Highly questionable story decisions like allowing a Sith to choose the Republic and vice versa aside, the BGs I'm concerned about take place at a time in the story before Zakuul while the Republic and Empire are at war, invading one another's planets, stealing secrets, supporting factions on neutral planets to try to gain an edge. When you enter the Denova WZ for instance, Nathema hasn't even happened yet. There's no other justification for that WZ's existence - it would be better removed entirely than made cross-faction. When in a WZ, I definitely consider faction and the reason I'm there. If all of a sudden a member of my Republic team starts throwing lightning bolts and healing me with dark energy (anathema to a Jedi, especially before the events on Yavin), or as an Imperial I see my "ally" is a Republic soldier, you'd better bet that's going to be upsetting, game-breaking, and ultimately destroy the last vestiges of Star Wars left in this game. They did enough damage by going away from Rep vs. Imp and creating this ridiculous "alliance" narrative, and now when they're finally thinking of going back to Star Wars they pull this. Unbelievable.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm incredibly upset at the idea of cross-faction being implemented for WZs with a specific, Republic vs. Empire story behind them which can't be explained away just to make more WZs pop. Huttball and arenas (including ranked) I can see being made cross-faction when listing randomly. Especially for solo ranked I can see where this is needed, and as a late-night player sympathize with those who complain at how early PvP stops popping. But the point is we don't need every WZ to be cross-faction, only those where it can be made to make sense. If they insist on doing this for the lore-heavy WZs Alderaan, Denova, and Voidstar, they MUST at the same time have the system still prefer to group factions together as much as possible, and give "helping" players (the Imp on the Rep team because 7 and 9 people were listed, for example) the appearance and ability animations of their counterpart so it won't look like an enemy player. Failure to do this utterly kills all immersion in the game and unceremoniously rips the "SW" out of "SW:TOR."

The thing is, we already have cross-faction BGs which don't break immersion because the reason they're cross-faction is explained and understood. Expanding the list to include all huttball maps would be nice for more variety. But there's no way the Republic and the Empire would ever invade Denova together against a Republic/Empire defending force. None. Ever. Same for Alderaan, same for Voidstar. I would find it a nice compromise if the rest of them were made cross-faction, as I also get frustrated when WZs quit popping late at night, but certain ones need to remain as they are or the "Star Wars" part of this game is dead.

They're well on the road to ruining PvP and the entire lore of their game. Star Wars is Republic vs. Empire, Light vs. Dark. Up until now, they've at least presented a reason in the lore why the cross-faction BGs are so. Huttball can also be made to make sense - it is, after all, a sport organized by a third party. I would consider that a solid compromise to keep enough diverse WZs popping when not enough people are listed on one side. But Voidstar, Alderaan, and Denova will never make sense as cross-faction, and I'll be done with this no-longer-Star Wars game if any of those three go through as cross-faction.

They can make huttball cross-faction. Whatever, that makes sense since it's organized by a third party. But I, too, promised myself long ago that if they ever made Alderaan, Denova, or Voidstar (the WZs that actually have lore) cross-faction that would be my last day in the game. That would be the point at which I knew finally and completely that Star Wars is unimportant to them, and they're simply interested in making Generic MMO #53. I've stayed around despite some really ridiculous and sleazy crap they've pulled, and I'll be watching with baited breath to see which WZs they change, but if it's the real Rep. vs. Imp. ones then hello ESO, goodbye TOR - I won't be able to honestly attach the "SW" to it anymore if that happens.

(Disclaimer: Only read the OP.) What nerf to tanks? At least in PvE, this was a net buff. A tank has a very specific list of jobs, top among them boing holding aggro and reducing DTPS while following boss mechanics. The two things a tank is never responsible for are DPS and healing. They do a bit of both on the side - enough to get by - but less of either of those for a better time fulfilling my primary duty is a trade I'd make any day and time. Holding aggro in those moments where taunt is on cooldown or otherwise unavailable just got easier, so I'm not complaining. Where I'll agree with you is that this has failed to solve the main problem driving "skank tanks:" that the primary tank stats bring next to nothing in PvP where so much crit is present and preempts defense and shielding. The obvious solution is to calculate defense before crit, and allow for shielding of crits. This would also change the weight of stats in PvP back to something resembling balanced - crit would still be preferred over alacrity, but not as harshly. Give tanks a real reason to use tank over DPS stats. Provided they don't want to make tank stats stronger in PvP for balancing reasons (can't see why not, but for sake of argument), how I would personally solve the issue is to considerably reduce all damage done by abilities while in the tank spec - talking at least 50% here - and grant an AP bonus per point of defensive stat (Def/Shield/Absorb), scaled such that tanks deal about the same amount of damage as they do now provided they're built like tanks, but that building non-tank stats into a tank build is a net DPS loss.

I really hate to beg for anything in this world, but I've explored all other avenues. I'm also not opposed to a trade on Tulak Hord, but I can't simply stand by and watch my 100% armor and mount collections be ruined by RNG after all I've contributed to this game financially, so I'm hoping there's a kind soul left here who recieved several codes and would be willing to share one with me. I've always been a loyal nVidia customer and am in the market for a new video card, but after such a poorly-handled and frankly scummy "promotion," I'll be purchasing from AMD from now on. But I hope I don't have to lose out in SW:TOR at the same time. So if anyone has a code I'll be eternally grateful, even if I have to buy or trade for it. Thanks in advance and Happy New Year.

Hm, the time I got a Vanguard DD in my group who spammed Explosive Round (back during 3.0) and Hammer Shot and nothing else from 30 meters, just staying above 60 cells. When asked what he was thinking, he said "ranged DPS is better, so I'm doing ranged DPS." Every time I run up to a group of mobs in a FP or raid like I'm in stealth, only as a non-stealth class because I'd been playing my Shadow or Scoundrel earlier and got used to it.

If anyone has a spare code I'd really appreciate one. Or send me a PM with your price if you're on Tulak Hord. I find it incredibly scummy that they're making a random chance item appear in collections. I've been shopping for a new video card, and if NVIDIA robs me of my 100% armor and vehicle completion they just made a sale for AMD. So much for their marketing gimmick - next time they shouldn't make it RNG and just give their customers codes.

You've been very respectful in this discussion aside from the "learn to play" comment I first quoted, and I didn't mean to come off as offended by your arguments. That "honor" goes to another in this thread, but I digress. Admittedly I base my preference for mouseover healing as opposed to DPS or tanking on raid experience. I play PvP, but not nearly as much, and even there I tend to use tab targeting and target-of-target and focus target hotkeys rather than clicking, partially because sometimes I just find it impossible to find that !"§$%&/ cursor in the middle of all the graphical effects, haha. But you make a good point, I can definitely see the benefit it would offer for quickly stunning or interrupting without switching targets, and would also not be opposed to this being implemented. Again, it's the same thought process involved and is not automating anything, it's simply offering the ability to accomplish something with less clicks. I agree that it's not something that's likely to occur; the reason I'm arguing in this thread is because of the people who are opposed to the idea entirely, especially those comparing mouseover to macros or automation, or something else that would make the game easier, and that's not what it is about at all. I've long since found a workaround by reprogramming my keyboard's firmware to allow me to click the mouse with a keyboard key, spreading the strain around a bit so I can click with any one of several fingers depending on what feels comfortable at the moment. This allows me to play any class comfortably, but it's still a major PITA compared to simply having the mouseover mechanic available in the first place. While I can accept that there are more pressing issues the game faces, this would be nothing but a positive addition were it to occur, and I just hate to see people requesting it be ridiculed because of a misconception of what the feature is and why it's important.

Considering you appear not to deal with carpal tunnel strain, I'll assume ignorance as it's better than the alternative: that you're simply trolling this thread. I can tell you first-hand what's painful and what isn't. Let's assume you want to cast a heal bound to 1. Under the current system, you have to move the cursor over the target's position in the raid frame, left click with the mouse, and press 1. With mouseover healing, you simply move the cursor over the target's position and press 1. There's no "movement" of the strain, it's just less strain, period. I wouldn't call mouseover a "macro" even though you can simulate it with one, but since you seem hell bent on making that comparison let's compare it to actual scripted gameplay. If you write a macro to play your entire rotation for you, or which automatically chooses your target based on conditions you've written into a script, that takes player skill out of the game because there's no thinking involved. You've taken the player out of the decision-making process. What we're talking about with mouseover still involves your input in every step of the healing process, including choosing your target. Literally nothing changes except the number of clicks. Once again, this is not a "skill" discussion. This is not a macro discussion. This is not about enabling add-ons. It's about a single feature, and the skill required to heal with clicks and with mouseover is exactly the same. For me it's a physical health question, for some in this thread it's a quality of life issue, and SW:TOR already has some amazing QOL features built into the base game compared to its competition, most notably WoW. This is one that's sorely lacking. Finally, if you can't debate a point in a civil and respectful manner without the air of superiority, this will be my last reply to you. If, at this point, you don't see the massive difference between mouseover and autoplay, there's really nothing more to be said anyway.

I've been healing NiM ops for years, I neither need nor appreciate your patronizing tone. You know full well that's not what is meant by mouseover healing, nor is it about "putting in effort" into the game. All that statement proves is that you've read nothing I or anyone else has written on this subject. Mouse clicks in the amount required to heal over a long period, especially as an Operative, are a serious health risk. An immediate one for those already suffering from tendonitis, a long-term one for those who aren't that far along yet. More clicks =/= skill in any way whatsoever. Skill in a non-aim-based MMO is cerebral - knowing what your class is capable of, what the situation requires, and when to execute which abilities on which targets for maximum effect. The interface is there to aid you in doing this, nothing more or less. Cutting the number of clicks in half doesn't reduce the game's skill requirement in the slightest, but does reduce the risk of injury significantly. That's what this is about.

This. Only games selling RNG for real money are being investigated. Microtransactions themselves are not the problem the Belgian gambling authorities are interested in.

Slippery slope and straw man fallacies. No one is asking for healing to happen on auto-pilot. Mouseover healing requires exactly the same mental involvement and process that the current healing mechanic does - you have to decide whom to heal, when, and with which ability. The only difference is that it reduces the number of physical clicks it takes to turn your thought process into an in-game reality. This is a health issue, not a gameplay one. Your examples all involve removing the mental involvement of the player, which is completely different.

I'd be more concerned about the Overwatch loot boxes being investigated in terms of possible effects on SW:TOR. Sure, it's neither Star Wars nor EA, but BF2's problem was the use of RNG loot boxes containing actual in-game advantages. Their expanding the investigation to Overwatch, where the loot boxes only contain cosmetic items, could have wide-reaching consequences for the gaming industry. Personally, I'd consider it a positive step if there'd be more direct sales and less RNG boxes, but it all depends on the price points and how that affects the in-game market.

Wow, so much negativity in a single thread. It almost makes me want to go spend a couple hours in decontamination. The game may not be healthy, but it's far from dead. They'll keep the servers going so long as they're making more money than it costs to run them, long after they've stopped creating content. Considering how much people spend on the Cartel Market, I don't even see maintenance mode on the horizon just yet. They'll continue to make just enough new content to keep players pacified and subscribing while pumping out new CM crates at the same fast pace because it's the best return on their investment. Once that gravy train reaches its end and it's no longer considered a good investment to create anything new, they can still continue with weekly CM updates and sales of existing cosmetics, and so long as this remains the flagship Star Wars MMO that will still be profitable for some time. The only thing that would preclude a lengthy, drawn-out maintenance mode and accelerate a shutdown after the content cycle reaches its end would be a new Star Wars MMO on the horizon, like how SWG was shut down in preparation for SW:TOR.

It's not a problem with tanks or DDs, or even healers other than Operatives. That class requires significantly more sustained clicks per second than any other in the game. Most of the time the target switch while tanking or dealing damage is limited in comparison, and when you have to switch targets you just move the camera and hit "tab" or click the target once. Holding the curser over a mob for mouseover would be a disadvantage more than in any way helpful. It seems you're trying to make it about me when it isn't, hence my edit earlier. Just because my tendonitis is more advanced, anyone who uses a mouse to click that much is in danger, and even if it doesn't hurt now you are still damaging your tendons over time by engaging in that activity. Reducing the overall number of clicks it takes to execute a single thought is just good design.

Mouseover is not about "knowing how to play." It is not somehow "easy mode." The only difference is that it requires less clicking to physically execute the exact same mental process ("I want to cast x heal on y player"), which can cause and/or exacerbate serious inflammation in your tendons. Healing with an Operative is one of the things that brings me the most joy in this game, and I can't do it without clinging to my hands and taking Ibuprofen after a raid. There's no reason for anything to require more clicks than it has to. An extra click is not skill, it's just pain. EDIT: And before some wise guy comes back with "but the majority doesn't deal with that issue," it's not something you're born with. Anyone can contract tendonitis, even you, if you click too much.

The devs and more casual players always seem to lack understanding that the best gear is in no way a "nice bonus" or a luxury item. If you wish to remain competitive (and yes, even PvE is competitive) you must have the best gear - it's non-optional. Their making gear easier to acquire for all players is one of the best decisions they've made in the game, and I'm dismayed to see they're straying from that path now. That said, judging from the prices they keep sending me via in-game mail, it'd cost quite a bit to gear up via gold sellers. I've just been selling my PvP mats and will buy up a bunch of them once the prices drop. It slows down my progress raiding by a couple weeks, but my Legacy bank account will thank me for it.

I also lament the lack of mouseover healing. People who oppose this don't understand that it's not an unfair advantage thanks to the GCD system - the only thing it does is reduce the number of clicks required to heal, and for an Op that's a lot. As someone with tendonitis, the constant clicking can really hurt compared to other classes I can play with no problem. And before you think "I don't have that problem:" you're not born with it, you acquire it over time by constant, mindless clicking, like the kind an Op healer requires. To the OP's other point, you can set the group window to look like the raid window and use an overlay in Star Parse to keep track of your HoTs. It tends to lag a few seconds behind the game, but so long as you're aware of that and can compensate for it it works wonders.

I may be in the minority here, but I have all the NiM titles on my mains - timeruns, everything - and I still value my founder title most of all. No one who started playing after release, no matter how good they get or what they accomplish, will ever have that title, and that makes it special to me. So yeah, I have to say Founder. The NiM timerun titles come in second - even during 3.0, or now with crystals, not everyone could accomplish those.

Pretty much this. It sucks for ranked PvPers who want to play legitimately because most of the competition they face isn't up to the challenge. It sucks for the competition because they're essentially forced to run content they don't enjoy if they want to gear up as fast as possible and remain competitive in PvE. The only people who "win" here are the people who abused the low number of people listing to win trade before - now they don't have to, since 90% of the people listing are noobs and can just be farmed for ranking.

I don't mind them being available in solo FPs so people can farm them on their own, nor would I mind them raising the drop chance to pre-nerf levels, but I have always opposed and will always oppose making a rare drop that's not end-game gear into a guaranteed drop. Before, these housing drops had meaning - it was the sort of thing you'd comment on if you saw it in someone's stronghold. EIther the person had major dedication to running the FP for the drop, paid a lot of credits for it, or (the absolute minority) got extremely lucky. Any way you look at it, they stood out, especially the ones from Tython and Korriban. Now they're meaningless, just another pretty statue etc. in your stronghold, and for it to have any semblance of the old meaning you have to mention specifically during a tour if you obtained it before 5.6 made it commonplace. And even then you just know the person's going to come back with "oh yeah, I have 5 of those" and have himself convinced it has the same meaning. I don't have every rare FP drop by a long shot because I never put the time in to get them, and that's okay - no effort, no reward. For me to now just be able to run it once in faceroll mode with a GSI droid, go afk during every boss fight if I feel like it and be "rewarded" with what used to be the rare drop that made people run the FP and do the bonus boss to begin with, is wrong when 90% of those items' value was in their rarity.

There have always been serious issues with positioning and latency (looking at you, Huttball), but it's gotten way worse since the merge. On Tulak Hord, it's not uncommon for me to see people in FPs, OPs, and BGs appear to teleport 15-20 meters at a time. It's not that bad in PvE since the thing you're trying to hit is either an NPC or selectable in the raid window anyway, but PvP is in a pretty bad spot atm due to this. Like the poster above me said, you can't fix bad programming, but apparently you can make it worse. The server merge was a big undertaking, so I just hope and trust that they don't like this any more than we do and are working on a solution to at least bring it back to pre-5.6 levels.

Anyone who regularly checks the GTN has seen the recent inflation. It's affected everything, and anyone claiming otherwise is very much in denial. I can't be certain it was purely the exploit's fault, seeing as especially the robes and new crafting materials are very sought after right now, but it's the only thing that's noticeably and drastically changed the number of credits in circulation recently, and considering exploited credits have to be laundered to make the exploit more difficult to punish, they can't really be compared to the people with 10 figures sitting in their banks legitimately. These credits have to be spent, and quickly. It's the logical culprit, and for lack of a better explanation from BW (provided they have one) it's the one people are going to run with. Regardless of its blame for current prices, anyone who used the exploit needs to have their credits reduced to 0 and their banks emptied of valuables. Return items bought by those accounts since the patch hit to the people who sold them, and delete the credits from existence. Make the exploiters build their fortunes again from scratch so that future potential exploiters have something to fear when they discover a get-rich-quick scheme. It's harsh, but necessary, and prevents a full rollback from happening.