Difficulty setting

[sebasbabou]

it will be proper (for the new patch and changes to come) that the game will be more easier to attack alone, because I realize (since they have elites everywhere) this is a game that you need a group, all the time... for me, i don't like getting to a group.

 

For me, It will be preferable that it have the Difficulty setting. To set on easy for exemple, go to the preference menu and go to the Difficulty menu, you shall see easy with a picture as a color of copper.

 

here the changes I would like to see playing:

 

Apprentice (easy) mode: the bosses will be marked in silver and the enemies as a normal stage. the abilities of every enemies and bosses will be reduce in 50%.

 

Hero (normal) mode: the bosses will be marked in silver but the abilities of every enemies and bosses will be increase in 25%.

 

Master (hard) mode: the bosses will be marked in gold (elite) and the abilities of every enemies and bosses will be increase in 50%.

[Darth_Moonshadow]

Yeah that doesn't work, seeing as how this is an MMO, not a single player game. Most of your game takes place on a server, so difficulty scaling is impossible to do when everyone else shares the world with you.

 

Sorry, dude, but if you don't like grouping, MMO games are not for you. Fear not, because there are a plethora of other games more suited to your needs. The Mass Effect trilogy is a good sci-fi single player game (Save for 3 with it's Galaxy At War thing, but with the DLC, you won't need it to get the best ending.)

 

Enjoy!

[Jayshames]

You can already do this?

 

Either;

 

PvE in the best gear = easy

PvE in crap gear = hard

 

Do an operation = easy

Do a hardmode operation = medium

Do a nightmare operation = hard

 

[MastaKorgy]

How the story line ended was awful to me. The Last boss (Emperor) was ridiculously easy to win. There was almost no mechanics involved. I would either like the game to have a difficulty option for story questing, or make the end game story line harder so that you need a specific level gear set to beat it.

[Darth_Moonshadow]

How the story line ended was awful to me. The Last boss (Emperor) was ridiculously easy to win. There was almost no mechanics involved. I would either like the game to have a difficulty option for story questing, or make the end game story line harder so that you need a specific level gear set to beat it.

 

That kind of puts a damper on our casual players then.

[Jayshames]

I guess having a difficulty option for personal story line quests wouldn't hurt as they are usually soloed anyway, but this would take a lot of work and I just don't see BW doing it.

[Darth_Moonshadow]

I guess having a difficulty option for personal story line quests wouldn't hurt as they are usually soloed anyway, but this would take a lot of work and I just don't see BW doing it.

 

Now there's a practical option. Only your class storylines can be boosted or nerfed as you need.

[s_w_sanders]

I've never found this game difficult except for a few bosses. Here's a hint, use good gear and always use a companion that fits your playstyle. If you do that the game will be easy except for a few bosses.

[s_w_sanders]

I think I know what this op is talking about if he's saying the difficulty is too hard. You see in this game there are difficulty jumps at certain areas. This is when the difficulty goes up and you don't realize it till you're in a fight and dieing. These area's are only temporary and the difficulty goes back down after them. I will list the area's I know of this happening and if you're in one make sure you and your companion are geared and you have stims and medpacs they help.

 

The beggining of alderaan on the republic side it jumps the difficulty, but don't worry in the middle of the planet it goes back down.

 

The end of chapter 1 and end of chapter 2 missions, it goes back down on the next planet.

 

Quesh I don't understand this one but Hoth is back on a lower difficulty.

 

Finally the end of corellia there is a jump, get through as best you can because this area is harder than the end of chapter 3 area.

[sebasbabou]

I've never found this game difficult except for a few bosses. Here's a hint, use good gear and always use a companion that fits your playstyle. If you do that the game will be easy except for a few bosses.

 

thanks for the tips, but the only needs for me in this game is credits, i have a crew skill name cybertech (one of the usefull crew skill for leveling), and the good things is i can get more credits by selling on the GTN.

 

but the question is, is this a possible crew skill that make more credits?

[DmdShiva]

Now there's a practical option. Only your class storylines can be boosted or nerfed as you need.

 

Doesn't have to be just your class storylines -- any instanced content could be adjusted to an individual character's settings. City of Heroes did this from about two years in, first as a simple five-step slider, and later as a two-factor level-shift/team-size system. However, CoH was also instanced to a degree that make other games look instance-free (with the exception of a relatively few 'defeat N [villaingroup] in [zone]' missions, every mission a character got in CoH was instanced); I don't know if having a difficulty slider on just instances would make enough of a difference to make the programming effort worthwhile, given how much of SWOTOR is open-world.

[Glorthox]

I agree with the OP. MMO doesn't mean group up all the time! Look at WOW for example, are you forced to group for dailies? Are you forced to group for quests? More and more this game is forcing people who enjoy soloable content to group up in order to play the game. FP's, Opts, and heroics I understand about grouping, but being forced to group to do missions, dailies and weekly's isn't fun at all.

[theUndead]

I agree with the OP. MMO doesn't mean group up all the time! Look at WOW for example, are you forced to group for dailies? Are you forced to group for quests? More and more this game is forcing people who enjoy soloable content to group up in order to play the game. FP's, Opts, and heroics I understand about grouping, but being forced to group to do missions, dailies and weekly's isn't fun at all.

 

I've seen you say the word forced quite a bit. Here's the thing most of the dailies on all the planets can be soloed except for heroics. So really you are not forced into anything. Also and I have said this before the best content requires groups because its a mmo. But if you want to be able to solo more have good gear and a well geared companion but really and truly you are not forced into anything.

[Glorthox]

I've seen you say the word forced quite a bit. Here's the thing most of the dailies on all the planets can be soloed except for heroics. So really you are not forced into anything. Also and I have said this before the best content requires groups because its a mmo. But if you want to be able to solo more have good gear and a well geared companion but really and truly you are not forced into anything.

 

Lemme rephrase. In order to get through dailies like section x and makeb being in a group makes the dailies go faster. As a solo player it takes absolutely forever to get through when your a tank or healer. So yes you are forced to group in order to get through dailies a lot faster in areas like section x and makeb. However, I have tried on my gunslinger and trooper, and found section x just as long being solo. So yes, it does force people to group. The game does need more soloable content when level grinding opposed to leveling with someone.

[theUndead]

Lemme rephrase. In order to get through dailies like section x and makeb being in a group makes the dailies go faster. As a solo player it takes absolutely forever to get through when your a tank or healer. So yes you are forced to group in order to get through dailies a lot faster in areas like section x and makeb. However, I have tried on my gunslinger and trooper, and found section x just as long being solo. So yes, it does force people to group. The game does need more soloable content when level grinding opposed to leveling with someone.

 

I'm sorry but I still disagree. On my guardian I can do all the dailies on each world including section x and mekeb on my own except for the heroics. Furthermore in terms of time lets say in a group it takes 20 mins to do all the dailies on a planet but on my own about 40 mins. Does the time difference bother me? No because I'm confident enough that il succeed even if it takes me longer. Now you said you wanted more solo content but say they included it in the form of ops or fps. Wouldn't that trivialize the hard work established raid groups have done? And let us just say for a ment that it does happen, how would you make it work.

[Glorthox]

Dailies taking too long is the point. Grouping up for them to go faster is the bad thing. This is the only MMO where you need aid to finish dailies faster. But whatever, every person has there likes and dislikes about this game.

[Darth_Moonshadow]

I agree with the OP. MMO doesn't mean group up all the time! Look at WOW for example, are you forced to group for dailies? Are you forced to group for quests? More and more this game is forcing people who enjoy soloable content to group up in order to play the game. FP's, Opts, and heroics I understand about grouping, but being forced to group to do missions, dailies and weekly's isn't fun at all.

 

The irony, as if you look at WoW general, people are complaining that there is too much solo content now and they miss the old grouping days as it "fosters communities".

 

/shrug

Edited April 15, 2013 by Darth_Moonshadow

[s_w_sanders]

Lemme rephrase. In order to get through dailies like section x and makeb being in a group makes the dailies go faster. As a solo player it takes absolutely forever to get through when your a tank or healer. So yes you are forced to group in order to get through dailies a lot faster in areas like section x and makeb. However, I have tried on my gunslinger and trooper, and found section x just as long being solo. So yes, it does force people to group. The game does need more soloable content when level grinding opposed to leveling with someone.

 

I played for three hours the other day with my BH, finished section x, ilum, black hole all in that time. And I don't mind it taking three hours because I like the character and the class. I plan on soloing makeb. I've soloed two characters to fifty with little problems along with a 48, a 43, a 31, and I just started a SI level 10.

[Ujiyasu_]

This is still a problem. Today after the recent updates and KOTFE, we had a lot of good updates, but no difficulty mechanic. A nerff instead of a buff would be my recommendation. The companions are too powerful now. To use a companion in PVE seems like a cheat.

 

Anyway, the nerff is a more applicable idea to a MMO. You and your companion have reduced stats across the board. A nerff in your skills tab makes the game playable for everyone. There is the current level of difficulty which is easy without doubt. Normal and hard nerffs would be nice. That way I don't have to use crap gear all the time and have a second set of gear for flash points. I know the post is old, but I think this needs to happen. In the days of guild wars 1, your build was everything. In Swtor my skills kinda mean something in pve, but not really.

 

I don't know how, but the game is still fun.

[Muljo_Stpho]

A couple different approaches generally get discussed as something that the devs could consider each time this topic comes up.

 

One approach is what this topic has been discussing already. Allow some way to opt into different scaled versions of the same instanced content depending on user preference, similar to how flashpoints and operations already have different modes when you pick them up (flashpoints) or from a right-click menu before anyone enters the instance (operations).

 

Another approach would be to make clever use of specially designed buffs / debuffs to tweak the individual's experience with the same enemies as everybody else, kind of like the optional bolster that was temporarily available on Makeb but with functions more like the Alliance buffs inside Heroic Star Fortresses. (The Alliance buffs boost your damage dealt, reduce your damage received, boost your health, and boost your presence. One could easily imagine debuffs with the opposite effects of these as an optional handicap that someone could activate if they wanted content to be harder for whatever reason.)

 

Because Makeb's bolster was effectively an opt-in easy mode setting for Makeb. You could arrive on Makeb under the intended circumstances, starting around level 50 with gear around rating 140 or lower, and you could experience the 50-55 leveling curve the same as those who ran through Makeb the day it was released. Or you could arrive and activate the bolster and effectively have the stats of a level 55 in rating 156 gear, even if you were actually level 47 in 100 rating gear. Plus the bolster provided a small amount of automatic in-combat healing.

 

This Alliance buff inspired idea would only suggest that the buffs / debuffs could use a wide variety of different types of effects to fine-tune how any content in the game feels for you personally. Altering your stats like a bolster effect? Not caring so much about your actual stats and instead altering your overall output? Adding special effects like an automatic healing probe or shielding probe or whatever else to help in ways outside the realm of stat changes?

 

Whatever the approach though, there's also the other topic up for discussion: how rewards could be adjusted as well as arguing IF rewards even should be adjusted in some way. The precedent is set with the Makeb bolster and the Alliance buffs to not attempt to adjust drops or rewards in any way. But the precedent is also set with solo / story / hard / nightmare versions of flashpoints / operations that different difficulty levels definitely DO get different rewards and drops.

Edited May 6, 2016 by Muljo_Stpho