Have you seen the prices at 50? Some inflation was necessary. The amount of inflation it was providing was not. It needed a) level caps and b) a ~50% nerf (instead of the 71% nerf). Space missions still 'inflate' the economy more than slicing anyway. They always did, even pre-nerf space missions made more credits/hour than slicing. Only difference was you couldn't have alts all making slicing. Which the level caps and a 50% nerf would have largely fixed, as then it would be more profitable to spend that time on one character and grind/farm than constantly log in/out swaps.

Exactly. They are obviously worth more to the in-game society than the casual players, so the casual players should take the shaft. /sarcasm In all seriousness, people need to stop pushing their beliefs on the community and start realizing that this game is meant to have FUN. Fun for some people (myself included) means hardcore raiding. Fun for others means logging in every now and then and having a good time. Fun for others is exploring the many aspects of crafting. Who is to say that one way to have fun is the only way? Why can you not appeal to everyone? That was the inherent purpose of slicing, in my point of view. And from what I heard from more of the casual player set, it worked.

Well put. There are so many people acting like it's perfectly okay in its current form...but they will never be the ones taking up slicing. Instead, they are the ones who feel like they've been disadvantaged early on and so this is 'what those filthy slicers get' for picking a crew profession Bioware implemented in the game. And I also love the arguments that indicate BioWare intended for slicing to be used differently than, you know, Bioware implemented it to be used. I fail to understand that logic. They created the system, I'm relatively certain they know better than people here what their design goals are.

Ah, but then you're talking about messing with their professions. That's just uncalled for and unjust, obviously. In truth, though, the entire crew system needs to be reworked.

Except mission discovery rate also appear to be nerfed. And right now, everyone on the GTN is too scared to spend any decent money. Thanks though. You should pick up Slicing since it's apparently such a great choice still. Makes me giggle that a large percentage of those saying slicing is still viable don't, in fact, have slicing. They just feel this way because they felt slighted before without it. One more thing...why would anyone in their right mind go gathering lockboxes when they can do space missions for larger profit / hour than slicing was before the nerf. Great idea. Fun times.

Wrong. All gathering professions can use companions to go out and retrieve materials. I'm sure BW made a mistake by letting them do it, right? Since because you believe everyone should go out and 'gather,' it must be the truth. As for your secondary point, what are the other gathering professions then? I send my companions out on UWT missions and sell for a profit. That requires no effort either, should we just nerf that too? Or perhaps because it's not in the form of 'credits,' then the limited perspective some people have makes it somewhat different. Sad how limited everyone's points of view are.

I feel the same way. They have 19 more days to respond with their reasoning and provide a workable solution to the crew skills in general. I cancelled my re-subscription...and once (if) communication improves I will re-sub. I just want to re-iterate a key point I still feel a lot of people are missing. There are so many people who talk about how 'broken' slicing was. These people were largely, unfortunately, not 50. Or even close. The costs as you approach and then hit 50 are _much_ higher than most of you seem to believe. Yes, slicing was overpowered for those leveling up. Overpowered meaning it provided money for casual players to purchase their skills, mounts, bank tabs, and spend a fair amount at the AH leveling up without having to have a main or farm to do it. This is why the idea of level caps on gathering professions would be so successful (not completely remedy the situation, but certainly help). Had level caps been implemented, you wouldn't have level 30s running around with a 400k credits making everyone around them believe that it was a lot. Slicing was made for casual players who do not _want_ to spend their time roaming around looking for lockboxes, farming space missions throughout the day, the thing most of us hardcore players don't mind too much. Please remember, not everyone is a hardcore or even semi-hardcore player. This game has been targeted to casual players for a long time now, and I know a lot of my friends who quit MMOs in general came back for this game just for that reason. It's a fine balance to cater to hardcore players and casual players in the same game. Slicing, in my opinion, was a great avenue that opened up a lot of otherwise unattainable things to the casual player.

Actually, I had a mate doing something very similar to this (using one alt, not 5-8 characters) with UWT pre-nerf, and was making a substantial amount. We never did any math, but his profits were good...very good. He did it with a Sith Warr too They do indeed get their companions nice and early. But this was also back when slicers were putting money into the economy.

Er, no. When you're making a post, you can choose a text color by selecting the 'A' drop-down. I choose Cyan because I like the color, and I think it makes posts easier to read. I do not intend to mislead anyone, my apologies. For reference, here is what a Community Rep's post looks like (scroll to the bottom): http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=91503&page=164 I don't know how to say this to be politically correct, but the main reason is the same as what I previously quoted. The people saying slicing is currently fine will not ever pick up slicing in its current form - they already leveled up other professions. They felt slighted due to what they felt was an advantage that slicers got pre-nerf, and therefore feel the nerf is justified. If you apply what they are saying to the gathering skills they pursue well, then, I doubt most of them would be very happy with you Actually, some of those materials (read: have potential) to be worth quite a bit. Right now, that potential is not met due to the lack of trading which is due to the slicing nerf. The players who were level 15-25 complaining about slicing are now levels 25-40 and realizing how expensive stuff is getting. They are unable to sell their wares to level 50s because these level 50s are struggling to afford their repairs and just finished paying for their *extremely expensive* skill upgrades 46-50, let alone let the budget allow for superfluous spending. TH currently is a 'credit generator' as you put it. It's just not such to the degree that slicing was, and everyone is telling everyone to keep quiet about it for fear of another nerfbat. Interesting idea, I somewhat like the aspect of turning a BoP into a BoE. Part of me hates it, but I think that part is largely due to my prior MMO experience. It could certainly be an interesting mechanic, and would still require several 'guild slicers'

I viewed this post and I am glad I did. Those that are 50, how long did it take you to reach it? Better yet, those that are 30, what is your /played time? And actual IRL time? This isn't WoW. Exp slows down substantially when you close in on the 40s. I would have still preferred XP to be gained slower, but again my casual vs hardcore argument comes into play so I am okay with where it is at now. I remember people being exulted when they hit it on the fourth day. Two days? Less? Come now... Edit: I will further my point a little bit. (note: this is based on the idea that gathering professions will be level-capped and character swapping is done at level 50) Were slicing to be nerfed to a reasonable amount (I consider 40-50% pre-nerf to be reasonable, it was nerfed 71% according to the math), then the amount gained by 5 characters swapping with companions would still be vastly less than someone focusing on one character and just simply grinding. The difference here is that in one, they are spending time logging in/out of characters constantly and in the other, they are spending time constantly grinding. Both are time sinks. The latter will almost guaranteed gain more than a ~50% slicing nerf, rendering it pointless to do the aforementioned character swapping. I'd be better off doing space missions at level 30!

I feel obligated to mention (and I will go back and edit my original post, thank you for reminding me) that I was made aware that the Community Posters are not allowed to take a stance on issues such as these. It is reserved for the 'higher ups.' Granted, I still maintain full belief that we *should* hear a response from a developer / community manager. My loathing for the nerfbat being hit so hard so early on after release still exists, but I am hoping that we hear a response within a couple days. After all, I'd rather them deliberate on the subject and come up with a proper solution than a knee-jerk reaction again, wouldn't you? Thank you for the feedback, that is exactly what I was hoping for! I actually wanted to RP there a little at the end (It's been a long time since I RP'd in an MMO). The decrease was for all lockboxes - those found on the planets as well as those found via crew missions. I have 400 slicing, and to address your second point, there is no increase in the lower yield nodes, nor have I ever seen one (even pre-nerf). The middle level range of lockboxes, however, did not agree with the outer (both high and low) ranges, which was addressed specifically in the patch notes.

Hence why slicing made the game more accessible for the casual players, which to me is the reason it was placed in the game to begin with. I would definitely like to see a level cap placed on all gathering professions, as well as a smaller nerf in contrast to what has been done.

This is one of my favorite things that has been said in all 170+ pages. Those saying it is fine now wouldn't take it. That's entirely the point. Most of the people saying it is fine are saying that out of bitterness to how it was before. I've yet to see one person near max level saying "Slicing is currently fine. I use slicing as a profession, here is why I prefer it over [insert gathering profession].

That's a fair point. Honestly, when I initially started playing in the beta, I saw the time duration and was excited because, well, I was hoping for a crafting system where I send my companion out for 1-3 days at a time to come back with (crosses fingers) an incredible item. Or maybe just an item. Or some mats. Granted, I think that time frame should be reserved for only the highest quality items, but I originally hoped for it. Time duration could fix this. However, even being more of a hardcore player, I loved Bioware for making the game accessible to casual players. I have mixed feelings about long time duration for the casual players. On one hand, a 3 day mission means not having to log in every day - which some may consider an advantage. On another, the instant gratification most casual players seek isn't there. I'm not a casual player, so I don't know - I'd love to hear their feedback.

Just wait, you'll be 5x that once you're outfitted with better gear. And that's not even counting in the fact that none of us are even close to 'best in slot' gear yet. The GTN working smoother would alleviate some of the issue. If it became more accessible and easier to use perhaps we would see more buyers. Then again, everyone's currently scared to spend money due to the slicing nerf. You hit it spot on Someone previously mentioned that the current repair system / training costs were built based on the beta. Well, in the beta, our characters 'reset' frequently. Picking up slicing to make for an easier time affording the mounts / skill training / bag space was an obvious choice. Then the release came out, and that 'obvious choice' was no longer a short term choice. However, the prices remained. Slicing was not a 'must have' for every character in the guild. However, having several characters with slicing made it practical, because they could foot the bill for others' repair costs and professions. Please note, I do not agree with this. I would rather see the cost system restructured than to have to rely on several people in a guild to continually generate income to operate fluidly. I whole heartedly agree that the prices in general need to be re-evaluated before slicing is addressed. I would like to see the entire crafting system re-evaluated, but that would take a major overhaul and a lot of time.

Thank you for the answer, it reinforces my earlier comments regarding the pre-nerf level disparity and slicing profits.

Just curious. What level are you currently in the game? The reason I ask that brings back my original point regarding how I feel about level caps. At level 50, the nerf isn't quite 'fine.' At earlier levels, however, it would seem more justifiable. It turns a small profit (read: very small, more money can now be made via TH...just through missions). However, with a 40k repair bill, we're forced to spend a reasonably large amount of time farming lowbie heroic area spawns for money. The GTN currently is out of whack, everyone is too scared to spend credits, and the popular slicing spots now have 5+ people running around them trying to scrounge for money and the nodes are limited. Thank you for this. Not only does it reinforce the opposition to the belief some have that missions should not be profitable, it illuminates an issue many people don't quite grasp. While I don't quite agree with the fix being to eliminate costs from missions, something does need to be done. I don't, however, have a better solution.

Too many people (myself included at one point) are getting trolled by people who have provided no evidence they understand the situation. I just wanted to put this here so the actual discussion can continue. If a person's posts bother you because of their circular nature, just flag it as spam. Unless, of course, it actually has meaningful content. Edit: I also would like to point out that it has been made aware to me that Bioware Community Representatives are not allowed to engage in discussions such as these. So I would like to apologize to any representatives reading this that we don't blame you. But we would really like to see a response, possibly from a Community Manager Cheers all Agreed. And fun for people of all backgrounds. I myself am more...hardcore PvE...than most people. Hence why the repair bills at level 50 justified slicing gains (not the pre-nerf gains, but gains in general) through missions. However, casual players are not going to be willing to run around Tattoine (or, if they've made it to 50, Illu) just to farm some money for their skills / mounts. Slicing allowed them to actually enjoy the game without having to dump obsessive amounts of time into it.

Except then you're (forcing)encouraging players to purchase credits. =/

Give them your feedback then. Cancel your re-subscription. I did. I love the game so far, I really do. There are a bunch of bugs that I believe need fixing, a bunch of playability issues I would love to see fixed down the line. But it has the makings to be a good game. The thing I cannot stand is the lack of communication between BW/EA and the players. The slicing nerf is one example. The entire PVP forums are another. I won't put up with it again. Hopefully if they see enough people cancelling their re-subs, they will actually start listening and communicating with the playerbase.

He's like one of those religious people that goes around trying to convert everyone to their own beliefs. As someone told me earlier, don't feed the troll

Just wait until you either have to spend half your time in the game farming for credits or go back to purchasing credits from farming sites to be competitive. So much for the casual players.

This is the truth. Which is why level caps should have been implemented before launch. Sad part is, we've all pretty much decided the knee-jerk reaction was too much, and still have yet to see a response. To me, the lack of a response from Bioware is them waiting for the dust to settle, for everyone to slowly lose their rage over the issue, then hopefully forget about it...and never issue a response. And, if this is the case, I will not be supporting this game past the trial period. I already cancelled the re-subscription to wait and see what is going to happen. I hope others do, and I hope they see that they need to communicate WITH the community in order to make this game function well and exceed previous MMOs. The moment I hear communication elaborating on this issue, explaining their decision and talking about their future plans, I will sign back up for my recurring 6mo plan. I waited for this game for a very long time, bought the LCE, but I do not want to start playing another MMO just to be abused the same way we were in SWG and WoW. It's just not worth it.

You've been very lucky I'm still posting losses or minimal gains on most of my G5 Riches.

The nerf to slicing annoys me due to the thoughtlessness of the act. The lack of Bioware's response is what truly irritates me.