Teras Kasi Archive

...and I'm primarily focused on defensive skills.

I'm a Pistoleer/Smuggler who does a lot of front-line, toe-to-toetanking in a group situation (almost exclusively PVE, by the way). I'd like to try to extend my lifespan a bit, because more often than not, my friends the Doctors are reviving me rather than anyone else. I just picked up TKA Novice yesterday and can free up an additional 14 skillpoints to play with - enough for one full line.

So with 14 points available for TKA and a focus on defensive skills, what would you advise this Novice TKA topick up?

I'm inclined to pick up the entire line of Precision Striking. What does Melee/Ranged Defense actually do? Howdoes the new Center of Being skill work for you? What other new abilities will be put into that line, if any?

The other obviouschoice seems to be Balance Conditioning, but maybe only up to the third tier. Is there any reason you can think of to go for that fourth tier if I'll primarily be fighting with a pistol (and switch to unarmed occasionally)? What would be the advantages of this line over Precision Striking?

And if neither of those are the best option for giving me some better defensive abilities, what is?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Greetings...since you presented the question in a pretty good manner, I don't think you'll be flamed off the board as a 'dabbler', hehe...

In your situation, I would recommend the entire tree of Balance Conditioning, as that gives you your 'upfront' defenses, providing support against dizzy, stun, blind, knockdown, and giving you the ability to KD your opponent (KD2 if you get master balance). This, IMHO, is more important than Precision Striking which provides your melee defense, ranged defense, etc. Sure, you get the ranged/melee defense and here's what they do (as I've seen):

Melee defense provides better coverage for you against a melee weapon. Ranged provides better coverage (and they miss more) when you're against a ranged opponent.

Disclaimer on the above: I'm stating on what I've seen and encountered and therefore, these are not exact, and could be wrong in some instances.

As long as the doctors keep you healed, your bonuses against KD/stun/blind/dizzy would be more important as that directly affects your accuracy, damage, etc.

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Vorlin wrote:

Greetings...since you presented the question in a pretty good manner, I don't think you'll be flamed off the board as a 'dabbler', hehe...

In your situation, I would recommend the entire tree of Balance Conditioning, as that gives you your 'upfront' defenses, providing support against dizzy, stun, blind, knockdown, and giving you the ability to KD your opponent (KD2 if you get master balance). This, IMHO, is more important than Precision Striking which provides your melee defense, ranged defense, etc. Sure, you get the ranged/melee defense and here's what they do (as I've seen):

Melee defense provides better coverage for you against a melee weapon. Ranged provides better coverage (and they miss more) when you're against a ranged opponent.

Disclaimer on the above: I'm stating on what I've seen and encountered and therefore, these are not exact, and could be wrong in some instances.

As long as the doctors keep you healed, your bonuses against KD/stun/blind/dizzy would be more important as that directly affects your accuracy, damage, etc.

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That's interesting - I never really considered getting KD2. I already have a few KDs (Pistol Melee Defense 1 & 2, plus Low Blow), so I'm not sure I need a 4th one. How long does it last? What's the big difference between KD2 and KD1?

I definitely hear you on the state defenses - those seem great to have, and stacking those with the ones from Pistoleer ought to be phenomenal (though they don't seem to work yet, at least in most Pistoleers' experience).

It's probably early to ask, but is Center of Being basically a catchall state defense? What little I've read on it seems like it's kind of a wheel of fortune for defenive responses - maybe you dodge, maybe you counterattack, maybe you block, etc. Do you have anything more concrete on that?

Also, do the Ranged/Melee Defenses make you that difficult to hit? If so, that seems like a great investment for passive protection. I've heard calculations saying that the +XX directly reduced an enemy's accuracy by that number, that for every 2 points you dropped accuracy by 1, and a whole lot of other speculation. Is there anything concrete on this thatI could read?

Anyway, you've got me considering Balance Conditioning a bit more carefully. I'm still giving this all close consideration, though, since it'll be a log haul to get to either stage and I want to get it right the first time.

Thanks again, and I look forward to more input!

KD2 is the pinnacle of the balance line. Unlike your other KD moves it will allow you to dizzy an opponent at the same time. This simple difference is HUGE when fighting humanoid NPCs and player characters. If you land a KD2 it means your opponent is done. Most will never get up again. I have only seen one NPC get up from that state and they were a force sensitive NPC on dantooine with 14K HAM, Medium Armor and 50%+ resists to all. However, by the time they got arround to getting up it was all over anyway as I was able to go berserk as well as land quite a few specials.

This is my prediction. You will dabble with TKA while using the pistol and you will have so much fun that you manage to free up a few more skill points for the power line.

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PaxRomana wrote:

You will dabble with TKA while using the pistol and you will have so much fun that you manage to free up a few more skill points for the power line.

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Ha ha, I hear ya.. Master Commando was always my main profession in the first place, and i looked for some complementary skills... got some smuggler pistol moves, and though, oh well, maybe some TKA passive skill mods too. But after playing around with it a bit, I am now getting close to Master TKA as well as Master Commando, great combination.
TKA and tanking mobs in the face and kicking their butts IS fun, you see

The primary defensive strength of the Balance track is in the Unarmed Toughness skill. If you're going to be holding a pistol most of the time, then you're not going to get the wonderful "secondary armor" in melee. The state defenses are nice, but as a Balance:3 Zabrak I honestly don't feel any more invulnerable to them than anyone else.

The Power track doesn't sound like what you're looking for, again due to your pistol use.

The Meditation track is, frankly, wonderful nowadays. All you dabblers out there should seriously consider this thing because it minimizes your downtime like no other class (except Doctors). You can self-cure bleeding, poison, disease, wounds, and occasionally incapacitation itself. Mind you, you can't do it during combat nor while dizzy, stunned, or on fire... but after a fight there's nothing better to do for yourself than meditate. Oh, and Powerboost is obviously fantastic for a "free" short-term HAM buff -- and that can help any class.

Then there's the Precision track. The primary advantage of this track to you, as a Pistoleer, is that the defensive bonuses (such as they are) stack with what you have now. The secondary advantage is that this is the Combat XP track, which means you could be earning it as a TKN without ever having to lay a bare hand on anything ever again. Just shoot stuff with your pistol and.... learn.... martial arts.

Oh, and in defense of dabblers.... ain't nothin' wrong with a John Woo character. Get your martial-arts gunman built and have fun.