And I agree with the sentiment, it's simply not feasible to do so in a timely and economic manner. We want to see bad behavior punished, but reality asserts itself: it is a complex problem to solve on the machine/algorithm side - far too difficult to merit the application of the scarce resources they already have or, given the complexity involved, do not see it as something that needs fixing at all. So the second best alternative is to simply wait: those who are in GSF because they want gear will only stay there for so long - they'll remove themselves after gearing up. Considering that most people have multiple toons and with the addition of combat styles, that can be done quite fast.

As has been pointed out already, while it is easy for a player to determine who is self-destructing repeatedly, it is a whole different story for a machine (or an algorithm) to do the same. The amount of effort to determine the variables needed, to make proper statistics so that they're meaningful, to refurbish and/or reinterpret how concepts are quantified in a GSF match, so that the outcome is not only intelligent but also seen as fair by the player base is IMMENSE. It is simply not worth the time and money of the devs that they currently have. Furthermore, such players will abandon GSF the faster they gear up - so it won't take much longer for the issue to fix itself to a more acceptable degree.

Not necessarily better, but it caters more to a different type of worldview than those espoused in Disney's. The Disney management of Star Wars - as far as the movies are concerned - caters to an ADHD mindset. What I mean by that is that it is focused on small segments which make sense in the few seconds you watch them and you're promptly assaulted by another segment that does not necessarily have any continuity with the previous ones. Right after you watch it and your brain engages in questioning the absurdity of it (like Rey never having trained once in her life with a lightsaber or the force and is somehow able to withstand one who trained with Luke Skywalker himself), you're presented with another scene that is just as absurd, but your brain is not given any respite to properly assess the idiocy of it all. Only later, after you watched this nonsense for an hour and a half, you can sum it up as absolute garbage. It's a series of unconnected "oh shiny!" scenes. Take TLJ for example: aside from the political agenda that is there whether we want it or not, that movie is a primer on how NOT to make anything that remotely resembles a good product. No continuity. No cohesion between one scene and the next. No verossimilitude. Complete disrespect for good technique. The writing was abysmal. I could go on and on but it was simply a technically deficient product without any redeeming qualities. The biggest failures are the scripts themselves - SW became a platform to advance ideology, not a canvas in which great moral questions are raised and, for good or ill, resolved. The Old Republic, on the other hand, is the opposite. In that canvas big, moral questions are posed and resolved. They have far more latitude to be politically incorrect, for example: take the scoundrel / gunslinger storyline. Or the Imperial Agent one. These stories have the right mix of humor, intrigue, suspense, etc. Then again, I'm talking about the old SWTOR. These days the lore has been absent, good writing is gone, and they've been steadily pushed towards "political correctivism" by the players themselves - remember the outrage about the server names when there was the big merge not so long ago? And while I prefer TOR personally for what was made with it in the past, I don't have high hopes for its future. In the end, Disney is terrible for SW for the most part, and the old republic - the game as well as the era itself - will be steadily destroyed to incorporate the same collectivist mindset that destroys all that is interesting, unique and worthwhile.

From a PvE standpoint: Except, maybe, for GOTM NiM, all other ops at all difficulty levels are perfectly doable with 248. They haven't been re-tuned, as far as I know, for the new 252/258 gear. I'm also betting that NiM GOTM will be doable with 248, at least for the good teams. So, if all you do is PvE, the conclusion is quite simple: don't even go to Ossus and do not waste your time there. Or go once to see the map, maybe do the dailies and World Bosses once for the achievements and that's it. Let your sub drop and wait till 6.0 arrives. From a PvP standpoint: just rollback to 4.0. All decisions regarding pvp gearing from 5.0 onwards have been lackadaisical if not outright useless / idiotic. The actual solution to PvP is to make separate skill trees and gear. That would completely remove the indignation that PvE players feel when their abilities are changed due to PvP concerns as well as add complexity to PvP. But then, that'd require a lot of real work instead of refurbishing yet another armor/mount/deco to sell in the CM. SWTOR thy name is super barbie online - with lightsabers.

Do not take the following seriously. Ranting would've done nothing to the discussion so I tried for humour instead. SWTOR 5.0 in management or, a short tale of how the loot system would work if implemented in a fictitious company. In this comedy of one act we have a prominent duo and a few others. The duo is: Central-planner Manager(CPM): thinks he knows best at all times, for everyone involved. Some think he’s eccentric, others that he’s just plain insane. CEO: has a good BS detector, returning from well-deserved vacations. Without further ado, onwards with the show! Location: Big Listed Company, Casual Meeting in the CEO’s office. CEO: Dear CPM, I heard that a certain system of rewards was implemented recently for our employees, and yet I see less of them now than when I left on vacation. Point if fact, this stack right here, about a foot high, is the amount of two weeks’ notices we received last week alone. Care to enlighten me about it? CPM: Certainly sir! This plan, dubbed 5.0 is an in-company reward system designed to promote the very best efficiency and happiness of our employees. It is not based on merit, dedication, skill, or entrepreneurial acumen. No sir! We’ve done away with these banalities! The reward system is such that no employee shall receive a salary, or a wage or any of that rot. They’ll receive beautifully, purple-wrapped boxes so long as they achieve the goals set to them. Intern: Sorry to interrupt sir, I have a few more notices to add to the pile. CEO: Not a problem son, put them with the others Intern: Right away sir. Stack Height: 1.3 feet. CEO: As you were saying CPM, I’d really like to know how it works. Don't leave anything out. CPM: See, here is the geniality of it all. The 5.0 reward system is divided into three tiers. In the first tier, say the first hundred boxes or so, the rewards are utter crap for the most part BUT, they have a chance of getting a brand new Honda Civic 2003! CEO: Hmm. I see some flaws with that design. How can you expect our employees to come back to work, if there’s no salary or wages paid, but just a promise that they MAY get a “brand-new” honda civic 2003? And how’s a 2003 car “brand new” by any measure? CPM: They’re creatures of habit. They’ve been doing the same stuff for years and years now, they won’t get any less motivated at this point so that even a 2003 honda civic will feel like a novelty! Also, I forgot to mention, there’s an incremental goal-scale they’ll need to complete before getting the next box! Isn’t that just wonderful? CEO: So, let me walk through the steps of your plan. It was your idea, correct? CPM: Yes sir! CEO: Firstly, you abolished all money payments to all employees, be they salaries or wages. CPM: That’s correct. CEO: Then, as compensation for their time, regardless of the role they have in the company, from janitorial staff to software engineering, they all receive the same reward. CPM: Precisely sir! You’re cut to the quick! CEO: Not only the reward is the same, but all are… Intern: Sorry to interrupt again sir, but these notices are coming faster than our HR department can manage. In fact, right at the top of this pile, is the notice from our HR department head. CEO: So, that leaves you and… Intern: Evelyn sir, the other intern. CEO: so, you two are in charge of Human Resources for the time being? Just the two of you? Intern: unfortunately, yes sir. CEO: I see. Put them on top of the others then. Intern: Right away sir. Stack Height: 2.6 feet CEO: Ok CPM, moving on… not only the reward is the same for all employees but they’ll all need to work even more to receive the next one, correct? CPM: Indeed sir! CEO: hmm and at what points do they receive their… purple boxes? I mean, since we are in an incremental scale here, they’ll take more and more time to get the next one. So, presumably, at some point in that scale, they’ll have to work for days just to get a single box. And that box has a chance to, at best, give you a used car? CPM: A brand new Honda Civic 2003 sir! And yes, at some point it’ll take them days, perhaps even weeks to get a new box. CEO: I s… Intern: Sorry to interrupt yet again sir, but we just lost Evelyn to a competitor and I’m having to drag these invoices by myself. CEO: In an industrial trolley? Intern: It’s more efficient sir. CEO: And you’re still here… why? Intern: It’s my first job sir. CEO: Your dedication is commendable Intern. Please leave it… well not on top of the others we are not trying to replicate the twin towers with two week’s notice forms… Intern: Not a problem sir Stack Height(s): two stacks, nearly 4 feet tall CEO: Well, I do have one last question for you CPM. Who authorized the implementation of this plan while I was away? CPM: the CFO Sir! He said it’d do wonders for the balance sheet! CEO looks around the office, mystified at the splendorous stupidity of the human race: I see. As my last act as CEO of this company I just need to do two things, first the good news… for you that is. CPM shivers with anticipation: What good news!? CEO: Yes my dear, you’ve just been promoted! CPM: I have!? CEO: Yes, this right here, is my letter nominating you for my post. With such startling brilliance it’s a wonder you haven’t replaced me already. CPM: And what was the other thing you mentioned er… sir? CEO: Oh this piece of paper right here? CPM: Yes sir. CEO: Well, this is my… oh, hey Intern, I see you’re carrying only one form now. Have people stopped filling in forms? Intern: No sir. There’s no people left. This is my own form. CEO: In that case – signs the piece of paper and hands it to the intern – drop this with the others will ya?