I really hope it isn't the end. SWTOR has had its ups and downs but I don't want to see it end with this.

Darth Jesus. Lol My impression was that he wanted to expand the same type of culture Sith are exposed to --- fear/terror --- to non-Sith Imperials. So that with culture would permeate every inch of the Empire, force sensitive or no. I wonder if he'll return, assuming an Agent either spared his life or submitted to him. I mean if Malgul's back, why not Jadus?

An in universe reason is that Jaesa sees the SW as a chance the Empire has at reform, especially LS warriors. If the Empire cannot be defeated by the Jedi/Republic, the next best option is for the Empire to be reformed under the leadership of light, or at the very least pragmatic, Sith. A meta reason is that the companion system was clunkily implemented, that's the reason you have certain LS companions sticking with you even if you're a crazed DS pub character.

Krovos' letter points out how the Empire failed Malgus, not the other way around. I *really* hope Imperial players can bring Malgus back to the fold. With Marr gone he's one of the few older leaders left and it would be a shame to lose him.

It would only make sense if LS Jaesa is introduced in a different manner than DS Jaesa, but there's no reason both can't be reintroduced on Oricon in different ways. My Jaesa was light side, and apparently was out their fighting the good fight on the frontier during KOTET. You can't just disregard that character arc in favor of only DS players. If that version, the LS version, is reintroduced on Oricon it should be handled in a way that makes sense.

I don’t like the Alliance as it’s presented in the same way that I don’t like Inquisition, and it feels like Bioware writers are either being lazy or apathetic. The Commander/Inquisitor is a figurehead, to whom Lana/Leliana are fanatically devoted. The player is never responsible for building the Alliance/Inquisition from the ground up, that credit goes to Lana/Leliana. The current story involves a controversial time skip (DA2/DA:I and Ziost/KOTET) which stops the players from experiencing or fighting arguably some of the biggest wars/invasions/conflicts of the setting because that would be too much work on the writers’ behalf. Eventually, they are betrayed by a steadfast ally who has been with them from the beginning, and shortly thereafter their faction, the Alliance/Inquisition, either self destructs or exists as a name with no real power. The remaining writers could just end the series now with a few epilogues varying on the player’s faction, Iokath choice, alignment, and return any surviving companions. It’d be much more fuffilling to see a definitive end to the faction conflict rather than it going on forever or being pushed to the sidelines in favor of MUH ZAKUUL. The decline in writing quality, or at least the direction of the narrative, is really upsetting. Hope Anthem crashes and burns.

Could it be .... Thana Vesh? Darth Baras? Nomen Karr? Can't be Jaesa since she's LS. Beyond Lana and Satele I can't think of someone so close to the Alliance Commander (in all class variations) that would betray the PC. Being Theron must be suffering. First Malcolm, now potentially his mother? I don't think it's Acina, she's perfect. ...And not romancable, for some reason.

As long as a new voice actor can convincingly mimic Jaesa (and the fact that it's been 6 years makes it easier to buy a voice changing) I don't care if the original VA resumes her role. I just want my LS Jaesa back )=

I believe it's Satele, she's already crazy and/or unreliable since KotEE

So is this the end of SWTOR? Unless SWTOR is willing to make two major divergent timelines----one where Acina dies and one where Malcolm dies -----or pull a Telltale when it comes to Determinant Characters (where Acina/Malcolm die in the next update), then they basically allowed players to kill of one of the last, capable leaders holding their faction together. In my case: The Empire's Wrath who has been defending and attempting to reform the Sith Empire for over 6 years now not only is influencing the reigning Empress, imprisoned a bloodthirsty and villainous Saresh, leads an advanced fleet, and is a beloved leader dedicated to rebuilding and aiding the known Galaxy in a post-KotET era, now witnessed the death of one of the Republic's last great leaders----who is now in a strong Alliance with the resurgent Sith Empire. Couple that with Hylo's ominous comments of a looming resource war and it gives the impression that the Galaxy can't afford this type of sustained warfare much longer, and that something has to give. And honestly after Malcolm's demise I don't see the Republic lasting much longer, with the former members breaking up into planet-states and massive secessionist movements forming. In the fallout of that, the Sith Empire would be the only dominant power left in the galaxy, merging with the Alliance at some point. If this patch is the penultimate patch of the game, I accept some of the developments in the story. Ever since the ending of KotET the story has been branching off in too many ways for a sustained/multi route narrative. Also the Cloaked Figure is totally Satele. She's like the only character that all classes have dealt with, and she's never been right in the head since she appeared in KotEE.

LS Stth (both Warrior or Inquisitor are capable of this) can not only save the Empire but redeem it. A darkside Sith character could work as long as they're a pragmatist in nature. I agree with others, a DS Consular could work depending on now it's role played.

Lol. OT/PT/GCW-era Sith and Jedi were both **** It sucks because even Darth "I'm the bad guy" Malak is more character. "Hey you! Force sensitive! You get to choose between following petty old men who are both terrible people -----Mace and Yoda-----in the Jedi Order, or Edge Personified-----Maul and Sideous in the Sith!" "What's that? You don't want to follow two dogmatic orders that are shadows of what they were in 3640 BBY? You want to put your talents serving the Empire or Rebellion? What's that? You want to fight alongside Thrawn or Ackbar? Well I got something better than that! Instead you have the option to be a jobber for Gallius Rax or that OC Wedge Antilles. " ....I forgot what I was ranting about. ...Oh right the PT/OT factions being terrible. Yup. Anyways, Dark, Light, who cares?! Let's make Zakuul Great Again!

DnD or not I reject the idea that the LS is inherently good or the DS is inherently bad. Whatever those alignments were originally written as is irrelevant, from what stories I've ready it's almost always the weak minded that get ensnared in by the influence of either in an unhealthy way. From what I've seen, in both the GCW era and TOR era there's been a consistent trope of religious zealots stealing babies. It's a whole different spectrum of retarded to me that parents would willingly give up their children. Characters like Temple, Guss, and EU Leia (maybe this applies to TFA Leia but I don't know enough about the NuCanon to confirm that either way) prove you can easily have normal, adjusted Republic/Imperials that have some degree of force sensitively, but have no exposure (and possibly no desire to be exposed) to the Jedi/Sith Codes. The idea that any large number of parents would give their children up just because they have an unusually high midichlorian count is even more ludicrous than the assertion DS must be evil and LS must be good. Actually I think the Fel Empire in the Legacy Era had Force Knights similar to Zakuul, but beyond that I can't think of any major examples of force sensitives being assimilated into the Galactic Republic/Empire/etc in a way that doesn't involve the Jedi and Sith. Weird. Though you make a good point-----you'd think the hyper-inflated sense of pride and arrogance among Jedi (You see this in KoTOR 2, Nomen Karr and Nomar Organna, Yoda and Mace Wyindu in the Prequels/OT, etc) In fact as much of a master manipulator as Sideous is made out to be, I doubt Anakin would have ever gotten to that point if Mace and Yoda didn't consistently antagonize Anakin at every opportunity. Also speaking of the prequels and a corrupt Republic on the verge of collapse, happy Election Day everyone!

I'd argue that as more to do with how you define what is good. Most things that'd I'd consider "pure good" (saving lives, making a medical breakthrough, etc) often come across in defiance of an evil environment or status quo. And again you could argue that all of those noble or pure good acts are corrupting "natural" status quo. But that's why GL fanboys claim the darkside is, and why it's so wickedly evil------disrupting the natural order, but never questioning that the natural order itself might be flawed, and deserving of corruption. Dark=/=Evil, and Light=/=Good. A Paladin or patriotic soldier can commit terrible murders and still believe themselves to be the hero----hell, even many countries can turn cold blooded killers into "light sided" heroes as long as they're in a uniform and aim at the right people. And a "dark sided" anarchist or leader can commit morally dubious actions in the eyes of society or an established moral viewpoint, yet their actions might save countless more lives or improve the lives of others in the short/long term, in ways that might not be obvious at first. If that defeatist, fatalistic way of thinking is that standard, is it so surprisingly why so many dark siders crop up at any given time? "Hey Padawan, I stole you from your parents as a baby, and the rest of your life will be as the tool of a corrupt and inept Republic. And eventually you'll die. But don't think of trying to change any of the many flawed things in your life or develop any sense of skepticism or proactivity------because that's the dark side :D:D"

I'm a fan of Star Wars as a setting and a number of people who try to do their own thing with it; just not the ravings of an old man who tried and failed to mix Eastern ideas with Western morality/religion/dogma. The darkside and the lightside exist to keep the other in check, and the idea that the dark side perverts and corrupts is as silly as saying that rain or sun corrupts----they're just elemental forces that people have to live with. The idea that GL or his cult of personality are any more right than my or anyone else's interpretation is silly.

To hell with what GL originally intended or currently thinks. He's not even part of the movies anymore, and honestly RotJ was the beginning of his downfall, not the prequels. I've always seen the Dark Side as a necessary count balance to the dogmatism and influence of the Light, emphasizing the material world and short term benefits rather than grand, obtuse understandings of patience and restraint. Most fanfics and even stories from the movies I've seen involving a character's """"fall""""' to the darkside involve characters who were already edgelords to begin with, in a society of lawful stupid characters like the Jedi-----whose arrogance and smugness alone make their destruction more cathartic than tragic-------have characters getting drunk on the darkside due to their own lack of self control more than the influence of the darkside itself. The Darkside provides a necessary balance in the force, just like the Light. You got to have 50:50

Capable leadership is more or less what the Dark Council is, and in the best circumstances that under the guidance of a capable Empress----which I have high hopes Acina wll be----it leads to a very promising future. At worst----well, you get Ilum's imperial campaign. I hope the Zakuulian onslaught was a wake up call for some of the more petty elements of the Sith Empire where idiots like Jadus are in the minority----or at least not in a position to have their own ambitions surpass the betterment of the Empire. To be honest, while she is the antagonist of the series, I think Saresh is the best thing to happen to the Republic. There are so many corrupt elements to it festering just below the surface---illegal dealings, countless super weapon projects that almost always backfire---and lawful stupid citizens and senators as far as the eye can see. The fact that patriots like Vanara Kayl are labeled as corrupt while actual warmongers like Godera and Var Suthra can get away scheming out in the open is insane. At least the Sith Empire is honest about what its----it's flaws and strengths. The duplicity and disorder of the Republic is infuriating. Maybe Saresh can't fix all of that but at the a firm hand can guide it better than a thousand prattling voices, each mindlessly stretching it in a thousand different directions.

There needs to be a NG+ where the player has the option Shadow of Destiny style where the the player can make a protagonist with all of the information from SWTOR through KoTET and preemptively kill off the big bads. Sith Warrior makes it out of Korriban 1. Immediately destabilizes Baras's power structure, while still imprisoning Vitiate on Voss to slow his plans 2. Defeats Noman Karr and recruits Jaesa and Quinn 3. Removes Baras from power before he even the SW even steps foot on Dromund Kass, 4. Takes s shuttle to the Unknown Regions, executes/redeems Thexan/Vaylin/Arcaan while they're still in 16 or whatever. 5. Goes to Belsavis and convinces the Star Cabal to execute Scorpio there. 6. Kill Saresh before her shuttle even arrives on Taris. 7. Find some way to perma kill a weakened Valky 8. Get Acina and Vowran to become Emperor and Empress of the Sith Empire mfw this all happens in the span of a few weeks. Hindsight bias would change the direction of so many stories in countless ways.

The saltiness is high in this forum. I can't believe people are actually complaining KoTOR 2-----one of the greatest games ever to be made----is not non canon if not outright throwing shade upon it. There were not levels of canon in the EU--------there was no barometer of sorts separating the Star Wars Christmas special from the Thrawn books from TFA------they were all canon and had their own unique take on the Star Wars setting. I can hear people rant and rave about how Genisys is a bad movie to then, but never how it's non canon. The hypocrisy of SWTOR fans in particular declaring what is or is not canon. After years of militant OT and PT fanboys ******** on this MMO for the very same reasons. Revan's child wasn't force sensitive, that was the main reason he wasn't targeted. I'm 99.99999999999%+ sure of that. And even so why would Bastila bring her child with upon a battle cruiser to Telos? What sense does that make? Do you have a bring your daughter to Afghanistan or Syria day in the army? To hell with what Lucas intended. He made a mess of his franchise in the prequels and no matter what JJ or Bioware or anyone else decides to do with the prequels, it's a welcome change. Chris Avellone did a great job with their noteworthy take on the Star Wars setting.

I will say that on a partially related note, the canon purge from some time ago is probably the best thing to happen to SWTOR. Perhaps the upcoming story events will actually give a satisfying ending to SWTOR's story. Maybe Valky is just the devs gifting the player with a cathartic ending to TOR. And if that's the case that's fine. I could even forgive Valky being more having a bigger case of multiple personality disorder than Revan

He's a monster and and the main villain of of the Old Republic Era, but his endgame seems a bit----well, fractured. Being the control freak and amoral dude that he is, Valky's machinations up until his death at the hands of the Jedi Knight and Sith Warrior story lines make sense. But with Ziost, it's almost like after he was reborn on Yavin 4 he was on bath salts or cocaine, before regaining composure by the beginning of the prologue of KotFE months later. And from that point onwards he didn't seem to have a clear goal. He just ended up pissing around and taunting the Alliance Commander from time to time. It's like he doesn't really have and endgame anymore. What is he trying to achieve from Ziost onward? Did the Dread Seeds that were stored there after that terrible side mission drive him insane temporarily? What are his motivations?

I want to romance Ghost Marr or Ghost Thexan.

The Anti-Arcaan weapons chapter was weird. I didn't like what they did with Satele. For a character who was one of the most ardent followers of the Light and the Jedi Code-----arguably at the expense of a healthy relationship with her son--------it didn't seem in character to have her become a Kreia-lite type of Grey Force Sensitive type character after the type skip. I mean she was the same character who essentially dismissed the Voss as fanatics during one of the story lines. It might have been interesting if they wrote her like Atris------where, when confronted with a terrible, increasingly bleak state of affairs in the Galaxy----doubles down on dogma and what's familiar to her. Spirit Marr was meh. If he has enough willpower to maintain a presence in the realm of the living, why not contact Lana, or Acina, or Vowran? Or any of the surviving Dark Council still in hiding? Was he bound to Satele regardless of his preference? Regardless it didn't feel like a departure of his character like Satele's did. Force users or not, it's weird to play----for instance----my Sith Warrior in KotFE. The Commander of the Alliance always felt like a leader, which is better suited for the Consular or Inquisitor. The Empire's Wrath always felt more like a servant of the Empire----or at other times a venerated protector of the Empire-----not a leader. Same with classes like the Bounty Hunter or Agent, with the latter's storyline lambasting force users 80% of the time.

Funny how the Sith Empire, drenched in free will, the embracing of emotions and hedonism and the Galactic Republic, upholding acceptance and co-existence of various alien races working together both aren't eager to accept gay/lesbian relations. Why can't DA2 be the norm and just make everyone bisexual by default? Yeah you could argue that's not realistic but neither is Cosmic Battle Mages Order (Jedi) and Chaos (Sith) duking it out for millennia.

What did the timeskip even achieve? Saresh is turning the Galactic Republic into an autocracy firmly leashed to her will, but that was already the case by Ziost. The Sith Empire is finally reorganizing under a united front under Acina, but that was arguably the case with Marr and potentially Imperius/Wrath pre-KotFE. Essentially it just puts the conflict between the two factions on pause while Zakuul just lords over the rest of the galaxy because Arcann willed it. It's not like anything has fundamentally changed. The timeskip didn't fundamentally change anything, except dismissing the LIs in favor of Leliara---er, I mean Lana.