Which stealther? Assassin or operative?

[Tageri]

Hey guys, I'm having a hard time deciding which class to level to 50 first. I'm torn between Sith Assassin or the Operative.

Which class do you guys find the most fun and why?
(If you play one of the two or both of course)

[greysaber]

i prefer operative. but that's because i like the ability to switch to healing. assassins only other option is tanking.

i also prefer the story and 'stab you in the back' playstyle. assassins are more of the hack n slash flurry of attacks, with stealth added in... and a little lightning here and there.

[Deleted]

ive got my operative to 44 and loving it coming from a rogue in wow.. love sneaking around and stabbing shit... they do amazing burst... also can heal really well.... operative if you think you may heal, assassin if you think you may tank.... both got pros and cons.. make 1 of both? p.s alot more assassins in the game than operatives, seem to be more popular > force user.. theyre both cool cats

[Duncanîdaho]

Operative's totally rely on stealth/stuns for survival and damage like old WoW rogues. They pop out and try to stun lock you to 20% hp then finish you off. If you catch them out of stealth it is pretty much a guaranteed win.

Assassin's just have stealth as a tool and are much less reliant on it. They do have a back stab and decent saber skills, but a lot of their damage still comes from ranged abilities. Assassin stealth is more for just getting the surprise on someone for that first hit, then for survival.

[Mosc]

I've made my operative my main, I really really enjoy the playstyle. I am playing a full concealment spec. It's very rogue-ish, but with the added bonus of the ability to heal. I've been able to solo every heroic mission (2+ and 4's) up to my current level because I can heal. Some heroic missions are tougher than others, but the challenge is exactly what I love and being able to complete them is very satisfying. Being able to CC up to two mobs a pull (if there's a droid involved) is great, and the 8 sec AOE stun is helpful.

In flashpoints I feel like I'm pumping out some serious DPS, and the CC I bring makes me feel even more useful. I can't wait to get acid blade at level 40, should be fun times.

[WarpedAcorn]

IMHO, which isn't worth much, it boils down to what playstyle you prefer. An Operative is more at home picking off targets in the backrow, then escaping. The Assassin can do a lot of damage, but not as quickly as the Operative, while also being fairly tough to take down.

So if you prefer to be in the thick of the battle go with Assassin, and if you prefer to...Assasinate...go with Operative.

[Wratize]

damn, i really wanted to play the Sith Assassin because that sounded like closest to the rogue when i was reading it up last year, but from what i see now THe Operative works better. i've played a rogue as my main on wow for the past 5 years. thanks for the info guys.

[Deleted]

I play both at 50, Tankasin and OP healer.

As has been pointed out already, Assassins have stealth, but do not rely on it as heavily as the operatives do - they are much more "roguey", so to speak.

They make use of abilities that require stealth to function (hidden strike being the heaviest hit in the arsenal) and are able to improve their stealth and reduce their vanish cd via the skilltree, allowing to reopen from stealth more frequently.

The assassin on the other hand has little spells, that need stealth - only sap, a stealth level improvement buff and one stun (and even that no longer requires stealth if tankspec). You have the benefit of vanishing still and sneaking past enemies - but your gameplay does not revolve revolve around it, as it is the case with operatives.

While the above is generally true for all assassin specs, for the operative the concealment spec is the "stealthiest" by a large margin.

[Lathais]

Haven't done much PvP with my Assassin, so it may be different there, or at higher level, I am only 37, but here are my thoughts. I rarely use stealth. There is a CC ability we have only usable from stealth so I use it for that. Sometimes it can be nice to check out what is in an area too, scouting for chests and whatnot. So if you want to play a stealthy rouge guy, I think Operative may be more the playstyle you are looking for.

As for the story, not too far in Agent, only 15, but my friend is. From what people say it is very James Bond. I wasn't enjoying it as much as my SI story though. SI story really has me wanting to see what happens. Fun "twist" at the and of Act 1 when you get Lord title and Legacy name though.