Anyone going want to help another player out with a code, for whom traveling to Texas would be far too difficult? PM this fella. PotF in game.

/signed. I would buy a lifetime sub.

Oh, man. Give yourself a pat on the back for staying as long as you did. I haven't been in a group like this in a long while, I thought everyone was pretty familiar with EV/KP at least. I enjoyed the read, it's like watching a trainwreck happen, I empathize. I suppose this could be a new normal, with (hopefully!) an in-flux of FTP players, but I applaud your tenacity. People are generally good about thanking healers, and I hope they did thank you and your healing comrade. As a mostly DPS player, I salute you. And don't beat yourself up about your first ever rage quit- for your own sanity you had to do it!

Hopefully nothing would change with it- it's a Rank 1 110% speeder. Doesn't need anything really.

I posted a similar thread in the knight page but I'm honestly not certain a Dev will ever see that request. So... Devs, PLEASE consider shortening the burn on Plasma Brand to 9 seconds to match its cooldown. One of the reasons I feel it is important is the ability to proc Master Strike conflicts with the PB cooldown- you have to choose if you want to let the full burn go for PB's full dps instead of hitting it again on a chance for MS to proc and finish its cd. With a vig guard as my main since launch, I am always looking for ways to improve my play, both in terms of enjoyment and actually being useful to my ops group. It is one of the more attention-requiring specs to play well in terms of watching cd's and procs, and I enjoy playing it the most of my toons. Despite our ability to keep up when played well, I know that I have been asked to leave ops because I was a guardian, to make room for a sent (pug group, not guild, but it still stung). While Vigilance can top charts or at least come close, in general it is still behind a lot of other classes in overall dps. I know tweaking classes is tricky, and Focus is the guardian flavor right now, but it's just not my style, I love the vigilance spec and just want it to be competitive. I think this minor tweak would help raise overall dps without being gamebreaking. I know it's been posted about before, but I just wanted to bring attention back to this issue for my favorite class.

I wanted to put this in the PTS forum so it would at least get seen by Devs before it got moved, but I knew it would end up here anyhow. So here goes: Devs, PLEASE consider shortening the burn on Plasma Brand to 9 seconds to match its cooldown. With a vig guard as my main since launch, I am always looking for ways to improve my play, both in terms of enjoyment and actually being useful to my ops group. It is one of the more attention-requiring specs to play well in terms of watching cd's and procs, and I enjoy playing it the most of my toons. Despite our ability to keep up when played well, I know that I have been asked to leave ops because I was a guardian, to make room for a sent (pug group, not guild, but it still stung). While Vigilance can top charts or at least come close, in general it is still behind a lot of other classes in overall dps. I know tweaking classes is tricky, and Focus is the guardian flavor right now, it's not my style, I love the vigilance spec and just want it to be competitive. I think this minor tweak would help raise overall dps without being gamebreaking. I know it's been posted about before, but I just wanted to bring attention back to this issue for my favorite class. EDIT: This is a comment I made later in the thread but will post it here for newcomers. One of my main reasons for wanting the shorter burn (9 or 6 seconds would be great) is that Plasma Brand procs Master Strike, which was not the case with talents at launch. The spec changed, but the 31 point skill did not- it needs to catch up. As it is, we lose 25% of PB's burn most of the time because of this. Some extra front loaded damage would be excellent... perhaps these two things would put us back into the 5% gap they say all classes are in.

As I stated in this thread, I do wish they would keep the pts open- I don't often submit bug reports in-game but am more diligent on the PTS (as I mentioned there). I really enjoyed beta and am happy to try and help, to be a constructive force for this game. I am certain everything will be fixed, eventually; MMO's are always evolving, that's no problem. Just let us help please!!!

Has anyone tried emotes? i.e. /meditate, etc.?

To answer the folks who pointed it out, no, I did not search the question. Yes, a simple search would've revealed the ongoing discussion, which I usually do, but... I didn't this time. So woopsadaisy. I only starting helping on the PTS this last go-around, so I didn't have an interest in the subject until recently. Given the comments though, it looks like it is a much more deeply discussed topic than I realized. Consider this post/thread my chip-in for keeping it open, and if the mods would like to delete this thread, fire away.

Perhaps there is an insight into the reasoning behind this that I am not privy to, however, I don't see any reason for the PTS to be taken down between content. I mentioned it in another thread, and I haven't logged in since the patch dropped today but I assume the PTS is once again closed. If I'm wrong about that, I apologize, but I can't check it. Assuming it is... Why not keep it open all the time? If you want to have people test high-end content, but have trouble copying characters over, then please give us time to level characters there. For one thing, it will help us help you clean up the leveling game, I get the feeling that most folks (myself included, maybe my opinion is biased because of how I play) often fail to send bug reports through the regular game. Part of my reticence for this is that I have limited time to play, so when I am, I'm trying to PLAY, not fill out bug reports. I would be more diligent in the PTS though, as that is what it is designed for- I treat it much like I treated beta. Another personal reason is that rather than me and friends starting from scratch on each others' servers to play together, we had agreed to play on the PTS- which was closed at the time. That issue is solved now, but it was a personal annoyance. Long story short, I don't see any reason to not have the PTS open all the time. It will help us to help you test the high end content more comprehensively. I understand if you want to play your hand close about exciting new stuff, but for the big things that potentially have gamebreaking bugs- let us help!

Thanks everyone- J-Cart, yes, that is what I was wondering, thanks! I was trying to avoid the dektop mic but it looks like that's what I'll need to do. The advice is much appreciated!

After you do them the first time it's just legacy points. However- DO make sure to do them the first time as for most, you get extra daily comms for them.

So I am not a fan of circumaural headphones, and I’ve been looking for a solution for a long time and would like the community opinion on this. I have been looking at the following microphone/earbuds: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826455020 For those of you not wanting to follow the link, those are house of marley earbuds with an inline mic. They’re neither top nor bottom end, and should suit my purposes well enough. My questions are in set-up. Between Vent and Teamspeak I like to use push-to-talk, and am wondering whether that will jibe with these- is the mic always on? Will my mouse button PTT turn these on, or will it always be on? Is the mic strong enough to pick up my voice? Does anybody else use this setup and/or have recommendations for a similar product? I’m not a sound junkie, I just want to hear ingame music and more importantly, have functional vent/ts. Any and all advice is appreciated.

Grrr Rocket Boost... any chance for a refund for those that grinded that all the way? Not expecting it... wish they'd waited to do some of those perks till they announced F2P. Would be nice if they did a one-time Cartel Coin exchange for the credit cost of paid-for legacy perks, but again, not really expecting it. Better no exchange than 100 CC= 100k credits. Edit: Thanks for posting though, good to see info on this.

Until Bioware implements a fix for this, I will make an appeal to the playerbase. Those ugnaught prisoners or whatever they are, the respawns are ridiculously long- and it is extraordinarily annoying to be fighting a mob and someone takes the node you were fighting over. These peoples' audacity/lack of situational awareness aside... IF you are soloing this area and there is a high population in Black Hole, throw a player invite to anyone you see in the area- you will both go faster and you can drop the group once you get your prisoners. If you are already in a group but not filled to four- please invite anyone you see. If you are 4-strong, good going. Maybe convert to ops but it's not that big of a deal. Very little in terms of player rudeness can actually trip my trigger, but the ganking in the prisoner area is astounding. Until the devs fix it via instance or faster respawns, it's up to us, the playerbase, to act like a community and help each other. Edit: sorry for rant, but I can deal with the rest of Black Hole well enough- I don't mind the crates or Anti-Rad mobs or any of that jazz. I haven't had an easy run in the prisoner area in recent memory.

Guardian DPS is my main. I can hold my own in PVE and PVP for sure (I know you're interested only in story at this point, but for the future...). I have seen dps Guardians that are both better, and worse, than I (not claiming to be the best, but I can certainly play it well). It can be a difficult class to play, but it is very fun and rewarding. The story is so far, my favorite, followed by the smuggler, so you certainly should enjoy that aspect. As far as the leveling game, even though the Guardian is melee you'll find that if you keybind every ability, you can have a TON of mobility. As the above poster stated, getting your healing companion will make the solo game a lot easier, but your ship droid can heal you too early on. Some fun leveling fighting includes run into a mob, sweep, force push, force leap, master strike, guardian leap back to your companion, on and on and on. The Guardian is more fun the more you use ALL of your abilities. For flashpoints, you can group up more quickly as a tank, and there are several PVE tank/dps hybrid builds that can support this. As a long time dps-only player, I might understand someone's reluctance to do this, but once I broke the seal (started playing heal and tank classes) I found that my dps game improved by leaps and bounds, so don't be afraid to try it out. Guardian DPS is definitely worth giving a shot. You will find (and probably be told) that Sentinels will out-dps you, and that may be the case, but not everyone, not everytime. Equal skill and equal gear, Sents will probably come out on top, but not everytime, because Guardian is all about creative use of CD's (you have a ton of abilities, all of them useful). Please try it out, hope you like it!

/signed. Please Bioware? The Rakata look isn't bad but again... customization's supposed to be a hallmark of this game. If you can't, could you please give an explanation as to why this might not work?

Good to know, I wasn't aware either. Thanks!

Just going to reiterate what Shawnfish said. For the buttons you use regularly, say 1-5, Q, E, R, T, etc. you double your amount of commands if you use the Control key, i.e. Ctrl+1, Ctrl+2, Ctrl+3, and triple your commands with Shift, so Shift+1, Shift+2, Shift+3, etc. In other words, combination keybinds. I stayed away from specialty equipment (mouse/keyboard) for a long time, for the same reasons, but I eventually allowed myself the Razer Naga mouse. If you find yourself committed to this game a ways down the road, that addition made a world of difference to my game. As the other poster said, no need for a divorce, the mouse is not vital to play well! I just wanted to say that if it is good for your personal/married budget, you'll open new vistas of gameplay with a little more control. Good luck, glad you're enjoying it!!!

Since there has been dev attention to this thread, I will reiterate something that has been mentioned earlier, which I have looked for since day one. Can you please consider having an outfit like Luke's in ROTJ? Black Jacket, Black pants. Simple. I love it best on the sail barge with no cloak (or hood), but the original appearance in Jabba's is awesome too. Just... plain clothes. Not much of an RP'er but I like the idea of simple, humble garments. There are a few craftable pieces that follow this line but not many. Maybe other color options too, but there is elegance in simplicity.

Good question for a returning player. Here's a big thing for me- I'm not sure when you left, but one of my favorite features with swtor is legacy, specifically legacy buffs (this may not have been implemented when you left). That's to say, after you finish chapter 2 in your story you unlock your SW/JK's buff (or Inquisitor, Bounty Hunter, etc. etc.) for all future legacy characters. With that in mind, it doesn't matter to play one or both factions to experience the class and its mirror. For your RP game it will matter very much. However, of my 4 toons, 3 are Republic and only 1 is Imperial. The reason for this is because I have a group of friends/guildies I have met through swtor and enjoy playing with, who are pretty strictly Republic. I would have made my 4th (a Bounty Hunter) a trooper normally, but it's been rumored that an upcoming content patch may require that you have a level 50 character on one faction, and a mid-level character on the other. In terms of faction choice, I would normally just play where I have friends, but I have found the darker stories of the Imperial character an entertaining break from the norm. To answer your question, it's a personal choice for you. My recommendation given what you said would be JK/Inquisitor.

I believe what you're wondering about is a change from how it used to work vs. how it works currently. At launch, this warzone had set times for attacking/defending teams, i.e. for your team, 10 minutes to defend, 10 to attack (I can't remember original time settings but it's something like that). How they work NOW is Team A gets 10 minutes to attack- let's say they cap the bridge at 5:30 and that's as far as they get. When it is Team B's turn to attack, their timer is set to 4:30 TOTAL to cap bridge, because that's how long it took for Team A to reach that point. If Team B beats your time, they win. The timers change for the second round according to what happened in the first round.

Man, sorry you had to deal with that. People in warzones in particular tend to get really heated- you will also find this in Operations if you don't know the fight. This is your first MMO I take it? I would like to suggest this resource for you: http://mmoterms.com/full-mmorpg-terms-glossary Also, if you are interested in doing operations (really, these are just as applicable to any end-game activities), I would make the following recommendations: 1. Watch each fight on youtube at least once. For instance, if you want to do Eternity Vault (abbreviated EV) then from google, search "swtor ev walkthrough youtube" and you'll find dozens of videos, anything from clipped videos of each fight to an entire walkthrough. Just watch the bossfights. For Warzones, same thing- there are some strategies, some class-specific and some map-specific that will help you play better. 2. When ready to try an operation, tell the group up front that you haven't done it before. Most folks are pretty understanding. For warzones, well- ignore the jerks. They will be there. Also try grouping with other folks- perhaps join a pvp guild if warzones are what you enjoy most. Many are eager to recruit new people, and there are tons of players that get a kick out of mentoring somebody- find one of these people. 3. Seems obvious, but I will still say it- know your class. If I am right in assuming this is your first MMO, then by now since you've hit 50, I'm sure you've heard folks refer to tanks, healers, and DPS (Damage Per Second). These are determined by how you used those skill points in your talent tree. For instance, a Jedi Knight Guardian could spec into Defense (tanking), Vigilance (DPS; mostly for PVE), or Focus (DPS, mostly for PVP). If you are a tank, there are tank-specific abilities you should be using to hold aggro (monster's desire to attack you) such as taunt. On the other hand, as a DPS you will want to avoid aggro (also called threat) and you have an aggro-dump ability called Focused Defense. There are a lot of guides out there, so again, turn to google, i.e. search "swtor powertech PVE guide", "swtor guardian PVP guide" etc. (last note- PVE means Player versus Environment, PVP is Player versus Player. PVE usually refers to operations, PVP usually refers to warzones but can also talk about openworld PVP). 4. If you would like to refine your playstyle, do some daily quests (again, if you don't know where they are, google "swtor belsavis daily quest guide" or Ilum daily quest, or black hole daily quest). These will unlock for you once you are level 50 and have completed your class story. You can use the daily commendations to improve your gear, and you get loads of credits. For warzones, like everyone says- sell that chip and buy yourself some recruit gear. Level 50 warzones are a completely different ballgame from 1-49 and expertise is crucial. IF you are not new to MMO's, then please disregard all this. If you are, then there are a ton of resources to help you. Best general advice, if you're doing something new, just let folks know. People are more understanding if you let them know up front. Similarly, there are people playing this game who have played many other MMO's before, and the mechanics and gameplay are so ingrained in them that they take the difficulty and learning curve for a new player for granted- don't let these people frustrate you.

Let me start by saying that I know Bioware has made it clear from the start that they did not want to include pop culture references in-game. Moving forward with that understanding... I would like to call attention to this thread. My comment in there was meant to underline the kind of activities that spring up around events- spontaneous, player created silliness is awesome. This can happen without referencing RL events and I hope that it continues to with future events. Also, I don't know what the ultimate plans are for Makeb, but I have my fingers crossed for a new 50 hub that is not the fleet. Sorry to reference Warcraft, but with each expansion, endgame players moved to a new, or revitalized capitol city. So perhaps events will breathe this kind of 'Mount the Hutt' life into already explored areas of the game, and perhaps Makeb will do it too. While I am a PVE'r first, and PVP'r second, some of the most fun I have had playing MMO's have cropped up around events. With that in mind, I would like to mention (as I did in the other thread) that whether or not Lucas likes it, Life Day is canon! From what I hear it was in SWG (having not played it myself) and I understand that SWTOR is trying to distance itself from SWG. All I'm saying is, Life Day is a pre-packaged, easy to create event that I feel I would love to see. Maybe some others do too. Postscript- Makeb made it into this post because of how nice it was to see people on Nar Shaddaa, to see lots of players on a planet. Originally it was just about Life Day, but the same kind of vitality that events bring is what I'm kind of hoping for in the new planet.

I wasn't originally going to comment on this, but for Bioware's sake my number 1 is a thought I came across in someone else's post that may benefit them. The other two are more for my own gratification. 1. A semi-regular (say, once a month?) log-out survey, much like beta. Perhaps always have the option to fill one out. The reason that I even bother to suggest this is that the forums are a place for the vocal minority- NOT the silent majority. I really didn't mind filling those out in beta and felt good about giving feedback, like I was taking a greater stake in the game than just playing it. It is an IP, and a game that I love- SWTOR will probably be my last MMO for a number of reasons, and I plan on sticking around for a few years (with a sub) and just ride the game through the changes. OP classes are dust in the wind, fixes are always imminent, etc. I just think that giving players a quiet and private option for feedback will serve Bioware better in the long run than having to sort through the vitriol of the forums. In summation- give players a tool to quietly send their requests (or complaints), and JUST as importantly, send their praises. (By the way- I'm still happy here! Thanks to the devs, and all people on the ground working with us) Alright, that was the long one. 2. A more developed space game- you know your own difficulties with building it within the engine, and the benefits of doing it, so I won't bother repeating those arguments. I'm only mentioning it here to reiterate that I (and I believe a lot of others) feel this would be a HUGE and UNIQUE draw that SWTOR could offer that no other MMO does. I know it will be difficult, but since you decided to go F2P you're in an even more competitive market. I think a better space game (with open space pvp) will go you a niche no other game can touch. 3. Legacy bank tab and legacy wallet. Just one tab even. The wallet- perhaps you could designate your main, and have an option button like guild repair for 'legacy credits'- just a thought. BONUSES You can stop reading here because OP asked for three. But my bonuses would be: a. More customization options on orange/adaptable armor- someone mentioned possibly allowing a craft to be able to create an item that would allow you to extract an orange shell from an existing blue/green/purple piece. The art is already in the game- this would be a boost for in-game economy, crafters, and customization. b. Vanity items in the cartel shop- so you're making a sub currency and don't want to hit pay to win- overload that bad boy with vanity items for inside ship customization to make the ship a home. I'm not an RP'er, but I would spend Cartel Coins on stuff like that. Similarly, if guild ships or allowing other people onto your ship become options in the future, this is once again a way to make your players feel unique. c. Another poster mentioned rare and ultra rare drops from mobs, differing from world to world. This would add flavor and challenge. Remember your Bartle Test basics. Thanks for reading! Sorry for extra three.