Why combining main-stats is neither bad nor "dumbing down' anything.

[KorbanShepard]

I was trying to be simplistic to point out the variation in the stats and what they actually do, such as Aim will increase the dmg on ranged attack for a Sniper who's primary stat is Cunning (not that you would ever use Aim....).

 

Oh, so you're arguing that they make such a big difference that simplifying them down into one stat effects them in any meaningful way how?

[KorbanShepard]

Frankly, in all candor, I'll be honest, I stopped reading right here.

 

So, an Agent needs Aim for ranged attacks? A Shadow needs Strength for melee attacks?

 

Yeah, that was my reaction. It seems like grasping for straws or something. There's legitimate points about crafting, tertiary stats, and companion gearing.

 

Now, with crafting, outside of Biochem and a few things here and there, it's not that useful anyways. Plus, they've already talked about changing crafting before they mentioned combining the mainstats.

 

As far as Comp gearing and tertiary stats. Comp gearing is tedious anyways, so I don't really mind. I could go both ways on it.

Tertiary stats... yeah I get it. It doesn't bother me that much but I get it.

[KorbanShepard]

The stat change certainly isn't for balancing purposes, because it's quite clear that BioWare can't balance the game. So what's the decision making behind this? I'm betting on it being purely to try to attract more casual players with 4.0 so BioWare can monetise them.

 

Aside from your desire not to read, this was probably the weakest point.

Look, I don't do enough PvP to know the how badly unbalanced things can get, but what I do know is that it's pretty well established in many of the patch notes BW's efforts to try and achieve balance. That doesn't mean they have succeeded, but it does mean that they are constantly trying to get it right. So... The stat change certainly isn't for balancing purposes, because it's quite clear that BioWare can't balance the game. is a problematic statement, because it ignores that BW continues to try and get it right and there's no reason to suggest that they wouldn't this time either.

 

That being said, I doubt it's as much of a balance move as much as a way to make it easier to put armor sets and weapons in the game without clogging up the system with more attributes.

[Transcendent]

Aside from your desire not to read, this was probably the weakest point.

 

Putting it into context, it was a lack of desire to read further when your opening statement was blatantly incorrect. If perhaps you wanted players to actually read your wall of text, try opening slightly differently next time?

 

You can pull my post apart as much as you feel like, but the point still stands that there are differences between the stats and what they do, and how they tie into each AC.

 

Enough of that nonsense.

 

--------------------------------------------------------------

 

Whichever way you want to look at it, BioWare has chosen to simplify the system. Being pessimistic about the change (BioWare have given me no reason to be otherwise at this stage of 3.0) it's purely so they can do one of two things;

 

- Help them try to balance the classes / homogenise more than the move to Disciplines (they've failed thus far).

- Make the game more casual friendly and remove issue with players wearing gear with the wrong mainstat.

 

It certainly isn't to simplify the gear tables, because that involves the following two things;

 

- Removing all previous gear or adjusting it to the new stats.

- Removing all old schematics learned or adjusting those to the new stats.

 

That right there is a massive change to make (and so many things can possibly go wrong). If they don't adjust the previous gear / schematics to accommodate the change to stats, then we'll end up with a mixture of gear with both Mastery as well as all of the old ones - further confusing newer players.

 

There is a saying "If something isn't broken, don't fix it".

Edited August 29, 2015 by Transcendent

[Chelan]

There is a saying "If something isn't broken, don't fix it".

 

Isn't that why they're trying to fix it? Because what SWTOR is now and has been in the past clearly isn't working. (and SWTOR, the game as a whole, is probably more broken than not) Or else they wouldn't change a thing. I would bet it has pretty much survived up to this point on the Star Wars name alone. Besides the current stats are already dumb anyway. I mean Aim, Cunning, Willpower? Why don't they just call them Moxie, Grit or Chutzpah.

 

I don't really understand the issue, I thought you people would be more happy Bioware is trying to keep this game alive. To monetize more people as it were. Because ugly armor, pointless space stations and endless corridor designers need to get paid too, you know.

 

But I digress, I just believe that there are bigger issues with the game than the removal of names of stats that for all intents and purposes didn't really matter in the first place.

Edited August 29, 2015 by Chelan

[Mewmaster]

I was trying to be simplistic to point out the variation in the stats and what they actually do, such as Aim will increase the dmg on ranged attack for a Sniper who's primary stat is Cunning (not that you would ever use Aim....).

 

so, at endgame.......guess what....it does not matter, every class stacks their main stat and that is it, no one smart would ever be stupid enough to have Strength on an Assassin, or Aim on a Operative. so, like you said, they are names, names that literally mean NOTHING at all.

 

also, your simplification does not work, because it does NOT mean melee vs ranged at all, even if you lovingly ignore the advanced classes all toegether there are many companions who are PURE melee and use aim, so even that fails.