much anything you'd be casting on its GCD slot anyhow (Barring Immolate and Rail Shot, which is are efficient, but I'd probably push the Rail Shot to the next GCD in hopes of getting the 25% crit buff... but not much further).

The only two abilities you have that can proc critical Rail Shots are on a 9 second cooldown and an action that becomes progressively less efficient DPC/H the earlier than 15 seconds you hit it again. You have a high likelihood of casting 1 Normal Railshot and 1 Autocrit railshot casting Railshot on Cooldown, in the time you'd spend waiting on the auto-crit proc.

I am also not really liking Flame Thrower single target, even with the 50% damage bonus. With the bonus, it's more efficient than Flame Burst, and about the same efficiency as Rectractable Blade; however, it eats two cooldowns worth of time. If you have a spot where you'd be doing Flame Burst->Rapid Shots, a 5-charge Flamethrower is probably a good replacement for that attack series.

Also, the Mercenary DPS thread has people posting that the Heat Venting chart on live is actually 0-40: 5//40-80: 3//80-100:2. This gives you 40 points of heat to play with, rather than 20.

Right now what I'm looking at for "sustained" (AKA, after the initial "max out heat and vent it" opening) is something like this (1 minute presented). The fourth Rocket Punch at 30 seconds has 4 Flame Bursts leading into it with a 30% chance each to proc free rocket punch. If that doesn't actually proc, you can decide on your toes how you want to modify things, either by turning the next FB or two into Rapid Shots, or switching the Rocket Punch with the Rapid Shots that would normally come at 36 seconds, and changing the 39 rocket punch into a flame burst. If you have Vent Heat up, you could also just bull ahead using Rocket Punch and replace Rapid Shots instances with Flame Burst instances. Again, this is just a rough approximation of a sustained cycle in a 1 minute snapshot. As with anything else, fight mechanics/human input will make holding to a perfectly executed rotation both unlikely and often, the attempt to do so will actually impact the player's performance negatively. Flexibility and adaptation to situations created by boss abilities/lag/player error is paramount. There will be times when you could flameburst a dozen times without getting a Free Rocket Punch. Still, it helps to have a decent idea of how one's resource management "might" look if things are going smoothly:
RP=Rocket Punch
RB=Rectractable Blade
RS=Rail Shot
I=Immolate
FB=Flame Burst
RSh=Rapid Shots

RP>RB>RS>I>FB>RSh>RP>FB>RSh>FB>RSh>RB>RS>I>RP>FBx3>RSh>FB>RP>RB>RS>I>RSh>FB>RP>FB>RSh>FB>RSh>RB>RS>I>RP>FBx2>RSh>FBx2>RP
0: Rocket Punch [16]
1.5: Rectractable Blade [27H]
3.0: Rail Shot [33H]
4.5: Immolate [36H]
6.0: Flame Burst [34H]
7.5: Rapid Shots [29H]
9: Rocket Punch [19H]
10.5: Flame Burst [30H]
12: Rapid Shots [12H]
13.5: Flame Burst [23H]
15: Rapid Shots [13H]
16.5: Retractable Blade [24H]
18: Rail Shot [22H]
19.5: Immolate [25H]
21: Rocket Punch [15H]
22.5: Flame Burst [26H]
24: Flame Burst [24H]
25.5: Flame Burst [35H]
27: Rapid Shots [25H]
28.5: Flame Burst [36H]
30: Rocket Punch [18H]
31.5: Retractable Blade [29H]
33: Rail Shot [35H]
34.5: Immolate [38H]
36: Rapid Shots [20H]
37.5: Flame Burst [31H]
39: Rocket Punch [21H]
40.5: Flame Burst [32H]
42: Rapid Shots [14H]
43.5: Flame Burst [25H]
45: Rapid Shots [15H]
46.5: Rectractable Blade [26H]
48: Rail Shot [24H]
49.5: Immolate [27H]
51: Rocket Punch [17H]
52.5: Flame Burst [28H]
54: Flame Burst [26H]
55.5: Rapid Shots [21H]
57: Flame Burst [27H]
58.5: Flame Burst [38H]
60: Rocket Punch [20H]

Choosing mods might also end up annoying for maximizing gear. 110% accuracy is of great important, but we face issues when it comes to the other stats. Several of our abilities have increased critical damage, which would nod towards +Crit Chance being good; however our most efficient spell, Rail Shot, has 2 chances per cycle of being an auto-crit, which undermines the value of +Crit chance, and supports Surge as a statistic (although with the unreliability of the auto-crit, I am loathe to actually mod for surge). Stacking power seems like it would probably be a decent way to approach the issue of Crit Chance doing less for our biggest nuke. With no cast times except Flame Thrower, Alacrity is just bleh. Although if you run Flamethrower for single target, I'd guess there's probably an Alacrity breakpoint where it's efficient enough to be cool. I'm guessing we're going to end up at Accuracy (to 110)>Power>Crit>Surge, with crit and surge value changing relative to each other.

Also, for the love of god Bioware, let me have my UI mods. Hiding our Heat and Regeneration mechanics in a little bar on the edge of the screen makes me want to headbutt people. Also need timers to track the 8heat/6second combat cylinder effect so that you can line up abilities properly.

Other than those little quibbles, thank you for the compendium, it's very helpful Smile No matter how the maths work out, at least we know Powertech/Vanguard gets 100% of the coolpoints for dousing people in oil and then lighting them on fire Wink

RE: Powertech/Vanguard DPS Compendium - GWARRR - 12-25-2011 06:42 AM

(12-25-2011 05:37 AM)Isawa_Chuckles Wrote:  Also, for the love of god Bioware, let me have my UI mods. Hiding our Heat and Regeneration mechanics in a little bar on the edge of the screen makes me want to headbutt people

As long as you memorize the heat regen table (a few values, so it shouldn't be too much trouble), I believe you can check off "Show Player Information" (don't remember for sure, but I'm pretty sure it's that) in the UI portion of Preferences so that you can see your exact Heat/HP values. It alleviates the problem a fair bit.

RE: Powertech/Vanguard DPS Compendium - danoobsminion - 12-26-2011 08:31 AM

I'm not a Powertech, but I assume the heat table is the same. If so needs to be updated on this compendium to match the Arsenal/Gunnery table.

RE: Powertech/Vanguard DPS Compendium - KayGBee - 12-31-2011 10:29 PM

Not much activitiy in this thread. Most seems to be in Merc/Arsenal

Are not many people choosing this option? I wonder why. I'm enjoying burning things. I'm finding that I definitely need to keep moving. Shifting between close and mid to cycle through abilities.

I'm only 34 so far and I'm able to hold my own against multiple enemies, and I feel I am putting out good DPS.

Speaking of which, has anyone figured out a way to gauge DPS? Regardless of spec across the board we would like to know how we are doing. Any thoughts?

RE: Powertech/Vanguard DPS Compendium - Slashinator - 01-01-2012 08:11 PM

(12-31-2011 10:29 PM)KayGBee Wrote:  Speaking of which, has anyone figured out a way to gauge DPS? Regardless of spec across the board we would like to know how we are doing. Any thoughts?

There's not really any way of gauging DPS until we at least get some form of combat logging. Until that point its all just conjecture based on how big your numbers look on screen.

RE: Powertech/Vanguard DPS Compendium - Oyxl - 01-04-2012 01:40 AM

Quote:
Notice: You will find that I've used statistics in the below calculation, that do not match the build suggested in the OP (Link). I've decided to leave this be for the moment, since it shows the outcome if you wouldn't take Thermal Detonator and instead spent those points in my suggested talents (Link).

So it's basically Thermal Detonator Spec versus Flame Burst Spec.

Assuming that:
- The following spec is used: http://db.darthhater.com/skill_calc/bounty_hunter/powertech/#::fef5ef5ef8ef16e8de2fef2efe
- Spell effects are applied before armor reduction.
- Flame Burst, Rail Shot and Thermal Detonator are Tech attacks.
- All instant attacks share the same bonus damage from power.

Flame Burst:
base damage: 558 – 622
avg. base damage: 590
heat: 16

Total extra gain from talents:
+12% damage
+12% crit chance (does it count as Tech? if not, 6%)
+30% chance to proc a free Rail Shot that vents 8 heat.
+100% chance to proc Combustible Gas Cylinder

base damage after bonuses: 624,96 - 696,64
avg.base damage after bonuses: 660,8

Rail Shot:
base damage: 2765 - 2951
avg.base damage: 2858
heat: 16

Total extra gain from talents:
+72% (or 90%) Armor Penetration
+6% crit chance (does it count as Tech? if not, 0%)
+15% damage (9% on targets on fire, 6% hard)
+30% crit damage (base 50%, so 80% additive, or 95% cumulative)

base damage after bonuses: 3179,75 – 3393,65
avg.base damage after bonuses: 3286,7

Thermal Detonator:
base damage: 1566 – 1678
avg. base damage: 1622

Total extra gain from talents:
+6% crit chance (does it count as Tech? if not, 0%)
+30% crit damage (base 50%, so 80% additive, or 95% cumulative)
 
A rough calculation over a 1000 attacks:

Flame Burst + free Rail Shot procs:

Heat:
1000 * 16 heat = 16.000 heat
300 * - 8 heat = -2.400 heat
------------------------------------------+
13600 heat

avg. Damage (including talent modifiers)
1000 * 660,8 = 660.800
300 * 3286,7 = 986.010
------------------------------------------+
1.646.810 damage

Damage per heat:
1.646.810 / 13600 = 121,090


Thermal Detonator

Heat:
1000 * 16 heat = 16.000 heat

avg. Damage (including talent modifiers)
1000 * 1622 = 1.622.000 damage

Damage per heat:
1.622.000 / 16.000 = 101,375

Total damage in favor of Flame Burst: +24.810
Total Damage per heat in favor of Flame Burst: + 19,715 damage per used heat.

Conclusion:
Purely based on their base statistics, paired with talent damage bonuses, without using any knowledge concerning bonus damage through gear (different scaling for example) and without applying Armor Reduction (Flame Burst = elemental, Rail Gun = “weapon” damage?, Thermal Detonator = Kinetic damage) and without taking in account the massive amounts of additional crit chance and additional damage on Flame Burst and Rail Shot and without taking in account the armor penetration on Rail Shot, it already seems that Flame Burst is a clear winner above and beyond Thermal Detonator.

If you would replace every possible Thermal Detonator CD with a Flame Burst, your damage potential(on equal amount of shots!) goes slightly up and your damage per heat skyrockets, allowing you to replace more Rapid Fire with, probably, more Flame Bursts. All of that, once more, without any additional crit chance or ARP calculated.

The only thing that will make a difference, is the dual GCD compared to the single GCD. To calculate that, you'd have to come up with a slightly more advanced schematic and the pro's and con's depend on the difference in use and damage of rapid fire.

Personally, I would advice: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#301hMZMsMZfGbbzGhMc.1