Pretty much every spec of every class is viable in 6.0 PVP. That being said, if given the choice between Fury and Carnage, I'd take the former 9 out of 10 times, with that one time being if I was part of a hard-swap comp in 4's (I have no emotional connection to < 4.0 Carnage like many do).. Mobility is really important in PVP and you almost always take the spec that's more mobile....which Fury is.

A lot of credit issues you seem to have would be solved by selling conquest mats earned from all your toons, in particular, the cost of the set bonuses/tacticals. As most people know, you don't have to do PVE to finish your conquest goal, usually just getting the weekly unranked PVP done will be enough to fill conquest. I agree that amplifiers are too much of a credit sink, however, as I alluded to in another thread, there is nothing in PVP right now that requires having i306 + full set bonus + tacticals + BIS amps + BIS augments. Just be patient with the amps, don't roll once the cost gets over 50,000 per roll. It really won't take that long to get a full set of whatever amps you need. The PVP rewards could use buffing, but I'm sure the devs justified the rewards for PVP with the idea that bolster already takes players to i306. Like I said before, be patient with 6.0....the gear, the amps...all of that will still be around one month, two months...even six months from now. At the end of the day, I still think 6.0 was a net positive for PVP with set bonuses and tacticals adding new layers to PVP.

When it comes to deciding between Mara specs, it usually comes down to, do you want your damage to be burst or DOTs (damage over time)? If it's the former, you want to go Fury, if it's the latter, Anni. Carnage is also a burst spec, and I used to say to stay away if you're a newer player, but at this point, I don't think it's even worth it for seasoned players. Regardless of the Mara spec, you want to run Descent of the Fearless Set Bonus. Without it, the new ability, Force Clarity/Rabid Furor is mostly useless. Since Annihilation is a DOT spec, and the most preferred tacticals for DOT specs are the ones where the main cleave ability refreshes after crits, for Anni, that's Spiteful Saber. Despite Fury being the best PVP spec of the 3, it does have the worst tacticals of the 3. You could maybe go Perservere to boost your burst window, or Cauterized Coronary for even more sustained DPS, Enraged Crush is pretty fun for cleave, but I think for newer Maras, you'd want to rock the universal Mara tactical of Defel Spliced Genes which refreshes the CD of Force Camo after using Predation. Force Camo, and wise use of said ability is the key to survival a lot of the time as a mara. If I had to choose between Fury and Anni, I'd go with the former because it's burst is more consistent, in order for DOT specs to be very effective, there needs to be cleave and that may not always happen.

Sure, PVP'ing is a lot easier with BIS gear...but until ranked season 12 starts, there is nothing in PVP right now that requires you to have i306 + Set Bonus + Tacticals + Amps. If you've been gearing 1-2 characters since 6.0 launched, a tortoise approach should still be viable by the time Season 12 starts. One thing I'd recommend PVPers do between pops are heroics on Mek-sha and daily/weeklies on Onderon. It'll expedite the gearing and won't get in the way of PVP.

I'll begin by saying that Bioware did not invent grinding for gear, pretty much every MMO has a gear grind and I would take 6.0 grind in a heartbeat over what I have to do in other MMOs, especially Korean MMOs like BDO. People can grind for years and STILL not have BIS gear for their main. Personally, I'm fine with PVP not giving equivalent drops because, let's be real, the selling point of SWTOR at this point is not PVP. I do. however, think the devs could be a little more generous with the tech frags gained from warzones. At the very least double the frags you get when winning and quadruple the amount of frags you get when finishing PVP dailies/weeklies.

I will say that while I think Fury is mostly fine, Carnage maras do need some tweaking because aside from using gore in a hard-swap comp in 4's or affinity of the spec....there's really no reason to play Carnage....in PVP or PVE. I have no problem with Fury having crits averaging 50k because it's sustained and mostly consistent, but Carnage....really should burst harder considering it's supposed to be the 'bursty-burst' of the two specs and the more difficult of the two specs to play.

It all depends on playstyle. If you prefer melee, then obviously mara would be the right choice. There are some downsides of course....since you're melee, you're going to be adversely affected by cleave, you'll be targeted/cc'd more for no other reason than you're closer to the action and you'll be in taunt range more often than not. Ranged, assuming they're not getting tunneled has to worry more about their targets either inadvertently, or purposefully LOSing them. If you want to play ranged, merc has more mobility and their DCD management is easier to reach a level of competency at. Sniper has the higher ceiling, but you're going to have to work for it, especially defensively.

link to the video in question

I can't speak for Sorc heals personally, from what I've heard from Sorc Healers is that they're not even close to being the dominant force they were in 5.0. Meta shifting to Merc Heals. When it comes to DPS, Madness sorc still has some of the best cleave potential, however they are IMO the squishiest class in the game....at least when it comes to damage mitigation, in particular, white damage. Can you make Madness work? With proper positioning and kiting....sure, any ranged class can be pulled off, but it's the inferior DPS sorc spec. Lightning Sorc on the other hand, is IMO the strongest spec in 6.0*. Their tacticals and set bonuses and new ability synergize the best so far out of all the classes. They can do passable single-target burst, but unlike most burst specs, do their best damage in cleave. The damage mitigation is still there. There's a statement which can be said that Lightning Sorcs break PVP.....literally...the game engine can't handle chain lightning spam. The only aspect of Lightning Sorcs and just DPS Sorcs in general that are 'weak' in 6.0 are their offheals...Lethality Operatives offer way better offheals. *Not taking into account class-stacking, Deception Sins/Concealment Ops perform much better when paired with another player of the same class.

Yep, like others said, got worse with last patch. With that and lag.......so hard to not get tilted.

https://imgur.com/a/5wR5Mma A nice lil 55k concentrated slice, I can record some footage tonight to get some screencaps of more 50k+ white damage crits. It's just bizarre that you have multiple sentinel players come on this thread, stating that the class isn't as bad as you claim....despite saying that sentinels do not need buffs isn't in their best interest. Despite that, you're being hostile, fighting tooth and nail, not even attempting to pick their brain on how they min-maxed their sentinels, what amps did they use, etc. Just an immediate...these sentinel mains must be lying to keep sentinels from.....getting buffed. Am I the only one that finds this weird?

By 5 different buffs you mean just...one....force clarity.

I don't think my experience with playing Concentration Sentinel at all exaggerates what burst a Conc-Sent CAN do. Will they always hit over 50k....no, and I never claimed they would...only that I've had burst windows where my bursts averaged 52k, which is IMO the true potential of a Sentinel when played to the fullest and with ideal situations. The latter won't always happen of course and that can be said for every class in the game. Marksman sniper, while certainly possessing the ability to hit for 80-100k on their Ambush with the insta-ambush tactical....most of the time, it'll hit for considerably less, a more realistic expectation would be 50-70k....and keep in mind the ambush is their big crit attack and they wouldn't have another window for said burst until at least 16 seconds later.

Any incoming damage can be countered, for example burst classes can get accuracy debuffs or hit into a well-timed DCD (knowledge gained from experience in dealing with said burst class)....dot specs can be countered by........not stacking. Sentinels did not invent having their damage countered, nor did they invent having troubles with roots and stuns. Save for Watchman, most of a Sentinel's rotation has to deal with white damage. It doesn't literally buff only concentrated slice, dispatch or ravage, it also buffs zealous leap and slash. I will agree that the tacticals aren't totally game-changing from a DPS perspective like sorcs, sins and ops....but Cauterized Corollary can help maintain the attack buff from a Force Clarity charge gain by increasing your chances of getting a Force Clarity charge (and causes your Concentrated Slice do a little more damage each use). Perserverance gives you an autocrit. If you're playing Carnage, Fanged God Form simplifies the rotation incredibly. Yes, it's true that in Solo Ranked, the Force Camo reset tactical is preferable, especially if you know you're going to be the first target...but....like I mentioned earlier, Sentinel didn't invent having to use a defensive tactical in Solo Ranked to help with survival under focus....most classes will have to do something similar. Also, unless there's another buff coming (in which case I'll take back what I have to say), the Enraged Defense CD reduction is mostly useless for DPS Juggs in SR as they'll be dead before the ED comes back....even with the CD reduction because every Jugg uses Endure Pain as a last resort, like they can't take more damage after Endure Pain is over because they'll be dead.

From a PVP perspective, sentinels are fine. Their new ability + Fearless set bonus allows for consistent burst* and the tactical which refreshes camo after transcendence is one of the best defensive tacticals in the game. That's it....that's all I got because I'm too tired to go into lengthy detail, maybe later. *Using the tactical which gave Zealous Leap Autocrit, I was able to, with 3 Force Clarity charges have a burst window of Zealous Leap > Concentrated Slice > Zen (not an attack) > Focused Burst > Dispatch...with each attack averaging 52k for a total of about 208k....in four GCDs....can I interest you guys in that?

I was the one who mentioned the podcast, however, I did not claim that you guys said Sniper was FOTM, rather that you guys agreed it was one of the top 3 performing specs. FOTM =/= Top 3. Jedimasteralex is not Stain.

Despite it's bugs, every Carnage Mara I know, PVP or PVE (even myself when I play the spec) uses Fanged God Form. The massacre spam makes DPS easier and can help maintain some natural DR.

There was a PVP podcast on twitch several days ago and when each member was asked which were the "Top 3" best classes in 6.0, snipers, along with lightning sorc were the two unanimous choices. People KNOW that snipers are strong, it's not a secret. Aside from the "phase-walk", all of your grievances....were around in 5.0. They didn't JUST get knockback root, or JUST get entrench CC immunity. All that being said...do they need a nerf? Well, what exactly about them should be nerfed? The only thing I can think of is that their knockback doesn't need a root, not when they already have a root in leg shot. While their "phase-walk" is a good counter to diversion, it's CD is much longer than that of diversion so it won't always be there when a sniper needs it. Yellow damage dealers, Lightning Sorcs in particular still eat them up and in 6.0.....they may be the strongest class in PVP.

Armor pen would be more useful for Carnage and Fury than Annihilation because of the former two's reliance on white damage. That being said I would recommend using Weapon Expertise as it's more consistent than Armor Pen. From what I've heard about the Armor Pen amps, they're more effective against classes with low armor which kinda defeats the purpose. Also, I'd recommend Alpha Strike if big damage out the gate is more important, like in SR.

I can only speak from a PVP perspective as I've never done anything like an OPs on my PT, but I think they're stronger than this thread gives them credit for. Pyro PT is one of the best specs in the game when it comes to raw numbers, which was technically true in previous patches, but in 6.0, it's much easier to deal big damage because the rotation is simplified and their new ability increases their damage potential if they're getting hit (which, let's be real...is all the time). In arenas, especially tank/heals, they can decimate the other team. PT Tanks are in a similar spot to Pyro except they're tankier.....imagine a PT tank and Pyro PT in queue..... With regards to AP PT, they don't quite feel as bursty as they used to, but the lack of auto-crit is a blessing in disguise as I can use Energy Blast more often without fear of missing out on that crit. Their tacticals are nice, I use Flame Detonation and it gives them nice cleave potential, not as much as Pyro though. Pyro > Tank > AP, and I do think they're better than they were before.

Sniper is one of the stronger classes for PVP in 6.0. Their new "phase-walk" ability can pretty much nullify the threat of a diversion. While I can't speak too much from personal experience on the other two specs, I know that Marksman have some of the best set of tacticals. Sniper's Ambush can deal big crits that make you feel like an actual burst class, Corrosive Followthrough is great for sustained damage (though more useful for PVE) and Scattershot turns Marksman into one of the best cleave classes in the game. The (albeit potentially big) weakness of Marksman Sniper in 6.0 is that they can get shut down pretty hard by classes with accuracy debuffs like a Jugg tank. When it comes to Solo Ranked, their numerous DCDs with the new phase-walk make them one of the tougher kills if you know what you're doing. I would definitely recommend Sniper over Merc, unless you're obviously going for heals. Though I have heard that IO has solid cleave potential, but not as versatile as say Marksman Sniper.

The meta in 6.0 revolves around tacticals, set bonuses and amplifiers and how well they synergize with a particular spec of class. For example, deception sins have the Death Knell set bonus which is totally bonkers, gives them autocrits on maul and boosts their damage substantially for half a minute. It's early, but looking at sentinels so far, their best tacticals and set bonuses are on the defensive side, the force camo refresh after transcendence, and the jedi knight tactical of diversion after awe. Great for survivability, not so much for DPS. Descent of the Fearless, I've been told is the best set bonus for DPS, but it pales in comparison to Death Knell. One thing I will say though, and I do think that it's important is that a big reason why deception sins are so strong right now and why so many players are re-rolling that spec right now.....is because they are one of the few classes that have a detailed guide (thanks to Kre'a) on how to play and gear them. So, if you want to play deception sin, you'll quickly find out how to get the most out of that class. As of now, sentinels/marauders do not have such a guide, so many players are gearing and min-maxing blind, which will make the class seem underpowered compared to other, more "filled-in" classes.

I'd be careful about re-rolling to sin, in particular, deception sin at the moment because you have to believe that Bioware will make some adjustments. Not to mention, they're weak defensively so if you main them this season, you may have to prepare yourself for the possibility that you'll be the focus target every single match. People are mentioning sniper and operatives, I too, agree. The latter has great opening burst which isn't too obscene to the point where it'll get nerfed. They're finally viable in tank-heal games. Snipers aside from the great tacticals marksman got, have phase walk and it addresses their one big weakness in solos, which was how vulnerable they were after getting diversioned by another sniper. Lightning sorcs are another solid bet, because players are so turned off by the idea of tunneling a player with constant DR that they are usually just left to freecast and 6.0 lightning can make life miserable. With any amount of support, pyro pts can absolutely devastate the other team with very little effort regarding rotation. Obviously they'll be tougher to play in 4 DPS matches, but if you believe there will be tanks and heals in queue, they're a fun choice. Tanks/heals, I would recommend jugg and merc respectively.

This guide is the best thing and the worst thing to happen to PVP lol because so many people are re-rolling to deception Sin, using this as the basis. Every time I get burst down by a sin, I curse Krea's name.

These types of posts are my favorite to read on forums tbh....