Before 6.0 my shadow tank was doing just fine soloing content. Some fights or missions were kind of a slog but not to the point where I was getting bored. Now after the update its a slog just to get through the trash. Is it because my toon isn't DPS or do I really suck that bad at this game?

 

EDIT: ok I should say I'm not trying to troll. I posted earlier real quick waiting for my daughter to get dropped off the bus. I'm a first time subscriber from September this year. I was getting by before Onslaught but now my toon feels helpless. Did the game get harder for anybody else?

Edited November 8, 2019 by HanJoHan

KOTET + Onslaught was pretty easy in story-mode: i220 deception assassin (DPS / stealth) after not playing at all for ~3 years. No gear updgrades until L75 with Onslaught i268 mission rewards.

 

BTW, I've played a LOT of different MMOs. Here's how I'd rate a couple other games along with SW:ToR -- kinda so you can maybe calibrate my opinions to yours if you've played one of them:

 

 

• player skill req'd: SW:ToR = very low, Tera = very high, FFXIV = moderate, SWL = low
  
• story/immersion: SW:ToR = good, Tera = zero, FFXIV = good, SWL = very good
  
• gear/grinding: SW:ToR = low (old impression from pre-KotFE), Tera = high, FFXIV = medium, SWL = medium
  
• UI/QoL: SW:ToR = good, Tera = poor, FFXIV = mediocre, SWL = poor
  
• community: SW:ToR = juvenile, Tera = toxic, FFXIV = amazing, SWL = nice
  

 

IMHO, SW:ToR would likely be in my top-3 for "good for casuals". FFXIV would win "best for MMO newbies". SWL for "best solo in an MMO" and "best overall story". I'm unsure how you'd weight story, but if you like it, SW:ToR's class stories are truly unique and very good. There's nothing else like them anywhere. KotFE and later are professionally-polished drivel.

 

If you're struggling in KotFE+ content, roll up a different class and play that until it's story is over. They're all worth it and you'll get some synergy for playing a variety. Or, try PVP. Oddly, in SW:ToR (at least 3 years ago), the PVP peeps were a lot less ornery than general chat. In unranked, as long as you're trying, they'll like you. If you're trying and succeeding, they'll adore you. Bolster means you need v.little gear and matches are quick.

Before 6.0 my shadow tank was doing just fine soloing content. Some fights or missions were kind of a slog but not to the point where I was getting bored. Now after the update its a slog just to get through the trash. Is it because my toon isn't DPS or do I really suck that bad at this game?

 

EDIT: ok I should say I'm not trying to troll. I posted earlier real quick waiting for my daughter to get dropped off the bus. I'm a first time subscriber from September this year. I was getting by before Onslaught but now my toon feels helpless. Did the game get harder for anybody else?

I woudln't say it's *harder* as such, just harder work. (That is, it's a slog rather than a hazard.) That said, all three tank discipline-pairs (Shadow/Assassin, Vanguard/Powertech, Guardian/Juggernaut) are significantly slower at killing stuff than their DPS equivalents, and I found the disparity for shadows to be bigger than for guardians. (Shadow tanks are *slow* at killing stuff, slow enough that I got tired of it half-way round one of the Traitor Arc flashpoints and switched from KC to Infiltration. Even with full tank gear, it still went faster as Infi than KC.)

Another thing that helps is to replace some of the +defense gear/mods with +power, as well as adding higher end tanking augments with +power. Tank gear has way to much defense as it is so sacrificing some defense for power is a good thing -- it generates more threat per attack too.

Soloing as a tank or healer has never been easy. I'd suggest you switch to DPS to level up, unless you really want the practice as a tank. Or do more veteran or master Flashpoints as a tank.

Also, you might want to level up your healing companion to level 50ish.

Thank you all for the replies. I don't know how to quote multiple posts so please excuse the bad etiquette. So I'm not quite done with KOTFE but I am max level with an iRating of 274. I've noticed how much defense is on the tank gear and I have been replacing what gear I can with power gear. I think my power is a little under 1000. I know that a tank would obviously take longer to vanquish enemies than a DPS class but when I tried to do the Eternal Championship (is that what its called?) I got my butt handed to me in the second fight and it seemed obvious I would never make through all 10 rounds. I saw the suggestion of switching to infiltration, which I was already considering, and that probably seems like the best option available to me.

 

So I know that Shadow KC is a poor choice for solo play but the advice everyone gives for picking a class is choosing the one you want to play/suits you best. I really like the Shadow KC and the class checks all the boxes of what I wanted. Darth Maul style lightsaber, survivability, and utility for when I'm ready to make the jump to group content. I've been too chicken to try any group content but I saw the suggestion of doing veteran or master mode FP. For a total noob who has never done group content, what content should I cut my teeth on? I don't think I'm ready for pvp but I guess there is something about going straight to the deep end if I don't want to be a solo casual anymore

So I know that Shadow KC is a poor choice for solo play but the advice everyone gives for picking a class is choosing the one you want to play/suits you best.

 

I wouldn't sell tanks short on the DPS side. It could be your gear choices rather than your class choice. I've since been leveling my Sin/Shadow tanks and they seem to be going a lot faster than my deception through solo story. The AE dps is MUCH nicer on the tanks. However, I am using 100% DPS gear without any tanking defensive stats (just passed deception DPS gear to tank via legacy).

 

In general, across all MMOs, the ideal is to be as offensive (DPS oriented) as possible whether that's your main role or not, but "as possible" is a world of grey peppered with trial&error and salted with personal taste. I've had no problems tanking Vet FPs in 100% DPs or in unranked PvP. I strongly suspect there might be issues doing that with MM FPs or OPs.

 

BTW, don't be shy about skipping as much as you can via stealth. If the quest doesn't call out for a kill, likely you can skip. The less killing you do, the faster you finish.