No, unfortunately. I am a casual player. I have been around almost from the start, but I only play a few months every other year. I absolutely loved the game. You know, lightsabers, companions, voiced dialogues... For me they killed the fun with KotFE. I never got over the loss of our companions (later replaced by companions that completely lacked the charisma of the first generation), the new villains who had nothing to do with the Star Wars universe (it was so generic, it could have been any other sci-fi franchise). I raised one sith and one jedi to the max (not sure I will continue with 7.0 though). But KotFE is a chore I never want to endure anymore. And I did not really liked the next expansions anyway. I come back from time to time to raise a new alt through the original story. That is the one thing I like, and decorating my strongholds with the credits I get from my subscription. Having to learn new mechanics every time I come back is something I could do without though. I am not saying the game is bad. But the expansions are just not for me. I never cancelled my subscription. Maybe it is time to finally let go. I will see if I can enjoy the original story a few more times. I feel sad because I had such high hopes for this game. But the expansions took a direction that had nothing to do with what brought me to the game.

1. There is no discussion that every resource used for PVE is not available for PVP and vice-versa. I understand perfectly that PVPers and raiders want new warzones and ops, and that it means less new stories. Playing one group against another is a mistake, I think. An MMO is a small ecosystem. To be healthy, it needs to have a bit of everything. 2. I cannot really have an opinion about the impact that PVP fine-tuning has on PVE. I read that it is a problem. From what I understand, the same tension exists in other games as well. I, for one, never understood how it was in any way useful to use a skill such as expertise (It is not so much that I do not understand, it is that I believeit is a bad idea). I think it is just a barrier to entry for players that are not entirely dedicated to PVP. 3. No one can have it all. I accept that as a solo player, some rewards for PVP or raids will stay out of my reach. Again, playing in an MMO, just like living in a society, means that I must be open to others needs. So, I agree with you. But you should not assume that everyone sees these frictions as problems. I welcome them, because they are the price to pay for a rich and varied environment.

Hello, I read many threads from PVPers and raiders who feel they are not treated fairly by BW. Their issues with the game are certainly justified as it seems that much more is done now for story than for end/group game or PVP. But some people seem to see a contradiction between the interests of the solo players and theirs, which I believe is a mistake. They also say that solo content is not really MMO, and again, I think they are wrong. I cannot speak for others, so this is my point of view only. I do solo PVE, and nothing else. It is not that I am not interested in other aspects of the game, but it is the only one I can afford, in terms of time and skills. My work and my family come first, and I never know, when I start playing, how much time I will have and when I will be interrupted. So any group activities are out of the question. I tried a few times, but it is simply not compatible with the way my organisation works. But this does not mean I do not wish PVP or group content in the game. I love encountering other human players in the game, even if I don't quest with them. I love that there is a life in this universe, with guilds, a GTN, crafters, public conversations, etc. And even if I suck at it and I get killed every time, nothing is more fun than a surprise PVP encounter. So it is in my interest too that there is group content and PVP. I want a healthy game, with plenty to do for everyone. If this was just a solo RPG, I would stop playing immediately. So please, BW, do not believe that everything is in the metrics. There are solo/story players who want group and PVP content, even if they do not participate.

Indeed, Eric/Bioware obstinately refuses to answer these questions, or even acknowldge their existence. This is not only irritating; at this point, it is insulting. As I understand it, BW will replace some of the new random quality items with old random quality items, window-dress this change as an improvement, and blatantly ignore the single one most desired change: the reintroduction of Certificates. This clarify things, indeed, and I will not buy these new packs.

I had the same bug. I submitted a ticket as a bug report. That was a mistake, as it was closed 2 days later with an automated reply that my message would be forwarded to Quality Insurance. I then submitted a new ticket under another category (Mission, if I recall correctly). 20 days later, I was contacted in game by R. Oisin (aka Protocol Droid B6-L3). He solved the problem in a just a few minutes, offered his apologies for the delay (too many bugs since 4.0), and credited my account with 200 Cartel Coins for the inconvenience. (Thanks again, Sir!) So, I waited a long time, but fortunately, my problem is now solved. I hope yours is too. Have a nice day.

You bought dozens of packs and never got an item worth more than 100K? The solution is easy. Do not open the packs you buy, sell them on the GTN. They usually go for 400K or more. Predictable return, no more unlucky gambling, problem solved. Now, if you are talking about packs you bought on the GTN, then it is working as intended. Vendors obviously sell packs at a higher price than the money they expect to make by opening them. Otherwise they would just open them and sell the items for a higher return...

Hello Eric, Since you are asking our opinion, or ideas, I will join the choir of your unhappy customers. My main issue with the current formula is the absence of CM Certificates. Like so many players, I can only wonder why vendors still propose items that can only bought with a currency that has been removed from the game. Please note that some of these items are a requirement for several achievements. Expensive items or rare ones that you only get for some difficult achievement can be a strong incentive to spend money in the CM or to play. But this certificates thing just creates frustration and discontent. Nowhere did I ever read any study showing that increasing customer general dissatisfaction is good for business. If you have one, please share, because I would be very curious to read it. The current packs offer less value for money, compared to the former packs. That is why, after buying a few hypercrates last month, I was rather disappointed with what I got. If you want to make me a happy, returning customer, please increase value for money. I am not convinced that a few random oldies in a box will do that. I might buy a hypercrate, to get a taste. But if I am not happy with the result, and if I dont see any Cartel Market Certificates, I will not bother anymore. I hope, with all the negative return, that you will indeed increase value for money and reintroduce CM Certificates. Otherwise, why would you bother asking for our opinion? Have a nice day.

ROFL This never gets old. If I was your shrink, we would have so many thinks to talk about... "Please, be nice and shut down the game I am a subscriber to... Please, please!"

This would be true if communication was the problem. But it is not, actually. The product is the problem, and there is nothing Eric Musco can do about it. (And there is not much the devs can do about it either. You choose to believe they are an incompetent bunch. I believe they are understaffed. But who knows?) You say communication is bad. Seriously, what do you want him to do? Would you feel better if he was answering every post with sentences like "We know there is a problem with this or that. I have no idea when or even if we will be able to solve it, but please note that we are aware of the issue, and we thank you for reporting it to us. And in the meantime, here is a cookie for you"? And repeat it 20 times a day, day after day, week after week? Or would you prefer having him blatantly lie and give bs deadlines for the resolution of the bugs"? I do not know Eric Musco, but I believe he has a solid pair of balls (no sexism here, women can have a solid pair of balls too, and often do). He is not responsible for the problems, and yet he comes here, takes all the heat from vindicative, often ill-informed, rude, and almost always anonymous people, and has to keep what he really thinks to himself. Not the easiest job on the planet, in my opinion.

You are absolutely right. My sentence was badly formulated. I cannot presume that everybody knows or thinks that the game is in bad shape. (Maybe some people even believe that the companions are supposed to run naked in strongholds... Just kidding!) And I also did not mean to say that I was not enjoying the game. I love it too. For me, a SW MMORPG is a dream come true, even with a few problems. What I meant is that there are a lot of bugs and unsolved issues. And that is not an opinion, it is a fact. Now that this is corrected, maybe you will want to read the rest of my post. You will see that its content is actually not about the game itself, but about the way Bioware manages its public relations, and why I believe that Eric Musco himself is "working as intended".

Obviously, the dissatisfied people voicing their discontent and anger on the forums are not a perfect image of the silent majority. As you say, since they tend to be hard-core gamers, the general tone of the forum is skewed towards the negative. But I must say that I have never encountered so much negativity on a forum. I remember with nostalgy my love story with D2. The general atmosphere on the forum was very friendly. There was a real feeling of a close-knit community. I miss that. I have spent some time on WoW forums too, and although it was often brutal, it has never been as bad as it is here. But again, these 2 games run smoothly most of the time. While I sometimes think that the critics are going too far, it is a fact that there is a huge amount of problems in the game. So many, in fact, that one can assume that it is impossible, even for the most casual player, to ignore them. So it can be argued that the forum gives an idea of the general level of satisfaction. Where I totally agree with you though, is when forumers assume that everybody thinks the same way they do. When you read one post saying "Hey BW, players want more hardcore content and the game is too easy", right after reading a "Hey BW, your customers want it more casual" thread, it is hard not to chuckle.

I am not sure at all that BW is unhappy with Eric Musco's performance as community manager. As we all know, the state of the game is nothing to be happy about. 10 minutes spent reading the forum are enough to realize the level of discontent. And it is not only about the content or class balancing. If you have a look at the bug reports, it is soon pretty obvious that even basic features of the game are currently not "working as intended". Since there have been so many bugs for such a long time, the obvious conclusion is that Bioware does not have the resources to solve all the problems and bugs in the game. Or they made the choice not to allocate more resources to SWTOR. The result is the same, the game is not making enough money, and solving all the problems is simply too costly. When your company has a serious problem, communication is key. If you have the means to solve that problem (for example: your tanker has sunk, the beaches are covered in oil and need to be cleaned). In that case, the big boss has to appear on television, show concern, and promise that the company will cooperate fully with the authorities and do everything in its power to repair or compensate the damage. (To see how it is done, think of BP and Deepwater, or Volkswagen and dieselgate). But if you do not have a solution to offer, you just shut up! The less you say, the better. The public opinion around cigarettes has really started to shift when the bosses of the big tobacco companies have been forced to appear in front of the US Congress and state publicly that they did not believe for one second that their product was killing their customers... I am not saying that I approve that strategy, but it is a fact. The thing that companies never do is to acknowledge that there is a problem, and that they will not do a thing about it. It means that they have to control their communication very tightly. I am not surprised that we do not hear the devs more often. As infuriating as it is not to have answers or deadlines for bugs resolution, or even an acknowledgement regarding some issues, from the point of view of the company, it would be worse to answer truthfully and say that most problems in the game will actually never be solved. Of course, I could be wrong. It could just be that the devs and the PR people all suck at their jobs. But I do not think it is that.

Dear OP, I will try to make it short, and avoid as possible to attack you personally. After all, I do not know you, even after reading your post. But the fact is that your post is rude, commencing with your title. Nowhere is it ok to address someone you do not know with "Hey, XXX". If you are not convinced, try that with a business relation you never previously met, and see how that goes. ;-) I read everything you wrote with interest, and you made quite a few good points. But I defnitely find your style too condescending. Your answer to ChakraFive objections was "Businesses don't require class in being communicated to". Let me tell you that you are wrong there. Even in B2B, packaging does matter. You can be efficient, straight-to-the-point, direct and critical, while being respectful. It will actually make people want to listen to your remarks. A little bit of humour helps, too. By delivering your message in a cold, even brutal, business-like tone, I suppose you only wanted to increase its impact. But as you can see, more attention is now given to your lack of manners than to the points you were trying to make. Some people did not even bother to read them. So the message you wanted to convey is now drowned in noise. This is the opposite of efficiency, and it is why manners matter. No hard feelings, I hope. Have a nice day :-)

Thank you for your answers. When I have a moment, I will definitely try that. See you.

I did the flashpoint "Depths of Manaan" solo 3 times, and defeated Stivastin each time. But the achievement is still a no show in my Legacy. I don't get the decoration either. Is there something special with the mechanic of that fight? Maybe I should not run him under the flames (but I don't think I can beat him then). I got the achievements for the other bosses the first time, it's just Stivastin. Is this a known bug? Any idea? Thanks