Guild Summit: Agents/Smuggler Population

1. Yes I have both a Sniper and a Scoundrel. Didn't wanna play them as I thought they were the flavor of the month class so I didn't roll one. Then I was bored so...

2. Story is good on both. Smuggler gets REALLY good fast and agent gets super good later on.

3. Love the mechanics of both. Sniper is a little odd with the cover but I like the complicated playstyle.

4. YES! Han Solo, HELLO? Agent not so much but they were ever present.

5. I might re-main to my smuggler from my 50 Sorc. So yes I will play still.

6. It is far more complicated to play well than most classes so, it will take skilled people to play it. Less people are good so there will be less of them, I am ok with that.

My 1st character during the 1st open beta was a sniper, the 2nd beta weekend I rolled a tank. By far the story for the sniper was the most captivating, so as a result I rolled a sniper to 50 upon launch.

The only regret I have with my choice is that the agents are geared more for PVE players than PVP, and I'm not dedicated to either camp. That said, I rock in PVE with him but I struggle in PVP, especially WZ's.

Snipers rely on stealth, concealment, and cover to take out targets but need a viable exit strategy if they are to survive if one of those elements are compromised.

Stealth - No issue there

Concealment/cover - Flashing Red strobes activate upon entering cover blow it. (Offering a Light Discipline (go dark) skill from cover would solve this.)

Exit strategy - Our primary defenses are dependent on being stationary with the exception of Flashbang. If that's is on CD, or the enemy's resolve bar is full, we have no means of opening up the distance to avoid melee attacks.

There will always be a minority population, but if the Dev's want more players to roll Agents/Smugglers, they need to take a look at our stand up abilities and reduce our reliance on cover for self defense.

Have you leveled a Smuggler or Agent? Why/why not?
My main is a level 50 sniper, and I rolled a Smuggler up to level 15 just to check out the play style... which was the same. I am 10/10 HM, but don't PvP much. I played it because in other MMO's I mostly played melee classes and wanted to change it up here.

Did you enjoy the story?
I liked the IA story a lot, but getting a healer so late in the leveling curve was tough. Kali just started getting eaten alive by the late twenties, regardless of gearing her up.

Did you enjoy the mechanics? Why/why not?
I got used to cover, but it took time and I don't really even think about it anymore. I didn't like my long CC being on droids only, but I got over it. It made things more challenging, and that's not a bad thing.

Do you still play the class? If not, why not?
Yes, I still run Operations on the sniper. My Marauder is level 40 now, and leveling difficulty has not even been comparable. Having a healer right off the bat makes it much MUCH easier.

Anything they could do to encourage you to try one if you haven't, or play the one you have?
I know Operative healers and their biggest frustration is their AOE heal. Having "purple" has made Sorcs a must have for many of the harder fights.

I haven't gotten an agent or a smuggler much farther than early twenties.
I enjoy the agent story, but not the smuggler story (even though the smuggler personality was fun).
I didn't enjoy the mechanics very much - my smuggler healer/ sniper felt like an npc companion to my trooper/ warrior leveling partner, where he was always the star of the show in combat with me always struggling with strange, clunky, slow abilities.
I don't play swtor because of it being Star Wars, and I don't pick classes based on how iconic they are. So that question is n/a to me.
I still want to play the agent for the story. I have more fun with the sniper than the op (tried both) but it will probably be a slow process that I work on occasionally, and solo. And well rested.
*edit* Hm, healer earlier on I guess?

I have...

Level 23 Gunslinger (only stopped playing him due to switching to a heavy server)
Level 17 Sniper
Level 14 Operative


I have enjoyed them all so far.

My main is operative, i like it, its fun, i heal hard mode raids, its not faceroll like a SI, nor are there 50 million of us running around.


I occasionally also go concealment in operative tree, its fun. for pvp

I honestly don't see how Agents and Smuggs are the least played classes. Maybe smugglers but I cannot tell you how many Ops i've seen. I've been in so many WZ's with anywhere from 1-8 ops. I went against a team full of ops a few times. (Operatives/Snipers).

I call BS on that statistic... although I don't know why they'd BS a stat like that.

Have you leveled a Smuggler or Agent?

Yes, I have a level 36 smuggler, mostly sawbones spec.

Did you enjoy the story?

I just completed chapter one. On the plus side, the story is refreshingly non-Force-focused and the smuggler’s character is consistent with the cynical, resourceful, self-possessed “Han Solo” paradigm. The dialog is fun and distinctive.

On the minus side, the plot points require the smuggler to accept incentives that no true Han Solo in his right mind (and not frozen in carbonite) would accept. I found the Chapter 1 story highly inconsistent with the self-reliance and pragmatism that I would expect my character to have.



Did you enjoy the mechanics?

Yes, but the mechanics require a fair amount of getting used to. This class, at least in the sawbones spec, is quite different from most MMO classes. You have to find the “sweet spot” mixture of crowd control, companion healing, positional melee, and ranged DPS.

You have a lot of utility and plenty of options. But you have to be flexible and react to each situation. You can’t just follow a specific “rotation” and expect to get good results.

For comparison purposes, I might compare the smuggler to the LoTRO Lore-master class. Some healing, some crowd control, some melee DPS, some ranged DPS, heavily reliant on companion/pet.

Stealth is a definite plus. The cover mechanic can also be good, but only if used judiciously.

I have to say that healing feels under-powered, but I have not yet filled out the talent tree.

Are these classes an important SW fantasy to you?

The smuggler is a Star Wars icon. But this story line, for the most part, lets you play with your own individual style and flair.

Do you still play the class? If not, why not?

Yes, I am actively playing the class.

I honestly picked smuggler scoundrel because I wanted to be a healer and i thought that it would be the least FOTM class out there.

looks like i was right.

Have you leveled a Smuggler or Agent? Why/why not?
Yup. Main is an Agent Sniper

Did you enjoy the story?
Absolutely. The story is awsome.

Did you enjoy the mechanics? Why/why not?
Mostly, yes. I don't like having to use 'cover' for some of the abilities, like the AOE push back ability.

Are these classes an important SW fantasy to you?
Agent, no. They never played a 'front line' roll in any of the stories that I know of.

Do you still play the class? If not, why not?
Absolutely, Love my sniper for picking off repubs in pvp.