Hey all, So my guild's progression group just disbanded due to inconsistent attendance. I was wondering if there were other peeps on Star Forge who are interested in forming a HM/NiM progression group. I'm thinking of raiding 1-2 evenings a week on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays about 3 weeks a month (more if desired). If you're interested please reply with your desired faction and roles (I'll swing pub or imp if we get enough people). This is just to gauge general interest. If I get enough responses we'll start screening for gear/parsing/experience. You can stay in whatever guild in which you currently reside - we'll set up our own Discord to coordinate if we get enough people. About me: I am a VG DPS main (about 9.6k parsing) with full 248 dps, skank, and tank gear. I also have a full BiS Commando healer. I am fairly new to HM/NiM, but I am a SM raid leader for my guild and have successfully led every Op multiple times. I study-up well in advance of every raid and like to think that I do a good job communicating with the group to make sure everyone shows up on time. I promise to work hard to ensure that everyone has a smooth and enjoyable raiding experience!

Hey all, With the Devs throwing around possible quality of life updates for PvP, I've compiled a list of suggested updates that would accurately reflect the current state of the game. Check them out and let me know what you think! Powertech / Vanguard: The loading screen for warzones has been replaced by a looping GIF of two men beating a dead horse. While in a match, a giant "Focus Me" icon visible to the enemy team appears above your head. When your solo rating drops below 1100 you are immediately brought back to the character creation screen with a new Merc/Mando preloaded into the settings. Mercenary / Commando: After each warzone win you receive an in-game mail from the Devs assuring you that you are extremely skilled and that your victory had nothing to do with class balance. Sorcerer / Sage: Your toon now extends their middle fingers while your bubble is active. The sound of a revving engine is played while force speed is active. Operative: Cringy Linkin Park music now plays on loop while in warzones. Your chestpiece automatically has a hood added to it that you cannot hide. When mitigating damage during roll the text "reflect" / "dodged" has been replaced with "L2P N00B". Your team chat is also automatically disabled. Sniper / Gunslinger: While in AoE spec, your AoE auto-casts on the nearest target. The area of your AoE has been doubled as well since it was really too much of a skill-shot before. Assassin / Shadow: The Jaws theme plays while attempting to sap-cap a node. Scoundrel: Do people even play this class? Juggernaut / Guardian: Your class spec is immediately set to Immortal / Defense when entering a warzone. Additionally, DPS gear now drops from command crates while in tank spec. Marauder / Sentinel: Ner... ner....f.... Just kidding, class working as intended.

Commenting because this appears to be a common misconception about PT/VG. The utility that extends our range when Battle Focus/Explosive Fuel is popped does NOT extend the range of stockstrike/rocket punch - and more critically, it doesn't affect high impact bolt/rail shot either. So no, we can't run our full rotation at 30'. We can't even run any rotation at 30' because of the lack of HIB/Rail Shot - which is critical for resource management. If you tried to use this utility you would be completely out of resources by the end of the 15 seconds and would be doing mediocre dps during it's duration. It is for this reason that out of the hundreds of PTs and VGs that I have pvp'ed with and against, I can confidently say I have never seen a single one use this garbage utility. Totally agree about the H2F though. VG/PT would be balanced if the other dps classes didn't have meme-worthy heals and DCDs.

The Dulfy Tactics Guide, while a bit dated, is still fine for learning your rotation (spoilers: it's the same as PvE). If you're worried about getting rolled by imps I regret to inform you that you picked a lousy class to try to prevent that from happening (I'm a VG main myself). The "real" Tactics PvP rotation: Rage at cc globaling > rage at insta-focus > rage at Devs > kill something > learn to live with your class as below-average > have fun.

So it occurred to me this evening that the best comp for group ranked may not have a single tank or dps in it. I'm talking about 4x scoundrel/operative heals. All you have to do is stealth around, wait for acid, and out-heal the inevitably rage-quitting enemy. Seriously, could this be stopped? To give this thread some value, I'd be interested to hear what people are running for team comps. Looks like 2x Sent/Mara is pretty much the core of most premades right now.

Read and weep boys and girls: Sigh.... Where do I start? Let's talk about this 2% stackable DR utility. Assuming you get crit 3x every 15 seconds to keep you at a maximum of 6% damage reduction, this amounts to a total damage reduction of 7,800 before you've run out of hp to use this lousy buff (math: 130k max hp x 1.06 buff = 137.8k). In other words, this means the enemy probably needs one more attack to kill you than normal - that is the sum total of this "buff". The AoE utility hardly bears mentioning as AoE is not what is going to kill you in PvP. The 30% damage reduction on stun is a welcome addition to the tank spec, but is actually a nerf to the AP/Tactics disciplines as they are losing this utility (being replaced with the crappier version of Stabilized Armor/Shock Absorbers, see above). All in all, slight buff to tank and DoT disciplines that won't make a lick of difference in PvP - you'll still be hard-stunned and nuked down in ranked. Tactics/AP is receiving an overall nerf due to the loss of 30% DR on stun in favor of the worthless ability to get 6% DR while being consistently critted. You'll still be able to have fun in regs occasionally if you have pocket heals or the enemy team is garbage, but stay out of ranked unless you like being 100-0'd in 10 seconds. Tank skank may be our only option at this point - which is a loadout I oppose on philosophical grounds as being antithetical to good PvP design. I have to say, I'm very disappointed in BW. It was obvious that PT/VG needed a strong DR ability (80%, not 6%) that it could pop to mitigate the focus we receive. What we got was a nerf for one of the disciplines that was already garbage-tier in PvP.

Last thing I'll say on here: I'm primarily referring to Jug/Guardian Skank Tank. VG is weak regardless of role. The moderately higher damage that DPS can achieve is easily offset by the superior DCDs of the Jug/Guard skank tank (again Merc/Mando being the exception). Also, theoretical parses have little relevance in PvP. Tanks don't need to run hybrid to be useful, they are excellent damage mitigators with guard and should be in a support role rather than acting as prime-time damage dealers. In the current meta there is no logical reason to pick certain DPS classes as they are outclassed by skank tanks. I believe that this is an issue.

Ad hominem aside, PvP is more fun when each class has plays and counter-plays against each other. To accomplish this, each class should be better at some things (damage, cc, heals, defense, etc.) at the expense of being worse at others. Skank Tank violates this principle by having excellent damage and defensives (and cc immunity for some flavors). This eliminates counter-play because there is no counter to the skank tank activating a DCD or two and proceeding to burst down squishier classes (short of running away until the DCD expires, but that's not really fun/viable). A balanced tank class should have a one-to-one tradeoff between defensives and damage. If you want to drop huge numbers in PvP, you should have to play a DPS class. Completely agree on toning down the defensives of Merc/Sniper. I would submit that tank classes should have the power of their defensives made dependent on wearing tank gear (eg. damage reduction or ability duration of DCDs scaling off defense/shield/absorb rating).

Fair enough, I guess I was just giving them the benefit of the doubt on that one. Skank Tank is a better DPS class than the majority of the actual DPS classes (Merc/Mando being an exception for equally imbalanced DCDs). I would argue that there is something wrong with that... But don't take my word for it, PvP on a non-FOTM DPS class and see if you reach a similar conclusion.

As a VG DPS main who regularly PvPs I gotta say that you are part of the problem, not the solution. Skank tank was never intended to be a "thing" by the Devs. You are exploiting your class in a way that was never meant to be possible. I understand your frustration: I can't play ranked due to my class and I'm regularly nuked in PvP, but switching to skank tank would only further ruin PvP for the other players. Hopefully the Devs will sufficiently buff DPS Guardian to make it viable - if they do, please consider switching back.

My point exactly: why settle for a class that is inherently limited to a subset of SWTOR's content? Why not pick a DPS class that can actually have fun in a competitive PvP match - and PvE well? You are immediately limiting yourself by picking this class. No argument here that VG is "fine" in PvE - I am typically top DPS on HM raids (but I attribute that to the disparity in gear between myself and my guildmates, not my class). Again, why settle for fine? We bring nothing unique to the table in PvE. Our debuffs that improve raid DPS are shared with other classes and we have no raid buff ourselves. We lack something to make us distinctive. If you like the look and playstyle of VG, then sure go enjoy PvE. Just know that there may come a day when you realize that other melee DPS classes can do what you are doing better - and that your PvP experience is going to be highly limited. Finally, the commando was a recommendation for PvP due to their FotM DCD shenanigans. In retrospect, I would agree that recommending FotM was not the right thing to do. My apologies.

Coming from a DPS Vanguard main (Tactics) in full 248 gear: No, this class is not worth your time as DPS (or tank for that matter). We're strictly average in PvE and we bring nothing to the table that other classes cannot do better. In PvP we are garbage-tier due to our poor defensive abilities and should actually be banned from participating in ranked warzones as we are insta-deleted by the enemy team (and there is absolutely nothing we, nor our team can do about it). So, if you want to be an average DPS in Ops and never play ranked warzones, then VG DPS is for you. If you want to enjoy this game, and not hate yourself, then roll a sentinel or commando for DPS. Take this from someone who has sunk far too many hours into this class: don't do it. BW has shown us that they could care less about this class. Hope this helped...

Alright, my apologies - obviously this an emotional topic for us PT/VG mains getting stomped right now. As long as we get something to help us with the whole "the enemy team has decided to delete you, enjoy the respawn area" issue I'm fine with whatever form that takes.

It is this statement that makes me very confident that you don't play PT. You do realize that using the utility to extend our range to 30' for that "spammable" attack will deplete our resources extremely quickly by forcing us out of our rotation and also prevents us from using 3 of our core abilities at that range (which are all higher damage)? You say we have 30' attack options - in reality we have a 30' resource sink that every PT will tell you is absolutely useless in PvP or PvE. The massive hit to DPS and resources does not justify taking the utility. I do agree with you that the best balance update for the game would be to move DPS away from self heals - however I have zero confidence that that will ever happen. Pragmatically, it is not too much to ask for a defensive buff to our self heal and shield. And let's look at it subjectively: what is the class that get's insta-focussed in PvP? Have you ever had problems focusing that class down? I main VG and I can tell you that PTs are by far the easiest to kill, 248-geared or otherwise. Sure, maybe you got popped by a PT/VG a couple times, but that's almost certainly not in a 1v1 when you had an equal number of CDs available. PT/VG cannot meaningfully contribute to ranked PvP - period. We need a fix, and we need it now.

RIP PT/VG. Just saying.... Looks like I will still be using my utilities to maximize my potential to run away - such fun. In all seriousness, I will hang on for another patch because I enjoy this game, but c'mon devs: show us PT/VGs some love!

So glad to hear that other people get it! Until the Devs take a serious look at utilities/DCDs PvP is doomed to its current state, no matter how you fine-tune the theoretical DPS. Oh, and buff VGs/PTs.

DPS Vanguard/Powertech: the saga of sadness will continue. It looks like most of the planned class balance updates for 5.3 revolve around small changes to damage percentages and resource utilization. While these are certainly needed, especially for the Plasmatechs, they do little to address the underlying issue that plagues DPS vanguards in PvP: we have laughably little survivability. It is true that we can be somewhat viable with a competent healer to keep us alive, but our paper-thin defenses mean that we are highly susceptible to focused burst in 4v4's (exploited brutally in ranked), and that we are unable to guard/take objectives because we lose 1v1s to every other class as long as they are being played by a similarly-geared, similarly-skilled player. What this means is that our experience in PvP is largely limited to having to tag along with the main force of teammates in an 8v8 and slog through the wet-noodle fight that is the current tank/healer focused meta. What I would like to see is a viable DPS Vanguard class that can shake-up the status quo in a Warzone by taking the initiative to flip an objective by outplaying another class in a 1v1. We currently do not have this capability. A Vanguard can pop every offensive and defensive CD they have and still get countered by a less-skilled player whose class has more powerful cooldowns (jug/guardian are some of the worst offenders). Maybe Bioware has a larger update to class balance planned, but all evidence is currently to the contrary. Until they make significant changes to the vanguard class, these small damage buffs will do little to make our class viable in PvP. I guess I was too optimistic that Bioware would take some risks with 5.3, but it appears that DPS Vanguard will remain a poor choice for the serious PvP player. Responses to anticipated criticism: 1. You're just bad at PvP. - It's true, I'm not the best, but I wouldn't consider myself bad either. I have played long enough to be in almost full 248 gear and am confident that I use my abilities close to their full potential. The last ~10-15% of improved performance I could squeeze out of my class wouldn't fix the underlying class issues. 2. I play Vanguard and I don't have this problem. Just play smarter. - I would ask you how many hours you've played the class and under what conditions. Again, we're fine in operating inside the massive slugfest where healers can keep us alive. I'm talking about the corner case where we have to fight solo or with a partner at an objective. Additionally, I can stomp new PvP players like everyone else. Have you been noob-bashing or have you actually had to fight that stun-locking, self-healing, root/slowing, damage-cancelling, movement-boosting, stealth-bursting operative on an objective? 3. This sounds like the Commando/Merc debacle all over again. - Simple changes to our existing DCDs would address our class' issues. We don't need the god-shield or heal bubble. We could get by with allowing adrenaline rush to heal you up to 75% with 2x the heal rate, plus a small buff to our shield's damage reduction. An added bonus of such changes is that they have minimal impact on the balance of PvE content because our DPS doesn't change. Anyway, just my thoughts. It feels good to write this down - even if Bioware won't do anything about it.