So when it comes to the question of whether players want to remain Alliance Commander or return to their old factions, clearly the community has some very polarized reactions. Some people don't want to return to the Republic vs Empire war and others want to abandon the Alliance entirely. Bioware is aware of this too, I think. Because, in one of the interviews a little while back, Charles briefly mentioned the issue of trying to keep both sides happy.

For myself, I'm kind of sympathetic to both sides of the argument, so I thought I would try to lay out the issue from both perspectives and try to tackle the questions and challenges that come with returning to the Republic or Empire.

- The Alliance is still a useful story element, it allows your character to maintain a certain amount of independence which makes sense story-wise for allowing you to make choices with a degree of autonomy. And it (theoretically) allows you to be an ally of your chosen faction rather than a subordinate.

- At the same, as of Jedi Under Siege, I did find myself wishing we were working more closely with our old factions and treated less like an outsider. Maybe that will change as time goes on, but I thought the intended appeal of this expansion story was "returning to your roots." For most of my Republic and Empire characters, I tend to prefer them to feel like they are an Imperial or Republic citizen who has finally come home. And, of course, most of our old titles were way cooler sounding that "Commander."

That said, there are logistical issues that come with returning to our old factions. And I believe the Empire characters have a bigger problem with this. I think that's because of the power structure of the Empire.

Take, for example, Sith characters. Would they be willing to bow down to the current rulers of the Empire just to have their old jobs back? This isn't the same Empire as when they were frozen in carbonite by Arcann. The Wrath and the Dark Council had all answered directly to the Emperor, so during SoR they all had essentially the same authority. But now the power structure has been reorganized and and there is a single ruler again. How does Bioware deal with different players' opinions on being willing to serve them? Republic characters wouldn't have quite as big of an issue, but still.

Warrior:

- My Warrior was very proud of being the Empire's Wrath, and it was sort of sad that the title clearly belongs to Malgus now. But Malgus is obviously a captive servant of Acina or Vowrawn. He appears to have no choice but to go where they send him and seems to live a tortured existence. Moreover, my Wrath would never be comfortable bowing to Acina, because on some level he still sees her as an upstart. Also being Vitiate's Wrath carries very different connotations than being Acina or Vowran's Wrath. But while my Sith feels that way, other players' Warriors might be fine being a servant of Acina.

Inquisitor:

- A Sith Inquisitor may be frustrated that their old seat on the Dark Council and all the power that came with it now belongs to someone else, but a Dark Council member is still directly subservient to the Emperor or Empress. If they were to take it back, they would also be taking a position where they would be directly ruled by someone else. I don't think the Empire would tolerate one of it's most powerful positions becoming part of an outside authority, so even if they were to take it back I would expect Acina or Vowrawn to force an Inquisitor to choose between their old seat or their current independence.

Agent:

- My own Agent might be much more comfortable bowing in allegiance to Sith rulers, (especially because she's always been more comfortable in middle management), but other Agents may be happier remaining where they are with a powerful intelligence network and no interference or oversight from Sith.

Consular:

- I think Consulars could have some of the strongest motivation to rejoin their old faction and one of the most viable paths to do so. The Jedi Order has been scattered and the LS Consular is one of the few remaining Jedi Council Members, that should make them an important part of rebuilding the Jedi by default. I think many Consulars would see helping to do that it as one of their responsibilities as Warden of the Order. Maybe the idea is that the rest of the Council would see the Consular's role of Alliance Commander as too important for them to split their focus with rebuilding the Jedi Order (or vice versa), but I have a hard time believing that the Alliance wouldn't be able to help in some important way. Maybe they would think that the Consular is "corrupted" from working closely with Imperials, but my Consular is almost as loyally Lightsided as you can get. If anything I should be seen as a good influence on them, and Gnost Dural was willing to work with LS Jaesa, who had spent years infiltrating the Sith.

Trooper:

- Rejoining the Republic Special Forces also seems like something you'd have to give up the Alliance to do, and doing so would put you back under the direct command of your military superiors and the Republic Supreme Chancellor. Certainly it would seem strange for a random Colonel to be in charge of a large military force that is outside of the Republic chain of command.

Knight:

- The Battlemaster might not be on the Jedi Council but they are likely to still be one of the highest ranking Jedi remaining. I think Jedi Knights operate with a little more independence than Republic soldiers, so rejoining the Jedi Order seems plausible for them as well. Again, maybe the responsibilities of being Alliance Commander would be too much to balance with the role you had before, but you'd think a scattered Jedi Order could use the resources the Alliance could provide with one of their own in charge.

In terms of standing with their old factions, Bounty Hunters and Smugglers are already pretty close because they were always kind of more like independent contractors who eventually earned some legal perks from their employers for their service.

The best solution I can think of for trying to keep both sides happy, would be maybe offering some symbolic gestures of reconciliation, sort of like regaining Spectre Status in Mass Effect 2. For example, maybe Republic Military Command could officially promote the Trooper to some special position that makes more sense for them to command the Alliance.

And hopefully the coming stories give as the chance to express a preference for how much we want to rejoin the factions. For example, if the Warrior or Inquisitor demanded their old job back, Acina would say "I see. And are you willing to submit to my authority in order to get it?"

And we could answer with some variant of "Yes," "I'm not sure" or "No." It might not change much, but it would allow our characters to feel more like our own.

You make some excellent points that I have been thinking about also.

For me however each character is different as they each have their own personality so I can't break it down as easily as you.

Take my Darth Nox's for instance. I have 5 of them so far.

Two of them will kill Acina or Vowrawn as soon as they can, their rightful place is to rule and the Alliance was nothing more than a step to this end.

One is fiercely loyal to the Empire and will serve under the "Empress" to help as much as possible, they hated the Alliance and being ripped away from their home.

One wants to see the Empire burn and is happy to use the Alliance or anything else to make that happen.

Finally the last one is so random with their decisions even I don't know which way they will jump till they get to the decision.

All my other characters are just as complicated if not more so than these.

The easiest solution to appease everyone was to add the alliance as a third faction that you could choose at the end of the story.

Wether it was technically or financially viable was the problem. They were never going to be able to make everyone happy because of it and they decided to cut the losses and turn back to a more SW “canon” approach to it being Republic vs Enpire story.

People who wanted to only be part of the Alliance were obviously less valued than those who wanted to return to the Rep vs Empire story.

Personally, I wanted to stay in the Alliance only. I didn’t want to be allied with either.

But I also don’t think the story should ever have gone down the Alliance pathway, it isn’t really a SW story after Revan.

If it had never gone down that path, we would never have been put into that sort of position.

I just hope that now theyve made us choose a side, that they will honour the choice and let us properly join that side. ie, my Sith whose gone light and wants to use the republic fleet and vendors,

Why can’t she become a Jedi, but still use her current abilities?

I just hope that now theyve made us choose a side, that they will honour the choice and let us properly join that side. ie, my Sith whose gone light and wants to use the republic fleet and vendors,

Why can’t she become a Jedi, but still use her current abilities?

Agreed

This is the logical step and it needs to happen or this double-agent thing they have going is a farce.

Agreed

This is the logical step and it needs to happen or this double-agent thing they have going is a farce.

Agreed. The double agent is a good way to get the ball rolling, but that is all. My Sith isn’t some new type of Operative for SIS.

The easiest solution to appease everyone was to add the alliance as a third faction that you could choose at the end of the story.

 

Wether it was technically or financially viable was the problem. They were never going to be able to make everyone happy because of it and they decided to cut the losses and turn back to a more SW “canon” approach to it being Republic vs Enpire story.

 

People who wanted to only be part of the Alliance were obviously less valued than those who wanted to return to the Rep vs Empire story.

 

Personally, I wanted to stay in the Alliance only. I didn’t want to be allied with either.

 

But I also don’t think the story should ever have gone down the Alliance pathway, it isn’t really a SW story after Revan.

If it had never gone down that path, we would never have been put into that sort of position.

 

I just hope that now theyve made us choose a side, that they will honour the choice and let us properly join that side. ie, my Sith whose gone light and wants to use the republic fleet and vendors,

Why can’t she become a Jedi, but still use her current abilities?

I agrre with this .. for the most part. If you stop and think about it, we've spent how many years developing this alliance. I would hate to scrap all of it now.

Along those same lines: What if Lana (for those of us who play LS characters) would also join the LS in her philosophy. OK... from time to time she gets very protective of her relationship to (Smuggler / Trooper / JK etc... ) when needed. But I think you get my point.

I really like the idea of remaining a 3rd faction. In my particular case I am supporting the Republic. BUT I would also like to see the option of standing up to someone who is playing everyone for political benifits and trying to pull a fast one. We can remain independant. We don't have to switch to the dark side. It should not be forced to choose only what Republic (or Empire) is telling us. Having that 3rd option is IMO a good thing. Being able to do that without receiveing negative points (to either LS or DS ) should be something to be considered.

And yes.. I understand that we need to choosed sides: Republic or Empire. I get that. But sometimes we should be able to lead the way for (either side) ... and prove to them that the alliance is the "real deal". (I hope this makes sense).

I think the double agent thing is good for a while, but I also think it's the type of thing that has a limited shelf life. Eventually they should allow people the opportunity to turn openly. It's a secret that can only be kept for so long, especially from your own followers.

They said part of the reason they chose it was logistical and practical, such as not requiring people to change fleets. I have to say, it's it's impractical to allow fleet changes, that I think that maybe they should just avoid worrying too much about the time frame of it all. All the planets we visit are technically stuck in the same period of time as when we first visited them, maybe the fleet can be considered the same thing.

In a perfect world I would prefer the Alliance to remain as it is. I don't relish the prospect of seeing all my characters dragged back to their previous lives as faction lackeys. Some of my characters have grown past their old factions, others never cared about politics in the first place and don't care if both factions burn, and some see the Alliance as freedom from all of it.

Regardless, we are where we are, and I hope they will at least give players the chance to really switch sides. In some cases, given previous story choices, it's totally unbelievable that the old faction would even consider trusting your character. My Dark V Jedi married a Sith, told the SIS spy to leave the Alliance, sided with the Empire every time she had the choice from SoR onward, and was told by Satele Shan that she was too dark to be a Master Jedi. My smuggler shot down Republic ships on Corellia and also sided with the Empire every time. In reality, it would be an act of complete stupidity for General Shark and the Jedi to trust them with anything, but there they are, running around on Ossus and saying "it's good to be back!" as they make major evacuation decisions. And the dailies help the side they're supposed to be opposing.

Plus, you're not able to keep companions you want to keep, because they return to their old factions. It broke my heart after Ossus that Talos Drelik quit and returned to the Empire, because he thought my Jedi was with the Republic and I had no way to tell him otherwise. They need to work that out, IMHO.

In terms of Lana I really hope they don't have an option to turn her Jedi or LS. I hope they keep her as she is. She can still love a LS character without giving up who she is, just like every other companion.

While I understand everyone who wants to go back to the Republic or the Empire, I feel like I (my chars) have outlived them.

From an IC perspective, most of my chars have no reason to even look back at rep or imp after everything that happened. Is there any class that gets a fully positive experience on their side? Thinking about the agent, for example. Saresh in the trooper storyline. Baras...

OOC I really like(d) the Alliance and would like to keep on building it up even more.

The next expansion, which goes back to the old schism rep/imp, is thus not overly interesting to me so far. I would prefer an expansion of the Alliance-storyline. I hope that they include a third perspective in Onslaught.

While i do agree to certain degree, i don't see how this alliance can continue any longer. Its clear, that when new rep/imp was begins, you're gonna ally yourself to one of those. That automatically means half of your alliance exits and goes back to it's original faction. Besides, since alliance doesn't have massive fleet, or any fleet for that matter, im wondering why any of major factions should care at all. Both of republic and empire have large fleets and huge armies. Why bother?

While i've always wanted third faction, its just not that. May be its me, but i think hutt cartel would've been better, as a third faction.

While i do agree to certain degree, i don't see how this alliance can continue any longer. Its clear, that when new rep/imp was begins, you're gonna ally yourself to one of those. That automatically means half of your alliance exits and goes back to it's original faction. Besides, since alliance doesn't have massive fleet, or any fleet for that matter, im wondering why any of major factions should care at all. Both of republic and empire have large fleets and huge armies. Why bother?

While i've always wanted third faction, its just not that. May be its me, but i think hutt cartel would've been better, as a third faction.

Please be paitent for a second .. Not trying to trip you upon your own words... BUT please review carefully what you have just posted:

[/snip]

Its clear, that when new rep/imp was begins, you're gonna ally yourself to one of those.

[/snip]

Your "alliance group" had to make a decision as to which group to work with: Republic or Empire. This IMO does not mean it is necessary to desolve your group in order to ally with the other. I really believe that many of us see this as an opportunity to keep the "ALLIANCE" in tact while working with either the Republic or Empire. This would allow us to keep many of our new "favorite" companions in place as well as other perks we enjoy.

Just a thought. Again: I'm not trying to trip you up with your own words .. but hoping you can see another side of the matter.

Thanks !

Please be paitent for a second .. Not trying to trip you upon your own words... BUT please review carefully what you have just posted:

 

 

 

Your "alliance group" had to make a decision as to which group to work with: Republic or Empire. This IMO does not mean it is necessary to desolve your group in order to ally with the other. I really believe that many of us see this as an opportunity to keep the "ALLIANCE" in tact while working with either the Republic or Empire. This would allow us to keep many of our new "favorite" companions in place as well as other perks we enjoy.

 

Just a thought. Again: I'm not trying to trip you up with your own words .. but hoping you can see another side of the matter.

Thanks !

What would keep republic soldiers and people, like Jorgan, from going back to original faction? They sided with opposite faction to defeat common enemy and, as soon as this enemy is dead, which is the case, why in hell would they stay? Yes, you can keep most of your companions, but not actual foot soldiers.

On a larger scale, how do you think alliance is suppose to work? After eternal fleet is destroyed, most of star systems leave you. That basically leaves you with just Odessen, which doesn't have any industry or anything. How do you plan to sustain your army? Combine that with lack of fleet, and it brings us to my original point, why should any faction care at all? If anything, its you, who need them.

What would keep republic soldiers and people, like Jorgan, from going back to original faction? They sided with opposite faction to defeat common enemy and, as soon as this enemy is dead, which is the case, why in hell would they stay? Yes, you can keep most of your companions, but not actual foot soldiers.

On a larger scale, how do you think alliance is suppose to work? After eternal fleet is destroyed, most of star systems leave you. That basically leaves you with just Odessen, which doesn't have any industry or anything. How do you plan to sustain your army? Combine that with lack of fleet, and it brings us to my original point, why should any faction care at all? If anything, its you, who need them.

The Alliance had fleets and resources before it acquired the Eternal Fleet. It retained Iokath, the maker of the Fleet and so should be able to make more ships, even if they don't have the Gemini droids to pilot them. We are also told that the troops who joined the Alliance have mostly decided to remain loyal to us. Soldiers like Aric were disillusioned with their original government. Those heavily flawed governments didn't change at all, so why would they want to go back?

While we are not THE dominant force in the Galaxy and only were for a blink of an eye, we are still strong enough to remain viably independent. Much like the numerous pirate fleets do. Sure, an alliance with the Empire or Republic might be beneficial at times, but we don't NEED them.

It sort of makes sense as the way they have really handled the saboteur isn't the best. If you want to be a saboteur, the daily missions don't reflect that so if they going to do that we might as well go back to our original factions since from all points they will not allow complete faction switches.

One big advantage I have with my Light V (Ex) Sith Assassin is they’re a stealth class so I avoid a lot of fights. I also run them in the Force-heavy tank build (I’m just stunning them with my lightning) and switched to a staff instead of my double lightsaber specifically to be able justify in my own head that I’m not causing any lasting injuries on the off chance I take out a non-droid.

There also happen to be just enough daily missions that don’t require you to fight living Republic forces to get your weekly in one go. It helps knowing that in the Pub side story they get the farming data offworld and the Jedi and colonists are already leaving the planet.

So scan some crops and radar towers (1), destroy some turrets (2) and farm equipment (3) the Republic left behind (the better to keep the Empire from studying it). Kill two powerful Geonosian mutants (4) and rescue some Imps under threat from the bugs (5) and recover some data recorders while you’re there (6), reproprogram some glitched excavator droids (7), destroy a pair of malfunctioning heavy droids (8), plant some jammers that won’t do much since the people you’re trying to jam are already leaving (9) and recover some Jedi relics and funnel them back to the Jedi through your Force enclave (10).

Bang, you’ve appeared to have done your part, which enhances your cover, while doing virtually no real damage to the Republic in the process and arguably even helped them a bit by destroying tech the Imps may have been able to use to improve their food production and recovering some of Jedi’s artifacts right from under the Imperial’s noses.

At least that’s how I justify it. Sorta like I also justify my Scoundrel actually having the lowest actual body count of all my toons because the Scrapper spec can stealth past most stuff and their punches, bludgeon and dirty kick mean I’m mostly knocking them out classic hero style when I do fight and that my shotgun is loaded with rubber pellets.

I’d definitely like more overtly pro-Republic saboteur missions in the upcoming expansion though if they’re not delivering on full faction swaps (my preference) or at least an Iokath-style “pick your faction for this planet” approach for the new content.

The Alliance had fleets and resources before it acquired the Eternal Fleet. It retained Iokath, the maker of the Fleet and so should be able to make more ships, even if they don't have the Gemini droids to pilot them. We are also told that the troops who joined the Alliance have mostly decided to remain loyal to us. Soldiers like Aric were disillusioned with their original government. Those heavily flawed governments didn't change at all, so why would they want to go back?

 

While we are not THE dominant force in the Galaxy and only were for a blink of an eye, we are still strong enough to remain viably independent. Much like the numerous pirate fleets do. Sure, an alliance with the Empire or Republic might be beneficial at times, but we don't NEED them.

Well said:

Additionally there are other resources for the alliance. Even though Zakull has gone independant (remember reading the letters they sent to you) .. the alliance still has strong ties to them and many other worlds. The alliance is not finished... NOT yet.

No... it's not strong enough to take on either the Empire or the Republic. Lana made that perfectly clear to the commander. However... as a matter of the conflict that is "inevitable" between the two powers both Lana and the commander believed it best to decide ahead of time what steps to take .... EVEN choosing sides before war breaks out in to open conflict.

Sooooo IMO ... to me: That means at this juncture I should still at least have that option. I would like to keep that door open (so to speak). It's not so much as to be dogmatic about the matter... BUT IF WE were given a choice IMO ... It just makes sense to NOT throw away what we've accomplished.

I hope this makes sense.

The Alliance had fleets and resources before it acquired the Eternal Fleet. It retained Iokath, the maker of the Fleet and so should be able to make more ships, even if they don't have the Gemini droids to pilot them. We are also told that the troops who joined the Alliance have mostly decided to remain loyal to us. Soldiers like Aric were disillusioned with their original government. Those heavily flawed governments didn't change at all, so why would they want to go back?

 

While we are not THE dominant force in the Galaxy and only were for a blink of an eye, we are still strong enough to remain viably independent. Much like the numerous pirate fleets do. Sure, an alliance with the Empire or Republic might be beneficial at times, but we don't NEED them.

I definitely forgot about that one. Still, it changes next to nothing. Even if most of your faction still stays, especially republic diehard soldiers like Jorgan, which i dont believe is the case, but whatever. That leaves us with:

-limited manpower

-limited resources

-small fleet

-Iokath

Since no major population center or industrial would is under faction's control, there is no stable income of money and raw resources as well as no way of replenishing manpower. Connection to other worlds, may be even gratitude and stuff is not enough to finance your army. That leaves Iokath. Okay, its basically a giant shipyard. Problem is alliance has nowhere near enough resources to build a sufficient fleet, moreover neither of other 2 factions would allow that.

Virtually, alliance is a big merc group with shipyard. Again, why should anyone care? If it were up to, id just annex Iokath and tell this alliance to get lost. Even if its not the case, you can bet, that faction you're allying to would demand transfer of control over Iokath to them.

Curious it is.. the Eternal whipped both Pub and Imp, and the Alliance beat the Eternal.

What we see continuously is the Devs can’t stay on their own script. Lana, planned our escape, participated in creating the Alliance from nothing, and saw the Eternal Throne defeated.

Now the Devs flip Lana... she states on Odessan that the Alliance must chose a side. Where is the Lana that hunted Revan. When did the Alliance ever match the Eternal Empire. When did either Pub or Imp ever match the Eternal Empire.

This Republic and Empire are supposed to be near economic collapse. They lack resources, and manpower.

Yes of course there are and will be some defections from the Alliance, yet as the Alliance becomes more focused, others would join. The Alliance remains what it’s always been, a surgical strike team, that assembles what it needs to succeed.

Yes, I am aware, that’s not the current script.

While we are not THE dominant force in the Galaxy and only were for a blink of an eye, we are still strong enough to remain viably independent. Much like the numerous pirate fleets do. Sure, an alliance with the Empire or Republic might be beneficial at times, but we don't NEED them.

That's where I disagree. Without our Borg fleet and our Mary Sue ship, we're small potatoes now. If one or both of the Republic or Empire wanted to steamroll us they could. We really don't have anything to stop them, other than plot armor. So we may as well pick a side while we still can.

Curious it is.. the Eternal whipped both Pub and Imp, and the Alliance beat the Eternal.

 

What we see continuously is the Devs can’t stay on their own script. Lana, planned our escape, participated in creating the Alliance from nothing, and saw the Eternal Throne defeated.

 

Now the Devs flip Lana... she states on Odessan that the Alliance must chose a side. Where is the Lana that hunted Revan. When did the Alliance ever match the Eternal Empire. When did either Pub or Imp ever match the Eternal Empire.

 

This Republic and Empire are supposed to be near economic collapse. They lack resources, and manpower.

 

Yes of course there are and will be some defections from the Alliance, yet as the Alliance becomes more focused, others would join. The Alliance remains what it’s always been, a surgical strike team, that assembles what it needs to succeed.

 

Yes, I am aware, that’s not the current script.

I really dont get this state of the galaxy they came up with. Okay, After Eternal Empire conquest i get it, both factions suffered some major casualties, loss of infrastructure, production lines. Then economic sanctions, which were designed to strangle economies and minimize chances of insurrection. All is in order. However, since there were limitations on military spending, that in itself should lower pressure of overall budget, and allow investing in side projects. Yes, they were cheating it and stuff, but still. I don't see economical collapse here.

Then, for some reason food shortages. How the hell did that happen? Even if agricultural planets were hit hard during initial assault, in 5 years they should be next to completely recovered. If anything, right now overall capital is supposed to be skyrocketing. In this case, hunt for shipyards comes into play, to minimize enemy fleets.

About alliance thing, you're mostly right. Except for new arrivals. Since alliance has no stable income, war or no war, people aint gonna join and work for free. Otherwise, you, as a player, being basically leader of strike team is a genuine thing. I can't really come up with anything "believable" other than that.

I have to agree. There should be no raw material shortages, at all. The raw materials are still there. The planets weren't totally strip-mined, for example. Also, the stolen goods should still be in storage on Zakuul and can be sent back to their homeworlds.

What they should have a shortage of -- manufactured goods. It was difficult to send trade goods between worlds. Factories and manufacturing sites were destroyed. Large ships were destroyed, as well.

Right now, imported good prices are probably through the roof.

Anyway, enough about trade. It was boring in the prequels, too.

I'm disappointed that I don't get to change factions with my Light-side Imperial Agent who joined SIS. The whole point of making a second Agent character was to successfully become an SIS agent (somehow I didn't trigger that on the first try). Since then, there have been few callbacks to my choice. But hey... finally... I get to choose the Republic! And oh my, they remember I joined SIS! But wait... *** I have to stay an Imperial?

I literally haven't logged into the game since then. I used to play once or twice a day. I haven't played in a couple of weeks, now. It disappointed me that much.

Is it like that for all the classes? Any Imperial who sides with the Republic still does the Imperial quests?

Anyway, I think the ability to change factions was a fantastic idea. It added a lot of dimension to the story. Unfortunately, it's not fully supported by the game world. I think that's a mistake. When the Alliance Commander picks a faction, they should be able to go to those worlds, even if they can't do Missions there.

I really don't like the idea of the Alliance going away. Too much blood, sweat, and tears went into building it. Even if our characters stepped down as Commander, I imagine someone else would step into that position. Would our characters really want to see someone else lead the Alliance?

******Alliance Update - State of the Galaxy

News of the near-total destruction of the Eternal Alliance fleet has spread quickly, leading to renewed fears of a reignited war between the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire. Both factions have reportedly redoubled their efforts to hoard supplies, munitions, and fuel in anticipation of renewed hostilities. Resource shortages, already a common occurrence on many core worlds, are becoming a daily reality across the galaxy at large.

With no single unifying threat to motivate their continued cooperation, these tensions have led many of the Alliance's forces to return to their original sides of the age-old conflict, rejoining their longtime allies and waiting with grim certainty for the war to begin anew.

A hardened force of dedicated troops and staff still maintains the Alliance base on Odessen, however, and a small fleet still patrols Wild Space on their behalf. The Commander's closest allies remain loyal to the leader who helped unite them during one of the galaxy's darkest times--whatever path the Commander chooses next, they will most certainly follow, potentially tipping the scales of any conflict....

*****************************************************************

https://swtor.jedipedia.net/en/cdx/alliance-update-state-of-the-galaxy

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Sith Empire

Although the Sith Empire also suffered heavy losses in the war against Zakuul, Darth Acina’s solitary rulership allowed her to direct her government’s resources more efficiently in the aftermath; as a result, the Imperial fleet is now numerically superior to the Republic’s, with superior troop numbers to match. Efforts to integrate non-humans into the military have been unexpectedly successful, further replenishing the Empire’s ranks. Combined with her successful campaign on Iokath, Acina’s hold on the Imperial throne is absolute.

The coordination of the Empire’s forces is similarly impressive. Acina’s low tolerance for schemes and betrayal has created an atmosphere where Sith–no longer concerned they’ll be stabbed in the back by rivals--and their commanders are more willing to commit themselves fully to their deployments. If Acina is successful in maintaining this new status quo, her forces will be able to move very aggressively into Republic territories when war breaks out.

As part of her efforts to lessen infighting and streamline decision-making, Empress Acina has consolidated the Dark Council down from twelve seats to five.

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Galactic Republic

War against the Eternal Empire of Zakuul took a heavy toll on the Republic, and infighting between hardline supporters of former Chancellor Saresh and more moderate voices held up recovery efforts significantly. With Saresh’s very public downfall, the moderates eventually gained control of the Senate, which is now led by Chancellor Galena Rans.

As a veteran and the spouse of a former Supreme Commander of the Republic military, Rans has deep ties with the military; however, the recent death of Jace Malcom and subsequent Republic loss on Iokath has limited her influence and given fuel to opposition voices. As Rans struggles to appoint a new Supreme Commander, her opponents have cited ongoing resource shortages in order to limit further military spending, weakening the Republic’s overall strategic positions across the galaxy; they will be ill-equipped to hold their territories against Sith invasion.

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http://www.swtor.com/info/news/news-article/20181130

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The Alliance

"Back on Odessen, Lana reported to the Commander that although Odessen suffered minimal damage with no casualties to Alliance personnel, the Gravestone and the Eternal Fleet, two of Eternal Alliance's greatest weapons were gone.[39] Without them, the Alliance no longer possessed the military force to rival that of the Republic and the Sith Empire, who redoubled on their preparations for the inevitable renewal of open hostilities. Additionally, many Alliance members choose to leave and rejoin their original factions, their goal of toppling the Eternal Empire accomplished"

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/The_Outlander

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The mail you get post-Nathema, a lot of personnel left the Alliance and returned to their original factions after the loss of the Eternal Fleet, but a dedicated number of people still remain with the Commander on Odessen. Still, with a lot of personnel quitting and the loss of both the Eternal Fleet and the Gravestone, the Alliance has lost a lot of power, which is why Lana asks you to consider permanently allying with either the Republic or the Empire at the end.

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The Eternal Fleet was built many centuries ago before the time of Valkorion by an unknown race on the planet of Iokath. The fate of the Fleet's builders is unknown but their legacy would live on

The Eternal Fleet was an ancient armada created on the planet Iokath. It was operated by sentient droids, and controlled through the Eternal Throne. It was utilized first by the Eternal Empire,[2] and later by the Eternal Alliance.[4]

Ironically, the fleet was the main reason of tension between the three powers, with leaders fearing the Outlander's unchecked power as commander of the Eternal Throne and its fleet.

The Dragon God of Zakuul was an advanced AI in much a similar vein to the Zakuulan pantheon which turned out to be constructs fabricated by the builders of Iokath, except Zildrog's body as it were was the Gravestone itself. Upon activation, Zildrog seized control of the Eternal Alliance's flagship and employed its Omnicannon to utterly annihilate the Eternal Fleet in orbit above Odessen, bringing an end to one of the greatest armadas the Galaxy had ever seen.

As a result of the Commander's Mission to Nathema the Alliance Navy's strength dropped significantly following the destruction of the Eternal Fleet and the Gravestone, lowering the overall military might of the alliance.

Following the Order of Zildrog's campaign against the Alliance and the destruction of the Eternal Fleet at the hands of the superweapon Zildrog, many personnel returned to their original factions.

However, despite this victory, the Republic and Sith Empire began preparing for war and rogue factions across the galaxy initiated their own uprisings in response to the Eternal Alliance's rise to power.

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Eternal_Alliance

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For me, the decision to leave the keep the Alliance was easy for my Sorcerer. After all the hard work and dedication put in by them to make this alliance, going back to being nothing more than a pawn of someone else seemed bad. It also helped that Malgus says that you should avoid becoming Acina's pawn as much as possible, so that furthered my choice.

The choice for my Sage is much harder, because of what you said in regards to the Consular would most likely want to rebuild the Jedi Order and preserve the lessons they have learned since the events of Revan and all that transpired afterwards. Not only that, but the Republic is now much more welcoming, since Saresh has been removed from any sort of power. The new Supreme Chancellor is much more open to accepting those who once called themselves Sith, or Imperials, and she treats you with much more respect than anyone before her has. I am interested to see what happens if I choose to rejoin, because I wonder if Satele would come back as well.

On the other hand, the staying with the Alliance sort of means honouring the lessons learned during the times since Revan. These include the time spent with Satele and Marr on Odessen in order to learn to balance the force, and from that they learn that balance is required in so many other aspects of the galaxy, as by now, many of the people serving with them in the Alliance, have learned to forget their past differences, and become a cohesive, singular unit, that fights for the benefit of all beings in the galaxy. Not only all of this, but rejoining the Republic may drown out what the alliance has done, with the introduction of a senator representing them, the alliance may just become one voice lost in the sea of many. Not to mention, the Republic may end up using the alliance and their resources, without thinking of the major impact that would have on the people of the alliance, as well as the planet of Odessen.

As I'm writing this, I am still undecided on whether my Sage will remain independent, or if they will rejoin the Republic, so by all means, if you know anything about whether or not I should choose one or the other, I welcome any advice. But it really does seem tougher for a formerly Republic character to choose which way to go, compared to the choice an Imperial character would have to make.