Intro

Hey everyone, my name's Tora and I have been an experienced Hard Mode Raider for roughly 7+ years. I have been in the closed beta and play a level 50 Spellslinger (SS). First and foremost I want to say that in Wildstar there is no be all/end all to specs. A lot of things have to do with play-style and situations, so this build might not be for everyone. Also, there may be certain encounters that would permit or necessitate the choosing of different abilities and/or amps. This build is what I currently use in game for PVE content.

Also wanted to make note of the fact that I have this build designed as fully able to use at level 50, meaning there are NO extra ability or amp points used from Elder Gems. The reason for this is because the cost to buy ability and amp points from the Elder Gem vendors is extremely high. Last checked during Open Beta and an amp point was 400 Elder Gems per point.

I don't think people realize how long it is going to take to get all the "extra" amp and ability points, especially since you will also need to spend them on raid attunement items and possibly to buy any gear that you need due to unlucky veteran dungeon rolls, and is necessary for raids.

Terminology

SS = Spellslinger
dps = Damage per second
aoe = Arrea of Effect (effects multiple targets in an area)
cd = Cooldown (time before your spell can be used again)
AP = Assault Power
SP = Support Power
proc = an ability activated under special circumstances (example: usable after landing a crit)

Stat Priority

[color gray]-Finesse[/color] = [IMPORTANT!] Assault Power, main dps damage stat.

[color gray]-Moxie[/color] = [IMPORTANT!] Crit Hit and Crit Hit Severity, increase your chance to crit and the streangth of your crits.

[color gray]-Brutality[/color] = [IMPORTANT!] Strikethrough and Crit Hit Severity, increases the chance to NOT have your attacks deflected (hit rating) and the strength of your crits.

[color gray]-Tech[/color] = Deflect and Deflect Crit Strikes, we are not tanks, this stat is pure garbage for PVE.

[color gray]-Insight[/color] = Support Power, main healing stat.

[color gray]-Grit[/color] = Base health, while health is important to withstand large hits without dying, it is unnecessary to stack or worry about, unless you raid leader requires for certain encounters.

PRIORITY:
1) Brutality (Strikethrough to at least 8% for Veterans, 15% for raids)
2) Finesse
3) Moxie (crit to at least 20%)

Note: you don't really need to focus on brutality until around lvls 35-40, should have at least 3-5%, and by the time you ding level 50 you should have at least around 4-5%.

Abilities

---DAMAGE-------------------
Tier 8 : This ability is the SS spam/filler spell. When other abilities are on cd, this is what you should be using, always remember as dps to always be casting "something". With the Tier 4 bonus you get a nice boost in mobility which can really help with general re-positioning or avoiding harmful telegraphs. The Tier 8 bonus really enhances your overall dps by increasing your Assault Power by 10% for 6 seconds, which is a substantial boost in the overall power of all your damage spells. This ability has a 1 second cast time and no cd.

Tier 8 : First I just want to say as a former Fire Mage from "that other game", any spell named Ignite is bad-ass! Thankfully that isn't the only reason I use it :) At the base level Ignite comes with a 1 second cast time which is reduced to 0.5 second with the Tier 4 bonus, which pretty much makes it as good as instant. The Tier 8 bonus is what really makes this ability shine as it allows you to have a normal version and a Spell Surged version on a target(s) at the same time! The most important thing to remember about this ability is that it will do BIG damage on THE LAST TICK, so DO NOT reapply too early or you will not get the last tick! This is the bulk of your damage. This ability has no cd.

Tier 4 : I set to Tier 4 for the extra base damage and pulling groups of 6+ mobs, and bosses with a large add spawns. Wild Barrage does decent damage while providing three benefits to the overall build: mobility/source for crits/aoe. Mobility is a key factor in PVE as many fights have you constantly on the move and this ability can be cast while moving. Another thing that makes this ability very useful in this build is that it has a high chance to crit, which enables more procs of Flame Burst. The third benefit this ability gives is strength to aoe when needed. While most of our damage abilities have the capability to hit 5 targets, this ability when at Tier 4 does full damage to up to 10 targets. This Ability has a 2.5 second channel and a 12 second cd. With the Trigger Fingers amp, the cd is significantly reduced throughout the fight.

Tier 1 : This is a great proc based ability, meaning that it is activated for use every time we land a crit. Considering I crit constantly this ability is almost always ready for use when the cd is up. I use this ability at Tier 1 for the leftover point to give a little extra base damage to the ability until able to Tier 8 later with max ability points from elder gems. Until you can get the extra gems,it is not worth assigning points to as the damage is fine without and would sacrifice being able to use the points elsewhere. If I were to run a pure magic build I would bump up to Tier 8 for the extra magic damage. This ability is instant and has a 8 second cd. With the Trigger Fingers amp, the cd is significantly reduced throughout combat.

Base : I used to use Tier 4 when engaging in single target fights to get that extra charge for increased damage, however due to the regen time, you only get that extra shot at the very beggining of the fight and the ability points are better used to increase the base Wild Barrage damage. This ability provides extreme burst damage at the end of fights and could be considered a "finisher" on single mobs. Assassinate should be used with Spell Surge when a mob or boss is above 30% health, and without Spell Surge when the mob or boss is under 30% health, as it does double the amount of damage under those circumstances. Keep in mind that Assassinate will only hit one mob at a time and should not be recklessly used in a crowd of mobs unless they are all under the 30% health mark, but as a tip try to aim it at the mob with the least amount of health. This ability is instant and has an 8 second regeneration time per charge. Cd reduction does not affect the recharge rate of this ability.

---SUPPORT-------------------
You are the PVE pew-pew-slinger of massive deeps, leave the healing to the healers :)

---UTILITY-------------------
Base : This ability is your standard interrupt which is absolutely mandatory in dungeons and raids unless otherwise specified by your group/raid leader. Outside of PVP there is no need to allocate points to this ability as your main focus for dps is...dps. This ability is instant cast and has a 20 second cooldown, and is affected by the Trigger Fingers amp!

Base / Tier 4 : This is a great ability in multiple ways! First off this can be used as a second "oh crap" interrupt if some in the group misses or has theirs on cd. Keep a few things in mind, you will be passing through the mob or boss, so be aware of your surroundings and dangerous telegraphs. Another great feature is that this ability can be used as a blink with a range of 17 meters. That means you can use it strategically to jump+blink across gaps and ledges, or quickly get you out of large telegraphs if your dodge rolls are on cd. This should be set to Tier 4 when you need to carry 3 interrupts, which happens in most dungeons, swap the points from Wild Barrage to this when needed. This ability is instant and has a 30 second cd, and is affected by the Trigger Fingers amp!

Base : Another great ability for use in many ways. The first and most important use of this ability in a PVE situation is as a threat drop. If you accidentally (or on purpose in some cases muwahaha!) happen to pull threat from the tank you can just pop into the void, remove all threat, then pop back out and get on with your deeps. Sometimes it can also be used to freak out your healers as they cannot heal you when you are in the void and it looks like you are dead for a few seconds on the party/raid frames :) This ability is instant, when activated again while in the void it will exit the void early, and has a 45 second cd, and is affected by the Trigger Fingers amp!

Amps

---Assault---
Tier 1
~Assault Power I+II+III : Increase Assault Power by 2.5%, total of 7.5%

~Strikethrough I+II+III : Increase Strikethrough by 1%, total of 3%

Tier 2
~Deadly Chain : Essential amp for Spellslinger dps! Landing a Physical or Magic attack will grant 1 stack of Empower. Empower increases Physical/Magic damage respectively by 1.5% for 15 seconds and can stack 3 times, total of 4.5%. This is an amazing amp due to the fact that you can effectively have both the Physical and Magic Empowerment up at the same time which plays into our spec heavily since we are weaving both types of damage. With the way the rotation of this build works you can have 100% up-time on the 3 stacks each once built up.

~Critical Surge : Essential to build! Landing a crit generates 6 spell power and can only occur every 6 seconds. This is crucial to the build and will ensure that you can always use Spell Surge for Ignite when it needs to be reapplied.

~Trigger Fingers : Hard to obtain world drop. Trigger Fingers is very useful in further reducing the cd's of our spells. Really makes the rotation flow with cd reduction to Wild Barrage and is extremely nice when needing to interrupt with Arcane Shock or drop aggro with Void Slip. With the change to the Cooldowns amps, this is now an "essential" amp for SS dps.

Tier 3
~Gunslinger : Using an ability with a cd grants a stack of Empower. Empower increases Critical Hit Chance by 2.5% and can stack 3 times, total of 7.5%. With Wild barrage and Flame burst being used as soon as off cd throughout the rotation, this means 100% up-time on the 3 stacks once built up.

~Assassinate : Unlocks the Assassinate ability.

~Surge Damage : Using a Spell Surged ability grants Empower for 4 seconds. Empower increases damage dealt by 10%. Due to the nature of the rotation this amp will constantly proc and that's a lot of extra damage!

---Hybrid Assault/Support---
Tier 1
~Critical Hit I+II+III : Increase Critical Hit Chance by 2%, total of 6%

~Critical Hit Severity I+II+III : Increase Critical Hit Severity by 4%, total of 12%

Tier 2
~Power Surge : Power Surge is a world drop and extremely hard to obtain. If and when you can get it, it is recommended to drop the points in Maximum Shield Capacity and Cooldowns for it. It is one of the best amps we can get for dps and healing. Power Surge increases Assault and Support Power by 8.6% when Spell Surge is active!

---Support---
none

---Hybrid Support/Utility---
Tier 1
(Only if no Power Surge) ~Maximum Shield Capacity I+II+III : Increase Maximum Shield Capacity by 3%, total of 9% When taking damage in PVE the more shields great because we are glass cannons!

---Utility---
Tier 1
~Cooldowns I+II+III : This was previously only applied to each class' innate ability, and did not affect the recharge rate of Spell Surge. They have fixed it so it is a blanket Cooldown Reduction to all abilities, but still does not affect the regen rate. This is absolutely essential for max dps, the more your abilities come off cooldown, the more they get to be used and the less Quick Draw spam you need in between!

---Hybrid Assault/Utility---
none

Rotation

--> --> Spell Surge! --> --> --> (if proc) --> --> (when proc) --> --> repeat.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

So basically you start with one Quick draw to get your T8 10% Assault Power buff up, toss on regular ignite, pop Spell Surge and leave on, then Ignite for T8 bonus (regular+spell surge versions) With spell Surge still up use all charges of Assassinate available for instant burst damage. At this point if Flame Burst has procced, use it, then go into Wild Barrage, otherwise just use Wild Barrage. Unless your crit is ridiculously low, you should definitely have a Flame Burst proc after Wild Barrage and use it then. Spam quick Draw until both versions of Ignite are complete to keep up the T8 Assault Power buff at all times. By the time your Ignites are expired and ready to reapply you should have enough spell surge regenerated, If for some reason you do not, cast Quick Draw until you do. Use Flame Burst procs on cd, but never in between Spell Surged Ignite and Assassinate as you do not want to use up your Spell Surge on it. I like to line it up to use in between the regular and Surged Ignite, because Ignite's 0.5 second cast time sometimes makes it get casted twice in a row.

A lot of guides will say to use Spell Surge only for ignite, however with the Crit Surge amp, you can keep Spell Surge on after your "surged" ignite because by the time you need it next you will always have enough built back up for the next Ignite and sometimes more for big-time Assassinate damage. Wild Barrage also hits like a beast under the effects of Spell Surge so keep in mind that your first pass through your rotation is going to do a crap-ton of damage right away and be ready to Void Slip to drop threat if necessary, you have been warned ;). Remember to always use normal Ignite before applying Surged Ignite as it will make your transitions into the next abilities more smooth. Contrary to the thoughts of use of Assassinate strictly by the tooltip, it still provides an increase in damage within the rotation no matter the health of the mob/boss. Don't worry about all of the Assassinate charges rebuilding before using again each time through the rotation, as it should work out that you will have full charges every-other time through the rotation. In a situation where you think that last Assassinate will be the killing blow and you don't want to wait for all the charges, by all means use it!



The rotation might look or sound weird and complex on paper, but once you get in the game and play out the rotation live it is very fluid, feels good, and makes sense. I highly encourage that you practice it a few times on the target dummies before jumping into a dungeon or adventure. Also, when practicing on the target dummies, you should try to move back and forth so you get used to using and executing the rotation while on the move.

It is really somewhat of a priority system:
1. Quick Draw for Assault Power Buff
2. Normal+Surged Ignite
3. Assassinate when boss/mob under 30% health
4. Flame Burst procs
5. Wild Barrage

One of the best things about this build is the ability to stay 100% mobile during the entire rotation, which can be HUGE in most fights!

*SPECIAL THANKS to one of my viewers, BeNegative for helping me re-adjust the rotation and squeeze out some extra dps!!!

Leveling

Abilities:
[color gray]-Assasinate at level 18-[/color]
You can get Assassinate as early as level 18 by following this amp tree. Also by this level you have access to all abilities used in this build and can start using the rotation, with the obvious exception of being able to cast both versions of Ignite. Until you can Tier 8 Ignite, never use unless Spell Surged in your rotation, so basically the only time you will ever use normal Ignite, is once you make it Tier 8.

Assasinate at level 18

[color gray]-Points-[/color]
These will constantly be in flux, and always changing until you can properly Tier things. You also want to use them in the way that gives you the most "bang for your buck" at each level and the most effectiveness in they way you are leveling. The nice thing about ability points is that you can change them on the fly and with no re-spec cost.

[color gray]-First Tier 4: Level 25-[/color]
If you are leveling with a full 5-man group and happen to be pulling large mob groups of 6 or more at a time, then you will want to Tier 4 Wild Barrage right away. It lets you hit up to 10 targets with it and is a great improvement in aoe for that situation.
For leveling solo or with 2-3 people you might want to consider Tier 4 Assassinate for the extra burst damage up front. It is really nice when having to solo any 2+ group quest mobs.

[color gray]-First Tier 8: Level 45-[/color]
Ignite should be the first ability that gets Tier 8 as it is outlandishly powerful while finishing off those last 5 levels and in the last zone there are many mobs that have high health. This is also a great choice because you can start getting used to putting up both casts of Ignite and by the time you are 50 and ready to hit those Veterans, it will be just an automatic feeling in your rotation.

[color gray]-Between Tiers-[/color]
It does you no good to save points for later Tiers since they can be readjusted easily and as often as you want with no cost. You should be filling up points in the abilities that are providing the most damage. Point allocation priority for between Tiers:

*Quick Draw --> Ignite --> Wild Barrage --> Assassinate --> Flame Burst

Extra Elder Gem Amp and Ability Points

Max Amp and Ability Points

Conclusion

So that is my little deeps factory! By all means please feel free to leave comments or questions about the build or rotation, I will answer :)

I am also an avid streamer, you can see me and my SS in action on my Twitch channel with Team Legacy. Mainly streaming Fridays and Saturdays 8p-2a PDT.
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You can also follow me on Twitter for news/updates and stream announcements.
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Team Legacy and I will be on the Pago Server. Check out the Pago Server website for the latest news and bounties!
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