There is obviously a lack of understanding on your part. Is companion X or Y alive or dead? It doesn't matter as they cannot / will not be a part of anything that follows because the possibility of the false choice precludes them from participating in anything further. Was the Agent that skipped to Iokath light sided? It doesn't matter as every skipped choice will be assumed dark, even though that character would never do anything of the sort. Was the silly Outlander a Knight, Inquisitor, Agent, etc? It doesn't matter because it was only 1 and can always not be any class you choose. Assume the character / crew had nothing to to do with it and was basket weaving in a cave on Taris. Let me decide / fill in whatever blanks as to why they were completely removed from galactic events for X years and don't force false choice. Set the assumption of choice (aka software ) to Ghandi and non-participation. You seem to also assume that disdain for the poor quality and worst possible implementation of systems/anything of near par quality since October 2015 is somehow is getting "worked up" when it's more like expressing this camel doesn't need any more straws added to the haystack on his back. The lack of funding already evident doesn't need less drops in the financial bucket by driving away more players than it already has. "Don't like it? Too bad." is more than a small factor in the decimation of the game's population and the current sad state of affairs.

No, it most certainly does not. It applies the stench, and removes what minuscule amount of choice there is the whole putrid ordeal by assuming blanket alignment choice based on starting faction as though light side Empire and dark side Republic characters never existed. Screws neutral / balanced characters into non-existence and mutes / breaks companions. Having absolutely nothing to do with that whole vomitous package entirely is the only way to preserve any fun left in a character. I'm at the point that I do not care at all for any explanation as to why those characters / crews weren't there and didn't get splashed with the buckets of nerf crap that was that painful, horrific experience of 4.0 and beyond, just as long as the taint isn't applied at all.

Anything that follows has to start with a "My crew and I were in no way involved and remain untainted by the stench of KotFE/ET" option or it might as well not exist. Nothing is worth inflicting that garbage on the 92.7% of my characters that I never touched it with. Characters that had it inflicted on them have had all hints of fun completely sucked out of them.

It's the game itself warning you that all content beyond is a burning bag of bantha crap.

4.0. It was one of the complete lack of QA release issues that came with 4.0 that I'm thankful for everyday. It helped keep me from leaping into new content right away, like I always had before, and stopped me from ruining more than 7.8% of my characters with the KotFE/ET taint.

Future content needs a "No way in hell did this character or crew have anything remotely to do with anything KotFE/ET related." option. If it doesn't have one it might as well not exist as inflicting KotFE/ET on any character sucks it completely dry of personality and fun.

You just know the mere existence of this thread will be misused/misunderstood as a "metric" for the resounding success of the conquest revamp.

Basically this.

The last time this thread came up in October, I had 525 days and 17 hours starting from March 2013. I probably now have 525 days and 22 hours. Lack of direction and a level of competence that cause you to question how they get into the office, since no one seems to have the mental faculties to operate something as complex as a doorknob, have completely sucked dry the well of hope I had.

Given track record, if the stated goal was "stat squish" you can surely expect extreme stat ballooning. They excel at delivering the opposite of stated intent.

A beginning that allows characters and crews to have never had anything to do with, and are untainted by the stench of, KotFE/ET. Otherwise the content might as well not exist. Any character inflicted with KotFE/ET had all of the fun sucked out of them. I thank the standard complete lack of QA for the absolute mess made on 4.0 release, else I'd have lept into new content asap and ruined more characters.

Story got derailed into an uncreative, low quality ditch, which tainted the universe. The mechanics change based on whatever metric they are currently misinterpreting. Grab your wallet and run, or stay for the constant crushed hopes if that tickles your inner masochist.

The person who greenlit KotFE/ET?

They liked the idea? That's a laugh. Why haven't they done anything the 6 million times this thread comes up? People have been asking for it since Stronghold implementation in the 2.0 era, you know, back when they had resources and a team. If it does happen now, it'll be like any QoL "improvement" over the last 2.5 years and bring with it so much crappy change baggage as to negate any positive you may feel about it..

Unless there is an option to continue having absolutely no connection to KotFE/ET, it cannot be saved for me. Any character I tainted with that fiasco had all the fun sucked out. Last October there was a thread asking how much you had /played time. At the counting of that thread I had 525 days and 17hours. I would be surprised if I've added a full day of hours since the merges and know I haven't even logged in in a month. Right now I'd be much more satisfied with all the good money I've thrown after bad for the sake of hope if there had been absolutely NO development at all.

I've never seen a bunch of bullet points regarding a franchise I have loved since childhood with absolutely nothing in it I can bring myself to care about. In a positive way, at least. Real nice game we had here once.

You can polish a turd until it sparkles and gleams, but it's still a piece of crap.

So it was slightly above average quality for KotFE/ET related content?

Any existing personality in game that remains untainted by KotFE/ET is blessed and I'd rather they not get ruined by association.

I'll take it all a bad dream brought on by bad anchovies from Pizza the Hutt if it wipes the slate clean of the last horrid 2+ years. 93% of my characters will never touch that stuff and any new "content" in any way attached to it does not exist. 7% are no longer fun to play due to the KotFE/ET stench on them. "A wizard did it" would be fine by me, as long as it wiped away the KotFEET taint.

Because they haven't yet heard of "The Outlander."

So much this and more. I am a tiny bit thankful everyday for the lack of competence in QA that had such a mess at 4.0 release that kept me from jumping into KotFE/ET with any character I was attached to. Any character exposed to the story had all of its fun sucked out. I know the hopeless hope of the best possible "It was all a bad hyperanchovie from Pizza the Hutt induced, poorly written nightmare" ending is pretty much out of the question, but if there is no "It wasn't me or my crew, skip that crap" button then there's no point in my continuing to play characters that can only be ruined by further story progression. 92.7% of my characters are not and never will be Outlander or Commander or Whateverer associated with the last 2 years of sewage.

The one area these developers excel is showing how you lack imagination when you try to think of the worst possible way anything could be done. They like to show you just how far off from "worst" you were.

None of the options will involve some cosmic reset button or slingshotting him around the sun to go back in time and prevent all this Zakuul crap, so I can't bring myself to care.

Given the lack of care and QA over the past 2 years, it's not hard to assume they mucked up time zones and turned it off at 11:59 GMT instead of PST as described on http://www.swtor.com/info/news/news-article/20171109?lastday=true That's right around when the first reports of it failing happened. Would match expectation of screwup and works with the evidence.