Can't help but throw my two cents in here regarding the Han Shot first thing... First, nobody believes shooting somebody with a gun pointed at you who just told you that they could arrange to have something taken over your dead body makes you a cold blooded killer. That's called self defense. So, let's look at the scenario... The way the fans want it... Greedo sits two feet from Han... Han realizes Greedo is about to squeeze off a bolt, and at this range, there's no way he could miss, so Han preemptively pulls out his own blaster under the table and fires first, the shot hits, causing Greedo's aim to veer and hit the wall near Han's head. The way Lucas wants it... Greedo sits two feet from Han... Han realizes Greedo is about to squeeze off a bolt and pulls his own blaster out under the table. Even so, Han sits there and lets a shot get off, counting on the fact that this bounty hunter has such horrible, horrible aim that he can't hit a large, non-moving target that's sitting two feet away. Han's incredibly stupid gamble pays off, Greedo does in fact miss the broad side of a barn, and then Han shoots him. Which of those is the better story? It's not about wanting Han to be a cold blooded killer, it's about not wanting Greedo to be such a worthless Bounty Hunter that he can't hit somebody sitting right in front of him, and not wanting Han to be an idiot who just sat there and let himself get shot at from near point blank range.

1) Star Wars world is dirty and gritty in the originals. In the prequels it's all sterile CG environments. 2) No Han Solo type character. 3) No memorable lietmotif. In the originals, you could tell who was on screen and what was happening just by the soundtrack. You could tell when the camera was pointed at Luke when he was swinging his lightsaber, or the exact moment that Vader dies, just by listening to the music.

Can't help but throw my two cents in here regarding the Han Shot first thing... First, nobody believes shooting somebody with a gun pointed at you who just told you that they could arrange to have something taken over your dead body makes you a cold blooded killer. That's called self defense. So, let's look at the scenario... The way the fans want it... Greedo sits two feet from Han... Han realizes Greedo is about to squeeze off a bolt, and at this range, there's no way he could miss, so Han preemptively pulls out his own blaster under the table and fires first, the shot hits, causing Greedo's aim to veer and hit the wall near Han's head. The way Lucas wants it... Greedo sits two feet from Han... Han realizes Greedo is about to squeeze off a bolt and pulls his own blaster out under the table. Even so, Han sits there and lets a shot get off, counting on the fact that this bounty hunter has such horrible, horrible aim that he can't hit a large, non-moving target that's sitting two feet away. Han's incredibly stupid gamble pays off, Greedo does in fact miss the broad side of a barn, and then Han shoots him. Which of those is the better story? It's not about wanting Han to be a cold blooded killer, it's about not wanting Greedo to be such a worthless Bounty Hunter that he can't hit somebody sitting right in front of him, and not wanting Han to be an idiot who just sat there and let himself get shot at from near point blank range.

First, you seem to really, really, really underestimate how much advantage having an unlimited use item gives you. Second, These are just the first two I found by going do the Dev Tracker and searching for the word "craft."

I guess I should have also mentioned then that I'm 400 Biochem on my Bounty Hunter, and guess what? I couldn't believe how ridiculously overpowered my stuff is. I picked it back during early access just because, and yeah, it DOES need nerfing. The other classes definitely need buffs, or more accurately a consumable and a skill-user only craftable, but Biochem is way too powerful. If they left Biochem alone and brought everything else to the equivalent of where Biochem is, then every crafter would be making stuff leaps and bounds above the highest tier raid gear. That's how good Biochem is right now. They've said they are going to be buffing the other skills, but if they brought them up to reasonable usefulness, Biochem would STILL be better. That's why it's getting nerfed.

I couldn't help but find this amusing. I have 400 Artifice on my main, and if they nerfed the crap out of it, I don't think I would even notice. I spent a couple days getting a few pieces of daily and PvP gear and every single thing I can craft became obsolete.

To ACTUALLY answer your question because I read your post, no. The level of the armoring/barrel/hilt that you place in an orange item determines the base stats. So if you put a level 50 armoring into an orange item you got at level 20, the item would then become level 50 and base stats would scale appropriately.

I apologize for assuming you read my post earlier in the thread.

Who said this was the most important issue in the game? It's a very minor thing, but still, it does break immersion. Those more important things, yeah, there are already dozens of threads about those. And given the fact that Bioware put such an emphasis on the voice acting, it seems like a discussion on where they went right or wrong or how this is being received by their customers is a discussion they'd like to hear. And of course I can't say for sure, but an issue that effects one of their 4 pillars (story) is probably considered important to them, then it stands to reason that discussing where the storytelling can use some improvement is a relevant discussion when it's talking about an aspect they consider to be 25% of gamemaking.

/sigh I give up, internet. It's totally impossible to make a point without somebody trying to reduce your argument to reductio ad absurdum. Say you have an issue with part of the game, and you get accused of whining about every single aspect. Give an example you think might help one or two issues, and you get told the devs can't change the whole game for you. Say maybe they should have recorded only the CATCH PHRASE lines 3 - 4 times for variance, and somebody starts saying it's ridiculous or inefficient to record 100 variations of things like "yes" or "I will do it." And for reference, the only reason why that is even a suggestion is BECAUSE of the high production value of the voice acting, not in spite of it.

After spending a bit of time at endgame, I have to throw my hat in with the OP, in a manner of speaking. The issue for me isn't that enrage timers don't do their job. They do. The issue is that it's the least creative and satisfying way you could possibly increase the difficulty of an encounter. I guess it was just my unrealistic expectations of Bioware, but when I started tanking hard modes, I expected at least the bosses to exhibit at least one or two new mechanics to challenge the group. Simple things, like summoning some adds to chase you around when you're supposed to be LoSing the boss, or a boss that now sometimes channels lightning all over the place to force the fight to be more healer intensive. Even adding an enrage timer to a few bosses that seem like it fits the fight would be acceptable, but Bioware took the least satisfying and creative approach to upping the difficulty by adding the timer to every single boss as the sole defining factor between Hard Mode and normal. I guess what I'm saying is I was expecting Hard Modes to actually require more skill, not just better gear. Clearly I was expecting too much.

"Helping others is both a duty and an honor." Jedi Knight The real immersion problem here, I think, stems from what was mentioned in an earlier reply, and that is inflection and timing. Yes, people say the same things every day, but go find two different sound bytes of somebody saying a catch phrase, and I guarantee you'll be able to hear a difference in the two, even if the same words are being used. The problem is that during dialogue it seems like natural conversation, natural conversation, hold up a micro-recorder and play back a response I recorded earlier, natural conversation... Now, I realize that the sort of endless variance like when an actual human says something more than once is not feasible, but I at least think that for each one, they should have had the voice actor simply record the same line three or four times. Even if they say the same catch-phrase, it sounds like the phrase is actually being repeated by your character, not replayed from a previous recording.

The method I've been using which has kept me well geared is first to make sure to prioritize getting orange gear into a slot whenever it is possible. From there, I would quest on a planet, collecting commendations and only modding my items with quest rewards. The reason for this was early on I noticed that I would buy a mod or a piece of gear with my commendations, only to receive an equal or better item from a quest shortly thereafter. Always take the mod/gear upgrade (but only pick a gear upgrade if the gear you're wearing in that slot isn't orange already) from a quest reward. The reason is because picking up that mod by passing up the commendation is essentially purchasing that mod with a single commendation instead of 2 or 7 at the vendor. If you don't need the mod, there is no mod upgrade offered, no orange reward to swap a green with, and no upgrade to a green item, then pick the commendation. Never pick the lock box. It's a trap. After every single possible quest has been turned in for a planet and the rewards gathered (including turning in the final "Use your ships's Holoterminal"), I return to the commendation vendors and begin spending my commendations, by this point it's usually between 20 - 30 commendations. This method usually allows me to start the next planet decked in the best possible gear I could be wearing (and a lot of the time I have enough commendations left over to upgrade a lot of my main companion's gear as well). Throwing in a level appropriate Flashpoint between planets also helps, but really, not by much.

All I can say is just wait until you're fifty and you'll likely feel quite different. 1) Spending the last few weeks tanking at level 50, I can honestly say that I cannot remember the last time Sundering Strike being on CD was at all a problem. A Saber Throw, Force Leap, and your Combat Focus ability, you can start every pull with a full focus bar. Use a Sweep and then Sundering Strike, and you're STILL at full focus. Lower the cost of your riposte, increase the frequency damage can generate focus, and cast Blade Storm while it's free. I recall it being a bit frustrating early and mid-game, but by the time you're fifty, you'll pretty much have unlimited focus. No juggling necessary. 2) This I also thought was necessary at mid-game, until I realized that 90% of the mobs in Flashpoints are normal and strong, not Elite, meaning that the other party members are able to take them out with little or no danger to themselves or extra strain on the healer. I think the misconception here is that the tank is supposed to be the only one being attacked at all times. Flashpoint and class design seem to suggest otherwise, which I like. Instead of the way other MMOs do it where for some reason my awesome endgame character goes down in one hit from every mob in the dungeon, my Mercenary is quite capable of taking on a few mobs in a pull without the tank babysitting me. Long story short, there should only be one or two enemies in a pull that really pose a threat to the group, and those are the ones you can focus on. Let the rest of your group be heroes too :-) And eventually you'll have Challenging Call and the spammable Cyclone Slash to help keep groups on you when it's necessary. 3) This too, I believe is simply because you're not endgame yet. At fifty, I have no shortage of buttons to press at any given time. The balance is off for mid-game, but at endgame, everything seems to come off CD right about the time I need it. Also, better gear means you'll have not just way more health, but higher defense, shield, and absorb ratings. And since those increase by percentages, it means at level fifty you will be avoiding damage more often and your shield will proc more often and absorb a greater percentage of damage, so your Wards can be saved for real OS moments. 4) I flip-flop on liking it and not liking it. Sometimes I think it matches the fighting style, sometimes I'm like, c'mon, it's not a baseball bat :-P I guess the moral of my story is, just hang in there, and it'll all change when you get to fifty, and until then, I do think Bioware could do with rearranging the levels at which certain talents and abilities are given so lower level tanks don't feel gimped.

Bump. This got pushed to the second page almost immediately and the third page almost as quick :-P