I have a lvl 50 gunslinger and a 39 scoundrel, I've played the smuggler already. It isn't "oh noes", it is, "damn you got played sucker"

I have played both sides. I have a lvl 50 JK, 50 GS and a 43 Comando (among others) and I have a lvl 39 Powertech and a 33 Sniper. Far and away, the game favors empire. Their story arcs are better, their armor looks better, and in most cases the dialog choices are better... Summation of republic quest lines... "Oh noes, we made a super weapon and the empire stole it, save us from ourselves hero!"

I started actively using mine when I got my gunslinger and vanguard to alderaan and those cryo soldiers in the vineyard.

So, simply put, since we don't believe the same as you we aren't entitled to an opinion. Well, tough for you, I got one and I say this move is about as bright as a dead light bulb. This is NOT a win for this game, this is a tuck tail and run maneuver because they released a buggy game before it was ready and can't seem to fix it. They spent all this money on voice overs instead of creating actual content when the majority of us, once we hear it the first time, space bar though the damn things to not have to listen to them again. they add absolutely nothing to the game but processing overhead. I do not feel more immersed because I hear the same voices and soundbites over and over again. I do not feel more immersed because I have three choices that completely take RP out of my hands and predetermine my responses, often differently than the choice bubbles suggest. F2P doesn't fix any of this, it will just bring in a bunch of people who have no investment in the game, increase the issues with the network errors this game already experiences during the supposedly heavy population cycles and will introduce us to a cash shop in our faces (whether we subscribe or not). I've watched this happen to two games already, I already know how it will end. I only hope I can get another 6-9 months of enjoyment out of the game before they completely destroy it.

In a MMO, it is (IMO) impossible to develop a crafting system because of the inherit nature of MMOs... Things just don't break, there is no need for replacement gear and there is no way to make crafting difficult enough (and no, time sink does not = difficult) that anything done in the game shouldn't be capable of replacing it. No quests, pure sandbox. Think pre-expansion Asheron's Call. Open skill system, open world, multiple paths for leveling, reasons for exploring... Monthly updates to the story line with live events to match, want to do them, fine, don't want to do them, fine but the story will progress based upon what happens during the events. Honestly, all I really want in a game is a modernized version of the original AC (from a PvE perspective) with DAoC RvRvR concept beyond that. Gaming with a purpose that can be fun and doesn't feel like a bloody job.

Everquest II allows for this. I can change from Paladin to Shadowknight, Dirge to Troubie, Wizard to Warlock which were all based around the same concept of a subclass. Not saying it would be good here, as I pretty much know what subclass I'm going to be when I roll the toon. But I can understand if someone rolls a toon for one purpose, has that purpose nerfed to the point where that concept isn't fun wanting to change.

Well, I'm not on your server, but I don't do pugs. I have a lvl 50 Guardian tank and a lvl 36 Powertech tank (in training), if I'm not tanking for a guild group, I'm playing my DPS or healer toons. I quit tanking for pugs back in EQ2.

Asheron's call was doing monthly story updates/events before it was cool... it is possible, but given the (what I believe unnecessary) complexity of today's games, I'm sure there are things that need to be handled that NWN scripters (of which I used to be one too ) never had to deal with.

The only problem I see with the legacy thing is that it 'could' open up issues for people (like me) who have toons on both sides on a server. They would have to add a code that would prevent cross faction datacrons from being counted.

I almost didn't play it because it was Star Wars. Over my 13+ years of MMO playing, I've found that games with a 3rd party IP tend to struggle more, have more drama (due to lore kiddies) and have more external issues (with the 3rd party IP holder). To this date, my 2 favorite ever MMOs had an internal made IP (Those being Asheron's Call and Shadowbane) with their own created lore. Those felt more like RPGs and less like I was a character being written in a book by a third party... edit: And for the record, I play MMOs because they are MMOs, not the IP attached to them. I've played: Asheron's call Anarchy Online Dark Age of Camelot Star Wars Galaxies Shadowbane EverQuest EverQuest II Lineage II Age of Conan a Handful of F2P games (or rather P2W) And Beta Tested others not on the list.

On the tat one, there is an alternate way of getting up there. All you need is a JK or Jugg friend to help. I know it works, cause I've done it.

I can say one thing, the quality of computer matters on these. I can make many of the jumps easily on my rig, but move to my wife's laptop that she plays on and I can't do it (when I had just done so on my rig). The lag she experiences causes the jumps to act completely different.

A game without Cartel coins?

Even saw some of this on Jung Ma today, the line to the race (when I was there) was orderly and people were even trying to form up groups to make it go faster.

I too am on the fence for the xp pots... I'm more concerned with things like health pots that outdo crafted, special adrenals/health pots for war zones that can be used in addition to the ones in game OR work significantly better than the in game ones. Content that should be put in game being put in the shop instead (I saw A LOT of this in EQ2 when they went to the 'hybrid' model) I am also dead set against ANY gear being put in the store, gear should be EARNED, not bought. And I have little chance of ever seeing much of it by playing. But for XP... Other than the occasional need to get a new toon to end game for some reason (to replace a leaving healer or tank for example) does it really matter THAT much. I accept that some people will level faster than me and that i'll level faster than some others.

For me, I would say the ease of leveling was the worst let down. Here we are 6 months in and I have 2 level 50s, a lvl 43, a level 39 and several at other stages and that is after switching servers from TEH to Jung Ma. Leveling is too easy, if I can level that fast it is way too fast (I'm historically noted as a slow leveler with a severe case of altitis). The next would be the completely linear nature of the game, after the 3rd/4th toon on a side, the side quests get so boring I'd rather never even see the planet again, let along that particular quest. I guess I times I miss just having a good dungeon crawl, which is just doesn't seem to be supported in MMOs anymore... I think this has done more to hurt the game than anything else, MMO burnout will cause people to drop out faster than any other reason (in my experience). That would lead me to my next issue and that is, the game has NO re-playability factor, there is no enjoyment beyond the class quest of a new character and heaven forbid you want to play a different subclass (such as gunslinger and scoundrel), then you even lose the re-playability there too. This prevents any unique feeling to a character and they become cookie cutter... The final disappointment would be the F2P announcement. Not going to comment further on that as it has already been hashed out...

I would say no to any of them except the 'betrayal' option (and I'd rather see that implemented in the game as an ingame piece, not a purchase). As for the lvl 1-50 thing, I'm not sure how leveling a tank from 1 to 50 solo would be any different than instant level, since you aren't going to learn to tank in either case... You might have a slight edge in that you know your abilities better by leveling, but you still aren't going to understand agro control mechanics, healer limits, etc.

Lag in general has been terrible as of late, and not just in PvP...

The biggest issue isn't what the free people get, it is what will EA do with the cash shop and how required to compete (especially for those of us on PvP servers) will items be. If they are strictly convenience items, that isn't a big deal, it is when they cross that line (to increase revenue) that it becomes a problem. When paying a monthly sub doesn't allow you the chance (not guarantee you the right of access, but even the chance) to get any item in the game (ie, you have to spend above and beyond the monthly fee) to get access to items/gear/etc to compete, it becomes a problem. When they start putting things on the cash shop that should belong to crafters or quests, you start to have a problem. To this date, I've not seen a single F2P (aka Pay to Win) game that hasn't crossed this line at some point and to some degree. I've been through two of these hybrid games (LotRO and EQ2) and the resulting game after the change sucked compared to the start of the change (cash shop constantly in your face, all but forcing you to buy things to play the game, etc). I simply fear (since no info has been released on this part of this change yet) that this will be the case, because at this point, I do not trust a game developer (especially EA) to get this right.

Nay! Cash shops lead to P2W games and I come to games to escape reality, not be forced to play it here too.

My biggest issue is that it never stops where they start the store. Never. In EQ2, it was, we aren't going to add RMT, then it was, we are adding RMT but only on these servers over here, it won't interupt your game play. Then it was RMT is on all game server, but we aren't going to put anything that will change the game... Then the xp potions and heal pots, etc started... Then they merged the F2P (or P2W rather) servers and the sub servers and I couldn't handle it anymore. All the time I was telling people that this is the way it was going to go down and being told to shut up about slippery slopes that it won't ever happen. Yes, it may be inoffensive to most now, but remember, this is just the start. The ease in to make it easier to swallow, but it won't stop here, it never does.

Then I'll be playing checkers, because FtP or rather, shall we call it what it is, Pay to Win, sucks and if it is the future of MMOs, then MMOs are a thing of the past for me.

This is my sentiment exactly. I've been down this road with LotRO and EQ2, I won't go down it with SWTOR. Sad too, as the game recently became fun again (decided to try the other side for a while). I'm disappointed, not terribly, but still... Though I wish I could said I'm surprised, alas, I am not.