Because usually elites are in groups by themselves in non-heroic areas/flashpoints and therefore don't require quick dispatch skills to kill. In a heroic area/anywhere where you'll find more than elite in a group you [should] rely on a tank/healer combo to absorb the extra damage you'd normally be taking.

...what? On topic, Savage Kick and Pommel Strike are used to help solve our relatively low survivability by being "quick dispatch" tools to use against weak/normal enemies. Charge -> Savage Kick -> Tab -> Smash -> Pommel Strike should kill at least two mobs so you have that much less incoming damage.

The problem is that the bug affects so many bosses - specifically those in KP - that it's nearly unplayable in end-game. Max-melee range is your friend.

With all the bugs that are currently in this game nothing should really surprise you.

But they don't fix the Ataru proc range bug D:

Put a piece of Willpower gear on. Does it increase the damage of the DoT portion of Rupture? If so, Malice affects it. Pro-tip: it does.

Yeah; like I said I'd stay Carnage if I could but the range bug - specifically with the massive movement with Bonethrasher - just hurts you too much.

Survivability-wise Rage and Annihilation obviously take the cake. Carnage, though, has enough burst and added control to shine quite a bit. With the recent change to Annihilation's damage I feel it's a little less worse relatively, if that makes sense. In the end, just like in PvE, you can really get away with using any spec. It just comes down to knowing the ins and outs of how to use it as well as knowing how to approach different classes. I try to stay Carnage as often as possible because I like it the most, however for Nightmare content so far - specifically Bonethrasher - I can't simply because of the Ataru range bug :[

For PvE it's almost necessary so you don't have to run out on smaller hit-box bosses. For PvP it's meh since they're going to be trying to kite you anyway, but putting one point in helps alleviate having close the gap more than you have to.

PvP/Space/Flashpoint Dailies to level. You should be doing those anyway.

Of course they don't 30% Crit Rating DR; Strength's is completely different and I'm pretty sure it doesn't have one.

There's a reason "clicker" is a synonym for complete baddie. There is absolutely no way someone who keyboard turns and clicks will perform anywhere near a keybinder who mouse-moves. Your turning is quicker because it moves at your mouse's speed, not snail's pace while using A/D and being precise with your fingers is easier than being precise with your mouse: macro vs micro dexterity.

To be honest for a PvE build it isn't worth it to get Narrowed Hatred as Annihilation. Malice is way too good.

The direct damage portion in the beginning is not; the DoT is. As Annihilation you should get Malice.

Assassins focus on the combat aspect of the Force and less on the spell-casting, so to speak. The weapon usage is more for class-differentiation in PvP and helps (slightly) alleviate gear distribution problems. If you have 3 melee beating on you it's easy to see what class they are. If you have someone with one saber beating your face and one shooting lightning/rocks at you it's easy to tell the difference.

Ataru form is based more around acrobatic combat; dual-wielding actually fits Carnage more than Annihilation would. You can be much more aggressive (Juyo) with a double-blade imo.

Without the ability to heal your companion you're going to 1) have him die a lot or 2) have a looot of downtime unless you dismiss/resummon after every pull. The better choice will either be Quinn to heal you or Jeasa/Vette to kill things quicker. In the end you can get by with any - I ran Carnage w/ Jaesa and, while difficult, everything was doable.

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#100bcZuMrbddrorsZG.1 It's currently what I'm using for PvE as well since I have wayyyy too much Accuracy at the moment. For a full PvP spec you'll want to drop Enraged Assault and pick up Unbound. It will definitely be interesting to see how this Surge change affects everyone, including what the new DR is.

This. It all comes down to a matter of preference and play-style. Experiment and see which one you like more.

It's hard to give guidance to someone who's leveling. I'd recommend just doing what works until you get higher. Until you get Massacre Carnage will be fairly lackluster compared to the other specs. For now use Assault/Vicious Slash as your filler.

No apologies needed. Just pointing out that there's ample information in a number of threads. Spreading said discussion out into smaller threads tends to get nowhere.

There's quite a number of threads with discussions on the states of specific specs and one going on about the recent changes to Annihilation. You'll get a good idea of what you're looking for there.

My sig. People need to learn to read stickies :[

Woops; thank you for that. I'm too used to Charge being 4 that when I was writing it slipped my mind that it's talented to 4. I'll revise that now. Edit: Just updated the spec. For PvE purposes I took a point out of Interceptor to put into Gravity. There aren't many fights where mobility is that much of an issue for Rage due to the two gap-closers. If you like 2/2 Interceptor you could sacrifice a bit of survivability and drop a point from Undying as well, but it's personal preference.

Be happy I didn't start with you. rawrawrawr