As a Story Tourist who just came for the 12x XP class stories, so frustrated. :(

[DarthTenor]

I guess I'm also one that has come back because of he 12x XP gain. It's amazing! I've played on and off but never got into SWTOR even when it had F2P options. Even so it was way too restrictive. Leveling a class or even an Alt was a pain. I just got tired of grinding every side quest just to get experience so I can be at least on par with the leveling area.

 

This 12x XP is a godsend IMO. I've been having a blast just experiencing the stories for most if not all the classes. Even after nearly 2 years, I have yet to finish one class story. not one. With this 12x XP gain I will likely be able to finish a couple.

 

For me if they keep this 12x XP option somehow, I would likely resubscribe. Again The F2P options were way to restrictive to play even though I did spend over $100 on a game that I personally did not feel like it was worth a sub. Now it's not the case.

[ashikagaoda]

OP, as others have said you were given terrible advice. Whoever that person was do yourself a favor and do not take any more suggestions from them.

 

Personally, I don't understand the problem people are having gearing toons through 12x XP. My main and only 55 before this XP boost has several million credits. The amount of credits or gear I've sent to alts I've been leveling? Zero.

 

So far I've leveled a Gunslinger, Marauder, and Powertech to 55 since the launch of 12x XP. The BH I already had at level 33 and had gear and Planetary Comms built up for him but the other two I took from Level 1 to 55 from scratch. All I did was choose gear over lockboxes and Planetary Comms for mission rewards and once I had around 10-15K credits built up I hit the GTN every 5 levels or so and bought green level gear to upgrade my stats. Some of these pieces I'd get for as low as 500 credits. As soon as I hit Lvl 47, I headed directly to Makeb, activated the buff, and breezed to 55 in a matter of hours.

 

Now getting those 55's fully geared for endgame will be a little more challenging but I found following the above structure for a brand new toon worked really well and enabled me to enjoy the class stories I otherwise may not have ever attempted.

 

Great post JolietJerry.

 

I resubscribed to the game when I read about the additional class mission and plan on sticking around long enough to hopefully see Class Story come back to the game. Your post will be a great help to me and the Story Tourist as we level up some characters through the XP bonus event. Thanks again for your encouragement and insight.

Edited November 5, 2014 by ashikagaoda

[Televangelist]

Okay. I think understand your points now.

 

To the speeder across your legacy:

If you open up your inventory, you will see a "Collections" button on it. Click this.

Reference Image: Collection Button

 

Now, on the left-hand side of the interface you will see a massive tree of Cartel Packs, Armors, etc... keep collapsing the tree until all you see are the Mounts. You should see one of the sub-categories of the Mount / Vehicle / Speeder section have some percentage greater than 0%. Click this sub-category and scroll through the options in the right hand window. Reference Image: Collections Interface - Finding Your Speeder

 

When you find the speeder you are looking to unlock, this is the location of the button you are looking for: Account Unlock Button on a Speeder

 

Note: Once you have unlocked it in your Collections, you can transfer an infinite number of copies to the character that made the unlock. You need to log into another character to see the unlock for legacy icon. Roughly follow these steps and you should be good to go.

 

As to the interrupts, if you go into the interface editor, you can turn on your target's cast bar. If you see them casting an ability, that's when you should use your stuns, knockbacks, and interrupt abilities.

 

Whoa, there's an option to turn on a cast bar for them? That's hugely helpful, thank you!

[Televangelist]

You realize every single quest in the entire game is fully voiced, with plot and story, right? The planetary quests get monotonous if you're on your 5th playthrough, but if you have never done them before, you are skipping about 90% of the game's story by only doing class story.

 

I'll do that once I'm 55 and can breeze through it all, not when I still want to find out where the actual main plot of the game is heading. That's also easy enough to do "after the fact" if 12x XP is shut off.

 

Again: "Kill Ten Rats" is not fun, and I wasn't willing to Kill Ten Rats to see the story content before, so why would I do it now? But if I can one-shot everything because I'm 30 levels above the quest, then sure, maybe.

Edited November 5, 2014 by Televangelist

[Televangelist]

So far I've leveled a Gunslinger, Marauder, and Powertech to 55 since the launch of 12x XP. The BH I already had at level 33 and had gear and Planetary Comms built up for him but the other two I took from Level 1 to 55 from scratch. All I did was choose gear over lockboxes and Planetary Comms for mission rewards and once I had around 10-15K credits built up I hit the GTN every 5 levels or so and bought green level gear to upgrade my stats. Some of these pieces I'd get for as low as 500 credits.

 

I've been doing this too, minus the GTN stuff. To be honest I'm not really sure what I should be looking for in the GTN, other than mods for the blank orange gear as another person instructed. There appear to be specific slots on my character sheet (artifacts or relics or something, etc.) where I haven't gotten any mission rewards for those slots yet -- should I be focusing on filling in those? Or primarily on getting armor that's better than my current armor? Or buying mods for the armor I get from those quests?

[VulgarMercurius]

You're right, SWTOR is for you. You're just playing it wrong.

 

You realize every single quest in the entire game is fully voiced, with plot and story, right? The planetary quests get monotonous if you're on your 5th playthrough, but if you have never done them before, you are skipping about 90% of the game's story by only doing class story.

 

I suggest trying to play the game normally and not skipping quests... you may be pleasantly surprised.

 

Again, 12x XP is for people who have already leveled a bunch of alts, NOT for people who have never played the game before! People keep being surprised when they can't level from 1-55 without gearing. The answer why it's so hard is that you aren't meant to level that way, Bioware is just giving a perk to subscribers who want to get some extra alts to 55 before the expansion hits. That's it.

 

This.

[MSchuyler]

Except SWTOR *is* for me, because they created a promotion *specifically aiming to attract people like me*. If they didn't want me, they wouldn't have put the promotion out there. Now they need to do a better job of catering to people like me, people who basically just want to play KOTOR 3 through 10.

 

No, they did not. What gave you that idea? They created this promotion to lure CURRENT CUSTOMERS into buying the expansion packs. They created the 12XP BECAUSE current customers have been playing the game and are already familiar with the grind and the planetary and side quests, so this was incentive for them to be able to skip doing them yet again and get a few toons quickly to 55. It is a reward for them.

 

You don't have to teach current customers how to gear up. They already know what it takes. They also have alternatives to the grind. They know how to make money, for example.

 

YOU, on the other hand, are new and simply don't know anything. That's OK. We were all there once, but your mistake is assuming the 12XP was designed for YOU.

 

Get over yourself. It wasn't. It isn't about you at all.

Edited November 5, 2014 by MSchuyler

[Clarian]

I can certainly sympathize with anyone who wants a story-rich, single-player experience from this game, since that's exactly what I want (and get).

 

But, specifically as someone who's here for the story, I would never dream of skipping the non-class quests - especially my first time through. In fact, so far I've done them on all eight characters and never been bored - since each time there's a new voice actor, a new alignment and dialogue choices, a new look, a new advanced class and play style, etc.

 

But especially the first time through - the side-quests really provide a lot of background and context and enrich the world. And highlight your character - I just did the Taris bonus series, and my smuggler had some hilarious lines that I sure wouldn't have wanted to miss.

 

I don't really get all the people saying "finally I can play this like a single-player Bioware game and just do the main story," because Bioware's single-player games always have loads of side-quests. (Or do people just not do them? I sure do.) And from what I've seen so far, the planetary story arcs are even better than your average Bioware side-quest story.

 

But yeah, I do hate the bind-timer on stuff you buy from the cash shop. I wish you could just post it on the auction house right away.

[Televangelist]

You're right, they didn't even give it 5 seconds of thought before putting it into place...

 

You know what? They sure did... they even removed all training costs (which runs about 1.5 million credits from 1 to 55, give or take)...

 

But they don't want to make it silly easy, then why bother. What, did you want an "I Win" button to click?

 

What is there to "win", exactly? Getting to experience a story? Did you 'win' something when you watch a movie or read a book?

 

Again, this isn't about SWTOR as an MMO, this is about SWTOR as KOTOR 3 through 10.

 

 

 

Let me guess, you spacebar through the conversations, even the first time.

 

Reading comprehension isn't your strong suit, is it? I'm here for the story, not to kill ten rats. The planetary quests can be done when I'm 55 and everything is one-shottable.

 

Honestly, if this is the only reason you're here, then you aren't adding anything other than a few bucks to Bioware's pocket and you'll never be happy with the experience.

 

Except that if I've added 50 bucks to Bioware's pocket without Bioware having to create any new content or spend extra investment money -- and there are many many more potential customers like me, who are fans of everything else BioWare puts out but haven't touched SWTOR -- then I'm a golden goose to them, so I've added quite a bit.

 

Even if 12x XP stays, or becomes a purchased buff, you'll never really be happy since the game wasn't designed for it.

 

But go ahead, smash your head against the wall some more.

 

I'll be happy if I get through all 8 class stories. That's a perfectly doable prospect. I have no interest in the game beyond that, but BioWare has a great interest in getting the money of people like me in exchange for that.

[Televangelist]

No, they did not. What gave you that idea? They created this promotion to lure CURRENT CUSTOMERS into buying the expansion packs. They created the 12XP BECAUSE current customers have been playing the game and are already familiar with the grind and the planetary and side quests, so this was incentive for them to be able to skip doing them yet again and get a few toons quickly to 55. It is a reward for them.

 

Wrong. Why do you think they advertised it so heavily to those of us who've never played before?

 

Get over yourself. It wasn't. It isn't about you at all.

 

I represent a vast untapped market to SWTOR -- one that if harnessed correctly can give them massive profit with no additional investment needed on their end. You represent just another sub.

[Televangelist]

I can certainly sympathize with anyone who wants a story-rich, single-player experience from this game, since that's exactly what I want (and get).

 

But, specifically as someone who's here for the story, I would never dream of skipping the non-class quests - especially my first time through. In fact, so far I've done them on all eight characters and never been bored - since each time there's a new voice actor, a new alignment and dialogue choices, a new look, a new advanced class and play style, etc.

 

But especially the first time through - the side-quests really provide a lot of background and context and enrich the world. And highlight your character - I just did the Taris bonus series, and my smuggler had some hilarious lines that I sure wouldn't have wanted to miss.

 

I don't really get all the people saying "finally I can play this like a single-player Bioware game and just do the main story," because Bioware's single-player games always have loads of side-quests. (Or do people just not do them? I sure do.) And from what I've seen so far, the planetary story arcs are even better than your average Bioware side-quest story.

 

But yeah, I do hate the bind-timer on stuff you buy from the cash shop. I wish you could just post it on the auction house right away.

 

I can do them at any time once I hit 55 -- they don't become unavailable simply because I'm a much higher level, do they?

[Arkerus]

I'll do that once I'm 55 and can breeze through it all, not when I still want to find out where the actual main plot of the game is heading. That's also easy enough to do "after the fact" if 12x XP is shut off.

 

Again: "Kill Ten Rats" is not fun, and I wasn't willing to Kill Ten Rats to see the story content before, so why would I do it now? But if I can one-shot everything because I'm 30 levels above the quest, then sure, maybe.

 

There are so many side stories involved with the main story.

 

If you don't do them as you level, you are doing it wrong. Its about the experience, not the end goal.

[Clarian]

There are so many side stories involved with the main story.

 

If you don't do them as you level, you are doing it wrong. Its about the experience, not the end goal.

I agree with that. Story-wise, the side-quests make a lot more sense as you go, rather than going back and doing them all at level cap. In terms of the story, they fit your character's status, and the state of the war, etc., at the time that you first get to them.

[Televangelist]

There are so many side stories involved with the main story.

 

If you don't do them as you level, you are doing it wrong. Its about the experience, not the end goal.

 

My understanding is that if the 12x XP boost remains past December, I'm going to have to purchase it (likely at significant cost) with Cartel Coins, per character.

 

With 8 characters, that means a major financial investment.

 

In an ideal world, maybe I'd do the side stories on a planet once I'd finished all the class stories there, so it isn't out-of-order too much but it's also not tedious because I one-shot or two-shot everything, so kill-ten-rats becomes ten-swings-of-the-lightsaber.

 

But in reality, if the choice is between skipping some of that cool flavor on the way up and meeting my goal of finishing by December 1st, or paying another hundred dollars or so for the 12x XP across 8 characters, then sorry, I'm going to miss out on some stuff or not see it in the ideal fashion.

 

The goal isn't perfect, but neither is paying another hundred bucks across 8 chars or whatever they end up charging for 12x after this promotion ends.

[Essence_of_Light]

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. I don't even know where to start with this thread. After reading through all the replies and the back-and-forth from the OP to other posters, I really don't feel as if there is anything else I can add.

 

There are so many side stories involved with the main story.

 

If you don't do them as you level, you are doing it wrong. Its about the experience, not the end goal.

 

I agree.

[Bluejayoo]

Except SWTOR *is* for me, because they created a promotion *specifically aiming to attract people like me*. If they didn't want me, they wouldn't have put the promotion out there. Now they need to do a better job of catering to people like me, people who basically just want to play KOTOR 3 through 10.

 

The 12x XP seems more meant for players that had already leveled characters to 55 and completed all the planetary and side missions. This gives those players the ability to experience the story lines for the other classes without having to repeat the planetary missions.

 

If you already have the resources from leveling one character to 55 you would have no problem acquiring gear for leveling the story missions. I think I am only spending like 150k on gear per story line to level to 55 which is nothing, though I am able to get quite a bit of the gear I need from crafting with the spare mats I have stored.

[azudelphi]

My understanding is that if the 12x XP boost remains past December, I'm going to have to purchase it (likely at significant cost) with Cartel Coins, per character.

 

With 8 characters, that means a major financial investment.

 

In an ideal world, maybe I'd do the side stories on a planet once I'd finished all the class stories there, so it isn't out-of-order too much but it's also not tedious because I one-shot or two-shot everything, so kill-ten-rats becomes ten-swings-of-the-lightsaber.

 

But in reality, if the choice is between skipping some of that cool flavor on the way up and meeting my goal of finishing by December 1st, or paying another hundred dollars or so for the 12x XP across 8 characters, then sorry, I'm going to miss out on some stuff or not see it in the ideal fashion.

 

The goal isn't perfect, but neither is paying another hundred bucks across 8 chars or whatever they end up charging for 12x after this promotion ends.

 

There has been no indication that the 12x XP will be available beyond the promo period; purchased or otherwise.

[Arkerus]

My understanding is that if the 12x XP boost remains past December, I'm going to have to purchase it (likely at significant cost) with Cartel Coins, per character.

 

With 8 characters, that means a major financial investment.

 

In an ideal world, maybe I'd do the side stories on a planet once I'd finished all the class stories there, so it isn't out-of-order too much but it's also not tedious because I one-shot or two-shot everything, so kill-ten-rats becomes ten-swings-of-the-lightsaber.

 

But in reality, if the choice is between skipping some of that cool flavor on the way up and meeting my goal of finishing by December 1st, or paying another hundred dollars or so for the 12x XP across 8 characters, then sorry, I'm going to miss out on some stuff or not see it in the ideal fashion.

 

The goal isn't perfect, but neither is paying another hundred bucks across 8 chars or whatever they end up charging for 12x after this promotion ends.

 

You are doing this "wrong" from my point of view. 12x XP isn't staying around as far as I know (unless there was an announcement that I didn't read, sometimes I miss things).

 

Going back and re-doing content when its trivial causes you to completely miss some awesome story lines and tie-ins.

 

Suit yourself but don't complain when it doesn't make sense. We have all told you and you were warned it kind of sucks doing it backwards. 12x XP is a short term event, not the way the game was designed.

[Technohic]

There has been no indication that the 12x XP will be available beyond the promo period; purchased or otherwise.

 

Depends on where you look; I guess.

[Arkerus]

Depends on where you look; I guess.

 

Is there something...somewhere else...on the internet...that says it might stay?

[Televangelist]

The 12x XP seems more meant for players that had already leveled characters to 55 and completed all the planetary and side missions. This gives those players the ability to experience the story lines for the other classes without having to repeat the planetary missions.

 

If you already have the resources from leveling one character to 55 you would have no problem acquiring gear for leveling the story missions. I think I am only spending like 150k on gear per story line to level to 55 which is nothing, though I am able to get quite a bit of the gear I need from crafting with the spare mats I have stored.

 

I would have no problem spending 150k gear per storyline either -- that's like $2 per storyline when I buy a cartel pack and sell it on the GTN -- I just want it to not be this weird convoluted process to figure out how to spend that $2 so I can go back to doing game content.

[Televangelist]

There has been no indication that the 12x XP will be available beyond the promo period; purchased or otherwise.

 

Actually, there has. I'll dig up a link for you.

[ashikagaoda]

No, they did not. What gave you that idea? They created this promotion to lure CURRENT CUSTOMERS into buying the expansion packs.

 

Wrong. This expansion is also aimed at people that haven't played SWTOR or are returning to the game such as myself. The boosted XP allows us to catch up with rest of the player base.

[azudelphi]

Actually, there has. I'll dig up a link for you.

 

That would be appreciated. Officially I haven't seen anything that indicates this though.

[Clarian]

The goal isn't perfect, but neither is paying another hundred bucks across 8 chars or whatever they end up charging for 12x after this promotion ends.

If you do all the quests, there's no need for 12x xp. If you've only ever played with that boost, maybe you don't realize how much xp you gain without it - but by doing all the quests. All my characters are well over-leveled, just from doing all the content. No xp boosts or double-xp weekends needed.