I read a lot about people missing addons. "I need healbots, dpsmeters, threatmeter..." You can do just fine without these, it's just a different game, we just have to adapt. Healbot, for instance, turns a very interesting game into something pulled out of a 90's Nintendo!

As for the meters, I have a suggestion: an <End Flashpoint/Operation Report>, just like in the end of Warzones. Voilá, you can consult who's doing their jobs right. DPS, Healing, Protection, MVP vote also (why not?)... It's all there.

Please NO addons. Don't turn this very enjoyable game into a big load of numbers popping out of my screen...

 

 

P.S. I do admit that some customization options on UI are needed.

wow that is GENIUS.

sure because in a operation that will be so accurate, the AI will know when you are ooc will know when you afk and take a brake, how do you suggest they will calculate wipe vs good tries, afk time, trash vs boss, making at end a total dmg dps, hps, will just be retarded, as retarded as the medals are in wz, noone does objectives they do medals, so whos winning is based on luck do you have a team orientated on obj or on medals...

Without damage meters or healing meters

How can we tell we're playing at our full potential

How do you theorycraft the best rotations

Not knowing what provides the most efficient dps or healing

 

I think the anti addons peeps just like to hide their Performance

^This

How can I tell who isn't doing there jobs? Trying to lead a guild thru these ops but we hitting enrage timers. Almost everyone got gear from normal modes how can I fix a problem when I don't have the tools(addons) to check on performance or other things that help to run a guild. Love the idea of a scoreboard like at the end of a pvp match. I would need it after every boss wipe or kill tho.

I hate the argument that people who want add-ons can't play their class. Now for some I'm sure this is true but it's just not as clear cut as that for most people. Let me give you some possible scenarios:

You're over DPS'ing, tank tells you to stop and check your threat - Ummm... I can't there is no way to check. If I lower my DPS then you get complaints you're not doing enough, so how can I keep optimal DPS while staying within acceptable threat limits?, I need a threat meter.

Quicker/better healz please!!! - Well right now I'm having to click on the players unit and then cast my healing spells which isn't very efficient. That's not my fault, simply the way the UI is right now. Something like grid would make things much more efficient as a healer.

AMG Cleanse The DoT's!!! - Sorry, what DoT's?... you see the de-buffs are so small I didn't even notice you had a DoT on you. Again, not my fault it's the way the UI is. Something like decursive would be really good here so I can accurately and efficiently cleanse you.

These are just a few scenarios where addons would help, not because you are a bad player, because you want to be a better player. Nobody forces you to use any addon, but the choice should be available.

A Vote For Addons

Musings of a Healer

Argument

Addons have nothing to do with player skill or game spoiling, they are simply a way for people to customize a game in ways the developers had not thought of, or did not think important enough to add to their reams of code.

Meters, bag organizers, character organizers and search addons do not affect actual game play, but add to the overall enjoyment, convenience, and workability of the game. Boss information and 'do not stand in the fire' warnings help when battle is intense. Addons like Grid and Healium create a more efficient interface that allows for faster heals. As far as I know, no Addon actually plays the game for you, which it sounds like people who do not understand the function of Addons accuse them of doing.

UI Problems

Right now the UI of SWTOR needs work. There are not enough slots in the main bars for all the abilities needed during normal and raid play, and the companion bar is not workable in any position. It needs to be in the lower left hand area of the screen, in the same position as the companion minibar, size and position customizable. Debuffs are almost invisible and having everyone's health in different areas means I am searching for player information instead of healing.

Best customizable UI I have seen so far was in Rift. That was a work of art. Too bad the game was boring.

An addon, or a game patch that would allow a more customizable UI would help with the popularity and playability of the game. And it needs to happen soon.

In my opinion, and as a long time healer in other games, SWTOR heals are slow and painful, and people die in heroics because of the cumbersome interface. Heals should be one click. Loading all my heal abilities into hot keys every time I am in a Heroic, then reloading my dps abilities when I am out is a game spoiler.

Specifics

The best solution I have come up with so far is to minimize my main (middle) bar to one row instead of two, and flip between the two bar choices for my abilities so they are loaded in the number keys -- thus relying on my fingers to be on and hit the right heal/bubble/buff keys to keep people alive. Sometimes this actually works. It is limited, however, because I have less abilities at my disposal, its more prone to mistakes as I flip between bars to find the abilities I need, and is nowhere near as workable as the healer Addon I use in WoW.

Also, I can't help dps the mobs as easily when that is needed. A great healer interface (Addon or in game) gives the healer access to all abilities, allowing the healer to heal targets separately from targeting the enemy. SO this means I have the mob targeted at all times but can flip heals on team members as needed. The Jedi Sage is not just a healer and to have full flexibility of the character, this function of dps/heals should be supported.

Addons that I can customize to do heals and dps would not dumb down my skill as a Sage, but cut down on the time I am clicking on this then that, staring at the screen trying to find the information I need on companion or player health/buffs/debuffs, and watching my cooldowns at the same time I am trying to follow the action. In critical situations, minimizing time spent clicking or searching for info would help keep the tank and hence the entire group alive. Anyone who heals (I am a long time Raid Restodruid in WoW and habitually heal 10 to 25 people at a time since druids are usually full raid healers) as a character type will tell you, heals are never easy. Assistance in the form of an addon or better UI customization can mean success or fail in the raid. Success is good for everyone. Even Addon haters.

A healer needs to have everyone's health in one spot, including companions if they are present. The best place for this is in the area above where the player's health bar currently is located. This is a natural placement for the player's eyes and gives information on the party, and allows the player to see the main area of the battle as well as their ability bars and cooldowns. The party/raid health/heal interface bars can have the player/companion's name on them, and have the party role within the bar, debuffs, buffs and HOT's to one side, and buttons I can customize in size and number, then load with my heal abilities for activating on each person on the other side. Then I can click on the button next to the person's health bar to activate that specific ability on that person. Point and click. Easy. Less death.

Another option is to allow the player the in game option of 'mouseover' to target party members in the same bar format described above, and as the healer, can pop a heal on any person's health bar the mouse is over at the press of an action key. The critical part of this is being able to put the required information all in one spot, and customize what is shown, what size and what colors. Also having ALL the healer character abilities available, not just the ones loaded into the 10 key action bar slots.

Open System Experience

Gleaning experience from years as a marketing exec in the technology field, open systems last longer and ultimately work better than closed systems. Beta was a closed system. VHS was open. Anyone remember Beta? (Prolly few people even remember VHS now) It was a better video format, but proprietary, and died quickly because everyone used the open VHS system instead of paying Sony for the use of Beta. Apple has great products, but open system PC's did better in sales until Apple started working with other computers in an open system manner.

WoW has become the most popular MMO game in history and has a healthy addon following. In my opinion, WoW will continue as the defacto leader unless the only game that has the chops to challenge WoW opens its system and allows addons. That would be SWTOR. I have tried Earth and Beyond, Eve, Dark Age of Camelot, Guild Wars, Final Fantasy Online, RF Online, Warhammer, Star Trek and Rift to name a few. The shelves in my office are a graveyard of MMORPG's that are fail because they either don't have content, play value, story line, humor, character development, graphics, end game interest, world development, or are so full of bugs or stupid rules as to be unworkable. Star Wars The Old Republic is the only game I have played that has put time and effort into all critical areas and now we players need to the freedom to do the rest.

People want to customize.

The addon development world creates fixes that developers can't be bothered with and don't want to support. It allows a 'peripheral' business that strengthens the over all game by giving players the chance to customize and enhance their game. Its silly to think a game developer would LOSE money by allowing addons. I have never heard of anyone getting rich from addons, and in fact, the ones I use are free - the creators only asking for voluntary development support.

Addons attract more customers and attention to the game, solve problems, allow more gaming flexibility and create a sense of control within the gamer. A game with a healthy addon following is better positioned for lasting success within the game market because there are solutions to problems, and options for play styles not supported by ingame development. In fact, the popularity of a game can be measured by how many addons are written for it.

The easy solution for those who don't like Addons is not to use them. But allow the rest of us a choice.

However, if you don't want addons, you don't get to yell at the sage if you don't get healed fast enough.

Small Print

I am a gamer (obviously) and am in no way affiliated with any one or anything in the addon community except my anonymous use of addons.

*******************************************************************

Han Shot First

T'Lor - Jedi Sage

add-ons are for bads who can't play.

Incorrect. Add on's won't help bads play better, but for players who want more flexibility in their UI, they can be invaluable.

eg. having your health on the HUD in the middle of the screen rather than on the bottom bar...

As a tank, I have to juggle aggro, positioning (particularly considering some of the aoe aspects of fights), CD's (which currently require you to either spam the key for an ability or to watch your bars which means you aren't watching the fight), my health (popping CD's if I get low), phases of a fight etc etc

Can I do this all currently? For the most part, yes, but occasionally I'll be watching a CD or my health and miss something on screen.

The information is there, so it's not like anything like debuff bars, CD timers or center screen health/heat are new streams of information I previously did not have access to. It's just that they are in a more convenient and easily digestible format.

And that's just combat addon's, never mind stuff to make gear changes easier, inventory management, cleaning up the crafting UI etc.

If you're talking something like a rotation add on which shows you what to press next to get a good dps rotation, yeah, I agree, it's a crutch, but giving raiders particularly an option for better display of information is not game breaking.

Also, as a raid leader, I do like the option of knowing which of my dps/healers etc aren't up to snuff, whether they are goofing off or having problems. For me personally it's not about punishing a person, but mebbe offering some advice on gear or rotation etc to help them play better.

And lastly, for the 'purists', don't effing use em. Feel free to sit there being smugly superior if you wish.

Incorrect. Add on's won't help bads play better, but for players who want more flexibility in their UI, they can be invaluable.

 

eg. having your health on the HUD in the middle of the screen rather than on the bottom bar...

 

As a tank, I have to juggle aggro, positioning (particularly considering some of the aoe aspects of fights), CD's (which currently require you to either spam the key for an ability or to watch your bars which means you aren't watching the fight), my health (popping CD's if I get low), phases of a fight etc etc

 

Can I do this all currently? For the most part, yes, but occasionally I'll be watching a CD or my health and miss something on screen.

 

The information is there, so it's not like anything like debuff bars, CD timers or center screen health/heat are new streams of information I previously did not have access to. It's just that they are in a more convenient and easily digestible format.

 

And that's just combat addon's, never mind stuff to make gear changes easier, inventory management, cleaning up the crafting UI etc.

 

If you're talking something like a rotation add on which shows you what to press next to get a good dps rotation, yeah, I agree, it's a crutch, but giving raiders particularly an option for better display of information is not game breaking.

 

Also, as a raid leader, I do like the option of knowing which of my dps/healers etc aren't up to snuff, whether they are goofing off or having problems. For me personally it's not about punishing a person, but mebbe offering some advice on gear or rotation etc to help them play better.

 

And lastly, for the 'purists', don't effing use em. Feel free to sit there being smugly superior if you wish.

He's just a troll. Every single top WoW raider in the world uses an add-on. Same goes with the PvPers.

A Vote For Addons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, if you don't want addons, you don't get to yell at the sage if you don't get healed fast enough.

 

Small Print

I am a gamer (obviously) and am in no way affiliated with any one or anything in the addon community except my anonymous use of addons.

 

*******************************************************************

Han Shot First

T'Lor - Jedi Sage

ahahaha so unskilfull, go back to WoW pls

ahahaha so unskilfull, go back to WoW pls

Actually, the unskilled players are flocking here. Our community is laughed at by anybody who's serious about competitive PVE. This game's content is a complete joke. I remember a time on these boards where folks like me wanted to see this become the next big PVE game, and sadly our raid content is pathetic.

Unskilled players are coming here because there are no metrics and the content can be cleared by a group of cats if you drag a feather toy across the keyboard long enough. It saddens me and I don't know if serious raiders will ever find a home again.

ITT: Uninformed idiots claiming that add-ons and macros play the game for you rather than streamline and enhance the experience.

It's like a Bizzaro world where people value being inefficient.

If this game had WoW's raid content, half of the top-end guilds wouldn't be where they are now.

In WoW, if you pull aggro, you have a good shot at insta-wiping the raid due to some unforgiving mechanic. In this game, if you pull aggro, you just tank the boss for a little while and... I dunno, worry about the enrage timer or something.

TL;DR: These raids are *********** easy.

never was a fan od add-ons cause they basically play the game for you.

Ignorance at it's finest here folks. Either that, or a really good troll.

Anybody who agrees with the moron who posted this thread has never played any MMO at the top level. Let me tell you all something who are this ignorant and stupid. If you don't like Add-Ons and what they do, don't play with them. For those of us who are actually good at this game and don't spend our time social gear and acting like a total RP nerd, we'll take add-ons. Threat / Damage meters, healing addons, Equipment managers, etc all enhance the game. If you disagree, you're stupid, and clearly can't play MMO at the top level of raiding or PVP.

Edit: Macros too please.

Anybody who agrees with the moron who posted this thread has never played any MMO at the top level. Let me tell you all something who are this ignorant and stupid. If you don't like Add-Ons and what they do, don't play with them. For those of us who are actually good at this game and don't spend our time social gear and acting like a total RP nerd, we'll take add-ons. Threat / Damage meters, healing addons, Equipment managers, etc all enhance the game. If you disagree, you're stupid, and clearly can't play MMO at the top level of raiding or PVP.

 

Edit: Macros too please.

Agree.

The lack of customization in this game is unacceptable. Hopefully, it will improve.

never was a fan od add-ons cause they basically play the game for you.

Can you give an example of post 2.0 WoW addon that played the game for you?

Can you give an example of post 2.0 WoW addon that played the game for you?

I find striking similarities between the anti-add-on crowd and the anti-vaccination crowd.