Hi guys! I was just curious about a few things. I am a fairly new player to the game and thus far have mostly focused on DPS classes to get a feel for the game. Traditionally, I am either a tank or healer. I played WoW for a multitude of years alternating between Warrior, Paladin, and Priest mains. My favorite roll of all has always been tank though. It is difficult and a lot of stress, but I enjoy it. From what I've been reading online and around these forums though, the community as a whole are very judgmental of tanks and quite harsh in their grading of them and such reports have left me afraid of tanking at all. I have since tried a couple healing classes and have found success playing a Mercenary and a Sage and while I enjoy it, it simply is not as exciting as tanking and certainly does not feel as rewarding. So how is the community on new players when it comes to a tank? Are they normally forgiving and leave room for mistakes or is it a quick learning curve or quickly find yourself denied in groups? From what I understand, tanking in this game is a tough role and is likely one I will need a good bit of practice at, but it is where my passion in MMOs usually lays. It is mostly that I enjoy this game immensely and do not want to be turned off by bad community experiences considering the community seems rather small and exclusive to begin with. ^.^

 

Also, with that in mind I have a couple questions:

 

RP servers vs PvE servers: Which tends to have a larger and more active community? I like the idea of being able to eventually RP as I max out my character, but I've been in an RP server thus far and I've seen the general chat go dead quiet for over an hour on some planets and up to 30 minutes on the fleet, sometime longer. It makes the game feel a bit dead for an mmo and as a social player, it drives me a bit crazy. I was just wondering if that is normal or just unique to my server. ^.^

 

Republic vs Empire: Which tends to be more active and more willing to group? I've noticed that as a republic player, finding open world groups for Heroics tends to be a pain and most of the time you simply get a "gain more levels so you can solo it" as a response.

 

Beginning tanking: If I do decide to start tanking, which class tends to be the easiest to 'learn' in? I like to PvP a good bit while I play, so decent PvPing would be nice as well. I know each class has its advantages and disadvantages and if I get into tanking, I plan to own all of them, but I'd like to start with the 'easiest' to learn.

 

Thanks ahead of time. I appreciate you taking the time to help a wee little noob. ^.^

PvE will tend to be more populated. RP will tend to be a better community.

 

I play on The Harbinger and I find the Imperial side to be more populated. I play both sides as I am playing through all of the class stories.

 

Regarding tanking, I have no experience with such things in this game. I think it falls into playstyle, but a quick google search might shed some light on which is best for what (multi-mob tanking, single-mob tanking, off-tanking, etc.) I do know that certain healers excel at certain areas.

 

My one suggestion to ease the introduction to the game would be to first know what gear you want to use. Know your primary stat (Str - JK/SW, Will - SI/JC, Aim - Trooper/BH, Cunning - Smuggler/Agent). Know your other gear options as well. Nothing makes getting along with community harder than rolling on something you cant even use or shouldnt use.

 

Good luck.

as far as being a new tank and grouping with others, just be sure you let others know that you are new. people will usually be more patient or give you some pointers. also, when you get to end game, make sure your gear is up to date or you won't be able to do much good if your other party members out gear you.

 

i play on the Jedi Covenant server, and there's always plenty of people online for both factions. people always looking for groups for FPs and heroics. it's not an RP server though, it's PVE.

 

now, i've played all three tank class types all the way to level 50. i would say that (and this is just my opinion) shadow/assassin tanks are the easiest to use, with vanguard/powertech being second, and guardian/juggernaut being the hardest. i would choose either shadow/assassin or vanguard/powertech to be your first. shadows have stealth, heal procs on their attacks, and have it easier when trying to hold aoe agro. vanguards have good utility with having both a leap and a pull, as well as a long range aoe taunt.

 

having said that, though...my guardian is my favorite and the most satisfying tank to play for me. it's harder to hold aoe agro with them, but i enjoy the workout. it's a lot of fun. if you're looking for a good challenge, i'd start with a guardian/juggernaut.

Thanks guys! I'll take this advice to heart and probably switch over to a PvE server. It's gonna hurt starting all over again, but eh. It'll be worth it if I end up enjoying the server more. I've heard good things about both Harbinger and Jedi Covenant through the forums, so I guess I'll give one a shot.

Republic vs Empire: Which tends to be more active and more willing to group? I've noticed that as a republic player, finding open world groups for Heroics tends to be a pain and most of the time you simply get a "gain more levels so you can solo it" as a response.

 

I've played both Rep and Imp on the Harbinger, and it's been reasonably easy to group for Heroics on both sides. Of course, there are times when I can't find a group, but I have been able to do the vast majority of Heroics on all of my toons (and I have no guild, and none of my friends play).

 

As far as the "gain more levels so you can solo it" responses, ignore them. Such remarks are made by trolls who are just trying to stroke their own egos at your expense. Be careful what you wish for: a more populated server will also contain a higher number of fools.

 

You are correct that some groups have a low tolerance for newbs. But as a previous poster said, if you tell your group up front that you're new to tanking, and that you're willing to learn, most people will help you out and be much more forgiving.

 

If it makes you feel any better, tanks aren't the only ones who get mercilessly chastised. Healers can get just as much harassment.

 

My main is a Guardian, and I love it. Yes, area aggro is difficult to deal with. But single-enemy aggro is a breeze, particularly with the hybrid Defense/Vigilence spec I use. And as a previous poster said, when faced with area aggro issues, I enjoy the challenge.