Hello, was just wondering what you guys think would be the most efficient leveling spec? Currently I'm going to choose Watchman but was just curious on your input.

Depends on your style, and from reading the boards around here, all are pretty fair, although I've read that Combat really fails to shine until higher levels.

 

Personally, I'm using Watchman and I love the DoT effects. It makes me pay attention to my attack pattern and continue to apply burns, but also helps by offering a couple healing mechanisms that can really make the difference in an extended fight.

It's not that combat is bad, but Focus and Watchman get some damaging talents earlier while Combat only gets Ataru at lvl 20, but then Ataru is only average without 5 other talent points... So that brings you to 25 to start shining. Edited December 28, 2011 by RamzaBehoulve

I am probably missing something, please let me know if i am...but i only see one healing opportunity in the watchmen tree and it only spits out 2% of your max health....on top of that it only happens when you crit a burn on something. At level 36 it heals for about 150-200 every so often when cauterize is applied, which doesn't really do much. Again i may be missing one. Focus has the only other heal that i saw in the trees.

I am probably missing something, please let me know if i am...but i only see one healing opportunity in the watchmen tree and it only spits out 2% of your max health....on top of that it only happens when you crit a burn on something. At level 36 it heals for about 150-200 every so often when cauterize is applied, which doesn't really do much. Again i may be missing one. Focus has the only other heal that i saw in the trees.

 

There are 2 more talents and 2 abilities to pay close attention to for the healing bit:

 

Talents:

 

Mind Sear

 

Slash has a [11/22/33]% chance and Merciless Slash has a [22/44/66]% chance to finish the cooldown of Cauterize. This effect cannot occur more than once every 6 seconds.

 

Valor

 

Increases the Centering built by [1/2] when activating abilities that spend focus, and reduces the cooldown of Valorous Call by [15/30] seconds.

 

Abilities:

 

Valorous Call

Instant

 

Let loose a valorous call, immediately building 30 stacks of Centering.

 

Zen

Instant

 

Requires and converts 30 stacks of Centering to enter a Zen state. Lasts for 6 charges. This effect varies based on your current lightsaber form:

Shii-Cho Form: Slash costs no focus and strikes 1 additional nearby enemy.

Juyo Form: Increases the critical chance of your burn attacks by 100% and causes burn damage to heal your party for 1% of max health each tick.

Ataru Form: Reduces the focus cost of Slash and Blade Rush by 1 and reduces their global cooldown by 0.5 seconds.

 

For Mind Sear + Valor, spamming Slash(and eventually Merciless Slash) after using Overload Saber and Cauterize = more Cauterize which in turn = more burns for healing. This in turn leads to LOTS of Centering built, which leads to Juyo Form's Zen. Valorous Call is also there to help instantly give 30 stacks.

 

Juggling all of that = A LOT more healing than you'd think. Add in Rebuke and other defensive CDs and you will become very durable.

 

Edit: adding talent calculator to show talents in full for extra centering from Combat post 40 some choices are personal preference(I like to interrupt so I chose Watchguard):

 

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#501bIbRrRMcGzZhG0M.1

Edited December 28, 2011 by Ryuji_Sukata

I have leveled using Combat all the way to 35 so far. That said, Combat did not really start to shine until the late 20's to early 30's. Focus generation is pretty bad until these levels, which is where you start getting talents and abilities that help to lower focus cost and increase generation.

 

Watchman relies on DoTs (burns) and also couples those with a little bit of self-healing from crits, which is very helpful. Though I have not used the Watchman spec yet, it looks really good, especially for long drawn out fights (elites and champions).

 

There are always going to be arguments which tree is better, but pick one and stick to it until at least the mid 30's, as I do not see any of the trees really shining until this point. Then you can really see what each tree can do. One ore two respecs wont be too expensive.

Awesome! I had switched from Watchman to Combat to test it out at 35. I may switch back. I am not thrilled with Combat atm. perhaps because i am 35 levels worth of being used to watchman. I had not put all of the dots together for the heals in watchman, thank you for the info!

Awesome! I had switched from Watchman to Combat to test it out at 35. I may switch back. I am not thrilled with Combat atm. perhaps because i am 35 levels worth of being used to watchman. I had not put all of the dots together for the heals in watchman, thank you for the info!

 

Completely different ways of doing damage.

 

I can't stand Watchman personally, but I do recognize its efficiency.

All of that being said...does anyone use Focus?

Thanks for the input guys! Just got off work so it's time to own it up on my Sentinel.

All of that being said...does anyone use Focus?

 

Yes.

There are numerous Focus-related threads.

 

IMO, it shines at 25+ as well as Combat. However, it's a bit nicer in the pre-25 ballgame, as Zen + Slash is a pretty sweet combo.

 

25+, however, you get the big AoE damage of Force / Zealous Leap + auto-critical damage Sweep, which is your bread and butter damage as Focus.

 

This gets even more vicious at higher levels with Singularity and, I believe, Focused Resonance.

 

 

Pairs very well with the first tier of Watchman as well.

Watchman is by far the best option for solo play (leveling). Pick up all talents that give you Centering, and enjoy the 18% of max HP heal every time Zen is ready (quite often). I levelled as Combat up to 35, and once I went Watchman I was amazed at how rarely I needed to rest after fights, or even use heal pots. My ability to take down tough encounters also improved significantly.

I did combat to about 26 I think & now I am trying Watchmen (34 now), they both feel very very close in PvE. Just pick the playstyle you prefer IMHO.

 

If you planning on doing a bit of PvP as you level, I would go Watchmen for sure.

correct me if im wrong. from the posts am i right to say below level 20+ its best to stick to watchman and then switch to combat from 20s onward?

Currently I myself am leveling as Watchman initially because of the self-heal function which for a class which doesn't have a true heal I thought would be valuable. For anything without a border around its nameplate I don't bother wasting Zen because it does way to fast, but for everything else...its awesome dps when you can have your DoT's rolling.

 

Combat looks interesting and I very much hope it pans out eventually as Ataru is one of my favorite styles, but right now I don't think it's panning out 'as' well. I suppose one of the big factors is that it's tier strike seems rather important to the whole tree itself.

correct me if im wrong. from the posts am i right to say below level 20+ its best to stick to watchman and then switch to combat from 20s onward?

 

combat doesn't really come into is own until 43. Bladerush+focused slash talents.

 

At 27, its ok. But really still way way behind watchman and focus.

combat doesn't really come into is own until 43. Bladerush+focused slash talents.

 

Pretty much this. Ataru Form + Combat Trance + Precision Slash + Blade Rush + Blade Storm + Crit+/Surge+ gear = ginormous and frequent crits.

 

The choice between the trees really comes down to which primary ability you personally prefer. Watchman = Cauterize. Combat = Blade Storm. Focus = Force Sweep. Obviously other abilities are useful within those trees, but those three abilities are your killers once you've fully spec'd. So roll with whichever of those you prefer.

Edited December 30, 2011 by photoheathen

Don't go sentinel... its a freaken trap; so damn hard to play in pvp but if your a pve player go nuts is a breeze

i know that this thread is outdated BUT STILL i got a question... i know that atm most of the players say that watchman owns for pve.. in late game.. bosses champs etc.. but this thread is ab leveling spec.. where.. so far... (im lvl 20) .. i only encounter normal mobs... 80% of them.. which die in 1-2 hits... why should i pick watchman over combat when i dont have any long fights? (or almost none)

You might consider Focus.

Normal mobs in lvl 20's are not that hard and you can pretty much wipe them down with Sweep crits.

Elites also go down nicley with Zen+Slash spam.

 

While playing Focus spec, I've tried Watchmen several times (now lvl31) and it's just does not work for me. Bleeds don't shine on normal mobs and always feeling focus starved in PVP.

 

Funny, Combat seems much more viable to me, PVE and PVP wise at this level.

Watchman is king, there's just no doubt about it in my mind. I went watchman at around level 28, and never looked back. Better damage and far less downtime than combat. I could solo same level champions and packs of elites/strongs (h2 quests) even before getting my healer companion. After getting him I pretty much leave every fight with full health. I tried combat at 32 for a few minutes, until I realized how horrible it was in comparison. I just had to rest way too much, and the kills were actually slower.

 

Watchman isn't just about the burns, so it's also good against normals. Normals go down crazy fast anyway. Charge, opportune strike, smash, pommel strike. Hit different mobs naturally, and that's likely two dead right there, and other than that, if you burn normals, just let the dots roll and kill while you switch targets. Where watchman really rules is killing them strongs and elites though. Strongs just melt away when you get your dots rolling.

 

Now if people like other specs, that's fine by me, but I have never played a stronger solo class/spec than a watchman sentinel, and I have a sorc, an operative and a jugg at 50 as well. Watchman is also crazy good in warzones. Luckily most marauders seem to be rage or something, so they're very easy to kill for me. Winning 1on2 is more a rule, not an exception. At level 40 atm, often hitting 300k damage in a good match. Never done it so consistently pre-50.

 

So long story short: I urge everyone to try their hand on being watchman for a while. If you give it enough time to learn its rotations (very easy) then I do believe it will outperform every other spec. Learn to love zen, and just get a very centering-heavy build. Valor + defensive forms can be obtained together at level 28, and with those you'll be well set for centering.

Edited February 24, 2012 by Boissi

hmm ye i guess i will try combat:D i could really use some up to date lvling guildes for watchman and combat...(not like there r tons of choices but still im new to this game:D ) i found some builds.. but i dont know if they r up to date or not

Learn to love zen, and just get a very centering-heavy build. Valor + defensive forms can be obtained together at level 28, and with those you'll be well set for centering.

 

That's something I'll have to get used to switching from Combat to Watchman. I don't use Zen all that much except for when I'm burning elites. I'll have to get used to swapping targets and dotting up too, rather than smashing a single enemy to dust.

That's something I'll have to get used to switching from Combat to Watchman. I don't use Zen all that much except for when I'm burning elites. I'll have to get used to swapping targets and dotting up too, rather than smashing a single enemy to dust.

 

Your still better off pounding one target with watchman. Overloaded saber only has 3 charges and you can stack all three on a single target really making it hurt. If zen is up it will take a strong or better to take stacking all your DoTs without dying.

 

I'd also encourage everyone to try watchman. I personally prefer combat and focus, but it's a feel thing. Watchman is easier to do well with than either of the other two trees and is generally very powerful.

Edited February 27, 2012 by Vodrin