Unsubscriber's Thread: Tell us a few things

[Sandtrooper]

I'm glad they left this open. Hopefully we can continue to get good feedback.

 

Thanks for keeping it civil.

 

 

Sand

[Keta]

1. Gaff after Gaff by BW in maintaining and servicing the game. Things that should have been in the game from the start aren't (A real auction house or a working GTN and LFG for starters). Too many servers and the horrid implementation of transfers and server merges.

 

2. Customer Service that doesn't provide any service. Go read your own customer service forums.

 

3. lack of open world PvP. Even PvE servers should have areas where opposing factions can wander across each other. And the same meaningless warzones are the PvP?

 

4. Lack of real content at 50. Run the dailies, again and again and again?

 

5. Crafting that makes little sense.

[Moscardo]

I have not unsubbed.

However there is talk about unsubbing on my game group. We usually spend a lot of time (years) on any single game, and then we move on. Decision will probably be taken jointly.

 

The reasons discussed are:

1. gameplay is very linear and static (no major issue here, rather a lack of any "great" or original things).

2. lost of trust with the Devs and Bioware. We feel cheated by promises, communications, and advertisment. It's commont perception (among us) that Bioware is constantly trying to "sell us" something and using "oily" tactics to do that. In a way it's like that each time Bioware talks, it lose affection with us.

3. people gone. Many people we were friends with or had been playing with are gone. There is new people obviously, but the feeling is "it's just a matter of time".

4. setting is not very deep. It's difficult to explain, but for instance, every Cantina seems the same, no matter the planet, the story, the whatever... Once we rated the planets to see what were the one we liked. Votes, on average, were low (Voss won, followed by Alderaan, btw)... almost looking at the less worst, rather then the best. Stories also have good moments in the middle of many boring and banal moments. The drive that made us say "we will play all 8 stories to the end" has long gone.

5. New games incoming. They cost less, they will probably offer an experience as least as good as swtor.

 

To us the game is average. Better then average sometimes (for instance the people in my server, at least before transfer, was super nice). Below average in many little important things. We are upset with Bioware and we don't feel any loyalty to them anymore... We play because - at the moment - we don't have anything better to do. And that notwhistanding, jumping ship is common talk.

 

What could keep us here: an honest attempt to add some kind of spark to the game.

Not just content (because useful as it may be, grinding is still grinding), no things like level cap and more grinding please, but something that feels unique and interesting, and special... (and please no more fake promises like "fixing crafting", or "legacy", or "ranked pvp", etc...)

[RUDI]

Here are mine:

 

1. Optimization. The game engine is bad optimized.

2. PVP or lack of it.No world pvp. On pvp server u can't duel where you want, you need to go to allowed place - stupid right? Boring repetetive warzones(Where ffa arena, capture the flag, etc.). And no challenges, the is no challenge and desire to win, because you dont lose anything.

3. Classes Horrible class design as well as balance.

4. Graphics and animation, UI, gameplay Good for 2005, but not for 2012. I know graphics is not most important part in mmo, but to be competitive you need to be good at all aspects.

5. Boring storyline, lifeless tunnel environments, stupid repetetive quests. Nothing to add.

 

And on top of that the things that should be in every mmo: ui customization(Added only recently), lfg group, quick travel(hate running through the tunnels when land planet), boring end game content.

[Ranaro]

1. Not enough of an open world.

2. I felt that the community wasn't really together

3. Lack of things to do once level 50

 

That's all I could think of

[Ihubert]

1. SWTOR was sold to me as being a game where when i leveled my character it would be unique and purely class driven. after playing all four classes it became droll doing the same quest over and over again. I expected a new experience with each class and when i hit end game for the fun to start.

2. FUN didn't start at end game. Seemed more like endless pvp q's.

3. End game gear went from ok to horrible in the style department. Before my first 50 i held on to gear for appearence later. An easy fix would be a craftable consumable that would pull out the set bonus and maybe another consumable from another profession to apply it to a piece.

4. Have not played in two months. Any game that i pay for that I have no desire to log into gets unsubbed. The only reason i waited is because I was waiting for some sort of "amazing" up date to get me excited again.

5. This may be too much to ask for but I would have liked the two factions to have had independent classes. By this I mean not the exact same character with different icons.

 

I'm no professional gamer. I thought this would be my game for at least a few years and i was horrbly let down

[Enkenon]

I still have an active sub but I won't renew it for one very simple reason.

The game client quality and server performance is not up to my standards.

Whenever I mention this to the forums I get answers like "It's your P.C'

"get a new machine " e.t.c e.t.c.

Well my "old" machine is not old at all and plays even the heaviest and most demanding games of our time without a problem.

I run all my games at the highest settings with Vsync ,AA,AF on at 1900x1200.

I also play 2 other MMOs at the time,the one you all guess and Rift and they run smoothly.

The last time I reported a bug was 2 months ago when I last played SWTOR and the 1st time I reported a bug since then is today that I played SWTOR.

And I am just tired of this bug reporting and one problem after the other and send us your Dxdiag bla bla bla.

This reminds me of WAR and these are times that I want to forget.

So I will take a break and hope that in a year or so the situation will be improved and the game will be in much more mature and accomplished state than it is today.

See you there then and may the force be with you.

 

P.S + All of the previous posts.

Edited June 15, 2012 by Enkenon

[Enkenon]

it just scrambles my brain how this is the same company that made loading screens/transitioning so smooth and non existent in their mass effect series, to coming here and hitting the haven of loading screens. Just kinda bugs me

 

+10000000000000000000000000000000000000

[Kailand]

Well, after seeing how poorly the server transfers were implemented its the straw that broke the camels back, I'm not resubbing when my sub ends on the weekend.

 

I enjoyed leveling in this game, the stories were nice (IA and SI were awesome... BH I couldn't get beyond belmorra it was horrible). But the lack of the small things, like chairs to sit in, interactable objects outside of quest objects, chat bubbles, and dynamic environments (day/night cycles, weather). Loading screens that are measured in minutes? This lack of paying attention to the small details is really what is killing the game (including the convoluted process to transfer guilds... what happens to people who take a break, if we transfer servers, the guild has to disband, and they are left without a clue as to what happened, who to contact, etc. - guilds and all there members should've transferred, or just do plain old server mergers, it would've been smoother and less hassle on the player side). There are bugs that have existed since early betas that still aren't fixed (i.e. the graphics engine aspect ratio bug, *** are they even looking for native resolution, etc. they should just pay attention to selected resolution, as that is all that matters. And the refresh rate bug, sigh). It seems that the patching system is fail, and that internal QA is bad too... how many patches have made it to live that were meant to fix bugs, that caused more bugs. (remember the patch after 1.2 hit which broke 1.2 content). Lack of decent Customer Service (or competent CS) - currently they don't even read the details of tickets. I've submitted tickets which gave very precise info, and then they turn around with an automated response that doesn't even match what I submitted a ticket about.

 

Up to 1.2 I PvPed and somewhat enjoyed it, but there was too much CC (stuns/knockbacks). After 1.2 I stopped PvPing since the time to kill made PVP no fun, and the nerfs to healing made it not worth even queueing (not to mention the redesign of the rewards, and other fail design decisions that went into the patch). Quaility of life issues got worse in 1.2, and instead of making PvE encounters harder, they made them more complex, as well as increasing gear check levels at the same time. Gear design after the starter planets was horrible. And don't mention the bugged ops content... It seems the buggiest content was the puzzle bosses (which my group really disliked anyways, as they were pain in the ***, and took away any sort of group synergy we had... just like wow vehicle encounters... we want to play the game and our characters, not a game within the game not using our character abilities).

 

Overall, at launch I thought the game had potential, but was released too early. Currently, I still think the same thing, it lacks the polish that I expect in a game I'm paying $15 a month for, and considering its 6 months old, and their new processes and content seems to lack the same polish and attention to details that existing content has, I don't think that the swtor team can handle a project this large without some major changes. Really looking at what's promised for 1.3, that is really where the game should've been at launch. I may try another month in 6 months if I see something in the future patchnotes/new content that looks interesting, but I seriously doubt I'll be coming back - maybe if they offer a couple free weeks, or a free month in the future.

Edited June 15, 2012 by Kailand
spelling and addind detail

[AdamGe]

Main Reasons for unsub:

• It’s Summer time!

 

• Servers are dead - Hard to obtain endgame PVE gear due to lack of players and they almost feel inaccessible as a casual gamer; insanely long que's for wz's, no one to socialize with

 

• Remove class requirements for legacy armor sets!!! I want to look how I want to look... no matter what class!

 

• Terrible looking Gear – I want better robes, color/dye options, more iconic imagery; masks with hoods, hood toggle option, etc.

 

o I feel like I get stuck with the same ****** looking gear for a long period of time and it is hard to access the good gear due to lack of population. There should be a reward system to be able to purchase gear you like (instead always getting it from drops) and view it in high res before purchase!!!

 

o There is plenty of good looking gear on npc's... revan's gear was sick. I really would like to see traditional robes/armor and starkiller type robes/gear, that would be very warmly received by the community

o Robes over armor would be nice? Sith juggernauts don't HAVE to look so mechanical, would be nice to still have robes to wear over the mechanical suits. Would also be nice to have better looking mechanical armor suit options, cause what’s out there looks pretty awful or cookie cutter (i.e malgus, vader).

 

• Character modification is very limited currently. Need more ways to customize character and items to give everyone a more unique sense

o In game character barbershop (add/remove scars, change hair/body, etc.)

o Customizable stance for your character (different saber grips, stances)

o Customizable saber/blaster hilts (build your own saber/blaster; like character creation)

o Customizable armor/gear (colors)

 

• Linear leveling, no story deviation or consequences for LS/DS choices

... thus no immersion. Doesn't feel quite as ‘epic star wars-y’ as I thought it would. I love the class story, but decisions need more weight to really feel connected. There are no consequences for your actions.

 

o LS/DS alignment also needs major improvement. I have suggested in the forums interchangeable casts/abilities with mirror class based on different ranks.

E.g. Let’s say that at a rank of dark I, a jedi sage would get to swap telekentic throw for sith sorc force lightning (each rank might unlock one more optionally swappable abilities up to light/dark 5, strictly between mirror abilities/classes). I would love to see something along those lines to make dark jedi / moral sith have a more authentic lightside vs darkside experience!!! It would really add to depth, immersion, customization, and authenticity of each characters experience.

 

• Crew Skills are useless; Artificers have been undercut by BW making every gem in the game available for purchase at NPCs. As a result crafting is useless and the GTN/economy is dead.

o All colors need to be more attainable throughout leveling and also @ endgame (more epic quests to attain endgame level crystals/schematics; Ilum would be great start for that)

o Also, no clarity on purple crystals or schematics availability. I really want to be able to craft purple crystals, but no one knows where the schems are or if they are even available. Same goes for other colors (cyan, etc.)

o Would also be fun to be able to design your own crystals by mixing and matching existing crystals to be able to make something unique (and thus generate value/demand in the market)

 

• More variety with dailies, each planet should have endgame areas with dailies (like black hole on correlia) and different rewards to grind through. Each planet should also have crew skill specific resources available to crafters and incentives to run them (e.g. Ilum for artifice crystals/colors/schematics)

• And speaking of Ilum, I’d really like to see open world PVP make a return (with improvements of course)

 

• Last but not least, SWTOR is clearly a cookie cutter of wow; pleeease be more unique, do your own thing, be your own game, be a leader! Product differentiation!!!

 

 

Misc complaints:

Speeders really need to be faster… they don’t feel speedy at all

Need Shared Datacrons (through Legacy)

More shared items (items bound through legacy)

Separate color crystal and stats bonus (reduce complexity of color crystal schems)

PVP space combat and large open world space battles!

Mini games such as casino gambling (Nar Shaddaa) would be fun too

Day light cycles on all planets

 

I'll be back in a few months, perhaps some of this information makes it into the game by then and hopefully the rest is at least being considered...

[jofos]

I cancled yesterday and my sub runs out on the 21st. They main reason for cancling, I'm just tired. My server has been dead for 4 or 5 months so I have been very limited on what I can do in the the game. I'm tired of waiting for things to get fixed. I know the transfer (merger) is suppose to fix the population problems but look how thats been handled, just as poorly as everything else. I mean really they didn't learn from the way they handle the early access and realize that doing it again would be a bad idea. What happens when they have an expansion? Let 5 people in a day to see how things work? There are plently of things that have needed to be fixed for 6 months and they are talking about raising the level cap. Come on there are so many good points to this game but they refuse to fix the few that make it unejoyable and they treat the players like total crap.

I know that there are people that feel different and thats good for you but I guess those players really shouldn't be posting in this thread. After waiting to long it is not longer worth the wait.

[foxxecho]

I just canceled. I hope to come back but I havent been playing to much and my server still isnt on the list so I Just cant take the "leap of faith" without knowing: When it will be, what my transfer destination options will be, and/or without being able to "check out" my destination server.

 

I do got some stuff going on at home too so the cost vs benefit is just no there. I just cant throw the cash in a hole atm. I'm in a closed beta for another game so at least I'll be able to have some semblance of fun for a little while without the monetary expenditure.

 

I def would like to say thanks to all the players and devs etc. Hopefully I'll be able to return one day.

I know the games not perfect but I'll miss it and all the people involved. YES I'll miss all the forum contributors too.

 

=)

 

All the best!

 

-Foxx

Edited June 15, 2012 by foxxecho

[SWImara]

I unsubbed just a few days ago though my sub isn't up until some time in August. Realistically I'll probably come back to check the game out if things get markedly better, SWTOR really is a good game it just doesn't quite seem good enough to justify continuing to pay for given the other options around. I think the game has always been much better than the disappointing approach to management/development, perhaps I'm just spoiled by games like RIFT.

 

1) Gear based raiding end-game

I had enough of this in past WoW-clones, tiers of end game gear earned through progressively "harder" raids is not something I'm wasting more of my life on. One of the things I most look forward to in GW2 and similar games is the move away from gear-based gaming (particularly raiding and dailies, bleh).

 

2) Class balance

Early on I was honestly stunned at how well balanced SWTOR was in PvP, it was better than I'd seen in most games with several years of fine tuning under their belts. Particularly after the 1-49 and 50 PvP were separated out the game seemed reasonably well designed and fun. Post 1.2 murderball PvP is the opposite of entertaining imo.

 

3) Meaningless PvP

I could deal with this for a few months, post-Ilum I can understand the lack of Open World PvP and hope that they are still working on it behind the scenes. The focus on Warzones in a game theoretically about galactic conflict is exceptionally disppointing imo, worse still given the amount of faction imbalance and the tendency toward same faction PvP. Essentially PvP content in SWTOR is just another way to get gear, there is no territory to gain, nothing to fight over, its just a poorly done version of American Gladiators.

 

4) Rigidity

I love the focus on story in SWTOR, but it has always seemed a little forced. Your choices seem to make very little lasting impact on the world and in some of the most critical areas of an RPG you're offered no choice at all. Companions are a great example, not only do you have 0 choice in what companions you get you have 0 choice in what their skills and roles will be. This seems pretty counter to the importance of customization and owning your play experience. Overall though the concept of a story focus is awesome it sort of feels as if they had second thoughts about it at the last minute. Story means nothing at end-game and the game goes from being brilliant and engaging to another raiding-gear-grind.

 

5) Paid Transfers

Odd that this would be the issue that did it for me, I could tolerate all of the above just because SWTOR for all of its flaws really is fun. But a recent off-handed comment by Joveth clarified that players will likely be paying for server transfers in the future. After playing RIFT I just refuse to do this anymore, if SWTOR was F2P it'd be one thing, but it isn't acceptable imo to charge for services like this anymore. Just because WoW does it doesn't make it ok. Games like Champions make me wonder why we're even still tolerating servers at all, but if we're going to stick with the server model players should be able to move where they want. The purpose of swapping servers is theoretically that the one you're on isn't fun, if the tech exists to allow players to move from one server to another, they should not have to pay for access to it.

 

Note: The cost is ultimately irrelevant imo, 15$ a month is a trivial amount of cash considering the average trip to a crappy 2 hour movie costs me around 40$. It just casts the wrong idea about player appreciation imo, people are always saying business is about making money, that suggests that if as a customer I don't appreciate what a business is doing I should take my money elsewhere.

Edited June 15, 2012 by SWImara

[TheStormrider]

My question is sort of... simple...

 

If you 'left the game' why are you still on the message boards? I have never broken up with a woman I hated only to hang out at her house all day, every day.

 

Such a strange thing these forums. And I am not talking to everyone BTW. Only the disgruntled, 'THIS IS THE WORST GAME EVER" group.

Edited June 15, 2012 by TheStormrider

[skippymchaggis]

my sub runs out in 2 months, i'm not currently going to renew. class story lines are great. for all the performance issues i hear about, the only thing that's mildly annoying to me is load times. I haven't had too many crashing or stability issues.

 

Reasons for not renewing (in no particular order):

1. Nerfing shield spec vanguard dps because of PvP will make the PvE that I enjoyed no longer fun. I do not run "Iron Fist" but I do depend on stock strike for a large amount of my dps. this is being taken away. my 2500 damage crit was too much? especially when the shield skills that i spec'ed into don't help in PvP as it is? Really?

 

2. New content is generally "gear check" driven and not fun. The "mechanics" added to the new content, for the most part, are not anything like what was told to us in marketing materials. I expected things more like improved Towers of Hanoi type fights, not "interrupt immediately or you party wipes" type garbage. (To counter, Boss 2 of Lost Island is an entertaining mechanic, but again, there's a huge healer gear check attached that spoils it.)

 

3. Itemization and character customization: set bonuses on pre1.2 not being transferable, while still requiring the armoring to be used in specific pieces is silly. Even with the additions of additional augment slots, I'm still forced to wear Rakata, Columi, or Tionese gear to keep my bonuses. my characters and pets have to look like cookie cutters because of the way appearance is implemented and that's not fun.

 

4. Level 50 endgame content is a combination of gear grinds for daily/black hole commendations (and the items i can purchase with that don't let me keep my set bonus or change appearance if i want to (i'm forced to transfer some mods to old gear if i want just part of the stat improvements) and content that I don't have enough friends still playing to attempt (8 man or 16 man content), or the people that i could try it with are not geared enough to even complete story mode. I'm ok with grinds if, at the end, you actually have something useful. Right now...not so much.

 

5. PvP is awful. it's unbalanced. it's the repetitive. there is no open world pvp to speak of. there is still no ranked system. class roles do not exist in pvp, or at least the tank role does not exist. if you're not a healer or DPS spec'ed, you're a liability, no matter how well you play the game. pvp has potential, but the pvp devs have dropped the ball. it is also a grind, but at least you get some marginal utility from said grind (increased expertise gear). sadly, if you're behind the curve on that grind...

 

6. Flashpoints while incredibly fun, get old really fast, especially since they don't offer improvements at all after you get rakata gear. additionally, they can be way too long. (gear quality is potentially being addressed, i know, but is it really going to be rakata level?)

[curtkram]

Note: The cost is ultimately irrelevant imo, 15$ a month is a trivial amount of cash considering the average trip to a crappy 2 hour movie costs me around 40$. It just casts the wrong idea about player appreciation imo, people are always saying business is about making money, that suggests that if as a customer I don't appreciate what a business is doing I should take my money elsewhere.

 

I just read this bit and thought to myself that if they raised the monthly fee to $17.50 I probably wouldn't have cared all that much. There probably would have been a lot of complaining on the forums and such, but It's still not going to break the bank. Charging for transfers is a whole other animal. It sets a precedent that Bioware wants us to pay extra for them to fix the game. It's really kind of insulting. Too late now, my time is up tomorrow and it seems highly unlikely they're going to announce a fix today.

[stonelead]

My question is sort of... simple...

 

If you 'left the game' why are you still on the message boards? I have never broken up with a woman I hated only to hang out at her house all day, every day.

 

Such a strange thing these forums. And I am not talking to everyone BTW. Only the disgruntled, 'THIS IS THE WORST GAME EVER" group.

 

The reason is I unsubbed months ago yet have 2 months left on my sub... cause i bought the 6 month option cause i beleive in star wars... so i continue to log on to the game.. and get bored after half an hour at doing the same stuff... if i got a refund you wouldnt see me again.. but of course i wont get one.. so we limp on until august or so.....

 

(Guild wars 2 by the way looks epic, and there is NO sub fee.. so I await this games release... cause if i get bored of that game we part ways and everyone is happy... this game is continuing to take my money... )

[well]

I am unsubbed.The 20 is my last day.I thought with 1.3 coming out maybe I would stay.The problem is crafting 1-50 is important to me.Playing 1-50 is important to me.Crafting the items for my chrs is important to me.The missions for mats that you can't farm suck raw eggs.RE isn't even close to 20% chance.I tried 20 times to get a blue.The attempt was doing 20 in the same period of time.I really wanted this hat.Had 20 greens in inventory.Epic fail.Missions are the same.You have a better shot in Vegas.I sent my companions on 25 missions in underground to get 1 item.Neranium.All I got was titanium every time.It is just silly.

The reason I here on the forum.Cooling down.There are alot of good things about the game but the over inflated prices for legacy perks is another thing that just doesn't make sense.In real life you see over priced items.Why do I want come to a game for it.Yes I can grind dailies for it.I am but that is time I could be playing through the game.Games are suppose to be about fun.This isn't to me.To those that enjoy it more power to you.It just isn't working out for me.

[pooks]

Problems

1. Inability to consolidate my characters onto 1 server

2. Getting loaded into a wz with less than 1 min to play or loading in only to see the final stat tally sheet

3. Horrendous lag on the Fatman and I play with all settings at their lowest

4. No large group activities / things to do as a guild aside from random 'world boss' or 'holochron' nights

5. Warzones - Huttball - I hate, loath it. The other 2 get old

6. Server faction imbalance - can't do my weeky pvp win 9 in a week as the Imperials are too few on the Fatman

7. GMs slowness at resolving hacks and exploits

 

solutions:

1. Allow me to consolidate my characters onto the server I want to play on

2. if you do load me into a wz as a 'filler' give me 1 medal for my effort

3. allow me to transfer off the Fatman

4. put in a rakata transport station on the fleet and major starports that allows me/group to transport instantly to the Tatooine open world pvp zone

5. allow me the option to leave Huttball with no penalty or the option to not go into a Huttball

6. provide some incentive/work around for faction balance - it really isn't fair to be stuck on 1 sided server and you are on the side with the 5-10% and can't get dailies done.

7. Provide a right click on the players name ability to report them

[Jandi]

The continued silence on the devs, actual devs, part about relevant issues has gone on long enough. The weekly q/a is a complete joke because they only pick questions that are either completely inane, irrelevant or have been answered before.

 

The complete lack of any real info on what they are doing. All we get it press releases and flashy trailers that don't tell us ANYTHING a screenshot wouldn't.

 

This whole "we are looking into a F2P model" thing was the last drop. Go look into new ways to scam people to please your EA masters all you like, I won't support it any longer.

[well]

Problems

1. Inability to consolidate my characters onto 1 server

2. Getting loaded into a wz with less than 1 min to play or loading in only to see the final stat tally sheet

3. Horrendous lag on the Fatman and I play with all settings at their lowest

4. No large group activities / things to do as a guild aside from random 'world boss' or 'holochron' nights

5. Warzones - Huttball - I hate, loath it. The other 2 get old

6. Server faction imbalance - can't do my weeky pvp win 9 in a week as the Imperials are too few on the Fatman

7. GMs slowness at resolving hacks and exploits

 

solutions:

1. Allow me to consolidate my characters onto the server I want to play on

2. if you do load me into a wz as a 'filler' give me 1 medal for my effort

3. allow me to transfer off the Fatman

4. put in a rakata transport station on the fleet and major starports that allows me/group to transport instantly to the Tatooine open world pvp zone

5. allow me the option to leave Huttball with no penalty or the option to not go into a Huttball

6. provide some incentive/work around for faction balance - it really isn't fair to be stuck on 1 sided server and you are on the side with the 5-10% and can't get dailies done.

7. Provide a right click on the players name ability to report them

 

Coming in late and getting nothing has happened to me.Also DCed 4 times yesterday.Lost out on a bunch of medals.Oh well.There should be a way to select which WZ you want to play.

[SWImara]

I just read this bit and thought to myself that if they raised the monthly fee to $17.50 I probably wouldn't have cared all that much. There probably would have been a lot of complaining on the forums and such, but It's still not going to break the bank. Charging for transfers is a whole other animal. It sets a precedent that Bioware wants us to pay extra for them to fix the game. It's really kind of insulting. Too late now, my time is up tomorrow and it seems highly unlikely they're going to announce a fix today.

Yeah that is my sentiment exactly. I've paid for several lifetime memberships typically at 200+$, sometimes (as in LotRO) it has been a really worthwhile investment, other times (as in CO) it hasn't. Either way the money is irrelevant, it is the idea that I have a choice and am /totally/ comfortable with providing my $$ to support the game I appreciate. I paid for several character transfers in AoC, WoW and other MMOs but eventually realized that there is no reason I should have to pay for this type of service (thank you RIFT and CO). Much like Blizzard's decision to make D3 online with a cash shop, the decision to make people pay for server transfers is a pragmatic business decision that I just don't appreciate and I choose to make that clear with my wallet. In a F2P game I am wholly comfortable with this, in a P2P game I am not, essentially I expect not to have to pay for anything but expansion packs in a game I am paying a monthly fee for.

[Yokomohoyos]

What are your top 5 reasons why you left the game? Why do you stick around?

Thank you for the invitation to share my thoughts.

1. Programming Bugs
   We have an internal running joke that this game should be introduced as "Snow Storm Company" Presents Star Wars... to allude to the slew of bugs that are in this game, starting with zones that do not render, companions getting stuck everywhere, characters getting stuck, random instant deaths for no reason, mobs perpetually in an Evade State that prevents you from leaving combat state, abilities that consume double or triple the resource stated, spamming that causes resource consumption - yet not actual ability use, animation for abilities that is misleading, triggers that are needed for certain abilities that do not always work, instance FP, HM, SM, NM bosses that are bugged - stuck - looped to no avail. Some of those, I even have screenshots of since they were so unbelievable. This is an issue that has to do with quality, sometimes outsourcing is not the way to go... when you have a product that has quality concerns, you end up involved with recalls, returned purchases, refunds, disgruntled customers, and negative publicity to name a few of the less than positive consequences. Sometimes it is best to hire, even on a contractual basis, actual proven experts on the goal at hand. You get them to solve your quality issue(s) and then thank them and pay them their contracted rate. Just because you can pay 5 - 14 USD per hour to some outsourcers, it does not mean that the product that you receive will be up to par.
    
   
2. Basic Functionality Absent
   
   Macros

   --> For the slew of abilities that the product offers players there are hardly enough bars available - then you have to consider the consumables that need to be activated, macros would help solve that real problem.
    
   

   Add-Ons

   --> No MMO can provide all that players need, that is why in the case of sophisticated populations such as the ones that routinely play MMO's players create their own software to supplement the gaps of functionality or to streamline some specific activities such as data mining, auctions, charting resource nodes, in-game visible indicators of people missing buffs, in-game notices for complex operation encounters - especially hard mode and nightmare mode mechanics.
    
   

   Flying Mounts

   --> So we get space ships to move from planet to planet, and yet rely on land-based semi-hovering crafts and not personal smaller aircrafts...? Some taxi terminals have flying creatures as well that take you from place to place, but characters cannot use that? This is where there is a large inconsistency between the general level of technology and the very primitive methods for basic things. Also, don't start with the whole - "oh imagine the implications on PvP" there are many ways to handle that concern - if I have to spell them out for you, well BW / EA send me a PM and we'll talk about my consulting rates.
    
   

3. Crew Skill System - an interesting twist is that companions can perform tasks for you, with varying degrees of success - which is a positive and gives it good flavor. The whole re-engineer to get better schematics, in many cases at random is tedious, material-intensive, and wasteful. If you are leveling your skills as you go up in level, you can find that you can waste a lot of time crafting items for yourself or others, that will be out leveled in about one hour. Most of the items that are indeed worthwhile cannot be sold or traded, which makes it pointless in many cases. There were changes in that regard recently and it would be fantastic if more changes along those lines are implemented. Please also consider that having the whole Overkill, Redoubt, Critical, Vehemence, and other prefixes discovered at random is beyond annoying, please allow for a check box where you are telling the system, I am re-engineering trying to discover a specific prefix such as: Redoubt , or Vehemence. I know of many people that simply avoid the crafting professions altogether because it is a waste of time and instead get money learning skills such as slicing, scavenging and others. These skills are also very useful in flashpoints where certain shortcuts can be activated using those skills - that is a great touch. This area needs some tender loving care and should continue to be a focus as it can certainly improve player experience.
    
   
4. Missions and Grinding - this is a biggie. Being a loyal fan, I have seen all of the storylines (at least on the imperial side) by teaming up with a friend that uses the synergy class, i.e. Sith Warrior and Sith Sorcerer, also Bounty Hunter and Imperial Agent. This lets you build social points up quickly as well as enjoy the storylines. I cannot understand the large inconsistencies between allowing Holocommunicators be the connection to the next step in the quest or mission, vs. some that simply have you travel all the way back to the quest giver. That leads to wasted travel time, elongated time to hit the level cap, and don't even get me started on the layouts for certain planets. Not only do the planets get progressively expansive as you go up in level, they also get the addition of deliberate and strategic roadblocks or impassable terrain just to again deliberately elongate the time to finish. That is not a creative use of real estate and frustrates players. Why do you think that people are so flustered with the whole population issue? it sucks to reroll, the mindless grinding adds to the pain. I saw some progress adding usable mission items for many missions right next to the mission log for ease and convenience - more changes like that are certainly needed. If you added flying personal vehicles then the whole mindless pathing for the sake of elongating time to cap could also be addressed. You see a pattern here. Synergy - one fix tackles several objectives - multiple proverbial targets with one true arrow.
    
   
5. Client Service --> This game is not free. Even if/when it goes free to play (ftp), people will still need to incur in certain expenses, beyond internet access, electricity and other expenses. Most of the ftp modalities encourage players to purchase certain items, be it for crafting, visual appeal, faster leveling, faster wealth acquisition, and others. Not everyone has the same amount of time as others to play this game and their limited time spent should be spent having fun. If I raise a ticket or an issue, I expect it to be answered relatively quickly and correctly. I am sick and tired of blanket responses that result in nothing. Not a single one of the tickets or issues that I have raised has ever been resolved, corrected, or rectified. The ticket gets closed anyways. I, like many here, paid for this game, this entails expectations that need to be fulfilled. Some posters have made analogies to restaurants, the same applies to any service that you pay for. You go to the dentist for your annual checkup / cleaning and the dentist does not ask you whether or not you would like to rinse your mouth at the end, it is simply part of the process and the experience. If you, as an organization are not going to address customer service - especially in-game as the forums at least sometimes get replied to, then consider lowering the price of the subscription. Do not try to compare yourselves with other products when your service level is not comparable and significantly lower. In this day and age, most businesses have to differentiate themselves from other competitors primarily in service, price is pretty much the same, so what keeps people and clients engaged is the service. I pay a lot for my cell phone service, but guess what, whenever I have an issue that requires that I contact customer service, it is resolved expeditiously, courteously, and completely. That is what keeps me as a client of that company whose service warrants the price point they charge.
   

I stick around because I love the Star Wars Lore, storyline, technology, ideas and other concepts. I love the "mythology" so much that I created my own variants of Jedi / Sith on a d20 system and every player that read about them loved it. They even loved to play them. I want to see if BioWare / EA will turn this product around. I compare this game to others that are in Closed Betas and some those games have a larger fan base than SWTOR. That tells me that some games and their respective owners know that they are sitting on a proverbial and potential pile of cash that they can reap.

 

A friend of mine told me the other day - "this game has one of the most loyal and [geeky] fansbases, they could do so much with the platform that could please their fans. Yet they are not making good business decisions".

 

I come from a business management background - I also own and operate my own business. Let me tell you that it is not easy running a successful business, especially with the economy in the state that it is in. EA may be expecting a lot of BW and vice versa. Many companies are trying to do more with less - they think that if you fire people it will scare others to fall in line and put in the "extra mile" which is really a free mile altogether. BW / EA do not have easy jobs. They can certainly do better. I truly do not understand their priority system. Yes, I know that this is just one of their many products, but it is a very well known and visible franchise. If other famous companies screwed up half as bad (take that company that makes the white colored phones that many people love and the same color coordinated computers for which there is so much demand in certain industries) their sales would be heavily impacted by the negative publicity. Yet, that company does not chance negative publicity and mitigates it really well. Again, I do not, for the life of me, understand what their priorities are. To me the main issue is making this a successful business. There is income when people purchase the game license itself. Then the real money takes the form of recurring income such as from subscriptions, transactions, micro-transactions, DLC, memorabilia, merchandising, royalties, and others. If they keep their costs manageable, while still providing quality and timely regular updates to the product, listening to their fanbase, acting on feedback in a timely fashion, their fanbase will reward them with continued subscriptions, purchases, transactions and the like.

 

Seeing as there are certainly limited resources to tackle all of those areas - a situation that is by no means unique in any business setting - organizations resort to selecting areas that they will tackle and work towards those aims. They do not always tackle all the areas, but there usually is a demonstrated effort of progress towards certain goals. Compromise is required in many arenas, that is why I do not understand why they do not seem to demonstrate that they are indeed prioritizing in a sound business-oriented way. If I had shareholders breathing down my neck or a venture partner giving me a hard time about subscriptions and negative publicity or customer feedback ---- heck I'd be all over tackling those areas specifically. That is why I stick around, I want to see if they actually turn this ship around.

[ItachiZaku]

1. Most of my friends slowly stopped playing, most are nomads going from game to game, some are waiting on GW2 or WoW Xpac.

2. I'm too old to waste so much time playing games. It's nice in the winter, to not have to deal with the elements, but still... too old to waste MMO time time.

3. Some game elements should have been in with release, I won't name them specifically, but what could've been a strong starting point, was left a bit weakened and I know a ton of people that will not come back basically saying "I won't deal with a company that couldn't even launch with industry standard options and features."

4. Server pop/merging/transferring/name change. It's all one lump, pops get low and you have to do something. Free transfers are offered, this is great, it's a start and it'll help for the most part... especially with some of #3 above, but when forced to name change most of my toons and or legacy name... that hurts a lot. It's a sign of conceding.

5. No replay value (a problem with all MMOs)

[FattyMcElbows]

I got the game at launch and was initially amazed at the game. One of the biggest problems I had with other MMOs was the lack of an immersive story. SWTOR had that in spades. Unfortunately that's all it had. It didn't take long to start to see the cracks in the facade. With three days left on my initially free month, I cancelled and left an angry rant in the "why are you unsubbing?" box.

 

When I heard 1.3 would be arriving soon, I thought I'd give the game another shot. And I wanted (needed) to scratch that MMO itch. Last Sunday, I bought a 60-day game card with an old Best Buy gift card. I lasted less than two weeks. By the third day, I was bored out of my skull, and then continued logging in for the next week just because I felt I was wasting my money (gift card) if I didn't.

 

I don't get it. I love MMOs; I love Star Wars; I loved KotOR; I used to love Bioware . . . Why do I hate a game I should love? Why am I so bored? Why does this virtually new game feel so stale and stagnant? Why are all of the non-storyline quests such a mind-numbing grind? Why do I have more fun playing the on-rails space shooter than I do playing my character? Why do I ALWAYS feel like I'm playing an on-rails shooter? Why do I feel like the few in-game decisions I do make are irrelevant and merely gaming slight-of-hand? And this isn't addressing any of the specific problems I have with factions, worlds, quests, abilities, warzones, or flashpoints.

 

While I think that creating so many servers when the game opened was a mistake, that decision only compounded the real problems with the game. The primary flaw was not implementing an interactive combat system. (And even the standard hotkey combat didn't work very well what with ability delays that are still prevalent.) Linear, closed-world leveling is the second. I don't see how they can fix either of these glaring problems without a massive overhaul.