The intent wasn't for this to necessarily be a big content drop or news update but rather a discussion of mostly what we already know. Being able to reveal a couple additional details was merely a perk that Chris was able to add in. It's still probably best for all to enjoy the dev discussion and wait to see it in action on the PTS in the next couple months for first hand details and experience. I liked what I was hearing from Chris though and I personally have faith that this is going to be a good update to systems. Personally I'm most excited about story and PvE content and the systems and class updates are just the icing.

I get what you mean, when I asked Jackie if the next PTS cycle would be similar in scope to the guardian and sentinel, I was not at all expecting them to actually reply and say Operative and Sniper! Glad I was able to get that little tidbit out for you to mention on the podcast.

Hearing a dev talk so openly about the game made me feel even better about swtor. He really seems like he does care and has plans for the future.

When I first saw about what was happening with the ability pruning, minimal combat style slots and other things, I was a bit disappointed. But, as more information has come through and I've had more time to process it and understand the philosophy behind these changes, I am really excited for what's coming.

Yeah I think even Chris was getting confused at times between loadouts and combat styles .

Am i the only one who thinks that ^ could be a problem?

p.s. Kudos on your 'podcast' efforts , but it only served to disappoint & perplex me even more. ( not u guys' fault though)

Hearing a dev talk so openly about the game made me feel even better about swtor. He really seems like he does care and has plans for the future.

I certainly hope so.

To be clear... Chris wasn't confused one bit.

I'll take your word for it , np.

The order we were asking questions and the level of detail we asked them is what made it slightly ambiguous.

hmm, those 2 things seem to contradict one another though, no? As in, more details should theoretically make things more clear , no?

and seeing it all come together live will give us all the complete picture.

Again, i'll take your word for it but....well.... i just don't think (so far) i'm gonna like what that picture looks like.

I hope i'm wrong , since it certainly doesn't seem like SWG-2 is coming along anytime soon.

1) Combat Styles will be limited to up to 2 permanent choices. These are equivalent to advanced classes today. Limiting to two provides a reduction in complexity per character, lower impact on server resources, and makes alts and playing other class stories still valuable.

How I interpret this :

In their original idea they wanted to give people the option to swap between any combat style (with in force or tech) BUT they’ve had to walk back on that idea as -

1. They realised too late into the development cycle of this idea that the game engine and hardware couldn’t keep up and was going to cause worse performance issues than now. (The “complexity per character” is smoke and mirrors to hide the fact they were over reaching and it is too complex to implement under the current game engine and hardware systems in the time frame they gave themselves)

2. BioWare monetisation managers put a limit on it and “locked it” or people wouldn’t buy extra server slots to make Alts (hence the terminology, “more valuable”).

3. They also wanted to keep the option to monetise “unlocking” more combat styles in the future.

its funny how they push this bs out on a friday for us to look over the weekend, ask questions etc, and nobody on the team to reply to it cause they're off for the weekend.

It's why I made a load of notes and a thread about the news/ clarifications, so if people don't have the time or will to watch the interview and have questions, I can relay the information as I understand it. Having a dev answer would still be better but hopefully I've helped some people.

It's why I made a load of notes and a thread about the news/ clarifications, .

Just in case people didn't know where/how to find your that ^ thread---> https://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=996447

As long as you're ready for the mass unsubbing that will ensue if you follow through on this ability pruning/dumbing down.

Every time any MMO makes any changes, people claim it will end the game and everyone will unsubscribe. Rarely does it ever happen. Just more gloom and doom posting.

The people that play the game enjoy it. The people that spend more time complaining on the forums usually are against everything.

And, this game makes more money from Free to Play people than it ever will from subscribers.

Every time any MMO makes any changes, people claim it will end the game and everyone will unsubscribe. Rarely does it ever happen. Just more gloom and doom posting.

 

The people that play the game enjoy it. The people that spend more time complaining on the forums usually are against everything.

Change is one thing, massive dumbing down to the point where the classes are unrecognizable is another. People come to the forums to speak out against it because they don't want the game they enjoy to be ruined.

Change is one thing, massive dumbing down to the point where the classes are unrecognizable is another. People come to the forums to speak out against it because they don't want the game they enjoy to be ruined.

You don’t even know exactly what the changes will be, but any change must be a dumbing down and will ruin the game. I get it. You said it all already.

Change is one thing, massive dumbing down to the point where the classes are unrecognizable is another. People come to the forums to speak out against it because they don't want the game they enjoy to be ruined.

The best places to put feedback on what is happening on the PTS are on the feedback threads in the PTS section of the forum because those are the threads that the devs actively watch and collect feedback from. Do some testing, write some constructive feedback (i.e. this doesn't feel like a guardian because to me a guardian should blah blah blah) and cross your fingers. These changes won't kill the game. One of my guilds stopped playing after Galactic Command happened, I even took a break, but when I came back the game was still alive and doing just fine.

If new combat styles are introduced the two I'd be most interested in would be:

A: Tanking style using Assault Cannon

B: Melee DPS using Techblade/Techstaff

You don’t even know exactly what the changes will be, but any change must be a dumbing down and will ruin the game. I get it. You said it all already.

Given BWs track record, every time they change the mechanics of the game, it's been simplified and dumbed down. I would be shocked if they made it where each of your toons had a unique play style; kind of like how when the game first came out.

Of course, this won't kill the game as some people may think but will cause some people like myself to leave. I've been playing since beta and I'm tired of learning new game changing mechanics.