Why so few Snipers?

this
also noone complains about snipers being op that means that this class is underpowered

Snipers can be awesome if everyone ignores you and you are on a good team. Of course any class will do well with a great team. That said, you have a whole lot of disappointment to look forward to. Our damage is heavily mitigated. The cover system bugs out a lot and sometimes it can take a couple of seconds to get into cover. Ambush will stop casting at 2.4 seconds and totally screw you, snipe will also. BW supposedly fixed this problem, they have not! Several classes get abilities that pull you out of cover for 6 seconds, so all you can do is sit there with your thumb up your backside. BW do we really need a disable ability designed only for one class? How fair is that? BH's and sorcs do more DPS. Don't want to play marksman? Good luck doing well in the warzones at 50.

/facepalm
the cover system only protects you from other lasers, so no matter what object youre using cover behind things like missiles/lighning/force which makes up for 90% of the population will pierce through your cover. Every other class and their Mom has the best cover in game with their mobile abilities and that cover is called a wall.
They should just remove the animation from the cover system and call it a day.

It doesnt take skills to use the cover system when all you need to do is click your middle mouse button, pls try again.

Summarizing:

1)Cover mechanics is bugged as hell.
2)Marksnmaship damage is weapon damage -> mitigated/dodged/deflected/shielded by everything. Engi/Leth damage is easily avoided/dispelled. Proper specced sorc dots are doing more dmg anyway.
3)Most dmg abilities are charged/channeled -> easily LOSed.
4)Poor defense and damage mitigation. Mostly works against weapon damage -> other snipers. What an irony.
5)No in-combat sprint.
6)No other utility except dmg. Sniper can't effectively carry or stealth catch the ball, cap the objective in stealth, force push/pull/jump, survive long enough to get help while defing, etc. Not to mention snipers are now restricted to dmg medals only. ****-ing thanks, BW.

Did I forget something?

Because Sniper is not a solo class. If you play one as such and rack top kills and damage in warzone - you still suck and contribute little to team.

To be effective sniper have not just DPS people from 30m away but take down required targets quickly in needed situations, requiring him often to be on frontlines.

He is very good at that, but to be effective at that he needs a support - as minimum some melee to run with, at best a guard and a healer. Thus limiting its use in pugs.

Topping charts with DPS/kills as sniper is as useless as toppic chart with Sorc Dots. You did a lot of damage, you killed lot of people from a far - you but you werent really "playing a game".

Operative is more popular from that point, since it allows player to choose any target and take it down - providing a feeling that you are on frontlines and control the flow of the game. Even more so for other classes that can just run in an pwn people - the feeling is better.

Sniper is very powerful, but its not a class for solo player. Its great team tool, but no more. If choosing between sniper that plays solo in team and any other class, i would pick any other class. However if sniper is supported by the team... thats other question.

Other ranged classes do everything better than the sniper(except damage, though the method and delivery of the damage makes a HUGE difference). There seriously is not one thing that makes snipers superior over a sorc/merc.

And.. Of course after the Biochem nerf mercs/sorcs/ops are still able to get the 2.5k/5k heal medal, while this has been taken away from us. Sorry, there is my biochem QQ.

Bioware needs to either do away with cover or make it as unique and worthwhile as all us suckers that rolled snipers thought it would be. Right now its just a crippling burden, that also happens to be buggy.

Firstly, requires skill to play? rofl I played a sniper for awhile, it required no more skill than any other class. High DPS is easy because the class is ranged, as is the kills because it deals quick and instant AoE pretty easily pretty early on in the class design.

As a 32 Sage I have to spec my AoE, and it is ground specific, not single target, so I have to place it on the floor to use it, and its rubbish. Sure I might get another one later on, but it describes the discrepancy between the classes at an early stage.

Secondly, name me a famous sniper from Star Wars? No? Me neither.

For smugglers and scoundrel, you have Hans Solo, for Mercenary and BH you have Boba Fett, for the Force users you have plenty of choices, even for the troopers you have Jango Fett and the plentiful number of Clone Wars books, cartoons and whatever to become enamoured with a Trooper.

Operatives have more because they been flavour of the month for awhile and people moved to them, but even given that, there are not that many of them.

This is a Star Wars game, not like people rolled up to it with no preconceived ideas of what is "cool" in the game.

I knew what I wanted to play 3 years ago, was always going to be a force user.

These are the reasons that no one plays sniper.

QFMFT

My Sniper is 25 currently, very very hard class to play and Cover has tons of issues its the reasons why I prolly wont go further unless I decide to go Lethality cause Cull is just "Boss".

Whereas my guildie plays a Sorc and he is absolutely a very bad player. KieyBoard Turns, Clicks half his abilities, and never got above 1580 rating in WoW's Arenas system, but in this game he routinely gets 8-10 Medals per WZ, has under 3 deaths, and can kill any class with ease except for Op's who got the drop on him and I wasnt around to Taunt off. Sorcs are grossely Overpowered and everyone knows it.

I'd really like to see you "taking down quickly" 20k hp tank with his shield and +def ability up carrying the ball. You can't? Correct. But that tank can't mitigate or deflect missile or lightning. So who would you pick up for your premade if you're any smart?

You only are top damage because I'm not in your WZ.