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Does anybody actually like the gear and class changes?


DeadOptimus

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Question in title. So far I've met exactly one person who thought these were positive changes, particularly on gear. Every other person in my guilds explicitly do not plan to hang around when these changes go live. So what's the reading of the room from folks who've been testing?
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I've been testing and in truth from my experience the gearing isn't as bad as people make it out to be. using the upgrade vendors isn't the primary source of gearing, and from my experience I will be able to gear out my main in about 2 weeks in 326 gear at the very longest.

 

The majority of people are complaining about the lack of modable gear. Which I have already said BW should implement.

 

The biggest thing is most people have gotten used to gearing out all of their alts in short order, and if you do MM FP's you still should be able to do this. If you upgrade only from the upgrade vendor it will take a lot more effort and time to gear out. Doing the content is the faster way to gear in 7.0

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Have you felt at any point that you were restricted to specific content to max out your gear? Or did you feel like playing the game as you always have gets you there reliably?

 

I am more of a group player. So FP's and Operations. So for me doing content that I would normally do got me gear that I'd get fairly well. I didn't attempt an Operation on the PTS, since I was the only one from my guild testing on the PTS and giving my feedback to them.

 

I understand for those that do not do any FP's or Ops that they will have a different opinion, and that Conquest gearing will feel sluggish. I did comment on one thread I felt that the heroics weeklies should have more Aquatic resource matrixes (40-50 is where I'd put the weeklies), but I was in 322 conquest gear in 1 week on the PTS, and while I was there found that FP Weeklies would get me gear faster in the long run.

 

With that being said I did not feel that the planetary quests were massively difficult in that conquest gear, but the fact our Tertiary stats are now capped on each planet they did seem to be more grindy. (But that's not a gear issue, that's a level sync issue).

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Question in title. So far I've met exactly one person who thought these were positive changes, particularly on gear. Every other person in my guilds explicitly do not plan to hang around when these changes go live. So what's the reading of the room from folks who've been testing?

 

I really like the new gearing, its not as fast as generically going from 260>306 on a character, but it is much faster then going from 260 > setgear 306 with usable (not bis) mods.

 

The upgrade paths are clearly stuck to 'lanes' with no crossover, which is fine (even if some lanes have the same colour and stat distro Vet FP = SM Raid). I had no problem getting full blue 326 MMFP/HM raid tier gear and 1 purple relic up to 326 in about 2.5 weeks of playing 3-4 MMFPs a day after the first week was spent only playing Vet FPs (2 hours a day) to unlock the implant vendor + losing time figuring out pops, gearing and pts achievements.

 

This update is gonna bring a lot of the more story oriented players getting upsetti spaghetti because sticking to guild conquest point farming OR SM TC/story content isnt going to get them the same 'gold quality' items in every slot that they see the high level raiders and pvpers wearing. This isn't inherently a problem with the game design at all, as the green decurion gear they get from the fleet will be more then enough for the content type they play, but will look bad on SWTORs end from a PR/Marketing point if the socials flood with people 'quitting' because their casual weekend play doesnt give them the same tier of gear as nim sweatlords (like me) and hardcore pvpers that play daily for unhealthy hours (still like me).

 

For gearing, as a tank or healer, its gonna be pretty yeet, just grab gear (you dont need accuracy) then augment what you need, as a dps you have to worry about augmenting accuracy in and making sure it matches. The best part of this expac is because the gear is "premade" aka nonmoddable, you can take your DPS assassin gear + relics, and throw it onto your republic dps sniper, imperial BH commando or anything, and all you need to swap out is the Mainhand and Offhand (or setgear implants).

That basically means that once you get the armor set and leftside set necessary for DPS, it works for all DPS globally and all you need to do is get your weapon slots up to par with upgrade boxes or buying upgrades on fleet.

 

The gear system is gonna be grind heavy until you float at the colour and item rating level you are happy with. Then its pretty yeet as "gearing alts" is no more buying or locating 6 body pieces + rolling amplifiers + locating the better R-X mods to insert. So gearing up the item ratings is slower then 306ing, but ALT progress and gear transfer is now much quicker.

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Nope. I don't like that you can't mod them and we can't get 110% accuracy if we use legendaries. From what I've read, I don't like legendaries either.

 

I don't like that it seems like a huge grind once you get past 322 or something (I refuse to grind on PTS so I haven't done it though). And I don't like the content restriction at all. Also really disappointed in losing renown and, as a solo player, probably never seeing any gear drop.

 

For the classes, for the couple characters I copied over, I seemed weaker for sure, but it wasn't a HUGE difference. But it does stink to lose some abilities.

 

So overall this gets a F from me.

Edited by Pricia
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Have you felt at any point that you were restricted to specific content to max out your gear? Or did you feel like playing the game as you always have gets you there reliably?

 

If you want to max out 326 solo in one week you need to play more than half the gearing routes across maybe a dozen characters.

 

If you have a reliable group you're probably still going to do some low grade content for the initial gearups but then you can utilise group power to efficiently spam master mode FP and get operations done.

 

If you have a relaxed view of the timeframe then you can definitely get it done doing only your preferred content.

Edited by Gyronamics
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Nope. I don't like that you can't mod them and we can't get 110% accuracy if we use legendaries. From what I've read, I don't like legendaries either.

 

I don't like that it seems like a huge grind once you get past 322 or something (I refuse to grind on PTS so I haven't done it though). And I don't like the content restriction at all. Also really disappointed in losing renown and, as a solo player, probably never seeing any gear drop.

 

For the classes, for the couple characters I copied over, I seemed weaker for sure, but it wasn't a HUGE difference. But it does stink to lose some abilities.

 

So overall this gets a F from me.

 

You can get 110% accuracy. You'll need to use about 12 Accuracy Augments in 322 gear, but it's very possible to have the correct accuracy in week 1 of the expansion.

Edited by Toraak
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You can get 110% accuracy. You'll need to use about 12 Accuracy Augments in 322 gear, but it's very possible to have the correct accuracy in week 1 of the expansion.

 

But who wants to have to get new kits every single time they upgrade every single piece of gear? It's ridiculous...

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But who wants to have to get new kits every single time they upgrade every single piece of gear? It's ridiculous...

 

Well if BW puts all that extra accuracy needed since it's about 2700 in the gear, you would still have to augment each tier of gear, since you would be losing all of that critical, and alacrity anyway. Could BW make it so we don't need 2700 accuracy to hit the cap? Yes, and I think they should change the formula to do just that. However you said you couldn't get the accuracy and the fact is you can.

 

PS: Craft your own kits, it's far cheaper then buying them off the GTN. Making 60 kits which will set you up for 320-326 gear (and in truth you will use less then that) isn't very hard to craft.

 

Edit: For the record, if your not doing Group content or Vet/MM chapters you don't need the 110% accuracy to do heroics or daily areas. I was doing both heroic and daily area's just fine with 900 Accuracy, since I didn't augment my PTS gear until I started doing the PvP weekly (and then I used critical Augments). I will definitely be augmenting my gear on live for accuracy as I level up my gear. I'll just need to remember to pull out the augment before I upgrade anything.

 

Remember that the planets are stat capped, so you'll always be lower then the accuracy cap on all planets. (possibly not counting Manaan, since we can't test that planet on PTS)

Edited by Toraak
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But who wants to have to get new kits every single time they upgrade every single piece of gear? It's ridiculous...

 

If you are indeed a solo player you dont need 110% accuracy because you arent playing high enough level raids (nim) where accuracy actually matters, on the PTS I pugged into a team attempting HM EV and with basically no one having accuracy (and everyone throwing lots of misses) we still full cleared the raid in an hour and a bit. It just slowed down boss TTK so we werent killing it 5 mins into an 8min timer.

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If you are indeed a solo player you dont need 110% accuracy because you arent playing high enough level raids (nim) where accuracy actually matters, on the PTS I pugged into a team attempting HM EV and with basically no one having accuracy (and everyone throwing lots of misses) we still full cleared the raid in an hour and a bit. It just slowed down boss TTK so we werent killing it 5 mins into an 8min timer.

 

This is what's wrong with the whole system - you have a group of people who decided that they need certain things and others don't based on the content they do. It's not your prerogative to make up people's minds for them. This system REMOVES player decision-making. This system is plain flat out BORING. People will put the gear on and completely forget about it. It doesn't inspire me to be a better player or impact how I play the game or anything. Every piece of gear is a simple stat stick. if they wanted to force people into doing harder content taking away decisions isn't going to do it - it's going to drive people away.

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Question in title. So far I've met exactly one person who thought these were positive changes, particularly on gear. Every other person in my guilds explicitly do not plan to hang around when these changes go live. So what's the reading of the room from folks who've been testing?

 

Well to touch on what so many seem to be ignoring. The Class changes part of your question.

 

If, if...my entire guild and friends from other guilds are as angry about the class changes as it seems and they go through with quitting the game like they say they are then it looks like I will end up doing so also. Many of them were on the PTS, I was not so have no personal experience and am going by what they have said and what I have read. So keep that in mind when you read the rest of this.

 

Every last one of them are fully against the gutting of class skills. Not against being able to choose a second role or them being from the other side light/dark, in fact they are all for that since it should have been in from the start.

 

Its the removal of skills they are against which I fully agree with. The idea that skills are redundant or that players only ever use x skills anyway is total nonsense. This is the new MMO mindset that less is more and well, not one new MMO has done even remotely close to as well as older ones. You would have to combine the playerbase of at least 2 MMOs made in the last 5 years to equal that of medium popular 10 year old MMOs. Its plainly simple, most MMO players WANT combat options and should not be made around the elite minority that go for that extra .05% efficiency and so only use set rotations and never EVER divert from them.

 

Anyway back to the topic. ive been here since early beta, been subscribed on and off for all 10 years, came here with my guild from a previous game and split into 2 guilds, one Pve/Pvp, one RP. 87 of us. Every single one of us have either been here all 10 years or come and go. All have supported this game with subscriptions and shop purchases. Not one is going to stay. Then there are our out of guild friends. The close ones are not staying, the acquaintances are fairly split on this. They mostly love the other changes coming but when it comes down to it, combat is the thing the rest of the game is built upon. We do not play MMOs with few choices in combat, we play games that has our hotbars filled, that require Alt+ and Shift+ to get us through combat, makes us use our brains while playing to use all our many combat options effectively. If we wanted to play a game a brain-dead person could play, we would already be playing one.

 

So, from what I have been told and have read, combat skills are basically cut in half and on top of that, while leveling you are faced with having to choose between two skills at key levels...this is a moronic idea as you are basically creating a situation that expands upon one of the worst aspects this game already had. Make NEW players choose from the START of a game they know nothing about, their sub-class, locking them into something they may hate and now you are going to do the same with skills as they level. Stupid. Just plain stupid...and all while taking from those of us that have already been here.

 

Whoever came up with this should not only be fired for how stupid the idea is, they should be black-listed so no other company working on MMOs ever hire them. It is literally one of the worst ideas possible for this kind of game. Oh and this game is not in a position where it can survive if too many players that actually support the game with money ends up quitting. Its quite maddening that after all these years, the game is placed into the hands of people taking a massive chance like this, its basically SWG's NGE all over again. As if there is some kind of Star Wars MMO curse that they are going to end up destroying itself with changes that are FUBAR.

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However not all the changes are good, going back to the vertical progression, tokens is amazing. For nearly 5 years, since command system was introduced we ( people doing operations and flashpoints alike) were given the middle finger. It was all about everybody getting the best gear and it's not how the mmo should function.

 

People that do harder content should be awarded with better gear. And that's the 7.0 philosophy which I adore. Most of people in my guild share this opinion and I don't get why it's being hated so much. I understand that casuals, rp guys and people that want to chill and relax will not be able to get bis gear. But for the content they do, it is definitely enough. If you want to try something harder, you will get better gear and that's fine.

 

Now for the things I don't like:

1. Not being able to swap combat style inside the phase.

2. Non modable gear at launch. Although its again not that drastic as with the release of the operation this will be addressed. Shame is that we have to wait another month or so to actually get it.

3. Some classes getting better treatment than others. I mean snipers are getting axed the most, alongside juggernauts. Mercs with arsenal still don't get buffed with damage and class will be ok playable for the next 2 years. This is not fair class balance.

 

As I mentioned above, we would have to wait and see if this system will be something to he excited about. But as far as it is fleshed out on the pts it's alright. People on the internet always preaching doomsday, and it was the case with every expansion.

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It really depends on how often bosses drop gear upgrades. But if it's 1 guaranteed upgrade per boss, it's not so bad for PvE players. NiM raiders will have to get tech fragments outside of NiM to upgrade their implants, HM raiders will have to do some of the easier NiM bosses to get Rakata shells and do Heroics/Planets/Uprisings for Aquatics to upgrade the shells to 330.

 

PvP players seem to have a hard path to 326 though if they want to gear solely through PvP, as by the time they finish one PvP match to get an upgrade a PvE player has killed 2-3 flashpoint/operation bosses.

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To add to GregorDunbar said and what I said in another topic. (Except for a 3-month hiatus in 2015, I've been subscribed for about 10 years):

 

-----------------------------------------------------

 

After Tuesday, (because weekly Conquest comes due that day, etc), I'm going to go on a few month hiatus. Spend the time doing other things, other games, etc.

 

If, during a period of say 2-3 months or something along those lines, I feel the urge to go back in. I'll reactivate subscription and all will be good.

 

If not, I'll dump everything I have into my two guild banks (Galactic Heartbreakers, Outer Reaches Company) and then scorch earth with the characters before uninstalling for good.

 

-----------------------------------------------

 

While it isn't all 7.0, the fact is that 7.0 has crystallized a lot of thoughts on whether I still want to continue playing this game. I'm just one subscriber so I'm sure that nobody is going to worry about if the door hits me on the way out. But, if these are widespread thoughts, it is, at least, worth considering that this is a bad idea.

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However not all the changes are good, going back to the vertical progression, tokens is amazing. For nearly 5 years, since command system was introduced we ( people doing operations and flashpoints alike) were given the middle finger. It was all about everybody getting the best gear and it's not how the mmo should function.

 

People that do harder content should be awarded with better gear. And that's the 7.0 philosophy which I adore. Most of people in my guild share this opinion and I don't get why it's being hated so much. I understand that casuals, rp guys and people that want to chill and relax will not be able to get bis gear. But for the content they do, it is definitely enough. If you want to try something harder, you will get better gear and that's fine.

 

Now for the things I don't like:

1. Not being able to swap combat style inside the phase.

2. Non modable gear at launch. Although its again not that drastic as with the release of the operation this will be addressed. Shame is that we have to wait another month or so to actually get it.

3. Some classes getting better treatment than others. I mean snipers are getting axed the most, alongside juggernauts. Mercs with arsenal still don't get buffed with damage and class will be ok playable for the next 2 years. This is not fair class balance.

 

As I mentioned above, we would have to wait and see if this system will be something to he excited about. But as far as it is fleshed out on the pts it's alright. People on the internet always preaching doomsday, and it was the case with every expansion.

 

I'm going to try and attempt to explain the hate on the new gearing (both the system and the actual gear). The reason your guild doesn't understand why it's disliked is that nothing changes for them - they go about the activities they enjoy and get rewarded for it. In the case of NIM raiders, they get moddbale gear while everyone else gets their decisions made for them. What the new system does is separate and divide the players - stay in one path until you are at the maximum item level, then you can branch out do it again (albeit a quicker process), and gear in a different path. Yes, you can do multiple paths at the same time but you slowing your own progress which isn't optimal - but hey it's possible. For ANYONE who doesn't like doing NIM raids, you have to do content you don't find fun in order to be treated equally to them. I don't enjoy raids of any sort, they aren't fun for me, yet if I want moddable gear I have no choice to do things I'm not interested in doing. Why should I be forced into doing activities that aren't fun for me (there is NO other way to get moddable gear other than NIM raiding)? How is taking away my enjoyment going to benefit the game? It's not going to make me suddenly like raiding - been there done that in many many many games before. My dislike of raiding is highly unlikely to change, forcing me to do it isn't going to alter that.

 

Plainly put people will do things they find fun regardless of the rewards. They don't need carrots (which is what gear is) or sticks (which is what the removal of choice is). They will do it because IT"S ENJOYABLE. It doesn't matter if it's PVP, NIm raiding, soloing, space barbie - if people have fun they will do it. If you or anyone else feels like they "got the middle finger" for doing things you supposedly find fun because you chose to do harder content and didn't get a better award than people who chose an easier time then I would really ask yourself: Do you actually enjoy that harder content? It doesn't sound like you really did have fun - ya know, since you feel like you got the middle finger and all that. Besides in 5 years, what are you going to remember more: the piece of gear you got (possibly one of hundreds) or the fact that you and your mates came together had a blast overcoming some really tough situations? I know in my case in the 20 years I've been raiding (yes, I've been doing content I don't find fun for that long) I can't remember a single piece of gear from any of the games I've played. My advice to you is to focus less on the virtual goods that don't really exist and more on the important aspects of the whole reason we are all here: to be entertained and have fun.

 

As for the whole "you get gear it's just not as good argument" well that gear is nothing more than a participation prize and very little if anything more than that. To be quite frank it's patronizing and condescending. The gear is boring, unimaginative and it's the literal definition of the meme "dumbing down the game". There are no thoughts on how to optimize or does it change a rotation, or quite literally anything else. You put it on, upgrade it when you have the resources, and forget about it. And people think not having to use your brain is a good thing? Gear should matter on all levels of gameplay with higher levels of gameplay having more demands made on it and the player. Furthermore, once people become accustomed to having everything thought ahead for them by the dev team they won't do it for themselves. It encourages mental laziness and removes the player from ever being involved. Personally, I think it's a bad path to go down. I also don't understand the reason for the different paths, if you can do raids in conquest gear and do well then what's the point in having 4 different sets with all sightly different stats? it's needlessly complex for no reason.

 

What makes SWTOR a good game IMO is that it's both a single-player and an MMO at the same time. It's pretty unique in that regard and one that I think has done reasonably well. Any system that comes in needs to have a balance between both of them, to me the gear and the system favors raiders while trying to appease everyone else.

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@Sethenon

 

Well written, thumbs up for that.

 

I love SW:ToR for being able to play for half an hour after work and still have the prospect of eventually having good gear to tackle more difficult solo content. I'm happy to pay my subscription for that.

 

It's easy to forget that the casuals keep a game alive with their money, not the small percentage of pros.

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I'm going to try and attempt to explain the hate on the new gearing (both the system and the actual gear). The reason your guild doesn't understand why it's disliked is that nothing changes for them - they go about the activities they enjoy and get rewarded for it. In the case of NIM raiders, they get moddbale gear while everyone else gets their decisions made for them. What the new system does is separate and divide the players - stay in one path until you are at the maximum item level, then you can branch out do it again (albeit a quicker process), and gear in a different path. Yes, you can do multiple paths at the same time but you slowing your own progress which isn't optimal - but hey it's possible. For ANYONE who doesn't like doing NIM raids, you have to do content you don't find fun in order to be treated equally to them. I don't enjoy raids of any sort, they aren't fun for me, yet if I want moddable gear I have no choice to do things I'm not interested in doing. Why should I be forced into doing activities that aren't fun for me (there is NO other way to get moddable gear other than NIM raiding)? How is taking away my enjoyment going to benefit the game? It's not going to make me suddenly like raiding - been there done that in many many many games before. My dislike of raiding is highly unlikely to change, forcing me to do it isn't going to alter that.

 

Plainly put people will do things they find fun regardless of the rewards. They don't need carrots (which is what gear is) or sticks (which is what the removal of choice is). They will do it because IT"S ENJOYABLE. It doesn't matter if it's PVP, NIm raiding, soloing, space barbie - if people have fun they will do it. If you or anyone else feels like they "got the middle finger" for doing things you supposedly find fun because you chose to do harder content and didn't get a better award than people who chose an easier time then I would really ask yourself: Do you actually enjoy that harder content? It doesn't sound like you really did have fun - ya know, since you feel like you got the middle finger and all that. Besides in 5 years, what are you going to remember more: the piece of gear you got (possibly one of hundreds) or the fact that you and your mates came together had a blast overcoming some really tough situations? I know in my case in the 20 years I've been raiding (yes, I've been doing content I don't find fun for that long) I can't remember a single piece of gear from any of the games I've played. My advice to you is to focus less on the virtual goods that don't really exist and more on the important aspects of the whole reason we are all here: to be entertained and have fun.

 

As for the whole "you get gear it's just not as good argument" well that gear is nothing more than a participation prize and very little if anything more than that. To be quite frank it's patronizing and condescending. The gear is boring, unimaginative and it's the literal definition of the meme "dumbing down the game". There are no thoughts on how to optimize or does it change a rotation, or quite literally anything else. You put it on, upgrade it when you have the resources, and forget about it. And people think not having to use your brain is a good thing? Gear should matter on all levels of gameplay with higher levels of gameplay having more demands made on it and the player. Furthermore, once people become accustomed to having everything thought ahead for them by the dev team they won't do it for themselves. It encourages mental laziness and removes the player from ever being involved. Personally, I think it's a bad path to go down. I also don't understand the reason for the different paths, if you can do raids in conquest gear and do well then what's the point in having 4 different sets with all sightly different stats? it's needlessly complex for no reason.

 

What makes SWTOR a good game IMO is that it's both a single-player and an MMO at the same time. It's pretty unique in that regard and one that I think has done reasonably well. Any system that comes in needs to have a balance between both of them, to me the gear and the system favors raiders while trying to appease everyone else.

 

You stressed the fact that you don't do operations, so you won't take this path of progression. And that is fine. Bioware said in the post that they will progressively add better gear say 340/ 350 and you will be able then to reach a threshold of 334 by doing conquest, heroics what have you. 334 is when the modable gear vendor will become available.

 

I don't understand why would you need modable gear if you are not doing operations on higher level? Min/ Maxing, editing mods, reaching stages of alacrity, crit helps out the players who do vm, mm content. It was the case in 6.0, when casuals went to get their optimal stats, tactical and set bonus advice to us, players who know the bis setup.

 

You mentioned the enjoyment of clearing content itself. But how much more enjoyable it was, when you knew that a piece of gear was waiting for you once you did it. And truth be told, I don't remember the exact name of the gear that dropped. Lets be realistic, it was more than 5 years ago when it last happened. But I do remember the excitement that went with it. I was waiting all day, looking up on dulfy which boss I need to take down to get the upgrade I need and then going in and doing it. It felt incredible I remember the DKP system that was part of this very game before Kotet in many guilds. I remember the feeling of worry, when I missed just one piece of gear to get my bis, but someone else might take it away from me. And hate me for it, but i loved it.

 

You are partially right, when you speak about being happy with the time I invested with friends on certain boss. But there is a difference between first clear and having the operation on farm. It's the farming process that was missing in this game. It was not fun any more to meet every week to clear the same content, because you could have been well off just spamming TC / EV to get the same stuff.

 

And look where it got us. You barely cannot get a group of 16 people on the fleet for any other ops than these 2 I mentioned above. Its constant spam of TC and EV farms. This is what's killing the game. Lack of incentive for going inside that operation. Ofc you can buy clears, and get your achievements but you will be scrutinized on the raiding scene. Yes people talk and we know who buys runs.

 

There is a lot of people that share my point of view and you will not understand, since you got bored of the operations, or won't do it for any other reason. I hope you do give it a try once 7.0 operation hits and maybe, just maybe something will change.

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I'm going to try and attempt to explain the hate on the new gearing (both the system and the actual gear). The reason your guild doesn't understand why it's disliked is that nothing changes for them - they go about the activities they enjoy and get rewarded for it. In the case of NIM raiders, they get moddbale gear while everyone else gets their decisions made for them. What the new system does is separate and divide the players - stay in one path until you are at the maximum item level, then you can branch out do it again (albeit a quicker process), and gear in a different path. Yes, you can do multiple paths at the same time but you slowing your own progress which isn't optimal - but hey it's possible. For ANYONE who doesn't like doing NIM raids, you have to do content you don't find fun in order to be treated equally to them. I don't enjoy raids of any sort, they aren't fun for me, yet if I want moddable gear I have no choice to do things I'm not interested in doing. Why should I be forced into doing activities that aren't fun for me (there is NO other way to get moddable gear other than NIM raiding)? How is taking away my enjoyment going to benefit the game? It's not going to make me suddenly like raiding - been there done that in many many many games before. My dislike of raiding is highly unlikely to change, forcing me to do it isn't going to alter that.

 

Plainly put people will do things they find fun regardless of the rewards. They don't need carrots (which is what gear is) or sticks (which is what the removal of choice is). They will do it because IT"S ENJOYABLE. It doesn't matter if it's PVP, NIm raiding, soloing, space barbie - if people have fun they will do it. If you or anyone else feels like they "got the middle finger" for doing things you supposedly find fun because you chose to do harder content and didn't get a better award than people who chose an easier time then I would really ask yourself: Do you actually enjoy that harder content? It doesn't sound like you really did have fun - ya know, since you feel like you got the middle finger and all that. Besides in 5 years, what are you going to remember more: the piece of gear you got (possibly one of hundreds) or the fact that you and your mates came together had a blast overcoming some really tough situations? I know in my case in the 20 years I've been raiding (yes, I've been doing content I don't find fun for that long) I can't remember a single piece of gear from any of the games I've played. My advice to you is to focus less on the virtual goods that don't really exist and more on the important aspects of the whole reason we are all here: to be entertained and have fun.

 

As for the whole "you get gear it's just not as good argument" well that gear is nothing more than a participation prize and very little if anything more than that. To be quite frank it's patronizing and condescending. The gear is boring, unimaginative and it's the literal definition of the meme "dumbing down the game". There are no thoughts on how to optimize or does it change a rotation, or quite literally anything else. You put it on, upgrade it when you have the resources, and forget about it. And people think not having to use your brain is a good thing? Gear should matter on all levels of gameplay with higher levels of gameplay having more demands made on it and the player. Furthermore, once people become accustomed to having everything thought ahead for them by the dev team they won't do it for themselves. It encourages mental laziness and removes the player from ever being involved. Personally, I think it's a bad path to go down. I also don't understand the reason for the different paths, if you can do raids in conquest gear and do well then what's the point in having 4 different sets with all sightly different stats? it's needlessly complex for no reason.

 

What makes SWTOR a good game IMO is that it's both a single-player and an MMO at the same time. It's pretty unique in that regard and one that I think has done reasonably well. Any system that comes in needs to have a balance between both of them, to me the gear and the system favors raiders while trying to appease everyone else.

 

This post X 1 million I still remember, when we had the original skill tree and my group was doing Colicoid War Games. A healer dropped so we put out the call but, due to a glitch, the system counted me as a healer even though I was doing DPS. I offered to drop but, instead, we worked out a plan where I would just focus on using my shield and the two (minor) healing abilities to keep the group running. It was close (boss decided to focus on me in the last 10% and I was this close to dying) but we made it.

 

On the other hand, I also remember the Dread Palace Op that made me realize that I could play a Story/Lvl 50/tactical FP with enough time to get in a GSF match and actually accomplish something rather than put up with an OPS leader who kept covering for his stoner (healer) friend who kept going AFK to fights. This turned out to be the last straw in any Ops raid that my guild specifically didn't ask me to help them complete.

 

Experiences......

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I don't understand why would you need modable gear if you are not doing operations on higher level? Min/ Maxing, editing mods, reaching stages of alacrity, crit helps out the players who do vm, mm content. It was the case in 6.0, when casuals went to get their optimal stats, tactical and set bonus advice to us, players who know the bis setup.

 

 

Mostly because I found the Smuggler's abilities to be slow and I thought that she needed more alacrity to make her playable in any FP. Sure, I could go with what Bioware thinks is a good smuggler setup with their gear sets but, if EA/Bioware were any good at making decisions, the game wouldn't be at the point it currently is, would it?

 

But, there's also the fact that, by 2023, this game will have to pull it's own weight to justify it's licensing costs. This means that, by June 2022 (possibly sooner), EA is going to make a decision on whether the game has a future.

 

And Sony would very much like me to be willing to spend the time and money to get a PS5......

 

Bioware's decision to slap me in the face for not playing the way they want me to play is going to cost them between $15-$60 from me alone as I take a hiatus that will go between 2 months to June. If I decide against ever returning, that will cost even more. Not a winning strategy in a year when EA, more than any other year, is going to be looking closely at the profit margins that justify this game's existence.

 

To quote Minister Davidge: This is how the Empire would fall - not in some epic battle but by tiny margins bleeding away. A death of a million microscopic cuts.

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