Role on an RP server - we're far more relaxed when it comes to people listening to conversations.

WoW hasn't been dumbed down, it has simply had an extra level of ease added to it for hypercasual players. The hardmode raids are still exceptionally difficult, and the best gear possible in the game is still exclusive to the upper elite class of players. This whole "dumbing down" label being attached to MMO after MMO is rather stupid. Nothing is dumbed down unless the vast majority of the playerbase is clearing it with absolute ease and efficiency. It's simply not the case, especially with WoW.

The problem is, this is an archaic method for forming groups and completing content, especially when you have people scattered all over your game world. A bulk in fleet, some in their ships, others on various planets doing dailies and other fun side activities like finding datacrons. Immersion comes with a RP guild and on a cool RP server like Ebon Hawk. The quick zoning into a flashpoint is simply negating the 10 or so loading screens you'd have to deal with leaving a planet, zoning into fleet and heading to the gateway to the FP.

There is no way for a MMO to become too convienent. Games are a hobby, they should not ever be a chore. Nobody should ever be forced to endure an extreme amount of time to accomplish something such as finding a group. LFG tools are ideal because it allows a player to maximize his playtime vs how long he'll be online. It allows someone to multi-task, such as doing dailies while waiting in a queue for a flashpoint/operation. There are no drawbacks to these types of luxuries.

So I stopped playing the game back in early January. I had read that if you had a level 50 you were given 30 free days of subscription, so I decided what the hell, I'll check it out once again. The changes, while welcome are too little too late. UI customization is nice - and I liked the fact that I could move/resize pretty much everything on screen. The nameplates are still abysmal and players/mobs are still irritating to click on in situations where speed and accuracy are required. The game seems to be playing a LOT smoother now. So it appears that they've made some engine optimizations since January that drastically improved general performance. The game still runs terrible when there's a lot of players on screen, especially when you show nameplates (pvp for instance). The game itself is still pretty shallow though. A lot of focus on story/single player experience, and not a huge community push that other MMOs are currently doing, or that are going to be doing upon their release. I know this solo-type experience has it's appeal, but I'm doubtful it'll have a lasting appeal to a large market of players. It's still a PITA to find a group for heroic quests and flashpoints. The questing experience is still terribly linear and dull after you've done it once, but at least sprint is available at level 1 which was needed at launch. Since I deleted my level 50 I wasn't able to jump in to any operations so I can't comment on the new one. Anyway, thanks for the free month I guess, I wish I could transfer it to someone that actually likes the game and wants to play it, especially after reading that there are actually people that have been playing since launch that didn't meet the easy requirements for the free game time. edit: Oh yeah and there was a bug that I could reproduce everytime that when I took a flight path the camera would keep zooming out to extreme levels. While it was really cool to finally have the ability to zoom way out, it got to the point that my toon was a tiny dot on the screen. Resetting it was easy - but yeah just a FYI.

Yet you spent all that money on the collectors edition. GG

My post was venomous? Can you point out what I said that was hateful/spiteful?

You're foolish if you actually think Bioware is sitting on their hands waiting for an OS update to release. SWTOR is what it is. The engine is what it is. If the game is actually a long-term success players might see them doing something similar to what Blizzard did with WoW and release engine updates via expansions. But that's far down the road for this young product.

This is very funny. First you dismiss the crafting system used by one game, calling it "brain dead", then you applaud one used in another even though they're virtually identical. In both games, you open a "crafting window" then click a button, then wait for the results. The main difference being, one game pushes you to utilize the community for some of your crafting materials and the other allows you to be self-reliant.

Nothing was lost. The game is still a lore-rich experience, and even more-so now than before. The zones after the cataclysm were redone with a lot of story added to each one. Everything flows better from 1-60 now than ever before. The outlands are still the same but there was never really an issue with those quest areas for the most part. They're interesting enough to capture what Blizzard was doing in that expansion. Northrend is still amazing as it ever was, especially "Icecrown" itself and the incredible story arc that plays there. The cataclysm zones are all well done, minus Vashj'ir which is largely considered a horrible zone to level in. But there are some people that really like being under water all the time. Seems to me you've fallen prey to the typical WoW-hater forum user. Or perhaps you're incapable of understanding a story unless there's voice acting to keep you entertained. Either way, you're dismissing what's actually there for unqualified reasons.

Because those other games have clearly taken over the MMO genre with unsurpassed levels of subscribers, countless upgrades and an entire legion of fans, online fansites, knowledge hubs, etc...

What "massive multiplayer online" functionaly has Bioware provided more of? This game has no massive multiplayer feel. The worlds are isolated areas, most of your quest hubs are the same, people are always disappearing behind barriers rarely to be seen again because you disappear behind your own shortly afterwards. Please, explain what this game brings in the actual literal definition of "MMO" that surpasses others of this genre. You can cheerlead for this game all you want, you can claim it's the best MMO you've ever played and blah blah blah. But to claim it does more 'MMO stuff' than other games without providing a single example is baseless.

The MMO genre is pretty much the only genre of gaming that 100% requires that you listen to all community feedback, and not have a "this is our game we know better than you" attitude.

The leveling experience is only fun once. It's too linear.

I went back to WoW, myself. There's just so much more freedom of things to do in that game due to the sheer volume of content that's been added over the years vs what little there is currently available in SWTOR. Running old raids for transmog gear has injected a lot of life into a lot of the players and there's always tons of stuff going on to participate in now. If you're bored with SWTOR, the Diablo 3 beta is not going to keep you occupied for more than a weekend. It's far too short.