I disagree...

So you know five people, and four of them quit? Even if you weren't obviously exaggerating, I think you're vastly overestimating the number of players who PvP compared to those that PvE, RP, etc. And before you play the casual card, I'm someone who PvPs quite often and is almost Battlemaster. Yeah, Ilum is lame at the moment, but people need to give BioWare more time. EA pushed this under-developed game out the door. NOT BioWare. The warzones and PvP improvements will come. Just be patient.

I have zero clue what the OP is complaining about. I guess being able to 1v1 every class (except Powertechs, how I hate them ) and finishing at the top of damage charts for every warzone is a bad thing? If you're an ally, give me protection and/or dedicated heals and I can almost guarantee you a win. If you're an enemy, I should be your #1 target. It's not my fault if I find a good spot to drop cover and rain damage down on your team and you have no idea where it's coming from. Word of advice - be very mindful of Snipers/Gunslingers. To the OP - yeah, it's a generic answer, but L2P. Get a clue on how to play your class properly before you pop off on the forums about it... it just makes you look incredibly silly.

*waves to all the LOTRO peeps* LOTRO and PvP cannot possibly be placed in the same sentence, can they? Damnit, I just did... After experiencing five years in the Ettenmoors, as bad as Ilum is, it's still better PvP than LOTRO ever accomplished. Yeah, I'll agree that conceptually it isn't there yet, but the actual PvP portion of it is hands down better than Turbine's product. At least there's a semblance of balance in this game (referring to class balance; discounting faction imbalance, of course)...

Hunker Down.

Sorry, but everything in this post is completely and utterly wrong. There is no "problem" at level 50. You're fighting people with more expertise than you. Get better gear, and your damage goes up. I don't know how cover makes you lose time. Would you rather be a Commando and have to channel skills while having no defensive bonus at all? We have a lot more CC than people give us credit for. Yes, we're a DPS class, but I can think of 5 skills off the top of my head that are viable "CC" tools in PvE/PvP. To summarize (and this might sound a bit elitist but my patience wears thin)... If you are not level 50, please refrain from making assumptions about the class' viability at end-game. Yes, the class isn't perfect, but before you cry, "BUG OMGZ!!", you might want to take a step back and think/play a little more before posting on the forums. Our damage is fine. And when I say fine, I mean there is nothing wrong with it. Four-shotting level 50s (albeit undergeared ones) is definitely a possibility and something I have done on numerous occasions. Please stop with the nonsense. It makes this forum sound whiny and pathetic. Gunslingers are a great class, but with the amount of complaining and assumptions being thrown around, you'd think the class is being absolutely obliterated in every facet of the game. It is not.

No rollback? Awesome.

My current experience as a level 50 Gunslinger: 300k-500k damage in every warzone. Can 1v1 every single class - only tanks are sometimes an issue. Successfully 1v2d a pair of level 50 Sorcerors last night. And it wasn't close. No energy issues whatsoever. TONS of CC. Hunker Down. Not sure it's the class as much as it's the player. I have zero issues as a Gunslinger, and the above items only take PvP into account. If there's an easier class to play in Flashpoints and PvE in general, I'd love to see an argument made on its behalf. That being said, take some time to learn your skills. Stop respeccing so much - the differences between SS, Sabo, and DF are enough to throw consistency out the window. Pick something and stick with it. If you're having issues with energy and damage output, SS is your best bet.

Hunker down is awesome in every way. I didn't find myself using it religiously until level 40 or so, when mobs really started to hit me hard. It provides a defense bonus that goes unstated in the tooltip, all while making you immune to CC and interrupts. As for being tied to cover, I think that's fine. You won't really notice how good it is until you PvP at 50 or run some hardmodes, but it's definitely one of those skills that blooms at late-game; which isn't to say it's not good for leveling up, there just aren't many instances where I can remember absolutely needing to use it, which is what I think you're frustrated about. I definitely understand where you're coming from, but just know that you'll need to use it for the defense/interrupt bonus sooner than later, and it absolutely shines in PvP. It's always fun popping it on the bridge in Voidstar and watching people swarm and try to knock you off - too bad you're immune and with one Pulse Detonator, half their team is dead. (My personal best is 5. )

I ran a few hardmodes last night in DF, and I had a pretty good time. Energy management, unlike SS where it is somewhat easy, is much more difficult while specced DF. I found myself too often out of energy, but I think I was just overdoing it as I really haven't had the time to settle in and really get some rotations down, other than the obvious Hemo > Shrap > Vital > Wounding Shots rotation. I watched a few videos and read a couple more posts, but in the end, after giving it a try, I think I'm just more comfortable with SS overall. Part of me wants to think that I'm partial to SS because I leveled in it and found a good rotation over the course of 50 levels, but I really think that my personality and playstyle just isn't about DOTs. In other games, when I haven't been a healer, I've been a ranged nuker, and that role just fits me better. So, in conclusion, I'm going back to SS. That being said, I'm really glad I listened to you guys and gave DF a shot. I had fun and enjoyed the experience, but in the end, I'm more comfortable with the damage role that SS provides. I definitely see DF as a viable spec now - much moreso than I had before. It's just not the spec for me... Thanks!

Stop posting so damn much! I can't even read my own damn posts!

Is an option like what LOTRO did in providing a high-res and low-res client viable? I'm obviously not expecting something like this to happen overnight, but I feel that it might be something to look into. I built a computer specifically for this game and it sucks that I can't use it to its full potential. Having a high-res client option might alleviate some of the concerns.

Thanks for the update. Disappointed, but an update nonetheless.

Thanks for the responses everyone! Really good stuff... I re-specced to DF last night. As with any transition, it's rough to get the hang of. I liken it to getting used to new keybindings - not a very pleasant experience but if you can tough it out, it'll be fine. That being said, I definitely see the potential. I was a lot more mobile, but I died a ton as I tried to spread out damage. I was still putting out around the same amount of damage as I would have been in SS (~400k on the high end, ~200k low) but it was a different type of damage. Duh... I'm still used to being burst-heavy and being able to burn down targets extremely quickly, but DF allowed me to put pressure on more targets than I normally would be able to. I felt that tanks were dying much faster than normal (internal bleeds FTW!), and healers absolutely melted. It's tough to compare the numbers and time spent killing certain targets without a combat log or a recording program, but I could definitely tell a difference in how fast particular targets were going down. Is it something I'll stay specced in? I'm not sure. I'll try it out for a couple more days and see what happens. I still haven't had an opportunity to try out PvE-wise, so hopefully I'll run a couple HMs tonight and report back. But PvP-wise, while there's no marginal difference in the overall damage, it's the type of playstyle I'm worried about. And again, I was probably doing it wrong, but I found myself more out of cover than usual and that usually spelled trouble. I'm very good (in SS) at finding good spots to nuke down targets before they realize what's happening, so transitioning from essentially being a rooted turret and a playstyle that promotes staying in cover to something that gives you a legitimate option in being mobile was difficult to grasp. Probably one of those getting-used-to things. No big deal. So again, thanks for the feedback. I'm happy I tried DF. I'm going to test it out a couple more days before I give up on it, but as of right now, I see myself going back to SS. DOTs sure are fun, though...

Hello fellow Gunslingers, As someone who has always been Sharpshooter-specced, I'm currently intrigued with the possibilities of Dirty Fighting. While I wait for some of my other guildies to level up and start raiding, I've been PvPing a bit, and while I don't want to sacrifice DPS for PvE encounters, I've heard great stories from other Gunslingers who enjoy DF. Please keep in mind that I'm pretty well-geared from hardmodes and PvP bags, and I consistently top 300k damage in warzones. I'm not crazy about switching from Sharpshooter to DF, but if I like what I hear I'll definitely give it a try. Essentially, I'm perfectly fine with how I'm specced right now. I'm comfortable and do pretty damn well in every scenario. I just feel like I'm not utilizing my class to its potential if I'm too stubborn to give something a try (I gave Saboteur a shot and hated it tremendously). Some questions: Other than the obvious positives for PvP (longer DOTs, etc.), what kind of utility can I expect in a PvE situation? How does the playstyle differ from the more stationary Sharpshooter? From what I see in the talent trees, it looks like I'll be more mobile. Am I sacrificing a bit of defense (for not being in cover), and if so, does the amount of mobility I gain from DF offset that? Wounding Shots. Enough said? I've also heard it has one of the coolest animations Gunslingers can potentially get. Does my DPS suffer? Whereas Sharpshooter is certainly more bursty and long range, I feel like DF requires me to be more mobile and closer to the enemy. In the long run, will I see more damage? Thanks so much for your help and insight! I appreciate it. -Nasty

I'm down. I'll bring the musical droid.

Nooooo. Act One ends after Alderaan around level 32. Getting your ship is just the beginning.

Understandable. I haven't tried out DF yet but just looking at the tree I can tell that the survivability is there - much moreso than SS. Your point about grouping with guildies was right on. I usually run four deep and we have a good amount of 50s, so with the support I get from being guarded and healed, I simply dominate with SS. SS is definitely more burst and less escape - perfect for grouping with friends and players you know and knowing that they're going to have your back regardless of how many Imps are on you.

Thanks for taking the time to post this. I haven't had a chance to try out Saboteur but have been tempted to lately. Maybe I'll try this one out and let you know the results! Cheers.

Ballistic Dampers only remain in cover. Once you lose 3 charges or want an instant Charged Burst, leave cover, set up cover, rinse and repeat. It's extremely important, especially at higher levels and always against elites, that you have charges of Ballistic Dampers up. You'd be surprised how much it increases our survivability.

Thanks for adding our info! *waves at Dalg and Herc*

I think you're going to be disappointed then. The quintessential "big hitter" spec is Sharpshooter, which requires you to stay in cover for all your good skills. As for being mobile, I know speccing Saboteur (AoE) allows for a little more movement, but as I haven't played with it, I'm probably not the best one to give a review. Perhaps an experienced Saboteur or even DF-specced Gunslinger could help you out.

Any and every Sharpshooter should have Foxhole specced. End of story. http://www.swtor-spy.com/skill-tree-calculator/gunslinger/21/?build=223012202120210121200500010000230001000000000000000000000030000000000000000000000000 That is my recommended spec for Sharpshooters. It works well in PvE and PvP and gives the necessary defensive bonuses as well.

I couldn't agree less. What did you expect? You want to do a flip and shoot someone in midair? Pretty sure the last time I fired a gun I had to aim and actually look at my target first. Yup. It's a class mechanic. Deal with it or reroll a Scoundrel. I somewhat agree with you here, but if you're expecting it to be different for other classes, I don't know what to say. You're probably doing something wrong or horribly exaggerating. Most likely the latter. It's being fixed next patch. You should be using Shift+F in the meantime for taking cover. Hunker Down. Gunslingers get it around level 24 IIRC. Use it and be amazed. No it doesn't. Welcome to a game where skill rotation and resource management matters. I'm sorry you can't faceroll. - In any case, this screams, "I'm getting dominated in PvP on my lowbie character by level 50s and instead of leveling and doing something about it, I'm going to come on the forums and whine about the class I don't know how to play properly!" Our class is fine. It's really fun to play. If you don't care for it, that's fine. Just roll something else and go complain on that class' forums when you can't solo high levels in a warzone.

Well said. Hot Pursuit is incredibly overrated, IMO.