I appreciate your response and advice. I don't really have a problem so to speak, but I think pulse cannon is supposed to gather aggro on the mobs in front of you, and because the mobs don't stack close enough the spell isn't getting its full effect. What I've been doing is just turning my guy in place and wave it left and right a bit. This ensures that all of the mobs get some of the damage, but none will get the full damage. Thanks

I know people will get tired of hearing WoW memories, and trust me I am all in on Star Wars, but I tanked mostly in WoW (feral mostly/prot paladin next). What I'd like to see on pulse cannon is something like hammer of righteous which was very liberal with the what the game considered "in front of". I use to have to huddle people up as Bear, and then they made swipe 360 degrees and I still huddled people up from habit. But in Star Wars there is something different going on, and the huddling technique is not as controllable. It seems like it's either the mobs getting too close or maybe it's because I'm a lower level and once I get more talent points a new spell that has a bigger cone and more threat will take it's place. Let's keep this topic going, I really think it could help the game experience for us tanks at least. Shouldn't cause people to be upset if it's tweaked.

should I title this different?

I've been playing vanguard lately and I am loving the class. I have an issue that I can't find in old threads. I have an ability called "pulse cannon" and it is a channeled spell that puts out a cone shaped electrical storm. I put this in general discussion because I believe the problem is how close the mobs come in once pulled. Since this spell is channeled, a back step will cancel the effect, and also bring the mobs one step closer. What I would like to see happen is either our cone fan out closer to 180 degrees so we can gather up aggro and damage mobs that get in our blind side. Or have the mobs interface a step back from us. I realize that a larger cone might lead to problems in pvp, but the spell isn't used by many in pvp(I use it). It seems like an easier fix for BW, instead of changing the distance that mobs stand against the player. Anyone else buying into my logic?

I found this post because I was having the same problem, thanks to everybody for posting comments recent. I miss my empire that I built over 3 years in wow, but eventhough I'm starting over on star wars, I feel great with this community. It's so nice that people want to help everyone in Star wars. I hope we can keep it this way.

I was having problems with this also. I was in the senate cantina, and all it said was "need to talk with you in private" Without doing anymore quests I used my emergency fleet pass and went into the cantina in the middle of the republic fleet main level and this popped the quest above the companions head. Also I went to a large cantina, can't remember where, but it was large with multiple rooms and exotic dancers and this cantina popped the companion quest too. Hope it helps, when all else fails try the main cantina inside the fleet.

Just hit 24 with my slinger, and 25 on the balance shadow. The 15th talent point in balance was a huge damage increase because it gave me instant cast mind crush. That being said, my gunslinger is just too much fun, and when hut ball is "randomly generated" alot, there is nothing more fun then slinging it. Dirty fighting is so much fun, I mean shrap is awesome because they love to huddle up on the ball carrier, and flash grenade, leg shot, thermal, there are so many skills and it's fun to shoot them all. I like a sabotage shot set off with charged blast, it works about perfect with the throw time on sabotage and the cast time on charged blast. What I mean is by the time charged blast hits the target, sabotage makes it there right before, and they get destroyed.

thanks for the response guys. I've been feeling the slinger more then my shadow consular even though I like the story behind the consular. I will say that the smuggler story gets more interesting as you go along, and the space ship is cool. My brother has been telling me to level jedi because he thinks i'll have buyers remorse. But we do pvp mostly, and the gunslinger is so much fun in warzones. It seems like I always have a shot to shoot perfect for that moment in time. However, I do seem out of energy too fast as saboteur. Dirty fighting seems to be great, but I like all 3. thanks again for response, I'm gonna follow through on my gunslinger, level 23 pidge(voltron pidge, except i made he body style 4 and of course green)

Hey guys, I know this is the most common question, but I'm in need of some help and asking my wife or toddler on this matter isn't getting me anywhere. I've got a 22 gunslinger and a 24 Shadow, both on Republic. I was a druid that respeced 200 times in wow, and I loved every tree. I was also a shaman and paladin, so I liked hybrid but always had a little dps envy. Shadow consular seemed to be right up my alley and I really like the feel of the defense tree. Infiltration seems pretty basic which is probably a little downgrade for me. Balance feels great, a challenge that is fun with lots of damage and aoe with some range. I think it compares mostly to the enhance shaman or frost dk if we are comparing. So 2/3 are great for me on that, but I was the last to come over to SWTOR , from my friends. My brother and another friend decided to take on tank roles since I was undecided on playing (yeah I did the annual pass......), so now my brother is a guardian level 46 and the other guy has stalled out his vanguard at 40, and is picking up sage and likes it. The slinger, I like it quite a bit. Great range and fun to take people down fast. I like all three trees, and I don't mind the cover mechanic. Getting that damage reduction for taking cover is great on top of the dampers that we get in the talent tree. We plan on doing mostly PvP and probably some instances, but doubtful we will ever raid, and if we did it wouldn't be much. I'm wanting to focus on one at this point, I thought I would level both at the same time, but I was reading about the legacy perks so I thought I should get the full experience and focus on one character. Question: From what I've described above, tell me if you relate to my previous game experiences, and give me your honest feedback. WOULD A GUY LIKE ME EVER BE SATISFIED WITH A PURE DPS CLASS? Are you guys satisfied with your gunslinger or are you now planning your hybrid leveling toon. OR DO I STAY WITH 2 AT THE SAME TIME? EDIT: I chose to right this in the smuggler forum, because I felt that the most regret would come from choosing a pure dps as your first. I'm in no way hating, I think the Smingler is great, and I'm going smingler to 50 as of now, just wanted to hear smuggler's opinions over shadow opinions if you know what I mean.

To Diefexor, I know man, I just don't understand that view. I will at least say Malastare (likes the cost) honestly feels that it should be that way, and everybody can have their reasons. But some people can't swallow this is a MMO RPG, not just an RPG. I think they have a game in their heads a certain way, and we obviously have ours, but to get the most out of Massive they need to appeal to the masses. Even if the RPG gang doesn't think it's right, or they think Bioware is just answering the whiners call, it is a call that will have to be made I think. I like to play all the specs, and I never raid, didn't in WoW, and don't plan to in this game. I read some people's complaints about this concept of lowering respec costs would ultimately hurt the raiding people. But I think just the opposite. I think most people don't raid, and most find themselves playing by themselves even when guild mates are online. That's where I am, I like running around killing stuff, and I like doing it in different ways. I told this before to malastare and i'll write it again. I am disabled, and my life is a shell of what it use to be, online gaming has given me something to do besides thinking about how much pain I'm in. When I play it's to relieve stress and put on a smile, nowhere in my mind is there a part of me that wants to respec so many times that it makes people's head spin. My life is on slow mode, but I would never ask somebody else to slow down because I can't keep up. If you don't want it, don't use it. But many of us do want it, and this is our vacation from real life problems. Let us enjoy it together. I don't want any confusion about it. I am not an "elite" that you guys keep talking about. Which by the way, who is that? My guild is made of 6 people, and nobody is 50. I started two months after the other 5 did, and I have a smug slinger at 20 and a shadow consular at 24. I've got more time then the other guys do. Can you be "elite" and not do raids or be at 50 by now? Yeah and I'd like recount, because on those lonely days I like trying different rotations, and guess what that leads to....... more respecs! Kinda reminds me of these books I read my boy. "if you give a pig a pancake" ," if you give a moose a muffin", "if you give a mouse a cookie". example: if you give a guy a game, he's gonna need dual spec, and if you give him dual spec, he's probably going to need a hit from the nerf bat, if he gets hit with the nerf bat, he's going to need some tender loving care, and after he feels better, he's going to ask you for cheaper respecs, once he gets cheaper respecs, he'll want to get a looking for raid tool, having the looking for raid tool will bring back memories of a different game, if you give a guy a game. For those of you that aren't parents, just trust me, it's funny.

I don't remember writing that. It wasn't me (OP). I never mentioned advanced class respec or faction change. Maybe it was in another post. I think the crew that made this game can handle the load of your pvp concern and talent specializations at the same time. "no no no, i'm not playing then! I'm always the top hat and you are always the thimble" This is the image I get when I read your complaints about us wanting respecs revamped. "oh come on man here, take the hat. I don't care what I play with" "you broke it and you're gonna pay for it" "this is my birthday party and I say we play spin the bottle!"

To malastare, Again I am reading what you are writing. Go ahead and make the game more challenging for yourself and don't respec even when it would make it easier. You can't respec anywhere on the galaxy so there is some work via travel to respec. My stance for those of you who don't think people should respec at will; only respec once a week or less. My stance for those who like to respec; respec whenever you feel like and don't rub it in. Problem solved right? No, not in your (the people who don't) eyes. Everyone should play the game the way you see fit. I mean dude, you are telling us how RPG's are supposed to be played. MMO's are different, they constantly adapt and heal so the game becomes more polished. "the times they are a changing" Dylan

My top 3 classes in WoW and the amount of respecs. 1.) Druid 201 respecs, 10,234 gold spent on those 2.) Shaman 115 respecs 5600 gold spent on those 3.) Paladin 83 3700 gold on those I like to change specs and it adds up fast.

I never brought up advanced class, and I don't think anyone on this thread did either. In fact Bioware gives us more opportunity to change class then wow does. By giving us skills from both AC's before we have to decide which way we want to go. So BW is more forgiving on class choice. What are all these huge problems that will occur if respecs go cheaper? What are they? Somebody throw a bone? Is it envy? So if we're on a pvp server we shouldn't do pve content? And if we want to do pve, we should roll a new character on a pve server. What is the problem for you that I like to change talent points around? Am I going to receive some benefits that you will not? Epic loot? A fancy title called "respec maniac" which you won't receive because you don't respec? You have nothing to say because it's just straight up envy.

Well put xparole. It's so easy to understand when you use rational thought and not emotional thought.

I'd like a dual spec too. In the months before launch my brother and I thought there was going to be dual spec. I remember talking to him about the trees and we thought there was going to be two pve specs and one pvp spec. I'd take dual spec for sure.

Envy is best defined as a resentful emotion that "occurs when a person lacks another's (perceived) superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it." Envy can also derive from a sense of low self-esteem that results from an upward social comparison threatening a person's self image: another person has something that the envier considers to be important to have. If the other person is perceived to be similar to the envier, the aroused envy will be particularly intense, because it signals to the envier that it just as well could have been he or she who had the desired object. Bertrand Russell said envy was one of the most potent causes of unhappiness. Not only is the envious person rendered unhappy by his envy, but they also wish to inflict misfortune on others. This came off of wiki, and it really sums up this thread quite well. The way I and people like me feel is that we wish respecs were cheaper so we could do talent changes more frequently. However, you others want the price to stay the same because of envy. This defines the problem quite well.

Malastare, the problem isn't that my family is in the 51%. Capitalism is a wonderful thing, it allows people to try to succeed and risk failure. I have spent most of my life in the bracket that receives no entitlements but pays in taxes. Did you know the average salary of a person receiving benefits is now slightly higher then the average salary of a person not receiving benefits. Your feelings for real life is also apparent in your game experience. You believe that everybody else should sacrifice their game experience because it might infringe on your game experience. My "hardcore" guild you are talking about has 7 people and none of us are close to level 50. Do you really think that a cost reduction in respecs will be the bane of wall flowers? Healthcare is not a constitutional right. I know this and I'm disabled. My hardships are just that, but I won't bring others down because I am physically unable. The doctors have told me that my health will only get worse, and at thirty I will struggle the rest of my life from pain and negative side effects of pain pills. In all seriousness my leg will eventually be amputated. Last night I wept to my wife because when I look at the mail it makes me feel like I'm forgetting something important, but there is nothing i'm forgetting. I didn't play video games until I broke my leg, and my close friends asked me to play WoW with them. It ended up being a good thing for me, just taking my mind off of the burning sensation in my lower leg and foot. I miss my job. I miss the friends I had at work. I miss being proud of having a job. Even though you make friends at work, those friends eventually forget about you because life moves on and people are busy. My point is this: I have come to the conclusion that this is the cross I have to bare. And that I would never wish others to be disabled so I didn't feel alienated. This is my life and there is always good to find in any situation. I am a good friend, husband, and father, and that is my purpose in life. To mention also, I go to the VA hospital for treatments. There are some shining stars in the VA staff, but it isn't fast care. So I'm telling all that govt healthcare might sound good to you, but it's not going to fast or efficient. One more thing, my family went on vacation last week. The first morning in the hotel I had a heart attack, I'm 30 years old. I also make 22k a year and I pay federal income tax, I think it's around 3600 on that 22. I've served in the army for 12 years and am getting processed out because of my disability. I get paid from private life insurance, not ssi, that's insurance I bought before the accident. I figured up my hourly wage and it is around 11 dollars/hour. I was an operator at the local nuclear plant and now I'll never be able to work a full time job. I don't feel sorry for you, my wife was raised poor and she made it out with hard work and determination.

I'm not letting you finish this out like that. I have changed specs about 5 times in about 6 weeks of play. 5 times each on 2 characters. I'm not a mad man leveler like I use to be. I value every single talent point, and I believe the only way to achieve greatness is by playing what you want to play while leveling. So in a case like mine where family comes first, it leaves me with some game time each day, mostly in the evenings or early morning. I like to obsess on my talent tree throughout the day, and when I get my shot to play between wonder pets and the dirty diaper, I want to try the spec i've been thinking about all day or maybe even several days. As you can read, i'm clearly not changing every "5 minutes" as someone so quickly gave me credit for, but I am dissatisfied with the unpredictable and high cost of respecs. I'll close out by writing this, me and people like me want cheaper rates on spec change. those of you who don't want it because you don't think it's proper, don't worry bout it.

I'm glad you two brought some humor in. I know it's got some things not going for it, but you have to admit this game has some serious potential to be top dog. I really believe it too, I bet this will hold 5 million at year one and hold steady. I just can't wrap my head around other people not wanting me to respec. Did you know that 49% of Americans don't pay federal income tax. My wife and I are not in that lucky category, but don't you think we should pay more. I mean if I can't control my respecs and have some intestinal fortitude then I should pay more federal income tax. "yeah! yeah!, tax him till he breaks!, they all break eventually!, burn the witch!"

Is that your final answer? What I'm getting from some is decisions should matter, and that people shouldn't have to respec every 5 minutes. I got news for those of you who see it that way, nothing changes for you. <--that's the news. It's awesome how I can play this game without you ever seeing or feeling the credits leaving my inventory. More irony: The comments that keep this thread going may be the comments that convince Bioware to stabilize the cost of respecs.

Dude, you may not agree with all i've written, but man you hit it right on. Your leveling story was exactly what I was trying to relay by writing about my 2 classes and 6 specs. The only thing that i'm committed about is finding the talent tree that i mesh with the best. And to stay in an entire tree because it's the righteous thing to do isn't cutting it for me. I'm a real person, an american, and I like buffet.

I'm telling you the truth carbonated. I wan't writing about you, and I can defend this because I do with my wife all the time. I'll say yada yada if you (one person) does this , then you're (the person) gonna get that. I'm serious about this, and I'm trying to have a stay on topic thread. I get it, that you (a person) have to have a money sink. And I'll be the first to admit that credits seem like hyper-inflation compared to the standard gold. So maybe 4k credits just seems like this crazy amount of cash, but in this game it's not much. I struggled at the beginning of wow, and had no gold probably less then 500 gold on multiple toons in the early days. Maybe this effect is all that it is, but having read some gm's posts on this topic, i'm thinking respec pricing will have some changes. I still get back to this one hang-up: Why do the people that don't want it to change, care if it changes? It seems like the only people that would be interested in this thread are people that want it cheaper. So what is the reason you don't want it to become cheaper?

Well that's not exactly true, you might change specs even with an alt. Moving extra talent points around to find what's most usable for you. Cookie cutters aren't always the de facto point placement for a players desires or needs. But yeah leveling another same advanced class to 50 isn't that easy if you have a toddler in the house. I would like to add that I think this many responses from different people is a sign that this topic is of concern whether you want it or dont. Thanks for responding to this in the best way you can.

To Kitty Prawn, I also have noticed the cost is unpredictable. Within the same day I had the cost go down to the hundreds, and on the same day previous it was in the 4k's.