I think that Bowdar, like all companions, has to be both geared up and suited to your style of play/advancement tree. if you play a healzors, you will likely be dissapointed. he just doesn't have the dps, even though you can keep him breathing forever. I am specced very specifically as a gunslinger sab, and his style of tossing stuff away and aoeing meshes extremely well with my own, now that he has been geared up well. He keeps aggro rather well, and even though I am not heal specced (although biotech helps) I prefer him to corso.

Are you saying that the experiences of those going through the levelling/storymode are completely irrelevant? that your experience is somehow superior to the enjoyment that they are getting out of the game?

And, of course, the above commentary was made by one of the people that still believes that SWtor has any sort of real end-game content, or that the end game content is actually worth wasting any time or argument on. the comment was well-written and convincing, and utterly meaningless. As is any argument which ignores the 1-50 game entirely in favor of what 'they' feel is the only important part of the game: what to do after you buy a level 50 character. When my character hits 50, it is finished. Until they expand the character levels to 60. So stop being a jerk and acting like the VAST MAJORITY of players that care about the levelling-up game are irrelevant. I know it makes you feel important to deride the vast majority of players, but their game experience is just as important as yours. Actually, on second thought, keep going with the 'leet commentary'. It's at least a relatively amusing sort of trolling.

Err, unless you happen to have access to SWG's stat tracking system, you actually don't have any idea of where the actual failure's in SWG's popularity came from. It's entirely possible that it may have been a major contributing factor, but I haven't seen a good breakdown on any SWG post-mortem, anyplace. It IS, however, possible that the feeling of 'hopelessness for latecomers' version of crafting was a contributing factor.... it was definitely one of the major reasons _I_ left the game. It is also the reason I will not touch Eve. also, eve, while considered 'successful', is NOT by any stretch considered a blockbuster or even hugely successful. It makes enough to keep it's developers fed, but CCP is NOT a wildly successful company by any stretch... and they are not even in the process of developing any more games. trust me, on the worldwide MMO stage, most of the games you mentioned are strictly small potatoes, even compared to SWTOR. The exceptions are wow (which has a crafting system utterly unlike swg) and UO (a very old game, the firstcomer, and like original D&D, we don't speak critically of what was, for a time, the only game of it's type in existence.) In general, I think instituting an SWG-like crafting system would appeal to a VERY small, VERY vvocal minority, while alienating pretty much everyone else.

Most powerful sith lord? Obama. "This is not the birth certificate you are looking for..."

truthfully, considering the way even opposite-gender flirts were implemented, I would prefer that there be an additional toggle to screen out both straight and bi options altogether. I have to read that garbage to decide not to use it, and most of the 'romance' in this game is so bad that it would make a water buffalo blush.

That answer is far too complicated for this thread. It includes an enormous advertizing budget (and enough advertizing can make even a stinker of a game do well, financially.), as well as using Bioware's identity and brand ruthlessly (from the makers of Mass Effect!) as well as choosing a slightly different demographic as it's market. science fiction, as a genre, is a lot more.... for lack of a better term, 'conservative' demographically than fantasy, as well as a LOT more male-dominated. When you look at the actual niche involved, mass effect was actually WILDLY more successful at appealing to it's chosen demographic than dragon age... at it's point in time, any reasonably well-made fantasy 'action rpg' could have been incredibly rewarding financially. Look at Bethesda soft's new offering. in spite of enormous advances in game technology, skyrim is an ugly, unappealing mess of half-made themes and voiceovers, and frankly I hated it... but, it has a huge audience, because it's advertizing was extreme and bethesda is still pushing for a very popular genre... a recipe for making money even with garbage like skyrim.

of course not, I speak only of the game's demographic. believe me, as an indy developer I have demographics shoved in my face EVERY SINGLE DAY. if I pick an option appealing to the majority of my demographic, I wind up paying rent. if I don't, I wind up wasting six months on a game that 'everyone' seems to hate. the demographics of this game are a lot more complicated than say...your average scrolling shooter, but I can assure you that bioware is, as of this very moment, trying to balance out whether they are going to make more money throwing in with the GBL community and possibly alienating a large portion of their userbase. It is NOT about 'doing the right thing' it is a simple fiscal calculation... and I am betting, if Bioware is fiscally and demographically smart, that their 'sgcontent' will be restricted to female characters, because their demographic is a lot less offended by female-female than they are by male-male. That is, in fact, why I think that the toggle would be the perfect way of minimizing the demographic loss and maximizing it's gain, because they have a way of NOT alienating their largest demographic while potentially gaining a new demographic with only minor alterations to the game.

excuse me, but how is placing a 'flirt' and 'sg flirt' toggle in the same screen as 'helmet on off' and 'chat filter' a bad thing, exactly? It clearly looks to me like that would be the absolutely optimal place to put it... with character options.

and by toggle, I think most people mean something unobtrusive on the character option screen, perhaps right underneath 'show helmets'. a lot less in-your-face than demanding that you force people to pick a sexual orientation at character creation.

I will only support cross-server LFD when there is a cross-server (and better) auction house system.

He was a bit over the top, but his point is valid. SWG was considered a 'failed game', and it would be foolish in the extreme for bioware to implement a central mechanic from a game that struggled to stay afloat throughout it's entire history. That way lie financial ruin.

I think a toggle is an absolutely inoffensive and easily-coded way to make sure that millions of people don't quit their game. and stop paying them.

uh, buddy? you discriminate every time you decide to eat pizza instead of beef stroganoff. If you are allergic to milk, you discriminate when you choose not to drink it. You discriminate a thousand times a day, and every single time you decide what you are going to do. heck, sitting down to play swtor is discriminating against reading a book or taking a walk. Nothing wrong with discrimination. just like advertising, you should be allowed to 'turn off' content you find objectionable.

I think he's trying to make 'GR spamming teaming healing' commandos feel guilty.. it's just that....it's hard to feel guilty when you are laughing so hard you soil yourself.

you could always play a scoundrel for a while to gain a fresh new appreciation for trooper healing?

yeah, that's what i am trying to figure out too... I mean, last time I checked, hard fights were done by teams. I have never seen a commando healer passed over for a team because they don't have An interrupt, and gunnery/assault commandos are like the 'definition' of DPS/aoe dps, and are not passed over for not having an interrupt either. In PvE, is there a single 'boss' in the solo trooper storyline or even the standard side quests that REQUIRES a designated interrupt other than cryo grenade? I know that the jedi has... a couple, but they have the interrupts to deal with them. This whole thread feels like another thinly-veiled PvP whine.

No way, when grav round gets fixed (has slow added to it) It will bring new popularity to the class. I understand that it needs to have extra damage added to it to bring it in line with other 'one power' class abilities, like force lightning, and I am hoping that the slightly sub-par damage is addressed soon.

democracy sucks. you are going to do something even though 49% of the people might hate the idea? oh great. only an idiot could think that was justice. SWG had it's crafting, SWTOR has it's own. I like the way it is now. Yes, it needs to be tweaked, but i don't want anyone to talk bioware into pulling an 'old game experience'

you aren't going to be flirting with mako. sorry. BW has flatly stated that it's going to be 'new' conent, and thus characters, only.

a minority toggle? are you high? Or do you dare to claim that homosexuals are a 'race' of their own? so to you, homosexuals are not even the same race as the rest of the world? Okay, I am not in favor of SGR, but even I am not so much of a bigot that I claim that GLB's are not even human! No, it's more akin to having a 'bloodiness' toggle (as so many games have in the past) for people that don't want to be forced to watch gore, or a filter toggle (which the game already has) so you aren't forced to watch teenagers get into cussing contests. Or even the ability to turn off PVP chat so that you don't have to deal with all the trash talking that each side does to each other.

My femshep would rather marry her ship droid. I shoulda made the character male. what's irritating in Aric is endearing in Elara.

actually, every one of those situations my operative has dealt with meaningfully. but, excuse me if my post violates your retarded superiority bubble. This whole thread is stupid, and should have been locked on page 1.

'Toxic' oh wait, that's my sith inquisitor.

well, moddable heavy armor belts/bracers for all classes are definitely on the critical loot tables for low-level treasure hunting lockboxes. in fact, I got a pair of sith warrior and bounty hunter bracers on my newbie smuggler