SWTOR - Insane Force - The Global Cooldown

Updated for SWTOR 7.4a

12/26/2023

What is the Global Cooldown?

The global cooldown is simply the time it takes for an instant-cast ability activation to finish before another can be activated.

Every character you have in the game has a base global cooldown. You activate an instant-cast ability, a certain amount of time goes by before you can activate another.

Some class specs have abilites that can speed up your character's global cooldown for a specified period of time. An operative healer has "Stim Boost" which will temporarily shorten the global cooldown allowing faster cast times and a faster rotation.

Some class specs via a carefully orchestrated rotation can "proc" a faster global cooldown resulting in faster cast times.

So what are the bottom lines regarding global cooldowns?

Your character's base global cooldown determines your characters base rotation speed.
Your character's ability activated global cooldown boost provides one avenue of "burst" in your DPS, EHPS or THREAT output.
Your character's rotation "procs" that speed up the global cooldown provides another avenue of "burst" in your DPS, EHPS or THREAT output.

At a minimum you want to establish a BASE global cooldown for your character.

What are the Global Cooldown Tiers

1.0 /s GCD - (0.0955 to 1.0444 Raw GCD) *
1.1 /s GCD - (1.0955 to 1.1044 Raw GCD) *
1.2 /s GCD - (1.1955 to 1.2044 Raw GCD) *
1.3 /s GCD - (1.2955 to 1.3044 Raw GCD) **
1.4 /s GCD - (1.3955 to 1.4044 Raw GCD) **
1.5 /s GCD - (1.4955 to 1.5044 Raw GCD) **
1.6 /s GCD - (1.5045 to 1.6044 Raw GCD) ***
1.7 /s GCD - (1.6045 to 1.7044 Raw GCD) ***

* These are simply not attainable within your stat budget

** These are the ones that most characters are working with.

*** The experts on Fleet will say, "It doesn't exist in the game..." - the Test Dummy on your personal starship and Starparse say otherwise.

What Are The Current "SWTOR Theorycrafting" Published Thresholds For The Global Cooldown?

Using the graphic provided at http:www.grophets.com/ask/alacrity-thresholds-for-7-0/ . . .

It is important to understand the following for the GCD Thresholds noted in the graphic:

The 1.4 /s GCD has an Alacrity Rating of 7.15%
The 1.3 /s GCD has an Alacrity Rating of 15.38%

So Why Do You Have This Webpage On The Global Cooldown?

The "Theorycrafting" chart shown above is actually CORRECT under the following conditions:

YOU live on the East Coast of the United States.
YOU have VERY LOW network latency to the Server.
YOU do NOT experience overloaded network routers between YOU and the Server.
YOU are NOT experiencing LOST packets and/or packet RESENDS between YOU and the Server.

Under those conditions, having your characters set as shown in the graphic will likely result in the GCD that you are aiming for 90% or more of the time.

Your gameplay will be smooth, your rotation will likely be fine with no odd quickbar behaviors or ability activation anomalies.

However, not everyone lives on the East Coast of the United States and not everyone enjoys 11ms or 19ms latency to the Server.

The "Real World" Problem With The Global Cooldown for Midwest USA, West Coast USA and Asia/Pacific Players

THEY DO NOT live on the East Coast of the United States.
THEY have MODERATE network latency to the Server (Midwest and West Coast Players).
THEY have HIGH network latency to the Server (Asia/Pacific Players).
THEY have 12, 15 or even 17 network routers between THEM and the Server.
THEY suffer occasional to frequent PACKET LOSS and PACKET RESENDS between THEIR Game Client and the Server.

So what is the result?

They DO NOT have the 1.4 /s GCD or 1.3 /s GCD that they are aiming for in accordance with the SWTOR Theorycrafting charts!!!

Bottom-Line: You really don't know what YOUR Global Cooldown is unless YOU do your own testing!

How Do I Determine My Current GCD?

Via the Legacy menu purchase the Test Dummy for your ship.
Install Starparse.
Open Starparse and put it in "Parse" mode only.
Stand directly in front of your starship Operations Test Dummy.
Micro spam a keyboard key or mouse button for an Instant-Cast No-Cost ability 40 times.

Once you are done counting 40 activations visually on your ability bar . . . STOP ! ! !

Pull up Starparse, and switch to the "Combat Log" tab. Scroll down to the bottom and find the last activation. Look at the timestamp on it.

The formula is:

( Last Activation Timestamp ) / ( 40 Activations - 1 Activation ) = Raw GCD

Run the test 3-4 times and look for a consistent result.

Note: You can also upload your logs to your account at http://parsely.io for third party verification. They include a "GCD" tab for Test Dummy uploads.

What Am I Looking For In My Results?

"x.25" or "x.37" or "x.48" <--- Considerable Waste of Alacrity Points
"x.29" or "x.39" or "x.49" <--- Minimal Waste of Alacrity Points
"x.303" or "x.401" or "x.502" <--- Almost Perfect Assignment of Alacrity Points

How Do I Change My Global Cooldown?

As I just hinted above, you change your global cooldown via Alacrity Points.

The major way to change Alacrity Points is via the Enhancements in your modifiable gear and via Earpieces and Implants.

The most common way to change Alacrity Points is by using Alacrity Augments on your character's gear. This method is the most common as it allows for smaller changes and makes it easier to keep wasted points to a minimum.

You will know when you have achieved a targeted GCD when you have the consistent RAW GCD Results you are looking for AND you also get a correlating change in the following:

- Force Regen Rate
- Heat Dissipation Rate
- Energy Regen Rate
- Energy Cell Regen Rate

What Should I Be Careful About?

There will be people on Fleet claiming that "this many alacrity points will get you a 1.3 GCD..."

Ignore those people, that's the "Magic Number" "Kool Aid" or "Religion" that keeps getting passed around.

Always...always...do your own GCD verification on your Test Dummy in your personal starship.

The biggest and most important thing to watch out for is the Guild Flagship Zeal Bonus Set perk!!!

That bonus set gives a 5% Alacrity boost to characters in the guild and can radically change your GCD and the number of Alacrity Points required to obtain a GCD Tier.

Finally, watch out for endgame Bonus Gear sets. Some provide a 2% alacrity boost and can also radically change your GCD and the number of Alacrity Points required to obtain a GCD Tier.

Do You Have Any Examples To Provide Of Character GCDs?

Level 80 Sample GCD Chart For West Coast USA (Work in Progress)

Make sure you view the section after that explains HOW TO FIX your characters WITHOUT SACRIFICING too much CRITICAL POINTS.

Class and Specification	1.6 GCD Details	1.5 GCD Details	1.4 GCD Details	1.3 GCD Details	Note
Sorcerer - Madness		7.4a Patch Hyde & Zeek 341 Rating w/ 286 Augs 3644 Alacrity Points 11.48% Alacrity Rating 8.92 /s Force Regen Rate 1.410 /s Raw GCD Result No Flagship Alacrity Bonus			Madness Sorcerers do not have any built-in Alacrity bonus. Tested @ 95ms latency from San Jose, California, USA This character in this configuration has a DIRTY 1.4 /s GCD that experiences a 1.4 /s GCD only 74% of the time during GCD testing. Parse - See GCD Tab However, it is at this configuration with 1743 critical points that this character gets its highest DPS: 2,000,000 Parse @ 27,659 DPS
Sorcerer - Madness			7.4a Patch Hyde & Zeek 341 Rating w/ 286 Augs 4150 Alacrity Points 12.68% Alacrity Rating 9.01 /s Force Regen Rate 1.403 /s Raw GCD Result No Flagship Alacrity Bonus		Madness Sorcerers do not have any built-in Alacrity bonus. Tested @ 95ms latency from San Jose, California, USA This provides for a smoother rotation for players far out from the server with higher latency - BUT - with a very high sacrifice in critical points. Parse - See GCD Tab However, it is at this configuration with only 1237 critical points that this character suffers a drop in DPS: 2,000,000 Parse @ 25,642 DPS
Mercenary - Arsenal			7.4a Patch Hyde & Zeek 341 Rating w/ 286 Augs 2888 Alacrity Points 12.53% Alacrity Rating 5.63 /s Heat Dissapation Rate Rate 1.398 /s Raw GCD Result No Flagship Alacrity Bonus		Gunnery Commandos and Arsenal Mercenaries have a built-in 3% Alacrity bonus. Tested @ 95ms latency from San Jose, California, USA This provides for a smoother rotation for players far out from the server with higher latency - BUT - with a moderate sacrifice in critical points. Parse - See GCD Tab
Sorcerer - Corruption			7.4a Patch Hyde & Zeek 339 Rating w/ Gold 300 Augs 5587 Alacrity Points + Zeal Alacrity Bonus 20.68% Alacrity Rating 9.65 /s Force Regen Rate 1.316 /s Raw GCD Result Flagship Zeal Alacrity Bonus		Corruption Sorcerers do not have any built-in Alacrity bonus. Tested @ 95ms latency from San Jose, California, USA This character in this configuration has a DIRTY 1.3 /s GCD that experiences a 1.3 /s GCD 66.6% of the time and a 1.4 /s GCD 33.3%% of the time during GCD testing. All global cooldown instances are between 1.22 /s and 1.4 /s. Parse - See GCD Tab
Gunslinger - Sharpshooter			7.4a Patch Hyde & Zeek 339 Rating w/ 286 Augs 3934 Alacrity Points 12.13% Alacrity Rating 5.61 /s Energy Regen Rate Standing 6.73 /s Energy Regen Rate Crouched 1.404 /s Raw GCD Result No Flagship Alacrity Bonus		Tested @ 95ms latency from San Jose, California, USA This provides for a smoother rotation for players far out from the server with higher latency - BUT - with a huge sacrifice in critical points. Parse - See GCD Tab

How To Fix Your Character's DPS or HPS Performance Without Excessively Sacrificing Critical Points

Option 1: The Pay To Win Solution

A. Put your character in a guild that uses the Guild Flagship +5% Alacrity Perk.

This will allow you to set your GCD with a minimal amount of points in Alacrity.
You will get to keep most of your points in Critical.
Downside: YOU LOSE THE PERK in Master Mode Operations and Flashpoints AND PVP.

B. Put your character in a guild that uses the Guild Flagship +5% Critical Perk.

This will allow you to set your GCD with whatever points you need in Alacrity.
The Flagship Critical Perk will make up for the lost points you took away from Critical.
Downside: YOU LOSE THE PERK in Master Mode Operations and Flashpoints AND PVP.

Of the two noted above, "B" is the best one to exercise.

Option 2: The Personal Bankruptcy Solution

Grind away like a slave for crafting materials and tech fragments.
Grind away at operations, heroics and weeklies for credits.
Spend real money on Cartel Packs to sell items from for credits.
Waste crafting materials learning schematics.
Make OR Buy 14 x 300 Rating Gold Augments.
Set your Alacrity and Critical points as needed.

. . . and proceed to wallow in misery as you are probably bankrupt!

Option 3: The "Happy Middle" Solution

Note: You can actually do ABOVE AVERAGE to HIGH DPS and HPS with a SLIGHTLY UNSTABLE GCD

Step 1: Use the "SWTOR Theorycrafting Chart" as a starting point.

Check your character details for whichever applies:

1.4 /s GCD = 7.15% Alacrity Rating
1.3 /s GCD = 15.38% Alacrity Rating

Make certain your character has at least the noted Alacrity Rating as a percentage.

Step 2: Pay Special Attention to "Rate" in your character details.

Examples:

Arsenal Mercenary / Gunnery Commando @ 7.15% Alacrity Rating = 8.36 /s Heat Dissapation Rate OR Energy Cell Regen Rate
Marksmanship Sniper / Sharpshooter Gunslinger (STANDING) @ 7.15% Alacrity Rating = 8.36 /s Energy Regen Rate
Hatred Assassin / Serenity Shadow @ 7.15% Alacrity Rating = 8.53 /s Force Regen Rate

Step 3: Bump - Test - Bump - Test - Bump - Test (3X)

Hatred Assassin / Serenity Shadow Example:

BUMP up Alacrity until you BUMP up to 8.61 /s Force Regen Rate
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy
AVERAGE RESULT = __________ DPS

BUMP up Alacrity until you BUMP up to 8.71 /s Force Regen Rate
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy
AVERAGE RESULT = __________ DPS

BUMP up Alacrity until you BUMP up to 8.81 /s Force Regen Rate
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy
AVERAGE RESULT = __________ DPS

BUMP up Alacrity until you BUMP up to 8.91 /s Force Regen Rate
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy
AVERAGE RESULT = __________ DPS

BUMP up Alacrity until you BUMP up to 9.01 /s Force Regen Rate
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy
AVERAGE RESULT = __________ DPS

After you are done, answer the following question:

This character's best DPS occurs at ________ Alacrity Points for __.____ /s Force Regen Rate.

Marksmanship Sniper / Sharpshooter Gunslinger - (STANDING) - Example:

BUMP up Alacrity until you BUMP up to 5.41 /s Energy Regen Rate
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy (CROUCHED)
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy (CROUCHED)
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy (CROUCHED)
AVERAGE RESULT = __________ DPS

BUMP up Alacrity until you BUMP up to 5.51 /s Energy Regen Rate
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy (CROUCHED)
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy (CROUCHED)
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy (CROUCHED)
AVERAGE RESULT = __________ DPS

BUMP up Alacrity until you BUMP up to 5.61 /s Energy Regen Rate
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy (CROUCHED)
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy (CROUCHED)
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy (CROUCHED)
AVERAGE RESULT = __________ DPS

BUMP up Alacrity until you BUMP up to 5.71 /s Energy Regen Rate
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy (CROUCHED)
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy (CROUCHED)
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy (CROUCHED)
AVERAGE RESULT = __________ DPS

BUMP up Alacrity until you BUMP up to 5.81 /s Energy Regen Rate
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy (CROUCHED)
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy (CROUCHED)
Do the 2 Million HP Test on the Operations Training Dummy (CROUCHED)
AVERAGE RESULT = __________ DPS

After you are done, answer the following question:

This character's best DPS occurs at ________ Alacrity Points for __.____ /s Energy Regen Rate.

Explanation:

What you are basically doing is taking your character's "Rate" and pushing it to the nearest "x.x1", then "x.y1" and then "x.z1".

The initial cost will be approximately 100 Alacrity points . . . and run as much as 1100 Alacrity points total at the 3rd Bump.

This will take a character with a very unstable GCD and push 'em to about 80 to 90 percent of the targetted GCD Tier.

Somewhere at one of the Bumps - you will find your sweet spot for DPS without sacrificing too much from Critical points.

The above procedures are exactly how MrRabbit achieved 29187.24 DPS on his Hatred Assassin:

ZiRabbit - Hatred Assassin - 336 Hyde & Zeek Modded Gear / 286 Augments / BiS Implants / Two-Time Trouble Tactical @ 8.71 /s Force Regen Rate

Thanks for dropping by!

=8-)

SrRabbit - GM - Insane Force