Ah my bad Spidey, I guess I was going off my stats and not those of the OP. I play a sorc and Electrocute, Affliction, Shock and Force Lightning are all instant for me, so are Whirlwind (and continuous Force Lightning) with the skills. I also can set off chain lightning as an instant more often than not and on the run during pvp. I think I have only two attacks that actually require cast times, not includeing the two heal abilities.

I too would love to hear input on the matter. It seems my Chain Lightning has had its proc% dropped. I could count on it most of the time after a Storm but during last nights pvp it left me hanging. This is my uneducated opinion but most of Sorc attacks are instants or at least you can improve them to be so I question the use of Alacrity in my setup. Please tell me where Im wrong in this opinion. This would leave Crit and Acc. With the number of attacks and their duration I would think Crit/Surge to be the way to go. Accuracy reduces the deduction but I have yet to see someone who can reduce more than 30% so I would still err on the side of more power so I would stay with Crit/Surge What am I not thinking about...

One would think that the Empire would at least pay a little for your time and trouble. I used to scratch my head at people who would leave the zone because we werent going to WIN. I could still make out with 10k xp, 30 Comms and 3k cash for my 15 minutes. I think this is just a flub. Had they gotten in the Tier WZ's this wouldnt be an issue because we would be up against people in our "bracket"...Ill just wait for the next patch. In the mean time Ill plug away and be disappointed by the triple 0's for a loss. Sometimes I was able to get in with premades on our side and ride their coat tales. Nothing like having 12k hp amidst those with 23k...made for some interresting fights as I would crit and crit and crit along with 2 others...only to see the health bar of the opponent hover at the 3/4 mark. Give it time to even keel.

switching servers as many times as I have there are some quests I JUST CANT make the dark side choice...I accept those few times. However, faith in the dark side has its rewards and the more committed one is the more powerful that reward will be (access to relics and crystals). In game terms if you were a darkI level 40 sniper and you ran into a darkIII level 40 sniper WITH relics...the relics and crystals of the "more committed" sniper would come to bare...and your darkI corpse would be stepped over in pursuit of even greater power.

I agree with everything said above, its a LOT to take in and some good advice. I learned a while ago in MMO's to used the wsad-keys and then use the NumberKey Pad for binding attacks. The reason is that I can move and still attack, a benefit if rockets start flying at me I can duck behind a wall (which breaks targeting ON me) then come around the other side with Affliction and Shock (iimc) both can go off while your moving. Tab targets my nearest enemy and ~ targets "next enemy" this allows me to cycle through and find who the big hp mobs are quickly since I can do this with my left pinkie while spinning or running. Orange gear is only as important as the mods you stuff into it. That being said I level two toons together and they craft mods for each other. If I notice Im dying more often I take a look at the level of those mods. Sometimes I choose Tokens over items so I can grab stuff from the commondation vendors (Rage Enhancements on 5 items helps out). If your a male inquisitor and you dont mind being a little "out of character" in the dress you can purchase a full set of orange on Dromund Kaas in the bar from the social vendor...all you need is like 2k credit and 10 social favor. Again the trick is modding them. Best advice I can give is to pick mods, talents, abilities that work with your play style then work close with timing and your companion to fine tune. I LOVE Khem, many dont...Im working on a set of Orange just for him (since I get light gear as rewards and I can craft mods, I use comendations for Hvy Orange gear and stock him up). Use the information, create a system and enjoy the game, before you know it youll realize your power and you'll be doing Heroic2+ solo!

I think the gear should be tied to level and overall alignment points gained (not the side your on). That being said I think there should be a few more cosmetics put in for the actual levels of alignment points. Sith are physically affected by embracing more and more of the dark side. I think Jedi should gain a blue or light white aura as they progress higher into the light side. Sorcs could become haunched, or have their overall height reduced. There are several things they could do, Im just gonna give it time.

While Ive not unlocked all the companions I like the style of Khem. I tweeked what he actually does in a fight and we work well as a team. Manageing cooldowns and distances I can bubble him, force speed him into a mob, lift two people off to the side and then come back and dot/lightning the mob he's working on. I can heal him if need be before we move onto the next mob. For bosses I can keep up with the heals (not fast but the goal is completion) and throw dots on bosses when CD are up. His whining is annoying but the B*tch slap that my social button does (the one that makes him cry) keeps that to a minimum. Dont like anything that PULLS mobs to me or breaks my CC...being ranged dps it seems silly to have a comp do that.

Ive only played sniper and sorc. It sounds like were talking two kinds of dps. Single shot dps vs. endurance dps. Im still below lvl 30 and have minimal raid gear on both toons, so my experience is a bit limitted. I'm going off memory here but the 2.5 cool down on a ambush and the 2.5 activation on lightning are the same. My level 28 sniper can do 1k+ in an Ambush shot, My 28 Sorc can do a 100 pd Affliction (3 of those during the time limit) as well as 250-300 pd lightning strikes (3 of those during the time limit). the amount of damage (at least at this level) seems to be the same. The difference is the FORM it comes in; all at once (single shot) or does it stay low enough to NOT draw agro (Sorc) -- a very useful function when you consider Light Armor and Heals/Buffs you may need to throw. I'm not even sure you can call it dps because the dps for a sniper needs to take into account the cooldowns and the switching to other attack types and the basis of those damage types some with angry crit % and others with spreads (how do you rate the dps of the snipers Cover Fire ability?). In the end you NEED the little bit from everybody and everybody needs to strive for the max output that their playstyle allows. It is an MMO after all.

I created a spread sheet and while Im still fine tuning Im seeking the same information. From my sheet I do know that a Green Skill Barrel 4 will need a level 13 to use and have a PR of 34. That 34 has a damage range associated with it (looking for data here) If I crafted a Blue Skill Barrel 4 my min level stays the same but the damage range moves up (PR becomes 40) and with a Purple Skill Barrel 4 my min level stays the same but the damage range moves up another 6 to PR 46. Min levels on a Skill Barrel only happen every two levels (9, 11, 13 etc.) Blades also fall into this pattern...which oddly enough are your Armstech crafts. Armor is so far the only skill Ive encountered that has something at every level (Armor2, Armor3, Armor4) but it goes up 4 ratings per level (Armor2 has an AR of 26 (which matches barels of the same level) but then you can have an Armor3 which has an AR of 30). Offhand I cant remember the upticks in rating when you do the color shift but its comparable to the Barells.

When you say Gray Star do you mean the Marshal Boss fight? Gray Star was the 3 eyed snouty guy in the back room. As for the Boss fight, I died three times, first to get out of the cinemetagraphy...as a sniper its never good to be talking three feet from the guy when the fight starts. Second time I died was an accident as I froze on the control. Third time I got my ******* together and had Kailyo target the Jedi I was throwing everything on instead of picking off the OPPOSITE guy. Usually its an okay strategy but not on bosses with her. Every fight I fought after that was simple but I still have a hared time in some Heroic 2+ areas. I dont have the endurance yet to make those areas benefitial.

When you think about it...how many Sith masters have to die before they realize that maybe having an apprentice is a sure fire way of getting usurped/killed. I see apprentices as a liability, unless your goal is to eventually kill said apprentice and somehow absorb thier force power...let them struggle.