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A Tactics Vanguard willing to play good in Solo ranked


Obroa-Skai

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Hey guys,

i write this post b/c i really need to read some tips, advices and personal opinions about playing Solo Ranked arenas as a Tactic Vanguard.

 

Last day i queued solo and ended up in a team with 3 stealthers, against a team with (guess what) 3 stealthers and 1 sage. Not to mention that i was sure i was about to be globaled, i put all my effort in chasing the marked player to take it down before dying backstabbed, volatile substance'ed and blood boilered. I was able to bring that sage to pop bubble in a matter of seconds but then i died, not surprisingly. Second round i lasted a bit less but was my fault, i've lost focus and patience and started to decimate one of the 3 steaòthers attacking me, almost killing him.

 

I play the game since 2013, always played PVP with my PT/VG and my Commando/Merc, but VG always been my favourite and i decided that if i wanna try to do good in ranked i must be able to do it with this class. I've hundreds of thousands of game hours spent in Regz, gear and rotation and defensives are no longer a mistery without fake humble attitude.

 

At the end of the match, yesterday, one of my teammates told me that maybe i'm still in need of some regz practice (was a normal comnversation without poison or *** attitude), and here come my dilemma: i'm so tired of regz, i really could shoot myself in the coconuts if i have to guard another node or kill another ball carrier, considering also that i'm the type of guy that tries to motivate others in playing for the objectives in chat, encouraging some team effort b/c i hate loosing like idiots.

 

What do you suggest? Do you think i should just ride the wave and keep paying ranked more and more until i get used to it with this delicate class? If i choose to keep goin in SR, what mindset i should act out while playing asa tactic vang, and how to die as later as possible?

 

Last but not least, why solo ranked is a stealth war?

 

Thanks in advance for any tip and opinion shared.

Edited by Obroa-Skai
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Hey guys,

i write this post b/c i really need to read some tips, advices and personal opinions about playing Solo Ranked arenas as a Tactic Vanguard.

 

Last day i queued solo and ended up in a team with 3 stealthers, against a team with (guess what) 3 stealthers and 1 sage. Not to mention that i was sure i was about to be globaled, i put all my effort in chasing the marked player to take it down before dying backstabbed, volatile substance'ed and blood boilered. I was able to bring that sage to pop bubble in a matter of seconds but then i died, not surprisingly. Second round i lasted a bit less but was my fault, i've lost focus and patience and started to decimate one of the 3 steaòthers attacking me, almost killing him.

 

I play the game since 2013, always played PVP with my PT/VG and my Commando/Merc, but VG always been my favourite and i decided that if i wanna try to do good in ranked i must be able to do it with this class. I've hundreds of thousands of game hours spent in Regz, gear and rotation and defensives are no longer a mistery without fake humble attitude.

 

At the end of the match, yesterday, one of my teammates told me that maybe i'm still in need of some regz practice (was a normal comnversation without poison or *** attitude), and here come my dilemma: i'm so tired of regz, i really could shoot myself in the coconuts if i have to guard another node or kill another ball carrier, considering also that i'm the type of guy that tries to motivate others in playing for the objectives in chat, encouraging some team effort b/c i hate loosing like idiots.

 

What do you suggest? Do you think i should just ride the wave and keep paying ranked more and more until i get used to it with this delicate class? If i choose to keep goin in SR, what mindset i should act out while playing asa tactic vang, and how to die as later as possible?

 

Last but not least, why solo ranked is a stealth war?

 

Thanks in advance for any tip and opinion shared.

 

Hell there

 

If you aren't a total noob, and I by that I mean you aren't the guy that has not much of a clue about how to play his class and you can do some serious damage in regs, there is no reason for you to keep playing for " practice" if you intend to become better in ranked.

 

I hear this advice all the time. Go practice in regs... Practice what exactly ? The level of skill required in regs in very low compared to ranked and arena game play is totally DIFFERENT compared to 8v 8 maps.

 

So if you are geared and know your class, you need to practice in ranked or early morning regs when you can get a few arena pops. 4v4 is very you need to improve and adapt.

 

Good luck.

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As a VG, you're going to be targeted first for a few reasons:

  1. Cannot "escape" (no stealth out or teleport), and...
  2. Do not have an ability that can force a focus shift (e.g., reflect)...
  3. Tactics VG has the best burst in the game by a large margin, making you the (potentially) most dangerous player in the arena.

 

all of these factors combine to making DPS VGs the first target in most arenas. unlike DPS juggs, VGs are capable of churning out a good amount of damage before they die. but they can live longer (if played right). both rely on peels from teammates.

 

your concerns about being rekt by 3 stealth opening on you is real. you need to survive that initial burst without blowing your breaker before white bar. unfortunately, you cannot pop reactive shield (strongest DCD) while stunned, and BW nerfed heal cannon severely when it instituted an internal CD. nevertheless, you can heal cannon and kolto while stunned. other than that, you need to rely on peels from your teammates. you need to play ranked for a bit in order to get the timing right for when to kolto against good focus. it's a lot sooner on your HP pool than regs focus. so it will require a few "yikes! that was quick!" dealths.

 

good teammates will help you out with off heals, stuns, and punts. if you see a lot of stealth, ask your teammates kindly to peel with these tools for you (particularly during the opening burst phase).

 

if you are any kind of competent, you'll be able to churn out significant burst if you can survive just that opening wave...despite still being the first teammate to die.

 

there are 2 schools of thought with staying near your teammates. most VGs hang back so as to initiate combat last (giving their teammates a chance to burst down your team's focus target). unfortunately, that leaves the VG alone to deal with all of the other team's openers. imo, that's a poor strat if the other team is 3 or 4 stealth. in that case, I'd keep withing peel distance of your teammates, but hang back if you can see 3 or 4 of the opponents (so as not to get caught in 2- or 3-v1 situations). as a VG, you should have no problem surviving 1v1 against anyone for a while.

 

all of that said, if the other team is 3v1 you, that also means your team is 3v1 them. and you "win" simply by doing more dmg before dying (and surviving longer) than the other team's guy stuck in a 3v1.

 

I also used to just leave queue when there was nothing but stealth and I wasn't playing one myself simply b/c it's not fun to get opened on by 3-4 players every time (even with good dcds). but that's kinda the thing with solo queue. you just have to do stuff that isn't necessarily fun or what your spec is designed for (e.g., DPS spending its time running away). on the plus side, when guard is available, VGs become gods.

 

edit: as for practicing in regs, you should ignore objectives and focus on getting into those 3-4v1 situations. also focus on...focus (focus target), and bursting down players in a coordinated way. VGs are not a finesse class though, so there isn't a whole lot to figure out, imo.

 

watching ranked play on streams is always good. you don't see a lot of first person PTs streaming though. so you kind of have to see them through someone else's stream. I usually see Cease on wars or (when I played) dot op. Biggs plays everything and clips a lot of his stuff on youtube. I haven't seen scooby on a PT, or any other streamer on one regularly, but then...I haven't yolo'd since s11 and just watch streams to put me to sleep. lol

Edited by CheesyEZ
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Try to get the Emergency Power set bonus, it will add a few sec to your survivability, and for such a bursty spec those seconds can make a huge difference. A lot of PT/VG mains who play ranked say this is the best set for SR. Edited by Voroschuk
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Try to get the Emergency Power set bonus, it will add a few sec to your survivability, and for such a bursty spec those seconds can make a huge difference. A lot of PT/VG mains who play ranked say this is the best set for SR.

 

Yea i'm trying because that dmg cheese on Power Yeld and 5 seconds more on Reactive Shield seem very important but

a) is very hard and resource consuming to get it since i don't raid i only can hope for a lucky roll on Kay, b) in a couple of months there is the new expansion, will the set still be available for lvl 80 as far as we know?

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Update: yesterday i joined a SR match and faced 2 vanguards with 300/330K endurance. I used to run an endurance built too in the recent past for AP and it works very good. Won the match despite the heavy focus thanks to 2 scoundrels carryng the team but i tried my best in dealing as much dmg i could.

 

Guess is all about hitting the wall with my face times and times again until it won't hurt so much anymore.

 

Thank all so far for the tips.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Update: yesterday i joined a SR match and faced 2 vanguards with 300/330K endurance. I used to run an endurance built too in the recent past for AP and it works very good. Won the match despite the heavy focus thanks to 2 scoundrels carryng the team but i tried my best in dealing as much dmg i could.

 

Guess is all about hitting the wall with my face times and times again until it won't hurt so much anymore.

 

Thank all so far for the tips.

 

PT/VG in dps games is basically parsing for enemy team, the way the class is designed is meant to be with support such as a tank or healer. The class its self is bad in dps games because it's not designed to be in dps games lol. The reason it's viable is because of the big pp damage AP can do on someone without their dcds up. There's almost little difference EP makes, the only difference EP makes is being able to cuck sin and op openers tbh; other than that vet ranger is prob the better set because your job as a PT is to do damage then die. In heal/dps games EP is very strong however, having the extra 5 seconds of energy shield is rather game changer for your healer and you. In t/h games EP is useless because you have guard. Also, whenever you get stunned and theres two of more people on you carbing out of a stun is vital; doing this allows you 2-3 seconds to run away and waste time for them to catch you.

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Advice depends on enemy comp. Against a heavy stealth team, it's all about your teammates. Do they have taunts available? Make sure they use them when you get opened on...if you somehow have multiple teammates with taunts, make sure they rotate them. If you have a healer, make sure they're preparing for the pain train about to hit you.

 

Remember that your entire existence is based around dealing as much damage as possible. Most VG/PT hang back at the start of matches to allow the teams to engage and blow taunts/DCDs so they can swoop in and blow someone up instantly. Its not a bad strategy for solo ranked.

 

If you DO charge in, remember to watch for class taunts and enemy DCDs. Don't pound your burst into a target when you're taunted. Being aware of enemy abilities and their visual cues will give you a huge advantage because you'll know when to burst and when not to burst.

 

Practice your rotation under heavy stress situations. Remember that Power Burst will process often when you are the kill target. Take advantage of this and pump out damage. Use your stuns defensively unless you're 100% sure you can get a kill with them.

 

Dont forget that your AoE taunt is a mini-defense cooldown against white damage. This might save you in certain situations.

 

Meteor Brawler or Veteran Ranger set, either will be fine. The Veteran Ranger will feel better in terms of survivability, but once you learn how to stay alive you will likely enjoy Meteor Brawler more to dish out as much damage as possible.

 

Your entire role in ranked is to trade your life for an enemy life, and hopefully do enough damage to force some DCDs from other enemy players and give your team the health and DCD advantage.

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Don't pound your burst into a target when you're taunted.

:rolleyes:

 

you're going to be taunted 50-80% of the match. and frankly, even when you are taunted, it's a relatively minor DR. if you hold off burst until taunt falls off, you'll be dead before you hit the target. if you go looking for the guy who taunted you, you just reduce the burst your team is able to exert on the primary target.

 

I would not let being taunted by a tank class affect your target (especially if it would cause you to attack someone other than the rest of your team).

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That's assuming a lot of things.

 

With a single enemy with taunt, it's only possible for you to be taunted precisely 50% of the time and that's with absolute perfect play and 100% perfect uptime by the tank, with a max length of 12 seconds before you get a burst window. If you can't survive 12 seconds, you or your team are doing it wrong.

 

In the case of 2 classes with taunts, it is likely one of the taunt individuals would be your kill target, and as such, matters less.

 

A 30% damage reduction is enormous and not to be ignored. It is incredibly unlikely in solo ranked you will have a tank/dps with absolute perfect play and uptime. So, in general, don't put all your burst into a taunt window.

 

If we were talking group ranked, I might agree. But in solo ranked, this advice is sound.

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Hey guys,

i write this post b/c i really need to read some tips, advices and personal opinions about playing Solo Ranked arenas as a Tactic Vanguard.

 

Last day i queued solo and ended up in a team with 3 stealthers, against a team with (guess what) 3 stealthers and 1 sage. Not to mention that i was sure i was about to be globaled, i put all my effort in chasing the marked player to take it down before dying backstabbed, volatile substance'ed and blood boilered. I was able to bring that sage to pop bubble in a matter of seconds but then i died, not surprisingly. Second round i lasted a bit less but was my fault, i've lost focus and patience and started to decimate one of the 3 steaòthers attacking me, almost killing him.

 

I play the game since 2013, always played PVP with my PT/VG and my Commando/Merc, but VG always been my favourite and i decided that if i wanna try to do good in ranked i must be able to do it with this class. I've hundreds of thousands of game hours spent in Regz, gear and rotation and defensives are no longer a mistery without fake humble attitude.

 

At the end of the match, yesterday, one of my teammates told me that maybe i'm still in need of some regz practice (was a normal comnversation without poison or *** attitude), and here come my dilemma: i'm so tired of regz, i really could shoot myself in the coconuts if i have to guard another node or kill another ball carrier, considering also that i'm the type of guy that tries to motivate others in playing for the objectives in chat, encouraging some team effort b/c i hate loosing like idiots.

 

What do you suggest? Do you think i should just ride the wave and keep paying ranked more and more until i get used to it with this delicate class? If i choose to keep goin in SR, what mindset i should act out while playing asa tactic vang, and how to die as later as possible?

 

Last but not least, why solo ranked is a stealth war?

 

Thanks in advance for any tip and opinion shared.

 

Might as well keep going with it tbh. If you're able to be carried (by the 2 ops for example) you're not bad enough to have to go learn in regs or whatever. There is always a ton to learn in your first ranked season however, so strap in.

 

Note that you will always be tunneled first, as vanguard damage is so insanely broken that letting one freecast is legitimately just suicide. Here are the tips you need to survive:

1. Have a ranked player go over your utilities with you. In particular, make sure you have kolto breaker (called Efficient Suit or something similar) and Combustion Chamber. Without them you will essentially just run in and die in under 10 seconds.

2. DCD order: 90% of the time, just double break the first chain stun. Your damage uptime is very important (basically the only thing you're good for) and unlike every other class, your lifespan is not long enough to save breakers for after first whitebar. Break with kolto first, then with your actual breaker (determination, I think it's called) second. Pop power yield, energy shield, AOE taunt, and possibly also warzone adrenal in the opener (at 100%). The only reason to save adrenal is if you think you could die through kolto after the first set of cooldowns falls off. Hold your medpac until after kolto, that way you can save yourself if you're going to die through it, and if not, you can medpac from 35% back up to 70%, with energy shield and AOE taunt coming back off cooldown shortly. Good PTs do this in order to have essentially a second life at the end of the match when people are low on cooldowns and their damage can be devastating to what's left of the enemy team. Also, once your shield falls off, start running around an object with hydraulics, either a box or a pole or one of the huts on tatooine canyon. Your kolto will proc at some point during you running if all goes according to plan, and your goal is basically to stall for a second energy shield. Don't engage again without shield back unless you have a very good shot to kill someone (permanently) because you're likely sacrificing yourself to do it.

3. How you are useful: So your goal as a PT, and what you bring to the table, is basically just 30 seconds of the most ridiculous damage potential this game has ever seen. There are several ways to make this useful, the most common being choose a kill target that can't stealth, and kill them through every single cooldown they have, to make up for the fact that you essentially don't have any. If there are only stealthers, you'll need lots of peels from your team, and your goal is basically to force all of them to stealth nearly immediately, one after the other, so you can break combat and regen your health. Usually I find sitting back isn't very useful on VG/PT unless your target is too, since your goal is basically just to suicide bomb. It can be helpful, except if there are a lot of stealthers against you, in which case it's a good way to die in your own spawn, never reaching the kill target. Unfortunately you are very much at the mercy of your team leveraging your toolkit in a smart way, which they don't always do.

 

Remember: since you're in the match, the match is on a timer. You have until you run out of DCDs to obliterate someone through all of theirs, so you must be extremely aggressive, and make use of pulls, leaps, and even hydros if you must, to ensure you absolutely lock down and obliterate someone. And also, most importantly, do a metric **** ton of damage. A PT/VG with low DPS is just a waste of space. However, a PT with high DPS is the most dangerous player in the game.

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