This heroics would be great for tactical flashpoints.

In Parses on the trooper companions, accuracy looked like to give better results for DPS companions. Also, you can't raise Critical rating without lowering Power. So, for the DPS stance, i'll advise #1 Power (over Critical), feel free to use Power Augments #2 Accuracy over Surge, but you may want to use some mods of Surge to reach a decent level. KBN's tanks value are made for HM operations, where we wont use our companions. Playing a DPS, you want your tank companion lasts the longer, then you will prefer endurance heavy mods and augments. If you're playing as a healer, you have the benefit of more mitigation. Shield will raise just by itself by just adding mods. Shield and Absorption have a value only when their level are roughtly similar. Defense is Good against the white the shot that the ennemies fire in the dailies or leveling. #1 Absorption, to a percentile matching Shield. #2 Defense #3 Shield (raise by itself) Accuracy isn't useful for the tank role. But if you're a healer and your companion is solid enough for the content you're playing, you may have some accuracy for a margine dps improvment. Don't expect him to shine, however, as end level healer you should do much more DPS than your companion.

I think the most survivability is from healers, not tanks. Not only they have a endless pool of health, but also mercenaries have CC while powertech just have short stuns. If the character and the companions are correctly geared, both healers and tanks would be able to solo even heroic 4. Heroic 2 are not an issue.

I'm seeing this pervese effect more and more on my server. Some people even call for PUG for all boss but the last one.

I solo leveled 2 tanks so far - first was a vanguard. I used the healing companion as soon as avaiable, until I had to change to dps for story reason. then I altered from dps to healer. - second was an assassin who used whichever companion came last (even tanks but in dps stance) until reaching 1k kills, then swtiched to a DPS companion. There isn't much difference between using a DPS, Tank or healer companion. At the first look, healers companions would seem more comfortable because they heal between the pulls... but a tank don't actually need much healing in quests designed for one man until they reach the quest boss and it's not such an issue to roam there with half of the health down. For the sake of speed, I advise to run with a DPS companion all time. If the damages are too strong, either improve your tanking, either switch to a healer companion. Until level 30, there is little difference between tank and DPS. The gear is pretty much the same until level 40 (albeit, you might prefer endurance over mainstat if you don't play with a healer or you plan to run flashpoints) As far as I recall, my tanks had no issues to solo heroic 2 with any companion. After level 40, they learnt how the class worked by soloing some heroic 4 (typically with a healer companion since a brunch of elites are bashing us in the same time.) The major issue for the vanguard was to skip crowds of weak mobs since tanks and companions are slow to kill things. On the assassin it wasn't even an issue since I could stealth.

Aim (main stat), Power (better than Critical), Surge (Accuracy is useless, Alacrity shouldn't be as good) Augment her with Power or Aim if you want it, Power might be slighty better.

Same issues here: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=747026 Can anyone confirm the GF quest sometimes works?

I've a bad feeling about this. Tried 2 times. Sadly S&V isnt the best operation to start is up, it's too long for an average PUG patience. First run: we start with one tank left. Someone miselected his role and apprently want to stick. We kick him and start after a minor drama. The group was good, and another tank join us at the second boss. However we had a couple newcomers and had to explain each fight (shortly) which delay the op. Only one leave at weekly. After Oasis city a few people start complaining it's taking too long... and the server crash, everyone disconnected, we're unable to rerun it. Second run: Same thing, some rookies here, we take time to explain each boss. Albeit one mess up the first boss generator and bails. Another one bail without a word right after. We keep progressing, slowly without too much trouble. Still queuing, we don't get any DPS replacement during maybe one hour (I guess something is really broken here). After the weekly more people leave and we can't even reach Oasis City. On both time, the time spent in queue is important enough for people start gathering in the fleet and queue when the group is almost full. We also had some issue of being unable to queue. This just defeat the purpose of queuing, and cause more trouble since we can't recruit manually anymore once in the GF.

Just interrupt them.

The first boss of Eternity Vault pushes or stuns even with Hold the Line. I think the first rancor in Karraga's Palace as well but would need to check another time. On the other hand, the bonus boss of Hammer station doesn't stuns when Hold the Line is on.

I suppose you'll get stronger damages with Power/Accuracy. As a rule of thumb, damage = base(power) * accuracy * ( 1 + critical * surge ) the "base" value depend on the base damage, which varies with the power. According to your parses, in your power/surge case, the base is 860, for critical/accuracy it's 805, which is expectably lower since the power was traded for more critical. If you took the Power/Surge value but replace Surge with Accuracy, with 860 base, 50%surge, 16.17% critical rate, 94.4% accuracy, you'll get expect 878 dps, which is 1% more than the 869 from Power/Surge On the other hand, if you took the Critical/Accuracy base and replace the Accuracy with Surge, with 805 base, 71% surge, 20% critical rate and 90.6% accuracy, you'll expect 833 dps, marginally lower than the 836 from Critical/Accuracy. That concurs with the player character gearing: DPS need to max out their accuracy first. However since surge has a diminishing return, maybe the best value would be to sacrifice a bit of accuracy for a better surge.

Endurance over mitigation is an option if you're not healer or don't play regularly with a healer. Your tank will last longer. If you're healer, suit your tank companion with mitigation.

I've not big expectations specifically from healer to tank. More expectation would be from teamate to tank or to other teamate. Here is however a few points, some of them are minor ones. * Aggro the most things you can. Ask for CC when relevant. * Tanks should the mobs for the most conviniant place to limit the incoming damage and facilitate the DPS. Indirectly, They'll move the team. It's best then if the group is moved to ease the healing. * Don't run away of the healers * If a sage or a commando dumped an aoe heal on the ground and there is no inseritive to move and people's health isn't maxed: stop moving. * Don't shield the healer (there is some exceptions, typically when you feel the dps or co-tank may be going to miss something) * Shadows should dump their phase walk where the healers are likely going to be; using it to a mere teleport is bad.

There is no tank before level 14 or 16, when they gain their tank cell or stance, their taunt and a bit of AOE. Your two "tanks" should have aggred who pulls and leads if it doesn't come naturally. Same goes to the low level healers; they're like DPS with maybe a shorter cooldown to low end heals. In the next regular flashpoints, you'll get just one tank, and wouldn't have such an issue. When skills start setting up, healers have to check in priority their own health and the tank's. Then the DPS, specially those doing The Right Thing (following the kill order, killing adds when relevant, protecting the healer.) If ever the actual tank is bad (tunnel vision) and a DPS does a better job at protecting the raid, adjust your priorities.

It pts a armour debuff on whoever has the aggro, which is why it chew the tanks. I've not tested if it can be cleansed. Maybe aggro swap can work. Or run away to recover and have this debuf fade out and return.

I also think the adds attack only when we're close of them, independently of what we're doing. To me, the best handly of them is: * Push them out of the way if one have such a power avaiable. * If adds are about the boss, AOE the lot of them * Kill the adds at home if releveant when you're returning. The boss is shielded against damage anyway. * Don't kill them otherwise. The far ones are no thread, the group will waste time dealing with them, the boss will enrage if the fight last. I've never tried but I'm not sure standing under the boss and heal would be more efficient; the boss raises a shield greaty reducing damage.

Rewards can be cut scenes, achievments, title, or even clothes, etc. I soloed the False Emperor (SM) recently and heart a sentence from Malgus "So you came alone, etc..." I don't recall he said it in group, and even if he did, it didn't catch then my attention.

Healer's dps is now halfed (if not worst) and they're no more able to deal with packs of weaklings in a reasonable time. Comment back when your character's dps will be halfed too.

Battle revive can be used tactically in raid such ask to ensure we keep 2 tanks, or enough healers, or dps avaiable and using it in boss fights only. It has a 5 minutes debuff preventing it's cast too much, the debuff affect the whole raid. Sadly, some people are unaware of the debuff, and cast it on cooldown on random dead people instead of the usage the group planed. They're not necessary healer: any dps class with a healing tree is able to cast it. Usually, those people don't listen the repeated advices, inducing fustration. From experience, they seldom name themselves even after being asked, preventing they're educated. So, I suggest to display who casts this power, not to ashame them, but to explain them and be able to sort the issue.

Sages (healer and dps) have the Force Quake level 34 power, stunning weaks and dealing a fair amount of damage during 3 seconds. It monopolize the sage during the 3 second effect (but it can be stopped anytime) so they're unable to heal or deal consequent dps on strong or bosses. The power is costly, but can be spammed until the weak pack is dead. It's very efficient for this usage and this usage only. As operative healer, I used orbital strike for the same purpose. It monopolized my healer during the 3s of cast and killed or seriously damaged the packs of weak. Damages were above the sage's power and the radius was larger but it had a delay and couldn't be spammed. Now the operative healer has no more ability to deal with pack by their own. The Obital strike takes a long time to be cast and don't kill anything, a grenade throwed after isn't enough to finish weak, none of them can be spammed. We just manage to generate more aggro trying to get rid of small mobs. So we have to rely on DPS... We're doomed.

Biochem has other benefits such as able to scavenge in many places, able to craft useful items and consumable. This is the only skill able to give a free permanent stat boost by just having it (with reusable items). You need to keep biochem 450 for the (last level) reusable items. You can trade them, but can't use them unless you have the skills. Cybertech has the reusable grenades, but they're bound on pickup and don't need you keep Cybertech to work (you can drop it once you have your grenade and pick another one)

Healers are very welcome to interract with mobs by * Interrupting (for some reason, dps and even tanks seldom do it). Usually the tank is on the stronger one, look at the allies' targets when they channel. * freezing or CC the opponents before or during the fights. That counts as an interrupt * AOE on packs * Pushing foes in holes (Sages and Commandos can push) Sages/Sorcerers have a power to stun and lightly dps weaks in the same time, they can also pull ally dps when they get the aggro. I don't have in mind anything else smuggler/operative have (beside pure dps skills) and I don't know commando enough. You may DPS, but it'll drain your energy if you do it intensively. Be sure the situation is under control and the group's health is topped before DPS. Being sure they don't die so far isn't enough to inspire confidence. It's annoying as a tank to have most of their life down while the healer is constantly caring on something else; they would balance the lack of healing by using cooldowns they expected to reserve for boss fights or strong pulls. Furthermore, you'll have to heal (with less energy) them back between pulls or they'll waste time to stop and regenerate while everyone could just run.

After they moved across the ocean for instance. Or for aussies, after they tried different servers and figured out the fastest for them is on the other continent.

As far as I recall, it was open during a few hours after the character transfer implentation, then suspended. Bioware said it's something they wanted to do but couldn't for the moment without revealing the reason. Maybe someone else has more details.