Is the Makeb PvE too easy?

[Laurreth]

A friend and me have been playing the Makeb storyline for a bit (not much, just up to the embassy). While things look good, and the story is mostly good, I really do think that the whole thing is just way too easy.

 

Granted, we're decked out in mostly EWH gear, but still there was not a single moment when we were actually threatened, even when a wandering champion mob jumped us. That's a bit disconcerting, I'd have assumed the place to provide some degree of challenge and threat to level 50/51 characters. Mowing down hordes of what's supposed to be an army of ultra-tough mercenaries without breaking a sweat just doesn't cut it, and pretty much destroys the experience

 

The most challenging part so far was to find the annoying random level 3 mob cowering in a corner keeping us in combat, and one-hit it.

 

(edit) Also, there's way too much experience dropping out of that brain-AFK facerolling harmless mobs. Leveling from 50 to 51 in under two hours is just stupid.

 

(another edit, a small clarification) I realise that I am overgeared for the content. I fully appreciate that the content needs to be in the reach of characters that just finished the regular storyline, and I am not shooting against that!

 

I hope there's some more challenging content coming up.

Edited April 11, 2013 by Laurreth

[Uvirith]

Actually, people find it too hard, just look at the other threads.

[TheNahash]

Granted, we're decked out in mostly EWH gear.

 

This is the issue, right here.

I soloed pretty much everything (except for the H4 and a H2) without dying once, even though I pulled lots of packs while moving around.

It has to do with the fact that your (and my) gear (full dread guard) is the best of the previous gear, but we both have to remember that not everyone had the chance to get full dread guard gear before Makeb. Some people were not in guilds or didn't have the credits to buy their gear off the GTN, so it's understandable that they decided to release something that wouldn't require the best gear.

 

tl;dr:

I wish it was harder, but I understand that not everyone likes very hard content or had the chance to get the best gear from the previous tier. We have to remember this is not an Operation, it's a new planet and it should be accessible to all (or at least the majority of) players.

[Eillack]

Actually, people find it too hard, just look at the other threads.

 

This to an extent. ^

 

A lot in my guild have been ticked off at the constant mobs behind every corner / forced to fight all the time.

[Tsillah]

If you are geared in 61+ gear then it is relatively easy. If you are a new 50 who doesn't get tio gear anymore, it's anything but.

 

If you want a challenge though, last night I found a Heroic 2+ where you have to kill some champions. I did it alone with my companion. That was really a challenge, but it was fun.

[MarvelZombie]

It's unfortunate, actually.

 

Makeb is intended for you to begin questing right after you finish Corellia or Ilum - level 50 basically - without grinding for 6 months to get better gear first. If you take a new character through the game and roll right into Makeb, it will be anything but easy.

 

But most of us have been doing that - grinding up to EWH or BH or better gear. These level 50s are really anything but - we're more like 54s/55s. The result is that they blow through most of the Makeb content like it was grey or green content. Result: my favorite characters I've been working on for over a year aren't challenged at all by Makeb.

 

Not my favorite BW design decision.

[Laurreth]

It has to do with the fact that your (and my) gear (full dread guard) is the best of the previous gear, but we both have to remember that not everyone had the chance to get full dread guard gear before Makeb.

 

I can fully relate to that, I'd just wished that there were places in the open that are actually dangerous even to people in good gear. It should be possible to route the "general populace" around those, like it's done with the heroic areas in other places. You have to agree that the general sentiment when a champion one level above you jumps you should be "OH*****II" and not "oh, that was a champ"

[DonkeyGobbler]

Just to add to what others have said...

 

Remember this a continuation from Corellia, in level terms. Did you find anything there chanllenging? I didn't really, yet the mobs are much tougher and much more frequent on Makeb.

 

Also, if you and your friend and running the (solo) missions together then of course it'll be easier.

[Heezdedjim]

Bioware stated that Makeb is supposed to be a leveling planet like any other planet. It was deliberately scaled back after PTS testing so that people coming straight from Corellia in leveling greens would not run into a brick wall.

 

Remember that even if they grab a blue set of the new vendor trainable rank 25 mods, these people are coming in with rating 132 gear (a bit below Columi). More likely, those just leveling through will have stuff that is somewhere between 116 and 126 rated (level 49 blues or Tionese level). Obviously if you're in full 150 rated gear you're going to roflstomp the stuff that is scaled to allow people in much lower gear to manage it. That is as it should be (i.e., you get the full benefit of your previous gear grind).

 

The endgame is level 55 content. If you're still facerolling stuff when you get to the level 55 HM FPs and the level 55 story mode op, then maybe we have something to talk about.

[Lord_Erman]

Bioware stated that Makeb is supposed to be a leveling planet like any other planet. It was deliberately scaled back after PTS testing so that people coming straight from Corellia in leveling greens would not run into a brick wall.

 

Makes sense.

 

I went there in full DG gear (companion in Rakata/BH mix), soloed everything (except h4) with ease. But I still enjoyed it a lot. Very nice environment I must say and the story was very, very good. Still not level 55 though.

[darkov]

Keep in mind, fresh characters, assuming they finish all world arcs, will be 51 or 52 before they even get to Makeb. There is way more content 1-50 than you actually need to get to 50.

 

As for the difficulty, solo in Corellia greens/blues, it is probably tuned right. I personally found it all very easy, but I know my gear is too good for Makeb.

[Darevsool]

At level 50 you have access to better gear than the free Tio gear that we've been getting lately. With the planetary comms you can go to fleet and buy rakata level mods/armorings/etc. which you can use to get your new "starter" gear.

[Laurreth]

Thanks for all your replies.

 

I think I really have to clarify: I realise that I am overgeared for the content. I fully appreciate that the content needs to be in the reach of characters that just finished the regular storyline, and I am not shooting against that! (and I will also put this in the OP, just to try and keep this on a saner track).

 

All I am saying is that I would have liked some more challenging content in the open world There should IMO generally be more "endgame" content within view of the regular story and leveling areas; that would mix the population a bit and would make for a more vibrant world overall.

[Darevsool]

Thanks for all your replies.

 

I think I really have to clarify: I realise that I am overgeared for the content. I fully appreciate that the content needs to be in the reach of characters that just finished the regular storyline, and I am not shooting against that! (and I will also put this in the OP, just to try and keep this on a saner track).

 

All I am saying is that I would have liked some more challenging content in the open world There should IMO generally be more "endgame" content within view of the regular story and leveling areas; that would mix the population a bit and would make for a more vibrant world overall.

 

In light of the fact that it's balanced for people with the more common levels of gear, why don't you lower your gear level if you think you're going through it too fast/easy?

[Spartanik]

Well i have only one thing to say to the OP.

Go do the new HM flashpoints in elite war hero. Go do it. Go on.

 

 

[Malastare]

At level 50 you have access to better gear than the free Tio gear that we've been getting lately. With the planetary comms you can go to fleet and buy rakata level mods/armorings/etc. which you can use to get your new "starter" gear.

 

Yes, but in normal play, you're going to have at most 50 of those comms by time you hit 50. That's enough to buy mods for 1 main hand weapon, and 3 armor pieces, if my math is correct. That's still a decent jump in gear, but it's maxing out the comms and gives you only about half of the equipment you'd want. You'll still have to grind comms to fill it out.

[Jeweledleah]

In light of the fact that it's balanced for people with the more common levels of gear, why don't you lower your gear level if you think you're going through it too fast/easy?

 

yep. if I didn't enjoy the relaxing stroll, I'd just take off my pants and maybe few more pieces of gear - bam instant challenge

 

the one thing that bugs me is that you cannot buy mods from planetary vendors until you are the same level as the mods. which means - you are either passing down mods to alts from your higher level characters, or you will arrive at lvl 50 with roughly 50 planetary coms - which is enough to upgrade roughly 3 pieces of gear. everything else, you are just going to have to deal, apparently >_>

[Jilisipone]

The other thing to take note of that the OP stated is that he is duoing the content with him and a friend. Combined with dual companions this is a 4 character party (3 really since companions are roughly 1/2 a competent player).

 

Any content designed for solo play (you + companion) is going to be trivialized if you group with another character and duo it all.

 

For those looking to buy the 58 mods for planetary comms when you hit 50, remember that for leveling the #1 thing to upgrade first is your primary weapon hilt. Keeping your weapon doing the maximum damage will greatly improve efficiency when leveling.

Edited April 11, 2013 by Jilisipone

[MaximusRex]

It wasn't very difficult, but I'm a geared tank teamed with a geared healer, so I'm not too surprised. It would probably be fairly difficult on my Agent who isn't even 50 yet to go their in quest/planet comm gear.

[translucentwolf]

It's unfortunate, actually.

 

Makeb is intended for you to begin questing right after you finish Corellia or Ilum - level 50 basically - without grinding for 6 months to get better gear first. If you take a new character through the game and roll right into Makeb, it will be anything but easy.

 

But most of us have been doing that - grinding up to EWH or BH or better gear. These level 50s are really anything but - we're more like 54s/55s. The result is that they blow through most of the Makeb content like it was grey or green content. Result: my favorite characters I've been working on for over a year aren't challenged at all by Makeb.

 

Not my favorite BW design decision.

 

Still though... It *is* designed to be doable by new 50s, wearing the usual mix of green / blue etc. You have to make it possible for an f2p player, wearing all lvl 50 blues to have a chance at making it to 51.

 

I have an operative in blackhole, and I can solo the heroic 2s, with enough effort. Just takes time to sneak in, clear trash, and then grind down the champ with a companion.

 

My sniper dps, who is in tio, on the other hand... has some challening moments, when being rushed by a bunch of mobs. And can't really get past the first champ boss on the heroic 2.

 

You can see the levels that are intended, by looking at the gear drops. Blue 50 gear. You can buy purple 25s (Rakata. Remember when Rakata was king?) with comms, *if you're sub, or have artifact auth*.

 

Makeb is just another planet. If you go in overlevel ( anything better than recruit, really ), you're not going to die too often.

 

For a challenge... swap gear with one of your companions, and then take another run at it.

[Infernixx]

This is a typical situation. Lots of people are going into Makeb with BiS or near BiS lvl 50 gear. Once they get through to 55 and we see Makeb become just part of the leveling process, you'll see a change.

 

If it's too hard for people coming out of Corellia, they'll scale down the packs of mobs, but I wouldn't expect to see that for a while.

[translucentwolf]

This is a typical situation. Lots of people are going into Makeb with BiS or near BiS lvl 50 gear. Once they get through to 55 and we see Makeb become just part of the leveling process, you'll see a change.

 

If it's too hard for people coming out of Corellia, they'll scale down the packs of mobs, but I wouldn't expect to see that for a while.

 

If you do head into Makeb, straight from Corellia...

 

Try to make sure you're *at the 50 cap* for planet comms.

 

Barrel / Hilt 25s cost 10 comms each. Armorings cost 10 comms each. Enhancements and Mods are 4 comms each.

 

Planet comm drops have been pretty frequent. So, you should be able to gear up to 'rakata' grade on your character during the course of your stay on Makeb, even if you arrive fully 'green / blue'.

 

It's really a nice smooth way to gear up a new 50. My sniper in Tio will be fully rakata in about a week. Pre 2.0, it took quite a few Ops to get full Rakata.

[Jilisipone]

Also here's another tip. When you hit 50....immediately go to Fleet and pick up the priority mission terminal quests.

 

Doing those (SectionX Dailies, Black Hole Dailies, 1 HM Flashpoint, 1 Warzone) will easily get you to 51 and 1/2 way to 52 before even stepping foot on Makeb. This helps to put you at a better level comparrison to the NPCs.

 

Doing all those 4 quests takes maybe 2-3 hours at maximum (can be done quicker for people who know them well) and puts you well on your way to Makeb. Also if you will end up with a nice chunk of classic comms to spend on 61 gear as well as might possibly pick up 1 or 2 pieces in the HM FP. Do all three HM FPs for the weekly and you'll definately be level 52 and have picked up some helpful gear upgrades before jumping to Makeb.

[Voblat]

If you do head into Makeb, straight from Corellia...

 

Try to make sure you're *at the 50 cap* for planet comms.

 

Barrel / Hilt 25s cost 10 comms each. Armorings cost 10 comms each. Enhancements and Mods are 4 comms each.

 

Planet comm drops have been pretty frequent. So, you should be able to gear up to 'rakata' grade on your character during the course of your stay on Makeb, even if you arrive fully 'green / blue'.

 

It's really a nice smooth way to gear up a new 50. My sniper in Tio will be fully rakata in about a week. Pre 2.0, it took quite a few Ops to get full Rakata.

 

Its simpler than that.

 

Most people will ding 50 somewhere on Voss these days, they then have half of voss and all of corellia, plus Ilum and Belsavis quests to accumulate more planetary comms.

 

By the time a toon levelling from scratch now gets to makeb, they will likely be 52 ish and have all 58 (I think they are) mods from the makeb comms vendor.

[translucentwolf]

Its simpler than that.

 

Most people will ding 50 somewhere on Voss these days, they then have half of voss and all of corellia, plus Ilum and Belsavis quests to accumulate more planetary comms.

 

By the time a toon levelling from scratch now gets to makeb, they will likely be 52 ish and have all 58 (I think they are) mods from the makeb comms vendor.

 

Yeah, that'd do it. Just start making runs to the Makeb gravity hook once you reach 50, to spend planet comms. I'll give that a shot on my new character ( Assassin. Want to see if Tank + Stealth is a cool as Heal + Stealth )