If hardest equals poor PvP mechanics then Tele Sage / Lightening Sorc the burst rotaion is insane to get off in high paced PvP. They have only two cast you can apply on the run Project and weaken mind maybe you can count force slow because it does damage as well. But even mercs and gunnery commandos peronally are fairly easy for me to play in pug wz and get good dps (300k to 500k) even post 50.

The strange thing about tele Sage's is that they, just like the leath Ops are set up for mechanics that really only work in PvE. 50% of the classes self heal so DoTs don't do much unless they hit hard like Mind crush or acid blade. I can heal through 6k DoTs over 21 seconds but not 6k burst in one gcd from a smashmonkey sent.

I tried every rotation and set up I could think of and there is no way around the fact that hard casting classes get intrupted by everyone. What I noticed was I needed about 5 to 6 gcd to use good solid burst with the Tele sage but I was leap so much it was constantly inturpted. Amd normally by someone other than my target. What also make the class silly was that I rarely died but once I set up again somewhere else the casting still took to long to do damage before I had to move again. So you end up with tons of force to use but a mechanic that makes you unable to use it.

Playing a good tank is difficult as well....knowing how to peel, when to switch guard, kitting when needed, keeping taunts up, keeping debuffs up. Tanking in rateds is like playing a mini Operation but you havr 8 bosses instead of 1.

So if we are talking about broken classes I think Tele sages if we are talking about learning curves any tank class.

Hard/easy to play really need to be differentiated by player skill. For low skill players you get a completely different answer than for high skill players.

For low skill players,

Hardest To Play: MELEE DPS. Low skill players have a lot of difficulty maintaining target acquisition. And with melee dps, a low skill player may lose 50% or more of his GCDs to simply trying to keep a target selected, in range and in his frontal arc. Tanks are hard for low skill players too, but a low skill player that is a bad tank is still harder to kill than the low skill melee dps.

Easiest To Play: MERC & SORC DPS. Target acquisition is easy with these classes, and that is the main consideration for low skill players. Just run towards an enemy while spamming your basic attack key and when it triggers, begin your rotation. Super easy. Even a caveman can do it!

For high skill players, things are different. Here the hurdle isn't scoring 300k, 400k, or even 600k vs. scrubs in a warzone. It's playing effectively against other top players in a ranked warzone setting.

Hardest To Play: MERC DPS. No one wants a Merc dps on a top ranked wz team. No one. Even if the character is piloted by an expert player, that player's skill is better utilized on a real class, not a toy. For all the problems associated with a Lethality Operative, the Lethality Operative can still score 900-1000k in a match, about 15-20% higher than the Merc dps and contributes better strategic utility via stealth, and has better survivability.

Easiest to Play: SORC BUBBLE HYBRID, OPERATIVE HEALS, JUGG/MARA SMASH, ASSASSIN TANK. Every top ranked team has these classes. You simply MUST have them. There will be no argument for example that the ranked team select an Annihilation Mara over a same skill Smash Monkey. No one will argue that the team should have a Merc healer rather than a same skill Operative healer. The only way those subclasses get on a top ranked team over these preferred classes is if the player's skill is meaningfully higher, i.e. those classes are in fact harder to use in PvP.

To Macro:

Where does a sniper fit in, and your opinion of them please. I'm curious because I have never played one, they have easy target acquisition(I'm assuming), but I have noticed some are great at it and some not.

Hard/easy to play really need to be differentiated by player skill. For low skill players you get a completely different answer than for high skill players.

 

...

great post.

It isn't sin/shadow, it isn't concealment, full lightning sorc could be considered the hardest but that's only because the spec is clunky and rarely played, same goes for lethality operative. Merc/Commando DPS is not hard to play. Arsenal has a very simple rotation, pyro is pyro

 

This is going to sound cryptic but none of the classes are particularly difficult in themselves. Engineer/saboteur is the only class in the game that doesn't have a rotation per se. I think that makes the class challenging to play effectively. I find it more challenging than my conceal oper or my shadow.

 

The hardest spec is probably a free 2 player without sprint.

what do you mean no rotation?

open with shock charge, sab charge, florish, speedshot, then throw incend nade on them to stun, aim shot, dirty kick (if they are still breathing), coolhead, sabotage, speedshot (now they should really be dead).

7-31-3 sab build

Hard/easy to play really need to be differentiated by player skill. For low skill players you get a completely different answer than for high skill players.

 

For low skill players,

 

Hardest To Play: MELEE DPS. Low skill players have a lot of difficulty maintaining target acquisition. And with melee dps, a low skill player may lose 50% or more of his GCDs to simply trying to keep a target selected, in range and in his frontal arc. Tanks are hard for low skill players too, but a low skill player that is a bad tank is still harder to kill than the low skill melee dps.

 

Easiest To Play: MERC & SORC DPS. Target acquisition is easy with these classes, and that is the main consideration for low skill players. Just run towards an enemy while spamming your basic attack key and when it triggers, begin your rotation. Super easy. Even a caveman can do it!

 

For high skill players, things are different. Here the hurdle isn't scoring 300k, 400k, or even 600k vs. scrubs in a warzone. It's playing effectively against other top players in a ranked warzone setting.

 

Hardest To Play: MERC DPS. No one wants a Merc dps on a top ranked wz team. No one. Even if the character is piloted by an expert player, that player's skill is better utilized on a real class, not a toy. For all the problems associated with a Lethality Operative, the Lethality Operative can still score 900-1000k in a match, about 15-20% higher than the Merc dps and contributes better strategic utility via stealth, and has better survivability.

 

Easiest to Play: SORC BUBBLE HYBRID, OPERATIVE HEALS, JUGG/MARA SMASH, ASSASSIN TANK. Every top ranked team has these classes. You simply MUST have them. There will be no argument for example that the ranked team select an Annihilation Mara over a same skill Smash Monkey. No one will argue that the team should have a Merc healer rather than a same skill Operative healer. The only way those subclasses get on a top ranked team over these preferred classes is if the player's skill is meaningfully higher, i.e. those classes are in fact harder to use in PvP.

youre a gentleman and a scholar good post

I'm most impressed by players that play DPS Operative/Scoundrel in general. Both specs have their issues, Leth/DF seems to be the most "broken" but I've seen some pretty high skilled players show how the Concealment/Scrappers can shine and its awesome.

Sure, we can destroy undergeared people. But so can any other class. I play other classes now because I don't enjoy concealment atm. There is this one scrapper that can kill me pretty easily, but I am still mostly recruit on my assassin. Just need to work on my force shroud timings.

Remove sunder requirement on Plasma Brand and give it a 30% snare, imo.

That would be nice, but wouldn't fix vigilance at all. We already have a spammable slow.

Vig needs a surge talent like every other damn dps tree. Combine dot talents, and make them worth having.

Hard/easy to play really need to be differentiated by player skill. For low skill players you get a completely different answer than for high skill players.

 

For low skill players,

 

Hardest To Play: MELEE DPS. Low skill players have a lot of difficulty maintaining target acquisition. And with melee dps, a low skill player may lose 50% or more of his GCDs to simply trying to keep a target selected, in range and in his frontal arc. Tanks are hard for low skill players too, but a low skill player that is a bad tank is still harder to kill than the low skill melee dps.

 

Easiest To Play: MERC & SORC DPS. Target acquisition is easy with these classes, and that is the main consideration for low skill players. Just run towards an enemy while spamming your basic attack key and when it triggers, begin your rotation. Super easy. Even a caveman can do it!

 

For high skill players, things are different. Here the hurdle isn't scoring 300k, 400k, or even 600k vs. scrubs in a warzone. It's playing effectively against other top players in a ranked warzone setting.

 

Hardest To Play: MERC DPS. No one wants a Merc dps on a top ranked wz team. No one. Even if the character is piloted by an expert player, that player's skill is better utilized on a real class, not a toy. For all the problems associated with a Lethality Operative, the Lethality Operative can still score 900-1000k in a match, about 15-20% higher than the Merc dps and contributes better strategic utility via stealth, and has better survivability.

 

Easiest to Play: SORC BUBBLE HYBRID, OPERATIVE HEALS, JUGG/MARA SMASH, ASSASSIN TANK. Every top ranked team has these classes. You simply MUST have them. There will be no argument for example that the ranked team select an Annihilation Mara over a same skill Smash Monkey. No one will argue that the team should have a Merc healer rather than a same skill Operative healer. The only way those subclasses get on a top ranked team over these preferred classes is if the player's skill is meaningfully higher, i.e. those classes are in fact harder to use in PvP.

How does being ****** at this game somehow make commando dps and sage dps any easier to play? However decent a commando/sage dps might do in the hands of a skilled player, a bad will just be embarrassing on it. They will stand there and auto attack because grav round/tele throw got interrupted, or backpeddle using force speed. Being sucky at this game doesn't magically make the two crappiest specs easier to play.

There is a reason why everyone and their mom are playing focus spec JK/SW. It's easy as hell to deal damage and kill things with. Melee dps in general in this game is the easiest to play. There is an overabundance of sents, VGs, and shadows in this game because they're the strongest and easy to play as.

Hey everybody! Just another player wondering to about the hardest spec in game to run and be successful in PvP is. I honestly think a full madness assassin or lethatlity operative would be difficult to run. Any ideas on what spec is harder to run in PvP?

Madness Assassin - best I could do anyway

http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#2000cZf0bZsrfRr0kdfz.2

To Macro:

Where does a sniper fit in, and your opinion of them please. I'm curious because I have never played one, they have easy target acquisition(I'm assuming), but I have noticed some are great at it and some not.

I think Snipers are in the middle - for both low skill and high skill players. For low skill players, the target acquisition is not too difficult, but the need for proper positioning will disrupt some players. At the high skill level Snipers can offer some good utility to a team looking to counter enemy melee. But they are not a must have on a ranked team.

However decent a commando/sage dps might do in the hands of a skilled player, a bad will just be embarrassing on it

You need to reread my post. A low skill Merc/Sage dps playing against other low skill players will do substantially better than a high skill Merc/Sage dps playing against high skill opponents.

In terms of playing an AC to its' full potential I'm going to say assassin/shadow. There's a huge gap between a good and a bad, or even average, one.

 

Then there's the specs/AC'es that are hard to play because their potential is so low. Those have already been mentioned.

I think this nails it. You always know right away whether you're up against a poor, o.k. or excellent Assassin. It's really evident. Gunnery Commando requires near-flawless play just to have a chance 1v1 against any other class (all other factors being equal).