I just read George Smith's discussion about the coming changes to flashpoints and ops: http://dulfy.net/2015/07/09/swtor-operations-and-flashpoints-in-fallen-empire/ .
Although I am very happy that there will be more relevant endgame content and the opportunity to go through storymode flashpoints at our own pace, this seems to be at a high cost. There appears to be no reason to run as a healer (or possibly tank) until endgame. I feel like this is a poor decision for a few reasons:
1. When people reach lvl 65 and switch their roles, it will take a while for them to be competent at their new role. This is especially problematic for a tank.
2. This seems to pigeon-hole people into fewer leveling experiences. Some people really enjoy the specified roles (trinity) group content while leveling. It was what I looked forward to most while leveling my first healer. I was queued up a lot of the time wanting to assist my group as we tackled the latest challenge. I think many people like having specific roles. This takes it away from them while leveling to 65.
3. How will this impact Heroic missions? If people aren't leveling as tanks and healers, these missions will become much more challenging. This may lead to people skipping that group content as well because its so hard to find healers and tanks.
Do people not enjoy the trinity experience? Is it the wait time for healers and tanks that is bugging people? Why do these changes need to come at such a cost?
Solo-mode is awesome because it allows people to do what they want (go slowly or rush through). Group mode (classic trinity) is awesome for those wanting that rush that comes when they feel that they played their role well and their group prevailed as a result. Tactical is great for those that just want the good loot without having to wait for healers/tanks.
My solution: Make all three possible!
1. The story relevant flashpoints: Make them solo and Group (trinity). Make the group option drop more loot/better loot (kinda like 16 man ops drop twice the amount as 8 man).
2. The side-story flashpoints: Make them solo and tactical. I personally don't like tactical at all, so I'd rather just make all flashpoints solo and group/trinity. But some people like tactical I guess.
The wait time/possibility of failure from greatest to least is group (trinity) > tactical > solo. Therefore, group (trinity) flashpoints should be rewarded slightly more than tactical which gets slightly better rewards than solo.
Note on current group content: it is not an accurate representation of a normal leveling experience. With the 12x xp boost, it has become nearly obsolete to run group content and therefore the queue times are longer than they used to be. Don't judge it on how it is now.
TLDR: With the changes to flashpoints, it will become pointless to run as a tank or healer while leveling to 65. I think this is sad and limits people's leveling experience and variety. I offered a solution, but there are probably better ones out there. What do you think of this? Am I alone in my thoughts?