Hi,

Even tho i have played a few years back, i still consider myself to be a newcomer. I had previously completed the Sith Sorcerer and Mercenary stories so would like to try a Republic side class, as welll as a (non force user) melee class rather than ranged. At the moment my main interest is just dps (so can exclude the 'this class can also be a tank/healer' - that is something i will look at once i have an idea) and narrowed it down to giving the Vanguard or Scoundrel a try. I am just wondering which (if any) of these 2 classes are considered to be more beginner friendly with regards to rotations/resource management ? I am what could be considered a 'casual gamer' and enjoy what some people would consider a boring class where you can just spam certain abilities (such as with bounty hunter - not sure if it has changed now but before with the Mercenary you would spam tracer missiles and the occasional 'proc' abilities) or get away with facerolling.

I'll be looking to complete the story, plus, if i enjoy melee, hopefully joining a guild so i can take part and enjoy PVE group content (flashpoints etc). I will not be doing any PVP and am not interested in being the biggest/best/top 1% but saying that, would also not like to be a burden should i reach a stage where can start to explore the end game content. What class has the 'best' story is not really a concern to me as i'll enjoy any stories within the Star Wars universe (expanded or not), so am looking more at which class is easier than which has the better story.

Sorry for the wall of text, just tried not to be too vague. Thanks for taking the time to read and (hopefully) reply.

Bwahahaha, I will respond to your wall of text with... an EVEN BIGGER WALL OF TEXT!!!

Both Vanguard and Gunslinger are pretty "beginner friendly", but in different ways, and I would generally go with the Vanguard first.

Vanguard is a balanced blend of damage output and toughness when it is using either of its DPS specs - they are not as big on the toughness aspect as its tank spec, but still decent. As a beginner, running with a companion in heal mode, you should not encounter too many situations you cannot handle, as long as you do not try to solo heroic content or world bosses

Gunslinger has better damage output than Vanguard, but it is not as tough. It will kill stuff quicker than the Vanguard, but it will also die quicker than the Vanguard. Again, running with a companion who is healing you will allow you to run all non-Heroic content without any real issues, although you may find in one or two cases you want to run out of sight of the enemies until you trust the companion healing.

Beyond the choice of class, there are also a couple of things to consider regarding how you can make your companions work better - Presence (a long term option that carries over to other characters on your Legacy), and companion Influence (a short-term benefit limited to this character).

Both classes will benefit from an increased Presence stat (Presence makes your companions better at everything/anything they do, combat- and healing-wise), but boosting your Presence stat effectively takes time and multiple play-throughs of the class stories using human characters (completing the classic storyline on a non-human character unlocks that race for the opposite faction, but completing a storyline on a human character grants your Legacy a decent Presence bonus to all characters).

So my recommendation for a first playthrough would be to run through the story-mode version of the Esseles flashpoint a few times, and learn what conversation options your initial companion (Corso or Aric, depending on the class you choose) likes. Choosing the conversation options they like on each conversation can earn you several thousand influence points per run through the FP (up to 7250 points iirc, if you also buy the Legacy unlocks for improving the companion Influence gain from conversations), in addition to some level-appropriate gear that is probably better than what you already have. Story mode Esseles is also a good place to check out some of the skills you get from leveling up.

The Influence will increase your Influence level with the companion, which is the other way (apart from Presence) to make them more powerful. Max Influence level is 50, but that would require a mind-numbing number of runs through Esseles, but as you will get at least 2 or 3 decent level-appropriate armor pieces or weapons per run, it is definitely worth doing several times.

I think, the op wanted to know about non force melee classes, so no gunslinger and no jedi guardian.

I found Scoundrel to be a very nice class to play. I played Scrapper before and am now levelling a Ruffian, both have a good damage output and are smooth to play. It helps, that the smuggler story is simply the best, if you like the space cowboy Firefly-kind of vibe, which I do.

So, one for Scoundrel and one for Vanguard so far, thank you for the replies. I am looking for non force user melee class as completed Juggernaut, Sorcerer and Mercenary stories (that was a few years back so essentially returning as a new player) so have tried ranged and force user classes, want to try some classes on Republic side now).

Gone through the first chapter with a Scoundrel (Ruffian) and it still hasn't clicked for me yet, i mean i am getting through the story fine having companion set to heal but, if im honest, it's because of the companion, am struggling with the rotations/abilities. I really enjoy flashpoints and group content as well but don't feel comfortable taking part with the Scoundrel as i know i'd be a burden on the rest of the group.

If i remember, when i played the Arsenal Mercenary class a lot of people found it boring as it was 98% spam tracer missiles, 1% whatever procc'd, 1% some other ability i cant remember, i liked the simplicity. Same with Juggernaut and Sorcerer, both had a simple rotation to follow with about 6 main abilities. There is a lot going on with the Ruffian Scoundrel, maybe scrapper is easier ? Or it could be i am just getting too old for all these fancy rotations and should find and stick to a faceroll class, lol.

I think vanguard is definitely the class you're looking for. Both of its dps specs have a very easy and fun rotation/priority system, and they both have some of the highest damage outputs in the game right now. The only thing that makes the class more challenging is the fact that it is pretty squishy due to the lack of dcds, but that's mainly just a problem in pvp. Vanguard tank is also considered the most beginner-friendly tank, while scoundrel is considered the most difficult healer, so there's that.

Scrapper is the easier of the two dps specs for the scoundrel. I can't speak from experience, but I heard that it has a pretty simple rotation. You should give it a try since you already have scoundrel, but I'd definitely go vanguard a go.

Hope this helped

Thank you, changed to Scrapper with the Scoundrel and it was a lot easier (for me). Completed the story and started a Vanguard, you were right about the Vanguard, i actually know (more than with the Scoundrel) what i'm doing and it feels less clunky to me. Helps that the abilities look pretty nice as well. Thanks again

I think vanguard is definitely the class you're looking for. Both of its dps specs have a very easy and fun rotation/priority system, and they both have some of the highest damage outputs in the game right now. The only thing that makes the class more challenging is the fact that it is pretty squishy due to the lack of dcds, but that's mainly just a problem in pvp. Vanguard tank is also considered the most beginner-friendly tank, while scoundrel is considered the most difficult healer, so there's that.

 

Scrapper is the easier of the two dps specs for the scoundrel. I can't speak from experience, but I heard that it has a pretty simple rotation. You should give it a try since you already have scoundrel, but I'd definitely go vanguard a go.

 

Hope this helped

Thank you, changed to Scrapper with the Scoundrel and it was a lot easier (for me). Completed the story and started a Vanguard, you were right about the Vanguard, i actually know (more than with the Scoundrel) what i'm doing and it feels less clunky to me. Helps that the abilities look pretty nice as well. Thanks again

Glad I could help.