Do you have his healing abilities assigned to hotkeys? You can force him to heal.

I wish there was greater value to having legacy level 25+. I also wish we could spend legacy points to unlock features as opposed to credits. Sure, credits are easy to get too, but 5,000,000 for the GTN is nothing to scoff at, especially if you are a casual player. I agree, though, that the legacy system is one of their most prominent features that separates them from the other MMOs. That, and the leveling system (which in turn feeds the legacy system). I wouldn't mind seeing legacies have a "talent point" system in the Global section similar to how WoW guilds can choose to level up certain features that make repairs cheaper or group teleports. Each player could customize their legacy bonuses to fit whatever playstyle suits them best (PvP bonuses, leveling bonuses, raid bonuses, etc.)

You get the monthly allowance for free as part of your $15/month. You also are likely getting a sizable amount of "back pay". They are not implementing anything that would force you to buy more cartel coins, so its up to you whether or not you spend more than $15/month. It's an MMO, the very nature of this business model is to constantly dangle new carrots in front of you to keep you paying and/or playing. They shouldn't have to give you everything immediately and for free--you're already getting plenty for your money's worth and if you ever determine that you aren't, feel free to cancel.

1) Sounds an awful lot like the just released pet battle system from Mists of Pandarian, but it would be setting appropriate. 2) Quests from a localized "bounty board" isn't unique, but it would add convenience. 3) Definitely setting appropriate, but gambling isn't anything new. 4) Lightsabers could certainly form for the basis of a "Legendary Item" system similar to LOTRO, but you would have to come up with a similar format for blasters and I'm not sure it would have the same appeal to non force classes. I'll stop here and sum up my point that it's hard to be original these days. In fact, of the above items the most novel/unique is probably LOTRO's Legendary Item system where the items themselves take on an MMO advancement quality of their own. All of your ideas are good; I'm not knocking them. But if your complaint about SWTOR is that it isn't complete, I'll suggest to you that it's in year 2 of its post-release development cycle, not year 7 (WoW). If your complaint is that it's not unique enough, well...it's hard to be unique these days and still compete in the "Must-be-like-WoW" market. Even expanding on the space exploration and combat systems would draw comparisons to Eve Online. But, if they could somehow incorporate the updated graphics that we have for the current space rail shooter missions and expand it into a sandbox exploration/combat design--that would definitely be something. There's plenty of things they can do to make the game feel more like a Star Wars game, and there's plenty of things can do to make it feel more like World of Warcraft, but all of those take time and money to implement and saying that it should have all be done and complete by year one isn't fair.

How is EA supposed to add new content without new revenue? Clearly, the current model is struggling (vast reduction in subscriptions and servers). Money isn't going to fall out of the sky. Switching to F2P isn't an attempt to draw blood from a stone, but rather to draw in new users that may create additional subscribers down the road. The alternative isn't adding a bunch of new content (which costs time, money, etc.), the alternative is shutting down the servers.

1) The voice over work IS the true content. I understand your point about it being harder to expand upon than text based questing, but the voice over work is what is innovative in the MMO industry. This is the unique feature of SWTOR (and one of the main reasons I came back after playing Guild Wars 2--which had a horrible storyline) 2) You laundry list features you wish were in the game, but concede they've already been done. How about listing 3-4 "innovative" ideas that haven't been done by WoW, EQ, GW2, Lineage, etc. It's not as easy as you think. The industry has been saturated by MMOs since WoW exploded. GW2 tried to be "innovative" by straying from the holy trinity concept and its a muddled mess. Please list 3-4 completely new ideas you want to see implemented that have NEVER BEEN DONE IN ANY GAME EVER BEFORE. Good luck. 6) Your points in paragraph 6 assume EA is willing to pour additional capital into SWTOR without an uptick in additional revenue or the possibility of revenue. SWTOR opened at approximately $250 million and wasn't anywhere near the hit they thought it would be. If you were head honcho at EA, would you really pony up more money before you see the subscriptions or player base increase? The world isn't made of money. League of Legends proved you can make money hand over fist with the F2P model if done correctly. LOTRO has tried implementing it in the MMO model and I'm not sure how much actual profit they're making, but its beginning to be adapted for this genre.

I'd love to see Warzones bracketed similar to WoW's 1-10, 11-19, etc. system or based upon average ilvl of your gear. The problem? The playerbase is too small and this will never happen. Que times would be too long and people would complain about that instead.

The likely result is that F2P players will band together in their own guilds (sanctioned or not) since they will have similar restrictions.

The goal of the subscription/free to play dichotomy is to give you a taste of the full game with incentives to pay for more. If they give you enough WZs to complete your daily and weekly for free, there's a good chance a large block of subscribers will cancel and continue forward with the F2P model having lost no tangible reward other than some valor points (for games beyond the daily/weekly threshold). In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if the OP was complaining because that's exactly what he planned to do when this system takes effect. BioWare is already giving players the entire PvE game for free--to expect more makes me think you want to freeload off BW/EA.

There's plenty of PvE servers to roll on if you don't enjoy being killed/griefed on Ilum.

1. 8/16 man ops with significantly weaker bosses/mechanics so that casual players can see the content without the pre-requisite Daily/BH comm grind (similar to WoW's Looking for Raid system) 2. More customization for your ship -- this could be the gateway to player housing that is so often lacking in MMOs. Additionally, more missions and more impactful rewards to purchase (right now all fleet comms go to buying purple boxes after your upgrades are maxed). 3. Long term: more classes with their unique stories to be told. This is the single greatest feature of SWTOR IMO, but I realize animation work and VO is expensive and very, very time consuming and SWTOR is already under the microscope for end game content, so I'm not holding my breath on this one.

It's not just SWTOR. Ever since I picked up Dragon Age: Origins I've had a hard time playing non-BioWare games. The lack of a good story with high quality voice acting kills it for me unless its a niche genre like League of Legends. DA:O, the entire Mass Effect series, and SWTOR. I tried GW2 and was bored to tears with the PvE in the first week. I did appreciate the non-compete questing in GW2, but hated that you got nominal exp for killing npcs and had to constantly seek out that next quest hub--and killing stuff in between hubs was a worthless waste. If SWTOR could take out the "tagging" aspect and incorporate GW2's cooperative play it would benefit--but the leveling story is great no matter what. I've only played through 2 stories and haven't really grinded out the FP/Ops. It would be nice if there was a ready made "entry level" raid like the WoW Looking For Group feature (read: significantly weaker content/dumbed down mechanics) so that I could see the 8/16 man content without having to grind out the gear/find an appropriate guild. But, regardless of any future PvE developments, I've still got 6 great story modes to go that will keep me busy for a long time (and that's not counting replaying the same story from the other light/dark side).

I haven't had any problems since the 1.4 patch. It certainly didn't affect everyone.

Unless it's a sandbox MMO, there is going to be repetitious end game content--that's the very nature of the modern MMO. You kill the same static bosses over and over to collect loot and improve your character. When you reach the maximum level of gear you either start an alt or you wait for new content to be released. WoW and SWTOR aren't all that different in this regard. The problem SWTOR had, initially, was that it lacked the polish of WoW and other current MMOs, despite having the foresight to see what they did well and did poorly. I quit playing after my initial 30 days of game time was up. I recently re-subscribed because the leveling process and "single player" content is on a level of its own in the MMO universe. I only finished 2 playthroughs (both Sith side) during my initial 30 days and I'm anxious to try the other stories. So far, the Jedi Knight story has not disappointed one bit. This game has a lot of re-playability in that regard and some of the best VO/writing around. I tried Guild Wars 2 and quit after the first week because the storyline was ridiculous and the grind was boring. The RvRvR PvP concept had promise, but I would never have reached level 80 because I was bored to tears. I still have 5 more storylines to explore in SWTOR and then I'll decide if I want to "min max" my characters and hop on the raiding treadmill or battleground grind fest. Chances are I won't, but its because the repetitive nature doesn't appeal to me anymore, which is why I quit WoW. SWTOR can at least hang its hat on its unique leveling and story process--which are hallmarks of a good BioWare game. It's ashame VO/single player content is so expensive and takes time to produce, that's really the strength of a BioWare game and its what sets them apart from the masses.

Are YOU reading what people are saying in response to your original post? The story isn't the same for a dark side Jedi Knight as compared to a light side Jedi Knight. The story isn't the same for a Jedi Knight as compared to a Jedi Consular. There are, at a minimum, 8 unique stories, each with a light and dark side (and neutral options in between). Have you played all 16 aspects of the story mode? Creating story content is expensive and time consuming. There's a reason why BioWare is able to more quickly pump out Mass Effect 3 multi-player content as opposed to single player content. I'm sure right now the main question is whether this game will ever get a true single player expansion beyond additional ops. Will they see adequate return on investment for the animators' and VO time? Probably not, but none of us really know what they're clearing in profit at this point.

Sith Warrior: 9/10 -- Loved it from start to finish and really enjoyed how much it focused on one of my would-be companions. After the final cinematic, I had the "yeah, I'm a ******" feel for this character. Sith Inquisitor: 3/10 -- Chapters I and II were dull. Chapter III got it back on track somewhat, but I felt like I only got 1/3 of a campaign, thus it gets 1/3 of the points. I did like Khem Val though, he made for a very good companion throughout. Just started the Smuggler story but I've heard good things...

I grew up on Ultima Online and long for the freedom to fight anyone, anywhere in the world (town guards notwithstanding). I also miss PvP with consequence. However, I realize it's unrealistic that any game going forward would impose such harsh restrictions, so I'd settle for more FFA zones in SWTOR and would like to see incentives tacked on to populate them. I posted my own topic suggesting Ilum be remade similar to Outlaw's Den, but if Ilum's battleground in the western section of the zone isn't right for FFA given the bases, vehicles and lore, create an entirely new zone with: - FFA fighting between imperials and republics - respawning chests with basic rewards such as consumables/credits/commendations to give incentive for guilds/groups to hold specific areas for a time and not go without compensation in the event they go unchallenged. - Add a nightly event with a chest that spawns ilvl 136-140 PvP epics but takes 60-120s channeled to open so that your guild/group has to successfully hold the area to reap the rewards. The nightly event would always happen at a set time, similar to WoW's Gurubashi Arena so players would know when to show up and it would be a feeding frenzy of PvP. - In its essence, the FFA zone would be like a conquerable "town" that gives its occupants incentive to hold it down and remain there for a time Very few people go to Outlaw's Den because the tangible rewards are almost non-existent and without a pre-planned time its not worth going out there just to stand around.

How so? Right now the world PvP issue is that world PvP doesn't exist or is horribly imbalanced. If Ilum was FFA, then it wouldn't be 100 Imperials vs. 25 Republics, it would be 125 people fighting for their own interests (or their guild's interest). The smaller numbers of Republics also wouldn't have giant bullseyes on their chest because Imperials killing Imperials would also go towards holding the zone/finishing the weekly. It may still be a numbers game with larger guilds controlling things, but outside of the nightly event, couldn't you see smaller groups trying to hold areas for the spawning rewards?

Most people would agree that world PvP is almost non-existent in SWTOR outside of the skirmishes that take place in Ilum. However, server imbalance severely restricts the quality and fairness of those fights. What if the entirety of Ilum was a FFA area similar to the Outlaw's Den on Tatooine? As added incentive to visit Ilum, there would be rewards that spawn at the North, Central and South areas--such as chests filled with merc commendations, credits, consumables or other valuable items. Perhaps at certain times of the day (prime time around 7-8 CST) a chest would spawn in the center of the map at an exact known time that would take 60-120s channeled to open and would contain ilvl 136-140 PvP epics. This would creative incentive for guilds of both factions to try and hold the area as an open world PvP raid event, and the set time of the spawn would draw a large crowd at the a pre-planned time. This idea is similar to the chest that spawned in the Gurubashi Arena in STV for those that played WoW. People would show up at the designated times and duke it out until there was only 1 survivor who could claim the chest. Lastly, have all kills in Ilum (regardless of faction) would count towards the daily/weekly. This would create a "capture and hold" zone with incentives similar to capturing towns back in the old days of Asheron's Call. If you were tired of Warzones, you could PvP 24/7 in Ilum with lesser rewards and then show up for the big event each night. It would also help guilds gear out their new 50s faster than the new bag system and allow veterans in full Battlemaster/Champion to directly gear out their lesser geared guildmates. Thoughts?

Couple of questions for the OP: 1) Have you played through all 4 "starter" worlds on both factions (Tython, Ord Mantell, Korriban and Hutta)? 2) Have you played a character to 50 on both factions? Republic side quests will not be the same as Imperial side quests. 3) Did you enjoy the voice acting on your first few playthroughs? 4) Would you prefer BioWare ditch the voice acting, which is novel for the MMO genre, and instead focus on rushing out more kill X, gather Y quests supplemented only by text instructions/quest logs, so that you have different side quests to level with? You played WoW for 6 years, as did I, so that may be where a lot of your burnout is coming from. It's also a likely reason why you forget how devoid of true end game content WoW had when it was first released. If your standard for fun end game content is the sandbox elements of SWG or other previous MMOs you're probably in the wrong place. I'm not sure how long an MMO can survive strictly on story, but that's what's carrying the ball for now in SWTOR. Personally, I'm hoping they expand space combat/missions in the future as the graphics and easy of controls is appealing. I'm not sure if space PvP will ever work, but I have my fingers crossed. There's going to be limits as to how much "novel" content SWTOR can produce. Publishers, especially mainstream ones such as EA, aren't going to deviate far from the proven path (WoW) until someone else proves you can do it the sandbox way AND be commercially successful.

I recently leveled up a Sith Sorcerer with Biochem and had a question on the Rakata Adrenals. As I understand it, both Power and Force Power modify bonus force damage/healer in the same percentage (.23/.17 respectively). Am I correct in understanding that the Rakata Attack Adrenal provides the same force power bonus as the Rakata Triage Adrenal? I'm wondering which to build first. I imagine the only reason to build the Triage one is to have a 2nd boost while the Attack Adrenal is on cooldown. Could someone confirm if my thinking on this is correct or if there is some reason the Triage Adrenal would be better than the Attack Adrenal (which could be used for both healing and DPS, whereas Triage appears to be only good for healing).

I made it through about 7 pages of this thread and then I couldn't take it anymore. When will people, the OP included, learn that surest way to build a longer term MMO is to create incentive to keep grinding. Whether you think the grind should exist and whether you think the grind is enjoyable is irrelevant in the eyes of the publisher. As long as there is a purpose to the grind, people will continue paying to play and working towards a goal and that is how MMOs make their money. If you want to play a game with pre-generated 100% equal characters that's perfectly fine. But there's a reason why World of Warcraft is a gaming legend and Guild Wars isn't. One was sustainable for 7 years (and going) because of the many hamster wheels laid out for the playerbase. Who knows why people do what they do. But its the purpose of the grind that keeps going them, not the fun of the grind. Then, once they reach the end, they enjoy it for awhile and go looking for the next goal/grind/purpose. Most MMO players, by their nature, need goals to achieve. Keep shouting at the wind and suggesting changes which would amount to an overhaul of the MMO genre. I'm sure someone will do something about it....some day.

I know you were just speculating on the reasons for it, but I'm wondering if you'd agree that 6% crit on all DoTs (the primary form of damage for Watchman) is worth more than 1 extra rage on Force Leap (2 pts) and 12% off-hand damage (1 pt)

Why no points in Insight? The 6% crit affects both DoTs (Cauterize and Overload Saber)

Carnage is less damage, less survivability, more CC (roots). If those trade-offs sound good to you, then feel absolutely justified in playing it. Of course, if you don't care that your damage is less and you enjoy the style/animations/etc of Carnage, then that's fine too.