Or give us "non-unique" ones (i.e., let the new players have them also). Just so we get *something* new. TBH, "young" (original trailer) Shae/Nico customizations would be awesome.

Yeah, tbh, this was the most annoying change to Conquest (followed by the change to the other schematics)...there was no warning this was on the horizon.

Well, that's what I did...I purchased the unlock off the GTN before the server merges but didn't use it until after the merge. It doesn't seem to drop off, like OP is reporting, but is behaving as I described above. Is this a known issue that can be corrected?

Just an FYI, swtor in-game emails don't expire like most do, so you can leave reward emails in your inbox until you are ready to use them.

There is a bug I discovered after activating Artifact Unlock a month or two ago. Account-wide artifact unlock seems to work for everything except "lower-level" implants and earpieces. Regardless of whether or not I was wearing an item at the time of sub deactivation, all other items showed as previously unlocked after I activated Artifact Unlock. I could use Devoted Allies (level 55 legacy bound) implants and earpieces on all appropriately leveled characters, but not the lower level crafted ones I had on them. I didn't report this, since it was of no real consequence to me, but it was weird enough that it took me a few minutes to figure out. I'm subbed again mow, so obviously can't reproduce at the moment. Edit: Also, there is a bug that I saw reported (and verified while I was pref) in that [sometimes] you have to load into another zone before the unlock takes affect. For example, I had a 55+ char with level 20-something implants/earpiece that didn't unlock, and rezoning didn't change that. I grabbed some Devoted Allies gear and that didn't work until I rezoned.

I made a ticket about not getting my account time, and it was closed with a message saying that it was fixed with this last update. Obviously it wasn't -- the update fixed the speeder/armor, which I did get. So should I open a new ticket and hope for a better rep this time or call in -- has anybody had any success getting their account time by calling?

Wow, it has been a while since I played, lol. Not that eight isn't more than I need, I get tired running six. Ofc I have 15 or so chars I regularly use for crafting / gathering, so I tend not to bother with Bountiful missions. And only three or so are 66+. Anyway, thanks for the correction.

Biochem (with reusables) take some work to acquire and then be fire and forget until the next level raise (or BW release higher powered consumables/reusables). Artifice will take roughly the same time to get to that point, but with a very small bit of continuous effort allow you to make much more money than you spend on non-reusable consumables. I.e., Credits made from Artifice >> Credits saved with Biochem.

All this, plus: One of the best parts of this game is the class stories, so you're missing out on about 7/8 of the game. As a sub, it should be relatively quick to run through just the class stories of alts and get to level 50 or so without having to repeat a lot of content. Crafting level is largely independent of char level (char level only affects # of companions you can use -- at level 50 it will be 5, the max (6) is reached at char level 56). If you do this (or at least one alt for Artifice), you can easily take Biochem for your main and save credits on that char while making credits on others.

Thanks!

I'm returning after having finished KotET when it was launched in 2016 and want to know how to best get into the new endgame. I know that there are Iokath dailies, a "traitor" flashpoint chain, and an operation, but I'm not sure where to go to start these activities, or if there is a preferred order in which to do so. So, please advise me.

Yes, you are always limited by your understanding of the market. That's why I favor market-neutral analyses, which breaks up the the market into Artifice and not-Artifice.

I agree with you for the most part. Where I disagree with you is that even players with all six crafting skills might focus their efforts on those that have been deemed more profitable and therefore generate a confirmation bias. That's fair. My main is a cybertech, and my main alt is an Armormech (who, along with my Artificer, run tank specs), so that probably does color my experiences with dps synthweaving augments and armorings when it comes to discussing runners up to Artifice.

You mean first reference other than Life Day?

I beat her when I was doing DvL in October. IIRC, I had to exit the building, some of the mobs outside counted. #NeverThana

Based on our prior interactions, I assume you can take a bit of good-natured ribbing, but yes, it is possible that my annoyance with people to whom I don't bother to reply bleeds through a bit; if so, I apologize. I meant to be playful, not juvenile. Agreed 100%. What I am saying is that I don't think they intended to release what they released. The CSM was released in the same patch as the Grade 8 mats being added to the JJ vendors. Both were things players wanted, but they didn't work well together. The fault is all BWs, but IMO, it's 100% design / implementation errors and not a lack of knowing *what* the players wanted. Anyway, I'm probably out of here for a month or so -- sub ends today, Steam Winter sale starts today (not that I planned it that way, but not complaining), so my posting privileges will probably end soon. I'll check back next month when BW announces its Group Content plans and retokenizes operations and wzs.

Based on metrics from KotFE, BW has determined that players like long corridors full of unavoidable skytroopers, cut scenes that last long enough for players to take a bio break in between chances to make choices, and using companions with no customization options.

It's not just that, packs are full of stuff that many people think are cool enough to use once they've got it but wouldn't buy directly, as well as stuff that probably shouldn't be sold directly (jawa junk, comp gifts). The reputation vendors (which I miss) wouldn't really have worked either. Direct Sale stuff has to be the most universally desirable to justify making it, but packs allow BW to sell stuff with possibly less global appeal but that is really liked by those who do. Also, given how much pack stuff is reskins, it would likely make those items harder to sell.

Jawa vendors sell green, blue, and purple rank 5 gifts (repair and delicacies, loved by droid/animal companions). TBH, this doesn't happen often (me *needing* to buy expensive green mats). And it's probably easier just to sell a few vendor decorations to cover the expenses

Equivalent items with the same item level should be identical stat-wise. Note that there are usually two or three variants of many items with different stat distributions. Armorings/Barrels/Hilts are either Versatile (High Mastery / Low Endurance) or Resistive (High Endurance / Low Mastery). Mods are Unlettered (Low Endurance / High 2ndary stat), A (Med Endurance / Med 2ndary stat), or B (High Endurance / low 2ndary stat). Enhancements have different names for each combo (15 in all), but beak down similarly to mods: Low Endurance / High 2ndary / High Tertiary; Med Endurance / Med 2ndary / High Tertiary; and High Endurance / Low 2ndary / Low Tertiary. In general, BiS for DPS/Heals is Low Endurance everything, and BiS for tanks is High Endurance ABH. Unlettered or B mods, and low endurance enhancements. Static stat gear and modifiable gear behave identically, the difference being that you can remove modifications from modifiable gear. So a 228 Unlettered mod should have the same stats whether it is green, blue, or purple. That said, crystal/comm gear usually came with non-BiS mods and Enhancements.

No, it's not. If you look at Eric's initial post addressing the complaints, it says that BW made the slot machine in response to the favorable reaction to the Nightlife event. *That* shows that BW was, in fact, in tune with the player base (it *was* a popular event -- people asked for it to be brought back the next year, and it was, and this year, and there were complaints about it not being brought back). *Nothing* indicates that BW was out of touch with the player base. The CSM was implemented poorly, nerfed hard, and left in a ditch because of player reaction to the implementation, not the concept, and not from a lack of knowledge of what the players wanted. It's 23 months later, and this isn't the only thread *today* in which you've brought it up. And while my attitude with you may be playful at times, I wouldn't call it juvenile. I know you have some valid reasons (some of which I share) for disliking what happened, I just think that *being out of touch with the player base* isn't one of them. I rarely bring up the CSM, but I will respond (imo, amusedly, not with any more malice than that) when others bring it up, especially others that were there... near me, if not with me... in the trenches The same could be said of you and...others. But if it's fair for *you* to bring the CSM into a discussion, it's fair for others to respond to you. Do you have any idea how many times I *don't* respond to people still bringing up the CSM? How many people to this day still rant about [mat barrons] or whatever derisive terms they want to use for the "crafting elite" that they think brought down the machine? If you think I single out you, it's because you were one of the only people "on the other side" that would discuss it rationally.

No. it's not. My take on this is that BW knew that it would be hated and released it anyway, knowing that it was overtuned on the grind side, hoping it wouldn't be hated quite as much as it was, but still ready to dial it down until it reached an acceptable level of hatred.

Just so we're clear, my opinion is that "what is the next best skill after Artifice" is a question only reasonably debated by people who have all six crafting skills. If you do, the answer depends on how much you want to work/make, your server, and all sorts of other factors we've described. In any case, it doesn't matter, since you have all six crafting skills. If you don't have all six crafting skills, the best skill you can take is one of the ones you don't already have (preferring artifice over others). Assuming you are a sub, leveling chars (and crew skills) is so trivially easy compared to launch that I'd recommend leveling alts to 33 or so (3 comps on missions) for all the crating skills you don't have and keeping with whatever you have on your current chars. Unlike at launch, there are no craft-specific perks for any character class, so (other than wanting archaeology and scavenging, *maybe* bioanalysis) on your mains (to pick up stuff that falls in your lap), there is no real reason to worry that anything you already have is wasted (unless you have 2 or more of anything but artifice or 3 or more artificers, which is highly unlikely).

TBF, the only way pricing can really be said to be "insane" is if the stuff isn't selling (as in "repeating the same action hoping for a different result"). I'll buy them @ around 2k (if I don't have a decoration) only if I can use JJ to get something that costs more so I seel that and still make a profit. I try not to use green JJ for anything less than 10K per.

They didn't send out a survey to find out *why* players are quitting. They read the forums. It's just a lot easier to put together a chart showing this to the people who make the decisions if it's based on an easily parsed data set (like a survey result) instead of the CS team manually parsing every forum post and trying to break it down. Also, they [potentially] reach a broader audience by emailing people instead of relying only on forum posts. Also, if you read the polls, Hillary should be president. Trump voters are probably [and retroactively] happy that there was an actual election even though everybody *knew* who was going to win. Just sayin'.