Scathe in Rotation?

[Arasiel]

I just got Scathe and was wondering its best use? Is it meant for just kiting or should I be using Fire I when Scathe over and over?

What about:

/macroicon "Fire"
/ac "Fire" <t>
/wait 3
/ac "Scathe" <t>

..so that right after Fire you cast Scathe, rinse/repeat

[Arriverderci]

In PS3.
I did Fire - Scathe - Transpose - Bliz - Scathe - Transpose I think.
I basically never have a cooldown but I didn't get far.

[Conradus]

I just got Scathe and was wondering its best use? Is it meant for just kiting or should I be using Fire I when Scathe over and over?

It's for kiting. If you can stand still, your rotation at your level should be Thunder to lay down the DoT, spamming Fire (where the Astral Fire buff will increase your damage) until you run out of MP, and then Transpose and spam Blizzard (so that the Umbral Ice buff will replenish your MPs) until your MPs are full again, and then Transpose again and start back into Fire (Transpose can be skipped if it's not back up yet--later on you'll get better tools that will allow you to dispense with Transpose in the rotation). Reapply Thunder when the DoT debuff wears. Scathe is not part of your standard rotation; it's inferior to the Fire/Ice cycle but since it's instant, you can cast it on the move.

[Arasiel]

It's for kiting. If you can stand still, your rotation at your level should be Thunder to lay down the DoT, spamming Fire (where the Astral Fire buff will increase your damage) until you run out of MP, and then Transpose and spam Blizzard (so that the Umbral Ice buff will replenish your MPs) until your MPs are full again, and then Transpose again and start back into Fire (Transpose can be skipped if it's not back up yet--later on you'll get better tools that will allow you to dispense with Transpose in the rotation). Reapply Thunder when the DoT debuff wears. Scathe is not part of your standard rotation; it's inferior to the Fire/Ice cycle but since it's instant, you can cast it on the move.

Ok, I wasnt quite sure but playing with a Gamepad skills are filling up bars and I didn't wanna over complicate things.

[Conradus]

In PS3.
I did Fire - Scathe - Transpose - Bliz - Scathe - Transpose I think.
I basically never have a cooldown but I didn't get far.

Using Scathe in the Fire half of your cycle means your Astral Fire buff isn't increasing your damage like it will with Fire. Scathe is also a rotten replacement for Blizzard in a standard rotation, as Blizzard does more damage for less MP (and ensures you don't accidentally drop your Umbral Ice buff).

[Conradus]

Scathe is by no means useless, though. By using a Blizzard-->Scathes-->Blizzard-->Scathes cycle, you can continually hit a mob while effectively kiting him, the Blizzards keeping him Heavied while the Umbral Ice buff keeps your MPs up, and the Scathes inflicting damage while you kite him. This isn't something you'd do in a party, where you're expecting the tank to hold on to the mob, but is useful in some solo situations.

[Orophin]

I typically only use Scathe when I'm on the move, but it has its uses at lower levels when you can't just simply swap from Astral 3 < > Umbral 3 using Fire 3 and Blizzard 3.

[Damjo]

Later on you get a trait that will occasionally double the damage of scathe. But yeah, useful for kiting, and FATES with lots of mobs so you can get hits in and not wait for casting times when switching enemies and finishing off near dead/weak enemies

[Arasiel]

Later on you get a trait that will occasionally double the damage of scathe. But yeah, useful for kiting, and FATES with lots of mobs so you can get hits in and not wait for casting times when switching enemies and finishing off near dead/weak enemies

Good call! Much easier to instant cast Scathe on a target to tab it for FATE instead of a 2.5sec ramp up where the target may be dead before the cast ends.

[Arasiel]

Also another quick question, does Fire 3 completely take over Fire 2? As in should Fire 2 just be removed off the bar?