Hiya, as you may remember from a while back I tried an AP BH while still back on Sith'Ari, since then I've exclusively played melee force users (Which I back then avoided like the plague)

 

Anyhow, I'm planning to start another BH alt on Tomb of Freedon Nadd and I'm naturally interested in the melee side of things, especially after playing the de facto counter class to arsenal for quite some time.

 

So my question is this: What spec should I go for, or should I simply roll arsenal?

 

Everyone seems to keep saying that the pyro spec is superior, except for the people lauding the parakeet (Which I hear will be nerfed into unusability in a few days) but I prefer actual melee combat to shooting rockets at the enemy...

 

So which of the three specs would be best from a levelling and light PvP standpoint?

if youre looking at being melee then pt pyro is probably for you. merc pyro is comparable but is more ranged. i hear pyro works better for pt anyways

if youre looking at being melee then pt pyro is probably for you. merc pyro is comparable but is more ranged. i hear pyro works better for pt anyways

 

Pyro seems pretty awesome from what I've seen, it's just that the lack of a sprint move makes me kind of wary...

The only spec that offers a replacement for my beloved force leap seems to be the tank one...

I just respec'd my Merc from Arsenal to Pyro last night and am going to see how that goes--many players have stated Pyro is preferable to Arsenal in both PVE and PVP, I don't do PVP and have no desire to so I can't speak to that.

 

I respec'd because there was a fight on Alderaan I simply could not win no matter what I did--I had my best gear equipped and still could not take him down, so I thought I would try another tactic...I'll see how that works out...

I just respec'd my Merc from Arsenal to Pyro last night and am going to see how that goes--many players have stated Pyro is preferable to Arsenal in both PVE and PVP, I don't do PVP and have no desire to so I can't speak to that.

 

I respec'd because there was a fight on Alderaan I simply could not win no matter what I did--I had my best gear equipped and still could not take him down, so I thought I would try another tactic...I'll see how that works out...

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Well, seeing as I've faced arsenal specced mercs quite a lot in PvP I already know what it is they do and why they are not "preferred".

 

However, the two things I've noticed while reading through the talents and skills is that A. Pyros lack any movement speed enhancing moves and B. Their core skills seem to be RNG based.

 

Heat management seems to be something like "reapply DOT when needed and spam your basic attack until you get a proc for RS"

 

While I like DOT mechanics that seems a bit flimsy, however the alternatives also seem to be flawed in their own ways, even though they add movement boosts...

 

So how do you keep up with enemies as a pyro, and do you have the possibility to roll snake eyes with the procs and end up owned because of that?

No longer having the Mando Warheads does make a difference and I definitely miss the extra Rocket Punch and Jet Boost points so fights (vs Killicks and level 29 goons) did seem a bit tougher and take a little longer, but again I'm still getting used to it and unless things get really fubar'd will probably finish Alderaan as a Pyro. Jedi Master Seraph is one bad mofo and beating him is the reason I respec'd--I simply could not do it Arsenal being equal to him level wise, I could find no guide with tips on how to take him down. I do like the Arsenal tree because I prefer doing ranged dps plus the extra RP and extra JB were nice to have when things got up close and personal but many people think Pyro is better and the arguments seemed valid (which does more dps is irrelevant to me, I care only about being the last one standing at the end, even if it's with 1HP) so again I decided to try it for myself

 

 

 

 

(Size tags removed for easier reading)

 

Well, seeing as I've faced arsenal specced mercs quite a lot in PvP I already know what it is they do and why they are not "preferred".

 

However, the two things I've noticed while reading through the talents and skills is that A. Pyros lack any movement speed enhancing moves and B. Their core skills seem to be RNG based.

 

Heat management seems to be something like "reapply DOT when needed and spam your basic attack until you get a proc for RS"

 

While I like DOT mechanics that seems a bit flimsy, however the alternatives also seem to be flawed in their own ways, even though they add movement boosts...

 

So how do you keep up with enemies as a pyro, and do you have the possibility to roll snake eyes with the procs and end up owned because of that?

No longer having the Mando Warheads does make a difference and I definitely miss the extra Rocket Punch and Jet Boost points so fights (vs Killicks and level 29 goons) did seem a bit tougher and take a little longer, but again I'm still getting used to it and unless things get really fubar'd will probably finish Alderaan as a Pyro. Jedi Master Seraph is one bad mofo and beating him is the reason I respec'd--I simply could not do it Arsenal being equal to him level wise, I could find no guide with tips on how to take him down. I do like the Arsenal tree because I prefer doing ranged dps plus the extra RP and extra JB were nice to have when things got up close and personal but many people think Pyro is better and the arguments seemed valid (which does more dps is irrelevant to me, I care only about being the last one standing at the end, even if it's with 1HP) so again I decided to try it for myself

 

not sure what you were doing wrong but the only quest i couldnt complete at my current lvl was that one on voss with that rakata force user in the nightmare lands. everything else was easy sauce with mako

 

(Size tags removed for easier reading)

 

Well, seeing as I've faced arsenal specced mercs quite a lot in PvP I already know what it is they do and why they are not "preferred".

 

However, the two things I've noticed while reading through the talents and skills is that A. Pyros lack any movement speed enhancing moves and B. Their core skills seem to be RNG based.

 

Heat management seems to be something like "reapply DOT when needed and spam your basic attack until you get a proc for RS"

 

While I like DOT mechanics that seems a bit flimsy, however the alternatives also seem to be flawed in their own ways, even though they add movement boosts...

 

So how do you keep up with enemies as a pyro, and do you have the possibility to roll snake eyes with the procs and end up owned because of that?

 

someone should be along soon to answer your questions since i cant

not sure what you were doing wrong

 

 

I wish I knew--between torhead, swtor-spy, darthhatred and youtube I couldn't find so much as one tip. I turned off all Mako's active attacks so (hopefully) she would focus on healing me--when he first runs out of the doorway he pulls Mako to him which allows me to DFA and Unload...right after that he force jumps to then stuns and clobbers me which is when I start kiting him. He usually does another stun while hitting me for 300-500pts or more a pop--I use ED followed by an Rail Shot then a missile venting heat as necessary and using Rapid Shot mixing in Rocket Punches and Jet Blasts when I can...the farging corksoaker STILL kills me each and every time...I don't know what else to do...respec'ing seemed like a good idea...

But how will the upcoming 1.2 patch changes affect pyrotech? And did they do ANYTHING to make AP a better choice?

But how will the upcoming 1.2 patch changes affect pyrotech? And did they do ANYTHING to make AP a better choice?

 

unload has a better chance to proc rail shot.

 

Power Shot has a longer cast and I will probably replace it in the rotation with a missile shot.

 

Not sure what other changes will mean, but I plan to continue playing BH/Merc Pyro in 1.2.

I have both a merc and a powertech. I leveled my merc as a healer most of the time, and I leveled my pt as shield tech almost all the way. Shieldtech you get Jet Charge which is a lot of fun. The Advanced Prototype spec is getting buffed in 1.2. I find the AP spec very interesting, but I didn't try it while leveling. It does have movement speed increase talents. You'll be satisfied with either advanced class, but i'd have to say Powertech is more fun.

I also had my 50 merc transfered to the PTS. In Columni gear my Arsenal did 1185 dps, and as Pyrotech i did 1084 dps. Railshot procs a lot more often on the PTS. It doesn't feel nerfed.