Communication and Bioware...why this continues to be a problem

Loved Reading this Lord Artemis.

Thanks for the good read and yes I agree with you on all points, even more so on this one :

Balance changes needs to wait longer in order to let people get used to the class. Unless said Balance is a must needing to fix a bugged skill/dmg.

I do personally feel that the pace and amount of changes was ridiculous....I mean, a few changes they made, changed them back, then back again.

It started to remind me of WoW around the time of WotLK.....when they really started to get balance crazy. It's the whole reason I left that game for good.

Well honestly I see no issue with Level Sync

I was 100% sure it was going to be a disaster as it was forced
But it hasnt been a issue
with one massive exception

Level sync (bolster) upwards
I have basically written off all flashpoints through group finder now if a PUG is involved because level 20 players being bolstered up to 65 simply does not work.
They lack the skills/abilities to compete in content designed for a level 65 player.

Other day I had to drop (as an example) from a taral V tactical (TACTICAL!!!!!) because we had a lvl 20 shadow (dps), Level 26 Shadow (DPS), and a 55 gunslinger (one of those types that refuses to click a healing terminal because they DPS, not a healer).

So we make it to final boss and he starts wiping group because he would throw a bomb and do massive damage to everyone.

Normally a level 65 just eats the damage (or self cleanses vias numberous class abilities) but our 20 and 26 didnt have the required ability yet as to low level. And the 55 gunslinger was saying "Im DPS, I do not heal or hit heal terminals, I do damage"

So instead we have this mental midgit shadow screaming at me that Im not cleansing her fast enough and being REALLY ignorant saying things like "do you know what a cleanse it? Do you know how to use it?"

Finally I just told her where to go and how to get there
I have 21 characters and not one of them has ever had to get cleansed or do a cleanse in Taral V vrs the last boss. The problem is you are to low level for this content and do not have the class skills/ability to survive the fight. And if you had any clue of what you were yelling about you would know that.

Couple days later went to add her name to my alts ignore lists and saw her account was no longer active (so guess I wasnt to only issue she ran into).

Bolstering upwards does not work.

Now as for EA comunication, its an absolute joke. Beyond unprofessional.

Tried getting Rishi data cron other day
got the 3 datapads, did all the steps, got to island and clicked
and datacrons never appeared

So sent in a bug report (because its a bug right????)
Also sent in a report to cust service saying "I just know my bug report will be closed and I will be told to contact you so Im jumping ahead and contacting you to have this fixed"

Next day they close bug report and say I need to contact cust service (as I predicted because this is what they do with ALL bug reports, just ignore then and pass the buck)

2 days later they close down my cust service report and in their reply they tell me to submit a bug report

(Just a FYI, this is exact same thing they been doing for over 2 years now regarding a well documented legacy bug. It still not fixed and if you bother to send a bug report they tell you to contact cust service. And when you contact cust service they tell you to submit a bug report)

So last week I get another bug where flashpoints are not updating on one of my characters weekly quest tracker

So submit a bug report (because its a bug.......can you guess where this going???)
Sure enough they close it down and tell me to contact cust service about this

So contact cust service about it (and again tell them I already submitted bug report and was sent here) and yup, they close it down saying its a bug and to submit a bug report.

Let me be clear
THIS IS A ELECTRONIC ARTS ISSUE
not a Bioware issue
Bioware is just a meaningless brand name now
The problem starts and ends with ELECTRONIC ARTS

Oh and btw, I was so frustrated with always getting the run around by customer disservice that I sent in a profanity ridden rant

And they thanked me for my feedback but this is a bug issue so kindly submit a bug report...

Yeah, no communication problem happening here
nope nope nope

They are listening to feedback just not the ones people in here want. People confuse time consuming with a challenge. The game was not really tough challenge. By changing the companions strength or lowering the experience. All you are doing is making it more time consuming. I don't want to sit around killing a dozen mobs over and over just to get half the experience I get now because some people think its "Too much experience" I don't want to have run flash points over and over just to get an extra level so I can finally take on the elite in my story line.

They ARE listening to feedback. I'll say this again. Just not YOURS. The majority is fine with these changes. I get some people say they want have a "discussion" all that leads to is saying "make it optional" and if not optional you want it mandatory. Let's recap. Getting less experience is TIME CONSUMING many people here have lives and other things to do besides grind all day. It doesn't make it any more of a challenge.

Telling people to submit "bug reports" about our experience level is ridiculous. Their are different depts for a reason harassing the wrong dept because they won't change experience to what YOU WANT is not a valid reason. They are talking on here. Please have to learn to accept their not going to change this model many people enjoy it

If some people don't like it. Simply don't play the game. Problem Solved.

None of us know whether that's true or not, we have no way of really knowing.

Everyone needs to stop playing psuedodemocracy with this crap and falling back on "but the majority agree with me" fallacies. Someone who agrees with you on one subject might think you're an idiot for another opinion, it happens all the time around here.

There are no majorities in MMO playerbases... just a conglomeration of minorities divided on each particular subject.


And IF Bioware is listening to feedback... where are they getting it, other than their precious, precious "metrics"?

According to that poll that person posted. A Majority approved of it. Whenever someone posts a thread on it. More people agree with it then not. It's just people who do agree don't create a dozen threads saying they agree. Everything I have seen shows more people are fine with it then not. Again you are confusing "time consuming quests" with legit "challenge" if you thought there was any challenge before the 4.0. You are playing the wrong game.

It was simply time consuming. Asking them to reduce experience or nerf companions will not make it anymore of a challenge. All It will do..is make the process more time consuming. It will literally only take longer. I think you have greatly confused those two things. Majority does not want more time consuming trash to clear out.

You had me until the end.

If you are going to hold that there are no majorities, then you really can't question the validity of their "metrics", as a metric then would be the only way to unite the groups of minorities in order to figure out direction.

Truth be told, I think it obvious from the articles when KotFE was announced, that BioWare is following their own metrics, which no, we are not entitled to know what they are.

And in general, while you don't believe in people claiming the majority, all one has to do is to go to different areas where SWTOR players congregate to get a "feel" that allows them to approximate the general sentiment.

For instance, the people complaining about level sync and companions here trend towards the same people repeating themselves. The people enjoying the game as is and jumping in conversations saying don't change a thing tend to be varied and numerous. It's not a hard nor entirely inaccurate assumption to make then that the majority enjoy the changes. To go a step further, the changes were made due to metrics, and the overall positive feedback from varied sources tend to support the metrics that BioWare used when they decided to make such a drastic change to the game, which actually further validates BioWare's metrics, again whatever they are.

Really, to argue against those things at this point is like arguing against the existence of wind because you can't see it, when the people arguing that it exists just have to look around and see everything it affects to know its there.

where is the data to back this up?

Are you going to ignore everything else I literally said. Then cherry pick your responses. Oh because you know I'm right.

-i know you're obsessed with companions, but this thread isn't about companions.

-a straw poll from this forum isn't necessarily a representative sample

-even if a lot of people like companions, that doesnt mean they like all the changes in the patch

-you haven't been right about anything in the 2 weeks you've been playing this game