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Planetary Revisit - With Complaints about Overleveling, time for a rebalance?


ZionHalcyon

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Was just thinking about this, and felt it deserved its own thread.

 

For a while now, people have said they feel like they XP gain is a little on the high side Its not bad usually early (you leave Korriban at 12-14 instead of 10), but it cumulatively catches up with you - by the 4th-6th planet, you're almost to 50 with 4 planets to go.

 

So what would people think about a balance pass on the planets? Levelsync would remain in place, but the idea is maybe Korriban and the other start planets maybe go 1-13. Then Capital Worlds go 14-22 or around there, and so on.

 

Then, especially since we have onslaught and Ossus now, we also take a hard pass through mobs in KotFE and KotET.

 

Those 2 are dramatically unbalanced from the rest of the game (which is why the changes in Onslaught royally borked parts of KotFE and KotET). The mobs tend to be really heavy on health compared to the rest of the game, and there's too many of them. The designers of that literally decided that to try to slow down people from playing too fast, it was a good idea to have corridor fight after corridor fight with waves upon waves of health-beefed mobs, to buy time to allow them to release their other content (which because KotFE ultimately bombed, it never got to that point).

 

The mobs in many areas of those stories need their health reduced, and there needs to be less of them. Not to mention, if a stealther wants to sneak past them, allow those classes to do so (seriously, there is no point to stealth in KotFE as they will detect you EVERY TIME).

 

I think these changes can help with making a better flow to the game.

 

As a carrot on top, if they were ever to do this work anyway, they should touch up the Cinematics in Vanilla with the KotFE style chapter Overlays, to provide some continuity throughout the game. I would also abandon chapter names and numbers, and just instead give them story titles. Its a small touch, but would go a long way to making the game feel more cohesive...

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You're around lvl17 by the time you leave the starter planet IF you do all quests there (including heroics), wear the DvL xp armor and use the XP boosts given as mission rewards.

EDIT : i forgot that i also take the crafting quest and the stronghold one on fleet to be lvl 17 after the starter world

Then if you only play your class quests still with the DvL armor and XP boosts, you'll be underleveled by the time you reach Corellia, especially on a stealth character, so to me the xp gain is fine (i was even underleved on an assassin when reaching Hoth, so much so that i was barely scratching the droids in the cave while Talos was busy opening the door, and that was before 6.0, and ended up having to leave the planet to play some heroics to lvl up a bit, because i could just not kill them and i died way too fast)

 

So nope, i'm really fine with XP gain as it is now and i'd not like to see it change.

 

I agree about the mobs in KOTFEET though, they're annoying for the most part, especially while playing a stealther and not being able to simply ignore them.

Edited by Goreshaga
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Balancing mob scaling throughout all content, yes, but I see no point messing with the leveling gain. I don't play to hit 75 asap or as slowly as possible, I play for the story experience, the game itself, and it makes no difference to me whether I'm level 47 on Corellia or 75.

 

ETA: I'd actually advocate level scaling in both directions, up and down, so people can just play the story content they want to without having to worry about their level.

Edited by JennyFlynn
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You're around lvl17 by the time you leave the starter planet IF you do all quests there (including heroics), wear the DvL xp armor and use the XP boosts given as mission rewards.

Then if you only play your class quests still with the DvL armor and XP boosts, you'll be underleveled by the time you reach Corellia, especially on a stealth character, so to me the xp gain is fine (i was even underleved on an assassin when reaching Hoth, so much so that i was barely scratching the droids in the cave while Talos was busy opening the door, and that was before 6.0, and ended up having to leave the planet to play some heroics to lvl up a bit, because i could just not kill them and i died way too fast)

 

So nope, i'm really fine with XP gain as it is now and i'd not like to see it change.

 

I agree about the mobs in KOTFEET though, they're annoying for the most part, especially while playing a stealther and not being able to simply ignore them.

 

Balancing mob scaling throughout all content, yes, but I see no point messing with the leveling gain. I play for the story experience, .

 

I generally agree with both these post +1

Edited by _NovaBlast_
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ETA: I'd actually advocate level scaling in both directions, up and down, so people can just play the story content they want to without having to worry about their level.

This would be pretty nice IMO.

That way people who think the lvl up too fast could go at a slower pace and people who only want to play their class story could do so without actually being underleveled by the end of the class story.

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if I remember before the level Sync, if you do everything on Tython, Korriban , Hutta, Ord Mantell....you leave around lvl 11 . Now its 14-15 .

 

*Shrug* I had a nice routine before this whole lvl sync happen, it was nice gearing up before hitting the next planet. Getting mod for you and your companions.

 

Now....they pulled the rug from underneath, and it feel like nothing matter much..anymore .

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if I remember before the level Sync, if you do everything on Tython, Korriban , Hutta, Ord Mantell....you leave around lvl 11 . Now its 14-15 .

 

*Shrug* I had a nice routine before this whole lvl sync happen, it was nice gearing up before hitting the next planet. Getting mod for you and your companions.

 

Now....they pulled the rug from underneath, and it feel like nothing matter much..anymore .

 

I miss those times too :) This is like getting the rpg element out of vanilla SWTOR, as if: you gear doesn't matter anymore, you're wasting your effort if you try to craft or augment or anything

Edited by jstankaroslo
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I miss those times too :) This is like getting the rpg element out of vanilla SWTOR, as if: you gear doesn't matter anymore, you're wasting your effort if you try to craft or augment or anything

 

Yeah, I would waste credits and dress up the companions. Well granted, nothing fancy or go 'Oh we gotta match!'' .

 

But once they made the companions be whatever (which is nice, it aint a bad thing. the bad thing is the way they went about it), its like..why should I bother ? *Hover mouse over companion gear* Companion don't use stat from gears.....urghhhhhhhh...

 

If these stuff like Level Sync was there since day 1, I think peoples would be maybe a bit more forgiving . But to dump it right in middle after a few years..without warning..or explanation...beside the ''Ah now all them trash Mob would feel like a challenge'' or whatever is the exuse...lol

 

Honestly, most of the time it feel like they are catering to an invisible crowd that only exist in their head lol

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But once they made the companions be whatever (which is nice, it aint a bad thing. the bad thing is the way they went about it), its like..why should I bother ? *Hover mouse over companion gear* Companion don't use stat from gears.....urghhhhhhhh...

I love playing space barbie with my companions, and try to find outfits that make them look cool.

I'm actually glad i don't have to worry about their own stats, that'd be a nightmare to me (it was before it was removed actually, and all their outfits back then just looked ugly).

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I love playing space barbie with my companions, and try to find outfits that make them look cool.

I'm actually glad i don't have to worry about their own stats, that'd be a nightmare to me (it was before it was removed actually, and all their outfits back then just looked ugly).

 

Not me..not anymore anyway . And maybe its better that way....cant have competition! my toons are sexy..them rabble stay with whatever they come with :p

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I don't feel it would be worth the dev time/cost investment considering that level sync is in place.

Isn't one of the effects of level sync, especially the post 6.0 adjusted version, to make the whole "what level you are for each planet" concern not necessary?

 

Right now if I get up to 20 and leave korriban (because I ran a bunch of heroics / side missions while wearing full dvl xp armor and using the free xp buffs / guild buff...etc) the planet still down syncs me to 11.

 

So, bearing that in mind...what difference does it really make?

 

If they got rid of level sync completely, and being over leveled actually meant something again...sure, I think it'd warrant a look at.

 

But that isn't the current game.

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For myself, I think yes, it is too fast at the low levels. I started a new gunslinger since I've been back. Within 2 weeks, I'm on the prison planet at lvl 49, almost 50 (one more mission will probably do it). I'm not even half way through the class story on that planet. I did all the quests and side quests on the first two planets, started to do most on the third planet but then became alarmed that I was so rapidly outpacing all the content and started doing the class story only with parts of the planet story arcs.

 

And this is without using a single one of the xp boosts they kept throwing at me at every turn. I even started logging off outside of any rest areas to stop the rested xp boost. Still ended up 49 with lots left and subject to reduced endurance and all that ever since the first planet. It's almost as if they want people to just rush to end game and never mind the content. Or maybe this is what the players wanted and that was their response. **shrugs**

 

I feel like I'm being rushed to end game. I want to enjoy all the content. I want to do all the side quests and planet arcs. the whole bit. It's great to give long-time players the option to skip ahead and not have to repeat stuff they've already done a bazillion times but the way it is now it's at the expense of new & returning players who've not experienced it all yet. And then to add insult to injury, this business of losing your endurance due to being over level (which starts on the fist planet), combined with ramping up the difficulty of the mobs you have to wade through to try to do the missions is just frustrating. This is the sort of thing I've been talking about in other threads. It's all part & parcel of power-creep. No wonder they're having trouble attracting and keeping new blood.

Edited by VarnieTsk
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There is no substantial, game-stopping, play-hampering penalty for leveling quickly in this game.

 

Want to find out?

 

Buy a token, create an instant level 70 toon, then go play your class story on Tython.

 

Yes, you have more abilities than a level 1.

Yes, there will be some mobs gray to you with planet sync.

 

But hyperventilating over those two facts because you're obsessing about being higher than the mobs you're fighting makes no sense with this game.

 

If you come from other games, where level is all important, take a deep breath and chill. This game is different. The only level that matters now is hitting 75 so that you can start the most recent gear grind.

 

Personally, I like the fast leveling, and these incredibly minor issues regarding leveling when it comes to story / mobs / planets isn't worth popping an artery over. Chill.

Edited by xordevoreaux
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For myself, I think yes, it is too fast at the low levels. I started a new gunslinger since I've been back. Within 2 weeks, I'm on the prison planet at lvl 49, almost 50 (one more mission will probably do it). I'm not even half way through the class story on that planet. I did all the quests and side quests on the first two planets, started to do most on the third planet but then became alarmed that I was so rapidly outpacing all the content and started doing the class story only with parts of the planet story arcs.

 

And this is without using a single one of the xp boosts they kept throwing at me at every turn. I even started logging off outside of any rest areas to stop the rested xp boost. Still ended up 49 with lots left and subject to reduced endurance and all that ever since the first planet. It's almost as if they want people to just rush to end game and never mind the content. Or maybe this is what the players wanted and that was their response. **shrugs**

 

I feel like I'm being rushed to end game. I want to enjoy all the content. I want to do all the side quests and planet arcs. the whole bit. It's great to give long-time players the option to skip ahead and not have to repeat stuff they've already done a bazillion times but the way it is now it's at the expense of new & returning players who've not experienced it all yet. And then to add insult to injury, this business of losing your endurance due to being over level (which starts on the fist planet), combined with ramping up the difficulty of the mobs you have to wade through to try to do the missions is just frustrating. This is the sort of thing I've been talking about in other threads. It's all part & parcel of power-creep. No wonder they're having trouble attracting and keeping new blood.

 

There is a White Acute Module -the thing that slows down xp gain rate significantly. I have those in my inventory and generally play with WAM active, just sometimes, when I don't feel like doing side quests I turn it off.

It is sold on fleet, but sadly only during double xp event. I recommend anyone to acquire WAM and be the master of their own experience :)

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I don't like level sync and never will, but I also don't think just a few players who bother to post on these forums should get the say either. If you feel you are overleveled just remove some gear. Really not that hard. That's what I do.

 

 

ZionHalcyon while I know you mean well by these posts, you are not helping at all! All you are doing is interfering with other players game as you can change your own characters at will without affecting others just by removing gear.

EDIT

 

Also as the above poster said buy plenty of WAM when available on fleet during any double XP event if you want to level more slowly. Personally I just remove gear because there's no cost and don't need to worry about having them.

Edited by DreadtechSavant
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IMO - i always felt like level sync had the opposite effect. Why bother leveling faster, and this is SWTOR so thats what they appear to want one to do, if you can't become ALMIGHTY on lower level planets/FPs.

 

maybe im in a small minority (maybe just me), but for years my favorite part of this game was overlevelling and playing god mode.

 

but since level sync is likely to NEVER go away, i agree. there needs to be a game wide rebalance of mobs and bosses.

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IMO - i always felt like level sync had the opposite effect. Why bother leveling faster, and this is SWTOR so thats what they appear to want one to do, if you can't become ALMIGHTY on lower level planets/FPs.

 

maybe im in a small minority (maybe just me), but for years my favorite part of this game was overlevelling and playing god mode.

 

but since level sync is likely to NEVER go away, i agree. there needs to be a game wide rebalance of mobs and bosses.

 

You're not alone that was the most fun I had in game to. Replaying/completing all planets multiple times , dailies, all heroics, the weekly quest vet fp was even better when comps has item stats had Kira in all bis gear as well. I loved putting her on attack and just watching her destroy stuff and healing her when necessary .

Edited by _NovaBlast_
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For anyone who wants xp changed. No.

Leave XP alone.

 

Not everyone wants to do all the quests 100 times. Would rather JUST do class quests only thanks.

 

As it stands right now -

 

class + planet quests only will get you through with no xp boosts.

 

With XP set + XP boosts given for completing class quests you finish at around 52 just doing class quest only and still need 1 level to go onto SoR. Heorics on 1 planet will see to this. No I'm not touching Makeb.

 

With double xp events you can run right through class story straight to SoR.

 

It's perfect just as is! Don't touch whats not broken. You can't out level planets the new adjustments see to that. (IE it decreases ur level and stats to planet max which has just been lowered on all planets)

 

Also it would likely break the game for those with no sub who get less xp, they already have to do the majority of the quests on each planet.

Edited by Suzsi
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The leveling is balanced the way it is because

  • they want you to feel overpowered on your first character
  • They want you to be able to quickly level alts on class story alone
  • they don't want to have to bother with rebalancing original story content

 

Why do they want those things? because that's the F2P hook to get you invested in multiple characters to subscribe for group content at endgame.

 

They aren't that different than players, seeking low effort high reward activities.

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There is a White Acute Module -the thing that slows down xp gain rate significantly. I have those in my inventory and generally play with WAM active, just sometimes, when I don't feel like doing side quests I turn it off.

It is sold on fleet, but sadly only during double xp event. I recommend anyone to acquire WAM and be the master of their own experience :)

 

Agreed. If you don't want to level fast, get the WAM. It's BOL and costs one credit or something. It will ensure you don't level too fast for the first few planets, and by Hoth you'll actually be underleveling if you keep it on the entire way.

 

I do agree about the mob scaling though.

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