Because there is a lack of information now available about what actually works in PvP currently. The lack of second party information about what works and does not work in PvP has dwindled drastically over the past 2 years. Though it has always been an issue in game, it is especially pertinent since the disappearance of PvP gear from the game. Players just don't know what to build.

I noticed that the news for the in-game client does not seem to be getting updated. Perhaps, the devs might want to consider actually updating the news shown on the client so that new players (or players returning to the game) get the wrong impression about the game. (If you look at the news stories posted in the in-game client, the last piece of news dates to March 10, 2017. Before that, the next news item dates back to June 30, 2016.) Also noticed that the community area of the in-game client is similarly stale. The newest item in the community section dates to June 23, 2016.

It was HoTs that made them a top healer before. But it's not going to come back in the near future - especially given the current state of crits. Once the crits get reduced across the board (and they should have been ages ago - e.g., one hit can take nearly 40% of one's health), then the healer hots will become viable again. In the meantime, from the perspective of pvp or tactical FPs, it's go DPS or be carried.

Not going to happen. They brought in the idea of the scoundrel/operative being fixed during Kolto Waves because the other class players were complaining that the scoundrels and operatives were too mobile.

Correction: WERE good for healing. If I had to go scoundrel/operative right now, then I'd go DPS.

Case in point: I was able to get through the Eternal Championship with my Powertech and my Assassin. But my Sawbones scoundrel was mulched at Round 5. Unable to do any real damage, unable to keep the heals up on my maxed out M1-4X companion and unable to interrupt the shield-generating skytrooper. Way to go EA-ware. (I wonder how I will do on my DPSed geared tank juggernaut... ) As for the PvP instances argument, they just came out with the Proving Grounds and the Rishi Arena. I sympathize with your argument as a pvper. But while EA-ware has been slow in producing them, at least we did get some content recently. (Plus it is no big secret that EA has not been much channeling money into development at EA-ware Austin.)

The migration to Harbinger has basically killed the quality of play. A further exodus would be pvp's death knell.

Gilda/Jilda/etc. here. Long-time pugger, healer (all 3 specs.) and been on Harb since the near beginning. And I am forced to agree. I have watched the decline of pvp play on Harb. And it's not pretty. The transfer flood has hurt pvp on Harb. Before the transfer flood, the quality of play was pretty good. Sure, a person would whine every now and again that this or that faction was better - but you could pretty much guarantee that even a pug could get a win or two if the right group of players got together. In short, the flood has ruined play. I had the pleasure of chatting with the first few early transfers, and I found that they transferred to get away from the bad players on their previous servers. Unfortunately, it seems that the bad players have started to transfer too - when they found that the queues were popping less on their old servers. So now we have an influx of bad play on BOTH factions (not just one, despite what some people think). I won't get into my irritation over the current state of healing, bolster, etc. - but I will say that there are many factors that are leading people to leave pvp, if not the game itself. Now, I have sunk a lot of money into this game - subscription, strongholds, etc. - and could be considered one of the remaining hardcore players. And, for that reason, I am finding it tricky to leave. However, I can honestly say that I have started playing other games more recently (Wildstar, TERA, DOTA2, LoL, Overwatch, etc.) in the hopes of finding a replacement. Heck, I hear that there is some game called WoW that I might actually start playing. (Is it anything like Everquest?). Lastly, you mention fixes. There were plenty of opportunities to fix PvP before this happened - dynamic queues (taking advantage of the Alliance storyline), cross-server/superserver, small-group warzones, open world pvp objectives that reward participants, actual new items with the pvp vendors, fixing bugs in the game, etc. -- but I think it is now getting late. Whatever efforts have been done at fixing it are moving at a glacial pace (remember how long it took them to acknowledge that the pvp economy was falling far behind the rest of the game's economy?). Simply, the game is in its latter stages. Enjoy it while it still stands.

I have seen 27k from a first hit by a jug on my pvp geared gunslinger (full augs) during the Ilum event in the pvp area. So, I believe the original poster that the numbers were possible. (That's approximately 1/3rd of the health gone in one hit.)

First off, leaving because of premades is already happening. Second, it won't work. Why? This is because the PvP side of the game has been allowed by the devs to evolve to the point where: 1. The weaker faction usually has to wait longer for the pop and will usually tolerate being beaten up because at least they are getting a chance to play. And this is because the self-declared good players all want to be on the "winning side". 2. Speaking of which: there has been an increase in "Charlie Sheen Winners". You know the type who will boast about how their dps is awesome. These guys won't quit because they will blame the team for the loss and then brag about the size of their PvPness. 3. And let's not forget the increase in campers. These are the players who just want to hit the quota to get their M1-4X / Pierce companions. They won't leave. 4. And finally, there are the trolls and saboteurs. Either they are bots queued by the opposing side to give them an advantage. Or they are just people who like laughing at the misery they cause other players. As for a solution? The only real solution would be to have the game move towards a dynamic team drafting system (remember how you would pick teams for schoolyard baseball or soccer?). But for this, it would require a full shift to full Alliance teams and reworking of plots in the warzones. And I don't think that EAWare Austin has the personnel or time to be able to do that.

Death match style map??? Cough, cough - arenas. And we already have too much death-matching as it is...

At least different terrain and obstacles is a step forward.

Just a heads-up: it seems to go outside of the warzones too - if you are wearing pvp gear. So, it is not just a bolster issue. When you have pvp gear on and you try to do pve, you take a bit of a hit in terms of your endurance (even factoring in the planet level "balancing"). It looks like expertise is being factored into the endurance equation generally. I'm starting to think that the dev who was assigned the problem relating to bolster-expertise and augments, took the lazy way out in solving the problem. Right now, I am trying to work out how bad it is - even if you pick a pvp instance. The companion seems to compensate - but it is definitely peculiar.

I know what you mean. A day after hearing about it, on my scoundrel, I used Trick Move on another player's toon which was using this hack. My toon literally flew halfway across a Huttball arena.

Once again, Icykill is correct. I nearly wish I could vote for your posts (like MVP votes in warzones).