I'd rather be a leader of one and stand by what I believe. As for my profs, they'll be Bioanalysis, Diplomacy, and empty. If it comes to that, I'll make an effort to get a mod to confirm things. I suppose I could take a snapshot too though. Crafting is optional, not required.

I plan to if they go through with the nerf as stated. I'm at work right now, so I can't check things. Yes, my job is slow enough that I can participate in this kind of thing with my cell phone. Anyway, at that time, I hope a moderator posts in this thread to confirm that I have. I've always believed in leading by example.

How is that sour grapes? It's completely illogical that people are circumventing the usage intent of the items. Moreover, it exacerbates the perceived Biochem imbalance. Since, other players are basically milking the other professions for BoP gear then jumping to Biochem causing a perceived imbalance favoring Biochem. The reality is that there actually isn't any real choice in which crew skill to take because you can just make rounds through each of the crew skills that apply to your class, then settle on Biochem at the end because Biochem is the only one that (appropriately) requires Biochem to use its purple gear. Nice try though. Sorry that such a change will hurt your character, but you know that what some players are doing is outside Bioware's intent. Before you ask it, I know it's outside of Bioware's intent because they would have made the items BoE if it wasn't. As for the reusable argument. The only thing reusability affects is cost. Once Biochem stims/adrenals have their bonus stats removed, the effect they provide will be accessible to everyone. Non-Biochems pay, while Biochems don't. Meanwhile, every other profession has bonus stats that Biochems don't have access to (or should). Sounds pretty fair to me if the intent is for Biochem to be about cost-savings instead of power boosts.

Silly crusade? Yet, the warrior community in WoW once pooled enough players together in one location to bring down a server. Action speaks way louder than words. If people truly care as much as they're spouting on these forums, they'll take action. If not, so be it. As for gimping myself, hardly. I know how to play my class. The extra stats from Biochem pots over vendor ones won't affect my output significantly, and I've never had the time to participate in a bleeding-edge guild in any MMORPG I've played. Finally, I never said downgrade everything. The only downgrade I mentioned is one that Bioware stated they intend to do: nerf Rakata stims/adrenals. My proposal lessens the nerf actually. Nothing else in my original post is a nerf. Unless, you consider requiring appropriate crafting skill to use crafted BoPs a downgrade?

Did you read what I typed? Clearly you didn't. You assumed that I'm clamoring for reusable pots to be better than consumed ones. However, I didn't type that. I implore you to actually take the time to read what I wrote rather than make false assumptions.

This may well get me banned from the forums. However, it must be said. I remember the early days of WoW when Warriors' cries about broken rage mechanics fell on deaf ears. To force Blizzard to listen, they actually crashed a server. Consequently, Blizzard made changes that addressed their issues at the time. Now, I'm not urging anyone to crash a server. Since, I don't believe things have come to that. Instead, I'm urging everyone upset with Biochem to simply drop Biochem and not pick up a new crew skill. Bioware claims that they know everything that occurs in their game. Well, if they're truly about balance then they'll be forced to address Biochems' concerns if there are next to no Biochems in the game. Moreover, a dearth of Biochems may even rally others to the cause. Since, there won't be any medpacks, adrenals, or stims for sale on the GTN either. So, what is it that I, and hopefully others, want changed about the impending nerf? 1) Nerf Rakata adrenals and stims to be reusable versions of Exotech ones not Energized. 2) While doing the former, change the other reusable adrenals, stims, and medpacks to be equal in effect to blue ones rather than green ones. 3) Change the BoP items from other crafts to require skill in the crafts that produced them. Bioware's stated intent for Biochem is for it to be about cost-savings over time. The above accomplishes this, since the Biochem medpacks, adrenals, and stims will be identical in effect to the ones other players can acquire, except for being reusable. Thus, Biochems won't be any stronger. They will simply be more cost-effective. If their stated nerf goes through, the only savings for Biochems will be those yielded from self-crafting versus buying on the (inflated) GTN, which won't be as much as some think when one considers time spent farming materials and even crafting (even though companions do the crafting, that's time that the player can't use one or more companions, which in turn may restrict the player's ability to participate in other activities in the game).

I implore to read some of what I've already posted about the change. It counters what you stated. While what you stated holds true now, it won't hold true after the change. Any Biochem savings will result from self-crafting versus GTN buying.

They only provide cost-savings if the Biochem actually uses them. For the content where adrenals and stims truly matter, Biochems won't because they're weaker than the Exotech ones. Thus, the Biochems will be using Exotechs the same as everyone else. While they aren't necessarily spending credits for the Exotechs, they are definitely spending time. I'm sure you're probably familiar with the false expression: "time is money"? I call it false because time is more valuable than money.

I agree with the thread creator. If Bioware truly wants Biochem's perk to be reusable pots, then the reusable pots should provide buffs equal to the highest level pots non-biochemists can obtain at a given level. Otherwise, it isn't a perk. A perk is a benefit that you always want to use, not one that's situationally useful to you. In this case, the reusable pots are good when they don't really matter (farming, pvp, etc) but a penalty when they truly matter (progressing through the hardest content in the game). Through all levels, purple pots should be reusable versions of blue pots not green ones or, at endgame, Rakata should be reusable versions of Exotech rather than Energized. Doing so achieves Bioware's stated intent of Biochem being about cost-savings rather than increased power.

That Nostromo bit is PRECISELY what I don't want to see happen with macros in this game! I enjoy, and make frequent use of, macros in WoW. I absolutely hated the macro system in Rift (which more or less mirrors that Nostromo bit) because it turned all of the melee soul specs into face-rolling mash fests. My interest in macros is solely for increasing accessibility not for reducing the amount of attention needed to play. As for Energize and Dark Ward, Thrash and Lacerate do not proc Energize 100% of the time, and I've found that Shock is really only worth using when Energize is up, unless Energize is being very annoying with its proc rate. As for Dark Ward, it costs Force. Thus, it's silly to refresh it on CD when it isn't needed. The wasted Force is better spent on other things. I refresh Dark Ward when it's about to fall off (either from charges or duration). So, spell alerts would help immensely with monitoring both effects. I'm not high enough to have Wither, so I can't really comment. All I can say is that at my level (28), my AoE threat is good enough to hold off of healers. If DPS decide they don't want to focus me, then they can rip hate off of anything I'm not actively targeting. For such DPS, I tend to resort to tab-targeting. That generally holds hate on every mob within melee range of me or leaves me one Thrash or Shock away from grabbing a mob back. Hope this helps.

Since there's no suggestions forum, I'm putting this here in the hopes that the developers will see it and react. At the time of this post, my Darkness Assassin is level 28. While the class is enjoyable on one level, it has a host of little issues that really tank the experience. With any luck, this post will reach the developers, and they'll make some changes as a result. Feel free to post additional suggestions here as well. We can't hold Bioware accountable for the issues with this class if we don't make an effort to bring them to Bioware's attention. So, in no particular order: 01. Dark Charge I daresay this may be my biggest gripe with the class. The damage and healing are completely inconsequential! At 28 I have roughly 6000 HP, yet it procs for 11 damage and 17 healing (according to its tooltip) and can't multi-proc due to its 1.5 sec cooldown? What's the point? At the very least, this ability should be changed to deal damage based on a percentage of the Assassin's weapon damage and heal a flat percentage of health (say 1% or 2%). This would eliminate ranks for the skill but allow it to scale and hopefully make the damage and healing worth more than a laugh. Seriously Bioware, what happens to this ability, and many others, when additional endgame content is released? Health goes up, yet all of these static value abilities get worse and worse. Now, I realize that you may not want a buffed form like what I'm suggesting available to Deception and Madness Assassins, so perhaps have a skill evolve the ability? There are several downright abysmal skills in the Darkness skill tree that could easily be changed to modify Dark Charge in the manner suggested and placed out of reach of Deception and Madness. 02. Hollow skill Okay, so this talent can be taken as early as level 25 but buffs primarily a level 50 ability? So, prior to level 50 this talent really only offers 4% shield absorption. Meanwhile, two tiers higher is Harnessed Darkness, a talent that buffs an ability we received back at level 2 and modifies our priority queue. Flip the positions of these talents already Bioware! 03. Lacerate This one isn't so much an issue with Darkness as it is with all tanks. With combat against multiple opponents being the norm rather than the exception, why must tanks wait so long to receive a spammable AoE ability? There are DPS specs that receive theirs much sooner. Mercenary and Operative come to mind. Prior to Lacerate, it's extremely difficult, if not impossible, to hold hate on multiple targets. 04. Shield Generators Make Assassin shield generators less rare please. This should have been done when you changed Assassins to Willpower. Every time I see a sweet new focus, I cry a little because I remember my shield generator that's still lagging 10+ levels behind. 05. Spell Alerts Unlike some, I don't have an issue with Dark Ward or Energize procs (or presumably Harnessed Darkness ones). However, is it too much to ask for visual spell alerts for when these abilities are active Bioware? I spend way too much time watching my buffs, especially when I should be watching the environment, or that tiny enemy cast bar for interrupting. 06. Recklessness Why only a 60% increased crit chance? Why not just guarantee that the next two force attacks used crit? If you're worried about burst damage in PVP, why not just halve the cooldown and make it the next force only? 07. Swelling Shadows Really guys, 15% more chance to proc mediocrity? Could we get something more useful to Darkness tanks here please? In fact, could you just revisit the entire second tier? It's pretty terrible overall for Darkness Assassins. Well, these are just a few of my gripes. For the most part, no one issue ruins the Assassin experience. However, they cause great frustration when combined.

Well, I recently started Marauder and have it sitting at level 15 for the moment. I've heard plenty about the survival issues with the class, and I'm definitely seeing it. I don't necessarily think heavy armor is the answer though. Why not tweak Cloak of Pain instead? An idea is to reduce its cooldown to 30 seconds, make it usable while CC'd, and give it a very noticeable visual effect. In solo PVE this would translate into relatively passive damage reduction that should help immensely with leveling. In group PVE it's inconsequential, since a Marauder shouldn't really be getting hit. That's the tank's job. Meanwhile, players will dictate its strength in PVP. It'll be every bit as strong as the former case if players ignore the shiny visual effect and continue attacking the Marauder, but it can just easily maintain a mere 20% uptime if players pay attention and switch off when the Marauder pops it. The other issue of Marauders lacking CC on mobs tougher than normal is disheartening. I noticed the absence of a short duration/cooldown stun and a knockback/pull (I've played Mercenary and Assassin to higher levels), but I just assumed Marauder got them later. If Marauder doesn't get them at all, then Bioware should add them. Since, it seems every other class gets them making such abilities a part of the basic toolkit of classes (like the CC break ability, the level 15 HoT ability, etc). As for the other concerns mentioned, I'm not high enough to comment. Though, as a general rule for most classes, I wouldn't mind seeing spammable AoE abilities learned earlier.

I've read six of the nine pages that existed prior to typing this. Before I go farther, allow me a moment to provide some background information about myself. I'm 30. I did hardcore gamer from 4 until about 22 when life forced me to reinvest my energy. My MMORPG experience consists of FFXI and WoW, both of which I played from their launches. I still play WoW, but it's on hiatus while I level up in SWTOR. I enjoy raiding for two reasons: to defeat the content and to obtain the loot. Finally, the background bit that I'm sure will turn on the flamethrowers: I do not like Star Wars at all!. I've written off every Star Wars game to this point simply because of its game. This one escaped the fate because I had a boring weekend and an unused beta key that I'd acquired for my brother who'd already found his own way into the beta. Anyway, I'll leave it here and avoid bashing Lucas. With that out of the way, several people clamor for Bioware to take the game in a more "fun" direction. However, few actually attempt providing any sort of idea for that direction. There's a good reason why though. Much like common knowledge, fun is not a concept with a singular, universal definition. What's fun to one person isn't fun to another. The irony here is that some have pointed this out yet still gone on to demand that Bioware change the game to cater to their notion of fun. Now, I'm not here to defend the crafting system in its current implementation. I'm an Assassin 22 with roughly 200 Biochem (a profession chosen from raiding experience in WoW), and the system certainly has some outright design flaws. Moreover, if top-tier crafted armors and weapons crafted from raid-dropped schematics and materials are inferior to heroics and dailies, that is a problem Bioware needs to address. However, I will chime in on the notion that pure crafters should have full access to schematics and materials, including ones from raids, without ever raiding. I agree that a crafter should have access to the full range of materials and schematics within his/her profession. That said, if a crafter isn't willing to experience the content that provides a given material or schematic, then that crafter must wait for those who are willing to experience the content to sell it because simply reaching 400 in a craft doesn't entitle one to anything. As long as the patterns and materials are BoE or able to be traded, then this aspect of the system works fine. Is it necessarily fun? No, but it is fair because it forces players to earn the best one way or another. Either you can raid/pvp/heroics/etc and get the stuff for your crafts for free (excluding progression costs and the like) and faster in general, or you can avoid such content and buy the items in question from others after such content is on farm status. Both reward time and effort and allow the player in question to whatever he/she finds more fun. Moreover, if the crafter is only concerned with acquiring the materials and patterns, then the crafter shouldn't care that there may not be much market for the wares once they're finally acquired. This follows real world economics where a product is only relevant until its next big competitor comes along and dethrones it. Anyway, if raid schematics aren't on pair with raid gear, then there's a problem. If the complaint is that crafters shouldn't be forced to experience content to maximize their craft, they aren't as long as the items from undesirable content can be traded or sold. It's great that you reached 400 in three crafts; however, it doesn't entitle you to anything more than that which can be acquired from trainers and reverse engineering. Finally, for all of the players who want the game to cater to their concept of fun, remember that what's fun to you isn't necessarily fun to another, and vice-versa. Moreover, those other people pay the same monthly fee that you do. So, what makes your concept of fun more important than someone else's? The answer is: nothing.

I've had it happen several times now. Stupid Khem! Anyway, My brother and I found it humorous. It doesn't really hurt anything. So, I'm guessing it isn't a huge priority for them.

In my experience, I don't believe it's weighted at all. It seems like missions have a cooldown period after you complete them. I don't know whether the cooldown is time-based or missions-based (i.e., based on the number of missions completed since you completed the mission in question). I'm like 104 Diplomacy now and have done nothing but Darkside missions. I used to have to do the companion gift ones because I don't have any supply ones available. However, that hasn't happened in a long time now. There's always some sort of Darkside supply mission available for me. The question lies in its yield and tier. As for the alien blood samples. Yeah, those things suck to acquire! I went like 20 abundant/bountiful/rich missions without seeing even one and burned tons of credits. Now, I think I have two remaining from a recent harvest of six. You're just having bad luck here. Keep at it. They will come...eventually. Though, you may be broke, like me, by the time they do.

Well, I'm both glad and disheartened to see that others are experiencing similar issues with crafting. I hope that Bioware takes a look at things and makes changes. It would be terrible if the game becomes, "level Slicing to point A. Drop Slicing, then level desired crew skills". I really enjoy the help Biochem has given me while leveling, but the sad reality is that Darth Zash's apprentice is a sad, little pauper as a result!

I'm currently a level 17 Assassin with the following crew skills: Biochem (~113), Bioanalysis (100 no more skill ups on Dromund Kaas it seems), and Diplomacy (~104). It seems that the combination of random chances at learning blue and purple schematics, low drop rates on purple materials, and...of course...Khem Val () the mission failure makes crafting rather cost-prohibitive for low-level players. I've easily blown 10-15k credits just making reusable pots for myself, along with learning blue schematics for my brother's character (Operative) to send him pots whenever I have surplus materials. Anyway, while I've been able to afford class skills, I've already had to forego learning some schematics due to insufficient funds. Additionally, there was one point, after level 10, where I was actually down to double-digit credits! Right now, I've been forced to let the worst NPC ever (Khem Val) travel alongside me because I'm simply too poor to keep him permanently away on missions. This is all from running Darkside Diplomacy missions for the blue and purple mats needed to craft! Now, I don't expect low-level pots to sell. Though, I do hope low-level materials will sell once I no longer need them for crafting. However, it seems like low-level mission costs are too high given the numerous random factors involved. It feels like Bioware overestimates the cash flow of low-level characters. Now, my brother thinks that the problem is on my end. He thinks that I'm simply ahead of the crafting curve, and that's the reason I'm credit-strapped now. To that I say, I'm able to use the stuff I can make. So, how can I be ahead of the curve? Anyway, what are everyone else's thoughts and feelings on low-level missions costs? Are they way too high and in need of a significant reduction? Are they just a bit high? Or, are they perfectly fine and my brother's right (or it's just that Biochem doesn't have much profitability at low levels)?

Yes. You can reverse engineer the player+companion health packs into blue and purple varieties. I'm currently around 111 Biochem and have a reusable (purple) first tier one.

I haven't noticed an issue. The missions cycle though. It seems like each mission has a cooldown before it's available again once completed. So, I've had periods where I could only choose gift missions. Not sure if it's based on time or the number of missions completed since the mission on cooldown was completed. However, this lessens greatly as you unlock more missions. As an aside, Ialways have many more Lightside missions available than Darkside missions because I never do the Lightside ones. So, they're never on cooldown.

Don't get me wrong. I feel the purple Stims are better for the reason you stated. I'm only bummed about the health packs. I don't see the harm in giving the purples the hot too. I mean, they are Biochem only.

Depends on the pots. Health packs are a flat heal at green, heal + hot at blue, then reusable flat heal at purple. Stims are 60 min. buff lost on death at green, 120 min. buff that lasts through death at blue, then reusable 60 min. buff lost on death at purple. This is straight from my crew skills window. I haven't made any adrenals, so I don't know about those. Green and purple heals are exactly the same. Blue heals for more when factoring in the hot. All buff values are the same on Stims. Only the duration, persistence, and usability change for them.

The mats come from abundant and rich yield missions. Sometimes lower ones if your companion critically succeeds.

Not a Sorcerer but an Assassin 13. However, I chose Biochem. One thing I've noticed thus far is that the reusable/purple pots have the same stats as the basic pots (through 71 Biochem anyway). The rare/blue pots are better statistically but double as credit sinks, especially while leveling. It is a little disappointing that the reusable/purple pots don't use the stats of the rare/blue ones.