Imbalance is KILLING this game

[FrostyDroid]

It's not just a case of there being more imperial players than republic players, the real issue is that Imperial players like PvP, and Republic players don't (they tend to prefer RP).

[Icedanno]

No, its a case of more Imps then Reps. Most servers show at least a 2 to 1 and most a 3 to 1 pop in favor of the Imps.

 

Bioware stats a ratio of 60-40 (roughly), but that was posted the first week. Go to any server, anytime, and jump back and forth, and you will see.

 

In PvP it's... it's useless to try and PvP as a Republic on most servers. WZs will only spawn 3 to 6 reps, and the Imps just win match after match.

[efylinx]

No, its a case of more Imps then Reps. Most servers show at least a 2 to 1 and most a 3 to 1 pop in favor of the Imps.

 

Bioware stats a ratio of 60-40 (roughly), but that was posted the first week. Go to any server, anytime, and jump back and forth, and you will see.

 

In PvP it's... it's useless to try and PvP as a Republic on most servers. WZs will only spawn 3 to 6 reps, and the Imps just win match after match.

 

I'm on an imbalanced server where the average Imperial Fleet pop is over 110-130 an Rep Fleet pop is about 50-60 on prime time. I prefer PvPing with my Republican because I actually get something OTHER than Huttball (OMG!) and usually it's the same people Republic-side that keep re-appearing thereby giving the same people more practical PvP experience. Thus far, the win ratio is very close to 50% (which is very impressive, I've never been in another game which was this balanced, I still remember WoW's early days when it was a done deal that Alliance sucked in battlegrounds, or Aion where it's usually the Asmodians).

 

With that said, an XP incentive is something worth looking into! But truth be told, I think most people joined the Empire because of the "coolness" factor of (1) being a Darth, (2) being evil compared to goody-two-shoes (I think this is one of the rare MMOs where the evil side is actually.... evil), (3) Lightning vs. Pebbles (nuff' said).

 

The devs already mentioned they are fixing mirror class imbalances in 1.2 (casting time irregularities, etc.). Mortar Volley compared to Death from Above was specifically mentioned. So that's already being dealt with.

 

I also like your idea about opening up clothing to both sides and frankly makes sense. Personally I find the Republic clothing cooler looking than the Imperial clothing options in many cases, but that's subjective obviously - there is no reason why we shouldn't be allowed to mix and match as we please.

[Devlonir]

Bioware stats a ratio of 60-40 (roughly), but that was posted the first week. Go to any server, anytime, and jump back and forth, and you will see.

 

Oh wow, hear that guys? We are still in the first week of this game! Seeing how Bioware, less than 48 hours ago, said similar numbers.

[Bafucin]

Yes, Imps like PvP more then Reps.

 

It's like this in every MMO game. "Light/Good" side have more adults, rp people and PvE.

[NightHawke]

OP is talking about the bug that allows one team to have 12 people and the other to have like 6. Or whatever.

 

I saw this last night and it was brutal. We had everyone on mid, while they had 2 on east and still outnumbered us on mid.

 

They were supposed to fix this bug. But it would seem not.

 

Also, warzones are not counting again for some.

[DrakusMa]

Last night on Hyperspace cannon, for hours on end at prime time for this server, Repub swept the floor with Imps. Every match Imps were down 1-2 players, and getting ROFLstomped all night.

 

I think it is just a server thing. Our server has good Repub premades, and Imps don't right now.

[Erevan_Kindelar]

The vast majority of players (that I have spoken to, and heard about) get the game, install the game, get to the character creation screen, go Empire, start playing, and so on, without going anywhere near the forums.

Why would that be relevant?

Because the vast majority of discussion about why there are more Imps than Reps are happening on these forums - ability delays, damage issues, bugs, class balance, gear appearance, population, et cetera, are not part of the new user's conscious decision to roll Empire over Republic.

 

The vast majority of new users are completely and utterly ignorant of any of these issues, unless they have been told about them by a friend. And if they have been told about them by a friend, are they going to roll Empire or Republic? The chances are, they will roll whatever faction the friend is in, so the vast majority of the discussions are still irrelevant for the new player.

 

The bottom line is that most new players roll Empire because that is what they want to roll for their own internal reasons. For Bioware to tackle this, they probably need to either force new players to roll Republic and "unlock" Empire after completing a storyline on Republic (like that would work), or give a PvP buff to increase the power and capability of whichever faction is underpopped at a given time.

[Vincynt]

1. Fix mirror classes. (I don't think they make that big a difference, but perception is everything being players choose a faction)

I completely and whole heartedly agree with this. I personaly haven't experienced it as I play the imperial side of the coine despite my wanting to be republic from the get go. Damn my guild for wanting to support the Empire!

 

2. Bonus in exp gains, honor gains, legacy gains and affection gains to your faction. The greater the imbalance, the greater the gain should be.

This I do not agree with. I do think it might help but players shouldn't be punished for picking a side to play because BW didn't polish both to the same standards to begin with.

 

3. More clothing options between the factions, and blur the lines. I know you want Jedi looking one way and Sith looking another way, but if everyone thinks one faction is cooler then you should give up on this idea. Jedi in black robes and the like. (just look at the pilot gear rewards for space combat).

I agree with this. Personally I think any piece of item a Sith Warrior could wear a Jedi Knight should be able to wear. Troopers should be able to wear Bounty Hunter pieces and vice versa, etc, etc, etc...

 

To fix it even faster, enable free faction swaps on servers heavily one sided.

 

THIS would be the best idea. I spent a lot of time leveling my BH and my SW. I know it doesn't take a helluva long time to relevel but I'd rather spend that time leveling other mirriors like JC's and Smugglers and I don't really want to abandon my 50's and presently I can't easily trade stuff from one faction character to another. If they allowed me to trade my SW for a JK I might be so inclined. And if you removed the restrictions and allowed mirrors to use eachothers gear I wouldn't have to worry about the gear issue.

 

The other alternative would be to allow cross faction mail but only between your own characters. That way you would be able to use your crew skills for all your characters easily, pass some cash around (biggest reason I create alts on the same faction is being able to deck them out from the get go and maintain that).

[Redat]

Well, all I see is people complaining about this and that when in fact its a SERVER problem. I play on kellers void (East Coast) even though i live in the UK and there has never been a lack of republic players or Imp players for that matter. Do what I did, roll a toon on a different server, easy solution instead of getting arsey with the devs and taking up peoples time fixing something that isnt broken.

[justahdude]

I didn't see anything in the guild summit that would address this. Did I miss it or was it just not there?

 

No you didnt miss anything, however the devs did say that there really isnt a big enough discrepancy to warrant action. Georg said "the split is 56 to 42 %" 56 and some change being imperial and 42 % and some change being republic.

 

so there is no plans in place to do anything about it.

[CorbinCrawford]

Last night on Hyperspace cannon, for hours on end at prime time for this server, Repub swept the floor with Imps. Every match Imps were down 1-2 players, and getting ROFLstomped all night.

 

I think it is just a server thing. Our server has good Repub premades, and Imps don't right now.

 

Certainly not a server thing, not for Hyperspace anyway. Hyperspace Cannon (Republic side) don't run a lot of premades, what you're probably experiencing is the result of us Reps having a very select few of 50's who PVP, so when they queue you see a lot of the same names time and again. To elaborate, I usually queue solo or with my buddy, but because we have so few interested in PVP my team is nearly always exactly the same. It's funny because sometimes in ops we say "wanna group and queue together", answer is nearly always "what's the point, we'll be grouped up next time regardless".

 

It's nice to meet an Imp though and hear things from your POV. From my POV us Reps are 5-6 man per WZ, heck I even have screenie of us losing a Voidstar because we had 3. Go to Ilum and there are usually 9 of us and 30 Imps. The imbalance is terrible.

 

As for "ROFLstomping all night", I guess we've had to develop a greater level of skill and such from all those matches played with 1-2 less than you. We never win Huttball though, you guys have far too much practice (and far too many sorcs and juggs) for that, lol!

 

See you ingame. Although I'll see you first though. Shootfirst. BLAM!!!

 

*vanish*

[Lightmaguz]

Nothing they could do ? How about fixing Mirror class imbalance? haha the republic are have certain abilities ..do less damage or have longer cd's compared to Empire.

 

That is minimal some are less than a second... If people won't play the Reps just because of that **** then they didn't want to play Rep in the first place.

[Sunsoar]

Yeah I saw that during the summit.

 

 

There was ONE, reread that, ONE, reread it one more time, ONE server that had more Republic than Empire. And they were proud of that. That is success in their eyes.

 

They also said that the imbalance is not as bad as people think. Where did they get their numbers from? The overall players currently on Repub VS Empire? The ratio of current players on Taris? From what I have seen on youtube and my own experience. Empire outnumbers Repub.

 

I know they didn't get their numbers from Ilum. Gabe didn't even mention any plans for Ilum. He was too busy answering UI questions. I thought he was the Lead PvP designer?

 

They can easily fix the imbalance in regards to Ilum. Bolster the lower pop faction in the zone. Will they? No. They don't care.

[NinjaApacHe]

The vast majority of players (that I have spoken to, and heard about) get the game, install the game, get to the character creation screen, go Empire, start playing, and so on, without going anywhere near the forums.

Why would that be relevant?

Because the vast majority of discussion about why there are more Imps than Reps are happening on these forums - ability delays, damage issues, bugs, class balance, gear appearance, population, et cetera, are not part of the new user's conscious decision to roll Empire over Republic.

 

The vast majority of new users are completely and utterly ignorant of any of these issues, unless they have been told about them by a friend. And if they have been told about them by a friend, are they going to roll Empire or Republic? The chances are, they will roll whatever faction the friend is in, so the vast majority of the discussions are still irrelevant for the new player.

 

The bottom line is that most new players roll Empire because that is what they want to roll for their own internal reasons. For Bioware to tackle this, they probably need to either force new players to roll Republic and "unlock" Empire after completing a storyline on Republic (like that would work), or give a PvP buff to increase the power and capability of whichever faction is underpopped at a given time.

 

Absolutely this.

[NDiggy]

I think this is mostly a PvP server issue. People on PvE and RP servers may be seeing more balanced faction pops. All I know is when I logged in yesterday during prime time after the patch I was excited that Fleet was running so smoothly, then I looked at the number of people in fleet and there were only 25 and I realized that was why the game was running so smoothly. I logged over to my back up plan on the Empire side and there were 175 people on the Fleet and the game chugged just like it usually does for me.

 

This is honestly a deal breaker for me. I love the game, I'm excited for what they've done with 1.2, but their complete apathy toward the plight of us on these imbalanced servers doesn't make me want to keep giving them $15 a month. When you read their quotes or watch the replay its obvious they don't think its an issue and even if it is there is nothing they can do about it.

 

Keep in mind, even though the OP is mostly focused on PvP, faction imbalance affects all aspects of the game. I can deal with being shorthanded in PvP, what I can't handle is having a dead economy and no one to group with for PvE.

[Qoojo]

OP is talking about the bug that allows one team to have 12 people and the other to have like 6. Or whatever.

 

I saw this last night and it was brutal. We had everyone on mid, while they had 2 on east and still outnumbered us on mid.

 

They were supposed to fix this bug. But it would seem not.

 

Also, warzones are not counting again for some.

 

Last night, the WZs were starting with a 8 vs. 5 and the WZ was terminating early. So with the imbalance, there was no point in queuing.

[AdmiralOnasi]

The factions are more or less balanced population wise. The problem is that the average republic player (wuss) isn't into PVP as much as the average Sith player. You picked the losing side bub. QQ

 

"More or less balanced?" Are you on crack? Come to ANY PvP server and use the /who command. 95% of PvP servers have an obscene number of imperials and a pathetic number of Republics. My server is almost 3:1 during peak hours.

[Manigma]

Honestly though, if Imperials were always stuck in Huttball wouldn't that be one big incentive to trade sides and play Republic if you're a big PvP'er? BW is basically removing one big reason Imps have to even play Replubic.

Actually that is a reason I don't want to play Republic! I love huttball and hate the other 2 warzones.

[AdmiralOnasi]

You know, OP, it's not just the fact there are way more imps than reps on many servers. It's that BioWare is now going to incentivize Empire even more by making all the warzones same faction. At this point, what reason is there to play Republic? With Empire you get: better, faster animations, more people to play with, same queue times, better looking gear, better looking fleet, better stories etc.

 

BioWare cares more about Empire players than Republic players, and they always have. I don't know how anyone can say otherwise anymore.

Edited March 7, 2012 by AdmiralOnasi

[Icedanno]

Clearly, and I mean this with all sincerity, the Devs must LOVE the imperial side. Im guessing that when the Devs log on to play, it's always as an Imperial.

 

You are right. EVERY delay issue, timing issue, holds, stuns, DoTs.. everything that is out of balance all favors the Imperial side.

 

Gear? Jedi's get brown robes. All trooper armor is white and looks the same. etc. etc. All advertisement was aimed at imperial players. and so on and so on...

 

PvP? If the Devs PvP at all, it's obviously on the Imperial side.

 

Just lost a WZ on the republic side, ( I know, big shock), 12th win in a row for the imperials in two days. The big deal about this one was it was the first WZ that actually spawned 8 on 8. EVERY other WZ has been 8 to 6 or 8 to less.

 

Anyone who says that server balance is not an issue is 100% going to be an Imperial player worried that Bioware might actually do something to rectify the problem and they won't be able to farm WZ at will to gear up.

 

Although from everything Bioware says, that's not a worry. It was more important to get colored crystals out then to actual try and fix the horribly broken PvP mess they have created.

Edited March 7, 2012 by Icedanno

[NDiggy]

You know, OP, it's not just the fact there are way more imps than reps on many servers. It's that BioWare is now going to incentivize Empire even more by making all the warzones same faction. At this point, what reason is there to play Republic. With Empire you get: better, faster animations, more people to play with, same queue times, better looking gear, better looking fleet, better stories etc.

 

BioWare cares more about Empire players than Republic players, and they always have. I don't know how anyone can say otherwise anymore.

 

I agree that making most of the WZs able to play same faction vs same faction removes one of the few perks of Republic PvP and any incentive Empire players had to re-roll.

 

I don't think BW cares more about the Empire than the Republic. I just think they don't care at all. For them it simply isn't an issue. The guild summit made that painfully clear. Right now on Veela, there are certain times of the day you simply can't queue up for WZs as Republic or else you'll get steamrolled by one of the many Battlemaster pre-made groups from the Empire. It doesn't matter if I'm in an pre-made group or not, the Republic simply doesn't have nearly as many Battlemasters as the Empire.

 

Add in the fact that most games we start down 2-3 players and its easy to see why PvP is so difficult on Veela and many other pvp servers for Republic players.

 

I'll say it again, its not that BW cares more about Empire players than Republic players, its just that they don't care at all.

Edited March 7, 2012 by NDiggy

[Roechacca]

whats imbalanced? There's no class that's bothered me in pvp.

[notebene]

It's a bummer on a seesaw as well.

[NDiggy]

whats imbalanced? There's no class that's bothered me in pvp.

 

I'll leave you with another quote since the one in you're signature seems lost upon you. "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."