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Sab is a bleed-based spec that does competitive ST DPS in 1.8 and excellent AE DPS. It gets most of its DPS from High Explosives (which procs off Bombs and stacks up to 3 on each target) and a charge-based bleed (which normally 6 gcds to apply). Given the cost of dropping charges & bleeds, Sab penalizes player heavily for making mistakes in the rotation.
Build
51 Sab / 10 MM / 5 RS - Zam isn't updated but put the points into AP in MM and RS.
Skills/Glossary
Core:
Annihilation Bomb (AB)
Caltrop Charge (Ca)
Shrapnel Charge (Sh)
Spike Charge (Sp)
Blast Charge (Bl)
Detonate (Det)
Chemical Bomb (CB)
Time Bomb (TB)
Fragmentation Bomb (FB)
Auxiliary:
Incriminate
Rapid Setup (RS)
Carpet Bombing (CarBomb)
Booby Trap
Utility:
Adhesive Bomb
Choking Gas Bomb
Shadow Shift
Break Free
Rotation
Basic
This is the quick-and-dirty simple rotations that will give you an idea how the spec plays. If you want to maximize DPS, read the later sections that explain how to use cooldowns, etc..
Single Target: Time Bomb > Fragmentation Bomb > Spike Charge x5 > Detonate > Caltrop Charge x2
Multiple Targets: Time Bomb > Fragmentation Bomb > Caltrop Charge x5 > Detonate > Shrapnel Charge x2
These are DoT-heavy rotations, so you will need to mix it up with other charges on mobs that die quickly. This rotation is not optimal because it doesn't use Chemical Bomb, but is the best rotation to use for mobs that are moving (because Chemical Bomb doesn't follow mobs). When the rotation says "x2", it really means it! Only apply 2 charges. They will be detonated by the Frag Bomb in the beginning of the rotation.
Template
Opener: RS > Charge > AB > FB > CarBomb > AB x4
This gets the bleeds from charges & HE rolling in as little as 4 GCDs. (RS > Charge can be done out of combat.)
Sustained: TB > FB > CB > Charge x5 + 2 gcds
This is the core rotation that you should become comfortable with. The 2 gcds are usually after applying 5 charges, but for the best AE rotation they are weaved into the 5 charges. This rotation is 10-secs to match the bleed timers and maintains all bleeds.
FB & AB also act as finishers in 51 Sab, detonating all charges. So using Detonate is not strictly necessary.
Cooldowns: AB > RS > Charge OR AB > CarBomb > AB x4 > RS > Charge
Use these sequences in between rotations when RS/CarBomb are off CD. AB and RS share very similar timers. It is simplest to manage them together, and this method means AB acts as a finisher to detonate charges on the target at the end of the prior rotation.
ST
Spike is the best ST DPS charge, followed by Caltrop, Blast, and Shrapnel.
Opener: RS > Sp > AB > FB > CarBomb > AB x4
Sustained: TB > FB > CB > Sp x5 > Det > Cal
Det does respectable ST DPS and FB detonates the (single) Caltrop charge.
Cooldowns: AB > RS > Cal OR AB > CarBomb > AB x4 > RS > Cal
We can be a little smart and clip the end of the sustained rotation. This avoids clipping the single-charge bleed at the end with Rapid Setup and saves 2 GCDs.
Full (1 min):
TB > FB > CB > Sp x5 > Det > Cal
TB > FB > CB > Sp x5 > Det > Cal
TB > FB > CB > Sp x5 > AB > RS > Cal
TB > FB > CB > Sp x5 > Det > Cal
TB > FB > CB > Sp x5 > Det > Cal
TB > FB > CB > Sp x5 > AB > CarBomb > AB x4 > RS > Cal
AE (simple)
This is a simple version of the AE rotation that plays very similarly to the ST rotation. It should be the fallback if the Time Bomb AE rotation (below) isn't viable.
Caltrop is the best AE DPS charge, followed by Shrapnel.
Opener: RS > Cal > AB > FB > CarBomb > AB x4
Sustained: TB > FB > CB > Cal x5 > Det > Sh
Det is not a very good use of a GCD for AE DPS, and is one reason why this rotation suffers.
Cooldowns: AB > RS > Sh OR AB > CarBomb > AB x4 > RS > Sh
As before, clip the end of every third rotation:
Full (1 min):
TB > FB > CB > Cal x5 > Det > Sh
TB > FB > CB > Cal x5 > Det > Sh
TB > FB > CB > Cal x5 > AB > Rapid Setup > Sh
TB > FB > CB > Cal x5 > Det > Sh
TB > FB > CB > Cal x5 > Det > Sh
TB > FB > CB > Cal x5 > AB > CarBomb > AB x4 > RS > Sh
AE (Time Bomb)
This rotation does fantastic AE DPS, but it requires cumbersome maintenance of Time Bomb on 3 targets. Accidentally applying Time Bomb to the same target may mean HE falls off, and there goes your DPS!
Opener (same): RS > Cal > AB > FB > CarBomb > AB x4
Sustained: TB > FB > CB > TB #2 > Cal x2 > TB #3 > Cal x3
Each time Time Bomb is applied it should go on a separate target. Use mouseover to avoid having to switch from the main target & back within a GCD. (See macro section.) Time Bomb does decent DPS and procs HE, which is why this rotation is so powerful.
Cooldowns: AB > RS > Sh OR AB > CarBomb > AB x4 > RS > Sh
Do not clip rotations! Time Bomb is higher DPS per GCD than charges, it's not worth dropping Time Bombs to get Caltrop up-time. It may be worth dropping Cal x3, but I haven't played with that. (See this post.)
Full (1 min):
TB > FB > CB > TB 2 > Cal x2 > TB 3 > Cal x3
TB > FB > CB > TB 2 > Cal x2 > TB 3 > Cal x3
TB > FB > CB > TB 2 > Cal x2 > TB 3 > Cal x3 > AB > RS > Sh
TB > FB > CB > TB 2 > Cal x2 > TB 3 > Cal x3
TB > FB > CB > TB 2 > Cal x2 > TB 3 > Cal x3
TB > FB > CB > TB 2 > Cal x2 > TB 3 > Cal x3 > AB > CarBomb > AB x4 > RS > Sh
I have not found a real game situation where this rotation was reliable, but at least now you know it exists.
Macros
Sab isn't an easy spec to macro. You can manage to get Sab to very few buttons if you want, but you need to use different charges for AE vs. ST, and Chemical Bomb doesn't play nice with macros, etc.. I have personally found macros to be more a hindrance than a help, and I don't use very many.
The easiest way to apply Time Bomb.
Code:
#show Time Bomb
cast @mouseover Time Bomb
This can be used to spam bombs at the start of the rotation, but personally I hate how GTAE works in macros so I don't use it myself. You also want Frag on its own button to open with anyway.
Code:
#show Chemical Bomb
suppressmacrofailures
cast Time Bomb
cast Fragmentation Bomb
cast Chemical Bomb
My preferred way to manage Incriminate.
Code:
#show Incriminate
suppressmacrofailures
cast @mouseoverui Incriminate
cast @focus Incriminate
Other macros, like RS and CarBomb are possible, but I avoid them. The charge you want to use with RS is situational, and CarBomb is off gcd so macroing it with AB can cost you a proc of AB. It's really not that many buttons when you get the hang of it.
Tips
Play Sab from range. That way you use ranged wep damage and get a nice DPS boost. (This is why using Barbed Trap in ST isn't a DPS gain.)
An exception to this is when mobs are nearly dead, moving into melee to spam Booby Trap can be a nice way to deal instant, spammable DPS without risking missed detonates / Time Bombs.
Be smart about using Rapid Setup and Carpet Bombing. If there are AE phases to the fight, save these cooldowns for when they are needed to maximize bleed time.
Be smart about applying bleed charges. If mobs are nearly dead, use Blast or Shrapnel.
Detonate does good damage single target, but Bomb + HE tick + Shrapnel Bomb does more. Therefore Detonate is something that should be avoided if you can help it.
In AE situations, one Sab in the raid should probably be maintaining Splinter Charge. The easiest way to do this is to use the "AE (simple)" rotation, and replace Shrapnel with Splinter. Don't use RS with Splinter, however. Instead, always complete the "Sustained" rotation and use cooldowns in between. For long fights, using RS > Splinter is an option that devotes fewer GCDs to splinter up-time and is probably a DPS gain.
If you are running in a group without Fervor/LE (god help us all), then TB > FB > CB > Charge x5 > Booby Trap x2 is barely energy starved. CB
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Самое грустное зрелище - если не считать поведения толпы в часы пик - это унылое шествие бездарных рабов Посредственности. (c) О.Генри
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