I feel like BioWare did a good job with that. No class feels "broken" as they have in other MMOs such as WoW for example. There aren't really any "marginalized" classes, no one can say OH SITH ASSASSINS GOT SCREWED. It seems as if all classes can be utilized if played correctly and I salute BioWare for their good job of balancing. That being said, it's really indisputable right now with Snipers. Our sustained DPS is solid, but we really shine with Bursts. I'm playing a Marksman Sniper right now and I'm getting 2.4k crits at level 38... I've actually had people in Flashpoints say "Wow nice Burst" so even w/o a damage meter it's something noticeable. That being said, on fights where mechanics necessitate movement or switching targets, Snipers really struggle. It's really a trade off; but yes, it's rewarding if you learn to accept the trade-offs and work around them.

Yeah this is what I'm trying to figure out. Cunning vs. Power. I think Power would be ahead of Crit though something like this Accuracy (until 100%) Cunning or Power (depending on what turns out to scale better for DPS) Crit Surge (once you have achieved a high enough Crit %, Surge will take priority over Crit) Alacrity That would be the likely stat priority.

^^^ This is the correct attitude. A hard fight necessitates a better strategy, not a nerf. I haven't found any of the Agent fights to be THAT ridiculous that I couldn't beat them...

I believe Cunning still > Aim for for Snipers. Aim itself might increase our pure rifle shots and such, but that's it. It won't scale out Crit or Tech abilities nearly as well as Cunning would. So look at it like this Aim = Ranged DPS Cunning = Ranged DPS/Crit + Tech DPS/Crit + Healing/Crit If say Aim gets a rating for 8 on rifle DPS Cunning might get a 7... but Cunning also gets a 7 or 8 for Tech + Healing. If you stacked Aim you would notice that your Crit is far below what it would be if you stacked Cunning. While Aim might outdo Cunning solely on rifle attacks, once you factor in the fact that Cunning buffs other stats as well, you will see that Cunning comes out better for us. Now allow me to throw the disclaimer that without combat log parsing much of this is theory and needs to be worked out, and I could be completely and UTTERLY wrong; but in my experience as a Marksman Sniper, Cunning is still way ahead of Aim in terms of viability. I never once needed to use a weapon or piece of gear with Aim on it, so maybe you should look hard. Between Flashpoints/Commendations/Quest it is super easy to find the properly statted gear.

My question is what are the scale values for Cunning compared to just straight Power. Past raiding experience in other MMOs leads me to believe that +Power will be a better DPS gain then pure +Cunning, but I'm not entirely sure if that's true in SWTOR. Anyone want to just answer this real quick? Cunning/Power What order should I be aiming for as my first priority? I feel like Power is the easy answer, but it seems Cunning does EVERYTHING so it might end up scaling better, but idk.

A variety of factors. Are they using Ambush w/ Armor Pen talented? Is Shatter Shot or another -Armor Debuff up? How high is their Surge Rating? I wouldn't worry too much about how much you Crit for when you're not even level 50 and properly geared out yet. To the OP, the +Aim Sniper Rifles are most likely for companions, or vendor trash.

Uh false...and false? The extra 5m is a noticeable difference in PvP especially Huttball, and it's always nice to be further away when you're a Sniper even in PvE. Secondly, Sniper does NOT have more CC, besides Slice Droid the BH has better CC because their's can be used on anything Droid or Organic. Thirdly cover isn't a pain in the *** if you enjoy playing in cover...I find it fun, so it doesn't bother me at all. You've done nothing but tell this guy your opinion on what class YOU like not what he would like. To the OP: If you like the idea of a cover class, and dealing supreme burst from long range then a Sniper is for you. If you like the idea of using various droids and explosives to kill people, the Sniper is for you. If you like the idea of running around in heavy armor with Dual-Blasters and Rocket Launchers, then Mercenary is where it's at. It all comes down to preference because neither class is "better" than another.

The Cannot See Target error has popped up on a bunch of things not just Jadus. That being said I'm a Marksman Sniper and I just killed him about 30 minutes ago without an issue. I got the bug, I re-positioned myself, and then I was fine. It's just a small bug that the developers will have to patch when they get a chance. Secondly, as a Marksman Sniper you have no real reason to be using Explosive Probe imo. Tighten your rotation up.. at this level really the only things you need on a fight like Jadus in terms of DPS abilities are Laze Target/Snipe/Ambush/Followthrough *if you have it*/Takedown/Shatter Shot Of course interrupting his casts when you can (12s CD) and using Cover Pulse/Entrench/Distraction are necessary as well but they don't consume energy if I'm remembering correctly. When I did him, I sent Kaliyo in first while I took cover. Laze Target right off the bat, Shatter Shot, insta-Snipe, then I should have enough energy to use Ambush and a couple Rifle Shots to keep my Energy where it needs to be, and then repeat and sub in Rifle Shots as my energy dictates, although since the fight is short and they give you breaks to rest & regen, energy efficiency was second to DPS output in this case. Cover Pulse isn't your interrupt... Distraction is. You should be using Cover Pulse to keep him at range so that you can DPS him effectively. You have MULTIPLE interrupts...don't forget Flashbang can be used as an interrupt as well. That leaves... Flashbang Cover Pulse *if he's casting close to you* Distraction You can even use Debilitate if he's right on top of you. Then you also have Leg Shot if you need to keep him away while you reposition and find a new spot to take cover. If your using the right gear and the right abilities the fight really isn't that bad and it's nowhere NEAR close to "broken" or "bugged." I for one salute BioWare for having the guts to make solo content challenging. Fights like that do wonders for teaching the class - they demand you know what tools you have and how/when to use them. If you're expecting to sit in one place and spam Snipe/Ambush over and over it's not going to work.

Just did this, not that big a deal. Interrupt when you can, and use all your abilities. Energy consumption should be a minor concern in this fight simply because you have moments in between combat to rest up. Burn him as fast as you can, sit tight let your energy regen, and then prepare for the next round. In fact, I thought he was kind of a wuss...Darth Jadus is my favorite NPC in the game so far and I was really hoping he'd be RIDICULOUS to fight but he wasn't that bad.

So true.