Bioware, really? WHY would you remove such a fun part of the Social system you created to get people to interact? The Party Instigator did just that! The Party Instigator was my favorite thing about this game lately. I had people friend me and when I logged on would ask me to fire it up while on Fleet. I can't even count how many times I'd be in Fleet, fire that up and the numbers of people who would come over to start chatting and having a good time. It also created a lot of great fun in OPs and FPs, especially as a means to celebrating defeating a boss. It helped foster a sense of comradely among my guildies and we had a couple of people who joined the guild, with this having been part of that decision! I can understand if some people didn't like it or found it annoying, but I have another idea which BW may have wanted to not bring up. As part of the Legacy system, they have added a feature to allow you to dance with your Companion. I'm guessing they had to remove the Party Instigator/Galactic Party Bomb because it interfered or cause some issues. Instead of fixing them (there are still many many bugs still in this game from Social Pts issues to Bosses in OPs still needing fixing), they remove it and don't say anything. Maybe they thought we the players wouldn't speak out. I hope you are reading BW.

At least they finally gave us the option to pull out the mods and get the stat bonuses from the Campaign gear. Put those modes into Orange gear and you can have any look you want, which is a good thing if they keep putting out such awful looking gear. In addition, the Sage gear seems better suited for female toons than male, which is disappointing. The Columni and Rakata gear now looks much better on the female toons than male.. ohwell. It seems they are not listening to the player base at all.

Well, look at the tier gear. You will see more pieces with Alacarity on it than Surge. Surge for a Seer really is a mute point, and with the recent nerf to Surge its got a DR (diminishing returns) cap on it more than before. As a Seer, your priority is fairly easy: Willpower (always, even over Power) -> Power -> Alacraity/Crit I'd said you could put Crit over Alac if you don't have a Smuggler with you regularly, however, don't try to take it over 30%, again because of DR. My guild has 2 sage healers atm. I've a bit more Alacarity than the other, and my cast time on Deliverance is 2.1 compared to her 2.6 - Yes, it makes a difference in those fights we try to land the big heal when needed.

You will find it hard to be a healer with lvl 50 content (HMs and OPs) if you try to put significant points into TK or Balance to do a decent amount of DPS. To get any decent benefit from either DPS spec, you'd gimp yourself as a healer far too much. Two of the most important factors to a Sage healer you would lose are Resplendence and Salvation. Salvation perhaps not as vital, however, there are fights its important. Resplendence is perhaps the most important skill if you want to heal as a Sage, IMHO. Casting Rejuvenate+Healing Trance to get a free Noble Sacrifice is the only way you'll survive healing many fights, otherwise you will be seriously out of force quickly. Also, the DPS you attempt to do will drain your force too fast to leave any for the important heals when needed. My first downing of Karagga had myself and another healer (both Seer specced - 32/7/2) with a commando left standing and dps'ing him down the last couple of percent as he hit his enrage timer. As a Seer you can still do significant DPS during fights to aid without gimping your ability to heal. Our 2 DoTs, particularly Mind Crush, can be easily applied constantly throughout the fight without eating up too much Force. When you have the Force and no significant damage coming in, Project or Disturbance are great ways to add a little dps.

I like that flowchart, its pretty accurate. As for the OP question - Yes, it gets better. In fact, I never limit myself to just healing. In Hard modes there are some enrage timers to beat, so often its bubbles for all and DPSing inbetween times I must heal. It helped getting Salvation (aoe heal), as I drop that on the either the dps (if both are ranged) or on the tank/melee dps. It allows me to help with DPS a bit, while a quick Rejuvenate - Healing Trance combo gets me a free Noble Sacrifice to help keep my force up enough to dish out a bit of both. I have seen some 21/20, 20/21 specs for healing and dps but haven't heard much how well they work (or don't work). If it would, you could really get some nice DPS in while healing to spice it up.

Nice video. Key to all the bosses for the Consular class quests is Interrupt. After that, use whoever you like. My toon is a Seer and since Vivicar, all I've had to do is keep up Force Armor, DoT target, and heal my companion while I interrupt any abilities.

I took my time leveling my Sage, as this was my first character I was taking to the end game and I wanted to make all my first experiences enjoyable. I've also completed all the regular Flashpoints and am thinking about moving to the Heroic versions. Question is, what do I need before I attempt to go in? I've tried to keep my gear and mods to my current level but do have pieces which are mid 40s I'm working on replacing. 1. Not into PvP, although I have tried it and do like BWs approach. 2. Artifice and Arch @ 400. Working on crafting some enhancements. Already have my Advanced Crystal, although I'd like to know where/how I find a +power one. 3. Still have Voss and Corellia (sp?) quests to do, thus don't have all their commendations yet. TIA

I can't speak from the dps side, however, I have done quite a bit of content with a guildie who is a TK Sage while I'm seer. We can do Heroic 4s pretty well with our companions. I'm on CC/DPS/Heal (that is my priority) while he and the companions dps. I'd imagine two Sages DPSing would be about the same, but likely get the job done faster.

I like Qyzen as a companion, but honestly I'd rather see other issues in the game dealt with than his lack of a moddable techblade. I still have not found him a moddable belt or bracer either. Personally, I have to: /disagree with this one.

I dunno.. I looked at some of the lvl 50 PVP gear and liked the looks of it better than the Level 40 PvP which makes all male characters look feminine. It will be nice when I can pull the mods out of Ops gear and put into my orange pieces because I've FINALLY got an outfit I like with pants and not a skirt.

As a Sage Seer, you can't go wrong with a Sage specc'ed for DPS as a backup healer. I even get times to do a little dps, especially with our dots. I run with a guild group, and we have a Sage TK dps. He often jumps in to heal when damage gets heavy, then back to dps and we do fine. Also, it helps when he gets a little too much aggro too fast, he can heal himself without me worrying too much

Maybe I'm not reading the same posts you are, so please, provide me some links to all these players who leaving the Sage because of these issues. I've read more and more posts about how many people love the Sage class. Honestly, if you dislike it that much, don't complain about it and move to another class. I've found the Sage a great example of the Jedi through the storyline. These complaints you have are so minor, why are you complaining? Don't like it, move on. Personally, I don't find these as issues and the Sage has become my favorite class.

First, to answer this point - You can level in PvP (once you hit 10 and choose your spec - which doesn't take long) just as easily as you can in PvE and WITHOUT having to go through the story a second time. You can easily have 2 toons - 1 for PvE and 1 for PvP without being that much of a bother. The way MMOs are setup, you can never avoid this, especially in PvE verus PvP. You will never find a balanced spec which will do good in both. Second, I'm not against dual spec nor respec; however, making it cost a lot to deter everyone from doing it regularly would be appreciated. I do like the fact that its more permanent, but it is available in case I screw up and mistakenly put a point into the wrong talent or decide I'm not liking healing any longer and want go DPS or Tank without having to reroll a new toon.

Yeah, but Vader's not a Sage, rather I would venture to classify him as a Guardian. And the word for their class... Sage... think about it. Its more about wisdom than combat, staying out of the fight or being smart about it; not going around with a Saber slicing heads off. Why does it even matter to you? You don't like JEDI.

I'm not going to repeat comments already made here as to why the Sage should keep the lightsaber. But if you want to see in game WHY a sage should have an equipped saber during combat, get about 10+ levels higher than the Mandalorian Rage flashpoint. Go to the end boss fight and kill him without destroying the blaster cannons. Have a sage Aggro a cannon and stand there. You can block every bolt and kick a few back at the cannons. Its fun to watch and you can see WHY a safe should have a saber for defense.

Check out the sticky on the Jedi Sage top of this forum. It has a good Seer build. I found focusing on healing as a Seer, you need the first 5 points spent in the Telekensis tree. Makes healing groups in flashpoints at that level more enjoyable and playable.

I've heard a lot of people say they thought the Consular was based on Yoda. I guess to an extend I can see that as a foundation perhaps, but as I've played a Consular I think its more based off Obi Wan.

Why? It's not needed. Knocking them out of Melee range negates your desire for increased melee ability, which has been your desire the entire thread... better melee. The reason for Force Wave is for a ranged class to quickly move enemies AWAY from him/herself, not help them melee better.

My thoughts exactly elvigy... btw, Force Wave on a mob near a ledge is great to watch. Unless he brings friends back

Who said anything about running into range? Sure, you could run but instead, use Force Speed, which is like Mage Blink in WoW. Better yet? Out threat the tank, get a melee mob to rush you and BAM! You're golden. Force Shield > Project (or Stun) > Tumult > DS and if you haven't killed it yet Force Slow and Force Speed out of range. By then, you got Project again and TT. Your thinking is too limited on the Sage's melee capabilities even though its a ranged/healer class. Its more a blending of the many abilities (ranged and melee) than 1 specific end-all-be-all ability. Your idea of a Jedi Consular just sounds dull and boring.

I personally played healers in other games but never liked them much. I always felt like I was just "a healer" as you mentioned. Not so with the Sage. You get a good solid group for Flashpoints and Heroics, and you find yourself dps'ing more than healing. Sure, you throw the necessary heals down when its time or throw up Force Shield + Rejuvenate. However, you get plenty of options to dps at the same time, as well as Force Lift for CC, Slow, Interrupt, DoTs... Personally, I almost re-rolled, but then I respecc'ed, put my first 5 points into the TK tree and it improved my Force so much I've never looked back and have no complaints. This really is a well rounded and fun to play class.

I almost forgot to add Tumult. Talk about a nice and cool melee ability. You need the mob incapacitated (project or a CC like Force Lift), but you can easily throw in a double strike for a nice combo look. What more could you ask for for a healer/ranged dps class? Just need to get yourself into melee range.

Um... play a Shadow and equip a single bladed saber instead of a dual?? Its definitely not the ideal and if you don't like it, don't play. When I picked Consular I knew what I was in for. I don't see how they could make it any more obvious. Ranged DPS and Healer for Sage, Melee/Ranged DPS for Shadow. Maybe you should have clicked on the "Inspect" button and read the description. I found it pretty clear, so I picked Sage and after trying both healing and DPS, decided I like the healing aspect. I sit in the back, twirl my saber like a cheerleader while I heal and do some dps when I can.

Good thing the Jedi Sage still has a saber and can still use it. Whew!

I have been asking myself the same question. I haven't hit 400 yet with Slicing, only about 325, but I have noticed that if I use any companion other than Theran I lose money on Slicing. With him, I at least get about 20-50 credit profit. The only way I make money is slicing mainframes and lockboxes I find as I explore/quest, and that's usually only 150-200 creds. I'm wondering when they said it is more in line with other skills if that is what they intended. I know I lose money on Artifice and Arch, because the amount I make selling the items I don't need for Artifice (power crystals, etc) doesn't cover the cost of getting them. And I have to buy gemstones (which come from Treasure Hunting) to create the Blue items to RE for purples. Which I still have yet to even get 1 purple with a Artifice skill of 200. Im starting to think the crew skills are just a waste of time and money with no real benefit.