powertech is one of the most enjoyable experiences I've ever encountered in PVP, but you have to do it correctly. played correctly, you'll be unshakable when you latch onto someone and whittle them down and a great annoyance to anyone who can't avoid you(hard when you can grapple at will), and unkillable if you use your cooldowns correctly. pyrotech on huttball is a riot if you learn how to grapple people into the poison and fire pits, and you'll find a lot of people begin focusing you after a few easy kills. don't let the absence of a second pistol fool you into thinking you do less damage, you have a flamethrower on that other hand. you'll give any class a run for it's money, no matter how many pistols they have. merc damage involves a lot of channels and casts that are susceptible to interrupts and knockback effects, while powertech is instant casts and dots. I wouldn't say one class is above another(or shouldn't be), they are simply different types of damage. merc relies on an offhand pistol, powertech a retractable blade and/or flamethrower and shield generator/power generator.

http://www.swtor.com/patchnotes servers will be up in 1.5 hours

I like how you flash your "credentials" before you start ranting, gave me a good chuckle! You've got a few points in there, but I also see a few opinions, too! You'd be a fool to think big problems in the game will stay around for long(not to imply that no new problems will ever arise), but I have a feeling that you may be exactly that. I think if you really want to help the game get better, you'd be better off posting your "list" in the customer service or bug report forums(you know, where this kind of stuff actually belongs). Thing is, I don't think you actually care about helping make the game better, I think you just want to whine about stuff. That's OK! But, there are better places(and ways) to do so. And just some friendly advice, leave out the whole *I just cancelled my sub* schtick, it's overplayed and makes you(and your post!) look bad.

Spades

Hello all, just checked my email today and it seems that the onslaught of email scams have begun! As veteran MMO players are no doubt used to this tactic, players new to MMOs should take heed, always confirm the emails you are receiving are legitimate! The email may look real, but never follow links sent from email, always go through the actual website if you need to access your account settings. Never ever open attachments, and never ever email any account details back if requested(you will never be asked for details legitimately). Below is an image of said email, but it will not always look similar. These scams come in a variety of nasty flavors, so always play it safe. In this case, the tell-tale sign it is a scam is the link provided. On the surface, it looks like a harmless link to the SWTOR website, but that is simply the link text, the actual link takes you to the phishing website that will log your account details after entered. http://i43.tinypic.com/2woximx.jpg Do not be fooled! A final note, adding an authenticator to your account will protect you from the scams, as account details are useless without your authentication code(which is constantly changing, and only you have access to). So get one!

The effects of an over-nerf are far less damaging than of an over-buff, never forget that. They will poke and prod at Biochem until it is in line with other professions, before they begin buffing others up. When they do buff other professions, it will be small buffs spread out over time to gauge the effect on the game.

This is a phenomenon known as "Flavor of the Month", and soon you too will know why it never ends on a happy note. As slicing before it, Biochem too will eventually be brought into line with other professions, and everyone who dropped their other skills to have a small advantage will find themselves wishing they had stuck with what they had. Whether Bio gets a nerf or something else gets a buff, what will inevitably happen is Bio loses its FoTM status and passes on the crown to a new crew skill, which the vocal minority of these forums will promptly switch to, and begin complaining about(not to be confused with the whining about how Biochem has been ruined, weather through nerfs or overshadowing by other skills). The thing about the FoTM craze is, you can't over-think it. This game isn't in a state where a small unbalance will throw everything out of whack, but you can be damn sure people are going to play it off like it will. The absolute best thing you can do is pick your favorite crewskill(not the one some guy says is way better), and stick with it. Professions are a part of the game that will always be changing, and each one will have its high and low points. The current high is Biochem, the previous high was Slicing, and there will undoubtedly be a new high next month. So do yourself a favor, and save your money by holding on to the crew skills you like instead of trying to hitch a ride the bandwagon.

tatooine is good, you can kill the strong-level rills and harvest them

sending companions on missions returns materials for other mission skills, these can be used or sold. sending companions on slicing missions returns credit boxes, which give you credits. you cannot sell credit boxes, you can only use them. what good AT ALL is a lockbox mission if you lose money the second you open it? at least if nobody buys your crafting materials, you can use them yourself and advance your crafting skill. and yes, there is always a possibility of schematics/mission discoveries, and augments. but 50% of slicing missions are lockbox missions, and what good are they if you can easily lose credits on a successful mission(not to mention if you fail a mission)? the allure of slicing is not augments, it is a way to indirectly supplement other professions through extra credits both directly(lockboxes) and indirectly(schematics/augments/mission slips). why should 50% of all slicing missions' worth depend on critting a mission?

No, same with all the other mission skills(TH, diplomacy, investigation, and UWT)

This is accurate, the only purples you should craft are those that you will use. Blues will be the primary money makers though, so craft them if you have the supplies available. Also, if you go to the trainer, there is a drop down selection to view all taught schematics rather than available only, you'll be able to see what levels you learn new things.

Well, for all your whining about people swimming in credits, Bioware drained the pool and relocated the servers to the Gobi Desert. Yes, it could be toned down, but this is -far- from a "testing the waters" nerf, which is what situations like this require. This situation affects the entire economy of a server, not just some small aspect of the game. What it needed was a poke, but Bioware drove a steel rod clean through slicing's chest. Most people are agreeing that this nerf was far overdone, and with the initial results, it's hard to disagree.

Not when you had more than enough credits to buy it, and that's the whole point. Since the average amount of credits a leveling player will have has drastically decreased, so too will the economy fueled solely by leveling players. Expect most of these BoE's to now be vendored after collecting dust on the GTN.

It's a bug that happens when your companion fails a diplomacy mission, they don't get any rewards but you get like +1.04205436457 LS/DS points. It's a minor annoyance, but hopefully one they'll fix before they jam any more baby names into the game's credits.

What a lot of people don't understand(or choose to ignore) is what people have to give up to take slicing. Now that may not mean much to you but consider a biochem who instead of diplomacy takes slicing for credit purposes and a chance at some implant schematics. Because he doesn't have diplomacy, he now has to purchase medical supplies from the GTN or conveniently have another character with diplomacy. The case of having another character with diplomacy aside, this person now needs an abundance of credits to make up that lack of diplomacy. This is what slicing is for. Slicing is like taking a piece out of a puzzle and replacing it with another that just barely fits, but looks like it belongs to a separate puzzle entirely. Slicing is not a crafting skill. You do not make things, you do not find crafting materials to make things. You find money, both directly and indirectly. This is the primary and only aspect of the skill, to find money and offset whatever hole you dug yourself in by skipping the second requirement of a crafting profession. If missions for credit boxes become unprofitable(or not profitable enough considering the time it takes to complete a mission), the skill becomes unpopular and will be dropped by a majority of players. The problem with slicing before the nerf(and the reason so much money was made), is how a level 10 could be running level 50 slicing missions for level 50 credit boxes. There was, and still is, no barrier to higher tier missions other than the skill itself. Given enough time, anyone can get to 400 skill and run top tier missions for huge profit at the incorrect levels. I find myself at 100-150 skill higher than my level would dictate, and thus running level 41-48 slicing missions at level 29. Instead of nerfing rewards all around, missions need to be based on both skill level and character level. EDIT: I would like to add, the problem with players earning too many credits doesn't come from the amount of credits in a box, but the level boxes which they are receiving. A level 20 character should be opening level 20 boxes exclusively, and if so, should be earning appropriate amounts of money. It's when those characters are opening boxes 20 levels higher they are getting too many credits. When you get to level 40, you need the extra credits a level 40 box has(compared to a level 20 box), because things like speeder training and ability ranks cost much more at level 40. A level 20 character should only be getting level 20 boxes.