Hello out there Parsing ppl. The question I would like answered is this : How do you parse over 3000?

 

Alright before the obvious answers a little background on me: I have been playing since launch of this game and I have been playing a Watchmen specced Sentinel for almost the entire time discounting alts. My sent is currently in almost full 78 gear (180 item rating) from the comm vendor no set bonuses...yet. The only thing not at 78 is my Main hand and relics (underworld serendipitous assualts both of them.) . I know I shouldn't have them both the same but i haven't been able to win a drop for a bit >.> Everything is fully augmented with Might augments.

 

Here is a link to a pic of my stats and my Spec

 

Now I know my rotation is decent, although personally without even parsing I can tell that my dps output is slow. I do great dmg just I'm a slow burn down. This "feeling" is multiplied on single targets especially on the Ops dummies. Now i have done a few prelim parses and the highest I've ever been able to get is about 2750. This was on a 1.5 mill Hp Ops dummy with the 20% armor reduction on it. I had a might stim, and I did not use inspiration at all (mainly because it's become an ingrained thing to only use when called for by ops lead.) I popped zen regularly when my OS and cauterize was maxed on the dummy and every now and again trancendance. Also I'm not sure if it matters but I don't "pre-build" focus before the parse starts.

 

 

So when I ask "How do you parse over 3000?" I'm asking cause i just don't fully understand how others are getting that kind of numbers. Are they using a setting to boost it or editing out events in it? Or is my rotation complete crap? I'm asking because I WANT to understand and I wish to improve, and am willing to learn. SO on that note please helpful pointers, suggestions and instructions on how to set parsec or torparse only. If I should share any other info concerning gear/spec/ rotation/ let me know. Thank you all for your help.

Some approximations, mostly from memory, comparing to full dread forged:

 

Relics: 130 dps lost

Mainhand: 150-200? dps lost

No set bonus: 100-150? dps lost

Comm enhancements & ears/implants: 100 dps lost

 

 

So you're losing I guess 500+ dps from gear. Top watchman parse is I think 3800 something, and maybe 100+ of that is from a lucky, instead of just good, parse. So shoot for 3200 let's say.

 

No inspiration: Maybe 100 dps lost (over the course of the fight), but you replace it with zen I guess, not sure what that's worth.

Using transcendence: Does nothing in a parse and you could've used zen instead. Big dps loss from popping it multiple times in a parse. (Frankly, this suggests that you cannot "know [your] rotation is decent.")

 

Other not-optimal behavior: You didn't post a parse, so it's hard to tell. Your actions per minute, your rotation, not using key abilities on cooldown, etc, could all be the cause of the remaining several hundred dps deficit. There's a nice watchman guide in the sentinel forum by macedonicus. I'd go read that. Also, if you post your parse, might as well do it in that forum for critique.

 

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The parses here don't use pre-stacked focus, nor do they edit anything or boost it somehow.

 

They do pre-stack centering, though. Also, I suppose you didn't use adrenals, which are something like 40 dps lost over the fight.

 

Still, it sounds like there's a decent amount of work to be done just in terms of rotation etc, and you should be able to break 3000 and more.

Edited May 10, 2014 by cxten

Don't forget lag.

Only gauge your numbers on actual fights.

 

Dummy parses hold little to no value. I've seen sentinels that parse 3.6k on dummy struggle to keep up 3k in real fights due to having trouble with uptime/positioning/environmental awareness.

 

For example, watchmen sentinels go full power mod/enhancements but the top parse is achieved by having a crit enhancement.

 

Dummy parse usually ends up having Merciless slash as highest dmg where actual fight parse tends to have overload saber as highest dmg. So it varies a lot.

 

There are no real dummy fights besides Nefra this tier, almost all fights have breaks with the exception of Nefra and Grobthok (if you are doing nothing but DPSing, no AWEing add etc) in NiM DF and none in DP. Not to mention highest dummy parses tend to be the "lucky crit" parses so take it with a grain of salt. If you can average 3k on almost all the fights, you have enough dps to be part of NiM clears.

Edited May 9, 2014 by ShaanuJaanu

First answer provided here gives important clues already. For further instruction you'd need to post a parse, so we could give you advice on your rotation. (As already pointed out: DON'T use Transcendence! ;-) To really make sure your rotation is optimized, check out this guide by Macedonicus, one of the highest parsing Sentinels in both Dummy and raid situations: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=704248

 

In my experience one of the main differences between mediocre and good DPS players is APM (Attacks per minute). Best Watchman parses sit at about 46 - 47+ on the dummy. To be able to do that you must know your rotation if woken up at 3 am in the morning ;-) Also set your ability queue to at least 0,5 secs and spam the next button early and if need be several time to get the action to register as early as possible. If you haven't keybound your abilities yet and are using your mouse instead: It's WAY harder to get decent APM if you're a clicker (not saying it's impossible though, as some mouse wizards in the Sent/Mara Community have proven, but I'd advise against it).

 

And don't get discouraged from dummy parsing: It's a very good decision of yours to do it. If you know what to do on the Dummy by heart, you can perform way better in actual raid situations, because you're less focussed on your ability bar and have more time to watch your feet and not stand in those nasty void zones ;-)

Edited May 9, 2014 by Ardarell_Solo

Correct me if I'm wrong, but your two relics share an internal cooldown. You should have a Relic of Focused Retribution and Serendipitous Assault so your relics don't overlap.

OK so in otherwords:

 

1. No trancendance- gotcha

2. I have gotten 1 set bonus piece and my mainhand is now full 180's.

3. My relics, I have to wait till i can win a drop off a HM or even a sm to just get a different relic. Focused retribution is the one I should try to get?

 

4. I have actually found Mecendicious's (i prolly completely butchered your name i'm so sorry) watchman guide before, and have been using and trying to perfect my rotation of it. It is a wonderful guide, it's why I went from my very first parse of 2200 to the 2750.

5. I am a clicker tho, my best APM is around 43-45. (I tend to fudge the buttons when i try keybinded buttons)

6. How do i set my ability queue to the 0.5??

2. If you can even just get arkanian set bonus pieces to fill out the 4 piece bonus, they'll be better than 180's without set bonus. (4 arkanian armorings is a dps loss of about 50, versus the set bonus being worth 100-150+).

 

3. You can use comms to buy some. The 2nd serendipitous isn't doing anything for you other than the +32 power. PVP and get an obroan focused retribution, or use classic comms for a dread guard boundless ages or dread guard elemental transcendence, or use basic comms for an arkanian relic of dark radiance or arkanian boundless ages. The obroan would add like 100 dps, and the others maybe 50.

 

4. Yep, it's a great guide. Macedonicus hasn't posted in this thread, just so you know.

 

6. It's in preferences -> combat I believe. I'd suggest longer than 0.5 since you're clicking.

Edited May 9, 2014 by cxten

alright, I managed to get a dread forged focused retribution crafted X). yay crafters.

 

I think i still have some of my old arkanian set bonuses. I shall look for them.

alright, I managed to get a dread forged focused retribution crafted X). yay crafters.

 

I think i still have some of my old arkanian set bonuses. I shall look for them.

Only gauge your numbers on actual fights.

 

Dummy parses hold little to no value. I've seen sentinels that parse 3.6k on dummy struggle to keep up 3k in real fights due to having trouble with uptime/positioning/environmental awareness.

 

For example, watchmen sentinels go full power mod/enhancements but the top parse is achieved by having a crit enhancement.

 

Dummy parse usually ends up having Merciless slash as highest dmg where actual fight parse tends to have overload saber as highest dmg. So it varies a lot.

 

There are no real dummy fights besides Nefra this tier, almost all fights have breaks with the exception of Nefra and Grobthok (if you are doing nothing but DPSing, no AWEing add etc) in NiM DF and none in DP. Not to mention highest dummy parses tend to be the "lucky crit" parses so take it with a grain of salt. If you can average 3k on almost all the fights, you have enough dps to be part of NiM clears.

 

While this is true, if you can't get good DPS on a dummy it's unlikely you'll be doing any better in an actual fight.

While this is true, if you can't get good DPS on a dummy it's unlikely you'll be doing any better in an actual fight.

 

Indeed. While Dummy parses are misleading when contrasted with actual fights, they at least provide you with a reliable theoretical maximum. And anyhow, if someone parses 3600 on a dummy but loses 600 in a real fight, isn't that still better than another person who does 2700 on the dummy and manages the same in operations?

 

- - -

 

The high-endurance enhancements are a huge loss. It's 7 pieces where you lose 23 power or crit, so assuming all power enhancements, that's a loss of 161 Power, which equals ~37 bonus damage. Oriconian implants and earpieces are a loss of 20 power or crit each (against Dread Forged ones) and that's a loss of ~14 bonus damage (again assuming all power). Now, I'm not well versed in the math behind damage in this game, but 51 bonus damage is considerable.

 

The problem is, you can't get them with comms. The only good enhancements can be found within Knight pants, and that's for healers (low endurance power/alacrity), so all enhancements must either come from random Oriconian drops (I've netted a bunch of low endurance crit/surge enhancements from these) or from Unassembled Dread Forged pieces. And Implants and Earpieces? Random drop. Luckily, these all can be crafted nowadays, but I worry more about getting the relics, implants and earpiece first (if you resort to crafts) because they are much rarer as drops (Unassembled Relic is a guarantee, but it's only 1 in 8m / 2 in 16m, so you might be waiting for them quite long. ), whereas every boss can at least drop a suitable Oriconian piece.

 

If you're still rocking that UW SA relic (getting the DF FR one was a great pick, good on you ), you might consider doing some PvP to get a Obroan SA relic (700 regular comms - even better if you happen to have them lying around already) or with a bit more effort, update that Obroan to Brutalizer (1300 ranked comms). Brutalizer is currently second best after Dread Forged, until 2.8 hit when it will still be third best.