I don't understand what makes the dev team believe we want to forego what few build choices we had in the utility tree, and instead choose between abilities we already have by default on live? They didn't even make the worthless abilities in need of pruning have any real value. They just took bad abilities and are asking us to choose between having useless/niche abilities and vital/core rotation abilities. I cannot fathom the conversations that surely took place before coming to the conclusion that this was the right direction for the game. The combat is already slow and clunky enough. It's down right boring and very repetitive, and instead of making it faster, intuitive or complex, they've dumbed it down even further. Still can't change tacticals mid combat, or equip 2 or 3 and swap between them in combat. Whats the point of combat styles if we cant swap them mid combat? Is it just so we might buy more costumes for the characters that we play? Was removing all our utility picks and 3 or 4 pointless abilities really the grand plan? Is this the best Bioware is capable of? Do these devs seriously not have any better idea for how to make this game fun again? Am I the only one that feels this way, cause if so i'll just be moving on and throwing my money somewhere else. I really love SWTOR but these changes feel like blind shots in the dark.

The combat is dated, and all they can think to do is dumb it down. Forcing us to choose between two halves of a class that we used to enjoy in it's entirety isn't build diversity, it's watering down our bitter black coffee when all we wanted was some damn sugar. I would've been down for this plan if it actually felt like a fresh start, if the combat was refined and updated. Instead it feels like playing the game with half of my hotbars artificially disabled. I have 10 fingers, over 100 keys on my keyboard, 20 keys on my mouse, and a wrinkly brain...I don't need less abilities, I need fluid combat mechanics with what we already have. If bioware ****s this up, itll be the last dollar from me EA ever sees again.

I fail to understand what the goal of 7.0 even is. If it's ability pruning, I'd have expected to see Fusion Missile and Missile blast either removed or preferably changed for the Arsenal spec. Fusion Missile remains largely niche and clunky, while missile blast still serves no discernable purpose for Arsenal. Missile blast doesn't have to be remain worthless, you can make it an off GCD Proc, sort of like a 1 shot Shoulder Cannon that is only usable if a proc condition is met. Make Fusion Missile a reliable single target dot that also happens to apply a weak dot to surrounding enemies. You know what'd be cool? 2-3 tactical slots that we could cycle through in combat, add some variety to this dated combat system, while you're at it, get over the stand and cast ranged combat. Snipers I get but its 2021 now, the entire combat system feels dated.

Alright well im certainly no carnage aficionado, but i was looking at ferocity now and what it will be post 5.6. So the 2 stacks will last 10 seconds. The current cooldown of ferocity is like 11.7 seconds with zero alacrity, and you can get it close to 10 secs with target alacrity. As i understand ferocity doesnt respect the global cooldown so i guess i would try to create a rotation that started with ferocity and used abilities that didnt use the stacks (like ravage or saber throw to proc gore) until ferocity was close to or on cooldown, use the first two stacks on gore and massacre, then use ferocity again, maybe fit in another non ferocity ability if ferocity still needs a second to cooldown, use proc'd devastating blast and vicious throw. All of this is just an inexperienced theory and its clear to me that the current rotation suggested by dulfy will be in need of complete overhaul, but perhaps this can be worked around to to ease the transgression into the new "non-clipping" era. The idea is you'd keep a sustainable 4 hit ferocity burst combo without precise timing. If my idea works it would mean that, if the devs decided to make ferocity stack to 3 in the future, you would have a 6 attack ferocity combo, 2 or 3 of which would be massacre since it doesnt have a cooldown<and that sounds like what a kid once called "bonkersburst"

Well thats quite a bit better then what i was expecting. Even if you have to buy the stronghold again, and pay a reactivation fee, thats still better then unlocking every room again. Even still, running away from the problem of a dying server seems counterproductive on a larger scale. The utilitarian in me feels inclined to stick around. If they had a larger, pricier "Legacy server transfer" yeah, id be down. but moving everything over one character at a time? tedious.

Id switch servers, but I cant switch without Bioware punishing me for playing the game, and earning enough credits to buy and unlock my stronghold fully. If you switch servers, you have to buy your stronghold again, and unlock every room again. Unless of course, you bought and unlocked your stronghold with cartel coins. Which is basically just a big middle finger to players who don't buy their way through the game. On top of that, this whole "server transfer sale" is just to get people to leave Bastion and go to Harbinger, if you dont believe me, read the tutorial for transferring a character. It specifically says "...for instance, if you want to move a character from the bastion to the harbinger, >.>...." They'll never shut down the bastion as long as there are still people they can profit off of, who dont have anybody left to play with on the bastion, and are ultimately forced to pay bioware so that they can play with other players. Instead of Bioware doing right by their customers and easily transitioning people to a more active community to better enjoy the experience of swtor, they see only a way to profit. Further more, bioware is more interested in turning casual gamers who dont play MMOs into MMO players, instead of enticing the massive and already existing MMO player base to play this game. And im just not convinced bioware has what it takes, because the phrase "MMO" is taboo to casual gamers, and if you dont believe me, go play any FPS.

Whatever happens, i hope more people come then go. Especially on my home server. The Bastion is in severe need of reinforcements. 25 people on fleet during prime time. PvP? virtually non-existent. GSF? Dead for like a year. I guess at this point, its just a matter of throwing radical change in the hopes of maybe hitting their mark. A sort of game change spray and pray. I still switch my stances, cells, and cylinders multiple times a day. Im gonna sorely miss that. The thing is, ive encountered a number of players who didnt even know they had guard as an ability, because they specced DPS and dont worry about tank stuff. So letting them use guard in any stance, seems like a waste of time. Also as someone else pointed out, it means that when someone needs to be guarded by an actual tank who isnt on the other side of the map, they cant be. As for PvE content? I dont see anything wrong with more stuff to do and experience, its the manner in which i will experience it, that will determine my willingness to continue helping to sustain this game.

well then, at least now azaduur can mentally prepare himself for the devastating loss of his wife. but then again...this means hes single again!

what is a mistake in an open world mmorpg? is it doing something you personally knew to be incorrect? is it doing something less efficiently the your peers? is it conforming to others standards? im not saying change would be easy, it never is. but just because something is difficult does not mean it should be avoided. why walk the given path? looking for the easy road? heard of WoW? You posted something that doesnt quite hit anything too hard. it lightly touches everything, yet has no affect. its philosophical, yet its neutrality makes it null. Why must we measure every action by the efficiency of its outcome? dont be so quick to limit creativity by efficiency. Art is not judged by how much resource it takes to create it, rather the passion and skill by which it is created. The eloquence, with which you have chosen to compose said comment, is pretty, but esoteric. "Think like a wise man, but communicate in the language of the people." -William Butler Yeats

using an analogy and shifting into a political statement arent the same thing. i fall back on my previous statement though. PvP is ruining the game. these "choices" you speak of boil down to which animation youd like to see when you press your keybindings. theres no fun in that. you say it should be "balanced" and yet in 5.0 theyre removing expertise from PvP. which only existed to "balance" the playing field. now players of infinitely random gear stats will be thrown in a mosh pit, that sounds like the opposite of "balanced". You mention "fair" and "free" as prerequisites for a choice to be considered worth having. That is just sad. you should have more confidence is yourself, instead of limiting yourself to the same mundane decisions provided to everyone else. have you no ambition, no will? are you so stricken with apathy that youd reduce your entertainment to a game of checkers? if so, what are you doing here? BTW: Attacking a comment for lack of political correctness just proves your lack of poise further demonstrating a certain close mindedness that you have about you, but im sure you were well aware of that. (I too can end comments with vain responses, in actuality, it proves nothing)

The majority will probably cry "heresy" at this comment, but the reality of it is, PvP is what ruins MMOs. i know its the only reason some players even play. but seriously though, PvP problems become PvE problems post patch. I like PvP, but i spend more time in PvE. i like being able to "play my way". you just cant do that in PvP. obviously it wouldnt be fair if one guy could build a "best class", so all creativity just gets mowed down to a nice conformed buzzcut. Only in PvP does being able to "play your way" become a problem for other players. PvP should be made to somehow play different than PvE. theyre two vastly different elements and "balancing" one shouldnt have to affect the other. but we all know, thats just my opinion. feel free to poke and prod at as you wish.

this game balance you speak of....sounds suspiciously like "devolution". who wants to devolve? "game balancing" would have every game play the same way. the only difference being the interface. Maybe im just a capitalist pig but removing the ability to make bad decisions sounds like communism to me. being able to make mistakes is crucial in becoming a legitimately better player. but i already made a post in this forum describing how theres no reason for a game to devolve into a digital game of tennis where the only thing you choose is what color racket you swing at the bouncy yellow ball.

is that the latest news? or from the massively long list of "leaked" 5.0 patch notes and changes that was "leaked" in September?

i just dont want swtor to turn into a colorful game of digital tennis where the only thing you choose is what color racket you swing at the bouncy yellow ball. if you start taking away every aspect of player freedom, pretty soon your gear mods will be spec locked too. youll try and put defense mods on your healer and it will say "sorry this type of mod is only for tanks". then youll quietly start to ask why they even trouble you with the task of changing them out. eventually youll come to realize that the only thing your being fed is the illusion of choice. if thats your cup of tea, then might i suggest Battleship PC? its a healthy mix of RNG with 100% balanced teams and the only thing you choose is where fate landed your stranded boats. oh and uh "Hybrid lives matter"

if players want to play stupid let them. why must the player base conform to your standards? an mmorpg should be about the freedom to play as you choose. you can just kick players you dont want in your HM FP. i queue for whatever my spec is. but sometimes in a story mode flashpoint i get 4 dps. so naturally i off tank to ease the pressure on the newer guys. why? cause im a team player. i understand not wanting scrubs to off tank or off heal when it clearly isnt needed. and in HM FP i agree. its the difference between winning or losing. but in care bear mode, its a fun alternative for me to queue as dps (which is my guardian spec) but still be able to off tank when needed or desired. i dont ask you to stop kicking scrubs, please dont ask me to play linear generic combat games.