^ This = thread. Besides, from a game standpoint, I doubt they'll really finish off the Empire's chances until they intend to close the game, if then. You don't alienate theoretically 1/2 your base for the sake of following a storyline with reasonable strategic conclusions, if as a writer... you do that anyways.

Serously, yes to this. My general chat is filled to the brim on board the fleet with people shouting from who knows where about things I can't possiblely act on if I'm actually trying to... you know... play the game. But this is a minor point. To those who think they are annoying distractions: just turn off chat bubbles or ignore them like you do the general. For a MMO designed for people who wish to play with a group, including groups of people they don't already know (if you don't like chat bubbles, I question if you really like MMOs), this seems like it should be a basic feature. In fact, with chat bubbles perhaps they could move emotes to chat bubbles and you could stop seeing them in your box as well. In support (to BioWare): I have YET (after 3-4 months of playing) to sucessfully get someone's attention out in the field doing quests who I didn't know. By the time I send a whisper message they are gone down the way and it comes off as stalkerish anyway. Most people just ignore the general chat, although the purple txt does help catch attention sometimes. Most people I have found in this game are actually quite friendly, if you can meet them in a flashpoint, near the end, while you are all waiting for someone who just died to get back, when they finally check their chat window and actually LOOK for you to say something. I would not only enjoy the experiance more if I could offer a witty comment about the slug I just killed by frying it with lightning and someone would actually see it, I can only imagine how much more of a immersion it would be for a game you spent who-knows-how-long making seem real? I can pretty much gareentee you that someone who reads "fryed slug doesn't smell like I thought it would" in the general will not laugh like the person standing right next to me who saw the slug die by lightning while I was on low health and can see my displeased emote. Being able to assosiate someone's words and name with a avatar is a very important aspect of rp and ought to be included in a much more natural way than it is now. I have been able to get rp elements going in completely non-rp games before by a clever qwip or IC response (while the player might be kinda bored walking through toxins taking low damage, I can assure you their avatar wouldn't be "I think my toes are melting...") This is completely lost without chat bubbles, as those who check their chat usually aren't nearby. I strongly support this addition. Glad to see the ball is already rolling from a page or 2 back and hope this post helps prioritize it.

As a note I'll throw in here, I remember the scene on Kamino in Eps II where Obi first learns about the clones. The greeter said that they were capable of independant though unlike stupid droids, but were altered to follow orders without question. Since that characteristic was done with biologic manipulation vs. straight programming, I have been willing to give a few times when clones 'disobey' orders many times during TCW and other books, etc. More or less ALL of these cases however involved something that wasn't a clear choice of who ought to be in charge. E.g. when their jedi commander turned them on each other and was no longer a true leader of the Republic, where of course, their higher orders of fighting Seperatists from Palp himself could allow them to act bravely. I think this tendancy to act bravely under confusing orders in order to help what they really care about is a interesting characteristic of these otherwise not very interesting clones. They come off as closer to people than droids. However, given a direct order from the leader of the Republic about a directive they have clearly had biologically hammered into them since creation, I doubt they have much choice in the matter. Perhaps a few have had enough experiance and have broken from their directives and training enough to ignore order 66, but it is beginning to be bad story telling from my perspective if you try and convince us all that the clones were really ready to slaughter their gallent jedi protectors right in the face of frontline battle. I admire the silent rise of the Empire they are putting in the TCW, but a genetically engineered follow-instructions-from-Palp w/ training to back it up is already good enough for me.

I think some people here have been watching too many flashing lights and ridiculous saber moves that have been able to be implemented simply because of our own improved technology, and are assuming that these OR characters are simply much more powerful in order to pull off such moves. This is an incredibly unfair and skewed measuring stick to use on force-users from different time frames. There is plenty of material to show that the most powerful Jedi/Sith occurred right around RoTS -> RoTJ. Sadly, the movies didn’t have the tech to make them as blindingly powerful as you might like (I haven’t, but read the EU books if you want that). I find this idea laughable, as even a thread comparing Vilgate to Sidious finally clearly threw the ball in Palp’s favor. This thread was over as soon as Aurbere posted anyway, so... Thread.

ROFL. Omg, bringing back a thread from the day of launch 1+ yr down the road, then proceding to troll it, catch several players attention, and even show how many issues (though minor in my opinion) have still yet to be addressed all while showing that the game has survived and even done well with all of the said problems? *Emperor voice* It is a masterstroke. I'd like to stamp my seal of approval on perhaps the best troll I have seen on these forums. Just please, let us all make sure this thread dies again today, so that someone can bring it back a year from now to the amazment of all.

My "Traditional Dramassian Silk Headgear" is also bugged as well as every single helm in both the light and adaptive armor types that I can find on the GTN. This ought be fixed sooner rather that later, glad to see this is a bug and hopefully can get fixxed soon.

And so the boring it is Bariss people win in the end... all according to LucusArts design <insert evil laughter here>. Guess I still want to know who dies, since I've been saying it was Bariss since she helped Ashoka instead of encrouging her to turn herself in and then a female attacked her in the warehouse.

^ Someone missed the Order 66 all clones are mentally and unwillingly forced to attack the jedi memo. Would be cool though.

It seems they are trying to push sins towards a tanking role because alot of less experianced players don't like someone coming out of nowhere and killing them quickly. Why this is somehow more OP than jumping from 20m and rage-smashing even higher DPS I do not know. Having survived the giant wall of text on the first page, I can say I agree with most, if not all, of the statements there. Criticals are hugely important for deception, and are how I kill most players. A critical on discharge and shock is vital to finishing a kitting smasher, or distant powertech/op. Don't make a challenging and very strategy intensive spec die because it is a little disconcerting. We are assassins, you would think we would be some of the best 1v1. Tanking a incoming horde (such as at a node) doesn't make nearly as much since from a lore perspective. This buff/debuff will end up confusing players who picked the assassin at the beginning of the game and is generally just a bad move. Support.

On a side note, with mind tricks I don't know how hard it would be for a more sage-like jedi (such as Bariss) to get into a clone uniform and force choke for like 10 feet away. Sure the armor wouldn't fit well, but with preperation it's not impossible (luke comes to mind =P) Perhaps that is just me. I see Sidious having convinced Bariss to move the bomb plot foward while helping Tarkin hammer the Jedi for the results. They would not need to have any idea about each other and still produce the result of Ashoka being framed, Anakin more darkside, and the whole Council looking bad for the populus. I don't know if anyone else noticed this, but inside the facility, 3 clones were murdered. Rex even said so. Tarkin reported that 5 clones were murdered by Ashoka. Did anyone notice 2 other clones being killed? I didn't. Yep, clearly something else is going on here, writers don't usually just make that kind of error. This pointed me to think that 1 or 2 of the clones weren't suppose to be inside that prison, and perhaps one of them was this dark-jedi we are looking for. If they were to introduce a completely subjected Maul as the instrument of Ashoka's escape, (shaved horns to fit inside the helmet, to complete his fury in dishonor) I'd be happy. But I doubt it, after they have a small female character fight Ashoka, the options are so limited it seems to be Bariss. I think it will be the no surprise of Bariss for the Jedi, but there will be a much bigger twist on what happens to Ashoka. Perhaps we will find the corruption goes higher up the ladder and Anakin will suddenly seem alot more aware of the effectiveness of the dark side.

This might be the best Sin arguement on tactics I have seen on these forums. I am lvl 41 and just about to get spike, so I was wondering if I should plan to open with it and change my normal rotation to hope to lure out a CC breaker, or stick with my normal style. This was helpful. Seems like it would be a useful openner to disrupt a fringe healer or perhaps claim a node against a solo guard, something I do a LOT in WZ. Perhaps I will add it to my list. Anyway, on a completely different note since everyone seems to have an oppinion, does anyone else occasionally use mind trap on a solo oppenient to force a CC? Maul against a mind-trapped foe seems to give me an extra damage spec since I currently don't have more than 1 bind. Just wondering if I'm shooting myself in the foot or not...

I laughed so hard when I read this... still trying to breath again. Thanks. On the subject of being able to hide, I have seen many threads crying out for an ability to switch factions, or wondering why you can stay on good terms with your faction while undermining their identity. Ans: Because when the game was concieved as a faction instead of free for all, fall from neutral game: it was clear that the choice of faction for the player character would be final. Storylines don't allow you switch easily. If you tried to force every character to be sort of a 'neutral' entity who was both liked and disliked by both sides, it would be impossible to work your way onto one of the councils, or become a champion of either side. In an 'actual' SW galaxy, sure if you went against your faction they would most likely since your betryal and throw you out, but that isn't an option in a faction mmo. Every point to switch sides means you MUST have and entire new branching storyline for that route, since it wouldn't be with the same NPCs, same areas, or even same missions. So take say 3 chances to switch factions, that's the 6 class storylines (let's pretend BH and SM are written differently to be factionless) with 1 all dark/light story, 1 light->dark/dark->light 1/4 way through, 1 light->dark/dark->light 1/2 way through, 1 light->dark/dark->light 3/4 way through. So, now you have 4 different stories for each class, times 6 classes... Then, you have to add in: since the BH heal-tank and SM heal/dps can switch more easily, then you get unbalenced heavy tank healers in the Republic and throw off pvp. Perhaps you have to do the storyline split with them as well? Don't forget that ppl will protest if they switched factions and it wasn't what they expected. Now they have no way to switch back. Of course that is unless you add light->dark->light/dark->light->dark options in at the 1/2 and 3/4 mark... Nope, doesn't seem complicated at all. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv I would rather see improved dark/light side customizations and maybe a endgame storyline where you have to help out the opposing faction to reach a goal. Perhaps you are trapped on a planet and the only escape must be acomplished with someone from the other side. You could then either become friends or grow in resentment/pityiful distain of <insert char traits here> of anyone from <other faction>. If you were something like say... a dark jedi, you could make a contact in the Empire, and help him take out X part of the Republic that you didn't like. Some corrupt something or other. Plenty of options that would make SWTOR feel more 'real' from a lore perspective. At the end of the day you would remain in your faction to let the MMO game work, but you could skirt the edge with the other side. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Just to be clear: 1) Sidious masked his presence well, as is referenced again and again in the movies or hinted at although unspoken. 2) Not only did he use the dark side to cloud the jedi, the scope and size of his power seems to have obsured the source of that darkness, even in this latest episode 16. 2) He clearly released his full power in the dark side fighting Windu, and his face visiblely changed. Doing so suddenly seemed to have clued the jedi in on his true nature and power. 3) Since his face doesn't change fighting Maul and Savage, my personal guess would be he didn't fully release the dark side, which also explains how Maul held his own as well as he did. If anyone would have sensed his presence during that combat, Sidious most likely guessed they would eventually attribute it to Maul and Savage, so his cover was 'safe' to go in person. So really no conflict here, the story was put together well.

Just to ask, do you have a link to this guide?

I've actually used this in a warzone a couple of times. "Now, young [insert name here]... you will die." *force lighting* - Darth Sidious