Is the Sorc using tactics? Sure, I don't argue against that. The problem is, it's a tactic easily exploited (less so in Alderaan, to be fair, but much more so in the other Warzones). As a sniper, it's a situation not easily countered. And more importantly, it means that if I was outplaying a Sorcerer, gaining a significant health lead on him, he can just come back from his own shortcomings in a 1v1 by running and healing. For one, snipers don't get that luxury. If we run away, we do so at a <100% speed (remember, force lightning slows), can't pop bubbles to defend ourselves, and get no where near the amount of CC's Sorcs/Sages get. More often than not, our equivalent CCs are much less effective at that (Cover Pulse vs. Overload comes to mind). Would this be a fair tradeoff if Snipers actually had an advantage over Sorcs? Sure, but I challenge you to give me a legitimately potent advantage Snipers get over Sorcs/Sages, because I can't think of a single one. Can I beat Sorcs/Sages 1v1? Sure, but I have to have a modicum of better gear than them, or just a better player in general. And sure, I suppose my complaints sound very sniper centric (they are), but that shouldn't delegitimize the complaints, considering I don't consider any other AC to be, as they say, overpowered. *Edit: Keep in mind, I'm referring exclusively to DPS Specced sorcs/sages

I completely agree. At this point in time, having the flash-speeders towards the side objectives makes the middle Objective even less attractive than it would be under normal circumstances, and usually means that whichever team gets the two turrets first has a huge advantage. Back when players didn't know they could dispell, I could single handedly prevent as much as five players from capping a side turret for minutes at a time just by spamming DoT's, and using the side speeders back.

Generally, Sorc/Sage healing is weak enough not to be effective mid-fight. The problem is, they can easily Force-Speed away, hide behind a pillar, and heal a fairly significant portion of their health before I (a sniper) can actually catch up to finish the job. For this, I don't think having 2 separate stances would change much. Truthfully, DPS Specced Classes should have completely obsolete heals regardless, Sorcs can just exploit them in ways that Mercs and Operatives can't.

For Engineering Builds, I use the following. Vitality Serum can be swapped for Vital Regulators. That choice is entirely personal, and there are plenty of pro-con arguments posted for both. Conversely, you could actually grab both, but I wouldn't recommend it if it means taking points away from Augmented Shields, Deployed Shields, and (possibly) Ballistic Dampers, depending on how high you go into the MM tree. You could also go ahead and grab tool belt. I don't, because I honestly find Frag Grenade good for farming Damage on grouped players, but less useful for 1v1 encounters. Obviously, other player's experience differs, so I would decide on whether or not having a spammable frag and the ability to use Flashbang more liberally is worth it or not on your own. Truth be told, I would recommend investing as few points as possible in Engineering, provided you still have enough to get Plasma Probe (so, invest exactly 31 points into Engineering). This is largely because Lethality and MM have some very nice buffs that complement Engineering specs much more so than other Engineering talents (like Stroke of Genius, for example). Talents I go for that can comfortably swapped for something else in the tree? Vitality Serum, Experimental Explosives, and Energy Overrides. Every other Talent I took in the Engineering spec, I would strongly advice against dismissing, at least for PvP. PvE players could probably swap Inventive Interrogation Techniques for something else as well, but a PvP player shouldn't make that sacrifice.

While I'll concede that Snipers are probably less effective than they should be, Sorcs consistently give me trouble in areas other classes simply can't. - No other Class can stun me so frequently, throw me around so frequently, slow me down so frequently, or LoS me so frequently - No other class can pop a shield which will completely mitigate some of my most central and powerful abilities (Ambush/Aimed Shot come to mind) on a frequent basis - No other class can, when they realize they are outmatched in a 1v1, just magically run away, hide behind an object, and self heal without suffering energy issues, while dealing the same amount of damage (to be fair, Operatives can do this, but not without using a significant amount of energy) Sure, Tracer Missile Spam can be annoying. But there is a solid counter to that, and it's not paired with being forced to put up with an incredibly potent shield, a plethora of CC's, and decent self healing.

My issues with Sorcerer's isn't their damage. For anyone specced into a DPS tree, their damage is perfectly apropos. Now, as for their extremely effective Static Barrier, plethora of CC's and utility, on top of their ability to heal fairly well (even for a DPS specced sorc), AND pull out similar damage numbers as my sniper, well, that's when I get suspicious of imbalance.

It's good to know this hybrid is getting some praise. Having played it over the past week, I've made some slight modifications, so my version looks something like this. For the overall build itself, I have to say I'm was very pleased. At the risk of reiterating what others in this thread have already stated, you do get a fairly powerful burst. Not quite as up front and devastating as an Engineer's rotation with SoS, but this is more than compensated with the buffs to Snipe/Ambush and of course, Followthrough. Interrogation Probe and Diversion will, at least in my book, continue to remain powerful tools, and having both of them is not something to laugh at. For Pure MM specs, well, Rapid fire wasn't missed. Full Engineering specs might miss Plasma Probe and the inherent 'tankiness', but both of those can easily be alleviated by simply making use of Ballistic Dampers as frequently as possible, and using Orbital Strike more Liberally. Energy Regeneration is somewhat iffy. For the most part, concerns with energy can be disregarded. There were a few times where I had to use AP, but it wasn't frequent enough to warrant any consistent ineffectiveness. Overall, I'd say the spec has great PvP potential, and will likely be my primary spec of choice (over my previous choice of Engineering).

Alrighty, so I've mentally conceived of this build, and I wanted to see what everyone else thought. Keep in mind, A Single-Target DPS, Warzone centric build was the goal. I haven't seen very much chatter on this forum (or anywhere else on the Internet for that matter) on MM/Engi Hybrids. My overall design philosophy was to avoid the AoE talents in Engineering, and simply use a buffed Explosive Probe + Interrogation probe into a Marksmanship rotation. I don't have quite as much experience with Marksmanship as I do with Engineering, so I'm not entirely sure what the disadvantage with this build would be over a pure MM build. With Engineering on the other hand, I see having less utility, less AoE potential, and less Survivability being the main drawbacks, with easier energy management and a higher single target damage output as the main attraction. Obviously, some points can be moved around. Lethality's bonus crit % could be skipped over for Inv. Inter. Techn., while Imp. Demarc. and/or Sector Ranger could be transitioned to Sniper Volley, and so forth. With the rest of the build, however, I'm genuinely curious as to what everyone else thinks (and by all means, if you have experience with a MM/Engi Hybrid, share that as well).

I completely agree. I can't speak for Marauders, but as a Sniper, knowing that another class offers equivalent DPS capability, increased mobility/utility, and decent off-heals is incredibly infuriating. It's not so much an Issue with Mercenaries, who have an Energy Mechanic to protect against such abuse. Sorcerers on the other hand, have it made...

I see quite a few people say this, but I've yet to see it hold up to anecdotal experience. I'm not saying Marksmanship is weak. It's plenty potent in a 1v1 scenario. But while I haven't given the tree anywhere near as much playtime as I have Lethality, I've always found Lethality to kill quicker in a 1v1 encounter than Marksmanship. In fact, more often than not, when I come across an enemy gunslinger/Sniper, they usually end up losing. Now, that's not to say I agree with the OP. Lethality is definitely easier to use in a PvP environment, but I wouldn't say it's definitively better. Marksmanship snipers have a significantly easier time with energy management (I've never felt the need to use Rifle shot as an MM sniper, for example, whereas I have with Engineer & Lethality), not to mention they aren't dependent upon early Debuff/DoT 'investments' like Lethality and Engineering are. This in an out of itself is a fairly significant benefit of Marksmanship snipers.

Well, for starters, we can't leap towards other players. We can't leap to other teammates either. Leg shot breaks on damage, as does Flashbang grenade. Debilitate is our only useful stun for use in combat, and that's CQB exclusive. Ambush's knockback is exclusive to marksmanship, which these days are a minority of snipers. What do warriors get? Well, certainly not as much as Sages/Sorcs, but you've still got plenty. Force Choke, Intercede, Force Camouflauge, and Chilling Scream would be fairly nice to have, and as snipers, we don't get anything remotely similar. Juggernauts get Force Push (we have to spec to get our knockback), Intimidating roar is your Flashbang equivalent, Backhand is your debilitate equivalent and Marauder's Crippling Slash is a lot more effective than Leg Shot. Is your CC/Utility excessive? No, but it's definitely more varied and more effective than a snipers'.

Yes, Snipers' cover mechanic is clearly too powerful..... Really though, since when have Snipers/Gunslingers actually been giving anybody any trouble on a consistent basis? Last I checked, our lack of utility, inability to have any sort of reliable escape, and the fact that we are easily vulnerable to LoS exploiters definitely make us less optimal than just about every other class.... Of all classes that need any sort of nerfing, even in the slightest, Snipers aren't one of them.

From that sort of standpoint, Engineering would likely serve you very well. Engineering is still focused on Single Target DPS, although you get some fairly powerful AoE tools/buffs as well to augment the playstyle. You're damage is much more bursty than that of a Marksmanship Sniper, and consequently, you're more optimized for 1v1s. Engineering is definitely the sturdiest of the Sniper specs. You get increased endurance, 6% health regen every minute, 6% damage reduction, reduced cooldown on Ballistic Shield, and a more powerful Shield Probe. And then there is Plasma Probe. From a Damage dealing perspective, it's certainly not that great. However, as a zone denial tool, it's incredibly potent and useful. Door Denial, Turret Console Denial (to an extentish), catwalk denial, et cetera. If objective-team play is your goal, I wouldn't pass up the ability. Factor in your survivability with Plasma Probe, improved AoE's in general, reduced cooldown on Ballistic Shield, Interrogation Probe's slow, and Burstier Damage, Engineer's are well suited for PvP, especially if your main concern is playing the objective.

Basically this. I can understand that from a Lore perspective, some form of stealth mechanic would be cool. But it wouldn't fit with the play-style, and certainly wouldn't make any progress in solving some issues Snipers have.

For single Target DPS, my rotation is as follows... Corrosive Dart > Corrosive Grenade > Weakening Blast > (enter cover) Cull > Series of Shots > Explosive Probe..... More often than not, the target is below 30% health. Use Takedown whenever you can, and that's basically it.

I've used it to much success as of recently as well. I suppose if dishing out as much DPS as possible is your goal, then it's probably not a worthy talent. However, if your goal is utility (Objective Denial, Catwalk Denial, basically everything that falls under Area Denial), then you've got a fairly potent ability which offers a significant advantage over other Specs.

While it's been a while since I've leveled with a sniper, I had the exact same experience up until I got Orbital Strike. Elite Mobs, and even two Strongs (unless one was a droid) were very difficult and more often than not way to financially taxing. I actually recall a point where I was at a loss as to what to do because all of my current quests required killing mobs I couldn't kill on my own. Fortunately a nice Juggernaut was there to help me out of that rut.

They removed it? Great move for PvP... not so much for personal medal farming.

Plasma Probe never gets any love does it? To start off, I adore your first build. As you've rightfully noticed, Ballistic Dampers does synergize extremely well with Vital(ity) Serum/Regulators, Augmented Shields, and Deployed Shields. One of the main attractions to Engineering is the spec's survivability, which in my experience lends itself very well to 1v1 encounters (although it obviously helps in most any encounter). Lethality's survivability comes from it's mobility, which is most effective when running away since your main single target DPS ability (Cull) is channeled. Lethality also tends to be an easier spec in general to use than Engineering, which is probably why it's so popular in PvP. So in regards to your first spec, you could always just move the point in Plasma Probe to Heavy Shot. It's fairly effective for PvP, and I can't imagine avoiding Ambush as an Engineer Sniper. As for your second spec, I think it won't be as good as you think. I tend to have pretty negative views of Engineering/Lethality hybrids in general (the only exception being heavy AoE+DoT orientated builds, which I don't think was what you were going for), and here's why. You have a lot of DoTs, which are both expensive, and more useful for long drawn out fights. This would be fine, accept you also lack any hard hitting abilities. Engineering gets a very powerful Series of Shots, and Lethality gets Cull. With your second build, you'll be relying on a weaker than desired SoS, as well as Snipe and Ambush. All of these come un-upgraded with your second spec as well, whereas your first spec had Electrified Engineering and +6% damage to SoS and Snipe. A full Lethality build would get Cull and minimally a 6% damage buff to both Cull and SoS (12% if two points are invested in MM). If being an AoE/DoT aficionado is your goal, the second spec seems like it could work (although still less than optimal IMO), which I can elaborate upon if you so desire. On a slightly different note, I have to strongly disagree with your discontent with Plasma Probe. The obvious utility is Area Denial, which doesn't only apply to any area within 3 feet of a Door or Console. In fact, there are so many different times when Area Denial can prove to be extremely potent, either in dealing direct damage or limiting your opponents options in movement (which is more important than people realize). In this sense, PP goes well with Orbital Strike in either doing a modicum of AoE damage, or completely denying enemy players of a certain area. And unlike Orbital Strike, Plasma Probe can be used extremely liberally, and won't ever get interrupted. If you absolutely must fore go Plasma Probe though, I would go with the switch to Heavy Shot.

To the first point, I was referring to roots/CCs/Direct interrupt abilities. Warriors and Sages tend to have quite a few of them, which is a bit of a problem for a class that regardless of your spec, depends heavily on casted/channeled abilities to win a 1v1. This is even more prevalent in that you can sometimes have fights that are near impossible to win as a sniper because someone makes frequent use of abilities that interrupt, plus LoSing frequently (which is especially obnoxious on huttball, where plenty of DPS classes can simply circle around pillars/other objects, still dealing damage, while you are left with a few DOTs and rifle shot). As a sniper, are there ways to get around this? Well, sometimes. It depends, and proficient snipers have gotten good at not letting these problems get to them and/or outwardly avoiding them. Other classes though? They don't have these problems to begin with, which is one of the reasons why snipers are both unpopular, and often receive self pitty and demands for buffs. I also disagree with the notion that 1v1 doesn't matter, but that's a different debate entirely.

Even though Lethality and Engineering are the only two talent trees I use, Marksmanship is perfectly viable in a warzone environment. That being said, Snipers as a class are less intuitive, and probably deserving of some minor buffs here and there. Otherwise though, they aren't as bad as their sub-forum would make you believe. Although certainly, people who complain about playing an Operative or Juggernaut being "insufficient" need to level a sniper to 50 and do some warzones.

There should indubitably be a penalty for leaving warzones early. However, not before Bioware addresses why quitting warzones is such an issue in the first place. Change the daily/weekly, and a quitters penalty will be justifiable. Otherwise, the OP has my support.

That's just it though, their damage isn't that good. Yes, in the overall spectrum of damage different classes do, Snipers are up there. But a smart player can fairly easily avoid a lot of damage snipers do just be exploiting LoS and interrupting often. I'm not saying they are useless. They aren't. And as I've gotten more proficient with the different specs, and knowing when and where to use their at-first-glance-less-pvp-orientated-abilities (such as Orbital Strike), I've come to see the role snipers play in a warzone that I have yet to see other classes match to the same effect. That being said, their slightly outlandish utility isn't quite as apparent as a Sorcs or Mercs, hence the deficit.

The RNG system seems pretty absurd. As to why Bioware doesn't just quadruple the price for Battlemaster gear, and then make each bag always have 1 commendation is beyond me. Theoretically, the progression would be the same as it is now, just less luck based (although given how many people complain about BM bags, progression might actually be quicker).

You all have my support for an option to disable the Huttball commentators.