I'll give a counterpoint on things I'm enjoying about Rift since going back for F2P. One thing I just want to give them props for is their F2P is amazing. I suppose it's bad for the company, but for the moment I feel no need to spend any money to enhance my enjoyment. What it does do is build an immense amount of goodwill with me, and should I find reasons to give them money, I'm much more likely to do that. Frankly I haven't enjoyed watching the CM evolve and my goodwill with BW has been on the wane. I enjoy being back in an open world. Going back to an old zone is easy (compared going back to an old planet), and some of my crafting quests will give me reasons to go back. (And I just like things like crafting quests) SWTOR feels very corridor-like in comparison. The world definitely feels more alive with NPCs wandering around and fighting things, rifts opening, mobs fighting rifts with you. As someone said rifts can disrupt things, which really put me off when I tried it at launch. But I think people complained because you can quest in peace much easier now if you like. I have to say I'm kind of enjoying the old school questing. I really loved TOR's unique story stuff, in the same vein that Mass Effect and Dragon Age are probably my favorite games ever. But I've been kind of hitting a wall when it comes to Makeb. I'm trying to level my 3rd Imp from 50 to 55 and it's like pulling teeth. Leveling 5 or so characters to 50 was a blast, but now funneling them all through a single story planet (with a story I don't think is that good) is so bleh. The old school questing style is nowhere near as engaging as the first playthrough on TOR, but its replay value is much higher. I would never play Mass Effect four times quickly in succession, which is essentially what it would be to get my Imps to 55, except with worse writing. I understand a break is just in order, but the shame is I would like to be playing that Mara at 55, and if he were there already no break would be needed. Other things: Quad-spec, appearance tab, support specs, mead, GMs sending out server-wide messages telling you they're working on stuff I'm not max level in Rift yet so I can't compare the raiding experience but if they're not recycling content I'll be happy. Things TOR got real right: inventory system, some of the crafting system is interesting but not enough is done with it, in-server LFG, I like the pacing of FPs better, class stories.

If they hadn't put a handy sign up for it, I would never have found the customization kiosk on my own. I went to the area and there was literally nothing there. Then one player loaded. Then a few more, soon there's a crowd standing around... still nothing. My faith and patience were eventually rewarded when the thing in all its glory miraculously appeared! Whole process took at least a minute. First day of the patch I also had a good minute of confusion in the bank area wondering where the bank went, or thinking it was there but not interactable for me. Mission terminals in the much less populated 'Supplies' area still take about 15 seconds or so. Pre-2.1 I never waited on these things.

Actually, JKs and SWs are just lucky in that they're the only ACs with exclusive gear. For BHs, for example, say a piece of Aim gear drops that have +Power and +Surge on it. That's fair game for either a DPS Powertech, a DPS Merc, or a healer Merc to roll on. The only clear restriction comes when it has +Accuracy, which should stop a healer from rolling. But as for Maras rolling on heavy armor, as long as the mods don't have tank stats it's still pretty much fair game I'd say. They can pretty easily strip the mods from the DPS Jugg gear and put it in medium. But yeah as someone said, it'd likely be an expensive unlock, as much as a species change and likely more. It wouldn't be like respeccing.

My guild is the only reason I'm still around - if they broke up I'd probably quit (well, after finally finishing my JK to see the story, then I'd unsub). Around this time last year another guild I was in broke up. That time I stuck around, kept playing my mains, and was picked up by my current guild. It makes me wonder why I was willing to keep going then, but if the same thing happened now I'd just leave. That was before F2P. Now, my morale is seriously low. While the game is certainly not P2W, there have been a lot of disturbing trends since F2P hit. The bizarre cartel rep. What BW's idea of an 'expansion' is. The idea that fun cosmetic stuff like Karagga's Hat are no longer tied to in-game achievements but are CM stuff. The fact they think recycling content like TFB and the 55 HMs and then charging for that content is acceptable. Everything about 2.1. The other day I read Eric's post about all content no longer being free for subs, and he included cosmetic and convenience items as being CM territory, where in the past it was cosmetic only. What else will the add into the CM bucket? In all, I don't really feel valued as a sub. Slippery slope is a fallacious argument, so I'm not gonna pretend this game will ever be P2W. But trends seem to indicate that the CM is only going to expand, and as a direct consequence QoL for subs - people that like to enjoy all aspects of an MMO, including fun fluff stuff like barbershops and speeders - will go down. Or, more likely, it's the wallets of those who stick around that will take the real hit.

My thoughts exactly OP. I'm doing a double-take when I mouse over my gear now. And since, for my mains anyway, I had their looks pretty much perfected already (down to color too), I barely need dyes. All my armor has empty slots and they're staring at me!

I like individual races too, but as you said what we have is different colored humans who, at launch at least, didn't have any culture-specific hairstyles unless you were a Zabrak. At that point, when the majority of races share hairstyles, any newly released styles will likely be desired by people playing multiple races. I guarantee that there are many people playing Chiss, Sith, Mirialans and Cyborgs that want at least that long, flowing lady-do and will be very disappointed if their packs don't include it. If these races receive their own unique packs (containing... what? is there any lore for Chiss culture's preferred hair styles?) the other races might see something they want. And since there's no real reason these styles can't be shared other than trying to artificially enforce some racial uniqueness that as yet has not existed... why? I like having unique races a la most other existing MMOs but I don't think unique hair styles would be right for this game.

Likely not everyday, but when I have time to browse the forums, sure. And you'll be here every day defending BW even if it makes you sound like a child with your 'it could only possibly be for humans because it says 'humans' on the box and that can never change cause BW said so!' BW isn't your mom, you can go ahead and question their decisions. Why do you think it's so ridiculous that we tell BW we're disappointed in one of their features? Look up any corporation and you'll find a way to contact them with reactions to their products. It's part of the reason BW hosts this very forum! Maybe things won't change with out complaints, but we're increasing our chances here. There's no chance of change if everyone is silent. And even if no change, BW is at least aware of the discontent, which is meaningful. They know subs don't like being run through the CM mill, and I guarantee they discuss sub morale in regards to it. You can go ahead tell them why you LIKE the feature. Go ahead. Tell me why you like that the pack is restricted to humans when there is no reason - be it clipping or cultural - that it couldn't apply to several other races. Tell us why you're excited at the possibility of buying the same pack over again for other races. I'm interested! I bet BW is too!

Of course CC have gone too far. I've never been very interested in the CM and have always just wanted to continue playing as a sub and for my experience to remain exactly as it was pre-F2P. And I have been able to do exactly that. But I believe the CM has been interfering with my enjoyment of new cosmetic features. Not necessary stuff. But fun stuff I enjoy. Everyone loves QoL updates, though unnecessary. I was around when WoW first implemented its own barbershop. I didn't find the prospect too exciting at first as I'm pretty careful at character creation and already knew that I did not want to change anything about my toon to another default option. But when I found out they were introducing new hairstyles I got excited, and even if I didn't use any of them on all my toons I was happy just playing with them and enjoyed the feature. And of course, all these changes were done with in-game gold (and new hairstyles did not need to be unlocked). And I got this paying $15 a month, exactly what I pay for ToR. Naturally next to that, ToR's iteration looks like crap. I'm not interested in changing to any of the defaults, and only humans got new hairstyles (when only some of my least favorite alts are humans), so I have zero interest in this feature and am actually disappointed that I had nothing to play with like when WoW's barbershop came out. And I know that should any styles for my mains come out that I like, that I need to spend CC, unlock the style in a pack with other styles I don't want (and priced accordingly), and then pay to change and hope that I don't get sick of the style and want to go back... it's disappointing. And the dyes, christ, let's not even talk about that. Their only saving grace is I can buy them on the GTN, but I don't even want any. Come on BW! No one would've faulted you for just stealing GW2's system! We would've been happy! I know it's BW's game and they can do anything they like with it. But as an experienced MMO player it's impossible not to feel let down. Maybe I was spoiled, but I'm used to better. And if this game never went F2P, I'd probably be getting better.

Wow what a troll. Just because BW chose to name tag it as for humans (when they could clearly apply to other races) doesn't mean you have to take it as the word of god. You don't think the fact that Mirialans, Chiss, Cyborgs, and Pureblood Sith all share the exact same default hair slider at character creation with humans has any pertinence? These new hairstyles are veering from the norm in being human exclusive. And the idea of the EXACT SAME PACK being released as 'Chiss Hairstyles 1" seems legit and not ridiculous nickel-and-diming? Use your brain. There could be an argument that the human hair color pack should not be shared, since the aliens that share human hairstyles do not share the same hair colors. But the human color pack is clearly made up of artificial colors. Anyone of any race can dye their hair, so logically the only reason to make the pack human-exclusive is, um, entirely profit-based. Unfortunately I think 'Chiss Hairstyles 1' is exactly how they're going to move forward. It's patently ridiculous, but on the other hand it is at least bizarrely fair to the people who play Zabraks, Miralukas, and now Cathar (not counting the bald races, these are the only ones with unique (or just restricted for Miralukas) hair) - who will have no option but to buy race-exclusive hair-style packs. But on the more sane hand, I think even the people who heavily play those races (I have extensively played a Zabrak and a Miraluka) would like to see the human hair packs extended to the races it should logically apply to. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn't have alts of multiple races that would enjoy this.

First off I'd like to protest that these are in packs at all. I'm way more likely to buy these things piecemeal, but BW has us over a barrel here, and I'd admit I'd probably cave and buy a pack if one of the new styles was amazing. And then I'd be the proud owner of 3 other styles I'll never use! THANKS! Right now, however, I can barely tell IF the styles are amazing. Let's look at the packs. Human Hairstyles 1: The pack has 4 styles, of which on the illustration I assume the male one is missing. And of the ones visible... I don't know. For me a big part of picking a hairstyle in an MMO is how the thing looks from the back, since that's what I spend most of my time looking at. One of the female ones looks nice, but I'd like to see it on my own character first (with the ability to zoom in and out and turn) before purchasing. Human Hair Colors 1: So this pack is purple, blue, bright red, green, and two MYSTERY colors. Sweet. The Mirialian and Chiss packs do better in that they at least display all the new options in the illustration. Still, it'd be nice to be able to preview each option on my character (so I can see the new option against my chosen Chiss customization) and be able to zoom in (wouldn't mind a better look at those tattoos). I admit I'm really cheap. I'm loath to spend CC under any circumstances. But I certainly won't shell out when I'm not even sure what I'm getting for it. A hair style I might like (plus a few other meh ones)? I'm not buying any of these packs, but since this is the CM we're talking about here, we can assured many more are forthcoming. Going forward, I'd love a little more transparency on what the product is. P.S. A new short female hairstyle that is actually CUTE would be much appreciated.

As a pure healer I prefer Vector, even if Temple ends up with better gear. The ranged DPS companions have more abilities that use cast times, and since I'm not a tank and keeping stuff off them I notice their cast times get pushed back a lot. Also since they take time charging up they take a little longer to really start hitting mobs and attracting stuff to them. Vector is more aggressive and hits faster, so in a big group he'll usually get to some before me, allowing me to get in some more backstabs and tank less things myself. And since he's in melee with me it's easier for me to keep track of him and his targets. Of course Kaliyo does of much better job of tanking stuff so I can have their backs, but I still prefer to use Vector as a healer because I hit like a wimp and so does Kaliyo. This is really nitpicky though, Temple is fine if you'd prefer to listen to her totally non-grating voice all the time!

I think the common etiquette is to forgo most of the gathering in the interest of keeping the group going. On my tank I never stop since I really set the pace, and conversely if I notice someone is hanging back and gathering I don't slow down for them. It's never become a problem and they tend to pick it up. If a DPS notices they're constantly left behind they likely get worried about keeping their spot, and I've never seen a healer do it. On my healer I'll get a bit ridiculous and gather in the middle of pulls, especially if I see I'm the only one with the skill. I usually keep it down to one gather at the end of each pull, which is just enough to not fall behind, and I don't mind when people do that on either of my toons.

They're making it sound like even the smallest transactions are for CC. I'd really like some more info on this pricing. How many coins just to dye your hair? Change your eye color? Frankly making those types of transactions for CC is absurd. In WoW I'd change my hairstyle or something, play for a few hours and decide if I liked it, change it back, change it again to something else, etc... I'd do that pretty frequently because it's a meaningless little thing that was fun and I didn't mind wasting some gold on. But I don't waste CC and I won't be willing to really play with this barbershop if it only involves a currency that I can't easily recoup from in-game activities (waiting for a month to roll by is not that). I'll make use of it if there's a new hairstyle that I like and want to wear permanently, but it won't be the 'change my look on a whim to something crazy just for this raid' fun times that were... fun

Ugh I agree, the Imp droid is a lot better than the Pub one. I actually like how he'll very mechanically and very for-show say "HAIL TO THE EMPORER!" and then follow it up with "but more importantly, hail you YOU, master." because he's so terrified of you. Everytime I hear that Pub droid mention a bantha's ear or a shimmersilk purse I swear it's like nails on the chalkboard. Even his funny line about your crew members 'getting a bit thick' isn't well delivered.

"Try to be more careful." "I'm not just the pretty sidekick!" "Try not to have too much fun without me." "Just remember we're a team, ok?" "Toast" and basically all of Torian's other monosyllabic utterings. Anything Ashara says ever. "Now you're dumb, ugly, AND dead!" "Here, sir!" This one's not annoying for its content, Temple just says it at a frequency that hurts my brain. People are talking about Skadge in here, and while I agree that is story is beyond stupid... I think his soundbites are actually pretty good. Well, as a tank I never use him in combat, but the stuff he says when I send him on missions or when he comes back crack me up. "Stop buggin' me!" "If it'll give me something to do!" "Got bored, you do it!"

It's a shame that people are rude, but that is easily mitigated by joining a guild. As for the L2P... unless you're on a quest that is marked Heroic 2 or 4, Flashpoint or Operation, you should be able to complete that quest yourself - and that's without having to spend money on gear. You should have decent gear from completing quests and spending planetary commendations. If your gear is fine you need to look at your tactics. The class quests especially are designed with your class in mind and if your are failing you are likely overlooking one of your abilities (probably an interrupt) or just have no idea how to maximize your damage output. There are resources available to help you with these problems. Personally I don't like helping people with the harder class missions not only because they should be able to complete them solo, but because they should be taking this opportunity to evaluate what they are doing wrong and how they can improve. If this person never wants to take that character into a flashpoint or operation then fine, but otherwise they indeed do need to L2P or else they are going to waste the time of others later on in group content.

My guild did NiM EV this week and the timer was up, and since I switched mains to an alt, I can confirm I got the title. However, this was during early access, before the official 'release.' Maybe this stuff is gone now?

No! Look at it! It's supposed to go slow. The nice thing about this game though is that the slowest mount speed isn't that much slower than the fastest. So if you REALLY like using it you shouldn't mind (I don't). Or if you need to go fast for some reason, you pull out another option (I do).

Agreed. I don't hoard missions or anything, and from launch to now I've never had a problem with hitting log capacity. But now? Ugh.

Since you missed early access I'm guessing even your plan wouldn't help you, as you'd likely be getting in days later than most of your guildies anyway, so not sure why you think this would be more 'fair' to you or anyone else who missed the cutoff. You'd still be 50, they'd still be 55 by now. Also your plan would be massively UNFAIR to a lot of people who did order early. Consider they announced phased access and 60% of active subscribers pre-order as soon as they see the announcement. Now during the course of this day, it's reasonabe these subscribers see the announcement at different times, from say the exact moment of announcement to as many as 8 hours later, after getting home from work. Would it be fair to the workers that they get in a day later than those who pre-ordered 7 hours before, since it'd be likely that a HUGE chunk of people would pre-order that day, too many to get in on day 1? The more I think about your phased entry idea the worse it seems. It'd be unfair to to loyal customers and would barely, if at all, benefit the people who missed the cutoff.

I play an Operative so I know what you mean. When I play my other characters and see Sins and Ops sneaking around mobs that I have to pull I'm jealous. Stealth is a benefit, we should not be rewarded with another benefit. The downside of this benefit is that we don't get the XP from the mobs we didn't kill (uh, duh). But think about it. Grinding mobs is my (and probably everybody's) least favorite way to gain XP. With my Operative I might be a little behind in XP, but I can make that up by doing something more fun. Like an FP. Do you like WZs? I do missions quicker so I have more time for these things. We don't we really need anything else.

First, I don't think the 'phased access' plan would work as well as the OP thinks. With release the rate at which people bought the game was likely very staggered, as people were all hearing about it at different times, holding off on deciding until trying the beta, etc. And with the price back then being $60 for just the basic game, people obviously took more time deciding whether to purchase. But with this expac, everybody who plays heard about it at the same time. And if they announced that the early access was phased based on purchase time (as opposed to their flat 5 day announcement), you can bet that anyone with any inkling they wanted to play it would purchase it immediately. And with it being only $10, it be very easy to justify to oneself. I'd say of the people that did purchase during early access, the vast majority would've purchased on day 1 (even if they didn't in actual events) if phased entry was announced. My point is that there'd still be congestion (day 1 of the early access wasn't actually that congested) with phased access. The real problem here is the OP's perspective. Obviously most of his guild is 55 by now and probably doing the new raid without him. He thinks because he was on the PTS he's owed early access (!), even though the reason he didn't pre-order was because he quit the game and likely didn't think he'd ever come back. But BW is explicitly not rewarding loyalty here (even though you're not particularly loyal). I've been a subscriber since launch, but the rules still applied to me and I could be stuck like you if I waited on purchasing. Get some perspective. Leveling to 55 can be very quick if you work on it (guessing you will) and getting some 66 gear for the new raid can be done quickly as well. You'll be playing with your buds very soon and in a couple weeks you'll barely remember you were momentarily left behind. Or has this ordeal scarred you for life?

Yeah when I first started playing I had a tough time not hitting Pugnacity just because it was lit up all the time - had to unbind the thing! But definitely DO NOT hit that on CD. Use it in dire times - either when you need to pump out a lot of heals, or if you need one and for some horrible reason do not have UH.

As for stacking I'm almost positive it's a non-issue due to the CD - the hot does not last very long. Either that or I just don't notice I'm overwriting it, because I've been using it pretty much on CD if any healing is needed and I haven't been getting severely unlucky proccing UH. Either way it definitely doesn't stack. That said, KP was something I barely used before, but at 55 honestly it's like our most powerful heal. Having our best heal have a CD definitely puts us in line with other healers, although KP is more of a maintenance, emergency prevention heal (i.e. health above 30%) than life-saver, which I think makes the CD a bit less dire. But it does need to be used much more tactically than say, Healing Trance.

When you hit 55 you'll find a quest (on fleet I think) telling you to go do Black Hole, Section X, and the Makeb staged dailies. You'll get a chunk of BCs for completing each one, and another chunk for going back to fleet and turning in (as well as 1 or 2 for turning in each daily). You can also do the daily random level 50 HM FP for 10 BCs. You might be able to get some from the daily FP quests from the terminals but not sure on that one.