Right now the most viable hybrid is a 27/0/14, which as you can see is only shifted by 4 talent points from the pure 31/0/10 tanking spec. The big thing you gain with the hybrid is Force in Balance, which is a 30m ranged attack, ground-centered, that hits up to 3 targets and does internal damage so it stings pretty bad. For someone whose interest is in tanking for PvE (flashpoints, operations, etc.) I don't think that is worth it. The capstone skill in the tanking tree is a REALLY good tanking skill; 5-target AoE, very short cooldown, high threat generating, and makes a REALLY quick way to build up your stacks of Harnessed Shadows, which in turn means you are doing a lot of damage from those buffed up Tel Throws and a lot of self-healing from them as well, which really reduces the healing load on your FP/op healer. Losing all that just to get Force in Balance just doesn't make sense from a PvE group tanking standpoint. Now, if your main interest is PvP tanking...that could be a different story. I think a lot of PvP focused shadow tanks like the extra offensive firepower (not to mention the ability to interrupt a node cap from 30m out on multiple targets) that Force in Balance provides.

1. Shield (and Kinetic Ward) versus focus is VERY much a debated topic right now among PvP shadows. Since PvP is not my area of expertise I will leave it to the masters to debate amongst themselves which is more useful. 2. Force Breach is not a part of your rotation if you are focusing on DPS output, as it is relatively weak-hitting. But it is a 5-target AoE which makes it great for interrupts when the other side is trying to cap nodes. And it is great for the accuracy debuff it puts on other people. Remember that as tanks with our high defense numbers, many other players already have issues hitting us...slapping a 5% accuracy debuff on them on top of that just makes that an even greater issue. It's not as powerful a debuff as the 5% damage debuff from Slow Time, but it is worthwhile nonetheless. Now in any particular fight, whether taking that one GCD to use Force Breach for the debuff rather than a higher damage skill is obviously a matter of choice and strategy.

I have never seen any viable shadow tank build, either a full 31 point build or a hybrid tank build, that has not ALWAYS taken all the point in Applied Force. Double-strike is our bread and butter melee attack, to increase damage it does by 6% is really huge for us, both from a damage standpoint and from the corresponding threat standpoint. This is your standard 31/0/10 full tank build. This is a 27/0/14 build, probably the most common of the hybrid builds currently. Before the nerf to Force Strike the most common hybrid was a 23/0/18 build, but in the current situation most feel that putting the extra points on the Kinetic side in order to get Harnessed Shadows is the best use of those points now. In any case, I can't foresee any scenario where you wouldn't have 2/2 in Applied Force at the bottom of your kinetic tree.

Yes, but also remember that with update 1.2 people will be able to pull the mods (including the armoring) out of their flashpoint/operation/pvp gear and move those over into their orange items. So unless cybertech gets some way to craft mods that are equivalent to operation-level mods (which I doubt), I am not sure how much demand there is going to be for cybertech mods at endgame.

Right now the only area where it makes some difference is the relic slots. All the relics in the game pre-level 50 (other than the ones you can self-craft using matrix shards) have alignment restrictions either towards the light or towards the dark. As you get higher in level, those restrictions start demanding that you be farther and farther along in one direction or another. So level 20 relics might only require Light II or Dark II, but by the time you get to level 45+ ones, they require either Light V or Dark V. This poses a problem for not only "true neutral" characters but also for characters who lean in one direction or another but don't go all-out. So what I would say is that if you are not going fully either light or dark, it just puts a little more pressure on you to find your matrix shards as you are leveling up and make yourself a couple of relics, or else just realize you'll be at a slight stat disadvantage for not having them. I have a smuggler alt that I am playing as a neutral character right now, he is level 27 or 28 and as of yet has no relics equipped. Can't say I have noticed myself being particularly gimped. Also, note that once you hit lvl 50 and start doing endgame content there are both PvP relics (from, well, doing PvP) and PvE relics (from hardmode flashpoints and normal/hardmode operations) that do not have any alignment restrictions. So once you hit level 50 and start doing that stuff, the "problem" disappears. It is only an issue for people while leveling up. There is other gear that is alignment-restricted (usually weapons) but this is not really an issue as there is usually plenty of non-alignment-restricted gear of equal power available at the same levels. It's only the relic slot (pre-level 50) currently where there really aren't any non-alignment-restricted options available.

Technically speaking that quote does not assure us that there will be craftable cyan or purple schematics. "Various colors" is about as generic as it comes. They explicitly mention schematics for PvE magenta crystals. They explicitly mention schematics for PvP cyan and purple crystals. That is all. One might presume (as I do) that the general line about "various colors" would include purple and cyan, but one could equally have presumed that would also have included white (since all those colors are on the current geologist vendor), yet Georg recently said explicitly white crystals and their schematics will NOT be in the game anytime soon. So I don't think it's a 100% safe assumption that purple and cyan (non-pvp) schematics are going to be in the game either.

No, you don't "lose out" on anything. When you finish your home world and head to the fleet for the first time, you will see a questgiver almost right in front of you who will send you to the NPC where you choose your advanced class. Depending upon how much killing/exploring/heroics you do on your home world, it is not at all unusual to be level 11 before finishing up and heading to the fleet to choose your AC.

There has already been computer modeling of Sage DPS output in the new upcoming patch in a raid setting (which I presume means single-target, long extended fight) using different Sage builds. The net result is that, with Update 1.2 as it exists on the public test server now, there is essentially zero difference in sustained DPS output when comparing a full Telekinetics build versus a full Balance build. A hybrid between the two (0/13/28) very slightly outperforms either of those, but that is by only about 2.8%. The actual numbers from their test (based on 1,000 combat iterations): 1617 DPS - hybrid (0/13/28) 1574 DPS - balance (3/7/31) 1572 DPS - telekinetics (3/31/7) Source if you want to read more.

For Kinetic Combat, crit is the least desirable of the three, as SO much of our damage is from PA-procced Projects (auto-crit, so crit is quite literally worthless) or from 3-HS Telekinetic Throw (which about every third one you'll be doing with Force Potency, which is going to give you an additional 60% crit change making your overall crit chance already 80%+). On the flipside, since we can so dependably auto-crit big attacks, Surge rating is of MORE use to Kinetic Combat shadows than it is to just about any other class. So I would say for a KC shadow wanting to increase DPS, look for Surge and Power, try to avoid taking crit unless you are forced into it.

Lots more orange moddable gear coming with Update 1.2 in a couple of weeks as well.

I realize EXACTLY what people want. I am one of those people. That being said, game developers don't always give players what players want. Game developers give players what the game developers decide to give them. And the wishes of the players are one factor (rarely the most important factor) in that decision. Lots of other factors go into it. In this particular case, I think those "other factors" (some of which I elaborated in my previous post) are going to outrank the wishes/desires of the players. I could be wrong. I hope I'm wrong. But I was just describing what I think is the most likely scenario.

Yes they are working on social gear auto-adapting (light/medium/heavy) but it won't be ready for Update 1.2.

I think it is more likely that they add some sort of delay to the Sin Lightning than they do eliminate the delay from Project. The former is easy enough to do; the Sorc/Assassin's hands just glow all sparkly with lightning for a split second and only after that does the lightning shoot out from their hands. Nice, easy change. Easy enough to code (I would think). And if done right, would actually make the animation for that skill on the Imp side MUCH cooler looking than it already is now. Compare that to trying to "fix" the Project animation to make it's damage instant. I honestly don't see how you can possibly do that, short of changing the animation completely away from what it is now and instead making it a slight variation on the animation for Telekinetic Throw (only instead of instantly shooting a whole bunch of little rocks, you instantly shoot one big large piece of debris). That is a massive change that goes at the heart of the whole skill animation, which is supposed to get its cool-looking effect from the fact that the rock (or whatever) "hangs suspended in midair" for a split second before getting thrown. Also keep in mind with the new legacy system, Project is THE consular skill that will be the level 50 legacy heroic skill that others can earn. Project as it stands now is Bioware's baby, it is what they think defines the consular, so I just can't see the sort of massive animation overhaul taking place that you would have to do to make the animation instant. Or else, you keep the entire animation the same but code the skill so that the damage kicks in as soon as the skill is activated (even though the rocks hasn't arrived yet)...in other words, damage and animation would no longer be in sync. I don't think either of those two options for Project are ideal. I don't think BW would consider either of those ideal. Which makes me think Project is staying exactly the same, and a delay (in the form of glowy hands or something similar) is going to be added to Imp mirror skill instead. And while it is more indirect evidence, notice that EVERY TIME this topic has been addressed by Bioware devs, they have NEVER used a phrase like "fix Project's animation" but have always worded things instead in the form of, "adjusting animation delays for mirror classes" or something like that...in other words, they have always answered in such a way that left the door open to EITHER eliminating the delay in Project OR adding a delay to the Sith skill. If they were intending all along to fix the Project delay, I rather thing they would have said that. They never have. Instead they have always talked about adjusting/mirroring. More evidence that the Sin skill is getting changed, not ours.

Shadow tanks are in a really good spot right now, so it's not an issue with the class. First rule of thumb, your guard goes on whoever in your group is pulling the most threat. If you had a Rakaka-geared gunslinger, then guard really belongs on him, not the healer. Compared to other games I have played, healing aggro in SWTOR is actually pretty low as far as I can tell. Sounds to me that the big issue was your group overall wasn't playing smart. Sounds like the two experiened ppl were just wanting to blow through everything at light speed and that's not a good idea with a brand-new tank doing his first run through the flashpoint. I'd give it a few more tries, ideally with a group a little more patient in its approach.

Most (not all) of the dailies on both Ilum (and I think Belsavis as well) are gated behind finishing your class quest. You absolutely want to do that ASAP. It is probably reasonable to presume that the new dailies coming on Corellia are going to be similarly gated. Finish the class quest.

This is a good point, and one that people often miss...it is only a 10% increase to your bonus damage, and bonus damage only makes up a small part of the total damage you are doing. I do agree that Project, by itself, is more Force-inefficient. But I think you overstate the case when you say DS hits "significantly" harder. The base difference is DS hits about 10% harder (not something I would call "significant," but I suppose that is more a matter of opinion). What is significant, at least when dealing with open-world questing, is that Project also stuns the target for 3 seconds...which gives you essentially 2 global cooldowns in which you can continue to do damage and you aren't taking any damage at all in return. Certainly not a consideration all the time, but it can be important while still questing and in the leveling-up process.

A tank versus a healer one on one is an exercise in futility, in the sense that neither is going to be likely to kill the other anytime soon. At the same time, as a shadow tank you can harass a healer and make his life a living hell, especially once you hit 42 (two more levels OP) and get Spinning Kick. At that point you will have four interrupts: * Mind Snap (interrupt plus 4s lockout on one skill, on a 12s cooldown) * Spinning Kick (interrupt plus 2s knockdown, on a 30s cooldown) * Force Wave (interrupt with knockback, on a 20s cooldown) * Force Stun (interrupt plus 4s stun, on a 60s cooldown) So take that together, that gives you 10 interrupts every minute. That alone is enough to really make life difficult for them. Plus if the healer is more than 10m away from you, you have a fifth option (Force Pull, 45s cooldown) which acts as an interrupt. And if you have the PvP set armor you can reduce the cooldown on Spinning Kick to 20s.

Sentinels (and Guardians too, I think) have an interrupt on a 6s cooldown. I think that is the best in the game. Another option (especially if you are more inclined to harass them then outright kill them) would be a tanking-spec shadow. Interrupt on a 12s timer but at least 3 additional skills that are stuns (and thus interrupts), between them all you can virtually perma-lockdown any player relying on induction or channeled based skills. And with the defenses and health of a geared tank, I don't think any healer is going to have either the burst or the sustained DPS to be able to kill you, since you can self-heal 12% of your max health roughly every 20 seconds (give or take). With talents in the tank tree that make Force Speed break all movement-impairing effects, and Force Pull to be able to pull targets from 30m out right to your feet, you are also a very difficult target to effectively kite.

Nice post, and nice job to the OP. I'd also like to chime in that when it comes to PUGging ops, especially with brand new 50's, is that you don't need to do a complete clear in order to call it a successful evening. If you have a group of people who are essentially in no Columi gear at all, being able to PUG and go into EV and even down a couple of the bosses is a good start. Obviously a complete clear is better (get credit for the weekly quest etc.) but the point is, since every boss drops decent stuff, even to clear one or two bosses is a solid start, especially if you have a bunch of non-geared first-timers.

Those are called "luxury fabrics" and you get those from running Underworld Trading missions. If you notice for the codex entry for synthweaving, the two crew skills that support it are archaeology (which provides the basic materials, i.e. crystals and artifacts) and underworld trading (which provides the rarer materials, i.e. luxury fabrics and underworld metals). The lowest-quality ("green") recipes only require the archaeology mats, but the higher quality ("blue" and "purple") recipes require the rare mats. You can also buy them on the GTN (they will be in the category Crafting Materials --> Underworld Trading) but that is unlikely to be practical as you continue to raise up your synthweaving.

I hate the changing cover bar, I turned it off when my smuggler was about level 3 and have never turned it back on since.

I believe the numbers are: 1 point of Power = 0.33 bonus damage 1 point of Willpower = 0.30 bonus damage But keep in mind, Willpower also increases things like your crit rate as well, whereas Power increases damage only, nothing else.

Sounds to me like you aren't in Combat Technique. Must be in Combat Technique to get the Particle Acceleration proc.

The reason most dedicated PvP tanks use gear/armor with offensive mods is the fact that the defensive mods are almost worthless. Now, if you do something like change the mechanics such that tank's shield chance affects ALL incoming damage, no matter what the source/type.... then suddenly you'll see a lot of tanks go back to using tanking mods. Maybe not all, but a lot.

On my first character, I hit maybe 2/3 of the flashpoints ("at level," give or take) along the way to 50. On my alts I have mostly skipped them. I think this thread has highlighted most of the roadblocks. I think more people would do them if you could get a group together and then when you had your four, hit one button and would instantly be at the FP beginning (much like queueing for PvP). As it is now, it takes freaking forever to run through about 8 loading screens just to get from wherever I am on a planet to get into a flashpoint. Needless hassle. And I also agree that with some (both pre-50 and HM versions at 50), there is just waaaayyyyy too much trash fighting in between bosses. Again, it needlessly lengthens the fp without serving any meaningful purpose. I mean, when you look at one like Kaon Under Siege, for example, you can literally spend HOURS fighting trash in there just to get to boss fights that last 5 minutes. Finally, regarding lvl 50, as others have pointed out HM FP's drop so little loot useful loot as compared to easymode ops, despite taking roughly the same amount of time, that it is really an inefficient way to gear up. You time is much better spent doing regular mode EV or KP, even if your group can only clear one or two bosses in those places, than it is to run really any of the HM's.