A new level cap just might be the gamebreaker for me

[syntxerr]

I understand how the OP feels. 10-12 months is to soon to be increasing the level cap. Btw new content and items can be increased without increasing level cap! Why not just release this new content and gear as Tier 3 for level 50s?

 

I'd like to hear some logical reason for why raising level cap is bad or why it would be too soon?

[andrak]

Sad that all level 50 epics will be replaced by level 51 greens at the end of the year. Nice job Bioware. lol

[LG_XxLegacyxX]

This might sound super lame, but what about prestiging? LOL get to 50 and have the option to be reset to starting planet and have all spells and abilities, all armor pieces, companions etc, but instead., you'd go back to level 1 and everything you fought was a level 50.

[iparada]

Ive been lvl 50 for a week and am already bored. I already have full epics except for 3 slots. My companions are pretty decked out (some with pvp blues others with a epics) didnt take long. I would rather them raise the level cap and give us new and interesting content then give us nothing. Its also a great way to encourage new players into the game now so theycan catch up to 50 and get involved in new content.

 

If you have only been level 50 for a week i don't think you have had the chance to try out all the available content at the level such as the raids and different modes. How can you be bored so quickly? Unless of course you are in a dead server and cant try out much of the level 50 content.

[NoxiousAlby]

Contradicted yourself a tad there.. You don't like the level cap idea, explain why it's bad then in the same post you write:

 

" but in a game already lacking player activity this just doesn't feel like a good idea"

 

You do realise that out of the steaming pile of updates, the one thing to arise from the stench that might actually bring players back is a new level to get to?

SO we cover up some of the overtuned boss fights ( HM KR-82 Expulser?), bugged bosses, broken Ilum, boring space combat (getting another one), mind numbing dailies (for 6 BH badges a week), by increasing the level cap?................./facepalm

 

We wont fix whats wrong with the game we'll just make the players dedicate more time to leveling to cover up all the things that need fixing.

[dronepilot]

Just a small question, ? ok so if they add new levels so say, you got to grind to 60, well 60 would be the old 50, so when you get there, you will still be bored after a week anyway, ?! adding more levels to the game, is not any real answer to solving players 'eventually' getting bored anyway. Your just delaying it a little. People can always power level anyway, their way to 60.

[Shingara]

1) What will happen with skill trees and what new abilities will be added? How will these affect the tuning of the current ops? How will these effect pvp balance?

Either they will add new skills or it will allow for better hybrid builds

My only concern with this is the fact that some classes have way better synergy in their trees than other classes. Take, for example, some of the previous problems we've seen with players who were able to build unkillable heal/dps hybrids and the current controversy with tank assassins. I think BW needs to focus on getting their current house in order before they add anything to any class.

 

 

2) With ranked warzones coming, what will happen with the 50+ bracket? Many pvpers already complain about the steep gear and learning curve jumping into pvp as a fresh 50. What's going to happen with those fresh 50s when they have to face L55s in WH+ gear?

If expertise which to my knowledge can only be gained at lvl 50 is effected by the gear level up system within warzones then there should be little to no issue with it, also normal pvp will still be played which should be easier.

As it stands now, Expertise is on a linear progression scale which means there is no DR when stacking this stat. So either BW adds little incremental increases to Expertise in the next tier, which runs the risk of becoming pointless to grind; or BW adds enough Expertise gain for the set to be worthwhile to grind and the poor sods in Recruit might as well be wearing green drops.

 

4) All of these new players the 1-15 trial (allegedly) brings in will be looking to hit 50, and most of them I'm willing to bet will hit 50 right around the time the level cap is raised. What will that do to retaining these players as subscribers?

more then likley the exact same things they will be doing to retain us.

What worries me here is the player who logs in in June, gets hooked on the game, and sets his or her sights on 50, only to be turned off by the fact that as soon as he or she hits "endgame" there's a brand new endgame to hit. Psychologically for a new player, he or she might feel slighted rather than feeling that sense of accomplishment.

 

6) What about current dailies? Most of the normal ones are ridiculously easy, and most people can solo the Heroic 2s. How much easier will it be to farm those dailies with an increased level cap? Will they have to introduce yet another specialized currency? Will they increase the daily comm requirement for new gear? Will the new L55 tier gear require months of grinding dailies?

 

i could see it being adapted with new rewards within it that allows for the tokens to be done daily from the current unlock point and played through to the new level cap whatever that shall be with new dailys unlocked from the higher planets.

This is what worries me most, b/c BWs track record indicates they'll add yet another currency, and this was one of the problems with grinding pvp gear early in the game. How many more currencies will I need to keep track of? How many will become obsolete? I mean I have 47 Belsavis comms that are absolutely worthless to me.

 

 

I do appreciate your reply, and I do hope BW considers these issues as well. I'm certainly glad they're adding new content and they're committed to growing the game. I just hope they don't err too far the other way and over-develop the game too quickly.

 

I see where your coming from and can agree with you on alot of the points, i suspect they will increase the skill trees and force us to invest hevily within one tree only for the most powerful talent, and any changes done wont be a simple tacked on extra but a full rework.

 

I even suspect this is something that has been in the works for a long time now and i wouldnt be shocked if its a whole reworking of the talent systems and something also tied to the secret space game there on about as i can honestly see that haviing a talent system all of its own and increased level cap has as much todo with space as it does todo with ground.

 

When it comes to tokens i can see them also creating some sort of trade in upgrade downgrade system within tokens to stop the glut of none used tokens/content like they had in beta.

 

The expertise thing is something ive never been a fan of, I understand why its needed and totaly agree on the ethics of why its employed but i have always seen then unatural inbalance its strikes within the pvp gameplay of mmos, because in pve endgame its teired and gives you a chance to level up within it but pvp has no such tiering system. Especialy when in a normal battlegrounds situation, the difference between a fresh top lvl player and a top end pvp geared player is striking to the point that the new player has little to no chance 1v1 against the already geared pvper.

 

But beyond giving away pvp gear or discrimintating against hardcore pvpers by forcing them to top end pve to top end pvp what can you do.

 

To the point you bring up about new players being hit by the concept of new content and a lvl cap increase as soon as they reach the what is now top lvl i dont think they would care to much, because content is content be it in a operations setting or open world setting.

 

Infact the only people i can see being upset as always are would be the 'nastyhardcore' raiders who need to be infront of others to feel good about themselves. Its like if they cant look down on people then the game has zero enjoyment value for them, they have to hit top end 1st, hit hardcore 1st and clear the operations and heroics 1st, get the best gear 1st then sit there as if they have won the nobel peace prize and complain there is zero content left todo.

[Morrolan]

More and less. Unless they come up with a way for these current raids to scale to the new level cap people will have less raid content.

.

 

Its most likely that the current ops will be made to scale with the new content. It would be ridiculous to implement this new content with only 1 ops at the new end game.

[LG_XxLegacyxX]

This might sound super lame, but what about prestiging? LOL get to 50 and have the option to be reset to starting planet and have all spells and abilities, all armor pieces, companions etc, but instead., you'd go back to level 1 and everything you fought was a level 50.

 

Ok so think of it this way. Once you hit 50.........do whatever end game stuff you want, you would decide if you want to prestige or not.

 

If you do, you would go back to YOUR starting planet, and do everything over as a level 1-50 again. ACCEPT as a level 1....YOU WOULD HAVE SAME EVERYTHING YOU HAD BEFORE. Think of it as End game + in Batman Arkham City. re-do the game but with everything you had from the end before.

 

You would fight harder enemies and be on a different "SERVER" of the starting planet. (one that would make everything level 50)

 

By doing this, lets say.........gives you better loot drops.....better credit payouts for missions......then doing dailies in end mode. IDEK *** I'm talking about but hey its an idea

[Phrase]

The idea that there is no reason to do anything in game now if they're just going to raise the cap later is not a valid argument. If you're not enjoying what you're doing in the game right now, you shouldn't be doing it anyway.

 

Progression is meant to be secondary to enjoyment. If you're putting gearing over fun, you're doing it wrong.

 

I'm going to play devil's advocate and ask: If you're enjoying what you're doing right now and progression is secondary to enjoyment, why shouldn't they keep the level cap where it is? "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," to quote the saying; and I think this is one of the few areas that hasn't been addressed as broken.

[LaLiLuLeLolz]

Well since they mentioned new abilities along with the level cap increase, that would probably be the tangible measure of a higher level instead of just numerical boosts to stats like the ones already given from lvl 50+ gear. The trick is making sure that these new abilities tied to the higher level cap are not only relatively balanced, but also necessary for something, hopefully the new op will actually require an understanding of these new abilities along with perhaps the new warzone, world bosses, and new planet content.

[siegedeluxe]

If you don't like to level or get more levels then this is not the MMORPG you've been looking for, perhaps you should try TWS.

[Phrase]

I'd like to hear some logical reason for why raising level cap is bad or why it would be too soon?

 

The answer is in your signature.

[Mookind]

Raising the level cap will be awesome.

 

Perfect chance for them to fix PvP class balance

 

Hope they do a good job this time

[mattgyver]

Falke, MMO.

 

MMO, Falke.

 

I'm assuming you haven't met before.

 

Falke, WoW

 

WoW, Falke

[siegedeluxe]

Well since they mentioned new abilities along with the level cap increase, that would probably be the tangible measure of a higher level instead of just numerical boosts to stats like the ones already given from lvl 50+ gear. The trick is making sure that these new abilities tied to the higher level cap are not only relatively balanced, but also necessary for something, hopefully the new op will actually require an understanding of these new abilities along with perhaps the new warzone, world bosses, and new planet content.

 

I didn't like to hear "new abilities" due to the fact that there is limited space for abilities on my action bar to this date. I hope they clean the house first and consolidate abilities by making new passive abilities.

[Morrolan]

SO we cover up some of the overtuned boss fights ( HM KR-82 Expulser?), bugged bosses, broken Ilum, boring space combat (getting another one), mind numbing dailies (for 6 BH badges a week), by increasing the level cap?................./facepalm

 

We wont fix whats wrong with the game we'll just make the players dedicate more time to leveling to cover up all the things that need fixing.

 

Why would you assume that because they're announcing new content to be implemented at some undetermined time in the future that they won't be continually fixing what they consider broken? We've got the ranked warzones and group finder coming just for example.

[wutru]

It's gonna be a long time before you see that level cap raise. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Do you have a specific date when it's coming out? If not, there is reason to worry. If it comes out in 2 weeks, then the OP is correct to worry. Bioware needs to communicate better.

[Silentarmy]

Hell WoW didn't even raise their level cap until 2 years after it's initial release and we're getting one possibly in 1 year or less after release?

 

Hell this is SWTOR not WOW so your point is invalid

[JeramieCrowe]

I've been playing this game without getting involved in the doomsaying or complaints for a long time now even while I watche activity on the server slowly melt away. But I got to say the anouncment of a raised level cap absolutely stunned me. Unless I'm missing something here it seems the worst possible move. Right now the servers suffer from players waiting till things get fixed. In my experience the anouncement of raised level caps usualy slowed down current raiding to a crawl since everyone knows their equip will be outdated within two levels anyway.

In my case my current motivation was working on all my crafting profesions, reverse engineering so I could outfit all my companions with purple gear (this is already inferior to just raiding and using leftover Columni but I just PVP..) but what's the point now? It's a ton of work to reverse engineer just the right purples and now I know they won't be good for long. I'm not even sure it is worth grinding PVP for War Hero gear now as I asume there will be new sets at the new cap.

I will say that I'm looking forward to more story but essentialy these news tell me "sit back, wait for the expansion to hit."

This is always the case with such anouncement but in a game already lacking player activity this just doesn't feel like a good idea.

 

How do you know it's not a level raise from 50 to 52? Or 54? Hell, our gear is already level 56.

[Musclemary]

Again, why the levels are a game breaker to me is alraedy in the text. I just see no reason to play at level 50 right now. The desire to collect shiney pixels is even weaker if I already know they will be outdated soon.

As for others MMOs, I have in fact done exactly that. Granted last time it took two expansions until the frustration set in but since I already went through it I don't feel like doing it again. Before you say it has to be like this I'd say I'm still playing COH which instead of adding more and more levels broaden the skill spectrum. Intead of making you replace your gear over and over it instead keeps adding more options. So you are building on the foundation you worked for instead of replacing everything all the time.

 

ANd you needed your very own special thread to tell us your history of issues with mmo's??

[dronepilot]

BTW, I am quite happy, with the idea of more levels added to game, but if your playing just so you get to what ever new level, so you can feel 'bored' again, then your playing this game for the wrong reasons anyway. I still get lots of enjoyment at playing this game at level 50. Plenty to do..

[Phrase]

If you don't like to level or get more levels then this is not the MMORPG you've been looking for, perhaps you should try TWS.

 

It's not a question of not liking to level. It's a question of having so many systems in game or that will soon be in game that still need development, that to plan a level cap increase right now might lead to more problems than fixes.

Edited June 5, 2012 by Phrase

[Nyaara]

This game doesnt need to raise the level cap yet, not this year. Just would work if the current content is not getting obsolete but i dont see how BW can do this.

 

Wiping the current means that you need to bring a lot of new content and not a single planet, a droid, a new race and a new warzone.

 

The ones who ate the content too fast will never be happy. No matter how fast you release new content. BW is doing a big mistake if they listen to them.

 

This game already released very interesting pve content and they should work on it fixing table loots, crafting recipes and with LFG tool, let the players enjoy Lost Island, Denova or any flashpoint/Ops. And expand the PvP with the new warzone, ranked, outdoor event and bring a reworked version of Ilum on the table. Wiping it would be a big mistake, imo.

Edited June 5, 2012 by Nyaara

[Goretzu]

If the new level cap comes not before December 2012 and with expansion level content then fine (it's a bit soon, but not massively so).

 

 

If they new level caps come before December 2012 and without expansion level content, then it's basically what Bioware did with Warhammer Online 1.4, just bumping up the treadmill.

 

Now all MMORPGs are treadmills, but a level raise with expansion level content usually comes every 12-24 months in an MMORPG.

 

Not every 6 months with no expansion........... that "business model" is just pure grind and makes no attempt to hide that they view players as rats on the $$$'s treadmill.

Edited June 5, 2012 by Goretzu