Balance Suggestions for future games

[Jon_Irenicus]

I'd like to know if any other people around here have ideas about improving/balancing the current "SW with 3rd edition" style of the game. Here's my two cents:

The three combat styles

Dual wielding (one blade in each hand): Too strong. Even if you are not using light sabers as your main offensive, you still want to dual wield, because you can put +stat or +defense crystals into the second light saber. A single light saber has a little less damage than the double bladed version and a better critical threat range (19-20 as opposed to 20-20). Granted, crafting two good light sabers would be costly as opposed fighting with a single lightsaber (single or double bladed), but getting items is not a problem in the game (since you can also craft your own upgrades).

Single blade: The feat does not improve the style enough. +3 to damage and defense is (maybe) OK for the first 10 levels, then it is laughable. Especially since there is a +defense upgrade for light sabers now (makes this style pretty much pointless compared to dual wielding). Maybe increase the damage and defense bonuses or add some kind of a new bonus.

Double blade: It is good that this style somehow joined up on two weapon fighting feat (so now double bladed weapons do two attacks per round and benefit from the feat). Unfortunately, you get the same penalty as you do with dual wielding, so you are dependant on the feat. Couple that with the fact that these have only a little more damage than single bladed sabers and have a lower critical threat range, this style is far from being the "agressive and most damaging" one. Improve the damage of double bladed weapons and improve their critical threat range. Maybe even give them a knockdown ability or something. Most of all, give them their own feat.


Classes

Guardian:
These guys should be able to craft their own weapons. Either make certain "crafting skills" class skills (like repair and stuff) or make it so that crafting requires a different skill. Granted, they can pick "repair as class skill" feat, but these guys should be the ones that are actually weapon crafters, not the sentinels.
They need higher defense. A lot of ways to do this. Make them get defense bonus per 1 dexterity (as opposed to 2), give them a special feat that allows them to cast certain powers in heavier armors or just improve their def/level rating. Maybe give them a feat that adds their dexterity bonus as DAMAGE to their weapon as well. They need it. This class misses out on a lot of skills and powers, they need to make up for it somehow. Right now a sentinel can dish out as much damage and still benefit from more skills and force powers.
GIVE THEM CLASS SPECIFIC POWERS. More of them (right now there's only one for the light side).

Sentinel:
IMPROVE SNEAK ATTACK. 6-36 damage on first hit is nice, except you're probably dealing at least 100-200 damage per round by the time you get it that high. Makes the entire stealth skill pretty useless. Why bother when you can just enter the combat with master speed and beat everyone senseless. Maybe give sneak attack some kind of critical hit bonus.

Consular:
What the heck? Who needs all those force points?
Make more force powers level dependant. Most of the powers are rendered useless after the first 20 levels.
Some sort of passive attack power for the light side. Something like "reflect damage X%". A jedi Master can only get Force Storm and use that as an effective offensive (it doesn't matter that much, since you already have a gargantuan force pool, the extra cost is barely noticeable).
Give them exclusive powers, or exclusive levels of powers (like 4th level force storm or heal, etc...). A consular looks like a "less defense, less life, unnecessary force points" sentinel right now.

Anyway, my two cents

[Ergophobia]

My suggestion:

T3-M4 was highly underpowered in the first game, but I think he's a little overpowered in this one. I have him level 13 (end of first choosable planet, Nar Shaddaa) and he pretty much beats up everyone with 20 con and 24 dex.
That is fully upgraded and with two agility upgrades.