There is exactly 2. Between the EU and canon there are exactly 2. Why? Because we discount any area where the Jedi are gunned down by what was supposed to be an ally at the time. If we discount them your big "galore" is 2. A whole 2. If anyone in this game has a false bravado and who walk around thinking they are superior to anyone it is the Non Force Users in this game. It is the NFU's who act like they are the greatest thing since sliced bread and who go out of their way to come down on anyone who is RP'ing a Force User. It is people like that which made me completely even stop bothering to RP anymore.

This is the third or fourth time this has happened. We have a couple mods come in, post in a flurry for one day... Then completely vanish. Come on devs, you said we would be getting communication. We are tired of empty promises, we want real info, we want will discourse, we want to be shown that we are respected by BioWare here. I mean, come on, we are paying our dues. Some of us have been paying since release or even before. Many of us followed this for years. Yes, we feel like you owe us some honest discourse... Would you disagree?

Oh I am well aware... However that doesn't stop me from kicking up a stink. That doesn't stop me from badgering. That doesn't stop me from pointing out, every chance I get, that they blatantly were dishonest. They want to clear the air, then they need to decide that we are entitled to that information. Negativity does change things. BioWare destroyed their reputation. They can still salvage it, but they need to drop this secrecy act and come out and discuss with us what happened. If they don't then I can only assume, as is my right, that they don't care and that they never cared about how their fan base perceived them. Case in point: I loved Mass Effect... I bought Mass Effect 1, and 2 simply because they were BioWare games. I also bought Jade Empire simply because it was a BioWare game. I've bought just about every BioWare game ever made. ... I didn't buy Mass Effect 3. BioWare lost my trust, my faith, and me as a mainstream consumer.

I am/was a critic. It was my job (literally) to cause, and report on, controversy. I was there specifically because all other fansite reviewers (Darth Hater, etc) pulled punches and went very "softball" on BioWare. They didn't go for hard answers and they didn't engage in criticism... I was not that guy. I was the guy who, when I saw something stupid, I called them on it being stupid. If I saw favoritism I called them on it. I was the guy who when I said something online I said it in person to... I don't do this "anonymity of the internet" crap. (Case in point, I once pointed out that I felt the end to Darth Bane felt like a Naruto fanfic... And I was willing to say that (on camera no less) to Mr. Karpyshyn. I can respect and like someone and still be critical and brutally honest.) My main thing is BioWare hasn't been honest with us and I do not like that. That makes me very angry. They lied to us. They told us one thing then did the exact opposite. I expect that from other companies, but the reason I could be as hard on BioWare as I was, was because I held them to a higher standard. I wanted something that wasn't like WoW and I got something that was like WoW. I went with this game, and this company, because they specifically told us that we weren't going to get WoW content. I have a CE... I spent $120 on... I went to conventions specifically to create hype for this game and do interviews... I spent several thousand dollars on this game and I feel like I was betrayed... I still have never seen any response from BioWare regarding why the game's core design philosophy changed and who was responsible. (Though I do suspect the identity of the dev that shifted focus on us.) ...

The second they had a P2W item I am gone. I am barely here to begin with these days, keeping my sub open just to see what happens.

Darth Vader and Revan lose. Total curb stomp. Sidious is the most powerful Sith ever, meaning Vader and Revan are both inferior. Yoda is superior to both Revan and Vader as well. Thus Darth Vader and Darth Revan go down hard then Yoda and Palpatine enjoy a victory smoothie.

Best. Post. In. This. Thread... I agree... I am sorry BioWare but I, also, don't trust you. You lied to me. That is a big sticking point. You, straight up, lied to me. Remember this whole, "WoW bosses aren't heroic and we aren't going to have that kind of content" thing? That was a big deal to me. That was WHY I decided to play TOR. Remember the whole, "You will have choices that matter!" thing? Where? Name one. All of the choices so far have changed maybe 1 cinematic slightly and a few lines of dialogue. I don't feel like my choices mattered at all. If you want my trust you can start by coming onto these forums regularly and talking with us. None of this "flurry of posts in one day" poo doo, but actual conversations where people can speak candidly and actually can answer questions when we ask them... None of this, "We aren't talking about that right now" stuff.

It has been a while. I assumed people didn't care, especially since the chunk that was lost in the forum reboot... So I hadn't bothered. If enough people are interested I could likely continue.

She's using "absorb/dissipate" not shatterpoint.

Incorrect. Originally, for example, you could make a companion so mad that they attacked you and forced you to kill them. If you did kill them they were *gone* permanently. No take backs. No do over. No way to replace them. They were simply GONE. BioWare took that out and it was already coded into the game. Originally, for example, you couldn't turn off corruption, if your character went to the Dark Side you looked ugly. It was a superficial consequence for poor behavior. BioWare caved in and made it optional.

Personally I could care less about making my own settlement and such. We have minigames as well, space combat for example. What I don't like is that there is far too little meaningful choice in this game. Nothing has any permanent consequences and no characters are willing to step in and smack a character down for inappropriate behavior. The basic flaw in the BioWare model here is the idea that every option and choice has to be just as viable and that people won't do something if it negatively effects them... Well... BioWare... WELCOME TO REAL LIFE. You need to have rules and penalties, that actually matter, for breaking them or breaking them has no value. It isn't "hard" or difficult to be Dark Sided as a Jedi Knight... It is very easy... There are no consequences... You don't have to hide it. Likewise for the Sith it isn't "hard" to be Light Sided as a Sith, you simply are and nobody does anything that matters to you for it. Oh, sure, a character might have slightly different dialogue but it should be more than that... There should have been MAJOR turning points in each class story dependent on alignment. If you went too far Dark Side as a Jedi Knight you should have had a scene where Satele shows up and beats the living snot out of you before exiling you from the Order. BOOM your character CANNOT go back to Tython... EVER... And has a completely new set of missions... No turning back... No take backs... No "do over" you are evil, you made the choices, now live with it. BioWare kept backing down on every single aspect, which is what created the Mary Sue problem. "Oh... Force corruption? Nah... You can just turn that off." "Companions turning on you and forcing you to kill them thus leaving you one companion down? Nope no need." This game's major flaw is that it lacks... How do I put this... It lacks [censored by poster] in any way, shape, or form. It was too afraid to slap a player's wrist and therefor suffered tremendously for it. BioWare can't claim they weren't warned either... Everything from population imbalance to poorly handling faction hype they were 100% aware of.

Really the problem is BioWare misunderstood their core audience. We didn't want a softball experience. We wanted real consequences for our actions. We wanted REWARDS for "walking the line" and we wanted REAL PENALTIES for "breaking the rules" we wanted an RPG with a stern GM who gave you freedom, but had consequences for that freedom. BioWare wanted, instead, to be WoW.

The Dark Side is mentioned... At length.

Actually the Light Side is never mentioned in the movies at all.

The Dark Side is a part of things, yes, using it... In any capacity... However has the same results. While a Jedi might not throw the Force out of balance it won't stop the Jedi from suffering physical and psychological damage from the use of the Dark Side. They would eventually succumb and go insane, it is unavoidable.

Hehehe doesn't make it any less true. He's a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, inventor, engineer, forensic pathologist, psychologist, computer programmer, mechanic, scientist, ninja, with an eidetic memory. At least Superman has the excuse that he's an alien.

Overpowered doesn't create a Mary Sue Malles. Superman is not a Mary Sue in any way, shape, or form. A Mary Sue has nothing to do with "overpowered" that is a false definition. Superman, in particular, is certainly not loved or feared by everyone, has done wrong, and has significantly impacting character flaws though as they are realistically portrayed they are only noticed by people who actually read the comic. Goku cannot really be considered a Mary Sue either. He is shown to be a flawed individual, a terrible parent, he is disliked and resented by many characters (specifically Vegeta), and he has clear weaknesses and severe lapses in tactical judgement. Modern Mary Sues are: Westley Crusher (Star Trek: TNG) Mandalorians (Karen Traviss Star Wars novels) Wolverine (Marvel Comics) Batman (DC Comics) Alice (Resident Evil)

A Mary Sue is a character who lacks any consequences for their actions and behaviors. A Mary Sue is always right. A Mary Sue is always special, there has to be something completely unique to the character that sets them apart. A Mary Sue, when involved in an established universe, is always better than the previously established characters at their own specialty item. A Mary Sue is always loved and/or respected by the previously established characters and any character who doubts/dislikes the Mary Sue either is proven completely wrong and/or comes around in the end. Most importantly a Mary Sue must succeed and usually dies at the end of a story. The first Mary Sue, originated in a work of parody as a part of an unofficial Star Trek magazine named Menagerie where fans were encouraged to send in their own Star Trek fiction. This was, of course, before the Internet. One particular author, by the name of Paula Smith who was the owner of the publication, saw a trend among the fiction sent in, and saw a number of cliches overly used. That fan then wrote a work of parody regarding a fictional character known as Ensign Mary Sue named "A Trekkie's Tale" where they combined all of those recurring themes into one character, thus the terminology was born. Mary Sues can also be canonical creations the two most prevalent in recent years being Westley Crusher (of Star Trek The Next Generation) and Alice (from the Resident Evil movie franchise) though in Star Wars specifically it tends to differ from author to author. Most notably any book by Karen Traviss will feature Mary Sue versions of Mandalorians which will always be better/stronger/smarter and never called out by anyone for their hypocrisy. Star Wars the Old Republic does, to some degree, have all of the player classes be Mary Sues. This includes, despite the OP's claims, the Imperial Agent. Success or failure only matters at the end, so being brainwashed at one point (which also happens to the Jedi Knight) doesn't disqualify the definition. BioWare originally had, in place, a system where companions got sick of the PC's actions and would eventually force a confrontation that would result in the permanent loss of that companion. Which gave players true consequences for their behavior, however BioWare developers thought that this was too harsh and removed them, thus instantly removing much of the value of these choices and also instantly converting every character in the game into a Mary Sue.

The Empire already got to kill one of the Republic's Jedi Grandmasters during Threat of Peace and you can kill our Supreme Chancellor. Tell ya what. You get to kill Shan the same day we get to permanently and irrevocably kill the Sith Emperor.

The newest one is the "No! Jeed'ai are right! You have to use the Dark and Light sides equally to really maintain balance!" camp. They are the reason I actually stopped RP'ing much on my server.

The monks were also diminished during the period of time. The Force itself was damaged, not the Jedi's ability to use it.

Dark Side cults are largely left alone by Jedi, they know about them, and usually they don't have a problem unless they start hurting people. Once they start hurting people... Well... Yes... Jedi step in. Though usually the Jedi are content to let them go about their business. Using the Dark Side isn't alone enough to knock the balance off... It takes a bit more than that. Basically put... In the 6 movies the Force was much weaker than it should have been. Jedi are way more powerful when the Force is in balance.

You are more or less correct. Not all Sith did this as much as the Baneite Sith, but yes, there can be no coexistence with the Sith. The Sith Order must be destroyed to maintain balance. This doesn't mean that the Sith have to be killed either... If they can be turned then that is still one less Sith.

Yes. That is exactly what it means.

The same thing that happens in every comic book team up that has ever happened... Faction A and B fight, each one having the upper hand for a time, eventually they come to a stalemate and decide to work together to overcome an even greater threat... Unless you are Batman... Then you actually admit that you'd lose the fight and skip right to the part where you team up. (Quote of Batman to Captain America after the pair study each other for a while: "Yeah, you'd beat me Avenger... But if we want our universes to survive we need to work together.")