Hi there.

So I'm a Guardian tank that is unfortunately forced to pug most of my progression due to my guild's inactivity at the moment (also have several friends here so I can't just leave).

At the moment I've cleared EV on normal, KP on normal, and have got every single item I need from HM FPs. I'm full Columi with the Rakata ear/implants from the dailies as well. I've ran the normal mode ops a couple of times after achieving my current level of gear and it appears there are no upgrades left for me in those operations.

I'm a BioChem, my standing HP is 20,570, and with the Trooper fort buff I'm at 21 something.

My question is: am I sufficiently geared to run NiM ops? I'd really prefer to skip hard mode, since I see NiM tanks walking around with only slightly more HP than I have.

I'm VERY anxious to jump into NiM because a friend of mine has recently made my intense efforts an absolute JOKE. He hit 50 like three weeks ago, he still has greens on him and didn't even know about the Ilum/Belsavis dailies until I showed him them last week. Last night he responded to an ad for 1 dps for NiM KP and he went - they did a speed run and he got the title and mount!! Now he's talking like proudcock and it pisses me off to no end.

Am I able to hop right into NiM as well, or do I need to go through the ladder since I'm a tank and not a dps whose slack can be picked up by better players? UGH!!! Preferably looking for information from other Guardian tanks who can advise me.

Thanks.

You're ready.

For Nightmare, right?

Pugging as a tank (at least for me on my server) is close to impossible to do. But I would say your in a rather good position to do anything you really want in the game. The Devs said the real difference between NiM and HM Ops is that Coordinating 16 people is far trickier then doing 8 on a HM, other then that the Values don't look much different. I do do feel for you, a couple dps in my guild have a piece of Rakata and I'm just getting into Full Columi myself. Pugging a DPS on a speed run with skilled characters is nothing to be proud of so idk why he is bragging since you are way better geared then he is, and if you were to do that again he would probably cause some wipes here and there.

But enough of my tangent. The only thing you need to worry about with doing NiM mode is the DPS. Since most of the fights apparently require 0 or 2 tanks in KP. You should be well and fine when doing it. Heck you might be able to get into full Rakata faster then your friend and then you have something to brag about since your job is way harder then his.

The gear check for the most part is on the DPS and healers. The damage increase can be pretty noticeable from hard mode and exponential from normal mode, but if you're at that gear level I think it's safe to say you're ready.

I really wouldn't expect anything different as far as gear goes. Nightmare is designated for the epeeners. They give extra vanity rewards like mounts, pets, titles, etc. There is no difference from the quality of loot dropped. Just thought I'd add that.

If the DPS are geared as they should be, then you're going to lose aggro, a lot. I wouldn't say you should go. If you just want to best your friend then you should find a run to carry you as an OT.

If you're just wanting the challenge and progression, then do HM first.

If the DPS are geared as they should be, then you're going to lose aggro, a lot. I wouldn't say you should go. If you just want to best your friend then you should find a run to carry you as an OT.

 

If you're just wanting the challenge and progression, then do HM first.

Ouch.

I always had that dichotomy in the back of my mind so I guess I was right after all.

Ouch.

 

I always had that dichotomy in the back of my mind so I guess I was right after all.

Well, that can be worked around though, with speccing right.

If they're healers are up to par, you can spec to do more damage by not going all the way in the tanking tree.

Focus purely on damage for most of the fights so you don't get pulled off of, however on fights like foreman crusher this is not the best idea.

I agree 100% with the idea of you going through a carry run as an OT. Spec yourself as a DPS with the spare points going into defensive talents and try and build a second columi set for DPS. Keep swapping back and forth.

If you want I can send you the spec that our Guardian OT uses. He decimates on damage and can tank a boss with no issues.

Your HP looks okay, but this isn't the stat that will govern whether or not you're "ready" for HM/NiM.

As you're in full Columi, I assume that you are ready. However, it is worth comparing your Damage Reduction, Defence Chance etc % against others. I'm a Powertech, so my stats are different to yours, but as a rule of thumb for NiM I was always told to have at least 50% Dam Reduction, 15% Def Chance and 40% in both Shield traits.

I've worked on this significantly and it does make a large difference. Less need to heal the tank means more time for healers to keep DPS alive in order to meet the enrage timers.