Just finished hitting 50 today, and I'd give it a solid 9/10. There are definitely some rough patches in leveling up, but with a bit of patience and cunning, you can come out on top every time. If you don't like to actually plan pulls, and utilize a full skillset while solo'ing, Sniper isn't the class for you. Kaliyo works just fine as long as you keep her geared, and I don't mean by using mission rewards, but actually utilizing commendations to buy her orange gear and mods. I used her all the way till I got my last companion <name withheld>, at which point they became my beefy meatshield. As far as class stories go, the IA has hands down the BEST one. It's completely what you'd expect from an Imperial Spy, especially if you go the Dark route, and Kaliyo plays into the whole story perfectly, not to mention her companion quests are a blast. Just getting into end game PVE, but there are distinct advantages to being a sniper. Cover protects you from a multitude of knockbacks, and Shield Generator is incalculably beneficial (think disc priest bubble if you played wow.) PvP, we have some major disadvantages yes, but if you play smart and correctly, you can overcome those. The Lethality tree makes up for a lot of the mobility issues and can drop a high armor enemy just as fast as a lightly armored one. We do take a fair amount of gear, in PvE AND PvP to really perform, but once you hit that level, you're definitely rewarded.

I've been wondering this myself actually.

Simple answer, make it an option, so those who want it can turn it on, and those little people who think they're awesomesauce without it can toggle it off.

How in the hell do you play that zoomed in? Cuts off so much peripheral awareness it's sad.

You know what would make this easy to see? A combat log. Oh wait...