It all depends on how you play. If you want to be all DPS with an added bit of survivability, play Darkness with full Stalker. If you play a tad more defensively (escorting others, lots of CC use, etc.) I would recommend at least 2 piece Survivor, specifically for the reduced CD on Spike. You can also remod that to have offensive customizations if you like. I personally run 2 piece survivor and a shield, rest DPS oriented. Works with my playstyle.

Right, but it is internal damage which ignores armor. I'm tank specced and for PVP I think that will be best. PVE might be a different story.

32/32/32 for the win. It's sorta game-breaking, but double-bladed lightsabers should be.

Nah I meant 24/0/17 (http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#601rcrokrskZZf0cRrM.1), the evolution of the old 23/0/18 spec. But 27/0/14 is certainly viable as well. Again, I prefer 31/0/10, but to each his/her own.

The thing about Iron Fist is that going 31 points in Vanguard/Powertech tank spec is pretty useless for PVP, because you burn 5 points on Shield/Absorption increases which don't proc that often. That's why these PVP specs are ~25 points in tank. Shadow/Sins see huge benefits from 31 points, with Slow Time/Wither and Harnessed Shadows/Darkness. IMO 31/0/10 is still the best PVP tank spec for our classes, but 24/0/17 is good as well. Try both out and see which fits your playstyle.

Right and wrong. Opening with project is not a bad idea in 1v1 because of reasonable damage and the +1 stack of HS. You don't always need it, but against a well-geared opponent getting those quick heals might be necessary. Also, you may very well need that spinning kick in the next 20 seconds to stop your opponent from pulling off something epic on you, so I wouldn't open with it. And for TacticalShotz' rotation: What? Why would you burn your cloak for telekinetic throw? Just force speed out of range, stun, and fire off the rocks. You might need that vanish if the bantha poodoo hits the fan. Also, why waste Battle Readiness, a heal in combat tech, during your rotation? Use it when you actually need the health. Honestly, you shouldn't get locked into the rotation mindset. This isn't PVE; if a smart player sees you doing the same thing over and over gain, s/he will adapt, break your rhythm, and destroy you. Edit: Shadowkins. I like that name

If defending turrets and nodes and soloing people 1v1 is what you like to do, KC is a far better spec for you. Infil dies really really quickly, so if you get ganked by > 1 person you will lose the turret fast. Contrary to what some people will tell you, KC can be VERY effective defensively with smart gear choices and playstyle. So many people are locked into the "yar, play KC like a glorified DPS" and don't contribute much to the actual warzone. I can't tell you just how many dps tankasins I've roflstomped trying to do this. If you are interested in a more defensive KC: - Add a bit of tanking gear (shield at least 2 piece survivor gear, which also reduces timing on Spinning Kick). Build a mix of tank/dps gear to increase endurance, some defensive stats (which are more useful now that Marauders and Snipers are better), and then Power the rest of the way. You will be able to hold nodes longer and fight off almost any spec 1v1. - Use your utilty skills judiciously. Spinning kick, stun, interrupts, pulls, etc. You can make other players' lives a living hell. Vanguards are also good at this, for the record. On the other hand, you have the dps necessary to survive 1v1's at the same time. - Guard. Guard a lot, and guard well. You can keep healers and dps alive, which helps to win warzones, and for yourself you can easily grab a few medals. My advice? Try out a couple different specs and see what you like. Use people's opinions as basic suggestions, but you won't really know until you try it for yourself.

I love sents. More physical damage means my defensive gear works more often. Edit: Just realized this isn't actually a serious topic. And if it is, well, wow.

I think this is my projected gearing for a KC tank. Compromise between defensive and offensive gear. http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/character/c25c0f0d-5c9e-4b12-a069-e8dc96de3998 Wishlist is projected, Gearing is what I currently have. I also own a BM survivor saberstaff, but still rocking the champ stalker saber because it's that good

At the moment I'm rocking the matrix cube like a boss because of the stat increases. 50 end, 58 WP, 24 crit is still a nice bonus even at War Hero tier. At WH I will probably lack crit so this will really help. In this case I would take matrix cube and either Dark Radiance or Shield Amplification... I was also thinking of using both the Dark Radiance and Shield Amplification cubes together. Huge endurance boost, a bit of power and sustained damage, and proccable absorption protection. As a somewhat defensive tank (33/66 tank/dps gear split) this could provide some much needed protection. Thoughts? Edit: Leaning away from taking out the matrix cube. That's a lot of crit I'd miss...

It really depends on how you are specced. If you spec into Twin Disciplines and Upheaval, then use project...but only use it when Twin Disciplines proc is down, and you need to refresh it. Otherwise it is too expensive. A lot of people coming from KC and Infil spam the project without realizing that it is not as efficient for Balance. Edit: Just noticed the build link that OP put up. I would rather take out the 2 points in Elusiveness (unnecessary for a PVE raiding DPS) and put them into Twin Disciplines. Use project only to bring Twin Disciplines online, then double strike to your heart's content...in-line with the rest of Balance's crazy priority list.

The dark side part of me loves roflstomping PVE newbies in Rakata stuff. The light side part tells them to buy a set of Recruit gear.

Has Powerr quit, then? That's definitely a loss for the TOR community...

Hey Shinarika, what are your thoughts on the proccable campaign relics? I was thinking of getting the Campaign Dark Radiance relic for an endurance and sustained damage boost for my tank. On the other hand the Shield Amplification gives a power increase and an absorption boost. What do you think? (I don't really want a burst increase as I'm more of a defensive player).

Right, I actually linked that exact same page in my post Note though, gains per point of expertise go down at a linear rate. Under the pre-1.2 scheme it was a non-linear decrease so expertise gains died off much more quickly. They still decrease now, just at a lower rate. Somewhere in the high 1000s there has to be a "sweet" spot.