Ok, that's the nugget I was hoping to find out. Thanks for clearing that up!

I always read these 'which stat is better to stack' threads and the answers are always similar.... While it appears true that your primary stat (in this case strength) is the way to go, I have experimented with this at AskMrRobot.com's character builder. What I find interesting is if I build a character with tons of Strength, then even add pure strength Augments, AND make sure ALL the class buffs are on, I noticed Power still gives me better damage! All I can figure out is Mr.Robot is wrong, or the double buff from class buffs to Strength is still inferior to simply adding power for raw damage. Like I said, I make a pure Strength based character, I make a tiny swap of a mod, or a piece of armour which lowers Strength, but adds more power, and it works out to give me more damage, and more bonus damage. ^This is the one thing that confuses me. *IF* what I'm seeing is true, and you are only concerned with pure, raw damage, and bonus damage, Power is still king. (Even with class bufffs) Can anyone else confirm this?

Well not really. I wasn't going to respond but I'll be honest and tell you my thinking: Shinarika just posted a video where she 1v1's a Marauder I know. He's very geared up, and he knows and cares about his class every bit as much as Shinakira does for hers. In two instances in that video she beats him 1v1. In one case she dots him up, and is forced to use all her cool downs, but so does he. In the second 1v1 vs the same guy she is in full Infiltration spec this time. Again both have all their cool downs, she has to use them, so does he, the fight is close, but Shin wins. Like I said, I know the Marauder and he's potentially one of the better ones on our server (I don't think it's a stretch to give him that at least: "He is one of the better Marauders on our server:") So we have a very geared Marauder (which many considered a very O.P. class) who knows his class, and we have Shinarika. Two very similar players with great gear, and they know their toons inside and out. Yet Shin wins! So what are we asking for here? What DPS is missing here? I'm just saying considering the above situation (taken directly from her latest video), this is a pretty hard sell to Bioware. Was she supposed to beat him faster? Were the fights too close? On the other hand if she really wanted BW to take a request for a DPS boost seriously, she should have used footage of me. Honestly? I feel the only spec I do 'ok' with is K.C. And it's because I can do moderate damage and hold a node by myself for a while. Infiltration 'feels' like a weak Operative to me lacking in (front end) burst. Balance? To me balance still feels like my Madness sorc, so it feels 'awkward' to me with my Shadow. But then I watch Shin pull it off in these videos (which I think feature -mostly- 'fair fights' or common situations) and beat some 1v1's vs guys like that and I have to believe it's just me and the class is fine.

Shin'arika- I have played with you every once in a while in the odd match with my 50 Shadow. I think last night even we were in a Civil War together. (Vudurlo) And I've picked your brain about some Shadowy stuff... which has been great. I say this because I want you to know it is sincere, but I can't get behind a Shadow DPS buff. Could the trees use some tweaking? Heck yes. Big time, especially Infiltration which originally attracted me to the class, but sadly I rarely plan to play until I am fully geared. The main reason I can't get behind a DPS increase is we have an intangible bonus that you can't put a number on: Utility. The ability to do 'good' damage, stealth, pull a healer away from his team, debuff our opponents, mez from stealth, etc, etc. is simply amazing stuff for anything from solo queuing, right up to RWZs. At times I do feel my damage is lethargic, but I remind myself I only have 2 pieces of Warhero, and 3 augmented pieces.... Then I'll single handedly disrupt a control point in Civil war, and I realize, DPS is THE wrong reason to choose a Shadow. I'd suggest if someone wants to go the DPS route, and is willing to sac some utility, then try a Marauder/Sentinel, or a Powertech/Vanguard. Personally I find those classes a bit boring, but I see the attraction of pure DPS. But me? The Utility is fantastic and always useful. It's also tough to put a metric on it. Also as far as DPS boosts go, I have to be honest, whenever I've questioned it, I've been in a match with you and you do a TON of damage... even if you don't have your healer with you. I've often thought to myself, that the DPS I do feel I'm missing is obviously attainable through practice and gearing, and you are proof of this. I think this is a very hard sell for you, but good luck. Heck I'd take the DPS boost if you can sell it to BW, but I think you're going to have trouble convincing them.

"Troll"? Well what is a troll in this case? Let me throw this around for a second.... To me (and granted this is just me), a Troll in this thread would be someone who only has one level 50 character, yet makes broad-sweeping statements in his posts concerning level 50 characters that he's never, ever experienced. Furthermore, said 'Troll' would probably play one of the level 50 characters in question on this thread. Do you know anyone that fits this criteria Okin?

I also saw a cat with two heads once. Weak sauce.

Ridiculous. I was so frustrated with this part of the story arch I just about uninstalled.... in hindsight, perhaps I should have. Like a fool I tried and tried.... then sent a bug in, came here and see this has been a known issue for how long? This is absolutely pathetic. My character is stuck here, and I can't get past the second half of the battle (after you kill him the first time, he has some sort of continual whirlwind he puts your companion in, and then death fields you for half your health.) Asking for this to be fixed is stupid... it is assinine, and should have been done months ago. EDIT: I just has a response from customer service on Jadus being un-targetable. They asked me to be more specific. Wow.

I don't have a specific comment on your 1v1 scenario except to say that I'm glad to hear you do so well with it. I just made my first post about life after 50 and the negativity was pretty bad (as usual). I do know that as someone who PVP's a lot, and I have a lot of characters in the 30+ area, that my Operative is the weakest PVP character. My Operative, at level 31 right now, cannot actually win a 1v1. I can go through my entire knife rotation, blow all cooldowns, and if I'm still alive it's usually because the 'target' is ignoring me. I found this very hard to relate to 'success' at 50. So I changed to Lethality spec because at least in Warzones I can harrass, annoy, dot and AOE people enough that it can make a difference., Sometimes I get lucky enough to do some 'wetwork', finishing people off with a few pointy stabby moves. It could be a "L2P" issue but I seriously don't believe that since I feel my PVP experience in this game with all classes is pretty solid. I've also read up on it, and watched hours, and hours of video.... So to come here and see someone state that basically at 50 they really only fear -one- archetype, well that's pretty enlightening. You give me hope! But hopefully it kicks in a bit before 50 because this is hard work.... I'd say it's the polar opposite of my Mercenary, which is an early bloomer with obvious setbacks, but keeps getting better..... from level 11 on. What level do you think you start to feel like you can actually do 'well' in PVP? Gratz btw on your Marauder battles. I'm sure you'll have some new challengers now.

So far, 1 positive response. Three negatives. Is it -that- bad PVPing with the class at 50? Should I take this stuff with a grain of salt? I know there's still some sour opinion since the surge, and knockdown nerf.... and the coming dot nerf (minor).... but do these things really break it at end game?

First post on the SWTOR forums... but I really didn't know if I should because there is just so much negativity. But I don't know any 50 ops in game, so I"m asking sincerely here... How would you rate your post 50 experience? I hear so much negativity... I really don't know what to make of it. Here's the situation: I have a lot of character... I mean a lot. Been playing since official release pretty much and haven't stopped since. I love this game overall. Highest character is a nearly 50 Juggernaut, and most of my other characters are in their 30's. I think overall I actually love the Operative storyline the most which surprised me.... Anyway, I find I log the character in, and have a blast, but come here, and it's all doom and gloom for seemingly the majority of people who have hit 50. I have it down the this Op and another character. I think I would go Operative, but I just don't want to be pigeon holed into being a healer in order to find 'work' in the post game. Maybe I'll ask like this: (For level 50 ops) - Knowing what you know now, would you still play the character? - I PVP a ton.... is there more than healing that is valid in post game? (Post 'nerf' I read a lot of concealment is too weak, and issues with Lethality and healing.) - In PVE, do you feel you're as productive as your guildmates? Or whatever group you're in? I'd appreciate sincere feedback. The thing about this game is something can feel so different at 15- 25 -35 etc. I am relying on you folks to give me an honest run down. Thanks.