BRD rotation

[Viridiana]

I was wondering if anyone can give me a few tips regarding a decent rotation.

I'm currently using SS - VEN - WB - HS and rotate while hitting blood letter when available

You've got the right basic idea. SS buff is most important, followed by the dots, then HS. HS loses to Straighter Shot procs, of course. One thing to note is that most people do WB->VB, because WB is the higher potency of the two (except in some fringe cases).

Is it better to stack/stagger buffs or use them one at a time? Every time my DoTs need to be refreshed, I pop a cooldown. I've read some rotation guides saying it's better to stagger them - like Internal Release --> Windbite --> Hawk's Eye --> Venomous Bite --> Raging Strikes --> etc. but I don't understand why that's better.

Stacking them is going to lead to more damage overall. Note though, that sometimes you'll want to spread them out to make certain mechanics easier to deal with. A high-end example would be Conflags, where you pretty much have to split them to meet the dps check. Conversely, I tend to save mine in GX for sister phases to burn one down ASAP. Basically, it depends on the needs of the encounter, but stacking is more beneficial.

Also, if you're popping more than one at a time, start with the longer duration one. For example, RS->B4B->HE->IR->Barrage. This allows maximum overlap. I'll point out, though, that the desire to maintain this order is why I usually put my buffs off until the second set of dots come around, but that's largely personal preference. I find it a little simpler this way, while acknowledging that it's probably a very slight dps loss.

[BakaChin]

You've got the right basic idea. SS buff is most important, followed by the dots, then HS. HS loses to Straighter Shot procs, of course. One thing to note is that most people do WB->VB, because WB is the higher potency of the two (except in some fringe cases)

Thanks! Shall definitely try WB before VB

[MrDiezel]

While DMG buff CDs are definitely good to use before applying DoTs, if you have to choose one, let it be Internal Release. Assuming Straight Shot is up, thats another 10% to crit chance for DoTs, proccing Blood Letter. Additional Bloodletter is pretty much a DMG buff in itself.

But yes, buff before DoT, Stagger buffs, I personally dump all my CD's (still staggering) at once since they work with one another. Hence Quelling Strikes. Just know your fight so all Buffs arent on Cooldown when you need them most. i.e. Titan's Heart.

[BakaChin]

Thank you all for your responses! Definitely a lot more than I was expecting! But let's see if we can keep this thread up and update it when we can

[KyroeFelix]

My current rotation: Heavy Shot (hoping for proc) -> Straight(er) Shot -> Bloodletter -> Venomous Bite -> Windbite followed by spamming Heavy Shot until Bloodletter is up again or I need to refresh SS buff or my DoTs. As far as buffing myself, I always hit them all at the same time. It takes about 4 seconds total to do so with my macro. I hit Internal Relase -> Raging Strikes -> Blood 4 Blood -> Barrage. I hit barrage last because it only lasts for 10 seconds I think and the macro takes 4 like stated above.

BRD is really easy to play but I'm always concerned I'm not doing enough damage. Whenever I have Flame Arrow/Blunt Arrow/Repelling Shot/Mercy Stroke(?) available I use them. Anything else I could do? Or something I could do better? Thanks.

[Viridiana]

My current rotation: Heavy Shot (hoping for proc) -> Straight(er) Shot -> Bloodletter -> Venomous Bite -> Windbite followed by spamming Heavy Shot until Bloodletter is up again or I need to refresh SS buff or my DoTs. As far as buffing myself, I always hit them all at the same time. It takes about 4 seconds total to do so with my macro. I hit Internal Relase -> Raging Strikes -> Blood 4 Blood -> Barrage. I hit barrage last because it only lasts for 10 seconds I think and the macro takes 4 like stated above.

BRD is really easy to play but I'm always concerned I'm not doing enough damage. Whenever I have Flame Arrow/Blunt Arrow/Repelling Shot/Mercy Stroke(?) available I use them. Anything else I could do? Or something I could do better? Thanks.

Trying to proc a Straighter Shot as your opening is less dps than just doing Straight Shot first unless you have a negative crit rating. You don't, so just start with Straight Shot. For your buffs, if it's taking you 4 straight seconds to hit all your buffs, that's 4 seconds in which you're only auto-attacking. It's not at all worth it. Use your buffs in between your GCD attacks. Also, your macro doesn't include Hawk's Eye?

[KyroeFelix]

Trying to proc a Straighter Shot as your opening is less dps than just doing Straight Shot first unless you have a negative crit rating. You don't, so just start with Straight Shot. For your buffs, if it's taking you 4 straight seconds to hit all your buffs, that's 4 seconds in which you're only auto-attacking. It's not at all worth it. Use your buffs in between your GCD attacks. Also, your macro doesn't include Hawk's Eye?

No, my current acc is at 490 and I haven't been missing. Maybe this will change when I get to T5, but my FC has yet to make it there so I'm not sure if my acc is up to snuff or not. Does Hawk's Eye add anything other than acc?

[Rikkustrife]

Hawk's Eye increases your dex, which increases damage

[KyroeFelix]

Hawk's Eye increases your dex, which increases damage

Well call me a derp and give me the herp! I had no idea...serves me right for not checking the changes from 1.0 to 2.0.

Edit: I currently use HQ Buttons in a Blanket as my dps food, unless I'm having trouble hitting. Then I usually go with Apkallu Omelettes. Is this a good food choice?

[Fiosha_Maureiba]

Just kinda reiterating what others have said, you'll want to do Windbite before the Venomous Bite due to the increased overall potency of Windbite.

And for your global cooldowns, Flaming Arrow will give you the most damage when it can last for all 30 seconds and even better if it can ride off of your buffs. Try to get Flaming Arrow up before incorporating Blunt Arrow or Repelling Shot for damage. If all buffs are up, Flaming Arrow before using Bloodletter.

Something I was not fully aware of is that if you use Legacy movement, it may impact your auto-attacks while sidestepping or running away (e.g. dodging). The auto-attack may cancel out until your next weaponskill (assuming face target option is on) or until you manually renew auto-attack. As such, it may be best to be stationary while under the effects of Barrage and timing Barrage that you would have minimum movement. If you're constantly side stepping while using Barrage, you may only get off two auto-attacks instead of the standard three or the potential four (consider Barrage turning your auto-attack from a 100 potency attack to a 300 potency attack).