Which means you can't just run into a scrum going on and expect to be ok. You have to be selective when you enter, and choose good targets, and be good at evasion. They just need to make the evasion talent better.

You are also sacrificing 3% increased dmg to players, on all abilities, by using the 2 piece pve. I understand the thinking, I just think with the changes to expertise, we are better off with full pvp gear. Yes, our set bonuses are ridiculously bad.

Yea, its definitely a wait and see thing, but I don't immediately feel nerfed like I was expecting. I also didn't think to try to the "no knockback from cover" but I suspect it doesn't apply to crouching in place, which is too bad. They just need to give evasion full resistance to knockbacks.

I am also running full bm minus the relics(champ), and am at 1087 expertise. It doesn't feel like it is worth it to get 2 piece pve anymore(if it ever was).

I have actually found that, if anything, I am doing better than before. I dont know if this is due to the healing nerfs/class nerfs, but I definitely don't feel nerfed myself.

Am I the only one actually feeling like we received a little bit of a buff? Maybe its just because some of our targets were nerfed, but I definitely have noticed a difference. We do potentially have more front end damage then before. This was going up against some of the better premades on republic side on my server.

Playstyle definitely works when you are running in a premade. Have to change it up a little bit when you solo queue, but you can still be very effective, you just have to be more cautious in joining large skirmishes, as we dont always get heals. Personally, I think operatives make great hard switches in group pvp.

Am I going crazy, or are these changes also lowering lacerate damage?

Lolikek, you aren't taking into account your acid blade ticks. I am definitely talking about critting, without critting they will be aroudn 30-40%, and Ill have to then debilitate or sever tendon to keep them within range.

The nerf isn't just to the situational HS>BS>HS, but to hard switching on targets.

Not only does Hidden Strike have an increased cooldown, but so does backstab(which is also no longer free) in exchange for a measly 5% increase. Culling increases damage from lacerate and collateral strike, however lacerations also now does 10% less damage In addition it also increases energy gained, but who knows how much. I just really don't understand what they are thinking with these changes. I know I will still be able to kill bad players, but Im more concerned about good players and rated wz's...

I just don't understand their logic. I have to know I'm capable of killing someone at some point in this game. I worked my butt off after the last nerfs to learn new tricks to make myself viable in a premade. No knockbacks, pulls, sprints or helpful group buffs, logically means I have to be able to take someone out of the equation. I got to a point where I could do this reliably(while also losing a defensive/escape mechanism) and now my reward is being nerfed to the point where I really doubt I will be useful in ranked wz's.

You don't do it every time, but it excellent for garunteeing a quick kill. So, you can situationally use it to take out a healer, or ball carrier. HS>BS>CS>HS results in a kill most times(against BM geared players), if there is no kill yet, you can do multiple lacerates, you can also use debilatate if you are worried about them getting up in time. I am very disappointed in this, as I very much enjoy my Operative.

Running in a mix of champion/centurion gear, I finally felt pretty good. Yea, every other class has some sort of knockback/root, but through clever use of sever tendon, grenade, crouch/explosive, and just rifle shotting, I could generally put good pressure on people still. Now we will have an extremely hard time putting that initial pressure on people we target. I will say, I did find a way to kill pretty much any class within my stunluck, but it makes me lose a major defensive cooldown. I could jump a fully BM geared sorc, with bubble up, and HS>Backstab>cloaking screen>hidden strike. at this point most players are dead, if they arent, i can usually string 1-2 lacerates for the kill, or be so far in the lead, it doesnt matter. I'm fairly certain this is why I'm being nerfed, but I rarely see others operatives do this. Also, in doing this, I can no longer use my cloaking screen to garuntee getting away free. I stuck through the initial nerf, and played my *** off to get to the point where I am still a valuable member of my premade. Now, I have severe doubts about being useful in the upcoming rated wz's. Am I just reading this wrong? Increased cooldown on BS, +costs energy. Increased cooldown on HS, so I can no longer supply instant burst. I try to avoid being in situations where I am out in the open for 12 seconds, so thats a pretty terrible change to backstab.

Sever Tendon is your friend against sorcs. Don't be afraid to crouch+explosive probe if you get rooted out of range either. Or use your rifle shot whilst out of range. You will be surprised at the amount of pressure you can still put on them while they try to kite you. You also can't use the "this is a team game, you can't kill them fast enough" because if they have a team, that means you also have a team. Yes, we can all kill bad players quickly, but if you play it right, you can still tear through good sorcs fast enough in a wz. Also, as cwild mentioned earlier, you don't always have to kill the healer to take them out of the match. If you put enough pressure on them that they have to concentrate on themselves, thats good too. That said, I think we need an "adrenal sprint" for a quick sprint ability, or some tech move for shadow step. Perhaps it could reticule you have to target on the ground, ala death field, and it can teleport you to there within 15m. Both of those could work within the lore of this game(agents teleporting or force sprinting wouldnt make sense) and would give us another ability to counteract some of the knockback abuses classes can do to send you farther than a standard knockback.