Kurin Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 It's been a while since I had a toon down in the lowbie levels, but for grins the other day, I rolled a new toon, which I server transferred to a new server, to be ready for this new leveling experience that we are supposed to get with KoTFE. Upon getting to the fleet at level 14 or so, I queued for a PVP match, where, I took a minute to look at how bolster was affecting my lowbie toon. I was a level 14, so I did not have a head piece, ear piece, no relics, and no implants. That's 6 empty gear slots. Everything else was essentially questing greens. My expertise, thanks to bolster: 1200. I did have close to the highest health pool in the match, though by less than 10%. As a result of my low expertise rating, I was easily killed by anyone I faced in a 1v1 situation, as my time-to-dead was just super quick. My understanding is that empty gear slots do not bolster, and thus do not get factored into the expertise calculation. Why, BioWare? Empty gear slots should not be reducing a player's expertise...particularly below level 60. Further, I question the need to even have expertise be part of the bolster calculation sub-60. Just give everyone 2018, and be done with that part (even if they have "old" pvp gear...just ignore it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DomiSotto Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 That's correct. The earliest you can get full expertise at level 21 when the first set of implants comes in. It is not fair, but it is what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technohic Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 When they raise the level cap, they should raise the starting WZ level to 30 or 40 if you ask me. It would just be silly to spend so much time worrying about a bracket with the limited skills available below that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glower Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 (edited) Why, BioWare? They are too lazy to adjust bolster for 1-30 and 30-59. Or maybe too afraid of new bolster bugs. Or all at once... Edited September 2, 2015 by Glower Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racter Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 10-29 should just give you 2018, no reason for it not too, the highest rated gear you can equip is over 100 points below the point bolster gives less than 2018 with full slots. Zero logic in not doing it there. 30-59 tbh just shouldn't exist, 51-59 is way too spec/class defining for most/all specs. There are also certainly enough 55-59 premades in full gear (as in, set bonuses that matter, Brutalizer relics etc) that 51-59 could easily be it's own bracket and still have plenty of pops for both 30-50 and 51-59. As is, most classes don't even have their complete rotation, spec defining abilities, defensive cooldowns, and the biggest problem IMO surge talents until 50+. There is an enormous gap between not having surge basically at all (30-45ish) and having both surge on your gear and your 30% surge talents. Honestly the gap between someone 55+ in full 55 gear (set bonuses, relic procs, surge talent, full rotation and DCDs) versus someone in the 30s and 40s (especially if you haven't hit light 2/dark 2 so still can't even get full expertise yet because of stupid alignment locked relics) is bigger than the gap between EWH and Recruit was prior to bolster existing at cap. Bolster does not account for 30% surge and 625? 650? Mainstat/Power procs. This isn't to say that a low level player can't contribute or even do well but you have to massively outplay people with a very limited toolkit to be on par. If the people you're playing against aren't outright horrible, you basically just get splatted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DNGDangerous Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 If you want to play in lowbie pvp, make sure to spend the commendations/credits to fill every slot possible. Its all cheap anyway, without any twinking from other characters; you should have enough to gear your character up via just by rewards from leveling up. Check fleet supplies vendor first. The hard part is relics from your light/darkside vendor. Lowbies might not have enough light/darkside points without using diplomacy until level 20 due to x12 xp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianDmitruk Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Back when empty gear slots did bolster, bolster made empty gear slots BiS or damn close to it. This is why lowbies can't have nice things Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racter Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Back when empty gear slots did bolster, bolster made empty gear slots BiS or damn close to it. This is why lowbies can't have nice things We're not necessarily talking about bolstering the empty slots. You could just outright give lowbies 2018 expertise, and it couldn't be exploited because the best gear you can get in that bracket is still wayyy below the bolster limit. Midbies it could be exploited, you can get 186? IIRC gear at 55 but if they split the brackets to 10-29, 30-49 then 50-64 two brackets would be "perfect" and the last would at least have everyone with vastly superior gear/talents/utilities in the same bracket lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlrikFassbauer Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 (edited) Back when empty gear slots did bolster, bolster made empty gear slots BiS or damn close to it. This is why lowbies can't have nice things Not even implants, Relics & ear things ? Edited September 2, 2015 by AlrikFassbauer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForceWelder Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Splitting the PVP brackets is an issue. Some servers just can't survive with another break. As it stands now, PoT5 is a ghost town on the republic side outside of prime time gaming for the US eastern time zone crowd. Outside of that and it turns into a wasteland. Honestly, I am in the batch of people who believe these low population servers need to be shut down, but until BW can figure out has to transfer legacy, stronghold, and guild resources that isn't going to happen. So it is a catch 22. PVP brackets either lack pops due to low population, or you face getting beat down by players +20 levels above you. So far it looks like the beat down is the current available answer as they can't risk losing subscribers by forcing the potential lose of legacy, strongholds, or guild equipment by forcing a merger they aren't ready for yet. But until they can figure out a way to merge servers, I really don't see the brackets changing much. If they do anything, the level 61- 65 crowd might have their own bracket and mids get left as is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurin Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 If you want to play in lowbie pvp, make sure to spend the commendations/credits to fill every slot possible. Its all cheap anyway, without any twinking from other characters; you should have enough to gear your character up via just by rewards from leveling up. Check fleet supplies vendor first. The hard part is relics from your light/darkside vendor. Lowbies might not have enough light/darkside points without using diplomacy until level 20 due to x12 xp. Your ignorance is showing. It's literally impossible to gear certain slots before level 21. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Transcendent Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 My understanding is that empty gear slots do not bolster, and thus do not get factored into the expertise calculation. Why, BioWare? Empty gear slots should not be reducing a player's expertise...particularly below level 60. Naked PvP? We've been there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volthammer Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 It's been a while since I had a toon down in the lowbie levels, but for grins the other day, I rolled a new toon, which I server transferred to a new server, to be ready for this new leveling experience that we are supposed to get with KoTFE. Upon getting to the fleet at level 14 or so, I queued for a PVP match, where, I took a minute to look at how bolster was affecting my lowbie toon. I was a level 14, so I did not have a head piece, ear piece, no relics, and no implants. That's 6 empty gear slots. Everything else was essentially questing greens. My expertise, thanks to bolster: 1200. I did have close to the highest health pool in the match, though by less than 10%. As a result of my low expertise rating, I was easily killed by anyone I faced in a 1v1 situation, as my time-to-dead was just super quick. My understanding is that empty gear slots do not bolster, and thus do not get factored into the expertise calculation. Why, BioWare? Empty gear slots should not be reducing a player's expertise...particularly below level 60. Further, I question the need to even have expertise be part of the bolster calculation sub-60. Just give everyone 2018, and be done with that part (even if they have "old" pvp gear...just ignore it). Some guildies and myself were talking about this very thing just a couple of nights ago. 2018 expertise should be given straight out in lows and mids. As it is now, at least with us, we have to spam Diplomacy and make numerous and tedious Black Talon/Esseles runs for alignment gain (to get those relics) and still have to wait till level 21 to get 2018. So, this gives you 9 levels of fun and competitive PvP time. Then once you hit 30 you have to race to at least lvl 51 to get 9 more levels of halfway fun and competitive PvP time in. There's a huge and unnecessary gap that amounts to a monumental waste of levels for PvP'ers. I do wonder why BioWare doesn't seem to be giving PvP any more attention than it does. I suspect strongly that it at least has something to do with PvP'ers being some of the whiniest and knee jerk reactionary players in all MMO's. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlrikFassbauer Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 Splitting the PVP brackets is an issue. Some servers just can't survive with another break. As it stands now, PoT5 is a ghost town on the republic side outside of prime time gaming for the US eastern time zone crowd. Outside of that and it turns into a wasteland. Personally, I don't believe that splitting the brackets might be an issue - if there wasn't these splits, people would go log off far more often because they were facing so much higher level players & characters - with many more abilities than lower levels have, and so much better players behind them. The smaller the brackets, the more people have the impression of a roughly (yes, I said "roughly") "fair game", because they don't get cheated by a system that puts a level 30 against a level 50, for example. The more people feel as being treated with RESPECT, the more serious they will be in trying to get better and play on. The current MatchM;aker doesn't do it. It rather makes people feeling as if being cheated. Class stacking, for example, not by premade. but by the MatchMaker ! It gives more pops - but the price is more people feeling getting steamrolled, and thus not playing on in PvP, and thus making the player pool dwindle even further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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