If you are a "Tank" you can also DPS, just go into DPS stance. You may not be as high DPS as a pure DPS class but you can still do well enough for most encounters. If you are a Healer you can also DPS in the same way a Tank can. If you are a DPS class that is tied to a Healing AC you will also have the 2 default heals and can use them as backup heals as needed or Primary heals if your group is a bit over powered for the content.

As your companion gains affection certain 'quests' will unlock and they will want to talk to you. By far the majority of these are just conversations, no combat or travel etc. There are a few, however, that turn into actual quests that may involve combat. Also, these quests are tied to your class story. Even if you max out affection right away you wont get all the conversations. You will get as many as are tied to your current progress in class quest. You may find that when you finish ACT 1, for example, that your companion wants to talk about 10 times in a row.

You also get Class specific Modable gear from the Bosses if you solo a FP. It should only drop gear your own class can use and it is "Orange" so if you like the looks you can do it for that reason also.

If you hit CTRL SHIFT F in game and look in the lower left corner you should see a #. If that number is RED it is your CPU limiting your system, if it is GREEN it is your Graphics card. That can help you figure out what to fix first.

Tatooine is much harder than the previous planets so you do need to make sure you are geared up properly and using the correct companion for your AC/Spec. Also, it helps to not go to Tatooine until 25 if you can manage it.

There is no dungeon finder. You just need to get the Heroic or Flashpoint quests and LFG in the /general chat.

I've solo'd up to the level 33 one on my lvl 50 trooper. I havent tried the next one up yet.

There is some known issue where people 'lag' inside buildings but not really outdoors. Maybe that will go away after the big patch Tuesday or soon after.

Seems to me you are playing a different game than I am, or are just on a bad server for the time of day you play. There are plenty of people around everywhere I go and everyone that wants to be is guilded. You can queue for PvP without stopping your PvE activities so that argument is void. There is a LFG system but most people dont really use it. Most seem to just use the general chat channel for that. (they have said they are working on a real LFG system though) As for bugs, I have only run into one bug that caused me any real trouble and only a few very minor other ones. I dont see how any of that is different than every other MMO on the market. The UI isnt broken in any way and does its job.. just because it isnt modable is the only realy fault it has. (that is also on their list of things to remedy)

I doubt they'd do this but IMO all classes should get a healer in the late teens. Maybe some people wouldnt use them, but many classes really really need a healer.

It really depends on what you mean by latency. People use that term and "lag" for all kinds of things. Are you having constant frame rate issues (low FPS) or is it just jerky at times? Check your FPS by hitting CTRL+ SHIFT + F in game and look in the lower left corner. See what the FPS numbers are, and also what color they are. If they are red your CPU/Memory is the problem, if they are Green your video card is the issue. Or is the issue that pressing abilities isnt firing them as quickly as you expect?

What exactly are you seeing that is 'slow' then? 50FPS is just fine. I have everything in the game maxed out, including the hidden settings in the INI file and I get from 50 to 80 FPS most everywhere.

It gets more expensive but you also make credits much faster from about 24 and up. The thing is, if you arent wasting credits on things that arent necessary you will have more than enough. I usually have 60k or so in the bank when I hit 25 even though I do some crafting along the way.

Core2Duo isnt really top of the line anymore, but even still it isnt uncommon for a MMO to push a CPU up to max. In game hit Ctrl Shift F and then look in the lower left corner and see the numbers there. What do those numbers show and what color are they for you?

If you're 50 they start on Ilum and Belsavis.

At low levels it is better if you dont buy items for credits. You should find plenty of upgrades from quests and loot.

Dunno about a few weeks ago, but any time I've redone an FP I did not get any alignment gains from it even though they show up during the conversations.

They are quests of various types that give commendations to be used for level 50 purple items. Some are PvP, some arent.

Quests (usually class quests or planetary bonus series) is one way. Another is Flashpoints Also of course from Commendation vendors.

Yeah, the pre-inserted mods are great. You can even remove them and put them into whatever other orange gear you want (it costs a fee to remove mods).

Save credits for the level 25 speeder training. After that go nuts. You should have more than enough credits to get training and recipes etc along the way. The only possible issues are the level 40 and 50 speeder upgrades but those are more of an optional thing IMO.

All orange gear is the same as far as 'level' is concerned. The mods you add to the gear determine the stats, including armor rating and damage rating. The Light/Medium/Heavy armor rating does matter as they modify the armor rating of the mod you put in. The only reason you'd need to exchange the orange gear is if you want a different look All armor slots and weapons are available. (relics, ears etc are not) I dont know what level you can start seeing other parts drop but I'm pretty sure they exist fairly early on.

Alignment gains only work the first time through a FP. After that even though you see the 'gain' it does not apply. I dont know if its intentional but it might be there to prevent alignment farming.

They are both DPS and a little bit squishy but they solo just fine.

It increases as you level. By about level 40 you can send 4 out, by close to 50 you can send out 5.