Or, you know, what does it matter? The Sentinel as it is in game is a dual-wielder, regardless of Form. Hell, they could have called it Makashi and it would make little to no difference as our class features demand that we wield two lightsabers at all times. Any lightsaber form was more than capable of incorporating a different style of saber; you could be a defensive Soresu duelist using a saberstaff, or an aggressive Djem So fighter that used a training saber or underpowered blade to mitigate excessive damage. I go back to pointing out that "Weapon Master" would have been a more appropriate title for this AC than "Sentinel", which could have lead to some interesting options (the AC getting to use all three forms of saber style featured in game: single, dual-wield, and the saberstaff). As it stands, however, Jar'kai was a sub-variant of Niman that grew to be able to be adapted to any style. Niman itself is a style that emphasizes flexibility and the capability to adapt to changing circumstances. Niman in and of itself does not fit any of the trees in the game, as there is no "Adapt" tree. There are no abilities that let you completely change your role and style mid-combat, which would be the "proper" representation of a Niman-form; it can do everything, just not as well as the dedicated styles such as Soresu for Defense.

Well, actually ... Guardians, Sentinels, and Consulars are canon, very much so. They exist outside of just the KOTOR Series (and their relevant Tabletop RP Sourcebooks), and are even featured in The Jedi Path (decent read, pick it up if you don't already have it and are a fan). That said, I'm very much in agreement with Ramtar's original point: "Sentinel" is not the appropriate name for this class. In fact, sadly, a "true" Sentinel doesn't really fit the idea of TOR. The Guardian is the Combat Specialist, wielding all manners of weapons from lightsabers, vibroswords, even blasters and starfighters (in canon, that is, not the game) to dispatch the enemies of The Order and The Republic. Conversely, the Consular shies from direct combat and instead tries to solve issues through diplomacy, logic, reason, and The Force. The Sentinel, in canon, is The Jack: they do everything. They fight, they philosophize, they slice computers, fix droids, pilot ships, deal with the criminal underworld, talk politics with Senators: their skill-set is diverse, and that is their strength. Sadly, there is no real way to reflect that idea in TOR (outside of the Class Story, perhaps). The only way I could think of it would be if "Jedi Sentinel" was its very own Class, featured its own ACs, and had access to Heal, Tank, and DPS trees to reflect the idea that they can do, literally, just about anything, just not as well as the people who specialized (a Sentinel would find it difficult to outfight a Guardian, or outForce Consular). Interestingly enough, Jedi Shadow would have been a Sentinel AC if it were its own class, as Shadows were Sentinels (mostly). But I digress. Sentinel was my first Class. To give an idea of roughly how much I have played this game, however, I've owned it for technically about a year now and JUST finished the Knight Storyline (I leveled a Sniper to 44 and a Scoundrel to 29 inbetween playing my Sent, but still). My experience with PvP ... isn't. It's mostly in getting ganked on Tatooine or Hoth (*********** HOTH!) due to initially starting in an RP-PVP server because I noticed the population size was not as big as others. I have not moved from the Server mostly because before it wasn't possible to do so (last I remember), and now mostly due to laziness. Due to said Ganking, I have managed to develop an irrational hatred of Assassins (and Shadows, as I've dealt with enough of them doing the same to my Sniper, again on Hoth, because Hoth is just Norse for Frozen Hell). I've never played the Class so I have little to no knowledge of their abilities, trees, what they can do, etc. As I do not PVP regularly (if ever), it has never really concerned me due to my casual affiliation with the game. But seriously. **** Assassins. Camping my quest areas, CCing my companion and then stunning me and proceeding to just make Khem beat me in the face while I try to adjust to what's going on while I'm a late Level-20-something still trying to figure out if this Focus Tree is worth still putting points into because gee-golly it was the first thing I started leveling so I might as well stick to it. Since then I've come to enjoy the Focus Tree quite a bit, after literal days of trying to figure out how to use it to its greatest effectiveness against various enemies. Did I mention this was my first MMO ever? I can see why a lot of people play Assassins/Shadows for mechanical reasons. As a Sentinel, it was a frustrating learning curve (especially when not expecting to be attacked by a player whilst zooming around on my speeder) in adapting to being attacked, realizing what I needed to do, and then executing my plan to survive. Winning was never my goal, my goal was always just survival so I didn't have to respawn. Again. By the time I reached Voss, I believe I was good and ready. Voss was my first Victory over another player in open-world PVP. It was the first time I realized the strength of things like Pacify, Guarded By The Force, how to properly use my Centering for what I needed in that moment, be it defense or burst damage, and how to properly time and execute my snares/roots so I could do what my Spec is famous for. Only took 40+ levels to get it all together into one package, but hey, it was fun when finally executed. I left the game for quite awhile after that (computer issues), and am now back with a solid gaming rig, only to see that major changes have happened to the Sentinel. The 5-minute debuff on our Inspiration, the healing penalty on Guarded By The Force, and I see other classes showing glee that we're being limited in our overall offensive and defensive power. Funnily enough, I also notice other classes also getting people cackling at them for the nerfs that they are suffering (Scoundrels losing their ability to avoid being leapt to while in Cover comes to mind). It almost made me think that a large group of the player community doesn't care about balance, but instead wants their class to be Das Uber Winner forever. Hence why it charms me when I hear fellow Sents (and Snipers and Scoundrels) espousing the idea that numerical balance (game mechanics) and the ability of someone to play/not play their class well are two totally different things. When I was constantly being killed on Tat and Hoth, I had no idea what I was doing as a Sentinel. I survived on luck and the barest idea of what my rotation should be (learning as a Sent made playing a Sniper stupidly easy, though, go figure). To the people that killed me, I hope they realized it was due to my poor playing and not a superiority of their class or an inferiority of mine (except it's not inferior, Sents are, like, the best). Unfortunately, I can also see how those kinds of encounters can build a certain attitude towards a class. I hate Assassins/Shadows. I despise them. Will I play one? Eventually, yes, I plan to play at least every AC. But my experience colored my opinion of them. The people that ask for buffs to their class, or nerfs to others, most likely also had their experiences colored by their encounters with them, rather than basing it on whether or not they were a good player, and whether their opponent was also a good player or not. I assure you, if more people saw my abysmal performance as a Sent and thought that was the norm, we'd be buffed to the point of killing Shield Spec Vanguards in 3 cooldowns. This was a very long and winding ramble, and probably noncontributing to the discussion at hand seeing as my experiences don't really let me comment on things like endgame PVP or PVE. But ultimately, going back to the OP's main discussion, I was interested in the Sentinel from the Get-Go. The flash and pizzazz drew me in, the idea of being a whirlwind of a Jedi Knight, mobile and fierce in the way I strike down my enemies, it made the suffering through levels where I felt weak and powerless worth it when I came into my own towards the endgame. Is it a difficult class? Yes, and I supposedly play the easiest Spec out there. The learning curve hurt, but there was a real sense of accomplishment in finally getting the hang of my priorities, my cooldowns. There was nothing like that for my Sniper, it felt very Point-And-Click-Until-It-Dies (again, though, I am not at endgame there so there may be some major changes I did not see coming). The draw of the Sentinel, for me at least, was the style, the complexity, and ultimately the satisfaction of learning how to make a Melee DPSer shine. Does it need some tweaks? The entire game needs some tweaks from everything I see, read, and experience. It's a work in progress, and probably always will be. I feel that there are some slight boosts and benefits the Sentinels out there could use to further emphasize the Class as a minor support/cruise missile that players should learn and know when and where to direct it to do the most damage, but I'll leave the major ideas to the folks who know a thing or two about what they're actually talking about. Shine On, You Crazy Jar'kai Saberists.