Settle down class, today we are discussing the Art of DPSing and how to Pull in general. By taking my class, it communicates your desire to seperate yourselves from the slack-jawed monkeys that populate most Group Finder teams after patch 1.3. Let’s get started

/whiteboard

Here we have a standard group of SWTOR Mobs. An elite, surrounded by a trash pack. I refer to them as trash, b/c that’s what they are. TRASH, simply you need to take them out.
Alone this trash is harmless, but when in a group they can be the largest hurdle a Sith Strike Force can encounter.

This is what the tank usually does.

The tank has an opening move, usually a gap closer. Now, let’s say you have a competent tank, and they occupy the Elite mob and spread some aggro to the trash as well.  You’re off to a good start.

This is what your average Healer will do next.

They will unload all of there healing potential on the tank b/c they wouldn’t want to be labeled as a ‘bad healer’ and let the tank drop below 99% health. This isn’t a horrible way to do things, but it lacks finesse.

Next, your average DPS player. /sigh… Don’t be this person.

The average DPSer will attack the biggest baddest looking thing saying to themselves, “ooohhh, I need to hit that. The rest of the trash can wait.” Unfortunately this player couldn’t be more wrong. You see class, the way aggro works in SWTOR is a 1 to 1 ratio of damage to threat. Think about that, for every 1 damage a player does, they generate 1 threat. This is equal for all members of the party, healers too. Their heals generate 1 aggro for 1 point of healing. Taking that into account, all party members have in there talents Threat generating and reducing options that you can’t really skip. These talents are what make the trinity model of Tank, Heals, DPS work.

Back to the unfortunate DPS player. The damage they are doing to this Elite mob isn’t helping the group out because all that trash is ripping the healer and tank apart. The healer most of all b/c the aggro an uneducated healer generates is enormous. thusly, the trash mobs will eliminate the healer in seconds. The tank, try as they might, can’t (and shouldn’t have to) hold aggro against so many mobs.

If this sounds like the groups you are in, next is an image of how you handle the situation.

Here’s the breakdown in seconds.

1. Close the gap and take out Mob 1 (3-5 seconds)
2. Running to second enemy, done (6-10 seconds)
3. Close the next gap, at this point the damage being delt to the group is greatly diminished (11-15 seconds)
4. You begin to work on the Strong Mob, this enemy will take you the longest to eliminate solo.  It will still go down quick. (16-23 seconds)
5. Finally you begin to attack the elite mob.  The tank is taking mediocre damage and the party can all take out the elite enemy. (24-38 seconds)

This type of situation, is quite Honestly a lot of fun for the educated DPS player.  You single handedly eliminated 80% of the enemy forces and saved the healer a lot of frustration.  This is all well and good Ladies and Gentlemen, but there is a better way.  The Zergadin Way.

Here’s the Zergdown in seconds.

1. Panzer pulls the Elite ignoring everything else.  Saybur takes out Trash Mob 1, Growlz stuns and begins Trash the strong Mob, Walt puts a HoT up on Panzer and takes out Trash Mob 3 (1-3 Seconds)
2. Saybur takes out Trash Mob 2, Walt helps with the Strong mob.  (3-6 Seconds)
3. Every Zergadin mops up the strong Mob and moves onto the Elite. (4-10 Seconds)
4. The Elite Mob is Eliminated (11-18 Seconds)

What damage the group does take is sloughed off b/c they enemies are dispatch so quickly.  The pull also takes 20 seconds less to complete, making the total time spent in the Flash Point diminished considerably.

This concludes our DPS Class 101. Take this knowledge and Zerg my young apprentices.  Spread the Zergadin way and all will fall before your combined might.

Are you a Zergadin?

/dismissed

Saybur Silverstrike, The First Line of Defense

follow @zergadin for updates and witty banter!