OK, I'm a casual PvPer and usually only did it if I wanted to earn something specific. In this case, I had wanted a certain lightsaber for my Sith (the Battlerager's Lightsaber), for the look. So I did enough PvP to earn the warzone marks to buy it for her.... that was over two years ago...maybe three.

Now I find they changed the requirement of that saber she's been using for years to now requiring a Valor Rank of 42 so I logged in and it's flashing red on my screen because she no longer is qualified to use the saber that I've augmented and decked out with mods and have been using for years?

I can understand changing the requirements on "new" or "future" acquisitions for PvP....but changing things already earned? That has to be fixed and I sincerely hope it's a bug.

... that's retarded.

I'm in awe of just how badly this team can F-up everything they touch. Ravage. Ghost Walk. Comms.

I'm not sure you understand what is happening here. The devs have decided what you've been doing for years is wrong and they're going to make you do it the "right" way, now. So, equip some other saber and get to grinding matches so that you can eventually use the one you already earned years ago.

Bioware - Recycled Schemes, Recycled Content, Recycled Failure

... that's retarded.

 

I'm in awe of just how badly this team can F-up everything they touch. Ravage. Ghost Walk. Comms.

I think they just don't care anymore. EA's just put the game into maintenance mode and is trying to see how long they can keep people paying with the absolute minimum of effort put in. This means making people grind everything AGAIN because it's cheaper than regularly producing new content that can't just be finished in a day (i.e., the KotET chapters).

Come on white knights, defend Bioware! You can do it!

Looks like it's just crickets! Imagine that! Even they can't justify this absolutely abusive nonsense on EAWare's part!

This means making people grind everything AGAIN because it's cheaper than regularly producing new content that can't just be finished in a day (i.e., the KotET chapters).

Exactly. A small part of me is almost tempted to try to grind out the new requirements. But what would be the point? If I finally got to valor 38, they'll just take the weapons away again by upping the requirement to 60. Putting in effort for NO REWARD? No thanks.

Sure, MMOs are notorious for the carrot-on-a-string approach. But it used to be that you'd eventually get the carrot, and then they'd have a new one for you to chase. Now, apparently they take away the carrot and want you to chase the same one again.

This really requires a response. Changing things around on items that people have been using for years is not cool.

I very strongly agree.

I earned those weapons...I fulfilled all the requirements to get and equip them...but all of a sudden I can't use them. All the time I put in to get them is now for nothing.

I put in time with about 16 characters to get at least one weapon each, some characters 2 or 3 weapons - that, for me, adds up to a LOT of time. I'm no PVPer, so it was not something I would have done anyway - it was a special effort just for the weapons.

And I had them...but now they're out of reach. Bioware, do you have any idea how utterly discouraging that is?

I loved these weapons because they've been around from launch and have a 'classic' look that fit the original aesthetic of the game, unlike the cartel market weapons...

I'm totally with you OP! This was one of my main gripes about 5.0. Back during live stream when they talked about it, it seemed like they meant it would require certain valor levels to purchase the items. And everyone was okay with that. No one suspected that they would add the requirement to the weapons themselves and then make them retro-active. This change really was a low blow, as many have been using the weapons for years!

I pray that we can keep enough attention on the issue, that they will correct the issue soon.

... that's retarded.

 

I'm in awe of just how badly this team can F-up everything they touch. Ravage. Ghost Walk. Comms.

I no longer want to cast ravage or it's mirror or any of the replacement spells on other classes (searing fart -- really that's the replacement for flame thrower?). The animations look horrid to say nothing of what they actually accomplish now.

I very strongly agree.

 

I earned those weapons...I fulfilled all the requirements to get and equip them...but all of a sudden I can't use them. All the time I put in to get them is now for nothing.

 

I put in time with about 16 characters to get at least one weapon each, some characters 2 or 3 weapons - that, for me, adds up to a LOT of time. I'm no PVPer, so it was not something I would have done anyway - it was a special effort just for the weapons.

 

And I had them...but now they're out of reach. Bioware, do you have any idea how utterly discouraging that is?

 

I loved these weapons because they've been around from launch and have a 'classic' look that fit the original aesthetic of the game, unlike the cartel market weapons...

Exactly how I feel. Heh, I remember when NJ raised the drinking age from 18 to 21.... they "grandfathered" in all those who already had hit 18 because even the government knew it was stupid to give something to someone then take it away and say you had to earn it again.....

It would be like graduating from college with your BS, going out to get a job.....then three years later the university revokes your degree because they decided you now need 150 credits to graduate instead of 120.

"Sorry. I know you think you earned that degree in Chemistry, but we've informed your job you now need another two semesters of study to re-earn that degree you thought you already earned. You don't mind stopping your job to come back to college for half a year, right?"

Here's the real issue.

What we're seeing is not merely developers being lazy. It's coordinated. It's deliberate. It's moving the game into the completely utter grind mindset of stuff like Perfect World does.

Reputation systems with tiers? Lockboxes? Story missions that don't even really make sense if you group up, but are seemingly specifically designed for single player? End-game content that not only requires endless grinding but rewards nothing but more grinding?

Star Trek Online laid out the template for this YEARS ago.

The banners you get from doing the Stronghold mission now come with a Valor 10 requirement. ... I don't even...

I know right? and those rottworm/frogdog decos that you used to be able to buy after running couple of warzones? now have a requirement of valor 44. because... decorations are srs business y'all.

I just.. I don't even have words as to how poorly thought through this valor change was. it makes. no. sense. at all.

but then again, neither do Galactic command boxes, outside of trying to force people into lengthy grinds, so that presumably they stay subscribed longer or something? I don't even know.

I know right? and those rottworm/frogdog decos that you used to be able to buy after running couple of warzones? now have a requirement of valor 44. because... decorations are srs business y'all.

 

I just.. I don't even have words as to how poorly thought through this valor change was. it makes. no. sense. at all.

 

but then again, neither do Galactic command boxes, outside of trying to force people into lengthy grinds, so that presumably they stay subscribed longer or something? I don't even know.

Can you use them on your stronghold if you already have them ulocked ? Last weekend, before patch, I gave a friend of mine a buttload of these decos since, well, I was swiming in wz comms. I hope they're usable if you already unlock them

I was kinda bummed the valor requirement on these decos was to use them. I thought the requirement was going to buy them, which would have made a nice money maker for pvpers. But now everything is gated through valor rank. Which sucks.

Not defending the system, which is plainly a PITA, OP. Gating stuff after the event is plain wrong.

But you seem to have 2 choices before (if) it gets changed.

Grind the Valor for the thing you want.

OR find something you like that you already qualify for.

I've played 1000s of matches in PVP and I have absolutely no idea about the exact weapon that other people have equipped. I expect they don't know or care what I've got equipped either. The thing that stand out most is the colour of your lightsabre blade or the blaster bolts, and the costume you're wearing TBH.

Looks like it's just crickets! Imagine that! Even they can't justify this absolutely abusive nonsense on EAWare's part!

Or it could be that those "white knights" don't actually exist to defend BW but instead point out why some complaints are actually invalid. In this case there is nothing invalid about the OP situation.

But you seem to have 2 choices before (if) it gets changed.

Grind the Valor for the thing you want.

OR find something you like that you already qualify for.

I don't think grinding Valor for the one you want, is really an option: Bioware has already demonstrated that they'll change requirements at their whim, so if you grind 20 ranks of valor and get to equip the weapon, you could log in the next day to discover that all of a sudden you can't equip it anymore - you need to grind another 20 ranks.

Anyway, I can think of a third choice: Unsub and stop playing. Which is what I've done. Not JUST because of this, but this and other changes with 5.0 that I really hate.

I've played 1000s of matches in PVP and I have absolutely no idea about the exact weapon that other people have equipped. I expect they don't know or care what I've got equipped either. The thing that stand out most is the colour of your lightsabre blade or the blaster bolts, and the costume you're wearing TBH.

Speaking for myself, I don't care who notices what weapon I have equipped, so that's not any concern to me. And especially not in PvP - I only did PvP to get these weapons, so since I already have (or, had) them, I don't PvP anymore. Anyway, *I* notice what weapon I have equipped - that's the important thing. I want one that looks cool, and fits the character, etc.

When we discussed valor requirements on items prior to 5.0, because BW wanted to keep the items exclusive to PvPers (since comms were going away) I was imagining a vendor purchasing restriction, not a restriction on the item itself that apparently ****s up your ability to use it even if you already own it.

This was clearly an oversight. Nothing more, nothing less.

They obviously didn't take into account people who already own the items, nor did they take into account situations like this one:

The banners you get from doing the Stronghold mission now come with a Valor 10 requirement. ... I don't even...

I would say the simplest solution is to abandon keeping them exclusive to PvPers and trash the valor requirement. The other solution would be to utilize a vendor-based purchasing lock or make Valor legacy-wide, but I'm not sure they know how to do either.