greetings:

After playing this game as subbed since January 2013, I now can give an informative review on SWTOR.

Unfortunately, There are some basic grumbles, and some more concerning ones , which will decide if i stay with SWTOR.

I will attempt to deal with some issues one at a time:

1. This is an important one: (BTW I am Level 32 Vanguard trooper )

After yesterdays maintenance, I quickly finished of a small mission end to level up to 32.

However, returning to Nar Shaddaa to walk through previous old ground To do with Arics "missing in action" in cell blocks, I passed by One Litter Droid and 4 lowly Guards, which usually Are just a nuisance as I pass into another area. But this time, I found I had lost about 30% of my armour and power, or they had been upped by 30% because, despite even upping Aric's Armour more, just before hand, this group in 3 minuets, had defeated me, which dont make sense.

After doing a medic on the spot ,we continued on, and avoided most, until turned a corner, and got attacked again by another set of 4 guards and a litter Droid, The same happened again, defeated. I then returned to a Medic Droid for a top up of 25% armour lost from what I was wearing, and was astounded the Medic Took a staggering 2000 Credits, just to repair the small amount of damage, leaving me with not even enough credits to get a taxi.

I had used all my regulation med packs, trying to defeat these small groups, that I defeated quite normally at level 25. The items recovered from bodies and droids, are only worth about 30 credits each, how in hell you supposed to get enough in only two skirmishes to pay the med Droid 2000Credits for a minor repair makes it look like the Devs have not got there Logistics right.

2. Why does there have to be game maintenance at peak times of 2pm instead of between midnight-4Am like other games.

3. Warzones I have stopped playing, because there is great unfairness, in the mix of charactor levels, and lower level charactors, get an unfair score, which is mosty down the bottom. In fact not one cup have I have won, since I been playing them. In WoW "capture the flag missions, everybody was in a level bracket, so level 29-33 was what your group consisted off. here, I was astounded to be beaten by a lvl 50 Sith, which , to my mind should not be pitted against people of my level. IN WoW, I put a lot of effort into what i did, and usually came third fourth, or occasionally 1st. But here, Im constantly at the bottom. because my group members are much higher than me, with more skills more armour more of everything, meaning I will never compete for the number 1 spot at level 32.

3. One of my main complaints of this game, is that Bioware haven't made Corpse camping or Spawn killing illegal.

In Tatooine, Im continually having to leave missions and not finish them, because level 55 PVP siths, camp out at small outposts, and corpse kill, not once, but over and over, until you have used all your credits on med packs or paying the droid maybe a kilometer away.

many games I have played before, and WW2 online ones, make corpse killing illegal game play, meaning you can report a player for camping at re spawn points. I dont know why Bioware allows this, as I know several people who have to abandon tatooine, because they are unable to heal, to continue therre missions, and like mine, tatooine is part of my story line, meaning I have to go there. I would certainly like to see a rule, that forbids camping spawing areas, This to me, is very important, as to wether I continue to play and sub here.

4. I make med packs Which I sometimes give to my friends, or sell a job lot on the GTM, But the only med pack's Im able to make is Compact ones, Once I get missions In Alderaan and Tatooine, Compact med packs are totally useless, and I have to continually Buy expensive regulation ones, at a medic droid, which outstrips my income of credits in no Time. So , if anybody knows how to make higher level Med packs than compacts, using Bio-anylsis & Bio Chem, using Goo, But had to sell all my Goo, to get enough credits to pay a taxi back to a space port.

In closing, the Logistics of this game, seem to be out of balance in many ways, Im not lazy, I send out on gathering missions three of my companions, I Upgrade my armour each level up, mosty all premium and occasionally A Prototype item. I do try to sell surplus items on GTM, not only to help others get affordable stuff, but for me to make a few credits, But as I say, since yesterdays patch, I really don't know where Im going to find the credits to pay the medic droid 2000credits each time. or afford three trauma packs at 700 credits each.

I dont want leave this game, but there are many unfair advantages that only level 50 players seem to enjoy, and I feel like a second class player because of that.

Useful comments welcome of course, and constructive solutions.

I'm not sure if I can be much help, but:

1. It is a bit weird that your character was suddenly that much worse... I can think of two things: either your skill points were reset (this happens with some game upgrades when the skills for your class change significantly), or your armor was so deteriorated that it stopped working. This would also explain why the repair was so (relatively) expensive. Did you notice a big improvement after repair?

4. Check back with the Biochem trainer every few levels to learn schematics for higher level medpacks, stims and implants. You'll notice they need higher level materials that are found on higher level planets. The level needed to use the medpack, the skill level needed to make it, and the appropriate level for the planet where the materials to make it can be found, should all be more or less on par.

Maintenance is done at the same time in all regions - so they take the servers down when it will least affect their largest player base, the US. Be thankful you're not living in Australia, where the servers come down during peak time.

Also, the repair costs were changed in 2.0 back to what they were originally supposed to be; the only reason they were so cheap before was because Bioware introduced a bug in (I think) the 1.7 patch that caused repair costs to become astronomical. Current repair costs should and do reflect at your level. If you're dying so much then, sorry, you're playing something wrong. You may just need to ditch Aric and get a healing companion if you're unable to simply over-power the content as you think you should.

3. Warzones I have stopped playing, because there is great unfairness, in the mix of charactor levels, and lower level charactors, get an unfair score, which is mosty down the bottom. In fact not one cup have I have won, since I been playing them. In WoW "capture the flag missions, everybody was in a level bracket, so level 29-33 was what your group consisted off. here, I was astounded to be beaten by a lvl 50 Sith, which , to my mind should not be pitted against people of my level. IN WoW, I put a lot of effort into what i did, and usually came third fourth, or occasionally 1st. But here, Im constantly at the bottom. because my group members are much higher than me, with more skills more armour more of everything, meaning I will never compete for the number 1 spot at level 32.

 

3. One of my main complaints of this game, is that Bioware haven't made Corpse camping or Spawn killing illegal.

In Tatooine, Im continually having to leave missions and not finish them, because level 55 PVP siths, camp out at small outposts, and corpse kill, not once, but over and over, until you have used all your credits on med packs or paying the droid maybe a kilometer away.

 

4. I make med packs Which I sometimes give to my friends, or sell a job lot on the GTM, But the only med pack's Im able to make is Compact ones, Once I get missions In Alderaan and Tatooine, Compact med packs are totally useless, and I have to continually Buy expensive regulation ones, at a medic droid, which outstrips my income of credits in no Time. So , if anybody knows how to make higher level Med packs than compacts, using Bio-anylsis & Bio Chem, using Goo, But had to sell all my Goo, to get enough credits to pay a taxi back to a space port.

 

to 3. (1st) The bolster under lvl 55 is working reasonably well, though in your early lvl 30 it is a bit problematic due to the new bracket. Still, the bolster makes you competive at least to some extent. Also, WOWs brackets are no better, even after they had reduced them to 5 levels (dowm from 10!), becuase wow has no bolster. A level difference of 4-5 levels unbolstered is still a huge gap, and propably a bigger gap than 20 levels with a bolster in place.

to 3. (2nd) Happens sometimes, but why did you not go to a PVE server?

to 4. Why do you need so many medpacks? I use them only if a pull goes really wrong or in boss fights. I find tons more than I use without ever having bought one. You realize that you can quickly heal out of combat without medpack, right? (serious question, I met a guy once who did honestly not know that). Also, if you are biochemistry, why do you not make reusable medpacks? Or why do you not take out your heal companion?

p.s. Seriously, what is with all the medpacks? Some of my characters have practicially never used one in their entire life...

1. It may have been that you were outlevelled. Nar Shaddaa also has a bonus series, and it is in the same area as your companion quest "Missing in Action". I don't know the level difference between the first time you visit Nar Shaddaa and the bonus quest but that might have been it.

Check also the following two things: 1. Is your gear broken? If so, repair it or replace it. 2. Are your skill points allocated. 2.0 refunded all skill points. If not, press 'K' to open the skills window and allocate your points.

Finally, it could be a genuine Learn To Play issue. In that case, if the above statements are true (you have skill points allocated and your gear is not broken, allow me to give the following tips:

- Make sure to always take out the weakest targets first. Enemies with a silver or gold symbol should be dealt with last. The faster you diminish size of the group, the lesser damage you take.

- Standard and Weak enemies are stunned by the following attacks: Mortar Volley, Sticky Grenade and Full Auto. If you see a mob that you can't pass by, open up with Mortar Volley. This will knock down all the weak and standard targets. Then throw a sticky grenade to one standard enemy and use Full Auto on another enemy. You have now effectively locked down two targets. Full Auto should kill the standard target. Finish off the second one (that you stickied) with your basic attack. By now you should only face one or two enemies. Aim for the weakest again and kill him off. Now you can focus on just that strong or elite target.

- Try to get a feel for which abilities are best. This depends mostly on which skill tree you are leveling with but there are some standard attacks that will always give good results. Examples are: Mortar Volley (when 2 or more targets), Full Auto (to take out a standard mob), Sticky Grenade (stuns a standard mob and gives decent damage), Stockstrike (it is decent damage and will give procs relative to your skill tree) and High Impact Bolt (use this always on cooldown). Flamethrower is decent when you have a pack of mobs close to each other. Let it tick to put all of them in lower health. Ion Pulse is also your go-to ability when you're a shield specialist or Assault Specialist.

Avoid Explosive Round. It costs a lot of ammo and doesn't really do good damage for its cost.

- Use your defensive cooldowns: Reactive Shield reduces 25% of all damage for 12 seconds!! This is a great boost to your survivability.

- Activate a Cell: Depending on your skill tree, make sure that you activate the proper Power Cell.

2. Maintenance Peak Times: Sadly, these times are based on the peak times of America. I'm guessing you are European. The company is on American soil, so they will do the maintenance when that zone has the least amount of activity. It's something you'll have to live with.

3. Warzones: There are level brackets within the warzones. They are divided from 10-29, 30-54 and 55. The reasoning behind these brackets is that starting L30 a player should have all the tools for their main rotation. Meaning that from there on, you should know what abilities to prioritize to optimize your damage. This, in accordance to your point 1, might feel like another Learn to play issue. To learn about your rotations as a Vanguard in any spec, I'd advice to search the Vanguard forum or the Powertech forum (the latter you should find out which are the mirror abilities). The new Bolster System should allow you to fight on relative equal footing against a L50. Just keep your gear updated as you level and armour rating and such shouldn't pose a problem.

4. Corpse Camping and Spawn Killing: Ask around on Tatooine if any 55's of your faction are present to help you. Usually they are willing to help. If none are around, I'd suggest using Quick Travel to travel to another spawn center and continue your quest from there...

5. Crafting Medpacks. OK, so I will try to explain as concise as possible what you can achieve with Biochem. You have the ability to craft Medpacks, Stims and Adrenals. These are all very useful to help you in combat.

First: in order to properly use Biochem, you will need two more crew skills: Bio-analysis and Diplomacy. The former will allow you to gather materials for the green versions of your crafts. The latter will allow you to craft Blue and/or Purple level items of the same. I will explain further how to get those blues and purples.

Second: You always start with the green version of a schematic. You can buy these from your crew skill trainer on the fleet and even on some planets, like Tatooine. To save money, I suggest to first just buy the class appropriate items, so for your Vanguard that would be all medpacks and stims to boost either your Aim or your Endurance. Adrenals are nice, but very expensive to make so IMO not really worth it to buy as you level up.

Third: now that you have your schematics and you've gathered the appropriate materials, start crafting the stims and medpacks that you wish. I always prioritize on having the level-appropriate medpack first before I work on the stims, but that's up to you. When you crafted those green items, DON'T USE THEM. Go to step 4.

Fourth: Now you will upgrade your items from green to blue. How? By reverse engineering. Go to your inventory window. In the upper-right corner, there's a button called "Reverse Engineering". Click it and you will see that all your stuff will grey out, except for the items you crafted and maybe some randoms. You can now reverse-engineer those items you crafted for a 20% chance PER ITEM to gain a new recipe. This recipe will be the blue version of the schematic you used earlier. These have better effects than their green version. Go to 5

Fifth: Once you have the blue version of a schematic, STOP CRAFTING THE GREEN VERSION. This will only eat resources. You now either have the choice to keep it with blue, craft a couple of those and be done with it. OR you can decide you want to go to purple level schematics for that same item. In the case of Biochem, purple level Stims and Medpacks are reusable, so you will never have to make more than one for yourself. Repeat step 4 if you want the purple level, but to make blues, you will need materials from Diplomacy and to craft purples you will need rare crafting materials from diplomacy. You can do this if you have a companion that has a crit rating on the Diplomacy crew skill.

That's about it. There are better guides out there to explain all the crafting, but this is the basic jist of it.

In closure: I think that maybe your being overzealous may have cost you so many credits. You don't need to be Best In Slot while leveling. if you want to upgrade your armor, Save up on Planetary Commendations and use those to buy modifications for your orange gear. Also, try to get as many orange gear as you can possibly get (I think atm 8 slots are moddable while leveling) so you can use your commendations and not your credits for upgrading your armor.

Also, I don't know what server you are playing on, but I'm on Tomb of Freedon Nadd. If you're on that server, I can level a bit with you on my 32 Gunslinger. I have leveled a Powertech (Vanguard Mirror) so I'm more than willing to help you out with your class. Hit me up via PM or by replying here if you want to play.

TL;DR: I addressed some issues with possible solutions. Go read them!

Hi Guys, thanks for your comments. I happened upon some utube Video's while away, and found a couple of interesting things that I didnt know about too.

One was, that you could expand the Bars at the bottom, I only been using maybe three quarters of my skills, cos they are on slot two, which is a pain to access, in a hurry, ending up clicking slot 6 LOL.

On matter of being weaker, no, my skill tree is still active, ironic that I just put a point on "rebraced Armour" just before too.

No I never let my armour get let less than 90/120 damaged, before I get it fully restored, on this occasion, I only suffered the two defeats, which before the patch, the litter droid would have ignored me? Confused? I have no idea why the medic droid charged me 2000 credits for repairs of 30%.

No, there was no improvements , in fact entering into a Warzone, which I do several times a day, before Logging out, for the first time, I had no kills to my name, 11 deaths, and came last from bottom. But then my fellow group members are lvl 45 or 50? Most of the enemy was way above lvl 39.

As far as maintenance, in UK 2pm in the afternoon is peak timing, because of no jobs, millions of our population is not working for one reason or another, more uk people play in daytime afternoons now.

Tatile

thanks for advice, But I do use Elara a lot of the time, because she can heal me or a group I may join, But her armour is falling away, and is stuck at around lvl 24 because I just dont have the credits to go shopping, as i speak i have 75 left:( The reason Aric is with me, is because this mission requires Aric Jordan to be present to do the mission which revolves around some cell blocks. So Elara has to be dismissed on this occasion.

Im not aware that a revisit to a Bioware trainer was part of my crew skills.? The only trainer I ever visit is my Trooper Skills trainer, I know nothing of re visiting other trainers, I will have to look into that, and thanks for that tip.

Arutar: I really dont know how you get through 5-6 hours fighting in Alderaan or tatooine without using medpacks, by daily usage is around 15. 6 of those are used up in Warzone fighting, the other 8 are used to try to heal me before getting defeated, but usually fail, and they only have one fight use, so if Im escorting a family to a Drop ship point, fighting 5 groups of commanders, I get through 6 medpacks trying to get past the first 4 sets of enemy's, The last medpack, is not enough to hold off the other 3 groups on the path further along, and without anymore I just lose, and the mission resets itself, meaning I have lost all my medpacks for nothing, and as I get no reward for getting to the drop ship point, Im out of credits by that time.

I have only found 5 medpacks on bodies since January, when I started playing. Lucky if I find 1 medpack a week!

yes, I do recharge myself, if possible, but, sometimes, there is so many nearby enemies, under the short time stealth is granted, im still to close, when im recharging, that I am promptly taken out again, and thats whats making my game a frustrating chore instead of making any progress. re-usable medpacks I have no knowledge off.

I wish there were Inworld Mods to help like in WoW, they were brilliant at helping newcomers from getting stuck to getting logged out, from just general problems with how to go about things. here, All I get is an automated message in my main Email Address, which I only access twice a day. There seems to be no reply from a mod within the game?

On matter of Bio matter, I can't access any of it on Tatooine or Alderaan, because it says I lack the skill level to harvest it

I dont really want to go PVE, as a battlefield p4F player, in tank and infrantry battles, once becoming an admin on it,and had own server, I like PVP, What I am saying is, that balance of levels needs restoring in Warzones, and Corpse killing/ camping made illegal game play, because that's harassment, when you are not being allowed to go about your business on missions, without being harassed unfairly. In fact i may submit a ticket on this subject,because when ever I am in tatooine, many other players get really P^^^^^ off with this problem which should be clamped down on ASAP.

Thanks again

"I have a bad feeling about this!"

To SpoeMeister:

Only Just saw your very informative post, a lot to take in for a 62 year old Youngster hahahahaha:D

Once I read it all, I will reply, and thank you for taking the time to type all that out, much appreciated

To SpoeMeister:

 

Only Just saw your very informative post, a lot to take in for a 62 year old Youngster hahahahaha:D

Once I read it all, I will reply, and thank you for taking the time to type all that out, much appreciated

 

No problem :-) I'm around if you have more questions.

EDIT:

One was, that you could expand the Bars at the bottom, I only been using maybe three quarters of my skills, cos they are on slot two, which is a pain to access, in a hurry, ending up clicking slot 6 LOL.

This may also be a issue with your survivability. You seem to click a lot of your abilities. Now, I'm not one to preach that you should keybind all your abilities, but maybe it would help if you keybind 5 to 10 abilities. Assuming you move around using AWSD, this means you can keybind your main abilities to the numbers 1-5 above, Q, E and R which would give you 8 abilities without modifiers. That's a good place to start.

yes , it is indeed "missing in action", which I returned to,because I could not get through it when I was at lower level, earlier in my career.

I will mention only this only once, about maintenance, I thought this was a European Server like Blizzard, which seemed to be based in EU I believe. Now I can guess why the support is not in-world, and customer service is , as, with most USA based ticket systems, your just a number, not a person.

Hasn't EA learn't anything about customer relations after the stunning fail of Sim City?

Ok here goes, I last visited Nar Shadaa at around level 27-28, before, not being able to finish the above mission, I continued my story line to Alderaan & Tatooine. As I said my present level is now 32.

Like to begin with telling you what I use now, that I feel is the best combo to me for groups of enemies.

yes, My main strike to get enemy's on the ground is the Mortar Volley, Unfortunately I have only level 4 of this, level 5 of mortar strike is 8000 credits, and I only have 75 left, so Im stuck at upgrading any of my main weapon skills, until such time, I find a way of increasing my credits. I have full auto, But its very weak, only the main rifle blast does any real damage. Hmm, Sticky grenades I stopped using, as had not much effect, but they are at rather a low level still.

Explosive Surge I actually found very useful in Taris, defeating groups of rakhouls with just 5 blasts of it, But, since moving on, there effectiveness has been poor of late. Explosive rounds arent as effective at this level anyway.

I dont really understand the iron cell technology, it never does anything when pressed, other than load my rifle , that does not appear to increase damage. I use the reactive shield, ok I use Most of the other skills, Shockstrike I use on the last group member, which is usually the Commando, by firing my harpoon at him, bringing him closer to deal damge to him within range While Elara finishes of the 4 guards, But as I say, since the patch yesterday, she also is defeated much quicker, how ever, I took away her offhand thing, because I really dont know what to put there, except generators or shield, But which type Im at a loss.

To cut down this message a bit, the crew skills I quickly go through, well, mine differ slighty for what you say, I have Biochem & Bio analysis , But have scavenging as third skill, to pick up junk metal to sell. I haven't come across Diplomacy before, although it sounds more like a skill for diplomatic missions????

yes, I am also on Tomb of Freedon Nadd

Reverse engineering seems advanced, But I will take time out to try and learn about it, and all these colour crystals. I often send Aric out, the large droid, or C2N2 to go on bio missions, but some cost 200 credits to do, and somewhere along my career I am not making enough credits to make ends meet. I have 720 Cartel coins, but I know on Utube some players use these to buy certain packs that maybe contain rare items, but as a budding trooper, still only 4 months into game, Im not confident enough to spend real money coins on something I may not be able to use.

Planetary commendations, I gave up turning in after Taris, In Coroscant , I get offered much lower items than what I buy from The GTM place. At the republic fleet, I dont get any better, and most of the vendors seem to sell only to level 50's.

To cap, I have active:

Mortar volley rank 4

Full auto rank 6

explosive round rank 7

Shock strike rank 7

Harpoon

Hi impact Bolt rank 5

Explosive surge

Sonic Round

reactive Shield

------------------------------------

Inactive:

Hammer strike

Riot strike

Neural Jolt

Ion Pulse rank 4

Fortification

Heroic No retreat

Plasma cell

Pulse cannon

Sticky grenade rank 4

iron cell

----------------------------------------

Main hand Recon Carbine

offhand Efficay generator rating 62 lvl 26

Elara:

has her own upgraded blaster that she had when she was assigned to Havoc squad in Taris, Thats lvl 24,

but havent found anything better for her I can afford.

Offhand, she has empty slot, because I havent noticed any improvements using any shield or generator, so I sold it because I was out of credits to get a taxi once again. doh!

To be quite honest, I started A Jedi Consular a month ago, at level 4, I had her up to 19 within a matter of 6 days, she actually Out perform's my lvl 32 Trooper even in war zones by 50%. How can a Jedi Sage of lvl 19, have better protection, powers, and higher healing powers of a level 32 trooper??

its another imbalance I find hard to understand?? Seems to me, no wonder there are so many Siths out there wreaking havoc with throat holds in the air for almost 20 seconds!!!

Looks like its back to the School room for me.

"I would be pleased to be your so called apprentice" in The server we both in. Not sure what General Garza would think, she thinks im god ! hahaha:)

Its quite frustrating, because I fight hard and play hard, and never back away from an enemy, I have always been one who brings the fight to the enemy, not the other way round. I never give up a mission, I keep at it, BUT without credits, I am sometimes stuck in a planet with fleet pass already in cool down, meaning I have to log out, and use fleet pass next day to try get somewhere to earn a handful of credits.

"Your a sorry looking sailor" , "That I am Sir"...

Steven Seagal to his naval commander in "Under Seige"

to 3. (1st) The bolster under lvl 55 is working reasonably well, though in your early lvl 30 it is a bit problematic due to the new bracket. Still, the bolster makes you competive at least to some extent. Also, WOWs brackets are no better, even after they had reduced them to 5 levels (dowm from 10!), becuase wow has no bolster. A level difference of 4-5 levels unbolstered is still a huge gap, and propably a bigger gap than 20 levels with a bolster in place.

 

to 3. (2nd) Happens sometimes, but why did you not go to a PVE server?

 

to 4. Why do you need so many medpacks? I use them only if a pull goes really wrong or in boss fights. I find tons more than I use without ever having bought one. You realize that you can quickly heal out of combat without medpack, right? (serious question, I met a guy once who did honestly not know that). Also, if you are biochemistry, why do you not make reusable medpacks? Or why do you not take out your heal companion?

 

p.s. Seriously, what is with all the medpacks? Some of my characters have practicially never used one in their entire life...

He probably is on a PvE server. but he may have to run through Outlaw's Den to get somewhere therefore the sith can start smacking him around like a sock filled with butter.

I dont use the WASD keys, because trying to use them, gives me great pain in my right thumb joint, I have to use the arrow keys.

I dont like using a keyboard, because, unfortunately, I have been suffering Arthritic Joint/wear and tear problems for some years, Im waiting on a hip replacement, so I am classed as disabled on DLA.

My left hand is fine, which is why I use the mouse to click more than the keyboard, (im left handed)

I am still waiting for many games to implement Speech recognition technology, so I dont have to type or use WASD so much, but not many want to invest in that for a minority of people like me who find typing very painful.

In fact I had to leave Second Life virtual World after being in it 5 years, because, they stall about investing the Dragon Speech recognition tech in it, urban and air combat in second life is very, very , click orientated.

I am A seasoned Flight sim X Pilot, flying boeing 737s and Embraer Very light jets from Manchester Airport near where i live to European destinations, but The keyboard has been replaced with Saitek USB2 modules that plug and play, The Yoke and three lever throttle quadrant, is all i need to fly the plane, The Auto pilot module is a stand alone piece of hardware that sits on top of yoke. it just has 10 press in/out buttons to press which light up, for altitude, heading, Flight speed, VSI, and approach/ AP on/ off.

These are only in use one at a time, All other functions, like undercarriage, Flaps settings, and bringing up ATC are from large control buttons on the yoke. I only use the keyboard to switch on the batt, APU/ no smoking signs, landing lights and taxi lights.

having said all this, i must go take some pain killers, been typing far more than usual today, so, sorry if i dont reply tonight.. Now you may understand why I click with mouse, and avoid using the keyboard as much as possible. sorry for the none related parts, ouch!, must go. catch up morrow guys.

Ltn Alice signing out

I dont use the WASD keys, because trying to use them, gives me great pain in my right thumb joint, I have to use the arrow keys.

 

I dont like using a keyboard, because, unfortunately, I have been suffering Arthritic Joint/wear and tear problems for some years, Im waiting on a hip replacement, so I am classed as disabled on DLA.

 

My left hand is fine, which is why I use the mouse to click more than the keyboard, (im left handed)

I am still waiting for many games to implement Speech recognition technology, so I dont have to type or use WASD so much, but not many want to invest in that for a minority of people like me who find typing very painful.

 

In fact I had to leave Second Life virtual World after being in it 5 years, because, they stall about investing the Dragon Speech recognition tech in it, urban and air combat in second life is very, very , click orientated.

 

I am A seasoned Flight sim X Pilot, flying boeing 737s and Embraer Very light jets from Manchester Airport near where i live to European destinations, but The keyboard has been replaced with Saitek USB2 modules that plug and play, The Yoke and three lever throttle quadrant, is all i need to fly the plane, The Auto pilot module is a stand alone piece of hardware that sits on top of yoke. it just has 10 press in/out buttons to press which light up, for altitude, heading, Flight speed, VSI, and approach/ AP on/ off.

 

These are only in use one at a time, All other functions, like undercarriage, Flaps settings, and bringing up ATC are from large control buttons on the yoke. I only use the keyboard to switch on the batt, APU/ no smoking signs, landing lights and taxi lights.

 

having said all this, i must go take some pain killers, been typing far more than usual today, so, sorry if i dont reply tonight.. Now you may understand why I click with mouse, and avoid using the keyboard as much as possible. sorry for the none related parts, ouch!, must go. catch up morrow guys.

 

Ltn Alice signing out

I grok that one as I have hand problems myself which, thankfully means that I can help you with your keybindings- namely, when in combat I use the numberpad and move with my good hand and utilize my bad one (in my case the left) to simply alternate bars by pressing just one single button this gives me acess to three bars at 12 slots each for a total of 36 powers for which I barely even utilize my bad hand for- thus saving it and increasing my attack-speed.

1 the first thing you want to do is going into the User Interface (UI) editor. Among all of the nifty things that you can do with the various elements is turn on more than one bar and move them around until you are comfortable with their placement.

2. Now you go into prefrences and under the Keybindings tab you are going to hotkey.

For your primary bar- under slot-1, just press whatever 1 key that you prefer (right or left), then for slot 2, press whatever 2 key you want (right or left).... etc, etc, etc, etc.

Now we get to the part that's going to make life a whole lot easier. With your bad hand (in your case, I'm assuming the right) push down the nearest Ctrl button. And then proceed to do the precise same steps as you did for the first bar while holding that button down.

For the third bar, do the same thing with the Alt button.

When you save and close it out, if you have done it properly, you should see teeny-tiny letters in the top left-hand corner of each slot. Your first bar should read: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5....

Your second bar should read: c-1,c-2,c-3,c-4...

Your third bar should read: a-1, a-2, a-3, a-4....

What this means in combat.

To activate any of the powers in the second bar, hit the button number with your dominant hand while holding the Ctrl button down with the other. You do the same thing with the Alt button to access the third bar.

Now, it may take a bit of practice but it will allow you to take advantage of keybinds and your keyboard without agravating your weaker hand nearly as much because all you're really doing is just dropping it onto or off of two buttons- which just so happen to be at the very bottom of the board- thus allowing you to even rest your entire arm on the table before it and changing that motion from weak and fragile fingers to much sturdier and more stable lower arm.

Now, I'll admit that, to this day, if my hands aren't being cooperative I'll sometimes wind up missing either the Ctrl or the Alt- or hitting the wrong one but it has allowed me to keep up with the husband. And, I have gone from only being able to play for 20 minutes at a time to 2 hours with the change in set up.

Another piece of advice would be to play either a sorcerer, sage or anything else with a great deal of AoE's because those require a mouse in order to activate and also because the playstyle puts you further to the back behind the tanks and thus allows for more time to react.

And, last, but not least, when was the last time you upgraded your gear? I only ask because it's usually the teeny tiny things that always winds up biting my backside if I'm not paying attention.

GL.

Since we are on the same server, I'll be happy to meet you up with my gunslinger.

My Gunslinger is called Eve'lynn. I'm usually online every evening from 8PM CEST, so that would be 7PM UK time.

You can send me a message in-game so I'll know who you are. Let me know what times you usually play and we'll work something out :-) I think I'm still on Tatooine or Alderaan quest wise... Use her for PvP a lot.

EDIT: I wanted to recommend a gaming mouse for you so you'll have your keybinds on the good hand... But I don't know if they have lefthanded gaming mice.

Since we are on the same server, I'll be happy to meet you up with my gunslinger.

 

My Gunslinger is called Eve'lynn. I'm usually online every evening from 8PM CEST, so that would be 7PM UK time.

 

You can send me a message in-game so I'll know who you are. Let me know what times you usually play and we'll work something out :-) I think I'm still on Tatooine or Alderaan quest wise... Use her for PvP a lot.

 

EDIT: I wanted to recommend a gaming mouse for you so you'll have your keybinds on the good hand... But I don't know if they have lefthanded gaming mice.

Yeah, I researched gaming mice myself a while back and I do know that they do make both left and right handed ones and I even thought about recommending it at first myself as well but the OP stated that he's disabled so I assumed given their expensive nature, he didn't have the extra $ to spend on what to him is an entirely new type of gaming that he's still a little uncertain that he can comfortably play.

And, yes, I know that problem as well because you can love the game- absolutely adore it until the cows come home but if you can't play it without getting a wealth of agony in return, you just wind up with yet another thing that you would love to be able to do but can't.

But, you are right in that it is something that he can look into at least because when it comes to chronic pain everyone's mobility is just a little different- so just changing from one type of keyboard or mouse to another can sometimes make a world of difference as to accessibility.

Try space missions. At low levels, they can be run with mouse only and even at high levels the need for keyboard input is minimal. Use xp boosts while doing so.

Over-level your character. Try to stay at a minimum 4 levels over quest level. This will reduce the difficulty you are experiencing from less than optimal command of the keyboard. You still get full xp from mob kills and quests up to +6 over mob/quest level.

Don't spend credits on anything until after you're sure you have enough to pay for your next batch of new/upgraded abilities. Nothing is more important than immediately upgrading your abilities.

Give your Vanguard a break for while and start a Powertech. You'll use the exact same skills and abilities you're already familiar with but your Powertech comes with a healer at Comp level 1.

Forget crafting for now. Take 3 gathering skills and sell the stuff you collect on GTN.

If you have a few extra English pounds, buy some cartel packs from the Cartel Market and sell the stuff on GTN for credits.

Look into a multi-button gaming mouse to take some of the load off of your right hand.

Join a guild that will help you with class and planetary questline boss fights.

If your are a trooper use a tank companion if your hand to hand its best to have a healing companion. If you have a tank companion use him in guard stance which will create threat on him and increse his defense rating to absorb more damgage. Dont forgot to gear up your companion to their main skills too, its just as important as gearing up yourself really.

Like been stated by other focus on the weakest first, always focus on one enemy at a time until they are dead as some heal dont forget. I good tactic is to use stun/crowd control ability on the strongest first so you can get to work on the weaker ones before the strongest wakes back up. What you have to be careful of here is that if the one Stunned is close to the others that an area of attack move that effects a stunned target will wake him back up straight away.

Conserve you energy a little aswell dont get caught out going full on with constant succesion of tech moves which will drain your energy more do tech attack and then throw in a couple of normals in between so that your energy does not deplete too much too quickly, this will also mean with the cooldowns involved that you will awalys have at least one tech move available to use at any one time. You should have a restore energy ability available aswell which is useful to bump you back up when it starts to get low, keep it reserve when you most need it. I find energy is often more crucial than health.

Power is the main stat to look to when gearing up as that will increase your base attack damage. Relics that give temp power boost can be useful aswell in a tight situation and can really boost your damage in a time of need.

Critical rating and alacrity stat boosts are helpful but choose power over these first when choosing gear.

I am new to the game I have a lvl 29 gunslinger and Sniper and have very rarely had to use any med pacs, providing I plan my attacks a little i have had little trouble staying alive so far. Yes we all kop it every now and then but that is usually down to me trying to be too cavalier and taking much on or forgetting to heal my companion tank before the fight.

Ensure your tool bars, interface and key bindings are set you help you in the most comfortable way.

Hi Dallayna & SpoeMeister

Sorry for delay in reply today, RL you know:(

Dallayana I am indebted to your knowledge of how you get round the problem of painful keyboard use.

Although the steps you have outlined seem simplicity to you, im not use to keybindings much, But have used

The interface keybind menu to change Jump key to assign it to Press down the scroll button on Mouse, which has made jumping over obstacles and enemies Much easier, instead of using the keyboard.

So I guess, This is going to teach me a lot about key bindings, which , along with SpoeMeister's Tutorial on Reverse engineering, I have quite a bit to do and put into practice.

Actually my Argos bought, black piano finish keyboard, with short indented keys has made life easier, the old fashioned high block keys types I can't use now anyway. This old Board is now a good Three years, and want to buy this one, as its a mini one. ( damn this thumb joint..wince) A smaller keyboard, is ideal for me, so I dont have to stretch my fingers as far, Unfortunately Amazon uk is out of this, until new stock arrives.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007XAKNB6/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Using Number keys, seems to be a solution to my problem, especially as they are near the arrow keys I use for movements. I have copied the instructions to Wordpad, so I can sit somewhere quite like Tython, so I can start putting my skills the way you have indicated, also, I can try them out on the low level NPCs there to get the feel of how they all going to work.

On the matter of upgrades, I learn't the hard way, being in WoW all those years at lvl 42 Paladin, that armour needs to be kept up to 80% most of the time to avoid early defeats and higher repair costs. Although I must say, I amassed quite a lot of money in WoW, and was never short, Not like I seem to be here on a daily basis. I was in a guild for a year, But unlike here, any efforts and reputation, and "capture Flag zones" earn't you Guild Credits.

For some reason, reputation is not the same here, its not like, say I have "revered"status in Taris, Reputation seemed to be geared to something entirely differant. Anyway, it must be said, I dont Join Guilds or groups here if possible, because, the simple reason, is, My hands are not quick enough to keep up with youngsters probably with hi tech gaming keyboards and the like.

As I explained earlier I really enjoyed playing my Jedi Sage, now lvl 19, I find the storyline, after saving my jedi Master/Mistress from The "plague master's" illness quite spiritual and as a Seer /healer as a Lycan for 4 years in Second life, Its really where my calling is. BUT, having put so much into my main Alice Trooper, and being assigned three new members of Havoc Squad to me, It would be silly to give Alice T up, I will play both still, hopefully using the same new keybindings you have outlined.

Both keyboard and my small Microsoft optical mouse has seen better days, after over 2 years continued use, But finances are tight once more at the moment, although I could afford that mini keyboard.

A gaming mouse as SpoeMeister spoke of, would probably be quite expensive.

For the weekend I am going to have more fun with my Jedi Sage, My trooper is doing quite hard missions now, and really, my thumb as I speak is crying out for rest, My partner thinks a thumb joint support would help, But no idea if it would be a help or a hindrance.

SpoeMeister Thanks for the offer to meet inworld, I will look you up, as soon as I can assign the keys, as above, and then have better game play for both charactors. I will give my Alice trooper a rest over the weekend, as shes Burnt out:D, And Elara could do with some downtime on the ship, shes worked hard for me all week.

Dallayna Thanks again for the tips, I know you feel my frustration and, we probably wince most of the time using keyboards

Your both welcome to add me, and see how it goes.

AliceTvirus ------------- (Taylor-Nova) (legacy name) LVL 32 Republic Trooper

Aliceafterlife ------------ (TaylorNova) LVL 19 Jedi Sage

yes, I am a huge fan of Resident Evil, and Mila (Alice) is who I try to portray in my game play, She may kick ***, and is a tough Cookie, But she has her compassionate side, Which is why she continues to rise into the Blue light side of the force.

Many thanks for all the help given, its all on a notepad so i can learn it all at my own pace.

See you over the weekend I hope:))

Regards Alice X

Since we're now posting possible left handed stuff, I want to throw this in. It has some very good reviews by lefthanded users as it is quite ambidextruous. 9 controllable buttons should be plenty to start with (as I adviced to keybind 5-10 main abilities to start with) and it's fairly easy to configure (drag and drop feature). On top of that, it's not even that pricey for a gaming mouse. 25 pound (which I think are around 35 euros) is fairly affordable if it means gaming more comfortably.

Many good suggestions here! :-)

EDIT: I wrote down your in-game names. You will receive a message.

Awwww Thanks so much for the extra input by the above contributors, what a helpful Lot you are:)

Really, having played WoW a long time, But been out of it, 2 year or more, I should really not be so dumb. hahaha

Well Before I run off and decapitate a Sith with my Sage, I would add, that, yes I am looking into alternative controls, because, yes I love playing the game and storylines, but , it can become impossible to do a lot some days, each day with arthritis is never the same, this week, its been bad, last week, hardly any problems,

You all make very valid points, Space missions I would like to do more off, but need more than lvl 3 upgrades now to win some of the harder space scenarios.

Elara is my best asset for my Alice trooper, because she can heal really well, and there is where I think I have gone wrong, I have spent a lot of credits on Elara's Armour, at the expense of Aric, Who I guess is the tank?

Obviously when I needed Aric along on the Mission outlined in my first posting, I had not upgraded him for several weeks, there fore I have have to spend small fortune of recieved credits last week on trying to keep both of them well equipped.

I will reply again soon, But for now, must go and try set these keybindings up, before Anything else. I do understand and have learnt you need to be 3-4 levels higher than the base planet default level, Which is why I was disconcerted as to why, an old litter droid and 4 lowly guards was able to take me out, when Im actually several levels above them.

Im sure all your kind help will make a better Alice, and I thank you all for giving constructive help, and not the usual forum trolls that, like to make unhelpful, usually unrelated daft:eek: answers. be back here over the weekend on how i get on.

Cheers all

Spoe, That gaming mouse Looks the business, lately Logitech products have improved somewhat to what they were like several years ago.

I prefer it being Light weight anyway for me, The reviewer who says it cuts out, probably hasnt got it set up right.

The more data These spherical items need to input, there demands are greater, Therefor if i buy it next week, it will go into my new USB2 powered Hub that connects to the hi-speed port on the rear of computer. I use the new powered hub for external H/D and the flight controls, and works a treat.

Cheers:)

Hi Dallayna & SpoeMeister

 

Sorry for delay in reply today, RL you know:(

 

Dallayana I am indebted to your knowledge of how you get round the problem of painful keyboard use.

 

Although the steps you have outlined seem simplicity to you, im not use to keybindings much, But have used

The interface keybind menu to change Jump key to assign it to Press down the scroll button on Mouse, which has made jumping over obstacles and enemies Much easier, instead of using the keyboard.

 

So I guess, This is going to teach me a lot about key bindings, which , along with SpoeMeister's Tutorial on Reverse engineering, I have quite a bit to do and put into practice.

First, the bindings sound far more difficult than they are. Basically? Just hit esc, and play with what clicking on "Interface Editor" pulls up and play a little more with the inteface keybind menu that you've already used before- you're just doing more buttons. Everything should be labeled for you when you get in there. Again, take your time and don't be afraid to experiment and practice a little at your own pace. And, I think that Tython is a wonderful place to start. In fact, I often go down to a "gray level" whenever I'm trying out a new layout or something until I can get used to it.

Actually my Argos bought, black piano finish keyboard, with short indented keys has made life easier, the old fashioned high block keys types I can't use now anyway. This old Board is now a good Three years, and want to buy this one, as its a mini one. ( damn this thumb joint..wince) A smaller keyboard, is ideal for me, so I dont have to stretch my fingers as far, Unfortunately Amazon uk is out of this, until new stock arrives.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007XAKNB6/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

 

Using Number keys, seems to be a solution to my problem, especially as they are near the arrow keys I use for movements. I have copied the instructions to Wordpad, so I can sit somewhere quite like Tython, so I can start putting my skills the way you have indicated, also, I can try them out on the low level NPCs there to get the feel of how they all going to work.

 

On the matter of upgrades, I learn't the hard way, being in WoW all those years at lvl 42 Paladin, that armour needs to be kept up to 80% most of the time to avoid early defeats and higher repair costs. Although I must say, I amassed quite a lot of money in WoW, and was never short, Not like I seem to be here on a daily basis. I was in a guild for a year, But unlike here, any efforts and reputation, and "capture Flag zones" earn't you Guild Credits.

Too true! But, what I do when I need credits is that I just have my character standing in a Cantina somewhere and send out my companions for materials. Once I get enough, I drop them onto the GTN. This helps me build up some credits that allows me to go into crafting when my hands are really bad (you know those days too I'm sure) because at least I'm making some sort of progress on my character even if it's not XP.

For some reason, reputation is not the same here, its not like, say I have "revered"status in Taris, Reputation seemed to be geared to something entirely differant. Anyway, it must be said, I dont Join Guilds or groups here if possible, because, the simple reason, is, My hands are not quick enough to keep up with youngsters probably with hi tech gaming keyboards and the like.

Yeah, I'm not much for FPs and OPS either for the same reason. Still, I can say that once you get things more comfortable, you will notice that you are doing far better than you were as far as that speed goes- I know that I did.

As I explained earlier I really enjoyed playing my Jedi Sage, now lvl 19, I find the storyline, after saving my jedi Master/Mistress from The "plague master's" illness quite spiritual and as a Seer /healer as a Lycan for 4 years in Second life, Its really where my calling is. BUT, having put so much into my main Alice Trooper, and being assigned three new members of Havoc Squad to me, It would be silly to give Alice T up, I will play both still, hopefully using the same new keybindings you have outlined.

 

Both keyboard and my small Microsoft optical mouse has seen better days, after over 2 years continued use, But finances are tight once more at the moment, although I could afford that mini keyboard.

 

A gaming mouse as SpoeMeister spoke of, would probably be quite expensive.

 

For the weekend I am going to have more fun with my Jedi Sage, My trooper is doing quite hard missions now, and really, my thumb as I speak is crying out for rest, My partner thinks a thumb joint support would help, But no idea if it would be a help or a hindrance.

 

Dallayna Thanks again for the tips, I know you feel my frustration and, we probably wince most of the time using keyboards

Yes, yes, I do. And, as far as thumb joint support is concerned.... I use this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Futuro-Deluxe-Thumb-Stabilizer-Small-Medium/dp/B000FKJPEW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367016620&sr=8-1&keywords=futuro+thumb+splint

There are other and better looking brands but those have been an absolute blessing to me not just in gaming but in just general day-to-day life. My only "trick" with those is that I have two sizes. One for normal activity and another set one size larger that I wear when I'm gaming and my hands are getting annoyed. The larger size still supports me a bit but allows for far more movement then the correct one does.

Your both welcome to add me, and see how it goes.

 

AliceTvirus ------------- (Taylor-Nova) (legacy name) LVL 32 Republic Trooper

Aliceafterlife ------------ (TaylorNova) LVL 19 Jedi Sage

 

yes, I am a huge fan of Resident Evil, and Mila (Alice) is who I try to portray in my game play, She may kick ***, and is a tough Cookie, But she has her compassionate side, Which is why she continues to rise into the Blue light side of the force.

 

Many thanks for all the help given, its all on a notepad so i can learn it all at my own pace.

 

See you over the weekend I hope:))

 

Regards Alice X

Unfortunately, I am over at Bergren's but, you know what? I'm getting a little cramped character-slot wise. Maybe I'll head on over to yours and roll something new this weekend? I mean, it does have a whole 12 slots just awaiting for me to play with....

Holler anytime Alice,

Dallayna

hello Dallayna ,

I checked out that Thumb support, and looks a lot better than some of the rather cheap and basic ones sold in

Chemists and Mobility stores.

Of course this one is rather higher price, however I notice its a 2 pack, but as they say, You get what you pay for!

Now, the problem is, what is more important, The logitech gaming mouse first or the Support, due to our lovely UK government cocking up my DLA last week, and reducing it,( By mistake I must add), I can only afford one or the other.

I think, if Im going to start keybindings, then, the mouse maybe should come first, so at least, when that's sorted, ready for use, then get the support another time. Today, I will continue my training with Spoe, and do the basic keybindings as you outlined above, until the mouse arrives,Then all I have to do is alter just a few to set to the buttons on the mouse.

Once Again, its been a pleasure to meet both you and SpoeMeister.

In fact I met Spoemaster last night,at the GTM and, mate, you really deserve a Gold Commendation, for helping me with credits, But also, for taking time, to trade with me, soon some objects That I hope to learn how to modify, Im also honoured to be invited into your Guild, and I know my young friend Babelon whos only 18, from Sweden, who I been helping a while now, is really excited to be also invited to Spoe-masters Guild. he's a keen 24 jedi, But has to study all week, so his time online is limited.

His parents are not willing to let him buy anything in Star Wars, so out of my cartel Coins allowance, I bought another newcomers pack, and traded him the speeder, the skill and the XP boost. He was finding it hard in Taris to get around, and because he treats me with respect and hardly ever moans, I was more than happy to help him get his first speeder, and we have done many missions already, that have benefited us both.

Dallayna , It would be great to meet you in-World, if you ever get into " Tomb of Freedon Nadd", we should all meet up in Tython and have a barbeque:D

But honestly, In all the combat games I have played over many years, which include Second life, WoW, "Dark Orbit" EVE online (to hi tech for me), Command & conquer Online, and That cash cow Evony, I never had such effort put into any of my Questions, than here.

Although a bit cliche to say, I believe my meeting of you and Spoemaster was the will of the force, and I for one am quite willing to go along with the spirit of the Star Wars ideals, and Im not afraid to call Spoe my new Master, because that;s what he is, And Expect to work hard under his apprenticeship and do him Proud.

I know, sounds terribly Corny, but Thats Just me, always taking things to the limit, and I do get involved at a deep level in this sort of game, I mean, after all I am a Gemini, What else do you expect from a person of that Zodiac Sign.:D

See you in game

regards Both Alice's

hello Dallayna ,

 

I checked out that Thumb support, and looks a lot better than some of the rather cheap and basic ones sold in

Chemists and Mobility stores.

 

Of course this one is rather higher price, however I notice its a 2 pack, but as they say, You get what you pay for!

 

Now, the problem is, what is more important, The logitech gaming mouse first or the Support, due to our lovely UK government cocking up my DLA last week, and reducing it,( By mistake I must add), I can only afford one or the other.

 

I think, if Im going to start keybindings, then, the mouse maybe should come first, so at least, when that's sorted, ready for use, then get the support another time. Today, I will continue my training with Spoe, and do the basic keybindings as you outlined above, until the mouse arrives,Then all I have to do is alter just a few to set to the buttons on the mouse.

 

Once Again, its been a pleasure to meet both you and SpoeMeister.

The pleasure is also mine. And, I would probably go with the mouse too since you know that the mouse will help but you aren't sure that the brace will. Heh.

If you do get the brace, fair warning on that one, they are very stiff right out of the box and take a while to break in. Once they do though, they're pretty comfy- for me at least. As ever and always YMMV. But, if you are going to try them I figure that I should warn you that the last time I had to buy some, I just had the beloved wash them and beat them up a bit before I even put them on and that helped actually.

As for time spent on your problem? Meh. Dude! I had to work a lot of this stuff out for myself because I love gaming, I love games and it was really heartbreaking when they first told me that I could never play them again so, I set out to prove them wrong and find games that I could still play. So, for me, it's actually been really nice coming across a fellow player who's got similar problems that I have.

And speaking of... I've got a whole list of Wii and DS games and tips for playing those easier if you've ever a mind to turn your attention to consoles....

See ya around,

Dallayna