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21 Shadow Consular - Im not liking it.


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Im a level 21 Shadow Consular and im not liking it.

I have the feeling that I have too many skills I dont use (take up space) and at the same time to much skills I DO have to use.

 

Does this get better late game or should I reroll to something I might like better?

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I'm about level 30 as a Shadow. I rolled Sage in beta and I'm trying shadow now. I struggled to level as a healer in beta (my companions might have been stronger than dps classes, who can tell) but it was very painful to level so I tried a shadow this time. I admit I don't especially care for it so far. The rogue/tank thing seems to cook up somewhat oddly.

 

My usual strategy is to backstab backstab and then double slash until particle acceleration procs and whack them with Project.

 

Also I've heard various people gripe about Qyzen as a companion since even when tank specced I'm found myself relying to Qyzen as my companion rather than the 2nd one (no spoilers).

 

I'm not really sure what to tell you

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Well, the things is, any class will have some abilities you use all the time, and others that you rarely do because you didn't spec for it, or it's not your style.

 

I'm only at 16 right now, but I'm speccing as a Balance shadow. I'm enjoying it as a hybrid melee + short range force powers DPS class. I'm not relying on the stealth, mostly on the melee. Works for me, but YMMV.

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Mbmag, you're using Shadow Strike that much? And as an opening? Yikes. I suppose if it works for you, whatever; but that's not the way I would have picked out as a good way to play it at all.

 

To the Original Poster -- All the classes I've played have encouraged you to use a bunch of different abilities to play them efficiently and effectively. It's just the current trend in MMO design is to just add more and more situational/cooldown abilities with the notion that complexity = depth.

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I love my infiltration shadow!! (level 32). It starts off slow but once you get your main abilities ( I have most of the melee moves cept for clairvoyant strike) it really picks up. Don't use SS as an opener..use breach of telekinetic throw..then I'll use double strike once to proc circling shadows, by this time Infiltration Tactics usually has proced and qyz normally has aggro so pop SS another double strike and then project at 50% the cost. If you need to SS something because qyz is dead or not holding aggro use Low Slash to get behind em.
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Until there is UI customization mods it seems to me that you will just have to not fight the UI and make the best of it.

 

Remove everything off of your quick bars. Then go into your ability list, read over the descriptions again, and just add the crap you actually tend to use based on your spec.

 

At the very least you will want to set up one quickbar for PVP, one for PVE solo, and one for PVE in parties ... then up/down arrow the quickbar based on what you are doing. Make it as simple as possible.

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There is a lot of versatility built into the Shadow advanced class. Some of the skills you will use, some of them you won't. When working your build it is really up to you to decide what you plan to be based on your playstyle. Since I primarily PvP, my Shadow is being created with a 23/2/16 build in mind. This is a Survivability/DPS build. It also works pretty good for Tanking in PvE. However, it wouldn't be an ideal build for DPSing in PvE, in which case, you would probably be better served delving more into Infiltration and Balance specs.

 

Point being, the Shadow can go in a variety of ways. If you are going to be happy playing the class, it would likely be a good idea to determine which way you want to take him/her ahead of time. If you go that route and still don't find satisfaction, then the class probably isn't for you.

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Why open with Telecentic Trow if I may ask?

Aslo, can you give me some pointers on a talent build?

 

It's not so much with what you open with, It's about how you play your character.

 

I ussualy observe, breach, strike him twice, circle, backstab, project, and repeat if need to.

(A mixture of force cloak and repeating it as an element of suprise can be fun too.)

Edited by razorlimited
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my Shadow is being created with a 23/2/16 build in mind.

 

23 + 2 + 16 = 41?? thought it was only 40 as class starts at lvl 10!

 

as for me, i open with shadow strike quite a lot usually just after force potency, but it is up to you really, when you have a healing companion its easier to do this way as far as i'm conceerned. As dps when in the heroic +4s i usually use shadow strike to take out the adds, along with kenetic throw project and wave i get em out pretty quick. then on the silvers is the same, the higher ones i tend to range whoever is targeted by tank, tho i off tank for healer as necessary.. for bosses it's ranged again, with a lot of mind snap ( if possible) of course i mind maze everything that moves cos i like sparkling lights :)

 

basically i'm a ranged dps, part time controller with off tank capabilities :p

 

SHADOWS FTW!!

Edited by ciaranthemoo
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Why open with Telecentic Trow if I may ask?

Aslo, can you give me some pointers on a talent build?

 

It's not so much that he has to open with Telekinetic Throw, but that it'd be better to open with something other than Shadow Strike. Shadow Strikes are better used when Find Weakness has procced, so that it has a better damage per Force point ratio.

 

Telekinetic Throw does have multiple hits though, with each hit contributing to a chance to proc Find Weakness.

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lvl 20 shadow now. the only time I use Telekinetic Throw is to hit a runner. What's that you say? Well, after administering a beat down on some poor soul, he or she takes off running. I then it the ol' Force Potency and WHAM....pebbles to the head.

 

As for shadow strike, unless the find weakness proc is up, I'm fairly certain the cost vs. damage isn't worth it. Someone else can provide the specific math, but I think a Double Strike, Double Strike, Project combo does more damage (no position requirement) and leaves you with some force left. You could even through in Force Potency before the project as well for that added POW!

 

just my two cents

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As for shadow strike, unless the find weakness proc is up, I'm fairly certain the cost vs. damage isn't worth it.

 

Plus good luck knowing when something procs if you are doing anything that requires you pay attention to anything on the screen except the tiny little squares over your health bar.

 

With as many proc abilities as this game has, the lack of any kind of visual feedback in that department boggles the mind.

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Im in my mid 30's and I'm here to tell you that shadow is the bees knees. Im virtually unkillable 1v1 and sometimes 1v2 depending on the other class in pvp. This is due to the insane amount of control I have over ther other guys in pvp. For pve I can take a gold elite with ease and have no issues with large groups again due to my cc. I use my healer companion and find that Im a little slower than with my tank companion but I dont have as much downtime or haveto worry about the whole you have aggroo now your going to die so I need aggro thing. I just say heal me and its done lol. I will say that rotation is very very important on shadow. If you are thinking of the class as a rogue your sort of right. The main thing that confuses people about this class is they think shadow strike is their alpha you die button. Well it can be but not directly out of stealth like a traditional rogue class. You have to pay attention to your buffs. Only use shadow strike if your bypass armor buff is up. Double strike mixed with project is important, remember blackout for regen, and mind snap is extremely efficient especially if you see your target healing or casting. In pvp use mind snap every chance you get, in pve use it when you see your target casting. I fwel like my shadow litteraly is an I win button. Stick with the class stop worrying if it fits the mold of the other rougeish classes youve played because it simply wont. The class is a new spin on something that when played correctly is simply really cool yes your a tank, yes you have rogue abilities, yes you have sorcerer abilities, yes you have tons of abilities to keep up with but I had tather have all these things than not. I think its great bioware decided to create a new kind of class which I thinl I will refer to as tge evolved rogue...na thar sounds dumb but its the truth. Read tge class guide in sticky at the top of the forums play like it says to play and you will have fun...if not go play jedi guardian its simpler.
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lvl 20 shadow now. the only time I use Telekinetic Throw is to hit a runner. What's that you say? Well, after administering a beat down on some poor soul, he or she takes off running. I then it the ol' Force Potency and WHAM....pebbles to the head.

 

As for shadow strike, unless the find weakness proc is up, I'm fairly certain the cost vs. damage isn't worth it. Someone else can provide the specific math, but I think a Double Strike, Double Strike, Project combo does more damage (no position requirement) and leaves you with some force left. You could even through in Force Potency before the project as well for that added POW!

 

just my two cents

 

Shadow Strike is not an efficient Damage per FORCE move, but it is our best Damage per SECOND move. It's still a good opener for Infiltration spec, because of the increased Force regen out of stealth, if you use Double Strike or Telekinetic Throw, you will cap out at 100 force, and you'll be wasting resources. Project is another option for the stun, but I prefer the damage of SS.

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Its still not as efficient for dps as using double strike then project imediately after because the fight wont be over after that ss u opened up with. keeping your force pool high will allow you to put out more dps over the entire fight. If that procs the strikethrough buff then low stike and hit your ss, but I'm on board with the consensus and noticed a huge difference in my dps abilities and survivability once I stopped using ss as an opener and my go to ability. All in all play how you like though. Check out all the threads on this topic but most importantly go find an elite and try it out yourself.
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Its still not as efficient for dps as using double strike then project imediately after because the fight wont be over after that ss u opened up with. keeping your force pool high will allow you to put out more dps over the entire fight. If that procs the strikethrough buff then low stike and hit your ss, but I'm on board with the consensus and noticed a huge difference in my dps abilities and survivability once I stopped using ss as an opener and my go to ability. All in all play how you like though. Check out all the threads on this topic but most importantly go find an elite and try it out yourself.

 

DPS wise, SS is best. When you have 100 energy and the increased energy regen from the talent, you can afford to open with an SS, and I still believe it is the best opener because you waste energy doing anything else. After the opener, then of course on an elite, you'll only use it when you get a FW proc.

 

The problem with this is that I have read a lot of threads on this, I love reading about all the theory and stuff, but my experience seems wildly different from everyone else's when I try it out in the field... It's so much better using SS than otherwise. I find project to be completely useless actually, which again, seems to be totally counter to everyone else's experience. I think perhaps it's just that my overall gear is poor, compared to my weapon (which is great for my level), which means my weapon based strikes (SS) are better than my purely willpower based attacks (project).

 

For me, SS costs 5 more force, but does 50% more damage than project, at least, and that's without the Find Weakness proc, and I think that's better.

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True ss is more dps for cost of force. The consensus is that a double strike or cv teamed with project until strikethrough buff is up is more dps and sustained dps over the long haul on a player or harder mob. If your talking about trash mobs then whatever but on difficult mobs the result is staggering. Look at your force pool if you do ss then another ss right behind it...ouch for spike dmg, but you are going to have to spam saber strike jusy to get enough force to do anything else. Like I said if you feel that ss is the way you want to play then have at it. Its not a wrong way to play just not the way i would want someone on my pvp team or in a fkashpoint playing. If we had some sort of dps counter then this whole thing could be solved and put on paper with numbers.
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I think perhaps it's just that my overall gear is poor, compared to my weapon (which is great for my level),

 

you need to get out more so to speak :p

 

i do one or two Heroic +4 every day, both cos i love them and cos of the drops, my sabre, cloak and skirt(dont deny it...it's a skirt and i love it) are orange rating.

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Plus good luck knowing when something procs if you are doing anything that requires you pay attention to anything on the screen except the tiny little squares over your health bar.

Yeah, that's definitely my main gripe with the ui. I can't wait for addons so we can have something like power aura.

Edited by Zlodo
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Level 30 shadow tank. I was a little frustrated a couple levels ago with our lack of snap aggro with multiple mobs. But with the aoe saber spin (forgot the name) and aoe taunt its much more fun. Btw, I'm absolutely in love with the flashpoints
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