Hello there, everyone. Totally new to this, not just SWTOR, but to MMORPGs in general, so please forgive me if I come over as the consummate village idiot. Never really saw the appeal of this kind of game before, but caught some trailers for this one somewhere and something about it sparked my imagination. So here I am, and for the most part I must say I'm enjoying it immensely.

My character's story-driven gaming experience is very enjoyable, I didn't know MMOs had this kind of stuff. The conversations are great, and I like the moral choices and various options for pleasing or teeing off your companions (as a fan of the Mass Effect games I feel really at home here). Quite soon I ran into someone to do heroics with, and this person was very helpful and kind. He/she babysat me through Hammer Station (just the two of us, which was pretty cool), did a few other missions with me, and without any prompting or wanting anything in return, made me an arse-kicking light sabre. A sabre I am still using quite a few levels later, because it is miles better than anything I can buy or currently gets dropped as loot. It's really nice to know there are people like this around who are helpful to newcomers. You do hear such horror stories about people acting like complete tools in this sort of game.

Only a few minutes in I was invited to join a guild: Had no idea actually what a guild even was, but I thought I'd give it a go (if only to be polite), and am glad I did. They were running World Boss Hunts so I went on one of those: On Tatooine and with low-level me with the paint still wet on my new spaceship. It was quite the odyssey just getting to the world boss and that felt an achievement. Lot of fun, but of course the World Boss killed me pretty quickly. I quite like being in the guild, for one thing having the guild members chattering away in the corner while I'm playing solo is almost like having someone along with you. The conversations are usually funny, and when they aren't they're informative about the game.

Well that's the good, but here's the not-so-good. Only two things, really: One, why is everyone in such a damn hurry? Playing an heroic mission with some other guys and we get to a conversation. Suddenly the group chat is full of...

Press spacebar to skip conversation

Press spacebar plz

Spacebar plz

Jeez, does it not occur to you that I might actually want to, you know, listen to the damn conversation before I pick an option? Seems to me that most people I meet are in one hell of a hurry to charge headlong off into the sunset towards that mythical 50th Level, rather than enjoying the journey reaching it. Why is that? I hear there isn't all that much to do when you actually get there.

It reminds me a little of this thing we had at a local food festival. It was called "The Ale Trail" and was basically a pub crawl. At each of thirteen or so participating pubs around the countryside where you bought a drink, you would get a stamp in your little book. If you did this at all the pubs you got an engraved commemorative beer glass at the end. I used to go on it with my brother and some other friends. He would spoil it by constantly fretting about getting to the next pub and trying to rush us, instead of enjoying the one we were in. I could never understand that, it even impaired his own enjoyment of the day, but he couldn't help himself.

Anyway, sometimes playing SWTOR I feel like I'm back on the Ale Trail with my brother. I appreciate that folks like to play in different ways, and some might be on a second, third or fourth play-through, but I do feel a little out of step with other players at times, even the nice ones who aren't constantly nagging me to hurry up and press Space.

The other downer is since getting to Balmorra nobody seems to be doing heroic missions. It was real easy to put a group together on Korriban and Dromund Kaas, but everyone seems to be soloing on Balmorra. Hardly any LFGs in the Social Window, and almost no responses when people ask in General Chat. I'm ready to leave the planet as far as my character story is concerned, but there are still seven or so heroics I haven't done, and I'd like to. Do I have to resign myself to the fact that I'm not going to get to do them? Would be a shame to miss out.

Finally, I have slight concerns about my rate of levelling. I seem to be at a much higher level than the planet I'm supposed to be on is designed for. I haven't been pursuing any kind of conscious power-levelling strategy, I've simply been playing the content that has been put in front of me. My concern is that the game will become too easy. Am I doing something wrong? The reason I'm a little worried is that I noticed I had missed an heroic mission on Dromund Kaas and so went back to do it (just felt like it). I totally curb-stomped these guys who previously could kill me just by looking at me. Their shots were literally just bouncing off me and doing no harm at all, while I slowly walked around dispatching them one by one. It was great fun to feel like such a baddass for a change (the person I was playing with thought it was hilarious), but obviously, if the whole game becomes like that it will get boring very quickly.

Do I need to worry about this? What should I do about it?

Really sorry this post has ending up being so long. It's just that I'm enjoying this game and my enthusiasm got the better of me a tad.

Welcome to SWTOR.

The leveling rate is off for some planets/classes. Sometimes you will be higher, other times you will be sucking wind cause you are too low. If you are too high, dont worry about it, just push on through. Too low, do some warzones/space missions to get that level up.

People seem to be in a hurry because it is not their first time doing that heroic/flashpoint. The stories are great, I do love them, but the 100th time doing Esseles has me.... twitching.

And finally, people dont normally do heroics on planets like Belsavis because they are gearing to get off that planet as soon as possible. And you normally only get 3 planetary commendations. For some it is worth it, for others, not so much. Because I think Belsavis has you near level 40? Or is that Balmora? Anyhow, PvP gear is usually gotten and they dont need any current gear to help them level/pvp.

Again, welcome to SWTOR, hope your stay is enjoyable.

Nice read. The poster above pretty much summed up the answers well enough.

Welcome to TOR!

Well that's the good, but here's the not-so-good. Only two things, really: One, why is everyone in such a damn hurry? Playing an heroic mission with some other guys and we get to a conversation. Suddenly the group chat is full of...

 

Press spacebar to skip conversation

Press spacebar plz

Spacebar plz

Keep in mind that, at this point, many have already either leveled a few toons, or have done that particular heroic a number of times. There are also those with the "wow" mentality derived from cross server LFG tools that tend to allow one's focus to be central to only their needs and desires.

I too tend to push the space bar at times after leveling a number of characters. I space bar automatically on previous content, but at least have the courtesy to allow other to read it. Some are not so courteous.

I would just explain that it is your first time through and to bear with you. Any reasonable player would tend to do so. If they complain, or purvey any vitriol, I would either note or remember the name for future reference. If they become vile, I would report the conversation (there is a tool for this) and put them on ignore.

In regard to leveling, being slightly higher in level makes leveling a bit easier and quicker. You can pass on side quests and just focus on both your class quest and planet quest if you choose to "catch up" and move to the next planet. They are all categorized in your quest log and skipping side quests do not penalize or prevent you from proceeding. Planet quest do not either, but they are chain quests with a beginning and end.

G'luck.

Keep in mind that, at this point, many have already either leveled a few toons, or have done that particular heroic a number of times.

Yes, that occurred to me as I was writing my post, but it didn't at the time. Thankfully it didn't cause too much friction as someone else in the group had been making more of a nuisance of himself, firstly by generally being annoying, and then by activating all nearby monsters, leaving the group and vanishing. I think the others were too relieved to be shot of him to worry too much about my noobish ways.

I would just explain that it is your first time through and to bear with you. Any reasonable player would tend to do so.

That sounds like good advice to me. Many thanks, guys, and for assuaging my levelling concerns too.

Hello and welcome to the game!

As you mention, one of the strongest points of SWTOR is the class stories. you have probably heard, if not experienced yourself yet, that every class has a different story. This, combined with the Legacy features, encourages the player to play several different characters.

I think the fact that it's so easy to overlevel the content, is because the game is designed to not experience all of it on your first play through. That way, when you play a different character you won't be repeating all the same content once again.

It isn't really "wrong", per se, to be much higher level than the content. But it has a few problems:

- combat becomes trivial and thus boring

- the rewards are too low to be of any use for you

- if you are more than 5 levels higher than intended, the XP rewards become next to nothing (0 for killing enemies, 5 XP for completing missions)

The last point means that the problem corrects itself over time, but it will slow down your progression. If you are enjoying the journey it isn't that bad, but if you play with your guildmates often you won't want to be left behind because they are two planets further.

If the missions in your log turn grey, it means they will give only 5 XP. If you reach that point, try to do only your class missions on the next planet. That should be enough for you to arrive at the next planet with the intended level. When you create your next character, all the missions in that planet will be brand new!

Incidentally, that is why so few people do Heroic missions - they are not needed at all for your character progression, and for some the time spent trying to set up a group is time wasted. It may be lot of fun just to play with other people though - do try and find a group, you will eventually get lucky.

Welcome!

I agree with the others. I'd just add, if it's your first time doing something in a group, let the others know so they can provide guidance. Same goes for PvP. Most of us are happy to provide help, and you can just ignore the jerks.

Now that all makes a lot of sense. Something of an epiphany in fact: I hadn't considered the point that while I want to do everything a planet has to offer, I don't have to do it all with my current character. I'm not missing out by skipping stuff, because I'll be here again as someone else (at the very least I certainly plan to play all eight main class stories to the end before I'm through with this game, which will take quite a while judging by my first character). All those heroics will still be here then, maybe I'll have better luck finding groups another time.

Thanks again.

Good post, and welcome.

Being a fairly new player myself, I know exactly what you went through. It's hard to find a group, and even when you do, it doesn't always end up pleasantly (ie. the group bailing on u mid heroic area with your qt on cd for example ).

Luckily, the majority of the players I know by now are very decent, friendly and helpful, and if you manage to find yourself a helpful guild, you'll be all set to enjoy the game and do the stuff you want to do (ie. heroics). From what I've seen, a lot of people simply turn the public chat off, don't use the LFG function and don't mind grinding the same mission over and over and over until they hit the next level or leave the planet.

I plan on playing through most classes too, but I originally made the mistake of creating a trooper class on a sith server, only to find out that no-one plays on the rep side of that server so it has turned into a nightmare grind to get off planet/level up.

As the other said, following on the story quests should bring you up to the correct level for the next phase of the story before leaving a planet, however, the next planet will be tougher, so I always recommend going at least one level higher than what the mission difficulty rating is (just to be on the safe side). I had to do this since I had no support to speak of (ie. no other players to be found on that server/faction).

In the end, the flashpoints/heroics/group areas, are not mandatory for the main storyline progression. You can simply decide to skip past them, and you can generally do the story missions on your own with a comp. without a prob.

Regards,

Opt.

Love to see posts like this. It has a mix of good and bad things but it is done in a constructive manner so it is well played in my book. Welcome to TOR and I see that you have had some good help already.

Some advise is to keep a pace that not only you can handle, but also enjoy. If that means you want to read through things, just mention that as you are out there with people and they will or should understand.

Expect some slow times, expect some times of struggle, and expect some people to be rude. Basically, you are playing with other people and not everyone has the same goals or play with the same knowledge, abilities, or inspiration as you. You will run into people who are only about trying to make others mad. You will run into people who expect you to know everything, have all the best gear, and if you don't you are a waste of time to them. You will also run into people who have no clue of what they are doing and will try your patience to the maximum as you try to help them.

MMO's in my opinion are about the people. The content brings us all together, but it is the people that makes the game the most enjoyable. Working with others, fighting against others, completeing things, helping each other all are the very meaning of MMO's. The best times are with others be it in a guild or a group.

I hope you can continue to enjoy your time in game and please never hesitate to ask questions, here or in game.

Welcome, PLynkes, and I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying the game.

This game is designed to allow anyone, of any playstyle (1 hour per week, or 20 hours per day, and everything in between) to reach level 50, and finish their class quest at their own pace. If you do everything there is to do, you will find yourself quite over-levelled for the content. Don't worry about challenge though, the showcase encounters in both the main planetary story arcs, and your class quest, are designed to be a fun challenge. Also, you will probably lose most of your level advantage after you finish Quesh. You can look forward to this as a challenge reset, of sorts.

You mentioned being new to MMO's in general. This game's cinematic, story-driven levelling experience is unique, as far as I am aware, so if you try another one expecting this same kind of experience, you might be disappointed.

Again, welcome to the game, and if you have questions, don't hesitate to ask in this forum, or your class forum. Enjoy the journey.

Riôt

Press spacebar to skip conversation

Press spacebar plz

Spacebar plz

 

Jeez, does it not occur to you that I might actually want to, you know, listen to the damn conversation before I pick an option? Seems to me that most people I meet are in one hell of a hurry to charge headlong off into the sunset towards that mythical 50th Level, rather than enjoying the journey reaching it. Why is that? I hear there isn't all that much to do when you actually get there.

Like someone else has said in here, you have to keep in mind that the game has been out for 5 months now so I would say the majority of the people you run with have already seen those conversations several times and simply skip through them. You can usually avoid any complaining about it if you state beforehand that you haven't done the said flashpoint before and would like to watch the cutscenes(I know I personally don't care as long as someone in the group gives me a heads up and I'm not trying to burn through the place as fast as I can so I don't have to leave early to join an operation). Most people are under the assumption at this point that if you don't say anything you'll be space barring so it is just a nice courtesy to give them the heads up so that they can watch the cutscene too instead of staring at "waiting for other players" and avoid most of the complaints about it.

Did a flashpoint (I think that is the right term - those missions on the fleet) earlier tonight with some other guys I just met. We seemed to connect pretty well, and I had even more fun doing that than I have had playing through the main quest. The social aspect brings a sort of unexpected factor that is difficult to pin down, but it is just somehow more fun than solo play (at least when the group are all on the same page).

One guy dropped out at the first sign of a setback (we accidentally activated too many enemies at once and they creamed us), but the remaining three of us resolved to carry on without him. We got killed by the main boss baddie several times but we kept trying and eventually got him after attempting a few different strategies (only me left on my feet at the end, and with just a whisper of health left too). It was very satisfying, especially after the defeats. The most fun I think I've had in the game yet, and nice people too.

Two of us were going to do another, but unfortunately couldn't get another group together in the time I had left before I needed to be somewhere else in real life. Never mind though, today's short session was fantastic.

Ignore the people who tells you to spacebar.

They'll either leave group or shutup. Most likely the latter since it's so damn hard to find groups. LOLz

You can usually avoid any complaining about it if you state beforehand that you haven't done the said flashpoint before and would like to watch the cutscenes(I know I personally don't care as long as someone in the group gives me a heads up and I'm not trying to burn through the place as fast as I can so I don't have to leave early to join an operation).

Your like myself where I personnaly don't mind playing the waiting game for those that have never seen the FP before. I do it constantly for those new to my guild that are new to the game also. However, I have seen in some cases where it is expected from some and the individual who has stated in the group that they have been threw the fp before, other players would leave the group. At times like this, I'm glad the tank being played is myself.

On the matter of planet heroics, some players enjoy some planets over others (I absolutly loathe Quesh and Nar Shadda). I will just stick with the class quest skipping over every single other side quest there is (unless other guildies are running the same area) in order to get off that plannet ASAP. I'm sure others have the same feeling.

Welcome to the game! Glad to hear you're enjoying it. I'm a MMO new kid as well.

As for the "spacebar plz" folks, that does get a little annoying. One thing that I've done, particularly if everyone has played it before, is to just hit the spacebar to get through the FP. Then, at a later level (usually 8-12 levels above the recommended level for the FP), I'll go back and solo it. You don't get much in the way of experience, since it's greyed out at the point, but then you can take your time and see the story of it, and not have to worry about holding up anyone else. Plus, you get to keep any loot for yourself.

If you ever find yourself on Tarro Blood server, feel free to shoot me a message if you see any of these toons on: Andae (Jedi Guardian), Ando (Gunslinger), Mull (Sith Juggernaut), or Mullus (Sith Sorcerer). Always happy to run through FPs, high or low.

Hi PLynkes

Nice thread!

I'm not a MMORPG noob, rather, been playing for many years... usually prefer Solo play as I hate the Know-it-alls who berate you for not 'pulling' the right Mob or not 'Buff-ing' the right group member at the right time, or not bringing along the right bit of kit. I don't play enough hours every day to become an UberMeister - just want to have a little fun!

But, very occasionally, it can go very well when you team up with a nice bunch of friendly guys (as you've described) and then the game becomes a pleasure to play. I go out of my way to help other people by buffing them as they go past or helping defeat an enemy - and I'm happy to help anyone to complete a quest. I really don't understand why anyone would get so grumpy in a game as to berate me publicly as a 'complete noob'... everyone has to learn, and the only way, surely, is to have a little friendly guidance from more experienced players?

Joining a good Guild is a great way to get constructive advice and quest help!

Hi PLynkes

I really don't understand why anyone would get so grumpy in a game as to berate me publicly as a 'complete noob'... everyone has to learn, and the only way, surely, is to have a little friendly guidance from more experienced players?

Most of these people have conveniently forgotten that they too, were once noobs.

Riôt

I totally agree with the OP.

I have never found a game with so much story and enjoyable content. Every other MMO I've played has been a fairly boring grind compared to SWTOR. I've quit every other MMO I've played by the mid 20 level or so out of sheer boredom.

It often amazes me to see the negativity about this game on so many threads. I wonder if a lot of people are playing it backwards (like the OP's story about the pub crawl). To me, I don't play a flashpoint or quest to get the gear. I play the story to enjoy the story. The gear I get at the end just enables me to play more story. I would no more "grind" through levels than I would read a bad book just to get to the end, or sit through a boring movie just to say I watched it.

For any missions I have done on an alt or flashpoints I have done before I tend to mash the space bar.....but I have never once asked others to do the same.

Do warzones early...even if you hate PVP.....I am not a fan of PVP...never really was tbh, but once I hit level 10 and get to fleet....I run warzones till level 13-14...then work on the first flashpoint a few times....I do the same once I get my ship and do space missions for 3-4 days before I log out....I find this has always kept me 2-3 levels ahead of any planet I am going to.

SWTOR has its goods and bads (both in terms of players and game play) but even after 6 years of WoW, this game feels like a fresh start to MMO's....

That and Lightsabers....really...who dont love Lightsabers and Dark Side Cookies....

:wea_03::wea_03:

The other downer is since getting to Balmorra nobody seems to be doing heroic missions. It was real easy to put a group together on Korriban and Dromund Kaas, but everyone seems to be soloing on Balmorra. Hardly any LFGs in the Social Window, and almost no responses when people ask in General Chat. I'm ready to leave the planet as far as my character story is concerned, but there are still seven or so heroics I haven't done, and I'd like to. Do I have to resign myself to the fact that I'm not going to get to do them? Would be a shame to miss out.

 

 

 

Finally, I have slight concerns about my rate of levelling. I seem to be at a much higher level than the planet I'm supposed to be on is designed for. I haven't been pursuing any kind of conscious power-levelling strategy, I've simply been playing the content that has been put in front of me. My concern is that the game will become too easy. Am I doing something wrong? The reason I'm a little worried is that I noticed I had missed an heroic mission on Dromund Kaas and so went back to do it (just felt like it). I totally curb-stomped these guys who previously could kill me just by looking at me. Their shots were literally just bouncing off me and doing no harm at all, while I slowly walked around dispatching them one by one. It was great fun to feel like such a baddass for a change (the person I was playing with thought it was hilarious), but obviously, if the whole game becomes like that it will get boring very quickly.

 

Do I need to worry about this? What should I do about it?

Heroic Missions: Yeah, it's going to be difficult to find groups for these. I personally enjoy them a lot, but the general feeling among players seems to be that they aren't worth the time. One thing to keep in mind is that you can probably solo [HEROIC 2]s and duo the [HEROIC 4]s, at least if you have a companion geared up. It's challenging if you haven't outleveled the content much, but that kinda makes it fun.

Rate of leveling: You don't need to do everything with one character. The game is set up so that you can level 1-50 by only doing basic solo quests if you choose, which means Flashpoints, Heroic Missions, Space Missions, Warzones, and the "Bonus Series" planet quests all grant experience beyond that basic solo leveling path. But that's a good thing! You can choose to skip, for example, the world quests on Nar Shadda this time around and really focus on them on your next character. Doing the same content every time you level a character would get boring.