Class changes and balance in Game Update 1.3

Well, I for one am very pleased that the developers/community managers actually spent the time to write why the changes to each class were made. I don't think i've seen that from other games when class changes were made.

That said, I am also very happy to see the changes that are coming to assassin's using a tank-spec but wearing DPS gear. It was rather overpowered as they dealt too much damage and had too much survivability in PvP. I hope the patch changes the dynamic to make them either one or the other, but not both tank AND dps at the same time.

Our guild has a Shadow tank who doesn't use the heal in her rotation because she doesn't have to. What BioWare is here stating is that using the Shadow self-heal is the intended design of the class.

It sounds to me like some are just not wanting to play the class as it was intended. Adjust your rotation, that simple.

It sounds to me like you have no clue whatsoever on this subject, as pretty much proven by your signature. A shadow tank that wasn't using Harnessed for healing was an idiot, and likely one that caused unnecessary problems for their healers. All those with half a clue were, and are, using it, and having that cut by 1/3 pushes us that much closer to total irrelevance.

Probably true. We have an excellent healer. She's healed for us through many MMOs. The Shadow tanks quite well. Will double-check with her to make sure she's using Harness.

That said, if the class isn't performing within parameters overall, then the class isn't performing within parameters overall.

Not quite.

On the contrary I'm certain that they've tested for these changes and it has been thoroughly calculated. The problem for players is that they've settled for one the narrowest minded solutions. Changes that are lacking and of this nature, shouldn't come as a surprise anymore.

They've taken up the challenge of building up a virtual entity that's mobile at its best and simply tweaked it's upper flow (i.e. logic), while ignoring how it's lower level mechanisms interact with each other -- the stuff that PvPers will [eventually] notice and contend with day in, day out. Instead of expanding upon or making certain aspects more intriguing, they'll just 'tweak it' or stuff add-ons into place.

I just think those with a voice either have no understanding or refuse to accept the nature of PvP. If I had anything left to tell them is that, the realities of PvP are fleeting. I wrote a critical post on this thread yesterday (that I retracted) that basically stated: the office is willing to go to any length to isolate the player variable and I reason that PvPers will neither enjoy or thrive in that environment. They've constantly tried their damndest to manipulate this game into producing acceptable 'returns' but in a bass ackwards fashion, which unfortunately for the team, many players have noticed this.

****, by the time 1.1 came out, I thought to myself this is Star Wars: The Old Republic? At that point I knew the only way things could change was to have the shot-callers replaced. Then yesterday I checked out the PTS and got all excited until I glanced at the patch notes and saw the Assassin's changes -- I thought it was a misprint. It's not surprising that the stream of disappointments (for PvPers especially) hasn't and will not cease until someone with an at least basic understanding of PvP begins to call the shots.

What improved resource management? 1 energy cell with a 50% crit chance for up to every 3 seconds compared to 1 every 6 seconds is definitely not an improvement for arsenal/gunnery.
Makes it so you can rely on it a bit better rather than a "hope I don't get unlucky to not crit 5 times in a row" thing.
So now would be a good time to give commandos more surge and less crit on our gear seeing as how we no longer need it. 500 crit rating isn't very good.

As for shadows tanks:
There goes my ending the infernal council with 100% hp and never dropping below 90%
I'll withold my judgement on ops tanking with the nerfs until I try it myself though.

Lets see. Immortal Juggernaut DPS got a huge hit with the changes to single saber mastery, crushing blow, and backhand. In PvP I won't be able to dish out anything. Rage spec is now completely useless without relics and adrenals in pvp since its purely a burst class with little sustainability.

Sorcs got absolutely nothing.

Maras/Sents didn't get any long overdue balancing to their ridiculous survivability cooldowns.


I guess its time to roll a marauder or quit right Bioware?

the only heal shadows have is when you have shadows stacked enough and use TKT. TKT has a cool down and it's ok in PVP use to restore health, but in PVE it's extremely situational mainly due to it's CD in PVE, hence why your guild's shadow tank doesn't use it in her rotation. relying on TKT to make up for a armor nerf and nerf that same healing skill by 50% doesn't ring any logic to me. The intended design of the class(or at least one of it's primary rolls) was to be a melee tank, being light armor and reducing said armor whilst also reducing the self heals that supposedly make or break the tank effectively removes it from being a tank. Advanced class reset please?

We have mediocre damage , mediocre utility and now no roll as a tank either, what exactly are shadows supposed to do after 1.3 besides PVP?

Thats exactly what they do; they ONLY listen to PvPers. Give me a break; if that were the case, this patch would have also seen the nerf of Pyrotech Powertechs/ Assault Specialist Vanguards and Annihilation Marauders/ Watchmen Sentinels (as there was PLENTY of NErf calls for them).

Think a little harder before you QQ about a balance to your class that addresses how assassins were the single greatest node capper/defenders in WZs bar none.

This was needed.

1.3 will not affect shadows/sins hardly at all in PVP, we will still pwn you and ninja caps for everyone
I tested it, it kills pve roll as a tank, pvp is as is, PVP already uses different mechanics from PVE the two aren't connected. This comes from people hating on the fact that BW made a light armor class a TANK. These who complain are hardcore OCD mmo players who expect all games to conform to "certain rules" and light armor tanking is a no no.