You don't trust anything BW says and yet you subscribe to their product?

Sigh, I cannot wait for KotFE to come out so that the cry babies can leave and a new batch of solo-minded players can come in. When did Bioware ever say that SWTOR will NEVER focus on PvP or OPS again? No, they never said that. The only thing they said was that with this coming expansion, it will be solo based. But whos to say that the next expansion will not be PvP based or OPS based? Or group-focused based? People just want to throw anything out there to complain about because they are upset that KotFE does not appeal to their play type.

Have you perhaps considered the idea that maybe EA is positioning SWTOR as not a traditional MMORPG but rather a hybrid MMORPG with single player elements? And again, if this bothers you, why subscribe?

I think you make things really complex. At the end of the day, when I log into SWTOR, I tend to have fun and have been doing so ever since I came back as a subscriber after leaving for nearly 3 years. I am finally excited for this new expansion I have been playing this game non stop for about 2 weeks now and will continue leveling characters all the way up to the KotFE release. Could their communication with fans be better? Sure, but I am not going to let the be a litmus test for whether or not I am excited for KotFE or not. At the end of the day it has nothing to do with communication but rather people being irked about KotFE being story focused with a heavy emphasis on solo play.

Who said the game was failing?

Ssshhhhhhh! According to many doomsday worshipers here, KotFE is an expansion that nobody asked for and that Bioware and EA is purposely trying to destroy the game just for the lulz!

I think this pretty much sums up the replies to this thread. In the end, many people are upset that Bioware decided to focus on story with KotFE and they are the loudest. I am not going to let them ruin my enjoyment because I know MANY people that I talk to in chat in game that cannot wait for KotFE and they are only subscribers because of the new expansion. People are just irked about story so that they will throw out anything or dismiss anything that contradicts their belief that story/solo play is not what people want in SWTOR. I bet you that if KotFE was Ops/PvP based expansion and James Ohlen came out and said, "We decided to focus on Ops and PvP for this new expansion because based off of our metrics, most people tend to play/focus on Ops and PvP related content" If this was the case I wonder how many people would be claiming that Bioware only sees what they want to see when it comes to metrics? I wonder how many people would dismiss Bioware's use/reliance on metrics then? I would predict that most people here wouldn't because the metrics align with their beliefs which is that most people don't care about story and only want to do group related content. Thats all it boils down to. Oh, the metrics do not justify my opinion so therefore the metrics must be wrong! Yeah....okay.... I'll say it again, at the end of the day the only thing EA cares about is making money. If they find out that people want to play as unicorns on a planet full of rainbows and butterflies, if that is what the data/community/focus groups is telling them....then by all means the next expansion would feature unicorn mounts and sending players to a new planet full of.....rainbows and butterflies. So this conspiracy theory that EA and Bioware just wants to troll the consumers and degrade their own game for the lulz by focusing on story and ignore other parts is just ludicrous. Second, people act like Bioware and EA wants SWTOR to be the #1 MMO of all time. Yes, I believe that prior to launch, EA and Bioware was betting hard on the idea that SWTOR could leapfrog WoW and become the world's most popular MMO with months and months of millions of subscribers and all the like. However, around early 2012, a BIG drop off of subscribers occurred and Bioware/EA was humbled. Ever since then, they have been trying to find their place within the market. So instead of focusing on total domination of the MMO genre which is where they were back in 2008-2011, now they are just looking for a niche that they can exploit and be profitable. That niche is casual/cross-over MMO/Single Player RPG gamers....those gamers that probably never will play a traditional MMO but may give SWTOR a look because it appeals to them in a way that Mass Effect, Fallout, or Dragon Age may appeal to them in terms of story, characters, choice, and adventure all while also hosting MMO features such as OPS, Economy, and Warzones. In a way, SWTOR really isn't a true MMO but rather a hybrid of the single player RPG genre and that of the MMO genre. Third, people want to question the decision of Bioware/EA to focus on single player for the next 12-18 months and they question how they will be able to retain subscribers. Well, it is simple, they are releasing the story content over a period of 12 months or so. We are going to get a large batch at launch and starting in early 2016, we would get regular updates (chapters) to the story that continues our adventure. These updates could possibly even be monthly! And in the meantime, there will still be Warzones for people to play in and there will still be OPS for people to do. Finally, Bioware nor EA never said that story/solo play will be the main focus for SWTOR going forward. Go find me a quote where they said that! No, they only said that with KotFE and the next 10-12 months or so would be an endeavor of good ole Bioware cinematic storytelling with choice. They never said that there will never ever be new OPSs or Warzones, just that they aren't the focus right now. Who knows, after satisfying the solo player crowd, 2017 could be the year of the PvP or year of the Raiders. Who knows, 2017 could be the year where they try to focus more on the MMO bits of SWTOR and put the solo play in the backseat for a while. Point is, we do not know but what we do know is that Bioware never said they are done with the MMO bits as they continously say that SWTOR still at heart is a MMO and that they will still continue to look to support such features. It seems that people tend to ignore that and only focus on the doom and gloom that KotFE will bring because it doesn't have new OPS or Warzones. Fact is, I am looking at this from a glass have full and not half empty. People since the open beta back in November 2011 have been claiming the death of SWTOR and yet 4 years later, it still endures. Does it have the massive numbers that it did back in early 2012? No, but why does that have to be a measuring stick for success? KOTOR never sold millions and millions and millions of units the same way Skyrim did or the same way GTA5 did or how Fallout 4 will, so does that make KOTOR any less of a game? People, SWTOR does not have to have WoW subscriber numbers to be a success or to be profitable. EA just invested a butt load of money into a blur trailer for KotFE which means they have some disposable money laying around. If SWTOR was such a failure and is holding EA back, I doubt KotFE would have gotten the introduction that it has. Obviously SWTOR is profitable enough for EA for them to warrant such an investment. But you know what, who cares what I say, people have already made up their minds and they will continue to be subscribers to SWTOR just so that they can continue to predict the failure of SWTOR, a failure that has said to come in 2012....no 2013.....no I mean 2014.....oh wait, I guess it is 2015......no I am totally wrong, 2016 will be the year.....or could it be 2017? You guys keep guessing while I go back to playing SWTOR and enjoying my time. Hopefully you guys can find something in life you can enjoy to.

Sorry to hear. I for one will enjoy the KotFE and cannot wait for the following chapters.

I haven't even gotten to Makeb yet....

I am not saying that EVERYONE who watches EP7 will flock to SWTOR, but you cannot deny that out of excitement of EP7 there will be a flowover effect of people who now becomes curious about SWTOR and will give it a chance and when they play it, they will be able to enjoy the new streamlined 1-50 class stories as well as the all new cinematic KotFE story. That is what will intrigue these casual players, not Nightmare Mode OPS.

Lol ok.... It will not be the first time I heard that statement and I am sure that it will not be my last.

Every videogame released could very well be a disaster. But he does have a point in that people since 2012 have been saying how Bioware/EA will go bankrupt with SWTOR or how the game will fail and not live past 2013 and so on. And yet here we still are....

Well judging from the replies, I am mainly seeing the JK as #1 followed by the Smuggler at #2 with the Trooper and JC fighting it out for the #3 spot.

Please use spoiler tags where appropriate or I will report. Thanks

Well have you ever considered that possibly Bioware/Electronic Arts may have found a way for SWTOR to remain profitable while focusing on the solo aspects of the game? As greedy as EA is, I doubt that they will allow Bioware to run around and just do whatever they want without consideration to EA's bottom line. I am sure that Bioware suits and EA suits have had various meetings and discussion regarding the future of SWTOR and its profit models. I am sure that they have considered all options such as story/solo focused approach, PvP Warzone/GSF approach, and OPS approach. I am sure that they looked at all options and came to the final conclusion that it is the story/solo approach that will be the $$$$ maker for SWTOR in the next 12-18 months or so, especially considering the influx of consumers who will be flocking to SWTOR after watching Force Awakening as well as next year's Rogue One film and the hype and interest in Star Wars that will bring. Who knows, by this time 2017 Bioware/EA could change gears and decide that other aspects other than story/solo play is where the $$$$ will be flowing through and I bet that the future expansions will reflect that. However that is the future and not now. What is going on now is that EA/Bioware has decided to go all in on the story approach that really began with Shadow of Revan and is now expanding into it's own monster. Believe me, all EA cares about is money and they will follow whatever trend that makes money for them. Right now people want more story and a greater solo experience (such as solo flashpoints) and thus that is what KotFE will provide. Will this move irk a lot of current players? Yes, but this is their decision based on their own research and discussions and thus that is what is going to happen. I do not know what it is about SWTOR but people have been predicting the failure/end/death of SWTOR since Jan 2012 when people rushed through the class story to get to endgame only to find out that there was no endgame and thus quit. I mean listen people, you are going to have to come to the conclusion that SWTOR is and probably never was intended to be a pure MMO. It was always hailed as a hybrid MMO that combined aspects of MMOs along with great single player storytelling and that is who the game is designed for. For players like myself who enjoy the story but also does not want to get too bogged down in having to do grouped content in order to fully enjoy the game. This is what irks some people, that SWTOR is so solo-friendly to the point where it doesn't feel like an MMO to them. I mean, I can still do OPS, Warzones, and other group content, but what I like is that I do not HAVE to do this content to fully enjoy this game. If I choose, I can play this game like a single player experience with multiplayer functionality, or I can play it as a traditional MMO by joining a guild and doing group based content. I have the choice. Now with KotFE, I understand that there is no new group content coming and I understand the anger there, but like I said in the beginning of this reply, I fully trust EA in their decision to go this route because I doubt that they made such choice on pure impulse. I am sure that they ran through lots of discussions as well as focus groups to decide where to better spend their money in terms of future SWTOR content. The result was story focused.

You act like if they leave then nobody will come in fill their place. You forget that Star Wars EP7 is coming out in December and SWTOR will get residual interest from casual fans who just want to play an epic SW story/adventure and KotFE will will provide that. So I say again, for those who are sour about the new story focus.....THEN GO BYE BYE. You will be replaced by others who do simply just enjoy great Star Wars stories and could careless about running repetitive raids and dealing with elitist players in groups.

Why? I am not the one whining about the focus on story. I am HAPPY that SWTOR going forward will focus more on story and I do not mind paying the sub to enjoy it.

Snip Double post

Oh please! People have been claiming the death of SWTOR since Jan 2012 and yet here it still remains. You dog those who like to pay a fee to enjoy the story but I can say the same to those who pay a fee to run the same damn OPS over 100s of times just to get a piece of gear. Their brains should be tested to. I will say agaij, if SWTOR is going in a direction that you dont like, THEN LEAVE! Nobody is forcing you to stay. Just unsub and go find a MMO that better suits your needs.

And who said that you cannot do that in KotFE? Last I heard, all OPS would be scaled up to level 65 and that they still have plans for Warzones. If you dont like the direction, then why continue to sub? Post launch I didnt like the direction of SWTOR as I felt that no more story content would come so I dropped my sub. Now with KotFE, I am back. Why not do the same?

This is what people ignore. People do not want to admit that unlike most other MMOs, SWTOR had a large demographic of non-MMO players who are just here for the Star Wars story. The only reason why I came back was because of KotFE! And I find it funny how people like to discredit the metrics cause it doesnt roll in their favor. If I posted a quote that said the metrics shows that most people play OPS and Warzones, I doubt I would get much resentment.

Without any spoilers, is it true that the Knight storyline can be seen a spiritual KOTOR 3?

I believe that generally people will say that the Agent has the better story in the entire game and I am currently playing through that now for the first time, I am near the end of Chapter 1. However on the Republic side specifically, which class of Knight, Consular, Smuggler, and Trooper do you believe has the better story? Please, no spoilers please. The only Republic story that I played through completion was the Consular and I know how the JK story ends, but the details leading up to it throughout the 3 chapters is what I do not know. So again, please refrain from spoilers. If you feel the need to post a spoiler, please us the spoiler tags.

This is what James Ohlen, the Game Director for SWTOR had to say in regards to why Bioware has begun to really key in on solo play story with KotFE, Shadow of Revan, and even the new solo-mode ops coming with 4.0 For many who are sour that Bioware is focusing too much on story and making this mostly a solo-player experience at the cost to the fans, well, that simply isn't true because Mr. Ohlen just said that not only have players within the community been asking for more story but based off of how a majority of the players play SWTOR, it isn't the OPS, Flashpoints, GSF, or Warzones that people play the most, it is the level 1-50 class stories! So for those who think that this is another mistake that Bioware is taking with SWTOR and that people will leave this game in droves because of the focus on solo play, then you are wrong. In fact, this expansion will satisfy a majority of their player base! In fact, the only reason why I am here and back as a subscriber is because I am excited for this new solo-friendly approach to SWTOR and while waiting for KotFE, I am leveling up a few characters that I will import into KotFE later this year. I thought that I just point that out.

Neeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrds!