Saboteur isn't meant for sustained damage. AoE attacks are highly energy inefficient. You could skip the AoE attacks, but that would take away a lot of the spec purpose and utility. This is more of a burst/control spec for single targets, or to overwhelm healers with your AoE. Sharpshooter is still your best bet for sustained damage, or maybe Dirty Fighting if you wanted to try something new.

I'm not a PvE type person. At all. I'm sure that at least part of the reason though is that you're dual wielding. Your main hand deals most of the damage, but your offhand is still necessary. Not only will Accuracy increase your chance to hit with both hands, but it decreases the armor for both hands as well.

Exactly what I love about Saboteur!

I use it rarely. I'm not specced into it. Mainly just when I know someone isn't paying attention or CCed for a while.

Would you mind sharing what build you are using? The only other build I've seen goes into the Marksman tree for the Ballistic Dampers. I'm curious to see if there are any other builds out there to look at. Thanks!

It depends on a lot of factors. Here are a few situations I can give an example of: 1. If I know the player will run away when I open (I'm unreachable on a catwalk for example) I will open with Speed Shot, then Vital Shot, then Shock Charge. Shock Charge will slow them too, so you may have an opportunity to chase. 2. If they are CCd or not paying attention, I'll use Aim Shot, then Speed Shot, Charged Bust. Then a Flurry of Shots to recoup some energy, then Shock Charge, Charged Burst, Flurry of Bolts, etc. 3. If I am low on health, or don't have my CC breaker up, or the enemy group is heading for me and I need to defend my position, I'll open with Charged Burst/Vital Shot, then pop Hunker Down. After that I'll follow #2 starting at Speed Shot. The idea is to get the damage rolling, but have hunker down up before you get their undivided attention. This is also good if you are dangerously close to a hazard like in huttball. My strategy for attack order revolves around 3 things: Using Speed Shot so that it can cool down. Mixing Flurry of Bolts every 3-4 attacks, roughly. Do I need to move where I am? (low health,out of range,etc) I try to save Sabotage for someone at about 30-40%. It has amazing burst damage, even if you have to use Flurry of Bolts to activate it. Does this help? If not, is there another question maybe that would help? Also make sure to report this post for sticky if it helped you. I'll be working on some more videos and more information to expand this guide over the following week. Feel free to drop by my website and leave a comment too!

For PvP I recommend the use of power relics as a Saboteur. Power has no diminishing returns, so you can stack it forever, and it will be good for DF too. It really depends on PvP or PvE though.

You don't want to stack endurance, even in PvP. As for crit, there is a point (about 30% unbuffed) where 1 point of crit becomes worth less than 1 point of crit. It's called diminishing returns. It is more beneficial to stack other stats instead at that point. Check out this guide on Marksman if you want to know the how's and why's. It's very in depth and a good read for any smuggler. It's oriented towards PvE, but just stick with 100% accuracy and then follow the recommended stat priorities.

The Marksman/Sniper specs have an ability to knock, and keep, you out of cover. Other than that, only CC should bring you out of cover. Since 1.2, I have not been pulled out of Hunker Down. Are you sure you are getting pulled first? It's not some coordinated CC/pull effort?

Saboteur was great for leveling for me. All the AoE was perfect for taking down groups. I put a guide together if you are interested in the Saboteur play style. Marksman probably puts out the most damage on a single target, but for questing and PvP, I like having slightly less damage with a bigger bag of tricks. Full disclosure though, I have never tried a Marksman spec.

Trauma is a permanent debuff when engaged in PvP combat. Flourish Shot adds to that percentage. While those two abilities decrease healing, expertise increases healing, so some of the debuff is mitigated.

I think so. Remember, even with 100% Accuracy, your opponent's stats and defensive cooldowns still have to factor in. In a perfect situation, your special attacks will hit 100% of the time. When your opponent starts popping defensive cooldowns, your 100% starts to drop. If you are starting at 95%, it drops even lower. And then your attacks still get applied to their normal defenses.

That's exactly why I love it too. Make sure you guys report this post for a sticky if it was helpful please. I'd appreciate it. Also if you have any questions, feel free to ask. If I don't know the answer, i'll gladly research it and report back to you.

Great! That's exactly why I made this guide. I wanted people to have something they could take and dive right in with. Thanks.

Swapping out mods is your best bet. You could also buy Scoundrel ear/implants. In theory you could also buy a Scoundrel set piece, but you'd probably still have to swap out mods. It's unbelievably annoying and involves more grinding, which sucks, but it's the way to go. You don't want more than 100% accuracy. Yes, it does penetrate defense. However, only 3 specs out of 8 have defense. And across those 3 specs, not every player is into the tank tree. More accuracy also gives your offhand a higher chance to hit, but bringing that chance up high enough (close to 100%) is not possible. Not to mention your offhand is not involved in calculating the majority of your attacks. So you could spend all your points on getting Accuracy, which (above 100%) is good against less than 1/3 of the population. Or you could spend points getting Surge/Power, which is good against 100% of the population. OP has it right.

Thanks. Many, many attempts at formatting my posts ate the Pandemonium line. And I just plain missed out on the insurrection. Much obliged.

Saboteur spec is all about AoE. This spec is great for what I call actively defending. By actively defending, I mean responding to attacks on your controlled objectives. Sitting on defense at an uncontested node is a waste of your abilities (some exceptions). You can deal twice the damage, in almost half the time, with less kills, by actively defending. This is a support/utility spec, not a beast damage spec. It is mainly to complement a group, not run solo. Sharpshooter is the single target, high damage spec. You can still put up comparable numbers catching enemies with this spec when they stack together. Updated for 2.0! GEAR Armor: Before 55, anything will do thanks to the bolster system. Once you hit 55, you will want the Field Tech or Professionals PvP sets. Mixing the sets for the stats you want is also viable. You will need to buy Partisan first. Conqueror gear requires the corresponding part of Partisan gear for the purchase. Accessories:Again, Field Tech, Professional's, or a mix. The others are also acceptable based on what stats you need, but are generally meant for Scoundrels. For more information on Field Tech versus Professional's gear, read here. Relics: Relic of Serendipitous Assault and either Relic of Elemental Transcendence or Relic of Cerulean Nova. STATS This is the stat priority you want to go by: Accuracy - You need 100% for special attacks(90% basic - mouse over your character sheet to see the difference). Critical - You need 30% unbuffed. Surge - You need 75%. Power - No limit/whatever is left. Cunning may also be viable, but does have diminishing returns after a certain point. PvP Spec Here's my build link, and here's why: *Choices in bold are considered mandatory. SABOTEUR TREE DIRTY FIGHTING TREE SHARPSHOOTER TREE STRATEGY Keep in cover as much as possible to prevent classes from jumping to you. Use range to your advantage by letting enemies come to you. Two is the magic number you generally want to use to determine whether to use an AoE ability. Flourish Shot reduces healing on the target, so make it your second or third shot. Use your CC to keep enemies at a distance, or stun them when they get close so you can readjust your position. Ready For Anything gives you amazing stealth detection when behind cover. Keep your back to a wall when guarding. Crowd Control (CC) Flash Grenade - Stuns targets, but deals no damage. Any damage breaks the effect, including any player's DoTs. Careful of other players tunneling. Good as an interrupt too. Dirty Kick - Stun that you can run from, or burn them down through. Not affected by damage. Leg Shot - Roots people regardless of resolve. Damage breaks the root. Shock Charge/Incendiary Grenade - You can use this strategically. Drop a Shock Charge on the target to start the damage, then drop your Incendiary Grenade on top of them when you're ready for the stun. You can attack during this stun also. Pulse Detonator - Knocks enemies back, potentially off ledges or into traps. Defensive Cooldowns As a medium armored class, you can consider yourself a delicate flower and not suited to take damage. Use your defensive cooldowns, they mitigate an amazing amount of damage and are on pretty short cooldown timers. Defense Screen - Absorbs moderate amount of incoming damage for 15 seconds. Dodge - Dodges all ranged and melee attacks for 3 seconds. Not to be confused with special attacks. Also cleanses harmful effects. Scrambling Field - Puts up a huge shield over you and any allies nearby. Reduces damage to all of you by 20% for 15 seconds. You can move, but the shield stays in place. Here's a video to demonstrate some of these strategies. Warzones: Huttball - Stay on the uppermost catwalks and shoot down while out of harms way. Use Pulse Detonator to knock enemies off the catwalks (or into traps). Lots of opportunities to be LoSed here, so use your Wounding Shot, Speed Shot, and Shock Charge DoTs to keep the damage going when you don't have a clear shot. Pass the ball, do not run it unless there is no other option unless you are near the end zone. High Tail It makes you nearly unstoppable near the end zone. Alderaan - Use your AoE to your advantage. As enemies stack up close on the platform, it's a great opportunity for your AoEs to overwhelm healers. You can also use your AoE to interrupt an enemy capping a console, by attacking another enemy close by. When you see enemies approaching, move to the front of the platform so you can begin attacking the instant they are in range. Voidstar - You can use your AoE to interrupt multiple enemies planting the bomb. Try to stay between the pillars and the door when defending. Stay beyond the pillars when attacking. Your Flash Grenade is amazing for catching an entire wave of rezzers returning to battle, buying you precious seconds for a plant. Novare Coast - Use your AoE to interrupt multiple enemies capping a bunker. Always keep the bunker interior within your LoS when defending, and stay inside the sandbags. When attacking a bunker, stay outside them. Novare Coast - Use your AoE to interrupt multiple enemies capping a bunker. Always keep the bunker interior within your LoS when defending, and stay inside the sandbags. When attacking a bunker, stay outside them. Ancient Hypergate - Your AoE is perfect for clearing out the orb room. With stealth detection, you also make an amazing guard for the pylon. CONCLUSION This guide is only meant to cover what you need to know to get started. My intention is to get people running as fast and easily as possible. I don't throw in every detail because I don't want to overwhelm or confuse people. I plan to continually update the guide with more in the future. This guide is always a work in progress, so please feel free to post your questions, suggestions, or what you'd like to see in future updates. You can also post on my blog where I have the main guide posted.

Thanks, I hadn't noticed the internal damage one.

I have enough daily tokens to get one the new relics. Would the energy or elemental be a better choice? Would any of my stats increase one or the other? It's a 30% chance to proc the damage if you haven't seen the trinket. I have a set of champion PvP relics now, so would this relic be an upgrade for PvP as well? My instincts tell me elemental is the way to go, but I'm not sure enough to spend the 200 marks. Thanks for any help or links.

Definitely agree. I played an entire match of Novare coast, and BARELY managed 3 medals because our team was horrible. Now i'm not complaining about the loss, but 15 comms for losing? I spent 15 minutes for 15 comms? I almost got nothing, so I guess I should be happy. I've also gotten into WZs at the last minute on MULTIPLE occasions, and since I didn't even have enough time to get 3 medals, I got nothing. Someone leaving warzones now is even worse. At least before you got free credits/xp/comms, but now you just get screwed. I used to suck it up and stay when I got into a losing WZ. Now? It's a complete waste of time. What's with the hike in gear costs too? Rewards were nerfed ridiculously, costs were raised significantly. Is this some form of showing the 'hidden cost' of not getting RNG tokens for gear? Gotta say, not looking forward to 300+ hours per toon of gearing up. I'm willing to bet it's even more at 15 tokens per loss. Raising rewards 10-15%, and removing the stupid 3 medal rule will go a long way. Trying to stick out after joining a losing warzone should be rewarded, not heavily punished. I'd rather people get rewarded for being a good sport, than try and rid the game of AFK bots. Sportsmanship in WZs is terrible, and this isn't going to help.

How is you spamming your racial/using the dance-bot/legacy ability that inspires others to dance, interacting with me? Try stepping away from your video games. Interaction requires more than imaginary digital buttons and forcing others to do something they don't want to. Good luck in life with your strategy though. The group emote was alluded to in a Q&A. Some kind of dance that inspires others to dance.

Is there a way to toggle this garbage off? If I want to dance, i'll type /dance. If I want to cheer, i'll type /cheer. I don't need 5 million people making my character do some stupid emotes everywhere I go. Not to mention the crap that's been alluded to for legacy emotes. If there is no way to toggle now, can we please get something before the legacy patch hits?

Coming from someone who was on the receiving end of that camping, I do not feel that people who got Valor from camping the base should be punished in any way. Playing as a Republic character on Jung Ma, I have hardly been able to make it past the Southern Assault for the last 2-3 days. While I find it extremely annoying getting camped by the Sith (or maybe Republic on some servers), I do not think it is their fault. They are using the system as intended. The lack of balance between is the problem, not the players. So in essence, the system is the problem. This was noted at length in a very long thread on the test server forums prior to the patch implementation too.

Got into a huttball match with one player on our team over level 20 (24). The Sith team had 2 players under level 20. I'm level 15, and doing no damage to anyone on their team except the level 12 and 15 on their team. If two enemies attack me at once, i'm pretty much 3 shot. How is this balanced? One of the Sith was level 27. How is a 12 level advantage even remotely fair? Am I missing something?