The PvP Vindicator set bonus for 4 pieces is a nice 10% damage increase for 5 seconds after Force Leap. Pretty lackluster for a Guardian of any kind if you ask me, but for a Watchman it seems to scream "USE ME!"

 

My only concern is that campaign gear stats will render this bonus moot since its Strength stats are higher by roughly 80 points across 4 pieces. Will campaign gear invalidate this bonus to damage or is it worthwhile for somebody who mostly enjoys PvE to get 4 pieces of War Hero Vindicator armors to rip out the armorings and transplant them into a PvE set?

You are losing 80 or so str but watchman are gaining 10% bonus 40% of the time. I don't think 80 str(or power) gives you that much extra damage. I am going a slightly different route. Instead of the usual power augments I am going str to make up for the 80 lost str. With the WH armoring and WH mods(best in the game IMO.) I'll be sitting at about 1700-1800 str with a might stim and still be rolling with around 900-1000 expertise.

You are losing 80 or so str but watchman are gaining 10% bonus 40% of the time. I don't think 80 str(or power) gives you that much extra damage. I am going a slightly different route. Instead of the usual power augments I am going str to make up for the 80 lost str. With the WH armoring and WH mods(best in the game IMO.) I'll be sitting at about 1700-1800 str with a might stim and still be rolling with around 900-1000 expertise.

 

So, in short, not only is it worth it, but it may be worthwhile to go for all 5 slots so I can rip out mods, too?

 

On a side note, I am going with either Strength augments or Crit augments since I get refunded 2 focus when Slash crits. I feel that that refund really helps the flow of battle, and more focus is better, always. I'm still debating whether or not to ditch 2 points of dual wielding mastery for +15 crit chance on Slash. I haven't taken that leap yet, but I can't help but wonder if it would be worth it.

Edited June 14, 2012 by MasterGladius

The str drop is only in comparison to PvE armor. The weapons master and vindicator armor have the same main stats so if you're looking from a PvP only it's a matter of set bonus. Personally I am doing very pricy modding to make my armor viable for both.

I'm looking at it from a PvE perspective. I want to be the best Ops DPS I can be. I do some PvP, but I'm not competitive, and even if I was I'd probably play a Shadow or Scoundrel instead. I enjoy PvP, but I don't see a lot of ranked in my future.