Many thanks to you for the speedy reply. Just a level issue. Thanks again.

Hi, all. Forgive the rather noobish question. Returning vet who has been absent since shortly before Fall 15. I am attempting to rework my rotations in accordance with guides posted here (thanks for those--extremely helpful) but I cannot seem to find overload anywhere in skills/abilities or at the trainer. Again, the answer is likely ridiculously simple but any help would be appreciated.

I contributed to 2 other threads in the merc forum and started a third in the cs forum. No response from BW. I did have another poster call me a liar, though. He suggested that I was not experiencing any of these bugs. Instead, I was simply a 10-year-old child who created the issues in my head and wanted to throw a tantrum on the internet.

It seems these issues are VERY widespread, despite those who have been unaffected telling us we are full of ****.

Known issue. CSR helped me overcome. You'll have to exit the instance, reset the mission and try again.

And from our own merc forums: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=538156

Again, similar issues were reported by other consumers. There is also a thread in the cs forum. Both bh and troopers are reporting lower defenses, decreased dps, increased heat, and issues with ammo. Only a small percentage of the player base appears to have been affected. Finally, one subject who posted stated that he encountered the same issue post 1.2 and that re-equipping gear corrected the issue and another indicated that they observed these bugs on the test server and reported them. Can I provide logs of these events? No. I can only report that gameplay varied significantly post patch in comparison to pre-patch. In addition to these issues, my Taris class mission , despite my having completed it the day before the patch, was reset to the second phase. In general chat, several other players reported the same issue. I did not observe any reports in the forums. A lack of reporting by most affected players does not render the posts of those who do report as nonsense.

By all means, be astonished. There was no intent to affront anyone. I simply encountered an issue with increased heat the first three days after the patch and sought to communicate with my peers to establish whether or not they were experiencing similar issues. You may posit that "nothing was touched" and attempt to discredit my reported issue; however, the use of a single special ability which results in an immediate 50% gain in heat is not the product of "variables and probabilities." Similar issues have been reported since 1.2 and a quick fix appears to be re-equipping all armor and weapons. Nowhere in my posts have I suggested "OH MY GODZ! STEALTH NERF! AHHHH! RAGE AND CONSPIRACY!" I simply noticed what appeared to be a noticeable decrease in dps. While I respect that some consumers are so dedicated as to parse dps,create videos, etc., I do not enjoy an abundance of time to engage in such activities. I "play" this game rather than "live" it or create another job/obligation out of it. I have enough of those as it is. This does not make me a fanatic, conspiracy theorist driven weirdo dispatched by entities unknown to cause you dismay on the internet by falsely reporting potential problems. Out of curiosity, if you happen to notice blood in your stools, do you have a readily available sample from weeks past for the purposes of comparison? I noticed a few issues and created constructive posts in an advanced class forum to bring them to the attention of others who might be able to indulge in your suggestions. Similar concerns were voiced by fellow consumers in equally constructive posts. Please have the decency to refrain from demeaning those who post such threads.

Logged in this morning and am no longer experiencing the issue. Very strange.

Make sure to report this in the cs forum. I have a thread on the issue. See previous post for the link.

As you requested, sir: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=537465&highlight=increased+heat+abilities

I reported this issue in the CS forums. I received no reply and it is now on page 50. It's not just raids. In regular story content, my heat is CRAZY. Three or four special abilities and it is maxed. I'm able to knock one gold down to about 80% health before I start hitting him with gummy bears and hugs fired from the default attack

Still experiencing the same issues. Crazy heat from special abilities and low damage output as an arsenal spec. Last night, I drew aggro from 4 regular mobs and 1 silver. They were three levels below me. With shield up, a medpac, healing companion, and great armor.......they killed me in about 15 seconds. I took down 1 of the regular mobs first. Not normal.

I thought I was just going crazy. I, too, noticed what seemed to be an increased cast time on tracer and some other abilities. It just felt "off" by a half-second. Then I ran into hitting a target without it taking any damage, along with the other problems I've mentioned in the thread.

I pray this is the case. The heat build-up and dps reduction made pve nearly unplayable. I felt as squishy as a sorc with less damage output and less effective heals. I'll run a repair when I get home and try again tonight, but it would be nice to see a BW response on this. Between the "mouse fart" sound effects bh abilities now produce, dps reduction, heat increase....well...let's just say I'm not really enjoying the gameplay (HUGE fan of this class prior to the latest patch. My lvl 50 sent is getting zero playtime since I discovered arsenal merc).

I ran into this issue a few days ago. Use your fleet pass to exit, reset (not abandon) the mission and start again. Make sure that you use the heat shield prior to using the ramjet. Open your inventory and switch to "Mission Items" to find it. Then use the ramjet. You'll one-shot the engineer and grenadiers. Hope this helps.

I noticed the exact same problem. My defenses felt weaker and my offensive abilities felt impaired. I also noticed an extreme increase in the heat generated by special abilities. 3-4 of them would max my heat bar, despite having all the points in the heat reduction abilities in the skill tree.

My ice cream is cold.

Yes, how dare they give you a temporary break from the daily grind? Amazing. People rant, cry, and throw temper tantrums like a 2-year-old over 'no content' and what do they do as soon as some is implemented? Gripe about it. Yes, burn through this as fast as possible, just like everything else, and then scream about having nothing to do. On a happier note, thank you devs for the community event. It provides a nice reprieve from dailies.

I am more concerned with the response to the question about cartel coins. It appears that subs and f2p will both be required to purchase them. So, I am to pay $15 a month for bank access and access to workzones, fp's and ops? Seriously?

Personally, I think an extensive list of items that require a galaxy wide treasure hunt would do wonders for retaining the paid subscriptions. At present, the top loot drops are only found in ops. Second tier gear in hm flashpoints and world bosses. Why stop at HK? Add new schems for armor and weapons- components for which must be looted from a wide range of mobs on multiple planets. You can do the same thing for vanity items such as speeders and pets. While you're at it, I would like to be able to loot schems and components for decorative items I can place in my ship. Hmm....customizable interiors.....a welcome time-sink...

No such mechanic currently exists in game. I wouldn't be surprised, however, to see a cash shop ability available once F2P hits, considering the numerous and persistent requests for character customization.

I've only run into issues once in HM FP's. One of our group members kept 'accidentally' hitting need on every loot drop. Aside from that, I could not ask for more from any group. Everyone has been mature and helpful.

Has anyone considered that there might be another mechanic entirely at work here other than loot tables? Considering the persistent comments by devs that we would have to 'work' for these crystals, that they want to keep them rare, and the large number of former SWG devs on board now (remember waiting for a visit from "the old man" anyone?), I'm inclined to think that schems or crystals may be unlockable legacy rewards for completing a number of tasks, such as : Complete all 8 storylines Complete all available space missions Complete all SM, HM, NM flashpoints and operations Complete all planet bonus series Reach social level X Reach valor level X Defeat all planet bosses Collect all datacrons Unlock all legacy rewards Can't really think of anything else to add, but this mechanic would serve to ensure that purple, cyan, and white crystals remain rare. I realize that the OP requested "proof" but....

This is also something I have considered. Hardcore gamers have a tendency to burn through content as fast as possible so they can reach end game, obtain the best gear, and reach the status of 'teh über leetz.'. Problem is, they ignored the journey to get to the destination and are then befuddled as to why they don't have an expansion 7 months after release. It took me two months to level my first toon , but I have three jobs, grad school and a family. This is my release and I treat it that way...rather than another task to complete. I am enjoying grouping with folks in end game, making new friends and dabbling with some other profs. More content will come. I expect our sub pop to stabilize at around 600k and up to 2 mil to engage in the f2p option. Many of these will either sub or pay for the content and toys they want. That is plenty of capital to bring in regular content patches. That makes TOR a success. Even wow is bleeding subs. Pay to play is a dying model in this fickle market and I see ea's reasoning. If you get bored with a game you are paying for, you unsub. If you get bored with a free to play, you keep it installed and return to buy and play new content as it is released. The profit margin is better than a pay to play model.