I have to agree with the other posters, that dog is adorable. Then again, I am a sucker for cute pets.

That Leia picture is great! LOL. I love it!

Okay, I'll bite: Me with epic gear on Me without all the epic gear To be fair, the second picture is a couple of years old, but it gives you an idea of what I really look like since I am not wearing a mask and regulator in that picture (and it kind of goes with the first picture). BTW, since I've been asked, the knife isn't sticking "in" my leg, it's strapped "on" to my leg, lol. BTW, I find myself wondering if the jetpack on my BH's back is as heavy as an AL70 or maybe a HP65 (which is what I usually use since I like the negative buoyancy from the steel vs aluminum). I am definitely amazed she can actually run while wearing all that stuff, lol.

Most of the negative threads are in the General forum. Just check out the class forums, role forums, guild forums, etc and you get away from most of it. Those forums also move slower so if you start a topic chances are it won't be on the third page in five minutes. Just be sure your thread topic is applicable to that forum.

I stink at jumping too, but I've gotten all the datacons I've set out to get because I am also stubborn as a Missouri mule and won't give up, lol. I often end up curing the developer who placed the datacrons, but eventually I get them. One thing I learned (from another player) if you quickly hit the "w" key and the spacebar at the same time--just a "tap", you can make a kind of broad-jump (as opposed to a running jump). It made jumping those pipes in the Justicar area (for example) a whole, lot easier since I didn't have to run and time the jumps. I still missed a few times, but no where near as much when I was trying the spacebar alone. For what it's worth, I wish there was more variety too with random puzzles and riddles along with the coordination game. It would make it a little more interesting and challenging.

I'm going to vote for Corso too for all the reasons already stated. I am glad he's the romance option (which means more quests) because even if he weren't the romance option I would go with him for his tanking (I am speccing healer) and his great one-liners. I haven't found the romance option yet on my bounty hunter (she's a she). But I have Mako as my sidekick right now. It seems like the male BHs like her (for the most part). At least, there are more Mako threads in the BH forums than Corso threads in the Smuggler forums. Then again, that might be a reflection of there being more males playing the game than females. I kind of find her annoying though--although, I suppose it's almost in a kid sister sort of way.

Could be the name of an NPC or a mob somewhere. The other name is filtered out most likely.

I don't know if there are more or less people, but one thing to remember is that the number you see at the top of your screen isn't the number of people on the server--it's the number of people in your immediate area (not sure if it's planet or region or what it is). Since people level at different paces, people are now more spread out. At the beginning, we were all in the starter zones. Some are still in the starter zones, some are in the middle somewhere, and a few are even at "end game." You also need to remember that each planet has more than one "instance." When I join a group, sometime I have to reload to be in the same area as the rest of the group.

I haven't rolled on RP servers in this game, but I've done it in the past. I don't really RP myself though. Although if approached by an RPer for whatever reason, I try my best not to break their immersion and will act in a character of sorts--I just act like myself (which tends to fit the types of characters I play). Why do I do it? I actually like watching others RP... it makes the world more fun. It's like being at something like a Renaissance Festival where people are in character. But I usually don't last long because I kind of feel out of place or like I am eavesdropping since I am only a "Reactive" RPer myself (and it's really not RP, I just give the illusion of it by using /say and answering the person in a way I think they expect). Every time I've been on an RP server, I've stayed a loner--which is funny since usually I'm in an end game raiding guild in MMOs (and group all the time as a main healer). Once in a while someone picks me up as a buddy (like I am a stray, lost dog) and tries to help me learn to RP. But for the most part, I stay to myself and solo. I also usually end up playing a DPS character too. I might eventually roll a trooper on an RP server. I don't think I can go Sith because the Sith NPCs are evil enough without having a bunch of fellow players acting evil around me.

Ah... story of my life. Guys always dupe me/I am always a sucker for that sweet gentlemanly stuff. Thanks for the no spoilers (of course this makes it harder for me to play my bounty hunter now since I want to know what you are talking about but want to find out though gameplay).

I played both a BH and an IA to level 10 and then stuck with the BH. I found the IA story to be more fun, but the BH to be a more fun class to play. I also feel like I somehow have more freedom as a BH.

And a little Captain Jack Harkness too I mean with all the flirting and such. I have a female smuggler... and I still get those great, dry wit lines. Although poor Corso, he's so naive that it makes me feel like my smuggler is a cougar! lol. My hunter is female too, although I don't think that really changes anything.

I don't get annoyed by the sound (although in a PuG last night someone told that the "healy bullets scare him." LOL. I suppose after playing a minstrel in LOTRO for a few years and shouting and yelling all the time on that character kind of numbed me to "noise" on a healer.

Maybe it's too early for me to reply since I am still very early in the storylines, but I will anyway Bounty Hunter 7.5/10... (I am still on chapter 1). it's good, but in a way it's kind of mundane so far. Then again, it's also early so the Great Hunt might pick up a bit/ have a little more intrigue and twists and turns soon. I'd like to see this story a little darker too... time will tell. Smuggler 9/10... (I am still in chapter 1) I love that basically it's a high adventure--the stuff I would love to do in RL if I could live a carefree adventure and had a limitless bankroll to do it. It's truly a light hearted, carpe diem story! I basically play the Smuggler for the story lines (the Smuggler story and Corso's).

I kind of like the Smuggler story... my "main" is a bounty hunter and that's where my guild is. But I started a smuggler in beta so I wouldn't spoil the imperial agent story (I thought I was going to play an IA originally). Anyway, I got hooked on the smuggler story and still enjoy it--it's the main reason I play the smuggler class. And the sarcastic lines are the best! It was fun getting my ship back and now being on a treasure hunt. The agent has a cool story too, don't get me wrong. But my life is serious enough with work, I don't want to play a character that is "working for the man" in the game too--even if it's a cool job.

I like Corso He's sweet in an innocent/big hearted/just learning how the world works way. I think his character is sincere though, and I like that. I am not sure about the eventual Bounty Hunter one--I know nothing about him other than what he looks like. I just don't like Mako... then again, she's not a romance option at all for me. If she were a he, I still wouldn't like her/him though (assuming the character was just as annoying).

Yeah! Another in the "I can't stand Mako camp." I would love to make a poll to find out how many men vs women can't stand her whining--but I don't want to come across as someone trying to find out everyone's sex. But I would be interesting to see. You know, she's whiny and that bugs me, but there is just something else about her that I can't stand and I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's because she really brings nothing to the table for me (I heal a lot better than she does and do better DPS). All I know is I can't wait to get rid of her and replace her with a tank... I am actually trying to speed up my leveling (and a new companion is one of the main goals).

Okay, the "ultimate crazy cat lady" thing made me laugh. I never thought of it that way, but now that you bring it up... ROTFL.

I second this. I have a Smuggler too and that ship drives me insane with all the running around. The BH ship has form that follows efficient function. It's not a Gremlin to me so much as it's a good, reliable pickup truck. Sure that "Jag" the IA are flying looks better, but when you are out adventuring and there is a rough road ahead which vehicle would you rather trust?

My understand is it won't. You can "farm" light or dark side points in flashpoints. You will have to compensate for the points you have in light to get dark (and vice versa) but changing won't prevent you from maxing out your dark side.

As I am getting more healing skills, I want to clean up my skill bars. This is great info. Are there any other damage/cc skills you keep for soloing as a healer? Is there anything you can easily ditch? I think I want to keep anything cc and possibly death from above (but I'll be honest, I think it's just as cool as deadly).

In a way I like the "iPad" healing too. It's just so cool and lowkey compared to the other people jumping around like they have espresso in their veins Then again, I also play a BH Bodyguard... so I get my fill of interesting animations there.

I am only level 20 on my Sawbones (and I played a minstrel in LOTRO). So this class is more like a captain then (that's cool, I always wanted to play a captain). I was thinking it might be more like a melee runekeeper... or maybe a loremaster with better healing skills (I love doing cc with this class). But at my level, I really can't tell. Can you tell me how it's more like a Captain? If I have an idea based on what I already know, it just makes it easier for me to know my group role (which I am still trying to figure out--last 4-Heroic I did I ended up mainly doing cc--which really helped). Thanks!

Thank you for the wonderful guide! I wish I read it last night before I did my first real group healing (I am level 23 and healed 4-heroics and other group content last night on Balmorra). While I have a love for healing and a bit of a "sixth sense" about it, I am terrible at theory crafting. So guides like this are really valuable to me. I am leveling my BH as a healer (not bothering with the DPS tree--other than a few in the middle tree that improve healing and armor). I played an end-game raid healer (cloth healer) in another game for four years and loved it... I am loving my heavy armor healer even more! I even love healing PuGs--sometimes they are a challenge and it pushes me (and I come out a better healer that way). As for my first "real" group healing attempts last night, I did okay and no one died, but I felt I could have done better. I really think this guide will help me. First thing I am going to do is change my keybinds since I didn't realize how rapid shots worked (I knew "how" to use it, just not what it was capable of doing). That will be my #3 key though--for some reason, the way I hold my hands on the keyboard, that's an easier key for me to spam. Any tips for soloing as a healer? I am doing okay (I rely a lot on death from above--lol). But sometimes it's a bit of a challenge since my DPS is getting noticeably slower. If it ends up being slow DPS, so be it. Like I said, in my last game I leveled a healer as a healer (no DPS options), so it's nothing new to me. But if there is some way to improve things, I am all for it. Also, what companion is best for a Bodyguard? I can't wait to ditch Mako (she's redundant), but I've gotten various opinions on the best replacement. I am thinking Blizz would work well.

Datacrons... ugh! I am so glad the guildie that helps me find these is so darn patient. I think if my jumping skills were better I would complete them in half the time. Let's just say I am glad the developers can't hear what I am saying about them in Vent when I am trying to get to one on top of a bunch of pipes on Corusent.