MMO Mechanics posted way back in 1.3 the BiS DPS numbers for lightning, madness, and a hybrid spec. Though the gear is now 63's instead of 61's it's probably to scale.

http://www.simulationcraft.org/swtor/130/Sorcerer_Raid_Campaign_BiS.html

Lightning was 1850 DPS

Madness was 1782 DPS

Hybrid was 1772 DPS

Which is best for each boss fight is dependant on the mechanics of the fight. Madness will genreally do better on boss fights where there are multiple bosses (Firebrand/Stormcaller, Zorn/Toth, Jarg/Sorno, etc) due to double dot-ing. Lightning will generally better on bosses where there is a single target and little movement. However, lightning spec is tight as far as it's rotation to keep maximum DPS; Madness is a little more liberal. Never went hybrid so I can't comment on the mechanics of that spec.

Hybrid is hands down the best, what people don't mention when they post those dps numbers about the BiS set ups is that they get those using SimC which is flawless dps that isn't really possible in game. Lightnings problem is that there aren't many fights where you stand still the entire time, anways heres the spec I use for hybrid.

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#201oZfcM0bZcMfRsbkrc.2

Its pretty simple just keep up dots, use death field, and use force lightning as filler.

Hybrid is hands down the best, what people don't mention when they post those dps numbers about the BiS set ups is that they get those using SimC which is flawless dps that isn't really possible in game. Lightnings problem is that there aren't many fights where you stand still the entire time, anways heres the spec I use for hybrid.

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#201oZfcM0bZcMfRsbkrc.2

Its pretty simple just keep up dots, use death field, and use force lightning as filler.

thanks,i'll try it.

I've been using this hybrid spec forever. I leveled with this spec and have used it ever since.

http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/skills/Sorcerer#0-1je6d0e3f-1098323

Hybrid is hands down the best, what people don't mention when they post those dps numbers about the BiS set ups is that they get those using SimC which is flawless dps that isn't really possible in game. Lightnings problem is that there aren't many fights where you stand still the entire time, anways heres the spec I use for hybrid.

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#201oZfcM0bZcMfRsbkrc.2

Its pretty simple just keep up dots, use death field, and use force lightning as filler.

The hybrid is "hands down" the easiest, but not necessarily the best.

Full Madness still does better DPS than the hybrid in most fights if the person using it is skilled enough. The rotation isn't much tougher than the hybrid, and it is actually more mobile as you can use Creeping Terror while moving.

The hybrid is "hands down" the easiest, but not necessarily the best.

 

Full Madness still does better DPS than the hybrid in most fights if the person using it is skilled enough. The rotation isn't much tougher than the hybrid, and it is actually more mobile as you can use Creeping Terror while moving.

What he said ^

However, long fights will make you run out of force, the optimal madness rotation is actually force negative.

For progression opperations i'd personally use either hybrid or madness, for fights I know inside out I use lightning, cause it keeps me on my toes where the others are just boring.

What he said ^

However, long fights will make you run out of force, the optimal madness rotation is actually force negative.

For progression opperations i'd personally use either hybrid or madness, for fights I know inside out I use lightning, cause it keeps me on my toes where the others are just boring.

The madness rotation is force positive if you take points in electric induction instead of convection, which I do. It's a less than 1 percent theoretical DPS loss to drop convection (you don't even use three of the four skills it buffs), and in reality it is actually better DPS because the extra force you get from electric induction allows you to use shock more often while on the move or force storm in AOE phases. You still won't use shock on cooldown, and you have to be careful about not over-using force storm, but it gives you way more flexibility.

The hybrid is "hands down" the easiest, but not necessarily the best.

 

Full Madness still does better DPS than the hybrid in most fights if the person using it is skilled enough. The rotation isn't much tougher than the hybrid, and it is actually more mobile as you can use Creeping Terror while moving.

How is madness more complex than hybrid? Its easy to sinc 2 of your dots by taking only one point into the extension of affliction duration, (both then get 18 sec durations) and after that its use wrath CD on cooldown, use DF on cooldown,shock if your force allow, if DoTs are up and running, CD/DF on CD and force under 70% or so apply generous ammounts of force lightning.

That spec is imo rather boring. The sole challenge is if another madness sorc is present to keep track of your dots vs his.

How is madness more complex than hybrid? Its easy to sinc 2 of your dots by taking only one point into the extension of affliction duration, (both then get 18 sec durations) and after that its use wrath CD on cooldown, use DF on cooldown,shock if your force allow, if DoTs are up and running, CD/DF on CD and force under 70% or so apply generous ammounts of force lightning.

 

That spec is imo rather boring. The sole challenge is if another madness sorc is present to keep track of your dots vs his.

Madness is more complex than the hybrid because there is one more skill to use and another DOT to track. You could certainly make it easier by only taking one point in the skill that extends the length of affliction, but you would gimp your DPS by doing so. I didn't say it was super complex or hard. Just that the hybrid is easier. You have one less skill to use and one less DOT to track in the hybrid.

Lightnings problem is that there aren't many fights where you stand still the entire time.

There are a lot of fights where you stand still or have very little movement.

Eternity Vault:

-Annihilation Droid XRR-3. Only movement is the missle barrage and the small red circles. Very light movement. You can use shock when you need to move and not stop DPS'ing.

-Gharj. Only movement is in-between the islands and getting back onto the islands when knocked back. You won't be using Force Lightning at these two times anyways.

-Pylons. No need to move away from the button. 30 meter range will reach all the adds that spawn.

-Infernal Council. No movement needed (but then again this is hardly a boss fight)

Karagga's Palace:

-Foreman Crusher. Only movement needed is when you get the big red circle (use shock) and running back into range after knockback (won't be channeling Force Lightning while getting back into range anyways)

-Heavy Fabricator. If you know where to stand, you don't have to move 1-inch during the fight and won't get hit by the probes.

-Karagga. You'll be able to stay in range of him the entire fight. If the tank knows how to position him, you won't have to worry about moving to avoid his fire. If you get the gravity field(or whatever it's called) bubble to absorb the hit and keep going. Very little movement needed.

Explosive Conflict:

-Toth & Zorn: If the tanks position them correctly, ranged on Zorn dont have to move at all except during the red circle phase. Use shock, reapply DOTs(if needed), heck use force slow if everything else is on cooldown while you are moving during the red circle phase.

-Stormcaller & Firebrand: On firebrand, the only time to move is to the shields. On stormcaller, you might need to move for DD, but the tank should bring it to the DPS.

-Kephess: stand in the sweet spot and you don't need to worry about the ground AOE. You can reach all first 2 droids, wardroid, the bombers, and the warrior groups from that spot. There is no need to move until after the 2nd bomber burn phase. At that point, you have to move onto the droids. Use shock, affliction, and you'll be on-top of the droid to start your cast-time abilities. For the last phase, there can be a lot of movement, but I don't see any big problem doing it with a lightning rotation as opposed to a hybrid rotation.

Terror From Beyond:

-Writhing Horror: Stand in the middle of the room and you reach all of it's pop-out spots without moving. There are two times you may need to move; if you get the yellow DOT debuff (move to cleanse) and if you need to go to a spawning pool. Shock when moving to cleanse yourself. Shock when moving to a pool. The pool may or may not be in range of the boss, but you'll be DPS'ing the adds anyways.

-Terror From Beyond. Phase 1: Spit = use shock while moving. If you're not the one dodgeing spit, there is no movement required. Phase 2: Slam's cast-time is long enough to finish-off any cast-time you are in the middle of and still get off the platform while casting a shock for good measure. When killing the adds in-between tentacle phases, DOT build will lag behind due to the adds dying well before the DOT can do their full damage.

No spec is hands down better than another spec overall. Certain specs will do better on certain boss fights if you know the fight and your rotation However, to say that you need to stand still the entire fight for a lightning spec is deceptive. In Lightning spec, affliction, chain lightning (with lightning storm proc), shock, and force slow (if desperate) are all instant casts that can be used while moving. And any movement during boss fights is generally predictable and quick. Respec for fights inbetween bosses if needed.

Also the arguement that lightning only parses better than other builds due to being tested under prime conditions...all the builds are tested under prime conditions. All the builds will have a lower DPS in a real fight due to server lag, less than perfect timing, etc.

However, with all things equal, I prefer madness due to ease of rotation.