Maybe the NPC's are like the stories of Russian soldiers. So stubborn that after you shoot them you had to push them over, as claimed by multiple invaders over the years.

What would make me unsub? A better Star Wars mmorpg would be an obvious candidate. Also, if I get to the point where a few days or even weeks off doesn't leave me with the urge to check in a play a bit. Lastly, if the writing keeps going in the current direction, after the base storylines it seems to drop off real fast, so much so that I don't want to do them and at times regret doing them on some of my characters... If I were to unsub, what would make me come back? Easy, story lines that are well written and class specific that make this feel like Star Wars again. For the the Eternal Throne and Fallen Empire lines were not good...at all... They used a one size fits all approach and ended up with one size fits no one at all... Plus it puts the characters in a really strange place in the SWTOR world... Just where are they supposed to go from now that they are effectively one of the true galactic powers? For the non-force types especially the FE/ET lines put them somewhere they don't fit. But even the force users seem out of place as the new eternal emperor (yeah you can be the supreme commander instead, but the difference is just in the title, you are still sitting in the big chair). The question then becomes "how do we get back to normal"... I just don't see a rational story line to do that unless we are going to have some crazy alien invasion that can take out the eternal fleet but ultimately be defeated in some way followed by the rebuilding of the empire and republic...

[quote=Yes but if one thing in Star Wars has taught us, is that you can have an entire fleet at your back, but a single person can still get to you and kill you. Luke and the Emperor, Bane and those Sith, the Revan, the TOR main character and Valkorian. Remember "The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force." If Ashara really is that powerful the full might of the Eternal Fleet doesn't mean anything. Yeah but their fleet wouldn't go rogue like the Eternal Fleet... Anyone see Ashara taking that seat? I don't...

Killing would not be the only viable option in my view. But the DSer would have to send a strong message in some way. A severe beatdown, maiming, freezing in carbonite, killing, or several other options would be available. Besides, we are sitting on the Eternal throne with the Eternal Fleet at our command... Even if Ashara was an equal in terms of force power (which I highly doubt) she is certainly not an equal in terms of galactic power. Nor would she be likely to survive a full scale orbital bombardment... Besides, doesn't the Eternal Fleet go all rogue and hostile if the person sitting on the throne gets killed off? Someone has to be on that throne...and the fleet protects itself... If Ashara is all about helping people and such she has to know that the worst thing she could do would be to kill off the SI, which makes her position weaker right off the bat and leaves her vulnerable.

Maybe for the LSers...but I can't buy it for the DSers. Letting her walk out would seem to me to look like weakness. A Sith can't let themselves appear weak unless they want to be a target or pawn. To me the DSer would have to fight in some way, not just stand there and take the perceived insult. Besides, how long until everyone knows they can just walk away? In my view, the DSer just can't afford to let that happen.

Fair point. The dark side is not necessarily "evil" in and of itself. I does however tend to manifest in ways that are at best selfish and very frequently in a manner that could be considered as "evil" my most moral codes. You are certainly correct about the testing aspect however. Opera non verba, deeds not words is key. Anyone can say anything, but unless one has the deeds to back up those words, they mean nothing. The truly callous might say, "prove it" and fire up a lightsaber. The more benevolent might say, "show me" while posing some less lethal form of test. Any and every master would have a duty to test the claim in my opinion...unless they are just very lazy masters.

That was essentially my point. Many seem to think DS 5 means "psychopathic evil villain personified". To me, that is a more garden variety evil. Yes, it is shocking and gets attention. It is a true headline grabber. But for my money, I bet on the "smarter" form of evil. The one that has connections, will, strength AND the ability to use it. Add in the ability to hide that evil and you have a force to be reckoned with. That is the evil I aim for with most of my Sith. I want powerful minions. I want to protect myself. I want to be able to pull strings and manipulate on a galactic scale. Sure, it might be easier to just go all crazy and start killing...and no one would call it anything other than evil (except a defense attorney, they would call it "not guilty by reason of insanity"). But that evil burns hot and then burns out fast. I want to be a long term player in galactic events. Thus, I must be more "lawful evil" than "chaotic evil". But it does not make me any less evil in the end, it is just a different form. A form that can last for far longer and ultimately, in my opinion, be much more powerful.

Evil has many faces however... I like the old concepts used in D&D (anyone remember rolling dice and sharpening pencils?). Sure, some people are just crazy evil... Chaotic Evil in the old D&D world. Unpredictable and as likely to kill their friends (if any) and minions as they are to kill their enemy. A highly volatile form of evil that could shock anyone by the variety and scope of evil acts that could rapidly pile up. Then, you have the Lawful Evil types. That is where many of my characters seem to reside. Use the laws, customs, culture etc. for your own gain and benefit, while possibly helping or hindering others as well. The key is to ensure you get away with what you are doing and that it results in gains for you. As I recall the description, it was something like 'lawful evil is the most dangerous form of evil because it represents a cold, calculated and frequently successful form of evil". Lastly, there was plain old "evil" or "neutral evil". Evil for the sake of evil itself. This form of evil just never made much sense to me. You were not trying to tear down order or trying to protect yourself while committing evil acts... You were just straight evil for no reason. To me, Sith tend to fall into the lawful and chaotic evil groupings more than just the pure evil for no reason group. Now, while the short term impact of the chaotic evil sorts is terrifying in every way, it is a road to a quick demise as well, as people will rise up against irrational evil. But the lawful evil...that is the hard one to fight. We might have moral objections to what they do, but it is "legal". That is the kind of evil that can last a long time, grow strong and even build/maintain an empire. That face of evil incarnate is special. That also shows us the problem with "light/dark" side tiers. I may be an utterly evil and conniving agent of darkness...but I work within the framework available to not only do what it is that I do, but to ensure I can get away with it. But does being "legal" make me less "evil"? Or am I just a more insidious form of evil that may not be as obvious at first glance?

I have refused to do the eternal throne lines on my non-force users because it just doesn't "work" for me. The concept seems WAY off. About the only semi-rational reason I could see for Valky taking an interest in a non-force user as his vessel is if he thinks he can more easily take over the person and then let his own abilities come out. Not sure if the force could work that way or not however...(as far as letting him have access to his power in a body that was previously not force sensitive). I could see where recruiting a trooper or agent type could be a goal for the alliance as a means of improving their capabilities, but not as a leader (maybe the trooper as a military leader, but not as head honcho).

I think it would depend on how "evil" the Darth Nox in question was. Tier 1 to 3 dark side, maybe. A DS 4 or 5? You must be out of your mind... I have played multiple inquisitors, some LS, most various degrees of DS. I just seem to be a bit selfish most of the time. That and the chance to zap someone is really hard to resist... But the ones that were mainly supporting the Empire and had a sideline of self enrichment/aggrandizement, I could see those being suitable for unfreezing as leaders. They may be "corrupt", but there are limits on their petty actions that are minor compared to the order and stability they can bring. The last one though? The "Kill'em all and don't bother letting even God sort them out" one? Nope, nope, nope. You would be better off with Vitiate/Valkorion than that psychotic individual. Even I look at that character and say, "you have issues" (but it is fun to enjoy the casual disregard of human life from time to time). All that being said... I have not done the return of Ashara yet. My reaction may depend on my mood when I get around to it as well as the particular character. The psychopath? That one would want to gut Ashara right then and there. Free thinking is fine...so long as the ideas generated further my goals. The others, they are a bit more mellow and understanding, some might rant and rave about the "betrayal" and "uppity quasi jedi turned sith wannabes" while others would be ambivalent or even supportive (if Ashara has been properly indoctrinated, then you are essentially starting a pyramid scheme where your ideas and concepts are being spread to others).

What can I say, I want my psychotic wife back... She reminds me of a somewhat safer and saner version of a former real world GF.

I don't know the numbers... But I do know that I feel more "natural" when I play Empire. Now, I will note that I am more of a story line player than anything else. With the Empire, regardless of class, I feel more "free" to pick whatever choice appeals at the time. Playing JK or JC I feel like I /should/ be picking the light side options when they pop up. It is all in my head of course, but it is why I have yet to finish but one of the Republic stories (knight). I am almost done with the Consular story. Taking advantage of the double XP helps, I don't need to do as many missions, and can more or less just hit some of the side missions and the main story line to advance on time (yeah, I am even skipping many of the planet stories, once was enough). Hopefully, this round of double xp and my current work schedule will let me knock out the trooper and smuggler stories as well, if not there is always the next round of double xp to make it less painful.

The Jedi have truly fallen to the dark side... They express far too much emotion. Jedi, return to the light side and sever your emotional attachments. Leave those of us who are slaves to the Dark Side to deal with the emotional issues, like Jaesa. If you are going to be getting all emotional, you should just admit that you are fallen Jedi and turn your back fully on the light side and join the Empire.

One just doesn't get quality like that these days... We have truly lost our work ethic as a society... We need more beatings to improve morale!

Damn kids...get of my lawn! Back in my day we had to walk 15 miles to school, in the snow, uphill...both ways and on top of that we got a paddling before we left the house, on the side of the road, when we got to school, during detention, after school and when we got home...and we we glad to get them... There wasn't any "spring break" either, that was just a week of extra paddlings whether we needed them or not! *uses cane to get down from soap box*

I would say coincidence. I have a "ye olde phone" (smart phones don't like my finger, I can't get one to unlock to answer a call most of the time, so I use a flip phone to this day). Thus, a security key via the app is pretty much a no-go on my end. I have to put in the one time password nearly every time I log in on both the forums and the game. It usually gets to me in about five minutes max, but sometimes it takes much longer. Though going into my mail and making sure that SWTOR emails were no longer going to spam seems to have cleared out most of the delays (usually within a minute or two most of the time now). That being said, the likelihood of them targeting you with greatly delayed passwords seems ludicrous at best.

This isn't the 70's now? What will I do with all my punch cards...

I have not gotten into the ops, flashpoints, uprisings and such much. Primarily because I pretty much play solo all the time. There is a reason for that, my game time is somewhat erratic and I just can't in good conscience take up a spot in a guild that I will not be able to properly support. I tried it and things just didn't really work out, I felt like I was leaving people to deal with issues in game because I wasn't available and because frankly, my connection is not what would be called "good". I would like to get into doing some of the raids. Partially for the rewards, partially for the chance to make some friends (well internet acquaintances that one can have a good time with) and partly for the character advancement benefits. At the same time, I happen to despise ignorance... I go and look up how to do missions and such before diving in to save myself time and heart burn. I even try to do so in regards to pvp (I do unranked, mainly for the rewards and CXP). I am terrible at it, but hey, that is what happens when you lack experience and have a lousy connection. It is also why I have thus far avoided ranked pvp. All that being said, I would have no issue with someone saying, "this is my first time, not sure how to do this" and if I knew the answer (and had the time) would be glad to help. But getting into that situation with no heads up is a real bummer. The reverse is also true. I have done some group flash points (like during my brief time in a guild). If it was one I did not know or had never done, I mentioned that right away. If I had time beforehand, I went and looked up mechanics and strategies so I would have a decent starting point to work from (and still mentioned that I had not actually done it before). It generally worked well and people tended to give pointers in such situations. However, I am willing to bet that had I just jumped in with no knowledge, no experience and no mention of my lack of experience/knowledge I would have likely been dropped from the group unless it was set up to teach people in the first place. So it goes both ways in my view. If you do not know, say something up front. If you don't, expect people to not be pleased. Then, if you do know and someone ask up front, give a hand or explain that you lack the time to teach right then. If you get a surprise group of stealth know nothings, leave if you wish. I would not view any of that as "toxic" or "rude". It is just common courtesy. Let everyone involved know the situation one way or the other, doing so will likely help everyone involved have a better game experience. You might even pick up a teacher along the way.

Do you trust Baras to be honest? I don't, he never told the truth, he at a minimum always shaded things. More often he told something plausible based on the evidence at hand, even when he knew that the situation was actually far different. Deception is a big part of Sith culture anyways, makes more sense... Besides, if no one had been in there in oh so many ages...how would Baras know the light saber was there? Surely, someone in the past had looted (explored) that tomb, it is just too convenient that there happens to be a light saber right where he said it would be if no one had been in there. More plausible would be that no acolyte had been sent to that particular chamber in a while.

In regards to Naga Sadow's tomb and the saber therein. My theory would be that Baras placed that saber there and in some way attuned it to the energies within the tomb so that when the warrior goes to remove it he/she "disturbs" the burial and thus triggers the attack from the tomb guardians. Essentially, Sadow's body but just some "ancient light saber" that may have belong to any Sith of a bygone era.

On the Warrior light saber. The game never says it was the light saber of the Sith entombed there, only that it is an "ancient light saber". With the number of acolytes sent through the academy, surely many original artifacts have been removed, but the Overseers, Lords and Darths still need to conduct trials. What is there tht prohibits them from placing artifacts or objects to be recovered? Nothing, one of the missions references such a concept, Naman Fal hid an object in the tomb that his son was to recover. One will recall that the son failed, "He was such a weak boy. He shames me in death as he shamed me in life.", the player then gets to recover the object (I think it was a headgear piece). Also, just how "ancient" was this ancient light saber? It looks to be in remarkably good condition to me... Sure, maybe the conditions of the tomb and the Force helped preserve it... But as I recall the dark side tends to cause decay... Maybe it is just some "old" light saber that Baras had placed there and attuned to the energies of the tomb (he does seem to know a bit about spiritual entities). So it /could/ be a really old light saber, but not be Naga Sadow's weapon rather easily. Now, going off the starwars wikia, it appears that the Sith developed proper, non-belt pack powered sabers first...somewhere before the time of the Great Hyperspace War. By the end of that time, the Sith style light saber with the power unit in the hilt was in use by both Sith and Jedi. So I see no problem with the Sith Warrior light saber being a proper light saber, there are too many possibilities that would allow for it. Same goes for the "first blade" based weapon of the Consular. The hilt was used as the chassis, the entire weapon was not brought back into service. That leaves the Inquisitor weapon... We don't have a definitive date for when Hord lived, or for when the first proper light saber was made (hilt powered vs. belt powered). There is also the issue that Hord and Kallig were said to be masters of light saber combat... There is also the possibility that the player would have sufficient knowledge to have converted the weapon to more modern style by installing the power unit in the hilt. That could be a "behind the scenes" thing that we just don't get to see. Lastly, maybe the cables evolved over time to be really thin like nano-wire and have a retractable feature like one finds in mice designed for use with laptops for travelers.

I think everyone should at least give the service a shot, it did wonders for me in terms of "growing up", there is no way I would have done well in college right out of high school, I would have partied too much, the Navy made me become more responsible to myself and others. Now, as for Acina and puppetry... I just have to believe that Vowrawn is doing some "guiding hand" stuff. I am not saying he put her on the throne or that he controls her completely. But I think he is more than capable of getting her to do what he wants in regards to his major aims all while seeming to not be a threat. He may not be the "puppet master" but he seems to be pulling lots of strings to me. That being said, I tend to think his goals seem to line up more along the lines of "for the good of the empire" than most Sith lords. He seems willing to improvise, adapt and change the view of the empire on a number of policies. But his end goal is not change for the sake of change but for the sake of power. He knows that a strong empire makes him stronger. He knows he is not the baddest light-saber wielding person around. But a strong set of laws and traditions backed by a strong government and a loyal population make it harder for someone to try and get at him directly. Once the fight moves to indirect means, he is in his element. For those that played D&D way back in the day (you know, stone tablets, chisels and knuckle-bones) you will recall the concept of "Lawful Evil". That is a similar place to where Vowrawn fits in. He gets away with much because he follows the traditions and rules. At the same time, the use of those traditions and rules by society serves to protect him from some over-zealous do-gooder with a pointy object. The evil baron or sheriff uses the law to rob the poor blind and protect their own position from some crusading Robin Hood type. Vowrawn does the same to quietly amass power for himself, both directly and indirectly (by strengthening the empire and those laws, rules and traditions).

I refuse to post any of my pictures from my military days. Let's just say that since then I have gotten fat and the wrinkles are far less visible now. On my boat we called them "*** lines", mine were deep and well earned. For an example, just do a search for the SSN 750, I was there when we got the hull sliced open by a super tanker while submerged... I will also say that in my experience, the guys on submarines always looked a bit more haggard and old than surface Sailors. I attribute that to the working conditions and the lack of sunlight. I don't have any proof, but that is my theory based on the anecdotal evidence. On the more scientific side, it could be due to the atmospheric conditions. We maintained very dry conditions and recirculated the same air for long periods of time, which can do things like dry the skin and damage it, which is one of the leading causes of wrinkles, creases and lines. Sealed tombs are likely to be very dry as well I suspect. That preserves the contents (such as mummies and other artifacts), but subjects the explorer to unhealthy conditions in terms of skin health. There is also the known effect of radiation on skin tissue, seeing as everything Sith related seems to be giving off some sort of enegry, I would liken it to a form of radiation and say it may have a similar impact on the visage of a person exposed to it on a regular basis. EDIT: Really? That is censored? The three ***'s are, phonetically speaking Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

27 is about the right age of a lieutenant... Assuming there is an ensign or 2nd lieutenant ranks as well and that most commissioned officers have formal schooling (obviously battlefield promotions are another matter). As for how he looks, meh. I had grey streaks in my hair before I was 23 I blame the Navy, specifically submarine duty), One of the guys I went to C-school with was nearly bald by 21. Then we had "grandpa", great guy, he looked 40 and was 19, some sort of genetic condition as I recall. So Talos Drellik could be 27, and that would be about the right age. As for appearances, well, some of us age faster than others. At least I just started going grey, my uncle was bald by 25. I bet field conditions and crawling through tombs doesn't help either.

I did more than a few economics classes while earning my degree... While "real world" economics do not completely apply to "game world" economics, many aspects do. What we have, in my opinion, is a grossly inflated currency in game. Admittedly, much of that currency is held by a small percentage of accounts (How many millionaires do we have? Lots. How many utterly, filthy and disgustingly rich folks that can buy everything they want and still be loaded with credits? Not that many by comparison.). The result is that GTN prices tend to be highly inflated as well. There are so many ways credits are being added into the economy that it is insane (missions, selling loot, various rewards). There are comparatively few ways credits are removed. They are removed when you buy from vendors, purchase stronghold expansions, etc. Essentially, when you buy something from the "game" instead of from another player. When you buy from the market, you just move credits from character A to character B. My view is that the net results is that we have far more credits entering the economy than leaving the economy. That means inflation. Inflation means each credit has less purchasing power. Which means prices charged by other players goes up. We really need some deflationary influences. That can be achieved by a number of methods. Reducing crafting costs, reducing credit reward amounts, reducing what vendors pay for loot, increasing the availability of some items that currently sell for absolutely ridiculous prices on the GTN due to rarity, etc. Then you can work on the other end as well. Instead of reducing credit inflow, you can increase credit egress rates. Raising the costs of stronghold expansions, certain vendor goods, etc. Let's face it, no one in their right mind pays 45 million for a shirt... But you see empty orange armor go for such rates. Why? Because the market is over-saturated with credits (though they are not equitably divided among all players obviously). The strange part about it is that once you have some credits, it becomes far easier to get more (same in the real world, the old, "it takes money to make money" bit). It is getting that first few million and knowing what to do with it that is the hard part. That being said, I am not "rich" on any of my characters, but I do ok, I have enough to buy most of what I want to and to support my meager crafting habit. Any player /should/ have enough credits to be able to become somewhat self sufficient by the time they hit level 50. I do not think I have ever had a toon under 1-million credits at that point save for one that I decided I wanted a particular armor set on and kept it upgraded constantly. That one was still close to the 1-million mark. By level 70 a few million should be no issue. My advice, stay away from the GTN purchase tab until you are done leveling. I will admit that if you zip through to level 70 and intend to buy all the bells and whistles (gear, enhancements, mods, focuses, armorings, etc.) you are going to feel really poor (top grade item mods go for what, almost 2 million each?). The current economy is workable, but not good. However, the fix is not to be found in a credit injection. I would say the opposite is needed (or just carry on with the current economy...though it is likely to hurt newer players over the long term).