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January 26th Livestream Wrap-up


EricMusco

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Well I will say this is this first content patch since 3.0 that I have been looking forward too and I can attest with my guildmates as well. We are aware of the budgeting and the damage that last 2 years of Singleplayer did to the raiding community. That said we the few remaining experienced raiders are willing to help and in the case of PTS if it's closed please please make sure the raids are being tested at least in Veteran and Master by experienced raiders and or raid teams. We don't want the harder difficulties to be faceroll but tuned to be an appropriate challenge. Just letting you know we will gladly offer are services and hope feedback is greatly considered for tuning purposes. Thanks :) Edited by FerkWork
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My two questions are:

  • Is it required to complete the KotET story/Iokath daily area before doing the Operation? (Primarily asking because players have multiple alts for raiding, but not all characters have done the story)
  • Will the operation be available in both 8-man and 16-man mode? Charles talked about Story/Veteran/Master Mode but didn't mention 16-man.

 

--I am checking into that now, I will get back to you.

--Yes there will be 8 and 16 man.

 

-eric

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Eric I sent you a PM with a couple things... One thing I want to point out on another issue though, if you guys ASK for feedback on the forums, can you PLEASE inform the moderators? One of the things you ASKED for feedback on got moved to the shredder box of the suggestion forum that you guys NEVER read or respond to.
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Eric I sent you a PM with a couple things... One thing I want to point out on another issue though, if you guys ASK for feedback on the forums, can you PLEASE inform the moderators? One of the things you ASKED for feedback on got moved to the shredder box of the suggestion forum that you guys NEVER read or respond to.

 

Fear not, they are just doing their part! We absolutely read the suggestion box forum so don't worry about ideas/feedback not being seen there.

 

-eric

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Eric I sent you a PM with a couple things... One thing I want to point out on another issue though, if you guys ASK for feedback on the forums, can you PLEASE inform the moderators? One of the things you ASKED for feedback on got moved to the shredder box of the suggestion forum that you guys NEVER read or respond to.

I seem to recall reading a post by one of the staff saying that they DO read the suggestion box (as Eric just said), but they do not, as a matter of policy, respond there, so that they do not appear to be "blessing" or "cursing" any particular suggestion.

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Fear not, they are just doing their part! We absolutely read the suggestion box forum so don't worry about ideas/feedback not being seen there.

 

-eric

OK, I'll take your word for it... It just seems like a ghost town over there....

 

I guess my biggest concern with it is, a lot of people don't read that forum, so if there is more feedback to go with it from other people, it just seems like it would be missed. I guess that's a double edged sword though. Lack of ideas on a topic as opposed to a lot of unneeded noise....

 

But thanks for the response. Have fun...

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A few questions, story/companion related;

 

- If my Jedi Knight elects to side with the Empire to obtain Quinn and because tbqfh, she's beyond frustrated with the Republic, then according to Charles' this MAY affect future companion recruitment... does that mean she won't be able to get ANY of the future Republic-sided companions, or just some? Iresso was mentioned as an example and it would make sense for him not to wish to join a 'traitor' but Lord Scourge for example, the Jedi Knight's own companion, realistically he wouldn't/shouldn't care. Hell he'd probably rejoice so what of companions like him, will he become off-limits too if my JK sides with the Empire? — Perhaps leave the option open in all cases and just have comps like Iresso express a certain disdain with like, 1-2 extra conversational steps to reel him in or convince him.

 

- What of our already recruited companions such as Theron and Aric Jorgan, if we're Jedi/Smug/Trooper but side with the Empire in 5.2, will we lose them? Or say Pierce in a reversed situation if your Sith chooses the Republic.

 

- I assume romances with Elara/Quinn will be resumed in this new patch?

 

- That is a bit of a complicated question so let me work on it. We will get the answer out before 5.2 so you are informed for the choice!

- The choices you make in 5.2 will not impact Companions that you already have.

- Yes, Warriors and Troopers will be able to continue their romance with these Companions. However, note that it is possible that some of your past decisions could come back to impact your relationship…

 

-eric

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Eric, I was wondering if you got the chance to read my post on Group Finder daily rewards in the Suggestion Box. Noting your statement about endeavouring to make the grind seem less so "grindy", I would like to take this opportunity to expand on my previous point. Here is a list of things I feel could help improve the GC system:

 

1: To reiterate, attaching command tokens as Group Finder daily rewards would help speed up the process of affording endgame gear. 5 for SM FPs and uprisings, 10 for VM FPs and uprisings, and 20 for MM FPs, uprisings and Group Finder SM ops, and it may reduce farming of certain instances due to exploits and other reasons.

 

2. Integrate command token rewards into ALL aspects of PvP (yes, even GSF). Award tokens based on how well the player did. Victory or defeat will mean nothing and it will encourage participation.

 

3. This may be a lot to ask, but bringing ops loot tables back to pre 5.0 settings would go a long way towards saving face. I have this theory that if you just left ops loot tables alone, no-one would've ragged on Galactic Command as much as they have done.

 

4. Axe the tier system. If all tiers of gear were available with these methods, it would, imo, give the player more choice as to what content they want to do. SM, VM, any mode would be open to them. My guild (Eternal Serenity and Insanity for rep and imp respectively) usually runs SM ops with a select group running VM, but they are always willing to help those who want to do VM, provided they are geared enough, and are willing to learn tactics in the raid.

 

5. Integrate command token rewards into the daily and weekly missions. If command tokens are to be the new comms going forward, they should at least be gathered in the same way comms were pre 5.0. Plus, it could help those who are 5 or so tokens away from getting a piece of gear they want, but a whole CXP bar away from getting any.

 

6. Resurrect priority VM ops. Make one operation a week harder than VM, but easier than MM, and give increased command token rewards to players that complete this challenge and have all bosses drop unassembled gear tokens if you are unwilling to implement suggestion 3, but the trade-off is that bosses are harder and the operation is unbolstered. Hell, go one step further and have priority SM ops as well in the same manner.

 

7. Put command token rewards into heroic missions. The option to do planetary missions is already in Galactic Command. Might as well roll with it. To borrow from priority ops, have one or two planets a week in desperate need of heroes or something along those lines, and reward players handsomely for answering said planet's call for aid.

 

8. And this is the last one, put command token rewards into flashpoint, uprising and operation bosses. I know of some bosses that are harder than the final boss of their instance (*cough*Quartermaster Bulo*cough*). A token reward for beating these bosses means that, even if a group doesn't finish an instance, they at least get something out of it if they made at least a tiny bit of progress.

 

TL;DR (I think that's how it goes, never used it before), if command tokens are destined to work in the same way as comms did, they should be rewarded in the same manner. It is obvious Galactic Command is here to stay, and anyone saying otherwise is fooling themselves, so rather than complain about it, as I have in the past, adapt to it instead.

Edited by AndrewAlberts
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How? 1 year for a freaking Op? This is not some fringe niche MMO that doesn't have fans...it's STAR WARS and it's the ONLY Star Wars MMO on the entire market and it's owned my Electronic Arts, the largest and most lucrative gaming company in the entire world...the game has both a subscription AND a cash shop...yet they can only do ONE boss at a time?

 

Who is this appealing to exactly? World boss fans? It's not an Operation...it's pieces of it strung together over a year...and it'll only be ONE Op at the end of that year. Who do you think that's appealing to exactly?

Whether they focus on group content or on solo content is something that may change depending on player feedback; whether they put out new WZs instead of new FPs or new Daily Areas instead of new Uprisings is something that may change depending on player feedback; whether they focus on bringing back old companions or introducing new ones is something that may change depending on player feedback; etc., etc., etc. There are a lot of things that may change depending on what players ask for.

 

One thing that's not going to change based on player feedback here is how much EA allocates for the SWTOR budget. A complaint about this game boils down to "they don't have the capacity to put out as much content as WoW or FFXIV" is probably a waste of keystrokes. These forums give feedback to BW, so we can tell them what we think they should do with the resources they have - telling them "get more resources so you can do more" isn't going to get much accomplished.

 

The decision they made wasn't between "should we put out a full Op in April, or should we put out the first boss in April and space the others out every couple months for the rest of the year?" it was between "should we put out the first Ops boss in April and keep releasing them every couple months, or should we wait until the end of the year and release the whole thing then?"

 

If the overall content output of this game is below what a player thinks is enough to justify their $15/mo, that's valid - it's their money and each person needs to make the individual call what they think is worth it or not. It's just not something that's likely to change based on feedback here (unlike the focus of where that content output is directed, which does change from time to time).

Edited by DarthDymond
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Quick question. Are there any plans to fix the many class bugs present currently? Some of them are pretty crippling (especially powertech/vanguard) for endgame it seems strange that they've been around for 2 months now without so much as an acknowledgement.
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Thank you everyone for tuning in! If you missed it, here is what we discussed.

 

On Tuesday we released Game Update 5.1 - Defend the Throne

  • Master Mode Chapters
  • 5 new Uprisings
  • Galactic Command Gearing Changes -- We know that the changes in 5.1 are just the start. We are looking into simplifying, making faster, and making more alt friendly the gearing in GC. We are also looking into making getting through Command Ranks faster.

 

Coming in April, Game Update 5.2 which will include

  • Brand new story arc on Iokath. The Empire and Republic are fighting over control of the planet and you, as the Alliance Commander will choose who to side with.
  • Two returning Companions: Quinn and Elara.
  • After completing Iokath's storyline, it opens up into a new daily area.
  • Coming with Iokath is the first boss of a new Operation. Each subsequent boss will be released in the future with the entire Op being completely released this year.
  • We are planning to have a PTS for 5.2 in the next few weeks. More details to follow.

 

-eric

 

Eric,

I'd like to provide you with some constructive feedback, but I warn you most of it isn't positive given my experience with the game over the last year & a half or so.

-----------------

**Good Feedback**

--

1). The presentation values in the game are top notch at the moment -- kudos. The game has come a long way since when I started in back in Beta, & truly the game has never been more beautiful than it is now. The visual enhancements applied back in 4.0 are very good.

 

2). I really do enjoy Uprisings, & so does everyone in my guild. I hope you make more of these as times goes forward. It's nice to have a group-play option that isn't as intensive as Ops or Flash-Points. Besides, it's about the only content we can play on our server in a reliable fashion.......

 

3). Thank you for making the "Omni-story" more engaging in 5.0. There are two distinct paths in KoTFT that could warrant at least two play-throughs as opposed to one with KoTET. This is a good thing given how most us are very unmotivated to play through it more than once. Don't get me wrong, it's a good story, but once you've seen it you've seen it. It could still use more variance & branching paths, but it's a good start. Also try not to lean on death so much as a "choices matter" consequence; moreover, it becomes cheap when over used. Death can be a powerful plot point when used correctly, but when over used loses its effect. Beyond that, death is only impactful if you have some kind of emotional bond with your companions...which you aren't allowed to form because they don't get enough screen time or "alone time". You guys could take a few notes from the Mass Effect team in this area. Additionally, death doesn't matter in this game because your surviving characters drop off the face of the known galaxy never to be heard from again if they even had the slightest chance to die in the main story -- bummer. Better yet....you could just bring back class missions....which would solve most of the "Omni-story" complications.

 

4). I'm really happy to see the return of Ops, moreover, it's been far too long. I mean you guys practically killed the MMO community with "story, story, story", but I think you know this & that's why you've changed focus again. In addition to "Story, story, story" likely not retaining subscriptions. I'm not so sure I care about the new daily area, but am overjoyed to see the return of ops. I think it's a shame you can only do it at the expense of all other traditional SWTOR "MMO bits": GSF, PvP, & etc. Seriously, tell EA to open their dusty greedy coffers & give you guys a decent sized staff again. You have to spend money to make money, & at the rate you guys develop content you'll never be able to satisfy any of your individual MMO subsections.

 

PS: Please DO NOT over-tune the new raid. ToS & RAV were far too difficult in story mode. I was around when they launched back in 3.0 & they killed the casual raiding crowd on POT5. Please tune this new operation to be more akin to EV, KP, DP, & DF. "Hardcore" raiders have long since left for other games during the "story, story story" MMO content drought that would have wanted ToS level challenge. To be honest, ToS is still too difficult in story mode......

 

-----------------

**Bad FeedBack**

--

1). Server population, this is literally the only thing my guild cares about right now. I asked about this issue 4 or 5 times yesterday during the Dev stream very politely only to be ignored. My server (POT5) has been dead for about a year & a half now, having only seen a slight & temporary bump at the release of 4.0. I've been a loyal subscriber since beta, & frankly I'm not feeling the love anymore. This new "group content focus" doesn't matter worth a salt if we can't play it on our server. I can count the amount times I've played the newest War-Zone on two hands, & the amount of times I've been able to play the new arena on one hand. Why you ask, because PvP hasn't popped reliably on POT5 in over a year.....with ranked & GSF being much longer than that. We are a Pub-side raiding guild at heart, & there have been many many nights when we can't get a raid off the ground because the server is depleted & we can't pug for open spots. Seriously, address this issue....I don't care how....just do it & do it soon. I've found myself caring less & less about SWTOR since 4.0 because I can't play half the game on my server with toons & friends I care about. I shouldn't have to log into the Harbinger on a toon I couldn't care less about just to PvP or play GSF with lag. On Ootinicast's 5 year anniversary episode you promised to do what made sense after the New Year, well its made sense for the last year & a half now. It would be nice if you kept your word for once. If there is one thing that could make me quit this game & disband my guild after 5 years, it's this issue....& frankly I'm not sure how much I have left in me.......

 

2). CXP has turned out to be a very flawed system. I didn't mind it so much at first, but over time I've come to notice it's more crippling issues. Foremost, it's a terrible system for casual players like myself. I do not have the time to be a hardcore player at this point in my life, & as a result there will come a point where most players in my guild will out-gear me with no avenue to catch up. As a result, there will come a time when we won't be able to play together with my guildies without being a burden as they move onto harder content. Prior to 5.0 this wasn't an issue, but as an individual with a career, necessary self-care, & a family I just don't have time to make grinding CXP another part-time job -- GG. And as previously mentioned....my server is dead.....so I can't PvP or GSF to try & play catch up....in fact...I really can't get any meaningful amount of CXP alone in what little spare-time I have to myself. While I am aware of the new CXP account unlocks...with those being per-toon & very expensive they aren't exactly a realistic option without a viable economy on my server. Moreover, I used to be able to sell Stims & Adrenals....can't do that on a dead server.......

 

----------

In summation, I am very displeased with the current state of the game, mostly due to my experience with it on POT5. I do apologize for being so harsh, but it's how I've felt for a long time. I'm just not having a good time with this game anymore. I'm very excited to see the return of proper group content, but it's just not playable on my server for the most part. I wish you all well in your future endeavors.

 

Regards,

~Lecto-Sama

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Very well said! You hit the nail right on the head as far as I'm concerned. I got the same impression from watching the livestream as well. In particular, I watched Ben's face fall as more and more people posted negative comments about his baby, Galactic Command. He doesn't want to take the hit to the pride and admit his baby is a failure.

 

EAWare could repair so much damage right now by declaring they're going back to the 4.0 gearing methodology, while keeping the RNG loot boxes from GC as a supplement. People would adore GC then, because it would be some extra frosting on top of a tasty cake instead of a main course of stale porridge!

 

I am not sure what competitor you are comparing swtor with but is it safe to assume that you get all this content you listed for free with a sub? Because I would love to know that game and be able to get that much content with a $15 dollars a month. My guess is the new content is going to be $20-50 extra. So you cant compare it.

 

Resputin,

Don't be so daft, he's talking about WoW & everyone knows it. I have no clue what they are are up to & I gathered as much. Furthermore, I'd be more than happy to pay for an expansion if it meant actual server maintenance & a decent amount of content: class stories, multiple PvP/GSF maps, multiple raids, multiple uprisings, & etc.

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Who is this appealing to exactly?

 

Me for one.

 

World boss fans?

 

I don't generally do world bosses so not me in that regard.

 

It's not an Operation..

 

Yes it is, they said it was. Try watching the stream again.

 

.it's pieces of it strung together over a year...and it'll only be ONE Op at the end of that year. Who do you think that's appealing to exactly?

 

Me and many other people who are positive about these changes. I've not seen reddit so positive over any swtor change in a couple of years.

Yes it'll be ONE op which is more than you got before.

 

The funny thing for anyone reading along is for as long as I've seen TUXs post on the forums it's almost always negative except for "thanks for posting". Yet he has never once supported any of his views, morals or stance by unsubbing.

 

He will sit here and tell everyone how pathetic things are, the studio is, the developers, BWA and EA in general yet will continue to give them money month in and month out year on year.

 

I find it really hard to take you seriously but you do make these sort of responses rather easy so I do them anyway. ;)

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I was so distracted by the return of Quinn I didn't actually read all of the original post the first time around. Now that I have, I'm very happy about what is coming. This is definitely the kind of things I have been hoping for. While I theoretically liked Kotfe and Kotet as far as gameplay went, the main storyline was a horrible fit for my attention-hating Agent. This looks less, well, railroady.

 

(Also -- who are these posters that complain about there not being enough ops? I have played since January 2012, pretty much daily, and still haven't finished all the existing ops :eek: Do you all have time-turners so you can fit in more than 24 hours of play a day? )

 

All my love to the hard working people at Bioware, you really don't deserve the negativity of the forums.

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Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy... a new daily area (didn't we used to do these for crystals.... now we don't have crystals anymore) and an Op released in pieces. What a complete and utter joke.

 

Meanwhile, their competitor releases this for a patch in February: http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/d90ea3ee6d083eaba4f22e5deefe934b0a0a464e

 

This for a patch in March: http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/12ed915838dbdc22fe36871a2604f9b1d97b848d

 

The Far Edge of Fate patch is so large it has to be distributed over two months. And this is just meant to hold you over until the expansion releases.

 

And in June, releases an expansion that has:

  • Level Cap increase from 60 to 70 (because they are actually going to have new level 70 zones and group content)
  • Two new character classes
  • Adding swimming and diving to the game (last expansion they added flying)
  • Three new mega-zones (full zones, not one time corridors for use)
  • A fourth residential district (more stuff on housing)
  • 12 new dungeons (bringing the in game total to 59 4-man dungeons)
  • 2 new 8-man raids (with four more scheduled to be released over the coming year)
  • 1 new 24-man raid (with 2 more scheduled to be released over the coming year)
  • A new primal (world boss)
  • New gear and crafting recipes
  • Expanded inventory
  • Updates to the Battle System (the one complaint they have in the game is the combat seems too slow - they listened and so they are improving the system to be more in line with what players wanted).

 

All of that for close to the same amount of money you spend on SWTOR in a year.

 

But hey, they are going to give you a boss in April and might have the whole raid done in the same time their competitor has done eight full raids. Yeah, what an exciting deal.

 

Are you just going to keep spamming this like anyone cares? It's getting a bit tired ... I get it you are leaving never to return ( lol like anyone believes that ) but do you really have to ruin the forums for everyone else by stating the same stuff over and over and over?

 

I'm all for constructive debate and criticism but you're just on a non stop rant fest now, it's getting out of hand.

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Hey folks,

 

Keep the questions coming! I am taking them to the team to get answers. Just letting you know they aren't falling into a vacuum, answers are coming.

 

-eric

 

I've a question ... why are you selective on what questions you answer? I mean some of the questions you've answered aren't to even answer but to say you will look into answers.

 

I get that you can't respond to everyone and no point in responding to double up questions but what exactly is the criteria to get a response to a question?

 

Thanks.

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How? 1 year for a freaking Op? This is not some fringe niche MMO that doesn't have fans...it's STAR WARS and it's the ONLY Star Wars MMO on the entire market and it's owned my Electronic Arts, the largest and most lucrative gaming company in the entire world...the game has both a subscription AND a cash shop...yet they can only do ONE boss at a time?

 

Who is this appealing to exactly? World boss fans? It's not an Operation...it's pieces of it strung together over a year...and it'll only be ONE Op at the end of that year. Who do you think that's appealing to exactly?

 

And in the end, that is probably what is killing the game the most... the lack of funding provided by EA. Which still boggles me. This is the Star Wars IP! It comes with a built-in eager fanbase! More time, money, employees, and passion spent on this game could make it so much better, even truly epic, but instead it seems EA just keeps tightening the purse strings and pushing the cash shop more.

 

I wish EA would look to the example set by FFXIV instead of microtransaction-heavy mobile games. When FFXIV's initial launch flopped because of a mediocre game, they didn't double down on the poorly received features and refuse to fix them (like EAWare is doing now with Galactic Command). They apologized, took the entire game down, and built an entirely new version of it from the ground up. Now FFXIV is way more popular and profitable!

 

Sometimes you have to spend money to make money. SWTOR is one of those times. It badly needs an injection of resources to keep afloat.

Edited by AscendingSky
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Well I will say this is this first content patch since 3.0 that I have been looking forward too and I can attest with my guildmates as well. We are aware of the budgeting and the damage that last 2 years of Singleplayer did to the raiding community. That said we the few remaining experienced raiders are willing to help and in the case of PTS if it's closed please please make sure the raids are being tested at least in Veteran and Master by experienced raiders and or raid teams. We don't want the harder difficulties to be faceroll but tuned to be an appropriate challenge. Just letting you know we will gladly offer are services and hope feedback is greatly considered for tuning purposes. Thanks :)

 

The risk of open PTS I have is that everyone will test it to death and not care for doing it in live. Which in turn makes finding groups harder. It's also one OP boss at a time which makes it quicker to rinse through and get tired of.

 

That's a downside to GC because previously you would still do new ops ideally for new gear so hopefully there is a nice carrot into the live transition to make people want to do it.

 

Eternal Championship case in point, quite a few of the people I spoke with testing it on PTS had no real interest to do it more than once on live as they'd done it to death on PTS.

 

Catch 22 really because we do need it tested of course but testing short content can of course reduce the amount of people wanting to do it when it launches.

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Unlike Koth, amirite?

 

-eric

 

Koth is adorable. The only companions I'd kill on any character are Skadge (yuck) and Corso Riggs (No means NO, farmboy. Inability to parse this gets you a long jump out a short airlock.).

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