Jedi Archive
Thread: Grinding & Grouping Guide for New Jedi
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Kivrin
Tue Sep 06, 2005 10:39 am
#1
I'm about two-thirds of the way through my Jedi grind at the time of writing this and figured I'd just offer up some tips. I haven't seen any grinding guides post-CU & and post-Publish 20 so I apologize if this has already been written. This is all just my opinion, take whatever you want from it.
Starting out
Keep your CL up
If you have a high CL from other professions keep it high. Do not go on a skill dropping frenzy if you don't have to. The amount of XP you get per-creature is tied to your CL. It's not a drastic difference at higher-CL's though, so don't fret if you go from CL80 to CL71. Other benefits include higher total health and the ability to use more powerful Instant Stimpacks. Don't worry about getting into groups with a low-CL, you're a Jedi now, you're going to get invited no matter what. (Amusing side note: As a CL57 BE/Pikeman with 550 DPS and 1400 heals I would never get invited into a group, but as a CL57 Padawan with 29 DPS and 500 heals I could always get invited
).
You're going to drop skills
With the above said however, don't worry too much about your existing template. You're going to have to drop skills eventually. I would recommend against grinding out an accompanying non-Jedi profession once you hit Jedi. I've known a couple new Jedi that ground out Doctor to go with their Jedi only to end up dropping it in a week. A case could be argued for TKM for the innate armor, but it's really not necessary if you're going to buckle down for the Jedi grind. Personally, I would drop elite crafting / scouting, then medic, then elite combat profession skills in that order. Keeping medic may sound like a good idea, but you can't use Bacta abilities while grinding or you'll lose 90% of the Jedi XP from that kill. If you were an elite melee profession (Pikeman, Swords, etc.) hold onto the branches that give you General Melee Speed and General Melee Accuracy for as long as you can (yes - these mods do apply to your LS).
Initial grouping notes
Post CU is all about grouping. You can try to solo but it's not worth it unless you want to drop all skills. (Side CU rant: This is the problem with mixing a level-based combat system with a profession-based skill set. As a Pistoleer/CM/Padawan, killing CL80 creatures with a 25 DPS saber and no healing is near impossible).
I'll talk more about spin groups later, but the basic premise is a group of melee players target the lair and do area attacks. A tanker takes most of the damage initially while everyone contributes to the killing and receives XP. You'll want to find where these groups are forming and head there. On my server it's the Dantooine Aggro Outpost. Ask some other Jedi, there may even be a chat channel setup where you can find groups forming.
You can join regular combat profession groups, especially for the novice boxes, but most likely you'll stick to Jedi groups afterwards. If the mission happens to be right next to a bunch of NPC's a Jedi group will drop it and move on, whereas you may not get that sympathy from others. Training skills on the field is another obvious advantage. Lastly, having high-damage ranged professions, especially in a spin group, can upset the creatures aggro causing the lair destruction to be less efficient.
First skill boxes
The Novice blocks
Regardless of your final template I'd recommend taking at least these boxes in this order:
Novice Healer
Novice Defender
Novice Lightsaber (or Powers)
The problem with using non-Jedi heals while in combat is it will drop your Jedi XP earned from about 1000 per-kill down to 40 or so. Novice Healer at least lets you cover the small amounts of damage you happen to take, thus lowering down-time.
If you do not have any TKM then Novice Defender will help alleviate damage taken by raising your innate armor. The 20k XP investment is extremely small even if your final template will be Defender-free.
Lastly grab the Sabers box. If you don't mind spending the SP's grabbing Novice Enhancer is a good idea, at the very least you'll get a larger force pool.
The skills
I've been grouped with a lot of new Jedi and always recommend them taking in order:
Lightsaber 0020 (or Powers 2000)
Enhancer 0002
Healer 2000
Reasoning being:
Lightsaber 0020 (or Powers 2000)
Ah, spin attack. This isn't a bad choice even if you don't plan to keep it. 600k sounds like a lot, but it will make your Jedi group grinding much easier. I've met Jedi who after getting through 1/3rd of their grind end up picking up this skill and not regretting it, even though it's going to be tossed. I also know some jedi who have done their entire grind without it so it's certainly up to you. If you're going Force Wielder then you can replace this with its AOE attack.
Enhancer 0002
Channel Force. This is a great skill. If you don't plan on having it in your final template it's probably not worth taking it now. If you do plan on having it pick it up as soon as possible. Force regenerates very slowly naturally, you'll find your force downtime a pain as your grind progresses. Furthermore, the amount of force you get back while being a low-level Jedi is a really large chunk of your total force bar. With transfer force and the ability to channel to full quickly you can also help the tank regen between lairs.You also get a 32 ranged snare in this branch, which helps to get XP off those creatures that ran away and you may have missed.
Healer 2000
If your final template doesn't involve healer then it's fine to stick with Novice. If it does, you may as well get the 1000 point heals now. At this low-level if you grab aggro in a spin group you're going to incap no matter what, this is more just to heal the odd-hit off or help out your group members.
Spinning groups
The spin group operates as such:
A single tank with an area attack starts attacking the lair. Give him or her asecond or two to make sure they have aggro from all the creatures, then everyone else starts area attacking the lair as well. The initial hit is always the roughest, but after those creatures go down it's pretty easy. You can set your area attack on auto and just watch everything go.
An experienced tank will know their limits, and you should discuss healing and roles when the group starts. Generally, it's not wise for you to heal the tank because you will grab hate from the creatures and will get incapped. Obviously this depends on the group and if the tank needs help by all means help, but the group will find its rhythm.
If you decided against taking an area attack you can still participate in these groups. You can either hit the hotkeys for cycling through enemies and attacking (TAB, F1, TAB, F1, etc.) or you can write a simple macro:
Other notes and Strategies
The Jedi grind is slow, regardless of pre-CU vs. post-CU comparisons you basically have 35,000+ Pikets to exterminate. It's also more fun. Unlike the FS grind you actually get neat and usable skills as you progress.
One possibility is taking Novice Powers and using Force Hit to grind. Since you get visibility from equipping and un-equipping your light-saber, it's easy to stop attacking just equip a weapon when someone drives by.
Get to know a bunch of grinding Jedi on your server and add them to your friend's list. If you need a group send a tell or if you have a spot to fill send an invite.
If anyone has anything to add feel free. Hope this helps, good luck!
Starting out
Keep your CL up
If you have a high CL from other professions keep it high. Do not go on a skill dropping frenzy if you don't have to. The amount of XP you get per-creature is tied to your CL. It's not a drastic difference at higher-CL's though, so don't fret if you go from CL80 to CL71. Other benefits include higher total health and the ability to use more powerful Instant Stimpacks. Don't worry about getting into groups with a low-CL, you're a Jedi now, you're going to get invited no matter what. (Amusing side note: As a CL57 BE/Pikeman with 550 DPS and 1400 heals I would never get invited into a group, but as a CL57 Padawan with 29 DPS and 500 heals I could always get invited
).You're going to drop skills
With the above said however, don't worry too much about your existing template. You're going to have to drop skills eventually. I would recommend against grinding out an accompanying non-Jedi profession once you hit Jedi. I've known a couple new Jedi that ground out Doctor to go with their Jedi only to end up dropping it in a week. A case could be argued for TKM for the innate armor, but it's really not necessary if you're going to buckle down for the Jedi grind. Personally, I would drop elite crafting / scouting, then medic, then elite combat profession skills in that order. Keeping medic may sound like a good idea, but you can't use Bacta abilities while grinding or you'll lose 90% of the Jedi XP from that kill. If you were an elite melee profession (Pikeman, Swords, etc.) hold onto the branches that give you General Melee Speed and General Melee Accuracy for as long as you can (yes - these mods do apply to your LS).
Initial grouping notes
Post CU is all about grouping. You can try to solo but it's not worth it unless you want to drop all skills. (Side CU rant: This is the problem with mixing a level-based combat system with a profession-based skill set. As a Pistoleer/CM/Padawan, killing CL80 creatures with a 25 DPS saber and no healing is near impossible).
I'll talk more about spin groups later, but the basic premise is a group of melee players target the lair and do area attacks. A tanker takes most of the damage initially while everyone contributes to the killing and receives XP. You'll want to find where these groups are forming and head there. On my server it's the Dantooine Aggro Outpost. Ask some other Jedi, there may even be a chat channel setup where you can find groups forming.
You can join regular combat profession groups, especially for the novice boxes, but most likely you'll stick to Jedi groups afterwards. If the mission happens to be right next to a bunch of NPC's a Jedi group will drop it and move on, whereas you may not get that sympathy from others. Training skills on the field is another obvious advantage. Lastly, having high-damage ranged professions, especially in a spin group, can upset the creatures aggro causing the lair destruction to be less efficient.
First skill boxes
The Novice blocks
Regardless of your final template I'd recommend taking at least these boxes in this order:
Novice Healer
Novice Defender
Novice Lightsaber (or Powers)
The problem with using non-Jedi heals while in combat is it will drop your Jedi XP earned from about 1000 per-kill down to 40 or so. Novice Healer at least lets you cover the small amounts of damage you happen to take, thus lowering down-time.
If you do not have any TKM then Novice Defender will help alleviate damage taken by raising your innate armor. The 20k XP investment is extremely small even if your final template will be Defender-free.
Lastly grab the Sabers box. If you don't mind spending the SP's grabbing Novice Enhancer is a good idea, at the very least you'll get a larger force pool.
The skills
I've been grouped with a lot of new Jedi and always recommend them taking in order:
Lightsaber 0020 (or Powers 2000)
Enhancer 0002
Healer 2000
Reasoning being:
Lightsaber 0020 (or Powers 2000)
Ah, spin attack. This isn't a bad choice even if you don't plan to keep it. 600k sounds like a lot, but it will make your Jedi group grinding much easier. I've met Jedi who after getting through 1/3rd of their grind end up picking up this skill and not regretting it, even though it's going to be tossed. I also know some jedi who have done their entire grind without it so it's certainly up to you. If you're going Force Wielder then you can replace this with its AOE attack.
Enhancer 0002
Channel Force. This is a great skill. If you don't plan on having it in your final template it's probably not worth taking it now. If you do plan on having it pick it up as soon as possible. Force regenerates very slowly naturally, you'll find your force downtime a pain as your grind progresses. Furthermore, the amount of force you get back while being a low-level Jedi is a really large chunk of your total force bar. With transfer force and the ability to channel to full quickly you can also help the tank regen between lairs.You also get a 32 ranged snare in this branch, which helps to get XP off those creatures that ran away and you may have missed.
Healer 2000
If your final template doesn't involve healer then it's fine to stick with Novice. If it does, you may as well get the 1000 point heals now. At this low-level if you grab aggro in a spin group you're going to incap no matter what, this is more just to heal the odd-hit off or help out your group members.
Spinning groups
The spin group operates as such:
A single tank with an area attack starts attacking the lair. Give him or her asecond or two to make sure they have aggro from all the creatures, then everyone else starts area attacking the lair as well. The initial hit is always the roughest, but after those creatures go down it's pretty easy. You can set your area attack on auto and just watch everything go.
An experienced tank will know their limits, and you should discuss healing and roles when the group starts. Generally, it's not wise for you to heal the tank because you will grab hate from the creatures and will get incapped. Obviously this depends on the group and if the tank needs help by all means help, but the group will find its rhythm.
If you decided against taking an area attack you can still participate in these groups. You can either hit the hotkeys for cycling through enemies and attacking (TAB, F1, TAB, F1, etc.) or you can write a simple macro:
/cycleTargetOutwards;Give it a name and type /macro <name> to start it. Type /dump to end it. Your mileage with it may vary, I personally have not used one so I can't attest to its effectivity. Make sure you hit the lair at least once as well to get its XP.
/attack;
/pause 2;
/macro <name>
Other notes and Strategies
The Jedi grind is slow, regardless of pre-CU vs. post-CU comparisons you basically have 35,000+ Pikets to exterminate. It's also more fun. Unlike the FS grind you actually get neat and usable skills as you progress.
One possibility is taking Novice Powers and using Force Hit to grind. Since you get visibility from equipping and un-equipping your light-saber, it's easy to stop attacking just equip a weapon when someone drives by.
Get to know a bunch of grinding Jedi on your server and add them to your friend's list. If you need a group send a tell or if you have a spot to fill send an invite.
If anyone has anything to add feel free. Hope this helps, good luck!
Message Edited by Kivrin on 09-06-2005 01:45 PM
DocSavag
Tue Sep 06, 2005 10:45 am
#2
Pretty good guid and mirrors basically what I've found out in my time grinding. Excellent work.
Kwantiko
Tue Sep 06, 2005 10:49 am
#3
Don't forget to mention how to build and run an AFK group/macro 
J/K, good guide.
J/K, good guide.
RoundWallKing
Tue Sep 06, 2005 10:52 am
#4
Kwantiko wrote:
Don't forget to mention how to build and run an AFK group/macro
J/K, good guide.
Actually thats good info to know. Grinding is for retards.
InfinitiWynter
Tue Sep 06, 2005 11:01 am
#5
The guide is accurate, well written with good details. The only issue I use to have was finding a group, I knew there were ppl out there just didnt know 'who' to contact etc....I had gulidmates and had a few tanks to take the aggro but ifthey were not on, i didnt grind usually. SO...recently someone on our server created a 'Jedi Spin' channel for ppl to join and chat in, now its only a matter of minutes before you can join a group or if you lose ppl in your group, we simple send a message in chat that says we are looking for ppl to join. I havent had a problem finding a group or grinding since. I would also recommend that you make sure you ban any BH's from the channel, no sense in them getting you for an easy target by asking to join your group then when they roll up your not prepared because you think they are coming to join and catch you totally off guard. Hope this helps !!
InfinitiWynter
Tue Sep 06, 2005 11:07 am
#6
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Actually thats good info to know. Grinding is for retards.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I 'll assume your referring to AFK grinding otherwise you'll have to include yourself in being a retard since I grinded with you recently........
Kwantiko
Tue Sep 06, 2005 11:16 am
#8
RoundWallKing wrote:
Kwantiko wrote:
Don't forget to mention how to build and run an AFK group/macro
J/K, good guide.
Actually thats good info to know. Grinding is for retards.
Heh yeah that does seem to be the popular opinion...
Bunklung
Tue Sep 06, 2005 11:21 am
#9
Great guide. Spinning groups are always the way to go. I took 0020 LSinitially and will drop it when I become full template. Having the spin attack makes grinding 200% easier. If only I had my token respec then maybe I'd be at 2/3 template too!
Bunklung
Thu Sep 08, 2005 11:20 am
#10
Bumper cars are like spinning groups. They rock and get bumped.
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