I agree that something should be done about ninja looters, but I'm not sure that a bulletin board would work. I have seen people suggest a bounty system for this type of thing, but I have my doubts as to how effective it would be. Whenever we have a pug filling-in for someone, my guild switches to Master Looter and then /rolls for each piece. It's sad that we need to do this as it takes time and breaks immersion. But it does solve the problem, and it is already available in-game.

If a full-fledged calendar with sign-ups etc. is too much, please understand that ANYTHING to help in this area would be greatly appreciated--even if it was just a large screen somewhere that had a a character limit of maybe 2500, or even bumping up the limit of the MOTD.

/signed

Are you talking about the appearance of your companion gear, or about companion customizations? For example... Do you want Kira to have short black hair? Or do you want her in hot pink pants?

AGREED: Increase list size AGREED: Ignore list shared among all my characters AGREED: Adding to list should effectively add that account, not just that character

I'm beginning to wonder if this guy made a quick wrong turn and was seduced into a "private conversation" on an RP server?

"Everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it."

They have made changes like this before: companion gifts didn't used to stack.

I geared my Guardian into complete 72's before my guild started running operations regularly. All the 69's came from either FP's and Elite Comms, and all the 72's came from Ultimate Comms (or the GTN). I never want to do one of those four FP's ever again! (Bitter sidenote: that means no set bonus for me either!) Now that we clear both 8m ops every week, we can effectively gear an entire person each week without even considering the purchasing power of all those Commendations. If you can run ops regularly, then the Comms are just filler to help your progression.

The intent of the Ranked system (at least as I understand it), is to provide a pecking order similar to what you request. At one time, there was gear (and I think there still is), that requires a certain Ranked value. This system will eventually also be used to improve the PvP queue. If you haven't already, check-out some of the pre-patch hype to see what I mean.

To each their own I guess. I would rather sprint through the first few planets before really focusing on my gear. The quest rewards and drops are more than enough, and my game time is limited. I usually wear trash until I can drop a full set of Inheritance tokens. Then when that gear is no longer enough, I'll stop for an hour to load-up my crafters (and probably log off for the night or play a different toon). The next day, I can resume play on that baby toon with a full set of twinkies in my pockets. If you want to min/max your level 3 toon, more power too you--I don't see the ROI.

Maybe I missed it buried somewhere along the thread, but are people missing the obvious distinction between the gear you purchase with Commendations and the gear you get with tokens? I was pissed as hell trying to gear my Guardian until I noticed this. The Black Market and Verpine series items are intentionally less than optimal, but the Arkanian and Underworld series are much closer to ideal. I don't think the decision was meant to encourage an endless Flashpoint grind (especially when you consider the weekly comm limits). I think it is much more likely that they are encouraging participation in Operations.

If they are going to consider changing implants and earpieces, then they should go all-in and toss relics on the burn pile too. I wouldn't mind this from a min/max point of view, but they need to draw a line somewhere.

This is a slippery slope for sure. I like the idea of gradually improving the chance by a small amount, but I think that bonus should also be limited. Maybe increase by 1% up to a max of 30 or 35%. My concern is that it will make endgame ops gear that much easier to buy for the people who have never set foot in an operation. People already buy 31's just so they can get a 20% chance to learn the schematic. It's a huge money pit, but when the gamble pays off, it begins to break the market (and the game). It is also one of the few avenues for crafting to still be lucrative. The rarity of the materials helps to keeps this in check, but GTN speculators can also easily make millions in a week just flipping these mats and mods. We already have a couple people regularly spamming messages like this: "crafting all 31 hilts and barrels, your rare mats + no tip" If the odds improve too much, even these guys will be put out of business.

I'm not sure how this would be any different than the "Ranked" system that still hasn't been fully realized.

I have gone back and forth on this idea myself, but the debate seems to have subsided as time continues to pass. Here is my reality: even for a novice, it only takes a few hours to go from start to fleet practically naked. Introducing item mods so early is only going to complicate game play for first-time players. And for an experienced player, you are only going to waste resources (time, materials and credits). Their choice to limit the availability until your first orange weapon was a good decision. That moment has significant meaning during your first time through--especially for those that use glow sticks. Building my first lightsaber is a moment that remains close to my heart even after grinding half a dozen classes to endgame.

I can only agree with this suggestion to a point. Yes, you will level faster as a DPS; however, if you have never played a tank in SWTOR before, this will inevitably lead to disappointment. There is a fairly steep learning curve, and if you aren't patient enough to level a tank, then you probably won't have the dedication to learn and contribute as a tank at endgame either. That being said, if you can withstand the barrage of insults thrown in the direction of a bad tank, then maybe you can contribute. You will need thick skin AND at least half a clue how to tank. Just remember: regardless of what actually happened, it's always the tank's fault.

Having a timer that displays your elapsed time in queue, and the longest time in queue (for each selected role) would be enough. You wouldn't need to reveal how many people are in the queue, but you would have an idea of how long the wait is, and whether you are the most patient person in queue.

Anything like this would be great. A friend at work plays with his family and pays five different subscriptions (plus two preferred). He needs a spreadsheet to ensure that everyone gets their Cartel Coins.

I played mainly RTS and RPG games prior to SWTOR. So, I have no basis for MMO comparison, but I have invested a considerable amount of time in SWTOR leveling many characters of all roles and classes. That being said, I found the leveling experience on par with expectations the first time through. The few times that I did struggle were because either I hadn't yet learned a mechanic, or I was intentionally trying to do something stupid. Both of which were my fault. On alts, leveling became VERY easy--boring at times, but the story lines were entertaining enough to keep me going. If I could change anything about the leveling experience, it would be to make it MORE difficult. Even in endgame operations, I encounter people who don't care to learn the nuances of their class, and can still succeed because the content isn't challenging enough. They can spam basic abilities and have never needed key bindings or a second quickbar.

I have to disagree with the OP. Many people complained about how much time was wasted while sitting on a taxi, planet after planet, character after character. Certainly, the first time on a new planet it's enjoyable; but after the honeymoon wears off, it's just slowing you down. I think the transportation system used on Makeb was a way to at least try to favor players' time, rather than the visual experience. Also, you can take screenshots from within the game. Some people use special software, but I just use the native Windows functionality. The game seems to dump the captured image into my user's personal My Documents folder when I press "Print Screen", instead of the clipboard; but, I can see why they might make that decision. It certainly allows me to quickly take several shots of bosses as they die!

Your point is valid. I can see how your suggestion would help, but I can also appreciate how difficult it could be to add this visual system to the game. My bigger concern is that there isn't a very strong motivation for people to learn how to play their role in a group setting. Flashpoints are a great way to learn along the way, but most people don't bother--nor do they have all the tools at early levels. Replaying them in hard-mode would help, but again there isn't much motivation. The normal class-story content isn't nearly challenging enough to warrant using even half of the abilities available for most classes. I recently pugged a 16 man HM TFB, and was shocked when not a single person knew what I meant by using their aggro dump--none of the DPS, none of the healers, not even the other tank knew what I was talking about! These weren't newbs either, but rather 15 people approaching the end of the content!

I agree 100%, this is a very neglected portion of the game. I was beginning to compile a list of my own similar to this, and then I saw yours. If we could organize these into things that would have zero impact on balance, and things that could have minor or major impact, it would likely help to prioritize things and simplify the decision-making process at Bioware. A guild calendar (and any other information sharing) is greatly needed--and should have been anticipated before launch--I'm sorry, but a tiny (often ignored) MOTD doesn't cut it. Your other suggestions are nice, but I have seen a ton of dysfunctional guilds come and go, driving many players to quit entirely. The guilds that survive today are the ones willing to find ways to overcome in-game obstacles.

You are absolutely right on there being plenty of differences. But here's my biggest issue for balance: ALL of the Trooper companions use Aim (with an allowance for HK). Leveling and gearing is much easier for a Trooper than a Bounty Hunter.

I can't say I agree with everything you stated, but here's my two cents... 100% Agreed! I enjoyed Space Missions for a while, and eventually returned to grind for the older exotic materials--but now there's no point. I would certainly resume if the newer exotic mats were an option. I can't tell you how many times I had old-school Mario-style nightmares reaching the same datacrons over and over again. I frequently swap between DPS and Heals depending on guild needs that night. I could get behind this on one condition: a reasonable cool down. My gut says 20-30 minutes should be enough to prevent abuse, but still provide the convenience. Honestly, the perk would be not having to manually reallocate the points each time. While I'm not sure that you can pick and choose between ALL flashpoints and operation, you can drill-down through the UI and only select a subset of these. Is your comment more about the daily GF reward or the GF itself?