Hi guys,

What rotation should i use on my scrapper? Can any experienced scrapper give some input here?

Thanks for your input.

What i use now is

FR-SF-BW-Sab Charge-SP-(SP if proc)-restealth-FR-SF-BW...

Is this optimal?

It depends.

In many situations, the only window you'll have to use BB is the 1.5 seconds your oponent is face down on the ground (ie before your oponent reacts and faces you), and it really isn't a waste extra DoT since you won't be using FR back to back. Besides, if you want to get free sucker punches, that's what VS is for.

Why no Flechette round back to back? You don't get a separate dot from FR+SF and FR+BB?

Tendon blast for the root, and Sneak for extra speed can help you do a couple of gcd's worth of damage without the enemy being able to respond, due to facing issues.

Should pugnacity be worked in there at any point?

FR after FR just refreshes it, you loose damage. They don't stack.

Also Pugnacity in this pvp situation I feel it makes you loose burst. I would rather throw an extra SP and use Cool Head instead.

Thanks for your input.

 

What i use now is

 

FR-SF-BW-Sab Charge-SP-(SP if proc)-restealth-FR-SF-BW...

 

Is this optimal?

You almost never want to use Disappearing Act as part of a rotation. For one, it is only up every 1.5 minutes, and you will definitely be fighting more than one opponent in that time frame. More importantly, it just isn't needed unless you are 1v1ing someone to gain control of a side node (Civil War/Novare) or to open up a Voidstar door. You have more than enough damage output without relying on DA.

The most basic "rotation" that I use is below.

FR + SF (1 UH)

Blaster Whip (2 UH)

Pugnacity (1 UH)

Dirty Kick (1 UH)

Sabotage Charge (1 UH)

FR + Backblast (1 UH)

Blaster Whip (2 UH)

Sucker Punch

Sucker Punch

If you are in a melee with multiple enemies (for example, mid at Civil War, a Huttball scramble, south node in the opening 2 minutes of Novare, etc.) then you absolutely need Pugnacity up. If you are just soloing or 1v2ing/2v2ing a side node, then you can skip Pugnacity and use Cool Head when you get low. In those situations with fewer enemies, you need to burst as quickly as possible, and Pugnacity wastes damage in the short term.

It depends.

 

In many situations, the only window you'll have to use BB is the 1.5 seconds your oponent is face down on the ground (ie before your oponent reacts and faces you), and it really isn't a waste extra DoT since you won't be using FR back to back. Besides, if you want to get free sucker punches, that's what VS is for.

There are basically no situations where you would want to Backblast your opponent immediately after a Shoot First. The only exception I can think of is if you are trying to burst through an Op healer with frequent Emergency Medpac reapplications, but that's really it. In the vast majority of cases you want to save your Backblast to reapply the FR DOT.

If your problem is positioning then you need to get better at combat maneuvering. You should never have a problem with flanking an opponent to fire BB, even if your opponent is good at moving around.

As a final note, "rotation" is sort of meaningless in a PvP situation. You often need to deviate from your rotation when s**** happens. If you get knocked back you might need to cleanse the root and throw a Thermal Grenade as you run back. If you are getting kited, you might need to Tendon Blast. You might get stunned before you can proceed in a rotation, so some new CDs will be up that would not have otherwise been ready. Basically, PvP is a mess and you need to adapt to whatever mess you are facing. Rotations are a great starting point, but not a good way to think about PvP in the long term. You DO want the muscle memory associated with the rotation, but you can't develop that at the expense of adaptability.

For example, against some enemies you will want to throw down a Vital Shot early (Jugs and PTs come to mind). But against other enemies, VS is one of the worst wastes of energy you can use (Sins with Shroud). Similarly, against a healer you probably want to save Sabotage Charge until they are low, especially against Op/Scoundrel healers with Emergency Medpac. That last 30% of HP is the hardest to get through, and saving Sabotage Charge can really help get through that. If against a Shrouded enemy, you need to pour on the Overload Shots and not waste tech CDs. As another example, sometimes you tunnel down a healer and realize you can't kill him. Maybe he has another healer on him, maybe he is guarded and protected by taunts, and maybe you are just taking too much damage. In that case, you need to peel off, fire some combination of Tendon Blast/Flurry of Bolts/Thermal Grenade until you LOS, and then toss down heals.

Basically, PvP gives rise to a lot of situations that don't get covered in a basic rotation, so it is important to also think more broadly about your abilities.

My opener is pretty similar. I disagree about not using your vanish often. If you have an opportunity for a killing blow, you get the killing blow and speed burst to try and not get pulled into combat. Then just re-stealth. If you get pulled into combat, well whatever go back to doing what you were doing. You just got 2 TA's (one from the SF and the other from a killing blow) so use one of your Sucker Punches before going to Blaster Whip...

Also it is important to time your FR dots so that they don't overlap and you'll be able to use a flashbang on the person and the dot won't break it. This will allow you to heal yourself up or put down your big AoE.

My opener is pretty similar. I disagree about not using your vanish often. If you have an opportunity for a killing blow, you get the killing blow and speed burst to try and not get pulled into combat. Then just re-stealth. If you get pulled into combat, well whatever go back to doing what you were doing. You just got 2 TA's (one from the SF and the other from a killing blow) so use one of your Sucker Punches before going to Blaster Whip...

 

Also it is important to time your FR dots so that they don't overlap and you'll be able to use a flashbang on the person and the dot won't break it. This will allow you to heal yourself up or put down your big AoE.

I am still leveling my scoundrel, at level 37 so, maybe flechette round will give me enough extra umph, but I find myself requiring a disappearing act then a shoot first in order to finish off someone who has any healing ability. After the opener similar to the one posted here (using vital shot to fill in for FR, and have to directly apply it obviously) I just lack the damage to pressure much or to finish much of anyone off.

Tips are always welcome though. I keep trying to get better at scrapper and hoping FR adds a bit of something. Shoot First was huge when I got it.

My opener is pretty similar. I disagree about not using your vanish often. If you have an opportunity for a killing blow, you get the killing blow and speed burst to try and not get pulled into combat.

In the standard WZ melee (at South Novare node, Civil War mid, Voidstar main door, etc.) it is rarely worth it to use DA to try and burst down one single dude. The exception is if he is a healer keeping the whole group up and he needs to get dropped fast. Otherwise, you just don't need it to burst down another DPS enemy. It is much better to keep DA up as an escape if you get focused, as a staller if you start losing the fight and need to hold a node, or as a mid battle reset to leave the main fight and switch off sneakily to the side.

Now you might be talking about battles away from the main fight. DA is very useful in 1v1s on side nodes (the Voidstar door/civil war turret/novare artillery node with just 1-2 defenders. There, you often need to kill your enemy before reinforcements can come and help. This is especially true on Novare Coast where a solo cap takes longer than just 8 seconds, and you need extra burst to kill a target before his friends show up. But in most cases, I advise not using/relying on DA as additional burst.

I am still leveling my scoundrel, at level 37 so, maybe flechette round will give me enough extra umph, but I find myself requiring a disappearing act then a shoot first in order to finish off someone who has any healing ability. After the opener similar to the one posted here (using vital shot to fill in for FR, and have to directly apply it obviously) I just lack the damage to pressure much or to finish much of anyone off.

 

Tips are always welcome though. I keep trying to get better at scrapper and hoping FR adds a bit of something. Shoot First was huge when I got it.

SF is the first big thing you get on the way to 50, a fact that you are appreciating already. But FR is even bigger. The huge internal DOT is nice, but even better is the awesome 30% armor penetration. Without that 30% AP, you just don't have the stopping power to take down enemies. 40-49 are the happiest times for a Scrapper. You can murder almost any target with impunity. 50 is a reality check, but things get better once you get gear.

In the standard WZ melee (at South Novare node, Civil War mid, Voidstar main door, etc.) it is rarely worth it to use DA to try and burst down one single dude. The exception is if he is a healer keeping the whole group up and he needs to get dropped fast. Otherwise, you just don't need it to burst down another DPS enemy. It is much better to keep DA up as an escape if you get focused, as a staller if you start losing the fight and need to hold a node, or as a mid battle reset to leave the main fight and switch off sneakily to the side.

 

Now you might be talking about battles away from the main fight. DA is very useful in 1v1s on side nodes (the Voidstar door/civil war turret/novare artillery node with just 1-2 defenders. There, you often need to kill your enemy before reinforcements can come and help. This is especially true on Novare Coast where a solo cap takes longer than just 8 seconds, and you need extra burst to kill a target before his friends show up. But in most cases, I advise not using/relying on DA as additional burst.

 

SF is the first big thing you get on the way to 50, a fact that you are appreciating already. But FR is even bigger. The huge internal DOT is nice, but even better is the awesome 30% armor penetration. Without that 30% AP, you just don't have the stopping power to take down enemies. 40-49 are the happiest times for a Scrapper. You can murder almost any target with impunity. 50 is a reality check, but things get better once you get gear.

Time to power my way to 40. Can't wait.