Star Wars: The Old Republic announced

[Hotfreak]

and there goes my morning window to play....  At least I got some bills paid.  

[Arkon]

Umm, not to sound like a jerk, but they had it in their launcher at least all day yesterday instructing folks to fully set up their account, including a subscription.  If you already went and registered your key, you would have also seen a screen that showed all of the  categories needing to be done, that included setting up security questions and the last of them was setting up your subscription.

I don't recall a single MMO that wasn't F2P that didn't require a subscription day 1.

[Soulchilde]

Umm, not to sound like a jerk, but they had it in their launcher at least all day yesterday instructing folks to fully set up their account, including a subscription.  If you already went and registered your key, you would have also seen a screen that showed all of the  categories needing to be done, that included setting up security questions and the last of them was setting up your subscription.

I don't recall a single MMO that wasn't F2P that didn't require a subscription day 1.

Hey Arkon, what time have you been playing?  Haven't seen you in a few days

[Hotfreak]

Umm, not to sound like a jerk, but they had it in their launcher at least all day yesterday instructing folks to fully set up their account, including a subscription.  If you already went and registered your key, you would have also seen a screen that showed all of the  categories needing to be done, that included setting up security questions and the last of them was setting up your subscription.

I don't recall a single MMO that wasn't F2P that didn't require a subscription day 1.

Very good points.  Very true.  Valid.  And I do feel some embarrassment for not having taken care of this.

And yet, their servers are getting pounded to a halt and many otherwise intelligent people (like those on this forum) didn't get the message -- at least as urgent.  This is also often a problem, but as service providers, they are supposed to be the experts in getting their clients access and ensuring continued access.  Seems like more could have been done here.  The evidence of a problem is plain.

[rshetts2]

Umm, not to sound like a jerk, but they had it in their launcher at least all day yesterday instructing folks to fully set up their account, including a subscription.  If you already went and registered your key, you would have also seen a screen that showed all of the  categories needing to be done, that included setting up security questions and the last of them was setting up your subscription.

I don't recall a single MMO that wasn't F2P that didn't require a subscription day 1.

I did set up my account and put in the security questions. It would not allow me to add a subscription to my account.   Did you actually get to do this?

[Teggy]

Seems to be working a llittle better now. I was finally able to add payment info.

[raydude]

Just wanted to give a shout out to fellow GT Heroes guild member character Oxberger (sp?). The alt of the person who normally plays Jacobus. Apologies, I don't know the player's GamingTrend name and it wasn't in the player/character thread.

He and I just happened to end up near the final boss for one of the quests on Coruscant. I guess he saw me coming toward him so he waited until I was closer and added me to his party. Between the two of us we made mincemeat out of that boss. Which was great because I had planned to logout as soon as I killed that boss to finish the quest. He was fine with that and just wanted to give me a chance to share in the kill.

Even though I am playing SWTOR on a casual level as mostly a single player MMO, I do appreciate having guild members that may be around to help with quests, flashpoints, etc. And I shall do my best to help out as well, at least as much as my playing time permits.

[Hotfreak]

Seems to be working a llittle better now. I was finally able to add payment info.

ditto

[Arkon]

Umm, not to sound like a jerk, but they had it in their launcher at least all day yesterday instructing folks to fully set up their account, including a subscription.  If you already went and registered your key, you would have also seen a screen that showed all of the  categories needing to be done, that included setting up security questions and the last of them was setting up your subscription.

I don't recall a single MMO that wasn't F2P that didn't require a subscription day 1.

I did set up my account and put in the security questions. It would not allow me to add a subscription to my account.   Did you actually get to do this?

I was able to do this yesterday morning.

Soulchilde, work has been a bit hectic.  Was on during the morning yesterday, but have hit a bit of a wall with my commando.  The content on Tatoine is absolutely crushing me and I am not sure why the drastic change.  Nothing on Nar Shadaa was a challenge.  I respecced last night to move away from a pure healer spec to see if that helps out at all so we will see.  Hoping to be on some this afternoon.

[rshetts2]

Whew,   I think I actually made it through the process this time.  That was like pulling teeth. 

[Laner]

Umm, not to sound like a jerk, but they had it in their launcher at least all day yesterday instructing folks to fully set up their account, including a subscription.  If you already went and registered your key, you would have also seen a screen that showed all of the  categories needing to be done, that included setting up security questions and the last of them was setting up your subscription.

I did see the "steps", but at the same time, it was not made clear that you had to sign up for the subscription if you wanted to play past the grace period - just that you needed to enter your registration code.  My fault for not reading more carefully, but at the same time, it wasn't as clear as it needed to be.

I don't recall a single MMO that wasn't F2P that didn't require a subscription day 1.

There's a lot of people (myself included) who are relatively new to MMOs.  With however many million pre-orders they have, you can't assume everyone is familiar with MMO billing conventions.

[Soulchilde]

I was able to do this yesterday morning.

Soulchilde, work has been a bit hectic.  Was on during the morning yesterday, but have hit a bit of a wall with my commando.  The content on Tatoine is absolutely crushing me and I am not sure why the drastic change.  Nothing on Nar Shadaa was a challenge.  I respecced last night to move away from a pure healer spec to see if that helps out at all so we will see.  Hoping to be on some this afternoon.

If you need some help just give a holler.  Panz was inquiring to your status and I agree about the jump in difficulty.   I had to adjust some of rotations on my Shadow after Tatooine as I started being crushed by some of the content on Alderaan

[The Grue]

I set up my subscription a few days before the game launched.  Basically, as soon as Origin sent me my code, I put that in and then saw a section to set up the sub.

[Isgrimnur]

I'm leaving town this evening and haven't entered my code yet.  I figure there's no point starting the clock when I'll be out of town for 4 nights of playtime without time or access to the game.

Good luck, guys.  Make sure they get it all straightened out for me to play next week.

[Laner]

*anger rising*

Finally got to enter my CC card info.  Ticked the "accept these terms" checkbox, clicked "Sumbit," aaaaand...

Back to the waiting room.

I'm done for now.

[Arclight]

Ive been trying all morning, still can't make it through long enough to finish the deal. Always booted back to the queue.

[Chordian]

I bought the standard box last week so I only just started playing on December 20 with a Jedi Consular. It's been great fun so far which has been a bit of a surprise to me. I've become a bit jaded when it comes to computer games in general, but SWTOR does have that "something" that makes me want to push on; something that Rift never had. Especially Coruscant is quite atmospheric. Bravo, BioWare.

Speaking of Coruscant, I just found a Datacron. There's only one per planet, right? Without spoiling anything about where to get it and how to get there, I can say that it requires you to refresh your most awesome Tomb Raider skills you can muster. While getting there I even got stuck in a "V" sort of construction and my character was shaking like an addict. I guessed that using the /stuck function would probably make me fall down. Far below me I could see an enemy. I tried targeting him and used a force stone throwing ability on him. Much to my surprise it landed on him and I was instantly bumped back to the proper edge with my light saber drawn. A few seconds later I went out of combat (the enemy didn't even try to reach me) and could try the jump one more time. I even failed and landed in the "V" a second time, but then just repeated dropping stones on the helmet of the enemy below. Third time's the charm; made the jump and got the Datacron.

So if you get stuck in a "V" while trying to reach a Datacron and start "shaking" but with an enemy below, try attacking it before using the /stuck function.

[Blackjack]

SWTOR-Spy (http://www.swtor-spy.com/) has complete walkthroughs (including map coordinates, screenshots) on all the datachrons. I used it -- at least to figure out how to start up the path to reach it (after that, I could figure out the rest myself).

Some of the datachrons are so far up that I'd just never even know they were there at all if a site or another player didn't point them up to me. I got the +2 Cunning one in the eastern swamps in Taris this morning. While a bit Super Mario for my tastes, it wasn't too bad except for one or two gaps where if you don't peek over first to see how wide it is, you might misjudge it.   Which won't kill you, just kind of exasperates you to have to start the path over again.

BJ made a lot of progress last couple nights to L24. Got the AC passive that gives you a 50% chance to use your Smuggler's Burst Fire immediately after getting in cover (normally it takes precious seconds before it actually fires off). It doesn't sound like much but it's invaluable to trigger that immediately now and then.

[Chordian]

SWTOR-Spy (http://www.swtor-spy.com/) has complete walkthroughs (including map coordinates, screenshots) on all the datachrons. I used it -- at least to figure out how to start up the path to reach it (after that, I could figure out the rest myself).

I try not to.

I just run around in the areas keeping a look out for the green light on an edge somewhere (the light is pretty strong and dominating). It's great fun trying to figure out how to reach it, but sometimes I wish I had a quick save when reaching edge #15 on the way over there.

[Bcarle]

Strange just tried logging in and it tells me I dont have a subscription when I know I do


bob

I guess I have to create one even though it says I have 27 days left?

[Harkonis]

Umm, not to sound like a jerk, but they had it in their launcher at least all day yesterday instructing folks to fully set up their account, including a subscription.  If you already went and registered your key, you would have also seen a screen that showed all of the  categories needing to be done, that included setting up security questions and the last of them was setting up your subscription.

I don't recall a single MMO that wasn't F2P that didn't require a subscription day 1.

I did set up my account and put in the security questions. It would not allow me to add a subscription to my account.   Did you actually get to do this?

Same.  I couldnt setup sub info early, so you still sound like a jerk...

[Gryndyl]

Hate to be the unpopular voice of reason here and yes, they should have made it more clear (they did have the info on the launcher all day yesterday), but...

EVERY pay to play MMO I have ever played requires you to set up your payment plan in order to use your free game time.

They just concluded the two day grace period during which you could have set that up before the mad rush.

And yes, the site is overwhelmingly slammed right now as it's under an effect similar to a ddos attack.

[Blackjack]

Strange just tried logging in and it tells me I dont have a subscription when I know I do
bob
I guess I have to create one even though it says I have 27 days left?

Bcarle, this is more carefully spelled out when you log into your account page at the SWTOR site.

You'll see big icons on the left side with checkmarks on things you've taken care of, and non-checkmarks on things you haven't done yet. In my case that included the subscription signup yesterday, so that helped me figure out what I needed to do there. I also had some confusion before I saw that. Just keep in mind that if you didn't enter your payment info and choose payment intervals (monthly, 3-month, 6-months) at some point, that's what you need to do to be considered a "subscriber" per se.

afik, Early Access is not part of the 30-free day period -- the 30 free days kicks in as of the moment you activate your subscription by providing payment info (regardless of whether something is indicating 27 days now). Info here, I meant to post it in the news thread, just too swamped at work yesterday:
Get ready to play - activate your account
http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=637778#edit637778

Why do I need to sign up for a subscription?

You first 30 days of Game Time are included in the purchase of any edition of Star Wars: The Old Republic, but you must add a valid payment method to activate your account. This method of payment varies by country, but includes most major credit cards plus ELV and Paypal (in some territories). Please visit our Billing and Subscription FAQ for more details. You can also activate your account using a Pre-Paid Game Time Card, available at most major retailers.

Whenever you activate your account, your 30 days of free Game Time will begin. When using a credit card, ELV or Paypal, you will not be billed for your second month of play until your 30 days of free Game Time is complete. You may cancel your subscription at any time in your first 30 days of play. Your unused Game Time will still be available on your account and you can still play until this expires.

[Arkon]

Speaking of Coruscant, I just found a Datacron. There's only one per planet, right?

There are many more than 1 per planet.  Coruscant alone has 5.

[Blackjack]

Hey I gave in to impulse (not to common sense) and bought Prima Games' thick "Explorer's Guide" to the game. I guess if you find SWTOR Spy's datachron walkthroughs TMI, you might dig that Prima's guide shows Datachrons' locations without telling you how to reach them.

While I'm sure the game will get updated over time and change, I suspect all the location stuff in Prima's guide will remain useful. Unlike other mmorpg guides I've gotten, it doesn't waste a lot of space on laundry lists of skills that are mostly useless. It's all about mapping, with a few useful pages of class tips and some exclusive concept art. I'm eager to see Tatooine, Hoth etc.  

I don't pretend it's worth $24.99, but I already spent $150 to get a nice Darth statue, so what the hell, right?   And it's great bathroom reading!
=========

Questiony! I'm at the point I could join a Mandalore Flashpoint. Given all my anti-Flashpoint whining I should know better.  
http://www.darthhater.com/articles/feature/19820-flashpoint-guide-mandalorian-raiders

While it's not the first Flashpoint for both factions, it does present a significant challenge not found in any earlier Flashpoints. Many of the enemies you'll face in the Mandalorian Raiders Flashpoint will use knockback mechanics and be immune to most forms of crowd-control.

Oh boy! That'll get me in the Xmas spirit!  

Is this something that Empire and Republic classes can work together on (that is, say, 2 Smugglers and 2 Bounty Hunters etc.)? Or is it just that it's a Flashpoint available to either faction?

[Bcarle]

Strange just tried logging in and it tells me I dont have a subscription when I know I do
bob
I guess I have to create one even though it says I have 27 days left?

Bcarle, this is more carefully spelled out when you log into your account page at the SWTOR site.

You'll see big icons on the left side with checkmarks on things you've taken care of, and non-checkmarks on things you haven't done yet. In my case that included the subscription signup yesterday, so that helped me figure out what I needed to do there. I also had some confusion before I saw that. Just keep in mind that if you didn't enter your payment info and choose payment intervals (monthly, 3-month, 6-months) at some point, that's what you need to do to be considered a "subscriber" per se.

afik, Early Access is not part of the 30-free day period -- the 30 free days kicks in as of the moment you activate your subscription by providing payment info (regardless of whether something is indicating 27 days now). Info here, I meant to post it in the news thread, just too swamped at work yesterday:
Get ready to play - activate your account
http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=637778#edit637778

Why do I need to sign up for a subscription?

You first 30 days of Game Time are included in the purchase of any edition of Star Wars: The Old Republic, but you must add a valid payment method to activate your account. This method of payment varies by country, but includes most major credit cards plus ELV and Paypal (in some territories). Please visit our Billing and Subscription FAQ for more details. You can also activate your account using a Pre-Paid Game Time Card, available at most major retailers.

Whenever you activate your account, your 30 days of free Game Time will begin. When using a credit card, ELV or Paypal, you will not be billed for your second month of play until your 30 days of free Game Time is complete. You may cancel your subscription at any time in your first 30 days of play. Your unused Game Time will still be available on your account and you can still play until this expires.

Ok I'm back in now 

[Chordian]

Speaking of Coruscant, I just found a Datacron. There's only one per planet, right?

There are many more than 1 per planet.  Coruscant alone has 5.

Excellent. I'll keep looking then. Still need to do a lot in Coruscant.

[Chordian]

One thing I noticed quickly as I started playing SWTOR was the difference in distance of NPC and enemies. It's more akin to EQ2 than WoW and Rift, which is one of many things I like so much about the game.

In WoW (and in Rift - which once again proves how closely Trion copied a lot of elements in WoW), I was always annoyed by the way enemies often faded in at close range. Sometimes, when I was speeding around on a mount, I even managed to barge into an elite mob and get aggro because it appeared almost right on top of me. I guess this was probably done to ease up on client/server resources, but sometimes it felt like Blizzard were deliberately punishing me for being too fast.

But in EQ2, you could always see enemies from far away. Great for figuring out how to proceed. I also noticed that they keep down on server or graphics resources (or whatever it affects) by lowering the animation rate. Far away monsters show stuttering animations, but as you close in on them, animations frames are added. SWTOR seems to have copied the same system right down to the animation stuttering at a long distance.

To me, being able to see enemies from a long distance is much better. I'll gladly lose a few animation frames to get this.

[msteelers]

I spent a few hours with a trooper, but didn't particularly care for it, so I started a Jedi consular. I got him up to level 10 today, but I won't be able to play again until middle of next week after the holiday.

[morlac]

It's been about 2 hours since I 'purchased' this from Origin and I still have no idea if and when I will be allowed to even download it.  This is asinine and I should have known better after my issues getting BF3 properly installed and running.  What a clusterfuck.  I get that this game is big and expected a hiccup or two but the total lack of info is aggravating.  I have gathered after 30 mins of research (would it have killed you EA to let me know this BEFORE you accepted and took money) that they are not giving out anymore activation codes right now.  They are trickling them out.  That is total BS.  If that is the case then it should have said out of stock.  According to random posters on the help forum it could take anywhere form 1-72 hours to receive a code.  I love digital downloads but this is the kind of crap that will turn people off of them.

[Gratch]

Stupid question time.  I came across this article which talks about assigning stats for maximum effectiveness.  From everything I can see, the game assigns your stats automatically when you level up.  Is there a way to manually go back and adjust that?

[morlac]

Update....

Talked with customer service at Origin/EA.  They told me my order was under review but could not tell me what the hell that means.  I then asked them if they normally charge customers while their order is being reviewed and got silence and then finally "you haven't really been charged yet."  I then told them that I had already called my bank and the $ was paid to them and deducted from my account.   I was immediately told it needed to be escalated and a supervisor would call me back today, tomorrow, or after the holidays....   I threatened to dispute the charge with my bank immediately and magically a supervisor appeared and I now have my code.  Wish me luck with the rest of the process!   

[ydejin]

Stupid question time.  I came across this article which talks about assigning stats for maximum effectiveness.  From everything I can see, the game assigns your stats automatically when you level up.  Is there a way to manually go back and adjust that?

I don't believe so.  In some sees you'll be adjusting them based on the gear you choose to wear though.

[Asharak]

Stupid question time.  I came across this article which talks about assigning stats for maximum effectiveness.  From everything I can see, the game assigns your stats automatically when you level up.  Is there a way to manually go back and adjust that?

Not that I know of -- but I also don't see anything in that article saying that you can assign stats, anyway. I think they're talking primarily about choosing gear with the right bonuses and, to a lesser extent, using the right consumables for your class.

- Ash

[The Grue]

I spent a few hours with a trooper, but didn't particularly care for it, so I started a Jedi consular. I got him up to level 10 today, but I won't be able to play again until middle of next week after the holiday.

Quiet, you.  I love my Trooper.

[Gratch]

OK, stupid question #2.  I hit level 10 tonight and can apparently specialize now.  However, the tutorial message came and went so fast that I didn't get a chance to see where i was supposed to go to actually do so.  I'm a Jedi Knight on Typhon, and the only trainer I can find (the one in the Jedi Temple) doesn't seem to do any sort of specialization upgrades.  Is there somewhere else I'm supposed to visit?

I've been dying to dual wield since I started playing, and now I can't figure out where to do to get the skill.   

[Destructor]

OK, stupid question #2.  I hit level 10 tonight and can apparently specialize now.  However, the tutorial message came and went so fast that I didn't get a chance to see where i was supposed to go to actually do so.  I'm a Jedi Knight on Typhon, and the only trainer I can find (the one in the Jedi Temple) doesn't seem to do any sort of specialization upgrades.  Is there somewhere else I'm supposed to visit?

I've been dying to dual wield since I started playing, and now I can't figure out where to do to get the skill.   

You need to visit the Fleet (you'll be directed to go there as part of your normal questline, or you can go there whenever you want by hitting a shuttle) to train your final class. Also, if you visit your trainer there, and get distracted somehow, the 'choose your class' window can vanish. To get it back, click the glowing button up top (I think you can hit K as well).

[Soulchilde]

Was Bioware site attacked last night?  About 3 am est I kept getting bad request when I tried to access the site and the site is down again maintenance with no word on the official twitter account.  Maybe I am paranoid from lack of sleep...  (They are jack hammering the street outside my building and I went to sleep after 3)

[Harkonis]

OK, stupid question #2.  I hit level 10 tonight and can apparently specialize now.  However, the tutorial message came and went so fast that I didn't get a chance to see where i was supposed to go to actually do so.  I'm a Jedi Knight on Typhon, and the only trainer I can find (the one in the Jedi Temple) doesn't seem to do any sort of specialization upgrades.  Is there somewhere else I'm supposed to visit?

I've been dying to dual wield since I started playing, and now I can't figure out where to do to get the skill.   

just check your codex to learn things you need to know.

[Gratch]

You need to visit the Fleet (you'll be directed to go there as part of your normal questline, or you can go there whenever you want by hitting a shuttle) to train your final class. Also, if you visit your trainer there, and get distracted somehow, the 'choose your class' window can vanish. To get it back, click the glowing button up top (I think you can hit K as well).

Thanks.

Spent about 30 minutes looking through the codex for this info, but couldn't find it anywhere.  Did get a bunch of other useful details though!