You are posting so you are back for the short term at least. Check out the new content...should take a couple hours or so, and see if you like the state of the game yourself. I returned after about a year and well....its ok nothing to drag me back but it might be for you. Try it, see it for yourself and decide. Don’t listen to either the fanboys or haters, try and see for yourself. It’s your money, spend it wisely.

Your counter to my statement comes off as nonsensical. I never mentioned not wanting a return to rep v emp, as a matter of fact I certainly prefer such. But you simply made an argument based on not only a false assumption but one I gave you no reason to believe or suggest. Maybe it was a classic straw man or what have you but it was not of much value. Both the kotfe chapters were poorly written, poorly deployed, and simply made the game worse then if they were never done. Ignoring them and getting back to Star Wars is good, but this....after so long....it felt pitiful. So little after so long....it gives a returning player no reason to hope for the future. The gearing systems still smells like 5.0, crafting is a blazing dumpster fire, and the reuse of a tired villain is lazy.

Technically I never left, never let my sub go but I have not played in months maybe even a year plus. I hoped for real improvements but honestly don’t see them. This expansion is super tiny and while it was ok the story felt old and honestly a new villain might have helped with that. I did run a few flash points and it was ok, but nothing good even. I could grind gear again...but why? There isn’t enough meat in this expansion. It really felt like a lot of hype little substance. As for more alive....well like I said been gone over a year....it felt very empty. Fleet, Odessa, the new planets all seemed to have some people but far from as full as I recall. I don’t think there is enough here to hold anyone not devoted to the game like most of the remaining population is. Those still here decided long ago Star Wars trumps quality and that’s fair for them to do, but it’s really not going to keep anyone otherwise decided. I don’t know I do love Star Wars but I’m just struggling with the choice to stay or go.

I don’t know Keith like you do what I do know is we know nothing of what you stated to be true for this release based on their last one. 5.0 came out and while people did show they also bailed rather quickly, So quickly Ben eventually got the door and Kieth came in to settle the masses. He has done so by posting that he is listening...then going silent for long stretches. Some dribs and drabs of content, constant tweaking of GC system, and lots of ... nothing much. So your belief has to be based on faith....not earned credit but faith and hope. Because over the last two years we have hardly seen enough to really know things have changed, heck if anything what we have seen is with every update more bugs, more problems, more bad story writing,...oh and have they even managed to return all our lost companions in all this time, something that said they wanted to do long ago? No, no they have not. Every time they start communicating or saying they want to improve communication...they then go silent for long periods. Basically same old same old, but gentler and to a dwindling base that is most made of the most diehard SWTOR fans. So ok, lets assume magic Christmas land happens and 6.0 is good, isn’t bug filled, and it brings back tons of people who want to see more of that type of content. You think the player base crying for more will in any way affect the rate at which we get more of it? They’ve proven very skilled at ignoring everything the players want for years on end, and somehow this time it will be different? Look I am hoping 6.0 is a shock to the system. That it is awesome fun, brings back tons of players. I am hoping for all of this. But I am not willing to even suggest that even if it is amazing anyone will care that the players want more of the same sooner rather than later. We would be lucky, lucky to get more in another year.

Improved is a relative term. Better then it was pre-5.0? No, not even close to as good yet. Better then the start of 5.0....ok sure. The story writing is still at best fair and often bad. The crates are still around and that is a negative to me. Honestly its in my view in a holding pattern, 6.0 is the key. If it re-ignites my enjoyment great if not I don’t know that I will wait for another “fix”. I have had enough “fixing” since 5.0. But I am hopeful so in a way thats better. Its been a long time since I had hope that game would find its way back.

It is doing what it can on a budget. They are releasing a new expansion in like a month and that has people interested once again so that’s the good. The bad is the game is a shadow of its former self. Updates and new content doesn’t come out at anything like a decent pace. The recent stories have not been all that solid from my POV, so dead no. Healthy....no. But still there, yeah for now. 6.0 will really have an impact on for how long. My thought is get ready for the expansion, try it out, and see if you like it.

I can’t speak for everyone else, but while I am still here in theory I have not logged on to play seriously since mid time last year. I stuck around for my own reasons. But I really felt that the two solo chapters did not help the game, it was a story that didn’t really fit most characters, and even those it did make sense for it wasn’t fun for me to repeat because it wasn’t really that good nor interesting. The flash points they added that continued the story were worse, just garbage writing and that really drove me away from the game. Take the companions away was interesting and I gave them some time on it since I figured it might be part of a good story. Yes I was not happy to loose them but hey if it makes for a good time its ok. It stop being ok years and I MEAN YEARS ago. This long and not all have returned, thats on all the current people, not just those who left. There should have been direct action to return them ASAP when the new group moved in, there clearly was not. The gearing system was really poorly thought out and it should have been scrapped a long time ago, but has not been. Shame they had all the feedback right away that the system was unacceptable but they chose to ignore it. The lack of real improvements in PvP and the MMO side of the game has left both feeling to me unfun and broken. In general they simply don’t seem to react to players dislike or desire for things, while the solo story, the gearing, the lack of new MMO content could each by themselves be reason for the games drop in popularity taken all together it actually seems more amazing the game is still going. To me it was neglect that has hurt this game the most, not of just one aspect but of them all and mostly of paying attention to what players enjoy and want.

Can we trust they will return her with anything remotely approaching a reasonable story? Come on, really we all know the answer. So just return her, sooner rather than later.

They could have us wake up from the cryosleep again this time being told all the past was a nightmare and none of it really happened, even GC was just part of the dream and we return to rep vs imp and all.....its a dream I have at least.

For me, I ran out of patience with them a long time ago regarding GC. I don’t care how much they shine it, to me it is and always will be a cancer and when the game folds it will be the reason I point to for it. That and a dev team deaf to their players.

Truth is as long as Galactic Comand/rng crates/command level remain I can’t see you getting back those who left about this time last year. They wont want to hear how improved it is, or how great things are now. They will want to hear the devs actually listened and removed it. Anything else wont do. I also think they will want all companions back now, not by end of year. And the new op finished in less then two years..... I think those three things would help but at this point I am not sure any silver bullets remain. It would also require things the devs seem unwilling to do so there is that too.

Romance maybe, big part in the story...not so much so.

Acina can’t come back in a major story role.....she’s dead for a number of people because of choices made. I honestly feel its really creepy that Arcann would be a romance option....he’s a mass murderer, not just a bad guy, but an honest to goodness killer of millions perhaps billions.....ewwwww

Well time line wise the greatest troller of all time will be born and pick up his lightsaber and begin his legendary trolling. Kenobi will show us the way.

If you have a point this statement isn’t helping explain what it is. You can PvP in any spec, I admit as a tank its sort of less useful but still could be done, and without much or even any respec you could put on dps gear and scank tank it, But whatever your spec for PvP I am certain you could take it into any heroic and walk through it with your eyes closed. Anyway if you have a point please explain.