Won't leave - no balls.

You need a shield for your guard. Just because you're not stacking shield rating doesn't mean guarding other players is ineffective.

Originally posted here. LG 5760x1080 Surround Monitors Intel i7-5930K @ 4.2GHz on 6 cores/12 threads EVGA Superclock GTX 980 Ti dual SLi (but I have SLi disabled for this game, so it's just using 1 card) MSI Pro X99 PNY 32Gb DDR4 2800 Mushkin 120Gb SSD in 2x RAID-0 WD Black 1Tb in 2x RAID-0 WD Green 2Tb Interestingly, with this beast rig of mine, SWTOR runs comparatively terrible in 16 mans, only second to Tera. I only get about 50-60 FPS with all settings maxed when I'm in a WZ - keeping in mind that my card is drawing only 1/4 less than the number of pixels of a true UHD 4K display. If I turn all setting to their lowest while still keeping my resolution, I still only get about 90-100 FPS in warzones because the game is not utilizing all 12 threads past about 40-60% each.

LGA 5760x1080 Surround Monitors Intel i7-5930K @ 4.2GHz on 6 cores/12 threads EVGA Superclock GTX 980 Ti dual SLi (but I have SLi disabled for this game, so it's just using 1 card) MSI Pro X99 PNY 32Gb DDR4 2800 Mushkin 120Gb SSD in 2x RAID-0 WD Black 1Tb in 2x RAID-0 WD Green 2Tb Interestingly, with this beast rig of mine, SWTOR runs comparatively terrible in 16 mans, only second to Tera. I only get about 50-60 FPS with all settings maxed when I'm in a WZ - keeping in mind that my card is only drawing 1/4 less than the number of pixels of a true UHD 4K display. If I turn all setting to their lowest while still keeping my resolution, I still only get about 90-100 FPS in warzones because the game is not utilizing all 12 threads past about 40-60% each.

I really have no idea why BW decided to remove the basic colour crystals from mainhands/offhands. Seems like a bad marketing move, but there's not enough of a push towards CM crystals to say it really is marketing strategy. I don't know - I just think some downie kid at BW got his wish.

These are all pretty terrible nerf suggestions. Really, what needs to be nerfed in the bonuses derived from Rejuvinate's procs, and swap the mobile casting from Healing Trance to Deliverance. Those two simple things would be far more effective while still giving the class a distinct play style and efficiency in PVP/PVE.

lol 8/8 gr8 b8 m8

The OP is talking about the drivers crashing and recovering - not the game. Driver crashes are typically the result of one - or the combination of - three things: 1. Overclock is too high. 2. Heat is too high. 3. Not enough available power for the current clock (default included). Fixes for the above can include: 1. Reduce clocks OR Increase voltage and/or power target. 2. Reduce voltage and/or apply aggressive fan rpm curves. 3. Reduce voltage and/or reduce number of unneeded components drawing from the PSU (e.g. fans, optical drives, dedicated physx cards). The game now places much more strain on graphics hardware due to a multitude of factors, which includes poorly optimized shaders. Just because you were able to run the game fine pre-3.0 does not mean your card is stable with the added effects of SoR. The game is also suffering from frame buffering issues, causing stutter and high draw latencies.

If you're sitting at a desk, and you only want a single monitor, then you'd be fine to go with a 27-32" 1440p display. Your card can more than handle this game at 2560x1440. I would recommend BenQ or Asus for the high-end WQHD monitors, and it will cost you. However, the price is very well worth it for a single display. With that said, you really can't beat an Eyefinity/Surround display setup. With your card, you could easily power three 22" 1600x900 displays with game graphic settings maxed (other than cascading and shadow map size due to memory limitations). If you're looking for 1080p Eyefinity, you may have to turn off AA, and go for lower settings in Shaders and Shadows. Either way, you're still only looking at a 300-450 USD investment for three AOC entry-level monitors.

I keep on telling myself I'll do it later, but you know how that goes. I stopped making videos because I was having issues with encoding, and I had to format my boot drives to do a clean install of Win7. It was just a huge pain in the ***, and I spent weeks battling the encoding issue, so I was really burnt-out on making videos. I'm actually leveling a Shadow to 55 right now, but I'll be making a new Pyro/Assault guide for 2.8...later. lol

I'm not 100% with you on what you mean by "filling that GCD," so, sorry if I don't hit the nail on the head here. I used to use ED as a normal part of my rotation back in 1.7 because IM was expensive and didn't do a lot of damage. I'd basically ED (closing-in) , TD, FB, RS, RP, RS. It was an extra bit of damage. Now, however, I find it the opposite in regards to the damage IM does per its heat cost. It's been fixed for a long time, but it's especially effective since 2.8, right? Well, now I'm basically going RpS (closing-in), TD, IM, RS, RP, RS and then a bunch of FB and RpS depending on heat and other factors - then my RS procs, and hit with that. Then a couple more RpS or FB until TD is off CD, and I save my RP for the RS proc. You know how it works from there. In a perfect world, that would be my static rotation, but there are chances I get to throw out a Flame Sweep for the dots, or an ED for the juke, or to keep an Op/Sin from stealthing out (just in case the Sin's tech/force immunity is on CD). It's just all extremely situational and completely depends on who or what I'm fighting; that's why I don't include it in a static rotation. I still use it often, though, just more for utility rather than applying it for straight offensive DPS. I really hope that answers what you are asking, and it helps you understand where I'm coming from.

It's so highly underrated and I hardly see any PT's use it. Such a shame. While Pyro Shield can be an effective deterrent against incoming damage, it's my opinion the points are better spent into VI if we're talking about offensive tactics. My point of view lies on VI being decent aoe damage which keeps healers very busy, and it keeps their cleanse on CD. I can't count the times I've been sitting on top of a healer, they run through a group of their teammates, and I've been able to hit them with a Flame Sweep. Back and forth they go, through their group, for "protection." Which actually brings me to your next point: I, personally, never really have an issue with heat management in this spec. Back years ago when I switched from NORS to Pyro, I had a hard time because NORS was definitely more heat efficient. However, in that time, I've learned how to effectively weave Rapid Shots in between abilities once-in-a-while, and it comes naturally at what could be considered barely even a marginal DPS loss. Before 2.8, when I was still running 2 points in GAJ, I found myself pretty much never using TSO or VH even a single time during a match. I seem to get a 50/50 reaction out of my ED juke. Like you said - people are either too tunneled or too unaware most of the time. ED is is just too expensive to use for as little damage as it does; except for juking and stopping caps right before you go down. I think it really comes down to playstyle and personal preference. At the end of the day, not all players are going to have the exact same methods, and my playstyle allows me to shift around a few points to better suit my highly aggressive style of offense. There is no perfect "god" spec, and sometimes it pays to play around with points.

lol I made something like this like a year and a half ago and posted on the VG forums. Even used the exact same stock pic for the controller. http://imageshack.com/a/img546/6119/assaultvanguardpvppromo.jpg

This guide needs an update for 2.8, but most of the information is okay. I only see Shoulder Cannon mentioned once in the entire guide. Shoulder Cannon is so clutch for so many reasons. It's literally free DPS which is off the normal GCD rate. It's used for burst, guarding nodes when you get mezzed/stunned, and stun retaliation. Always have it on CD, unless you're guarding a node. Don't activate it if you're guarding a node solo - wait until you get stunned, THEN activate it, because otherwise you might get mezzed while it's on CD because you didn't use any rockets for 5 min. The 2 points in Pyro Shield should be spent in Infrared Sensors, and the points spent in Gyroscopic Alignment Jets should be spent in Volatile Igniter. IR gives a damage mitigation bonus, and WAY better stealth detection. The 2 additional points of detection is way underrated. VI is also more important now due to the changes in DOT damage through Power Bracer. Flame Sweep now does the channel damage of Flame Thrower without having to spend more than 1 GCD outside of your normal rotation. Don't use it as a DPS filler, only use it once every 4 GCD MAX when 4 or more enemies are grouped together, and ONLY when you are able to trigger Thermal Sensor Override (when using more than once in a single in-combat instance). In addition, it makes AOE cap stopping more heat effective. Also, use of Explosive Dart is not recommended unless you're trying to juke soemone into blowing defensive CD's so you can line up your burst. The only time it should be used outside of juking is to plant on an enemy trying to cap if you're about to die. The splash damage will also interrupt other cappers nearby. Your relics should be Serendipitous Assault (Power) and Focused Retribution (Mainstat). The mainstat relic works better for bonus damage + Crit due to our aim skill synergy. That's about 150 extra bonus damage and 1.4% crit if you only take 2/3 in Steely Resolve. Which brings me to my next point; Go 2/3 Steely Resolve and pick up Prototype Cylinders for the additional DOT crit. It's better than the ~90 AIM, at this point, due to our Power Bracers buff. Otherwise, I agree with almost all of what the guide states. This is all my personal opinion, of course. It's just what I've learned from playing a Pyro PT/Assault Van for in pvp 2.5 years, and belonging to pvp-only guilds.

Perhaps you were seeing your buffs vanish when the server and client calculated your death, but your death animation had not started and portrait had not yet updated this info. There is a split-second delay between what actually happens "behind the scenes" and the any of the health bars on any of the UI elements. It's just a split second, but when you're "in the zone" it can seem like a million years at least. This can be exacerbated when you're lagging (even just the slightest bit). I'm not saying that's exactly what happened, but I'm just saying it's a possibility.