Official Q&A Thread for May 11th, 2012 Q&A Blog Post

[Desoull]

Will we be able to use our planet Commendation for something in the future? I have a lot commendations from many planets i can't use because i only got a few of them?

[Alienvolt]

The community needs something fast to keep current subscribers playing such as merging of servers or at the very least cross-server PVP and flashpoint finders. The bottom line is if there is not enough people to put groups together to play, people will eventually stop logging in to sit in fleet all day. What are your plans and how long are we expected to wait for something to be done?

[spineraptor]

Are there any plans to let us dye our armor pieces different colors? It'd be great to be able to customize the color scheme of our armor with purchasable/craftable dyes, even if it's only the chest piece and the other pieces still use unify.

[Bmilwip]

will there be any change made to how Mercenary healers remove heat ? At the moment a mercenary healer can not match the healing of an operative if both are = geared and skilled and this is a bit of a turn off from playing the mercenary healer if you can't be competitive in healing. While i don't think the way mercenary healers before the patch was acceptable heat removal was to good, it now seems that we can only cast 3 heals and have to wait a couple of seconds to heal again. When compared to the operative they can quickly regain energy with diagnostic scan. This does not seem entirely balanced. Edited May 6, 2012 by Bmilwip
typo

[zachiamm]

Ok, if or when you make server transfers available if I were to move my characters onto a server that more of my characters are on what will happen to the legacy. I would really appreciate it if you could answer this question:rak_01: Edited May 6, 2012 by zachiamm
Spelling error

[NRVNQSR]

Speaking as one of the early Legacy unlocker, I chose my Legacy surname before you made it clear that this would apply to every character I made on this server. Is there ever going to be an option to change my surname?

[EvoEmpire]

Edit....Not worth my time, they don't listen anyways Edited May 6, 2012 by EvoEmpire

[YolteotlOni]

Are there any plans to implement the Tattoos or Bounty Hunter exclusive facepaints to the Human Legacy unlock? The Presence bonus is appreciated and the non-level 50 alternate character cost is lower than all the other races, but I was so looking forward to making a new Consular with a BH facepaint after achieving my Legacy unlock only to be disappointed. Even if you somehow tiered it in to where there would be an additional cost, it would still be awesome.

[DeltaEkotte]

Are there any plans to improve space combat? To be exact, are we going to be stuck with a set flight path that we can only wiggle around in?

[Sinaed]

I was reading something earlier on allowing Bounty Hunters to place a price on a players head and allowing them to hunt them. Is that a possibility?

[Rodyn]

Will you folks ever add the ability for classes to wield other weapons? I don't mean to actually be effective in a fight with them, but to be able to equip them for aesthetic appeal. For instance, I roleplay a Moff on my Operative, and rifles aren't really a Moff weapon. I'd rather see him with a pistol strapped to his hip/thigh or a sword on his back, as it would be more befitting of the image.

[Baerik]

Why is there an apparent lack of regard for the guilds/groups who choose to raid 8 man content? I ask because Nightmare Pilgrim, a world boss that drops the Campaign Boot Token, therefore you need to kill it if you want total best in slot gear, doesn't suggest using 16 players it REQUIRES that amount. There are plenty of other examples littered throughout the currently available Operations, 8 man hardmode Kephess's Gift of the Masters ticks way too quickly and even extends beyond the giant purple circle placed on the ground, it wasn't even happening in 16 man and you chose to fix 16 before 8.

[Sevrun]

Greetings and thanks for the chance to offer some feedback.

 

As an officer of a large guild, we are finding it very difficult to accomodate alternate charachters within the 500 limit. Are there any plans to increase this limit, or develop new mechanics such as linked guildes to allow the smooth operation of guild activities (communication, organisation, banks, etc)?

 

Thanks!

 

Sev

[EdwardBengtsen]

According to this forum Post http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=442128&highlight=pureblood

you are saying that the rebreather not showing on Sith Purebloods is a feature working as intended.

Can you please explain how this is not a bug?

If it is wokring as intended is must mean it was a bug before patch 1.2, then I will do the odd thing and ask you to put this bug back into the game

[royobannon]

Hey guys!

 

Just wanted to ask for the Assassins and Shadows out there: will we ever have the ability to use electrostaves effectively in combat? As it is right now, there are several core skills such as our stances/charges that require a saberstaff, yet we have the proficiency for electrostaves as well. Knights and Warriors have something similar, and are able to use their vibroswords without being hindered in such a way, so why are Assassins and Shadows?

 

With the upcoming social armor changes, I would LOVE to run around in augmented Sand People armor wielding a Gaffi Stick, or at least the next best thing!

[ACLucius]

When you added Novare as a warzone, myself and many others I know were expecting something like a true "tug-of-war" type battle where each team would have to keep at least one person constantly channeling on the nodes to keep the turrets. However, it turned into just another Civil War with a different landscape and some slight changes in the details.

 

Are we going to eventually see dynamic forms of warzones, such as possibly escort missions, pure death matches, or possibly even a new "sport" involving the MGGS, as its description implies its use??

[SpaniardInfinity]

For PvP, how does the guard mechanic function? I know that guard splits damage between the guard and the guarded player 50/50, but specifically, what defensive stats are at play (if any) when that interception occurs? Are the guard's defensive stats taken into account, such as a damage reduction or defense rating in calculating the damage intercepted by the guard? Or is it just a simple 50/50 split?

[Azaros]

We got unify color's taking into account the Chest Piece. Not a bad idea.

 

However, has anyone looked into a Wardrobe add-on? Dev's please take a look at Rift's wardrobe. This was one of the best additions in an MMO I have seen implemented. Gear slots for your stats which is by fault your look, but then a wardrobe function that allows you to put gear in slots for the look you desire! And you can color dye the gear anyway ya want. Could add crafting dyes to a profession too! I'm sure I speak for the masses when I say, We want to make our characters our own!! Our color schemes, gear look, etc..! It makes our character truly ours! SWTOR needs a WARDROBE addition!

[timmytimster]

Hello BioWare! One of the most widespread things with the game in general, is how under-populated the servers are (especially on my server, Keller's Void PvE EST) compared to the first few weeks of the game. I would like to see that come back, and have a much more active endgame, so is merging servers foreseeable in the near future? Also, would something be done about faction balance while merging?

[CommanderKeeva]

I have a question about custom (orange) waist and wrist item slots as well as the new slot-bound armorings.

 

It is next to impossible to upgrade custom belts and bracers (such the new Legacy ones) because of the lack of non-slot bound armorings currently available in the game. It's great that we now have medium and heavy-rated belts and bracers but could you please provide us with a way to actually use them?

 

From what I understand the reason behind making the armoring slot-bound was that players would not be able to farm one operations boss for the set piece bonus. It's a good incentive and I like it but the thing is: Rakata and Columi level armorings (56 and 58) do NOT have the set bonus and are still bound to slot! I have a ton of extra Rakata gear that I would like to use to upgrade my belt and bracers but the current game system doesn't let me. What is the reason behind this?

 

Also would it be possible to create a more user-friendly system for armorings? Say it would be possible to equip armorings regardless of the type of item it was pulled out from but it would lose the set bonus if you put it in another type? Then people would still have to do the entire operation for the set bonus but would be able to upgrade items as well where a set bonus is not a concern like belt and bracers.

 

I know that random BoE armorings drop from operations but the chance of actually getting the EXACT type i need in a 16man operation is unthinkably small. Lvl50 armorings from daily missions are hardly viable in operations. (I've been doing operations 4 days a week since late December and in that time I managed to win maybe 2 BoE armorings.)

 

Thanks in advance if you decide to reply to this.

[Kissakias]

the game desperately need a LFG tool for FPs and OPs and anything that needs group (heroics-4, world boses)

try to finding players to do the lost island HM or a Eternity Vault in NM in a heavy server for hours isnt what i was expected.

 

and please remove the speeders from Fleet, already is lagged as hell, if you put and the duel as you say, well the 4-6 FPS will be permanent

[HammersteinSW]

Wil people please stop asking pointless questions like - "What is the story behind my companion".

 

The only relevant questions at the moment are:

 

When do we get server transfers ? Can it be speeded up since early summer is too late ?

 

and

 

When do we get a useful dungeon/raid finder ?

[Chosens]

When open PvP will be back?

[Goldenstar]

Would it be possible to see opposing teams have different colored AoE-symbols on the ground in same-faction warzones? It makes things really difficult when playing against an opposing imperial team on my sniper. I never know when the big Imperial insignia on the ground is going to cuddle me or clobber me!

[Barazane]

Many servers seem to be stabilizing at certain populations now and a lot of light populated servers are starting to seem empty, as their communities are moving to the high populated servers. What methods are you planning to use to tackle this issue as many people are wondering if a server merge may be heading our way?