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Jedi Sentinel need help


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I feel so week when it comes to PvP, I think I do a good amount of damage, but when I face other classes I feel they have so much CC or Healing that my no matter how strong my attacks are, I cant do anything to them. I think I have all right gear, but just feel under powered compared to every one else. I am just looking for some guidance on how to improve my PvP game play, any help would be appreciated.:rak_03:
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I feel so week when it comes to PvP, I think I do a good amount of damage, but when I face other classes I feel they have so much CC or Healing that my no matter how strong my attacks are, I cant do anything to them. I think I have all right gear, but just feel under powered compared to every one else. I am just looking for some guidance on how to improve my PvP game play, any help would be appreciated.:rak_03:

 

Just a heads up you might get better feedback in the marauder/sentinel sub class forum.

 

To the point. Marauders/sentinels are actually very good in pvp. They are where I think a DPS class should be. They have great mitigation defensive cooldowns (especially when supported), but won't last forever. They also have great damage and mobility, but it is possible to kite them. In fury/concentration spec you even get some cc immunity after using force crush.

 

They take some practice. Choosing the right utilities will help you. Some utilities are up for debate but I would at least take these three: stoic, ardor, and fleet footed. This will improve your dps and mobility.

 

Knowing other classes (their attacks and cooldowns) as well as your own is the best way to go. If you have specific questions regarding when to use your defensive cooldowns or how to deal with other classes give some more specific questions and I, along with others, will help you.

 

I promise you that marauders aren't bad, but I'm glad you came asking for help instead of nerfs and buffs.

 

Also note: if you aren't yet at level 65 that will have a big impact on the advice you get. My recommendation is to not make any balance judgements until you are at 65....and preferably not until you have each class at 65. Knowing each class and spec at end game will greatly improve your performance with every class and will answer many of your questions.

 

But still feel free to post some specific questions/scenarios and we will help you out.

 

Marauders are a lot of fun and I wouldn want you to give up on a very rewarding class.

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one thing to take note is that never go in the middle of the action, like a tank getting nuked, takes enemies at the boarders and never go alone to a fight, you are there to pressure healers, support with speed buffs every 30sec, don't try to rambo your way through the enemy team, play smart and choose your fights. And of course get used to the rotations, and/or priority systems of the specs, this helps hugely on the dps.
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one thing to take note is that never go in the middle of the action, like a tank getting nuked, takes enemies at the boarders and never go alone to a fight, you are there to pressure healers, support with speed buffs every 30sec, don't try to rambo your way through the enemy team, play smart and choose your fights. And of course get used to the rotations, and/or priority systems of the specs, this helps hugely on the dps.

 

I agree with not just jumping into a big group of the enemy. Even though I go you are a warrior class and have a leap and good mitigation defenses you still need to be smart in when, where, and how to engage the enemy. There is no single correct answer to that as pvp is dynamic by nature and the engagement of the enemy will depend on the various circumstances you find yourself in while in a warzone/arena.

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That's just how it is as a Sentinel / Mara my friend. For YOLO play they are the absolute worst because chances are you are not gonna get any heals or any support from a premade, so your basically left to fend on your vices and sents/mara are the bottom of the barrel when it comes to that. Play an OP/Sorc/Jugg for YOLO ques you will have infinite more fun in pvp then sent / mara. Sad but true. My sent is valor rank 60 and I just left it there to rot, once I got used to cloak classes and sage/sorc play pvp become way more interesting. Edited by DenariusJay
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That's just how it is as a Sentinel / Mara my friend. For YOLO play they are the absolute worst because chances are you are not gonna get any heals or any support from a premade, so your basically left to fend on your vices and sents/mara are the bottom of the barrel when it comes to that. Play an OP/Sorc/Jugg for YOLO ques you will have infinite more fun in pvp then sent / mara. Sad but true. My sent is valor rank 60 and I just left it there to rot, once I got used to cloak classes and sage/sorc play pvp become way more interesting.

 

This is just not true. It is a myth people have spread around that sentinels and marauders are worthless without heals. That is just plain false. People just don't know how to adapt their play style to the situation. If you have a tank and a healer you can be more aggressive. If you don't you have to be more careful. I almost always solo queue and have never felt the need to have a healer when I play my marauder. They are by no means bottom of the barrel. Many people who play marauder just expect to be able to leap into a group of 5 enemies, kill everything, and live. That is of course a ridiculous way to play it, but that is what I imagine people are doing to think that marauders aren't any good.

Edited by Saikochoro
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I feel so week when it comes to PvP, I think I do a good amount of damage, but when I face other classes I feel they have so much CC or Healing that my no matter how strong my attacks are, I cant do anything to them. I think I have all right gear, but just feel under powered compared to every one else. I am just looking for some guidance on how to improve my PvP game play, any help would be appreciated.:rak_03:

 

Are you beginning PvP at level 65 or at lowbies? If you are starting at 65, I would suggest roll another sentinel and start PvP-ing from lowbie. It helps a great deal to learn the ins and outs of the class.

 

I discussed some Sentinel/Marauder techniques/capabilities in http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=889281&page=3

 

You may find it useful.

 

For utiities, I use -

 

Skillful Tier - Stoic for damage reduction and extra centering, Reining Reach for increasing range of crippling slash and reducing its focus cost and Adamant (if I am playing combat sentinel, to gain free focus for extra DPS due to knockbacks, stuns) or Jedi Enforcer (if I am playing watchman or concentration to get more mileage out of Rebuke as these specs are always overflowing with focus).

 

Masterful Tier - Ardor for getting Transcendence on cooldown and freeing up zen for extra DPS and Defensive Roll to get extra elemental/internal damage reduction or Displacement which increases the range of Pacify by 6m to help against Snipers or peeling for your healer from another sentinel or guardian during their Master Strike. I have never used Force Fade in PvP, just never felt the need for it.

 

Heroic Tier - Fleet footed as it is the single most important group buff that a Sentinel can bring to the table - super speed and root purge for everyone in the group and Just Pursuit to root the target with crippling slash. Some may choose Expunging Camouflage as an extra cleanse - it is just a trade off on which you have to make up your mind.

 

As for which spec you should play, I would suggest starting to learn by playing combat spec in lowbie/midbie pvp. There is not much to the rotation, just blade rush until burst is available. What this does is, it allows you to master the other aspects of playing a Sentinel, since you are not worried about ability usage. Learn how to stay close, when to vanish out, when to use saber ward, when to use pacify, when to kite someone, how to counter kiting. There is a lot of aspects that need to be mastered for playing a Sentinel and it is the mastery of all these things that will set you apart from other Sentinels in game.

 

In PvP, rotation doesn't mean much. Just follow priorities and your damage will be fine. Just remember, that first and foremost you need to learn to survive. You can't do DPS if you are dead :D

 

As reference (and inspiration) you can watch videos by Skytorrush in YouTube. I learned a lot of techniques by watching his videos in the early days of being a Sentinel/Marauder. Plus there is Hayete's guide at Dulfy.net which teaches the core principles of Combat Spec - but the theories can be applied to other specs in PvP.

 

As for spec viability in PvP, all the specs have equal potential. Let no one tell you any different. I play all three specs and can bring the same impact to a warzone in all of them. That being said, it is best not to use watchman during levelling as one of your main ability - Overload Saber is available at level 58 and also, this spec requires the highest skill cap among all the three specs to play in PvP.

 

I hope you enjoy this class and learn to play it well. It is my most favourite class in the game and it is always fun to indulge in positive Sentinel/Marauder discussions. All the best!

 

Cheers!

 

-----------------------------

aka Faith (Mara/Sent)

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I will admit that I did have that mindset of that I could run into a group of enemies and do some bad *** stuff, but I really should have known better. Looking back at my specs I really started to read into what everything did and how it effects my character, I am a lower level at 39.

 

So are the sentinels more of a assassin type of ADC? I know there are better choices or better descriptions for the actual class, but finding ways to get past the main force and destroy the enemy through selective skull bashing seems like what they are described as, I have no problem with that and if that is true I think I fell in love.

 

I seem to really have a problem when I run into Juggernauts and Agents. The other characters I understand a little better because I have those types of toons, but the Juggernauts and Agents really give me a run for my money. To me it feels that have stuns that last forever, and really good abilities that push and slow me to the point I am crawling to get to them or fly half way across the screen.

 

Thank you for everyone's time and effort in helping me understand and to help better myself so I can be a better player and have more fun. :)

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I will admit that I did have that mindset of that I could run into a group of enemies and do some bad *** stuff, but I really should have known better. Looking back at my specs I really started to read into what everything did and how it effects my character, I am a lower level at 39.

 

So are the sentinels more of a assassin type of ADC? I know there are better choices or better descriptions for the actual class, but finding ways to get past the main force and destroy the enemy through selective skull bashing seems like what they are described as, I have no problem with that and if that is true I think I fell in love.

 

I seem to really have a problem when I run into Juggernauts and Agents. The other characters I understand a little better because I have those types of toons, but the Juggernauts and Agents really give me a run for my money. To me it feels that have stuns that last forever, and really good abilities that push and slow me to the point I am crawling to get to them or fly half way across the screen.

 

Thank you for everyone's time and effort in helping me understand and to help better myself so I can be a better player and have more fun. :)

 

Not really an assassin type either. Marauders are more durable than sins, but they still aren't supposed to jump into a big group of enemies without support. If you are only at level 39 that is part of the problem. I'd say marauders don't really come into their own until the late 40s/early 50s. Once you get your execute and fleet footed you will be happier. Marauders are a blast in end game pvp.

 

As for play style it depends on the situation. If you have support (I.e. A pocket healer) you can act a bit more like a wrecking ball. Marauder defenses synergize very well with heals. But even then you need to be careful to not over extend or line of sight your healer. If you are queuing solo, then I guess you could say you play a bit more like a sin in that you make sure to have an escape route when you engage. Look to see what is happening where you plan to go. If you see a bunch of ranged enemies make sure to attack near a line of sight object if you can. Pay attention to who your teammates are attacking and help finish that person off. It's good to stick with the team. It's okay to extend a bit to finish off someone as long as you don't over extend. Knowing when to do something and when not to comes with experience.

 

As far as juggs and agents: juggs just have a lot of defenses as well. A few things to note about them. You can shut down a lot of their damage with obsfucate. Don't attack them when they pop enraged defense (kinda out of luck if you play watchman because the dots will heal, but oh well). Use your aoe mez at that point. Melee damage one of the only types that will go through saber reflect so don't worry when they pop that....just don't use force attacks (clashing blast, etc). It takes some practice and planning, but I usually don't have a problem with juggs.

 

Agents are harder. I very rarely get killed by a marauder on my sniper....hardly ever...and when I do it's because I didn't have any cooldowns or entrench and was fighting another person. I don't ever lose to a marauder on my operative. A good sniper can make your life difficult. Even though you have some good mobility options snipers can still keep you at bay. Line of sight is your friend. Obsfucate is also your friend. And so is saberward. If you just can't get to the sniper and need to run you can use transcendence (add in force camo if needed). You won't win against a good operative, but to be fair you wouldn't win on any other class either (except another operative or a good deception sin). You can win against less skilled ops though. You also likely won't win against a good deception sin. But stealth classes have always been great at 1v1. My suggestion would be to not try to 1v1 an operative or a sin unless you know you can take them. Practice dueling ops and other classes that give you trouble with friends or guild mates.

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Op the sentinel is probably one of the most tactical classes in game, so if you do master it, you will be one of the few that can. People pick it up and say yay two lightsabers I can kill everything in site. Thats not how it works, at least one of the specs relies on stacking dots, then at the end taking full advantage of those dots and hitting the enemy with a ton of dps. My first suggestion get out of the mind set of leaping into battle ever. This you should never do in pvp as a sentinel, the only time you should use it is if a enemy is getting away from you, when you are nearly to the point of killing them. The quick stealth is how your going to move in and out of combat. Do not try to kill healers, it brings too much heat, and some healers can have most of the team trying to kill them and still survive. So focus on other targets, unless your whole team is focusing down one healer. Otherwise dont even bother. Its like shooting blanks at healers these days. One last word of advice do two things always. Read the details of your spec, this will teach you how to stack up, and gain solid dps. Secondly read your passives in your powers list box. This will also help you. If you can start remembering those two things in pvp you will get a whole lot better.

 

As for the other guy suggestion that dps should be weaker all around, the fact that healers can survive multiple dps interrupting them and dps them, shows that more dps is needed not less. A reversal of mind set how would people react if a dps could never die but keep dishing out dps? I would wager not good. This god mode for healers needs to end permanently . I understand if you want them to survive atleast two players but any more then that is too much. Suggestive fix a debuff for healers in pvp, that way the pve end of the pool does not get killed off.

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Knowing other classes (their attacks and cooldowns) as well as your own is the best way to go. If you have specific questions regarding when to use your defensive cooldowns or how to deal with other classes give some more specific questions and I, along with others, will help you.

 

Yes it is crucial for sent/mara to know other classes and their abilities. I made a rookie mistake of starting my first swtor character as a sentinel. If you are in the same position, I would take a break from the sent, play some other classes that you aren't familiar with and return back to the sent when you are comfortable. I've played through all the classes and find that sentinels are one of the more difficult classes to play, ,but once you get used to it, you can 1v1 almost anyone. So yes - very rewarding class to play but takes effort.

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I seem to really have a problem when I run into Juggernauts and Agents. The other characters I understand a little better because I have those types of toons, but the Juggernauts and Agents really give me a run for my money.

 

There are three things to look out for when you are fighting a guardian/juggernaut.

 

Saber Reflect - They will shine and sparkle either Red or Blue and reflect massive damage to you if you use

clasing blast or dispatch at them. If they have saber reflect up then only use melee attack - Blade Rush spam/master strike, strike

 

Focused Defense/Enraged Defense - They will have a rippling circle animation around them when they activate it. Best to use Awe and switch target to somebody else when they do that and get back when the stacks of defense fall off. Otherwise you will be healing them.

 

Saber ward - Go for stun immediately and use melee attack and white damage. Your melee attacks will go through but clashing blast would be mitigated to some extent. Example, force choke> precision, Masterstrike> Dispatch> Blade rush spam.

 

Snipers are the real hard counter against Sentinels and Marauders and in the hands of a good player they can tear you apart. It is ideal to avoid snipers whenever possible, unless your team is focusing them or they don't come off to be as good at playing it. If a sniper focuses you, it is time to get out and line of sight him.

 

Two ways to buy yourself time against a good sniper is to use Pacification when they channel Ambush, Camo out when they begin series of shots to avoid the knockback at the end. Of course, they also root you, but when you get Fleetfooted talent, you can counter it with predation. But yeah, they are the hardest class to face as a Sentinel/Marauder.

 

-----------------------------

aka Faith (Mara/Sent)

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I feel so week when it comes to PvP, I think I do a good amount of damage, but when I face other classes I feel they have so much CC or Healing that my no matter how strong my attacks are, I cant do anything to them. I think I have all right gear, but just feel under powered compared to every one else. I am just looking for some guidance on how to improve my PvP game play, any help would be appreciated.:rak_03:

 

How many other classes have you played in PVP? There is a difficulty scale on how classes perform in PVP and Sents/Maras have a higher skill requirement to play well than most. Other classes that require higher skill levels also normally have good survivability too, so trying to stay alive on a Sent adds an extra dimension to the difficulty.

 

There are lots of ways to get better on your Sent. Most of the advice from the previous posts are correct, so I won't go over all that. Plus I can only assume your situation with the small amount of info you've told us. So, I'll make some assumptions and offer some advice instead.

If the Sent is your first PVP toon "and" if you didn't bother to PVP right from the start, but waited till you were much higher up, you should reroll either another sent and only PVP on them till 65 or roll a Guardian. A guardian has similar game style and rotation abilities/priorities, but isn't squishy.

If you have pvp'd on other classes, try and use some of that knowledge you used to stay alive. ie, if you've played a sage, hopefully you learned how to LOS. This can be valuable on a Sent, especially against ranged. The more classes you play, the more experince you'll have with different techniques. You can use nearly all of them on a Sent to stay alive.

Probably one of the biggest issue I see with a lot of Sent players is they don't know when or how to use their DCs. This will be learned over time if you don't panic and blow them all at once. When you can predict what another class is likely to do or is doing, then you'll know which DC to use and when. This come with experience, it's hard to teach in a WZ, but not that difficult to teach by dualing with guildies or friends between matches. Guild ships are perfect for this if they have lots of LOS areas.

If you decide to continue with your Sent for now, it will be about grinding that experience to learn the skills needed to stay alive.

Good luck and enjoy the PVP which ever you decide :)

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As some of the other posters have pointed out, Marauder/Sentinel are a class that has a higher skill cap to really get the most of out of them. They are not easy to play, most people who main them are people who have put time into them and have "paid there dues". Some people will say thats not true that they aren't any harder than any other class to play. I've been playing a Carnage Marauder since day one and I dont play any other class. I didnt have an easy time of out at first, I did find it it a bit difficult with certain aspects of the game, but, i stuck with it and practiced and now I do very well with it.

 

I wouldn't be discouraged if your new to it. What your feeling I think is very normal. Whatever opinions people may have, I can tell you this with a fair amount of conviction, if you stick with it, you learn the class, you will be very happy that you did. The class is capable of putting up some of the highest numbers in the game. A Marauder can really tear it up once they know their rotations, have a better understanding of their DCDs, and come to terms with what they're designed for. They aren't tanks. They can't withstand the blows of a BOSS who's agrooed on them for long, thats not their job. Their job is to unleash hell fire on everything they see and destroy, and at that they a very good.

 

You will find that they perform much better in PVE than PVP. In PVE they're the alpha damage doers. Their survivability is pve is rather good as well.

 

PVP they have a harder time of it. Thats not to say theyre arent viable in PVP, they are, they just cant quite get as good as they can give. If you had to pick one class that is the least suited for PVP, Marauder/Sentinel would be it. Again, thats not to say they cant do good in it, they can, and at times do rather well, they just don't have an easy time of it. Despite what they are capable of, you will find by and large they are not the alpha damage doers in PVP as they are in PVE. Sorcs and Snipers rule that roost, and Assassins and Arsenal Mercs can really give some hell, and skank tanks, well, they're not a fotm class for nothing, OP ohh yeah. Yes they have good DCDs but they dont really cut OVERALL in pvp, because all the other classes save for sniper have self healing and they dont. While self-healing might not scale well vs multiple opponents, it does allow for the replenishment of health without being "out of combat" which over the long haul is telling.

 

Youll get different people saying they agree,and others who will disagree adamantly. Nature of the beast. Even with the great deal of experience I have with the class, I've never found PVP easy. PVE the class rides like a dream. But let me just say this, and on this there isnt anyone who could make me change my mind, you WILL do worse in pvp if you dont have a reliable healer, its just a fact. You dont have to take my word for it, you will see the results, doing WZs with a good healer and without one, the difference of end results in damage are huge. If you are fortunate enough to have a good pocket healer, you're a virtual God of War. When I have one it just couldnt be any funner. The difference is huge. Problem is that isnt something you can really count on, nor is it something you're likely to have most of the time.

 

You can do well as a Mara/Sentinel in PVP with some time and practice, but you could do better at it with some of the other classes with less effort. My 2 cents.

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As some of the other posters have pointed out, Marauder/Sentinel are a class that has a higher skill cap to really get the most of out of them. They are not easy to play, most people who main them are people who have put time into them and have "paid there dues". Some people will say thats not true that they aren't any harder than any other class to play. I've been playing a Carnage Marauder since day one and I dont play any other class. I didnt have an easy time of out at first, I did find it it a bit difficult with certain aspects of the game, but, i stuck with it and practiced and now I do very well with it.

 

I wouldn't be discouraged if your new to it. What your feeling I think is very normal. Whatever opinions people may have, I can tell you this with a fair amount of conviction, if you stick with it, you learn the class, you will be very happy that you did. The class is capable of putting up some of the highest numbers in the game. A Marauder can really tear it up once they know their rotations, have a better understanding of their DCDs, and come to terms with what they're designed for. They aren't tanks. They can't withstand the blows of a BOSS who's agrooed on them for long, thats not their job. Their job is to unleash hell fire on everything they see and destroy, and at that they a very good.

 

You will find that they perform much better in PVE than PVP. In PVE they're the alpha damage doers. Their survivability is pve is rather good as well.

 

PVP they have a harder time of it. Thats not to say theyre arent viable in PVP, they are, they just cant quite get as good as they can give. If you had to pick one class that is the least suited for PVP, Marauder/Sentinel would be it. Again, thats not to say they cant do good in it, they can, and at times do rather well, they just don't have an easy time of it. Despite what they are capable of, you will find by and large they are not the alpha damage doers in PVP as they are in PVE. Sorcs and Snipers rule that roost, and Assassins and Arsenal Mercs can really give some hell, and skank tanks, well, they're not a fotm class for nothing, OP ohh yeah. Yes they have good DCDs but they dont really cut OVERALL in pvp, because all the other classes save for sniper have self healing and they dont. While self-healing might not scale well vs multiple opponents, it does allow for the replenishment of health without being "out of combat" which over the long haul is telling.

 

Youll get different people saying they agree,and others who will disagree adamantly. Nature of the beast. Even with the great deal of experience I have with the class, I've never found PVP easy. PVE the class rides like a dream. But let me just say this, and on this there isnt anyone who could make me change my mind, you WILL do worse in pvp if you dont have a reliable healer, its just a fact. You dont have to take my word for it, you will see the results, doing WZs with a good healer and without one, the difference of end results in damage are huge. If you are fortunate enough to have a good pocket healer, you're a virtual God of War. When I have one it just couldnt be any funner. The difference is huge. Problem is that isnt something you can really count on, nor is it something you're likely to have most of the time.

 

You can do well as a Mara/Sentinel in PVP with some time and practice, but you could do better at it with some of the other classes with less effort. My 2 cents.

 

Practice makes perfect. Experience is everything in PVP, it's so dynamic compared to PVE. Most full time or experienced pvpers all find PVE extremely easy. Doing PVP actually improves people's skill in PVE. Unfortunely the same can't be said for PVE improving PVP skill, especially with PVE being even more dumbed down now in the skill required to play it.

 

Healers help every class do well, but as you said, they can make a huge difference to a Sent/Mara. One map that they really suffer without a healer is Hypergates. While everyone suffers in this map without a healer, Sents/maras feel it the most. This is where knowing how to LOS properly can make all the difference. Also making sure you know when to disengage and run will help your team. But your DPS output will suffer Significantly in favour of preserving your life. Even with a healer you should be trying to do this to take some pressure off them. Relying on the healer to keep you alive while you try to smash your way through a whole group can really tax them, especially as they are normally being tunnelled at the same time. I find one of the best tactics is to hit and run if needed. Jumping into a group, AOE stun them, identify their healer, mark them and start to pound away. If and when their team turns on you, camo out and either reposition behind the healer in LOS position or if you can see you're going to be greatly out numbered, pop predation/transcendence/camo and make a run for it. But if you were able to reposition behind their healer, you can re-attack quickly and in some cases destroy the healer or make them run from their team to get away. Camo and transcendence are one of the biggest defensive and offensive weapons in a Sents arsenal, knowing when to use them is critical.

 

I'll add one other thing that lots of people often overlook with every class. People need to know their classes roles and objectives in the different maps. Just fighting and treating every map the same doesn't help people become good players. Each map obviously has different objectives, but each map also offers classes different roles to help their teams. Knowing this can really help your teams, but also helps you maximise performance.

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As some of the other posters have pointed out, Marauder/Sentinel are a class that has a higher skill cap to really get the most of out of them. They are not easy to play, most people who main them are people who have put time into them and have "paid there dues". Some people will say thats not true that they aren't any harder than any other class to play. I've been playing a Carnage Marauder since day one and I dont play any other class. I didnt have an easy time of out at first, I did find it it a bit difficult with certain aspects of the game, but, i stuck with it and practiced and now I do very well with it.

 

I wouldn't be discouraged if your new to it. What your feeling I think is very normal. Whatever opinions people may have, I can tell you this with a fair amount of conviction, if you stick with it, you learn the class, you will be very happy that you did. The class is capable of putting up some of the highest numbers in the game. A Marauder can really tear it up once they know their rotations, have a better understanding of their DCDs, and come to terms with what they're designed for. They aren't tanks. They can't withstand the blows of a BOSS who's agrooed on them for long, thats not their job. Their job is to unleash hell fire on everything they see and destroy, and at that they a very good.

 

You will find that they perform much better in PVE than PVP. In PVE they're the alpha damage doers. Their survivability is pve is rather good as well.

 

PVP they have a harder time of it. Thats not to say theyre arent viable in PVP, they are, they just cant quite get as good as they can give. If you had to pick one class that is the least suited for PVP, Marauder/Sentinel would be it. Again, thats not to say they cant do good in it, they can, and at times do rather well, they just don't have an easy time of it. Despite what they are capable of, you will find by and large they are not the alpha damage doers in PVP as they are in PVE. Sorcs and Snipers rule that roost, and Assassins and Arsenal Mercs can really give some hell, and skank tanks, well, they're not a fotm class for nothing, OP ohh yeah. Yes they have good DCDs but they dont really cut OVERALL in pvp, because all the other classes save for sniper have self healing and they dont. While self-healing might not scale well vs multiple opponents, it does allow for the replenishment of health without being "out of combat" which over the long haul is telling.

 

 

 

Youll get different people saying they agree,and others who will disagree adamantly. Nature of the beast. Even with the great deal of experience I have with the class, I've never found PVP easy. PVE the class rides like a dream. But let me just say this, and on this there isnt anyone who could make me change my mind, you WILL do worse in pvp if you dont have a reliable healer, its just a fact. You dont have to take my word for it, you will see the results, doing WZs with a good healer and without one, the difference of end results in damage are huge. If you are fortunate enough to have a good pocket healer, you're a virtual God of War. When I have one it just couldnt be any funner. The difference is huge. Problem is that isnt something you can really count on, nor is it something you're likely to have most of the time.

 

You can do well as a Mara/Sentinel in PVP with some time and practice, but you could do better at it with some of the other classes with less effort. My 2 cents.

 

Marauders are very well suited for PVP. The have great defensive cooldowns, some of the highest damage in the game, good mobility, and good utility. They can easily to the most damage in a warzone. I don't doubt you play marauder well, but you stated above that you only play marauder. Having experience with all other classes will help people to understand the pros, cons, patterns, and abilities of all classes. That will help you play marauder to its potential. Marauders do not need self healing as they already have some of the best defenses of any class. They aren't indestructible and they shouldn't be, but they are very durable and do great damage. They fulfill their role perfectly in pvp. Marauders are not the best 1v1 class, but they are one of the best classes in a team setting.

I honestly don't fear big group battles or individual 1v1 battles.

 

I think people just need to understand that marauders (like other classes) cannot just leap into any and all situations and expect to come out on top. Like other classes, they have to think about the situation before engaging. Example Novare coast: you along with 4 others are running to south. Enemy probably has a comparable amount headed south.

 

Strategies

1. Get to south the fastest and leap to the first person you see and proceed to unload all your damage and pop all of your defenses with abandon.

 

2. Let the juggernaut leap in first and then leap in after them. Again proceed to unload all your damage and pop all of your defenses with abandon.

 

3. Run up and observe what types of enemy classes came south and pick out an enemy that is already being attacked. Continue attacking and chase enemies to spawn point. Pop all defenses with abandon.

 

4. Run up and observe enemy and fight whoever everyone else is fighting. Switch targets based on priority. Don't chase. Rotate defenses with some thought.

 

5. Run and observe the situation. Pick engagements with care (identify priority targets). Know when and how to LOS sight. Use your cc and defenses based on the situation. Know when it is okay to go for the kill even though you may die in the process. Know when it is better to camo out and run back to the team. In general, know your class, all other classes, and the situation at hand.

 

I have noticed that many people who complain in warzones about being squishy tend to follow strategies 1-3. They think that since you are a warrior and have two lightsabers you should just be able to leap in and kill everything while still surviving. Some of that may come from the smash days, but even then it wasn't smart to leap in without any plan. Some people have advanced to strategy 4, but honestly that isn't enough.

 

People who follow strategy 5 have the most success, but even they will die and fail sometimes. That is just the nature of the game, but they will die much less and be a much greater asset to the team. The people that go into a situation without an escape plan or without evaluating the enemies are most likely going to die and die without doing much first. On one novare, I was on my op and was guarding a node with 2 other ops. A single marauder kept trying to come and take the node over and over and over and over and over again. And every time he died without doing much. Same would have happened with any other class. It is an overall strategy problem. Don't go into something you know you have no chance of winning. Wait till you have team support.

 

And honestly, people should play all classes and all specs to some degree to really get an understanding of what each is capable of in pvp. I don't think one can really understand a single class until they understand all classes. You don't have to be uber pro at all classes, but you should have experience with all of them.

 

In any given warzone on marauder I will come in at either #1 or #2 for damage regardless of the other classes on the team and I rarely ever die more then 2-3 times a match. I queue solo 90% of the time. I queue without a healer 90% of the time I don't queue solo. It's the same story if play merc, op, sin, sorc, jugg, pt, or sniper. It's because I've learned all the classes and learned to evaluate pvp situations. Its not bragging. Many many other players do the same. And I bet almost every one of them knows each class and evaluates pvp situations. Those two things are the single most important thing to do to have success on any class IMO.

 

TL;DR: Marauders are great. They are perfectly viable in pvp...in every spec. They are by no means the worst class. They have great damage, defenses, utility, and mobility. People need to do better about evaluating situations before leaping into the fray.

 

P.S. If the OP has any specific situations you would like to discuss please post them and we can give more specific guidance.

Edited by Saikochoro
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Practice makes perfect. Experience is everything in PVP, it's so dynamic compared to PVE. Most full time or experienced pvpers all find PVE extremely easy. Doing PVP actually improves people's skill in PVE. Unfortunely the same can't be said for PVE improving PVP skill, especially with PVE being even more dumbed down now in the skill required to play it.

 

Healers help every class do well, but as you said, they can make a huge difference to a Sent/Mara. One map that they really suffer without a healer is Hypergates. While everyone suffers in this map without a healer, Sents/maras feel it the most. This is where knowing how to LOS properly can make all the difference. Also making sure you know when to disengage and run will help your team. But your DPS output will suffer Significantly in favour of preserving your life. Even with a healer you should be trying to do this to take some pressure off them. Relying on the healer to keep you alive while you try to smash your way through a whole group can really tax them, especially as they are normally being tunnelled at the same time. I find one of the best tactics is to hit and run if needed. Jumping into a group, AOE stun them, identify their healer, mark them and start to pound away. If and when their team turns on you, camo out and either reposition behind the healer in LOS position or if you can see you're going to be greatly out numbered, pop predation/transcendence/camo and make a run for it. But if you were able to reposition behind their healer, you can re-attack quickly and in some cases destroy the healer or make them run from their team to get away. Camo and transcendence are one of the biggest defensive and offensive weapons in a Sents arsenal, knowing when to use them is critical.

 

I'll add one other thing that lots of people often overlook with every class. People need to know their classes roles and objectives in the different maps. Just fighting and treating every map the same doesn't help people become good players. Each map obviously has different objectives, but each map also offers classes different roles to help their teams. Knowing this can really help your teams, but also helps you maximise performance.

 

^ So much this.

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Marauders are very well suited for PVP. The have great defensive cooldowns, some of the highest damage in the game, good mobility, and good utility. They can easily to the most damage in a warzone. I don't doubt you play marauder well, but you stated above that you only play marauder. Having experience with all other classes will help people to understand the pros, cons, patterns, and abilities of all classes. That will help you play marauder to its potential. Marauders do not need self healing as they already have some of the best defenses of any class. They aren't indestructible and they shouldn't be, but they are very durable and do great damage. They fulfill their role perfectly in pvp. Marauders are not the best 1v1 class, but they are one of the best classes in a team setting.

I honestly don't fear big group battles or individual 1v1 battles.

 

I think people just need to understand that marauders (like other classes) cannot just leap into any and all situations and expect to come out on top. Like other classes, they have to think about the situation before engaging. Example Novare coast: you along with 4 others are running to south. Enemy probably has a comparable amount headed south.

 

Strategies

1. Get to south the fastest and leap to the first person you see and proceed to unload all your damage and pop all of your defenses with abandon.

 

2. Let the juggernaut leap in first and then leap in after them. Again proceed to unload all your damage and pop all of your defenses with abandon.

 

3. Run up and observe what types of enemy classes came south and pick out an enemy that is already being attacked. Continue attacking and chase enemies to spawn point. Pop all defenses with abandon.

 

4. Run up and observe enemy and fight whoever everyone else is fighting. Switch targets based on priority. Don't chase. Rotate defenses with some thought.

 

5. Run and observe the situation. Pick engagements with care (identify priority targets). Know when and how to LOS sight. Use your cc and defenses based on the situation. Know when it is okay to go for the kill even though you may die in the process. Know when it is better to camo out and run back to the team. In general, know your class, all other classes, and the situation at hand.

 

I have noticed that many people who complain in warzones about being squishy tend to follow strategies 1-3. They think that since you are a warrior and have two lightsabers you should just be able to leap in and kill everything while still surviving. Some of that may come from the smash days, but even then it wasn't smart to leap in without any plan. Some people have advanced to strategy 4, but honestly that isn't enough.

 

People who follow strategy 5 have the most success, but even they will die and fail sometimes. That is just the nature of the game, but they will die much less and be a much greater asset to the team. The people that go into a situation without an escape plan or without evaluating the enemies are most likely going to die and die without doing much first. On one novare, I was on my op and was guarding a node with 2 other ops. A single marauder kept trying to come and take the node over and over and over and over and over again. And every time he died without doing much. Same would have happened with any other class. It is an overall strategy problem. Don't go into something you know you have no chance of winning. Wait till you have team support.

 

And honestly, people should play all classes and all specs to some degree to really get an understanding of what each is capable of in pvp. I don't think one can really understand a single class until they understand all classes. You don't have to be uber pro at all classes, but you should have experience with all of them.

 

In any given warzone on marauder I will come in at either #1 or #2 for damage regardless of the other classes on the team and I rarely ever die more then 2-3 times a match. I queue solo 90% of the time. I queue without a healer 90% of the time I don't queue solo. It's the same story if play merc, op, sin, sorc, jugg, pt, or sniper. It's because I've learned all the classes and learned to evaluate pvp situations. Its not bragging. Many many other players do the same. And I bet almost every one of them knows each class and evaluates pvp situations. Those two things are the single most important thing to do to have success on any class IMO.

 

TL;DR: Marauders are great. They are perfectly viable in pvp...in every spec. They are by no means the worst class. They have great damage, defenses, utility, and mobility. People need to do better about evaluating situations before leaping into the fray.

 

P.S. If the OP has any specific situations you would like to discuss please post them and we can give more specific guidance.

 

I gotta be fair here, alot of people have told me that knowing the other classes first hand does very much help in fighting against them. While i've only stuck with Mara, it's a hard logic to argue. It really makes a great deal of sense.

 

For the record, just in case it came off a certain way unintentionally, I'm not saying Maras cant do well or that their survivability sucks. We can do some wicked *** damage. There are times where I have come in first damage wise and it is not at all uncommon for me to be in the top three, that said however, in my experience, Maras aren't the one coming in first most often. Our damage is very good, hell why do you think Ive been so reluctant to play another class hehe, but at the same time, Maras do not hold the kind of damage superiority threshold in PVP as they do in PVE. In PVE Juggs of any stripe or Assassins aren't outdpsing skilled Marauders. I'm not saying they're bad, but all things being equal, with equal skill, gear and experience, Assassins and Juggs and even Sorcs aren't being out Marauders.

In PVE it's all about the maximizing the uptime. In PVP uptime is fleeting at best, people are everywhere, blinking out, force speeding away, stunning the crap out of you, outrangeing you, slowing you, all of which saps away at uptime.

Everyone knows what a Marauder can do even in PVP if given the chance. A good carnage mara can knock you out for the count real fast if you give him the chance. Thats why opponents will do everything they can to keep you at bay, they dont want you anywhere near them because they know what can happen if they do. Those tell tale two lightsabers, they see you coming a mile away.

 

Doing the damage is easy, getting the chance to do it thats not always quite as easy. It's a stun fest out there, slows coming everywhere you turn, knockbacks are rampant, theres just no way to keep up with the sheer amount of them. You use your stun blocker to get past one, you get smacked with another one two seconds later, you get slowed or held ya pop your predation to get out if, and you get nailed with another one and you still got 28 seconds of CD yet.

Not every warzone is the same, not every enemy group is the same, but a good amount of the time, you just cant keep up with the chain stuns, we simply don't have enough breakers to deal with all of them when your getting chained. Its just game mechanics. Assassin one nails you with one, Opertive follows that one up, and when thats done assy boy got another one just waiting for you.

 

If there is away to get around getting chained stunned like i described, which happens frequently, I wish some one would tell me how they are getting around all of them with the utilities we have at hand.

 

While PVP isnt about 1 vs 1, that doesnt mean an Assassin or an Operative cant catch you out in the open when your trying to respond to call for help some place else. A good operative can chain stun,mezz, slow you into oblivion. Sometimes you can be caught alone, even if its because the two other people you were with just got iced. Circumstances like that, the marauder is very much at a disadvantage. Not impossible to maybe come out on top,. but the card are definately not in your favor.

 

I do agree with you on most of your points. They do have great damage, defenses, utility, and mobility. I am also firmly in agreement that marauders should not get self-healing. We're glass canons and you can't have everything. But, I do think if you had to pick one class that is "the worst" to meet all the challanges of PVP, it would be marauder. In all seriousness, I would be intrested to hear which class you think is worse than Marauder in PVP and why. My emphasis has always been much more geared to PVE progression raiding, and I have no doubt you'd know better than me about the big picture in PVP.

Edited by WayOfTheWarriorx
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I gotta be fair here, alot of people have told me that knowing the other classes first hand does very much help in fighting against them. While i've only stuck with Mara, it's a hard logic to argue. It really makes a great deal of sense.

 

For the record, just in case it came off a certain way unintentionally, I'm not saying Maras cant do well or that their survivability sucks. We can do some wicked *** damage. There are times where I have come in first damage wise and it is not at all uncommon for me to be in the top three, that said however, in my experience, Maras aren't the one coming in first most often. Our damage is very good, hell why do you think Ive been so reluctant to play another class hehe, but at the same time, Maras do not hold the kind of damage superiority threshold in PVP as they do in PVE. In PVE Juggs of any stripe or Assassins aren't outdpsing skilled Marauders. I'm not saying they're bad, but all things being equal, with equal skill, gear and experience, Assassins and Juggs and even Sorcs aren't being out Marauders.

In PVE it's all about the maximizing the uptime. In PVP uptime is fleeting at best, people are everywhere, blinking out, force speeding away, stunning the crap out of you, outrangeing you, slowing you, all of which saps away at uptime.

Everyone knows what a Marauder can do even in PVP if given the chance. A good carnage mara can knock you out for the count real fast if you give him the chance. Thats why opponents will do everything they can to keep you at bay, they dont want you anywhere near them because they know what can happen if they do. Those tell tale two lightsabers, they see you coming a mile away.

 

Doing the damage is easy, getting the chance to do it thats not always quite as easy. It's a stun fest out there, slows coming everywhere you turn, knockbacks are rampant, theres just no way to keep up with the sheer amount of them. You use your stun blocker to get past one, you get smacked with another one two seconds later, you get slowed or held ya pop your predation to get out if, and you get nailed with another one and you still got 28 seconds of CD yet.

Not every warzone is the same, not every enemy group is the same, but a good amount of the time, you just cant keep up with the chain stuns, we simply don't have enough breakers to deal with all of them when your getting chained. Its just game mechanics. Assassin one nails you with one, Opertive follows that one up, and when thats done assy boy got another one just waiting for you.

 

If there is away to get around getting chained stunned like i described, which happens frequently, I wish some one would tell me how they are getting around all of them with the utilities we have at hand.

 

While PVP isnt about 1 vs 1, that doesnt mean an Assassin or an Operative cant catch you out in the open when your trying to respond to call for help some place else. A good operative can chain stun,mezz, slow you into oblivion. Sometimes you can be caught alone, even if its because the two other people you were with just got iced. Circumstances like that, the marauder is very much at a disadvantage. Not impossible to maybe come out on top,. but the card are definately not in your favor.

 

I do agree with you on most of your points. They do have great damage, defenses, utility, and mobility. I am also firmly in agreement that marauders should not get self-healing. We're glass canons and you can't have everything. But, I do think if you had to pick one class that is "the worst" to meet all the challanges of PVP, it would be marauder. In all seriousness, I would be intrested to hear which class you think is worse than Marauder in PVP and why. My emphasis has always been much more geared to PVE progression raiding, and I have no doubt you'd know better than me about the big picture in PVP.

 

I also didn't mean to come off as saying you don't know what you are doing. I have just seen a lot of "marauders are useless" type threads...so I come off more antagonistic.

 

As far as best and worse class it really depends on the situation and the warzone. I think that a marauder is better on a group fight than either an operative or a sin, but both of those are better as node guards. If there are LOS opportunities I will kill a Merc and even a sorc every time...or at least make the sorc phase was or barrier. Snipers are a bit more problematic, but they can still be handled. It also depends on the both team compositions. Of both teams are ranged heavy then it might be harder to play the Mara because you don't have people going into melee range with you. If both teams have an even mix I would take a well played Mara over all other melee....a big reason being predation. I would also take them over most ranged. If the marauder really knows their stuff they would actually be one of my first picks for a teammate. Too man sins and ops try to be solo gankers because that is what they are best at, but often that doesn't help much.

 

Honestly there isn't anything you can do against a sin or an op of the same skill. They will win because those classes really are built for 1v1 whereas marauders aren't. The only thing you can do is bring help or be more skilled than the stealth class. That said, I believe that marauders are a better team class than either stealth class.

 

I guess end of story each class has their pros and cons in pvp because it is so dynamic. Marauders fit in best at a hot node where the fight is. You still have to be careful how you engage, but a marauder is much more useful to the team in a bigger fight than guarding a node for example. Leave node guarding to stealth classes and don't try to solo cap one if you know a stealth is there.

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Now as far as dealing with cc it depends on the situation. If you are alone fighting an equally or better skilled op or sin don't even bother with your cc breaker or cooldowns. They will win anyway and you will have wasted your breaker and cooldowns. The only reason I'd use my breaker or cooldowns is if I'm guarding and need to buy time for help to come. I don't think marauders should guard anyway. Stealth should guard. But if you are guarding, then wait out the first stun. Neither an op or a sin can kill you in a single stun. Use predation on crippling slice and then all the op can do is flashbang you. At that point you can either wait out the flash bang or break it if you want. I'd recommend waiting it out because it is unlikely that they can cap in the duration of the mez. That and they might break the mez themselves. Sins are worse when it comes to control, but they are easier to kill. Save your breaker for electrocute. If they open with electrocute it means they are bad and you will win the fight anyway. Otherwise they will most likely have already cc'd you and electrocute will fill the resolve.

 

If you have teammates nearby and don't need to prevent a cap, then I'd still recommend waiting out the first stun. Only time I would do this is if multiple people are attacking you and you know that you'll be able to hit camo or undying rage before they can stun you again. Either of those two cooldowns should get you to help.

 

For knockback I tend to save leap for when I get knocked back. I generally engage by coming up around a LOS object and dual saber through. 90% of ranged toons will knock you back within the first couple seconds so don't try to unload burst immediately if you are carnage or anni. Just leap back to them. At this point you have half resolve and they will have to use their gap openers. Then you can use predation or mad dash to get to them. Then all they have is a stun. If you have your breaker use it. If not, that's fine they won't be able to kill you in a single stun. After that it's a downhill battle for ranged toons. And the entire first part of the engagement they were on the defensive. That doesn't even take into account that you haven't used choke or aoe mez yet. Fury marauders can open with leap just fine if you get force crush off. You have more freedom in that spec.

 

You can open with leap on melee toons. If they want to fight you, then they have to be in range of your attacks. Melee can't face tank a marauder. Marauders do too much damage and have great mitigation cooldowns. The only ones who can kind of face tank a marauder is a jugg. But if you know how to control the fight they aren't much of an issue. Sons and ops can control you, but if you are where you are best (the group fight) they shouldn't be much of a problem anyway.

 

The only times that it sucks to be a Mara is if a sniper somehow catches you in the open and there is no LOS. Or if an op or a sin catches you alone. But if you stick in the general vicinity of the main fights marauders are golden. Just be sure to engage the focus targets and use your breaker and cooldowns intelligently. A Merc with net could be problematic too if there is no LOS and you don't have a cooldown available. But if there is LOS, then even that isn't much of a problem.

 

knowing how to evaluate the fights is really what it all comes down to. And knowing how to evaluate the fights come down to knowledge of different classes and specs. That's why I always advocate that people play all classes to some degree. I used to only play sin and op through 1.x timeframe. Then I added jug, pt, sorc, sniper, Merc and to a lesser degree Mara in the 2.x era...though I played op the most. Then in early 3.0 I got my Mara to end game. It was the last toon I got to end game. And it was by far the most fun. It was also during a time that everyone thought maras sucked. I honestly have never had a problem feeling not only viable, but powerful on a marauder. I really think it helped that I already had a lot of knowledge of how all the other classes worked. I knew their attack patterns and cooldowns. I knew how to take out marauders on those classes, which helped me know how to combat those tactics. I admit I started a marauder in like February 2012 and got it to lvl 18 or something. Got demolish in pvp and deleted it because stealth were easier. In some situations stealth still are easier. But the main problem then is that I had no idea how any class worked. But once I got a marauder to end game in early 3.0 I knew how it all worked and had a blast. Now I play Mara more than anything, but I still put in time with every other class throughout the week. In any given night I will go through 4 - 5 different classes as I pvp.

 

That is my somewhat specific thoughts on condition betting cc and just getting a feel for Mara and pvp in general.

Edited by Saikochoro
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Now as far as dealing with cc it depends on the situation. If you are alone fighting an equally or better skilled op or sin don't even bother with your cc breaker or cooldowns. They will win anyway and you will have wasted your breaker and cooldowns. The only reason I'd use my breaker or cooldowns is if I'm guarding and need to buy time for help to come. I don't think marauders should guard anyway. Stealth should guard. But if you are guarding, then wait out the first stun. Neither an op or a sin can kill you in a single stun. Use predation on crippling slice and then all the op can do is flashbang you. At that point you can either wait out the flash bang or break it if you want. I'd recommend waiting it out because it is unlikely that they can cap in the duration of the mez. That and they might break the mez themselves. Sins are worse when it comes to control, but they are easier to kill. Save your breaker for electrocute. If they open with electrocute it means they are bad and you will win the fight anyway. Otherwise they will most likely have already cc'd you and electrocute will fill the resolve.

 

If you have teammates nearby and don't need to prevent a cap, then I'd still recommend waiting out the first stun. Only time I would do this is if multiple people are attacking you and you know that you'll be able to hit camo or undying rage before they can stun you again. Either of those two cooldowns should get you to help.

 

For knockback I tend to save leap for when I get knocked back. I generally engage by coming up around a LOS object and dual saber through. 90% of ranged toons will knock you back within the first couple seconds so don't try to unload burst immediately if you are carnage or anni. Just leap back to them. At this point you have half resolve and they will have to use their gap openers. Then you can use predation or mad dash to get to them. Then all they have is a stun. If you have your breaker use it. If not, that's fine they won't be able to kill you in a single stun. After that it's a downhill battle for ranged toons. And the entire first part of the engagement they were on the defensive. That doesn't even take into account that you haven't used choke or aoe mez yet. Fury marauders can open with leap just fine if you get force crush off. You have more freedom in that spec.

 

You can open with leap on melee toons. If they want to fight you, then they have to be in range of your attacks. Melee can't face tank a marauder. Marauders do too much damage and have great mitigation cooldowns. The only ones who can kind of face tank a marauder is a jugg. But if you know how to control the fight they aren't much of an issue. Sons and ops can control you, but if you are where you are best (the group fight) they shouldn't be much of a problem anyway.

 

The only times that it sucks to be a Mara is if a sniper somehow catches you in the open and there is no LOS. Or if an op or a sin catches you alone. But if you stick in the general vicinity of the main fights marauders are golden. Just be sure to engage the focus targets and use your breaker and cooldowns intelligently. A Merc with net could be problematic too if there is no LOS and you don't have a cooldown available. But if there is LOS, then even that isn't much of a problem.

 

knowing how to evaluate the fights is really what it all comes down to. And knowing how to evaluate the fights come down to knowledge of different classes and specs. That's why I always advocate that people play all classes to some degree. I used to only play sin and op through 1.x timeframe. Then I added jug, pt, sorc, sniper, Merc and to a lesser degree Mara in the 2.x era...though I played op the most. Then in early 3.0 I got my Mara to end game. It was the last toon I got to end game. And it was by far the most fun. It was also during a time that everyone thought maras sucked. I honestly have never had a problem feeling not only viable, but powerful on a marauder. I really think it helped that I already had a lot of knowledge of how all the other classes worked. I knew their attack patterns and cooldowns. I knew how to take out marauders on those classes, which helped me know how to combat those tactics. I admit I started a marauder in like February 2012 and got it to lvl 18 or something. Got demolish in pvp and deleted it because stealth were easier. In some situations stealth still are easier. But the main problem then is that I had no idea how any class worked. But once I got a marauder to end game in early 3.0 I knew how it all worked and had a blast. Now I play Mara more than anything, but I still put in time with every other class throughout the week. In any given night I will go through 4 - 5 different classes as I pvp.

 

That is my somewhat specific thoughts on condition betting cc and just getting a feel for Mara and pvp in general.

 

Excellent post. You gave alot of very good ideas and tips, and I intend to impliment some of the strategies covered. I am admittedly not very knowledgeble about many of the other classes, what it's like on their side of the screen, and to a degree I tend to think I'd preform better if I had more of that sort of hands on knowledge. I do fairly well all things considered, what I find most frustraiting is the lack of consistency in the preformance. I could do 2 or three WZs where I come in first or second in damage, but than the following 3 or 4 wz i'm middle of the pack. This, in part might be somewhat do to the dynamics of the WZ itself and the group make up. But the fact is, even those times I come in first or second, the numbers still arent what I see some of the other classes getting when they're topping the board. If I come in first or second, I'm not ever topping 1.7-1.8 million, and those are the better ones. 1 time, literally once, I hit 2.5 million, but this was only because I had the best damn healer in the game [sonus!!!] so far in my pocket I accidently spent him after the match. And this was the only time I ever got that high. But it is not at all uncommon [on the shadowlands server], even regular, to see sorcs, arsenal mercs, Assassins, and of course Snipers doing 2 - 2.5 mill fairly regularly. I know alot of this , in some cases, is fluff damage, but the point is, you really can't say as classes go Mara is the highest damage in PVP. The potential is there of course in terms of the damage cieling, it's just the uptime issues, the opportunities to do that damage that are what hold some of it back.

 

Maras are terrible for gaurding, at least in my experience and from what I've heard other express as well. A stealth class comes along, they can cap just stunning you [more so assy's than Ops]. As to team performance, yeah, maras bring some great utility to a team and the use of predation can't be overstated. We do better in the group than out on our own.

 

Thank you for the many valuable tips and strategies. I think they'll be quite helpful to many Marauders out there. Nice work.

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I also didn't mean to come off as saying you don't know what you are doing. I have just seen a lot of "marauders are useless" type threads...so I come off more antagonistic.

 

As far as best and worse class it really depends on the situation and the warzone. I think that a marauder is better on a group fight than either an operative or a sin, but both of those are better as node guards. If there are LOS opportunities I will kill a Merc and even a sorc every time...or at least make the sorc phase was or barrier. Snipers are a bit more problematic, but they can still be handled. It also depends on the both team compositions. Of both teams are ranged heavy then it might be harder to play the Mara because you don't have people going into melee range with you. If both teams have an even mix I would take a well played Mara over all other melee....a big reason being predation. I would also take them over most ranged. If the marauder really knows their stuff they would actually be one of my first picks for a teammate. Too man sins and ops try to be solo gankers because that is what they are best at, but often that doesn't help much.

 

Honestly there isn't anything you can do against a sin or an op of the same skill. They will win because those classes really are built for 1v1 whereas marauders aren't. The only thing you can do is bring help or be more skilled than the stealth class. That said, I believe that marauders are a better team class than either stealth class.

 

I guess end of story each class has their pros and cons in pvp because it is so dynamic. Marauders fit in best at a hot node where the fight is. You still have to be careful how you engage, but a marauder is much more useful to the team in a bigger fight than guarding a node for example. Leave node guarding to stealth classes and don't try to solo cap one if you know a stealth is there.

 

It's good to hear someone voicing alot of thoughts over concerns I've had. I've always felt like 1vs1 against many of the other classes Marauders are at somewhat of a disadvantage despite their great damage output and defensives. The stealth classes just have to many ways to shut us down one on one for us to really keep up with. This may be slightly less the case with Fury, but if we take the low numbers of Fury users we see running around even in PVP it says alot about its poor damage output.

 

Fortunately for me I care more about PVE than i do PVP. PVP is fun and it's something to do, but I'm a raider at heart, and while some of the other classes may do better in PVP than us, we're killing machines in PVE second to none and our DCDs really keep us going well most of the time.

 

Inside of the pack, I guess is where we belong, and now that you pointed it out and I gave is some thought, it does seem that alot of our problems are mitigated when we are fighting with teammates at our sides [so to speak] and our vulnerabilties are somewhat mitigated by them.

 

Snipers rip my *** apart no matter who's standing next to me tho heh, same with Arsenal Mercs [They're like Ranged Carnage heh].

 

Thank you for your response.

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Sentinel/Mara in PVP ? Yes, very good class if there is a pocket healer around... Otherwise is a pain in the neck. I've been playing a lot a warzones since last year and my experience is that Mara/Sents are the easiest to kill. With a Juggernaut/Guardian they die like flies and It amuses me to kill them. MY experience is that Jugg/Guardian has 10 times better defenses than Mara which let's be honest, barely has any... and I don't care what other people say in the matter.

 

Class has very good DPS but it's a glass canon. I like a challenge and Sent/Mara was a challenge for me and thus, I gave the class a fair chance. In the end, I decided that it's a waste of time and energy. No matter what I did, I wasn't satisfied with it because I died many times, couldn't stay alive long enough to actually contribute. Like I said before, trhe class is OP with a healer around but every class is better for PVP, sadly.

 

So my adivce is to leave Mara/Sent and go play classes that are a lot better and enjoyable to play in pvp.

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