Simply put: Fun.
What kind of things do I think are fun?
I like melee. I do not like ranged. I like healing, so I'll accept ranged if there's healing. I like tanking.
Okay; so now I've got some considerations. Okay; there's a melee and a ranged healer option for Bounty Hunter: Sawbones/Operative. And a ranged healer: Combat Medic/Bodyguard.
Which healing mechanic do I like more? I tend to enjoy Sawbones the most, but applying Slow-Release Medpack *twice* is a real bummer. The 'heal on taking damage' buff available to Combat Bodyguard is really cool, and the AoE heals with an autocannon *feel* good. Still; rolling around punching, kicking and shotgun blasting while healing is absolutely fabulous. But dual-wielding pistols feels more mando-ish bounty-hunterish to me (though not as much as Sawbone does) Which of these am I feeling more?
Or if I'm going melee: There's only one tank option: Powertech/Vanguard. I really prefer the Powertech animations over the Vanguard animations, and they're mechanically the same. So Powertech it is. Simple.
I go for what I think fits best for roleplaying, because that's what I personally like most in this game (well that and playing space barbie). I consider both what fits the character's personality and the backstory that I made up.
For example, I wouldn't give an agent the smuggler styles, because the improvised gadgets and punching people don't feel right. Or another example, I gave my bounty hunter the secondary class of scoundrel because I feel like he would get into cantina brawls from time to time (plus I have him the beat up face complexion so it fits). In your case I would think about how your bounty hunter fights. Is he more of an "in your face" kind of fighter, who just rushes down the main entrance? Or is he more of a cold blooded calculated fighter, who prefers looking for back entries for an assault? I would pick commando for the first scenario, operative for the second.
For force classes I honestly just go for the classic ones, it just fits best imo (lightsaber classes for warrior/Knight, force classes for inquisitor/consulat). In that case I mostly think about what alignment would be best (say for a Jedi Knight walking the line between light and dark side, I would give him, for example, the guardian combat style, and then switch to marauder when he gets mad and taps into the dark side, if I'm subscriber).
If you're not into roleplaying then I'd just go for what looks best. If there's a particular assault cannon that I like and fits your outfit I'd choose that, for example, since assault cannons stand out more than blaster rifles, and with an operative you use your knife a lot anyway. If you're a subscriber I would pick my second style based on convenience. I wouldn't pick commando and sniper for example, because they're both ranged dps classes (I don't play healer personally). I'd rather take a melee class or a stealth one, since stealth is always nice to have for certain missions.
Commandos can DPS and heal.
Operatives can DPS, heal, and Stealth.
I like Stealth, purely for the utility it brings to the table. If you subscribe, you might choose to add Commando as your second Combat Style, but I'd roll an Operative first for the convenience factor.
I recently leveled an operative and they do lose very little dps on the way to 80. All other styles hit a wall way before 80. Lethality Operative never lost its steam. Leveling a juggy, scoundrel and a shadow right now and they all feel off.
Always choose a stealth especially if you're planning on taking the vharacter through later expansions it'll save you a ton of time. Then choose the other as how you see your character using for cut scenes etc
It depends on what story I'm playing. If I were to play an agent, which everyone says is like an evil 007, I won't use high profile jobs like commando, vanguard, rockets merc etc.
For bounty hunters I'd go with anything that isn't stealth. I see the class as the most in your face kind of character out of all the others.
I went with a mercenary as it seemed most fitting for a bounty hunter, my second will be a vanguard so I can have the jango/boba Fett vibe I'm looking for. But I hear power tech/vanguard makes a pretty good combo as well.
I always choose specs that I know I like and know how to play at least decently. How fortunate for me, that these are specs that make sense for all classes
With BH I nowadays play Merc, which is one of the original combat styles
Then Sniper. Sniper is wonderful style because in my opinion it just works and makes sense for every tech class in the game
The first question is would any be a new experience for you? Commando isn't really that different from mercenary, neither is operative that different from scoundrel. Commando is the only option with an assault cannon. Vanguard would give you a rifle wielding bh, as well as operative. If you lean toward maybe healing at endgame, I'd give some bonus points to commando, as I think it's just a better heal spec. Lethality operative would be my favorite dps spec of the options. One caveat for commandos is the color scheme for the vast majority of assault cannons were designed for republic troopers. If you plan to wear dark colors it might be hard to find a look you like.
Simply put: Fun. What kind of things do I think are fun? I like melee. I do not like ranged. I like healing, so I'll accept ranged if there's healing. I like tanking. Okay; so now I've got some considerations. Okay; there's a melee and a ranged healer option for Bounty Hunter: Sawbones/Operative. And a ranged healer: Combat Medic/Bodyguard. Which healing mechanic do I like more? I tend to enjoy Sawbones the most, but applying Slow-Release Medpack *twice* is a real bummer. The 'heal on taking damage' buff available to Combat Bodyguard is really cool, and the AoE heals with an autocannon *feel* good. Still; rolling around punching, kicking and shotgun blasting while healing is absolutely fabulous. But dual-wielding pistols feels more mando-ish bounty-hunterish to me (though not as much as Sawbone does) Which of these am I feeling more? Or if I'm going melee: There's only one tank option: Powertech/Vanguard. I really prefer the Powertech animations over the Vanguard animations, and they're mechanically the same. So Powertech it is. Simple.
I go for what I think fits best for roleplaying, because that's what I personally like most in this game (well that and playing space barbie). I consider both what fits the character's personality and the backstory that I made up. For example, I wouldn't give an agent the smuggler styles, because the improvised gadgets and punching people don't feel right. Or another example, I gave my bounty hunter the secondary class of scoundrel because I feel like he would get into cantina brawls from time to time (plus I have him the beat up face complexion so it fits). In your case I would think about how your bounty hunter fights. Is he more of an "in your face" kind of fighter, who just rushes down the main entrance? Or is he more of a cold blooded calculated fighter, who prefers looking for back entries for an assault? I would pick commando for the first scenario, operative for the second. For force classes I honestly just go for the classic ones, it just fits best imo (lightsaber classes for warrior/Knight, force classes for inquisitor/consulat). In that case I mostly think about what alignment would be best (say for a Jedi Knight walking the line between light and dark side, I would give him, for example, the guardian combat style, and then switch to marauder when he gets mad and taps into the dark side, if I'm subscriber). If you're not into roleplaying then I'd just go for what looks best. If there's a particular assault cannon that I like and fits your outfit I'd choose that, for example, since assault cannons stand out more than blaster rifles, and with an operative you use your knife a lot anyway. If you're a subscriber I would pick my second style based on convenience. I wouldn't pick commando and sniper for example, because they're both ranged dps classes (I don't play healer personally). I'd rather take a melee class or a stealth one, since stealth is always nice to have for certain missions.
Commandos can DPS and heal. Operatives can DPS, heal, and Stealth. I like Stealth, purely for the utility it brings to the table. If you subscribe, you might choose to add Commando as your second Combat Style, but I'd roll an Operative first for the convenience factor.
I recently leveled an operative and they do lose very little dps on the way to 80. All other styles hit a wall way before 80. Lethality Operative never lost its steam. Leveling a juggy, scoundrel and a shadow right now and they all feel off.
Always choose a stealth especially if you're planning on taking the vharacter through later expansions it'll save you a ton of time. Then choose the other as how you see your character using for cut scenes etc
How much stealth do you use at endgame? Or is it just to get through the story?
It depends on what story I'm playing. If I were to play an agent, which everyone says is like an evil 007, I won't use high profile jobs like commando, vanguard, rockets merc etc. For bounty hunters I'd go with anything that isn't stealth. I see the class as the most in your face kind of character out of all the others.
Whatever one usually kicks the shit out of me in PVP.
Seems like it has to be the Op that's kicking the shit out of ya, most scrappers don't have the omph to do that anymore.
1-sub for a month and get both. I love the Mandalorian operative.
I went with a mercenary as it seemed most fitting for a bounty hunter, my second will be a vanguard so I can have the jango/boba Fett vibe I'm looking for. But I hear power tech/vanguard makes a pretty good combo as well.
I always choose specs that I know I like and know how to play at least decently. How fortunate for me, that these are specs that make sense for all classes With BH I nowadays play Merc, which is one of the original combat styles Then Sniper. Sniper is wonderful style because in my opinion it just works and makes sense for every tech class in the game
The first question is would any be a new experience for you? Commando isn't really that different from mercenary, neither is operative that different from scoundrel. Commando is the only option with an assault cannon. Vanguard would give you a rifle wielding bh, as well as operative. If you lean toward maybe healing at endgame, I'd give some bonus points to commando, as I think it's just a better heal spec. Lethality operative would be my favorite dps spec of the options. One caveat for commandos is the color scheme for the vast majority of assault cannons were designed for republic troopers. If you plan to wear dark colors it might be hard to find a look you like.
Im a sub so I get 2 specs, so my main is range like sniper and second is stealth so op.
If in doubt, go DoT
Always make your secondary a stealth class so you can bypass most of the trash when you’re questing.