Since the 25% reduction to Flying Fists and Flechette Rounds, I have noticed a significant dropoff in DPS on my Scrapper Scoundrel.

 

I don't wish to spec as a healer (Sawbones), so I am thinking of changing to Ruffian.

Which discipline is best for end-game solo PvE after 5.4 patch?

Scrapper is still gonna be your best bet for solo stuff. Ruffian will take longer to kill most enemies then scrapper will. Ruffian may be a little faster on FP bosses, but not by that much.

Really? I read that Ruffian had the highest single target dps of all classes...

 

The scrapper boiler shot/vital shot combo feels majorly reduced since patch...

Really? I read that Ruffian had the highest single target dps of all classes...

 

The scrapper boiler shot/vital shot combo feels majorly reduced since patch...

 

Most mobs don't have enough hp to really factor in sustained Dps as such fights are over in seconds or a second. The set up time and harder target swapping makes Ruffian's Higher overall sustained Dps not come into play at all. By the time you set up your DoTs and start your rotation a mob will most likely be dead in Scrapper and in Ruffian your DoTs will have no real uptime. Only on things with large enough hp like a Champion will they be about equal or still perhaps less due to small HP pool. Regardless both are fine for solo content.

Edited August 29, 2017 by FerkWork

Really? I read that Ruffian had the highest single target dps of all classes...

 

The scrapper boiler shot/vital shot combo feels majorly reduced since patch...

 

It depends on the health of the target. When the enemy isn't fully debuffed, Ruffian does half the damage of Scrapper, and if you spend those 4 GCDs on weak enemies, Scrapper may already have killed them when you're ready.

 

Big, tough targets, for which the initial 4 GCDs are nothing, are another matter. When Scrapper runs out of puff, Ruffian just gets started; if it can survive 2 full rotations, Ruffian may already have ripped aggro from Scrapper.

 

When we're talking about casual solo play, fighting story trash and doing dailies/heroics - they drop fast enough anyway and there's also the fun factor, which is pretty high in Ruffian: you actually use your gun, and not just as a club, and to me it feels much more like an actual Star Wars Scoundrel fighting, than Scrapper's gimmicky fisticuffs. Shoot them in the face. With a shotgun. 'nuf said. In the end, both do fine, and it mainly comes down to personal preference.

 

For "hardmode" soloplay (soloing veteran flashpoints and uprisings) go Ruffian.

Edited August 30, 2017 by Mubrak

I'm not a fan of ruffian when fighting against low hp mobs. It's much more satisfying to sucker punch, in my opinion.

Ruffian is fine for pve, but don't try to pvp with it. The damage was really bad in pvp before the nerf, it's even worse now. Before, you could tickle opponents vigorously, now you just tickle them half heartedly.

As with everything, a solid player will do fine no matter what spec you are in. If you have a strong spec preference, stick with it, try different approaches and see what works for you. For operations, either spec can work, if you are willing to make it work.

 

In a lot of cases, I prefer ruffian for dailies. Point Blank Shot the strongest mob in a group from stealth with KO, use shrap bomb, drop bushwhack, thermal grenade... with a dps companion, things tend to be dead by this point or maybe you blaster whip a survivor, and then brutal shots if one refuses to die. I rarely ever use vital shot and try to dot spread with weaker mobs; it's too unreliable and slow to set up and take effect.

 

Several dailies have champion mobs that aren't immune to stuns, which is a lot of fun with scrapper... the second back blast knocks them down again. So much fun. Blood boiler and vital shot are unchanged in 5.4, so whatever you are experiencing isn't that... it's probably the flying fist and fletchette nerf.

 

Ruffian in PvP ranges from challenging to very challenging without a healer, as you just get obliterated when focused. Still, it is possible to put up very solid numbers that aren't just dot fluff. You have to be very dogged about focusing and following tank / healer combos, for instance. Shrap bomb is annoying and fun, but you can not just keep throwing it and hope for good numbers. It won't happen.

Edited August 30, 2017 by scottsaxman

Lots of good advice here. Thank you.

 

Seems like Scrapper has always been best for general PvE and Ruffian better for boss fights.

It's clear that Scrapper got worse with this patch, but it's hard to tell if Ruffian got significantly better or worse in the patch notes.

 

I guess it comes down to a single question: Did Ruffian surpass Scrapper in all facets?

 

After this 27% nerf to punch and shotgun(the only two weapons scrapper really uses), it seems like ruffian blaster abilities would be at a premium...

All punches and shotgun abilities didn't get nerfed, just the additional damage added on to punch and the dot from back blast. Is it noticeable? Yes. Still, despite all the complaining, scrapper is a good spec. So is ruffian. Ruffian is not uniformly superior, they each have strengths and weaknesses.

but it's hard to tell if Ruffian got significantly better or worse in the patch notes.

 

Ruffian got worse. Not like Gunnery worse, but the change is noticeable, and make no mistake, it was a nerf. I didn't really play Scrapper pre-5.4 so I have no basis for comparison on that spec, but on Ruffian I lost about 700 DPS initially. I've gained some ground since then, and hoping to make up some more with Praise's guide and some other Ruffian/Lethality friends' tips, but still definitely a nerf.