Would make soloing kind of awkward.

No,it is literally broken: multiple key talents do not function.

Except it is when you are level 50. Augmentable gear pieces are 1-time purchases, and crafters can't make better gear than PvPing or doing ops gets you. Cybertech grenades are dirt cheap to get and an alt doesn't even need more than like 100 cybertech to make the seismic ones. The reusable medpacks, adrenals,and stims save you tens of thousands of credits; if you want to be at maximum effectiveness you will be using adrenals and medpacks CONSTANTLY. I'm filthy rich and I'm still wary about using adrenals unless absolutely necessary, and using an ultimate medpack to save myself costs more than just letting myself die would.

Tactics is amazing against other melee classes. Hold the Line is 8 seconds of them not being able to reach you (unless they're a competent marauder and pop the speed boost, which they never do).

Armor rating simply converts into how much armor the piece has. It's a number you can quickly look at to see if it will provide more or less armor compared to another armoring of the same quality. The only reason it is a different number from the actual armor value it gives on the piece is that certain pieces of armor (chest) constitute a bigger percentage of your armor than others (like bracers), so armorings have their own rating values so you can compare them correctly without being confused by them giving different amounts of armor in different pieces of armor.

The thing is that the main thing it needs is something in the Vanguard Tree. Instead of a reliable way to get plasma cell procs assault commandos get... alacrity. L. O. L.

Biochem was, and continues to be, the best profession by miles. Cybertech's grenades are nice, but it's dirt cheap to get them even if you aren't a cybertech.

Supercharge cell doesn't give you 5% healing bonus, it gives you a 2% healing bonus followed by a -3% healing bonus while you build up charge again. Pretty un-super. It also doesn't unlock an amazing "combo," because you're actually better off just using AMP on multiple different targets, since with the HoT and armor it's actually better than MP (which no longer costs less than it even with the "combo"). I would be a big fan of abilities removing CD on bacta infusion or rapidly reducing cooldown on tech override and reserve cell. They've already insisted on making healing like a dps rotation, at the very least they could let Combat Medics manage ammo the same way dps do...

Aim has separate diminishing returns on its crit bonus from critical rating. It also receives +14% from talents and buffs. It is superior to power.

Alacrity has diminishing returns, but since they do NOT take into account the free 9% from talents... it's actually the most effective use of itemization to take both the talents and lots of alacrity on gear. I'd still recommend a hundred or so points of surge, since before the DR monster devours it it is quite useful.

It's 6 seconds of 20%, not 50%, defense... ie 6 seconds of not giving up the same exact bonus cover normally gives.' The moment they leave cover they've just entered melee range for everything with a lightsaber. And just because they can move and keep a few of their defenses doesn't mean they're mobile. Their most powerful attacks typically require entering cover to use.

A root is better than a snare in every way imaginable. I fail to see why they shouldn't be counted when saying whether someone has a movement impairing ability.

ranged classes too tough? Seriously? Snipers give up the entirety of their mobility to get their protection. Sorcerers are plenty squishy, but have lots of escapes. Mercenaries are nearly as squishy as Sorcerers but have no ability to escape whatsoever.

Lies. There's just as many things to dodge, if not more, for ranged classes, as there are for melee. Melee just eats more unavoidable damage; it's the healers job to deal with it, they just need to know when to run away if healers fall behind. Not exactly any significant difference in skill required.

Skill? Lol. It's the most straightforward, boring healing class I have ever played.

Are you asking us to compare Vanguard's Assault spec to Powertech's Pyro spec? They're mirror classes; ie are allegedly identical. And unlike the tactics tree there are no game-changing bugs currently making them different.

Mercenary weaknesses are exactly the kind that will make PvP frustrating rather than enjoyable. You bring neither a leap nor a pull to Huttball, and have no way at all to keep competent melee from reaching you and interrupting you. Pyro is your best bet for PvP, but compares very unfavorably to the powertech's pyro tree. That said, if you like the class then there is no substitute for playing what you like.

It's not fine at all. Even if it were perfectly competitive with the other two healers (even if it were the best of the bunch), it is horribly designed and very uninteresting to play. Since they obviously were not OK with our current unique abilities (efficient heals and supercharge cell) being effective, they obviously need to come up with entirely new mechanics. for example: rather than building supercharge on yourself, you build up kolto residue on other players (MP, kolto bomb with talent, and hammershot build it). Supercharge is replaced with a kolto jolt ability that provides a lot of healing on everybody with kolto residue. The jolt applies some additional benefit to whoever has trauma probe on them.

Definitely not the case. I've won a 5v8 before from the 5 side because the other team stacked 4-5 healers and we were all dps. Yeah they were clearly all idiots, but we weren't a premade either.

Anyone who says we mop the floor with sages isn't playing against sages using their interrupt/kb effectively Yes, they have an interrupt. It's easy to forget since 99% of them don't use it.

Just because it's slow and underwhelming doesn't mean you should be wasting it like that. Pop Kolto Overload as soon as you start taking 1-2k damage. It's basically another 2-3k hp for the fight.

As long as you only want the first two (max dps and max survivability) then it is easily attainable... as long as you're a sentinel.

Beats playing Commando...

Play another class. Troopers have awful defensive cooldowns. Sentinel is what you were looking for. Your only real hope as a trooper is to go with the Ironfist spec. It takes the tank tree survivability talents but also acquires Gut from the Tactics Tree. Not particularly amazing damage, but it lets you run with ion cell for improved damage reduction while doing at least a little damage. In all honesty I would personally suggest a normal Assault build. Best defense is good offense, etc. etc.

This was stated to be intentional, because apparently bioware thinks losing your companion to CC is worth immunity to everything but damage.