The Lost Island was the best FP... then they nerfed the **** out of it. Before they nerfed LI, soooo many pubs would complain. They would say things like "its broken" "its not made for melee classes"... ***** ***** *****. Gamers today just do not like a challenge. Its sad.

Being that SWTOR was my first MMO I almost stopped playing after looking at Gen Chat and seeing LFM EV LFG LF2M KP RDPS LFG LF TANK EV G2G lf BH HM I thought to myself "I am gonna have to learn a whole new language to play an MMO"

So this is bad lol. I am sure I will get scorned for this, so let me start by giving a little back story. SWTOR was not only my first MMO, it was my first PC game, and not only was it my first PC game, it was my first RPG. K, so here it is... So I am in my first Flashpoint ever and I am playing my first toon ever. Then I get my first chance to roll on my first piece of gear. Of course I hit need on Strength gear as a Bounty Hunter. The conversation went as follows..... TANK: Damn, bro. Are you really trying to Ninja at such a low level. ME: I am not a Ninja, I am a Bounty Hunter. Bounty Hunters can be Ninjas? TANK: Anyone can be a Ninja. Why did you roll on gear you cannot use? ME: I can use it TANK: lol you are a BH ME: What is a BH? TANK: *********** noob ME: Sorry, I am new TANK: Do not roll on gear you cannot use ME: But it says the gear will upgrade my strength TANK: YOU DO NOT NEED STRENGTH ME: Why? TANK: **** this and then he left lol. Shortly after I googled everything I could about MMORPGs and learned many things. Things like main stat, need vs greed, the trinity, crafting, level appropriate content, rotations, min/max, and so on. Although the noob moments were far and few between after that, I still cringe when I think about my first truly noob moment.

Sorry, some RL happened lol. So it runs pretty well. The surprising thing was that there was little difference in fps between the settings. At med settings (bloom off, shade low, and med visibility) it ran at about 40-50 fps. On high settings (still with shade low) it ran at about 30-40, and only dipped below 30 with high traffic. On the ship and low pop areas it was 60fps on each setting. If you are going to be using the laptop for the screen as well, you will not see much difference in the graphics quality on such a small screen anyway. I guess its kind of like not being able to tell the difference between 1080 and 720 on TVs smaller than 32"

Yup, I have seen it for as low as $700. How much is an SSD for a laptop? Could you put it in aftermarket?

Ok, sorry for the double post, but this thought just occurred to me... Why should Bioware give us cool stuff just because we have played the game for so long? I mean I never viewed max legacy has an achievement. It is no more of an achievement than waiting in the dentist office. All it takes is time, right? Now some of those NiM drops and RPVP rewards are pretty bad ***. It seems Bioware put some time into making some sweet loot for actual achievements, right? I have played since launch, and since launch I have enjoyed my time playing the game. I feel that a good game (minus a few setbacks lol) is reward enough for me. Hell, if you breakdown the hours played vs dollars spent on this game.... I spend literally pocket change per hour to play. By far the cheapest entertainment I have seen. I have spent more on a single bar tab than I spend in a year playing SWTOR. Thanks Bioware!

Yeah, but I think you are going to have to sacrifice the SSD for the graphics, or the graphics for the SSD if you want to keep the price at $700. I know from experience that you do not want to play SWTOR with an Intell HD card running it. Maybe just save a bit and get both. Still waiting for the patch to DL on the laptop. I never actually played SWTOR on it yet. I will test it and let you know the exact fps on each setting. Internet sucks, so it may be tomorrow before I can test it out.

Laptop.. my fault. I thought you were looking for a new desktop. I should have taken more time to read your post lol. This desktop is the ASUS G20AJ http://www.asus.com/us/Desktops/ROG_G20AJ/ I have SWTOR installed on my ASUS laptop though... http://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-aluminum-black/3703007.p?id=1219093053506 You can find this for as low as $700... i7 and dedicated GeForce 745m. I am about to boot it up and see how well SWTOR runs. I have to DL the new patch though, so it will be a sec. I will post the results when I am done.

That graphics card is going to hurt you. I have two cards... Intel HD 4600 and a Nvidia GeForce GTX 760. Last week I moved my PC, and when I hooked everything back up I accidentally plugged the HDMI into the Intel HD port. I ran SWTOR and I had 15fps on high settings, 20-30fps on med, and 60fps on very low. It was terrible and I would not recommend playing this game with anything less than a quality dedicated graphics card. With the GTX 760, i7, and 16gb I can run SWTOR on custom settings with almost everything maxed out and keep 60fps. I paid just under $900 for this PC. I would wait and save a couple more hundred. There is such a big difference between $700 and $1,000 when it comes to gaming PCs.

So I would like to roll a Commando, but the thought of going through the traditional leveling process again sickens me lol. I would like to just finish the class story to where I get my ship, and then level via PvP and Flashpoints. The only thing that makes me second guess this idea is potentially being locked out of endgame content. Has anyone leveled without finishing their class story? If so, were you unable to pick up quests for endgame dailies, flashpoints, or raids? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks

So I have already posted in Customer Service and I have not gotten a response. I figure I might get some quicker feedback in General. Before 3.0 I was able to run the game on Very High setting with 60fps, but now it runs at 15fps on Very High, 30fps on low, and 60fps on very low. I have Windows 8, i7, 16GB of ram, and a Nvidia GTX 760. The fps shown at the bottom left flash green and red sometimes, but mostly stays green. I am about done with this game. This is *********** ridiculous.

I have been away from the game for a long time... long long time. Before I left I had a Jugg, but I am looking for something new. I have been reading up on the class changes, but being that I am not familiar with the Assassin or Marauder, I really do not know what it all means. I played enough of the two that I know that I like both play styles. I think I really just want to play the class that has the highest DPS ceiling at endgame. So... hows it looking for Maras and Sins? What do you think will be the better class after 3.0? I am at 47.89% downloaded.... 47.90.... 47.91

The stars have aligned.... Dragon Age Inquisition... Episode 7 trailer on Friday... New expansion coming soon... I am ready to come back to SWTOR. Yet I have sold my desktop and I do not know if I should get a new one. My laptop has a GeForce 745M dedicated and an i7. Do you think I could run SWTOR on high with those specs?

Sweet. Thanks!

You are probably preggers, son.

I really appreciate that you took the time to do that. Thank you.

I was a casual raider from launch up to 1.4, but I have not done much raiding since. Actually I have never seen the inside of TFB or any raid after. I completely left the game shortly after RotHC. I have mostly 156 gear, but have a few 162 pieces. I would like to try a bit harder this time around. I want to take the game a little more serious, and try to find a guild that does NiM raiding. Being that I have never been more than a causal, I have a few questions about the raiding landscape. Any help would be appreciated. What gear level should I be at before I tell a guild that my gear is good enough for HM Ops? I have a Veng Jugg.... when played at a high level is the class viable in NiM? How are repair costs nowadays? What is a good parse when in Augmented 162s? Any other advice would be appreciated as well. Thanks

Naw see, yous guys gots it all wrongs. Vengeance spec set up Rage spec, see. It all goes back to when they were young boys playing stick ball in the streets of Brooklyn. See Vengeance spec had a thing for Bodyguard spec, but see, Rage spec also had a thing for Bodyguard spec. It all wents wrongs ,see. They were once like brothers, but it was that foxy dame that split them like the Hudson River splits the Apple and Jersey. Now, 27 years later, fugetaboutit. Ironically, Vengeance finally got his vengeance, using rage as the fuel to defeat Rage. Yous guys THINK it was the noobs, you guys THINK it was the QQers, but it was Vengeance spec that made Rage spec sleep with the fishes. Us Italians have a saying... 'La polpetta piccante è piccante'.... which means the spicy meatball is spicy. I tells yous guys to fugetaboutit, and that means you best fugetaboutit... aint no meatball got the spicy like Vengeance got the spicy. Anyways, you aint heard none of this from me capiche.... fugetaboutit.

SWTOR was my 1st MMO, but I left about 6 months ago to see what the other MMOs had to offer. At the end of the day it seems like its all the same stuff with minor differences... except EVE... that game is... different. So what did I miss? I know I missed the Rakghoul Event. Pretty pissed about that. I hear we get player housing...kinda cool. I had to call Customer Service before I started back, and holy ****, I cannot believe how much better it is now compared to launch lol. THANKS Cartel Coin revenue! Anyway, good to be back.

If the RnG is truly broken, and the data can prove it, then I agree that it needs to be fixed. Other than that I think the class is just fine. A 5% increase to all melee classes would be nice, but as long as I am within 5% of the Sent, I really cant complain. Like I said, if a Guard can do 3.6 on a dummy, he for sure can pull 3.3 on a boss. That is good enough to clear a NiM. If you are good enough for a NiM then you are just flat out good enough. All PvP is rock, paper, scissors. Call of Duty, WoW, World of Warplanes, World of Tanks, Battlefield, GSF, Forza.... the list goes on. It is not lazy, it is a key fundamental found in all things competition. In football a smaller quicker O-Line will better at run blocking, yet not as good at pass blocking. A bigger and stronger O-Liner will be better at pass blocking. Yet not as good at run blocking. Rock, paper, scissors is nothing more than a metaphor for the dynamic of strength and weaknesses. If my strength is interrupts, and your weakness is long casts... I win. Anyway, we agree on some things, and disagree on others. There is not much more I can add that I have not already said before. I respect your opinion, and thanks for the feedback

I really cant disagree with too much of what you said. I still think we could use a buff, but the class is not even close to as bad as people think. If the Sent tops out down the line at 3.8, and we top at 3.6... I am fine with that. Now if the RnG is truly broken, I agree that it needs to be fixed. I also think that a 5% damage increase to all melee classes would be nice. As far as everything else... Agree to disagree. Thanks for the feedback.

I was wrong about the Power vs Main. I completely forgot about the passive in the Vig tree. I corrected you on the DPS numbers because we were all going off the link that lord posted. His link showed the gear that everyone was in when they parsed, and it seemed the only way to truly get an idea of the potential numbers. When I responded to you last time it was 3.7 and 3.5 on that link. With BiS a Guardian can get to 3.6... Is that not within 5% of 3.8? Is 3.6 not just as good or better than every other class except 2? Anything above 3.3k will clear a NiM raid. If you are good enough to clear the hardest content, are you not good enough? My aim is to show people that we are fine as a class. Would a buff be cool? Damn right. Is the buff needed? absolutely not. In every MMO, for every class, the consensus is that ones class needs a buff. Everyone has something to complain about. Is it tough to lock down a Scound healer? Yup. Is it too easy to destroy a Sage healer? Yup. MMOs are rock, paper, scissors, when broken down to its simplest form. Some classes have trouble when faced with other classes, but every paper has it rock, and every rock has it scissors. The numbers do not lie... and being within 5% of almost every other class is just fine.

I am not 100% sure if you were being sarcastic about me being a troll. I feel that I have stayed on topic, used reliable data, and stayed quite respectful. My sig is the biggest sign that I am not a troll. It is a public service announcement that you should not feed the trolls. Anyway, I am 95% sure you were being sarcastic, but just the idea of being called a troll makes me cringe lol. You made some really solid points about Main vs Power. I cant really argue with you there. I also agree that other classes have it easier when it comes to procs, but my point was that most classes still rely on RnG. A proc coming off of a spam ability is just as bad as a proc coming off a 12 sec CD. I know many Vanguards and Commandos that ruin there energy management by chasing a proc. Now, would I rather have my proc at 60% coming off of a 6 sec CD... Damn right I would lol. I just do not like it when people think that Guardians are the only ones that have something to complain about. I feel that the RnG argument is used to excuse sub-par performance. Do Guardians have to work harder? Yes. Is that a bad thing? No. I think Guardians are one of the best PvP classes. 7 interrupts + consistent burst damage = dead healers. Out of all the ACs I love the Focus Guardian in PvP the most. With that said, you do not want to play high end PvP as a Vig, just like you do not want to take your Focus Guardian into a NiM raid. This is true for almost every class in the game. One tree will always be more suited for a certain type of game play. If your point is that Vigs are not good in PvP... I agree 100%. Would I like to see a buff for my class? 1,000% yes. Will I be upset if we do not get a buff? 1,000% no. As proven by data the Vig Guardian is just fine in PvE. We are just as good or better than all classes except 2. As far as PvP, Focus is one of the premier specs. I know it is a MMO custom to complain about your class, but I just cannot see why the Guardian has a stigma attached to it.

This guy says it better than I can.... "Power contributes 0.23 to bonus damage, while Main Stat contributes 0.20. However, Main Stat is buffed by the Sith Inquisitor | Jedi Consular buff by 5%. Thus, the comparison becomes 0.23 vs. 0.21 (1.05 * 0.20 = 0.21). The increase in bonus damage is thus 0.02 per point of power. Considering Power Augments provide an extra 448 (32 * 14 = 448) Power, the increase to Bonus Damage is 8.96 (448 * 0.02 = 8.96). The Siwth Warrior | Jedi Knight class buff boosts these both by 5% so we end up with a total of 9.408 more bonus damage from Power augments" So that is why people should stack Power. Have you played the other classes? The procs are essential to high DPS for all the classes I listed. Anything that can be spammed will not increase your DPS if you spam it. The procs are key for energy management as well for those classes. Again, Guardians being sub par is a Stigma that came from our debuff back in the day. All the current data says that we are just fine.

Well Vanguards, Shadows, Sages, Scounds, and Commandos also rely on Procs.