The SWTOR 7.0 PTS version starting from the end of October introduces many new changes to the fighting style of Vanguard and Powertech! Let's take a look at them!

When Vanguardch and Powertech were released to PTS a few weeks ago, they lacked most of the subject choices, so we don't know the actual changes.

With the latest PTS update let us see legendary items, 7.0 equipment and new character customization UI for the first time, we now also know all the choices of Pioneer and Powertech, I will introduce the article in this article. Most of the other changes seem to remain unchanged, so if you want to learn more about the VG/PT changes, I suggest you check my previous article. 

This ability now has a different effect on each discipline. The core effect of 40% armor and 2% damage per layer still exists, but now each discipline has additional effects. 

For Tactics, this ability is called Balmorran Advanced Weaponry and has the following effects. After activation, you immediately establish 5 layers of energy output and 4 layers of energy veins for 10 seconds. In addition, the critical strike rate of cell/energy burst is increased by 100%, and a critical strike will create an energy vein when it is under energy production. Basically, the Powerlode tactical project is now built in, you can get all 5 layers of energy output immediately, but you won't get the 30 second duration from the Power Focus/Combustion Chamber utility. 

Currently, the autocrit of Cell / Energy Burst seems to be active all the time, just like the case of Powerlode tactics, although if it is always active, it seems a bit strange to associate this effect with Power Yield. If the ability is just an automatic crit and the energy production is active, or if the energy production is just to make your next cell/energy burst an automatic crit, it will make more sense. Otherwise, the component should be moved to the basic skill, or may only automatically critically strike targets affected by the intestine/telescopic blade, similar to how turbulence/thunder shock works.

This set of choices needs more refinement. When using high-yield explosives, the booster will be consumed when it causes damage, and there is a delay before the assault plastic/hot detonator causes damage, so you can’t use powerful fillers until it goes out. I think this is a trade-off to get extra burst, but I think a better way to deal with it is to choose to increase the cooling time of the assault plastic/thermal detonator or make it only available for proc. Your average player may not understand how the trade-off works.

Superheated Cells are strange, because Cell / Energy Burst has applied a very short DoT, which does not match the back-to-back use of Cell / Energy Burst when Power Yield is activated. If it integrates properly with the existing DoT and makes it impossible to edit when using Power Yield, I can see it works. It might be like this: "Cell/energy burn now causes more damage for 12 seconds, stacking up to 8 times."

The killing zone seems to be destroyed at first glance, but the cell/energy burst has an effective cooling time of 24 seconds, and you did miss the single target DPS to get it. Nonetheless, it will make the trash mob in single player mode very trivial, all you have to do is heal, jump, and use cell/energy bursts, and they are all dead.

The projectile and serrated blade feel too similar. The serrated blade does more damage to a single target, which is as it should be, although I would like to see the bouncer adjusted slightly to make it more different. Maybe it can have the following effect: "Whenever the bleeding effect of the intestine/telescopic blade is refreshed, you will get a layer of bouncer, which increases the damage caused by your next anti-aircraft projectile/fragmented bullet by X%, up to stacking To Y times." In addition, the serrated blade should describe in more detail how the damage occurred. I think it will be some kind of bleeding. In this case, the damage caused should be internal damage.

The tactical knife is too weak and too slow next to the serrated knife. I like the idea of ​​reducing the cost of target exchange, but as long as you manage to refresh the DoT once, you will not be hurt by the serrated blade. It also takes a long time to build the stack. You need a tactical knife for frequent exchanges, which means you usually don't spend 12 seconds on a single target. However, I am not sure how to adjust the effect without a series of complex consequences. Maybe the serrated blade needs to be changed. 

Even without the practical effects of blitz/Ram, I can't think of a situation where any of the harpoon/grab gains would be better than the distance. If you combine the two harpoon/grappling hook effects, you may be more competitive in PvP, and then just choose between these two options, or come up with a really competitive third option. In addition, I will simplify the siege assault/collision, so that the basic skills cause more than 25% damage, have 2 recharges, and always provide a 30% increase in movement speed. There is no need to have a complicated process. 

As you can see in the ability tree picture, the level of options has been slightly moved. The number of overall choices remains the same.

Select Materiel looks good, but it is not required. Basically, you only need to enter the melee range to apply Gut / Retractable Blade and use Stockstrike, otherwise, you can completely out of the range of any other mDPS. The cooling time reduction of energy production is very small, but a nice additional benefit. 

Gears of War is strange. I think it’s best to do this, so Select Materiel provides an additional 10% treatment for Adrenaline Rush / Kolto Overload, and the cooldown reduction of Power Yield should be used for War Machine, and then get rid of the reaction/energy shield proc completely, so you either Get extra range and a slight gain to Kolto Overload, or get higher uptime on Power Yield.

I am not sure if I will use Stealth Scan next to one of these options. If I can benefit from the strategic hegemony/adaptive attacker's movement speed boost component with my allies, I will definitely consider accepting it, and the buff also gives some stealth detection when it is active. 

In Plasmatech / Pyrotech, this ability is called Durasteel Armor / Thermal Yield. It is basically the same as the energy output currently used by DPS, because it has a built-in energy focus/combustion chamber practical effect, so it can last up to 30 seconds. This emphasizes that Plasma/Pyro is more inclined to sustained DPS, while Tactical/AP is more inclined to burst damage.

This is a very comprehensive set of options, you can clearly choose burst, sustained and AoE damage. I'm not sure if the damage increase of Suppressive Heat is enough to exceed the damage increase of Heavy Plasma Round. Yes, Heavy Plasma Round has many limitations, Suppressive Heat increases the percentage more, but Plasma Cell / Gas Cylinder is very weak, and the small number of 40% is still a small number. It may be better to apply a smaller reward to all burning effects.

Tactical Strike may seem boring, but I am very happy to see the animation. Lots of lighting (or flames of the Pyro)! 

These options also seem to be comprehensive. There are clear choices for burst, sustained, and AoE damage, and the numbers seem to be balanced. 

This choice is very similar to the tactics/AP choice, only one of them is worse! DoT’s damage seems to be similar to the damage caused by pulling and slamming/scrolling and rattles in front, but it does not increase the damage of impact blows and reduces the speed by 30% during stuns. What is BioWare thinking?

I don't like reactive plating very much. This game requires less reactive damage, not more. I also don't like how Sonic Round / Missile Healing and Strategic Hegemony / Adaptable Assailant affects teammates and you differently. You deserve all the benefits you grant to your teammates. This is how almost all other group utilities work. I also don't like Adrenaline Rush / Kolto Overload's proc stuff. This needs to be completely abolished, and as I have already mentioned, the same is true for War Machine. Try again, BioWare.

The elite vanguard seems good, but I think the utility effect is more suitable for tactics/AP, because the discipline has more frequent reactions/energy shields, and the plasma/pyro has a stronger Kolto overload. However, maybe BioWare is trying to make them more powerful. 

For Shield Specialists, this ability is called Infused Kolto Packs, which may be the biggest difference compared to the current version of Power Yield. This is its effect: "Apply a layer of tactical armor to you, increase your armor by 40%, and increase your damage by 2% for 15 seconds. Whenever you take damage, an additional layer of tactical armor will be stacked. A, up to 5 times. In addition, you will get a bunch of Infused Kolto Packs. Each layer can heal you for 6% of your maximum health (when the ability ends)."

For tanks, this ability is generally more effective for them than it is now, because it lasts longer and has a healing effect. However, I am worried that this treatment is not effective, and hope that the effect will automatically load shoulder cannon missiles with the same amount of treatment so that you can use them as needed. It also works perfectly with Shield Cannon and Veteran Ranger Legendary Item.

look! The choice of plug-in! I hope it can also increase your energy battery regeneration/dissipation rate and reduce threats, but it is better than nothing! However, this set of choices does not seem to be completed yet. The damage caused by the Pulse Cannon is exactly the same as the Ion Storm/Fire Storm, but the GCD as a channel exceeds 2, so why should you choose it? Defensive armor also seems to be worse than Pointman, I don't know why they bother to rate limit it. 

Since this choice has obviously not been completed, further analysis does not seem to make sense. 

These options also seem to be incomplete. Two of the options mentioned Shield Rating instead of Shield Chance. Disciplinary passive usually does not depend on equipment, and will only give you a fixed percentage increase of any number affected by the statistics, so both should say Shield Chance. In addition, frontline soldiers seem to be significantly better than high-impact shooting. I will suspend the analysis until these effects seem more complete. Hope we can also see a good non-tank option here.

This is an interesting choice, much more balanced than the DPS subject options. Transpose / Translocate are often not as useful as pull, especially in PvE, but using it means you can still use the harpoon/grappling hook in offense, otherwise you have to make a choice. Or, you can attack completely and pull the enemy twice. 

I really like Reactive Round. It creates a powerful motivation for tanks in PvP, allowing them to continue to protect the right players. Both the rate limit and the cooling reduction should be halved, so that the effect will be more pronounced. 

I am a bit confused about Cortosis Weave Armor. When battle focus/explosive fuel is activated, your defense chance will increase, so you are less likely to be hurt when activated. It makes more sense to trigger it when defending against an attack. The 1.2s rate limit is also random. Why is 1.5s not like everything else?

Both of these options seem to be much better than Stealth Scan, even if it is enhanced as I suggested. 

Overall, it seems too early to make any final conclusions about the VG/PT status of 7.0. Compared with when the fighting style was first released to PTS, we do have a clearer understanding of these changes, but they still seem to be unfinished, and there are many balance issues between different choices. 

If you want to learn more about the course and its subjects, check out the in-depth course 6.0 guide. They will be updated when 7.0 is released.

It has been a while since BioWare opened PTS for Sith's legacy, here you can follow all the news and updates to learn all about SWTOR 7.0!

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