Underworld Trading

[Monoth]

Every Time I need to get some underworld metals my log is full of only Companion Gift Missions, why in the world would you put SO MANY companion gift missions!?!? I could care less about companion gifts what I do care about is getting some underworld metals to CRAFT with.... a lot of times my only options are Companion Gift or Fabric mission.... 80% of all the missions are companion gift missions, it's a f'in joke........

 

Just get rid of the F'in companion missions all together, it's just making crafting that much harder.

 

I swear it's like Bioware hired people who sat around and said "Hmmm what can we do to this game to make it annoying as hell"

Edited September 1, 2012 by Monoth

[Kerensk]

Actually I think they've built it like that to encourage you to run different types of missions. Obviously this is 100% speculation on my part and not anything I've read them saying, but the more you focus on underworld metals the less you see of it.

My theory is that the probability of random missions coming up are affected by which you have been taking. If you do too many metals, it raises the probability of fabrics and companion missions.

I know I sound like a conspiracy nut but spend two days doing anything but metals and you'll be a believer too. I spent a few days amassing grade 5 companion gifts to max out my affection and when I was done the companion missions were rare and I was getting two or more bountiful and rich metal missions per logon.

it's worth a try and at the very least you will have alot of companion items to sell on the market.

[finelinebob]

Well, hopefully in a few weeks I'll be able to post a statistical analysis of UWT mission distribution. Gathering data takes quite a bit of time, so in order to get the numbers up so that the results would be statistically significant it will be a while before I can report anything.

[Henu]

Its a huge pain in the bum. trying to level up and get metals but only fabric or gifts... i hope they fix this.

[Chaffery]

I swear it's like Bioware hired people who sat around and said "Hmmm what can we do to this game to make it annoying as hell"

Haven't you noticed that latest MMO's all look similar. It is like competition between development studios, who could come up with lamest ideas in computer games development history.

Way how mission listings work in SWTOR without doubt deserve Guiness record for lamest annoyance ever put in to computer game.

Tell the truth, I'm about to give up with this game: ridiculous crafting times (and they increase with each tier), RE nightmare, mission listings pseudo random system (it could be manipulated with 2 companions, limited but still possible keep needed missions listed).

And I haven't got to lv50 yet, got fed up on half way.

[Monoth]

The big slap in the face is I don't have these issues with Diplomacy, Treasure Hunting or even slicing.. The missions are fairly balanced in these trade skills but for some reason Underworld Trading is designed to heavily favor companion gifts...

[Eillack]

I actually liked the companion gifts..

 

But there are some good UW metal missions as you level up.

[Chaffery]

Companion gifts are good till certain point, got companions boosted up to 5K each on 7 toons, now only my commando's droid is sitting on 2K. I have been farming orange gear schematics from T1 missions. T2 coming up, lot of gifts.

You can not fill up your hold with fabrics or metals, so what else than gifts. Any way, that missions randomism, grrr...

Horrible.

[VigDiath]

My main toon uses Artifice and Treasure Hunting and my Alt WAS using Swynthweaving and Underworld Trading. The difference is HUGE! The hardest gems to get for Treasure Hunting is Corusca Gem and I have tons of those. I send a companion out and am constantly able to get the gems I need. And I usually have 2-3 missions available that net gems.

 

Not so with UT. I send Doc out for UT for the metals and every 4-7 tries he scores a purple metal BUT ONLY if I have the Underworld Metals listed as a mission. Normally I don't! I even once had a comp come back from a mission and saw a metals mission available and was going to send him when another comp came back and messed up the rotation and I somehow lost that mission!! I was PISSED! I have no need for luxury fabrics now since I switched to Cybertech but REALLY need the metals and can barely get them. The need to balance this out.

[Xatoo]

One thing I've done when I see only gifts is to log out and log back in. When I open UT again the missions sometimes have changed and I have different ones to choose from.

[Metalmac]

One thing I've done when I see only gifts is to log out and log back in. When I open UT again the missions sometimes have changed and I have different ones to choose from.

 

So is this the BioWare idea of fixing the problem. Make the PLAYER LOG IN AND LOG OUT 200 times a day?

[Blackardin]

Bob, I'd like to see your data when you finish up....see if it concurs with mine.

 

As far as this issue, trade skills in general? I love this game. Quite the addict, but I've not logged on in like 5 days now (well, beyond a few minutes). Crafting and gearing my alts, my main, are a big part of any game for me. I think the frustration with crafting and trying to gear up my alts, the huge time sink involved has pretty much worn me down.

 

Most unfortunate.

[grandmthethird]

its done like this on purpose. so you are more likely to use the GTN and help with the economy imo

[Pheroras]

and one day it will dawn on you that crafting in the game is pretty near useless, that in itself will rupture an artery or two

[Chaffery]

its done like this on purpose. so you are more likely to use the GTN and help with the economy imo

I'm guessing you are right but how many peoples do like it?

This game has way too many forced things in, you are forced to do this and that. I don't think so that many peoples will accept that policy. Besides, GTN is full of everything and heavy undercutting going on.

 

If game goes F2P live with same lame crafting system, this game will be hardly worth of my time, even for free.

So currently I'm waiting, what happens with F2P, is BW actually willing salvage situation and turn game from ridiculous grind and lame crafting mechanics in to enjoyable entertainment or not. Lost interest level up my toons already, just fooling around and waiting.

 

Going to F2P and leaving game as it is does not change much, will be a lot of free players perhaps but not so many paying players.

[Skodan]

The big slap in the face is I don't have these issues with Diplomacy, Treasure Hunting or even slicing.. The missions are fairly balanced in these trade skills but for some reason Underworld Trading is designed to heavily favor companion gifts...

 

do you notice how if you do one alignment side for diplomacy then eventually you will only get the opposite alignment side after a while. same principle with underworld trade mats (except it also throws in switching fabrics/metals with gifts)

[Groncho]

1 of 6 metal misions every time

have to wait and reload to get them going

[Owdpub]

Here's what put in a previous post about same issue:

 

"Probably been mentioned a fair few times but if the required missions aren't listed, can log out and relog to reset the mission list (or get on/off ship).

Also, when companions return from a mission, the list will reset.

I've noticed that learning a mission discovery also resets the mission list.

This seems same for all levels. Eg. learning a lvl 5 mission discovery will reset lvl5 and lvl6 mission list (probably lower lvls, as well). "

 

Hope this helps.

[Sunjammer]

As indicated in the previous post there are a few ways of refresh the list. I posted my findings recently in another thread:

In my experience there are 3 ways to refresh a list of missions:

 

 

• log out and back in (refreshes all crew skills)
  
• transition, for example, to or from your ship (refreshes all crew skills)
  
• run a level 1 mission for that particular crew skill (refreshes one crew skill)
  

 

Refreshing a list causes the system to select another 5 missions at random from the pool of available missions for each grade of missions. Unfortunately, as you have experienced, if the mission type only has one or two missions in a pool of over a dozen other missions then the chances are it may not show up when you refresh the list.

 

To improve your chances of getting the mission type that you want in the refreshed list, assign some of the undesirable missions of the same grade to your companions before you refresh the list. This removes them from the pool making the pool smaller and improving the odds for your desired mission type. After you have refreshed the list you can replace each of these assigned, but unwanted, missions with a more desirable mission.

Looks like I have to add using Mission Discoveries to that list as well!

[lklinga]

Well not sure if this wiill work fort he higher tiers but I take both the cloth and metals missions and mail the cloth to my alt.

This way since you are not taking only metals mission you get always one available and the alt is goign to get relevant materials as well.

 

I am not sure this is the way to go for higher levels but it seems to work fine for me.

[RazielHex]

So is this the BioWare idea of fixing the problem. Make the PLAYER LOG IN AND LOG OUT 200 times a day?

 

Missions get refreshed everytime your companions come back.

 

I thought this was common knowledge by now.

[Metalmac]

Missions get refreshed everytime your companions come back.

 

I thought this was common knowledge by now.

 

I have spent days with log in and out and stil get 90% missions for Companion Gifts in Investigation and Under World Trading.

 

The fact that I have to log in and out proves the game is broken in this area.

 

Add to that the number of useless missions is just insane.

Edited September 4, 2012 by Metalmac

[RazielHex]

I have spent days with log in and out and stil get 90% missions for Companion Gifts in Investigation and Under World Trading.

 

The fact that I have to log in and out proves the game is broken in this area.

 

Add to that the number of useless missions is just insane.

 

It's not broken at all.

 

There are just more companion missions.

[psandak]

I quote myself from another thread along the same lines:

 

Being able to choose what you want when you want sounds great...for the individual, but when you consider that everyone would have the same ability, it loses some of its luster. You may not care about material and crafted good value but there are a lot who do. The relative randomness of missions to acquire materials gives those materials more value. More valuable materials means more valuable crafted goods.

 

Further, be careful what you wish for. I see a couple of ways that BW could screw over a system of better choice:

 

1 - increase the cost of the missions: sure you can choose whichever material you want but instead of the mission costing 2000 credits it now costs 10,000

 

2 - decrease the return the missions provide: right now you get a certain amount of material from a mission depending on its "quality" (moderate, abundant, etc). Allow people to choose what material they want when they want and I guarantee that return will be cut in half.

 

3 - or worse BOTH of the above.

 

In any MMO, there is no limit on the supply of materials due to respawn of nodes and in the case of SWTOR - missions. The ONLY limiting factors available are time and money, which by the way happen to be interchangeable. If you have the time to be patient you can save money, if you have the money you can get materials more quickly by paying others.

 

So, in answer to your question, the randomness of missions is an attempt to curb supply. You may not like it but at least you do not have to go foraging for EVERY material you need. That is a BIG step in MMOs.

[Metalmac]

You can not go find mission stuff you need to craft. So crafting is reduced to random chance to craft.

 

Really take 10 seconds to think of any crafting that should be random?

 

1. The idea is anti-fun. Making the wrong or bad item is more costly and not fun 80 times in a row.

2. Fun is when you succeed with difficulty. 20% success rate is not fun but makes the game a job.

3. Missions are not fun or profitable when 90% of time the mission log is full of crap. Not fun to deal with.

 

I really do not give a hang about the economy as my intent is to have fun, NOT SUPPORT IMAGINARY ECONOMIES!

Edited September 5, 2012 by Metalmac