Infiltrator vs Miscreant:
Weapon skills:
Advanced 4 vs Advanced 2.
The advanced 4 is mostly meaningless. Using chopping or slashing when you have sap and backstab is essentially going to come down to depending on the defensive portion of that, which is really just emphasizing breadth training. Bynners will do it, and that's probably about it, because training your primary skills will be important.
Combat skills:
--Parry (advanced) vs Parry (advanced)
Why?
--Backstab (master) vs backstab (branched advanced), Sap (advanced) vs Sap (branched advanced)
This is a boon in infiltrator's favor, to be certain, but when included with the other skills is not a -huge- boon. Their stealth is more unreliable, making the opportunistic nature of it harder to manage given the drawbacks acknowledged by most who play the classes that have them now.
--Dualwield(master), Two-handed(master), shield use(advanced) vs dualwield(advanced), twohanded(advanced), shielduse(advanced)
Unless the master levels are high on this, the high parry skills of both parties make this in favor of infiltrator, but not by a huge amount.
--Crossbow(master) vs Crossbow(advanced)
Yay, I can use crossbows better in the city? Does anyone ever actually see this being done in a way that people won't be flailing their arms around about after because they think it was twinky?
--Blowgun-use(branched master) vs Blowgun use(branched advanced)
Haven't played with this skill enough to know how much of a boon this actually is, but I'm pretty certain getting it up to master will be both twinky and a long process.
Now, on to why the miscreant is actually stronger in combat, and why I actually kill people more as a burglar, currently, than I do as an assassin.
--Sneak (advanced) vs Sneak (master), Hide (advanced) vs Hide (master)
Criminal engagement is largely based on opportunism. You have to follow and watch people for opportunities to actually do what you want to do. While I may have better backstab, I have to worry a whole lot more about actually having the opportunity to use it unless I'm just an alley brawler. While I may have better throw, my ability to do it safely is greatly reduced. While I may have better blowgun use, my ability to stay hidden doing it is less (<--Unsure of, again, I haven't used the skill much yet).
--Poisoning(advanced) vs Poisoning(Master)
This skill goes up faster than combat skills. Master is granted the ability to discern which poisons are being used. Master is able to get to the point where expensive poisons are reliable and thus you aren't wasting thousands of coin to get a single dose applied. It is more deadly using opportunism (i.e. Stealth and perception) than higher levels of backstab and sap with less opportunity to safely use them. Master sneak and hide makes this powerful as hell. Current poisoning levels on burglar make it deadly, but they have to waste doses, which they can luckily afford due to their broad skillset for money acquisition.
--Hunt (advanced) vs Hunt(Master)
Miscreant is better at tracking down their prey, I guess.
--Scan (advanced) vs Scan (Master)
Miscreant is better at finding hidden opponents, I guess.
--Pick(branched advanced) vs pick(master)
Makes sense I suppose, though I think miscreant should get high advanced and pilferer be the master picker.
--Climb (advanced) vs climb (master)
Makes sense, I can be alright with this, though if we removed listen and such utility/spy tools from the infiltrator I'd want this bumped up.
--listen (advanced) vs listen (master)
I can be alright with it. Again, kind of where I see pilferer being instead.
--scan (branched advanced) vs scan (master)
Whut
So on and so forth. Then weigh out the skills that one gets and the other doesn't in both directions...and it's just undesirable. In other words, if you pit them face to face in the arena, yeah, you'll probably see infiltrator winning. But as far as being the criminal combat-specialist vs the criminal 'mixed' tier...the ability to actually eliminate a target is leaning away from the combatant because it was decided to theme them -for- that, instead of making them an actual criminal-themed combatant. They're a mini-enforcer, not the stealthy combatant. We've made the miscreant the stealthy combatant and given them sheer potential for non-combat survival as well.