I am sure this might not be the first time someone has brought this topic for suggestion up, so I will apologize now if it is a duplicate rant. I played WoW for the better part of 9 years and I finally had enough of their annoying ways of making a game too much of a grind and work rather than keeping it fun and a game. I was a founder for SWTOR , but took a break from gaming altogether. I have recently re-subbed and began playing TOR again. I was playing around with multiple characters, experiencing the different story lines. It is the story lines that really make this game fun, however I am quickly getting tired and frustrated with the crew skills time to gather and selection of missions available at any given time, when I am in need of many materials for my toons. I find most of the time I have only useless choices to send my companions on, rather the needed missions, to provide me with the crafting materials I desire. It has been suggested I log on and off to reset the choices, or zone in and zone out, to accomplish the same thing. This work around is both annoying and time consuming with SWTOR's "SLOW LOG SCREENS". I would love to see a window when opened to choose our missions, have the entire list of missions available for any given level to chose from and not a random set of 5, so I can simply select the one I need without the log in and out work around. I am sure it is possible to instrument this, given all the amazing technical and graphical abilities the developers currently utilize to make this game. Some may say just send them on what is available while you do something else, and that is all well and said, but I have experienced many times when not one of the needed missions is available and I have logged in and out 12 times to get just one of the needed missions to show up. Like companion gift missions are way too abundant, and only serve to reduce the number of other missions I really need to craft for my characters. I find I am having to park the characters until I can manage enough of what I need to upgrade them as I play them. I don't enjoy this, and I am imploring Bio-ware to address this and make it more reasonable. I gave Blizzard the better part of 9 years before I just gave up, I won't stick around that long if I continue to be frustrated and annoyed. One last issue I would like to address with regards to crew skills, is their completion time. I honestly think the amount of time allotted to these missions, exceeds reasonable and I am hoping consideration in reducing their completion time can be explored. I understand the longer they make us wait to get stuff the longer we'll pay to play, however there is a flaw to this line of thinking when dealing with MMO's, that it is the people connection that tends to get people to play more. If you try to hard to make people play longer by making it take longer to acquire what they want you risk losing people to frustration and annoyance. Last thought to tie this all up.... "You get more bees with honey than you do with vinegar".

First of all, HOLY WALL OF TEXT BATMAN!!! There are these wonderful grammatical structure things called paragraphs and they are really easy to create - just press the Enter key twice.

 

Now that that has been said...

 

Mission selection changes you are proposing have been asked for many times...too many times to count and there has never been any sort of indication that the developers are considering it. Basically, stick meet dead horse.

 

I am one of those advocates that says, "run the missions that are available." My reasoning is simple: given enough time that "useless stuff" becomes useful. Concerning gift missions, FYI they go away after grade 6, but personally, I run them all the time even if I do not need them right away...because I will need them eventually .

 

I am also an advocate of not leveling a crafting skill while leveling a character. Again my reason is simple: maintaining that crafting skill at a level the character finds the crafted items useful is all but cost prohibitive (it can be done, but it leaves you with few credits to spare). And honestly coming from WoW, you should know this because that game (and most MMOs) have the same issue: trying to level a crafting profession/skill/whatever while leveling a character is difficult without lots of money from other characters.

 

My advice: abandon the crafting skill on any character below the level cap and take two of the three gathering skills (archeology, bioanalysis, scavenging) and slicing. Then sell whatever you gather and buy off the GTN what you feel you need. Or in the alternative, stop leveling the crafting skill and use what the game gives you in the way of equipment (one can level from 1-55 on nothing but quest rewards and random drops).

 

As for time to craft and run missions, to me (and many others) this is a non-issue. The fact of the matter is that having your companions do all the crew skill work, gives players more time to play the game rather than standing on fleet (or worse having to go to a "crafting station") and doing the crafting onesself.

 

I know this is not what you want to hear, but your issues are not new and there is no indication things will change. Your choice is to get used to it, or have it be the reason you stop playing this game.

 

My apologies.

I must admit, it was a wall and I should have used paragraphs, get over it, it was a rant and rants typically are ramblings. Now that is out of the way, your first mistake was assuming I am leveling both crafting and the character at the same time, wrong sir. My crafting skills are all max level and I am speaking of providing my alts with upgrades as they reach upgrade level. Keeping my item enhancements at max level on my alts gives a much more enjoyable experience in overcoming my objectives. I only maintain blue quality item enhancements, given the rarity of materials needed to craft artifact enhancements, it is far too time consuming, and blues do just fine.

 

Your second misunderstanding of my post, was assuming, I was also talking about time to craft item upgrades, and I in no way stated any such idea. I actually like the fact I can have companions craft while I do other things. My issue was with mission time needed to gather materials. As the level of missions increases in level, missions take in some cases better than an hour to complete and this is what I find obnoxious.

 

I feel with the capabilities of the game developers that the crew skill window, when opened can display all the missions available at any given level, allowing the player to choose which mission they desire. Now, you may have accepted the current method and just go with it, and that is your mindset, to each his own, goes the saying. I however, and I know I do not stand alone, as you pointed out with the fact that this is not the first post regarding this issue, would like to see improvements made. I am hoping at some point, the developers will see that the current method is annoying and frustrating some of its customers and will consider alternatives.

Edited March 31, 2014 by BossRobinson

Thank you for the clarification. And with that new information I give you my standard response:

 

I've said it EVERY time this request has come up: what's good for the individual is not necessarily good for the community. Follow the logic:

1. If one player has the ability to always choose the best missions EVERY player has that ability.
   
2. The reason one wants the ability is to take advantage of a low supply market. (that can mean either not wanting to pay others or wanting others to pay you)
   
3. The supply is low because most players don't relog (to the contrary of what you might read on these forums).
   
4. If everyone can run the best missions, supply increases
   
5. having the ability to choose the best missions kills the market one is hoping to take advantage of
   

 

I keep going back to it because it is the perfect example: Frost Lotus in WoW WotLK.

1. Rare drop, supply low, high demand, translated to very value high.
   
2. Players SCREAMED on the forums for an increase in drop rate and/or a way to trade less valuable items for Frost Lotus.
   
3. A year later, Blizzard gave the players what they wanted: an increase in drop rate of 50% (5% chance to 7.5%) and a vendor where one can trade in Frozen orbs (in SWTOR terms, Biometric Crystal Alloy) for Frost Lotus (and several other items).
   
4. Almost overnight the value of Frost Lotus dropped 80% (from 100 gold to 20 gold); at its all time low, one could get a Frost Lotus for as little as 5 gold
   
5. and the crafted items (Flasks: AKA Prototype Stims) that used Frost Lotus also radically dropped in value; sellers became dependent on crits for modest profits.
   

 

Is that what you really want to happen to ALL crew skill stuff in SWTOR?

 

One more thing, advice to all "ranters": when you rant in a post, nothing is forcing you to click submit right away. I find that just getting the rant off my chest and into words is enough to calm be down and nine times out of ten, I simply delete what I wrote. That remaining one time, I read what I wrote and express myself more calmly.

Edited March 31, 2014 by psandak

You sir, continue to make assumptions that are so far incorrect, maybe you should practice what you preach and not push submit. Your comparison analogy is like comparing apples and oranges. I do welcome your antagonistic replies though, as that keeps this post forefront, and keeps it where it is more likely to be read. I will say this you should read more carefully what someone writes and understand what is being said rather than just read what you think is being said. Please get on topic. I really don't think this is real life economies we are playing with, so please keep this in perspective, it is a game and should remain fun not work.

I get it: you want to run all the rich missions without having to do the relog dance...

 

But, you are making an incorrect assumption: that the majority of players do the relog dance to get the missions they want. With three crew skills at their disposal, with minimal effort players can send companions on missions or crafting without doing the relog dance.

 

Sure, lots of forumgoers complain about mission distribution. But you are delusional if you think for one second that what is said on the forums is representative of the majority of players' opinions; players come to the forums to complain not to praise.

 

Now with that out of the way, please reread my last post under the context of responding to:

I feel with the capabilities of the game developers that the crew skill window, when opened can display all the missions available at any given level, allowing the player to choose which mission they desire.

 

Question: Given the choice of all missions, why would anyone run anything except rich missions? That would effectively increase materials' supplies across the board. More supply without increased demand means less value.

Edited March 31, 2014 by psandak

This will be my last reply to you, cause you seem to get it wrong again and again, or you are just plain trolling, either way I am done with you. I will be putting you on ignore from this post forward, so don't waste time replying, just know this. I am not after missions for the purpose of making credits. I want to be able, as many others do, to choose the missions I need to craft what I need for my alt characters. For example, I have Cyber-tech, Scavenging, and Underworld trade skills, and I don't use luxury cloth to craft anything. I am aware that it is a shared gathering skill for Synthweaving, and therefore needs equal missions to accommodate the players that chose synthweaving. I have no problem mixing in companion gift missions on top of that either. However, when I open the window and all 5 choices are either luxury cloth or companion gift missions, and I have to log dance it, as you put it, in order to get one underworld metal mission (which I need) to be an option, then it is frustrating and annoying, and will eventually lead to my unsubbing. I believe there are more players along my line of thinking than yours, So please, go back to indulging in beating your head against that brick wall. Edited March 31, 2014 by BossRobinson

You're right we are on opposite sides of this.

 

You may not care about the market, but what you are suggesting would adversely affect it.

 

Nuff said done

This will be my last reply to you, cause you seem to get it wrong again and again, or you are just plain trolling, either way I am done with you. I will be putting you on ignore from this post forward, so don't waste time replying, just know this.

Its a shame you're being so confrontational about this. Psandak has spent quite a bit of time in this forum helping new players, answering questions, writing guides, etc. I've never seen him troll in the long time I've been here.

 

If you really want to present a case for your ideas, eloquence and logic are more effective than spite and sniping.

 

/2cents

Listen my post was aimed at the developers to read and consider examining improvements into two aspects of crew skill missions. 1. selection options and 2. gathering times. That was all. I know I am not alone on this and bringing it up, communicates to Bio-ware another customer wants change. Your friend began the confrontations not me. He felt compelled to correct my structural format like a grammar nazi, and he also had no business telling me to "not push submit" as if he is some authority on these forums. I do not care for people like that to begin with. Then in each of his post following, he misinterpreted the ideas I wanted considered. I don't care how helpful his intentions are, if you're not going to stick to what a poster is saying, rather than what you think they are saying, then it is best to not say anything at all. Perhaps, in other threads his posts were helpful, but in this case he was way off target. I am not saying, all the points he made weren't valid points but, a lot of what he put in his replies had no relevance to the 2 issues I am hoping get visited.

Now, my pleas may never get addressed, then again maybe they will, but you cannot affect change, unless you speak up. I am not of the same mindset as your friend where I simply accept what is and just go about my day. I see opportunity to make the game more enjoyable, by decreasing some frustration and annoyance with current crew skill mission parameters. In addition, band aid fixes, like the work a rounds are not the answer either, especially when load screens are as slow as they are.

Edited March 31, 2014 by BossRobinson