SWTOR is too hard for me

[va_wanderer]

All of my bosses (especially story mission bosses) are way too difficult to defeat for me and I often have to ask people for help. I have tried a few classes out and for all of them it is the same problem. Shouldn't people who want to play the game mostly by themselves be able to defeat bosses alone? Does anyone else have this problem?

 

When you're having this problem repeatedly, it does really sound like something fundamental in playing is getting missed here.

 

If you're having that much of a problem repeatedly with different classes, it screams it. Specifics are needed, because most people don't have this issue.

 

Worst case, you should be able to simply get a level or two and suddenly, that bad guy should become trivial. If not, it sounds like massive undergearing or just plain lack of how a given class actually works is the culprit.

[Holskabard]

I can only emphasize the tips of other players to interrupt. Don't just hit them when off cool down and hope it's the right moment. Several of the bosses have 1 skill that does massive damage up to 1-shotting you.

Usually you can recognize them by the longer casting time than the other skills the boss uses.

If not, you can allways keep checking the skill name in the casting bar and remember the one the boss hit before you died and make sure you interrupt that one on your 2nd attempt.

Also there are usually objects around that you can use to break line of sight and avoid certain skills to hit you and give you some breathing room to use a heal (or medpack) until the boss has regained LoS.

Edited February 24, 2012 by Holskabard

[LordHartigan]

Most of the time I am equal to the NPC's level or higher and have all the abilities available and I always have a companion with me. Some bosses I can't even get their health down to half and sometimes I have to die multiple times to defeat a group of enemies that comprises of a boss.

 

I soloed all the way to 50. There was one boss that I had to have a guild mate help me with and was able to solo the rest. I won't say they were all cake, as some did take multiple efforts, but I eventually beat them. Your class role will play a bit of a factor in solo difficulty. Soloing tends to be a little tougher with healers I think. I am deception Assassin which is burst dps. A tank role would probably be the easiest.

 

All I can offer are some tips from own experience.

 

1) If you're going to solo I would suggest overleveling for wherever you are. This will make thihngs easier but is more time consuming. This means on each planet do every mission you can, get as mich experience as you can by exploring the map, finding lore objects, collecting datacrons, etc. Just doing all the missions on each planet usually put me about 3 lvl above the recommend levels for the next planet.

 

2) Use stims and medpacs.

 

3) stun bosses whenever possible.

[Kane_Ren]

I feel for ya OP. The JK line is incredibly frustrating for me. Not all bosses can be interrupted, fact. I know this because I often tried certain bosses over 10 times and was forced to call my guild in to help. When you are at the 8k healthpool mark and get hit by uninterruptable 2.5k hits less than a minute apart, it gets boring fast. Your force lift constantly pauses to allow an attack to come regardless, and that assumes it interrupts in the first place.

 

"ooh whats this in the skill tree? master strike is now uninterruptable. Yesss"

 

"nooooo, it isn't"

 

"wow! that pommel strike hits real hard. You have to hit with the wrong end of a sabre that cuts through almost anything, but hey its 3k damage"

 

"oh wait, doesnt work on most enemies in the game, great job"

 

I play this game for 1 reason only, its star wars, thats it. I'm rather put off mmo's in general, certainlly have no desire to go beyond using my G-14 and G-9 just to become another L337 player

[Schlappy]

Also got to agree with the OP here on some aspects.

I have a 34 Sith Marauder who is currently struggling to quest on Taris, I can destroy Elites but have to medpac on Strong targets, and even have close calls on grps of regular mobs. My gear is up to date as much as I can get and I feel I have a pretty good understanding of the class, but still struggle. He's hit walls like this several times before but generally manages to soldier through. Good thing I'm an altaholic and dont mind rerolling untill I'm keen to try him again lol.

Edited February 25, 2012 by Schlappy

[PatrickTheLama]

As a noob to MMO, this is one of the most useful threads I've seen so far. I'm running a Sniper and a Mercenary, and at lower levels there's a vast difference in difficulty between different boss fights, and also between different side quest finales, and heroics. I think really experienced gamers may not see this difference, but for a noob/amateur there will be spells of great progress and then a fight that is like a brick wall, to the extent where you think there's a bug, or maybe you want to throw in the towel on the class permanently.

 

So in this thread some of those with experience took the time to explain things that are of vital importance to noobs, information which is curiously hard to find otherwise (unless you have a veteran friend). I almost gave up on my IA due to the "impossible" droid fight around level 7, where I was so overpowered it seemed meaningless. (Solution: do side quests to get my own level up to 7, return to the room, figure out where to crouch best, and decide on an attack sequence... the big droid died about 2 seconds before I was about too).

 

All these fine answers aside, I still don't understand the concept of "interrupts"? I haven't run into this term until this thread, and I've tried reading a lot of background. What are typical interrupt abilities? Do these becoma available only at higher levels?

 

It amazes me that some guys think questions like these are "trolling". I'm sure all of you are as incredibly skilled as you pretend to be, even if most players I see out on the planets aren't very much more skilled than me....

Edited February 26, 2012 by PatrickTheLama

[Darthshnooky]

All these fine answers aside, I still don't understand the concept of "interrupts"? I haven't run into this term until this thread, and I've tried reading a lot of background. What are typical interrupt abilities? Do these becoma available only at higher levels?

 

They are any attack or ability you have that interrupt what an enemy is doing. Some of them are specifically intended only as interrupts (abilities that certain classes get that interrupt an attack and prevent it from being used again for a short time). Not all classes get these.

 

Other interrupts take the forms of stuns, which stop all actions and interrupt an attack that is in progress. There are also knockbacks/knockdowns and similar attacks that also interrupt an action that a target is taking.

 

Not every class gets all of these, but every class gets at least one or two things they can use (at least situationally) as an interrupt. Learning your class is very much about learning what abilities and attacks you should use in each situation. Being able to interrupt attacks from strongs, elites, champions, and bosses is one of the best ways to succeed on fights that may initially seem too hard.

[PatrickTheLama]

Thanks, I think I have a couple of such abilities in my IA arsenal, will look into the interrupt concept some more for my nightly bedtime SWTOR studies...

[ultimatesjk]

All of my bosses (especially story mission bosses) are way too difficult to defeat for me and I often have to ask people for help. I have tried a few classes out and for all of them it is the same problem. Shouldn't people who want to play the game mostly by themselves be able to defeat bosses alone? Does anyone else have this problem?

 

With my first boss I had difficulty (Sith Warrior, but then I realized I had to use MedPacs. After that, I don't need them anymore, but they give you a health bonus when you are getting low which can turn around a difficult fight. Just make sure you keep your inventory open during the fight.

[GymQuirk]

With my first boss I had difficulty (Sith Warrior, but then I realized I had to use MedPacs. After that, I don't need them anymore, but they give you a health bonus when you are getting low which can turn around a difficult fight. Just make sure you keep your inventory open during the fight.

 

Why clutter up the screen with an open inventory screen when you can drag medpacks to one of your action bars?

[ultimatesjk]

Why clutter up the screen with an open inventory screen when you can drag medpacks to one of your action bars?

 

You can do that? I learn something new every day, thanks!

[Ahheadlock]

just adding my 2c here. i wasn't having any problems with bosses / elites until recently. There's a marauder quest called power play, and the bonus is to defeat these 3 'champion aspirants'. I must have died 20 times, totally ran out of money to repair my gear, and maybe killed 2 of them before i gave up. They were lvl 41 and i am 43. Prior to this i was kicking a**. Tried every companion, made sure i was buffed up - used my interrupts etc. Since then things have been pretty much the same on any elites i run across.

 

Only thing that had changed was i found some better leg armor. Has a higher armor rating by nearly 100 to my last lot, but the strength value was less by about 50 odd. Perhaps since i'm a DPS character, the stat change hurt? The extra armor isn't making up for the loss of damage dealing? gonna change the armor back tonight and see if things improve.

[Schmetlappio]

I can almost guarantee that barring extreme circumstances, the problems arise in simply not knowing how to properly gear and use your character. I'm sure you're capable of executing that knowledge, as are most people, once you gain it =P

 

Know what your stat weights are and don't blindly equip higher rated gear. If Aim is your primary stat and you find gear with Strength on it, it doesn't matter if it's rated 100 levels higher, it's still going to be a downgrade for a DPS character. The only stats that matter are going to be stats that directly improve your DPS, once again barring extreme circumstances that may not even exist in this game.

 

As far as knowing how to play your character, just read suggestions you can find online. Once you find out what some of the top players are doing to maximize DPS, healing, etc, you'll start to really understand why they do the things they do and it will all start to be second nature as you progress. What makes SWTOR and other MMO's difficult isn't the execution, but the learning. Don't quit though, it's worth it =D

[noodlehaus]

I encountered a trooper in ord with a similar problem when I was in ord. I couldn't figure out why his character was weak. Gave him some greens (crafted from my main) then we went on to try out some strong mobs.

 

I told him what to do, skill priorities, etc. He so slow at killing and always almost close to dying. We were both level 10 and he wasn't idling in combat either.

 

Then I asked him, have you upgraded your skills from your trainer? He said "we have to do that? how?".

 

Showed him where, then he told me SWTOR is his first MMO. After training, we went back to the quest and he was not having problems anymore.

 

So we shouldn't assume that people know how to play this game from day one. A lot of concepts in MMOs are strange to new players.

[AnnSaysSo]

I am a level 38 Bounty Hunter. I know what stats I need. I know the kind of gear I need - coming from World of Warcraft where I was pretty experienced, I found SWTOR easy to understand.

 

My problem is that each planet seems to have increasingly higher levels than I have achieved. I am trying to get through the game without having to group, space battle or pvp (thus no heroics, etc.). Up until now, it has worked out fine but Hoth is a couple of levels above me. I have done every "single person" quest I can find.

 

I have gotten through most of Hoth but, being a couple of levels below the yellow star elites, is tough. I went back to old planets to hunt for possible missing quests, but found none.

 

I guess the only thing left to do is grind - I need to grind up a couple of levels, though. I don't know if I want to kill things just to level for hours on end. I wish I could have kept leveling up appropriately with the quests exp awards. I did eventually plan to play with friends but they are very slow to level.

Edited February 28, 2012 by AnnSaysSo

[va_wanderer]

I am a level 38 Bounty Hunter. I know what stats I need. I know the kind of gear I need - coming from World of Warcraft where I was pretty experienced, I found SWTOR easy to understand.

 

My problem is that each planet seems to have increasingly higher levels than I have achieved. I am trying to get through the game without having to group, space battle or pvp (thus no heroics, etc.). Thus far, it has worked out fine but Hoth is a couple of levels above me. I have done every "single person" quest I can find.

 

I have gotten through most of Hoth but, being a couple of levels below the yellow star elites, is tough. I went back to old planets to hunt for possible missing quests, but found none.

 

I am about ready to give up -- was hoping SWTOR would let me quest alone to the top.

 

As a BH mirror, I can tell you this- there's a few things to check.

 

1) Did the bonus series after each planet's storyline? People miss that, quite often.

2) Tried the Heroic 2's? You can often pull these off solo as a BH, although they're tough. 2+ or 4's, probably not until they go grey on you.

3) Been doing the bonus parts to missions? Those "kill X" bonuses are often a hefty chunk of exp, including the frequent unique you have to take down at the end of such series.

4) (A big one) Checked for/hunted "bonus mobs"? There's a lot of big, bad types that are tucked into odd corners as you run back and forth for missions. You can skip them, but if you're soloing- it's gobs of exp that you end up wasting, and in the process you fall increasingly behind. That a lot of these are good chances for blue/orange gear (and always drop at least a green for the trouble) makes it even worse. The biggest are often boss+ level types and are REALLY fun solo challenges...and if they're too tough, they're optional and you can leave em be.

[Gravh]

Some may call OP a noob or a troll. I think he is not.

 

Boss encounters are easier for some classes while some classes have REALLY hard boss encounters.

 

Playing a bounty hunter : It mind numbing easy. H2+ have all been done solo.

 

Player a Jedi knight is not so easy : The boss who pretended to be Kira's brother and tried to bring her back to the emperor. Seriously you actually have to either die many times to find out the strat on your own or read the strat on the net. You have to use you kick and Force stasis well or you will die regardless of your gear.

 

All and all, i think that there is big lack of balance when it comes to story mode bosses depending on what class you play.

 

That being said, i managed to clean everything on my own even with my JK. I only died more often with my JK than i did with my BH because i actually had to elaborate a strategy to overcome my boss. While it was frustrating at times, i prefered thr difficulty of playing a Jedi knight. Made the boss wins much all the more satisfying.

 

Or you could just be good at the game. I had to look up that boss' name up on torhead after seeing all the crying, only to realize I already killed him on my first try. I finished my JK class story at 48, two-shotting the final boss.

 

This idea that JK story is some impossible feat just isn't true. People just aren't always as good as they think they are.

[va_wanderer]

Or you could just be good at the game. I had to look up that boss' name up on torhead after seeing all the crying, only to realize I already killed him on my first try. I finished my JK class story at 48, two-shotting the final boss.

 

This idea that JK story is some impossible feat just isn't true. People just aren't always as good as they think they are.

 

It's often a case that people are used to tearing their way through everything on brute force mode...only to find bosses that aren't vulnerable to that strategy.

 

I learned early on as a Trooper to treat elite+ mobs with respect if I hadn't fought them before, from the Imperial Officers you fight in the Stronghold onwards. It's very easy to get complacent fighting your way through until you hit an actual challenge and find out the learning curve turned into a brick wall.

[LizardSF]

 

I am about ready to give up -- was hoping SWTOR would let me quest alone to the top.

 

According to the usual forum trolls, SWTOR is a "single player game disguised as an MMO". Evidently, they're wrong. Imagine that.

 

Seriously, you SHOULD group. First, it's an MMO. Second, better loot and more XP.

 

I am usually 3-4 levels OVER the planets as my class quest moves me there; I've had to skip Nar Shaddaa and Quesh, except for the class quests. I don't grind or run FPs; I just do the basic quests, plus heroics, no more than once each, and even those, I sometimes miss.

 

When doing single player quests, always do the bonus objectives as well.

[Sasheria]

They are any attack or ability you have that interrupt what an enemy is doing. Some of them are specifically intended only as interrupts (abilities that certain classes get that interrupt an attack and prevent it from being used again for a short time). Not all classes get these.

 

Other interrupts take the forms of stuns, which stop all actions and interrupt an attack that is in progress. There are also knockbacks/knockdowns and similar attacks that also interrupt an action that a target is taking.

 

Not every class gets all of these, but every class gets at least one or two things they can use (at least situationally) as an interrupt. Learning your class is very much about learning what abilities and attacks you should use in each situation. Being able to interrupt attacks from strongs, elites, champions, and bosses is one of the best ways to succeed on fights that may initially seem too hard.

 

Adding to this, some classes get an interrupt that work on "everyone" (I put that in quote just in case it doesn't work on someone) it is a 4 second interrupt. This skill usually have a 12 second cooldown for many. It will stop the skill currently in use and MAKE IT UNUSABLE for 4 seconds even if the normal cooldown for the skill is 1 second or none it is pretty awesome (which sadly not all classes get them)

 

Now some boss are immune to stun effect which negates your stun attack (IA got the knife attack that stuns which can be use an interrupts. There is flashbangs which can also be use as interrupt)

[Jedi_Barbie]

If you are finding that you are underleveled, take an evening (or wherever you can schedule a 2-3 hour gaming session) and do a flashpoint or two (pick up the daily, and you will get the XP for not only the FP, but also for the daily) and maybe a couple of warzones (you get XP, credits, and WZ commendations to use for gear) and you will pick up at least a level (maybe 2).

 

I belong to a guild and when I found I was underleveled for Alderaan, I had a couple of upper-leveled guildies run a couple of FP's with me (that were orange/red) even though they were green/gray for them.

[Sasheria]

If you are finding that you are underleveled, take an evening (or wherever you can schedule a 2-3 hour gaming session) and do a flashpoint or two (pick up the daily, and you will get the XP for not only the FP, but also for the daily) and maybe a couple of warzones (you get XP, credits, and WZ commendations to use for gear) and you will pick up at least a level (maybe 2).

 

I belong to a guild and when I found I was underleveled for Alderaan, I had a couple of upper-leveled guildies run a couple of FP's with me (that were orange/red) even though they were green/gray for them.

 

that is an awesome way to do it (or just run any FP since you get SOCIAL points too) As long the mission is not gray to YOU, you will get full exp even with high level running you. The only XP you "lose" is the mob exp. I don't know the ratio to that.

[Jellison]

Read the title.

 

"Swtor is too hard for me"

 

"too hard for me"

 

"for me"

Edited February 29, 2012 by Jellison

[PulseRazor]

I wonder if the OP is talking about the Heroic areas, and is trying to solo them without realizing that entire sections of planets are intended for party play.

[DarkSamink]

Sometimes the boss are indeed too tough. I think maybe possibly that the boss is too tied in with the story affecting the difficulty. Is it possible that if i dont do the side missions, or clear the whole area that the boss is more difficult?

 

I ask this becuase I know how to play my character. I know all the abilities, and which ones to use, and how to rotate on dps for maximum efficeincy, and when to use CC.

 

However, the dps I do is not not enough, and its also becuase I get dpsed too much.

 

Sometimes I will even use heroic call, and med pacs, stims, adrenals and all the abilities i would need to be ready. and still I can not solo them some of the time, which is also becuase I am not using the perfect companion for the job.

 

So, you also have to bring the right companion, which I will resort to and complete it. However, I believe I am good at the game and that the game is made a bit too difficult that it requires such perfect timing, and execution and sequencing with good gear as well.

The game is not for casuals. Since even with a companion it is hard. You also need the right companion to do the hard story missions as well.

 

AN example:

SW Juggernaut bring a healer

SW Marauder/Sentinel bring a tank

 

Breaking from this formula of companion will make the game more difficult.

 

So, yes I agree the game is difficult. And the poeple who are saying it is easy is either becuase they play a lot of games and are also smart that it is easy for them. For example being able to type 200 words per minute is not average. So if you can type 200 words per minute pls do no say the game is easy. You are basically a freak of nature. You are trolling us by saying this game is easy because you can type 200 words per minute.

 

Anyways, its doable, but the problem for me is mostly that there is a death penalty for challenging game content.

 

BW you said you would not put death penalties so we can try your game. Not only do you put death penalties you make certain part of the class story extremely difficult using up the death penalty! Way to ruin my expereince and willingness to learn to become a better player at some near impossible missions.

 

example of quests that are part of the story in Tatooine

 

Darth Praven

Sand demon

 

these are examples of one of the first near impossible missions

 

 

Anyways, everytime someone says the game is easy I don beleive them. I want to see you do one of the hard class quests on you tube. I would still have my doubts it would be edited, however, I know there are min maxers out there who can do it, but this game is not for min maxers. Its suppose to be doable when the quest set to my level( in both examples of the spolier I was above lvl and it was still difficult and I also had some of the best gear I could have and other good gear), and when I have the right gear for the job.

 

Now, you just need to see me play to know that I am good enough that I should be able to beat the challenge, but I cant. Why? Because it requires several tries to see for example which spell to silence, or how the boss works to know how to beat it. How am I suppose to do that in 2 tries when the death penalty is already stacking and the cost of my armor as well.

 

Bw logic is flawed here. The bosses require and understanding that is not too evident when confronted and there is not enough chances to learn from them. They punish you by time, and the time punishment is there because of the cost penalty of armor repair. REMOVE armor damage, and also remove time penalty for class quests. Would make it a lot more interesting for me to try and figure out the boss instead of giving up after 3-4 tries, and waiting for the cool down I go to you tube, or the forums.

 

EDIT: For those who want a challenge, dont play with a companion. That should be for the poeple who type 200 words per minute. However, I tried playing the game without a companion, and all I got to say is good luck to you. I really want to see that on you tube.

 

edit: Also the mistake BW made was make the companion too good. So isntead of allowing the game to be challenging for people to play without a companion they made it impossible that it requires a companion. So then the challenge was offered to everyone at the same time... /facepalm

 

1. If they remove armor repairs, how is it an MMORPG? And there should be a penalty for death. So what u want is something where u can die a thousand times and nothing really happens is to easy. And when did Bioware ever say there wasn't going to be any death penalties, cuz i would love to read that.

 

2. And because someone is really good at a game means they are a freak of nature? LOL. So it isn't because they had a lot of practice in the game or they've been playing for awhile is why they are good at it? How about you must be a freak of nature because ur too good at crying and complaining?

 

3. Grow up and get over it. If u don't like the game go back to WoW