I don't even think they care about that. Someone has made the decision on the GC system and, even if the game goes down in a flaming heap as a result, they are not going to change direction. Someone has a vested corporate interest in trying to make this work and, whoever it is, this is not going to change or be fixed until that person is removed from their position (and I am not saying fired, just taken away from the decision making over SWTOR). Unfortunately, by that time I think the damage is going to be so great that EA will just make the decision to shut it down rather than try and salvage it.

Good point. 5.2 is slowing down the CxP gain rate and, rumored to be dropping two new tiers of gear. Can't wait to see the community backlash with that one. Glad, as of tomorrow, I won't be here to live with it either. For those still remaining though - I hope you have figured out by now you are being taken on a serious ride. If you haven't, then that's what you can most look forward to with 5.2, learning that your being played big time.

This is my last sub day, so one of my last posts. To further elaborate on what I said earlier in this thread, it is simply people moving on. As of this past Saturday, our entire guild cancelled their subs and bought the game and sub time in ESO instead. Simply stated, no one wanted to stick around while BWA insists on implementing a system that makes a GAME a chore. To most in our guild, it is like they either don't care about paying customers or their blind determination to make something work that many warned them would cost them a lot of subs just doesn't matter to them. Ironically, today Zenimax announced now 8.5 million players have purchased ESO. Because of their model, it is unclear how many are actually subs, but what is enlightening is that they gained 1.5 million more players in just nine months (they announced 7 million in June last year). I bring this up not to pump up ESO, but to draw a parallel of a game that got off to a rocky start and then simply implemented the changes the players wanted (One Tamriel) and then put out new content on a regular basis. The game is two years old and already has had 6 updates in that time and an expansion (a real one, not the water down SWTOR ones) coming in June with a further two updates coming after that. Imagine what SWTOR would be today if BWA had taken the same approach - listening to their customers. Funny, in the starting towns (which are swamped with people) their is a LOT of discussion from people who are new and just came from SWTOR. So, I guess the biggest ones happy with the GC System is Zenimax, since they seem to be picking up a lot of ex-SWTOR players including my entire guild. I may be wrong in this, but when BWA promised the EA execs they were implementing a new system to keep subs longer and increase revenue - I think EA expected that revenue instead of having it go to a competitor. At least they can make the claim that the GC System did a good job increasing revenue and subs for Zenimax and, most likely, Square Enix as well.

To the OPs question it is simple. A lot of people, who were very active on these forums, said they were unsubbing over the GC system and they have (mine runs out this week on Feb. 14). Our entire guild, for example, has decided it is time to move on and ESO has become our new home. People were fed up with two simple things - the glaring lack of new content compared to other MMOs (especially for one doing supposedly so well financially) and the utter arrogance of the developers in putting in a game system that simply frustrates the player base and refusing to do anything about it (and we are referring to the deplorably bad RNG on the Command Crates, not just the CxP). Honestly, it shouldn't be surprising and this should have been expected. People said they were leaving and have left and, I have a feeling, the forums are going to continue to get even quieter over then next couple of months. Heck, as of Dec 18 even TORstatus has decided it is no longer worth the effort and has decided to cease operations. SWTORData picked it up but you can see the massive population decline that has happened since Dec. Look how many servers have flat-lined and even the populated ones have dropped more than 40 points in traffic.

However, where SWTOR falls down in the gear progression is the reason for progression in the first place versus other MMOs. When any other MMO introduces higher tier gear, it usually comes with new zones, dungeons, raids and CONTENT that requires the newer gear - and character level increases for that matter. The last two expansions - 4.0 and 5.0, there has been no progression but rather REGRESSION. This is what I think has worn out most people who have been here a while. We have had two level cap increases with those and not a single reason (in new content) to require those levels caps. We have had two gear resets also that, again, did not add any PROGRESSION to the game. If you were BiS with 212 gear in 3.0 you could do all the content in the game at that point. With 4.0 that climbed to 224 that once you got it, got you back to doing the same thing you were doing in 212 3.0 gear. With 5.0 that has climbed again to 242 that once you achieve it, gets you back once again to doing everything you did in 212 3.0 gear. Each of the last two expansions has regressed players, not added any progression. And that is why SWTOR fails miserably versus any other MMO on the market. I can't think of a single MMO besides SWTOR, that introduces a level increase and BiS gear increase with NO CONTENT AT ALL TO WARRANT THOSE CHANGES.

First, I will name two where the player bases have generally been satisfied with the output of new content (in fact, a good majority of them praise these games for it - FFXIV:ARR and ESO. Regular quarterly content updates from each. In fact, ESO just released the housing update today for free (to both B2P and subscribers). Last week they announced the annual update schedule which will be content updates every quarter except Q2. Q2 will be an expansion, each year while Q3 DLC update will strictly be group (Trails - their version of raids) content. FFXIV is doing major expansions (two in two years) that rival those done by WoW AND they are putting out sizable updates about every 4 months. Of course, their is still a matter of ones taste in an MMO, and they may not be for everybody, but they do receive from the player base in the amount of content they produce regularly.

You are correct... except, most also release new content to require that new gear, not just reset all the old content so you do an endless gear treadmill. Think about this for a second, just prior to 4.0 I believe 212 was top gear (sorry my memory may not be entirely correct on this). With 212 gear, you could do all the Operations in the game in any mode. When 4.0 dropped, they reset the gear grind and you went and grinded the gear up to 224 to do all the SAME content in the game that you were doing pre-4.0. The level and gear increase wasn't needed for anything, there was no new content that required it. Now 5.0 drops, the introduce a tedious and frustrating system for you to gear up to 242 to do what? Run all the same content you could do in 212 gear in 3.0. So you have gained nothing new in content. Soon, 5.2 will drop and yet more gear will be introduced to get you to grind up to 248 for what? One new Op boss and all the same content you could do in 212 3.0 gear. Compare that to an MMO that raises the cap by 10 levels and adds more powerful gear than you had before. With that, they introduce three new zones, 18 new dungeons, and 9 new raids - all designed around the level increase and new gear. See the problem? For more than two years they have simply reset the gear grind and given no new content to go with the grind. SWTOR simply puts people on a gear treadmill for no reason at all whereas their competitors add a ton of NEW content that justifies the level increase and gear treadmill. Peeps in SWTOR who have been here since 3.0 are asking themselves, "Why exactly I am doing this gear grinding yet again?" to which the answer for over two years has been, "To do what you were already doing before we added the new gear." Whereas elsewhere in other MMOs, they ask the same question to which the answer is "To do the three new zones, 18 new dungeons and 9 raids built for the level increase and new gear." This is where there is a striking contrast between SWTOR and what in normally in MMOs with gear grind.

It's already going to be done come 5.2. This whole thing (Patch 5.1.1 and 5.1.2) is nothing more than smoke and mirrors to make you think they are doing something for the players when it is nothing more than to help keep you up to date when they drop the new tiers in April. I am willing to bet that even the most stalwart will finally wake up to the fact their being played come the 5.2 patch.

Ding, ding, ding.... We have a winner! and the hamsters will keep running on the wheel...

Against forum rules to post data mining. Information is out on web. Let's just leave it at everyone's gear grinding to date will be invalidated.

Can't wait to hear the reactions of the community when they find out what is really coming in the 5.2 patch.

Problem is.. it is mainly the RNG of the crates that is making people quit... thus the alternate gearing in 5.1. Increasing CxP level still does nothing if it takes 20-30 crates to get one decent piece of gear. In other words, no matter how much they increase/speed up the CxP levels, it does nothing to eliminate the frustration of 95% of the crate being complete junk.

Because they can only be edited downwards in four days. Otherwise, going up benefits paying customers so it has to be down slowly.

Your right. My Jedi Guardian has been dying to get a hold of those cosmetic blaster pistol, sniper rifle, and blaster rifle he has been looking for. Oh, and the trooper armor is just a big bonus. The crate drop junk 95% of the time. Every time you open one you are reminded just how stupid the whole thing is. The only things these "fixes" are going to do, is remind you more frequently how stupid the junk in the crates are.

Because they have no intention of fixing it for.... reasons.