I love PVP in this game, but I feel it could be so much better. Apart from the obvious problems (queue times, lags, lack of PVP content, etc.), my main issue is with the so-called Combat Team. I would expect every CT member to have reached at least Battlemaster rank for all advanced classes and play at least an hour of PVP a day. Unless they do so, how would they have proper overview and experience to successfully achieve something so complex like balance?

I hoped patch 3.0 would offer proper solution to the biggest problems, but I am disappointed at the outcome. I am going over some of the major issues (not in order of importance) and try to offer a solution.

I. Melee/ranged/stealth discrepancy

II. Resolve system and time to kill

III. Incentive

IV. Additional changes

Chapter I - Melee/ranged/stealth discrepancy

I fail to see why devs won't understand (or won't care) that it is impossible to achieve balance for DPS classes in PVE, warzones and arenas at the same time with same Discipline (or previously: skill tree).

As long as ranged and stealth classes need to have same damage output for operations (PVE), PVP is never going to be balanced. If those classes have same damage, plus control & mobility and even defensive skills as non-stealther melee classes do, the latter are always going to underperform in warzones.

Discipline utilities should not be split to Skillful/Masterful/Heroic but to Operation (PVE), Warzone (PVP) and Arena (PVP). This way an over/underperforming class in a certain environment may be adjusted easily without affecting the other gametypes for you would only be able to pick one pack (out of the three) at a time.

For example, a sage would be helpless in an arena without force barrier, but it seems to be too strong for warzones, especially for defending objectives. Solution? Make FB an arena exclusive skill. In return, force armor on self (and only on self) should get duration buff and more damage absorb for warzones.

Are powertechs extremely irritating in warzones with Hydraulic Override on short cooldown? Make it a 2 minute cooldown for warzones. Are snipers overpowered in warzones, yet underperfoming in arenas? Make changes to their movement-impairing skills and/or immunityfor warzones, yet give them better survavibility in arenas.

Or here is another one: sentinels' defense in a warzone is pathetic. While they should be fine in an arena, where they may get guard and heals, in warzones guard is on healer and everyone is short on heals owing to focus fire and short TTK (Time To Kill). Solution? Change guarded by the force for warzones (and leave it unchanged for arenas and PVE).

Is a certain class doing ridiculous damage in PVP owing to rotation/class mechanism but would underperform otherwise in PVE? Just reduce overall damage and put a damage buff into the Operation (PVE) tab.

Also, it would be high time to decide what is the vision for roles (melee/ranged/stealth) in PVP. Either go for rock (melee) – paper (ranged) – scissors (stealth) or create a balance where the outcome of one-on-one is not determined. Whichever is chosen, it must be consistant and transparent.

As a sidenote for discrepancy: you see the greatest balance issues between advanced DPS classes sharing same class. A guardian tears a sentinel apart, a sage is helpless against the shadow, a commando is piece of cake for a vanguard. A solution for this problem would be a different topic.

For now, playing non-stealther melee DPS in warzones is mazochism. Melee is stunned, rooted, focused, slowed, mezzed and most importantly, has to chase the enemy. With all the ranged classes having additional root brakers, watching a melee-ranged encounter looks like a classis scene from the Benny Hill show (remember the music?).

Playing ranged and kiting or playing stealther and circulating is far more easier than chasing the others as melee. Also, a ranged does not have to face the enemy directly, my char shoots almost to any direction (270 degrees if not mistaken), so it does not matter which way the enemy is comming from/tries to escape, whereas not only do I have to be extremely close as melee to deal damage, but I also have to face the enemy.

It is not a problem for a stealth melee for they have the upper hand and control the battle, but a non-stealther melee class needs to adjust constantly requiring very good co-ordination of both hands, fast response, key-binding and/or dedicated hardware (MMO mouse). All this mazochism for same damage output and slightly better survavibility (if at all)?

As for the redesigned skill trees (disciplines) – I would not mind if each advanced class had only 2 disciplines instead of three in case the Combat Team could create more diversified game experience. For example, there would be a DPS discipline with great AOE and Control/Mobility, while the other would have great single target damage with strong defensive skills (and not random combination of these or ad absurdum all of them, pointing at hatred assasins/serenity shadows). PVPers would pick whichever is closer to their playstyle, while nightmare progression raiders will decide depending on the bossfight. Sometimes less is more.

I am also very disappointed by the simplification of rotations and the removal of base class skills. Let's take the sentinel for example again, I used cauterize and riposte on my sentinels a lot during levelling, raids and PVP encounters for those were better than slash regardless of saber form (skill tree). Now I am stuck with the few skills I have left.

Thank you for your constructive feedbacks in advance.

Chapter I - Role discrepancy: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=791049

Chapter II - Resolve system: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=793354

Chapter III - Incentive (gearing and bolster): http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=791987

Chapter IV - Minor changes: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=793035

Ok I will respond.

This was actually suggested in 2.X; well kind of. We said that one tree should be for PvP and one for PvE. For example Deception was the PvP spec and madness (now hatred) was the PvE spec, or focus (now concentration) was the PvP spec, combat was a mix and watchman was the PvE spec, or Engineering was the PvP spec, lethality was the PvE and marksman was a mix, Arsenal : PvP, pyro : PvE, Vengeance : PvE, Rage : PvE, AP : PvE, Pyro : PvP etc. This was not received well by a lot of people as they wanted to play both specs in both aspects of the game and BW agreed.

As for utilities being PvE/PvP, well we actually have that ... sort of. Because people get to choose which utilities they want for each. The problem is that somethings that should honestly be default for a spec are now in the utilities, the most glaring example is jarring strike imo since its a tier 3 utility that only honestly works for concealment. Another problem is too many really good techniques are too low like stun bubble, overload root and 25% DCD for sorcs allowing sorc healers for example to have ridiculous kiting abilities.

So yeah TL;DR:

The utilities are segregated by what they do and segregating active/passive abilities was sort of asked for but shot down.