and thanks for all the commendations! Been a wild ride, enjoyed the highs and lows, but the highs really stand out. Life goes on and I bid everyone that I have crossed paths with a fond farewell.

Not an exploit. Just ignorant of how the gas works. Gas fills from the outer area of the arena and makes its way to the center of the map. Last person standing at the center gets the win.

Welcome to my world Next step is self evaluation and acceptance. Not fulfilling these two means you have already lost. Check out http://www.ezpvper.com/ in the meantime.

FF14 happened. Plus who wants that non-mouse keyboard turner sniper anyways? I secretly want to heal him again with my floaty green kolto, but that means I have to play FF14. Be on the look out for his name in EQN, he'll be playing that game for sure.

Click me and watch.

Not last. Encouraging...

Prove your worth and make them earn their win.

I see concerns. Solution may not be needed if other team knew about gas situations. Enemy team make up? PT/VG not stealth scanning, Sin/Shadow/Scoundrel/Operative not hunting, Singler/Sniper not setting up shop, Sage/Sorc/Sent/Marauder/Jugg/Guardian/Merc/Commando not AoEing. Valid concerns, but solution maybe too soon?

Wait, you're telling me not to go after the unguarded target?

Like the fat kid getting picked last, count me in!

A mistake indeed! Thanks for the catch, though I am sure it felt like 5 seconds to everyone on the receiving end of it

Thanks for the read! The idea was to make this class a control and support stealth class, rather than this "burst" DPS class that we are all use to playing. I kind of incorporated the class style to really give reasons why it would work out in our favor. I am sure the number effects will change, but I feel that Scoundrels have to rely on their tools and wits. That is how they established themselves in the first place right? I think I did a pretty decent job in making them illusive and slippery, but still fragile in full out combat. I thought about which kind of debuff that we "should" have and it came down to me reasoning that a Scoundrel doesn't know how to reduce a person's ability to maintain life, but they do know who to break a person down physically and mentally. Also it was picked for Armor Reduction so that this class would work in PvE content

Disclaimer: This was written originally for Opeatives. I have changed names and terminology around to fit for the Scoundrel. Understand that this perspective is taken mainly from a PvP standpoint. I have played all of the SM content on my Scoundrel and have completed some of the older HM/attempted NiM content as well. However I do not believe I have enough knowledge to support these claims for high end PvE, though I do believe everyone will enjoy these changes. Please enjoy the read (crl+f THX-1138 for skill changes), it was extremely fun to write this out Original post in the Operative thread: http://www.swtor.com/community/showpost.php?p=6896810&postcount=24 As a Scoundrel I can understand the problems with trying to change this class. There are two facts that are absolutely true: 1. Sawbones Scoundrels have the ability to maintain a consistent high amount of healing while under pressure. 2. Dirty Fighting has the ability to post the highest amount of total damage (as long as a cleanse is never used) and has the potential to deal out a substantial amount of burst when the stars align (the glorious three wounding shots). This is why Scoundrels are a top class; we are capable of these two facts without having to take a set bonus. Based on gear and stat optimization, we have a potential that is unmatched by others. Then there is our Scrapper middle tree and it is clueless on what it is trying to be. I am actually content with the current damage output from the Scrapper class. The Scoundrel is a multi-function class, we should not be better than others in DPS (especially pure DPS classes ie, Sentinals and Gunslingers) but we should have better utilities. For Scrappers that means better single target control and this how I think the class was envisioned to excel at. For those that remember from the glorious launch month, Scrapper had a 3 second knockdown from Shoot First and the Resolve bar functioned in a much different way that allowed for an Scoundrel to practically “stunlock” an opponent (this has been edited, originally posted 5 without checking). Damage output was never very high (until the relic stacking became known), but their ability to lock a character out of a fight was the reason Scoundrels were immediately considered overpowered. We do know that Bioware is heavily involved with the lore of Star Wars, class designs and the KotOR series is proof of this. What this means to me is that an Scoundrel is not a capable melee fighter when compared to a Sith/Jedi. Lore wise, Scoundrels they rely on their cunning (wonder why dexterity/agility was changed to that?) to get them out of dire situations (“We're all fine here now, thank you. How are you?” ring a bell for Scoundrels?). What does this have to do with class changes? SWTOR provides two stealth classes, the Infiltration Shadow and the Scrapper Scoundrel. The Shadow advance class is a Jedi that stills know how to fight from the extensive training in their saber art and force powers. This is why I can accept that the Shadow class is capable of maintaining their DPS out of stealth because they are capable melee fighters, they are the “rogue” of this game. The Scoundrel on the other is just a regular human (or w/e race, but one with no force sensitivity), however they have proven their worth from extensive smuggling, quick wits and keen ability to always have an escape plan. So how do we increase the viability of the Scoundrel Scrapper but not also break any lore character standards that Bioware may have? The concern is that right now our damage output from stealth and out of stealth is low compared to others. In addition with the changes to how critical currently works, it really downplays our ability to maintain any threating damage on a single target and thus we are forced into playing this double Shoot First game to maintain any sort of single target damage. So why am I okay with this poor damage assessment? Because Scoundrels must be careful in their approach, not play this brute out of stealth in your face type class like the Infiltration Shadow. To me, utilities that cause debuffs and an increase to snares would be the answer. A class that allows us to be a mosquito, a minor nuisance at first, but if not properly treated it will be too late to realize that the itch has become an irreversible pain. Currently the changes that are being suggested are to bring Scrapper Scoundrels into this standardization of the “rogue” dps, big upfront damage to make up for the lack of sustained out of stealth DPS. That means there must be a way to increase confirmed critical chances and allow for users to be threaten by large numbers. I believe that the Infiltration Shadow class already fills this role and for a Scoundrel to become this all powerful melee warrior is not consistent to what it means to be a smuggler in Star Wars. The changes mention from here on will change the way a Scrapper Scoundrel is currently played, but I believe that this will change the dynamic of why people should play this class. THX-1138 Skill revamp for Scrapper Scoundrels: -Replace the skill “Surprise Comeback” with Relaxant Dart. When specced into Relaxant Dart, it will replace the Scoundrel’s Tranquilizer with a stinger that applies the Relaxant debuff. The skill description will be as follows: -Flechette Round will also get the following changes: -Slippery Devil will get the following changes: -Rolling Punches will be changed to “The Odds” and receive the following changes: -Stopping Power: So why these changes? A Scrapper Scoundrel is a cunning artist and will utilize all tools (including others!) to support them in combat. The idea behind the Relaxant Dart is to allow a Scoundrel an assisting tool without yet revealing their position so suddenly. In the PvP aspect, the Relaxant Dart will force healers to seek out the Relaxant debuff and cleanse it in time before it settles in and becomes Myoplexaril. The point of the Myoplexaril is to promote this idea that the Scoundrel has now marked their target. The slow is there to start the slow process of confusing the opponent in what should be done next to defend themselves from certain death. Relaxant Dart places the Scoundrel in combat but does not remove them from stealth. The application of Armor Reduction is to allow for teammates to apply their support in the dispatching the target. Currently armor penetration is a single target ability designed to allow Scoundrel to increase their damage to an opponent (I believe that is the difference, Armor Pen= user buff and Armor Reduction= target debuff. Please tell me if I am wrong about this). Going for the single 50% reduction to armor rating really opens up the usefulness of an Scoundrel as they are now a teamplayer rather than a lone wolf. The point of the Myoplexaril plus Flechette Round is to really drive home the idea that the opponent is being singled out from the rest of the group. The fastest way to break a cohesive unit is to make them think that they are no longer working together. The combination of the two still makes for achieving the 50% reduction to armor rating a skilled task that can be easily disrupted if not planned properly. Slippery Devil now becomes a three skill point skill and basically is a Scoundrel’s way of getting back into the stealth game and doubles as their “defensive” ability. Having a successful dodge will proc the reset on Disappearing Act, is a plays on the elusiveness that Scoundrels are known for. The changes to Rolling Punches is to allow an Scoundrels to call in air support back up without having to worry about being interrupted. This allows them to maintain damage through support and still apply the out of stealth damage as need be without it forced to be a “melee” ability. The change to Stopping Power is to play on this idea that Scrapper Scoundrels are trying to confuse the target on when to use their stun breaker and really cement the idea that Scoundrels never fight fair in their combat and understand that confusing a powerful opponent will make them weaker. While I know these changes seem different from the norm, but I do believe it will provide practical applications as a tool to assist a team in both PvP and PvE. In a game with no assisting type bard class, the Scrapper will fill that role while maintaining their ability at being a stealth class. These changes also will synergize with the current set bonuses, so I believe this tree change could really work within this game and allow them to become tools to assist in combat and counter the idea that all stealth classes must be rogues.

Glad you enjoyed the read! I am sure the numbers can change, since I don't have any method of testing them in a game situation. However I do believe that their ability to control a single target well enough will allow for them to maintain a threat without having to be this cookie cutter rogue class that it is expected to be. I also tried to do my best to not allow for any self healing or AoE damage reduction. To me the class should be slippery, but still fragile.

Disclaimer: This perspective is taken mainly from a PvP standpoint. I have played all of the SM content on my Scoundrel and have completed some of the older HM/attempted NiM content as well. However I do not believe I have enough knowledge to support these claims for high end PvE, though I do believe everyone will enjoy these changes. I know there is another mirror faction, however because this is about the Operative advance class, discussion will use Imperial and Agent terminology. Please enjoy the read (crl+f THX-1138 for skill changes), it was extremely fun to write this out As an Operative I can understand the problems with trying to change this class. There are two facts that are absolutely true: 1. Medicine Operatives have the ability to maintain a consistent high amount of healing while under pressure. 2. Lethality has the ability to post the highest amount of total damage (as long as a cleanse is never used) and has the potential to deal out a substantial amount of burst when the stars align (the glorious three cull). This is why Operatives/Scoundrels are a top class; we are capable of these two facts without having to take a set bonus. Based on gear and stat optimization, we have a potential that is unmatched by others. Then there is our Concealment middle tree and it is clueless on what it is trying to be. I am actually content with the current damage output from the concealment class. The Operative is a multi-function class, we should not be better than others in DPS (especially pure DPS classes ie, Marauders and Snipers) but we should have better utilities. For concealment that means better single target control and this how I think the class was envisioned to excel at. For those that remember from the glorious launch month, Concealment had a 5 second knockdown from Hidden Strike and the Resolve bar functioned in a much different way that allowed for an Operative to practically “stunlock” an opponent. Damage output was never very high (until the relic stacking became known), but their ability to lock a character out of a fight was the reason Operatives were immediately considered overpowered. We do know that Bioware is heavily involved with the lore of Star Wars, class designs and the KotOR series is proof of this. What this means to me is that an Operative is not a capable melee fighter when compared to a Sith/Jedi. Lore wise, Operatives they rely on their cunning (wonder why dexterity/agility was changed to that?) to get them out of dire situations (“We're all fine here now, thank you. How are you?” ring a bell for Scoundrels?). The Operative is a new character that wasn't in any past Star Wars games (maybe in some books?) but this to me is why their story and character animations is the best of this MMO, Bioware basically had free range to develop how an Agent of the Imperial Army would be portrayed. What does this have to do with class changes? SWTOR provides two stealth classes, the Deception Assassin and the Concealment Operative. The Assassin advance class is a Sith that stills know how to fight from the extensive training in their saber art and force powers. This is why I can accept that the Assassin class is capable of maintaining their DPS out of stealth because they are capable melee fighters, they are the “rogue” of this game. The Operative on the other is just a regular human (or w/e race, but one with no force sensitivity), however they have risen the ranks of the Imperial Army with proven military tactics and knowledge of sophisticated Imperial technology to allow them to stand shoulder to shoulder with a Sith. So how do we increase the viability of the Operative Concealment but not also break any lore character standards that Bioware may have? The concern is that right now our damage output from stealth and out of stealth is low compared to others. In addition with the changes to how critical currently works, it really downplays our ability to maintain any threating damage on a single target and thus we are forced into playing this double Hidden Strike game to maintain any sort of single target damage. So why am I okay with this poor damage assessment? Because Operatives must be tactical in their approach, not play this brute out of stealth in your face type class like the Deception Assassin. To me, utilities that cause debuffs and an increase to snares would be the answer. A class that allows us to be a mosquito, a minor nuisance at first, but if not properly treated it will be too late to realize that the itch has become an irreversible pain. Currently the changes that are being suggested are to bring Concealment Operatives into this standardization of the “rogue” dps, big upfront damage to make up for the lack of sustained out of stealth DPS. That means there must be a way to increase confirmed critical chances and allow for users to be threaten by large numbers. I believe that the Deception Assassin class already fills this role and for an Operative to become this all powerful melee warrior is not consistent to what it means to be an Operative of Imperial Intelligence. The changes mention from here on will change the way a Concealment Operative is currently played, but I believe that this will change the dynamic of why people should play this class. THX-1138 Skill revamp for Concealment Operatives: -Replace the skill “Revitalizers” with Venom Dart. When specced into Venom Dart, it will replace the Operatives Sleep Dart with a stinger that applies the Venom debuff. The skill description will be as follows: -Acid Blade will also get the following changes: -Shadow Operative Elite will get the following changes: -Calculated Frenzy will be changed to “Calculated Risk” and receive the following changes: -Pin Down: So why these changes? A Concealment Operative is a master strategist and will utilize all tools (including others!) to support them in combat. The idea behind the Venom Dart is to allow an Operative an assisting tool without yet revealing their position so suddenly. In the PvP aspect, the Venom Dart will force healers to seek out the Venom debuff and cleanse it in time before it settles in and becomes Kouhun Neurotoxin. The point of the Kouhun Neurotoxin is to promote this idea that the Operative has now marked their target. The slow is there to start the slow process of confusing the opponent in what should be done next to defend themselves from certain death. Venom Dart places the Operative in combat but does not remove them from stealth. The application of Armor Reduction is to allow for teammates to apply their support in the dispatching the target. Currently armor penetration is a single target ability designed to allow Operative to increase their damage to an opponent (I believe that is the difference, Armor Pen= user buff and Armor Reduction= target debuff. Please tell me if I am wrong about this). Going for the single 50% reduction to armor rating really opens up the usefulness of an Operative as they are now a teamplayer rather than a lone wolf. The point of the Kouhun Neurotoxin plus Acid Blade is to really drive home the idea that the opponent is being singled out from the rest of the group. The fastest way to break a cohesive unit is to make them think that they are no longer working together. The combination of the two still makes for achieving the 50% reduction to armor rating a skilled task that can be easily disrupted if not planned properly. Shadow Operative Elite now becomes a three skill point skill and basically is an Operative’s way of getting back into the stealth game and doubles as their “defensive” ability. Having a successful dodge to be able to proc the reset on Cloacking Screen, is a plays on the elusiveness that Operatives are known for. The changes to Calculated Risk is to allow an Operatives to call in air support back up without having to worry about being interrupted. This allows them to maintain damage through support and still apply the out of stealth damage as need be without it forced to be a “melee” ability. The change to Pin Down is to play on this idea that Concealment Operatives are trying to confuse the target on when to use their stun breaker and really cement the idea that Operatives are calculated in their combat and understand that confusing a powerful opponent will make them weaker. While I know these changes seem different from the norm, but I do believe it will provide practical applications as a tool to assist a team in both PvP and PvE. In a game with no assisting type bard class, the Concealment will fill that role while maintaining their ability at being a stealth class. These changes also will synergize with the current set bonuses, so I believe this tree change could really work within this game and allow them to become tools to assist in combat and counter the idea that all stealth classes must be rogues.

As premier agent Zhaneordo, I have the honor to promote UglyMRJ's free agency for a PvP guild. The radio smooth loud talking warrior is looking for a new home. Taking on this contract will net you four level 55ers for PvP: Marauder, Juggernaut, Sorceress, and the glorious Powertech. Due to his inability to make any contact through this channel, please send any request to me or in-game to UglyMrJ. MrJ would prefer to take his talents to South Beach, unfortunately they said they already have a big guy there...

It really depends on the map now, but having a Sin off-tank is too valuable to give up (dat phasewalk). PTs are now pretty viable for main tanking and because of HO, they make great ball carriers. However in terms of being a complete crowd control tank, Juggs still take the cake to me. Enemy leap/push and teammate leap are all all far too useful. PTs have an enemy pull, but if a teammate needs a peel, the options are limited when compared to a Jugg. Not to mention respec during a match, having a Jugg being able to switch between Tank and DPS is just just another check to their already awesome set. I think it is still early to say so far, but PTs could make great node guards, but Jugg tanks have far too many tools for being the main tank, that running a PvP warzone without one is just a big set back to the team. After saying all this, I am trying to make me a PowerTank

This is a bit tricky since bolster @ 55 is not working properly. I would suggest that you get all of your Conqueror implants, relics and ear piece first (this will give the highest spread for stats for the cheapest). Then spend your remaining normal comms on any two set that you can get from the PvP vendor. I believe the set you want to get is the Field Tech (dont quote me on that, I play heals). I am not sure what exact stats you should be going for since that would all depend on your Sniper Spec. Remember to pulls out the mods before upgrading to a higher PvP piece!

I want to learn how to roll three times and have 99% energy... Also, nerf Operatives. Scoundrels are fine, but Operatives are totally OP, like since the beginning of time.

FOTM? Been scoundrel/operative healing since 1.2! They see me healing, they hating, complaining And trying to catch me riding healthy And trying to catch me riding healthy, And trying to catch me riding healthy And trying to catch me riding healthy, And trying to catch me riding healthy My skill so loud, I'm OP, And trying to catch me riding healthy And trying to catch me riding healthy, And trying to catch me riding healthy And trying to catch me riding healthy, And trying to catch me riding healthy

Bro, top left topic. http://www.swtor.com/community/devtracker.php They do a pretty decent job, some of us just happen to have selective hearing.

I would like to point out that they kept saying that patch 2.4 is suppose to make us not ask for cross-server queues ever again. So for PvPers, take your break now from this game and come back again when 2.4 drops. Now they said that open world PvP on a grand scale could never happen, but on a small scale like Ilum could be in the future. Is it in the making currently? They answered that with a current "no". As for the /g chat going up in flames if there were 500 people all chatting, Damion made it clear that even on general there isn't 500 people chatting (because of instances). This was just purely a hardware and not a software issue it seems. Things are slowly coming back to me, but it was still a great Q&A.

Things that I somewhat remember from the LA Cantina: -2.4 is going to be a big update for PvP. Any question that had to do with PvP was met with "wait for 2.4" There will be something in place, matchmaking/solo rank queues/etc, not exact details, but there will be SOMETHING to help with the lack of ranked matches. -Cross-server queues is never going to happen, ever, "so stop asking for it". -Guild sizes cannot be increased due to guild chat. In their words having more than 500 guildies chatting in /g would cause a server to go up in flames. -Another Open World PvP area is not really going to happen again, "the game was not designed for open world PvP". -They know the concerns for bolster and are actively fixing it (we are to expect some hot fixes in 2.2.1) -Guild ships are not in the making, but they really want it to happen -There is no official Bioware guild, however Eric made it pretty clear that he plays with people on The Bastion (not sure how correct that statement was though) and is pretty active in mumble/ts3/vent -Balancing for PvE is still happening, no super details about it, other than that there is a whole team dedicated to "just" balancing Didn't really get a chance to take notes, was much more excited to be there and finally get a chance to relax from a long week at E3. Eric, Damion and Jeff are all incredibly awesome people and their passion of SWTOR is not to be challenged, these guys love their game and love working on it. Courtney (oh god I hope it was Courtney that was there or I am an idiot) is completely energetic and loves the game just as much as everyone else that was there. Really an awesome night and I'm glad I had a chance to go and meet everyone from the community. I might have to make my way to the meet up in San Diego aswell.

Ashamed? Doubtful. Disappointed in its current state? Maybe. Ready to hang it up and call it quits? Nope. I got to go to the Q&A at the LA Cantina Meet Up, Eric, Jeff and Damion are all very passionate people and they LOVE to play their games. Sure they know there are problems with it, but after talking to them briefly, I can tell that they are in it for the joy of making a Star Wars MMO. Pretty sure Bioware isn't ashamed of their game, only ashamed of the vocal complainers (even if they are right in their complaint, there is a right way and a wrong way).

The fellow you are talking about is Mr.UglyJ and he is banned from the forums. I was the half asian looking dude in glasses. We are guildmates and I do sometimes post on his behalf sometimes. He did hog the Q&A, but when you got a voice like his, it is hard not to let him keep on talking