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psandak

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  1. The primary flaw in the old system was that there were eight or nine possible combinations of stats, but only one or two were truly desirable from that tree. For me - as a dedicated crafter - it was incredibly frustrating to get the completely worthless schematics: i.e. a tank ear piece with alacrity or a healer implant with shield rating, etc. The secondary problem was the RE chance back then. It was 20% or 10% so one could spend a ton of time and credits crafting lower level stuff to try to get the one schematic they want and feel like they'll never get it. Sure, it was beneficial for those of us that got that one desirable schematic quickly, but let's be honest that initial benefit did not last; eventually a majority of crafters got that one great schematic, supply rose, demand dropped, and value dropped. I think what you want is something that SWTOR simply does not offer: a way for a crafter to be unique; to be that ONE crafter (or one of a extremely limited set) that can provide the galaxy with that ONE item "everyone" wants. That's just not how SWTOR's crafting system works. Even bringing back the old system won't sate that craving.
  2. Would not surprise me if the ratios presented on the PTS stick around. They REALLY do not want players using scrap to buy their way to the crafting skill cap. In expansions past, top grade materials were not even available for jawa scrap at new tier launch. If they are available at all at 6.0 launch, they will be expensive to deter mass purchase. Then at some point in the life cycle of the expansion the cost will come down. The 1 scrap per level thing is new, and that is probably due to the overabundance of the jawa "currencies".
  3. I am a person who was a subscriber since day 1, who finally ended their sub in June 2018 (honestly, stopped playing in April 2018). When I heard about the expansion I made the decision to re-sub for the expansion and here I am. I do not think this game has improved much at all. I think it has the same problems it has had for several years now. First let me say though that I completely accept the one-story-for-all model. I know that to maintain 8 stories was impossible; if they tried we'd probably still be in the RotHC era. That said, It's been two full years since the last expansion, with a drip of new content throughout. GC at 5.0 launch was a factor in the mass exodus, but not the sole problem. They expect us to play through the same content 50 times over and like it. They tout "choices that matter" that in the end don't. The F2P/sub model has too many limits/punishments on the former instead of enticements/rewards on the latter. Chances are that my 60 day sub will come and go, during which time I will do the story a few times and maybe raid a little, and then I will go back to preferred status and play the story on alts until the next big expansion...probably two years from now. EA/Bioware will get $30 from me and no more.
  4. As others have suggested go to Dulfy: http://dulfy.net/2017/02/05/swtor-5-0-arsenal-mercenary-pve-guide-by-sabz/ Arsenal is the easier of the two merc dps specs. Innovative Ordinance does more damage but is significantly more challenging to get the rotation right (and there is no guide on Dulfy for it or it's commando mirror)
  5. How about... No. #1 the story as is is not as bad as you think. Go into it with the right attitude and it plays very well. #2 more technical...BW will NEVER rewrite ANY story in this game. So why even bother trying to suggest it.
  6. While I do agree that they should not have skipped grade 8, and yes one of the rationales behind the system was for us to utilize older materials, strongholds and prefabs schematics came out when grade 7 (after RotHC but before SOR) was the top of the line; so there is precedent for prefabs requiring the use of top end materials. Heck, when it launched they "skipped" (as in did not include at all) grade 1 mats.
  7. This. And let's be honest, it's the "whales" that do buy the CCs to purchase these items that help this game along, 5500cc is $40...nearly three months of subbing. Also have you checked GTN pricing of said lightsaber. Sure it might be 150 million credits, but all that takes is time to acquire.
  8. The problem is that there is zero incentive to do MM FPs. But this is not a "limited to 5.x problem" at launch and through 3.x FPs were a gateway to Ops; you had to run FPs to get some gear drops or at worst comms/crystals to buy gear so you could participate in Ops (if you wanted to). 4.x was the beginning of the end for that paradigm; when HM EV and HM KP dropped 12 of 14 BiS gear pieces (when they were the "priority operation"), any idiot could be carried through those Ops and geared up (heck I remember in my guild, some events we did offered prizes where the leadership would get the winner a character full set 224 by carrying that character). 4.x did have other incentives like decos and character specific achievements. So there was still some interest in participation. Then 5.x hit and now any content could produce BiS gear given enough time. The ROI of running MM FPs became nil; why run a MM FP where failure is a possibility, when I can run three VM FPs and get more CXP in the same time frame? And they all but removed the decos (still a chance but EXTREMELY small), and made achievements legacy wide. But even with all that, there is another problem that has been since launch: at the end of a given content cycle's life, a player has gotten all they can from FPs, so the only reason to do them is because they feel like it. Even in 1.x 2.x and 3.x there came a point where we would be "converting" comms/crystals into credits (buying an item, waiting for it to bind, then selling it for credits), because we all already had the best available, so even then there was no reason to run MM FPs unless we felt like it. My point is, that what you are experiencing is not limited to 5.x. Incentive to participate in any aspect of play becomes moot at the end of a content's life cycle. When 6.0 hits, there will be a bump in participation in all aspects of play...including MM FPs.
  9. 1. I think respondents are misinterpreting your question. To put more clearly: why is item X posted at 10m when there are a dozen other postings of item X at 10k? While those who have responded are correct in what they have said, there is another possibility: "gold sellers"; people (or enterprises) that sell in game currency for real life money; one method of exchange is the buyer posts something on the GTN that the "gold seller" buys. 2. it all depends on what you want. If you would like to use the nexu as your companion then maybe you should use the unlock, if you like the decoration and feel it would be a good fit in one of your strongholds then keep. If not, then sell them.
  10. The problem is that one should not HAVE to read the books to get that better understanding. And this coming from someone that has read the books. How would the MCU have gone over if viewers HAD to read the comics to better understand the situations they were put into? Just my opinion, but I think Rian Johnson saw all the "fan theories" spring up from TFA and basically said to the audience what Luke said to Rey and Kylo: "Everything you said...is wrong." I think we can all agree that TFA was greatly influence by homage to ANH. Obviously, Rian Johnson and Disney did not want TLJ to be an homage to ESB, and IMO if all the fan theories had been proven correct, it would have been. So they went a different way. But TLJ did need to be ESB-esque in that the Resistance had to fall down. Like all good "hero's journey" stories, the hero at some point...loses. So much so that an average person would simply give up. But the hero and those around them push through those failures to eventual success. Getting back on topic... Like all MMOs that are not WoW (WoW is the exception), SWTOR is dying. However, the IP alone will keep it on life support for a very long time. It may very well go into true "maintenance mode" (lights are still on but no new content at all), or (IMO more likely) the content stream will hit a plateau, much slower than what most players can accept, but fast enough to get regular bumps in revenue so that the lights stay on AND the dev team continues to exist. That said, it may not be BW Austin as the dev team. If Anthem fails, BW Austin is shutting down. If Anthem succeeds then more resources will go to Anthem.
  11. SteveTheCynic is absolutely correct. Game engines are toolboxes that allow building games in a certain way, and you cannot just change toolboxes. (this is an over simplified example but) It would be like trying to work on a car that has imperial measurement (inches) nuts and bolts and using metric (millimeter) tools. Sure the metric toolbox has wrenches and sockets to loosen and tighten nuts and bolts, but none of them fit the nuts and bolts in the car. The only way to get the metric toolbox you work on the car would be to replace all the Imperial measurement parts with metric measurement parts; dismantle and re-assemble the car. A video game built with a particular engine is stuck with that engine unless it is completely "disassembled and re-assembled." SOE sort of did this with EQ1 and EQ2; separate games different engines. FF14 had this done to it: the game launched, had all sorts of problems, it was shut down quickly, rebuilt, and relaunched. Would you be OK with EA/BW shutting SWTOR down for a couple of years while they rebuild the game with a new engine (the FF14 model)? Would you be OK with EA/BW developing a completely new game with a new engine that would not accept existing SWTOR characters (EQ1/EQ2 model)?
  12. Four comments: #1 there is only one companion that will EVER leave you for making choices they don't agree with . No matter how much any other companion "disapproves" of your choices they will not leave you. #2 different companions approve of different things. Granted you do not know a companion's leanings until you get to know them better (and some might even surprise you; ), but once you learn which companion is best aligned to your way of thinking, just use that companion. #3 When "affection" became "influence" they changed how the numbers work. With affection, a companion not liking a choice you made negatively impacted your affection with the companion; your rating went down. With influence, rating ALWAYS goes up, just not as much when a companion "approves". So a companion can disapprove all day long and you still gain influence with the companion. #4 gifts are a cure all. Companion gifts are the best way to get a companion's influence rating higher. My overall point is, you really need to break that habit . Choose a personality for your character and make conversation choices based on that personality. So what if a companion "disapproves" or the conversation does not go the way you thought it would; in my opinion that is what makes these stories memorable, the unexpected twists and turns. The ONLY time I use the escape key is when I accidentally make the choice I know I don't want (premature clicking or fat fingering a number key). I get what you are saying but there are legitimate reasons for this difference. The Jedi being knighted right away is explained in the intro: they are on Tython for their final trials. You are an adult (probably in your mid 20s to early 30s), you've been trained your whole life. Tython is the end of apprenticeship. On the other hand, Korriban is just the final crucible in a long line of crucibles. Prospective Sith are not trained, they are thrown to the wolves. Only if you survive are you sent to Korriban where a Sith Lord or Darth chooses you to be their apprentice, and only then does your "training" begin. Also a Jedi does not have to kill their master to be "knighted", where Sith typically do. So for the Sith it is more like "you will always be an apprentice until you find the right moment to betray your master. only then will you be made a Sith Lord" (which happens at the end of chapter 1 )
  13. I have played through all eight stories at least once, most twice. I liked them all...for what they were. Many will say that the agent story is the best of the bunch, and I do agree (it was the only story I really wanted to play again right away, although I didn't). So I think part of your problem is that you've experienced the best there is and everything else does not match up. However, IMO it is also a matter of perspective and setting the tone. The Republic stories do tend to lend themselves toward LS choices, and if playing a "goody goody" is not your thing then you will have issues with all the Republic stories. So as someone else suggested play more neutral or DS and you may get more enjoyment. That said, none of the stories (imp or pub) are all that great if you go full LS or full DS (there are a lot of choices that are utterly moronic). What you need is a bit of a backstory for any character that helps define their personality and then make conversation choices based on that personality; turn off the LS/DS indicators and use the number keys to choose responses rather than seeing what the LS and DS (and maybe neutral) choice would be by mousing over the options. Get into the character more.
  14. There is no official trade forum here; there is no message board for hawking wares, and I would not advise doing so on random forums as it could construed as spam. Most who want to sell stuff just post it on the GTN. If you are trying to craft something and trade it for materials, fleet is the most common place for that. If you are looking for someone to craft something for you, then your best bets on these forums are the Server forums (specifically the server that you play on), or the Crew Skills forum. Alternatively, in game you can ask on fleet. You can also find what you want on the GTN and attempt to chat up one of the sellers (via /whisper) and ask to craft something for you (least likely to be successful as most players dislike random /whispers from strangers).
  15. You missed the point. whether overbolstering to 252 or downbolstering to 220, you remove the "carrot". And IMO a carrot is needed if for nothing else than to encourage participation. Without a carrot, PvP would most likely only be "dedicated PvPers" As for alternative "carrots" I like the idea, but my fear is that they would just end up on the CM eventually. Think back to the original rancor mount...it was PvP only. But the population made enough of a stink that CM rancor mounts became a thing. Granted not identical to the ranked PvP rancor mount, but if someone broke out that season 1 rancor mount to show off, no one would care.
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