I've got to say it, but being top 3 DPS, or even top DPS means nothing. You can still lose a match HANDILY and your team is the top DPS. I've won pug matches without team being killed in DPS, but we won cause we actually passed the ball in huttball correctly, or defended flags properly and watched them properly. This idea that one stat makes a difference in the win means absolutely nothing. So lets look at what (from what you posted) would be useful to your team to win a PvP match. Annihilation - Good for a long fight a node/door, so long as you have a healer. It also helps out your teammates slightly. Dot damage is nice for hitting multiple people, putting damage on group instead of 1 person. Carnage - Good for damage over time, and more survivability, probably the more defensive of the 3 specs. Holding doors with a healer backup and a good tank can make it a very strong hold. Rage - Great for zerging a node/door with another DPS teammate trying to get a quick cap before defenders get there to help. You are squishy but strong. Also great as a kind of defender in Huttball, in which you can be used to drop a healer fast or a ball carrier fast, as they are in the last steps to scoring. I'm not trying to say damage is bad, because of course it isn't. You need damage to kill the opposition and without them dead you can't cap/score/plant. However, Marauders seem to be on the lacking end of versatility between their 3 specs. Now I haven't played around with my Marauder a ton, and obviously haven't gotten him to 50 and geared, but he doesn't seem nearly as versatile as my Operative/Powertech/Inquisitor and even some ways I find my Sniper to be more versatile, but that's a highly debatable subject I refuse to get into. I'm just saying that Marauders may be very good at damage, but people are forgetting that it's a team game you're going into, and they do not have a lot of team options on the table.

It really depends. I go with crit since I already have a lot of crit as it is. If my lvl 50 ability is ready, I'll pop surge since 80%+ of my tech abilities will be crit.

Jet Charge is useful for Huttball. Outside of that it's not that great, unless you charge a Marauder/(W/E Repub mirror is) so that they can't charge you, either way, you have grapple for that. Meanwhile, Hydraulic Overrides makes you faster in combat and 8 second cc proof. Both of those are great for survivability. If you have the increase to run speed with jet charge it's not bad, but you get that boost as soon as you use it, so by the time you can move, you get 3s tops with the movement boost doesn't help your melee strafe for long, you also have to waste 2 points to get it. Either way, the AP was never meant to be the best at damage, or damage mitigation. It does have very quick cooldowns on some prime abilities however, and is the best support tree I've seen. However, I will disagree with the OP on Pyro tree being a heat pig. Too many people want to burst really hard with that tree, and don't take time to realize how good of sustained damage they could have if they used Automated Defenses, Rapid Venting, and Super heated rail properly.

I've got to disagree that's it's bad for PvP. It's not good for 1v1, but mixed with medicine, it's a great support build. I'll dot 4 targets, and have support healing going on the group, then some darn good cc to go along with it. You can still do some decent burst with hidden strike -> backstab -> shiv, to help bring down a target quick, or just weaken a tank for your group to gang up on. However, if you are playing solo, you really won't get things done productively with Lethality. I mean, on my 28 OP I come out 2nd or 3rd in damage, with usually 3/4 50s on both sides of the match, but I can't do much objectively, and my healing is like spitting on a fire, only good for those last stretch in Huttball, or downtime on Aldeeran/Voidstar.

Literally just mentioned this in another thread a little bit before this post. I currently run a 10/31/0 because I felt 2 points in steely resolve were better then a 8% damage buff on RP. Anyway, I love the mobility of the build, and think it's underrated, or more unnoticed. Too many people are jumping on FB refreshes, and forgetting Flame thrower is a very viable skill. With proper strafing (which becomes even better with being sped up 25% of the time) you can manage your heat easily, and be a heck of a guardian. It's also quite devestating for running the ball since you get a 8s immunity to stuns, plus your stun breaker. The only thing I don't like about it is I don't have a good refresher for anything basically. Everything is smooth flowing, but I can't get any spike damage unless it's multiple crits. I basically know if I'm going to lose the fight half way through it.

I've never had damage problems with AP, and the point of AP is not damage, but mobility and versatility. That's why you see a lot of higher up players part spec'd in it (Mainly for cooldown on quell and grapple, and of course the bonus crit chance for fire techs, armor piercing of rail shot, finally the prototype cylinders. AP is still underrated, because it requires you to actually manage your heat well to put out very noticable DPS. The best part about it is that you can go deep into it, and still be using another Cylinder. Right now I've been running a 10/31/0 spec that uses ion cylinder. It works great for pvp and pve.

For a pure DPS person, I'd take 2 out of Infrared Sensors (It's rather pointless really) and put it into Energy Rebounder. This will keep you up more often, since you'll be able to absorb damage much more often, it also refreshes your snare breaker, faster. Take the 2 out of Steely Resolve and put it into Rapid Venting. Being able to vent 50 heat over 90s instead of 120s is going to make a big difference when you're in the thick of it. You can also start off heavy, blasting your heat up to 80 for a very quick burst, and then vent heat, then just manage it until your vent heat is ready again. After that, take 2 out of Rail Loaders and put it into and put it into Prototype Burn Enhancers. This will up your damage far more then 6% extra on rail shot (since this will effect your FB, and more importantly Combustible Cylinder). It also helps to keep your heat lower, and keep you alive more with Automated Defenses, which is criminally underrated. With that, you can start every fight with Thermal Override, for a free Incendiary Missle, on top of being able to burst up to 80 since you have vent heat. It also helps damage cause you have points in Fire Bug. Finally, this one is a personal choice for me, but I think it will help more since it will up your tech crit chance, take 1 point out of Intimidation, and put it into Prototype Cylinders. This will boost your damage output because of Fire Bug and Automated Defenses, and also very slightly help your survivability. You can also put the 2 points of Gyroscopic Jet Alignment, into Sweltering Heat, which will keep people from running away from you, or running towards the door/node faster, it's great for dragging or getting away from people as well. Overall, if I was going to go pure, nothing but DPS, my spec would look like this: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#301bZMsZfhMrzGGrs.1

There are tons of quests where you kill people just to kill them, if you're choosing the dark side choice. Now, if you're talking specifically class story line, you should specify that.

I'm sorry, but 10m is not melee range. The only 2 things I use that require melee range are RP and RB. Use the 10m to it's advantage, and kite those melee people as best you can.

Just to tag onto this, since I think it needs to be said (and I hear about so many Pyro build PTs not using it), you need to make good use of your thermal sensor override. It's great use for a free refresh of IM, and I start off using it every time. You should also spec to do as much critical damage as possible, since Automated Defenses and Fire Bug thrive off this. If you manage your energy well, there's no reason you should be as good or almost as good as many other DPSers out there.

This is a very wise choice. I wish I had the ability to do so, but I get bored with the game at times.

Why not just make it so Shield rate happens half as often with thing like Tech or Focus powers (so if you had 40% chance to shield, it could go to 20% chance to shield Tech/Focus powers), or lower, depending on balancing issues. This way tanks can up their DPS through Flame shield. Maybe lower the amount of heat they vent through Shield Vents (or replace it with a mechanic like they vent whenever RP crits, or something along those lines) so that they can't have such a quick way to vent heat (and hybrid specs wouldn't thrive off it). That way Shield specs can be more durable, and have a bit of DPS option, but not too durable? Not real sure, even when saying that, I still feel they'd be too durable. Might be different once the 50 brackets come up, just seems like they still be able to plug it away. I do think that no matter what, shield should not effect crit hits.

I'd take a point out of Rain of Fire and put it in Energy Rebounder. That will keep Energy shield up quite more often, that will improve your survivability, and keep you more mobile.

I've been a vocal person about both Hitman and dot mechanics

I love this post. Glad someone actually went through and did all the math for it, cause I sure wasn't just to prove a point.

I'm assuming demolisher is 2k crit or something? I don't know the medals by name.

I'd take the 2 points out of Iron Fist and put it in Flame barrage. It will save energy, and up your damage output overall. EDIT: Makes RP have no cost with FB sometimes. FB does elemental, which will do good damage in PvP. Will basically cover it's own cost sometimes. The 8% on RP is good, but using FB would put more damage into it.

I don't see Lethality as a good, stand alone class. I think it needs to be mixed with Medicine (Kolto Injection TA, and +9% Cunning) or even a hybrid with Concealment to really shine. I play it as a complete support class, not really meant to be fighting 1v1, though if can be quite good at hit and run as well (due to dot). Most of the time I find myself popping kolto injection on someone, and keeping stim boost active at all times, then putting Corrosive Grenade and Corrosive Dart on pretty much everything. It's true healers can remove dots, but most of the time, they are going to be too busy to do so, being that most classes are DPS damage. If a team was coordinated enough (I have yet to see my dots removed once) I don't think Concealment would do much better since there are plenty ways to pop you after you've dropped stealth (before you can get your burst in). Anyway, the Lethality can work great at mid-range, maybe even longer then that (since dart and grenade are far away things). However, I do think it needs a better TA system, since it basically relies on medicine for a reliable TA generation system. Maybe instead of Cut Down, have something that gives Overshot a chance to give TA.

Awesome, spoilers.

Heavy armor does nothing for crit/poison/internal/elemental, basically all damage that's not kinetic or melee. So yes, PT might have a advantage over OP (depending on how well you crit), but it doesn't have a advantage on say.. sorcs. Where as operatives work great on sorcs. Each class has it's strength and weakness, PT included (even this 21/2/18 business we've been going on about). So where PT does good against operatives, they do bad against some other classes. Ultimately, the game is incredibly balanced right now, and while some classes are indeed noticably better then others, it really comes down to how good your teamwork and playing ability is. Rarely will the fact that you were a operative, and he was a powertech, be the reason you lost a 1v1.

All of what damage? Besides, I've already argued the point that the build cuts on damage. It's mean to have some DPS with more durability and maneuverability. However, with the recent testing that has gone on shielding, it proves that shields are almost completely useless. Anyway, IM does more dot damage then Combustion, if you're talking from start to finish. However, in terms of each tick, Combustion does more, and is more likely to be refreshed. The point of the build is to refresh RP fast, and vent your heat fast (get a 50% chance everytime you shield to vent heat and refresh RP). RP does more damage then FB, and with the Ion cell damage + IM dot damage, it does more then combustion each tick. This thread was never about top DPS, so quit bringing it up. You were trying to say that the build was hard to get tick damage on the opponent without being close, and you were just wrong. There was never argument for it being the best DPS class, because people know it isn't.

Retracable blade is 16 heat. TD is 16 heat. What are you talking about? I'm talking to a guy that says Retracable Blade has more use then TD. They cost the same heat, just one can be used from 30m away, but does slightly less guarnteed damage (due to the fact that it's damage will be cut compared to the internal). However, kiting is far easier with TD, TD gets a crit bonus, and following up the pyro tree ups your tech crit, which improves your DPS. Now if he was saying to drop 3 points from pyro tree, and toss it into Shield tech for the 9% aim bonus, I could see what he was saying. But instead he's saying drop 6 points from pyro tree to get retractable blade. That does not make sense from a DPS damage.

***? Thermal Detonator is both great for burst, and overall damage. Yes it's kinetic, but it can hit multiple targets, and can be set on them from far away (unlike Retracable Blade). A build meant for simply maxxing DPS, needs to have Thermal Detonator. It's widely usable, unlike Retracable Blade, and gets a 30% bonus crit damage. So you can pop melee targets from a far with IM, TD, and RS, then you can just go away. You clearly do not have any idea what you're talking about. Retracable blade is for builds that are going to be up close, which means they have a lot of versatility and mobility. A build running off combustion cell does not have that. You don't want to be close enough to use RB consistantly (which is what your build relies on for some of it's damage output). You want to bring the enemy down before they're in melee range. That's why the Combustion Cell gets a slow effect. Once you do get within 10m you want to use FB (if IM/TD/RS is down) to refresh your RS. Once you are <5m you want to be use RP to try and get your RS. Your DPS relies on dealing a good majority of it's damage at close range, which lowers it's survivability and thus how long it can stay alive to do damage. I'll reiterate, you clearly don't know what you are talking about. This build will do much better DPS damage, because it can do it from far away, and doesn't rely on any attack to deal it from close range. http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#301hzZMsZfhMrzGGMs.1

Incendiary Missle sets a burn effect for rail shot.

Those 50's must be crap then. Letting a healer free cast on you is just dumb, so it should be 2 50s slamming you, and 1 keeping the healer busy. If you were being hit by 3 50s that know what they are doing (which is what matters in PvP), you wouldn't make it from one side to the other, even with a jet charge, unless you were potting. Between cc's, the massive amounts of damage some specs can do, and the fact that you can be grappled/pushed into fire or acid, you shouldn't be making it across the map with competent players on you. Tanking HM is somewhat about spec, more about knowing what to do and proper healing/party. Anyway, the spec is fine, but lets not blow things over here acting like it's some god among men sort of thing.