is this game worth playing for story alone as a preferred (nonsub) player?

[algroshaw]

I used to play mmos competitively, for pvp only, and I hated the whole PvE thing.. But, I'm done with that now, PvP annoys me too now, and I am not into the MMO scene at all. Every community is really unhealthy now and it drives me nuts; too many trolls, kids, asshats, and bad players on the internet now.

Anyway, rant asside, I love bioware games, and I just recently beat kotor and kotor 2 and I have nothing to play, and I was thinking about playing swtor exclusively for the character story.. is this worth it, or is it more of a shallow mmo-esque worthless filler story? What I mean by that is, does my story take a substantial path and affect my game with decisions, dialogue, and depth or is it more like "kill dem frogs. colect 10 rocks"?

Also, I heard that FTP swtor is pathetic, with no sprint or fast travel and you are insanely crippled. Is this true? is it enjoyable from a solo story perspective? I am a preferred player, if this affects things (idk why.. perhaps because I was in beta?)

does this story ignore the events of the kotor games or does it make sense? Do the stories in swtor have depth and feel substantial at all?

[RohanV]

I think it's worth it. The main class storylines are very much in the regular Bioware mold. The Jedi Knight storyline is pretty much Kotor 3. The events of Kotor are not ignored, but the game also occurs about 200 years after Kotor, so those events are not central to the story.

My favorite story, though, is the Agent. Absolutely adored it.

For questing, from 1 - 50 questing is roughly like:

1. Class Quest
2. Main planet questline
3. Random sidequests

The class quests and main planet questlines are what you describe as "substantial", while the side quests tend to be in the "Kill 10 rats" vein.

For F2P, if you are preferred you should be fine. You might run into XP issues, but if you do the group quests, or the planetary bonus series, or join a guild for the 5% bonus, or do a flashpoint (dungeon) here and there, you should keep up.

All in all, it's free, so you may as well try it. Try a starting zone, maybe the Sith Inquisitor or Sith Warrior stories. If you don't like that first planet experience, you probably are not going to enjoy the rest of the game.

[algroshaw]

are sith and jedi stories different? I was thinking I'd make a sith sorcerer, but I like to be nice, so I'm probably better off with a jedi.

do consulars and inquisitors get the same skills? I'd assume so, for obvious pvp reasons

[Agent Mercury]

are sith and jedi stories different? I was thinking I'd make a sith sorcerer, but I like to be nice, so I'm probably better off with a jedi.

do consulars and inquisitors get the same skills? I'd assume so, for obvious pvp reasons

Essentially yes with obvious name/graphical differences. The stories are vastly different. You can be a nice Sith.

[algroshaw]

nice sith seems so... unnatural. Perhaps i'll play a honorable sith that does what he needs to to infiltrate the sith and use the empire to work towards world peace. buuut, I'll probably just play a jedi and then a really cruel sith. woohoo for multiple characters right? :P
If a jedi knight is like a kotor 3, perhaps i'll start with that then play a IE or an inquisitor

[Psychlon]

Play a Jedi Knight and after a Sith Warrior... both stories are completing each other.

[algroshaw]

Play a Jedi Knight and after a Sith Warrior... both stories are completing each other.

how much replayability does the game have? I mean.. I'm assuming that the story quests are very progressive in a way that you will have to do a tonne of "normal sidequests" to level to be able to continue on. Is it deep enough to warrant re playability, or is it just 1 story quest every 5 levels.. I guess what I'm asking is, how does it compare to a rpg. from what I hear, it seems pretty good, and comparable to a non-mmo rpg, story wise. doing the same gathering quests to level up to do the story 5x seems like it may grow tedius, but such is an mmo, and thats why i only ever pvp'd. haha.

I'm downloading it now.. 25+gigs at 500kb/s, which is why I'm bugging you guys rather than playing for myself.

How long might a character story be in its entirety if you cut out all the filler and side-leveling?

[Deleted]

Yes, you will have to do what are called "planet" quests, which remain the same regardless of class. Though they are different for the two factions obviously, so you'll get at least 2 completely different playthroughs. After that.. meh. I got too sick of all the filler to finish levelling my Sith Warrior after my Inquisitor..

[algroshaw]

reddit.com/r/swtor/comments/195lzf/class_stories_are_17_hours_long/

if this is accurate, it sounds like he insta leveled to math then ran through the story. if it by itself was 20 hours, thats awesome! depending on how RPG-like they are, rather than MMO-like.

In the planet quests do you get dialogue and choices? If so, that could expand replayability?

[Edge-]

reddit.com/r/swtor/comments/195lzf/class_stories_are_17_hours_long/

if this is accurate, it sounds like he insta leveled to math then ran through the story. if it by itself was 20 hours, thats awesome! depending on how RPG-like they are, rather than MMO-like.

In the planet quests do you get dialogue and choices? If so, that could expand replayability?

You do, but it doesn't change any outcomes really. At least not that I've noticed. It's mainly just different responses from the NPC's.

[Deleted]

You do, but it doesn't change any outcomes really. At least not that I've noticed. It's mainly just different responses from the NPC's.

Pretty much. You might get the choice to electrocute someone who wants to collect 20 Bantha poos, but you'll still have to do it in the end.

[Psychlon]

how much replayability does the game have? I mean.. I'm assuming that the story quests are very progressive in a way that you will have to do a tonne of "normal sidequests" to level to be able to continue on. Is it deep enough to warrant re playability, or is it just 1 story quest every 5 levels.. I guess what I'm asking is, how does it compare to a rpg. from what I hear, it seems pretty good, and comparable to a non-mmo rpg, story wise. doing the same gathering quests to level up to do the story 5x seems like it may grow tedius, but such is an mmo, and thats why i only ever pvp'd. haha.

I'm downloading it now.. 25+gigs at 500kb/s, which is why I'm bugging you guys rather than playing for myself.

How long might a character story be in its entirety if you cut out all the filler and side-leveling?

Replayability is given due to two entirely different quest lines across all planets/ levels for imperial and republic. So if you level a Sith and after that a Jedi you pretty much have played the entire quest content of this game except the other 6 story lines.

As for the story part of each planets quests.... there are 3 different kind of quest on each planet (except Makeb, lvl 50-55 planet). Story quests, Planet quests and optional side quests. Each of these quests usually includes bonus quests which requires you to kill x of whatever you can find around your quest anyway, so it's free xp on top of the clearing you have to do to get to your quest location.

To explain better how much % the story content takes part in, each planet map is split into 4-8 different maps (there is no loading screen in between) and on each individual map you have at least 1 story quest. So on smaller planets that may include 4, on larger planets that can include 7 or 8 steps. Each planet is roughly for 2-4 level.
Planet quests will require you to do several quests in each individual map (usually 2-3 steps).

[Deleted]

If you think about playing a nice Sith, go with Inquisitor. And no, it won't feel unnatural because of the very specific/unique context of the Inquisitor's character. Don't try to play Light SIde/nice Warrior, makes no sense whatsoever even though you technically have 'good' options.

[jammyd]

Its free how can it NOT be worth it

[Kelimbror]

Disclaimer: I am someone who grew very unhappy with the development decisions, F2P model, and generally everything EA has done with this game in the last 6 months+

With that being said, this game is INCREDIBLY WORTH IT to play for free and even more worth it if you spend at least $5 and get preferred status. The replayability is there if you don't mind repeating many side quests, but that's not uncommon to the genre as a whole. If you really want to play it as an RPG, make sure to watch all of your class quest cutscenes and rotate between the factions to keep the side quests as fresh as possible.

Additionally, the Advanced Classes are different enough that you should alternate your specs on the mirror classes. If you do most of these things, you will find yourself with more play time for free than probably 5 single player console games combined. The best part is that if you like the game enough, you can continue your progression and let it 'turn' into a proper MMO if you buy RotHC/subscribe.

[Skulljin]

Tried playing as an preferred player. Just wasn't mine.
The everlasting "come and sub now" harassment just got on my nervs. Getting showed what you do not get at any opportunity haven't made it better. Heck, I wasn't even able to use the chat to it's fullest. Nah, thanks, but no thanks.

[Kelimbror]

Tried playing as an preferred player. Just wasn't mine.
The everlasting "come and sub now" harassment just got on my nervs. Getting showed what you do not get at any opportunity haven't made it better. Heck, I wasn't even able to use the chat to it's fullest. Nah, thanks, but no thanks.

It's annoying, but if someone is playing it for the story it is negligible. I'm the first person in line to criticize the actual model, but it doesn't really relate to the question asked.

[jammyd]

Tried playing as an preferred player. Just wasn't mine.
The everlasting "come and sub now" harassment just got on my nervs. Getting showed what you do not get at any opportunity haven't made it better. Heck, I wasn't even able to use the chat to it's fullest. Nah, thanks, but no thanks.

Maybe EA should just become a charity devolop games and just give anyone who wants it free that way poor old you getting harrassment will be a thing of the past

[Shiny212]

are sith and jedi stories different? I was thinking I'd make a sith sorcerer, but I like to be nice, so I'm probably better off with a jedi.

do consulars and inquisitors get the same skills? I'd assume so, for obvious pvp reasons

The Sith storylines are much, much better than the jedi ones. Also, you'll have to deal with the atrocious quality of life restrictions such as not being able to hide your ugly helmet or use a title. And unless they've changed it, you'll have less action bars than subscribers...that's right, less action bars. Not enough to sustain a lvl 20 char even.

[Pizza the Hutt]

If you think about playing a nice Sith, go with Inquisitor. And no, it won't feel unnatural because of the very specific/unique context of the Inquisitor's character. Don't try to play Light SIde/nice Warrior, makes no sense whatsoever even though you technically have 'good' options.

Light Side sith warrior is the best to play because everyone you run into is so completely shocked you're not an insane, power hungry murderer. It's hilarious. "Please don't kill me!" "Ok, you can go on your way, have a nice day" "Wait, what?"