I came up with this the other night after leveling through Tatooine and recently watching the Road Warrior. How about turning the Dune Sea into a Mad Max-style open world, vehicle-based PvP environment? A couple of necessary elements: 1. Speeders have health and a limited number of combat abilities (guns, missiles, caltrops, etc.). These could change based on the vehicle; 2. There are consumables that, when you run out, you die. Some gas-type consumable for the speeder that requires returning to a fueling station every so often. Also, something like water that only allows you to be dismounted away from a settlement for so long. 3. Each side has a base on opposite ends of the map. Throughout the map, there are refueling stations that begin neutral but can be claimed by either faction. I imagine roving gangs of speeders and strategic assaults on key locations. That map is a huge wasteland, and it would be pretty sweet to put it to use in something like this.

I am a big fan of that set. I believe it is the Primeval Vindicator's Set. Primeval Paragon is the same model, just replace the blue with light brown. There is also a pvp version that replaces the blue with dark gray or black. The color of the chest-piece is the only thing that matters, since you can color-match the rest. Here is how you get it through pve: Chest+Hands -> Corellia commendations Head+Legs -> Synthweaving, should be cheap on GTN Feet -> Random World Drop, also cheap on GTN You will need to be level 49-50 before you can get most of this, unless you go the pvp route. Also, the head piece does not remove the hood. Using a visor or circlet will get rid of the hood. This was the gear I used when I first hit 50 many moons ago. I am now building my tank set around the Xenotech chest piece, which uses the same model but has a metallic look instead of white. ETA - the Black Hole Daily Heroic Mission also awards a choice of either color chestpiece to jedi knights.

Well, the idea here is to put something in the game that people have been asking for and that will hold their attention, without a huge outpouring of time and money from Bioware. Putting in full-fledged simulator-style space combat would likely cost a lot in development money and time like you suggest. My idea is to take a bunch of preexisting elements and mash them together to create something new - free-roaming space combat around the fleet. Bioware earns money if this keeps people subscribed, brings them back, or they sell ships in the cash shop.

I recently typed up the following. Warning - it is long. I think I have a formula that will: (a) significantly increase cash flow for EA/BW; (b) make players happy and possibly boost subscriptions; and © do both of the above without a massive investment of resources, at least not initially. The idea can be summed up in one word: Space! Most people would agree that space missions are fairly one-dimensional in TOR right now and far from what everyone wishes they were. On-rails shooters that make for a nice diversion do not make a lot of people want to subscribe to the game or plunk down money in a cash shop. We all know that BW has “big plans” for space, but they have been saying that for a long time with nothing much in the way of news. Now, how cool would it be if you were sitting in Carrick Station browsing the GTN when a fleet-wide announcement is heard “Sith Interceptors spotted in fleet space. All available pilots are requested at the ready until the threat is fully assessed.” That may sound cheesy, but I don’t get paid to write dialog. Anyway, you run to the Jedi Knight hangar, but instead of your Defender, you board an X-wing. You and thirty other players meet the enemy attack and repel it. You get a reward and head back to the docking bay. What needs to happen for the above to work? I don’t know. Let me guess – first a new instance needs to be created. Instead of the Black Hole, it needs to be an instance populated with only two things: space and the models for the fleet. We know those exist already, just take Interfleet Transport. The tricky part is likely having multiple player’s ships in one instance. We know they can make space instances with lots of moving parts – see any space mission. We know they have lots of vehicle models. What we don’t know is if BW can easily drop multiple players into one instance. Then they need to come up with a way to navigate ships off-rails. Ultimately, as long as it is fun, the controls don’t have to be as complex as the X-wing games. Let me control where I go in a simple manner, and then give me something to do. Assuming all of the above can happen, we have a a fleet-space instance where multiple ships can exist at once. How do we make it fun, and how does BW make money off of it? I am going to borrow from two very different games for the answers to those questions. First, the fun part. Borrowing from Guild Wars 2, fleet space can have a series of dynamic events that unfold in different sectors. Lore-wise, we can come up with some hooks that explain the increased activity. As a player, you fly around the fleet, and if you see other players converging on something or something catches your eye, you join in. Also, remember the original point, while you are out of your ship on the fleet, you can get a call to arms message to join in an event in space. The other benefit to adding content of this type is BW can start small with a few events and gradually increase. If it becomes popular, more instances can be created and even, just maybe, some pvp. Finally, how does BW make money off this? Remember the X-wing from the example? That is how. BW can make a ton of money from players by selling ships. This may break some people’s immersion, but how many kids are going to be begging their parents to drop $15 so they can show off their Millenium Falcon to their friends. I have played Super Hero Squad Online with my daughter, and its system of selling heroes would adapt well for this purpose. In brief, some ships are available for currency that is easily earned in-game, other ships are only available for real money. In addition, some ships are only available for subscribers. This system would give everyone, even the truly F2P, some level of choice and customization, but would also provide some strong temptation for people to lay down money. I don’t know how feasible this is. In the grand scheme of things, however, it seems like a win-win for EA/BW and players. It gives us players more variety in game play and something we have been asking for. For BW, it seems as if the return on investment to make this happen could be huge.

We had a nice little community on Juyo. Now we are on Canderous Ordo, which I am totally fine with. Last night, however, one of the more active figures in our little Juyo community tried to create a chat channel for us Juyo refugees, named simply "Juyo." Apparently, using a server name as a chat channel name is improper. Any chance this could be changed? While i have no problem joining the Canderous Ordo crowd, it would be nice to retain a bit of a connection to our home server for the past six months.

I am talking about Energized/Xenotech/Exotech drops (and gear made from recipes). My thoughts: For most people who have been raiding, these drops are, at best, something to pull mods from. For people looking to get into raids, these drops will help them complete their sets. For me, the best looking chestpiece for my class is IMO one of these drops. Once 1.3 hits, I would augment it and wear it proudly. It's not an upgrade for me, it just looks very cool, and I will soon be able to make it equivalent to my current chestpiece. It would be great to be able to buy it off the GTN rather than endless KP runs for a chance at a cosmetic upgrade.

The best option I have found for this is the Reinforced Diatium Head, Chest, and Legs. The Headgear is a visor that will remove the hood. Because of the cape/neckpiece style, it looks much better than a hood-less robe. Here is a pic, without the headgear showing: http://tor-fashion.com/2012/04/07/reinforced-diatium/

FYI - the picture for the Reinforced Diatium Headgear (Republic) appears to be wrong. My guild's synthweaver picked up the pattern yesterday, and it is similar to the visor you can buy with Hoth Commendations, which will remove your hood. In my experience, this is the most effective way to obtain a hood-down appearance (short of trooper armor or medium armor) and preserve as much of you character's intended look as possible. Thankfully, we can now get that look with an augment slot. For the record, I am going from memory regarding the name of the pattern. I do, however, know that it was level 47, so I am 90% sure that I am correct.

If you are going deep-Defense, you should get Guardian Slash and spend 31 points in the tree. If you want to go the hybrid route, going deeper into Vigilance is the way to go (i.e., get at least Overhead Slash). Here are examples of both builds: Full Defense: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#500GMGzudMdfzZcRMZ0M.1 Hybrid: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#500hMGzu0MZcRrRRhkzM.1 No guarantee that those are the absolute best builds, just ideas to get you on the right path.

Your question is pretty broad. My suggestion is to check out the stickied thread in the Guardian sub-forum, which should get you a very good start. If you have any more specific questions after reading that, go for it.

Legacy Friends List - We should be able to become friends with an entire Legacy, allowing us to see the person's online status regardless of what toon they are on. This should also allow cross-faction communications with Legacy Friends. To prevent abuse, a Legacy Friend must be requested and confirmed by the player. Transport directly from ship to Black Hole (and other similar, new zones that are introduced). Simply put, I should not have to go through three loading screens (Ship>Corellia>Black Hole) just to get from one daily area to the other. I can see requiring it once for lore reasons, but since finding the quest area, I just fly through Corellia as fast as I can.

I pve only, so my opinions are clearly colored by that fact: I take Accuracy over Defiance and Stagger. I don't think those skills are that great for pve (especially Stagger), and with the points in Accuracy, I strip most of my +accuracy mods out of my gear and replace them with other offensive stats. I only have 31 points in Vigilance, the other trees look the same as yours, but I have 2/2 in Momentum and 2/3 in Insight. Momentum can be a great talent or a so-so talent depending on the fight. In most fights, you or the boss move quite a bit, and you will be able to Force Leap to activate Momentum fairly often. If, on the other hand, you and the boss are stationary the whole fight, you would get little benefit from it. Overall, I think it is worth the two points.

Here is what I have been doing since the patch: Opener: Saber Throw>Force Leap>Sunder You then have a nine-second situational rotation, the idea here is to: (1) use Blade Storm after the Force Rush Proc, (2) keep Plasma Brand and Overhead Strike on CD, and (3) keep Master Strike on CD. The rotation is: Plasma Brand>Blade Storm>Sunder>Overhead Slash>(Situational Attack) Your situational attack is one of three choices: 1. Master Strike 2. Force Sweep>Sunder (if Master Strike is on CD) 3. Strike>Sunder (if MS and Force Sweep are on CD or you are low on focus) I've only tried this through one Op, and I did not find myself lacking focus due to using Combat Focus at the right time. If you find yourself low on focus, you can clip MS for Sunder or insert a focus-generating sequence of Sunder>MS> Sunder or Sunder>Force Stasis>Sunder.

All good advice here, and you should take heed of it. Also, are you taking out the normal mobs before the strong one when you have mixture of them? To put a little extra on the last post, here is what I have been doing: To initiate the pull, focus on one normal mob: Saber Throw>Force Leap>Opportune Strike>Dispatch (if not already dead) Next target: Force Sweep>Pommel Strike>Awe>Overhead Slash>Blade Storm or Dispatch (you may need a Sundering Strike in there too) If you are dead by this point, move Awe to right after Opportune Strike and wait to use Force Sweep until the normals come out of the stun.

I only do PVE, so when I tank, I want the debuff from Dust Storm, and Momentum has limited usefulness for me. I do really like Solidified Force, and the decision between that and Profound Resolution is very tight for me. Between now and when I actually respec tonight, I will probably end up getting Solidified Force.