... And if you do, make it work this way: any gear one wears that is under Artifact (156 if I remember correct) quality gets bolstered to Artifact level.

 

Then important part: if one wears lets say full 180 ( or anything above 156) his/her stats will be exactly same than outside bolster. (would help organize gear cuz preview wouldn't be necessary)

Other thing is I simply feel stupid when my stats change around. This pisses me so much I have ran KDY exactly once since it came out. Even if I have 7 alts I try to lvl fast.

 

I am player who is not pro, has not operation guild etc. I am what you would describe "casual"

I still enjoy my weekly SMs. Running Dread Palace always makes me glad, and being locked out annoys

That's why I am most worried. If you turn my weekly SMs I enjoy so to KDY type faceroll I don't know what content will be good for me. I did not put a lot effort to get stat optimized 180 gear and expensive Dread Forged relics to run 16 man

KDY. Bioware, you have sad subscriber right here

 

If you love bolster so, please even make it function like suggested above, so +156 players wouldn't get affected at all:)

Agreed 100%. I too spend a lot of time & effort getting my main optimized. While I do HM's with my guild, I still do a lot of weekly SM's for coms or hell, just for fun. I'm hoping 1 of 2 things happens: 1) still no one uses GF for ops, so nothing changes or 2) they decide not to gimp me just because I want to run a SM Op on my 180 geared toon. I'll probably find another game if I have to be "downgraded" just to run some basic ops.

The whole thing is easily avoided simply by not using GF for your SMs.

The whole thing is easily avoided simply by not using GF for your SMs.

 

my concern is that much like what happened with wow, everyone will stop putting pugs together & start using that horrid raid finder thing.

The whole thing is easily avoided simply by not using GF for your SMs.

 

You're right but since 90% of players want to become gods without effort all will run them via GF and finding group won't propably be easy:(

You're right but since 90% of players want to become gods without effort all will run them via GF and finding group won't propably be easy:(

 

Be 'as' easy as before. But, it's very likely that most people at 180 rating are going to continue to do their own pug runs outside of GF for the same reasons you've listed as well as earlier reasons.

 

The only thing this is doing is giving the undergeared somewhere to go to get geared. Those who don't need it won't have much reason to run GF for their SMs so it won't effect them at all.

Edited May 9, 2014 by Infernixx

Be 'as' easy as before. But, it's very likely that most people at 180 rating are going to continue to do their own pug runs outside of GF for the same reasons you've listed as well as earlier reasons.

 

The only thing this is doing is giving the undergeared somewhere to go to get geared. Those who don't need it won't have much reason to run GF for their SMs so it won't effect them at all.

 

I sincerely hope that you are correct sir.

Be 'as' easy as before. But, it's very likely that most people at 180 rating are going to continue to do their own pug runs outside of GF for the same reasons you've listed as well as earlier reasons.

 

The only thing this is doing is giving the undergeared somewhere to go to get geared. Those who don't need it won't have much reason to run GF for their SMs so it won't effect them at all.

 

I hope you are right. If not ... I need to sharpen up and move to HMs:confused:

The real fun will start when these bolstered SM achievers try doing HM ops through pugs. I can almost se

 

-HM ops are very difficult, nerf them

-Bring bolster to HM ops

-I am full Oricon but Distmantler still one shots me, fix the bug

etc...

... And if you do, make it work this way: any gear one wears that is under Artifact (156 if I remember correct) quality gets bolstered to Artifact level.

 

Artifact level is 156 and the OPS has recommended 162 gear, I wonder how they thought there.

 

Anyway, I don´t mind players getting boosted. I play to have fun and the more opportunities to have fun the better

It's not going to affect me all that much because I have a guild and we run our own raids but I'm still not understanding why we need bolster in SM 55 ops anyway. The Makeb commendation gear is more than good enough for people to do SM EV and KP and get the old 63/61 gear. In the mean time they can do Oricon and get almost a full set of basic gear. With a mix of 66 (from Oricon and basic comms) and 63/61 gear (from EV, KP and classic comms) a toon at 55 should be more than capable of running SM TfB.

 

So why implement bolster?

 

If I, a 55 in mostly 78's, want to queue for the classic weekly and I get grouped with a level 51 in Makeb modded gear, and put into SM EV or KP that's fine. The level 51 gets a shot at some lower level purple OPS gear and we both get comms.

 

So why implement bolster?

 

If I queue again for SM TfB weekly and am grouped with a 55 in a mix of Oricon 66's and 63's, that's fine too. He gets a shot at progressing his gear the right way and I get comms and my weekly done. All is well.

 

So why implement bolster?

 

The problem as I see it isn't that gear is hard to get it's that with the addition of Makeb Bioware has confused the gear progression. NOT the fact that people can't get the gear to do SM OPS.

 

I am totally in favor of anyone from 50 - 55 using group finder for all level appropriate 8 man and 16 man OPS. I think that's a fine idea, and should have been implemented from the start, but:

 

Why implement bolster?

I'm also concerned that no one will run hardmode flashpoints if this is implemented. There won't be a reason to.

I'm also concerned that no one will run hardmode flashpoints if this is implemented. There won't be a reason to.

 

Hardly anyone does anymore even now. This makes meh haz a sad, by the way

 

(I mean, why can't we have an achievement/title/whatever, with other unique rewards based on 4-man stuff, HM only? "Small-Unit Specialist," or something to that effect?)

I am also a casual player who only does SM operations. I would like to do hard modes but I don't have a guild and likely will not join one.

Hardly anyone does anymore even now. This makes meh haz a sad, by the way

 

(I mean, why can't we have an achievement/title/whatever, with other unique rewards based on 4-man stuff, HM only? "Small-Unit Specialist," or something to that effect?)

 

I'm not sure that's the title you'd want, if you really thought about it...

My hope is that the folks who put together 16-person runs now will still do the same thing, then queue the group into GF for whatever commendation benefit there is.

 

So far, many people in-game have been weary of what this means for who will end up in a pug Ops group.

 

I would think the sensible thing to do would still form your own pug, as is commonly done on fleet.

 

One other concern I have, though, with housing coming in August, perhaps there isn't a "Fleet" channel in your stronghold, making forming pug groups much more difficult. If that is the case, 16m SM Ops are going to go from very smooth, fun runs, to very unpredictable.

I mainly see this as a QOL change and a reduce to general chat LFM X 16man run spam.

 

It's not really going to change much. The nucleus of the team will queue to fill in the gaps. With 16man being faceroll difficulty it doesn't really matter much if you get a few under geared or clueless pugs. Not as if there's a huge amount of vetting in fleet chat for these operations as is.

 

And on the flip side it makes it more accessible to get into raiding for new people/people without a guild or enables them to check out the story.

 

I can't really see a down side. If 30 ultimate comms are the problem a HM run will still net you more with drops each boss + weekly.

Edited May 9, 2014 by aeterno

The whole thing is easily avoided simply by not using GF for your SMs.

 

Indeed.

 

But won't hell freeze over before players figure out that they have the power to choose how to interact with the game and can avoid a lot of things they don't like.. by..... simply not doing them?

 

People act like they are having a virtual weapon pointed at them as soon as they log in.. and are given mandatory instructions as to what to play and how to play it.

I mainly see this as a QOL change and a reduce to general chat LFM X 16man run spam.

 

It's not really going to change much. The nucleus of the team will queue to fill in the gaps. With 16man being faceroll difficulty it doesn't really matter much if you get a few under geared or clueless pugs. Not as if there's a huge amount of vetting in fleet chat for these operations as is.

 

And on the flip side it makes it more accessible to get into raiding for new people/people without a guild or enables them to check out the story.

 

I can't really see a down side. If 30 ultimate comms are the problem a HM run will still net you more with drops each boss + weekly.

 

/Agree.

 

And I want to take time to give you props for sanity and objectivity in the face of silly sauce.

SM are easy. What isn't easy is being undergeared and trying to pug those SM OPs. This gives those players a fair shot to run an easy raid while being bolstered so they can see the content and get loot.

 

I really see no valid reason why this shouldn't be implemented.

My guess is that SM is underutilized by the game masses, and this is intended as a method to boost participation. The unfortunate side effect of that (as witnessed in PVP) is that when you allow undergeared players to run difficult content they are not prepared for hilarity and pandemonium will ensue....

 

I think perhaps one way to provide the status quo and boost participation would be to offer both bolstered and unbolstered, but again, that divides up the players. When something is underutilized you usually do not continue to support that underutilization. The intent is to boost participation, and if that is the case this is probably the only solution.

 

Case in point...my gear is perfect for my casual PVE play. I do not run SM. Ever....well, I think I run Esseles and Black Talon for the light or dark side points when I need them, but other than that I have little interest in them. There are some I have never done. Just didn't have an interest.

 

However, with this change I may reconsider. That might have been the intent.

Indeed.

 

But won't hell freeze over before players figure out that they have the power to choose how to interact with the game and can avoid a lot of things they don't like.. by..... simply not doing them?

 

You are entirely missing the point. I like to do SM mode ops. I worked hard to make them easier for myself by gearing myself up & then optimizing the stats on all my gear. So I should just stop doing ops? Unfortunately that's the part of the game I really enjoy & if the only way I can run SM stuff on the off nights when I am not running HM's with my guild is to be "downgraded", then I will take my $15/month elsewhere, thanks.

 

People act like they are having a virtual weapon pointed at them as soon as they log in.. and are given mandatory instructions as to what to play and how to play it.

 

We're acting like there is an unwelcome change to something that is already working fine. Gearing up for SM ops in this game is UNBELIEVABLY easy. They practically hand you a set of Ops starter gear on Oricron. Even with that said, I'd have no problem with some kinda bolster mechanic for people who are too lazy to do a few quests. I just don't understand why I have to have my character "downgraded" in the process.

You are entirely missing the point. I like to do SM mode ops. I worked hard to make them easier for myself by gearing myself up & then optimizing the stats on all my gear. So I should just stop doing ops? Unfortunately that's the part of the game I really enjoy & if the only way I can run SM stuff on the off nights when I am not running HM's with my guild is to be "downgraded", then I will take my $15/month elsewhere, thanks.

 

 

 

We're acting like there is an unwelcome change to something that is already working fine. Gearing up for SM ops in this game is UNBELIEVABLY easy. They practically hand you a set of Ops starter gear on Oricron. Even with that said, I'd have no problem with some kinda bolster mechanic for people who are too lazy to do a few quests. I just don't understand why I have to have my character "downgraded" in the process.

 

Who says you are getting downgraded?

I just don't understand why I have to have my character "downgraded" in the process.

Has there been any confirmation that overgeared players will be "downbolstered" in SM ops through the groupfinder?

 

I didn't see any threads on this in the PTS forum.

We're acting like there is an unwelcome change to something that is already working fine.

 

I think its likely that if it was "fine" they would not be changing it. That is not always the case, but it is my experience that SM Ops are definitely something most casuals I know care little about.

 

The gear is perceived as the gate, even if that is an unreasonable perception. You can lead a horse to water.....

 

They want folks to play SM Ops it seems. More folks than are playing at the moment. So keeping things as they are does not achieve what they may be after.