Very mature. I could just as easily bash on the RPG parts, but the whole point is that while you're free to like one or the other (or both, for that matter), it's a major disappointment to have a mediocre version of both, instead of a great version of each.

An enormous amount of people are very enthusiastic about the direction that the new expansion is going. They played the daylights out of series like KOTOR, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age, and are geeked that SWTOR is including major elements of that nature, to continue the Bioware tradition. Another significant amount of people are more along the lines of traditional MMO fans, and feel that KotFE has focused on elements that they're less pleased with, at the expense of the features that they enjoy the most. Frankly, I wish EA / BW would've just made both games, doing justice to each niche, instead of what we have now. Don't get me wrong; many QoL aspects of 4.0 (and other recent patches) are fantastic, and I really like the story in SWTOR, particularly the 1-50 and the Dread Masters saga. I even like many parts of the tale they're telling in the expansion (just starting Chapter 7 at the moment, so I haven't seen it all, to be able to comment on the later parts). I'm just NOT AT ALL a fan of the vehicle they're using for telling that story. I'd honestly rather just pick up text quests from a daily hub than watch 2 minutes of a movie, then kill 3 easy mobs, then repeat over and over. But my point isn't to bash on KotFE, because the people that like the changes are equally entitled to their opinion. It's that while things like ops / PvP / conquest / stronghold decoration are all side aspects to the game, that people can either do or not do, the approach to the storyline is what really defines the game, and it's very unfortunate that they took a game that launched as a mess of an MMO, then tried to "kinda" turn it into an RPG, while still "kinda" keeping the MMO parts. It just feels like they're doing both halfway, instead of making the KOTOR 3 that the RPG fans really want, and going full-bore on the MMO that traditionalists want. Is it so wrong to want these two different games, each in all its glory, instead of the patchwork compromise we have? I mean, just as it wasn't fair to the "RPG crowd" to have to run DF/DP to see the full Dread Masters storyline in the 2.0 cycle, now it's not fair to the "MMO crowd" to sit through 10 hours of interactive YouTube, instead of actually questing in an open environment. Oh well. It's obviously not going to change, at least for the time being, but I do wish that the fundamental nature of the game could've been separated into two titles, so each legitimate camp could've gotten the game they really wanted. As it stands, I've gone from, "Maybe I'll sub again next spring" to, "Not happening until the next level cap increase." Life goes on, I guess...

The limit is still 16, unfortunately, but any characters above 16 will not be deleted. You will simply be forced to choose which 16 you have access to until you subscribe again. You will need to click "Activate" on any characters you want to use, up to 16, and any remainder will be inactive as long as you're Preferred. Personally, I think it's ridiculous that they do this even with unlocks you purchase, but that's the current system.

See, I interpreted "standard CM refresh" as being around 1pm this afternoon. I guess we'll know in a few hours, but I gotta imagine that, whenever they release, the GTN prices will be just crazy.

Patch Notes confirmation Should be VERY interesting to see the CC cost, but my oh my, the credits these things will go for...

Actually, at the time I created this thread, the FAQ said 14. When Eric responded that it was a typo, he meant that it was a typo on THEIR part, not mine. They ended up correcting the FAQ wording, based on the multiple inquiries they received. But the minor clarification would still be nice, in that the site states: "If you’re a preferred player, the number of active characters you may have per server has been INCREASED to 16." (CAPS added by me) The word INCREASED seems to suggest, not the continuation of the current practice (6 free slots + 10 purchased slots = 16 total), but that they might be outright giving away a total of 16 slots for preferred accounts. If that's the case, that's quite generous, and I no longer need to purchase any character slots, but like I said, some clarification would be nice. Although at this point, I'm betting that I'll just find out next Tuesday, and either use the slot I recently purchased, and slowly grab another handful to reach 16, or enjoy the freebies, and put a character slot on the GTN.

Thank you very much for the response. Thumbs up for keeping it at a ceiling of 16. But to be specific, does this mean that all accounts who are not subscribers will have a ceiling of 16, without purchasing unlocks? Or will the current setup remain (6 + up to 10 purchased)? I'm ok with it either way, but I wanted to know before I buy any additional character slots.

But the 12 active per server for preferred simply isn't true. 12 is the limit for F2P accounts. It works like this: F2P starts with 2. Preferred starts with 6. Subs start with 12. And ANY of those options can buy up to 10 more slots. You can never subscribe a day in your life, spend $5 in the CM, start with 6 slots, and buy your way (either via CC or GTN) all the way to 16 RIGHT NOW. So no, I haven't found a loophole, because my first subscription ever was for these last 60 days leading into the expansion, and I bought all those extra slots before I ever subscribed. Hopefully we can get a gold post soon to at least clarify things.

Please read it again. It specifically states that EVEN WITH UNLOCKS AND INSTANT 60's, you cannot go above 14 active characters per server as preferred.

Bingo. I have no objection whatsoever over preferred accounts getting fewer character slots than subs. It's that the convenience acquired via real money is now (seemingly) being taken away. If subs can now go up to 40, it's clearly not a capacity issue, so why the change? Heck, I'd rather they drop the base value of preferred down to 2, like it is for F2P, and make us buy 14 slots, rather than just hard cap it at 14, and effectively steal 2 away from anybody who had already maxxed out.

http://answers.ea.com/t5/STAR-WARS-The-Old-Republic/FAQ-Knights-of-the-Fallen-Empire/m-p/4832777#U4832777 On the official FAQ board, we have this excerpt: 15. If I have 22 characters on a server now, will I still be able to create a Start at level 60 character? Yes, you will. We have increased the maximum number of character slots available to subscribers to 40 per server. When you purchase a Start at Level 60 character you automatically receive a server slot unlock with it. When you reach the new maximum of 40 characters per server you will no longer be able to purchase or use additional Start at Level 60 characters. Note: If you’re a preferred player, the number of active characters you may have per server has been increased to 14. You cannot have more than 14 active characters on a server even with purchased unlocks or Start at 60 characters. So assuming this isn't a typo, you're saying that, even if you've paid (via CC or credits through the GTN) for maxxing out your character slots, once the expansion hits, active subs can have up to 40 characters per server, but if your sub lapses, you drop, not to 16 as preferred has been until now, but to 14, and you can't even keep all 16 advanced classes active? That seems a bit harsh, especially for items that cost actual money. Leveling alts in this game is based around multiples of 4. We have 4 class buffs, 8 basic classes, and 16 advanced classes. So why on earth - again, assuming that this isn't a typo - would we go from 16 as the current maximum for preferred, to 14 in the expansion? They're making it sound like it's a buff, when it's actually reducing the hard cap. Not cool, man. Not cool.

The other question is, will world bosses have a loot system like the tactical flashpoints? Say your level 65 toon travels to Tatooine. You're syncced to level 30 or so, and you join an ops group to take down the world boss. Will that provide level 30 loot, or level 65 loot? If it's the former, nobody's going to run them. If it's the latter, the quality of said loot could make world boss farming a great alternative to grinding comms for getting your "pre-ops" starter gear.

Yes, but my question is, is it safe to say that, under your examples, that Jaesa would be a melee tank and Raina would be a ranged tank? I would guess that was tied to main hand as well, but I didn't think it was ever specified.

Currently there are companions that are ranged tanks, melee tanks, ranged dps, and melee dps. (Of course there are healers as well, but for this question, they don't apply.) But in the expansion, each companion has the capability of performing any given role. How will the tank and dps roles work, in terms of ranged vs melee? For example, will all tanks be melee and all dps be ranged, or will the role we have seen in them in before translate (i.e., if Companion X had formerly been only ranged dps, then he will now be either ranged dps, ranged tank, or healer)? I can't imagine we'll get the customization to choose melee tank, ranged tank, melee dps, ranged dps, or healer. If they force each role to a particular distance, it will be strange, seeing Kaliyo as a melee tank, or Khem Val as ranged dps. Perhaps it will be based on weapon type, but we'll see, I guess...

Cool! Ya learn something new every day...