I'm the Juggernaut, bitch! (SW Jugg/JK Guardian)

[Rendakor]

Anyone else going this route? I always play a tank in MMOs so this was my first choice. Finally starting to get some tank skills at level 14 (Defensive Stance, a threat debuff for a groupmate, a defensive CD) but still no taunt yet so holding aggro is...fun. Building sunder stacks is about my only option, but I assume it gets better.

[Ingmar]

I'm going this way at least for now, I can't actually hold aggro off of T7 yet.  

I'm sure that will change once I actually get any abilities oriented towards tanking.

[Rendakor]

I'm guessing T7 is your pet? I don't really have that problem with Vette (mine), because I open with force jump then hit my aoe. Whatever she targets she generally finishes off before aggro becomes a problem.

Edit: Hit post before finishing sentence.

[Ingmar]

Yeah, Vette is a DPS pet, T7 is a tank. The order you get your different "role" companions can change the leveling experience pretty significantly.

[Sjofn]

T7 should have a DPS stance ... eventually. Sooner rather than later, anyway, I think Corso had his by the time I was 14 or so, but I wasn't really paying attention, because I actually want him to have aggro.

[kildorn]

T7 should have a DPS stance ... eventually. Sooner rather than later, anyway, I think Corso had his by the time I was 14 or so, but I wasn't really paying attention, because I actually want him to have aggro.

*deathgrip*

[Sjofn]

<stab>



That's another thing to check, make sure your derp companions aren't turning shit back on while your back is turned. 

[Paelos]

I am going the Jedi tank route but I am only level 5 so far   

[Bunk]

At 16 I think I got my first true Taunt, and the Guard stance - which is going to be huge, because Vette currently way out DPS's me.

At 12 - 14 it was typically Force Jump in, Smash to stun everything, and then kill what I can quickly - becuase the moment they came out of stun, they were all bee lining for the Twi'lek with the blasters.

[kildorn]

<stab>



That's another thing to check, make sure your derp companions aren't turning shit back on while your back is turned. 

Corso's just derpy in general. He always turns harpoon on, and then randomly turns tank stance off.

[Ingmar]

I'm up to level 28ish now, and aggro is still a bit iffy at times. I think this may be largely due to not always being on the bleeding edge of gear, I figure it should stabilize at 50. I also don't have a ton of ways to generate AE threat yet - pretty much just Force Sweep and crafted grenades, the AE snare doesn't seem to cause much threat -  I'm hoping that changes.

[01101010]

I'm up to level 28ish now, and aggro is still a bit iffy at times. I think this may be largely due to not always being on the bleeding edge of gear, I figure it should stabilize at 50. I also don't have a ton of ways to generate AE threat yet - pretty much just Force Sweep and crafted grenades, the AE snare doesn't seem to cause much threat -  I'm hoping that changes.

Only had issues with threat bouncing when asshats decide to not beat on the mob I am beating on. This is why I tend to focus on the strongest mob in the group and anything going after the person keeping me from eating floor. DPS want to beat on the other mobs, fine by me, but I know when I die, I won't be alone. That said, force jump allows me to get to a target, sunder, then scream before anyone else gets in range...save for the snipers and sorcs/mercs - but they know better. I haven't had an issue with keeping at least the focus mob on me so far @20. Tertiary mobs are the bitch, esp if a player goes all AoE like with DFA. There is really no way of me grabbing the herd after that volley - so I pick the biggest bitch in the group and pull it away and let the AoE moron deal. My powertech on the PvP server is a god damn AoE tank though. No losing threat if you DFA then torch the group. Thank god for Mako. 

[jakonovski]

I'm playing a Guardian and it feels like vanilla WoW warrior. Not really liking the solo gameplay up to Coruscant because the companions steal the show on both aggro and dps fronts, leaving my supposedly mighty Jedi flailing about ineffectively. I think I need to use the medic droid.

[Miasma]

I find I take a ton of damage even though I'm a juggernaut with heavy armour and a shield generator.  Not sure what I'm doing wrong, I upgraded everything I have to heavy armor, most of it is blue, purple or orange with blue mods.  It's not like I'm new to games or mmos, I usually have a very good idea what to do.  Boards seem to indicate we're a little weak at my level range (17) and that once I get interrupts to stop enemy casting things get better.

It's gotten somewhat better since I realized this game is different than most every other one I've played in that's important to kill the mass of weak enemies first, and leave the strongest for last.  Complete opposite of what I've been trained to do.

[Jherad]

Bear in mind that quite a few mobs have armour reduction abilities, and plenty of of things seem to completely ignore armour (dots are bad for this). The interrupt makes one hell of a lot of difference, as you quickly learn what channeled/casting effects hurt the most and can be safely stopped. I've learned to quickly interrupt gas grenades, flamethrowers, ambush/snipe etc.

[sam, an eggplant]

Interrupting is definitely critical. I haven't seen anyone else using theirs so far.

[Sky]

As I just mentioned in the n00b Q thread to Rattran, I keep interrupts on a special key, because there's as crucial to tanking as taunts.

[Ingmar]

Yeah I've had interrupts mapped to F in pretty much every game for years.

[Miasma]

I think I might try a different class, got the jugg up to 26 and while I really like the story the class itself feels weak.  I haven't played any other classes that high so I don't know if they are all like this.  I finish far too many even level fights with a lieutenant below 40% health, I feel like that just shouldn't happen for a heavy armor tank class.  I've only died a few times but I have to work my ass off while fighting, I don't personally find that enjoyable.  And when I do die it is usually during the class questline which really upsets me.  I guess it's easier if I use Quinn because he heals but I don't want that little twerp following me around.

Does anyone have much experience with the other classes, I mainly want to know if all classes are like this or if some other class easily tears stuff up without working up a sweat?

[nurtsi]

I'm currently mostly playing  a Jug (lvl 25). It was easier in the early levels as it completely destroyed everything (force charge + smash = dead mobs). It seems to get harder now as I too finish all fights at around 50% health and need to regen after every pull.

It's not as bad as Sith Assassin though, with that guy (lvl 24) I occasionally die to normal pulls because there's nothing he can do expect kill stuff faster than they kill him. Regen after every pull. That was the main reason I switched to Jugg because he felt more powerful, but it might have been just the early levels.

Mercenary (BH, lvl 24) has been the most powerful class I've played so for. Self-healing ranged tank that does mad DPS. No problems with anything playing him. The healing pet keeps me full health basically all the time.

Haven't tried agents yet, so no idea about them.

[Zetor]

My vanguard (tank-spec) trooper was the same way. Destroying stuff until the mid-20s... then mobs became tougher and downtime ahoy! As a tank spec you must use your healing companion past that point at all times, unless you like to suffer.

e: BHs have an advantage over most other classes as they get their healing companion right off the bat. Most other classes need to wait until finishing the first 'real' planet for that.

[Velorath]

Juggernauts get a good amount of stuns (don't remember off hand if all of them are specific to immortal spec), which helps reduce damage taken a bit.  Force Choke, Backhand, Force push etc..., all help mitigate damage by preventing attacks.  You can also get an energy shield that procs off Force Scream that helps reduce some damage.  With my healing companion out I can usually finish off fights with full health or close too it.  With a dps companion, I need to rest up a bit after each fight but make up for it with shorter fights.

[VainEldritch]

Juggernauts get a good amount of stuns (don't remember off hand if all of them are specific to immortal spec), which helps reduce damage taken a bit.  Force Choke, Backhand, Force push etc..., all help mitigate damage by preventing attacks.  You can also get an energy shield that procs off Force Scream that helps reduce some damage.  With my healing companion out I can usually finish off fights with full health or close too it.  With a dps companion, I need to rest up a bit after each fight but make up for it with shorter fights.

I would add that Juggs (Immortal spec) also need to rotate their damage mitigation cooldowns (Saberward, Endure Pain, Invincible) and make good use of talented on CD Riposte (talented for reduced rage and to add a 6% mitigation buff on use). Doing so is fun and rewarding, knowing that if you do it wrong you'll get torn up - but do it right and you'll be a mushroom-cloud laying motherfucker finishing the fight at 90% health.   

Immortal Juggs have some pretty good mitigation but to get the most out of it you have to be attentive and use the right CD at the right time. In this respect it is for me the most challenging class to do well with, but therefore the most rewarding. I like my Sorcerer but tire of the static PvE play (send in Khem + nuke/CC/heal and rarely move), then switch to my Jugg Immortal and get a completely different play experience that is far more mobile and tactical...

[Ingmar]

So, I hit 50. Now I have to try to figure out how to cull my bars down to something manageable. Any thoughts on which abilities a tank can safely do away with? I have my eye on the 2 strong-and-lesser opponents ones to start with, but they're still mighty useful when soloing.

[Xuri]

I would love to see some screenshots of how people set up their hotbars/hotkeys. I seem to have a hard time finding enough room for all the abilities - and I'm only level 24-25 or something.

[Ingmar]

I enjoyed the last final fuck you I got at level 50 when they gave me One Last Button. (Admittedly it is a pretty cool one - Guardian Leap).

[Sky]

So, I hit 50. Now I have to try to figure out how to cull my bars down to something manageable. Any thoughts on which abilities a tank can safely do away with? I have my eye on the 2 strong-and-lesser opponents ones to start with, but they're still mighty useful when soloing.

On my BH, the subset of stuff that doesn't work on gold+ and only partially works on silvers is on a short list of getting dumped. My bar finally filled at 46, but I can offload a couple things.

[rattran]

Seems like a lot more stuff on Jugg that doesn't work on Gold/Silver than there was on Merc. Electro Dart/DFA/Fusion missile were great damage, with a bonus of knockdown/stun against trash, the Jugg stuff seems meh damage without the secondary effects.

[Jherad]

Something to help survivability for DPS specced Juggs on the way apparently (which is perhaps my biggest gripe with the class):

Here are some of the things we're planning to roll out in the short term specifically regarding Sith Warriors and Jedi Knights :

    Mobility/Anti Kiting (PvP) – We agree with the sentiment voiced by the community that some Guardians and Juggernauts have to work harder than other classes to stay within effective combat range, putting them at a disadvantage. We intend to address this in an upcoming patch where, as a first step, Force Push will clear the cooldown of Force Leap, granting for more reliable in combat pursuit capabilities to the Advanced Class. Further changes will be made if necessary.
    DPS spec survivability (PvP and PvE) – The DPS specs on Guardian and Juggernaut are performing to our expectations when it comes to the ability to create damage, especially of the burst variety. However their survivability is lagging behind our expectations, especially in the later game, and we are going to start addressing that particular issue in an upcoming patch.

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=1435443#edit1435443

[ajax34i]

I would love to see some screenshots of how people set up their hotbars/hotkeys. I seem to have a hard time finding enough room for all the abilities - and I'm only level 24-25 or something.

Jedi Knight / Guardian here (so the mirrored class), and I have:

Left Toolbar - melee attacks (starting with the 3 that generate focus, continuing with single target DPS, then the AoE's, then the channeled damage moves).  Left Toolbar is mapped to the G1-G12 keys on my G510 programmable keyboard.  Mouse has movement keys bound to it to complement this.

Right Toolbar - force jump, force push, then the defensive powerups, then the focus powerup and trinkets (also the Rest-after-combat power, the unstun clicky, and the buff others power).  Right Toolbar is mapped to the numpad key; I have to move my hand off the mouse to activate the stuff but since it's mostly oh shit buttons I can do that without affecting my movement.  If I need to move while doing it, I have WASD to move with while my right hand is on the numpad.

Center (Top) Toolbar - Taunts and Guard-Other mapped to 1-3, a bunch of medpacks on 0-+ that can also be activated with the numpad /*-, and the stances at 9,8,7.  4,5,6 currently free (at level 33).

Center Bottom Toolbar - Rez and RezPet, then (currently empty) spots 5-0 can be activated with G13-G18 on the left side, and then I have the fleet pass and teleport home abilities.  I don't use the pet bar, but it would override this center bottom toolbar if I used it.

The overall idea is that I'm meleeing with my left hand on the programmed G1-G18 keys, and moving with my right hand / mouse.  Ohshit buttons are on the numpad, easy to jump to without looking, and taunts are 1-3 also easy to jump to.  Focus key is ~, self key is Tab.

[Sky]

If you move with the mouse, how do you strafe?

[luckton]

If you move with the mouse, how do you strafe?

[Ingmar]

If you move with the mouse, how do you strafe?

Normally it would be using the turn buttons on the keyboard (W and D in the default set up) to strafe - you hit them while holding the right mouse button. I assume totally crazy people like ajax must have strafing mapped onto mouse buttons somehow. That's going too far for me.

[ajax34i]

I have a Logitech MX something or other mouse, it's got 2 buttons, wheel, and two thumb buttons.  Thumb buttons are forward and back, turning is the default way it's done in the game (hold down right button and move the mouse), and the wheel has the ability to be moved (clicked) left and right, in addition to its wheel functions, so those are my left/right strafes.

I'm not that good at it, but it's useable.  Didn't use this setup in WoW, this is the first time I'm using it.

[jakonovski]

Just got to Alderaan as DPS Guardian, level 32. Every pull there is a real risk of death and afterwards I have to regenerate health for 10-15 seconds. The mobs are level 28, four levels below me. Time to respec or reroll?