I see/hear a lot of folks complaining about the looks of gear (and rightfully so... *** with some of these designs guys?!). So to alleviate this and generate more interest in the game's development, why not hold an art contest where players/artists can compete to design gear that will be put into the game? There are a lot of great artists out there who are big fanboys of Star Wars and KotOR. Some have some really cool ideas and concepts that you really should really take into consideration. Heck you could even have players vote for their favorites. C'mon guys be proactive and work with us here.

I don't think the OP meant "Pay to Win" so much as he was talking about how easily people can just pay for the cooler looking gear/toys than say earning it in the game by achieving something though gameplay. So really he just worded it wrong. I agree with him in that there is more to buy with real money than there is to earn in the game through quests, op loot and or pvp rewards. There should really be a balance. But hey GREED is the ultimate motivator and as long as the Devs can exploit this, things will not change.

Let's face it, this game has A LOT of loading screens. Why not give players something to do while loading like mini-games or even star wars trivia questions?

Issue: Ok so since the expansion I've noticed a distinct lack of effort with regard to variety of the level 55 endgame gear. You know the gear given from commendations, pvp points and boss loot drops. First let me ask why is there no difference between the appearance of PVE and PVP gear? There should be distinct looks between these two styles of play at the very least. And what happened to new patterns/looks with the Nightmare gear? People work so much harder to earn this gear. Why not reward them properly by giving them distinct looks that lets other players know this person was rewarded and if they WANT that look, they need to try harder to get it. I mean isn't what you want? Players will continue to support the game if you give them a reasons to stick around. One big reason is the ability to run around looking like a bad *** with a look that shows others that you achieved something worth while in the game. This is part of the fun of these games. EPIC looking gear that's ultra rare a reward for doing something most people find hard! In the end what I guess I am trying to say is: no matter what you do once you hit 55, you still end up with the same ugly styles no matter what flashpoint you run, or pvp match you win or what operation you run. The only real outstanding difference is that its just colored differently. And if you think about it, you guys GAVE us the ability to change gear color at will, so what's the point of different colored pieces in the first place? Personally I don't like any of styles for any class and some of it just doesn't make sense astatically. Now I understand from a business point of view you probably make more money selling different adaptable gear in the Cartel Market. But the endgame gear is so ugly and boring its rare to see anyone wearing it outwardly. Hey! Don't just save all the cooler looking styles for the Cartel Market! It cheapens the game when people can just buy the cooler looks and not earn them. And really why do you seem to favor people who buy Cartel Coins? Most players who run ops and tougher pvp are subscribers so you are getting money from them anyway. Suggestions for solutions: My advice is to check out other games and see what works for them and then adapt that to the Star Wars universe. Why not gear that has effects and class specific themes like: crystals with flashing lightning bolts (for a sith inquisitor) or glowing floating rocks (for jedi consulars). I mean you can find elements for each class that suits them and really expand on the look if you wanted to with different types of flash and flare. But with the current gear, it looks like the fashion department and the gear programmers just phoned it. There is TONS of source material in the comic books, fan-art, cos-play community, even your own games (Mass Effect) etc... there's really no excuse for not trying. I mean look at why some the Cartel Market items are so popular. It because it catches the eye and that's what some gamers want. My final question/observation is why aren't you rewarding players who put in the work to be better swtor gamers? So c'mon throw a bone to the players that work hard to achieve in your game by trying a bit harder to make cooler looking endgame gear. I think they deserve it.

I always felt like the Smuggler and Bounty Hunter should be "independent" from the factions seeing as its plausible that these classes were more privateer than gung ho true believers in the Republic/Imperial ideals. Then again it would totally make the game unbalanced if you allowed players to pick and choose their class's faction or created a new faction all together. Alas Bioware has stated there won't be any new factions or classes. Bummer. But this is the suggestion area so yeah I think the adverse to your "racer" class could be "pilot". Perhaps these could be the first all roles available class allowing players to either tank, dps or heal. I believe if the Devs made a class like this it would alleviate a lot of the complaining people do about having to rerolling as well as help with the FP queues. I think another new class could be "failed jedi" or "failed sith". The story could revolve around their distaste for the order that shunned them. Again this could be an all in one roles available class. But to balance it out, they'd be more of a support class focused more on buffs and dots and hots. Anyway those are my ideas.

Ok so we had the Bounty Hunter's week, why not a Smuggler's week? Where we deliver goods/supplies/contraband/illegals (slaves?) around the galaxy. There are a lot of options for light/dark side points with regard to whether or not you are helping or hindering someone's cause. To alleviate some of the traffic on fleet you could open up Port No Where as well.. I think players would really get a kick out of something like this. Think about it.

I don't mean to complain, and I know with the snarkiness of the people who generally post on the forums, I am going to catch a lot of negative feedback and or elitist responses, but I feel like I just can't hold my tongue anymore. And before I begin I would like to mention that I am a subscriber so I feel I have a right to be heard. Ever since I got to level 55 and my gear to the 66 (basic comms) level, I've been attempting run the lvl 55 hard mode flashpoints and I must say I am very disappointed with how terrible the system is handled, especially the loot is off the first couple bosses. Blue 66 gear... really? If you get a good PUG/LFG group things can run somewhat smoothly, but in many cases this is not the norm. I'm talking about groups with tanks who have tunnel vision "face-rollers", don't use their cool downs or taunts properly, don't attempt to hold agro or know the mechanics of tanking to begin with but queue as tank for a quick hmfp pop OR under-geared party members (dps and healers especially). In these instances the repair costs are going to leave you broke. Generally I pay 5000 per wipe or in some instances more depending on your gear. So in retrospect, when you're using the LFG tool or PUG playing a dps (or sometimes even healing) class, having to wait on average 1-2 hours to get into a 55 hmfp group, (and you'll be less inclined to drop the group even after several wipes because you don't want to drop group for fear of having another ungodly wait) when the group finally does down the first few bosses and only see useless blue level gear and only 2 elite comms drop... you feel VERY disappointed! If you are like me anyway, you feel ripped off or insulted. Also I would like to mention, the "new" hmfps only have 3 regular bosses and 1 bonus boss (if its a bad group you'll end up skipping the bonus especially when there are several wipes). After the first 2 blue drops that leaves only a slim chance that something good will drop off the last boss. So when something good does drop the chance that it will go to you is very minimal. When this happens I feel like I paid outrageous repair costs just to gear another player. I dread doing using the "looking for group" tool to do my daily/weekly FP missions, because I know the chance for me getting something useful is very slim. And the few amount of comms rewarded aren't worth it either. Now I am not the type to complain and not offer any useful solutions. So here are a few... No more blue level 66 drops off the first couple bosses. (Save that for random mobs throughout the flashpoint, this will increase the chance of players wanting to kill everything instead of skipping groups.) Increase the number of comms that do drop off the bosses. (Make it worth our while!) Fix the loot table so 2 pieces of USEFUL gear drops from bosses! (So everyone gets a chance to get something they might need.) Increase the amount of credits that drop off of the regular mobs. (To help keep repair costs down.) Again these are just my suggestions that could easily be implemented into the flashpoints so we don't feel like we are wasting our time queueing up. Things have GOT to change, otherwise people are going to get more annoyed with the game. Thank you for reading.

No one thinks 2x xp is a bad idea for the simple fact that you get people who are leveling way too fast and DO NOT learn the mechanics of their class roles?! I don't know about the rest of you, but I hated logging in during these weekends because warzones and flashpoints were mostly filled with leechers. These are usually the idiots who queue for flashpoints as an important role like tank or heals and just end up getting the group killed over and over again because they are too busy dpsing or standing around not knowing what to do. Not to mention that most NEED on everything regardless if they can use it or not. And as for warzones, some of these guys just stand around not contributing to the objectives or knowing what to do. "I'm just here for xp so win the wz for me! I'm going to stand over here and reverse eng stuff..." This to me is not fun. Hate to sound bitter but there's a lot of newbish folks out there power leveling and have no clue what they are doing. But they are the first people to complain they aren't getting everything handed to them when they actually have to play harder for it. Just sayin.

I still say if they every make PVP space battles, we should get a Pilot class. It'd fit seeing as the Rogue Squadron seems to be quite popular as well. Just a thought...

Glad you agree!

Ummm... I created this thread to encourage/build hype for Developers to consider giving us more galactic/world events and thus make things a bit more fun and bring people back to the game. It was not intended to bash people who collect datacrons. I admit collecting things can be fun, but as of right now for this game its just datacrons, codex entries,maybe a pet and a crystal. There should be more don't you think? This game could be huge if they just learned to encourage people to live within this space. Other games do it quite well. (Particularly the game that this one is supposed to NOT be modeled after but is... )

What part of datacron hunting and filling a codex makes the game feel like its living? If it were tied to a world event sure but you missed the point of my topic here.

I know it sucks to start over but I bit the bullet and went to a higher populated server and started again fresh. I fear that if a galactic or world event starts soon there will be a queue for me to access that server, but its a chance I'm willing to take for playing. Also I agree with what you said, its hard to find the motivation to play and I do love the game. It just needs to feel more alive to keep me interested.

Indeed! Some planets I hated, some I loved. But there is really no real reason to revisit them after you've leveled past them if not to just do busy work. Look at our own planet for example. Every culture has a uniqueness that if you so desire, you could spend a lifetime getting to know and experience. In a game with this scale there should be a lot more going on, but there just isn't... I know its a fledgling game and all but the Devs should be thinking about this in addition to fixing other issues with the game. In the real world, hiring people to come up with and implement "event" features would put a dent in the unemployment problem. Just sayin...

Heh! I just posted about this topic. http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=4527682&posted=1#post4527682