Greetings All, I was wondering if anyone can clarify for me what in 3.0 will be available on Dec. 2nd to those of us who don’t have early access. I believe that the new discipline system will be in effect as well as the new comms. As I understand it the only thing we won’t have access to is the actual new story content. I believe we will have access to everything else. I’m hoping we have access to the new crafting vendors, mats, and schematics. Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Suisiderf

Comrades, I do not post often but this is a must. I am in agreement with the tide of sentiment here. Small guilds definitely loose out here. From my perspective the two biggest issues are: 1.) Time - trying to get 16 people together for an Ops run is an arduous task and takes close to an hour if not longer. The frustration of waiting compounds as people leave and yet another spot needs to be filled. 2.) Quality - There has been a general decline in the skill of players over the past year or so. I think this is why most people running Ops try and do it as a guild. The x12 XP has been little more than a race to the bottom as far as competency. Look at the gear now when people show up for ops. The other night a guy came in with Cartel Armor and NO MODS in it...NO MODS. His AC level was 8 and yet he was a level 55?! On another recent OPs run I asked a Sorc to CC. He said "OK" and then asked "What is CC?" This is why experienced players want 8-man. I am not anti-16 man but I agree there should be a toggle for 8 man. The 30 comms reward is a tremendous idea as it allows our lower level guildies to armor up and gain experience at the same time. Without 8-man this is just a memory now. Whoever thought this up doesn't play SWTOR. Sincerely, Suisiderf

Greetings All, By nature I am a curious and inquisitive person. I like to understand how things work, especially things that I enjoy such as SWTOR. However I often find trying to uncover information on some SWTOR game mechanics rather frustrating. It’s like looking for HK parts but without the sensor. The results I find usually fall into two categories: 1.) Ancient Data – the topic search is fairly close but the responses are typically very old. In game terms I consider anything older than six months to be “retro” and of limited value. In a lot of this information you’ll see references to “Beta” which means it’s time to search again. 2.) Fragments – Newer information is more scattered and is typically little more than a fragment on the subject. The quantity of newer information is also somewhat lacking. You typically have to find multiple sources and piece together the shreds to build a more complete picture. Often the shreds themselves are in conflict. Typically these bits and pieces are not very detailed. In contrast I occasionally stumble upon a Theory Crafter post. While I might be able to make sense of this, it would likely require earning a Master’s degree in Math from the local community college. Most of the time I find that explanations without tangential square roots and Boolean interpretative analytics suit my purposes quite well. Thus, by posting on the forums, I am hoping to find an insightful and thorough explanation of the mechanics of PVE Set Bonuses. To narrow the scope of the response this is my current character information: 1.) Level Pure Sith 55 Sorcerer Healer. 2.) Corruption Tree – Full Tree (all points assigned) 3.) Current Armorings – Level 180 Orcanian Resolve 4.) Current Set bonus Items - One armoring from an Arkanian Chest piece. By now we are all familiar with the perpetual and contentious argument of Set Bonus armorings vs higher level armorings. For a reference point I will use as an example 162 Set Bonus armorings vs 180 Oricanian armorings. As a Sorcerer Healer I would be interested in the Force-Mystic Armor. The information given on the when moused over: (2) Piece = Innervate Cooldown reduced by 1.5 seconds (4) Piece = Total Force Increased by 50 ( in addition to the 2-Piece bonus above) That appears to be the only two benefits you get from the set. Yet there is information out there that implies there are more benefits than just this. As an example in Dulfy’s fine SWTOR Corruption Sorcerer Healer Class Guide (italics added to highlight the phrase I’m referencing): “Getting your set bonus as quickly as possible is highly recommended. It will increase your healing efficiency substantially enough that having lower item level armorings with the set bonus is still a better option than higher item level armorings without it.” I would be surprised that a 1.5 second reduction of the Innervate cool down would be defined as a substantial increase in healing efficiency. My thoughts are the same regarding the extra 50 Total force points. It might be the case for other classes, and their respective set bonuses, that the benefits are readily apparent and easily recognized. However this post is limited to inquiring about the Force-Mystic Armor PVE Set Bonuses for a Sorcerer Healer. Are there additional bonuses, not detailed or shown, that come into play? If there are I would appreciate a detailed listing/explanation of them or a link to such information. Thanks in advance, Susiderf

Greetings All I'm hoping to get some feed back from the forum crowd on the issue of gear level. I’ve been playing Swtor now for nine months and it’s been a blast. I’ve learned a tremendous amount since starting and am still amazed at how much more there is to learn. My first character was a Marauder which I levelled to 55 and use primarily for Elder Game content now. My second character, a pure healer Sorcerer, I levelled to 55 about 6 weeks ago. I have enjoyed this character immensely. I find the “strategy” of healing to be very challenging and very rewarding. My goal has always been to try my mettle with the true test of healer, Operations Missions. To date I have done probably 6 or 7 OPs, both SM and HM. I have not done any Nightmare Mode OPs yet. On the OPs Missions that I have done, until this week, the groups were fun to play with and seemed to be good people in general. However, my experience this week, has been quite a bit different. I find it hard to believe that I didn’t come across this before but I guess I was just extra lucky. On three occasions I have joined an OPs group only to be kicked and told I was “under geared”. In some cases they were not very polite about it either. That was surprising to me as I am outfitted completely with level 156 gear, all of the Modifications are level 28 Artifact. All of it is augmented with MK-9 Slots and level 28 Artifact Augments. I have had no issues in SM or HM OPs or FPs so far. That having been said, it has never been my intention to stop at level 156 gear. I do see it though as a “good” plateau to accumulate the Elite and Ultimate Commendations that will take me to the next level. I assumed that was a fairly common dynamic. I figured maybe I had assumed incorrectly so thought I’d pose the question in general chat. While getting kicked from those Ops surprised me, I was totally unprepared for the virtual firestorm that my question generated on general chat. What surprised me more than anything else was the vehemence and emotion that accompanied most of the responses. In addition to the bile that overflowed in general chat, some felt compelled to pst me with commentary and "advice" I cannot print here in the forums. But for the most part the commentary was that level 156 gear was **** (my stars here) and had no place in any Ops or HM Fps. One player sent this pst: “You are what has ruined this game. When you bring that **** (my stars again) wannabe gear into an HM Ops or FP, it’s a slap in the face to those of us who have EARNED the proper gear and the right to be in those Ops and Missions. You’re nothing more than a parasite that expects the rest of us to carry you through and then allow you reap the rewards.” I did try to reason with the mob initially. I commented that gear was an important component of course but that a skilled player, who played well, was a significant factor. That was not well received at all. One person responding that they would rather have the suckiest player on the server in proper gear than the most experienced and skilled player in 156 **** (my stars again) gear. Several people appeared to agree. One person said that at least the suckiest player could generate the "numbers" even if they hit only by accident whereas a level 156 simply could not and thus could contribute nothing of value to the group. I finally left when someone advised the others to put "this leech" on ignore so they wouldn't get me in Group Finder. In all fairness I did receive a couple of pst's that told me, that unfortunately, there was a significant group of "emotionally unbalanced" elitests whose world centered on having the best gear. Their advice was to ignore them, but this sentiment seems to have been in the minority. I am a veteran lifelong gamer and one of the older gamers on here I'm sure. While SWTOR is my first MMO, I can say I have never seen such a venomous response in any other game I've ever played. I have noticed that General Chat seems to be a bit more emotional in general rather than academic. So I figured I would post in the forums as it is a more "reflective" environment. I would like to hear everyone's input on the issue of level 156 gear for HM FPs and OPs. The fact that I have played in several OPs before this with no negative commentary leads me to believe that my playing at that level was appropriate but I may be wrong. If I was in the wrong then I will certainly apologize. It wasn't intentional and there was no malice. I just thought that was the best way to earn the comms to upgrade my current gear. Sincerely, Suisiderf

Is this guy still working on this story?