Is SWTOR a 'big-boy' MMO now?

[LadyKulvax]

By big-boy I mean one of the strongest competing in the market. Moreover what I'm getting at here is that despite all these numerous massive triple A MMOs releasing, SWTOR still seems to be going from strength to strength contrary to the countless dooms day messages about *insert hyped MMO release here*.

 

The latest example of this is The Elder Scrolls Online, a game which has suffered one of the worst releases in recent memory, even the biggest Elder Scrolls diehards have chastised the game and not even SWTOR's infamous 1.2 update seems to match the intensity of which the gaming crowd have torn ESO to shreds.

 

Guild Wars 2 does not seem to have suffered the same fate and has apparently stabilised.

 

Other examples of course exist but these releases don't seem to have pulled away from SWTOR at all, on the contrary the theme I am getting is that SWTOR is well beyond the hate train that it once suffered from, passed the hate carriage onto Guild Wars 2 and has only grown in the relative shadows since those days.

 

Though GSF hasn't been quite the saviour patch it was being touted as, it seems to have gotten an average-good reception and with Galactic Strongholds on the horizon with the long awaited Guild Flagships, players seem to slowly be giving SWTOR a second or perhaps third chance, with many claiming to have gotten a sense of great improvement compared to previous years.

 

So in the midst of bad releases, the opinion of SWTOR seems to have grown, if so could SWTOR be getting a second wind from all this?

 

Of course these are merely my own observations and doesn't account for the experiences of others.

 

But I am getting the sense that the failure to live up to the hype much for these new releases, much like SWTOR did is giving SWTOR's own improvements a time to shine.

 

Have you gotten similar experiences in recent weeks and share my observations or have you had completely the opposite experience? feel free to chime in but let's keep things civil.

Edited May 20, 2014 by LadyKulvax

[Reno_Tarshil]

I feel it is. I can't speak for others however.

[slafko]

The hate carriage has been passed to GW2? Sh!iiiiiiiiiiiit, I was hating GW2 way before it was cool. Edited May 20, 2014 by slafko

[LadyKulvax]

The hate carriage has been passed to GW2? Sh!iiiiiiiiiiiit, I was hating GW2 way before it was cool.

 

Funny but I think the hate is squarely placed on ESO right now, I genuinely can't remember a release getting such a bad response for a good long time.

[SW_display_name]

The hate carriage has been passed to GW2? Sh!iiiiiiiiiiiit, I was hating GW2 way before it was cool.

I don't think anyone hates GW2.

 

It's kind of either a "Love" or "Total apathy" game. Hard to hate it — just too well-done / charming / pretty. But not everyone's cup of te

 

YOU HAVE AGGRO FOR SOME REASON MASH THE DODGE BUTTON MASH THE DODGE BUTTON

CRAP OUT OF DODGES, TRY TO KITE TRY TO KITE TRY TO KITE

CRAP OUT OF UTILITY BUTTONS

 

oh well you died, just zerg it lol

Edited May 20, 2014 by SW_display_name

[Daekarus]

I haven't seen any MMOs released that I'd be remotely interested in compared to TOR. Maybe that makes me their target audience, maybe I'm not interested in a fantasy MMO at the moment, maybe that makes TOR a BBMM now.... who knows?

 

This kind of labelling has never seemed very important to me.

[DarthMaulUK]

Depends on your test. When you lose 1.5 million of your subscribers and forced to become F2P, I would say 'no'. Have Bioware done enough to make SWTOR a tempting alternative as a sub based MMO - No.

 

If you enjoy playing Sim type games, then I guess SWTOR is the place to be. Housing, slot machines, endless amounts of costumes then I would say 'yes'.

 

But posting something based on zero facts is pointless. If ESO survives it's first month as a paid MMO, then it would have done well and with Wildstar just around the corner, it's going to be a tough year.

 

Either way, the fact that EA no longer talks about SWTOR tells you the true story - 'No'.

Edited May 20, 2014 by DarthMaulUK

[LadyKulvax]

Haven't seen any MMOs released that I'd be remotely interested in compared to TOR. Maybe that makes me their target audience, maybe I'm not interested in a fantasy MMO at the moment, maybe that makes TOR a BBMM now.... who knows?

 

This kind of labelling has never seemed very important to me.

 

A respectable opinion, unfortunately the popularity and revenue gain for a title in this genre means life or death and also equals how much development we may see in the future.

[slafko]

I don't think anyone hates GW2.

I hate it. It's nowhere near GW1 and I hate what ArenaNeta has done to the franchise. Instead of a western-style MMO, we got a glorified, childish, asian, seizure-inducing coloring book.

Edited May 20, 2014 by slafko

[SW_display_name]

I haven't seen any MMOs released that I'd be remotely interested in compared to TOR. Maybe that makes me their target audience, maybe I'm not interested in a fantasy MMO at the moment,

This is why I ♥ SWTOR most of all, really.

 

I am so freaking sick of elves and magic spells. There's nothing wrong with them? But I am just sick of it. The gaming industry has too much of a hardon for High/Low Fantasy in RPG design.

 

Even WildStar doesn't really feel like SciFi. I can't explain it, but I feel like WS is just WoW Burning Crusade — SciFi vibe covering basically the same stock Fantasy stuff we always get from MMOs / RPGs.

 

SWTOR is refreshingly devoid of pretty much every expected element, it's so flat and sterile... I love that.

[LadyKulvax]

Depends on your test. When you lose 1.5 million of your subscribers and forced to become F2P, I would say 'no'. Have Bioware done enough to make SWTOR a tempting alternative as a sub based MMO - No.

 

If you enjoy playing Sim type games, then I guess SWTOR is the place to be. Housing, slot machines, endless amounts of costumes then I would say 'yes'.

 

But posting something based on zero facts is pointless. If ESO survives it's first month as a paid MMO, then it would have done well and with Wildstar just around the corner, it's going to be a tough year.

 

Either way, the fact that EA no longer talks about SWTOR tells you the true story - 'No'.

 

You seem to have entirely missed the point, this isn't past success or failure it's about what position SWTOR finds itself in now, not about losing 1.5 mill subs three and a half years ago.

 

I have seen many people return to this game with opinions such as: "Playing other MMOs has made me realise how good SWTOR actually is and I keep returning each time.", etc, etc..

 

But this isn't about cold hard facts, but our own observations, another point you've missed.

[DarthMaulUK]

You seem to have entirely missed the point, this isn't past success or failure it's about what position SWTOR finds itself in now, not about losing 1.5 mill subs three and a half years ago.

 

I have seen many people return to this game with opinions such as: "Playing other MMOs has made me realise how good SWTOR actually is and I keep returning each time.", etc, etc..

 

But this isn't about cold hard facts, but our own observations, another point you've missed.

 

And the hard fact you've missed is where I pointed out, most of those returning are free to play. I also pointed out, if you are judging this games 'success' as a paid MMO, you can't because it didn't.

 

Even as a freemium MMO compared to others it's a tough call. As for your 'observations' you don't really point anything out that has improved the experience. GSF is all but dead, Strongholds won't hold attention spans long enough especially IF everything is tied to the Cartel Market - which is the only thing important to Bioware.

[Apeth]

I have to admit despite its faults I've been hooked since early release. Also the devs do seem to listen to the community and add things we ask. My impression is that it is growing nicely and managing to see off some tough oposition along the way, like gw2 and ESO and is it 1 or 2 wow expansions?

[Reno_Tarshil]

And the hard fact you've missed is where I pointed out, most of those returning are free to play. I also pointed out, if you are judging this games 'success' as a paid MMO, you can't because it didn't.

 

Even as a freemium MMO compared to others it's a tough call. As for your 'observations' you don't really point anything out that has improved the experience. GSF is all but dead, Strongholds won't hold attention spans long enough especially IF everything is tied to the Cartel Market - which is the only thing important to Bioware.

 

Then why are you here? Every post you make sounds like you've given up on the game. Why waste your time and money?

[slafko]

I have to admit despite its faults I've been hooked since early release. Also the devs do seem to listen to the community and add things we ask. My impression is that it is growing nicely and managing to see off some tough oposition along the way, like gw2 and ESO and is it 1 or 2 wow expansions?

 

It's really easy to listen to the community and add the things they're asking for when you've delivered a half-finished product a few years ago.

 

What I love most is watching how the game is being upgraded with things I was saying were needed from the beginning and got trolled for doing it. Those same people are now praising the changes like they're a revolution in gaming.

 

Can't wait for the comms cap to get raised and removed.

[Pistols]

Lol no.

[DarkDisturbed]

No, it is a game that is not interesting towards most end game PvPer or raiders, instead of adding actual content or innovating in those areas we get content that is dead after a couple of months (*cough GSF cough*). Refusal to address issues in those areas have pushed more and more away. SWTOR will survive only on people playing it to experience the stories and a handful of end game players. It's not a game that can retain players on the long term.

 

PvP queues are taking longer and longer, guilds doing progression are shrinking, GSF pops are infrequent sometimes nonexistent for hours, content has been dumbed down and made "tactical" in order to shrink queue times.

Edited May 20, 2014 by DarkDisturbed

[iankalo]

Is SWTOR a 'big-boy' MMO now?

I believe SWTOR is a `big-girl` MMO now. Isnt the Republic a "she"?

Dont know why , but I never felt so secured about this game`s future. I dont think it will die soon. The population is higher than even on my server. There are new thing to do in this game with these new casino events and the player housing. New really cool mounts to grind daylies for. I hope we`ll survive till the boiling point - when the EA license expires. After that ... this game will have 10 years of content and would be the `biggest-lady` MMO. The new players wont complain about lack of end-game stuff to do , at least

Edited May 20, 2014 by iankalo

[Reno_Tarshil]

Lol no.

 

Yes it is.

[Pistols]

Yes it is.

 

Naw, cheers.

[Apeth]

It's really easy to listen to the community and add the things they're asking for when you've delivered a half-finished product a few years ago.

 

What I love most is watching how the game is being upgraded with things I was saying were needed from the beginning and got trolled for doing it. Those same people are now praising the changes like they're a revolution in gaming.

 

Can't wait for the comms cap to get raised and removed.

 

I'm not sure you can take the credit for all the good things being added to the game,but I do think as a community we have made some impact to the decisions made by the devs which is a good thing in my opinion.

[ZETA_SCORPII]

;)No other MMO has caught my attention at all. SWTOR is just bad**** and it has a lot going for it but it lacks in the PvP dept imo. The warzones just aren't very interesting and I have no motivation to grind for PvP gear. What would motivate me? Have a few Operations that combine both PvE and PvP. 4 Imps with 4 pubs (or 8 and 8) unite against a mutual foe to take down a few bosses together with the drops being both PvP and PvE, you'd get warzone and PvE comms as well. The Operation then ends with some type of epic PvP battle when the alliance is broken and the winning side gets a nice bonus reward. That would motivate me to PvP more . Sorry, got a bit off topic but ya, this game is pretty sick. Edited May 20, 2014 by ZETA_SCORPII

[Reno_Tarshil]

Naw, cheers.

 

Yes...

[LadyKulvax]

No, it is a game that is not interesting towards most end game PvPer or raiders, instead of adding actual content or innovating in those areas we get content that is dead after a couple of months (*cough GSF cough*). Refusal to address issues in those areas have pushed more and more away. SWTOR will survive only on people playing it to experience the stories and a handful of end game players. It's not a game that can retain players on the long term.

 

PvP queues are taking longer and longer, guilds doing progression are shrinking, GSF pops are infrequent sometimes nonexistent for hours, content has been dumbed down and made "tactical" in order to shrink queue times.

 

You seem to be misinterpreting the point of this topic, with general observations can we see players coming back to this game after the ever more disappointing MMO releases? I think SWTOR has stabilised and built up enough that people bored of WoW but also disapproving of the latest releases are seeing SWTOR as a stable enough alternative right now to consider it a viable option for the near future.

Edited May 20, 2014 by LadyKulvax

[AshenK]

no its not and never will be.

 

it failed as a pay to play game and its failed as a p2w title. the dev team is tiny, the playbase is leaving faster then any other player base. theres no new content coming in outside some poorly planned events and rehashes of old content. ops are not getting anything new. pvp is broken and is not getting fixed or any new pvp maps. you will never see class stories bioware can't even get voice actors back into the game. everything is about the cartel market and conning the players out of more money.

 

tor is only on the way to getting sunset by the end of the year. other games like wildstar, tsw, eve are growing and will be huge. tor? it's just going to be something people point at laugh at.