Already attempted to get a pseudo-poll going to see who all in the community would like this, however any thread get buried quickly and there is no way to have a specific "Poll" designated area nor is there any way to request a thread get pushed up to "sticky" status. The whole day that my initial thread was visible I had three pages of people who were all for this. My guild (400+ strong) all said that they would love extra character slots to be able to replay story arcs but under a different advanced class, gender, or species; not to mention many want the option to make different decisions (including romance options) through certain story lines. The only way to do that without having to erase existing level 50s or leave the server that our very active guild is on. Extra slots would allow for re-playability, something that Bioware games are renowned for...

It occurs to me that these two tanking classes (The Vanguard Trooper and the Bounty Hunter Powertech) are designed for some sort of melee weapon, yet have no access or ability to utilize one. There are a plethora or tech- and electro- weapons out there, but only used for the companion characters (okay yes, I know that jedi/sith characters can use them as well, but how often do you or are you going to see that?). Perhaps if that was to be an option for these tanking classes, we would see a lot more player diversity out there and make better use of the wide selection of weapons available. [if there was another thread addressing this I could not find it via "search"]

I got to say it absolutely infuriates me that people think this game is failing. Since when is 1.4 million subscribers bad? Yes, some subscribers left. So what? Most gamers don't dedicate more than 2-3 months to any game - PC and console gamers alike. New bright and shiny games came out that pulled the more fickle, short-term memory, attention-deficit gamers to them, at least for now. In the northern hemisphere, it's summer, daylight until 8-9pm which means a lot of people go outside and do stuff in the real world, not the virtual. Why pay for something you aren't using currently when you can come back? i.e.: It isn't new - means a subscription drop. It's summer - means a subscription drop. It doesn't help that "gaming journalists" come to these forums (which are generally populated with people complaining since the players that like the game are actually playing) and see all the flaming, trolling, and QQing as part of their "research" and go blog up some "news" somewhere about the game failing. This creates a vortex of stupidity and misinformation that feeds itself and makes people jump ship "before it really gets bad." It's freaking nonsense. But when you have Bioware (or most likely EA [voted worst company ever, btw]) giving away the first 15 levels to anyone that wants to try it out, it lends itself to that "Epic Fail" mentality that we've seen with many games (star trek online most notably). I know there are some hopefuls out there that think that this will lead to increased subscriptions and I pray it does. I don't think it needs more per se, but whatever. I think the server consolidation and character transfers will do what needs to be done for those of you who can't find team. Personally my server is thriving and my guild has 20-30 active players every night - not just the weekends which sometimes doubles that number. I understand some people have issues with the few problems that arise from time to time, it's an MMO, it happens - don't like it, go back to your console. But we have had spontaneous events pop up in game (The Rakgoul Event). We're getting expansions, extra races, planets, war zones, a cap raise, space battles and a plethora of new content for our tiny - yes, tiny - subscription fee. We are not being forced to buy new races in some kind of Bioware store, we don't have to run out or pay to download the new content and we get random surprises for our money. If this game goes free to play, ALL of that goes away. I am definitively NOT happy with f2p to 15. Special free weekend passes, special free trial weeks, give away passes that you can give to your friends and family for a trial period, a free 14-day trial period - any of these I'm fine with, but free to play for everyone? No -deleted- way! I truly want to rage in such a way that breaks forum protocols with a litany of profanity and attacking specific folks and their respective posts over this, but I will remain restrained and reasonably "professional." But I think that Bioware (if they get a say in this) needs to retract the F2P to 15 thing and wait a full year before they do anything along this route. Let us get through one more holiday season and see where things stand AFTER that. Please. I'm begging. Have faith in your product. This game is fantastic. It has raised the bar for every MMO currently and for the future - all voice acted, vast re-playability within the same class/storyline, vast explorable areas, a fluid, multi-act story arc...and so very much more. Do not let the nay-sayers ruin this MMO. If this one dies, then let them ALL die.

Thank God, I see a lot of rational people screaming "NO!" to this concept. Free to play just means a plethora of micro-transactions which is the death knell of the true MMO. If you aren't willing to pay a subscription, just quit the game. Anything GOOD is worth paying a subscription fee for (your broadband internet, electricity, running water). Games that are outdated are welcome to go Free to Play (for example, I was a subscriber to City of Heroes for 3 years and I feel like I got my money's worth everyday of that three years, going back to it now and looking at the graphics and the lack of added content AFTER I quit, free to play makes sense). Even optional subscriptions combined with Free to Play is desperation incarnate. Look at Star Trek Online: I thought I was going to live there once I heard the game was being made. Atari messed up the game by holding Cryptic back and ultimately sold it to Perfect World - who made it Free to Play with the option of subscriptions - and now the game is a freaking joke. There hasn't been new content for months, nor is there likely to be, there is no endgame to speak of, and the game itself is so dumbed down that a dribbling idiot with a railroad spike permanently imbedded in their parietal lobe could play the game. And you get charged (with REAL money) for everything - new ships, new species to play, and even certain drops (you have to buy keys to open them). Plus Perfect World (I refuse to blame Cryptic) call these new purchasable items "new content." So "NO" to free to play! If you can't afford it or QQing about something you are too impatient to wait for the fix for or for any other reason unhappy with the game, then please quit, no one will miss you, and stop trying to ruin the game (and MMOs) for the rest of us.

This is an attempt to see how many people would benefit from an addition of say 2-4 extra character slots per server. I, for one, have several reasons I think this would be beneficial to many. First off, I know there is some concern over low populations on several servers. With the forth coming character transfers and possible server mergers, I would think that those of us of who have high level characters on several servers would like to find a permanent home for them on higher populated servers, especially if they are a part of an active guild, but may not have room to transfer those characters. This would allow us to have room for those transfers. Second, I think this would help broaden the legacy experience, not just within the ability to have more characters to generate more legacy points and thus reaping the benefits from the higher tiers of legacy accomplishment, but more over it would allow us as players to create a more dynamic "family tree: and thus giving more depth to our respective legacy experiences - an unwritten biography as it were. Third, and most important to me and the Bioware "concept" is the re-playability factor. Knights of the Old Republic - not to mention the Mass Effect series, Jade Empire, The Dragon Age series, and the Neverwinter Nights series - all have wonderful story lines (let's not discuss ME3's ending) that made them infinitely re-playable, especially considering that you can go back and change character classes, gender, race and alignment to see the subtle differences in dialogue, story and endings (one of the reasons I make a point to go back at least once a year a replay each of those titles). With the addition of added character slots, it would allow players to go back through a character class and choose a different race, specialization class, gender, and attitude (light/dark) and see how the same story unfolds - even allowing for different decisions to be made along the way. For me specifically, and to give you an example, I thoroughly enjoyed the Imperial Operative storyline. However, I played him as a Human Operative. I want to go back (once the story is not so fresh in my mind) and play him as a Chiss Sniper. I want to choose a new romance option. And, without giving away a specific spoiler, there is one decision gate early on that I would to choose the different route. But I want to be able to do these things without leaving the server I'm on because of the fantastic guild I'm associate with now (Darth Bandon - <The Republic> and <The Imperial Guard> - we're actively recruiting, look us up on the server or at our guild's web page. We're the largest and most active guild around!). I know that 8 slots already seems plenty. That give players the option of have one of every general class, 4 republic and 4 imperial, or allows the player to have all 8 variant specializations of either the republic classes or the imperial classes (of course, allowing for any mixing and matching variants within). I'm not asking for 16 character slots so that we can have all the various permutations of character classes, but the addition of 2-4 extra slots would seem to me to be within the realm of possible. It would make up for low server populations, allow players to transfer in extra high level characters from other servers, it would bolster the legacy experience and, most importantly, allow for a greater chance for class/story re-playability. Please add your voice to this discussion. I had simply wanted to create a quick and easy poll to judge whether or not there is a shared demand for this, but obviously I am unable to do so. Bioware is famous for listening to players and doing everything within their power to address issues and requests. If you feel this is something that you would not need now or in the future, please say so. If, like me, you almost desperately need a couple of extra character slots, then by all means say that as well. I look forward to seeing how the community reacts to this request and upon reading sensible, constructive discussions on this topic. Remember, it is for Bioware to say whether or not this is even possible, so lets hope we get some input from the Devs and I will attempt to be diligent on getting this answered on a Q & A (as I have tried already). Thank you for you time and input.

In conjunction with the character transfers and server population issues, is there any likelihood of an increase to the amount of character slots per account per server? I know we already have eight character slots and that should represent one of each class (both Imperial and Republic) but only of a specific advanced class (or all eight advanced classes but only of Imperial or Republic factions). Now I'm not asking for sixteen character slots, but in some cases I would like to replay certain story arcs and change my reactions at certain "decision gates." This was (and still is) a huge aspect to re-playability of the original Knights of the Old Republic (which I still go back and replay at least once a year - not to mention the other titles I go back and replay: the Mass Effect series, Jade Empire, the Dragon Age series, the Neverwinter Nights series, etc). Specifically, speaking for myself and to give you an example, I love my Operative character, but I would very much enjoy to go back and play the Imperial Agent as a different species and as a Sniper without leaving the server that my guild is on. I know of others that would like to play the same class (though again as a different advanced class) but as a different gender to see the differences in story there. I believe that there may be more call for extra character slots than have been voiced on the forums, but it would allow players to remain in an active, well-populated server with people they know and typically group with. This could also go a long way to extend the Legacy experience by expanding the "Family Tree" and helping players maximize their Legacy Levels. Two extra slots could potentially be enough and hopefully wouldn't lend itself to server issues, though four would be exceptional. <hint>*cough*<hint> And for the love of all things good in the multiverse, DO NOT charge us for extra character slots with a microtransaction. Microtransactions are the death knell of MMOs as a whole, especially well built and popular MMOs. They are the stuff made to make me Troll out. I hate the concept so much I shiver with rage to even "speak" the word.

From reading one too many forums from all sorts of MMOs, I'm not shocked that the majority of posts in this section are filled with negative reactions. But people, you have to realize this game is still relatively new. One must realize that when this game was released all servers were full. There were wait timers to get logged in. This was because gamers - particularly MMO gamers - are a fickle bunch. Most gamers dedicate 2-3 months (on average) to a game before they go to the "new shiny." We have had Mass Effect 3 released recently (please refrain from commenting on that as I am attempting to do), now we Diablo 3 being released, oh and hey summer is here, most folks go outside now, thus they aren't sitting in front of their computers. All these things will affect server populations. Yes, a consolidation of servers sounds like a great idea now that the "floaters" have moved on to other games, but there is still a MASSIVE group of subscribers playing daily. My guild has an average of 20-25 people on every night and really blows up on the weekends (The Republic - Darth Bandon; check us out we're actively recruiting). I know not all servers have that potential and thus the reason for character transfers. Do research on what servers have a good population, look for guild pages and see how many of the have active players and what servers they are on, do something more than look for all the negative angles and help yourself instead of relying on the devs to fix your woes - they are but human (most of them anyway). With this minimal research, you'll know in advance what server to transfer to. If you have a few buds (or guild) on your existing, but ultra-light server tell them and have everyone transfer. The resolution is not that difficult people, but admittedly it will depend on whether there is a fee or limit to server transfers, let's hope that neither is the case. The fact is (to reiterate) the game has reached its plateau. The fireworks are over, the game isn't the shiny new box on the shelf. But this is still one hell of a game. This MMO has created new precedents and raised the bar for any and all MMOs out there currently and those in development. Give the folks working on this game a bit of time to address these issues and, to be frank, quit your complaining. If you want to quit - then quit. If you want to unsubscribe for a while, go out into the sun, and come back later, then do that. But to come in here and pick apart a very brief video teaser accomplishes nothing, except adds to internet rumor mill about "epic fails" committed by Bioware. Chill out, wait, watch, perhaps sign up for the test server and see what happens. Be critical if you must, but include constructive criticism, address the issue and offer fixes or compromises. Do NOT recommend microtransactions (as someone else posted) because that is the death knell of any and all MMOs (at least true and well made MMOs), just look at Star Trek Online, Dungeons and Dragons Online, and many others. Not to mention, that is a topic that makes me want to troll out. One "fix" I would like to see offered, particularly with the addition of character transfers (and something that I think might also help with server populations) is more character slots per server. True, we have eight already, however speaking for myself, I have at least one character class that I would like to replay as a different advanced class (specifically I would like to have my Operative and a Sniper). Dual speccing (when it hits) will help a lot with alternative play styles, especially on the fly, but there are story "decision gates" I would like to go back and replay through to see how it unfolds and how the subtle differences in the story play out (one of my favorite aspects of the original KoTOR - which I still go back and play annually) without having to leave the server my guild is on. Just my two bits on something I would like to see as soon a developmentally possible.

Yes, I tend to agree. Powertechs and Vanguards seem perfectly suited to use some form of melee weapon. With the new legacy powers for unarmed combat, again where is the use for melee weapons on classes that seem perfectly to fit with these? It is my understanding that at some point within the development of the game, that Powertechs and Vanguards indeed got to the option to use melee weapons, but that it was removed for some reason. Perhaps if we, as a rational, polite community, request en mass for the return of said option, that we would have a lot more player diversity and a use for a whole slew of weapons that are - generally - only being used by our NPC companion characters (most of which are even used that often).

Storyline/Writing: 10/10 Compelling, witty, and engaging dialogue and characters. Lots of continuity!! Voice Acting: 11/10 (Nigel Tufnel rating) *look it up if you don't get it* Graphics: 8.5/10 Still having strange, wire-frame tracers a lot. Sound Effects: 9.0/10 All but perfect, I get occasional popping and sound loss Musical Score: 10/10 John Williams would be proud. The action "stings" subtle and perfect. Crafting: 6.0/10 Mainly a joke, unless you take slicing or Biochem. Simple, but generally useless as mission completion awards and commendations purchases are generally better than anything I've been able to craft thus far. And I've tried artifice, sythweaving, cybercraft, and armscraft. Admittedly, the only one I've gotten to any level to truly be able to tell is cybercraft, none-the-less I have seen a consistency amongst most MMOs lately to do this. However, I'm sure there's at least one of you chomping at the bit waiting to tell me how my opinion is wrong. So go for it. Combat: 9.0/10 I wish there was a feature that would allow you to be able to lock perspective onto a target. i.e.: I'm tired of seeing "Not Facing Target" as both a melee user and an active pvp-er. If there was a simple, clickable option (as in many other MMOs and games) to have the ability to target lock I, at least, would very much appreciate it. Service: 9.5/10 I had issues that need to be resolved over the phone, I was treated well and professionally and the issue was relatively resolved quickly. The only problem I have had thus far was reporting a graphics glitch where an npc was stuck and thereby made completing the mission more difficult. The response I got was clinical to the point of being rude (anyone having to deal with the DMV knows what I mean by this). I had given them a rather detailed explanation including coordinates and they responded like I was making thinly veiled negative comments about their mother. Overall: 9.5/10 This is not a mathematical mean between all the other ratings, however this game gives me almost everything that I want and everything I expect from a Bioware game. There's tiny preference things that I have expressed somewhat and some others I'd like to see that are all but meaningless but, would be a bit more convenient (like having the ability to go into my ship without it "launching" every, bloody time).