You're right, but guard does have a negative effect that the OP is right about. It turns single player burst damage into group-wide damage. This is much easier to heal through, especially considering each of those players also has access to DCDs that can mitigate the incoming damage further, one after another. As an example, lets say dps A, B and C all have 100,000 health, just for easy comparison. The three dps on the opposite team inflict 30,000 damage each to player A. Normally, before using any DCD (or tacticals, which I surmise probably plays a much larger role in this) player A would take 90,000 damage, requiring significant healing to avoid dying. With guard, however, he only takes 45,000, not even half his health. Player B is guarding, so he takes 45,000, also above half health. What happens next I'm not sure about, because I've never had a tri-guard situation before. I'm not sure whether player B will send 50% of damage to player C or not. If this is the case, then B and C are both at over 75% health, barely a scratch. With a single AoE heal, everybody is virtually at full again, with the healer spending far less energy and everybody happy. On the other hand, because the opposite team has no guard, Player E is sitting at 10% heal and the healer is using up all the energy possible to try to keep the person alive. The player can't focus on dpsing because they're also attempting to stay alive. Over time, it's obvious which team will run out of energy first and output less dps. Of course, this is purely theoretical, because player skill also has an effect. However, a team with three guards would have to work much less for a win in equal situations. This isn't even discussing the idea of stealthing, healing to full via certain tacticals, etc., etc.

You don't get any rewards if they don't subscribe. They won't be able to use the referral link again for 3 months.

Welcome to the game! There are two great resources lately for classes. One is Vulkk. https://vulkk.com/tag/swtor-6-0-class-guides/ These are fairly accurate and up-to-date with the latest game changes. Another resource is the Ultimate Guide of Guides for SWTOR. Here you can find older class guides, PVP tactics, healing suggestions, etc., etc., etc. http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=974581 Both are great. Those guides can honestly help you more with healing than I can, because they were written by players who know the ins-and-outs of every technique. It's also important to research your specific healer, since all three of the available healers operate differently (heals over time, burst heals, casts, AoE and a mix of them). Finally, you are going to find that trying to heal while leveling, while possible, is more difficult. I'm not saying don't do it, just that you won't unlock most of your more powerful abilities and power-management effects until your reach higher levels of your class. Also, once you get a feel for the game, join a guild. Guilds can be a big help in explaining the mechanics of the fights from a healer's perspective, since you often have to heal specific people at just the right time, at least for harder content. Above all, have fun!

If this is true, how can you even see what they're saying to know you should ban them? Or you mean you're happy that the officers ban people for you so you don't have to see it?

I remember your #alts tag, and that's about it. However, this post was well written, so thanks for that. Now you can go back to ignoring me, lol.

I feel bad for you. That is a terrible situation. I haven't had that issue personally on Satele Shan, but I usually always ask beforehand if the players know what to do in difficult flashpoints. Most usually tell me if they don't, and I'm happy to explain what to do. If a tank ignores me and pulls, I give him/her exactly one wipe before I drop. Fortunately, almost all of the groups I've been in for MM stuff have either been solid players or friendly players who are just coming back to the game. We've gotten through Nathema, Blood Hunt, Tython, Korriban and a bunch of others that way. A lot of them end with me adding the whole group to my friend's list. If you're on SS, I would be happy to group with you or invite you to one of the many guilds I'm in, lol.

Not really my personal cup of tea, but I know that there are a lot of players that invest lots of time in their strongholds, so I know they'll be thrilled. The video was VERY well done, almost like a walkthough video from an actual luxury real estate broker. Also, we have some really great game design artists.

Let me give you a few examples, since I use this set myself on a dps character. 1. A person who enjoys soloing content wants to benefit from a constant stream of heals while having the companion set to damage instead of healing. 2. A dps pvping want the benefits of additional healing, since they don't have any innate healing in their spec. Now lets think about what's going through the devs minds. They want to create a set with healing for tanks, dps, healers, any player in the game. They can only add one 2% buff. What do they choose? Should they add mastery? Shield? Power? Crit? If they had chosen mastery, would that somehow mean no tank in the game would ever take it? Does the 2% buff EVER influence what sets you choose?

Sorry, you need to own up to your own emotions. Each person is responsible for how they react to a given situation. I think you'll find that giving solid reasoning is more effective than emotional outbursts. However, as I said, it's obvious that when opposing viewpoints appear, you're incapable of assimilating them. I enjoy having honest discussions with people, as you can see from the conversations I've had with others in this thread. Of course, adding me to ignore is definitely one way to end your argument, albeit a rather childish one, in my opinion.

Lol. You have a real problem with your own superiority. When someone points out the obvious flaws in your viewpoint, they're automatically "trolling"? Let me get this straight, pointing out that something is fully intended, but very poorly designed is somehow defending the developers? If that's what you're saying, please show me where I praised them. If not, then I think we can all see how level-headed your reasoning is. Have your monthly threads labeling them as bugs HAD ANY EFFECT? No. Because it's easy to see they're NOT BUGS. If you really want to have an effect (which it's highly doubtful it will anyway, since Bioware always does what they want while phrasing it in different words so it sounds prettier, lol), how about you start creating threads with suggestions for what needs to change instead of emotional tantrums? Here, I'll start. "Gear sets for tanks need to be assigned a category that is not general for the entire class." "Gear sets for heals need to be marked as healer specs only." Ready for Bioware's response? "We want to give our players as many options as possible. So while you, TT, don't want to run a healer set on your DPS because the 6 piece bonus enhances an ability that's only available in healer spec, there is a 4-piece bonus that benefits dps healing. We want to make sure that players who are off healing can use this set if they want to." "The same thing goes for tanks. While some abilities are specific to tanks, others are available for dps as well. So while a tank might need an AoE taunt to tank for effectively, a dps may want to take the set to advantage of the extra damage reduction utilities in their chosen spec." Want a real solution? Convince them to put all sets on the vendors and lower the costs of credit sinks. Oh, wait, we've been saying that since before 6.0 launched as well...

Nice passive aggressive, lol. I like how you deliberately left out the 4 piece bonus. You know, the 1% healing every second? Can you think of any situations where a dps might like to equip such as set?

OK, I can see you have no interest in having an honest discussion. Good night. Your position is emotional rather than factual, so you'll keep creating a "Bug" thread every five minutes rather than a thread that actually addresses the real issue.

You're fun.

Even more lucky is the fact that she got a tactical at all from a story mode flashpoint. Even bosses in veteran flashpoints do not drop tacticals. When it goes straight into your inventory as loot, I'm guessing that is considered "world boss" loot. It happens sometimes in story mode ops and vet flashpoints, where a player will be awarded a set piece or tactical directly. It's only happened to me on a handful of occassions, and I have always gotten "amplified champion" or another general piece. When you ran red reaper, what difficulty was it? Also, has this happened on any of your other characters?

What was your reaction to the post I quoted? What tanking tactical? Preservers is not a tanking-exclusive set by a long shot.

In addition to everything else that people are mentioning, you can keep your eyes open. Sometimes people who are leaving the game sell their guilds, which do have those things unlocked. You may be able to pick one up (as long as you don't sound too excited or desperate) for around 20-40 million, according to what I've heard recently.

Glad you got it figured out. If you have a smartphone (or even an emulator on your PC), I would highly recommend attaching a security key to your account. For one thing, it can help to protect your account, and you also get 100 free cartel coins for it every month. It also prevents you from having to worry about validation. You just whip out your phone, open the app and enter the code it gives you. Viola, no email validation required. To attach a security key, all you have to do is log into your account at SWTOR.com (MY ACCOUNT), then click on the tab market Security Key and follow the instructions. It's pretty easy. Also, welcome to the game!

I've noticed the tendency, at least on Satele Shan, to move away from general chat and form groups mostly using an elite chat channel that most players don't even know exist. I don't know if this practice will last or not, but it makes it hard to participate in many activities without being one of the select few. The thing is, most of the players using this channel belong to or are friends with one of the biggest guilds on the server. The one that tops conquest every week, with none coming close. However, there I've also noticed a tendency to call out players of a few specific guilds. These guilds are not invited to participate in activities, and players belonging to them are kicked out of groups immediately. Just for being part of those guilds. The hilarious thing? I have alts in all of them. I routinely get invited to dps, heal and tank in the main guilds, but when I'm playing my alts in the others, players kick me instantly. However, I still belong to those guilds because I have some friends there and they lead conquest on smaller planets for achievements. Like any tool, guilds being able preemptively ban a person's entire legacy can be very useful and very dangerous. What happens when only a small group of officers in 2 or 3 of the main guilds can decide who gets to participate in endgame for the entire server? Do you really understand the effect of a large guild preemptively banning 1,000 LEGACIES? Not characters, legacies. How large a population do you think the game currently has on each server, lol? And before you say, trolls deserve it, remember that guild officers can also be trolls and very immature at times. No vote is required to eliminate people. It's possible for a single person to get rid of an entire legacy's participation at a whim. How long before it becomes a tool of harassment and threats? Disclaimer - I am a very nice person. I was raised to treat others with respect. I do not troll people. I currently have not been removed or banned from any guild. However, I do stick up for my friends if someone is calling them names or obviously trolling them. That has landed me on the wrong side of guild law in the past (because of one person on each occasion) so I know what's at stake here.

That one is awesome, lol. Lana and Theron have quite a few funny moments together.

Lol. The irony of "reading is hard." What is your reaction to the part I quoted? Are you still getting off hand generators for the wrong class? Is that what's you're complaining about?

Good question. Also, remember that putting them in your outfit designer will also bind them to you. Also, mailing them to an alt will bind them to you.

The exact post you quote states it's not a bug. "These are quite a bit more simple than stats as these should always drop for your current character and should always drop items usable in that spec. Keep in mind that usable by your spec means base class and general sets also. Ex: You are a madness sorc, it is intended that the system could drop an Inquisitor set for you (even if that specific set may seem more useful for a healer, it is a base class set usable by all Inquisitors)" I know it's not what you want to hear, but that doesn't mean it's not intended. Poor design? Yes, terrible. Not a bug. The devs have classed heal sets as inquisitor sets, and there are two sets, meaning that there's a good chance you're going to get a lot more healer gear, and other inquistor sets, and other general sets, etc. They should have classed heal sets as specific for healer disciplines and tank sets as specific for tank disciplines, BUT THEY CHOSE NOT TO. I think you and I both know why they chose to do it that way. In fact, even the loot toggle was a last minute addition to try and appease players. The system was always designed to be grindy and terrible. Not a bug, though.

I love your orange text by the way. It's so relaxing.

You may be right, but I base my conclusions off the fact that tank and healer gear is specifically marked on the vendor as General Sorc/Sage Set Gear or Tactical, etc. If the devs intended for it to not drop for your selected spec, these pieces would be marked as Corruption Sorc Exclusive Set Gear or Tactical. Choosing your spec does little honestly, even for Maras and Snipers. You still get mostly general sets and general tacticals. I think I've gotten a total of 4 dps set drops for my dot-spec gunslinger, and I can't even remember if they're for all slingers or just for that spec. (The worst part is I had already bought them from the vendor, grrr). Most of the time, I get general sets and even some that are obviously tailored more to scoundrels (because of the abilities they buff), but they're marked as General Sets so they drop for slingers too.

This is false if you enjoy running almost any group content in the game. Of course, I understand your point regarding the stat differences, but whether you PVP or run SM OPs, 306 is pretty much mandatory for getting into groups/having fun these days. It's not much fun in warzones getting melted in underpar gear, and it's not much fun getting kicked from pretty much every OPs group for being in 290s, lol.