Please terminate the Eternal Alliance and put the Lana Beniko doll down

[AJediKnight]

Lana:

• Is far too prominent a vanilla figure in a galaxy - an entire lore system, really - that is built around (mostly) irreconcilable, binary positions and beliefs. We can play at being 'light' Sith and 'dark' Jedi all we want, but the core of Star Wars is about good guys vs. bad (even if we disagree on who the good and bad guys are); light vs. dark. Lana's achievement of this perfect, steady, unshakable position between the two poles (while more complex characters on both sides struggle with demons [light and dark]) doesn't really fit with how we understand the force (or how it is presented to us through the story).
• Moreover, is a character whose very existence represents a position of equilibrium that players cannot achieve. We can't really walk the 'grey' path - not unless we commit this strange succession of evil and good choices, in the process transforming our characters into inconsistent or even arbitrary puddles of ethical goo. But Lana can? Lana is the only sane person in a galaxy populated by Jedi and Sith who just can't figure this thing out? Bull.
• Is an older sister type character who is exhausting for many of us to suffer through. I get it - Lana thinks she knows best. For some people, that's part of her charm. And I agree that we should have more characters that feature flaws/complexities like this. But she's not someone my consular would have tolerated for this long... or my Bounty Hunter. And for those of us who don't need or want her playing secretary to our CEO, there should be an option to jettison her. 
• Just isn't that interesting overall. In always taking the commander's side, Lana is essentially a one-man echo chamber for the protagonist - a hand-holding guide who shepherds, encourages, and prods the protagonist onwards (while simultaneously nodding 'yes' to everything), but who rarely displays the stones to contradict or disagree with us. At best, Lana is a security blanket - at worst, she's a toady; a sycophant. She will go along with anything and everything we say and do - no matter how light or dark we are. She's a person without a core; without any real foundation other than to be 'there.'

The Eternal Alliance:

• Is a third wheel. Literally. The galaxy used to make sense - a war between two massively different societies. Now it has 'blah land' screaming incoherently for attention at every juncture.
• Isn't in any way reflective of what many of us sought for our characters. Maybe we didn't want to control 1/3rd of the galaxy; maybe we didn't want to be famous; maybe we were kind of happy to be 'that Jedi' or 'that Smuggler' instead of ACE NUMBER ONE GALACTIC SUPER-BRO.
• Undermines the existence of the other two (far more important) galactic players. As long as the Alliance exists, we will always play spoiler; we will always tip the scales dramatically one way or another. It places whoever we side against in the immediate position of being the underdog. And I like underdogs - since KotET, I always find myself rooting for the side we're fighting.
• Just about destroys our ability to feel immersed in one of the other two factions - something a lot of us really wanted. When I created my Trooper, I wanted him to be a REPUBLIC soldier - not a freelancer; not a rogue entity; not a pseudo dictator or king. I just wanted him to be a soldier in a faction I identified with from the films. That's it. How can he ever be that again?
• Ultimately needs to vanish anyway since it doesn't appear in the films. And yes, I get that the canon has changed and that SWTOR technically 'never happened.' But I think most of us quietly still regard this as the same universe and timeline - including the people at Bioware and EA. And, as such, we know that both the Sith Empire and the Alliance are the odd men out. But whereas the Sith Empire will at least be remembered, the Alliance is apparently so fleeting that it never bore mentioning EVER again. That implies that it wasn't long-lived. So just... kill it. 

Edited February 14, 2023 by AJediKnight

[FishyScales]

I find myself agreeing with all of this, although the alliance and commander bother me a lot more than Lana. 

It's sad that the base game's original class stories were all about this building conflict between two iconic Star Wars factions, a cold war that erupts into an actual war to set up the endgame. 

Yet at the first sign of trouble Bioware abandoned this. The very first expansion, presumably already in development while the game was still performing well in early 2012, had us fighting... the Hutt Cartel. 

Then SoR took it one step further by even having Republic and Empire collaborate against another common foe, before we got KotFE. The weird thing about KotFE and KotET is that they have relatively high production value and many hours of single-player content, but Bioware still could not or did not want to figure out a way to make it be about what their game ostensibly set out to be about from the beginning. 

Lana I can live with, but I actively dislike the "commander", the alliance, Valkorion, Odessen and Zakuul, because even though it is not terrible content in and of itself by any means (actually Valkorion/Tenebrae as a concept, being an immortal galaxy-consuming force ghost with multiple personalities is pretty terrible), but because it deviates so jarringly from the direction this game set out in. 

[RowanThursday]

In fairness, a lot of the recent content since the end of Kotet has been about trying to gradually walk back from that point- whittling down the Alliance from the point at the end of Eternal Throne where you are pretty much Emperor or Empress of the Galaxy and the Republic and With Empire are just remnants, to the position now, where you're basically just head of an influential client-state of the Republic or Empire, and the Alliance is gradually being scaled back to "in name only" as fast as they can recently manage it.

 

[Gibonski]

1 hour ago, FishyScales said:

I find myself agreeing with all of this, although the alliance and commander bother me a lot more than Lana. 

It's sad that the base game's original class stories were all about this building conflict between two iconic Star Wars factions, a cold war that erupts into an actual war to set up the endgame. 

Yet at the first sign of trouble Bioware abandoned this. The very first expansion, presumably already in development while the game was still performing well in early 2012, had us fighting... the Hutt Cartel. 

Then SoR took it one step further by even having Republic and Empire collaborate against another common foe, before we got KotFE. The weird thing about KotFE and KotET is that they have relatively high production value and many hours of single-player content, but Bioware still could not or did not want to figure out a way to make it be about what their game ostensibly set out to be about from the beginning. 

Lana I can live with, but I actively dislike the "commander", the alliance, Valkorion, Odessen and Zakuul, because even though it is not terrible content in and of itself by any means (actually Valkorion/Tenebrae as a concept, being an immortal galaxy-consuming force ghost with multiple personalities is pretty terrible), but because it deviates so jarringly from the direction this game set out in. 

+1 here

Calling me a Commander was an insult on nearly all my toons. I am Emperors Wrath, Darth of the Dark Council, Great Champion of the Great Hunt, but no, I am now a commander. Like what the hail? It is the same situation like in wow, when they keep calling you champion. It is beyond riddiculous and utterly outrageous. I believe they started to move away now from these and I hope we will cut Odessen altogether and move forward.

Regarding Lana Beniko, I only found here interesting when she was paired against Theron Shan in the begining. Now she is as bland as british humor.

[TonyTricicolo]

Here's the thing, story wise Bioware painted themselves into the corner of a room. We've saved the galaxy how many times now? We're the leader of a now defunct alliance and forced back into the lackey role doing fetch quests for lesser people. The game is spinning in place with old enemies that never die. The Mandalorian themed approach is quite good, and obviously building off the success of the show, but the rate in which any content is delivered is mind numbingly slow.  I hate to say it but Swtor is in a tough spot right now!

Edited February 14, 2023 by TonyTricicolo

[AJediKnight]

7 minutes ago, TonyTricicolo said:

Here's the thing, story wise Bioware painted themselves into the corner of a room. We've saved the galaxy how many times now? We're the leader of a now defunct alliance and forced back into the lackey role doing fetch quests for lesser people. The game is spinning in place with old enemies that never die. The Mandalorian themed approach is quite good, and obviously building off the success of the show, but the rate in which any content is delivered is mind numbingly slow.  I hate to say but Swtor is in a tough spot right now!

The mistake, IMO, is the same one many other MMORPGs have made for a decade-plus: never make your players the lone hero. The nature of heroism is that it's not a community activity - we cannot all be heroes (and, surprisingly enough, a lot of us aren't looking to be), because then nobody is.

Moreover, heroing starts to get stale fast when you're constantly upping the ante, and having a single individual involved in dozens of different adventures - each one out-weighing thr prior - stretches belief, even in a fantasy setting.

A better plan would have been to dramatically limit the scope of the stories for as long as possible - the Jedi Knight, as an example shouldn't have defeated the Sith Emperor in the base game, but maybe concluded it by slaying a mid-level Darth and earning their knighthood. And had Bioware kept those stakes low across the board, they could have perpetuated the story for many, many years without dramatically inflating our individual power level and galactic influence.

But by exploding our contribution and impact right out of the gates like that, there was almost no way to avoid this. We are the mega-arch-ultra-badness-slayer-extradordaires, and short of a hard story reset, they can't undo that.

[TonyTricicolo]

12 minutes ago, AJediKnight said:

The mistake, IMO, is the same one many other MMORPGs have made for a decade-plus: never make your players the lone hero. The nature of heroism is that it's not a community activity - we cannot all be heroes (and, surprisingly enough, a lot of us aren't looking to be), because then nobody is.

Moreover, heroing starts to get stale fast when you're constantly upping the ante, and having a single individual involved in dozens of different adventures - each one out-weighing thr prior - stretches belief, even in a fantasy setting.

A better plan would have been to dramatically limit the scope of the stories for as long as possible - the Jedi Knight, as an example shouldn't have defeated the Sith Emperor in the base game, but maybe concluded it by slaying a mid-level Darth and earning their knighthood. And had Bioware kept those stakes low across the board, they could have perpetuated the story for many, many years without dramatically inflating our individual power level and galactic influence.

But by exploding our contribution and impact right out of the gates like that, there was almost no way to avoid this. We are the mega-arch-ultra-badness-slayer-extradordaires, and short of a hard story reset, they can't undo that.

What if our character dies? Bioware did it with Mass Effect 2. Imagine a clean slate where your "new" character is a descendant of our current one.  

Edited February 14, 2023 by TonyTricicolo

[TrixxieTriss]

As long as players have a choice. I’ve no problems.
What I would have a problem with is arbitrarily being told that my main Romance Character is going to die or be forced to go back to serving another faction leader after I’ve been one of the most influential & powerful leaders in the galaxy.

[parchedgoose]

Some very good points made here about this path they have deliberately put us on.   Recently I was doing the Part 2 of the Mandalorian saga and after the grand battle and everyone left I was supposed to stick around and do what. .CLEAN UP DUTY , SERIOUSLY.   That is some really bas story telling right there.  Once the hero of either the Republic or Empire, destroyer of the Eternal Fleet and Empire and other various bad actors and even the old Kreb his self the Emperor and even being the Commander of the Alliance.  Now you want us to do Clean up duty.

Bad enough you do not understand economics but I am really beginning to wonder  if any one there understands story/plots/nuances/outcomes and continuing story lines.  One more thing, please fix stuff that is still broken since day 1.    How long does it take to requisition TP for the corporate offices there, people are asking?

[Bigfallenstar]

4 hours ago, AJediKnight said:

The mistake, IMO, is the same one many other MMORPGs have made for a decade-plus: never make your players the lone hero. The nature of heroism is that it's not a community activity - we cannot all be heroes (and, surprisingly enough, a lot of us aren't looking to be), because then nobody is.

Moreover, heroing starts to get stale fast when you're constantly upping the ante, and having a single individual involved in dozens of different adventures - each one out-weighing thr prior - stretches belief, even in a fantasy setting.

A better plan would have been to dramatically limit the scope of the stories for as long as possible - the Jedi Knight, as an example shouldn't have defeated the Sith Emperor in the base game, but maybe concluded it by slaying a mid-level Darth and earning their knighthood. And had Bioware kept those stakes low across the board, they could have perpetuated the story for many, many years without dramatically inflating our individual power level and galactic influence.

But by exploding our contribution and impact right out of the gates like that, there was almost no way to avoid this. We are the mega-arch-ultra-badness-slayer-extradordaires, and short of a hard story reset, they can't undo that.

Marvel and DC would like to have a word with you.

Concluding the Knight story with fighting a Darth would be anticlimactic. The story would be over in act 1. Bioware's doing nothing but following the same route George did for Luke, and how they did KOTOR. There's no need to drag a story out for longer than need be. Just look at The Walking Dead to see what happens when you don't end a story.

 

And it's not like we're walking around and one-shot everything we come across and have everyone kneel when we walk into a room.(Even though there are a few people who are begging for that to happen) Even if our characters are as you describe, we still screw up, make the wrong decisions, and fail. To some people, that's a problem, but that's another argument. But we're still a person who can be killed just like anybody else.

[jedipattawan]

I like both lana and the eternal alliance as I found both very fresh and entertaining star wars content.  I get it diverted too much from the republic vs sith and might have made them seem inconsequential and like a bunch of incompetent clowns, but it is all in how it is written right?   I'm all for a totally new threat, and while it might not be a force eating space ghost thing it could still be a very real threat in its own right.  Perhaps they'll do something with Malgus, or perhaps Malgus will end up being someone else's 2nd when they prove to be formidable enough.  

It's all really in how it is done though and I wouldn't mind something that deters from the classic pubs vs sith.  Maybe even something that comes from another galaxy altogether?  But with this our choices would play out as in all Bioware games.  Did we keep our separate alliance and go back to it, or did we chose pub or sith?  Then we could face the story from that point onwards and see the various outcomes.

[OlBuzzard]

Just now, jedipattawan said:

I like both lana and the eternal alliance as I found both very fresh and entertaining star wars content.  I get it diverted too much from the republic vs sith and might have made them seem inconsequential and like a bunch of incompetent clowns, but it is all in how it is written right?   I'm all for a totally new threat, and while it might not be a force eating space ghost thing it could still be a very real threat in its own right.  Perhaps they'll do something with Malgus, or perhaps Malgus will end up being someone else's 2nd when they prove to be formidable enough.  

It's all really in how it is done though and I wouldn't mind something that deters from the classic pubs vs sith.  Maybe even something that comes from another galaxy altogether?  But with this our choices would play out as in all Bioware games.  Did we keep our separate alliance and go back to it, or did we chose pub or sith?  Then we could face the story from that point onwards and see the various outcomes.

IMO there is no denying that there were several issues with KotFE / ET.  But not from the standpoint that some might prefer to cling to!
** The elimination of the 8 class stories for example.  Even todays critics that applaud SWTOR do so frequently based on the concept of the 8 classes that are available.  BUT when those are smashed together into one point of view then the only thing that becomes relevant is the kind of weapon a player is using to facilitate the combat.  I believe that we are seeing a gradual return of a slight hint of this with the release of 7.2  There needs to be more of this!

** Lana ... while I do also conclude that there have been instances where she is the only one that seems to merge to the front and center (and on occasion perhaps Theron) she is without question simply one of the most trusted companions we have.  Heck for that matter ... she's the ONLY one left.  Sure ... there was a TOKEN return of the rest .. but then again ONLY a token.  And I can't help but to wonder if much of the pent-up frustration in continuing to wait to see if the rest of the gang is EVER going to be a part of the story again isn't vented toward Lana since she is the only one that shows up.  IMO the reality is that it's more about the cost of VA's ... so consequently everyone is simply sidelined.  This in turn generates a lot of hostility towards Lana.
I would personally prefer to see Lana have the option to be one that turns to the LS OR (if a player so chooses) ... walk away from the Alliance and return back to the Sith Empire.  Her role then would be more of an intermediary between the Empire and the Alliance commander.

** The alliance is fine right where it's at.  If anything there should have been some progress made in showing growth.  Clean the place up a bit .. a few upgrades and maybe even some schools established.  As for it's failure to be mentioned the SW saga....  It's much like Valkorian and his family.  I wouldn't have stretched his legacy of quite so many years.  WHY ??  Frankly simply because while it's one big huge galaxy out there covering that much time things do tend to get noticed and it does impact history in the long run (even if only a brief mention).  BUT a smaller group of people like the Alliance could EASILY last as much as 200 years ... fall apart OR (more than likely) simply become a part of the Republic or the Empire by the time that the SW saga (several thousand years later) to the point where only a few buildings or even records of the organization even exist.  So to argue that just because it's not mentioned as a part of the current saga really doesn't impact things that much.
To me right now the Alliance is a good 3 point perspective and as an independent I can choose to walk with those that I choose to:  Republic or Empire!  And if I need to I can tell one of them to take a flying leap WITHOUT getting dark side points!  (Well ... that should always be an option without being penalized).

** Eliminating the 8 classes and replacing them with one ..  NO!  Not good!  Dumping all of the companions and funneling that down to just two (Lana and Theron) or maybe companions found on the CM ... that's not good either!  As we can see ... the consequences are not that great!

No problem with Lana ... but perhaps as a companion and not the central focal point of the story all the time...  OK .. Yeah.. I can live with that!

[Jacksoundwave]

2 hours ago, jedipattawan said:

I like both lana and the eternal alliance as I found both very fresh and entertaining star wars content.  I get it diverted too much from the republic vs sith and might have made them seem inconsequential and like a bunch of incompetent clowns, but it is all in how it is written right?   I'm all for a totally new threat, and while it might not be a force eating space ghost thing it could still be a very real threat in its own right.  Perhaps they'll do something with Malgus, or perhaps Malgus will end up being someone else's 2nd when they prove to be formidable enough.  

It's all really in how it is done though and I wouldn't mind something that deters from the classic pubs vs sith.  Maybe even something that comes from another galaxy altogether?  But with this our choices would play out as in all Bioware games.  Did we keep our separate alliance and go back to it, or did we chose pub or sith?  Then we could face the story from that point onwards and see the various outcomes.

I also really like KOTFE and KOTET, for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to:

-It was a nice new idea, and it offered something different than the same old Republic vs. Empire squabbling that has been going on for years.

-I love it that factions from across the galaxy, including the Republic, Empire, Jedi, Sith, Voss, underworld elements, and many others, all come together to build something better, with you at the helm.

-I like the chaptered story content, the cutscenes throughout the story are very cinematic and detailed. Plus more story content is released even after the launch with the new chapters, giving the players story chapters to look forward too that is spread out across several months, as opposed to waiting those months for just one little story bit or flashpoint to come out.

-The story itself, especially the early chapters, had a nice George Lucas-style feel to it, very much like Indiana Jones, and the Original Star Wars Trilogy. Heck, it was really cool to have you building your very own Rebel Alliance.

-During the time these expansions came out, during 2015 and 2016, things were rather divisive, especially in the country I live in, with a great deal of conflict and a lack of unity and understanding. It really made me feel good to have SWTOR explore the trope of having people from all sorts of different backgrounds and factions put aside their differences and come together.

I say please don't take the Alliance away from us.

[TrixxieTriss]

5 hours ago, OlBuzzard said:

IMO there is no denying that there were several issues with KotFE / ET.  But not from the standpoint that some might prefer to cling to!
** The elimination of the 8 class stories for example.  Even todays critics that applaud SWTOR do so frequently based on the concept of the 8 classes that are available.  BUT when those are smashed together into one point of view then the only thing that becomes relevant is the kind of weapon a player is using to facilitate the combat.  I believe that we are seeing a gradual return of a slight hint of this with the release of 7.2  There needs to be more of this!

** Lana ... while I do also conclude that there have been instances where she is the only one that seems to merge to the front and center (and on occasion perhaps Theron) she is without question simply one of the most trusted companions we have.  Heck for that matter ... she's the ONLY one left.  Sure ... there was a TOKEN return of the rest .. but then again ONLY a token.  And I can't help but to wonder if much of the pent-up frustration in continuing to wait to see if the rest of the gang is EVER going to be a part of the story again isn't vented toward Lana since she is the only one that shows up.  IMO the reality is that it's more about the cost of VA's ... so consequently everyone is simply sidelined.  This in turn generates a lot of hostility towards Lana.
I would personally prefer to see Lana have the option to be one that turns to the LS OR (if a player so chooses) ... walk away from the Alliance and return back to the Sith Empire.  Her role then would be more of an intermediary between the Empire and the Alliance commander.

** The alliance is fine right where it's at.  If anything there should have been some progress made in showing growth.  Clean the place up a bit .. a few upgrades and maybe even some schools established.  As for it's failure to be mentioned the SW saga....  It's much like Valkorian and his family.  I wouldn't have stretched his legacy of quite so many years.  WHY ??  Frankly simply because while it's one big huge galaxy out there covering that much time things do tend to get noticed and it does impact history in the long run (even if only a brief mention).  BUT a smaller group of people like the Alliance could EASILY last as much as 200 years ... fall apart OR (more than likely) simply become a part of the Republic or the Empire by the time that the SW saga (several thousand years later) to the point where only a few buildings or even records of the organization even exist.  So to argue that just because it's not mentioned as a part of the current saga really doesn't impact things that much.
To me right now the Alliance is a good 3 point perspective and as an independent I can choose to walk with those that I choose to:  Republic or Empire!  And if I need to I can tell one of them to take a flying leap WITHOUT getting dark side points!  (Well ... that should always be an option without being penalized).

** Eliminating the 8 classes and replacing them with one ..  NO!  Not good!  Dumping all of the companions and funneling that down to just two (Lana and Theron) or maybe companions found on the CM ... that's not good either!  As we can see ... the consequences are not that great!

No problem with Lana ... but perhaps as a companion and not the central focal point of the story all the time...  OK .. Yeah.. I can live with that!

Agreed, I like my Alliance situation(s). I’m aligned with one faction publicly, while really playing a traitor covertly.

I went for the most convoluted story I could. Sometimes even I forget what I’m doing.

I wish there was a way the game logged you’re whole story & you could go back & read what you did (not just your companions story). 

I do think BioWare missed a huge opportunity with Rise of The Hutt Cartel.  I would have loved a proper 3rd Crime faction back then. Oh well 🤷🏻‍♀️

[OlBuzzard]

17 minutes ago, TrixxieTriss said:

Agreed, I like my Alliance situation(s). I’m aligned with one faction publicly, while really playing a traitor covertly.

I went for the most convoluted story I could. Sometimes even I forget what I’m doing.

I wish there was a way the game logged you’re whole story & you could go back & read what you did (not just your companions story). 

I do think BioWare missed a huge opportunity with Rise of The Hutt Cartel.  I would have loved a proper 3rd Crime faction back then. Oh well 🤷🏻‍♀️

With the 3rd group it does give that element of a wild card at large.  Even though I personally play mine a little more straight than most might (yeah ... go figure!  Right?  LOL! ) .. I can definitely see where others might make that a haven for a more interesting and colorful group as well!  😉

[recalcitrantIre]

22 hours ago, AJediKnight said:

The Eternal Alliance:

 

• Ultimately needs to vanish anyway since it doesn't appear in the films.

so you havent played a loyalist? because you get this exact option at the end of Onslaught

the Alliance is disbanded and all of its active personnel become the founding members of either Task Force Nova (for Republic) or the new Hand of the Empire (for Imperial)

[Hrafnhildur]

I have nothing against Lana Beniko, but it is time for her to retire. If the character is an Imperial, Lana could go to planet "X" to investigate a Sith artefact, something she might have encountered in her youth as an acolyte on Korriban. If the character is from Republic, Lana could just accept a job at the Tython academy or library or something. 

Would be nice for the upcoming stories to have more dialogues with the newly introduced temporary companions ( Major Anri, Arn, Rass Ordo). 

[Quendorite]

This is a Discord message, so it's not intended to show my points systematically like in a normal forum post, and it presuposses a bit because the original recipient is a friend of mine so I already know how he thinks, but this was my response to the second half when I saw it on the subreddit:

 

Quote

I do agree, ngl.

I have my reservations with it, but even right at the very end of SoR/Ziost it made kinda sense: Republic and Empire and in a war, Jedi try to help, BHs are paid by the Empire. The fight against Revan is, imho, a great example: you aren't the special guy who fights him alone, a group is put together by two powerful forces, you keep it kinda glued, and faight against the great villain with other... 8? allies, apart from your companion.

You are still someone believable, and despite the "one story fits all", it kinda did (maybe not smuggler/some kinds of BH-TR because of the Force stuff? at least it was better than KOT**+), you are still a member of your faction (I played my Wrath so it was loyal until Ziost, my Inq so he was trying to secure his power alongside Marr, IA is sent investigating, BH is meh-ish but he knows Lana/Theron and works for the Empire/Republic anyways, JK/JC of course are following the Emperor, Smug meh but he works for the Republic and worked with Theron, Trooper of course he'll go fight against the emperor in the heart of the empire) and your actions aren't so otherworldly you tip the scales of the war (let's remember that Makeb is a Pyrrhic victory for both factions, Rishi has little impact beyond getting the two actually important characters speaking, and Sor/Ziost can be considered defeats, with you only salvaging what you are able to!).

RN Onslaught is still "balanced", since the story overlaps and one side doesn't overwrite the other, but from that... Basically what the post says, the faction the alliance supports is the winner of any situation

 

[Kurinana]

On 2/14/2023 at 4:45 AM, AJediKnight said:

Lana is essentially a one-man echo chamber for the protagonist - a hand-holding guide who shepherds, encourages, and prods the protagonist onwards (while simultaneously nodding 'yes' to everything), but who rarely displays the stones to contradict or disagree with us. At best, Lana is a security blanket - at worst, she's a toady; a sycophant. She will go along with anything and everything we say and do - no matter how light or dark we are. She's a person without a core; without any real foundation other than to be 'there.'

She used to be a good character while Theron was still around. Because Lana and Theron were perfectly balanced as they were perfect opposite (best example is Legacy of Rakata Flashpoint in which one is for and one is against terminating cyberguys).  Unfortunatelly, the game introduced option to get rid of Theron with Traitor arc, which made Theron (almost) non-existing.  When Theron ended, so did the balance Theron/Lana had. Now Lana, one character, does what two characters used to do - which doesn't work well as it makes Lana OP and inconsistent with what she used to be  (and it's not about character development, it's just plain bending of her beliefs to fit what character you play).

It's immersion-breaking when you play as Republic Trooper and you're bossed around by random Sith lady who has to explain to you how the Republic works.

 

If they don't want to offer us the option to get rid of Lana, they should introduce someone to go against her, somebody who would create a contrast. The best would be a Republic character. Which creates a problem as there is no reason for Imperial character to trust new republic guy.
I'd suggest them to create two characters who would be voiced by one person and have identical personality and behavior -  Trooper for Republic players and Agent for Empire. That way they'd introduce a character who would work as Theron did, giving Lana chance to have an actual personality again.    But I would prefer to see her retire