Welcome to our build guide for the Imperial Agent, this particular guide will focus on the SWTOR Operative Lethality Build. Throughout this guide we will first look at the actual top rated build itself, followed by a brief play style guide, as well as some general tips and reminders to look at, and the we will briefly go over a few of the key talents and abilities for this build. Now let’s get started!
SWTOR Operative Lethality Build
http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#4010cZG0MZGMbkrrhdhR.1
SWTOR Operative Lethality Build Play Style
The Lethality specialized Operative is capable of pushing out some pretty extreme damage in the form of damage-over-times all while maintaining a close relationship to the target. A strong point of this build is your damage-over-time abilities and skills, and your ability to engage enemies in close quarters while closing the distance safely while in concealment. Your main damage types do vary quite a bit, ranging from the internal damage caused by most poisons (AKA damage-over-time abilities) to weapon damage (caused by a few select abilities) and even a little bit of kinetic damage. This build is almost a fifty-fifty split between melee and range, though it does favor melee a little more strongly.
In a situation that involves team play, your role is pretty clearly outlined: do damage to the enemy. But don’t let that go to your head; the Operative is by no means a guns-a-blazing’ Rambo type of class. Your attention in a team setting should always be towards what the tank has control over. By finding targets that are aggroed to the tank, yet near full health you can maximize your damage output. Simply put; the more time your DoTs have to tick on the target, the more damage you do. However, there is danger in unleashing your DPS on an enemy that has little harm done to it previously. There is a good chance that the target will instead turn to you and begin attacking. While not always a fatal scenario, it is a good thing to be aware of.
Furthermore, getting a feel for just how much damage your DoTs do is key to maximizing your DPS. You want to make sure that your DoTs have maximum time on target, in order to deal the full extent of their damage. This is a difficult skill to mastery, as it will always be changing depending on the level of the enemies you face, how much health they have, how many other people are attacking etc. Your job as a Lethality specialized Operative is to begin to learn how to manage this. Do that and you will notice your targets begin to drop seemingly without much effort.
SWTOR Operative Lethality Build Tips/Reminders
Just like any other Operative your Stealth is your friend. Unless you are backed by teammates, use your Stealth to enter into an engagement. The element of surprise is still your most lethal tool at your disposal, and the wise Operative not only knows this but puts it into practice. While it is true that for the most part you will be able to find targets (be them NPC or human) that can probably be taken down by simply running up and using your rotation, that can sometimes still lead to dangerous situations.
In PvP it is also a good idea to hold off on finishing a target off until your Stealth ability is ready to be used again. Your DoTs do a fair bit of damage, so even if your target is around the 1/3rd or quarter health mark go ahead and kite them a little bit to let your Stealth become ready again. This is useful because once your target does die, you can immediately go back into hiding, which will allow you to recuperate and be ready for the next victim who is most likely en route to your position.
SWTOR Operative Lethality Build Key Abilities/Talents
Stealth: Again this is still a key ability for the Lethality player, but it does not retain all the benefits that say a Concealment skilled player has. Your talent points are for the most part completely spent in the Lethality tree, so you lose such benefits as Energy Screen.
Corrosive Grenade: This is one of your best DoTs, and the best part- it is an AoE within 5 meters, for up to 3 targets. It has a middle of the road energy cost (the base is 20) and has a recharge of 13 seconds. It deals 1716 internal damage, but when you couple it with the skill Adhesive Corrosive it not only is a great damage dealing ability, it can also be your exit strategy to make your escape, or to quell an opponent’s attempt at doing the same.
Cull: This is slightly more than your run of the mill direct damage ability. While it requires and uses up your Tactical Advantage, it will also deal extra damage for every poison effect running on the target. Alone it does 1155-1287 weapon damage, but additionally for every poison running it will do another 442. This ability is usually best served as a finisher, but as always tailors it to fit your play style.
SWTOR Operative Lethality Build Conclusion
There you have it, everything you’ll need to know to master this build and bring it into the game. Be sure to check out some of our other build guides as well as overall class guides, leveling guides, and much more for SWTOR!