There are many things wrong with how alignment was handled in SWTOR, and I don't really see them revamping the entire PVE content just to accommodate alignment done 'right'.

 

Second best solution is probably just to remove alignment restrictions on items and let people have darkside corruption if they want. Which they have done.

 

Problems:

- Alignment choices in dialog are completely shallow: kill? DS. Save? LS. No thought behind it, save couple very rare cases where DS alignment change happens without killing someone.

- There is only one storyline, nothing you do affects what comes afterwards in any way (well apart from couple encounters in flashpoints). Alignment choices should have an effect on events that happen after, but they don't. The only thing the choices affect is alignment which is completely superfluous. There should be branching storylines with different outcomes/rewards/enemies depending on alignment choice, but devs won't do this since its a gargantuan effort for something that has no meaning in the game currently. At best they might change one or two flashpoints, but that is pointless since alignment should be more about characters development into good/bad, meaning the leveling storyline, not the flashpoints(especially since in a flashpoint the outcome will be randomly decided between team members anyway).

- Alignment should affect more than just characters complexion. However, having restrictions on items isn't right either. I liked the idea of different versions of abilities depending on alignment. Kotor had alignment- locked abilities too, after all.

Edited February 28, 2014 by Karkais

- There is only one storyline, nothing you do affects what comes afterwards in any way (well apart from couple encounters in flashpoints). Alignment choices should have an effect on events that happen after, but they don't. The only thing the choices affect is alignment which is completely superfluous. There should be branching storylines with different outcomes/rewards/enemies depending on alignment choice, but devs won't do this since its a gargantuan effort for something that has no meaning in the game currently. At best they might change one or two flashpoints, but that is pointless since alignment should be more about characters development into good/bad, meaning the leveling storyline, not the flashpoints(especially since in a flashpoint the outcome will be randomly decided between team members anyway).

 

I can think if at least one instance where a decision you make in the second chapter affects your choices at the end of chapter three - the IA storyline.

I would love to get more visual dependent that comes with alignment.

Even could be the residue force speed leaves behind.

I think having a LACK of restrictions is a good thing, it opens up a greater wealth of personalized option for your character, especially if you like to RP. You could be a fallen Jedi, with no love for the Empire, who is technically aligned with the Republic but with dark intentions, wielding the red saber of a Sith. Or a light aligned Sith who has grown tired of the random murders and pointless hatred of the Sith Order and instead wields the blue blade of a Jedi and is more light aligned....two examples of the endless possibilities this lack of alignment restrictions gives you, it allows you to tell and live your story the way you want to. I for one love it.

I think having a LACK of restrictions is a good thing, it opens up a greater wealth of personalized option for your character, especially if you like to RP. You could be a fallen Jedi, with no love for the Empire, who is technically aligned with the Republic but with dark intentions, wielding the red saber of a Sith. Or a light aligned Sith who has grown tired of the random murders and pointless hatred of the Sith Order and instead wields the blue blade of a Jedi and is more light aligned....two examples of the endless possibilities this lack of alignment restrictions gives you, it allows you to tell and live your story the way you want to. I for one love it.

 

Or you can put aside all that silly stuff and accept that the color of one's LS has absolute NO bearing whatsoever in his or her alignment, concerning the force...

 

Or you can put aside all that silly stuff and accept that the color of one's LS has absolute NO bearing whatsoever in his or her alignment, concerning the force...

 

 

Point is you may not want to take part in the 'silly stuff' as you put it, nor do I but without the restrictions the OPTION is there, this is after all looking at the point of what we are saying, the restrictions do exactly what is says on the tin...restrict.

 

Edit: as for the video, yeah so they use a blue saber, so what? I am saying that the forced restrictions being removed are a good thing, the RP angle being one of the possibilities that is opened up around it.....I play the game and I am aware that different colours do appear on different alignments, the video proves nothing.

Edited February 28, 2014 by Vigilanis

Point is you may not want to take part in the 'silly stuff' as you put it, nor do I but without the restrictions the OPTION is there, this is after all looking at the point of what we are saying, the restrictions do exactly what is says on the tin...restrict.

 

Issue being, once more, that such restriction makes no sense at all nowadays.

 

A lot of stuff got changed or scrapped altogether since the game was released, yet a restriction such as this one still in place feels like a huge oversight.

 

Edit: as for the video, yeah so they use a blue saber, so what? I am saying that the forced restrictions being removed are a good thing, the RP angle being one of the possibilities that is opened up around it.....I play the game and I am aware that different colours do appear on different alignments, the video proves nothing.

 

It proves to show - yet again - that crystal color has NO bearing whatsoever for Bioware, when it comes to NPC's general appearance. The same SHOULD apply to us players as well, when it comes to the lightsaber hilts themselves, not just the color crystals.

 

Could be wrong but there are several hilts, such as this one, that are alignment restricted for no reason WHATSOEVER.

 

http://www.torhead.com/item/3EgFZve/virtuous-venerable-ardent-blades-lightsaber#dropped-by

Edited February 28, 2014 by Darth_Wicked

A change I'd like to see is the removal of all 'alignment' items still in existence, mainly the leveling relics.

 

It is beyond absurd that choosing responses that put your alignment in the grey / neutral area leaves one unable to use ANY relics besides the one matrix relic before end-game.

 

Oh and put leveling relic schematics on the trainers / let artifice RE leveling relics to learn schematics so they can all be crafted as well.

Edited February 28, 2014 by DawnAskham

A change I'd like to see is the removal of all 'alignment' items still in existence, mainly the leveling relics.

 

It is beyond absurd that choosing responses that put your alignment in the grey / neutral area leaves one unable to use ANY relics besides the one matrix relic before end-game.

 

Oh and put leveling relic schematics on the trainers / let artifice RE leveling relics to learn schematics so they can all be crafted as well.

 

Yea definitely, if you want your relic slots to have anything in them prior to 50 you have to (mindlessly IMO) choose solely light or dark as you quest (or pick up diplomacy).

It hardly ruins the argument, it simply illustrates another concession made to gameplay over lore. Bioware made a lot of those. I'm pretty fine with recognizing that, but it doesn't change the fact that I'd like it to go back to alignment-based restrictions. I get that a lot of people want to be super-special snowflake light side Sith, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.

 

You cite lore as the guiding principle in who should wield what lightsaber, and then embrace a system that forces Sith to wield blue and green lightsabers. That's a contradiction. Your argument would mean that my Assassin could not use the red crystal she already uses...because your "lore" says that Sith only use red crystals (even though it doesn't)... Mind cluing me in on the part where that makes sense?

 

I couldn't really care less whether you like if my Sith is light side or not. That's the beauty of options, you can dislike what I do all you want but your opinion doesn't matter, only mine does.

I personally never minded the restricted lightsabers or relics. If there were equal choices throughout light, dark and grey, then it becomes an in-game choice. Just like WoW in the old days when if you wanted to play a Paladin you had to play Alliance. Hard Choices are what make a game compelling.

I personally never minded the restricted lightsabers or relics. If there were equal choices throughout light, dark and grey, then it becomes an in-game choice. Just like WoW in the old days when if you wanted to play a Paladin you had to play Alliance. Hard Choices are what make a game compelling.

 

Though I do agree with this, the issue is that, as previously stated, the game changed way too much since it was originally released but part of it simply failed to catch and / or keep up.

 

Jedi can now look like the Pinhead and Sith can look like Mother Teresa and yet, some stuff is still alignment dependent we're not sure why.

Though I do agree with this, the issue is that, as previously stated, the game changed way too much since it was originally released but part of it simply failed to catch and / or keep up.

 

Jedi can now look like the Pinhead and Sith can look like Mother Teresa and yet, some stuff is still alignment dependent we're not sure why.

 

Well yea, alignment restricted things don't belong in the game as its currently constituted. My idea was for them to make a sweeping change in an expansion. To what end? to make the game more compelling. Right now dark side/light side point mean nothing. They SHOULD mean something! If they did, if there were consequences to being light/dark/neutral it would make the game all the more interesting and replayable.

Edited February 28, 2014 by AGSThomas

I think alignment-restricted gear doesn't make sense. But it doesnt make that much sense to me that lightside sith still shoot lightning either.

 

It would be cool if the appearance of certain powers would depend on alignment and not faction, while there wouldnt be any functional difference. Whether you would throw rocks or force lightning for example. Neutral could do both. I know they won't change how aesthetics work, but I just wanted to say this.

I think alignment-restricted gear doesn't make sense. But it doesnt make that much sense to me that lightside sith still shoot lightning either.

 

To be fair, a 'light side' sith in SWTOR isn't necessarily a 'good' sith. Most of the 'light side' choices aren't necessarily good, but pragmatic, while a rather large portion of the 'dark side' choices is just plain insane. So a Sith who chooses mainly light side options still won't be a Jedi, he'll just be a Sith that uses his brain for a change and tries his best to keep the Empire together.

 

The "Black/White" System Bioware uses is really flawed in that regard, imo.

Edited March 2, 2014 by Wylf

The alignment system is the superfluous third ****** of this game. It's just kind of "there," and you look at it every now and then, but it doesn't actually do anything or than limit some types of lightsabers. It's incredibly shallow and underdeveloped. If everyone woke up tomorrow and it had disappeared from the game, would anyone notice?

Yea alignment really hasnt had a place in this game. Beyond Making your Sith kind of a nice guy or your Jedi kind of a D-bag... i think the saber color restrictions made a touch of sense. The exotic colors like purple, pink, white, w/e thats fine.. but it just makes more sense lore wise to have sith be red and jedi blue & green. Traditionally speaking.

 

I think faction crossover would make an epic expansion tho. if your alignment is high enough on one of the extremes you access a mission that allows you to switch sides and your character becomes it's mirror equivalent of the same level.

 

i have a 48 sniper but i really want a slinger and i had to start over yesterday -_- such a pain.