Quote



Note: All arguments apply to the Imperial class equivalent.



Quote: Which specializations/classes could use some buffing?



31pt Healing Sages could also use a slight defensive/survivability buff for PvP. As it stands many healing Sages are respeccing to hybrid Seer/Telekinetics for root on knockback and AoE blinds on Force Armor break, simply for a sorely-needed survivability buff (and extra utility). They can afford to do this because the 31pt Seer talent, the AoE heal, is too cumbersome and too easily interruptible to be of practical use in high-level PvP, and as I alluded to before, the extra defenses from the Telekinetics tree outweigh any benefits gained from going 31 points deep into Seer.



Balance-spec Sages run into Force management issues in extended fights when using a competitive DPS rotation - this is especially apparent in endgame raid boss fights. Other classes/specs can run their optimal DPS rotation and have equal or better DPS than a Balance Sage and never run into permanent resource issues. As such, Balance Sages could use a slight buff to Force recovery options (elaborated in skill changes question below.)



Telekinetic Sages are also extremely difficult to play effectively in PvP and/or are otherwise too easy to counter. (Sounds awfully familiar to Gunnery Commandos!). However this tree cannot be given too many usability buffs or otherwise the Balance tree will become inferior to Telekinetics, as Telekinetics already provides superior burst damage, better AoE damage, infinite resource management, and stronger defenses. In fact, the Telekinetic tree would likely become overpowered in this state. As such if the Telekinetic spec gets usability buffs, at least one of the strengths mentioned above should be toned down to compensate, and/or the Balance spec should be buffed to remain competitive with Telekinetics.



Quote: Which specializations/classes are currently too powerful?



Assault Spec Vanguards have extremely high burst and sustained DPS and have no significant weaknesses or limitations to counter their DPS. The results one can attain with this class is disproportionately high to the relative lack of effort required to achieve said results, unlike, say, Sentinels or Sages which require more micromanagement of skills and cooldowns for maximum effectiveness in PvP (read: higher skill cap.) The truth is, there is only ONE thing an Assault Vanguard has to worry about, and that is whether or not their target is on fire.



Another issue is their permanent snare - the snare on Plasma Cell is generally reapplied through Ion Pulse once every 2-3 GCDs in their optimal rotation which means a permanent snare with no loss of practical DPS. All other DPS classes that want to snare or slow their targets do so with a loss of DPS for at least during that one GCD because they are not doing their optimal DPS rotation. The only possible counter to this permanent snare is having a Commando or Scoundrel healer baby you with cleanses when it's off cooldown, which is only a pipe dream and is utterly impractical in competitive PvP - and remember, even if the Plasma Cell dot gets cleansed, all the Vanguard has to do is reapply the dot through Ion Pulse again in the next GCD.



This effectively makes escaping an Assault Vanguard nearly impossible unless the defender blows CCs or other expensive, long-cooldown escape methods, provided that they are even available. Even if these measures are used, a Vanguard still has two CCs and a Harpoon to prevent escape or to close the gap; if these measures are off CD, then the Vanguard still has useful DPS outside of 10m which includes Incendiary Round, Assault Plastique, High Impact Bolt, Full Auto, and Hammer Shots. (As such, the "DPS Vanguards have no DPS outside of 10m" argument is largely invalid in practice.) Barring all of this, even if the Vanguard "loses" his primary target, given the nature of objective points in Warzones and how battles tend to be highly clustered around these objectives, it is trivial for said Vanguard to turn around and find another target within 10m, and resume full DPS.



Also, Recharge Cells allows an Assault Vanguard to exceed any reasonable measure of balanced DPS "for free" once every two minutes, allowing them to ensure a kill, which could make all the difference in the outcome of a Warzone.



Quote: Are there any specific abilities that could use tweaking?



As for Assault Vanguards, tying Plasma Cell to Ion Pulse 100% of the time is too much of a quality-of-life boost, increases their effective damage potential too high, and lowers the skill cap for said players too much. Every class has to make an active choice whether to snare or to continue their optimal DPS rotation - Assault Vanguards do not. There are a variety of tweaks I would like to suggest ranging from light to heavy-handed, but those involve reworking ability trees, which are addressed in the final question.



Quote: Is there a spec that lacks PvE- or PvP-centric abilities?



Otherwise I do not feel that classes need new abilities for PvE/PvP - balance changes can be addressed through other means.



Quote: Do you have suggestions for improvement related to a specific talent tree or class?



"Light-handed" tweak: The High Friction Bolts skill no longer refreshes the duration on Plasma Cell if present.

"Moderately-handed" tweak: High Friction Bolts no longer refresh the duration on Plasma Cell if present.

The Ionized Ignition skill effect can no longer occur more than once every 6 seconds.

"Heavy-handed" tweak: The High Friction Bolts skill no longer refreshes the duration on Plasma Cell if present.

The Ionized Ignition skill effect now applies to Incendiary Round and no longer applies to Ion Pulse.

Incendiary Round now has a 3 second cooldown.

Rain of Fire now also affects Ion Pulse.

BALANCE SAGES: Focused Insight now also restores 1% of total Force.

I wish I could suggest more specific changes for other classes but I do not consider myself knowledgeable enough to do so. Good luck on your article. Hi Elizabet. I think you know who I amNote: All arguments apply to the Imperial class equivalent.Gunnery-spec DPS Commandos could use a slight utility buff or quality-of-life buff. Compared to Gunslingers, their DPS is comparable, their utility is comparable, but Gunslingers have the incredibly useful Cover mechanic, which blocks any interrupt attempts or gap-closer attempts and even knockback attempts at the right angles - unless the opponent commits their 30m CC first, which is a very significant expenditure. I do not have any specific recommendations on how to buff Gunnery Commandos, however.31pt Healing Sages could also use a slight defensive/survivability buff for PvP. As it stands many healing Sages are respeccing to hybrid Seer/Telekinetics for root on knockback and AoE blinds on Force Armor break, simply for a sorely-needed survivability buff (and extra utility). They can afford to do this because the 31pt Seer talent, the AoE heal, is too cumbersome and too easily interruptible to be of practical use in high-level PvP, and as I alluded to before, the extra defenses from the Telekinetics tree outweigh any benefits gained from going 31 points deep into Seer.Balance-spec Sages run into Force management issues in extended fights when using a competitive DPS rotation - this is especially apparent in endgame raid boss fights. Other classes/specs can run their optimal DPS rotation and have equal or better DPS than a Balance Sage and never run into permanent resource issues. As such, Balance Sages could use a slight buff to Force recovery options (elaborated in skill changes question below.)Telekinetic Sages are also extremely difficult to play effectively in PvP and/or are otherwise too easy to counter. (Sounds awfully familiar to Gunnery Commandos!). However this tree cannot be given too many usability buffs or otherwise the Balance tree will become inferior to Telekinetics, as Telekinetics already provides superior burst damage, better AoE damage, infinite resource management, and stronger defenses. In fact, the Telekinetic tree would likely become overpowered in this state. As such if the Telekinetic spec gets usability buffs, at least one of the strengths mentioned above should be toned down to compensate, and/or the Balance spec should be buffed to remain competitive with Telekinetics.Sentinel DPS and their overall effectiveness in PvP are in a good place; however, their entire repertoire of defensive cooldowns is too generous and is simply overkill. Specific recommendations to follow in the next question.Assault Spec Vanguards have extremely high burst and sustained DPS and have no significant weaknesses or limitations to counter their DPS. The results one can attain with this class is disproportionately high to the relative lack of effort required to achieve said results, unlike, say, Sentinels or Sages which require more micromanagement of skills and cooldowns for maximum effectiveness in PvP (read: higher skill cap.) The truth is, there is only ONE thing an Assault Vanguard has to worry about, and that is whether or not their target is on fire.Another issue is their permanent snare - the snare on Plasma Cell is generally reapplied through Ion Pulse once every 2-3 GCDs in theirwhich means a permanent snare with. All other DPS classes that want to snare or slow their targets do so with a loss of DPS for at least during that one GCD because they are not doing their optimal DPS rotation. The only possible counter to this permanent snare is having a Commando or Scoundrel healer baby you with cleanses when it's off cooldown, which is only a pipe dream and is utterly impractical in competitive PvP - and remember, even if the Plasma Cell dot gets cleansed, all the Vanguard has to do is reapply the dot through Ion Pulse again in the next GCD.This effectively makes escaping an Assault Vanguard nearly impossible unless the defender blows CCs or other expensive, long-cooldown escape methods, provided that they are even available. Even if these measures are used, a Vanguard still has two CCs and a Harpoon to prevent escape or to close the gap; if these measures are off CD, then the Vanguard still has useful DPS outside of 10m which includes Incendiary Round, Assault Plastique, High Impact Bolt, Full Auto, and Hammer Shots. (As such, the "DPS Vanguards have no DPS outside of 10m" argument is largely invalid in practice.) Barring all of this, even if the Vanguard "loses" his primary target, given the nature of objective points in Warzones and how battles tend to be highly clustered around these objectives, it is trivial for said Vanguard to turn around and find another target within 10m, and resumeAlso, Recharge Cells allows an Assault Vanguard to exceed any reasonable measure of balanced DPS "for free" once every two minutes, allowing them to ensure a kill, which could make all the difference in the outcome of a Warzone.Guarded By The Force should be balanced by providing a 99% healing reduction (in addition to the 99% damage reduction currently in place) during its duration. There is no particular reason why Sentinels should be allowed to give themselves near immunity when near death and be able to be healed to full health by a friendly healer at the same time, at no risk or ability to be countered by the enemy in PvP. I challenge the devs to justify this potential occurrence. The only scenario I can possibly think of where this is acceptable is in endgame raiding, but remember that Sentinels can be healed during Force Camo, which is already a very good escape/panic button. There's no need to give Sentinels two extremely good trick defensive cooldowns.As for Assault Vanguards, tying Plasma Cell to Ion Pulse 100% of the time is too much of a quality-of-life boost, increases their effective damage potential too high, and lowers the skill cap for said players too much. Every class has to make an active choice whether to snare or to continue their optimal DPS rotation - Assault Vanguards do not. There are a variety of tweaks I would like to suggest ranging from light to heavy-handed, but those involve reworking ability trees, which are addressed in the final question.As mentioned before, Gunnery Commandos could use some quality-of-life changes in PvP; this could be through the addition of PvP-centric abilities.Otherwise I do not feel that classes need new abilities for PvE/PvP - balance changes can be addressed through other means.ASSAULT VANGUARDS:"Light-handed" tweak:"Moderately-handed" tweak:"Heavy-handed" tweak:BALANCE SAGES:I wish I could suggest more specific changes for other classes but I do not consider myself knowledgeable enough to do so. Good luck on your article. Dany - "Buy one DPS sage, get a mediocre healer free!"

Danbert - #1 Solo ranked tank queue slayer.

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