When I first started playing TOR I chose the Marauder. DPS+2 Lightsabers=awesome. At least, that's what I thought at level ten. However, as time progressed I found myself struggling to do sufficient damage in PVP, and I found myself dying frequently in solo PVE missions. I looked to the forums and deduced that the class was poorly constructed--as such I got frustrated. However, in between all of the hate, I found 1 thread that indicated that the Marauder was a class that got much better by level 30 or so. So, I stuck it out. Now, my Marauder is a beast and continues to get better as I obtain level 50 gear.
The initial problem with the Marauder is that he/she takes a large amount of damage early on in the game and yet doesn't have the resources to dish it out as much. In PVE, I was dying by myself because my companions were low level and I wasnt powerful enough to kill enemies in a few seconds. In PVP, of course I died often, but more importantly, I couldnt generate more than 40K damage in a game.
Skill choice is an essential component of the Marauder build. The three choices are Annihilation (Damage over time), Carnage (PVP Build), and Rage (Critical Damage). In my opinion, carnage isn't the best. It has many advantages if one plans on doing solely PVP, however the real damage factor only comes in around level 40. Even then, I prefer a spec tree that works wonders in both PVP and PVE. This choice can be given to either Annihilation or Rage as they both dish out incredible amounts of damage--just in different ways. Annihilation does Damage per second focusing on bleed attacks and Rage focuses on AOE critical hits.
I chose the latter. Consequently, by level 40 I was doing 2500K damage hits with critical smash attacks. Finally, things started turning around. Damage in PVP was above 100K and PVE dying was much less frequent. However, there were still many PVE problems to deal with.
First, you need to have fantastic gear. I used the auction house frequently to give myself blue and purple level gear every few levels. That way, I could manage a few hits from elite and champion degree enemies.
Second, companion building is crucial. There are only 2 companions worthy of the Marauder--Quinn (Healing + Damage) or Broonmark (Tanking). Either one requires sufficient armoring which means you need to do the same for them that you did for yourself, continuously buy them better gear. Otherwise, they will die and you will soon follow their path. I think Quinn is a better deal, healing is essential, and no matter what you do Broonmark will die, he just takes some damage for you for a little while. But if Quinn is quite good at healing you, it wont matter that you take damage.
Conclusion: So, what does this rant mean? It means you need to give the Marauder a chance before you claim its a ****** class. They can dish out incredible damage in both Annihilation and Rage Specs. By level 40 you will be machines of DPS. I started out dishing no damage in PVP and now I always get the top 3. Its not because I got better, I'm not even particularly good at this game. But the skills that the Marauder gets at higher levels are very advantageous. Combine that will fantastic gear, courtesy of the galactic trade network (for both you and your companion), and you will be a fighting machine.
