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What are your favorite things about SWTOR?


Lhancelot

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I am a bit surprised that so many people liked the original class stories. Most of them were forgettable and with the pace at which they originally took place at the game's release, it wasn't uncommon that I fought a chapter boss and had no clue who this guy was and why am I fighting him.

 

In fact I frequently hit the escape key when I accidently stepped into a class story mission between all the other missions I was doing and re-read the mission description to figure out what the heck a given NPC is talking about.

 

My first class story, upon the game's release (even though I played up to Tatooine during the betas before release), was that of the Jedi Consular. In chapter I other Jedi have been compromised and the consular needs to fix it. So the consular does so on Nar Shaddaa and Taris without any real progress as to why anything happens. And at the time it took days to play through a planet, usually I hooked off two mission hubs on the planet and that is if I did not interrupt my normal play and try to find a group for a flashpoint by calling out in the fleet . And after that... you get to do the same thing again on two more planets. The ending on Alderaan was cool, it was the first time I had the feeling of actually having achieved something., but at that time the class story did not at all feel important any more, to me, the planetary story lines and little quests were more important.

 

That said, I liked the Imperial Agent story line. But that was an exception. It was the only story line where I was really fevering along with the character while in the other stories, things happened around the character on occasion while they were doing other things. Both Sith stories about Sith in fighting, the Jedi Knight, stupid, aggressive and straightforward, with the only highlights the ending of chapter II and the character of Kira. The Bounty Hunter story is the most repetive story of them all and I don't really remember the trooper beyond Coruscant anymore. I vaguely remember that the smuggler storyline did have some funny elements and there were a few interesting twists, but in all it was a treasure hunt and that's the extend of what I remember. Risha was interesting.

 

The original storylines imposed a very strong image of the character onto me, while in the KotFE and KotET the tone of the character is much more differentiated depending on what dialogue option one chooses.

 

Also, I am still insulted by overruling and retroactively invalidating the image of Revan I had from Knight of the Old Republic in the flashpoint story arc... Taral V, The Maelstrom Prison, Boarding Party, The Foundry, and then later in Shadow of Revan. So, after all, what happened in Knight of the Old Republic when I played it, did not really happen. I liked what they did on Taris, detailing how things that started in KotOR played out, even if they were optional. Star Wars story writers need to learn that sometimes a story ends and it's time to start a new one, rather than rehashing the same stuff and thus rendering everything that happens invalid. That works for Tom & Jerry, but no one expects a Tom & Jerry story to have consequences.

Edited by Rabenschwinge
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Bioware's story telling is the main reason I came back to this game after having played it for a few months when it originally came out.

 

To summarize the last couple of years: I went from playing (and loving) DA:I, waiting patiently for ME:A, then not buying ME:A for almost a year due to the poor reviews and technical glitches, finally buying ME:A for $10, and really enjoying that, to ME:3 and liking that, to OK what's next? Anthem? How long do I have wait for that?

 

So here I am, back for more Bioware RPG goodness. And while the story telling in SWTOR isn't as focused as ME:3, ME:A and DA:I, and doesn't quite reach the same emotional heights, it's still quite good, and there is so much of it. Tons of it. And I've only scratched the surface.

 

I do like the relatively high level of AI employed in the companion and NPC combatants. High relative to, say, WoW, which I know isn't saying much :rolleyes:. I like having a dependable pocket healer, for example.

 

I like just looking around at the scenery on many of the planets - the level of detail is high, the art style is pure Star Wars, and adds to the game immersion.

 

I'm hoping the end game experience is as rewarding as the leveling. I've heard mixed reviews on that.

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What are your favorite things about SWTOR?

 

I have a few fundamental requirements in an MMO:

 

1) it has to be an IP that I enjoy. It does not have to be IP derived from some other property (such as movies or books), it just has to be something I actually personally find interesting.

 

2) it has to have a blend of player mechanics that make sense in a classic MMO format, and not be overly constrained.

 

3) it has to have guild and economy elements that encourage socialization and a vibrant player economy.

 

4) it has to operate at a fun and relaxed pace, absent a lot of forced grinding to level or progress.

 

5) it has to strike a good balance between solo and group play, with the edge given to solo play.

 

6) it does not have to be alt-centric.. but it needs to be alt-friendly.

 

SWTOR has all of the above, and is packaged in a format constructed on a Bioware strong point ---> good story integration. Not every player enjoys the story aspects (evidence habitual space-bar players), but it really does raise the bar for other MMOs in this regard in my view.

 

The diversity of gear, appearances, mounts, pets, housing, etc in SWTOR in 2018 is great (better than most MMOs to be honest) .... and diverse enough to avoid the classic drift toward boredom as long as a player is not overly focused on one narrow segment of content.

 

There are things I wish were different, but as a whole.. the game remains fun with plenty of diversity of play and content such that I continue to subscribe. I recognize that MMOs are designed for a broad player base, and as such... it is unrealistic for me to expect an MMO to be perfectly tuned to my preferences.

Edited by Andryah
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Also, I am still insulted by overruling and retroactively invalidating the image of Revan I had from Knight of the Old Republic in the flashpoint story arc

 

How can you be insulted by that? If that's the level it takes to insult you, you must be on edge 24/7.

 

Ontopic: As always when such questions were asked, the majority replies with "story". As I outlined in my last ramblings some nights ago, this is why Swtor is failing since 5.0. Because they decided to stop "story" and instead focus on MMO content, since that's what a loud minority on this board yelled. And now we have soon 2 years without any noteworthy and interesting story updates and people are leaving faster than ever. But we got Izax who has already been seen by 264 players. ;)

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  • I play mostly for PVP nowadays. I'm a convert, though not a recent one. - Not so keen on 4v4 tho' so I steer clear of ranked unless there's a group I know looking for a 4th member and are not gonna be toxic about a loss or 2.
  • GSF is fantastic If I can get a few decent matches to warm up and fly with/against a few people I know.
  • I don't mind an occasional PuG group for a FP or Uprising - depending on time.
  • I love big group things - assaulting enemy bases or racking up those PVP kills on planets for the achieves.
  • Helping newcomers, giving out tips and advice.
  • Still like getting achieves, as long as they're not grindy. - 5K mobs? Are you kidding me?
  • Still like to do a bit of crafting. - Tho' I really don't need the credits any more.

 

The story moves at a snail's pace for me. and it's been pretty poor since Makeb IMHO - But I've done most PVE stuff in game save for Ops, so PVE isn't really keeping my interest. I've done so many H2s/dailies in the past that they really bore me now.

 

But mostly its my guild and other friends. Chatting with them, larking about, exploring new stuff. - But sadly this doesn't happen much any more.

Edited by Storm-Cutter
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How can you be insulted by that? If that's the level it takes to insult you, you must be on edge 24/7.

 

Certainly not. In order to insult me on the same level by something within SW:TOR, they would have had to imply that, for example, the Jedi Consular was a completely different person, my character not the Jedi Consular, the class story never happened and he/she did things completely differently then me. I imagine if the Knights of the Fallen Empire happened under the premise that the class story explicitely never happened the way you played it and your experience was retroactively invalid that would have annoyed some people.

 

And that is exactly what they did with Knights of the Old Republic.

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  • PvP!
  • Voice acting (esp male Agent aaaa <3)
  • Seeing my characters being awesome in cutscenes
  • The many fun abilities and great animations
  • Dressing up my characters
  • My characters <3
  • The beautiful worlds
  • The vanilla class stories
  • The original datacrons
  • Empire / Republic faction identity
  • Gathering and optimising/customising gear/stats

Edited by Neulwen
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Favorite things;

 

Exciting RNG gearing - Galactic Command gearing is very exciting.

The new totally broken 5.8 conquest system - is so much fun not to play.

Gambling Cartel Packs and the always fair prices and totally worth it Cartel market - totally safe from any gambling loot-crate laws.

Year old bugs - makes me laugh whenever I get reminded of the old game breaking ones. Classic.

Costumer service skills and helpfulness sets a new standard in the business.

Returning companions epic 2min cutscene after two years waiting time is totally worth it - Thanks.

Operation bosses released over more than a year - don't let other MMO's content releases get you down - your few drops of content is more than enough to sustain a healthy AAA MMO.

Cartel market junk gets added on a weekly basis to prey on the weak-minded with no self-control. Love it.

The Star Wars machine world of Iokath - a Dyson Sphere - is very lore friendly.

The Outlander storyline - the very solid on-rail one story fits all of KOTFE and KOTET where choices matter.

The dark vs. light pop-up in the most critical places brings back fond memories of pop-up Spam blockers.

Great communication with the staff and management - especially on the official forum.

Healthy population - with a solid 5 servers left - down from 220 - even server lag is great.

Openness about all future development work of the game - 2 months in advance - and even if you don't get it right two months later, thanks for trying.

Public test-server - only for closed testing - your internal QA team catches most bugs before release anyway - count on it.

You still have a monthly subscription model costing the same as when the game was first released 7years ago - even though the release of new content is far far far from the same. Very bold move.

Uprisings - the cheap flashpoint reskin version - without even the most minimal cutscene - instead full of high-speed trash mobs killing to really get your heart pumping.

Easy playable Alt characters in Galactic Command gearing and in 5.8 conquest.

Incomplete patch notes, stealth changes, ninja nerfs/class imbalance and secret metrics - keeps the gaming community on its toes.

Livestreams on everyone's favorite Twitch platform - with a time and place announcement of that Livestream to the gaming community afterwards - devs handing out digital in-game junk to a very few Twitch watchers while dodging all their serious questions. Precious.

Minimum to Zero rewards for doing group content, because who needs that in an AAA MMO.

In-game trolls cannot be ignored account wide.

SWTOR influencers that have signed an EAWare non-profit contract that forbids them to criticize the Tortanic when it's sinking.

Refund policy on game downtime or on player inactivity - bought and saved operation passes - or any number of digital items earned or bought in-game - suddenly made worthless overnight.

Reskins - everything from Uprisings, Warzones, Galactic Starfighter, Strongholds, Rewards to the Cartel reskin market - because it's just so much easier.

 

 

The list goes on.

So many things to like;

Warzone passes gone - Commendations gone - Achievements gone - Players gone

 

Favorable mentions;

 

The two new Strongholds; one on Manaan with incomplete development meaning huge parts of it is being sealed off from the owner - the very high decorations number plus the silly placement of the hooks and the type of hooks means that it will seem full - when you have decorated only around 50% - with zero background music. And the other one is a lore friendly moving train earned in everyone's favorite buggy Umbara flashpoint, that will make you puke, if not from grinding alliance data to buy it - the hooks - or the overall design reskin/copy - then by motion sickness - also with zero background music - only the imposing sound of old traditional railroad tracks in a hover-train. Just Epic.

 

Love it!

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