No PvP Brackets = Fail

[LilTikiBoy]

Iam so f----n crazy just playd wf where was seven players 50 lvl and we were 10-19! They have all abilities, all passive, all pvp stats from purple equipment!

 

It is the gankfest! 10-19, 20-29, 30-39. 40-49, 50 it is law

 

i agree, tried my first warzone today before i hit 20 because figured it was tiered like this, got in saw a lvl 12 and cried a bit, looked over at the lvl 39 and went ***? wont be doing that anymore unless im in a full premade group or they change it.

[syntxerr]

Something needs to be done, this bolstering is total BS, I agree.

 

Personally, I'd even favour 4 brackets. 10-20, 20-30, 30-40 and 40-50. Just because the difference in skills points spent, spells, gear, etc does make a difference. And bolstering HP certainly doesn't make up to that.

 

I've also experienced some very fragile and some as it seemed extremely overpowered characters. I was level 20 on my Seer and last night in Alderaan I got hit by an Assassin with what looked like a single strike for more than half of my HP. Two more that was it and I was still in stun.

 

Something is not quite right with this bolstering.

[zuile]

At the very minimum we need 3 brackets, I'd prefer 10-19, 20-29, etc . I think with this being launch there's easily enough players for it unless you're well ahead of level curve of rest of server.

[Scelerant]

The reason for not having brackets is that its more fun to get to play even if you are a bit outmatched if the other option is not playing at all. Don't worry the level 50 that just owned you will own you once you get to level 50 too due to having more time to gather gear.

[SeaRaptor]

The reason for not having brackets is that its more fun to get to play even if you are a bit outmatched if the other option is not playing at all. Don't worry the level 50 that just owned you will own you once you get to level 50 too due to having more time to gather gear.

 

I don't mind losing WZs. It happens.

 

I DO mind getting dropped into a WZ I never had a chance at winning to begin with. I played a Huttball match over the weekend where we started 3 people short, and , at 16, I was running into level 34's. A match like that is a waste of MY time, and is NOT fun.

[Picklefinger]

I agree that brackets are needed at some point, but not now. As other people have said: introduce brackets now and you'll be looking at super long queue times for anyone higher lvl.

 

Personally, I think the bolster system for the first few weeks of game launch was a brilliant idea. Yeah I totally got rocked by a team of high lvl players the other day, but it wasn't that big of a deal. I did the best I could and, with the way that that WZs are set up, I still got a sweet reward at the end even though we lost Hutball 5-0.

 

I saw my first 50 the other day and I'm seeing plenty of people in the 30-40 range now. However, the majority of people that I see in pvp are still lvl 10-19. Put brackets in now and anyone over 25 will be in a 2 hour queue for at least the next week or so. No reason to punish people for leveling fast.

 

I'd say wait a couple weeks. Let the majority of people level up a bit, then introduce some kind of bracket system.

[Firefighteremt]

why not 10-23 24-37-38-50 or 10-22 23-36 37-49 and 50s on their own? just a thought

[Scelerant]

I don't mind losing WZs. It happens.

 

I DO mind getting dropped into a WZ I never had a chance at winning to begin with. I played a Huttball match over the weekend where we started 3 people short, and , at 16, I was running into level 34's. A match like that is a waste of MY time, and is NOT fun.

 

Your other option is not playing a match though, even when I lose I've regularly gotten 5 - 6 medals so I get a decent amount of valor and commendations so I don't mind that much. Plus, a level 16 can still do quite a bit against higher players you just need to be more underhanded about it.

[Dannicus]

Brackets are a horrible idea for two main reasons. The Queue should be the most obvious. The other seems well enough solved by Bioware with the Bolster system. I'd rather see tweaks in the Bolster system so a well played lowbie can still challenge a maxed out character. Over time, they can make improvements, like increase how affective stats are for lowbies. I don't know how much of a difference PVP gear makes, but obviously talent and ability discrepancies are an issue, so if things "normalize" by level 30 and start requiring PVP gear by level 50 to compensate for those disrepancies, I think we'll be ok.

 

Queues were HORRIBLE in Rift, and they'd be horrible here for much of the same reasons. The bolster system solved the need for brackets. We should improve it rather than get rid of an excellent feature.

[Shroudsy]

only between 10-15 did i have major problem against higher levels, but now its not so bad im level 24 and i can take on 50's.

 

if you want brackets do 10-25 and then 25-50 should be fine then

Edited December 19, 2011 by Shroudsy

[Supernautilus]

I think the Bolster system works fine.

 

I'm level 22 now and I routinely beat players higher level than me. Also, I know I've got my *** handed to me quite a few times by players lower than me.

 

When my team loses, it's because the other team is more organized and/or more experienced. Skills and abilities are important of course, but if your pug team is facing a premade, you are going to lose no matter how many skills and powers you have.

 

I say keep it the way it is.

[Scelerant]

Brackets are a horrible idea for two main reasons. The Queue should be the most obvious. The other seems well enough solved by Bioware with the Bolster system. I'd rather see tweaks in the Bolster system so a well played lowbie can still challenge a maxed out character. Over time, they can make improvements, like increase how affective stats are for lowbies. I don't know how much of a difference PVP gear makes, but obviously talent and ability discrepancies are an issue, so if things "normalize" by level 30 and start requiring PVP gear by level 50 to compensate for those disrepancies, I think we'll be ok.

 

Queues were HORRIBLE in Rift, and they'd be horrible here for much of the same reasons. The bolster system solved the need for brackets. We should improve it rather than get rid of an excellent feature.

 

A higher level player should always have an edge though to encourage leveling and to reward those who have.

[pogmahone]

I was the highest player on the republic side at lvl 24 and the sith side lowest player was a 35. No way can did we stand a chance just because they had more abilities.

[Misfit]

'right, I do not want to start a war about it but ... something has to be done.

I always though brackets were bad but a necessary evil.

 

It's nice to have our stats bolstered ... it doesn't do much to help fight against a better armed people. (Talents > Skills > Stats)

While it is true that you can take on people higher than you with very little effort, you are still weak due to a lack of "talents" which others have...

 

Brackets are a necessary evil and I intend to pound the drum as often as I can on this matter.

 

No need to have 10 brackets, 2 or 3 should suffice plenty.

Just so people are not crushed beneath the anything "overwhelming" such as a bunch of level 30's and above (just got out of Void Star, that's about what it was, a bunch of level 30+ vs a bunch of lvl 10, it was ugly.)

 

I understand some people will flame this thread and start to ask me to L2P but...

It won't stop me.

 

BioWare, altho I enjoy PvP as is...

Something will have to be done post-launch.

 

I disagree as a lvl 15-18 BH there are a lot of times I top the dmg/kill chart. There are times at that same range with my Sith Jugg that I have scored 2/3 goals in huttball and made a difference.

 

I just wish the queue times were shorter. By making brackets I think the queue times would go up and some brackets would not even have any action.

[tega]

I dread to think what the players who start on the 20th will endure, I mean it's all fine and dandy for players who have levelled significantly during early access but it will defo put players off the warfronts.

 

Surely no-one wants this situation to happen were players no longer queue for warfronts as they have no chance and zero fun inside them ? Bracket or level restricted warfronts will not really affect your wait times as SW:ToR already has a massive player base on all the servers. I'm also quite sure the majority of players won't mind an extra 5-15min, wait for example, to join the instance if it means they get to enjoy the experience and not just be stomped on.

 

With regards to Rift similarities, that game had THE worst class balance ever and that alone ruined warzones not level gaps. All Trion did was rotate the flavour of the month class and continuously nerfed or buffed the class that had the most whines on the forums. SW:ToR already feels like the balance is quite good and hopefully it will only get better.

[Irishbrewed]

Should we not hold judgement till after the official launch? Reason I ask, is because I personally think with more ppl playing, and more of us in the higher brackets we will often see more balanced games level wise. Where as the system is set to group u with others who are near your level but right now it has a limited amount of options. I think ultimately with a high population this system works and offers quicker que times. I know it's frustrating now at times but I think it is too early to judge considering our "idea" of pvp is solely based on "other" games. Edited December 19, 2011 by Irishbrewed

[tega]

Should we not hold judgement till after the official launch? Reason I ask, is because I personally think with more ppl playing, and more of us in the higher brackets we will often see more balanced games level wise. Where as the system is set to group u with others who are near your level but right now it has a limited amount of options. I think ultimately with a high population this system works and offers quicker que times. I know it's frustrating now at times but I think it is too early to judge considering our "idea" of pvp is solely based on "other" games.

 

Is there a link to where that is backed up ? I've seen warfronts with one side all under 20 and the other with 5 lvl 30+. I hope your right and there is a mechanic in place....

[Dannicus]

A higher level player should always have an edge though to encourage leveling and to reward those who have.

 

They do from talents and abilities. Lowbies may need a bigger boost than they get right now because they're very limited.

[Sturus]

No Pls I love it the way it is. Faster Q's and at 17 I kill a 34 level guy. Stop your QQ it is fun as hell.

[ltankhsd]

It's fine how it is. Anything else would lead to much longer queue times and bolstered players kill people just fine.

[ComeAndSee]

I wonder how PvP gear is going to come into play.

 

I look at Expertise and it says increases PvP damage/healing and reduces PvP dmg. So wouldn't both cancel each other out and the only winner would be the healing bonus?

[HarrySTruman]

I think it's fine as is. I'm often one of the lower people in a match, as I level slowly. I get my share of kills. I like the upside: no long waits.

[SWImara]

I really don't think its nearly as bad as people make it out to be. If any brackets I'd go 10-29, 30-49, 50. I understand that anecdotally people have seen groups of mid 20s wtfpwning groups of mid teens, anecdotally I've seen just the opposite. The spread of levels is an issue and I assume at very least that as people start getting access to legit PvP gear at 40+ it will be more of an issue, but so far in my limited experience it just doesn't seem end of the world from 10-25 or so. It seems startlingly terrible at first, but after you catch on regarding how your character works in warzone PvP and how much that is different from how it works anywhere else, then its really not that bad.

[Ahhmyface]

I know this is a big giant surprise to all of you, but bolster has been extensively tested in beta and is working just fine. If you got pwned, it probably wasn't because of the level difference. In fact, it probably means you just are worse geared than a high level player, or, as much as you'd hate to admit it, he's a better player than you. In fact, to give you some facts, bolster quite frequently places lower level characters as more powerful than high level characters. Yes, skills and talent points do make a difference, but that is your incentive to level.

 

The current system matches players of even levels as best as it can and is working AS INTENDED, and it's great to be able to play with all your friends, regardless of level.

Edited December 19, 2011 by Ahhmyface

[Necrosov]

I know this is a big giant surprise to all of you, but bolster has been extensively tested in beta and is working just fine. If you got pwned, it probably wasn't because of the level difference. In fact, it probably means you just are worse geared than a high level player, or, as much as you'd hate to admit it, he's a better player than you. In fact, to give you some facts, bolster quite frequently places lower level characters as more powerful than high level characters. Yes, skills and talent points do make a difference, but that is your incentive to level.

 

The current system matches players of even levels as best as it can and is working AS INTENDED, and it's great to be able to play with all your friends, regardless of level.

 

I mean seriously didn't we have this conversation a billion times before on the beta forums? I think most people complaining don't even understand how warzones work in this game and try to duel everyone and get slaughtered.