The Imperial Order has cleared Quartermaster Bulo (HM/8) @ 9:15pm EST. Congratulations to everyone on their progress so far! Also, I had not yet uploaded videos of our HM/8 Sparky and Malaphar clears from December 18.

I would completely disagree with the advice to "don't open Parsec" when attempting to become a better healer. The OP is specifically asking how to become a better healer for HM and NM operations. Anyone who's planning on healing NM 3.0 operations better be at the absolute top of their game when they launch. If HM TR and ToS are any indication, it's going to be brutal. Parsing programs can provide many insights into the details of a healer's performance that are impossible to intuitively understand. I personally would recommend Star Parse over Parsec, as Star Parse provides important details about the interaction of the healer with all other members of the group (who are also in Star Parse, naturally.) For example, Star Parse can inform a healer as to the total percentage of time that a particular ability was up on a particular team member. An operative healer could set a goal for themselves to always have Kolto Probe up on both tanks. After a pull they can objectively evaluate how close they were able to come to 100% up-time of Kolto Probe on each of the two tanks. This can quickly help a healer to improve their performance in particular areas. Another example of valuable healer parsing information is the use of the Assassin's Shelter healing buff. Star Parse can tell you the percentage of time that a healer was buffed by Assassin's Shelter during a pull. Depending on the fight, a healer can potentially spend 90%+ of their time with that 5% healing buff on them. There's many more useful pieces of data in group parses for healers to analyze and use as a foundation to improve their performance. Effective healing percentages on every team member, effective healing percentages of each ability used, percentage of overall healing from each ability, damage taken per second by every team member. Intelligent analysis of group parse data by healers provides valuable insights into improving their performance.

186 set pieces (Dread Master) is a nightmare difficulty level of gear. The Developer's past policy has been that nightmare rewards (set bonuses, shells, mounts and titles) are never available though any other content channel. The incentive for players to work to improve their gameplay enough that they are able to clear nightmare operations is that they are provided access to rewards that are only available through those boss clears. An advantage of this system is that the rewards are never removed either. I know of plenty of players who were not skilled enough to clear nightmare TFB and S&V at Level 55, but are trying to clear them now at Level 60 for their sets of Kell Dragon (174) shells. If NM rewards were shifted into the HM or SM versions of the operations then the equivalent problem of "no one runs the NM versions anymore" would be created. This is part of the life cycle of an MMO. Old end-game content eventually is played less frequently by the player base as they move onto current end-game content for current rewards. Old content becomes "Classic," just as EV, KP and EC were Classic operations during the 2.0 - 3.0 stretch. TFB, S&V, DF and DP are also now Classic. Personally, I am surprised that after, literally, years of players running TFB and S&V, that people are this upset over not being able to grind them out again for the umpteenth time. There are two brand new SM operations dropping 192 set bonus gear that is heads and tails above 198 commendation gear. On The Shadowlands, at least, there are SM/8 TR and ToS groups that form in Fleet. Players should form SM/8 groups and begin working towards clearing the new operations. There will be wipes, but it's a learning process for all involved. Over time players will perform better at the new mechanics. (And yes, all SM/8 TR and ToS fights are clearable; my guild has cleared both operations every week. They also drop a tonne of unassembled tokens. Clearing all ten bosses nets 13-16 tokens.)

This idea for gear rewards would not work. You cannot give out set-bonus pieces in Flashpoints for two reasons. One, there is no lockout for Flashpoints. Players would just farm out their entire six-set in an evening, even if the drop at the end was random. I can clear HM Korriban in less than 20 minutes. Two, The new SM operations would never be run by PUGs. Players will almost always take the absolute easiest path to their goals, so only having to round up three other people and go farming Flashpoints for a few hours would leave operation runs completely dead. There has to be meaningful rewards that only operations can provide. Those are set-bonus tokens, mounts and titles. Also, as for why Dread Fortress and Dread Palace appeared to be better balanced when they were released was because there wasn't a gear reset at the same time. Players were already either appropriately geared or over-geared when DF and DP were released. With the 3.0 operations, no one could be over-geared, and only players who were clearing nightmare DF and DP bosses were appropriately geared. This results in everything appearing to be relatively harder. Finally, there was still pleanty of wiping on SM Gate Commander Draxus for at least the first three months after it was released. We're in a similar state now. The overall average gear levels of player needs to improve, and then things will become easier.

Also, the Wookie is carrying a massive wrench, hence "Torque," (a twisting force that tends to cause rotation).

If you look at the cages, they have an electricity animation across their fronts. That is what is killing tanks, whether the adds have been released from a cage or not. It's the electricity.

The steps you are following are correct. Submit a ticket to CS. The achievement popped for my guildies and I and we all collected the ghosts and talismans in different orders. No one had the Tome buff from Tattooine.

As has been mentioned by other posters in this thread, the work-around for the current version of this fight (Patch 3.0.2) is to have all players stack behind the same stalactite during Rage Storm. The main tank does not move at all once the knockback occurs. The boss will cast the cross on the tank who is jammed up against a wall and the other players can position themselves in the cross appropriately. The key is to prevent the boss from needing to walk anywhere before casting the cross. My team cleared Underlurker (SM/8) with this strategy in a one-shot yesterday with all green crosses and no extra damage.

I completed a Dragonslayer run on Sunday, before the 3.0.2 patch. The Olak fight is difficult, but clearable. My original post on the revised tanking strategy for the fight is here.

This is the correct answer. The damage from the adds is reasonable. Taking even a single tick of damage from an Orbital Strike is unacceptable. I tanked and cleared this fight yesterday on my full 192 Resurrected geared Assassin tank. I was brushed by one tick of an Orbital Strike and it hit me for 21.4k, unmitigated. Ticks of the Orbital Strikes will hit DPS and healers for more than 30k. Do not get hit by them...ever.

Was Force Leech not cleansable? Also, there was no pull mechanic in the fight, where random players would be pulled to the boss, like in the Hateful Entity encounter?

Yes, I have completed the Operation option. It bugged one week and then successfully completed the following week. After it successfully completes, you still see the cut scene of the coalition forces attacking the temple.

The damage levels on nightmare Olak are definitely up from where they were pre-3.0, but the fight is not unclearable. I completed a Dragonslayer run yesterday. I wouldn't suggest Level 55 players going in there anymore, which admittedly seems a bit silly for a Level 55 operation, but Level 60 players shouldn't have too many problems. The nightmare Olak fight definitely requires a more precise tanking strategy now. Any Assault Droids that need to be removed from the board should be purchased as soon as possible so the healers can deal with their damage more easily. The Assault Droids have to be tanked in the upper room. While in the upper room, the tanks should also be alternating taunts to keep The Wealthy Buyer aggroed on them as much as possible. Once down on the board, the tanks need to be 100% focused on minimizing their damage taken. Assault Droids need to be killed first, and the electric domes from the Artillery Droids should be kited perfectly so that tanks don't take any ticks of damage.

Post #2 is correct. Don't forget as well that there is a mission turn-in / trigger to perform after completing The Dread Fortress, before you enter The Dread Palace. The clickable object for this is on the wall right outside the phase door for The Dread Palace.

Ha! Thanks, that's exactly what I did. "Thrash" is not "head bang."

I was just browsing through my emotes and noted that "head bang" in the Dance category was locked. I know that I had previously unlocked the emote on the character I was playing. When I checked Collections, the GTN and the pack listings in the Cartel Market, I noticed that this emote was not listed anywhere. Has anyone else noticed the deletion of this emote?

DPS bird to 10% and Coratanni to 20%. Kill bird. The moment Coratanni delivers her dialogue line about the death of her bird, stop everything. Don't touch her and don't move to the escape pod. Once she is gone, count to five. Click escape pod. Works for my guild every week in SM/8.

The purpose of the stalactites is not to protect people from the knockback, or any damage associated with the knockback. You hide behind them to stop taking damage from the boss's Rage Storm AoE channeled attack which precedes the knockback. If you have a Sorcerer or Operative in you group, have them stand out in the open during Rage Storm with no healing support. They will take a boatload of damage during the channel, even in SM/8.

The history of Yavin 4 is covered in five Codex entries that are obtainable in a full clear of the Temple of Sacrifice operation. These entries cover the notable former Sith that have influenced the moon's development, including Exar Kun.

The bug may have been fixed, or at least it is not consistent. I selected the operation option and finished ToS with my PT tank twice. Last week the game didn't register the operation completion. This week it did. I have finished both the solo and operation options for The Enemy Within. To the best of my recollection, the cut scenes are, essentially, the exact same. There's a slight variation in Marr's response to you when you return from the operation option, I think. You still see the scene of the combined troops assaulting the Temple, no matter which option you choose. You also still have to go defeat Revan solo on the Forgotten Terrance to actually wrap-up the mission. So, in the end, the only significant difference with choosing the operation option is that you don't have to complete a round of Dailies and kill the named Revanite Commanders.

That boss has a soft enrage timer where the boss's damage output receives a significant boost after a specific amount of time has passed. You'll also note that the adds which appear have the prefix "enraged" in front of their names once the soft enrage has been triggered. If your DPS are not pulling the numbers needed, you'll see the enrage. It's a simple as that. I have cleared that fight many times without ever seeing the enrage. You DPS team members may be "geared," but they are lacking skill if you're seeing that enrage.

Then, flat out, and I don't mean this to be insulting, you need better group members. With the proper execution of mechanics and intelligent, skilled play from each member of the group, these HM FPs are all easily clearable. P.S. If you're seeing high damage during the add phase, that damage is not coming from the adds. It's group members taking orbital strike ticks. Those orbital strikes will hit a DPS or healer for more than 20k per tick. DO NOT GET HIT BY MARKED AoEs! They are a zero damage mechanic when dealt with properly.

Split your group into the four corners. Drop the enemy's orbital strikes on the adds to remove their shields. The two DPS each take down one add on the left in a few Globals, while popping a defensive cooldown. The tank picks up aggro on their add and taunts the healer's add onto themself, while holding the boss's aggro. The healer should only have to heal the two DPS for a few Globals, and then the tank.

The Imperial Order has finally cleared Malaphar the Savage (HM/8) @ 8:27pm EST and Sparky (HM/8) @ 8:45pm EST with a qualifying progression team. Videos linked in this post.