SWTOR Balance Shadow Guide

SWTOR Balance Shadow Guide by GFreeGamer

This will be the collation thread for Balance Shadow builds and guides, plus some general FAQ. Feel free to discuss Balance Shadows in general, as well as link me to your builds.

I’d recommend having a separate thread where you go into your build in depth, and can respond to any queries on your build. Just give me the link to the thread and a short description of your build.

My build will be in the next post, so this first post will be links to other guides and FAQ.

Is this the melee/range hybrid?
Yes, but you’re optimum efficiency is achieved by dancing between 4m(melee range) and 10m.

Does this mean I don’t have to rely on stealth?
Stealth is a tool that allows you to get into position easily. Considering that our only other gap closer is Force Speed, and our large amount of CC, such as Sever Force, you’d be gimping yourself to intentionally never use stealth.However, you don’t need stealth to get in melee range. I think about 20m is a good distance to start your opener with Force in Balance and then Project as you run in.

Can I play this class with a single-bladed lightsaber?
No, that’s just gimping yourself.For example, you wouldn’t be able to use Force Technique, which decreases your DPS and means you can’t use Force Breach, which is an important instant cast DoT.

Sever Force, 2 second ‘freezes in place’?
It means that you get to root your opponent for 2 seconds, not stun them, or incapacitate them. Theoretically, it means you can root a melee opponent and kite them, or root a ranged opponent whilst you close in. Damage seems to be really low, and it does consume more Force than you regen, so it counts towards your resource burning phases, as opposed to you resource conservation phase. Some hate it, some love it.

Force Suppression charges, how are they consumed?
By what has been observed, a charged is consumed per DoT tick, not by DoT casting, making it more useful than you might imagine, especially whilst you stack up DoTs.

TK Throw, is it a DoT?
Not in the sense that it counts towards consuming Force Suppression charges. There have been conflicting observations, so this is subject to change.

Guides:
-My builds will be on the post below.
Description: Pretty straightforward IMO, with a good mix of utility and survivability. Patience is a virtue with this build.

-AstralFire’s Balance Shadow: SWTOR Jedi Shadow Comprehensive Guide
Description: Straightforward, Astral hasn’t given me a writeup, and his post is really long and I don’t think I could summarize it myself.

PvP/Leveling Build: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#601McMcZZcMfRrMkrfz.1

Pretty straightforward. It has all the tools you’ll need. Shadow Strike is pretty much thrown aside with this build as Double Strike will always be a better option.

If you enter with stealth, you’ll want to throw Force in Balance at around 20m whilst running in. Then follow up with Project, meaning you’ll have your Force Suppression charges and Twin Disciplines up and ready for you.

If you enter without stealth, I’d recommend throwing down FiB at 30, and using a CC, such as Force Lift or Force Stun, or Force Speed before continuing with Project.

Throw down Force Breach so you have a DoT down, increasing your chance of getting Force Synergy. You should then be ready to smash him with Double Strike, until Force Strike triggers, given you a free Mind Crush, and also allows you to recover Force. In the unlikely chance that you are just never able to trigger Force Strike, then you’ll have to use Saber Strike.

This build gives lots of basic utility, and allows for a strong consistent damage. It’s often compared to a Watchman Sentinel.

Containment, is great for a quick CC, and Force Stun is a good move to throw down when you have DoTs stacked on opponents and want to stop the damage being dealt to you so you have a burst of regen.

Sever Force is great if the battle starts against you or you can’t deal more damage than you can take. The 2 second root every 9 seconds, allows you to keep melee opponents at bay whilst you kite them, and also prevents ranged opponents from kiting you. However, SF’s damage is pretty low, and if you use it too much, you’ll find yourself out of Force without having done much damage. It’s strength comes form allowing you to control the fight, it’s not a tool I’d recommend having in your rotation unless you need the extra regens from Focused Insight, perhaps against burst classes, as you’ll start the match off at a disadvantage.

PvE Operations Build (From Innverse/CitizenSnipe): http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#601ZhGMMzZcMfRrMkrc.1

From what I remember, this build works similarly to the build above.

Open with FiB, get down Project, lay down some DotS, etc.

What’s different about this build is the fact that Shadow Strike allows you a little burst every now and again. If Find Weakness gets up, go for it.

In this build, Project also seems to become a more commonly used skill for the extra burst damage, when Circling Shadows are stacked.