After playing a full kinetic shadow for a while, I'm thinking of rolling an assassin specifically for pvp. However I'm not sure whether to go full darkness or hybrid darkness/madness (this hybrid build). My goal is to achieve a good balance between survivability and damage potential.

 

In both cases, would it be viable to stack damage stats/ dps gear rather than endurance/ tank gear (in that order: wp>power>surge>crit>endurance). That way I could rely on the tank stance for survivability and damage stats for damage dealing.

 

All opinions and tips are welcome as I'm still relatively new to the class.

Edited August 3, 2012 by Pathlight-

Just a heads up, you're link is broke.

Just a heads up, you're link is broke.

 

 

Fixed it. Thanks for the heads up.

I'm not 50 yet, but I've recently just specced into full darkness, was a bit tight for creds so I've got cheap and nasty gear but It's still working very well. It just depends what you want really. I've been using Madness for PvP and it's been getting me decent 200k+ damage in sub50 PvP in some matches, but it's a pretty squish build when you get someone whos actually half decent or attacked by more than one. On the other hand full Darkness may not get you the best DPS numbers but it's definitely enjoyable, with 3 stacks of harnessed darkness you get ok healing and when combined with Recklessness, Shock and spike you can get a decent little bit of burst. I can 1v1 most classes and win with Darkness at the moment. Also love the fact that whither is like a mini Death Field that also slows opponents for a lovely 15 seconds.

I'm not 50 yet, but I've recently just specced into full darkness, was a bit tight for creds so I've got cheap and nasty gear but It's still working very well. It just depends what you want really. I've been using Madness for PvP and it's been getting me decent 200k+ damage in sub50 PvP in some matches, but it's a pretty squish build when you get someone whos actually half decent or attacked by more than one. On the other hand full Darkness may not get you the best DPS numbers but it's definitely enjoyable, with 3 stacks of harnessed darkness you get ok healing and when combined with Recklessness, Shock and spike you can get a decent little bit of burst. I can 1v1 most classes and win with Darkness at the moment. Also love the fact that whither is like a mini Death Field that also slows opponents for a lovely 15 seconds.

 

 

Sounds good, I may go full darkness then. Still not sure about the post 50 gear though if it makes more sense to get full dps set, tank set or mix and match.

Well... for PvP, from Harnessed Darkness you only get 2% of total health per tick from 3 stacks using force lightning, so the higher your endurance the more you'd benefit ofcourse, so maybe a mix match of DPS gear with high end and some tanky stats. Can't really help much there, I've basically only rolled alts for the enjoyment haven't really knuckled down concentrating on stats yet.

 

On the other hand Madness spec does a good bit of healing aswell, but it's not got as high survivability obviously, full madness tree you can get 2% of total health per critical hit from DoT's.

As I said, i'm only lvl 43 but in my gear with buffs + Exploitive Strikes procced I get around 50% crit chance which is farily decent.

Edited August 3, 2012 by Jayshames

I've been 31/0/10 (with Dark Ward, for the rare instance I tank PvE) for the longest time, and I decided to give 23/1/17 a go for a few unranked matches last night. I think I'd need to spend more time using it to get everything down pat, but here are my thoughts from the time I did have.

 

First, I think it's clumsy to have to target the ground in order to use Death Field, versus how Wither hits my selected target and spreads out from there. Yes, the damage difference between Death Field and Wither is noticeable, but so is not having the slow associated with Wither. A 6 second, single-target slow with a 15 second cooldown just isn't good enough. The range difference between Death Field and Wither is a big thing, though, and having Death Field at my disposal allowed me to perform multiple last-second interruptions in Voidstar.

 

I can't say that I'm very fond of Maul, though, and after many months of not having to worry about whether I was behind someone to use an attack, trying to do it before Duplicity faded was tough for me. It would've been nice to have some sort of visual cue to tell me that Duplicity had procced.

 

Finally, the instant cast Whirlwind is a great thing, too. Having it was the difference between a cap and an interrupt on more than one occasion. Since I use it as basically a last resort in my normal spec (long cast time, interruptible), I know I didn't use it to its full potential as a hybrid. I think if I treat it like a third stun, I'd use it more often.

 

Ultimately, I'm going to stick with 31/0/10, mostly because I've already had so much success with it, but there's a lot to like about 23/1/17. It really just comes down to what you're most comfortable playing.

 

Edit: Yes, it's fine to prioritize dps stats over tank stats even if you use a majority-Darkness spec.

Edited August 3, 2012 by Herem

I've been 31/0/10 (with Dark Ward, for the rare instance I tank PvE) for the longest time, and I decided to give 23/1/17 a go for a few unranked matches last night. I think I'd need to spend more time using it to get everything down pat, but here are my thoughts from the time I did have.

 

First, I think it's clumsy to have to target the ground in order to use Death Field, versus how Wither hits my selected target and spreads out from there. Yes, the damage difference between Death Field and Wither is noticeable, but so is not having the slow associated with Wither. A 6 second, single-target slow with a 15 second cooldown just isn't good enough. The range difference between Death Field and Wither is a big thing, though, and having Death Field at my disposal allowed me to perform multiple last-second interruptions in Voidstar.

 

I can't say that I'm very fond of Maul, though, and after many months of not having to worry about whether I was behind someone to use an attack, trying to do it before Duplicity faded was tough for me. It would've been nice to have some sort of visual cue to tell me that Duplicity had procced.

 

Finally, the instant cast Whirlwind is a great thing, too. Having it was the difference between a cap and an interrupt on more than one occasion. Since I use it as basically a last resort in my normal spec (long cast time, interruptible), I know I didn't use it to its full potential as a hybrid. I think if I treat it like a third stun, I'd use it more often.

 

Ultimately, I'm going to stick with 31/0/10, mostly because I've already had so much success with it, but there's a lot to like about 23/1/17. It really just comes down to what you're most comfortable playing.

 

Edit: Yes, it's fine to prioritize dps stats over tank stats even if you use a majority-Darkness spec.

 

Thanks for the tips. I will probably go with 31/0/10 for now as it seems more indicated for pug games. One more question, I didn't quite get from your answer whether the tank stance (dark ward) should be used in pvp or not.

Thanks for the tips. I will probably go with 31/0/10 for now as it seems more indicated for pug games. One more question, I didn't quite get from your answer whether the tank stance (dark ward) should be used in pvp or not.

Dark Charge -- not to be confused with Dark Ward, which increases your shield chance by 15% -- should absolutely be used for Darkness PvP.

After playing a full kinetic shadow for a while, I'm thinking of rolling an assassin specifically for pvp. However I'm not sure whether to go full darkness or hybrid darkness/madness (this hybrid build). My goal is to achieve a good balance between survivability and damage potential.

 

In both cases, would it be viable to stack damage stats/ dps gear rather than endurance/ tank gear (in that order: wp>power>surge>crit>endurance). That way I could rely on the tank stance for survivability and damage stats for damage dealing.

 

All opinions and tips are welcome as I'm still relatively new to the class.

 

I made a video from my 31/0/10 build (plus showing build tree). It's a series and I'll add more build videos the next days, too.

 

Here we go:

http://www.youtube.com/user/EvilSoftGaming

 

Would appreciate any any subcriptions, thoughts and opinions - so please leave a comment there. Thanks.

After playing a full kinetic shadow for a while, I'm thinking of rolling an assassin specifically for pvp. However I'm not sure whether to go full darkness or hybrid darkness/madness (this hybrid build). My goal is to achieve a good balance between survivability and damage potential.

 

In both cases, would it be viable to stack damage stats/ dps gear rather than endurance/ tank gear (in that order: wp>power>surge>crit>endurance). That way I could rely on the tank stance for survivability and damage stats for damage dealing.

 

All opinions and tips are welcome as I'm still relatively new to the class.

Your hybrid build is a bit off, Energize will never work with Raze. Each one of those talents are hinged on what charge you have active on your saber. Most don't get Raze and put that last point in Duplicity to get a nice Maul attack once in a while. 23-1-17 is the spec you are looking for and it does quite will in pvp. Great utility with pretty good survivability and dps.

 

I found that the 31-0-10 spec is pretty easy to play and your able throw down easily in most scenarios. The 23-1-17 does more damage with about the same survivability but offers instant whirlwind which is one of the best cc's in the game.

 

3-13-25 (Mad Maul)can put out some serious damage at the cost of survivability and 23-15-3 (Dark Maul) gives you survivability with some serious opening burst. There are several threads in the first couple pages that give the goods and the bads from these specs.

Edited August 4, 2012 by Xethis

I was reluctant to give up Death Field for Wither at first, but then I realized how awesome Wither is and now I wish I could get Wither at level 20 instead of Death Field.

 

Yes, Death Field hits harder

Yes, Death Field costs less (with 2/2 Fanaticism)

Yes, Death Field has a longer range

Yes, Death Field heals you (luls)

 

But...

 

Wither has a shorter cooldown (half that of Death Field)

Wither procs Harnessed Darkness

Wither hits more targets

Wither slows every target hit

Wither reduces damage taken by every target hit

 

I'd say the pros outweigh the cons, but that's just my opinion. Not having a ranged AOE attacks kind of sucks, but you still have other ways to prevent a 30-meter cap. With Force Speed removing snares, you can pop it and make that 30-meter dash in almost the time it takes to place a Death Field.

 

I'm also a big fan of Harnessed Darkness, which Wither is a crucial part of, so that's probably why.

Edited August 4, 2012 by Qaoz

One more thing that Death Field has over Wither is the fact that you can put it anywhere in a 30m radius. Great for stopping caps where you got a capper los on the node. Wither can only used on your target at 10m.

 

I personally prefer Wither because it is flat out easier to use. I fail so bad at DF. It is slow for me, I got to either stop my toon or just be running in a straight line in order to place it accurately. And that is only if it is pretty much in front of me on my screen. With Wither you can just spam the button till the ability goes off, literally no down time. DF for me takes like a 3 step process, activating the ability, aiming it, and then clicking again to engage it.

 

Im getting old and my coordination and reaction times are definitely below what they need to be to use DF effectively. I wish DF just activated a 5m radius around your target like Wither does, 99% of the time your using DF on your target anyways to buff your dots.

Death Field is really easy to target if you assign it to a mouse button. Just takes a few games to get used to. I switched to it after being Wither spec and I find the damage increase + 30 yd range more than makes up for the loss of utility.

 

As the guy said, you shouldn't get Raze in a spec that utilizes Dark (Kinetic) Charge. That point would better be spent in either Duplicity if you like Maul or Nerve Wracking. And your stat priority should be surge>power>wp>crit.

This is my current build

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#200rfMozrskZhZf0cRr.2

 

Pretty much the slandered hybrid build that I frequently see used, With the exception of picking up duplicity and leaving haunted dreams.

 

I find that the difference between the full darkness and hybrid build is mainly the fact you get a little more precision and can be a bit more open in your play style. That can really be an asset yo you and your team, by helping you get the bang for your buck while in an area.

 

If your looking to be the invincible tank go darkness for sure, but if you want to be something a little more than a tank go hybrid. You will be a bit more squishy but its well worth it.

 

If your going hybrid I recommend that you pick up biochem for the reusable med-pack, and keep in mind that over charged saber heals you as well.

 

Your going to want the stalker gear for pvp, and find a balance between doing objectives, damage mitigation (more than just guard) and dps.

 

Hope that helps, take care

 

P.S. I don't find harness the darkness to be that useful any-more, but wither is a little better since it now doesn't hit incapacitated targets from 1.3 updates.

Edited August 5, 2012 by Omicrie
more info

I made a video from my 31/0/10 build (plus showing build tree). It's a series and I'll add more build videos the next days, too.

 

Here we go:

http://www.youtube.com/user/EvilSoftGaming

 

Would appreciate any any subcriptions, thoughts and opinions - so please leave a comment there. Thanks.

 

Hi evilsoft, what specc you use ?

I take a break with my main since are full WH atm and start lvling an Assassin. I gonna lvling doing only PVP and class quest.

Im thinking go in Darkness.

 

Nice videos btw