My $0.02US: Prologue: Sith Inquisitor Chapters 1-3: Jedi Consular Going from the other direction: Jedi Consular - already played it through level 50 and playing it again (currently just finished Chapter 1 a second time). This is simply the story arc that makes me feel most like I am participating in the Star Wars universe rather than having an individual adventure with a Star Wars backdrop. That, plus the realization that a timely, subtle Force Persuade can often be as effective (or more so) than a lightsaber battle makes this my favorite line. Jedi Knight - played this one up through Tattooine and just felt petered out -- there are a lot of 'you have to stop the Empire from completing their super-weapon' story arcs, both planetary and chapter-long, and I think this one just triggered my sense of fatigue over the trope. That, plus it seems that the Knight gets companions at a slower rate than any other class in the game, so you have less opportunity to 'change things up' by swapping out your sidekick to get a fresh perspective on things. Smuggler - loved, loved, LOVED, Chapter 1 on the Smuggler -- second favorite after the JC -- Chapter 2 is interesting mainly for its connection to one of your companions (so if you're not really 'into' that companion, you're likely going to feel the story momentum from Chapter 1 slow down a bit), and while I slogged through the opening planet of Chapter 3, I just lost interest about halfway through the chapter. I may start over with a new Smuggler just to see if playing through the arcs with a different motivation makes them more interesting (my initial attitude was as a Han Solo, galactic grifter and scoundrel attitude, but the last chapter in particular seems much more focused toward Smugglers who are really true-believers in the Republic rather than out for their own gain). Trooper - first time playing through this arc, and the twist leading up to Chapter 1 was more interesting than Chapter 1 itself, at least for me. Ended up putting this one on the back burner for a while but have recently gotten re-interested in it now that I've reached Chapter 2. Only problem? Chapter 3 looks like yet another 'stop the Imperial super-weapon' arc coming up. The good news is that the Trooper arc feels most closely connected to most planets' planetary arc (especially, surprisingly, on Alderaan, where I felt the Trooper and JC were playing two different aspects of that conflict). Sith Inquisitor - my favorite of all the Prologues (though none of the prologues are actually bad, IMO -- they're all enjoyable); I had the happy accident of deciding to roll a SI who was certifiably insane with occasional moments of lucidity, which made the initial story much more entertaining. Chapter 2 has been OK, but hit the wall on Hoth and haven't been able to push past it to keep going. Sith Warrior - the only class I haven't gotten out of Chapter 1 on - don't think it's a bad story, but it just doesn't push my buttons. Bounty Hunter - yet another class I found awesome coming out of the gate. The Chapter 2 epilogue was something of a gut-punch, and it took the motivation out of running Chapter 3 for me, so my BH is still sitting on Belsavis in the starter base. Imperial Agent - the story is great at giving you a lot of information and making you try to put it together in some way that makes sense, but the same story complexity makes it easy to say, 'ah, tonight I just want to kick butts/be a hero/something simple' and end up leaving the IA on the bench. There's probably as many cool moments in the prologue and Chapter 1 of the IA story line as any other class line, but they're so disconnected and challenging to parse that it doesn't add up to as cool of a story, IMO. General observation -- in class storylines that present a well-developed 'villain' for you to contest against in a chapter, defeating that villain at the end of the chapter lets loose a lot of story momentum and makes it hard to get rolling into the next chapter.

Basically, I purchased my new MacBook Pro to run SWTOR -- with the Retina display and the SSD, the game runs beautifully at near max settings. Of course, the older your Mac (and the less beefy it was to start with), the poorer your performance is likely to be. I doubt I'd try this on any Mac more than 4 years old, and even a 4-year old iMac will likely have trouble with the game.

Good guide, but would be worth a going-over to update those things that have changed as part of Rise of the Hutt Cartel. For instance, planetary commendations aren't planet-specific anymore, so you can do quests on other planets (or get daily PCs from flashpoints) to gather commendations that you'll spend on Corellia.

I haven't finished the SI class quests yet, so I don't know...

Actually, I'd argue that the victory over the Children is the least impressive of the achievements of the JC in Act 3 -- the Supreme Chancellor basically says as much in her speech at the end of the Act. The JC's other planetary quests in Act 3 were what made the victory on Corellia possible, which breaks the back of the Imperial offensive and saves the Republic. Sure, the JC doesn't do it alone, but that's the whole point -- the JC is all about helping those around him/her do things they couldn't have done otherwise. Lastly, I'll point out that the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy are routinely and repeatedly surprised by what you're able to accomplish as the JC. This conversation repeats over and over through the JC's class story: Jedi Master/Member of Jedi Council: "So you defeated this enemy of the Jedi." You: "Actually I saved him/her. You'll want to tend to this person while he/she recovers." Jedi Master/Member of Jedi Council: "You did? I didn't think that was even possible!" I'll admit that the JC is my favorite class, so I'm probably biased, but I think the argument still holds.

I guess I'd be the weird person some folks met in Group Finder earlier this week. Let me explain... I started playing when the game went free-to-play last year, and my first character was a Jedi Sage (force wizard!). Over the next few months I threw some bucks at the game here and there until I finally figured out I'd actually save some money by becoming a subscriber, so I did. Eventually I got my Sage to level 50 and beat the First Son. (Yay! Inspirational speech!) What now? Guess it's time to get into some late-game flashpoints. So I queue up as a healer. I join up with a group for Battle of Ilum and we're off. About a third of the way through the flashpoint, one of the DPSs asks me 'what are you healing with?' I didn't think I was doing a bad job, though there were a few fights where it was hard keeping up with everything that was going on -- I figured that was just par for the course. Turns out that the healing pattern I'd been using since level 12: Rejuvenate/Deliverance/Deliverance, was, in a word, sub-optimal. "Try using Healing Trance after Rejuvenate, see if that helps," said the DPS. I did, and after the next fight, she commented, "That was much better, thanks." Not only did I feel a lot smarter after that, but I got the urge to roll a new Sage, both so that I'd have someone to pass my inheritance gear on to, and so I could do lots more flashpoints armed with my new healing knowledge. Don't be afraid to offer to teach someone, even if they seem like they shouldn't still be a newbie!

I kinda liked Iresso when I first got him; he seemed like a 'regular guy' compared with all the other larger-than-life people in the game. (I admit, I laughed the first time I heard him say "Did you see that shot? Tell me you saw that!") Then we got to Belsavis, and he won me over:

I'd put the Consular above the Inquisitor for this reason only -- the Inquisitor is Sith, and thus knows that her armies may profess loyalty, but their leaders are continually plotting how to get out from under/get power over her. That's the Sith way -- it's how she came into her power. This necessarily limits some of the things the Inquisitor can do with her power and influence, because she can't afford to put too much trust in anyone other than herself. The Consular, on the other hand, owns his power through force of personality and heroic deeds. Every major world in the Republic owes him a personal debt for their survival over the Empire, and even the Supreme Chancellor accepts that the Consular's actions with the Rift Alliance saved the entire Republic. There may be things the Consular would not ask his followers to do, given who he is, but there is little his force could not accomplish, especially with him at the lead. The Jedi Knight may defeat the Emporer, but the Jedi Consular defeats the Empire, and that's actually a pretty big difference.