'Guardians can
leap, Vanguards can charge, but Shadows are screwed because Force
Speed is not a proper gap-closer. It's not just a click'n'hit
ability.'
I
agree, you don't just target the enemy and tadaaa, there you are.
Leaping or storming to your
enemy truly can be effective, especially during fights like Firebrand
& Stormcaller in the Explosive Conflict. However, if you learn to
rotate your camera, strafe and jump, Force Speed is a far more
flexible ability than Force Leap or Storm. There is a common
knowledge that you need to learn to handle a Shadow in order to be an
efficient tank – this applies here. You sometimes have to jump,
change direction, but you don't need to target anything
to be able to rush anywhere!
Force Speed is not limited by your sorroundings and you can still use
abilities while speeding. How comfortable it is to have Force Speed
during Kephess encounter in Terror from Beyond when you need to
cleanse yourself of the electric debuff. Additionally, Force
Leap/Storm cannot be used on targets in cover, not to mention that it
sometimes even messes up the bosses cast which might give those in
charge of interrupting a hard time (the cast occurs again in 3
seconds if interrupted by such an ability). Yet, Force Leap or Storm
can save you from falling in various occasions (SoA etc.) and offer a
direct path toward your target even through AoE without practically
'stepping into that AoE'. And, of course, PvP is a totally different
matter.
To
summarize, I'm not trying to prove Force Speed to be better than
Force Leap or Storm, I just wanted to point out that it definitely
can be treated as a proper gap-closing ability even though it
technically isn't. Feel free to question my statement, I'm always
happy to discuss any mechanic.
A
post focusing on survivability and cooldowns coming soon, until
then...
As someone with a Shadow Tank alt, I couldn't agree more. The first character I leveled was a Sentinel, so of course I was used to having Force Leap available. Especially during the early stages of playing my shadow, I would accidentally trigger my Force Wave ability, as it's on the same quickbar slot as my Sentinel's Force Leap.
ReplyDeleteI guess what that would say most is that yes, it would have been nice to have, but then it's not really necessary for a Shadow Tank to be THAT up close and personal from the word go. As you pointed out, while you charge with Force Speed you can already trigger your ranged abilities. You'll make it to your target before you need to perhaps get a few melee strikes in to bridge the cooldown gap. So yes, Force Speed is definitely sufficient as a gap closer.
And on a general note, thanks for starting this blog, I look forward to hearing (reading) your thoughts on everything regarding Shadow tanking. Also, thanks to Shintar for mentioning the blog. :)
Thanks for your comment :-)
DeleteI will try my best to update this blog constantly with either practical information or just random personal thoughts.