Yeah, SWG wasn't designed for people who have trouble putting together a couple of pieces of Legos. DoH!
From the beta I think some things are good for solo, but being grouped and being able to handle harder mobs moves your skills bar faster.
I made it to Pistol Specialist in a short few hours just hunting with one friend of mine running some simple level 8 type kill missions. Made over 6000 credits and got a full set of armor.
Now, don't get me wrong. I do feel the game still needs more work that's for sure. I still had unfixed bugs in the last day of beta. The PvP I am not sure what you think is broken about it? I never saw any negatives when I watched Imperials and Rebels fighting.
Here is some PvP screenshots:
http://www3.telus.net/eddis/swg.htm
If people actually thought this was a game the could jump right into and be a Jedi they are smoking some illegal shit. There is a lot to learn, I mean a lot.
I am pretty active on these boards and have been in beta a long time. I am sure between Candide and myself we can answer the basics of most questions to help whoever may need it. Even though it appears I won't be playing on same server with any of you I am always down to help people out.
If I don't do it here, feel free to come apply on my website SWG forum and my boys can help some too. A few of them love to share information on the game and help people. The link
www.left-4dead.com and then click forums and register. I will have your access updated quickly and you can use it for whatever, to find info, post questions, whatever makes your boat float.
I am still going to be active in DAoC as well with Celestrial because she is going to give SWG a month to mature in retail probably before making a decision. I can tell you this much, and she would back me up 100% that SWG has come a long way from what it was.