Which 2 sets do you go with? a high and low MR or an average and low MR?

/agree

One of the things I like about this game is the balance between healers and tanks. All 3 of each can equally achieve the end result of clearing the content, but each class goes about it a different way - and I see this as a strength. For healers it is recognised mercs are great spike healers and ops have great HOTs. Because of these differences, you gear each healer classes different to capitalise on their strength (in terms of crit//power/surge/alacrity). The premise here that you can get each tank to have exactly the same % for D S A doesn't make sense to me for the same reason. Each tank has different strengths and as such should be geared accordingly (i.e. differently to capitilise on these strengths). Juggs live on Def, PTs on Sheild and Sins on Abs (and a touch of Def for good measure). Each tank doesn't need to be the same, rather they excel when their strengths are played, each achieving the same end result by using a very different method to get there. Just cos a Sin gets 54% rating from inherent abilities, doesn't mean that 54% then becomes the target for Jugg and PT's for the same stat. That logic ignores the fact the classes are different by design and have different strengths that needs to be exploited. Your statement I quote seems to indicate your assumption is that all 3 tanks can be shoved in the same bucket and made to perform equally... well, this may be the case, but it is unlikely to be optimal as you are not bringing each class up to the top, but forcing the other class down to the average. The 3 tanks are inherently different, a strength of this game, don't try to make them the same.

Lol touché

Ah yes, great reminder, I used to do that on my healer a lot, but have found I do it less so now that I tank more. Very handy trick though, especially on that tank swap on those pesky walkers

All 3 healers are end game PVE viable, Really up to you which you prefer. Curently merc is best single target, with good AoE, reasonable mobility. Sorc is best mobility, good single target, reasonable AoE. Op is best HoT/AoE class, good mobility, reasonable single target. In terms of dps in healspec, Merc=Sorc >> Op. Merc in the IO spec is currently the highest parsing spec for DPS, but there are number of great specs to play for DPS, all bring something to the table and come produce the needed numbers if handled right. Assassin Madness spec, Sorc Lightning spec, one the PT DPS specs for example are all pulling good numbers. Basically every class will have a spec that is "competitive". All 3 tanks are well balanced and there is not much between them, they just achieve the result a slightly different way. Only issue is Jugg tank DPS is low, but getting buffed next patch. All 3 have a good DPS option, so it is really up to you if you want to play a CD monster (Jugg), a sheild monster (PT) or a steathly monster (Sin). Can't really comment on PVP.

Having played tank and healer, I think some of the best feedback you can get as a healer, is to ask the tank how he thought the heals went. Not much point in asking DPS, as most of them don't even notice when their HP bars drop, they just get to the end of the fight and are like, "I'm still alive, marvellous..." I think the most important thing a good healer does is to communicate - a lot! Talk with ur co-healer, agree if you are going to do MT/raid healing roles, or look after your own group, or just both watch the whole raid. Call out if your resource is low, or someone is out of range. Talk to the tanks, work out when to rely on tank CD's and when to use yours. Knowing the fights is key, knowing when to line up big heals, and when you have time to refresh HOTs. Healing really starts to shine when you can look at what is happening in the raid and become intuitive in your response - do you throw a big AoE, do you tunnel the tank, do you throw a few short casts cos you know you will have to get mobile in 5sec and want to save your instants. Best advice I ever got was to look up! You need to see what is going on in the raid, not just stare down those raid frames. Also, I use the focus target a lot, either for the boss, so I can see when he starts to cast a big mechanic type moves, or the tank if I need to keep track of him for a tank swap, or a cleanse or something. Changes each fight. Keybind your set focus to something quick and easy. While rotations are less important as healer, you need to understand a good burst sequence that doesn't kill your resources completely, (or if ur are able to use something like vent heat), and nice steady state efficient mode where you can sit there and heal all day. and lastly, I really mean last, if not much is going on, know how to dump some dps if things are quiet. I played merc, and would keep up net on the boss, and if I had time, DFA and unload were close at hand. Just be careful though, someone dying while you are dpsing is VERY bad if you are a healer.

@Ziggy - Love the questions you are asking! Sounds like you have the basics well and truly covered in terms of what you do each night, fight, etc, what I would call the "hard" or observable skills (you can inspect gear, check logs, see where ppl are standing, etc). Good Now it seems you are trying to work through the "soft" skills of managing a group, this stuff takes time In terms of bringing others up to the expectations, it is a case of communicating them in a way that others understand, and this is likely to be different for each person in your team, especially a 16 man team. Some ppl need to be told up front, direct, like a truck hit them; some need to be asked; some need to be gently prodded, repeatedly; others need to be encouraged to think of it as their own idea before they agree... you get the idea. The main issue here is you never compromise on your standards, else you undermine all the efforts you have put in to setting them - just be nice about it! One thing to do here is explain why, people are generally more accepting if they understand why a certain limit, boundary, expectation is in place. If you can't explain why, you need to question if that expectation is valid in the first place. It is good to trust people to be doing the right thing, and no one likes to be singled out for doing the wrong thing. There are always two ways say things - generally one positive and one negative (trivial example: "don't all talk at once" vs "please one person talk at a time"). If all someone ever hears is no, don't, bad, negative, negative, life gets pretty bleak. Yes, do, please, I like the way you did that, thanks, If we could all try to... tend to set a much happier atmosphere. A few ways I get around this - first is to be honest, admit your own mistakes ("sorry, missed my cooldown and ran through fire, lets go again and I'll get my bit right this time"). This starts the process of opening up communication and setting the tone for the group. Hopefully 2 things will happen, others may realise they also did the wrong thing and will quietly fix it and hope no one notices next pull (although you might notice and can encourage them afterwards or via /w); and better yet, others will start to admit their mistakes and initiate the discussion after a wipe. Second, after a wipe, always ask the group "what happened" or "how come" (but never "what went wrong", as that is negative and sounds accusing). Even if you know or saw what the issues were, you want others to identify them as well so they are not blindly waiting to be told what to do - you want them to be proactive, observant, involved. (Obviously you need to steer the conversation if it gets off course here!) Get buy in for new ideas, suggestions, etc, but then you make the call for any adjustments to strats to ensure agreement: "Great idea Oxi, let's try that on this attempt". This helps balance the team involvement and the leader providing the direction. Initially you may not get many answers, but this should come over time and ppl start to realise their input is valued. I would suggest it is not helpful to be silent if you have seen something obviously wrong (e.g. someone ran into fire, not out...), chances are someone else saw it, and if it happens again and you wipe, you have just wasted 10 mins of 15 ppls time that night, and other team members can start to get annoyed. Either talk in general terms ("saw a few ppl in the fire, remember we said to run south when this ability happens" - be specific in instructions as per your strat); you can /w someone (saves them embarrassment); or if you see it mid fight, call it as it happens, the person will move and everyone else is too busy with what they are doing to have a go at that person. Only if it happens repeatedly do I call someone specifically on it in-between fights and then make sure I move onto a positive about something we did right in the fight, so you don't give anyone else the chance to jump in and ridicule the offender. This gets easier once ppl realise you are only trying to improve the group, not single out individuals. It is all about valuing ppl, their input, celebrating success, maintaining those standards and focusing on the areas to approve - I know that sounds cliche and wanky, but you do it in a way that suits your style and personality - trust me, I would never use those words when I speak! Hope you find that wall of text helpful, it is helping me think through how I lead as type it! Please ask if you have more questions. PS - as I said before, the fact you are asking means you value the need to improve, this speaks volumes! In terms of success as a leader, I would measure that in the soft things: how well does the group get on, does the group argue or discuss constructively, does the group volunteer suggestions, mats, cash to help others gear up, are they working together, and most importantly, is everyone having fun?!?!?! - remember, it is only a game to be enjoyed! Your value as a raid leader will only be measured on the nights you are not there and everyone says something was missing from that raid... I would base your success at tanking not on DtPS, but on questions like "did I die (cos I missed a CD, or stood somewhere bad)", "did someone else die cos a mob hit them and not me", "was I in the right place at the right time"? i.e. Was I doing my job correctly? The problem with DtPS is that everyone has a part to play in minimising dmg received and reducing stress on healers, not just tanks. Ensure you gear is sorted, you know your class and you know the strats and fights - you can't go too far wrong as a tank

new guide posted today http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=791244

Thanks, great in depth guide! Well worth the read.

The fact you are asking is a good thing. Leadership is a balance between providing direction and boundaries (i.e. the strat, who calls the adds, etc), enforcing those boundaries (ensuring everyone who turns up is augmented, knows their rotations, etc), listening to suggestions, being able to take advice, then making a timely decision; and finally valuing the team members. Everyone has a role to play, and in a progression raid team, each of those roles is important. Doesn't matter whether tank, healer or dps, each needs to do their job right to make things happen. As raid lead, you need to know what those roles are, help and encourage others to fulfill them, have the courage to pull them up if they are not doing them, and have the respect to acknowledge those who excel and provide valuable contributions to the team... oh, and of course nail your own role! See it is easy There is a big difference between good and great raid leaders.

Agree, love the chest pieces where the jet pack "works", as far as I know, this only happens on BH specific gear, mainly from class quests or other places. Unfortunately for me I cleaned out my bank of a lot of stuff a while back and got rid of most of my BH specific stuff... hence the search for new gear! Thanks for your suggestions, they are helpful. Agree there are many different looks, I like to see what others think and hoping someone will point something out that I haven't found yet on Tor-Fashion that catches my eye!

--> Excel file here <-- with data from the original post copied on 5-Jan-15. Hope that helps

Hey, The quote from the holonet says "Heavily-modded blasters and deadly heatseeking missiles make the Mercenary a mobile heavy weapons platform." (link) This description has always appealed to me, but it focusses on the weapons. I've always thought a weapons platform needed a good base to start with, but have never really found a good chest armor to suit. Something that is big, heavy, either has lots of ammo or large armor plates, you know, kinda like a walking APC. Up to now I have worn the Contract Hunter set from bounty broker rep (with different helm), and it has sufficed, but time for a change with 3.0, so the search is on. Have considered Stalwart Protector, Section Gaurdian, even Star Forager, but they just don't quite get there. Current preference is chest, legs, boots from the War Hero Eliminator set (crafted off GTN), with the helm from the TT-16B set. Anyone got any other thoughts?

There is a tiny little magnifying glass on the top right of dulfy's site that when you clilck on it opens a search box, it is pretty good at finding the right page if you type the name of the FP/op I think key to your bucketlist success will be finding a suitable guild, shop around till you find one with helpful like minded star wars fanatical fans in it