Rift just announced their transition to F2P. They have a model and background very similar to SWTOR, with vertical progression and the holy trinity while having started as a sub only game. http://www.riftgame.com/en/promo/freetoplay.php This is the perfect example of how SWTOR should be. SWTOR F2P hinders gameplay because they prevent you from playing warzones, earning rewards from flashpoints, equipping high quality gear, rezzing in the field too much, entering operations (never mind getting those rewards), access to customer support (I can't believe this is even a thing), and the amount of quickbars available to you, which is a very core component of playing the game. SWTOR F2P is still way too restrictive, and Trion Worlds is definetly ahead of BioWare in treating their existing and prospective customers with respect.

Yeah, they are. Thats true. I'm just disappointed BioWare made a dark side choice when implementing F2P rather than a very obvious light side version. There are many others out there who have tried the f2p version and share my disdain.

They would still play though. That is the big thing here. 15 dollars a month is nothing if they can coax players into paying 20+ dollars a month in the cash shop. Right now though, they aren't doing that. They're making the game uncomfortable to play and enticing players to subscribe to make the game more comfortable. Players are far more likely to just leave in this case rather than continue playing because its very obvious to a lot of people that right off the bat, they want you to spend money. If you make players feel comfortable, then they stay and keep playing. Eventually they get time invested into their character, and then they get their friends to play. Now there is some attachment to the character, and players are more enticed to spend money on cash shop items to enhance their play experience. Bioware/EA is just locked into a mode of thinking that subscription fees are the only way to make serious dough, and are blinded by WoWs success and won't have it any other way. There is another way though, and its better than a sub only model. I'm sure they're already seeing that, and I'm sure F2P players are earning them more money than subscribers.

I am currently a subscriber, but really only because the alternative is to play a game littered with shackles and restrictions that punish you for not being a subscriber, and as a result make the game very unpleasant to play. I still want SWTOR to succeed, and its getting there but the current F2P model isn't doing the job correctly. Punishing players immediately after logging in by not being a subscriber is a horrible way to garner the faith of outsiders. This is an opinion I've held since the F2P switch was getting ready to happen and details started to come out of how it was to be handled. The current message that is being sent to F2P players is, "You'll stop being punished if you subscribe!", rather than the far better message of, "Subscribe and you'll get all these benefits!". I'm gonna switch the focus to another game that I think handles the F2P model incredibly well and one I want SWTOR to model from: Planetside 2. It is a completely F2P game with an optional subscription program that gives players true bonuses. These bonuses include: 25-50% increased resource gain +25-50% increased XP gain +Increased passive cert point gain +Priority login +Early access +Additional Character Slots +Daily Members-Only Sale +500 Station Cash each month That's all, whole bonuses. Nothing core that is required to play the game (such as action bars or equipping gear). It works as a way for loyal fans to support the game, and having personally only ever played as a F2P player I am never pressured to subscribe. Going back to SWTOR, I would very much like to see BioWare convert to a much less aggressive F2P model. I think the following model would be much more effective and much more friendly towards new players. Free-To-Play level, Remove most restrictions currently in place except for the following: Keep current costs attributed with respeccing and removing item mods/armorings etc. Keep character slot limit Significantly raise credit cap limit lower weekly cap on all commendations; weekly cap reintroduced for planetary/classic comms 10 GTN slots slight increase in cost to unlock inventory slots lowered weekly cap on all reputation gains Anything not listed yet is raised to current subscriber level (the way the game was before F2P). Preferred: some median between the two Subscriber: All current benefits that F2P didn't get, plus: Weekly/Daily subscriber only sales Subscriber only dyes The previewed discounts on barber shop subscribers are getting Increased weekly cap on all comms; weekly cap removed again for planetary/classic. Increased xp gain: (maybe +20%) Increased companion affection gain : (maybe +15%) 50% off Cathar unlock A subscriber only NPC that sells convenience items (such as 1k fleet pass on security vendor). Discount on character perks cost Subscriber pet (your immediate mail reward for subscribing to SWTOR requires subscription to call) Subscriber mount (again, an immediate mail reward, requires subscription to mount) Title? why not at this point. There we go. SWTOR now has a F2P model based around bonuses rather than restrictions. Being a subscriber is now not the only way to enjoy the game, and for people who aren't its filled with tantalizing perks that are constantly teasing them. I really can't imagine playing at a F2P, I don't know you other players do it.

I play bodyguard (the healer spec) 1. I think other classes look down on merc healers when it comes to AoE healing. I've never personally gotten told this though, but its the weakest area so its likely somebody has thought it at one point. 2. I think merc heals is a very powerful single target healing class. I have little issue getting the most out of it while still being able to maintain a reasonable heat level. AoE heals is the only area where i'll have trouble, but I think our strength in the single target department makes up for it.

What does it matter? I'm not a game developer at all and I see all the problems that cross-server LFG brings with it. You don't need to be a game designer to understand and see how LFG hurt WoW. The same holds true for the aspects that helped it too. That one point is a very very valid and true statement that so many people who played WoW after it was added have most certainly experienced, myself included. Wipe on a boss, or trash? Don't bother with trying again, your tank has already left because he gets 1 second queue times. Also don't count on any tank joining your partially completed instance, tanks are special people who only deserve the best groups with 10 minute dungeon runs. I've been there and its not fun. I do not want that added to SWTOR at all. No thanks. No. No. NO.

Community is a very important aspect of MMOs. Its a perfectly valid reason. +1 for rude. I sir am not a brick wall. Damion Schubert. Here let me get the quote for you. All of my PUG experiences have us looking for DPS the longest. Tanks and Healers are quite in abundance i've found.

Whats rude is how all the pro-LFG peeps can do to support their argument is make sarcastic, witty, unfunny trolling comments all day to the people who bring up valid points against the inclusion of a LFG system. This thread is turning into a flame war in part by the pro-lfg people who reject every valid point made by an anti-LFG person. Every comment i've seen basically follows the format: "

Ok so lets assume a dungeon finder gets added, cross server or same server. you get 3 people who are experienced players into a dungeon, and 1 player where its his/her first time running said dungeon. The three other players spacebar through the conversations because they've run this place like 50 times and already know the story line-per-line from memory. The 4th player does not, because its his first time running the dungeon and he eagerly wants to see how the flashpoint's story unfolds. After getting through the first few cutscenes, the 3 veterans realize this other player isn't going to skip them, and they vote to kick him and it passes by unanimous decision. Over time, this behavior becomes the norm and suddenly all the great stories BioWare has set out to tell are completely useless because the veterans don't want to waste any time at all. They have no reason to care about that 4th guy because they probably won't see him again. This situation is very plausible, and its just one of the ways adding a dungeon queuing system will ruin the game for tons of players who aren't fortunate enough to play all the time and reach the endgame quickly where nobody skips cutscenes.

Thank you. We need more people voicing their opinions like this. LFG is a path to the dark side. Copy one thing and suddenly you may as well copy everything. I love how all the pro-LFG fools think that casually disregarding these points without event thinking about them is the way to go. Think about it and its easy to see by example how a tool that eliminates social interaction can start the path to a game where nobody talks to each other and guilds are useless. You pro-LFG peeps are whats gonna kill this game. Stop shouting and start thinking about what actually happens when you no longer have to say a word to another person.

It probably could, but I like the idea of a persistent PvP area too much to make it an event every 2 hours.

Yes, i would be too, but its the slippery slope deal. Once you have a same server LFD tool inevitably people will complain for a cross server one. Unless BioWare comes out and is super adamant about never ever adding a cross - server LFD tool, but that will never happen. Never say never and all that.

You people are quite delusional if you think that means its coming. This is a statement that retains their "never say never" philosophy while at the same time acknowledging that cross-server dungeon finders are bad for games. They specifically say that, let me point that out for you. That right there is the main reason why cross-server dungeon finder is a horrible idea. They know this. The entire rest of the statement is the "never say never" philosophy because if they say it will never come and then come back around and say its coming, they'll be eaten alive. All it is is PR padding. Whether they add a dungeon finder in a week or in 8 months, its still going to kill this game in the same way they pointed out here. I'm shocked that THIS is the statement that you people are basing this entire thread around.

Nerd rage is the reason you think its coming in the first place. Acting like your an adult and somehow above anybody else here is a fallacy to yourself. They have never said its absolutely coming, this thread is a spawn of nerd rage to get it out. Realize what it is and don't try to sugar coat it because you're pro-LFG.

Probably because its the right answer to the problem. It wouldn't be said if it didn't hold any value at all. I'm in a guild with probably 10-15 people on during peak times and we are all fine running dungeons with one another. Its not hard at all to go run a dungeon with your friends. If you run a PUG and had a good time, talk to them and add them to your friends list. Get to know the other people on your server and you'll know who to talk to if you need any particular role. Social interaction goes a long way; I hate how people feel the need to ask BioWare to add a system that makes up for their lazyness or inability to talk to people. Now low pop servers is a legitimate issue and this wouldn't hold true to those people, but ideally server mergers is the best solution here if gets bad enough.