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I played at launch! Totally new but experienced mmo player with questions


Volnoxiom

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Hey everyone! I don't know where to begin... I am excited to give SWTOR a try again. I played at launch way back and have mostly played WoW and few other mmos since but looking for a new mmo home. A few friends mentioned swtor has changed quite a bit and I am interested.

 

A few questions I have are geared towards "what is viable" .. not what is the best but I just want to pick something competitive and useful. Went through a recent tuning patch in WoW that was unbearable which really has me worried to pick something that wouldn't be taken to raids etc. I don't know the state of the game, if this is one of those games that can do well and players take a player over a class, or if it is one of those.. only this spec otherwise instant decline.

 

I am interested in a couple viable healing options for raids and pvp, as well as dps options. Again, I don't care to be the top parsing (prefer something more in the middle of the pack tbh) .. I just don't want to pick something that is a dud and has been a dud for a while if that makes sense.

 

Thanks again for your help!

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In general I'd say SWTOR is one of the games in which 'bring the player' is more important than 'bring the class'. Players usually play best what they like and have fun with. Since there are no add-ons like boss-mods or similar in SWTOR a player who knows the mechanics and timings of an encounter pretty much is always preferable to someone who doesn't and such a player usually does bring the better numbers too by knowing better what to do when. All in all for anything story mode or veteran, every class is viable enough as long as the player can play it at an average level and knows/learns the encounters.

Of course there are some classes and specs that are easier to play than others and not all random groups might give unknown players the benefit of the doubt if they are putting together a group for the more difficult stuff. Still though, on my server usually the only questions are whether one knows the operation and what role they play, tank, healer, range or melee dps. The spec only is considered when it comes to specific mechanics or tasks within an encounter.

 

In Nightmare difficulty the difference between the classes is more visible, again you have to look at what you want to play, the older operations that are way less tightly tuned these days than gods of the machine or Dxun or if you want to go where the real challenge is so to speak.

In the older operations sticking with certain classes it's often not about the actual viability of the class and its numbers but rather the laziness those higher numbers will allow in terms of necessarily flawless execution of mechanics. The old operations are worlds apart from what they were when new, so it's now a lot more about what the group as a whole brings together and certain skills can very well outweigh slightly lower numbers if they help to deal with the mechanics better. Or a player with a stronger class to a certain degree can outweigh a weaker class, as long as it's still well played and brings something else useful. There are still damage checks of course, but flawless execution of mechanics usually works just as well if a (non-competitive) NIM group is a bit short on the hard numbers.

In my personal opinion as someone who does Nightmare operations with a regular raiding group in a rather casual way, while the balance of range vs melee classes is important at times, the more diverse the class setup of the group is the better and the more fun it is.

 

 

I'm not that much into PVP to give any useful advice there. but as far as I know burst specs are generally more effective. It still depends on how competitive you want to be, an occasional warzone with random groups works with all classes as you'll meet a mix of pros and newbs alike. In case of dedicated pvp with pre-made groups and heading into ranked you'd have to take a peak into the PVP forum section what is the current FOTM class/spec.

 

As a final word, the next expansion is coming in December, no one knows yet who or what will be the new FOTM class(es) and how long they are going to stay that way, as of now only one class is partially being tested on the PTS. Going full out into what now might be best in content you might not even play, would be a waste of time in my opinion as it could end up anywhere on the ladder in the new expansion.

So I'd make your fun and enjoyment the priority, levelling in this game is so fast anyway and with loadouts coming in 7.0 you apparently won't even need to do that any more if you don't want to. Just try out what you like and get good with that. If you really can't find groups you still can change spec or class quite easy at the moment and according to the announcements even easier in 7.0.

Edited by Khaleijo
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