Both Rhyltran and CrutchCricket have been having one wild debate about this, that has been most entertaining to read, no doubt. Nox HAS demonstrated unique sith sorcery in his ghost binding ritual. That is/was his thing. If the assumption is that he kept the ghosts on a leash, than he DOES have a unique advantage in that he can draw power from all of those force ghosts. As a pure powerhouse, Wrath has destroyed some real big cookies in his short career, and it is quite clear most if not all of the council should and do fear him should he become an enemy. Hence their respect and basically, we will get out of the way if you stay out of ours. Not something the most powerful sith in the galaxy do lightly. Nox is on the Dark Council because he (dare I say easily) dominated Thanaton, not just once, but he did it on Corellia and Korriban. Wrath killed Darth Baras, but it was definitely a hard battle, was not SO one sided. Darth Baras was Council, and one of the more powerful to boot. However, despite some people's opinion, Baras was a Sorcerer, not a Juggernaut. So the Wrath does have experience in dealing with ranged, forced based attacks, like lightning. If I were to compare Thanaton and Baras, both are powerful, though Thanaton is likely the stronger of the two. Baras was gunning for Voice status, and he had the political and force power to defend that title. Just not from the Wrath, or a pissed off Emporer, who if he had not been distracted by his own vile plans, and the Hero of Tython, would have squashed Baras like a bug. Of course, that is why the Wrath is there, and why the council fears him. With that said, Wrath killed Baras purely on his own power. Which is why the fight was a lot harder. Thanaton earlier had PROVEN that 1 on 1 with Nox, pure power on power, he was superior. Part was his age, his power base, and his wealth of knowledge. This is why Nox bound force ghosts in the first place so that he could survive an encounter with Thanaton, if not kill him. I guess to break it all down, if still able to call upon the power of the force ghosts, Nox wins. Not easily mind you, but it is a substantial edge, that significantly boosts his own force power to levels the Wrath just wont be able to compete with. Without the force ghosts, I would say Wrath wins, by a good margin as well. He murdered a very powerful Council member with nothing but his own sheer power. An impressive feat. Nox is immensly powerful, it's the only reason he could have bound all of those ghosts in the first place, but it might just be one of those unique things that he is just REALLY good at. We did see him lose to Thanaton early on because he did not have the power to win, he had to augment his own power to compete. Thanks for the interesting thread though, definitely beats this argument into the floor. But I would say it's a sort of draw, with either being the victor in different circumstances. Both Nox and the Wrath are freaking awesome.

So page one is the SWG fanboys tooting the same horn, over and over. Page 2 are the people that know this game is waaaaay better that SWG ever was. Open world MMO's suck. Open World RPG's really have no business being MMO's. Not if you are trying to drive a story forward. Which for star wars makes a lot more sense to have a theme park style MMO than an open world. for group questing and operations, open worlds hardly work since there are no defined roles, so more often than not you get 1 guy who can gank anything in a party, and 3 other people that couldn't kill anything with more than 500 hp. SWG is OVER and never coming back. Bioware has done a great job on SWTOR, and have done better in 3 years than most other MMO's have in their lifetime, so stop ************, or stop playing cuz no one likes you. Old Republic Era is nice because it's kinda a fresh start without the typical limitations on lore the later versions would have, they can play looser with the context of the story which ends up making it better story telling. Hell of a lot better than Lucas could ever do. But without stepping on the toes of "canon" because there is hardly anyway it could contradict. Old Republic Era Jedi would wreck Clone Wars Era Jedi every day of the week. Those Jedi were weak in comparison by a long shot.

Strongholds are a prestige based credit sink, and a home to dock your characters that is personal, that you have to show off all of your achievements. It also bonuses your conquest, so if you happen to participate in conquest, your guild will thank you when you can get your max points faster on all your toons. It absolutely adds to the endgame content, and makes things like low level planet heroics, and lower level FP/OPS way more relevant. Legacy storage is awesome. It allows you to sink all your crafting mats into one place that ALL your Legacy can use. Pooling your resources makes this much easier. You can also pass your event specific currencies here, so your toons have very quick access. With all that said, if you don't like them that's totally your call. But it's probably because your guild is too poor to afford a Guild Ship

Yes. SWTOR tanking I do believe is more complicated, but not necessarily because of the mechanics, but the quality and skill level of the OPS themselves I believe are just higher. Regardless, all tank classes are viable in this game. It really comes down to your personal preference on play style, everyone has their preferences. Level however you would like, your companions make it so you can use any class and spec to level in, including healing!

I have to agree. I run one of each healing class, and my Mercenary out heals them all. Not only is Kolto Shell OP, but Kolto Missile combined with supercharged gas gives out raid wide armor buff and residual HOT's that hit the entire population in the puddle. 16 man OPS should have at least 1 Merc healer, though 2 is epic.

Tito did a fantastic job on explaining Merc heals, and i am just wanting to add a few points to a great explanation. The biggest challenge for new Merc healers other than nailing down their gearing stats is nailing down the right rotation that will give you good sustained HPS in a Operation without capping your heat. I do slightly disagree with Tito on burst heals. As an example I usually put a Merc on MT heals during HM Draxus. Kolto shell is a must on a MT during that fight, plus during Supercharged Gas you should be spamming kolto missile on CD for the guaranteed crit, the HOT, and the additional shield, then combo that with a healing scan, rapid scan, then followed with a couple rapid shots to end the rotation, rinse and repeat. This combination of heals can really stack a bunch of heals in a very short amount of time, and will not cap your heat, especially if you weave in some rapid shots in the middle a bit. Rapid shots increase your alacrity, which will help in heat dissipation. And once your gear is up to snuff, 3 tics critting, I can get up to 1000 heals per tic. That's a 3000k, free heal, off the GCD that also downs your heat. Needless to say Rapid shots are your friend. On top of that they build your stacks for supercharged gas, which should be used on CD in Operations. I always keep Kolto Shell stacked on the raid. This ability is amazing for managing lots of AOE damage, which of course you get in like every operation. Kolto Missile relatively short CD down, and the fact that it can crit on 5 people for 5-6k , and then tic three times for about 1500 give or take, really makes this ability just awesome. And that residual HOT hits everyone on the raid, no limitations!!! Kolto shell needs to be kept up on Tanks and Heals throughout the fight, and it doesn't hurt to keep it up on everyone if time permits, each tick hits for 2500-3000 and occurs every 7 seconds or so, so quite useful. Rapid Scan should be used seldom, and pretty much never unless following a healing scan ( usually during supercharged gas) or in conjunction with thermal overrides. It can potentially crit quite high, but the heat cost and cast time make it to costly to use consistently on it's own un-buffed. Never, EVER spam Healing scan during supercharged gas. It should always be followed up with a Rapid Scan, and preceded by Kolto Missile, and you should STILL weave in rapid shots for the added alacrity buff. During Supercharged Gas, Kolto Missile (Single or AOE heals) is your first priority, then use Healing/Rapid Scan combo, Rapid Shots, then back to Kolto Missile. When your rotation is being preformed properly, you should only have to hit Vent heat in emergency situations, at your will. If you are being forced to use it more, you will need to intersperse more Rapid Shots into your rotation. My gear is roughly the same as Tito, Merc Healers can go both ways, but I do perfer to stack enough crit to get my tech crits to over 30%, surge around 72-75%, and alacrity at about 7-8%. If you can push your bonus healing to 1200 that would likely be ideal. I use main stat augmentations only, Serendipitous Assault, and Focused Retribution Relics. Preferably Dread Forged or Brutializer type is best. Remember to augment your relics, implants and ear pieces. Main stat augs are preferable for the slight increase in crit they provide, which will allow you to stack more power later. I hope this helps you become a great Mercenary Healer. They are one of the toughest healing classes to master, but once you do, they are extremely useful and a great option for most progression operations

Wrong. The distinction of C-Canon, and Legends is frustrating, because "C-Canon" sometimes DID have direct Lucas involvement (Timothy Zahn books, Clone Wars novels, Boba Fett, etc.) that was later referenced or retconned into T-Canon. Also, most games and novels needed Lucasfilm approval, which usually meant the go ahead from Lucas. You should see the list of books that were shelved. The new story group has also stated that while Legends is no longer considered canon, they will likely incorporate certain Legends (characters, planets, history, certain story lines, etc.) into the new storyline. I refuse to buy the line, that if Lucas didn't directly do it, it didn't count. Which is a completely false statement in it's entirety. Lucas had LOTS of involvement in the direction of the EU universe, which is why C-Canon was STILL considered Canon (at the time), only N and D were entirely NOT canon. With the distinction from the story group, I would say that SWTOR story will be written from now on with their approval, and anything wrote prior, will technically be considered Legends, like KOTOR, but will be considered in new canon as historical preludes. There is even rumors that Darth Vitiate, the current Sith Emperor, will in fact have a historical influence on the villain in the new movies. So while this still has the hallmarks of speculation, I believe they are rational assumptions with enough evidence to be legitimate predictions. Though the Darth Vitiate thing, we will have to see. I wouldn't be surprised however, Abrams has the largest collection of Star Wars figurines in Hollywood, and has expressed publicly that he was and is a Star Wars geek. SO I think his respect for canon and EU is likely very much there. I was personally hurt with the announcement of Legends, mainly because I came to love so many of the EU characters and stories even more than the movies. It is heartbreaking to spend so many days and hours being absorbed into it, and then finding out that the new installments in the future are going to be something different than what you once believed was a true and established continuity. I was ANGRY at the nerve seemingly being displayed by Disney, to come out and de-legitimatize all of this, just because they passed some money around. I am sad, that the new movies/video games/books will likely not have Jacen/Jaina/Anakin Solo, Kyp Duron, Mara Jade, Corran Horn, Ben Skywalker, Kyle Katarn, and many, many others. Though like I stated, you never know, the story group does intend to use some Legends rewritten as canon. But, I admit, my opinion is changing. First, it's common knowledge that to get movies produced you have to play the Hollywood game. In that game, there are many things taken in consideration, much more than just what the established communities opinion is going to be. When producing new movies, it's not usually wise to try and screen adapt several hundred novels and establish a continuity like what the EU has. It is probably impossible, and what is more impossible is doing it without screwing it up in some way, shape or form. Many of us have to finally admit, that it is going to have to be more focused from now on like the original author of this post said. There is some real good things coming out of this that may even be better than the old established lore. I believe the story group will make many strides to accommodate us, and perhaps re-establish some of our Legends into the new canon, and I look forward to it. It is very encouraging that SWTOR, in my opinion, will actually be written as canon or at least relative to it in some ways. It is also encouraging that this sort of reboot/renig what ever you want to call it, is going to spawn more movies, more video games, and more books etc. Which means another 20-30 years of Star Wars relevance that your kids, and maybe even their kids can enjoy. There are rumors of another Star Wars MMO in the works that will be canon, and is going to be in development shortly so we may actually see an announcement for it in the near but distant future. And that this MMO will likely include SWTOR lore, with references to our current characters. When all is said and done, as far as I am concerned SWTOR is canon, and will continue to be till they finish, since none of it's story does or is likely to contradict anything included in current canon. The story group also has the ability to make sure it remains canon from now on. So don't worry guys. Thanks.

I have a 55 of each. Well technically I have a Sith Juggernaut and a Jedi Sentinel. I am around 70 valor on both toons. 180 gear on my juggernaut, and around 168/180 on my sentinel. There is a slight difference in PVE viability. Mara's have blood thirst, a pretty useful ability in OPS, and have some great burst dps output. The new changes to Annihilation/Watchman spec really boosts their sustained damage output, and the rotation is relatively simple, especially against the recently nerfed Dot-Smash spec. Juggernauts however have heavy armor and taunts, as well as some great DPS defensive CD's that make them fantastic for picking up extra damage off of the tanks, and for good utility. Plus, both Vengeance and Rage specs of situational viability in end game OPS. On top of all of that, their damage specs are quite good, and they were not really nerfed in the last patch, was really just focused on Enraged Defense that was a little OP in PVP. If you just want straight DPS, Mara's are your class, and they are an absolute blast to level, great to duel with in PvP. Great burst, and fantastic defensive CD's, awesome maneuverability. With the new changes to Annihilation, their DOT spec is actually very viable in PVP. With that said, I am in love with my Juggernaut. With 2.7's changes to Vengeance tree, the juggernauts DPS was out performing Mara's in PVE consistently. In PVP they are monsters. They by far have the best defensive CD's next to Assassins, and plenty of CC's, which will give you a distinct advantage against multiple people. Plus their taunts reduce damage to your teammates, which gives added utility. In Arena's, a well geared Juggernaut can just destroy. Juggernauts have one distinct advantage as far as leveling goes. I always buy field respec for all of my toons, and I usually have 2 sets of gear for the classes that can tank/heal as well as dps. That way I always have the ability to switch to what is needed. In the sense of leveling, this really helps get ques for FP's if you can switch your spec to tanking, and then switch back to DPS spec for leveling and PVP. Don't get me wrong, you can definitely level all the way in tank spec, but it does take longer. Tanking in PVP is absolutely viable, so if that is your sauce, I encourage it, can't get enough tanks in WZ's these days. I am not trying to bash the Mara/Sent love I see everywhere. They are an absolute blast to play, and I encourage you to do both, maybe like I did so you can get the Pub story line, which the Knight storyline is one of the best. Both specs are viable, and which you prefer will depend on your play style. But keep in mind, there are TONS of Mara's out there, and OPS don't really like having just Mara DPS. But they can ALWAYS use tanks.

1. Star Wars MMO 2.Continuation of a timeline I really loved since KotOR 3.Operations are challenging and fun, even if the players can be tedious 4.PVP is a team-based sport-like experience I can really get behind. Not a complete Spam war, clusterfuk that WoW is. Honestly, they could do ranked Huttball matches, especially with multiple maps, and turn this game into a legitimate E-Sport. Same thing with their Arena's. 5.More involving story lines than i have seen in any MMO's to date. Look it has it's issues, but really, I have got my moneys worth out of this game ten fold, and I recommend it to all my friends constantly.

Absolutely. I will mention to DPS that they need to kill the adds near the boss because they are shooting people that get in proximity. They will retort with, "I don't need to kill the adds, you just suck at healing." Which I respond with a big F.U. it's not like I have never beaten Labs before. On the contrary, I run it all the time, better loot and more fun than a lot of the other ones, as long as I don't get complete ******* who think they know better than I do. But the consensus on the forums have been, they will shoot if you roll near them some of the time. Sometimes they just do nothing. I usually solo clear them on my Mercenary with Death From Above, but he is in full 78's and I could two man that FP. On my lower toons, it's harder to launch a Force Storm or Orbital Strike and completely clear them. My Guildies just kill them near the boss all the time, just in case, so this only occurs when stupid PUGS don't understand mechanics, usually lazy DPS.

Running into a consistent meme in SWTOR that is starting to give me a headache. I'm looking for experts to maybe confirm, or debunk a claim of mine. When running Czerka Labs HM, the first boss has a tendency to wipe a GF group every once and a while. I have determined this is because some DPS refuse to clear the adds that collect around the boss. My experiment was to run a Labs group with Guildies after the failed run with a P.U.G. (I am healing on a Operative with set bonuses in 162 gear) This time I had them clear the adds around the boss and we beat it quite easily. Admittedly, we actually had a tank that had more than 30k hp, however, I don't think this should factor much on this boss. After watching how the adds operate, I have determined that they aggro people withing a certain proximity, not exactly sure what it is. When I bring this up with people outside my guild at least 70% them tell me I'm wrong, and if you don't attack the adds they wont attack you. My counter to this is I don't attack the adds (I am healing), and when I get pulled in by the boss, the adds around the boss still shoot me. But only when I am close enough. 1 or 2 adds doing this hardly matters, 4 can one shot you, especially during the water electrocution phase. I have run the experiment, and I am NOT imagining things. I just need people to further confirm my suspicions, so that I can start teaching people the right way to do this with confidence. To clarify, I am not saying the adds will "Aggro" you in the traditional sense. What I am saying is, more often than not, the adds will shoot someone if they get close to them. They will not follow you, and if your outside like 10m, they wont do anything to you. However, they will slowly encroach on the boss and your anchor spot, so that if you get puled in by the boss, you will enter their 'Aggro Zone' and they will t-up on you. 1-2 is not to bad (Unless its Electrocution phase), 3-4 will one shot most heals/DPS. I appreciate all the well-mannered feedback, I never considered that it was a bug, but honestly that does make the most sense. I do now recognize that the adds will not always attack things within their 'Aggro Zone', but since there is no way to know when that will occur, the best option at this point is to clear the adds, preferably with a ranged attack, if you do that, they can't attack you back. And you only need to kill the adds around the boss, and if they get too close to your anchor point. (Anchor point refers to where you have the Heals/Ranged DPS plant themselves so that the side adds don't shoot them, and where they can drop AOE heals during the Electrocution Phase, also good for Jugg/Guard's to intercede to)

When your not fighting pre-made groups that can 3 cap on alderaan. Look I dont like losing team members either, but sometimes, the game is just not going to be even, and some people don't see the point in dying and rezzing for 15 minutes.

Dueling Arenas Bioware, 1v1 and 2v2 Arenas would be really cool. And new Huttball arenas is a pretty cool idea.