These morons lost me at "900 hours". I for one have a job/life/kids and thus can't spend more than two hours a day on this game. So I get about 10 hours worth of time on weekdays, plus maybe another 10 total on weekends. Are they trying to tell me I need to spend 45 weeks gearing one toon? GET REKD, cancelling my sub. Way too many other options out there right now for this type of silly crap from a second-rate MMO in desperate need of new players.

The people who happily and silently spend thousands on gambling with packs, or the completely toxic community of people who spend $15 a month whining and crying on forums. Obvious answer is obvious.

That's the problem, the gap closer was only added to the DPS classes after the fact. And since we are talking about rotations, in PvP, there are very few times where going through a fixed set of motions for 20+ GCDs is going to be possible, on any class let alone a melee class. Second, there is not even really a "set rotation" for this spec, as this one in particular follows a priority system based on heat management in GCD blocks around PPA, so there is no "reason" to remove the OPTION of using Unload as a heat dump on a target that has darted out of range so you can pop a quick ED and RS follow up. See how that synergy works? That was the point, they are a melee priority class, but the whole fun was being able to have utility at any range. Taking away that ranged versatility, and then giving it a gap closer "because melee" is really a poor excuse. This class was not over-performing BECAUSE OF THE RANGE AND UTILITY, it may have been overperforming because of specific procs/skills, but not because of the fundamental role and/or nature of the class. Thus, no real reason to change it. My main point is: the devs have changed the way the class plays because they have stated "it was design" which I have shown ample evidence of that being not the case. If someone then says "well itr was because overpowered", then I argue that skills and procs should have been changed, not fundamental characteristics of a class.

Alright, I am going to be as constructive as I can, promise. In a nutshell, the class as it sits now, is not so much "broken" or "under/over-powered", but rather it sits as an over-designed, jumbled mush of poor concepts. To start, I will address the notes left on the patch: Designer Note: Vanguard ranged potential is currently too strong for a class that is intended to be played as a close-quarters combatant. Vanguards are melee assault specialists and should be encouraged to engage their targets in close proximity. By reducing the range of Explosive Round and High Impact Bolt, we place the Vanguard’s range potential closer to its design as a close-quarters combatant and further define their unique style in various combat scenarios. I must start right off and say, that these notes show that whoever wrote them has a fundamental lack of understanding of what this class really is, nor what it is was "intended" for. Firstly, this class, was not at launch, nor recently, nor now is it, a strictly melee class. It is is THESE current devs who have slowly been attempting to force THEIR vision of this class onto the existing specs. That is not what THE CLASS was intended as originally, it is what someone is trying to force it to be now. And it simply cannot work that way. Points in support of this: -Unload, 30m range by original designers, removed by current devs - Explosive Dart, 30m range by original designers, reduced to 10m by current devs -Missile Blast, 30m range by original designers, reduced to 10m by current devs -Rail Shot, 30m range by original designers, reduced to 10m by current devs -Basic Attack, 30m range -Death From Above, 30m range You know, that is a LOT of ranged ability for a class that is supposedly never "intended" to be effective at range. It also that is a LOT of revisionism going on to try and state that the vision of the spec NOW is what the vision of the spec was BEFORE, it simply is not the case, and the claim that it was "intended" as what you change it to is simply an untrue statement and a logical fallacy. It is like taking a red apple and painting it green, and then saying that you painted it green because it was always intended to be that way, because it is green now. Uwotm8? Anyways, true melee classes have nowhere near the same amount of skills at range. This class was clearly designed as a hybrid class that could be at least somewhat effective at any range. Further point: -Jet Charge (gap closer) was only available to tanks, as tanks truly need a way to close into melee distance quickly, as Juggs have Force Leap, and Sin tank use Force Speed. This gave each tank class an effective, yet still unique way to initiate combat. It could very well be argued that DPS specs on Powertech had no such need to close a gap quickly, as they were able to initiate combat at range and pursue the enemy, closing the distance and becoming more effective as they did so. If immediate, full scale effectiveness was needed, that's what grappling hook was for. Powertechs were designed to be effective at any range, starting at 30m, then gaining effectiveness as they transitioned to melee range. That is what made the class unique, that is what gave the class its' strength. Could they beat a Sniper at 30m? Weren't supposed to. You would just get in their face and beat them up. Could they outshine a Mara or Jugg at melee? They weren't supposed to. You would hit them a few times, get out, finish them at range. The key to the class was OPTIONS and VERSATILITY, not being a "master" at a particular role. Another point in the notes was that Powertechs needed encouragement to get in close. Powertechs already had several incentives to close in to a target already. Close and Personal, the passive was one, as well as the fact that at 30m, a Powertech was going to be nowhere near as effective as say a Sniper, Merc, or other true ranged class. This was the way the skill trees were created, they simply were not and are not full range trees. The point was that they COULD combat at range, albeit inefficiently, and they became full potential in close quarters. Which brings me to my main complaint: the most common and popular Spec for Powertechs right now (AP) simply makes no logical sense with the changes made to range. Here is a prime example: there are still 30m skills, such as Explosive Dart that WERE an integral part of the Spec, but are now redundant. Here is how it used to work: If you needed to proc your Prototype Particle Accel, you had four options, depending on your range and situation: - If you were in melee range of 4m, you would use Rocket Punch - If you were midrange of 10m, (or RP was on CD) you would use Magnetic Blast - If you were at full range of 30m, you would use Explosive Dart - Of if you were in an AoE situation in melee range, you could use Flame Sweep Now, Explosive Dart is only 10m, but yet still applies to PPA. This begs the question, why? Why even bother having ED do anything with PPA? If you are at 10m, nobody is going to use ED over MB to proc PPA. That would only leave an AoE situation, which again, would be better served by a situationally superior skill, FS. Furthermore, Thermal Detonator is still at 30m, which is a core skill for the spec, which adds even more range confusion. There simply is no cohesion with this class, as it is being forced by a dev team to use use specs that were never designed in the first place to work the way they want them to work, and at this point, they have such a flawed concept on their hands there is no way fix it. Instead of a versatile hybrid class that could transition into and out of any range they wanted, we are being told that we really just Maras with a gun. Sadly, the changes they have made probably won't be reversed, because reasons (pride), and they don't have the gumption to re-invent the entire spec (fanboy rage incoming if they did amirite?), so where does that leave us? TL:DR 1. The devs think this class was "intended" as a melee class, it wasn't. 2. Advanced Prototype makes no sense at all with these changes.

What is the plan then for Explosive Dart in the AP spec? What would the point of reducing that that to 10m when we can just use Magnetic Blast in that case? And if you leave it at 30m, what is the point of having it at that range, when it is used specifically to refresh the proc for Rail Shot, which is now only usable at 10m? And this is just what REALLY bothers me, how are Ptechs using GUNS that still shoot 30m away, but all skills have to used at 10m? Ok, maybe it's because the "rail driver" on a ptech is not the actual gun, but rather a trinket hidden on invisible Ptech gadgetry. Alright, then that makes even less sense on Vanguards, where the skill descriptions are for BOLTS coming out of a rifle, that has a range of 30m? And another thing about that explosive dart, are you planning on re-adjusting the entire skill tree, or are you just going to leave it some half "fixed" mess of gimmicky garbage? Does anyone else see how these devs have zero clue how the classes actually work?

Same reason Sorcs, Mandos, Sages, Ops, Snipers, and Mercs do. Next question?

Nevermind, apparently this was a toon I already did it on months ago and forgot about. Derp.

Remove bolster, remove expertise, and then step into a warzone and tell me how "easy" it is. Your 220 PvE hero gear won't save you from skilled players. PvE players have it so easy when it comes to gear, hell, everything. "Let me hit this parse dummy that doesn't fight back. Oh look a little pool of Stupid on the ground, better avoid that" as opposed to a real fight, from things that will capitalize on your mistakes, adapt to your strengths, and constantly provide a completely unpredictable encounter. But PVE is hard, because mechanics. Right. I for one say that top tier PvP gear should be BETTER than PvE gear. Bring back ranked comms, make a third set of 224 PvP gear that is ranked only, 2000 RCOMMS a piece. People who can learn, adapt, and outplay other opponents deserve better rewards than those that can simply memorize mechanics and "beat" scripted events.

The basic Star Wars blue, that is available in game in every other stat, and craftable with Artifice, sweetheart. Is that plain enough English for you or do you need smaller words?

Hey hey hey, we will have none of that logic here sir!

Again, as I stated, I do not want a "Farmhand" crystal, tire shop Mechanic's crystal, Imperial Fudge Packer crystal, or any other half-assed, wannabe crystal. Not "sort of" blue, not "kind of" blue, not "pretty close if you close your eyes and think happy thoughts" blue, a blue damn crystal.

Could be worse, my wife has a Neopets account she started twelve years ago, that finally just recently got a ticket resolved...after three years. Every couple months or so, would re-submit the ticket. At least here you pretty much know if you are going to get an answer or not. I think that's why people get so mad, is because the issues we have in game, are more likely never going to be addressed. If you can't change it, you got to stand it.

Seriously, why is just a plain, basic Blue crystal with expertise not available in the game any longer? You took away the schematic, and there is no possibility of them from vendors. Why? The most iconic (next to Red) color in the entirety of Star Wars and you want to leave out a huge chunk of your player base without them. Why? We don't want "Farmhand" blue, or Mechanic's blue, or plumber's blue, we just want a real, classic blue colored crystal with expertise. What gives?

Does anyone else think that it is ridiculously silly that we cannot get a simple, plain, blue crystal with expertise? I know there used to be a schematic for it that had like a 0.000000001% chance of dropping, but that was removed, so the rumor goes. Why are we not allowed to have the most popular color lightsaber in the entire galaxy (aside from basic red)?

Assassins use the exact same Force Power shield that Juggernauts use. /thread #l2p