I find your lack of carrot disturbing

[ZPriest]

Let's face it, MMORPG's thrive off of subscriptions and keeping people PLAYING the game. The goal is to get your customers addicted and coming back for more...paying that fee. And for the most part, I personally think that SWTOR is on the right track and has a TON of potential. The new op is much harder, they have added some new gear sets, and even added a world event just to keep things fresh. These are GOOD THINGS.

 

My problem is that I feel Bioware thinks they are entitled to THEIR game, and should a problem/issue arise, the standard rhetoric we hear is that "internal testing says otherwise, so sorry." When the game should be more focused on the community and meeting customer's needs. The biggest selling point of this game was the "online Mass Effect - choice matters" hype....and despite it's obvious lack thereof, it still seems still be Bioware's main mode of defense. "Tired of your main and seen everything? Roll an alt!". Sorry but no..

 

MMO's are all about that carrot on the end of the stick. If I do X, Y, and Z, over said period of time, I will get W result. And I would be lieing if I said that it was completely missing from the game..but I feel there needs to be more CARROT, and less of a "STORY" focus.

 

A good example of this to me is running hard mode flash points at level 50. Once you get all the gear from them...whats the point in going back? There are no fun achievements to do like (kill the boss without anyone in your party getting 5 stacks of X debuff) or (Kill the boss in under 1:30 sec) etc., and if you do them all you'll get a totally unique vanity perk or item. These changes would not require ANY modifying of the way the current flashpoint is, only ENHANCING the user experience, and adding more CARROT to the end of a currently empty stick, to keep me playing.

 

Another one of my pet peeves, is that when you work hard in end game operations, and get gear..the only way to fully optimize it is to remove ALL of the mods, enhancements and armoring and throw them in some level 32 duct taped orange piece JUST because it has an augment slot. In no way shape or form do I get to show off my uniquely modeled and proud to have peice. Why doesn't higher tiered raid gear have augment slots built in? We should be able to keep the look of the nice flashy level 50 purple piece we just won, as well as maintaining its best in slot status without having to move it to some off brand gear peice. I'm happy there is an option to move the stats to any piece you want (practically) but you shouldnt be FORCED to, in order to achieve maximum optimzation in a PVE situation/setting...

 

How bout an idea where they make a particular item, like a data pack, or a "scroll" if you will..that has a one time use that allows you to add an augment slot to any gear piece. You would simply right click the item, and then click on the gear you would like to add an augment slot to, and then it would be removed from your inventory afterwords. This "scroll" if you will..would drop lets say off of the last boss of every 4 man hard mode, and every boss in a hard mode and nightmare mode operation. This would add more CARROT to go back to 4 man flashpoints each day to roll on the ONE "scroll" that drops, that could add an augment slot to any piece of gear you have. This would allow people to attach augment slots on anything they desired to wear and would make everyone happy.

 

Also as a side note..why the HELL is there not a ready check in the game yet? They can take the time to remove the ability to exit area during combat..but not add a simple ready check? Really?? This would be the first thing i would hotfix if I was in charge...

 

At any rate..thanks for listening to me rant. Does anyone think these are good ideas? I dont think anything I'm asking is against Biowares "vision" (whatever that is), but would take what already exists, and add more CARROT and ENHANCE IT, to keep me and others who share my playstyle and interests happy and addicted...

 

Peace

[Ralev]

How bout an idea where they make a particular item, like a data pack, or a "scroll" if you will..that has a one time use that allows you to add an augment slot to any gear piece.

 

They have already said they're doing something along these lines.

[ZPriest]

They have already said they're doing something along these lines.

 

screenshot or it didnt happen. In all seriousness I would really appreciate a link if you happen to have one readily available. thanks man

Edited May 2, 2012 by ZPriest

[Ralev]

DarthBloodloss: Why doesn't ranked War Hero armor (or the new tier of PvE armor) have augment slots?

 

Georg Zoeller (Principal Lead Combat Designer): It is possible to obtain ranked War Hero appearance with augment slots from crafters on the GTN. The schematics for the those items can be found on the PvP vendor and a critical success while crafting them will result, as with other armor, in an additional augment slot.

 

It is also worth noting that we will be adding a way to add an augment slots to existing modifiable armor in a future game update.

 

Here's the link to the whole thing

[ZPriest]

Here's the link to the whole thing

 

Thanks a lot man

[Ancen]

OP, there used to be a ready-check in beta, not sure what happened to it . As far as achievements/etc. they said in a recent Q&A that those are going to be added. The game is pretty young, but I do agree some of these things should really have been there. Thankfully at least, they are coming. Edited May 2, 2012 by Ellvaan
Quoted removed content

[Taloraan]

Looks like you'll be waiting until patch 8.10.115d to get BW to act on it. It'll be just like Dual Speccing..."Well, we were going to add it in 1.3, but, uhhhh, here's some shiny crap to distract you while we half-*** something to make up for it's place"

[ZPriest]

OP, there used to be a ready-check in beta, not sure what happened to it . As far as achievements/etc. they said in a recent Q&A that those are going to be added. The game is pretty young, but I do agree some of these things should really have been there. Thankfully at least, they are coming.

 

Yeah, well its promising to hear that these issues have been addressed and that they are coming..thanks for the support.

[SuicidalEwok]

Every MMO is guilty of stagnation. The majority of which boils down to a sense of "been there, done that, got the t-shirt" mentality. In games which rely on a level cap system, you're bound to get people who do everything end-game has to offer then inevitably complain about it until the developers kowtow and add more end-game.

 

Without a sense of some form of living world, some sort of persistence, you’re left with a finite product. There are measures to alleviate stagnation, an example of which is events. The rakghoul epidemic was a fun diversion for many.

 

Personally what I’d like to see is the game introducing a similar system that SWG had, the galactic civil war. Have cities that provide unique quest lines, which a faction can take control of, and will have to fight to keep it. Providing persistent opt-in open world pvp, which have real objectives that mean something to the players would get things moving again.

 

(edit: I say "every" mmo, but I mean every mmo that relies on a level cap)

[Darth_Moonshadow]

I find your lack of pony disturbing.

[amantheil]

Looks like you'll be waiting until patch 8.10.115d to get BW to act on it. It'll be just like Dual Speccing..."Well, we were going to add it in 1.3, but, uhhhh, here's some shiny crap to distract you while we half-*** something to make up for it's place"

 

They never once said dual spec would be in 1.3. In fact they specifically said it would not be in 1.3.

[Helgarm]

Patience, youngling.

 

Jumping into a new MMO after spending time in long standing, well established games is often going to result in a perceived lack. It can be argued that, since these features exist in contemporary games then they ought to exist in new ones. But budgets and release deadlines will never provide the 'ideal world' in which such things take place.

 

What you always have with a new game is a base, upon which new features can be added. Features that are common elsewhere may not fit within the specific designer's priority list, for whatever reason. These come later. The premise that there will be enough content to keep people happy for a while is always going to based upon a common denominator. As such, some will breeze through and be left wanting, whilst others are still exploring.

 

Worry not, I'm sure more carrots are coming.

 

H.

[Galbatorrix]

You burn through one character in this game, because that's how WOW did it, burn through the end game, because again, that's how WOW did it and now you're bored?

 

You don't like that Bioware made a game more based off story and alts, so, why not go else where for your MMO needs? They created 8 unique class stories in this game. Unless you've played through them all, then you honestly have nothing to complain about. If those other class stories do not interest you, again, you're playing the wrong game. Go back to WOW and it's "Grind the same 3 dungeons and 1 raid for an entire year" design and have fun with it.

 

And this game does have Legacy unlocks that take time to completely, but again, they're only really beneficial if you enjoy the story and alts. If you want more for your main to do, well, to bad. Bioware just release more stuff for your main to do and people are still screaming "OMG, I did it all, I'm bored!". They could release a new Op every other week and people would do it once and scream the same thing. This game is a story driven, altaholics wet dream. Either play it for what it is, or again.

Edited May 2, 2012 by Wekeltes

[iSTANKlikeDANK]

TOR should have had alot more depth into it plain and simple. EA sucks balls, Bioware sold their soul, and this is the end result. I have no desire to log into this game anymore but I do it anyways, because at the end of the day the fluidity of the gameplay/interface feels cleaner than most mmo's. They just strait up left out all the **** **** in mmos out, like world pvp, an actual economy, massive amounts of armor and gear, class specific sets that only drop off bosses, no racial specific gear, no *********** night/day or day of the week, no real reason to kill WB's, no housing, no nothing. You know what, I dont even care. Im gonna log in, do my dailies, then log out and play skyrim or tera and wait for a year until this game doesnt suck anymore and actually have content, and then ill finally be happy I didnt unsub and get behind. And the mounts in this game are the worst ever. Make a ****in non speeder mount, who the **** wants to ride around on a scooter or an oversized 1960's lookin car.

[ZPriest]

Just go back to WOW already. You burn through one character in this game, because that's how WOW did it, burn through the end game, because again, that's how WOW did it and now you're bored?

 

You don't like that Bioware made a game more based off story and alts, so, why not go else where for your MMO needs? They created 8 unique class stories in this game. Unless you've played through them all, then you honestly have nothing to complain about. If those other class stories do not interest you, again, you're playing the wrong game. Go back to WOW and it's "Grind the same 3 dungeons and 1 raid for an entire year" design and have fun with it.

 

And this game does have Legacy unlocks that take time to completely, but again, they're only really beneficial if you enjoy the story and alts. If you want more for your main to do, well, to bad. Bioware just release more stuff for your main to do and people are still screaming "OMG, I did it all, I'm bored!". They could release a new Op every other week and people would do it once and scream the same thing. This game is a story driven, altaholics wet dream. Either play it for what it is, or again. Go back to the boringly annoying grind of games like WOW.

 

Your serious? Your post is completely opinion riddled and has no substance, nor is it helpful to Bioware and the game. Your play style is obviously a casual story driven alt-a-holic one. And you know what? There's NOTHING wrong with that whatsoever, and I'm glad Bioware has given you that option. What I'm asking for are simple additives to keep me and others who share my playstyle hooked, and fixing things that dont make sense such as needing to swap raid gear into off brand orange gear to fully maximize it, and the need for a ready check. In no way shape or form am I "bored" with the game as you state, and I certainly haven't cleared all the current stuff. I don't need a new raid every week. There is no reason that Bioware can't add some logical current content extending features to keep old content fresh. Just because your a super casual player who wants to play alts and never maximize one character out, doesn't mean "I should run back to wow."

 

The point Im making is that Bioware shouldn't want me or others like me to go back to wow, so they should add more strings to keep current content full of life and give us a reason to go keep going back. It would be beneficial to them as well, because players would be entertained on content they have already made, allowing them to lengthen the time between new content. Your an idiot if you don't think that would be beneficial, even for yourself.

[Sasheria]

I think it would be AWESOME to have a "Data pad/file/scroll" that can add one augment to an item that you can only get 1 per last boss on HM once a day.

 

That will get people to "grind it" I know that BW don't like to make "Grind" too visible (i.e. hard or really really boring. I can't get the right word to use) that is why most of the gears seems easier to "hard core" (who has more than than casual)

[Urael]

Let's face it,

 

Thank you for your OPED.

 

I don't agree with you.

 

One persons carrot is another persons brussel sprout.

 

For me and I suspect many others, game is fine as is.

 

But, pretty much end game of most MMOs is gear grind tread mill. You either grind (or craft) gear to beat players (PvP) or gind (or craft) gear to beat harder Boss Mobs (PvE).

Edited May 2, 2012 by Meluna

[VyperStars]

Lets not forget these achievements you speak of were not added till later in the World of Warcraft series. They were not there in Vanilla WoW... I don't think they were there in BC either. It was not until Frozen throne which was a good 4 years after the game was developed before it was put it.

 

The game is still young.... Every compares it to WoW..

[ZPriest]

One persons carrot is another persons brussel sprout..

 

Agreed, however this is an MMO after all, not a single player game. There should be many vegetables in the supermarket to suit different tastes. I'm glad Bioware has your product in stock.

[Sasheria]

Lets not forget these achievements you speak of were not added till later in the World of Warcraft series. They were not there in Vanilla WoW... I don't think they were there in BC either. It was not until Frozen throne which was a good 4 years after the game was developed before it was put it.

 

The game is still young.... Every compares it to WoW..

 

While I agree with you (been there in those times) The problem is that since SWTOR is release NOW, it "should" have certain popular features from other MMO.

 

Some features should be available from the get go (in my opinion)

 

- Character Transfer (for a fee)

 

- Legacy Name changing (or at least knowing people will accidentally put bad names or click ok. confirmation was added later ) (possible for a fee)

 

- Looking for Group WITHIN your own server. This game suppose to promote group play (heroics and FP) it would have been easier to have these things available to promote people helping/looking for each other other than spamming general chat.

 

- ready check - It was in beta.. what happen?

- A slightly better loot system.

I am not expecting character customization like City of Heroes (it would have been cool if I can keep a certain look or even have a costume slot like LoTRO but that is a different story) or Real ID/Cross chat server or anything, but at least have some features that would make gameplay "easier"

 

I understand that some are "community" driven, but in any community, you have a few rotten apple who like to ruin it for everyone.

Some ideas I have was

Need for self - it should check that item MATCH your character class (i.e. BH get to roll need on +aim item) - primary roll

need for companion - optional set by group leader - this will check ONLY if no one roll need for self

Greed - this is default for anyone

Pass - do not want the item.

 

This will solve so much issue and make game play easier. I know we are suppose to "police" ourselves, but with companion some people think that is their main also and need everything (except Aim for SI since they don't have and companion that use +aim. same with other classes but need for companion won't check that. it will make the code too bloated)

[ZPriest]

Lets not forget these achievements you speak of were not added till later in the World of Warcraft series. They were not there in Vanilla WoW... I don't think they were there in BC either. It was not until Frozen throne which was a good 4 years after the game was developed before it was put it.

 

The game is still young.... Every compares it to WoW..

 

I agree with your point, however Star Wars was released AFTER Frozen Throne. There is no reason one game can't learn from another. I admit I do compare it to WoW probably too much, but that's all I have to base it on since it's the only MMO I played for 7 years with an end game mindset. To ME, an MMO doesn't even begin until your level capped.

[VyperStars]

I agree with your point, however Star Wars was released AFTER Frozen Throne. There is no reason one game can't learn from another. I admit I do compare it to WoW probably too much, but that's all I have to base it on since it's the only MMO I played for 7 years with an end game mindset. To ME, an MMO doesn't even begin until your level capped.

 

I got the Minesweeper title today for destroying Minds in Explosive Conflict....

 

I can now be "Minesweeper Kurotsuchi" .... Is this the kind of thing you want? ..... Obviously I was only able to obtain this title for doing the 3rd boss encounter in EC and being one of the people who disarmed a mine... Once again only can be obtained at level 50....

 

Also have you got the +10 Datacron? They have put a lot of thought and time into some of these things that people just do not give them credit for.

 

You probably did not even go Datacron hunting... You probably just youtubed them all or ignored it all together.

 

I was more skeptical at the beginning about how much I liked the game... I even think there was a phase where I was unhappy. A couple of things have played out to my advantage. Like getting into a good Ops guild. But I have come to appreciate the game for what it is. I have yet to get all Datacrons on any of my characters...

I'm an Alt-o-holic. So never get the time to hunt for them.

[IconicNStarwarsy]

Since we're talking of carrots..

 

I remember there was a thread(s) that suggested to make codex shared among your legacy toons, so that you'd not have to rediscover stuff over and over with each new alt you make. Some countered with the fact that doing that would be counterproductive to keeping you subscribed by having you run loops to re-fill your codex on your alts.

 

I admit to belong to the hoarder/achiever sort of gamers, who are deeply disturbed by the X/Y codex entries. I like to have it all and I have been quite happy that up until recently I felt completely free and content to make as many new alts as I wanted, delete any number of existing characters and re-make them from scratch and still have the possibility to achieve just as much as with any original characters I had, given the time. Just so you know, I haven't got a single 50 character, even though I've been playing since December and quite regularly. I just change my mind a lot and I enjoyed the fact that I wasn't penalized for my indecision (wasted time is not a penalty in my book).

 

Then The World Event happened. At first I was delighted with all the new stuff I chould achieve, new set of absolutely useless combat-wise (Not a Consular/Inquisitor) but neat-looking gear, a pet, a title and 9 codex entries! I did it all and was quite content with myself. But then the event finished and I realized something that made me quite sad and disappointed: none of the alts I'll ever make will ever be as good as the character I played through the event, because they'll never be able to measure up achievement-wise.

 

So my personal carrot is kind of rotten now, I don't feel inclined to make alts, even if I'm still curious about the stories, on my current server or any other. I feel more tied up to the character I have now and robbed of my freedom to make as many equal-in-opportunity alts as I want.

 

And don't get me wrong, Events are great, but it does make me look back to old suggestions of making codex/titles/etc shared among legacy characters. That would be carrot for me personally. I'd be able to make my alts and keep my hoard accessible by any of them.

[ZPriest]

Also have you got the +10 Datacron? They have put a lot of thought and time into some of these things that people just do not give them credit for.

 

You probably did not even go Datacron hunting... You probably just youtubed them all or ignored it all together.

 

 

Of course I did, what player who wants to optimize themselves to be the best they possibly can be wouldn't get all the datacrons? You bring up a good point, they probably don't get enough credit for the datacron stuff which I personally thought was awesome. Definate props to BW for the datacron challenges. Admittingly I YouTube'd most of them but still had a blast actually GETTING them.

Edited May 2, 2012 by ZPriest

[flyersfan]

Let's face it, MMORPG's thrive off of subscriptions and keeping people PLAYING the game. The goal is to get your customers addicted and coming back for more...paying that fee. And for the most part, I personally think that SWTOR is on the right track and has a TON of potential. The new op is much harder, they have added some new gear sets, and even added a world event just to keep things fresh. These are GOOD THINGS.

 

My problem is that I feel Bioware thinks they are entitled to THEIR game, and should a problem/issue arise, the standard rhetoric we hear is that "internal testing says otherwise, so sorry." When the game should be more focused on the community and meeting customer's needs. The biggest selling point of this game was the "online Mass Effect - choice matters" hype....and despite it's obvious lack thereof, it still seems still be Bioware's main mode of defense. "Tired of your main and seen everything? Roll an alt!". Sorry but no..

 

MMO's are all about that carrot on the end of the stick. If I do X, Y, and Z, over said period of time, I will get W result. And I would be lieing if I said that it was completely missing from the game..but I feel there needs to be more CARROT, and less of a "STORY" focus.

 

The story and other characters is why I bought the game and why I play. It's my "carrot." BioWare's doing a fine job from my perspective. I wish they'd have more story focus.

 

Also, I wet myself a little when you said online Mass Effect. *pulls N7 hoodie closer and daydreams*

Edited May 2, 2012 by Meluna