Two Lightsabers are better than one - Jedi Sentinel Basics
by
, 12-29-2011 at 02:40 PM (25253 Views)
I am by no means an expert on those that saw an extra lightsaber lying around, saw their free hand, and thought to themselves, "Why not?" This is the first post that will contain what I've discovered in dabbling up to level 35 in Sentinel. Do not take this guide as an informed opinion. I have not gotten there yet. It's just my experiences and thought patterns on my build so far. I'm doing this now because I was asked and I like the sound of my own voice, er words. Whatever.
Anyways, the Jedfi Sentinel is a single target semi glass cannon. Embrace this. You have little AOE and what AOE you have stinks. You have two reliable defensive abilities that are both on long cooldowns and one requires you to be constantly hit to stay up more than a few seconds which also should not be happening. You have almost no CC, so some abliities that look good on the surface(read: Master Strike) are actually rather bad because they root you in place and require your opponent to stand in them.
Unlike most other clases all three talent trees are different flavors of the same dps lollipop. What I mean by different flavors is that they emphasize a different way of wrecking shit all over the galaxy. Briefly here is what I think each tree's focus(no pun intended) is:
Watchman: The all around tree and in my opinion the best. This tree has the hardest skill combo and is the least forgiving, but the longer a fight goes on this is the tree that will allow you do the most raw damage. Overload Saber is just an amazing ability and Juyo Form is crazy good for damage.
Combat: The "defensive" tree. I say that with italics because we shouldn't be getting hit, but if you are just soloing your way through the PvE game this is the tree for you. Between bonus focus talents for getting hit,a RNG stance that generates more burst and a talent at the top of the tree that can root people in place for Master Strike, this tree has potential. There's just a lot of RNG in this tree.
Focus: The utility/PvP tree. Once dual spec comes out this will be my PvP tree. There's a lot of utility that is useful in PvP in this tree like a second Force Leap, Force Exaustion, a 10% self heal that can be used in a pinch, bonuses to Force Stasis(the only CC we get) and other talents that make your AOEs hit harder.
I started up the Combat tree at first because I liked the bonus offhand lightsaber damage and the chance to burst. I changed to Watchman for two reasons. Sadly the 2nd lightsaber is little more than bonus stats. It does next to no damge no matter how good it is. Sadtimes. Test it for yourself by unequiping it. You'll notice your ability damage doesn't go down by much. The 2nd reason is the RNG on Ataru form procs is really really random. It can make you feel more powerful at times and like a whimp others.
Watchman's damage is much more even and the combo for it is amazing in both PvP and PvE. What is that combo? Simple.
In PvE as long as you are not against an opponent that has a pushback(a lot do the higher you get) lead out with Force Leap. Hit Overload Saber while you are in the air. For the three Proc effts of Overload Saber use them on Zealous Strike, Cauterize and Slash. Once high enough Slash will get replaced in this combo with Merciless Slash. After that it's just a matter of keeping your Focus up with Slash and Zealous Strike and using Cauterize and Overload Saber on cooldown. PvP is much the same combo except never use Force Leap until the enemy has burned their CC on you. After that Force Leap, use your slows and carve em up.
I'll update this some more once I get to 50.