2 pc: Some bonus that actually works. 4 pc: Some bonus that actually works. 6 pc: Some bonus that actually works. Once Bioware have mastered that, you can look at tweaking the bonus but, until then, I strongly suggest actually giving each group 3 set bonuses as a basic step forward. Negative as the above is it has, however, been great to see how important set bonuses are to Bioware (8 months without any substantive attempt to address them not working). I suspect that, in writing the post above, Bioware has more than doubled the work put into them in 2015. I applaud that increase in effort. Once we hit 2016 (assuming Bioware have mastered getting them to actually work) you should just keep the set bonuses the same. I'm worried about what this push for new bonuses means. "What this means is that we have a situation where we have a lot of content, that many players don’t get an opportunity to play..." Personally, I "believe that all players should be able to enjoy all the content in the game" and bringing new set bonuses would completely undermine that and be a step backwards. Perhaps though, you could, instead of changing them, just add to the 3 bonuses "new vanity rewards such as Mounts, Vehicles, and Decorations for your Stronghold". I understand that many people view mounts and vehicles as the same thing and also that the idea of Strongholds as any form of community content crash and burned within days of release...but I think just introducing these would completely revitalise the set bonuses and remove any need for fresh bonuses. The two piece could come with a reskinned mount from 3 months ago, the four piece could come with a reskinned mount from six months ago and the six piece could come with light fitting for the ceiling of our strongholds!

We are a guild focussed on clearing the very top PVE content and regularly participating in Ranked PvP. We have some of the best players on the server and are looking to recruit a Tank and a DPS into our raid team. Raid nights are Tuesday and Thursday. Communications are a requirement for this level of content so please have TS3 and a mic. It will also mean you can participate in our theory crafting and lively social side. Our website is http://evenyourmumsaidiwaspro.guildlaunch.com . Please click the Apply to Guild in the top left hand corner, if you are interested. We look forward to hearing from you.

You make a couple of interesting points. If PUG raids are bumbling through content and taking lots of damage...then surely all the healers should be able to keep up? That's clearly not the case for the Commando/Mercs or they would be up there if it were. So we're left with the same conclusion I put forward. That Commandos are lacking compared to their peer group. If you are worried about the timer then either a) filter it out and you'll find the same overall conlcusion or b) as it applies across all classes, all the healers both benefit and suffer from PUG affects in equal proportion to their peers, leaving us with...the same conclusion. I'm not sure how you calculate that hidden 5% buff in 8 man. Kolto bomb is nice, but it's not that effective across a NiM raid group and the DR only applies to specific abilities in specific circumstances. If you could post up your calculations backing those numbers, I'd be pretty interested. You also note that Sages have similar DR, plus their bubble, plus Force armour...that would seem to be a lot better. In fact, if you factor those in I'd suggest the Commando healers would find themselves even further down. After all, if we're 5%, what are they? For Force Armour alone, some people would say this ability usually accounts for 12-20% of effective healing and absorbing in fights. On a side note, Scoundrels can pop out of combat to avoid damage, as can intelligent use of Scamper, then you have stealth rez functionality... To be honest, these are common errors of people whom are either too new to, or who lack a sophisticated grasp of, the class. It's a difficult class to master and understanding all of the interactions of your skills and abilities can be a little daunting. It's entirely understandable if some of the more subtle details escape, especially if you have such a strong focus on a different healing class.* *Apologies if you found this last part a little patronising, I'm just trying to blend in. As this sort of thing really isn't something I enjoy taking part in, I'll summarise my previous summary then head off and leave you to it. Can a Commando heal 50% of Raid damage? Yes. Can a Commando match the damage repair/mitigation of their peers? I see no evidence to support a positive conclusion and significant evidence (both statistical and social) that rebuts it.

I thought the Devs have been pretty honest in their answers (as they said they would be). It's also demonstrable that we are far below that 5% variation. Agree with 1, agree with 2 too. Went through that period of being kicked on the basis of no interrupt. Can't speak about 3 in terms of PvP so I'll trust your judgement. I also see your point on the length/depth of dialogue. I'm (optimistically) hoping that this is the start of an ongoing discussion. It might well not be. Although, on the point of forums storm, not sure how much of the player base is regularly on the forums and would be affected (genuinely no idea). It wasn't designed to be condescending. I apologise if it came across that way. Please also bear in mind two points. A large consensus means taking account of a wide range of people from different skills, knowledge backgrounds and levels. This is not necessarily the best route to base technical decisions on. Additionally, Odawgg might be very good. I might also be very good. Tweaking set bonuses or specific abilities was the point I was hoping for. Perhaps we've misconstrued one another. When I saw people talking about "Ammo Management" I assumed they were talking about it in general, much as the Sages did. Specific tuning of the ammo costs of specific abilities would help. However, I believe that we are limited far more by the damage/Heal output of our abilities. However, there are valid arguements for both sides and healing is much harder to quantify. Again, I never said you were 'bads'. I gave you the benefit of the doubt around your Rep comment, I'd appreciate reciprocation. The written word is hardly an ideal medium for avoiding missing tone/subcontext. It's worth noting that the impact of the set bonus change is minimal. Certainly not enough to come close to closing the DPS gap. I'll stress that my viewpoint is tainted by my own experiences. I'm very used to acting within the constraints of our ammo. I essentially view it in the same light as the GCD. It's just part of the environment to work around. Therefore I focus on the direct output of our abilities. However, their frequency is limited by Ammo (and GCD) so easing the strictures there would have a similarly positive affect. I just don't believe that it would have anywhere near enough. I believe we're arguing for the same thing, I just believe that raising a generalised complaint, and one that received short-thrift from the Devs last time, will not be as constructive. However, I may well be proved wrong. Similarly, if the plan is not to talk about ammo management, but about the costs of specific abilities as part of a much larger question around DPS/HPS output, then I'm all for it. Regardless, it's been an interesting conversation and it's been good to talk about the old times, reminded me of lots of fond memories. I've basically contributed what I wanted to contribute to the dialogue though so I'll bow out here. Good luck with the questions (and thanks to our Rep for volunteering) and I'll await the answers with interest.

Please detail exactly what the inferences are, what the underpinning definitive evidence is, what the Devs’ goals are for both the advanced class in isolation and in relation to the other advanced classes and how, exactly, the Devs have deviated from their goal for the class during implementation. Otherwise, you’re just guessing without any relative basis of understanding…which is why I’d like to know the facts. The Devs aren’t going to U-turn their development plan unless they agree with our conclusions. Without understanding their plan (i.e. where they are coming from and trying to get to) we won’t be able to engage in a meaningful discussion to reach that agreement. No meaningful engagement means no change. There’s also a secondary reason. I want the very top Commando healers to be capable of healing as well as the very top healers of other classes (averaged across a number of scenarios). I want the very top Commando DPS to be capable of the same DPS as the very top DPS of other classes (averaged across a number of scenarios). If this is not in the Devs’ plan, then I’d like it clearly and explicitly confirmed so that I know to stop playing the class seriously (hence, the question). Don’t worry, come right out and say it…oh, you have. It’s ok though. To be honest, I feel the same way. I think it’ll prove a thankless task undermined by misconception and popular opinion. However, discussions about class reps are pointless are they not? The rep has already been elected (and I have a great deal of respect for him). Yes, ammo management is tight. Unless you are good, in which case it isn’t. Yes, mistakes are punished, that’s kinda the point of having a finite resource. Fortunately, both these issues are something that it is in the hands of the player to deal with. Plenty of us do. Complaining about ammo is, unfortunately, the same as saying “I’m not good enough/can’t be bothered to learn to play” (as the Devs have already highlighted and they are the ones who are going to answer the question). It’s also, as I pointed out, a macro mechanic which, if changed, will have impacts across every spec of both advanced classes. I would have thought it would have made sense to target the specific issue(s), rather than experimenting with a complex-impact macro system which is far more difficult to model. For instance, Commando healing is well behind the curve. Making ammo management easy will help that because you can just spam big heals. Or, you can tune the heals themselves (or even the passive boost from our cell). These boosts will be specific to Commando Healing and won’t have any other knock on affect to other specs or advanced classes. Similarly, Commando DPS is behind the curve (to much lower, but still significant extent). Tuning Commando specific DPS abilities will close this gap and, like any increases to our healing, it should come at the expense of some general utility (for instance, making healing harder when DPSing and making DPSing harder when healing). Then I’d suggest that those classes have their own issues. At least one of them isn’t exactly happy about their current position (so perhaps they are balanced in other areas).

General:- Please explain, in details, the design philosophy/requirements behind Commando DPS and Healing Specs, specifically both in isolation and in relation to the composition of Raids in a PVE environment and Teams in a PVP environment. I think this is THE absolutely key question as all Dev decisions will be made through the prism of this philosophy/requirement. Understanding this will allow us to actually engage with the Devs in a meaningful and constructive fashion. Also, documents detailing this information will already exist. PVE:- Given the recent shift in challenge for Operations (healers now actually have to heal instead of having to simply avoid falling asleep during raids) and the increased rigorousness of the DPS checks, raid composition is driven primarily by taking classes that can perform in their specific role (as defined by the Developers themselves). I.e. DPS who can produce high DPS numbers and Healers who can produce high healing numbers. Given that it is effective 'Toon' performance rather than player skill that dictates raid slots, can the Devs comment on why they are deliberately excluding Commando players of either spec from participating in end-game content? Perhaps we will see the addition of a 4th category in the Group Finder roles? “Classes who can’t pull their weight as DPS or heal but suck at both.” A quick note on the questions that have been indiciated will be raised:- Ammo management – Ammo management is fine. Gunnery uses all but two of its rotation abilities on CD. Of those two, one is tied to making it ammo free (justifiably given its massive ammo cost) and one is interwoven with Hammer shot. If you improve ammo management for Gunnery then you are basically saying “I want to spam all my abilities, instantly, all the time.” That’s not the point of resource management. When the Sorcs raised this they were, quite rightly, told to L2P. Whilst a case could be made for improving ammo management for the healing tree as an indirect method to boost our output, a cleaner, specific solution would simply be to improve the potency of that output rather than messing with a cross-spec macro mechanic. Mobility – Is this really being flagged as an issue for healing? We have amazing mobility. Hammer shots:- Free, boosts our cell stacks. Kolto bomb:- AoE heal plus number-unlimited area HoT and buff to future healing (as well as potential applying an armour buff). Concussion charge – Number-unlimited AoE heal Emergency scan – Free mid-size heal Trauma probe – Reactive HoT Medical probe – Can be made instant (and free if you want) and is a huge heal (mine crits for well over 11k) and will boost our cell stacks. Utility – We do have limited raid-wide utility. However, is this really one of the three key areas we should be seeking to learn more about/affect? Gaining a raid-wide shield/stealth rez/etc isn’t going to make up for being 10%+ off the pace in both DPS and Healing. Skill trees - Every class has chaff in their trees. Going through it line-by-line obscures the wood for the trees and allows the Devs to focus on minutiae rather than the root-cause issues. As an aside, off the back of the Devs saying that popping Bloodthirst/Inspiration and Predation/Transcendence shouldn’t stop the build up of Fury/Centering, it would be good to know if they will apply the same thinking to Combat Support Cell. I.e. pop the cell but allow us to start gaining stacks in it whilst we are under the affects of the buff. Whilst I think this would be a significant buff we a) need every bit of help we can get with matching the other two classes healing output and b) it seems to match the logic the Devs are applying to the Sentinel/Marauder.

Looking at the statistics for healing across all 7 S&V bosses for 8 man HM/NiM we can draw some conclusions. 1) Of the top 50 healers, for each boss, there is an average of 2 Merc/Mandos 2) For Styrak, there isn't a single Merc/Mando in the top 50. So, can Merc/Mandos heal all content? The very best can (probably). Are they on a par with the other two healing classes? Demonstrably not.

Check the TORparse numbers. Do Commandos have high enough potential to clear all content? The very best ones do. Are they on a par with the other two healing classes? Not by a country mile. All you can really do is cross your fingers and hope the Devs do something about it during the next round of rebalances. Past history suggests that it's not worth holding your breath for though.