One of my biggest issues for my characters is my actual inability to create a unique look for them. Despite the many different armor sets in collections, many of them are variations on one set with different colors or skins. But the basic design doesn't change. Giving us dye modules isn't a marked improvement to me, since 1) you pick the color combinations available, and 2) not every aspect of a piece of armor is affected. I've often complained that in all of the Star Wars Universe, it seems as though no one has ever realized that you can wear a shirt without a jacket, and some of the chest pieces would be awesome except for some ridiculous backpack (adept scout), or butt-flap/loin-cloth (the Hunter Sets quickly come to mind), or shoulder-pads that require a pilot's license in case you become airborne (ancient infernal). Given my impression of many armor sets, why not allow us actual variations on a design? I'll use going to a tailor for my example. I like the Eradicator's chest piece, but not certain parts of it, so I head to the Tailor's shop. I place the Eradicator's Chest piece on the Tailor's table, and the Variations show up: Variation 1: the piece as it 'naturally' is, Variation 2: the piece with the hood down Variation 3: the piece without sleeves Variation 4: the piece without sleeves and hood down I pay a fee, and that piece is 'locked' into the variation I choose, or becomes bound to a costume slot containing that piece. That would enable me to have the same pieces as someone else, but customize my look differently than theirs, or give the same costume set with various looks depending on mood. Just allowing us to have multiple slots for different costumes doesn't really make me feel customized if I can't customize the set pieces even a little.

I just took a good long look at the Matrix Shard recipes, and why even bother making the level 32 shards for level 32 at all? Given what you need for their creation, you should re-stat them and make them at least level 40. For that range, you need either 2 greens, or 2 reds. If your second green Matrix Shard is the one you get from the Rakata cubes in the Tomb area of Belsavis (lvl 44-ish) no level 32 can realistically hope to try for it. Your second red matrix shard is on Hoth, (for a cost of 18,000 credits, IIRC), and in Highmount ridge, which is a 40-ish area as well. That one may be easier to obtain at 32 if you're really careful, but again, still kind of sticks it to the people in range to equip it. That being said, you should either restat them to 40 to be appropriate to the level range required to realistically get it, or move those shards to worlds appropriate to the level range they're made for. While on the topic of the matrix relics, am I the only one who feels the Agents/Smuggler (3) and Sorcerers/Consulars (4) got shafted over the Bounty Hunters/Troopers (8) and Warriors/Knights (9) in the number of relics available to be made? I haven't seen anything that said that's been changed, so if it's still accurate, that's really skewed.

I made a suggestion a while back, but I can't find it on the forums anymore, so I thought I'd repost it where I hope the Devs can see it and take it under consideration. While I enjoy the ability to semi-customize the colors on my armor, I feel the current system does very little to meet the desires of the player base to tailor color combinations to match what they want. --Every dye pairing is a preset. --It would be literally hundreds dye pairings to cover all combinations --Not every preset is available as a craftable one. --With the exception of black/black and white/white, there are no options for same color mods. --Crafting dye mods was given to Artifice, to make it more useful (so I've been told), but there've been no new schematics released since dye mods came out. Dyeing your armor should be a fun addition to the game, not an annoyance that we're basically stuck with what the devs "think" we want. To that end, I'd like to propose considering the option of crafting dye mods in a different way: Crafting 2-stage dye modules that can be totally customizable. 2-stage dye mods would work something like this: you craft your dyes, then combine 1 or 2 dyes in a "Pod" to create a permanent dye module you can then place in a piece of armor to customize that armor color. As stated above, I'm assuming 10 base colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, gray, black, and white. These could be the base schematics, and break down something like this: Premium (green) dyes: brown, gray, red, orange Prototype (blue) dyes: yellow, blue, green, purple Artifact (purple) dyes: black, white At this point, there could also be schematics for light/dark versions of the base colors where possible (light blue, dark red, etc) You would have a new craft item at the crew skill vendors: Pods. They are moddable 2-chamber (primary and secondary) 'canisters' that can hold dyes. So you first craft the dye colors you'd want, say 2 red dyes. Then you combine them on a mod station with a pod (crew skill material) to create a dye mod that's red/red, transforming the pod into a permanent dye mod of whatever quality equals the best dye you used (since both were red, that would make it a green dye mod). You can then place that in your armor to make primary and secondary colors red. The advantage of this system would be that creating combinations would no longer require a schematic for each pairing, including same-color pairs. That would reduce the number of schematics to about 25-30 so Artifice wouldn't be bogged down in schematics. Players could have much more flexibility in what color combinations they wanted, and even the Devs could still release unique primary/secondary combinations as specialty items, such as 'in-between' hues like reddish-orange, blue-grey, magenta, or cyan. I think something like this would be far more player-friendly than the current system, so I thought I'd suggest it here.

So today I decided to look for a custom chest piece for my Marauder and I was sadly disappointed to find very few options that aren't Unadorned. Things I DIDN'T want for a chest piece: -- the 'Bathrobe' look -- the antenna/backpack hanging off my back -- shoulder pads that enable gliding for long distances -- CAPES! No Capes! Capes will get you killed! Remember Syndrome? -- the butt-flap/butt-cape. -- the loin cloth (which almost always accompanied by the Zapp Branigan length butt-flap) WHY? -- which brings up ANY jacket that is Zapp Branigan length! -- a hood up. -- Armor-looking (I like to be fast on my feet, not weighted down) Basically, a nice, chest piece that looked like it was meant for business. What did that leave me with? I think Covert Energy Armor, the Genteel top, and one or two others which didn't fit the look. I'm fairly certain I'm not the only person that wants something "Basic" or "unadorned" Some of the tops would be great if I didn't have a radio-antenna strapped to my back. Or if I could put the hood down. How about some of those options?

After a few days playing with the customization, I foresee a number of potential issues, and would like to suggest a consideration on how to fix it. I'm not saying I'm right, or my solution's the only solution, but just I'm looking ahead and have a concern. I LIKE the dye options. It gives me the chance to change the (sometimes awful) colors of gear to something more pleasing. I like that dyes are created through Artifice, as it gives another dimension to an oft-maligned Crew skill. That said, here's the issue: As it has been presented you get 3 options: change Primary, change Secondary, and change Primary and Secondary. The customization is only partial, since not all colors are available, and not all colors available are craftable (as yet) via Artifice. Again, I can conceive that is to encourage buying through the Cartel Market. Several problems lie ahead if the dye system isn't thought out now. 1) all dye recipes are purple, which, if I understand the rules correctly, automatically exclude premium and F2P crafters from even using them. 2) Assuming dye recipes are added to Artifice every update or so, it could lead to potentially hundreds of schematics dealing with various combinations. Just assuming 12 primary (ROYGBIV, Blk, Brwn, Wth, Grey, Lt Grey) and 12 secondary schematics alone, there could be 144 potential schematics for primary and secondary pairings. That would make artifice overwhelmed. 3) There seems to be no rhyme or reason to what makes a dye set Premium, Prototype, or Artifact, which I find somewhat confusing. I'm hoping that there's a plan to streamline that, and here's a thought on a solution: 1) Make dye colors Tiered. For Example: Red, Green and Blue (and their shades) could be Premium. Yellow, Orange, and Purple, Brown, and Grey could be Prototype Black and White could be Artifact. That way, you don't overwhelm Artifice with a gazillion schematics, and there's a rationale for what color is what. 2) Make the dye packs "Custom Crafted" So you would take, say, a black and red dye pack, put them in a "blank module" and apply, and it would make a Black/Red dye module. It's quality could be considered Artifact since the Black was Artifact level. I'm not saying the idea is perfect, but I would like to see something come down the line more in keeping with "Customizatoin." As it is , it's a limited customizatoin.

A Jedi is telling a joke. "So we're on Voss and a Sith walks into the cantina . . ." "How did you know it was a Sith?" "He was wearing black." "Ohhhhh . . . ." Corny but to the point. I'd like to see a bit more variety to the costuming options for our characters. Color scheme wise, I understand the "good versus evil" feel of black versus white, but it's a bit monotonous. I happen to want black gear for my Jedi (good luck trying to find it). I don't really like the robes look for my Inquisitors or counselors (anyone who tells you robes gives you freedom of movement has never tried a full out run in one, and the Force only knows what things might crawl up an unsuspecting skirt/kilt) I could go on for all the various classes, but that would be redundant. For practical, character purposes, there's no reason to not let us have blue armor, or black and green (my favorite), or gold and white, regardless of which side you're playing. I'd like to be able to have some more options than what I have, or at least have some of the options from the other side available to me. I don't think I ever recall shoulder guards big enough to achieve gliding hang-times anywhere in the Star Wars mythos, and we have that. Even if it were social gear, some other costume choices would be a nice option. As yet, I patiently wait and see.