updated wish-list again, "too many buttons" removed for lack of support. unremitting is still tops, deflect jumped two spots up. let's keep going, let the devs hear what you want!

Blade Barrier/Sonic Barrier is a talent that deserves some exploration. I've seen a few threads about how it works, and there seems to be a lot of differing opinions about how well it scales (if at all). - Some say it's static and absorbs somewhere between 800-1200 damage. - Others say it scales with your max HP. - Still other say it scales with your Force Power (i.e. Strength) I won't bother linking threads because there's waaayyyy too many of them... but my question to this forum would be about how this talent ought to work... or are you all satisfied with it as is?

Ok let's stop the arguments about taunt already. We've strayed off topic, and no one benefits from turning this thread into a flame session. Some agree that taunt is working as intended, others think that it's doesn't meet the expectation, or that the tooltip is misleading. Whatever your personal opinion may be, let's remember taunt is exactly the same for every tanking class, and not an issue specific to Guardians/Juggernauts. That said, any further arguments about this topic should be redirected to the Classes/Roles/Tanking forum.

Well said, I have removed it. I would love that... but it would cause imbalance based on the high number of focus/rage management talents already in the defense tree. While your idea would definitely provide DPS-spec off-tanks a tremendous buff, it would need to be counter-balanced for Defense spec. I've heard about that, and based on the info you linked, I'd say Taunt is definitely NOT working as intended... I mean... they're saying that a tank is supposed to taunt off himself? ...really? The tooltip suggests that Taunt is supposed to be a RE-active ability, not a PRO-active one. Furthermore, it clearly states that the effect expires after 6 sec. Based on the info you linked, that is not the case, and so I have to conclude that the current Taunt mechanic is (most likely) an exploit that the Devs have yet to correct.

Thanks to everyone who offered feedback. I've modified the original post to tally up specific responses/rebuttals to keep track of community opinion. But keep in mind, the ideas I opened with are just my own preferences. I'd also like to hear more of your own "wish list" ideas. Then I will incorporate those into the first post.

The modest improvements we received in 1.2 are a clear indication that Bioware is responsive to the issues and concerns that Guardian tanks have been expressing. I think many of us agree that there is more that could be done to give us the performance we expect from our class; both as a Jedi Knight and as a Tank in a MMO setting. My purpose here is to stimulate conversation, and provide a constructive forum for delivering our collective desires to the attention of the class developers. Thanks for your interest and for your (hopefully) constructive responses. NOTE: This is version 2 of my original post. I have updated my own ideas based on feedback from the community, removed those that failed to gain traction, and also added/adapted additional ideas submitted by the community. I've also trimmed some of the paragraphs to prevent "wall of text" fatalities, and ranked the ideas based on the ratio of agree/disagree. 1. Unremitting 10 agree, 1 disagree Problem: A tank without Unremitting will spend the first few seconds of any trash pull getting tossed around like a ragdoll with stuns/knockbacks. During those few seconds, where initial threat is so critical, it can get very frustrating, and certainly doesn't give me the feeling that I am "a wall between the Republic and its enemies." Solution: As a reasonable solution for both Tank and DPS Guardians, move Unremitting into the 2nd tier of either the Vigilance Tree or the Defense Tree. That way both specs have to go a little out of their way to get it, but they will still be able to have the 31pt skill from their primary tree. 2. Cooldowns 5 agree, 3 disagree Problem: Cooldowns for our key threat producing abilities; Sundering Strike, Guardian Strike, and Force Sweep present an awkward rotation for tanking. Solution: Modify a deep Defense skill (e.g. Cyclonic Sweeps) to passively reduce the cooldown of Force Sweep. Reduce the cooldown on Guardian Strike. Remove the cooldown from Sundering Strike and reduce it's damage to be equivalent with normal Strike. 3. Reflecting Blaster Fire 3 agree, 1 disagree Problem: An iconic Jedi ability that has received no treatment in SWTOR. Solution: Introduce as a passive ability that scales with Defense Rating; 25% Defense grants 1/4 chance to deflect, and 1/4 chance to reflect a deflected shot (for a total 1/16 chance to reflect a single shot). Special attacks (e.g. Snipe) will not be reflected. Reflected bolts deal half damage and are incapable of critical hits. 4. AoE Threat Generation 4 agree, 3 disagree Problem: Saber Throw hits only one target, and Cyclone Slash has a high focus cost. Solution: Modify ST so that it hits up to X number of targets within a X meter radius, each target hit reduces the damage dealt by X percent. Also, upgrade a Defense talent (e.g. Courage) to help reduce the cost of Cyclone Slash. 5. Endurance Talent 2 agree, 1 disagree Problem: Shadow Consulars and Troopers (both ACs) have passive talents to increase endurance by 3%. Jedi Knights lack a comparable talent. Guardians once had a slightly stronger talent (4%) in the 5th tier of Vigilance, but it was removed in 1.2. Solution: Provide a +3% endurance talent to one of the Guardian sill trees. 6. Force Pull 2 agree, 2 disagree Problem: Force Pull would offer tremendous utility for tanking. Comparable skills are already available to Shadows and Vanguards. Solution: Introduce it as a deep Defense talent that shares a cooldown with Force Push. Perhaps by removing the (newly diminished) "Command" talent and replacing with Force Pull.