I freely confess I re-upped for the party jawa and the coins. If my total coin count allows me to "purchase" the options I want (more species choices and character slots primarily), I will be quickly unsubbing in 3 days.

Thanks! I hope I am the target market. As mentioned, I DO like the game enough to play it, and if the game was a single-player game, I'd have bought it, played it, and been happy with it. But since it's an MMO, I like it just enough to get the story out of it, but not enough to go through the gear-grinds, legacy unlocks, blah, blah, blah. I do that on the MMOs I DO like enough to pay to play. And while I'm not 12 years old and living on a pittance, I am subbed to several MMOs, and have multiple accounts on one, so that $15 a month is starting to add up. And unlike some, I do not play THIS MMO for hours a month...not enough time and games I like better. So where I can save, I will...and this seems like the way to go for me. Thanks for all the advice and happy gaming!

Great concern! I didn't think about that, and I don't think Bioware has specified how many SLOTS a f2p player gets. All they've said is that you'll be "limited" in the character creation choices. But simply put, if I had to, and it meant saving the $15 a month, I could easily delete a level 50 to roll a new character for the story. Not optimal, but would do it.

So, I unsubscribed when the 6 month subscription I bought upon release lapsed, for reasons articulated by me and others in the "Unsubscribers Thread". But, with f2p on the horizon and free cartel coins and a "party jawa" to grab, I decided to re-up for a month or two, at least until f2p goes live. Since returning, I have found the game's play to be MUCH smoother (at least for me) so that is a plus. I also discovered that much of the repetitive, non-story content can be skipped as there are many more quests to do on a given planet than are actually needed to level past that planet, which has greatly sped up my push to get the class stories complete and also increased my enjoyment of the game. I also picked up the SWTOR encyclopedia and it got me psyched to revisit. At least for me, the SWTOR ancillary products seem to be much better than the game itself, but that is a debate for another thread. But the encyclopedia had some spoilers for the class stories which I skipped as I actually decided I did want to play them, especially when they go f2p. I now have about 2300 cartel coins. Since we don't know how much the "bolt on options" will cost, I don't know how far that will go or how much content that will allow me in terms of Ops. So my question is this...Is it worth resubbing if I'm ONLY interested in the story of the game? I don't care about gear. I don't care about endgame as such. I don't care about pets, or mounts, or vanity stuff (I play another game for that). I only want to get the stories of the 8 classes, and play through the FPs and Ops once or twice on easy mode to see how they tie in to the overarching story...which I understand some do on a fairly important level. If that's all I want to experience, can I get that with f2p and spending my free cartel coins, and if need be, buying a few more to unlock some story? Or do I REALLY have to pay $15 a month to get the whole deal? TL;DR: If I'm only interested in the games story as told through the class stories, FPs, and OPs (which I can pay for with cartel coins), is a full sub really worth it?

6 month subber, with Founder title, sub expires in 6 days. Unsubbed. Game just couldn't hold my interest...and when I realized that, without the Star Wars trappings, I'd definitely not be playing this game, that was the final nail in the coffin. Next time, just because something says "Star Wars" on it, or perhaps BECAUSE it says "Star Wars" on it, as Obi Wan said... "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."

Really? You want to argue SEMANTICS with me?!? REALLY?!? hall·mark (hôlmärk) n. 1. A mark indicating quality or excellence. 2. A mark used in England to stamp gold and silver articles that meet established standards of purity. 3. A conspicuous feature or characteristic: "The sense of guilt is the hallmark of civilized humanity" (Theodor Reik). I used "hallmark" in the sense of definition #3: A conspicuous feature or characteristic. I never said "hallmark" meant "first", "mark of quality" or "pointed to as...a defining feature" so don't give me "hints" until you learn how to use a dictionary yourself. And "definining" does not mean "conspicuous", which means: con·spic·u·ous (kn-spky-s) adj. 1. Easy to notice; obvious. 2. Attracting attention, as by being unusual or remarkable; noticeable. See Synonyms at noticeable. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [From Latin cnspicuus, from cnspicere, to observe : com-, intensive pref.; see com- + specere, to look; see spek- in Indo-European roots.] What I SAID was "Vanity pets were a hallmark of WoW." What I MEANT was "Since WoW was the first MMO to introduce vanity pets, they stand out as an obvious, noticeable feature that attracts attention. SWTOR is not using them as a "hallmark" in this sense, but as yet another way to imitate WoW...badly." And the REAL point of my post was that I don't feel that vanity pets are very Star Wars-y. They're definitely WoW-y now...so much that WoW is building a much maligned (by the WoW haters) mini game around them to make them even more useful. But vanity pets in Star Wars? C'mon...if Han Solo had a baby Tauntaun following him around, he'd just shoot it. And btw Kharnis, I'm done now, so if you want to get the last word in, be my guest.

All of these games came out when? AFTER WoW...WoW did the mini-pets first, so they were what? "A HALLMARK of WoW". And I didn't call ANY game that came out after WoW a WoW knockoff...just SWTOR...because it is.

If they gave me enough $20 bills to make up for my CE and my initial six month sub, I would not.

rofl!

They have these...they're called "Companions".

Gotta say...the whole mini-pet thing just cracks me up!! Vanity/mini-pets were such a singular hallmark of WoW that they've even decided to add a mini-game to make them useful, which many WoWers are complaining about as Pokemon-esque. Now SWTOR has mini-pets...about the single most un-Star Wars-y thing I've ever seen. LOVED 'em in WoW...HATE 'em here...If you're gonna do pets, do droids, or SOMETHING Star Wars-y. Imagine Luke, or Han, or Anakin or whoever with a little tauntaun pet following them around?!?! The closest the movies came to that was the Ewoks. And with them, SWTOR is now creating another dilemma...for some, the vanity pets are just going to be a reminder of how SWTOR is a WoW knockoff with a Star Wars skin. For others, like me, it will be "What the HECK do vanity pets have to do with Star Wars?" Eventually, if and when SWTOR decides to make a mini-game out of these pets, I hope all the current WoW hating, SWTOR loving folks will have the cojones to admit that WoW did it first, and not leap to bash WoW but defend SWTOR.

Hi Black...a very well thought out post. I was not a new MMORPG player when I came to SWTOR and agreed with much of what you say...and had my own reasons for unsubbing. My sub ends in 3 weeks. As a new MMORPG'er...if you like the genre, and as you say, like exploration, you really should try World of Warcraft...the exploration and the sense of open space are one of the best things about that game. I think you'd dig it. Just a suggestion. *edited to change name from "Blade" to "Black".

Thanks for the advice everyone. Indeed to each their own...and based on your helpful responses and my own thought processes, I must regretfully concede that SWTOR just isn't the game for me, much as I wanted it to be. Felt the same way about WAR a few years ago...wanted to like it, but it just didn't hook me. Ah well, the great thing is, there are lots of games for every taste! Back to WoW and The Secret World for me. Imho, it IS Redfurry...strongly recommend trying it! *edited to correct Secret WAR to Secret WORLD...still have the name of the introductory FB game in my head.

Hello SWTOR players... I am coming to the court of public opinion because I simply can't seem to make up my mind otherwise. My dilemma is this... I REALLY, REALLY WANT to like SWTOR more than I do. The reasons I don't are the same that most people who are disenchanted have expressed elsewhere. However, the devs seem to making improvements in the right direction, so I'm inclined to hang on...but...and here's the big but... The MMOs I've loved in the past "had me at hello" and hooked me right off the bat. WoWs flyovers during the login, with the music and the narration summing up the story and seeing the other players beneath me just grabbed me right off the top and got me excited to play more, and I was hooked. So far, I'm enjoying the heck out of The Secret War...the modern world setting, the conspiracy theory thing, all of that had me hooked and dialed in right off the bat. SWTOR hasn't yet...I've tried starting two Siths, both Inquisitor and Warrior, a Jedi Knight, a Smuggler, an Imperial Agent, and a Bounty Hunter...and so far, I'm just meh. I can't seem to get psyched up. A lot of people who love SWTOR have said "Well, the starter planets aren't that great...it's like the first 10 levels of WoW or whatnot...You gotta get past that and into the mid game." But my problem again with that argument is the games I've loved I loved right off the bat. What do folks think? Am I giving up too early and really need to push past the 2 starter planets to really give the game a chance to hook me? Or is my inclination corect that if I'm not hooked by the end of Dromund Kaas or Coruscant I'm not gonna get hooked later?

To me this is one of the things most lacking in SWTOR and that WoW does EXCEPTIONALLY well. I've posted time and again on the WoW forums that the unsung heroes of WoW are the sound designers, composers and musicians. While the VO on SWTOR is really great, I could've done with a little less of it and a little more ambient sound... 1) Different sounds of my footsteps on different terrain 2) The actual sound of rain on Dromund Kaas, and other environmental effects 3) Ambient planet noise 4) Background conversations in cities 5) Creature noises other than the sound of their attacks and their "rawr" when they aggro. So many other possibilties. Adding audio textures to SWTOR would help a lot towards making it live and breathe. The hum of a lightsaber, while awesome, is not enough.

Good post Encanis. In addition to my specific reasons posted earlier in this forum, I agree completely with you here. *edited to reflect correct name of referenced poster*

Kudos to you, OP, kudos to you! Even fooled a Community Moderator. +10 Internets.

Kudos to you my friend!! With one post, you made my decision for me. I posted about why I was considering unsubbing, and what I did like about the game, but I kept coming back to this thread. A lot of people felt as I do. Then I read your post...truer words were never spoken. If this game didn't have the Star Wars name and the Star Wars trappings, I would've unsubbed long before this. And even at that, after looking at it critically, even the Star Wars "trappings" are just that...trappings. The heart and soul of the Star Wars universe just doesn't live in this game for me, so I got off the fence and unsubbed today.

I already posted above my "Top 5 reasons why I MIGHT unsub"...but besides that, the OP asked, "Why do you stick around?" In the interest of balance and to not just be a "negative Nancy", I will give the top five reasons I'm still subbed and that are keeping me here until the end of my initial 6 months and possibly beyond... 1) The individual class stories. These are well done and interesting. The voice overs help keep it immersive, the interactions with the companions, all that good stuff. I WANT to stick around to see how each of them ends. That said, like I said in my "anti" post, I'm draggng my feet to finish them because I fear that once I have, there won't be much to hold my interest. 2) The dark side/light side choices. Bioware did this expertly with KOTOR and it holds true here. As I level my characters, I love being able to make choices that have some meaning to my character and even how I look when I have "Show Sith corruption" active. When my Sith Sorcerer gained a level in her dark side points and her look changed so drastically, I had my first genuine "Wow ("wow" as in "cool", not "wow" as in "World of Warcraft") moment. 3) The Black Talon flashpoint. To have a dungeon instance that actually had story and choice baked in was a really neat trick. However, the next flashpoint I played (Hammer Station) had none of that, and I fear that was a one-time only thing with Black Talon to get me fired up for Flashpoints. 4) Hope. Because I love the IP and see such potential in the game, and because I recognize that it IS a new game, and because parts of it are very good, I want to stay subbed to see what BW might do to improve things. Every thing I posted in my "negatives" post (with the exception of setting the game 3000 years in the past from the films) is fixable with future content and patches, and if they are fixed, I would likely stay. And IF they were fixed, I could live with the personal problems I have with the setting. 5) The community, small as it is, on the servers I've played on, are for the most part, a friendly, positive bunch. There aren't many of them, but who there are are top notch people. This will go away if the population grows, but I'll sacrifice it for the sake of seeing more people.

Haven't unsubbed YET...but am considering it. Besides the obvious, which is lack of a viable community with not enough people to play with, I'll try to sum up my top 5 reasons so far. Now, keep in mind I was a HUGE SW fanboy back in the day, and still am to some extent, so that's bias number 1 for me. Bias number 2 is, I am still a HUGE WoW fan boy and subscriber (I am not anti-Pandaren, anti Pet-Battles, etc.). So, I do have those biases built in to the reasons I am about to give: 1) Lack of open worlds. I played SWG briefly and while I won't fixate on it's pros and cons, I will mention that one thing it did very well was create a sense of space. Planets were huge...I had no idea when and where they'd end and what I might find over the next sand dune. In SWTOR, I open the map and can see where the planet "ends". All I have to do is fill in the map and bam, no more planet to explore. Some maps are "larger" than others, but still, the planets feel very "enclosed" to me. 2) Lack of environmental flavor. Outside of the voice overs, which are very well done, the environments just don't live and breathe for me. On Dromund Kaas for example, when the rain falls, I see it, but I don't hear it. The creatures make very little noise. My footfalls sound the same wherever I go. I can't sit down in a chair or lay down on a bed. 3) VERY on the rails storytelling. While I appreciate the care that went into creating the stories for the 8 classes, including the development of the companions and the voice over work, I don't like having to play an MMO to get a single story that once I complete, I have no reason really to repeat short of seeing the basic results of different dark side/light side choices. I admit to not even getting very far on the stories (I have no level 50s) because I've been afraid of what Ithose characters will be about once their stories are told. Unless I'm wrong and the dark side/light side choices actually have a SIGNIFICANT impact on the end of the stories other than a reward or some darkside/lightside points, I have no reason to replay a character once I get to the end of his/her story. 4) The fact that the game is set 3000 years in the past, taking Episode IV as Year Zero. This is a problem for me for two reasons. 1) I ultimately know what's going to happen. The Sith Empire is GOING to be defeated and driven underground and the Rule of 2 will be set into place. There doesn't seem to be any potential for "oh wow! This event that I'm a part of will have lasting ramifications for the galaxy's history when I'm done". 2) The technology seems awfully similar to what there is 3000 years later. Look at how far we've come in just 20 years. I find it hard to believe that the technological differences between the SWTOR universe and the film universe are essentially nil. Set a SW game 3000 years in the FUTURE from anything we know about the SW universe, with a corresponding leap in technology and where what we discover in game actually WILL be new to us, then you might have me. 5) Very little open world PvP. Granted, I haven't gotten all that far in the game, so I'm speaking from what I seem to be able to intuit from what I've played so far, and what I surmise by reading what others say...but because the Empire and Republic playerbase only have their respective fleets as gathering places, and those places are "safe" from enemy incursion, there is no rationale or location to attempt to get a group together and go wreak some genuine havoc. There is no place to bring each side's military might to bear in a meaningful way. Those are my five things. I know I should wait to post them until I've at least gotten one class to 50, but the problems are there at the start of the game, and I can't honestly say I'm interested enought to put in the time to get to the end. If a game doesn't grab me at the start, it's unlikely it's going to hold my interest at the middle and the end. *Edited for PS.* PS. While scrolling through the forums, came across this reason too...so it's a bonus #6 reason. Outside of the open worlds, for me the BEST thing about SWG was the 3D space combat. On the rails space combat to look forward to? BIG meh.

Dagobah.

Ya...definitely don't see this happening. As "story" is one of BioWare's "pillars", as well as one of the key components of replayability, I doubt they'll let us get a "replay/alternate reality" type feature without actually replaying a class from the ground up. I plan to do it, but next time will try the other advanced class spec for each...which is likely why they won't let us swap out THOSE either...forces us, whether happily or unhappily, to replay a class from scratch to try out the other advanced class.