As most people are PVE players and don't Rank PVP, how about BW NOT nerf anybody and ruin everyone's else's character ability to have fun. How about instead we just eliminate gear for you Ranked PVP players. Everyone (regardless of gear) gets generic stats (DPS or Tank) and then everything is "balanced" for Ranked PVP? Yea, we all know how that would turn out...Ranked PVP'ers complaining that some class skills do more with the generic stats than others...nerf them!! My point is that many classes are finally really fun to play. I leveled an OP recently and am in the middle of leveling a Sin just because they have become more fun to play. Why does everyone else have to have their characters nerfed and their fun along with it, just to "balance" Ranked PVP? I am not against balancing Ranked PVP. I am just against screwing up everyone's PVE fun to do it. Whatever the devs do, they should do it for the arena, not to the characters.

artifice seems to work as well. I have been making hilts to DC and they give the mk-11 comps. I haven't tried the other skills since the patch.

Yes, you can buy then off the gtn if you want (probably a lot cheaper than trying to get the recipe).

Jawas or whatever race Yoda is. I want a midget trooper with an assault cannon, or a sith jumping up and all around to hit someone with his saber. Now that would be hilarious!

Damn, I was annoyed that it took me about 200 individual versatile stims to get the legendary recipe (and yes I know they aren't very useful now that they cap your stats everywhere...I wanted it anyway). I don't think I would have made it to 800 without losing my mind. I even posted in the suggestion that the devs put in what one guy called a "pity bias" for those that don't have good luck when they RE. So, that it can't just go on and on forever. Crafting is so expensive, requires to much time gathering massive amounts of mats, etc. now that having such a low RE rate is just not a good experience for players. And, if you get a run of very bad luck on top of it, it can cause players to rage-quit. So, they need to raise the RE rates, or at the very least put in some mechanism for the RE rate to go up as you fail over and over and over and over and over ............

yea, I reported this as well. There is currently no way to do this mission. Hope they fix whatever they did to break this soon.

Well, SWTOR probably has thousands of crafters. So, many of them are going to get runs of very bad luck. And, this isn't life. It's a game. The goal of a game is to have fun. They made crafting much harder, more expensive, and more time consuming. To get nothing out of all that effort is just not fun. So, a game is kind of a fail in that regard...at least in terms of crafting. So, if players are going to tolerant a much more difficult crafting system, at least they could put some limits on the misery of having bad luck. I assure you to the the player spending all their time and resources trying to craft something and having no luck, a "pity bias" will sound like a great idea indeed. And, yes I understand that they would need to design a system that wouldn't be exploited. But I think they should at least take a look at it and see if it would be worth helping to limit player frustration. I mean spending hours switching characters and running crafting missions, costing a lot of money all week long, only to burn through all those mats (and your time) and get nothing is not a very good experience for players. I am just saying they should take a look at it. They made crafting harder and more expensive, but they didn't put any hard limits on just how hard and expensive it could possibly get. I think that is a mistake that will lead to some very bad experiences for some players.

Ok, I just finished Deconstrucing 160 purple versatile stims trying to get the gold stim recipe. It says I have a 5% chance...per stack of 4 (so I did 40 stacks total). No, I didn't do them all at once. I DC'd them in stacks ranging from 4 to 40. And, got nothing each time. Now it is millions in mats and a few hours to make that many purple stims. And, at 5% I should have had the gold recipe within 20 stacks. But 40 stacks and still nothing? It is enough to make me think it is worth programming in a failsafe for RE. If you fail 40 damn times, you should be guaranteed an RE hit. I mean come on! This is beyond just bad luck, this is ridiculous.

I don't know all the settings, or if there is a way to turn it off. But I think it executes whatever skill you have in your first slot (i.e. number 1 key). You could leave that skill blank, or put a non-attack skill there. You could probably rekey the 1 key to some other skill (non-attack) as well. Just an idea.

I didn't realize tacticals were supposed to be designed to get bonuses from more than one. So, I didn't think there was anything that needed "fixing" in that regard. Where are you getting the idea that you should get benefits from more than one tactical at a time?

The capping player levels for most of the content is indeed weird, and doesn't work that well (makes end game gearing less valuable most of the time). But for me, I think it is the compounding that really screws things up; 1) They didn't just raise that mat costs to craft. They dramatically raised the mat cost compounded with having to make lots of green components to make a few blue components, to make a couple purple components....compounded with making fp/ops only mats required....compounded with making conquest only mats required....compounded with drastic drops in reverse engineering rates...compounded with mats from several gathering skills needed to make things. 2) They not only cap players level and stats, but they nerf companions, they buff mobs, and they make repairs costly. 3) It's kind of the same with credit sinks. They didn't just create all kinds of credit sinks, but it is compounded by lower credit rewards, higher repair costs, higher gear prices (1 million credits per piece), combined with higher gtn prices due to crafting being more expensive and time consuming. So now any casual player that doesn't farm and/or craft for the gtn is going to be poor. Then when they go to "fix" the problem they created, they don't think about compounding. They just look at each change separately.

If they do a new stronghold, I personally would love to see a ship strong hold. Kind of like guild ships, but smaller (just a little larger than the Nar Shadda SH). It just makes sense that a character with the status that your character reaches would have command/ownership of a larger ship than just his small transport (not much bigger than a shuttle). Some features I would love to see: -has a dock you can park your ship in (i.e. have access to your personal ship...as well as your personal ship displayed...the ship automatically changing in the ship's dock to the personal ship of whatever character you log into) -has ability to move to different planets; i.e. the view out the window, or clear dome, changes when you move the ship. As well as being able to exit to that planet/fleet. Also if you move to fleet you can tap in fleet chat. -a huge trophy room to display all the large statues, holos, creatures, etc. that many people have. Alternatively you could put in other huge decorations that exist (gardens, fountains, etc.). -and absolutely no wrecks or ruins! The ship should be either high tech and/or luxury themed. Otherwise, I am not really excited about "just another place to decorate". I want something different and better in many ways to the strongholds that are already available. Same thing in a different location seems pointless to me. I would rather see the devs put time in on expanding the story than just creating more places to put cartel items. If they are going to do another stronghold, let them do something actually new and better, not just more locations.

Off the top of my head, this is all I can think of to help. 1) make sure you pick up the weeklys (in combat section of fleet) for flashpoints (5 vets runs) and the pvp weekly. You get tech frags and boxes for those that will help a little. 2) use tech frags to update gear that isn't dropping for you. The drops will be held back if you have 1-3 pieces of gear lower than all your other gear. So, use the random gear vendor in the supply section to upgrade your lowest pieces of gear. Do worry about saving tech frags for set pieces until you reach all 306 gear. 3) if you have a stealth character, use that to make stealth runs of fast fps (i.e. Red Reaper or Hammer Station). If you don't, then try to run these easier fp's anyway as fast as possible (only the bosses count toward gear, tech frags, or weeklies). 4) break down any gear that isn't an improvement....don't vendor it. Also, never disintegrate gear from renown crates. Renown levels are meaningless (you get the same gear for renown 1 as renown 999). So claim ALL gear and if you can't use it, DC it for tech frags. You want tech frags to upgrade gear that isn't dropping to keep your gear level equal as you rise up. Otherwise, as I said, a few lower pieces could hurt the drops you get. That is all I got. Frankly I was able to use a stealth character with about 278 irated gear, to all 306 gear in about 2 days of running Red Reaper stealth runs. I simply got another lvl75 stealth partner and ran in and killed the 3 bosses in about 15 minutes. Then did it again, and again for about 2-3 hours in a row each night. Then I did the same things once I had all 306 gear, to get 306 gear for all 8 of my characters. Because once you are all 306, about a 20-30% of the gear that drops will be 306 too. And my bag is full of gear every 2-3 runs (about 30-45 minutes). So about 20-30% of my bag was 306 gear I could throw in my legacy vault for other characters. All other gear is broken down (at 306) for tech frags. Obviously, the runs will take longer doing non-stealth runs because you have to kill all the trash in the way to the boss. But otherwise, everything else is the same. It's not hard, just need to do it right and it will go pretty quickly (maybe a week). And, I wouldn't delay because it is only going to get harder to find partners to farm fp's with as everyone gets geared, and you want to start having 306 gear drop for EVERYTHING you do (as it will once you get, and use, a set of 306 gear).

Tough choice. I like almost all of them for different reasons. But for fighting, I probably like my merc the best. I like the running and gunning feel to him, the visuals, the voice, the armor, etc. It never gets old. With many of my characters (especially the melee ones) I kind of get tired of fighting trash mob after trash mob. But somehow I don't on my merc. Endless fighting just feels best on him. That said, if I really was limited to only one character, I would have to choose a stealth character. They are just so useful in getting things done. Currently my favorite is the Concealment OP I just leveled and geared. He does crazy burst dps. Combined with the stealth, it doesn't even feel like fighting, it feels more like assassination. He is just a great 'get things done' character. Although I hear sith assassins are the same thing (even better some say). So, once I level and gear one of them next, that may be my new "goto" character.

8 classes, each with 2 specializations. That is 16 types of characters and all but 2 have either a tank or healers spec they can choose anytime they want to. In otherwords, 14 out of 16 characters can heal or tank if they choose to (anytime). I don't see how giving the other 2 characters a tank/heal spec will have a large impact. 88% of character classes can already either heal or tank if they want to. So, any issue with a shortage of tanks or healers isn't due to character options. BW can't force people to choose to heal or tank. And, they have given 88% of the players the ability to either heal or tank already. I can only speak for myself, but I have a tank character to just play with. I rarely actually use him to tank for a group. Mostly because it is harder than just following and doing a damage rotation. And, I have never healed in SWTOR even though I have 9 lvl75 characters now. I would have to learn the keybinds and my character (as a healer) better....and I don't want to do it. Again, because it is more work than just following and doing a dps rotation (and less use in solo pve). I used to be a primary healer for a guild in WOW, but that was only because I was playing a paladin (basically just a big heal, a little heal, and a cleanse) and I had macros (which aren't available in SWTOR). All there was to it was to click one of the three buttons next to each person's icon/health bar....i.e. there was 3 little buttons by everyone's picture and I just clicked if I wanted to give them a big heal, little heal, or cleanse them. That is much easier and simpler than a dps rotation. So, it was relaxing and fun to be a healer under those conditions. There was no switching targets, key bindings, etc. like SWTOR. So, I will probably never want to learn how to be a healer here. I suspect the issues aren't that people don't have choice. It is just that it is easier and simpler in SWTOR to dps. And, it is definitely more useful and fun solo to be dps. I also suspect, as some have pointed out, that a lot of people that do like to heal/tank just don't like doing so for PUGs. Probably for lots of reasons (disrespectful people, impatient people, stupid people, etc. )

Personally I would love to see a ship stronghold. Similar to the guild ship just smaller and designed as a player base of operations/home. Something you can move to different planets (i.e. the view out the window changes, and you have the option to exit to that planet when you leave). The mechanics for both of these are already in the game. I would also love to see a hanger with your personal starship docked in it...which you can go on and leave if you want. I know some people will say "then we wouldn't need guild ships". But that is not true. You still need guild ships for conquest, for group summons, for a huge place to gather or do events, etc. Plus, few people will ever be involved in decorating a guild ship (it is usually just the GM and a few officers that do all of it). In fact, I would love to see two type of personal ship strongholds. A warship (corvette), and a luxury ship (hutt style). Just think of all the decoration packs BW could sell on the Cartel Market. And, many of the decorations they design could be used to decorate guild ships as well. So, it would be a money maker for them as well. It just makes sense that such a hero as your character becomes would have command (ownership) of a larger ship than just his personal craft. Heck, you could even make it part of the story. I.e. when you finish rise of the hutt cartel you gain access to purchase the hutt luxury ship stronghold. When you finish KOTFE you gain access to a warship stronghold. A personal ship stronghold just seems the next logical step to me. We already have a good variety of planet-side strongholds. We already have most of the tools developed to make it (guild ships, views of different planets, instant planet travel, environments that can be modified and re-textured, etc.). It is something that would need new decorations (so cartel market transactions and purchase of cartel coins for BW). It is something different. It makes sense to the story. And, I think a lot of people would like a ship stronghold (i.e. a larger ship they can decorate). And, a corvette would be about the right size of a stronghold (i.e nar shadda, manaan stronghold size...maybe even a little bigger).

Honestly, I don't see anything new that would offer. It is basically taking one spec off one class and putting it on a different class and playing the same story. That is not very exciting to me to be honest. I mean I have already played all the classes and all the class storys, and all those specs. So what is new? If you want to play the same class with a different spec, 90% of the community can just level a new toon and choose a different specialty for that class to play the same story with. 90% of the players haven't played all the class stories with all three specs they offer now. I am not sure just changing the specs around a little bit and instead of playing this spec on this class, you play it on that class offers much. I think most players want a new class, and class story to play. But I don't see that happening as it would be very expensive and time consuming (all the voice acting, and creating everything from 1.0 to present....twice! one for new imp-side, one for new pub-side characters). So, I think we are stuck with the classes and specs we have now. And if we are lucky, they will create new stories for each side (imp characters and pub characters). But I don't think they will even be able to create new stories for each class, let alone new class stories from scratch. Adding a new spec for classes? Maybe possible, but it wouldn't add as much as adding new stories to play.

I played SWTOR for 3 years shortly after it came out and then took a 3 year break. I came back about 2 months ago and was kind of bummed that I missed out on all the bonus companions that they made (I didn't get any bonus companions for the 3 years I subbed). I understand that people that subbed during this time want their reward for subbing to mean something (i.e. they at least got some bonus companions for subbing when others didn't). But it would be nice to be able to get some of them, even if it is a cartel market item....like the hk-55 that you can buy with about 8 months of cartel coins (i.e. you have to be subbed for 8 months and not spend any of the cc's they give you to afford him). But honestly, I really like the idea that they change/add to the system from just sub on a particular date, to total number of months subbed. So, if you have 12 months of total subscriptions you get X companion. If you have 24 months of total months subbed, you get Y companion. It seems smarter business-wise, and the old subscribers can't really complain that they subbed all those years for nothing. I mean the idea is to encourage and reward subscribers right? Doesn't this do this? And, it does it without pissing off the current subscribers (or shouldn't), without cutting off future subscribers or those taking a break (hey, life gets in the way of playing games sometimes) from being encouraged and rewarded for subscribing, and it doesn't really cost BW anything (although they should continue making new rewards occasionally). Anyway, it seems a better system than they have now to me, which rewards players for subscribing for a particular month. It seems to me that the total amount of money you put into the game should be rewarded too. I mean put 3 years of subscriptions into the game and get nothing (because they were the "wrong" years). Put 3 months of subscriptions into the game and get 3 cool bonus companions (as long as they are the "right" months). That doesn't seem right to me. Nor does it seems like the way to maximize subscriptions.

The biggest example that comes to mind is my lightening sorcerer has a full set of healing gear (6 piece), and half of a second set of a different healing set already (both for inquisitor/consular class). And, not a single dps 6 piece set drop even though 8 of my 9 characters are dps! I believe almost all of them came from conquest reward boxes (maybe an onderon box and a pvp weekly box or three as well...can't remember) from both my lightening sorcerer and my jedi Infiltration shadow (which doesn't even have a healing spec but gets consular healing gear nevertheless). My gunnery trooper has almost a full 6 piece set of healing gear as well....but not a single 6 piece dps set piece. They all come from reward boxes...mostly conquest, but occassionally the onderon weekly box, or pvp weekly box. The fp and story ops drops seem to only give generic or 4 pieces sets (except The Victor set of which I have 4 fulls sets already). It would be really nice if reward boxes all dropped (mostly) 6 piece sets that adhere to our preferences. I mean I read somewhere that purchasing set pieces with tech frags was not supposed to be the main way of getting a 6 piece set to use. But it is really the ONLY way to get it today. Most of what drops (fp's or reward boxes) isn't that useful, isn't what we want, and almost never adheres to our preference gear selection; ....fp's dropping generic crap, and reward boxes dropping gear for other specs (and generic gear). To actually get the best 6 piece set for our spec, you have to buy them with tech frags (all of them!). In fact out of all the gear I have gotten (from anywhere), the only set piece that that dropped from conquest boxes that I actually wanted was a chestpiece for my sniper (precision targeter's). Unfortunately, I had already bought that piece with tech frags, so even the one set piece that I wanted (out of literally dozens that dropped) was useless. Oh, and you asked for our gear level. All my 9 toons are 306 and have been for a while now. Also, I guess since I don't like any of the tanking gear for Juggs, I guess you could say I got about 4 pieces of The Final Breath set for him to drop from reward boxes (all conquest I think) and from multiple characters (I don't remember which dropped for which character sorry). And, so I just bought him the 2 missing pieces to give him a "tanking" set. But honestly a set that doesn't give any bonuses until you are below half health isn't that useful. But it is one of the few 6 piece set items that occasionally drop from reward boxes (I don't use this character, so none of them could have dropped from fp's, and I don't remember getting any pieces of this set dropping for the characters I do run fp's with....so they all must have come from reward boxes). But I do distinctly remember buying only 2 pieces of the set for him...and only because I had most of the set. Anyway, if you guy's intention was to have the BiS gear actually drop for us (in reward boxes, fp's, etc.) for our class and our spec/preference, you have failed. It has literally only happened once for me. And, I run 9 characters for large conquest every week, 2-3 through the pvp weekly (unranked) most weeks, do heroic weeklies on 3-4 characters (onderon), and have run the **** out of red reaper (vet and MM). So, if any of those are supposed to drop BiS gear pieces for our spec, I can confirm with confidence that they don't.

I noticed you didn't say you did the eternal championship. How come? Could it be because it is freaking ridiculously difficult and Looonng? Also, you seem to be contradicting yourself a little by saying star forge (non-story mode) is not hard, but you aren't ever going to do it again. Taking forever is part of what we mean when we say it is too difficult. You seem to agree by saying you never want to do it again....as well as choosing not to do the eternal championship (which if you ever do (or have done), you probably never will want to do it again either).

Yea, I don't see them ever creating new class stories. That would be very expensive and time consuming. Even though we all would love to see new class stories, I just don't see it.

I agree. I don't know if it is the reverse bolstering (bringing our characters down to 70), or they just pumped these guys up too much (or a combination of both). But it is ridiculous now. Especially since these are part of the story and companion quests (something a lot of people want to do). My smuggler lost his lvl 50 bowdaar companion, but I can't beat the eternal championship solo, and nobody wants to do it with me. Who wants to study all the fights and do an hour long fight for no real rewards? It's just stupid and remains a sore-spot for me. I realize that some people like near-unbeatable content, so they can feel a sense of achievement if they manage to beat it. But more don't. And, this isn't these aren't the place for that anyway. Most players want just enough challenge to have fun. Not so much that they have to treat their recreation like a job (involving sacrifice, lots of hard work, major struggling, frustration, etc.). Most people have enough frustration in their real lives.

yea, I pulled up one when I created a new character and it took me all of 10 seconds to dismiss the idea of making my new character a Nautolan.

I can only speak for myself. I am frustrated with random spawns not spawning (rishi datacron mission, the droid on hoth for the datacrons there, etc). I needed a break from playing swtor before I shoot myself. But as for everyone else, it could be a lot of things. Christmas shopping. Lots of people working overtime for Christmas. People traveling or visiting family. People running out of things to do in game (or just tired of doing the same thing over and over) and getting bored. People running into things in the game that are broken, bugged, etc. and just getting frustrated. I would speculate that it is probably a relatively equal mix of holiday relative stuff and frustration related breaks. You have only to read the forums to see there is a lot of frustrations in a lot of different areas: slow gearing for those that don't want to farm fp's, pvp class balance, broken missions, credit sinks (amps, 1m per set gear, etc), low credit rewards for missions/heroics, new crafting broken, and on and on. Even me with random spawns that don't spawn (wasted most of my play time for two freaking days..for nothing!!).

Thanks! I'll give it a try tonight. I thought you needed the drops from the champion spawns to get the buffs. Nice to know you don't.