I've been playing TOR from the start, but so far always just playing alts up to the end of class story missions on lvl 50. Now I'd like to continue playing the post-lvl 50 content (PvE), but I'd like to know how should I approach it chronologically, resp. what can I skip also in order not to be spoiled? Point being: me and a friend of mine would like to get to the Shadow of Revan storyline, that's the most important thing. Our characters are slightly above lvl 50, and we've already decided that we e.g. don't necessarily want to do Ilum, or skipping the whole Dread Master thing, etc. I figured we need to be lvl 55 to start the SoR, but so what can we do meanwhile (excluding random PvP or such), preferably something with story which is nice but not too long? Simply, the most important questions we have are something like this: Do we have to do Makeb in order to be able to access Shadow of Revan? And if not, is there something story-wise that we are going to miss? (Spoilers that relate to stuff that is supposed to happen on Makeb etc.?) What are all the other pre-Forged Alliances things (Manaan etc?) How do they relate to SoR? Where do we get them, how do we get them? Where do the Forged Alliances storylines start? Who is the quest-giver and where? Thanks for any replies

Okay, thanks for the replies. Well, that pretty much takes away the sense of them for me. Nope, I know that they are there primarily for the quests, but given that it'd be a quite nice gadget for looking around, also because I am mainly a RPer and one could also use it for that. I mean, it's a bit too little for having one series of missions with them (I don't know how long it is, but still probably not very long, given you are level 52 when you get them). Given the amount of fuss the devs made around it, you'd have expected it to be available in the game for longer time.

This is just a probing question. When do you get the binoculars? Is it limited by level, or by certain quest, or...? I don't have the expansion yet and this actually is one thing why I would consider getting it, but I would really like to know if you can use the binoculars also with your below-50 lvl characters. As in, it would be great to have them with my low-level characters and travel around the galaxy with them as I level up (because then I could randomly stop and enjoy the scenery). But how is it? If it's only a reward for some high-level quest or whatever, then I'm not sure if it's worth it.

It is on Dromund Kaas, fortunately. At the pvp vendors in the booths with the class skill trainers. But not on the fleet, which is quite stupid. It would really really really make me angry if it was gone... there are indeed some of the best-looking armors in the game! (Screw Cartel spam armors and nude guys, these old-fashioned ones are still the best.)

Indeed, it is there, but this whole thing is absolutely ridiculous! I was seriously freaked out when I found out at the fleet. Especially since I've been hoarding literally thousands of commendations with my alt so that I could get full BH set once I hit the proper level, and now this... Anyway, this was really a stupid thing to do, seriously. I have never said anything against Bioware during this whole time, and I've been a subscriber from start and stayed, but even these little things - are just stupid. It does not make any sense whatsoever, who wants to travel to Kaas to get their armor? And how about the low-lvl pvpers, how are they supposed to know where to find it?

I will completely second this. Also, some more KOTOR-esque armor things. I don't necessarily mean Darth Malak's pyjamas (although...), but the Sith soldier armor from KOTOR (e.g. the one used on Taris as disguise) would look awesome. Since you already have Darth Nihilus' mask, which IMO makes little sense, this at least would. (Armor with "antique" feel which looks cool on top of everything.) Robes like Visas Marr's (light, red, with all the nice stuff on them...). You could throw in white Echani robes on the "good side" for balance, or anything else that can be thought of.

Why dual spec? You can be a hybrid if you wish. I know, I know, some classic complaints how you are never that good... but really, is that important? And after all, you can respec. So what is the problem?

I would absolutely back this idea. The /me command is in no way different from /say (i.e. it cannot cause any problems like, say, a both-faction chat would) and it really is a thing very helpful (and I would say "neat") for the RPing. So I see no reason why the /me command should not extend to the opposite faction...

1) Yes or No to Cathar being the new race? Yes. 2) If Yes, why? If No, why not? Any new species is addendum to the diversity. If this game thrives (and I hope it will), we are going to see many and many new different races in the future. We can just as well start with Cathar, I'm fine with it. Being a KOTOR-lover, if I go through the list of species of companions from back then, we have them present here: Twi'lek, Miraluka... and Cathar is missing so far. My personal opinion of Juhani aside, I think there will be enough people who will appreciate this. 3) If Yes, Species you would also like to see, if any? If No, Species you would rather see, if any? I have always wanted to see Mon Calamari, but it may be too non-human for Bioware to implement. I don't really care that much, or can't think of anything very specific at the moment. 4) Do you feel Cathar are too Republic aligned to fit well as a section for the Empire? Maybe. You can of course have slaves - no problem with Inquisitors, then; and Bounty Hunters can be probably more or less anything. Somebody had mentioned this So I don't see that big problem per se - the main problem being in the missions on Taris where people are talking to you like "you know, we got those ugly savage beasts here, disgusting creatures, mind slaughtering them all?" But maybe they'll put in a few more dialogue options - if that's possible. 5) Do you feel Cathar like most already implemented species resemble humans to greatly? Yes, but that is not a problem. Bioware had announced in the very beginning it is aiming to introduce more or less human-like species. In fact, thinking back, given how close Cathar are to humans, it is surprising it wasn't implemented earlier. So, totally going for it. In the logic of the game, it is a must-have. 6) Addition Pro/Cons towards or against Cathar? Cathar have already been given quite large role in the SWTOR universe, so it's only fitting we have them as playable race, being the close-to-human species they are.

I would join this pledge. It is really pretty confusing, say, walking around a planet and starting the same conversation for already the tenth time. Sure, eventually you learn to recognize the NPC, but still, with e.g. twenty random Rodians standing around on a planet you've been to only for two hours yesterday evening, it might take a while... (even worse of course in the case of random quest terminals)

Pretty neat, I must say. Maybe these are cosmetic changes, but I think that's exactly the minor things which make the difference between a good game and a boring (or annoying) one. All these things, in fact, are something I personally have been looking for a long time. So totally approved, good job, Bioware.

Timmns was a brilliant character, agreed. I am playing for a (mildly) dark-sided Sith Warrior, but he is "honorable", or how should I put it, he is not the mindless wreaking havoc type, he is a Lord, an aristocrat, if you wish. He does everything for the good of the Empire and he is a bit idealistic when it comes to thinking that when the Empire rules the Galaxy, everything will be set right. He believes in that using the Dark Side is a good thing, he believes that those with power should rule, because they are also the wise ones (which is also rather idealistic). There were two major impacts on his worldview, though: First one was Vette - after meeting her, I think he had become on one hand a bit more realistic and down-to-earth, seeing what "real life" means as opposed to idealistic drafts of a perfect Imperial society, at the same time making him wish to make common people's lives better. The second one was Timmns, who made rather good impression on him on first sight, being witty and resourceful and at first, he was only a welcome ally. But as they came to the end,

My problem probably does not bother many as much (even though it troubles ME mightily ), but still, for the record. To the things I have said (no VO companion sound): Imperial Agent (at least the Skaross Fortification and Mugaar Ice field I am sure about), for instance, and Bounty Hunter (all the first three missions). I want to try it for my Sith Warrior to see if it does the same. But from what I have seen this far it seems to me like it could be global.

I haven't noticed any specific problems as to performance etc, except that it loads a lot longer and therefore, on slower computer (like mine), I might end up e.g. missing the initial objectives if they appear early in the beginning (some fighters you need to shoot etc). However, what REALLY REALLY disappointed me was that there seems to be (at least from my part, somebody tell me if it is just my personal bug or if all of you experience it) NO companion voiceover since the last patch. The Space combat completely loses half of the spirit with that. The pace completely disappears, there are long dull moments when nothing happens. I can live with lots of stuff, but THIS is a big deal for me, of all things - I really like the space combat and this completely changes it.

Very respectable choice, and I would not have expected less from you, Bioware. To be honest, I have no idea what exactly my legacy lvl is, it very well might be 5 (it is 4 at least, but I recall it's been quite some time), but I applaud you even if it happened perchance that I don't qualify. Basing stuff simply on lv 50 endgame-chasing would be a bad choice and I know you are wise people who do not make bad choices. Mostly. (But if you do, you correct it, as we've seen a couple of times, and that is what I value the most.)

That is true. However this is nonsense. Or, rather, I disagree with it on principle. It was BioWare themselves who had been promoting the "don't rush, there is PLENTY of content in our game" attitude. The point is, it goes against their own logic (or the way I understood it). To be honest, I do not really care. I won't deny that 30 days extra would be nice - I mean, who wouldn't like that - but whatever. Still, I am at loss as to why reward based on level. What about "gourmet players", as somebody had phrased it? I have been around since the launch, had preordered, all that stuff, I even had spent quite a lot of time in the game - I certainly belong to the group of people who happened to be so lucky to have relatively lot of free time (or unlucky? Given how time-consuming this game can turn to be ), yet still, I don't have any lv 50 character. Why? Well, I have like four alts, but most of all, I am in no rush. And very often I had spend literally half a day playing without advancing a level. I can spend a day exploring, socializing with other players, roleplaying, doing stuff which is even below my level so that I hardly get xp for that, including exploring possible quests, locations, datacrons, space combat, you name it. So I just like to casually walk around, so to say, and enjoy the surroundings. I think that sort of person is enjoying every part of the game (or almost every part), exactly like BioWare seemed to advertise it, the richness of the content and all that. I know it all comes down to marketing, but still, why the target group is those who have reached 50-level? Will it help advertising the game? To whom? How? Or maybe BioWare thinks the "gourmet players" like the game so much that they are going to enjoy it anyway? It is just rather interesting question.

I always expected the Imperial Agents to be flirty (with all the James Bond hints etc), but as far as I can tell for female Imperial Agents, nothing much. I got up to 30-something level with a female IA and I can recall like two cases when some flirting happened, and that was related to the main story quest. (If I don't count the romanceable companion.) Not that my character is designed to be a flirty one, in fact, rather the opposite, but still - I thought there would be chances to flirt with almost any random person (especially other agents).

It took me until the last paraghraph to actually even start thinking it's an April joke, because it does not sound THAT implausible (and most of all, they said you'll be able to get influence with the droids in the new update, so this would be just sort of advancement...). Seriously though, COMPLETELY SERIOUSLY, I think it is not such a bad idea. The minigame of cleaning windows, making beds and food would be awesome. If you could just do it randomly when you are on the ship, why not? For fun. Because this far the droids are really just a talking piece of furniture. I think this would be a good way of making them a "living part" of it. Seriously. I would start a petition for that. I think we could suggest that in the suggestion box. The romance and co. stuff was a bit over the top, but the beginning - the first few paragraphs - sounded really good. I THINK YOU REALLY COULD DO IT, BIOWARE.

/signed. It is really annoying, also because there is e.g. a person I have made friends with an alt, and then I started playing with a different character, but would still like to add the first person to my friend list also for the alt, yet I have to keep checking whether the person is online or not...

Balmorra? Was it a class quest, or a "normal" one? Which side (Empire, Republic)? At the Imperial side, up until level 30 for two characters I haven't encountered a single puzzle, I believe, and I have done practically all the quests (maybe not something from some bonus series). And anyway, even if there might be one or two, I'd still say it's too little - seems like unused opportunity for making more (and most of all, more variable) quests. In KOTOR, you had at least one such puzzle per planet (and somewhere more)... at least that would have been nice. I mean, the point is to make the hacking and slashing and running from one place to another more interesting.

Relatedly - somebody just seems to have had a similar idea (coincidence, or the Force is trying to show something to us? ), so adding this here just for the sake of cross-linking the similar topics: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=3025868#post3025868

Agreed. The same goes for the Imperial side with Black Talon. I mean, in many of the FPs, apart from talking (on the imperial side) to Darth Malgus (or whoever is the mission giver), you don't get any conversation... TOO many of the FPs are like that, I'd say. Why couldn't you talk to a Republic boarding party before you butcher them? How about some lost archaeologists elsewhere? Why not have a nice chat with the Advozse warlord? Etc etc... I know it is better to have some "pre-buff time" before the boss fights, but why not make it so that you can talk and the battle does not start immediately after you finish the discussion, but you are still at the distance when the enemies don't attack you yet, so you have time - story-wise, in order to prevent people complaining about that it'd be immersion-breaking to finish the conversation with saying "so be it! We will fight you!" and then still wait for a minute, we could make it so that the enemies wait for you to approach? (Because that's how it usually is anyway!)

Great suggestion, I'd say - and a similar thinking at similar point, in fact, I just posted my own suggestion about basically the same topic http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=319926 I am all for more brainwork... I can understand that people prefer to have the glowing triangle on a minimap for instance (I very often enjoy it myself), but basically, more brainwork, yes, wouldn't harm anybody for sure...

I will return to KOTOR for this suggestion - one thing I really liked there were the puzzle-quests (as in: move all engines from one pylon to the next, X must go before Y, Y before Z etc... or "repair the droid by filling in correctly the sequence 1-2-4-?"). I am no puzzlemaniac myself and I hate maths, personally, but it was fun once in a while - and I think here it would really be nice. I don't understand why you haven't implemented anything like that in the normal quests (or if you did, then I didn't encounter it this far, which I find improbable). I know there are some puzzle things in the Operations, but I wouldn't mind having that in normal quests, too. What exactly I mean: - adding those as subquests which are not obligatory to complete (i.e. adding them among the quest when you come to some quest area, you have your class quest there, then some stage of the planetary quests, and then X completely unrelated quests - so it could be one of those) - I would suggest at least one such a quest per planet or something like that, shouldn't be that difficult (optimally, I would suggest something like 1-4 quests per planet, effectively I think there could be as many of them as one in each of the "stages" - compounds, quest-getting-places or something) - could be done along the lines of "go to the desert, find the broken droid who wandered off, repair it and bring it back". You could even have some more dilemmas along the way - like "you have found the droid - repair? (LS points and you must complete the puzzle of "reset the droid parts in the order that it does not overload and explode"...) / destroy (or fight it) and tell the owner it was dead already (DS points)" or such... - can be done with droids (see above), combining chemical substances, rewiring equipment or radar relays, I am sure there will be plenty of possibilities of where to utilize this... Reasons and advantages: - it'd be fun and change from the tedious hack and slash, hack and slash quests - especially all the sidequests tend to be very much the same, and apart from the dialogues with the questgivers it tends to get boring and stereotypical after a while - it is much more interesting to go and e.g. "repair the radar tower" by adding a sequence of numbers in the proper order than by just clicking it once - we have just "hack and slash" (whichever reason you are doing it for) or "gather certain number of XY" quests, so why not this? - if you don't like puzzles, you don't need to do the quest - last remark: I know somebody could object by saying that eventually, you can solve the quest just by working on the trial-error basis, and that the quest won't be as fun to repeat, but then again, which quest is? And for the math geniuses, the quests will likely be primitive, but I assure you, there are certainly many of those like me who WOULD enjoy the challenge tremendously