Wow! I had no idea my thread would get this much attention! Thanks everyone! I'm going to diverge from the thread's main topic a bit in this post just to expand on my own opinion of group content, just so everyone knows where I stand on it and what I find to be acceptable discussion of group content in a "Solo Players Appreciation thread". :$ I too, am not so good at PVP. It has never stopped me from playing though! lol I look at PVP the way I look at the occasional game of football IRL. As a guy I like to have a good game of tackle footbal and roughhousing with the boys, and in SWTOR and most other games I get the occasional itch to throw myself out there on the PVP battlefield and see what happens! Of course being as solitary as I am, this means I typically only use the ops group chat for sounding the alarm or registering alarms from other players, rather than actual strategizing. It also means I play in PUG's pretty much exclusively. I found PVP in SWTOR can really only be the most fun for our "kind" when you completely close the chat window and don't care that much about winning or losing, but instead about your own personal score/victories. That's the best way to solo PVP IMO I'm so sorry to hear about that. :'( It makes me want to call my little sister (who moved to Japan a few months back) right away and beg her to play with me! You never know when those you love will be taken...So you have to enjoy every moment you have with them while you can. I have a reputation (IRL and on these forums) for being a real jerk who starts all kinds of problems and ****storms. While I may disagree with people in a way that many find offensive, and may come across as mean, trollish, and uncaring, whenever I hear about someone losing a loved one it hits me on a deep level. Growing older I've started to realize how I won't have my family forever. My parents are getting older and my dad is having health problems now. Sometimes I catch myself worrying about him even though he still goes through life without a care in the world, as if he's gonna live forever! I truly don't know how I'll take it when I lose him. And I scarcely want to think about it. Dammit, now I'm tearing up. Sorry. And that is exactly the kind of thing I think so many of our detractors ignore when they accuse us of being "noobs" or "weak" and having "no skills". The truth is that they rely on other people to help them get things done, while we just go out and figure out ways to "break the game" (roughly speaking) by doing it ourselves! (When we're not supposed to!) Beating group content on my own provided me with some of the most fun and interesting challenges I've ever had in this game. It's why I applauded the SF's, turning the planetary heroics into dailies, and and the introduction of SM for Story-driven FP's IKR? While I can't claim to be a fan of BW putting in a heavy RNG focus to the Command Crates, I feel like the Command Tokens and the fact that they can buy entry-level Endgame gear directly from the vendor is a fair compromise between full RNG and progression gearing. While I dislike the fact that I need unassembled parts to make Tier 2 or higher gear, I have geared out my main just by ranking up and earning Crates. Through soloing countless heroics and doing the dailies just for the weekly, I've managed to get my Sith Assassin main up to rank 250 and have a gear rating of 238. No ops, no HM FP's, and yet I have the rating to solo pretty much anything that isn't specifically designed to stop solo players in their tracks. And no, elitists, I do not violate your communities by joining group finder in HM FP's or trying my hand at OPS. I want my high gear rating solely to solo content, I have no interest in being talked down to by someone with more debt than I have assets (which I have a LOT of btw. Bachelor life FTW!) and who is trapped in a mediocre and unhappy marriage with kids they only now realize they never wanted and has to constantly run on the hamster wheel to keep up with the never-ending stream of expenses that comes with being a *gags adult. *shudders If I wanted to be somebody's emotional punching bag to help them vent their own frustrations and anger I would just call up my ex-girlfriends... ___________ I noticed a lot of complaints about the Oricon storyline, and I have to say that while I agree with most of you wholeheartedly on just about everything, I once did the Oricon ops on SM with a PUG that randomly formed on Oricon at midnight. We wiped many times that night, (despite it being SM) but everyone was dammed determined to reach the end. Around the time we started DP it was already 3AM, and we recruited 1 or 2 players with OPS exp and we actually made it all the way to the Dread Council fight by 6AM, at which point we wiped three times and gave up. I can honestly say that was the single best group experience I have ever had. It's not something I would really like to repeat, but it taught me that not every single group experience is going to be bad one. Food for thought eh? You know, with all the solo players who want to see Oricon story firsthand, I bet we could probably arrange a Saturday sometime in the future where we all get together and form 1 or 2 ops groups with the sole purpose of completing the ops on SM just to get the story finished. Given that we're all horrific "noobs" at that sort of gameplay that gets rid of the toxicity problem, and while the story of the ops is mostly told through combat rather than cutscenes, I honestly have to tell you guys as someone who has played it that it is worth the trouble (IMO) if you have a good, supportive group. Raptus's voicelines are THE BOMB! Then again what am I saying? Us? Forming a group? What are we Communists? I'm sorry. I apologize profusely for my heresy!

^He's right you know...

This is already starting to sound like a bad idea.... Whatever, I'm just gonna go for it. I'm a solo player who rather enjoys the large variety of solo content in this game. I may have come to SWTOR 6 years ago for the Star Wars, but I undoubtedly stayed for the great story and abundance of solo-able content. Of course, it wasn't always this way. I can remember "back in muh dae!" when if we wanted solo content we had to do a flashpoint by ourselves with a well-geared healing comp using a stealth toon to avoid the trash mobs which could overwhelm you in seconds. There was no Story Mode! (dam I feel old just thinking about it lol) Still, those were some of the coolest solo experiences I've ever had, the only content that comes close to matching it is the Star Fortress Heroic modes, which brought back the nostalgia of being a level 55 Life-sucking (i.e. self-healing) Sin Tank battling Darth Malgus with just Talos by my side. For a while soloing FP's like False Emperor became a daily ritual, until the assassin nerfs and level sync brought that to an end. Nevertheless, I've recently tried the Story Mode FP's without the Gsus droid (as when I left the game the dismissal feature had yet to be released) and while it's not nearly as challenging as the Heroic SF's or Veteran FP's, its still loads of fun! The average boss in a Story Mode Flashpoint is essentially what I want the fights for Vanilla bosses to be like, particularly if BW ever makes Vanilla SWTOR repeatable on old toons and adds a Heroic Mode. The pacing of the fights (even with Level sync in place) is 100% perfect as far as I'm concerned for an "average" bossfight, and I haven't found any of these bosses to be too challenging in that I'm dying multiple times. They're challenging enough that I have to pay attention, time my rotations/combos correctly, and manage resources in a responsible way, but they aren't Dark Souls level hard. Not to mention many of the fights are very well-designed both thematically and mechanically. It'd be nice to have the story bosses in Vanilla have mechanics beyond stuns or knockbacks (particularly for Chapter bosses) to go with a massive increase in stats... But I digress. I made this thread in the hope that other solo players would chime in with stories of what they used to do or still enjoy doing when on SWTOR at 3AM and what kind of solo content they would like to see if given a "blank cheque" by Bioware. For me it would undoubtedly be infinitely repayable Vanilla story for all toons with a Heroic Mode that's roughly at the same difficulty as the Story Mode FP's (without Gsus droid option, because its there for the challenge!) So what about you guys?

OMG lol. I looooved her glare, it always made me very hor- errr I mean happy. Very happy :$ Despite Vaylin's many questionable actions/qualities, her death glare and happy voice always brightened my day! Personally, I'd love having Vaylin back as a much less insane version of herself. Her voice is incredibly appealing to me when she's not screeching, especially when she lets that little pouty tone slip in to her words...mmmmmmm

It should be immediate....

Because I'm curious. That's really the only reason. I'm not asking anyone to defend their choices, I simply wanted to understand. I desire knowledge a lot, and when I encounter something I don't understand I try to gather as much data about it from as reliable and trustworthy a source as possible. Is that so wrong? (You're coming off as pretty hostile here FYI, chill out!) As to whether I do the same with people in my life, why yes I do, to an extent. Most of the time when somebody in my life gets into a relationship with someone I know them well enough to see why they are attracted to each other, so I don't need to acquire data directly from the source. In this case I know none of you in a personal way, hence why I inquire as to the source of the attraction, so that I can understand.

My biggest problem with the KOT's? Lack of individual stories. It turns out that BW was planning on having the KOT trilogy have individual character arcs for each class. Knights were going to build an Alliance to fight the E-Empire (sound familiar?), Inq's were going to try and bind Valky, Warriors were going to go on a vengeful, personal crusade against Valkorian himself, hunting him and trying to kill him, and Consular....dammit I forget. Anyway, point being that the KOT trilogy WOULD have been the revival of class stories and that alone would have made it an automatic 8/10 in my book. Unfortunately, BW just didn't have the resources and manpower to make that happen in a realistic time frame, resulting in them sort of mix-mashing various parts of each individual KOT class story together into the amalgamation we got. I'm not saying it was terrible, it just got off on the wrong foot with KOTFE (IMO) and got slightly better with KOTET. The recent Star Wars movies have taught me that there are far worse heresies in the SW franchise to be upset about than KOT, so I've given it a low-bar passing grade. There are two things I want to see come in the future: 1. The ability to replay the vanilla class stories with old characters in higher difficulty modes available designed to be played by overpowered/overgeared players (This thing has been advocated for repeatedly, I've personally posted in three topics about it over the past 2 years or so) 2. A return to classic Empire V Republic and Sith V Jedi. No more third parties, no more holding back. I want all out war consuming the galaxy, ideally with individual stories for each separate class. They don't have to be super-complex and varied. They don't have to be anywhere near as long as the vanilla stories or even SoR/Makeb. Just give my characters each their own time in the limelight, their own 15 minutes of being the biggest bada.ss in their field. Gray? I saw it more as golden/divine. Think about it this way: Previously, we thought of the Force as a line. On the left (or right, direction doesn't matter here) you have the Dark Side. On the right, you have the Light Side. However, (according to the writers of KOT anyway...) this view is limited and does not show the whole picture. The truth is that the force is a triangle, with each corner representing one "side" of the Force. The left corner is still the Dark, and the right is still the Light, but the top corner is the Divine. It's not in the middle between Light and Dark, not in the same way the Gray is. It is beyond (literally above) Light and Dark. That's the way I think the writers were trying to get it across, based on the conversations you have with Marr, Satele, Valky, Arcann ect. The Light is the side of heroes. The Dark is the side of monsters. And the Divine is the side of gods. I don't necessarily think that this is good Star Wars mind you, I'm just explaining the message that I think most people missed.

I'm genuinely curious: What is it about Arcann that makes him attractive? Is it purely physical attraction? Because that I understand. I really liked Empress Acina in much the same way, even though I don't really like thinking about how many people she's probably tortured, murdered, or committed genocide against in the name of the Empire. I'm giving you guys the benefit of the doubt and assuming that you DON'T find his status as a former mass-murderer to be his most attractive quality, but I do seriously want to know what you guys like about him...if that's ok with you. Funny you should say that...because if I were a woman I think his arrogance and desire for godhood would be extremely attractive qualities to me. I would jealous as all hell of Senya, and devastated/enraged when he betrayed me at the end (hell hath no fury eh?) Ooooo now that I think about it, I might play a female character through the KOT's as being infatuated with Valkorian XD

I'm only partially interested in solo modes for the Oricon ops, just because the fights with each master are epic. Really I'd settle for just a solo version of the Dread Council fight where each Dread Master is an elite with a little extra health than normal and a single, unique ability that matches their personality/role in the group. I feel facing four elites at once like that, solo (with NO JESUS DROID BIOWARE! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!) is enough of a challenge for solo/story players while also providing them with good story. Adding cutscenes before and after like they did with the first run-through of the Revan fight on Yavin 4 would be excellent as well. Then, after completing the fight in the story quest, you could repeat the solo mode fight as a Oricon Weekly, just like Yavin 4. IMO, Oricon and the DM's deserved (and still do deserve) the Yavin 4 treatment FAR more than Revan. SoR is a fanfiction compared to the Dread War Arc.

Interesting, so Jadus is making a return...dammit now I'm feeling rushed! lol. I have my own plans for my story and once again your writing is catapulting me years into my own character's future and has me thinking about events for which the groundwork hasn't even been laid yet, at this rate I'll never finish the next part! A decent addition, we got two twists in this part for the price of one: Nox X Khem (I mean I knew people fantasized about that, I've seen the erotica, but seriously lol) and Jadus's triumphant return. I wonder how his dark thread will weave itself into this tapestry...From one writer to another, be very meticulous Luna. Jadus is a character that has a high level of difficulty to portray accurately/faithfully. I know you're probably one of the few writers here that is truly up to that challenge, but still I wouldn't put in anything less than 100% in capturing his voice. I wish you the very best of luck in that regard!

@ Flame Thanks flame! Lovecraft is a pretty big inspiration, especially in this part of the story! The idea for the skull ape origin actually came out of nowhere. I never planned on it being a thing until I actually sat down and began to write this part. The trial I thought was appropriate. To truly be considered a god, you must have an overwhelming paternal aura. That is, the ability to instantly instill fear and respect and command obedience without even saying a word. I felt the imagery of Nox being the father figure to Bestia's maternal figure was powerful, another example of Nox's character development as he makes his way toward godhood. @ Luna You have no idea lol. IMO the Dread Masters saga was hands-down the BEST content in SWTOR. Period. It makes me sad that they only released them as operations and never made a Solo version that only watered down the bossfights and left the story intact. I hate operations, and almost never do them. The Dread Master ops were the one exception. It's actually a funny story, one which had me staying up till 6 in the morning with a PUG group I joined on Oricon... I don't think my style and diction in describing the monsters is very Lovecraftian tbh. Lovecraft and many of his fan-authors have a such a uniquely compelling way of phrasing things that paints such a chaotic and terrifying picture in the reader's mind...While my monster design may be Lovecraftian, I'm not sure the same can be said of my prose. But either way I'm glad you enjoyed it and hope you will continue to enjoy reading! Nox's calm was born of two things: Confidence, and determination. He has decided he is going to win, and that no other outcome is possible. That determination has brought him into a "zen state" of sorts where his entire intellect is now completely focused on his goal, allowing him to use his emotions as fuel for his power without those same emotions blinding him or affecting him mentally. His confidence does, of course, help this as well. He is certain of victory simply because he knows that for all their power, the Dread Masters are the weakest they have ever been. Their madness has made them vulnerable, and he intends to take full advantage.

Finally got it done guys. Hope you weren't holding your breath the past three weeks! Still trying to pump out good quality stuff in a timely fashion. Thanks to my messed-up schedule and (I must confess) laziness, its proving difficult, but I already have a general idea of what the next part is so that's a start!

The Dark Side is hollowing her out, much as Valkorian intended to do. Between this and the shadow of judgement, i'm much intrigued...dammit Luna! Why you write so good! XD

good lol. Because the last thing Lia needs a little "reminder" running around XD

Funny how Nox imitates Death, and yet fears it isn't it?

A reminder that no matter how horrifying a monster a human being becomes, in the end they are still human. Much as we might like to believe otherwise. If you watch footage of Adolf Hitler and his wife, the truth becomes apparent. We like to deny that mass murders and dictators are human, because it makes us feel more secure in ourselves. The unfortunate truth however, is that we are all capable of the same atrocities. We all have that same evil sleeping inside us. We are no better. This is why I love your writing Luna. It inspires my thoughts and stirs my intellectual side (what little of it there is lol). Also, I hope Lia is on the pill after that "conversation" with Arcann...

Hey guys! Just a few things to note: - Corrupter Zero is the same size as in the operation, just colored white and grey instead of gold and brown - The Brontes fight is not completely faithful to the source material. I drew on various experiences with RPG bossfights from many different games, as well as cinematic fights from movies to create the battle.

Hi guys! I was planning on releasing a part much larger than this, but frankly I just don't have it in me to keep going, I need another week or so to finish the Dread Fortress encounter so that its high quality, anyway hope you enjoy my take on the first half of the DF op. One thing you should note: I took a few liberties with the dread monsters (Nefra, Grob'thok, trash mobs ect.) You will notice my descriptions are nothing like how they appear in-game. That's because in my universe the dread monsters actually look like monsters and not copy-pasted versions of every other animal or creature in SWTOR!

A very nice chapter, there were a few points where my immersion wavered some due to what I felt were uncharacteristic actions, but maybe that's just me.

Ho ho ho! Darth Santa has reappeared! And since you've all been so BAD this year () you're getting Halloween for Christmas! Lol in all seriousness this finale was supposed to be ending around Halloween, but my altered work schedule blew that out of the water. So here you go, the start of the "Season 1" finale. It's almost 5000 words of action and build-up, most of it written in a feverish haze at 4 in the morning, so forgive me and Demunoki if everything isn't fully up to snuff... With regards to my plans after the finale, I'll be taking a break from the main LOD storyline to gear up for the next story arc. In this time I'll also be writing a new, more novella-length fanfiction similar to the other authors here on the forums, one that focuses on the story of LOD on a microcosmic level, as opposed to a macrocosmic one. But that's enough of my yabbering, let's open your present! Merry Christmas everyone!

O shoot, I must have had you confused with someone else lol. Well now that that is out there...yeah so I like the idea of romancing Arcann on my female toons...as if I couldn't get any more strange eh?

I agree. When I first played through the game I enjoyed roleplaying as my toon and hating him, but by the time I came back for Xalek, I realized that Harkun is so adorably hateful that it was far more amusing to me to let him live long enough to see me trample on his every belief, and there was also the fact that he is simply (possibly unwittingly) so damn good at his job, which is teaching acolytes how to hate. Those factors were what made me decide not to kill him or even Force-persuade him, just carry on a casual conversation with him like we were old friends and then leave with my new "weapon"

lol that's hilarious! What I'd give to be the devil who came up with that particular torture for Feravai! XD

In be4 the fan club! Great chapter Luna! I'm enjoying the dramatic developments going on on Odessen, although I have to ask if it's all just going to be focused on Alliance characters. It wouldn't hurt to have some cutaways to Zakuul if that fits your vision. Otherwise, carry on as you were!