Unfortunately, this is the problem with PvP in an MMO environment. The playing field is not level. Games like Battlefield, Battlefront, and so forth (the First Person Shooters) work because everyone is the same. In MMOs, there's several layers of discrepancy between the characters - level, gear, etc.. This is why NO MMO in my experience (and opinion) has ever had good PvP.

I agree with this idea completely. As an aside (and SPOILER ALERT HERE)... my Agent gets married on Voss, but never sees his wife again. I like my characters to log off at "home," and Iblis' home would be on Voss, with his wife. It would be nice to be able to see her again.

Ironic that a flame thrower should be considered cool... I agree, however. The changes brought about by 5.0 only serve to diminish the classes, I see no benefits. The changes should be rescinded.

Actually, I'd be behind this, but I'd still love to be able to go back and replay the original stories, at least the class and world arcs. That said, I do the same as you. I'll play a chapter on one character, being careful to stay IN character for the stories, then play a chapter on another, and so on. By the time I get back to the first character, I've forgotten what he'd done, what his relationships were with his crew, and so on. I feel your pain.

Ya, I expect there are those who DO like Boltstorm. That's why I suggested putting BOTH Boltstorm AND Full Auto in the skill list, instead of replacing Full Auto completely. That way players can CHOOSE which one they want to use. Since they're nominally the same power, using one would put both on cooldown, so there would be no reason to have both skills on your bar, and no problem with balance.

I posted about this in General Class chat, but I suppose this is an appropriate place as well, so I'll mention it here too. I can't play my Trooper. It's just unpleasant to do. Using Gunnery, I'm forced to use Boltstorm, which looks terrible. Using Assault, I'm forced to giggle constantly, which is irritating and out of character. Using Medic, I've got next to no damage output, as every offense uses so much power. So, I'm making two requests. They're requests that have been made before, but to my knowledge there's never been any comment. 1. The giggle has to go, or at least be made an option (for ALL classes). This was requested and granted, but then changed back despite the suggestion it be made optional. 2. Let us choose to replace powers (eg. Boltstorm replacing Full Auto or Aegis Assault replacing Sunder). Simply add it to the powers list instead of replacing the existing power, but make both powers run on the same cooldown (so there's no way to use both at once). I can't emphasize how much these seemingly trivial things are impacting my game. I really, really want to play my Trooper, but these little aesthetic things are just ruining the experience.

I'm aware. As trivial as they may seem, however, they're having a SERIOUS impact on my enjoyment of the game. The giggle was taken out once before, so the tech is in place to get rid of it again. Likewise, letting us choose to replace powers or keep the old ones wouldn't require any new tech. These SHOULD be easy to do (though, I'll admit I'm not a programmer). I lose nothing by asking.

I've come back to my Trooper. I'd set him aside, because there were some issues with him that were really ruining my enjoyment of the character. So, I stopped playing him, and played some of my other characters. I recently played a Mercenary BH for the first time, and it rekindled my desire to carry on with my Trooper. He's my namesake, after all (Mohenjo), and I REALLY want to play him. However the problems still exist. I tried playing Gunnery, but Boltstorm looks idiotic, no matter what I do. More, there are constantly yellow ribbons and other non-immersive effects playing around the character. Thus, I abandoned Gunnery, even though it's actually a very enjoyable and effective spec. I tried playing Assault, but the character giggles like an idiot all the time. I quit playing my Operative (which I had been playing since launch) because of the giggling, so I can't stomach it on my Trooper. But for this, I could be quite pleased with this spec. I tried playing Medic, but the spec has almost no offense, because everything is SO expensive. More, there are so many healing skills, they're hard to place on the bar efficiently. Thus, there are no specs I find myself able to enjoy. So, I come (again) to plead with the developers. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE grant one of the following requests: 1. Let us CHOOSE Boltstorm or Full Auto. In fact, do this for all skills that "replace" other skills (Aegis Assault replaces Sunder, for example). Put both skills in the powers list and let us use the one we want. They'll have the same cooldown and everything, so it wouldn't be possible to use both. 2. Make the giggling an OPTION. This is one that was requested before by MANY. The giggle was there initially, and people asked for its removal. When this was done, other people asked for it back. At this point, the people who originally asked for its removal suggested making it an option, so those who wanted it could have it, and those who didn't could be rid of it. Instead, it was simply put back (and migrated to several other classes). This ticked off the original group who wanted it gone. My request is to make the giggle an OPTION (or let us choose alternative audio cues, such as the sound of a bolt action cocking). Please, devs. I'm begging you here. I've been here since beta, and been loyal to the game. I STILL consider it to be one of the best MMOs ever made (though there is still room to grow), and I really want to get back into my character. Help me out.

Ah, so it's not just me. Good to know.

What I'm getting at is that it seems to me that any benefit from these changes is extraordinarily small, while the damage done is significantly greater. Now, I'm not talking about playability (though, I couldn't stomach the Powertech at all, and I suspect the same would be true of the Vanguard, Operative and Scoundrel, all of whom have ranged weapons but no range), I'm talking about presentation, at least much of the time. Taking away Dual Strike from a Sage makes him less like the Jedi we see in the films, ALL of whom fight with lightsabers. Taking away Pistol Whip and Dirty Kick diminish the personality of the Gunslinger. They're smallish changes, that don't impact the overall performance of the class all that much, but DO impact the PRESENTATION of the class; it's personality. So, since the changes provide little or no benefit, I see no reason for them to have been implemented.

No one should be telling anyone else how to play their character. As for hurting groups, most things can be soloed. Group finder only seems to put together groups of all DPS, so a Sage using a melee attack once in a while, or a Sniper stabbing a foe that gets too close is not going to significantly affect anything. The issue is that, while many didn't use the deleted abilities, there were SOME that did. Those who didn't use them haven't lost anything, but those who WERE using it get the shaft. Juggernauts using Soresu in one of the DPS specs was USEFUL for those who were soloing and found themselves in need of a bit more defense (and the reverse is true, Shii-Cho in the Tank spec). In other words, I don't accept this as a valid reason to make these changes.

Well, I'll give you an example. While playing free, I was doing quests on Voss. I went through the World storyline up to the point where you defeat the King of the bad guys. You go back to Darth whatsisname to report and he says to go talk to some mad Sith somewhere. However, the mission didn't update. It didn't give me any new objective to go talk to the mad Sith. I found the mad Sith and HE didn't have a mission for me either. Thus, my story was stopped and there was no way for me to continue. In this situation, there's no way for other players to help me, and there was no way to comment on the forums, contact a GM or even file a BUG report. Now, the thread you suggest offers the possibility of searching out some obscure site elsewhere and trying to get help THERE. However, that site wanted me to sign up for yet another membership I had no interest in, and would never have known about but for your link. I feel sure MOST newer players would have no idea that site even exists, and might be just as disinclined as I was to sign up for yet another membership. I stand by my assertions. Free players need to have access to the help forums, and should be given the ability to file bug reports.

If the day came when they did shut it down, it would be nice if they released it for single player use. I mean, I'd still be playing it 50 years from now.

Yeah, my sniper isn't in too bad a shape, but the loss of Shiv and Debilitate are noticable. I mean, we ARE going to be engaged in melee, it's at least more aesthetically pleasing to respond in kind than trying to shoot someone with an extremely long gun in close quarters. Again, I don't see the benefit of the change. The Gunslinger suffers more from this because Dirty Kick and Pistol Whip had SO much more personality than shooting someone in the 'nads. The EFFECTIVENESS hasn't suffered as much as the presentation has. I've been able to salvage my Gunslinger by switching to the Saboteur. I still have to give up Sweeping Fire and Penetrating Shots, but he's at least playable. My Juggernaut and Knight are in decent shape, but I'm REALLY finding the Sage/Sorceror are in a BAD place now, and I'm not sure how to address it. They don't have defense, and with the Force Barrier glowing so hideously now, I may have even less if I stop using it. They don't have much healing capacity unless specced JUST for that, and the DPS specs seem astoundingly weak now. Again, I'm still evaluating and trying to adapt. Part of the point, however, is that it shouldn't be necessary TO adapt. The changes were not needed. (And, sorry for the long essay, it kind of got away from me) ADDENDUM I should say, the overglowing shield was the result of a trait I'd selected, that zapped enemies when they hit me. I got rid of the trait, and the shield is fine again.

It can, and SHOULD. This game still has VAST untapped potential. It needs two things. 1. More sandbox. Downtime activities and open sandbox world attributes allow the players to entertain themselves without a need for development time (beyond that needed to implement the sandbox in the first place...). This can take many forms... Crafting Housing Music Pazaak Sabaac Swoop racing Gambling ON games like these large, unexplored areas to explore and perhaps put down houses and towns (one of Galaxies' greatest strengths) Etc 2. Less screwing around with things that are not broken. I've been lamenting the 5.0 changes to the classes, because they were entirely unnecessary, and have actually diminished the game. Stop wasting development time on changing things that don't need changing, and focus on ADDING things to the fabric of the game. The game could be the most fantastic MMO ever made, the foundation is still there, if only they would STOP eroding it with ill considered changes.

I was away for a while, attending to finishing my degree, and was really looking forward to continuing the adventures of my various characters. Unfortunately, I can't say I like what I find now that I've returned. Apparently, update 5.0 completely ruined almost ALL of my characters, taking away key skills I had been using all the time. I'll explain my dissatisfaction, in the hope that someone in development might see this and understand. It's going to be a LONG post, so be aware. I'll begin with my Imperials. My Sith Juggernaut is Rath. He's a big, brawny, bully of a pureblood Sith. Thus, I found myself rather perturbed when I used the Ravage skill, and found the wonderful original animation had been replaced by a silly, flippy, acrobatic manuever, completely out of character for Rath. For a Marauder, that kind of acrobatic move might be appropriate, but a Juggernaut is generally about raw power and strength. This is the class Darth Vader would have been, after all, and I don't see him flipping and somersaulting around. So, I went out to do some adventuring, and thought to switch to Shii-Cho form, to clear away the cannon fodder with a little more damage output. However, I found that I no longer have that CHOICE. I'm FORCED into using Soresu all the time. That bothered me, but it wasn't a disaster. The shock came when I switched to Vengeance for dps. I found to my dismay that the character now giggled through every battle. I've commented elsewhere about this, so I'll only say that giggling like a child is NOT appropriate for a Sith Warrior. This is a character class driven by RAGE, and it's totally out of character to be giggling in battle. All in all, however, Rath plays more or less as I have been used to, though I didn't see the need for these changes. Next up is Valfor, my Sith Sorceror. Valfor was created around the idea that he is pure evil. He uses Lightning as his main focus, and so has been almost entirely a ranged combatant. As such, I barely noticed that he is missing his ONLY real melee ability, his Dual Slash saber attack. Now, as I said, this wasn't a crippling loss for this character, but it was disappointing. The Jedi and the Sith are best known for their lightsabers, and now the Sorceror has had it rendered all but cosmetic. Even the Emperor (who would certainly be a Sorceror-type) was capable of daunting melee skill, yet here we've had ALL such capability taken away. My real problem with it here is that there's no REASON for it. It can't possibly have been a balance issue, so what is the point of stripping this ability away? Again, the CHOICE of doing a bit of melee is taken away, and we are FORCED to be ONLY a ranged class. Moreover, he's not even especially effective AS a ranged class. His damage is now inexplicably anemic, he can't really heal himself adequately and he has precious little ability to absorb damage. Finally, we come to Iblis, my Sniper. More or less my main character, Iblis is a cold, robotic assassin, a powerful sniper who plays more or less as you expect a sniper to do. However, I did notice that ALL his melee skills have been taken away from him. No more Shiv, no more Debilitate, even though these were core skills for the Agent class that I used FREQUENTLY. Yes, he's a ranged class, but we're GOING to be in melee in this game regardless, so SOME kind of melee ability is mandated. This is true of the other ranged classes, as it is for the Sniper. However, the most painful loss is that of his Overloaded Shot. This was the ONLY skill he could use while moving, and it has been taken away. That's crippling, considering how important mobility is in this game. So, he's stuck ONLY being a turret. Once again, I'm FORCED into it, I have no CHOICE of how I want to play it. I have a Bounty Hunter, Skorr, but haven't played him yet. I had been planning on making him a Powertech, but I understand he would be forced to be nearly exclusively melee. Not at ALL like Boba Fett, the character he's based on. I would have made him a Mercenary, but I don't want to be using dual pistols. Ideally, he should be using a blaster RIFLE, like every other Bounty Hunter in the movies. That brings us to the Republic characters, and BOY what a disaster this is. First up is Stene. He's a Jedi Guardian, and I haven't played him yet since the update, but I expect he'll be in the same position as Rath. I expect he'll be basically all right. However, after that comes Shein. He's a Jedi Sage. His backstory has him growing up in the slums of Coruscant, an orphan child using the Force to survive. He was concieved as a Jedi Batman. That meant that, unlike most Sages, he would get into melee a lot. I made EXTENSIVE use of his Dual Slash skill, and was enjoying the character greatly. Of course, they've now taken away all his melee skills, and are FORCING me into ONLY a ranged style of play. That SEVERELY disrupts the way I had been playing the character, and as with the Sorceror, there's NO REASON FOR IT. I'm sure many players didn't use the skill. No one was forcing them to use it. Now that it's been taken away, I don't have a CHOICE, I'm FORCED to not use it. Now, I know there will be those who say I should just have made him a Shadow. However, the Shadow uses the Saber Staff, which I loathe, and I've already played the character to somewhere around L50, and I'm not about to delete him (again). In addition to that, I understand the Shadow/Assassin classes have been at least as severely damaged by having nearly all their ranged capability taken away. Next up we have Lyyr Flinn, my Smuggler. He was concieved to "be" Han Solo, so I originally made him a Scoundrel. However, there were a couple of problems. First, I didn't enjoy the close combat kind of style of that class. Solo is more shooty than the Scoundrel is, and prefers a straight fight to all the sneaking around. Second, I couldn't abide the endless damn giggling through every battle. If you look back through my posts, you'll find that I had to stop playing my Operative because of this incessant giggling. I just can't play the character if he's I'm FORCED to giggle like an idiot through every fight. So, I made him a Gunslinger. Han Solo only uses one blaster, so I decided to play with only one blaster, knowing full well I'd be gimping myself. That was MY CHOICE, and I accepted the consequences of it (I did keep a second blaster in my inventory so I could contribute appropriately in groups). So, with many skills unavailable, Overload Shot and Charged Shot became his only real attacks. He would stay mobile, blasting mainly with Overload Shot, Pistol Whipping, Dirty Kicking enemies into submission. You may notice that the three skills that formed the core of ALL my gameplay on the character have now been taken away from him. He has NO skills left to use, the character has been rendered unplayable, and as before, there is NO REASON FOR IT. Finally, we come to my Trooper, Mohenjo. He's my namesake in the game, and WAS one of my favourites to play. However, over the years they have systematically ruined him, over and over. Initially, he was a Combat Medic, but I found that class was almost incapable of soloing because offensive skills were prohibitively expensive. I didn't feel much like the hero when I was was hanging back waiting on Jorgan while HE did everything. So, I switched to Gunnery. I didn't care for the particle effects on many of the abilities, the swirling ribbons and whatnot, but they were brief, so I learned to live with it. Then I encountered Boltstorm, and the idiotic stream of bubbles it changed Full Auto into. Now, in the old days, we had the CHOICE of constructing out characters as we pleased, so I could simply not take Boltstorm. However, they redesigned the trait specs, and FORCED me to have Boltstorm, replacing one of my favourite skills with an idiotic looking bubblegun. So, I switched AGAIN, going to Assault Specialist. However, if you've played that, you know that the Assault Specialist spends all of every battle constantly GIGGLING like a damn fool. Thus, I can't play as a Combat Medic, I can't play Gunnery, and I can't play Assault Specialist. However, I had been swallowing it and carried on as an Assault Specialist, even though it stressed and frustrated me constantly. Now, I come back to find that some of my core skills are gone. I no longer have the Ion Pulse Cannon ability, which was CRUCIAL when facing multiple melee enemies (such as Kiliks, Sith, etc.). Indeed, I no longer even have the Stock Strike skill. ALL my melee abilities have been taken away, once again for NO REASON. So, I feel that all my characters have been savaged, some worse than others, by the inexplicable changes in 5.0. It's INCREDIBLY frustrating, because there's NO REASON for any of it. These changes take away versatility, they take away any CHOICE we might have had in HOW we wanted to play our characters, and there's NOTHING gained by FORCING this on us. When Star Wars Galaxies did the same kind of thing, it all but destroyed the game. The playerbase vanished overnight, and never recovered. Put another way, before the changes, players had the choice to play their character how they liked. If I wanted to play my Sage as a melee character, I could. It didn't affect anyone else if I did. If someone else wanted to play as a ranged character, they could. It also didn't affect anyone else. NOW, those people don't see much of anything any different. I, however, no longer have a CHOICE. I said it back in beta. I've said it after every unnecessary change. I've said it here, I've said it at EVERY game I've played: DON'T FIX THINGS THAT AREN'T BROKEN. No one ever listens, and I've watched game after game disintigrate after repeated ill-considered and unnecessary changes. The Old Republic STILL is a game with enormous potential that is being unrealized, largely because the developers keep spending all their time breaking things that were working perfectly well. The most important element of an MMO, which will provide it with longevity and depth, is the SANDBOX. That is, there should be things to do besides the quests; crafting, housing, music, PAZAAK, Sabaac, Swoop Racing... this list of possible activities could go on and on. THESE are the kinds of things the developers should be doing, not disrupting classes that were working perfectly well. Many have said it, many times over the last 20 years, giving players more choice, more CONTROL over the way their characters are built is always preferable. Taking away that control is NEVER a good idea. Some will undoubtedly tell me it was done to "streamline" the classes. That's not what has happened. Streamlining involves removing or merging redundant skills, not removing skills that are unique. For instance, Telekinetic Throw and Disturbance to roughly the same thing. Eliminating one of THOSE might streamline the class. Removing a unique melee skill is not streamlining, especially when there are NO other options for melee. The way this should have been handled is to give players a CHOICE of what skills they choose. For instance, perhaps the Sage could be required to choose between having Disturbance OR Dual Slash. In the case of skills that replace existing skills, as Aegis Assault does Sunder, or Boltstorm does Full Auto, the new skill should be ADDED, but put both skills on cooldown for the same duration. That would prevent both skills being used at once, but would allow people who prefer the original skill to keep using it. A couple of other points. First, I suggest a change to weapon proficiencies. Do away with the distinction between Blaster Pistols and Blaster Rifles. Create ONE proficiency called "BLASTER" that allows the use of both. That way, Smugglers could use pistols if they choose to, or rifles if they prefer (as Han did in STAR WARS), and Bounty Hunters could CHOOSE to emulate Boba Fett, Dengar, or any of the other rifle wielding Hunters. There are animations for most of the skills already, so it shouldn't be TOO hard to do. Second, remove the requirement of using dual weapons. I would have made a Sith Marauder before now, but hate the dual sabers. My Gunslinger uses one pistol despite it decreasing his capabilities severely. Let us play OUR characters the way WE want to play them.

Well, I've resubscribed again... for a couple of reasons, paramount among them that I have some thoughts I would like to express to Bioware/EA and to the community. I'd been away for a while, finishing my degree, and as I returned to the game, I thought I'd give preferred free play a try. I'd heard it was rather draconian and unfair, and I wanted to see for myself. As a scientist, I like to keep an open mind, and I like to see evidence before I draw a conclusion. There were some things that needed to be unlocked, but they were not that expensive, really, and once they were, the game played more or less as I was used to. The only real GAMEPLAY issues I had were the delay on chat (VERY irritating, but I can understand it, seeing as there are so many gold spammers on the spacedocks), and the lack of gear at higher level. My characters were only occasionally getting gear drops, and when they did the gear was ALL considered "artifacts" meaning artifact access needed to be unlocked. Pretty dirty pool, if you ask me, as you really can't play without gear, making this a REQUIRED unlock, and one of the most expensive. However, the biggest issue is not a gameplay problem. Specifically, it's that free players have NO way to get help with a problem. I was on the World quests on Voss on my Sniper, and after defeating the Gormak King and reporting to Darth Serevin, he told me to go find another Sith Lord called Ghent. However, the quest didn't appear in my log. I went to file a ticket and found I could not. I couldn't even file a BUG report. I thought I'd post on the forums, but found I couldn't post there, either; not even in the help forum. This is bad customer service on an astonishing level. Free players might well represent the most numerous population in the game, it's unwise to alienate them and ignore them. At the very least, free players should be able to file bug reports and post in the HELP section of the forums. This brings me to the meat of my post, the changes to the classes in 5.0. I returned to the game to find many of my characters had been savaged by the recent changes. Most of my characters had been gravely diminished by the loss of many of their skills, hindering the way I'd been playing them. My Sage used to get into melee all the time, and now he has lost his ONLY melee skill. My Trooper can no longer use his cone blast to destroy groups of foes that swarm him, and he can't smack a foe in the face with his cannon. My Sniper can no longer stab his foes with his techblade, though he can still stun them, and he can no longer shoot foes while moving, having lost his ONLY mobile blast. My Knight and Warrior can no longer switch forms, depending on what foes they're facing. There were times when it was helpful to do a bit more damage. Now that choice has been taken away. Worst of all was my Gunslinger. I had wanted him to play like Han Solo, so I went with only the one gun, even though it meant reducing my capabilities. I still had Overload Shot, and I used it as my primary attack. Of course, that was taken away. They also took away Pistol Whip and Dirty Kick, skills that gave the class great personality. In short, they took away ALL the skills I used most. Now, I would understand if there was a NEED for these changes, but I see NO BENEFIT from this at all. Characters have had versatility and flexibility taken away with NO GAIN in return. I no longer have the choice to play the character the way I want to. I played my Sage as if he was a melee character. That was MY CHOICE. These changes FORCE players into only one playstyle. Frankly, it reminds me of the Smedley days over at Galaxies, and we know how well THAT went. The real loss here falls on the Sorceror/Sage classes and on the Smuggler classes. The Sorceror/Sage are JEDI. Ask yourself, what is the coolest thing about the Jedi? It's not the Force. We didn't go to the movies hoping to see them using the Force. We wanted to see the LIGHTSABERS. Even YODA and the EMPEROR got to duel with their sabers, and they're clearly Consular/Inquisitor types. Yet here, our sabers are almost entirely cosmetic. This is NOT how it should be. More than this, they seem to have had their ABILITY taken away. They always had minimal defenses, and this was compensated for by their having either great healing or great damage output. Now they have minimal defense, minimal healing and minimal damage. The Smuggler classes have had problems from the beginning, frankly. They're obviously based on Han Solo, yet they don't allow players to emulate him at all (and arguably never did). Solo uses only one pistol, and the Gunslinger FORCES the player to use two. The Scoundrel might seem the better choice as a result, but Solo prefers a straight fight to all the sneaking around, the Scoundrel is designed around Sneak. More, the Scoundrel now has NO significant ranged abilities. Even Charged Blast has been taken away. Solo wasn't known for mixing it up in melee, he was a shooter (meaning the Gunslinger might be the better choice for Solo, but again... two guns). Finally, the Scoundrel goes through every fight giggling constantly like a damn fool. Again, not appropriate for Solo (or really any character... behaviour like this should be up to the PLAYER, and NEVER be automatic). So, the Smuggler class is entirely unable to reflect the character it's based on. (The Bounty Hunter has a similar issue in that they can't use Blaster Rifles... EVERY Bounty Hunter we ever saw in the films, with the exception ONLY of Jango Fett, had a Rifle. A small but oddly significant issue.) Again, and importantly, the real problem I have with all these changes is not that they've hampered my gameplay; it's that there was NO REASON FOR IT, and NOTHING GAINED by it. Way back when I was a beta tester, I said at the end of testing that I was very impressed. They gave the game a SOLID foundation. All they needed to do was BUILD on that foundation and NOT FIX THINGS THAT AREN'T BROKEN. Seriously, this kind of thing can have disastrous consequences. I've seen sweeping changes like this kill games completely. I know, I know; DOOM. I'd agree, if I hadn't seen it happen several times before now. 35 years of games and gaming has taught me a thing or two. Devs, you still have a phenomenal game. What this game does well, it does VERY well. The story system is unlike anything offered anywhere else. The acting is first rate, and the stories are fun and engaging (in fact, I'd love to have the ability to reset storylines and do them again). You guys need to stop changing things and focus on ADDING to the game. There have been many suggestions over the years. The greatest failing of the game is a lack of DEPTH. Apart from questing (combat), there's NOTHING else to do. We don't do our own crafting, and Strongholds (housing) are so expensive that they're essentially beyond most players. What's needed are some downtime activities. Examples are things like Crafting (for US to do), Housing (accessible, more immersive), Pazaak, Sabaac, Swoop Racing, Gladiatorial Competitions (and perhaps gambling on the outcome of such competitions), Music, and so on. These are things to ADD to the game, and are what I really expected the developers to work on after beta. Another failing is the one that's been created and exacerbated recently. There's a disappointing lack of flexibility and customizability in our characters. It began some years ago, when they simplified the trait trees. It was made worse with 5.0 when they eliminated skills that allowed characters to do a bit of both melee and ranged combat. I'd like to see them restore some of the skills we lost, or make them alternatives we have the CHOICE to use or not. For instance, give the Commando the choice of using Boltstorm OR Full Auto, don't FORCE him to use Boltstorm. Perhaps give the Sniper the CHOICE to use Snipe or Overload Shot. Better by far to let the PLAYER control the character. Let the Gunslinger CHOOSE to use one pistol or two. Let the Bounty Hunter CHOOSE to use a Pistol or a Rifle. I could go on, but I hope you get the idea. TL:DR Free players need to be free to post in the Help forum, there's no way for the to get help now. The 5.0 changes greatly harm gameplay and diminish characters for NO BENEFIT. There was NO REASON to make these changes, and they should be recinded. Players should have a CHOICE of whether to use the skills or not (eg. Full Auto or Boltstorm, player's choice). Devs need to STOP fixing things that aren't broken. Focus on ADDING things to the game, like Pazaak, Sabaac, Swoop Racing, Music, and proper Housing and Crafting. Downtime activities add depth and extend the life of the game by giving players fun things to do that don't require development time (once they're in place).

I don't understand any of this. WHY was this done, I see no benefit to ANY of these changes. I'm still evaluating, but I'm very unhappy with the game in general now. I really can't fathom what they're thinking.

I'm noticing there's no defense either. Plus they're ridiculously, intrusively ugly. WAY, WAY too bright. Were people seriously unable to see them before? I took my Sorceror out for the first time since 5.0, and I find he's incapable of doing much of ANYTHING now. He WAS one of my best characters, but now he's almost defenseless, can't do decent damage and can't even heal properly. More, he's out of power in the blink of an eye. NONE of my other characters are in this state. I'm still assessing the damage they've done to my characters. I'll post more another time.

Oh, good. I was really afraid they had done something reprehensible. I'm glad I was wrong. Thanks.

As I write this, I am in the grip of considerable anger, frustration and even a bit of desperation. I've been away for some time, a few months. I've returned to finish off my Commando's Chapter 2, and continue my Smuggler's Chapter 1. As I've been playing, I realized my gear is rather out of date. I went to the Fleet and used some commendations to get the mods and enhancements I need, but when I went to the GTN to get some new colour crystals, I found there were none, only a handful of multicolour ridiculously priced crystals. So, I logged off and loaded my Sith Juggernaut, who is an Artificer. To my suprise, I found there were no colour crystal recipes. I soon found them under an "Archive" heading, but now I was concerned. What had happened to the colour crystal recipes? Why on earth would they remove them from the crafting list, they're a NECESSARY component of all weapons and shields, and there's NO other way to get them. Already feeling the anger coming on, I asked in chat what was up, how do we get colour crystals now, if they're no longer crafted? I was told they're sold on the Bazaar. That means REAL MONEY has to be used to equip my character with BASIC, NECESSARY gear? This is not something cosmetic or meaningless. I desperately need someone to tell me this isn't so, that there is another in game way of getting this basic piece of equipment. If not.... well, I'll have some choice things to say in my next post. I'm holding it in for now. Help me out here.

I don't mean it as a threat, I'm just disappointed and hoping they'll offer me a bone. Just a "We're looking into it" would be sufficient.

Well, it's been a while since I played. What drove me out of the game was the animation for Boltstorm. Yes, I'm serious. I know to many people it's trivial, but I just can't play the character anymore. I tried switching to Assault, but then the character giggles like an idiot all the time. I tried switching to Medic, but then I'm basically left playing as a healbot, unable to attack much at all. Not any fun. So, I stopped playing. I'm posting now because it's been a good while since I played and I want to know if there's any hope of them changing this animation... or of letting us choose to stay with Full Auto INSTEAD of "upgrading" to Boltstorm. If not... I think I'll be cancelling my sub. Call this advance notice. A word from someone in development would be much appreciated.

I suppose I didn't mention what I did do. I play the character as a Gunslinger, one pistol (though I keep a second one in my inventory in the event I join a group, if only to be polite), using the Saboteur line. It's a bit grenadey, and Solo didn't throw grenades that I ever saw, but I think it fits better than anything else.

Yep, I know. It's why I stopped playing my Operative. It's also why I can't play an Assault Commando. It's also why I can't play a Scoundrel. It's maddening, but also a whole other thread.