4 Questions for the casual gamers!

[Rasstavad]

I had to respond to this because its so out of touch with the reality of the situation. The casuals are the least likely to be posting in forums or complaining about the game. The people most upset with the game are the ones sitting at 50 and realizing there is lots of work needed to bring this game to where it probably should have been on release day, not 6 months in.

 

I think the idea of casuals ************ for addons, macros, and damage meters is simply untrue; even if some might the vast majority of the gripes are coming from those doing end game content and frustrated with not having these things you would have thought they would have planned for well before release.

 

The only comments I make, well in game, is server mergers as I would like to do more FPs and OPs if given more chances to do so, but its a ghost town on my server and I'd rather enjoy the single player experience than sit around the imperial fleet trying to get into a group.

 

I guess I was a bit unclear - with what I meant and by my tone. I'm not *angry* - mostly tired and resigned to the fact that BW and the community are bound and determined to keep the game too casual for people like me to really enjoy in the long term.

 

What I meant by that statement, was that when people like *me* ask for things like addons, macros, combat-logs (global) and meters, for example, we get throngs of people who rally against us "elitists, hard-cores, etc" when they, as shown in this thread by the play styles and progression of the players who label *themselves* as casual - none of these things would have any effect on them at all - but they would deny us these tools.

 

My comment certainly was off topic... and for that I'll apologize.

 

I just feel that there is a place for BOTH camps in this game... we shall see.

Edited March 16, 2012 by Rasstavad

[Sathid]

To the guy asking about hardcore gamers tell yah what i can do pushups upside down against the wall and im 41 and have been doing them since i was 15,i have hiked several mountains up miles of switch backs with a 60 pound pack,when i was 17 i weighed around 150 and benched about 190 and i played soccer for 16 years and played pro for three.

[Dirtysolutions]

Do you currently find that end game is to easy?

 

 

Did you think the leveling was to quick?

 

 

Have you cleared all end game content on at least easy mode?

 

Question from Evironrage I thought needed to be added

I have an additional question for the casuals. Would a more difficult lvling process have put you off from continuing to play?

 

 

Just curious as i'm not a casual player of mmos but a hardcore player that has unlimited game time. Since causals are taking over the mmo market i'm just curious if you guys think this mmo is way to easy, or if your happy with the current difficulty?

 

Dont get me wrong I still love the game, i'm just hoping that operations start getting more challenging for people like myself.

 

Im level 48 man =) But I let you know =)

 

To answer you questions. I am very happy with both the pace of leveling and the leveling-experience in itself. I actually enjoy "the road to were any mmorpg begins" - end game.

 

But It would be pretty smart of Bioware to release something like AQ40 - Pre-nerf. An end game 16-man operation , so ghastly hard that after weeks of scheduled elitism-power-raid-progressing. You finally reach the last boss to be instagibbed before you have the chance to take a look at that thing that just lasered you for 32K damage.

 

It would shut up all the hardcoregamers, who now would have a worthy challenge! Then let em wipe for a couple of months while the hardcore guilds races eachother for a "world-first".

 

And I wouldnt mind at all that I might not be able to enjoy that particular content due to other priorities.

 

Cant be to hard to fix, just add "hardcore-mode" on ops and FP´s and make damn sure that its spelled "HARDcore" as in really hard to crack. Rest of us can enjoy the lower difficulty-modes and the pro-gamers can have something to chew on thats so hard its making "Metroid 1" on Nintendo 8-bit seem like a walk in the park!

[Daeldelon]

Do you currently find that end game is to easy?

 

Yes and no. Generally I think they could have made the encounters tougher, but I think part of the perceived problem is that MMO gamers are just too practiced at this stuff and these raids were the entry level raids. I expect the next one to have a much steeping skill curve since there will still be EV and Karagga's for the entry level raiders.

 

Did you think the leveling was to quick?

 

No.

 

Edit: Actually, yes, slightly. I was consistently outleveling planets due to Heroics and PvP, so I think they could either tune it down slightly or allow for parallel planets, so for example, I can do Alderann OR Tatooine and still be on pace. Then on the next character I can switch. I would not want the 1-50 to take significantly longer than it currently does, however.

 

Have you cleared all end game content on at least easy mode?

 

More or less (there may be a hardmore flashpoint or two I haven't done and I am not quite battlemaster yet), but this is largely due to having a quality guild to run with. I play "casual" hours, but when given the chance I am able to join a solid raid and clear EV/Karagga on Normal or Hardmode. I have not tried nightmare, and I'm not sure what you mean by easy mode .

 

 

Question from Evironrage I thought needed to be added

I have an additional question for the casuals. Would a more difficult lvling process have put you off from continuing to play?

 

This depends on what you mean by difficult. If you mean requiring higher skill, knowledge of rotations, use of CC, etc., then no I would not have been put off at all. I'd welcome the challenge.

 

If, on the other hand, you mean requiring more time to get to 50 or adding lots of annoying time sinks, like corpse runs, mobs that respawn too fast and require multiple clears, "go fetch" quests, etc., then I yes, I would have been put off.

 

Just curious as i'm not a casual player of mmos but a hardcore player that has unlimited game time. Since causals are taking over the mmo market i'm just curious if you guys think this mmo is way to easy, or if your happy with the current difficulty?

 

I do think this concept of "casuals" is trite, however. There are so many different kinds oif gamers, no one can agree on what a casual means anymore. Many people who consider themselves elite are casuals in someone else's eyes. And those that are truly "hardcore" and churn through content immediately can't be catered to anyway because there will never be enough for them.

 

Dont get me wrong I still love the game, i'm just hoping that operations start getting more challenging for people like myself.

I will agree that a spike in challenge on future ops should be a goal for BW.

 

See above.

Edited March 16, 2012 by Daeldelon

[kelvaen]

Thank you for all the response!! I didn't think these questions would get such a large discussion! I should add one other question to distinguish whos answering the questions and will add it to the OP.

 

 

Is this your first MMO?

[Drudenfusz]

I would say that most casual gamers have still not reached level cap, so they have no experience with end game content.

[Dirtysolutions]

Thank you for all the response!! I didn't think these questions would get such a large discussion! I should add one other question to distinguish whos answering the questions and will add it to the OP.

 

 

Is this your first MMO?

 

Seriusly ?

[Darkulous]

Do you currently find that end game is to easy?

 

 

Did you think the leveling was to quick?

 

 

Have you cleared all end game content on at least easy mode?

 

Question from Evironrage I thought needed to be added

I have an additional question for the casuals. Would a more difficult lvling process have put

you off from continuing to play?

 

Is this your first MMO?

 

 

Just curious as i'm not a casual player of mmos but a hardcore player that has unlimited game time. Since causals are taking over the mmo market i'm just curious if you guys think this mmo is way to easy, or if your happy with the current difficulty?

 

Dont get me wrong I still love the game, i'm just hoping that operations start getting more challenging for people like myself.

 

 

Hitting 50 here takes me about the same amount of time to hit 85, with heirlooms, on WoW.

 

Difficulty through leveling is fine.

[Darkulous]

I would say that most casual gamers have still not reached level cap, so they have no experience with end game content.

 

There's a difference between noobs and experienced players who have become casual.

[MMornard]

Do you currently find that end game is to easy?

 

 

Did you think the leveling was to quick?

 

 

Have you cleared all end game content on at least easy mode?

 

Question from Evironrage I thought needed to be added

I have an additional question for the casuals. Would a more difficult lvling process have put

you off from continuing to play?

 

Is this your first MMO?

 

 

Just curious as i'm not a casual player of mmos but a hardcore player that has unlimited game time. Since causals are taking over the mmo market i'm just curious if you guys think this mmo is way to easy, or if your happy with the current difficulty?

 

Dont get me wrong I still love the game, i'm just hoping that operations start getting more challenging for people like myself.

 

1) Not at end game, and have no intent to do "end game" content.

2) No

3) No

4) How much more? I played about 6 hours a day from Dec 20 to Jan 30 and got my top level character to Level 45.

5) No

6) Just about perfect

[stuology]

Do you currently find that end game is to easy?

 

I purchased this game based on the advertising about its story and gameplay which suggested that the game was about the journey, not what was at the end. After reading the press about it I felt that it would be a very poor MMO but rather KOTOR3 with a co-op function which is what it appears to be. In this regard I got what I expected.

 

Did you think the leveling was to quick?

 

Yes, but not to much. I played all aspects of the game (So I quested, did pvp, space battles and flashpoints etc), so found myself overlevel for most planets, which made them very easy to do of course. They probably could have gotten rid of rested xp as well as lowered some of the exp across the board slightly.

 

Have you cleared all end game content on at least easy mode?

 

Again - why is this relevant? The game is 1-50

 

 

Question from Evironrage I thought needed to be added

I have an additional question for the casuals. Would a more difficult lvling process have put

you off from continuing to play?

 

No - I like that there is hard and easy content, I like hard and easy content that is aimed at solo play and group play. I like the pvp and the space combat (which needed some easy and hard content and some boss fights). Essentially difficulty is not overly a concern as much as variety of which difficulty is an aspect of.

 

Is this your first MMO?

 

No

 

Just curious as i'm not a casual player of mmos but a hardcore player that has unlimited game time. Since causals are taking over the mmo market i'm just curious if you guys think this mmo is way to easy, or if your happy with the current difficulty?

 

Too much sterotyping here. Its easy to label what you might see as the "dumbing" down of the genre as being due to casual but in reality its due to gaming companies trying to ensure their products meet as many market segments as possible and thus make as much money as possible.

I am a casual gamer but I am also a skilled gamer, so personally I find the current difficulty in most games a joke. At the same time, its also why I gravitated towards MMO's because an MMO was supposed to be based on community more than the game. Of course when the game is trying to be mass marketed that gets destroyed.

 

Dont get me wrong I still love the game, i'm just hoping that operations start getting more challenging for people like myself.

 

I am glad you do. I don't. If this game came out in 2004/5 I might have considered it to be a quality product, but now, its just B-grade rehash of whats gone before. To put it simply, SWTOR left me with the same feeling that I got after watching The Phantom Menace for the first time (yes I am old enough that I grew up watching SW EP 4-6 as a kid).

 

S.

[Matte_Black]

No, No, No, Possibly, No Edited March 16, 2012 by Matte_Black

[InspeckdaDeck]

I'm 41, 6'1 and weigh 180. I'm a veteran who now works for GSA - and although I'm not nearly as fit as I was when I was active duty, I *am* physically fit.... and what the hell does any of this have to do with gaming?

………

or are you part of the new entitled generation where half-assed is good enough?

Military means little, I just got out of the Navy 6-7 months ago, I was a Boatswains Mate on USS Cleveland(which is now decomm’d). Most of the people on the ship were in poor shape, most of the people in the Navy I encountered over my 4 years in were in poor shape, most of the military(marines excluded) is in poor physical condition.

No, I don’t feel entitled to anything(even though I was in the hardest working rate in the hardest working branch) I just don’t like how smug the gamers on this website can get over their “skillz”. I was more directing it in general then at you.

 

 

While I get your point, your benchmarks are very high. (I'm guessing your maybe 20 and ran cross country in High School?)

I’m 24(I feel old)

 

you sir/ms you have little, to no, idea of how this population eats so attempting to under-handly (albeit pretty directly) suggest some/most of us are not healthy is ridiculous and shows a shear lack of tact.

However, if you are trolling I just took the bait and that is on me.

I’m aware most people are not in superb shape, I personally have no job, I live 5 minutes away from the beach and am getting paid to take online classes thanks to the navy. So my entire day is working out and playing video games. God it is good.

I just got tired of seeing elitist nerdy snobs on the forum bragging about how they are bad@ss’es because they spend 14 hours a day playing video games and calling people “casuals” like its something to be ashamed of. So I posted a smart @ss version of OP’s question with unrealistic standards(for the average joe) of fitness.

 

I was mostly bored because servers were down, so I guess you could call it half trolling.

[AshpoolPhoenix]

Just curious as i'm not a casual player of mmos but a hardcore player that has unlimited game time. Since causals are taking over the mmo market i'm just curious if you guys think this mmo is way to easy, or if your happy with the current difficulty?

 

Dont get me wrong I still love the game, i'm just hoping that operations start getting more challenging for people like myself.

 

What a troll, it basically translates to "Dirty casuals taking over mmos, I don't have a job so I've finished most of the content."

[grfu]

Do you currently find that end game is to easy?

 

 

Did you think the leveling was to quick?

 

 

Have you cleared all end game content on at least easy mode?

 

Question from Evironrage I thought needed to be added

I have an additional question for the casuals. Would a more difficult lvling process have put

you off from continuing to play?

 

Is this your first MMO?

 

 

Just curious as i'm not a casual player of mmos but a hardcore player that has unlimited game time. Since causals are taking over the mmo market i'm just curious if you guys think this mmo is way to easy, or if your happy with the current difficulty?

 

Dont get me wrong I still love the game, i'm just hoping that operations start getting more challenging for people like myself.

 

1. It depends on the class. I find that the game is easier on my trooper than on my marauder. Playing my marauder, I have to rely on sustaining high damage before the mob kills me. On my trooper, I can afford to dink around and pull multiple mobs because I can heal myself. So, it all depends on what class you're playing.

 

2. It was quick, but, then I expected it to be quick. I got the 50 in about 40 days.

 

3. Nope, haven't had time. I'm still dinking around with bonus missions, let alone the end game operations and flashpoints. I'm also waiting for other people in my guild to catch up with me so we can do stuff together.

 

4. It would have annoyed me and felt like I was pressing my nose to a grindstone.

 

5. No, this is not my first MMO. To elaborate, I played Asheron's Call, which had an abysmally slow leveling rate and you basically HAD to group to do anything at all. I also played Guild Wars, which was fun for what it was. There was Also Warhammer Online, which I never made it to max level before my own lack of funds forced me to quit. Later I played Aion, which was grindtastic, took me 8 months to get to max level.

[Jett-Rinn]

1: No

2: No

3:No

4: Yes

5: I think some of the flashpoints and world bosses are a bit over tuned but nothing major

 

Hard and Nightmare modes are suppose to address this in 1.2

Edited March 16, 2012 by Jett-Rinn

[Zocat]

Did you think the leveling was to quick?

It took me about 1 month to level to 50. I never logged out in a cantina, no space missions, no pvp until 50. I barely made it to 50 without skipping more than a few (group) quests.

I'd say with full rested XP / space missions / pvp it would be too fast.

 

But I personally want to do every quest - so that has to be considered. Probably not everyone will want help every little person on the planets

I did look for some datacrons while leveling (no guides - just the rough area (like: "Justicar territory")) this is a major timesink. Nowhere finished on that front yet

 

Would a more difficult lvling process have put you off from continuing to play?

More difficult as in "more time consuming" - yes.

More difficult as in actually "more difficult" - no. Though some arbitrary "everything gets x-times harder" would be bad (as it would just force healer companions out (and my guardian doesnt like Doc^^) - which in return just means: kill things slower - just more time needed).

 

Have you cleared all end game content on at least easy mode?

Never set a foot in an operation. I just dont have the time.

I try to do my 3 warzone wins each day (so I play ~5 warzones) and play my alt a bit.

I try to get my weekly pve done - but often only manage 1-2 flashpoints.

That said I have completed every hardmode flaspoint.

 

Do you currently find that end game is to easy?

No comment on operations.

I think when you hit 50 the lv 50 flashpoints (Ilum, Emperor, ...) are too easy. There's also no incentive to run them at all to my knowledge.

Hardmodes: With daily quest gear (3-4 days) / some craftgear (to fill off slots) I think it's ok and not too easy. Though I dont expect to _not_ complete a flashpoint when everyone is geared/playing average.

With columni gear it's probably way too easy.

 

Is this your first MMO?

No. WoW, FFXIV, LotRO, UO.

Edited March 16, 2012 by Zocat

[Cerion]

 

Is this your first MMO?

 

I've been playing MMOs since 2000. EQ was my first MMO. I've played over 20 MMOs, nearly every major title and some you've probably never heard of.

 

The vast majority of my MMO 'career' has been as a casual gamer.

[flyersfan]

My updated answers in accordance with the updated questions:

 

Do you currently find that end game is to easy?

 

I wouldn't know. I haven't gotten there yet. I haven't done any Hard Mode Flashpoints, participated in a single level 50 Warzone, and have only tried Eternity Vault once. It was a massacre.

 

 

Did you think the leveling was to quick?

 

Not at all. I've got one 50, a 48, a 32, a 26, and a whole swarm of others between 11-16 (about 10 of them). I've also yet to complete Voss on any character, so I still have two more planets to explore. The levelling takes a good amount of time unless you are the typical MMO player that goes from mission to mission to mission to mission to mission with no break in between, negligible crafting, no RP (obviously optional), and no helping out others. I frequently do a planet's heroic missions 4-5 times while filling in for guildmates or rounding out random groups to help out.

 

 

Have you cleared all end game content on at least easy mode?

 

No, I have not.

 

 

Just curious as i'm not a casual player of mmos but a hardcore player that has unlimited game time. Since causals are taking over the mmo market i'm just curious if you guys think this mmo is way to easy, or if your happy with the current difficulty?

 

I wouldn't say the game is hard. It can have a few hiccups for certain ACs from time to time, but it's usually quite manageable. I'm happy with it. If I wanted to struggle in a game, then I'd turn around to my PS3 and play Dark Souls.

 

Would a more difficult lvling process have put you off from continuing to play?

 

Are we talking about grueling difficulty? If so, then possibly. I'm still not totally sold on the MMO thing. If the game was just a bit of a challenge, then no. I would continue to play. I'd probably enjoy it more.

 

Is this your first MMO?

 

Yes, it is.

Edited March 16, 2012 by flyersfan

[AsheraII]

Do you currently find that end game is to easy?

 

 

Did you think the leveling was to quick?

 

 

Have you cleared all end game content on at least easy mode?

 

Question from Evironrage I thought needed to be added

I have an additional question for the casuals. Would a more difficult lvling process have put

you off from continuing to play?

 

Is this your first MMO?

 

 

Just curious as i'm not a casual player of mmos but a hardcore player that has unlimited game time. Since causals are taking over the mmo market i'm just curious if you guys think this mmo is way to easy, or if your happy with the current difficulty?

 

Dont get me wrong I still love the game, i'm just hoping that operations start getting more challenging for people like myself.

1) No, that's what Hard Mode is for, simply start end game on that if you want a challenge and skip easy modes.

2) Yes, though it varies greatly by planet. Sometimes I get 2 levels in an afternoon, other times one level takes two afternoons. Strangely, the levels that took 2 afternoons to gain were midlevel, near end level things went considerably faster again.

3) No, I wouldn't have minded at all if the experience generation went slower, and some fights were harder to some (advanced) classes. Things really vary by advanced class. Content can be frustratingly challenging with one advanced class, but a cakewalk with another. Some advanced classes have mostly cakewalks.

4) No

[Dawginole]

I'm a casual...I guess. About 4 hours a night, but I don't push. I played FFXI for 6 years. This game is carebear in comparison. I appreciate the change of pace. But anyone who says this game is a grind is a complete idiot and has never played an old school Eastern MMO.

[DieAlteHexe]

Thank you for all the response!! I didn't think these questions would get such a large discussion! I should add one other question to distinguish whos answering the questions and will add it to the OP.

 

 

Is this your first MMO?

 

Faaaaaar from it.

 

MUDs then UO and many from there on out.

[Avonell]

1) Do you currently find that end game is to easy?

 

I actually haven't reached end game yet. My highest level character is a level 39 Jedi Knight. I stopped leveling her because I found the questing exhausting in this game. It's a never ending stroll through similar looking mobs. My spouse is adamant that we complete ALL quests on every planet, including bonus missions and it just plain bored me to tears right after we finished Chapter One. We rolled up a pair of alts on the Empire side of our server, but that petered out at about 27 when I found I couldn't face logging in and slogging it out more. TLDR: No there yet, bored before I got there.

 

2) Did you think the leveling was to quick?

 

Well, certainly with the doing EVERY quest on each planet + the bonus series I found we were usually 3-4 levels ahead of the content level of the planet we were doing. That being the case, the only challenges offered were 2 or 3 manning the 4+ heroic missions. It did seem to be quite quick, especially on Taris for Republic.

 

3) Have you cleared all end game content on at least easy mode?

 

See 1

 

4) I have an additional question for the casuals. Would a more difficult lvling process have put you off from continuing to play?

 

Not at all. In fact I live for the moments when we can hunt down and take on mobs like the Champion level ones that spawn. IMO there should be more of those throughout the leveling process and not just mostly in the heroic missions.

 

5) Is this your first MMO?

 

No, we've done plenty of dabbling. I've played WoW primarily, and spent some time in DDO, Rift, did a free trial of LOTRO, beta'd FF14 (so terrible), etc.

[kelvaen]

I think my biggest thing i'm finding with the op is that everyone who is new to mmos in general is fine with the content, and the speed of progression. This game drew people that were originally fans of the kotor series, and who had never played a mmo. I know my very first mmo DAOC had me stary eyed for many months. So I can see their points of view with this being the first mmo they have tried.

 

 

I am a hardcore gamer, and I also have a amazing family, and I work 2 jobs. But I still make time for my hobby. I dont think hardcore gamers definition is how much game time you log. I think Hardcore gaming refers to the mentality you bring to the game and the organization you have when your doing content that is challenging. I haven't seen any of this challenging content yet, for the level of gameplay that my guild brings to this mmo. But we are still a newborn mmo, and I still have hope.

[iResist]

OP has no idea what 'casual player' means. Most casual players have not even reached level 50. OP assumes they have.