I am on Shadowlands (east coast US server) and having the same problem.

I would much prefer to get rid of bolster entirely. If they do, I will renew my subscription when it expires. I just don't think Bioware would do this, since they seem to exclusively cater to PVE. If they are set on bolster, they have said they don't want to bring back recruit gear. My thoughts are that they should bolster or nerf PVE gear accordingly to basically transform it into recruit gear in warzones. It should definitely be worse than Partisan or Conqueror (that's the 5%/10% I talk about above) in WZs.

I have 1.5 months left on my subscription. Due to bolster, I am planning on unsubscribing. I was just wondering if I will get my next cartel coin grant if I unsubscribe now, or if I lose it since I am no longer on the renewal plan. If I would lose it, I will just cancel my subscription closer to the deadline. If anyone cares...I mostly PVP for the community and gear grind. Since bolster makes PVE gear just as (or more) viable as PVP gear, it is pointless for me to spend endless hours going nowhere. Between my toons, I have played over 81 days (almost 2000 hours) worth of SWTOR and love the game. If bolster is removed from level 55 WZs or fixed before my subscription is up, I will definitely re-sub, but I doubt that is going to happen. They may fix it in the distant future, but if a new PVP gear tier is released around the same time, all the effort to obtain Partisan/Conqueror gear will have given me no benefit in the end. I don't have a problem with a more even playing field, but min-maxed Conqueror gear should still perform a little better than any PVE gear set. I agree with the analogy that PVEers would be up in arms if there was a flashpoint/operation bolster that made my Conqueror gear better than their min-maxed, top tier PVE gear.

Assume conqueror gear is top tier PVP gear (as it should be). Increase partisan gear to have the same amount of main and secondary stats with whatever percentage less expertise. Goal would be for other gear to be a chosen percentage less expertise than conqueror/partisan. Bolster/diminish other stats to equal the amount of endurance/main stat/power/crit/surge/alacrity of PVP gear. For example: Leave Conqueror Force Master's Headgear as is: 146 Endurance 136 Willpower 150 Expertise 66 Crit 64 Alacrity Change Partisan Force Master's Headgear 137 Endurance --> 146 Endurance 128 Willpower --> 136 Willpower 150 Expertise --> 142 Expertise (5% less than Conqueror. I haven't calculated how big of a difference, but just for an example. Others with better understanding of mechanics can figure out what percentage would be appropriate) 63 Crit --> 66 Crit 60 Alacrity --> 64 Alacrity This basically makes Partisan exactly Conqueror with whatever percentage less expertise. PVE gear bolster would be a little more complicated, but still simple. Adjust the endurance/main stat/power/crit/surge/alacrity to the same amount as Conqueror and then throw in expertise at a little lower percentage than Partisan. Since players need to be able to optimize their gear to their liking (some builds require more crit, while some require more power), add up the stats of Conqueror (146 Endurance + 136 Willpower + 66 Crit + 64 Alacrity = 412) and nerf/bolster the PVE gear to this same number of stats, but in the same percentage each player choses) Examples: Underworld Force Master's Headgear: 172 Endurance 157 Willpower 109 Critical 79 Surge 172 + 157 + 109 + 79 = 517. This becomes the denominator and is used to calculate the percentage of each individual stat and in this case, nerfed to the 412 of Conqueror gear. 172 Endurance (172/517 = 33.3%) 0.333 x 412 = 137 Endurance 157 Willpower (157/517 = 30.4%) 0.304 x 412 = 125 Willpower 109 Critical --> 87 Critical 79 Surge --> 63 Surge Then add in expertise --> 135 Expertise (10% below Conqueror. Again, someone else calculate the exact ideal percentage) Merr-Sonn Consulate Cap (random level 53 green helm): 87 Endurance --> 132 Endurance 100 Willpower --> 152 Willpower 42 Power --> 64 Power 42 Surge --> 64 Power Then add in expertise --> 135 Expertise (10% below Conqueror. Again, someone else calculate the exact ideal percentage) The couple issues that would have to be accounted for are people using some modifications with expertise and some without in the same piece (same problem we currently have) and people trying to only find gear with a couple stats (like someone using a helm with only willpower and it getting buffed to 412 Willpower/135 Expertise). To fix the first situation, I would buff the expertise appropriately (if headpiece had total of 41 Expertise, 41/150 = 27% of Conqueror, so 27% of difference between PVE and Conqueror --> 139 Expertise) and then bolster the other stats accordingly. To fix the second situation, I would make there be a hard cap on each stat (again calculated by someone smarter than I am). As a side note, I do not think 1 Willpower = 1 Surge. Personally, I would adjust accordingly in final calculation (1 main stat = 0.5 Surge or something like that when calculating true denominators. I just tried to make calculations simple enough to follow. Sorry it is so lengthy, but in general this transforms any PVE gear into recruit equivalent. Any thoughts?

This is nice in theory, but surge can only be swapped for alacrity (which does little for a madness sorc). Crit can be swapped for power. Power/Crit can indirectly be swapped for willpower and endurance by grinding new mods/enhancements.

Everyone grab a group and queue up RWZ at 8 pm EST tonight (Sunday 9/30). Sick of getting rolled by Physics? Won't be a problem if we can get enough PUG/guild groups.

Don't I feel foolish. Thanks, that helps a ton.

Thanks, Captain Obvious. I want to know what the stats are on the individual mods/armorings/enhancements/etc. I can't control/right click them before I buy them. I'll give 10k credits to whoever helps (must be on Shadowlands and imperial). Exam of what I need: Weapon or offhand name: Armoring: x Endurance, x Willpower, x Expertise Mod: x Endurance, x Willpower, x Expertise, x Power Enhancement, Color Crystal, Hilt, etc. There are probably 2 different types of each mod and enhancement with varying stats.

I haven't bought these yet. Could someone list the components of one of theirs (including stats of armoring, mod, enhancement, crystal, etc.)? I just need a couple (class doesn't matter) of each so I can figure out what components are in the ones I'm considering to optimize my build. Thanks.

I am a strictly PVP Madness 8/2/31 build. I am mostly DPS but use 2 x dark mending, 3 x seeping darkness, 3 x lucidity to assist ballcarrier, etc. I am fully augmented war hero and have been swapping mods/enhancements to mostly improve survivability. Without stim I am currently: 1370 expertise, 1711 endurance, 1673 willpower (prebuff), 492 power, 1298 force power, 290 crit, 530 surge. Is it ok to keep sacrificing power/crit to increase endurance and willpower? Would you swap some surge for alacrity (i usually only heal around 100k per match)? Any glaring weaknesses? Any advice is much appreciated.

I am a strictly PVP Madness 8/2/31 build. I am mostly DPS but use 2 x dark mending, 3 x seeping darkness, 3 x lucidity to assist ballcarrier, etc. I am fully augmented war hero and have been swapping mods/enhancements to mostly improve survivability. Without stim I am currently: 1370 expertise, 1711 endurance, 1673 willpower (prebuff), 492 power, 1298 force power, 290 crit, 530 surge. Is it ok to keep sacrificing power/crit to increase endurance and willpower? Would you swap some surge for alacrity (i usually only heal around 100k per match)? Any glaring weaknesses? Any advice is much appreciated.

I recently spent weeks trying to research the best desktop options (mostly to run SWTOR). I could not find a premade desktop (similar price range to yours) that I was satisfied with for the price. The biggest issue is the graphics card. The higher end premade/major name brand PCs all had poor graphics cards. Here is a review of your gateway's graphics card: http://www.pcworld.com/article/254346/radeon_hd_7770_review_bare_minimum_for_serious_gamers.html For as much as you are spending, I would not be happy with "bare minimum for serious gamers". I started looking at premade gaming PCs (alienware, etc.), but those were all overpriced and not the best yield for your money. I started over and researched what specific components would be ideal and their prices. I used: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2404330,00.asp as a basis for my build (the $1000 build). I found a few reputable online companies that will build it for you for a fee, but they were using cheaper parts and charging $300+ for the build. I finally decided to make a list of components and had Microcenter build it for me. I ended up getting higher quality parts that I actually wanted for same price as a CPU that would not perform as well. They charged ~$100 for assembly and I was ready to go. They also offered a warranty with it. In general, you don't need an i7 processor (unless you are doing serious video editing), but I would look for a better video card than what you are considering. You can do a lot better for the money. You can save more if you are building yourself, but I didn't want to risk it personally. If you go with Microcenter, they pricematch. So, I'd print out prices on all components you are looking at from newegg.com. They also have a weekly sale ad, which saved me money on my motherboard. I can send you a list of my components if you are interested.

During PVP (especially Huttball), it can be difficult to target desired players (both teammates and enemies). -Is it possible to put a mark on the team list depicting the ballcarrier? That way you know instantly and click whoever has the ball and not have to look through the mob to find him/her. -Is it possible to make an enemy list similar to the teammate list on the UI so I can quickly target desired enemy in a crowd? Obviously, it would have to differ from teammates since it would be unfair to show that a stealth enemy was close. It would also be nice if there was a ballcarrier mark on the enemy player with the ball.

So, take the +1, Convection and Lightning Barrier and move them into Seeping Darkness and Lucidity? I don't use shock much, so is it reasonable to switch Chain Shock and Corrupted Flesh to Devour, Parasitism and one point in Oppressing Force? So that would leave: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#201GhZbZfRbRsMkrfz.1 I'll try that or: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#201GhZf0MZfR0Rsrzr.1

What are you using to reduce chain lightning activation? Wrath won't work anymore and you aren't using lightning storm. I was thinking something similar but hate waiting on chain lightning and lightning strike activation times (assuming lightning storm). I couldn't figure a useful lightning/madness hybrid and am switching to more of a full madness build.