[NEW PLAYER] Questions from a newbie!

[CasualFilth]

Hello,

Started SWTOR about a week ago & so far I'm having a blast.

I have a few questions regarding the core systems of the game that I feel have not been fleshed out/explained well by the (antiquated) tutorial tips:

1) Could you please explain to me how Flashpoints/Operations work? As in, what's the difference between STORY/VETERAN/MASTER modes? And how/when do I access these modes?
2) I am aware there's a LFG system, but does SWTOR have a Party Finder tool? (Able to make/search for groups for a particular activity?)
3) How does the transition between CLASS STORY and DLCs/Expansions change? Is it similar to Final Fantasy XIV? (i.e. base game story -> patch story -> expansion story -> patch story, etc., etc.). Currently doing the CLASS STORY, but will I be able to experience all Expansions/DLCs or do I jump straight into the current content ala WoW?
4) How do Professions/Crew skills work? Do I keep sending companions on mini-missions till the Profession is maxed out?
5) Would you say the game is P2W with the addition of Cartel Coins?

Many thanks!

[Biomega]

1) Story mode is basically solo mode - you can do these by yourself, they're not super hard and you get an extra droid to come along with you and your companion and help. Veteran is basically the regular group mode - many classes can also solo this, but it's not meant to be solo'd. Master is the "heroic" group mode, it's harder and designed for people who know what they're doing - that being said, certain classes can also solo certain Master FPs (Assassins solo'ing Red Reaper is infamous) but that requires a lot of gear and skill to pull off.

2) There's some group finding going on automatically, yes; but there's also a lot of group finding in chat. Because that's such a regular thing, it's usually quite easy to find groups for the various daily/weekly activities and people don't tend to discriminate much and invite very freely. Also, joining a large guild is usually a good source of constant group activity too.

3) You have several options. Because a lot of the content is level gated, if you start from lvl 1 you'd do class story first (up to lvl 50ish) and then go for the "DLCs" (expansions), each of which has a different minimum level to start. However, you do not need to do the expansions in order; and you do not need to do them at all if you don't want to. The biggest expansions are Knights of the Fallen Empire and its sequel, Knights of the Eternal Throne - they're almost like a separate game onto themselves, with a very involved story split into separate chapters. It's something I'd recommend everyone check out at least once, as it has massive story implications. HOWEVER you CAN choose to skip those, and head straight for the current expansion, Onslaught. Doing so will "complete" KotFE/KotET with default story choices, affecting some of the characters available in the story and some story choices that may be referenced in later expansions. If you don't want the default choices, you need to play through KotFE/KotET yourself, but those choices are basically only cosmetic/lore choices and don't affect character power at all. Aside from KotFE/KotET you can do the earlier expansions pretty much whenever you like, or not do them at all; it won't really matter, and won't really lock you out of anything.

4) Professions (i.e. crew skills) are basically all companion-centered. Gathering crew skills you can also level by mining nodes in the world, either yourself or ordering your companion to do it (or both if there's two...). Most of the leveling happens by sending them on missions, though. You can max them at any time, it's only a matter of time - you don't need a specific level to do so. They're something you can do on the side as you quest, it's very easy and convenient.

5) You can't buy the best gear, as the set items require either drops or tech fragments (which you get from all sorts of activities, but cannot buy directly). That being said, you CAN craft/buy the best mods and augments for those pieces, but without the set bonuses you'll never get the best gear. You can also earn that gear directly through drops/crafting, though, and it's not super hard - especially since most of the highest-level mods/shells are actually bind-on-account so you can double up on activities with multiple characters and gear your main very quickly. The vast majority of Cartel Coins/credits people spend is on cosmetic gear. It's all about having that shiny cool lightsaber...
That being said, the real issue isn't so much that the game is P2W - it's that not being a subscriber is REALLY feelsbad and the game definitely has a tendency to be excessively mean to you if you're not subbed. If you are, it's pretty chill for most things, and even without ever purchasing CCs you get some from being subbed and from having an authenticator which for me was totally sufficient to get the things I want, coupled with earning money in game the regular way (just selling shit and doing quests). I never felt like I even WANTED to spend money to get CCs.

Hope this helps, happy to answer other questions!