Is it time to remove cost on swapping out mods for subscribers?

[Vhaegrant]

^^ Pretty much as the title says.

 

I know it's reasonably easy to make credits in the game, and also subscribers have a reduced cost on mod swapping, but I have noticed I am becoming less likely to buy cartel gear because of the associated costs of bringing it back up to spec.

 

A lot of the fun of the orange gear is to change the look on a semi-regular basis without the necessary grind for gear coms, however as a subscriber I'm starting to notice it's almost as easy to go out and grind the coms for a new set than it is to swap them out. When you factor in the associated costs of adding in any augmentation slots it starts to get very costly indeed.

 

To swap out the level 50 Makeb mods on a full set of gear with 2 weapons cost me approx. 210,000 creds. I hate to think of the cost as you climb up the gear ratings to the top tiers of mods.

 

It's just unfortunate as a fairly casual player (ie not into ranked PvP or NiM OPs) I find myself starting to get priced out of aspects of the game I do find enjoyable. Playing dress up with the virtual dolls

[parchedgoose]

its rather pricey to be sure and TBH credits aren't that easy to be made in this particular game...maybe they should up the reward credits which would help considerably though its nice not having to fork out all those creds for leveling skills...that part I like and I hope they keep it at no cost.

[Khantalas]

The cost is there to discourage you from swapping the mods, making it more economical to install the mods directly on top of the old ones and destroying the, unless all your other mods are worse. As such, I don't see it going away anytime soon. The best you can hope for is being able to remove them at cost.

[HelinCarnate]

its rather pricey to be sure and TBH credits aren't that easy to be made in this particular game...maybe they should up the reward credits which would help considerably though its nice not having to fork out all those creds for leveling skills...that part I like and I hope they keep it at no cost.

 

Um...wut? Since when are credits not easy to be made in this game?

[Orizuru]

its rather pricey to be sure and TBH credits aren't that easy to be made in this particular game.

 

What? Credits are handed out like candy at Halloween! Just do your dailies and you'll be swimming in them like Scrooge McDuck.

[Khantalas]

What? Credits are handed out like candy at Halloween! Just do your dailies and you'll be swimming in them like Scrooge McDuck.

 

I wonder if people realize there are 54 whole levels where you have more to do than farm dailies in this game, and it will soon be 59 whole levels. Because from what I can tell, no one does.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Khantalas

[Dras_Keto]

Given the number of other credit sinks we have in game, I think its about time the costs for armour modification and repair were removed. They are antiquated game mechanics that only exist because of the idea of upkeep from pen and paper RPGs. Bioware only put them into the game cause Wow has something simiiar. Wow only had them because Everquest had something simliar. Etc.

 

I think its about time game developers realise that these systems are relics. Either that, or they be more consistent and stop trying to make games for the "casual" or "farmville" player but retaining all of the most annoying and now purposeless hardcore elements.

 

Edit: Not that I actually expect it to happen though. That would be a bit too out of the box.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Dras_Keto

[azudelphi]

Given the number of other credit sinks we have in game, I think its about time the costs for armour modification and repair were removed. They are antiquated game mechanics that only exist because of the idea of upkeep from pen and paper RPGs. Bioware only put them into the game cause Wow has something simiiar. Wow only had them because Everquest had something simliar. Etc.

 

I think its about time game developers realise that these systems are relics. Either that, or they be more consistent and stop trying to make games for the "casual" or "farmville" player but retaining all of the most annoying and now purposeless hardcore elements.

 

Edit: Not that I actually expect it to happen though. That would be a bit too out of the box.

 

Other than repair costs, what penalty is there for a player death?

[Quraswren]

Lets put it this way.

 

I don't care how cool of a gear set BW puts out. I will not spend a dime on it because of the cost of mod swapping, Augment additions.

 

II'll created a set on the limited number of legacy sets there are, building a set of gear once. I'll move it to other toons as needed.

 

BW has the ability to make their system and cash shop so much better with an appearance tab system or greatly reducing the cost of mod swapping, encouraging gamers to get more sets but currently, it's a waste over all.

 

I'll ignore most of what the cash shop has because it's just not worth the cost.

[Vhaegrant]

The cost is there to discourage you from swapping the mods, making it more economical to install the mods directly on top of the old ones and destroying the, unless all your other mods are worse. As such, I don't see it going away anytime soon. The best you can hope for is being able to remove them at cost.

 

When levelling I'm quite happy to place new mods over old mods. I'm really referring to the situation you find yourself in at end game.

 

I know there are work arounds if you're not overly bothered how you look. Take a set of reputation legacy bound gear (they are adaptive and not class specific) place mods in them and shuffle them around your alts/companions as you desire. It's made even easier now with access to a legacy bank in your stronghold and quick travel to and from said transport. It's very easy to have one set of maxed out cunning gear for all of your healing companions to use (not quite all, but the greater majority of them use the cunning stat). Of course this is only true if you have no interest in appearance.

 

I find myself, as an altoholic, with a sizable collection of alts and companions that could do with a bit of a visual refresh, it's just the cost is far too prohibitive.

[painterwhit]

It only gets expensive if you pull the old mods out. If you only have 1 character that uses the stats on the mod you are pulling out why are you doing it? Just put the new one in.

 

Now, if you are switching the mod from one piece of gear to a new piece, because you'd like to change your looks, then that's a choice you have to make. "Do I really want to change my look THAT bad? Maybe I can just throw a dye module on instead."

 

Credit sinks are a good thing, and I don't really mind them.

[Vhaegrant]

Other than repair costs, what penalty is there for a player death?

 

Well if you're really bad and pushing into an area you're not ready for/ undergeared you can have lengthy wait times for multiple deaths. And, if you're not a subscriber there's the cost of the medical probes for resurrection at site of death to consider.

TBH repair costs are pretty insignificant unless you are doing something wrong, I wouldn't consider them a major credit sink.

 

I do understand the need for some credit sinks to drain the economy, otherwise you just have a stockpiling of wealth into the hands of the high tier crafters and Cartel Market Pack/Gear sellers on the GTN.

It's just I feel the cost applied to mod swapping is misplaced, it's a penalty on the player for having gone out and purchased the new shiny Orange gear (and pretty much all the new cartel orange gear is empty so it requires you to strip out other gear or purchase the mods afresh from the com vendors or GTN)

 

With the introduction of Strongholds BW introduced a reasonable credit sink with the cost of unlocking additional residences and then unlocking the extra rooms.

 

They could go further by placing more decorations on vendors for purchase at a direct credit cost, thereby taking the credits out of the economy altogether rather than just shuffling them around.

[Dras_Keto]

Other than repair costs, what penalty is there for a player death?

 

Why does there need to be one on top of having to start over and try whatever it is you were trying to do again? Wasted time and effort is already pretty annoying. Being chucked back to a medcenter and forced to walk back and/or take the landspeeder of ultimate shame isnt exactly fun.

 

The whole idea behind penalizing player death is just a relic of pen and paper rpgs that these games were originally modeled after.

[XiamaraSimi]

Um...wut? Since when are credits not easy to be made in this game?

 

This. There are so many different dailies (pve, pvp, galactic starfighter, regular space), heroics, and flashpoints you can do for credits, unless you spend your time sataring at the screen drooling you should have more then enough credits for whatever you need. (Note I put -need- there, you might -want- a 15m credit rancor, but you don't -need- it )

 

Yes you can't just srare at the screen and wish for credits to rain down on you from the sky, you do actually have to go out and actually do stuff for them. If you -wont- though, yeah you won't get much credits with the aforementioned drooling/wishing

 

EDIT*

 

For the poster complaining that dailes are only endgame material... pvp, gsf, space, heroics and flashpoints are spread through -all- the level ranges so you might want to reconsider that statement.

 

Just like having a job in real life to get money to buy things, you do have to actually do something to get your paycheck, same as games, you do somethin and get credits, gold, whatever currency us required.

Edited November 20, 2014 by XiamaraSimi

[Vhaegrant]

It only gets expensive if you pull the old mods out. If you only have 1 character that uses the stats on the mod you are pulling out why are you doing it? Just put the new one in.

 

Now, if you are switching the mod from one piece of gear to a new piece, because you'd like to change your looks, then that's a choice you have to make. "Do I really want to change my look THAT bad? Maybe I can just throw a dye module on instead."

 

Credit sinks are a good thing, and I don't really mind them.

 

It is a choice.

But when the choice is to spend a whole lot of credits that I could spend better elsewhere the choice is more frequently going to be, 'I can live with it.' which gives me far less of an incentive to go out and purchase new looks for characters from the cartel market or GTN.

I've been around from launch, have 16 level 55s with all the associated companions, and even I am reaching saturation point for equipping new armours (pretty much collected all the cartel pack sets apart from Revan's, just far too expensive)

 

While I feel that character uniqueness is an important motivator to many players, it's not an aspect that I've heard many of the hardcore gamers I've talked to mention. They are more concerned about the stat balance and what they have to min/max than the consideration of look. Besides, many feel that one of the bonuses is having the appearance of the PvE/PvP gear to point out they've actually earned it. But, I have to admit that's anecdotal from an ever shrinking circle of 'hardcore' gaming friends

 

I don't even want to get into taking about the travesty of the dye system, I admit it's better than nothing, but it should be so much better. I guess that's the result of having to cram in a system that the game wasn't originally designed for

 

I'm all for considering compromises.

I've long thought the modification tables were useless. I believe they were originally intended to be the only location you could swap out mods at, but now you can do that anywhere. With the introduction of augmentation slots they regained some functionality for those obsessed with min/maxing (so really only ever an endgame concern) gear is not an issue when levelling.

Maybe there could be a modification upgrade option, or a new crafting table, a legacy unlock or character perk that is a one time cost to further reduce or remove the cost of mod swapping.

 

In this way a player could chose whether they want to put up an upfront cost for cheaper/free swapping in the future.

[Fazaani]

i have lvl:d 16 lvl 55:s before the the lvling event (in the "real" way ) Many of em had been on hold around on mid makeb/secX/BH. At the point when i have reached lvl55.

 

Slowly one by one for an event or just for the heck of it, i felt to pick "these guys" up and roll some legacy gear around my account to make that character to have the best free mods i have (meaning they are on comps or lying in gargohold's...)

 

That was also the point when i did run down the endgame basics for that char. Meaning rest of the lvl 50 content, tacticals, kdy, gsi, oricon, CZ, run some hm fp:s and maybe few sm ops (you know the the picture... )

 

I usually had around 1 mil on those chars on starting point and i didn't ever run out of money and also end up having smth like 2-5mil/char when i go back to my mains again. And there's been lot of swapping mods involved... I also havent had a need to use my mains as a banking service

 

55-60 x 16 coming up! cant wait!!! <3

 

So based on this experience:

- making money is easy enough

- swapping cost is a pain ofc and i wouldn't mind if it's removal, but it's not really an issue

- can't believe i still have a life and also i might have some pie somewhere......

Edited November 20, 2014 by Fazaani

[Vhaegrant]

This. There are so many different dailies (pve, pvp, galactic starfighter, regular space), heroics, and flashpoints you can do for credits, unless you spend your time sataring at the screen drooling you should have more then enough credits for whatever you need. (Note I put -need- there, you might -want- a 15m credit rancor, but you don't -need- it )

 

Yes you can't just srare at the screen and wish for credits to rain down on you from the sky, you do actually have to go out and actually do stuff for them. If you -wont- though, yeah you won't get much credits with the aforementioned drooling/wishing

 

And, hand in hand with all those dailies and sources of credits, the three year old game also has many new areas in which those credits can be spent. Unlocking strongholds and purchasing cartel items from the GTN to name but a few.

 

Keeping the Cartel Market Item sellers on the GTN in credits seems to be about my sole activity at the moment. I don't mind it, I appreciate the cash shop route for some players with less time on their hands.

 

I'm just looking to reduce/remove a cost that is rapidly becoming a negative factor in deciding whether I want to spend my time supporting these GTN sellers further

[Orizuru]

I wonder if people realize there are 54 whole levels where you have more to do than farm dailies in this game, and it will soon be 59 whole levels. Because from what I can tell, no one does.

 

I wonder if people realize there are class missions and planetary missions and heroic missions ranging from level 1-54, soon to be 1-59, that award credits just as often as dailies. Because from what I can tell, no one does.

[Fazaani]

You could run all the heroics in game every day... DAT MONEY!!!!

[Dras_Keto]

You could run all the heroics in game every day... DAT MONEY!!!!

 

And then, after you look like the kids from South Park at the end of the Sword of Truth episode, you could finally play the game....

[Beltane]

If memory serves it takes around 750k-1mill to pull mods and aug out everything at 55 and I have the feeling the cost will only go up at 60. Even if you are only changing into orange/adaptive armor once it's expensive--how many people actually use the default PVE & PVP shells? Not many. Add in the fact that there are new armors released every single month and it's a logical complaint.

 

I definitely agree it is prohibitive. I don't necessarily think the cost of removing mods should be removed entirely, but a larger reduction in price for subscribers would be extremely welcome.

 

Add to the fact you have to repurchase (if you don't craft, which many players don't) an augment kit AND buy the 30k slot and the cost of pulling mods is just insult to injury. And let's not forget dyes don't transfer either!

 

I change looks on my characters whenever I like something enough to, but that winds up being rarely due to the cost. I'd change armor so much more if it was cheaper.

 

 

BTW, as to the credits are not easy to make discussion... well, they're easy to make if you're willing to play the game. In my experience, the vast majority of people will not. As a guild leader I am constantly sighing at the people who complain of being broke who refuse to do dailies, pass on drops they could vendor/GTN, let their banks sit with unbound items they don't want, refuse to take crew skills and sell mats/craft, run past mobs without looting them for the credits... etc. Making credits is easy for me, but I've seen enough of the aforementioned behavior to realize most people in this game are really broke.

[Khantalas]

I wonder if people realize there are class missions and planetary missions and heroic missions ranging from level 1-54, soon to be 1-59, that award credits just as often as dailies. Because from what I can tell, no one does.

 

Not nearly at the same rate, though, where you can afford to spend 200.000 credits on swapping mods.

[azudelphi]

Not nearly at the same rate, though, where you can afford to spend 200.000 credits on swapping mods.

 

It only costs that much at level 55... where 200k credits are indeed easy to get.

[XiamaraSimi]

And, hand in hand with all those dailies and sources of credits, the three year old game also has many new areas in which those credits can be spent. Unlocking strongholds and purchasing cartel items from the GTN to name but a few.

 

 

All of which fall into the -want- category. You don't -need- a stronghold or cartel market bling, you -want- them. Again, just like in real life, if you want those Prada heels or that Gucci handbag, you need to expend effort you most likely don't -want- to expend to get them.

 

As an above poster said, class mission, planetary chains, the list is endless on ways to make and stockpile credits, a large problem is people don't want to go out and earn them, they just either want them handed to them, or have whatever they want just given to them.

 

It is rediculously easy to earn credits in this game. Most just don't want to.

[chosonman]

No because the game needs credit sinks and this is a very big one. Without credit sinks you could have run away inflation so what you think may be costing you lots of credits could be saving you credits in the long run.