Have you spoken with the quest giver on the Imperial Fleet? T9-M6, iirc.

No, no difference for the content you have not yet started either. However, there is a caveat to that... When you start new Chapters from the expansion mission terminal on your ship, there is at least one where you will get a very specific confirmation box before the mission is actually started, which states that if you start that mission, all chapters and storyline missions prior to that will become inaccessible other than the repeatable quests - heroics, bonus series, and so on, and that your character will have been assumed to have taken default "canon" answers to dialog options and quest choices (i.e. let this character die to save that character, or dark side versus light side choices, decisions about whether to pursue romance with certain characters or not, and so on). Aside from the fact that you then miss out on a number of flirt opportunities that would be needed to progress a romance with a particular character, that may lock you into or out of a particular romance based on the original storyline. It has been a while since I ran through those chapters, so I am nowhere near certain enough to tell you specifically which chapter(s) trigger those choices, but if that sort of thing presents a problem for you then the recommendation is to (a) read everything that comes up in confirmation boxes, before clicking on the "Accept" button, and (b) knowing which order the content is intended to be run in - there are lists somewhere here i nthe New Player forum, or in the General Discussion forum, where some of the old timers have given a detailed breakdown of the chronological order for expansions and story chapters if that is something you might be concerned about. Note though, that while those choices are permanent, they only apply to that specific character. If you make a mistake, then submitting an in-game ticket asking for the decision to be rolled back might (or might not, in all probability) be successful, but in the worst case scenario you would need to run through the content with another character and avoid making the same mistake.

You should not, as far as I can remember, have any problems with your romance with Lana being disrupted if you tag along with your friend through his playthrough of the Fallen Empire elements that you have already gone through. What you should encounter are a series of mission objectives and instances that he can influence but you cannot, and any NPC dialogue interactions while running through his missions in FE will see you tagging along purely as a spectator. Flashpoints and group content have a rather different mechanism, where all participants choose their response to NPC dialogues, and the game randomly picks one of them as the response that is actually used. But the social interactions with companions are not handled in that way, so you will not be affected by his choices, and you will not be able to affect his.

I am assuming that the OP has gone to the mission terminal on his ship, and started the wrong expansion story arc. That has then given him the default options and results for Shadow of Revan, and locked him out of doing that content. He has then gone to the fleet, complained about not having access to the content, and either been trolled or misunderstood the responses, resulting in him believing that the content has been removed.

Posting a bit late, but if you are still looking, I'd suggest checking in the Star Forge forum section and posting there if none of the recruitment adverts from guilds grabs your fancy: https://www.swtor.com/community/forumdisplay.php?f=452

Unfortunately, raising an in-game ticket and blocking the players' legacies are pretty much the only options you have. There are CSRs who engage in some discussions on the forums (mostly around in-game bugs, or patch notes), but even their feedback to this kind of post would be to make a ticket in-game, because that is where it needs to be handled. Edit to add, I know you did not name any names in your post, but frustration at a lack of visible progress can lead to frustration. So even if it is tempting, leave in-game character names and legacy names out of any posts about in-game issues. There are a few grey areas (around including your own name), but for the most part where you are naming others, that is a quick way to get the thread deleted and potentially to get yourself a warning for ToS violations.

Generally speaking, I save them for max level, because the progression through the levels is so fast that you will not get any use out of low- or intermediate-level gear as you go through the story. Some of the rewards are useful during the leveling process though (credit chips, for example, but if you need credits then I would usually suggest running through some heroics with one of the groups that do that on a daily/weekly rotation).

Your best bet would be to post this message on the forum section dedicated to the Satele Shan server, here. Or first take a spin through the recruitment posts in that section, and see if any of the guilds are the droids you are looking for.

In my experience, the learning curve for gsf is indeed very steep, and something the tutorial does next-to-nothing to prepare you for. However, unlike ground-based PvP, if you are bad at the game in your first couple of gsf games and then join the discord, ask questions, learn, understand, improve, and rinse/repeat, the gsf community will generally be very supportive and respond to questions. Yes, there is the occasional toxic jerk, but in PvP I would say it is the other way around - surrounded by toxicity when trying to learn, you might find the occasional player willing and knowledgeable enough to help. It is almost as though the gsf community recognizes that they would benefit from having more engaged and interested players, while the PvP community are trying to scare away potential competition...

For me, the two most notable comparisons to swtor, in terms of how the player base utilize and interact with crafting options and GTN mechanics are EVE Online (aka Spreadsheets in Space), and the old Star Wars Galaxies, from before the release of the New Game Enhancements (there are a few emulator projects out there that recreate the pre-NGE experience, but just to experience the crafting mechanics in a game that has really dated graphics is not something I would recommend). EVE effectively takes the view that everything in the game can be crafted, and that 95% of what NPC vendors sell are skill books, stat implants, and the original schematics used as the baseline for crafting. I am sure plenty of people can correct the statement I am about to make, which is that "everything" you use in-game outside of skill books, implants and those original schematics is player-crafted, and the EVE marketplace is designed to accomodate the vast range of items and trading volumes required to support a crafting community that is focussed on the "mine (or buy) resources" > "craft (or buy) subcomponents" > "craft (or buy) items" > "sell items" flow. SWG had a crafting/gear system that was closer to SWTOR, but the crafted gear had the potential to be much better than the looted gear (the quality of the end product was very much affected by the quality of the sub-components and raw materials used, which varied in ways that they do not in SWTOR, in addition to stat improvements that crafters could gain and the crafter's level in their profession). However, that made crafters and merchants obscenely wealthy, although there was a symbiotic relationship with combat classes which brought in some of the rarer or high-level NPC-looted subcomponents needed for the high-stat gear those same combat classes wanted, and the combat classes selling those components to the crafters in turn made them very wealthy. Spending by the crafters also powered a large mining/resource gathering community which would take the time to go out and mine the specific spawns of high-grade raw materials the crafters required to turn out the best gear with the best stats. As part of the NGE, Sony then decided to try and tinker with the economic balance, and ended up making crafting virtually useless overnight, by introducing loot drops at each level that were much better than anything crafters could produce. The crafters quit, so the miners quit, and that left a lot of combat classes looking for some of the other crafted components that they needed, but could no longer buy, because the vast majority of crafters had quit. Oopsie... The thing in SWTOR is that the income from crafting is not worth the time, effort and cost involved in getting to the top quality of the top tier items. When you get there, you discover that while you can craft items that are theoretically best-in-slot, the marginal improvement over the non-crafted alternatives limits the amout that anyone but the most ardent min-maxer is going to be willing to pay. Gone are the days when completing all content in the game required a full Ops group with BiS gear and a detailed understanding of every boss fight in the Op. I am not saying that a max-level group could complete Master-mode content in their pyjamas, but having BiS equipment in every slot now means that you have more of a margin for error and can run the Op while surviving and overcoming a few mistakes. When it comes to inflation on the GTN, there are not many huge credit sinks in the game, outside of the occasional Nightlife event on Nar Shaddaa, and if my experience with EVE is anything to go by, a game without readily accessible credit sinks will suffer from huge inflation issues, especially when there are no pricing controls.

Looks to me like it is either a NPC set which is not in the game, or someone has mixed and matched pieces from two or more sets (the belt looks like it is from the Calculated Mercenary set, but the rest is definitely not) and then used a black/black dye to give it a unified colour scheme. THere might be a set that gives that specific look when combined with a black/black dye, but I cannot find it in the currently available Armor list in Collections.

I do agree that some of the Light/Dark Side choices in the game are either wrong or morally grey, but that is the thing about the Light and Dark side of the Force, it is not simply a matter of "Light = Good, Dark = Evil". That particular choice you are considering is one where I actually can see arguments for and against the current alignment. The fact that the remaining soldiers will now be in more danger as they are short-handed as a result of those soldiers' actions suggests it should be a Light side choice to return them to duty. However, the soldiers are obviously traumatized and forcing them to return only makes them suffer more, and it would be a relatively trivial thing for the Republic to drop in another battalion and withdraw the currently stationed troops for rest and rehabilitation. So from that perspective, showing compassion to the individuals who have given as much as they can is also potentially a light-side choice. As a wise old man will one day say to a young idealist, “Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.” Out of interest, my personal biggest objection to the Light/Dark choice selection comes at the end of the Imperial-aligned Esseles flashpoint, where the Dark Side decision is to execute an Imperial traitor on the spot, while the Light Side decision is to take him prisoner and have him returned to Dromund Kaas for torture and later execution. Light Side decisions that lead to torture do not seem very light to me

Just to reiterate ad expand a little on what Mike says above... The character that wants to start a guild and 3 other characters who are not currently in a guild form a normal 4-person group. The character that wants to start a guild then goes to the guild registrar on the fleet, goes through the NPC conversation, picks a guild name (possibly several times if the chosen guild name is already taken), and at the completion of that process the guild is created with the character that has the conversation with the registrar being the guild leader, and the other 3 group members now becoming guild members. Once the guild has been created, up to 3 of the players can leave the guild without any issue. As long as at least 1 person is left in the guild, it will be fine (although inviting your alts will not be possible if you are the only member, unless you have 2 accounts).

Hmm, fluffy pink cuffs, leather-wrapped variants (probably too kinky for Disney/Bioware), a full set of wrist and ankle chained manacles... the possibilities are broad. As long as they only work on willing characters, of couse. Bondage is no fun for those involved if the person being bound is not a willing participant.

Actually, the fastest way for your companion to grow is by giving them gifts, which you can buy from a vendor on your faction's fleet. Each companion has several types of gift that they will not give a reaction for, and one type that they love and will give the maximum influence gain. Other gift classes will give influence gains, but not as much as the gift type that the companion loves. Also, some companions will love to receive gifts from the "Courting" category after you have flirted with them enough that you have opened their romance arc. Dulfy has an excellent and far more detailed guide to companion gifts, here. I would encourage you to check it out!

Oh hell no, please God no... Given the absolute dog's dinner that was the first attempt at enabling sorting on player inventories, opening up sorting on Guild vaults in the same way, so that any idiot with permission can re-order the storage space that is shared between multiple users has, in my personal opinion, so much potential for rage and panic as stuff disappears, that I and almost everyone else I know in-game would be threatening real-world physical assault if anyone even thinks about using it. Did I give the impression that I am against this idea, and that I do not trust BW to implement this idea in a bug-free manner? Or do I need to start breaking out the emojis?

The primary focus for the Echani is unarmed combat and melee weapons, and (at least while dueling) minimal armour with light armour under normal circumstances. Personal shields (I assume the energy-based kind, rather than physical shields) are also a favourite among Echani warriors. To me, that sounds like a Shadow/Assassin class, but I guess Sentinel/Marauder types could also fit while Guardian/Juggernaut would probably be out because of the heavy armor. Any kind of ranged class would be a tough stretch because of the melee requirement, so anything that focusses on damage from more than 4m distance is out. Gender-wise (not directly related to the question, admittedly), Echani society is written as highly matriarchal, so would you play as a male trying to forge a path away from the restrictions of the society (who knows, maybe with an underlying desire to be dominated by a strong woman... I am not going to judge...), or a female used to the world bending to your desires?

Are they just non-functional/non-interactive, or is there a system message in red text that appears when you attempt activation? I only ask because of the old "issue" with the heal stations in FPs giving the "you must be in a group to use this" message when you are trying to run the solo or veteran FPs on your own. Wondering if there is another message that pops up, that might give a pointer as to the cause of the problem.

World Bosses like this one have a fun little mechanic, where your companion will effectively cower and do absolutely nothing - call it freezing in fear. So you literally can only rely on a group of players to take them down. Also, if you look at the relative health stats of yourself versus the enemy, you will find that the World Bosses have a metric butt-ton more health than you do, which should be an indication that you are in for a world of hurt and a quick trip back to your respawn point if you try and take one on solo.

Shae has been given as a companion at a couple of different times, as a reward for being a subscriber on a specific date. There has been no announcement whether she will be made available again, but there are a lot of people posting in the Suggestion Box forum, asking for the old companions that are gated behind those type of requirements to be made available for purchase through the Cartel Market. I would suggest you hop on over to that forum, and find one of the existing threads on the topic and add your support.

As a couple have suggested already, Smuggler would be the equivalent class to Operative, and has quite an entertaining storyline. Personally I feel it is better to try that one after doing the Trooper class (less popular with most people, and it is quite rigid and militaristic in nature) as the Smuggler shows much more of a free spirit. Another option, which would specifically be the counterpart to the Marauder, is the Jedi Knight-Sentinel. Story-wise, most people will debate which Republic-side story is the best of the 4, but the consensus is that either Smuggler or Knight is the best.

The gfx requirements for swtor have not changed significantly since launch, mainly because the Hero engine the game is built on uses virtually no gfx resources, and instead dumps the calculations on the CPU, in one of two threads that the game handles for just about everything. As JediQuaker says, editing the ini files is definitely not recommended unless you have a really game-breaking issue, which generally does not include FPS drops at inconvenient times or similar issues. However, if you really absolutely totally must make changes, the "several year-old" guides are probably still valid, and eve if the guides include this next snippet of advice, it bears repeating as it is so important... "make a copy of your ini files before changing them".

I would like to see an OPTIONAL setting to bump up the difficulty to, or slightly above, the level we had in the game at launch. But I also cannot see a way that could be implemented for each individual person outside of instancing all fights, because in open world settings if I choose to tune my fights to a more challenging level, that will also affect any mobs in my vicinity. Regarding leveling, Everquest 2 has/had an interesting model, where you could redirect all, or a portion of, your in-game leveling XP into advancing a separate utility system that allowed you to pimp out your character. So if you were in an area with level 30 mobs, and you were level 35 and on the verge of them going grey and wanted to avoid that, you could flick the slider all the way up and cultivate your utilities instead of growing your adventuring level. The drawback here is that there is no equivalent utility system (the "Utilities" we have through combat profs are nowhere near as extensive or varied), so there is currently nothing to redirect that leveling xp to....

A philosophy group I worked with a few years ago had a discussion about which real-world religion/philosophy the Jedi most closely matched. Aside from a couple of odd suggestions - Mormonism, Hare Krishna, and (iirc) Seventh Day Adventists, or some fringe religious cults that took children away from their parents and indoctrinated them into abandoning family in favour of wandering the world in weird clothes trying to convert people - most of the discussion centered around Buddhism, Taoism and Jainism, in which detachment (or non-attachment, if you like) is a state where individuals overcome their desire for and attachment to things, people, or preconceptions and attain a heightened perspective and sense of enlightenment. At that point, iirc, some fell to the Dark Side and pointed out that they can achieve the same thing with smoking weed or mescaline and everybody pulled out their lightsabers and slaughtered each other... But seriously, a lack of attachment in those religions is the end goal of a journey in which the adherent tries to become a better person by ridding themselves of their attachments and improving themselves in the process. The Jedi approach may be driven by a desire to maintain balance, and a realisation that some powerful emotions like anger, and attraction to other people leads to feelings of imbalance, thus leading to the Dark Side so therefore powerful emotion are bad. But for some reason a lot of their teenage padawans start to get angry and feel attraction to people around them, at about the same time they start to get hairy. So no idea why the young ones suddenly go all emo on us...

Both are potentially viable skills, with advantages and disadvantages, although both are very dependent on your speed and reactions. The style with dual-bladed weapons varies more than with any other type of weapon, and the approach will depend on the style of weapon, where the primary advantage will either be the ability to hit harder or longer reach. If you can only grab the weapon by a section in the middle (like the dual-bladed sabers in-game), this allows for greater application of force through the principle of leverage. You can hit much harder and with much greater force than with any other melee weapon, except possibly a mace or cestus (that is really just an armoured gauntlet). Or if you have the option of grabbing the weapon at or near one end (a halberd design, for example, where you have a long pole with sharp edges or points at the ends) which gives you greater reach at the expense of weapon speed and virtually no ability to defend at any distance other than your own optimal fighting range (if your opponent is too far away you cannot reach them, and if they are too close then your weapon is slow and has no capability to fend off). As with any polearm weapon, unles syou have an alternative for short-range melee combat your only defence is to keep your opponent at your optimal range. Having potentially two blades or weapons on your dual-bladed weapon is not actually as useful in practice as most people assume, because the blades are in fixed positions opposite form each other. So if one blade is pointing at an opponent, the other is pointing in exactly the opposite direction. Great if you have one opponent in front of you and one behind you, but practically useless as you can only watch one of your opponents at a time in that scenario. Dual-wielding weapons are vastly more flexible than any other melee type, except possibly a sword+shield combo which trades an improvement in defensive capability and being easier to master for greater off-hand range and offensive capability (a shield bash is a viable offensive strike, but only within reach of your bent arm, while a sword held in your off-hand can reach further), but the learning curve for their use is much more than simply learning to use a one-handed sword in your non-dominant hand. There is a reason why one of the more common co-ordination tests is to pat yourself on the head with one hand while rubbing your belly in a circular motion with the other hand... imagine undergoing that test while two people are trying to beat you with either heavy sticks or sharp swords, and you start to see the problem. Learning to play the piano helps immensely with learning to dual-wield, as it forces your brain to learn the motor control skills required to allow your hands to operate independently of each other. Dual-wielding is much harder than wielding polestaffs or dual-bladed weapons, because with the dual-bladed scenario your hands are still operating in a co-ordinated manner, while with dual wielding your hands will almost never be co-ordinated. Equally, with most Western-style combat arts using one-handed weapons, there are times when it is necessary to grasp the bladed part of the sword. This is why most longswords actually had one or two blunt section of the blade, near to the guard and one closer to the tip, allowing a gauntletted sword user to grasp the blade and apply leverage. When dual-wielding, this is not possible because you would have to drop a sword to accomplish this. The result is that most swords designed for dual wielding were made with only one edge, the other being blunt or flat, as with a Japanese katana. Blocking strikes when dual-wielding became almost non-existent, and when it did happen the goal was to deflect the incoming strike by bracing one of the swords against your body (with the flat side or blunt "edge" against your body) and deflecting the incoming blade so that the strike would slide off. Dual wielders can dish out almost twice the attacks as a single-bladed opponent, but they are also easier to pin down into a defensive posture than a single-bladed opponent who is equipped with a shield, because effective defence for a dual-wielder requires much more attention to detail with virtually no margin for error... they are the Medieval definition of a glass cannon