Operations and Flashpoints in Fallen Empire

[Chiron_Prime]

I thought long and hard about if I should bother posting this, and with all the negativity flying around, it'll probably just get overlooked. Either way, I think I just need to type some of this out, and let people (even at BW) know that not everyone is entirely disappointed with this announcement. Who knows, maybe George, Tait or Eric will read it.

 

I've played this game since beta. It was my first MMO. Its a BW game, and like many at the start, I was probably hoping for some sort of KOTOR 3. I was impressed with the stories, and I don't think anything of its magnitude with 8 different class stories has ever been done before, and most likely never will be again. The stories aren't all perfect, sure, and neither was the endgame at launch. I remember all the complaints, and although I didn't raid at the time, I got by PvPing and leveling alts. So I think 1.3 rocks up, and I might have been away for a month or two due to real life concerns, and when I returned all I heard was people complaining about no endgame content, and how they were unsubbing, and moving on. SWTOR still to this day suffers from that stigma, especially from people that never returned after quitting. They still jump onto reddit and facebook and anywhere else to complain about it (I honestly don't understand why people can't move on). So all big MMO fans/grinders left for greener pastures, which left the rest of us keeping the game afloat till the transition to F2P.

 

I started getting more involved with the game, PvPing, joining guilds, playing ranked, but still no Ops back then. So server transfers come about, and all the PvPers decide they need to move to PvP servers to get more pops, and they all move, and BW pulls a fast one and pulls 8 vs 8 ranked from the game in favour of arenas. Plenty of PvPers whined and plenty quit. So we were left with just doing regular warzones, and leveling alts. I was still enjoying those aspects of the game, but decided to try and get an Ops group together after another guild fell apart (at least for a while it seems) and moved on to my current guild, where I get to do basically everything in this game.

 

When RotHC launched though, many of us were concerned with, what would later become a pattern, and that was the lack of continued class stories. A few friends left the game because of it. I couldn't understand why BW would drop their biggest selling point in favour of other content. I have since played other games and found their leveling completely bland, since SWTOR spoilt me with great story along the way, instead of just pick up this and do that kind of quests.

 

So where am I going with all of this? Well every time BW makes a decision, no matter how important it may seem to any one of us, it will obviously upset a few. They will rant and rage, unsub, and tell you the game will be dead in a few months. Funny that... the game is still here, and I doubt that these changes will kill the game. Am I disappointed that we won't have a new raid when the expansion drops? Sure... but then again I'm assuming from what I read that there will be new content for Ops and other things after the expansion drops... when? I don't know, and sure BW's track record for certain promises hasn't been the best, but I assume they're well aware that Ops and PvP are still rather important in maintaining numbers. They will have the metrics from the year long draughts of raid content, and well... PvP I think its been longer

 

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, here is what I really think about why things are changing, and most of these changes are for the good of the game.

KotFE is basically a reset. They're looking for a fresh start. Its almost like a soft relaunch of the game. They're seem to be trying to break away from the old story content to get that fresh start. They're sticking us in carbonite for 5 years, and offering people free L60's for a reason. They're trying to recapture lost players who left due to a lack of story, and trying to get players that never played the game before. Why? I think that much is obvious. They're breaking from the past, and launching an expansion just before a new SW movie is coming out. They want new players, to arrive and get to endgame and see 9 Ops, that are all relevant. For someone just coming to the game they will have plenty of choices on what to do. Why turn old content obsolete just because people go up 5 levels?

 

I know a lot of you will just see a wall of text and skip over it. I know a lot of you have quit already due to the news of no new Ops. I wasn't totally impressed with that bit either. One extra line about a new one coming soon , say Jan '16, would have settled a lot of people down. BW have their metrics, for what its worth, and could sometimes be interpreted better, but I think this revamp is necessary for the game. There is no fun facerolling through old Ops from deco's or conquest, just for the sake of doing it. On level Ops makes more sense, its more challenging, and gives people more choices.

 

Nightmare Mode will also be available for all the Operations that had it previously, and will reward the same as the highlighted Hard Mode, as all the unique mounts and titles available currently.

 

For Hard Mode Operations, one Operation per week will be highlighted to give even greater rewards! Ultimately, the goal is that you will have a reason to visit all of our Operations and will feel rewarded for doing so.

 

One thing about that has me intrigued. As I read it, basically with KotFE there will be three tiers of gear. They will be equivalent to SM/HM/NiM. So the highlighted Op that week in HM will possibly drop some random drops of gear that would normally only drop in NiM?

Also a possible timeline on future content for PvE (raid, FPs) and PvP would be nice. You don't have to give us huge details, but at least throw us a bone. Currently all we know is no new content when KotFE drops, but it has 9 story chapters, and we'll get the next 6-7 chapters at the start of the new year. See, without telling us much, we already know we'll be getting about 6 months worth of story content in the first 6 months of 2016.

 

I get you guys like your marketing strategies and like to play your cards close to your chest, but currently there is too much of a vacuum surrounding many features in the game, not just the content, but other underlying systems that should be filled as soon as possible, as it may affect how we play over the next few months.

 

 

TL;DR - I get we're all a little disappointed that there isn't a new raid when KotFE drops, but these changes were needed. BW most likely expects an influx of new players around the SW movie release that most likely never played before and don't want to get caught with the "no endgame content" story again. That and most likely those new players will be into story, much like the majority of players that first picked up this game since it was its biggest selling point. Will the game die? Doubtful... but maybe I'm wrong... who knows

Edited July 10, 2015 by Chiron_Prime
spelling

[ScorpioStrikes]

First the Discipline System, now this?!

Come on, Bioware! You can do better than this. Leave the flashpoints alone! They are fine just as they are. I don't appreciate the fact that the flashpoints will be converted to tactical or have a solo mode. All these changes make my head spin. Yes, I get that it is kinda boring when you don't even need a group, let alone a coordinated one. But that is why you make elder-game versions, so that players can reexperience the fun they had running those flashpoints as a group. In response to a raising of the level-cap, you could update the elder-game flashpoints, so that they match the level-cap, or you could make another version of the elder-game flashpoint/operation that matches the level cap. For example, you could take a level 60 hardmode flashpoint and make it level 65, or you could keep the level 60 version and add a level 65 version. Or for operations, you could say story-mode Eternity Vault is level 50, hardmode is level 55, and nightmare is level 60. I do not like tactical flashpoints for two reasons. One reason why I do not enjoy tactical flashpoints as much as standard flashpoints is bolstering. I want to earn the advantages rewarded by reaching higher levels, not be given them without working for them. I think it is a necessary evil when competing in warzones and flashpoints such as Kuat Drive Yards, where a non-bolstered level 15 group could not hope to survive, but it is unnecessary in flashpoints such as The Black Talon. Another reason I dislike tactical flashpoints is because they are able to be completed by groups comprised only of players whose role is to deal damage, as long as the group possesses at least a slight amount of skill and teamwork. In the end, I am fine with tactical flashpoints, as long as they were not originally standard flashpoints. As for solo mode, that's a whole other matter. I mean, how are you going to complete them? Are the bosses weakened? They don't seem like they would be a complete flashpoint experience. Why can't you just leave the existing flashpoints and operations alone?!

[Ghisallo]

The minority are the people only playing for raiding imo.

 

 

Underlined to make a point. I bothered to run an experiment in another "typical" MMO and proved that while arguably a minority it was a LARGE one. Large enough that you do NOT want to piss them off. These games are not about making one group or another genuinely happy.... never have been never will be. Why? because there are too many play styles. The trick is to, in essence, keep every annoyed. If you make one group genuinely happy you inevitably piss off another group. Pissed off players leave... that means lost money.... "simply" annoyed players tend to stay.

 

This is why, along with EA statements, I think this has everything to do with getting a flshy bump is subs around the movie to keep investors happy and they HOPE the incentives and old content buffs will kep enough people around to not have a big drop in the new year.

 

This is a gamble....corps do this all the time. You are falling into the trap of thinking a Corporation cares about you and then that you are someone in the CLEAR majority. Starting from that premise is creating a rather twisted view.

[ScorpioStrikes]

Oh. I also think new flashpoints and operations would be cool.

 

 

___________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Ebon Hawk

Be'skar Avn'er Mak'rin A'sh'la

Alverath Accusark Hy'lo

[Deluxe_]

This is very disappointing on several levels.

 

One of the things that I think SWTOR did great was Flashpoint progression, and I feel like the new approach of turning most everything into a tactical is threatening to destroy this.

 

Story mode Flashpoints provided an appropriate challenge to your level, required an ever increasing skill level and mastering of your class, and it taught you the aspects of group content, including what was required of each role of the trinity at a great pace. Where you literally don't need a tank for Esseles, and in Hammer Station new healers could keep everyone alive with their basic heal, by the time you reach the Red Reaper you need a proper group with a basic understanding of their role to clear it, and Kaon and Lost Island can be impossible if you don't understand mechanics as well.

 

In this way I think FPs provided the proper training ground, so to speak, needed to move on to HM FPs and Operations.

 

Turning several of these old FPs into solo and tactical modes will pretty much remove this wonderful progression from the game. It's sad that instead of finding a way to make that old content more attractive and relevant while keeping the best aspects of it when it comes to gameplay, they pretty much went the opposite route. The skill level of players reaching max level (or lack of skills) has been a common complaint in these forums, and I fear this all-tactical approach will only worsen the situation.

 

I just hope they keep the unique gear of the old FPs (one of the things why it's worth running them) and don't remove them like they did with Exotech and Xenotech gear, which are completely unobtainable now. But from what the blog says ("individual loot suited for their class from entirely new sets of gear.") I'm guessing this is what they're doing.

 

Another thing I don't understand (aside from no update to Colicoid War Games) is why Directive 7 is not included in any list. That's my favourite FP ever, and I hope it's just an oversight in and they're not leaving it behind.

 

And well, I don't even know what to say about operations that hasn't been said by several people in this thread. I came to this game because it's Star Wars, but I stayed because of operations and the people with whom I run them. Making the old operations relevant again is a welcome change, I guess everybody who likes running ops had this idea at some point, but not having a new operation kind of sours the deal. There are many like me whose main interest is doing operations, including most of the regular players in my guild, and I'm not sure how the perspective of running old content that most of us did at level will keep us playing SWTOR. I guess the earliest we could see a new op is December, but a part of me tells me that's just wishful thinking and if we don't get it by now then I fear we'll have to wait several months into 2016 before we get any new content for raiders.

Edited July 10, 2015 by Deluxe_

[NSStember]

I think this is a great step. One of the things I love about playing in Guild Wars 2, is the ability to play with friends who have characters of different levels, since each "zone" in that game scales your character down to the level of the zone. I've often wished for that here, since TOR is my main MMORPG. And now you've essentially mirrored that here with your flashpoints that will allow players with varying level characters to play with each other. I know many of my friends who will find this a *most* welcome change, and hope you'll carry it even further.

 

Well done

[TheSeer]

No I said endgame.... that means Ops, FPs and yes PvP.

 

Regarding OPs alone, I can tell you from EQ2 the following btw that as a fact people who enjoy end game are NOT this tiny minority. here is how...

 

 

EQ2 had an interesting system in game that actually let you work out the total number of players on at any given time. Old EQ2 players will remember 2 features.

 

Feature 1... /whoall

Feature 2.../whoall by class.

 

SO I created alts on all PvE servers and did the following.

 

Step 1. /whoall a number of times.

 

This gives you 100 names...including ones marked /anonymous. You do this a number of times and average it out. Now you know the % of players that will NOT show up in a /whoall by class search because they marked themselves as anonymous or roleplaying.

 

Step 2. Do a /whoall for each class and total up the numbers.

 

This was the tedious part because you had 24 classes in EQ2. Total up this numbers. Add in the % of people step 1 told you would not show up in the class search total. This gives you a statistically reliable estimate of the number of people online at any given time.

 

I ran this test on "normal" nights and the most popular raid nights on each serve. I saw, on average, a 45% increase in player population across all PvE servers on the popular raid nights vs the "normal" nights.

 

Even the Devs had to grudgingly acknowledge that my experiment was accurate.

.

 

^The date in this analyzes only show a correlation between the numbers of people who are playing on a given night. A correlation isn’t a cause or proof that raiders are the majority. First just because there more people on doesn’t mean they are all engaged in raiding. Even if that night is consider a raiding night, there is no way to determine what percentage of the 45% more people are actual raiders. Even if they are a majority on that night, all this proves is that all the raiders got on at the same time, this doesn’t prove that this type of endgame is more important or that they make up a large part of the population. It only shows that raiders get on in a large number on a given night and other types of players are spread out over the rest of the week. For example if a large RPG guild decide to get on Sunday and there 35% increase in the population on my server that doesn’t mean RPG represent a large majority of the population instead it just give information on what night is popular for that play style. This information is interesting but does little to support your argument that operations etc are done by a majority of the players. The fact is we don’t have the data need to break down who does what or how much but I assume the devs do.

Edited July 10, 2015 by TheSeer

[Zylli]

I don't see this as a bad thing. I'm coming back to this game because of the upcoming expansion and the current x12 XP for story quests. I played when the level cap was 50 and never got to do flashpoints or ops with a steady group, so I quit. I tried again at 55 and ran into a wall where I just couldn't find a group of players to join to do the content. I'm sure there are others who ran into a progression wall and just stopped playing.

 

While I do feel bad that there are no new ops or flashpoints, I don't think it is the end of the world. They are scaling it up to 65, which means you can go through all of them to get the best gear for a level 65 player. You will also have new stories to experience, and plenty of things to do with smaller groups of players.

[wstevenson]

First the Discipline System, now this?!

Come on, Bioware! You can do better than this. Leave the flashpoints alone! They are fine just as they are.

 

 

No, I don't know what rock you've been under but FPs and Ops have not been fine for a very long time now. It's gotten to the point where if your a dps and you don't have more then a hour to wait in the queue then you might as well not bother queueing to start with and just pvp instead.

 

This overhall is nesscary, and frankly, should have been implemented back at 3.0.

[Ghisallo]

^The date in this analyzes only show a correlation between the numbers of people who are playing on a given night. A correlation isn’t a cause or proof that raiders are the majority. First just because there more people on doesn’t mean they are all engaged in raiding. Even if that night is consider a raiding night, there is no way to determine what percentage of the 45% more people are actual raiders. Even if they are a majority on that night, all this proves is that all the raiders got on at the same time, this doesn’t prove that this type of endgame is more important or that they make up a large part of the population. It only shows that raiders get on in a large number on a given night and other types of players are spread out over the rest of the week. For example if a large RPG guild decide to get on Sunday and there 35% increase in the population on my server that doesn’t mean RPG represent a large majority of the population instead it just give information on what night is popular for that play style. This information is interesting but does little to support your argument that operations etc are done by a majority of the players. The fact is we don’t have the data need to break down who does what or how much but I assume the devs do.

 

If it is consistent over a given point of time it is statistically significant and when the devs said "yep you right" I would say it is a result with a high degree of confidence even if it dispels popular myths. If anything is important in these games it's that every little sub group players needs the myth that their play style is a special little snowflake when in reality all are equally important to longevity and profitability. It then next reflects the "consistent" player logged in which is VERY important in a f2p model more so than a pure subscription.

 

Believe me I started these games as an RPer and will always be one at heart. That said I could not deny the reality that the endgame player is statistically significant enough that you piss them off, from a "for profit" perspective, at your peril. that is my point. Not to say they are some silent majority

Edited July 10, 2015 by Ghisallo

[GJuliusCaesar]

I, for one, am excited for these changes. I end up skipping most of the flashpoints because I don't really like group content (I know, flame me...), and so being able to do it solo and really just focus on the story sounds great. How were the decisions made on which flashpoints are "integral" to the story to add solo mode, though?

[MaximusRex]

I was actually hopeful when Eric told me this at the NYC Cantina Event. But now it looks like it's going to be even worse than the last time around.

 

 

Love being lied to my face.

 

Learn English, don't want to and won't do are completely different. No one lied to you, you just don't have a grasp of the language.

[RaiderMid]

Sucks for raiders hoping for new content but it's about time relevant to story fps got a solo mode. Extremely excited about that.

[Ghisallo]

Learn English, don't want to and won't do are completely different. No one lied to you, you just don't have a grasp of the language.

 

Last I checked if you don't want to do something you don't do it.... if you do it, you wantedto.

 

remember this is Star Wars... it coined the axiom... "do or do not, there is no try".

[Jerba]

I just noticed that Directive 7 is missing from all lists even though it currently has a normal mode for level 48s and a hard mode for level 50s. Did you forget to add it to the list or will it not be upgraded?

If so, will it stay like it is currently? Can we continue to run it or is it removed from the game?

Together with Esseles, it's my favorite flashpoint and I'd feel very sad to see it go away.

 

Same goes for Colicoid War Games, it's missing from all lists. Can we still run it normally, if it gets removed from Group Finder?

 

Also, what about Kaon and Lost Island, can we still run them on normal mode? They are just included on the HM list.

 

What about all the solo flashpoints, can they still be run in a 4-man group on normal mode or do we have to solo them?

And finally, with Red Reaper and KDY getting a HM version, will they also receive a new bonus boss?

Edited July 10, 2015 by Jerba

[MeNaCe-NZ]

Underlined to make a point. I bothered to run an experiment in another "typical" MMO and proved that while arguably a minority it was a LARGE one. IMO Large enough that you do NOT want to piss them off. IMO These games are not about making one group or another genuinely happy.... never have been never will be. Why? because there are too many play styles. IMO The trick is to, in essence, keep every annoyed. If you make one group genuinely happy you inevitably piss off another group. Pissed off players leave... that means lost money.... "simply" annoyed players tend to stay.

 

This is why, along with EA statements, I think ( ooo you got that one in yourself ) this has everything to do with getting a flshy bump is subs around the movie to keep investors happy and they HOPE the incentives and old content buffs will kep enough people around to not have a big drop in the new year.

 

This is a gamble....corps do this all the time. IMO You are falling into the trap of thinking a Corporation cares about you and then that you are someone in the CLEAR majority. IMO Starting from that premise is creating a rather twisted view.

 

Underlined to make a point. Added some stuff to make your post more accurate too.

 

More words in my mouth? I said I believe Bioware/EA cares about me personally do I?

 

Honestly I was going to rebut what you put there but now I'm not because you seem to be just making things up as you go along along with whatever conspiracy theory of the moment suits.

[MeNaCe-NZ]

I don't see this as a bad thing. I'm coming back to this game because of the upcoming expansion and the current x12 XP for story quests. I played when the level cap was 50 and never got to do flashpoints or ops with a steady group, so I quit. I tried again at 55 and ran into a wall where I just couldn't find a group of players to join to do the content. I'm sure there are others who ran into a progression wall and just stopped playing.

 

While I do feel bad that there are no new ops or flashpoints, I don't think it is the end of the world. They are scaling it up to 65, which means you can go through all of them to get the best gear for a level 65 player. You will also have new stories to experience, and plenty of things to do with smaller groups of players.

 

You sir are who I believe they are targeting these changes at. The player who for many design reasons couldn't get a chance to do the content of fps/ops but with the changes will.

To me this is a good thing as it eases you into the concepts of it and by the time they do release new content for ops/fps one would hope you and others who previously found these challenges around getting into ops/fps won't anymore meaning a much greater pool of people to run the content with.

[MeNaCe-NZ]

I, for one, am excited for these changes. I end up skipping most of the flashpoints because I don't really like group content (I know, flame me...), and so being able to do it solo and really just focus on the story sounds great. How were the decisions made on which flashpoints are "integral" to the story to add solo mode, though?

 

Looking at the list they all have story aspects back to the single player game.

 

The Revan parts, the Malgus/fall of the emporer parts, the SoR parts ( that the first revan parts helps with ).

 

Other ones were purely standalone. My thinking is if this proves popular they will probably add solo modes for all the flashpoints.

[Ghisallo]

Underlined to make a point. Added some stuff to make your post more accurate too.

 

More words in my mouth? I said I believe Bioware/EA cares about me personally do I?

 

Honestly I was going to rebut what you put there but now I'm not because you seem to be just making things up as you go along along with whatever conspiracy theory of the moment suits.

 

Yes another MMO but it is consistent with the dynamic that BW here said about them at launch here....

 

There was a tone of regret in his voice as Ohlen continued his recounting of the month after launch: "We had people going through the game so fast that within one month, four to five weeks, we suddenly had close to half a million people at the endgame. It was something we didn't expect at all. We had all those people at the endgame and suddenly certain things like having only one Operation,... become much bigger challenges than what we thought they were going to be."

 

Now imagine ZERO new OP. Simply Google Bioware GDC 2013.

 

I know... facts suck when you have a preconceived impression that gets in the way

 

I have

 

1. History of the industry

2. an experiment in an MMO that confirms this

3. BW's own statements

 

you have "imo".

Edited July 10, 2015 by Ghisallo

[lonewolfxox]

Well if this is the case meaning, all the operation mechanics will have to be properly executed to defeat the bosses, unlike now if ur overgeared go can just nuke them n ignore the mechs

[MuzluPasta]

Well if this is the case meaning, all the operation mechanics will have to be properly executed to defeat the bosses, unlike now if ur overgeared go can just nuke them n ignore the mechs

 

People are too stupid to execute HM FP mechanics, they won't be able to do the newly scaled OPs. They will come here and moan.

[imissleeches]

Haters gonna hate...

 

So going perfectly with the theme of "nothing new".

 

I for one am happy that they're going back to the old content and making it playable again. It's been 2 years since the last time I managed to get a queue pop for some of the mid-level flashpoints.

But the thing I'm most excited about is individual loot! I'm going to assume that class-non-specific loot like decos and pets is going to remain need-or-greed but this should at least make gearing up much faster, less annoying and less conducive to pug drama.

 

My only worry is how the level scaling in HMs is going to work. 50-65 is a huge level disparity where stats (after applying bolster) don't really matter as much as access to certain abilities, passives and utilities. How will they ensure that a level 50 Guardian without Warding Call and a Sage healer without Wandering Mend can carry 2 level 65 DPS through every single eligible Flashpoint? I'm curious to see how they handle that. The only way I can see that working is if they de-emphasise things like burst phases and unavoidable damage and shift the challenge more towards avoiding circles, managing aggro, switching targets, cleansing dots and performing proper triage.

 

Which would actually be beneficial as far as helping prepare people for OPS where mechanics are everything!

 

And they did say before that they want to make combat more mobile, so perhaps that is what they're thinking too. Pretty much the only thing mobility is needed for is avoiding red circles of death and kiting adds.

 

One way or another: SUPER excited! I can't wait!

Edited July 10, 2015 by imissleeches

[Pietrastor]

1. History of the industry

 

The history of the industry since over a decade is that none MMO managed to even touch WOW. There's only 1 big hit in the genre followed by a bunch of averagely succesful title (TOR, FFXIV, GW2, ESO, EVE). No other genre is as imbalanced as this. The most succesful hit title is Destiny that many don't even concisder an MMO,

 

I have no idea whether Bioware exerimenting and trying to find their own niche will work, but if they dont try they will never make the game a bigger hit.

[MeNaCe-NZ]

Yes another MMO but it is consistent with the dynamic that BW here said about them at launch here....

 

 

 

Now imagine ZERO new OP. Simply Google Bioware GDC 2013.

 

I know... facts suck when you have a preconceived impression that gets in the way

 

I have

 

1. History of the industry

2. an experiment in an MMO that confirms this

3. BW's own statements

 

you have "imo".

 

Why do you keep going back to launch? That's the past, we have 9 raids as opposed to 1 raid, completely different times.

Not to mention the ton of FP's we have and extra content ( makeb, oricon, sor, ziost ).

 

They tried the just adding operations idea and now they're going down the just adding story content for awhile.

 

I know it's hard to deal with that they aren't personally catering to your personal whims as you feel they should but they have everyone else to think of ( you know the people who complained for years about not getting enough story content while new ops were being added etc/? ) as well you know?

 

So you have:

 

1. Your perception of the history of the industry, a lot of which does not pertain to this game.

 

2. Another game that we don't play with a somewhat flawed experiment that realyl doesn't prove anything at all as another poster pointed out.

 

3. BW's own statements indeed from the past that they then went on to do everything they've done since and are now doing this. Lessons learned and all that. If you read about the announcements around KoTFE you'll see statements as well, statements about the massive outcry for more story content which is what they are doing. You can pick and choose what statements you decided is pertinent but it doesn't make you any more correct in your assumptions.

[MeNaCe-NZ]

Haters gonna hate...

 

So going perfectly with the theme of "nothing new".

 

I for one am happy that they're going back to the old content and making it playable again. It's been 2 years since the last time I managed to get a queue pop for some of the mid-level flashpoints.

But the thing I'm most excited about is individual loot! I'm going to assume that class-non-specific loot like decos and pets is going to remain need-or-greed but this should at least make gearing up much faster, less annoying and less conducive to pug drama.

 

My only worry is how the level scaling in HMs is going to work. 50-65 is a huge level disparity where stats (after applying bolster) don't really matter as much as access to certain abilities, passives and utilities. How will they ensure that a level 50 Guardian without Warding Call and a Sage healer without Wandering Mend can carry 2 level 65 DPS through every single eligible Flashpoint? I'm curious to see how they handle that. The only way I can see that working is if they de-emphasise things like burst phases and unavoidable damage and shift the challenge more towards avoiding circles, managing aggro, switching targets, cleansing dots and performing proper triage.

 

Which would actually be beneficial as far as helping prepare people for OPS where mechanics are everything!

 

And they did say before that they want to make combat more mobile, so perhaps that is what they're thinking too. Pretty much the only thing mobility is needed for is avoiding red circles of death and kiting adds.

 

One way or another: SUPER excited! I can't wait!

 

Some good points there - it will be interesting to see what they do. another possibility is a quick revisit to when we get abilities etc. to have them all available at level 50? seems unlikely though since that would make 50-65 somewhat boring.

 

Having a quick re-read it does say there is a small bolster but maybe they are using the wrong word there? I mean that is to say maybe it's not everyone bolstered to 65 but more so met somewhere in the middle so if you're a 65 you maybe get ... unbolstered? You'd still have an advantage though from the extra abilities.