Guild Summit: Agents/Smuggler Population

The operative story is fun and unique but lacks shotguns.
The scoundrel story is horribly boring but has shotguns.
I have way more fun playing my scoundrel.

My first 50 was a Shadow (most awesome toon in the game)

My next too so far, level 31 Female scoundral heal spec'd with Corso tanking.

This is just plain fun for me.

I'm 100% PVE, so couldn't comment on that.

I have a lot of alts. 26 commando, 19 guardian, 15 vanguard, 12 GS, 11 Sage and a level 6 Sentinal which I will never play.

I will probably delete the GS and Sentinal in favor or playing a couple of Imp toons in the future.

I'm in no hurry... will probably play this game for a couple of years, at least.

Never said it wasnt useful. Its not necessary for a Scoundrel or Operative in PvE and in PvP is more of a kiting trick. Either way usefulness!=annoying ... its down right required for Snipers and Gunslingers and thats probably a big reason why theyre so low in population. Usefull ... but not fun to use for most (though im sure you like it).

Liking the mechanic has nothing to do with how good you are with it or knowing the best way to use it.

I wanted to play Smuggler most of all. I like the idea of being a smuggler, and the voicework and lines are really good. I laughed at many of the things my smuggler said.

But other than the story, I didn't enjoy playing the character. I forced myself to play through Act 1 to get my Legacy name, but I hated most of the trip. I stopped playing smuggler at 35 and switched to Trooper as my main character. No regrets, the trooper is so much more fun!

My scoundrel feels so weak. I have to rest after many hard fights when my trooper, jedi shadow, and bounty hunter can power through things. I have to use CCs and cooldowns all the time, and still I feel wimpy.

I also don't enjoy managing all the cooldowns and knicknacks the smuggler has. I need Upper Hand, and must keep up Pugnacity! Oops my energy is getting slightly low, better slow down. And on top of that I must keep running around to get behind enemies so I can shotgun them. Lots of enemies jump around and switch targets, so I'm pretty useless DPS wise when that happens.

Why is this class so complicated when it is hands-down worse than the others? Being so complex, I'd hope that it would be powerful once I got it figured out. I believe there's a good reason why they are the least played classes. To me: it's not lore (which I love), it's not the lack of Force powers - it's just a complicated, unenjoyable class to play.

My husband is also playing a scoundrel, and also an operative, but isn't enjoying them either for the same reasons. Neither of us are enjoying them. We shelved them, assuming that they will be "fixed" sometime in the future to make them more attractive and enjoyable to play.

1. Yes, agent. I played it a bit in beta, and I really liked the story and the voice actors. The female IA actor is great for the role.
2. Yes, I really enjoyed the IA story. The other classes that I've played haven't been nearly as interesting to me.
3. Yes. I play as a healer, and I really love the way the class feels. I love my beeping probes, and my armor looks pretty nice too.
4. I haven't really thought about it. But I do love to think of my agent being a non-force user in a society dominated by the Sith -- It's interesting to me. I like to imagine that she really resents the Sith (privately, of course). It makes the character a lot more interesting to me than if she were just some powerful, bad *** Sith Lord.
5. Yes. My operative is my main, and sniper is probably going to be the next one to 50.
6. n/a

-Yes, a Smuggler was my first character. I played a Smuggler because Han Solo has been my hero since I was a kid, and I really wanted to live out my Han Solo fantasy.
-Yes, it had a great sense of chaotic-ness to it. At the beginning, seemingly random bad things keep happening to you. You're definitely flying by the seat of your pants for much of the story.
-I thought Scrapper was a lot of fun until it got nerfed, now it seems like more of a chore to PvP and PvE when there's nothing to set my class and spec apart from say, a Shadow.
-Getting to play out my Han Solo fantasy was the reason I bought this game. It did not disappoint.
-I do, but not nearly as much after all the nerfs. There's just not much of a demand for a class with the weakest heals and least utility in PvP or in PvE. I still try to complete my warzone and flashpoint weeklies though.

I think it would help if they de-emphasized the roll to cover ability and made the cover in place ability the standard. First time I tried Agent, rolling into the wrong cover or aggroing wrong mobs after rolling just got me frustrated and annoyed, leading me to delete the character early.

I later read about the cover in place ability and gave the class a new try. Night and day! After I found the ability hidden in the keybindings settings (Is this even in your ability tab at the start? Don't remember seeing it.) and bound it to a twitch button (middle mouse) I had no problems dealing with cover and it became second nature to use it. The class was suddenly a ton of fun and it was all because I abandoned the annoying roll-to-cover ability.

I know there are benefits to the roll, and I do you use it in tough fights, but I think it hurts that they emphasize it early and hide the cover in place mechanic.

Id say early days is still a factor, Force User numbers will drop a little over time into these classes as people look for a bit of change. Found Smuggler to be a blast, great story so far

I suspect the reason they aren't played more is because they are harder to play effectively. The cover mechanic is a little clunky and it takes some practice to get down. I'd image most people give up for a more straightforward class rather than get comfortable with the controls.

I quit my Operative, because the story was insanely stupid (especially the "plot twist" in where most classes get something fun, we find out we're complete weaklings), and the tactical advantage system was annoying.

Having to sit around spamming your no-cost, no-damage shot waiting for shiv to come up is not my idea of fun combat.