I love the game, but what a letdown at level 50. I went from playing all the time I was online to just sitting in the Imperial Fleet hoping to find a group.

I guess I've been spoiled with 5 minutes queues in another game, but really, this is incredibly disappointing. Bah.

And yes, I've made an alt.. and she's level 50 too.

I love the game, but what a letdown at level 50. I went from playing all the time I was online to just sitting in the Imperial Fleet hoping to find a group.

 

I guess I've been spoiled with 5 minutes queues in another game, but really, this is incredibly disappointing. Bah.

 

And yes, I've made an alt.. and she's level 50 too.

Its called a guild.

Its called a guild.

quoted for truth. get a guild dude, meet people make friends this is a social experience.

I think the issue is not really with the lack of an LFG tool but more with the length of HM flashpoints. In WOW, you get in the queue, you are teleported to the instance and after 30 minutes the run is finished.

In swtor, betwwen finding the groupe, travelling to the instance and completing the run, it takes more than 2 hours. There is not a lot of people that can regularly have such a long game session (apart from raiding which is planified).

In that sence running flashpoints is much less casual than in WOW and why it is so hard to find groups.

I think the issue is not really with the lack of an LFG tool but more with the length of HM flashpoints. In WOW, you get in the queue, you are teleported to the instance and after 30 minutes the run is finished.

 

In swtor, betwwen finding the groupe, travelling to the instance and completing the run, it takes more than 2 hours. There is not a lot of people that can regularly have such a long game session (apart from raiding which is planified).

 

In that sence running flashpoints is much less casual than in WOW and why it is so hard to find groups.

This is part of it.

Some of the flashpoints are incredibly long. They need to supliment by offering a "hard mode" on Heroics with a mission terminal that will allow you to pick from all the heroics available with Drops close to HM flash points, but not quite.

The other part is that you have an entire population that got to CHOOSE whether to solo or group for the entire game. A lot of players chose to Solo, and have reached 50 and continue to solo and are not interested in grouping.

But at 50, bioware forces players to group for a LOT of things, so it's a shock to the system that some players want to resist. (Grouping isn't fun for everyone, especially if you're unlucky with a few PUG groups).

So a lot of those 50's aren't logging in, or they're just going about their dailies and ignoring the group requests.

Bioware's method of Forcing players into doing stuff is a method that is about 10 years out of date for MMO's, but it's their first MMO so I guess they have to go back and make all the mistakes that every other MMO developer has made.

Bioware has TONS of existing content that they could add though in the form of Hard Mode Heroics, making the 2 man heroics actually doable with just you and a companion could alleviate a lot of these issues.

It's another choice. Also, some heroics can be finished in 10-15 minutes with the right group of players. So it's a quick in-and-out for casual players.

This is part of it.

 

Some of the flashpoints are incredibly long. They need to supliment by offering a "hard mode" on Heroics with a mission terminal that will allow you to pick from all the heroics available with Drops close to HM flash points, but not quite.

 

The other part is that you have an entire population that got to CHOOSE whether to solo or group for the entire game. A lot of players chose to Solo, and have reached 50 and continue to solo and are not interested in grouping.

 

But at 50, bioware forces players to group for a LOT of things, so it's a shock to the system that some players want to resist. (Grouping isn't fun for everyone, especially if you're unlucky with a few PUG groups).

 

So a lot of those 50's aren't logging in, or they're just going about their dailies and ignoring the group requests.

 

Bioware's method of Forcing players into doing stuff is a method that is about 10 years out of date for MMO's, but it's their first MMO so I guess they have to go back and make all the mistakes that every other MMO developer has made.

Well, let's not forget that only a small portion of the playerbase is at 50 in the first place.

Well, let's not forget that only a small portion of the playerbase is at 50 in the first place.

I'm not forgetting that. But I see 50's all the time that just don't want to group. They got used to playing the game their way, grouping only once in a while when they felt like it, and they don't want to be forced. So a lot of them are going back to Alts, or just taking a break from the game entirely to see what gets done about it.

I myself have a really hard time finding TIME to do a Hard Mode flashpoint. I just don't have the 2 hours to dedicate to it right now. I can do 30-45 minutes, no problem. In fact myself and 3 other 50's helped out a level 43 with one of his heroics the other day just because HE couldn't find anyone to group up with.

Another problem is that between level 35-40, i've noticed a lot of players on the republic side have stopped leveling and are taking a break because, and I quote. "It feels like a grind now".

There are many factors to it, I know. Me personally, I'm hoping for Hard Mode Heroics at some point, that way I can pick and choose from all of the ones each planet has to offer and find one that fits with the time I have available.

In fact I would have no issues with the thought that I may never get to do hard mode FP's or Ops because of time constraints if I could group up or solo some of the smaller heroics when I wanted and not feel like I'm just steam-rolling the content.

Honestly some of the heroics were more fun than the Flashpoints anyway, in some cases. All the heroics lack is a boss that requires some weird game mechanic to kill. heh.

I have one... casual player friends who are lower level. Sigh. I don't really want to ditch them.

ur a racer. you are your enemy my friend. I have a guildie like u who lvls too fast ad complains at the end while everyone else is enjoying lvling

I'm not forgetting that. But I see 50's all the time that just don't want to group. They got used to playing the game their way, grouping only once in a while when they felt like it, and they don't want to be forced. So a lot of them are going back to Alts, or just taking a break from the game entirely to see what gets done about it.

 

I myself have a really hard time finding TIME to do a Hard Mode flashpoint. I just don't have the 2 hours to dedicate to it right now. I can do 30-45 minutes, no problem. In fact myself and 3 other 50's helped out a level 43 with one of his heroics the other day just because HE couldn't find anyone to group up with.

 

Another problem is that between level 35-40, i've noticed a lot of players on the republic side have stopped leveling and are taking a break because, and I quote. "It feels like a grind now".

 

There are many factors to it, I know. Me personally, I'm hoping for Hard Mode Heroics at some point, that way I can pick and choose from all of the ones each planet has to offer and find one that fits with the time I have available.

 

In fact I would have no issues with the thought that I may never get to do hard mode FP's or Ops because of time constraints if I could group up or solo some of the smaller heroics when I wanted and not feel like I'm just steam-rolling the content.

 

Honestly some of the heroics were more fun than the Flashpoints anyway, in some cases. All the heroics lack is a boss that requires some weird game mechanic to kill. heh.

I can understand. I'd be there with you looking for other 50s right now but I got my Sage up to 50, paid attention to the heroic gear and was like.. "I'm supposed to wear that?!" I rerolled to a Commando who is now 41.

I'm getting to be "old" in the gaming community at a ripe old age of 35 and I've changed my way of doing things. With my Commando, I'll finish all the class story and quests before I get real concerned with Flashpoints at all. My brother and I have duo'ed a number of the normal modes while leveling but I'm not a fan of sub-50 Flashpoints anyway.

Once I get all my "solo" content done to where it's all dailies that are left, I'll start hitting the guild up to run heroics. Without a LFD tool though, I'll rarely subject myself to the PUG part of the community as a healer. I will at times as a DPS, so my activity in the PUG side of the game will depend on when Bioware implements dual spec and my own guild's activity. I am DPS right now and I'm not opposed to going heal spec but without mouseover healing and a better way to see party debuffs, I have no desire to do it full time at this point.

I hope my ramblings make some level of sense, but that is how I feel about level 50 Flashpoints and I know a few others in my guild feel the same way.

That sucks. There have been 3 people in my guild now that have reached level 50. I don't see them on anymore. Hopefully they are just playing alts and waiting for more of us to hit 50... but I have a feeling they are just not interested in playing anymore. Why do people have to rush to 50 and then quit? Lame.

A few in my guild hit 50, then rolled an alt on one side or the other while they are waiting on others to catch up.

It may also be that their alts are in different guilds or even on different servers.

Wow how do people get to 50 so fast.

I wish I could play every day.

This is part of it.

 

Some of the flashpoints are incredibly long. They need to supliment by offering a "hard mode" on Heroics with a mission terminal that will allow you to pick from all the heroics available with Drops close to HM flash points, but not quite.

 

The other part is that you have an entire population that got to CHOOSE whether to solo or group for the entire game. A lot of players chose to Solo, and have reached 50 and continue to solo and are not interested in grouping.

 

But at 50, bioware forces players to group for a LOT of things, so it's a shock to the system that some players want to resist. (Grouping isn't fun for everyone, especially if you're unlucky with a few PUG groups).

 

So a lot of those 50's aren't logging in, or they're just going about their dailies and ignoring the group requests.

 

Bioware's method of Forcing players into doing stuff is a method that is about 10 years out of date for MMO's, but it's their first MMO so I guess they have to go back and make all the mistakes that every other MMO developer has made.

 

Bioware has TONS of existing content that they could add though in the form of Hard Mode Heroics, making the 2 man heroics actually doable with just you and a companion could alleviate a lot of these issues.

 

It's another choice. Also, some heroics can be finished in 10-15 minutes with the right group of players. So it's a quick in-and-out for casual players.

tHIS IS AM MMO NOT KOTOR THEY DONT HAVE TO TRY AND CARE TO PEOPLE NOT INTERESTED IN PLAYING WITH OTHERS.

WRONG GAME BUD.

I love the game, but what a letdown at level 50. I went from playing all the time I was online to just sitting in the Imperial Fleet hoping to find a group.

 

I guess I've been spoiled with 5 minutes queues in another game, but really, this is incredibly disappointing. Bah.

 

And yes, I've made an alt.. and she's level 50 too.

You played too much. Your problem.

You played too much. Your problem.

And I enjoyed every minute of it. Until I was done with all my quests.

It's just a huge letdown. I guess in a month when all the casuals are 50 they'll understand though... there's just nothing you can do for 1.5 hour at a time, except pvp...

I just got this game a week ago, but I had friends that already had a pretty established guild, so I was put in there from level one. I'm still not fifty yet, but the majority of the guild I'm in is fifty and they frequently run hard mode flashpoints and are starting to do operations regularly.

However, they ALSO get on alts to help me level when they're not doing stuff on their fifties and will do flashpoints with me around my level, help me through heroics, etc. So, what it sounds like to me, is what others have already pointed out; you're your own worst enemy. You're fifty and the rest of your friends aren't, and you don't want to abandon them but it also sounds like you're not really putting forth the effort to help them level. If they don't level as fast as you want them to, then you'll have to put up with it, because they're entitled to play the game as they wish and level at their own pace.

I'm certain there's classes you haven't played to completion yet, so just make an alt and help your guildmates/friends get up to fifty so then you can all experience the stuff you want to do.

Also: the game's been out for a little over a month, and within that span they've already released Kaon Under Siege and expanded Karagga's Palace. I don't know what exactly you're expecting in terms of flow of content, but if you're already hounding for more content, it might be time to take a break and do something else.

No, they're just in no rush to get to 50, lol. I kinda want to run hardmodes but yeah... I really don't want to spend 3 hours in an instance.

Maybe I'll just play all toons to 50 for the story and call it a day...

I should have added though... this is my secondary game. I don't want to do high end content with it (really, I can't anyway, I spend most evenings playing my other game mostly). Was just looking for a fun game to spend some time on off nights... just wasn't expecting that end game would be such a time sink.

No, they're just in no rush to get to 50, lol. I kinda want to run hardmodes but yeah... I really don't want to spend 3 hours in an instance.

 

Maybe I'll just play all toons to 50 for the story and call it a day...

 

I should have added though... this is my secondary game. I don't want to do high end content with it (really, I can't anyway, I spend most evenings playing my other game mostly). Was just looking for a fun game to spend some time on off nights... just wasn't expecting that end game would be such a time sink.

I'm not sure what you were expecting then. The end game here is pretty much par for the course in most other major MMORPGs.

Do heroic Flashpoints for points. Spend points on gear. Do operations for points, spend points on gear. Do PvP for points, spend points on gear.

Sure, I'd like to see a new system tried but I don't think the genre is ready for that quite yet.

This is exactly why a flashpoint queueing system would be amazing for this game. You could go and run your dailies or help your lower level guild friends out while sitting in a queue and then get notified when a goup has been formed.

Bash it all you want, but WoW's LFD tool was the best thing they ever did for players who want to do more than sit around a central hub and shout for groups and pray you get one together and still have enough time to actually complete the content.

People can remark about how it killed the community, but honestly, I'm paying to PLAY this game, not sit in a glorified chat room with Star Wars avatars and spend countless hours trying to get enough people together to play. I'm already in a guild, but it's more of a social one where people talk and joke, rather than a progression/ end game guild right now due to how new the game is.

This is exactly why a flashpoint queueing system would be amazing for this game. You could go and run your dailies or help your lower level guild friends out while sitting in a queue and then get notified when a goup has been formed.

 

Bash it all you want, but WoW's LFD tool was the best thing they ever did for players who want to do more than sit around a central hub and shout for groups and pray you get one together and still have enough time to actually complete the content.

 

People can remark about how it killed the community, but honestly, I'm paying to PLAY this game, not sit in a glorified chat room with Star Wars avatars and spend countless hours trying to get enough people together to play. I'm already in a guild, but it's more of a social one where people talk and joke, rather than a progression/ end game guild right now due to how new the game is.

You cannot release a LFD queuing system for a freshly launched game. There will not be enough level 50s to make the system work. It would likely work alright for the lowest level flashpoints but the queue times for heroic flashpoints would be insane - then the few players (relatively speaking) trying to use the system would come back here and claim the system was broken.

Patience is what is required here. In about 3 months, the heroic Flashpoint pug scene will be in a better shape than it is today. Many more people will be at max level and willing to slam their heads into repeated flashpoint play.

The same thing basically happened in Rift too, by the way.

tHIS IS AM MMO NOT KOTOR THEY DONT HAVE TO TRY AND CARE TO PEOPLE NOT INTERESTED IN PLAYING WITH OTHERS.

 

WRONG GAME BUD.

There isn't anything wrong about having content you can do by yourself at level 50. The trick to get people into doing group content is to

1) Keep the incentives for group content higher than solo content.

Picture a short dungeon where the mobs drop level 50 green items, and cosmetic items, and the bosses drop some Green and Blue items and maybe some cosmetic items, or a rare crafting schematic. And if you complete the whole solo flashpoint you get a Tionese Crystal. And then you also pick up a Daily quest for completing 2 or 3 of these solo flashpoints and you also get maybe 1 Tionese Commendation.

You see there is a rather large group of people who play MMOs who just don't like grouping up with other people at all. So what you do is offer them a route, continue progressing their character threw solo content. But at the same time, you make them pick up their quest from the same daily mission terminal where you get your other dailies, like your Hard Mode Daily, and your Hard Mode Dungeon Weekly. And what you do is you show the difference in reward up front.

Now if you do the math, with the solo reward schedule laid out like above. If you do your solo flash-point daily, and only that daily every day, you'll eventually get enough Tionese commendations and Crystals to buy your offhand weapon after like 2 1/2 weeks. That reward schedule is very slow. But you see the hook here is that you've already begun to reward people with some gear currency that they can use to buy their Tier 1 set. Those gear tokens have value, and that value is that new gear level they can slowly buy their way into. When people are able to compare the rewards they get at from their solo quest with the rewards you get at with gear currency, suddenly you've created an incentive for people to also do their Hardmode Flashpoint Daily so that they can get those rewards even faster.

Also on the note of rewards: Why reward Cosmetic Items.

Well the reason is even max level players in highest gear level will feel like doing the new content that they outgear if there is a reward that is worth doing it for.

2) Keep the content short.

A solo dungeon should be something you can take care of by yourself in like 30 minutes to an hour.

3) Make the encounters challenging.

Think like some of the Big Class Quest missions, but repeatable. The encounters shouldn't be a pushover either. The encounters, especially the boss encounters, should have a few mechanics involved.

Why?

Because your creating another way to train people for Hardmode Flashpoints.