Great guide! I had a blast using this build in PvP. I do, however, have a suggestion for using the build in PvE scenarios.
I have been testing this build out on the practice dummies in Trade of Blades. I found that provided you have around 1000 Recovery (I had to swap in a few Silvery Enchantments to make this work), you can work in a Duelist's Flurry into the rotation immediately following Bait and Switch. My practice dummy rotation was as follows: Stealth - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Bait and Switch - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Gloaming Cut spam - Bait and Switch - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Gloaming Cut spam - Bait and Switch - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - and so on and so on.
I haven't tested it against bosses yet and the rotation takes a bit of getting used to, but I was able to maintain 100% stealth for 10 minutes while working in a Duelist's Flurry after the first Shadow Stike and Bait and Switch and after every Bait and Switch thereafter. It dramatically increased the DPS output of the rotation.
I will say, though, this rotation was only possible if you have 5/5 Dazzling Blades and get your Recovery to at least 950 or so.
Great guide! I had a blast using this build in PvP. I do, however, have a suggestion for using the build in PvE scenarios.
I have been testing this build out on the practice dummies in Trade of Blades. I found that provided you have around 1000 Recovery (I had to swap in a few Silvery Enchantments to make this work), you can work in a Duelist's Flurry into the rotation immediately following Bait and Switch. My practice dummy rotation was as follows: Stealth - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Bait and Switch - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Gloaming Cut spam - Bait and Switch - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Gloaming Cut spam - Bait and Switch - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - and so on and so on.
I haven't tested it against bosses yet and the rotation takes a bit of getting used to, but I was able to maintain 100% stealth for 10 minutes while working in a Duelist's Flurry after the first Shadow Stike and Bait and Switch and after every Bait and Switch thereafter. It dramatically increased the DPS output of the rotation.
I will say, though, this rotation was only possible if you have 5/5 Dazzling Blades and get your Recovery to at least 950 or so.
Thank you so much for the feedback and suggestions, I really appreciate them. I also would like to try stacking Recovery one of these days. I have only theorized how well it could work with this build so far, but from my number-crunching it seems we came to the same conclusion, 1000 is also the same number I was going to aim for, particularly because of the PVE Gloaming Cut Spam + Shadow Strike rotation in which I have been thinking of lately. Bait and Switch tends to draw unwanted AoE from mobs, so I tend to use this rotation in PVE boss fights that do not detect me from Stealth.
And the rotation can continue just by those 2 skills. But with 1000 recovery we should be able to reduce that rotation to just Gloaming Cut and Shadow Strike. If I did my math correctly, with around 1k Recovery, Shadow Strike would be off cooldown after each Gloaming Cut spam. Not to mention 1000 recovery gives us additional AP. I would absolutely love to test this.
If by any chance this is possible, then we might be able to replace Bait and Switch with another utility skill such as Smoke Bomb, or even Lashing Blade. Just thinking about it gets me excited to test it but unfortunately I lack the resources to do so at this point in time.
Not sure I agree with your PVE encounter skill choices. They seem more like pvp abilities.
Hello, and thank you for your feedback! Just a small clarification regarding your statement, however. By any chance are you pertaining to my PVE skill choices, or trent82's? Either way, please feel free to comment as to how you think you can make the build better. The more input we have, the faster we can attain a cheaper permastealth PVE build for everyone.
Due to a few recent changes, my rogue currently has a 1313 Recovery (11.4% recharge increase). This puts my Shadow Strike on a 14.3 second cooldown and my Bait and Switch on a 22.4 second cooldown. Even at those numbers and spamming Gloaming Cut, I am dropping out of stealth about 0.5 to 1.5 seconds before Shadow Strike refreshes (and this is against stationary practice dummies). To ensure 100% stealth with just Gloaming Cut and Shadow Strike, I'd theorize you'd need somewhere between 1500 to 1600 Recovery.
I did find, however, that my previously mentioned rotation of Shadow Strike/Gloaming Cut spam/Bait and Switch/Duelist's Flurry/Gloaming Cut spam/etc became a LOT easier and had more room for error with the increased Recovery. I am increasingly coming to the conclusion that Recovery may take precedence over Power for this particular build. It may even be possible to work in a Duelist's Flurry after both Shadow Strike and Bait and Switch once we get Recovery high enough.
A new rotation that I have been toying with my new Recovery is not permastealth but pretty close to it:
Bait and Switch/Duelist's Flurry/Gloaming Cut spam/Lashing Blade/Shadow Strike/re-stealth/Gloaming Cut spam/repeat.
You drop out of stealth for 1-2 seconds after using Lashing Blade and following up with Shadow Strike, but the tests I did showed a pretty impressive DPS output (there was less than a 1k DPS difference between this rotation and the conventional Duelist's Flurry/Shadow Strike/Lashing Blade spam on my character). This is obviously suited for when you are in a group and not soloing dungeons, though.
That's impressive, Trent. Can you post what gear you are using at this moment to get to 1313 Recovery? I'm curious as to how much it will take me to reach the same amount. And I was thinking the same thing about the rotation and how well it would perform in group play.
From my tests, however, I seem to be able to use a short rotation of only Gloaming Cut spams and Shadow Strike on stationary dummies, provided that I dodge twice before using Shadow Strike again. I tend to need 1 more second before getting to use Shadow Strike if I don't dodge in time. I'm pretty sure you can nail the same thing without dodging, since your Shadow Strike CD is significantly better than mine. Can I trouble you to test this for me? And thanks once more for the input. This will surely help to further develop this build, and hopefully allow the other rogues to get past the nerfs given to us.
I have a 9.2K gear score with a 4/4 Battlefield Scavenger's set (for the stealth bar set bonus) but I think what is probably doing it is the fact that I have an Ioun Stone of Allure as my companion with Rank 5 runestones slotted in (including a +120 Recovery runestone and +7% stats runestone). None of my gear other than my Ioun Stone's icon is particularly itemized for Recovery, most of it comes from Silvery Enchantments or the Ioun Stone's native stats.
When I do a rotation of just Shadow Strike and Gloaming Cut on the practice dummies (and no dodging), Shadow Strike refreshes literally the exact moment that I drop out of stealth. This leaves about a 1 second window from when I use Shadow Strike and re-stealth my rogue. Not a huge deal (especially since I have nearly 10% Lifesteal), but not 100% stealth either. I anticipate that at around 1500 Recovery I would be able to achieve 100% stealth with just those two powers alone.
I will tinker with the rotations tomorrow and let you know if I come up with anything new.
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borgued3Member, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 150Bounty Hunter
edited June 2013
Awessome build , indeed it is a nice way of adding damage to a permastealth build. I think the only thing i would change would be to trade Thrill of the Kill for the feat just bellow the Deadly Momentum that gives you and your group juicy 5% crit chance. Considering your rogue will work around crits, thats going to be a nice boost, but thats just my opinion, even without it the build seems pretty solid
Thought I'd try this build out for some fun. Just testing on dummy's I can't get the rotation right and was wondering if you guys could enlighten me.
Trent mentioned earlier that he was pulling off a rotation of "Stealth - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Bait and Switch - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Gloaming Cut spam etc.
But when I do it on dummy's even without Duelists Flurry, I get: Stealth - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Gloaming Cut spam - Bait and Switch - Gloaming Cut Spam - Shadow Strike....Then, if i'm extremely lucky, I get off another Bait and Switch with like .01 seconds to spare. Am I missing something? How is it possible to keep stealth up for 10 minutes straight, not to mention throwing in Flurry's? Thanks in advance.
Thought I'd try this build out for some fun. Just testing on dummy's I can't get the rotation right and was wondering if you guys could enlighten me.
Trent mentioned earlier that he was pulling off a rotation of "Stealth - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Bait and Switch - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Gloaming Cut spam etc.
But when I do it on dummy's even without Duelists Flurry, I get: Stealth - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Gloaming Cut spam - Bait and Switch - Gloaming Cut Spam - Shadow Strike....Then, if i'm extremely lucky, I get off another Bait and Switch with like .01 seconds to spare. Am I missing something? How is it possible to keep stealth up for 10 minutes straight, not to mention throwing in Flurry's? Thanks in advance.
Hi oregonize,
The fact is you're gonna have to prioritize Recovery and/or become very skilled at dodge rolling to make a rotation like this work. I personally prefer the Lashing Blade rotation I mentioned in one of my more recent posts as it gives Bait and Switch an extra second or two to recharge (also, it gives you a little bit of a boost in DPS).
Of course, its difficult to gauge any of this accurately as Dazzling Blades is currently not working correctly.
On a side note, my rogue is now sitting at 2740 Recovery (21% recharge rate) and I am finding my action point bar refills nearly once every rotation (since I have 5/5 Action Advantage and 5/5 Cunning Stalker), so I find the rotation a lot easier to maintain in practice when you're popping Lurker's Assault every 20 seconds or so.
I have a 9.2K gear score with a 4/4 Battlefield Scavenger's set (for the stealth bar set bonus) but I think what is probably doing it is the fact that I have an Ioun Stone of Allure as my companion with Rank 5 runestones slotted in (including a +120 Recovery runestone and +7% stats runestone). None of my gear other than my Ioun Stone's icon is particularly itemized for Recovery, most of it comes from Silvery Enchantments or the Ioun Stone's native stats.
When I do a rotation of just Shadow Strike and Gloaming Cut on the practice dummies (and no dodging), Shadow Strike refreshes literally the exact moment that I drop out of stealth. This leaves about a 1 second window from when I use Shadow Strike and re-stealth my rogue. Not a huge deal (especially since I have nearly 10% Lifesteal), but not 100% stealth either. I anticipate that at around 1500 Recovery I would be able to achieve 100% stealth with just those two powers alone.
I will tinker with the rotations tomorrow and let you know if I come up with anything new.
I see. I have yet to get my Ioun Stone so I'm pretty excited to test this myself. With the huge bonus in Recovery I imagine the AP regeneration is also much easier in PVE settings (which, I just saw you confirmed in one of your later posts). Good contribution as usual, Trent! Keep us posted if you manage to find something new. I'll do the same in the test shard, and maybe I can find better ways to build the class since we get free Respec Tokens in there.
Just so people can see your contributions, I shall post links to some of the posts you've made in a part of the guide. I hope you don't mind. And the same shall go for everyone who has made some valuable points. Just so people can be properly credited for the information they divulged for the betterment of the game community.
Awessome build , indeed it is a nice way of adding damage to a permastealth build. I think the only thing i would change would be to trade Thrill of the Kill for the feat just bellow the Deadly Momentum that gives you and your group juicy 5% crit chance. Considering your rogue will work around crits, thats going to be a nice boost, but thats just my opinion, even without it the build seems pretty solid
I appreciate the kind feedback, as well as the suggestion, Borgued3. I actually would like to be able to take that awesome feat, really. but sadly I will not be able to access the Tier 3 of Executioner unless I spend 10 points on the Executioner Path first. But it really would be great if I could take it since we can never have too much crit for this build. I like Overrun Critical that much.
Your suggestion however made me rethink how the feats should be placed, however. I'm currently thinking of maybe switching Deadly Momentum for Critical Teamwork. Nowadays I find myself spamming Gloaming Cut more than Duelist's Fury even in PVE settings. I use Duelist's Fury whenever I have a full AP Bar for Lurker's Assault, but otherwise, when I'm charging up AP for Lurker's Assault, Gloaming Cut tends to be my at-will of choice.
Thank you for pointing out a possible way to improve the build! I'm going to have to test this in the test shard very soon. Hopefully I find the time for it something this week.
Thought I'd try this build out for some fun. Just testing on dummy's I can't get the rotation right and was wondering if you guys could enlighten me.
Trent mentioned earlier that he was pulling off a rotation of "Stealth - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Bait and Switch - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Gloaming Cut spam etc.
But when I do it on dummy's even without Duelists Flurry, I get: Stealth - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Gloaming Cut spam - Bait and Switch - Gloaming Cut Spam - Shadow Strike....Then, if i'm extremely lucky, I get off another Bait and Switch with like .01 seconds to spare. Am I missing something? How is it possible to keep stealth up for 10 minutes straight, not to mention throwing in Flurry's? Thanks in advance.
Hello and thank you so much for deciding to try out this build, I'm hoping you are having a good experience so far. Trent's build has allocated some stat points on Recovery so it takes him less time for the skills to go out of CD. My current build on the one hand has zero Recovery right now (but I'm planning on stacking up on it as well soon as I get my Ioun Stone of Allure), so I tend to skip Duelist's Fury unless I have a full AP bar for Lurker's Assault. The DPS tends to be slower than usual, but it allows me to stay in stealth 100% of the time provided that I do not mess up in the middle of the rotation.
Sometimes an unwanted AoE comes our way. Always a nightmare for Stealth TR's.
I am now at 2985 Recovery (22.1% increased recharge rate). My Shadow Strike is on a 13.1 second cooldown and my Bait and Switch is on a 20.4 second cooldown. Thanks to this, I am now able to successfully pull off a Duelist's Flurry after both powers against the practice dummies (although the timing is extremely tight). I was using the following rotation:
Stealth/Duelist's Flurry/Bait and Switch/Duelist's Flurry/Gloaming Strike x 3 or 4/Shadow Strike/Duelist's Flurry/Gloaming Cut x 3 or 4/Bait and Switch/etc.
This has greatly increased the DPS of the rotation while still maintaining stealth during the entire process. Now, of course, the trick is to actually pull this off during an actual boss fight!
Good find, Trent. For testing, you might want to try soloing a low tier epic dungeon like Cloak Tower, or even Normal Karrundax. I managed to finish Normal Karrundax solo using the old stealth build, but I'm also planning on repeating the same dungeon with this new build that includes Gloaming Cut to see how better/less damage I can take in every encounter, and so I can take a screenie as well. All that's left for me is Normal Dread Vault.
Thanks for the replies guys. I sill think i'm missing something though. Against the dummy's, even stacking recovery and not trying to Flurry, my rotation goes like this: Stealth - Gloaming x 5 -- Shadowstrike -- Gloaming x 5 -- Bait and Switch -- Gloaming x 5 -- Shadowstrike--- end. On occasion I am able to get the next Bait and Switch off, but its literally with .1 seconds to spare.
From what you guys are describing (especially throwing in a Flurry), I should be able to pull this non flurry rotation off with ease. I just want to start trying to solo some of the earlier dungeons but I can't get any where near a comfortable 100% stealth rotation...I'm going to double check that I followed your build exactly, but i'm pretty certain I did. My cool downs on BaS and SS are comparable to Trents right now...thanks for the help^^
That's strange. Just to confirm, this rotation should work when you are wearing the complete Battlefield Scavenger PVP set and have 5/5 on Improved Cunning Sneak. Factoring both bonuses, we're going to have a +40% Stealth Meter Bonus which adds about 2.4 seconds to our Stealth duration. Are you using the PVP set?
I haven't completed the Gear section of the guide yet as I haven't found time for the updates yet so I'm thinking that this may be the case.
That's strange. Just to confirm, this rotation should work when you are wearing the complete Battlefield Scavenger PVP set and have 5/5 on Improved Cunning Sneak. Factoring both bonuses, we're going to have a +40% Stealth Meter Bonus which adds about 2.4 seconds to our Stealth duration. Are you using the PVP set?
I haven't completed the Gear section of the guide yet as I haven't found time for the updates yet so I'm thinking that this may be the case.
Ha. Thanks, you solved it. Didin't have my Battlefield gear on ><. woops.
Hey todesfaelle,
Thanks for this guide. I have three questions. Although I'm at level 60 and have pretty good survivability, I'm gearing up to do some of the higher level dungeons and want to re-spec.
1.) Is your guide on page one updated with the changes you've referenced throughout this thread?
2.) Can this build be used for PvP as well? Metzli's build is strictly for DPS in a PvE setting, and I'm not sure how long you can remain stealthed.
3.) Does this build require you to change out your whole set of gear and enchantments? Thanks!
That's strange. Just to confirm, this rotation should work when you are wearing the complete Battlefield Scavenger PVP set and have 5/5 on Improved Cunning Sneak. Factoring both bonuses, we're going to have a +40% Stealth Meter Bonus which adds about 2.4 seconds to our Stealth duration. Are you using the PVP set?
I haven't completed the Gear section of the guide yet as I haven't found time for the updates yet so I'm thinking that this may be the case.
Another thing to consider is that Dazzling Blades is not currently working properly. It typically procs for me between 3 and 6 times per rotation cycle, which would making pulling this stuff off immensely easier once it gets fixed.
Hey todesfaelle,
Thanks for this guide. I have three questions. Although I'm at level 60 and have pretty good survivability, I'm gearing up to do some of the higher level dungeons and want to re-spec.
1.) Is your guide on page one updated with the changes you've referenced throughout this thread?
2.) Can this build be used for PvP as well? Metzli's build is strictly for DPS in a PvE setting, and I'm not sure how long you can remain stealthed.
3.) Does this build require you to change out your whole set of gear and enchantments? Thanks!
Hello and thank you for taking the time to read the guide! I assure you that the changes I've mentioned throughout the thread have already been included in the front page. This build is actually pretty flexible and are open to changes. So I'm pretty sure you'll find a variety of ways in which you can make the build better, depending on your play style.
This build can be used for PVP as well and I tend to do PVP much more so than I PVE lately due to time constraints. Being an executioner build, it can also be modeled for burst setups if needed. But it excels the best in prolonging stealth and survivability once all else fails in a dungeon.
As for the gear, not at all! But the one requirement I'd like to highly stress out would be to get the Battlefield Scavenger PVP Set, or the Battlefield Skulker Gauntlgrym Set (this one I'm currently shooting for ) Take Trent82's setup for instance. He stacked Recovery while I stacked Critical. He gets more AP and less Cooldown on his skills because he experimented on it. You are free to choose whichever enchants you desire for your gear, and I highly promote independent thought and experimentation when it comes to the flexibility of this build. This build is relatively cheap compared to other builds and easy to attain. As long as you got the skills and feats down, you're all set to go for experimenting how better the build can be improved.
Hello and thank you for taking the time to read the guide! I assure you that the changes I've mentioned throughout the thread have already been included in the front page. This build is actually pretty flexible and are open to changes. So I'm pretty sure you'll find a variety of ways in which you can make the build better, depending on your play style.
This build can be used for PVP as well and I tend to do PVP much more so than I PVE lately due to time constraints. Being an executioner build, it can also be modeled for burst setups if needed. But it excels the best in prolonging stealth and survivability once all else fails in a dungeon.
As for the gear, not at all! But the one requirement I'd like to highly stress out would be to get the Battlefield Scavenger PVP Set, or the Battlefield Skulker Gauntlgrym Set (this one I'm currently shooting for ) Take Trent82's setup for instance. He stacked Recovery while I stacked Critical. He gets more AP and less Cooldown on his skills because he experimented on it. You are free to choose whichever enchants you desire for your gear, and I highly promote independent thought and experimentation when it comes to the flexibility of this build. This build is relatively cheap compared to other builds and easy to attain. As long as you got the skills and feats down, you're all set to go for experimenting how better the build can be improved.
Hey todesfaelle,
Thanks for responding. This might work out for me then. I have all but one piece of the Battlefield set. Once I get that last piece, I'll have +20% to stealth on top of what you already have in the build. Thanks much!
Some more feedback regarding the Gloaming Cut mechanic:
I am currently level 39, so I just got gloaming a few levels ago, and poured as many points into Sneaky Stabber as it would let me. My gear is nothing special of course, although i have specced for Regeneration the entire time, and will only use gear that has regen on it. I am not slotting any enchantment gems into anything as I am saving all of that for level 60. Also, I am not using any kind of companion at all. Just straight solo PVE and nothing else for now.
After reading some other guides and forum posts about gloaming cut, I expected the skill to suck balls. It's been said that it is the most worthless thing in our entire class, and at least one guide author wondered why it even existed, and saw absolutely no use for it in any kind of build. All of those people poo-pooing Gloaming Cut were wrong. I have seen it for myself.
Gloaming Cut hits like a Mack truck. Even with my crappy regen gear that does not help out damage at all, I am one or two-shotting 90% of the mobs and staying in stealth a ridiculously long time without even using Bait and Switch to prolong it. In the case of mobs that you one-shot, you can get more stealth bar back than is consumed during the attack animation, and if you have enough one-shottable mobs gathered together, you can actually win the fight at full stealth. In the cases where there is a couple of elite mobs surrounded by a horde of trash mobs, it is actually very easy if you use gloaming and have it feated.
The drawbacks to Gloaming: if you are soloing the 5-man dungeons, you are better off using Duelists Flurry and Sly Flourish (edit: see below at end of post) unless you are overleveled for the instance by about 5 or more levels and have good gear for your current level. The trash mobs cannot get one-shotted by Gloaming in the dungeons, and may even take 3 hits if your gear is not good enough. Gloaming Cut is best used as trash control, and if it is not doing that job well, then switch it off. It is not appropriate for fighting named bosses, which is where Duelists Flurry shines above all.
Edit: alternatively, if you are soloing a 5-man dungeon, you can keep GC/DF as your at-wills, but just realize that you might end up taking down mob groups slightly slower, if a bit safer, for the most part. Even without Sneaky Stabber fully feated out, the difference in stealth duration is noticeable when using GC vs. SF. By giving yourself an extra second of stealth, that gives you more time of safety while your encounters are on CD and one more second to pound the bad guys with at-wills.
I just spent the better part of an hour performing a battery of 5-minute practice dummy tests using the following rotation: Stealth/Duelist's Flurry/Bait and Switch/Duelist's Flurry/Gloaming Cut spam/Shadow Strike/Duelist's Flurry/Gloaming Cut spam/Bait and Switch/etc, popping Lurker's Assault as soon as it came up each time.
During these tests, I compared two gear sets. Set A had me at 2908 Power, 43.4% Critical, 15.7% Armor Penetration, and 18.2% Recovery. Set B had me at 2473 Power, 43.4% Critical, 11.7% Armor Penetration, and 22.1% Recovery. In 3 of the 4 tests I performed, Set B had a higher DPS than Set A --- although I suspect Set A would outperform in shorter, burst-oriented tests where Lurker's Assault could only be used once reliably.
Based on these results, I have to conclude that Recovery takes precedence in this build over both Power and Armor Penetration. Not only does the increased Lurker's Assault frequency net a higher DPS than that gained from Power/Armor Penetration during fights lasting more than a minute, but the reduced cooldowns for your encounter powers provide much more room for error when utilizing the rotations.
Once I get a chance, I'd like to test Recovery vs Critical and see how they fare. Gonna have to save up for some Azure Enchantments first. LOL
(Endnote: I also tested the Battlefield Scavenger's set vs the Elusive Agent's set. Even though the Elusive set has massively more Recovery, it did not make up for loosing the increased stealth bar and my DPS went down as I wasn't able to reliably work Duelist's Flurry into my rotations.)
Good update, Trent... thanks for that. In "real", non-dummy situations, your BaS dummy will provide a huge boost to AP as it gets pummeled by mobs, especially from bosses. I was soloing Lair of the Mad Dragon yesterday and got almost a full AP from nothing by one big AoE by the pit fiend bosses. I suspect that you will be able to fire off much more Lurkers than your tests currently indicate, which means that you can weave in quite a few more DFs into your rotation.
I'm sure you realize this already, but I'm kinda just putting this out there for the newer people reading the thread.
Good update, Trent... thanks for that. In "real", non-dummy situations, your BaS dummy will provide a huge boost to AP as it gets pummeled by mobs, especially from bosses. I was soloing Lair of the Mad Dragon yesterday and got almost a full AP from nothing by one big AoE by the pit fiend bosses. I suspect that you will be able to fire off much more Lurkers than your tests currently indicate, which means that you can weave in quite a few more DFs into your rotation.
I'm sure you realize this already, but I'm kinda just putting this out there for the newer people reading the thread.
Oh, absolutely. The value of Recovery for a rogue is multiplied if your shadow dummy is actively beating pounded on. LOL
Which just reiterates my previous conclusion even more: Recovery is much better for this build than Power or Armor Penetration, provided the player is aware of the fact that much of the DPS potential for this build comes from maximizing your use of Lurker's Assault. During an Aberrant Assault skirmish I ran last night, I popped Lurker's Assault 3 times during the final encounter (of course, it didn't help that the mind flayer kept stunning me after doing so *grumble*). On my old Scoundrel build, I'd never pop a daily more than once per encounter.
That being said, I do feel like my character is suffering by not putting as much into my Critical as I could be. I have been experimenting with different gear setups and rotations, and found I could keep up the rotation I outlined in my last post as long as Recovery is kept to at least 15% or so --- especially with the help of a few well-timed dodge rolls. Instead of pouring everything into Recovery like I have been, my goal is to keep Recovery to at least 15% and focus on Critical until I hit the 50% cap for that, then I will probably focus on Recovery again.
I have to agree with your conclusions, Trent. I'm not at 60 yet where I could be seeing large stats from gear, but it's just common sense that giving yourself more recovery leads to more room for error, which is pretty darn important considering the "real" game vs. testing lab conditions. While playing against actual moving mobs that are oftentimes somewhat spread out or whatever, you need some wiggle room.
I do not, however, think that going overboard by speccing INT like some other builds in search of a tiny bit more recharge is worth it. You sacrifice so much by not paying attention to STR and DEX, perhaps forgetting that raw damage output also contributes to stealth bar and AP generation. I'm sure that the permastealth builds featuring INT can work very well, considering that the TR is a solid class pretty much any way you build it, but I just would not personally do something like that.
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soyhodonMember, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 1Arc User
edited June 2013
Thank you very much for writing this guide. For the uninitiated such as myself, this really really helps alot. Also, for being an Older gamer (just turned 50), I find it annoying to ask questions and be made to feel inept, and your guide goes along way in assisting me!! Kudos
Toon name Pijo on the 1st server.
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pyroknight777Member, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 7Arc User
edited June 2013
I must say that I am loving my stealth TR!!!I made a small adjustment to my skills(Replaced Impossible to Catch with Lashing Blade) and I am now beast.I can stay in stealth for a while and 1 shot kill opposing players/enemies.
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@pyroknight777 in the game ^_^ Don't worry if you see me stalking you...my characters are kind of "new" to social life...I mean how would you think a fire demon-turned hero would react to a girl if all he sees in hell are half-naked devilish women...
Hey todesfaelle,
Thanks for responding. This might work out for me then. I have all but one piece of the Battlefield set. Once I get that last piece, I'll have +20% to stealth on top of what you already have in the build. Thanks much!
It's my pleasure! I assure you that getting the PVP pieces will be quite easy. It usually just takes between 4 - 5 matches.
Some more feedback regarding the Gloaming Cut mechanic:
I am currently level 39, so I just got gloaming a few levels ago, and poured as many points into Sneaky Stabber as it would let me. My gear is nothing special of course, although i have specced for Regeneration the entire time, and will only use gear that has regen on it. I am not slotting any enchantment gems into anything as I am saving all of that for level 60. Also, I am not using any kind of companion at all. Just straight solo PVE and nothing else for now.
After reading some other guides and forum posts about gloaming cut, I expected the skill to suck balls. It's been said that it is the most worthless thing in our entire class, and at least one guide author wondered why it even existed, and saw absolutely no use for it in any kind of build. All of those people poo-pooing Gloaming Cut were wrong. I have seen it for myself.
Gloaming Cut hits like a Mack truck. Even with my crappy regen gear that does not help out damage at all, I am one or two-shotting 90% of the mobs and staying in stealth a ridiculously long time without even using Bait and Switch to prolong it. In the case of mobs that you one-shot, you can get more stealth bar back than is consumed during the attack animation, and if you have enough one-shottable mobs gathered together, you can actually win the fight at full stealth. In the cases where there is a couple of elite mobs surrounded by a horde of trash mobs, it is actually very easy if you use gloaming and have it feated.
The drawbacks to Gloaming: if you are soloing the 5-man dungeons, you are better off using Duelists Flurry and Sly Flourish (edit: see below at end of post) unless you are overleveled for the instance by about 5 or more levels and have good gear for your current level. The trash mobs cannot get one-shotted by Gloaming in the dungeons, and may even take 3 hits if your gear is not good enough. Gloaming Cut is best used as trash control, and if it is not doing that job well, then switch it off. It is not appropriate for fighting named bosses, which is where Duelists Flurry shines above all.
Edit: alternatively, if you are soloing a 5-man dungeon, you can keep GC/DF as your at-wills, but just realize that you might end up taking down mob groups slightly slower, if a bit safer, for the most part. Even without Sneaky Stabber fully feated out, the difference in stealth duration is noticeable when using GC vs. SF. By giving yourself an extra second of stealth, that gives you more time of safety while your encounters are on CD and one more second to pound the bad guys with at-wills.
Good review, l0th4ri0. I think I'll add a link to this post on the front page so people can read this input of yours. I'm pretty sure people who aren't aware of how good Gloaming Cut can be will find this useful. Keep em coming!
I just spent the better part of an hour performing a battery of 5-minute practice dummy tests using the following rotation: Stealth/Duelist's Flurry/Bait and Switch/Duelist's Flurry/Gloaming Cut spam/Shadow Strike/Duelist's Flurry/Gloaming Cut spam/Bait and Switch/etc, popping Lurker's Assault as soon as it came up each time.
During these tests, I compared two gear sets. Set A had me at 2908 Power, 43.4% Critical, 15.7% Armor Penetration, and 18.2% Recovery. Set B had me at 2473 Power, 43.4% Critical, 11.7% Armor Penetration, and 22.1% Recovery. In 3 of the 4 tests I performed, Set B had a higher DPS than Set A --- although I suspect Set A would outperform in shorter, burst-oriented tests where Lurker's Assault could only be used once reliably.
Based on these results, I have to conclude that Recovery takes precedence in this build over both Power and Armor Penetration. Not only does the increased Lurker's Assault frequency net a higher DPS than that gained from Power/Armor Penetration during fights lasting more than a minute, but the reduced cooldowns for your encounter powers provide much more room for error when utilizing the rotations.
Once I get a chance, I'd like to test Recovery vs Critical and see how they fare. Gonna have to save up for some Azure Enchantments first. LOL
(Endnote: I also tested the Battlefield Scavenger's set vs the Elusive Agent's set. Even though the Elusive set has massively more Recovery, it did not make up for loosing the increased stealth bar and my DPS went down as I wasn't able to reliably work Duelist's Flurry into my rotations.)
Great input as usual, Trent. You're doing a valuable service for our small community of Stealth TR's, I say. I was thinking the same thing. While TR's do gain a lot of damage via their encounters the higher our Power stat is, we tend to never use damage-related encounters anyway, aside from PVP that is. I absolutely can't wait to slot my gear with R6 - R7 Silvery Enchants. Maybe I'll get some Surgeon's Bands on the side for extra Recovery and added Crit. By any chance, would it be possible for you to take a screenie of Set B so we'd have a rough idea of what to expect in order to get the Recovery you currently have right now? Much thanks, Trent!
Thank you very much for writing this guide. For the uninitiated such as myself, this really really helps alot. Also, for being an Older gamer (just turned 50), I find it annoying to ask questions and be made to feel inept, and your guide goes along way in assisting me!! Kudos
Toon name Pijo on the 1st server.
It's my pleasure and I'm really glad to hear of your interest in trying out this build. If by any chance you are in further need of clarifications about certain issues about the build please do not hesitate to ask! I'd be more than happy to assist a fellow player in need of help.
Yeah the build is not really working for me at the moment. I just noticed my recovery is only 90. There's no way I can keep up stealth with recovery that low. I do have the full Battlefield set with the extra 20% of stealth. I had to make some major adjustments. So, right now this rotation seems to work the best:
Blitz
Stealth
Sly Flourish
Bait and Switch
Smoke Bomb
Lurker's Assault (while stealthed for tougher bosses)
I do this because blitz is good for weakening a group of mobs when I can't stay in constant stealth rotation. I then throw stealth and use Sly Flourish. I know there's no benefit to using it like Duelist's Fury or Gloaming Cut. But I don't use those others unless it's a very tough opponent that's hard to take down. Plus Sly Flourish is fast. Then I use Bait and Switch in stealth to refill the bar. If the group isn't dead by the time I come out of stealth, I toss a smoke bomb. And if THAT fails, I roll a couple times and my meter is filled up.
It's still a great spec. I wish I'd taken the extra feat points and put them into Blitz crit.
I see. I'm sorry to hear that it's currently not working as intended for you. By any chance have you tried out the recommended setup I posted on the front page? If so, can you tell me where in the rotation things start to go wrong for you? We actually have absolutely no need for recovery stats in order to maintain permanent stealth in PVE as long as you have Gloaming Cut feated, as well as Shadow Strike and Bait and Switch. But having more recovery stats usually gives us more room for error, not to mention it brings out Lurker's Assault much quicker than usual.
We tend to kill things a lot slower, but we survive the longest compared to most other PVE builds. But if by any chance you prefer your current rotation, that's fine too! The important thing is that you found a way to make it work for your play-style.
If anybody else is doing the solo dungeon challenge with this build, I have some tips for soloing Idris if you get stuck. She's actually not that hard if you slot ITC.
Comments
Great guide! I had a blast using this build in PvP. I do, however, have a suggestion for using the build in PvE scenarios.
I have been testing this build out on the practice dummies in Trade of Blades. I found that provided you have around 1000 Recovery (I had to swap in a few Silvery Enchantments to make this work), you can work in a Duelist's Flurry into the rotation immediately following Bait and Switch. My practice dummy rotation was as follows: Stealth - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Bait and Switch - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Gloaming Cut spam - Bait and Switch - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Gloaming Cut spam - Bait and Switch - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - and so on and so on.
I haven't tested it against bosses yet and the rotation takes a bit of getting used to, but I was able to maintain 100% stealth for 10 minutes while working in a Duelist's Flurry after the first Shadow Stike and Bait and Switch and after every Bait and Switch thereafter. It dramatically increased the DPS output of the rotation.
I will say, though, this rotation was only possible if you have 5/5 Dazzling Blades and get your Recovery to at least 950 or so.
Thank you so much for the feedback and suggestions, I really appreciate them.
- Gloaming Cut spam
- Shadow Strike
- Gloaming Cut Spam
- Dodge 2x
- Shadow Strike
- Gloaming Cut Spam
- Dodge 2x
- Shadow Strike
And the rotation can continue just by those 2 skills. But with 1000 recovery we should be able to reduce that rotation to just Gloaming Cut and Shadow Strike. If I did my math correctly, with around 1k Recovery, Shadow Strike would be off cooldown after each Gloaming Cut spam. Not to mention 1000 recovery gives us additional AP. I would absolutely love to test this.
If by any chance this is possible, then we might be able to replace Bait and Switch with another utility skill such as Smoke Bomb, or even Lashing Blade. Just thinking about it gets me excited to test it but unfortunately I lack the resources to do so at this point in time.
Hello, and thank you for your feedback! Just a small clarification regarding your statement, however. By any chance are you pertaining to my PVE skill choices, or trent82's? Either way, please feel free to comment as to how you think you can make the build better.
Due to a few recent changes, my rogue currently has a 1313 Recovery (11.4% recharge increase). This puts my Shadow Strike on a 14.3 second cooldown and my Bait and Switch on a 22.4 second cooldown. Even at those numbers and spamming Gloaming Cut, I am dropping out of stealth about 0.5 to 1.5 seconds before Shadow Strike refreshes (and this is against stationary practice dummies). To ensure 100% stealth with just Gloaming Cut and Shadow Strike, I'd theorize you'd need somewhere between 1500 to 1600 Recovery.
I did find, however, that my previously mentioned rotation of Shadow Strike/Gloaming Cut spam/Bait and Switch/Duelist's Flurry/Gloaming Cut spam/etc became a LOT easier and had more room for error with the increased Recovery. I am increasingly coming to the conclusion that Recovery may take precedence over Power for this particular build. It may even be possible to work in a Duelist's Flurry after both Shadow Strike and Bait and Switch once we get Recovery high enough.
A new rotation that I have been toying with my new Recovery is not permastealth but pretty close to it:
Bait and Switch/Duelist's Flurry/Gloaming Cut spam/Lashing Blade/Shadow Strike/re-stealth/Gloaming Cut spam/repeat.
You drop out of stealth for 1-2 seconds after using Lashing Blade and following up with Shadow Strike, but the tests I did showed a pretty impressive DPS output (there was less than a 1k DPS difference between this rotation and the conventional Duelist's Flurry/Shadow Strike/Lashing Blade spam on my character). This is obviously suited for when you are in a group and not soloing dungeons, though.
From my tests, however, I seem to be able to use a short rotation of only Gloaming Cut spams and Shadow Strike on stationary dummies, provided that I dodge twice before using Shadow Strike again. I tend to need 1 more second before getting to use Shadow Strike if I don't dodge in time. I'm pretty sure you can nail the same thing without dodging, since your Shadow Strike CD is significantly better than mine. Can I trouble you to test this for me? And thanks once more for the input. This will surely help to further develop this build, and hopefully allow the other rogues to get past the nerfs given to us.
I have a 9.2K gear score with a 4/4 Battlefield Scavenger's set (for the stealth bar set bonus) but I think what is probably doing it is the fact that I have an Ioun Stone of Allure as my companion with Rank 5 runestones slotted in (including a +120 Recovery runestone and +7% stats runestone). None of my gear other than my Ioun Stone's icon is particularly itemized for Recovery, most of it comes from Silvery Enchantments or the Ioun Stone's native stats.
When I do a rotation of just Shadow Strike and Gloaming Cut on the practice dummies (and no dodging), Shadow Strike refreshes literally the exact moment that I drop out of stealth. This leaves about a 1 second window from when I use Shadow Strike and re-stealth my rogue. Not a huge deal (especially since I have nearly 10% Lifesteal), but not 100% stealth either. I anticipate that at around 1500 Recovery I would be able to achieve 100% stealth with just those two powers alone.
I will tinker with the rotations tomorrow and let you know if I come up with anything new.
Trent mentioned earlier that he was pulling off a rotation of "Stealth - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Bait and Switch - Duelist's Flurry - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Gloaming Cut spam etc.
But when I do it on dummy's even without Duelists Flurry, I get: Stealth - Gloaming Cut spam - Shadow Strike - Gloaming Cut spam - Bait and Switch - Gloaming Cut Spam - Shadow Strike....Then, if i'm extremely lucky, I get off another Bait and Switch with like .01 seconds to spare. Am I missing something? How is it possible to keep stealth up for 10 minutes straight, not to mention throwing in Flurry's? Thanks in advance.
Hi oregonize,
The fact is you're gonna have to prioritize Recovery and/or become very skilled at dodge rolling to make a rotation like this work. I personally prefer the Lashing Blade rotation I mentioned in one of my more recent posts as it gives Bait and Switch an extra second or two to recharge (also, it gives you a little bit of a boost in DPS).
Of course, its difficult to gauge any of this accurately as Dazzling Blades is currently not working correctly.
On a side note, my rogue is now sitting at 2740 Recovery (21% recharge rate) and I am finding my action point bar refills nearly once every rotation (since I have 5/5 Action Advantage and 5/5 Cunning Stalker), so I find the rotation a lot easier to maintain in practice when you're popping Lurker's Assault every 20 seconds or so.
I see. I have yet to get my Ioun Stone so I'm pretty excited to test this myself. With the huge bonus in Recovery I imagine the AP regeneration is also much easier in PVE settings (which, I just saw you confirmed in one of your later posts). Good contribution as usual, Trent! Keep us posted if you manage to find something new. I'll do the same in the test shard, and maybe I can find better ways to build the class since we get free Respec Tokens in there.
Just so people can see your contributions, I shall post links to some of the posts you've made in a part of the guide. I hope you don't mind. And the same shall go for everyone who has made some valuable points. Just so people can be properly credited for the information they divulged for the betterment of the game community.
I appreciate the kind feedback, as well as the suggestion, Borgued3. I actually would like to be able to take that awesome feat, really. but sadly I will not be able to access the Tier 3 of Executioner unless I spend 10 points on the Executioner Path first. But it really would be great if I could take it since we can never have too much crit for this build. I like Overrun Critical that much.
Your suggestion however made me rethink how the feats should be placed, however. I'm currently thinking of maybe switching Deadly Momentum for Critical Teamwork. Nowadays I find myself spamming Gloaming Cut more than Duelist's Fury even in PVE settings. I use Duelist's Fury whenever I have a full AP Bar for Lurker's Assault, but otherwise, when I'm charging up AP for Lurker's Assault, Gloaming Cut tends to be my at-will of choice.
Thank you for pointing out a possible way to improve the build! I'm going to have to test this in the test shard very soon. Hopefully I find the time for it something this week.
Hello and thank you so much for deciding to try out this build, I'm hoping you are having a good experience so far. Trent's build has allocated some stat points on Recovery so it takes him less time for the skills to go out of CD. My current build on the one hand has zero Recovery right now (but I'm planning on stacking up on it as well soon as I get my Ioun Stone of Allure), so I tend to skip Duelist's Fury unless I have a full AP bar for Lurker's Assault. The DPS tends to be slower than usual, but it allows me to stay in stealth 100% of the time provided that I do not mess up in the middle of the rotation.
Sometimes an unwanted AoE comes our way. Always a nightmare for Stealth TR's.
I am now at 2985 Recovery (22.1% increased recharge rate). My Shadow Strike is on a 13.1 second cooldown and my Bait and Switch is on a 20.4 second cooldown. Thanks to this, I am now able to successfully pull off a Duelist's Flurry after both powers against the practice dummies (although the timing is extremely tight). I was using the following rotation:
Stealth/Duelist's Flurry/Bait and Switch/Duelist's Flurry/Gloaming Strike x 3 or 4/Shadow Strike/Duelist's Flurry/Gloaming Cut x 3 or 4/Bait and Switch/etc.
This has greatly increased the DPS of the rotation while still maintaining stealth during the entire process. Now, of course, the trick is to actually pull this off during an actual boss fight!
From what you guys are describing (especially throwing in a Flurry), I should be able to pull this non flurry rotation off with ease. I just want to start trying to solo some of the earlier dungeons but I can't get any where near a comfortable 100% stealth rotation...I'm going to double check that I followed your build exactly, but i'm pretty certain I did. My cool downs on BaS and SS are comparable to Trents right now...thanks for the help^^
I haven't completed the Gear section of the guide yet as I haven't found time for the updates yet so I'm thinking that this may be the case.
Ha. Thanks, you solved it. Didin't have my Battlefield gear on ><. woops.
Thanks for this guide. I have three questions. Although I'm at level 60 and have pretty good survivability, I'm gearing up to do some of the higher level dungeons and want to re-spec.
1.) Is your guide on page one updated with the changes you've referenced throughout this thread?
2.) Can this build be used for PvP as well? Metzli's build is strictly for DPS in a PvE setting, and I'm not sure how long you can remain stealthed.
3.) Does this build require you to change out your whole set of gear and enchantments? Thanks!
Another thing to consider is that Dazzling Blades is not currently working properly. It typically procs for me between 3 and 6 times per rotation cycle, which would making pulling this stuff off immensely easier once it gets fixed.
Hello and thank you for taking the time to read the guide! I assure you that the changes I've mentioned throughout the thread have already been included in the front page. This build is actually pretty flexible and are open to changes. So I'm pretty sure you'll find a variety of ways in which you can make the build better, depending on your play style.
This build can be used for PVP as well and I tend to do PVP much more so than I PVE lately due to time constraints. Being an executioner build, it can also be modeled for burst setups if needed. But it excels the best in prolonging stealth and survivability once all else fails in a dungeon.
As for the gear, not at all! But the one requirement I'd like to highly stress out would be to get the Battlefield Scavenger PVP Set, or the Battlefield Skulker Gauntlgrym Set (this one I'm currently shooting for
Hey todesfaelle,
Thanks for responding. This might work out for me then. I have all but one piece of the Battlefield set. Once I get that last piece, I'll have +20% to stealth on top of what you already have in the build. Thanks much!
I am currently level 39, so I just got gloaming a few levels ago, and poured as many points into Sneaky Stabber as it would let me. My gear is nothing special of course, although i have specced for Regeneration the entire time, and will only use gear that has regen on it. I am not slotting any enchantment gems into anything as I am saving all of that for level 60. Also, I am not using any kind of companion at all. Just straight solo PVE and nothing else for now.
After reading some other guides and forum posts about gloaming cut, I expected the skill to suck balls. It's been said that it is the most worthless thing in our entire class, and at least one guide author wondered why it even existed, and saw absolutely no use for it in any kind of build. All of those people poo-pooing Gloaming Cut were wrong. I have seen it for myself.
Gloaming Cut hits like a Mack truck. Even with my crappy regen gear that does not help out damage at all, I am one or two-shotting 90% of the mobs and staying in stealth a ridiculously long time without even using Bait and Switch to prolong it. In the case of mobs that you one-shot, you can get more stealth bar back than is consumed during the attack animation, and if you have enough one-shottable mobs gathered together, you can actually win the fight at full stealth. In the cases where there is a couple of elite mobs surrounded by a horde of trash mobs, it is actually very easy if you use gloaming and have it feated.
The drawbacks to Gloaming: if you are soloing the 5-man dungeons, you are better off using Duelists Flurry and Sly Flourish (edit: see below at end of post) unless you are overleveled for the instance by about 5 or more levels and have good gear for your current level. The trash mobs cannot get one-shotted by Gloaming in the dungeons, and may even take 3 hits if your gear is not good enough. Gloaming Cut is best used as trash control, and if it is not doing that job well, then switch it off. It is not appropriate for fighting named bosses, which is where Duelists Flurry shines above all.
Edit: alternatively, if you are soloing a 5-man dungeon, you can keep GC/DF as your at-wills, but just realize that you might end up taking down mob groups slightly slower, if a bit safer, for the most part. Even without Sneaky Stabber fully feated out, the difference in stealth duration is noticeable when using GC vs. SF. By giving yourself an extra second of stealth, that gives you more time of safety while your encounters are on CD and one more second to pound the bad guys with at-wills.
I just spent the better part of an hour performing a battery of 5-minute practice dummy tests using the following rotation: Stealth/Duelist's Flurry/Bait and Switch/Duelist's Flurry/Gloaming Cut spam/Shadow Strike/Duelist's Flurry/Gloaming Cut spam/Bait and Switch/etc, popping Lurker's Assault as soon as it came up each time.
During these tests, I compared two gear sets. Set A had me at 2908 Power, 43.4% Critical, 15.7% Armor Penetration, and 18.2% Recovery. Set B had me at 2473 Power, 43.4% Critical, 11.7% Armor Penetration, and 22.1% Recovery. In 3 of the 4 tests I performed, Set B had a higher DPS than Set A --- although I suspect Set A would outperform in shorter, burst-oriented tests where Lurker's Assault could only be used once reliably.
Based on these results, I have to conclude that Recovery takes precedence in this build over both Power and Armor Penetration. Not only does the increased Lurker's Assault frequency net a higher DPS than that gained from Power/Armor Penetration during fights lasting more than a minute, but the reduced cooldowns for your encounter powers provide much more room for error when utilizing the rotations.
Once I get a chance, I'd like to test Recovery vs Critical and see how they fare. Gonna have to save up for some Azure Enchantments first. LOL
(Endnote: I also tested the Battlefield Scavenger's set vs the Elusive Agent's set. Even though the Elusive set has massively more Recovery, it did not make up for loosing the increased stealth bar and my DPS went down as I wasn't able to reliably work Duelist's Flurry into my rotations.)
I'm sure you realize this already, but I'm kinda just putting this out there for the newer people reading the thread.
Oh, absolutely. The value of Recovery for a rogue is multiplied if your shadow dummy is actively beating pounded on. LOL
Which just reiterates my previous conclusion even more: Recovery is much better for this build than Power or Armor Penetration, provided the player is aware of the fact that much of the DPS potential for this build comes from maximizing your use of Lurker's Assault. During an Aberrant Assault skirmish I ran last night, I popped Lurker's Assault 3 times during the final encounter (of course, it didn't help that the mind flayer kept stunning me after doing so *grumble*). On my old Scoundrel build, I'd never pop a daily more than once per encounter.
That being said, I do feel like my character is suffering by not putting as much into my Critical as I could be. I have been experimenting with different gear setups and rotations, and found I could keep up the rotation I outlined in my last post as long as Recovery is kept to at least 15% or so --- especially with the help of a few well-timed dodge rolls. Instead of pouring everything into Recovery like I have been, my goal is to keep Recovery to at least 15% and focus on Critical until I hit the 50% cap for that, then I will probably focus on Recovery again.
I do not, however, think that going overboard by speccing INT like some other builds in search of a tiny bit more recharge is worth it. You sacrifice so much by not paying attention to STR and DEX, perhaps forgetting that raw damage output also contributes to stealth bar and AP generation. I'm sure that the permastealth builds featuring INT can work very well, considering that the TR is a solid class pretty much any way you build it, but I just would not personally do something like that.
Toon name Pijo on the 1st server.
@pyroknight777 in the game ^_^ Don't worry if you see me stalking you...my characters are kind of "new" to social life...I mean how would you think a fire demon-turned hero would react to a girl if all he sees in hell are half-naked devilish women...
It's my pleasure! I assure you that getting the PVP pieces will be quite easy. It usually just takes between 4 - 5 matches.
Good review, l0th4ri0. I think I'll add a link to this post on the front page so people can read this input of yours. I'm pretty sure people who aren't aware of how good Gloaming Cut can be will find this useful. Keep em coming!
Great input as usual, Trent. You're doing a valuable service for our small community of Stealth TR's, I say.
It's my pleasure and I'm really glad to hear of your interest in trying out this build. If by any chance you are in further need of clarifications about certain issues about the build please do not hesitate to ask! I'd be more than happy to assist a fellow player in need of help.
Blitz
Stealth
Sly Flourish
Bait and Switch
Smoke Bomb
Lurker's Assault (while stealthed for tougher bosses)
I do this because blitz is good for weakening a group of mobs when I can't stay in constant stealth rotation. I then throw stealth and use Sly Flourish. I know there's no benefit to using it like Duelist's Fury or Gloaming Cut. But I don't use those others unless it's a very tough opponent that's hard to take down. Plus Sly Flourish is fast. Then I use Bait and Switch in stealth to refill the bar. If the group isn't dead by the time I come out of stealth, I toss a smoke bomb. And if THAT fails, I roll a couple times and my meter is filled up.
It's still a great spec. I wish I'd taken the extra feat points and put them into Blitz crit.
We tend to kill things a lot slower, but we survive the longest compared to most other PVE builds. But if by any chance you prefer your current rotation, that's fine too! The important thing is that you found a way to make it work for your play-style.