Money grab or just business (or both)?

[Archon14]

End Dripping sarcasm..................................................................................

Yeah, I don't know if anyone can be hyped for those things. The only thing that makes me swallow the leveling/grinding process is either a great story, or fun gameplay. Right now, swtor has neither.
Might as well keep playing Warframe, atleast I'll have some fun doing it.

[Katchii]

Yeah, I don't know if anyone can be hyped for those things. The only thing that makes me swallow the leveling/grinding process is either a great story, or fun gameplay. Right now, swtor has neither.
Might as well keep playing Warframe, atleast I'll have some fun doing it.

I sub when new stuff comes out to experience the new story, but won't be doing it this time since there's nothing exciting enough for me to want to. The new stuff usually only takes me a couple days to get through, if that, and for the remainder of my sub that month I pick a class and make a new character and just blow through the story 1-50, trying to play an advanced class I didn't before or at least make different character choices at the key story moments. That said I think I have 2 of everything except Smuggler and Consular...because I honestly just flat out did not like the story, but have 3+ Sith Warriors. The voice actors for the Sith Warrior, and many of the people you interact with but especially Darth Baras, are just phenomenal, the story is great, the game play of the Rage Juggernaut is my favorite in the game and the character creation options with the facial tattoos just really let you make a badass character... Just thinking about it makes me want to log-in and go ballistic with my lightsaber.

[quras]

There is a New Iokath update coming sometime in April. It will include a new Iokath Op( will suck as they all do) a new Daily grind and WAIT there is MORE!!!!! Another ONE HUNDRED levels of Galactic Command ranks for you to continue your boring.......... endless...................................... gawd AWFUL................... Pathetic excuse for content grind to obtain that Wonderful Tier FOUR with all the lovely RNGesus to keep you happy and subbed.................................................................................... .......................................................................................... ......................................

End Dripping sarcasm..................................................................................

(What sucks is that I am subbed because 'Achievement') >.<

Just a bit of adding clarity on this as it was changed.

There is NOT a NEW 100 levels to grind though the grind is technically the same.

Tier 1: 1-89
Tier 2: 90 179
Tier 3: 180 - 299
Tier 4: 299-300 repeat over and over. You do not level to up any more but repeat the same level over and over.

BW mentioned something "different" about tier 5 (and that information was also datamined) so it might not be in galactic command at all. If I can find that quote I'll list it.

This is some of the posting about the changes coming. A bit like 4.0 so better than what it was if you run OPS.
http://www.swtor.com/community/showt...64#edit9253564


Around April 10 there is a new daily grind area and probably rep grind with it combined with a extremely small Iokath story. There is only ONE boss in the new OPS as bw is unable to do more than that. It seems the rest of the OPS will come out one boss at a time every 2 months and wont be complete till December 2017.

I really do think swtor is in a bad place right now given what 5.0 did and how it drove off so many gamers with the very RNG you're talking about and so little new content. SO I can definitely see where doing only the class stories and getting out is a preferred way to play. Most stories after the class ones just aren't worth mentioning.

[WoWGoneBad]

Yeah, I don't know if anyone can be hyped for those things. The only thing that makes me swallow the leveling/grinding process is either a great story, or fun gameplay. Right now, swtor has neither.
Might as well keep playing Warframe, atleast I'll have some fun doing it.

I get a good kick out of playing Warframe. It has both Melee and Ranged combat that I can enjoy depending on the mood, rather than having to pick one or the other. I started out with the Volt but am too lazy to read up on the other frames to know what to try next lol.

- - - Updated - - -

Just a bit of adding clarity on this as it was changed.

There is NOT a NEW 100 levels to grind though the grind is technically the same.

Tier 1: 1-89
Tier 2: 90 179
Tier 3: 180 - 299
Tier 4: 299-300 repeat over and over. You do not level to up any more but repeat the same level over and over.

BW mentioned something "different" about tier 5 (and that information was also datamined) so it might not be in galactic command at all. If I can find that quote I'll list it.

This is some of the posting about the changes coming. A bit like 4.0 so better than what it was if you run OPS.
http://www.swtor.com/community/showt...64#edit9253564


Around April 10 there is a new daily grind area and probably rep grind with it combined with a extremely small Iokath story. There is only ONE boss in the new OPS as bw is unable to do more than that. It seems the rest of the OPS will come out one boss at a time every 2 months and wont be complete till December 2017.

I really do think swtor is in a bad place right now given what 5.0 did and how it drove off so many gamers with the very RNG you're talking about and so little new content. SO I can definitely see where doing only the class stories and getting out is a preferred way to play. Most stories after the class ones just aren't worth mentioning.

It seems that they retracted on their 100 Additional levels of GC
https://twitter.com/SWTOR/status/835937803338924033

Update to 5.2 and GC levels
http://www.swtor.com/community/showt...61#edit9253561

Well the grind is still there but at least you dont have to work on those extra 100 levels. Hey.... they got something right from player feedback. I am impressed(not)
Direct from their Twitter account

[Edge-]

It seems that they retracted on their 100 Additional levels of GC
https://twitter.com/SWTOR/status/835937803338924033

Update to 5.2 and GC levels
http://www.swtor.com/community/showt...61#edit9253561

Well the grind is still there but at least you dont have to work on those extra 100 levels. Hey.... they got something right from player feedback. I am impressed(not)
Direct from their Twitter account

Wow, this may be one of the first times they've actually paid attention to player feedback and made a change that made sense. If nothing else, kudos to them for realizing that adding another 100 levels did nothing but piss players off and nixing it outright.

Granted, the additional tier is still the most shallow carrot on the end of a grindy stick that can exist, since they don't even have any new content to release to support it (like raids are normally released to support a new tier of gear...well, it's the other way around, but the point still stands).

It's becoming more and more apparent that they did not have a very well thought out plan, if they had one at all, for what to do with player retention following the launch of KotET. I think they assumed that locking character progression behind a paywall and removing weekly OPs passes for non-subs would be enough to keep folks playing, but got caught on their heels when their community reacted negatively to the whole thing.

[Archon14]

I get a good kick out of playing Warframe. It has both Melee and Ranged combat that I can enjoy depending on the mood, rather than having to pick one or the other. I started out with the Volt but am too lazy to read up on the other frames to know what to try next lol.

I started with Volt too, problem is you need mods for a proper build it's not really a good starter frame. Although if you ever wanted to channel your inner Flash, the speed build for Volt is insane and loads of fun.
Now if you enjoy playing Volt, you could go for Frost which is a more defensive version of what Volt is. If you like the fast attacking melee aspect of Volt, you could consider something like Valkyr maybe.
I played about 7 or 8 warframes, I enjoyed Nekros and Ash the most so far. Nekros is a farmer and it doesn't take much to have a decent build.

[quras]

Wow, this may be one of the first times they've actually paid attention to player feedback and made a change that made sense. If nothing else, kudos to them for realizing that adding another 100 levels did nothing but piss players off and nixing it outright.

Granted, the additional tier is still the most shallow carrot on the end of a grindy stick that can exist, since they don't even have any new content to release to support it (like raids are normally released to support a new tier of gear...well, it's the other way around, but the point still stands).

I think it's funny that the entire crystal system which was a better gearing system was removed because bw said it was too hard for gamers to understand how to gear with it but the system now in place and what is coming in 5.2 is a lot more harsh to gamers as far as understanding it all. I'm glad they are going back to OPS drops for content you beat though. Anything to get away from RNG is a nice change.

There is a new raid but it is only one boss and the rest of the bosses are to be released one at a time every 2 months if they can even keep that schedule. I think SM is geared toward 240 and Vet 246. so it it geared toward the high end gear spectrum and the new tier 4.

I think the problem is it's just one boss.

It's becoming more and more apparent that they did not have a very well thought out plan, if they had one at all, for what to do with player retention following the launch of KotET. I think they assumed that locking character progression behind a paywall and removing weekly OPs passes for non-subs would be enough to keep folks playing, but got caught on their heels when their community reacted negatively to the whole thing.

I think that about sums up how swtor is currently designed and developed.

[Katchii]

It's becoming more and more apparent that they did not have a very well thought out plan, if they had one at all, for what to do with player retention following the launch of KotET. I think they assumed that locking character progression behind a paywall and removing weekly OPs passes for non-subs would be enough to keep folks playing, but got caught on their heels when their community reacted negatively to the whole thing.

This sounds like the entire development team since the game launched. They have absolutely no idea how to run a successful MMO from a player's perspective. When it first came out the developers were absolutely blown away that players got to level cap as quickly as they did and didn't do anything/ enough to counteract that. Ever since then it just seems like they're been off balance, never being able to get their footing quite right and have been floundering and fumbling around for the last 5 years trying to find a plan/ model that could sustain and maybe increase their playerbase...and have been failing miserably IMO since they are now focusing far too much on just getting money from what players they do have, rather than doing something amazing to try and get more players playing and making their existing players happier.

Pro-tip- One raid boss and the worst fucking end game gearing paradigm I've ever even heard of, coupled with blatant cash grabs for rare cash shop items,won't do it.

[Edge-]

I think it's funny that the entire crystal system which was a better gearing system was removed because bw said it was too hard for gamers to understand how to gear with it but the system now in place and what is coming in 5.2 is a lot more harsh to gamers as far as understanding it all. I'm glad they are going back to OPS drops for content you beat though. Anything to get away from RNG is a nice change.

Yeah, them removing the guaranteed path to gear via tokens/crystals was stupid. It was stupid when Blizzard did it and Blizzard already reversed course, so why BioWare decided that they wanted to make the exact same mistake rather than learn from another games misstep is beyond me...then again, they've seemed determined to not even learn from their own mistakes, so : /

There is a new raid but it is only one boss and the rest of the bosses are to be released one at a time every 2 months if they can even keep that schedule. I think SM is geared toward 240 and Vet 246. so it it geared toward the high end gear spectrum and the new tier 4.

Don't even get me started on the raid. On the one hand, I'm glad they're finally doing something on the raiding scene 3 years later...after their promise that they wouldn't go more than a year without a new raid a few years back.

But this is a cowardly, knee-jerk way to go about it. Releasing bosses one at a time over a series of months A) makes it seem like they don't have enough confidence to release a full raid wing at once and want to allow themselves an easy out in case players don't like it and B) feels like a knee jerk reaction to try to get folks to pay the sub to allow them to raid. It's no shock their finances are probably not going as well as they were during KotFE, so this makes complete sense.

It's disappointing, to say the very least.

[Treeba]

I stopped paying attention back in January... did they really say they are going to release bosses 1 at a time? I know at release it was supposed to be just 1 boss, but I thought all the rest were going to be released at the same time. Is that changed or am I making things up? Releasing 1 boss a month for the rest of the year is pretty stupid. Nothing really surprises me with these guys anymore, but Jesus that's sad.

I might actually play for a week or two if this new stronghold ever happens. Assuming it also isn't being released a room at a time for a year...

[Edge-]

1 boss every few months as they complete work on them, last I heard. Don't think anything has changed on that front.

[Deleted]

Nah, i dont see the big issues but granted I only play swtor once every 12 months or so.

If you want to see a once beautiful game gone abandoned, try Rift.

[quras]

1 boss every few months as they complete work on them, last I heard. Don't think anything has changed on that front.

Same here. Only thing that has been said is One boss in April with 5.2 and then 1 boss about every 2 months and the entire raid wont be complete till December 2017 for a total of 5 bosses.

I've seen slow design and development of new content for gamres before damn. bw is taking the cake.

[ItachiZaku]

Everytime I poke my head back in to see about coming back... I see more reasons to stay away.

[TheCount]

The Battle for Iokath is dropping on the 10th I think. A new chapter of the story that brings back a sith war and a trooper companion.

Overall, I think they could get away with doing 1 more expansion.

[quras]

The Battle for Iokath is dropping on the 10th I think. A new chapter of the story that brings back a sith war and a trooper companion.

Overall, I think they could get away with doing 1 more expansion.

My understanding of the new area for Battle for Iokath is nothing more than a Gree type area.
It will have about 20 mins of story and cut scenes and then opens into a rep grind area that anyone can do (unlike Ziost). You don't even have to finish the story thank God so you can do this on alts if you wanted.

The only new thing is in the PVP aspect of it. Going into the story area you get to choose Empire or Republic to fight for. If you go into the PVP instance, You get to choose Republic or Empire side NO MATTER what class you are and fight for that side. A Jedi knight could fight for Empire, A Sith Warrior for the Republic. Seems they hope to encourage more PVP.

Other than that one aspect, it's a Gree-like rep grind area with one OPS boss.

[WoWGoneBad]

You get to choose Republic or Empire side NO MATTER what class you are and fight for that side. A Jedi knight could fight for Empire, A Sith Warrior for the Republic. Seems they hope to encourage more PVP.

I think this here is more trying to adopt a story type Lore into the game itself.

I remember seeing on the official forums, that some players wanted to start out Sith but then make the change to Republic as part of a redemption type thing. A Repub commando switching to fight for the Imperial Army or a Jedi wanting to take the path of the Sith type thing. It is the easiest way to go without having to write new stories for the classes

[Edge-]

I think this here is more trying to adopt a story type Lore into the game itself.

I remember seeing on the official forums, that some players wanted to start out Sith but then make the change to Republic as part of a redemption type thing. A Repub commando switching to fight for the Imperial Army or a Jedi wanting to take the path of the Sith type thing. It is the easiest way to go without having to write new stories for the classes

They're catching gameplay back up with the story. Making the lore/story and gameplay/mechanics line up has been a long-standing problem for the game, the two are very commonly very out of sync which leads to frustrating contradictions (one most powerful jedi around, still need a rocket launcher to open a door. NEVER LETTING THAT GO!). Now that the old Empire/Republic lines are gone and the character is more or less the ruler of the galaxy and not attached to either old faction, they need a new way to handle things.

This seems to be their solution. It's not the more elegant or complete of solutions, and it still ignores all the problems that come with the current position you hold, but at least it's a step towards resolving one of the gameplay/story inconsistencies.

[WoWGoneBad]

They're catching gameplay back up with the story. Now that the old Empire/Republic lines are gone and the character is more or less the ruler of the galaxy and not attached to either old faction, they need a new way to handle things.

This seems to be their solution. It's not the more elegant or complete of solutions, and it still ignores all the problems that come with the current position you hold, but at least it's a step towards resolving one of the gameplay/story inconsistencies.

Well OF COURSE they are....

These Idiots at BW finally realize just how dumb fu**Ked a STOPIDH ASS idea this whole kill the Emperor thing is. I mean WTF...... We are the LEADERS of the Galaxy that we know of it and we are running around daily killing shit mobs for stoopid RNGesus lootz.

I with their writing staff who came up with this bullpuckey idea of the 'Fallen Empire'( which one Republic Sith or Zakullian none of which are anywhere near Fallen) and going against the Founding ideals of the Sith Jedi Republic vs Empire war thing. Actually going back thousands of years from Eps 4 it was really just Jedi vs Sith with us petty humans doing their grunt work.

Once they abandoned that and saw that there is literally NOWHERE to go with a story.... now they are trying to Rebuild the Republic and Empire and giving us LEADERS of the Galaxy a chance to give up the throne and go back to being Grunts........ Like any 'smart' person would EVER choose that option...

It is sad the state of story this game has become......... What the F about our Infinite Army and Unstoppable Fleet of ships..... Why are we going back the the Empire or Republic when we can still CRUSH them with our Military might of the Eternal Empire........

I need to stop now before hitting the unsub button again before having at lease one toon at 300 CXP lol

EDIT: and yes the start ofthe post was supposed to have grammatical errors lol.

[WoWGoneBad]

So here is the latest from Eric

http://www.swtor.com/community/showt...40#edit9273240

The faction you choose has no effect at all outside of Iokath. It only impacts story choices in the Iokath storyline (and future stories) and some gameplay impacts on Iokath.

So outside of this 'magical' outside of space/time you can choose to be who you want to be. But the momentyou LEAVE the planet you are who you were. WTF is this.... a throwback to Total Recall?