Staying dark is HARD

[Kaisernick]

 

 

 

I couldn't kill a father in front of his little son to get the job done, when I played bounty hunter.

It's a game, and I have to make choices from the POV of my character, whose honor and reputation is based upon delivering what she was hired for. But it was such a disgusting thing to do, even in a game, that I spared the dude and let him escape with his son. So, I guess full dark side is not for me.

 

 

i see My Bh as a person who will get the job done but how they do it is up to her.

 

if im asked to end the threat of a jedi who attacking a sith base then she will kill him if she must but if she can capture or better convince the jedi to stop the attacks then the job is done.

[Inzuher]

There is currently absolutely no reason for anyone to attempt to stay "grey'. Any gear that has an alignment prerequisite is either light or dark.

 

Everything is not about gear you know.

[erei]

A BH kills people he/she doesn't know for reasons he'she doesn't care about for money.....not sure they would care too much tbh.

My BH is a mandalorian, not a common thug. He have a sense of honor and seek interesting prey. Killing weak is not worthy of him. He ends up with 1K DS, and 9K LS.

 

Anyway, to OP, I have the same feeling, I can't play a full DS character, some choice are just horrible, and I really feel remorses. Even if I know they are just NPC and they don't have feelings, I still feel bad for doing it.

 

I'm a good guy IRL, and IG.

[ippollite]

Heres what i found:

 

It doesnt matter a jot...

 

Nothing comes back to haunt you. Theres no residual affect outside of the quest at all. You will never see or hear from the NPC again.

Which brings me to point 2:

 

No matter what you pick SOMEONE SOMEWHERE will morally justify it on your behalf. This will either come in the quest chain itself where theyll tell you you did the right thing in the bigger picture by leaving those scientists to die and retrieving the data (just as an example), or someone will send you a letter in the mail saying thanks and how awesome you are for doing whatever it was they needed and how its benefiting everyone or just both of your pockets.

 

No guards will ever chase you, and no shop keeps will ever stop trading with you. The game doesnt care about your alignment. Those people you just had to make a jerk of a choice against will simply stop speaking to you... which they also do when you pick the light side option. Once the quest is over, its over.

 

Light side/Dark side was one of the best ideas of the game, but its been honestly implemented without any consideration to the wider environment. I genuinely believe they had a big idea about it, but simply ran out of time to make it happen. It should be one of the strongest features of your character. It should have consequences. Instead it gets me a pair of gloves, some boots, and some rune thing. Whoopdee doo! Hell, my first character was mirulaka just because of the ls/ds racial. I so wanted to make your light side or dark side choices personal. But thats so weak i just stopped using it.

 

I dunno, i like the game, but i wish theyd make it mean something. And to do that they have to give it some kind of consequence. But to do that theyd have to make the ambient world a little less... dead?

 

So until they do, dark side wont be an issue im afraid to say, its just a rep grind.

[Xienive]

Without doing any spoilers I found it very hard to stay lightside on my Shadow...there were so many stupid people trying to kill me I just wanted to strike down and didn't.

[ScrabblePants]

My BH is a mandalorian, not a common thug. He have a sense of honor and seek interesting prey. Killing weak is not worthy of him. He ends up with 1K DS, and 9K LS.

 

I'm a good guy IRL, and IG.

 

Fair point.

Although i fail to see any honor in killing for money in the first place.

Killing for family/honor/defending others, well that's another story, but for money? Really?

[Reno_Tarshil]

It was real easy to stay dark on my Sorcerer. Oh and Investigation helped.

[fptackle]

Shyeesh. I had the exact opposite experience. Almost impossible to be Light Side on my Smuggler, and that was with me trying to be generally a good guy with an occasionally "in it for the credits" remark.

 

 

Parents want to know the fate of their lost son.

I hunt him down and discover he's been brainwashed by Separatists.

I break the brainwashing and he's actually able to think again and control his future.

He asks me to give him money so that he can run away off planet and not have to face his problems, adding that he wants me to lie to his parents and tell them their son is dead.

His parents having assured me that they love and accept him regardless, I tell him that running away from his problems is not the answer and encourage him to return to his loving family.

+ Dark Side points.

He refuses to come with me, and chooses to stay as a Separatist Prisoner rather than talk with his parents.

I return to his parents and am asked to either told to lie and claim the boy is dead, or tell them the truth, that he was a brainwashed captive but I could not force him to return.

I tell them the truth, given that they've already been getting word of him being alive and will likely hear, if not directly meet, him again in the future.

Truth = + more Dark Side points.

 

 

That was just one of many, many missions I have taken where my Smuggler was given Dark Side for doing what seemed like the right thing. Almost impossible to stay good in this game.

[dardack]

Staying light is hard. Although the dark side options on the pub side are kinda laughable. It's not true dark side like I experienced on the Imp side. I've tried making light choices, but too often I'm like hell no you screwed me you pay. So I have 2 max dark, then the rest are somewhat dark with some light points.

[Ignicity]

Everything is not about gear you know.

 

OK then. So what in game mechanic requires or rewards a player for staying "grey"? What's that? There is none?

 

I stand by my original statement.

[Zaemiel]

Simply learn diplomaty and use only darkside missions...

[dardack]

OK then. So what in game mechanic requires or rewards a player for staying "grey"? What's that? There is none?

 

I stand by my original statement.

 

But what rewards in terms of gear is based on dark/light, best gear is side free.

[Ignicity]

But what rewards in terms of gear is based on dark/light, best gear is side free.

 

My point was not to trivialize how bad the alignment mechanic is in this game, but to make blatantly obvious the fact that only dark/light side's gain any type of reward, compared to the guaranteed lack of reward if you try to remain "grey".

[Valkirus]

Without doing any spoilers I found it very hard to stay lightside on my Shadow...there were so many stupid people trying to kill me I just wanted to strike down and didn't.

 

The whole Dark and Light side system in TOR is flawed. They basically force you to follow what "they" think is a light side choice. When in reality, killing a scumbag which deserves to die is the right thing to do. Just think what would have happened in terms of millions of lives being saved if Anikan had not interfered with the Emperior being killed when he was exposed. And choosing ether side really has no bearing on your char other than looks and even that can be toggled off.

[kirorx]

Your just have a decent heart.

 

My BH is a bit more lightside than darkside, no problem killing his marks but does not just kill for the sake of killing either. Just better for my personality, didnt really go that route on purpose.

[MouseNoFour]

Light/Dark side choices are meant to be argued over in your head. That was their stated design intent.

 

Those players that choose the alignment choice based purely on which offered them the alignment gain they wanted, regardless of the action that choice chooses - basically skip right over the story in that moment.

 

NPC - "But i am innocent!"

You - Light / Dark <- this is all most people see. They dont see the story text associated with the choice they make.

[Player's character saves/kills NPC]

"Oh so my character now kills the NPC?"

 

The one thing that has kept me going on my dark side character - is hatred. As in, hatred of the character itself. A lot of players will play a game normally as intended. But, every so often, they might play the game (with a brand new character) with the sole intention of doing everything wrong just to see how badly their character will die.

 

This is what my intentions are with this dark side character - choosing EVERY.SINGLE.WRONG choice. Every single choice in the same class story as a level 50 of the same class as this dark side character, that i purposefully said to myself is the ''wrong'' choice... i choose on this character.

Edited June 8, 2012 by MouseNoFour

[Valkirus]

Light/Dark side choices are meant to be argued over in your head. That was their stated design intent.

 

Those players that choose the alignment choice based purely on which offered them the alignment gain they wanted, regardless of the action that choice chooses - basically skip right over the story in that moment.

 

NPC - "But i am innocent!"

You - Light / Dark <- this is all most people see. They dont see the story text associated with the choice they make.

[Player's character saves/kills NPC]

"Oh so my character now kills the NPC?"

 

The one thing that has kept me going on my dark side character - is hatred. As in, hatred of the character itself. A lot of players will play a game normally as intended. But, every so often, they might play the game (with a brand new character) with the sole intention of doing everything wrong just to see how badly their character will die.

 

This is what my intentions are with this dark side character - choosing EVERY.SINGLE.WRONG choice. Every single choice in the same class story as a level 50 of the same as this dark side character, that i purposefully said to myself is the ''wrong'' choice... i choose on this character.

 

But in TOR it really does not matter. Your char will be just as successful in the end no matter what your choices are as far as dark or light side ones. I understand where you are coming from and you make some good points. But choices which really matter should have prices to pay for making such decisions and for all intents and purposes in TOR it really does not matter.

[tekniicolor]

I tried it, but I found a little bit of me died every time I chose a dark side option, just couldn't any more, felt like I was stomping on kittens.... Edited June 8, 2012 by tekniicolor

[Lionflash]

But in TOR it really does not matter. Your char will be just as successful in the end no matter what your choices are as far as dark or light side ones. I understand where you are coming from and you make some good points. But choices which really matter should have prices to pay for making such decisions and for all intents and purposes in TOR it really does not matter.

 

Choices do matter, there are countless choices which change the way an conversation end. With people lives on the line or simply changing outcomes of the war / people quality of life / credits in your pocket. Some choices even change the way a conversation is going and can lead to someone hating your or loving you.

 

But you going to say... "I want my choice to change the game and the ending and completely change the quality of the experience and game design!". I think your smart enough to realise that in a video game, more specifically an MMO you can't do that. I'm going to refer you to this thread... http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=474401

[LupieZero]

I tried it, but I found a little bit of me died every time I chose a dark side option, just couldn't any more, felt like I was stomping on kittens....

 

According to my Sorcerer, kittens sometimes need to be stomped.

 

I create each character with a preset assignment of how they will act. My Juggernaut is more for honor than destruction, which is why once I've hit 50 with him, his son (or daughter, haven't decided yet) will become a Pureblood Jedi instead of joining up with the Sith Academy. My Sorcerer on the other hand just wants to watch the universe burn... No, I don't RP in-game, just in my head...

[Valkirus]

Choices do matter, there are countless choices which change the way an conversation end. With people lives on the line or simply changing outcomes of the war / people quality of life / credits in your pocket. Some choices even change the way a conversation is going and can lead to someone hating your or loving you.

 

But you going to say... "I want my choice to change the game and the ending and completely change the quality of the experience and game design!". I think your smart enough to realise that in a video game, more specifically an MMO you can't do that. I'm going to refer you to this thread... http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=474401

 

The love or hate part only applies to your companions for all meaniful purposes. And your Light or Dark side choices even if it effects them can be easily outdone by other ways to gain thier favor. Credits? the amount you get from those choices are not even worth mentioning when credits are so easy to get anyway. 900 credits when your char has hunderds of thousands? Besides you get credits from both sides of your choices.

[tekniicolor]

According to my Sorcerer, kittens sometimes need to be stomped.

 

I create each character with a preset assignment of how they will act. My Juggernaut is more for honor than destruction, which is why once I've hit 50 with him, his son (or daughter, haven't decided yet) will become a Pureblood Jedi instead of joining up with the Sith Academy. My Sorcerer on the other hand just wants to watch the universe burn... No, I don't RP in-game, just in my head...

I do the same, all the RPing is in my head I do intend to have a character who isn't quite so righteous just to make things more interesting as even my Sith warrior and Sith inquisitor are goody two shoes. maybe if I make a male character instead of a female one, being outside my gender might help...

[Jandi]

OP, you're a good natured human, be proud. I'm disappointed with the dark side choices because you don't actually get to see the kills as the camera cuts off, so it's all kinda meh. The only exception I can recall is one agent convo where you can see the agent shoot the dude in the face. That made me go "WOOT!".

 

By that I mean both character were in full view.

 

Besides, if you want a dark side char just for the sake of having one dark side char, take diplomacy

Edited June 8, 2012 by Jandi

[Lionflash]

The love or hate part only applies to your companions for all meaniful purposes. And your Light or Dark side choices even if it effects them can be easily outdone by other ways to gain thier favor. Credits? the amount you get from those choices are not even worth mentioning when credits are so easy to get anyway. 900 credits when your char has hunderds of thousands? Besides you get credits from both sides of your choices.

 

We have different ideas of what 'meaning' choices then. The journey through the story is more important than the end. And I'm care more about how I got to that ending rater than what dramatic shift occured. When I create character I try and create the 'most interesting' story possible, and the fact that conversations can have multiple outcomes is what makes it interesting. I don't care about how much credits I got, but the fact that I was able to bribe the trooper rather than kill him is important to my ongoing story.

 

Going back to the OP topic, creating FULL DS character is a chore and boring for me; because no one wants to watch a movie where the villain is the main character (IMHO), at most people will watch an anti-hero, or some sort of redemption at the end.

[Zaemiel]

I tried it, but I found a little bit of me died every time I chose a dark side option, just couldn't any more, felt like I was stomping on kittens....

 

Again. Use diplomacy for DS point, and chjse whatever you want in dialogs! It is simple... Can be moneycosty, but it works...