My other toon retiring at the end of month is a Vanguard 100% tank, and I can tell you the grass is not greener. Tanks are fun in Huttball and if you have a good healer to guard, you can contribute quite a bit, but overall meh compared to most other classes. >>Well, I read once (somewhere) that defense is more important then shield (at least in pvp). But is this still (if ever) the case? The best thing you can get for gear is the Oberon level Relic with Reactive Shielding. Just pure damage absorption on all attacks, can't go wrong. One thing I noticed the Reactive Shielding relic text doesn't explicitly state that it does not stack, so maybe this will work with Oberon + Conq? Other then the relic... It's all pretty minor. I personally started stacking a bit more shielding then defense after the changes that allowed most pvp damage types to be shielded and went with Fort augments. >>As far as arenas stand, they are the worst tank cuz there damage output is laughable. Full tank tree Vanguard dps is laughable as well. Especially after the raw 5% across the board damage nerf and stockstrike nerf from a few patches ago. In a one on one fight, damage mitigation doesn't balance with the lack of ability to deal damage. VG has no dispatch ability. I'm lucky if I get the medal for the >2500 hit. For node guarding, Vanguard has Shoulder Cannon which can be used while stunned, so that is a big advantage, but better hope a teammate hears the call or the opponent is undergeared/bad as you will end up dead because you hit like a wet noodle. (or make it to the health powerup first) >>Everyone runs PT hybrid tanks not because the hybrid is a good tank, but because it allows that team to effectively have 3 dps and a decent tank. Absolutely true. I hope they reset the leaderboards with 2.6 as this will change the VG/PT landscape significantly. Final note: I am in mostly obroan (mostly from normal WZs) and with the bolster tweaks being uncovered, now anyone can show up with same-or-better gear... yea, that is a major factor for not renewing.

This combined with the OS nerf is one reason I am not renewing my subscription. My gunslinger spends enough time in the penalty box already because he is the easiest target for stealth classes, and now there will be an extra FotM class that will be aiming for me. No thanks. I know the ranking board has been horked, but on the 'current' list, gunslinger only ranks 5 of the top 100 in either group or solo. Solo doesn't even starts until 45. I think that speaks for itself. The stealth detection was useful for about a week until stealthers realized it was a cone effect and takes 2 extra seconds to walk around to the back. Even on the rare occasions where someone does walk in front, I usually just see an outline but can't target before they are out of the cone. This needs major improvement. Scoundrel/OPs are best healers and now possibly best 1 on 1 and we get 3 mediocre trees. So seems I choose poorly, will not renew unless the ability to change advanced class is introduced.

Yea, I noticed this fix was absent from the release notes as well. Lame. Let me stack some fail for you. Fail Fail

With the addition of arenas, the 4 piece tank set bonus which grants 5% damage bonus when you have guard active needs an adjustment. 1) Group dynamic may include 3+ tanks so some will be unable to use this ability. 2) This bonus is unusable when you are the last man standing.

Also looking for gear advice from vangaurd tank perspective. I have partisan gun, legs, boots and gloves, conq helmet and chest. Conq redoubt relic and dreadguard shield relic. Belt and bracer and shield are rating 69 pve, and earpiece/implants are crafted level 54 purples. In warzones I have around 1850 expertise, and I hold my own for tanking and guarding. Everything is augmented, and no problems funding augments slots for new gear. I pretty much have enough rated comms for either 2 implants/earpiece/relic, the pvp shield (also need to buy partisan first), or 2 armor upgrades. Any advice on which way to go? Should I be worried about the stat trade off for expertise? Will the extra armoring upgrading the partisan set pieces make any impact? Will I lose shield tech power going from 69 pve to 65 pvp? I also recall reading that mixing pvp and pve mods and enhancements on the same piece of armor can cause problems with bolster. Is this still the case or can I swap out a crappy pvp enhancement for player made pve and come out ahead?

Tanks are pretty tough in current PVP... However, in a warzone without a tank, a good healer can make or break the team. In a warzone without a healer, a good tank will get squashed like a slightly beefier bug.

Here is one thing I've suspected when I see AFK players. Any person with 2 computers could have two accounts, one imp one rep, queue both for warzones, and then leave one afk (moving just enough to not get kicked) thus giving your favored team an 8 vs 7 advantage. Something an immoral imp would do!

There has been a number of odd matches against the imps on HB the last week or so. Usually late late PST. I am seeing symptoms similar to the "lag switch" thread. I'll jump into a bunch of enemies, and my gcd gets wonky and unresponsive, actions I take play out several seconds after I activate them, enemy targeted right in front of me can't be hit with melee attacks (icons greyed out), entire team decimated very quickly, and enemies taking little to no damage, so I suspect other teammates are hit with the same thing. Tonight after hitting this again at mid in Hypergate, I waited a bit while dead to watch what they were doing . The game was already a lost cause, way behind in points and had one teammate leave. Right as a group of pubs rushed into the room, I got dumped to a black screen, audio stuttered for a few seconds, and back to character selection. Similar to being timed out. Network connection was solid, no other connection problems during the couple of hours I played PVE with friends before. This match had at least 3 imp guildnames, so it wasn't a full premade. I suspect there are a few bad apples out there, but who knows for sure with this game.

5% overall damage reduction in vanguard shield stance... ugh.

For pvp assault, should augments focus on power, surge, aim, or crit?

Can you get Molecular Stabilizers from RE of War Hero Implants?

Just thought it was interesting that all of your stories about miracle comebacks involve people quitting and better players taking their place.

Some Sith have a skill that makes Force Lightning immune to 'soft' interrupts, but you can still stun them. Several classes have a movement ability that makes them temporarily immune to movement-imparing effects. No hacks here.

So... what's the prize inside?

I really liked the Matrix Cube relic quest and I continued to wear it even after getting better relics just because it was something that I completed. However, with the new campaign relics, my matrix cube has been shelved, it just can't compete with the better stats and static effect... Any chance of seeing a continuation of the matrix cube quest?