Honestly, I tried GW2 last night at a friend just to see what the fuss is about and... I dunno, I'm staying with SWTOR. Chaotic, badly optimized, badly animated, and one of the first quests in the human starting area had me feed cows and water crops. I kind of don't dig it but, hey, to each their own.

After he became the Wrath of the Emperor and took his revenge on Baras, Darth Jaculus realized that his lifelong dream was complete. He had achieved power beyond anything he ever dreamt of. Even the Dark Council treaded carefully around him and the whole Empire was groveling at his feet. It was then when Darth Jaculus understood what fear truly means. He had always been a careful man, relying on his cunning and ruthlessness to dance his way around danger. But now there could be no more of that. He was one of the most powerful Sith in the Empire and though this was an intoxicating feeling, he was smart enough to realize that this power came with a price. Now he would be a target for everyone. Jaculus had betrayed people before and was betrayed in turn. But now the stakes were much higher. He was afraid of losing his power, of losing Vette and, most of all, losing his life. Eventually he became a very suspicious man, bordering on paranoia. He was sure that sooner or later the Council would try to eleminate him in order to recapture their former undisputed power. Even the protection of the Emperor now seemed like a double-edged sword because Jaculus knew that his new master is a merciless one and may discard him at any moment. He even began to have suspicions about his apprentice, Jaesa, because he knew from personal experience that every Sith apprentice longs most to kill their master and ascend themselves. Eventually Darth Jaculus retreated on Korriban where he ordered the building of an immense and impregnable fortress he called Wrath's Hold. Once it was complete, he holed up there and began to consolidate his power from his throne room in the deepest dungeons. His wife Vette followed him into the depths of Wrath's Hold, bound by loyalty and love. She was the only being Jaculus trusted completely but he feared for her safety because he knew that other Sith wouldn't hesitate to hurt him through her if they smelled his weakness. Jaculus did everything he could to make her happy but she was forbidden from leaving Wrath's Hold on her own. Slowly, she began to resent the life in the fortress and her cheery spirit began to dwindle. Jaculus' suspicions in regards to Jaesa Wilsaam's loyalty were baseless. Jaesa's turn to the Dark Side had turned her into a cruel beast of a person but she loved her master with all her heart because he was the only thing in the Universe she had. He had personally seen to that when he slaughtered her parents and ordered her to execute Nomen Karr. She hated him for that but she also cherished him because she knew that without him she would be all alone in the Universe. Jaculus raised her to the rank of Sith Lord and made her his personal assassin and executor, as he was the Emperor's. He gave her a personal spaceship and sent her out to the Galaxy to battle his enemies. She was too proud of that to realize that his actual goal was to keep her away from him and Vette. Lieutenant Pierce was made head of security in Wrath's Hold. Jaculus never had a high opinion of him but he was a good soldier and it would have been foolish not to utilize his talents. Pierce's unortodox methods turned Wrath's Hold into one of the Empire's best defended fortresses. Excellently trained troops, state-of-art battle droids, traps and mazes turned Wrath's Hold into an impregnable place built for one purpose - to protect its master. Broonmark was made Vette's personal bodyguard because Jaculus didn't trust the Imperial soldiers with the task. He was ordered to be with her day and night, and give his life for her if needed. Neither Broonmark nor Vette were thrilled with this turn of events but the Taltz's honor compelled him to obey and he did all that was asked of him. Darth Jaculus kept Malavai Quinn close at his side as his personal advisor. He resented the man but recognized that his resourcefulness could be most useful. He didn't trust him but, unlike with Jaesa, he didn't fear him and knew that after his fiasco of a betrayal, Quinn would be desperate to prove himself. Even though he had hid himself in Wrath's Hold, Darth Jaculus didn't remain blind. Through his family name he had connections in the Imperial Army and the Intelligence, and some members of the Dark Council considered him a friend and an ally. So he kept a close eye on the Empire, and slowly began to recruit a network of spies at the suggestion of Quinn. These spies warned him of many dangers: a famous Republic Privateer wrecking havok on the front, a new Mandalorian Grand Champion of the Great Hunt and so on but the most prominent of those seemed a Jedi called the Hero of Tython who had defeated the true Voice of the Emperor himself. Perched on his throne deep within the vaults of Wrath's Hold Jaculus waited for these formidable opponents to make their move.

As it is right now, once aquired the companions stay with you forever. You can't kill them and they won't leave you. I imagine that if a companion hates you, you won't be able to converse with them in private and continue their story since these scenes are tied with their level of affection but other than that, no consequences.

This, a thousand times this. That's the reason why I'm rolling alts. The leveling is the best part and the most fun for me. It's not that I don't enjoy getting in a group every once in a while. It doesn't even has to be in Flashpoints. I'm perfectly happy to group with people for heroic or even regular quests. It's just that once you hit 50 you have to go do group content all the time and the only thing you can do on your own is grind dalies (and I despise those, I've done each daily only once on purpose). I'm not into hardcore raiding, I prefer to do the things on my own time and pace, and the very idea of grinding the same repetitive quests each day is appaling, and so the only decision for me so far has been to roll alts.

Tionese - kind of like you could rhyme it with "mayonnaise". Tie-Oh-Ness. Columi - Call-Uh-Me. But... why does it matter?

I can understand the frustration that could come with the lack of information but we all have to keep in mind one thing - this type of content takes a lot of time. By "this type of content" I don't mean only SGR, I mean everything related to storytelling. In most MMOs they would only have to write the dialogues and do the work on the animations and the cutscenes (assuming there would be cutscenes at all). In this instance, they have to also do a lot of work on the voice over, with a lot of actors. This takes time and money. And let's not forget that they have a lot more things on their plate. Patience is the key. For what is worth, I do want to have SGR in the game and I have at least one such relationship in mind, assuming they will add it for already recruited and existing companions, but, like I said, this type of content takes time to produce. I'm not worried about the future of SGR in SWTOR, after all BioWare has done it in many of their previous games. It may come slower than people would like (like almost everything in the game...) but I'm sure it will come sooner or later.

Yes, they were defeated badly. I didn't say they were defeated badly by the Jedi. As always, the Sith destroyed themselves. So, yeah, Bane and Kaan take the credit, not the Army of Light.

On an intelectual level I know that I shouldn't have anything against the Gungan species simply because Jar Jar was a bumbling idiot who ruined the movie. I mean, sure, I get it - I shouldn't judge the whole species based on one annoyingly retarded Gungan and so on but... I can never ever take them seriously on an emotional level. And yes, it's because of Jar Jar. For what is worth, I hate the Ewoks more...

This game is set thousands of years before the movies. At this age, the Sith are still many. Later on, they will get defeated so badly that a Sith Lord called Darth Bane would reinvent the Sith Order into the form you know from the movies (only two Sith at a time, a master and an apprentice, working more behind the scenes rather than facing the Jedi in an open fight).

Current: 1. Darth Jaculus, a human male Sith Juggernaut (neutral, leaning towards evil). Level 50. 2. Felicine, a human female Gunslinger (neutral, leaning towards evil). Level 39, very close to 40. 3. Ignavus, a Sith Pureblood male Sith Sorcerer (evil, as of now Dark I but will go further down). Level 16. 4. Adolon, a human male Jedi Sentinel (good, as of now Light I but will go further up). Level 16. 5. Megelle, a human female Imperial Operative (neutral, leaning towards good). Level 10. 6. Rucks, a human male Vanguard (neutral, leaning towards good). Level 10. Future, will wait for the species to be made playable: 1. Qereen, a Togruta female Jedi Shadow (haven't decided, probably good). 2. undecided name, a Nautolan male Mercenary (neutral).

Personally I would prefer an outfit system, very much like the one LOTRO has. The idea is this - you can equip any piece of gear you like into an outfit and that's how you look. Your stats come from the gear you actually wear, but the outfit is what you and the other players see. You can choose what to wear in your outfit, you can change it anytime you want and so on. That way you get all the stats you like from the actual equipment and you look exactly how you like.

Um, this problem is easily avoided. Just stay on the planet that fits your level range, complete all the quests you can (the big world quest, your whole class quest, any sidequests and maybe a few heroics) and then move on to the next. This will do the job. The class quests fit the range of the planets so your personal story and your level will keep the same pace. Just take your time and don't rush into planets that are way above your plate (like being, say, level 25 heading to Voss or Corellia).

Quesh, a thousand times Quesh.

I'm not an expert on MMOs though I have played a few. As far as I know - and please, correct me if I'm wrong - there are not many MMOs, especially not recent ones, who could boast a continuous growth. The almighty WoW is probably the single big exception. Almost all of them start well and then numbers begin to drop. Gamers these days seem to be very vocal and in need of momentous gratification; and when a game doesn't deliver the goods they expect, they jump ship. This is inevitable. So, in that regard, SWTOR is nothing special. It catches a lot of flak because the hype before the release was enormous. People were labeling SWTOR "The WoW Killer". Of course that didn't happen - it wasn't even close - and now the game gets a lot of mockery and hate on the Internet. For what is worth, F2P doesn't neccessarily means that a game is in trouble. LOTRO went F2P and it actually rejuvenated - players increased and I'm sure the devs made good money. And at the end... I enjoy the game and this is what matters to me. If someone doesn't, that's fine. But I enjoy it and I play it. It's that simple, really. Just play and have a good time.

I was fooling around with my Jedi Sentinel alt these past two days, and I have to say, Kira is rather awesome. "Eat lightsaber, jerk!" Genius! T7 is a cute little guy too. Oh, yeah, I also met Guss with my Smuggler. He's a complete idiot and I mean that in the best possible way

I'd agree that the Plague was more surprising - and thus more immersive in theory - but that's a double-edged sword. On one hand, yes, the surprise factor. On the other, by that time I didn't have the time to log in every day and when I did, I didn't bother to go to the fleet. The result? I found out about the Plague too late and barely had the time to get a few rewards. So, while the preemtive declaration of the Grand Goosechase Race mitigated the surprise factor, I was totally prepared for it. I think that the gameplay mechanics of the events weren't that dissimiair. Both times you mainly had to walk around and click on objects. Well, the Plague did have world bosses and the crashed ship is still in the desert, and it's very cool to see how the planet changed (even if it was a tiny change). The rewards for the Plague were much better. No, I'm not ranting about the bowcasters, I found use for them with my alts. But the Tuskan suit and the broken speeder were a joke, IMO. At least the Containment Officer suit had some pretty cool looking pieces (love the boots, they are gonna be perfect for my Bounty Hunter when they make Nautolans a playable race ) and the little Jawa swindler sold some unique companion customizations.

1. Some mini-games like pazaak, swoop racing etc. Maybe with the option of playing both against fellow players or the A.I. People should be able to be spectators for a race and maybe even placing bets. 2. Togruta and Nautolan as playable species. 3. Appearance tab, kind of like that in LOTRO - you can make an outfit you like and save it over your actual useful-but-fugly gear. I don't want to look like a clown in the endgame, and it would be nice if my new (male) Inquisitor didn't wore skirts.

Completely support the idea.

It's hard for me to make a comparison because I haven't played with a Sorcerer past level 10. They are a ranged class, kind of fragile in melee. The story in the first 10 levels puts you in a... curious mindset. Everyone treats you like you're the lowest life form in the universe and that totally motivates you to go full-on Dark Side on their butts. It's kind of intoxicating. The story of the Sith Warrior is awesome. If I have to describe it one phrase, it would be power trip. You're like... the big fish in the small pond. The handpicked elite. There is betrayal and revenge, and at the end you rise up extremely high in the Empire's society. The Juggernaut is a tough melee class who can both defend himself and attack very effectively. Almost nothing can stop you while you're leveling the toon up.

There are some restrictions, to be sure. After all, we can only choose different outcomes not create our own. Still, my main toon is a Sith Warrior. I had a very clear idea of how I wanted to play with him, how I wanted him to behave and so on. For the most part, the game allowed me to do that. In some instances I was extremely pleased with the way I was able to shape him - an example would be the world quest on Hoth, where, IIRC, I had to find and fight an old Jedi stranded there since the war; I defeated his pupil and then fought him until we came even and the ice cave started to collapse around us so I said "Screw it!" and chose not to continue to fight but rather to bail out of the cave before it was too late. I haven't had that scenario in my head before I played the game and I didn't know what was going to happen beforehand but this outcome fitted the character I had imagined so well. It's similair with my Smuggler alt I'm leveling up now. I imagined her as this kind of shady character; not evil, per se, but greedy and shady - she's a criminal after all, the scum of the Galaxy. And the game allowed me to go there, with her making dirty deals with fellow criminals, the Hutts or even a Sith while on Tatooine where I helped her kill (!) the Jedi who was chasing her . The game gives me the option to make her this snarky, cynical individual who cares only for her own profit while sometimes (just sometimes!) a slightly tarnished heart of gold shines underneath this. Again, the situations and the outcomes are preconcieved by the devs, sure, but I still have the opportunity to shape her personality in the way I wanted before I got to actually play.

Since I must have both Sith and Jedi, I'm kind of throwing the idea of them getting along out of the window. Mace Windu, to lead the team. Obi-Wan, for the daring, dangerous missions. Anakin, for the daring, dangerous missions (he classifies for the neccessary Sith). Cad Bane, for his resourcefulness and he's getting a big, fat paycheck to ensure his loyalty. Durge, because he's a powerhouse and he's getting a big, fat paycheck to ensure his loyalty. Admiral Thrawn, for his cunning tactical mind. More of a consultant rather than a fighter on the field.

I'm a person and my name is Anakin.

Admittedly, if someone knows Star Wars only from the movies there are very few things that would ring a bell. However, if you're into the Expanded Universe there are a lot of things that are cool. There are places like, say, Korriban, Corellia, Ord Mantell and Nar Shaddaa that I've always wanted to see (and we have visited some of them already through the KOTOR games), the Chiss, IMO, are in the game as a homage to the Thrawn books, the early history of the Sith is expanded and explained and so on. This may not mean much to the more... casual fans of the movies but it's awesome for the diehard geeks. Sure, the game doesn't have the starpower of the characters and the settings of the movies but that doesn't mean that it has a bad setting. On the contrary, it contains much more of a surprise factor because you see and learn new things about the fictional universe you love. I prefer this over the possibility to fight the Clone Wars or the Civil War - we've been there and we've seen that.

Vette, definitely. I have soft spots for Risha and Pierce too.

I've played other MMOs but the honest to god truth is that I'm playing because 1) it's Star Wars and 2) it's BioWare. Typical MMO stuff like PvP or raiding doesn't really entice me but luckily this game also gave me the opportunity to play into the Star Wars universe enjoying the rich storylines.