As a SWTOR player, you might be wondering how to increase your damage output in PvP and become a top DPS player. If that's the case, you've come to the right place. In this guide, we'll be sharing with you some essential tips and tricks to help you boost your damage output in SWTOR PvP. So without further delay, let's jump right in and discover how to become a top DPS player in SWTOR PvP.

 

• What are Damage & DPS?
• Maximizing Your Uptime
• Plan Your Next Steps
• Maximize Your APM
• Stack Offensive Cooldowns
• Class Knowledge
• Target Selection

 

 

↖ What are Damage & DPS?

Let's delve into the concepts of damage and DPS. 

 

Damage refers to the total amount of harm that you can inflict on your opponents in a given combat scenario, which is determined by multiplying the number of abilities you use by their respective damage output. To achieve maximum damage output, it is necessary to maximize both the number of abilities used and the average damage dealt per ability.

 

DPS stands for "damage per second" and refers to the amount of damage that you can deal in a unit of time, typically measured over the duration of a combat scenario. Since the duration of a combat scenario is usually beyond our control, the most effective way to increase overall DPS is to focus on maximizing our damage output during that time period.

 

To achieve this goal, we should first focus on using as many abilities as possible during the combat scenario. Additionally, it is essential to plan ahead and anticipate opportunities to use our abilities strategically. Finally, we can benefit from the "ABC" strategy, which we will explore further. 

 

↖ Maximizing Your Uptime

To maximize your uptime in combat, it's important to focus on a few key swtor tips. Uptime refers to the percentage of time that you are dealing damage to your target, so the higher your uptime, the more damage you can do. Here are some strategies to help you maximize your uptime:

• Stay Alive: The most obvious tip is also the most important. Avoid dying by using defensive cooldowns, not tunnel-visioning on DPS, and sticking close to your healers. If you do die, you won't be able to deal any damage.
• Optimize your movement: If you're in a melee class, avoid getting kited by your opponents. If you're a ranged DPS, make sure you're not hiding behind pillars where your enemies can't see you. Also, try to avoid getting stunned, as this will prevent you from dealing damage.
• Move in between attacks: To maximize your uptime, you should always be moving in between attacks. This will allow you to get in range for your next attack and anticipate where your enemy will be.
• Be aware of your surroundings: Always keep an eye on your enemies and your surroundings. This will help you anticipate where your enemies are and where they will be going next. If you can predict their movements, you can stay ahead of the game and maximize your uptime.

 

↖ Plan Your Next Steps

To maximize your uptime and improve your abilities, it's important to plan your next steps. 

The first tip is to be aware of your cooldowns. Make sure your interface shows all your cooldowns, and train yourself to check them regularly. This will help you follow your rotation properly and know when to use your abilities. 

Secondly, think about your next two global cooldowns and plan ahead for them. This allows you to be proactive and position yourself strategically. 

Additionally, it's beneficial to track big enemy cooldowns, such as sorcerer bubbles and mercenary reflections. Knowing when they're on cooldown can allow you to deal more damage without it being negated. 

 

↖ Maximize Your APM

To increase your ability output, it's important to maximize your APM or actions per minute. This means how many buttons you press in a minute, and generally, the more buttons you press, the higher your DPS or HPS will be. 

 

To illustrate this, let's take the example of playing an Arsenal Mercenary in which you're spamming the Tracer Missile ability. Ideally, it would help if you were pressing the button right after the cast finishes, which takes 1.4 seconds. This would result in 42.8 actions per minute.  However, due to various forms of lag, waiting for the cast to finish and then pressing the button results in a delay, so instead, you should spam the keybind as the ability is about to finish casting. 

 

This eliminates the reaction time and queues up the ability to be cast as soon as possible. By doing this, you're maximizing the overall number of abilities used and never wasting a global cooldown. So, the final tip is always to be casting and pushing a button, even if it's not the optimal one.

 

↖ Stack Offensive Cooldowns

To optimize your damage output, it's important to stack your offensive cooldowns. This involves using multiple cooldowns at the same time to maximize your burst windows. For example, if a marauder on your team has just used the "bloodthirst" cooldown, which grants a 15-damage buff, it's the perfect time for you to use your offensive cooldowns. 

By combining them with the marauder's buff, you can achieve even higher damage output. When stacking, it's important to remember that bonuses from different abilities stack multiplicatively, leading to a greater overall increase in damage.

 

For instance, if you're playing as a Powertech, it's advisable to use the "explosive fuel" cooldown, which gives you a 25% critical chance, along with the "power yield" cooldown, which adds 10% more damage. Using these abilities together will lead to a greater overall increase in damage compared to chaining them one after another.

 

You should also be aware of your relic procs, as relics can make up a substantial amount of your damage output. Relics typically have an internal cooldown of around 20 seconds and will process automatically. However, some add-ons allow you to track the internal cooldowns and know when your relic is about to proc. This information can be helpful in deciding when to use your active cooldowns to maximize your damage output.

 

↖ Class Knowledge

In order to optimize your performance, it's important to have a strong understanding of your class's abilities and rotations. It's crucial that you have your SWTOR PVE rotation memorized, along with the corresponding key binds, and practice on a dummy to perfect your execution. 

 

Although this is a PVP guide, it's essential to learn how to do optimal damage in a static scenario before attempting to do so in a dynamic one where the enemy is fighting back and using cooldowns. Once you have your PvE rotation down pat, you can focus on the PVP aspects. 

 

Start by researching guides or looking at parses on Parsely to learn the rotation and determine your priorities, such as using the ability that does the most damage first. Studying their rotation, range of abilities, and defensive capabilities to maximize your damage output. 

 

↖ Target Selection

In order to choose a good target, it's important to know your enemy and their classes, as well as their cooldowns. The goal is to focus on weaker targets, such as those who have already used their defensive cooldowns or inexperienced players who may need to learn how to use them properly. 

 

However, it's important not to let your ego get in the way of maximizing your damage output. Focus on picking the best available target and use AOE abilities when possible, particularly when facing a large group of enemies. Remember that other players are essentially target dummies, with the exception of when they are trying to damage you.

 

Conclusion:

To increase damage output in SWTOR PvP, players should focus on maximizing their damage per second (DPS) by using as many abilities as possible and planning ahead strategically. Maximizing uptime by staying alive, optimizing movement, being aware of surroundings, and planning ahead are also essential. Additionally, players should maximize their actions per minute (APM) and stack offensive cooldowns to achieve even higher damage output. By following these tips and tricks, players can become top DPS players in SWTOR PvP.