Hey! I just submitted an application. Looking forward to talking in game. Long time player returning to the game here.

I really appreciate the responses, everyone. I am definitely leaning toward a mix of 1. and 2. On the plus side, my wife is interested in playing! So more motivation to re-roll at least 1 or 2 characters.

Hello, SWTOR community! Just a few initial points I'd like to make before I produce a hopefully bearable wall of text: 1. I don't expect any one here to know who I am or to be impressed that I've been around since the game's launch. 2. This post, for those who are kind enough to take the time to read it, is going to be as sincere as I can make it. I am not out to troll or to cause dissent or drama. 3. Just as the title suggests, I am posting this to get some advice. So for those who like to give an opinion, please stick around and don't hold back. 4. If any disagreement arises between those responding (assuming any traction is gained by this thread) please keep it friendly. 5. If you absolutely don't want to read the whole thing before responding just go to the bottom where the Jawa is winking to see the advice I'm looking for. Without further ado, time for a little backstory. I have been a Star Wars fan for a long time, and I've enjoyed playing MMO's since 2008 when I was introduced to them by my now brother in-law. In chronological order here's what I've played MMO wise: WoW, Star Wars Galaxies, Star Trek Online, SWG again, SWTOR (Some GW2 in between, but no longer). During this time-span I've taken my fair share of breaks, but you get the point. I greatly anticipated this game's launch since I first heard about it the day I joined this web site. I remember the speculation, theories, impatience, but overall excitement and hope for this game. Some awesome memories were made just staying up late talking about it on these forums. My experience with SW:TOR early on actually had a lot of genuine emotion, bringing the KOTOR story telling to an MMO was a dream come true. And I loved this game when it first came out even if it was just because I wanted to so badly. No, I am not here to talk about how it ended up being this big disappointment (which it did not despite it's flaws) or how I took a long break because I missed SWG a lot and was bitter toward the big guys at the top for killing SWG to help this game succeed. (Which is a true story, but I cooled off) I haven't played this game consistently since September of last year, why? Long story short (New Job with more hours, moving out of parents house, getting married). All I've done since October to now is play KotFE, and subbing just to play the chapters as soon as they're available isn't worth the money (duh, I know that's on me, subbing gets you much more that I haven't taken advantage of for a while) However, my life has finally settled down to the point where I feel comfortable (possibly) coming back to play this game the way it's meant to be played. But I kind of feel like a man returning to his home town as a stranger. I know the end game has changed drastically and I have no idea what gear is good or bad, or what the PvP is like prior to or at max level. Not to mention I have no guild (everyone I knew has stopped playing or hasn't stayed in touch). Here's what I'm thinking so far. 1. I'm ready and willing to take the effort it will take to get back up to par, so to speak, and even join a new guild. 2. But, part of me wants to wipe the slate clean and start from level 1 with my characters. One reason is because I want to relive the awesomeness that was the original class stories and leveling up, and the game is so different now restarting will give me something simple to do as I re-assimilate. On the other hand I put a lot of hours and effort into my current toons, but even with that I feel it wouldn't be to difficult to catch myself back up. The last thing 3. Abstaining from SW:TOR all together. I really hope for some feedback from those who have been here through all the changes to tell me how it's been and how it is. Also, I'd like feedback from those who have also been here for a while but are also on their way out or are considering leaving. I am of course ready and willing to answer questions if it will help you help me. Thanks in advance! ~ Icebreaker

This game needs a lot of help in the optimization department, that's all I know, and I sure hope they're working on it as we speak.

Tonight two moronic sith were screwing with me on Yavin 4. I was on my main toon (who is a shadow tank) and pulled one to the ledge, pushed him off, then cloaked out. Did this twice before I recruited help and we mopped them over and over (they got us a couple times). Good times, good times.

I'll give that a shot, but even if the fps doesn't improve I don't see how it rules out the GPU as part of the problem if not the whole problem. "UPDATE" I noticed very little frame rate improvement when I dropped the settings considerably, you may be onto something. Perhaps i'll start with upgrading my CPU and if there isn't much improvement i'll eventually upgrade my GPU as well. Appreciate all of the advice! And i'll still take more if there is any to give.

What exactly makes it better? Is it the GHz?

I appreciate all of the answers. And as others have noted, I use a desktop PC, not a laptop. It seems the debate is between whether it's the graphics card or the CPU, and I suppose it's hard to be sure unless I upgrade one or the other, which i'd rather not do without being sure.

Hello all! I've been playing this game since launch and have upgraded my tower some during my tenure but i'm still unsatisfied with the performance in SWTOR. My specs. GPU: GeForce GTX 650 2GB DDR5 CPU: AMD FX-6100 Six-Core RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600 Resolution: 1440 x 900 75Hz Anti analysing and shadows are off. Everything else is pretty much amped except texture anisotropy is at Medium. My gripe is in a 16man op I rarely break 20fps and during combat it's often like a slide show where the fps can even drop to single digits. And unless i'm alone in a questing area fighting there is a noticeable drop when me and others are in combat (like at yavin 4 when others are around fighting the fps will drop to the 20's). What would be optimum to me is the absolute minimum fps I want to see is 20+ fps in the most intense of areas (warzones, 8 and 16man raids). I don't want to compromise my settings any more than I already have and i'm ready to buy some hardware to improve things, and I just find it strange that my performance isn't any better considering my set up and the fact that this game isn't detailed like a lot of newer games out, but perhaps i'm behind the times concerning gaming hardware. I couldn't find a section in the forums specifically related to this issue so I hope it's alright I've posted it here. Thanks in advance for the help!

Hello all! This is a guild me and my long time guildie have just founded. We have played SW:TOR since launch, have a few 55's between us and some toons we're leveling. We play both factions, and play most of the content the game has to offer. The two types of content we haven't dived into as much is the new open space PvP, and Ops. We have some experience with some Ops but we have not been in a guild active enough to continue trying out the newer ops and their difficulties. History and conduct: In SWG we were apart of a guild called RiStL (Rising Storm Legion) the guild did start this game with us but most have gone to other games. We still have the imperial RiStL guild but our Republic guild died which is one reason why we've made this one (Our name is based on a city we had in SWG). We were a tight knit group who loved playing everything SWG had to offer, and we want to repeat that here in SW:TOR except with players that enjoy the game like we do. We are about respect for one another, and helping each other out, but ultimately we are about enjoying the game and the community. We are not a hard core PvP or role playing guild. We enjoy casual PvP but roleplay has not been our thing. However, we won't turn someone away just because they like to roleplay. We love to play all aspects of PvE. And just like for roleplayers, we won't turn someone away just because they are a hard core PvP player. Our over all tone is relaxed, we don't put forth expectations except that you be respectful and have fun! Voice chat: We have a TeamSpeak3 channel which is ready to take on members, once you have joined we will get the info to you immediately and you can join us. Voice chat has always been apart of our guild and is beneficial for organization in PvP matches and group PvE content. And of course regular conversation as well. How to join: Below I will give a list of toons you can contact in game or by mail. Once you have expressed interest in joining all I or my fellow guildie want to do is ask a couple of questions and once those questions have been answered you will receive an invite and Ts3 info! Republic: Valacor (My main toon), Kaval, Tavock, Syles, Drazk, Staria, or Zorrak. You can send a mail with your interest in joining or just whisper if any of these toons are on. We are mostly a republic guild however, we do have imperials toons we like to play and if we get enough who want to play a lot on the imperial side then we will be just as glad to hop over. In summary: We're a guild with a relaxed and fun atmosphere aiming to play the game with others who enjoy it just as much as we do. Once we become populated enough we will begin to plan days to do ops and possibly even separate events for fun. At the end of the day we want to help each other advance in the game and enjoy all of its aspects. Take care! Hope to see you in game soon!

Part of me knows that would be an awesome idea, but RiStL has a lot of pride, I was in a guild in SWG that actually merged with RiStL and that's how I came to join them. RiStL always had down times occasionally in the past but we never dissolved. Being allies so to speak would be great though!

I'd love it if you did contact me if you needed me! I know part of me not doing much more with you guys besides GSF was on me. It was really just hard being in a different guild, I saw in you guys what I had with my long time guild. So I got in touch with whoever was still around in my old guild and went back. I deleted your Ts3 info out of respect, but if we are to do any thing together in the future it's probably good I have it. So if you would mail Valacor the info and I will certainly keep in touch!

Thank you Saberwing for recruiting me! Unfortunately I am looking for a guild involved actively in just about all aspects of the game but I appreciate that you guys brought me in! To any one who is considering trying to join, I definitely recommend Saberwing. Especially if you're looking to be active in the new GSF warzones. They have some of the best pilots on the Republic side for sure.

Sounds good! I will try to get in touch with you.

Thank you for responding! Once the game finishes patching and I scope through whoever else might show interest I will certainly do that!

I am very interested in your guild! Check out my post if you want a little more information on me. http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=702216

Hello ladies and gentlemen. Over the last several months I've been on and off after playing consistently since launch but I've been absent for 4 months now. My life got busy but I've finally found more time to play, unfortunately the guild I was with since playing SWG all but disbanded in SWTOR so I don't have a guild to return to. I have several toons, 1 of each class so 4 on each faction, I lean Republic but if you also have an IMP guild I'd gladly join it too. I have experience in most HM Flashpoints and I like PvP but I never made it the focus of my play. My end game players have decent gear, I was making progress before I left. I have a lot of MMO experience, any where from WoW to SWG to Star Trek online. At the end of the day i'm a Star Wars geek so I prefer a SW MMO over the rest. I pride myself on being a smart player, after being absent I'm not as knowledgeable but I can get back into the swing of things. I am also open to other areas of the game I haven't delved into like space and operations. I am working on patching the game back up and I should be back in by late tonight/tomorrow. I have a bit of a tight schedule with work and family/girlfriend but I can manage several hours of play a week. My main toon is Valacor(Consular tank), my imp main toon is Cavarn(Warrior tank). I prefer the guild have a voice chat, I've used Ts3 for a while but I'm open to others, whatever the guild uses. I'm not a drama person, I'm about having fun/relaxing in game. Thank you for your consideration, either PM me or post here if you want to give me a try. ~Icebreaker

Ahh yes we hadn't thought about flashpoints we'll definitely start doing some investigating. And yes we are planning on having a Knight face a Marauder or a Juggernaut face a Sentinel next go around to add a bit more style. After 1.4 there have been odd graphical glitches that have shown up as you may have seen in the video; one of which being the light saber animations didn't show the momentum of the swing behind it which takes away the smooth flow of the swings, It's not something that shows up all the time but we're hoping it doesn't happen for the next one.

Duel #1: Notice the new addition to the ending This is the first of hopefully many videos on the way of duels in game done by myself and a few guildies. Keep in mind this was just our first go around so there were parts where we know we could have done better with the choreography and movement and such. But I hope you enjoy and we'd like to ask the community to give us suggestions as to where they think it would be cool to see a duel happen(We will be using other classes for duels, it won't always be the same). Thanks! Update #1: I've updated the link with a version that has higher quality. We unfortunately due to schedules not adding up were unable to do the next duel but we have secure plans to do it tomorrow(Knocks on wood).

This was well put and It's true that the one thing lacking story wise in SW:TOR(At least imho) is seeing the effect of choices you made; the esseles being a good example, but, something you have to understand is SW:TOR wasn't out to revolutionize story telling in RPGs, it was out to revolutionize story telling for MMORPG's which for the most part it did. This game being an MMO puts limits on what they can pull off story wise as it pertains to there being drastically different results from your choices. And that comes from the fact that the stories/quests aren't open world, It's not out there for some to do and then others to see because then it would have to reset eventually and it would just take away even more from the immersion, so you see, making drastic changes to what happens by choices can't happen on a grand scale in an MMO without it just being seen as even more worthless/meaningless. You using esseles made a good point on the choices just being a fluff and not changing much ultimately, which is true and the case for a lot of the stories/mission in TOR, but think back to KotOR and tell me how many choices you made would drastically change any thing that was going to happen ultimately...exactly most of the big choices were moral instead of open world changeable. So in SW:TOR here's in perspective who the players are playing: these are the people in SW history who filled these roles either as the Trooper or Sith Warrior, Jedi Consular etc etc basically the way It's set up is history has forgotten their names...their race...their gender and what have you but ultimately in history there was a Jedi Knight who did this...and there was a Smuggler who accomplished this and vis versa so we are, as players, filling the void with who these people are(In the way we want) we're playing as the many myths and legends that were made about these people you could say, we aren't meant to shape any thing on a grand scale. Ultimately I do hope they had more consequence for choices but with all of this in mind the story is one of the strongest points of the game and I wouldn't play it without it, that, and the fact that It's Star wars.

^ this, and not only that but the process of getting the gear to match the better geared players shouldn't be like taking a stroll through the mud with a 50 pound chain around your neck.

Lol please read thoroughly before posting.

Lol they would never do an actual "Christmas" or "Halloween" event so please purge that out of your minds now. SWG pulled off holiday events masterfully imho things like Life Day and the Galactic Moon Festival were fantastic and made some good memories and added to the life of the game like it had a sort of seasonal cycle like real life does, and one thing this game needs more of is life. And quit arguing about insulting religion if an event looks more like Christmas here in the US of A than whatever the crap muslims do that time of year. So long as it's not the actual holiday celebrated like we do it there's nothing to complain about so quit nit picking and whining like it matters.

The community is losing its mind...

I know they said to guard the doors and not leave them, but this guy is at half health and running away! I know it's more beneficial to chase him down and finish him! (Enemy gets bomb on door) I know this guy probably got on the node before me, but hey I think it's more beneficial to see if I get it before him than it is beneficial for me to stop any one who might try and stop him from getting the node! (Interrupted by 1 juggernaut with 2 seconds to go) Dang! I keep hitting this guy but his health is rejuvenating! And what is this idiot talking about "kill the healers" they can't do any damage so they aren't top priority! Why would i go after the ball carrier? He has like full health, I see someone with half health running toward the health pack! (Rot worms score!) LOL this newb juggernaut fell in our pit, doesn't he know the only way to get to our end zone is if he takes the ramps? I'll just sit up here and fire down on him, it's not like he can jump to me or any thing. (Rot worms score!) To name but a few...