Have you leveled a Smuggler or Agent? Why/why not? My main is a lvl 50 Sniper. This was the first class I rolled during the beta test and I fell instantly in love with it, as it explored a lesser-known member of the Imperial forces. Once I installed the game and joined a guild, I saw that 90% of my guildmates had a force user as a main, so I was happy to "stand out" with something different that brought something useful to the table, such as the +5% crit buff and shield bubble for Ops. When guildmates started to roll alts, only a few went with an IA, and then they all rolled Operatives, some dps, some heals. I've only seen a handful of other Snipers on my server, which I actually like. Makes the class seem more unique. Did you enjoy the story? Very much so. It grabs you right from the get-go and the companions you get have good stories, especially Kaliyo (thankfully, since she's the only comp you get until freakin' Alderaan), Vector Hyllus and Doc Lokin. Many people have complained about lackluster story development in chapters 2 and 3, but I feel that it kept on going just fine. Some decisions I had to make took some serious thought, which I love. Did you enjoy the mechanics? Why/why not? As a Sniper, I have to admit that being tied to Cover is off-putting at the beginning, but I feel it just made me into a better player, approaching fights as a real sniper would: considering cover, picking my first targets, exit strategy if things go sour, etc. My only gripe is that Kaliyo isn't a very solid tank unless you gear her to the gills. The fact that the Sniper AC has zero heals really hindered me. Are these classes an important SW fantasy to you? I think IAs are significant in that they show the lesser-known side of the Empire: non-Force users who do the dirty work and keep the real Empire going. Their lives are considered cheap compared to the Sith, but I felt that you got a chance to prove yourself time and again. Do you still play the class? If not, why not? My toon is very much in demand for HMs and Ops due to her abilities and the fact that she's a ranged dps (most of my guild's sorcs and BHs are healers). I don't PvP, though. *edit* Anything they could do to encourage you to try one if you haven't, or play the one you have? Some sort of basic heal would be nice (just one, as an "oh crap" button). Orherwise, I'm happy with the class as it is.

Excellent suggestions for codex entries! I really like the "tourist" idea. Hell, maybe BW could make a special title out of it, like "tourist", "globetrotter", "trailblazer", etc. As for knowing which areas of the map can be explored, it's actually quite easy: areas that contain hexagons with barely visible outlines are impassable, while those with hexagons featuring bright blue edges can be unlocked. Fatigue zones are generally on the outer edges, anyway, so I've never had a problem with them.

Bring in Ithorians as a playable species! I wanna roll me a Hammerhead smuggler!

First off, it's "tensile strength", not "tinsel", which is what you put on a Christmas tree. lol Second, it's sci-fi, so light-emitting swords = OK. In fact, I find it interesting that you seem to have no problem with Force powers, but get tripped up over lightsabers.

Lightlance Rifle: http://db.darthhater.com/items/1105/lightlance_rifle/#base-mods Drops from HK-47 in Hard Mode "Fall of the False Emperor". Just got it 2 days ago. Prior to that, I rolled with whatever commendation-bought rifles struck my fancy.

I've noticed this bug as well on my lvl 50 main, but not on my alts. I think it's due to the fact that my character progression moved away from certain convos with regard to affection / personal comp quests / etc., but the game bug still thinks they should happen from time to time, hence the icon. As for why convos seem to be all bunched up, as some have said they rely on specific story arcs, like when a chapter ends. Sometimes, folks boost comp affection too fast through gifts, which is why you have almost a level's worth of story xp waiting for you when chapter on ends, for example. I do this all the time since my main has UT and sends a bunch of blue/purple level 4-5 gifts to my lowbie alts. I end up with 7-8k affection before chapter 1 even ends!

Nerf herder. You messin' with me? Here comes the nerf. They farkin' charge your arse.

Why so many Juggs? Because everyone loves Juggs. I sure do. Big ones. /mature

Funny, since I've had a blast leveling my Jugg (at lvl 26 ftm). Sure, the damage is lower, but I find his survivability to be pretty good. Plus, I've already gotten my healy companion (Malavai Quinn) after clearing Balmorra, so taking damage isn't even an issue anymore. On my Sniper, I was stuck with a crappy tank (Kaliyo) all the way up to Alderaan, where I got a crappy melee dps (Vector Hyllus), so I'm finding that the quick acquisition of USEFUL companions as a Jugg to be refreshing and practical. I've got two talents on a reasonable CD to mitigate damage, and I got med packs. I'm all set.

Dark 5 = The Loathsome, which I dislike. I'd rather "The Tainted" or "The Last Thing You'll Ever See"

Don't know what the experience is like for Republics, but Basic is what I encounter most Empire-side ('course, that may be because the Empire is xenophobic as hell), and even then, I don't need more reading. I want conversations to flow, not feel like I'm reading off a prompter, which is why the current short version, in which the gist of what I'm going to say is made clear (at least, according to me, which is obviously not your case), suits me just fine. Frankly, I don't understand how one can be caught off guard to the degree you describe when it comes to dialogue choices. Even when they switch the standard good/selfish/evil positioning around, it takes me all of 2 seconds to know what I'm going to say, and I believe the fact that it isn't spelled out helps preserve a sense of immersion. You still get to guide your own story, but the game saves this little sense of originality for itself and you. Sure, you have your stock lines that you hear more than once, but the sheer amount of original dialogue more than makes up for it, IMO.

I see the current speeder speeds as a way to regulate both the leveling pace, which is already ridiculously fast, and credit flow at various levels (for main characters, of course, since once you hit 50, you can easily bankroll your alts). As the game grows and level caps increase, I believe we will start seeing speed boosts so folks can get their alts to end-game faster. As of right now, I have zero problems with speeders. However, as was mentioned above, some personal modifications regarding looks would be cool, for variety's sake. Some could be Cybertech exclusives, which would be a nice change of pace for the crew skill.

I'd like to see some PvP space combat as well. Doesn't have to be a major overhaul at first, but perhaps use some elements of PvE, applied to PvP. For example: - Two opposing capital ships converge; mission starts. - Players board interceptors or man ship turrets with timed objectives: disable the enemy ship (for interceptors) and take out interceptors (for turret users); player assignment could either be random or chosen by participants beforehand. - If your interceptor/turret is destroyed, you respawn on capital ship, board a new interceptor/man another turret and jump back into the fray. - As turrets are destroyed, players would progressively switch to interceptor use. This would create the competitive aspect of the mission, in that the more enemy turrets you destroy, the more ships they'll be able to throw at you. - Mission ends when one faction's capital ship is completely disabled. As an added challenge, perhaps shield generators would need to be taken out first. - Bonus creds/medals/valor/etc. assigned according to number of turrets/interceptors destroyed. Greater reward would be given when players stick to actual objectives, instead of staying near their own ship taking out enemy interceptors (to prevent turtling). Voilà! Simple, yet infinitely addictive and fun! People could choose to stick to turret use, or fighter-to-fighter / fighter-to-ship combat, according to their own playstyle.

I love the wookie voice! So much content delivered with such brevity... Wookie: "NNNWAHHAARRR WOOHRRNGHNGFF" Subtitles: "Greetings and salutations, honourable Jedi Master. I see you managed to defeat the great beast that had been plaguing my clan for countless generations, which is rather unfortunate, since we used said beast to test the mettle of our newest warriors, thereby ensuring our bloodline remains the strongest. I'm afraid you've left us no choice but to set our fighters upon you now. Please be advised that we are currently developing a new technique called the "arm rip", so if you would be so kind as to come at us relatively slowly, telemarking your moves as much as possible while locking your elbows, that would be great. Thanks."

Then Smuggler's mirror class: Imperial Agent.

The cast time is indeed instant, in that I can cast it while moving, but unlike my basic zero-energy shot talent, it seems the bolts aren't FIRED instantly, meaning their effect isn't applied on the target as soon as I click Leg Shot. I believe that this is what OP is referring to.

Indeed! Instead of fixing it, I propose that BW get the rights on Home Alone soundbites, so's my BH can loop Unload, then say "Merry Christmas, you filthy animal!" My needs are simple.

If you're spending time trying to take out tanks or heavy armor users in PvP, especially solo, instead of targeting light- and medium-armor wearers, specifically casters, then you're doing it wrong. Let others deal with the heavies. You're backup and you're there to take out THEIR backup.

Of course Snipers don't suck, at least in PvE, where most of my experience lies. Everyone in my guild rushed to level a force-user to 50, so now we're sitting on a boatload of Juggs and Sorcs. I dinged 50 with my MM Sniper and now everyone wants me for FPs and Operations. +5% raid-wide crit buff? 10-meter Ballistic Shields that offer 20% damage reduction for a full 20 seconds? Reliable burst damage a great range, with assorted CC abilities and mitigation so healers don't even have to worry about me? Hell yes. Snipers are assets, people. Play them right and you'll always have something to do. Now, with regard to PvP... yeah I'm looking forward to seeing how they fix the delay issue. Also, L2Keybind. Clicking on a hotbar is definitely not the way to go here, at least with this AC.

Be it PvE or PvP, Cover is a core ability for our class and making it optional doesn't make sense to me. Sure, it roots us to one spot while we dish out damage, but as others have said our main damage-dealing abilities have a cast time which immobilizes us anyway, so the issue iis moot. However, what isn't moot are the bugs attached to said ability, which I believe is the underlying element of most complaints. Delays and targeting issues run rampant, and many time I've rolled into cover only to find I was facing the opposite direction, which is just silly. I've got my crouch bound to the "F" key and mostly use that, but having that nice shiny red wall in front of me pretty much telemarks my position to the enemy. However, developers are looking into this, so I wait and see. Having said that, several abilities, especially in the MM tree, make sense when used in cover, such as Ballistic Dampers, Snap Shot and Pillbox Sniper. They reflect the advantage of being in cover and the steadiness that goes with it. Furthermore, as other have mentioned, abilities like Ambush pretty much call for calculated placement, and wouldn't really make much sense in a stop-and-shoot situation, IMO. Furthermore, Cover Screen actually "rewards" us for using cover with a 100% (when specced) to gain 20% ranged defense for 6 seconds, which is often the time we need to switch positions, drop into cover, and maintain that same defense potential. Does it help against all types of attacks? No, it doesn't, but then again if it did, you'd see lots of grief about it on the forums, and rightly so. We are not tanks and we don't have heavy armor. We are glass cannons. Leave us alone, and we will hurt you. Gang up on us, and we go down. Like Bruce Hornsby said: "That's just the way it is". Lastly, I agree that some abilities that are tied to cover, like explosive probe, don't make sense. I can toss a grenade on the run, but I can't drop a probe? Both are instant-cast abilities...

Uh huh... and I suppose that should BW grant this XP slider thing, and you end up on Corellia with crappy gear and little money, you'll want them to mail you level-appropriate gear and a stipend so you can finish the storyline? Tell me, how do you propose gearing yourself for later content when you skip the means to acquire said items? Would you propose that class quests give you everything you and your companions need to move forward, without having to do anything else? BW want you in their game for the long haul. They want you to spend as much time as possible in there, so they can get more of your money, plain and simple. It IS a business, after all.

I rolled both a Sniper and a Merc, and I'd take Kaliyo everyday of the week and twice on Sunday. Of course, I'm talking about personality. For utility, having a healer right off the bat is making BH leveling a complete joke. Had I access to Dr. Lokin at lvl 10, I would've hit 50 much earlier.

Anyone get a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine vibe from this title? How about a little RP when new players come up to me years from now... "Founder, you honour us with your presence." Yeah, I'm a big si-fi geek.

See here's the thing: if you say you heal, then you're an Operative. Snipers don't have heals. Period. Perhaps you mean that you forget to use your OOC heal between pulls. If that's the case, then I misunderstood you and I apologize. I used to prefer Kaliyo to Lokin since I was so used to using her (she's our sole comp for a couple planets). Once I decided to give the good doctor a try and geared him with my hand-me-downs, along with some healy Operative gear (+alacrity and +surge), I pretty much forgot about Kaliyo, save for melee-heavy boss fights. He easily outshines SCORPIO as well. She has the same tanking issue as Kaliyo does, even when decked out in level-appropriate gear. Bottom-line: Lokin all the way, at least for me. I assume Operatives would prefer DPS comps like Vector or Temple, with tanks for boss fights, but as a Sniper I find Lokin invaluable. Most mobs I encounter are ranged anyway, so I can just park myself wherever and plink'em down one by one while Lokin tops me off. I there are a few melees in the mix, then I just focus on them first. Content is much easier to handle with the doc.

It's gold, Jerry. GOLD! Well, the whole post was gold, but I'm still laughing hard at that one!