As a Marauder, I'm glad that they're attempting to bring the other classes up to par, and give them viable options and counters. Sorcs were too squishy, and the changes to the bubble stun and the self heal were both steps in the right direction. Unfortunately, letting the bubble-stun work on any allied player is too easily exploited, and gives that specific spec the single highest control potential in the game. I think 99 percent of the problems would be settled if they changed it so that the stun only procced when the bubble on the sorc was broken by damage. If the sorc casts it on any ally, it should just function like any other bubble. If the sorc manually removes the bubble, the stun should not trigger. If they made those two changes, I think things would be just fine. I don't even think they would need to change the resolve, which would help keep it from messing too much with manually triggered cc's. That would satisfy the survivability needs of the sorcs while eliminating the exploitation potential that's currently dominating ranked matches. Edit: Another perfectly viable option would be to nerf DPS operatives and mercenaries, and to make a few quality of life improvements for annihilation marauders. That would seem to more in line with current patching strategy.

Anni Mara reporting in. All of this sounds right, except when you say Snipers are a counter class for us in 1v1. On open ground against an equally geared and skilled opponent, I give us even odds. I win most fights on open ground, but then most snipers don't know how to play their class, so that factors out. If the sniper has set up close to a wall, then I'll destroy them every time, no matter what cooldowns they have up. I have too many ways to mitigate their damage, and if they can't knock me back, or if they try and move to a new spot, they've opened themselves up to a whole new world of hurt. On open platforms, it's more a draw. They can stun me, and maneuver to knock me off, but I can LoS, so it's difficult for either of us to do much of anything to the other. Anni really is THE dueling spec, because it has the tools to deal with just about any class. The only class that can consistently beat me is a geared, skilled concealment operative who gets the first stealth opener. That opener will force me to choose either to blow my CC break on a 2 second knockdown to mitigate the damage, begin the fight at half-health or less. If I can pop them out of stealth, the fight tilts significantly in my favor, but if they get the stealth opener, they can force me to blow my CDs, then vanish and wait me out. Again, I have a chance if I can AoE them out of their vanish, but they still have a stun, a mez, and heals to draw the fight out and wait out my CDs. A lot of people say they have problems with hybrid assassin tanks, but all you have to do is force them to pop their defensive cds, and vanish to wait them out. By the time I pop out of stealth, Resilience is over, and I can simply play my outlast game, loading them up with dots, which prevents their vanish from lasting more than 2-3 seconds, and then ravage as soon as their evasion goes down to force them to use their CC. My heals are better, my damage is better, and my defensive CDs are god-tier. Anni just has the tools to win against just about anyone, if played correctly, which is why it's my spec of choice.

A lot of people in this thread are partially correct. Yes, dispels can significantly reduce Anni's damage, but they won't stop it. No healer should have the luxury to cast his dispel on ever cd if your team is doing their job. Even if he does, the sheer number of debuffs flying around in ranked means that there's a good chance that your dots will get missed. However, for argument's sake let's assume the very worst case scenario. The healer is able to use his dispel every time the cd is up, and it always removes only your dots. Even then, in the very worst case, he can't stop your dots completely, only cut them short. He'll be able to reduce your dots effectiveness anywhere from 50-70%, depending on timing. That is in the extreme worst case scenario. If your dots were doing 40% of your damage on the test dummy, that means you're now doing 70-80% of your potential damage, and that is because this mother****er is using almost a third of of his global cooldowns to dispel. This is going to reduce his effectiveness as a healer FAR more than it hurts your ability to DPS. And it's not like the other specs don't face similar problems. Take Carnage/Combat, for instance. Smart players will watch for a Carnage Mara's burst window, and CC them during their gore/berserk. The gore/zen window is the only time when a Carnage Marauder can catch up to an Annihilation Marauder's dps. In order to do their top dps, they need a full stack of 30 fury, and odds are the team will want them spending most of their fury on the buffed predation. That short six second window is where the vast majority of their damage comes from, and even then, it's not significantly more than a normal annihilation burst rotation. Annihilation damage peaks nearly as high, and doesn't dip nearly as low as a Carnage Mara. A team that knows the appropriate time to CC a Carnage Mara will cripple their damage. Rage depends on keeping a rolling shockwave to maximize its smash. It's also very easy to know when they're going to smash because they'll use one of their leaps to generate the Autocrit. Rage generates the highest numbers, and by stacking 3-4 rage maras/juggs and timing their smashes, they can deal some absolutely ludicrous burst, but outside of a fully buffed smash, their damage is lackluster compared to both Carnage and Anni. With Rage spec, you're putting all your eggs in one basket, and if you don't kill someone with that smash combo, it's going to take time to set up again. The strongest teams on my server don't seem to have much trouble countering Rage-stackers. At this point, it becomes a question of utility. Carnage definitely wins this battle, with its amazing mobility control (speed for your team, roots for theirs), but Annihilation's still brings plenty in the way of utility, and our heals are the least of it. With a six second cd interrupt and a twelve second cd charge, Annihilation Maras are an absolute nightmare for any class that wants to cast. Against a well-played Anni mara, a healer is going to be limited entirely to instant casts unless he gets a great deal of peeling from his team. If they're focused on stopping the Anni Mara, they're not going to be nearly as effective with their damage train. If they ignore the anni Mara, then the healer is going to have to choose whether to spend a third of his GCDs to cleanse dots, or let them tick and try and use his limited-healing to the fullest. I'm not trying to argue that Anni is objectively better than Carnage or Rage. But it's certainly still viable, especially with a team that understands how to make the most of its potential. Anni will never be as good at assist-training as Carnage or Rage, but it can do things neither of those specs, and indeed no other class, can accomplish nearly as well.

I'm a Marauder/operative, and I approve this message. Any time a dps merc is targeted, they're pretty much boned. Their damage is fine, so long as they're left unmolested, but their defensive/kiting options simply aren't up to par with dps sorcs or snipers. They're far too reliant on interruptable casts, and they don't have enough viable means of getting those casts off when under duress. Sure, if no one targets them, they can blow people up, but that doesn't justify their weakness when attention is directed their way.

You and me both, man. How can she not be on every list? I do understand if she's not your top, top favorite, but her mystery, her writing, the way she makes every character question themselves, their motives, their beliefs, her subtle, skillful manipulation, her deft twisting of truth, her arc, and her goal. She's by far the most morally complex character to come out of the Star Wars universe, and for that alone, if nothing else, she deserves at least honorable mention, but she's so much more than that. She's an incredible character, brilliantly written, and it's a crime that she's been consigned to relative obscurity in a rushed/unfinished sequel that so few ever played.

Wow. I'm honestly surprised you remembered that, but thank you.

I've come back to try and get some rated going, but it's not easy. I've been playing a few hours a day for the past few weeks trying to gear up my Mara for rated, but I can't seem to find a like-minded group for serious ranked play. I also have an Operative (still wearing a mix of BM and Champion gear, it's been that long, but she's 50, and I still remember which buttons to press, and when), a Sentinel in recruit/bm gear, and I'm currently leveling a Jugg who I plan to play Vengeance, or perhaps hybrid. My first love is the Mara/Sent, because I love playing a healer-seeking-missile, but if it means getting to play competitive ranked, I'm more than willing to be whatever the team needs. Mara: Rayya - Mostly WH, all augmented, not yet optimized. Sent: Arkanian - Mix of Recruit and BM Op: Relia - Mix of BM and Champion Jugg: Bobymaulfettlol (I was drunk, and the name stuck) - Currently lvl 22

How's it going, fellow Pot5'er here. Just wanted to get your thoughts on the pooled hatred nerf, especially in regards to rated play. I'm leveling a Jugg alt and I love the look of the vengeance spec, but trying to convince my guildies to bring a jugg who doesn't guard is a bit of an uphill battle. Loving the vids man, can't wait for the next.

Every patch, I keep hoping that they'll remove the predation talent entirely. I hate having being told I need to use a spec that is both less effective and less enjoyable just because the increased-speed predation is required. Carnage is a good spec, and some prefer it. It has great burst potential, roots, speed, and big numbers. However, it's not without its problems. Getting the best burst from the spec is largely a matter of timing, and even if you do everything perfectly, its best burst isn't that much stronger than Anni's burst, while having a comparable wind-up. Annihilation has better and more consistent damage while giving up very little in terms of burst, shorter charge cd, faster interrupt, and the healing from zen is not inconsiderable. It's by far the best spec for countering healers, while requiring less healing itself and that makes my pingly all kinds of tingly. After the initial scramble, I'm a much greater asset to my team when I spec anni, but every time I go with a new RWZ group, I have the same g*d d*mned (censor me if you must, but don't alter my words. Who the hell says "gosh-darned" anymore?) uphill battle to fight.

No commando is going to kite my Mara for long. They might be able to delay the inevitable, in a duel scenario, but in a wz, it's a different story. I'm a Mara, and it's stupid obvious that Mercs need love. Even their healing spec is inferior to either an Op or a Sorc. However, there's no quick fix. They need a fundamental change in the way they deal damage and the way they kite. Right now, there's no reason to bring a merc over a PT, none.

Pretty sure he meant that Rage/Focus Juggs/Guards have better survivability than Rage/Focus Maras/Sents. It really depends on certain factors, because both classes have fairly powerful defensive cds. Maras/sents have more powerful cooldowns, Juggs/Guards have better survivability outside cds, as well as somewhat better CC, especially single target. Anni/Watchman Maras/Sents have a good deal of self-healing, in addition to their powerful cds, which tips the scales somewhat, especially in 1v1 encounters. They also deal a lot of their damage via DoTs, which bypass armor, and Juggs/Guards have no way to wipe them. This tips a 1v1 encounter even further in the Mara/Sent's favor, which is why you feel less survivable. That's how it is. I don't begrudge the Guards/Juggs their buffs. Maras/Sents were too far ahead at the top gear levels, and while they have a fairly high skill ceiling, it's not too difficult to kill people once you get the hang of the priority system. Their weakest spec got a buff, and their strongest defensive cd got a slight nerf. On the whole, not much has changed. PT's skill ceiling is so low, it's often mistaken for a Limbo bar, and their damage is stupid high, and while they don't have as many defensive cds as the various warrior classes, they can also deal significant damage from range. A warrior can't deal any damage beyond 10 yds (15yd executes with the Mara/Sent pvp set bonus), and can't deal significant damage unless they're a good deal closer than that, which means they always have to be up-close and personal, which is why they need those defensive CDs. DPS Ops have fantastic burst from stealth, and great control in 1v1 encounters, but and they don't have the out-of-stealth damage to justify their squishiness. PTs have just as much burst potential, don't rely on stealth or long cds to do it, and they're much hardier. Ops aren't slippery enough to justify their lack of sustained damage or their squishiness. It's a delicate scenario, because they're extremely strong in 1v1, and capable of 1v2s with a skilled player. Too much of a buff, and they'll become FotM again, but they do need some love. DPS Sorcs are still too reliant on kiting to be a strong choice in ranked. They've got all the damage they need, and like the Ops, a skilled player can kite a melee almost indefinitely, but they're too squishy still, even with the new heal, and they don't have the tools to kite once the numbers go up. Also, kiting doesn't much help them against powertechs. I'm not sure how they can be balanced without becoming op. Mercs need love. They really really do.

Maras and Sents are considered overpowered because they synergize so well into competitive team play, such as rated war zones. All three specs have enough damage and utility that enemy teams cannot afford to ignore them, but the number, effectiveness, and short cooldown of their defensive abilities means that, more often than not, it's fruitless to focus them down. With any kind of healing at all, it often feels as though you need to "kill" a Mara/Sent three times before they finally die, even with coordinated focus fire. However, if you simply ignore them, then they'll tear your healers and ranged dps to shreds. Hell, 3 coordinated focus/rage specs can devastate any tank and the healer he's guarding at the same time, while doing massive damage to anyone foolish/unlucky enough to get caught in the AoE (I hate playing rage/focus, as it's a pretty lazy spec, but I can't deny its effectiveness en masse). Because of this, marauders, by their very presence, require the enemy team to use multiple CC's that would otherwise go toward interrupting heals, disrupting strategies, setting up burst, etc. Because of this, as well as the many powerful team buffs Maras/Sents provide, it's almost a requirement to have 2-3 on any competitive team, leaving fewer spots for other DPS.

Spreading your dots around completely destroys your effectiveness for a tiny, tiny increase in your non-zen self-heal. Not at all worthwhile.

Reading comprehension isn't exactly your forte, is it buddy?

It's a 4 second escape/survivability/threat-dump/o**** button. How can you have 2 50s and not know that? Sentinel != stealth class Sentinels are the weakest leveling class, but are also among the most rewarding and powerful classes at 50, PvE or PvP.