Or instead of dropping the ball, how about hindering automatically puts a 45 second cooldown on any mobility skill (i.e., you can only use it once before 45-second death timer expires). The problem with rolls and other movement skills is that they can be spammed (ok 10 seconds in between). This would make using the operative roll a strategic decision, rather than just spamming it on CD...do i use it to get the ball? do i use it to get out of trouble? or do i use it at the end to score?

So with all the uproar and wringing of hands about skank tanks, I finally felt the need to put in my $0.02. I first started PvP’ing with the Dark vs. Light event (since it was a requirement to get exp gear), when skank tanking was pretty much the only way to go. Now, there are new posts once a week about how skank tanks are ruining the game. What changed?!? Therein lies the real problem: DPS with guard. Yes, it makes you feel bad when a skank tank is tops in dps…but are you sure it’s a skank tank? Chances are, it’s a DPS who uses their guard and taunts. Several ways to tell but that isn’t the point of this post. Gear disparity. Back when there were only two tiers of PvP gear, everyone was basically on even ground. But now, my main is in 248’s and even with around 1,500 points in def/shield/absorb, I still have as much in power/crit/alarc as dps who are lesser geared. Damage-wise, it’s night-and-day comparing my skank in 248’s vs my skank who’s been bolstered. Also, Don’t judge a class by its best players. If real skank tanks are always near the top of the dps leaderboard, then it’s a problem. If it’s the same handful of names, just accept that they’re really good. There will be times when skanks top the boards. As an example, if I’m being double-healed while guarding a door in Voidstar with imps all around me, I can calmly go through my rotation and put up big numbers. Same other nodes and arenas if there are melees grouped around me…it’s mostly fluff damage. Generally if I’m tops of the leaderboard (unless like noted above), it means we got crushed. If I’m 4th or 5th, it means we won or were at least competitive. Finally, you don’t want defensive stats to be fixed! Right now, I can delay an AHG cap for a good 30-45 seconds, shorter or longer depending on how many I’m fighting, gear, etc. Give me tank stats that matter, all of sudden I can go more than a minute on average…if my DCDs reset, I can hold it even longer. You think guarded healers are tough now? Imagine what happens when their tank can mitigate even more damage (direct and guarded) and healers can spend more time on themselves or other teammates…the tank/healer combo will be unkillable. Since gear won't be fixed anytime soon, let's just get rid of DPS with guard (and off-heals, but that's another post)