Capital Games TeamI'm probably in the minority here, but I R9'd all the clones and I should have (or in the case of Jocasta Nu, already have) the new Jedi Vanguards at R9 on release. I'm perfectly happy with the current setup and the returns I'll be getting.
My concern is more for the bottom tiers. I WANT my guildmates to farm shards, I encourage it even (upcoming raid, current and likely upcoming conquest feats, etc.). They should be able to go in at the first tier at least and have a decent shot at completing it to (slowly) farm up some shards. (Ideally that goes for the second tier too, once they qualify for it).
I think Knightfall was a bit overtuned. Most are going to have maybe a 3* character and with the event being as difficult as it was, a lot of the people I knew weren't willing to gear up their character to hope RNG eventually goes well enough for them to get a win, much less put on a zeta. It was very hard to convince anyone otherwise, even for the upcoming raid/conquest. I had the same issue getting people to attempt the Naboo and Peridea Assault Battles. I think you'd get more early F2P player investment on the characters if you made the first two tiers a little more accessible.