/signed Agree with the OP. I appreciate the time he and his friend took to not only explain the problem, but to provide a solution. This is clearly not a baseless complaint, but a concerned customer interested in the welfare of the game. Hope BioWare reads this.

I have a level 55 Operative, 55 Smuggler, and a 53 Operative on a different server. My suggestions are based off of my extensive experience with the class since the game's release. 1. A stealth quickbar. This is arguably the biggest quality-of-life improvement you can give to Operatives/Smugglers. 2. Add a 5- or 6-second cooldown to Exfiltrate/Scamper. (Optional: Add a talent that removes this cooldown to the DPS trees.) The energy cost alone does not prevent spamming this ability. 3. Rework Kolto Infusion/Kolto Pack. This is a niche heal at best in its current manifestation. 4. Lower the cooldown on Backstab for Concealment/Scrapper tree to nine seconds. It is Backstab, not Hidden Strike, that should feature more prominently in the PvE rotation. 5. Give Concealment/Scrapper tree passive dodge increase that triggers off of offensive abilities. This adds needed survivability to the spec. 6. Fold Overload Shot into Weakening Blast for Lethality tree. Streamlines the rotation. 7. Make Cloaking Screen's stealth mode unbreakable for three seconds. Survivability. 8. Add more energy regeneration to the Concealment/Scrapper tree. This spec finds itself with less energy and less damage output than the Lethality tree in PvE.

1. Lacerate got a -10% damage nerf and a +4% damage buff. Now, I'm no quantum physicist but... that looks like -6% to me. 2. Yes, let's consider the third TA.. except that it's not 6 points into the Medic tree, it's 22 points into the Medic tree. Unless I missed the note where Operatives were given 20 additional talent points to compensate for these changes, I don't think very many of us will be grabbing that talent. Edit: Also, it's pretty funny your user name is pacifist.

Let's review, shall we? 1. Backstab Before: 9s CD, 0 energy, X damage (let's say 1,500) 1.2: 12s CD, 5 energy, X + ~9% damage (which would give us 1,635) So in 108 seconds, you do... Before: 18,000 damage, 0 energy 1.2: 14,715 damage, 45 energy ** Ironically, this makes Backstab more bursty/less sustained DPS... I thought that was the problem with Concealment? 2. Acid Blade (for the sake of simplicity we'll attach it only to Backstab and not Hidden Strike) Before: 13 energy, one application/9s 1.2: 15 energy, one application/12s So in 108 seconds... Before: 66.67% uptime, 156 energy 1.2: 50% uptime, 135 energy 3. Laceration Before: 6s CD, 15 energy, X damage (let's say 1,000) 1.2: 6s CD, 10 energy, X minus ~6% damage (let's say 940) So in 60 seconds... Before: 10,000 damage, 150 energy 1.2: 9,400 damage, 100 energy * Laceration's TA cost is more pertinent than its energy cost (i.e., TA is up with Stim Boost already running, we're using it). 4. Shiv Before: X damage 1.2: X minus 2% damage You do the math. 5. Critical strike chance Before: X% 1.2: X minus 3% You do the math.

Try to keep the thread constructive, please, so it doesn't get closed. Recuperative Nanotech has nothing to do with Concealment changes. Medics should be very happy with 1.2.

lol. It doesn't take too much brain function to extrapolate what these changes will mean for the class, nor is it hard to see that BioWare is pandering to the whiners who don't like Scoundrels/Ops face-planting them. The class has always drawn player aggro; originally because it DID do too much burst.. these changes, however, are unnecessary, excessive, and counterproductive.

Also, wouldn't it be nice if Acid Blade debuffed the target with armor penetration vs. buffing only you with armor penetration? Like, say, how Marauders can boost group damage or Bounty Hunters give Ops-wide armor penetration? God forbid there's a single valid reason to bring an Operative DPS into an Ops besides for laughs.

Feel you brother.

Leave Concealment alone, leave it alone, leave it alone. Stop catering to your most-played classes. 1. Why add a CD to Hidden Strike? IF we cast it more than once in 7.5 seconds it's because we blew a 2-min CD (Cloaking Screen) in order to do it. Dumb.. just dumb. 2. Why nerf Backstab with an increased CD AND an energy cost (Waylay no longer makes it free). Do you realize that this means less Acid Blade up-time, too? 3. Why nerf Shiv damage? Why nerf critical strike chance? Why in your haste to respond to players whining because they don't like face-planting did you forget to add a Stealth bar? Too busy nerfing the class again? In a PvE scenario, why even bring Operatives over much more capable melee classes (ie, 1.2 Marauders?)? Way to go recreating Subtlety rogue uselessness in PvE WITHOUT Assassination/Combat spec fall-backs.

Are there plans to implement a stealth bar for Operatives/Smugglers? I feel completely overrun with abilities to bind!

Agreed.

I suggested Avoidance Training in my second post. Still, 100% healing reduction for 10 seconds is excessive (both in the 100% reduction and the 10-second duration). It would be more of an "escape" ability if, say, it were 80-90% healing reduction over an 8-second duration. #1 I see the concept of "obvious" eludes you.. #2 Shiv = part of Lethality rotation. Lethality = mixed melee/ranged class. #3 Try replying to the thread next time. #4 You see an effective healer in PvP, you target them. You have a DPS wailing on your ball-carrier or capping a point in Alderaan/Voidstar, you target them. Gotta open your mind a little, bud. #5 One person being unable to kill three people and choosing to escape is not a 'l2p' issue. #6 You're right. Allow me to rewrite the tooltip for Cloaking Screen (non-Concs): "Overload your stealth generator, giving you ~2 secs of stealth before a DoT tick breaks it and you can't heal yourself, ultimately dying by yourself behind a corner."

I'm really impressed with the feedback! And I agree Fragmentation Grenade's CD is a bit short (and its range too far) to function as a balanced knock-back effect. I'd hate to recommend a new ability on top of the packed action bars we already have though. But a knock-back effect (or a knock-back immunity mechanism) is imperative.

In light of the 1) damage reductions (nerfs) slated for Patch 1.1, 2) the lack of signature abilities (many of our abilities are duplicated by other classes, while they possess unique abilities the Operative does not), and 3) the emphasis on objectives-based PvP a la Huttball: Give Operatives a knock-back effect through Fragmentation Grenade.

1. I think it's fairly obvious this is predominantly a PvP-related issue. 2. Lethality has a mix of 4m, 10, and 30m abilities, and Shivs just like Concealment DPS for TAs. 3. Like I said, this thread isn't about the Concealment talent. They can keep it, put it wherever they want, etc. (This makes the rest of what you had to say pretty pointless and off-topic.) 4. Getting targeted in PvP is not screwing up. If anything, it means you're doing it right. 5. Cloaking Screen (while it can be used offensively) is predominantly a defensive CD, hence a modicum of "screwed-ness" is assumed when popping it. It's meant to get you out of combat and preferably away from the action. Reducing healing by 100% means in the (likely) event it drops and they're still after you, you're dead. Or the DoTs will kill you in an embarrassing mess. 6. Changing the reduction from 100% to 80 or 90% retains the "don't-CS-then-heal-to-full" check while giving Operatives a chance to avoid dying from damage ticks. I'm not even trying to revisit/redesign anything with my recommendations; only to amend errors with the current designs.