Yeah, I got to that in the edit. And I do, in fact, seriously doubt that it will happen (One Game to Rule Them All). OH! It would be really cool, too, if your Force-Using character could achieve Force-based "power-ups" too! Like a bonus to aim/accuracy for instance. Or a defensive "dodge" type Force booster. Just like in the movies.

There is no reason why all these suggestions could not be implemented. Like someone else mentioned already the games "X-Wing," "TIE Fighter," and "X-Wing Vs TIE Fighter" were all released for 386 to 486 processors in the mid to late '90's. Processing power is ridiculously advanced since then. There should be practically no challenge to solving these view and control "problems." As for the AI... it didn't really exist back then and these were all some of the best games ever made. I am not convinced that AI has improved game-play at all in any game. Why even bother with Artificial Intelligences in a game with PVP? Isn't REAL Intelligence far more challenging, anyway? Real Intelligence can almost always predict the actions of AI... "bots" or whatever you want to call them. The only time it gets remotely challenging is when they use "pack tactics." Anyway, I digress. Joysticks indeed are still manufactured. Check Amazon since they are difficult to find locally (for me at least they are not available locally). CH Products has traditionally made the best joysticks at somewhat reasonable prices. Thrustmaster has also been around a long time. There was a time when the Joystick was the preferred control method for almost every game (with the exception of FPS, for which keyboard & mouse reign supreme) like Mechwarrior, any flight sim, driving games, etc. For those types of games I still prefer the fine control of the Joystick, though mine is broken. I was recently talking to someone at the local GameStop who said Joysticks aren't in demand in spite of their superiority. Everyone seems to think console-style controllers are better. If that's what you prefer, fine, but give a Joystick a fair try. I am really looking forward to Galactic Starfighter! I hope it's a lot of fun and Joystick support with a cockpit view would both tremendously enhance the game. But I disagree on Capital Ships. I don't think they should be player-controlled. They should be in a support role only. Maybe you, as a starfighter pilot, could call in support from a Capital ship, say an Ion cannon blast or a tractor beam assist, or maybe a repair ray, things like that. Or maybe a drone launch to assist you if your tactics are wrong. Many possibilities exist. It would also be cool if you could unlock "prototype" ships that more closely resemble the classic Star Wars ships from the original movies, like TIE Interceptors, Y-Wings, A-Wings, etc. I would design the flight game to be more like "X-Wing" in that you'd have to be constantly adjusting your shield balance and recharge rate, recharge rate for your cannons (Blasters or Turbolasers), and how much power to send to your engines. And in an X-Wing type ship you also had to consider your wing configuration. All of these variables PLUS having very limited torpedoes made this a strategic and tactical game in addition to a twitch-type combat simulator. This was a FINE game! It was, in many ways, much more strategic than so-called "strategy" games. And if your tactics were wrong you died. Just like the real thing. This is a worthy goal to achieve in a modern MMO game. AI is un-necessary for a PVP MMO if it is correctly designed and if there are enough PC (Player Character - Human) players. I forgot initially to address vehicular ground combat. I, too, have played most of the Battlefield games and Halo. Ground vehicles can be VERY fun and challenging. So I have to say it would kick serious buttocks to be able to hop in an AT-AT and man the cannons! Or pilot it, or repel out of it to the ground to reinforce a position or slay Jedi or whatever needed to be done. This would be a worthy addition to the SWTOR overall. We are essentially talking about One Game to Rule Them All here! Certainly there is considerable development involved and in the age of "free to play" it may not happen. There was a Star Wars version of Battlefield though at the moment I don't recall what it was named. It was OK but felt kind of ... "cheap" is the best way I can put it right now. I'm still trying to find more info about how this "expansion" is going to work, like what you have to do to get your own starfighter, piloting skills, etc. But I recall when SWTOR was released that this was in the plan from the beginning. I'm kind of surprised it's taken this long to implement. I'm glad it's finally nearly here! I'm looking forward to giving it a try as soon as it is available. The hunt for a Joystick has begun! I hope my computer will run it adequately.

Well, that pretty much sounds like what I run (2/14/30). It's been pretty good for PvE. BUT, as far as PvP goes, I can see dispelling the DoTs could be quite crippling. They are good for a significant percentage of my overall D/S. I just can't help wondering if there isn't a better overall build out there. I hesitate to respec because it seems there is very little reliable information about the costs to respec. I mean, what if I hate the new specialization? How much is it going to cost to go back to what I had? Some people say the cost resets every week and that you get one free respec per week. Is that true? I've never respeced a SWTOR character before. Any knowledgeable responses would be appreciated immensely. I am a monthly subscriber if that helps answer this question. Maybe I'll just try a full Lightning spec and see how it goes.

Yes, finding good information about this is very difficult. Being a mostly Madness Sorcerer, I was playing with Alacrity for a while. I was looking for Alacrity boosts on all the mods I was buying with Planetary Commendations in addition to Willpower and Endurance numbers. But I never really seemed to see much benefit from it. I shaved a tenth of a second off Lightning Strike's cast time, maybe two tenths off the cast time for Dark Infusion. I was not impressed. Kinda discouraged, actually. Maybe I'm confusing myself here, but on second reading of the explanatory post it almost seems like I shouldn't worry about Alacrity at all and should instead focus on Power and Willpower. For the sake of argument and education, how much Alacrity do you need and how much does that reduce other numbers like Power, Critical Chance (Force), Surge Rating, and all the others that I can't recall right now? I mean, you only have so many pieces of gear which can only have so many mods each and on each of those mods they only have so many stat boosts. Am I making this more complicated than it really is? Is it better to try to balance these "secondary" stats, like the explanatory post suggests? Or is it better to boost a specific one to maximize ... say damage? Or minimize cast times? Maybe my understanding is imperfect but it seems to me that to get the most damage you possibly can you want high Willpower, Power, Critical Chance, and/or Critical Multiplier (is this "Surge" rating? I'm really not sure)? Am I on the right track with my gear (I know, I don't have all the specifics of all my gear posted, that would take too much time for this "ultra casual" player. Let's just say I look for Willpower first, Endurance second, then try to keep the rest mostly balanced)? Should I be pursuing a specific armor set or something like that? Where is the best place to find this information, anyway? I have run searches on the web but they never really seem to get me anywhere that seems reliable. In the meantime, perhaps I'll go visit a War Zone and get even more humbled. lol I'll keep having as much fun as I can, regardless. It's a GAME, after all!

I've never seen Sorcerer explained so well in so few words. Cleared up quite a few of my questions, too, even though I have finally gotten my Sorcerer to 55. So I've been playing one for ... well, since launch off and on. I have what is maybe a strange hybrid build. I have 2/14/30 as I like to retain the versatility of this class. I've been running into problems sometimes with running out of Force. This usually only happens when I'm healing in a group doing Heroics or Flashpoints. Haven't tried PVP yet and from what I've read so far I will probably not do very well there. I have built this character for solo leveling and have run into very few problems while doing that. The 2 points in Corruption are in Force Suffusion. I'm thinking about doing a respec to try to get a little more Force efficiency but I'm not sure it would be worth it. I really don't know what to do. All my gear is for Willpower first, Endurance second, with scattered (and I try to keep them sort of balanced) other stats like Critical Chance, Power, Alacrity, etc. Is that a sound strategy? I don't know. It seems to work well while doing missions. I guess I need to just jump into PVP and learn the hard way. LOL Thanks again for a compact, useful post!

UPDATE: Finally got to lvl 55! After a couple item changes, getting a level, and now having 2 in Corruption (both in Force Suffusion), still have 14 in Lightning and 30 in Madness. END is now 1311 giving 17,110 total hit points, WIL is now 1561, still have 600 Force, DMG Bonus is 625.9, Heal Bonus is 450.4, Crit chance (only listing Force) is 14.35%, Crit multiplier is 55.13%, DMG Reduction is 16.67%, Alacrity is 3.58%, Presence is 360, Armor Rating is 2407, Accuracy is 103.69%, Force Regen still 8.3. I have since learned that Rakata armor is no longer available. So I guess the question now is whether anyone has gear recommendations. I almost reset my Skill Points today, but decided against it for now.

I have only now (that I'm about to hit lvl 55) become concerned about my build. I'm considering a respec, just to try something different. I only group with other players when completing Heroics or Flashpoints. So I'm almost exclusively a solo player, ultra "casual," so to speak. This is the only MMO I've ever played that held my interest long enough to (almost) reach Max Level. I have not yet tried PVP for some reason. Maybe I'm afraid I'll find out how awful my build or gear really is! I play to have fun and really like my Sorcerer. But... sometimes it seems like I have more trouble with some missions or enemies than I think I should... if that makes sense. I hardly ever use Stims, so maybe I should just stock up on those. Gear: All but one or maybe two items (armor/lightsaber) are orange, modded to the max I can acquire with Planetary Commendations, emphasis is on WIL, END secondary, with scattered Power, Crit/Crit Bonus, Alacrity numbers from Mods. OK, on with the stats/form: Role: Primarily, DPS, just enough healing to keep companions alive... most of the time. I have points distributed 1 in Corruption, 14 in Lightning, and 30 in Madness, currently. But I really miss the healing effects of the DoT spells! AoE, single target, or both: Both, depending on the situation. Will mez/cc higher difficulty mobs while destroying the weak first, then finish off the more dangerous one. Usually works well. Rotation/timing of burst: Kinda depends on situation but generally I start off on tougher mobs with Crushing Darkness, then Affliction, then sometimes Force Slow, then either Lightning Strike or Shock, then Force Lightning (no cooldown) repeated until Crushing Darkness cools down, then repeat. There are some variations which are condition-specific, like sometimes I'll open with Chain Lightning or Force Storm or Death Field or use these AoE abilities as necessary, sometimes Overload as an interrupt. I always use Static Barrier and the self buff (Mark of Power). Oh, and I try to always keep Affliction on the mob. Otherwise it's pretty much slinging whatever's done with its cooldown. Mobility: I'm not sure what you mean by "mobility," but I usually only move to get out of AoE effects or to get within range of whatever I want to destroy, or as necessitated by conditions of the fight. Interrupts are important and I have 3, depending on range. I have one way to break being rooted/mezzed/cc'd and sometimes that seems insufficient. Ease of use: <shrug> Dunno, seems pretty easy to me. Most of the time. Have to adjust active companion sometimes but probably 90% of the time I roll with Talos. Sometimes class missions require a change up of the basic strategy, or specific mobs require a strategic change, too. Sometimes it takes me a few deaths to figure it out. My usual method is to get a level and come back but pretty soon (hoping for today) that will no longer be an option as I'll be 55. Poster's experience with the build: As previously noted, solo exclusively except for Heroics, Flashpoints, have yet to try PVP. Almost to level 55, so I guess I can say my experience putting this build together has been PVE, overall very good damage infliction to sustained ratio, good survivability, very good versatility, very good fun ratio, very high destructiveness fun! I can heal, too, mostly because of long-suffering experience as a Druid in EQ. If someone dies in my group it's rare. Unless someone pulled FAR too many mobs and then couldn't control either them or aggro. Generally speaking I try to keep an eye on everyone in the group and adapt to changing events/conditions. Recommended stat totals: Whatever ya got, I suppose. Mine are like this, currently at lvl 54: Endurance: 1248, 16,130 hit points, Willpower: 1484, 600 Force, bonus dmg (Force): 610.5, bonus Heal: 439.6, Crit x 55.69, Force Crit x 15.00, damage reduction: 16.99%, Alacrity: 4.07%, Presence: 333, Armor: 2351, Accuracy: 103.78%, Force Regen: 8.3. I have no idea if these numbers are "good" or "bad." Poster's comment(s): I have never cared all that much about my Stats until now. I have not gotten very many holocrons, so will probably start acquiring them after I hit 55. Then my focus will be on getting good gear. Anyone have any recommendations on gear/missions? People seem to talk about Black Hole and Rakata gear. Where does one find these and are they worth getting? It seems I may have to finally find a guild, too. My current armor is all orange, modded as best I can with Planetary Commendation mods. This seems to be a never-ending process, modding gear. Overall, I really enjoy playing my Sorcerer. I find the class to be very adaptable, able to handle almost any situation, and a lot of fun!