This video is basically in a commentary style format, a first for me. It goes over some of the more mechanical skills required to excel in ranked. Feedback is welcome, please let me know if this style of video is valuable or useful in any way. If I get enough positive feedback, I'd love to make more videos on other small mechanical intricacies that help to bolster your ranked gameplay. Enjoy

 

This video is basically in a commentary style format, a first for me. It goes over some of the more mechanical skills required to excel in ranked. Feedback is welcome, please let me know if this style of video is valuable or useful in any way. If I get enough positive feedback, I'd love to make more videos on other small mechanical intricacies that help to bolster your ranked gameplay. Enjoy

Thanks Kre

That was great! Man, I *thought* I was paying attention to positioning, and I was so wrong.

How do you balance LOSing the enemy, but not LOSing your own healer? The last couple days I've been trying out the nice low-pressure-toxicless solo ranked, and I've gotten a comment a couple times from healers about "don't run when you are focused, I can't heal you", or in general to the team "you guys keep LOSing me".

Also, I need to buy grenades.

Thanks for the vid!

Did the merc net you at some point? I might have missed it. Chain-stun into net is the bane of my sin / sorc existence.

Oh and very nice video. I would 100% have jumped into the action

Did the merc net you at some point? I might have missed it. Chain-stun into net is the bane of my sin / sorc existence.

 

Oh and very nice video. I would 100% have jumped into the action

, and probably gotten myself killed along the way .

Yea he used Electro-Net on me. I believe there were two times that he did but I’d have to double check. I know 100% that one of the times he net me, I was kiting around the lamp post, which really limited their ability to pin me down and kill me. Line of Sighting while netted allowed me to survive the net without having to use my CC break, which really goes a long way.

That was great! Man, I *thought* I was paying attention to positioning, and I was so wrong.

 

How do you balance LOSing the enemy, but not LOSing your own healer? The last couple days I've been trying out the nice low-pressure-toxicless solo ranked, and I've gotten a comment a couple times from healers about "don't run when you are focused, I can't heal you", or in general to the team "you guys keep LOSing me".

 

Also, I need to buy grenades.

 

Thanks for the vid!

Honestly, a good healer shouldn’t be stationary. As you can see throughout the video, the flow of the fight changes the location of where the action is taking place. The fight might start at the pillar, but then the flow of the battle moves the location to the lamp post. For this reason, a healer should be following the flow of the fight. If they are, it’s rare that you will LoS them, because your LoS object should change based on where the current location of the fight is.

Outside of the healer’s duty to maintain movement, it’s also on you to make sure that when you think you need heals that you position yourself in a way that will allow for heals while also kiting the enemy. Keep in mind too, for the most part, you shouldn’t need to rely on the healer at all. Doing so is a crutch. You should be using your DCDs first, and relying on the healer when you have literally nothing left. In those cases where you are out of DCDs and do need heals, choose a position that allows you to stay next to the healer while DPSing the enemy closest to you that would be considered safe, even if it’s not the kill target. Doing this will change your role from DPS on the kill target to a being a body guard for the healer, opting to save your CC purely to peel for the healer. Once you are topped up and have enough DCDs to sustain yourself, then you can go back into the fray of the fight.

Tldr - choose a position that will allow you to be as useful as you can, relative to the DCDs you have available. If you need heals, choose a position by the healer and change your role to peel any incoming DPS off the healer.

Hope I articulated that well enough, sorry for rambling

 

This video is basically in a commentary style format, a first for me. It goes over some of the more mechanical skills required to excel in ranked. Feedback is welcome, please let me know if this style of video is valuable or useful in any way. If I get enough positive feedback, I'd love to make more videos on other small mechanical intricacies that help to bolster your ranked gameplay. Enjoy

Hi Kre'a, it's always a pleasure seeing you on the forums and reading/watching guides you create. This video was excellent, I watched the entire thing and even for those who do not play shadow/sins, the video had tons of useful information for anyone who wants to learn and understand what you are processing while in a ranked match.

Actually lots of your tips could even be useful in regs; the explanation of positioning was great, especially when you pointed out how being in the center of a triangle of the enemies was a terrible position to be in, especially when you were focused. It seems like common sense, but in fights it's easy to not realize one's position and as you explained in great detail it's pretty important.

I think I often times only recognize close enemies and try positioning myself to avoid their damage but not all the DPS that might be focusing me, so that was something I would consider if I played again.

How do you balance LOSing the enemy, but not LOSing your own healer? The last couple days I've been trying out the nice low-pressure-toxicless solo ranked, and I've gotten a comment a couple times from healers about "don't run when you are focused, I can't heal you", or in general to the team "you guys keep LOSing me".

I mostly played healers, and the only time I have issue with someone running/kiting away is when they literally take a long beeline out into nowhere making me try to chase them down to land heals. As a healer obviously I try to move to keep heals on people, but there are some who are so used to soloing or playing regs and not getting heals they just run as fast as they can as far away as they can to survive. I remember I did that early on myself.

My favorite DPS were very good at not just putting out great DPS but knowing when to disengage and mitigate damage on themselves by kiting or using DCDs all the while keeping in a place where I could heal them. These players seem to have a tether line attached to me, knowing exactly how far and where to run to stay in range of heals yet avoid damage/death when they get low. This really makes healing much less stressful. Nothing worse than the guy who runs off when his health gets low like a chicken with it's head cut off who yells "WHY DIDN'T YOU HEAL ME!!!" after the match.

I think I often times only recognize close enemies and try positioning myself to avoid their damage but not all the DPS that might be focusing me, so that was something I would consider if I played again.

I think this is actually a widespread and common mistake. It's easy to focus on the one guy who's doing a ton of damage to you. It's a bit harder to recognize that you've overextended and that you need to correct your positioning relative to your team.

I think this is actually a widespread and common mistake. It's easy to focus on the one guy who's doing a ton of damage to you. It's a bit harder to recognize that you've overextended and that you need to correct your positioning relative to your team.

This is such a great point. It can even be applied to people spam capping while getting hit. I watch them Cc the closest guy, but continue to try and cap while 3 other people (usually ranged) are hitting them. They do this till they die and then complain they weren’t getting healed enough

Hope I articulated that well enough, sorry for rambling

That was a good explanation. It's kinda what I figured. I was partially coming from my lowbie merc healer experience, where I have had arenas where I can't get a heal off on the guy that needs one because presently almost all my real heals are casts, and him running around the pillar kept los'ing me too! I see that I'm getting more insta-procs for merc heals as I level up some though, so maybe that particular issue is not a problem at 70s.

Been doing more ranked. I think I hit some people that actually play ranked, because I was doing fairly well I thought this morning. But the last few matches I've been getting my rear end handed to me. I did successfully "suss the situation", and on purpose, in one game though. We had had a good first round focusing their healer who went down pretty quick. In round 2 I saw all 3 enemy DPS gunning hard for our healer, so I figured the other 2 dps could handle theirs, and I did the off-guard and peels thing. Our healer lived, their healer died, and we won... so I think I helped.

Anyway, I guess pre-season ends next week. Which is kinda sad to me. Right now the toxicity is almost non existent I'm finding, and it's actually pretty fun. I suspect that will change if I try to continue once the season starts.

Anyway, I guess pre-season ends next week. Which is kinda sad to me. Right now the toxicity is almost non existent I'm finding, and it's actually pretty fun. I suspect that will change if I try to continue once the season starts.

If toxicity gets to you, you could always just turn your chat off and do your own thing. Though I would advise that you don't let the words of others affect how you choose to play the game. People get mad because they lose sometimes, it happens. But just because some people are negative doesn't mean that you should stop queuing ranked. You can't get better if you don't practice. I was pretty awful in Season 3 and got a lot of the "stop queuing, you're garbage" stuff. But that didn't stop me and now I'm a slightly above average sin and definitely better than I was relative to season 3.

If toxicity gets to you, you could always just turn your chat off and do your own thing. Though I would advise that you don't let the words of others affect how you choose to play the game. People get mad because they lose sometimes, it happens. But just because some people are negative doesn't mean that you should stop queuing ranked. You can't get better if you don't practice. I was pretty awful in Season 3 and got a lot of the "stop queuing, you're garbage" stuff. But that didn't stop me and now I'm a slightly above average sin and definitely better than I was relative to season 3.

Don’t they say, Practice makes perfect

And playing against better players helps lift your own skills. Playing less skilled people all the time can make you lazy and you can lose some of your edge.

If toxicity gets to you, you could always just turn your chat off and do your own thing. Though I would advise that you don't let the words of others affect how you choose to play the game. People get mad because they lose sometimes, it happens. But just because some people are negative doesn't mean that you should stop queuing ranked. You can't get better if you don't practice. I was pretty awful in Season 3 and got a lot of the "stop queuing, you're garbage" stuff. But that didn't stop me and now I'm a slightly above average sin and definitely better than I was relative to season 3.

Well, my thing is that right now I like the atmosphere and the competitiveness. I don't care at all about elo or ranked rewards. I mean, I'm always trying to win and get better. I'm not just there for grins and giggles. But I'm not going to get all bent out of shape about losing, or winning.

At the moment people are pretty friendly, and helpful, and for the most part willing to try different strategies when the first one doesn't work. I haven't been told to go unsub and kill myself even once, and only a few times has someone started telling everyone to just /stuck it. (Which kinda pisses me off - I hate when someone gives up because they decide it's unwinnable.)

If that atmosphere continued I'd be fine. But I'm too old, and being good at this game is too unimportant, for me to "suffer" through abuse just to be good at it. I've never played anything in this game for the elo, or the rewards or the prestige (I'm not knocking anyone that does - people play for different reasons - more power to all of them) - but I just play the activities in the game because I enjoy THAT activity. If ranked continues to be fun when the season starts then I'll continue. If it doesn't, I'm not going to play it just to play ranked.

and only a few times has someone started telling everyone to just /stuck it. (Which kinda pisses me off - I hate when someone gives up because they decide it's unwinnable.)

I feel the same way in arena. It’s usually over so fast if you are going to get tumbled, you may as well practice.

The only times I think it’s valid is when the other side has a hacker, a full troll stealth squad who waits till the acid to fight (such a waste of time) or there are only 1-2 of you on the team. But if I’m the only one, I just start a “dance off bro” and it’s usually funny till someone gets bored and kills me.

I feel the same way in arena. It’s usually over so fast if you are going to get tumbled, you may as well practice.

The only times I think it’s valid is when the other side has a hacker, a full troll stealth squad who waits till the acid to fight (such a waste of time) or there are only 1-2 of you on the team. But if I’m the only one, I just start a “dance off bro” and it’s usually funny till someone gets bored and kills me.

Still should try hard when there’s a troll. I’ve won my fair share of 3v4s. Anything is possible.

I was pretty awful in Season 3 and got a lot of the "stop queuing, you're garbage" stuff. But that didn't stop me and now I'm a slightly above average sin and definitely better than I was relative to season 3.

All credibility for Kre'a has gone out the window with this statement. He is not a "slightly above average sin" lol.

Still should try hard when there’s a troll. I’ve won my fair share of 3v4s. Anything is possible.

3v4 for sure. I will always try. I even keep going in objective matches when 7 of my team are guarding our node . I will still try and find a way to take one of the other nodes or at least get some combat practice in because if I die, You respawn straight away and head straight back in.

But 1-2v4 in arena is just a forgone conclusion and over so fast. So if the other person /stuck, I will too. If it’s just 1v4, I try to get some fun out of it by having a quick dance off

@Kre’a

Just had a Hutt Ball match with you. It’s good to see you play in person and refreshing to see you are also a good objectives player. Shame you were on the other team

Just had a Hutt Ball match with you. It’s good to see you play in person and refreshing to see you are also a good objectives player. Shame you were on the other team

He's an awesome player that's why I said he loses all credibility when he says he is a "slightly above average sin." This is a ludicrous statement.

Had my first "real" ranked solos match. Was 4 dps v 4 dps. I forget the map names, but it was the newest one with the big platform up top.

I remembered to use positioning to keep some LOS available (although, the enemy was 2 jugger, 2 maras and a sent - all melee). Did OK, I think. We focused the jugger first, but he held back expecting that and we took to long to get going on him. I did manage to stealth out and escape, and then one of them tried to escape to the exact same spot (under the platform). I got lucky and he was in worse shape than me, so I finished him off. But by that time it was too late for the rest of our team, and I was left alone against 2 maras.

Round 2 we got to the jugger quicker, and we beat them that time.

Round 3 the jugger hung WAY back, and we screwed up and 2 of us went after him while the other 2 got caught by the 3 maras. We didn't recover well, and lost round 3.

Still, fun so far. No toxic chat. A couple "gg" back and forth at the end.

[Edit: and game #2 was a WIN! Woot! I even managed to use focus target modifier to cc the healer a bit.]

Glad to see you playing again. You and your guides were a big inspiration to me to start doing ranked back in late 3.x and all of 4.x.

By the way, what server are you playing on?

Glad to see you playing again. You and your guides were a big inspiration to me to start doing ranked back in late 3.x and all of 4.x.

 

By the way, what server are you playing on?

I'm currently on Star Forge

Kudos for doing this. I'd like someone (you, if you're willing) explain the concept of CC for newer players. In the 25 or so games I played tonight, I'd say 1/3 of them someone on my team didn't know what a mezz or sap was.

That's a great idea too. I'd love to see him break down CCs. I just don't know how he could do it, seeing every class pretty much has a type of CC that's different or can be used in different situations.

I used Kre'as guide on Dulfy for how to gear up a tank. It was detailed and equally well done. Hopefully he does more guides etc. seeing the guides all have really become outdated over the last few years.

Just one of the side effects of not as many people playing as before is the lack of informational instruction guides available by knowledgeable players for SWTOR.

Kudos for doing this. I'd like someone (you, if you're willing) explain the concept of CC for newer players. In the 25 or so games I played tonight, I'd say 1/3 of them someone on my team didn't know what a mezz or sap was.

I've actually already done this, about 4 years ago. The information is still 100% relevant too.

In fact, not only does it talk about CC and what it is, the video also goes into extreme details on how CC works relative to Resolve and how you can utilize Resolve to your advantage, both when you yourself are stunned and when you are trying to stun lock your enemy.

Enjoy!