NOTE: This is a long guide. This is why I have color coded links below in the table of contents that if you click on them they will take you to the section you are interested in.

This guide is purely for tanking, if you want a newly updated Assassin Guide for Deception/Madness specs go here.

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=645706

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Table of Contents

[jumpto=general tanking]General Tanking Tips[/jumpto]

[jumpto=general node guarding/delaying tips]General Node Guard/Delaying Tips[/jumpto]

[jumpto=node guarding]Node Guarding[/jumpto]

[jumpto=node delaying]Node Delaying/Interference Tactics[/jumpto]

[jumpto=the many uses of phase walk]The Many Uses of Phase Walk[/jumpto]

[jumpto=Specs]Specs[/jumpto]

[jumpto=36/5/5]36/5/5[/jumpto]

[jumpto=17/29/0]17/29/0[/jumpto]

[jumpto=27/4/15]27/4/15[/jumpto]

[jumpto=27/17/2]27/17/2[/jumpto]

[jumpto=tank gear]Tank Gear[/jumpto]

[jumpto=the mitigation build]The Mitigation Build[/jumpto]

[jumpto=the endurance build]The Endurance Build[/jumpto]

[jumpto=the hybrid build]The Hybrid Build[/jumpto]

[jumpto=min/maxing the mitigation build]Min/Maxing The Mitigation Build[/jumpto]

[jumpto=min/maxing the endurance build]Min/Maxing The Endurance Build[/jumpto]

[jumpto=min/maxing the hybrid build]Min/Maxing The Hybrid Build[/jumpto]

[jumpto=comparing the mitigation build and the endurance build]Comparing the Mitigation Build and the Endurance Build[/jumpto]

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[aname=general tanking]General tanking tips[/aname]

-Always spam your single target taunt when it is off cooldown. This is a bit of a pain but you need to do it. I recommend binding it to a hotkey that is very easy for you to use frequently. Mine is bound to my mouse wheel up key. Try to find out who the highest dps on their team is and put him on focus target. This way you can easily focus target single taunt him when it is off cooldown.

-Save your AoE taunt for either enemy AoEs, or when there are a lot of enemies in the vicinity attacking.

-Swap guards accordingly. If your enemy is only focusing the person you are guarding, there is no need to do this. If the enemy is constantly switching the target they are focusing on, you need to constantly be switching the person you are guarding.

-When both your taunts are down and your guarded target's health is low, use your CCs A lot of times I'll spinning kick one person and use force stun on another. If I see a guardian leap to someone, if I'm in position, I will pull him back before he can use smash on that person.

-When both your taunts are down and YOUR health is low, use your defensive cooldowns. Unless your health is below 50%, don't spam all your defensive cooldowns at once, space them out. Note that there may be occasions where you have to use your defensive cooldowns with taunts up.

-If you're 36/5/5 spec spam slow time/wither every time it is off cooldown.

-Use your AoE knockback when you really need to get a crowd of people off you and/or your guarded target. This is more of a panic/get off me button.

-Buy stun grenades. This will serve the same function as your AoE knockback. It is a panic/get off me button.

-If your health is about 20% or below and dropping, and your guarded target's is above 50%, unguard your target and use phase walk if you placed one in a secluded area, then force cloak out, then and meditate, or unstealth and use a warzone medpac. Note that if you are in 27/17/2 or 17/29/0 you can use the medpacs in force cloak, and can also be healed by healers in force cloak.

-Normally when someone uses a warzone medpac, they can not use one again until they die. This does not apply to shadows. After you've used a warzone medpac, simply Force Cloak, and the warzone medpac will be available again when the cooldown ends.

-Make sure you have warzone medpacs with you at all times. They are vastly superior to Rakata medpacs. Also carry warzone adrenals.

-If you are 36/5/5 spec put a phase walk circle where your healers are standing. This will give them 5% more healing done.

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[aname=general node guarding/delaying tips]General Node Guarding/Delaying Tips[/aname]

[aname=node guarding]Node Guarding[/aname]

-Your function as a node guarder is NOT to 1v1 the opponents that come, but rather to stall long enough for reinforcements to arrive. The best way to do this is to remain in stealth, out of sight, and use mind maze on any enemy/enemies that try to cap.

-If you see an enemy coming, do not be so quick to pop out of stealth and start attacking them, there is a high chance there may be a stealther with them, make sure you call it out to your team in chat or on vent/mumble/teamspeak as soon as you see them.

-If an enemy stealther is lurking around your node and they haven't detected you, go in enhanced stealth and scout the area around them to see if you can find any other stealthers accompanying them. If you spot noone else but them, then and only then can you 1v1 them, but make sure you called this out to your team the moment you saw the stealther.

-If an enemy stealther went to your node and spotted you and started attacking you, fight him for a bit and see where the duel is going. If it looks like you're winning keep attacking him until he dies. If it looks like you're losing, pop force shroud if necessary, and use force cloak/force speed and/or phase walk to get to safety. Use blackout once the enhanced stealth from your force cloak wears off. Call out as soon as you're attacked.

-If a single enemy comes to your node and uses an 8 second mezz on you and starts capping, don't break it unless it's a flash bang(I've had nodes capped from me with flash bangs when I'm standing in range that I'd be able to spam an attack on them.) Wait for the CC to end, while spamming an attack like shock or death field on them. If you break the first CC, chances are you'll be hit with another 8 second CC and get capped on. Of course in Hypergates if it's an 8 second mezz you'll want to break the first CC.

Thanks to phase walk now you can place a circle near the node/door and even if two stealthers come at you and try to sap cap the door, you can use phase walk WHILE mezzed/stunned to teleport to the node/door from far away. Then you can CC break and activate Force Shroud ASAP and stop the cap, and then force cloak out to buy some time.

-In a situation where you know if you don't break the first CC you will be capped, make sure that when you break the CC you immediately follow up with resilience so you can't be CCed again. Once you broke CC and used Force Shroud, do a project or force in balance to stop the enemy cap. Once you've done that, use force cloak and force speed to get out. Stop any attempted caps with mind trap. Use blackout when force cloak's effect wears off.

[aname=node delaying]Node Delaying/Interference Tactics[/aname]

-In Civil War, if you have a sentinel, ask them to give you transcendence. If you have transcendence your chance of stopping the enemy from getting their natural node in Civil War is very high.

-Take the right speeder off the bat in Civil War, it is slightly quicker than the left one.

-Make sure to use your force sprint on the way to the enemy node.

-Turn your mouse while running by holding the left click key to see if any enemies are coming directly at you from the side to try to stop you getting to the enemy cap in time.

-In the moment that an enemy gets near you on your way to the enemy node, pop your resilience in stealth as soon as he gets close, this way, if it's a Guardian or Sentinel using their AoE mezz to try to CC you in stealth, it won't have any effect on you and you can keep going to stop the enemy cap.

-If you see a Commando/Mercenary/Powertech/Vanguard coming at you to try to stop you from stopping the enemy cap, try to run around where you think they will stealth scan, rather than using resilience in stealth.

-Death Field is amazing for stopping that first enemy cap. Use it.

-If the enemy has already captured their natural node, make sure when you are approaching the enemy node that you use blackout so you can get the jump on any enemy stealthers that might be guarding that node.

-If it's only one enemy on their node, you might try 1v1ing them if you're confident in your skills, or you can try to CC

cap them. To do this, most times you would want to use mind maze first from stealth. Then right click your stealth off really fast, since doing that allows you to unstealth off the global cooldown. Right click the node really fast after that. A lot of times enemies will break your mind trap. When they do, you can either use instant force lift if you have it, or force cloak and mind maze them again, and right click the stealth buff to unstealth fast. This is simple to do in hypergates.

-If there is more than one enemy on their node and they are still trying to cap, use Death Field to stop the cap, then use Force Shroud, force cloak, and force speed to get out of there. Keep using mind maze on any enemy that tries to cap. When their resolve fills, you'll have no choice but to attack them to stop the caps. Once you are revealed, instead of straight out fighting the enemies, kite them around and use CCs to draw out the time for them to cap even longer.

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[aname=the many uses of phase walk]The Many Uses of Phase Walk[/aname]

Phase Walk is the perfect ability for us Assassins. It is extremely versatile, which is what this class is all about. I'll explain all the different uses I know of.

-If you are 36/5/5 spec and have the Assassin's Shelter talent, you can place a phase walk circle where your healers are. Doing this will give them 5% more healing done to everyone on your team as long as they stand in the circle. It has a 2 minute duration with a 45 second cooldown.

-In Civil War, if you have to roam, you can place a circle in the middle and if u were coming back to middle from a side you can teleport there through the wall instead of having to go around. It works for going to the sides from mid too of course if you placed one outside of the middle wall.

-In Voidstar, you can place it on one side of the fence in the first set of rooms and if there is trouble on the other side, you can instantly teleport to the other side instead of having to walk around the fence.

-In Voidstar, if you play kinetic/darkness spec and feel like trolling someone, you can place a phase walk circle near the bridge area. Then you force speed jump off the bridge, and pull someone with you, activating phase walk before you fall. This will teleport you back up but your opponent will fall into the abyss .

-In Novare Coast, if you are guarding a bunker, you can put a phase walk circle next to the medpac area. Now if someone 1v1s you, or your health gets low, you can just phase walk and get the medpac.

-In Novare Coast if you're afraid an enemy is going to try to pull you to the cliff and knock you off when you're guarding the bunker, you can place the phase walk circle near the bunker so even if they knock you off you can just teleport back.

-In Huttball, if you got to their endzone you can just place a phase walk circle there for if you need to go there again to score another goal, or in case you get knocked into the pit. If you phase walk with ball in hand though, the ball neutrals.

-In every warzone, you can place a phase walk circle near the node/bunker you are guarding, meanwhile you are standing about 60 meters away. Enemies will have to do quite a bit of searching to find you.

-In every warzone, you can even stand closer to the node, but still stand a considerable distance from the node/door/bunker. If they try to sap cap you, you can phase walk while sapped or stunned. Once you teleport near the capper, break CC, use Force Shroud, stop the cap, and force cloak out to stall for time.

-In 1v1 situations, you can fight the enemy and lead them away from your phase walk circle. This way, if they stun you, you can just phase walk away from them and they probably can't attack you, so they just wasted their stun.

[aname=Specs]Specs[/aname]

[aname=36/5/5]36/5/5[/aname] http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/skills/assassin#1201322123212110223302-203-221

-You gain Slow Time/Wither which decreases the damage of up to 5 enemies by 5% and slows them by 30%

-You gain Dark Bulwark, which will increase your shield absorption by 1% for every stack consumed, lasts 20 seconds or until you reapply Dark Ward.

-You gain Assassin's Shelter, which increases your healing received by 2%. Also, when you activate phase walk, it increases heals done by your healers by 5% for the 2 minutes that your phase walk is on ground. Once the phase walk goes down it has a 45 second cooldown. You want to have this up as much as possible. This talent combined with Slow Time/Wither makes this spec the top spec for main tanking right now.

-You gain Avoidance which lowers your force speed cooldown by 5 seconds and gives you a 1 minute 30 second CC breaker.

-Note you can also go 36/3/7 if you desire a little bit more dps, but I feel Avoidance is so useful now that it is on the first tier.

Summary

The rotation is pretty much the same. Working to get 3 stacks of harnessed darkness to use Force Lightning for a self-heal. Using Wither every time it is up. Only difference will be the addition of Phase walk, you will want to try to phase walk next to a healer if possible so they can benefit form Shadow's Shelter.

[aname=17/29/0]17/29/0[/aname]http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/skills/assassin#2000110222322-221220321112012223-0

-You gain 62% Increased Maul damage because of 1 level in Shadow's Mark and full Induction/Duplicity.

-You gain Darkswell, which gives you 25% decreased damage for 6 seconds when you activate Blackout.

-You gain Energize, which combined with Chain Shock and Electric Ambush, may give you frequent projects that do 100% increased critical damage and also hit twice.

-You gain Crackling Blasts, which allows your projects to do 50% more damage on your shocks

-You gain Entropic Field, which has can increase damage reduction by 6% for 15 seconds with 3 stacks.

-Fade reduces damage from area of effects by 30% and also Reduces the cooldown of Blackout by 15 seconds and Force Cloak by 30 seconds.

Summary

So when we combine all this what do we get? Offensively, our mauls will do 62% increased damage, and our shocks do 100% increased critical hit damage, with a possibility to hit a 2nd time for 50% of the damage the first hit caused. That's a pretty powerful offensive arsenal. Defensively, we get 6% damage reduction up to 3 stacks, 30% passive reduced AoE damage reduction, and an active cooldown that reduces damage by 25% for 6 seconds. This spec will be run in Dark Charge.

The rotation would be to thrash for particle acceleration procs, and then use recklessness with the shock after you get the proc. Your shocks hit for a massive amount of damage in this spec, so use dps gear. mauls can be used when you don't have the Energize proc and have the duplicity proc, in order to recover some force while still doing a good amount of damage.

[aname=27/4/15]27/4/15[/aname] http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/skills/assassin#20123202110222322-103-2210012223

-Electrocute cooldown will be reduced by 10 seconds with Oppressing Force. I mainly did this to have enough in talents to move up to the next tier. In combat technique we don't really have any periodic damaging abilities, so the other 3 talents on this tier are even more useless.

Summary

Rotation is the same. Work up to 3 stacks of Harnessed Darkness and use Force Lightning at 3 stacks. Not much has changed with this spec from 27/0/14, honestly. This spec is probably the best currently for node guarding purposes because of having FiB/Death Field to stop caps. However, because of phase walk, the difference here is negligible.

[aname=27/17/2]27/17/2[/aname] http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/skills/assassin#22123012110223302-21112012223-20

-You have Harnessed Darkness for a self-heal.

-You gain Dark Bulwark, which will increase your shield absorption by 1% for every stack consumed, lasts 20 seconds or until you reapply Dark Ward.

-Your projects will deal more damage thanks to Electrify and Chain Shock.

-You lose Duplicity

-You lose Hand of Darkness

Summary

Your dps rotation in this spec will now rely more on shocks rather than mauls. However, this spec was always pure tank and not dps, so losing duplicity is not a big deal. The biggest loss probably comes from not having Hand of Darkness, which would normally allow you to use Spike out of stealth. However, to make up for this, you get Harnessed Darkness, so you have the self-heal along with all the former survivability tools of 22/17/2. You get Dark Bulwark as well. This spec has some pretty high individual survivability, but does not do as much for the group as 36/5/5.

[aname=tank gear]Tank Gear[/aname]

Well a few things have changed in terms of Shadow PvP tanking. The most important change here was that shields now block force/tech damage along with the melee/ranged damage that it always blocked. Because of this, I believe it is now more wise to stack mitigation instead of endurance in PvP. As always, make sure your expertise is as high as possible. There are certain mitigation values you want to reach to get the most out of your defense/shield/absorb. A balance is required. I will elaborate on this in the chart below.

Credit for these values goes to KeyboardNinja.

So what does all this mean? Well, let's take the total mitigation value of 1700, for example.

{Total Mitigation ->1700,{defense->413,shield->620,absorb->668}}

As you can see here, at a total of around 1700 mitigation, 413 of that goes into defense, 620 of that goes into shield, and 668 of that goes into absorb. As you can see, around 500 total mitigation, the defense starts to DR sharply while shield and absorb does not DR. This means shield/absorb will generally be more important for you as a shadow tank after you get about 300 defense rating.

Another big change that happened is mods and enhancements are for sale individually from PvP vendors instead of having to rip mods/enhancements out of gear. In my opinion, there are two ways you can gear up as a tank depending on what you want to go for. Personally I am going to do the mitigation build, because now that shield/absorb is more valuable I personally believe stacking mitigation is better than stacking endurance. I will also put the endurance build up for those who want to build their gear that way, however.

On top of that, I will be putting all relevant mods and enhancements and separating them with purple and blue. The mods/enhancements/augments I put in purple will be the ranked mods/enhancements/augments, where as the blue will be the mods/enhancements/augments that cost 400 warzone comms. So let's start off with the mitigation build...

[aname=the mitigation build]The Mitigation Build[/aname]

Mods

Advanced Reinforced Mod 28X(+41 Endurance +55 Wilpower +41 Expertise +46 Defense)

Advanced Reinforced Mod 27X(+39 Endurance +52 Willpower +41 Expertise +43 Defense)

Advanced Robust Mod 28X(+41 Endurance +55 Willpower +41 Expertise +46 Absorb)

Advanced Robust Mod 27X(+39 Endurance +52 Willpower +41 Expertise +43 Absorb)

Enhancements

Advanced Immunity Enhancement 28X(+36 Endurance +41 Expertise +64 Shield +41 Defense)

Advanced Immunity Enhancement 27X(+34 Endurance +41 Expertise +60 Shield +39 Defense)

Advanced Sturdiness Enhancement 28X(+36 Endurance +41 Expertise +64 Shield +41 Absorb)

Advanced Sturdiness Enhancement 27X(+34 Endurance +41 Expertise +60 Shield +39 Absorb)

Augments

Advanced Redoubt Augment 28(+32 Defense +20 Power)

Redoubt Augment 28(+28 Defense +18 Power)

Advanced Shield Augment 28(+32 Shield +20 Power)

Shield Augment 28(+28 Shield +18 Power)

Advanced Absorb Augment 28(+32 Absorb +20 Power)

Absorb Augment 28(+28 Absorb +18 Power)

[aname=min/maxing the mitigation build]Min/Maxing the Mitigation Build[/aname]

So basically...I'm in mostly partisan right now with Conqueror Implants and Earrings. After some calculating, I am going to do almost the same allocation of mods/enhancements/augments for both Partisan level and Conqueror level mods/enhancements/augments. Here is my mitigation allocation.

Partisan Min/Maxing

Advanced Reinforced Mod 27X(39 Endurance/43 Defense) * 9 slots = 351 Endurance/387 Defense

Partisan Relic of the Fortunate Redoubt(78 Endurance/18 Defense) * 1 slot = 78 Endurance/18 Defense

Partisan Relic of Shield Amplification(78 Endurance) * 1 slot = 78 Endurance

Redoubt Augment 28(28 Defense) * 1 slot = 28 defense

Total = 507 Endurance/433 Defense

Partisan Survivor's MK-1 Implant and MK-1 Module(175 Endurance/56 Shield/47 Absorb) * 3 slots = 525 Endurance/168 Shield/141 Absorb.

Advanced Sturdiness Enhancement 27X(34 Endurance/60 Shield/39 Absorb) * 7 slots = 238 Endurance/420 Shield and 273 Absorb.

Shield Augment 28(28 Shield) * 3 slots = 84 Shield

Absorb Augment 28(28 Absorb) * 10 slots = 280 Absorb

Total = 763 Endurance/672 Shield/694 Absorb

Grand Total = 1270 Endurance/433 Defense/672 Shield/694 Absorb.

Conqueror Min/Maxing

Advanced Reinforced Mod 28X(41 Endurance/46 Defense) * 9 slots = 369 Endurance/414 Defense

Conqueror Relic of the Fortunate Redoubt(83 Endurance/20 Defense) * 1 slot = 83 Endurance/20 Defense

Conqueror Relic of Shield Amplification(83 Endurance) * 1 slot = 83 Endurance

Total = 535 Endurance/434 Defense

Conqueror Survivor's MK-1 Implant and MK-1 Module(187 Endurance/59 Shield/51 Absorb) * 3 slots =561 Endurance/177 Shield/153 Absorb

Advanced Sturdiness Enhancement 28X(36 Endurance64 Shield/41 Absorb) * 7 slots = 448 Shield and 287 Absorb

Advanced Shield Augment 28(32 Shield) * 3 slots = 96 Shield

Advanced Absorb Augment 28(32 Absorb) *11 slots = 352 Absorb

Total = 813 Endurance/721 Shield/792 Absorb

Grand Total = 1348 Endurance/434 Defense/721 Shield/792 Absorb

[aname=the endurance build]The Endurance Build[/aname]

Mods

Advanced Reinforced Mod 28BX(+59 Endurance +46 Willpower +41 Expertise +36 Defense)

Advanced Reinforced Mod 27BX(+56 Endurance +43 Willpower +41 Expertise +34 Defense)

Advanced Robust Mod 28BX(+59 Endurance +46 Willpower +41 Expertise +36 Absorb)

Advanced Robust Mod 27BX(+56 Endurance +43 Willpower +41 Expertise +34 Absorb)

Enhancements

Advanced Steadfast Enhancement 28X(+64 Endurance +41 Expertise +59 Shield +14 Defense)

Advanced Steadfast Enhancement 27X(+60 Endurance +41 Expertise +56 Shield +13 Defense)

Advanced Vigiliant Enhancement 28X(+64 Endurance +41 Expertise +59 Shield +14 Absorb)

Advanced Vigiliant Enhancement 27X(+60 Endurance +41 Expertise +56 Shield +13 Absorb)

Augments

Advanced Fortitude Augment 28(+32 Endurance +20 Power)

Fortitude Augment 28(+28 Endurance +18 Power)

[aname=min/maxing the endurance build]Min/Maxing the Endurance Build[/aname]

Again I will do calculations for partisan and conqueror setup.

Partisan Min/Max

Advanced Reinforced Mod 27BX(56 Endurance/36 Defense) * 9 slots = 504 Endurance 324 Defense

Partisan Relic of the Fortunate Redoubt(78 Endurance/18 Defense)

Partisan Relic of Shield Amplification(78 Endurance)

Total = 660 Endurance 342 Defense

Partisan Survivor's MK-1 Implant and MK-1 Module[175 Endurance/59 Shield/51 Absorb) * 3 slots = 525 Endurance/177 Shield/153 Absorb

Advanced Vigilant Enhancement 27X(60 Endurance/56 Shield/13 Absorb) * 7 slots = 420 Endurance/392 shield/91 absorb

Fortitude Augment 28(28 Endurance) * 14 slots = 392 Endurance

Total = 1337 Endurance/569 Shield/244 Absorb

Grand Total = 1997 Endurance/342 Defense/569 Shield/244 Absorb

Conqueror Min/Max

Advanced Reinforced Mod 28BX(59 Endurance/36 Defense) * 9 slots = 531 endurance/324 defense.

Conqueror Relic of the Fortunate Redoubt(83 Endurance/20 Defense)

Conqueror Relic of Shield Amplification(83 Endurance)

Total = 697 Endurance/344 Defense

Conqueror Survivor's MK-1 Implant and MK-1 Module187 Endurance/59 Shield/51 Absorb * 3 slots = 561 Endurance/177 Shield/153 Absorb

Advanced Vigiliant Enhancement 28X(64 Endurance/59 Shield/14 Absorb) * 7 slots = 448 Endurance/413 Shield/98 Absorb

Advanced Fortitude Augment 28(32 Endurance) * 14 slots = 448 Endurance

Total = 1457 Endurance/590 Shield/251 Absorb

Grand Total = 2154 Endurance/344 Defense/590 Shield/251 Absorb

[aname=the hybrid build]The Hybrid Build[/aname]

Mods

Advanced Reinforced Mod 28X(+41 Endurance +55 Wilpower +41 Expertise +46 Defense)

Advanced Reinforced Mod 27X(+39 Endurance +52 Willpower +41 Expertise +43 Defense)

Enhancements

Advanced Bastion Enhancement 28X(+51 Endurance +41 Expertise +64 Shield +25 Defense)

Advanced Bastion Enhancement 27X(+47 Endurance +41 Expertise +60 Shield +24 Defense)

Advanced Bulwark Enhancement 28X(+51 Endurance +41 Expertise +64 Shield +25 Absorb)

Advanced Bulwark Enhancement 27X(+47 Endurance +41 Expertise +60 Shield +24 Absorb)

Augments

Advanced Fortitude Augment 28(+32 Endurance +20 Power)

Fortitude Augment 28(+28 Endurance +18 Power)

[aname=min/maxing the hybrid build]Min/Maxing the Hybrid Build[/aname]

Partisan Min/Max

Advanced Reinforced Mod 27X(39 Endurance/43 Defense) * 7 slots = 273 Endurance/301 Defense

Advanced Robust Mod 27X(+39 Endurance/43 Absorb) * 2 slots = 78 Endurance/86 Absorb

Partisan Relic of the Fortunate Redoubt(78 Endurance/18 Defense) * 1 slot = 78 Endurance/18 Defense

Partisan Relic of Ephemeral Mending(78 Endurance) * 1 slot = 78 Endurance

Total = 507 Endurance/319 Defense/86 Absorb

Partisan Survivor's MK-1 Implant and MK-1 Module[175 Endurance/59 Shield/51 Absorb) * 3 slots = 525 Endurance/177 Shield/153 Absorb

Advanced Bulwark Enhancement 27X(47 Endurance/60 Shield/24 Absorb) * 7 slots = 329 Endurance/420 shield/168 absorb

Fortitude Augment 28(28 Endurance) * 14 slots = 392 Endurance

Total = 1246 Endurance/597 Shield/321 Absorb

Grand Total = 1753 Endurance/319 Defense/597 Shield/407 Absorb

Conqueror Min/Maxing

Advanced Reinforced Mod 28X(41 Endurance/46 Defense) * 7 slots = 287 Endurance/322 Defense

Advanced Robust Mod 28X(41 Endurance/46 Absorb) * 2 slots = 82 Endurance/92 Absorb

Conqueror Relic of the Fortunate Redoubt(83 Endurance/20 Defense) * 1 slot = 83 Endurance/20 Defense

Conqueror Relic of Ephemeral Mending(83 Endurance) * 1 slot = 83 Endurance

Total = 535 Endurance/342 Defense/92 Absorb

Conqueror Survivor's MK-1 Implant and MK-1 Module187 Endurance/59 Shield/51 Absorb * 3 slots = 561 Endurance/177 Shield/153 Absorb

Advanced Bulwark Enhancement 28X(51 Endurance/64 Shield/25 Absorb) * 7 slots = 357 Endurance/448 Shield/175 Absorb

Advanced Fortitude Augment 28(32 Endurance) * 14 slots = 448 Endurance

Total = 1366 Endurance/625 Shield/328 Absorb

Grand Total = 1901 Endurance/342 Defense/625 Shield/420 Absorb

[aname=comparing the mitigation build and the endurance build]Comparing the Mitigation Build and the Endurance Build[/aname]

My stats in Mitigation build were 2475.9 Endurance/21.99% Defense Chance/34.4% Shield Chance/42.04% Absorb with buffs and without stim on.

My stats in Endurance build were 3288.6 Endurance/20.86% Defense Chance/32.13% Shield Chance/30.61% Absorb with buffs and without stim on.

The main difference here between these two builds is the Mitigation Build sacrifices Endurance for Absorb Rating. The mitigation build has 792 Absorb Rating, whereas the Endurance build only has 251.

In Mitigation build you're going to have around a 30-31k health pool but your shield will absorb about 40-45%(42.04%) more damage every time you shield.(which in Mitigation Build, that will be about 50%(49.4%) of the time with dark ward up.)

In Endurance build you're going to have around a 38-39k health pool but your shield will only absorb about 30%(30.61%) more damage every time you shield.(In Endurance Build, this will be about 46-48%(47.13%) of the time with Dark Ward up.)

Basically the reason I picked the Mitigation Build over the Endurance Build is because the Endurance build will be harder for healers to heal through. It will cost them more force/energy to keep you alive, and they will spend more time keeping you alive than keeping themselves and others alive, which is not what you want.

This is the ultimate reason I choose Mitigation build over Endurance build.

My armory is here.

http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/character/4484a39b-0b9e-4f57-918e-c8e06a9b584f

Your name starting with a Za as well threw me for a second there. Clicked this thinking I clicked mine and was like "WHERE'D MY TOC/FORMAT GO?!" lol

Also, if you want a proper Table of Contents so people don't have to scroll the entire guide quote my guide and look how I did that. It makes it so much easier on the reader.

Your name starting with a Za as well threw me for a second there. Clicked this thinking I clicked mine and was like "WHERE'D MY TOC/FORMAT GO?!" lol

 

Also, if you want a proper Table of Contents so people don't have to scroll the entire guide quote my guide and look how I did that. It makes it so much easier on the reader.

Done, I don't like that it took the colors away, but this is more helpful anyways, thank you for the tips .

Nice work on this thread man! I think it will answer most questions people have.

Thanks Hopefully it does, it seems the majority of questions people have on the shadow/assassin forums now are what they should be doing as a pvp tank, or how they should be gearing. Hopefully this answers some questions.

Very nice guide, you've covered all the important points of each spec very well.

Thanks . Gear section has been updated to include bracers and belts for the +39 mods. The bracers and belts are actually cheaper yet you can get the same +39/40 power and +39/40 crit mods from them

Done, I don't like that it took the colors away, but this is more helpful anyways, thank you for the tips .

Yep, nicely done. I was /sadface when it removed my colors as well but it makes the guide so much easier to navigate. I had my entire guide sectioned off by a nice Medium Turquoise...

For DPS stats: Why not 30% crit? Why take any accuracy?

You do not need 30% crit unbuffed when you have particle acceleration/energize that already gives you auto-crit on your projects/shocks, combined with your set bonus of having 3 stacks of force potency/recklessness in DPS gear, you're better off putting that into power. The reason you take any accuracy at all, is because probably 30-50% of your attacks are going to consist of a combination of Double Strike/Thrash, Shadow Strike/Maul, and Spinning Strike/Assassinate, all of which are melee damage and require some accuracy.

Bumpin because this is a good thread.

Thanks, and I have readded my armory link to my signature.

Is 30% defense the cap? If so, how bad is the DR passed that?

Looked around, but couldn't exactly find a graph or a definitive answer. Only that the diminishing returns are "huge" and it declines "sharply" after 30%. If anyone can find a graph or something definitive, feel free to post it here.

Quick note about the 17/29/0 spec is that because you are in Dark Charge, you do not gain the full effects of Induction. You do get the 30% surge boost to Maul, but not the Shock cost reduction. Your Shocks are still full cost, which makes Force management very difficult, the main reason I avoid the spec. Other than that, very good guide.

This is true, thanks for pointing that out to me, I have fixed it, and thanks for the compliment .

Thank you so much for the guide.

The one area I would LOVE some more info on is PVP Relics. Between the absorb proc, the Def proc or the healing proc... what is BiS? I am so confused. Thanks.

Thank you so much for the guide.

 

The one area I would LOVE some more info on is PVP Relics. Between the absorb proc, the Def proc or the healing proc... what is BiS? I am so confused. Thanks.

Hmm, maybe I'm wrong here, but from what I read on this heal proc relic, you have to heal an ally to restore HP do you not? This is the relic right?

http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/gear/48983/conqueror-relic-of-ephemeral-mending

So wouldn't that not do anything then for a Shadow? Also, I think they fixed the fact you could stack one partisan and one conqueror relic of the same type, so the answer here is that I would get one Conq Absorb relic and one Conq Defense relic.

Aside from that, thanks for the compliments on my guide .

Hmm, maybe I'm wrong here, but from what I read on this heal proc relic, you have to heal an ally to restore HP do you not? This is the relic right?

 

http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/gear/48983/conqueror-relic-of-ephemeral-mending

 

So wouldn't that not do anything then for a Shadow? Also, I think they fixed the fact you could stack one partisan and one conqueror relic of the same type, so the answer here is that I would get one Conq Absorb relic and one Conq Defense relic.

 

Aside from that, thanks for the compliments on my guide .

Hey no worries about the compliments... this is helpful. I do know that Kitru, dipstik, and KBN all believe PVP damage is so different from PVE damage that it is hard to calculate exact values, but in numerous threads such as...

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=639861

They advocate straight endurance over mitigation for PvP. In fact in that thread based on the numbers put forward by the PVPers they calculated 0 defense. I certainly do not know but put it here for your consideration.

As for the relic, I know the tool tip does NOT read correctly. In this case ally means ally OR self. Here in this thread Kitru explains that and shows that in fact the heal relic is BiS for Shadow...

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=616779&page=68

Again I am not claiming this as fact, just that these are peoples whose opinion I greatly respect with parses, data, and equations supporting their theories and I feel it is worth your consideration.

Hope that helps and please understand I bring this forward only to help us all, esp you for all the hard work you do for the community. Thanks again!!

Hey no worries about the compliments... this is helpful. I do know that Kitru, dipstik, and KBN all believe PVP damage is so different from PVE damage that it is hard to calculate exact values, but in numerous threads such as...

 

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=639861

 

They advocate straight endurance over mitigation for PvP. In fact in that thread based on the numbers put forward by the PVPers they calculated 0 defense. I certainly do not know but put it here for your consideration.

 

As for the relic, I know the tool tip does NOT read correctly. In this case ally means ally OR self. Here in this thread Kitru explains that and shows that in fact the heal relic is BiS for Shadow...

 

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=616779&page=68

 

Again I am not claiming this as fact, just that these are peoples whose opinion I greatly respect with parses, data, and equations supporting their theories and I feel it is worth your consideration.

 

Hope that helps and please understand I bring this forward only to help us all, esp you for all the hard work you do for the community. Thanks again!!

Hmm thanks for linking me to these posts, it was indeed helpful. I also respect Kitru's opinions. So if this relic indeed heals you, then I would probably have this relic equipped for sure. As for the second relic whether it be Absorb or Defense, I suppose that would be situational and depend more on what type of team you are playing against. However, the Defense relic gives a + to defense while the absorb relic gives a + to power, so there's that to consider.

As for whether to take straight endurance or straight mitigation for PvP, this seems to be a debate that is still ongoing. On one hand if you had more endurance you would probably be able to live longer without the help of healers. However, the damage Shadow tanks take is very spiky to begin with, especially when you don't shield an attack, and lowering your shield/absorb rating by taking all endurance is going to make that spiky damage occur more often. Even if you shield you'll be shielding for about 10-11% less per shielded hit. This will most likely allow you yourself to live longer but your healers will run out of force/energy quicker since they will have to spend it more often to keep you alive, not good for long fights. Even so, if you disagree with me, I still have the Endurance build listed on my guide .

On the topic of taking no defense, I disagree with that assessment. Sure, there might be more force/tech attacks than melee/ranged, but it's not really by that much. There may be times where you run into a team with a lot of snipers or maras(Some ranked teams may even have 2 snipers and a Mara.) I still think being able to avoid an attack entirely is better than being able to shield it, and having at least some defense on hand would be useful.

On the topic of taking no defense, I disagree with that assessment. Sure, there might be more force/tech attacks than melee/ranged, but it's not really by that much. There may be times where you run into a team with a lot of snipers or maras(Some ranked teams may even have 2 snipers and a Mara.) I still think being able to avoid an attack entirely is better than being able to shield it, and having at least some defense on hand would be useful.

Well here is the thing, I am not claiming anything. I appreciate your efforts as well as theirs. Reading all this info and applying my logic helps me reach better conclusions. For me though a big factor is that Dipstik, KBN, and Kitru asked for types of damage/amounts/input. If you go thru the thread you can see where they quote different values of Def/Sh/Abs for different input of types of damage. You are right so much is situational in PvP. The bottom line for me though is based on the input these guys ran calculations to determine these values. They are not theory crafting, they are evaluating based on cold hard data. As such I would offer that you should take a look at what you offer above as the types (2 sniper & 1 mara) and see what the numbers come up with for proper mitigation and how much endurance.

If you do not, I might .

Again though thanks for all you do !!