Corellia: 50 at last!

Corellia is (essentially) the last class storyline planet for now. Sure Ilum has some quests, but none of those are really about YOU as a person. As expected for the culmination of such an epic story, Corellia is quite long and involved. I didn't mind this one bit because I LOVE urban environments. It is much like a war-torn Nar Shaddaa only with more sunlight and less chance of falling to death. I started Corellia at level 48 and got 50 a fair bit before the end of the planet by doing every quest. If you come here at level 47 you may find yourself a little short of 50 when you leave for Ilum. This planet is amazing for gathering (at least for scavenging and slicing). Nodes are EVERYWHERE so make sure to grab those while you quest. As for world PVP, I can't say whether there are even any areas where we are thrown together with 'Pubs. All I know is that I never saw anyone from the Republic in my whole time questing here, a good couple days.

Vosssssssssss

Voss is quite reminiscent of Hoth. It is a planet consisting mostly of wide open spaces, it has long and interesting stories, and you will be stuck here for quite a while. I started Voss about two levels underleveled. Apparently just doing all of the quests and sidequests on the planets is not enough to stay on target with levels without doing warzones, group quests, or a lot of flashpoints. By the end of Voss's bonus series I had completely caught up for Corellia. There is A LOT of experience available here. Also, if you are the sort of person that likes customizing gear, you should make sure to collect a lot of commendations here. Voss sells matching custom glove/boot sets for you to accessorize with.

Something strange that happened to me on Voss was that I ran into world PVP. A lot of world PVP. I ran into at least six Republic players during the day or so I spent here. I get the impression that Voss funnels 'Pubs and Imps together for a whole lot of zones, so stay on your toes. Only a couple people actually wanted to fight though. Most were happy to just ignore me and continue questing.

Sorry for the delay in posting, but this week has been hectic with family and leveling. Just one planet to go now and then I can move on to interesting topics :)

Belsavis: The prison planet

After some plot antics, you'll find yourself on the secret Republic prison planet of Belsavis. This planet has extremely interesting scenery (as seen above) and a great plot. Well, I wasn't crazy about our class plot, but the Imperial stuff was very good. There's also lots of ancient secrets, as is to be expected on a planet that the galaxy as a whole basically wasn't aware of.

All of the things I just mentioned are completely counterbalanced by the fact that it is VERY FRUSTRATING to get around Belsavis. The first few zones are remnants of prisons, with mazes of half-finished walls and random rubble. It takes at least twice the time you'd expect it to to get from point A to point B. The gaps between walls are always, always filled with mobs too. Once you are out of the first couple maps it gets a little better, but it is still a hassle to just get to where your quests are. There's a light at the end of the tunnel though: your last companion! Yay!



I hate him.

Level 40 tanking: I feel all toasty inside

Level 40. Heat Blast. THIS is the point in the game when you should start getting a visceral feel for your heat level. Heat management is the hallmark of a good Shieldtech and will determine whether you hold aggro or your group wipes again and again.


Single target ability priority:

Rail Shot > Rocket Punch > Combust > Explosive Dart > Heat Blast > Unload > Flame Burst > Rapid Shots


Heat Blast comes after Explosive Dart because ED is actually very high damage and aggro. Also from a QoL perspective, having HB further down on my priority list means that I will be less likely to accidentally use it at a time I cannot benefit from its heat dissipation. After some comments about channeled abilities when I posted level 20 tanking advice, I decided to just include them in the main priority list. I feel that on average I get approximately 2/3 of the channel off and this is the estimate I used when making this list. If your target is incapacitated and you can get a full duration Unload off, prioritize it above ED. Flamethrower is the same damage as Unload but costs 50% more heat. I really would not use Flamethrower in a one target scenario.

AoE ability priority:

Death From Above > Flamethrower > Combust > Explosive Dart > Flame Sweep > Heat Blast > Rapid Shots


Obviously, feel free to single target at your discretion. This list is only for times when all of your DPS are AoEing as well. NEVER OPEN WITH FLAMETHROWER!!! Flamethrower does not tick instantly, it ticks after one second. That may not sound like a lot but it is PLENTY of time for mobs to walk out of range of the channel. Always use Flame Sweep or DFA first and make sure you have control of the mobs before you use Flamethrower. And remember, AIM. Get used to Flamethrower's range because if you don't hit a mob with it, guess what? You get no aggro on that mob. Yeah, THAT one. The one over there eating your healer's face.

Positioning: Awareness is key to tanking. Grapple and Jet Charge should be used to move mobs wherever you want them. Use them to open on targets, peel straying mobs off of group members, and gather mobs for easy AoE tanking. Positioning is the tank's job, no one else's. Don't worry about where the DPS or healers are throwing down AoEs, just get the mobs where you feel they should be and let the other group members readjust to that. If a DPS misses an AoE it means the fight will take roughly 3 seconds longer. If you miss an AoE it could mean aggro loss and a wipe.

Heat management: Unload will break even on heat for a full channel. It's 15 heat cost is offset by the three seconds of passive heat dissipation you'll get during it. Expect and anticipate this. Flamethrower costs 25 and dissipates 15 over the duration, so expect to end up with about 10 more heat than you started with after a full channel. Unless you have a very good reason not to, always skip down the list and use the first ability you can that won't bring you over 40 or under 16 heat. Rail Shot, Rocket Punch, and DFA are exempt from this rule because they are just so damn strong.

You'll notice I added a recommended minimum heat level there. 16 is the about the amount you dissipate in one GCD if Shield Vents procs. It is roughly the line between quickslots 1 and 2. QUICKSLOT 2 IS NOW YOUR HOME. LIVE THERE.

Always remember that being a Shieldtech is all about maximizing heat usage over a fight. You never want to fritter away heat dissipation unless you have to. Use Heat Blast, Rapid Shots, and Flame Burst to control your heat level and stay in the target zone. But don't stress out over losing some heat dissipation; we're only human. Lastly, HAVE FUN! Tanking can be stressful business and even feel like work on occasion. A happy, relaxed tank is a good tank.

Quesh and Hoth: Even more barren worlds

Quesh is a very small, very dull planet. Good thing its so short or you'd probably develop lung cancer from the polluition (if your species even has lungs). Because I wondered this: when your class quest tells you to go back to the ship, yes, the class quest on Quesh is over. It is very short and felt quite random to me compared to the rest of the storyline. There was one thing I liked about Quesh. I FINALLY got to see a hutt move on its own. It was totally worth the wait! They scrunch around kinda like slugs, but when they want to move fast they do it while pumping their arms like joggers.

Hoth is like Tatooine 2.0. It is a humongous planet almost completely covered in snow and ice. Hopefully you don't mind the cold because you are going to be here for a while. I spent an entire day roaming around the icy plains. There are tons and tons of quests here, most of them fairly interesting (even if the majority of the Imperial quests involve saving them from starving or freezing to death). Plus, after Hoth you get a new companion!

On a side note, sorry for the short *cough*bad*cough* posts the past few days. I'm just finding the leveling process and story really engaging at the moment and its hard to tear myself away long enough to sit down and write about the game. Hopefully I'll hit a lull and will get to delve more into tanking again soon!

Taris

Taris will always hold a special place in our hearts as the starting world of KotOR. Now Taris is but a shadow of its former self, a giant pile of rubble slowly being consumed by the swamp. Our class quests here are really interesting IMO, involving tracking our quarry through the swamp and Mandalorian war games. Like Tatooine, upon completion of this planet another noble soul flocks to our cause.

I had a lot of trouble with Taris because at the time of me writing this, Taris suffers from some kind of game issue leading to MASSIVE FPS drops. I was routinely going under 10 FPS, which makes play extremely difficult. For those of you new to Bounty Hunting, this likely won't be a problem because a fix is on the way.

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=50413

Because of this, I actually skipped some bonus quests (gasp, shock, horror). It's too bad, really. I'll have to play through on an alt at some point so I can enjoy Taris without it being tainted by stuttery gameplay.

Alderaan and the Two Ships

Politics. Intrigue. A wild tale about one planet's struggle to find the rightful heir to its throne. If you play SWTOR for the plot, Alderaan is sure to have something just for you. This was definitely one of the most enjoyable worlds I have been to, right up there with Nar Shaddaa.

Once you finish up playing kingmaker on Alderaan, head on over to the Aurora for the exciting climax to part I of our class story! This is pretty straightforward, although I do have to mention one strange thing that happened when I fought the target. Every time I dropped him below half health, he would instant cast a HoT on himself that FULL HEALED HIM. I have no idea if this is intended or if I was screwing up the fight somehow. Either way, this fight ended up lasting 7 minutes because he just couldn't damage through my DR and Mako's heals :)

The Spirit of Vengence doesn't really have much in the way of content on it. It just gives you a short quest to continue your class story.

***STORY SPOILER***
After your shenanigans on the Aurora, guess who wants to meet you? MANDALORE! That's right, the coolest damn bounty hunter in the entire galaxy wants to see YOU! And then after a short quest HE INDUCTS YOU INTO HIS CLAN AS A MANDALORIAN!!! I'm not gonna lie, I squealed like a girl from excitement, then went on to annoy my guild by going on about how cool Mandalorians are for a good 20 minutes.
***STORY SPOILER***