Very good question. Their forum moderation has been terrible since the game came out. I still have the guide, but I removed it in protest due to how BioWare elected to treat this thread. If ya want the story (to my knowledge since no one at BioWare reached out) or the guide (though I'm sure it's really outdated these days), DM me.

Hey all, My handle is Ves and my buddy is Hexane. We are currently looking for a solid raid group that organizes on Sunday/Monday (either one or both). Both of us have cleared the majority of HM/NiM content on tier since launch in various Guilds (Contraband Inc, Proper Villains, Select Few, Push, etc.). Our toons are as followed: Ves: Mercenary (6/6 220+ DPS Gear Set), Sniper (6/6 220 Gear Set), PT (6/6 220+ Tank Gear Set) Hexane: Sniper (6/6 224 Gear Set), Marauder (6/6 220 Gear Set) If interested in trialing us you can reach me on Zëv or Vèza most likely or leave a reply here and I will get with you in-game.

If these forums were read or discussed by Devs, you'd probably see more community interaction. That and with how little class balance means with the style of content in 4.0 there is really nothing to discuss.

Thanks man. Sounds about right. This game has always struggled with balance. Its simply make all 8 classes and use the FoTM class if you want to PvP/PvE effectively. Then again this is KOTOR 3 w/ a monthly sub now, so class balance doesnt really matter.....

So I see nothing has changed in my absence.....lol

Well I'm about to start my work week, so I wont be around til Tuesday next week.

Does that mean you're done? If not, lets talk.

Yup, my group is Imp. Myself and two of my buddies made a group in Classic Op Heroes. Yes, I hate the name, but cant turn down zero leadership responsibilities and fairly decent talent pool. Went 7/10 first night with 4 players getting their first kills on UL, Commanders and Torque. We'll see how things go in 4.0 for us.

Figured I'd post this since I've had a few questions lately regarding my future involvement in guides. For 4.0 and beyond, I have no plans to create my own guide. Between my personal schedule and in-game schedule, I simply don't have the time or energy to direct toward its creation. Sorry for those that were looking forward to the next installment, but there are various other quality guide creators out there to seek. However, I still more than happy to work with anyone seeking advice given I have the time to do so. That said, I am also no longer manning a Jugg as my "main" in progression. Having recently moved back to JC, I am currently tanking for a group we created not two weeks ago, so as far as working into detail about the rotation, figuring our stats, etc I probably won't retain as much knowledge as I did previously. Anyways, I appreciate everyone that helped in the creation of this guide, both pre and post release. Also, thank you to everyone who voted and helped get this guide placed at the top of the Guardian / Juggernaut forums. Good luck to everyone in 4.0 with your raid teams and working through the "new" 46 bosses.

Honestly, the overall DPS doesn't matter that much compared to the core damage total. If you're at 3.2k the whole fight, that is pretty solid though. But if your core damage was less than 400-450k, you need to pick it up for that phase.

Think he hit is spot on. It is just as I mentioned in an above post regarding DoT up-time. The longer you delay your DoTs, the less DPS you're putting out. Fix this small issue, and you should see a significant increase in your DPS.

SShhhhhhh, I was only hinting at a direction for people to look lol. Can't talk here. The top of the Alacrity build APM wise is about 38-38.5. As for numbers, I would think 4500-4600 is probably the top of the arc in 192s. So 4200 is a little low, but I think you solve some the APM issues and you probably see a noticeable jump. A significant amount of DPS for us is purely from proper Ravager/Master Strike clipping, and tbh Alacrity makes it significantly tougher to do.

It was merely an agreement between the various authors mentioned in the guide. With 4.0/KotFE less than 3 months out, I could probably post it and it would do little to no harm, but I am a man of my word and when I agreed to not post my rotation I have stuck to my guns thus far. If they agree that they don't mind or want me to release it, I most certainly will. I've had it written out since I made this guide lol. And honestly, our rotation is highly RNG based. 100-200 DPS difference is the low end of the spectrum. Because we rely on crits from our heavy hitters to maintain our DPS, opposed to "true" DoT specs, we have more variety in output when it comes to parsing. I average 5k-5100 easily in IO with my rare top parses of 5300+. Whereas with my Jugg, I sit between 4600-4900 in most 198s at this point (still need a MH and mod). Part of this is because of the Mercs ability to run high crit and still put out heavy burst between Thermal Detonator and Mag Shot. This is something we simply don't have, but hey there is hope if you read the recent post on TorCommunity.

What the guy above me said, but I'll lay out alot of the "typical" issues I see in parses. 1) APM (actions per minute). If you APM is low, you're DPS will be low. This effective means you are slow between abilities or are delaying abilities. Dont do that. 2) The rotation flows. In raids, you will be setting up a burst rotation for specific instances in the fight; however, parsing and "tank & spank" fights you wont be setting it up. "Everything is on cooldown" is not a thing unless you are failing in another part of the rotation. 3) DoT uptime. Our DoTs dont hit hard, but if they arent up than you're loosing DPS. Those are the typical issues I've seen, but of course if could be something entirely different. Sadly, I agreed to not provide the rotation I personally use, so I once again recommend posting a Parsley link of a parse for us to look at and give more informative advice.

Robust/Brawn doesn't stop knockbacks (knockdowns are NOT knockbacks...). The utility Unremitting/Unstoppable does, so if you want to avoiding be tossed around I suggest redoing your utilities.

So I received a request for access to my Google Doc from someone named Jennifer Brady. Being that I already asked the person I suspected it to be and was told this was incorrect, I was wondering who this is and why they are seeking access? If this is you, you can PM if you would like to avoid putting a handle to the name.

Well here is the thing, the information we have thus far puts a new Op, if at launch, in roughly 16 weeks. Ok, I think those that are struggling with the roster boss after having killed Revan numerous times would rejoice. However, the far more frightful side is Summer 2016 for a new Op. This is pure speculation, but if they decided a new Op wasn't needed til the end of Chapter releases we would be a year and a half given that only 9/16 chapters will launch in Oct and it wont resume until Dec/Jan from what I read. If this is the case, I am hard pressed to say this game will have any sort of progression scene by the end of this year. Of course, they could very well take a note from the 2.0 xpac and relaunch ToS/Rav in NiM as the new tier, but I have a feeling that it would be too little, too late at that point. Personally, I've been clear 7/10-8/10 and working on Revan for quite some time, and to think of re-clearing all of this again I am not overly fond of. The one thing we do have going for us in terms of remaining similar to our current state is they've only continued to balance the spec around Ravage and the proc for us. Of course, we saw what happened to Maras this xpac, so they could very well get a wild hair and decided we need to be completely retooled. I really dont see it happening, but then again it's Bioware Austin so who really knows. All I know is we really need some end game details during the next cantina event because as it stands now I cant say I'm overly thrilled with the idea of shelling out 15 bucks a month for story content when I could go pick up the licks of The Witcher, Batman AK, MGSV, etc. and have a ton more content. This xpac seems they are truly turning the game in "KOTOR 3" and idk how well a subscription based story game is going to work. Anyways, think this has been more of rant about the direction of the game and its balance vs what is really wrong with Vengeance, so moving on....

Trust me, we've been saying this since as far back as I was concerned with learning to actually play my class. At this point, I think it's safe to say Bioware is unwilling to change it to either a baseline ability or a passive within the DPS skill trees. I'm bored and think it's time I tossed my hat in the ring. As far as those stating "we are fine, dont alter anything" or something along those lines, I agree with you mechanically. This spec is probably the easiest to pick up next to say a MM Sniper (or even Virulence in the 2-Cull rotation). If you're struggling with DoT spreading, you're probably not picking you battles that well. If you are struggling with completing you Ravage, you're probably not picking your moment to well. This is the case with any channeled or cast ability. You have to pick and choose you battles. The smash monsters are gone. DoT spreading as a Mdps takes some finesse. Now that being said, I find it hard to believe that the likes of Merc and Snipers parsing at 5300-5400 and then us sitting at 5k (nearly 5100 for the top guy) acceptable given the statements Bioware made prior to 3.0 launch. Do I think we need a buff to at least be somewhat relevant? Absolutely, but will we see one? No, we wont and I am highly suspect that even the Xpac will grant any of the minor buffs that could easily balance us out. As much as I enjoy playing my Jugg (I would still be if group comp didn't matter for my group still), I realize that this game has turned into the Aim/Cunning show. Sure, you can clear all the content with any class. However, the few kills of the most difficult content I've seen without Tech users was done in BiS 198 gear including MH (farmed with Tech user groups). While I enjoy the difficulty of this tier, I think Bioware missed the mark in making the content accessible to all classes for the upper tier player. I mean when a class, excluding tanks, has two players kill the most difficult boss there is something wrong. The one big issue with Vengeance, and the game in general, is Bioware doesn't know what exactly they want to balance around. One patch its Ranked, next it's Regs, and then PvE. Bioware needs to maintain a point of balance, which should probably be ranked based, and let it play out. Sure, a "dual discipline" system would be a nice idea (same spec, balanced differently in each environment), but far more ambitious that I think Bioware is willing to take on at this point. Given their "direction" I am finding it hard to believe that even class balance or play styles will matter going forward. If everything they are focusing on is story based, why does how a class plays or is balanced matter? Time will tell of course, but I am not exactly hopeful for the future of raiding in this game (but the story looks beastly, so I'll still be here at least at the xpac launch).

Later boss, and btw GG Bioware. Removes sticky posts, but doesnt move the most active thread to replace them.....nice.

Lol dont be jealous. But thanks man.

I'm waiting for BiS to start parsing again.....missing Bracers, Ear, 1x Relic and 2 mods. Not so much concerned about the MH tbh. I think 5100 is doable without it, and no one has broken that barrier yet. 5200 even with the MH is probably a long shot, but would be nice to see. As for 4.0, Juggs are going to fly (Musco, 2014)!!! lol

Think you're missing the point my friend. Is it nice having a ton of DCDs? Yes, but when other mdps classes have a AoE reduction that is a passive or utility that instantly makes them more desirable. The closest we come in our current state is a DR of 20% after leap, which in PvE does very little depending on the fight, and Endure Pain which has a 1 minute CD. If we had a 30% AoE reduction similar to other classes, we would be taking similar DTPS as a DPS and would not hinder the group as much. Not disagreeing with you. I think we are balanced, but there are some minor tweaks that would make us a viable class for the current tier of content as a DPS. As it stands, only 2 DPS Juggs have cleared Revan HM (1 pre, 1 post). This simply is a poor showing for a class that is "iconic" as BW has stated in the past. As for SR, I personally wish they'd revert the "nerfs" to it and cap it to where the Guardian SR was back at 3.0 launch (believe in was somewhere between 5-6k). We lack a DPS boosting ability, and in treating SR as one as a DPS is about as close as we got to having one. Sure, you can make a case for Enrage, but truth is I rarely use it during a raid because of the Rage a generate from my utilities.

Your call man, I am happy to help if needed. But I am also happy sitting on the sidelines bantering lol.

Kind of defeats the whole purpose of Enrage tbh. Our rage generation, even more so in raids, is very good. If you don't have enough rage in Vengeance than you are probably mucking up the rotation in some fashion. Now, reducing its CD might not be a bad idea. This would allow for greater burst potential during those "down" rotations where you know you wont have a Dispatch proc or either set bonus buffs active. However, this is not a problem in raids due to the heavy amount of AOE damage that drives our Rage generation. With the exception of ours, the majority of 4-pieces center around reducing a CD or reducing a cost, but honestly I think our set bonus is on the bottom of the list in terms of what needs to be addressed. As much as it pains me to say, ap sort of has a point here. Now, he typically discusses PvP and on that matter I feel I am lacking. Not because I cant do well, but because I play in groups when I PvP. This automatically gives me an advantage considering I run with a solid healer and rarely have to use my CDs. However, the PvE side of things we do tend to take more damage than other mdps because we lack a AoE reduction ability/utility/passive. The reason I think they've avoided adding one is because our DCDs are so good. But, we rarely have an opportune moment in PvE content as a DPS where the entirety of a DCD is actually used. This is even more true with the continous nerfing of Saber Reflect.

Sounds great in theory. Here is where this theory was tested. And today, we have even less players in this classes/disciplines community. While I wish you the best with you venture and hope something comes of it, I think BW lacks the ability to coherently respond to players asking concerned questions regarding the state of their favorite classes.