I'm pretty sure that sentinel had to burn some serious *** money to medpacks while leveling if (s)he used them to recover also out of combat

Well my main is a dark sided sith pureblood marauder so what do you think?

The only problem is that the patch is 2,4 GB big and it will take "some" hours to download, thanks to my "not so fast" connection Anyways, it would be so much fun and a big relief to get an official announcement from BW about the issue. Do we need to get "an invitation mail" to gain the early access to Makeb or is everyone who purchased the expansion before 7th of January automatically allowed in even without an email? I pre-purchased 25th of December as I already said and if I'm not allowed in today I definitely will start breaking things...

Same here, No email. I purchased the expansion 25th December and my account page says it has been registered that same day. I'm downloading the update now...I sure hope BW/EA has not messed up...

I dinged 50 with my arsenal merc just a week ago and leveled from 1 to 50 with Mako with no problem. Mako's personal story running at the side is also fun to do while leveling.

If there are vanguard and sentinel dps in the group with same level gear it may be a good thing to think if the tank should guard the vanguard then instead of the sentinel. It probably is also quite situational(=depends on the FP they are doing for example). The point still was not to compare the dps classes but to point out guarding healers in tier 1 HM FPs is pointless and useless.

Marauder in same grade or better gear than the tank tends to steal aggro from the tank if the player of the marauder knows even the basic rotations for the current spec. Marauder with an augmented set of BH gear or better is ALWAYS entitled to get the guard in tier 1 HM FPs as no other dps class is going to do more dps than that marauder. As stated before guarding healers in tier 1 HM FPs is pointless. Mathematics and threat mechanics previously posted in this thread prove that. Marauder/sentinel sure has one of the best aggrodumps in the game but it has a rather long 45 sec CD which makes it basically useable only once against every big group of thrash/silvers/golds and roughly twice against bosses. One really can't just spam it when one steals aggro from the tank. That's the main reason why tank should guard the marauder/sentinel, to give him/her the threat reduction so the marauder/sentinel can concentrate more on doing those best dps numbers in the game and less on popping aggrodumps and defensive tallents.

I just love the outlooks of my tuned BH Foestopper armorsets to even consider using those ugly looking Tionese-Rakata pieces!

Oh I have asked the guard oh so many times(you would have known this if you had actually read my former posts...)! The only problem is that 8 times out of 10 I get the generic answer from the tank "I will guard the healer, because his/her survival is the most essential to the group to succeed, I have guarded healers since lauch..." and when I politely explain the guard and threath mechanics I sometimes get the guard but most times not...And then the healer has to work his/her *** out to heal me as I tend to get more aggro than the tank...And that results the FP to take longer and increases the possibilities of unnecessary deaths...Only because the tank does not actually know his/her class, threat mechanics and guard mechanics...

Yeah maybe I'm too well geared then as I tend to get aggro too often. Catching threat every now and then is not the real problem but the fact tanks have some serious problems to take aggro back. I don't know if they just don't notice they have lost aggro or what but too often it takes too much time from then to take it back and the healer has to work too much to heal the tank and me during boss fights. I of course use Force Camouflage to dump my aggro when needed but it has 45 sec CD so it can't be used all the time. I do daily HMs in PuGs because it suits my schedule. There often aren't too many guildies around when I'm doing my dailies so PuGs are the most suitable solution. Honestly my own char does not need BH gear anymore but I still want to get few more BH pieces for my main companion for the expansion which is the main reason for me to do daily HMs. I also have used hundreds of hours to level and gear my marauder so I want to use the char too.

Ahaha, you could not be more wrong, buddy! I have to tune down my dpsing often, way too often. I have pretty much minmaxed half 63-half61-fully augmented marauder and after getting my char pretty much geared as well as I wanted I haven't enjoyed playing it too much anymore because I constantly have to tune down my dps and use Force Comouflage to dump aggro and have a pause from the fight. Just because even decently geared tanks can't hold aggro. I tend to steal aggro from the tank pretty much against any boss in Tier 1 HMs. I don't know if it's because the PuG tanks are bad or what but that's just the way it is. So please, next time you post, don't assume so much but read what people have told you. I actually have explained that ^^ same thing in this thread THREE(3!) times now because people are too lazy or ignorant to read and yell at me assuming they know me and my character. It's also hilarious to notice how many people still refuse to understand the guarding mechanics and threat mechanics even though some very helpful people have put the mechanics and mathematics into this thread for everyone to see and read. Maybe they just don't understand simple mathematics and what they have read...Or maybe they think they are "too good" and "elitist" to admit they were wrong...

The only problem is the aggro dumps have a rather long CD, marauder/sentinel has 45 sec CD on Force Camouflage. And trust me, I do have to use it quite often because...well bad tanks who guard the healer... I also laugh at your "I'm a tank, I'm priceless"-attitude I tell you a secret: I have TANKED several tier 1 HM bosses from 50 % and even above with my mara because the tanks have been dumb enough to get themselves killed. Also SYDEXLIC, thank you for posting those facts in an easy enough form for even tanks to understand

Just did my Daily HM in a PuG group. 25,5k hp Assassin tank could not keep aggro of me in Kaon even though s/he clearly knew how to play the class, not even with guard on me. It just seems my marauder does so awesome dps numbers when I give my best. S/he also was NOT a bad/dumb one as s/he gave me the guard right at the start without me even asking I still think guarding healers in tier 1 HMs is a total waste. When the tank guards the highest dps who knows kill orders the healer does not even need to heal himself/herself but only the tank and occasionally dps. When the tank guards the healer, the healer has to heal the tank and the dps who constantly steal aggro from the tank. I think most healers find the first option easier and more fun...

Don't Choke into your laugh...(Let's see if you get the meaning...choke you know...) I play half 63-half61-fully augmented marauder and I just happened to notice during the last few months that be it a jugg tank, assassin or powertech, they all have big problems to keep aggro off me when I put up my full dps-numbers. With guard on me the HMs go much more fluently as the healer does not have to concentrate on healing me and the tank but mainly only the tank. I also happen to know rotations and kill orders so the healer does not need to heal himself/herself too much. There are many tanks around who still refuse to give me the guard and I sometimes ever get private whispers after the run from healers like "I wish he would have given you the guard...". When I don't get the guard even after polite explanation I just tune down my dps. The run takes longer but it was purely the tank's choice. Healers don't need guard in tier 1 HMs if the tank knows how to keep aggro and the 2 dps know the kill orders. Of course there are people who aren't too good in MMOs, newcomers etc when guarding the healer and explaining things is a good thing but when the group is formed from skilled players who claim to know how to play their class putting guard on healer is waisting the guard which makes the healer's work more hard because s/he has to heal the tank and me.

If the tank automatically puts the guard on the healer even though there are high end geared marauders/sentinels in the group in tier 1 HM FPs s/he is a bad tank. If the tank refuses to give the guard to the said marauder/sentinel even after politely explained there's no need to guard healers in tier 1 HMs and guarding the highest dps(usually mara/sent) makes the FP go faster and easier for everyone the tank is also a dumb one. I can't even remember when I would have gotten the guard in a PuG HM FP group without asking it first even though I do Daily HMs in PuG almost daily basis. The tank that made me finally to put this little rant online was something pretty awful too: he was not able to use his 23,5k hp jugg tank to keep aggro off from a 19k hp merc healer in Black Talon HM even with the guard on the healer...