Hello and welcome to the official Q&A thread for questions to be answered for the May 11th, 2012 Q&A blog post.

 

As a reminder, we’ll be starting up a weekly Q&A blog series in which we will select ten questions from the community and post answers to them every Friday. We’ll have the next set of answers next week on May 11th, 2012, but before that, we need your questions!

 

Please use this thread to ask your question (one per community member, so make it count!). On Tuesday at 2PM CDT (8PM BST/9PM CEST/5AM AEST), we will close this thread, select ten questions, and get answers to them for Friday’s blog post.

 

In order to increase the chances of having your specific question answered and to help us keep the thread manageable, here are some guidelines on asking questions:

1. Keep your question relatively short. Background details are welcome, but don’t go overboard.
   
2. Please actually ask a question. We want to hear constructive feedback elsewhere in the Forums.
   
3. Use common sense – we cannot answer everything, especially on far-reaching content.
   
4. This should go without saying, but be respectful.
   
5. Limit yourself to one question in this thread, please. You can always ask another question next week!
   
6. And finally, as a reminder, this is not a discussion thread. Do not comment about what somebody else has posted.
   

 

As development plans are always subject to change, questions about future features will often get vague answers which can be repetitive and sometimes annoying. With that in mind, the development team is more interested in questions about current in-game features or systems, or questions about why development decisions were made. You’re still welcome to ask questions about future features and we’ll continue to answer them where appropriate – just expect the occasional ‘soon.’

 

Any other posts apart from questions in the thread will be removed.

 

With that being said, please ask away!

I have a pending issue with one of my characters. It was submitted weeks ago. I was told it was being routed to the proper investigating group. How long does it take to get a reply? I would like to play my Merc some more.

Can we get an option to turn off Helm option for our companions and Unify Chest color for them as wel. SInce we buy customizations to make them look different and yet unable to see or show those around us as we adventure in the universe.

Was there ever, or is there a chance that Sniping Imperial Agents could get a Sniper Mode that would allow the Sniper AC of the Imperial Agent to be somewhat of a true/actual Sniper? Perhaps this could include being able to move into a Scope Mode where we look down the Scope of the Sniper Rifles and doing different amounts of damage depending on where we hit on the body of the enemy along with if they are wearing Armor, perhaps including type of Armor.

Can you please give us any insight into what you're currently designing/revamping for open-world PvP?

With 1.2, it is a common conception that TTK has been significantly reduced. Part of this was necessary to avoid protracted stalemate battles but it seems to have moved the combat to a pace which is inconsistent with that which the developers have told us they are aiming for (ie. a fair paced, tactical combat). As it stands, there's been a significant drop in tactics involved in PvP combat since it tends to devolve into a zerg fest.

 

Simple put: will we see any relevant changes to TTK in the future in Player versus Player content?

Edited May 6, 2012 by AlyxDinas

Trying a 3rd week to get this question answered as no dev has come onto the smuggler forums and posted since before launch.

 

What went toward the decision to change the Smuggler companion, Corso Riggs, Harpoon Shot to an Illegal Jetpack? The Scoundrel community was never inquired about this change as it directly alters the flow of combat for us. As it was before 1.2, Gunslingers had Bowdaar as the rush tank and Scoundrels had Corso to pull to melee range. Now, Gunslingers have two rushing companions and Scoundrels have no companion to pull into melee, as such we now have to begin the slow traverse of terrain. Why was this not discussed at all both prior and post 1.2?

In a previous Q&A it was stated that there will be a way to add augment slots to existing items! i like the idea but was wondering about how it is planned to put it in. would it be by adding a crafted item to the armor? or would it be put in by some long-winded quest? or both? i dont think it should be easy to aquire, but if its quest only it may kill augmented gear demand on the market, and if its crafted only it will be verry expensive, and hopefully require raid materials. Any insight you can share would be appreciated!

Will there ever be anything like PvE warzones introduced? PvP warzones are a great quick combat fix for those who like PvP but as a strictly PvE player, I find my,"log in and do something quick" options lacking. I'd like a similar option to log-in, queue up, and know no matter how bad it is, I'm only in it for 15 mins. I'm thinking something akin to Rift's rifts and zone invasions or other multiplayer game's survive mode. Edited May 4, 2012 by DesonEQ

When can we expect additional character slots?

Why is it that some Companions have a base attack, while their mirrors for other classes do not? For example, my Trooper's companion M1-4X (Ranged Tank) has a skill called Turret Fire. It's a no-cost, no-cooldown, weak 30m ranged attack. However, my Consular's companion Felix Iresso has no mirror skill, and no skill that replaces it. This makes M1-4X far better at tanking from range than Iresso. I've noticed the same disparity with Healing companions (Tharan Cedrax and Elara Dorne).

Last week I asked the question regarding availability of green & orange +41 stat color crystals. Thank you very much for your response. It seemed to indicate that Orange was currently a PvE crystal color & Green was a PvP only crystal color if you want one with +41 stats. My question this week is: Are there any plans for adding Orange crystals for PvP & Green crystals for PvE with +41 stats on them?

This is regarding Huttball and imbalances that exist between certain classes. Currently in Huttball, certian classes have huge advantages, to they point where, without them you have a considerably lesser chance of winning. The classes i speak of are namely Sages, Guardians and their imperial counterparts that are able to leap and pull across the map granting great mobility. Any chance of changes that prevent the ball carrier from using abilities like leap or being pulled?

Legacy encourages you to roll many alts, which is great but right now the maximum amount of characters per server is 8. Any plans to increase this number? I would probably make one of every AC in the same Legacy if I had the room. Edited May 4, 2012 by Rashne

How many weeks in a row has it been that Bioware has failed to address a single question regarding the PVP problem in regards to server population and server imbalance? Why do you guys continue to keep your heads buried in the sand while subscribers leave the game in droves? On my server, the biggest populated guild by far, has decided to quit the game. The guild has lost more then 200 members. Do you guys not consider this a problem? By the end of the month several new MMO's are coming out that will draw people away. You guys are constantly ignoring the largest player base of your game (i.e. PVPers), and it is a serious mistake.

Any chance of adding high level world bosses to lower level planets to give incentive for higher levels to revisit? Something like a Krayt Dragon on Tatooine or a boss wampa on Hoth. You could add an instance area to prevent low levels from accidently accessing it and getting 1 shot so they don't have to worry about that.

when will rated warzones be added?

Can you provide any insight into the changes you are working on to open world PvP, and when they might launch?

Are you sure that your metrics for warzones are correct?

Low population is starting to be an issue in my server and ... really, I enjoy the game a lot less... both PVP and PVE.

I'm sure you know how important this is to the players and I'm sure you are already doing something about it... can you share it with us? It would give us hope that something is coming before people decide to do something drastic.

Do you have any plans at this time to add a cross server LFG tool for PVE? And will that tool include Operations? IF not, can you explain to us how a same server LFG tool will be successful on low pop servers?

 

Also any plans on making the crafting in TOR stronger? With real reasons to level one apart from just making credits or Biochem? I guess I am saying are there plans to encourage the player to want to level his professions so the items he makes for himself can be comparable to heroic 4 man levels? And not just earings and implants, but armor and weapons.

Edited May 5, 2012 by Valkirus

After reading April 27th's Q & A, a question came up when I read the answer about character transfers. It appears from the wording of the answer that free transfers will only be allowed to certain servers. I rerolled from zez-kai-el to ajunta pall, leaving 1 50, and 2 30s behind on zez. So do I essentially have to get lucky/hope that ajunta pall is one of the servers I can transfer to for free? Or will I be able to merge the characters from both servers onto another server all for free? I just don't want there to be a situation where I have to pay for a transfer because I picked the "wrong" server to reroll on.

I had a question regarding presence and it's exact effect on our Companions. The bonus health on the tool-tip is obvious, however the bonus damage and healing is not. Are these stats flat numbers that lose their weight the higher in levels, or is it supposed to be a scaling buff of sorts that is as effective in higher levels as it is in lower levels? Also, besides health, does Presence have any other effects that would say be useful for a tanking companion (armor, defense, absorption etc)?

 

Really the more detailed you can get on Presense, the better!

 

Thank You

how is swtor going to compete with gw2 open world wvw/rvr pvp? This is a legitimate question that needs answering in "detail" not just PR/fluff answer please.

It's been stated in the past that the group finder, coming to us soon in 1.3, will be server only for PvE. How do you plan on having the feature succeed on lower population servers/factions? Edited May 4, 2012 by Zannis