Server mergers and content updates coming through the rest of the year

[WoWGoneBad]

They had good raids, that's not the same thing as having a good end game since the only thing you could do for PvE was the raids and run out dated daily areas which only took maybe 20-30 minutes to do. I just meant to say that their end game was incredibly shallow, especially when compared to the end game scene of the other major contenders on the MMO market, such as WoW and FFXIV for example, but as I said they're not the only ones, just the big 2 I'm most familiar with and enjoy.

This was always my biggest contention with SWtoR. all the faithful players of the game would always ay there is plenty of endgame to do and you know what they are right. There are about 12 raids 20 something FPs, bout 6-8 Uprisings, PvP, Dailies,

BUT.... 10 of those raids are 4+ years old, ALL of the FPs -6 are Launch 5+ years old, Dailies get old after 4 + years, PvP NO new maps in about 3+ years.....

ALL of the main players that have left have left because the game is just plain damned STALE. The new stuff is cleared inside of a week and after 4 months is bleh..... Only NOW does BW finally get that and do what people have asked for for 4+ years and only because each of the 12 servers had a max prime time population of no more than about 600 for fleet and maybe another 600 scattered throughout the entire game.

Like @xuros, I am happy they are finally going back to MMO grp stuff but damn it is far too little and DAMNED FAR too late.

[Darkeon]

Wanted to come back - but between being stuck on a rather dead server, with all my accomplishments OR starting completely from the scratch on a decent realm - come the devil and pick the shittiest option.

[xuros]

Wanted to come back - but between being stuck on a rather dead server, with all my accomplishments OR starting completely from the scratch on a decent realm - come the devil and pick the shittiest option.

Did you read the title or the OP? They are doing server merges so more people to play with/sell to/ or however you like to play. Servers should be much more lively soon.

[Katchii]

Wanted to come back - but between being stuck on a rather dead server, with all my accomplishments OR starting completely from the scratch on a decent realm - come the devil and pick the shittiest option.

As @xuros already stated the purpose of this thread is to discuss the upcoming server merges where they will merge all of the current 17 servers into 5 servers.

http://www.swtor.com/info/news/news-article/20171002

So the problem your talking about won't be an issue after that happens in November. Granted the game still won't be HUGE compared to some other MMO's but there will be no "dead" servers.

[Darkeon]

As @xuros already stated the purpose of this thread is to discuss the upcoming server merges where they will merge all of the current 17 servers into 5 servers.

http://www.swtor.com/info/news/news-article/20171002

So the problem your talking about won't be an issue after that happens in November. Granted the game still won't be HUGE compared to some other MMO's but there will be no "dead" servers.

Did you read the title or the OP? They are doing server merges so more people to play with/sell to/ or however you like to play. Servers should be much more lively soon.

That's exactly why I posted my message here and why it was relevant. As it was a detriment to my enjoyment and one of the reasons why I couldn't get into - and glad it is changing.

[Katchii]

That's exactly why I posted my message here and why it was relevant. As it was a detriment to my enjoyment and one of the reasons why I couldn't get into - and glad it is changing.

Gotcha. The intent of the message you posted wasn't clear, it just came across as you being unhappy with low server populations and not being able to decide on staying on your current "dead" server or moving to a new more populated one and starting from scratch.

[xenogear3]

I wonder how many people are working on this game right now.
There is absolutely no new content this year.

EA is a big company. SWTOR has a large population.
What happened?

[quras]

I wonder how many people are working on this game right now.

Not many from an office picture bioware posted. If I can find it again I'll post it. Even if you fill every desk in it, it wouldn't be many. A guess for me would be less than 40 people now.

There is absolutely no new content this year.

Thats not entirely true.
We got 2 OPS bosses (read that as not a complete OPS/raid)
we got one FP a month ago

Nov. swtor is getting 1 more OPS boss, 1 FP, 1 PVP zone and 1 star fighter map.

We did get some content this year. Problem is it took 11 months to get 3 OPS bosses only and 2 FP's,1 PVP and 1 GSF map.

New Content in swtor is so sparce when you do get some I can see how someone would forget that we got any at all. Just massive gaps in content delivery.

EA is a big company. SWTOR has a large population.
What happened?

EA is a big company = True
swtor having a large population = Not true. swtor is not what it used to be and we are finally getting server mergers because swtor DOES NOT have a large population.

What happen? Of course it's just a guess but I think:
To much reliance on story was a huge mistake. It's needed but it's not a player retention bit of content. Once you have seen the story it's over. Bioware continues to fail at seeing that.

Poor delivery of new content that is worth repeating. EX. They put out a daily quest area that you had to buy many of the quests for that area. Combined with a reward vendor for that area that had little to nothing to make you even entertain the idea of actually doing the rep grind. When they finally do get something out. It ends up being poorly designed and not worth repeating.

General poor fixes to the game. Constant bug that break things like conquest time after time. Gamers not getting rewards etc.... Just shows poor behind the scenes problem fixes even after being told. It's unacceptable and they will get on it but it keeps happening.

[xenogear3]

40 people is about right with this amount of new content.

I guess that EA decided to stop "invest" on this game.

[Edge-]

40 people is about right with this amount of new content.

I guess that EA decided to stop "invest" on this game.

Revenue is down, that's why. KotET didn't perform as well as KotFE did initially (hence why it didn't even get a mention on their Q3 earnings call like KotFE did), and somehow I don't think KotFE managed to maintain its initial success past the first few months anyways.

[xenogear3]

WoW expansion releases in year 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018.
Guild Wars 2 and FF14 are smart. They release in year 2013, 2015, 2017 to avoid compete with WoW.
EA should predict that KotET does poorly, and plan for a big expansion in 2017. That is called investment.

Also Galactic Command killed all F2P and B2P players.

[Katchii]

WoW expansion releases in year 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018.
Guild Wars 2 and FF14 are smart. They release in year 2013, 2015, 2017 to avoid compete with WoW.
EA should predict that KotET does poorly, and plan for a big expansion in 2017. That is called investment.

Also Galactic Command killed all F2P and B2P players.

Castrating your F2P players by not allowing them to even participate in Galactic Command is retarded when it's the only reliable way to gear your character at max level alongside Operations which, again, F2P can't participate in and can't even equip the epic quality gear unless they unlock that option through the market...which is another ridiculous thing. That said though, Galactic Command was one of the worst mechanics I've ever seen implemented in an MMO when the vast majority of the content you're meant to use to gain CXP is 4+ years old and you're just meant to grind the shit out of it.

I refuse to play the game unless I'm subbing because of all the stupid restrictions F2P and Preferred players have on them and all the constant reminders that "YOU'RE NOT A SUB" whenever you log in, go into a cantina or respec. It's just irritating.

The story and game play are solid enough that I come back a couple times a year. But this will never be my go-to MMO if they can't get their shit together when it comes to end game.

If they want to focus on story, great..put out new patches with new story every couple months but also include at least a few new Heroics and a FP every now and then...and I don't mean just a rehashed FP with a few minor changes like Star Fortress or Kuat Drive Yards. Even if they changed the story a bit and reused an old FP with a new story and slightly modified layout that would be fine to me as the reason you're there and experience would be different. Context matters. They could take a page from the FFXIV book for this with their "Hard Mode" versions of older dungeons.

[WoWGoneBad]

Also Galactic Command killed all F2P and B2P players.

While I agree that Galactic Command is a FUCKING HORRIBAD WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK Were they thinking idea, that is not what really killed the game. It was the Sub pay wall that killed the game.

I personally did not mind getting the crates as they provided me with a steady stream of creds from selling all that damned legacy armor, free comp gifts that I could level their influence with, tokens to get boosts to get to 300 and an occasional goodie or two albeit rarely.

I would be happy to still play the game as F2P with this gawd awful GC system, but they as always made the WHAT THE ACTAUL FUCK areyou thinking move of locking GC behind a paywall. This was actually quite smart in their thinking actually. BW/EA knows there are those diehard fan fanatic lovers of all things SWtoR and know they would pay that $15 a month just to keep getting those galatic shiny pixels and become the next hutt with their huge hoards of credits through GTN and spending even MOAR money on CC coins.

What they failed to realize is that while those dumbass whales kept funneling money into a defunct, garbage outdated engine...... it was those F2P ers that they kicked out hoping that they would sub up that kept the Whales in a playable game.

Those F2Pers were paying the creds needed to get their Ops and PVP tokens through brokering with the whales to get them. Once the tokens were gone, what point of F2P really is there? If you are 70 there is nothing for you to do, and what is the point of doing he new FP if you are getting nothing out of it?

[Katchii]

While I agree that Galactic Command is a FUCKING HORRIBAD WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK Were they thinking idea, that is not what really killed the game. It was the Sub pay wall that killed the game.

I personally did not mind getting the crates as they provided me with a steady stream of creds from selling all that damned legacy armor, free comp gifts that I could level their influence with, tokens to get boosts to get to 300 and an occasional goodie or two albeit rarely.

I would be happy to still play the game as F2P with this gawd awful GC system, but they as always made the WHAT THE ACTAUL FUCK areyou thinking move of locking GC behind a paywall. This was actually quite smart in their thinking actually. BW/EA knows there are those diehard fan fanatic lovers of all things SWtoR and know they would pay that $15 a month just to keep getting those galatic shiny pixels and become the next hutt with their huge hoards of credits through GTN and spending even MOAR money on CC coins.

What they failed to realize is that while those dumbass whales kept funneling money into a defunct, garbage outdated engine...... it was those F2P ers that they kicked out hoping that they would sub up that kept the Whales in a playable game.

Those F2Pers were paying the creds needed to get their Ops and PVP tokens through brokering with the whales to get them. Once the tokens were gone, what point of F2P really is there? If you are 70 there is nothing for you to do, and what is the point of doing he new FP if you are getting nothing out of it?

That's exactly why Galactic Command killed F2P players...because F2P players can't benefit from Galactic Command, as it's a sub only feature. Since the game is a F2P game, making it so only subs can benefit from GC is what killed it.

You're arguing the same point as me and @xenogear3 just with different points but the main argument is the same..... not being able to access and use the primary purpose for doing anything at end game as a F2P player is what killed the game.

[quras]

That's exactly why Galactic Command killed F2P players...because F2P players can't benefit from Galactic Command, as it's a sub only feature. Since the game is a F2P game, making it so only subs can benefit from GC is what killed it.

You're arguing the same point as me and @xenogear3 just with different points but the main argument is the same..... not being able to access and use the primary purpose for doing anything at end game as a F2P player is what killed the game.

I think thats just part of the problem but not really a major one as I don't think F2P players were every really carrying this game at all once it changed over.

However, on the other hand you are right about galactic command. It's initial release is what killed this game combined with a reliance on story that would never retain gamers in the long run. Story just isn't good at keeping players paying. Good to get tehm in the game and see whats going on but it's not good for retention.

The massive lack of end game content (like at launch) once again also help hurt this game. 2 year or more with no end game content while we got a terrible story barely worth seeing once much less as long as bioware wanted you to keep seeing.

[Katchii]

I think thats just part of the problem but not really a major one as I don't think F2P players were every really carrying this game at all once it changed over.

However, on the other hand you are right about galactic command. It's initial release is what killed this game combined with a reliance on story that would never retain gamers in the long run. Story just isn't good at keeping players paying. Good to get tehm in the game and see whats going on but it's not good for retention.

The massive lack of end game content (like at launch) once again also help hurt this game. 2 year or more with no end game content while we got a terrible story barely worth seeing once much less as long as bioware wanted you to keep seeing.

I actually really like the story in KotFE and KotET. It felt like a stand alone Star Wars adventure and the story was decent IMO.

[quras]

I actually really like the story in KotFE and KotET. It felt like a stand alone Star Wars adventure and the story was decent IMO.

I have heard of rare cases that liked the story so it's good to finally meet someone that really liked it.

I on the other hand thought it was terrible and out of the 27 or so chapters, I can say about 2-3 were interesting enough to hold my attention for any amount of enjoyment.

The story, the shitty spawning mobs, the cliche "keep up with the valkorians" garbage writing, the plot holes, betrayal after betrayal. I didn't really care for it at all but I'm glad someone did.

I just think you are one of the rare few.

[Katchii]

I have heard of rare cases that liked the story so it's good to finally meet someone that really liked it.

I on the other hand thought it was terrible and out of the 27 or so chapters, I can say about 2-3 were interesting enough to hold my attention for any amount of enjoyment.

The story, the shitty spawning mobs, the cliche "keep up with the valkorians" garbage writing, the plot holes, betrayal after betrayal. I didn't really care for it at all but I'm glad someone did.

I just think you are one of the rare few.

I'll admit though, I only find it passable as a story when played as a Jedi or Sith character otherwise it just doesn't make any sense for your character to be able to stand toe to toe with the Valkorians or other force sensitive people especially as a light side character who refused Valkorians power the entire time.

Also, "really like" is a bit of an overstatement. I was entertained and enjoy my time playing when I'm experiencing the story, but that is likely to be a by product of me simply enjoying my class and having a good excuse to play it just makes me happy. It was a story, it was content that kept me playing and looking forward to the next chapter/ thing to do. But you're correct, the story itself is pretty mediocre.

[quras]

I'll admit though, I only find it passable as a story when played as a Jedi or Sith character otherwise it just doesn't make any sense for your character to be able to stand toe to toe with the Valkorians or other force sensitive people especially as a light side character who refused Valkorians power the entire time.

Also, "really like" is a bit of an overstatement. I was entertained and enjoy my time playing when I'm experiencing the story, but that is likely to be a by product of me simply enjoying my class and having a good excuse to play it just makes me happy. It was a story, it was content that kept me playing and looking forward to the next chapter/ thing to do. But you're correct, the story itself is pretty mediocre.

Now that you mention it I had completely wiped from my mind how bad it was on my trooper. So bad I didn't even complete the first batch of 16 chapters it felt so ridiculous as a non-force user.

I did at least complete it on a sage.

[WoWGoneBad]

I think thats just part of the problem but not really a major one as I don't think F2P players were every really carrying this game at all once it changed over.

While F2P players were not carrying the game financially, they were carrying it in terms of player pool for Ops and PvP. Whales would buy the Ops tokens and then broker them out to F2P players for creds, or F2P players would purchase the Credit boost tokens to get above the 350k threshold and buy them their selves.

Not to mention most guilds had subbers who would get the Ops/PvP tokens and put them up in the GBanks for the F2Pers to grab and do that stuff. Once tokens were removed and 70 sub only that killed off alot of the F2Pers.

BW just tried to strong arm them with the SW IP and that backfired seriously. I went through 3 guilds because of that. After no Ops(rather HM or NiM ops) due to lack of players I just called it on the game. I tried doing a guild who was Conquest warriors and that was fun for a while, but after getting all but one or 2 achievements on that I got bored again. All they did was run mostly Lockout Ops(Last boss for rewards and conquest) Fps out the ass and crafting wars where Conquest points topped 65Million it was just meh......

I plan on subbing again after Nov 8 for the Hexid companion but after that this game will go on hiatus until I need my commando fix.

- - - Updated - - -

I'll admit though, I only find it passable as a story when played as a Jedi or Sith character otherwise it just doesn't make any sense for your character to be able to stand toe to toe with the Valkorians or other force sensitive people especially as a light side character who refused Valkorians power the entire time.

Yea playing KotET and KotFE was fun as my Sage and Inquisitor as they fit the over all story well being Force users. I did it again on both the Commando and Bounty Hunter. While it was somewhat fun paying the Commander of my forces, taking on Arcann and Vaylin as a non force user just felt off. I accepted the idea that Valkorion was embuing me with Force powers to make my self toe to toe with them, it just did not feel as epic or engaging as a Force User.