While we realize that there are the rare exceptions such as yourself who have managed to be the absolute best at every element of the game, and enjoy all facets of it, I remain completely baffled where all your misplaced hostility is coming from. If you truly are someone who participates in all elements of the game and enjoys them all equally, then no matter what form of new content is implemented, you win. You get what you like. In contrast, there are many players who are nowhere near your amazing level, who play far fewer hours and only involve themselves in one or two areas of the game. If those areas are neglected, those players leave. You may feel that a marketing approach that encourages paying customers to "go play a different game" sounds like a great idea, but the Bioware/EA marketing team does not seem to agree that the slogan of "Star Wars: GO PLAY A DIFFERENT GAME!" is what is going to be the most profitable. Instead, they are trying to appeal to the largest number of players possible, to build a player base and make money. It's some complicated business metrics that probably are fairly confusing, but in short, telling your paying customers to go away is generally considered a bad idea. I've been sub'd since launch. Recently they did their "Subscriber Appreciation" thing that gave new players and re-subs two bonus companions, but gave people like me nothing. You know why they can neglect me? Because I've already proven that I'm not going anywhere. I'm the old dog laying in the back yard that you no longer have to pet or play with; I stick around because of habit. You are the sort of customer they do not have to cater to, because you claim to enjoy and participate in everything, and do it to the extreme. So they can focus on customers who are far more picky, and no matter what they do, you get something that you're going to, probably better than anyone else on the server.

Honestly, if they had Companion Bundles in the Cartel Market where we just pay our 3-5K CC and get a single conversation Alliance Alert for a character, plus access to that character as a companion if we did not previously have them (unlocking Risha for non-smugglers, for example), I would buy literally every one of them. Well, except Scourge. I really, really hate Scourge.

Well, my favorite playthrough of the Sith Inquisitor, I played intentionally naïve. When I met Zash, I was so grateful at being elevated from horrific slavery and being placed into a position of actual respect (and, dare say it, authority) that I actively worshipped Zash and did everything she told me to do without every questioning or doubting her. It was fun. When left to my own devices, I trended towards pitying the poor, because of my slave upbringing, resulting in defending the underdog and the downtrodden. In contrast, when rich, bossy, or arrogant people defied me, I relished in the chance to get some misplaced vegenance, striking down 'the type of people who used to own me'. It made for a balance of Dark and Light in choices where the character makes sense, instead of just worshipping the white sun or the red triangle to the point that decisions seem too disjointed to fit for a single person. And my own little Zash hero-worship allowed for some fun twists in the story when certain plot points unfolded.

Say WHAT? I knew that Darkside Jaesa was returning, but I assumed that when that was announced, it was just Darkside Jaesa coming first, with Lightside Jaesa returning down the road. Have they seriously decided that, for a companion that is doing the class-specific return only, they won't bother to return the version that half of us chose? I always play my characters the way I envision them, and let the alignment chips fall where they may. My first Warrior ended up with DS Jaesa, and I rarely used her because she had this nutso "impractical evil" attitude. Basically everything about the Dark Council that I don't like: murder your own people out of the joy of doing things that are bad, or whatever. She never fit with my more pragmatic Warrior who ended up Dark just by virtue of killing his enemies rather than letting them go. LS Jaesa, on the other hand, was an excellent compliment to my second Warrior, and ended up being my level 48 go-to companion. My second time around I played a Warrior who was always trying to build contacts, to have a network of spies and assistants who he could trust, hidden throughout the galaxy. And LS Jaesa was an apprentice whom my Warrior always felt he could trust. She would do whatever he said, and had none of the plotting, scheming garbage of so many other Sith. It was almost like having a mole inside the Jedi Order. LS Jaesa was excellent and I played with her by my side non-stop until Knights of Knightly Nights. If she is seriously never returning, I will probably forego the Alliance Alert for Dark Jaesa and just use the Companion Return Terminal to get my LS version back. Forget that noise. They cannot ruin my favorite companion on my main character. I've spent over 100 million credits on Jaesa's outfit alone.

I personally find myself believing that between the approach of Knights of the Knightly Nights versus the original open world planets, and the addition of the "Story Mode" flashpoints as an alternative to grouping, I'm inclined to believe that Bioware realized some time ago that a significant amount of their player base was essentially KOTOR/Mass Effect fans who were far more interested in the Star Wars IP or the Bioware storylines than they ever were the socializing of an MMO. I know there are also plenty of Star WoW fans who enjoy the MMO element, but the game does already seem to be strongly trending in a new, more solo-friendly direction. I think what you're going to find is that the Multiplayer focused players, the ones who like the MMO side of the game, are more likely to subscribe because things like Ops require it. While the solo players, like the original poster and myself, are more inclined to buy Cartel Coins and make purchases from the store. A hardcore raider doesn't necessarily care about having a fancy new Adaptive Armor appearance, especially when it requires credits to rip all the mods out of their raid drops and teir gear. In contrast, the solo player cares a whole heck of a lot more about how their armor looks than what the stats on it are. Do I think they need to present more for the "solo players"? Yeah. I think there are just huge missed opportunities. They could be selling 'Alliance Alerts' that amount to a conversation with a popular NPC and then unlocking them as a companion. As much as the random Nexu or Voreclaw or Droid makes a cool companion, the solo players would pay through the nose for a chance to grab up someone like Jonas Balkar or Servant One or Cypher Eight or whoever.

If something like this were a thing, I'd be willing to be pay a lot more than 2K cc. There a piles of NPCs that I would want to recruit (Ava Jaxo for literally every Trooper I have would be first on the list). There are even generic companions I would want to make, like a Gamorrean Lightsaber user, or a Vette that uses an Assault Canon so I can equip ol' Spewie. I also accept that certain NPCs wouldn't be viable, like Hutts that don't have attack animations that can be cloned in from the default bodytypes. As an alternative, if the 'cloning' mechanism is too difficult, I would be equally happy with a Build-A-Companion token, where you just buy a generic "Lightsaber user" "Dual Pistols" "Sniper" whatever token, and then customize them the same way you would a PC, provided it also allows for a few of those alien races that aren't playable (IE: Natalauns, Gamorreans, Wookies, and the like). There are just a ton of companions I would be willing to pay for. Even if they're silent, this is a cash cow that would get a non-stop flood of money from me.

Revan Reborn armor set Tythion Polesaber Senya's Polesaber At least 7-8 different dyes. 1 lightning tuning Some crazy looking Lightsaber I don't remember the name of. I did some work polishing up my look for my Warrior's best two companions: Jaesa and Lord Struction. hehe.

And since Vik didn't return to our Alliance, even for the Troopers, there is a sad little hole in the shape of a Demolitions Expert that is just waiting for Fuse to return home.

I always wanted to have a Holiday-esque relationship where my Agent falls madly in love with SCORPIO. And after Knights of Knightly Nights, I find my Imp Agent only respects and admires SCORPIO that much more.

The more I muse on this, the more I think it could really work. The default purchase would be a generic companion just basically setting their weapon choice (Rifle user, Dual Pistols, Lightsaber, etc.) Then they would have something similar to the appearance changer machine for characters. Equip your companion and hop in, and you can build them to the normal constraints of your character building (so essentially each and every change you make ends up costing you a little bit more CC). They could even sell unlocks for species that normally aren't allowed as playables but have been allowed as companions, since they don't have to worry about voiceovers in cutscenes or the ability to speak Galactic Basic. Want to make a Wookie Companion? Pay your 1000CC to unlock Wookie, and get the 5 or so Wookie models that are in the game as an option. Want a Gamorean? An Illithorian? An Ewok? Just pay your Companion Species unlock cost and then make one with the limited visual graphics available in game already (with very little customization actually being viable for these normally barred races). You could even take species like the Voss that have a lot more customization in the game already, and sell packs of additional customizations for them (the way they do Mirialan facial markings and Chiss hair colors for players). Basically turn it into a huge cash-cow where you pay piles of credits to finally perfect your companion exactly how you want them. So that finally characters have the option of running around accompanied by a Voss Commando with an Assault Cannon, or a Rodian Jedi, or a Sullustan law-man, or of recreating their favorite Alt or NPC in order to run around with someone they headcanon into their adventures. I used to think they'd just eventually sell the Rodian/Gamorrean/Sullustan/Mon Calimari/etc heads as an adaptive helmet so you could have a static, non-mouth-moving alien face to pretend with, but with the new push towards larger numbers of companions, I think a customizable companion would pretty well fill that nitch.

I'm still holding out for a Prison style stronghold on Belsavis. Especially if the layout includes one room that has individual cells where we can place Companions/NPCs to have them appear to be locked up.

I wish that that were true, but given that the whole goal of this seems to be to encourage people to sub by 04/03/18, I really can't imagine them keeping a bonus secret that might have brought in extra subs, nor do I think they're going to announce something extra tomorrow, the day before the deadline. I'm pretty sure they just assume those subscribers are already subbed anyway, and going to stay subbed no matter what, so we do not deserve to be included in the thank you.

Jonas is a good choice, though personally from the Trooper story, I would want Ava Jaxo. I've run nine Troopers through the vanilla story, and every one of them saves Jaxo, and curses the Republic for trying to tell me to abandon her. "This is just like on Ando Prime!" Additionally in the Trooper story, I would take Fuse in a heartbeat. The more Troopers I level, the more I am convinced that the original Havoc Squad was justified in their actions. Other memorable vanilla characters are the ever-popular Thana Vesh from the Imperial Taras planetary arcs, or a one-handed Overseer Tremmel from the Warrior story.

I'd still buy dozens. My Trooper would be working with Ava Jaxo after saving her. Probably a Tavus and Fuse as well, rebuilding the old Havoc Squad after the Republic tried to abandon me to die as well. My Warrior would get a Thana Vesh. Many of my characters would use my alts as their companions. In fact, I honestly think if I had the ability to create my own companions, I doubt I would ever run with any of the vanilla or Knights of Knightly Nights companions again. I'd just constantly be making my own perfect companions to compliment my headcanon solo stories.

I do prefer the Veteran Rewards system over the "Only New Subscriber Rewards", but I guess that's because I most frequently find myself on the 'Veteran' side of things as a subscriber. I'm the type of guy who will let a subscription continue to pull out of my debit card even if I'm not playing a game (I was subbed to DCUO for over a year without even having it installed on the new computer). It would have been awesome if this was "You get Shae!" If you've already got Shae, "You get Nico!". If you've already got Nico, "You get Jakarro!" [Or any other random NPC they might feel like adding]. Instead, it's "Thank you, subscribers. Except you there, who paid the most money. We won't be thanking you because we know you're going nowhere."

I've been subbed since launch. I'm one of those guys. Worse still, I'm one of the type who stays subbed, even when I might take a break for a few months of not playing, because I'm on the 90 day renewing subscription and I always think "Meh. I'll be back sooner or later." Makes no difference to me if other people get Shae and Nico. Being perfectly honest, I actually thought that Nico was a companion everybody got through the Alliance Alert, and the subscriber reward was just getting access to him at level 1. Shows how much I pay attention. I don't think that there is some sort of special snowflake entitlement that subscribers are owed more than what we paid for. We paid for the gameplay time, and we got it. If we didn't like the benefits, we wouldn't have paid for it. But it still sits a little discouragingly for me when "Thank you to all our subscribers" actually means "Thank you to recent re-subscribers and new players, but longterm supporters are to be ignored and taken for granted." I didn't ask for anything special, but if you wanted to give out 'thank you's, it would have been nice if my couple thousand bucks got me included as well.

I already have Shae. I already have Nico. I already have the rebuilt HK-55. It does not bother me if they want to give them out to other people. Heck, it doesn't even have to be a special promotion. Even if they just added them to the Alliance Alerts for everyone, I wouldn't complain. I am somewhat disappointed, however, that for the big thank-you to subscribers where 2 companions are being given away for free, I receive nothing. I'm not angry. I'm not raging. I'm not threatening to quit. I am mildly disappointed. Because I am one of those rare subscribers who just lets my subscription renew every 90 days, and has been since the game launched. When the subscriber rewards offer nothing for the people like me, the longterm subscribers who have always been loyal to the game, it makes me feel as though I am taken for granted. Not that I deserved something extra, but that they went to the effort of offering something up for subscribers that by it's very design ignores their most loyal, faithful, longterm supporters. Sort of like "Hey, team. We really should show our subscribers some love. Let's give them a bonus to let them know how much we appreciate them. Except the longterm guys. They can bugger off, because we know they're not going anywhere." Considering these characters already exist in game, and use the same recycled moves pulled from the generic list of companion moves, and have no real dialogue participation (or even likes/dislikes from conversations), they take essentially no effort to add to the game. This could be done with literally any of the hundreds of existing models in the game. We could have been offered Jakarro. Or Tora. Or Vaylin. Or whoever. Characters that already had models in the game, so it takes no additional work, and who can follow us around as a silent companion, and get blocked for entire chapters any time it contradicts the story (the way Shae gets blocked for all of Rishi). I don't care if they want to rerelease stuff; I'm not some special snowflake who wants exclusive stuff that nobody else can touch. But it would be nice if when they said "Thank you to our subscribers", it actually applied to ALL the subscribers.

If we're going back to Imp vs Pub, then I hope there are faction swap opportunities at the end of the Alliance. I want to be able to follow my favorite companions, and I've already chosen to turn against my original faction on certain characters. I like the Merc/Trooper gameplay, and all my friends are Imperial, but the Assault Cannon looks about a million times cooler than the pistols. I say Tavus was right, Havok got betrayed by the Republic, and I'm jumping ship to join the Empire.

Personally, I think it should be shaped by your story decisions. I am fine if not all of the Valkorian family can be saved. In fact, I think it would be a pretty hokey story if they all could. But, if you kill Arcann and kill Senya, and never accept Valkorian's power, then by the time you have your showdown with Vaylin, it would be awesome to have her agree with you about the need to destroy her family. To heck with redemption; she remains there as a Dark Side choice that, if you slaughter her family, she will actually step down from the throne in order join forces with you and fight Valkorian in the mindscape. If you give Vaylin what she wants, the severed heads of each of her family members, then she is happy to live life as your ruthless enforcer, instead of being tied to the throne when she has no interest in politics.

For me, I always look at the direct competition. If I want something in the game, I'm probably going to get it. The question is just how am I going to get it. It's similar to the question I run into when an item I like gets released in a pack. Maybe I'll buy packs, but more frequently I find I will smart-shop the GTN, while waiting for it either to be posted at a reasonable price, or go on direct sale through the Cartel Market. While I will pay real-life money for an item, I very rarely want to pay a larger sum of money, obtaining dozens of items that I don't want from a Hypercrate, and then mess around waiting periods on the items and juggling stuff through the mail while I try and unload all the excess into the GTN. Unless it is something that I feel a strong need to have immediately, I rarely try to get an item directly from the packs. The same principle applies with the unlock costs. I have probably a dozen characters/companions using Covert Energy Gloves. Every single one of them was purchased through the GTN because, even though I have them unlocked in the Collections, their cost is generally low in the GTN while it's fairly pricey to unlock the suit through collections. I find that is frequently the case. I have the item in collections, but when I want another copy, the cost in the collections is just so high that it's not worth unlocking in that manner, when compared to picking it up off the GTN. Now, if I were one of those people who needs a ton of Black/Black Dyes, I would probably do that through Collections, because the GTN prices are just ridiculous. It's always weighing out all options for competition. I'll put money into the game (renames and appearance changer have swallowed up hundreds of dollars), but I won't use that Collections thing and spend $10 unlocking an item that I could get for 400K credits on the GTN. I mean, that Cartel Market is always going to be in direct competition with the GTN, and in most cases, the GTN player-driven economy is far closer to reality.

I would be happy with an item that just scans and dupes an appearance. That way you can make "companions" out of your other characters, and really play toward the idea of a whole Legacy of characters who are involved with each other. No need for companion conversations with them or anything. Strictly just a silent companion to follow you around for your own enjoyment. I'd drop hundreds of dollars into it so that every character could actually run with the companion I want them to have.

I wouldn't say that. With my main Warrior, when I was first betrayed by Quinn, my Husband, who had pledged his love and loyalty to me above all others, I elected to interpret my character as hurt and spurned. He betrayed me, and while I managed to move past that and even allowed him to stay on my ship for some reason, I never fully felt as though I could trust him again. Acina made a mistake sending Quinn. I had always been faithful to the Empire, but when I was faced with lobbying arguments between Quinn and Dorne, I took a serious look at both sides, because that instant gut-reaction was 'Do NOT Trust Quinn'. Quinn's argument was that Acina had already allied with us once previously. Dorne's argument was that Acina had moved, behind our back, in an attempt to secure a superweapon that could be used against us while intentionally hiding it from us, which certainly makes it sound like a betrayal in the works. I furthered the discussion with Quinn by calling him out for being a traitor. I made it clear that I could not trust him, and as result, that made it difficult to trust the supposed deal he was bringing from the Empire. He apologized for his treachery and swore that he would never betray me again, no matter what, claiming it was his greatest life's regret. I put that allegiance to the test, announcing I would back the Republic. Thirty seconds after swearing he would never betray me again, Quinn detonated bombs within my Alliance Command Center, attempting to kill me for a second time. The man had literally just pledged that he would never betray me again. And that lying piece of filth had done it, cool as a cucumber, while fully aware that the Empire had already hidden explosives in my command center. Whether it was Quinn who personally placed them there, or someone else, we'll never know for sure. What we do know, however, is that Quinn was 100% aware of them and was holding the detonator. He knew that the Empire had every intention of betraying me, and he looked me in the eyes AGAIN, and lied to me, claiming he would never betray me, only to make an attempt on my life literally seconds later. Turns out my Warrior's gut reaction was right. Quinn wasn't a faithful soldier with a crisis of conscience. He's a lying traitor, who will say or do anything in order to advance his own career. His treachery knows no end. Not surprisingly, when Acina died and Quinn realized he had backed the wrong horse in this fight, he then claimed to have abandoned the Empire and claimed how he still loved me and wanted to join my Alliance, an easy claim to make when once again he backed the person plotting my demise and once again I outlived them. Except this time, I didn't just forgive him and let him plot towards betrayal number three. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, impaled on lightsaber. If Acina had sent Pierce or Talos or Temple or heck, even if she would have just had Beniko ask me to side with her, I would have backed the Empire in a heartbeat. But she sent the one man who would raise the red flags and let me know that there was treachery in the works. I did not betray the Empire. I caught the Empire in the process of betraying me. People can claim it makes no sense to do it five years after his first betrayal, but I spent those five years frozen in carbonite. To me, these wounds are still fresh. To me, Quinn betrayed me a matter of weeks ago, I cut him a second chance, and then he's right there again, plotting against my life. For the Warrior at least, if there is one thing that is unbelievable in this story, it's the option to forgive Quinn yet again. It should be 1) Kill, 2) Torture, 3) Imprison for Life. For somebody who just tried to kill me for a second time, lying right to me face, "Dump Theron and make out with Quinn" was not an option that was remotely entertained.

I respect both sides of this, but you can count me amongst the number who would be willing to pay money in order to obtain certain companions with certain characters. I want to reunite Risha and Vette (without having to be a Smuggler). This was a huge missed opportunity. I want my Jedi Knight to take Ashara and LS Jaesa under his wing, rather than leaving them in the hands of the Sith. There are just certain combinations that I would be willing to pay for, that at first I never thought were possible (and then I had my hopes raised for, only to be dashed once again). I do not expect new cutscenes or extra dialogue or any additional effort to go into them. I would be happy just getting them in their as-is state. Heck, half the reason is just so that when I'm visiting my stronghold, I never have to see a companion converted into a Hologram. It looks stupid to see a Hologram locked up inside my jail cells.

Trooper: This is my favorite class, and it's so hard to narrow it down. I've played 6 Troopers through and developed a great love for all companions except Yuun. But if I have to narrow it down to just the favorite, it would be Tanno Vik. Tanno Vik on Belsavis is some of the funniest stuff in the entire game. Smuggler: Risha Drayen. Smuggler has some good ones, but Risha fits so seamlessly into the Smuggler's story arriving first as a contact, then a plot point, and later a close, personal companion. The connection between the Smuggler and Risha makes so much more sense and fits so much better than any of the others. Sorry Guss, I love you, but Risha wins. Jedi Knight: Lord Scourge. It'd be a toss-up between Scourge and Kira, but I give it to Scourge. He is one of the most interesting companions in the game, and he is especially fun to have whispering evil temptations in your ear while you're playing a Jedi that is NOT exclusively dark. Hearing his reactions really does give a more compelling argument. Jedi Consular: Ugh. The Consular was a story I found boring as sin. Qyzen was probably the best of the companions, though I would have enjoyed him even more on a Bounty Hunter. Only Nadia actually seemed to make any sense for the Consular, and much like the Consular himself, Nadia was pretty boring. Sith Warrior: Oooo. Tough call. I love Vette. I love LS Jaesa. But I think Pierce cements it as my favorite. From the beginning, the guy just drips testosterone, as this ultimate bad-dude. While the Warrior ultimately climbs toward the Dark Counsel, Pierce is the kind of guy who could command the legions of Imperials at the Warrior's fingertips. Sith Inquisitor: Ugh. The only story I found less enjoyable as the consular. It gets mitigated a bit though by actually having a few fun companions that fit well with the story. Ultimately, I think a Zash-possessed Khem Val is the best choice, both for being interesting and so thoroughly interwoven with the Inquisitor's story. Bounty Hunter: Mako. Mako is the perfect Bounty Hunter back-up. Having Mako by my side fan-girling out makes me feel like a real, accomplished Bounty Hunter. If your goal is to be a bounty hunter who hunts bounties, and not just an Imperial Soldier outside the chain of command, or a Psychotic Killer without scruples, then Mako is the perfect companion to supplement your story. Imperial Agent: SCORPIO. A companion so awesome, the game defaults her name in all caps. As a super-spy, Kaliyo's 'blow junk up' attitude is far from subtle and seems like the only thing it would blow is your cover. Vector as a Killik modified human is as distinctive as possible for a character who's whole goal is to blend in. Once word gets around "We had a spy. It was the dude with the Killik", that seems as though he'd be nothing but a liability. Same with Lokin. I like Lokin, but having a Rakghoul running around with me is just too alarming for my Agent's to maintain his cover. So it comes down to Temple or Scorpio. Temple suffers from boring-companion-syndrome, but Scorpio, the unassuming droid, looks as though she could move anywhere without drawing attention, and yet be amazingly useful in every situation. As a super-spy extraordinaire, Scorpio will always be my companion of choice.

I never romance Corso. His hillbilly-ness annoys me. I never forgive or am kind to Quinn after his betrayal. Forget that guy. I never play a character who uses a pole-saber. I hate the way they look. My Consulars and Inquisitors are lightning/pebble throwers and healers. I always bring Tanno Vik on Belsavis to save the Hawkeyes, and punch that criminal they are escorting. It leads to a hilarious exchange where Vik then one-ups me by beating the heck out of the guy, and it just cracks me up every time. Things I did "wrong" once and then always do the other way now: After sacrificing Ava Jaxo once, five consecutive Troopers have all chosen to save her. I'll never let her die again. After getting a Dark Jaesa once, three further Warriors have all gone Light Jaesa. She seems to be far more rational and easy to work with than Dark Jaesa. After romancing Skavik once (just to annoy Corso), I'll never play another character who gets space-STDs again.