Okay, you want testing and not gut feelings? Fine. I took the half hour or so to download the beta files, recreate my main blaster (EN/EN), re-choose all my powers and slots, type dozens of commands to get all my enhancements filled out, and finally do some testing.
I hate the sniper changes even more than I thought I would.
The in-combat "instant" cast isn't instant. Sure, there's no interrupt period, but there's still an activation time of around a second or so. It's not nearly as fluid as live.
The recharge time (along with the aforementioned activation time) increase screws up my rotation (Snipe>En Burst>En Bolt>En Blast>sometimes squeeze in another Bolt>Snipe - all within the duration of a single Build Up or Aim).
The out-of-combat alpha strike is fine, but it sucks not being able to instant cast. Also, it doesn't seem necessary. Like I said on the previous thread: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I appreciate everything you guys are doing to get this game back up and running for us again. Bug fixes, texture/model fixes and such are great, but I'm really wary of these attempted "balance" changes. Blasters are one of the most popular ATs for a reason. They're in a really good place as-is. Please don't make drastic mechanical changes like this.