What? How dumb can you be? Your reply doesn't have anything to do with anything. I don't play wow.

I don't think I've ever seen a good player share your opinions. Only bad people want to drag others along with them.

I bet if you guys took a moment to think about all the ways you could exploit your players with the Cartel Market in relation to player housing it would shoot up to the top of your list. Scum.

You know what I can't stand? When you buy a bag of Salt and Vinegar potato chips and they don't have any vinegar on them so they just taste like burnt, salted potato flakes. Someone at Herr's should be fired. Ahh, apparently Bioware is arbitrarily deleting posts. I guess someone needs to act like they're earning a paycheck.

Keep going. You only cement your BadTag . EDIT: Made response to deleted brilliance of Astrobearx.

This is funnier to me than it should be.

The operative word is "can" not "has to" or "is required." It could just assume players won't have BoL gear for the common way of moving bound things.

Good resort to name calling. You may as well be done arguing because you're dismissed, anyway.

Bioware demonstrated no willingness to give a benefit of the doubt, why should we return the favor? Which, I think, is the whole point of the outrage here. They just mass banned people who used their feature(s), arguably in a gray area. And, furthermore, the people who were banned still aren't even sure why they were banned, and still there is no comment from Bioware. No warning, no benefit of a doubt, just bans, whether interpreted by a live person or a script is inexcusable - more inexcusable - than any of the mentioned usages of their features, whether accidental or intentional.

I never said it was done maliciously. It was incompetent, crooked and despicable, yes. Clearly done ignorantly which is much worse than maliciously. Everything you listed; still not okay.

Well, that's the reason most of us are here. Users like myself who haven't been banned but find this whole ordeal despicable (best word I can think for it) in the purest sense of the word. It was shady and crooked and the grief shouldn't befall the innocent to beg for solution. Imagine if it were just one user who didn't voice it. The only reason some may be unbanned is BW's attempt to save face. They're the only ones who should be serving a penalty here, and who is going to exact it?

I hope you don't stop there and instead share your experience everywhere and demand a personal, written apology from bioware and the suspended time or more added to your paid time.

You shouldn't have to be a lawyer and study for hours to play a videogame. Neither should you have to guesstimate what is and isn't allowed if the methods are obvious. Finding datacrons could be considered an exploit because you're going into areas off the main path, areas you may not be allowed to go. I don't want to flinch every time I decide to do something. Bioware is despicable and... I'll stop there. Stupid filth.

It's pretty cool to be arbitrarily banned without having the slightest notion why, especially by a company who you pay to provide you entertainment. And then, they try to squelch all dissent like it's some sort of communistic society. Something shady is going on and it needs to be brought to daylight, and I would encourage everyone to post about their bans/suspensions here and everywhere they can so people are aware of these malignant practices employed by Bioware. People don't need to be guilty until proven innocent, and shadowbanned and squelched like criminals, especially because, in many cases, many people don't even know what's going on (me included - though, I was never banned). If using a mechanic provided by the company is considered an exploit, well, that's 100% the company's fault and they shouldn't attempt to defer blame for their incompetence towards the general community. This is not a good way to run a company, and it emphasizes their pure nature of greed. I believe these outcomes are symptomatic of a greater concern growing within all big businesses among the world. Those of a fascist mind will certainly encourage and defend Bioware/EA for their latest efforts, but, in truth, people need to come together and bring this out into the light of day, and exact consequences so that EA/Bioware understand that they have tread dangerous ground. Once and one time only. Bring your complaints here, take them to reddit and every active website hosting an SWTOR community and, if you want to take it a step further, any forum concerning the activities and products of EA and Bioware. Everyone, you have my permission to copy and paste what I've written, to be used with or without credit.

So, I have a major problem with 2.0 and the bolster changes (as they relate to gear). First off, I am not a proponent of expertise, or separating PvP and PvE gear (as this game decided to do from the beginning). I am 50/50 happy about the bolster changes that did much to remove the gear discrepancy between players. But, the sad fact is - it is part of this game. 1. I think PvP being placed on even footing is good in the proper brackets (which are currently too broad). - The game has effectively removed the purpose of levels, stats, and gears (the trinity of an RPG), but only for PvPers. 2. When the game was released I realized I had neither the time nor desire to gear my toons for PvP and PvE so I had to choose (because Bioware decided to make a each mode gear-exclusive) which I wanted to do. Well, PvP was the easy choice. I never liked the barrier. 3. Now the barrier of entry has been removed for PvErs to participate in PvP, but not PvPers to join PvE. I've effectively sacrificed the entire PvE phase of the game in favor of PvP, and now I find myself excluded from the knowledge and gear to do the PvE. Why did they decide to suddenly give half of their game away? Due to the bolster changes, the PvP gear is only marginally better than PvE gear. So, the purpose of this: I think bioware should: a) Remove bolster and expertise from the game entirely or b) Bolster PvP suits in PvE environments to match the best PvE attire to remove the division between the two. PvPers get the short end of the stick with these changes. Lastly, looking at the new PvP armor sets, I noticed pieces now have to be upgraded from Partisan to Conqueror pieces of the same type (ie Vindicator for Vindicator / War Leader for War Leader / Weaponmaster for Weaponmaster). Given the newly marginalization of PvP gear in the game overall, I'm locked into a spec of which I choose. For example, If I want to play an Immortal Juggernaut, I probably need to buy War Leader. However, if I want to respec to Veng/Rage I'd probably want the Vindicator pieces. In an effort to bring some fairness to those who choose to PvP, and to bring less hassle into their worlds, I recommend removing the upgrade requirement of identical pieces, because it's too restrictive. There's no need to make people farm 4 tiers of gear to respec later. I would like to be able to, for example, upgrade from Partisan War Leader to Conqueror Vindicator, so I could respec and swap between them by keeping the mods and trading the shell. It's not complicated or unreasonable. What I find unreasonable is expecting me to farm through 4 tiers of average gear for a modicum of flexibility. It's the least Bioware could offer in deference to the latest changes. My solution is not without penalty: one suit I choose to keep is going to be a tier lower and I accept that as fair. What I don't think is fair is the big slap to the face Bioware has delivered to those of us who chose PvP. I think Marauders/Sentinels are the only classes who do not share this concern.

You've really been conditioned by the WoW era. There's no need to have specific functions of gear that discriminates against playing preferences (ie PvP vs PvE). It was a fabrication not of balance, but of creating a separate grind to keep you playing and subscribing for longer than you may have otherwise. However, Bioware/EA has proven this is not the way to do it. Their scheme didn't keep people p(l)aying longer because of the grind. People will play your game if they like it, not because of some greedy, under-handed psychological manipulation. 10 million people played WoW because they enjoyed what WoW was (I was not one of them). SWTOR went free to play because it was not otherwise sustainable because people didn't enjoy what SWTOR is. No decisions wrought of financial greed will ever mask the underlying problem and fact: a game must have soul and its content must be enjoyable to keep people playing, not the effort to crush content for silly rewards. So, you talk of rewards and for some reason distinguish between PvE and PvP, I do not. There is only the game and your character. DAoC had it right. I PvP'd in that game for no reward at the end. The reward was the PvP experience itself. If I didn't feel like PvPing and wanted to go raiding... well, I used the same gear and raided. Playing the game was the reward. I don't understand your/this mentality of needing incentive to play a game. The game itself is the incentive.

I didn't say that. I never play premades. I only play with one friend and less than half the time I play am I with him. My healer is fine solo or just better with him. Though, if anything could be inferred by what I said, then it would be flipped to say "Maybe you're a bad player, maybe you should consider running in premades." Some people don't realize they have faults until every excuse is taken away. And, sometimes, not even that is enough. Well, the cries of "gear" no longer apply. What's next? Bolster? Everything being even is something to complain about? No, I don't think so.

Why not? Healing is more fun than ever, especially with the bolster that increases your alacrity, power, crit rating and all the essential things healers love. I routinely heal between 750k and 1.3 million per warzone, and my power only amplifies if I have a guard and/or a second healer. My numbers are almost guaranteed to eclipse any numbers DPS are putting out. Healers are fine. In fact, they're probably overpowered. However, if you're the sole healer and you have no guard, and you solo queue, yeah, you're probably going to die fast and often. But, you know what? You should. Learn to play.

I must state that I never liked the concept of bolster, or expertise, or saw the need for the endless farming of gear tiers (which are easily solved by soft and hard item stat caps to make all gear equally viable in all forms of gameplay). What I mean is to say there was, is and never will be a need to separate PvP from PvE. WoW's solution (whose example this game follows) was not the proper or necessary solution to gearing mechanic. A game that had it correct would be DAoC prior to Trials of Atlantis expansion where you could farm gear, or have it crafted. The raid/farm gear usually had cosmetic appeal to those who found that important, and that was the purpose of getting it - to feel exclusive. For those of us who were more interested in the min maxing or technical aspect, we could throw our resources into the crafting aspect to reach the same balance. Bioware clearly had a purpose in following the framework of WoW in this regard, obviously with the intent to create a grind which lead to an obvious money grab. People who are always chasing a carrot, they believe, will continue to play while they chase the carrot. This is a cop-out for developers and games who realize their content alone isn't interesting enough to achieve the same goal. With these ideas in mind I realized in early release, due to the fact that my time is limited, and desire as well, that I would have to choose whether I wanted to play PvP or PvE. The easy choice was PvP. So much so that I have completely ignored all PvE content simply because I can't do it. My free time was completely claimed by PvP goals (gearing/comms/improving). Now I realize since PvP has been given an easy playing field, I'm a year+ behind in gear and experience for all PvE content. Why would Bioware give away all of my progress? Can I we get a PvE bolster that caps everyone naked in whatever top tier PvE gear is available now? Can we just make gear irrelevant in all ways but cosmetic? I think I would like to now try getting into the PvE side, but I'm not going to invest another year of my time and money if Bioware is going to make my progress irrelevant at some point. In fact, there's no reason for the "level" concept to exist in this game especially. You can leave in the normal quests and storylines just as something to do between raids and PvPing, if you wanted to strip the game down to its very essence. With each patch this is what bioware demonstrates very clearly, that all of the RPG mechanics are absolutely pointless in this game. The only point in levels is to advance, however, they strip away all purpose in advancement each time they make a move. So, let's just boil away all of the game's flavor and let people do their raids, hunt for easter eggs and achieve achievements, and remove all the advancement of quests, armor, stats and levels.

I've played 3 characters to valor rank 60+, one is 85. I've never noticed but maybe 2 AFKers in my matches. And they eventually joined in. They could have been answering a phone, getting a drink, using the bathroom, or dealing with a real life issue momentarily. I think there's a culture exaggerating the AFK issues or, less likely, my server is just exceptionally awesome. On the other hand I've noticed countless players who were just so horrible that I wished they'd go AFK because they were actively detrimental to the game.

Look, don't be mad because I don't like your game. I made productive suggestions to improve the game, and I was even able enough to do it objectively and remove myself from it. I shall move on. But, before I do, I was offering a helpful suggestion so SWTOR doesn't become merely another title in the bin of memory that drove my favorite genre into copycat stagnation. If they want a game that will be memorable and stand the test of time, then they have to exhibit the courage to walk in uncharted places. I think my input could be valuable to them, depending on their purpose. My input was or could be productive, whereas your response was not. And, by virtue, this response is not. So, in the interest of keeping this thread on topic, there's no reason to express your displeasure because a game you like isn't for me. I don't know why it's so important to you that I like the game, anyway. I'm just a nameless, faceless thing giving some final feedback. It shouldn't impact your identity whatsoever. If you like the game, keep playing it and let that be enough. I only wrote what I did because it was once a game I WANTED to like.

Oh no doubt. That's the reason why I won't be playing after my free month is up. I'm not sure I would continue to play even if my imagined system were implemented, but I think I might. I don't play it much as it is. I'm realistic. I know it's not happening and I know the reasons why. Ergo, I know in 30 days SWTOR and I part ways forever. It will probably survive, and perhaps thrive despite me. But I can't, in good conscience or ethics, on principle, support such a game, because in doing so I validate the greed (and lack of imagination) behind it.

Yes, you get it! Simple and elegant, is it not? But, as I said, it's not about this simple solution, it's about forcing you to grind so you keep playing and, most importantly, KEEP PAYING.

No, it is not. Read my post just above yours. It's really a very simple fix. Almost, dare I say, OBVIOUS. But it's obvious if Bioware's methods are in the best interest of the players. But, they're not. They're in the best interest of their bank account. That's all it comes down to, yet you all have convinced yourselves that it's necessary in the interest of some phantom "balance" issue.

Well, if you could use your imagination, you'd see otherwise. It's definitely not needed. It was a lazy, "new" solution by developers with no foresight or reasoning abilities to create a balanced system. However, the solution is quite simple, and comes in 1 of 2 forms: Cap stats in a manageable way to create more gear versatility, or offer comparable or universal results from "grinding" (ie make the same gear obtainable through either path: PvP or PvE.) SWTOR has even less of an excuse to utilize expertise as stat due to their modding system and orange/purple armor shells. Make the gear itself secondary to the Armoring/Mods/Enhancements/Augments which can be obtained through crafting (GTN), or the commendation system they use for PvP and PvE already. Just make tiers of universally applicable gear. Remove the PvP tiers entirely. It's an ignorant system, anyway (and worse the gear LOOKS like trash to a piece). Bioware is trying to harness too much control over a world that is supposed to be shaped by the players that inhabit it. If crafted items were endgame-useful, the economy would thrive and be completely self-sustaining. Removing expertise from the game and implementing my concepts would make the game superior to its current incarnation in EVERY WAY. But, the point of all of this isn't the interest of PvP v PvE balance, it's about developing timesinks to keep stringing us/you along so there's the illusion of progression. It's an educated money decision on Bioware's part. They want you to keep playing, chasing the next carrot, so you're never "satisfied" with where you are. That sort of manipulation is more damning than anything else I can think of, and I will be done with it soon.