That "dome shield" is 25% damage reduction for 10 seconds on a 2 minute cooldown. That's the only mitigation cooldown. Powertechs/Vanguards damage is hardly massive; someone was probably taking ranged shots at you and/or healing the powertech and you didn't take notice. Best way to kill a powertech/vanguard is to CC whenever possible and maintain your DPS. Their armor only mitigates kinetic and energy attacks, so focus on attacks that do other damage types (elemental, internal, etc). Don't try to kite them like you would other melee classes; doesn't work. On a side note, you mentioned that the guy had near 20k hitpoints and you only have 15k. He probably seriously outgeared you.

I think you are confused. Powertechs do not have knockback, nor any healing other than a *** button for 15% health over 10 seconds on a cooldown (i.e. much less than a heal pot). Their hitpoints are in line with the other tank archetypes as well. If you were referring to the Mercenary, your post still doesn't make sense. Mercenaries get heals, but do not have a pull mechanic. They have good sustained dps, but are also much squishier.

I like it. I'm only level 17 since restarting on a new server, but I enjoy the challenge. Nothing more satisfying than winning an engagement / 1v1 against players with a toolset advantage. Skill still matters to a degree, and it's great practice. So what if you lose now? The rewards are comparable, even when you lose. Eventually, the average level of the playerbase will be closer to 50 than 10, and the disparity will be greatly reduced. And FYI, if you signficantly max out your gear for your particular level, the Bolster mechanic actually goes overboard adjusting your stats. I walked into a match the other day with 14k hitpoints and very high damage/defense, wearing all blues/oranges that were within 2 levels of my character. I was sending level 35+'s running at level 15.

Empire vs Empire in VoidStar or Alderaan makes no sense. Here's a thought... roll Republic. Problem solved. Personally, I feel that the fact that Empire can match against Empire in Huttball is making the situation worse than if it was only EvR. If the EvR was the only option, the ridiculous Empire queues would go a long way to balancing the server population.

I like it. I'm only level 17 since restarting on a new server, but I enjoy the challenge. Nothing more satisfying than winning an engagement / 1v1 against players with a toolset advantage. Skill still matters to a degree, and it's great practice. And FYI, if you signficantly max out your gear for your particular level, the Bolster mechanic actually goes overboard adjusting your stats. I walked into a match the other day with 14k hitpoints and very high damage/defense, wearing all blues/oranges that were within 2 levels of my character. I was sending level 35+'s running at level 15.

Hang in there. The class balance changes significantly 40+. It really is all about the order in which certain classes gain their various abilities. At 50, the classes you are complaining about now will be QQ'ing about marauder/sentinel owning their faces.

Bolster is more than just a flat modification to your stats. It takes into account the armor/gear/weapon you are using RELATIVE to your character level, and scales you accordingly. Therefore, a level 10 in all blues will actually have their stats/dmg/etc scaled higher than a level 20 who is in all greens. The only disadvantage you would have is that the higher level player has more skills/passive abilities/etc to work with due to their level. If you want to be successful in warzones, it's very important that you keep your gear top notch as you level.

In my experience, Heat Blast was crucial for managing heat as Shieldtech. I gave blade a try and felt that I was much less effective at maintaining DPS on hard or healed targets.

You're making a mountain out of a molehill. The MVP gets ONE extra commendation medal. Whoop-dee-doo. And FYI, kills and damage are only 1/5th of the equation. For example, if I see a player successfully and repeatedly holding a node by himself, etc... things that actually contribute to a win... I will vote for him, even though that person will probably not be #1 in damage or healing done.