The official Star Wars the Old Republic website just released information on how the Jedi Sentinel and Sith Marauder, the two twin lightsaber using DPS classes, will work in the upcoming Onslaught expansion. They will maintain their high damage and mobility, but they will gain a new ability and will gain a few changes to how they can play with the new tactical upgrades.
The classes will gain a new ability, Force Clarity/Furious Power. Using Force Clarity/Furious Power converts all their ability charges into stacks that buffs the next attack by 25%. Each attack consumes one stack. Players will gain one ability charge every 30 seconds, up to a maximum of four charges.
The individual disciplines will have new bonuses depending on their chosen set bonuses. The Watchman/Annihilation discipline for example, can utilize the Culling Blade set bonus, granting them +2% Critical Rating, a bonus to activating Dual/Twin saber throw granting dispatcher’s challenge, making the next Dispatch/Vicious Throw critically hit, an effect that can’t occur more than once every minute. This set also finishes the cooldown of Force leap/Force charge and makes the next Dispatch/Vicious Throw usable on any target. However, with the tactical Thirsty Blade, the Blade Barrage/Ravage gain 5% more damage for each burn stacked on the target, up to 25%.
The Combat/Carnage disciplines also gain new set bonuses/tacticals that boos their preferred playstyles. For example, using the perfect form set bonus grants the player +2% Power, Slash/Vicious Slash and Blade Rush/Massacre deal 5% more damage and Slash/Vicious Slash, Blade Rush/Massacre, and Cyclone Slash/Sweeping Slash add Vicious Thirst stacks to their targets, stacking up to 3 times. Killing an enemy with Vicious Thirst stacks increases the damage by 3% per stack for 10 seconds. And adding the tactical, “Tome of Unyielding Blades” makes Force Sweep/Smash cause the next Massacre to do damage to up to 8 additional enemies near the primary target.
The final disciplines, Concentration/Fury, also have an example of the new set bonuses and tacticals. The dashing blademaster set bonus gives a player +2% Alacrity, reduction of Blade Blitz/Mad Dash’s cooldown by 10 seconds and activating them while under Force Camouflage makes them critically hit and slows any targets it damages.
Adding the tactical Perseverance makes using Zealous Leap/Obliterate with Force Clarity/Furious Power critically hit.
These are just some of the new things coming to the game on October 22nd. All six other class combinations have something new coming as well, as well as different set bonuses and tacticals to greater modify how players will play the game. Look for the SWTOR twitter for more details for exactly when and how long, the game goes down on launch day for the update.
