This is where you learn, my friend! I've done it once on my main (though, that was during the few weeks following launch proper and the token system was in use) and twice on my alts. Yeah, it sucks and you go down fast. But, you learn how to get the most out of your class in a very short amount of time. Also, you learn key survival techniques. There's more to PvP than charging in and trying to bash face, mate. I'm sure you'll be fine, just keep at it. P.S.: If you want to see just how nice Recruit gear is, do some Warzones in PvP gear.

But you don't have to lose Expertise to get them and you certainly aren't "gimping" yourself by stacking Expertise. In fact, you're only "gimping" yourself if you start ditching Expertise. My comments aren't directed toward your assertion that ditching accuracy/alacrity for other things is a good idea. They're directed toward your assertion that one can somehow benefit from getting rid of Expertise for other stats. The problem there is, there isn't anything there to replace your Expertise. And no, I'm not the PvP forum Police. I doubt there is such a thing, in fact. But, this thread is for people with questions and comments relative to the article in the main post. Not for people to spout unresearched rubbish and pass it off as fact. So, I ask you again, please stop. There is no mathematical data to substantiate your claim. I'm not saying that it's wrong (that's subjective), I'm saying that it's mathematically unsubstantiated and therefore incorrect.

It's not min/max, it's optimisation. Balance, if you will. Please read the whole thread and article before posting more feedback. Thanks!

That's because power from the stat and MainStat are both linear, and therefore shouldn't need a graph.

Alright, I'm going to have to put a stop to this. Hotbox, I hate to say this to people, but you're absolutely incorrect on this and I would appreciate it if you would stop propagating false information in this thread. To that end, I am going to show you the light, as it were. The mods and enhancements in all end-game PvP and PvE gear are identical (check for yourself if you like) with the exception of the PvP bits having expertise added; they do not sacrifice anything in the way of stats for expertise. This was clearly an intentional change by BioWare to stop the blending of PvE and PvP gear. The armorings are, indeed, different. Rakata armorings, for example, have either +44 Endurance and +61 MainStat or +55 Endurance and +51 Mainstat whereas Battlemaster armorings have +31 Endurance, +33 MainStat, and +50 Expertise. Meaning that, the only "improvement" that you could make would be a small amount of Endurance and MainStat, sacrificing 50 Expertise each time. And, guess what? If you swapped all of your armorings, you'd lose 250 Expertise and have very little to show for it. So, no. Sacrificing expertise for more damage/healing does not work anymore and claiming the contrary is absolutely false. Now that you know the truth, please stop spreading misinformation. Thank you.

Not at all what I was saying. I can see how you could read that into it, though. Sorry about that. I mean to say that I didn't account for peoples' different quantitative methods. Some can glean the mathematics at work simply by reading the written word. Others have to see the calculations. It's certainly not a bad thing, just something that I didn't anticipate. I've got a few things to do yet this morning, but I'll get to all your posts as soon as I can. Thanks for all the wonderful feedback.

I would suggest that you stop looking for the answers and find your own, mate. That is, find what you're comfortable with as crit rating is concerned. What do you think is too little, too much, or just enough? That's what I really want players to do after reading my article. You don't have to agree with me (and many seem not to ), but I hope to provide the first stepping stone, as it were. After that, each player has to decide what he/she is comfortable with. So, I'm going to ask you: what do you think is too much or too little crit?

Now this, I completely agree with. I wish that tank gear had as much potency in PvP as DPS gear does. What's more, I think that it's a shame that PvP tanks (in tank gear) are relegated to "counter-bullies", as it were. I do agree with you on the topic of Marauders/Sentinels. Tank gear certainly doesn't counter them (and I don't think that you were insinuating that it did), but it can slow them down. I suppose that my big beef with tank PvP gear is that it turns the player into something of a one-trick pony, if you like. That is, all they're going to be good for is soaking up damage and taunting. Whereas, wearing DPS gear, one can accomplish the same thing with strikingly similar effectiveness whilst retaining the ability to deal substantially more outgoing damage. I hope that made sense; it's about bedtime for me and I tend to get a bit discombobulated when I'm sleepy lol. Thanks again for discussing and reading. I think that you've helped me understand my own position on tank gear a bit better and I'll be sure to change the article accordingly.

An absolutely fair point about the War Hero gear. I decided to do Battlemaster now because I think that there are a lot of people that are grinding for their War Hero gear and it will serve as a good source for fresh 50s (or alts) just getting in to their BM gear. I do plan on doing a similar sort of post for War Hero gear, but at this point it's not looking like it will be necessary. Since, BioWare seems to have put all of their "good itemisation mojo" into War Hero lol. But, as it becomes more common in PvP, I'll revisit the idea and see where it goes. I completely agree with your other two points. Again, if you find that something works better for you, use it. My article is more of a "starting point" for optimisation since what is "better" can be subjective to a degree. Thank you for reading and posting!

I'm really glad that you've decided to post this! I really want players to see my article as more of a "starting point" for optimising gear. I am in no way saying that everything that I'm suggesting is the only correct way to do it. But, I am saying that I think it's a bloody good place to start. If your playstyle favors lower crit and more power, do what works for you! Good luck in Warzones and with your gear. Thanks for posting and reading.

I respect your opinion although I don't share it. The cases that you've pointed out are, in fact, the reason that I chose to call tank gear "two shades shy of useless". It isn't completely useless, it just has very few uses when compared to DPS gear. This is due almost entirely to the metagame, though, and may change with time. As to your experience, your claim is that your gear set is effective against 3 of 8 possible classes — that's only 37.5%. I won't doubt your claims, but I still don't see the benefit in preparing to face < 50% of the classes that you might encounter. Though, I'll admit that this may be a purely normative matter. Regarless, thank you for posting and reading!

I really can't even answer this. I have already addressed these questions in previous posts herein, or in the column itself. I suggest you reread the column and this thread for the answer that you seek. Rest assured, though, real math is at the foundation of the article. Whether one is capable of comprehending the implication of it through written word is, however, a different matter entirely.

450-500 Power = irrelevant; it's linear and should be piled on once non-linear stats are optimised. 32-35% Crit ≈ 450 Critical Rating. 74-76% Surge ≈ 300 Surge Rating. Expertise at 500 = irrelevant; if you're in PvP you take as much of this as you can get. I appreciate you're reading my column (if you did), but I'd like to keep posts moving forward. I can make a redux on my own to reiterate my work if I want to. But, thank you for trying.

Well put. I should probably comment on this, though since I've been asked to a few times lol. GRAPH Here's the deal: we stop at ≈300 Surge because it's at the very tippy-top of the benefit return curve. If we put any more into it, it wouldn't yield enough to justify doing so. We stop at ≈450 Crit (if not less) because the point is more or less in the middle of the "bow" of the function. Now, what do you notice about Power and MainStat Power and Critical? That's right, they're linear. Meaning that once you've achieved an "optimal" amount of stats whose benefit functions increase exponentially, you switch to the linear stuff. In this case, that's Power, MainStat, and Endurance (although I didn't include it in the graph). I think that should just about do it

The idea behind that one is really to discourage the "IMMA MAX MY DPS BRO!" sort of approach one finds in PvE. Because in PvP, that approach really isn't optimal. Sure, you can do it if you want, but you'll be putting yourself at a disadvantage. The idea being that even if you're not doing max DPS, you're alive longer, giving your opponent the time to make a mistake, or your healer the time to get some love headed your way. More than anything, though, how much HP you're comfortable with has to do with your playstyle. But, as a general rule, if you can get more HP, you should. Because, generally, you don't have to give up much in the way of other stats for it. I hope that made sense. Thanks for reading!