Epic post is epic. Don't forget - they have to make some paydays not count at all. For no reason whatsoever. "Working as intended".

Sadly, MMOs have always attracted the kind of gamer that seeks to "rise in the hierarchy" of the social network by investing time and energy into it being a second job (or maybe a first?). Fun takes a backseat for these gamers, and any changes that threaten to open the gameworld more is met with prejudice ("Go back to [insert other mmo]") and fear. It's saddening. An automated, intra-server LFG system and dual spec has next to no downsides for these gamers, and casuals stand to win everything. And yet, this is often exactly what irks them.

What does knowledge of anything have to do with players skipping flashpoints and 4man heroics? I know I do the same. It's just not worth the hassle of finding a healer, a tank and make them stay. If the chat on my two servers are any indication, I'm far from the only one with this issue. As a Dev, why bother making flashpoints if only a few "non-lazy" players get to see them? Think before you post.

First week, first month... it means nothing. Long-term retention of players is all that matters. Have they covered their development and marketing costs? Probably. Will it be enough to have TOR rise to greatness even remotely close to WoW? Hardly. They need to secure their playerbase, and the more hoops and hinders you make them struggle with, the less will stay. With things like Diablo 3, Guild Wars 2 and Pandaria all on the horizon, they need to be VERY mindful of how "basic" they can afford the game to be.

A terrible, rudimentary LFG system that no one uses? I dunno, first thing that came to mind...

Obvious troll aside, I'll bite - Depending on your preference and generation, some people would see this as decent music. While I'm not one of those myself, the same would apply here for the MMOs. Just because the earlier generations of MMO players fancied long waits spamming /1 and respec'ing between every encounter, doesn't mean the new one does. As for either music or game features, the community decides what is regarded as 'good' in the end. I can only hope the naysayers of yesteryear don't win through.

Just like LFR opened content up to casuals like me. My god, it's like they want peope to play the game or something. Heresy! I demand you stalk the /1 channel for half a day looking for a group that might fall apart anyway...

Why are people so deathly frightened at borrowing good ideas from hugely successful competitors? That's like saying "TOR has little hints and jokes while loading. Just like WoW. Zomg, it's clearly World of Star Wars: Cataclysm!". If someone does something clever, there's no reason why you shouldn't attempt to incorporate that into your own product. The trick is making it unique enough to stand on its own. See the difference?

Most likely. You can probably find nerdraging zealots for every minor perk and feature about this game. Their weapon of choice is usually "Everything is fine. Don't change anything. Go back to WoW!". It starts out amusing, but quickly becomes drab.

If it proves nothing, then how come the community is split about this to such a degree? If TOR was perfect in its Dungeon/Flashpoint system design, why would people want to bring ideas over from others - such as WoW? Being lazy has nothing to do with it. A barebone system like the one we have now, or spamming /1 for a few hours (while standing in the 'lobby' of the Fleet) until we get a group is not immersive, not social and is not a good way to spend gametime. Perhaps you're the one playing the wrong game? Have you tried Everquest? I hear they still do things "the good ol' way" sometimes.

I think your view on cause and effect are off base. WoW reached its peaks over the years because it was the only one out there of such reputation and quality/quantity. Before WoW implemented those features, no one really expected them in a game either. You can't say WoW was doing fine without it, because there was no other game with it. The fact that people, including myself, crusade for those features now only prove their success.

Underlined the important part. Forums have always been, and will always be, the vocal MINORITY. Unless the polls have a huge landslide of people voting, you really can't (and shouldn't) base anything on them. A local-server LFD feature and dual spec is a must in today's MMOs. WoW made damn sure of that. Could we live without it? Sure. Do most casuals want to? God, no. And yes, as an MMO, they WILL cater to us casuals. The bottom line of their quarterlies demands nothing less.

At least some of us are trying to discuss is seriously anyway. Can't blame us for trying

This is probably the only valid arguement I've seen since Dual Spec was first brought up. And most likely the only valid one. Which is a shame, because the truth here is frightening to say the least. If this is indeed their motivation for not implementing Dual Spec, it's a huge step backwards for the MMO genre. All the way back to Everquest with "Sorry, you rolled X. Even though you can do Y, you should only do X. Or reroll. Next!" Terrifying prospect...

Yes, because clearly having to reset my talents and hotkeys every half hour is EXACTLY how I want to experience the game. Gee, thanks for telling me! I'm a huge fan of this game and this universe, and I'm also a fan of Warcraft. WoW has it right with dual spec. Stop seeing everything in shades of black & white.