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urborror

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Everything posted by urborror

  1. <If that's Bastila then I'm surprised she became a Jedi at all. Either the Jedi Order didn't teach her right, or she didn't pay any real attention.> Feel free to enjoy horrible storytelling because Jedis are supposed to be the dullest personalities in the universe. You've earned it.
  2. Most of the Jedis (not least one's own characters, regardless of alignment) are blank bores. Contrasted with KOTOR, it's kind of frighteningly similar to the prequel/originals comparison from the Phantom Menace review. Bastila: "Haughty, overconfident, upper-class, spoiled (despite Jedi training,) isolated from the real-world but thinks she understands humanity better than anyone, kind of falsely overconfident? We can sense her attitude is a front masking deep fears, pretends emotions don't effect her..." Satele Shan: "Good?"
  3. I'm not enjoying it particularly compared to other classes. "Smuggler" might be worse-written, insofar as I often couldn't remember what I was doing on planets--I would just forget, and go to quest goals. Just like to point out, the class "character" is part of story, maybe even more important than the class cutscenes--it's embodied in voice-acting, responses, etc., and here both Jedi classes are equally bad / boring. Bioware did not solve Lucas's "Jedis=boring indistinguishable emotionless monks" problem from the prequels. Which is funny, since the first Jedis...(Obi-Wan and Yoda) were pretty distinctive. They called people "scum" and 'fools." They had a misanthropic world-weariness and idiosyncrasies. They did not suffer fools gladly. It makes the Sith classes--whether evil or good, just more engaging on a moment-to-moment basis, seems like. At least you can see some humanity there, paradoxically, through evil. Plus the "evil" itself can be sort of fun in a "Grand Theft Auto"/"Hitman" kind of way, with the story so diffused (I would never pick darkside in KOTOR 1 because it meant betraying your friends and it seemed to make no sense in the operatic context of the story.) Your Jedi will not say anything wise ("I serve the light.") Your Jedi obviously has no sense of humor. Your Jedi does not have an interesting personal history (as KOTOR 1 and 2 exploited big-time, to anchor their entire stories and make the choice between light-side and dark-side feel truly epic and logical in the context of the character's life.) I'd rate both Jedi class stories kinda failures compared to the storytelling heights of KOTOR 1 and 2 or Mass Effect 2 and 3. The Sith classes and maybe agent seem to work best, with the MMO storytelling, maybe because causing mayhem and attaining power at least feel like goals, or have an arc, or make sense, or are fun in a "Grand Theft Auto" way, but that's because the storytelling of Republic classes especially fails to be epic or rewarding, so illicit force-choking thrills are really all there is to be got from the story.
  4. Re-subbed after 4 months, game is downloading gigabytes of data. Apologize for forum litter but there's no easy way to Google the question.
  5. The agent story uses the same broad story structure as KOTOR 1 and 2, whereas the other classes all have pretty bland arcs. Paradoxically, the "cipher nine" story works pretty well because you feel less like a "cipher"--you feel like a definite character in the middle of a big story. You even have a name--Cipher Nine. Think about this way: NONE of the other classes have a backstory that matters, whereas "character backstory" was the single most important thing in KOTOR 1 and 2. Presumably this was so your character could be "everyman" or "anyman," but by making this choice, the writers gave up the best part of KOTOR 1 and 2. Cipher Nine still doesn't have a backstory, but it comes closest to the storytelling in KOTOR. The agent character has an arc where going light side or dark side both make sense, just like KOTOR. The empire "betrays" you, the Republic "uses" you, not to give too much away, in act 2--it was one of the few times in the game where I felt like something exciting was happening, narratively. Because I had a character. 1)Why does it matter if you go lightside or darkside, in the context of the Jedi Knight story? Answer: personal preference. 2)Why does it matter if you go lightside of darkside in KOTOR? By the end, it's an integral part of the "story" you're creating, because of the backstory and circumstances. Agent story comes closest to 2. That simple.
  6. Uhm...hate to state the obvious, but Bowdar? Wookiee? I use melee tank for most of my characters (sorceror, marauder, smuggler.) I prefer melee tank companion for every class except "tank," basically. You get heavy armor, tolerable DPS, ability to heal, and their "taunt," which takes pressure off you. Companion characters should always be part-meatshield, even if you're a tank yourself.
  7. Gotta say, planned to roll a new "Jedi Sage" because I like sorceror class so much, and those pebbles are giving me pause. Probably gonna go shadow just because the animation is boring. No class relies on a single attack like Sage/Sorceror does with the lightning/rocks. The idea of spamming them constantly through a whole playthrough is a little dispiriting. I agree big rocks would be preferable.
  8. Kind of disappointed in my operative, coming off "gunslinger." Wanted to make a healer, mainly, but for leveling I can go into "weak sniper mode" or "weak stealth/melee" mode, until you get "Hidden Strike." I'm sure everybody's noticed the leveling trees seem a little disconnected from solo play (i.e., early buffs to powers you don't have yet,) but what exactly in the utility of my stealth up to level 36, aside from avoiding mobs? Why would I buff it? I just level toons, so to me, for 2/3 of the game, stealth is pretty useless. I kind of like CCing targets in a mob or CCing elites and having their damage reduced for 10 seconds (with the healing tree,) but that's about it. I never even bothered to CC targets in trash mobs with my sorceror. I can use "backstab"--->melee combos, or I could just...use a melee combo and swing around to backstab? A healer can never have much "trouble" leveling if they heal their tank, but just fun-wise, I feel like a very weak sniper lacking something. Whether I backstab from stealth or just go into cover and fire off grenades, explosive probes and snipes, it feels pretty interchangeable. I'm aware there's another melee attack in the middle DPS tree, but the whole burst-melee-from-stealth aspect of the character is kind of pointless until you get "Hidden Strike"--which is the majority of the game, to me.
  9. Leveling new characters, the only real problem I've had with PUGs lately is players who quit the group because they're so "good." Kind of the opposite of the "elite" testimony on this board. In every case the group goes on to beat the heroic or flashpoint without too much trouble, usually using a companion. Literally have had 4 cold-quits lately, sometimes after a wipe, sometimes not. Once as I was just politely trying to explain CCing to group members before we even started. Spend a minute talking to the people in your group if they don't understand the dynamics. Worse-case scenario is you wipe a couple times, which makes it more fun when the group gets it together and triumphs. It's frustrating when people don't understand basic tactics that could fit on an index card, but you've got a chat box.
  10. "Story"-quality to me is tied to your player character. For example, while the Jedi Knight story is exciting and well-constructed on one level, I feel Jedis are boring, in general. They're dull monks and "good" in a consistent and bland way, unless you go darkside, which doesn't affect the "character" all that much. They're still humorless and dull. Not necessarily all Bioware's fault, since Lucas didn't solve this problem in the prequels, either. A dull monk "hero" is not compelling unless they are a wise old man dispensing wisdom (think original trilogy.) Your Jedi character in this knows and says ABSOLUTELY NOTHING wise, even about the force. Another consideration is "arc." What is a Jedi's arc? Is it a hero story? Not really, because you begin as a fully-formed Jedi with no identity or personal history, and remain that way. That's a failure of storytelling. Remember how conflicted and complex Revan and the Exile were in KOTOR 1 and 2 by the end? If you went "dark" or "light," both options made perfect sense within the scope of that character's "arc." In TOR, there is no arc. Except there is: for Sith. That arc is the same as "Grand Theft Auto" or even "The Godfather," i.e., a "rise to power." Which may explain why I go "evil" in TOR more than any other Bioware game--it's the only option that feels like a story with an arc. I am an evil person rising to evil power. So I'm gonna say Sith classes have an inherent advantage.
  11. I'm almost to the end of chapter 1, I'm just kinda rolling with my smuggler. I actually find some of the writing to be a bit incoherent. Often I'd just forget what I was even supposed to be doing, who was related to who why, etc., as I went through the class missions. That's kind of basic failure of writing, and as I experienced this multiple times, there's obviously some shortcomings. Although just liking your character is a big aspect of "story" in this. Like the Jedi story was "good" insofar as it has twists and turns, but I couldn't stand watching my Jedis in dialogue exchanges, since they're humorless bores, and the way the story is structured in this doesn't help. I'm not saying the smuggler is *that* appealing, but it is a big factor. The story probably felt weirdest when the Republic entrusted me to oust the king of Alderaan. Just makes least-sense as a smuggler. And then my smuggler is still chipper and "snarky" as she's gunning down Sith Lords like nothing.
  12. L2P2 is actually a good idea. I play a lot of heroics while leveling up and this guy would be useful. The dynamics of group heroics are so simple, tooltips could transform a newb into an elite team player in about 3 minutes. "Statement: when everybody shoots at one guy, that guy dies faster. When he is dead, he can't shoot at you. Everybody try to shoot at the same guy at once. You could put a target on his head, another symbol, or just agree to attack left to right." "Try to kill strong enemies before elites. They die faster, and when they are dead, they cannot shoot at you anymore."
  13. I ignore most endgame stuff, so I run into newbs a lot on leveling heroics. I'd say 30% of the time you might group with total incompetents, sometimes compounded by a bad group makeup (like no tank or no healer.) Sorcerors who don't know they have a CC, healers who don't heal, people totally unaware of the concept of focus firing, people breaking CC... The only thing sad about this is like a three minute video could totally explain group combat dynamics, they're so simple. Even if the person was playing an RTS from overhead, they would comprehend "everybody shoot at one guy so he dies fast = good." But to me a bad group can be its own adventure, when you overcome the incompetence. It's definitely easier to weather an incompetent group if you're a healer, though.
  14. I play all the other Bioware games, so I would say "yes." I think Bioware ditched "Star Wars" for Jade Empire and Mass Effect because they knew it was their mojo that made the games fun. And "Mass Effect" has sold better than this or KOTOR with an original IP. Lucasarts and Bioware only teamed up for this since it seemed like there'd be an exponentially bigger money-pot. Actually the "Star Wars" aspect seems to have made this game hater-bait. I agree I find the force-users and lightsabers more engaging, but Jedis are still boring, as characters. The weight of lore actually drags down Jedi stories (they have no personalities or edge or arc.) I was never evil in other Bioware games, but I find evil about the only fun storytelling in TOR.
  15. I soloed a heroic 2 one level above me with Jaesa (droid-ccing double-elite mobs.) If you order her to attack first, you split the aggro and end engagements in healthy shape. Same with Vette. Tried Quinn for a while, but I can't get used to the slowness of healers, even with Marauder burning everybody down. I'm anti-healer for every class, basically--there's too many trash mobs in the game to slow your progress down 30% for questionable benefits. I don't mind BEING a healer, since you only use heals on companions in tough situations--but USING a healer is just boring and unnecessary, as the healers heal in every situation. Gearing up and running with Quinn for a while, I found my survivability wasn't increased all that much (he stops healing well in tough situations where you need healing.) So I was STILL ending tough engagements with 30% life. I'm gonna gear up Pierce the ranged tank, I think tank companion would be a good meatshield compromise between DPS and healer. But ordering Vette or Jaesa to attack first in every engagement, you get a lot of "tank" meatshield benefits already, plus DPS to burn enemies down fast.
  16. If you're new-ish to the game, I'd advise against Marauder. Depending on your playstyle, it's one of the only classes in danger of dying if you're undergeared. When you hear somebody in the chat complain about a class boss being "too hard," you basically just go "marauder?" and they go "yep." Then you check, and they have half the hitpoints you do at the same level. It's also a problem because you don't get a tank until late in the game, so default playstyles (i.e., you attacking first) draws most aggro as your meatshield companion happily stays in the background. Annihilation spec is also a bit complex and weird, with the bleed effects. I loved my juggernaut tank, the stuns and chokes and slaps are excellent, you can take damage, and with a DPS companion it doesn't take long to burn down mobs.
  17. Jedi Sage / Sorcerer, despite being the "mage," is maybe the easiest class to use. "Force lightning/force lightning/force lightning" is a totally effective rotation, and you'll never run out of force mana that way. With healing, you can always heal your companions and basically win a fight that way, and it's not complicated. You have simple tools to never die in single-player content. Bubble/heal once, and the boss is basically defeated. I one-shotted every boss in the game, even avatar of sel-makor and guys designed to kill you once or twice at the very least. Bubble/heal/cc on heroics, and you're the MVP (heroics should be 25% of the game, I think.) Going from sorcerer to gunslinger, I feel kind of helpless during heroics and flashpoints. If we don't have a sage, it becomes that much harder, and somebody might die on every pull. When you're the sage, no problem. Healing is really not complicated--and it's insurance against anything single-player or multiplayer throws at you.
  18. I liked Vette but I think it's weird to make a Twilek pirate a Sith Warrior companion for so much of the game, for story/roleplaying reasons. You just can't imagine Darth Vader running around with his blaster-wielding girlfriend. With Inquisitor the idea of the feared Sith Lord and her bodyguard monster, Khem Val, just feels kinda right. If you run with Khem Val for a while you really begin to like the idea that if anybody messes with you, they mess with Khem Val, too.
  19. I've played them both and Warrior is vastly preferable. You will feel the boredom as a Jedi, even if you go dark side. Let's say Obi-wan and Yoda were "wise old sages" who dispensed wisdom--that's basically what they do in the movies. They were also crotchety, misanthropic, a little angry, and unpredictable. Now, take away the wisdom and basically take away any character traits. You have "Mace Windu" and "Qui-Gon Jinn," and the boring "monk" archetypes of the prequel trilogy. That's the Jedi characters in this, sadly. While KOTOR gave almost every Jedi character an edge (especially the protagonists,) they went the other way here. Bastila was an ice princess, and enticing, for classic story, love interest reasons--your female warrior Jedi companion is "spunky," here. That's all. Spunky. You can kind of get into the story, or role-playing as a "good" Jedi, but you never, ever say anything wise. You never, ever reveal anything but a dull "zen," "good" outlook in your character interactions. And the character arc is "zen, good, dull"---->"zen, good, dull."
  20. The most fun I had in the game was the dark side stuff surrounding Jaesa. Going darkside in most Bioware games feels wrong to me in their style of storytelling, but in TOR it's my preferred path. "Old Republic" only really comes alive on the evil side of things. Jedis are just boring--the writers didn't fix the problems Lucas ran into in characterizing "weird priest-like hero" characters in the prequels. Maybe lightside Sith has more nuance than dullard Jedis, I'll concede. Obviously in KOTOR 1 and 2 the main story arc involves VERY conflicted souls--whereas in TOR the Jedis have no arc. I think I pick "evil" because at least the Sith have a "Grand Theft Auto," "Scarface" arc of rising to power. I did some lightside stuff that felt right on warrior, like taking Vette's collar off ASAP. But that's because this is my ally, who helps me out a lot, and she's nice, and it felt wrong--but I had no problem killing most people and being super-evil.
  21. Lividity seems to become posters. I just brought a friend, even if it wasn't lore-friendly. "Anybody wanna do end of Jedi Knight class missions?" I asked on the fleet, 30 seconds later, commando came, and he seemed very happy Havoc Squad could be there for the kill. Also, there's armor. Undergeared and under-experienced players can wipe repeatedly to class content and this can screw up their game, somewhat, but by level 50 you should know you can bring a friend/buy better gear.
  22. Nothing, but I re-subbed the other day, after quitting last Feb. (after spending an enormous amount of time with the game.) I'd kind of like a Twilek Sith Warrior, but I don't care that much. I think the whole F2P model is based on the 1/100 half-crazy "enthusiast" who pays $300. I think I read only 7% of F2P players pay anything at all, on average, but 1/7 F2P players are probably nuts. Sadly, it's akin to finding the guy who believes the Nigerian finance minister's email, sort of.
  23. Game gets slammed by people saying it doesn't feel like a Bioware game--partially because your companions feel dead. Companions were the lifeblood of KOTOR and Mass Effect, and yep--for most players (check the numbers,) they are indeed dead. And this was so fixable, since every companion has much potential dialogue sitting in the game files. I ran a couple stories up to 50 last year and barely experienced any of the companion dialogues, which Bioware invested a lot of money in. They are locked up. Imagine a system where you had to bribe Liara in Mass Effect to have her talk about her daddy issues--it's preposterous. And then even if you do unlock a companion dialogue or mission, you might be at the wrong level. Solution? Having the conversations auto-unlock at the proper level...companion affection would still determine crafting skills (or remove companion affection altogether, since nobody wants to be told their friend doesn't like them because they're nice.) Bioware story stuff was always supposed to interest people in the story. "Earning" the story through a horrible game mechanic means most people just don't see the story. Every class thus feels more homogeneous and less unique. Spamming gifts at companions is a waste of time/money (my money goes to buying gear.) People will say it's not hard to get companion dialogues, but 1)I'm the biggest fan of the story portions of the game, 2)I've never spammed gifts at companions to see dialogues in any playthrough I've done, except Jaesa I think, for love. And I'm sure the numbers reflect that--if players are doing it, it's for romance.
  24. Just thought this was funny--me and a dude were doing a heroic 2 and we found an enemy republic player camping amidst the mobs, hoping to take us unawares when we aggroed them. After a long face-off, he foolishly distanced himself enough from the mobs to be force lightning-ed, isolated and killed. Happy ending (solo player tempting groups of enemy players is dangerous,) but still funny failed strategy.
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