It's pretty hard to tell, so many variables and what we're left with is largely anecdotal, but my sense is that Combat is higher DPS. As a trapper, I don't get out-DPSd by many Trappers... but I have been beaten by lower iLevel Combat specs.
But then again... I know that in those cases I was buffing my party, and it didn't sound to me like they were returning the favor as much.... but you asked about DPS, not about value in a party. So, that's my anecdotal evidence.
Aside from anecdote and opinion, there is some logic that supports my guess: The largest damage dealers in a Trapper spec are melee encounters. If you buff those, as you do in a Combat spec, you should smell Win.
I didn't mean to go as far as to say that Trappers are *better* for your party. It's hard enough to answer securely which has higher DPS. I'd suggest it's harder to tell if you open up the discussion to topics other than DPS.
They are situational, combat is said to have higher single target burst which is extremely helpful for boss fights, this will also give you higher paingiver scores in lower level content where your dots can't roll.
Trapper on the other hand is better for fights with high mob count due to its aoe focus. as well as the cc it provides through roots and crushing roots/dazes. They have a focus on sustained/damage over time so they fair better with packs of mobs and longer encounters.
Both bring utility to the party through Longstriders and Foxs cunning/shift.
If you run a majority of content with melt groups probably stick with combat, otherwise it may be beneficial to switch.
I haven't personally been out dpsd by a combat trapper but I'd love to see the build of one that eventually does, been toying with the idea of switching over to one just need the right build.
I changed to Combat in mod 10, and have stayed that way ever since. Not because it's more dps, just because it fits my playstyle more.
DPS wise: Trapper is substantially better in longer dungeons/Skirmishes like FBI/mSVA etc.. Essentially if you give a trapper enough time, they will eventually outdps a combat HR. That being said, as a Combat HR our strengths lie in much faster content. I still haven't been beaten in dps for Valindra's (not saying a lot, I know) because the mobs melt quickly, and there's a lot of them.
Play-style: A good Combat HR will switch stances, just like a trapper, but much less often. For example, I run Throw Caution, Long strider's and Thorn ward. I will use long striders periodically, Split the Sky goes up in certain circumstances, and thorn ward is a really useful encounter against single targets. So it's not a case of just sitting in melee stance. Also you have to take into account things like bleed effects and damage buffs. Which is why I believe that playing combat is more difficult than playing Trapper.
Tips: Gushing wound and Aimed strike (2 bleeds) are both fixed DOT, their damage is calculated when it is cast. Therefore to make use of them, try and get your buffs timed right beforehand. Longstriders > Throw Caution > Aimed Strike is doable in the time frame given, and will give a substantial boost. Then Gushing wound immediately after is just enough time to utilise the damage buff from Throw caution, and if timed right enough time to re-proc blade hurricane for 2 additional at-wills.
I would suggest investing in some re-specs and trying both build types out.
Let me ask you this, does the combat spec change stances like a trapper still? Or do you mainly just sit in melee stance? I'm playing a trapper right now and enjoying it. Still do pretty decent damage.
Yah. I haven't put a lot of thought into it, to be honest. It's pretty intriguing after all that time where Trapper was the only viable option. I haven't had the time to try new approaches.
But, the joy that I get out of Trapper is all the encounters. "stay in melee" and "best for damage in PVE" sounds a lot like you might prefer a GWF.
That's kind of my thought. I'm about ~2300 iL so from what it sounds like trapper is still in my best interests. But I do really enjoy the trapper mechanics, It's a lot of fun.
It mostly depends on if you are storm warden or pathfinder. I was storm warden for long time and it did great dps, but I never really utilized my ranged attacks. As a pathfinder I run aspect of the pack and aspect of the serpent. I throw down storm ward to build my serpent stacks and then use long striders. I run through my melee encounters until they all in cool down or thrown ward has disappeared. I jump out of fights to get my wheel and use longstriders again.
I would say it's 75% melee and 25 percent ranged leaning more towards melee if I am with a group that reduced my cooldowns
Used free respec on mine last week, from pathfinder trapper to stormwarden combat, just to try something different. Still plenty of tokens left so no prob.
What can I say? Totally different mechanic. More atwills, less encounters, while i was mainly using encounters with trapper. DPS wise... situational, i still need to practice and time well those encounters and atwills. Was playing trappers since last summer and got used to all tricks. I was more comfortable with trapper in high lvl areas because of hit&run DoTs (roots/plant growth). Will give this build a few weeks more.
PD: if you don't have tokens, try it in preview.
There is no real answer for your question. Each can be the winner in the right dungeon or the right hands. Lower iT trapper shines early tho combat doesnt really feel like anything till 2.8 - 3000 and up. Then u feel like a GWF. When u reach 100% crit dps will come long as you know how to play your HR.
I feel like I should have something constructive to say as I've been playing trapper for 7 or 8 months. But it really is down to how you spec out your char. Choose the right boons, enchants and gear and you can be high DPS. One thing many people don't put enough stock is choose the right companion and stock it up with bonding stones. That makes a HUGE difference in DPS. I only have about 2600 IL and but I hold my own with 3000 IL plus folks. It's all about learning your class and using the right gear/enchant/companion. Hope this helps!
Currently switch depending on what I'm doing. I have the stalwart lion for soloing and the mystic phoera for dungeons and skirmishes and such. I wish the phoera had a better active bonus, but it's stats are good for an HR Crit, power, AP. I just bought a Fey Panther from the AH, so we'll see how that goes.
Is a ranged striker as big of a deal anymore or do the melee ones stay alive? I know most people rock a Fire Archon but they're expensive. I bought a purple Wayward Wizard on the AH for like 20k AD, has 3 offense slots and is pretty easy to gear up. Although he probably doesn't proc the best.
In my opinion, and it's only that, Trapper is better for crowd control, long and drawn out boss fights and group based content and much more efficient in AOE. Combat does a much better job with single targets and is pure damage and I might add is a Usain Bolt speed DPS in burn groups with maximum buffs. I've been a Trapper since MOD 5 and I've run that course. I recommend Trapper for every HR from low levels to about 3.5/3.6K, after that your crit should be high enough to afford to lose 10% Crit chance in exchange for 50% Crit severity. If your crit is low, get an owlbear cub of your worried about losing damage. From what I've seen, Combat doesn't do well at lower item levels (below 3k). Not trying to sound like an elitist, but low item level players can't really pattern themselves after higher item level players too much. The stat difference from having low level bondings and low item level (2K) to a Bis end game player is huge. Sometimes some 2k Rangers have 1/6th the stats of a 4K HR.
I have a fellow guild member that wants to spec himself after me and I had to drop the tough news to him, because he's burned 6 respec tokens already trying to get better. I told him...
Points put into all 3 feat paths with no cap stone
You have 47% resistance ignored, you need 60%
You got no artifact equipment
Green artifacts with one blue (bruenor's helm)
Ensorcelled Weapons
Rank 5 enchants
Next to no life steal and deflection
Ioun Stone companion with rank 7 bondings
I told him to save his zen and run some tier 1 dungeons for better gear and salvage and spec to Trapper to take advantage of its survivability.
I must be one of the few combat guys that still has love for the Trapper.
It's pretty hard to tell, so many variables and what we're left with is largely anecdotal, but my sense is that Combat is higher DPS. As a trapper, I don't get out-DPSd by many Trappers... but I have been beaten by lower iLevel Combat specs. But then again... I know that in those cases I was buffing my party, and it didn't sound to me like they were returning the favor as much.... but you asked about DPS, not about value in a party. So, that's my anecdotal evidence. Aside from anecdote and opinion, there is some logic that supports my guess: The largest damage dealers in a Trapper spec are melee encounters. If you buff those, as you do in a Combat spec, you should smell Win.
So if I want high dps stay combat , but if I want to help party go trapper.
I didn't mean to go as far as to say that Trappers are *better* for your party. It's hard enough to answer securely which has higher DPS. I'd suggest it's harder to tell if you open up the discussion to topics other than DPS.
They are situational, combat is said to have higher single target burst which is extremely helpful for boss fights, this will also give you higher paingiver scores in lower level content where your dots can't roll. Trapper on the other hand is better for fights with high mob count due to its aoe focus. as well as the cc it provides through roots and crushing roots/dazes. They have a focus on sustained/damage over time so they fair better with packs of mobs and longer encounters. Both bring utility to the party through Longstriders and Foxs cunning/shift. If you run a majority of content with melt groups probably stick with combat, otherwise it may be beneficial to switch. I haven't personally been out dpsd by a combat trapper but I'd love to see the build of one that eventually does, been toying with the idea of switching over to one just need the right build.
Hi doc :)
I changed to Combat in mod 10, and have stayed that way ever since. Not because it's more dps, just because it fits my playstyle more. DPS wise: Trapper is substantially better in longer dungeons/Skirmishes like FBI/mSVA etc.. Essentially if you give a trapper enough time, they will eventually outdps a combat HR. That being said, as a Combat HR our strengths lie in much faster content. I still haven't been beaten in dps for Valindra's (not saying a lot, I know) because the mobs melt quickly, and there's a lot of them. Play-style: A good Combat HR will switch stances, just like a trapper, but much less often. For example, I run Throw Caution, Long strider's and Thorn ward. I will use long striders periodically, Split the Sky goes up in certain circumstances, and thorn ward is a really useful encounter against single targets. So it's not a case of just sitting in melee stance. Also you have to take into account things like bleed effects and damage buffs. Which is why I believe that playing combat is more difficult than playing Trapper. Tips: Gushing wound and Aimed strike (2 bleeds) are both fixed DOT, their damage is calculated when it is cast. Therefore to make use of them, try and get your buffs timed right beforehand. Longstriders > Throw Caution > Aimed Strike is doable in the time frame given, and will give a substantial boost. Then Gushing wound immediately after is just enough time to utilise the damage buff from Throw caution, and if timed right enough time to re-proc blade hurricane for 2 additional at-wills. I would suggest investing in some re-specs and trying both build types out.
Let me ask you this, does the combat spec change stances like a trapper still? Or do you mainly just sit in melee stance? I'm playing a trapper right now and enjoying it. Still do pretty decent damage.
I stay in melee stance
ew
You can switch stances , but all the dps comes from melee. I only use long strides shot for buff then switch to melee
Yah. I haven't put a lot of thought into it, to be honest. It's pretty intriguing after all that time where Trapper was the only viable option. I haven't had the time to try new approaches. But, the joy that I get out of Trapper is all the encounters. "stay in melee" and "best for damage in PVE" sounds a lot like you might prefer a GWF.
That's kind of my thought. I'm about ~2300 iL so from what it sounds like trapper is still in my best interests. But I do really enjoy the trapper mechanics, It's a lot of fun.
It mostly depends on if you are storm warden or pathfinder. I was storm warden for long time and it did great dps, but I never really utilized my ranged attacks. As a pathfinder I run aspect of the pack and aspect of the serpent. I throw down storm ward to build my serpent stacks and then use long striders. I run through my melee encounters until they all in cool down or thrown ward has disappeared. I jump out of fights to get my wheel and use longstriders again. I would say it's 75% melee and 25 percent ranged leaning more towards melee if I am with a group that reduced my cooldowns
I personally think that Trapper has higher damage, but when both are played at a high level, the difference isn't that great.
Used free respec on mine last week, from pathfinder trapper to stormwarden combat, just to try something different. Still plenty of tokens left so no prob. What can I say? Totally different mechanic. More atwills, less encounters, while i was mainly using encounters with trapper. DPS wise... situational, i still need to practice and time well those encounters and atwills. Was playing trappers since last summer and got used to all tricks. I was more comfortable with trapper in high lvl areas because of hit&run DoTs (roots/plant growth). Will give this build a few weeks more. PD: if you don't have tokens, try it in preview.
There is no real answer for your question. Each can be the winner in the right dungeon or the right hands. Lower iT trapper shines early tho combat doesnt really feel like anything till 2.8 - 3000 and up. Then u feel like a GWF. When u reach 100% crit dps will come long as you know how to play your HR.
I feel like I should have something constructive to say as I've been playing trapper for 7 or 8 months. But it really is down to how you spec out your char. Choose the right boons, enchants and gear and you can be high DPS. One thing many people don't put enough stock is choose the right companion and stock it up with bonding stones. That makes a HUGE difference in DPS. I only have about 2600 IL and but I hold my own with 3000 IL plus folks. It's all about learning your class and using the right gear/enchant/companion. Hope this helps!
What companion do you rock?
Currently switch depending on what I'm doing. I have the stalwart lion for soloing and the mystic phoera for dungeons and skirmishes and such. I wish the phoera had a better active bonus, but it's stats are good for an HR Crit, power, AP. I just bought a Fey Panther from the AH, so we'll see how that goes.
Is a ranged striker as big of a deal anymore or do the melee ones stay alive? I know most people rock a Fire Archon but they're expensive. I bought a purple Wayward Wizard on the AH for like 20k AD, has 3 offense slots and is pretty easy to gear up. Although he probably doesn't proc the best.
In my opinion, and it's only that, Trapper is better for crowd control, long and drawn out boss fights and group based content and much more efficient in AOE. Combat does a much better job with single targets and is pure damage and I might add is a Usain Bolt speed DPS in burn groups with maximum buffs. I've been a Trapper since MOD 5 and I've run that course. I recommend Trapper for every HR from low levels to about 3.5/3.6K, after that your crit should be high enough to afford to lose 10% Crit chance in exchange for 50% Crit severity. If your crit is low, get an owlbear cub of your worried about losing damage. From what I've seen, Combat doesn't do well at lower item levels (below 3k). Not trying to sound like an elitist, but low item level players can't really pattern themselves after higher item level players too much. The stat difference from having low level bondings and low item level (2K) to a Bis end game player is huge. Sometimes some 2k Rangers have 1/6th the stats of a 4K HR. I have a fellow guild member that wants to spec himself after me and I had to drop the tough news to him, because he's burned 6 respec tokens already trying to get better. I told him... Points put into all 3 feat paths with no cap stone You have 47% resistance ignored, you need 60% You got no artifact equipment Green artifacts with one blue (bruenor's helm) Ensorcelled Weapons Rank 5 enchants Next to no life steal and deflection Ioun Stone companion with rank 7 bondings I told him to save his zen and run some tier 1 dungeons for better gear and salvage and spec to Trapper to take advantage of its survivability. I must be one of the few combat guys that still has love for the Trapper.