Guys, guys... His Name is "GrindStone." I don't think we can help him. lol.

In beta i let her live. I killed her this time... and it felt great. But then i couldn't decide whether to go slinger or scoundrel, and have been playing my sage ever since. Idk... dual blasters and lots of cover? Lobbin' 'nades? Heals? Stealth? I just can't decide.

No, in fact, i am stating that the majority takes a casual approach, and then cries when someone who plays aggressively, attempting to maximize the effectiveness of their chosen class, beats them on a regular basis, both with "skill" as well as more effort put-in to gain better gear. harcore player + gear + skill + effort > anything casual. When the casuals cry, regardless of whether they are the majority, they are simply incorrect... and if BW listens to those who simply do not put enough effort into the game to actually beat someone who intends to play both aggressively and competitively, and then changes the game mechanics to make it A) harder to beat someone who is barely trying and undergeared, and B) easier for someone to faceroll and win, without much thinking or effort, then they are also wrong. The majority is not always right. The "elites" or "minority" is not always wrong. Ever heard the phrase "careful what you wish for, you might just get it?" Often, the "casual players" have no idea what the actual results and consequences of their requests/demands will end up being. People don't always realize just what it is they are asking for, until it's too late, and has already brought undesirable consequences. It is, however, expected that a company running a business, will be most likely to attempt to appeal to the largest demographic of their customer base. IMHO, it's a bad move to try to appease the bandwagoners, who will be gone as soon as the next popular thing comes along. BW should, instead, work on making things better for those of us who want to stick around.

Ah, well... If we're being snide, i can add in that manner as well. In PvE you can just get out of combat when you want. Just stop pulling mobs, press your class-specific heal/regen button, and resume activities. I use mine between every pull. I have to be strategic with noble sacrifice, or i cost myself health AND regen. Luckily i went biochem, so i have that extra heal for myself while i'm blasting force into my friends to heal them. All in all, i thought this "alacrity analysis" had a much more broad intention and goal, than simply "improving raid encounters." I could definitely see how it would be pretty embarrassing to run out of your casting pool, watch your tank die and wipe the raid, have everyone call you terribad, and not be invited to the next one... just because you chose to stack alacrity and spam cast everything, rather than playing more conservatively and/or choosing different stats that would perhaps be more appropriately tailored toward your intended goal. So... yeah, i think that maybe healing in-general needs a boost, rather than simply nit-picking one specific stat to death. But if you think just fixing alacrity will help, without any alterations to the actual class mechanics, then... i would gladly support improvements to said stat. I would personally prefer to see them take the "correct" path, and improve the actual class-specific healing mechanics for each one, rather than trying to slap a band-aid on it, by making everyone rely on "the new alacrity" to attain suitable healing functionality.

I loved that bug. It's not like fixing that will stop operatives from stunlocking me to death, or marauders from shredding me to pieces in 0.37 seconds. Not that my opinion matters, but i think they should leave it as-is. Just change the description to read "as long as the buff is active," rather than just "the next heal." It's an interesting dynamic, and makes the game more challenging for the classes who chew through 15k hp in less than 2 seconds. (ok ok, slight exaggeration, but still... i've gone from full to 0 in literally an instant, too many times to count) Sure, i can adjust... it's just not as interesting, and didn't seem like something that should be so high-priority, or even "fixed" at all, considering all the other glaring issues abound. It was a little like "weaving," a little like "molding," but not nearly anything that should be called "OP," by any stretch, whether "intended" or not. It's almost like they're telling us "oops, we didn't mean for healers to be able to heal enough to actually have pvp combat encounters last more than 3-4 GCD's." It's not like people can't just interrupt and therefore negate that 2nd cast, anyway. They can and do. Happens to me constantly. Double-critting a double-cast is sometimes (read: frequently) the only chance of survival, once focused. Part of me is completely certain that the under-geared casuals crying about "OP force casters" is really the motivation behind "fixing" this.

Hmm... Alacrity useless? Bad? What? Really? So what if you spend your energy pool faster. So what if it's "less efficient" if you're spamming your heals as fast as possible. That's kinda the point. Making the heal affect it's target sooner. Alacrity decreases the length of time between pressing the button and healing the target. That is an incredibly good thing, particularly in pvp, but also in pve. I know, yes, i play a Sage (50/47, cent/champ), and i do have a regen advantage... and you guys are probably all going to do your best to dismiss my opinion, but... I simply cannot fathom the idea that slower casting in pvp could EVER be a "good" thing. I run out of force when i have to. I sustain it when i can. The point is keeping your friends alive while marauders are shredding them to pieces and BH's are spamming tracers. Death happens very quickly in pvp, and the last thing you want is for your heals to "fire" on a dead target. You want that heal getting there ASAP, so that you can begin casting the next one, possibly on a second or even third target. Your "energy pool" is completely irrelevant if your group is dead. If you have to spend it all to keep your team alive, you do it... and preferably as quickly as possible, even if you are then forced to spend a little downtime to regen. As a sage seer, i will almost always sacrifice myself to keep my tanks and dps alive that little bit longer... because i know they can kill something faster than i can. If i don't get focused, the other team is at a huge disadvantage. I will concede that sometimes it's better to have a bigger heal that takes longer to cast, rather than the quickest possible smaller heal... but this whole "alacrity is garbage" mindset is absurd. I wouldn't go stacking only-alacrity, but completely ignoring or avoiding it, seems just as ridiculous. It just seems like common-sense that stacking a single stat, forgoing all others where possible, will inevitably gimp whatever class you're playing, in one way or another. I prefer willpower and power on my sage, above all else. I'd rather have quick and reliable, instead of slower with some lucky huge hits (crit/surge). Those slow and lucky hits will often be wasted on a target that died while you were still casting, or even never finish casting at all, due to being focused... where a quicker and smaller heal would have fired, landed, and saved the day. Maybe it really just comes down to playstyle and preference. That said... i would definitely not take issue with any improvements to alacrity's functionality for any class. Faster cast is faster. ^^

1) look at the time on each post, and you'll see that only 2 minutes separate them. I spent more than 2 minutes writing that, because i don't like to just rant-and-send... i spend a little time and thought on what i write. Sometimes it may seem like i didn't, regardless. 2) you're not the only one who "really gets into" being "evil." There is way too much evil in this world already, and far too many embracing and promoting it IRL, on a daily basis, as a way of life. Some of them even play this game with us. And, not all of them play empire. ^^

This. Who would expect a "jedi consular" to be anything Other Than a diplomatic monk mediator type? Did you all just spacebar through all the dialogue? Are you all "those people" who refuse to pay attention to what is going on, or ever read a subtitle? I think the real problem with the consular story, is that the people who seem so dissatisfied by it, are the ones who just have no clue what a jedi consular is supposed to be about, in the first place. I think most of you must have rolled a consular because you heard it was OP, or you heard it was the one with the double-bladed lightsaber. Excessive and unwarranted expectations and misconceptions strike the microwave generation, once again.

I appreciate and commend you for your efforts. It's pretty astonishing to me that anyone would take "Sith are Evil" so personally, and so vehemently defend them, as though they themselves were actually "Sith." It also blows my mind, just how many people completely misunderstand and miscontrue the part of the "jedi code" that refers to emotion. They are not literally saying that emotion "doesn't exist." They are also not saying to deny, or refuse to accept emotion. IT IS A COPING MECHANISM! How many times must this be stated? Infinitely? It is one thing to "feel," and quite another to intentionally exaggerate a negative emotion, to the point where one flies into a rage about it, acts irrationally, and hurts others in the process. It's wrong to hurt others, "just because you want to." And, while reading the posts of many "Sith-Defenders," i can't help but get the feeling that most of you actually believe that Evil is "the right way to be." Even IRL. You people are disturbing. I can understand "playing a bad guy in a video game," but this incessant justification of all-that-is-wrong-and-bad, is just... reprehensible, i guess would be the word. I imagine some of you must be sitting there snarling, growling, gnashing teeth, slinging drool, seething with hate, like some sort of vicious demon. It's not really cool to be that way IRL. lol.

This.

Because then you'll have people crying about "guard-hugging." And they Will Cry! Although, i don't really have an alternate solution to suggest, or see any way around the "guard hugging issue." You either protect people from griefers, or you don't. I don't think there's any grey-area here.

"Are Sith really evil?" My answer would have to be: Yes. It really is "as simple as that." However... it really depends on what your definitions of "Sith" and "Evil" are. If two perspectives hold different definitions for the same terms... then there will likely never be agreement or understanding. So, in order to further the discussion in an intelligent way... Let's all agree on a definition for the terms "Sith," and "Evil." Once we do that, perhaps there can be an answer other than simply "Yes." Let's answer these questions: What is "Sith?" What is "Evil?"

I enjoyed it. I think you kinda have to be "in-character," or have a particular type of motivation and mindset to enjoy playing a consular, in the first place... and after playing through as a sage, i can see how it may not exactly fit the "shadow" mindset. From what i understand, the advanced classes have no bearing on the story progression, other than the abilities and tactics used during action sequences. Idk. Whatever. It was enjoyable for me, and i thought it only got better as i progressed further through it. I did begin to get impatient in my 40's and sort of rush it a bit, and i guess i'll admit, it does sort of "get old," the way everyone, everywhere, seems to expect you to do everything for them, as you save each planet you visit along the way. It actually seems to be a bit of a joke at some points, with some of the dialogue options referring to guilt-trips and self-sufficiency. Some characters even "claim" partial credit for your heroism, while they in fact did nothing at all, other than to ask you to do it for them. Such is the life of a Jedi, i guess... doing everything "normal" people can't do for themselves. I would definitely say it's a story that will most likely be most enjoyed from a particular perspective and mindset. edit: i will add, it seems more drama-oriented, rather than action-packed. That said... lvl 14 is no time to decide anything about any of the class-stories. You've just scratched the surface at that point. I mean... you JUST got sprint. You don't even have your ship. You have no idea what's going on! (which was the single factor that ended up compelling me to respond at all) lol.

I literally lol'd. Literally. +1 internets to you, my good sir.

Ahh haha! The classic "crow-feed" counter. Love it. I would say "good question," but the answers are either A) No One, or B) "Apparently not BioWare!"