PvPing with my Marauder lately (Anni). Typically I gun for healers since I can pretty easily shut them down with 6s interrupt + point blank charge interrupt + healing debuff, and if really necessary force choke but they're usually dead before that's necessary. DoT dispelling when it happens just means that they aren't actively healing, so they're likely dead anyhow. After any healers are sorted out I immediately go after any other Marauders as they can do a fair bit of damage when unchecked. Beyond that it's just the people I deem most threatening (usually based on having PvP'd with certain people before). I do like to take out snipers asap, specifically quite enjoy Camoing up and Force Choking them out of cover and then having 1-2 teammates immediately charge at them for a slaughter-fest. EDIT: Forgot to add who I avoid.. Honestly it's usually not any specific class, but more-so certain people on the server that I won't so much as avoid, but control when I engage them. Some folks you just can't let get the opening pounce.

Not really assuming folks are 'hardcore' by any means. My point is have Soandso use the F key to interrupt a skill 500,1000, 10000 times and the repetition will cause that to be a natural and instinctive reaction. You won't think "F is interrupt". You won't think at all, when you need to interrupt and you decide to interrupt now your brain will use the motion it has drilled for and move your finger to the F key. You won't actually be thinking about the F key. You simply did the action that interrupts things. I agree that for most situations there are only 10 crucial skills. You can easily get away with not using something like Lacerate in PvP while surrounded by people, or as you mentioned earlier not using Kolto Vents (though I believe the skill to have more merit personally). The issue I have is I believe it is disingenuous to say that going beyond 10 is difficult or beyond the average player as I firmly believe it is not. And yes, context is great and your Belsavis thing would work fine, but it's not ideal. Sure, the folks memorizing decks of cards are ridiculously impressive, but we're not talking about memorizing things like that. The ideal outcome of keybinds is the quick and efficient execution of abilities. You mention memory grandmasters who use context to memorize things. I'll bring up Speed cubers who use muscle memory to reach unbelievable speeds in executing consecutive moves of a puzzle whereas memorizing the step-by-step actions is significantly more difficult and less effective. The act of having to think at all is slowing down reaction time when the goal is speed. It is well documented that repetition/muscle memory are incredibly effective ways to solidify something in your memory. It is not a question of, as you said " If you do something long enough you'll probably imprint some of it for sure". Studies have shown that people can avoid doing something for years, and upon attempting the same activity again their muscle memory allows them to do the activity (driving for example) perfectly fine. That's the power of repetition, and MMOs are very much so about repetition. - I'm off in a few, so I'll sum up my stance. Virtually anybody can effectively (and regularly) use much more than 10 keybinds. The roadblock (why as you say people complain about so many buttons/keybinds) is that they don't use some of their keybinds with any frequency so they don't build up the repetition necessary. This isn't because they 'need concrete contextualization'. This is because they need to actually use the keybind more frequently. By not using the keybind they are actually slowing their progress because if it feels awkward to use it currently they will likely avoid/forget it and then come on the forums to complain. If they would spend a few days or so actually trying to use the keybind it would very quickly become less awkward, and after a while you go to that keybind naturally. I suspect part of the reason you don't often use your Kolto heal is because of a keybind you haven't regularly used leading you to not think about it. The goal is to have your health be falling (enough to warrant a 15% hp heal over time) and your natural reaction be to use your Kolto heal if it is warranted. EDIT 2: Food for thought. I haven't played Everquest in something like 7 years now. There's a skill in the game called Sense Heading, which once skilled up reliably told you which direction you were facing. A few years before I quit playing the game they made it so you didn't need to raise the skill so I removed it from my hotbuttons and put something else in it's place. I had put Sense Heading on the 3 hotbutton button on all my characters and pressed it 10s of thousands of times. I would press it every 3 or 4 seconds I played for the approximately 3 years of it being necessary. That repetition was so drilled into me that 10 years later I absolutely know that the 3 button is Sense Heading. This is something that I never did any tricks to learn. This isn't something I'm ever going to forget, save for an unfortunate illness I may or may not develop when I get older.

Well I never said it wasn't a memory thing, just that I disagree with the 7 thing you mentioned. Makes more sense now that you bring up the thought of context, in that by keeping my hotkeys consistent I maintain that. But.. above listed is 27 keybinds that I have to use regularly, the 20 or so is things that are used relatively constantly. I don't just start forgetting keybinds for long cooldown skills, I just don't have to use them as frequently. None of the classes I've played in SWTOR have needed 4 bars of keybinds. I don't agree with the given Belsavis 'concrete event' situation. I can say with certainty that there's no event connecting most of my keybinds to anything in particular unless you count me staring at my keybind trying to work out the most efficient layout for me. I've taken extended (several months) breaks from MMOs before (namely WoW) and while there is a limited readjustment period, that is almost entirely due to regaining fluidity of rotation, there is no adjustment needed due to having to relearn keybinds. Even in situations where I haven't touched other MMOs in the gap, so I would have no similar keybind usage elsewhere. EDIT: There's something not being mentioned here in that the desired outcome of keybinds in PvP is instinctive reactions. Something like the (albeit quick) thought process of connecting Lightning to 6 is not something you want even flickering in your mind when you need to hit a skill immediately. That's where muscle memory comes in. Example: I use 12-15 digit long passwords for things of randomized letters/numbers. If I try to remember them it often takes me a second to remember them, and I very well may fumble and have to go through it in my head to reaffirm the password. If I type it out on my keyboard I don't think. I acknowledge what password I need and several quick keystrokes later the password is in. That's what I aim for in PvP, the instinctive reaction of knowing that C will charge an enemy for me without me needing to (even for a millisecond) remember what button is charge, or even that I'm about to press the C key for that matter.

I don't buy into the "7" business. I've played MMOs for years and in each that it was helpful I have used a large number of keybinds while PvPing. I agree with the posts here about repetition. To me the key has always been about consistency. For example, through multiple characters/games I have always had defensive cooldowns on Shift+E and Shift+R. 5 is always an AoE of some sort. Q is ALWAYS ALWAYS autoattack/basic attack/wand(WoW). F is always an interrupt. I have known quite a few people who play multiple characters impede their keybind ability by having keybinds on multiple characters have no logical similarities. If you're making a habit of using a key as a cooldown for example, and then want to use it as a CC on another character then it is my opinion that you are forcing your brain to keep track of far more than is necessary. As far as number of keybinds go.. PvPing with my Marauder I frequently must use 19 or so keybinds, not counting long cooldown skills like Saber Ward or such. Assassin's number is somewhere around 17. I don't believe this is anything amazing. I also don't have any issue swapping between playing Marauder one day or Powertech or Assassin another. It's easier here than in other games anyhow. My Hunter in WoW routinely had to use closer to 25 or 26 keybinds in some PvP battles. Admittedly some would fall by the wayside in those instances, but I find maintaining 15-20 to not be that difficult. The key is muscle memory and keybind consistency. Here's some examples of my current active characters to see what I mean: Assassin Shift+F Spike 1. Shock 2. Thrash 3. Dark Ward 4. Wither 5. Discharge 6. Execute style attack Q. Basic Attack E. Taunt F. Interrupt G. Force Pull V. AoE Taunt C. Force Speed Z. Recklessness X. Break CC Shift+1. Slow skill Shift+2. Overload Shift+3. Stun Shift+4. Force Lightning Shift+5. Lacerate Shift+6. Incap target attack Shift+Q. Force Cloak Shift+E. Defense boost cooldown Shift+R. Force Shroud Shift+C. Stealth Rating boost Shift+V Overcharge Saber Mousewheel. Stealth Marauder Shift+F. Fury builder cooldown 1. Rage builder 2. Vicious Slash 3. Rupture 4. Annihilate 5. Smash 6. Execute style skill Q. Basic attack E. Deadly Saber F. Interrupt G. Cloak of Pain V. Obfuscate C. Force Charge Z. Berserk X. Break CC Shift+1. Anti-heal skill (usually snare/slow skill, but spec builds that into Rupture) Shift+2. Reposte skill Shift+3. Choke Shift+4. Ravage Shift+5. Frontal AoE Shift+6. Immobilized target attack (normally incap skill on characters that have regular stun) Shift+Q. AoE mez Shift+E. Saber Ward Shift+R. Undying Rage Shift+C. Predation Shift+V. Bloodthirst Mousewheel. Force Camo Powertech Shift+F. Vent Heat 1. Heat dump at top of tank tree 2. Explosive dart 3. Flame Burst 4. Rocket Punch 5. Flame Sweep 6. Rail Shot Q. Basic attack E. Taunt F. Interrupt G. Grapple V. AoE Taunt C. Charge skill Z. Oil Spill X. Break CC Shift+1. N/A Shift+2. Death From Above Shift+3. Stun Shift+4. Unload Shift+5. Flamethrower Shift+6. Incap target attack Shift+Q. AoE stun Shift+E. Energy Shield Shift+R. Kolto Overload Shift+C. Free Heat cooldown Shift+V. Crit buff Mousewheel. Stealth Scan --------------------- I know that was really long, but that's just to show that consistency helps. Some exceptions are necessary, obviously, but whenever I make a new character I try and mold the skills as I go to that format. I feel like it helps immensely when playing multiple characters. But maybe that's just how it works for me, who knows. Note, I'm not actually in the game right now, and the last character I played was my new Operative (lol, actually can't remember much of his stuff yet, low level still), so those are all from memory. Please forgive me forgetting the names of some skills.

After some tinkering with this today I think I've figured out the problem. Mortar Volley on my Vanguard Tech Bonus Damage(combined value for Tech Skills) 479 Tooltip: 3835-4213 damage DFA on my Powertech Tech Bonus Damage 476 (closest I could downgrade his gear to for comparison) Tooltip: 2860-3143 damage The math comes out perfect for DFA using the calculation, while pointed out in thread MV seems to be off a tick. In use on multiple different mobs and friends helping me out the 2 skills do the same damage per tick. The only conclusion I can make from this is that MV tooltip thinks the skill has 4 ticks, so it calculates that, even though it is still just 3 ticks.

I've got a level 50 Powertech and a level 50 Vanguard (along with a level 20something Mercenary) and after fussing around with DFA/MV best I can figure is that the tooltip is calculating the damage of MV as if there were 4 ticks, while both skills only have 3 ticks. DFA tooltip seems to be accurate. If you use the widely accepted damage calculator for skills it actually comes up dead-on accurate if you adjust the tooltip down to assume 3 ticks instead of 4 ticks. My guess is that at some time in beta/alpha they were 4 ticks and it got reduced to 3, but the tooltip for MV was left unchanged. After thousands of uses of each skill I've only ever seen it do 3 ticks, and the damage of MV is ALWAYS less than it should be if it was in-line with the tooltip. DFA's damage matches MV at similar levels of gear, while showing a more accurate tooltip. And before someone says it I've also tried it on numerous targets that I know the DR of and have accounted for that. EDIT: Clarified my post. EDIT 2: Just to show more.. Mortar Volley on my Vanguard Tech Bonus Damage(combined value for Tech Skills) 479 Tooltip: 3835-4213 damage DFA on my Powertech Tech Bonus Damage 476 (closest I could downgrade his gear to for comparison) Tooltip: 2860-3143 damage On the same mobs the ticks do the same damage.

The number above was the combination of those bonuses. It is higher now due to gear, but the math still doesn't work for Mortar Volley.

Here goes.. Animation/Delay: Harpoon(Grapple on Powertech also) has a short delay before the mob is pulled back, the Harpoon animation does tend to make it look like it is going slow though. Not Working: In some cases that is from Hold the Line talent for Vanguard, in other cases I have found that the target being rooted will occasionally cause Harpoon to not work. Not Working pt 2: Another thing is that functionally Harpoon tries to pull the target in a straight line to you. They may arc up into the air for show, but many a time any slightly unfavorable angle will quite literally yank the player 'against' the floor. A jumping Harpoon can often avoid this particular issue.

Can state with absolute certainty that Mortar Volley only ever does 3 ticks of damage. Also, the formula damage more accurately estimates my damage once you account for mitigation.

I'm trying to make sense of the formula here and figured I would plug different skills in to help figure it out, but I can't get it to give proper results for Mortar Volley. On my character's tooltip at 49 Mortar Volley is 3303-3681. At 3 ticks that is 1101-1227 damage. His Tech Damage Bonus is 395. Standard Health Lookup table shows 1575 for a skill trained at 49, which rank 6 of Mortar Volley was. Using the formula: Coefficient * DamageBonus + StandardHealthPercentMin * StandardHealth Coefficient * DamageBonus + StandardHealthPercentMax * StandardHealth .. with Torhead readout of SpellDamage: SpellType=>Tech, StandardHealthPercentMin=>0.128, Slot=>None, Coefficient=>1.58, StandardHealthPercentMax=>0.188, DamageType=>Kinetic I took it to be: 1.58 * 395 + 0.128 * 1575 = 825.7 1.58 * 395 + 0.188 * 1575 = 920.2 825.7-920.2 using calculator vs 1101-1227 judging tooltip. Am I messing up somewhere?

I leveled a Powertech tank to 50 first, got my Champion gear (most) and then made a Vanguard tank that I am now a mouse-fart from hitting 50 on atm. Both are fun IMO.

Having a long list of planetary commendations is really just silly. Why not just make all planets drop/reward Republic/Empire Commendations? Just make them not be rewarded/dropped from gray mobs/quests and you solve the potential issue of folks farming low level content for comms, and free up plenty of space on the currency tab.

Yuun has 2 attacks (Run Through, his DoT, and Whirling Force, his AOE) that are Force attacks. They are not boosted at all by Aim, and are significantly weaker than equivalent versions on Akaavi (Smuggler companion) and Torian (Bounty Hunter companion), which are also melee DPS companions. Can this please be fixed? I quite like using Yuun and this is a pretty heavy cut in his damage output.

The ammo capping was in regards to EB. EB gives you 1 ammo, but in 1.5seconds GCD you always get at least 1 tick, and a 2nd tick just after you start another skill, so.. Say you're at 10.x ammo but can only see that you're at 10. Stockstrike, HIB, Pulse Cannon, Sticky Nade and such are all on CD, but EB isn't. If you hit EB then you get the instant 1 ammo for 11.x. Your next tick could potentially waste part of it by regening beyond the 12 ammo. On the other hand if you are at 9.x you can safely EB and not waste any of it. It's a little odd to think about in terms of ammo decimals, an easier idea is using the heat comparison. Use their ender(Heat Blast) at 14 heat and you dissipate 8 heat, bringing you to 6 heat. Your next regen tick takes off 5, bringing you to 1. If you fire a skill just then you're fine. If you use Heat Blast at 10 heat tho, bringing you to 2 heat, you waste 3 heat dissipation on your next tick. It doesn't seem like much, but if you keep doing this in the long run you're just losing attacks.

Well, the problem is that you don't really want to be hitting Gut on the same target more than once every 15 seconds because of the DoT. If you clip the duration of the DoT you're just reducing your dps. Now you might look at it and consider you get the initial hit again, but for 2 ammo you could have hit an Ion Pulse and done more damage than the initial strike of Gut. The good damage from Gut is from keeping as much uptime as you can on the DoT. I find that after using both that I don't have ammo issues by any means with Gut, but with EB I have an abundance of ammo. You just need to make sure you don't let your ammo cap out midfight, because that's just lost dps from losing regen ticks.