you misunderstand, i wasnt meaning use Valor to balance class, it was meant as a snide comment on Smash and Snipers getting buffs when they 2 of the most powerful and prevalent examples of PvP

Because that works so well for class balancing Valor is the easiest, not the best or most intelligent/imaginative. It scales the current problem back a decent amount, maybe enough to keep it under control, sure the plateaus might need tweaking, but still it has more going for it than against imo

Valor is really the easiest way to bring this problem under enough of control to stop threads like this. Its easy to ***** and moan about premades, but, as has been stated previously, they arent all elitist PUG stompers. For the ones that arent its 50/50 you come up against a better PUG and i have seen both sides of this argument far to many times to count. For the people that make a premade for the sole purpose of epeen enhancing/PUG stomping borderline griefing then surely BW can put some kind of cap on composition to prevent these guys running 5 smash 3 healer varieties, make premades over 4 people in regular warzones require a group finder type selection of who is what by class/adv class. 4 man and under premades arent that much of a problem, plenty of times ive joined a WZ and you get these 4 trying to roflstomp only to get sent back with tails tucked and then spend the rest of the match node camping. Using Valor as a further filter is the easiest way, with higher valor comes experience of warzones, knowledge of what works what doesnt who to primary etc etc ad nauseum. They dont even have to be frequent plateaus, make it every 5 valor levels in lowbie and then every 10-15 in eldergame, this would prevent m/m EWH roflstompers running round butchering fresh 50's in recruit and only half WH. This also makes the grind work for everyone, the less grind youve done the lower your valor the less your experience the less skilled players you get matched with. As you progress to gear and valor levels and with it the included experience to be able to function effectively within a better skilled pug. There will, however, always be those who just wanna go cowboy for usually no reason whatsoever, poor wz performance means lower Valor gain and more time they spend in a rut. It also helps to usher in fresh 50's to pvp without scaring them off after the first clash of teams at a node. Its not rocket surgery, think of the solution and quit ************ about the problem. There are also ways to not turn every PUG/premade engagement into a waste of time. - You could guard a node with 1 or 2 other people gaining coms that way to better your gear. - You can switch spec to try a different way of playing until your gear and experience increases. - You can roll another toon that has a different role than you and return to your first when you feel you have the experience to utilise that toon to a higher standard. - Use the time to run aimlessly around the WZ learning every nook and cranny and powerup location for later use - Try some out of the box thinking to try and gain an advantage via guile and tactics instead of brute force. The list goes on, i have found that most people who complain about premades are not fond of having to put in much effort to win the WZ HOWEVER, i will concede the point that some premades are so grossly geared that nothing can stop a roflstomp. Also, splitting Valor tiers up means new players can take time to learn at their own pace as their results determine Valor gain. How would many have reacted if you got thrown straight into champion/elite mob the moment your starter planet loaded? You gotta let people learn in their own way without having someone force their views as soon as the WZ loads, once they learn and they know the law of the land then the only way is up. Luco

Playing a Gunnery spec Mando in PvP just for the full WH set, i agree the interrupts are painful, if we dont get at least 2 grav rounds off our ramp up damage is more painful for us than who were aiming at. Stuns and stun breaks are another problem, its irritating to be taken apart by an operative because he can stun more than you can break and break more than you can stun. Squishyness, any good player can drop a Mando in short order, its like a lightsaber through melted butter in some instances, especially if you get dual smash'd or chain stunned. However. If i do not get primaried by everything red at once, i can put out very nice dps for what i get laughed at a lot for, running a gunnery spec Mando in pvp, grav round hovers around 2k non-crit and between 2.7 and 3k crit, FA has popped upto 4.5k in crit and between 2 and 3k non crits (with CoF,) Hib rarely hits below 3.5k with 5x grav stack and around 2k non grav stack and finally, Demo round, this baby goes for anything between 3k and 5.6k, 5.6 being my highest crit so far and i havent even started min/maxing or augmenting. many games i have even broken 300k damage. The potential is there, the DPS is there, skillfully you can make a Gunnery spec Mando viable in PvP just frowned upon and AT BEST, fire support, helping your team carve up the enemy with grav surges has meant that by being rooted i was the line in the sand, doesnt work always and i do get rofl stomped occasionally, but if played right in support roll and not Schwarzenegger with a minigun ala Terminator 2, you can win matches. Especially if they ignore as they are too busy with your own melee kiters who take their attention away from range

I wont speak for or against Commando viable hyrbid builds as i havent used one. But, part of getting grav round is getting curtain of fire, charged barrel, grav surge and Demo round, if you want to go grav on a hybrid i would highly recommend getting Grav Surge, you wont be doing anywhere close to decent DPs, the best you could hope for is to boost your team ever so slightly by having grav procs on imps. Against non tank spec Juggs i can burn almost anything down in Lowbie in 1 rotation with Curtain of fire proc, and the odd 3k Demo crit. You could also utilise grav rounds ok ish damage to finish off under 30% health folk. The best way would be to test it yourself, but it will split your focus and grav round has a 1.5 activation time. Luco

Hi, i am running the 27/1/13 spec, been accumulating Comms for full WH upgrade, had an idea about gear that i will post soon when i have it on DH. What stat priorities should i be aiming for with this spec? Luco