I am a fan of both Star Wars and online role-playing games, so when I first heard about "Galaxies" years ago, my expectations and hopes for what this game would be flew through the roof. I read the boards regularly but posted rarely --- the posts of the community fueled the fire even more. I was sure that this game would redefine the genre and be the best of its kind. As soon as the game hit the shelves, I rushed out and bought copies for myself, my wife, my brother, and my best friend --- all fans like me.

Of the four of us, I am the only one who still has an active account and plays, though I also had my subscription on hold for a while after only a month or so of playing. Why did all four of us cancel our subscriptions at one point? While all four of us will agree that the game has nearly limitless potential, only I am willing to pay $15 --- the highest recurring fee for a game of its kind --- to play a game whose number of bugs, issues, etc nearly matches the amount of potential mentioned above.

More importantly, why did I come back to SWG? Partially because I see the improvements, additions, and upgrades being added. Partially because the Star Wars name and story have always meant so much to me. Partially because I really want to believe that the devs have the interests of the players, the heart of the game, constantly in the forefront of everything that they do.
I have visited the forums almost daily since the release of the game. I have played around with almost every species and almost every profession, trying to find something that satisfies me as a player. I have played solo, in small groups, and in large-scale battles. Based on what I have read on the forums and experienced in-game, I have put together the things that I feel need to change in '04 to help this game reach the potential that I believe it still has.

This is sure to be a lengthy post, as I plan to hit a lot of subjects; please save your replies and comments until the end, at which time I welcome and encourage your feedback. Together, we can make this game what it should be!

STORYLINE --- THE GALACTIC CIVIL WAR
This game takes place between the destruction of the first Death Star at the end of "A New Hope" and where we pick up the story on Hoth in "Empire Strikes Back". While I am glad to see the content and storyline around the destruction of Alderaan (which needs to be updated more frequently AND working correctly for both factions), I think that more content needs to be added that brings every profession into the heat of the conflict.

The destruction of the Death Star should boost the morale of the Rebellion. I would expect the Rebellion to be more organized in small groups and more bold, taking the fight to the Empire and swaying some cities to their cause. On the flip side, the Empire should be tightening up security in the wake of the Rebel "terrorism", as well as sending out numerous probes and parties to find groups of Rebels and display Imperial might through publicly dealing with the Rebels --- a type of fear tactic propaganda to make sure the galaxy still fears the Imperial war machine. At the same time, some Imperial officers should be making arrangements with the Rebels to defect to their cause, doing damage to the Empire through sabotage and taking their Imperial knowledge with them. This should be the height of tension and conflict in the GCW, as both sides jockey for an edge.

With that said, most of us would like to see the GCW have a real impact on our playing experience. The feel of the GCW is clearly missing. Currently, most non-combat professions have no role in the GCW. Currently, the GCW has no economic impact on the game. Here are some of the more practical and more requested changes that should take place in the game regarding the GCW:
1) Each faction has a ban on specific and different items/goods (more on this later).
2) Each planet needs to have specific "zones" of control/influence.
*Each planet has one military Stronghold for each faction. The Strongholds will also have Starports connecting them to other like-faction Starports off-world. Strongholds should be well defended. Strongholds are set and cannot change faction affiliation. This ensures that each faction has a safe place to land and retreat to on each planet.
*Player cities should have to declare affiliation with one faction or the other, which can only change if the elected mayor of the city decides to change the city's affiliation.
*NPC cities should be declared different "societies", similar to high-level player cities. Each NPC city should have a faction "Headquarters". Faction members will attempt to gain control of a city's HQ. Controlling a cities HQ transfers that city's society bonus to all ON-WORLD overt faction members.
*More cities should begin as Imperial cities at initial publish.
*Cities can also be uncontrolled by either faction. Obviously, uncontrolled cities grant no bonus to either faction. Some cities should begin as uncontrolled cities. Uncontrolled cities can be controlled by either faction if conditions for control are met (to be decided by the devs; including controlling the city's HQ).
*NPC police belonging to the city's controlling faction should be stationed at high-traffic areas. Additional NPC police should patrol the city's zone of influence, searching for overts from the opposing faction and for illegal items. NPC police can lead assaults against other PC and NPC cities and Bases.
3) Popular Support needs to play a role in control of the cities. Popular Support increases the longer a city goes without conflict and decreases as faction conflict occurs within a city's zone of influence. Other factors regarding Popular Support should be determined by the devs.
4) An Uprising occurs when popular support for the city's controlling faction dips to low. During an Uprising, the city remains in the faction's control, but the faction is granted no society bonus for the city. If an Uprising is allowed to persist for a specified period of time, the city becomes uncontrolled (ways to put don an Uprising should be set by the devs; including increasing the number of controlling faction PC members within the city's zone). As a faction perk, PC Rebels need an ability to target a city and send a faction pet to the city to try and incite an Uprising. Failure results in an increase in Popular Support for the controlling faction and death to the faction pet; success results in lowering the Popular Support in the city (if Support is already low, success may result in an Uprising in the city).
5) Obviously, the controlling faction receives the society bonus for controlling NPC cities. When the losing faction has below a specified % of control on a planet (a low number, like 30%), then ON-WORLD faction members should receive Incentives for playing on that planet (like +offense and defense mods). That would encourage Rebels to go to a planet and combat the Empire where the Empire has taken control of most of the cities and Bases on the planet.
6) Military Bases should be set at strategic points on the planet. Bases give no society bonus. Bases allow factions to control different points on the planet for military purposes. For example, if the Rebels control a Base at the top of a hill, it would be difficult for Imperials to harvest the resources out of the valley below the hill or move through on their way to attacking a Rebel city.
7) Within each NPC city should be Safehouses, a building that remains loyal to the faction regardless of what faction controls the city. Only overt members of the opposing faction are restricted from entry into a Safehouse. This should have an expanding role as faction members conceal their status (more on this later) and spy for their faction.
8) Allow all professions to take part in the GCW.
*Already mentioned society bonuses for controlling cities. Some should be geared towards aiding in crafting success, quality, experimentation, etc.
*Already mentioned resources being in contention if within a city/Base's zone of influence.
*Illegal goods will need to be smuggled past NPC faction police. For example, a Weaponsmith is creating and selling legal weapons in a Rebel city's zone of influence and the city is taken by Imperials. The weapons are outlawed by the Empire. The Weaponsmith needs to use a Smuggler to get a supply of the weapons and smuggle them out of the zone past faction police to the Weaponsmith's vendor in another Rebel city.
*Merchants can set their vendors to give discounts to overt members of one faction over another, or simply refuse to sell items to overts of a specific faction.
*Entertainers can deny service to individuals and overt members of a faction. Overt entertainers would be wise to stay to cities controlled by their faction.
9) Make languages count. Each faction communicates in its own language, only usable by members of that faction. High level smugglers can learn faction-specific languages.
10) More dev events. Grab an NPC and jump in here with us.
11) Visible ladder rank for each profession for faction leaders on each server.
12) Faction points for each profession (healing like-faction, items used by like-faction, etc.).
13) Display faction rank on clothes, armor, vehicles, etc.
14) Image Designers able to hide overt status of PCs (like /maskscent, only on other PCs --- lasts either for period of time or until a successful check by NPC faction police, gets better as ID gains skill).
15) Vehicles with weapons --- current vehicles, faction pets (AT-ST becoming a vehicle), faction-specific vehicles crafted by like-faction Artisans, etc.
16) Make faction perks more meaningful --- Evac, Air Support, Reinforcements, etc (might save for high rank or for Squad Leaders).
17) Give us more of a feel of the movies --- Rebel stuff should look and feel dirty, tattered, warm, and second-hand; Imperial stuff should look cold, mechanical, and in sharp contrast.
18) Hide Rebel recruiters. They should be in the Strongholds, Rebel-controlled cities, and Safehouses, not standing around in Imperial cities.
19) Imperial zones should be swarming with weak, faceless, and numerous faction NPCs (like Storm Troopers). Their numbers should be nearly oppressive and require smart tactics by the Rebels to break Imperial control over a city through combat.
GLOBAL ISSUES
There are many issues that affect numerous professions. Some of the issues that are requested by more than one profession are listed below:
1) Implement combat changes outlined by the devs on the forums. One thing that the community is tired of is getting "fixes" that are broken. VERIFY THAT THE CHANGES TO THE COMBAT SYSTEM ARE WORKING PRIOR TO GOING LIVE!
2) Real, smart alignment of the combat professions, in terms of range and speed. Simply put, the faster the weapon type, the lower the damage output, and vice versa.
3) Weapon Skills:
*Do what the descriptions say they do.
*Incrementally better as skill level increases (not having a skill at Weapon Use 1 being better than a skill at Weapon Use 3).
*Reduced HAM costs.
4) Weapons with different damage types available for each profession OR keep the same weapons and have Weaponsmiths create different modules that add different damage types to the weapon.
5) Elite crafting professions should be able to add/remove modules to their items after item creation. For example, a Weaponsmith can remove the Acid Damage module from a weapon and replace it with an Energy Damage module, or a Droid Engineer can remove a Worshipful Personality chip from a droid and replace it with a Sarcastic Personality chip.
6) Elite crafting professions should get a Salvage ability that allows them to pull base resources from a decaying item and allow them to be used in crafting a different item.
7) Make "Repair" and "Experimentation" useful and viable to crafters.
8) Make droids more prevalent in the game. Make droids function-specific (body type matches with specific module). For example, only a repair droid can repair.
9) More custom colors available at item creation. Color changes available after item creation.
10) Profession and faction specific items (clothes/uniform; armor; weapons; structures; furniture; vehicles; wearable containers - 50% weight reduction, container type based on profession chosen at character creation).
11) Visible faction rank on items (clothes, armor, etc).
12) Make structure maintenance more accurate and automated (perhaps a Foreman Protocol Droid that is stationed in the residence that automates the functions of structures and other structure-maintenance droids).
13) Larger regional surveying and resource mapping (again, perhaps through use of droids).
14) Crafters have terminals in their profession-specific structures that act like a bank, allowing them more inventory room.
15) Customize structures --- rugs, paintings, carpets, etc.
16) Independence in advancing skills, interdependence in gameplay and the GCW.
17) Fix grammar and spelling issues.
18) More ambient Original Trilogy music.
19) Turn medical items into "bacta" items.
20) True Line Of Sight --- no more being obstructed by a knee-high hill when you try to heal in the field but being shot by an opponent on the other side of the mountain.
21) Make "Master" status of professions clearly meaningful, more so than going 4-4-4-4 up the skill trees in any given profession.
22) Allow PA crests, add them to items.
23) More Jedi. Not more Holocrons, more actual Jedi in the game. I know that this isn't exactly cannon, but come on! How many accounts are there? How many servers are there? Howe many planets are on each server? Can't you take a poll and find out what my top three server choices are, then try to give me a FS slot on one of them. I know that you have to keep things balanced and can't have all your Jedi on just a few servers, so if I don't get a FS slot on one of my three preferred servers, but on another server instead for the sake of balance, then that's the price I pay for getting to have a FS slot. With it being so difficult to play a Jedi, not everyone with a FS slot is going to just abandon their main character and play a Jedi, anyhow, right? I just want the opportunity without having to compete with everyone else for a chance to jump through a flaming hoop in order to maybe have a FS slot somewhere down the line.
PROFESSION-SPECIFIC ISSUES
-The Crafters-
1) Artisan: Surveyor's Satchel (wearable container)
*Make mission difficulty based on Artisan skills, not weapon skills
*Vehicles:
-armor, weapons, modules for item & data storage and communications
-more distinction in speeds, from cruiser to swoop to speeder
-make cruiser a 2-seater
-distinct advantages to each type of vehicle
-customize colors, crests, etc at AND after creation
-directional headlights
-burst speed
-vehicle tricks
-named vehicles (like pets, droids, etc)
-after-market mods/upgrades
-slicing impacts speed, handling
-some sort of resale value --- less decay
*Hangar/Garage for profession-specific structure

2) Architect
*Make Corellian houses mirror Corellian architecture
*More furniture/plant structure types
*Specific furniture (armoires) as containers
*Data terminals linked to maintenance of other structures (via droid?)
*Increase harvester and factory speed
*Allow owner to restrict access to specific rooms in shop/home
*Correct house sizes (small Naboo should be same size as small Corellian, both should be smaller than med houses)
*Allow PCs to lie down on a bed
*Allow for multi-spot furniture (couches should be 2-seaters)
*Correct issue with harvesters using power but not harvesting during downtimes
*Correct displays of harvester power needs
*Increase number of lots an Architect can have
*Offer additional, functional lighting styles when creating structures
*Supply Depot for profession-specific structure

3) Armorsmith
*Make armor at lower levels viable (situational armor with resists to different damage types?)
*Show messages regarding encumbrances that are specific to the stat pool ("You don't have enough constitution to wear this type of armor")
*Add damage type inflicted on you to the battle spam ("You are hit for 60 points of Acid Damage")
*Personal Shield Generators:
-select specific resists the shield guards against
-add visual effect when the shield is active
-add as a module for DEs - when used in droid, offers shield over area
*Offer slicing options between encumbrance reduction and effectiveness
*Add enhancements to armor after item creation
*Give PCs special skills/bonuses for wearing entire sets of armor (infrared, cloaking, etc)
*Bundle pieces together as one outfit on Bazaar
*Pet/mount armor
*Add some minimal wookie armor
*Variances in look of the armor based on resources used (spikes, padding, etc)
*Male and female look to armor
*Give look of visual decay
*Wear cape/cloak over armor, make armor-compatible capes/cloaks for tailors
*Armory for faction-specific structure

4) Chef
*Will be looking good once the impending changes outlined in the Chef forums are put in the game. VERIFY THAT THE CHANGES ARE WORKING BEFORE IMPLEMENTING ON THE LIVE SERVERS.
*Kitchen for faction-specific structure

5) Droid Engineer
*Allow numbers in droid names
*Fix the issues that slow/stop following
*Specific function for droids - match body type with mods
*Use power (batteries) less often/frequently. Allow for storing up of batteries on the droid so they can recharge themselves when needed.
*Add Armorsmith components to upgrade droid armor. Add Weaponsmith components to make droid a combat droid (specific types of droids). Make Weaponsmith components change/specify damage type. Program droid for combat style (give droid a medium-range melee mod, a longsword, and program him to do melee damage in combat).
*Allow DEs to have more than one droid out at a time. Allow other classes to have out more than one droid if using a Foreman Droid, who automates the activities of other maintenance droids (Type 1 Foreman Droid allows other classes to have out Forman, one Maintenance Droid, and one other droid - combat, medical, etc... more Maintenance Droids available with higher Type Forman Droids).
*Repair Droid w/repair mod = repairs other droids
*Surgical Droid w/medical mod = reduced HAM costs for Medics, can store Stim Packs
*Surveying Droids = faster than PCs, slower than harvesters, can move when resource moves, can change from one resource collected to another
*Make a droid "vitality" pack, only DEs can use
*Allow more than 5 droids to be stored in the datapad
*Slicing Droid = for smugglers, allows choice of attributes to slice, increases chance of success on attempt
*Scout Droid = brings back map that is stored in PCs datapad, shows where buildings, creatures, NPCs, and PCs were when transmission was sent (like the Probot in "ESB")
*Entertainer Droids = allows entertainer to healing of wounds and BF outside camp, cantina, etc
*Maintenance Droid = programmable to move power/resources from structure to structure when "structure patrol points" are given, stored in shed next to structure, only come out when certain requirements are met ("When Harvester A gets to X% power, re-supply from Harvester B"; "When Factory A capacity reaches X crates, move crates from Factory A to Warehouse Terminal inside Structure B").
*Training Droid = can use in "practice mode" to practice combat against for reduced XP; when used in PvE or PvP combat, increases targeting/accuracy
*Add maker's mark to droids
*Re-deed droids for resale
*Droid macros
*Permanent customization (colors) --- unless changed after creation
*Shield Mod (from Armorsmiths) allows for area shield
*Advertising (barking) Droid for Merchants
*Workshop for profession-specific structure

6) Tailor
*Fix the "can't see necklace in inventory" issue
*Visual decay of clothing
*Clothes/packs need to fit right on body and in relation to each other
*Fix TEF trading bug
*Release more schematics over time (list of ideas can be found in Tailor forums)
*Use RFP in more clothes
*Allow more secondary colors
*Bundle pieces together as one outfit on Bazaar
*Number colors to aid in matching pieces
*New textures
*Showroom for profession-specific structure

7) Weaponsmith
*Fix AP
*Scale weapons better in combat skill trees
*Match up available weapons and available weapon certs
*Customize weapon attributes, color, etc
*Add a "sliced" tag
*Make range and speed consistent with weapon type
*Create mods that change damage type of weapon
*Workshop for profession-specific structure

8) Merchant
*If you give up Merchant skills, shouldn't be able to access high-level vendors
*Move first vendor from Business 3 to Novice Merchant
*Participate in GCW
-offer discounts (faction, friends, individuals)
-be able to refuse service (opposite faction)
-have "under the counter" goods (sell illegal goods)
*Allow specific individuals to use your vendors, Merchant gets X% commission
*Set vendor to sell specific items to specific PCs
*Manage vendors and Stockroom Terminal from Business Desk (profession-specific furniture)
*Travel Discounts
*More lots for more shops
*List vendors on Bazaar
*Allow shipping to PCs (charge X% of item cost, use droids to ship - customer selects "Ship to me" on Bazaar, droid leaves shop with item purchased, tracks down the PC, approaches them, tells them that the droid has Item from Merchant (purchased from Bazaar in City at Date/Time), customer receives item from droid, droid goes back to shop)
*Stockroom Terminal in Shop - allows Merchant to set prices of items, loads them up into vendor as needed
*Stack like items in vendor/Bazaar, allow purchase of single items from stack
*Shop for profession-specific structure

9) Bio-Engineer
*Need to make pets a CH would want to purchase (vs taming on own)
*Be able to upgrade stats of cloned and tamed pets
*BE made mounts (other than ones tamable in wild)
*Make animals of different types (flyers, snakes, etc)
*Control over CL and HAM of clones at creation (via Experimentation)
*Coloring of clones at AND after creation
*Coloring of tamed pets
*Clones retain maker's mark after tamed
*Bio-Harvesters - look for meat, etc
*Stack like DNA
*Tissues that protect from specific damage types
*DNA Factories
*Sentient clones as pet, specific functions (For Example - dwarf blue wookie who surveys for resources like Survey Droid, combat clones, etc)
*Fix Bazaar listings
*Select body type (frame) and CL/attributes of clone independent of each other (For Example - a Jax with a CL or 60 with stats comparable to a rancor)
*Make a component necessary for the creation of Cloning Facilities for player cities
*Make upgrades to HAM/attributes of PCs (require a Doctor to apply)
*Add bio-resists to armor and clothes; add bio-damage to weapons, grenades, traps
*Laboratory fro profession-specific structure
-continued-
-The Performers-
1) Entertainer: Performer's Pack (wearable container)
*Improve entertainer missions - requirements and payouts, based on entertainer skills, not weapon skills
*Need more entertainer content - allow entertainers to take part in themeparks, interact with NPCs, etc (let us earn the right to dance and play in Jabba's Palace, please!)
*Participate in GCW
-refuse service to individuals, overts, etc
-some use in the field (taunt, stun, mesmerize, distract, boost morale, etc)
*Performance Hall for profession-specific structure

2) Musician
*Need new songs/instruments
*Special requests/flourishes (like surveying) to promote ATK play
*Make instrument quality matter in healing
*Get register working in all intended locations
*Recording Studios for profession-specific structures

3) Dancer
*Quit falling down
*Reduce amount of healing XP needed to level up
*Show when mind buff is fully applied (message, graphic, etc)
*Look of lyrical/formal dance to others needs to be fixed
*8 full flourishes for each dance
*Group dance commands (synchronize)
*Avoid collision - don't stop dancing, just move another direction
*XP based on skill level, not on the dance performed
*Get register working in all intended locations
*XP for performing techniques
*List of who is watching you
*Mirror flourishes - performs opposite of flourish
*Fix bleed through on clothes
*Dance Studios for profession-specific structure

4) Image Designer
*Ask for pay before finalizing look
*Body tattoos
*More styles/colors for hair and facial hair
*Hip, rear, and shoulder adjustments
*Eye spacing/depth, head size, height adjustments
*Scars, bruising, battle signs
*Be the profession that can change colors of items, pets, vehicles, furniture, structures after item creation (thinking along the lines of the queer-eye makeover)
*Color skin and bodypaints
*Adjust hair and horns independently on zabraks
*Customer side menus for customers to request their look
*Multiple changes queued on one attempt
*Wookie dreadlocks, braids
*Trandoshan ridge coloring
*Be able to design Merchant vendors
*Piercings
*Number different hair colors/styles
*Salons for profession-specific structure

-The Healers-
1) Medic: Doctor's Bag (wearable container)
*Mounted healing
*Heals in combat queue
*Turn off auto-retaliate
*Get register working in all intended locations
*Allow medical surveying (with droid?)
*Medical harvesting
*Give missions that put the Medics/Doctors back in the Medical Center (go to this city, heal in this Med Center for X damage/wounds)
*Notify players when buffs drop off
*Med Center grouping for shared XP
*Cure "on fire" status
*Only Medics/Doctors using pet stims
*Pet healing XP
*Consolidate wound packs for similar pools into a single wound pack (Health, Strength, and Constitution individual packs into a single "red" pack).
*Crafting station in the Med Centers
*Medic's Office for profession-specific structure

2) Doctor
*Same as Medic
*Doctor's Office for profession-specific structure

3) Combat Medic
*Change the DOT cap (first DOT causes incap, following DOTs have +1 cap applied)
*Fix LOS with AoE stims
*Medical survey/forage
*Gain faction for overt healing and using DOTs
*Healing in combat queue
*Some defense mods
*Field Doctor's Bunk for profession-specific structure

-The Scouts-
1) Scout: Scout's Satchel (wearable container)
*Fishing enhancements - nets, lures, etc (schematics and use)
*Foraging
-minimal Survival XP
-pop-up with choice of what is available to forage
-foraged food = no buffs, minimal amount of stat pool damage healing
*Hunting Cabin for profession-specific structure

2) Ranger
*Get /areatrack working properly
-sort by animal, NPC, PC
-sort by name, distance, direction
-use while mounted
*Get conceal working effectively
*Have concealed PCs not show on areatrack
*Opposing faction show a different color on areatrack
*Fix the "inventory full" error when foraging when inventory is not full
*More efficient use of traps
-while on the move
-vs humanoids
-AE root/snare traps
-modules allow multiple effects on a single trap
-trap launcher
-DOT traps
-affect PCs, pets
-trap baby tamable creatures in datapad for transport, call them out and tame them in safety (either tame them yourself or allow a CH to tame them)
*Camp healing modifier needs to apply to pets and faction pets
*Set up Field Base camp as base of operations
-no disbanding during combat
-heal BF when Entertainers are present
-remove foliage, stop rain in camps
*Harvest multiple resources off a single corpse
*Improved swimming speed
*Use some creatures as pack animals - tames by CH, store items
*Binoculars as a neck item = improve areatrack
*Hunting Lodge as profession-specific structure

3) Creature Handler
*Sell tamed pets on vendors/Bazaar in appropriate spots
*Fix pet lowing/stopping when following
*Fix pets running away when attacked
*More variety - pets with different uses
*Bantha as mounts
*Creature Ranch as profession-specific structure

4) Squad Leader
*Special abilities are failing too much currently
*Increase passive bonuses
*More significant group movement bonuses
*Group HAM cost reduction on specials
*More significant XP bonus for having a SL in the group
*Establish Field Base camps with changes similar to Rangers (see above), allow for more defensive fortification with turrets, bunkers, etc
*More tactics
-damage
-concealment
-communication
-passive offensive and defensive bonus
-air drop from shuttles
-air support (from Y-Wings, Tie Bombers)
-ground reinforcements (faction pets)
-award faction points to groupmates from pool
-reduced faction point amounts for cash-in
-paint target for group
*Increased number of faction pets that can be controlled
*Evac/shuttle pickup
*Command multiple groups (more groups based on skills)
*Command Barracks for profession-specific structure
The Melee Fighters-
1) Brawler: Fighter's Pack (wearable container)
*Status effect icon for warcry
*More intimidate
*More speed to Unarmed
*Polearm - more range, more skill variety, reduced HAM cost
*Combat Gloves - more damage dealt at Unarmed 3
*Warcry -stop movement of fleeing opponents
*Boomerang and Catcher's Gloves - ranged attack for the initial pull
*More offense and defense mods
*Better scaling of weapons as you move up skill trees
*More damage types for weapons, gloves
*Deal more damage, deathblows
*Dojo for all Brawler elite profession-based structures

2) Teras Kasi Artist
*Needs to be the elite master of melee combat - good damage and speed, poor range
*Chance to dual wield with both hands
*Specials are currently ineffective
*Gloves - only change to damage is type of damage dealt
*Use warcry to stop kiting against melee fighters
*Make combat more interactive - string combos together (based on previous successful attack)

3) Fencer
*Low damage, poor range, good speed, dual wield swords
*Reduce HAM costs
*Warcry to stop/slow fleeing opponents/kiters
*More viable 1 hand weapons - different damage types
*More defense mods

4) Swordsman
*Medium damage, medium range, medium speed
*HAM cost too high
*Specials need more variety
*Not enough defense mods
*Need new weapons (scythe) with different damage types

5) Pikeman
*High damage, largest melee range, slow speed
*Need more weapon and damage variety
*Need more defense mods

-The Ranged Fighters-
1) Marksman: Gunman's Pack (wearable container)
*Looking pretty good - need to see the proposed combat changes implemented
*Need to improve general weapon scaling up the skill trees
*Shooting Gallery for all Marksman elite profession-specific structure

2) Pistoleer
*Low damage, low range, good speed, dual wield
*More speed mods
*Change Republic Blaster certification
*Implement combat changes

3) Carbineer
*Medium damage, medium range, medium speed
*HAM cost of specials too high currently
*Better Elite Carbine and high-end weapons
*More weapons/damage types
*More defense mods
*Remove Charge Shot animation

4) Rifleman
*High damage, largest range of all ranged weapons, slow speed
*Fix warping issues
*More weapons/damage types
*Skills need to be related to HAM costs
*Take cover/Sniper - PC is off radar, good chance to resist auto-retaliate (resist chance goes down with every shot fired)
*Fix AP
*Better Bowcaster

5) Bounty Hunter
*Needs to be the master of normal ranged combat, dual wield some pistols
*Currently, investigation is buggy
*Increase mission payout relative to difficulty
*Carbine HAM cost too high
*Need to rework stat shots
*Need tracking for humanoids
*Better use of thrown weapons/traps

6) Commando
*Needs to be the master of heavy weapons
*Fix the HAR and make it a viable choice vs the FT
*Increase damage of heavy weapons
*Use ammo kits (Weaponsmiths) to get more shots out of heavy weapons
*Heavy Weapons need to be AP 3
*Grenades
-increase range/accuracy
-more uses per stack
-grenade launcher
*Slow, powerful unarmed skills
*Rapid-fire weapons
*Increase variety of damage types of weapons
*Allow for minor weapon/armor repairs in the field (small damage to max condition)

7) Smuggler
*Need reason for NPCs and PCs to use them - need to smuggle something
*NPC missions to create and smuggle spices (spices outlawed by both factions)
*Failed NPC and PC missions when Smuggler is incapped, results in illegal goods being confiscated by faction police and lost
*Failed missions can result in NPCs and PCs placing bounties on Smugglers' heads
*Utilize TEF system similar to Jedi - Smugglers gain "notoriety" for doing missions, which results in NPCs recognizing them easier
*/maskspice ability - like /maskscent, for period of time or until detected by faction police, used to hide spice on Smugglers
*Some form of urban concealment, used to hide from humanoids and PCs (off map and areatrack)
*Become trading middlemen between factions
*Slice travel terminals for reduced ticket costs
*Option of what to slice on weapons and armor (with droids?)
*Need more pistol and unarmed weapons

-The Politician-
*Need to get player cities stopped moving and working correctly

Well, there you have it. Some ideas on how to get the GCW fired up, some global (general) changes, and ideas on how to get each profession more dynamic and involved in the GCW. Please feel free to post your replies with ideas of your own on how to make this game better. The more outspoken we are with our ideas, the more we get involved in making our voices heard - not just with complaints but also with how to make things better - the more attention we are likely to get and the more we can impact this game together!