He plays a tank in PvE, and every time I see him in PvP he is in Soresu guarding someone. That doesn't mean he doesn't also play dps, I just haven't seen it.

They're on the leaderboards plain as day. For instance, commandos/mercs on our server: http://www.swtor.com/leaderboards/class/comando-mercenary/jedi-covenant

Like the previous poster said, if you are stacking 9 gunslingers just to get through HM Council, I can't imagine what you'll have to do for NiM. Sounds like it could be a heals issue, or coordination, or people not popping their defensives. Marauders actually have excellent defensives (cloak of pain, saber ward, undying rage) for surviving this phase. Not having melee will also hurt on fights where short interrupts are premium (Draxus), or in the form of losing dps due to movement (Calphayus in Council). Admittedly, it might not hurt you as much in 16 man due to the coordination checks being higher but the numerical checks typically being more lax.

It's not entirely unique, but since thankfully the NiM mounts haven't appeared on the cartel market I ride around in the Helix Hyperpod. There are only a handful on my server since it is a rare drop even if you complete nightmare. Although it is less prestigious than the Titan 6 mount, I actually think it looks better. I am not the only one with a hyperpod, but I'm pretty sure I am the only fat (body type 4) shirtless pureblood Sith rocking a Karagga hat, a Corruptor Blade, and a Hyperpod.

I applaud the fact that you are looking to improve. We need more people like this queueing instead of idiots that think they're good because they have 60 valor from derping through a thousand matches. 1) If you don't have max expertise (2018), don't queue for rated. You're already a burden. Yes, you will see people tricking bolster and rocking a blue or 78 mainhand or other nonsense, but they are otherwise maxed. People under 1900 expertise need to get the Hell out. Full conqueror gear is easy to get. 2) Be comfortable with regular PvP. If you are not "regstar" status on the server already, you are probably gonna struggle in rated games. Everyone deals with bad pugs, but you want to be able to win the winnable games with a carry if necessary. 3) In solo rated, discuss tactics ahead of time in chat. I am usually healing so take it upon myself to do this unless there is also an experienced tank inside. At the very least, the dps should have a plan for who to focus first and then a secondary plan, e.g., "if the sorc healer barriers, switch to the juggernaut." 4) Use your CCs and stuns effectively. I can't tell you how many times on my healer I am getting pummeled by 3 smashers and I have a guardian or sentinel standing by me and not one time does he awe/intimidating roar. You can't expect real peels on a healer in solo ranked, but effective CCs are a must. Depending on the comp, per point #3 sometimes I will assign someone to CC a sorc/merc in the back before we get into combat. Often times they'll break anyway, but that means they won't have that break later at a crucial moment. 5) Be able to perform effectively while on the move. Realizing it's harder on some classes than others (marksman sniper), you need to maximize uptime and dps/heals while on the move constantly in PvP. If you're not keybinding and working your rotation effectively while moving, you're gonna have a bad time. There are obviously just general tips, but it is difficult to point out specifics without knowing your class or watching you play. If your computer can handle it, you should start streaming to Twitch and watching your replays where things went well or badly. You can also link to the videos to ask for more specific critiques. Good luck.

Prices are in flux constantly because of high demand for not only mainhands, but other items such as the Hateful Entity mask drop. However, I will tell you the last mainhand we sold was 10 million. Whisper me, Yolo, Flaka in game for current pricing.

I can't remember ever using GG sarcastically in a PvP arena. I typically say it when it was a hard fought game, or sometimes when we obliterated the other team and I just plain feel bad. Maybe I'll start saying "good hustle" and see if that catches on.

PTs, just my own experience. It also helps I know one of the better ones in Poptart (Choco'chip). Powertechs in the right hands are very capable in ranked though. A lot of the tougher games I've had have been against powertechs (pull and gank). The juggs at the top, Mathcore is a tank and Fus plays tank and dps, but when he dpses he does it in tank gear. Most of the rest of the jugg dps are bad smashers (a few vengeance), but good jugg tanks can carry a team. For sorcs, I know Maulsgreatgramp is above 1500 on the Imp side and was queueing as dps every time I played against him. If I had to guess, most of the rest are madness dps. Solo queues are definitely a crapshoot, but most of the best players still manage to rise to the top over time. Almost all of the good PvPers in my guild are above 1500 on at least one toon.

That's strange that your powertech is getting focused. After the healer, if these is a sage/merc/sniper or other ranged they are almost always the first target for shutdown. In my experience, powertechs are usually the last to die in these solo ranked games. Maybe people just don't like you? Queueing on my heals, I agree, 90% of the games are "can I survive the initial opening 10 seconds of death" and then kite/LOS long enough to stay alive longer than the other healer. In games with a tank though, I am not always targeted first. In a game with a weak link sorc dps, sometimes they will get blown up instead. Many times they aren't used to that level of pressure and don't pop their defensives or run away properly and there's nothing I can do. There are only a handful of mercs over 1500 on our server, the current top 3 are all healers. Powertechs and juggs definitely seem to have an easier time. The top 2 rated juggs on our server are tanks.

While I agree with the overall sentiment of this post - that variety is good and combinations that are technically possible still won't be easy - this kind of misinformation is what causes silly ops leaders reading forums to make these kinds of exclusions. Are you kidding me, sorcs are good at HoTs? I know you're not talking about resurgence, which is really just used to provide a Force bending proc and a small armor buff. I can only assume you mean the AoE heal revivification which is not a HoT. With the positioning and movement in most of the modern fights, it's hard to get more than 3 or 4 people in it anyways. Sorcs are fine single target healers. Before the buff to assassin armor, I would be assigned to heal our assassin tank on fights like TFB because static barrier is there in case of spikes. My innervate crits can go over 15k heals, and with reckless, polarity shift, and dark infusion I can drop 2 big 12k+ guaranteed crits on a target in relatively short order. The only tool we lack in that regard is the free medpacks < 30% health on a target that operatives have. Sorc is the least HoT based healer, especially now that mercs got the kolto shell buff. The original post talked about balance in the context of operations. The ability is completely useless in operations boss fights, there is much better utility to highlight for assassin tanks. Again, this is trending off-topic, but as XKCD once wrote...

No doubt, we'll get #2 next week. And for those who haven't heard, we are also selling Hateful Entity kills. Get your "The Eternal Warrior" title and the fancy Dread Master masks it drops!

I think most of the best groups clearing current NiM content understand that comp can help, but the players are more important. On my server, most of the people I see ************ about certain classes in raids are the people not clearing the harder content, spending their time farming SM for comms.

I think you're really talking about two different issues. For the current tier of NiM progression should I willfully avoid stacking 2 powertech tanks, 4 sentinels, and 2 scoundrels? The answer is absolutely, diversity will benefit pretty much any comp in most situations. If on the other hand you play an assassin dps who performs at the highest level of his/her class and a raid leader wouldn't take you because you're not an OP dps class, that's just ignorant. Good raid groups take the player, not the class. Many of the NiM Dread Guard pre-nerf kills had "less ideal" comps. That said, while I'm sure most content is technically possible, certain comps are gonna be a mess and require phenomenal execution to complete.

Ah, Tco thought that was the real JMD. Didn't realize it was the imitation one. Both pro so all good.

Yeah, in that particular game I didn't even know the other people at all and he said he was reported us for queueing premades. Typical JMD trolling, but it is kind of funny in a way. I'll admit I got in a few games with guildies by luck but just as often I was against them getting my *** tunneled.