Hi, i pre ordered the game and got it at launch. Really enjoyed the class stories but ended up quitting after a month (Wasn't interested in the combat/im not good at micromanaging also there was alot of problems around that time for those who remember. I was on an old PC so the game was on lowest settings, ran laggy and was just a bad experience.).

Since then i came back twice, once for 2 weeks a few months after launch (similar issues as to why i quit) and once August 2012 with a brand new gaming computer. I enjoyed the game 10x more and while combat still didn't interest me much/ i managed to get to level 20-22 on all my characters (5). I found doing pvp to level in between quests was really fun despite combat not being important to me. However after a month i ended up quitting again. Partly due to lack of time and partly because i was having a few issues that bothered me which i will address below. Sorry for the kind of long intro but i figured a little background would help. Here are my questions as a returning player:

1. I played on Ebon Hawk server and i plan on restarting completely. Is this still a populated server? If not, could you recommend one?

2. Overall how is the population in game atm?

3. I had a problem that during flashpoints people would leave if i didn't skip dialogue/wasn't the best fighter. Is that a problem that still persists? I prefer to play solo so i can't join a guild to do them with. Despite being a returning player i still consider myself a "noob" i've never done world bosses and only the first flashpoint for Republic and Empire. Are there people out there with enough patience to walk us through these events for the first time?

4. Has anything major changed since August 2012 despite the latest DLC/race add on? One problem i had was that there seems to be constant changes to pvp which makes certain classes over powered or under powered. I don't have the time to level up a character and have it turn out to be one of the worst classes for end game once i reach it. For instance i had a Pyrotech BH i made in August which was considered one of the best and now apparently it got nerfed really bad. Is there a class that stays the same for the most part despite all the changes?

5. Do they have any plans on extending the class stories? That is without a doubt the main reason i keep trying to come back to this game and i'd love to know that by the time i reach 50 with a few toons there would be new class stories to experience (will take me several,several months)

6. In your opinion, will this game last for years to come despite all its past grievances? Is it worth my time/money to invest in it if in a year or two it will be a dead game with few players/no updates? Is there a real chance at a comeback like LOTRO for instance?

Hello and welcome back,

1) Since the server consolidations, there is very little choice of servers. All should be fairly well balanced within each 'type' (ie, all PvP servers should be about the same). If you plan on restarting however, it may just be easier to roll on a new server in which case, why not. You can check out detailed stats for each server here:

http://www.torstatus.net/shards/us.

2) Population seems to have levelled out now that we are well into f2p. I normally see between 200 and 250 on the fleet, with up to 80 on each planet. I believe that instance size has recently been decreased so they don't look crowded, but there will be differences between servers.

3) I don't play many flashpoints so normally end up in the 'noob' category there as well (even if I do have 3 post 50 alts!) and don't see people quitting too often. It's never happened from not skipping conversations, although later bosses can prove frustrating for experienced players. Personally I'd suggest that, if you do find yourself struggling with combat, wait until you're slightly over level for a flashpoint before you play through it. The XP grant will be a little lower, but you'll go in that much more powerful.

4) Assuming you know about ROTHC and the game updates, not a lot. I'd look at the update pages for more details but I can't immediately think of anything that won't be there.

5) Yes. They have said that the class stories will be expanded upon, but I don't know when. The Cathar didn't appear for a VERY long time after they were announced, and the SSSP (Super Secret Space Project) is apparently 'progressing'. So yes, they will be continued, but probably not for a while.

6) Three words. It makes money. Since going free to play, the game's revenues have supposedly doubled. EA of all companies won't drop a game that is bringing in money, so as far as I can predict, it should stick around for a while.

Hope this helps.

I play PvP alot and I'd say it's better now than it has been in nearly a year. But I think you left before it got really bad.

Most classes are good for casual PvP if you learn how to play them. I have a Bounty Hunter PT and have be really enjoying it in Pre-55 PvP but I'm not a big fan of its story and it's not my main.

the most recent expansion adds some class story but it's faction specific rather than class. However the dialog is custom made to integrate with your class so it feels class related unless you play it more than once per faction.

Overall a big improvement from the early days. Especially the population fixes. No more gghost town fleet, or waiting 46mins for a flash point or warzone.