So it's a good thing that both sorc/sage dps specs are now trash? Your logic eludes me on this.

It's the same old same old when it comes to devs and this game. Whenever they invoke "balance" they aren't really talking about true balance but their version of balance that conforms to some warped internal guideline that never leads to any kind of real game balance. But rather tends to lead to some classes loosing viability at all in endgame. When they say "balance" I start looking for the nerf bat to come out and be used in a massively overboard manner. And mebbe, just mebbe, months down the road they might...just might...roll back a wee bit of the nerfs while never actually admitting they screwed up.

Same thing here.

Pffffft...the changes to group finder have also screwed anyone that just wants to queue for some on the fly runs. As well as limiting the ops that can be done for rewards. 7.0 screwed over alot of play styles. Right now the only reason we're seeing pug groups forming alot for EV HM, KP HM, & Nefra MM farm is to farm gear, once that gear has been farmed by the majority of active players those pugs will dry up fast. S'ok though...VISION! S'all good though, PVP & GSF are excellent for high quick conquest and initial fast gearing. Too bad for me that I have zero interest in GSF & PVP.

Exactly the point. Group finder for FPS has been turned into a much more limited experience for all players, long time players as well as new players. And a new player who hasn't made friends in-game yet and just wants to get their feet wet with PVE group content Esseles/Black Talon is it. If we want a strong thriving game then we need choice that enhance the experienced player experience AND the newbie experience. Like with everything with this regressive mess of an xpack, it's all about limiting player choice. Limit the ops weeklies, limit the GF FPS available, limit the weekly heroics, etc.

Not for lowbies who are new to the game. Us old timers? Hell yeah...spacebar or drop. But for new players on their new lowbie toons doing the only FPs, the only PVE group conent, they can prior to level 50 having experienced players demand they spacebar, skip the story that's new to them, or get kicked. Bad all around, for us and for new players.

What I'm seeing now is people specifically declining GF FPs unless there's someone under level 50, they get Esseles/BT, announce that spacebar is required, then vote the lowbie out if they don't spacebar. It IS a fast easy FP as long as people spacebar. 7.0...annoyingly regressive changes, to take us back to the bad old days of 2.0.

Running 11 sorcs & 6 sages through conquest every week along with FP weeklies & ops with loot set for lightning/telekinetics and so far I've gotten 1 piece of Gathering Storm and 1 piece of Endless Offensive, both from renown boxes. Nothing beyond healing & generic set pieces from any other drops or types of crates. Granted, I had my Gathering Storm set done and mod'ed within the second week of 6.0...all pieces from the vendor. And I'm 5/7 Endless Offensive, and have my heal set done. But it's the principle of the thing. It's bloody annoying getting a constant stream of only sorc/sage specific gear being that which I haven't selected for, and generic set pieces. The same applies to my mercs. Heal specific gear and generic set pieces, never any dps specific gear. If role selection isn't working then turn the damn thing off and open it up to all roles.

Endless Offensive is the Dxun drop sorc/sage set, not Gathering Storm which is available from the vendor. Endless Offensive is not.

Define soon for EA's SWs license ending. It extends through 2023. It was a 10 year deal inked in 2013. And for those several years I see EA being content to let things go as is. Keep it profitable with minimal expenditures. So the same content trickle we've had for awhile with the splash of a bit more on ocassion. If that's enough for you, as it is for me, then enjoy it while it lasts. If not, then nobody should begrudge you moving on.

The key is to NOT worry about opitmizing at all until around 306 gear level is dropping for you. Always always use the highest gear level pieces available to you to get the highest possible gear drops. Hell, 276 drops in open world from randoms. Getting up to 306 drops is the easy part, it's the getting the right set & tactical for you & the class and then optimizing the amplifiers & augments that's the expensive & time consuming part, unless you have unlimited credits.

Not surprised by this change at all. Even the timing makes sense, even aside from the upcoming expansion. I was figuring it'd be no more than a couple of days before bug hunt was going to be filled with full conquest guild ops groups of 70's farming conquest points, on a ridiculous number of world maps. That's what I was expecting AND seeing some of the big conquest guilds talking about organizing to start doing. Hell, on my one new toon I was leveling up with bug hunt from 30 - 70 she earned 130k conquest. Just from xp, and full Bal & Galac rampages.

Ditto

Now that Socialite I & II are now working with all of the flashpoints for conquest, mebbe now fix the fact that Activity Finder: Flashpoints & Uprisings doesn't complete for many of the FPS from the random queue. Uprisings, yes. Flashpoints, sometimes. As an example, on one day I did 5 fps complete, from the full random group finder through to completion/turn-in. Athis twice, didn't count either time. Hammer Station, did count. Kuat did not count. Battle of Illum, did count. All five counted towards socialite 1 & 2. Either fix it or remove the dropped group timer penalty.

When this week's conquest has dailies for doing the Tython, Korriban, & Red Reaper FPs, which all do NOT count for Socialite when they pop in group finder...just wonderful.

Self explanatory. Many of the FPs...fully random, all FPs selected...are not counting towards the socialite I & II conquest objectives. Sometimes upon completion AND turn-in the activity finder objective pops, while no credit is given for the socialite objective.

It isn't on my end. It's also why you tend to see alot of people drop from some FPs as soon as it pops and they see which one it is. Usually...but not always...it's the FPS from I think Czerka on. The two Czerkas, SoR FPs, etc. Where they'll count for the random group conquest objective, but not towards the socialite I or II objectives.

More often then not successful flashpoint completion doesn't count for Socialite I & II.

Either fix the flashpoints so that they all count for conquest or remove the timer for leaving a flashpoint group.

All of the Critical Mission: World conquest objectives are for the heroic weekly, no matter what name it lists. All do able...once per legacy. Considering how badly they screwed up with 5.8 and other major patches in the past, I shudder to consider how horrific they could have made it if their goal had been to wreck the game...cause with their best effort and intentions they keep coming darned close any time they mess with any of the game's various systems.

I'd love to see the planning sessions for patches like 5.0 and 5.8. Cause honestly I just don't see how anyone in their right mind with even the least feel for the player-base here could have come to the decisions and made the design choices that the dev team did. For all intents and purposes they put a whole heck of alot of time and resources into breaking parts of the game that were obviously not broken, did not need anything beyond some minor tweeking, and then spent even more time and resources into gradually semi-fixing what they broke. The thinking behind these ridiculous design choices that break parts of the game just leaves me with a truly deep curiosity at the line of reasoning of the dev team. The only way it makes the least bit of sense to me is if they do not play the game and never have, they don't listen to the player base at all, and are just taking shots in the dark.

It's more like Disney wants out of it's contract with EA and Ea is giving 'em plenty of reason to, especially with the bad press from the loot box/pay to win blow up over BF.

The SWTOR dev team is not a part of some multi-million dollar company staff. Those people are all working on Anthem. What we have here is a tiny micro staff...that completely have no clue what their player base(ie. their customers) wants. Massively overworked/understaffed AND clueless is not a good combination.

Methinks the Bio brass won't give a damn cause it isn't about Anthem. Anthem was the death of the ME franchise, it'll be the death of SWTOR, and it'll be the death of Bioware.

Hmmmm, I wonder what QoL nerf is next? Cause that is the path they're on, little by little, systematically making the game unenjoyable.