Since you're such a math genius, why don't you show us all how you came to the conclusion that the Serenity changes wont achieve Bioware's +5% goal. Watchmen will be getting a 2% buff, just not yet because the classes that are slated for fixes in 5.3 have larger discrepancies between their current and target DPS.

Welp, time to make dinner and watch House.

Yes I should've clarified that I was only talking about Mastery, Power and Endurance. I just assumed that it would be obvious to anyone who can look at their character sheet that secondary stats aren't affected by level sync. And the HP totals for level synced players equal Endurance plus base health for the level they are synced to. Level sync does not affect HP directly. You've brought this up before and I distinctly remember already explaining this away. You were using higher level gear than the planet was designed for (RotHC gear while you were on Ilum) which gave you a larger increase of stats beyond the 50% you would have gotten from level sync. Once level sync kicked in you were busted down to the iLvL of purple gear for that level plus 50% which was lower than the stats you already had.

I've been leveling a concealment operative using nothing but alacrity enhancements for gear, and companion on passive. I can solo anything up to the harder gold mobs. It's a real good balance of difficulty I think. I come out of most fights almost dead so I have to be paying attention to the fight and make sure I'm using all my abilities correctly. The only problem comes when I do need my companion to kill those harder gold mobs, and then Kaliyo just solos the mob with none of her abilities used.

On the subject of gear. Level sync lowers your stats to the equivalent of purple gear for the level you are synced to plus 50%, so you do keep some advantage from using your higher level gear. Occasionally for the lowest level planets even your stats while naked max out your level sync allocation, just from level increases.

I'm going to counter this by saying there are other, more appropriate ways to buff Sorc survivability than to worry about their self-heals. Like increasing their ability to kite.

I was going to say something similar but I feel I'm getting too argumentative at this point so I'm bowing out of this thread. Good day to all.

5% less DPS is not "significantly less dps". At a DPS target of 10000, 5% is a mere 500 DPS. Lightning currently only needs a 1% buff to reach its target DPS. I'd say that's more balanced than Arsenal right now, which needs a 5% nerf. I believe you have a conflict of interest. I believe that you don't really care if a particular spec can clear content or not. I believe all you care about is being at the top of your operation's DPS meter. Your dismissal of post 5.3 Arsenal and Lightning as "ghetto specs" is evidence of this.

Nope don't see any mention of "ghetto spec".

You're going to have to be more specific than that.

And you know this, how?

If that's the way it works in reality then 5.3 should fix it.

If things aren't getting fixed for a long time, then they won't be made worse for a long time either. But people choose to get angry instead of hopeful that things just might get better. The last producer's only consideration was the CM. Keith has just barely moved in and already we've seen massive changes to communication and development. I trust Keith. If Lightning can clear content, then it doesn't matter at all how much it compares to other specs. The post above this one confirms that Lightning can clear content. If players aren't using specs that can clear content just because they don't do as much damage as other specs, that's a problem with the players, not balance. I understand the sentiment, but I don't agree with it. A 10% gap isn't a problem if the lowest specs in the range can clear the content. It's only a problem if those lowest in the range are being sat out from content because they don't compare with higher specs. Again, this is a problem with the players, not balance. If the spec can clear the content, then it is fine. If the disadvantage of melee range isn't enough of a disadvantage then melee range and mobility needs to be nerfed. I've been advocating for this for ages because it completely nullifies kiting in PvP. Because ranged classes cant kite they need massive DCDs to compete. The more DCDs you throw into the game the harder it becomes to kill anything and so classes have to be readjusted everytime a class gets too hard to kill. Kiting on the other hand is dependent on skill and so as long as the class can do it, it's entirely up to the player if they can do it effectively. No adjustments needed. Also, being that kiting is the main advantage to being a range class, if the range class is unable to kite that just strips them of their range advantage entirely.

Don't know if you've noticed, but certain things have changed since 5.0.

You're looking at DPS balance the wrong way. It's not a 10% gap between highest and lowest, it's a 5% gap between the baseline and easier to play specs. The 5% extra DPS that the harder specs enjoy is a reward for being harder to play. With the disadvantages that the higher DPS specs have to contend with, it's possible they wont even reach their maximum DPS in a standard PvE encounter. Admittedly this is how things should be in practice, but if the reality doesn't match that then Bioware can always readjust the numbers. The only thing that matters is the ability for all specs to clear content. If the lower DPS specs can clear content then everything is fine. PvE encounters should be balanced around the low DPS specs playing optimally because they are easier to play and shouldn't have any problems staying at their optimal DPS. Higher DPS specs will have other disadvantages keeping them from reaching their optimal DPS and that's why they will have higher overall DPS.

Sure, if you wanna take the easy way.

Second class specs (as you call them) are a necessity for PvP balance. If everyone did the same DPS, why play a melee or sustained class in PvP?

Well if I am a troll I sure baited all of you.

Well this wasn't hard to find. http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=918622 Compare with the OP: From this we can assume that (I say assume because the average here might not be the target DPS Bioware wants): Annihilation needs a 2% buff Hatred needs a 8% buff Lethality needs a 2% nerf PT IO needs a 8% buff Vengeance needs a 5% buff Fury needs a 3% buff AP needs a 3% buff Carnage needs a 1% nerf Concealment needs a 1% nerf Deception needs a 1% nerf Engineering needs a 4% nerf Merc IO needs a 4% nerf Madness needs a 4% buff Rage needs a 1% buff Virulence needs a 6% nerf Arsenal needs a 5% nerf Lightning needs a 1% buff Marksman is fine Once 5.3 takes care of these sweeping changes, PvE content can be rebalanced to accommodate them if need be.

Bioware's numbers are what the game WILL be balanced on. Theorycrafters can only work with what the game in it's present state tells them. Bioware on the other hand can make any change they want to the game to suit their numbers. If there is a discrepancy between Bioware's numbers and what is reality in game, then Bioware can change the game to suit their numbers. Which is exactly what they're doing with 5.3.

DPS balance doesn't care about your inability to dodge fires, sorry. Bioware's DPS targets already take into consideration buffs and debuffs, so don't use that as an excuse. And I assume you don't have DPS data from individual fights because you've never taken a Sorc into a raid.

Ops groups not taking classes because their DPS is low isn't a balance problem, it's a player problem.

Those low DPS specs are supposed to be easier to play than the higher DPS specs, so you shouldn't be making errors playing them. You're suggesting personal skill as reason for a class to be buffed or nerfed. Balance doesn't work that way. If (as I've already said many times in this thread) low DPS specs can clear the content, they are fine. Just because Annihilation does more DPS than Lightning doesn't mean there's a problem with Lightning DPS if Lightning can clear the content.

I don't envy your job Eric.

If a low DPS spec cant clear all content, then there's one of two problems: either the spec isn't doing enough DPS, or the content is overtuned. According to the OP, in the case that the spec isn't doing enough DPS, Bioware would want to buff the spec's DPS toward it's target DPS, which will still be lower than other specs. In the case that the content is overtuned, all Bioware has to do is bring the content back in line with the DPS targets they've set for all classes. Lightning and Marksmanship (and soon Arsenal) will still be defined as relatively low DPS specs because of their inherent advantages, but as long as they can clear content that's fine. Balancing DPS around Bioware's defined pros and cons in the OP is important because those pros and cons have major implications for PvP. Melee, range, sustained and burst are all very important factors in determining a class's relative power in PvP, moreso than straight up DPS.