The problem is when a level-requirement stands between me, and playing with other people. Nobody seeks out a new MMO because they want to play alone. In truth, I actually enjoy the story, and would love to be able to take my time with them, but when I *HAVE* to complete hundreds of quests in order to play with my friends and guildies, it ceases to be "a fun detour", and more of a barrier. I would totally replay the Story missions as part of a "New Game+" option, experiencing different choices and all... once I was *already* max-level. Before then, though, it's just a chore that I have to complete, before getting to the part that I actually signed-up for.

There are a number of RL issues I could cite for having prevented me from leveling up anyone during this time, but the truth is simple this; the Leveling-curve is *SO* bad in this game, I *STILL* couldn't level. See, I played a Sith Assassin. You allow us to skip quests, so I skipped quests. You allow us to stealth by enemies, so I stealthed by enemies. By the time I realized that I was actually underleveled for questing, it was too late; I would spend sometimes three hours trying to complete even the most trivial quests, because everything in this game attacks in a pack of three or four, and the moment one of them outlevels you, they usually all do. Even with the 12x XP Boost, it was like hitting a brick-wall. My only feasible option was to start spamming Flashpoints, and given that I hadn't played as a Tank in nearly a year, I was understandably rusty. It may come as a shock to the more veteran players here, but TOR isn't a terribly easy game to play, let alone come back to after a long hiatus. It takes a pretty substantial commitment to learn to play a character well, and if you want to know the truth, I'm simply not going to bother with it if I have to go back to the original XP values. I'm not saying that out of stubbornness or anger; I'm simply being honest. Nobody wants to commit to spending weeks playing an MMO, before actually reaching the truly *enjoyable* part. Not to mention, who wants to feel rushed through the Story, when it's kind of the biggest selling-point of TOR? I pre-ordered Shadows of Revan the day I found out about it, and yet I was unable to make more than one paltry level on my Inquisitor, simply because he was so far behind the curve to begin with. As long as the XP bonus remains, I'll likely stay subscribed, just so that the moment I actually have time off work, or inspiration suddenly strikes, I'll be ready and raring to go! Without the boost, though, just being blunt, I'll probably just google the story.

Just curious, why do you guys say the Vanguard fits the Trooper better than the Commando? Like I said, it's not the Class I planned to play right away, but it might make a difference in helping me choose.

There are a ton of animations in the game; it's fine if some overlap, are are just minor variations. Being able to tell what someone is "at a glance" is a poor, poor excuse, even for PvP. No serious PvP'er worth his salt is going to live or die based on his opponent's appearance. Many other MMO's have proven this. I'd make sure that every AC got *some* kind of new option. It's not like it's suddenly "opening the flood-gates", it's just allowing a little more diversity. Maybe I want my Sith Assassin, for example, to more closely resemble "Maulkiller" from The Force Unleashed II? Or the Zabrak Guardian from the Republic's opening cinematic, who wears power-armor and wields a double-bladed lightsaber. Each AC already has quite a lot of identity; I don't think it's necessary to tell players what they can and cannot equip, so long as it is still Class-appropriate, to avoid anything too off-the-wall. And also, if anything, I suspect it would actually *benefit* from the upcoming Disciplines system. WoW uses a similar system now, and generally speaking it works brilliantly. It creates fewer variables for the Devs to work out, and allows them to push each Spec in a more unique direction, making a Frost DK feel truly distinct from an Unholy DK, for example.

Please note that I am ***NOT*** suggesting that suddenly every character can use every weapon!!! However... perhaps relax *some* of these restrictions, where appropriate. For example, take the Bounty Hunter; why not let them use Blaster Rifles, and maybe even Assault Cannons? Maybe Commandos could also choose to stick with a Blaster Rifle, or even take up a Sniper Rifles, while Vanguards might be able to use a Pistol (since they have kind of a SWAT vibe, anyways). For Jedi and Sith... oh man, there's *SO* much room for fun there. Guardians and Juggernauts who use Double-sabers, Sentinels and Marauders who rock a Single blade, Assassins and Shadows that can dual-wield, or Sages and Sorcerers who also use a double-bladed saber... I feel like those options would be great. Again, I'm not saying to just *TOTALLY* blow the doors open here, but given that Adaptive Armor has basically given us near-total customization on how our characters look, perhaps it's time to broaden the scope of who and what these Classes are. Bounty Hunters who more fully embrace their Mandalorian heritage with Assault Cannons, Commandos who maintain the "Republic Commando" imagery, making Snipers and Double-bladed Lightsabers a little more valuable -- so many awesome things could come from this, if opened up. Just don't let me ever see a non-Force user wearing a Ligthsaber. Adaptive Armor is already fairly ridiculous, with Troopers running around in Sith robes and whatnot; let's try to keep *some* sense of identity.

I just think the existing structure is incredibly short-sighted. Let's ditch the monicker "Legacy name" for now, I think that's still confusing people. Think of it like this; you have a "Player Name", which is how everyone identifies you. This would also be first come, first serve basis, but because you would only use a single Player Name for your entire account, it would dramatically cut the number of names being taken, down to a fraction. Then, you would have your "Character Name", which exists *EXCLUSIVELY* for Role-Playing. Unless someone specifically chooses to display these, this name would exist pretty much for the sake of seeing your name during cutscenes, and for role-playing mail. You wouldn't have any of this "Terin@Gigaslash" nonsense. You would simply see "Terin" hovering above all my characters' names, and below that, the individual character's name, or even just my title. Or hey, just as possible; maybe the Player Name "Terin" is taken, so I pick something like "Placeholder", and then everyone sees me as "Placeholder". BUT, I could still name my Jedi Guardian "Terin", which is the real goal anyways, because I don't care what other players call me, so much as what I want the character himself to be known as in the game's universe. Now, the obvious problem; how do you handle Mail? Well, a simple "Drop-box" system is the best bet. Basically, your Mail would be viewable by all your characters. You could claim items from any of your characters. And if you want to mail items between characters, you would simply "mail items to yourself", and it would be sitting there when you logged in your other character. Incredibly simple, and arguably making the process even easier; after all, how many times have you accidentally mailed something to the wrong alt? I know I've done it about a hundred times. As I said, the current system is alienating people, and I can even prove it. Just today, I convinced my friend to try the game, and I let her try creating a character on my account (since she didn't want to bother creating an account until she saw if she liked the game; for some reason or another). We sat on the character-creation screen for about 40 minutes while she tried to come up with a name, and the finally said "Eff it", and that was that. I've often been stuck on the creation screen myself, spending so long trying to come up with a name I actually was automatically disconnected from server. I really want to see SWTOR become the game we all know it can be, but when you're dealing with "mega-servers", name-availability becomes a massive, massive issue. It makes it harder to feel truly invested in a game, particularly when you're forced to start using names that are barely pronounceable, if they even are.

Hmm, anyone else care to chime-in?

Well, like I said; Sith Purebloods were extinct, too. But in opening the doors up with cross-breeding, they were able to add them to SWTOR, and I figure the same line of thinking could apply to the Taung. Maybe there is only one last tribe of "true Taung" left, and they began welcoming outsides from all walks of life into their tribe, in an effort to help preserve their culture, beyond just the Mandalorians?

Without spoiling any specifics in the story, I'd like to get some advice on choosing an AC for my Bounty Hunter. I'm playing him *STRICTLY* for role-playing purposes to experience the story, although whichever AC I choose, I will likely choose the opposite for the Trooper. I don't care about stats or group-roles, *ONLY* in knowing which AC "fits" the Bounty Hunter better, overall. For example, the Powertech may have a stupid name, but they get all of the "gadgets" that Mandalorians are so infamous for. Plus, Mandalorian is renowned for being virtually indestructible, so that sort of fits, as well. At the same time, I really get kind of a "gunslinger" vibe from the Bounty Hunter's earlier missions, and obviously, Jango Fett was a fan of dual-wielding pistols. I mean, in a perfect world, Bounty Hunters could wield Rifles or Assault Cannons, but alas; they cannot. Also, I've never played a high-level Bounty Hunter, but since I'm going with a male with a large build, perhaps they look better or worse as one AC than the other? I'm a huge armor and weapon collector, and I don't know whether they look better dual-wielding or just rocking a single blaster? Just chime-in with your own point of view. And like I said, whatever I choose for the Bounty Hunter, I'll be choosing the opposite for the Trooper, so if you think that makes a difference, by all means, explain your thinking!

Like Sith "Purebloods", they would of course be modified so suit the make-up of the game's characters. As among the last of the Taung's legacy, they likely would breed with Humans, or perhaps splicing their blood with humans in order to continue on their legacy. Basically, I would imagine them looking quite similar to the Turians from Mass Effect (also an EA property), with humanoid bodies but more alien faces. Although less expressive by comparison, they would make up for it by looking completely and utterly ******! Of course, I'm still hoping we eventually see a new "Mandaloria Pit Fighter" Class, but even without it, we need more Playable Species to choose from. Like the Sith Purebloods, I feel like the Taung could be brought to life through similar explanation.

I think you misunderstand; "Character-Name" would exist purely for role-playing purposes, and wouldn't really be your common identifier. I would loosen some of the restrictions for Character-Names, such as adding a space, multiple capital letters and such -- but maintain trademarked restrictions. And really, even if a person *were* able to name their character Revan -- which again, I'm not even suggesting be allowed -- you're not actually going to see that. What *you're* going to see is people with their Player/Legacy name above their heads. So me, for example, I might be Terin; and I would be the only "Terin" on the server, or even the whole game. You might be Jaesa, and you would be the only Jaesa around. Or, if you don't want others to know you as Jaesa, you could simply keep that as the individual character-name, and use something else as your Legacy name. Diablo III uses a similar system, and it works wonderfully. Everyone still knows me as Terin, but I'm free to name my individual characters what I want (within the guidelines). It's a system I would like to see MMO's embrace, and none need it more than free-to-play MMO's, and The Old Republic chief among them.

Again, the idea would require a bit of refinement, but I think the current system just doesn't work well. Legacy names are completely pointless, and being a free-to-play game makes Character names in dangerously short supply, particularly given how few servers there are to choose from. I mean, unless they start doing a Name-Purge every year, I think they'd be better off in the long-run trying to embrace a system like this. Even the most obscure names are taken on most servers; clearly, this isn't working anymore. And with the Shadow of Revan likely drawing in a huge influx of players (virtually every KotOR fan will at least want to see what it's about), it can only get worse.

Sorry, yeah; guess I should've given more info! It's a male Zabrak Assassin, made about as close to Darth Maul's appearance as possible. In terms of personality, I enjoy playing him as an Assassin who isn't particularly loyal to the Empire, or even the Emperor himself, but instead to Revan's ideology. So in a way, he's manipulating those around him to eventually turn on the Empire if it benefits him; he serves purely out of convenience (he was, after all, a slave; I feel like he would harbor a great deal of resentment towards the Empire).

Honestly, the current system is completely and totally broken, and will only alienate both existing players and discourage potential new players. They need to just have us choose a single "Legacy Name", which would be our Player-Handle for communicating with other players, and leave individual "Character Names" strictly for role-playing.

That's basically what I'm suggesting. Make some minor alterations for role-players' sake, but that's effectively the gist of it.