Sounds like fun, if we could just have it arranged!

I just might, there. It was a game that was actually designed with PvP in mind instead of bolting on a carbon copy from another game that was not designed for PvP.

Neither appropriate or witty.

Incorrect. Expertise needs to go, and the PvP gear needs to have the same stats as the PvE gear.

No, MMOs are all about playing with large numbers of other players. That is the definition. The progression treadmill is a way to addict players rather than making a good game, and if that is truly all that TOR is, I won't be sticking around. I'm almost upset that I got pulled into it in the first place by my friends. This is not good game design, no matter how addictive it is to some people, and the fact that this is brought up as a way to defend a developer lowers my faith in humanity.

So you want to waste my time? You'll end up getting less of my money. I hate grinding, and no game that I have played have I ever played for the grind/equipment treadmill. I can see how this is an issue for PvE getting equipment faster than PvP, but if the PvP equipment grind if faster, then PvE players shouldn't have a problem because someone having better gear than you doesn't hurt you or hinder you in PvE. No, the imbalance exists regardless because gear matters. The absoulte only thing that Expertise, in place of truly equivalent to raid gear, does is create a PvE PvP segregation.

In PvE you're not playing against players, you're playing against mechanics. These are two completely different mindsets, and if any distinction between PvP and PvE is made, recognizing that difference is crucial. As for the predefined set of equipment for Heroics and Raids, I would still play them for the same reason that I play Expert Left 4 Dead, because it's a fun challenge.

The long term is that PvP and PvE communities will be separated, effectively halving the pool of players for either side to draw on.

Should have played on a PvP server. Contested areas are accessable from Nar Shaddaa on.

I disagree with your end because I see no reason for segregating the PvE and PvP communities. Allowing players more access to the game is only a good thing for me. Yes, I am an advocate of removing gear completely from PvP, but I also recognize that there are limitations to what might be accomplished. I am willing to settle for only doing the grind to get the top-end gear once, rather than twice, as is necessary with the current system. Expertise does nothing to correct the gear-gap in any case because people with Battlemaster still have an advantage over me in PvP. All that I am asking for is that my Battlmaster gear to allow me to participate in PvE content just as well as Rakata gear.

BioWare could easily tweak the numbers on the PvP armor to make it on-par with PvE armor without expertise, as well.

It's not a simple fact, it's a matter of taste. I actually happen to like fast combat, and I I'm not actually nerf-herding against the rogue classes because I understand their limitations better than most people, apparently. I severely disagree with you here, based on your above numbers regarding moster health. PvE is based on your ability to survive long enough to defeat monsters, while DPS matters a whole lot more in PvP, where you can burst down an enemy in a matter of seconds. WoW is not PvP based, it is PvE based, and the only thing expertise does is segregate players from content based on weather they've dedicated their time to PvE or PvP, much like how one chooses to dedicate their time to one class over another.

Yes, I know all that, but regardless of what BioWare has stated explicitly, it is a de-facto state of affairs.

Ban PvP idlers, problem solved. Alternately, bust them down to level 1 and strip all their gear and money. They exist anyways, and are violating terms of service. It is logical, though, that if the PvE game is so bad that people only play it for the gear, then there is an issue with PvE. If people want to grind PvP to get the gear to play PvE, then no one is harmed or interfered with because 99% of PvE is instanced anyways. Great, but why make someone do something they don't like in order to do something that they do in a game? If they don't like PvP, and they do like PvE, they can get their gear by doing what they like, instead of doing something they don't like that happens to be a bit quicker. You give them the choice, and it's a choice that can't hurt anyone except themselves.

This is a completely unecessary state of affairs that is easily rectified except that the devs copied WoW in every aspect. I didn't play WoW, but I'm learning to hate it and everything that it has done to the genre.

I'm mostly a PvPer as well, but I like doing raids with my guild occassionally. I don't like the fact that I need to grind to be on even footing in PvP. I want to play against you, not your equipment.

Then, logically, the PvE game is not fun, and we shouldn't be playing it because it's not fun.

Well, it's a good thing I'm talking about a non-niche shooter that is out right now and has a huge customer base.

Then make the same gear available to both sides. Expertise has no reason to exist if PvEer's can't roll PvPers with raid gear.

I'm pointing out how illogical the claims of needing expertise to segregate PvP and PvE are.

Then make the Battlemaster gear have the same stats as the Rakata gear. I don't want to force anyone to do anything. I want them to do whatever they want.

This is why I hate people who Idle in PvP and report every single one that I see.

Expertise exists. Hear me out here. Expertise rewards those players who put their time toward a specific aspect of the game, but only for that aspect of the game. PvP gear doesn't work as well as PvE gear in PvE, and visa vera. Unless you've placed large amounts of time into PvP, you don't have the gear to put you on even footing with the battle-masters and whatnot. This means that if you're complaining about Scoundrels and Operatives being OP, that just means that you haven't invested enough time in your Scoundrel or Operative since those classes were designed to do well in PvP. Stop being a nub and roll a PvP class instead of running around with a PvE class. Disclamer: I do not actually support this argument, it is just a logical conclusion of those arguing to keep Expertise because it rewards PvPers based on PvP play time rather than skill.

No. Just because WoW did it doesn't mean that it is either good or how all MMOs do it. WoW wasn't the first MMO, or even the first sucessful MMO. WoW was also not designed with PvP in mind, nor was it's PvP the primary attraction for players.

Look at it this way too: If someone has a max-level character, do they stop playing it because they can't progress it any more? I can't speak for MW, but that certainly isn't true in any of the BF game that I've played. People get their character to max level, unlock all the tools, and just play with all the tools because it's fun.