smuggler seems

[Adda]

Am I imagining things or is the smuggler class more difficult than the other two classes...at up to about level 4 or so?

 

[TheShepard256]

You're not imagining things; Mercenary and Tech Specialist are generally considered to be better. Smugglers are supposed to rely on Evasion for defence (as opposed to HP for Mercs and Shields for Techies), and damage-wise, they're built around inflicting Blind/Stun -> guaranteed Crits. Early game, there aren't any good +Evasion gear or Stun Chance weapons (at least, to my knowledge), so they have to rely on their first Special more than the other classes.

 

[Theron]

they're built around inflicting Blind/Stun -> guaranteed Crits.

Level*3 + Intelligence/2 (+ Level*2). Crits are *2 damage.

Flash Grenade is Aim vs Reflexes, though it counts as 10 points higher, compared to similar checks.

Also, keep in mind passive Evasion from equipment is capped at 50% (Stealth Field Generator temporarily adds 40% to the cap).

It might also depend on whether you're comparing to Melee or Ranged Mercenary or Tech Specialist. Ranged Mercenary is widely considered to be significantly superior to Melee Merc, likewise Melee Tech to Ranged Tech (though Charge Weapon got a significant nerf).