Speculation of what the #FallenEmpire 6.15.15 announcement is

[quras]

The most likely accurate tin foil hat theories are that they needed to negotiate new and more permanent voice acting contracts. Many of the original VA are top dollar and not good for continued revenue. I really wouldn't be surprised if the ones that stick around are a mixture of easily replicated voices or non human voices.

I honestly can't say I blame them nor is the concept of us getting new companions really that crazy. The way the story is being set up is a reboot of the entire game, just within the same engine and gameplay space. Like I've said, this sounds like SwtOR 2 in everything but name.

It's sorta a first for an MMO to deliver an expansion that accomplishes that. So it's both exciting and really scary. They say they want to keep old gameplay aspects around, but that they want the core game to play like other Bioware games...story focused. I think they have most likely looked at GW2 in terms of how they want to offer content going forward, which is easily visible in how they are delivering the content in chapters.

Good or bad, it's interesting times moving ahead thats for sure.

They probably have numbers showing raid/pve participation and it's probably low compared to people who pay money to have 12x xp and play story, story, story.

I often wonder what the more precise numbers are. I look at wow as a reference in that many love to claim hardly no one raids but we see numbers every once in a while on this site and something like 70% were raiding LFG - the easy modes of course but still doing end game group content - raiding.

I think SWTOR would be similar but not exact. A large percentage running the SM OPS. 60-70% as a guess. Like wow, the numbers dropping drastically as you move into higher difficulty with the hardest levels having less than 5% playing (IIRC from the MM0-C post on wow)

For harder mode difficulty, I can see where the argument comes from SWTOR in that more play for the story but I have no doubt there are a large number playing SM OPS similar to wow. Which in turn is why I'm so shocked that this coming expansion leans so heavily on story, leaving out any new ops. Leaving only the old ops we have been doing for the past year to 4 years ago but leveled up.

Maybe SWTOR just doesn't really follow a similar wow pattern when it comes to raids but given my server, it sure seems like it does.

[derpkitteh]

i'm hoping it's fake, but i just heard something about the new expac that could be true. i'm REALLY hoping it's fake, cause i REALLY don't want one of my favorite characters to die and i know he would if this happens. i'll spoiler it supposedly, darth marr fights darth malgus... i don't want darth marr to die T_T

really hope it isn't true.

[Kelimbror]

That would be monumental levels of epic to me. There was supposed to be a livestream where they played through ch1...has that happened yet or if not, when is it?

[quras]

That would be monumental levels of epic to me. There was supposed to be a livestream where they played through ch1...has that happened yet or if not, when is it?

Agreed. That would be pretty epic as long as the story makes sense to go along with it.

The upcoming livestream is August 26. Pretty sure they said it will be PST because it was originally suppose to be a PAX thing.

[derpkitteh]

it would be an amazing fight... but, you don't just bring back malgus to have him get wrecked by marr instantly, so you know he'd die. he's the best sith in the empire

[quras]

it would be an amazing fight... but, you don't just bring back malgus to have him get wrecked by marr instantly, so you know he'd die. he's the best sith in the empire

True but you can't pull off a "bring him back" and throw him into the forefront like Marr is after how the players wrecked him so far back either.

Plus given how both the Republic and Empire are nearly destroyed or pushed back so far their are no longer a great power. He would be coming back to damn near nothing. I hope there is a very solid story behind his return.

I've heard rumors of him being a companion but I highly doubt that.

[Darth Belichick]

Honestly, it would be pretty awesome if they made him a companion, and I don't see why not. I imagine the idea is similar to Mass Effect 2 where you get need get a badass team together, and who would be more badass than Darth Malgus?

[derpkitteh]

if anyone is on my team, i want marr... with the empire and republic both being either in shambles are outright broken, it could work. but i just know that malgus will kill him if they fight. malgus is only a year younger than marr, but like i said. you don't bring a character back like him just to die.

[Kellorion]

I really like Marr, I play a sorc, and they treat the 'both being on the council/but he gives you missions' really well.

[Sills]

Honestly, it would be pretty awesome if they made him a companion, and I don't see why not. I imagine the idea is similar to Mass Effect 2 where you get need get a badass team together, and who would be more badass than Darth Malgus?

That would be a freaking badass companion to be sure. I just don't like the cost. Darth Marr is one of my favorite characters and I had hoped that he would be a companion going forward and we would avenge together. It would be sad to see him go, even if it meant I got Malgus as a companion.

[quras]

Honestly, it would be pretty awesome if they made him a companion, and I don't see why not. I imagine the idea is similar to Mass Effect 2 where you get need get a badass team together, and who would be more badass than Darth Malgus?

Something else I find interesting too. What if he is a companion, you travel together through most chapters if not all the original released ones but then given how BW keeps talking about how choices will actually affect things this go around. How somethings might be bared from you or changed due to your decisions.

He betrays you later due to your choices or just because he remembers you tried to kill him and he gets strong enough to start the Empire again later in the story.

[Darth Belichick]

Something else I find interesting too. What if he is a companion, you travel together through most chapters if not all the original released ones but then given how BW keeps talking about how choices will actually affect things this go around. How somethings might be bared from you or changed due to your decisions.

He betrays you later due to your choices or just because he remembers you tried to kill him and he gets strong enough to start the Empire again later in the story.

They would have to replace him with a different companion to make up for the loss, unless he was deemed a temporary companion the entire time. Also, there is a change they could have Malgus fight Marr, think he killed him, then find out later on that Marr is infact not dead.

[derpkitteh]

like, i'm wondering who they'll bring up to replace companions you really piss off.

like, i know i'm probably gonna lose ashara on my sorc, since she's... pragmatic but ruthless. maybe the little inquisitor quest on rishi helps with that, if you made the right choice enslaving or taking the race that ravage was destroying

honestly, i'd like a force healing companion. i HATE going without a healer companion, but i also feel like shit not having my apprentice with me >:/

[Darth Belichick]

like, i'm wondering who they'll bring up to replace companions you really piss off.

like, i know i'm probably gonna lose ashara on my sorc, since she's... pragmatic but ruthless. maybe the little inquisitor quest on rishi helps with that, if you made the right choice enslaving or taking the race that ravage was destroying

honestly, i'd like a force healing companion. i HATE going without a healer companion, but i also feel like shit not having my apprentice with me >:/

I hear that. I always want to bring my apprentice when I'm a force user, but sometimes I really like having that tank-type companion, or that healer. I would love to have an apprentice who is a healer.

[Sills]

like, i'm wondering who they'll bring up to replace companions you really piss off.

like, i know i'm probably gonna lose ashara on my sorc, since she's... pragmatic but ruthless. maybe the little inquisitor quest on rishi helps with that, if you made the right choice enslaving or taking the race that ravage was destroying

honestly, i'd like a force healing companion. i HATE going without a healer companion, but i also feel like shit not having my apprentice with me >:/

Even though it may not be the best gameplay choice (I would also much rather have a healer companion with me), I also need to have my apprentice with me. I usually take Xalek along because I cannot stand Ashara. I fully expect Xalek to try and kill me at some point, and at that point I will end him, but until then I always keep him close by. He's quite the fighter.

[derpkitteh]

i don't dislike ashara, but she's not down with the way my girl operates. i did use her for a while, on makeb. she deals quite a bit of damage, but i don't like having to work that much, so i just use talos and lightning blast my way through everything.

now, if i could just get me a nice, dark apprentice that can heal... i'd be all set.

[Sills]

now, if i could just get me a nice, dark apprentice that can heal... i'd be all set.

I don't think that's too much to ask for, really lol. A fellow dark side Sith that can heal my rear while being a loyal, Empire loving apprentice. Sure they'll try to kill me at some point, but the key word here is "try" hehe. I'm keeping the hope that we'll get one in the new expansion.

[quras]

I actually did quite a bit with nadia. I was not a fan of her whiny voice but when I got her as a padawan, I found with my old gear she did amazing DPS and she does some great AOE damage for pack pulls. I swapped to healing spec and we wrecked about everything. That was some fun times. Master and padawan tearing it up.

[derpkitteh]

oh yeah, i can easily tear things up with either xalek or ashara, but i have to bubble them and myself, have to heal them and myself, it's more work than i want to do lol.

when i have a healer companion, they take care of most of that, i just have to bubble myself.

now, on my warrior and knight, i kinda need my healer companion or elites, or a strong with a pack of normals, might kill me. my shadow used to use nadia a bit, and we did ok, but with the healer companion it was so much better.

[Svifnymr]

I actually did quite a bit with nadia. I was not a fan of her whiny voice but when I got her as a padawan, I found with my old gear she did amazing DPS and she does some great AOE damage for pack pulls. I swapped to healing spec and we wrecked about everything. That was some fun times. Master and padawan tearing it up.

I liked Nadia, she was fun, Ashara was decent but the personality just didn't mesh well. I rerolled my Jedi Knight, and since my original spent all his time with T7 and Doc, so this time I've been sticking with Kira, with the occasional Lord Scourge. Swapping out when I was going to do something they wouldn't like. :-p

I did like having a healing companion, but I wish more companions had the same gear as the main. Trooper was nice with that, could just bump gear down, but otherwise they synced gear to the idea of the companion rather than working with the character.