An "active" account was not a requirement in the past. I unsubbed once securing my two top 3s in season 14 and had to "activate" my characters when logging in to check for rewards. I received gold rewards, but not top 3. I suspect this was the issue, and these requirements were not communicated until after rewards went out. I appreciate your communication with us, the players, but it would've been nice to know these hidden requirements beyond getting 160 wins/rating/not being banned before the season started to avoid this debacle of top 3 rewards not being handed out fairly. The choice to give team ranked top 3s to solo ranked players for the first time is bizarre but I know that's not a decision you made.

It's pretty clear the process to award Top 3s failed this season, and rather than taking accountability and getting rewards to the people who qualified, we get this from BW. Easily the most disingenuous gold post related to PVP I've ever seen.

You should end the ranked season on the original December date. Players have earned where they're at and deserve receiving their rewards- extending a season by 2 months 1 week before it was due to end seriously hurts the competitive aspect of the format, particularly platinum rewards. I'd prefer to see a longer pre-season where new players can practice and gain skills to hit the ground running in the following season. I also believe that if the season isn't ended as originally planned, the ranked population will be relatively low from the original December date to February 15th, leading to easy wintrading and queue manipulation opportunities for players who didn't earn their rewards during the actual season.

The op wants to squelch an entire population while they play ranked. This thread is for comedic value, typing six paragraphs of why the idea is absurd is not worth anyone's time.

Don't you love being bronzesplained to? ralphieceaser has got solo ranked all figured out, enlightening us on the REAL ISSUES from his 1100 elo perch.

The single biggest problem in ranked isn't the players, it's Bioware's total abdication of its responsibility to provide some form of moderation. I've played ranked for a very long time, since pre-season 8v8 ranked. I have never seen us go this long without moderation (1+ year, most of season 13 and all of season 14 to date). No bans, no queue locks, even for a select few players who disrupt the queue on a daily basis despite the best efforts of a large number of players to submit detailed reports. Vote kick was removed, and rightfully so, because BW recognized players shouldn't moderate ranked, but that was only the right call if they themselves moderate their game. They have utterly failed, it's absolutely pitiful, and it's caused potentially irreparable damage to ranked population.

As virtually all of the dedicated pvp crowd has shifted to Discord/Twitch from these forums over the past couple years, the audience here has gotten more and more niche (and not in a good way). I'm honestly amazed at your patience in engaging with some of the folks here, many of whom are playing pazaak without a full deck of cards.

If you want to tank in solo ranked, I'd first suggest the right gear, it makes a huge difference as a tank: Forcebound armor set bonus Grit Teeth Tactical Fully augmented Dps mods and enhancements > mitigation mods and enhancements After getting the right gear, here are the fundamentals you need to focus on to be successful in solos as a new tank: 1.) Swap guard to your teammate being focused as quickly as you can. Most of the time, the enemy team will swap between 2 targets on your team (i.e. they will damage your sniper, then when you guard sniper will damage your merc, and back to sniper when merc has guard). Tip: Make the health bars on your ops frame large so it's easier to see who's being damaged 2.) Stay in guard range of your teammate being focused 3.) Use your dcds correctly - ED, Fake Health (Enure), Reflect, Single & AOE taunt, Saber Ward, Mad Dash, Med Pac & Adrenal all help you take a lot of damage 4.) Try to contribute some damage to whichever 1-2 targets your team is trying to kill, but it's your secondary focus as a new tank Vote kick was removed last season, btw. Most of the complaints and toxicity in solo ranked about "bot tanks" are directed at those who show up without a set bonus and swap guard at a lethargic pace (if they swap guard at all). If you try to get better at each of the fundamentals I listed above every game you play, silver tier (around 1300 elo) on jug tank is a realistic goal for this season for you with practice and analyzing your own mistakes each game.

I have a few of the target markers keybound and use them regularly, for example when I press "/" it puts a Crosshair on the target. I'm struggling to see why you would be asking to have this on your quickbar. Target marking has no cooldown so as long as you can remember what you've bound your markers to in preferences there's no reason to have them take up valuable space on your quickbar. Let me know if I'm missing something in your question.

My dad is the CEO of Bioware and he says you're full of bantha poodoo.

Guard breaking temporarily while the tank is stunned or mezzed... only someone that plays regs exclusively could dream up something so game-breaking in ranked. A single healer cannot nullify 2-3 competent dps. Notice I didn't say "good", the bar is lower. You cannot balance the game around the average dps in regs who probably utilizes 50-75% of their GCDs, has low awareness of opponent DCDs, plays at low APM and doesn't really understand how to optimize their damage rotation. TTK overall is fine, the forcebound and grit teeth combo is not - especially in regs. But first you have to bring AP PT dps into line, because focebound and grit teeth is the only thing keeping pvp tanking viable in ranked vs the obscene damage that AP PTs can put out, and to a lesser extent Pyro PT and lethality operatives.

There used to be something like this: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=902318 But it definitely takes work to maintain by the OP.

I've listed how these targets are commonly used (which is probably the better word than "accepted") from my observations. There's still a ton of personal preference here, but by and large this is a good guideline for new players. Crosshair, gun, and fire have always meant kill, not cc or ignore, for example. If someone on your team is marking, it's to provide a helpful visual aid that any player, especially a new one, will benefit from. I considered before posting this that it might just be "Caprica's preference of how to use markers" but I've seen a lot of players this season use them the way I've outlined above both in my games and in streams where I'm not in the games.

I play both DM and SF and these are how the target markers are commonly used - I'd imagine it's the same for the other servers as well!

I've seen a lot of newer players in solo ranked in the past few weeks, which is great. For any that happen to see this, target markers are used as an easy visual reminder of the kill order called before the round starts. I've outlined below how they're most commonly used: Crosshair: Primary Kill Target, the player we're going to focus first - this is the most important one. Fire, Gun or Saber can be used to mark the second kill target If there is guard in the game (either from a tank or a dps guarding) your team will usually swap between the primary and secondary kill target - whoever doesn't have guard at the time. Star is the most common target marker for the "cc target". The player we're using abilities like flashbang, whirlwind, and concussion missile on to reduce their healing/damage output without attacking them. Typically used on healers, operative dps, or ranged dps. Try not to dot, AOE, or directly damage these targets. Lightning and less frequently Cog are also used for this purpose. Shield should only ever be used to optionally mark a tank, typically in matches that have a tank and healer where someone may want to control or knockback the tank out of guard range. In most solo ranked matches, 3 targets will be marked - with a kill order that sounds like this "PT > Sniper, cc Sorc". In this case, we would put Crosshair on the PT, Fire on the Sniper, Star on the Sorc, and leave the 4th member of their team unmarked - usually the last player to focus. Using and understanding the markers above will help avoid confusion and increase the amount of games you win by helping your team stick to a kill order. Good luck in the queue!

Arsenal Merc is your best bet. It has strong heal-based DCDs that help you absorb or reflect damage which means even if your positioning or kiting isn't great, you can still take a lot of damage and deal a decent amount too at the same time. Plus as you get more experience, the class offers you ways to have a bigger impact (ex: you can cleanse flash bang on your teammates, you can interrupt and CC the opposing healer or ranged dps, etc.). I wouldn't recommend IO, the damage isn't better in most pvp situations and it has dot spread which interferes with your team's ability to cc. The other ranged dps classes, Sorc and Sniper, are more difficult to play because their DCDs revolve around creating space between you and the opposition, rather than absorbing damage. Positioning and kiting is much more important, and it's hard to do that well without a lot of experience in solo ranked.

One of the real issues I have with this forum and why I rarely come here anymore is the abundance of people offering their misinformed opinions as if they are solid fact. Double AP hasn't been meta in TR for months now, let alone "unbeatable" and you would know this if you actually played the format you are trying to give balance advice on. The best NA team runs Engineering/AP, and the best EU team runs Vengeance/AP. Both teams have done very well against double AP, and their win/loss reflects that. AP is certainly overtuned, especially given how easy it is to play, but players have worked around it and double AP is nowhere near "unbeatable". To your other points, solo ranked 4 dps games offer something distinctly different from TR, and are the most enjoyable games to me in the solo queue. These aren't "practice" for TR, they uniquely test your ability to survive and adapt without the safety of tank and heals babysitting your health bar. Removing SR as an idea shouldn't be taken seriously, nor that its only purpose is to serve as a stepping stone to TR.

105% accuracy gives you enough accuracy for the natural 5% defense chance all non-sorcs have. Certain classes will get further defense chance (sorcs +10% total defense, sniper in cover +20% ranged defense, fury mara +10% defense for 6 seconds after furious strike, etc.). For ranked though, I wouldn't take 110% accuracy. If you can play around certain cooldowns you will do more dps with higher crit than 110% accuracy. As close to 1214 alacrity without going under (1.4 sec GCD) Aim for 3000-3500 crit depending on your preference, rest goes into versatile augments Amps: Weapon Expertise is marginally better than Armor Pen for Arsenal PvP. Armor Pen is marginally better for Arsenal PvE Tactical: Primed Ignition for sustained dps, Burning Bright for burst or if other team has lots of operatives/sins. Life warden is good situationally if you know you will be focused first. Never take that aoe fusion missile tactical. Set bonus: Apex Predator set if you have it, concentrated fire if you don't Utilities: Stronger Kolto, Reduced CD on Reactive shield, and Reactive Shield Heal are all mandatory, or you won't last long in the arena. Following these tips will get you on the front foot, then it's a matter of how good your kiting, damaging, and decision making skills are for how you will actually perform in ranked.

Marksman is the better choice most of the time. Virulence is interesting because it has the best defensives and worst offensives of the sniper specs for pvp. 70% slow after roll, 5 second longer ballistic shield, DR after shield probe breaks, etc. are all very useful for staying alive. The problem is you have no burst at all, and cull is heavily LOS dependent so it's easy for your opponents to line. Sins and ops can purge your dots fairly regularly as well. Spreading dots also prevents your team from cc'ing targets (bigger issue in ranked than regs). Marksman with the Agitating Energies tactical is actually a better version of virulence offensively in pvp, you may want to give that a try if you like the viru playstyle. Refraction point is an excellent aoe cleave tactical, and B-O Targeting is your go-to for burst and mobility.

Anni and Fury are both better for pve. Fury way better than both for pvp. I used to love playing carnage in pve but in its current state there are just much better options sadly. Not to say you *can't* clear content in carnage, but you'll have an easier time in Anni. Personally I think Carnage in its current state is pretty boring to play too unfortunately, very spammy with Fanged God Form. I've been hoping for a significant buff to Carnage for over a year now, we'll see.

For dps, arsenal and concealment are very consistent performers and don't require a ton of experience to be good with. Both have excellent dcds and an easy damage rotation, with some nice group utilizes like mez and cleanse. I usually recommend Arsenal to new or less experienced solo ranked players as it's one of the more forgiving classes defensively and offensively. Fury maras excel against opposition that chases ineffectively. The playstyle is very... unique when equipped with Defel Spliced Genes tactical in that you run all over the map trying to out of combat heal. Fairly gimmicky imo, and not a top tier class in the current state of the meta against good players. AP is the most straightforward dps class - go in and do as much damage as possible before you die (you are virtually always focused first before any other class). The main difference here is APs that run Meteor Brawler tend to die in 15-30 seconds, while PTs running Emergency Power can reliably live longer, but not that long. Since crossguard was nerfed I wouldn't consider these a top spec in dps games anymore, but they are absolutely top tier in heal/dps games due to the raw damage outpout with powerlode tactical. Lightning and Marksman in my opinion have the highest skill cap and carry-potential for 4 dps games. Both are very unforgiving though, and even an average player at these specs will often die fairly easily. Would not recommend for less experienced solo ranked players. Deception is also a fairly high-skill cap class, and brings a ton of utility to the table with more stuns than any other class along with two stealth outs per round to heal. The raw damage is fairly meh though since maul spam was nerfed. A well-played deception can help shut down the other team while providing many stun chains for your burst dps to kill a target. Would not recommend playing jug dps in the current meta - poor survivability and cleave-y damage that doesn't help a lot in getting that first kill. Rage, madness, and hatred are the bottom 3 solo ranked specs atm. Vigi, Anni, Carnage, and Pyro aren't much better.

The OP is probably a lost cause, but to other new players who may be reading - the vast majority of any toxicity is directed at players who don't contribute to the team. The common expectations of new players are: 1.) Follow the kill order called by your team, and cc or at least don't hit or dot the cc target (i.e. PT > Jug, cc merc) 2.) Use all your defensive cooldowns before you die, and have basic kiting skill if you are ranged (solo q'ing regs can be good practice for this one, don't q with pocket tanks and healers if you need to work on this) 3.) Know your rotation enough to put out passable numbers - 6k+ dps, 9k+ hps. If you are a tank, you must guard swap based on who is being targeted. 4.) 306 set bonus gear, augmented with 73+ (blue) tier, and the right tactical for solo ranked 5.) Ask questions when you have them - most players will help, even if they need to cool down for a bit after a loss If you do these basic things, you will set yourself up for success and give an honest shake and what can be a very fun part of the game. There are way more advanced mechanics than what I listed above to learn as you gain experience, but this is a solid foundation. Going in blind and being a complete burden will not make you any friends, and likely won't be any fun either.

The time required to get these augments is just plain unreasonable. I'm not totally against new augs, nor incentivizing mm ops and team ranked, but you have to make getting the augs far more attainable. The augments simply need to cost way less mats for this change to make any sense or have any hope of encouraging activity in the areas you want to affect. One aspect of this change you didn't address is it will cause a credit transfer from a large amount of players needing the mats to a very small amount of players who have them (top NiM teams, top team ranked teams). Is consolidation of wealth into the hands of a tiny fraction of the playerbase your intention? Because that's exactly what's going to happen.

There is no fight in any pve content that requires a dps to guard another member of the team. There is no fight in any pve content that is made significantly easier by a dps guarding another member of the team. A dps single target taunt is far more valuable than guard for boss mechanics, and that remains intact. There are situations where a dps guarding another member of the team can make the fight a tiny bit easier. For players responding to this thread from the pve side as if their world is coming crashing down, my response is simple. Get good. There will still be an overwhelming amount of cheese from other sources for you to take advantage of on each fight.

Excellent change Chris! I think most people feel dps being able to offguard is okay, as long as there is a a significant trade-off. As you mentioned, it's currently the default best choice in nearly every solo ranked situation. Lowering the damage output from the person that's guarding is exactly the type of change I was hoping to see.