I've found that you can't place forcequake directly between the adds. Rather it needs to be a bit out from directly between them. Add_____X_____Add (if you place the forcequake at X it won't work well). ----------------------------- Placing forcequake where the X is below works. Still center it left to right between the adds, but place it a little out in front of them. If the boss is brought in, you can hit it as the same time. Add__________ Add ________X

I'm fine with it not working. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something when I choose my utilities for that fight (or more importantly, that it wasn't just bugged for sages, but working for Sorcs).

Working on Coratanni HM (should have it this week), and was testing out different utility options. From what I could see Mind Ward had no impact (i.e. did not reduce) on the damage from either the Corrosive Grenade (Poison DOT) or the Burning DOT (that is cleansed with the panels/circles in Phase 1. Whether or not I took Mind Ward, each of those DOTs ticked for the same amount. Just wanted to confirm that others were seeing this too (and double check that it is the same for Sorcs given the number of bugs out there). Thanks.

This. Although there are many potential issues/bugs that everyone will have to deal with regardless of faction or class, there shouldn't be obvious advantages for one faction over another because of differences in the mirror classes. It is ridiculous that this type of faction imbalance has been ignored so long. The DPS difference is significant and could easily impact the length of time it takes to complete this type of speed run.

Any chance you can give us an update on the status of the bugs that are causing Sages to underperform compared to Sorcs. Some of the problems include: 1) The Turbulence proc that does considerably less than 30% while the Thundering Blast proc does more than 30% for sorcs. 2) Sorcs can still benefit from the old 4pc set bonus (alacrity proc off of Affliction) whereas the Sage set no longer works.

Was wondering if anyone who is doing hard-modes, particularly 8-man, could list roughly what DPS they are doing on the various fights. Trying to get a feel for the actual numbers on fights to see where things stand. Thanks. Edit: Also if you can let me know whether you are a Sorc using the old 4-piece or a Sage (or Sorc using the new 6-piece).

I really hope that you reconsider with respect to the Nar Shadda Nightlife event. I spent a significant amount of time (and credits) getting all of the achievements, including the hidden achievement during this limited time event. Then one day they all simply disappeared. I put in a ticket and have been patiently waiting for this to be fixed. I have no desire to spend (i.e. waste) more time and credits redoing something that I already did and had achieved. You should have server logs that show when achievements were earned and therefore can verify it.

It is good to have an answer to this question. However, with respect to your comment "we are happy with DPS numbers as they are right now" could you have the Combat team look at Balance/Madness? It seems to be significantly below Lightning/Telekinetics (arguably to the point where there is no reason to play Balance/Madness) which I believe is the opposite of what was mentioned in the Livestream.

Did this way back in the beginning before it was nerfed a lot. As others have mentioned, the main key is to interrupt the long cast. If you don't you die. The other thing to do is to use line of sight to your advantage to group the adds up and to avoid many of his other attacks. Not sure the latter part is as needed now, but it was originally. Gearing T7 up is useful (I believe they still give you some free gear for him if you solve the puzzle earlier in the mission), but not absolutely required.

Don't bother with this. He has these and many more suggestions in a thread on the PTS forums. However, it has become clear he doesn't understand how Balance/Madness works and is unwilling to listen. http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=742676

Sorcdpsisjoke can now make Dread Forged Relic of Boundless Ages. And the relics listed under "Retsigam" should probably list Sorcdpsisjoke since that is my crafter for the relics on imp side.

What they fixed sounds like an exploit. LOS is not and has not been an option in PvE. With limited exception where LOS is a part of the fight (ex. Titan VI), LOS is not something that a Sorc/Sage can do in PvE to avoid damage. In the limited exceptions that do exist, it is something that is "required" and is something that every other class can do (it is not unique or special to the Sorc/Sage). The references to LOS in the previous answers are part of what makes it clear that the prior answer was focused on PvP, not PvE. That is why we need the current question (which emphasizes PvE).

I believe the DPS follow-up to the PTS forums is already covered. They already said they are looking at DPS for Balance/Madness. Focusing a question on this will simply detract from any other part of the question. On the "survivability" question, that is probably the biggest issue for DPS Sorcs/Sages in PvE beyond the aforementioned actual DPS issue. There are a number of solutions to it: (i) taking things like Force Mend and Static Barrier off the GCD (and perhaps reducing cost of Static Barrier) when used on oneself, (ii) providing a more traditional GCD, (iii) changing the way armor works, or (iv) even making us a true glass cannon. There may be even other options to take to alleviate the problem. My concern is that we shouldn't change/draft the question too narrowly so that they can simply respond to only one option and not others. We should explain the problem and make sure that we point to options that could be used to fix the problem. If we focus on only one solution, we may get an answer that addresses the proposed solution, but not the underlying concern.

Hybrids are also the result of the way the skill trees are set up. There are some very nice abilities at the 11-20 skill point level in all 3 of the trees with a lot less really good skills at the higher/top of the trees. Giving up the higher end of a tree isn't seen as that detrimental in some cases.

I have gone into matches fully specced in Madness and spent almost the whole match healing simply because of group make-up on both sides: the healing I could do was worth a lot. In solo-queues, there are a LOT of group compositions that are "overpowered" if put against another group compositions that lack counters/responses. This isn't a hybrid issue, it's a match-making issue.

I previously responded to the hybrid issue. I don't believe it is worth a question. First, as previously noted, Bioware has responded (though perhaps not directly with respect to this particular hybrid) to the issue regarding hybrids, healing hybrids and arenas. I don't believe we will get more. Second, I believe our job is to point out issues or concerns for the class. Areas where the class is underperforming, not performing as expected or as smoothly as expected or where there are just general concerns/problems with gameplay. Many people do not have a problem with playing hybrid specs, I play a hybrid spec at times. They can be fun. There is nothing inherently wrong with hybrid specs. If a hybrid makes a full spec obsolete or a full spec underperforms, that is where we should be focused. Let Bioware fix the full specs and less people will want to use hybrids. Our only concern in raising these issues is to try to make sure that solutions don't create overpowered hybrids that eclipse full specs. If a Hybrid is truly overpowered, I'm fairly confident it will be nerfed. But that hybrid doesn't seem that overpowered, it trades some dps for some healing.

So not exactly what I remember, but the PvP FAQ sort of addresses this: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=7299143#edit7299143 I should note that this FAQ was posted about 2 weeks after a long post on the issue you describe: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=727537 Are there any plans to address teams having healer hybrids in Arenas fighting against teams without a healer? This is a question of how long we want to wait to pop an Arena match when it relates to hybrids. We could, in theory, create restrictions around matchmaking to pair you only against someone extremely similar to your character in both rating and “spec” layout. However if we did that, it would have very serious effects on how long a queue takes to pop. We had to make a decision to err on the side of having more matches pop than simply trying to mirror the teams exactly. The only option to address this would be to tighten restrictions on matchmaking but this will result in greatly increased queue length, which is not favorable. And Do you have any plans to address overpowered Hybrid builds which are present in Arenas? Our history of class balance shows that we attempt to discourage overpowered hybrid builds when and wherever possible. We are constantly balancing classes and will take action if something is not falling into line with class balance. We will continue to monitor these builds and adjust as necessary.

With respect to the hybrid heal/dps spec in ranked queues, I could be mistaken, but I believe they were asked about this and responded that they are aware of it and don't intend to change it. I believe it was also discussed earlier in this thread and that is why it is not part of the questions.

I agree that this translates over to PvP. My concern with too much focus on the PvP side is that (i) Force Barrier was just buffed (a buff that helps PvP much more than PvE, though still having the problem of not doing anything for 8 seconds) and (ii) last round they sort of gave answers on PvP side. I do agree that if we don't get DCDs, we need something else, like more damage, but I think which direction this goes is up to Bioware. I think they really need to either improve our DCDs, Improve our DPS to compensate or provide significant and valuable utility. But which one they choose is sort of up to them and depends on their design theory for the class which, as much as we can speculate what it is, has not been made clear.

With respect to the "Survivability" question. It seems like many people have not read the numerous posts discussing the issue in this thread and many others. I'm not going to repeat all the detail from prior posts (some of which were very extensive), but going to hit the high points. My point of view comes from DPS specced sorcs/sages (though most applies equally to healing specs) in progression/NiM/ World/Server first Operations. The problem is that Sage/Sorc survivability/ability to mitigate damage while doing their job is a factor in whether to take a Sage/Sorc DPS or go with another class that can do the same damage while taking less damage and bringing more raid utility (particularly in 8-man Operations). That is a problem that Bioware needs to address. It is not our job to propose only one solution. We need to present the problem and as many options on possible solutions. It is their job to choose and balance a fix. 1) Sages/Sorcs have light armor. Pretty much every Operation Boss has one or more mechanics that either (i) randomly target a raid member for an attack or (ii) do AOE damage to the entire raid. Many of those attacks are mitigated by armor. Since Sorcs/Sages have light armor (and other than shadows/assassins) every other class has medium or heavy armor. On those numerous attacks, Sages/Sorcs take more damage before accounting for any DCDs. Changing the mechanics to hit everyone equally would put Sages/Sorcs on an even footing before you consider DCDs, but it is only part of the problem. 2) Although the issues exist in all Operation content, it becomes most noticeable in NiM content where, among other things, (i) damage taken is much larger and/or numerous and(ii) enrage timers are extremely tight so every second a DPS isn't performing their job increases the chances of a wipe to enrage. When going for world/server firsts, every increased risk of a wipe is a bad thing. 3) Sorcs/Sages are the only class/spec that lacks a true DCD. Force Barrier requires the Sage/Sorc to stop doing their job. It can also cause problems/is unusable as a DCD in some instances (for example if used on an orb on Brontes, the orb will simply target someone else which can cause problems given how they work. Putting aside how much it heals for, Force Mend requires a GCD to use, meaning the Sorc/Sage is not doing their job, dpsing. Static Barrier requires a GDC (meaning the sage/sorc is not dpsing), requires force to use (potentially creating force issues - albeit lower risk than before 2.7), and may even be unusable if another sorc/sage had previously used a bubble on you. No other class/spec has to stop doing their job to use their purported DCDs. 4) Heal to Full is not an option. Again, healing takes time away from DPSing which is a problem with enrage timers. It also drains force, creating further dps problems (more a concern for madness than lightning) and with pushback can take a very long time to heal. Importantly, numerous of the AOE damage to the raid phases occur during final burn phases where again, stopping to heal may simply result in enrage. 5) Line of Sight does not work in Operations (with the "exception" of Titan VI where everyone uses it. 6) Sages/Sorcs do not do more damage than other classes. Nor do they offer great utility (healing is not very viable for the reasons stated above) to the raid. So if Sages/Sorcs take more damage, do not do more damage than others (and in fact have to lower their damage to use any purported DCDs) and bring little other utility, why bring one over other classes that can do the same (or better) damage, take less damage and bring utility (such as increased damage for the whole raid or reduced damage taken for the whole raid? Sage/Sorc lack of survivability (or increased damage taken) is not currently balanced by anything else for progression PvE content (the issues exist in lower content, they just don't matter as much). Edit: I am still concerned about trying to make this question cover both PvE and PvP. I think our best chance at an answer is really focusing this on PvE.

I like the set bonuses as a feedback rather than full question. My concern is if you only mention the seer set bonuses, they may not realize that others are a problem/concern. From a dps perspective, I would at least add a mention that the "4pc PvP Force Master is seen as rather lackluster" with most people choosing other options. I think the PvE dps set bonuses are generally fine. Also the second sentence under skill tax, I believe the first word should be "And" not "An"

Looks to me like you get hit by a Subteroth exploding and gain Susceptible. 2.5 seconds later you get hit by a second one exploding (while still having the debuff). The debuff lasts much longer than 2.5 seconds normally. Although a bit out of order, the entry "03:15:27.144 You lose Subteroth's Susceptible effect" is associated with your actual death as you lose all buffs and debuffs at that time. Those things often show up before the actual death entry even though it is associated with the death itself.

The issue is that, in NiM Ops, there are numerous examples of random damage (one or more members are targetted to take a hit) or AOE damage (whole raid gets hit). In many cases, those attacks deal damage that is mitigated by armor. That means that on those hits/multiple hits in many AOE cases, sages/sorcs take more damage from each hit. That means they require more healer attention (or have to use more GCDs to heal themselves). The disparity in damage taken can be quite large, even before accounting for other classes using DCDs. While not a complete solution, if they started designing fights such that armor did not impact damage taken, we'd at least start on an even footing with other classes. Regardless, as it exists now, it plays into survivability: we are starting at a disadvantage even before considering DCDs.

Suggested edits for question 1. Add the bold/italics, delete the underlined. PvE - Survivability The developers stated in the Sorcerer answers that healing is intended to make up a significant part of Sage survivability and the suggestion of providing defensive cooldowns besides Force Mend and Force Barrier were rejected outright. The community believes that Sage survivability suffers from a number of inherent problems with its defensive tools. In order to use Force Armor or Force Mend on yourself, you need to use a global cooldown. And in the case of Force Armor use 5%-10% of your resources. That's simply an unacceptable trade off in most PvE situations. For example in Nightmare content (as we saw in TFB & S&V and now in DF), there are very tight enrage timers which require maximum dps to meet. There is also a lot of "random" damage (where a raid member is targeted to take damage) and a lot of instances where there is significant AOE damage to the entire raid [operation. In many of these cases, Sages take more damage than other classes simply because the damage is mitigated by armor and Sages have the worst armor. Although these issues exist in every fight, they are very evident in the final fight of DF, particularly the last phase of Brontes which is a very high DPS check with significant damage going out (both AOE and randomly targetted). Spending GCDs and resources rather than DPSing increases the chance of a wipe. Moreover, Force Barrier is lackluster as it (i) requires the Sage/Sorc to stop DPSing/performing their role increasing the chance of a wipe and (ii) in the case of orbs causes the orb to target another player potentially resulting in further problems. Although Sages/Sorcs are still able to clear the content, the community is concerned that their lower survivability makes them less desirable for progression content. This has caused many in the community to speculate that Sages are intended to be a "glass cannon," frail but able to pack a punch. Sages, however, don't have the inverse advantage in damage to survival that one would expect if that was the case. Many spirited discussions have issued debating this question of the theory of Sage survivability and we invite the developers to take part. The question Are the developers satisfied with Sage/Sorcerer survivability in all play environments? What is your philosophy towards the Sage class and its defenses? Are there any plans to improve the class's current survival tools? For example, by perhaps by providing a means with which to move our tools (Force Armor, Force Mend, etc.) off the GCD when cast on yourself?

Subteroth's don't hit for 46k (at least not unless you have a debuff), so I'm not sure how you died from just one exploding if you were at full health. If there was lag, perhaps you were hit by something else first. 30% DR when stunned only exists if you are full madness/balance spec. While one-shot deaths don't appear to exist, the damage being taken by sorcs/sages does still exceed other classes/specs with no way to mitigate that damage without stopping DPS, including during Brontes fight. Not to say Sage/Sorc dps isn't possible, but it does lead to a preference for classes that don't require so much healer attention.