Flashpoints is obviously the most important. The inexorable logic of the feature though will be to expand to Operations (with story mode probably adapted to serve as the default difficulty level) and cross server. The sooner these features are embraced and worked with, probably the better.

One of the things I hate the most about Star Wars the Old Republic is the system we use for advancing our characters, the talent system. It just seems so unambitious and lazy compared with a lot of the rest of the game. There is no point in using euphemisms like 'the other game' when discussing it, this system is a direct lift of World of Warcraft's talent system. Because it is such a direct lift, I feel free to quote the points made by Blizzard's devs on the system. Now I'm not one of those people who is going to bash Blizzard for the sake of bashing Blizzard, I believe WoW is a wonderful game and I happily played it for many years. During those years I saw Blizzard continually work at the talent system in an attempt to make it work. The talent system we use today in SWTOR though is an earlier version of the one Blizzard is now dumping in their upcoming expansion. I am not saying Bioware should just dump the current system and copy Blizzard again, that would be a mistake. What needs to be done is firstly to understand why this system sucks, and then see what people think could be used to replace it. Blizzard said initially it was designed to provide character customization yet over time, it led to the the exact opposite. Character customization was impossible due to the emergence of cookie cutter builds, the proven 'best' combinations of talents. The WoW talent trees were kept continually under review, and every two years would get a major shakeup with the release of a new expansion. Each expansion, by extending the level cap and increasing the amount of talent points available to the player required the talents trees to be extended also. The trees though, were pretty uninteresting because they lacked that great fundamental they had initially been designed to provide, choice. Talents choices could be broken down into four groups. Raw stat increases, gold medal talents that provide critical new abilities, talents that provide mechanics allowing the spec to work and interesting fluff. I play a Sorcerer in the game so i'll use the Sorcerer tree to illustrate http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#201.1 Will of the Sith, a first tier madness talent, illustrates everything that is wrong with the current system. It's a raw 6% increase in willpower, my primary stat. It is a fantastic talent. No sane Sorcerer could ever pass that up. And no sane Sorcerer does, EVERYONE takes it. There is no excuse not to take that talent. Choice isn't a factor, you are simply compelled to have it. If you were a Corruption Sorcerer healer look at the talent Penetrating Darkness near the top of the tree. Increases Bonus Healing by 6%. There is absolutely no way you would not pick up that talent. And again, the element of choice is removed. It's a must have. In my opinions, talents that are so good that they MUST be picked up yet ultimately are just stat increases are completely uninteresting deadwood. They are the biggest problem with this system. The second biggest problem with this system is the interesting fluff. Talents in the Lightning tree that have a tangible effect on playstyle such as Backlash, electric bindings or Suppression cannot be afforded for the most part because so much of the talent points we receive have to be invested into the uninteresting deadwood. The Gold Medal talents, such as Chain Lightning, and the interesting mechanic talents such as Lightning Barrage or Wrath, are also no brainers. They HAVE to be picked up. While they at least are fun and interesting, the end result is still a lack of choice. Now, personally, I believe that the talent system is such a poor design that it's replacement is inevitable. The sooner it is replaced with something actually fun or innovative the better. Other MMOs that have launched since WoW came out have tried their hand at different progression systems, with Rift and Guild Wars 2 trying completely different methods. Personally, I would suggest that choice should come from choosing spec. Being a Madness Sorcerer means Force Lightning and dots, being Corruption Sorcerer means being a healer, and being a Lightning Sorcerer means direct damage spells and procs. But what system would you replace the current one with?

The talent system, an unimaginative copy-paste from another game.

It's events like these that bring out the very worst of the MMO community.

Wow. Really? You are unsubbing because the devs took a long hard look at the feature, a feature they obviously REALLY wanted to get in and they make the hard but mature decision to hold it back so they can perfect it? Would you have been happier if they had pushed the broken system with tomorrow's patch instead? Or would you have preferred 1.2 to have been delayed completely for this feature? Because those were the only two solutions to this.

From the guild summit, they said they wanted 'not only dual-spec, but multi-spec'. They said the goal was to have it in in 1.3 if possible, probably as the big centerpiece of that patch (much as legacy is the centerpiece of 1.2). The equipment changing feature is the other part of the multi-spec system they want to add in and it will probably come in a patch shortly after 1.3.

I read that your current plan is to release operations consisting of 4-5 bosses each so that the experience of raiding them isn't too overwhelming, but I am concerned that as a result you are 'fracturing' tiers unnecessarily. If we consider Explosive Conflicts as the first half of tier 2, and whatever operation comes in 1.3 to be the second half, then tier 2 is going to consist of four to five months of Explosive Conflict and then two to three months of whatever Operation comes next. Would it not be a better plan to craft two operations at a time, meaning the raiding community has a choice of what to run at any given time, without having to face an extended run over a period of time in one Operation, and a curtailed run in the other Operation of the same tier which could be released months after?

This Welcome to the wonderful rollercoaster that is MMO class balance. Classes rise and fall all the time, not because the devs are out to make you miserable but because they are out to keep the classes as balanced as possible. In 1.2 the Sage/Sorc falls a bit. In the future, it will probably rise again. My advice is not to choose a class based upon how powerful they are now, but to pick a class that you find fun. I love my Sorc and i'll be sticking with him after the patch because he is fun, even though he is getting nerfed. If you are so ready to drop your Sage, I'd advise you to think about whether he was right for you in the first place.

I'm levelling my third character right now, first time Republic and the only think that irks me are the Heroic quests. Specifically, the Heroic 4 questlines. I can never do them as there is never anyone to do them with. It takes too much effort whilst levelling through a planet to get four people together to do them. I can yell in general but very few ever respond. On the other hand the Heroic 2's are always a great success. I've much better odds of finding someone to do a Heroic quest with because that other player knows, once he sees me asking in general, that we can basically go once he whispers me. With a four man, he could be sitting in a group with me killing time in the vain hope we can get one or two hours. I know a group finder is in the works that will apply to heroics on planets as well, and that might moderately improve access to Heroic 4s, but the access is dependant on the number of people in your level range being on at the right time and who are willing to take the time out to do the quest. So my suggestion is this. Scrap the Heroic 4s and retune them as Heroic 2s. The four man run takes quite a bit of effort to organise, in which time you could easily level past the planet and leave it entirely. If you want a four man, thats what flashpoints are for. It would make Heroic areas easier to access and enjoy while levelling. you'd have the social aspect of having a partner to do the quest with, and it would remove a lot of stress from finding a group to do them with.

In truth? All of the above. I want them all in, and if this vote influences anything it should be in relation to what order they are implemented in. Having said that, Vehicle Combat is probably the most important because it can be used to enrich our questing experience as the game is expanded. Imagine doing a bombing run in an Imperial Fighter, maybe as part of an Operation or a daily quest. Dailies would be more interesting if I had to pilot a Republic Walker to my destination. 3D Space battles are the most fun though, but you guys have mentioned how you are working on a 'big space project' enough times for me to think you are already working on that. So give it all to us! All of it.

Playable races in this game aren't quite what they are in other games in the genre. As to the OP I fully expect to see new classes in the future. They'd be a huge undertaking but isn't that what expansions are for?

Indeed we all know why. If they were bounced into commenting on this nerf, they'd have to comment on every single change they'd ever make or risk a qqstorm blowing up as to why soandso were being ignored. Why don't we do something mature and assume Bioware is reading this thread and will take our input into account as long as it is mature and reasonable. N.B. Having our input taken into account doesn't put us on the class balance team vicariously. Sometimes they'll take our input and act on it and other times they'll reject it because maybe, for reasons we don't know, our feedback was ultimately pretty stupid. As for the build feedback, Lightning Strike Instant cast is never going to happen. Instant Cast Thundering Blast makes a lot of sense. Separating Force Lightning from Lightning (and, maybe separating Crushing Darkness as well) would go a long way towards giving the two specs a discernable identity. In the long term, scrap the talent system and develop something that gives me genuine choice in character development.

I do sympathise with your position, but the problem is that anytime a Hybrid build of any sort becomes viable it's a happy accident, the talents and the abilities falling in such a pattern that it is worth playing. Bioware almost certainly doesn't think about hybrid specs when it comes to class balance, they balance based on the tree, and they construct rotations based on the tree. Asking bioware to balance all eight classes and twenty specs as well as catering to hybrids is probably an impossible task.

If you didn't see something like this coming months ago, then you weren't paying attention. I'm sorry a playstyle you liked has been nuked from on high, but the demise of the sorcerer hybrid was inevitable for three reasons. 1.)Whilst I cannot find the quote, I believe the devs have stated that if you don't want to take the 31 point talent in a tree then they are doing something wrong. The popularity of the hybrid meant attention was going to be paid to this build. 2.)The Hybrid build as it is on live has too much in terms of utility, cc and damage options. Some sort of nerf was inevitable, and the nerf to wrath is actually one I predicted a while back. Seems to be the least invasive method of breaking the hybrid spec. 3.)Hybrid specs are inherently unstable. Since the devs go with the expectation that you will take a full 31 point spec, I'd argue they don't consider the impact their changes will have on hybrid builds. So a change that could buff Madness but would nerf Hybrid, I believe the devs would call that a flat out buff. They have no intention of supporting Hybrid builds. Of course what is happening here is different, the sorcerer changes are clearly a flat out attempt to break the Hybrid build. In the long term, this will be a good thing. It will allow them to build specs with unique rotations and individual identities/flavours.

They're taking Ilum back to the drawing board thank god. Maybe what comes out will be an experience we deserve. I have faith in Bioware. believe it or not, and I am sure the new Ilum when it comes back will be epic.