Given that in this thread alone people who claimed to have redeemed him have used Theran, Nadia, Qyzen, and Iresso, it seems unlikely that the choice of companion would be the key factor. (I used Theran btw.). I'm not saying it might not play a role but it seems it is not the primary factor. Also the light side/dark side thing seems irrelevant as well. I'm still convinced it hinges on dialogue choices - remember you talk with him a few times before that final dungeon.

I don't personally recall ever reading a definitive answer. I redeemed him. My theory is that it is completely tied to the dialogue choices you make the few times you must confront him before the final battle as this is a Bioware game after all. I always chose the answers that reminded him of the friends/loved ones he was hurting and I never went "full righteous Jedi" with him like quoting the code to him etc. Though I can't prove this was the critical factor I am nevertheless convinced that it was.

Hm, I think you're absolutely right Mithril which in my mind makes it even more unlikely than before that it was Karagga's. So it must have been Directive 7 because so far that is my only 50-level FP (well I did Esseles HM last night so that's not technically accurate I guess). It is awesome looking gear, however, although for my own guy I'm trying to cultivate a more purple/orange kind of look and have gone with the Primeval Exemplar Set (w/out the lower robe which I have not yet found so I'm using the Balmorran social pants and w/out the helmet/mask which I saw once on the GTN but failed to buy ).

I'm certain because KP is the only op I've ever started. I am without a guild and paranoid about going into an op with strangers undergeared so although I've been 50 for roughly two weeks all I've done so far is dailies. And even that we could not complete because a few of our team had RL issues and just took off after one wipe on Bonethrasher (that's how I know it dropped before him since we did not even bring him down.)

No need to apologize since I think you're right (as I actually pointed out in the first part of my post -- though perhaps I was unclear?). No doubt, "on target" was a poor choice of words. Perhaps it's better to state that I sympathize with the OP's apparent sentiments towards idiotic DPS'ers more than with the truth of his/her actual statement. In any case, I think it's obvious that proper tanking involves putting guard on the best dps. But I still think that even the most skilled tank (and I would say I am fairly average though I've always gotten compliments and never complaints) might be driven to distraction by a bad dps'er who aggros everything in sight paying no attention to kill order or tactics. Once I remember wiping twice in a row quickly after putting guard on one of our two dps'ers who simply attacked everything in his line of sight: normals, silvers, golds, whatever. I tried to pop taunts at opportune moments and tried to help him out but ended up overwhelmed. Now it could be that I suck, fine. But when I switched over to guarding the healer (only time I ever did it I promise!) I did not wipe once and although he wiped three times after that, the group as a whole did not suffer since when you lose the tank it often means a party wipe. Now this was just a NM flashpoint and I'm sure if it was an OP or even an HM we would all have wiped no matter what since in those instances it never works to put the guard on the healer, especially with enrage timers being so tight in most cases. But I did feel good after that adventure I must say. I also noticed he was very humble by the end and was carefully choosing who he would unload on. And you know what? No player wants to end up face down repeatedly because of someone else's poor decisions -- not even a tank who generally understands that in many instances that's part of the job profile.

I have a white mask that looks almost exactly like the one in the picture and it has a crown. However, although the front and the crown are white, the back and neck are brown, though there is a small gold border on either side of the face. The reason I mention all this is that in your picture the sides seem to be completely golden though it's hard to tell from the angle provided. In any case, my headgear is called Ultratech Survivor's Headgear. I am almost 99% certain that I got it during a Directive 7 (NM) run but there is a very slim chance it was Karagga's Palace. If the latter, it was BEFORE Bonethrasher. EDIT: Now that I look closely at your image I believe the one I have is a close cousin but not the exact one (which most probably does contain the word Deception in it). Where yours has small brown borders on the side of the face and a golden back/neck, mine has golden borders and a brown back/neck.

Can't say I'm the most experienced tank out there but I think that many of you are failing to take into account the bad player X factor. Yes, in the ideal group it would generally make much more sense to guard the most explosive DPS than it would to guard the healer. Alas, many of us are not in high-end designer guilds with genius guild-mates who know to do the exact right thing at the exact right moment. We instead have to rely on pug's that contain a mix of excellent, good, average, or horrifically bad (this game seems to be very forgiving to the latter since -- anecdotally at least -- there seem to be quite a few terribad 50s out there, even geared ones). In such scenarios, proper tactics go right out the window I've discovered. I believe THAT is why many of us found the OP's first post on target. Even with the (imo) improved tanking mechanics of SWTOR, one finds that a well-placed idiot DPS'er can still create havoc if in the mood to do so. In most cases this can be offset through proper tactics on everyone else's part but it would be false to claim that this is not frustrating. No amount of improved mechanics can account for bad play.

Excellent awe-inspiring video. One thing though: On your Kinetic spec, I see that you sacrificed Applied Force in order to max out Rapid Recovery. So is RR really that much better in pvp? (I actually wanted to do the same but lacked the data to back it up).

^ Excellent post and summarizes the main points well. I have a 50-level Kinetic Shadow and would say this is spot on. I tend to use Tharan exclusively but did use Nadia on Voss in order to speed romance her and noticed no appreciable drop-off. Tharan is better for my play style but Nadia is certainly viable. But the great thing here is that you can really use both effectively anytime you wish to since you don't have to worry about gearing Nadia up! She can just use your hand-me-down gear.

Absolutely best guide I have read on this site. Sticky again please.

Can't pretend to understand the subtle nuances of the math involved but I would like to comment on the RR v. MF debate nevertheless. I tend to use Battle Readiness quite a bit during a long fight, especially when I need that little bit of extra healing. Would popping BR actually act as a kind of proc to RR? Just by the tooltips it would seem it would. *Personally it seems that dumping Applied Force seems like the best compromise to finally ending this old debate.

Hi all, Forgive me if this has been addressed but I have used search repeatedly and have not found a satisfactory answer. The new crystal vendor on the (I am a 50-level shadow tank on Republic side) fleet now sells all sorts of different crystal colors of varying strengths. Alas, I am in that 1%-3% that never wanted either a purple or white crystal -- I have always liked the color orange. Still, I noticed that no orange color crystals are available. You can buy a +41 purple-colored crystal but not an orange. I am Artifice 400 and can craft +31 orange crystals of both the endurance and critical varieties but I had my heart set on a +41 at some point. Even a schematic would be fine. Anyone know what the status is on those?

Hm, seems to me a few of you might want to take some of these issues up with the devs as there must be a few WoW refugees (or Everquest or MUDs or PnP DnD or...) among them too. Take the following quote: I know for a fact that in TOR when you enter an area where speeders are restricted the warning goes something like this: "Mounts are not allowed here." It does tend to put a dent in the immersion I must admit.

I can definitely understand the distortion problem Dragon -- the shawl does give the impression of baldness. My toon is already mostly bald so it matters less for me but I see where it could be an issue. As far as the whole Sage look matter...my own image of the Shadow is like some kind of mystic assassin -- like a Shaolin monk meets the Old Man of Alamut sort of thing. In that vein, the shawl fits quite nicely. Still, I did get tired of it after about 7-8 levels wearing it and have now switched to the white Distortion robe (traditional hood for those who don't know) with the Muse pants. Looks awesome, but yesterday I was at the GTN and I spotted what I thought was my twin! Turns out it was a Jedi Sentinel around the same level as me (46-7). When I looked closely there were subtle overall differences but honestly I hate looking like a clone of every other Jedi class -- like we all bought our gear at the same cut-rate bargain wholesaler. What is depressing to contemplate though is the lack of true choice when we hit 50...that is when we will apparently all look like assembly line Jedi if we choose to go with competitive gear. Maybe I'll just stay at 49.

Guess it is all a matter of preference because I really do love the "towel" hood on the Elder Exemplar robe. It looks exactly like a prayer shawl, which in my mind fits in well with the more "mystical" feel of the Jedi Consular as opposed to the straight Jedi Knight. Also, it is unique. Pretty much every Jedi Knight that is hooded has the exact same (over the eyes) style. When you see the same hood repeated a thousand times, even if it is initially pleasing, it gets old and boring fast. Anyway, I was wondering if those of you looking for grayish pants have tried the Balmorran resistance pants (Social II)? Those seem gray to me -- on the outside at least -- the inside of them looks like brownish leather or something. They went well with my gray Elder Exemplar chest piece. On another note, from the pictures I've seen (don't own one yet) the Belsavis prison pants look like they are light beige/tan/brown (Social III I think). Those might go well with a straight brown or brown/white robe.