You might not like the planets. 30-40 seems like a longer time for me, due to me not liking those planets as much. You also tend to not get that many abilities from level 40-50.

Try to do some of the bonus series:

• Alderaan: Starts after Chapter 2 around level 40. There is a quest giver on the fleet for this one.
  
• Hoth: Level 47. Starts after the Voss Planetary Story with a terminal near the shuttle on Voss.
  
• Voss: Right after completing the Voss Planetary Story with a quest giver near the shuttle on Voss. (Is nearly standing on top of the terminal for Hoth's Bonus Series.)
  
• Belsavis: Level 47. Starts with a terminal on the fleet. Some solo missions are dailies.
  

I loved my level 40-level 50. It is at level 50 that I now starting to have problems. Everything is so different. Before, I followed the same strategy:

overlevell by 2 or so levels,

craft a bit ahead

and mix the crafted blues with as much blues as you can get from Comms

did a planet? Proceed to the next one!

Came level 50...

Can't craft ahead, because there are no free mats and missions cost an arm and a leg!

Didn't see Makeb vendor (low on coffee?), so... yeah, made a mistake of gearing a character in level blue 49 (still pulling hair)

Everywhere I go, I see the endless invites to dailies, I have a 2 page descriptions of various things that make a patchwork of a story after Corellia... and I absolutely dread of going off the rails like that. I am not used to it! Freedom, too much freedom! AAAARGH!

And, I in particular dread the day the content catches up to my level even if I manage to get enough comms for all purple level 50. I am gonna die. Again. And again. And again....

On top of it, oh, boy, I kept hearing about Corellia's beautiful sandy beaches a number of times during the game... but what did I get? A ruined city-scape!

I, uhm, wanna play with my other alt?

Everywhere I go, I see the endless invites to dailies, I have a 2 page descriptions of various things that make a patchwork of a story after Corellia... and I absolutely dread of going off the rails like that. I am not used to it! Freedom, too much freedom! AAAARGH!

Try this guide. It has a streamlined path on it under "Suggested Streamlined Path" so that you only have a few choices to choose from at a time: http://dailypvp.com/games/star-wars-the-old-republic/guides/guide-to-star-wars-the-old-republics-story-after-chapter-3

I can grind from 1-40 in no time flat. I get from 50-55 with no problems at all. 40-50 kills me every time. It crushes my soul. What am I missing?????

Have you tried weaving in a little PvP? That can make things go faster and it's still fun at that level.

I can grind from 1-40 in no time flat. I get from 50-55 with no problems at all. 40-50 kills me every time. It crushes my soul. What am I missing?????

Maybe PvP and FP dailies would help? They can be fun too.

(They can also be not fun, I admit. But roll the dice! )

Try this guide. It has a streamlined path on it under "Suggested Streamlined Path" so that you only have a few choices to choose from at a time: http://dailypvp.com/games/star-wars-...fter-chapter-3

Thank you, that is actually what I am referring to, and also very, very kind and detailed notes by a couple of folks who did their best to break it down. I have it. I am just scared anyway. It is not the same as the game hand-holding you all the way up to here. I am an SP player! I have no experience in this strange new world of 'make your own game'. The end game content... (shivers) Mostly, I am afraid to die because I have no source of gear.

Thank you, that is actually what I am referring to, and also very, very kind and detailed notes by a couple of folks who did their best to break it down. I have it. I am just scared anyway. It is not the same as the game hand-holding you all the way up to here. I am an SP player! I have no experience in this strange new world of 'make your own game'. The end game content... (shivers) Mostly, I am afraid to die because I have no source of gear.

Try the "Story Content" path under "Suggested Streamlined Path." I believe it only gives you 2-3 options at each stage of it. It keeps the options low for those that are overwhelmed by the number of choices and are scared of having spoilers.

It also has a recommended gear guide. Note that everything except Hard Mode Operations up to level 55 only requires blue level 45+ or level 49 gear. Not until you start level 55 stuff do you need the Makeb mods.

Goes by pretty fast for me, but then I queue for FP and WZ constantly. SO xp comes pretty fast and I end up out leveling planets so fast that after the third world I only need to do the class and planet stories. Couple that with the cp boosts you get for class and story completion and levels fly by.

I am usually lvl 54 or 55 before stepping on Voss. Most of the time when I hit Belsavis.

I can grind from 1-40 in no time flat. I get from 50-55 with no problems at all. 40-50 kills me every time. It crushes my soul. What am I missing?????

Difficulty.

Hoth and up, the solo quests even at the specified level are yawn inducing when it comes to difficulty. Don't be afraid to skip some non class specific planetary missions and jump ahead.

I was in the same boat on my Marauder, playing it safe till I got to Taris, doing every mission I could get my hands on. I rushed through Taris & Hoth to get the legacy wide buff, and my last companion, rushed on through Belsavis.

Normally I find Voss a completely dull experience, hating nearly every minute of it. Its a very uniform looking planet and the quests have stupid amounts of backtracking to submit mission reports 'face to face' (often to a hologram anyway!).

This time however, below the planets recommended level (arrived Voss, level 40), nearly every fight was a gripping battle. Backtracking was dangerous, when you're below a monster's level their perception range is huge. I did all the planetary quests as well as class missions. I even died 3 times to the planetary quests final boss, usually an encounter most people sleep through. Earned more than 3 levels on this one planet.

If you've got gear that's pretty good for your level, hunt in more dangerous territory. Just be aware of how your class works, as a Marauder I really did need every single point of accuracy to hit monsters 4 or 5 levels higher than me just some of the time (a lot of misses!).

I'm pretty sure the planets get larger and longer as you go up in level. Voss, Belsavis, and Corellia seem to have lots and lots and lots of running in them. And then you get to the running.

That's what made things drag on for me. Now I do FPs in the GF while questing and I get to skip some planetary quests that I've seen several times.

Thank you, that is actually what I am referring to, and also very, very kind and detailed notes by a couple of folks who did their best to break it down. I have it. I am just scared anyway. It is not the same as the game hand-holding you all the way up to here. I am an SP player! I have no experience in this strange new world of 'make your own game'. The end game content... (shivers) Mostly, I am afraid to die because I have no source of gear.

If you need more planetary coms you can go back to earlier planets and do heroics. You'll want your companion geared up too. You can harvest materials at the same time to sell. Some of the low level materials sell quite well. Lvl 53 blue armor sells pretty cheaply on the GTN, so you can stock up for when you level. If you have the credits you can start augmenting your gear. If you buy the tier 9 kits they will still be good for lvl 55. Even blues at your level will help beef you up! If your crafters can make the kits and augments the price won't be too bad either.

Since you are 51, Ilum and Belsavis dailies should be pretty easy and the story is worth while. Unlike the newer dailies, you always have the cut-scenes and can get companion affection for the conversations. These will get you classic coms. which are a step up from planetary.

Have a beer or two and try out KDY. The tactical flashpoints are like group content lite. Most people expect their teammates to be bad, so the bar is set very low for you. If you don't pull first, move out of red circles and use kolto stations you should be just fine! These will give you some nice com. payouts (be sure to get your weeklies from the supplies area) and help you get a level or two up on Makeb.

I hope this helps. I mostly solo too and am trying to get up the guts to get into a proper guild.

Difficulty.

 

Hoth and up, the solo quests even at the specified level are yawn inducing when it comes to difficulty. Don't be afraid to skip some non class specific planetary missions and jump ahead.

 

I was in the same boat on my Marauder, playing it safe till I got to Taris, doing every mission I could get my hands on. I rushed through Taris & Hoth to get the legacy wide buff, and my last companion, rushed on through Belsavis.

 

Normally I find Voss a completely dull experience, hating nearly every minute of it. Its a very uniform looking planet and the quests have stupid amounts of backtracking to submit mission reports 'face to face' (often to a hologram anyway!).

 

This time however, below the planets recommended level (arrived Voss, level 40), nearly every fight was a gripping battle. Backtracking was dangerous, when you're below a monster's level their perception range is huge. I did all the planetary quests as well as class missions. I even died 3 times to the planetary quests final boss, usually an encounter most people sleep through. Earned more than 3 levels on this one planet.

 

If you've got gear that's pretty good for your level, hunt in more dangerous territory. Just be aware of how your class works, as a Marauder I really did need every single point of accuracy to hit monsters 4 or 5 levels higher than me just some of the time (a lot of misses!).

I agree. IMO, a lot of the reason people find things boring is that once you have a few characters at 55 for buffs, and can craft or buy awesome gear at the get go--not to mention all the xp boosts available--the game is ridiculously easy. If you find yourself bored, try taking off some gear, using a different companion, playing underleveled instead of over, or playing unbuffed. I alway love Voss, but I still remember how hard it was on my first character, lol.

I can grind from 1-40 in no time flat. I get from 50-55 with no problems at all. 40-50 kills me every time. It crushes my soul. What am I missing?????

Killing the right spawns on the correct levelled planets.

I usually fight 2-3 levels above my character level. Also, you should be in groupfinder every second you can. Flashpoints and PVP, coupled with the legacy character perks are great ways to maximize your exp gain. a nice exp booster helps too.