Well, actually it does in fact qualify as a 'need' given that none of my companion characters currently has any armor or weapons of any kind. They all needed to be sold off to rebuild cash and repair after an ill-advised and premature run at a major boss. So now I need new gear - a lot of different kinds of gear. While your point makes sense if you predominantly play groups where companions don't factor in, it doesn't mesh with a significant amount of gameplay. Unless the devs change it, you're just going to continue to be frustrated. I had a team mate rage-quit a while back over it. If they had just asked I would have done a transfer through the ops. Instead they started a profanity-laced tirade. Sorry - they lose. Civility wins out with a good majority of players here. On the other hand, I like the idea of adding a companion button. Keep in mind too, that there are probably a lot of people new to playing in groups at all with the new system. Etiquette will take a while to work out. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ I can feel the hate swelling in you now . . .

While I agree in principle that loot should go to those mainspec characters that need it most, I can and do use companions for a great deal of my leveling. Companions can use drops even if they are bound to the main character. And I have a companion for every drop that appears in a flashpoint. What you are suggesting would eliminate the possibility of players being able to buff their companions as they move through main quests. Not everyone plays swtor just to join groups or PvP.