I still run into this problem pretty regularly with my Balance sage. Missed FiB is big, two misses is huge--the difference between killing a core myself and needing help. I've used several different tips as read on these forums, and I still can't get my "accuracy" to 100%. Every time it's my turn to hit cores, I wish I was running a sentinel.

It's been QUITE a while since I leveled my sage (my launch toon), but I would say that FiB, now that it hits 5 instead of 3, does all the aoe you need for leveling. Balance is so sturdy I joke with my guild that I tank with my sage. The utility is just phenomenal--passive healing, great cc, FiB + Forcequake to clear the trash, terrific mobility and rolling damage on "bosses." Any question of TK vs Balance It's really just style imo. The perks of TK, like tremors and alacrity cd-reduction, are just not going to show up in the endless trash pulls of the leveling process.

Willpower.

I sympathize with bad GF experiences. However, you're not thinking through your options very well. If you are better off wiping on Dash'roode so your options stay open, then you're also better off getting votekicked on Dash'roode so your options stay open. There's really no downside to you speaking up and trying to get the Guild of Bads on track. If they suck and votekick you? Hurray, now you can try to hook up with a Guild of Not-Bads. If you get yourself into a situation like what you describe--locked to OpIX with bad prospects for finishing--then that's really more on you than it is on them. I once had a hilariously bad guild votekick me from Xenoanalyst before we even started because of something like this. My only regret is that I didn't quit on them myself sooner--the writing was on the wall from the word go. Be the master of your own destiny. Fix it or cut bait and run.

Gut>IR>IP>PC(+3stacks of PG)>HIB>SS(if free)(*should proc HIB)>HIB.... Gut, Incendiary Round, Ion Pulse, Pulse Cannon (only at 3 stacks of Pulse Generator buff), High Impact Bolt, Stock Strike. If you don't know what these skills are then you just need to play the class until you know the basic moves. It's not going to do you any good to learn the names of things out of a book. Oh, and "proc" refers to all those skills in the game that give you X% chance to trigger effect y. That triggering is referred to as a "proc."

No, it's not. But a spirited argument like this thread brings forward a lot of fruitful information and viewpoints about tanking mechanics. The more they fight, the more our collective knowledge of tanking increases. It doesn't even really matter who is right and who is wrong. Readers benefit, as long as they know what to look for. Yay for internet arguments. Thanks to all who kept going at it (and may you continue to do so).

Ok, this is my super-fresh eyes, super-nubby take on the class so far. Questions peppered throughout. The priority system is actually pretty simple. In a perfect world, we'd just use FR/SF over and over. Sadly, the EAgods have decreed that we can only shoot first...first. And then we do other stuff. Priorities: 1. FR/SF. BOOM. You will only get to use this on opener and on DA every 90s. Aside concern: if you use DA to accelerate your dps this way, you won't have a stealth res available. Obviously not an issue if your raid is pro and no one dies, but...probably worth a mention. I consider stealth res to be one of the great perks of a stealth class; notable that you give it up (potentially). 2. FR/BB. BOOM! Every 12s. Never miss this. 3. VS. Dots are good. Every 18s. Question: is this ever an energy issue? The resource management is the part I don't really get yet. 4. SP. Of our no-CD moves, we would like to use this every time, right? I think I'd get suckered into flying fisting my way right past a BB if the procs were hitting repeatedly. It's hard to stop! 5. BW. Just to get to 2UH so we can SP. My big Qs: Before we factor in Flyby, isn't this all you really need? Stuff like Sabo Charge and QS just seem to junk up the energy for no/not much dps. Why not pre-cast Flyby as per the raiding standard? Can you not get into position in time if you do that?

I've been thinking about switching out of my Sawbones--I hate healing--and into this spec. This is a great starting point for me to give it a try, so thank you. After I make the switch today and get in some reps on what you have provided, I'm going to pester you about what this "normal rotation" is. Based on what you have written, the priority system seems daunting. EDIT: wait, I think I see it. "Normal Rotation" is what you are covering in the Single Target/Boss Fights section, right?

Ok, Balance rotation question/observation. (I'm perfectly happy to be argued off this point) I really doubt the wisdom of WM-FIB-SF as an opener. I take for granted that we are aiming for perfect dot uptime. That means recasting exactly when they drop off. But in that case, the WM-FIB-SF sequence builds a permanent CD in between the two dots. There's no natural way to fill that 1.5s except for Project, which is a huge resource drain and we don't take the talents to buff its damage anymore anyway. Disturbance fills the time but it's not reliable and you're likely to screw up your MC uptime. I strongly recommend WM and SF be cast together. Either throw FIB before them in your opener to maximize the debuff use, or throw it immediately after so you can use the CD on FIB to time your refresh perfectly. Or clip your SF on the second cast so that WM and SF synch up. (Side issue: For really hectic fights where lots of dots are in play and there's a lot of confusion/downtime, I *permanently* throw FIB after WM-SF. Building in a permanent 3s of downtime into the FIB rotation is a small dps loss that gives you perfect dot tracking through the mess. Obviously only use if you think you're going to lose more than 50dps from the chaos).

I found that I had to constantly set my healing comp to passive so he would not get nuked or not stand around in front of the boss doing nothing while I got axed upstairs. Wiping out the adds with the mortar volleys is a great tip--use the two terminals that summon the little melee spiders, not the ranged bigger guys. Then just herk-jerk your way out of mortar bubbles a few times and the spiders will go splodey. Still a pretty tight finish though...I was surprised at how big a step up in difficulty it is from the rest of Makeb.

Everyone has to like everything in a game. The internet told me so. I really like the binocs and the seeker is perfect for Saturday mornings while I'm waiting for some peeps to wake up and roll with me. It's very zen and beats doing dailies when you don't feel like it. Fantastic addition to the game--more things for different kinds of players.

Awesome work as usual Nibbon. Balance Q for you: You say you pop CDs after the WM. That means SF eats up your second Potency, doesn't it? I was under the impression that you always wanted Potency to go to TTx2 or FiB+TT. Am I out of the loop on the theory there?

I didn't realize the shackle was an aoe attack centered on a player. That's helpful. However, I've definitely seen some trolling with the shackles. Player 1 goes over to unshackle Player 2, and both get hit with a shackle. Not cool. Agreed that it's a good mechanic though. Fight is just different, not a dps race of any kind.

Overtuned? Gawha...wha? Hammer and Athiss are extremely easy. Cademimu is PUG-unfriendly with the shackles, but even that is not too bad. Still haven't gotten into a Mando :*(

I completed it just by entering group finder. Weird bugs there.