Wanna DPS? Read this!

Discussion in 'Oracle’s Database (Guides)' started by La Chupacabra, Feb 21, 2013.

  1. La Chupacabra New Player

    Oh hai!
    { in the process of touching up, but meh }


    First off, I'd like to say that this post has been one I've been considering doing for a while, as the game itself really doesn't do a fantastic job of explaining how things work beyond breakout/block. And that this guide is primarily meant for connecting beginners to the fundamentals that make DPS excel.


    I'd appreciate this thread to be a safe-haven for newer players can safely ask questions, so positivity in the discussion are much appreciated


    Also, if you're a beginner don't hesitate to PM me in game, I'm always happy to help.
    I'd Like to thank HeliosXenon, DisasterPiece, Cindra, OP Scum, and OP Frigid along with the all my league mates for their influences either in game or through here on the forums, Cindra, OP frigid and OP Scum's being setting the bar absurdly high on the DPS, consistently, and my having to learn to compete on a day to day basis, or I just wouldn't run content with them!


    Competition.


    Being the best is what a DPS should strive for, if you don't wanna kill faster and harder that everyone else, then this isn't the role for you. But If you want to learn, to succeed, and to have fun doing it with some really cool people, here are the basics.


    VOCAB, and why the terms are important
    DPS: Damage per Second;
    Literally the net amount you damage you've done divided by time in seconds. This concept is important to keep in mind as many new players seem to be in awe of nice juicy crit's, when in reality, just clipping spin cop with any low level tier power would net you a greater amount.

    LoS: Line of Sight;
    Many powers effectiveness relies on how far away, and whether or not that target is visible to the players reticle of field of vision, i.e., can I see that on my screen? It is vital to be aware of what's going on in the instance as some heals can be obstructed due to these issues, along with powers simply not hitting the way you'd want them. More on this later.

    AoE: Area of effect;
    Many attack are not just limited to one, but rather many targets, in an area defined by the move, there are several types.

    • 360 AoE:
      • Literally hits anything around you in 360 degrees. Example of this is Electrics Voltaic Bolt, and Fire'a Backdraft; Staple powers for each of their classes DPS.
    • Cone AoE:
      • The AoE is forms a cone around the front of the players LoS. Keeping track of where/what you're targeting is absolutely critical to powers like these as they can make or break your DPS. Examples of this are Fire's Fire-Burst, and Electrics "Attract", both of which you can clearly see the cone upon use
    • PB AoE:
      • Point Blank AoE, this is small, 360 AoE that is centered around a specific point, many of these types are centered around the player, others revolve around what you're targeting. Examples of This include Gadgets Cryofield ( which is centered around the player), and Mental's Phantom Flames (which is centered around the Target). In both of these examples, it is very noticeable what is included in the AoE and what isn't by nature of their graphics.
    DoT: Damage over time;
    Many power sets have access to moves that don't just damage the target upon cast, but rather keep damaging the targets ever few seconds until the set clock the move has.
    • At the time of writing, only 1 of each type of DoT can be on a target at any given time i.e. only I can cast thought bubble on a target and a friend can cast meteor, for the burning DoT, and they will both damage the target
    • However if me and that same friend both cast thought bubble the person who last cast it will receive the damage for the move, this is also true for powers that are different but cast the same DoT's, like burning, if I cast Fire's "Fireball" and my friend uses Gadget's "Napalm Grenade", the last one who used the power will receive burning damage for it.
      • This makes it vital that any DPS communicate with everyone in the raid to make sure optimum amount damage is applied to the raids target.
    MODs: Modifications;
    Modifications refer to supplemental stats that can be given to your gear by using R&D equipment (Made out of the infamous exobytes the games pretense revolves around) and using it on the perspective slot. In order to maximize DPS, these are necessary

    • You'll notice that upon inspecting the stats of your armor there is a "socket" with a given color, exobits come in 3 colors, and each stat is represented by one of those 3, the ones you care about as a DPS are precision and might
    • Sockets: using a modification that shares the color of the sockets unlocks a special "Affinity" or boost from the piece of armor
    For example, a purple, blue, and green mod sockets onto a blue slot will all unlock the affinity, but a yellow, orange, or red mod will not
    • You have the option of putting any colored mod into any sockets, but it is HIGHLY recommended that you take the affinities that the armor provides.
    • The stats that a DPS must worry about are the ones that fuel the two different ypes of damage: Precision and Might
    Precision: Any damage from that of a precision based move will appear as a white number. All moves that are registered on the combo meter are also precision based. This includes:
    - Weapon based moves
    -Any power whose post initial cast allows you to continue comboing ( at the time of writing the only powers that do so are HardLight and Earth)
    - Any objects thrown that have not spawned or have been thrown by a power

    Might: Any damage from a might based move will appear as a yellow number on your screen. Any might based move will disrupt your combo meter such as :
    - Just about every power used in the game that isn't able to combo is a might based move
    -Any object that is spawned or thrown by a power counts as might based

    Stats: Now that you know what stat each type of damage is based on, it is up to you to determine which ones to favor. Including detailed information oh how each and every style of play for every powerset could take up a guide in it of it's own, so I will simply say:
    -Check out the guides on this same forums, a lot of them will have the information you're going for
    - The only time that I've seen a precision based powerset outshine a might based one is Hardlight, and one style of Earth DPS.
    Choosing to be a precision based on a powerset that isn't of the above to mentioned may be viable as you begin you path out of hitting level 30, but it is recommended that once you start to hit t3 content, you try to employ more might, a mix is important for every opposite, exactly how far into precision you want to go is up to you.

    The MOD's generally recommend are:
    -Precision & Might for every red mod
    -Precision/Might & Health for every yellow mod
    -Precision/might & Power for every blue mod
    But by no means should you see the above as absolutely right, it's up to you! but a combination of the above is HIGHLY recommended
    • Like x 5
  2. La Chupacabra New Player

    CLIPPING: The back bone of DPS
    Clipping is the cancellation of an animation with the beginning of another, while the effect of the first animation still registers along with that of the second. This concept is absolutely crucial to DPS.
    As a good rule of thumb anything that doesn't have a "loading bar" on the bottom of your screen can be clipped (that being said, clipping anything with a bar will result a forfeit of that moves effects). The Transition from leveling to being a sought after DPS revolves around being able to clip, and clip in a way that leads you to more damage.
    For example, the popularity of the one handed weapon is a consequence of it having a fast combo, spin chop (melee: tap>tap>hold) that hits hard, is PB( almost 180 degree) AoE, and can be clipped by any power.
    If you're not sure what to do, grab the best one handed you've got, spam this combo along with using any damaging power the second you hold down the melee hold, and you'll like the numbers J

    That being said, there are many types of clipping, the denoted notation will is usually so that ">" means a combo, and a "/" will represent a clip, to the spin chop power can be denoted as "Melee; tap>tap>hold/power", and here they are.
    • Weapon combo/Power: exactly what I described above, although I recommend that you experiment with many other weapons so you've got a better feel for the game in general, and if you're just starting to DPS I'd recommend ranging at first. It should be noted that HardLight's and Earth's Combo's count as weapon combo's and can be clipped with another power.
      • See DisasterPiece's Earth Guide on PC side
      • See OMAAR's Hardlight guide on the PS3 side
    • Power/Consumable: any powers can be clipped by a consumable( as long as that consamble isn't a non PI consumable), most likely a PI consumable that matches your powerset.
    • Power/Trinket: Any power can be canceled with a trinket, in fact, the animations for a Consumable can also be clipped by that of a trinket. I personally like clipping my Soder animation in legends with the break out trinket for a speedy recovery.
    • Power/ "Weapon buff" Power: This is a type of clip that's dependant on the powerset Most power sets have access to a weapon buff power that either increases precision/might or both, and crit chance/magnitude, or both. Examples, Mental's "Psychic empowerment" , Gadget's "Defibrillator", Electric's "Wired" and Fire's "Fiery Weapon"
    • Power/Jump: Some moves, specifically channeling moves that lock you into animations can be clipped by a jump cancel. It should be noted that the full damage of the move will not be registered in the vast majority of cases, although the tradeoff is often worth it, as these moves are usually loaded in burst damage more so than the channeling. Examples of this are Gadget's "Fear Gas" and HardLlight's "Fan"
    • There's MORE! But you've gotta find it yourself
    But here's a hint, the above clips can be combined into truly beautiful moments of DPS.





    Building your Loadout:

    This part is more suited to thing you need to keep in mind, it's more a checklist than guide. Using what you've learned, it is now time to build a loadout, here are some things to keep in mind when starting off:

    Your Job:
    There's no shame in changing your load out if the instance allows it, but more often than not, it won't. It is your jobs as a DPS optimize your damage out, that YOUR job. It is not your job to provide the group with power, it is not your job to provide the group with a heal. IT IS YOUR JOB TO KILL BRANIAC. That should be your mindset towards endgame DPS, but for a learner, a shield is nice, but you're expected to drop it later on as you go.



    Button layout:
    By going to setting in the escape menu, you will find that you have the option of changing the key affinities for everything you do, convenience of your loadout should be accounted for

    By pressing "K" you have access to what slot you'd like your powers to take; try to keep the powers you used the most spread out on say key's 2,4 and 6 so that anytime you need to pop a shield of a soder, you don't have to maek a grand hand gesture, this may sound dilly, but it can make a very big difference given tight situations, especially in PvP
    It is very possible that you won't be happy with the way the game has allotted several bindings, so feel free to change them, I recommend moving the powers closer together and employing the "Q&R" keys, or if you're lucky enough to have a mouse with extra button on the side, it's a great place to slot your trinkets

    Damage Modifiers:
    After a power is used, a certain percentage damage multiplier is given for atleast 5 seconds, and however long you can string together a combo.

    It is vital to keep this in mind to make sure that the weapon combo (spin chop for 90% of y'all :p ) have as much juice as possible as it makes a big difference, this usuall isn't an issue thought as the most useful powers are generally higher modifiers.

    It should be noted that added tick powers (menace/neo-venom boost/Intimidation) and DoTs work off this principle, so it should be kept in mind whenever you choose the order of your rotation

    Single Target VS Multi Target:
    It is important to keep these two scenarios in mind when building your load out. Many AoE's Split damage depending on how many targets are affected.
    What are you going to do against a boss? Can you melee it? Can you use cast time powers on them safely?


    What you need to ask yourself:
    Is this increasing my damage over time?
    >>>>>>WHERE IS THE TANK? <<<<<<<
    What am I going to do if a troller is down?
    What am I going to do if a healer is down?
    What is gonna destroy me in 2 seconds?
    When can I melee?
    When can I range?
    Does this deserve to be on my bar?
    Do you use a specific power once in a blue moon?
    Does having a supercharge over another power decrease my DPS?


    What I'm trying to get at here is if clipping may be the backbone of DPS, but you are the brain. You must be aware of what is happening versus what should be happening, and what the boss/adds are doing.

    In a raid, this will make or break you, so, ask! Google the raids, check out more guides on the forums, there are some real gems in either side, but by far, please, ASK! LEARN! TEST! Talk to your group, and to your league mates and to anybody who's run it before. And always try to be respectful, when doing so.


    GodSpeed. And remember, Killing is fun!
    • Like x 5
  3. La Chupacabra New Player

    Reserved don't post yet!
  4. La Chupacabra New Player

    Reserved don't post yet!
  5. La Chupacabra New Player

    Reserved don't post yet!
  6. La Chupacabra New Player

    I hope this is enough, reserved!

    open for questioning/critiques
  7. Liam Solo New Player

    Nice information.

    You should put it in "Oracle's Database" where all the guides are being posted. The Powers, Weapons, and Movement section is not to be used for guides anymore because you won't be able to edit the guide.

    "Please note, posts in Oracle's Database (unlike most of the forums) can be forever edited and updated. This is to encourage you to keep your guides up to date! We also will not be "stickying" any guides - putting your guide in this forum is the equivalent of stickying. Non-guide posts will not be allowed." - Mepps

    Edit: Someone moved it for you. :)
  8. Sore Steadfast Player

    The new forums needed a general DPS starter guide. Great job, you're off to a good start. Here's some recommendations I have for content.

    DAMAGE MODIFIERS:
    Note that a green SPLAT icon in your status bar (upper left, under your health and power bars) will show up while a modifier is active. This icon is also used for when any might buffs are applied to you. That means the icon doesn't mean you necessarily have a modifier active, but no-icon definitely means you have no modifier. If you dont see the SPLAT, you're not DPS'ing. Also mention that the modifiers can be 35%, 45%, 50%, and 60%. A player should know which powers in their trees grant which modifier and plan their rotations with that information in mind.

    BUTTON LAYOUT:
    PS3 players should assign buttons based off the sequence they hit their buttons. Since SQUARE is a melee attack, if you clip melee attacks with a power...also assign that to SQUARE. If your tend to hit three powers in sequence, consider assigning them as X, CIRCLE, and TRIANGLE so that your thumbs work your way up the buttons in sequence. Minimize how much your thumbs need to jump around.

    OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS:
    > Something on Survivability (blocking, positioning, soda, etc)
    > Something on being Adaptable (power consumption)
    > Something on Target Selection (group threats, healing adds, stack dots on stronger enemies, etc)
    > Define Channelling
    > Trinkets, PI Sodas, and Mainframe Abilities

    I plan on linking to this guide from the DPS section of my Nature guide.
  9. TrueMarvel New Player

    Great job!
  10. La Chupacabra New Player

    Thanks for the feedback guys, I'll get to updating it this weekend with everything mentioned above +tactical mods

    Thanks again!
  11. TheMysticAngel New Player

    Wow this is a great thread, im not sure if you said, i kinda skimmed through near the end, but one thing i always try to do is to make sure i always have a power active or a PI im constantly working my loadout, if your moves are constantly on cooldown, you never stop doing damage
  12. Sore Steadfast Player

    Kind of. Depending on the powerset, there's times where weapon combos work into the mix and you might see your powers off cooldown. It all depends on your rotations. I think you had that in mind when saying what you did. We just don't want a new generation of players going might-blind.
  13. TheMysticAngel New Player

    yes, exactly wht i meant, thank you for the correction bud !
  14. Grimbot01 New Player

    Maybe mention that Damage Modifiers do not stack. If you cast a power that applies a 50% and then a power that applies a 35% right after then it will not yield an 85%, but instead a 35% since that is the last power you cast.
    • Like x 1
  15. MetaMax75 Devoted Player

    That is a lot to read. I think I'll pew pew pew instead.
  16. BadMoFo New Player

    That is a solid reminder. My last power in my rotation before running a melee combo to power back up is a 50% or 60% damage buff. A big difference in your numbers with the extra melee damage and crits.
  17. Drift Hazard Dedicated Player

    For me personally, I'd just like to keep a damage modifier at all times whenever possible. Doesn't matter if it's 35% or 50% since, either way, it's a big jump from 0%.
  18. La Chupacabra New Player

    Definitely, especially now with escalating might you'll catch me just randomly using powers in between waves of adds/boss to make sure both the Mod and Might are up.

    Will be making a major update to the guide in about 2eeks (finaaallllssss)
  19. LowFlyingMoon Loyal Player

    Pretty decent read and can't argue with the content.
    Except:
    The MOD's generally recommend are:
    -Precision & Might for every red mod
    -Precision/Might & Health for every yellow mod
    -Precision/might & Power for every blue mod

    I think there's a mistake there - it should be Prec/Might&Power (orange exobytes) for yellow socket and Prec/Might&Health (purple exobytes) for blue socket affinities. I trust that's just an edit error.

    I agree with Sore's recommendations - the game doesn't explain those things clearly (or sometimes at all) so even a brief introduction to stuff he mentions would be extremely helpfull for fresh lv30s.

    How about a short section on SP allocation and iconic powers? I often get asked (usually quietly in a "tell") by even experienced players, whether or not to boost certain stats. I myself am not always sure - for example are the Power Criticals worth the points if U play solo a lot, but don't use Stealth? My current spec (basic crits/might/precision, 87sp at the mo) seems to work so I don't experiment much, but I would like to know how useful dominance or vitalization can be for DPS and how much damage - if any - is it worth to sacrifice for survivability. I'm sure there R guides out there for specing DPS or any other role - but if this is meant to be a general guide for relatively new players it might be good to at least briefly address it - especially now with the expanded weapon trees.

    Also I find U can never remind people too often - just switching role doesn't make U a DPS (especially lower tier, say CR30-53, but I know people with CR60+ doing that). Some trollers and healers have the tendency to switch to DPS, to speed things up - especially when going for speed feats in Duos/Alerts, or in deathmatch arenas, apparently not realizing that a good PoT ot HoT is worth more than a **** DPS when trying to keep things running smoothly. Your designed DPS will do all the damage that is needed if he has the power and is not constantly rallying.And if U have to switch roles - have 2 sets of armor, or at least the 4 pieces with Crit Dmg affinity bonuses, modded as high as U can, if U can't spare the inv space.

    Of course this applies in reverse - I always carry a full healer set for the odd occasion, when healer bails before last boss in an alert or when I get grouped in a PUG Duo with someone that can't quite keep themselves alive. But I spec purely for DPS, so the armor is last resort and I don't advertise myself as a healer. Having said that - the aforementioned becomes less of an issue with people with higher CR, since if U know what U're doing, U can often overcome the lack of gear/stats - to certain extent, using correct strategy, optimized rotations and such. But it is going to be hard work for everyone involved, so to begin with - try to stick to 1 role, would be my advice.
    If U wanna be DPS - be DPS...

    And sometimes it's better to leave instance and start it again with new group, than to fight a hopeless fight 'till both your armor and morale are trashed.
    • Like x 1