There's a difference between thinking logically and being a fanboy.

Exactly. A. We just passed Christmas. B. We're a couple of weeks past launch now. Considering Christmas and launch are always very high points in a game's sales, the drop at this point should be expected. It's not a sign of impending doom... Just economics at work.

See that's what I don't get. I don't see the SWTOR quests as a grind at all. In FFXI there were few quests and what they had for quests (except for the group oriented missions) were shallow, boring, and didn't grant much xp. You had to fight mob after mob after mob after mob in that game and that was pretty much all you did to get to level cap. Now THAT'S what I call a grind ugh. And the fact that Bioware did "put some fancy makeup" on their quests is a big improvement in my eyes. I'm actually enjoying the leveling process because I'm getting a story and interesting characters to listen to along the way. What way would you suggest they innovate their leveling system instead of using quests?

So your biggest complaint is that the game stays within the norms of its genre and has the same feel as its predessor KOTOR... Did you really expect anything different? It's an MMO game set in the Knights of the Old Republic universe... What a shock that it would play exactly like what it is. All MMOs have a basic set of similarities just like FPS and RPG games always have the same underlying elements. That's what makes them what they are. It's not just a "WoW" clone, a lot of the staples of WoW were in place in MMOs before WoW even came around. If you don't like the "WoW-like" elements then maybe MMOs just aren't for you. And if you don't like the similarities to KOTOR then maybe a game set in that universe also just isn't for you. Personally, the fact that they kept the KOTOR spirit in tact in this game is one of the things I love most about it.

Same here. I was like "What!? But I picked the light side choice.... And I thought Juda loved me!?"

This is a pretty popular build: http://db.darthhater.com/skill_calc/bounty_hunter/powertech/?build_id=183#::e2fe10fe2f2e3fef12ef4ef16:183 It looks like a solid build for PvE. That's how I'm filling mine out.

Really great guide for someone starting out as an Operative, thanks. However, I very much disagree with something you stated in the beginning. Success in a group does NOT depend "entirely" on the healer. If that were the case then healers could solo anything... but they can't. They need backup just like everyone else. Success in a group depends entirely on EVERYBODY in the group. You need the DPS and especially the tank on top of their game as well as the healer. It takes teamwork to make the fight a success, and a good healer knows this.

I played a Red Mage in FFXI. Job duties: heal, buff, debuff, kite We never had target-of-target. I never knew what it was, and I never missed it. I'm making a healer alt now and I don't think I'll feel like I need it then either. Then again we didn't fight as many multi-targets in that game so maybe it'll be a different story here.

It would fail because you'd be trying to heal the mob I'm fighting

I've never raided in WoW. I come from FFXI which didn't have any of the fancy-shmancy tools that WoW has and that people are asking for in this game. So I guess I'm just used to having a very basic UI.

Ahhh I've never played a game that had that feature so I guess I misunderstood what people were asking for.

It's a good idea in theory... However, Ewoks hadn't been discovered at this point in the Star Wars timeline yet. So I'd also like to add my vote to BRING ON THE PLAYABLE JAWAS!!!!

Yes you heard me right! Why? Because it already has target of target! It's "Alt+T" and you can even keybind it if you go in your preferences. I know this might seem like a pretty silly thing to start a thread about but I feel like it had to be done since so many people are complaining that the game doesn't have it and that it should be a top priority for future patches. Now you know. And knowing is half the battle.

I can't say for sure until it happens but I think this will be the first MMO where I actually DO make it to level cap before quitting. I've found most MMOs (except FFXI) to be very uninteresting so I never stuck with them for more than a few weeks. And even with FFXI I ended up quitting a bit before I made it to the level cap. So far I'm loving the game and I'm hopeful that Bioware will keep adding more content as time goes on to keep things going.

I never planned on leveling all of the classes because there are so many quests that are repeated for all the classes. I originally planned on having a Powertech main to play with my boyfriend and friends on the Empire side. And I planned on having a Jedi Shadow alt so I could get my fill with the Republic. However, after playing the game for awhile I've found that I enjoy the combat in this game more than any other MMO I've tried before, which makes me more curious to try out other classes. My PT is a tank and my Shadow is DPS so I want to at least make a healer so I can mess around with all three roles. I'm planning on making an Operative when I get home today because it looks like a fun choice for a healer. So I'm already making one more character than I originally planned on. As for my sub, you can't really predict how bored (or not) you'll get of a game until you get to that point. As of right now I'm loving the game and I can see myself continuing to play for a very long time (as long as they keep up with adding content). However, if the content gets stale then I won't stick around. P.S. Powertechs are effing awesome!

Haha yeah sorry math isn't my strong suit. I know it won't reduce your total damage by 20% I just meant that if you hit 5 targets with it, it stacks up to a decent amount of mitigation.

An open world does not an MMO make. There are over a million people playing this game already. By definition it IS an MMO. Whether or not you choose to play it as such is up to you.

I agree with most of what you said except for a couple of things. Rocket Punch is a definite priority, especially if you put points into the skills associated with it in the skill trees (including the point in Pyrotech). Flamethrower is useful in AoE tanking until you get Flame Sweep, I'll explain shortly. Flameburst is very useful, especially as a tank. To begin with it's got a decent damage to cooldown ratio. On top of that if you put two skill tree points into Combust it also lowers the target's damage by 4% for 15 seconds (as does Flame Sweep). That's very tank friendly! This is also why Flame Sweep is very useful, 4% damage reduction on up to 5 enemies. So at its full potential you get to reduce the damage coming at you from 5 mobs for 15 seconds on top of doing some damage yourself. That's nothing to sneeze at. It's also good for maintaining AoE threat. Unload is very useful for grabbing a stray mob. But it's also useful if you've got high heat and Vent Heat is on CD since your heat dissipates a bit while you're channeling Unload. And where are you getting the idea that heat = threat? I've never seen that stated anywhere. I agree that there is no solid rotation for PT tanking since there are so many variables involved. It's kind of a judgement call class. But there are certain things that take a priority: rocket punch and flame sweep. And you do want to try to keep your heat low, but you definitely shouldn't ever let your heat drop to 0 because that's wasted potential.

Actually you can make mods with those stats, you just have to reverse engineer your mods and hope to get lucky enough for a higher quality schematic with the extra stats. The vendors seem to be pretty general. You can get the basic stuff (with your main and secondary stats) for any class or role from the vendors. But if you want the extra stats on it to really push your role to its full potential you gotta buy the pretty purple stuff from crafters, buy PvP gear, or hope for a good drop.

Well actually in FFXI you can switch to any class you want (assuming you've unlocked it) at any time. But I think that's the only game that allows it.

I think doing away with the holy trinity is a bad idea. Why? It gives people some sort of organization. The holy trinity has been around forever because it works. Everyone has a specific job to perform and that job is important to keep the team alive. If you do away with roles then you'll just have a bunch of people running around all willy nilly and then they'll wonder why their party wiped. However, I do like the idea of a non-player faction to fight against. Having the random beastmen attacks on Aht Urghan was one of my favorite things to do in FFXI. There's nothing like defending a deloved city from being overrun by mobs. I definitely wouldn't mind seeing that implemented into the game.

Cybertech has a wide variety of items: mods, droid parts, earpieces, ship upgrades, etc. So it seems to have a larger market available to it than the other crafting skills. I noticed a lot of QQing going on about crafting around here but I really like Cybertech. You rarely get earpieces or droid parts as drops or quest rewards so it's been helpful to be able to make those for myself and friends. I even have a nice purple schematic that's been selling well since I'm the only one who seems to have it on the AH.

You can make money just for being a girl!? Sign me up!

This. I just hope Bioware doesn't give in to every cry baby, thus ruining the game.

Just by looking at your grammar, you're not really giving yourself an aura of credibility.