Regarding the use of Galactic Season Tokens (GSTs) to unlock story missions associated with 3V-IL... Before I unload on Team SWTOR on Wednesday (which I most certainly will do), I am going to hold off on pulverizing the devs with my prescient powers of prose and (p)reserve prognosticating and pre-judging for the following reason: I read very carefully the post on "Galactic Season 5: Confidence in Power." https://www.swtor.com/info/news/article/20230901-0 While it does say that it will cost three GSTs to unlock the new story missions... It does not say whether the unlock is per character versus per legacy. I would be stunned if Team SWTOR would make it per character. Such a move would, indeed, be mind-boggling. In any case, we'll know in 3-4 days. I doubt since it is a holiday weekend in the U.S. that we will hear anything before Tuesday when the full patch notes are released. Personally, I'm fine with the cost of three GST's per legacy to unlock the quests. I'm sitting on max 15 GSTs with zero to spend them on, which is altogether a different concern. Dasty

You are 100% correct. The issue, at least for me, is that with one exception -- no one is 'white knighting' in this thread nor in the voluminous threads on this topic. The one poster (sorry Nee-Elder, it wasn't you who came to mind) that looks at the transition from Bioware to Broadsword as a sign that great things are about to materialize hasn't even posted in this thread. When I survey the landscape of people posting on this subject, the consensus position seems to be: Well, not much we can do about it, let's see what happens after 7.4, which presumably is largely done. After that? Who knows? Personally, I think Guyverarmor is most likely correct (I even assigned an 80 percent confidence interval to his / her view), but I am not privy (nor should I be) to the inner machinations of what is going on at SWTOR / Broadsword. With one or two exceptions, I dont see posters being 'partisan' or 'slavishly submitting' -- quite the contrary. Dasty

Facetious. Look it up in Webster's or Oxford; i.e, real dictionaries, not Urban. 😏 But thank you for the intro to modern colloquiliasms, hence my use of terms no longer in use. You are the wind beneath my wings. Dasty

I don't understand the sentiment that SWTOR should have "toppled" or that people are "white knighting" or that we are on "copium" (to use the apparently au curant term). I can only think of one forum poster, who has not even posted in this thread, who thinks everything is coming up roses in a galaxy far, far away. While the forum hardly represents a 'consensus' since so few of us post -- the vast majority of us who do post are simply saying -- "time will tell" and the most relevant question is: Are we currently enjoying our time in SWTOR? For me the answer is yes and I see no reason to cross a bridge (i.e., unsubscribing) until I reach the actual bridge. I'm confident that 7.4 will be released and could be the last hurrah. I also think you are most likely correct with your prediction (with around 80 percent confidence interval) that the game follows not just Rift but other examples as well and enters pure maintenance mode and the devs / other staff they hired are simply to help get 7.4 launched and then they get unemployed. I'm sure if that is true, most (I hope) are pushing out their resumes. They probably view the transition to Broadsword as a soft landing while they look for other employment because they have mortgages, kids, car payments, etc. But as the saying goes,'hope for the best, prepare for the worst'. I have no idea what happens after 7.4, but I'm not on copium -- I just take each day as it comes and is part of the reason I stay (mostly ) sane. All games end and I agree with you on some lurching back and forth b/t bad design decisions are responsible, all of which were internal to Bioware and had nothing to do with execs in Redwood, California (not saying you are blaming EA, but others do). My only point -- perhaps long-winded -- is: Those of us saying "time will tell" are not naive lemmings. Fortunately for me, while I'm a huge Star Wars fan, I love other games as well, currently ESO (the Necrom expansion is fantastic) and, most recently, Baldur's Gate 3. We'll see what Starfield holds which is being released next week. Overall this has been a great year for PC gaming with the exception of Diablo IV which is a hot mess. Dasty P.S. Can someone tell this 53-year old gamer where the term 'Copium' came from? I think it is totally rad. (See, I am 53 and, no, I won't gag you with a spoon!) 😍

Let's just agree to disagree. You simply can't account for why there was higher player retention after all three previous Galactic Seasons which showed a progressive and steady decline. You also can't explain the failure of 7.3 to witness even a modest boost of player activity, but instead a decline of over 40 percent. If you think the SWTOR team is happy that the retention rate has deteriorated so markedly there isn't really much point in continuing this aspect of the discussion. Peace out, Dasty

Flatly incorrect. You can't account for variation either inter or intra-Galactic Seasons. Season 1: April 27 – September 28, 2021 (ended) --Number of Players: 6,465 Season 2: February 15 – July 4, 2022 (ended) --Number of Players: 5,701 Season 3: October 20, 2022 – March 6, 2023 (ended) --Number of Players: 4,264 Season 4: March 28, 2023 – August 14, 2023 (ended) --Number of Players: 3585 You keep saying there is a burst at the beginning of a Galactic Season. I don't see anyone, much less me, disagreeing with you. The far more important question, however, isn't where you start, but where you finish. And the numbers above are dispositive. Moreover, as Sentinel posted in his OP, patch 7.3 (aka Old Wounds) including new quests on Voss and a new Flashpoint (Shrine of Silence) was released on June 13, 2023. This corresponded with a catastrophic freefall of over 40% for June and July 2023. The obvious conclusion is that Old Wounds (i.e., new content) didn't attract or even stabillize the population. You went from 6,938 average Steam players at the end of May 2023 to the current number of 3585. Put bluntly Old Wounds didn't do much healing. The numbers don't lie. Dasty

The data in no way support your argument. 1) You are ignoring the severity of the decline. You are correct there is an initial burst of enthusiasm when a new Galactic Season launches, but the number of players dissipates, particularly as we advance further in time. For ease of argument, let's take Galactic Season #1, which ended on September 28th, 2021. At that date, SWTOR ended with an average of 6,465 players on Steam. We just finished Galactic Season #4, which ended on August 14, 2023. So far in August, the average number of players is 3,602 on Steam. There is no way to spin those numbers in a positive light and suggest it is mostly, much less mainly, about Galactic Seasons. 2) The impact of Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3). BG3 was released on the PC on August 3, 2023 -- 3 weeks ago. I love it and play it. But there is no way you can account for BG3 impacting SWTOR for June and July, which saw Steam numbers collapse by over 40 percent. One can say ESO released Necrom (a very good expansion which I love) and Diablo IV (which I tried and sadly hated), but... Even if your argument about Galactic Seasons is correct for an initial burst...it fundamentally does not account for a decline of the degree of magnitude we have observed. 3) Players may still give SWTOR sub money but not play. Well, sure, but I think it is a safer bet to say that players are not going to subscribe to a game they don't play. Time will tell. Dasty

Which is far more than you need to establish statistical significance, the baseline for which is 0.05 percent. Even if you don't believe that Steam numbers reflect a broader trend, losing 3300 players in three months is troubling in its own right. Dasty

It's time to play Dasty the Grey Knight! 😇 Eleven days ago, on August 11th, SWTOR posted: Game Update 7.3.1 will be launching late August/early September! More details on the content above and the exact release date will follow in the coming weeks, so stay informed by keeping an eye on our forums and social channels. https://www.swtor.com/info/news/article/20230811-0 We are still well within that timeframe. Trixxie, sorry to be persnickety / pedantic and I don't fault you at all because you taught me (I truly didn't know) that countries like Australia and New Zealand consider the end of August the official end of summer. You wrote in this thread that in the U.S. summer officially ends on the 12th of September. You transposed the 1 and the 2. The official end of summer in the U.S. is the 21st of September. My experience is that SWTOR typically announces specific patch release dates no sooner than two weeks prior. If one considers early September the first 10 days of the month, that would mean SWTOR still has at least a week and a few days of change before we should reasonably expect an official launch date. Hugs, Dasty

I imagine we will know early next year. As others in this thread have noted, I'm fairly confident that 7.4, currently scheduled for a "holiday" release, is already pretty much fully cooked. After 7.4, however, I have no expectations one way or the other that there will be much more new content, particularly an 8.0. While I would be disappointed if it is entering full-maintenance mode, I'm fortunate that I like other games as much as SWTOR. Perhaps some of the dev team, artists, etc., moved over to Broadsword because they didn't want to be unemployed, even for a short period of time. I'm sure most have familial responsibilities, mortgages, car payments, etc. But one thing I imagine is true: Those who did switch over have a pretty good sense of what the medium-term plans are for SWTOR. Another point I imagine is true: If in fact this is just a short-term transition to get 7.4 out the door, I would be sending my resume all around Austin and other gaming development hubs around the planet. Dasty

I've run Secrets of the Enclave probably close to 40 times since it was released. This happened to me once as well on an Imperical character. I don't recall the class I was playing, but Aryn Leneer appeared around 10 minutes or so into the Flashpoint. As I had already run it several times on Imperials classes, I just chocked up to a relatively amusing and minor bug. Same as your experience, she did did not speak or appear in any cutscenes. My only thought after completing the FP was that I was grateful she didn't disrupt its completion quest-wise. Dasty

We're just going to have to agree to disagree. Publishers, even in books, movies, and recording artists very often impose deadlines because unless you're a superstar like Adele or making your own movie you don't set the terms. And this is done for a very good reason: Not releasing content means you're not bringing in any money. While daily newspapers obviously have stricter deadlines there are still plenty of longer-term investigative pieces being written. Do you really think a newspaper editor is going to let a journalist investigate a story for months on end? You're also mistaken about SWTOR and how it operates for a simple and fundamental reason: Players let their subscriptions lapse / or go on hiatus when there are significant content droughts. There is overwhelming evidence to support this point. All one needs to do is look at Steam charts which very often (not always) clearly show a bump in player activity coinciding with new content releases. This is true across the entire MMORPG landscape. Do you really think players are going to pay for subs when they aren't playing the game? I'm an altoholic so it may not apply to me, but I'm also not like a lot of players. The evidence on this point is incontrovertible. Take, for example, the release of 7.0. A lot of players were upset because they resubscribed in early December to prepare for its launch only to have Keith announce that it was going to be delayed for two months one week prior to the originally scheduled launch date. Do you really think those players wouldn't have waited until February to resubscribe? So setting reasonable schedules and doing your best to adhere to said schedules is a core aspect of any publishing-related industry -- and rightly so. Dasty

I take your point, but I've also seen the other side. At some point publishers, regardless of industry (magazines, books, movies / tv, gaming, music, etc.) need to make money. Deadlines are needed to keep the lights on and pay the staff who are also crucial parts of the machine. Without them the artists / creators will all too often delay, delay, delay until they believe they have perfected the product. Dasty

What is really frustrating about this thread is most of us are trying to help you. We offered you solutions, most of which you ignored. We tried to help you. We presented alternatives. So far, you seem to agree with mine of a dedicated level. /shrug Let's wait and see if BS/SWTOR agrees with you. Don't hold your breath. Dasty

You expect Broadsword / SWTOR to devote resources to recoding the sound and visual effects of dozens of abilities (if not more) for the sole purpose of allowing players to duel on fleet? G'luck with that! More broadly, all three who responded to this thread (myself, Cynical Steve, and Addictress) have proposed permutations to accommodate your desire to duel on fleet (i.e., we're trying to help you). I proposed a separate level; Cynical Steve proposed transporting you to a "mini-instance"; and Addictress proposed having certain sections of the fleet available for dueling. Cynical Steve and I are proposing close to the functional equivalent, though with my solution of a dedicated fleet level you wouldn't have to spam duel requests -- you would know all players on that level were there to duel. The issue with the proposed solution of Addictress is twofold: 1) it would be difficult to demarcate the boundaries -- does someone auto-forfeit if they move out of the zone?; and 2) the fleet is chock full of close cramped corridors and vendors are prevalent throughout so establishing where on the main level of the fleet would be difficult. Perhaps the other ships on the fleet with wider open spaces would work. And perhaps Cynical Steve's idea of a certain area in the Cartel Bazaar would work, but you would have to clearly demarcate boundaries and it couldn't accommodate more than a few duels. Regardless, your proposal is DOA. Broadsword and SWTOR are not going to recode abilities which would apply only if dueling. And, frankly, we're just going to agree to disagree on whether or not I should or would find it annoying for griefers to jump around like jackrabbits spamming even muted abilities while I try to interact with a vendor, bank, etc. Time will tell if your proposal gains traction. I wish you the best of luck. Dasty

This is an unequivocal hard NO from me. 1) This would expand exponentially the ability to grief RP-ers with a lot of noise, flashing lights, etc. 2) People would intentionally be annoying around banks and vendors. If SWTOR wanted to create a separate level on the fleet which was meant exclusively for dueling, I'd be fine with that because I would never go there. It would also mean that anyone on that level is there to duel. Fleet is annoying enough as it is, particularly with General Chat, which I always turn off. Why add to its annoyance? Dasty

I'm familiar with it, but never played it. To me, though, it isn't really Hardcore. The thrill in D2 was being out in the wild when you heard the dreaded PK / Hostility sound. That was the rush. No world PVP = not truly Hardcore for me b/c I'm a purist. Death = Death. Also not sure why they mix in non-Hardcore players since you can only group with those who chose Hardcore. I'll trust you on Turtle WoW Hardcore mode being packed. I know WoW very well, but only up to 2016 and Battle of Azeroth. I had max level characters of each class back then up until late 2016 when I created a new SWTOR account. Haven't touched WoW since then. Still, though, while I admire your goal of pushing boundaries in SWTOR, I just don't think there is the demand in SWTOR for such a niche server. We're down to 5 servers as it is. I respect your proposal, but given how small the SWTOR population already is -- it ain't happening and almost certainly not worth the cost of developing. Also, where would the server be located? My guess is we will agree to disagree which is fine. I like many of your other posts. 😇 Edit: I'm not sure your comparison to Burning Crusade applies here, given that Turtle WoW is so much smaller in comparison. Still, I remember standing on 23rd and Broadway in NYC in the frigid cold to purchase Burning Crusade (still used hard copies back then) at midnight. The line was literally circling around the block. Good times! Dasty

It would require Broadsword / SWTOR to create a completely new server in order to enforce a Hardcore ruleset. I just don't think there is enough of an audience to warrant such a server. I'm a big fan of Hardcore Mode in ARPGs (e.g., Diablo, Path of Exiles, etc.). While I'm not a fan of Diablo IV (I played about 50 hours, completed the main quest, and got bored), I played D2 and D3 exclusively Hardcore once through main quest (D2 actually required you to do this). I'm not sure a Hardcore Mode server works well in MMORPGs, particularly SWTOR -- you are essentially ruling out Warzones, any type of progression raid content, etc. And, as always, as I observed on the Diablo IV forums over the past two months, there is the incessant whining about how..."OMG! I lost my Level 77 Druid to a disconnect! Blizzard, restore my character now!" 🤣 For those players, I have no sympathy. Ten years ago, my adorable cat (may she RIP) knocked over a fabulous glass of Chateau Margaux all over my compter, instantly frying both my keyboard and my Level 80-something Hardcore Sorceress. All I could do was laugh. 😃 Dasty

Part of the confusion stems from the following: You have to piece together different posts from SWTOR staff. Keith posted last on June 27th as a follow-up to Gary McKay's (head of Bioware) blog post where he was trying to allay fears about the transfer of operational control to Broadsword. In that post he includes a link to a blog post which indicates that 7.3.1 will also include the launch of Galactic Season 5. In other posts, Bioware has indicated that 7.3.1 is scheduled to have a launch date in late summer. I know in the U.S. where I live, we essentially consider Labor Day (a U.S. only holiday) to be the end of summer, which this year happens to fall on September 6th. Technically, though, the official end of summer is September 21st. I'm intimately familiar with this because my birthday is June 21st, the official start of summer. (I would note that I did not receive one birthday present from any of you scumbags!) 😛Broadly speaking, though, most Americans consider summer to be June through August, very early days of September. In other words, assuming plans remain intact (a big assumption), we can expect Galactic Season 5 to launch no later than September 21st. Here is a link to the relevant blog post. Note: the first is from Gary McKay, Bioware's General Manager. Scroll down to the second part of the blog which is from Keith himself. It includes the relevant information pertaining to this thread. There are other threads from SWTOR staff saying 7.3.1 is scheduled for a late summer release. The launch of 7.4 is tentatively scheduled for a "holiday" release -- operative term being tentatively. https://blog.bioware.com/2023/06/27/bright-future-for-swtor/ Dasty

I think a reasonable compromise is that they might create some Story Mode versions of older Flashpoints. For some Flashpoints it could be as easy as just adding the Combat Droid. In a couple of Flashpoints they would have to change few mechanics. It is a bridge too far, though, to ask Broadsword / SWTOR to make Operations soloable. That would require not just some minor tweaks but a fundamental redesign of far too many of the fights which currently require coordination amongst players -- which is the entire point of Operations. The resource / time investment to do so would far exceed the benefit in my opinion. Dasty

Am I really dusty? 😛 Private message sent. Regards, Dasty

Hey! I sent you a private message with the spoiler. Open at your own risk! Dasty

I agree that it is time to wrap this storyline up. As I quipped before in a different thread, it is a bit like "Winter is Coming" from Game of Thrones, which took years to finally arrive. However, and I won't spoil it, but most will know what I mean (but not all, which is why no spoilers)... SWTOR strongly hinted at the end of Echoes of Oblivion (EoO) who the next big baddie is going to be. With recent changes in studios / writers, etc., I obviously can't guarantee the foreshadowing in EoO will come to fruition in 8.0 (assuming there is an 8.0), but it's a distinct possibility. Full disclosure, I was mixed on 7.3. I thought the Flashpoint, Shrine of Silence, was well done, but I found the main story was kind of blah / meh. While I agree that SWTOR backed themselves into a corner by having us defeat the most powerful evil force in the galaxy, I didn't think they would make us sweep floors and take out garbage. Moreover, the ending was still yet another breadcrumb. Dasty

This post would have a lot more credibility and resonate more powerfully if you didn't necro a thread from a year ago. A thread I might add that practically coincided with the release of 7.1, which introduced Hyde and Seek -- thereby allowing Non-R4 Anomaly players to pretty easily advance to Blue ILvl 336 Flashpoint gear. It also completely ignores the changes in 7.2 and 7.3 which now make it even easier to obtain that ILvl 336 gear. Now that you can buy Flashpoint Stabilizers with Conquest Commendations, you don't even need to step one foot in a Veteran Flashpoint. I completely agree that 7.0 gearing (along with bugs) was such a disaster that I even suspended my account for several months until 7.1 was released (coinciding with some other important game design and personnel changes). The yawning chasm between gear in Bioware's silly attempt to get people to play only R4 in the original 7.0 release was enough to make me take a break. But if you're going to make sweeping generalizations about raiders being pathetic, you should at least make certain you're not criticizing a gearing system that is no longer applicable and hasn't been for a year. I have many criticisms of SWTOR, but the current gearing system is not one of them. Dasty

Yet, there are number of players who, even in this very thread, disagree with you. Forgive my language...who are you <<blank>> to invalidate their opinion? I actually agree with a lot of your points. The difference is I respect people to disagree with me. It's what some us call == life. Dasty