I pugged something with my sniper. Just south of 35k since I haven't augmented my relics and use mostly adept/initiative enhancement 30s since I haven't been able to upgrade yet. But otherwise mix of 78/72 armorings/mods and 2 piece underworld pve set bonus. So pretty well optimized for what I have. In this pug I saw a powertech sitting at 40k and he got the tank's guard. Out of curiosity I looked at his gear and he had a mix of power/crit mods with Aim augments which is ok, but accuracy/alacrity + absorb/defense enhancements (and of the high endurance variety)... Politely told the tank that guy wasn't going to pull threat anytime soon and the guard promptly shifted.

Guild is about to check out the new operation boss. I apparently didn't log on in time though...

Everything said about the shadow is correct; you cannot tank in force technique, even at level 30. If the Guardian was able to guard you, he was in tank stance. And in the 30s, a tank has very little if any mitigation stats except the default that comes with the shield and any bonuses from the skill tree. So at level 30, a Guardian or any other class in "dps" gear but tank stance would be fine.

I main my shadow but have at least done most story mode operation content with the guardian. If you like stealth in solo, and more of a set rotation in boss fights, you'll also prefer the shadow. I may just be bad but after the guardian's opener it feels more like "spam whatever falls off cooldown first, with some priority." I also like the shadow's force pull over the guardian's saber throw. Something about having an overexcited sentinel leap to a target only to have to slow walk back to my position. Not to mention force pull is functionally better opening up a boss fight, but that's off topic.

Nice! Although I was expecting 9 tauntauns and te life day sleigh.

I did the same as the OP opening with 2x snipe > ambush until I hit (recently) level 40-42. Skill tree has followthrough reducing the energy cost of next 2 snipes. So for boss fights I use what others have mentioned and only slightly modify on trash since takedown comes into play earlier and you don't want series of shots to get cutoff due to mob death. Having a heck of a lot of fun with this character and for the first time since my shadow I look forward to getting into raids.

@Thok, thanks for the catch! Makes it look even better.

First time back in operations since 2.5, so I'm comparing a couple fights in the same gear, only slightly different group setup as described below. Only one kill log was analyzed for Nefra and Grob'Thok (and to a limited extent Draxus). I still include the ~80 eHPS from medpack/BR that was used equally. Nefra Pre 2.5 (I was guarded) Log 1894 DtPS (1994 if unguarded) 1619 DtPS after effective CT/TKT heals (1704 if unguarded) 5762 biggest hit (6065 if unguarded) Post 2.5 (guarded other tank) Log 1699 DtPS 5651 biggest hit Grob'Thok Pre 2.5 Log 1828 DtPS 1618 DtPS after effective CT/TKT heals 11288 biggest hit Post 2.5 Log 1726 DtPS 10358 biggest hit In Nefra where there was essentially 100% Shadow Protection uptime (a couple tenths of a sec here and there where I was seeing how long I could delay), 7-8% less spikiness based on biggest hit taken and basically zero change in external healing required. I shielded slightly more attacks in this pre-2.5 log, but had a Sage's force armor post-2.5 (I don't know how to easily find how much damage was absorbed). Probably a wash. For Grob'Thok with lots of movement, I lost Shadow Protection 6 times from 0.5-2ish seconds. Will improve with more practice. Overall required ~7% more healing required (slightly higher defended attacks/lower shielded post 2.5 log, slight differences in pipe smashes, extra ugnaught damage...) and again was 7-8% less spikey based on biggest hit. In Draxus, I was admittadly awful at keeping shadow protection up. But my playstyle in that fight was also pretty awful about self healing since I prioritize AOE damage in many situations over the optimal mitigation rotation. Took ~13% more damage comparing those two logs post-2.5 vs. pre-2.5, but there are way more variables there I think. Plus I die everytime since we haven't gotten a clean kill yet. So far I think for PVE this is fantastic. When I maximized my rotation before I'm still able to do so with little difficulty and the results are great. When I don't now, I didn't before. Also keep in mind we haven't cleared Corruptor Zero, so I'm far from an elite, NiM clearing tank. Making it so a resisted tick still refreshes would be my only PVE change. Otherwise the effective uptime is < 12 seconds, a slightly different interpretation of Thok's numbers from a different thread (where he calculated effective uptime based on resist chance).

Unless it's a mele attack in NiM, you're better off trying to mitigate swipe over Roar with Resilience as someone earlier mentioned. Swipe is a tech attack up to at least HM, and can hit for 15k whereas Roar may hit you 4 times for like 800 each. And if you're sending a tank up to taunt the snipers there should be a tank swap.

I've had terrible lag all week on JC, including SnV last night. At one point it got up to 130 seconds, yes seconds, and still hadn't DC'd me. Power cycled the router and modem and all seemed fixed. Edit: Nevermind, it's still terrible. This is becoming unplayable.

Since this was before 2.5, the healing relic was appropriate for a shadow tank, especially with low level content like a flashpoint. The relic could trigger additional self-heals, when the shadow self-healed via combat technique, telekinetic throw w/harnessed shadow, battle readiness, or a medpack.

I haven't tanked an operation boss yet, but doing a daily run on Oricon I recognize I need to change my mentality around using Force Breach and need to be mindful of how much time is left on the stacks. I used to use FB in the opening rotation, then when it was near falling off (every 3 or 4 rotations). After some practice I realized I needed to prioritize its use when I get a very quick particle acceleration proc, since I'll have a buffer to get my 3rd harnessed shadow stack or start the channel. This probably means in the past I was not optimal in my self-heal since there would be occasion where I'd use FB then have 2 double strike spams before PA proc'd (or project came off cooldown naturally) ultimately delaying a self-heal channel. I think you only have 7.5 seconds between withers. The 2nd round is where I think I'll differ. With an immediate proc it's better to use a filler (maul, discharge) before the channel to allow shock/wither get further into their CDs whereas before with self-heal you absolutely wanted to start channeling right away. It's an interesting dynamic having to decide on holding back for a GCD or channeling right away when you have 3 stacks. Will definitely take some getting used to.

The menu appears to have the blood of the Drea Mas....wait,that's just lots of red wine.

In the 'entry level' gear range. Underworld set bonues, 78 non-set armorings, 2340ish mitigation (excluding relics). Kristioli - Shadow - 36/5/4 - 8 man - Nefra /Dread Fortress I was guarded during this fight. Vanguard co-tank. Maybe one gunslinger. Damage taken per hit: 2035.1 (1966.3 DtPS) Damage taken per hit minus self heals: 1634.0 (1565.2 DtPS) Biggest hit: 5762 Torparse Link If you want to do Grob'throk, it's not a bad comparison if you main tank the whole thing. Much movement that riot gas and slinger bubble probably make little difference except final burn. Kristioli - Shadow - 36/5/4 - 8 man - Grob'Throk/Dread Fortress I main tanked this whole fight. Took minimal damage from ugnaughts but show w/o ugnaught damage. Damage taken per hit: 2516.4 (2491.6 from boss); 1893.7 DtPS (1869.9 DtPS from boss) Damage taken per hit minus self heals (boss only): 2175.7 (1554.0 DtPS) Biggest hit: 11,288 Torparse Link

I'd love to participate but won't likely be competitive, and haven't cleared all content. But I'll throw some numbers out there later on. One thought on #4. I main tank Grob'thok but one recent log shows like 15 sec (dps must have been looting) of add cleanup at the end where DtPS is dropping. Should it be clarified as last boss hit?

I'm only at level 25 but feel the marksman sniper has been the easiest leveling experience thus far. Kaliyo (with a lot of presence admittedly) has been able to hold mobs until they're dead, which is pretty quick. Have been able to solo many champs with her within 2 levels too. I'm actually not looking forward to switching to a non-tank comp, grabbing all the threat, and sniping from 0.0m away. Maybe by then I'll have orbital strike and it won't matter, or I'll use the flash bang more liberally. Of course this is my first pure dps character since my previous 5 specced tank/heal and I have a cybertech crafting blue armorings every 5-6 levels but companion has only been in default greens.

The first time we tried this we hit enrage, but he still came down with wave 9. So I agree with earlier posts that either a) you're advancing add waves before doing maximal damage to the boss or b) your dps is low and a timed mechanic is happening before a % health mechanic. That explains the enrage, not sure of the issue with him waiting until wave 9 adds are dead. Wave 3 is the wave where you have to consciously keep an add alive. I usually mark one (left add on west side). I say consciously because he'll keep damaging folks while you burn boss. The other reason to do this on wave 3 is that wave 4 has the dismantlers, which would get crazy with the boss still up, especially in HM. Keeping wave 5 adds alive and burning boss should be obvious because of the bulwarks. No reason to kill them before boss since they do no damage.

Edit: didn't read all of the op's post so this was redundant.

Accidental Leeroy Jenkins moment. When Dread Fortress came out we killed Draxus but I died. Released to reset rez timer, entered instance, and used portal to skip ahead. After walking through the portal I went afk, but auto-run bug hit and I auto-ran through the gate into the pack of dogs while everyone was still looting...

Quick question about the bleed. It comes at the end of heavy slash, a m/r attack. I assume Resilience will cleanse it (hadn't yet so totally missed that mechanic) along with healer tech cleanse, but will it resist the bleed (ignoring the 5% failure)? It would if it's considered a separate f/t attack but perhaps not if it's tied to the initial m/r attack.

Yes, 8 man hard mode. And I'm a shadow (I suppose mentioning my vanguard co-tank was irrelevant). 41k health and ~2350 stat budget not counting relic proc contribution. I'll watch the stacks better tonight, hopefully.

I have 4 Underworld (set bonus) and the rest 78s, so maybe it was the stacks.

We're just getting revved up on progression and made our first couple attempts on Corrupter Zero HM Sunday night. My Vanguard co-tank takes him first, and we swap at first adds. Didn't really get past that in part b/c I took some massive damage: Torparse Log 21:54:20.561 Corruptor Zero's Sweeping Slash hits Kristioli for 11222 kinetic damage, causing 11222 threat. 21:54:21.433 Corruptor Zero's Sweeping Slash hits Kristioli for 13466 kinetic damage, causing 13466 threat. and Torparse Log 21:55:49.756 Corruptor Zero's Sweeping Slash glances Kristioli for 8572 kinetic damage, causing 8572 threat. 21:55:50.518 Corruptor Zero's Sweeping Slash hits Kristioli for 17955 kinetic damage, causing 17955 threat. Based on experience how many stacks of the debuff would I have had to take that amount of damage? Initial unmitigated Sweeping Slashes hit for ~9k, and I don't think I got above 3. I'm sure there were mistakes made that can be found in these short logs, first pulls and all, but just curious if this was likely a tank swap mechanic failure or if that amount of damage just happens in <30sec on the boss.

I'm pretty sure BioWare purposefully speccs items in a way that requires mix and match, so that the gearing process takes longer. So many "tank" enhancements with alacrity... I wonder if everyone in this thread has the option checked to show more details when you hover over an item (it's not the default view, so I ask)? If you're just seeing the total aggregate end/main/secondary/tertiary stats you aren't getting all the information by viewing each armoring/mod/enhancement individually. So I'm with the group that thinks you can need on a single enhancement. It's easy to get non-set bonus armorings and unlettered mods (except for tanks) with comms, but if a low endurance power-surge/accuracy or bulwark/bastion tank enhancement actually showed up I'd definitely be rolling for it. Although that may be moot and non-existent in flashpoints, they do show up with non-token pieces in ops.

Guildmates, healer and damage dealer, wanted a quick flashpoint so I helped them out. Random damage dealer we got was appropriately geared and well behaved. He/she let me pull, killed the appropriate enemies, respected CC, hit need when he needed and greed when he didn't. When asked if he wanted to kill the bonus boss, he politely said 'yes please." So we killed it. Pleasant experience considering my Weekly 55 flashpoint mission had been 1/3 since like July. Guess they're not all that bad. Too bad there isn't a way to make players or their un-friended alts from your friends list, or some kind of 'preferred player' list jump to the top of the queue. It would reward good behavior instead of just punishing bad like with ignore (which I only use in extreme situations like credit spammers).