Reducing the amount of NPC knock backs in solo questing content doesn't make it easier. It makes it less annoying. In fact, if they replaced some of the knock backs with damaging casts that needed to be interrupted, the experience would be more difficult and more fun.

I have been PvPing primarily as a sentinel/marauder since beta. This thread is not about PvP knockbacks and if you bother to read the thread title that should be abundantly clear. Knockbacks in PvP are fine (and I speak as someone who almost never plays as a class that can use one). They are fine because there are ways to respond to, plan for, and counter them in a way that rewards you for doing so. The same does not apply to the NPC abilities I noted above. As an aside - not all PvP habits should be transfered to PvE. Yes, I am looking at you, Tank-Who-Can't-Stand-Still-And-Forces-Melee-DPS-To-Chase-The-Erratic-Way-You-Make-The-Boss-Move.

I spent a good deal of my evening running through much of Makeb tonight for really the first time. I wish I could say that my overall impression was that I enjoyed the atmosphere and the storyline. Unfortunately, I am left feeling more annoyed than anything. This is due to my character being a melee class and the seemingly inexplicable abundance of minor knockbacks and immobilizing effects that a huge amount of creatures on that planet possess. Here are the problems with doling out crowd control effects generously to Strong and Elite NPCs that players fight while questing: While forcing a player to deal with being stunned, immobilized, or knocked back can be an opportunity to lean how to better play, pretty much none of the instances I faced tonight could really serve as a learning experience. Firstly, when I am moving from one combat encounter to another, I will generally not be facing the exact same type of enemy often enough to make recognition that "oh, hey, the last one of these had a knockback!" set in. Instead, I am moving from mesa to mesa on Makeb facing a great variety of mobs, and I might only fight 3-4 of the same type of each Strong or Elite mob before I'm done with them forever (or at least until I start running dailies and have to suffer through them again). As a result, I might as well just assume that every silver or gold mob has some form of annoying CC (and I wouldn't be far off on Makeb). Secondly, there's nothing I can do about a knockback, stun, or root when I am a melee dps. Seriously, my options are 1) to hit the thing in the face while being interrupted by CC, or 2) to send my companion in first to be CC'd (which makes little sense because it is most efficient as a melee dps to solo with a healing companion). The only effect of these crowd control abilities is to frustrate me. They do not add additional challenge, unless the challenge is to resist the urge to log off. As I mentioned above, my behavior does not change when fighting a mob with CC vs a mob without CC - it just takes longer to kill the thing. The worst offenders here are the little 5-meter knockbacks that seem to be the most common among Strong mobs. I swear that more often than not, all that these little jolts result in is interrupting my 30-second cooldown Master Strike/Ravage channel, and making me bump a button on my mouse or keyboard to get back in range to keep hitting the thing. Oh, those and things that slow or root me upon knocking me backwards. Those teach me so much about how I hate being slowed and rooted while not being in range to hit the thing. Bonus points for these crummy little knockbacks coinciding with rubber-banding when I run through a pack and hit my Force Sweep/Smash. There's nothing quite like using the ability when you're in range, only to see your character awkwardly sliding across the screen while the graphical effect happens 10 meters from where you just used it, and NOTHING is hit by the attack. As an alternative to throwing small bursts of senseless frustration at us while leveling, how about this: You instead use mobs with abilites that force us to actively respond. When I'm stunned or bounced back, the negative aspect has already happened and I am forced to suffer through it and doomed to suffer it again because there is no adjustment I can make to avoid it while also still killing the thing. As an alternative, make me interrupt stuff or be hit with a stun or knockback!. THIS gives me a learning experience: Something bad happened, but there was actually a way to prevent it that I could put to use! And then once I have interrupted the annoying ability, I am then rewarded for my behavior by being able to actually use my devastating melee channel ability! /endrant //Thought the Talz packs on Ilum dailies were bad enough

The noted exceptions are horrible. Specifically, the Aspiring Knight's gear is pretty unique in that it is non-robe/cape Jedi gear. It is quite popular because it is an example of a very aesthetically pleasing armor set. It is iconic because it most closely resembles what Satele Shan wears. Either make a version of it (and other popular low-level sets) that can be dyed, or start making new armor sets that look like it. You can even preview what this armor would look like if it were dyed, and it looks amazing. What reason is there for excluding some of your best armor from the dye system?

Oh I'm sure it gets invested in the game - technically. It will be invested in making new cash-shop items. The unfortunate thing is that items like this make a ton of money (see WoW's $25 mounts) with relatively little effort and next to nothing added to the game. The success of items like this creates an incentive to keep on focusing on pixel-collectors instead of enhancing the actual gaming experience.

It looks better on female characters. It looks like the hood is tied to the chestpiece though, which is still stupid.

The only time you have to actually move (not turn) your character to use the knockback is if two or more mobs are coming at you from two or more different directions. If that is happening, and you can't survive it, more is wrong with your group than your knockback. That might be a good time for a Force Speed, I think. But you don't like moving at all, apparently, so we'll try to avoid that. You do not have to change targets to use a frontal cone interrupt. All you have to do is turn your camera (hint, use your mouse) to face whatever it is, hit the button, and turn your camera back to face the thing you want to dps (that you still have targeted). The exact same time was lost from dps as it was with the old knock, unless you are really, really, ridiculously bad at turning your character with your mouse. This is SUCH a minor thing for PvE, and if used correctly, it's actually BETTER for it (you can knock the target back before it even gets to melee range!) if you use just a tiny amount of thought when doing it. I'm done with this.

Face them and press the button. Then cast your new free self-heal to make you feel better. I need to stop reading this thread.

You can accomplish the exact same thing : Run / Force Speed Forward Jump, turn around quickly (or just turn around quickly) ???? Profit. (HINT: Step 3 is knockback) OR: Backpedal a couple meters (S-key champions unite!) ???? Profit. They removed the delay on the knockback as well. So you can use the time that would have otherwise been delay to instead position yourself for the actual knockback. I know I'm not going to change the minds of the people who are upset by this (because, honestly, reason cannot win over irrationality incarnate). HOWEVER, by itself, this "knockback nerf" is not a big deal AT ALL for ANY type of play. In PvE, if you pull aggro on a mob, you're already facing the mob anyway, chief. In PvP, it gave too much win for too little skill (for those complaining, play a class WITHOUT a knockback in Huttball and tell me you think blanket aoe knocbacks are fine). And in the hands of a good PvPer, a conal knocback with a 15-meter range is going to be more useful in objective-based gaming anyway (congrats, you just got longer range on your knocback!). I hate to say it, but this is only a nerf if you are a bad player.

Forced moves for the people who refused to transfer off the dead servers. Lots of people (understandably, imo) didn't want to lose the legacy name that they acquired during early access.

They compensated for this. If you need to get distance, you can now pop Force Speed MUCH more often. If you get hit, you get a free, instant self-heal. Force Speed (that thing that you popped to get away), can now remove all roots/snares and make you immune to ensure that you DO get away. You ALSO have a new interrupt immunity, which makes BEING in melee suck less even if you CAN'T get away. You get ALL THAT and you can STILL get everyone off of you with a little footwork and the same knockback button you always used. Skilled Sorcs/Sages are going to be BETTER than they were before. The only people that these changes hurt are those who stubbornly refuse to pick up their game.

I'm assuming he's referring to an older change (which obviously broke powertechs/vanguards, right?) and is just using this thread to grind an axe.

You read one OP's ill-informed thoughts on the subject and you want to cancel your sub? Believe me, Bioware's done (or failed to do) enough to make me seriously consider jumping ship as well, but at least I put some independent thought into my reasons. Read the upcoming changes yourself. Think for yourself.

Sure, they can cry about having to think to knockback, or they can realize that they just got to use Force Speed 3 times per minute instead of 2. You know, in case they want to RUN AWAY from the mobs hitting them in the face instead of spamming a knockback button and wondering why it only hits the direction that the mobs are likely to be coming from anyway. Oh, and If a Sorc/Sage DOES get hit once or twice, it's not like they have an instant, free self-heal or anything now.

PvE got EASIER. Interrupt on Mercs/Commandos. Flat-out buffs to Merc/Commando healers. Sorcs/Sages get a FREE SELF-HEAL every 30 seconds. Consulars/Inquisitors have their Force Speed cooldown reduced by 10 seconds. I'm not sure what the current abilities are for Shadows/Assassins, but it doesn't look like they much of a PvE nerf there either, if any. And OP is whining about having use a tiny bit of thought when he knocks stuff back? Sigh.