Why are purple lightsaber crystals so rare?

[MalachiDraven]

Well if you think about it... how many Purple sabres did you see in the films? I'd say they're pretty rare there, too!

 

In all seriousness though I have no idea! Not a huge fan of purple sabres myself, but putting the only one I know of on a PvP vendor seems a bit silly.

 

Eh, it'll change eventually.

 

This game isn't based on the movies at all. It's KOTOR 3, that's been said by the devs multiple times. There's TONS of purple crystals in the KOTOR games. And there's tons more in the rest of the Expanded Universe.

[Zack_Fair]

Well the thing is, the Sith DO get them. They are in their Tier 2 PVP Gear, the Jedi Tier 2 Sabers are Cyan. =\ I'm guessing maybe Tier 3 PVP Gear has the Purple crystal in it?

[Westwind]

Unlink colours from alignments, damn it. I want a green saber. I want more easily obtainable options than red at the very least.

 

I thought purple was going to be to inquisitors as green was to consulars, but dark siders just got ripped off.

[ricofico]

I would agree with this but my level 18 maurader had missions in a dark temple where just about every enemy in there had a purple lightsaber. I have come across a good amount of enemies with the purple crystals so it makes no sense that level 18 npcs can find these crystals but we can't.

 

Keep looking LOL

[UjellyTrollicus]

the better question is.

 

 

why are orange blasters so damn common?

[JalenTigh]

the better question is.

 

 

why are orange blasters so damn common?

 

Orange everything is too damn common... its killing the equipment crafting aspect of the game. Why would anyone waste money on the market for blue or purple items that will only last them a few levels when they can just use any orange item they like the look of and keep upgrading it all the way to 50.

[Teliko]

There's a lore reason for this IIRC.

 

The crystals used for the purple colors are a very rare type of crystal.

[UjellyTrollicus]

Orange everything is too damn common... its killing the equipment crafting aspect of the game. Why would anyone waste money on the market for blue or purple items that will only last them a few levels when they can just use any orange item they like the look of and keep upgrading it all the way to 50.

 

no i mean the actual color orange, poor wording on m part.

 

i have leveled and agent and a trooper into the 30's, and about 80% of all the weapons i get have orange crystals.

[GrandAdmrlThrawn]

Let me ask this. Would people rather have items that no one is interested in be rare and the cool items available to everyone? I think if everyone could get the purple crystal easily they'd be complaining it's too easy to get it and they "aren't a special snowflake" as people like to say. It's best to keep the coolest/best loot as rare to keep people interested and playing to try to obtain this hard to get loot.

[snooggums]

There's a lore reason for this IIRC.

 

The crystals used for the purple colors are a very rare type of crystal.

 

Stating this over and over shows ignorance since there are tons of low level NPCs everywhere with this supposedly 'rare' crystal and the movies aren't an example of rarity since they take place 3000 years in the future.

 

There is no previous basis for this rarity, there is no previous basis for color restrictions. Stop stating this as if it was fact.

[snooggums]

Let me ask this. Would people rather have items that no one is interested in be rare and the cool items available to everyone? I think if everyone could get the purple crystal easily they'd be complaining it's too easy to get it and they "aren't a special snowflake" as people like to say. It's best to keep the coolest/best loot as rare to keep people interested and playing to try to obtain this hard to get loot.

 

I don't care what other players have, and artificial rarity is the absolute worst part of MMOs.

 

In beta, they offered color choice, but they removed it to match other MMOS. They removed color matching, because players were using it. They have armor and weapon restrictions instead of rewarding or punishing players for using ability appropriate or suboptimal gear. The color gem restrictions is a clear sign that there is a desire to drag out playtime by using the 'reward gear' approach instead of the 'fun to play' approach that was used to make the story line and voice overs. They started with gear you could upgrade to endgame, but it is clear that 'raiding' gear will surpass Orange gear so that isn't true either.

 

These are clear signs that they will continue to add restrictions to player characters over time, following the path of other MMOs where gear will be the reward in future releases. This is extremely disappointing, and I wish they would go back to their original approach.

[HeLLMuTT]

Stating this over and over shows ignorance since there are tons of low level NPCs everywhere with this supposedly 'rare' crystal and the movies aren't an example of rarity since they take place 3000 years in the future.

 

There is no previous basis for this rarity, there is no previous basis for color restrictions. Stop stating this as if it was fact.

 

You gotta get your facts straight there to bud... You're a little off.

[GrandAdmrlThrawn]

I don't care what other players have, and artificial rarity is the absolute worst part of MMOs.

 

In beta, they offered color choice, but they removed it to match other MMOS. They removed color matching, because players were using it. They have armor and weapon restrictions instead of rewarding or punishing players for using ability appropriate or suboptimal gear. The color gem restrictions is a clear sign that there is a desire to drag out playtime by using the 'reward gear' approach instead of the 'fun to play' approach that was used to make the story line and voice overs. They started with gear you could upgrade to endgame, but it is clear that 'raiding' gear will surpass Orange gear so that isn't true either.

 

These are clear signs that they will continue to add restrictions to player characters over time, following the path of other MMOs where gear will be the reward in future releases. This is extremely disappointing, and I wish they would go back to their original approach.

 

Ok. You may not care what other people are wearing but some people will see someone wearing or using something and say "Oh well that looks kinda neat. I'd like to have that." Making certain items rare to find that people find cool is a way to get players to play the game more to try and get the gear that they think is cool for their character. For some people it may add a little depth to their game because they develop a purpose beyond what they had before like trying to find a certain item.

[snooggums]

Ok. You may not care what other people are wearing but some people will see someone wearing or using something and say "Oh well that looks kinda neat. I'd like to have that." Making certain items rare to find that people find cool is a way to get players to play the game more to try and get the gear that they think is cool for their character. For some people it may add a little depth to their game because they develop a purpose beyond what they had before like trying to find a certain item.

 

This requires the game to not allow players to make choices, but instead rely on random drops to gain their desires, which is tedious crap. Instead, players should choose what they want, and doing things should be fun on their own without requiring a carrot on a stick to encourage them to do it.

 

Flashpoints should be so much fun that I want to do them over and over. Making the loot the reward is the reason that people get sick of doing them over and over. For example, Black Talon should have multiple points where the player choices 'matter', and possibly even have the characters action influence but not dictate the outcome of what happens on the bridge. So if they cause the conflict on the bridge, sometimes everyone dies, sometimes different NPCs live and sometimes the one that did the killing is stopped by some other method. Mobs should patrol more, so that two times through doesn't mean you can endlessly mash buttons because you've done it before.

 

Engagement should be its own reward. Using jealousy is terrible, but I understand it works for subs because most players respond more to jealousy and carrots than fun game play.

[GrandAdmrlThrawn]

This requires the game to not allow players to make choices, but instead rely on random drops to gain their desires, which is tedious crap. Instead, players should choose what they want, and doing things should be fun on their own without requiring a carrot on a stick to encourage them to do it.

 

Flashpoints should be so much fun that I want to do them over and over. Making the loot the reward is the reason that people get sick of doing them over and over. For example, Black Talon should have multiple points where the player choices 'matter', and possibly even have the characters action influence but not dictate the outcome of what happens on the bridge. So if they cause the conflict on the bridge, sometimes everyone dies, sometimes different NPCs live and sometimes the one that did the killing is stopped by some other method. Mobs should patrol more, so that two times through doesn't mean you can endlessly mash buttons because you've done it before.

 

Engagement should be its own reward. Using jealousy is terrible, but I understand it works for subs because most players respond more to jealousy and carrots than fun game play.

 

I completely agree with you. It should be all about having fun and for some people that added "need" to seek out a rare item is fun. Not everyone likes to have to spend a lot of time looking for an item they really like that may or may not drop. There is always going to be rare items in games because people love rare items, whether or not they care what other people have. The fine line is to find a balance between having the items be rare enough so there are a lot of people who don't have them but at the same time making it accessible to anyone who wants to obtain the item. Though the rarity of an item really has no effect over a players ability to have the item. Any item can be obtained if the player is willing to work hard enough to get it. It just depends on whether that player cares enough or is willing to put in enough work to get it.

[Jader-Phex]

i have a wind crystal with no ability to craft it. what evel must my artifice be to fux with a wind crystal???

[ThrillInstructor]

Samuel L Jackson wills it to be so.

 

That is it! Mr Jackson has a subclause in his movie contracts that anythings he wears and wields is epic by definition. Ever seen a Kahuna Burger? Well, they are THERE, you just aren't cool enough to get one.

[snooggums]

That is it! Mr Jackson has a subclause in his movie contracts that anythings he wears and wields is epic by definition. Ever seen a Kahuna Burger? Well, they are THERE, you just aren't cool enough to get one.

 

In Deep Blue Sea he wears a shark! Totally epic!

[Chessrook]

Well think about item rarity. White items are common, vendor trash. Then you have green, uncommon. Then Blue, rare. And finally, Purple, ULTRA-RARE.

 

If Bioware intended this, I have to say, BRILLIANT.

[MysticTrunks]

Well think about item rarity. White items are common, vendor trash. Then you have green, uncommon. Then Blue, rare. And finally, Purple, ULTRA-RARE.

 

If Bioware intended this, I have to say, BRILLIANT.

 

I think they mean the color crystals my friend Not the colors for the rarity of items.

 

The purple color crystals just as they are are rare and hard to find unlike the other colors next to black and white.

[dronepilot]

I'd kill for a purple light saber crystal - how did you find one ??

[Chessrook]

I think they mean the color crystals my friend Not the colors for the rarity of items.

 

The purple color crystals just as they are are rare and hard to find unlike the other colors next to black and white.

 

Yeah I know that. I'm just saying... if Bioware decided to make Purple Crystals rare because Purples are generally incredibly rare in games... ok yeah I'm stretching things but the coincidence of the two, that they're both incredibly rare and incredibly desirable, is hilarious in a way.

[acheros]

I would agree with this but my level 18 maurader had missions in a dark temple where just about every enemy in there had a purple lightsaber. I have come across a good amount of enemies with the purple crystals so it makes no sense that level 18 npcs can find these crystals but we can't.

 

they're clearly all legacy characters.

[Aeromas]

Well one reason i can think of is look how many purple light sabers there are in the movies. One, and thats Mace Windu's. and he was a Jedi Master so later on in the game there will be some maybe.

[Astasia]

It's not so much about rarity. One of the key parts of MMORPGs is gear progression and getting cooler and more awesome looking items. The problem with Star Wars is that the only part of a light saber you see/notice is the beam which is always the same size/shape, so they had to think of a way to make a clear progression with what they had. Their choice was to use the colors to represent alignments and level. You see somebody with a cyan or purple saber you know right away they are higher level, you see somebody with a white or black saber and you know they are like deep endgame or whatever.

 

It's not, "We want to make it rare so people will covet it," it's, "We want to tier it so people have some sort of progression and don't just use the same exact weapon for 50 levels in a row."

 

 

i have a wind crystal with no ability to craft it. what evel must my artifice be to fux with a wind crystal???

 

Level 1. They are used by low level purples. Reverse engineer green quality crystals until you get the blue quality recipe, then reverse engineer blue quality crystals until you get the purple quality recipe.