Considering joining game question

[Duvdar27]

Hey All

I have played basically WoW for the last 13 years. I dabbled in star wars when it came out but when I got to end game all the hype I had about the story was erased by too easy end game.

I am considering returning just because well lets face it the trailers are amazing. So my questions is this.

1- If I came back and started from beginning would I be able to experience all the story line from the beginning and everything added in between or is everyone max level so I would be stuck?

2- How is end game raiding, has it been improved?

3- Is there ways to do old raids as well?

Basically any game I play I try to be a completionist so these things matter to me.

Thanks in advance.

[Edge-]

1. Sub for a month and you'll get all the story content released so far. Most folks are max level, but it doesn't matter that much as SWTOR is a largely solo experience.

2. Nope, no new raids in over a year but rewards got bumped up and all. SWTOR is not a game for raiders.

3. Maybe?

[Parrin]

First off, the trailers have little to nothing to do with the gameplay. The gameplay is the same – only easier. That's right, “easier.” The thing that drove you away in the first place is a primary focus of design and development. That's not to say you won't be crushed by a world boss if you accidentally stumble into one, or if you try an Operation without a decent group. But every one of your companions can heal you during any solo missions. And, if you level their affection up enough, they can keep you healed through quite a bit of group content, too.

So make sure you are coming back to see the story, not to play it.

That said, the story is still a lot of fun. And with Double XP until Nov 28th, you won't have to play anything other than the class story quests until you hit something like level 53. Then you can jump straight into Revan, and then into the latest expansion at 60. It's about 2 weeks of moderate play to get to level cap for one character. Significantly less if you have a guild, and can grind group content. But if you are a real completionist, you'll need to do that for each of the 8 classes.

Regarding your questions:

1- All of the content, including group content, is level-adjusted. So you'll be playing with max level players with no difficulty.
2- End game raiding is more of the same. There are a few more Operations since you left. I really get the feeling you'll be disappointed.
3- Old raids are available, but you will need to be on a populated server. I'd recommend campaigning heavily within your guild to convince some willing guildmates.

[Duvdar27]

Thanks for the responses, What keeps the people playing then? I hear the game is holding its own in members. Is it basically all story? And once you hit max if their is no raiding that is really substancial what is there to do

[Geran]

1. Sub for a month and you'll get all the story content released so far. Most folks are max level, but it doesn't matter that much as SWTOR is a largely solo experience.

2. Nope, no new raids in over a year but rewards got bumped up and all. SWTOR is not a game for raiders.

3. Maybe?

1. True, nothing to add.

2. There hadn't been a new ops in 2 years, true, but if I understand correctly, Duvdar27 only played at the beginning (so Eternity Vault and Karagga's Palace) which had cool ops, but not very difficult (NiM mode was just a HM with more hp and more damage, and they got rid of it cause that), so if he goes back he will have a lot of ops to do (new to him, not to veteran players).
- Explosive conflict (last of the original Swtor) which has very curious mechanics and truly NiM. (Story, Hard, Nightmare)
- Terror from Beyond (first expansion) (Story, Hard, Nightmare)
- Scum and Villany (first expansion) (Story, Hard, Nightmare)
- Dread Fortress (first expansion) (Story, Hard, Nightmare)
- Dread Palace (first expansion)(Story, Hard, Nightmare)
- Ravagers (second expansion) (Story, Hard)
- Temple of sacrifice (second expansion) (Story, Hard)

There are a few instanced world bosses (not worth the effort any more than killing for achievement) and a pair of event ones (Gree and Rakghoul).

Getting a group to do the content right now can be tough, as veterans are burned from it, and casuals really don't do higher difficulty ones (and the NiM are REALLY tough), but it is worth the effort (if you are new to the game).

3. All content is scalated to max level (Story mode boltsters you to it(from 50 to 65 now), so easy easy) so you can do it as endgame even the old ones.

[Parrin]

Thanks for the responses, What keeps the people playing then? I hear the game is holding its own in members. Is it basically all story? And once you hit max if their is no raiding that is really substancial what is there to do

It's mainly story, yes. Bioware did an amazing job with the different class stories in the original game. But they didn't have a magic story genie for this. They spent time and budget making it happen. Time and budget that they didn't invest in gameplay and end-game content. This cost them the hard-core gamers. This very small subset of players drives most of the in-game economy and faction activity, group/guild societies and their direction, and online discussions and consumer sentiment.

Bioware learned, but they learned too late. So now they've gotten back to their primary strength, which is story telling. They are not trying to win you back. They know you're not coming back, and they are not going to waste money on you and the other gamers like you.

But here's the real deal. If you ever want to play again... it's free. If you get tired of WoW, log on to SWTOR and check out a new class. Imperial Agent, Sith Warrior, and Jedi Knight are typically viewed as the best class stories.

[WoWGoneBad]

After Dec 2, if you do not plan on remaining a Sub... then this game is not worth the time returning too sadly. After the new "expac" only Subs will be able to engage in Endgame content as Galactic Command will be Sub based ONLY.

So if you want to enjoy story up to 70 cool beans and it is fun to go through all stories once. But if you are looking to do endgame ops you WILL need to sub to play and use the gear lottery.

[Edge-]

After Dec 2, if you do not plan on remaining a Sub... then this game is not worth the time returning too sadly.

It's still worth the 1-50 stories...but that will be just about it. Maybe a single months sub for RotHC/SoR/KotFE storylines, though IMO those are all much weaker than the 1-50 stories, but that's about it, yeah.

[Kazurath]

First major strike against returning would be the claimed "completionist" mind set. If you want to 100% the game, as far as collections and achievements go, I hope you're a millionaire with nothing planned for the next few years.

Second strike: Trailers. Seriously, look up Yahtzee's take on Trailers... it about sums it all up. If you judge ANYTHING based on the trailer, you're setting yourself up for disappointment.

In short: Did you play the 1-50 stories? Then you got 80-95% of what TOR has to offer, depending on opinion. 50-60 was "ok" but no where near the quality of the main story- and really annoying to trudge through a second or third time. I did for the Dark vs Light event and finished it in about 9 total hours, if that.

Personally I stay subbed cause I used to have two WoW accounts now I fund them both with gold, so I'm not exactly noticing the sub fee. Plus a cookie every now in then in the form of arbitrary sub rewards, and cartel coins for what the game has basically become: Star Wars Dress Up. I only play once or twice every couple months and couldn't tell you what really changes.