I've had entire parties be one-shotted by those things, regardless of whether or not they were in the blue circle, regardless of what class they/I were playing. I think it's really just a matter of luck more than anything else. I know the only way I've ever been able to complete the flash point (solo or grouping) was to just skip them by stealthing past. Have yet to actually kill them.

Don't spend much time on the forums, but I can honestly say this is the first expansion that I'm very much not ok with. Admittedly, my issues for this start way back to the Foundry and a certain novel. But see, the flashpoints? I could just avoid the flashpoints, I could just not read the book (and in fact, borrowed it from a friend and was glad I did not spend money on it). This is Revan getting shoved into my face and down my throat. I get the feeling that this is either someone's attempt at Making More Money, or an attempt to fix something that was broken... by breaking it further. I'd like to think that most of the writers on staff know better, so I'm willing to bet that this was a decision made by someone who understands money but little else going "Hey, they like Revan right? Heck knows those Revan outfits go for a lot of money on the Galactic Market. Lets add MORE REVAN. They're willing to pay for that after all." We do not need more Revan. We need less Revan. I've seen a few theories floating around that whoever's wearing the mask isn't really Revan. I hope this is the case. Let the man die and stay dead with what little dignity he had left. For myself, I'll be passing on the expansion pack, sinking my cartel points into permanent unlocks for my favorite PCs, and letting my subscription lapse. Money where my mouth is, after all.

Both of those are why I'm not a big fan of Vette, especially as a love interest. I actually switched out my male warrior for a female one when I found out that Vette was a love interest. She reminds me far too much of Mission - the 14 year old twi'lek - from KOTOR. (Now that I know who the VA is that conclusion makes more sense for me.) It felt too much like pedophilia. Vette's age isn't explicitly stated, but she certainly doesn't start out displaying the mannerisms of an adult. The article talks a lot about how Vette makes dicey life choices, but those are all "from a certain point of view." She doesn't go for - or even tolerate - DS choices. Her "questionable" history runs from jumping from a life of slavery into a life of piracy, and her life as a relic hunter. From what we see of the relic hunting, I don't think even the mother's of the people she ripped off would be overly upset about her actions. Her time with the pirates is glossed over except for her relationship with Risha, and based on how she described the pirates I got a more "Robin Hood Prince of Thieves"/"Pirates of the Carribean" feeling than "pirates who'll kill you for your loot." It took some time for me to warm up to Vette, I like her fine as a "sister" character, but there's a lot of tell and that doesn't match what we're shown about her character. ______________________ Vette aside, I'm betting internet cookies that the next article is going to be a female love interest. I adore Elara, Risha is cool, and I'm kinda "meh" on Nadia, but it'd be nice to see something that's not so... obviously catering to the guys. Lets do Qyzen! We can pretend the idea was really to get through the first companion characters you get instead.

THIS. THIS SO MUCH. As an addendum: the affection gains should probably be adjusted too. I get that your first companions give affection the most slowly since, at the beginning, they're the only ones giving all the love. But later on it's ridiculously easy to have maxed out the later companions, affection wise, while your very first companion sits at the "meh" point of affection. I've yet to have a situation where my first companion was also the first maxed out in affection. They're usually the last. And another thing! The article specifically mentions how Kaliyo views the other companions on the ship. I've maxed out three PC's, and have a good six others sitting in their 20's and 30's, but seeing the companions interact with, or talk about eachother is rare. I can only think of four accounts (one of which was from watching a youtube video of a scene I wouldn't get due to my PC being the wrong gender) where the companion characters interact/mention the other companions aboard the ship, and how they relate. I would really like to see more of that, a la KOTOR2, and can think of a couple of really interesting interactions/confrontations (Ashara and Xalek come to mind).