http://mmo-mechanics.com/swtor/forums/Thread-Scoundrel-Operative-Healer-BiS-PvE

Noticed the same. Exceptionally annoying.

Gahh. I agree.

Testing out your spec today, I pulled a respectable 150k-250k damage and healing (both) consistently. It's really amazing for working with a group, especially when they know that you're doing both healing and damage. I think I'm definitely going to use this for my premade spec, with alterations when 1.2 drops.

Your mom's a terrible class.

I like apples.

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#401MzZGhRRdkrbfzZhr.1 This is my current build (subject to change in 1.2) Priority: Hidden Strike/Backstab + Acid Blade. You want to hit it every time backstab is up. Basic rotation: HS+AB->BS->Debilitate->Shiv. From here, it's subjective. If they're smart and have CC break up, they'll break it and come for you. So get ready for a Sever Tendon if it's a sage/commando/gunslinger, and shield probe. If they don't break, then judge by health: if 2-4k damage will kill them, Lacerate them to death (or BS/Shiv comes up). If not and it looks like a longer fight, Stim boost->corrosive dart->crouch+explosive probe->etc. Make sure to be aware of your dots and their resolve. If they break your stun, they can't break a Mez. So wait out your dots and resolve and toss a Flashbang+Orbital Strike (or Sleep Dart+Orbital Strike, which is just plain funny, if you want to use your Cloaking Screen on it). Also, remember the battle is about control. Stop them from hitting you or make them focus on themselves/running away, then you're doing it right. Plenty more, but you'll do better to figure it out in game. Experience is the best guide.

I think it's generally accepted that "hybrid" for Scoundrels/Ops means part healer, part damage dealer, so saying Scrapper hybrid is basically saying Scrapper Sawbones, whereas Sawbones hybrid is saying Sawbones Sawbones. Besides which, most hybrid specs I've seen use dirty fighting, so pointing out the hybrid as Scrapper is certainly helpful.

"holy **** *** are you?" "batman" Best part lol. Interesting play style! I think I might look into it for rated bgs. What spec are you using?

Use evasion.

I was at a rager getting drunk! Lol

Funny, that's what I was doing when you posted!

I use it when assassins use their shroud. There are a few other cases, but that's the most useful that comes to mind.

Yes. <filler because the forum thinks 3 letters is too short>

Mostly sad, though, lol.

Did your opener get nerfed? Because even that wasn't very good =P

On the other hand, cleanse won't reduce the effectiveness of cull, which was probably the point.

Closest I've had was 5 Ops, 2 Snipers, and 1 Maurader. It was dirty good fun.

Pretty much. My job in PvP is to piss off healers. Even the best healers can't ignore me when I jump them, unless they're guarded and GUARDED (so that I get jumped when I jump them).

The set bonuses all suck anyway. If everything is socketed for power/surge or crit/surge, then it's all gravy. Just keep it champ gear.

Flashbang is a Mez effect, just like sleep dart, which isn't really the same.

Personally, I find Resolve to be an elegant mechanic that is underappreciated, but to each their own. In any case, I'm not saying that the game is complicated. I'm saying that PvP is, for all the reasons I've mentioned. As for the stun chaining, that doesn't really help against equal gear and skilled opponents, primarily because they know what to break, how to counter, and often bring a friend which immediately counters much of our ability. I'm not in any way saying that Operatives are bad. I'm just saying that we're not on par with other classes and we're not where we need to be. You have a right to disagree and state qualitative evidence (because there is no quantitive evidence), but that is my official stance.

This game is not exceptionally difficult, but PvP is always difficult because it requires not only a knowledge of your class and mechanics and other class's abilities and mechanics, but also knowledge of how a player is likely to respond to a situation. The difficulty comes in anticipating a player, gauging their skill in a split second, and reading their mind by their movements. The difficulty of PvP is in the players, not the game. All I'm trying to say is that when you have two players with equal gear at equal skill working the same amount but one is an Op and the other a Sorc (the balanced class), the Sorc is going to consistently do exceptionally better.

Look, if we're basing balance on Sorcerer, then it's obvious that Operatives aren't balanced: we're underpowered in group situations. One on one, yes, we can take out anyone (assuming the drop). But PvP isn't about battling one player. It's about group fights, surviving in combat to complete an objective, and it's important to be able to push consistent damage because you're consistently in combat. Do you have any concept of how limiting the stealth requirement is? It essentially means that we're pretty much useless when we can't use stealth. If we don't get the drop, our damage is severely limited, and without the survivability we need, other classes will remain more powerful in these situations. Additionally, our energy mechanic is not conducive to a burst DPS class because it punishes you for doing burst damage. When we burst a target, we're very quickly out of energy and ineffective until our energy returns--which takes a very long time when you're in the bottom energy tier and attempting to survive outside of stealth. Look, I enjoy the hell out of my Operative. I have a blast in just about every situation, and I do well against good players. But doing a good job requires exceptional amounts of practice and skill, both of which are not necessary in the same quantity for balanced classes. If one class has to work three times as hard as any other class to be just as good as a mediocre player in a balanced class, then the class is not balanced. And when it comes down to it, a video that showcases 5k crits with adrenals/WZ buffs and severely undergeared targets is not proof that the class is fine.

Enjoyable for the most part (thanks for making it iPad accessible) but I didn't understand why you had a 5k crit section. Seemed like all it did was show that you fight some severely under geared opponents. Also, it'd be nice to see more situations where you're targeted and not protected with a guard. =)