When I started trying the other tank classes I was actually amazed to find I didn't miss stealth at all. the ability to ambush an unprepared target is incredible for DPS... for a tank, not so much. The ability to escape an unfavourable engagement SEEMS really powerful, but the nature of warzones doesn't make it so in fact: generally speaking if you escape and run away but your opponents cap the objective you were guarding, kill the healer your were protecting, or otherwise succeed in whatever they were trying to do because you ran away to hide and heal back to full that's actually WORSE for your team than if you had died fighting and bought an extra couple of seconds in the process. The only exception I can think of is hypergate where kills ARE the points, and arenas (where, of course, you don't respawn to get right back into the action if you die), and the latter is a bit questionable unless you're part of a well coordinated pre-made team. Its good for node guarding - darkness tanks are great at that. Beyond that, not much. I do agree that the CC is both appropriate and useful though; that's never been the main problem.

^^^ This! I've been experimenting with hybred builds to get darkswell (so that Blackout becomes a 6 second long, 45 second cool down for 25% multiplicative DR), and it's.... OK. But you give up quite a bit of damage and utility not getting Wither and Harnessed Darkness/Shadows, and Juggernauts don't have to make that kind of sadistic choice. The fact is that juggernauts/Guardians have 3 CDs (4 if you count their 5 second reflect shield), and a self heal is incredibly powerful compared to the Darkness tank 1-2 (deflection is situational at BEST given the prevalence of non-defendable damage; I still don't understand why it doesn't have the +25% DR versus F/T like the juggernaut/guardian equivalent). This problem is not unique to us; PTs have the same issues: not enough cool downs to be competitive. Yes, Overcharge Saber is AMAZING, but as someone else said I would rather have 2 separate, weaker cool downs that I can pop separately OR together at my judgement than a single one. Similarly, Harnessed Darkness/Shadows, as the original post alludes to, is quite hard to use effectively in PvP. I feel the idea of a doubled channel rate is good. Or perhaps the caster should simply be immune to CC while channeling with 3 stacks., SOMETHING! I wouldn't know if there's any truth to the statement that it's hard to use in PvE as well; I don't really do it. The 4% DR is not the end of the world but the damage is - Assasin/Shadow tanks are widely seen as the highest damaging tanks, and I believe that's true in a parse against a target dummy, but a lot of that damage comes from HD, and it's a VERY hard tool to use in an environment as mobile as PvP. When it healed for 12% it was worth the trouble; now that it imposes a small DR buff... it's questionable. I can't speak to the raiding environment, but I know that in PvP, assassin tanks definitely need a buff. Or, if assasins and powertechs are 100% working as intended then juggernauts need a serious nerf, because right now there is a clear performance gap. TL;DR: 3 second channels are HARD TO USE in PvP and, as someone else said, PVP tanking is about the effective use of cooldowns and juggernauts have 2-3 times more of them than the rest of us (depending on the situation and how you're counting).

QFT. Fair fights are for suckers.

I would totally pay 10 bucksfor that. 'd feel guilty for contributing to the degeneration of online gaming or whatever... but I'd do it!

I think it would be an intersting game mode if I were a more serious player and had a good team. As a PUGer I agree it's quite frustrating. Also, I just hate the feeling of lying on the floor waiting for the next round, and even when I win I don't find the deathmatch format very interesting, personally. I prefer the constant action and more structured objectives of warzones... and, yes, if I I'm honest, thedon't fact that I don't get spiked by 3 DPS at once the second they realize I'm a sorcerer is nice too. I don't quit - I feel like it would be unfair to my team-mates. But I often am tempted and I strongly, strongly desire the ability to choose not to queue up for Arenas, and only warzones.

Strikes me as a self-fulfilling prophecy, "Ranked is dead because no one plays; no one plays ranked because it's dead" I'm all for pvp being open season, but people keep SAYING they want real top tier competition... isn't that what ranked si for? Anyway, I think this thread is pretty ove rthe top in tone, but I really think he has a point.

Never seen a goo reason for currency caps at all. /signed. And can we loose the 2750 maximum on PvP commenations while we're at it?

Sexy knows no gender! LOL

Just like all my first dates! In all seriousness, he is quite a ****** for such a fat fellow. I sort of assume it's just that the darkside is strong with him, and his anger/pride/ambitiion/desire-to-live-long-enough-eat-another-tub-of-ice-cream gives him strength and speed far beyond the natural abilties of his sinew. In KOTOR2 wasn't there a Sith Lord who was basically undead - body literally falling apart - and kept ambulatory by the strength of his will? If the darks side can make you a deadly swordsman when you out to be in ten pieces on the floor, it can surely compensate for some oversize love handles.

When I go through a phase of playing every day for several warzones a day, and maybe a flashpoint or storymode operation, I pay to subscribe because it's cheaper. WHen I'm in a phase of logging in maybe once a week for some RP and maybe one round of huttball if I'm waiting for people I know to get on, then I don't. Isn't that pretty muhc how it's supposed to work? I've never thought of sbuscribing as something that should give me freebie. I'm paying for access to the full extent of endgame content. It always seemed clear, to me, that that's what I was paying for. Cartel items are supposed to be extra... which is why I've been glad to see that they're also all cosmetic. I WANT my high-tech ring-wraith looking eviscerator's armor, and I WANT the dye packs to colour it deep purple (I'm an especially fabulous nazgul I guess), and I WANT various other things but I don't actually need them to remain on a level playing field with others, or even resolve quality of life issues. They're cosmetic and cosmetics cost extra. Isn't that legit? The only thing I really don't like are the packs. It feels sketchy to have a 'chance' at something I want, especially when I don't know how big a chance it is. Better to buy it outright. BUt again, they're optional. I solve that problem by not buying them. If there are parts of the cartel market you don't like or see value in, maybe you shouldn't spend money there either.

I thought the idea was that Xalek was shaving supposed to do a bit more damage to compensate for having a bit less armor but I don't think I ever actually checked if that were true.

Khem Is fun! But sociopathic Xalek is fun too. So politely obedient and yet so murderous. He's an awesome SIth apprentice, right down to the part where I think Ishould be nervous he may be plotting to kill me, LOL. What really decided me, though, was that Xalek could use my hand-me-down gear (one the one hand), and I wanted Khem to missions because of his bonusses (on the other). Ultimately, rude guy above may be right though. I don't think your choice of companion makes a huge difference, though I know there are some bosses that are supposed to be easier to solo with your healer.

↑ Truth!

Pack items? Ahh well, maybe someday.

I feel dumb, but... where can one get this armor?

I play a sorcerer. This is a bad idea.

I am returning to the game and have a new itty bitty baby Sith Sorceress. Formerly a Jedi padawan she has, obviously, fallen to the darkside. She is strong in the force and ruthless (she's had to be), but she still has much to learn about Sith ways, and has difficulty allowing herself to fully give in to her passions. She needs a great Dark Lord or Lady to teach her - to take her as an apprentice. I'm happy to talk more about her, of course, if anyone's interested, but I don't want to write a whole bunch of paragraphs of background here. I am a medium to heavy RPer with a, sadly, erratic schedule. I am looking for an IC master to take me (or, rather, my character) on as an apprentice. I am hoping for a fairly active master, but given my own odd-hours schedule it would be hypocritical of me to get mad if we missed a day or two here and there. I enjoy PvP, ERP, and PvE as well, in about that order, but none of those necessarily need to figure in this RP relationship - I just miss some good old fashioned evil Sith RP. I am not necessarily looking for a guild to join as 'part of the deal" - I have one already - but if a fellow Sith RPer has a good one to suggest I'm willing to listen and see how I feel about it. Obviously anyone who wants to get in touch with me can reply to this thread, but you can also feel free to PM, or, send an in-game mail or private message to Adünaphel (mind the accent) .

Fair enough. I'm too sued ot playing a Shadow I guess, I don't appreciate how fragile sorcerers really are. The ojnly other place to put them is into an extra 4% damage for Affliction and Shock, but... why not!

The title really says it all. http://www.swtor-spy.com/skill-tree-calculator/sorcerer/12/?build=030000000000000000000000000000000303122002110212023021020230001001220002000000000000000000000000&ver=20 This is the build I have so far. heavy on damage and CC and light on resource management powers since, in PvP, its my experience that fights just plain don't last that long, one way or the other, when you're a glass canon. I really have no idea what gear to shoot for though, or, for that matter, if I'm making a horrible mistake. It's been almost a year since I played my last sorc. Any help would be definitely appreciated. I know these "please help me suck less" threads are the worst, so much internet love (not THAT kind!) in advance to all who reply.

I can. Send me a message either here or in game (on my character, Valentyna). You will have to be prepared to cover the cost of materials consumed in crafting (or provide them), but with that caveat understood, I am happy to make them for anyone who is interested. I thought I was the only person in the game who LIKED the look - I bought the recipes the day before the last patch went up and I have never been so happy with an in-game purchase (well.. maybe the respec anywhere thing... SO AWESOME_! Why don't all games have it?!). I can do both the assassin and the sorcerer versions.

Bit of a report back; I tried it your way and things did seem to go much better. The cynic in me can't help thinking that staying with the group and not running off half-arsed trying to be a hero is generally good advice for any build, so it might just be that () but I certainly do feel far more useful than I did as a solo node guard or what-not and as long as I'm having fun... I suppose mission accomplished, right? Thanks for the help.

Maybe that IS what I'm doing wrong then. Intuitively it seems natural that the 'full tank' spec should be the obvious choice to hold a capture point against overwhelming odds long enough for help to arrive, but obvious isn't always the same as true. I'll try spending more time with big group and see how it goes.

So... I need help with my darkness tanky build, and I' hoping someone here cna help me (since it's the go to place, it seems, for awesome, experience-based build discussion. In your (Wakalord) OP you say that full 31-point darkness is an under-rated spec and can be effective. I really WANT that to be true, because I love it. I lvoe teh cocnept, the aesthetic,s the playstyle, everything. But It doesn't seem to work out when I try it the past several days. Or, more accurately, it doesn't seem veyr good compared to the style of darkness hybred you (and everyone else these days) suggested as a good beginners' build. I've actually experimented over the last few days (go go Christmas vacation!) with going full darkness, and going darkness hybrid, just with dark ward and varying degrees of tank gear. Changing my DPS gear for Tank gear makes a big difference in my survival bu the extra 8 points in Darkness don't. It feels like I'm giving up a LOT (Claws of Decay, Death field, Instant Whirlwind) in exchange for not that much. Whither does way less damage than Death Field, and has less range. It has nice utility but it's only real reson-d'etre is to set up Harnessed Darkness. HD is kewl, and I love it; the animation is sexy, the damage is _theoretically_ high, and i get to shoot lightning out of my hands! But as you yourself noted when discussing the idea of a 27/x/x hybred it's very hard to get full use out of a 3-second rooted channel with 10m range in PvP. In fact, I'd say the biggest advantage of taking 31 darkness so far is having the points to take all 3 levels of duplicity (mmmm... maul damage) The bottom line is that I'm trying to find a good reason to play full darkness, and the OP gave me hope that it would be possible, but given how much damage and utility it costs me and how vanishingly LITTLE survivability it adds, it's not clear that that's true. So... my question, after all that long diatribe is... how the hell do you make darkness good in PvP? TLDR: Why do I suck at darkness?

Wow. /Signed. You ahve obviously put a lot of thought into this. the first suggestion in particular just makes so much sense it seems obvious in retrospect. I think this is the first time I've ever seen a suggestion that I actually wanted to see happen! Let's hope EA is listening.

If Induction hasn't yet been patched by the time I make it to my 40s, I will probably use something like that, but I don't think I would ever go so high in the Deception ree that I couold not take harnessed Darkness. it's just too kool!