That's true. Though there are already plans to give advantages to people who use the Legacy system anyway I thought (Legacy skills or something)? Personally, I think it's a little silly to have 2+ alts and they are all 400 Biochem...being able to make BoP items for your alts would increase diversity in crafting professions serverwide leading to a more varied economy. As it stands now people are already leveling to 400 Biochem just to get the BoP items and then switching to another craft to get its BoP items. I don't really see why having an alt do it for you would be any different other than saving time and money. Though I guess Bioware does want your time AND money... And it's not like you'd be able to use the crafted artifact items right off the bat since they have level restrictions on them anyway. Just a thought, though it probably would require a whole lot of tweaking to balance it.

Ooh, and what about crafting? Would your Alt-Companion be able to craft for you as well? Like say if they are 400 Biochem they can make Biochem items for you, including the BoP items...that way different alts are actually encouraged to have different crafting abilities. The possibilities are endless with this idea. Really, truly brilliant, OP.

This is actually a really cool idea, and I'd be all for it. I do see a few problems with the combat system, though. Would the Alt-Companion have access to all their skills, or just the ones that available at the same level as the main? And what about specs and people who multi-spec, where skills aren't necessarily associated with a certain level? I could see a problem if you had, say, a level 50 Corruption Sorcerer with access to Revivification while your new main is at level 10. That might put the game on super easy mode for some, which isn't really that bad of a thing. Still, awesome idea, would really love to see something similar implemented!

You're putting words in people's mouths, just like you claim they're putting words in your mouth. I already said that I didn't think the OP's point about the Republic being all female and the Empire being all male was sexist. I thought that was a good point. And I said that you didn't have sexist intentions. I know you didn't MEAN to be sexist when you said it. Probably just like how the OP didn't MEAN to be sexist when he said the thing about masculinity. But the idiom you used IS sexist. It has a sexist implication IN and OF ITSELF, even if YOU personally did not intend to convey THAT particular meaning. I seriously don't know how many times I can reiterate this. No wonder men don't have positions of power in the Republic - none of you have reading comprehension!

As much as I hate Rakghouls, I really hope that Bioware puts in some truly creepy moments in there, a la Dragon Age's Broodmother, or Mass Effect's Husks and Thorian Creepers. One can dream!

^^^^^ This.

I was not personally offended by the fact that he used that statement. I was merely pointing out that people can say sexist things (including a sexist idiom) without intending to be sexist. And, since the content of what they're saying is sexist, it is offensive to some people. Thus I can understand why people are upset. Thus I think it is not fair to marginalize them. You see, my intent was also pretty innocuous. I intended to point out that people were saying sexist things unintentionally, but to some people it came across differently. They reacted to what I said with offense without actually seeing the intent. It goes both ways. And man, I actually do hope they close this thread soon. It's really off-topic!

I already said that the statement itself is sexist, but I'm sure it was not your intent to be sexist. Read my original post, thank you.

Just because you're not TRYING to be sexist doesn't mean you aren't, though. That's what I've been trying to explain and that's what a lot of people aren't getting. The thread name itself is sexist. "Too damn many female leaders". Just think about that for a second. Can there ever be too many female leaders? In what situations? People sensitive to that statement probably read that and came into the thread with the expectation that it was going to be sexist regardless of what the OP said. What he's really saying is that the Empire/Republic gender ratios are imbalanced. Important Republic leaders are all women according to him, and important Empire leaders are all men, and he would've liked to see a woman on the Empire side and a male on the Republic side. That's perfectly fine and I see nothing wrong or sexist about that. But then he also says "Are you trying to say something about the masculinity of the Republic, Bioware?" And that's the statement I (and I'm assuming others, I cannot speak for them) have a problem with. I also have a problem with the people who are screaming "There are NO male Republic leaders!!" To them, I say...So? And? What's your point? And yes, I will agree about the double-standard of equal treatment between men and women but that's another issue entirely and I think this thread has been derailed enough. I do wish Satele were less bland, though. I don't know much about her yet, I guess, so time will tell. the Empire guys just seem so much cooler!

It is sexist, but in a positive way. "You have balls!" implies that someone is being brave or courageous like a man, which is construed a positive thing. "Panties in a bunch" implies that someone is being overly sensitive like a woman, which is construed as a negative thing. Do you see the difference?

The saying itself is sexist. It implies that people who wear panties (usually women) get upset when said panties are in a bunch. Basically, women are easily upset. That's a sexist statement. You could have said underwear. That is gender neutral. And not all women wear panties, so that's a stereotypical and generalizing statement, and not an accurate one. It's a sexist statement no matter how you dress it up, panties or not. Even if there is no ill will, if the statement is sexist, then it's perfectly understandable why people are upset. If someone said something unintentionally racist, it's still racist. It's still demeaning to a group of people. It's perfectly understandable why someone would be offended by that. And then to have other people marginalize those feelings is basically like kicking a person when they're already down.

The OP may not be trying to be sexist, but his post inherently is. A lot of posts here are. They're not TRYING to be sexist (unless they are trolling), but some of them ARE sexist by pure virtue of what they're saying. The intent might not be there, but that still does not make it okay. That's why people are getting upset and making a big deal about it. Not only are sexist remarks being made, but they're also being marginalized. For instance, you just said "getting your panties in a bunch". That's sexist, too. You might not have intended it to be, but that doesn't change what it is.

Yeah, the SI storyline is...really underwhelming. The first part is nonstop fetch quests. You're basically Indiana Jones, but even though you have lightning, you're still not as cool. How is that possible? They couldn't even give us some exposition on what KIND of relics we were getting or the HISTORY or I dunno, some sort of cool explanation of the inner workings of the Dark Side or original Sith Lords or SOMETHING? Anything?? Then you become a Ghostbuster, and you're not even the one played by Bill Murray. I just...fail to see the whole point of this. Wouldn't it have been cooler to actually do some political intrigue? Or anything at all involved with the main plot? It just feels like SI's story occurs in a bubble and nothing you do has any real effect on anyone else. And throughout the whole thing, you're basically someone else's lapdog and also completely incompetent on your own. Kallig saves you (and then proceeds to call you foolish) how many times? You're beaten by how many Darth Nobodies? How many of these plans were your own? Freaking lame. I guess Bioware had to make something about the SI bad so people would roll other classes.

Good job not even reading or seeing the point of my post. Exactly what argument was I trying to make?

Okay, not going to read all the posts about men vs. women because I can only get so angry in one day. I will address the fact that the poster is, by the very virtue of his topic title ("too many damn females"), being sexist. I do appreciate that you recognize that you are, however, though I will advise that you perhaps look into the reasons behind your feelings and try to address them in the future. Honestly, if they had made the Republic leaders an even 50/50, we'd be left with 1 or 2 strong female leaders in the entire game, because we all know the Empire doesn't like having women in charge. And then it would just be like any other game, where women are constantly overlooked or marginalized. I applaud Bioware for having so many strong female characters ingame. And honestly, it's still not a lot if you include the less important NPC's. And yes, in our world, there aren't very many women in positions of power. It upsets me when, once people DO see an equal representation of women in power in a fictionalized world, they find it jarring. The OP said that he thinks it makes the Republic less masculine by having women in charge. Well, is masculinity really that important? Should it really be the defining characteristic of a nation's military? As long as they are still effective, why does it matter? Don't you think that's something wrong with your attitude towards women in general and not the game itself? I do agree that having the Republic leaders be all female and the Empire leaders being all male is a little strange...but honestly, I'm just glad there are as many strong female leaders as there are. And then I get upset when I come to the forums and read page after page of sexist (some unintentional, some just trolling) comments. Yes, seeing strong female leaders in an MMO actually makes me happy. Yes, seeing countless sexist/misogynistic comments on the forums actually makes me a little bit upset. Don't you think that's a little sad? I certainly do. So, thank you, Bioware. Thank you for having strong women in prominent leadership positions in your game. I can only hope that one day, people will no longer find that strange. Just my two cents.