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Star Wars: The Old Republic |OT| EA: "Let's blow this thing and go home!"

Giolon

Member
Well thats lame. Things should stay exclusive. If you dont raid or pvp wtf are you doing at endgame besides rerolling?

There are still plenty of exclusives - titles, vehicles, pets, equipment looks (OMG Karagga's Hat!). I'm all for giving raiders and PvPers a reward for their effort (heck, I am one currently). But for some people, especially in Star Wars, the color of your lightsaber is a very important RP element. You can laugh at it. You can think it's silly. But that's the significance that's been built up over the years in this franchise and the imaginations of its fans. This was one of the top issues people had in the first couple weeks of the game's release when it became known that Purple, for example, was limited to Empire-side-only Raiders and PvPers.

I don't in any way think it's fair or appropriate to limit lightsaber color exclusively to the hardcore or to one faction over the other. It was a mistake for Bioware to do so in the first place. There are plenty of other things Bioware can give out to stroke people's e-peen.
 

gatti-man

Member
There are still plenty of exclusives - titles, vehicles, pets, equipment looks (OMG Karagga's Hat!). I'm all for giving raiders and PvPers a reward for their effort (heck, I am one currently). But for some people, especially in Star Wars, the color of your lightsaber is a very important RP element. You can laugh at it. You can think it's silly. But that's the significance that's been built up over the years in this franchise and the imaginations of its fans. This was one of the top issues people had in the first couple weeks of the game's release when it became known that Purple, for example, was limited to Empire-side-only Raiders and PvPers.

I don't in any way think it's fair or appropriate to limit lightsaber color exclusively to the hardcore or to one faction over the other. It was a mistake for Bioware to do so in the first place. There are plenty of other things Bioware can give out to stroke people's e-peen.

I didnt think about the rp elements of it. Thats a good point.
 

KePoW

Banned
The pre-order vendor has been there on the fleet 90% of the time since before launch (there were a couple weeks in the early days where he'd disappear or Bioware would pull him down b/c of a bug). It just let you buy the +4 Endurance Black-Yellow crystals that you got from pre-ordering so that you could have a matching pair for Sentinels or whatever. Now you'll be able to buy high level versions so you can conitnue to rock the Black-Yellow if that's your thing. I think it's hideous personally.

Now the other crystal vendor - Bioware's finally recognizing that there's a MASSIVE hole in the game right now. There's no way to obtain some types of color crystals (+Power namely) other than by ripping them out of weapons. They're also catering to the masses that screamed about not being able to get a Purple Lightsaber without being a) Imperial, b) a Raider, or c) a PvPer. So Level 47 and 50 White, Cyan, Purple, and Yellow lightsaber crystals are being sold for 125k - 2mil credits on this vendor (as well as the Magenta patterns that only drop from World Bosses currently) that's supposed to only exist until 1.2 hits. At that time, Bioware seems like they're going to make these types all craftable by Artifice. Way to go knee-capping your Artifice crafting market, eh?

Thanks for the explanation, I didn't realize that.
 

Miletius

Member
My gut feeling is that any server listed there that has under 500 representing 40 percent of the population needs to be merged. Apparently that includes Keller's Void, even. KV seems to be doing ok, population wise but honestly I feel as though any place but the fleet seems rather empty. I can usually find groups for heroic quests on KV, but often times it'll take quite a while to find flashpoint group.
 
My gut feeling is that any server listed there that has under 500 representing 40 percent of the population needs to be merged. Apparently that includes Keller's Void, even. KV seems to be doing ok, population wise but honestly I feel as though any place but the fleet seems rather empty. I can usually find groups for heroic quests on KV, but often times it'll take quite a while to find flashpoint group.

Ive said this a number of times, but they dont need to "consolidate" servers. All they need ro do is open up voluntary transfers and alot of the population problems will go away on their own. Put a limit on it like you can only transfer once per 14 days and dont allow transfer to the highest populated servers and everything else will just work itself out.

After a while they can do actual server closes and nobody will even notice

Its interesting what a huge population spike tgere is on the top server. Why is it so high?
 

Moaradin

Member
Yay, killed nightmare Soa. All the fights are pretty easy on nightmare. Soa isn't too hard either but his RNG and bugs can screw you pretty hard.

Also, almost 300 people on fleet at 1:00am!

j8W8PaXfTeyxP.png
 

markatisu

Member
Friday Q&A is also up http://www.swtor.com/blog/community-qa-feb-24th-2012

Seems like they are going to let us skip the airlock/space station stuff and choose to go directly to planet

Well at least they acknowledged the request for new ships, I still think the answer is BS and most likely more ships/interios is probably saved for an expansion rather than just an update.

I mean its just a model for space missions and the cinematics are all just cutscenes.

The interior of the ship might be the only "really hard" thing to do

Q&A said:
Belthazaar: I like my ships but, I was wondering if or when we will be able to purchase, make, or steal a new and different ship beyond the one that we currently get from our class quest?

Damion Schubert: Unfortunately, the nature of our ships as central story areas for all of our class content, and all of the associated triggers and cinematics that must therefore be done on the ships, means that giving players new ship models, particularly interiors, is very, very hard for us. We will probably look at addressing this instead by providing a greater sense of ship customization at some point well in the future. But it’s someplace we definitely want to go!
 

Miletius

Member
Ive said this a number of times, but they dont need to "consolidate" servers. All they need ro do is open up voluntary transfers and alot of the population problems will go away on their own. Put a limit on it like you can only transfer once per 14 days and dont allow transfer to the highest populated servers and everything else will just work itself out.

After a while they can do actual server closes and nobody will even notice

Its interesting what a huge population spike tgere is on the top server. Why is it so high?

I think that's a fine idea but if you allow voluntary transfers then the tech savvy people will end up clustering in servers that are already high pop. Sure you couldn't go to the "Canderous Ordo" server but you'd go to the next best until it was full.

Conversely you'd be punishing the less savvy people -- they would hop from dead server to dead server until they found some server that's big enough to play on. I think it's an interesting concept but ultimately it's better to just enforce consolidations on people and get them into a good cluster early instead of making them suffer through a twisted ring around the rosy.

The population is naturally high on the top servers because population attracts more population. There might also be other mitigating factors, such as a pre-built community rolling there. When you have a huge server with a robust community people will gravitate naturally towards that community. See WoW servers, Blackrock, Mal'ganis and to a lesser extent Area 52 as examples of this phenomenon.

If the data remains stable across the other zones (something we'll probably never know) then Canderous Ordo has 2x the number of people online at any given time than Keller's Void. It has roughly 4x the number of people that low pop servers do.

I would really love to see some PvP server data.

If I had to hazard a guess, PvP data would be even roughly the same but slightly more clustered towards the top since it's even more essential to have a good community if you want to enjoy group based PvP. I'd also imagine the top PvP servers to be more populated than the PvE ones. I don't think it'll be too different though, just different names.
 
Play with gaf?

I tried on Republic side but ugh just cant get motivation to level up another char (I have 3 level 30 and 1 level 50 on various servers) and the latency is really high for me on Keller's void (probably because I am on westcoast). I really hope character transfer is an option soon or I will probably quit when my current sub run out (another month).

Speaking of that how is Republic Gaf guild, I made a char there on my son account but he already quit playing so that account is unsub so I can't log in. If anyone on Republic Gaf you can guild kick Isla out.

Speaking of Republic how is Jedi Shadow? It's one class I haven't really try is it fun?
 

gatti-man

Member
I tried on Republic side but ugh just cant get motivation to level up another char (I have 3 level 30 and 1 level 50 on various servers) and the latency is really high for me on Keller's void (probably because I am on westcoast). I really hope character transfer is an option soon or I will probably quit when my current sub run out (another month).

Speaking of that how is Republic Gaf guild, I made a char there on my son account but he already quit playing so that account is unsub so I can't log in. If anyone on Republic Gaf you can guild kick Isla out.

Speaking of Republic how is Jedi Shadow? It's one class I haven't really try is it fun?

I run with imp gaf. I have a lvl 1 rep gaf toon but id just rather play my 50 merc.
 

Giolon

Member
why? o_O
I did it at least 14 times, about 12 of those with a pug, I'd say outside of the bonus boss it's one of the easiest HM FPs

People can't figure out how to move the final boss to the edge and knock him off. It's like rocket science apparently.

They also can't figure out to NOT kill the boss while someone has been knocked off and are outside the instance (b/c they didn't move the boss to the ledge and get him under 10% fast enough) or else that person gets no loot or quest completion.
 

Isaccard

Member
SWTOR Gaf, I want to play this game, but:

1. Never played any game on PC before
2. The only MMO I've ever played is DC Universe Online on PS3, so I think I know somewhat of the basics of how to play one etc, (minus never playing on PC before)
3. How not to be a keyboard turner? I don't know what it is, but I know its bad.

Advice and tips before I pull the trigger on this? I already know what class I'm gonna be. ;o Side, not so much; I'm thinkin' Empire though.
 

Cystm

Member
SWTOR Gaf, I want to play this game, but:

1. Never played any game on PC before
2. The only MMO I've ever played is DC Universe Online on PS3, so I think I know somewhat of the basics of how to play one etc, (minus never playing on PC before)
3. How not to be a keyboard turner? I don't know what it is, but I know its bad.

Advice and tips before I pull the trigger on this? I already know what class I'm gonna be. ;o Side, not so much; I'm thinkin' Empire though.

This. Watch the Druid (Cat).

Use your mouse for turning/movement and bind your abilities to your keyboard/mouse buttons (ie Don't click your abilities with your mouse.). Even if you don't want to PvP and just want to PvE, you will be a better player in PvE too.
 

Tess3ract

Banned
3. How not to be a keyboard turner? I don't know what it is, but I know its bad.
By default most games have A and D set to "turn" not strafe. Q E are set to strafe. Rebind this to A D instead then hold down RMB to turn instead of using the keyboard. Congrats, you are now not a loser!
 

Heysoos

Member
SWTOR Gaf, I want to play this game, but:

1. Never played any game on PC before
2. The only MMO I've ever played is DC Universe Online on PS3, so I think I know somewhat of the basics of how to play one etc, (minus never playing on PC before)
3. How not to be a keyboard turner? I don't know what it is, but I know its bad.

Advice and tips before I pull the trigger on this? I already know what class I'm gonna be. ;o Side, not so much; I'm thinkin' Empire though.

1. I'm not the biggest expert on how the game runs on what, but I do know the game can run pretty badly for some people. Ask around and see if someone matching your specs or near you specs is playing. I know some people stopped playing because the game just ran like shit on their systems.

And yes, I wish I could say you would be fine going with either side, but the Republic side just isn't as active and seems to be slowly dying. We got a nice bump from this small guild we swallowed up, but the number of actives seems to be going down again. Go Empire.
 
Where a few months on now - you guys still truly enjoying the experience, or just plugging away hoping for improvements?

I found the game a great 'game', but there was nothing to keep me paying monthly for it. Has that side of the game improved? Are there more 'true MMO' elements to the game now?
 
Where a few months on now - you guys still truly enjoying the experience, or just plugging away hoping for improvements?

I found the game a great 'game', but there was nothing to keep me paying monthly for it. Has that side of the game improved? Are there more 'true MMO' elements to the game now?

Its mostly the same game since launch, so not much has changed. Most things are not coming till march. Game is still enjoyable for me and guildies as we are an older bunch, mostly all working professionals so most of us just started running ops together, we have weekly group events as well and its staying fun. Got my main to 50 on empire and now doing my Pub alt.

I don't look at MMOs as being worth a sub, I just play and when I'm bored of a game, I cancel for a while usually. I don't sit and worry about the game being worth a fee, as long as I'm logging on, its worth it.

As long as content and improvements come, I'll be happy. My only issue right now is that they are going friggen slow. It seems like they are holding a ton of stuff back just for a big 1.2 update, when they should just be giving us a little bit on a continual basis. We've only had one little bit of content while waiting for the three month big patch? Lame. And also, where are the events? We need stuff to happen, most mmos will at least have small seasonal events or limited time events going on to spice things up.

Think its obvious the game wasn't finished and they are trying to catch up instead now with 1.2 putting in many things that probably should have been at launch.
 

Heysoos

Member
Where a few months on now - you guys still truly enjoying the experience, or just plugging away hoping for improvements?

I found the game a great 'game', but there was nothing to keep me paying monthly for it. Has that side of the game improved? Are there more 'true MMO' elements to the game now?

As of right now I'm just plugging away waiting for 1.2 but I'm quickly losing interest. The game is fun, but everything I enjoy is just slowly losing it's pull on me. Warzones are fun, but the CC spam is really annoying. My teams either destroy the other team or we get destroyed by a bunch of premades. Rarely get a fun competitive game. Ilum is the same, either we're rolling or getting rolled. Barren most times. I've yet to do an Op now in a little over a week. I've yet to run a full HM in over 2 weeks. Doesn't help that the guild seems to be quickly losing actives again, so chat is dead silent most of the time.
 

Milly79

Member
Basically echoing what everyone else has said. I'm more of an end game PvE player, and it's basically non-existent. I'm 2/5 Rakata and I don't know what I'll do when I reach it. It should be closer to the March patch, so I'll stick around and see what that holds.
 
Despite my attempts to group with folks for that odd thing in an MMO called the "Social Aspect", I found myself solo'ing almost 99% of the time outside of the occasional Heroic 2+ or 4 mission. Ended up feeling like I was playing a Star Wars version of City of Heroes/Champions Online.
 

Anbokr

Bull on a Donut
Despite my attempts to group with folks for that odd thing in an MMO called the "Social Aspect", I found myself solo'ing almost 99% of the time outside of the occasional Heroic 2+ or 4 mission. Ended up feeling like I was playing a Star Wars version of City of Heroes/Champions Online.

End game is where the "social aspect" really kicks in. It's much more enjoyable to group for pvp/hardmodes/operations with people you are comfortable with.
 
End game is where the "social aspect" really kicks in. It's much more enjoyable to group for pvp/hardmodes/operations with people you are comfortable with.

Depends who you play with. Much of the entire leveling experience I played with my GF and various local real world friends, so it was always social for me. Guild in is also not end game focused so we always have people running everything still. For players in more "hardcore" guilds, the game doesn't start till end game.

Going into any new MMO nowadays for end game though is going to dissapoint, as all MMO have dissapointed in that aspect since only the older ones have built up any substantial content over the years. Update 1.2 is not going to fix end game for people, an extra op and flash point are only going to last a few hours each for a couple runs before people are bored of them as well.

The pvp is what needs most work though I think, as its usually the end game with most longevity.
 

markatisu

Member
As long as content and improvements come, I'll be happy. My only issue right now is that they are going friggen slow. It seems like they are holding a ton of stuff back just for a big 1.2 update, when they should just be giving us a little bit on a continual basis. We've only had one little bit of content while waiting for the three month big patch? Lame. And also, where are the events? We need stuff to happen, most mmos will at least have small seasonal events or limited time events going on to spice things up.

Think its obvious the game wasn't finished and they are trying to catch up instead now with 1.2 putting in many things that probably should have been at launch.

I think that is my biggest issue, I am only at level 34 but even I noticed the lack of events or seasonal things

I mean they launched around Christmas and New Years, they could have done some kind of new year in SW celebration event or something

The leaked patch info for 1.2-1.5 sounds like good additions but I just hope they are not planning on waiting 3 months between each of them
 

Anbokr

Bull on a Donut
I think that is my biggest issue, I am only at level 34 but even I noticed the lack of events or seasonal things

I mean they launched around Christmas and New Years, they could have done some kind of new year in SW celebration event or something

The leaked patch info for 1.2-1.5 sounds like good additions but I just hope they are not planning on waiting 3 months between each of them

Probably at least a couple of months. Gotta let people max out in pvp and pve before moving on; moving too quickly is just a waste of resources. They need to bump up the difficulty on some pve bosses (especially the last ones--this should be a big accomplishment not a 30 minute venture) in order to lengthen the life of some of this content. PVP grind/progression is fine time wise, just eliminate the rng element.
 
Probably at least a couple of months. Gotta let people max out in pvp and pve before moving on; moving too quickly is just a waste of resources. They need to bump up the difficulty on some pve bosses (especially the last ones--this should be a big accomplishment not a 30 minute venture) in order to lengthen the life of some of this content. PVP grind/progression is fine time wise, just eliminate the rng element.

Couple months is expected, but they need to be rolling out new things and updates to the game on a more regular basis. Having us wait 3 months for any real new meat or changes is kinda silly. Like I mentioned before, why is everything being held back till 1.2? New Warzone, Op, FP, Customizable UI, Legacy system, Crafting/Skill overhaul, travel changes, extracting end game purple mods, etc, etc. Some of this should have been probably given to us in the wait instead of having us wait a bunch of months for the next real game update, as all the rest of the patches in between are pretty much just attempted bug fixes/tweaks.

RIFT for example pretty much gave us something new every month, even if it wasn't something big, we would get a new dungeon or something tossed our way, as well as frequent unique events going on to spice things up in between any bigger content updates.
 
Probably at least a couple of months. Gotta let people max out in pvp and pve before moving on; moving too quickly is just a waste of resources. They need to bump up the difficulty on some pve bosses (especially the last ones--this should be a big accomplishment not a 30 minute venture) in order to lengthen the life of some of this content. PVP grind/progression is fine time wise, just eliminate the rng element.

Nightmare mode isn't hard enough.
 

Milly79

Member
Looks like Empire-GAF will be doing Nightmare next week. Hope it turns out well. We've been rolling 16 HM for the past few weeks.
 
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