I have been floating over different toons for the past week...Not sure what to decide on commando or sniper..Seems on harbinger the pubs wreck the imps really bad so I figured id stay pub. I just want to know the difference between the two.

Sniper is a full on turret, you're very immobile while fighting. Commando/mercenary has a little bit more mobility.

Also if your interested in the class story. .Imp agent is much better than the trooper

Also if your interested in the class story. .Imp agent is much better than the trooper

 

True, but bounty hunter trumps both IMO =P (of course nobody else seems to like the bounty hunter story)

Might be a weird answer, but why not both? With the 12x exp it's extremely easy to level two classes.

 

Personally, Sniper for the story and Commando for the gameplay. That being said, I wouldn't roll a Sniper for Imp Agent simply because Operative fits the story better. If you still want a Sniper like class qua gameplay, roll a Gunslinger. That one actually fits the Smuggler story better compared to a Scoundrel.

So far all the responses did not seem to catch on to the fact that the OP likes PVP. So, I will base my response on that. Both classes are not considered the flavor of the month in pvp right now, but in the hands of a skilled player they can be quite effective at dealing a ton of damage and healing your group(in the case of cmdos). Ranked is a different story as you will often be the first target of the other team. So comparisons.

1. Oh S*%t!
   Snipers have more/better defensives. Commandos survive by constantly moving, kiting, los'n and self healing. Snipers by moving when necessary and slowing their attackers.
   
2. Need help west!
   An important skill for regs is node attacking/defending. While equivalent attackers, snipers are probably the best non-stealth, non-tank class defenders. This means in normal situations snipers are the third best class because tanks are more effective where the action is.
   
3. A>B>C
   Rotations. The specs that most people play for both classes have super simple and rarely energy conscious rotations and are considered burst specs. I personally play the burst spec on my sniper/gunslingers, but prefer the dots on my cmdo/merc. I do alternate between the two on both classes, but often return to the one stated. The sniper has a third dps spec, which has a funky rotation and I haven't had much success with, but you may learn to love placing flaming turrets in the middle of a bunch of people and watching them run from it as fast as possible.
   
4. OOhh white damage. Actually they aren't that different here.
   Both classes have some of the highest percentages of their damage coming from melee/ranged damage, which means that they interact with your targets defensives differently and can in the hands of a knowledgeable player reap glorious rewards.
   
5. No I in Team
   
   • Cmdo/merc-Offheals, standing knockback
     
   • Sniper/GS-Defensive shield, aoe accuracy debuff.
     

[*]Why so sleepy

• Cmdo/merc-1 stun, 1 casted mezz
  
• Sniper/GS-1 stun, 1 aoe mezz
  

[*]Han shot first

• Cmdo/merc-Electro-net(a unique and powerful snare), Hydraulic Overrides/hold the line
  
• Sniper/GS-healing debuff, roll

As far as pub/imp, follow Snave's Regstar advice and either faction can win. So, other than leveling both as other people have stated. I would recommend deciding based on whether you like healing. If yes, go cmdo, if not go sniper.

Edited August 20, 2015 by Britharen
forgot about movement(roll/overrides)

In pvp they are both even though Mando can flank a sniper and heal up so 1v1 a mando should win if there are walls around. Problem with pvp is that theres hardly ever a 1v1 situation unless its huttball