Guild Summit: Agents/Smuggler Population

well said. the skill cap for a scoundrel is pretty high to just be average.

Have you leveled a Smuggler or Agent? Why/why not? I played Beta for about 4 months i tried all classes to lvl25 my mind was set on a trooper but as it went i ended up joining a Imperial guild i opted for a IA-Sniper.

Did you enjoy the story? For me the story was awesome infact could be the best story in game atm, ive now lvled 2 alts the agent story by far excels the rest

Did you enjoy the mechanics? Why/why not? At the start i hated the cover system, this was due to mechanics being buggy and scrappy. With the patches gameplay become more smooth with less and less bugs (im not going to say its completely fixed its not but its much much better) Now im used to a completely new way of playing and class mechanic i love it.

Are these classes an important SW fantasy to you? Sadly No. In all the movies you have stand out classes brought into ToR Luke(Jedi)
Bobba (Bounty Hunter) ect the agent is the only class in the entire franchise that never featured in the films.

Do you still play the class? If not, why not? Yes my IA-S is my main currently 10/10 16 man NM and wouldnt change it for the world.

Anything they could do to encourage you to try one if you haven't, or play the one you have? While leveling a Sniper is a hard slug it reaps benefits come end game and also PvP. Do you like un-interruptable casts? do you like 5-6k crits every few seconds? well this is the class for you were damage dealers nothing more nothing less, although there is lack of agent background in the franchise dont let this deter you as the fun factor defiantly is.

The first character I made and started to level was a Gunslinger. I got him to level 34.

The story was great. The voice acting was great. He was every bit the roguish scoundrel we've come to know and love from the movies. You could even play it darker if you wanted. I have no complaints about the story. From what I experienced, it is probably the best on the Republic side.

Gunslinger mechanics are boring, clunky and not fun. Which is why I abandoned mine. The Cover mechanic is awkward, buggy and boring to have to use on mob after mob. It really makes no sense and doesn't seem needed.

Add in the fact the Gunslinger's are boring in general to play and you realize why no one plays them. Yes, they do a lot of damage, but no they aren't fun to play. Many of their talents don't make sense or simply aren't worth taking.

The smuggler or roguish scoundrel is a big part of SW lore. In my opinion one of the big failings of the pre-quels was the lack of any character that fit this archetype.

As noted earlier, they're boring, awkward and clumsy to play. Crouch here, spam this shot, kill mob. Rinse and repeat. The end game gear looks stupid as well. I'm not Superman, I don't want to wear a cape. Operative/Sniper gear looks insanely cool. Smuggler gear, not so much (not any much really).

I'd love to try a scoundrel, because they destroy in PvP, but their dps mechanics seem to pretty much get them ostracized from being viable end game dps in PvE. As for the Gunslinger, it just needs an over haul. They aren't fun. No one I know likes the Cover mechanic and they're extremely boring. They'd also need to cool gear to wear. Right now pretty much Trooper is the ONLY Republic class that has decently cool looking gear. That needs to change and it needs to change fast.

And that is the truth. I don't know how the devs say short of making them overpowered ... they already are. With there burst damage ... most people are dead before they come out of stun.

Have you leveled a Smuggler or Agent? Why/why not?
Yes. After initially trying Sith Sorcerer and deciding its gameplay was too "back-row spellcaster"-conventional, I chose to try Operative, first as healer and later as Concealment damage.

Did you enjoy the story?
Yes, although the mechanisms used to keep the story on its rails frequently disrupted the immersion factor, as did the numerous problems with the game engine and events from the end of Act I onward.

Did you enjoy the mechanics? Why/why not?
I enjoy the breadth of abilities and situations that the Operative has abilities to address. As with similar class implementations in other systems, the impression that the Operative class potential is more directly tied to the skill of its player is attractive.
One aspect of the game that is frequently overlooked is the rate at which additional companions are gained by each basic class. The Imperial Agent not receiving their third companion until late in Alderaan (around level 30) is a significant disadvantage for those folks who pursue crafting and multitask with the crew system well. Among the group of players I am affiliated with, that adds another reason not to try the class.
I had a good time with the Act I content on the Imperial Agent, but an inexcusable line-of-sight bug in the IA's act-ending event destroyed that impression, and thereafter I seemed to run into constant problems with the game that made the rest of the journey more a chore than a pleasure.

Are these classes an important SW fantasy to you?
The Imperial Agent is something of a newcomer to the Star Wars story, but it is well-implemented and fits well without seeming like a tack-on to preserve the mirror class concept. That lack of support from the popular canon likely contributes to its low play rate, as folk may be likely to choose archetypes that they can relate directly to characters from the films or novels.

Do you still play the class? If not, why not?
After experiencing health-related issues with the global cooldown implementation a short while ago, I ceased playing the game. Were I to return, I would likely pick the Operative back up.

Anything they could do to encourage you to try one if you haven't, or play the one you have?
I am waiting to see how much of the promise of the game is realized in the 1.2 update.

Have you leveled a Smuggler or Agent? Why/why not?
Yes Operative to 50 (Champion geared) Gunslinger to 30 (so far)

Did you enjoy the story?
Yes, the agent story was fantastic, the smuggler one is not bad either

Did you enjoy the mechanics? Why/why not?
Yes, though the cover can at time be challenging to use, especially the requirement to have an enemy target to use the dive for cover mechanic. If they could remove this restriction it would be an excellent tool for moving around.

Are these classes an important SW fantasy to you?
No more so than others, I picked the Operative as my first character because I wanted a versatile utility healer

Do you still play the class? If not, why not?
Yes for the gunslinger, no for the Operative. The op has lackluster performance in terms of damage output, for the complexity of resource management. Compared to other classes I have played they simply do not perform as well. Especially frustrating is the reliance of melee damage as a healer. The last place i want to be is in the the thick of things, but in order to stun, or interrupt, or do contributory damage thats where i have to be as an OP. Less of an issue on the gunslinger. As with many MMOs, and especially in PVP, ranged > melee.

*edit* Anything they could do to encourage you to try one if you haven't, or play the one you have?
Expand on the cover system, allow for healing Ops to do apprececable damage from 30 foot range (currently our toolset requires that we be withing 10ft or melee range to use interrupts/primary damage dealing abilities.) Both my healing specced merc and my healing specced sorc can contribute very good damage from range, in comparison my Op cannot really do any appreciable damage at all at range. Concealment does ok damage, Lethality could use some love with regards to TA generation and boosting range, lessening setup time.

Thanks for making this thread, its interesting reading other people's answers to these questions

Have you leveled a Smuggler or Agent? Why/why not?
My agent (operative) just finished Act 1, I just started a smuggler (scoundrel). At first the class didn't look appealing to me, but I decided to try it out anyways (and I'm glad I did).

Did you enjoy the story?
So far both stories are enjoyable, particularly the agent story (but I have a bias for spy stuff). I don't think I havent gotten far enough in the smuggler story to have an opinion about it though.

Did you enjoy the mechanics? Why/why not?
Pretty much why I'm leveling 2 of the same class, love this class's mechanics. I find the healer/dps hybrid spec extremely fun in pvp because of its flexibility. You can provide burst dps when needed or emergency heals when needed. Healing in pve seems fun so far as well, but I've never healed an operation so I can't comment on endgame viability (I heard their heal spec end talent isn't very good though). The only complaint is that I feel like some of the smuggler abilities are more delayed than agent (I also feel kind of weird stealthing up to someone just to loudly shotgun them in the back, but hey some people like that).

Are these classes an important SW fantasy to you?
Not really, I'm actually not a huge star wars fan. I love lightsabers though, but I just don't find the lightsaber wielding classes as enjoyable mechanics-wise.

Do you still play the class? If not, why not?
Yup, planning to take both to 50.

Anything they could do to encourage you to try one if you haven't, or play the one you have?
I feel like, currently, sorcs/sages who also go a hybrid spec can sort of out-class us when comes to providing emergency heals/damage in pvp. They can do just as much damage/healing and provide more utility than scoundrels/operatives. Not a big deal but still an annoyance, I'm sure Bioware will address it in some balancing patch.

have a 50 gunslinger here and find the class fun to play. it is one of the more challenging classes out there. perhaps that is why fewer people stick with it.

story line is ok. much better than the one on my 50 sith inq. it has a interesting twist to it towards the end which i never saw coming. however i get the feeling most quests including class ones were rushed to completion for launch after around mid lvl 30s and up

class mechanics are ok. cover took some time to figure out its finer points. if you target no one when you take it you plop down where you are at. ideally that is where i want to go. if you do target someone and the "ghost" showing where you go isnt where you want to be, just turn around a little and you will get different options. if none then you plop down where you are at. not too hard once you figure it out. this mechanic type is new to mmo players and requires some skill to learn and use. most peoples play styles are running around and pew pew pew making it highly disliked. however taking cover is more realistic and in tune with thier movies.

being able to long mez only droids is really silly and i cant see how it fits with the class. perhaps mezzing opposite sex humanoids would be better in line. what other class gets the flirt option so much?

i find it fun and a challenge to play. it most certainly isnt easy mode. perhaps this is why people dislike playing it.

playing the space cowboy rules and Gus has to be one of the most entertaining companions to have.

• Have you leveled a Smuggler or Agent? Why/why not? I am playing exclusively as an Agent. I have not tried Smuggler yet.
• Did you enjoy the story? Yes. One of the better class stories in my opinion.
  
• Did you enjoy the mechanics? Why/why not? Yes and no. Sometimes getting into cover rolls me right into another group of NPC's. Frustrating.
  
• Are these classes an important SW fantasy to you? Not really.
  
• Do you still play the class? If not, why not? Heck yeah!
  

*Have you leveled a Smuggler or Agent? Why/why not?
yes. my main is a sniper

*Did you enjoy the story?
yes, though the ending could have been better

*Did you enjoy the mechanics? Why/why not?
They are a pain at points. I don't think there is any other class where mobs can keep you from using your normal abilities without CC... Entrench actually working would make this much less of a problem.

*Are these classes an important SW fantasy to you?
No. There were points in the story where I was half expecting more appropriate music to start playing.

*Do you still play the class? If not, why not?
Yes. Still my main.

*Anything they could do to encourage you to try one if you haven't, or play the one you have?
No. The class is fine (other then entrench being broken) and less people playing it means less competition for loot and spots in groups that want our buffs.