I've heard that a consular > wm/marauder is the most powerful class. Offers the best of both worlds with powerful force powers from the consular side and multiple feats and dmg from the wm/marauder side. Can someone verify this and is there a character guide around? What would be the best way (stats, feats) to build this character? Thanks

I was thinking bout making aguide like about this but in my opinion one you said more backwards. Up until your around level 15 unless your a expert you may find it hard using the force andhaving limited combat so I would go with the Gurdian/Master or lord. But which ever you do both really powerful.

However you make your character is up to you. If you want to focus on Force Focus, Consular/Jedi Master(Sith Lord) have the best Force abilities. If Combat is what your looking for, Guardian/Weapon Master(Maruader) Have combat as thier main focus. If your looking for a balance, Sentinel/Watchmen(Assasin) tend to be more balaced in both areas. Hope this helps.

A consular/wm has the following benefits

1. Force focus
2. Improved weapon spec

Seems like the best of both worlds to me

But then again, it could work both ways:

consular::weaponmaster

guardian::master

See? As mongerman accurately put:
Seems like the best of both worlds to me

w00t 500th post! I'm off to bed, g'night!

DQK out

Not really. If you start off as guardian, you get force jump instead, which is crappy compared to Force focus. The bonuses for jedi master are, imo, weaker then improved weapon spec as well, which you will miss out if you dont take weapon master as your prc

Actually you are robbing your character of their benefits to cross class like this... you create a weaker character IMO.

Class sybiosis:
-------------------------------------------------------------
Consular then Master/Lord (Strongest Force Powers)
Guardian then Wpn Master/Marauder (Best Melee Combat)
Sentinel then Watchman/Assassin (Middle of the road, master of none, not really useful in TSL... sadly!)

Just my 2 cents. ;)

And why is that? The only place a consular/wm loses out to a pure caster is force points and force powers, and both are redundant beyond a certain amount. Also, careful selection of feats (espacially with your mods^^ Bonus Feat: 2 Weapon Fighting (all 3 levels), Dueling (all 3 levels)!.
) will mean that the consular/wm will only lose out to a pure melee in terms of vit points.

Actually, mongerman, a consular-wm/sm cross is weaker also in terms of the level-up benefits of maintaining the same class; wisdom and will boosts in this case. A consular-jm/sl will be stronger in the force abilities, and a guardian-wm/sm will have more combat feats and more of the level-up bonuses for straight fighting characters than a mixed consular-wm/sm or guardian-jm/sl PC will have. IMHO, there's really not much point to crossing character classes. When you try to build a do-everything PC you lose the benefits of specializing in either force or lightsaber-based combat. And sure, when you hit a certain point, you're more or less invulnerable so it really doesn't make that huge a difference at higher levels but still I like to have all the toys for whatever PC class I choose.

Hmmm...If I were you, I'll use consular/JM or Guardian/WM. But I prefer guardian.

Thanks for the feedback guys. Think I'll just start with a consular, make a savegame before choosing a prestige class, and try it out both ways. I'm playing with achilles balance mod and beancounter's hardcore mod, so may the better character survive!

Actually you are robbing your character of their benefits to cross class like this... you create a weaker character IMO.That would be my view. Basically it is a glorified Sentinel (no offense to sentinels!). It tries to do everything but isn't great at any particular thing. I find things are more effective when you choose a strategy (force or saber) and try to maximize that.

That being said, for example I tend to pick a few force trees (like the force wave tree) and try and maximize those. Also, have a few items that enhance the requirements for those powers. The weapon master might not have as many powers as a consular/master, but he can be about as strong in a few of them.

I've been using the arena to test out my consular/marauder and my guardian/marauder. Both classes have max in dueling, flurry, while the guardian/marauder has the toughness line of feats. Guardian has +3 str + 1-8 dmg. With universal d-package, it translate to 3-10 more dmg. Consular has +3 wisdom +1-8 dmg, with universal d-package = +2 modifier on wisdom and +2-9 dmg. Guardian has 100 odd more hitpoints, but lesser force powers. Consular has improved focus.

In conclusion, a pure tank character will take guardian purely for the improved hitpoints. +1 extra dmg is really a pittance, and should not be a consideration. A consular/marauder is far from a glorified sentinel. It has improved force focus and Superior Weapon Focus Lightsaber.

Take note that both character above are completely naked except for a d-package (feats are equal for prc as well). Thus, if you can count on your character not getting hit too much^^, I find the consular/marauder a better character overall. However, if playing on hardcore mod, the extra 100 odd hitpoints really come in handy.

[edit] also take note that on hardcore + achilles balance mod, enemies resist almost anything. So unless you're using the high level force powers mod, it might be better to just bash everything with a saber