Actually, all our Marauders just stay in melee range to DPS during that phase due to their numerous defensive cooldowns that mitigate just about all the damage. Same thing for any other boss with AoE damage (Such as Garj and Toth and Zorn). If we have a DPS jugg, they can stay in longer, Intercede out then charge back in for extra damage. Meanwhile, Operatives slow jog out, get into cover, do crap DPS then slow jog back in. In other words, even in WORST CASE SCENARIO, Marauders still have 100% uptime while Ops are at 50% uptime. In other fights, the discrepancy is even worse. Take Stormcaller and Firebrand. After ever Defensive Position, Operatives have to slow jog their way back on top of the tank. They can't even use cover, since they have to get in melee range. Or Kephess, in which burst DPS phases are incredibly important, yet a lot of an Op's burst is wasted because they have to constantly switch targets across the room (ie. bomb droids, large robot, etc). What's funny is you took the BEST scenario for an Operative (Long phase in which melee has to get out) while ignoring the most common scenarios (Switching targets, knockbacks) that happen to be worse off for Ops. Yet even in your self-selected best case scenario, Marauders still have less DPS loss.

I'm fine with theme park as long as there are sandbox elements. TOR doesn't seem to have any. It seems like they purposely designed it to be as rigid as possible to herd people into certain directions. Doesn't feel like an MMO at all.

...And yet you make sweeping generalizations about me and try to speak for me. LMAO. I don't need to speak for other players. The sub numbers and drop in activity speaks for itself. But keep thinking it's my own fault for getting bored of the game (As well as everyone else that unsubbed).

...so now we're going BW's approach and blaming the loss of subs on the players, eh? The fact that the numbers on my fleet dropped from 200+ at the start of 1.2 to less than 20, all the player's fault! Let me ask you this: Did you get bored of Mass Effect after beating it once? Or Dragon Age? For most people, the answer is yes. That's because the content is in the storyline. Do you understand now? Doesn't matter if SWTOR comes out with new content, the way it's designed, people will play it a couple times and get bored. This is why there is always such a sharp dropoff after content is released.

Uh, no. I understand how MMOs work. It's quite clear that you do not, however. Yes, content is important. Yes, there is always going to be new content being released. But it takes more than that to keep a playerbase going. It takes an interactive world where it's not just raiding Operations every week. It takes replayability in which players have a reason and a desire to keep playing despite seeing all the content. Why do you think there is a huge dropoff every content update? After 1.2, numbers were strong - for a week. Then it dropped yet again. There's no replayability in the content. There's nothing worthwhile to do outside of raiding.

People that think all of SWTOR's problems will be solved from this will be in for a rude awakening. It's a bandaid fix to a larger problem. The problem is the same problem that plagues any single player game - once you're done with the content, you become bored of it. The main draw of SWTOR is the story aspect. Don't get me wrong - it's very well done and I really enjoyed my time leveling to 50. The first time, maybe even the second time. But for an Multiplayer game to succeed, there NEEDS to be replayability. The preset path players take in SWTOR leaves very little replayability, even with a different main storyline. I have no problem getting groups as I have a guild that enjoys playing together. We are all bored of the game because we've already completed the story and the content. Server merges and a group finder will prolong the game's life a little, but in the end run, people will still end up leaving, just at a slightly slower pace.

My entire raiding group unsubbed together when we realized the only reason we were still playing was to play with each other. Reason: SWTOR is a single player game masquerading as an MMO with co-op modes. The main draw is story, but once you get through that, there's no reason to continue. We had extremely high hopes for this game but in its current state there's no point in paying $15 a month for it.

Because it has nothing to do with whether you can group up or not. How are people not understanding this? The main draw of SWTOR was the story quests. Once you complete them, there's nothing left to do since the rest of the game is lackluster. You will see this if you ever get around to completing the end-game content. Just like any single player game, it's a great experience. The first time. Then you put the game away for other things. To prove my point: What was more important to BW: Legacy (A mostly single player addition) or a group finder (A mostly multiplayer addition)?

Yes, because it really is teams of stunlocking Operatives that is making people leave the game

Some people get it. Many others still would rather flame me and anyone who unsubbed for "not having any friends" despite the fact that I even said I have a close knit guild. We just unsubbed together. We will go play another game together. There's just no point in sticking with SWTOR since we beat the single player and we beat the co-op already.

Wait, you say they are "exactly the same" then start acknowledging all the differences? I can play this game too - Cats are the same as mice, except mice are smaller, are more of a nuisance to people and don't meow. Other than all that, they are exactly the same! In all seriousness, the very fact that SWTOR is smaller, has smaller and fewer zones, heavily instanced areas every zone and keeps factions from interacting IS the problem. These are PLANETS. They don't feel like planets. They feel extremely claustrophobic at times because they section everything off into neat little areas to ensure no one strays too far off the beaten path.

EC mobs drops a few credits. I agree though, give them a rare chance to drop crafting mats/schematics and maybe a few credits.

Sigh. No this is not the issue. It may prolong it a little bit but in the end run it won't solve anything. It's like plugging a leaking hole with masking tape. It's still going to be a single player game, just with more options to go through it co-op if you choose to do so. People will still get bored, though it may prolong the life of the game slightly.

I already answered all of your points. If you can't be bothered to actually read then I'm not going to bother rehashing stuff I've already said. Please stop assuming how people are playing when you have no idea what you're talking about, thanks. I group with others all the time. Co-op =/= MMO.

I already explained it. Leveling a character, the way it's designed, is extremely linear. You're pretty much required to go from X planet to Y planet, and each planet itself is very linear in design. You can't even explore the planets since everything is blocked off into specific sections. Couple this with the fact that even if a group finder is implemented, leveling through solo questing is still the most efficient way to level and there is still very little incentive to group up. What this means is that you will have to follow a very specific path to 50 every single time. Take WoW. There are different starting areas, and there are anywhere from 2-4 leveling areas for each level bracket. Each leveling area itself is pretty open in what you can do. Queuing for dungeons while questing gives you nice rewards while tends to be just as fast or faster than questing on its own.

LOL at this "argument". You realize this is a logical fallacy right? But to prove how wrong you are... I'm in a guild that has finished all content leading to HM EC, including getting both the KP and EV titles. We quest together and do FPs at times together. Despite this, it still doesn't change the fact that this game was designed for soloing/single player, NOT multiplayer.

Questing in SWTOR is extremely linear. You finish one area, then are herded to the next area. There is no deviating from this path as your class story always follow this linear path. Zones are not open to exploring and are sectioned off to keep people following this linear path. Planets themselves are extremely static, which doesn't help by the fact that most quests, not even group quests, are instanced. There is no benefit to doing anything in a group, in fact, it is faster and more efficient to do things solo due to the way they give so many advantages to soloing. No bonus exp for killing mobs, very weak rewards for finishing heroics and FPs. Basically, BW went out of their way to make the solo experience enjoyable but forgot to include multiplayer aspect into the game. There are multiplayer co-op "elements" but that does not make an MMO. ME3 has co-op and multiplayer, doesn't mean it's an MMO.

Nah, Scoundel medic gear is pure crap. Full Sawbones spec here with only two pieces of Medic gear

BW did everything they could to make single player questing as enjoyable as possible. From the addition of companions, to fully voiced story, to legacy perks and abilities that are only usable for single player questing. Instanced areas extended beyond group dungeons but to be used for nearly every quest, isolated zones to prevent ganking, all this was to make things easier for soloers. They did a great job with this. I had a very enjoyable time leveling my toons to 50. What BW seems to have forgotten though was they were making an MMO, not a single player game. Why is it only now in 1.3, 6 months after release that a group finder is coming out? Why was their priorities on legacy perks that don't really have much of an impact on the multiplayer aspect? Why is leveling up so linear, and why do planets seem so barren and static? Here's the thing that a lot of people don't realize: Server transfers and group finder, even if it comes out in 1.3, does not solve the simple problem: SWTOR was not designed with multiplayer in mind. It just wasn't. And that's its biggest mistake. Thing is, while server transfers and group finder would be nice, I already don't have a problem with that as I have a close-knit guild that does questing, FPs, and Ops together. But despite this, it doesn't change the fact that we're just playing a game designed for single player. We're just playing the "Co-op" version.

Being "viable" =/= useful. Being able to complete all content still does not make up for the fact that Ops lag behind all other classes, including Mercs/Commandos. There is no reason to take an Op/Scoundrel for DPS. None. I know, some guy who thinks he's being smart will say we provide off-heals or stealth res for Operations. While this is true, NO ONE will ever take an Operative for either reason. It just doesn't make any sense to, and anyone who thinks a group will obviously hasn't done enough raiding. Yes, you can succeed as a DPS Op/Scoundrel. You'll just have a much tougher time doing so, not only because you have to do more to succeed but because you have to combat the negative stigma associated with DPS Ops/Scoundrels in raids. "Take the player, not the class" mantra only works if 1) You're good enough as a player, and 2) People know you well enough.

For SM raids you have a couple options: - Shell out 300k for recruit gear that will be outclassed very quickly. - Run HM FPs to get Tionese and Columi. - Run dailies to obtain level 50 mods as rewards. You can mix and match as well. Personally, I would do dailies to fill out my gear as much as possible, then run a few HM FPs to get a few Tionese/Columi which also helps give you experience in group settings, which is the most important part of raiding.

I wanted to try tanking in an MMO, so I leveled a powertech to 50 as my main. It was stressful. Too many spread out groups of mobs that makes it a chore to keep aggro on, too many aggro wipes on bosses and I had the most responsibility for every fight. Which would have been fine except for the fact that baddies tend to always blame tanks for a wipe and never give praise for a success. Tanking is a thankless job, especially in this game. You have to REALLY enjoy it in order to do it on a regular basis, and even then, most are not willing to pug with strangers if they can't help it. Me personally, I rerolled an Op healer and never looked back. My powertech now is does nothing but send companions out on crew skills now though I will tank for guildies when needed.

People need to stop equating human error with "stealth difficulty increase". Your group makeup could be different. You could have players that are lesser geared. You could have people with lag issues. Or players that get lazy on mechanics (Very easy to do on Bonethrasher or Jarg and Sorno). It could be any number of things. Fights will not go the same way every time 100% of the time, that is the nature of raiding. Two weeks ago, we one-shot NM KP on our way to the title with two pugs. Last week, we took two nights to clear HM KP. It had nothing to do with "stealth buff" or any crap like that. It had to do with a couple inexperienced players that didn't understand mechanics, and people getting lazy and not moving out of Bonethrasher's cleave. Stuff happens.

I haven't unsubbed yet, since I still have some friends that want to give it a chance and we still raid, but that's about all we do now. We basically log on for our raid nights and play other games every other night. To reiterate what others have said, SWTOR does not feel like an MMO. The world feels static, there is no incentive to group, there is no open world PvP to speak of and there is nothing keeping the game going once you finish the main story and hit 50. All of the effort and development seems to have been put into the story and legacy, but the problem is, that can't keep an MMO going. Great for single player, but as an MMO, there needs to be much, much more.

You make two short sentences about PvP in the OP. No one is going to be able to determine it's about only PvP from that. Therefore, any discussion about PvE is relevant. You bashing people for doing so is NOT relevant. PTs are not "meant to tank". They can tank OR DPS. Mercs are not "meant to DPS". They are DPS OR heals. If you think ANY differently then you fail at reading comprehension, since even the beginning tooltips about the advanced classes tell you this. What's funny is you say you "only care about PvP" but talk about PTs getting a shield, which is pretty much irrelevant in PvP. PTs do not have amazing utility. They have a grapple on a 45 second cooldown, a short AoE stun and a 4 second stun. No knockbacks, no real mobility, no mez/ccs. Mercs could certainly use a few buffs, but your post certainly does not help that cause.