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CBGB

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  1. Torbattles 'Operative' vs Torbattles 'Marauder,' just as I said, dropping the outliers for a solid average. That's more accurate than using the 'World' numbers, since so many of the classes have incomplete data. Sorcerers don't even have ten data slots. Commandos are worse, with half their "Top 10" scores as 0. And Mercenaries have two players entered, total. The site notes that it isn't being updated, so I went with the best data available. I was in a long Arena match yesterday. If you like long fights (like I do, much preferring them to blowouts), it was good fun, but since you like shorter ones, there you might have wanted a drop in healing. But then opposing team suddenly focused onto our Marauder. Without the defense of a tank or the damage-mitigation of a healer, he went down fast. We were then one short, and fell quickly after. There wasn't anything wrong with the balance of healing and DPS. All that was needed was an appropriate strategy.
  2. I'm comparing my own healing abilities to my own damage, so gear isn't the issue, nor am I assuming any particular rotation. And Torbattles supports what I'm saying. Look at the top 10 healing per second by Ops. Remove the outliers at the top and bottom, and you get a range of 1700/sec to 2500/sec. Now do the same with Marauders and DPS, and you get a range of 1900/sec to 2600/sec, exceeding the Op healing. Of course, maybe those top Ops need to improve their gear, spec, or rotation/gameplan. Whatever you think an Op should achieve, they really have only two heals to rely on while moving. Kolto Probe takes 18 seconds to deliver a heal smaller than what you could get at all once from Kolto Injection, if you could manage to cast for 2 seconds without interruption. Pretty meagre for an ability that would take 12 seconds of casting to stack on your arena team. The other heal-on-the-move, Surgical Probe, delivers half the healing of Kolto Injection and is subject to the global cd. Recuperative Nanotech, the remaining instant-cast heal available through the healing tree, also delivers less than Kolto Injection, is an energy hog, and has a 15 second cd. Op healing is fine. It works, when combined with a lot of survival abilities on cd, but there's no magic there.
  3. There seem to be misconceptions about the strength of Op healers, who are not the overpowered machines often claimed. Some numbers may help: While we can disagree about the best Arena times - I like longer matches and find one-minute blowouts dull - we don't need to disagree about the strength of Op heals. They're roughly equivalent to a single dps, no more. Take my 53 Op as a reference point. Kolto Injection, the strongest no-proc, no cd heal for an Op, does 2934-3307 points after a 1.94 sec cast. In 3 seconds, I can do that much damage with Overload Shot (another no-proc, no cd ability) and Shiv (6 sec cd), or Backstab, (12s), or Hidden Strike (7.5s). Heck, I can do it with Snipe alone (no cd), and I'm not a Sniper. The Kolto Probe HoT helps, but it's hardly a win-button: 2401 healing over 18 seconds. In six seconds, that's 800 healing. If you can't do 800 damage in six seconds at level 53, there's something wrong. Even 2 Kolto Probes rarely save a teammate. The big heals are Surgical Probe and Kolto Infusion, but only the former can be while moving, and Ops need to move under fire. A full healing spec gives you Nanotech, but even that is no HoT wonder: 2704 over six seconds, half of what you'd get from constant casting of Kolto Injection, and Nanotech has a 15 sec cd. To stay alive while under fire by two opponents and often even just one, an Op needs to use a huge range of abilities, including stuns, Cloaking Screen (2 min cd - a lifetime in Arenas), Shield Probe (45 sec cd), and a constant combination of HoTs and direct heals. Three or four attackers put out more damage than an Op can heal or mitigate; that's the plain math. Don't get me wrong: I love playing him. But my 55 Sage is far simpler for healing, and he doesn't suffer from lack of stealth, having a sort of upgraded vanish - a bubble that not only protects but heals at the same time and isn't subject to breaking from a DoT. I wouldn't complain if they reduce pushback for Sages/Sorcs (and especially for Comms/BH), but before you call for nerving the Op, make sure you have your numbers straight. They're fine… but not spectacular.
  4. We have one instant HoT, and it's not great. You can get a second one from the top of the healing tree, slightly better. Kolto Probe delivers 2371 healing over 18 seconds, at level 53. That's less than 800 over 6 seconds. If you can't do 800 damage in six seconds at level 53, your cat is sleeping on your keyboard. Stacked twice, it's still a minor HoT, useful mainly for its proc, needed for an instant heal. The heals you can count on are slow-cast: 2 seconds and 1.5 (also requiring a proc). The latter one (Kolto Infusion) has a HoT - maybe that's what you're thinking of? - but it isn't instant.-cast. That's it for many Operatives, since mixing trees is more common than for, say, a BH, who really needs the instant heal at the top. But even for those who have it, that other HoT is nothing spectacular (450/sec for 6 seconds), and it's on a 15 sec cd. I love my Op, but it's much, much easier to play my Sorc or Sage, without their conditional heals and without long cd's for damage mitigation.
  5. Returning player here, back for a month and very happy with Ebon Hawk for both PvE and PvP. Good folks.
  6. Updated for Ancient Hypergate. Strategy for it will become more refined, but for now, it's as forgiving as Voidstar. You can win even if much of your team sticks to deathmatching, as long as you have a few good souls retrieving orbs. That makes it much easier to deal with an average (or below-average) team: getting even one or two solid players to hit the objectives goes a long way.
  7. Yep. I don't mean to suggest that Civil War can be won by always going 2/0/6. As you say, any strategy can be met with a counter. But teams don't need to keep going 2/6/0 when they expect the other team to do the same, as they do in so many matches. The key is to get your team thinking about going where the enemy is not, instead of thinking they can go to the same place and win because of their mad skillz. Everyone thinks they're that guy - that good - and they're often not. But even when they are, they lose the other contested node with their average team. Remember, your PuGs are, on average, average. They'll lose when outnumbered. So don't get outnumbered. And what of that Superman player who heroically capped a node? He or she is now standing solo, waiting for dead teammates to respawn. That's a big deal in Novare, where the respawn is far away. It's less of a problem in Civil War, thanks to the direct speeders, but only if your teammates hustle to reinforce. In an average team they might or might not. That same Super-player could have made a difference at the other node in both cases, which they'd now hold with their teammates around them... and even an average team can see the benefit of that.
  8. Yep, and this would shut them off after a single post. You could make a more sophisticated algorithm to stop even the first one, but it'd take more effort. Among player attributes, for instance, you could also record on a scale of 0 to 9 how likely it is that someone is a spammer. New accounts would start at 7 or 8 and be unable to post with the words of known Gold-selling websites, then as the account behaved more normally, running missions and interacting with other players, the restriction could ease. Or, my favorite measure: instead of an obvious ban, block a spammer's messages from every account except his own. On his screen, and only his, he'd see his messages in General Chat, believing they were going through. Eventually, spammers would learn to check a second account for their posts, but it'd be blissfully quiet for awhile. Still, those approaches are more complicated and/or temporary. Effective, he automated solution I proposed is easy , fast, and enduring.
  9. Ha! I've initiated a vote-kick exactly once (yesterday!). (Another player rolled 'Need' for an alt without asking, insisting he could mail the BoP item; when politely corrected by his other teammates, he put us all on Ignore. The loot issue, while uncool, didn't prompt my vote, but not being able to read Party Chat did.) In any case, I don't blame you. I'll admit that roughly half my teams lack either a tank who Taunts or DPS who don't break CC, or both. Yet 90%+ of my runs are still successful, which means that you really can survive with players who barely know their class, as long as you follow the basic principles on the first page. This is in marked contrast to weak PvP groups. If there's a solid strategy for managing a weak WZ team, please share it. The best I've found is a few tips (see Herding Cats: Winning a WZ with a Less-than-Stellar (PuG) Team .) That's a great strategy, and the one I used yesterday, also with a lvl 35 Sorc, and another good example of the benefit of hanging in there. The tank didn't 'Guard' me or get aggro from multiple enemies, but he could hold it on a single-target, and that was enough. I had to Shield and HoT myself - and one of the DPS'ers - when I should not have needed to, but I've seen worse, as any healer has. I should clarify that my suggested strategy is one I use as last-resort. Four times, I've had groups that looked like they might be able to do the HK fight at all; multiple wipes, declining morale. Putting everyone on the spawns was our ticket out, but I wouldn't suggest it first. By all means, begin with DarthTHC's effective strategy.
  10. Good point about gear: it makes a big difference in level 50 WZ's, especially. But what I meant about not sending a team in lower numbers is that an average team - and really, what else is your typical PuG? - will lose where it has lower numbers. Say you have 2 to West (strong-side) in Novare, 1 to East (enemy-side), and 5 to South vs 2/6/0. Your team would lose South, where it made the biggest push, sending your dead teammates to the respawn point farthest from the East node you just took, mad skillz Superman that you are. If you'd gone South, you'd be holding a node with your teammates beside you. We don't need to disagree about the initial caps, since 2/0/6 will beat 2/6/0 every time: your team outnumbers theirs at both sides. I believe you're saying that mid/side is easier to hold, and I hear you. But while mid players can reach a side faster, the reverse isn't. Side to mid takes longer than side-to-side, and it requires a run past the enemy spawn point. The key point, though, is that with an average team, games are won by sending more of your players to a target node than the enemy does. 2/6/0 vs 2/6/0 in Civil War is a toss-up, yet it's the most common approach in Civil War, followed only by the miserable, unannounced 2/5/1, which gives your team superior numbers at only one node. Don't count on Superman out-deathmatching everyone in sight. Send more of your team to the target and win.
  11. 'Think of how dumb the average American is. And half the people are dumber than that.' - Carlin The problem: players focus on tactics (their mad skillz, or, if losing, the weak skillz of their lame teammates), when they really should focus on team strategy. Warzones are won, or lost, on strategy. The solution: are you kidding? This is a question for the ages. Weigh in with your thoughts, please. Dealing with a weak team in PvE is much easier (see Darwin's Foe: Healing the Hardest Groups). Here I have no solutions, only three tips. 1) When you want to capture a node, send more players there than the enemy does. This simple, obvious strategy is the most ignored in PvP. Too many players think they're Superman, and will win both a node and the game single-handed. When playing with an average (or lesser) team, that's not a wise plan. The 2/5/1 approach to Civil War leaves your team short in the middle, assuming they do the usual 2/6/0, as well as at the far side. Yes, it's possible to take a node solo, and any longtime player has done it or seen it succeed. But an average team - and really, what else is your typical PuG? - will lose any node fight against superior numbers. It's that simple. What's not simple is getting a team to try, say, 2/0/6, though that match beats the usual 2/6/0 in a flash. Two things can help: 2) Any plan beats no plan. Imagine playing against a team with no Chat box (and no VoIP - we're talking PuGs): you'd thump them. But most groups hardly use theirs, beyond a general tactic at start ('fight at the doors'), and a few late calls of 'inc' or 'pass!'. If someone else suggests a plan, go for it, and state that you will; others are more likely to follow. If not, suggest yours. You're much better off than running around at random. My favorites of here's-a-plan-in-10-seconds-before-we-start: Alderaan: don't be afraid of the sides. People mistakenly claim that they can't be held as well as mid/side, but the direct speeders make the point moot (and though mid-side is fast, the reverse is not). Call 2/0/6. Yes, for a good team, there are advantages to sending 3, 4, or 5 to the far side, instead of 6, but in an average team not everyone will listen, so aim high. Novare: If 3 or more people congregate at the west/east door, suggest they either go south... or if they won't budge, that they all rush the far node instead. The 3/5 split that becomes 2/1/5 ('SuperNinja!') puts your team at a loss at two nodes at once. Help your team avoid it. Voidstar: All zerg right or left. Forget 'stealth left, rest right.' When the defenders leave 1 or more at the other door, your average team beats theirs at the crucial first door, where the game is often won or lost. See rule #1: send more players than the enemy to a node you want to capture. Huttball: Call out to get ahead of the ball and look for the pass, on offense and defense. I've grown to appreciate Huttball and the clever tactics noted in Highcommander's excellent Huttball guide. But much of that smart advice is too subtle for an average team. You have only a moment to plan, so keep it simple: get ahead of the ball and look for the pass, to receive it or prevent it. Ancient Hypergate: go for the Orbs. I'm amazed at what a difference this makes. In most matches so far, players seem to deathmatch at both Pylons, leaving the Orb-center relatively open. I've been able to run back and forth uncontested dozens of times, and it pushes my Objectives score through the roof. With organized teams, I expect that there may be value in hitting the center in force right at the start, moving the orbs in a scrum to a Pylon, whether owned or not. But for PuGs, getting anyone you can to join you works wonders, so far. A PuG is fundamentally different from a (pre-) organized team. Sometimes they're quite good, and I've played in more than a handful to beat premades, but I've never, ever seen it without coordination. An average team with a plan will beat an average team without one, and can often beat better than that. Which brings us to the last tip: 3) Stay positive. If you haven't wanted to tear your hair out, you're either Vin Diesel or an infrequent PuG player. Your teammates will do the most jaw-dropping things. They will stand at the edge of the Pit with 'Force Leap to Me' T-shirts. They'll deathmatch out of sight of the ninja at the door. They'll actually be unaware they now carry the Huttball. It's so infuriating, that I figure Bioware can replace the F2P model by selling the ability to Force Choke teammates. But complaining won't win games. It never, ever helps. Being positive doesn't always turn things around either, but every now and then it does, and as much as players cheer after an easy win, nothing in the game beats a come-from-behind victory after your team began to act with a single will. You can't guarantee that. You can't make it happen often. But you can move things in the right direction, and sometimes that makes all the difference.
  12. When 20+ players Report a poster as a spammer, automatically remove posting privileges. No more 'SO Cheap Gold!' It's that easy, and abuse can be prevented. If, say, Guildmates wanted to Report an ordinary player as a kind of prank, just allow any player to open a ticket if he or she feels unfairly banned. If Customer Service determines such a thing occurred, they restrict posting privileges by the players who inappropriately Reported spam when there was none. That'd keep Reports honest. There are ways to make the automated algorithm more sophisticated, stopping even the initial posts from ever appearing in General Chat, but this one is simple and effective.
  13. I also loved the Agent storyline: smart writing, appealing character, compelling problems to solve. And though the stories for all characters have fairly separate acts, the conclusion of Act 3 ties together both that Act and the whole agent arc. Great stuff. So satisfying! Never give up, never surrender. That made me laugh, too, as did the text for choosing that option: "I can wave my hands, too."
  14. Updated with a simple, extremely useful tip for Collicoid War Games. Also updated the PvP section. While I sometimes get wonderful, attentive teams in Warzones (sub-50, non-premade), I'm sometimes astounded by the lack of strategy applied. Disgruntled teammates often yell at each other to 'lrn 2 play ur class,' but far more often, it's team coordination that's lacking, not individual player tactics. You can help. Stay positive, even on a bad team: admonishments never improve the play. Give quick directions in the absence of any other leadership. And be prepared for unfounded criticism (teams always want to go mid in Civil War, and they always want to hold two turrets, even if the only hope of grabbing a close win is a gamble on a third). Do what's right, and sometimes - sometimes! - enough of your team will follow, for a win.
  15. Updated with Taral V tips. Your full list is great, and this one in particular. Breaking CC is worse, and failing to use abilities on cd, especially interrupt, is more troubling, but those traits show up only in the weakest of groups. This one pops up even on teams who know basic fight mechanics; yet they expect the healer to bring them to full health even when it's inefficient after a fight. A 3-second rest by everybody sure beats 6 seconds of heals, followed by 5 seconds of healer rest. Dealing with it is the same as with other weak team traits, though: instruct them gently once, twice, and if you're feeling feisty, a third time. Any more than that isn't likely to yield results, so carry your handicapped team along. You can do it: you're a solid healer.
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