"Eight games in one" is a bit of an exaggeration. There are eight different storylines, but those quest series are a small percentage of the content. The rest is highly repetitive.

Speaking of nostalgia, there was a time when EA was a respectable company. For example, they published Wasteland and Bard's Tale back in the 80s. Unfortunately, over time they have become no better than SOE.

I found Shield Tech with Mako to be great for leveling. If you know what spec you want to play in the long run, though, I suggest leveling as that. Doing so will help you become thoroughly familiar with your capabilities.

Heat Blast is certainly handy, but it is a bit lackluster for a pinnacle ability.

I didn't really notice the awkward feeling early on, but the abilities do come together much better as you level. Against normal mobs, you have a lot of cc. Hit one with Explosive Dart, then Unload on a nearby mob. Both will take the Explosive Dart damage and neither will be able to act. Missile Blast is heat-inefficient for straight damage, but it can be handy for moving normal mobs around. You can hit a normal with Explosive Dart, then use Missile Blast to knock it close to an enemy so they both take Explosive Dart damage. Also, alternating between Missile Blast and Rapid Shots does decent damage and shuts down the target. Rail Shot is a little awkward initially. Mako does have a DoT that will let you use it fairly often. The second tier Shield Tech skill Ion Overload will make Rocket Punch do a DoT automatically. Rocket Punch is a little awkward due to its short range, but it will become one of your primary abilities. The fifth tier Shield Tech ability Jet Charge will help a lot. Grapple is handy as well, but the cooldown is a bit long. I find Flame Burst primarily useful for applying the damage debuff Combust (Shield Tech tier one). It's also an always available armor penetrating attack, if you need just a little more damage to kill something. It generates too much heat to use repeatedly in most cases. The flamethrower cone seems fairly generous. Practice with it to get a good feel for it's size. You can often hit several targets if you think in terms of just touching them with the edge of the cone.

There were good parts in the BH story, but there was an awful lot of filler. As for the end, it wasn't bad, but it did feel a bit anticlimactic. My general feeling was "oh, that's it?"

Yes, it is possible. Depending on your luck, it may take quite a few tries, though.

Level 50 is not worth rushing for. Play the game when you can and try to enjoy it as much as possible.

Platforming puzzles in an MMO are not a particularly good idea and in a game with an engine as sloppy as this one, they are a bad idea.

I'd say most people will find it impolite if you roll "need" for a companion. If everyone else rolls "greed" it's acceptable to ask if they mind you rolling "need" for your companion. Don't be surprised by objections, though, as other people may want the item for a companion as well.

I really want to like SWTOR, but this sort of sloppy, amateurish handling of the game really makes it difficult. Please, Bioware, get your act together.

In general, I like the idea of using items I made for myself. In TOR, I found Cybertech mods was the best option for this desire. I didn't bother RE to purple because it took so long I could already make a superior, higher-level item by the time I had the purple recipe. Armormech/Synthweaving would be even worse with the variety of RE recipes. I bought a few pieces of orange gear from GTN while leveling, mostly for cosmetic reasons. Buying non-customizable gear just seems like a waste because I out-level it so quickly. At 50, I bought several top-level enhancements and color crystals. I think the market for crafted items might be better if leveling was slower. If I spent more time at each level, looking for upgrades might be more worthwhile. Similarly, if I wasn't deluged with gear from quests, I might look elsewhere.

I believe all the mission-only crew skills offer companion gift missions.

Are you sure? With the 10K alignment cap, having any LS points prevents you from ever reaching DS V, doesn't it?

I played a BH all the way through and while the story certainly had its high points, there was an awful lot of filler. I played JK for a while, but completely lost interest. The story is terrible. I started out by single-handedly saving the jedi order, before I had even made my lightsaber. In doing so, I easily defeated the guy who had defeated my master, who was, supposedly, a great warrior. Then, I single-handedly saved Coruscant, capital of the Galactic Republic. It's like badly written fan fic.