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SWTOR in the Life of a Casual


ENVISIONocity

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If I ever get and extra 50mil (ROFLMAO.... it'll never happen. I'm to busy financing alts and buying armor) I'll buy a star destroyer just because I want one. :D

 

Wait! What?! You can buy a star destroyer?!?!?

 

Now the question I have to ask myself is if I can stop buying cool pieces from the GTN long enough to actually save enough credits to buy a destroyer.

 

Let's see... I average around a million to 2 million during the course of a full character progression of Classic— class and planetary missions only (no crafting, etc)... so I'll need about 25 or so more alts... :t_biggrin:

 

Everyone stand back— I've totally got this!

Edited by ENVISIONocity
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Wait! What?! You can buy a star destroyer?!?!?

 

Now the question I have to ask myself is if I can stop buying cool pieces from the GTN long enough to actually save enough credits to buy a destroyer.

 

Let's see... I average around a million to 2 million during the course of a full character progression of Classic— class and planetary missions only (no crafting, etc)... so I'll need about 25 or so more alts... :t_biggrin:

 

Everyone stand back— I've totally got this!

 

 

Yup..... on the imperial side, and you have to be in a guild. (I've inherited a couple of em lol)

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Wait! What?! You can buy a star destroyer?!?!?

 

Now the question I have to ask myself is if I can stop buying cool pieces from the GTN long enough to actually save enough credits to buy a destroyer.

 

Let's see... I average around a million to 2 million during the course of a full character progression of Classic— class and planetary missions only (no crafting, etc)... so I'll need about 25 or so more alts... :t_biggrin:

 

Everyone stand back— I've totally got this!

 

I'll hold your beer!

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I'm very casual myself. On The Progenitor, although I'm pretty sure that wasn't where I started. I played Trooper in Beta, then went on to main a Smuggler (Gunslinger) for most of my months in early game. Never made it past Hoth, thanks to some mission in a cave. Came back periodically when I got emails about claiming new rewards, or double XP (used one weekend to get a Trooper to about where I'd left off in Beta) but stayed subbed. Was actually about to finally end my sub but when I came onto the site to do so I saw all the KOTET stuff, and read into the recent expansions a little. KOTFE sounded good, the extras for staying subbed til release were interesting, so I updated over the better part of a day, and started playing again the last week in November.

 

Initially very surprised how unchallenged I was finishing off my Smuggler's Class Story and getting him to 50. (I'd come back at one point and passed that Hoth mission, so actually dinged 50 just by logging in and chatting to my companions on my ship for 10mins.) Started through the Ilum stuff, but fancied a change so started levelling a Sorcerer. Quite fun to be able to just run through the Story mode, though I did force myself back to Dromund Kass for the Revanite arc, as I was interested what it was all about, being a longtime KOTOR player. Took a break at around lvl 25 as KOTET had launched and used one of my boost tokens on a lvl 60, to play through KOTFE. Went with a Knight (Guardian?) as that seemed to be the way the story was hinting at wanting you to play. She's just hit 70 yesterday with the final chapter of KOTFE to go.

 

I used to group quite often, even having done some of the later FPs of the original game at the time. Found a group for the Tactical FP on Manaan the other day and basically wasted 3 people's time because I was terrible at any kind of challenge, and can't tank. Or, rather can't tank on this...yet. I used to be a hell of a tank on City Of Heroes back in the day. For now I think I'll stick with solo stuff. I do intend to work my way through solo mode FPs via the Command system, and the opportunity to do that and re-learn the basics is welcome. The lack of concern over gearing and choosing companions is a freeing change too, as is, for me anyway, the appearance tab.

 

I definitely see a more...ambitious attempt by BiowEAr to get extra cash off players, and looking at how the gear system was prior to 5.0 I can see where people are dismayed. I definitely like to choose my gear, although at the time I was playing I rarely had opportunity to get anything truly special it was nice even just levelling up and getting enough commendations from heroics and the like to buy a new helmet for my trooper, most of my gear was drops, usually from FPs. Since returning I've not even thought about mods or enhancements or what have you. I probably should with my Jedi soon though. I've kitted out my Stronghold with the necessary banks and doo-dads. Anything that has a practical use was put in one room, basically, and is my go-to instead of the fleet, for a number of reasons, not the least of which is stability. My game crashes less when there's not a dozen other people all with their own fancy stuff going on.

 

I've bought some hypercrates with what was left after species and other legacy unlocks. They're fun, weirdly especially the Grand Chance Cubes giving full sets of older armour I've missed out on in my exile. I've gotten a few nice items from them, and a few valuable ones too, that I've been able to, or will eventually sell to help fund my growing list of alts. If I hadn't had those "complimentary" CC there though, I'm not sure I'd have been able to justify it. Even before the economic effects of the Brexit vote I think the dollar price to CC is a bit steep for what the majority of things are vanity items. Considering the many basic things that subscribers get included, I've no idea why anyone would play for free, unless it is just to be VERY casual, because even the simplest of things would be enough to earn you preferred status, and even that seems a bit too restrictive to me.

 

The Command Crates/RNG/CXP/OMG! situation does perhaps seem a bit laughable at times looking at it as basically an outsiders, but then having gotten to 70, and looked at the tier xp requirements, vs the rewards, vs all the different things that were alternately available before, it is concerning. Worse to me seems to be the way the game can't seem to decide if it wants to encourage alts or not. CXP certainly doesn't but a lot of "legacy" systems and text from prior the KOTFE expansion certainly suggest that as a very good way to enjoy the game. I've a lot of the game to experience yet, even from the early days, so I'm going to enjoy going back, but every time I clear a mission or kill a gold mob with an alt is CXP I'm missing out on. It's nice to not have a complicated system of dozens of different types of currency or rewards, but also too restrictive in how you earn that. They've said they won't make it Legacy-wide, but given the number of inconsistencies and contradictions in the rest of the way the game is set up I'm hoping that's only temporary.

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Thank you for starting a thread that was , well written, and as I think I've said before, well thought through.

I've enjoyed this aswell, discussions with other quite casual players who play mostly solo, and it's a nice, and rare change to see a thread like this, that hasn't been derailed by someone into pure toxicity lol

 

Also, I will most certainly both wave AND buff if I see you around, and most likely send you a message letting you know it's me:)

 

+1 to this. Awesome that this never got hijacked and dumped on! There is hope for humanity after all. Well, until my Sorc (his name is Cheezy Poofs, you have been warned) gets ahold of them, but that's another story...:o

Edited by ChristienB
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Wait! What?! You can buy a star destroyer?!?!?

 

Now the question I have to ask myself is if I can stop buying cool pieces from the GTN long enough to actually save enough credits to buy a destroyer.

 

Let's see... I average around a million to 2 million during the course of a full character progression of Classic— class and planetary missions only (no crafting, etc)... so I'll need about 25 or so more alts... :t_biggrin:

 

Everyone stand back— I've totally got this!

 

Ha! I have never been able to discipline my spending enough to save up to buy the guild ship. I get distracted eas...Squirrel!

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+1 to this. Awesome that this never got hijacked and dumped on! There is hope for humanity after all. Well, until my Sorc (his name is Cheezy Poofs, you have been warned) gets ahold of them, but that's another story...:o

 

I have a feeling that the usual suspects just didn't find this thread interesting enough to derail lol

Either way, this thread is the most forum fun I've had since I was a regular in the WoW pvp and healing forums back in the day( and yet, here I am, playing Swtor, neither healing, OR doing pvp, so much more difficult here I think)

 

And, as a solo player at heart, I can proudly say I made it through my first uprising ( yes, I'm very easily entertained, I also buffed every chance I got)

Also, welcome Craggy!

 

Christien, I will most certainly buff Cheezy Poofs if I ever see him( or her I guess, but it sounds like a him)

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Your thread was enlightening and very well said, thank you for it!

I am a similar type of player myself. I mostly solo, I don't do PVP, and I only do Ops or FPs when my guild needs another because my guild is awesome and I like helping them out.

 

I play for the story. This is my stand-in for KOTOR 3, it's a wonderful Bioware story (8.5 stories actually since each class has their own!) and it's really been a wonderful experience for me.

 

It has issues and I want things to be changed (mostly for others) but all in all I love this game.

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I have a feeling that the usual suspects just didn't find this thread interesting enough to derail lol

 

If you build it, they will come. It is. Inevitable.

 

But you know, I've been a longtime lurker here. I think I have posted once or twice in a discussion that was soon swallowed up. I couldn't even tell you what it was about— it was that long ago. Most of the time, I just don't see anything that engages me. Maybe it's the "soloist" in me, I couldn't say.

 

And I'd been intending to just log in and put myself and my experience as a solo player in SWTOR over the last five years. It wasn't as easy as that sounds. I'm a HUGELY anxious person in real life, and as awkward as they come in social situations overall. Writing as specifically and honestly as I could, it was a massive leap for me to post it. And it could have gone either way. Those who are apparently displeased with how things are going in the SWTOR galaxy as it impacts their gameplay could've tore me a new one for what they perceive as a bubble blower wearing rose-colored glasses.

 

Or, ... well, what did happen. You all happened.

 

This discussion, and hearing about other's experiences. And as solo players, many of them!

 

Even now, I'm sitting here writing this when I should be doing the Empire's dirty work on Nar Shadda because they're too incompetent to do the job themselves, at least that's how my current alt sees it.

 

Sure, we all know the destination. We've played the game enough times, even those who remain in Classic.

 

But isn't it about the journey? Who hasn't re-read a great book? And every time, we find nuances to enjoy things which we missed before, right?

 

Five years later, I continue to find myself realizing things about scenery or a storyline or what-have-you. And to this day, I'm a map addict, and have to have it open all the time, which is why a multi-monitor setup works so well. All because I'll get lost.

 

After five years in SWTOR!! Priceless!

 

Anyhowwww, I kept putting off the post.

 

That night, intention and opportunity shook hands, and I'm so appreciative that it did.

 

And, as a solo player at heart, I can proudly say I made it through my first uprising ( yes, I'm very easily entertained, I also buffed every chance I got)

 

I think they're a great addition, and I'll have to go in with one of my KOTFE/FOTET instants and check them out. I enjoy the heroics and in my mind, all the uprisings are are heroics or flashpoints renamed. And I don't care: they're good times to me. In WOW they were called instances, if memory serves.

 

The point is the journey. Some for gear, and earning disappointment; and some there to walk away playing their class better— which you'll immediately notice when you go and deal with standard mobs afterwards. ;)

 

And there I start going again. . .

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Sure, we all know the destination. We've played the game enough times, even those who remain in Classic.

 

But isn't it about the journey? Who hasn't re-read a great book? And every time, we find nuances to enjoy things which we missed before, right?

 

 

^ This right here! This is exactly the way I feel about SWTOR, over all. However, even better than a beloved great book, going back and cracking open one of the class stories, and starting at level one, creates NEW stories, not just rereading the same old. Each play through, each "rereading," if you will, is a new story all its own if you take different choices to see what you missed the other times, taking you to sometimes unexpected and magical places.

 

Endgame is a world of its own. When I get in the mood for it, I'll seek out a guild of casual-friendly people, and partake in it for a bit. However, it never holds my full attention the way the initial 8 class stories do, and will. With that said, endgame will never be my complete focus in SWTOR. It's finite to me, fewer options for exploring, and always the same story. That doesn't make it BAD, it just makes it something I take in smaller doses than others.

 

And, here I go blathering on again too. LOL

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And, as a solo player at heart, I can proudly say I made it through my first uprising ( yes, I'm very easily entertained, I also buffed every chance I got)

Also, welcome Craggy!

 

Christien, I will most certainly buff Cheezy Poofs if I ever see him( or her I guess, but it sounds like a him)

 

Awesome! I haven't made the attempt at the "new" endgame stuff yet. I have 2 that have completed KOTET, but they aren't in a populated guild. The one toon I have right now in a "large" guild is a new character I created to level an Operative healer, since I hadn't done that brand of healing before.

 

And yes, he is a he. Cheezy Poofs is predictably orange, with orange Thexan armor. I actually made him to do the D/L event, and ended up having so much fun with it, I may just keep him.

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If you build it, they will come. It is. Inevitable.

 

But you know, I've been a longtime lurker here. I think I have posted once or twice in a discussion that was soon swallowed up. I couldn't even tell you what it was about— it was that long ago. Most of the time, I just don't see anything that engages me. Maybe it's the "soloist" in me, I couldn't say.

 

And I'd been intending to just log in and put myself and my experience as a solo player in SWTOR over the last five years. It wasn't as easy as that sounds. I'm a HUGELY anxious person in real life, and as awkward as they come in social situations overall. Writing as specifically and honestly as I could, it was a massive leap for me to post it. And it could have gone either way. Those who are apparently displeased with how things are going in the SWTOR galaxy as it impacts their gameplay could've tore me a new one for what they perceive as a bubble blower wearing rose-colored glasses.

 

Or, ... well, what did happen. You all happened.

 

This discussion, and hearing about other's experiences. And as solo players, many of them!

 

Even now, I'm sitting here writing this when I should be doing the Empire's dirty work on Nar Shadda because they're too incompetent to do the job themselves, at least that's how my current alt sees it.

 

Sure, we all know the destination. We've played the game enough times, even those who remain in Classic.

 

But isn't it about the journey? Who hasn't re-read a great book? And every time, we find nuances to enjoy things which we missed before, right?

 

Five years later, I continue to find myself realizing things about scenery or a storyline or what-have-you. And to this day, I'm a map addict, and have to have it open all the time, which is why a multi-monitor setup works so well. All because I'll get lost.

 

After five years in SWTOR!! Priceless!

 

Anyhowwww, I kept putting off the post.

 

That night, intention and opportunity shook hands, and I'm so appreciative that it did.

 

 

 

I think they're a great addition, and I'll have to go in with one of my KOTFE/FOTET instants and check them out. I enjoy the heroics and in my mind, all the uprisings are are heroics or flashpoints renamed. And I don't care: they're good times to me. In WOW they were called instances, if memory serves.

 

The point is the journey. Some for gear, and earning disappointment; and some there to walk away playing their class better— which you'll immediately notice when you go and deal with standard mobs afterwards. ;)

 

And there I start going again. . .

 

Just like you, I've lurked around these forums, reading, not even logging in, til about a week ago, give or take a day or two, however, in other aspects we are not quire opposites, but, I think you get what I mean . I'm a very social person rl, but, in here, I get a bit stressed when doing group content, which is one ,(but far from the only) reason I prefer to just do solo content.

 

Yes, I keep my map open almost all the time too, you'd think I'd know where I was going by now, but, nope! Without my map, I am well and truly lost.

 

I like your comparison to re-reading a good book, and finding things you missed the first( or second, and so on)time.

 

 

And, you did a great job with your post! I'm glad you took that leap.

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Awesome! I haven't made the attempt at the "new" endgame stuff yet. I have 2 that have completed KOTET, but they aren't in a populated guild. The one toon I have right now in a "large" guild is a new character I created to level an Operative healer, since I hadn't done that brand of healing before.

 

And yes, he is a he. Cheezy Poofs is predictably orange, with orange Thexan armor. I actually made him to do the D/L event, and ended up having so much fun with it, I may just keep him.

 

I've managed to drag 3 characters through KOTET, and, eh, I'm sure more will follow eventually, just not sure about my poor healer lol.

 

I have my characters spread out in different guilds, since I'm not much of a group content player, it doesn't really matter to me if the guild is big or not, yes, I'm one of those players who will happily accept a random guild invite, unless the name is just completely stupid, a girl's gotta have some standards!

 

With a name like that, you kinda have to keep him lol

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Good morning, fellow casuals!

 

I have to say that I've been rather concerned with Vette's inability to stay on-task lately. I've been throwing myself like cannon fodder into mobs and look back only to find Vette waaaaaaay back there staring at the butterflies or something before apparently realizing that "Oh! Hey! I gotta keep my Marauder partner alive" and finally rushing over with her ever-handy Heal-a-Klutz on full stream.

 

Been going on a short while now. Should I be concerned, and is she developing ADHD? :t_eek:

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Good morning, fellow casuals!

 

I have to say that I've been rather concerned with Vette's inability to stay on-task lately. I've been throwing myself like cannon fodder into mobs and look back only to find Vette waaaaaaay back there staring at the butterflies or something before apparently realizing that "Oh! Hey! I gotta keep my Marauder partner alive" and finally rushing over with her ever-handy Heal-a-Klutz on full stream.

 

Been going on a short while now. Should I be concerned, and is she developing ADHD? :t_eek:

 

I've both seen a few threads about lagging companions, and had a few of them( most of them come to think of it) lag behind quite a bit as well, I've had the most "dragging my feet, you're on your own" from Ranos, and Kaliyo, that being said, it kinda does sound like something Kaliyo would both say, and do, at least to me lol.

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Good morning, fellow casuals!

 

I have to say that I've been rather concerned with Vette's inability to stay on-task lately. I've been throwing myself like cannon fodder into mobs and look back only to find Vette waaaaaaay back there staring at the butterflies or something before apparently realizing that "Oh! Hey! I gotta keep my Marauder partner alive" and finally rushing over with her ever-handy Heal-a-Klutz on full stream.

 

Been going on a short while now. Should I be concerned, and is she developing ADHD? :t_eek:

 

They all do that occasionally, just go on break. Reminds me of that scene in Shaun of the Dead when Shaun is fighting the zombie in the yard, and Ed is texting, David is just watching, and Shaun says "Feel free to step in anytime!!"

 

Keep an eye on them, sometimes they won't follow you into certain rooms or over jumps. You'll go into battle and they're just not there, then you'll backtrack and find them standing at the entrance like a puppy scared of the garage.

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Keep an eye on them, sometimes they won't follow you into certain rooms or over jumps. You'll go into battle and they're just not there, then you'll backtrack and find them standing at the entrance like a puppy scared of the garage.

 

Yep, I've learned to live with some of the idiosyncrasies of some of my companions. Gives them their own uniqueness, you know. ;)

 

The only time they seem programmed not to follow, as far as my own casual playing has discovered, is when you have to meet someone that is at the top of a lift. Balmorra's a good example if I'm not getting my planets mixed up. You have to meet with a Sith who is taking administrative control of the Empire's interests and she's choking out the "former" governor as you arrive. My companions always remain on the lift or at the bottom of it.

 

But this does remind me of how I used to get SO frustrated when I started playing and I was clicking on things I shouldn't have— and apparently set my companion to aggressive, and they kept going and picking fights with mobs and making my life difficult in the process. Ah, good times!! :w_cool:

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^ This right here! This is exactly the way I feel about SWTOR, over all. However, even better than a beloved great book, going back and cracking open one of the class stories, and starting at level one, creates NEW stories, not just rereading the same old. Each play through, each "rereading," if you will, is a new story all its own if you take different choices to see what you missed the other times, taking you to sometimes unexpected and magical places.

 

I couldn't figure out how to put it into words, so I'm elated that you explained it like you did for me and anyone here who might be lurking, because you are absolutely spot-on!

 

And you know, I'm prone to just going with a new alt when I find that an alt I'm playing becomes someone I can't relate to at least in some ways. Things may start off great, but then they go on to being someone that becomes uninteresting to me. . . and if they aren't interesting (whether I agree with any given decision or not), I am not interested in forcing things to continue. I just start anew, sometimes with a different class as part of letting that previous one go to where all forgotten alts go to become one with the Force.

 

Endgame is a world of its own.

 

I'll have to take your word for it, since I'll probably never get there. ^_^

 

Which kind of reminds me of someone I know who absolutely refuses to watch the final episode of Fringe, because when they do finally watch it, that's it— there's no turning back at that point.

 

Maybe I'm kind of like that with my SWTOR, too. :mon_trap:

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With a name like that, you kinda have to keep him lol

 

Yeah, I will keep him, or delete and instantly remake another with the same name. I've been known to do that now and then. I used to do "serious" names, and then just decided I was done working at it, and now it's more a "what would make me laugh if I got killed by in PvP?" LOL

 

Current example of a few toon names: Cheezy Poofs, Johnny Glitterati, Spymaster Smurf, Tw'iggy (yes, he's a Twilek.),

Bustofer Jones (Cathar), Lansa Lot, Chester McChunk, Farfig'Newton, and of course, the original of the snark: Darth Yujean. After all, who doesn't like a nerdy Sith? I do have some with more "normal" names, but those are too boring to list. :p

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I'll have to take your word for it, since I'll probably never get there. ^_^

 

 

Endgame feels like a totally different game to me. It's different play style, different story stuff, and one thing I hate are the people who keep screaming "space bar space bar space bar." I enjoy doing an Op now and then, but I just got to the point where it wasn't worth it to put up with the hardcore crowd who were always in a major hurry. I like to stop and smell the roses, so to speak. There are times I might whip through some content, but not that often.

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Endgame feels like a totally different game to me. It's different play style, different story stuff, and one thing I hate are the people who keep screaming "space bar space bar space bar." I enjoy doing an Op now and then, but I just got to the point where it wasn't worth it to put up with the hardcore crowd who were always in a major hurry. I like to stop and smell the roses, so to speak. There are times I might whip through some content, but not that often.

 

I have yet to even try an Op, don't think I can handle it lol, I barely even do fp's!

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I have yet to even try an Op, don't think I can handle it lol, I barely even do fp's!

 

It's been a while since I visited a Flashpoint; is that where you get the superpower robot companion to act as two or three additional companions all rolled into the big guy for... storymode, right? Hmm, something to go back and check out, maybe this weekend when I have more time to commit to a session with my alts.

 

Or design a new one like ChristienB does, and go completely creative like that. I tend to be more serious or formal with my namings, and never considered just going off-the-wall.

 

:sy_galaxy: Hey, do any of you come into the character creation of your alts with a pretty good idea of how that character will be (not counting the nuances their choices will season that idea with, though) by the time you start pulling them out of the feature options? Or, do you wait to see what comes out of your character creation?

 

I'll go first and say that I only start with wanting to play a class. Then, I go through the usual basics. Empire or Republic? Choose your class and species. Then, male or female. After that, I start with everything set to 1 and I build from there. I'll spend a significant amount of time here, because if everything works out, I'm going to be spending the rest of the progression with them, let's be honest.

 

A huge influence for me, personally, is the voice snippets as you turn the head for different angles. By the time I'm done, the features and look of the alt have to complement the voice that will be going with that alt for the rest of the adventure. :t_biggrin:

 

And kudos to SWTOR's voice-acting, right? There's no disputing that they spent a lot of money designing Classic. Phenomenal stuff, and the most immersive that I've encountered across the online games that I've played: WOW, Matrix Online, and Black Desert. It has made it impossible for me to go back to WOW, and Black Desert just didn't appeal to me.

 

Did any of you ever play Matrix Online? That studio used to have these Live Events where the developers would come into the world as major characters in various massive battles or something. Great stuff, if you remember.

 

But SWTOR's stole this casual's heart and I plan on seeing you here five years from now if the opportunity is here.

 

Not a signing off. Just me shuttin' up so someone else can get a word or two in edge-wise. :jawa_redface:

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