Thank you for the suggestions. I "discovered" the passive button last night. How I missed it earlier I don't know but I did. Using that button has been a big help. I do like the idea of the finer control of turning on or off certain abilities as has been mentioned. This I will certainly give a try. Generally, I really wish MMO's would find a better mechanism to control aging content. I am no game design expert but I have often wondered why they don't build in a flag that controls leveling difficulty based upon how many high level toons exist on an account. Have 3 level 50+ toons, flag goes on and easy mode/experience bonus kicks in. (there could be flags for other significant aspects of the game as well.) They, game companies, have to do a better job of keeping the "new player experience" in tact when the longer term player mentality and desires begin to develop. just my .02 worth.

I'll research how much control is really there beyond the option to dismiss. The annoyance factor with dismissing, I fear, will become tiresome quite rapidly. Time will tell I guess. If you can really turn off abilities or there is another way to limit the companion role in combat by all means chime in. I am eager to improve the challenge and enjoy SWTOR to its fullest. As a clarification....I am not talking about end game content. I have not experienced it so am not in a position to have an opinion on it.

probably just adding emphasis to what's been said.... CPU will be a major disappointment. a must replace. 8320 or 8350 if you have the funds. Video stay Nvidia if for no other reason than the software that accompanies it. Upgrade if you have the money. I have 2 MSI 970's and they seem to be doing the job just fine. I'd go 600w on the power supply. yes 500w should be enough but I had issues with USB devices with 500w that went away when I went to 600w. (the 500w died so may not have been providing full power prior to it's death) At any rate, the one proposed is overkill. The money saved can go to the CPU (first) and/or GPU. RAM-16gb not required but may be a good idea in the long term. Again if money is tight then upgrade CPU and GPU before spending money here. Very easy to add 8gb later. good luck with the new rig!

I found myself wanting more story while gaming so I returned to SWTOR after a long absence. I did the update, set up my sub and off I went to conquer the world. Here I am 2 weeks into my campaign to find there's a story but no challenge. What an empty feeling. The companions being stupidly strong is the main issue. I guess you could say the opposing mobs are stupidly week, but in either case the content is rendered boring by the lack of challenge. I might as well go listen to a digital story as to play this game. Please beef up the player combat content so there can be balance in SWTOR universe.

I get where the companion concept comes from however making them such an integral part of the game is fail. There are too many peeps, like me, who don't want to manage or even have a pet in a game. Specifically, Aric Jorgan is close to worthless when used in conjuction with a commando class. I basically use him as a sacrificial lamb on tougher fights. Kira seems far tougher than that woosy Aric (yes I get him gear). Kira takes on gold's on her own and kills them while Aric dies with them at half life or more. It's too bad cause i was enjoying the trooper class sooo much! The class was fun, had a great story line in the starter zone and it gave me a real reason to stay in the game. Despite the positives of Kira this mandatory companion bull crap is the end of me in this game, no question. What a huge let down after such an incredible start. If Bioware can figure out how to minimize pet importance but yet keep them around for those that like this aspect they'll have a big winner in this game. (Yes I really dislike the mandatory nature of pets in this game that much) This feature limits their player base unnecessarily. On a positive note, i will miss the fight movements, sequences and motions of the characters. They are quite good.

And this is why SWTOR, so far at it's peak, has just a small fraction of the sub's that WoW has? Paying sub's will say who has the better MMO. Right now SWTOR just entered the game and Bioware/EA need to do some hard core strategizing to stay in it let alone be the best.

I'd have to say that in most cases you're wrong. I am a 6 year WoW player who is burned out and looking for a new game. Blizzard, in most cases, has done an exceptional job at seeing what is successful in other games and making it work in theirs. That's how they've kept their fan base so high. Secondly, what they understand is the player that wants to do their own thing and be competitive while doing it. SWTOR fails at that concept miserably. They have an idealistic view of their story and product so they built it within that narrow vision. Having said that, SWTOR does have some good content, nicer overall graphics and some features i'm not used to but grew to appreciate. I liked the movies and I could like this game if Bioware got over some of their idealistic notions and incorporated some very popular features. That is not to say I want another WoW because I don't, I want something fresh (which conceptually SWTOR is) but with some familiar creature comforts.

Now there's an idea with some merit!

So much fail in this thread, Bioware has never claimed to be innovating the genre or trying to kill off WoW, these are all unrealistic expectations from the fanbase nothing else. In fact if you actually read or listened to the actual interviews with the team members you would see that they have been very humble and contrary to popular belief actually claimed that they are not trying to revolutionize the genre and rather make a really good and immerse Star Wars game, which in my opinion they've just done. I don't pretend to know what Bioware intended or didn't intend with this game. They did create a game that immerses you into what is Star Wars. But, in my opinion, they restricted the player base significantly with this linear story line crap. (can you say LOTRO?) They have a severely out of balance faction base...huge empire population very low republic count. (PVP impact?) Be on the republic side and try to get a group with 15 players in that zone. This inbalance will not be fixed easily. If you're a die hard SW fan you will overlook some of this...but those of us who are general fans will not because we want the 'better' game.

In another thread I posted I was thinking of leaving the game. I decided to give it some more time. Now I'm definitely leaving. There are good things in SWTOR but it fails in several critical areas for me: 1. Linear story lines--forget that in a few select spots you can achieve a different outcome (like some have pointed out) it's the fact that you have to follow it. Short versions of this are just fine (and actually quite enjoyable) but this is absolutely horrid. I don't like being so restricted despite some of the stories being good. 2. At the point of my arrival in Coruscant I was excited by the questing. It was new and a bit larger than life. Unfortunately that feeling wore off after about 5 levels and playing an alt through the same area became unbearable. How much grey can you put up with? How far do you really want to run in such boring scenery? Lvl 20 zone was an instant repeat of Coruscant. OOO, how exciting, more grey!! I planned on skipping Taris completely because I was already leveled beyond it but gosh, that darn linear quest line thing just gets in your way! (Country landscapes are really good) 3. Limited character types---for me using a gun (don't like that type of play) or a lightsaber is not much of a choice. (lightsaber remains cool) So I'm now down to playing only 2 characters types. Limited..give me another choice! Have the smuggler/scoundrel use daggers as an option, something! 4. Companions are mandatory. Yes you can be succesful questing most of the time with without them but they are needed/required for most of the critical/key fights you will face unless you're leveled and geared beyond the content. Crafting requires them. They are built into the story lines quite a bit. They need to be made more optional in terms of their use though their presence in the quest lines is okay. I just dont't see myself playing this game for years as I have several others. It doesn't have that 'something' that makes it playable over and over. Finally, to address a point made by several in this thread. I am replying because of option C listed by a poster with some insight. I was excited about SWTOR coming out but it's been a disappointment for me. I hope that a genuine opinion on why I don't like it will be addressed in future versions. Collectively, there may be enough of us to drive a good change in the game. If change does occur I and others may come back. (On the republic side and we all know how few of us there are/were to begin with! lol)

My secret Santa at work got me a best buy gc so I'm paid for at least 2 months. We shall see how things are then. so we'll see if they are your favorite secret santa or your least one eh?

I can see why there are folks that are enjoying themselves in this game. It does have some strong allure to those that really like SW and games with story lines. The game builds you up as a player, the hero on the replubic or the villain on the empire (choose your preference). I can also see why some folks are very disappointed as there are significant flaws that many have already pointed out. I don't like linear story line based games very much and it's why I'm thinking of leaving. It's not so much that I'm bored right now it's that I know it doesn't have 'replayability' for me. I can live with some bugs and I certainly am no officianado on the hero engine vs some other engine. The morality stuff is clearly questionable on the republic side. How can a quest tell you to go do something and give you the thumbs up on the first part and then give you a thumbs down when you stay consistant in answering the next choice? (well this could be the bad phrasing on the choice of your answer I guess). Mine is a longer term decision...I'm having fun short term because of the novelty but long term...no thanks. If you're having fun stay...if not leave. pretty simple.

I have spent a lot of time this evening reading posts in this thread and others. Frankly I blew my whole evening on these boards. Based upon that fact alone, I can safely say my interest in playing SWTOR is obviously not there so I shouldn't pay for another sub. LOL

This issue is brought to you by Bioware. They have made companions such an intgegral part of the game rolling need is a must. They are perhaps an identity unto themselves however they are an integral part to your success or failure and therefore the gear they wear is important to you as a player. I am not happy about this aspect of the game as I generally have a strong dislike for 'companions'. Nonetheless, they were designed into the game as a key element and therefore should be considered as such.