This is exactly why they WANT subscribers to have early access. It allows them to identify the worst of the bugs revealed by stressing the live servers before the official release. Subscribers are more likely to forgive a buggy release because many of them have supported this game for a very long time and are accustomed to it. First-time players who are drawn in by word of mouth or by the appeal of an MMO in the same universe as the upcoming Star Wars movies may be less forgiving if the product is unsatisfying or unplayable 60 minutes after it's finished downloading.

Wow. Just... wow. For the record, it's not a "reward" if it's the only reason you're paying in the first place. I subscribed for the 3 months leading up to the release of KotFE because I thought that Nico would only be available for those specific subscribers. Finding out he was "exclusive" only for the duration of early access was a significant let down. (EDIT: Apparently he IS exclusive to just those specific subscribers. While this validates my original thinking, considering how little the content of the game changed by having him around I can say this was a poor investment on my part.) Now, I no longer care if HK-55 is going to be that exclusive. While easily my favorite new companion in the game, he's not worth $90 and a 6 month time-gate for me to enjoy his specific content. Nor are any potential "exclusive" mounts, titles, character/weapon/armor skins related to that companion. (EDIT: I may subscribe on Jan 11th to gain him as a permanent companion, but the idea of paying $14.99 USD a month for 2 hours of story content does not appeal to me. I would have gladly done so if it also included progression raiding or if I had an intense interest in PVP.. but neither of those things will be receiving attention during that period.) Like many I'll wait until Chapter 16 is released, subscribe when my subscription is actually worth the price, and go from there. I really enjoyed the story experience in KofFE and I'm really looking forward to what the writers have in store. But as a player and a fan of the Star Wars universe, I won't be taken for granted like this. Please take this to heart, Bioware.

I'm betting it'll be some kind of subscriber reward system with "exclusive" mounts, cosmetic gear or early-access to companions or story. In other words... "please, please don't unsubscribe. We know there's no new content, we know what's current is a pointless affection/faction grind. But please, we PROMISE, the good stuff is coming soonTM. Just be patient, keep your wallet open, and trust us." What I'd love to see is a life-time subscription announcement with free unlocks for future content and or a continuation of the CC monthly stipend. In other words, something permanent and SUBSTANTIAL to reward the players who've kept this game alive all these years.

I'm not a fan of these "classic" Knights of the Old Republic letterbox conversations. Part of the reason I enjoy this MMO so much is for the fully-voiced cinematic conversations. In fact, it's been a major selling feature for this game from release day. I don't mind if they're an option for nostalgia junkies (I DID play the original KotoR and it's sequel), but right now the difference is jarring and throws off the immersion. When compared with the polish and detail of the conversations from Chapters 1-8 it feels cheap and tacked on. Honestly, the first time I found it in Chapter 9 I wondered if that chapter was unfinished and rushed out the door as a beta-test so the developer could fix higher priority bugs prior to full release. The severe lag on that planet didn't discourage me from that idea either.

I won't say they're hard, but they do require players to actually adhere to the raid mechanics and push optimal dps/heals if they walk in with a full set of basic commendation gear. And to be honest, that's they way it should be. If storymode gear (optimized 192) was easily obtainable once you have a set of Yavin basic gear (unoptimized 186), there would be no reason to spend elite commendations at all. The point is to run the old operations and new flashpoints to get elite comms to upgrade your basic gear, then progress through storymode until you're got your entry-hardmode gear. A month from now these operations will be face-roll on storymode as even the casual players will have out-geared the content. At least this way Eaware delivers something challenging right out of the gate, which is exactly what the dedicated players have been crying out for over the past 12 months.

As far as I know, if your account has time remaining (via game-card or a subscription you've canceled early) it should continue to qualify for early access. If you have no paid time on your account, then you won't qualify for the subscriber early access but you might qualify for the preferred access coming in September.

Yep. This coming week you'll hear all about the awesome new Rakghoul inspired event that'll soon be returning to the game! In addition to faction-specific rewards you may or may not already have/want, there will be a Cartel Market sale and a return of the Bounty Hunter event which will continue for 2 weeks. After which, the preferred launch of Galactic Starfighter will follow along with another Cartel Market sale. A month from now, when your subscription runs out, the Rakghoul event will finally make an appearance with lots of green reputation reward tokens and a whole new open-world pvp area to get forum members frothing at the mouth again. The event will last for 2 weeks, and make it's return sometime in late April/early May after a couple more runs of the Gree Event. At that time the Nightmare versions of current Operations will be revealed and someone will let slip details on the the next "mini-expansion" that will hit the game, likely in November. Get your pre-paid early access in, folks!

Not everyone has 6-8 max level alts who can farm a smaller selection of content for the commendations/rep/tokens needed to make the best of the event. Similarly, not everyone can schedule an hour every day for the next two weeks simply to finish the pvp side of the event quest chains if all they have is one or two end-game ready characters. When you have groups of players who choose to deny other players the opportunity to enjoy new content, it's a problem. Just earlier today I watched as 5 4-man teams from the same guild locked down the central area and denied anyone a chance to complete their quest objectives. They didn't even make an effort to complete it themselves, instead they simply camped the spot for almost 2 hours until the majority of players had transferred to another instance to finish their quests. I'm all for encouraging PVP in this game, but doing so at the expense of casuals is the wrong way to go about it. Instead, have them fight over take-and-hold objectives that increase the rewards for the dominant faction in PVE content. If holding that central pvp area meant world bosses and heroics rewarded twice the usual number of Gree tokens for the same faction I would be in heaven. If factions needed to control a majority number of instances to maintain the "buff", that would be perfect. Casuals won't be forced into the meat grinder for limited-time rewards, and more than a few of them would be tempted to give open-world pvp a shot when they can decide how much time they want to spend on it rather than have that choice decided by someone else.

Unrestricted gameplay, provided they spend $$ in the cartel coin shop like everyone else. Seriously? I was under the impression that the gameplay for subscribers would remain unchanged under this free-to-play model. I was promised there would not be diminished returns as far as content, quality and time invested were concerned. And now, a month after the game has gone free, subscribers are essentially FORCED to spend more on top of their subscriptions to enjoy the new content. These new Heroic space missions cannot be completed without purchasing the new tier 7 ship upgrades, grinding for them in-game will take almost a month of doing every space operation daily, hence subscribers are "strongly" directed toward purchases on the cartel shop to enjoy new content. The new equipment which can be individually purchased on the cartel shop are hideous when they aren't overpriced. The "chance boxes" contain the best items, but their drop rate is so rare people will be spending up to a hundred dollars on them to get the few items of quality everyone wants. Crafters get the shaft, yet again, making crafting in this game a laughable waste of time unless it's the highest grade of operation level armorings. PVP continues to be unbalanced while at the same time moving farther and farther away from the brilliant and engaging gameplay it was at launch. Each content addition feels tacked on/mailed in and comes with unresolved bugs, glitches and other gameplay issues that reveal a lack of QA from start to finish. Congratulations on that 6 week deadline though, I didn't think you'd be able to hold that promise at all. Now, I'm really wishing you didn't. My subscription ends in a week and I'm happy to just let it go. It's not worth $15 a month and hasn't been ever since it went free to play. Nostalgia has kept me in the game at this point, nostalgia and the hope that this game could live up to it's potential if I continued to support it just a little longer. I'm fresh out of hope and nostalgia isn't strong enough to crack open my wallet on it's own. The cartel coin shop was supposed to save the game, you should be aware it's the thing that's turned me off on the whole enterprise. Charging for necessities, a virtual "currency" that forces consumers to overpay before they even make their purchase, a complete and utter lack of attention paid to the IP itself in face of selfish and senseless cash grab. It's clear to me now, and to a great many others, that they only people this free-to-pay model was designed to satisfy was your share holders. George Lucas may be gone, but his spirit remains. "We're not gouging them, but we are charging." Famous last words.

Scrap expertise, endurance, strength/willpower/aim/cunning and provide pvp gear that allows you to customize your secondary stat to work in accordance with your character's build. DPS can chase power/crit, heals can go for alacrity, tanks can stack shield//absorption. Recruit gear gives you a blend of everything, additional tiers give you choice. Taking away gear score means the pvp side of the game can be more easily balanced; skills can be compared on an even playing field and their in-house metrics won't be so easily fooled with a so many variables mucking up the data. For those who care less about the gameplay experience and more about the tangible rewards, unique mounts, armor and weapon skins that can only be earned by turning in warzone commendations. For ranked, a weekly leaderboard where the top ranked teams get a holographic portrait in their respective fleet. Nothing says bragging rights like your picture 30ft tall in a public place.

Indeed, and I paid well for it. Paid for content that never appeared, paid for a PVP system that became progressively unbalanced, paid for end-game gear that was poorly designed when it wasn't reprinted with a different set of colors. In short, I supported this game during it's transition so that a new player could enjoy all the content I have at a fraction of the price. Some players, yourself included, claim that the "opportunity to play the game" is the point of a monthly subscription. I argue that what I paid for was the experience of a well-written story, the interaction of guild mates, the satisfaction of completing difficult content and watching a character grow from start to finish. These are things I could get from many other games, enjoying them from SWTOR is simply one choice among them. Whether I play a game on launch day or a year later, it's all the same to me. An excellent game might get bumped up the list, but never do I feel a game "deserves" my money. A game must be worthy of MY time, not the other way around. Consequently, when I support a game month after month I expect that my trust will be rewarded with something only that game can provide. I demand new content, new gameplay, new experiences and challenges to validate that continued trust. Revisiting a memory isn't enough, I don't have to pay to do that. Don't get me wrong, it's a good game and there's enough left to enjoy within it that I'll maintain my sub. For now. But I would have liked to see more generosity on behalf of the developer toward it's loyal subscribers who made all of this possible. Something substantial, something exclusive, something that says we're recognized for our contribution and will continue to be valued moving forward. Instead, I'm left with the feeling that EA sees subscribers as livestock to be squeezed rather than partners in a unique and enthralling gaming experience.

So... if you stuck with the game from launch until premium, you get less cartel coins on your account than someone who picked up the game for $15 and spent another $15 for the vanity shop on November 15, 2012. Feel cheated?

A summary of the proposed changes: Electrocute/Force stun ranged reduced to 10m from 30m Overload/Force Wave reduced to a 120 degree arc directly in front of the caster, effect is instantaneous. Force Speed is now on a 20 second cooldown from 30 seconds. New class self heal skill Unnatural Preservation/Force Mend, heals for a moderate amount. Free instant cast on 30 second cooldown. Dark Resilience/Valiance now increases the healing on Unnatural Preservation/Force Mend by 15-30% in addition to reducing health spent on Consumption/Noble Sacrifice. Requires 11 pts in Corruption/Seer Fadeout/Egress has been now causes Force Speed to remove all roots and snares and grant immunity to roots and snares for the duration. Requires 16pts in Corruption/Seer Polarity Shift/Mental Alacrity now additionally grants immunity to interrupts for the duration. Requires 21 pts in Lightning/Telekinetics. Backlash/Kinetic Collapse is now a stun that does not break on damage. Requires 16 pts in Lightning/Telekinetics. The greatest "buff" from this new patch is the improved escape utility of Force Speed, but to make the most use of it will require classes to sink a minimum of 16 points into their Heal spec. This means DPS Sorcs and Sages are unlikely to benefit from this much needed improvement to a primary escape skill. They will still be able to make use of the 20 second cooldown, but they will be as susceptible as ever to roots, slows and stuns. Players who opt to take Lightning Effusion/Kinetic Collapse (Requires 16 points in Lightning/Telekinetics) can reduce the cooldown to a staggering 10 seconds, a skill choice that will demand a great deal of attention when the patch hit's the servers. The self heal requires at least 11 points set into the heal tree for optimal use, and will likely be chosen as part of a spec that includes the improved Force Speed. 11 points is still a significant requirement, meaning that a hybrid class that wishes this ability will have to sacrifice the skill at the top of their preferred tree. That's right, no improved self heal if you want Thundering Blast/Turbulence or Creeping Terror/Sever Force. Polarity Shift.Mental Alacrity now provide a 10 second window where skills cannot be interrupted but retains it's 120 second cooldown. Useful for casting Thundering Blast/Turbulence, but this skill tree still retains the turret gameplay that has been problematic in PVP. Backlash/Kinetic Collapse is now a 3 second stun that affects all nearby targets when bubble shield expires. But at a skill cost of 16 points it means this additional CC will make hybrid classes pay a significant price to have it on demand. To be truly effective both points need to be put into it, further increasing the requirement to 17, which means Madness/Balance hybrids will have to sacrifice the increased crit damage and duration of their dots to take this skill. Overload/Force Wave has become a conal knockback with an instant cast. The instant cast is a welcome improvement to this skill as it has often suffered when cast at the same time as an opponents knock back, typically losing the "race" and casting ineffectively outside it's 10m range. The conal aoe however will severely diminish it's effectiveness as an escape utility, objective denial, and general nuisance maker in Huttbal. Skilled players will manage with spin casts and sound positioning, but it's use as a "panic button" for casual pvp'ers has been almost completely removed. Expect that this will be a major complaint, especially for heal specs who depended on the extra survivability a 360 degree knockback grants while in a chaotic melee. The nerf to Electrocute/Force Stun is a mixed bag since every class is seeing their basic stun reduced to 10m. Those who use it as an opener or as a means to deny gap closers will be forced to adjust their rotation to include it mid-battle as a secondary interrupt or as the opening for an escape with Force Speed. For a certainty it will make denying objectives in Warzones more difficult, and will be next to useless as a means of "buying time" while someone else on your team moves in to cap. A 10m range means a DPS Sorc or Sage is already too close to his target by the time this skill is available, death or an escape attempt are inevitable once this skill is cast. In an indirect way, Snipers and Gunslingers receive a buff from this nerf as they can remain at range without having their cover blown due to being stunned from 30m. In conclusion, all signs seem to be pointing toward Sorcs and Sages adopting either a full out Heal spec, or at the very least diving deep into Coruption/Seer when the next patch hits the servers. It's baffling why the developers felt that healers, who must remain rooted to cast their spells and also remain within range of their targets to keep teammates alive, deserved a significantly improved escape skill while DPS classes that rely on kiting receive only the same reduction on cooldown. Madness/Balance classes look to be hit hardest by these changes, as their low survivability coupled with the possible increased duration of stun locks and reduced range on their CC's and knockbacks mean the minimum skill required for this class has increased once again. Ultimately it may prove too much for most, with Madness/Balance Sorcs and Sages forced to either spec as heals or abandon effective DPS for favor of as much team-based utility as they can squeeze out of their skill trees. Lightning/Telekinetic Sorcs and Sages may have the most to gain from the two DPS classes, though as always their turret style gameplay leaves them particularly vulnerable to close-ranged DPS classes with significant burst potential. Either way... I think it's time I finished off my War Hero set and banked a few thousand coms before the next patch hits. PVP balance swings back and forth all the time but one thing I think we can all agree on, is that the gear grind screws everyone until you're back at the top of the pile again.

Yeah, I guess it is a full on stun now.

More of a step sideways than a buff for Sorc's and Sages. Still, we'll see how the metagame evolves in the next patch. My suspicion is that DPS sorcs will disappear and the heal hybrid will make a big return. Don't know why they felt the need to wreck overload, though I'd be content if they added 5-10 more meters on the knockback to make up for the severely reduced area of effectiveness. A 120 degree arc that knocks a target back 10m is almost worthless when used as an escape skill.