I'm an imperial currently leveling scavenging, mostly by gathering. Every guide I've found says that the range of 75-140 is best grinded on Taris but that seems completely backwards. Haven't found a single node on Tarsi lower than 125. Should one simply use the levels of the planets as a rough estimate of the level of scavenging nodes?

The issues with grouping or not grouping runs far too deep to be fixed by a mundane tool.

I've just reached 400 in BC and purchased the recipes for Rakata stims. I've yet to enter any HM (lvl 49 still) but I guess I'll bee there soon. Now, I'm wondering if it's worth the effort in trying to RE stims to get the re-usable stims that are just below the Rakata? Or should I just wait til I can do Rakata stims?

Ye, I thought as much also. Think I'm going to try it out later tonight.

Hi I've been dabbling around abit with different sniper builds. Personally I enjoy the MM playstyle over Leth/Engi, eventhough it is said to be our best PvP spec. Right now I'm running with 31/8/2 which is really more towards PvE but works in PvP under beneficial circumstances. Right now Rapid Fire seems pretty useless in PvP. I've yet to use it and have never really found a situation where two consecutive Series of Shots are desired. This leads me to think that a build where you omit RF in favor of something else but still keep Imperial Assassin in order to maintain a high damage output could be viable. On the other hand, we have the over all accepted 23/16/2 build. It still allows for an MM type playstyle but replaces talents that might be more towards PvE. TL;DR - are these builds equally viable for PvP? MM - 30/8/3 MM/Engi - 23/16/2 Note: each build is open for individual tweaking but I hope you graps the main thought behind them.

The sniper (and the devs) are in a pretty akward situation. The same was (still is?) for the rogue in WoW. We are pretty much like ranged rogues. We get in position, wait for the right opportunity. Then we open with everything we got, burn the target in seconds and disappear from the spot. We leave the opponent perplexed as to where the attack came from and what really happened. Now, this is how it SHOULD be (and how the rogue was). Seeing us as some one that can't really hold our own in CQC, our defense should be our offense - we kill the target before it reaches us. If they do get close, we have different CD's to blow in order to finish the job. In an ideal world, no one should ever get near us before it's too late. If they do, we're toast. That makes us a rather "binary" class. And here lies the problem I think. It's very easy to make the sniper far too powerful. If we are given too much of a damage boost, we will have certain given situations where the sniper is unbeatable and can act as an undisputed area of denial. No one will get near key point X because there is a sniper burning everything down. So the team has to change focus to getting him, probably by just swarming him. Now we have a situation where every WZ game will be won by those who have the most snipers and every tactic will revolve around countering snipers. Another problem I see is the philosophy of PvP combat. I personally don't have a problem with certain fight ending very quickly depending on the classes. One would think that a fight with a sniper and another class should be over in three seconds. The sniper should kill extremely quick but would also BE killed equally fast if not playing it right. But I do know that this is often a pariah in PvP. Developers strive to lengthen PvP combat and introduce different kinds of damage reducing stats. This leave burst classes in the back water. We have had our main defences (our fast damage output) reduced but don't have any additional tools to handle a lengthy fight. This also negates the whole point of the sniper. Who on earth heard of a sniper involved in a lengthy firefight? I think the main problem is the devs who are dead afraid of boosting the sniper cause the way we kill is extremely annoying. Perhaps not so much that we will be OP, but that we will be able to (in very specific situations) nearly oneshot players and they won't stand a chance againts us. I draw parallels the the WoW rogues stunlock method. It was an extremely annoying feat that rogues could completely shut down a player and bringing him to (near) death with out him doing anything. This caused massive rage on the forums and Blizzard bent to the whiners. What they didn't think about was that the stunlock involved perfect timing and that all attacks could be blocked/dodged/parried or even miss so chances where that the stunlock failed. However, when executed perfectly and everything landed, the stunlock was seen as a kind of exploit. TL;DR - we should BE snipers, meaning that we finish players off in seconds, but are also equally vulnarable oursleves. Right now, it seems that the first part is lacking.

True, BUT remember that this is a game that's not blessed with addons like Decursive. Much of the Lethality tactics is based on hoping that the DoTs don't get enough attention during the heat of battle until it's too late. People tend to panic more over sudden chunks of health loss than smaller ones. The healers are more ofthen busy spamming heals than trying to locate random DoTs to cleanse. I just switched to Leth/Engi and it was like night and day from MM. Granted, it requires a different play style and I'll probably go back to MM eventually, cause I enjoy the more "snipey" style. Saying Lethality is garbage just like that show that you haven't really put any effort in it.

My changes would be: Loose the vibroknife and give us a blaster pistol instead. A sniper should have a ranged sidearm, and in many cutscenes we actually use a pistol. With this, give us some pistol attacks that are more effective on shorter range (0-15m?) than a sniper rifle. Not sure how it would work in practice with animations and such but it would sure make the class feel more like a sniper. Redesign cover. I love this ability. It really gives the feelling of beeing a class that stands out - a mechanic noone else has. BUT it also makes me feel too immobile at times. Maybe if all (or most) abilities were castable outside cover but with reduced effectiveness. Add stealth. A sniper really should have SOME kind of stealth, bee it only usable in cover, with a short duration and a CD but SOMETHING that actually makes you feel like a sniper. To be able to wait for the perfect shot like a RL sniper would do. All in all I like the class. It's rather uniqe in it's design but with it comes the need for polish, and the Sniper needs alot of it. Right now it feels like I'm playing more like a recon soldier than a sniper what with all the abilities that aren't very "snipy". During my MMO experience I've only encountered one class that's more interesting and that's the Agent of Anarchy Online.

Hi. I just started a sorc and I'm going for endgame healing. I was wondering if I should go for the healing tree or if it is possible and viable to heal normal FP's as lightning/madness while leveling?

Beeing a military officer IRL, I can indeed agree that we aren't snipers per se but more like recon or perhaps special forces soldiers. The story sure is "agenty" enough but many of our abilities and ways to fight are not those of a sniper. One must understand that a sniper can very well be an integral part of a standard infantry squad, used to pick off key targets during an ordinary firefight. His sniper rifle may even be his secondary weapon, an assault rifle beeing his primary. He will regroup with his squad and will most likely not have any special camouflage like a ghillie suit. He is then most likely a common rifleman who's recieved sniper traning. He may also be like the "common" view of a sniper - lying hidden for hours or days waiting for his target. Then one shot to neutralize his target and then regroup. This method is often used during covert operations. The SWTOR is more of a mix between recon and sniper, boiled into one advanced class. Nothing really wrong with that but it might give a slight feeling of inconsistency. I personally would like us to be more "pure" as sniper and that would involve some kind of stealth mechanic. Maybe one only usable in cover, with a short timer, a CD and not usable in combat.

Vella Talonhunter Vella - Nadrak dancer from The Belgariad Talonhunter - codname from Unreal - Return to Na Pali

I might have spent too little time gearing her up but I find her quite crappy. She's not very good at holding aggro and squishy as Vector but lower DPS. I know that others had the same issue. I read something about how the tanking mechanics of your companions were flawed and wasn't working as they should. I just figured that all tanking companions would be equally "tanky" and thought Kaliyo wolud be as good as Khem Val.

... having tried out Jugg (tank) and Sorc (heal) I can't help but be abit disgruntled by the downtime. I'm currently 39 on Taris and am just finishing off the bonus series so I outlevel the planet with a bit and still I find myself recuperating after each and every fight. Dosen't matter which companion I take. Vector feels a bit more effective than Loken and Kaliyo but not enough. This is probably a L2P issue on my behalf. I have spent some cash and commendations on Kaliyo but mostly on myself. Now I'm sitting with a throng of Taris commendations and am not sure who to spend it on. I just wish I could get Kaliyo to be as an effective tank as Khem Val. How did you find sniper soloing?

Does this mean that EVERYONE that says thier jugg performs well is flat out lying?

I tried this rotation (although I lack rapid fire) and I like it. The only thing that gripes me is that Snap Shot seems abit wasted now in a standard rotation. Sure you can fire off an instant Snipe if you have to move about but it still seems highly situational.

TBH, IMBA aside, some kind of tuned down stealth mechanic would help to actually make us snipers. As it is now, we are more like recon soldiers. Not that I really mind, but a stealth in cover would add that final touch to this otherwise superb class. As for mechanics and balance, I can't say. I don't think that a sniper in stealth will be OP as much as it will be annoying and we might be nerfed because we can kill in the manner that we do.

I'm going for this build: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#400rsrbdMoRZbI0roRZb.1 This is aimed slighty more towards PvP, but should work in any PvE situation as well. Why did I take: Diversion: A nice debuff to throw on bosses, every little helps. Also useful to get other pesky players out of cover. Heavy Shot: Although not very useful in a group environment (even abit annoying) it's still good solo and in PvP. Snap Shot: Questionable I know, but I've gotten so used to the cover + instant snipe that I can't be without it anymore. Vitality Serum: A toss up in this tier, but extra survivability is never bad. Inventive Interrogation Techniques: Slow mechanics are never to be sneezed at. Lethality: Again a toss up, but I prefer single target dps over AoE. Why didn't I take: Imperial Demarcation: Not finding myself using the skill THAT often. Sector Ranger: Seems too situational. Sniper Volley: Not sure about how good it is. Besides, this build has enough procs and charges to keep track of. Vital Regulators: Probably not bad but VS seemed better. Calculated Pursuit: Too situational. Only really good if Snap Shot is active at the same time. Efficient Engineering: This was hard to decide, but it does buff a skill I don't have access to. Might go for it if I find myself energy starved. Experimental Explosives: Decided to pick single och AoE. What ever you take, I believe MM/Engi get's the best and most fun out of the sniper class.

Rummaging through these forums, I don't find plenty hybrid builds with lethality but almost no MM/Engi hybrid builds. Are they not viable? Just by looking at it it would seem that it should work. Going up to Followthrough and then putting the rest in engi. I just tossed together a build real quickly here with regards to some PvP. http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#400rsrbdMoRZrI0roR.1 The reason for this is I really like MM, but it feels like it lacks something and engi seemed close at hand.

These two sentences are really entertaining. "I can't play this class so it must be something wrong with it!!" Why are people so afraid of asking for help in a serious manner? It's no shame to fail at a class if you realize it and seek aid. I to found the jugg frustrating but seeing that most players DON'T have the problems I had it had to be me who played it the wrong way. So I read the guides and changed my game play accordingly. Problem solved and now things go much smoother. A much more humble approach from the OP would have been "I can't seem to get the hang of the jugg. I can't keep aggro off my companion. Any one that can tell me what I'm doing wrong?" Then you will probably get the help you need without the flame posts about how "you suck - reroll!!"

The choice is yours. But those who fail at something tend to use power words such as "everything", "impossible", "never ever succeed" and whatnot. Still, I also believe that the jugg needs some attention.

Yep, if you forgo fun for FOTM. It's very plausible that the shortcomings of the jugg today will be fixed to make it on par with other tanks.

I'm not THAT much into PvP. I do the occasional WZ to break of leveling, much like space missions. Now AFAIK, there are three "levels" where you can get PvP-gear, 20, 40 and 50. I'm just wondering if there's any point in me (Level 30) to get a PvP-set at 40 or if I should save my WZ commendations to 50?

I actually find sniper both enjoyable and effective because I play it as a SNIPER. I take advantage of the heat of battle, standing at a distance and picking of those who are engaged in combat with my team mates. Nothing better than to end some one who thinks he's about to score a near kill and then *BAM!* and doesn't even know where the shot came from. Of course, if I go in with guns blazing and throw grenades all around me, I'll be swarmed in no time. Sniper is very fun and able in PvP if you play as a SNIPER. Pick your target, aid your comrades and don't feel it's beneath you to pick off low health players. You can even hold your own 1vs1 if you play your cards right, although it's a bit tricky and you will often find yourself overwhelmed if the opponents have any sense of team work. The only thing I miss is some kind of stealth when in cover. That would really make the sniper-feeling top notch. However that might be a tad too OP. The reasons I get killed are mostly - getting swarmed (not much to do about) - not keeping my eyes open 360 around me (L2P issue on my behalf) - being stationary for too long (L2P again) - opponent being better than me (I need to become better)

I liked the basic environment, beautiful city design. But I agree that as a playing and questing area it's pretty much *meh*.

Damage (and healing) meters are to an MMO what religion is to humanity - nothing wrong with it per se, but it's a devastating tool in the hands of those who choose to abuse it. Thus we have the endless discussion of it's "to be or not to be". Personally, I vote yay with a modicum of hesitation. I'm a DPS myself and to me it's one of the fun aspects of being DPS - the competition against others. And no one can deny that you get a warm fuzzy feeling when see your name at the top and get lauded by your team mates. Unfortunately, we will always have those who take these things a step too far. Already now the phrase "must be good geared" is spouted in the channels, and with meters chances are that things get even worse. Even if a FP is doable with substandard gear, there will most certain emerge certain "unofficial" standard numbers you must fulfill or else be kicked. It won't matter what your arguments are or the fact that your team already has done 80% of the FP flawlessly, if the meters show you are under an expected DPS limit, you will get the boot. And what about those good players who also spend time CC-ing mobs that would most certainly threaten the outcome of the battle? Their DPS will be lower because they will be busy saving the necks of those who only have high numbers on their mind.