75% from upgraded arsenal gained as a base ability at level 38 if nothing has changed from the twitch live streams.

Super excited about the changes. But if one of the philosophies behind the discipline system is to smoothen the leveling experience (aoe boosts, earlier access to cornerstone abilities), then what's with the delay of any semblance of dps pushback protection until level 38? Yes, unload gets no pushback.. But spamming tracer with 100% pushback until level 38, sounds... frustrating. And a step backwards, from a QoL perspective. Or am I missing something here? Are there any more changes to pushback in 3.0, in addition the channel part? Still psyched about the discipline system (MORE ALTS! MORE ALTS!) in general, and the mercmando changes in particular, though!

After solely leveling healers on my on again/off again subscription, I figured I would finally give tanking a try and made a guardian (I also wanted to experience the jedi knight storyline). When I run FP:s through groupfinder as a healer I usually just focus on watching health bars, CC:ing, not standing in the stupid zones and otherwise following specific directions from my group members. As a result I feel kind of overwhelmed at the prospect of tanking/taking the lead in boss fights. I know there's a lot of "new tank help" threads around, but the present ones usually concern end game tanking, the guides I managed to find for low/mid level tanking are from at least pre 2.0, so I don't know which parts are relevant anymore in the current version. I guess what I'm looking for is just basic tips for running Flashpoints around level 20-30 as a guardian tank. Like, REALLY basic. Pulling 101. Threat 101. What is expected of the tank for things to run smoothly? How important is gear; do I get away with "dps" gear and a decent shield generator at lower levels? Any help is appreciated!

I think people DO have some legitimate reasons to be if not upset, but at least critical for this slip up. The fact that this was advertised to attract re-subscribers (this weekend and the whole "free mount" thing), some people (not me) spent cartel coins to unlock FP xp boost, bought the cartel pack xp boost etc. This would probably not carry as much weight if it wasn't for the fact that the main attraction (double xp) had a set, limited time frame. If the new subscriber mount doesn't work correctly at release then they can fix it later, it isn't as much of a concern since it doesn't rely on any limited time frame. What I'm saying is that these grievances differ from a situation where someone yelling "Argh! I bought stuff from the cartel market to play during this regular weekend, and the servers are down!" They advertised something to work during a limited time frame, and it didn't quite work as advertised during said time frame. The whole "Tuesday is too late" is kind of really the whole point. Another unscheduled double xp weekend would be above and waaay beyond a fair compensation in my book, but I don't really see it happening. The double xp weekends seem to require a lot of planning, and maybe it's just me not being and end-gamer (kind of retire my characters when they reach 50+ and are finished with the story), but I could see that there is some tangible risk for Bioware to allow casual players to max out their characters at a higher pace, and thus maybe losing them as subscribers. I haven't seen anybody else voice this concern, so I could definitely be way off here. Lastly I want to say that I still really had fun this weekend. The KDY xp is kind of crazy to begin with when you got every xp boost unlocked, so I didn't notice it as much as I thought I would. But I do feel that people have legitimate grievances with the weekend not working as advertised, especially if all they get is a "hope you understand" reply.

^ This. All of it. Commando has to be one of the breeziest solo classes. Everything venomlash just mentioned; early access to a lot of AoE attacks, good self/off-healing even in dps spec, heavy armor, etc. And I have to add, a huge leg up against the vanguard, 60 secs CC. That is huge in solo PVE. Perfect for those rare occasions when you run into trouble, CC that boss and take care of his minions at your leisure. Both trooper advanced classes also benefit from the fact that 4 out of 5 companions have aim stat and heavy armor (even the healer comp, which you get really early), which means gearing them is much less of a hassle. Just throw them your old gear! And the healing buff we mercs/mandos got in 2.6 is great in FP:s, and (from what I've heard) insane in OP:s.

Disclaimer: I have only played the healing classes to level 50-ish, and haven't done any raiding, only the standard FP runs during leveling. Signature abilities are generally at level 20, 30 and 45 if you spec purely into heals. I don't know the consensus but I personally felt that I got the "feel" of the healing classes at 30. The bare minimum is 20 though, even sages feel bare bones before 20 (don't get me started on commandos at that level).

I went a different route: slapped Corso's gear on Akaavi. I had heard all the hype and tried her early on, but with really bad gear apparently, so I wasn't impressed and promptly stashed her away. But with Corso's gear she's going through trash like nobody's business and elites are no problem with a fully specced sawbones to back her up. May still go scrapper with Guss in the future, if I grow tired of healing. But for now, Corso got treated with the early retirement of a trophy husband. Slapped some low level gear on him just dress him and give him the fragile illusion of dignity.

I have a level 43 scoundrel atm that is stuck on Belsavis, while I'm playing alts. I have exclusively been specced sawbones with Corso as my constant companion. I'm considering investing in the field respec and fix up Gus' equipment for the last stretch to 50. I know scoundrel has got the worst dps at level 50, but how is for leveling? Scrapper + healer vs Sawbones + tank/dps - which one is faster, in your opinion?

I only have a scoundrel (36 atm), so I'm kind of biased (and relatively inexperienced), but I sincerely recommend the class. Quick side note: Combat stealth is AMAZING. It gives me an excellent oh-crap-button when I'm pugging and I end up getting aggro'ed for whatever reason. It also allows me to play incredibly sloppy, lazy and outright stupid when I'm soloing or simply traveling by foot from point A to point B. As for the actual healing, I'm going to say what I've read time and again on the forums.. It started out kind of "meh", but really picked up when I got my HoT at lvl 20. Energy management could often be an issue at some stressful fights in FP:s and H4:s, until 30/31 when I got EMP and the addon talent, after that it's just been smooth(er) sailing. Best feeling? Saving your group's dying tank by spamming EMP for five seconds straight and then turning the tide of the battle. Second best feeling? Saving your own sloppy, lazy and outright stupid *** and escaping certain death, by running from a pack of mobs, while your spamming EMP on yourself, laughing maniacally.