hey guys, i see everyone is saying how amazing lightning sorc is. I, for some reason, can't get mine to either do much damage or survive multiple oponents looking in my general direction. my bubble barely lasts a second and my self heals do absolutely nothing. DPS seems rather mediocre also. granted my gear isn't maxed and i'm wearing green/blues that i collected along the way.

what should i be doing to survive?

1. When you are playing solo you should set your companion to TANK.

2. I'm not an expert regarding SWTOR (at least for now) but I suspect few possibilities:

-Your class a.k.a. advanced class doesn't have all necessary tools to do good damage at your current level

-Your gear is that bad (blue for level 12 is worse than green for level 20 and sometimes peoples not noticing this detail).

-Your class is more gear dependant than others (but I doubt it heavily).

-You don't use abilities correctly.

-Your class needs set bonuses to unlock its potential.

1. When you are playing solo you should set your companion to TANK.

Incorrect. Sorc in either Lightning or Madness spec has enough utility that when used properly can mitigate a lot of damage. I run my companion in DPS spec 95% of the time. I change them to heals the rest of the time usually when there is a champion npc involved. DPS companion and DPS sorc can melt large groups of enemies very fast because of Sorcs sustainable AoE damage capability.

Incorrect. Sorc in either Lightning or Madness spec has enough utility that when used properly can mitigate a lot of damage. I run my companion in DPS spec 95% of the time. I change them to heals the rest of the time usually when there is a champion npc involved. DPS companion and DPS sorc can melt large groups of enemies very fast because of Sorcs sustainable AoE damage capability.

I stand corrected then.

Try equipping the Victor's Set when doing low-difficulty stuff like heroics or veteran difficulty flashpoints. You lose some dps but gain a ton of survivability.

Defeating an enemy heals you for 20% of your maximum health. This effect cannot occur more than once every 8 seconds.

1. When you are playing solo you should set your companion to TANK.

 

Incorrect. Sorc in either Lightning or Madness spec has enough utility that when used properly can mitigate a lot of damage. I run my companion in DPS spec 95% of the time. I change them to heals the rest of the time usually when there is a champion npc involved. DPS companion and DPS sorc can melt large groups of enemies very fast because of Sorcs sustainable AoE damage capability.

Matter of opinion. Yes, Sage and Sorc do have a number of defensive capabilities to mitigate a lot of damage, but I will often run with my comp in tank mode so they can gather up all of the mobs, tank mode has an AOE pull, so that I can focus on AOE DPS. The loss of DPS from having my comp in tank mode is negligible as Sage and Sorc, in either DPS spec, do great AOE DPS, but you need the mobs to be grouped up.