Best advice is to /ignore that person who was a jerk to you so you don't have to match up with them in GF again. Play your tank and have fun. I agree.. if they do their job they do their job. It is of opinion as to what is better / worst setup. there is some common sense in gearing, but there is also preference. ex. I have played for quite awhile and I know what my character can do for healing / dps. I run most HMs in GF as a hybrid healer unless I see an overwhelming gear disparity in which I field respec to full heal as needed. But I can crank out a ton of DPS and plenty of healing to keep everyone up and i've been chastised for being hybrid even though no one dies at the end of the run. It is what it is I suppose.

Simplest solution to your issue - do flashpoints with guildies.. / friends you know Group Finder = PUG, you get bad, good, and great groups. Just a matter of who is queued at the time you queue. I understand your frustration, i've had a 12k Marauder in 45-48 blue mods doing HM flashpoints and the rest of group had to carry them through. We educated him about the free tionese and thankfully he listened.. but that was after the FP. Just have to find a small group of people that you enjoy grouping with and run w/ them. GF will always frustrate you at some time or another.

You can build a very nice DPS route with a Madness Hybrid into Corruption ( not TOP DPS, but you are not losing a lot and you gain a huge heal benefit.) http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#201GhborzZsZcMfRsbk.2 Force Power is easy to keep up, I can dish out well enough DPS, and I can run as main healer and only be missing innervate and revivification which both of these are not needed unless you're doing certain flashpoints like Kaon Under Siege or Ops. All other Flashpoints, I can heal just fine on HM.

Cause PCs never have issues... I don't own a Mac or have ever owned Mac simply because of the higher cost, but i'm not naive enough to believe that PCs are the be all end all. Macs tend to last longer, perform better, and installing Windows on them to play games.. I'd much rather have a Mac than a PC. I just don't feel like shelling out twice the cash unless Video Gaming was my job.

hmm.. what is the point of your random drop in post? lol Teamspeak is plenty viable, why wouldn't it be ?

The Damage on affliction based on my personal stats is 1758 over 15 seconds. Cast instant Affliction - wait 2 seconds for GCD Cast force lightning - mine is 3052 over 2.7 seconds within 15 seconds, affliction will do it's dmg 1758 additionally, I can then cast FL 5 times and i'll hit roughly 15.5 seconds in which affliction will have run its course. so 1758 internal dmg + 3052x5 energy ( can add x.7 to handle the 30% loss) Comes out to 1758 + 15260 (30% energy type loss from armor is 10682) so 12440 over 15.5 seconds and this takes into account the energy type loss based off OPs mob armor. Roughly 802 DPS Force Lightning just by itself can be cast 6 times in 15.2 seconds at channel time of 2.7 per cast. total 18312 and minus the 30% = 12818 or roughly 843 dps That is just two spells mind, so if you throw in crushing darkness the stacked damage per cast time to DPS might be better. Once we have combat logs this will a lot easier to see for everyone and my math could be wrong. I am used to optimizing DPS and i've played many direct damage and heaving dot dmg classes. I just think either a. Force Lightning is too good with no cool down or b. Affliction and Crushing Darkness need a damage increase to make them more viable.

I would save the wrath proc for crushing darkness and take lightning strike off your skill bar completely. I run a DPS / Heal hybrid that I started after going from full heal spec. It seems to work out nicely. (background - i was full heal and have always healed. I switched to try other things out after the nerf to heal spec, but I am still main healer for my group and I am able to do so quite well on HMs with this spec.) http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#201GhbRbZcZcrfRsbk.1 I get a 10% boost to Death Field this way from Force Suffusion in the Corruption Tree and I still have some healing utility. With Alacrity my Dark Infusion is at 2.3 seconds. If you look at global cool down and take that into context with the damage of dots based on their duration.. you can probably just get away with a rotation like this: Death Field ( puts death mark on the mob ) --> Force Lightning spam till you proc Wrath and then throw in an instant crushing darkness. Recast Death Field each cool down. I don't use shock very much except when the mob is down to 1.5k HP and it is an instant that is a decent finisher. I melt most anything in my path and still have the ability to keep myself and others alive. I don't think Affliction is worth the time of the global cool down in my opinion. Force Lightning surpasses it in DPS by leaps and bounds.

I was full heal spec until I saw the patch notes. Since then I have moved to a healing dps hyrbid - emphasis on more dps than healing: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#201GhbRbZcZcrfRsbk.1 i've been running Hard Mode: Boarding Party Black Talon Foundry False Emperor As far as I can figure, without innervate and revivi, I am healing just about at the force regen of 1.2 I don't even use resurgence very much and just rely on the 2.3 second cast Dark Infusion and Static Barriers. Healing is actually a lot more exciting as I can throw in dps with no cool down force lightning and instant shocks with the occasional instant crushing darkness. Our kill speed has obviously gone up and I find if the healer can add some moderate DPS, the boss dies much faster and I don't have too many issues running out of force. Don't get me wrong, a full heal spec prior to 1.2 could heal through some super rough fire, but I am doing pretty well in this heavy DPS with a little healing tree. My gear "was" all modded orange gear with 1 rakata implant until last night when I finally and I mean finally.... got columi boots after seeing spams of BH everything and then cashed in 67 columi comms to buy columi legs as well. I've almost enough comms to get a third columi piece. Prior stats were 1562 willpower and 1217 endurance Current stats after upgrades 1617 willpower and close to 1300 endurance Mind I have a rakata willpower stim so that definitely helps my willpower stat out while I was just full modded orange gear. Additionally, this is not a PUG group I run with. It is guildies that are on Teamspeak with me and we've ran Flashpoints together since lvl 10. I shields on all members, seethe up and pop my power relic and rakata power adrenal to start off and DPS as much as I can before heals are needed. Then just add DPS via force lightning here and there to regen force that way. It makes the fights more fun, but I doubt this would be viable for OPs without the revivi.

We run Juggernaut, Merc, Sorc, Sorc

Just my 2 cents, try switching up who the group leader is in the group and who "starts" all the conversations with the NPCs in the flashpoint. My static group has seen very different loot results depending on who is group leader and who starts the NPC conversations. We have been farming flashpoints ever since Mandalorian Raiders and we're pretty consistent on getting everyone gear even through HMs that we're running now.

Browsing through a lot of the pages, but not reading every post for 30 pages I didn't see anyone mention the fact that most planets have direct shuttle access to the fleet. Quick travel to a bind point that has the direct shuttle to the fleet - 30 min fleet pass basically As well, others have recommended the apps you can install on PCs to simulate Droid platform - this won't work for you either? Through 10-50 I have barely used the 18hr CD cause I just QT to a bind spot that has the direct shuttle, if QT is down just grab a taxi to the nearest direct shuttle.

Mediocre in only some cases. For example, I work in the Tech world and have to deal with bugs in code and helping developers fix them. This also includes providing justification to have said bug fixed sooner rather than later. This usually goes on through email as my company is global. Receiving a response in email to turn down a request to have a bug fix pushed sooner is easy to do. When I travel to different sites and talk with said developer or development group, it magically seems they are very agreeable and their ability to say no the bug won't get fixed in this upcoming release is not so easy for them. This has nothing to do with being threatening, it goes on all the time in the corporate world with companies being global. The same concept extends to online games. People are inherently non-confrontational, but take away the human part of it ( face to face ) they suddenly find themselves able to treat others with disrespect. Believe what you want.

If they are the actual PC in the group. They both roll and the highest wins. This BS that a companion is an extension of your own character is crap. As I said in previous posts, if that's how you feel than use your companion in the group and don't waste the time of someone else that is the same "class" as your companion. Why even group with PCs? Because AI will never be able to take the place of human reaction in situations eh?

I'm not sure what part of my post was a threat. It was a statement that how you treat people will reflect on how you are treated in the future. Simple as that.

It isn't about being allowed to need something you want or not. It is about being human and treating others with respect. I notice you left out the part in my quote regarding people having more courage to be disrespectful in the online world compared to face to face. In the end though, this entire thread is nothing but opinions. Continue to need on items in PUGs that your base class cannot benefit from stat wise and in 6 months you let me know how many groups you are able to get into still with the same character as your rep becomes well known You reap what you sow

If you're rolling need on an item for your Tank Companion, then why did you invite a real player tank to your group? In a different view point, you are rolling on gear for another person ( your companion ) the fact that you control the companion is meaningless. If you want gear for them, have them in your group and don't invite a player that fits that role as well. The main reason people treat others with disrespect in online games is because the only consequence is having to worry about the other party bashing them in a virtual world. More times than not, it is much harder to be a jerk to someone face to face. Having a PC to hide behind gives a bonus to one's courage.

I'm not reading 101 pages, but if it hasn't already been said. The OP had the marauder roll on cunning gear.. most likely the real reason is his companion could use it. He isn't going to use it himself just for an AC or Endurance upgrade when his main stat STR will be lost. As for locking all the loot down so only the class that can use it can get it through need - the same would apply when someone that has that stat as their main stat, but they don't need it. They will purposefully click need when someone else in the group could probably use it as an upgrade for a companion, but they're locked out of the need button. Ultimately, you'll never be free of jerks in groups. Limiting the need button on loot just causes the opposite side of loot whores. Just have to move on and play the game. Don't group with them again, and spread the word about them if you want through /general I've played quite a few MMOs and there will always be greedy people.