Heya guys!! Today we’re going to be talking about the basics governing the Jedi Knight and Sith Warrior, which includes the concept of a Priority System and Resource Management. While waving Lightsabers around can be fun, lets get you killing things fast and efficiently.

Note: Post last updated 1/6/2012

Note: I will refer to everything by the Sentinel names for simplicity. The counterparts of each ability will be listed previously so that you understand what is being referred to.

Abilities Level 1-9

• Shii-cho Form / Shii-cho Form (1) – This is the initial stance you will receive. Turn it on. (No Focus)
• Strike / Assault (1) – A Focus builder that has no CD. (+2 Focus)
• Introspection / Channel Hatred (1) – Out of combat healing. (No Focus)
• Force Might / Unnatural Might (1) – A party wide buff that should be kept on at all times. (No Focus)
• Slash / Vicious Slash (1) – Damage ability that has no CD. (-3 Focus)
• Force Leap / Force Charge (2) – Gap closer that deals damage and applies a root. (+3 Focus)
• Force Sweep / Smash (3) – Point blank AoE damage ability. (-3 Focus)
• Saber Ward / Saber Ward (4) – Defense is avoidance, not mitigation. (No Focus)
• Riposte / Retaliation (5) – Off of the GCD and will always hit. (-3 Focus)
• Blade Storm / Force Scream (6) – 10 meter ranged damage ability. (-4 Focus)
• Master Strike / Ravage (8) – 3 sec channeled ability and a long CD. (No Focus)
• Resolute / Unleash (9) – 2 min CD crowd control breaker. (No Focus)

Focus/Rage

The Jedi Knight uses a resource system called Focus. You start off with zero Focus and only gain Focus by using abilities that generate Focus to a maximum of 12. Jedi’s have abilities that cost Focus, generate Focus, and that neither cost or generate Focus. The trick is in managing the generation and cost of your Focus while tracking the CD’s of your abilities.

Managing Focus/Rage

In concept the resource system looks straight forward. You use Focus Generating abilities in order to use your Focus Cost abilities. But that ignores the side issues of burst damage and cool down (CD) management.

Burst Damage

Whether you are in PvP or PvE, you will find that there are times when you have to “burn something down” quickly. As to when that is necessary, that is a lesson for another time. But keeping that concept in mind, it is sometimes beneficial to stockpile your Focus (without exceeding the cap of 12 Focus). This then allows you to spam several Focus Cost abilities in succession dealing a higher level of burst damage.

Cooldown Management

If you don’t ever bank any Focus, spending it as soon as you generate it, then you will find that higher damage Focus Cost abilities will come off of CD, but you won’t have enough Focus available to use them. It is essential that you build enough Focus up to use every DPS CD as they become available or you are nerfing your potential DPS output. Every second that an ability is off of CD not being used is lost DPS.

An Example:

Note that a GCD (Global Cool Down) is equal to 1.5 seconds. All abilities incur a GCD unless they specifically state otherwise. DPS stands for Damage Per Second.

Blade Storm is on CD (it has a 12 sec CD), but will become available in 1.5 seconds. You have 4 Focus at this time. Enough to use Blade Storm, but you have 1.5 sec to do something else first. You choose to spend 3 Focus on Slash. You now have 1 Focus and Blade Storm is available to be used, but you can’t because it costs 4 Focus. You have lengthened the “effective” CD of Blade Storm because you don’t have enough Focus to use it.

Instead you should have used Strike to build 2 more Focus. This would then put you at 6 Focus right when Blade Storm becomes available to use. The “effective” CD of Blade Storm stays the same because you used it the moment it was available.

Blade Storm, ignoring lag/latency for the moment, can be used once every 12 seconds. Let’s say it does 1000 damage. If you use it once every 12 seconds then 1000/12 = 83.3 DPS. However in the first example you would have to use Strike two more times before you had enough Focus to use Blade Storm. So then it would take 15 sec to use Blade Storm, not 12 sec.

At 1000 damage Blade Storm will do 66.6 DPS if it takes you 15 sec before activating it for the second time. Whereas if you managed your Focus properly, saving some up, Blade Storm would have done 83.3 DPS by using it the moment it came off of CD.

Focus Cap

Just as you can lose DPS by not keeping enough Focus available for when abilities come off of CD, you can also lose DPS by going over the Focus Cap. You may never have more than 12 Focus at any one time.

As a base example you have two abilities that have no CD, Strike and Slash. Strike generates 2 Focus and Slash costs 3 Focus. Looking at Strike and Slash in a vacuum, it is always a dps gain to use Slash before Strike because Slash does more total damage.

So let’s say you have 11 Focus. Using strike would put you at 13 Focus, however because you can’t have more than 12 you just lost 1 Focus that you can never get back. Not only did you lose DPS by using Strike over Slash, but you also lost DPS when you lost 1 Focus as well.

Losing DPS to Gain DPS

You will on occasion find yourself in scenarios where choosing an action that would normally cause you to lose DPS will actually result in DPS gain. Or, alternatively, you may find yourself potentially losing DPS in order to better burn something down.

Outranged by Target

Let’s say that some in game effect results in you being out of melee range from your target. And let’s also say in this example that you have 12 Focus already. While using Force Leap (+3 Focus) to regain melee range will be a DPS loss because you are already at your Focus Cap (you didn’t gain the 3 Focus), you will in the end do more total DPS because you didn’t waste however many seconds it would have taken to close the distance with your target by running there.

Burning Targets Down

Sometimes in PvP you will find that certain kill targets need to be focused down quickly to stop healers from saving them. Or in PvE you may find that certain Boss encounters have a “Burn” phase where you have to do as much DPS as possible within a limited time frame. In these types of circumstances you may choose to lose overall DPS in order to gain maximized DPS when it’s needed.

You will find circumstances where saving DPS CD’s and building your Focus up to 10-12 and maintaining it will be your best option. And while I am not prepared to go into every one of those circumstances, this should be opening your eyes to both the potential and the need.

Priority Systems

Looking at all of the abilities available to a Jedi can be daunting. But that is why you start off at level 1, and also why this Primer Guide is only dealing with level 1-9 abilities. There are no set rotations for when to use which ability in what specific order. It’s about using abilities according to “If/Then” rules, or according to a Priority System.

The Core Concept

The core concept of a Priority System is to use the highest dps ability first, the 2nd highest dps ability second, and so on. That part is very straight forward. The difficulty is in understanding when elements change the priorities, managing CD’s, and managing your Focus all at the same time.

A Level 9 Jedi Priority System

For this example, you will assume a level 9 Jedi Knight. As I don’t have a character in front of me to compare the exact AoE dmg numbers, the priority on Force Sweep could shift to 3 or more, 4 or more, etc…

A) Before combat make sure that Shii-cho Form and Force Might are both up.

B) Target is outside of melee range.

1. Use Force Leap to close to melee range.
2. If still out of melee range use Blade Storm.
3. Run to target to close to melee range.

C) Target is in melee range.

1. Do not exceed 12 Focus.
2. Use your highest DPS abilities currently available.
3. Build enough Focus to use your highest DPS abilities currently available.
4. If your highest DPS abilities are on CD, build enough Focus to use them once they are available.
5. If 3 or more targets are within 5 meters use Force Sweep.
6. Use Master Strike assuming the channel will not be broken and that the target will stay within melee range. Consider not using it against targets that will die before completion.
7. Use Riposte if it becomes available.
8. If 2 or more targets are within 5 meters use Force Sweep.
9. Use Blade Storm.
10. Use Slash.
11. Use Strike.

An example scenario:

You are in melee range with 2 targets with zero Focus. You use the following abilities in order:

1. Master Strike
2. Strike
3. Strike
4. Force Sweep
5. Strike
6. Strike
7. Blade Storm
8. Strike
9. Slash
10. Strike

And this would further change if Riposte became available, adds entered, one target died, etc…

Summation

This isn’t your standard guide on how to level a character. But when starting a new character in a new MMO, many of the “basics” of their character will elude players. The concept here is to paint the picture of the inherent skills sets needed in order to play the Jedi Sentinel and Sith Marauder with a competent degree of skill at both the beginning and end game.

If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment or track me down through my Contact page.

-Suffer Well Brothers and Sisters…