Currently using a standard 2/31/8 build, but have been thinking of this: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#200MZRGbRkuRbtzZf0c.1 Duplicity can only proc once every 10s and comes off all attacks, but Maul is so buggy that it's not worth worrying about setting it up. I think it's nice to get and try to use but not worth 3 points due to how buggy and situational it is. One point in Static Cling is enough to keep someone snared indefinitely anyway. I don't think Recirculation is really worth it as the aim is to build stacks for Discharge not spam it.

Most of this game is a battle of cooldowns and who has what available. I like to use Low Slash when they pop their heals and let them sit there for the duration while I get to range. When low slash finishes, hit them with Force Slow - if they leap to you then use your knock back and Force Lightning. That should get you enough time for the shield to come down. Just remember though, nothing is an exact science and they will interrupt or CC you as well. The above is how I normally deal with them but it depends on the other player as well and how smart they are.

The obvious issue with this is why is hybrid better then? It's because the full 31 point trees are rather poor for the Assassin.

Please link me to where it says Bioware don't want people playing hybrid builds. Further to that, if true then why give players 41 skill points at level 50 with end abilities in a tree available for 31 points....

Marauders can also stealth. However now this change is almost forcing people into Darkness for PVP.

It's a strange build and I can't see why you don't go Darkness or Madness if you want to avoid burst? You'll do more damage and have more survivability, the whole point of Deception is the use of surging charge.

Does anyone know when this will be implemented? I'd very much like to transfer my Republic character from the first server I was on to my new one. I think this would also help population imbalances.

A balanced view, but without a healer for PVP tanking you will be in trouble given 50% player damage reflects back to you. Bear in mind though that Bpunty Hunters and Juggs can both Guard as well, and the Jugg can leap to a friendly player and reduce their damage at the same time.

If you think acheiving a 60-100 point heal once every 1.5 seconds is in anyway comparable to being able to dish out 3k heals on yourself then you are sadly mistaken. If you tihnk it is comparative to the damage shields that Marauders can pop then you are sadly mistaken. You are also not retaining your DPS. The Assassin DPS comes from Surging Charge and its effect on Discharge and shock, I have played both Darkness and Deception trees, and whilst Deception is notably behind the Operative, it is miles in front of Darkness. I will also take the liberty to post now on the inevitable follow up post on switching stances; if you want to use half your force power in the middle of combat to switch stance please feel free, it will cost you more than you gain. What you are trying to advocate is some horrible hybrid that has minimally increased survivability at the cost of a huge DPS loss, and will still never be as effective as the other classes which are specifically designed for those roles.

If you go down the tank tree, then yes you will be more survivable than an Operative and likely more HP, however you are half the tank you could be as a Juggernaut or Powertech. How much DPS do you give up compared to an Operative? An incredibly large amount, the DPS difference between Darkness and Deception trees is very marked. You can obtain equivalent survivability as a DPS/hybrid juggernaut than you can as an Assassin. If memory serves me, the Operative has 2 CC breaks and equivalent CC's and interrupts as we do, the juggernaut is a much more capable tank. The area where your logic is falling down is that a stealth based Operative still retains its medium armour and healing whilst maximising it's DPS, giving it much more survivability and even team utility without a loss to DPS. The point of my post is that there is no niche/area where an Assassin shines as much, never mind better, than one of the other classes.

This is it exactly. Frankly, our burst damage should be much better than the Operative if we are in the Deception tree. There is nothing we do that an Operative does not do better, they have better mitigation through medium armour, they deal more damage and it's Tech damage which bypasses armour, they have more range attacks and they have respectable heals. This is not about people not knowing how to play a Rogue style Assassin, it's about how Bioware have balanced the classes, and it would seem that when compared to the Operative, they have made an error. Further to that, the Marauder also gets a HIPS style stealth, more range closers, better mitigation through medium armour and damage shields and equivalent, if not better, damage. We are entirely redundant unfortunately.

This is exactly where I am as a Sith Assasin or Jedi Shadow - Operative/scoundrel does more damage, has better armour and can heal. What point is ther ein my class/tree played as stealth?

This. Resolve DOESN'T work. I've had my resolve bar full and still been CC'd in an 8 second stun from a Gunslinger etc. Further to that, even when resolve does fill and do nothing, it cools down so quick that it doesn't impact a CC only 4 or 5 seconds later.

There are no level brackets, and the availability of skills, feats and gear means that brackets really should be implemented. A level 50 character has more skills availabel than level 10, obviously, and that makes the difference.

It's not a good system. With 2x4 second stuns you can be CC locked and killed by 2 people on voice comms incredibly easily, and given the CC abilities reset before your breaks I think it needs looked at. I've also noticed that once the Resolve bar fills, it will also drain if you are not CC'd again? If that's the case (and it seems to be) then you can be CC'd twice and gain no meaningful benefit from enduring both if you can, as your resolve will fade again so quickly you can be CC'd again.