WoW launched with more like 14-16 servers or something with the option to expand that number if demand was high enough. They added more servers pretty soon...possibly the first day once they all got crammed, maybe they went up to 40? I really have no idea. But I remember the pre launch server list being incredibly short. Less than 20 for sure, more than 10. I couldn't help but laugh at how stupid it all was. They seriously underestimated interest, (or so they claimed), yet there were gigantic piles of the games at the stores, so....I dunno. I almost think they did the limited server launch just to build hype.

I don't know about another whole system, but in everquest for instance you could have some classes charm monsters to act as the tank. Often groups would be charmer+healer+however much dps you could possibly get. Was it unfair to tanks? Yeah, probably, but tbh, most groups just took whoever they could get, tanks (even if they didnt use them, or even a 2nd and 3rd healer. Then there were aggro kiting groups where the monster would get snared, and led around. Uhhh, there were pet tanking groups, fear kiting.....Its been a long time so I have a hard time remembering all the options. But the general rule in these groups were to find a way to get xp without needing a tank and/or possibly a healer. Essentially, classes just had a lot more flexibility in what they could do. Their "toolbox" was gigantic, only limited by the number of spell slots. Then there was the fact that instead of the usual tank/healer/dps trinity, some games mixed up the classes that made up each member of the "trinity". Like, there might be 3 tanks similar to swtor, but one might be master of AE aggro, the other master of self healing, and the third class the poorest at managing aggro, but the best at reducing incoming damage. Then on top of that the classes might have other unique abilities to aid in crowd control, healing, or dps for instance. One healer might be the master of buffs, another the master of debuffs, while a third healer might be the pure healer. As I said in my previous message though, these types of systems proved impossible to balance. The trinity is well tested, simple, and a no brainer. I really cannot imagine any innovation on this front.

This game is built around the trinity from the ground up. Every tank is expected to do the job equally, every healer equal, every dps, equal. I've played all 3 healer jobs, and I can tell you that while there is some unique abilities each have...they are few and far between. They essentially do their job all the same way (not that they are all equal in abilities mind you). Instead of a HoT, you shoot people as a mercenary, etc. AS A HEALER SPEC, the 3 classes are nearly identical. The only way they really come into their own is as dps spec, but even a lot of that is just reskinning the other abilities of another dps class. There really isn't a lot of flavor in this game (or any mmo anymore) in class design choices. Its not like everquest when you would find groups using charmed pet tanks, fear kiting, etc. This isnt like dark age of camelot where you essentially had something liek 40 unique classes. Makers of MMOs have learned their lessons, you cannot balance classes when everyone has their own niche, because no matter what, people will not be happy.. its too much work. So instead of adding flavor to the players class, they have decide to build upon the experience of playing the game. Voice acting, cut scenes and the like. Thats just the way things are now, I am not judging whether it is better or worse, but you will not get away from the trinity in this game simply because the trinity is simple to understand. The tank and healer are tested by the simple formula of incoming damage< damage healed. DPS is tested by "kill this monster in X seconds or it enrages and starts one shotting everyone." 1 tank, 2 dps, 1 healer, that is the group you are supposed to have in this game. Theres some flashpoints that allow variety in this setup, but not many at all. You will run into an enrage wall more often than not if you veer from this setup. I kind of think this is ********, but....then again, ive never seen an mmo have such an awesome story like this one. The trinity is here to stay, why? Laziness, and allocation of resources to other areas.

Just because it involves grinding quests instead of random mobs does not make it anything less than a grind. Do some other games have longer grinding? Sure. I will agree with you, this game has less of a grind than probably any mmorpg ive ever played, but it is still a grind nevertheless. And in fact, if this game had more of a grind, people would be complaining a lot less about the lack of an end game. Bioware has in fact, done themselves a disservice by caving to a quicker grind and almost instant purple gear once reaching level 50. Does it take you a while to get everything best in slot? Sure, you need to rip augs off of other classes armor. But, upon reaching level 50 you can go purple in every slot in one evening via pvp gear and a single raid. I know because I've done it without even buying anything from the ah. I used Everquest as an example of what I have been willing to put up with in the past, and still do to this day from time to time (I play the eq classic server occasionally for the last few years). I am not holding up EQ as some pinnacle of gaming, it has its own problems, I am just saying that I have done grinding and know it on a first name basis. With everything EQ has done wrong, I still would prefer EQ style grinding over the SWTOR style quest grinding....especially the stupid dailies. Grinding out solo quests is antisocial in the extreme. Even if I find a friend to group with, who says he will be at the same stage of progression as me, etc. Just is my personal opinion is all, feel free to disagree, as you already have. If anything, it sounds like you are the one who goes out of your way to *****, I was just offering my opinion on the limitations of the quest grinding system. Not that I expect it to matter, because it has become the mmo norm these days as everything has become cookie cutter and sterile in gaming as a whole.

I tend to really only use the double dip off force bending (usually combined with recklessness) to emergency heal some foolish dps who has pulled aggro. If you have looked at how aggro mechanics in this game work, you know that a range dps (generally low defensive abilities to begin with) pulling aggro takes a long time for the tank to permanently reacquire the mobs attention (as in, after the 6 second guaranteed aggro wears off from taunt). A simple heal does not do the job, it is an uphill battle where you will be losing ground. The double dip force bending/recklessness combo allows me to get in front of this problem and head it off with something like 12-13k healing in a short period (and even more with shielding). Hopefully in this time the monster dies, the tank taunts, and the dps detaunts. Only other time I do this is when people screw up and don't get out of the way of exploding mobs or some such moment of retardation. It definitely makes us overpowered compared to the other healing classes. It definitely will be a game changer when it comes out. The range DPS will need to learn to play and control their aggro. So far, me being able to do this has been benefitial to myself in stopping a group wipe, but perhaps a disservice to my common groupmates because they seem relucatant to learn the lesson. However, I do believe that we will be fine without it, people just need to be more cautious. And in pvp....it was ridiculously overpowered, just need to accept that one. I for one welcome the change as being healthy for the overall game.

daily quests were the worst concept ever. It really underscores just how stupid the grinding is in this game. Its funny, because back in Everquest I would group at the same spot for half a day, grinding the same monsters over and over again. It was kind of boring at times, I won't lie, but we would get our xp, drops, or AAxp and then progress to something harder. The game had more downtime, which sucks in some ways, but it also allowed you to get to know the people you were grouping with, a social reward if you will. This game on the otherhand, you are constantly running from daily quest to daily quest, grinding, but moving. Monsters die in seconds, quest difficulties are a joke. You can do them all solo. However, if you try to group with someone to increase the social aspect of the mmo experience, you don't have time to talk to them. There is no auto attack, the follow command sucks. You are constantly hitting buttons and have no time to talk to anyone. I'd say about 50% of the conversation in this game is "are you coming man? I'm here waiting" or "Stay here, I know an exploit to solo this 4 man quest".

This is one of the few guys here who "gets it".

Its funny because this was the second exact build I was also considering if I ever came out of the pure pve healing spec. This is a good build for gaining medals, no doubt about it. Enough dps to get yourself some medals, and great healing ability. However, the survivability is severely lacking :/ No stronger static shield no root on knockback No blind on shield collapse No faster recast on WW(not a big deal honestly) No longer duration lockout on interrupt (once again, not a big deal) Effectively 10% extra mana cost on spells (by not having 9% reduction) 100 less mana So yeah, its another one of those builds that is probably good in pugs where you are just trying for medals, trying to ground out valor for battlemaster....which is a very valid goal, dont get me wrong. It also is good in pve, only lacking the ae heal, still having consumption for longevity...but that is counteracted by your consumptions being weaker from having less total mana as well as you having 10% higher casting cost. But, if your team is relying on you for healing, I just don't see this build meeting my needs for survivability. Since I have never done this build before, would you mind going into a bit more detail about your experiences with it? Are my survivability concerns valid?

Theres a mercenary on my server who regularly gets 600ks in voidstar. I tried beating him many times, and always fail....and thats a map that caters to sorc ae heals. Maybe its gear, I dunno, but I definitely don't feel sorry for merc healers when I see what hes capable of. The problem with mercenary healing is how much skill is involved in rotations and heat management. A lot of mouthbreathers cannot handle it, but sorc healing on the otherhand is easy and has a low skillcap. So if you are a poor merc healer, I'd say keep at it, and try to gain more experience/read some guides. Maybe if you are an operative you have a point. To be quite honest, ive done quite a bit of pvp and have only seen healing operatives a small handful of times. Earlier on it was because their dps was so gigantic, who would go healer? Now they don't nostril rap people in 5 seconds, theyve all quit and I don't know if thats just because they got caught in the overpowered trap and quit or if they just have no alternative abilities (the other dps tree, or healing).

tbh, id be impressed if anyone knew the answer to this yet. The easy part is to change the spreadsheet formulas for the new surge formula. You can use that to quickly come up with a set of stats you want to aim for. Then you have to know all of the mods and enchantments for other classes.... ugh, too much time doing research, not enough time playing. But if anyone has the answer, id like to know. I imagine it will involve a lot of pvp commendations to get mods from other classes armors. My problem so far is when you look for power, alacrity inevitably comes along with.

Well, that is basically the same as what I linked. I am a healer though, so I went for the longer interrupt and faster mez cooldown for overall better survivability vs you doing chain lightning and lightning storm As I said before, if you are a healer and you find enough people to consider doing AE, then you probably should be healing since all those people are doubtless causing damage. That said, realistically....your build might be better for grabbing some medals in matches if you are doing pugs and just looking out for yourself.

Level 11 sorc, you old salt....tell me more, I really value your experience.

Id rather drop the force lightning and get backlash...12% more really is nothing without the rest of the force lightning talents. Also the chain lightning seems worthless, because if theres ever enough people to chain lightning, then that means that either A) They are fighting your team and you need to heal your team or B) You have no team fighting them and you seriously need to consider running rather than getting fried. Also, putting the 2 points in for 6% willpower seems to be a no brainer for me unless you are getting some fantastic ability with those points, and 20% snare from affliction is really nice, but not all that fantastic. Heres a spec I have personally never done, but I would use if I did not have pve healing duties: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#201GGMRbd0zZfoMrbMbZ0M.1 Gives you all the healing tools minus the ae heal which is highly situation at the best of times. Also gives you all the survivability of extra CC with the exception of the insta mez. In addition, you get the 6 second interrupt lockout to quiet down those tracer missile spamming mercenaries. Tbh, it works well on most people....the inexperienced people just sit there for 6 seconds thinking they are lagging and wondering why their ability wont work. Having not played this spec, I cannot tell you what its downfalls are. Without an ae heal, your mana will not get burned as quickly, but you cannot get free consumptions either, so staying power is the only real concern I see. I think you could still heal most flashpoints though and obviously have increased pvp survivability.

hes saying the pve force mystic 2 piece set bonus...and yes, i use it as well. In really long battles (which occur if both teams are healing well), I feel it is definitely worth the loss of expertise. It allows you to harvest mana more often and keep your team alive over an extended period, which is normally only the domain of mercenary healers. I don't know if there is a real mathematical way to find an absolute answer to this question My feeling is that I am used to the innervate healing rotation in pve, why confuse yourself in pvp by screwing with that timing. Between that and the extra mana harvests, it seems to be a no brainer to me at least. I've been wrong before though...

Anyone aware if the kaon missions are identical for pub and imps? For the usual community of players I run with, kaon is the 2nd easiest after black talon (supposedly equivalent of esseles but obviously not base on what you say because no one in BT headshots). Just finding it strange seeing so many people say kaon is difficult....and its not me bragging either, I freely admit my character isnt that great, poor gear, etc. D7 on the otherhand I only hear about how painful and god awful the entire affair is.

For what its worth I think the OP is right. Merc pyro does pretty much suck, and especially when compared with arsenal. I could see it being a lot more useful for a powertech with their tools. That said, I haven't played a pyro powertech, so....I might be completely wrong and I'm willing to admit that. The tree just seems catered to PT from top to bottom. I'm kind of hoping tracer missile spam finds a way to get nerfed because its ridiculously boring, but if that happens I hope that pyrotech is a better option than it is so far.

ya, ive never played an mmo with enrage timer, but my first reaction is "this is some really lame ****" So were my 2nd and 3rd reactions in case anyone wondered. With only 4 classes allowed in a group, there really is no wiggle room on group composition on the tougher timed enrage fights. You either bring 2 dedicated dps to these fight or you won't win. People who are split specs are really of questionable use. That healer/dps split spec guy you know...yeah, he probably can't heal well enough for the long fights, nor can he dps enough to beat the clock. Lets not even get into the fact at how much range dps >melee dps in basically all cases. I've played over a dozen mmorpgs for the last 14 years now, and trust me when I say games have never struggled to find uses for DPS before enrage timers. That said, mobs in those games didnt die in 2 seconds like they do in this game so DPS actually had a chance to stretch their legs. Having good dps could turn a 1 hour dungeon crawl into a 15 minute affair. In this game at least....Having great dps really doesnt speed things up enough for that to be an sizable asset to having them in the group. I suppose its too late to fix the way this game works, just like its too late for them to use a proper game engine. "It is what it is" as "they" say...

Thats true. I kind of figured the trooper mirror ability would be the same, but I don't even know. Another thing to note on sorc vs sage is how highly visible everything the sorc does. Draws great attention compared to how subtle the sage spells are. I wanted to go republic when the game came out, still do, but my guild chose empire. Some of the supposed disadvantages listed, are in actuality, advantageous.

I am pretty sure it does count. At the start of huttball i shield everyone and id say roughly 60% the time someone steps on a fire jet and I get my 2.5k heal award

Eh, you often keep mentioning how something is better for DPS sorcs. I was just curious, do these comments not carry over to healing sorcs as well? The only difference I can see offhand is that a healing sorc might want higher crit value to guarantee innervate triggers force surge? Or do you just mean that the difference between .20 bonus damage (willpower) and .23 bonus damage (power) proportionally favors willpower for dps compared to the .14 bonus healing (willpower) and .17 bonus healing (power) favoring power for healers? Earlier you mentioned that power generally trumps crit for dps sorcs, but it seems as if it would be the same for healers as well? I am not sure if theres something i am missing or not, ive been a healer sorc for a grand total of about 20 hours after dinging 50 yesterday, so I am kind of relearning my class. I suppose that since it takes more power to increase healing bonus, then critical would be more preferred compared to a dps sorc? That said, do you have any stat weights in mind which would be favorable for a healing sorc? I am pondering things before I start spending too much time and money on equipment. Thank you for this post. It definitely makes things very clear. I wish bioware would have done the same to begin with :/