The Bastion's team ranked scene took a huge hit when Wildstar came out and it seems that regardless of the time of day, getting guilds to queue for more than a game or two is an exercise in impossibility. How is team ranked looking on other servers? Consistent pops? Are the games competitive? My friends and I might be interested in transferring some toons if another server is more active.

p.s. are there any times that work well for you people? I remember a long time ago (quite a few months iirc) there was a small group of people who set a time for weekly kickball events and I think it had a fair amount of success.

So a massive chunk of the PvP community is on Wildstar now. I plan on staying with TOR for a variety of reasons and would very much like to see team ranked go on. Other than a few select friends of mine I don't really know who else is staying that shares that desire. I am assuming that when ARMADA/Clickers aren't busy cheating via queue syncing in solo queue they will be around to play. Who else is left? (ok, I talk an endless stream of crap and fkn hate what those guilds represent but at the end of the day we're all here to play, so let's work something out) Reply if you or your guild is interested in participating in the continuation of team ranked. Feel free to add if your rosters need any particular role filled and maybe we can work out some sort of kickball thing or whatever. If it turns out that there's sufficient interest feel free to hit me up in game on Wakalord or any one of my random alts and I'll try to coordinate stuff

has someone actually spent the time to parse stuff between 30% crit, 25% and none? I doubt going above 25% is worth it (only for the selfheals)

there will be no reason to run a hybrid in 2.8 because the higher madness changes are so good. losing creeping terror for blackout isn't worth it and you lose too much going up to maul talent madness sin gonna be pretty good in 2.8 tho

you should publish this piece as a philosophy dissertation

all of this stuff looks really cool, I am looking forward to the pts

thx man rock on I still don't think Wakajinn 2.0 is very good but I sometimes enjoy playing the revamped Mad Maul hybrid I posted about awhile ago: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=703269 If I'm DPSing in arenas I still prefer full Deception for both Solo and Group play. For Solo the burst punishes stupid (read: most) people for making mistakes and the ability to stealth out and get Recklessness back makes switches and the need for immediate, controlled burst in Group play makes Deception more appealing than hybrid. btw ya I still play p.s. white damage op now p.p.s. mad maul/wakajinn2.5 hybrid i linked could run the recklessness reset, would lower sustained deeps but be better for switches. something to consider. might be quite good :]

kids these days

ill make u a greek god in a game that requires actual skill (league)

eheheheh

I can tell you really put a lot of work into this, kudos. Too bad almost every one of these players has long since quit lol :\

lol this thread good times bioware pls fix

she quit swtor after her guild xfered to pot5 and got destroyed in rated arenas That is, according to Snave, Darkyoda and a couple other community personalities that said so publicly during a swtor podcast several months ago

Same goes for the scrapper scoundrel's "Slippery Devil." The ability procs evasion which cleanses all dots, but it doesn't cleanse Madness Sorc/Sin dots like Affliction, Creeping Terror or Lightning Discharge. When Madness was (stupidly) given the talent to make their dots uncleansable, there was a stipulation that the dots could still be removed by major defensive cooldowns such as Force Barrier, Force Shroud and Evasion. The normal, 1 minute cooldown Evasion still cleanses the dot. The Concealment proc'd one does not. Is this a bug, or intended design? I sincerely hope it is the former. Concealment/Scrapper is in such a horrid place for PvP, "Shadow Operative Elite" is already a pretty terrible talent and they really need everything they can get.

of all the people in this game to flame, you're going to go with teacher? Are you out of your mind? rip teacher, you will be missed <3

never have crit ever

I'm tired of sitting on fleet for nonexistent solo ranked pops and my guildmates/friends are either MIA or unwilling to queue against DP so let's try this: I'm willing to take on any relatively geared geared player (at very least min/max conq) of a semi-viable class that doesn't fall into one of these three categories: 1) Is a dbag 2) Is garbage at the game 3) Is in a queue-syncing guild (see #2) Aka not these people If you fit the criteria and are interested in learning about/getting some group ranked going whisper Wakalord/Wakasoperative on imp side. I'd love to get some skilled and consistent players together for more frequent ranked games. I'll be on later tonight

be quiet, you Congrats and thanks to everyone who streamed and donated for the cause. It's wonderful to see such a unanimously positive event on a server that has recently had nothing more than petty rivalries and idiotic drama. I only wish that I was able to stream with you guys as well. Maybe next time.

there is a god

A lot of people have been whispering me in game/PMing me on forums for an update. I sincerely apoligize, I meant to get you guys an update more quickly, but the little gaming I was able to do during finals was gimped by my laptop's wifi card screwing up and the fact that I broke my Razer Naga (playing with it for 2+ years means it's almost impossible to adjust to a normal mouse....I'll be getting a replacement soon). Now that finals are over I plan on testing the spec more. That said, the games I were able to do before all of my technical difficulties reared their head were quite sadly not up to the standard I was hoping for. The spec is very usable, but I found that the weaker switches and lack of Recklessness reset (I almost always use vanish offensively, if you need to stealth out to save your life chances are you will lose the arena anyway due to complete loss of team momentum) really weren't worth the admittedly impressive upsides. I still enjoy the spec (I tested Parasitism and Force-Master 2-piece and it was really fun, the selfheals can add up), and it's not like Deception vastly outclasses it, but I do feel that the less fun, mechanically brain dead full Deception will perform better due to the hard switching potential and on-demand burst. I still want to test it more, future updates to come.

Dark Maul may be performing well against AP PTs, but I am more interested in playing "full" DPS specs instead of fake tanking abusing idiocy. That's a personal preference, I know, but the fact of the matter is that full Deception/Madness are really a stretch in most cases. Anyway, A lot of people have been whispering me in game/PMing me on forums for an update. I sincerely apoligize, I meant to get you guys an update more quickly, but the little gaming I was able to do during finals was gimped by my laptop's wifi card screwing up and the fact that I broke my Razer Naga (playing with it for 2+ years means it's almost impossible to adjust to a normal mouse....I'll be getting a replacement soon). Now that finals are over I plan on testing the spec more. That said, the games I were able to do before all of my technical difficulties reared their head were quite sadly not up to the standard I was hoping for. The spec is very usable, but I found that the weaker switches and lack of Recklessness reset (I almost always use vanish offensively, if you need to stealth out to save your life chances are you will lose the arena anyway due to complete loss of team momentum) really weren't worth the admittedly impressive upsides. I still enjoy the spec (I tested Parasitism and Force-Master 2-piece and it was really fun, the selfheals can add up), and it's not like Deception vastly outclasses it, but I do feel that the less fun, mechanically brain dead full Deception will perform better due to the hard switching potential and on-demand burst. I still want to test it more, future updates to come.

As noted, I don't have time to test the changes in depth until semester ends but I'm almost certain that the case will be: Better overall survivability in competitive play (where you have dedicated healers) The same nonexistent utility that we had before We were squishier than some DPS classes prior to these changes and I believe that the armor+DR buffs may finally change that. It does not, however, do enough to make us the optimum tanking class for ranked arenas. Worthless Phase Walk heal bonus that requires almost impossible positioning (and if you manage it, you get punished for standing in it via orbitals/smash/AP flamethrowers anyway), Spike, and a low-CD knockback that really only serves to give your healer a free-ish GCD are nothing compared to a tank Jugg's utility (shield on AOE taunt), super knockback (can be used to setup kills because it pushes people out of guard range), two 3/4 second stuns, Intercede and a whole bunch of other stuff. Tank Juggernauts do similar damage (better burst) and have infinitely superior utility. Of course, both are useless compared to the broken beyond belief fake AP tanks and there is never a reason not to run one of those if we're being serious. So, tank assassins are going to need serious utility buffs and fake tank AP PTs need to be nerfed to the point of uselessness. DPS hybrids are cute, but this goes waaaaay too far. That's my first impression. I doubt it will change but updates will be provided if I change my mind or want to elaborate.

(Imperial lingo only, sorry republic friends) Hi Party Time Wakalord Flexguildmaster here, So, if you know me even remotely you're probably aware that I have been extremely outspoken about assassin/shadow balance since 2.0 came out. I believe Rise of the Hutt Cartel really killed the class and have not really enjoyed playing my assassin since. It was part of the reason I quit the game for a time. 2.5 is here and it's brought about a number of changes. Due to finals and the current workload at my job I haven't had a ton of time to try the changes out in full. I'm really excited about the tanking changes and look forward to trying them out when my university's semester ends in two weeks. I'm less excited about the changes for full Deception and Madness. I think a flat damage increase to Voltaic Slash is a lazy change that fails to solve the overarching issue. The inability to cleanse Madness dots is interesting but imo pretty unimportant since few good teams run sorcs, especially healers, in high level arenas. I think it would have been better to give Annihiliation Marauders some sort of proc (maybe off Deadly Saber) that would have made bleeds uncleansable. But that's not my place and I digress. I believe that 2.5 may signal the return of hybrid assassin DPS specs, and I'm not talking about the idiotic Dark Maul fake tanking that is only viable due to it having an extra Guard for the team. Guarding as an ability really needs to be reworked, but again, I digress. I've been tinkering with some Deception/Madness hybrids and have been surprised with the results. When 2.0 was on the PTS and Bioware decided to rape Surging Discharge for no reason, Mad Maul began to look like a pretty appealing alternative to full Deception. However, it has enormous force issues that cast it off into the realm of inadequacy. I believe that an altered version of the spec, mixing my old Wakajinn hybrid with the old idea behind Mad Maul, may finally work now. Why? The answer is from the most unlikely of places: Maul's force cost buff. I'm assuming the devs lowered the cost of Maul to give tank assassins some quality of life with their force management. Deception had no force issues and Madness still will never use it. However, now it REALLY doesn't cost much when proc'd by Duplicity. After running a number of warzones and even parsing for the hell of it, I found that not only was the force manageable, but I was actually pulling more damage than in either of the two full DPS specs. I will go over how to play this spec and why it should be considered in a moment. But first, here's the spec: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#200ZrrbRkG0oZfMcRrbkr.3 The rotation is roughly like this: Death Field (on cooldown) Discharge (dot about to expire/nonexistent) Crushing Darkness / Maul (Both only when proc'd. Use whichever is about to expire/is about to be able to be proc'd again) Assassinate Thrash Saber Strike (out of force) The lack of Shock may be disturbing (LOL GET IT), but when you account for Thrash hitting twice and its better ability to proc Lightning Charge (and therefore, Lightning Burns) it will often do equal or more damage than Shock while costing much less force. Shock is still a good ability but you can't use it on cooldown due to its force cost. As such, it is used mainly for instant burst with Recklessness or when you need to dump a lot of force (like when you've been CC'd or something). Now, what are the ups and downs of using this spec over full Deception or Madness? Not discussing every lost/gained talent, only touching on the things that really matter: Wakajinn 2.5 vs Deception Pros -Better survivability (you lose Entropic Field but gain a passive 2% DR and 15% dot DR which is always helpful, possibility of using 2-piece force master bonus for Crushing Darkness heal, but I don't think it's worth it) -Better sustained pressure (dots can be spread to several targets, which really can cut into a tank's health fast) -You keep the important talents of Deception (Crackling Blasts, Entropic Field and in organized play, maybe even Nerve Wracking are good. You lose these, but gain a lot for it) -MOFOKING DEATH FIELD! Cons Not quite as good at hard switches (Deception doesn't rely on debuffs and all of its damage [unless you hard cast Crushing Darkness frequently like me :B] is instant) Opening burst not as good (using an adjusted version of the opener I popularized [spike, low slash, crushing darkness, electrocute, other stuff] is still strong, but it still isn't instant. This doesn't matter much in competitive arena anyway though) Wakajinn 2.5 vs Madness Pros -Gain essential Deception talents (Blackout DR, Maul, Low Slash, Fade [Fade is perhaps one of the strongest arguments for this spec over full madness, given the stupid fake tank PT meta with Ion Cannons and Flamethrowers all over the place nowadays) -Has an actual ability to burst (Maul and an occasional Shock are really helpful) -Very fluid with less downtime (In full Madness you proc Raze and do nothing for 7.5 seconds. This spec, there's usually a good move open to use)' Cons Creeping Terror is good :[ No 30% DR while stunned (imo 30% aoe DR is much better in this meta though) No Lambaste where is your lacerate now you pathetic maggot I am still experimenting with this spec. I won't be able to do a fully formed review of all the 2.5 changes (both for all the full specs and this hybrid) until I'm on winter break. But much of my free time since 2.5 has been spent using this spec and it is holding it's own. Jury is still out on whether the superior sustained pressure is better than the instant burst and better target switching of Deception, but all I know is that I'm actually having some fun with this class again. I'm not saying that this spec is the new standard for assassin DPS was like pre-2.0 Wakajinn was. But I think Wakajinn 2.5 certainly has potential. Give it a try and tell me what you guys think!

Hi Party Time Wakalord Flexguildmaster here, So, if you know me even remotely you're probably aware that I have been extremely outspoken about assassin/shadow balance since 2.0 came out. I believe Rise of the Hutt Cartel really killed the class and have not really enjoyed playing my assassin since. It was part of the reason I quit the game for a time. 2.5 is here and it's brought about a number of changes. Due to finals and the current workload at my job I haven't had a ton of time to try the changes out in full. I'm really excited about the tanking changes and look forward to trying them out when my university's semester ends in two weeks. I'm less excited about the changes for full Deception and Madness. I think a flat damage increase to Voltaic Slash is a lazy change that fails to solve the overarching issue. The inability to cleanse Madness dots is interesting but imo pretty unimportant since few good teams run sorcs, especially healers, in high level arenas. I think it would have been better to give Annihiliation Marauders some sort of proc (maybe off Deadly Saber) that would have made bleeds uncleansable. But that's not my place and I digress. I believe that 2.5 may signal the return of hybrid assassin DPS specs, and I'm not talking about the idiotic Dark Maul fake tanking that is only viable due to it having an extra Guard for the team. Guarding as an ability really needs to be reworked, but again, I digress. I've been tinkering with some Deception/Madness hybrids and have been surprised with the results. When 2.0 was on the PTS and Bioware decided to rape Surging Discharge for no reason, Mad Maul began to look like a pretty appealing alternative to full Deception. However, it has enormous force issues that cast it off into the realm of inadequacy. I believe that an altered version of the spec, mixing my old Wakajinn hybrid with the old idea behind Mad Maul, may finally work now. Why? The answer is from the most unlikely of places: Maul's force cost buff. I'm assuming the devs lowered the cost of Maul to give tank assassins some quality of life with their force management. Deception had no force issues and Madness still will never use it. However, now it REALLY doesn't cost much when proc'd by Duplicity. After running a number of warzones and even parsing for the hell of it, I found that not only was the force manageable, but I was actually pulling more damage than in either of the two full DPS specs. I will go over how to play this spec and why it should be considered in a moment. But first, here's the spec: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#200ZrrbRkG0oZfMcRrbkr.3 The rotation is roughly like this: Death Field (on cooldown) Discharge (dot about to expire/nonexistent) Crushing Darkness / Maul (Both only when proc'd. Use whichever is about to expire/is about to be able to be proc'd again) Assassinate Thrash Saber Strike (out of force) The lack of Shock may be disturbing (LOL GET IT), but when you account for Thrash hitting twice and its better ability to proc Lightning Charge (and therefore, Lightning Burns) it will often do equal or more damage than Shock while costing much less force. Shock is still a good ability but you can't use it on cooldown due to its force cost. As such, it is used mainly for instant burst with Recklessness or when you need to dump a lot of force (like when you've been CC'd or something). Now, what are the ups and downs of using this spec over full Deception or Madness? Not discussing every lost/gained talent, only touching on the things that really matter: Wakajinn 2.5 vs Deception Pros -Better survivability (you lose Entropic Field but gain a passive 2% DR and 15% dot DR which is always helpful, possibility of using 2-piece force master bonus for Crushing Darkness heal, but I don't think it's worth it) -Better sustained pressure (dots can be spread to several targets, which really can cut into a tank's health fast) -You keep the important talents of Deception (Crackling Blasts, Entropic Field and in organized play, maybe even Nerve Wracking are good. You lose these, but gain a lot for it) -MOFOKING DEATH FIELD! Cons Not quite as good at hard switches (Deception doesn't rely on debuffs and all of its damage [unless you hard cast Crushing Darkness frequently like me :B] is instant) Opening burst not as good (using an adjusted version of the opener I popularized [spike, low slash, crushing darkness, electrocute, other stuff] is still strong, but it still isn't instant. This doesn't matter much in competitive arena anyway though) Wakajinn 2.5 vs Madness Pros -Gain essential Deception talents (Blackout DR, Maul, Low Slash, Fade [Fade is perhaps one of the strongest arguments for this spec over full madness, given the stupid fake tank PT meta with Ion Cannons and Flamethrowers all over the place nowadays) -Has an actual ability to burst (Maul and an occasional Shock are really helpful) -Very fluid with less downtime (In full Madness you proc Raze and do nothing for 7.5 seconds. This spec, there's usually a good move open to use)' Cons Creeping Terror is good :[ No 30% DR while stunned (imo 30% aoe DR is much better in this meta though) No Lambaste where is your lacerate now you pathetic maggot I am still experimenting with this spec. I won't be able to do a fully formed review of all the 2.5 changes (both for all the full specs and this hybrid) until I'm on winter break. But much of my free time since 2.5 has been spent using this spec and it is holding it's own. Jury is still out on whether the superior sustained pressure is better than the instant burst and better target switching of Deception, but all I know is that I'm actually having some fun with this class again. I'm not saying that this spec is the new standard for assassin DPS was like pre-2.0 Wakajinn was. But I think Wakajinn 2.5 certainly has potential. Give it a try and tell me what you guys think!