Quick survey

 

PVP DPS Assault Vanguard

 

Augment every piece with Power augments? or Aim augments? *yes I know they are called something else but the names elude me atm*

 

I was thinking aim made the most sense as one could get the maximum use from the middle skill on the second tier of the shield specialist tree.

 

What is your advice oh forum goers?

Run the power overkill augments.

In my opinion always go with mainstat augments. This is especially true if you're putting points in the Aim bonus. The bonus to crit is worth the small loss in bonus damage and should let you fully replace one crit enhancement or mod with a power one somewhere else for an overall better gain.

Quick survey

 

PVP DPS Assault Vanguard

 

Augment every piece with Power augments? or Aim augments? *yes I know they are called something else but the names elude me atm*

 

I was thinking aim made the most sense as one could get the maximum use from the middle skill on the second tier of the shield specialist tree.

 

What is your advice oh forum goers?

 

I actually JUST finished testing both... at a very high cost. I ran the aim heavy build with a 7/3/31 and aim augments and then tried the 2/8/31 build with power augments...

 

Go power. drop crit chance and stack power. I think my crit rating is at 159 or so... considering most of your damage is yellow (tech) and only rapid shots and rail shot are white (ranged) you can afford to drop crit since you get perks from buffs and spec for increased crit chance on rail shot and your tech crit chance will still be at around 30% which is where most of your damage comes from anyways.

 

I know many will say aim but after testing myself... me and all the other PT's in my guild who have all tested it at some point all ended up with the power build. I noticed a nice increase in over all damage. Some even drop crit rating more but I prefer mine at the 159 rating it's at now.

Edited February 5, 2013 by UGLYMRJ

I actually JUST finished testing both... at a very high cost. I ran the aim heavy build with a 7/3/31 and aim augments and then tried the 2/8/31 build with power augments...

 

Go power. drop crit chance and stack power. I think my crit rating is at 159 or so... considering most of your damage is yellow (tech) and only rapid shots and rail shot are white (ranged) you can afford to drop crit since you get perks from buffs and spec for increased crit chance on rail shot and your tech crit chance will still be at around 30% which is where most of your damage comes from anyways.

 

I know many will say aim but after testing myself... me and all the other PT's in my guild who have all tested it at some point all ended up with the power build. I noticed a nice increase in over all damage. Some even drop crit rating more but I prefer mine at the 159 rating it's at now.

 

Damn the cost, but why didn't you test 2/8/31 with power augments? And then test it again with one less crit mod/enhancement and one more power mod/enhancement?

 

I mean 2/8/31 may just be that much better of a spec.

Damn the cost, but why didn't you test 2/8/31 with power augments? And then test it again with one less crit mod/enhancement and one more power mod/enhancement?

 

I mean 2/8/31 may just be that much better of a spec.

 

I def played around with a lot of things... dropping certain stats and stacking others, different builds, etc. I went a lot further than what I described but as far as the aim vs power this is the only part I thought was necessary.

 

I've probably done more testing and playing with specs and builds with my PT than with any other class. I think with other classes it's pretty cut and dry, at least with the sorc and marauder I knew exactly what was working better and quicker. With the PT it seemed like it took more testing and was more difficult to see a difference, it's less of a variance.

 

I think the biggest problem and my problem at first was focusing too much on the damage output of rail shot... I felt like that should be the focus... much like many others obviously do but when you look at the tech vs ranged aspect of it... how much damage is really coming from rail shot in comparison?

 

Yes.... it's often and an important part of the spec... but is it worth the trade off when you're using so many tech attacks to set up that ONE ranged ability. With this build my RS is still hitting for 4-4.5K on average... still the occasional 5k+ RS from time to time but more importantly... my tech damage is noticeably higher.

 

Flame burst often hitting for over 2K, Rocket punch for 3-3.5, explosive dart hitting for 2-3k and my thermal detonator is hitting for 4.5-5.5K.

 

On top of that death from above is hitting many target for 1200+ a hit and I even see 2k hits in there once in a while.

Edited February 5, 2013 by UGLYMRJ

the difference is insignificant.

i use the 7/3/31 build and run w/ aim augs.

 

works well

I def played around with a lot of things... dropping certain stats and stacking others, different builds, etc. I went a lot further than what I described but as far as the aim vs power this is the only part I thought was necessary.

 

I've probably done more testing and playing with specs and builds with my PT than with any other class. I think with other classes it's pretty cut and dry, at least with the sorc and marauder I knew exactly what was working better and quicker. With the PT it seemed like it took more testing and was more difficult to see a difference, it's less of a variance.

 

I think thats because of the abundance of good talents low in the trees that are, nevertheless in like tier two of stuff which means you have to choose (why that aim buff is in tier 2 of the tanking tree I'll never know).

 

Still less of a variance seems to indicate that it doesn't really matter as far as augments are concerned, which to be fair was always the case. In classes without a main stat buff talent it was always about 1% crit for about 5 total bonus damage.

 

Still I'd like to know more about your testing if you don't mind. What'd you try what were the results etc. PM me if you get bored and can spare the time?

Edited February 5, 2013 by ArchangelLBC

I think thats because of the abundance of good talents low in the trees that are, nevertheless in like tier two of stuff which means you have to choose (why that aim buff is in tier 2 of the tanking tree I'll never know).

 

Still less of a variance seems to indicate that it doesn't really matter (which to be fair was almost always the case. In classes without a main stat buff talent it was always about 1% crit for about 5 total bonus damage).

 

Still I'd like to know more about your testing if you don't mind. What'd you try what were the results etc. PM me if you get bored and can spare the time?

 

Check edit... I went into some more detail about the root of why I think it's better. I can shoot ya my TS info as well... prob not gonna be on until late tonight and will be on less in the next few weeks. (getting married friday)

 

But in the end... I noticed that when tech damage went up my over all damage went up significantly.... when another guildie broke it down in the same way I did... it actually makes a lot of sense.

 

But like many I was too concentrated on my rail shot damage which is a waste of stats IMO.

Check edit... I went into some more detail about the root of why I think it's better. I can shoot ya my TS info as well... prob not gonna be on until late tonight and will be on less in the next few weeks. (getting married friday)

 

But in the end... I noticed that when tech damage went up my over all damage went up significantly.... when another guildie broke it down in the same way I did... it actually makes a lot of sense.

 

But like many I was too concentrated on my rail shot damage which is a waste of stats IMO.

 

First off Congratulations. Many happy years!

 

And yeah I'm not saying Tech Damage isn't important. Obviously it is. I'm just still thinking about 5 bonus damage vs 1% crit (both ranged and tech). Still seems you could hit a better sweet spot just dropping down to the 115 range of crit rating to and the 41 extra power would leave you with more bonus damage for the same overall crit rate.

 

BTW I'm sure you know this, but make sure to go out and get the cunning datacrons too =X

Quick survey

 

PVP DPS Assault Vanguard

 

Augment every piece with Power augments? or Aim augments? *yes I know they are called something else but the names elude me atm*

 

I was thinking aim made the most sense as one could get the maximum use from the middle skill on the second tier of the shield specialist tree.

 

What is your advice oh forum goers?

 

If you take the 9% aim talent, then aim augs all the way.

 

power gives .23 dam per

main stat gives .20 dam per

 

But consular buff and talent gives a total of 14% more main stat. .20 + (.20 x .14) = .228 dam per

 

Then you factor in the crit you get from main stat, and you're dps will be better with aim augs.

Thanks man... and I plan testing further when I get all the datacrons and honestly... I haven't even maxed out my companions affection for those stat bumps either. Sometimes I forget how much work I still have to do.

 

That will make a difference I'm sure and then back to the drawing board. I just noticed a lack of crits when I dropped my crit rating further and can't see dropping my rating any lower. But I def plan on testing it again after farming all of that crap.

 

In the end you may be right, until you brought it up I didn't even think about factoring that in. But I'm pretty happy with where my stats are now and I can't see dropping crit rating any further even tho I know a few other who would disagree as well.

Edited February 5, 2013 by UGLYMRJ

Instead of spending all that cash, why not use a site like http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/ and just compare your change in base stats that way? Or are you doing it specifically so you can field test all the changes also?

spent the dough on all the power augs, seems to be about the same lol....oh well

 

for the 2/8/31 what is the specific allotment of those points?

 

is it this? 2/8/31

In my opinion always go with mainstat augments. This is especially true if you're putting points in the Aim bonus. The bonus to crit is worth the small loss in bonus damage and should let you fully replace one crit enhancement or mod with a power one somewhere else for an overall better gain.

 

I think around 1700 you start to get VERY little crit and less than have dmg bonus you would from a overkill, just seems that way to me...I get to 1700 with consumable then just overkill( or crit if still low)

This is what I run.

 

Never spec into kolto overload... one of the most useless abilities in the game.

 

Also... some people like spec into degauss or whatever it's called that removes movement impairing effects when energy shield is activated. I prefer the heat displacement when CC'd (gyroscopic override for PT) since it applies to knockbacks, pulls, slows, etc... def helps heat management.

Edited February 6, 2013 by UGLYMRJ

Thanks man... and I plan testing further when I get all the datacrons and honestly... I haven't even maxed out my companions affection for those stat bumps either. Sometimes I forget how much work I still have to do.

 

That will make a difference I'm sure and then back to the drawing board. I just noticed a lack of crits when I dropped my crit rating further and can't see dropping my rating any lower. But I def plan on testing it again after farming all of that crap.

 

In the end you may be right, until you brought it up I didn't even think about factoring that in. But I'm pretty happy with where my stats are now and I can't see dropping crit rating any further even tho I know a few other who would disagree as well.

 

ive found that using the 7/3/31 build with aim augs provides a good balance between crit and power. fully buffed i have 25% ranged crit (40% crit on rail shot) and 30% tech crit.

 

get 5k crits w/ rail shot and thermal det usually a couple times a WZ, rocket punch gets up near 3.5k and flame burst crits for >2k

The difference between power and main stat augs without consular buff and main stat talents is a whopping 7.56 bonus damage.

 

(14 x 18) x .23 = 57.96

(14 x 18) x .20 = 50.4

 

Now if we include consular buff and main stat talent, main stat augs give:

 

(14 x 18) x .228 = 57.46

 

I don't know off the top of my head how much 252 main stat gives in crit %. But I'm 100% sure the damage you get from it is greater than .5 bonus dam.

Edited February 6, 2013 by Smashbrother

it depends on your spec. if you're spec'd into steely resolve (2nd tier tank tree), then you get either a 6% or 9% bonus aim (depending on whether you went full pyro/assault). if you made either of those choices, then go aim all the way. at worst, you just get the luxury of swapping out crit mods/enh for power ones. winning.

 

I would apply this as a baseline theory for any AC with a main stat percentage buff.

Edited February 6, 2013 by foxmob