Since FC is addressing some of the armor limitations of the shade profession in the upcoming balance I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents and toss out some ideas to make this profession more viable at TL5 in both PVM and PVP.
1) Update "Piercing Mastery" line to include "Impale" at either 160 or at 170. This could go into either perk 6 or perk 7.
2) We're all excited about the upcoming armor updates. I hope this includes neck, back and head items.
3) Update database to allow Bloodlusts to drop in the level range between 121-250. Having this huge gap in the item drop rate is silly.
4) Spirit Re-work. Alpha and Beta spirits were created to fix this in endgame, but at TL5 (and below) we need a fix as well. I realize this might be a nightmare to code, and perhaps it will cause additional problems with the current balancing. There have been various suggestions over the years, but I think it makes the most sense to completely remove or raise the level lock on all spirits by at least 20%.
5) Significantly raise the run speed in "Faster then your Shadow". If we can't catch people we can't do anything. This is one of the biggest problems in PVP along with...
6) A new nano line, perhaps using same skills as "Faster then your Shadow" that can operate as a debuff/snare/root remover like the fixer line "Wake-up Call". Perhaps this could be a team nano... "xxx Executes Shadow of the Guile into your NCU..."
7) Sector 10 is currently not possible to solo without going nr2 even with all the nr items available to our profession. While having low NR is part of the balancing, being able to max out ~ 850 (without perking notum repulsor) is not sufficient at 150. Perhaps a small nano resist nano line or profession specific item could assist this issue.
8) It will be interesting to see how the parry/riposte balance will affect our gameplay, I hope this is being figured into our tool set as well. While our primary defense is evades, during training mobs, or intense zergs we could really use a quick block (maybe we'll get healed!) before we go insta-splat.
Means and crew, I am so happy about this armor situation and I am really looking forward to a fair balance to all professions.
I hope everyone has some input, especially anyone who has rolled a shade and stopped for some reason. This profession attracts some of the most adamant twinkers, and is a completely different playstyle than any other profession.
Flameshield up!