I agree with the OP. Tanking companions are almost always less efficient then other types of companions making them irrelevant. Its crazy to me people are arguing with you about it. Some people are even going to the point of wasting a crew skills slot (biochem) just for the sole purpose of using a tanking companion? So rather than BW putting a little buff to out of combat healing you think choosing a crew skill specifically for tanking companions is the better option? I wouldn't waste your time with them, they clearly don't want to listen to a thing you're saying. Its amazing to me the lengths people go to ignore any and all possible improvements to this game.

You know what would solve this problem? Duel Spec and a quick gear swap option. We need a feature that allows players to switch between two specs at a push of a button (rather than have to respec each and ever time) and we also need to quick button that allows a player to switch between two sets of gear. This will make PvP easier as a player can switch between PvP and PvE gear easier but it would really go a long way to solving long FP queues. Why you ask? Because leveling as a tank is a pain and its boring (yes I know you love it but for everyone else its slow and boring. This way they can still level as DPS, do dailies as DPS and switch to Tank stuff on the fly when queuing for a FP. This would incentivize more people to tank FP because they don't have to sacrifice daily and leveling efficiency to do it. Now let me address some of the counter arguments: 1. We already have a respec option. We do but its not enough. Having to reset up your spec trees and keybinds every time you enter a flashpoint is a pain in the rear. You can even argue it only takes two minutes. But that's two minutes people don't want to spend fighting with their UI. If we want more tanks, we should make the transition between tanking and DPS as streamlined as possible. This would also include some kind of option to switch between two sets of gear on the fly. 2. Implementing these features is too difficult. I find that hard to believe. WoW has features just like it and their devs figured it out just fine. BW shouldn't find it too much more difficult. 3. I personally don't like these features/think they are unneeded. Good for you. Enjoy not using them. 4. Such a streamlined interface makes this game too easy/noob friendly. Some people find some sick twisted pleasure in combing through their menu screens, adjusting spec trees, key-binds and gear. That's not most people. This game should be hard and difficult but the difficulty should be found within the content itself. This argument confuses nerfing with accessibility. The above features would make content more accessible (easier to access and enjoy) while not necessarily making the content itself face roll (nerfing). You can do the former without the later. 5. The overall quality of tanks and healers will decrease. I think this objection is a fair one. With DPS being able to access tank gear/specs easier, they will probably not be as good. However this is where you have to weigh the good with the bad. If I'm a good DPS who puts out decent dmg and has good awareness (thinks to offtank mobs off healer, cc's appropriately etc...) then I should be able to make up for a lackluster tank. Even if overall tank quality does go down, cutting the queue times significantly will be worth it. So here you have it BW. Duel spec/duel gear equip is a MUCH NEEDED FEATURE simply because it will ultimately make queue time shorter. People will spend more time playing the game and less time sitting around. That will keep people playing which is what we all want.

BW will add this feature eventually. It will just be apart of legacy and cost 3 billion credits to unlock.

I'm pretty impressed with BW's 1.3 patch. It fixes 90% of the problems I have with this game. Great job BW. If the server tansfers do their job the multiplayer element in this game will be a blast.

How long do patches typically spend on the PTS before they are released? Though BW has been saying Soon for transfers for a while now, 1.3 moving to the PTS tommorrow is encouraging news. They said that transfers will be coming before the patch hits so it shouldn't be much longer now. Only a few weeks until I can level a Scoundrel Healer using Flashpoints!

Can we just assume when people say "dungeon" they mean "flashpoint"? This constant need to correct people is getting tiresome. It's like people hate WOW so much that the word "dungeon" scares them,

BW is taking an incredible risk with refusing to make the LFG tool cross server. If these transfers don't work out then all the new content in the world isn't going to mean anything if nobody can play it. I'm really excited about 1.3 as it fixes 90% of my problems with this game (why no duel spec BW?). This will only be the case if server transfers work correctly. If people end up transfering all of the place then the LFG tool will be useless. I think it would be wise for BW to develop the cross server tech now and then implement it to save the game if transfers don't work out. Because right now, this game will be saved or broken in the next few months.

I've played a Jedi Knight to 50, Trooper to 37 and Sith Warrior to 31. I'm really excited to level a Scoundrel (healer) but I'm waiting for server transfers and LFG tool so that I can level primarily through healing flashpoints/PvP and space combat and just do class story quests. I'm getting pretty tired of doing the same world quests and side quests. I'm ready to just do some instance leveling for a while. I just wish BW would make the LFG tool cross server so that wait times won't be too long....

If they put rated warzones on hold in order to finish the LFG tool, then I'm okay with that.

AND THIS WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED IF WE HAD A CROSS SERVER LFG TOOL!!!!!!

Anecdotal evidence means nothing. Everyone had a different experience playing WOW. BW shouldn't withold X server LFG tools because you couldn't find a guild in WOW.

BW needs to make their LFG tool Cross-Server or they need to have a structured Server tansfer program in whichp players are clearly told which serves to transfer to in order to build a sustainable community across multiple servers. If they just offer server transfers people will either switch to fatman or just randomly select some other dead server to go to and we will have the same problem. If they do the transfers right, the LFG tool should work for a while. Eventually they will need to make it x-server. People have left the game because endgame PVE (and flashpoints while leveling) are unplayable right now. People will leave the game if the LFG tool has 30-45 minute que times. Cross server must happen at some point. They might be able to wait a bit if server tansfers are done right but they will need to upgrade eventually.

You should have been in my guild. It was amazing. We did progression raids twice a week, raids from WOTLK and BC onother nights for funsies, had fishing contests, dance parties, barfing contests, Heroic Dungeon runs, Dailies. We did it all. It was some of the most fun I've ever had playing a video game ever. It was even post cataclysim.

Interesting, Revan made me love Scourge. He is not your typical chest beating Sith Lord.

I like the community optional system most MMOs have now. Some people just don't want to socialize but still want to play MMO's for other reasons (all the more true with TOR as it has a great solo leveling experience). However with the creation of guilds and the features it provides, modern MMOs have given players the ability to create mini communities for themselves that, while maybe not as large as an entire server, still a maintain an equal if not closer level of intimacy and social interaction. Therefore options like cross-server LFG tools and the like don't really affect those close knit communities but give those who arn't really apart of a guild a chance to run group content in a consistent basis. I'd rather a game not shove socializing down my throat but have features that let me decide how much socializing I want to do on any given day.