I like the idea but more because I don't want to spend millions per character for the same thing. I'd like the legacy of the stronghold to unlock across my legacy rather than spending 4 mil per toon for one.

I've always wondered, why is it that Roots are not considered Crowd Controls (even though every other game since D&D has considered them as such, but, hey, Bioware says they aren't so they must not be) but the only way to break a root is to use our only 2 minute cooldown? I would think, since its not a crowd control, we could force jump or speed out of it. I mean, it isn't a CC right? So why do we have to use our only 2 minute CC breaker to get out of it? Sadly, considering the response to the resolve issue, Bioware's likely 'fix' would be "CC breakers no longer break roots or slows" rather than adding root to the resolve immunity. I would bet that none of the developers have ever had a sniper knock them back, root them, and then kill them before the root wore off. That would require them to play the game though.

I honestly cannot figure out why Bioware can't get their act together on pvp. I have come to believe their developers do not play the game they develop and that causes them to become incredibly out of touch with the way the game actually functions. Putting changes into a static world where everything runs to your little rules does nothing (AKA: Internal Testing). Honestly, I wonder if the developers would be making stupid changes like this if they actually played on a live server. I don't believe they would, I think we would see useful changes to PvP. Things like Resolve granting a 3-4 second immunity upon reaching 100%. Increased health to overcome the insane burst DPS. An in-depth look at armor survivability for light vs heavy armor wearers. More skills being altered when entering pvp (after all, a debuff that changes the way a skill works slightly, decreasing range, % healed, etc. is SUCH a huge and complex idea). We might even see classes get balanced and the gear grind fixed. Until the developers feel like getting out of their closet in Austin I tell you this, developers, you are welcome to contact me and I'll be happy to work with you to actually see some progressive changes that might make this game fun again. At this rate, and I hate to say this, but GW2 and Panda's don't sound so bad anymore.

I think you may have discovered their secret plan!!!

So with this I wonder if we will get a game name change as well for Warzones. Maybe call them 'Stun Zones' or 'CC simulation training'. I wonder if we can get them to put up a warning signing before we click 'accept' to enter the warzone. "Be advised: Entering this area will cause anger and frustration as you die from stunlock repeatedly. Do not play if you are pregnant or nursing. Do play if you are on pain killers or drunk." On a more serious note, I would like to know just what these 'internal testers' actually are. They obviously aren't using the public test server to determine anything anymore, not that they listened to the testers there anyway, but I feel like they are just throwing things at us without even considering how it will affect actual gameplay. I want to take every developer who and force them to play three hours every day of pvp in a regular server and see if they still think their changes are 'fun'. I also want to force them to play classes that are in recruit gear and force them to change their class every hour. Then I want to see what changes we get in the next patch update.

Agreed. I just can't imagine anyone who actually plays on a regular server would think these were good changes coming into the game. I just scratch my head sometimes, do developers not play video games anymore?

Greetings. So I, as many others, have probably read the changes coming to resolve in the recently released developer blog. And, since Mr. Peckenpaugh, was so kind as to explain to us the goal and the result of the changes coming I wanted to point out developers are very out of touch with player demands with their changes to the pvp system. Players have been complaining that all PvP is right now is a giant stun fest. You basically walk in, get spammed with stuns, have a single get out of stun free ability on a very long 2 minute cooldown, and are immediately restunned shortly there after with your one ability on cooldown. Every class has multiple stuns on much shorter cooldowns than said free ability. In effect what you are doing, Mr. Peckenpaugh, is making this entire situation much much much worse. At least before if I am a ball carrier I could hope to get full resolve and then use my 2 minute cooldown to escape while on the fire trap before being killed after being grappled from 30 meters away and stunned immediately or being hit by a long range stun or simply being rooted (since that is not a CC and is not affected by resolve, but, hey, it can kill me when snipers and sorcs use it just as easily without any penalities unlike their stun/mez) In effect your wonderful change now makes it so I will be stunned longer, easier, and with less change to use my single, 2 minute cooldown, to escape. I will expect to be stunned more, with less ways out, and it will make huttball drag on much longer. I will be stuck taking damage without a way to respond. Unless you are going to make it so damage actually breaks stuns this change will simply make PvP less enjoyable. Yes, it might be annoying when a PuG slaps 3-4 stuns on a ball carrier and they get full resolve or a marauder gets full resolve and goes off destroying everything but maybe there is another way to fix this without breaking resolve further: Why not look at WHY marauders are obliterating all the other classes? Why not consider the complaints and see about changing the way huttball is played? Where is the change to resolve to break CCs upon completely filling? Where is the response to the marauder/sent large number of defensive CCs without any penalty? Where is the response to the marauders have been force cloak than assassins? Why aren't we seeing changes to balance melee and ranged DPS? What about having grapple at a 30 meter range in huttball and being pulled into fire traps from half the map away right as you are about to score? Rather than fix these issues that would help make pvp better you are focusing on things which only make it more painful. Please, reconsider this, think about what we've complained about and what we want. We want less stuns, we want more fighting, but your change simply gives us more stuns and less fighting. It will not be fun to walk into a warzone and expect to be stunned for the entire fight.

I switched mine to the month-to-month after this one. I have three months and will be closely watching patch 1.4, guild wars 2, and mists of panderia. Basically I am waiting to see how it goes with 1.4 and where the free to play system takes the game while keeping my options open. I feel like a lot of people I know are on that page as well so we will see what happens.

"Electronic Arts — the force behind such popular video games as “SimCity” and “Madden NFL” — is quietly exploring a sale, The Post has learned. While the discussions are at an early stage, the gamemaker has been approached by private-equity giants KKR and Providence Equity Partners about a potential transaction, according to sources." Article: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/mad_for_madden_3lyqSl04ZEpZeO9Zmh81GI I, for one, would love it if EA was bought out and some new blood took over. Maybe we would get some good leadership at the helm and developers would be able to have some freedom without their franchises being milked for nothing but the bottom dollar.

/signed. I am glad f2p players will not be on the forums. I don't want to see a flood of demands from people who aren't paying to support the game.

There has been a lot of arguing lately with the announcement of Star Wars the Old Republic going Free to Play. I find that many posts are made with inaccurate or down right false information involving the two systems used for online game subscribers. Seeing this I thought I would try and shed some unbiased light by giving some facts of how both systems work and produce revenue and income for the company. Pay to Play. Start Up Cost: Game Purchase Price Revenue Production: Monthly Fee ($10.00-$15.00 USD) Pay to Play subscription based online games is the method that Star Wars the Old Republic and World of Warcraft currently use to produce revenue for their parent companies. This system works around a monthly fee, or rent, that players pay to the game company for access to the world the company has created. Players download the game content files through a launcher and then access the world server through a portal. If the player has not paid their subscription or the subscription is not active the player cannot access the world server or the game world. Much like renting an apartment, the parent company charges a monthly fee for access to the game world. Currently that fee is anywhere from $10.00 USD - $15.00 USD depending on the game. This is the only fee expected of the player to the company should they wish to play each month. This is how the game company produces revenue and income. Each month they collect the ‘rent’ and that is their income per month. So long as the player remains current and pays the ‘rent’ they have access to the game world. Under this model the player can expect everything they need to exist within the gaming world itself. Mounts, Mini-pets, Raiding content access, group content access, solo play, housing, gear, etc. All of this is provided as part of the monthly fee as part of the game world and as part of the agreement between the player and the game company. Player pays their monthly ‘rent’ and the game company provides the game world fully stocked. You then gain these items through accessing and playing within the world itself. Some companies also provide an online store for those who may want to purchase in-game cosmetic items (World of Warcraft’s store for mini-pets and mounts is a good example: http://us.blizzard.com/store/browse.xml?f=c:5,c:33) but none of this affects the gameplay within the world itself. There is no armor, weapons, etc. that are found in the store. To help illustrate what this store is like I’ll continue to us the Blizzard Store as an example. You find mini-pets (http://us.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=1100001914) for $10.00 USD and mounts (http://us.blizzard.com/store/details.xml?id=1100001495) for $25.00 USD. But nothing else, these are merely a few cosmetic items that cash rich players have the opportunity to buy. However in-game there are over 175 mini-pets and over 150 mounts available in comparison to 12 mini-pets and 4 mounts available within the store itself. The game world provides a mass amount of the same thing offered in the store so players do not feel required to purchase store cosmetic pets or mounts in any way and the non-purchase does not affect their gameplay in any manner. The result is a world that is stocked for the player to enjoy so long as they wish to enter the world, go through the effort to find the item they want, and does not require any outside (online store) interference. The end result being a world that provides everything necessary for the player’s enjoyment so long as the player continues to pay their monthly access fee. Free to Play Initial Start Up Cost: Game Purchase Price Revenue Production: Micro-transactions through online store Free to play is a rapidly growing online gaming model where the game company provides players with free access to their world without a monthly fee. Initially you download the game itself after purchase of the game (Guild Wars) or you are given the game itself free to begin access (Lord of the Rings Online) without cost. Unlike a pay to play model a free to play does not charge a monthly rent for access to their world. Players are given access to the world without cost. Instead the game company produces revenue by offering items found in their online store. A good example can be found at http://www.lotro.com/lotrostoresale. Here you purchase ‘points’ from the company for real cash and then spend those points on items found in the store. Items found in the store can vary from exclusive mounts to quest packs to experience potions to cosmetic gear. Still using Lord of the Rings as an example to help illustrate this concept; a free to play player will spend $7.00 USD for 600 turbine points (http://www.lotro.com/lotrostorepoints). It will then cost that player 595 points to purchase separate ‘map packs’ (http://www.lotro.com/lotrostoresale/1573-lotro-store-quest-packs). These ‘map packs’ provide the player access to quests in specific areas of the world for Lord of the Rings Online, with some areas costing as much as 795 points or approximately $10.00 USD and expansions costing from 695 points ($9.00 USD) to 1995 points ($25.00 USD). The store then also will provide cosmetic items such as exclusive mounts (http://www.lotro.com/lotrostoresale/1537-lotro-store-exclusive-steeds) for approximately 1995 points ($25.00 USD). Then they will also provide in-game items that affect the actual performance of the character (http://www.lotro.com/lotrostoresale) with ‘stat tomes’ costing normally 295 ($3.00 USD) which are used to increase your characters permanent stat be it strength, will, etc. and a variety of buff tomes usable to increase experience gain or monster experience gain costing from a low as $0.50 USD to as much as $3.00 USD. Unlike in the pay to play model the player will typically need to go to the store to find items they use in-game. As seen above a player that wishes to advance their character will wish to purchase ‘stat tomes’ to increase their natural stats or if during leveling they wish to continue to new areas they will need to purchase ‘map packs’ to gain quests in those areas. That is not to say you cannot go throughout your time in the game world without spending money in the store but the company will make it more preferable for you to spend money at the store through sales or special items to make it easier to level. This is how they make their income after all, if they did not do this they would not make any money. The entire reason companies are moving toward this model is because it allowed players more freedom to spend more money than they may pay each month in a pay to play game option. The company is basically rolling the dice. They are taking the risk that you will be attracted to the game from the free option to enter the world, stay in the world, and then purchase the items from the store at a faster rate than they would receive under a pay to play option. Free to Play/Pay to Play merged option Initial Cost: Game purchase price Monthly cost: Depending on the chosen option This is the option most commonly found in the gaming community. Basically you have a regular free to play option (see above) and then a pay to play option on top of that (see above) that has been tweaked slightly. The pay to play option under this system will also grant a monthly stipend of ‘points’ to spend at the online store. This is to provide paying players with the ability to purchase items at the store without spending more money than they already are through their monthly payment. The flip side of this is the company hoping to convince players to spend more in the store than their monthly stipend of points. Ultimately netting them excess profits above the monthly ‘rent’ the player is paying. A good example is the Lord of the Rings VIP service (http://www.lotro.com/news/986-become-a-vip). Under this system a player has the option play free and purchase each individual item as they go (according to Turbine a $300.00 USD value) or pay a monthly fee and gain access to everything without purchasing anything from the store including options available to non-VIP members even through the store itself (Unlimited gold storage, Races and Class options, etc.). On top of this VIP members receive 500 turbine points ($5.00 USD) each month to spend in the store on whatever they may choose or to save the points each month to make larger purchases. This model is designed to entice players to enter the game, give them a taste of everything as they go, and then hold back perks for paying players. Ultimately it is an attempt to get those not paying to begin paying either through a subscription model or the online store. The reason this is the most commonly found system that most companies are moving toward is because it allows players greater flexibility. They get to enter the world free or for a small purchase price, then they have the option to purchase more from the store as they move throughout the world or they can become a paying player and get access to everything through that system. The down side is developers have to spend more time maintaining the store and that means less time for content production and ensuring content that is produced and goes live is quality work.

On Shadowlands we're doing Denova and getting insane server lag. Its happening to the entire denova instance, not just us. Are other servers getting the same lag? We can't get skills off unless we hit them 4-5 times, people can't get out of red circles, bosses are phasing around like hackers in pvp ninja'd people (admittedly kind of cool looking). Any other servers getting this tonight? And Bioware, please, FIX THIS!

Hello, so I've been tanking since beta on my jugg tank but I can't seem to figure out how this is supposed to work. I've been stacking Absorb and Shield because around 23-24% defense seems to do nothing for me. I have 23.45% Defense, 55.14% Shield Chance, and 55.39% Shield Absorption with 48.17% Damage Reduction. Where as a Powertech I know has 39.79% Shield Absorption, 44.28% Shield Chance, 15.55% Defense, for 52.05% Damage Reduction. I really don't understand how I have nearly 4% less damage reduction compared to a much less geared Powertech? So I am wondering, am I stacking the wrong stats? Or is this something just intrinsic to the Powertech class that juggernauts lack? Could someone help and please explain if I am doing something wrong here because I would really appreciate it.

Same with an immortal juggernaut spec: 4 second force choke + 6 second intimidating roar = 10 second stun from a tank spec. The resolve system has been broken for a while. I, and many others, have made logical arguments as to how to fix it and why it needs to be fixed but so far Bioware has not responded with anything. Personally I think if you fixed the resolve system and the stun-locks and added roots to being an actually crowd control (which it is) warzones would be a lot more fun (imagine people actually having to fight one another rather than being stunlocked the entire time!) But that is just my opinion.

So my guild and I have been talking about this over the past few weeks. We used to be a big pvp guild before 1.3 but since the changes none of us really want to play anymore, we just watch as either hackers run rampant or we lose constantly. Yet we all have alts and absolutely love the pvp in level 10-49 and will spend hours running warzones on our alts to the point several have stopped doing quests once their alt gets into the 40s because they are trying to AVOID level 50 pvp. So we spent some time trying to figure out the difference. The biggest one we found was that from 10-49 gear really doesn't play a major difference. When we looked at the past expertise bonus we also saw expertise was a straight % buff. 20% increase to damage, healing, and reduction to damage whereas now the difference is significantly skewed in favor of damage based classes. In essence if you have a lot of expertise you kill faster but don't get as much of a healer or damage reduction. I'd like to see us go back to the straight line increase over the tiered system, at least try it on the PTS, so we could see if it helped make the games more fun again. Any other thoughts or observations?