Meh, most MMOs run terribly. And every MMO forum likes to pretend their MMO is the only one. They're all massively CPU hungry games, yet it's incredibly rare to find game engines designed to use multi-core CPUs efficiently. SWTOR, ESO, WoW, GW2, BDO, none are great with splitting the load and making the most of each core. You'll tend to see one core maxed out, and the others reaching as high as 50% usage at best, often not using other cores and threads at all. One day, far in the future, a big new Western MMO will launch that is specifically designed for multi-core PCs and consoles, and we'll all praise the ground it walks on for the performance it's capable of. Until then we can only curse at all the MMOs we play today designed primarily to target ancient single core machines from a by-gone age that apparently make up the bulk of the target playerbase...

This, and shadow cascade quality, make by far the biggest impacts on framerate. Nameplate removal also has the benefit of massively decluttering your screen. Do you really need to know the names of all those players around you that you just ignore anyway? All you need to see are enemy player nameplates, so you get a heads up when you're in danger.

Can't believe this hasn't been more widely reported here. Surely this is affecting everyone, and has been for months now?

CE Player here too, returning for the new expansion and storyline. I love checking out the vendor every time I drop back in here and chuckling to myself

Thanks! Found the requirements in the Legacy tab as you said Also, just seen that there are Dark vs Light packs on sale in the Store. Do we know if these are being removed when the event ends, or will they hang around afterwards as another way of obtaining these items? Really hoping they hang around.

I'm returning to the game thanks to the awesome trailer for the upcoming expansion, and now I see that there's a really fun Diablo Seasons-esque event going on for amazing looking rewards. I have absolutely no idea how to start it though, and the majority of articles I find seem to be about a different kind of Dark vs Light thing that doesn't start until the next expansion is live (they tell me to check my Galactic Command tab to see how I'm progressing). I have created a new character and leveled to 10, and they have a new icon on the character select screen separate from my old characters. Is that all there is to it? Is there anything I need to do in-game to get the event rolling or is it all automatic? I don't want to get to 25 with this character and miss the reward because I didn't start the event properly, having to reroll again if I want to take part in the event. Thanks for reading, and I hope someone can explain this event for me better than Bioware has

Brilliant! Thank you so much for that

I found this list on TOR Fashion (no complete list I could see on Dulfy), and I've checked the Emote tabs in the Collections page as well. Both have the same problem - I can't tell which are healing replacements and which are just general use emotes. There's one I can see on the Cartel Store for 600 coins as a featured item (called "data entry" I think?) but that's the only one I can see.

I recently created a Sith Inquisitor and quickly realized the healing emote bothers me far more than it should. He just paces back and forth while an ugly shader turns his skin, clothes, and weapon completely red. It looks ridiculous. I know there's a bunch of healing emotes available on the Cartel Market and GTN though, right? Is there a list of these anywhere online someone could link me to please?

I think adding Planetary Missions to the Class Missions is a great idea tbh. As much as I loved being able to rush through the story of a class with the 12x EXP boost, I often felt a little bad about skipping the Planetary stories since they tend to be as excellently written and paced as the Class stories. I think new players will enjoy them just as much as the Class stories, and they help provide a lot more insight and attachment to the planets we're exploring. Keeping Side Missions optional was the important part of all this, and I'm glad to see Bioware are doing that. The old-school MMO design of filling out the levelling time with fetch quests and mob grinding really does need to be left behind. I think all of these changes are a fantastic step forward for the game, and the only part of the game that will risk putting off new players now is the vast amount of repetitive skills and abilities compared to more modern MMOs like ESO, Guild Wars 2, and Wildstar. Even WoW adapted to that by merging abilities together into more powerful and versatile ones. Imo, that should be the next priority.

Replies in red. And yes, I'm well aware I'm a casual player. I'm more than happy with that. My career is my focus because I adore my job. I also adore playing games in my down time, and SWTOR has amazing class stories that I enjoy playing through. I strongly believe the combat is a drag though, and ability bloat is the reason. I also strongly believe that a colossal wave of new players will be joining SWTOR this fall with Episode VII, and that if combat remains as dated and out of touch as it is today, then the vast majority will be quitting the game before level 30, simply because the number (and design) of abilities is over-whelming when all you want is a simpler system to enjoy the story content. Simple to learn, hard to master. That's the beauty of MOBAs and modern MMOs with fewer but more versatile and impacting skills.

For example, Strike, Master Strike, Zealous Strike, Slash, Cyclone Slash, Leg Slash, for Jedi Sentinels. All sound similar. Leg Slash is just a cripple, so why not fold that into an existing skill like the standard Slash to make it more appealing and reduce bloat at the same time? Master Strike and Zealous Strike are both lightsaber skills that execute a series of melee attacks over X seconds, with the only difference being that Master Strike also stuns weaker enemies for the duration. Why not just make that an upgrade to one of the two skills and fold them into one? If animation variety is an issue, why not expand Strike's "finishing blow" dynamic animation across all abilities? If Zealous Strike is folded into Master Strike, that skill could still play either animation randomly. It's strange seeing every other MMO out there opt for less skills, reducing them and making each skill more versatile and powerful to make them more exciting to use and easier to manage, while SWTOR ignores that trend despite the recent cash injection for the expansion and looming film releases. MOBAs are a fantastic example of how to do this well, with most characters having only 4 skills, but each skill being incredibly versatile in varying situations. ESO has a lot of fun with skill customization, having each skill start off the same way for each player, but then allowing them to add additional effects onto each skill as they level up, customizing their skills based on their preferred play style. Guild Wars 2 follows a similar approach, allowing players to choose a small number of skills from a roster of powerful and versatile ones, customizing their character in the process. SWTOR just says "Here, have everything, enjoy managing four hotbars." Personally, I'd reduce the number of skills by up to 50% for each class, aim to fit them all on one hotbar, and make them all more versatile and possibly customizable. I'd get rid of the need to repeatedly "level up" skills at a trainer and have them improve automagically as you level. Do that and I'd expect a much stronger attach rate from the new influx of players from Episode VII. As it stands, the quantity and (in some cases, ie Leg Slash) blandness of skills are the most archaic aspect of SWTOR as an MMO, similar to WoW from the better half of a decade ago, and all the new players are going to notice it.

The 12x EXP has been the most fun I've ever had in this game. It now genuinely feels like the KOTOR 3 they infamously promised back at launch. I always knew the class stories were fantastically written and voice acted - it was all the level barriers and "go grind a bunch of filler side-quests before the next part of the story" that made it a chore to play before. 12x EXP solves all those issues, and I'd hate to see it go without a decent replacement. Planetary missions are pretty awesome too though, so I could a 4-6x EXP boost applying to all quests working well. Can still skip the filler that way. Mainly I want an Ability Squish. I HATE having multiple hotbars filled with skills, most of which have similar names and do similar things, just with different cooldowns forcing you to use them all. I'd love an emphasis on only a handful of skills, each of which are highly versatile in their use and impact, and have low cooldowns. Kind of like ESO, modern WoW, Guild Wars 2, and MOBAs. That's my only sticking point with SWTOR these days, and the reason I'm not a permanent subscriber. Still becomes a chore to play, and all those skills make it so difficult to return to the game and jump in where I left off. I come back, look at the hotbars, freak out and create a new character instead.

Yeah, this is such a big problem. I've just resubbed and instead of continuing to level my 48 Consular I've started a new character, specifically because I took one look at the four hotbars my Consular has, all full up, and the companion hotbar to micro-manage on top of that (with each companion having different skills)... holy crap. I don't have a chance of remembering what all the dozens of skills do. However, I DO remember that many of them did pretty much exactly the same things as each other, and Bioware assumed it would be more fun to give players multiple skills doing the same thing, rather than one skill with a lower cooldown. I'm now crossing my fingers for a gameplay overhaul expansion, that aims to keep all classes working to one hotbar. Combine skill effects, combine buffs, ditch duplicates. There are way too many skills right now, which makes it a pain to return to after an absence from the game or after playing an alt. But hey, maybe I'm too adjusted to MOBAs, and SWTOR's core playerbase loves having a bazillion different skill icons clogging up their screens.

Since there's no more class stories coming, I'd love a huge planet dedicated to free-form game play. Bounty Hunters could hunt bounties. Smugglers could actually smuggle. Jedi Knights could be all heroic saving people, while Sith Warriors create carnage. Consulars and Agents could work behind political scenes, brokering peace or assassinating targets. Basically, something that allows each class to feel like they're doing something that fits their character, with a lot of room for replayability. With class stories when you're done you're done. Free-form game play would provide something class specific, without the depth of class story missions, and with a lot more replayability. Also, PVE space. PVP space has been nailed now, so for PVE - same rules as above (free-form game play) but in space. Bounty Hunters taking their bounty hunting to the stars, chasing targets through asteroid fields. Smugglers doing blockade runs. Etc etc.