The real losers are Synthweaving and Armormech, since they pretty much only make belts, bracers, and the odd shell – if they moved the Strength/Willpower and Aim/Cunning armour mods, respectively, into those two professions they’d be a lot better balanced.

The thing with Biochem and Cybertech is that unlike all the other crafts, they make things that they can sell to any class. I took Biochem too and I’m selling implants as fast as I can make them, for example. Artifice, Synthweaving, Armortech and Weapontech are both limited to two classes. I think Synthweaving can make BoP relics … not sure about the others.

I think the problem with crafting (if you want to call it that) is, aside from the obvious Biochem and Cybertech, none of the other skills have anything they can lord over the competition (PvP, quest rewards, FP rewards, etc). Most other games at least started with something each skill had that was in demand due to its uniqueness or some other factor (not necessarily better stats). None of the other skills have that. I mean, my Biochem characters have stims that not only last twice as long as the storebought stuff, they give bigger buffs (not that these buffs are really noticeable) and they persist through death. Cybertech has implants that (at least under 45 or so) are better than anything available elsewhere. None of the other skills have that (and if they do, someone please point it out).

I actually LIKE Grand Moff Kilran, or at least his voiceover.

I ask because Grand Moff Kilran – who also shows up on The Esseles, the Republic equivalent of The Black Talon – makes a second appearance in the second one.

There was universal agreement in the PuG I was in that we’d all wanted to kill the guy since we were level 10. And if the opportunity to shoot everybody’s favourite Grand Moff in the face isn’t enough, there’s also some nice story/lore stuff in there for fans of the original KoTOR.

I have to admit, I’m probably part of the crafting problem since I’m also a slicing taker. I have Synthweaving, Archaeology, and Slicing, and I use the profits from slicing to buy metals from Underworld Trading to keep Synthweaving. Because my guild has a fair number of people (and a dazzling number of alts), we’re hoping to be in-house self-sufficient and craft everything the guild needs, rather than relying on buying gear the auction house or random drops from flashpoints. (I’ve run Black Talon 6 times with guildies and I got ONE Juggernaut armor drop. Phoo.) But until the rest of them get crew skills at higher levels, I basically have to use slicing money to buy AH materials.

However, because crew skills aren’t gated by level in TOR it means that low level characters have access to pocket change for high levels, which is rather more than pocket change from them. It’s having the same economic effect as people mailing cash from their max level characters to new alts, which is No Big Deal in most games – it’s just happening a bit earlier in TOR.