Hello, I've discovered the same thing myself. I've been fuming at the game for a while now, as almost all of my characters are on EH. Perhaps this will be cleared up forthwith?

Hello all. As the title indicates, I'm a recently-returning player. I have characters of various levels and classes, including a level 29 PowerTech. The reason I lost interest in the game was largely because of my Scoundrel 50, with whom I found it impossible to complete the Corellia Dailies with, despite (apparently) decent equipment and a couple of hundred thousand credits worth of PvP armour for Corso on the advice of a guild-mate. My wife and a friend have just encouraged me to re-subscribe, and despite the customization options and the sense of community the game has, I've always had a knack for making sub-par characters. I was previously focused on the Advanced Prototype tree (really liking the look of the blade for flavour/individuality) and would like some guidance about how to re-spec and get back into the action. Any advice, input, help or build suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hello all. As the title indicates, I'm a recently-returning player. I have characters of various levels and classes, including a level 50 Scoundrel. The reason I lost interest in the game was largely because of said Scoundrel, who I found it impossible to complete the Corellia Dailies with, despite (apparently) decent equipment and a couple of hundred thousand credits worth of PvP armour for Corso on the advice of a guild-mate. My wife and a friend have just encouraged me to re-subscribe, and despite the customization options and the sense of community the game has, I've always had a knack for making sub-par characters. I was previously focused on the Scrapper tree with a little diversification into Sawbones, so any advice, input, help or build suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Companio-wise I've used all of them. Corso has tended to be the least-disappointing, but that's not saying much. Akaavi and Bowdarr both die really quickly, and after I took Risha into the Okara Droid Factory and she remained too far away from me to help, I've given up on her. I'm going to try a few of these ideas and see how things pan out. Thank you all.

Doesn't the dart only last six seconds? That doesn't seem like a lot of time for me to deal with the rest of the group. Also, what of companions who'll want to smack what I've just shot - that is the droid I sliced or the mook I tranqed?

That's true. The only crowd control I'm aware of having is Slice Droid, which is I rarely use now because my companions used to break it. I've seen other classes with similar powers but don't know of mine. I do heal when I think to, but find myself slapping medpacs more than using my own abilities. A further concern/complaint I have is that by this level (42) my trays are looking dauntingly full. I've actually taken to dropping powers from the trays that I don't use/need (Quick Travel, Sprint -turned one, even Crouch, Back Blast and Blaster Volley). Charging me a bogload of credits for these powers is one thing, but giving me more powers than I can use another.

Before I get into the specifics, I'd like to make a few points clear. Firstly, I'm not a child, I'm a fully grown man who has largely NOT played computer games. I was usually relegated to watching siblings/friends/whoever play. This goes double for MMOs - aside from a few months playing Champions Online, I've had minimal experience with the genre. If you're going to offer advice please keep that in mind. I know what DPS and Tank are, but if someone is going to geek out what I'm doing wrong I'm just going to scratch my head. When I first heard of the game, about a year ago, I wanted to play a Smuggler before the people I heard about the game from even mentioned whether there was the class. Once details had been established, I opted to go for the Scoundrel purely for flavour reasons. The idea of getting in close and mixing it up felt more lik what I wanted. I was involved in the Beta Test and played a Commando and a Sniper, so as not to 'spoil the story'. The cover mechanic was nice, but I still didn't wish to wield two weapons with my Smuggler. Once I started playing I was finding that I was fragile, but not as bad off as a Sniper. I accepted that Smugglers are just going to have fewer hit points, and I was going to die quicker than a lot of other classes. I chose to focus on the Scrapper tree as I didn't see myself playing with others a lot, and again, as a flavour choice. I don't begrudge those who wish to heal, but it's not what I envisioned for this character. I dragged myself through Coruscant, Taris and Nar Shadda with minimal complaints but some dying, and found out on Tatooine that even with a focus on Stealth, Level 50 mooks are still going to know I'm there. I made an effort to do as many missions as possible, and was usually 4-5 levels above the starting point for a planet (I was 29 when I went to Tatooine, 32 when I got to Alderaan, etc) Alderaan was where I started really noticing something. Things were tough for me, I had a companion out (it was Bowdaar at the time, but they've all proven less than ideal), but I would find it tough against a mob. A regular mob. Don't even ask how I coped against opposition with stars. I am in a guild, but my links to it are rather tenuous (as they're my wife's friends and have their own things to do), and after mentioned my frustration, they sent me a few items and told me to 'update my mods'. I didn't want to tell them that I had been doing that all along. I got through Alderaan, somehow, and with dogged determination through Balmorra (those Colocoids were infuriating), and now find myself on Quesh. I've been able to complete the Class Missions on Quesh (just - non-respawning mobs worked in my favour, although it still took me three attempts to get past the one group), but the completist nature within me would like to find out just what is going wrong with my character. I was Quesh a few hours ago, and after trying to tackle a Destrructor Droid who was too close to a mob and wiping out, I asked for advice. I'm on a US East Coast server (I'm in Australia - no, latency shouldn't be an issue for this), and asked the only other person on the world (a Jedi Sentinel) whether they were finding it difficult. They said no, and that Scoundrels were great for PvP (something I'll address in another paragraph) and nigh-unstopable. I logged off then and spent the next several hours trying to find a guide for Scoundrels that didn't require me to make a purchase or understand MMO. You might be asking how someone could get to this level without knowing how their character works? I'd like to know that myself. I'm passable at space missions (still haven't passed the 40+ ones yet, even with Level 5 upgrades to my ship), and aside from trying to complete every mission I can, even if you lose at PvP, you still get experience. Although not interested in PvP, I have decided to give it a go, and found it to be infuriating - to the point where I'll swear and carry on in a general chat despite being a grown man. I don't try and heal others, but seem to attract a ridiculous amount of attention from whatever opposing team there is. I timed an Alderaan battle today, and from the time I got to a contested gun emplacement to death was 6 seconds. I'm not doing a lot of damage (as can be proven by the end-game results), and I now mentally brace myself for PvP by telling myself that I'll die a lot and the deaths don't eat away at my equipment. Tactically, I find myself sticking to main roads on my speeder or using stealth to reach mission objectives rather tackle a mob of any size. An ideal situation has me starting in stealth with Flechetted Shoot First, followed by a Head Shot (if the target can take it - PvP and Gold Stars won't even let me us it). I'll follow with a mix of Blaster Whips, Sucker Punches, Dirty Kicks and Quick Shots, with Flurry of Bolts to keep my energy up. I use Surrender and Disappearing Trick a LOT (more than I feel comfortable with, honestly) but even they don't always help. I just seem to die. A LOT. Against mobs several levels below me. I know this is a Scoundrel issue, as I have a Guardian and a Powertech (both damage-focused) around 25 and they stay longer AND do more damage. My Powertech for example, regulars cracks 75k damage in a PvP tournament with 25 enemies killed. My Scoundrel is lucky to do 30k, and he has the pleasure of dying a lot more frequently. My equipment has all be upgraded with Commendations (at this point Balmorra), but he's still dying all the time. So, back to the title... Why DOES my Scoundrel suck?

Oh yeah! A Smuggler was the first character I made, but it was, for a long time, the first character I wanted to make. I had been drawn in by the Trooper and IA storylines I had played during Beta and wished to explore that. I really wish I'd gone with Smuggler all along, as he's now the first one for me to get off-world. Also, he looks a bit like Patrick Dempsey, but with a less jutting jawline. My wife concurs.

Thank you for the reply. When I played with my Commando and my wife's Sentinel, I found that while she could take a lot of the aggro, I could get in and do so too. He was a LOT more survivable than my IA, and we both liked how I cut through mooks while she tangled up the bosses. Also, Cryo Grenade became one of our most beloved powers. Anything that was still kicking after a Sticky and Mortar Volley got one. Thank you.

During the last two weekend testsI played on an East Coast and a Euro server, and in both cases felt that what little lag I (we really, my wife aso played) experienced was tolerable ie. we didn't die because of it. West Coast gets a vote from me, as I'll have characters on both Harbinger and JJT.

I had a Type 3 Commando running around with a Type 1 Sentinal, and when I got my cap/helmet we both cheered. Granted I'd been playing my character in tests as good-natured but none-too-bright son of nerf-herders, so the hat fit the concept well. I can see how it wasn't to everyone's tastes, but when I got a real helmet with goggles down towards the end of Coruscant (I think), I was a little sad to say goodbye to dopey hat.

I don't make it a habit of hanging around the Force-User threads on the forums as I have minimal interest in playing one. My wife, however, really likes the concept of the Consular (and your Dark-side equivilant), and I'd like to play alongside her. Whilst we both accept that unless I make a Knight (an unlikely prospect at best), I won't be with her on Tython, which is fine with us. However, I'd like the input of Consulars of what non-Force class, or classes, would work well with a Consular? She has a real desire to play a Sage, and seems to enjoy healing, so I know she'll be generally popular in Flashpoints and Operations. I had originally intended to play a Smuggler (unsure of AC), and still intend to do so at some point, but I played a Commando during the beta weekend (to complement a Sentinel she played) and found myself enjoying it a lot. What classes did you enjoy working with? Not enjoy? Find a hindrance? Thank you in advance.