Note: Talents are listed in order I would recommend getting them if you never intend to respect your skills. However, the commentary talks about each talent as if you are lvl50. So any talk of skill rotation should be ignored as you are leveling because you likely won’t have to corresponding skill in another tree yet(i.e.- Spinning Kick > Shadow Strike combo or Double Strike > Project combo will not be used at lower levels in the way discussed).
Infiltration:
Infiltration Tactics (2/3)
Direct damage attacks have a 20% chance to grant Find Weakness, causing your next Shadow Strike to ignore 50% of the target’s armor and cost 50% less Force. Cannot occur more than once every 10 seconds.
Commentary: Shadow Strike is an excellent burst damage skill that without this talent seriously depletes your force pool(50 force cost normally). In my opinion, Shadow strike becomes near unusable without this skill, which is a real shame, as it’s one of the iconic moves of the shadow class. In this build, Shadow Strike can now be used in your general rotation once again upon proc of Find Weakness, and often in conjunction with your Force Stun(4sec stun) and Spinning Kick(2sec knockdown) that you can use in combat through skills. Also, it should be noted that since Find Weakness can only proc once every 10sec, you’re not really losing anything by having a 20% chance, as opposed to a 30% that a full Infiltration spec’d Shadow would likely have(i.e. – # of procs will be the same over time).
Note: These two pts are the only big departure from the cookie cutter Hybrid Balance build which you can find in the very well written guide by AstralFire. You’re taking these 2pts here over the traditional Containment skill(makes Force Lift instant-cast, and adds 2sec stun on early break).
Reasons I don’t like Containment: a) Feels up player resolve bar making them unable to be CC’d for a period of time b)60sec cool-down means it’s not a part of your main rotation, and I’m a big fan of skills that affect abilities you use often c) you already have a viable 2sec knockdown in this build(Spinning Kick), which is only on a 30sec cool-down
So in essence we’re getting 3 Shadow Strikes that cost 50% less and ignore 50% armor over the course of a minute(assuming you’re in-combat about half the time on average), in place of a 2sec stun. Force Lift can also be used to getaway in 1v1, or to somewhat reset the fight. However, there’s not a whole lot of 1v1, and I personally don’t plan on running away that often :P. And I just love Shadow Strike as it’s just such a satisfying ability, and I have above average strafe ability.
Balance:
Tier 1
Force Synergy(3/3)
Force critical hits increase your melee critical chance by 9% for 10 seconds.
Commentary: Skill couldn’t have been named any better as this skill synergizes perfectly with Particle Acceleration, which guarantees a critical hit from practically all Projects you will cast. You’ll start most fights with Double Strike > Project or Double Strike > Double Strike > Project depending on proc of Particle Acceleration. You want Force Synergy up at all times, and once the fighting starts you won’t even have to think about keeping it up, as your Projects will always renew the effect.
Also when first starting a fight, since this build does not use Shadow Strike as an opener, you may consider using a Force Potency > Project combo to get this skill working for you early. Some of the force cost of the Project will refill as you close the final 10 meters to the target, and your +9% melee critical chance will now be in affect from the very beginning.
Jedi Resistance(2/2)
Reduces all damage taken by 2%.
Commentary: Goes well with the general tanky nature of this build as a whole. Secondly, Force Focus(the only other option), only affects Force Technique, which you cannot use in this build. You’ll be using nothing but Combat Technique, so your skill choices within Tier 1 balance are no brainers.
Tier 2
Upheaval(3/3)
When you activate Project, you have a 45% chance to project an additional chunk of debris at the target, dealing 50% of normal damage.
Commentary: If it wasn’t enough that Project is an auto crit, it’ll now hit 50% harder nearly every other time as well. And since you’ll be throwing more rocks than an Earthbinder from Avatar in this build due to Double Strike resetting the cooldown of Project 50% of the time, this skill is a true gem. Project also becomes very efficient damage due to this skill.
Psychokinesis(2/2)
Reduces the Force cost of Double Strike by 2 and Project by 6.
Commentary: People seem to think this skill is bad and only taken by default, but I assure you that’s not the case. It’s not as good as Circling Shadows in theory(which you would have to forego the Balance tree entirely to get), but does make up for about 60% of the efficiency you’re missing out on.
And another thing to consider is the nature of Particle Acceleration resetting the cool-down on Project. To take full advantage of this you need to be able to activate Project immediately, without a buildup of 2 Double Strikes that Circling Shadows requires. This is the main reason I feel balance tree is just as efficient as a KineticCombat/Infiltration build. And there’s no question that KineticCombat/Balance is going to give you a much higher burst potential with the additions of Upheaval, Adjucation, and Force Strike. Infiltration’s only added damage benefit is a +30% crit damage to Shadow Strike by comparison.
Note: Infiltration does not help with your damage much in a hybrid build, but I don’t want to completely sell it short just because it’s not my personal cup of tea. It does offer you the best movement advantages with a +15% base speed increase, and a longer duration on Force Slow. You can also break incapacitating effect slightly more often, as well as use your stealth escape every 2mins instead of every 3mins. Aside from Circling Shadows the other Force Pt/Regen effects are not as good as they appear. I am of the opinion that if you have the skill to stick on your target without these advantages, then you are losing very little by not investing in the bottom half of the Infiltration tree.
Tier 3
Force in Balance(1/1)
Deal xxx internal damage to up to 3 targets within 8 meters of the targeted area and heals you for xxx per affected target.
Commentary: It’s a great skill with 30m range and ground targetable on a 15 second cool-down. Opposing stealth classes will despise you, as every time you glimpse their shadow this skill covers a wide enough area that it’ll be hard to miss them. Also great during the course of a general fight, and totally useable even against just one opponent. Did I even mention it has a freakin self heal…
Mental Potency(2/2)
Reduces the Force cost of Force in Balance by 50%.
Commentary: Allows you to efficiently do all that good stuff I described above. If you take Force in Balance, you MUST put two points here. Don’t like saying you MUST do anything, but in this case it’s just plain true.
Adjucation(2/2)
Increases the critical strike damage dealt by Double Strike by 50%.
Commentary: 50% increased critical damage on the most spammed skill in your rotation…YES PLEASE!
Tier 4
Force Strike(1/1)
Melee critical hits have a 33% chance to finish the cool-down of Mind Crush and make your next Mind Crush activate instantly and cost 100% less Force.
Commentary: It’s a great ability, but I believe it’s actually better than it appears. Double strike has a chance to critical on each hit individually, which gives you twice the chance of having at least one melee critical upon use of this ability. Therefore in theory, Force Strike will proc twice as often as you might think it would. To add, Mind Crush is an excellent ability in its own right, though previously unusable due to its 2sec cast time and 40 pt force cost. This also adds yet another ability that may be used at up to 10 meters of range.
Kinetic Combat:
Tier 1
Applied Force(2/2)
Increases the damage dealt by Double Strike and Whirling Blow by 6%.
Commentary: Increasing the damage on our most spammed skill is a big plus, even if the amount seems minor. Also, because it increases base damage, it will also increase our critical damage which is increased 50% by Adjucation in the Balance tree. So there’s a little extra synergy here.
Double-bladed Saber Defense(2/2)
When you successfully shield, parry or deflect an attack, you recover 2% of your total Force. This effect cannot occur more than once a second. In addition, your melee and ranged defenses are increased by 4%.
Commentary: By lvl50 this you will be predominately defensive geared, so this skill synergizes very well with your make up. Extra Force generation certainly never hurts.
Technique Mastery(2/3)
Improves the effect of your techniques while they’re active: Combat Technique: Increases internal and elemental resistance by 6%.
Commentary: With all those Sorcs and Sins running around a little extra internal and elemental resistance certainly doesn’t hurt.
Note: Pick up 1 pt here, then put 2 pts in Elusiveness and Rapid Recovery, then comeback and put last pt in Technique Mastery to make 10 total pts and move on to Tier 3.
Tier 2
Elusiveness(2/2)
Reduces the cooldown of Force Speed by 10 seconds and Resilience by 15 seconds.
Commentary: Force Speed is your best gap closer, and having it on a 20sec cool-down makes it almost as useful as the Force Charge used by Guardian and Sentinel ACs. In conjunction with Mind Over Matter skill, it becomes a truly viable gap closer, which I really can’t stress just how important that is in PvP. Resilience is now on a 45sec cool-down, and also last for 5secs in conjunction with Mind Over Matter skill. Resilience combined with Deflection makes you nearly impervious to damage for 5secs, and you can also use Resilience > Force Cloak > Blackout to make sure to remove DoTs before escaping into stealth. Resilience will also allow you to close the gap on a Sorc chain casting Force Lighting on you, which is the one snare you shouldn’t use Force Speed to try to remove as the next tick would refresh the snare.
Rapid Recovery(2/2)
Increases the chance your Combat Technique applies its effects by 15%.
Commentary: Increases the rate of the effect which generates a steady stream of extra damage and self healing. I opt for the 2nd point here over the 3rd point in Technique Mastery, though I’m honestly not sure which is better. I prefer Rapid recovery because I’m in control of when I fight, not when other people choose to attack me with certain damage types.
Tier 3
Particle Acceleration(1/1)
While Combat Technique is active, Double Strike and Whirling Blow have a 50% chance to finish the cool-down on Project and make your next Project a critical hit. Accelerated Projects that consume a charge of Force Potency deal an additional 50% critical damage.
Commentary: The holy grail as far as skills go in this build. Project now auto criticals, and can now be used on average once every 3 global cool-downs assuming you’re using Double Strike for the other two. And as an extra throw in, Force Potency doesn’t lose its advantage due to it just stacking its effect on top.
Mind Over Matter(1/1)
Activating Force Speed now removes all movement-impairing effects, and your Resilience now lasts 2 seconds longer.
Commentary: You now have a true gap closer, especially on those pesky Sorcs and BHs that have roots/snares associated with their knockbacks. So wait for the knockback against those two classes, and then revel in the fact you put a big :( on the other player as you’re back up in their grill within a split second.
Kinetic Ward(1/1)
Erects a kinetic ward with 8 charges that increase your shield chance by 15% for 20 seconds. Each time you successfully shield, Kinetic Ward loses 1 charge. Does not break stealth.
Commentary: Now you’re truly becoming a tanky dps machine. A large boost to your shielding ability that you simply must remember to keep up at all times. If you’ve followed this skill order so far, you’ve had 39lvls to get in the habit of not using it, so don’t forget to press the dang button!
Shadowsight(2/2)
Increases your stealth detection level by 2 and defense by 2%.
Commentary: Remember when I said your Force in Balance ability made stealthers everywhere cry. You better go get a bucket cause now their tears will be overflowing. And extra defense, thank you very much!
Tier 4
One with the Force(3/3)
Increases the rate at which your Force regenerates by 30%.
Commentary: Merry Christmas to me! It stung a little missing out on Shadow’s Respite(Force regeneration increased by 50% for 6 secs after leaving stealth), but this passive 30% regen is so much better. In a perfect world we could have both, but I prefer being able to use the Shadow Strike ability to short term out of stealth regen. Secondly, I don’t think you’ll find yourself entering combat from stealth very often in this build. Being a tank requires you to remain in the fighting to take the greatest advantage of your abilities. Stealthing will mostly be reserved for defense, as you’ll be the defender the other team will rarely see coming, and can trap your opponents into thinking they had better numbers odds than they actually did.
Impact Control(2/2)
Increases your shield absorption by 4%. In addition, when you activate Battle Readiness while Combat Technique is active, you instantly heal for 10% of your total health.
Commentary: So at this point hitting you is already making the dps classes feel like hitting their head against a wall, but to add insult to injury, you now have an extra 10% self heal at your disposal. The long cool-down on Battle Readiness evens things out a little bit, but combined with the fact Battle Readiness also increases the self healing from your Combat Technique effect procs by 300% for 15 seconds, and you now have some pretty significant self healing on a 2 minute timer. And the added shield absorption is a nice passive bonus.
Tier 5
Force Pull(1/1)
Range: 30m Uses the Force to draw the target in, instantly pulling it to your location and generating a high amount of threat. Does not work against targets in cover.
Commentary: First of all, 30m is a long way. You can essentially pull a squishy class from the opposing side directly into the middle of your allied forces ensuring almost certain death for your unlucky victim. What could be better than that? Nothing!
Stasis(1/1)
Increases armor by 20% and allows Spinning Kick to be used while out of stealth mode.
Commentary: So now you’re armored nearly as well as a freakin Guardian, heck yes! And Spinning Kick, a mostly useless stealth opener in its current form is quite useful now that it can be used in combat. An extra CC, interrupt, and great combo into one of your Shadow Strikes(backstab). Spinning Kick is considered to be a knockdown(not a stun/incapacitate) and cannot be escaped under any circumstances.
Bombardment(1/1)
Increases the threat and damage dealt by Project by 15%.
Commentary: Increasing your second most spammed skill in this build’s damage by 15%. It’s like the dev gods parted the clouds and made our every last wish come true. And a great incentive to push on to lvl50! I’d have to test, but I believe the 15% damage increase will qualify as base damage; therefore, this should increase the potential critical damage on your auto critical Project as well.
Bonuses From Skills Overview:
Damage
+6% dmg for Double Strike and Whirling Blow
+50 crit dmg of Double Strike
+15% dmg of Project
Project 45% chance to deal +50% normal dmg
+9% melee crit on force crit
Particle Acceleration makes next Project critical hit, and Force Potency will deal additional +50 crit dmg
20% chance direct dmg attacks grant Find Weakness, causing Shadow Strike to ignore 50% armor
Defense
-2% all dmg taken
+2% defense
+4% melee and ranged defense
+6% resistance to Internal and Elemental
+15% shield chance through Kinetic Ward
+4% shield absorption
+15% increased chance Combat Technique applies its effect
+20% armor
+150% armor and +5% endurance through Combat Technique
Stealth Detection lvl increased by 2
Efficiency
+30% force regeneration rate
Double Strike force cost reduced by 2
Project force cost reduced by 6
Force in Balance force cost reduced by 25
20% chance direct dmg attacks reduce Shadow Strike force cost by 25
+2 Force pts every time you successfully shield, parry or deflect an attack
Cooldown of Force Speed reduced by 10sec and Resilience by 15sec
Resilience duration +2sec
50% chance Double Strike and Whirling Blow finish cooldown on Project
33% chance melee crits finish cooldown on Mind Crush activating Force Strike
Mind Crush activates instantly for 0 Force on Force Strike activation
Added Abilities:
Force in Balance – Targetable 30m AoE within 8m, with self heal
Battle Readiness has 10% heal
Force Speed removes all movement impairing effects
Force Pull – Pulls target to location from up to 30m away
Spinning Kick – 2sec knockdown while in combat
Gearing Suggestions:
You’ll likely want Survivor PvP gear at high lvls. Since it’s a hybrid build, you’ll want to focus your augmentation slots on Critical Rating and Surge Rating as your Defense and Absorption rating will be taken care of by the Survivor gear. The high health of Survivor gear lets all your defensive skills shine as you’re heavily invested in the Kinetic Combat tree, but most importantly the fact that this build solely uses Combat Technique.
You’re welcome to go against the grain and try using Stalker gear, but I think you’d be shooting this builds strengths in the foot. If high level augmentations are not readily available for purchase you may want to mix in some Stalker gear however. Battlemaster Stalker’s Chip is a good choice.
Your skill that grants you +9% melee critical on force critical will make up for a lot of more tanky choices within your gearing. This skill should almost always be up due to your Project auto crit through Particle Acceleration. But you will want to get your Critical Rating at least above what the game thinks is appropriate for a lvl50, so that you keep your base crit rating at a bare minimum. Furthermore, your balance tree depends on criticals to really shine, so investing further into Critical Rating than just the base amount is advised through use of the augmentation slots.
Build/Class Evaluation
Strengths:
Very high survivability
Excellent damage debuffer
Highly efficient ability usage
Good damage output with some burst
Descent combat control
Descent AoE capability
Not overly concerned with force/energy management(constant regen rate)
Weakness:
Damage needs close range to remain efficient
No base movement speed increase
No stealth opener advantage
Longer cool-down on incapacitate escape
No long range harassment ability
Can’t move up Z-axis(Jedi Knight only ability)
Player Skill Cap on Build: Above Average
This build is fully capable of tanking all except Hard mode operations and above when properly geared. If PvE tanking is something you’re also interested in, then this build may work well for you as there is no real need to respect. However, do realize this build is optimally designed with PvP purposes in mind only.
Build requires management of 3 main procs: Particle Acceleration, Find Weakness, and Force Strike. Particle Acceleration and Force Strike mean you should fire corresponding ability in nearly all circumstances, meaning there’s little need to truly evaluate the situation. Find Weakness lets you know you can start to think about setting up a Shadow Strike(backstab), either by circle strafing the opponent or using one of you stuns/knockdowns.
Above average movement skill is required(as with most any melee class) to keep in close range of your opponent at all times. Especially in this build because you will not have the standard +15% movement speed at all times that Infiltration specs enjoy, you’ll need to be quite skilled at staying on your target. Your improved Force Speed should be used often but not frivolously, and Force Slow should be applied any time opponent gets 5m or more away.
Ability management is relatively simple. Double Strike is your spam skill, that will proc Particle Acceleration which lets you know its time to cast Project. Spinning Strike must enter rotation on targets below 30% health. Shadow Strike should be used once approximately every 7 global cool-downs to take maximum advantage of Find Weakness. Kinetic Ward needs to be kept up at all times.
There are a lot of abilities that should and will be used on a more sparing nature. However, the same can be said for all classes in this game so this class is no different. Shadows should however manage both their taunts and guard abilities religiously. This is where the great Shadows will separate themselves from merely good ones. Managing taunts and guard is sure to go unnoticed in PUGS, but if you’re looking for that special Shadow player to join your PvP group, these are the two concepts you’ll want to be sure they grasp. It essentially requires Shadows to look at the entire PvP playing field, and evaluate outcomes as a healer would. Something a lot of tank players and especially dps players are not accustom to doing. But it’s a great mechanic, and will surely separate the men from the boys.
For Relative Purposes Skill Cap Comparison:
Scoundrel Scrapper – Very High
Telekinetic Sage – Below Average
Note: A class having a high or low skill cap is not really positive or negative. Sometimes high skill cap classes merely means that class needs to be played by a much more highly skilled player in order to achieve similar results to a lower skilled player on a class that may have a below average skill cap. High skill players will find classes like the Smuggler extremely fun to play and a rewarding experience. Low skill cap or people new to the MMO genre may find them frustrating and tedious to control, with somewhat clunky and none intuitive ability rotations.
I think skilled and newer players can both enjoy the Shadow. The abilities are intuitively designed and flow together quite well. Higher skilled players will enjoy the added mechanics of taunting and guarding of which they will be able to take full advantage.
Edit: Reading a few forums it’s come to my attention that many people seem to actually be very confused about the shadows role, and are actually upset that they can’t seem to do damage from range. So let me be very clear. This is NOT a ranged class in any way, shape or form. You have abilities that range up to 10m, but you NEED to be within 4m at ALL times if possible. The Balance tree does not allow you to be a ranged damage dealer. You’re still a 4m class, even if you were to spec a full Balance build.
Warning: All attempts to deal damage from range should result in your certain death with much shame, which should be evident by the Imperial Agent that is now t-baggin your corpse as a result of his flawless victory.
Second myth is the perception that Shadows are more of an avoidance tank. This is NOT true. Your armor is most certainly comparable to the other tank classes. If you don’t get invited to tank for a group because you’re a Shadow be happy. You’ve probably just avoided a craptastic hour with a bunch of ignorant people.
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Posted 12/12/2011 3:33:00 PMJedi Consular Shadow: KineticCombat/Balance Spec (23/2/16)
Talent Choice Discussion:
Note: Talents are listed in order I would recommend getting them if you never intend to respect your skills. However, the commentary talks about each talent as if you are lvl50. So any talk of skill rotation should be ignored as you are leveling because you likely won’t have to corresponding skill in another tree yet(i.e.- Spinning Kick > Shadow Strike combo or Double Strike > Project combo will not be used at lower levels in the way discussed).
Infiltration:
Infiltration Tactics (2/3)
Direct damage attacks have a 20% chance to grant Find Weakness, causing your next Shadow Strike to ignore 50% of the target’s armor and cost 50% less Force. Cannot occur more than once every 10 seconds.
Commentary: Shadow Strike is an excellent burst damage skill that without this talent seriously depletes your force pool(50 force cost normally). In my opinion, Shadow strike becomes near unusable without this skill, which is a real shame, as it’s one of the iconic moves of the shadow class. In this build, Shadow Strike can now be used in your general rotation once again upon proc of Find Weakness, and often in conjunction with your Force Stun(4sec stun) and Spinning Kick(2sec knockdown) that you can use in combat through skills. Also, it should be noted that since Find Weakness can only proc once every 10sec, you’re not really losing anything by having a 20% chance, as opposed to a 30% that a full Infiltration spec’d Shadow would likely have(i.e. – # of procs will be the same over time).
Note: These two pts are the only big departure from the cookie cutter Hybrid Balance build which you can find in the very well written guide by AstralFire. You’re taking these 2pts here over the traditional Containment skill(makes Force Lift instant-cast, and adds 2sec stun on early break).
Reasons I don’t like Containment: a) Feels up player resolve bar making them unable to be CC’d for a period of time b)60sec cool-down means it’s not a part of your main rotation, and I’m a big fan of skills that affect abilities you use often c) you already have a viable 2sec knockdown in this build(Spinning Kick), which is only on a 30sec cool-down
So in essence we’re getting 3 Shadow Strikes that cost 50% less and ignore 50% armor over the course of a minute(assuming you’re in-combat about half the time on average), in place of a 2sec stun. Force Lift can also be used to getaway in 1v1, or to somewhat reset the fight. However, there’s not a whole lot of 1v1, and I personally don’t plan on running away that often :P. And I just love Shadow Strike as it’s just such a satisfying ability, and I have above average strafe ability.
Balance:
Tier 1
Force Synergy(3/3)
Force critical hits increase your melee critical chance by 9% for 10 seconds.
Commentary: Skill couldn’t have been named any better as this skill synergizes perfectly with Particle Acceleration, which guarantees a critical hit from practically all Projects you will cast. You’ll start most fights with Double Strike > Project or Double Strike > Double Strike > Project depending on proc of Particle Acceleration. You want Force Synergy up at all times, and once the fighting starts you won’t even have to think about keeping it up, as your Projects will always renew the effect.
Also when first starting a fight, since this build does not use Shadow Strike as an opener, you may consider using a Force Potency > Project combo to get this skill working for you early. Some of the force cost of the Project will refill as you close the final 10 meters to the target, and your +9% melee critical chance will now be in affect from the very beginning.
Jedi Resistance(2/2)
Reduces all damage taken by 2%.
Commentary: Goes well with the general tanky nature of this build as a whole. Secondly, Force Focus(the only other option), only affects Force Technique, which you cannot use in this build. You’ll be using nothing but Combat Technique, so your skill choices within Tier 1 balance are no brainers.
Tier 2
Upheaval(3/3)
When you activate Project, you have a 45% chance to project an additional chunk of debris at the target, dealing 50% of normal damage.
Commentary: If it wasn’t enough that Project is an auto crit, it’ll now hit 50% harder nearly every other time as well. And since you’ll be throwing more rocks than an Earthbinder from Avatar in this build due to Double Strike resetting the cooldown of Project 50% of the time, this skill is a true gem. Project also becomes very efficient damage due to this skill.
Psychokinesis(2/2)
Reduces the Force cost of Double Strike by 2 and Project by 6.
Commentary: People seem to think this skill is bad and only taken by default, but I assure you that’s not the case. It’s not as good as Circling Shadows in theory(which you would have to forego the Balance tree entirely to get), but does make up for about 60% of the efficiency you’re missing out on.
And another thing to consider is the nature of Particle Acceleration resetting the cool-down on Project. To take full advantage of this you need to be able to activate Project immediately, without a buildup of 2 Double Strikes that Circling Shadows requires. This is the main reason I feel balance tree is just as efficient as a KineticCombat/Infiltration build. And there’s no question that KineticCombat/Balance is going to give you a much higher burst potential with the additions of Upheaval, Adjucation, and Force Strike. Infiltration’s only added damage benefit is a +30% crit damage to Shadow Strike by comparison.
Note: Infiltration does not help with your damage much in a hybrid build, but I don’t want to completely sell it short just because it’s not my personal cup of tea. It does offer you the best movement advantages with a +15% base speed increase, and a longer duration on Force Slow. You can also break incapacitating effect slightly more often, as well as use your stealth escape every 2mins instead of every 3mins. Aside from Circling Shadows the other Force Pt/Regen effects are not as good as they appear. I am of the opinion that if you have the skill to stick on your target without these advantages, then you are losing very little by not investing in the bottom half of the Infiltration tree.
Tier 3
Force in Balance(1/1)
Deal xxx internal damage to up to 3 targets within 8 meters of the targeted area and heals you for xxx per affected target.
Commentary: It’s a great skill with 30m range and ground targetable on a 15 second cool-down. Opposing stealth classes will despise you, as every time you glimpse their shadow this skill covers a wide enough area that it’ll be hard to miss them. Also great during the course of a general fight, and totally useable even against just one opponent. Did I even mention it has a freakin self heal…
Mental Potency(2/2)
Reduces the Force cost of Force in Balance by 50%.
Commentary: Allows you to efficiently do all that good stuff I described above. If you take Force in Balance, you MUST put two points here. Don’t like saying you MUST do anything, but in this case it’s just plain true.
Adjucation(2/2)
Increases the critical strike damage dealt by Double Strike by 50%.
Commentary: 50% increased critical damage on the most spammed skill in your rotation…YES PLEASE!
Tier 4
Force Strike(1/1)
Melee critical hits have a 33% chance to finish the cool-down of Mind Crush and make your next Mind Crush activate instantly and cost 100% less Force.
Commentary: It’s a great ability, but I believe it’s actually better than it appears. Double strike has a chance to critical on each hit individually, which gives you twice the chance of having at least one melee critical upon use of this ability. Therefore in theory, Force Strike will proc twice as often as you might think it would. To add, Mind Crush is an excellent ability in its own right, though previously unusable due to its 2sec cast time and 40 pt force cost. This also adds yet another ability that may be used at up to 10 meters of range.
Kinetic Combat:
Tier 1
Applied Force(2/2)
Increases the damage dealt by Double Strike and Whirling Blow by 6%.
Commentary: Increasing the damage on our most spammed skill is a big plus, even if the amount seems minor. Also, because it increases base damage, it will also increase our critical damage which is increased 50% by Adjucation in the Balance tree. So there’s a little extra synergy here.
Double-bladed Saber Defense(2/2)
When you successfully shield, parry or deflect an attack, you recover 2% of your total Force. This effect cannot occur more than once a second. In addition, your melee and ranged defenses are increased by 4%.
Commentary: By lvl50 this you will be predominately defensive geared, so this skill synergizes very well with your make up. Extra Force generation certainly never hurts.
Technique Mastery(2/3)
Improves the effect of your techniques while they’re active: Combat Technique: Increases internal and elemental resistance by 6%.
Commentary: With all those Sorcs and Sins running around a little extra internal and elemental resistance certainly doesn’t hurt.
Note: Pick up 1 pt here, then put 2 pts in Elusiveness and Rapid Recovery, then comeback and put last pt in Technique Mastery to make 10 total pts and move on to Tier 3.
Tier 2
Elusiveness(2/2)
Reduces the cooldown of Force Speed by 10 seconds and Resilience by 15 seconds.
Commentary: Force Speed is your best gap closer, and having it on a 20sec cool-down makes it almost as useful as the Force Charge used by Guardian and Sentinel ACs. In conjunction with Mind Over Matter skill, it becomes a truly viable gap closer, which I really can’t stress just how important that is in PvP. Resilience is now on a 45sec cool-down, and also last for 5secs in conjunction with Mind Over Matter skill. Resilience combined with Deflection makes you nearly impervious to damage for 5secs, and you can also use Resilience > Force Cloak > Blackout to make sure to remove DoTs before escaping into stealth. Resilience will also allow you to close the gap on a Sorc chain casting Force Lighting on you, which is the one snare you shouldn’t use Force Speed to try to remove as the next tick would refresh the snare.
Rapid Recovery(2/2)
Increases the chance your Combat Technique applies its effects by 15%.
Commentary: Increases the rate of the effect which generates a steady stream of extra damage and self healing. I opt for the 2nd point here over the 3rd point in Technique Mastery, though I’m honestly not sure which is better. I prefer Rapid recovery because I’m in control of when I fight, not when other people choose to attack me with certain damage types.
Tier 3
Particle Acceleration(1/1)
While Combat Technique is active, Double Strike and Whirling Blow have a 50% chance to finish the cool-down on Project and make your next Project a critical hit. Accelerated Projects that consume a charge of Force Potency deal an additional 50% critical damage.
Commentary: The holy grail as far as skills go in this build. Project now auto criticals, and can now be used on average once every 3 global cool-downs assuming you’re using Double Strike for the other two. And as an extra throw in, Force Potency doesn’t lose its advantage due to it just stacking its effect on top.
Mind Over Matter(1/1)
Activating Force Speed now removes all movement-impairing effects, and your Resilience now lasts 2 seconds longer.
Commentary: You now have a true gap closer, especially on those pesky Sorcs and BHs that have roots/snares associated with their knockbacks. So wait for the knockback against those two classes, and then revel in the fact you put a big :( on the other player as you’re back up in their grill within a split second.
Kinetic Ward(1/1)
Erects a kinetic ward with 8 charges that increase your shield chance by 15% for 20 seconds. Each time you successfully shield, Kinetic Ward loses 1 charge. Does not break stealth.
Commentary: Now you’re truly becoming a tanky dps machine. A large boost to your shielding ability that you simply must remember to keep up at all times. If you’ve followed this skill order so far, you’ve had 39lvls to get in the habit of not using it, so don’t forget to press the dang button!
Shadowsight(2/2)
Increases your stealth detection level by 2 and defense by 2%.
Commentary: Remember when I said your Force in Balance ability made stealthers everywhere cry. You better go get a bucket cause now their tears will be overflowing. And extra defense, thank you very much!
Tier 4
One with the Force(3/3)
Increases the rate at which your Force regenerates by 30%.
Commentary: Merry Christmas to me! It stung a little missing out on Shadow’s Respite(Force regeneration increased by 50% for 6 secs after leaving stealth), but this passive 30% regen is so much better. In a perfect world we could have both, but I prefer being able to use the Shadow Strike ability to short term out of stealth regen. Secondly, I don’t think you’ll find yourself entering combat from stealth very often in this build. Being a tank requires you to remain in the fighting to take the greatest advantage of your abilities. Stealthing will mostly be reserved for defense, as you’ll be the defender the other team will rarely see coming, and can trap your opponents into thinking they had better numbers odds than they actually did.
Impact Control(2/2)
Increases your shield absorption by 4%. In addition, when you activate Battle Readiness while Combat Technique is active, you instantly heal for 10% of your total health.
Commentary: So at this point hitting you is already making the dps classes feel like hitting their head against a wall, but to add insult to injury, you now have an extra 10% self heal at your disposal. The long cool-down on Battle Readiness evens things out a little bit, but combined with the fact Battle Readiness also increases the self healing from your Combat Technique effect procs by 300% for 15 seconds, and you now have some pretty significant self healing on a 2 minute timer. And the added shield absorption is a nice passive bonus.
Tier 5
Force Pull(1/1)
Range: 30m Uses the Force to draw the target in, instantly pulling it to your location and generating a high amount of threat. Does not work against targets in cover.
Commentary: First of all, 30m is a long way. You can essentially pull a squishy class from the opposing side directly into the middle of your allied forces ensuring almost certain death for your unlucky victim. What could be better than that? Nothing!
Stasis(1/1)
Increases armor by 20% and allows Spinning Kick to be used while out of stealth mode.
Commentary: So now you’re armored nearly as well as a freakin Guardian, heck yes! And Spinning Kick, a mostly useless stealth opener in its current form is quite useful now that it can be used in combat. An extra CC, interrupt, and great combo into one of your Shadow Strikes(backstab). Spinning Kick is considered to be a knockdown(not a stun/incapacitate) and cannot be escaped under any circumstances.
Bombardment(1/1)
Increases the threat and damage dealt by Project by 15%.
Commentary: Increasing your second most spammed skill in this build’s damage by 15%. It’s like the dev gods parted the clouds and made our every last wish come true. And a great incentive to push on to lvl50! I’d have to test, but I believe the 15% damage increase will qualify as base damage; therefore, this should increase the potential critical damage on your auto critical Project as well.
Bonuses From Skills Overview:
Damage
+6% dmg for Double Strike and Whirling Blow
+50 crit dmg of Double Strike
+15% dmg of Project
Project 45% chance to deal +50% normal dmg
+9% melee crit on force crit
Particle Acceleration makes next Project critical hit, and Force Potency will deal additional +50 crit dmg
20% chance direct dmg attacks grant Find Weakness, causing Shadow Strike to ignore 50% armor
Defense
-2% all dmg taken
+2% defense
+4% melee and ranged defense
+6% resistance to Internal and Elemental
+15% shield chance through Kinetic Ward
+4% shield absorption
+15% increased chance Combat Technique applies its effect
+20% armor
+150% armor and +5% endurance through Combat Technique
Stealth Detection lvl increased by 2
Efficiency
+30% force regeneration rate
Double Strike force cost reduced by 2
Project force cost reduced by 6
Force in Balance force cost reduced by 25
20% chance direct dmg attacks reduce Shadow Strike force cost by 25
+2 Force pts every time you successfully shield, parry or deflect an attack
Cooldown of Force Speed reduced by 10sec and Resilience by 15sec
Resilience duration +2sec
50% chance Double Strike and Whirling Blow finish cooldown on Project
33% chance melee crits finish cooldown on Mind Crush activating Force Strike
Mind Crush activates instantly for 0 Force on Force Strike activation
Added Abilities:
Force in Balance – Targetable 30m AoE within 8m, with self heal
Battle Readiness has 10% heal
Force Speed removes all movement impairing effects
Force Pull – Pulls target to location from up to 30m away
Spinning Kick – 2sec knockdown while in combat
Gearing Suggestions:
You’ll likely want Survivor PvP gear at high lvls. Since it’s a hybrid build, you’ll want to focus your augmentation slots on Critical Rating and Surge Rating as your Defense and Absorption rating will be taken care of by the Survivor gear. The high health of Survivor gear lets all your defensive skills shine as you’re heavily invested in the Kinetic Combat tree, but most importantly the fact that this build solely uses Combat Technique.
You’re welcome to go against the grain and try using Stalker gear, but I think you’d be shooting this builds strengths in the foot. If high level augmentations are not readily available for purchase you may want to mix in some Stalker gear however. Battlemaster Stalker’s Chip is a good choice.
Your skill that grants you +9% melee critical on force critical will make up for a lot of more tanky choices within your gearing. This skill should almost always be up due to your Project auto crit through Particle Acceleration. But you will want to get your Critical Rating at least above what the game thinks is appropriate for a lvl50, so that you keep your base crit rating at a bare minimum. Furthermore, your balance tree depends on criticals to really shine, so investing further into Critical Rating than just the base amount is advised through use of the augmentation slots.
Build/Class Evaluation
Strengths:
Weakness:
Player Skill Cap on Build: Above Average
This build is fully capable of tanking all except Hard mode operations and above when properly geared. If PvE tanking is something you’re also interested in, then this build may work well for you as there is no real need to respect. However, do realize this build is optimally designed with PvP purposes in mind only.
Build requires management of 3 main procs: Particle Acceleration, Find Weakness, and Force Strike. Particle Acceleration and Force Strike mean you should fire corresponding ability in nearly all circumstances, meaning there’s little need to truly evaluate the situation. Find Weakness lets you know you can start to think about setting up a Shadow Strike(backstab), either by circle strafing the opponent or using one of you stuns/knockdowns.
Above average movement skill is required(as with most any melee class) to keep in close range of your opponent at all times. Especially in this build because you will not have the standard +15% movement speed at all times that Infiltration specs enjoy, you’ll need to be quite skilled at staying on your target. Your improved Force Speed should be used often but not frivolously, and Force Slow should be applied any time opponent gets 5m or more away.
Ability management is relatively simple. Double Strike is your spam skill, that will proc Particle Acceleration which lets you know its time to cast Project. Spinning Strike must enter rotation on targets below 30% health. Shadow Strike should be used once approximately every 7 global cool-downs to take maximum advantage of Find Weakness. Kinetic Ward needs to be kept up at all times.
There are a lot of abilities that should and will be used on a more sparing nature. However, the same can be said for all classes in this game so this class is no different. Shadows should however manage both their taunts and guard abilities religiously. This is where the great Shadows will separate themselves from merely good ones. Managing taunts and guard is sure to go unnoticed in PUGS, but if you’re looking for that special Shadow player to join your PvP group, these are the two concepts you’ll want to be sure they grasp. It essentially requires Shadows to look at the entire PvP playing field, and evaluate outcomes as a healer would. Something a lot of tank players and especially dps players are not accustom to doing. But it’s a great mechanic, and will surely separate the men from the boys.
For Relative Purposes Skill Cap Comparison:
Scoundrel Scrapper – Very High
Telekinetic Sage – Below Average
Note: A class having a high or low skill cap is not really positive or negative. Sometimes high skill cap classes merely means that class needs to be played by a much more highly skilled player in order to achieve similar results to a lower skilled player on a class that may have a below average skill cap. High skill players will find classes like the Smuggler extremely fun to play and a rewarding experience. Low skill cap or people new to the MMO genre may find them frustrating and tedious to control, with somewhat clunky and none intuitive ability rotations.
I think skilled and newer players can both enjoy the Shadow. The abilities are intuitively designed and flow together quite well. Higher skilled players will enjoy the added mechanics of taunting and guarding of which they will be able to take full advantage.
Edit: Reading a few forums it’s come to my attention that many people seem to actually be very confused about the shadows role, and are actually upset that they can’t seem to do damage from range. So let me be very clear. This is NOT a ranged class in any way, shape or form. You have abilities that range up to 10m, but you NEED to be within 4m at ALL times if possible. The Balance tree does not allow you to be a ranged damage dealer. You’re still a 4m class, even if you were to spec a full Balance build.
Warning: All attempts to deal damage from range should result in your certain death with much shame, which should be evident by the Imperial Agent that is now t-baggin your corpse as a result of his flawless victory.
Second myth is the perception that Shadows are more of an avoidance tank. This is NOT true. Your armor is most certainly comparable to the other tank classes. If you don’t get invited to tank for a group because you’re a Shadow be happy. You’ve probably just avoided a craptastic hour with a bunch of ignorant people.