OddballEasyEight Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 (edited) Is this really a problem? I mean, sure, nowadays I usually gear up my character from lvl 1 with an outfit that I like and then just use comms to buy mods, but even when I didn't do that, I never had problems getting the items I wanted from the comms vendors. Mainly because they usually only sell part of the entire outfit or just a weapon or an offhand. So you would need to buy 1, maby 2 items tops per planet. And doing all the heroics and sidequests usually gets you enough to get those one or two pieces. Of course, if you want 5 different weapons (or shoes or pants or whatever) at the same time, you'll have to do it the old fashioned way (grinding heroics) but why would you want 5 different items of the same kind from the same planetary vendor in the first place? Comms are easy enough to get by now. No need to "give them away like candy". EDIT: Oh crap, I posted right after Andryah... Now he is going to allude to us being the same person or both employed by bioware... *sigh* Edited January 15, 2014 by OddballEasyEight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadOrb Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 (edited) Well the dev team hate the comms system ( they stated this a few weeks ago ) so not really sure they will increase them. You can see from that newish ultimate comms armor being adaptive that they are saving space on the fleet vendors so we could try work out what there next step might be. Having said all that they also said they love the reputation system so expect more of those in-game. Cheers, BadOrb. Edited January 15, 2014 by BadOrb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GalacticKegger Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 (edited) Only thing I want is at least double the planetary coms caps. You cannot gear both your character and a companion off 100 coms.If comm vendors were the sole source for gear and gear components - and neither heroics, flashpoints, dailies nor weeklies yielded comms, (or if WZ comms couldn't be traded in for planetary comms) then I would be inclined to agree. But there are so many ways to earn comms (and what they buy) that I don't find this to be an issue. H4s and FPs and their associated missions yield comms, custom gear and the random individual armoring, mod, enhancement, hilt or barrel component drop. All H4 & FP custom gear, whether acquired through drops or via their mission rewards, have components that can be yanked and reused - no comms required. The GTN is also a source for both gear and gear components. Then there is legacy crafting ... Cybertechs and artificers craft blue components for my characters to supplement comm vendor components, as well as green components for my companions - just not every level. I have never needed to gear my companions with blues until they start doing 50+ heroics or HMs. If I can't solo a planetary heroic with them in greens, I just come back after a couple more levels. Green components have the same stats as blues that are 4 character XP levels lower. So starting at level 19, I reload my character's custom gear components with blues from the comm vendors every 12 levels; then upgrade those with crafted greens, drops & mission rewards in between. Rinse and repeat through level 50 as this is easily enough gear progression to complete everything level appropriately up to and including H4s and FPs with one other player plus companions. At least the ones that don't require more than 2 players to simultaneously click stuff like Collicoid. At 50 the Makeb vendor takes over with item level 140 purples. I make sure I hit 50 with the max 100. What doesn't get filled in initially at 50 can be filled in after doing a couple days worth of lowbie heroic dailies. It's both simple and easy. This will have the character nicely geared for HMs which in turn will gear them for ops in this same fashion. It really is a balanced and intuitive commendation system. Edited January 15, 2014 by GalacticKegger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZionHalcyon Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 Is this really a problem? I mean, sure, nowadays I usually gear up my character from lvl 1 with an outfit that I like and then just use comms to buy mods, but even when I didn't do that, I never had problems getting the items I wanted from the comms vendors. Mainly because they usually only sell part of the entire outfit or just a weapon or an offhand. So you would need to buy 1, maby 2 items tops per planet. And doing all the heroics and sidequests usually gets you enough to get those one or two pieces. Of course, if you want 5 different weapons (or shoes or pants or whatever) at the same time, you'll have to do it the old fashioned way (grinding heroics) but why would you want 5 different items of the same kind from the same planetary vendor in the first place? Comms are easy enough to get by now. No need to "give them away like candy". EDIT: Oh crap, I posted right after Andryah... Now he is going to allude to us being the same person or both employed by bioware... *sigh* The fact that you are so sensitive without being provoked... Anyway, never said it was a complete problem - just something that in my eyes would improve the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZionHalcyon Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 Well the dev team hate the comms system ( they stated this a few weeks ago ) so not really sure they will increase them. You can see from that newish ultimate comms armor being adaptive that they are saving space on the fleet vendors so we could try work out what there next step might be. Having said all that they also said they love the reputation system so expect more of those in-game. Cheers, BadOrb. Got a link to where they said they hate the comms system? never heard that one before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorAndy Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Comms paired with crafting has been enough to keep my leveling toons fine on gear. I usually craft the expensive things at least, (armorings, barrels, etc) and use comms for the mods and enhancements. I haven't done a single planet mission on my powertech up to alderaan so far. Supplementing with PVP, GSF, FPs and even traditional space missions helps to fill the gaps in levels and comms for gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafaman Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Step 1) Do PvP, including especially dailies Step 2) Exchange warzone commendations for planetary comms Step 3) Buy all the planetary items and mods you want. Step 4) Profit My Imperial Agent toon is just finishing Hoth. I have bought all the orange and blue Belsavis gear already (yes, I am a few levels above Hoth, due to PvP XP + GSF XP + constant +25% XP buff). I would ignore the PvP weapons below level 55 and concentrate on checking GTN for purple and blue weapons for yourself and your companion. I found a level 35 purple blaster for Kaiyo that does insanely more damage and has better stats than level 43-44 blasters offered by vendors. Some of the planetary comm weapons are great (in my opinion, especially light sabers > blasters). TL;DR: Do PvP. Yup. Pretty much solves the Planetary comms issue. The issue actually will then become the cap. But ok, let's say you don't PvP. Just running quests can get you at least 30 per planet not including the bonus series. If you don't go hog while upgrading every level, you will rack up more than enough Planet comms to meet your needs. I don't use classics much because I don't spend much time between 50 and 53 now. Just run a few dailes and some fps and Ops and I'm well into basics before classics are even a thought in my mind. Net, net, since basics by 69s now I don't see much of a need to restructure much comms wise until the next level cap. The only thing I would argue needs to be done is the Planetary comms cap needs to be raised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadOrb Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Got a link to where they said they hate the comms system? never heard that one before. As I said in the other thread you must have been on a break for a long time it seems , it was from one of the podcasts over the last 6 months or less probably , so yeah I'm not going to listen to 6 podcasts with background noise again. Especially since it was only mentioned right at the end of one of them. It was either torwars , ootinicast or darthhaters podcast. Cheers, BadOrb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OddballEasyEight Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 The fact that you are so sensitive without being provoked... The fact that you have alluded to it in the past is enough provocation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZionHalcyon Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 As I said in the other thread you must have been on a break for a long time it seems , it was from one of the podcasts over the last 6 months or less probably , so yeah I'm not going to listen to 6 podcasts with background noise again. Especially since it was only mentioned right at the end of one of them. It was either torwars , ootinicast or darthhaters podcast. Cheers, BadOrb. Not on a break at all - I just don't listen to podcasts. Did they have an actual dev on, or is this just something one of the podcasters commented on? I have not seen anything official. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZionHalcyon Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 The fact that you have alluded to it in the past is enough provocation. A bit touchy are ya? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorvan Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 (edited) i disagree with this. I get armoring, mods, enhancements, hilts/barrels for myself an companions. When you do your dailies for flashpoints and just your class quest...I have been able to buy armoring and mods for myself and companion. Its about budgeting comms.. Except unlike some, I am unwilling to redo the same content over and over ad nauseum to grind out tokens. i do a flashpoint, and it's done. I don't go back if I can help it. It's one reason why I despise raiding. And it's the only way I can stomach doing those flashpoints again when I roll an alt. I'm sure I'm not the only one either. Edited January 15, 2014 by Zorvan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadOrb Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Not on a break at all - I just don't listen to podcasts. Did they have an actual dev on, or is this just something one of the podcasters commented on? I have not seen anything official. O right okay. Yeah the podcast presenter ( if that's what you call them ) asked a dev at the bar afterwards , as far as I remember from the podcast. Iv'e been looking into which one but it's tough trying to find it , I do think it was after the chat bubbles mention in the following cantina tour http://swtor-rp.com/home/m/1639454/article/1828224/page/1 One other slightly off topic bit of information from around the same time was the fact that group finder is a mess , but it will take a lot of time and effort to correct it , a complete overhaul. I guess hence why they don't just add TC to it and other said missions. Carry on. Cheers, BadOrb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Wes- Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 I don't have any issues with planetary commendations, per se. I was glad to see them go to a pooled approach rather than individual planets, and gladder still to see them raise the cap from 50 to 100. I wouldn't mind if the cap was higher, but have few problems managing them at that level. Occasionally I might find myself capped at 100 and be midway through an even level (say level 28, when the next set of comm mods is available at 29). In those cases, I refrain from turning in missions that award comms and run some warzones for the XP needed to hit the next level, use my comms, and then accept the mission rewards. For "elder game" comms, I'd really like to see them implement an exchange rate, similar to the exchange currently available for planetary, ranked, and unranked comms. As others have said, classic comms are just a shade north of useless in the current system, and basics aren't far behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
branmakmuffin Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 And I even warned you in the same thread not to just blindly heap everyone with a goodbye post in the same lot. Looks like that warning went unheeded. As I suspected. You are simply attention-mongering. Within a month of going Preferred, you will re-subscribe (or quit entirely, although re-subbing is the more likely, given your inability to not engage in grandstanding). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomXChance Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 The way I see you , you were never meant to get every piece of gear from each planetary vendor. If you are the appropriate level for the planet you are on and have 1/2 level appropriate gear you breeze right through the quests. With so many alts and piles of unused planetary comms, I do fully gear toons as I level with the comms from other characters and the gear from flashpoints. This makes the toon vastly OP for the quests I am doing. The quests are balanced for gearing "naturally" and there is no need to change the system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZionHalcyon Posted January 15, 2014 Author Share Posted January 15, 2014 The way I see you , you were never meant to get every piece of gear from each planetary vendor. If you are the appropriate level for the planet you are on and have 1/2 level appropriate gear you breeze right through the quests. With so many alts and piles of unused planetary comms, I do fully gear toons as I level with the comms from other characters and the gear from flashpoints. This makes the toon vastly OP for the quests I am doing. The quests are balanced for gearing "naturally" and there is no need to change the system. The issue with that idea is that gear for those planets comes in "sets". By the time you complete a "set" you are far too overleveled for it to be of any use to you anymore. Therefore, while you feel that way, because armor is done in sets contradicts your feel in terms of quest flow and intent. To be honest, I think Bioware just screwed up the pacing in terms of levelling and expected people to be on planets a lot longer than it actually took them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reno_Tarshil Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 I've never had an issue with not having comms to spend while leveling. Though I tend to spend my comms on Purple Boxes and the occasional weapon and off hand if I got a new companion. That being said, I wouldn't mind extra comms to spend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merwanor Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 (edited) I keep getting the message that I am close to the maximum amount of planetary coms all the time. Compared to how it was before, the new system is awesome. But even more of them could not hurt Edited January 16, 2014 by Merwanor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomXChance Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 The issue with that idea is that gear for those planets comes in "sets". By the time you complete a "set" you are far too overleveled for it to be of any use to you anymore. Therefore, while you feel that way, because armor is done in sets contradicts your feel in terms of quest flow and intent. To be honest, I think Bioware just screwed up the pacing in terms of levelling and expected people to be on planets a lot longer than it actually took them. What are these planet "sets" you are talking about? If they actually existed how would that be at all pertinent? Nar Shadda has helms and offhand. Tatooine has chest and belt. Alderaan has boots and legs. Taris has mainhand and legs. As a matter of fact, you just disproved yourself by showing how you are meant to gradually gather the "set" its as you progress through the planets. Wow, thanks for making my point! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andryah Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 The issue with that idea is that gear for those planets comes in "sets". By the time you complete a "set" you are far too overleveled for it to be of any use to you anymore. Except the sub-50 local planetary comms vendors do not sell sets. They sell a piece, some times two, and perhaps a secondary item (on some planets) like an earpiece etc. As you progress through the planets.. each planet has a particular piece of orange gear.. and it's different for each planet. At the same time.. local NPCs often sell an orange piece of gear for credits as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forgettableone Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Or alternatively - if you've got a lvl 55 imp, just run the heroics on DK to fill in the gaps? (Tat's probably easiest for pubs due to silly low end pub maps and travel times) - no over leveling as the xp's negligible - 15 comms for about 20 minutes work (if that) - half an hour on as a pub on tat - time on DK/Tat to spread your experience of the game by answering noobs questions - which helps everyone. Simples Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSupaCoopa Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Duran'del Here: Inheritance(14-17) gear will last at least until level 20. Birthright(40ish) will last until level 50. You can stockpile comms through these little lulls in the gearing system if you have legacy gear. Now if it was only easier to get legacy kits(aside from mainhands)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafaman Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 (edited) I think the problem with Planetary comms is that many people spend them needlessly. You don't need to upgrade your gear every level even if you are at level with the content. Every 3 levles maybe... I limit it to one upgrade session per planet and then only a few key items because the gear you are upgrading becomes obsolete very quickly. In fact for most content up until about 50, greens are just fine. Edited January 16, 2014 by Rafaman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
branmakmuffin Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I think the problem with Planetary comms is that many people spend them needlessly. And what should people do with them, exactly? Save them until the character is capped and they're worthless? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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