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Notes on BioChem and Cybertech in Game Update 1.1


GeorgZoeller

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As some of you may have already noticed from our patch notes for Game Update 1.1, we’ve made adjustments to several high-end, purple, player crafted items on the BioChem and Cybertech professions. Simply put, we reduced their overall impact on gameplay and I wanted to explain why it was necessary.

 

 

BioChem crafted medical kits were too good. In fact, they were too good both in the amount of healing they provided (often more than half a character’s health) and the frequency they could be used (every 90 seconds!). This was negatively impacting the game for everyone else. We’ve seen significant chatter both in and out of game about how players not picking up the BioChem professions would be ‘stupid’ and ‘gimping themselves’. This indicates that a small number of competitive players have been denying access to high end content based on whether a player has the BioChem Crew Skill.

 

 

Cybertech grenades, especially when stacked with additional power-ups and other temporary buffs, were creating combat damage burst potential higher than we were comfortable with and caused player versus player engagements in the game to resolve faster than intended. In fact we have additional changes to classes and consumables currently in internal testing to deal with faster than anticipated kill times in player versus player combat in a future patch.

 

 

 

The design intent for the game is that your choice of crafting profession should not become a requirement or ‘gating’ mechanism for participating in competitive content (PvP) and high end endgame challenges. While we certainly want players that engage in the crafting game to reap rewards for their effort, we don’t want one or two crafting professions to become the de facto ‘must have’ choice for everyone, which is what happened here.

 

 

We are extremely careful with this type of change, and understand that it can be frustrating for our players when we make them. Please understand, we make these changes not because we like to mess with your character, but because they are required to ensure a level and fun playing field for all players of the game.

 

At the same time, we understand that people that changed their profession because of the events described above will likely be unhappy about these changes – and while it’s easy to say ‘that’s how it goes in MMOs’, making modifications like this is something we’re always cautious about doing. At the same time, both player feedback and the data gathered from hundreds of servers made it very clear that this issue needed to be dealt with decisively now with only a small minority of players at endgame level and the vast majority of our characters in their 20s to minimize the number of affected players.

 

 

TL;DR: Fancy words for ‘we nerfed BioChem and Cybertech endgame products’ because they were so good that players started considering them mandatory. Your choice of profession is not supposed to be the deciding factor for participation and success in endgame content. We still believe that BioChem and Cybertech are very worthwhile Crew Skills, especially considering the significant fortune players with these professions are able to realize on the GTN... they are however no longer the ‘golden ticket’ into endgame content.

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In fact we have additional changes to classes and consumables currently in internal testing to deal with faster than anticipated kill times in player versus player combat in a future patch.

 

Aw crap, I can bet I know what class that affects.

 

Thanks for the explanation though, it's nice reading everything you guys put out.

Edited by VicSkimmr
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But the cooldown on grenades is still 5 minutes?

 

We've been saying on the forums that it is far too long. If you are reducing the damage anyway, how about balancing them around a shorter cooldown, as well?

 

We currently cannot reverse engineer grenades, even though the UI lets us try. Is the bug that they show up as RE-able, or that doing it doesn't work?

 

What about the other crew skills? I think the key problem is that with the exception of Biochem and Cybertech, they don't offer anything that can't be achieved through other means. People want something unique from their crew skills; something that makes them say, "Yeah, I get to use this because I've got X skill!" and consumables are a good way to do that because there are many ways to get equipment.

Edited by Felioats
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Seriously? Nerfing grenades?

 

I took Cybertech as a tank for the grenades to help with my AOE tanking deficiencies as a Juggernaut. I don't care about nerfing the damage, but how about reducing the cooldown to 1 minute so I can actually use them every pull?

Edited by Notannos
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But the cooldown on grenades is still 5 minutes?

 

We've been saying on the forums that it is far too long. If you are reducing the damage anyway, how about balancing them around a shorter cooldown, as well?

 

At the very least, keep the individual 5 minute cooldown, but give them a 90 sec shared cooldown or something. There's almost zero reason to make more than one as it stands.

 

Even so, I really don't see how these needed a damage nerf. Were people actually switching to Cybertech? I only *ever* saw people on forums/in-game talking about changing to Biochem.

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Your reasoning makes sense. However, many developer posts have been about tackling needed game adjustments in order of priority. Is this really high on that list?

 

How about Ability Lag?

 

How about the unpopular and unavoidable Auto-PvP feature that violates the game code about non-consensual PvP (see thread in this forum)?

 

If y'all are using "Ease of Correction" or "Rapidity/Alacrity of Correction" as a criterion in addition to simply priority, please let us know. I think the community would accept that, but saying "priority" only, and making a fix like this, is quite the empathic failure. This community certainly has other priorities.

 

But thanks for the clear explanation!

Edited by PaxFelix
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This indicates that a small number of competitive players have been denying access to high end content based on whether a player has the BioChem Crew Skill.

In other words, Bioware are letting a small number of hardcore dictate the game's design.

 

kthxbai.

Edited by KerinKor
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As some of you may have already noticed from our patch notes for Game Update 1.1, we’ve made adjustments to several high-end, purple, player crafted items on the BioChem and Cybertech professions. Simply put, we reduced their overall impact on gameplay and I wanted to explain why it was necessary.

 

 

BioChem crafted medical kits were too good. In fact, they were too good both in the amount of healing they provided (often more than half a character’s health) and the frequency they could be used (every 90 seconds!). This was negatively impacting the game for everyone else. We’ve seen significant chatter both in and out of game about how players not picking up the BioChem professions would be ‘stupid’ and ‘gimping themselves’. This indicates that a small number of competitive players have been denying access to high end content based on whether a player has the BioChem Crew Skill.

 

 

Cybertech grenades, especially when stacked with additional power-ups and other temporary buffs, were creating combat damage burst potential higher than we were comfortable with and caused player versus player engagements in the game to resolve faster than intended. In fact we have additional changes to classes and consumables currently in internal testing to deal with faster than anticipated kill times in player versus player combat in a future patch.

 

 

 

The design intent for the game is that your choice of crafting profession should not become a requirement or ‘gating’ mechanism for participating in competitive content (PvP) and high end endgame challenges. While we certainly want players that engage in the crafting game to reap rewards for their effort, we don’t want one or two crafting professions to become the de facto ‘must have’ choice for everyone, which is what happened here.

 

 

We are extremely careful with this type of change, and understand that it can be frustrating for our players when we make them. Please understand, we make these changes not because we like to mess with your character, but because they are required to ensure a level and fun playing field for all players of the game.

 

At the same time, we understand that people that changed their profession because of the events described above will likely be unhappy about these changes – and while it’s easy to say ‘that’s how it goes in MMOs’, making modifications like this is something we’re always cautious about doing. At the same time, both player feedback and the data gathered from hundreds of servers made it very clear that this issue needed to be dealt with decisively now with only a small minority of players at endgame level and the vast majority of our characters in their 20s to minimize the number of affected players.

 

 

TL;DR: Fancy words for ‘we nerfed BioChem and Cybertech endgame products’ because they were so good that players started considering them mandatory. Your choice of profession is not supposed to be the deciding factor for participation and success in endgame content. We still believe that BioChem and Cybertech are very worthwhile Crew Skills, especially considering the significant fortune players with these professions are able to realize on the GTN... they are however no longer the ‘golden ticket’ into endgame content.

 

The problem isn't the amount, the problem is the fact they're reusable and it's SO much money saved especially with the medpac and stim. And you're just making it worse cause now everyone will just be permanantly biochem, making them tradable would have fixed it. There are better options way late game which takes care of the "well then nobody would go biochem after they got them" but that wouldn't happen once they start getting the better "usable" drops.

 

You either need to make them tradeable or take away the reusability, the amount of money saved is the problem NOT they fact they didn't require biochem...

 

This is a terrible change, there will only be biochem users now.

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How does nerfing Biotech like this make it any less of the go to crew skill for pvp and end raiding, it's still the only crew skill that really has something to offer. The real issue wasn't even medpacs but the adrenals which wouldn't be spammable because of cost if they weren't reusable.
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You guys are going at this the wrong way. ADRENALS are the problem! not med packs and not stims.

 

ADRENALS

 

Either bring them down from blue to green or change the reusable one to have x charges

Edited by Leilei
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It's for the best, I think.

 

I agree with the majority of posters: right now, all the other crewskills are extremely underwhelming at 50 and actually become quite useless by all appearances. I know my Rakata relics as an Artificer are very underwhelming and seem like they will be replaced very quickly upon end game progression - to the point where I wonder whether or not it's even useful to try making them.

 

At least now, Biochem's stuff comes off as a nice dessert rather than your mandatory meat and potatoes. While reusable consumables are still, by far, the most useful thing any profession provides end-gammers, at least it isn't manditory anymore. We can still compete, as long as we're willing to buy the consumables.

 

And the PvP fix seems solid enough: you use your Biochem stuff or the PvP stuff. Not both.

 

Hopefully, you guys can add some benefits to the other professions too.

Edited by McVade
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How does nerfing Biotech like this make it any less of the go to crew skill for pvp and end raiding, it's still the only crew skill that really has something to offer. The real issue wasn't even medpacs but the adrenals which wouldn't be spammable because of cost if they weren't reusable.

 

This is sadly true. The problem with the crew skills where not that Biochem was overpowered. Well, perhaps it is, but the real problem is that the other skills (except the grenades from Cybertech) dont bring anything to the table that can be gotten much easier and more reliable, not to mention cheaper, from commendations vendors. I've maxed cybertech at the moment, and sure, I can make som good armoring and mods, but I can easily get just as good, if not better ones, from vendors, with a lot less work involved.

 

You might be on to something reducing the effectivness on Biochem and Cybertechs grenades, perhaps making them less OP, but the other crew skills are still more or less worthless.

 

And before someone says that they sold this and that on the GTN, sure, people are idiots. But they'll wise up, eventually.

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At the same time, both player feedback and the data gathered from hundreds of servers made it very clear that this issue needed to be dealt with decisively now with only a small minority of players at endgame level and the vast majority of our characters in their 20s to minimize the number of affected players.

 

On this note, please hurry up and figure out how you are going to make all of the professions equally useful, asap. I'm an Armormech and I still don't see a reason for keeping it, over Biochem (post-nerf).

 

I'm sure many other players are on the fence too. I've already invested heavily into Armormech, and am soon going to hit 50, and once I get the higher-level gear, how will I benefit from Armormech?

 

tl;dr If you are going to make other crafting changes, do them sooner than later.

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Its nots like its the only thing being worked on--just a focus of that particular announcement. Bioware can't take the time to announce every little fix or nothing would get done and simply adjusting some timers/shared cool downs/etc is a lot easier than hunting down and fixing more major concerns so naturally these could be seen to first while others check on other issues.

 

I'm glad they tuned it down a little (bio) as was a bit OP. As long as it isn't made useless (which would be hard as pots have turned in to a staple nowadays) it will be fine. Curious to see what is done in actuality though as lip service isn't same thing as in game proof.

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BTW, if you haven't ACTUALLY read the patch notes...

 

Biochem

 

All Energized, Exotech, and Rakata adrenals and stims now require 400 Biochem for use.

The Exotech Medpac is now named “Exotech Med Unit.” Its overall healing has been reduced and is now in line with similar level medpacs, and it temporarily increases the maximum health of its targets. Use of this item now requires 400 Biochem.

The amount healed by Rakata Medpacs has been reduced. This item now additionally increases maximum health briefly. Use of this item now requires 400 Biochem.

 

This means they actually BUFFED the medpacs for tanks. It's now basically a second Endure Pain cooldown on 90 seconds.

 

Congrats, you just made an awesome tradeskill for everyone simply mandatory for one role in PVE. Dropping Cybertech like a rock now, BRB.

Edited by Farabee
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You guys are going at this the wrong way. ADRENALS are the problem! not med packs and not stims.

 

ADRENALS

 

Either bring them down from blue to green or change the reusable one to have x charges

 

They did address this in the PvP fix. The way Ops were getting insane numbers was by popping both Biochem and PvP stuff at the same time. They've made it so they no longer stack. Biochem is not a noticable advantage in PvP anymore.

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BTW, if you haven't ACTUALLY read the patch notes...

 

 

 

This means they actually BUFFED the medpacs for tanks. It's now basically a second Endure Pain cooldown on 90 seconds.

 

Dropping Cybertech like a rock now, BRB.

 

Not only that, non-Biochemists have zero access to decent stims and adrenals. Even Energized was made Biochem exclusive, which is level 51 compared to Rakata's level 58.

 

What in the world?

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Now that everything has been balanced down so as to make the rewards from Endgame more beneficial than leveling any of the Crafting Professions (except Cybertech, whose bombs seem to only be obtainable through it's use), my hope is that you guys immediately buff all six crafting professions such that the work and effort involved in leveling them provides its own distinct advantage in the endgame.
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