EDIT - Post idea #2 in the suggestion forums, IMO. I completely agree, Mercs/Commandos need some kind of mobility tool. Though, I think #1 would exploit terrain too well and make Mercs the best huttball carriers. #2, as a Disengage, would be the best option IMO. It would utilize the jetpack and jump backwards in a straight line -Snipers/Slingers are more like turrets and are good at facetanking. Where they lack mobility, they make up for it with defensive abilities. Additionally, I've had snipers roll into cover right out of my jugg's ravage. (I'm in no way saying that rolling into cover is RELIABLE mobility.) -Sorcerers/Sages have force speed, which is a pretty reliable gap opener. They also have 2 talented roots and a baseline on-use slow in addition to their knockback. What do Commandos and Mercenaries have? -They have 1 baseline knockback, 1 talented knockback (which is being turned into a melee range root), and 1 talented RNG slow (will be knocked down to 30% from 50% next patch) All 3 of these classes have a hard stun, a mez, and an interrupt (as of next patch). Adding the disengage would work well for Mercs and for Commandos it could be a "Defensive Roll" kind of thing. I support idea #2.

I'd have to agree with EirikDahl. My reasoning is this: Bounty Hunters don't seem like they'd fit as a turret class. Why? Because of the jet packs. I realize that in-game they aren't used VERY often (not counting jet charge), but the point of having a jet pack in the first place is for mobility, is it not? This is why this class strikes me as one that should be designed with decent mobility instead of defenses.

This. I'll stick around for a loss against another pug, but going against premades while solo queuing is not fun. I'd rather leave than get farmed without a chance.

I think a gear contest would just be insulting to the concept artists and modelers that are still around. Many players are not happy with the Black Hole / Terror From Beyond gear and they know it. If they were hiring 3D modelers, I'd apply in a heartbeat, but that's not the case.

If you stop adding armor sets to the game then gear begins to get stale and customization options become limited. It's good that some of you are happy with the way your characters look and you don't intend to change them. If you don't care one way or the other, why are you bothering to post here? Do you really expect everyone to feel the same way? Also, Andryah, there aren't as many sets available as you say there are. You'd be correct if they removed faction requirements for specific looks, but that is unlikely to happen. Maybe as a whole, it feels like there are a lot of custom pieces, but you need to keep in mind that people are limited to certain armor types and factions.

The point of new gear is that IT IS NEW. Yes, modable gear gives us options, not as many as you say there are, though. Using that logic, does that mean it's okay to stop adding new looks to the game? NO! But that's what you're saying. Our complaints are valid. New colors =/= Unique It's like republishing the Harry Potter books using different fonts and calling them new.

Why are you disregarding the real problem here: No new looks being added to the game?

Have a look at this article from DarthHater: http://www.darthhater.com/articles/swtor-news/21582-dread-guard-armor-preview I REALLY hope that these are just placeholders for use on the PTS. Reusing armor models for a new tier of content is a VERY bad move. Recolors are for greens, blues, and customs. New tiers of pvp and pve content should always have completely new and original sets.

1.) Is the new warzone going to be available with 1.4? 2.) Is HK-51 going to become available with 1.4? 3.) Will we see Cathar in 1.4? 4.) Are THESE armor sets just placeholders for the real sets coming in 1.4? 5.) Will we have to wait for 1.5 for any of these things to be implemented? I'd say that these are very important questions that the community needs answers to.

Did you notice that we have 1-2 less kiting tools than the other ranged classes? I doubt that our intended design is to face-tank melee because our casts are easily interrupted. Repost this in the suggestion area as you are suggesting clarification on the Mercenary / Commando 's intended design. I also have my own post in there, suggesting different ideas and alternatives to the Afterburners / Concussive Force changes. http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=5138662#post5138662 Please add your suggestions and opinions to the thread to help increase its visibility!

Thanks for keeping it constructive. Roots never affected resolve. I don't quite get the point of this comment. My point was that rocket punch / stock strike require MELEE range to root the target. My enemy can keep attacking/CCing me even after I root them. This makes it a very poor ability to open the gap. A lot of instants? Thermal Detonator(delayed damage), Incendiary Missile, and Rail shot are the only instant damage dealers (not counting rapid shots). Power Shot and Unload, which require cast time, are essential to dealing damage. I cannot reset Rail Shot without them. Interrupts and mobility ARE an issue. I'll comment on having "heavy armor" further down. With the upcoming changes, there really won't be any benefit to being Pyro as Arsenal is getting the new bells and whistles and will be able to contend better with melee. I'd argue that Arsenal is more burst due to Tracer Lock, Rail Shot, and Heatseeker Missiles. No more CC than other ranged classes bring. In fact, Mercs and Commandos are short by 1-2 as they have no root. Let me give you a comparison to the other ranged classes' tool box: -Snipers/Slingers - 1 hard stun, 3 slows (Talented) 2 Roots (1 is from knockback), 2 knockbacks (1 talented from ambush), 1 instant break-on-damage CC. -Sorcerers/Sages - 1 hard stun, 2 roots (both talented), 1 knockback, 3 slows, 1 talented AOE break-on-damage CC. -Mercenaries/Commandos - 2 knockbacks (1 talented), 1 hard stun, 1 casted break-on-damage CC, 3 slows (2 talented) I'll skip the other 2 suggestions as they were more about QoL. Our main worry from damage is melee, as very few dots do meaningful damage over their duration. You make it sound as though armor completely stops non-dot damage or that it can be ignored, which is not true. The difference in armor between medium (about 24%) and heavy (about 30%) is about 6% damage reduction, give or take 1%. I am unsure of light armor and am guessing that it is somewhere between 16-18% damage reduction in appropriate gear. At the moment, there is no mention of any direct nerfs to damage. Keep in mind that they reduced the range of ranged hard stuns across the board. Please see my reply to your first quote. If you walk up to them and root them, they will CC you to waste your root. The same could be said about ranged being able to get away from melee, at least long enough to do meaningful damage. A reliable ranged root is what I'm suggesting in place of the rocket punch / stock strike talented root. The other ranged classes, talented or not, all have a ranged root and a knockback root. Mercenaries and Commandos do not, leaving them short on the kiting race overall. The other suggestions were just that, individual suggestions to get some ideas going. I hope you read my original post carefully, as I tried to be thorough.

Mavrix Varad's armor. http://tor.zamimg.com/torhead/uploads/screenshots/793.jpg

(PLEASE KEEP THE POSTS CONSTRUCTIVE and support this thread if you feel the same way. Any numbers used are simply examples.) The suggested changes are a step in the right direction, but could be done differently, IMO. Sure, the interrupt is nice, but it doesn't help us when we're getting eaten alive by melee. I know that the posted changes are NOT YET SET IN STONE. That is why I'm here to make some suggestions and hopefully get some support from fellow players. What's wrong with the change to Afterburners / Concussive Force? --1. It requires the user to already be in melee range. This is bad because it gives melee the chance to stop us before we can get distance. If dots are rolling on the target, it will only last 2 seconds and we won't have gained much ground by that time. The argument "Well, root then knock back" is not valid because it shouldn't be required to use 2 GCDs to effectively use the root whereas other classes only need 1. --2. It's strictly limited to Arsenal/Gunnery, leaving Assault/Pyro behind. Pyro/Assault has no RELIABLE kiting tools. --3. It will force people to pvp as Arsenal/Gunnery if they even want a chance of keeping distance from melee, making Pyro/Assault even less desirable as Commandos/Mercenaries. -------------------------- Mercenaries and Commandos are missing RELIABLE kiting tools. Here are some suggestions: (Please note that I'm not suggesting that they ALL be implemented. These are SEPARATE suggestions.) --1. Electronet - A simple ranged 4 second (2 if damaged) root on about 15-20 second cooldown. (baseline ability) --2. This one has 2 parts: A) Arsenal / Gunnery - Keep the knockback on Rocket Punch / Stock Strike through Afterburners / Concussive Force and add a root. If the target is Immune to the knockback, the root should still be applied. B) Pyrotech / Assault Specialist - Thermal Detonator / Assault Plastique roots the target until the explosion. This way both specs benefit and still play differently. --3. Retreat / Jet Jump - You roll or jump back 20 meters to give yourself some space. (baseline ability) --------Quality of life: --4. Chaff Flare / Diversion - Slows all targets within 15 meters for 5 seconds in addition to its current effects. (baseline) --5. Unload / Full Auto - 50% slow over duration. baseline for Commandos and Mercenaries. Any additional Suggestions? Please share your ideas. For those who want to look at the current changes but don't want to go search for them:

Red Reaper Specialist's Helmet Has anyone managed to get a hold of this yet? If so, how did it drop? Trash? Darth Ikoral? The reason I ask is because I've been running Red Reaper like crazy and have yet to find one. Torhead says it drops from Darth Ikoral whereas Torfashion says it drops from trash mobs. Which is it? Thanks for reading my post!

1) No 2) Because I feel new races should be released in pairs. Cathar for one faction, another for the other faction. 3) I'd rather see Kaleesh, Devaronians, and Gen'dai, 4) Yes. 5) Yes. I feel we need some more outlandish races. 6) To me, they just do not feel right as a new race selection. They seem far too plain. Not everyone will share my opinion. All the animations are there. Releasing new races regularly shouldn't be a problem. Having a lot of new races to choose from would be a VERY good thing. While some races like Gen'dai would probably be hard (because they're somewhat formless without armor) others such as devaronians, kaleesh, etc already have plenty of animations and should be very easy to implement.