Hi all,
Just a humble request or suggestion for BW to take in consideration on all balance changes that see fit.
1- Please be aware that PvP is totally diferent from PvE or vice versa, yet any changes made on either role will have direct impact on the other. So if balance is aimed or after 1 role keep it to that role. This way you will not obliterate or take the risk of breaking 1 given class to be playable in both roles thus making people rage, rant, qq, quit, rerrol and so on ....
2- If changes are inevitable then do it in baby steps, 1 skill or dmg reduction, or CD increase/decrease, see what happens (you say you have metrics system), if more needed you easily jump on it, if too much you can easily adjust, after all its only 1 change you are making and with this you will not make people who play the class under the nerfbat to reroll, respec, quit, rage and so on .... and (always) keep in mind the point 1 above.
3- When you obliterate to oblivion 1 class you do 2 things right on the spot, first you break 1 class to both PvE and PvP and second you put another class on the top of the chain to be the next candidate on nerf changes and it will go on and on and on until new mmo comes and/or people get bored and/or the playerbase gradually disappears and not worth to make any changes.
4- Be suspicious or see your metrics system with a grain of salt, there is too many variables in the game (PvP) to say skill X is what makes Y class overpowered, as an example and I will talk about the class I play which is Sorcerer, with low rank I dont see my class as huge or game breaking yet when I get higher in rank I start to see some change and capable of doing some nasty dmg on lower ranks although on higher or equal ranks its bussiness as usual, with this I mean should you obliterate X skill on sorcerer because of my rank allowing me to crush lower ranks and or withstand fairly easy the dmg of lower ranks ? imagine 2 or 3 higher ranks in a WZ with 12 lower ranks, now put those 2 or 3 being sorcerers, now make that happening in a row of WZ's, I can see what will happen and I dont need the metrics to see it and I wonder what your metrics will say ... I suspect that it would be the same with any other class (or the major) .... I can see the diference of a higher rank Juggernaut from 1 lower Jugger let alone 1 burst dmg class and that doesnt mean they are OP or have imba skills/abilities.
5- When changing 1 class keep in mind that it might be the counter of other class, like for example the smuggler/operative its the counter of sorcerer or it should be or it shine on that role, if you obliterate the counter you make the other class top of list for the next changes or wave of complains since it will give that class alot more freedom to play around .... so what you do ? you go after Sorcerer with nerfbat and if Sorcerer is the counter of another class then you make that class the top list for the next nerfbat and we start the cycle of nerf after nerf after nerf and meanwhile creating the chaos in pve.
Will stop here although I could go on, as a sorcerer I dont like the changes on operatives at least on both fronts PvP and PvE and with the large scale you making hitting right 3 skills that I felt/feel by experience its all they have or use as main attack, tweak 1 at a time, people that asks or complain about it will see you are aware, people that play class will not take so personally and if changes not enough then you proceed to next change, 1 step at a time.
Sorry for my english and long testament.