To the OP: People like that just want to be carried to victory. They don't want an actual challenge to win, just want to faceroll. 14k is fine for a Mara in pre-Champion/BM gear. Don't go off and try to Rambo your way through and things will be fine. Work with the group, coordinate, call targets, protect the healers, etc. As you gain more HP and damage reduction due to expertise, test the waters and see what you can handle. Knowing your capabilities and limitations is going to save you more times than having an extra 5-6k health. Even someone with 20k can still get burned down quick, fast and in a hurry by 3 people with lesser gear but superior communication.

To keep it short: Yes, WZ's are the only way to get Warzone Commendations. In addition, trading in Warzone Commendations is the only way to get Mercenary Commendations

I'll preface this with my characters: 50 BH: Powertech (Shield spec) 50 SI: Sorcerer (Corruption spec) 42 SW: Marauder (Annihilation spec) My Sorc has insane survivability as a heal spec 1v1. If you can survive the burst damage, you can wear down the opposition with DoTs and instants. Bubble, HoT, channeled heal, AoE HoT, etc. We have a lot of options in the healing department plus mobility and escape possibilities. My Powertech has almost zero chance 1v1 of being able to burn down a good healer. Not enough burst damage to get through the heals. The battle can drag out awhile due to tank survivability, but unless I get a few lucky crits and/or interrupt at the right time, the battle is going to the healer. My Marauder eats healers like popcorn. The constant DoT damage combined with bursts (Annihilate or Ravage if they hold still to do a long cast). Deadly Throw also cuts down the effectiveness of their heals by 20% for 15 seconds. Marauders and I would assume Sentinels are made to kill healers. I don't even have saber throw yet (30m range execute that can only be used when target is at 30% or less health) which is going to add more ka-pow to the mix at 46. Anyway, those are my impressions. Yes, healers have it good, but they are not 'god mode' by any means and CAN be taken down depending on your class, spec and playstyle.

Probably about the time mine hits 50....7.5 levels to go...

They'll get bored eventually. I have a 50 Sorc and respecc'd to healing for something else to do than shoot lightning. I also have a 50 Powertech (Shield spec) and a 41 Marauder (respecc'd to Annihilation from Carnage) that I'm moving up the chain to 50. Both are much more interesting and have a higher learning curve than the Sorc. I have a few other lowbies (29 Operative / 25 Sniper /13 Assassin) that I'll get up, too, but I like to get proficient at one class at a time to learn their strengths and weaknesses. Knowledge on the battlefield can turn the tide of a losing war.

Both are entertaining. My buddy went Light side with his Jugg (dubbed the Huggernaut as a result) and I went Dark side with my Marauder. I enjoy the Dark side more but that's just personal preference. The Light side does have some interesting convo choices if you want to be all goody goody. Feel the Force around you and make your decision.

It comes down to teamwork. In order to have Predation up the Marauder has to have 30 stacks of Fury already in order to pop it. He has to have already been fighting, gained it, then gotten into position and popped it for this scenario to work. If not, all he's got is Force Charge (30m range to enemy only) or Obliterate (10m range to enemy only) if he's Rage specc'd far enough. Intercede is a Juggernaut only skill. It comes down to right place, right time, right circumstances. Can't just pop and go on a whim, it has to be set up. Just like a Consular/Sorc near the goal line to pull the ball carrier over. It's all about teamwork and preparation for a score.

I hadn't thought about Strat or Scholo in Vanilla WoW in a long time. Those were some good times. Heh, Tarren Mill vs. Southshore on a PvP server was great (I started on Sargeras and restarted on Daggerspine --pre character transfers). The worst part was at that point I had already been playing graphical MMOs for 8 years (if you could really call UO, Meridian 59 or The Realm MMO...maybe just MO - Multiplayer Online as they lacked the Massively that is prevalent today) and found Vanilla WoW a moderate challenge. TOR is head and shoulders above where WoW was at this point in time on it's own development track. But then you'd expect it to be. The BioWare devs may have not released it with everything they should have (some missing components are glaringly obvious) but it's still coming along in a timely fashion. PvP is my chosen endgame and yes, right now, it's pretty broken. Gear distribution, gear disparity, classes with too much or not enough utility, out of control damage, etc. I have faith things will get ironed out. As of now I'm doing the dailies/weeklies to gear my 50s and leveling alts to up my Legacy levels (hit Legacy level 20 today, woo!). What I won't do is leave when another brand new game (TERA/Guild Wars 2) is released because they'll have the same kind of issues. EVERY new MMO has the same kind of issues, it's whether or not the player base will support them and give them time to correct issues. No developer is perfect and those that think the next game coming out is the one for them: You thought that about TOR as well.

Moaning about it? No, I merely said go play one to feel what it's like to be a class with practically no CC. Yes, I know how high their DPS is. Yes, I know they can go invis (for 4 seconds and you come out of it automatically after that time limit). What god mode buffs are you referring to? Cloak of Pain? Saber Ward? Undying Rage? I don't think I'd characterize any of those as "god mode" and what happens when they're on cooldown? Cloak of Pain has a 1 minute cooldown, Undying Rage has a 1.5 minute cooldown and Saber Ward has a 3 minute cooldown. You can do the math and figure out how many times you can pop them during a WZ. Cloak of Pain REQUIRES you to be beat on to extend its duration to a max of 30 seconds, otherwise, it's down in 6 seconds. Undying Rage lasts 5 seconds and is down for a minute and a half. You really want to compare those to something like Concussion Charge that the Commando gets at level 14, has a 30 second cooldown and which is a knockback AND a snare? I was commenting that if the OP wants to know what it's like to be a non-ranged class that has no instant knockback or stun abilities, he should try out the Marauder or Sentinel. I also said the Commandos and Mercs are fine as is...just like the Marauder or Sentinel. They have OTHER things that make them viable.

Go play a Marauder or Sentinel and then come back whining about lack of CC. Commandos and Mercs are fine as is.

1) Play to the objectives in WZs. 2) Heal as a healer. 3) Guard as a tank. 4) Prioritize targets as a DPS. It's so easy to be a good PvPer but many only want to be at the top of X chart during a WZ thinking that somehow makes them leet. If you do 600k damage and lose the game, you still lost. They beat you and your big numbers. Those that can post those stats while winning the WZ are the good PvPers as others learn from their example. They know their class, they know the WZ and they know what is needed to achieve victory while getting their valor/commendations/xp/cash.

Gunnery Chief: This, recruits, is a 20-kilo ferrous slug. Feel the weight. Every five seconds, the main gun of an Everest-class dreadnought accelerates one to 1.3 percent of light speed. It impacts with the force of a 38-kilotomb bomb. That is three times the yield of the city buster dropped on Hiroshima back on Earth. That means Sir Isaac Newton is the deadliest son-of-a-***** in space. Now! Serviceman Burnside! What is Newton's First Law? First Recruit: Sir! A object in motion stays in motion, sir! Gunnery Chief: No credit for partial answers, maggot! First Recruit: Sir! Unless acted on by an outside force, sir! Gunnery Chief: Damn straight! I dare to assume you ignorant *******es know that space is empty. Once you fire this hunk of metal, it keeps going till it hits something. That can be a ship, or the planet behind that ship. It might go off into deep space and hit somebody else in ten thousand years. If you pull the trigger on this, you're ruining someone's day, somewhere and sometime. That is why you check your damn targets! That is why you wait for the computer to give you a damn firing solution! That is why, Serviceman Chung, we do not "eyeball it!" This is a weapon of mass destruction. You are not a cowboy shooting from the hip! Second Recruit: Sir, yes sir!

Hey Stmp, great stream. I recently started playing a Marauder (36 now) and enjoy how much more concentration it takes as opposed to my Powertech or Sorcerer (both 50s). I, too, use the Razer Naga and picked up the Razer Nostromo last weekend. It makes things so much easier as a Marauder. I recommend taking a look since you are such a solid Marauder without it, it could only hone you into a more devastating weapon.

As a JK or SW in PvP in Ilum: 1) Pair up with a Sorc or Sage that stays on back line 2) Force Leap into the fray and whack-a-mole 3) Sorc/Sage extracts - bubbles and heals back to full 4) Repeat 2 and 3. 5) Daily completed. Weekly completed. Valor Ranks attained. Myself as a Sorc and my buddy as a Juggernaut have concluded that this is a solid strategy and prevents boredom for the melee during large scale Ilum fights. He was about ready to quit playing the Jugg until I said: hey, why don't we try this?

How about Southshore / Tarren Mill before BGs were introduced? Good times!

Since someone at BioWare believes that bags are the best way to distribute gear to PvPers, I would like to propose some possible changes. A) Put a change into the random item if then statement that looks at your equipment and notes items you ALREADY have from that set. The lowered chance of pulling a piece out is fine, but please make it so you don't get dupes. I know some would argue that you can get two sets (for different specs) and that's all well and good, but personally, I'd rather finish one before starting on another (i.e.: Powertech tank set before Powertech DPS set). Which is taken care of with the commendations. B) Don't give RNG out at all. Instead, increase the number of commendations to 20 Cent 10 Champ per bag. Simple and you don't feel like you're playing the lotto, but rather have a clear and defined goal. I don't like this as much as option A, but I know some out there would so I figured I would throw it out there. C) Have 3 types of bags. Centurion, Champion and Battlemaster. Centurion give 20 commendations per bag with a chance at a Centurion piece. Champion give 20 commendations per bag with a chance at a Champion piece. Battlemaster bags give 20 commendations per bag with a chance at a Battlemaster piece. Centurion bags have a requirement of level 40 and rank 40 valor. Champion bags have a requirement of level 50 and rank 50 valor. Battlemaster bags have a requirement of level 50 and rank 60 valor. Those are all I can think of at the moment to improve the bag situation. The current bags work, but the system still needs some tweaks.

In my experience with TOR so far (I have a 50 SI: Sorcerer, 50 BH: Powertech, 34 SW: Marauder, 28 IA: Operative, 25 IA: Sniper) I have noticed that people abandon games pretty early if the other team shows greater coordination/playing to the objectives. They don't allow time for their team to regroup, reorganize and turn the tide. The main reason for this, I would venture, would be a lack of time to play and/or just general impatience on the Battlemasters parts. There is such a small reward window once you reach the Battlemaster stage of PvP'ness that they feel it's a waste of their time to try and help a team pull it out of the fire. I'm only speculating because I haven't reached Battlemaster on either of my 50s yet (my Sorc is closest at rank 44 with most of the Champion set - missing head, legs and main hand weap). I really can't blame them, though, barring the exploiters that used the Ilum bug the legitimate Battlemasters clawed their way to the top. Unless the other people in the WZ were part of my guild I would feel no obligation to pull them along to a win if they demonstrated ultra noobiness. I have only left 2 WZs so far because it was readily apparent that no one besides myself was playing to win. I tell ya, though, nothing beats that feeling of watching your pug team coalesce into a weapon and demolish a premade. Those are the WZs I live for.

The reason Sorcs/Sages are OP in PvP: The are highly visible. Perception has a lot to do with the whole "Sorcs/Sages are OP" crowd. Lightning, TT, bubbles, pulls, etc. Sorcs/Sages aren't about burst DPS, they are about sustained DPS. Whether it is a channeled ability or a DoT. If you don't follow the trail to them and take them out, yes, they will probably pwn you. Why? Because you didn't do anything about an enemy that was out to destroy you. Same could be said about any other ranged DPS class. If you let a Sniper/Gunslinger make you an easy target, you deserve to get pwned. Those classes are about burst damage and big crits, though, unlike the Sorcs/Sages. The sheer amount of Sorcs/Sages also feeds into the whole "they are OP" mentality. If you have half a dozen of ANY class primary'ing you with no backup, you'll get pwned as well. Bottom line: It's more about population than actual ability. If you had dozens of Scoundrels/Operatives swarming around, people would be QQing just as hard.

Play to have fun. The rest is secondary. If you aren't having fun then it's a chore/job. Do you really want to pay money to do something you don't enjoy? I'd pass. And yes, the reward system BioWare came up with isn't the way it should be, don't let it stop you from competing and having a good time. Also, don't ruin other people's fun by AFK'ing. WZs are team games and if you screw up other people's fun that are part of your faction on your server, good luck finding help for completing things later on.

I'm going to pistol whip the next person that says shenanigans.

Planetside 2 will be out this year. Skill-based FPS MMO with character progression and open world PVP objectives. /thread

Resolve bar? I thought it was the gang bang bar.

You realize it's the same thing for the Powertech - Shield tree - Rocket Jump and the SW and JK with Force Leap for that matter, right? You close the distance, if their knockback is up, they will use it...or CC you...or slow you...whatever. Just because you go up 5 tiers in a tree doesn't mean the skill is the end all and be all. It is another tool in your arsenal, not an I WIN button. Yes, I have a Powertech and a Marauder. Yes, it sucks when they knock you back right when you get there. You Grapple them to you or Force Choke or whatever and the fight continues. Something to think about: If they didn't have some way to knock you back/down or stun you or Force Speed away, then it'd be them crying for a nerf of the Vanguard.

Okay, here are some numbers to look at: Mission Spent Gained Net Moderate Class 6 1415 1615 200 Rich Class 5 2025 2451 426 Abundant Class 6 1485 2131 646 Moderate Class 6 1415 1758 343 Moderate Class 6 1415 1183 -232 Abundant Class 6 1485 2181 696 Rich Class 5 2025 1798 -227 Abundant Class 6 1485 1340 -145 Moderate Class 6 1415 1329 -86 Abundant Class 6 1485 1801 316 Rich Class 5 2025 2119 94 Abundant Class 6 1485 1866 381 Rich Class 5 1930 2669 739 Abundant Class 6 1485 1400 -85 It's been reduced to ashes now. No reason to run the missions at all. Just go for the boxes as you're questing. At least that way you are guaranteed a positive return.

Waa waa waa...wait...I got in at 7:10am EST...why am I here again? Back to the game!