Now THIS is what I'm talking about!!! [/unworthy emote]

And just exactly how long are we going to continue waiting??? ** 6 weeks (probably too short) ** 3 months and rather lengthy "promise you it's coming" level of skepticism just went up since we've heard this line before (on more than one occasion). ** 6 MORE months .... SERIOUSLY????? 🤷‍♂️ I can assure you that by this time next year if things remain status quo, it will all be over but the crying! I'm not being hateful when I say this. IMO this is not a fun post to make. But, by that same token it's even less fun to see this saga continue as it is now. To be clear: I personally would wish the best for the development team. Most of us are hoping for that well-earned turnaround and seeing SWTOR back on its feet again!

Fool me once shame on you ... fool me twice ... shame on me! At this point in time we've been handed what we have for how many years. If this were not Star Wars IMO people would not be posting page after page after page in hopes of seeing a change of heart and direction of SWTOR. After the last 12 to 18 months in particular I think it's time for the people actually producing this game to well ... ACTUALLY produce a game! I'm acutely aware of the many changes that have been made. Some of it actually pretty good at that. But to be blunt about it... unless something changes drastically for me .. I'll simply move on. I won't be angry either (by the way). It simply means that the intense posting, discussing (in as civil fashion as possible) that all of that effort fell on deaf ears. And if that means nothing to the development team then so be it! We will simply part company and go our separate ways. If that sounds cold to someone, they will have to get over it. It's no colder than what has happened to SWTOR. As it stands right now, I definitely feel as though someone has intentionally taken total advantage of the fact that this is a Star Wars themed story and that we will remain here to dole out the cash regardless. Sorry ... but that is NOT the case. I think that I've been more than patient. As some of us old folks use to say: "It's time to either put up ... or shut up!"

YIP !! Pretty much!! BTW ... I like your post better than mine!! I think a lot of us hope that Broadsword breaks the historical cycle of SWTOR's past track record. While there has been a few moments in the past that have been really nice (Ruhnuk to me was one of the last) ... To be perfectly candid ... I wish that some way ... somehow SOMEONE would actually listen. [/sigh] ... this is SOOOO frustrating. And yeah ... restless is the correct word too! The steady downhill number of players still active proves it. (Even if we don't want to face the music. The numbers don't lie). I'm not trying to jump anyone's case. But for crying out loud. Will somebody (in the development team) PLEASE wake up!!! 🤦‍♂️

There was a time I would have said the same thing. Matters have changed now. I just don't feel like being burned over and over and OVER again in the same way we have for the past 12 to 18 months (if not longer). Sooo many people have been WAY more than patient. I'm sorry ... but SWTOR needs an old fashion shot in the arm in order to avoid what appears to be nothing more than life support. BTW.... no reflection on your desire to see things happen for the better. If had ZERO hope at all .. I would no longer be posting. In fact I think if it were possible to check you find a gap of almost 3 weeks (perhaps more) where I went silent. Right now as it stands it won't take much of a push for me to just simply walk away. This is a game. It's NOT my life. I do really like the things we use to do. It was fun. It was very interesting. I use to enjoy developing characters and interacting with my companions. I use to anticipate the next part of the story. USE TO! ( I think that's all I need to say now). BTW... good luck!

Exactly what has been said repeatedly over the last few months!! As for the money made by SWTOR... that went elsewhere (in any number of ways/expenditures/ventures/pockets ...take your pick. IN short SWTOR was robbed of the opportunity for growth. IMO this is one of several reasons for the animosity that still exists today. There is (was) at one point in time the genuine opportunity to revive the game, invest and create a really nice adventure within the Star Wars genre in the fashion of an MMO. It's highly unlikely this will happen. That being said: I still give a tip of the hat to OP for his desire to open up a thread looking at the foundation of story driven MMO ... the actual story. BTW... it should be noted that I completely agree 100% with BOTH of these posts. I especially like the part about this no longer being our story (we're now disconnected somewhat and that actually made it easier to move on to something else). As it now stands there is very little left to do with SWTOR ... except to turn out the lights (maybe). And I find that prospective future somewhat disappointing and frustrating. EDIT: PLEASE NOTE that when I made the statement about being easier to move on to something else I was actually referring to being easier to move on to another GAME (since we are less connected to the story line in SWTOR.)

I couldn't help to laugh out loud at this! +10 (nailed it) Key word for this entire thread is the word "OPTIONAL" (and in case anyone still is wondering ... that means individual CHOICE). IMO this game has as a VERY wide variety to choose from! (Unless you're a Wookie).

Hmmm Ya know ... you could EASILY write that story in such a way that it would set up a really good GSF aspect of that too! That could set up a win-win for a lot of other folks too!

I LOVE the idea of messing with the heads of the Jedi and the Sith both. Seems like they just assume that they are the top dog in the galaxy! (OK ... maybe that's a tad over the top ... but not by much). 😉 BTW... the rest of the idea aint half bad either!! 👍👍

To actually answer OP ... Hmmm.. a couple of thoughts / questions: ** Would it be a common enemy shared by both the Republic and the Empire (so as to save $$$ in story development)? If so I would strongly suggest that both sides would also be looking for a means of using the new crisis to gain an advantage over the other (unlike forming another temporary alliance). That might actually be fun from time to time by setting up or framing the opposition with fake "evidence" in order to gain favor with the new aggressor.... ??? Maybe??? ** I can definitely see the need for a fresh new story: One with repeatable chapters as we had in KotFE/ET. Some of the chapters were ones that I went back and took on at a higher level of difficulty. Frankly not every casual player is looking for a face roll and being able to pick and choose which chapters we like the best and take another go at them. ** Would it be a good idea to look at ties to a distant galaxy as did Ahsoka? Both the Empire and the Republic might be looking for answers and find it necessary to travel to this place. Would it be a one-way ticket? The conflict between the two powers once they arrive and the impending consequences for failure of their mission. I realize that this answers OP question with more questions. But perhaps this might add to his intent and desire to open a successful dialogue. Just some thoughts on answering the question that was asked! BTW... if I have contributed to derailing the thread earlier ... my apologies.

Agreed... What we have unfolding is a passionate desire of the consumers ... vs ... the cold harsh reality of $$$. Still just the same in the end no one will be able to justifiably suggest that there wasn't the willingness and support from the player base. Even if that meant having to pay for the next expansion IF we got an ACTUAL XP! And when it gets right down to it ... I don't think any of us believed that it was ever cheap. MMO's are very expensive to develop AND maintain as well. This is also the nature of the beast! I can't help but to wonder... Are things pretty much done. Is this all? OR .. perhaps maybe, just maybe is there something better in the future? We obviously know what people are hoping for. I know it's also been stated in the past: Time for someone to step up to the plate and start moving this game forward. NOW! Otherwise there really won't be but a handful of customers left. So few in fact that the mighty CM WON'T be enough to keep things going! BTW.. I still agree with the attempt of OP. It's time to move things forward. The Malgus story should pretty much dead shortly (at lest I hope so). Time to move forward. A new crisis ... villain ... etc. It is ultimately the responsibility of the developer to produce a quality product or not. After that ... it's up to us to either continue to accept what we are getting or to move on!

To be perfectly honest ... It has been suggested that Broadsword is really interested in how the community feels about SWTOR: Past/Present/Future. Here's a good example. That being said: how they approach this and what they actually do with valuable open discussions (which so far have been really excellent I might add) ... that is now up to them. IMO ... there's a lot more folks paying attention to what is unfolding that some other people might think! But... heck what do I know?

IMO ... folks it's like this. IF the new owners are really wanting to know how us old folks feel about SWTOR ... this is a PRIME thread to read. There are a lot of areas that people passionately want to enjoy in this game: PvE / PvP : both story related / GSF /... etc. Just take your pick. There are a LOT of people who would DEARLY LOVE to see this break loose and go crazy wild with growth. I get where @DWho was coming from! It affects the entire community. I personally applaud his attempt to fire things up! The foundation on which we build the rest of the game: ** New PvE areas (Hopefully with some open area major bosses with some really cool drops that people can ACTUALLY USE. ** PvP revamped ** GSF ... (wouldn't it be really cool if we had the option to use some really cool controllers.) ** Flying over the maps. (I can't tell you how much fun I have with this in WoW. It is a blast). Seriously ... take a pick on the subject of SWTOR and how much many of us LOVE to play that particular part of the game. If the ANY part of the development team wants to feel the pulse (heartbeat) of those of us who are still around they should ready this thread and take it to heart !!! (OK .... I'll get off my soapbox now)

Yeah ... no kidding. A LOT of us have said something similar to this for a long, LONG time now. For the record ... I just sprung for $90 (US) for the next XP in WoW. I had actually let it lapse for a couple of months to see what would happen in SWTOR. And (unfortunately, unless something changes) ... the handwriting is on the wall. The days have been numbered and are found wanting. I would gladly give up purchasing one of the new St. Croix 7'3" Heavy / Fast rods I've been watching for, in order to pay for a new XP IF (and only if) we got the real deal! (I'm watching 3 of those rods to replace 3 older ones that are ready for replacement). BTW ... IMO OP still has a valid point. The story is more or less the foundation for the rest of the activities that are connected to a new story / section. So ... yeah! It makes sense to want to see the step begin to unfold.

IMO we are not looking for an answer that will satisfy everyone! The answer might not even seem realistic (from almost any stand point of view). BUT when posing "that sort of question" (What do players want) ... IMO a major story development (which is what has defined SWTOR since the beginning) would seem to be an appropriate next step. The point(s) I have made in my post (whether realistic or not ... or directly requested or NOT) is more of a reflection of what has been overlooked in conjunction with the OP as well. Soooo much potential. And yet has been sold for a quick $$$ and (what seems to be) a thumbed nose to the rest of us (or at least it seems that way).

RIGHT ON BRO !!!! (Both of ya!)

Some of the biggest issues we see now in SWTOR is reflected in threads just like this one. ** While @DWho is partially correct ... there is more than just one issue to look at. KotFE / ET was excellent in its story / content ... but in several other areas frankly nearly killed the game ****Abandoning ALL companions from the vanilla without any warning until we logged on for the new XP. ****Overall game mechanics ****The heavy grind fest ****The gearing system ****Slamming shut the lid on all 8 class stories so severely that a large part of the population that still posts on this forum board today no longer believe that is possible/feasible to even think about restoring them. ** There is a lot more to SWTOR than JUST a story OR even JUST PvP or JUST NiM / OPs. Without a balance of the core values in this (or any other MMO for that matter) ... the game will continue to suffer and bleed away customers. ** The CM is waaaay too important to this game. Someone does need to give a LOT more consideration to ... well you know .. the ACTUAL SWTOR GAME !! Remember that?? Fun?? Abandoning it would be a mistake. BUT devoting so much resource to the CM while neglecting the rest of SWTOR is not reflecting well upon the GOOD intentions that the rest of the team might be working hard on. ** The GS series has to offer more than just a favorite item provided for either one small group or another group. If the GS series is not overhauled, I personally won't bother with it again (and something tells me that I'm not alone). ** For me personally (my OWN observation) ... Biggs is only partially correct. SWTOR WAS: a story driven MMO (But is currently hurting). IT NEEDS GOOD PvE balanced difficulty levels (face rolling alone won't cut it ... and NEITHER will overly tuned areas without access to proper gear). Yes there are some things that need to be addressed. There are a LOT of things that need to be addressed. As for a new class... IMO that would be a super idea (since that was mentioned) BUT to be perfectly candid about it I don't see that happening. I mean sure it would be super nice. But I have not seen ANY indication that there was the kind of commitment in the last 4 years to even BEGIN that sort of a project. For now ... it seems like we're in a struggle to see SWTOR survive. While it is true that survival is important ... seeing SWTOR actually being ALIVE and kicking would be much more desirable. IMO there is a massive difference between the two. For whatever it's worth the idea of a new MAJOR story line like KotFE / ET series is correct. BUT NOT if we leave behind the rest of SWTOR. It would be worthless if the gearing system, PvP , OPs, GSF, and GS series (just to list a few) were not given the immediate attention and work that is needed. This game still has the potential. Frankly that is ONLY because of its heritage: Star Wars. Any other game would have flatly died by now!

Question (of sorts) ... Is there really enough people available to for a PUG (on demand) regularly ... without time restrictions. By that I mean: 24 / 7 can a group be put together to run this OP (any OP). How difficult is it do get a group together? Somehow the difficulty seems to be: How many are really required? Which (or how many) class(s) are really, actually needed (required) to consistently run successfully. Please note that this does not mean face roll style of play. I would also suggest that in the coming months it will become increasingly more difficult to find enough of the "right stuff" (class requirements) to run these styles of OPs. Please note: The preceding is strictly my own opinion based on running equally difficult "dungeons" in WoW on those rare occasions when I have ran one or two in recent months with my son and granddaughter. (since they are willing to put up with my slower pace/style of game play).

** Not everyone wants another companion. This is particularly true when said associate / counterpart / partner (etc) has very little to offer (unless the development team designs FUTURE missions AFTER the GS series in which we receive implied reward. ** A large number of players would prefer a companion (IF that is what we are stuck with) that would be easy to communicate with, fun to be around and genuinely beneficial (unlike the last 2 or 3). I personally find them totally useless. Therefore, said reward becomes EQUALLY worthless! ** No need to go on a total rant because someone WANTS a companion or EVEN if others DON'T. Maybe if there was a choice of what sort of companion we received (male/female/droid... Wookie) ??? That would at least offer a variety of sorts. ** Frankly the GS series needs a heck of a lot more than just a pretty new toy or mindless robot tagging along. It needs an overhaul. The main reason that the GS series needs so much work is due to the simple fact that it is such a large part of the SWTOR package these days. I totally get the idea behind the GS series. It's not altogether a bad idea. But if there is little reason than to be bored with the rewards and general activities of said game activity then .. well frankly .. people will continue to be bored with that aspect of SWTOR. With boredom comes pain .. and with pain... THAT leads to the dark side! 😉

🤦‍♂️ ** I can't believe this is still going on (especially since we have already gone through a similar debate in other threads) ... AND that's kind of why we got what we've got with the new stuff just around the corner. ** I don't see how in the name of common sense we can expect ANY programmer or game developer to come up with the "RIGHT" (????) solution that would make everyone happy. Seems like nothing will work! ** The concept of "just do it my way" (and everybody's problems are solved) is somewhat misguided! Good grief !!! Oh well! I'm sure I'm gonna catch it... but who really cares at this point!

If the party is a bore ... then .. well folks will just simply leave! Hmmm ... there's a message in there somewhere! 😉

Agreed! 100% !! That being said ... I'm not so sure but what we're not almost there now as it is! BTW... I'm out on this one! The team will release what they will (How many times have we seen that unfold?). Afterwards we can spend the next 8 to 12 months begging for change (at least those who are still around).

Quite correct on both points. I'm quite certain that some of the points that I've made seem a bit curious (at best). However, please consider the following: ** The past experiences of the PTS. ** Solid input / feedback from a host of others (also in the past). ** The importance of what has been said (in the past PTS feedback) AND particularly today. A LOT of what has been said here and in the PTS section are ALL valid points (from a certain point of view). ** Non-refundable deposits (someone should REALLY pay attention to this one) ** Ease of the use and intuitive accessibility of the new UI. Any NUMBER of valid points could be added to this list. In the end... (as you have pointed out) just HOW MUCH can we legitimately expect to find its way into the proposed new system? I'm not trying to start or finish anything with the development team. Frankly, I'd much rather prefer to be on a more friendly basis. Yet the simple fact is this ridiculous wall that frequently stands between gamer and developer, and all too often seems to define the legitimacy of any feedback regardless of how well intended or researched. BTW... I want to thank both @TrixxieTriss and @Darkestmonty for their patience in putting up with my somewhat odd means of bringing a couple of those valid points out into the open for discussion.

If there is NOT an auto refund on items that don't sell that IS a BIG MISTAKE! (I'm glad you pointed that out! Which is ALSO why I brought it up in the first place.) NON-refundable should only apply on sales that are COMPLETED or on perhaps on canceled orders (usually done when there is a lot of undercutting pricing going on). If an item is posted ... left and is not sold (time lapses) then there should definitely be a refund since there was no transaction that took place. That being said: I honestly don't see that many changes being made on what is currently on the PTS. The team isn't concerned about philosophical debate. (And I can understand that). What I AM concerned with is easy to use and accessibility of the GTN to the player base. The new format will take some getting use to. But, it does not seem to be overwhelmingly difficult. It should also be noted that @Darev brings some interesting points to the table as well. BTW... I'm never upset with folks asking me questions (as long as they are willing to be civil and listen to the answers). At the end of the day we may still disagree ... BUT we can all bring SOLID input to the table if we can just stop, listen, learn and pay attention! 😉

** Why are credit sellers even in the game? (they should be banned). ** Name calling like Whales is nothing more than an attempt to belittle someone because of .. WHY? ** People who know how to make money (credits) are always hated. ** Taxation on sales is a ridiculous way to solve any issue. Stop the inflated influx of credits at the source and the problem will eventually be solved. It didn't happen overnight, and it WON'T be solved overnight either. Taxing higher cost items applies to everyone who is purchasing (so even those who have very little to begin with have the more expensive items pushed even further out of reach). Remember the transaction is being taxed (Not based on the size of the persons stack of credits on hand). ** The nonrefundable fee makes sense (time lapsed non-sold items will auto refund... ) This is one time that @TrixxieTriss is simply wrong. ** Items being sold should ALWAYS list the seller ... period! 'Nuf said!!! IN the end ... just clean up the UI (pretty much as @Darkestmonty is suggesting) and that will be a good place to START. IMO this entire overhaul will need to be redone a bit in the future anyhow. It should be noted that there are always a few changes that need to be done. It should also be noted that very little changes to the newer UI stuff has been done since it was released.