Legacy 50: My experience

[Candor]

I hit Level 50 Legacy a little while ago, on my third of three six-month stints in the game (counting beta). Just wanted to post and say how much I like the game, which is refreshing to still have happen after 3-4 hardcore experiences in other games over the last ten years.

 

I love my class. I have leveled up most of the classes, but Infiltration Shadows have been my favorite since the first character I created in beta (my second favorite class in any game, after Heralds of Xotli in Age of Conan), and now I play one exclusively. You see so much more when you're stealthed; Force Speed >>> charge; and the burstiness makes you a meat-grinder in FPs, especially when trash is spread out and/or some mobs have peeled off on the healer.

 

I love all the solo content, especially the lack of pressure to begin raiding ASAP (or at all). Achievements, datacrons, class stories, but most of all, I love the variety of dailies (planets, GSI, 50 vs 55), especially Makeb. (I also love the movie Groundhog Day. That seems relevant.) Thanks to dailies (including groupfinder FPs), I've put at least 40 million into prestige (without cartel coins or credit-buying), and I am one piece from full 180 gear, ~41k HP, yet I don't belong to a guild and I can count the ops I’ve done on one hand. (Why don't I do ops? At first because I raid in other games, then I got spoiled never having to stand around LF ops or wait for AFKers. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a hermit. I love Groupfinder, especially at 55. My current main was Social VII before 55.)

 

I also love strongholds. I’ve been rooting for MMOs to develop more alternative progression paths for a decade, GSH is as close as I’ve gotten to what I had in mind. I don't squee much in MMOs, but I can't wait to see where GSH grows over time.

 

To prove I learned nothing from ten years on MMORPG forums, I have three pieces of advice for people who feel like there’s something missing when they log in every day:

• Stick to one class. Sure, give every one of them a shot for stories and to understand your teammates. But then pick your favorite and make it home. It makes the whole game more enjoyable when every button press is second-nature, your gear makes the tedious parts of dailies a snooze, people start saying nice things in FPs...
  
• Don’t let anyone tell you how to have fun. Really enjoy a planet? Do dailies there, even though the guides say it’s the worst credits-per-minute. Class is weak at NiM ops? Don’t do NiM ops. Not sure what to do tonight? It’s not a job, don’t do the most “productive” thing, take advantage of your lack of plan to go do something unusual, like farm a random achievement or try RP or browse a category of the GTN that you’ve never seen. You show me a guide-writing NiM pro and I'll show you someone who has the time and intelligence to do a lot else on the side.
  
• Go solo. Honestly, I’m not sure I could do the above without going solo. The nail that sticks up gets hammered down in an MMO: do this spec, wear this gear, ask the raid leader’s permission to bio. If you’re really going to play for fun, if you’re even going to understand what you truly consider fun, sometimes you need to make some space between you and the negativity.
  
• Bonus (Stage 1 of 1): Don't binge. Love datacron farming? Do one, then take a week off. I love HM FPs, but I have a strict rule of one a day. Really want GSI rep but hate the quests on most of the planets? Stick to the one you like, delay some gratification, and you'll be here long after people doing it the "optimal" way have come and gone.
  

Edited October 10, 2014 by Candor

[Deewe]

A good read.

 

Most important part: play for the FUN, at your pace, with your own style, with and without people.

Edited October 10, 2014 by Deewe

[MagikFingerz]

10/10, would read again!

 

Very sound advice, for any player at any point in their gaming "career".

 

I have to admit though, I read through the whole thing expecting some QQ about lack of rewards for hitting legacy 50

[venomlash]

Five star post!

 

I also am a Legacy 50 (and have been since before Legacy was much more than just a family tree and XP bar) and a groupfinder hero, and I get what you're saying about Ops. You're right on the money about making one class your main and really getting to know it; Commando gameplay feels like second nature to me, and I'm getting there as Shadow. (Still prefer Balance, simply because it has better AoE and some nice self-heals.)

[DomiSotto]

Interesting. I am kind of curious, don't know if the OP is still around, but for whoever is reading from the real Old Guard and know what they are doing...

 

1. How do you pick your main? I found that unless I play the character slowly, participate in optional activities (PvP and Flashpoints) and pay attention to skills acquired etc, I end up with a clueless Level 55 - I have 1.5 of those. But this takes a long time for each toon, so by the time I get to 55 on one, I would have forgotten the other?

 

Does your main kindda speaks to you? Even if it is not the class that gives the most pluses?

 

2. Would you advise to see all 8 stories before even venturing into the end-game with whichever char you chose? I tried to do both, rotating a L55 alt and a low alt which was levelling, and end up frustrated. So, did you do it that way, or just left the end game 'till the time comes'? Before Conquests that was not an option because the GTN was so slow, but now with the low grade mats sales allowing your lower alts to fend for themselves just fine it is an option. So, just run all the potentials to L55 and then take one from there into the L55+ beyondness?

 

3. Did you really get to Social VII by Flashpoints only? Wow, it seems like so little points every time and the window on each FP closes so fast as the char levels.

Edited October 12, 2014 by DomiSotto

[MeinChurro]

Interesting. I am kind of curious, don't know if the OP is still around, but for whoever is reading from the real Old Guard and know what they are doing...

 

1. How do you pick your main? I found that unless I play the character slowly, participate in optional activities (PvP and Flashpoints) and pay attention to skills acquired etc, I end up with a clueless Level 55 - I have 1.5 of those. But this takes a long time for each toon, so by the time I get to 55 on one, I would have forgotten the other?

 

Does your main kindda speaks to you? Even if it is not the class that gives the most pluses?

 

2. Would you advise to see all 8 stories before even venturing into the end-game with whichever char you chose? I tried to do both, rotating a L55 alt and a low alt which was levelling, and end up frustrated. So, did you do it that way, or just left the end game 'till the time comes'? Before Conquests that was not an option because the GTN was so slow, but now with the low grade mats sales allowing your lower alts to fend for themselves just fine it is an option. So, just run all the potentials to L55 and then take one from there into the L55+ beyondness?

 

3. Did you really get to Social VII by Flashpoints only? Wow, it seems like so little points every time and the window on each FP closes so fast as the char levels.

I'm not an "old guard", but what happened for me with my main sage is.. it just clicked. I started with a juggernaut, then an assassin, then I made my sage. Really enjoyed it, started playing it more and more, and then I simply started playing it more than any one of my characters. It had the best gear, because I played it so much, and I just decided this would be my main character.

 

I didn't really pick my main, I just tried a lot of the classes out until I found one I really enjoyed to play, and it just fell in place of my previous character(s).

 

I haven't seen all the class stories yet, I would advise, if you have the character slots, to try each of them out though.

 

I got social x on my sage through pug operations.

[DomiSotto]

Really, that high Social from pugs? Awesome! Did you do FPs only like the OP? Did you find a window during levelling where the FP did not wreck your levelling? I did the FPs as they came up, maybe 1x or 2x a week, with a couple of repeats to memorize them (and to get an actual FP rather then the KYD), and my Social is only 250/750 for Rank I, and I can't do more without throwing Balmorra out of the window.

 

Is it better in the higher bracket?

 

Unfortunately, I tend to fall in love with my chars as I play them, so at this point it's the it 'gotta be a Pub one' meaning 8 ACs...

Edited October 12, 2014 by DomiSotto

[MeinChurro]

Really, that high Social from pugs? Awesome! Did you do FPs only like the OP? Did you find a window during levelling where the FP did not wreck your levelling? I did the FPs as they came up, maybe 1x or 2x a week, with a couple of repeats to memorize them (and to get an actual FP rather then the KYD), and my Social is only 250/750 for Rank I, and I can't do more without throwing Balmorra out of the window.

 

Is it better in the higher bracket?

 

Unfortunately, I tend to fall in love with my chars as I play them, so at this point it's the it 'gotta be a Pub one' meaning 8 ACs...

I don't do a lot of flashpoints. I have gotten 7 levels overlevel throughout all of chapter 1, but that's mostly because I like lowbie PvP. Before the 12x I would kuat once a day on alts for the planetary comms and occasionally do a normal flashpoint if I got a queue. It's not like being overlevel forces you to not do planetary quests, I have done them even if I was 7 levels over for the commendation reward (excluding most bonus except 3 parter).

 

As for end game flashpoints, on the server I play on at least, it takes awhile to get hard mode 55 queues. I do do a lot of tactical flashpoints, usually depths of manaan or legacy of rakata for the achievements and that aquatic sleen mount I still haven't won. I only do group finder operations maybe 3 times a week (sometimes do operations on alts as well), for the 30 ultimate comms (+weekly}. Like this week I am maxed on ultimate and elite on my sage.

 

I like republic, it has grown on me. I play both sides, but I definitely play my republic characters much more often, especially since my main is a jedi. Imperial content got pretty stale after playing it so much.

Edited October 12, 2014 by MeinChurro

[DomiSotto]

I try to stay as much on the level as possible. I love the lowbie PvP and yeah, fitting everything in means no planetary quests. I can live with it, as I played it already and will play again on paired toons. I think I like the OP's suggestion about FP's rather than the Operations. Good to know Social can be earned that way!

 

Thank you for the answers!

[Candor]

Interesting. I am kind of curious, don't know if the OP is still around, but for whoever is reading from the real Old Guard and know what they are doing...

 

1. How do you pick your main? I found that unless I play the character slowly, participate in optional activities (PvP and Flashpoints) and pay attention to skills acquired etc, I end up with a clueless Level 55 - I have 1.5 of those. But this takes a long time for each toon, so by the time I get to 55 on one, I would have forgotten the other?

 

Does your main kindda speaks to you? Even if it is not the class that gives the most pluses?

That's a good question, because I think it makes all the difference in a game. I definitely have a "click" experience when I find my main in a game. In thinking about my six-ish mains (across the four MMOs and two singleplayer RPGs that I've played the most) I can't really find a pattern in the type of class or even role (DPS, healer, etc.). But there have been some intangible similarities:

• liking the class "backstory" (although often not before I started; I hated my AoC main's backstory before I started playing her)
  
• big toybox (fun things that let me play the game in an unusual way)
  
• one of the lesser-played classes or specs (in end-game, in particular)
  
• hard to master
  

I have a sense of everything just feeling really natural. I feel like I'm playing a slightly OP class and it's a little surprise when others don't feel the same way.

 

I know pretty quickly if it's my main or not. If you have any hesitation, I say move on to the next (unless what you're feeling is game burnout, which is unfortunately when most people wait to find a new class; at that point, no class will save you, even if there's a brief honeymoon phase). People will tell you to try a class to 25-30 before deciding -- I've said that myself, before -- but it's taken me less time to figure it out with each game I play. I knew in SWTOR within an hour of trying a Shadow. Actually, what's really changed since my early games is how long I'll play a class that is just "okay" before I get back to hunting and thus find my real main sooner. AoC I knew within an hour too, but unfortunately only after putting six months into another class (but went on to become the official player rep for my eventual main, so it's never too late to switch boats mid-stream). WoW was far worse: I raided hardcore in vanilla WoW for two years as a priest, thought I liked it, then tried a healer pally and it eventually ruined priesting for me (and my guild frowned on alts and switching so it ended up ruining the game for me; did I mention I dislike raiding?). Most other games since have fallen somewhere in the middle, in terms of how long to find (or let myself find) my main.

 

SWTOR also rewards trying a few classes because you end up with more stories and achievements under your belt, plus the multi-class party buff.

3. Did you really get to Social VII by Flashpoints only? Wow, it seems like so little points every time and the window on each FP closes so fast as the char levels.

Yep. Social X actually, just from FPs. I did use Social XP boosts toward the end, when I realized how cheap they are. And I did a half-dozen or so runs of Esseles when Social 8-9ish. But probably the biggest factor was that I love to take my time leveling -- no XP boosts, no bonuses unless they were staged, lots of exploring, maxing gear every couple levels, crafting, etc. -- so there was a bit more time.

[Darth_Wicked]

Stick to one class. Sure, give every one of them a shot for stories and to understand your teammates. But then pick your favorite and make it home. It makes the whole game more enjoyable when every button press is second-nature, your gear makes the tedious parts of dailies a snooze, people start saying nice things in FPs...

 

I disagree.

 

Variety is the spice of life.

 

If I had stuck to a single class this whole time, I would have unsubbed ages ago. Real life is limited enough as it is; Why replicate that kind of behavior in a virtual realm, where the sky is the limit?

[Candor]

If I had stuck to a single class this whole time, I would have unsubbed ages ago.

Good point. I didn't actually mean "the whole time." You run out of stuff to do on one character every few months, less if you restrict yourself to ops or PVP or something. What I was advising is "one at a time." I've had four "mains" in SWTOR. Of course, three of the four mains have been Shadows or Sins.... But the average MMO player leaves a game in less than 6 months, so I don't think most would have to worry about how to develop a similar obsessive compulsion.

Real life is limited enough as it is; Why replicate that kind of behavior in a virtual realm, where the sky is the limit?

Man, human to human .... if your life feels limited, I could see how that'd make variety more important than efficiency in-game, but I don't think that changes my game advice. I have a different set of advice for anyone in that position. Get at that real life thing, mate. Content galore. I'm not 40, and I've been a lawyer, TV writer, massage therapist, stone mason, have four degrees, lived on both US coasts, acted in live theater, toured as a competition singer, competed in CrossFit... I'm broke and single, but that's what it takes to keep some of us from "unsubbing"! If you're feeling the grind, perhaps you haven't found your "class" yet.

 

Anyway, MMOs are pure, distilled grind, and what I'm suggesting is that the best way to beat that grind is to be doing what you like each moment of it, in the most efficient way possible, which for me has translated into finding the class that makes me happy just to kill things, any things, all the things.

Edited October 13, 2014 by Candor

[Darth_Wicked]

if your life feels limited (...)

 

I dunno about you but I don't get to travel across the galaxy using a space ship such as this. I also don't get to slash droids in half using a lightsaber or face a Crimson King.

 

When I said "limited", I was referring to that, as in, stuff you can't actually do outside the game.

 

Should have been self-explanatory but at this stage, I should have probably known better.

Edited October 13, 2014 by Darth_Wicked