Measuring the game by optimal is going to leave a short list regardless. In any game, the classes/specs allowed for the highest level of content is limited to best in class eliminating most specs whether hybrid or not.

 

The one thing classic WoW taught us, is that people like options, not forced cookie cutter builds. But not everything is measured by NiM, or Mythic, or whatever supposed highest level content you want to discuss which is by definition a very narrow scope under the best circumstances.

The game gives plenty of options without subverting the role selection inherent in picking a tanking spec. Skanks should be obliterated, perhaps by shunting defensive power into gear and away from disciplines.

Meh, anything they do on the skank front is just blah. They did what I suggested and made shield work on crit. Still people run skanks because the small degree of extra mitigation makes less of a difference in ranked pvp than extra damage dealt, because the entire point of the format is killing the opponent before they kill you.

What can they do, without punishing tank players, to encourage people to actually use tank gear in pvp?

The game gives plenty of options without subverting the role selection inherent in picking a tanking spec. Skanks should be obliterated, perhaps by shunting defensive power into gear and away from disciplines.

Does it?

How many of certain classes / specs do you stack your operations with? Who do you not take?

Every nightmare or hard mode or mythic+ in these games always stacks the best possible classes.

My main is an Arsenal merc, although i play all three specs, if i was in your group tell me you would insist on me being I/O?

Not to mention flexibility in lesser difficulties... how many time do you see people looking for a dps with guard skank tank type to give the main tank a break in operations but maximize dps?

Youre scope is very narrow here, the big picture tells is this isnt a bad thing.

Does it?

How many of certain classes / specs do you stack your operations with? Who do you not take?

Every nightmare or hard mode or mythic+ in these games always stacks the best possible classes.

My main is an Arsenal merc, although i play all three specs, if i was in your group tell me you would insist on me being I/O?

Not to mention flexibility in lesser difficulties... how many time do you see people looking for a dps with guard skank tank type to give the main tank a break in operations but maximize dps?

Youre scope is very narrow here, the big picture tells is this isnt a bad thing.

When it comes to ops, if I'm asking for a tank, I'm looking for a tank - spec and gear. If i want to maximize dps on a fight where a second tank isnt really needed, I ask for a dps that can taunt.

I dont NiM, however from the hard modes I have done, you either need 2 tanks (spec and gear) or you deal with 1 tank, 5 dps.

The skank thing seems to be very much a pvp phenomenon.

When it comes to ops, if I'm asking for a tank, I'm looking for a tank - spec and gear. If i want to maximize dps on a fight where a second tank isnt really needed, I ask for a dps that can taunt.

 

I dont NiM, however from the hard modes I have done, you either need 2 tanks (spec and gear) or you deal with 1 tank, 5 dps.

 

The skank thing seems to be very much a pvp phenomenon.

Ive seen it on both sides, regardless though what benefit is there to removing more things from the game? Why does it matter? If you dont like or want them fine, no reason to obliterate it.

Ive seen it on both sides, regardless though what benefit is there to removing more things from the game? Why does it matter? If you dont like or want them fine, no reason to obliterate it.

I'm not the one saying to obliterate skanking. Fridge is. I'm just commenting that, if I ask for tank, and I see dps gear, I'm probably kicking you from my group. If I see a skank running accuracy gear I can guarantee I'm kicking you. So sure, feel free to do it, but I'm also free to not deal with stupid in my ops groups.

In pvp, where the benefit of tank gear vs dps gear is still very much up in the air, especially in ranked formats where the point is to kill something before it kills you and the damage output using dps gear is generally far greater than the mitigation gained by using tank gear, I very much see the point of skanks and have done it myself.

I've said for a long time now - if they want to get rid of skanks in pvp, which is the only place in group content anyone who is not an idiot is running them, give people a reason to run actual tank gear. For most warzones since the shield/crit changes, I have been myself. But in ranked or 4v4 where the damage throughput is far more needed than the stall, I went to the effort of making a skank set.

TLDR: feel free to run a skank in pve. I also feel free to kick you when my level 70 pug healer in xp gear cant keep you up. In pvp, the situation is very different, which was the original point I was trying to make.

I'm not the one saying to obliterate skanking. Fridge is. I'm just commenting that, if I ask for tank, and I see dps gear, I'm probably kicking you from my group. If I see a skank running accuracy gear I can guarantee I'm kicking you. So sure, feel free to do it, but I'm also free to not deal with stupid in my ops groups.

 

In pvp, where the benefit of tank gear vs dps gear is still very much up in the air, especially in ranked formats where the point is to kill something before it kills you and the damage output using dps gear is generally far greater than the mitigation gained by using tank gear, I very much see the point of skanks and have done it myself.

 

I've said for a long time now - if they want to get rid of skanks in pvp, which is the only place in group content anyone who is not an idiot is running them, give people a reason to run actual tank gear. For most warzones since the shield/crit changes, I have been myself. But in ranked or 4v4 where the damage throughput is far more needed than the stall, I went to the effort of making a skank set.

 

TLDR: feel free to run a skank in pve. I also feel free to kick you when my level 70 pug healer in xp gear cant keep you up. In pvp, the situation is very different, which was the original point I was trying to make.

currently games with healers and without TANKS are decided whether your team has 2 guarding DPS or no. If your team has two guarding dps and enemy team hasn't - auto win. This is not ok...completely stupid and unfair. And two ap pts in heal games can EASILY win a team with real skank tank, 2 dps and heal just by guarding each other and doing 14k dps with 50k hits. I saw many times how two ap pts with healer + random dps easily won against team with tank, 2 dps and a healer just because cross-guarding allows healer to outheal both pts easily. 50 % protection for dps is too overpowered in heal games, easy wins without any tryhard

currently games with healers and without TANKS are decided whether your team has 2 guarding DPS or no. If your team has two guarding dps and enemy team hasn't - auto win. This is not ok...completely stupid and unfair. And two ap pts in heal games can EASILY win a team with real skank tank, 2 dps and heal just by guarding each other and doing 14k dps with 50k hits. I saw many times how two ap pts with healer + random dps easily won against team with tank, 2 dps and a healer just because cross-guarding allows healer to outheal both pts easily. 50 % protection for dps is too overpowered in heal games, easy wins without any tryhard

A. This belongs in the thread on guard

B. Multiple guarding dps one one team compared to another is a matchmaking issue, just like 3 mercs on a team used to be.

C. my response here is directed toward the question regarding skanking vs tanking. If you have a response to that please go on.

Sentinels and marauders can grab shields if they want more defense. It actually can go both way.

Ready and go....

I would like to further discuss this subject.

All of you playing skanks which spec you find more viable in the 6.0?

I would like to further discuss this subject.

 

All of you playing skanks which spec you find more viable in the 6.0?

Juggs.

I would like to further discuss this subject.

 

All of you playing skanks which spec you find more viable in the 6.0?

Guardian, VG, shadow, in that order

Same here. Immortal. Though I thing they nerfed them like a lot.

I wish they gave them some thing like a vengfull smash to push the numbers up!!!

Im feeling left behid :/

While you are all arguing about defense vs. offense in a tank build, you have completely overlooked the MAIN duty of any tank is TO HOLD AGGRO. Pure taunts do not do this alone you must maintain the aggro gained by your taunts. The best way to do that is to raise your dps. There is a threshold where the diminishing returns of shield/absorb/defense is out weighed by the addition of dps stats. Although you can argue against it "skank tank" is actually the best overall functional build, not only for PvE but PvP as well (with a different stat build due to the fight environment change).

Since they dumbed down the whole gearing stat setup and made everything else in the game cookie cutter gearing, the whole "skank tank" gearing setup is the last area where you need half a brain to min/max for your personal style and not BiS.

As a PT tank main, I would say that the most FUN way to do any content in this game is by going skank with tank relics

like 44% crit and 39% shield, use slow every possible slow ability (like oil, shatter slug, neurodarts) to kite both creeps and enemy players, gather them together and nuke with all the aoe class has to offer. It is much more interesting, challenging, and makes you really want to study every ability and when to use it rather than stupidly staying in one place, spamming taunts, and hope your team will do the job. And its the only way you do pvp by the way on tank classes, we still don't have any reason to put anything with defense stat on it, really, and it is rarely useful in any other content as well unless you are the main tank in ops, but to be honest it is not as much fun as being DWT so I'll usually pass the main tank role in ops to someone else.

Well the question should be why allow the lopsidedness one class dominates over the other like we seeing with shooting characters lately, and the way cheating in warzone goes on.

Swtor developer have acknowledge this countless time, but to date not much has changed.

it make the game uninteresting and unfair when one character has more of advantage over the other just as much as it does if someone resorts to using software to cheat.

its like the current contents its just so boring with dailies no chapters and new story lines i do agree less companions is need but that can be corrected with new storyline but not going back to the origin days of just five companions and class storyline which is why this game is boring.