My last forum post and farewell speech.

[Sharpiie]

Hello fellow SWTOR players. Obviously, most of you will not know who I am, considering I transferred to The Bastion from The Swiftsure. And I know most of you will not read through this long speech, but I assure you, you will not regret it if you do read the whole thing.

 

Allow me to introduce myself. I am 14 years old and I reside in Oregon. I was born in Miami, Florida and moved to Oregon for my father's business. I have been playing computer video games since I was 12. As soon as my father showed me Mario Cart for the Nintendo 64 I thought to myself "I had to have more." I found that adrenaline rush through computer video games. My first MMO was World Of Warcraft, where I played a Restoration Druid and a Discipline Priest. Shortly after Wrath of the Lich King expansion back was released, I quit the game. I stopped gaming for a while until Star Wars: The Old Republic was released. This is when my second MMO journey began.

 

My name on The Swiftsure was Media. I was considered by many to be the best PvP Operative healer on that server, no questions asked. My guild (Strictly Business) claimed the server first Soa the Infernal and Karagga the Unyielding kills. Two members of my guild were the first two 50's on the server, and also the first two Battlemasters on the server.

 

I've been playing an Operative healer since beta access. After moving from The Swifsure to The Bastion, I was forced to change my name to Krunchy because Media was a level 1 Bounty Hunter on Hutta (and still is to this day). After transferring, I earned the reputation as the best Operative Healer on The Bastion. I was the second in the world to 2200 and 2400 rating, next to one of my guildmates, who was world first. We are currently at 2800+ rating (got lazy after world first 2400) and still climbing up there. My guild (Strictly Business) is considered the best on my server as well. We have been doing Ranked Warzones ever since they were released and we now hold the record of three hundred and six wins, and twenty three losses.

 

Star Wars: The Old Republic has been a terrible game since it was ever released. I realized this shortly after hitting level fifty. The end game raiding is too easy (hence why I stopped raiding) and the PvP bugs are inexcusable. Half of my losses in Ranked Warzones are due to stuck-in-spawn bugs and random disconnects. There are bugs that have been in this game since release and to this day have not been fixed. For instance, the Ravage bug, the stuck-in-spawn bug, using an ability and taking up a global cooldown but not actually using the ability bug, the casting an ability and not showing a cast-bar but still casting the ability successfully, and the going invisible after using Infiltrate bug (after ability is over and non-stealthers). This is just a short list of MANY bugs that still exist in the game (with more to come assuming this game lasts to patch 1.5). I've known since December that I have only been playing this game to waste time until Guild Wars 2 comes out (the last month is always the hardest)!

 

The lack of competition on my server is another reason why this game is a failure. Cross-server queing is a simple technology, especially in this day in age. It is the 19th century and BioWare is still unable to allow players to cross-server que and also return back to a warzone after disconnecting. They aren't even able to fix bugs that have existed since release, so I shouldn't be expecting much as of now. On my server, there are literally two other guilds that I actually have to try against. After defeating both of them multiple times in a row, they have resorted to que-dodging us via my live stream (which you can find at http://www.twitch.tv/MediaSWTOR), and there is now absolutely ZERO competition on my server. I have almost considered totally shutting down my stream until GW2 release, but I respect my fans too much to just shut it down altogether. This is just another reason why cross-server queing should be implemented.

 

The process you have to go through simply to change the look of a piece of armor is absolutely ridiculous. It costs over 100,000 credits just to remove the mods and augment from one piece of gear in order to transfer them to a better looking piece. Before release, BioWare stated that this game is about the player. It's about what the player wants to do in the Star Wars universe and how customizable it would be. They send there would be endless possibilities in the Star Wars universe. But what is it now? Spending potentially millions just to re-mod gear, add MK-6 slots to gear, and then PAYING TO ADD THE AUGMENT SLOT AFTER CRAFTING IT YOURSELF? And endless possibilities? You mean doing house chores and errands until 6:00 PST to wait for my friends to do Rated Warzones? Sure, it's not my fault that they can't play until 6:00 PST. But the fact that I have no motivation to play this game unless they're online is just a massive fault in this game. PvP is the only competitive aspect of this game. I DO NOT mind that at all. But the fact that they wasted their time and money on voice acting, designing Flashpoints, and fixing emoticons in major patches is absolutely absurd.

 

Flashpoints are absolutely useless. I didn't do a single Flashpoint on my 50 Vanguard and I was full Rakata in less than two weeks. The only reason Dungeons were popular in World of Warcraft were because they offered endgame gear and currencies. And they did it correctly. They actually had a required gear level to que for specific dungeons. But how is it in SWTOR? Terrible. They waited until 1.3 to even release a group finder. The group finder doesn't even work 50% of the time. The group finder has no way of filtering out players based on skill or gear. They also waited until 1.3 to even include endgame commendations as a reward. BioWare also didn't realize that they made Flashpoints useless in 1.3. With the release of Denova, my guild was able to carry my fresh level 50 alt up to full Rakata in literally two days. Who needs to do Flashpoints with random incompetent players when you can go with an organized group and get all the gear you need to be ready for Denova? Allow me to correct myself. Who needs to do Flashpoints when you can do Story Mode raids to get starter level gear?

 

This is where it ends. As soon as it's August 25th, I'm out of here and onto Guild Wars 2. Will it be an amazing game? Well you never know until you start playing. All I know is it takes a lot of effort to fail like BioWare did. Some of the things that this company has done are absolutely absurd and are extremely unprofessional, especially coming from a big name like BioWare. I will never be buying a video game developed by BioWare ever again, unless it is Mass Effect 4. Guild Wars 2 may not be an AMAZING game like many claim it to be, but I promise all of you reading this that there's no way NCSoft or ArenaNet could fail as much as BioWare did. At this point in time, RuneScape is a superior video game to Star Wars: The Old Republic. I'd be playing RuneScape if Guild Wars 2 wasn't coming out in only one (long) month. Thank you all for reading

Edited July 28, 2012 by Sharpiie

[nezitx]

... It is the 19th century ....

 

What?

 

... there's no way NCSoft or ArenaNet could fail as much as BioWare did.

 

I think ArenaNet is pretty good, but I take it you haven't seen Aion (by NCSoft). Easily the worst MMO I have ever played.

Edited July 27, 2012 by nezitx

[Kashley]

What?

 

Aside from him getting the century wrong, (he is after all only 14) I find it laughable that even a child can see how flawed some of the things are in this game. Sorry you disliked the game, however I would say this post, while obviously has some points, could have been put into the unsubscribes thread where 30k+ other people have already discussed these things till they are blue in the face.

[Eldrenath]

First of all, who the hell cares? Are we supposed to read about how you're so great you're the best yadda yadda server first blah blah me and my guild wear awesomepants at all times blahbittyblahblah.

 

You go on about how this game is terrible and awful....yet you've been playing since release? Soooo.....it was so bad you played for 8 months? I don't get it.

 

As for the game being too easy, you miss one key point: you go on about how you're the best player and your guild r0xx0rz, then say everything is too easy. Mainstream MMOs are not for players like you. A game that a player like you would consider suitably challenging would be nigh unplayable for 70% of the rest of us with wives, kids, jobs, etc. No MMO developer in their right mind would spend millions upon millions developing an MMO for the 5% of people like you. I guarantee you this: if the devs made the PvE hard enough that you thought it was a challenge, THAT would kill the game. Way, waaaaaay more people would unsub because things were that hard than will unsub because it's NOT that hard. You're probably better suited to a console game where you can jack the settings up to the hardest difficulty possible and face something you might actually find to be a challenge.

 

As for PvP, you want balanced, fair, and TRULY challenging PvP? Then I would suggest you try some of the many, many, many first person shooters out there.

 

As for your complaint about losing your name, that I'll side with you on: that sucks. Other than that, it sounds to me like you're the kind of gamer that is gonna hop from game to game to game anyway, because no MMO will ever provide the level of challenge in the long run that a player like you, who clearly has a LOT of time on their hands, will find suitable.

[Valkirus]

14. So very young. I would'nt get too involved with video games if I was you unless you are very serous about getting into it as a job. Work hard at school and earn a solid education. And be physically active. The habits we have as kids can carry over to adulthood. Anyway, good luck to you in your future endeavors. And even tho we are years apart..( generations even, lol ) I do agree with most of the points you made for quitting. But noone here cares for the most part.

[Siphorus]

good post sharpii

[nezitx]

 

Allow me to introduce myself. I am 14 years old... I have been playing computer video games since I was 12... My first MMO was World Of Warcraft, where I played a Restoration Druid and a Discipline Priest. Shortly after Wrath of the Lich King expansion back was released, I quit the game.

 

Wrath of the Lich King was released on November 13, 2008

Let say you turned 12 the day that happened (though it should be earlier), that would make you 16 on Nov. 13th of this year. Doesn't quite add up.

[Blackavaar]

I will say this, for a 14 year old you have a surprisingly good grasp of grammar. Kudos!

 

I'm sorry you find the game a disappointment. Be sure to check back from time to time. Things will surely get better. Until then good luck and may the force be with you.

 

[Sharpiie]

Wrath of the Lich King was released on November 13, 2008

Let say you turned 12 the day that happened (though it should be earlier), that would make you 16 on Nov. 13th of this year. Doesn't quite add up.

 

So if a video game is released in 1998 does that mean players from 2012 are not allowed to play it?

 

Edit: I'm sorry, that was a typo on my part. I implied that I played World of Warcraft during Burning Crusade. I actually never played WoW before Wrath of the Lich King.

Edited July 27, 2012 by Sharpiie

[Siphorus]

No MMO developer in their right mind would spend millions upon millions developing an MMO for the 5% of people like you. I guarantee you this: if the devs made the PvE hard enough that you thought it was a challenge, THAT would kill the game.

The thing about developers is, there are alot of them, and you ask one developer what they did in they game. They will say well I designed the blue shirt on this guy and the orange weapon on hutta or I did a title from a quest. They don't do ****.

[Elhanan]

Flashpoint = Storyline = a valid point for playing them, even solo as I have done.

 

Have fun!

[cipero]

Hey, man.

 

If you thought the game was bad before you posted this, wait until you read all the responses.

 

I'll see you on aug. 25th. (darkhaven).

[Sharpiie]

14. So very young. I would'nt get too involved with video games if I was you unless you are very serous about getting into it as a job. Work hard at school and earn a solid education. And be physically active. The habits we have as kids can carry over to adulthood. Anyway, good luck to you in your future endeavors. And even tho we are years apart..( generations even, lol ) I do agree with most of the points you made for quitting. But noone here cares for the most part.

 

I care about being physically active and having a healthy lifestyle. But about education and getting a job? I don't care. And the reason i don't care is a personal and family matter that I'm sure you wouldn't care about, so I won't post it.

Edited July 27, 2012 by Sharpiie

[DjVybz]

I will say this, for a 14 year old you have a surprisingly good grasp of grammar. Kudos!

 

I'm sorry you find the game a disappointment. Be sure to check back from time to time. Things will surely get better. Until then good luck and may the force be with you.

 

Even I know this is crap. They have had 9 months now and nothing has got better. They have just poorly implemented good ideas.

[Kashley]

Even I know this is crap. They have had 9 months now and nothing has got better. They have just poorly implemented good ideas.

 

Ur sig made me giggle

[SamuraBob_Fl]

I care about being physically active and having a healthy lifestyle. But about education and getting a job? I don't care. And the reason i don't care is a personal and family matter that I'm sure you wouldn't care about, so I won't post it.

 

What gave you the impression that anyone cares why people quit?

[TalonKul]

14 years old, with experience playing 1 other MMO...

 

I'm sorry but you lack the wisdom, experience, and knowledge to really judge and compare this MMO to others.

 

All this talk of server firsts and whatnot. I don't know of any MMO that is designed around what an "outlier" player expects.

[WoodChipper]

You have been playing video games for 2 years. You have a lot to learn.

[Eldrenath]

The process you have to go through simply to change the look of a piece of armor is absolutely ridiculous. It costs over 100,000 credits just to remove the mods and augment from one piece of gear in order to transfer them to a better looking piece. Before release, BioWare stated that this game is about the player. It's about what the player wants to do in the Star Wars universe and how customizable it would be. They send there would be endless possibilities in the Star Wars universe. But what is it now? Spending potentially millions just to re-mod gear, add MK-6 slots to gear, and then PAYING TO ADD THE AUGMENT SLOT AFTER CRAFTING IT YOURSELF? And endless possibilities? You mean doing house chores and errands until 6:00 PST to wait for my friends to do Rated Warzones? Sure, it's not my fault that they can't play until 6:00 PST. But the fact that I have no motivation to play this game unless they're online is just a massive fault in this game. PvP is the only competitive aspect of this game. I DO NOT mind that at all. But the fact that they wasted their time and money on voice acting, designing Flashpoints, and fixing emoticons in major patches is absolutely absurd.

 

You missed another important qualifier: "But the fact that they wasted their time and money on voice acting, designing Flashpoints, and fixing emoticons in major patches is absolutely absurd" should be followed by by saying for myself in my opinion and for people that play games in the exact same manner and with the same level of devotion and intensity as I do. Me? I don't find it absurd at all. I play with 3 very good RL friends who would NEVER play MMOs before that came only because of the story and became hooked by these sort of fluff items that you call "absurd". The fact that you think it is absurd does not make it objectively so. While I certainly would agree that BW has made some tremendous missteps and the game is far, far from perfect, I for one have genuinely enjoyed the story in all the FPs, and love the voice acting. I've played many, many alts and enjoyed the storylines and the voice acting. My friends feel the same way. Of course, we're not so arrogant as to think that because we like it that way it is objectively better. It simply means it's subjectively better for us and our own personal enjoyment of the game. Clearly that's not the case for you, but just because your opinion is that it's absurd does not make it so.

 

I will, however, agree with you on crafting. While I love the mechanics of crafting in this game (I can send a companion instead of sitting in a stupid crafting station staring at my toon as he does some stupid animation repeatedly), the overall system is pretty poor. Several times I've seen people ask in general chat "I'm a new player here, what's a good crafting profession" the answer is always the same from everyone: biochem, biochem, biochem. Every other profession is useless at the endgame. When everyone seems to think that only 1 crafting profession is viable long-term, you've got a completely borked crafting system.

[Vegabond]

First of all, who the hell cares? Are we supposed to read about how you're so great you're the best yadda yadda server first blah blah me and my guild wear awesomepants at all times blahbittyblahblah.

 

You go on about how this game is terrible and awful....yet you've been playing since release? Soooo.....it was so bad you played for 8 months? I don't get it.

 

As for the game being too easy, you miss one key point: you go on about how you're the best player and your guild r0xx0rz, then say everything is too easy. Mainstream MMOs are not for players like you. A game that a player like you would consider suitably challenging would be nigh unplayable for 70% of the rest of us with wives, kids, jobs, etc. No MMO developer in their right mind would spend millions upon millions developing an MMO for the 5% of people like you. I guarantee you this: if the devs made the PvE hard enough that you thought it was a challenge, THAT would kill the game. Way, waaaaaay more people would unsub because things were that hard than will unsub because it's NOT that hard. You're probably better suited to a console game where you can jack the settings up to the hardest difficulty possible and face something you might actually find to be a challenge.

 

As for PvP, you want balanced, fair, and TRULY challenging PvP? Then I would suggest you try some of the many, many, many first person shooters out there.

 

As for your complaint about losing your name, that I'll side with you on: that sucks. Other than that, it sounds to me like you're the kind of gamer that is gonna hop from game to game to game anyway, because no MMO will ever provide the level of challenge in the long run that a player like you, who clearly has a LOT of time on their hands, will find suitable.

 

This.

[Rafaman]

To each his own OP. I'm finding the game enjoyable and continue to play every day. I subbed in December and haven't looked back. I won't argue your points one by one as this has been well covered ground. However, I will wish you well and encourage you to check back with SWTOR. I don't think it is a failure and I propose that you will not find it a failure either after spending some time elsewhere.

 

I have high hopes for the upcoming content and the continuing evolution of the game over time.

[Sharpiie]

To each his own OP. I'm finding the game enjoyable and continue to play every day. I subbed in December and haven't looked back. I won't argue your points one by one as this has been well covered ground. However, I will wish you well and encourage you to check back with SWTOR. I don't think it is a failure and I propose that you will not find it a failure either after spending some time elsewhere.

 

I have high hopes for the upcoming content and the continuing evolution of the game over time.

 

I'm sorry to be rude, but evolution implies that there is enough time given to evolve in the first place. That doesn't describe this game's current situation.

[jarjarloves]

real quick

 

If your only motivaition to do anything in a MMO is for gear you should stop playing alltogether.

 

 

You said there was no point to do Flashpoints because you got full rakata in a matter of weeks. Yeah of course you can because you are grouped with people already did their flashpoints and operations to carry you through. You skipped a step and that's ok. You can do it in any MMO.

 

I remember in WoW i spent months to get my full Tier 2 (back in Vanilla WoW). I got my best friend to start playing and when he joined my guild he went from greens to full teir 2 in the matter of 2 weeks because we carried him through.

[bsmolke]

I think you might get more enjoyment out of games by playing a bit more in moderation. It sounds like no MMO will ever truly satisfy you because you burn through content so much faster than they can make it. Some things that you complained about are actually things my friends and I enjoy, like the voice acting and story lines. Is it a perfect game? Absolutely not, but I still enjoy playing it. Edited July 27, 2012 by bsmolke

[dandamanno]

And I know most of you will not read through this long speech, but I assure you, you will not regret it if you do read the whole thing.

 

I read the whole thing, and saying I regret it would be an overstatement. However all your points have been talked about many times in the "unsuscribers thread".

 

You may want to copy paste this over there, because this will be locked shortly and find it's way to the back of the forums in no time flat.