Kajimoto - I totally agree with you! I've heard the term "main heal" more than anything since the patch and I am like "what the hell is a 'main heal'? We have a bunch - including a couple of HoTs which should cover the casting time of single target reactive heals. I'm not level 50 and haven't done a lot of PvP but I'm encouraged by what both you and DLove have said about sorc healing post patch 1.2. I know that since I'm a good healer (have a totally sweet level 90 warden on EQ2 lol) I can figure this thing out too! In most games like this healers run out of power until they get some kind of "never run out of power" buff (in EQ2 we could strip a power buff from an epic weapon) at a super high level. It takes a lot of work to get that buff, but it certainly doesn't work against a raid mob with a power drain, and so it doesn't make healers in that game totally OP. We also can't play as effectively against people using stealth becuase we lose the target and they do so much backstab dmg, we can't even get a heal off, especially if they start off with a powerful stun lol. We only get to level 50 in this game at the moment so having that kind of power that never runs out is kind of silly...I mean, what would we get at level 70, 80, or level 90 if not the ability to heal without much power cost? If sorcs seriously could heal a raid without ANY power loss, then they were OP. It's that simple. Even in EQ2 I encouraged my group/guild mates to run raids with heal pots, becuase of the inevitablity I would run out of power and not be able to heal them as effectively. I know SWTOR isn't EQ2 (or that "other" game), but healers are healers are healers lol. I've also appreciated both of your feedback about ability rotations and healing strategies. Thanks!

Redcorn, I play a sorc. Lots of level 50 sorcs feel nerfed. It sucks. Re-roll a vangaurd. You will be happier and the rest of us won't have to hear you whine about how you deserve special treatment becuase you don't like the class you picked now that they've restructured it. The non-force healers were never meant to be as good as the force using ones, that's why they are supposed to be in support roles, alternating between damage and heals. Also, allowing for small heals for mercs, operatives, etc allows for the force using healers to heal MTs rather than the rest of the groups during raids. Since we only have one AOE heal and it is not hotkeyable (have to use the mouse to target group to heal it), it is nice to know that some of our support troops can do some minor healing either of themselves or other dps classes. You are just as much a baby as the rest of us, btw, lots of people feel BW "owes" them for nerfs. So re-roll and have fun - tank and pure dps great!

I know its hard to relearn how to play or to try to give constructive criticism to the developers when you feel like your class has been robbed of some crucial thing, but that's just how MMOs are. I mean, don't you people know that this game's max level is ONLY 50? BW is going to replace whatever they took from you with something else, possibly something better if you would THINK for a minute and suggest something useful. I think they should give us 2 more HoT small group heals, which I think would cover the casting time of DI and would limit how much we would have to actually target ourselves during a fight. Perhaps they could give Assasins the ability to do some kind of "power/force heal" or something. I don't care if that stuff comes at level 60, 70, 80, 90, or even 100, but they will have to give us something to make our class more useful for raid content and pvp at some point. Does anyone else have any USEFUL suggestions for what BW should do? Like the OP said, what kind of ability rotations are you using? I tend to stagger my reactive heals and my HoTs and put my grp/aoe heals at the end. Is there a way to "off heal" the way that tanks "off tank" when their health becomes low...perhaps sorc could do something like that and trade off healing with a merc or operative when thier force gets low? I know our groups are so small its tough to cram in all the classes you need for a really good raid, so maybe at a later date they will up the group member limit and we will be able to still have good dps and good heals. I don't know how effective this stuff would be in pvp, since I don't do that much of it, but I'm sure there is some kind of solution. Also, games tend to get disappointing when you reach max level or run out of content - even if you still have raid content - so if you have to rotate out your gaming experience, please do so! Go back to playing another game until BW comes out with a product you feel comfortable purchasing again...who knows, maybe by then the game will be ftp and you won't feel so cheated.

I am a level 40 sorc, so the "nerfs" that occured for our class during patch 1.2 didn't seem to affect me that much. I actually appreciate that Dark Infusion takes less force to cast, even if it takes a little longer. Since I only reached level 40 yesterday, I only just now realized that our Revivication is a "true" aoe and that I must use the mouse to target the group of people I'd like to heal, which is kind of inconvenient for my play style since I play on a laptop and hotkey everything. This concept is great for raid content and it is really versitile because you can heal a group of people outside of your party group - which is awesome! However, since I though it would be a true group heal, it kind of made me have to rethink how I would heal myself through a fight (currently we have to target self or mob in order to self heal at all). So, my suggestion for any furture abilites is that sorcs get a small group heal that we can hotkey out - it would be nice if it were an HoT. I don't care at what level we get it, maybe you already have it planned out for level 60, 70, or 80, I don't know, but knowing that we will get one would be nice. This way, I won't have to target myself to heal myself and can focus on healing my tank for the most part. For the Assasin, I would suggest prolonging the Whirlwind ability slightly, not as much as the sorc gets, maybe a 30 sec mez. This would really help with CC. Thanks!

I have an irrational in-game habit involving my obsession with vanity. I also turn off Sprint and jog becuase it looks quite nice. It drives my hubby and his buddies nuts on an FP, but I do it anyway lol. I also will remove belt and bracers (only peices I have that are not orange and modable) if they look goofy with the rest of my outfit, even if it means having less armour and stats. My husband always reminds me to "armour up" when we do a Heroic or FP, but sometimes I resist...so irrational...and tell him "but I don't want to look stupid in the cutscenes"!

I don't think the OP was trying to make this thread a place where we, as ladies, can bash our male counterparts or get special kudos for being girls. I thought it was for allowing female gamers to express opinions about being a female gamer. I was surprised, although I shouldn't have been, to see so many people who are really angry about that. I know some gamers just want to be the same as everybody else and that's great, there are clearly methods and strategies to do that. But I appreciate hearing SWTOR ladies talking about their experiences as female gamers. It's nice...and entertaining. Some threads are for constructive criticism, feedback for BW, and many other in-game issues, but the "Community" ones should allow for a more laid back disscusions about whatever we in the SWTOR community feel like talking about, right? In essence, female gamers should be able to share their experiences in this forum as freely as they like. Its a conversation and just like a conversation in RL, sometimes it might upset people who don't agree, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't have a "safe" place to discuss relevant issues relating to our gender and gaming. Thus, here are some of MY experiences as a female gamer (in UO, EQ2, and SWTOR): 1. I love looking pretty - I want lots of pretty dresses! Or at least an outfit that makes me look feminine! 2. The fact that I am obsessed with having a matching outfit drives my husband (who also games with me) INSANE! It also means that our guild-mates and RL friends who play are always sending me things they think might be pretty so I can build more complete outfits. Most of the people I play with are guys, so they don't always know what's pretty, but they try harder becuase they want to maintain our friendship and know that is something that matters to me. 3. I love playing a healer (read "nurturing" lol) class! I also like playing tanks and ranged dps, but heals will always be my favorite. I realize that this is a class preference which is not related to gender issues, but I wanted to share my personal gaming expereince, and that is part of it. 4. I love housing! I am excited for SWTOR to develop more housing type options so I can decorate my starship! 5. I hate running into IWK (someone mentioned earlier - Internet White Knights)! They ruin my playtime and are often creepy...always whispering...ick! Also, becuase I often play healing classes, it takes me some time to strategize and plan out my attacks. I love having Khem Val as my MT for solo content, so I definitly don't need an IWK stepping in and ruining my game! 6. Most of the people I play with are male identified players (some have female toons but still let me know they are guys at some point). Most of these guys are totally cool to play with and can be a lot of fun. I HAVE had a couple of really bad experiences with male players being really gross and innappropriate towards me though. Since I am concerned with looking nice, sexy or whatever and becuase I often play on a weekend with my husband during which time we are both pretty intoxicated, sometimes guys who find out I'm female will behave in a manner that is not cool. And then my husband and I have to explain that I'm not a female looking for ERP but would simply like to have fun with my friends and family on a weekend. But those experiences are few and far between and of course do not reflect the behavior of most male gamers. Like, I've said, just want to share my experiences . Well, I'm sure I could think up more experiences I've had as a female gamer, but these are the ones I wanted to share. In general though, most considerate gamers have the same concern; an excellent gaming experience. Hopefully this thread will allow for further disscussion concerning female gaming experiences.