Updated the gearing section to reflect the usage of the new stims

I have been playing Lightning Sorcerer since I started playing this game all the way back at early access launch 4 years ago. I have always loved the class, through the good times and the bad. Since there have been no new guides since 4.0, I decided to make one. Enjoy https://docs.google.com/document/d/1i7oxtVA0KzIETKRTI2GduQ7lhUx-sKjSHn-iLTwZ9Sk/edit?usp=sharing

Forgive me if I get anything wrong but I play Sorc and not Sage so I might have some ability names mixed up. Your opener is not max dps efficient. Currently Force Potency does not give any added dps when used on Turbulence so you should not use it there. This is why I still use the old Dread Master 4 piece. That being said your opener should look something more like this: Mind Crush>Weaken Mind> Mental Alacrity>Force Empowerment>Adrenal>Turbulence>TK Burst>Force Potency>TK Gust>TK Wave>priority system. You should endeavor to use Force Potency charges on TK Gust, TK Wave, and either TK Burst or Mind Crush. Using it on Turbulence is just a dps loss. My Sorc Parse for reference: http://parsely.io/parser/view/104240/0 As you may have guessed I am still using the old Dread Master 4 piece Here is my gear as well: http://imgur.com/idvX1jl

Player Name: SionCognus Server: Harbinger Points: 42685 Reputation Legends: 12/13 http://imgur.com/gallery/zqYWQ/new

I can't argue with your statements if you are only referring to the livestream. However, Musco did say this thread was for any and all questions, and I feel that there has been too much time without information for new content, let alone new content at all.

Eloquently put. I don't think it can be said any better

So I have a few questions: 1) When will you release information on new operations? I understand that all operations have been scaled to 65, but that doesn't make them new. There are so many ways that you could incorporate KotFE into Operations. I'm not delusional, and I know that they won't be ready tomorrow, but some information as to a time frame would be nice considering it has been over a year since a new full operation was released. 2) There are numerous issues with class balancing in end game pve right now. I know with the current system, any change can/will affect pvp as well. With that in mind, are you aware and do you plan to fix recklessness/force potency not properly interacting with thundering blast/turbulence for lightning/tk sorcs/sages? 3) On a similar note as 2, some of the classes that saw the change of their discpline crit damage bonus from 30% to 10% have suffered because of it. I play sorc so I will use it as an example. I am aware that 30% on Thundering Blast is too much, but the Lightning Flash, Chain Lightning, and Crushing Darkness have been hurt by the change. Perhaps buffing Thundering Blast to 15% and the others to somewhere between 20-30% would be a good compromise. Even leaving TB where it is and giving the others some sort of boost would go a long way. I feel like this approach can be taken for many of the classes that are underperforming. Regardless, some truly open dialogue with players on these changes would be nice. I understand there many who simply use the forums to complain and whine about every little thing, but there are many of us who genuinely care about the state of the game, and we notice things while playing that go beyond statistics, metrics, numbers, and equations. There is what a class can do on paper, and then there is what a class can do in a real operation boss fight scenario. So I guess what my rambling amounts to is some open dialogue with people who play these classes and hear our concerns. A real discussion on this topic may yield answers for both sides of the community on the state of the game that neither realized before.

Actually right here is a problematic assumption. Yeah sure some elitists might, but some of us do remember. I remember going into pugs knowing not only the mechanics for the fights I was doing in SM, but also the HM ones. So I don't expect a PUG to know the higher level mechanics, but I do expect them to know the SM ones. I remember where I started, and I remember how hard I worked to get where I am. Sometimes people need to stop expecting to have everything spoon fed to them and work towards achieving things on their own.

My honest opinion on this is that you were in the wrong. The comments and responses you received telling you to "F off" were unacceptable and completely inexcusable and no amount of frustration on those players' parts can take that away. However, that being said, you should have known those fights if you expected to participate in them. My philosophy on raiding may be unpopular with people who do not do progression, but I feel that it is the best approach whether you are doing SM, HM, or NiM. The most important thing that a person can and should take into an operation, regardless of difficulty, is knowledge. These are general statements, so not all will apply to the OP, but with the amount of GF I have done in this game, these are my gripes with a certain portion of the players. You should know your class. I don't expect you to know your rotation perfectly, and to execute it so that you can beat HM enrage timers in SM, but you should understand how to play it, be you tank, healer, or dps. You should also know all of the fights for every operation you plan on doing. I understand this is a lot of information as there are 9 operations with 3 difficulty modes and 46 bosses. However, no matter what interests you, be that be becoming a better player, being a good member of the community, or just having a good time and enjoying the content that this game offers, it is essential that you know what you are getting into when you enter an operation. Knowing a fight perfectly without having experienced it is pretty much impossible. However, you should know what to look for when you start a fight. I think this where a lot of players don't understand how GF works in reality as opposed to ideally. GF is not a place to learn. GF is a place to do an operation quickly so as to get gear, either for alts or mains, and for some to just enjoy the content. But when doing a GF, people expect it to go quickly. None of these things happen when someone doesn't carry their weight, and it always comes down to knowledge, either of the fight, their class, or both. So I will admit that I don't give in depth explanations of fights if they are asked for. I will often say don't stand in this or that, and if there is a mechanic that the person must do, then i explain it. But it is frustrating when you go into an operation knowing what you need to know, and other people don't. To me it is discourteous, but as I have said I am someone who enjoys progression raiding, and I am sure there are many who would disagree with me. That is enough of my 2 cents though, and I am sorry you ran into elitist ******es instead of just plain elitists because there is a difference.

I think the main problem right now with the Sorcerer/Sage 6-piece is that it only helps one of the dps disciplines and marginally at that. I have played a lightning Sorcerer since launch, and I thoroughly love the spec, and although madness can be fun at times, it really isn't viable for HM ops right now. A 6-piece that would help both madness and lightning is the old 4-piece set. Both disciplines use affliction in their rotations, and both would benefit much more from a 5% alacrity proc then from a small cd reduction to recklessness. That being said i like the current 2-piece and 4-piece. I think leaving them as is and changing the current 6-piece to the old 4-piece would give this class some needed love.

So something that really bothers me with these patch notes for the lightning sorcerer and therefore the tk sage is the nerf to lightning bolt. Lightning bolt was supposed to replace lightning strike in both power and the slow. However, when you lower the damage of lightning bolt, the only really buff sorcs get from the ability compared to lightning strike is the slow. So essentially what you have done is make the "new" ability that we got from 3.0 useless in pve as operations bosses are immune to slows. How does this make any sense?