I don't believe it's the 4v4 format that turns people off. It's the team deathmatch from 1998. It was common and tired in the 20th century. Best to leave it there. Now, if they made 4v4 in the style of Gears of War Annex mode, I bet people couldn't get enough of it.

Check the comments section here for help: http://www.torhead.com/mission/26a65iC/acceptable-risk#comments

I love melees who mouse turn in PvP. All I have to do is circle-strafe them and they get all confused. It's fun to watch them spin madly and start jumping in frustration

The only numbers that are trustworthy are the ones released by EA themselves. Frank Gibeau, President-EA Labels, Electronic Arts, Inc., has stated their subscriber numbers several times in their earnings conference calls. "We currently have a little over 1.7 million active subscribers." FEBRUARY 01, 2012 EA - Q3 2012 Electronic Arts Inc. Earnings Conference Call "...a solid base of around 1.3 million subscribers." MAY 07, 2012 EA - Q4 2012 Electronic Arts Inc. Earnings Conference Call "...subscriptions have been on a declining trajectory and have now slipped below 1 million." JULY 31, 2012 EA - Q1 2013 Electronic Arts Inc. Earnings Conference Call "And the number of subscriptions has stabilized at just under half a million." May 7th, 2013 EA - Q4 2013 Electronic Arts Inc. Earnings Conference Call You can find the transcripts on EA's website I noticed you guys keep going back and forth about "the customer is always right". That's a phrase most often used by the general public. In the worlds of Sales and Marketing, the more appropriate but lesser used phrase is "the customer is king". Personally, I prefer the more obscure but most insightful phrase: The customer is the king maker.

+1 A quick-switch multi-spec option is like putting wheels on luggage. Wheels probably seemed like a silly and unnecessary convenience. It requires new design, adds cost and is not required for luggage to function as intended. In fact, we even put a man on the moon before the first suitcase rolled into Macy's. But nowadays, doesn't it really seem like a great idea?

Old, old topic. Aurozia: Will there be a dual specialization system in the future? Will there be a possibility of changing advance classes as well? Daniel Erickson: We have no plans for switching advanced classes - which we see as fundamentally different class designs- but dual spec is in the works and coming soon. Reference: Community Q&A: Feb 10th 2012 http://www.swtor.com/blog/community-qa-feb-10th-2012 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kiper: My question is are you still considering some sort of dual talent option, and if so is there an ETA? Austin: This is definitely a feature we hope to provide in the future, but we don't have any details to share at this time (including an ETA). Reference: Community Q&A: Jun 29th 2012 http://www.swtor.com/blog/community-qa-june-29th-2012#e

This. Practicing in the mad chaos of a warzone will make you a better healer very, very fast. Granted, your tools are limited at the low levels. But as you gain new abilities, try them out in warzones. Having leveled a sage and a commando through mainly warzones, I can tell you FPs are a breeze. And always research the mechanics of HM FPs and Ops when the time comes. A note on DPS. Good DPS will generally take out weaker enemies first because their damage is disproportionally high compared to their health. This often puts DPS on different targets than the tank. It may appear that they're off doing their own thing, but it's standard operating procedure. As a healer, keeping the tank up is job one. DPS have many tools to deal with sticky situations (detaunts, stuns, cooldowns, etc). DPS die and they're used to it. But If the tank goes, it all goes. There's an old MMO saying that applies to many (but not all) situations in this game: If the tank dies, it's the healers fault. If the healer dies, it's the tanks fault. If the DPS dies, it's their own fault. Lastly, don't get discouraged. It takes awhile to get the hang of commando healing, but you'll be a pro in no time.

Zoom VI is correct. DOTs used to interrupt out-of-combat healing. This was changed in 1.2. "Rest" abilities, such as Meditation and Recharge and Reload, are no longer interrupted by taking damage if the player is not currently in combat. Source Combat still breaks it. What the OP is referring to is a bug that a few have chosen to exploit.

Episode: Elroy's Mob Watch at about 15:18 for the Freeze Gas Gun. Admittedly not a blaster, but a good looking piece nonetheless. Edit: I would also like to point out the excessive crowd control. Coincidence? I think not!

I started MH about a month ago (in beta). It's early days and the game is just a platform at the moment. You can blow through the story in a matter of days and gameplay is not hard. As with many MMOs, starting near launch is really a bet that the game will get fleshed out and improve over time. It's too early to call at this point. MH is a shallow D2 at this point. The skill trees are very simple and allow for little variability in viable builds at the end game. Story is neat, but you'll be begging for more after the first play through. However, you can download it right now, play for free and see for yourself. I would recommend one of the free ranged heroes, either Hawkeye or Scarlet Witch. The melee heroes are fun in the beginning, but very frustrating later on. Whatever the case, I can't see picking up a whole guild and moving there. It's just not that engaging of a game, yet.

I stumbled over that one too. It is not an oxymoron, but it is a sentence that contains a contradiction. Let's look at it again. "I am not aware of the mechanism they use to change colors so I can't really accurately speculate as to why it might be that way." Notice that the author is not claiming he is unable to speculate. Rather, he claims that his speculation would not be performed with accuracy. How could he appraise the accuracy of his speculation beforehand?

Gawd, we can only hope. There's some ok stuff in the EU, but honestly most of it is crap. Personally, I couldn't be more thrilled that Disney is now in the drivers seat. Lucas had no idea how to steer a franchise and rode it into mediocrity. As far as LucasArts getting shut down, that only confirms what many suspected: It was not part of the deal valuation. Disney does not see itself in the business of making video games. Better to let the licensing group send it out. No risk, all profit. Let more experienced businesses build Halo-style success while they concentrate on making motion pictures and television shows (witness the success of recent serial dramas, e.g. Game of Thrones, Battlestar Galactica, etc). Disney kill Star Wars? They may just bring it back to life. I for one am excited that someone's trying.

Here are some direct links from http://www.swtor.com. Bioware has expressed interest in adding this feature for nearly a year. My guess is that it's not in due to prioritization. I am putting this information here for everyone's reference. Aurozia: Will there be a dual specialization system in the future? Will there be a possibility of changing advance classes as well? Daniel Erickson: We have no plans for switching advanced classes - which we see as fundamentally different class designs- but dual spec is in the works and coming soon. Reference: Community Q&A: Feb 10th 2012 http://www.swtor.com/blog/community-qa-feb-10th-2012 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kiper: My question is are you still considering some sort of dual talent option, and if so is there an ETA? Austin: This is definitely a feature we hope to provide in the future, but we don't have any details to share at this time (including an ETA). Reference: Community Q&A: Jun 29th 2012 http://www.swtor.com/blog/community-qa-june-29th-2012#e

Monthly renames were briefly listed as a subscriber benefit in 1.5 but yanked very quickly.

Second this. To make higher level decisions in PvP, situational awareness is key. Furthermore, to hit the highest levels of play in rated, one should memorize one's teammates by sight (size and outfit) and know exactly where they are on the Op frame for quick clicks. Granted, a player can get 75% of the way there just by watching the Op frame and spamming bubbles & heals. The numbers will be impressive. However, to truly manage a battlefield requires eyes on the field with the Op frame in the peripheral vision. Try it. You will find yourself not only healing, but healing better and dropping frequent snares, roots, mezzes, stuns and team mate pulls that really turn the tide of battle. I find for PvE it really doesn't matter as long as you're managing resources and cleanses well.