Really? Deep? What game are you playing because that's the game I want to play. Not this current extremely shallow version that we have on the live servers. You don't really "begin" anything it just happens as you level one character past the first chapter. Any XP gain after that will go to your Legacy level and then you have to hope you can find some way to PAY for all the Legacy perks with in game money. Deep....if you want a deep experience in an MMO play FFXI, Eve, EQ2, GW2 and TSW. SWTOR is far from it.

Trion doesn't have this problem. So...your point is moot. Now that we KNOW an MMORPG developer can put out patches in record time, no one else has any excuse anymore. Especially considering Trion doesn't have the huge corporate backing Bioware does or even Blizzard. Pretty funny when a brand new developer makes the big wigs look bad.

I tried to play my 34 republic alt instead and found I had no desire to plod through Balmorra just to see my class story. So I promptly logged off after about 15 minutes and loaded up Alan Wake. Now THAT'S a game with story. In other words, I played something else. Will continue to do so for probably the next year before I resub, and that ONLY if they make tons of design changes.

You say don't skip main quest, do you mean world story arcs? Or can one skip those paltry sidequests if they are green? On my main, I tried to do every quest I came across. It was fun for awhile. However, I still ended up missing the bonus series on Nar Shadaa, Belsavis and a few other planets I can't remember at this point. It didn't hurt my leveling at all. On my alts I just don't want to do those side quests unless I truly have to, to keep up with my class quest. So if I come to a planet and I'm already a level or 2 above the first quest hub or 2, I should be able to skip those. Zygor's guide....it's the addon that matters, it just makes playing WoW nice and relaxing and much faster than any other guide I've had to "read" because it's practically automated. I can just follow the directions in the addon and enjoy the music and combat of the zones I've seen umpteen times. It may not be THE fastest, but it sure cuts down on questing in an area long after you should have left it, thereby making questing more efficient.

I agree. For some reason questing in this game is just boring. I just want to see my class quests and have the option to skip planet questing altogether now that I've seen them on my main. Sadly this puts one in an xp dilemma. So I'm basically forced to do things I don't want in order to enjoy the oft touted STORY. Something needs to change or be added or taken away, but something must happen. I've unsubbed and I just spoke to 2 people today at Gamestop who have the same issue. They liked the initial story and main character but endgame and alt play is abysmal.

Now this was funny. Hilarious but sadly too true.

Nice guide. I have a question or 2. Is this the fastest way to level or is this just a guide on how to complete every quest in every area? I only ask because what I want is the fastest way to level now that I'm on alts. I want to know which quests are best skipped, which bonus series are best skipped etc. Much like Zygor's guide for WoW(too bad SWTOR doesn't have addons, this would be sooo nice). Alt replayability in this game is just tedious and boring, anything to help get past it would be nice. Just want to see class story for other classes now, myself without trudging through the mindless go kill 10 of these at each quest hub.

The answer to the question about expanding endgame isn't good enough. All that said was what we already know, more of the same. Guess what? Current endgame is BORING, tacking more of the same onto it does not get rid of the BORING aspect. We need viable alternatives. Achievement system that goes beyond the codex, mini games like sabaak, pazaak, pod racing, revamped space game, housing, collections, something to do with collections, alternate advancement mechanics similar to EQ/EQ2, and so on.

When character transfers go live will there be a fee or will it be free the way Trion does it in their game Rift?

One-Monther

No. I've got the endgame blues. I don't raid and I don't do repetitive things like dailies, FPs and PVP over and over and over and...need more alternate gameplay mechanics.

What alternative endgame mechanics are you guys working on, if at all? Alternatives to the raid/pvp/daily mentality ruining this genre.

This^^. I've already unsubbed because of the lack of "trivial but nice" stuff. I'll come back when they implement, IF they implement it. I'm still waiting for WoW to implement stuff like this and I unsubbed from them too for the very same reasons.

I have a list of commendations from each planet equaling 1 or 2. Obviously I used them as best I could, but you still end up with 1 or 2 since that's not enough to buy the low end item on some planets. Like having 1 commendation for Hutta...yeah, you need 8 to buy anything.

I can't believe... that I have to earn 50+ valor ranks with nothing to show for it until you hit 60. that I'm carrying around all these commendations that I can't upgrade, sell or trash because I've out leveled them. that after finally maxing my craft at 400 I now cannot continue crafting without getting mats from high level and HM FPs. that the codex isn't bigger and flashier and doesn't act as an achievement tracker but instead acts as a simplified SWTOR lore wiki that I'll never look at. that I can't steer my ship when and where I want, nor decorate it, color it, or have more than one. that mounts incrementally increase in speed and yet it feels like I'm still walking or in sprint mode at best and then they have the nerve to charge me upwards of 500k+ credits just to use all mount speeds. that I can't seem to stop coming up with so many of these to add to this list, so I'll just stop now before I cause a riot.

At least with that I can put it on autopilot and take a much need bathroom break and grab some more food, drink, etc. before coming back to my character sitting happily at his destination. In other words, this games wastes my time, the other game wastes my character's time. Big difference.

STOP blaming the story aspect. Sheesh, it's the one redeeming value in the game. It's the lackluster rest of the game that needs work and needs to be complained about. But don't you dare blame the story which is the only thing keeping me playing at the moment.

I agree with this. I started the game in December hoping I could collect mounts and have it be rewarding, like after collection 20 or more you get an extra one, same with vanity pets. You know, the way WoW and Rift does it with their achievements. But what do we get? The Codex. Woopdie Doo. An ingame incyclopedia of useless lore that's only good for extra xp here and there while you level. The codex should be bigger, flashier and be a recorder of achievements, stats and your personal story so that you can sift through it and plan things to do while waiting in the fleet for a party to form for the FP you "need" to run.

The carrot on the stick at endgame is horrible. There isn't anything to look forward to. I get to the end of my class story and boom...suddenly I'm told to occupy myself with boring FPs, and PVP until more content patches come. Sadly, the last content patch only added another FP to run. This game is awesome up till the last drop...but then post 50 it's all downhill. It ends up feeling like work instead of fun and diverse game mechanics to keep my occupied. This is where things like collections, housing, guild housing, siege warfare etc. come into play. I would like to point the devs at one game that offers soooo many alternatives in gameplay it's amazing. FFXI. may not be everyone fav. or executed very well with controls and such, but the sheer game mechanics and content in that game is overwhelming. So imagine, SWTOR adding Pazaak, Sabaac, Pod Racing, collections, housing, guild housing, siege warfare, flying mounts, water zones and swimming and a few other things your mind just came up with while reading this and tell me that ISN'T the SWTOR you want to play? I know it's one I would rather play then what we currently have.

You do realize that Crysis uses the Cryengine, which funny enough, Cryengine 3 is currently being used in development of some big name MMO's coming out soon. Like ArcheAge. Secondly, why wouldn't I want my MMO to have the best of all the mmorpgs that have gone before it? It doesn't have to be there at launch, but it sure better be there after 7 years (something even Blizzard didn't do right, or Lotro, or EQ2 and so on.) I love SWTOR, but it needs more game mechanics. But that's why I play MMORPGs, because they are supposed to grow over time and add these things.

Mistake or not, heck I've made this same mistake myself, but I moved on. The fact is, the sorting system at vendors is horrific and doesn't work half the time, like the option to sort by usable. It doesn't even change the listing. This goes in tandem with the GTN having horrible search options and being unable to search truly by my Advanced class or by stats.

I must say, Bravo Bioware. For me yesterday's patch is like night and day. Especially in PVP, which I can now safely do without being frustrated. Skills firing off when they should even in the midst of FPS slowdowns(due to my lack of CPU power, not the game). FPS on the Fleet was much better and even areas of the game where I would bog down, like the Coruscant Black Sun taxi landing zone. I used to cringe having to go through there but yesterday on a new character it was very smooth and made my jaw drop that I could finally enjoy certain areas of the game. My only issue was a medpack that showed the cooldown was finished but it wasn't and FPS in the Alderaan Civil War warzone was still pretty horrible when the cannons start to fire.

Why not? Ever hear the oft used saying "History repeats itself."? Blizzard had never made an MMORPG like WoW before. Bioware had never made an MMORPG like SWTOR before. Expecting SWTOR to have everything WoW now has is just unrealistic. People are people and fallible, we aren't God as so many of you seem to think/expect with your product at launch. I'm having more fun playing this at launch then I did WoW at launch. I remember the server load issues WoW had in that first year and times where there maintenance lasted 24+ hours and the loot lag, and no Raids, and classes so out of wack balance wise it was crazy. At the time though, I loved WoW and easily overlooked these issues because eventually they fixed them. SWTOR has 1 or 2 glaring issues for me, ability delay and horrible FPS in warzones/high npc-player areas, but I can live with it because I know it will be addressed eventually.

^^This. Same issue here. Some planets just take forever to load, same with loading into the game. Other's not so much. Sadly this applies to Warzones and FP's and makes having to come in and out of them a nightmare. I truly miss this one aspect of WoW where the load screen was about 15 seconds long, tops.

Is that the same as the UI we use in game or something else? If it is the same, would the upcoming overhaul have some affect on current FPS and ability delay issues? I noticed it's almost like the UI itself runs slower than what is happening on screen, or it's not synced with the animations, or...something. I don't know what. It sure isn't that bug they are fixing with next weeks patch with the cooldowns not showing properly.