Honestly, it's the opposite, you believe the earth is flat. What people want is a loot system, that let's those who want to Min-max do so, while also letting people who are more casual gear up at their own pace in peace. without 60 tiers of unmoddable gear, and 20 varriants on every mod and enhancement, Nobody wants a lethalmod 1 trough 20, all with slightly diffrent stats Honestly, to me, there's 2 good options. both involve removing the entire gearing system they planned for 6.0 the 3.0 way, with boss drops, commedations for pve and pvp (expertise gear brought back) or just copy 5.0, prior to ossus. boss drops + unassbled components + vendor. + command crates, replace command crates with something called new, and unassabled components with somehting new that works the same, to avoid stockpiling now. and done. it's not that dificult. but the current 6.0 system, is horrible, no matter wether you are casual or not. everyone has to sit trough 60 tiers of unmoddable green, blue and purple gear. without set bonusses, and then once you're at 306,pray for pieces, mods and enhancements that are the right ones.

I can not believe the amount of people 'praising' this as listening to feedback, the feedback was we don't want as much RnG, You were just fed a wall of text saying all RnG is here to stay, suck it. The positives - Gear is spec specific, yay. A vendor to buy what I want (I assume this will be a lot more expensive than random pieces, as it's not the intended way of gearing) Everything else stays RnG, unmoddable gear on every tier - of which there are like 60, Tacticals and set bonuses, dropping in specific locations, but out of a pool of god knows how many. I don't see this as listening to feedback sorry, all I see is an attempt to try make a system nobody wants, sounds slightly less terrible.

So,.... Honestly.... this has to be the single worst gearing system, any game has ever had. EVER. Before 258 gear was released, you had a working system, we could get components from pvp, and NiM raids. SM and HM dropped tokens, (or you could buy the tokens) and upgrade to what YOU want. Targeting your gear, While the command boxes were a additional way to get 248, 236 etc. tokens. Right now, I have to sit through 66 tiers of green and blue gear, before I get anything usefull, not to mention it isn't spec based, tank relics dropping for heals, absorb mainhands, sniper rifles, cannons, light sabres - on merc. the RnG isn't exciting, it's beyond disgusting. Raid's don't drop good enough gear, sm dropped 270 for me (I had 281 ilvl), HM, we killed boss, but due to a bug ported out, only the stealthers could get their loot of 3rd boss, but for them it was 290-298 gear (while they had 306 equiped) A little rng,.. is always fun, - like let's say the command boxes as a second way to gear, but right now, the RnG is waaay to bad, I have always loved swtor, but if this releases i'm out. Honestly,... You guys said you had learned,... and instead of continueing or improving a working system, you trow it all out of the window and make it RnG, ontop of RnG ontop of RnG.

you should read what I wrote better. You're assuming I want that, while I clear stated that sm, fp, open world, is, and should stay/always will be, accesible to ALL players.... and that I want HM - and NIM to be harder (depending on skill, average for HM, best for NiM) Please... read. You on the other hand, want the game dead easy, and just want people to take off gear to make things harder. Downside is, even if I take all gear off, nothing is hard. due to bolster, all SM raids can be done naked, with a green weapon, same for all leveling, and veteran flashpoints (master in a group probably too) /thanks bolster. You're the one trying to enforce YOUR will on others, while blaming me to do so. GG.

I do disagree here, - this is a very narrowminded view, if the game only caterd to nim raiders, it would die out very quickly, with only 5% doing it, However I do also feel like to many things have been made to easy, my main concern with that is though, that it's just been made a lot harder to make the step from being a casual sm raiders, to wanting to try HM, with there being a huge diffrence in dificulty (to big for some) - always thought more mechanics have to be added to sm (even if far far less deadly, just to sort of show what to expect in HM) there is also nowhere near as many rpers as you think. think the number is more like 10-15% if not less. most people just cassualy go about their buisniss, lvling, redoing stories, some flashpoints/conquest and story mode ops. escpially lvling, flashpoints and open world, are things that more solo focused players do, and should also be caterd to them,.. while I do really miss companion gearing, and beating the story bosses that actually felt like a boss. I also understand why some people like the way it is now (even though i really don't)

You preach the following 'It is about controlling other players' but you do the same.... 'Oh you want harder content, just take off your gear' SM, flashpoints, open world, is accesible, and should be, to everyone HM raids should start to introduce mechanics or dps/heal checks, depending on fights (which not everyone can nor should be able to clear, it's called hardmode for a reason, and should be to challendge a group at a decent to average skill level, with medium to high gear) and NiM should just be the hardest content in the game. and should challendge the people who know their class in and out, with high to BiS gear. that;'s not trying to control your game experience. you have SM, if HM and NiM are to hard for you, and NiM raiders shouldn't have to make artificial dificulty by removing gear, that's stupid.

Press the green and blue buttons, and you'll be fine. http://dulfy.net/2018/01/05/swtor-5-6-mercenary-bodyguard-pve-guide-by-wakebake/ ^seriously though, just read that

I have a suggestion for the tactical, 'Eyrin's haste' Currently, it gives you 3 stacks of Convection - spending either 1 stack to make Lightning bolt instant, or 3 to make thundering blast instant, this doesn't actually make much of a choice, thundering blast is already castable on the move and there are very few instances where an instant thundering blast would be better, (maybe casting on styrak manifistation?),but this choice is pretty much always to spend 3 stacks on lightning bolts. I want this to change, by making instead of thundering blast - Chain lightning instant, this would add the choice of 3x lightning bolt for single target/mobilty, while adding an AoE/Cleave benefit to it aswell as in You can cast Chain lightning > thundering or force storm or bolt to proc 'Lightning storm' > and use another instant chain lightning.

I mean, the guy you quote is talking about madness - and while volt rush might be usefull in an AoE situation, you have to sacrifice the tactical slot and set bonus to do so, you basicly take away everything you can do single target wise, to have an extra AoE? that's fine.. might be great as a solo player, - personally I have never given a second thought that people might care how stuff feels while doing dailies/heroics, that is possibly a mistake on my part for not partaking in that content since shadow of revan, and so that is fine, if people want to take that choice, (however I still think adding an abilty, and then having to use a set bonus and tactical, just to make a new abilty usefull while famring mobs, pretty.. underwelming) However lightning has some OP things to it as it stands right now - I talk from a prespective of endgame raiding (nim raiding), The stormwatch tactical is truly broken, and at lvl 75 adds 4k sustained dps. no other tactical I have seen so far adds even half that by itself. which is putting lightning as the top parsing spec, or competing with the top parsing specs, which as a ranged burst class. shouldn't happen, I am personally not the most happy person when it comes to lightning trough 5.0 (bottom dps) and would love to see all specs being balanced much closer to eachother, but for personal satisfaction lightning being middle of the pack would make me happy, but making it straight out OP single target dps like this (which let's be honest, in SWTOR single target dps is the only thing that matters in raids on pretty much everything except a fight here and there where it still matters, just that dot spread helps more.(Izax) As for pvp, lightning doesn't have to survive any longer, it has INSANE defensives (50% passive damage reduction, spike it up to 65 every 20 seconds and 85% every 45 seconds, add a absorb bubble, imortailty bubble and phasewalk + offheals add to that the abilty to do damage on the move (nearly full rotation) and it really doesn't get the credit it deserves.

For madness maybe, Lightning has a good set bonus(Gathering storm), and a beyond broken OP tactical (stormwatch) and a fun / decent one (if stormwatch is nerfed which it should be) in Eyrins haste - see my post on previous page for numbers.

Just going to say it now, guardian and jug, senntinel and marauder are mirrored classes - aka they do the exact same dps and have the exact same abiltites just named diffrent (outside of bugs which caused certain abiltites to do more damage. which have happend in the past with certain mirrored classes, but those aren't present right now) And on pts (which I suggest you try out rn) ahni is doing ALOT of damage, not really checked the other 2 specs, but I really suggest you hop on, and try it. (also fury out dps's rage by a lot.)

Yeah but the problem here is, we're now what? a month, month and a half to release - there are not enough people doing real number testing, and feedback - people are mostly giving feedback on what it sounds like. I don't expect things to be properly balanced before release - (or at all, to be very honest), so the less things to balance, the better. - there is simply no way, that this many set bonuses can be balanced for PvE nor PvP

For PvE (Let's keep it on ops/raids) same story, there is 1 set up which is miles ahead of others, - the rest is just traps for new players, - aka they going to pick what might sound 'usefull' - let's use 'Below 50% your crit is increased' thinking they might be below 50% a lot, - they go in to a raid, healer does their job, and their set bonus is completly nulified. There is just a lot of confusion - The best they can do imo, is reduce the set bonsues to 1 PvE - 1 PvP (reach out, or ask for opinions, of people who play the spec in NiM / Ranked, Tacticals can stay imo, they are fine. (the most useless ones can be removed or changed in to a 'minor tactical slot' Amplifiers are a terrible system, and should just be removed rn, - or changed to only include non combat things - adding combat bonusses to that much RnG is beyond stupid.

Honestly, this is a trash System, - adding DPS, Healing and defensive bonuses, in An RnG mechanic within an RnG mechanic is silly - if developers (or others) insist on keeping this system, keep QoL (crafting, companions (maybe an out of combat speed boost)) ones , Remove everything else, Adding combat benefits to this much RnG is just plain stupid.

I just want to add my 2 cents on lightning sorc - just lightning.(PvE) I have spent the day testing several set ups, Currently the best set up I have found (by far) is Gathering storm set bonus + stormwatch tactical. The stormwatch tactical, adds 3.5k to 4.3k dps. making it very strong (to strong?), parsing in the mid 18k on average, with a 19k spike. dps, on a 4 milion dummy, with only the inqusitor class buff The Second test up I spent sometime testing, was again Gathering storm set bonus + Eyrin's Haste This set up, I must say is quite fun to play with, but does about 2 to 3k less dps than the above set up. I like the idea of force speed being tied to a lot of buffs, and to think what abilty to use it on. (thundering blast or 3x lightning bolt in Eyrin's Haste case.) allthough the choice seems 3x lightningbolt most of the time. Other than the above set up, - most other stuff, range from situational to useless, with the exception of the flat damamge increase tacticals (greased lightning, and biorythm) but they add about the same dps as Eyrin's Haste while being nowhere near as intresting.) -edit- After some furhter testing today, hit a 20.3k parse with the Gathering storm + stormwatch. the other set up I gave some tries were with the Endless Offensive set bonus, which feels really clunky and not fun at all, being about a 1.5k-2.5k dps loss vs gathering storm, 17.5k vs 20k (with stormwatch), Even with the set bonus which is meant to make volt rush better, it is still a really lack luster abilty, - the animation has a really slow feel to it (it seems to take longer than a gcd using this skill), According to star parse, using this set bonus, the largest hit is just shy of 15k (14492) with the average hit being 10k this vs lightning bolt Largest hit 14.1 but average hit 10.3k - with this set up, I had 40 volt rush hits for a total of 401k damage vs lightning bolt on the same parse 35 hits for 363k this entire set bonus seems like kind of a mess, because even under the right circumstances for volt rush, you're still better of just using lightning bolt in all situations, the only thing I see volt rush having any use, is if you have to move so much that you are out of instant casts or casts you can't use on the move (basicly unbuffed lightning bolts and crushing darkness, which in PvE doesn't happen often enough to warrant this set bonus ( as honestly the diffrence between it and gathering storm is to big, while also not being fun at all) -- edit 2 -- After furhter testing with Gathering storm + stormwatch and all class buffs (not raid buffs) the average parse for me is 20.2k (15 parses, non below 20k all between 20k and 20.5k) with the real number of stormwatch being 3.7k - 4k. on the tooltip it says 'A lightning blast is called down, dealing 2398 energy damage' on star parse the average hit 3500-3700 and highest crit being 4600 to 4800, I really suggest either making this abilty never crit (making each hit the 2.4k the took tip says) or nerfing the damage it deals by atleast half to 1200, even with this it might still be to strong, but it is something to test. ------ But with there being so much useless, or otherwise situational things, I don't really see the 'play the way you want', it just adds a lot of confusion if anything. - I would actually like the amount of set bonuses significly reduced (preffably 1 pvp, and pve set) things like Dire Retaliation, Decelerator's and Controller just seem like traps, I doubt even for pvp they will find any use, (not worth taking over other 6 set pieces like Gathering storm) this is not even talking about the general set bonuses, that I don't think will find any play ever, (all of the 'if you are below 50% health' set bonuses (but that is for another topic, not the sorc specfic one)