You want to be a Commando, eh?

Commando Basics
Alright, let me start off with the basics. First, and foremost, we can be ranged tankers or ranged damage dealers, or Grenadiers for that matter. But one of the most crucial things I have found in the Commando is BLOCK VALUE. Commandos are intended for blocking, rather than dodging, evading, parry etc. BLOCK CHANCE increases the chance you'll be able to block something, whereas BLOCK VALUE increases the amount you block.

Now since we don't exactly have a great amount of constitution like Jedi in some instances, it'd be wise to stack some Constitution.

Also, as a wee little reminder, this guide focuses on Heavy Weapon Specialists. In the future, I'll add something to go along with Grenadier fans

Further more, since Commando is really the only profession that isn't picky about armor types, you can wear any armor. Assault, Recon, Battle...

A nice little thing to do for your armor is

if your going for a block suit stack Precision, Strenght, and Block Value for the Basic Armor Attachments, and for the Exotic Attachments put in Critical hit reduction, Healing potency, healcost reduction or Heavy weapon damage

if your going for a DPS ( damage per second ) PVP suit stack Constitution, Percision , Luck for the dmg output or strenght for the extra defense

for the exotic attachements Devastation, Heavy weapon dmg , Heavy Weapon crit if you are in the beginning and you have no money for devastation mods u can switch them for pvp crit

Post updated in 2011 by Euth chillastra Rebel Secret Service guild << not taking credit away from the orignal poster but just adding to the mix as it was outdated

PvE and PvP?
Alot of us have a template and some equipment stacked specifically for duels. However this doesn't always ensure that you can survive in actual PvP. PvE and PvP are two aspects to keep in mind. PvE is focused on knocking down NPCs, whereas PvP is killing other players.

Basically, if you have a template and equipment that allows you to solo the Death Watch Bunker and knock out the Overlord, that just means you can tank a bunch of NPCs. Whereas with PvP, you'll have a real hard time just trying to tank a Dark Side Jedi

With the help of others, I was able to write down and devise a template that'll greatly benefit you and others, as well as enable a decent ability to maintain combat superiority in PvE and PvP.

What does help in PvE though, is stacking Glancing Blow Increase. This'll greatly decrease damage done to you per tick.

Also, I'd recommend the Juggernault Heroic Jewlry set That helps with the Riddle Armor cooldown, and offers some extra Strength and Constitution ( if you are going for pvp ) ( player versus player ) or if you just want to be a damage dealer and step away from the resposability of beeing a tank, or the Frontmans set if you are going for pve ( player versus enviroment ) and want to assume that spot as the tank

Post updated in 2011 by Euth chillastra Rebel Secret Service guild << not taking credit away from the orignal poster but just adding to the mix as it was outdated

Wait...Glancing Blow? What the heck is that?
Yeah, I've heard a few people say that Jedi are supposed to stack Glancing Blow for PvE. Well, sorry Mr. Saltine, but we all can.

This thing really helps when stacked with BV and BC. Glancing Blow dramatically decreases damage dealt to you in combat whenever you see the flytext. Think of Glancing Blows as disposable one use Stand Fasts that you have in an unlimited supply and only occurs every so often/very often. (Depending on how much you stacked)

You could just stack a bunch of Agility, but in alot of ways, it'd be a bad idea. It's best to just get the item you want, rather than the 'all in one' deal.

Back up, what about Power Ups?
I was getting to that, be patient =P

Usually I'd go with Heavy Weapon Critical Increase to up the damage output, but for PvE it would be a good idea to stack Glancing Blow Increase, which will usually help you tank gold elites, you can also use the same power ups you have on ur exotics slots as its recomended

Post updated in 2011 by Euth chillastra Rebel Secret Service guild << not taking credit away from the orignal poster but just adding to the mix as it was outdated

Templates / and weapons
as this post was outdated 

i updated it 2011 >> Euth chillastra Rebel Secret Service guild << not taking credit away from the orignal poster but just adding to the mix you can still read all the original post if you want just scroll down

this is recomended for frontman set using Block suit PVE ( player versus enviroment ) Tanking

Frontmans pve tank spec

this is recomended for Juggernault set using DPS PVP PVE ( damage per second ) ( player versus player) ( player versus enviroment ) where u can just sit back let someone else tank and you just do damage

Juggernault pvp pve dps spec

here you have and i hope it helps

also on the weapons thing its advised if you are going to tank dungeons ( pve ) to have all elements heat / cold / electric / acid and they will be required

for pvp ( player versus player ) a lava cannon or a CR-1 or the descontructable heavy weapon from GCW tokens that you buy on your faction recruiter if you are on a low budget its advised althou all of them with an exceptional core are realy good

/ / -

Ok, for the Commando side of the template, get Powered Armor, Pinpoint Shielding, Deflective Armor, Stand Fast, Improved Stand Fast, Riddle Armor, put ONE point into Improved Riddle Armor, Stim Armor, and DOT Absorbtion.

For the Assault side, get Enhanced Precision, Enhanced Constitution, the full Position Secured line, Focused Beam, Tibanna Gas, Lethal Beam, and Enhanced Fuel Canisters.

The beauty of Lethal Beam with it's nifty little enhancment is that you can lay down DOTs rapidly with a Rocket Launcher or something like it, almost as quickly as a flamer.

Powered Armor and Pinpoint Shielding you may notice increases your protections, while Deflective Armor decreases the damage dealt to you.

You may've noticed the innate ability caled AOE Resistance. If you do the calculations on paper, this ability doesn't really increase your chance to fully resist an AOE attack. So don't bother with it.

Stand Fast dramatically decreases the amount of damage dealt to you, and is further decreased with the usage of Improved Stand Fast, which also decreases the amount of time it takes for Stand Fast to 'cool down'. Also, although if you're dueling and you are losing in the duel, take great pains to avoid using Stand Fast, because it does really irritate people. I'm not just saying this on behalf of those folks, but also becuase I know what it's like when you can't do much damage but recieve a Punishing Blow's amount.

Riddle Armor decreases your enemy's armor by 500 points. Since it stacks 5 times, do 5 x 500 and you get 2500. At that point, it won't really matter what armor type your foe is wearing, because it'll be reduced to nothing. Improved Riddle Armor reduces the amount of time it takes for the ability to cool down.

Stim Armor doens't actually make your armor heal you. It's more of a Commando variant of the Medic's HoT [heal over time]. Since it is our only other heal, it is worth taking.

DOT Absorbtion reduces DOT damage dealt to you. This is especially helpful when facing another Commando, since all Commandos have the ability to lay down DOTs whenever they so please.

The Position Secured line...this greatly helps you at the cost of being stuck for a wbile. However, you get 200 extra Precision and Strength, while at the same time getting increased armor, Devastation chances, and critical hit defense, and an increased chance to lay down a critical hit.

Focused Beam is like Focused Fire only it's for Heavy Weapons. Tibanna Gas increase the innate damage output for ALL Heavy Weapons.

Lethal Beam is much the same as Focused Fire except it drains not just your enemy's health, but his action too. When added with Enhanced Fuel Canisters, you not only increase your drain amount, but also your innate ability to lay down a DOT.


 * UPDATE* I changed the guide after someone pointed out a few tips that enabled a Tanker/Damage Dealer template/equipment. And that very special thanks goes to Orvan'.

Just a heads up, this is a MULTIROLE template. It is capable in both Damage Dealing and Tanking. I've yet to try and do the whole DWB by myself with this template, so I'll get to that sometime hopefully.


 * NOTE* Most Commandos like to stack Strength to increase Block Chance and Block Value. This doesn't always bode well for them. A good strategy is to stack Precision as said above. Why? Because Commandos are naturally high in defense while low in damage output. Precision increases damage and the chance to achieve a critical hit, and a chance to strike through your opponent's armor, which will drastically increase the damage dealt to him.

Special Thanks
Special Thanks go to Sithlicher, Jellly, Op-woce, Orvan' and Griedo for their outstanding help in the creation of this guide, all of whom are fellow testers on TestCenter.