I'd wager that you're missing something. Leveling as a sub is laughably easy thanks to the "rest XP" mechanic. I avoid mobs whenever possible, skip some bonus quests, and scarcely do dailies, but I'm still over-leveled on every planet I hit by at least 2 levels. This is more or less my take as well. It's not that I want the experience of free-to-play gamers to be on par with subscribers, but as it stands I think it's too much of an ultimatum. The game might as well tell you to "sub or leave". My problem with that isn't even that there will be less f2p users around, but less players in general, some of whom could be potential subbers should they enjoy their initial trial of the game (maybe halt the spam, etc. until lvl 20 or so?)

The restrictive chat thing sounds bad. What I don't like is the credit cap though, or at least how low it is. If a player has the ethic or ingenuity to acquire "x" amount of credits, then they should be able to enjoy them. I believe this would encourage the player(s) to spend more time on the game and thus contribute to the community in some way in doing so, and potentially even look to sub/spend cash based on their experience and time invested. The current set-up is much more like an ultimatum, as I doubt the f2p population sticks around for very long once they realize the extent of their limitations. The other thing is that it's great for subbers and cashers to make more money. As it stands, cartel items sold over the credit cap appeal to a very narrow audience (presumably those who sub or cash but prefer to buy other things). But if F2P/preferred players could conceivably pay for these items with hard-earned credits then the market would open up much more, and you're less likely to have clowns price-crashing out of desperation. So yeah, that's my perspective. Idk about any chat restrictions because I subbed relatively quickly in this game, but that sounds lame as well.

I couldn't care less how the tone of my suggestion was interpreted. You (meaning the other poster) could put any sort of connotation on what I actually said, just don't misconstrue the actual content, least of all if you're going throw in a juvenile insult or two about thought process. Having said all that, I'm not even bothered by it, but have only responded in kind. Guilds work here the way they do in every other MMO. Do explain how my notion of them is somehow inconsistent with their actual workings. Moreover, I play on the Republic Side, Harbinger (WCT), PVE, and I've witnessed three things on a regular basis: 1) People asking for active guilds being met by rhetoric and doubt. 2) Players conceding to solo efforts because they simply struggle to find groups. 3) A number of stagnant guilds recruiting in the general chat and heavily dividing the population at large. It's happened enough for me to believe this issue is a chronic one. Now I've never said that volume equates to stronger comradery, but I don't think I need to explain the logic of increased opportunities through social networks. And I'm well aware that guilds are *supposed* to do this, and that players, to the extent that they can, should make this happen. But based on what I've witnessed, it doesn't seem to be working and could use some facilitation. Finally, I certainly haven't proposed anything about forcing anyone to do anything, unless "optional" has taken on new meaning in the last 48 hours or so, so provide that definition or spare me the condescension. As for my part, I'm actually content playing with my couple of close friends. I could do with or without a guild (I've never even asked to join one). My concern in all this is in the population itself, which I'm afraid could suffer if the players who do care about that thing feel like they aren't getting their needs fulfilled through existing mediums. I'll add--I'm sure this retort will come up otherwise--that just because I've confessed a more external interest in the matter doesn't mean that I can't recognize it as an existing issue that could warrant some discussion. It may be, like you said, that it's exclusive to the server or side I play on. If so, then the problem isn't as prominent as I would have thought. No problem!

^ Actually, if you read my post *more* carefully, you'll see that I said currently active guilds "may or may not be" disbanded, understanding that some people would prefer to maintain prior establishments. My preference, which was clearly marked by parentheses if not my vocabulary alone, was distinctively independent from my suggestion itself, which isn't contingent on either event. I clearly dismissed the possibility of disbandment as an optional, non-factor.Were you drunk or high, or is your comprehension just that lousy? Think your next response through, and take your own advice before taking the time to advise others or misquote me. Furthermore, as this is simply a suggestion, and certainly nothing definitive or concrete, I'm completely open to sensible discussion on the matter. I like the supplement offered by one poster above to make these houses over-arching allegiances among existing guilds, thus bringing people together while offering a compromise to those wanting to stay in their existing factions. I would add more, but I'm on my i-phone at the moment, so if anyone else wants to add something, shoot.

Introduction / Issue: Hi everyone, Let me start by saying that I love this game. After playing SWTOR, I can't even go back to some of the lousy f2p MMO's I was playing because the quality of this one just trounces those in every possible way. If I had one complaint about the game, however, it's that it can be a bit lonely. I currently play this game with one other friend in real life, but because of our busy, working schedules, it's very difficult for us to be on at the same time. I was in a guild for a while, but left it due to inactivity. A few glances at the general chat tells me this is a very common problem. People asking for active guilds are often met with a scoff, while others share tales of soloing heroics because of the lack of a community. Meanwhile, numerous guilds each day scamper to recruit players to what ends up acting as a very temporary and vacant home. This is troubling given that: 1. The SWTOR community is already heavily and inherently divided based on server, allegiance, planet, and sometimes class (none of which are a bad thing). 2. While I'm sure the community is quite big, it gives off the impression that it is rather small. 3. Newer players and even veterans may be discouraged by this stagnant situation. Solution: Create anywhere from 4-10 massive guilds (the fewer the better) that exist much like "Nations" or "Houses" to encompass a large pool of like-minded individuals new and old. These guilds can be made optional to join, and the already established guilds may or may not be disbanded (I would say disband them, but I'm sure some people would take offense for whatever reason). But maybe marking these as "official or "standard" guilds for the game will help to promote them and properly bring a massive numbers of players together in the way that none of the current guilds currently seem capable of doing. I love this game, and I just would hate to see its population suffer because of what appears to be a very common problem with an easy enough solution. Thanks for your time.