Neither do I. I love my smuggler. Started out as a SS but switched to Sab for more AOE/mobility. I decided to do my own spec that would focus more on defense to keep me alive longer in PVP and give me one more knock back (Percussive Shot) to use for when pulse detonator is on cool down. As long as I am alive, I can manage my energy/cool downs and stay in the fight as long as possible. I’ve been pretty successful with it and usually come in 3rd in overall dps because of all the uptime I have. I don’t attribute it to me being a great PVP’er but to energy management, cool down management, understanding how to chain abilities and opting to put 2 points in Riot Screen, Hotwire defense, Cover Screen (and soon to add 2 points in Ballistic dampeners). Spec: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#700rkMZrIbbRRbRrs.1 Initially, I was trying to offset the Sith sorcerers in WZs by doing a sort of asymmetric pvp’ing. My idea was to simply maintain steady dps w/heavy defensive, two knock back (and one with a stun), a stun and I use incendiary grenades often but in a different way. I call it my scorched earth policy but in WZ pvp once imps start getting in melee range and I either don’t have a knock back ready or do not want to burn it yet I drop the incendiary grenade right on me so that anyone attacking me (melee) takes DOT. Screws them up in the head, too sometimes and you throw them off their game. The Sab also gives me the ability to ‘manage’ any pvp fight. They are sort of like the frost mages of wow. If I can control a fight, I will win regardless of how unremarkable my dps output is at the time. The Sab is a PVP spec (for my playing style) through and through.

I use the incendiary grenade in PVP all the time. You have to think asymmetrical about it and it really only works well with melee. Basically, melee comes in, i wait for them to get right up on me about to hack away -> leg shot -> drop incendiary right on my spot and stay in the center. If they want to swing at me, they get burned and if you have leg shot on, they can't pull out of the fire fast enough. Range is an open script but when the conditions are right I'll -> legshot -> Incendiary -> Flash Grenade (you get a seconds or two before dmg from the fire unroots them and during that second or two I...) -> Smugglers luck -> Shock charge (shock charge w/an active incendiary grenade stuns them for 2 seconds more standing in the fire) -> Charge Burst -> This buys me time to either finish cool downs (sab charge) and prepare for the fight or wait for backup. granted this is not the most efficient use of energy to dmg but the fire, DOT, stuns usually throw off the imp long enough for you to compose or adjust to the situation.

Very, very good point there. I didn't think about it as 'a specific smuggler/bounty hunter' in regards to the story lines. It would be a logistical nightmare to set that up.

I blame healthcare reform

Now that I've been playing for close to 4 months I think that it would be a better move for the game if Smugglers and Bounty hunters were not tied to pubs/imps factions. They should be able to float between the two depending on their light/dark ranking. I'm not saying they should be in their own; more neutral if anything. See.. Jedi and Commandos for the pub faction and Sith and Agents for imp faction is quite self explanatory. Smugglers and Bounty Hunters shouldn't really be bound to either as both are kind of shady, underworld professions. I'd say, bounty hunters should have some quests that target real PC players to add spice to the game. Give smugglers quests where they can truly smuggle stuff to either faction. Both should have the ability to visit any base, fleet or zone and just let their light/dark rating dictate if guards from one of the factions would attack them. I don't know, I'm rambling here but I just feel like there is a real opportunity here

I suffer from a depopulated server as well as the shunned faction (republic). When I first started playing each planet I was on had 70+ people on it. Now (even in the newbie zones) I never see more than 10 and most times under 6. I initially joined a guild that had at any given time 35+ people on; however, the past 2 weeks I've been the only person on. Everyone either stopped playing or switched to the imps. This is not a complaint because I could always either switch to playing one of my imps or switch servers but I choose not to because I freaking love my smuggler. Hopefully, they will reduce the servers and offer transfers because ti would be nice to be able to run more than 1 heroic a week due to lack of players.

This It is really weird how there is this uneasy truce in effect. Last night I'm at the crash site and I'm the only pud (Sab lvl 44). All around me were 9 imps - most level 50s and they just ignored me. But I'm a smuggler and I'm a low down, devious, back stabbing smuggler. So any chance I get, I layith the smackith down. I gank left and right. I really love this event because it does bring out a lot of world pvp.

This. And to expand, by far the smuggler story line is best in the game (I've played every class). The humorous and witty banter our toon does, the cocky attitude, (if you are playing a male...) all the women you get to seduce and perform a little slap and tickle with, your nemesis you encounter, the missions, everything about it rocks.

So far Skavak has been my favorite nemesis (from an RP view). I loved the witty banter between him and my toon and I was kind of sad to kill him. Other nemesis we encounter do not have the personality in them like Skavak did. They all have that generic villain arch-type feel that all other games have.

Guss is the man. His heals are warm and fuzzy.

Not I - I absolutely love playing a GS Sab and I can 1v1 any Imp class (not saying i win every time but I've face each one and each spec on the same level as I and won). I personally think the GS Sab is the greatest spec out there. It's all about knowing the rotation. What Spec are you playing? SS, Sab or DF? For sab, this is how I open up in world PVP: Drop defense screen, shock charge, flourish shot (dmg + reduced armor 20%), vital shot (DOT), Sabotage charge, speed shot (to detonate Sabotage to drop 3 contingency charges and let speed shot blow them up), smuggler's luck, charge burst, thermal detonator, flash grenade/pulse detonator depending on how close they are which gives me time to fire off an aim shot (charge burst if I use pulse detonator because I have a 100% chance of firing a charge bust instantly), cool head to get energy back and then detonate shock charge to reset cool down on cool head and my defense screen. At this point it is an open script but normally I put up defense screen again and would fire off charge bolt, thermal detonator, get up from cover and run to take advantage of hot pursuit which gives me a 100% chance to reduce the energy cost of quick shot by 100%, fire off a quick shot, get back in to cover and either throw down an incendiary grenade right in front of me if the imp is melee and running up on me or if it is a range, throw another flash grenade (if the cool down is done) or leg shot and then right back in to the shock charge, flourish shot, vital shot, sabotage charge, speed shot portion of the rotation. You have to be very careful with how you use your energy and know which abilities to trigger at the right time to get the perks/bonuses from it. Took me a while to get down this rotation which is difficult to time but when you do, you mow down anything in your path. I was a SS for a while but couldn't stand being reduced to always being in cover. The Sab spec allows you to run around a lot.

For me, there is no better class/spec than a gunslinger saboteur. I do not understand why so many people dog on the GS for PVE and PVP. As a Sab, I have the ability to kite, I do great AOE dmg in Heroics/Flashpoints and I own in world PVP as well as warzones. Right now I'm level 44 (almost to 45) and I own level 50 Sith Sorcerers in PVP. In fact, last night I was running one of those dailies on Tatoonie for the new Ragul Plague quest line and I stumbled right into a Sith Sorcerer. I have to honestly say that PVP fight easily ranks in my top 5 of all time if not top 3. He was really good and knew how to play his class and vice versa. The fight took 7 minutes before we both died at the same time...it was awesome. I love PVP'ing with a Sab. Drop defense screen, shock charge, flourish shot (dmg + reduced armor 20%), vital shot (DOT), Sabotage charge, speed shot (to detonate shock charges), smuggler's luck, charge bolt, cool head (to get back energy), detonate sabotage (ends cool down of cool head), pulse detonator (if they are close) or flash grenade to stun them long enough to get an aim shot off, thermal detonator, charge bolt, charge bolt, thermal detonator, shock charge. From here it becomes an open script based on the situation. By the time I'm through with that rotation I've laid down some serious dps on the Imp, refreshed my energy then ended the cool down of cool head so i can refresh my energy quickly. I thrown in some leg shots and move around a lot as well and any chance i get where they are near a cliff or on a bridge I try to use my pulse detonator to knock them off. One time when I was doing the void-star warzone, we were at the second set of doors and a whole rack of imps came running towards us by way of that bridge. I run up, went into cover and fired off my pulse detonator and sent 5 of them over the edge. It was awesome. I've played every other class in the game and none of them are even remotely as fun as the smuggler-gunslinger-saboteur for me.

No matter what, people will have issues with any MMO and you can never please everyone. Talking about a MMO is like talking about religion or politics - everyone has their own view and wants the other to see it which always turns into an argument. That being said... I was in the republic fleet last night and saw the new cast for the first time. I need to get out to Tatoonie tonight and check it out. To date, Tatoonie has been my favorite planet because of all the PVP i had to do in the dune sea. It was great. I loved it when i would get jumped near a cliff or next to the Sarlacc pitt by multiple Imps and I'll fire off my pulse detonator for some cheesy kills by knocking them off the cliff or in the pitt. Ummm, crap I just noticed there is no TP in here and I'm home alone. Time to do the poopy walk of shame...

I like the fact we are such a small population. When I jump an imp out in the world they really don't know how to react to me. I'm a Saboteur Gunslinger (which switching from SS to Sab was the best decision I've made so far) and when I run up on an imp I can keep him/her from attacking me while I bring down their healing pet then shield myself and unload massive amounts of grendas/AOEs on them all while being mobile. While many imps that frequent warzones are used to fighting my spec, they are doing so in a group situation where the Sab will work along side of other classes. But one-on-one is way different and it always throws them off (for me at least). In fact, 2 nights ago I was back on Hoth finishing up a class quest and ran into two Sith Sors - One was the same level as me (44) and the other 2 levels lower but I killed them off with life left over all because they didn't know how to react to my spec in one-on-one (imo, of course). I have the same problem with Bounty Hunters. I rarely run into them and when I do it can be a difficult fight.

At first I hated huttball but after 3 or 4 times I realized I was just being lame in my assessment of it. Overall, I love all three of the warzones but huttball gets me fired up when I see the loading screen. I think the reason for it is because the area is much smaller than the other two which means you get right into the mix and don't need to run around a lot. One thing that I really like which most players might not is when the odds are stacked against me (my team). Some of my favorite matches have come when the score is a run away for the other side and we're down by 2+ points with minutes remaining. I love the challenge of it. The same when it comes to a group in a flashpoint that is wiping. I love the challenge of fighting to the end because if by some chance you pull out a win, the victory is just that much more sweeter. The only thing I can really complain about when it comes to the warzones are those people who rage quit in the middle when things don't look so good. You all know what I'm talking about - over the Ops channel "WTH, pass the ball, we're down by 3 points - screw this" and they log. I don't mind the extra challenge of being down a person or two, it's the rage quits and complaining. It's just a game and having the experience of losing (imo) is worth its weight in credits. I'll explain... One time in Alderaan we were losing and I made an assault on the left canon, took it from a BH and when into cover mode (I'm a gunslinger). I tried to hold that canon as best I could against waves of imps. Our side had people bailing left and right when the center canon fell. Naturally, I was nothing more than a grease stain at that point but each time I respawned I went right for the center cannon and continued to fight multiple imps which really helped me understand my spec's pvp strengths and weaknesses. Fast forward to the Dune Sea... Out there the imps are like roaches. They are everywhere w/hunting parties on my server. I have gotten so good at managing (the key word here is manage) multiple engagements in pvp that I can manipulate a fight and position enemy players where I want them and keep it going long enough to either get backup or to take out enough to where it is an embarrassment for them after they beat me. Maybe I just love a challenge.