I genuinely enjoy playing my sage again after the patch. I main a sage healer on The Red Eclipse (formerly the Nightmare lands, formerly Peragus Mining Facility) I never really stopped playing my sage, since it was my only lvl 50, So I played through the nightmare that was 1.3 where melee reigned supreme.

I don't fret about melee anymore due to my new and wonderful tools against them. I truly feel like I actually matter in warzones now. Not just because of my heals, but because I actually counter several melee builds.

I run the 23/17/1 hybrid spec. (post 1.3)

Post 1.4 things usually go like this:

2+ melee jump to me.

My bubble pops on their Ravage/master strike (interrupting 2nd and/or 3rd strike)

I move a bit and use force wave

9 secs of CC right there (3 sec stun, 6 sec root)

Bubble is back 8 secs later. I still have my hard stun, my mez and my force speed.

Before the new patch there were BiS marauders/juggers that I knew would kill me no matter what. Now, they need to work for ages to get me down, effectively countering their burst and rendering them useless if they tunnel vision me.

It is refreshing to feel like I am a useful addition to a wz now.

Lolsmashers and middle tree specced maras/sents can do nothing against me now. Not unless they truly coordinate their stuffs (which is ok with me, cuz 2-3 ppl working together should kill 1 guy no matter what he tries to do on his own)

Thanks bioware, you guys gave sage/sorc heals a spec that is a very viable PvP option.

Coming from a Pyro PT and Concealment Operative...

While DPS sorc/sage are still pretty facerolling easy to kill, but hybrid healing sorc/sage is so amazingly annoying to kill. Not that they can really kill me but with all their CCs I usually get killed by their peels while standing still blinded or rooted.

On top of that now I have to burn thru ~5k extra HP thanks to their new self heal.

Coming from a Pyro PT and Concealment Operative...

While DPS sorc/sage are still pretty facerolling easy to kill, but hybrid healing sorc/sage is so amazingly annoying to kill. Not that they can really kill me but with all their CCs I usually get killed by their peels while standing still blinded or rooted.

 

On top of that now I have to burn thru ~5k extra HP thanks to their new self heal.

That is my only regret in 1.4 Sages and Sorcs are pidgeonholed into exactly 1 spec if they want to be viable. The 1.4 changes are awesome if you run that spec, otherwise Sage/sorcs are in the same place as before.

Full spec heals got a good amount of direct survivability, but lost some utility for it (hard stun range)

Full spec TK wasn't viable pre-1.4, still isn't (You have the CC of a hybrid heals, but you are still too dependent on hard casts)

Full spec balance is (and was) decent, but the new changes gave the least to those guys, so they still aren't viable enough (unless played by a very good PvPer which by extension would do better on any class than most other people anyways)

Considering 1.2 was trying to make full specs more viable, I find it hilarious that 1.4 gave sages a new hybrid "best spec"

That is my only regret in 1.4 Sages and Sorcs are pidgeonholed into exactly 1 spec if they want to be viable. The 1.4 changes are awesome if you run that spec, otherwise Sage/sorcs are in the same place as before.

Full spec heals got a good amount of direct survivability, but lost some utility for it (hard stun range)

Full spec TK wasn't viable pre-1.4, still isn't (You have the CC of a hybrid heals, but you are still too dependent on hard casts)

Full spec balance is (and was) decent, but the new changes gave the least to those guys, so they still aren't viable enough (unless played by a very good PvPer which by extension would do better on any class than most other people anyways)

 

Considering 1.2 was trying to make full specs more viable, I find it hilarious that 1.4 gave sages a new hybrid "best spec"

^ This exactly. Hybrid heals are very good right now for RWZ, but the other specs are still liabilities. It is still just better to bring in other dps classes.

The concept of hard casting is so taboo in this game because there are only 2 ACs that actually do it. And, in my mind, that sucks because, as you said, you lose too much and gain too little from it. BW failed on that aspect of the game, imo. TK/Lightning, in full spec, should be PvP viable.

I'd say 3 ACs on each faction uses hard casts (Commandos, Sages and Gunslingers) Since gunslingers/snipers are the only AC who gets a reliable tool to use to get off their hard casts, they are the only casting AC that are viable in ranked play (again with the caveat that a good player can make any class work well enough)

I really hope Bioware will keep tweaking the non-viable casters 'till they are as viable as insta-casters.

10 sec interrupt imunity every 2 mins is a hilariously limited tool for a caster when compared to the cover mechanics.

What is this hybrid spec (link plz)?

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#600GhMRrdMzZfsbM0MbZ0z.2

Pre-cast your bubble, manually pop it and reapply while walking a bit, then AoE KB into 6 sec root (lolsmash)

let the melee pop it on their master strikes (Combat sents)

Use force slow and force speed 1v1

LoS and kite around pillars.

Profit.

Glad you feel better I guess. I still have no problems 1v1ing and destroying Sorcs, dps or heals. Still free kills to me.

It's a shame we're not on the same server, I wouldn't mind pitting my sage up against your sentinel (or is it marauder?) You aren't a FOtM re-roller so I suspect you're BiS by now. I can't remember if I ever saw you post what spec you roll with, but an educated guess is watchman.

Now, I know I won't kill you, but considering the PvP in this game is objective based, I will never need to, I just need to occupy your DPS long enough for the team to get the upper hand. Post 1.4 I am capable of doing just that with the spec I posted above (I have the gear too, so that's not going to be the issue)

I am not surprised that you consider sage/sorc heals and dps free kills still, as I previously mentioned, I don't consider full spec sage/sorc anything viable.

Post 1.4 I can play ranked on my sage and feel useful and viable. Not as a full dps, nor as a full healer, I am CC, utility, off heals and with a tank able to withstand quite a lot of punishment.

A power stacked BiS juggernaut.. Now those I really don't like. If caught between bubbles I am still pretty much dead meat if caught in the jumpsmashpushjumpchokesmash lollercopter.

How much heal do you regularly pump out? How useful are you to your team without top aoe heal? I do acknowledge the ridiculous survivability of this built. Your buble is never a problem for me, but force speed and now root cleansing just makes range dps so much more useless at shutting you down. Oh well, at least any attempt to actually confront me, or stay in my sight for too long provides me with lots of fun moments.

Balance wise melee should always shut you down as you can LoS range dps without any trouble.

At first i thought the free 30 sec heal was a poor mans fix, but the more I use it the more it seems to fit the class.

gotta drain HPs to get force, no problem now, you just mend it back- you lose GCDs on each force recovery, and then another GCD on the heal...seems fair to me. Before it seemed way too counterproductive to drop HPs to gain force, plus losing all those GCDs and ending up dangerously low HPs for the little force recovered.

And if you arent low on force, its a nice boost to your HPs in lieu of defensive cooldowns.

I enjoy my sage/sorc 123% more after 1.4

if nothing else its been nice to weave a new tactic into my play with a new button to press.

A power stacked BiS juggernaut.. Now those I really don't like. If caught between bubbles I am still pretty much dead meat if caught in the jumpsmashpushjumpchokesmash lollercopter.

I call this the washing machine.

I feel like a pile of clothes just getting tumbled, picked up, then wrung out.

How much heal do you regularly pump out? How useful are you to your team without top aoe heal? I do acknowledge the ridiculous survivability of this built. Your buble is never a problem for me, but force speed and now root cleansing just makes range dps so much more useless at shutting you down. Oh well, at least any attempt to actually confront me, or stay in my sight for too long provides me with lots of fun moments.

 

Balance wise melee should always shut you down as you can LoS range dps without any trouble.

concrete numbers vary too much to be meaningful, especially considering the potential amount of damage prevented over the course of a wz through blinds and AoE roots. I don't shine numbers wise.

the Aoe heal is good at getting your team killed. Present smasher meta makes it unwise to go in a tight pack, I like rooting those melee jumpers for 6 seconds tyvm. The nerbuff on our kb is not keenly felt with a 3 second aoe blind to buffer potential server lag and potitioning glitches. LoS is the only counter to a wellpositioned ranged after range nerf on stun.