Bingo! We have a winner! The only negative posts I see in great numbers are here where people will complain about anything. Everywhere else I go, people are loving this expansion with a passion.

Yes, this is exactly what I wanted and hoped it would be. If I want, I can still do Op's. If I want, I can still do PvP. If I want I can still solo. If I want, I can stand around, chat and take in the view. I can do anything I want and still enjoy a great story. This game is more than just "the story" but when you get everything you want AND a great story you've hit the good times my friend.

Mind reading is a force ability? If it is, then it's strong with you.

I'm liking it so far. What parts of the story I've done have been fantastic and I feel more connected to my char than ever before. While the changes weren't drastic ... after all the original game is still there ... they were in a direction I can grow to really love.

That's not even close to being true. It's the only way if you want it all in a single day. MMORPG's are a long term investment in time ... not a "give it to me now" type of deal. People leveled before 12X and people will still level now that it's gone. Maybe MMORPG's aren't for you? How about a nice game of checkers?

I must be slow because this is my second evening ... about 3 hours per session ... and I'm only on chapter 5. So far, the story is fantastic and most of the time I feel like I'm in a movie, and the movie is good! This blows the class storyline to pieces. MMORPG's are all about the long haul and since I can start over from level 1, play every quest and explore the galaxy on both sides, I will have tons to do in this game for a very long while.

I agree, Best time I've had in this game in a long time. The dev's did a great job and I'll be sticking around to see it all.

I usually don't PvP but I will keep my mind open for this one because of one reason. Back in the day, when I played WoW, I had no desire to PvP at all. Just a bunch of gankers who liked griefing people. Back then, from level 9 to 19, you had "twink" PvP. People in that range would wait until level 19 and gear themselves out to a ridiculous level. So much so that a normal player couldn't even scratch them and a single hit from them would take a normal player down. For fun ... and a dare from a forum post ... I thought I would make a twink just to harass the twinks there. I made a Frost Mage all twinked out and hit my first Battle Ground. I couldn't kill anyone, but a level one Frost Bolt does slow anyone down and costs no mana per-say, so that's what I went with. I kited all kinds of twinks around the battle grounds trying to get close enough to kill me but they couldn't. Of course, the team I was on would take advantage of this and cap their flag on a whim. After a while. I grew to like PvP and started playing with my other chars almost exclusively. I don't PvP in this game but this may be a chance to at least try it out. I've got nothing to lose and at worse, I will just be fodder for someone else. After a while I will learn and might get good at it, you never know. Bottom line I guess is that trying something new isn't bad. If you end up not liking it, you can always stop and do something else and by the time you figure you don't like it, you will probably have enough time in for your companion.

Well, I wa against it first. I thought it would ruin the chances to solo lower level heroics for gear. I was corrected by other posters who rightly reminded me that all heroics will be bumped to 65 so it wouldn't matter anyway. Understand that all I care about is my playstyle. I don't care about yours. Yes, that sounds like I'm an *****hat but I play games for me ... not anyone else and I would expect others players to feel the same way. It's like painting your house ... you choose the color you want not what the neighbors want. Having said that, I don't see anything really bad about level-sync. I doubt it will effect me at all. Yes, if you want to cruise the lower planets it won't be as easy as it is now at max level, but it should be nothing to write home about. ... but that is me. There may be some out there who think level-sync will create issues with their playstyle. There is no such thing as "one size fits all" so while the level-sync idea may be OK for me, thinking it's "all good" or "all bad" for everyone is nonsense. Of course, no one will really know until they actually play the new expansion. Until then it's all theory. In about a week we will see.

The problem I have with level sync is that some players like to go back and solo Operations just for the fun of it. To see the game when there aren't enough people at that level to do it. To get the rewards which may include Orange armor they can use with the right mods. Forced level sync kills this. At one time a while back, WoW was going to copy Guild Wars 2 themselves and implement this, but the cry from the playerbase who could no longer go and hunt for transmogs ... weapons and armor that can be used to change the appearance of what they have now ... killed it. I think Forced level sync will damage this game in ways that maybe the dev's don't see yet. I guess we really need to see it in action that then decide what restrictions this places on this game.

I would imagine that BW developed this expansion with new concepts based on the metrics in-game. Their data most likely showed that people solo leveled quite a bit, they rolled tons of alts to repeat the experience and that the so called "end-game" of constantly upgrading gear by chasing the carrot that can't be caught, wasn't really utilized. vs the expense of creating it. I can't believe that BW just woke up one day and decided to go this route just to see what happens. Most businesses parse their data looking for answers and I would think BW did just that. The answer they came up with is KOFE. Also, keep in mind that in the beginning, MMORPG's weren't grouping games. The only one that was like that out of the Big Three ... Asherons Call, UO and Everquest ... was Everquest. Everquest was popular since they actually allowed gamers to use their graphics card to full effect and because people liked to team up together. Those days have passed but almost every AAA game that has come out uses the Everquest dynamic which itself was based on the old text MUD's of the time. For a long time, being social = forced grouping. The problem was that many players wanted to play in the world like they did with Asheron's Call and UO with being forced to group up. These days, the entire concept of Forced Grouping is old fashioned, stale and boring for many. I think BW may have hit on a successful model to counter the classic and well used raiding games other are using now. This will make the title "different" while still retaining some of the old familiarity. We will see how it turns out. Implementation is everything.

To the OP ... I've played SWG since it's beta and even played the NGE. I think its "glory days" are a tad overblown. The game was OK but it wasn't the greatest game in history. It had many faults and the reason the NGE went live was because sub rates never reached he goals they wanted. The NGE was terribad IMO and killed off a game that was already dying fast. True, I haven't played it yet but from what I've gathered from various sources, this game will change ... but those changes won't even be close to the NGE. The NGE was a completely new game. KoFE isn't ... just changes made to some of the SWTOR game play. I would think that anyone who actually played SWG and the NGE would wait to see what KoFE brings to the table before they try to make comparisons. Telling someone that this expansion is the NGE before they have even played it ... or played the actual NGE ... seems a little disingenuous.

I'm in the same boat. Yes, I can use a DPS companion on my DPS char ... and have ... but Treek makes the content much more fun than fight-heal-fight-heal-etc. If the other companions can do it all ... I"m game. The only issue I see is "Why should a new player buy Treek"? Unless your An Ewok lover of course ...

Actually I use the 12XP and level doing all the quests. Remember that you aren't getting 12XP for all quests just the story line quests. What this does is give me tons of commendations and millions in credits. Also, since eventually you end up just getting 6XP from most non-story quests, your leveling will cap out at about 4 or 5 levels above the planets recommended starting level. Over-leveling a planets MOB's allows someone to really experiment with different AC's and rotations without being obliterated for making a mistake. It's a great way to learn your class inside and out.

Since I sell every "non-trash" item I collect in game, when I check my mail I just click the box which highlights all of the items and do a mass collection. Sadly, I end up taking the 1 credit from these tools. Hopefully that won't come back to byte me when it's purge time.

From what I understand, this time around your choices matter for more than light/dark side points. If what happens in your story changes because of the choices you make then everything changes. When you look at 3 choices for every conversation ... and IF ... these choices affect the final outcome then it may take quite a few char's to experience all of the variations. I'm just optimistic I guess ...

At one time I was on the "no saber attacks for you" bandwagon but since then my position has slightly changed. I would have to wonder how a ranged class would fare with having to use melee attacks as well. Of course, just because its not in your "end game raid type" rotations, that doesn't mean you can't use melee attacks to do the content with. Having said that, we DO use the lightsaber. We use it to block attacks, deflect blaster shots, etc. We may not use it to do direct melee type moves, but we do use our lightsaber in combat. Next time in game, go find a low level MOB, send away your companion and start an attack but don't kill it. Watch how we use our lightsaber's then.

I guess that the headcannon would run along the lines of "I once used a lightsaber but I've outgrown it ... feel the power of the Dark Side" type of mindset. I also understand the problem that would occur if you had the force skills of the Sor/Sage AND the combat melee skills of a Warrior. Talk about overpowered! While I have a SW and a Sin, I do like the way the Sorcerer skills mesh together and the options to deal with almost any situation. Going to have to level 1 before the 12XP dies in the next expansion.

I really like the playstyle of the Sith Sorcerer but I have a problem when it comes to the question "Is this a real Star Wars char archetype or is this just the games way of making a classic MMORPG mage clone"? I'm no expert on lore but I'm enjoying learning about it. It can be very addictive. I had no idea the Star Wars universe was so vast and filled with such lore. Most of the reading I've done does validate the powers of the Sith Sorcerer but they always include lightsaber combat to go with it. While the Sith Sorcerer does start off using a lightsaber in melee range, after level 10 the thing becomes no more than a stat stick and the "mage" thing takes over. Even Naga Sadow used a Sith Sword and Exar Kun was a noted master of the lightsaber. In the first trilogy, Darth Sidious doesn't use one at all as I recall, but does put up an excellent fight against Yoda with one in the second trilogy. I'm not sure why I don't just say "bump it, forget the lore and play one", but everyone has their quirks. I guess I'm looking for someone to validate using the Sith Sorcerer as its presented in game ... pure force attacks holding the lightsaber as a prop.

I've been in many guilds in many games and the truth is that guilds are run by humans ... and most humans will always have favorites in game and in RL. Remember that this is a game, not a business with a trained HR dept and business savvy CEO. These are just regular people who usually know much more about the game than they do about leadership. It's human nature.

I have both and when it comes to quest MOB's ... the only real metric we have ... the Inquisitor demolishes them faster and with less damage than the SW does. In everything from AOE to single target damage, the SI just does better over all. Yes, the story made the SW out to be the baddest of the bad, but while progressing through the game its easy to see which one brings the pain ... and its not the SW. Shame really because Force Charge is the best move in the game to me.

I've reported a few but for me it was on auto. These days however, I just click the "box" which selects everything and collect any items and credits I get from selling on the GTN. Most of them delete except for those that are rewards from quest givers or ... gold sellers. I read the quest emails and delete the gold seller stuff but I think most gold sellers put a credit in every message. If so, I've probably collected quite a bit of credits from them. Hope it doesn't flag me in the future.

Every stinking "talking beeping" droid in this game. There is something about getting a quest from a Droid that whirls and beeps. Irritating ... and don't start me on T7. Silent Droids are OK. Any one that makes a sound other than a random background clunk or two needs to be recycled into a toilet. Also, Quinn needs to go but it needs to be at the hand of the Warrior ... not by anyone else. I only hope that the one char who is actually solid and dependable ... Khem ... makes the cut. He will be the first I pick up given the chance.

Keep in mind we can't determine the average age of the player base ... only the average age of those who posted on this thread on the SWTOR forums. It wouldn't surprise me if most people who play never come to the forums at all.

59 and 60 by the end of the year. Thing is, everyone will get older. Growing old is mandatory. Growing up however is optional and I for one have refused to take that option.