Announcing Knights of the Fallen Empire

[LtGeneralGezlin]

This takes me back to the excitement of the original launch,the trailer was epic,and finally a return to what SWTOR was always supposed to be about, story driven,and choices that matter(which I hope they really mean this time)

I do hope it's a you get ONE free 60 (no more than 2) and not unlimited ones.

 

I would not be surprised if BW follows the Blizzard approach. Players get one free level to 60, but you would need to buy another.

[LtGeneralGezlin]

In a post some time ago I wanted specified stories for each AC, and when they say they've made 8 lines, I'm excited. It seemed a failure to deviate into one-size-fits-all that began with RotHC, and continued with SoR. So, good news indeed.

 

What puzzles me is what happened between the last meeting with Vitiate at Ziost, and the beginning of KotFE, some mentions carbonite freezing. But with Vitiate on the loose, it seems that it didn't end on Ziost with him.

 

Speculating: I wonder if he has transited into this new emperor and has taken physical form, sort of what Revan wished. So, maybe Vitiate might get killed, if he's in the story at all.

 

Some musings: And another thing, if we get a lot of companions, will they increase the number of companions? Or will we need to pick and choose those we wish to have?

 

Sorry, there seems to be some disrupt between the end of the chapter at Ziost and the beginning of the KotFE, and that bugs me.

 

I figure we will either see what happens between Ziost and KotFE in the 5 month time between now and the launch of the Expansion. As for the companions, We may still keep HK/Treek, and have to choose the 5 companions we want.

[SplashNOR]

I figure we will either see what happens between Ziost and KotFE in the 5 month time between now and the launch of the Expansion. As for the companions, We may still keep HK/Treek, and have to choose the 5 companions we want.

 

 

Ohhh.... :S

 

I really want to keep my companions.

 

To BioWare; Please upload the entire twitch-stream of KotFE to Youtube, please. Including the presentations etc.

Edited June 16, 2015 by SplashNOR
More info

[aeterno]

This is big but it could be implemented in a way that's half arsed with absurd amounts of "suspension of disbelief" (i.e. "galaxy has changed, but just don't go to 1-60 planets") on our part required on our part. Fingers crossed.

[AbsolutGrndZero]

Eeeek! I can't wait! I also love that the main page does clarify that starting at 60 will be an OPTION, as yesterday on Dulfy a lot of people were confused about that, whether the Outlander would be a brand new character or our existing character... at first I thought new, but then I realized that was not the case, but many seemed to follow suit in that error.

[AbsolutGrndZero]

This is big but it could be implemented in a way that's half arsed with absurd amounts of "suspension of disbelief" (i.e. "galaxy has changed, but just don't go to 1-60 planets") on our part required on our part. Fingers crossed.

 

WOuld you rather not be able to help out your lower level friends? I mean, phasing like WoW has would be nice, but it causes all numbers of headaches if you are trying to help out a friend. Now, if they did it like City of Heroes/Villains did their phasing, that would be perfection. When you joined a group you would get a popup message "You are now experiencing the world as experienced by Absolutgrndzer0" if I made you leader, I would get a popup "You are now experiencing the world as experienced by aeterno"

[kovodar]

People need to look on the bright side. With level 65 we can PUG for underlurker now

[Akam]

So if I understand this right, Bioware is charging $14.99/month for a single-player RPG?

 

EDIT: Revised the question to reflect that no guns were pointed at my head...

Edited June 16, 2015 by Akam

[Nickious]

So if I understand this right, we have to pay $14.99/month for a single-player RPG?

 

Is there gun being held to your head telling you to pay?

 

And in the interview that while they said personal story was a big focus, they said haven't forgetten about the other content as well.

[Ershiin]

So if I understand this right, we have to pay $14.99/month for a single-player RPG?

 

As opposed to the 60 for a weeks worth of content you normally pay for a single player RPG?

Seems alright to me.

 

As a sidenote, what is up with THE EMPIRE never getting to be the aggressor anymore? Whole society, culture, and overall purpose of THE EMPIRE is to be conquerors.

Not saying it should win, but this backpeddling passive damage control behavior kinda takes away the whole point of being Sith.

Its like if Mordor kept being invaded by a third power and Sauron and the orcs got too busy fighting for survival that he didnt have any time to be Sauron anymore...

Or like if Paladins and Necromancers teamed up to fight demons.. Then teamed up again to fight monsters.. then teamed up to---

Its a cool concept to use once in a while, but doing it too much and they stop being enemies and start being just kinda rivals.

 

But then, the expansion IS called Knights of the Fallen Empire, so that might actually be the point.

Might very well be that factions are going byebye and we somehow get to have jedi and sith co-existing, dogs and cats living together, MASS HYSTERIA!

Edited June 16, 2015 by Ershiin

[PLynkes]

Well Mordor was invaded twice, and both times Sauron got his arse kicked. So it isn't that different. Edited June 16, 2015 by PLynkes

[Akam]

As opposed to the 60 for a weeks worth of content you normally pay for a single player RPG?

Seems alright to me.

 

As a sidenote, what is up with THE EMPIRE never getting to be the aggressor anymore? Whole society, culture, and overall purpose of THE EMPIRE is to be conquerors.

Not saying it should win, but this backpeddling passive damage control behavior kinda takes away the whole point of being Sith.

Its like if Mordor kept being invaded by a third power and Sauron and the orcs got too busy fighting for survival that he didnt have any time to be Sauron anymore...

 

But then, the expansion IS called Knights of the Fallen Empire.

 

I play MMOs so I don't have to go out every week and spend $60 on a new RPG

[Ershiin]

I play MMOs so I don't have to go out every week and spend $60 on a new RPG

 

So in other words this is perfect.

[Adaliaya]

Am I the only one who thinks its good they scale old OPS to lvl 65?

 

Of course I adore new OPS and if I got to choose we would get 10 OPS and no story if its resource issue.

 

However making new OPS is kinda time-consuming, and am I really only one who would like to do Explosive Conflict once again? It involves some of the most interesting mechanics in game, but doing it isnt really possible any more since its too easy for lvl 60 and finding people between 50-55 is kind of hard.

They will most likely still relaese OPS with same (slow) rate as usual, but besides that we get some good old OPS to choose from. Some of these OPS are really good, like Dread Palace, Temple of Sacrifice or EC.

[LaOosaki]

Here's some especulation on my part.

 

The four lightsabers brought by the twins to the emperor after conquering Republic and Empire are meant to represent the lightsabers of the four force sensitive playable characters.

I believe that at the start of the expansion's story we get to see the invasion and actually lead the efforts to fight back, but are ultimately defeated by the foreign army and put out of business for a while (maybe exiled, in a coma or frozen in carbonite), thus why you have to reunite with your companions.

I also believe that this new Empire is similar to the Vong (conquerors from another galaxy) and Vitiate is somehow influencing their Emperor, since Vitiate was aware that there were other civilizations spread throughout the universe.

[Ershiin]

Here's some especulation on my part.

 

The four lightsabers brought by the twins to the emperor after conquering Republic and Empire are meant to represent the lightsabers of the four force sensitive playable characters.

I believe that at the start of the expansion's story we get to see the invasion and actually lead the efforts to fight back, but are ultimately defeated by the foreign army and put out of business for a while (maybe exiled, in a coma or frozen in carbonite), thus why you have to reunite with your companions.

I also believe that this new Empire is similar to the Vong (conquerors from another galaxy) and Vitiate is somehow influencing their Emperor, since Vitiate was aware that there were other civilizations spread throughout the universe.

 

So it will be like the halfway point of FF6? Sounds good to me

Not keen on the Vitiate bit though.. That character has kinda outstayed his welcome by now.

[NoxNoctum]

I haven't played the other expansion(s?) yet, so I don't know how this works... do they add content to the class stories? Or is it just a single unified story for everyone?

[Akam]

So in other words this is perfect.

 

I think you missed that part about playing MMOs ^_^

[Ershiin]

I think you missed that part about playing MMOs ^_^

 

Eh, main attraction of this game was always the heavy story focus..

And this is a good deal, even if it doesnt appeal to your particular tastes.

I heard FF14 has really good gameplay in terms of the "MMO" experience, why not give that a try?

And if nothing else there is always WoW.. Despite the people playing it claiming that its been dying for the past decade.

Not saying "go away!", just that nobody is forcing you to pay for something you dont want, and there might be better options out there that caters more to what you want.

I mean, this game does have a f2p model so if you dont wanna pay untill there is content you wanna play, you're totally free to not do that.

 

Also do note that I've made no attempts to deny your initial claim.. Rather just pointed out that its actually quite a good deal for what it is. ^^

Edited June 16, 2015 by Ershiin

[Akam]

Eh, main attraction of this game was always the heavy story focus..

 

I'm assuming you mean't to say "For me...the main attraction was the heavy story focus". Otherwise, I would not say the "main attraction" was the heavy story focus. Especially considering Jeff just got done saying they're redirecting focus on story...

 

And this is a good deal, even if it doesnt appeal to your particular tastes.

 

Not saying it's not a good deal. But this game launched as an MMO. Subscribers have been paying for an MMO for years now. It's a hard pill to swallow to find out after 4+ years it was all just to fund a single player RPG.

 

I heard FF14 has really good gameplay in terms of the "MMO" experience, why not give that a try

 

At my core, I'm a progression raider and while FFXIV has good graphics, the raids did not look entirely interesting. Maybe Heavensward will change my mind on that. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

And if nothing else there is always WoW.. Despite the people playing it claiming that its been dying for the past decade.

 

I played WoW from Vanilla-MOP and briefly checked out WoD. For me, WoW died shortly after the release of LFR.

 

Not saying "go away!", just that nobody is forcing you to pay for something you dont want, and there might be better options out there that caters more to what you want.

I mean, this game does have a f2p model so if you dont wanna pay untill there is content you wanna play, you're totally free to not do that.

 

Don't get me wrong. I was sufficiently hyped about the story and the trailer was probably the best I've ever seen. I fully intend to check out the story, which honestly shouldn't take more than a week or two. But beyond that, I don't see the subscription cost worth it to keep me in the game for longer than a month. That's where Flashpoints, Raids, Warzones and Arenas are supposed to come in =)

[Ershiin]

Eh, you say it wont last that long, but it honestly took me up till the first 12x xp boost to finally get to see all the different class stories.. And I joined in right around when the Legacy system was introduced.

And nah, I dont mean "for me", I've spent more time PvPing during the first year playing this game than I did in the 7 years I played WoW combined, and I honestly dont really care much for SW lore outside of the original trilogy. (And i've done a grand total of 2 Ops, both when grossly overleveled and overgeared just running through because guildies wanted to do it and I was one of the only healers online)

Content "for me" would be WZ and GSF maps, as those are the aspects i've come to really enjoy in this game.

Only reason I even considered picking up the game was because my old WoW guild was reforming in this game and they asked if I wanted in.

 

But it did pretty much sell itself as a full singleplayer RPG that also had MMO features back when it came out. (The whole companion thing was pretty much played up as "you can bring your friends.. OR just use these NPCs if you cba and just wanna get dat epic kotor experience!")

That said, I wish they'd go more the route of giving us more Black Talon style story heavy FPs with alternate route depending on the conversation choices the party makes, rather than just a ton of quests that you do once then move on from, as I feel that would add alot more to the roleplaying -with friends!- aspect of the game. (Nothing like that moment when that bastard in your party decides to kill that NPC you really liked just for some throwaway loot! Or the reverse of that, i'm still bitter over running the esseles 5 times and each time getting downvoted on ditching that nasty twi'lek I couldnt stand! xD)

Not to mention replayability...

 

But its not like they're gonna pull a GSF with WZs and Ops!

... i hope. xD

Edited June 16, 2015 by Ershiin

[Diviciacus]

Has anyone else gone all insomniac over this?

[SimplyCooL]

I'm seeing a lot of positive impressions and hype going about.

 

And i honestly cant understand it. To say, i'm disappointed, is an extreme understatement. While i've calmed down today, i ran trough thee whole range of negative emotions last night.

 

 

After having such a good time with the 12xp event this past month and a half and finally getting the performance from this game, that i wanted, i was looking forward to any future expansions and the escalation of the war between the Republic and the Empire.

 

This was the conflict of ideals, that i cared about, in the OLD REPUBLIC timeline. The 5000 year-old struggle between the Jedi and Sith religions, first introduced in Tales of the Jedi and culminating with the events of Episode 1 The Phantom Menace. To have this narrative sidelined, just to introduce some "Even bigger threat", is beyond disheartening.

 

Instead of working within the confines of already established lore and characters to build a richer mythology and ramp up the stakes, they are wiping the slates clean with a carbonate chamber. Why????

 

"The Sith Empire and Galactic Republic have fallen. The Jedi and Sith have retreated to their temples. No one remains to stand between the Eternal Throne and the utter destruction of all we hold dear."

 

The Conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire is one of the most interesting events in galactic history, for-shadowed by several centuries of events. And we're just skipping it. And now there's a New Unknown Empire in the Outer Rim with a new "bigger and badder" Immortal Emperor. Oh you mean, like exactly Vitiate and the Sith.

 

Why, why, why, why, why.... The True Sith are threat enough. They came to destroy everything the Jedi and the Republic believe in, their entire culture and way of life. This is like replacing Sargeras with Super Duper Ultra Sargeras. Its pointless and it only cuts all established story threads to make a clean slate. Just make a new game if you want to tell a new story. Not to mention, this makes no sense. The Galactic Republic has never fallen, until the Rise of the Galactic Empire 18 BBY. This smells like Disney trudging all over the lore of TOR for Episode 7's sake.

 

"With the launch of Knights of the Fallen Empire, all of the original eight Class stories will be enhanced, allowing for a faster and more engaging playthrough for new and veteran players. Additionally, many of our existing Flashpoints and Operations are being scaled to 60+, giving you many more Elder Game options at Level 65."

 

This scares me. The breath of content for 1-50 will be shortened for the sake of new players. Just keep the 12xp to 50 - its fast enough. Second Sentence also worrying, so now they happen out of narrative context. But it aint just the narrative direction, the visual design for the trailer and art are just so disconnected for the OR period. All i kept thinking watching that... "What the hell are these guys, where are the jedi, where are the republic cruisers and imperial troopers. Bring back TOR"

 

I dont know, whether the actual story will be good or not.

 

"Knights of the Fallen Empire marks a renewed focus on BioWare-style cinematic storytelling in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™" (As opposed to when Bioware stopped telling stories in the OR. What?)

 

But instead of looking toward the future,i am dreading it.

Edited June 16, 2015 by SimplyCooL

[SimplyCooL]

Has anyone else gone all insomniac over this?

 

Not quite, but very nearly did. Was so pissed.

[Kakisback]

I'm seeing a lot of positive impressions and hype going about.

 

And i honestly cant understand it. To say, i'm disappointed, is an extreme understatement. While i've calmed down today, i ran trough thee whole range of negative emotions last night.

 

 

After having such a good time with the 12xp event this past month and a half and finally getting the performance from this game, that i wanted, i was looking forward to any future expansions and the escalation of the war between the Republic and the Empire.

 

This was the conflict of ideals, that i cared about, in the OLD REPUBLIC timeline. The 5000 year-old struggle between the Jedi and Sith religions, first introduced in Tales of the Jedi and culminating with the events of Episode 1 The Phantom Menace. To have this narrative sidelined, just to introduce some "Even bigger threat", is beyond disheartening.

 

Instead of working within the confines of already established lore and characters to build a richer mythology and ramp up the stakes, they are wiping the slates clean with a carbonate chamber. Why????

 

"The Sith Empire and Galactic Republic have fallen. The Jedi and Sith have retreated to their temples. No one remains to stand between the Eternal Throne and the utter destruction of all we hold dear."

 

The Conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire is one of the most interesting events in galactic history, for-shadowed by several centuries of events. And we're just skipping it. And now there's a New Unknown Empire in the Outer Rim with a new "bigger and badder" Immortal Emperor. Oh you mean, like exactly Vitiate and the Sith.

 

Why, why, why, why, why.... The True Sith are threat enough. They came to destroy everything the Jedi and the Republic believe in, their entire culture and way of life. This is like replacing Sargeras with Super Duper Ultra Sargeras. Its pointless and it only cuts all established story threads to make a clean slate. Just make a new game if you want to tell a new story. Not to mention, this makes no sense. The Galactic Republic has never fallen, until the Rise of the Galactic Empire 18 BBY. This smells like Disney trudging all over the lore of TOR for Episode 7's sake.

 

"With the launch of Knights of the Fallen Empire, all of the original eight Class stories will be enhanced, allowing for a faster and more engaging playthrough for new and veteran players. Additionally, many of our existing Flashpoints and Operations are being scaled to 60+, giving you many more Elder Game options at Level 65."

 

This scares me. The breath of content for 1-50 will be shortened for the sake of new players. Just keep the 12xp to 50 - its fast enough. Second Sentence also worrying, so now they happen out of narrative context. But it aint just the narrative direction, the visual design for the trailer and art are just so disconnected for the OR period. All i kept thinking watching that... "What the hell are these guys, where are the jedi, where are the republic cruisers and imperial troopers. Bring back TOR"

 

I dont know, whether the actual story will be good or not.

 

"Knights of the Fallen Empire marks a renewed focus on BioWare-style cinematic storytelling in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™" (As opposed to when Bioware stopped telling stories in the OR. What?)

 

But instead of looking toward the future,i am dreading it.

 

This echoes my thoughts perfectly. Especially the trudging over of established lore. The "even bigger threat" device is so unoriginal. It's a cop out used to not have to put effort in to further develop the ongoing story, and instead just start over. This is not star wars. I have a suspicion the ****** new Disney canon is infecting the true lore.

Edited June 16, 2015 by Kakisback