Yes and no. Our class is all about positioning (mostly MM, but our class in general). When a Marauder pops his dmg reduction shield, keep your distance and remember to leg shot him/flashbang him. His shield only reduces dmg, it doesn't prevent CC. As for heavy armor classes, this is a tough spot for MM Snipers, but not so much for Engineering or Lethality Snipers. Because they have abilities to slow and do internal dmg, we are able to keep our distance and do a lot of dmg. However, healers can cleanse dots and others really just need to move out of the way of our AoE to get rid a portion of the dmg. But, with every class in this game, depending on what spec you choose generally determines what other classes you are better fighting against. However, when played well you can always beat a class that you are normally supposed to lose to (and gear.)

It is actually 4 hits if you watch the ability closely. Even better than you thought.

If you like MM, then yes it will take some getting used to in FP/OPs. If like the class itself and feel that MM is too limited, then Lethality might be the way to go, or even Engineering. I personally find that Engineering is extremely mobile and I personally prefer it over Lethality because it still uses the cover system and just increases the defense of being in cover, as well as having a lot of AoE utility. IMO, the problem with Engineering in some fights is also one of its best strengths: AoE. Since some fights require that you don't use AoE constantly you could end up hurting the group. Try experimenting until you find something that you like and are most comfortable with. Also keep in mind that for the other ranged classes in the game to use most of their strongest abilities requires them to stand in one spot to channel it, but they don't get cover like we do. ;-)

My understanding is that your critical chance is based on each ability you use, meaning that if your critical chance is 39%, each ability has a 39% chance to hit, not a 39% to hit across all of your abilities, i.e.: SoS = 39% chance Snipe = 39& chance Ambush = 39% chance Not SoS, Snipe, Ambush = 39% total This would mean that when combing the actual use of all of your abilities, your average critical chance across all of your abilities is going to be lower than your critical chance, but not by a large margin. Don't get me wrong, I am aware that 4% is a significant difference, but it applies to all of your abilities and not just your individual abilities. If someone has another 50th level character of a different class could post/respond with their actual % of their critical chance then we could really get to the bottom of this and see what the real story behind all of this is, as I could be completely wrong.

Whenever I am having the problem of being LOS'd, I lace the area with Suppressive Fire. In fact, I find it funny when someone tries to LOS me by moving behind a pillar or just around the corner because I can still hit them for the decent damage with SF, which usually brings them out of cover for me to hit them anything else. I am surprised to hear that other Snipers are still having LOS issues when we have SF to hit people trying to LOS us. Not to mention that if a target has to run for cover, then we are still doing our job. Making someone run for cover is removing them from whatever they were doing, be it healing, guarding an objective, doing damage, etc. I have personally reduced my LOS issues with Suppressive Fire alone and found very decent use of SF, as well as decent numbers when I check my combat logs (SF often beats out Frag Grenades for me, which I also use often, because I can use it without having to target anyone). I strongly recommend more Snipers check out SF and see the numbers by using the following site: http://swtor.askmrrobot.com/combatlog (for those who may not know about it) You may be amazed to see how often it crits and exactly how many times you hit with it.

5 target snare, actually. It is even better than you thought.

Choosing Alacrity or Surge will always depend on your spec, but the most important thing to stack first is Accuraccy, then Crit (which will *often* stack surge), then Surge. Accuracy is more for end game so you can focus on Crit first. Too much alacrity and you're burning too much energy, which is why it is the one stat to worry about the least in most specs.

It is still recommended that you drop a little more of your accuracy for more Surge. 110% will be your sweet spot so you can improve the other stat(s) that you are a little low on. Consider dropping your accuracy below 100% to get your surge up, then start to switch out a couple things for Power, since a lot of power mods also come with accuracy to bring you back up to 100%. But it is definitely looking a little better than previously. You just need to keep going an extra few steps.

Glad to have you back. As stated above me, the common build for leveling is MM until around 40, then to figure out where you wish to go after that. Always keep in mind that each spec has their advantages and disadvantages: MM: Quick Burst, but little survivability and mobility Eng: Really good defense, AoE capabilities, crowd/mob control, but less single target dmg (during leveling) Lethality: Great DoT dmg and lots of mobility, but less burst and prone to dot cleansing As for crew skills, here is a good sticky I recommend: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=132015 Hopefully this information will help you to one day become a great sniper. Enjoy the game.

This here.

Engineers really shine when you can complete the tier (as with any class). The problem with leveling as an engineer is that the other specs will out-damage you until you get the IP and PP combo. With this combo, you can really keep mobs at bay and really begin your damage. Also, when you can lace an area with PP and OS, the PvE mobs just start falling without you having to do anything else. But then again, that only happens really at end game. I am not saying not to do it, I am just giving you my opinion about why it might be better to level under a different spec.

This is only partially true, in my opinion. The reason is because of SoS and EP. When PP is on cooldown and EP and SoS are not, drop EP on your target, the follow up with SoS. A few more blaster hits afterwords, if there are still cluster bombs on the target, and you are doing very significant damage until your next PP.

Also, remember to post your build as that will help us help you better knowing what you are capable of doing.

I don't want to believe this, especially when I have kids myself. Please tell me that you are kidding. PLEASE. Even if you have to lie to me. And if you aren't, I hope you failed the **** out of them.

/agreed Tea in one hand, Sniper rifle in the other.