I have just returned to the game and I'm completely lost. What are the main stats for Lightning Sorc that I should be focusing on?

 

Thanks

Very good guide: https://vulkk.com/2019/12/01/swtor-6-0-lightning-sorcerer-pve-guide-by-endonae/

 

For PvE endgame content:

Accuracy 110% (1590)

Alacrity (for 1.3s GCD) 15.41% (1,895) Above guide discusses other targets. This here can be considered minimum.

Critical Rest of it

 

Ignore all of the above until you get to level 75. Till then just put on whatever gear piece you see that has a green up arrow on it, irrespective of the Discipline, stats and so on.

Edited February 1, 2021 by mike_carton

please mention to her that 15% alacrity is while she is in combat. (with out of the GCD buffs) becasue out of combat the correct number is 11% wich is over 2k alacrity with no guild perks ofc. Edited March 2, 2021 by YodaUnrea
adding

please mention to her that 15% alacrity is while she is in combat. (with out of the GCD buffs) becasue out of combat the correct number is 11% wich is over 2k alacrity with no guild perks ofc.

Please don't take offense but this is bad information.

 

Can you explain why you think so? Or your source for this information?

Edited March 2, 2021 by mike_carton

Please don't take offense but this is bad information.

 

Can you explain why you think so? Or your source for this information?

 

They are wrong about the numbers, but they are not wrong that the out-of-combat alacrity will be lower. It is a fair bit of advice to explain that out of combat, and sans the Telekinetic Focal Point (Sage) / Focal Lightning (Sorc) buff that their alacrity will be five percentage points lower. 1895 alacrity gives 10.41% alacrity standing, which is raised to 15.41% with the Focal buff.

What is out of combat Alacrity applicable for?!

 

To the OP

 

Please ignore this side discussion and hair-splitting. This is what is applicable to your question:

Your input to character stats: Get Alacrity to 1895. You will be able to see this in the left side of the character sheet, in the top section ("C" by default)

 

The Output Alacrity you get: 15.41%. You will be able to see this in the left side of the character sheet, in the bottom section (use the pulldown to select "Force") That is your main target. As I wrote in my original response, you can read the full guide at Vulkk that talks about other options for Alacrity that will be higher.

Edited March 3, 2021 by mike_carton

What is out of combat Alacrity applicable for?!

 

To the OP

 

Please ignore this side discussion and hair-splitting. This is what is applicable to your question:

Your input to character stats: Get Alacrity to 1895. You will be able to see this in the left side of the character sheet, in the top section ("C" by default)

 

The Output Alacrity you get: 15.41%. You will be able to see this in the left side of the character sheet, in the bottom section (use the pulldown to select "Force") That is your main target. As I wrote in my original response, you can read the full guide at Vulkk that talks about other options for Alacrity that will be higher.

 

A TK Sage / Lit Sorc with 1895 alacrity will not have 15.41% alacrity. They will have 10.41%. They will not have 15.41% until they build their Focal buff stacks to five. That means that at the start of combat they will not have 1.3s GCD. This becomes even more important if the Sage / Sorc is going for 1.1s GCD as they will need both the Focal buff and Mental Alacrity / Polarity Shift for an added total of +25% alacrity. Thus, if the Sage / Sorc wishes to make full use of their alacrity and hit 1.1s GCD they will need to build their Focal buff before activating MA / PS.

 

The fact that attaining either 1.3s or 1.1s GCD is reliant on the Focal buff is not splitting hairs or a side discussion. The Focal buff is literally the thing that makes up the difference.

 

You saying that 1895 alacrity gives 15.41% alacrity is incorrect. 1895 alacrity gives 10.41% alacrity and building Focal buff stacks brings the percentage up to 15.41%, which puts the TK Sage / Lit Sorc at 1.3s GCD.

 

It is also funny you saying that talking about out of combat alacrity numbers is splitting hairs when in the guide you linked to the author specifically talks about out of combat numbers.

Edited March 10, 2021 by ceryxp

1895 alacrity gives 15.41% alacrity in combat which is the only place where it really matters. I speak as one who mains a TK Sage (same as Lightning) and takes that character into VM and MM Ops regularly.

 

I do concede that you will see lower numbers when not in combat.

 

I will bow out of this argument at this point.

Edited March 3, 2021 by mike_carton

Regarding this discussion concerning alacrity, how come nobody is mentioning 1.1 GCD under Polarity Shift?

 

Just to quickly explain why, a brief alacrity overview:

 

When you add alacrity, you reduce both the cast/activation of abilities as well as the global cooldown (how long you must wait between activating abilities.) The GCD begins at a 1.5 second time (meaning you can only activate your first ability at 0 seconds, then 1.5, then 3, then 4.5 etc). By adding alacrity, you can reduce a cast time (like lightning bolt/telekinetic burst) to, say, 1.45 seconds, but the global cooldown will remain at the nearest whole number (rounded up) meaning 1.5 seconds... stopping you casting your next one until it's up.

For this reason alone, people talk entirely about getting the GCD down to an exact number... 1.4, 1.3, 1.2 etc

 

For every class, you need a specific percentage of alacrity to do this:

1.4 requires 7.15%

1.3 needs 15.39%

1.2 requires 25%

1.1 requires 36.37%

1 second requires 50%

 

Now.... if you had 1213 alacrity on most classes, you'll be sitting on the 1.4 second GCD... but because this spec gets to build up to a free 5% alacrity (outside of rating) then you'll be aiming for 10.39% to reach the 1.3 gcd (the 1895 mentioned).

BUT...

Polarity Shift/Mental Alacrity gives 20% alacrity... so if you're using the 15.39% (that's 10.39% on your sheet, plus building up the 5%) then during this cooldown, you're sitting pretty on 35.39%... but wait.. isn't that SO close to 1.1? Close is good right? Nope... close is wasted talent! And this is why you'll see many recommend 2125 alacrity, because it means you'll sit on 11.37%. And this means when you add your 5% ramp up alacrity AND activate PS/MA you're now on 36.37%... or a 1.1 GCD.

 

So in summation:

Everyone has the same goal with alacrity, to get the GCD to an exact number.

This spec adds 5% for free, which noone else does, so the actual numbers look different to other specs.

Because your cooldown is up a lot and powerful, you go for slightly higher alacrity than you would if the cooldown didn't exist, meaning 1895 is an option, but 2125 is a better option if you want to really fly under your PS/MA.

--snip--

 

You are correct, and I actually was talking about hitting 1.1s GCD in my above post, which I just realized I said 1.2s and not 1.1s so have edited that. I only run the higher alacrity for 1.1s GCD on one of my Sages. All of the rest sit at around ~1895 for sustained 1.3s GCD. At that alacrity percentage they are able to hit 1.2s GCD when under Mental Alacrity / Polarity Shift regardless of Focal buff stacks.

 

 

This spec adds 5% for free, which noone else does, so the actual numbers look different to other specs.

 

It is correct that TK Sage and Lit Sorc are the only classes with a 5% buff, but Gunnery Commando / Arsenal Merc and Combat Sentinal / Carnage Marauder all have a standing 3% buff to alacrity which changes their numbers from the base numbers, 1213 (1.4s) and 3206 (1.3s), needed for the GCD break points.

I have just returned to the game and I'm completely lost. What are the main stats for Lightning Sorc that I should be focusing on?

 

Thanks

 

That depends on your level, and whether you are doing PvE or PVP

 

Assuming you have subscribed since Onslaught and have a level cap of 75:

• If your iRating (top-left of character sheet, under name) is less than 306, wear the highest item rating gear you can, regardless of stats.
  
• If your iRating is 306, and you are doing PvE, go for 1590 accuracy, ~2k alacrity, and ~2k crit, with 0 shield and 0 absorb, and, for now, 0 defense.
  
• If your iRating is 306, and you are doing PvP, go for 0 accuracy, ~2k alacrity, and ~3.5k crit, with 0 shield and 0 absorb and 0 defense.