Interview with Alex Modny and Eric Musco on Bad Feeling Podcast

[mmmbuddah]

I felt the same way initially...but 1 person just randomly tossing out an AOE, shouldn't be able to prevent 6 from capping. I know this change is going to hurt my playstyle, but I believe it'll improve PvP in the long run.

 

It isn't random if you do it for the sole reason of preventing them from capping. This wil force the last person, if ranged, to run in, and just die, instead of saving the day. I cannot in any way see this as improving warzones. Sure, make it so the initial damage done only interrupts, and not the chanelled damage after, but the way it is going to go, is just going to hurt pvp, not help it.

[AlexModny]

Hello Alex,

 

Thank you for sharing the information about PVP changes coming in 3.3. I have a couple of follow-up questions I was hoping you could address.

 

Will the XP and Credit rewards increase also include an increase to valor gained in a warzone (at roughly the same percentage)?

 

With the removal of ranked warzone comms, when 3.3 arrives will existing ranked comms be converted back to regular warzone comms at a 1 (ranked) to 3 (regular) ratio allowing the warzone comms cap to be exceeded for a period of time?

 

Thanks again!

 

Howdy Force_Seeker,

 

The XP and Credit change does not impact Valor.

 

Ranked Comms will be converted automatically at a 1:1 ratio when 3.3 goes Live. In addition, the Warzone Comm limit is being raised to 200,000. And if some player has more than that then there will be a soft cap where the comms will be added but more can't be gained until under the cap. For players in this extreme situation they can purchase the new Warzone Comm Legacy Lockboxes detailed in the podcast to get under the cap on a certain character if they have no gear, medpacs or vanity items they wish to purchase.

[mmmbuddah]

Agreed. And not everyone has an AoE cc either. So the advantage goes to classes like PTs and Juggs. And what about rotations from classes that are aoe heavy? Even engi snipers were fairly good node guarders, and now their aoe ability is rendered useless. A sin need only cc them in stelath, run over to the node, on top of the sniper's aoe ability, taking a little damage, and cap the node anyway. It feels like being cheated.

 

It's difficult enough when the enemy team is clumped up at the node, to single target the person (or people) that are capping. When you're in a tight spot like that you're not only fighting other players, you're fighting their stuns, and your GCD, why make it flagrantly more difficult when an aoe could be great at this point? As it is right now, I don't think there's a problem.

 

DoTs not being able to stop someone from capping, makes sense, cause in some cases some can last up to 18 seconds - a total nuisance. But AoEs preventing caps are a mechanic must.

 

Exactly, this only benefits melee classes, ranged classes will get majorly shafted from this change.

[ForceWelder]

You do not need 2 defenders. Ever.

 

People who don't know how to guard a node will stand right next to the node. People who know what they're doing will stand far enough away but still within reach to stop a cap. That way if you are sapped by a stealther they cannot reach the node in time to cap before you snap out of it.

 

What separates good players from bad ones is the good ones use positioning correctly in PVP. Spamming AE to prevent caps takes no skill. Just push a button every few seconds and you can stop their whole team from capping. This change will introduce a dynamic where players can use line of sight to protect their cap and their teammates can now peel to prevent opponents from getting within line of sight.

 

I think you missed my point. Especially about the ranged stun. It has a range of 10 meters (if memory serves) so if the defender isn't out of range, they can be popped and the operative has to move very little to break line of sight. The defender (if melee) then has to close the distance plus get line of sight in order to break the cap. Even range DPS might have issues breaking the cap depending on the angle between them and the capper at the node. Because your range DPS would now have limited AOE options that could be used to break the cap.

 

It might not be an issue in voidstar, or novare coast but I could see it being an issue with civil war and hypergate simply because of the node design. It seems to me to make this change, you would need to redesign the nodes so that they can't be used to hide behind when capping.

[Fellow-Canadian]

Just finished listening to the podcast. A lot of good changes coming out so I'm happy.

 

I want to point out though when it was brought up assassins and PTs are dominating the response was that the community has a perception problem because we don't see all the data Bioware does.

 

I have to point out the community does have data to work with that has been reviewed by actual statisticians and they have provided the community with their analysis. If you combine that with the insight players have from PVPing every day I think the community as a whole has a pretty good grasp that there are significant class balance issues.

 

I have to ask Bioware, compared to your data where did the community get it wrong?

 

I wholeheartedly disagree there is a perception issue and I think the community understands some classes just simply have better tools than others for PVP. Classes that have loads of cc, cc immunity, good DCDs, and entirely mobile rotations do better than the classes that don't have as much to work with.

[TUXs]

That is only on ONE map though, what about civil war, what about denova? Those two are going to suffer horribly from this, a lot of the time on alderaan I will be in cover with my GS, and i will notice the other team trying to steal the point while their team fights my team. As is now, I simply use an aoe to prevent them from taking the node, AFTER these changes I will have to somehow manage to get behind ALL their team mates without getting stun locked, knocked back, or focused by 7 people. Sure it will help with stalemates, but it will negatively effect people trying to defend nodes on the other maps.

 

1v1 defense won't change a thing. 1vMore will change...and it should. If the enemy team sends 3 players to your node/turret, they should have the advantage in capping. I think this change will result in far easier captures, which results in more excitement.

 

At the same time, it could suck...I'm guessing based on my experience is all.

[mmmbuddah]

1v1 defense won't change a thing. 1vMore will change...and it should. If the enemy team sends 3 players to your node/turret, they should have the advantage in capping. I think this change will result in far easier captures, which results in more excitement.

 

At the same time, it could suck...I'm guessing based on my experience is all.

 

So now instead of one person being able to make a difference, and when 3 people are capping , I will have to attack one, wait 1.5 seconds, attack another, wait 1.5 seconds, attack another, wait 1.5 seconds, and while waiting, the other will be back to capping. No, this will not be a good thing, this is ONLY going to benefit melee players, ranged are going to get ultra shafted. All I can say is I REALLY hope they don't go through with this change, because they will be screwing every ranged class under the sun.

Edited May 28, 2015 by mmmbuddah

[Jadescythe]

I'm curious what the intended functionality for single target attacks that cause AOE will be with the new capping system. Chain Lightning as an example is a single target spell that can cause AOE damage. Will it sitll interrupt the capper it's shot at? Will the forked lightning portion interrupt others it hits since the spell is AOE?

[silvershadows]

I don't post very often, but I feel the need to weigh in here.

 

Making it so that aoe abilities no longer stop a node cap is a very, very bad idea. I will now tell you why that is. Bear in mind that this may sound arrogant or harsh, but it is, unfortunately, the truth.

 

If you remove the ability for aoes to interrupt a node cap, your good pvp players will get frustrated, annoyed, and eventually quit.

 

On my server in particular, there are a lot of people who queue for warzones who seem to be unable to grasp the idea that stopping the capture of a node or bunker is far more important than anything else. This leads to scenarios in which the one good player on the team is responsible for preventing the node cap because nobody else is even watching it.

 

That one good player is also usually marked and chain killed, meaning a quick run to the node to throw an aoe to prevent the cap is their only defense. While this can lead to a stalemate, it is often also the only way for that particular person (or persons, if they are lucky enough to have gotten in a warzone with another good player) to feel as if they are doing anything other than dying over and over to the (likely) premade they are fighting against.

 

This is, of course, not so much of an issue when you have an organized group on your side. But unfortunately, the queue system does not take premades into account when setting up matches, leading to generally unbalanced scenarios in which you have a premade or two against a completely disorganized random group that may or may not be lucky enough to have one or two good players on their side. (I don't see how this is fun for either group, by the way)

 

In these scenarios, aoe preventing the cap is the only thing that gives these random, disorganized groups half a chance against these organized premades. Please do not remove the ability for aoe to interrupt the cap. Or, if you do so, then bring back 8v8 ranked - in GROUP, not just solo. Then prevent aoes from interrupting the cap in ranked 8v8, but not regular 8v8.

 

Removal of 8v8 group ranked actually made quite a few players stop doing ranked entirely, as deathmatching does not hold the same appeal to them as objective-based gameplay. Removing the ability for aoe to interrupt a cap in normal warzones will lead to frustration, anger... the dark side. So please, don't do it.

[Floplag]

Eric/Alex,

 

Have you guys considered making the ranked tokens you get from team ranked 2x or 3x the amount of tokens you get from solo ranked? I know a lot of ppl will most likely cry, but team ranked is the highest level of pvp in this game, so this would (in theory anyway) encourage people to queue team ranked as opposed to solo ranked.

 

Or do you guys have some other plans to encourage the team ranked queue? Perhaps the fabled better than cross server? :rak_03:

 

Thoughts Eric/Alex?

 

Giving more to ranked queue when ranked is limited to fotm classes will only encourage everyone to run to those classes even more.

We need more balance, less fotm.

[mmmbuddah]

I'm curious what the intended functionality for single target attacks that cause AOE will be with the new capping system. Chain Lightning as an example is a single target spell that can cause AOE damage. Will it sitll interrupt the capper it's shot at? Will the forked lightning portion interrupt others it hits since the spell is AOE?

 

We can only hope, otherwise as I said, ranged classes get a huge middle finger.

[SenaZane]

1) Since the AOE thing isn't set in stone yet, DON'T DO IT. I can't tell you how many times I am at a door with at least 3 other people, yet I am the only one watching the door. I mean sure it adds a new dynamic, but it is harder to target people when they are on top of each other and the only way to effectively get them all is AoE.

 

2) I see a lot of folks complaining about "exclusivity" of ranked please consider this (apart from the obvious fact you can't get more people for ranked if it is an exclusive club). "174s aren't a ferrari or a Lamborghini. They're just a numerical stat advantage based on time played." according to a friend of mine debating this in a place where the rules are not as stringent. He is right. Gear will not make you play better or worse than you already do. The only thing it will do is even the playing field and make skill disparities more glaringly obvious, which is kind of what you wan't in ranked anyways when forming a team for 4s. We might actually get to see the ELO system working fully. With more people queuing you might actually get put into games against people with similar skill instead of just whoever the other team that is queuing is. Not to mention you are ignoring the whole "However, there will still be one exclusive reward per rating tier." So Joe Sixpack who can buy gold tier rewards at bronze still won't be able to buy one of the rewards and you get your special shiny exclusive item still. Joe probably deserves a gold reward from the gold tier given how much he played to buy that item anyways.

[Drudenfusz]

Those all sound great, almost too good to be true, but it seems legit, so I hope this really comes to pass!

 

5. The devs would like to hear your thoughts on whether rewards from previous ranked PvP seasons should become available again. Their current stance is that they feel these should remain exclusive but are open to feedback.

I am all for it that those become available again (just like I wouldn't mind to see a return of the old PvE events which had been there only once). So, that players who changed the main character or had been absent from the game for a while could get a chance of getting those goodies. And with getting easier the gear and having to have 2018 expertise the matches could actually be more interesting. Still I am worried that low population server still might have issues to get enough games to start, which spoiled for plenty of people already in the past the chance to get good rewards, so I still hope that cross server queues will also become something BioWare will reconsider.

Edited May 28, 2015 by Drudenfusz

[TUXs]

So now instead of one person being able to make a difference, and when 3 people are capping , I will have to attack one, wait 1.5 seconds, attack another, wait 1.5 seconds, attack another, wait 1.5 seconds, and while waiting, the other will be back to capping. No, this will not be a good thing, this is ONLY going to benefit melee players, ranged are going to get ultra shafted. All I can say is I REALLY hope they don't go through with this change, because they will be screwing every ranged class under the sun.

I understand your concern...it's valid. But I think this is going to impact both teams equally. Smarter play will decide WZs more than which team has the most Sorcs.

[Jadescythe]

So now instead of one person being able to make a difference, and when 3 people are capping , I will have to attack one, wait 1.5 seconds, attack another, wait 1.5 seconds, attack another, wait 1.5 seconds, and while waiting, the other will be back to capping. No, this will not be a good thing, this is ONLY going to benefit melee players, ranged are going to get ultra shafted. All I can say is I REALLY hope they don't go through with this change, because they will be screwing every ranged class under the sun.

 

How do you feel this affects ranged more than melee? All melee classes have AOE abilities as well that will no longer work. I actually like the idea that more people capping will be harder to stop by a single individual. I am slightly worried that the game will be more about standing on top of each other to try and prevent someone from being targeted and spam capping, however.

[TUXs]

I am slightly worried that the game will be more about standing on top of each other to try and prevent someone from being targeted and spam capping, however.

"Everyone left, I'll sneak us up to the door"

[Joesixxpack]

Just finished listening to the podcast. A lot of good changes coming out so I'm happy.

 

I want to point out though when it was brought up assassins and PTs are dominating the response was that the community has a perception problem because we don't see all the data Bioware does.

 

I have to point out the community does have data to work with that has been reviewed by actual statisticians and they have provided the community with their analysis. If you combine that with the insight players have from PVPing every day I think the community as a whole has a pretty good grasp that there are significant class balance issues.

 

I have to ask Bioware, compared to your data where did the community get it wrong?

 

I wholeheartedly disagree there is a perception issue and I think the community understands some classes just simply have better tools than others for PVP. Classes that have loads of cc, cc immunity, good DCDs, and entirely mobile rotations do better than the classes that don't have as much to work with.

 

^^ This is a good post and question.

 

inb4 u must H2F/MTP

Edited May 28, 2015 by Joesixxpack

[Floplag]

You do not need 2 defenders. Ever.

.

 

I hear this a lot and frankly i think its a foolish statement. You have to adjust depending on the other teams tactics.

If the other teams is running 2 stealth to cap you, which i personally see a lot, there is almost nothing one person can do to stop that or buy enough time for help to arrive in many cases pending whether or not you have the right class guarding.

I get stuck doing it a lot so others can pew pew... as a merc i cant stop 2 sins or a sin.op combo with no warning long enough for help to arrive save for maybe on voidstar.

please stop saying things like this as though they are absolutes, they are not.

[mmmbuddah]

I understand your concern...it's valid. But I think this is going to impact both teams equally. Smarter play will decide WZs more than which team has the most Sorcs.

 

It is not just sorcerers it is ALL ranged classes, it is simply going to slow down gameplay to a stand still.

[mmmbuddah]

How do you feel this affects ranged more than melee? All melee classes have AOE abilities as well that will no longer work. I actually like the idea that more people capping will be harder to stop by a single individual. I am slightly worried that the game will be more about standing on top of each other to try and prevent someone from being targeted and spam capping, however.

 

Because melee do not (aside from powertechs / VG ) have channeled AOE attacks, so they will likely NOT be effected, if they make it so ALL AOEs, including grenades and the like, do not effect cap, I will probably quit all together, the gameplay will become far to slow, and you will be ridiculously frustrated trying to stop groups of 2 or 3 stealthers from ninja capping. I mean seriously, who has 4 people go west on denova from get go? That is exactly what you will have to do if the suggested change goes through, because each individual will have to target an individual capper. Very, very dumb Idea.

[Floplag]

Did I miss something or did they really not ask about "better than cross server"? Or did they want to ask and bioware wouldn't green light the question?

 

can we just let this go please... its part of the reason they dont give us any info is this being brought up 50 times a week.... get over it, move on, and let it go.

[Fellow-Canadian]

I think you missed my point. Especially about the ranged stun. It has a range of 10 meters (if memory serves) so if the defender isn't out of range, they can be popped and the operative has to move very little to break line of sight. The defender (if melee) then has to close the distance plus get line of sight in order to break the cap. Even range DPS might have issues breaking the cap depending on the angle between them and the capper at the node. Because your range DPS would now have limited AOE options that could be used to break the cap.

 

It might not be an issue in voidstar, or novare coast but I could see it being an issue with civil war and hypergate simply because of the node design. It seems to me to make this change, you would need to redesign the nodes so that they can't be used to hide behind when capping.

 

I understood you completely. I'm not entirely certain you understood me though. You're correct about the 10m range but the cc lasts 8 seconds but it also takes 8 seconds to cap the node. If I have to waste 2-4 seconds getting into position to cap the node after sapping you then I won't be able to cap in time. THAT is why you keep distance between you and the node - to increase the time it takes for them to be able to cap it while decreasing the effectiveness of their cc. Make sense?

 

There should be no issue keeping your distance from the nodes of any map. The only thing to consider is if you stand too far from the node then you may not be counted as being in the "guarding zone" to qualify for the defender medals at the end of the wz.

Edited May 28, 2015 by Fellow-Canadian

[Sudo]

Howdy Force_Seeker,

 

The XP and Credit change does not impact Valor.

 

Ranked Comms will be converted automatically at a 1:1 ratio when 3.3 goes Live. In addition, the Warzone Comm limit is being raised to 200,000. And if some player has more than that then there will be a soft cap where the comms will be added but more can't be gained until under the cap. For players in this extreme situation they can purchase the new Warzone Comm Legacy Lockboxes detailed in the podcast to get under the cap on a certain character if they have no gear, medpacs or vanity items they wish to purchase.

 

200,000 cap is awesome (and long over due).

 

I hope that over all this will increase participation into PVP at all levels, which means we can maybe hope for a better division of brackets (I know I'm dreaming too much), but ideally 10-29 (though really 10-20 is cannon fodder for 21+), then 30-49, and then 51-59!

 

A boy can dream can't he?

[SenaZane]

can we just let this go please... its part of the reason they dont give us any info is this being brought up 50 times a week.... get over it, move on, and let it go.

 

My guess is that it hasn't happened yet and people should be patient. I assume whatever it is will be more noticeable than these few quality of life adjustments they are making. They are clearly starting to move in the right direction so I suspect they are taking a baby steps approach.

 

Who can blame them when everyone is losing their mind over some changes that will drastically improve their server's population?

Edited May 28, 2015 by SenaZane

[TUXs]

Just finished listening to the podcast. A lot of good changes coming out so I'm happy.

 

I want to point out though when it was brought up assassins and PTs are dominating the response was that the community has a perception problem because we don't see all the data Bioware does.

 

I have to point out the community does have data to work with that has been reviewed by actual statisticians and they have provided the community with their analysis. If you combine that with the insight players have from PVPing every day I think the community as a whole has a pretty good grasp that there are significant class balance issues.

 

I have to ask Bioware, compared to your data where did the community get it wrong?

 

I wholeheartedly disagree there is a perception issue and I think the community understands some classes just simply have better tools than others for PVP. Classes that have loads of cc, cc immunity, good DCDs, and entirely mobile rotations do better than the classes that don't have as much to work with.

GREAT POST!!! Well said...although I disagree a bit...I think there "IS" a perception problem...but it's not the players perception.