This boss does not spawn anymore since at least christmas when I started checking for him, maybe he has been bugged for a lot longer than that. This is a major content blocker as it prevents players from completing a certain achievement quest. Unbelievable how long this has been in game without being addressed.

For this coming season 2 the top tier (top 3 of each adv class) rewards should be: - the titie "Arena Champion" - the speeder that is used on nar shaddar to travel between speeder points, with 10% higher speed than all other mounts in the game and the ability to have a passenger. - a bunch of cartel coins (debatable what a bunch is but it should go into the many thousands) What I would like to see in FUTURE seasons is this (for team ranked only though): - a dedicated pvp tournament server that runs all the ranked matches and is accessible to both US and EU players and requires a certain amount of money to register for (similar to wow tourny servers). - a season ending with a play-off system that is streamed and moderated by EA/Bioware - real value prizes (computer hardware or money)

Wow you are so f...ing clueless I have no idea where to begin in taking you apart. The OP gives a very valid view on classes backed up by his considerable arena experience and you dare come crawling out of your hole to spit on it? In your opinion every class and spec is viable, eh? Like in a perfectly balanced wonder world? Then please explain why there was not a single non ops healer found in the upper tier of ranked group arena?? My goodness what kind of clown are you trying to make us believe that TOFN is any kind of reference in grouped arena play whatsoever. Your server's best team (Gerike) got shat on multiple times by Mudclot playing an underpowered lightning sorc comp (lol). Then Gerike's team got banned after first week of season 1 for manipulating the rating and after that your server was left without any competition as the remaining decent team (Roudy) rolled over everyone else and farmed them like forever. The teams on your server have not developed any metas in group ranked at any point of season one, you might have copied/cloned our metas at best. You can be so f...cking grateful that having no x-server queues is protecting you sheep from the wolves. On the other hand it's also a real pity because you might ultimately learn something after countless ***-whoopings and eventually get better.

Yes Evo, that build works too. I personally prefer the on demand 25% especially in team ranked to mitigate bursts. For the other point, id rather take the 3% extra dmg on trash vs. about 0.7% something less dmg taken from energy attacks that the 2nd point in swelling shadows would grant. In fact 1 point for +1 % more endurance is better than 1 point in swelling shadows, so no matter what gear u wear or what charge ur in, always max out endurance talent b4 putting any point in swelling shadows.

Upon repeated in game requests I have decided I posted my arena spec, there is nothing special about it really. http://www.swtor-spy.com/skill-tree-calculator/sith-assassin/11/?build=022330101120022000000000000000000322220021102030221002000000000000000000000000000000000000000000&ver=20 Please don't ask me why this point is here and not there and yes there are other very viable specs. It is meant to be a hybrid tank that offers good single target damage and therefore it is geared very offensively with power surge mods and a focus in the off hand. Using the defensive CDs correctly is the key to own survival, but that goes for every class. It includes one stance switch before the opener from surge charge to dark charge. Then for the remainder of the fight I'm in dark charge unless it becomes a 1v1 situation in the end against a non stealther. regards Turrican

This is a great idea and I brought it up already when 2.4 came out. Advantages: - Zero class balance needed since you only match against your mirror class. - A great way to test your dueling skills against other faction players that you normally never see. - Same chances for everyone regardless of faction (unlike the current system in solo ranked where republic looses 95% of matches due to lower skilled player pool). - Almost instant queues at any time of the day (it only takes 2 players to create a match). - Healer vs. Healer will be decided in poison which is A LOT more entertaining than healer duels in World of Warcraft that can go on forever. ALTERNATIVE: Matches get decided by highest amount of damage done after 5 minutes. - A great way to improve your own skills (you only get better if you play against someone of equal or higher skill level) Disadvantages: - NONE (you don't have to queue for it if you don't like it)

This is for both solo and team arena but is much more needed for solo. The current system rewards every member of the winning team with the same rating, regardless of their personal rating. The problem with this is that top rated players get way too much rating for a win and lose way too few for a loss. The ELO system should be changed so that rating changes based on ones personal rating compared to the average rating of the opposing team. This would make it much harder for good players who play a lot to pull away in the rating as it is now the case. Example: 2 teams consist of the following 4 ratings: 1000, 1500, 1500, 2000 : average 1500 Now lets say team A wins, then the 2000 of team A is getting rewarded the same rating than the 1000 of team A and the 1000 of team B will lose the same as the 2000 rated player of team B (around 15). How is that even remotely fair? Alternate the ELO system so the rating adjustment is applied individually and the results would be like: team A rated 2000 player wins 8 rating, team a rated 1000 player wins 22 rating, the 2 1500 players win 15 rating. team B rated 2000 player loses 22 rating, team b rated 1000 player loses 8 rating and the 2 1500s lose 15. (numbers are just an example) If this was applied that the 2000 rated player would need around an 75% win rate to stay even or gain marginal rating which would be a much tougher challenge than it is now and making rating a much better reflection of skill. It is still early enough in the season to make this change.

You are giving me too much credit, really. I might be one of the top assassin players on the server but so are others who might be less known because they do not run a competitive 4v4 team at this time. Of course a certain level of individual skill is required to compete at top level but the team coordination and synergy is far more important. Regarding the matches from yesterday, though it was 3-1 in games it was only 6-5 in rounds - so overall pretty even and a lot of the rounds could have gone either way. I have to pay respect for the Bastion teams that decided to transfer. The quality of arena pvp on our server definitly improved for that. Every round yesterday was extremely intense and Blackadder is one legend of a sniper. I hope we get to see more of that in the days and weeks to follow.

Although I would like to see it, I doubt that force pull is becoming a base ability across the board but I have a more valid/realistic suggestion: Swap out the talent force pull (darkness) with magnetism (Deception). Why? Deception as the most melee depended spec could really use another gap closer on a 45 sec cooldown. Darkness on the other hand could make some good use of the spike snare that comes from Magnetism. Having a 20 sec cd out of stealth spike would make it a very good peeling tool for pvp, better than low slash since spike can not miss or be dodged. My opinion

Here you go http://www.swtor-spy.com/skill-tree-calculator/sith-assassin/11/?build=022330101120022000000000000000000322220021102030221002000000000000000000000000000000000000000000&ver=20

Dear community I might not have the in-depth wisdom of our beloved class rep but I do have my share of pvp experience in all forms and I would like to take this opportunity to post my view on the upcoming changes and also ring some alarm bells regarding in what direction the current class balancing is developing. Now I do not expect anyone to agree with all the ideas that I am about to list and would like to encourage further opinions and criticism on the matter but please keep it on a mature level. Since 2.4 I am using one spec most of the time in all pvp environments which is 19 27 0, basically it is similar to dark maul but I am taking the extra force regen and the extra defensive talent from hollow while sacrificing the extra duplicity proc and the +9% crit from exploitive strikes. I am playing this spec as an offensive tank hybid throughout the arena and always open the round with a charge switch and double discharge burst. To what i experienced this is the only possible way of playing arena right now at top tier level in 4v4 rated and even with that it still feels like an underperforming class and I will explain why. The PT hybrid can generate the same offensive and defensive numbers but has a WAY higher survivability while being in full dps gear. As for pure tanking and healer protection the jugg outshines both other tank classes due to better peels, intercede and absorb bubble through AOE taunts. As a pure dps role (which i did only in solo arena) I can generate the same numbers on the scoreboard as the best smashers, sorcs or PTs on the server but I would have to spec hybrid deception with deathfield and play very selfishly maning i contantly break CCs and never focus on the same target, always switching to the one that is not guarded and has no defensive abilities in use. This is not viable if I want my team to win. Also the deception assassin lacks the utility ( bloodlust) and survivability from a mara. And guess how many assassins (tank or deceception) I have met in top tier high rated 4v4 competition in 2 weeks of arena? ZERO! It is all about PTs, Maras, ops healers and Juggs (as tank). If my team (sorc heals, 2 smash maras, assassin) encountered ANYTHING other than those 4 dominant classes, it was always a win for us. This is how bad the current balance of the game is in competitive 4v4. No top tier team would take an assassin for a dps slot when they can have a mara or PT, or as tank when they can have a jugg or PT, always assuming equal gear and skill of the players. Now with 2.5 the assassin is getting buffed across the board but the type of buffs are going in the WRONG direction. Let us take a look at our 3 trees how they currently perform: 1. Full darkness is underperforming in both PVE and PVP and especially in PVP since almost a year now (we have been degraded to a node guard because no team wanted us in the big battles as the main tank). 2. Full deception is underperfomring in both PVE and team arenas (they are really great in WZ, solo arenas and in 1v1 situations due to their superior burst). 3. Full madness has been utter garbage since 2.0 in any type of game play. Now it seems that the devs philosophy is to make every spec fun and viable (balanced) for both PVE and PVP but I am saying that this is an illusion and can not be achieved because one spec will always be superior than another in certain game situations. What bioware SHOULD do is making each tree predestined for a specific task and give them the possibility to compete in these fields. This way it is much easier to balance between the advanced classes. For the assassin this should be - deception for PVP dps (burst dmg) - madness for PVE dps (sustained dmg) - darkness for both pve and pvp (different talent use for both - shield and high base mitigation for pve, on demand mitigation for pvp). The current 2.5 changes as they stand are not addressing anything of what is really needed! For darkness we got extra armor but in a WAY too low talent tier. This way it will be much more attractive to play as hybrid deception instead of going full darkness for PVP. In my opinion the extra armor should go back into the spike talent (hand of darkness) to get it out of reach of hybrids. What darkness really needed though is a talent that compares to the juggs taunt shield bubble or intercede and my idea for this is to have a mid tier talent that increases the passive DR of guard from 5 to 10% and also reduces the dmg taking from soaked guard damage by 20%. This way we could survive much longer while soaking damage while we remain more squishy compared to other tanks when being attacked directly - a unique ability. For deception we get dmg buffs for almost all melee attacks but the only ability that really needed a buff was voltaic slash. As it is right now it is probably the WORST top tier talent across all trees from all advanced classes doing pretty much the same damage as a normal thrash but procs extra surging charges, very underwhelming. Now I do not want deception to become over the top (and god knows that the DPS ops needs buffs much more desperately than us) but for us to become a viable spot in a high rated 4v4 team we need more utilitly. Maras have instant AOE fear, amazing cooldowns, healing debuff and bloodlust. For PvP we need something that goes in line with these abilities instead of a flat damage increase. One idea is to give the instant whirwind to deception, as a one min cd it has to be used well but can make the difference when bursting down a target. The idea I favor though is to remove the current magnetism talent and replace it with a new talent that adds a 20% healing debuff to force slow. This creates a ranged ability that slows the target and makes it more vulnerable at the same time while the effect can still be dispelled - Perfect! Now we would be a viable alternative to a sniper or marauder. For madness this should become again the main pve dps spec as it used to be pre 2.0 but it still needs to be tuned up ALOT to be in line with the other dps classes. The current changes thought out by the devs is for pvp only but they should just trash the idea of making madness viable in pvp. But since I am already at it I will give my thoughts on how it COULD be made viable for those enjoying this spec. It is pretty simple: the high tier talent that increases death field heal needs to be tuned to the level of KOTOR where it healed the caster for the full amount of damage done - meaning if i crit 4 targets for 5k each with my DF then i should get a 20k self heal at the same time. Sounds OP? Due to madness squishiness it would still take only 2 dps bursting on us without a guard to bring us from 100% to 0 in a few globals. Needless to say that this super self heal can not made be available to the sorc class or hybrids and it should require lightning charge. Now science fiction aside, let me explain how to buff madness for PVE to make it a desirable class in 8 and 16 man nightmare or hard mode ops. The overall dmg output needs to be tuned up for sure. This can be done by increasing the dot damage or by getting maul and melee back into the rotation (i favor the latter due to the unique assassin playstyle to combine melee with force attacks). But i do not want it to outdps pure classes like snipers and maras, instead what madness needs is a unique utility that is highly desirable in an ops environment and my ideas for this is to give creeping terror an additional effect that increases damage from all sources by 5% as long as the dot is up on the target (so pretty much all the time). This idea came from me playing moonkin in wow and while the dps was never top, the crit aura gave something unique to the class - a raidwide buff. This extra effect for creeping terror should of course come for both the sorc and the assassin and it should not stack with itself. This way at least every 16 man would want to have either one madness sorc OR one madness assassin especially for nightmare modes. I know this was a lot to read and I thank you for your interest in my ideas. Please keep the criticism constructive : )

Nice try to give excuses for your losses against a team that used two sorcs which is one of the most underperforming classes since arenas. Fact is that you got outplayed and the only reason why they were able to pull that off is because their whole team consisted of worldclass players in regards of their own class while your team only had 3 top skilled players and your tank was really slacking. Or can you explain how he does EVERY round 1/3 or sometimes even only 1/4 of the dmg from Liege when both are jugg tanks? I am surprised that you didn't swap him out after the first 2 losses.

Hey there, Darkkitten I wanted to take some time to write you a detailed guide on how you should handle sin vs. sin fights. Basically, there are 3 factors that will decide the outcome of the fight: Gear, Spec and player skill. That means that regardless of how good the first 2 factors are, you still need to be competitive in the 3rd part in order to achieve victory - and that you can only get through tons of practice, so I suggest you duel as much as you can with a slightly better player before moving on to harder opponents. For the spec, I use this (running in dark charge with a DPS modded shield): http://www.swtor-spy.com/skill-tree-calculator/sith-assassin/11/?build=022330001121020000000000000000000322230021112032001022000000000000000000000000000000000000000000&ver=20 It combines the best possible 1v1 defense from talents while maintaining a high burst capability. Force management is horrible but the nature of the sin duel is that they are quick and deadly and do not require a prolonged force regen. For the gear, I do gear towards full power over crit because I rely on my energized shocks for burst that are 100% crit already. I do have 1 enhancement with accuracy that gets me to 94.97% which is enough against most classes. But against sins it could be higher due to the higher defense. Now lets assume both sins start out in stealth. If ur opponent is full deception then you have the advantage in stealth detection and getting the opener. Regardless of who gets opener you should have placed your phasewalk at the beginning. Scenario 1: You get the opener Abilities to use: Spike, into low slash, cast crushing darkness, follow up with your 4 sec stun that will white bar him. Why spike? 3 reasons: - It adds another 600-800 dmg to your opener. - It makes ur low slash always hit (incapacipated target has 0 defense). - it adds another attack that might proc duplicity for maul. Now at this point there are 3 things that can happen as a reaction to your opener. 1 - he could eat the full opener risking to eat a ton of damage depending on your procs. 2 - he could break the stun and shroud off the dot part of crushing darkness. 3 - he could phase walk away in the moment you cast the crushing darkness, neglecting a big part of your opener. In case of number 1: You have a great chance of winning but can't use your vanish to sap/regen later on. In case of number 2: You are still a bit ahead in the fight and should immidiately use the following abilities: Force shroud and deflection (to prevent low slash and stun). Also you can Sap/regen later on in the fight when his resolve resetted. In case of number 3: It is pretty much mid game from this moment on and you still want to follow up with ur stun once he's in range unless he shrouds very early. Scenario 2: You lose the opener There are several ways to lose an opener, I am going to list the in my opinion best course of action for each. 1. He simply attacks with a range ability to get you out of stealth. Reaction: Be quick and low slash him before he can use another ability. Then proceed as if you got the opener. 2. He saps you in stealth, starts crushing darkness cast. Reaction: Phase walk away, basically resetting the stealth game - during stealth, always make sure to have dark ward up and use your sprint whenever it is up. 3. You get spiked or low slashed or both. Reaction: best action would be to phase walk immidiately, however especially in WZ fights this might not always be an option. In that case you can either low slash as soon as you are able to act, or use the breaker when white barred followed by shroud and deflection and start doing some damage to him. ------------------------------ Mid fight general guidelines: You have many defensive cds, use them all but do not overlap them too much: - dark ward: should be up at all times - shrould and deflection: these have a great synergy and make u nearly immune for a few seconds - overcharge saber + warzone adrenal: 40% dmg reduction for 15 seconds + 15 % heal: this is a great way to counter deception assassin burst - darkswell: makes sure to get the maximum 24 seconds from this effect over the course of the fight At the same time, observe his cds and react acordingly: - when he shrouds: use low slash and melee attacks. - when he deflects: use force attacks. - when he uses both: use your own cds to even it up - for ur attacks, use melee exclusively for the duration of shroud, saber strike if ur low on force and trash if you are high on force. A few more general things: When you try to vanish-sap, make sure to have 50+ force to make it instant and also make sure to use it after he used an ability between global cooldowns to not accidently get stuck in combat. Against deception, when you know he stiil has his breaker, it might be wiser to not use vanish at all because it resets his recklessness another time. Sorry for the long post, I tried to make it as readable as possible. And remember that only practice helps you to get better. Regards

"Jugg Tank is mandatory, although VG can substitute this spot with almost complete efficiency. Shadow tanks are absolutely horrible and their PvE issues are actually shining in Arena more than before. But this also brings up the other issue: How exactly would you tone down Juggernauts to make the other two tanks more applicable? Or should we just buff the other two? (Especially Assassin) By default, Juggernauts in their design are superior in tanking, so how would you make the others comparable?" I got an easy fix for this one. Force pull becomes a base skill for assassins (Deception needs it more than tank anyways) and the vacant talent becomes replaced by a talent with an awesome name that decreases the soak dmg from guard by 20%. (number can be higher/lower, was just writing down what seemed to be reasonable at first thought).

I wanted to add to this discussion my concerns about the phase walk delay and the unreliability. First the activation delay causes us to continue taking damage during the teleport and often die at the new location. This would be like a sorc activating force barrier but still dying from dmg for half a sec after activation. I think a sorc would be pissed about that as well if that happened. The second point that I would like to get worked on is the fact that phase walk does not seem to work sometimes even when indicated in range. This is very frustrating at times as nothing is gained, yet a cooldown is triggered. If the teleport is not taking place, because it is activated out of range, why does it trigger the cd instead of giving an out of range message? If I do not use the teleport during its 2 minutes, why does it trigger a CD instead of me being able to place a new base right away? All in all I am happy with the class overall and even tho madness is not viable atm, the class still has many viable useful specs that are both fun and competitive.