Rift 2.0 PvE Raid DPS - Tactman [Level 60 Build]

[Zazen]

Preface
This build was created as a result of alpha and beta testing during the weeks leading up to the release of the Storm Legion expansion. Single target ranged DPS was comparable to Marksman and Ranger when tested but its AE damage was significantly ahead.

When last tested with expert purple gear and no synergy crystal single target damage was about 11.5k dps. AE dps on 8 targets with the same gear was about 65k DPS. I have also tested it with raid level gear where it was at 12.5k single target and 75k AE.

This work is not solely mine but the result of collaboration with the other rogues in my guild. Credit for the name, Tactman, goes to Nosu.

The following link is the level 60 point distribution for Tactman: Tactman@Magelo
[Magelo beta Soul Tree Planner but I will update to the live planner when it is published]

Tactician dps comes in the form of torrents, bolts and rays which synergise particularly well with Marksman talents, hence the heavy investment in that tree. The zero-point Assassin is simply for Virulent Poison.

Positioning is key to maximizing DPS with the Tactician and will be dealt with in the explanation of the skills below.
Both Torrents and Infernal Beam have enormous potential because the number of enemies they can hit is currently not capped.

About Torrents
Torrents are channeled skills that can be used whilst moving and will hit all mobs in front of you in a 30 meter by 4 meter rectangle. Note that the Marksman skill Keen Eye has no effect these dimensions. Use of torrents applies a debuff to you called Torrent Overload that causes them to have increased energy costs. This is mitigated somewhat by the use of Torrent Primer but actually the increased cost, even at the maximum 10 stacks of Torrent Overload, is not significantly debilitating.
When you change torrent type you build up stacks of a buff called Expanded Torrents. This stacks up to 4 times and the effect is to grant your next combo point generating skill additional points matching the number of stacks.


About Infernal Beam
Infernal Beam damages all mobs between you and your target but has a very narrow width ~2 meters. This ability last 15 seconds and is on a 15 second cooldown so you can have high uptime on this dot.

About Torrent Primer As stated above, Torrent Primer reduces the stacks of Torrent Overload by 1 per combo point, however this is really of secondary concern. Much more important is the 40% buff to torrent damage (at 5 combo points) that lasts 30 seconds. You must maintain 100% uptime on this buff.


About Cores
Since this is a DPS guide I will only detail the cores that improve damage and these are Power Core and Necrotic Core.

Power Core is a 15 second proximity-based damage increase (10%) for all raid members. This is on a 1 minute CD.

Necrotic Core is a 15 second dot that applies to all nearby enemies. From testing it only hits enemies within 10 meters. I only use this when AE'ing and if I can get into a good position. This core is on a 15 second cooldown.


Single Target Rotation

Infernal Beam → Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent → Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent  → Empyrean Bolt → Torrent Primer
Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent → Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent  → Empyrean Bolt → Empyrean Ray
Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent → Glacial Torrent → Infernal Beam → Infernal Torrent  → Empyrean Bolt → Empyrean Ray
Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent → Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent  → Empyrean Bolt → Empyrean Ray
Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent → Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent  → Empyrean Bolt → Empyrean Ray
Infernal Beam → Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent → Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent  → Empyrean Bolt → Torrent Primer

Important: you are clipping each torrent cast after the GCD expires so that you get 4 torrent casts plus the Empyrean Bolt in a 5 second period. Torrents do not generate combo points but they do build stacks of Expanded Torrents and thus when you hit Empyrean Bolt you get 5 combo points.
The finisher, Empyrean Ray, hits very hard but it has a cast time and, unlike torrents, you cannot move while casting.


AE Rotation

Infernal Beam → Necrotic Core → Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent → Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent  → Empyrean Bolt → Torrent Primer
Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent → Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent  → Empyrean Bolt → Necrotic Ray
Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent → Infernal Beam → Necrotic Core → Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent  → Empyrean Bolt → Necrotic Ray
Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent → Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent  → Empyrean Bolt → Necrotic Ray
Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent → Glacial Torrent → Infernal Torrent  → Infernal Beam → Necrotic Core → Empyrean Bolt → Torrent Primer

Both rotations will obviously change slightly as you use your 1 minute CD skills (Battle Remote and Power Core) but the above is the gist.


Why Glacial Torrent and Infernal Torrent?
You will have noticed that Tactician also gets Necrotic Torrent but it is not used in the rotation. The reason is that Necrotic Torrent is best used when the targets are under 30% because they get a 60% boost to damage from Enhanced Necrotic Torrent plus an innate 20% boost. I substitute Glacial Torrent for Necrotic Torrent when the mobs are under 30%.
Since you spec'd into Temperature Inversion you will notice that Glacial Torrent puts a debuff on the target called Glacial Chill that stacks up to 7 times. Each stack cause Infernal Torrent to do 10% more damage. The stacks are reduced each time Infernal Torrent ticks but alternating torrents keeps the stacks refreshed.


Advanced Torrent Toggling
If, after your finisher, you find you have 5 or more stacks of Glacial Chill, I would start the rotation with Infernal Torrent rather than Glacial Torrent. The stacks build up fast and will refresh quickly, but mainly it's to keep the Infernal Torrent dot applied. This dot (Internal Combustion) only lasts 6 seconds so if you don't need to apply Glacial it's better to start the rotation with Infernal. Don't worry too much about Internal Combustion dropping as it builds up very quickly.


Summary
This is a really ubiquitous build for raiding as it has competitive ranged dps, first class AE dps, an interrupt, movement speed boosts, and some small healing from Curative Engine, Curative Core and Curative Blast.

Here is a link to a short video I made using the AE skills on the dummies in Dummy Foundry on the beta server.

AE Demo


I always appreciate constructive feedback and the highlighting of any errors in the guide. If I get Guide Writer status I will post errata as required.

[SeraphimDream]

Very well put together guide. Thank you! Also note the lack of cooldowns on everything but the remotes. Makes for interesting key layouts xD.

[Danguard]

Thanks Zazen, great guide. I'm looking forward to trying this out.

[Chaszar]

Good DPS guide.

[Elge]

Is this something you'd see as being comparable to Sab for aoe, or something you'd take instead of an MM spec?

I currently have both MM and Sab roles. I'm just wondering which one this would be a better replacement for.

[Scinfull]

Isn't Necrotic Core a dps loss for this build? It lowers torrent damage by 30%.

[LemmingOfEvil]

Isn't Necrotic Core a dps loss for this build? It lowers torrent damage by 30%.

You are thinking of Necrotic Engine, the self buff.

[Zazen]

You are thinking of Necrotic Engine, the self buff.

Correct.
/10char

[Zazen]

Is this something you'd see as being comparable to Sab for aoe, or something you'd take instead of an MM spec?

I currently have both MM and Sab roles. I'm just wondering which one this would be a better replacement for.

Sorry for the delayed reply, Elge.

For PvE DPS this has replaced my saboteur build due to the superior single target dps plus utility skills. What tact lacks compared to sab is the high burst when all sab CDs are available. For PvE I don't see this as much of a limitation. The current saboteur can also be very effective with a much simplified rotation compared to how it was pre-1.11.

On heavy movement fights this can also be a challenge due to having to ensure that your torrents are directed at the mobs. This means you are strafing and twisting a lot when moving. It also relies on a sympathetic tank to try and position mob packs optimally for the way our torrents and beams work.

I used a flavour of this build for grinding/questing from 50 - 60. The innate snare applied when using Glacial Chill means you can kite anything except mobs with significant movement speed buffs or snare immunities.

As I said in the guide preface this was largely developed from alpha raid and expert testing but the proof in the pudding, as they say, will be when I can use it on an actual raid and build up a catalog of performances.

Hope this information helps.

[Pazno]

Would macroing /cast Infernal Beam in with the torrents be a good idea? Not at home right now to test whether it messes things up.

[Zazen]

Would macroing /cast Infernal Beam in with the torrents be a good idea? Not at home right now to test whether it messes things up.

The problem with this is that Infernal Beam has a very narrow width so you need to be in a good position relative to the mobs to optimize it (AE pulls obviously). For this reason I would not macro it with the torrents as they have a more forgiving effective area.

It's really up to you, if you can get into a good position when you see Infernal Beam coming off of cooldown it might work well for you. I prefer to have a little finer control so I don't use any macros when I'm in this build (I'm not anti-macro by any means).

[Irishae]

This is incredibly helpful and well written, lots of great tips. Nice to see a real "guide."

[Alechiel]

This is a great spec, thanks for sharing. I have troubles keeping my energy up tho, I checked your video but your energy never drops as low as mine. I use torrents on each GCD too.

Any trick ?

[Zazen]

This is a great spec, thanks for sharing. I have troubles keeping my energy up tho, I checked your video but your energy never drops as low as mine. I use torrents on each GCD too.

Any trick ?

In my video I was in the beta instance of Dummy Foundry which gives you many of the raid buffs you normally receive from bard/chlor/archon. Hence I had the equivalent of Living Energy/Fervor active which may account for the difference.

[Danguard]

Thanks for this Zazen.. been playing around with it and so far I like it, the positioning aspect adds some fun imho.

Did you get a chance to compare this to SAB during your testing for AE dps?