What *really* happens when they raise the level cap...

Yeah, I watched that Taugrim video about horizontal scaling (Link HERE) and, to be honest, for a person like me who had never been introduced to that idea, it sounded fascinating. A game that scaled horizontally is a game I'd LOVE to play. If SWTOR could begin to implement an end-game system that wasn't so heavily based on grinding to a new level of gear and leaving fellow players who didn't have as much time back in the dust (i.e. vertical scaling), my respect for BW would go through the roof.

First, don't fool yourself, TOR is a loot treadmill game. Raising the level cap means extended gear grind and obsolescence for prior efforts. Some reasoning below.

Second, when it comes to communication, there are a few things to be aware of. If you look at the communication patterns, it is more EA/Mythic setting the communication (or lack of) tone and information (or lack of) sharing. As I posted a long time ago, good communication means active dialogue between the devs (or their well informed proxies) and the community. It is not a one shot thing, it is an on-going effort that needs to be committed to. There are mmo success stories of this sort of communication, EA/Mythic are NOT among them.

Is TOR a loot treadmill game?
Did it include, at inception, a non-linear advancement system (ala AA from EQ or RR from DAoC)? No.
Are there listed tiers of gear, and do those tiers show distinct improvements (as opposed to marginal) over earlier tiers/ranks? Yes and yes.
Are you excluded from content because you are improperly geared? Yes. (I admit that this is mostly a problem generated by the community itself, not by specific code in the game, but the game does point people rather clearly in that direction.)
(Note: the legacy improvements are not so much about improving the performance of your character(s), but about adding flash and improving the speed of leveling, thus launching you to the gear treadmill faster)

I too have some clear opinions on what leveling methods would be viable instead of gear, but that is a subject for another thread.

Speaking as someone who doesn't PVP or Raid, and who just occasionally does flash points and heroic missions with random people, I'm in favor of a higher level cap. I'm in it mainly for the story, and your basic PVE experience. Though I'm sure I'd enjoy more story content without an increase, it'd be nice to keep getting new abilities and levels as I keep playing.

Yeah, I know, I'm just some "casual" player who only spends a few hours a day on this game, but I think I'm part of the relatively quiet majority on this.

I hate to be a negitive nancy here .. but it's the genere that the game resides in. People want new content. People want progression. People want to see their damage/health/stats skyrocket. The basic formula for these types of games has been to increase the level cap by 5 to 10, add 1-2 new raids, 3-4 new dungeons and a slew of quests. This generally keeps people playing longer because they are in essence: restarting the game from scratch.

Have you evern been playing an MMO and had a new server pop-up? Its SO much fun to run around with a bunch of people on equal ground. To experience lower level content with an experienced group and see facets of your game in different ways. This is the same concept for raising the level cap. I would be willing to bet that if you have top end raid gear, and the level cap was increased to 60, than by level 57 you would be finding GREEN gear that was an upgrade ... prehaps even before that.

I am truely sorry if you feel negitive towards this concept, but it's kinda just the way things work for the majority of MMO type games. This is because the vast majority of players tend to enjoy these "Resets".

On the topic: A new level cap is nothing to be afraid of. Yes, you will have to get back on the treadmill if you want to stay competitive, but in this game, that basically amounts to just doing the new content they provide for you and switching out the mods in your gear (and augments) to a more level/power appropriate set of mods/augments. Big whoop. If you like the way the new custom or artifact (raid) gear looks, then you get the pieces the same way you got the pieces you have now. by doing the content, killing bosses, and getting your stuff. How is this bad? It isn't like in wow where you got these 5 pieces of completely awesome looking and beastly itemized gear and it became useless and you went back to looking like a court jester for another 10 levels. (the cosmetics portion of their game is different now too with their transmogrification)

Currently, in THIS game, you can't take 8 or 16 people, geared in columi gear and expect to dominate at nightmare mode Explosive Conflict. Same principal for the new content. With the added benefit of new abilities, new talent points (presumably), new main character progression story line content, and new flashpoints and ops. I mean, what do you want? Stagnant content? Stagnant progression?

Also, on level cap: Whether it's 3 or 5 or 10 levels..who cares? It's NEW CONTENT! I honestly never get the folks who absolutely hate doing leveling content. It's story and character development people. This is an MMORPG, meaning there are roleplay elements in this game that require SOME storyline development in order for you to be able to have a character in a lore rich environment. Otherwise, this would not be an MMORPG, it'd be an FPS. If that's what youo like, then..honestly, you chose the wrong game to invest time and money into. I refer you to any number of other console and computer based games whose story development is done on the back of the box they come in. Have at it.

It's not about the new content. It's about how some are still stuck on the idea how new content = new levels when there are plenty of examples of games that prove this.

Also you're idea of what makes an MMORPG is a bit off because "massively multiplayer role playing" is, by definition, a sandbox.

Well this will give them the chance to come out with better looking smuggler gear

My only real gripe with this level cap increase is the simple fact... it's just not a very interesting route. A few more hit points and some skill points, assuming it works the way leveling is now.

I'd rather see a different spin on progression, or at least one that's not just more of the same. A new mod slot post 50 has possibilities. Or perhaps class or role specific customization as part of the Legacy window (without ridiculous costs.) As skill trees are now, they're pretty run of the mill. A few extra points in a tree that adds a 1% increase in a stat as part of my after 50 experience... just isn't very exciting.

Right now all we can do is speculate, but here's to hoping after 50 progression is a little more creative. Take the figurative hamster off the treadmilll and put him in a plastic ball. Let him roll around the house!

I'd like to second this statement.

I remember my Dwarf Warrior was crafting gear and looked like a freaking Ninja Turtle.