Few starter questions

[Deleted]

I decided to finally give swtor a try with new free trial and I'd like to ask 2 questions that I didn't find answered in stickies.

Which realm it would be good to roll on atm? Don't wanna end up in dead realm (PvE, EU if that matters), no idea if that's still an issue with all the merges.

What professions should I pick? I don't want to end up with something that makes no money and is pain to level (like, lets say engineering in WoW). I intend to play Imperial Agent Sniper if that matters. Which professions are the most usefull for myself (like lets say Enchanting or JC in WoW atm)? Don't really like crafting ones, are they similar to WoW ones where you rarely craft something for yourself?

[Koalachan]

1) Whichever realm you want. They locked the deadrealms so new people can't roll on them, so just pick whichever one fits your playstyle and role on it. As long as it's standard/heavy/above you know it will be fine.

2) Honestly, ask 3 doctors, get 4 opinions. Same as with professions. Just find a crafting that sounds cool to you, and pick its supporting skills, it tells you in game which skills will support what.
EDIT: About the only way you wont be able to make ANYTHING for yourself is if you go synthweaving on a non-jedi/sith, or go armormech on a jedi/sith, so for an agent, between the two, go armormech. Not that I'm saying go armormech, just between those two choices.

[Miah]

I really feel that Biochem is the best bang for the buck because you dont have to buy your Stims and adrenals, (think WoW potions, flasks) They did take the adrenals out of PvP but you can still use your stim and medpack, stacks of these can get outrageous on the AH.

Not sure about the Imp or Pub or realm, My original was an Imp but I have so much more fun on Pub with my sage and shadow. seems Imp side draws in the crybabies much more than pub if that makes a difference. Pubs also dominate 75% of the non rated warzones throughout the day but Imps have some strong rated groups that dominate so.........

Chances of ending up on a dead realm now are slim to none with transfers

[Forsedar]

If you want a profession that will make you money as well as benefit you: Biochem is the way to go.

Now with the GTN being neutral, Exotech Stims and Adrenals are being bought out like hot cakes. I recommend going that route since there will always be a demand.

As for the server: Just pick one that has a high population so you have no worries. The worst thing about this game was being stuck on a dead server, which has ultimately been fixed.

[Slugfest]

Pretty much what everyone else has said. You can't create a toon on the locked realms so any EU server you pick at this point should have a healthy population. Check http://www.torstatus.net/ for a current list of the most populated realms.

Professions; you can never go wrong with biochem on your main. Afterwards, if you level other toons, try to spread out other professions so you can become a bit more self-sufficient. Exa: I'm biochem on my raiding JK sentinel. My trooper alt is cybertech/scavaging/underworld trading. My sage healer is synthweaving/archeology/slicing (more on slicing in a moment). My smuggler is armormech/scavaging/slicing. Why slicing x2? Because with the advent of patch 1.3 synthweavers, armormechs and armstechs can make augments for gear that EVERYONE can use and will always be in high demand. The components for the high end augments only come from high level slicing crits so the more companions you can send out the better your chances of criting the mats required.

[mstieler]

Yet again repeating the Biochem is going to be really nice for pretty much any class, even if you're specced heals.

Also, so far, none of the professions are "sloggy" like Engineering; the crafting skills all have two support skills (most of which are shared across multiple crafting skills - Scavenging gets you materials for Cybertech & Armormech, Archaeology gets you materials for Artifice and Synthweaving I think) and, barring a string of horrible luck with your "mission only" skill, none will be too difficult to level up. Archaeology & Slicing are the only gathering skills that doesn't have "bonus" stuff out in the game world; Bioanalysis (the gathering skill for Biochem) lets you "skin" strong-or-greater Beast mobs, and Scavenging lets you "skin" Strong-or-greater Droids. All the Gathering skills have nodes out in the world as well, plants for bioanalysis, Crystals & Artifacts for Archaeology, piles of metal scrap for Scavenging, and "lockbox" type stuff for Slicing, in addition to the missions on which you can send companions.

There are also mission-only "gathering" skills, like Underworld Trading & Diplomacy, that only have missions available to level them. They're for the blue- & purple-quality materials needed for the better versions of gear/items you reverse-engineer (like disenchanting in WoW, you get some of the stuff you used to make the thing, plus the chance of getting a better-quality version of the recipe).

[notorious98]

To be honest, Slicing is probably one of the better "Gathering" professions, although it has no true designated profession "type". That allows you to couple Slicing with any two other skills. Between the Advanced Neural augment components and the ability to "gather" credit boxes at nodes the same way you'd gather any other crafting material is a great way to continue earning while you level. Leveling it is easy as well. Send your companions out for Lockboxes and you'll usually make more money than you spend in missions over the long haul, even if your companions should fail here or there.

As far as other crew skills go, Biochem, Armstech, Armormech, and Synthweaving all have their own goods sides and bad sides. I see other have talked about Biochem, but the best stims you can get are not reusable and the amount of mats needed to make stims to sell is quite a grind. To be honest, it's far more cost effective to sell the Bioanalysis gathering mats on the GTN and just buy your stims there. You'll make more money.