Lately I've been wondering, why aren't the bonus series lvl 50? I see why they are designed the way they are. They represent the continuation of that planets story and as such needs to be in a chronological order. They also act as a continuation for players who want to continue on that planet. There's also the fact that lvl 50 areas wont work well next to lvl 16 – 19 areas, like the main areas on Taris and Balmorra. There are probably more reasons that I have missed, so don't hesitate to tell me if you find some more.

 

There are (as far as I'm aware) 11 planets that contain bonus series, each with 3-4 stages. Each of these with around 5 missions next to it, so about 165 – 220 missions total. That's a lot of content that is being skipped by a large number of player and as such isn't needed when initially levelling through the planet. As I see it a large reason for people skipping them is down to the characters main storyline. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with the main story, but next to the planet's main story and the character main story the bonus series just hasn't got a place. You finish the planet and then the character story moves on to the next planet. And as the players already are a bit over levelled for the next planet (at least early on), they decide to move on with the story to avoid making the next content too easy.

 

The way I see it, the best way these bonus series could have been designed would be as end game content. They should all continue the planet's story progression post treaty of Coruscant and serve as content for lvl 50 players to enjoy, next to operations, pvp and flashpoints. I see how this may be a problems for planets like Balmorra or Taris however there are multiple ways to fit it in to the story. The areas could be instanced and inaccessible to anyone below lvl 50, however this should be a shared instance for all lvl 50s. As for the fact that they act as a continuation, to help players mold their levelling experience. I see why this would be a great goal, however due to the massive level differences you can achieve before even stepping on the next planet (for instance my sith assassin was lvl 19 before Balmorra). I see no reason for these missions to make that divide larger than it already is.

 

To conclude I just wanted to say that I think swtor is a good game, however with the right design decisions it could be a great game. The game is certainly going in the right way, however is held back by design decisions like this. The player shouldn't stop their stories on many planets just because their lvl 50 and there is a lot of content here that could enrich the end game. I'm not saying that they should be changed now, as this would involve rewriting the story experience as well as recoding, remodeling and remaking the entire experience for many planets. However I want this to be an after thought the designers have and as such help to prevent the lack of content for later dates.

 

Regards

Jim

 

P.S: My mate (who is sitting next to me while writing this) wants me to mention 2 other design decisions quickly.

1: We have holocomunicators and we can't send or receive a simple text message? I see why it wouldn't work for packages and money, however when there's a message sent with purely text, why not?

2: Why does the ship need to take of when the player enters? I know it's a loading screen and the ships only have skyboxes in space, however this would be an easy fix.

1: We have holocomunicators and we can't send or receive a simple text message? I see why it wouldn't work for packages and money, however when there's a message sent with purely text, why not?

What do you think whispers could be? I mean its not like you heard that person whispering to you across the galaxy now did you? Not saying they are, but they could be.

 

That and players expect mailboxes in mmos, so mailboxes we gots.

Edited April 18, 2012 by DragoAskani

Some of the bonus series' are not appropriate to planet level. I think nar shadaa being the first example. Also I believe the bonus series for Belsavis are lvl 50.

The bonus series are not consistent.

 

Some bonus series are within the planet's level range, so you can do them after you do the planet missions.

But some require higher levels in order to unlock it. This was especially difficult for me in nar shaddaa. It was hard to find people to group up with, because most of them would rather continue on to other planets.

 

I like your suggestion that all bonus series be made to level 50. This ensures consistency, that bonus series = level 50 end game content. It will be more intuitive.

Higher levels will also go back to those planets and make it more populated, giving the planet a more populated feel.

The bonus series are not consistent.

 

Some bonus series are within the planet's level range, so you can do them after you do the planet missions.

But some require higher levels in order to unlock it. This was especially difficult for me in nar shaddaa. It was hard to find people to group up with, because most of them would rather continue on to other planets.

 

I like your suggestion that all bonus series be made to level 50. This ensures consistency, that bonus series = level 50 end game content. It will be more intuitive.

Higher levels will also go back to those planets and make it more populated, giving the planet a more populated feel.

 

Personally, I'd love to see more quest chains that require you to visit different worlds. Maybe make a daily bonus quest chain, available on fleet.

 

For example:

 

"Revisiting the Core Worlds"

 

Quest giver on fleet.

 

Travel to Coruscant, do X. Pick up objective that indicates the next link in the chain is on Corellia.

 

Travel to Corellia, battle NPC there who tells you he was hired by someone on Alderaan.

 

Track down NPC on Alderaan, interrogate, discover Kilik connection which takes you to Balmorra,

 

(etc...)

 

I'd do this a few times.

Making all the bonus series lvl 50 wouldn't work, primarily because these quests are intended to fill gaps in leveling for solo players. Putting them at 50, when everyone is already level capped, is a waste.

Making all the bonus series lvl 50 wouldn't work, primarily because these quests are intended to fill gaps in leveling for solo players. Putting them at 50, when everyone is already level capped, is a waste.

If that's the case, then why put all these heroics in the bonus series?

 

Not to be picky here, I agree with a poster here that the "bonus series" idea is poorly designed. Most people skipped doing it and a few people who wanted to do it couldn't find groups.

The bonus series are needed if you are solo leveling without any activities other than questing, faster than your rested XP can regenerate. For the most part they are basic quests very thin on story, so you aren't missing much if you skip them. They insure that there are never "I did all these quests, but the next planet is too high level" dead spots that most MMOs end up with. You can also use them to vary future playthroughs by skipping optional quests and doing bonus series quests that you haven't done before.

 

They wouldn't be good level 50 content because they aren't designed that way. Dailies need to be very quick and easy or people won't do them, and most bonus series have long missions with a lot of stages.

If that's the case, then why put all these heroics in the bonus series?

 

Not to be picky here, I agree with a poster here that the "bonus series" idea is poorly designed. Most people skipped doing it and a few people who wanted to do it couldn't find groups.

 

How do you know 'most people skipped' them? You simply don't. I've done all of the bonus series solo quests.

 

I also said that the bonus series is 'primarily' designed for solo players...not exclusively designed. Yeah, there are heroics..it's not the focus of the series though.

 

BW has given us multiple ways to level. Bonus series quests are part of that mix.

I think this is a pretty solid idea, they could also be made to give daily comms as rewards (even though they can only be done once) overall it just seems like a potentially nice way to add more reason for people to explore some of the content. Bonus series definitely don't seem to contribute to leveling atm.

i think it would be nice to get a balance between having some bonus series at 50, and some as filler in between leveling.

 

perhaps as more dailies are added, hopefully they spread over the different planets so they are more populated, and low levels can catch a glipse of level50s and things to come.

That is a fascinating idea. I think it might be possible to get around the level disparity (e.g. lvl 50 monsters on Dromund Kaas) using mechanics similar to the Tatooine rakghoul dailies, where the monsters spawn at the level of the player.

 

But having said that... let's take a step back and ask, "What's the goal here?" If the goal is to provide story content for lvl 50 players, the content already exists. Players are free to skip the bonus series then do them all at lvl 50. Granted, the rewards would suck at that level, and the fights might not be challenging (unless the devs used the Tat tech as noted above), but the story would be the same.

 

I can see some value to forcing players to essentially skip the bonus series until lvl 50; this would mean that every lvl 50 player has a hundred or more storyline quests just waiting for them, which would definitely ameliorate some of the concerns about the story ending at lvl 50.

 

There are two downsides to this approach, that I can see. One has already been mentioned; some players, especially soloists, like to run the bonus series right after the primary planet arc, to "finish up" getting the gear and exp from that planet before moving on. The necessity for this exp and gear is of course debatable, as many players skip the bonus series now. This would however impose a bit of a burden on some players.

 

The other downside is that planetary arcs have a narrative continuity, so they're best enjoyed when the memories are still fresh. There are a couple workaround to this, e.g. lvl 50 players could get mail reminding them of the planetary arcs, or there could be a quick exposition dump by the first NPC who starts the bonus series.

 

This is a very, very interesting idea.

Why not lvl 50? Because they actually want people doing them?

 

Once I hit lvl 50 and finished the class quest, I shelf my characters until the lvl cap goes up. Many players never even hit 50.

 

I haven't done the Voss bonus series, (or, uhm.. Belsavis?) and haven't even BEEN to Ilum.

 

I have, however, done all the other bonus series.

 

 

So, uhm, yeah. Keep the bonus series as-is.

I for one am a player that likes completeness. I will go back to a planet and complete it's bonus line if it's a great deal higher than when i leave the planet. I'm talking about you Alderaan! people who skip these stages are missing a lot ot content and some very good level gear and champion boss' that have unique drops. Sticking with the alderaan series for a moment some of the rewards from the heroics and boss' are purple quality mods, armour, and enhancements. If I didn't do these missions sure i could have moved on to Belsavis which is about the same lvl as the alderaan bonus area but i wouldn't get purple mods from the coms there or as rewards. I think the bonus series is there as a way for you to grind up some good gear and have some good fights with some boss'

What do you think whispers could be? I mean its not like you heard that person whispering to you across the galaxy now did you? Not saying they are, but they could be.

 

That and players expect mailboxes in mmos, so mailboxes we gots.

I probably didn't specify that i meant npc mail, not character mail and that players expect mail boxes doesn't justify not finding a new way of doing them.

decided to delete this post Edited April 18, 2012 by Johar

Like i specified in the original post, i am not expecting them to change the bonus series, i am merely asking for them to take it into consideration for the future. And just because some just leave their character at level 50 doesn't mean everyone does (or wants to).

They could theoretically implement a "End Series" which could wrap up a planet's story line, and be for level 50 characters.

 

Also, I like the idea of mission lines requiring you to skip to multiple planets to complete them. Gives variety to otherwise homogeneous level populations. They do this for the class missions, but perhaps they should expand upon it.

did any of you ever thought having different level content on the same planet opens the way for future additional content at that level? be it expansions or what ever the flypoints are in place for such without adding additional planets making such far far easier and time efficient to implement.

 

the bonus series are fine as is. some class quests have you going to the lower level planets back again as it is.

did any of you ever thought having different level content on the same planet opens the way for future additional content at that level?

 

Yes, obviously they could add more content to existing planets. I don't see why it would need to be the same level though; they've proven with the rakghoul event that they can have quests that spawn e.g. lvl 50 monsters in a lvl 25ish area.

the bonus series are fine as is. some class quests have you going to the lower level planets back again as it is.

 

When you go back to earlier planets with your class mission, its to either have a convorsation or kill an npc that is set to your estimated level. These are usually short, very story driven experiences that earn you minimal xp. My problem with the bonus missions isn't that you have to stay on (or go back to) that planet, In fact thats what i wanted to see. More content aimed at giving lvl 50s a good story experience without having to group and gives them a reason to visit the many planets. The bonus series are largely untouched and ignored, and its a shame to see good content become untouched.