I don't see how.

The one guy I've seen running these had some suspiciously high defense chance values, inspite of minimal defense stat. Could just be the spec (some sin spec). In excess of 17% defense chance with sub-200 defense stat. Would make sense if they're getting 10% defense chance from spec.

Already eating a huge damage nerf thanks to the utility nerf. Only class eating a utility nerf, at that. I haven't seen a skank in ages. Except maybe a sin; don't really check their health to confirm skank, don't know their tank spec well enough either.

The changes only make sense if they're nerfing the base damage on the utility. That would constitute a ~1000 damage point reduction. Using Adje Yo's 10k value (which seems suspiciously high), that's the 10% nerf everyone seems to agree would be reasonable. It occurs to me I should have engaged in a simple thought exercise yesterday. Case A is that they're nerfing base damage by 60%. Case B is that they're nerfing scaling damage by 60%. Case C is that they're nerfing both base and scaling damage by 60%. Using Adje Yo's NIM raiding value of 10k, the post-nerf values would be 9k, 5k, and 4k respectively. I was tempted not to even post anything on this, as the proposed compensatory buffs are quite generous if Case A is true. Needless to say, I'm still worried that we're going to get Case C, but I already have an even more obnoxious build in mind if they go that route. That said, I think the following is something Keith should be considering, assuming he isn't already. Don't outright nerf an ability. Normalize its damage range across weak and strong gear. Buff the base damage value and nerf the scaling component to achieve the desired target result at the high end. This achieves the desired result, while being far more considerate of newer players, less skilled players, poorly geared players, and players who don't stack dps stats (ie true tanks). Using Adje Yo's 10k NIM value, and the base damage on the utility of ~1750 (which isn't even its true base, but it is the damage value on a naked character), I would argue for a buff of 60% to that base value, with a nerf of ~15% to its scaling coefficient. This would give a new base value of ~2500 damage, while Adje Yo's NIM build would see a nerf of 10% to 9k damage. Builds falling in between would see a damage increase on the low end, and a less impactful damage decrease when falling short of full 248s min-maxed for mastery/power (seems to be Adje Yo's build).

Is this the first aoe dot you've come across in SWTOR? They're pretty much all like this, but most of the rest are better because they're ranged and more easily applied/maintained.

I assume you know as well as I do that BW shouldn't be tinkering with the way tanking stats work. Something something pre-alpha engine something something can't even support cross-server something etc.

Can confirm this works. One of my first ranked wins this season was a 4v4 against Digouts (who had already won the first three matches against me), when Digouts suddenly dropped and made it a 4v3.

So, it's mitigation. Just looking at my own tooltips, the utility is 8k, impale, hew and vengeful slam are each ~12k+. They're hitting harder, until you start accounting for mitigation. This is wildly varible in PVP, even as it's comfortably static and in favor of the utility in PVE. I don't disagree, and I said as much when I said I see no problem in moving damage from the utility to the core spec (poor immortal). But my own impression from the changes is that in a PVP environment, I'm looking at upwards of a 20% nerf in damage, with a compensatory 5% buff, for a net loss of 15% damage overall. Not exactly helpful to a class which is focused first in ranked, and can't 1v1 a competent healer. I hope the five or so remaining guards/juggs who still do progression raiding appreciate what a hit we're taking here.

My mistake. I actually did find that, but plainly forgot it in the process of finding out what Blade Barrage is (had to turn to combat proficiencies calculators). So it's not the most basic ability, but the second most basic ability, the single target rage dump ability, with a relatively high resource cost and no secondary effects. I only have it bound in immortal, because only immortal lacks for damage abilities. I'm not sure how you interpret "locked behind a utility." To me, that suggests that it should be strong, because of the opportunity cost associated with utilities. I trimmed the list you provided, but I find it difficult to believe you're parsing the dot as stronger than impale or hew in single target scenarios. The only explanation which stands out to me is mitigation. EDIT: Mitigation, and some funny business in regards to how dots interact with crticial hit chance.

Surely you jest. Slash is Assault, the most basic ability in the class. Blade Barrage is Ravage, a former channeled ability which had it's damaged gutted in exchange for not being a channeled ability. The changes to Blade Barrage/Ravage were certainly an improvement to the class overall, but to use them now as justification for additional nerfs seems sadistic. Only if you're adjusting for mitigation.

For all of you opposed to skanks in PVP, go QQ to Eric about nerfing the utility-based dot on Chilling Scream. It's only going to make shifting the jugg/guard meta harder.

Just play merc/mando. They're good to go for another year at least.

Draining Scream, is that the miniscule damage dot which gets tacked onto Force Scream? This doesn't sound so much like some slight tweaking as a massive DPS hit for PVP. I'm not opposed to shifting damage from the utility to the core spec (poor immortal), but these changes don't seem like they will achieve that. Maybe if it was a 450% increase to Draining Scream. That might offset a 60% decrease to the utility. A 10% nerf would have achieved that. Beyond which, the reason for using it in single is that it's elemental damage, and that it has a slow, on a class with no other sources of elemental damage (and no internal outside of vengeance), and no other source of slow (outside of vengeance). What ability was it dealing more damage than? Assault and Sundering Assault? Why balance around how baddies misuse an ability?

You're a sub, but have you realized this is a necro?

Always have been.

I guess in theory it could work that way. In practice, it scored automatically every time it reset. I don't think it even visually spawned to be picked up by anyone, before I would get credit for scoring again.

Except T3 crates are better. Devices, implants and relics make up 55% of the potential drops. Beyond that, I'd agree with the statement that relics seem additionally weighted to drop. I've been trying to get together a set of 246 armorings, but over the last week+ I've only seen 246 relics and gloves, with the odd legplates (gloves and legplates being the only 246 armorings I already have).

Tier 4 command crates would be improved if they were replaced with Tier 3 command crates.

What they're likely doing has already been identified on reddit. There may not be any resource nodes or mobs on the Gravestone, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to "farm." That's exactly what this is.

You're doing it wrong. Neither spec can use the other spec's 2-piece bonus. The only 4-piece bonus worth a damn is the tanking one.

Seconded. Easiest solution is to limit the crates to armor, mainhand and offhand, with players needing to grind up for devices, implants and relics. The latter gear types comprise over half the legendary list crates pull from, which is why you see so many more of them. 1 in x chance to get gear; 1 in y chance that gear is legendary; something like a 70% chance that legendary is a device, implant or relic.

I think you fail to touch on the single greatest impediment to MMO development; MMOs are works of art, requiring a perspective few developers (and fewer or zero executives) bring to the table. You focus on Blizzard and WoW, but at this point, even Blizzard is incapable of identifying how and why WoW was a success. Simply put, not even Blizzard could recreate their success. This largely seems driven by shifts in corporate culture, at Blizzard and elsewhere. Case in point; Blizzard elected at some point to overhaul one of the most successful elements of WoW, the core "vanilla" leveling content. This is certainly something I have in mind when I say that MMOs are works of art. TOR's approach to open world needed to be overhauled before alpha. And they weren't alone, with multiple MMOs of that era taking a similar approach to open world, despite the obvious success of WoW and it's blatantly different (and superior) open world approach.

How is that a fact? I've got some facts as well. Fact: (long-duration) stealth should not exist in PvP. Fact: healers should require their team's support to survive even one DPS. Pretty much this. Even if BW overhauled combat mechanics such that defensive stats were worth taking, they would still need to overhaul tanks to do something other than DPS. The cooldowns on most of their non-damage abilities are just too long, and the abilities which have low or no cooldown have too high a resource cost for what they do.

Harb imp fleet has half or less the activity I remember seeing previous stretches I've subbed for, even as recently as about 18 months ago. Barely breaks a second instance, even during US west coast prime time, and when it does the second instance is usually only a few people. The question posed in the thread title is multifaceted, but by most metrics it seems that the game is indeed dead.

Why would I do that to them? They're "my friends." Besides, that's a complete waste of friend capital. They'd be justified in never again trusting your recommendations.