...does this bother anyone else? I mean, yeah, it's a force-user and a sith, so it's a given the class needs a lightsaber... but to have no animations with it? And don't say "Sorcs have melee attacks, too!", yes, but they should never be used. The only time the class actually "uses" the lightsaber is when you get attacked; animation declares reflects, etc.

And yeah, I know this will probably never happen, but I was thinking... what if the sorc used the lightsaber as a conduit of the force? What if... Darth Traya style: http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/6/66893/1226740-darth_traya.jpg

Now, I really don't know where or how to put this in, but it always felt so strange how they're just holding it for no apparent reason. So, instead... what if we kept the range mechanics and actually had some kind of hoovering action going on? Some attack or mode for DPS sorcs to lift and attack with the saber using the force?

Well, point of sorc is that he uses ONLY the force. In other words, it's mage. The dude who can kill you without any weapon, just by moving his hand. While it would be nice to have some animations other then lightning in middle tree, using saber goes against the very idea of the class.

if you want to use sabers+force combo, assassins are your guys.

What the devs said:

Sage as Jedi

 

 

While the majority of these class representative questions, both Sages and other classes, have been about balance issues, the Sage community has a unique concern shared in some respects with our mirror class, the Sorcerer but in some ways unique to the Sage class. Put bluntly, the class has some visual and mechanical issues that make it feel more like a traditional mage class instead of a Jedi. There are two main reasons for this: (1) We don’t use our lightsaber for anything; (2) Several animations lack the feeling of power. Discussing those in turn.

 

Sages and Sorcerers are force using classes and as such have the lightsaber as a weapon proficiency. In addition, our force free attack Saber Strike is a melee attack. The game mechanics, however, go out of their way to ensure that players have no incentive to use their lightsaber for any reason. Sages have only two weapon attacks and those attacks do not benefit from our main stat Willpower. This results in the unique situation of Sages (and Sorcerers) being the only class that does not use their main weapon for anything save a stat boost. This is directly LORE breaking as even the archetypal Sage and Sorcerer, Yoda and Palpatine were gifted melee combatants.

 

The second issue is with respect to certain animations of the Sage specifically. With the understanding that to mirror the consular and inquisitor classes, certain design choices had to be made, nevertheless many members of the Sage community question the appropriateness of two signature moves of the consular, Project and Telekinetic Throw. It is questionable whether Jedi should be using the force in this manner from a LORE perspective. Yoda tells us, “A Jedi uses the force for knowledge and defense, never to attack.” And the only force users in the movies to use telekinesis to throw items as an attack are the Sith: Darth Vader (in Ep.V), Darth Tyranus (in Ep. 2 & 3) and Darth Sidious (In Ep.3) Also, some players simply consider TK Throw particularly to be a lackluster animation that lacks the coolness factor of lightning on the Sith side – and nowhere in six movies or a host of licensed games, has debris throwing been a signature jedi move. For more information see http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=718365

 

 

Will the developer do anything to ameliorate these issues? Examples include allowing Willpower to affect melee attacks; providing additional worthwhile lightsaber attacks; and offering alternate animations via the Cartel Market or otherwise (Marketing take note!).

 

We could rather easily make Willpower affect melee attacks for Sages/Sorcerers, but we have no intention to make Sages/Sorcerers use their lightsabers more than they currently do. In terms of lore, the particular attributes that make someone a “Jedi Sage” or a “Sith Sorcerer” vary over the vast timeline of the Star Wars galaxy. And while Yoda and Palpatine were definitely inspirations for these classes, they are never identified by those terms in the films, and it wasn’t our intention to make direct gameplay clones of those characters in any case. Our feeling was that there are many players who want the experience of playing as a Jedi/Sith who relies almost solely on their mastery of the Force to resolve the challenges they face, with the lightsaber serving only as a secondary weapon; these classes were designed with that experience in mind.

 

As far as offering alternate animations and visual effects via the Cartel Market is concerned, only time will tell. Your message has been passed onto the team responsible for Cartel Market updates, and if it is possible, then you might see those options appear in the future.

 

What the devs said:

The people answering player questions on these forums are the masters of non-answer and the platitudinous. Loosely gathering words to... I don't even know - are they trying to convince themselves or us with it?

Thanks for the info, though, Nala.

"Ah, yes. A Jedi's weapon." - Palpatine.

Straight from the horse's mouth. Sith don't need lightsabers. Leave those flashy toys to the pompous goodie-goodies.

If Sorcs were rebalanced to use Melee weapons it would actually be a massive nerf to the class and likely require a complete overhaul.

I wonder if you guys really know what you are asking for?

If Sorcs were rebalanced to use Melee weapons it would actually be a massive nerf to the class and likely require a complete overhaul.

 

I wonder if you guys really know what you are asking for?

What? Why does it have to be a "complete overhaul"? And how does it bring a "massive nerf" when you don't even seem to understand my original post? I'm not saying turn sorcs into jugg, I'm saying implement a way for sorcs to actually use their lightsaber for SOMETHING. And, in my opinion, the best route would be like Darth Traya. Make it hoover. Attack, buff, proc, whatever - the saber would be close to your target during this attack/buff/proc and then return.

Like I said, I never said I had the best solution, but I do know entirely what I'm asking for. Right now, it just looks stupid.

A option could also be to change the onehand saber and make it into a twohand kind of staff. Not a dualblade one but more like a magestaff kind of thing. Then we could use it as a "focuspoint" to do the powers from.

Kind of like mages do in dragon age.

And yes this is wery much somthing I would pay cartel coins for :

I've grown to quite like the sabre.

I would pay CC for some animations to include the sabre though.

I remember suggesting months ago for an animation override to make you thrust sabre into the ground and it creates a pulse knocking foes back (instead of Force Wave? forgot name, haven't played Sorc in while).

I really think they should start creating animation overrides. They would make a fortune. Not sure how people would feel in PvP though. I PvP alot, and my opinion would simply be "get used to it" - like everything else.