Old Republic Log III

So I'm on Dromund Kaas.  I hit level 12 and then went back to Korriban and kicked that Heroic 2+ quest in the teeth.  Along the way I earned the last Korriban Commendation that I needed to buy the special Inquisitor gear there.  Unfortunately by the time I did, I'd already gotten something better on a random drop, so I just gave it to my companion instead.  Looking at the Codex I seem to be missing a few things, but since I can't travel to Korriban Orbital Station until I get my own ship around level 15 or so, I'm not going to worry about it until then.

I also did some PvP, after looking up how in the Codex.  It turns out there's a tiny Empire symbol in the corner of the mini-map that you hit to queue up for PvP.  So I did that.  It was okay.  Despite my best efforts, my machine still slows down in the presence of other players, and it gets pretty bad when I PvP with it.  Not unplayably bad, mind you, but still less fun than I have when soloing around doing PvE stuff.

The experience points for PvP are pretty good, though.   Doing four PvP matches and completing a couple of  quests were all that I needed to take me from level 11 to level 12, so that was nice.  At this time there are three PvP zones.  Alderaan, which is a three capture point King of the Hill style map reminiscent of Arathi Basin, Voidstar which is a back and forth offense-defense situation similar to Strand of the Ancients though without the tanks, and Huttball which is kinda like a capture the flag game except that you're trying to score the flag in your opponent's goal, you can pass the "flag," and if you hold onto it for too long it blows you up.

Of the three, I had the most success on Alderaan, where the three air defense control terminals spread players out so I don't have too many people on the screen at a time.  Huttball was the worst for me because  everyone was always swarming to the ball and making my life hell.  Your mileage, especially with a better PC than mine, will almost certainly vary.

I also got my Crew Skills set up.  I've got Treasure Hunting, which can get you almost anything, Archaeology which gets you crystals for lightsabers, and Artifice, which is building lightsabers and modifications for same.  The way it works is that you dispatch your companion on one of those three jobs and when he comes back he gives you what he found and your skill in that area increases.  The problem at low levels is that you only have access to 3 and 6 minute missions, so you're constantly having to resend the guy.  And if there's a way to queue up many missions in a row, I haven't found it yet.  And of course in these early days, since I only have the one companion, so anytime I've got him out on a job I don't have him for a mission.  But that does let me get some use out of him while I'm exploring cities or doing other non-combat activities.

No story spoilers this time, since I didn't advance the plot appreciably.

Tasia, Level 12 Sith Sorceress, Dromund Kaas

Alia, Level 2 Jedi Consular, Tython