Watchmen's Warzone Guide.

Here lies a Watchmen's guide to how the real PvP is in SWTOR. A lot of PvP videos have been misleading and the truth is that warzones play a lot differently than getting some solo kill in the corner. Hopefully you can all find this information useful and be more of an asset to your team on a whole.

00:37-01:01 : Rules and Assisting.

01:02-02:03 : Huttball Guide.

02:03-03:15 : Civil War Guide.

03:16-05:00 : Voidstar Guide.

05:01-06:08 : Novare Coast Guide.

06:09-07:13 : Resolve and General Tips.

07:44-09:32 : Shadow/Assassin Specifics.

Edited and Directed by Shinarika.

Presented by Watchmen.

Produced by PSI.

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Watching the video is highly recommended, but if you do not have the time or the ability to do so, then here's a text version below:

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General

Rule

- Contrary to popular belief, warzones are NOT all about killing, but rather disabling or delaying key members of the enemy team. Killing may help, but it doesn't mean it's everything.

Assisting

- Do you have guard? Do you have heals? Do you have anything to help the team? Use it. Don't be selfish, this is a team effort. If you can toss an off-heal or stun a foe to help out your team mate, do it.

Communication

- This is the key to any form of success. What are you doing? Are you in a bad position? Good position? Have a good feeling that you can make it? Popping a stun? Speak up! Let your team know it all.

CC Checking

- Check your mezzes. Are you dropping a grenade? Is a guardian or sentinel using awe? Is the Operative or Scoundrel using their AoE mez? Are you force lifting or whirlwinding? Pay attention to your CCs and coordinate them. They can make or break games.

Resolve

- Resolve is that little bar next to character potraits that fills up the more times players are disabled in combat. (Stuns, mezzes etc) When it reaches to full, you are immune to those stuns and mezzes for a short period of time.

Tips

- Outnumbered? Just delay them and call for help. Don't try to be a hero and solo two people. Just juke and bait them till backup arrives.

- Try not to play uniform. You need to constantly be swapping your priorities and strategies. The greatest advantage anyone can have in PvP is being unpredictable. This isn't just for gaming, but goes for life in general in any competitive sport.

Warzones

Huttball

- Huttball has no specific strategy, but the basic understanding is knowing when to pass the ball, controlling the central area and setting up passes. Of course things constantly shift in the meta-game so be creative and bold.

- Sages/Sorcs should try to get pulls on rafters, Guardians/Juggs should be the main ball carriers due to their exceptional advantage with leaping and intercepting. Gunslingers/Snipers should be heavily focused on mid.

- Shadows/ Assassins should be harrassing the enemy team's setups and key areas. Sentinels/Maras should be trigger happy with Trancesendence. Scoundrels are great for AoE mezzing and stealth caps.

- Commandos/Mercs or DPS Vanguards can utilize the rafters for safety. Healers of any class should be assisting in their respective fields. Whether it's setting up pulls or controlling mid. Setup passes and keep a clear focus on the ball. Be aware of charging classes and do not let them gain their advantages. Every class can do something in huttball, but it's up to the player to truly utilize it and make it shine.

Civil War

- Playing defensive in Civil War is fine. Playing defensive right off the bat, isn't. You need to keep your enemies guessing what side you're going to hit next. If they come bumrushing one side, see to it you have the offensive power to push another.

- Once you gain at least two sides, you've gained the advantage. You should keep this advantage, but you should never think it will remain the same. Be constantly aware and prepared for enemies that will rush your node. You can never be too safe.

- Remember, like any other warzone in this game, the key is not really killing, but delaying. Hold back the enemy team as long as you can so your team can gain the advantage.

Voidstar

Dritzfury

"Alright, try not to kill them fast...Kill them slowly. Just slow them down." - After the first door cap.

- What Dritzfury said is the perfect example of generally how it goes in warzones. Voidstar especially. When you gain the offensive cap on the first door, it's very easy to get ahead and stay ahead.

- Even against good players, if there's no respawns ahead of you, you're free to cap doors.

- Can you cap both doors? Do it. Sends the enemy team into an even deeper panic. "Who do I stop first?" You also increase your chances of getting ahead.

- Defending Voidstar is simple. Never leave one alone at a door and ALWAYS keep your eyes on the door. Don't chase after kills and don't abandon your position. Call out incs.

Novare Coast

- However on the strat you choose to capture two points in NC, regardless you have to always be aware of where the enemy is at all times. Keep a clear communication and don't panic to call for help even if it's just one coming your way.

- Pay attention to the nodes, Novare Coast is all about capping these objectives.

- Remember, stalling people is the key to success when you already have the advantage.

Shadow/Assassin Specifics

Know your Role

- This class performs best as a pest and an absurd annoyance to the enemy team. You have a wide range of tools in your arsenal to demoralize and derail the enemy team.

Awareness

- Move like a snake. Slither along the map. Use the environment to your advantage. Abuse LoS (Line of Sight) and keep your enemies on their toes. If they're guessing what you're going to do next then you're already ahead of them.

Rule

- Don't tunnel for damage numbers on the warzone scoreboard. Your epeen won't win you games. Instead, be more of an asset to your team. See someone about to kill your mate to the right? Stop them. Can you toss a guard or Force Pull someone away from the goal line? Do it.

Be Creative

- You're using a highly versatile class. You have sprint, taunts, pulls, guards, stuns and mezzes. This gives a great multitude of dimensions to this class. So don't be shy, try something new.

Tip

- Bait players. Use their tunneling mentality against them and lure them away from their healers or tanks. Seperate the enemy team and scatter them beyond composure. Play like a disruptor.

Objectives

- Never lose what you're truly after. That's to win. Keep your eyes on those nodes, doors or balls at all times. Who cares if it costs you a death? Once you win.

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Hope this guide has helped and gives you a general idea for getting across a win in your warzones. Too many players focus on their own goals over helping a team effort. You're playing a team based game, your role can make or break a team.

Feeling to start dropping in to some real PvP chat? Hit up the Watchmen forums today!

Great video as usual! A couple things I'd like to add though, for instance on Huttball, I find that placing a tankasin constantly stealthed very close their endzone area either at the area in between the last two fires on the highest platform or on either sandbags works ridiculously well. Stealth has an amazing advantage in that you can set yourself up for passes without fear of being pulled or stunned on your way there. Tankasins are best for this role because they have basically 5 seconds of immunity where you can just run through the second fire unscathed or down the middle ramp to the endzone uninteruppted. As long as your team controls the mid, you control the game with this strategy.

Another thing assassins can do very well is peel. A tankasin in my opinion is the strongest peeler in the game because of the absence of an explicit counter. Place your guard on a healer and follow him everywhere. If he has a mara/sent ravaging them, spike, slow, taunt. If theres a pyrotech, pull or knockback. Stun works well, and if you run insta whirlwind (which I strongly strongly recommend) you can shut down 3 or 4 dps on a healer.

And by the way, that soundbite at the beginning is what my guildies hear everytime I'm capping anything

Great video as usual! A couple things I'd like to add though, for instance on Huttball, I find that placing a tankasin constantly stealthed very close their endzone area either at the area in between the last two fires on the highest platform or on either sandbags works ridiculously well. Stealth has an amazing advantage in that you can set yourself up for passes without fear of being pulled or stunned on your way there. Tankasins are best for this role because they have basically 5 seconds of immunity where you can just run through the second fire unscathed or down the middle ramp to the endzone uninteruppted. As long as your team controls the mid, you control the game with this strategy.

 

Another thing assassins can do very well is peel. A tankasin in my opinion is the strongest peeler in the game because of the absence of an explicit counter. Place your guard on a healer and follow him everywhere. If he has a mara/sent ravaging them, spike, slow, taunt. If theres a pyrotech, pull or knockback. Stun works well, and if you run insta whirlwind (which I strongly strongly recommend) you can shut down 3 or 4 dps on a healer.

 

And by the way, that soundbite at the beginning is what my guildies hear everytime I'm capping anything

Well said. Some solid points in there. I show just how "fair and balanced" resilience is in huttball too .

Also, if any of the community wants to add, please feel free to do so.

So, where is this smart AoE that everyone was talking about?

I was doing the End of Torvix heroic on Corellia and I was just AoE'ing like mad, thinking that CC'ed targets wont be hit, yet I broke every single CC there was and I was like "Whoops".

playing 23/1/17 assassin, I spam death field all around. The thing is, it STILL breaks CC and it shouldn't, cause it's an AoE, unless they did not put smart AoE into the game yet.

So, where is this smart AoE that everyone was talking about?

 

I was doing the End of Torvix heroic on Corellia and I was just AoE'ing like mad, thinking that CC'ed targets wont be hit, yet I broke every single CC there was and I was like "Whoops".

 

playing 23/1/17 assassin, I spam death field all around. The thing is, it STILL breaks CC and it shouldn't, cause it's an AoE, unless they did not put smart AoE into the game yet.

a) Only for tanks

b) Must be in tank stance For BH PT we get rail shot, with our ion cylinder DoT on target applied by rocket punch hit 4 targets and its "smart AoE" DPS don't get this b/c al you have to do is damange. Tanks have to taunt, position, keep threat, ect.

So, where is this smart AoE that everyone was talking about?

 

I was doing the End of Torvix heroic on Corellia and I was just AoE'ing like mad, thinking that CC'ed targets wont be hit, yet I broke every single CC there was and I was like "Whoops".

 

playing 23/1/17 assassin, I spam death field all around. The thing is, it STILL breaks CC and it shouldn't, cause it's an AoE, unless they did not put smart AoE into the game yet.

The smart AOE only applies to Wither

The smart AOE only applies to Wither

Mainly due to the fact that you HAVE to use Wither because it's a central part of your rotation. Death Field is still selective in terms of usage.

I'm always uploading raw PVP gameplay on my Youtube channel using the 23/1/17 build. Feel free to follow me at http://www.youtube.com/mattbassist

Here's an example.

Update:

Let me start with saying this is not a guide that is going to teach you to top the scoreboard at the end of a game.

However if you intend to be most valuable player that isn't really what you should aim for, anyway.

 

Alright so lets get started. I will do my best to give as many situations as possible, but I'm bound to miss some.

My fellow Assassins and Shadows are more than welcome to make suggestions down below.

 

Legend:

 

Node = The bomb, Turrent or otherwise objective point that can be captured one way or another.

Ninja = Stealing a "Node" from your enemies. There are many ways to ninja, Control-Capping is the fastest. But killing the defender and taking the base is also an option.

 

Always remember that the element of surprise is your strongest asset, and anyone that ruins it will destroy any and all chances for you to get a ninjacap.

 

Going over this per warzone map:

 

[Alderaan Civil War]

Recommended spec: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#200ZfrcRzGbRr0zZfMcor.3

 

This spec offers you maximum survivability while maintaining all the burst deception hybrid has to offer. Perfect for this warzone.

 

3 Bases, Typically named Grass/Middle/Snow. I'm going to assume that you all know which invididual base uses which name.

 

Start out on one of the side bases. You should never head for the middle at the start unless you are dead certain the sides are sorted and you are a tank. If you are not a tank, you shouldn't really ever be at the middle base unless there is nowhere else to go to.

 

If you do succeed in taking one of the side bases, it'll be your duty to defend it with your life. Call incomings as soon as you see them heading your way. Never try to 1v1 someone without calling them in, if you ambushed by another stealther when you are down most of your cooldowns and half your health pool, your buddies will be unable to assist you in time and the base will be lost.

 

If your team is on the losing side, you can ask someone else to defend the node you're at, and try to ninja the other side while the rest of your team puts hard pressure on the enemy team at the middle base. If there is more than 1 defender, and the enemy team can afford to respond with another without losing middle base.. your team is in a very high disadvantage and you probebly can't do anything but go back to your old node or help them in the middle.

 

Always keep on the lookout for oppertunities though, if you see the former secondary defender of the enemy node pop up at the middle, it might be worth considering to Force Cloak and moving to the node to retry your ninja.

 

 

[Novare Coast]

Recommended spec: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#200bc0MZfrcRkGdRbbdzZc.3

 

There is absolutely nothing that dishes out more single target (burst) damage than this spec does.

 

Again 3 bases, 1 south, 1 west and 1 east. Apart from a different pathing towards the other nodes you now also don't actively, but progressively capture the node. Meaning a CC cap in a solo scenario is pretty much impossible unless your opponent is not very potent.

 

Aside from that though, you can't really head for the northern enemy base at the start and prevent them from capping it in the first place. It's not impossible but doing so is usually very risky unless you are absolutely sure your teammates will hold your own side and still provide a fight at the southern base.

 

Once both teams have their own side, there is likely to still be an ongoing fight for the middle base. As Assassin defender you can help your team in this by sneaking to the opposing teams northern base and just attack the defender. This will usually lead to the enemy team sending someone to help the defender in question. Meaning less stress for your team in the middle.

 

Ofcourse, if you think you have a chance of killing this defender before help can even arrive in time.. you should most definitely do so. This will require them to send even more people and if you have a little luck with the respawn door you might actually steal the base in question.

 

Aside from that, there sadly isn't much out of the standard you can do playing an Assassin on Novare.

 

 

[The Voidstar]

Recommended spec: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#200ZfrcRzGrRb0zZfMcor.3

 

This spec offers you all the burst deception hybrid has to offer, plus the ability to continuously slow your target. Allowing maximum uptime as this is pretty iffy with the 2 pillars and cc splattered around. Though it shouldn't be that bad in normals as it is in rated.

 

Alternative spec: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#200bc0MZfrcRkGdRbbdzZc.3

 

(Same as the Novare one)

 

This map is the only map where, if you want to play to the max of your capability, should play full tank. And only in the defense. If you have a Gunslinger or Sniper, ask him/her to defend the door where nobody is going to. You will want to be guarding and protecting your healers on the side that is actually busy.

If there is no Gunslinger or Sniper, then just defend the quiet door yourself. A full tank set will allow you to basically become a fortress and stand your own against multiple enemies for a lengthy amount of time. Ofcourse you should always let your team know when you get company either way.

 

Use your cooldowns wisely, and only use your CC breaker when they are capping and there is nobody else near enough to stop the cap yet.

 

On the attack, there is 2 things you can choose from. The first is the direct approach, frontal attack with the rest of the team and thin the opposing teams numbers to an amount of players that is controllable for the duration of the cap.

 

The second option, is to try and perform a ninjacap. Now, this is only possible on the door that nobody else is going to. And only possible with a single defender, unless you are not alone yourself. But that requires a high level of coordination.

 

There is a few things you can do. The first is to find the enemy player behind one of the pillars while your phasewalk is already on the plant spot. A quick mind maze > phase walk > cap should do the trick. Ofcourse of there is a breaker availeble at this point you're going to have to try again.

 

There are 2 ways to do the second attempt.

 

1 is to force cloak > mind maze the single defender if he is in a position where you can immediately start capping after the maze.

 

The other is to whirlwind him/her. But you will likely be getting interrupted on this, so I tend to cast whirlwind in combination with force shroud/resilience at this point.

 

You might wonder why you would waste such a powerful cooldown on not getting interrupted.. But that is just because if you do get the whirlwind off, it's a definite cap anyway.

 

 

[Ancient Hypergate]

Recommended spec: Either Death Field and Full deception work great here. Play whatever.

 

Well.. there are actually 2 entirely different ways to play this map. And any player who is familiar with the higher level of Rated Warzones will know exactly what I am talking about.

 

BUT, because this is a simple guide, I'm going to assume that anyone who does play the rated warzone version is already familiar with everything I'm writing here anyway.

 

Alright, so at the start there are 2 things you can do. But since you are an assassin/shadow you ALWAYS go to a pylon no matter what.

The middle is a pool of burning hot lava that only clots when the pylons are about to blow!

 

Ok. Now we have that cleared up.. I for myself, tend to go to the right side pylon (As seen from your spawn point of view) but either pylon is fine really. Once your team has a pylon and the useless classes are burning their feet in the hot pool of lava that is the middle.. you can look at what's going on at the enemy teams pylon.

 

Now this map is very interesting with ninjacapping. Because of the 6-second cap, it's entirely possible to ninja from someone that is guarding it while standing in gosh darn africa. Simply put your phase walk at the pylon, go sap the guard, teleport back and start capping. Watch them use their breaker, and repeat the force shroud/resilience + Whirlwind strategy from voidstar. Foolproof, only a sage/scorcerer will be able to prevent you from doing this.

 

Also, when the pylons are about to go in lock-down, you should (if availeble) put your phasewalk near the pylon for a quick return after the blast wave. If your teammates put up a few slows on the people following you, they will never be able to stop you.

 

For the right positions to place your phase walk, take a look at theise schreenshots:

 

This is for the imperial "home" base.

 

Put phase walk down here:

http://i.imgur.com/yCivJgLl.jpg

 

Teleport from here:

http://i.imgur.com/B0SdR1Fl.jpg

 

DON'T USE IT BEFORE IT's LIT UP OR IT WILL FAIL AND DO NOTHING:

http://i.imgur.com/DAN0W5pl.jpg

 

This is for the republic "home" base.

 

Put Phase walk down here:

http://i.imgur.com/1bSG8J5l.jpg

 

Use it 2 inches in front of here (basically half way in, just as the other):

http://i.imgur.com/4ic6Vbll.jpg

 

The whole point of this is to skip the wall obstacle. That saves you valueable time.

 

 

[Huttball]

Alright, I kept the best for last.

 

This is the very best map you can possibly get as an assassin. It is so awesome that it REQUIRES it's own spec. Now not every Assassin will agree with my spec, however.. I'm not going to discuss that here.

 

Here is the spec that I use:

http://i.imgur.com/wLawc9Tl.jpg

 

Bigger picture:

http://i.imgur.com/wLawc9T.jpg

 

What is important is that you hold the middle even while scoring. If the enemy team's carrier is about to score and there is no sight on stopping him.. just give up and get the middle. That's more important.

Look for oppertunities to pull the enemy carrier into the fires. But only do a pull when you're 90% sure you can burn this person in the fire or atleast blow his cooldowns that allow him to survive.

 

This is also the reason you should NEVER PULL THE ENEMY CARRIER TO THE LAST END ZONE FIRES OF YOUR OWN LINE FROM DOWNSTAIRS AND FILL THEIR RESOLVE COMPLETELY unless you know for sure (and with sure i mean 100% without a doubt about it) that the carrier is going to die in that fire.

 

Put your phase walk somewhere near the middle, either next to the ball spawn or next to a fire on the top lane near the middle for a quick pull/return.

I even used to do it myself, and sometimes still do it.. but putting phasewalks in endzones is hardly ever worth it. The middle is far more important unless that phase walk is going to obtain you a ball.

 

Aside from that, guard your healers, carriers and play smart. Don't fill carrier resolve, just slow him and leave it at that. That resolve is better used for fires.

Thanks for the update but with the removal of field respec, players are just running blind into pvp and it's pot luck what you end up with and if your spec suits that map.

Dumbest thing yet to come from biofail.