The easiest MMO I've ever played

LOL. But srsly.

I guess the calls for more story were a case of 'be careful what you wish for'. I never thought story focus could be such a curse because it has to haul in more people, many of which not interested in a game but a story.

I actually wish it would play itself sometimes, I wouldn't have to do so much heroic grinding. Had a few moments where I had to run and check the stove while I was near respawns, I always come back to a dead character. How do I set up my companion so I don't have to do anything while heroic grinding?

Well, I just resubscribed - been gone for a few months and was gone for years prior to that.

When I was a teenager and an early adult, mass grind games were fun. Spending hundreds of hours to grind was fun with a like-minded community, like SWG days. Now that I'm in my 30's and have only that 2 or 3 hrs to spare, a game like SWTOR in its current state is much more appealing to me nowadays. I can just login, feel all star warsy for a few hours, then log off.

I've come to that stage in my life where I have nothing to prove to a gaming community anymore, to a pvp community, or to some elitist end game community. I simply play for fun, to connect to my character and I'm finding the new SWTOR really fun at the moment, even if it does feel alot easier - I enjoy the less micro management of the companion, I can just set its roll and focus on learning and attaching to my actual character, instead of spending 2 hours trying to gear up myself and my companion. I can actually see myself completing all the story clases this time around within a reasonable time window - something that seemed daunting at release for me. At launch, it took me months just to get through 1 class story mission - and that was doing all side quest just to be able to attain the exp needed to keep up with the planet levels.

I guess ppl like me are there new targeted audience. I'm one satisfied customer in a sea of unsatisfied. No problem, eventually the game dies anyways (like SWG, like CoH, and other MMO's I used to love) so I've come to the conclusion enjoy games as they come and try and have good and happy memories - its a video game after all.

Yes, it was never overly difficult. And that was okay, for the most part.

It became a problem when there was no difficulty present at all.

As for the level sync.... honestly, that's not really the problem. In fact, I like level sync.

The problem is the innate power of the mobs, but, to a greater extent, the companions. In my opinion, frankly, they are so OP they are broken.... making all solo content combat a pointless and boring timesink, with no player engagement (they don't need to press buttons), no excitement (impossible to fail, automatic success, no stakes at all), and therefore no fun or real point at all. This also makes all of combat's related game systems (gear, crafting, abilities, discipline paths, medpacs, companion influence, etc.) pointless as well, as all they do is improve your ability in combat, but you don't need any ability in combat at all as long as you have a Rank 1 Influence companion.

And yes, as it stands, I am dismissing the companions, essentially disabling the broken part of the game. But this is not a good long term solution for a variety of reasons. (My best explanation in spoiler tags below, skip if you want).
So, you ask, what would make me happy?

Well, give me an ability to fix, rather then just disable, the broken part of the game. Give me a hard mode option, where companions are at the appropriate power level, and more importantly mobs are difficult to beat (better stats), requiring me to use all of my assets to overcome an interestingly potent adversary in an engaging, exciting, and fun fight.

Instead of forcing me to handicap myself so I am lowered down to the level of the kindergarten enemies to feel some challenge, make it so I am forced to raise myself up, though good gear, good skills, and good utilization of all of my assets, to triumph over a powerful adversary in a compellingly close fight.

Well, its not just trash..... bosses of solo content, including all those of class, planet, and expansion stories, as well.

And second, it being easy isn't really the problem. For the most part, it was easy before. If there's only a little challenge.... that's okay. Not preferable to my tastes, but okay. No challenge is the problem.

While fighting a bad *** Sith Lord who you've been battling thoughout the galaxy thoughout the course of your entire class story, and having that fight be really easy is anti-climatic and not really that fun, fighting said Sith Lord and having that fight present no challenge of any sort whatsoever, being impossible to lose, as your Rank 1 Influence protocol droid can solo him without breaking a sweat while you stand still without clothes on is a serious, game-breaking problem that really demeans the entire story and makes the game as a whole largely boring and ruined... with the only entertainment being that of cheap laughs as my protocol droid conquers the galaxy while I watch in short lived sardonic amusement.

Do you have your companion in healer mode? Also, a little influence may help. My Lana in healer mode finished heroics for me when I fell asleep waiting for mobs to respawn (10 minutes timer).

I'd just like to point out that many of the things you are happy about I (can't say about other people) am not upset about, and actually view as positive changes to the game. I love that I don't have to gear my companions anymore, I think that was an unnecessary time and energy sink when I'm more interested in managing my own character's items instead. I also like the other improvements like quicker traveling, unlocked speeder/bind points, increased experience, no longer having to do all of the side quests, and having a companion be any role.

It's the substantial decrease in difficulty for combat that I don't like.

I am 100% in favor of a "harder" variant for those who want it (like have level sync lower you to planet minimum)...but I also want to point out that SWTOR is ONLY about the story these days. Nothing else matters. If someone can't finish the story, they're screwed! How challenging it is is irrelevant to the fact that every player needs the ability to beat it, despite their personal skill level.

Your desire to have skill and gear matter goes 100% contrary to everything they did in 4.0. Gear no longer matters, for you or your companion, in stories, you're bolstered up and down. I can't see them reverting something THAT drastic. Where your desire IS achieved is at end game, in HM or NiM Ops and FPs...or anywhere along the line in PvP. I suggest you look to those for the challenge you seek.

Boring because it's boring. Nothing to do with being easy.

If battles were more engaging than just spamming buttons one through nine, I'd be in favor of a difficulty hike.

Make the use of cover more impactful, give us the ability to aim or even make the rest of the mobs in the room aware that a fight is ensuing not five meters from their position.

...but hiking the difficulty with it as it is? No thanks. It doesn't make it more difficult, it just makes it more of a grind.

So you play a boring game just because it's easy How very interesting. Is it safe to assume that the "fun" games had some challenge so you're here for the path of least resistance.