Logging into my account, and see that the website has been updated somewhat. When I go to view my subscription page, it gives me an "active" status, but not how many days I have left on my subscription. Does anyone else have this problem? I need to know when my sub expires. -- Stephen

This problem seems to be common on MMOs all over. World of Warcraft used to have an unspoken rule about not overselling items that are worth pittance on vendor, but in recent years, thanks to Blizz creating utility mounts -- that have access to vendor, transmog, auction house, etc. -- that were set to the hundreds of thousands and millions of gold to purchase, things have taken the same turn in their Auction House as things have ended up in SWTOR's GTN. In my opinion, there's one way to fix this: -- Items that are posted in the GTN have a set limit cap of how much the poster can place. Average it, say, at only 5 times vendor value. -- There is an uppermost cap on any price set on the GTN. No higher than say 1 million credits for a rare or legendary item. There's still a chance to make a killing, but with these safeguards in place, folks can afford to buy stuff off the GTN, and those that are either credit sellers or scalpers looking to make billions just so they can brag can be stopped from inflating the markets unscrupulously.

I personally find PvP the hardest to do, mostly from the fact I'm a sight-disabled player (I'm legally-blind, I use special contacts to see). It's hard for me to follow fast-moving action and from the point of Warzones, I cannot keep up with other players to make the experience either enjoyable or productive. Seeing that two comps are behind a PvP requirement is disappointing for me at the least, frustrating at the most. I don't want the game to become "push-button" easy, but I wish they offered alternate means to acquire Pierce and Four-X. Perhaps a PvE tiered quest chain, accessible through a quest giver or console where you first meet the comps during KotFE?

I'm working towards leveling all of my primary characters to level 60 in preparation for the new Expac. However, I've heard word that once you have the new Expac, lvl 60 characters cannot play the old content (all prior to the new expac). IS this true, or not? I don't want to level my characters just to have them not be able to play in all the old content (I have friends that may need help). Can someone confirm what is the truth here?

An Acklay mount goes without saying, but don't make it a random drop from the Packs, please? I was so excited to see that jetpack mount, only to be disapointed that it's too rare to guarantee getting unless you're awfully lucky. (it currently sells for millions of credits on the GTN). Also, consider making a new skiff mount, but have it so you and your current companion can ride it when summoned. (a side bit, if you and your companion are romancing, then a special animation with the two characters cuddling or such?). Give us more purchasable mount options too! Noit just speeder types, but the organics (tauntauns, reerks, etc) as well as proper vehicle types (tanks, fighters, etc).

Thought I'd post to a new story I finished and posted on the fiction forum: Title: Let Us Begin Link: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=712913 Author: BossaMatam Characters: Keth-Wyn Ma'tam (my Consular Shadow), Nadia Grell Blurb: A little something I did to help the muses in-between work on "Hearts of Havoc" and other stories.

LET US BEGIN by Stefan St. John / © 2014 DISCLAIMER : This story is an original prose based on situations and themes from the MMO game Star Wars: The Old Republic. All characters, with the exception of all Original Characters created by the Author are the property of Bioware and LucasFilm, Ltd.. . This story is the rightful property of the author; all original characters and the plot depicted within are protected by copyright law. . This story was produced to entertain fans of the original game, and is in no way, shape or form intended to be published for monetary gain. Please do not sue. The Jedi Temple, Planet Tython…. The soft clik! of the door release preceding the light, slow tread of feet across the polished stone floor, was all that Master Keth-Wyn Ma’tam needed to know that Nadia Grell had arrived. Clad in his tan, light clothing that he usually wore with his Consular robes, Keth appeared to be resting on his hovering meditation chair. With his back to the wide, slat-covered window of his quarters, the Jedi continued to “meditate” amid the shadows and light falling across his body. He held that pose for several moments as his student silently approached. With his eyes closed, Keth could picture in his mind’s eye the hesitant poise in his padawan’s posture, the way she bit her underlip as she hovered between interrupting his “repose” or staying silent until he noticed her. However, the tone in her voice was hardly that particular emotional-hue as she asked, “Are you going to play this game again, Master?” Keth couldn’t help the soft chuckle that slipped past his lips, nor keep from smiling at her pouting tone. “Am I becoming so easy to read, Nadia?” Nadia made a soft, scornful-yet-playful sound. “Only when it comes to moments like this, Master. You knew when I was right outside your door all this time.” Opening his eyes, Keth allowed a smile to spread across his face as he stared at the young Sarkhai woman. “I see I shall have to be more imaginative in the future.” Unfolding his tall form, Keth rose from his chair and made a small bow. “Thank you for coming so quickly, Nadia. Returning his bow, Nadia cast a small look over her shoulder at the open doorway. Keth chuckled again, before making a small gesture with one hand. Across the room, the door control clicked home and the opening was sealed closed once more. With a grin, Nadia took two, quick steps before she leaped towards Keth. who caught her easily. She embraced him tightly. “I missed you.” “I was hardly gone for that long, Nadia.” Nadia pulled back to look at him squarely. “When you leave, any amount of time is like . . . an eternity, when we’re apart, Keth.” Keth’s smile turned soft as he placed a fond kiss on her forehead. “You are hardly apart from me, Nadia. Not when we are so connected, together.” Their connection -- a bond far deeper than that of simply a teacher and student, master and apprentice -- had been forged in the tests of the on-going conflict between the Republic and the Empire of the Sith. Once, he was simply the liaison of the Chancellor, and she the young, force-sensitive daughter of an influential Senator from Sarkhai. He, the experienced and she, the novice. Now, against convention, tradition and dogma, they had formed a pairing. Steeped in their mutual goal of learning of, and through the Force, they presented a public showing of two dedicated Jedi; both Master and padawan. But here, in private, they could cast away the public mask and seek solace in their love for the other. A love that Keth could see clearly in Nadia’s dark eyes, which widened now as she smiled up at him. “Still, you’re back now. That is all that matters.” She arched up to give him a kiss in return. “How was your visit with the Alliance on Coruscant?” Keth chuckled, then sighed. “The Rift Alliance is working wonders for the Republic, but I’m afraid a few frayed ends still remain to be taken care of.” Setting her down, Keth turned to guide her over to his meditation chair. Taking his seat again, he said, “Senator Alauni is still decrying restitution for Salucami, even as the Senate has done far and beyond in assisting her world.” Nadia pulled a small seat closer to him, sitting down with nod. “She never did seem satisfied with how things unfolded before the end of the fight on Corellia.” Her tattooed face twisted into a frown. “Why is it some people can never be satisfied with what they have in life?” Keth folded his arms and said, “It is a sad fact of the Universe we live in, Nadia. Some will never be satisfied with their lot, until they have consumed all in spite of reason. The special committee that the Senate assembled for aiding the Rift Alliance is practically bending over backwards to satisfy the Senator’s demands.” He looked at Nadia and gave her a half-smile. “Fortunately, Tai Cordan and Diab Duin are balancing Alauni’s pressure by using what resources they can provide. With their checks to Alauni’s temper, the Alliance will go far to better their new ties to the Republic.” “That’s good to hear,” Nadia said. “Is there news from the Jedi Council on Coruscant, Master?” “Fortunately, yes. Our fellow Jedi are working to restore the Jedi Temple ruins. With hard work and ample assistance, we may see it finished within a few years.” Smiling, Nadia said, “I hope to see it someday, Master. The temple here on Typhon is impressive, yet I hear many of the knights and Masters speaking of how the old temple used to be like.” Keth nodded. “We’ll make a trip to view the temple grounds when they are finally restored . . . in the future.” With a grunt, he levered himself back to his feet. “However, today I have a special lesson for you to learn, my padawan.” Rising to join him, Nadia’s face brightened, “Great. What are you going to teach me today?” Together, they walked across the room to where a long storage case sat against the far wall. Keth knelt and made quick work of the case’s locks, sliding it open and reaching in to remove a long-shafted object. “Something that I feel I have been neglectful with your training, Nadia.” “What is that, Master?” “Your martial skills.” Keth craned his neck around and fixed her with a bemused smile. “You have a rare talent with the Force; one that proves both powerful and at times limiting. Force skill alone may take you far, my padawan . . . but, without training in the martial arts you may never attain the rank of Jedi.” “Oh, I . . . I see.” Nadia turned thoughtful for a moment. “But, what is there to learn about fighting? I mean, we have fought together, in battle--.” “Yes, and you have fared better than most Jedi would, Nadia.” Rising, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “However, you cannot rely all your life on blind luck.” Lifting his hand he slowly ticked off a couple of points on his fingers, before closing it into a fist. “If you apply yourself to discipline, training, and seeking to perfect the physical arts of our Jedi heritage . . . combined with your Force gifts, it may make you one of the most powerful Jedi of our time.” Nadia took heart from his words. “I understand, Master.” She squared her shoulders and asked, “So, where do we begin?” “Building on what you already know, Nadia. You fight well enough, but true mastery comes from constant and evolving practice. Even with things we may find unfamiliar.” He held the long object with both hands, keeping it at chest-level so Nadia could examine it better. As she swept her eyes along its length, he explained, “A lightsaber may be a Jedi’s weapon, but its use stems from techniques used by other weapons, other cultures. Part of my formal Jedi training was with Master Opa Bi-Gorsa; one of our finest weapons-masters. Part of the reason why my skills in combat are as good as any of our Order, is due to the extensive weapon training I undertook as his padawan.” With a smile, Keth said, “I shall continue his tradition, by teaching you the same.” Nodding, Nadia reached out and traced a finger along the fittings on the weapon’s shaft, trailing over flared blade fixed on one end. “What weapon is this, Master?” Keth said, “This, my pupil is a warstaff . . . one of the ceremonial weapons of the Cathar.” He motioned for her withdraw her hand, before twisting a portion of the staff with both of his. The wide blade at each end snapped open and shifted, forming longer, keener-edged ones, each with a ribbon of rippling energy flowing down their centers. Stepping back a pace, Keth slowly twirled the weapon, making the blades softly sing as air flowed across them. “The Cathar consider this to be a honor-weapon, used in their hunting and coming-of-age rituals.” Nadia eyed the whirling weapon with interest. “I see. It does resemble a saberstaff . . . I, would presume it follows it in function.” Keth nodded. “You have good insight, my padawan.” He slowed and brought the warstaff to a stop, before holding it out to her. “Take it. Tell me what you think of it.” Doing as he bade, Nadia plucked it from his hand and slowly moved it through a small pattern of defensive moves. “It’s . . . stout, and heavy. but . . . it does have good balance.” “The extra weight from the blades and the field-generator inside it give it mass,” Keth explained. “But the blades are fine-honed metals. Durasteel with some cortorsis ore.” He made a motion towards his waist, unclipping his own lightsaber and bringing it up in one, quick action. As the weapon’s purple blade extended, he brought it around to clip the warstaff’s near-blade; connecting with a flash of light. Surprised, Nadia still kept her grip and didn’t drop her guard. “Oh!” “Cortorsis is one of a rare, few materials that can withstand and even interrupt a lightsaber’s blade. This makes a warstaff a potent weapon against Jedi.” Keth said, withdrawing his weapon. “It may be less of a sort of weapon a Jedi might use, but as Master Opa told me many times, ‘To know a weapon for all its strengths and weaknesses, is to know how to best fight against it.’.” Nadia brought the warstaff around, holding it edge-on to examine it closely. “Well, I can see where it’s strengths lay, Master. It’s robust, tough and if it can block a lightsaber, it can make a formidable weapon.” Keth deactivated his lightsaber. “Mm-hmm. What can you tell me of its weaknesses, Nadia?” She frowned, before shifting her stance to take several, more forceful swings with it. “Well, it is . . . heavier than my saberstaff. I’d have to . . . train with it more, before it became natural to use.” She paused and made a thrust-strike with it. “It might be good in melee, but . . . how would it fair against blasters, I wonder? I know, our lightsabers can deflect blaster shots--?” “Indeed, and the warstaff might stop a few shots, before the metal gave way to damage,” Keth said. Replacing his lightsaber on his belt, he reached out and took the warstaff from her hands. “It is an elegant weapon, but modern technology would render it useless in a prolonged fight.” Nadia frowned. “Why train in using it at all, then?” “Say, perhaps, in a fight you lose your lightsaber? A foe might damage it beyond repair,” Keth stated. Nadia quickly took his meaning. “Do you mean I’m to carry two weapons around with me?” Chuckling, Keth said, “It would be unwieldy and impractical. However, my point is that should you find yourself in battle and without your main weapon--.” He pointed to where her own saberstaff hung from her belt. “Then, you could improvise. Find another. Use it to win through and survive.” Nodding, Nadia frowned. “Not many battles may have us near such weapons, I would think.” She looked down, but lifted her gaze back with comprehension filling her face. “Still, the knowledge of such skills would prepare us for any eventuality, and . . . well, it seems daunting to me, Master. There are dozens of combat weapons I can name!” Keth quickly moved to soothe her rising anxiety. “True, but many follow basic theories and forms. Those basics are what I wish to teach you, Nadia. With those, you’ll be able to identify any form of weapon, and know the best way to use them in a fight.” He reached out, cupping his hands over the points of her shoulders when she started to turn away. “Nadia, take comfort in this; what I will teach you is nothing more than what I learned under Master Opa’s guidance. It may seem enormous in task, yet anything worth doing shall ever be so easy. Once begun and learned true, you will never find it so hard as when you first begun.” She sighed, reaching up to grip one of his forearms with a free hand. “Nothing ventured, is ever truly gained . . . or so my father said once.” Squeezing his arm, she smiled softly. “Why is it I hear a lot of my father in you, Keth?” Giving her shoulders a reassuring grip, he said, “Tobias Grell was a good man, Nadia. I feel he, and I after a fashion, only say what you truly need to hear. As well, for the short time I knew your father I could see that he loved his daughter very much.” Grinning, he said, “He wanted what was best for you, Nadia. As do I, and I shall not fail him on that score.” With a soft laugh, Nadia cupped Keth’s cheek fondly. “I know you won’t fail, Master.” Letting her hand drop, she stepped back to let his hands fall away and raised the warstaff to look at it briefly. “So, practice it is then? How are we to proceed?” Keth smirked, then turned to reach back down into the case to remove another warstaff. “Before I let you bash away with that, the next thing you must learn is how wielding it conforms to what you know about using a lightsaber.” Motioning her to stand near him, he snapped his own warstaff into active-mode and put himself into a ready-combat stance. “Now, what is the form we know is best for users of saberstaffs, my pupil?” Nadia moved smartly to mirror his stance, saying, “The Sixth Form, ah . . . Niman, right? It emphasizes use of Force-techniques in combination with dueling skills.” “Correct.” Keth moved to spin his warstaff into a ready position, before he said, “Yet, aside from Force-techniques, it does emphasize the use of knowing where each of your blades are in combat. Now, observe my form . . . .” … and thus, Keth and Nadia began the first step in her martial training; the first of many ‘firsts’ they would take together. END

Three of my favorites from across the whole of the movies: "*chuckles* Truly wonderful the mind of a child is... The padawan is right. Go to the center of gravity's pull, and find your planet, you will." -- Episode 2, Attack of the Clones. "At and end, your rule is. And not short enough it was!" -- Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith. "Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me, by my size do you? Hm?! And well you should not. For my ally, is the Force. *looks upwards* Life creates it . . . makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us, and bind us. *grunts* Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter! You must feel the Force around you. Here, between you . . . and me. The tree . . . the rock. Yes, even between the land and the ship." *after performing the feat of pulling Luke's fighter from the swamp, and hearing his declaration of disbelief* "That, is why you fail," -- Episode 5, The Empire Strikes Back. -- BossaMatam

The problem with putting in a THIRD faction is that now you have to add more classes, develop individual stories for them and somehow tie it all in to the greater storyline of the Galactic Republic vs. Sith Empire. And let me state emphatically that I hope BioWare DOES NOT bring the Vong into this story. Doing so out in the EU ruined it in my opinion. We don't need that here. Plus, bringing the Vong into SWTOR sort of fudges up the storyline for the future of Star Wars. And before you say, "Well this was 3000 years before Star Wars, so they could have forgotten about the Vong by then.", let me cap that right off. As powerful and dangerous as the Vong were made in the EU, you cannot use the argument that the Republic or Sith would forget about them after dozens of centuries later. Give the Devs their due and time... they'll come up with something to give us more story-driven stuff in the next Expac in the future. -- BossaMatam

Osetto -- The problem I have with that listing is the fact both Enlisted and Officer ranks have been lumped together. Plus the fact they're (again) being too generalized and vague with the total spread of ranks between them. It doesn't make sense to jump from Major to Colonel (O3 grade to O5), as there has to be an intermediate rank in there. Commander as an "honorary" title... I can see unit members calling their C.O. Commander, but the actual rank has to be there. It just makes sense to me. Aside from the fact I know they've skipped several ranks for the enlisted. It has been confirmed that the Republic does have a Sergeant 1st Class (E7), as Elara Dorne in the Trooper story confirms this when she introduces herself to your character. Plus, as the Republic and Imperial Navies both clearly stemmed from traditional "Wet" Navies, it doesn't make sense to have Private and Corporals in their ranks. The logical titles would either be Seaman or Starman (though Bill Baldwin -- author of the Helmsman series, a well done space opera fiction -- uses Starman or Starsailor almost exclusively). -- BossaMatam

Greetings all. Since the game seems to be generalizing and somewhat vague about the ranks of both enlisted and officers within the Republic and Imperial military chain-of-command, I did a bit of speculation and research. In the end, I came up with a listing of ranks for both factions that seems to fit within the few bits of data the game has given us. NOTE! These are just speculation and in no way is it meant that BioWare/EA has set these as the actual ranks in the game. I did figure this would be a good suggestion for the Devs to help flesh out anything they may have in the works, as well as help any player who's RPing as either a Trooper or Agent. With that said, here's my list. Enjoy! OFFICER RANKS of the Galactic Republic & Sith Empire Overall Leader Supreme Commander - Minister of War Rank/Class Lvl Republic Navy / Imperial Navy - Republic Army/Marines / Imperial Army/Marines O10 Fleet Admiral / Moff/Grand Moff - Field Marshall / Moff/Grand Moff O9 Admiral / Admiral - General / General O8 Vice Admiral / Vice Admiral - Maj. General O7 Rear Admiral / Rear Admiral - Lt. General / Lt. General O6 Commodore / Commodore - Brigadier General O5 Captain / Captain - Colonel / Colonel O4 Commander / Commander - Lt. Colonel / Lt. Colonel O3 Lt. Commander / Lt. Commander - Major / Major O2 Lieutenant / Lieutenant - Captain / Captain O1 Sublieutenant / Lieutenant 2nd Class - 1st Lieutenant* / Lieutenant* Ensign / Ensign - 2nd Lieutenant* / Lieutenant* 2nd Class (* -- Imperials pronounce this as "Leftenant") ENLISTED/NON-COMM OFFICER RANKS of the Galactic Republic & Sith Empire Rank/Class Lvl Navy - Army/Marines E9 Master Chief Petty Officer - Sergeant Major / Command Sgt. Major E8 Senior Chief Petty Officer - Master Sgt. / 1st Sergeant E7 Chief Petty Officer - Sergeant 1st Class E6 Petty Officer 1st Class - Sergeant E5 Petty Officer 2nd Class - Technical Sergeant E4 Petty Officer 3rd Class - Specialist E3 Seaman - Corporal E2 Seaman Apprentice - Private 1st Class E1 Seaman Recruit - Private 2nd Class I based the ranks on the current usage of the US and UK Military ranking, as recognized by NATO. If there are any discrepancies or errors, I apologize in advance. I'll work to make corrections in a future post. Thanks for reading! - BossaMatam

1. - Assassins/Shadows : Switchable Saber staff/Dual Sabers Yes, I know there are certain abilities which require saber staffs for each class, but the solution would be to tweak one of the trees to allow for the use of one of the weapon forms (Tanking - Saber staff / DPS - Dual Sabers) or make it a learned ability that would override the abilities' need. 2. - Reverse Grip - Optional Skill for All Sith/Jedi After seeing it used by Starkiller in the Force Unleashed games, I think this would be a nifty option for Force-Users. Make it an unlockable skill, which will allow your character to wield either their single saber or dual sabers in a reversed grip. 3. - Troopers - Dual Pistols Bounty Hunters who spec Mercenary Advanced Class can do this. Why cannot we get this for Troopers? I don't really care for Assault Cannons as my only other option other than a Blaster rifle. 4. - Double XP BOOSTS Yes, instead of having to wait for another weekend event to try to push our leveling, why not make these items that can be acquired either through the Cartel packs or direct CM purchase? You can still keep them to the Minor (1 hour) or Major (3 hour) types, but having them would make for a great kip-up for people trying to crunch those last few levels to grind out before the cap. 5. - More Crafted Color Modules & Mash-up Capacity for Mods. It would be a big, BIG convenience for players if we had at least all of the primary colors in the spectrum available to be crafted as Primary- and Secondary-Only modules. Also, consider the ability, at the crafting tables to take one Primary-mod and one Secondary mod and combine them for a single-use module for our gear? I hope these help, and thanks to any Devs who may be reading. -- S.

Dewback, certainly. A Mini-Rancor... well, could be fun. But, what about an Acklay mount? I'd love to see the look on people's faces when THAT came tromping through the Fleet Station. ^_^

Did some checking in-game and here's the results I came up with. To better help you find the parts you need I even listed them and their cost in Planetary Comms / PCs. Items are also listed from Lowest-Level Planet to Highest (so you don't get killed as agro-bait by accident): T7’s stats are Aim and Endurance, so you can equip some items that can be used on Troopers. Core(s) -- Coruscant Equipment Vendor : AA-16 Core / 6 PCs Belsalvis Equipment Vendor : LS-93 Core / 6 PCs Motor(s) -- Balmorra Equipment Vendor : WD-47 Motor / 5 PCs Part(s) -- Quesh Equipment Vendor : HJ-07 Parts / 4 PCs Corellia Equipment Vendor : OP-89 Parts / 4 PCs Sheild -- Nar Shaddah Equipment Vendor : Tactile Deflector D-Shield Generator / 14 PCs Belsalvis Equipment Vendor : Subelectronic Deflector D-Shield Generator / 14 PCs Subelectronic Power D-Shield Generator / 14 PCs Subelectronci Personal D-Shield Generator / 14 PCs Corellia Equipment Vendor : Entropic Energy D-Shield Generator / 14 PCs Entropic Personal D-Shield Generator / 14 PCs Entropic Response D-Shield Generator / 14 PCs Sensor Unit -- Voss Equipment Vendor : KD-62 Sensor Unit / 6 PCs Blaster Pistol -- Recommend searching the GTN and buying any Orange moddable pistol and swapping out the mods/crystal for the ones you need. Hope this helps! -- Travelin' Matt

Taking this from back when I played WoW, and the whole deal with Gear Transmogrification sounds similar to the discussion here. Back on WoW, you could basically T-Mog any armor to look like another piece of gear, with restrictions (I'll list the main three): -- You can only T-Mog Gear Type for Type (Cloth to Cloth, Mail to Mail, etc.). -- Gear used for T-Mog Must have a Stat on it (+End, +Agil, etc.) -- Unless you earned it, specific PvP Gear (Season 1 and earlier) cannot be used for T-Mog. Now, in retrospect for SWTOR and Gear Recolor/Dyes, Certain restrictions are understandable (Below lvl 15 white, green and blue world drops, Certain Gear Sets, etc.). However I do agree that restricting recolor from most gears either crafted or bought through the CM packs IS NOT a good idea. Too many players wear that gear, and saying specific LORE sets will be restricted will kill a lot of future purchases by players and just make players go back to using more common gear to outfit their characters. Again, we're also speculating on a feature that has yet to go live on the main servers. So let's wait and see what comes on the PTR (soon I hope) and in the meanwhile KEEP COMMUNICATING to the Devs. Instead of negative waves, keep telling them what you want to see in the game. If anything, the Devs for this game have been a lot more open to the players than most other MMOs out there these days. -- S.