This is the best way to do it no doubt.

 

As a former active raider on Bloodworthy EU - Semi - Powertech - Inq

 

I tested this the same way and did 1750 dps without burning cooldown on my 100% end tier PvE geared powertech.

 

I was always and without any discussion the first to finish this encounter with similar geared guild members of all classes during a 4 week period. We counted the Pyrotech as a melee dps, do to the need for Rocket punch in any given rotation.

 

the build was 8/6/27 or 7/6/28

would you be able to link those builds please i'm curious to what you took in shield and AP trees and what you dropped in pyro to do so

With a powertech, you run through the mobs, ignore the hits, and, when you've collected about 15 of them, burn them down. Makes it almost as quick as sneaking by the mobs, gives you quick exp and bonus quests

my trooper is actually higher level than my scoundrel, but its cute you think you need to give me some type of tutorial, lol.

i dont have "proof" any more than other people, but honestly i kill things so fast on my scoundrel and can bypass all the stupid junk with stealth that its literally been the easiest class ive played in the game for pve leveling up.

Arsenal Merc is at the top tier of damage output along with a couple of other class/specs. But Mercs have high survivability, and a dead DPS doesn't do any damage.

For example, Gharj (HM) has a stomp that can require some melee to back out for a few seconds, losing DPS.

Melee are also likely to take more damage from Bonethrasher due to always being near his cleave area. (Ever been hit by the magical backwards cleave?)

When taking damage from ball lightnings vs Soa, Mercs can self shield and shrug off the lightning where Snipers/Ops are more vulnerable to damage.

During annihilator boss in EV, Mercs are more easily able to stand in AoE heals and DPS thru the missile barrage. Melee have to back out to LOS or get into the AoE heal. Other DPS have to be more aware of their HP.

Operatives don't have a gap closer so when switching targets, they lose a couple seconds of DPS. For example, on Mind Traps on Soa, Carbonizer droids in KP, adds in any fight, etc

In my guild raids the melee always put out more damage in the 1v1 over the ranged. I think it goes something like Marauder/Sentinel > Operative/Scoundrel > Jugg/Guardian and Mercenary tie.

There is no way of currently measuring class performance in pve. Anyone who provides you advice is pulling the numbers out of their ***

I did 1172 dps today on council in HM EV. That is one way of telling (though its still not exact). That was with unlucky procs also. Only a 1min 32 second fight though, standing still.

by pve dps you mean solo content or operations?

for operations it should be something like:

in no particular order when in same tier:

top 2: sniper/marauder they both also bring some goodies with them (sniper is ranged+DR cd for operation), marauder brings 15%damage buff for operation and operation wide small heals)

next: pt, sorc, merc, assassin

last: jugg, operative

for solo and for 4mans are are viable.

my trooper is actually higher level than my scoundrel, but its cute you think you need to give me some type of tutorial, lol.

 

 

i dont have "proof" any more than other people, but honestly i kill things so fast on my scoundrel and can bypass all the stupid junk with stealth that its literally been the easiest class ive played in the game for pve leveling up.

Hmm, I didn't think I was giving you a tutorial, was just stating my opinion. But it's cute how you think everyone knows levels of all your characters

Any dps class can be equal depending on the skill of the player and how comfortable u are with that spec...

What maybe easier to level for some may not be the same way for others. Looking for the best or easiest is bad imo.. Get opinions on each class/spec on how they function and play the one that most suits ur playstyle.

There really isn't a good measure of any dps class currently in game. There is no encounter where one can stand still for 5 minutes and go through their rotation. We'll have to wait for 1.2 to come with combat logs and target dummies.

Even infernal council is a horrible measure for most classes, as the dps opponents use knockbacks which interrupt merc/sorc and knock snipers out of cover. Operative and assassin dps cannot be behind their targets either, neutralizing some of their high-damage abilities.

As for ease of leveling, any dps with decent survivability and a healing companion makes for an easy time leveling. So does a healer with a tanky companion. I'd personally recommend merc/commando as they have about the highest survivability among dps classes, a relatively simple rotation, and most of their damage sources aren't affected by the defense of the target.

Although I feel most statements about how good a class/spec is at DPS is based mostly on speculation, and yes I think the game is pretty fairly balanced; it is not perfectly balanced. Each class/spec has it's own abilities with it's different strengths/weaknesses, and no two classes of any one faction are exactly the same. There are in fact differences. The game is NOT *perfectly* balanced and some classes (DPS-wise) are simply better than others. Perhaps not by large margins, but different none the less. However, that said, the margins by which each class does either better or worse than the others is *largely* overshadowed by the skill and gear of the person using that class. When it comes down to it, what matters most is the skill of the player and the gear they're wearing. The class alone will not keep a person with the right skill and gear from performing well. Being in a 16 man HM Progression Guild (Lethal Synergy), I find that the highest DPS classes tend to be of the two classes that are exclusively DPS = Marauders and Snipers. Many of the good raiders that I know (even outside of the guild) seem to agree on that notion. However, a good DPS Sorc or Merc (or any class for that matter) can easily do higher numbers than a Sniper or a Marauder if they are better raiders or simply have better gear.

BTW: just because you pull aggro after a tank dies, that does not mean you have higher DPS. If I remember correctly, Powertechs do not have a threat dump ability. If your fellow DPS'ers are dropping their threat as they are supposed to, you SHOULD pull the boss after the tank dies, even if your DPS is lower. Not trying to knock you dude, but it's simply an invalid conclusion.

I leveled a BH as a shieldtech, switched to pyro at lvl 50 and did that for 2 months, and tried AP for a couple weeks... I also lvled a annihilation marauder... Hands down marauder was easier, faster, did noticeably more PvE damage, and allowed me to solo heroics 2+ and even some heroics 4 that I could NEVER have done with my BH >50.

BH powertechs get NO CC abilities (aside from stuns and a minor Mako CC). Heavy armor does not let you run through 15+ sized mobs and "burn em down" unless you're talking about low hp trash. The marauder's defensive abilities combined with high damage output = high survivability and fast leveling.

Having said that, I still like playing my BH shieldtech more than my marauder... Mostly because a geared tank has more survivability and gets more "action" (IMHO) than any dps when doing endgame content.

It shows what classes/ACs are neglected that few people in this thread have mentioned Gunslinger/Sniper as being top-end DPS options. They're probably the closest to hitting Marauder levels of DPS, and I personally think they're easier to survive with. I've had times in FPs and Heroics where my Sniper has opened up and some of the other players have not believed how fast enemies have dropped.

Ah well. If there were more of us around, we wouldn't feel so special.

It shows what classes/ACs are neglected that few people in this thread have mentioned Gunslinger/Sniper as being top-end DPS options. They're probably the closest to hitting Marauder levels of DPS, and I personally think they're easier to survive with. I've had times in FPs and Heroics where my Sniper has opened up and some of the other players have not believed how fast enemies have dropped.

Ah well. If there were more of us around, we wouldn't feel so special.

it depends on boss's skills,

for example: hm tfb boss 1 , aoe dps would be top(in our group is merc/commando),

but boss 2, mobile dps would be top(PT/vanguard),

but bad players always think rdps is better, cause they think it is easier,

but wrong.

it depends on boss's skills,

for example: hm tfb boss 1 , aoe dps would be top(in our group is merc/commando),

but boss 2, mobile dps would be top(PT/vanguard),

but bad players always think rdps is better, cause they think it is easier,

but wrong.

'Slingers/Snipers have a very nive AoE tree, too; Saboteur/Engineer. I'm not claiming they're best at everything, but in a thread about High DPS classes I do think they need plenty of attention, because that's what they are.

If we're talking about Operations.... I say you can't really narrow it down to a fixed ranking. There are too many things to take into consideration.

+.) Team setup

+.) Player and experience of the DPS

+.) Encounters

+.) understanding the class and desire to play that class.

etc etc.

For instance, many have rerolled mara/sent after they've seen what some players are capable off in PvP or simply by being influenced through the forums. I give you that, it is a very very powerful and actively played class (meaning many buttons to push), but only because you rerolled the class doesn't make you play it well.

Played a sage from the beginning, got bored really quick. Basically all you do is kite, shield, project, pebbles and throw in a heal now an then.... sounds boring? Yeah to me it is and when I get bored, I get lazy and when I get lazy I start doing mistakes resulting in me getting pissed. Others will beg the differ, but the class does not fit my play style hence I will never be as effective as a Sage that actually wants to play the class.

My point is, and that i truly believe... a smart Sage will eventually outplay/dps a sent/mara on some meele centric encounters and the other way around.

The original OP post was from February....

RiP