The tanking mechanics in SWTOR are pretty much as simple as they get, and don't really change too much from class to class. All tanks get single target taunts, aoe taunts, and talents/stances/abilites that buff their threat generation. I will say one thing though, It's a pretty commonly accepted fact that Knights/Juggs are pretty lacking in the threat dpt. in PvE. I've personally been in multiple groups with other tanks (juggs, vanguards) and have often been 2-5 levels below them, and almost always pulled, kept aggro and took as much or less damage than they did. In a nuthshell, Shadows tank perfectly fine if you have decent gear and some levels. Shadow's do have a late start on tanking compared to other tanks, but once they are 30+ with decent gear, you are a beast of a tank. If you are at all familiar with Rogues from WoW, they're energy regen is nearly identical to a Shadow's force regen. We have the highest resource regen rate of any class (from 0% - 100%) but we also deplete it the quickest as well. It is a balancing act, and one which isn't hard to balance at all once you are familiar with your abilities and when to use them.

From level 30 and upwards, I was able to solo most champion mobs and could solo packs of 3 elites without breaking a sweat. Heroic 2+ quests are a walk in the park, and many of the Heroic 4+ are doable. Granted this character is a twink, and I keep Theran geared up, too, but I definitely prefer it more than Infil or Balance spec. There are many good things in the Infil and Balance tree's, but IMO, Kinetic is hands-down the best solo pve/pvp spec up until 50. (At 50, I'll still be kinetic) If you keep your gear up to date, you breeze through pretty much any quests (save a few Heroic 4+) that are thrown at you, you can fill the tank roll for operation's, and you actually make a difference in WZ's if you properly Guard the right targets. TL;DR Kinetic FTW.

The cover system, along with this games not-so-perfect net-code makes for some frustrating moments in PvP. They did say that they are fixing the issues with Cover in this upcoming patch, though. I hit for upwards of 900-1300 for each SoS tick in PvP. It can also be used 3 times in a row with no cooldown, and it doesn't require "setup" time like Cull does. The 2 abilities can't really be compared together like that. Ambush should definitely be deflectable and blockable. It is possibly the strongest single damage ability in the game.. from 35 meters away. As far as the Heavy Shot talent goes, it doesn't register for the KB sometimes due to the games bad net-code. Ever notice how people warp around a lot? They aren't always in the position they should be, especially after being CC'd. Again, another issue with the cover system. This is going to hopefully be fixed with the upcoming patch. The root effect on Cover Pulse is certainly not useless. It gives you more than enough time to setup a free ambush, or SoS, or Cull, or whatever. Snipers do have snares. 2 of them. You need to spec for them, but they are still there, and they are very good snares, too. Like the other poster said, classes who can AOE well will always do well on the scoreboard. I get 300k+ quite frequently, and I am happy with that. I also know that no other class in the game, aside from Op's, can burst a target down as fast as I can. You need to also realize that the players who are 50 are starting to acquire Expertise gear, and it is begining to create a huge gear gap.

Razer Naga is the best invention since the first laser mouse. 13 of my abilities are bound just to the mouse. F1 through F10 are bound are also bound, mainly CC's and potions/consumables 1-9 are bound That's about it

This definitely wasn't the case a week or 2 ago. In that case, Calculated Pursuit is not worth it alone.

Nieky, I am currently stacking Expertise, Surge, and Crit. There isn't too much choice at 50 either way because you are limited to the few stats that the PvP gear offers, but Expertise is definitely top priority for PvP. Niela, You bring up a great point, and I will continue to spend countless credits to mess around with the specs. I will certainly try something similar to what you are suggesting as well.

Thanks for the replies. BigCheeseX The 2 points into Alacrity are just fillers. Like DesignRS said, Shiv is used very rarely and I just think you get a bit more out of the marginal Alacrity gain but on something you are constantly using, than a 10% damage increase on something that is very rarely used. Cull damage is based on 4 "ticks" on a 3 second channel. This 3 seconds is lowered wirth Alacrity, but it's damage is based on 1 white hit and 2 yellow internal hits (1 for each internal poison applied) every second, and it does another 1 white+2yellow at the end of the channel. This comes out to 4 white hits and 8 yellow hits. You can barely tell the numbers because it's just one giant spam of yellow and white numbers. I would level with MM without a doubt. It is the best leveling spec followed closely by Engineering, IMO. DesignRS The top tier talents for Lethality are good, but I just don't think they are better than what you can combine them with in Engi spec. For example, Devouring Microbes is very situational in PvP. When someone is sub-30% HP, you have things like Takedown, along with execute type abilities from other classes who are on the same target as you are. Devouring Microbes, to me, seems like much more of a 1v1 talent, or esepcially a PvE raiding talent. Azesino I haven't lost a duel to anyone yet, and I duel my guildies quite a lot. I don't know how much that answers your question, but I feel that we are a very powerful 1v1 or 1v2 class when we have our CD's up. Op's and Sins give me the most trouble. Anelyn I take it because, in combination with Snap Shot, you have a free instant cast Snipe when out of Cover. I find this to be pretty useful and clutch. And you are right, it does depend on playstyle, and it's certainly not a must-have talent choice. Just something that I prefer. _Nyth I think it just comes down to preference. In PvP, ranged attackers give me little to no trouble because there is LoS literally everywhere. My reasoning for getting Calculated Pursuit is because it has great synergy with Snap Shot. Instant cast Snipes out of cover is something I take advtange of all the time when chasing or kiting when I was that spec. I personally find that Heavy Shot has it's uses. Using it to knock someone into the acid, or off a bridge, or into the fire after stunning or flashbanging them is one of them. Ambush does indeed have a long cast time in PvP, but it's no different than the channel time of SoS or Cull, just offers massive front-load damage (especially in combination with Explo. Probe) compared to a steady stream of damage BlindRapture Same reason for getting Calculated Pursuit as I explained to the others ;p

Since hitting 50, I've gotten to mess around with the 3 different specs quite a bit in PvP, so I figured I'd share my thoughts with the Sniper community. The 3 main things for Snipers in PvP, IMO, are: Damage, Mobility, and Energy. I'll rate each of my specs with this in mind, along with a few other factors that I think are important not just for PvP, but for playing the game in general. Keep in mind that the things I am rating are directly relevant to the 3 specs. I rate them based on their strengths and weaknesses in comparison to what the other specs offer. For example, I rate Mobility in the MM tree low, not because you need to sit in cover 24/7, but because, compared to Lethality for example, it is much less Mobile. With that out of the way, I'll get right to it. Marksmanship: Damage: 5/5 Mobility: 2/5 Engergy: 4/5 Defense/CC: 4/5 PvE Compatibility: 4/5 http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#400bsrddRoRgzZbcbZh.1 The best overall spec for those who like to do an equal amount of PvP and PvE. The burst is outstanding, the damage per energy ratios are amongst the best. Your main objective in PvP is to find optimal positioning followed by optimal target selection for burst. Healers > Ball Carriers (Hutt Ball) > Squishies > Tanks It's biggest weakness is it's mobility. Many of your major damaging skills require you to be in cover, and being immobile is not always the ideal choice. When this the case, Rifle Shot, Frags, and more Rife Shots are your best friend. Engineering: Damage: 2.5/5 Mobility: 4/5 Energy: 5/5 Defense/CC: 5/5 PvE Compatability: 5/5 http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#400bsMZrubboRrRrsZb.1 Sacrificing damage for defense is not a bad thing, but when your classes only role is damage, it is not good either. This is why I do not favor a heavy Engi build for PvP. But do not let that translate to "Engi is bad in PvP", because it's not. Your mobility increases a lot compared to a heavy MM spec. You gain some really good instant abilities that do not require cover. I.probe is one of them. It's essentially a DoT+Snare. Plasma Probe, which is more of a PvE ability, is still great for area objective denial. It is instant, it lasts a good while, and it has a good aoe range. Explo. Probe & Frag Grenades become your biggest burst abilities next to Ambush. EMP Discharge is not to be used as a damage ability, but as an instant CD reset for Adrenaline probe and Shield Probe. Make sure both are on CD before using EMP Discharge to get the most benefit. The amazing thing about it is that It's on a 1 minute cooldown, essentially giving you 2 adrenaline probes at the start and then additional Adrenaline Probes throughout the fight. This also translates amazingly well for PvE. Shield Probe absorbs a lot more damage, and, like Adren. Probe, can be reset with EMP Discharge. Your shield absorbs 260% more damage compared to MM and Lethal Snipers. This is nothing to scoff at, and actually makes you tanky if used correctly with CC's. Overall, it's definitely a fun spec to play, and is, IMO, the premier PvE group spec, but in PvP, it just doesn't have the burst and sustain power that the other specs offer. Lethality/Engi Hybrid Damage: 5/5 Mobility: 5/5 Energy: 2.5/5 Defense: 2/5 CC: 4/5 PvE Compatabiilty: 3/5 http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#400bZrI00ozZGbbkrrhdM.1 Currently my favorite spec in PvP. This spec does not go all the way up to Weakening Blast, but there is good reason for it, and that reason is I. Probe. It has near-perfect symmetry with the Lethality abilities, except that it doesn't add to Cull damage. Mobility is key here, and if this spec is played correctly, you rarely have to go into cover compared to MM and Engi specs. Armor becomes much less of a factor because much of your damage is Internal. Cull is your bread and butter for damage. Never use it without poison stacks, and never overkill people with it either. Both are very inefficient ways of misusing Cull. You get 2 snares with this build. 1 from Corrosive Grenade, which is an AOE snare, and the other is from I. Probe. For this reason alone, you become the bane of enemy ball carriers in Hutt Ball, and an extremely annoying SOB at any objective point. -------------------------- It's very important to correctly adapt to the specs you choose. You cannot be in an MM mind-set if you are playing Lethality, and cannot be in a Lethality mindset if you are playing MM, etc. The Sniper class is limited to a single role, but the specs really do drastically change the way we perform our role. I would suggest trying all 3 and then possibly experimenting with hybrid specs as well. I hope this was somewhat informative.

Yep, I've gone upwards of about 380k on Voidstar a few times. That place is an AOE'ers heaven. But yea, one of the greatest benefits of Lethality is that cull does nearly full damage on tanks except for the white-damage portion of the cull. The dots and the internal dmg from cull is unmitigated.

Your number one defense in PvP will always be optimal positioning and proper LoS'ing. With that said, we do have a plethora of CC's and probably one of the strongest abilities in the game: Entrench. Immunity to CC (Entrench) + a handful of CC's gives us the upperhand in most 1v1's or 1v'2, especially if you get the jump. On the flipside, we are very vulnerable when our CC's are on CD. We can't take much punishment at all. This is why I favor Biochem, and think that it's a must for any Sniper. MM, Lethal, or Lethal/Engi hybrid are, IMO, the best PvP specs right now. Straight Engi does not offer what Lethal and MM do, although there are a handful of great talents early in the tree.

As far as I've seen, it dodges everything but tech and spell/dot damage.

I'd say average about 280k or so I tend to go for the objective over side-kills a lot of the time though, so i'm not exactly the best candidate to gauge best possible damage.

I've done about 50 WZ's as the spec I posted in the OP, and I am enjoying it the most right now. Excellent mobility. Good burst. 3 dots w/ dart, poison grenade and I.probe. 2 snares, one of which is an aoe snare. Still getting 6k+ ambush+explo. probe combo's. This is probably going to be the spec I stick with.

You bring up a good point about Power Adrenals. I will have to make one to mess around with. I assume Power also increases our DoT damage? As far as the crystal alloy's go, getting them isn't so bad if your server has a decent amount of 50's for you to PUG with. HM Black Talon is pretty much free epics/crytal alloys, so I would definitely start there.

Thanks for that. You definitely put in the work that I was too lazy to do lol. Thing is though, I.probe has a 18 second CD, not 30