"Streamlined leveling"...

[Cuiwe]

When will we know more about it? I spend a lot of time replaying stories and sub 50 is just as important to me as new KoTFE bits are. And I doubt I'm the only one who does this. So...some info would be nice, wouldn't you agree? Anyhow, these are points that we DO KNOW:

 

-> You will be able to choose your companion's role (what happens with Stance buttons / skills, hm?)

-> Stat squish, now there is only Mastery, Presence and Endurance (what about secondary stats, such as Alacrity?)

-> Important story flashpoints(say Revan chain) will be in solo mode, every other leveling FP will have tactical format

-> Crafting simplifications

-> They won't actually streamline disciplines so they become more fun more early(and a mighty shame that!).

 

Now for some interesting questions / discussion:

 

-> Will 12x XP stay? If so, in which form? Anyhow, xp stuff will most certainly be interesting to read...

-> What about secondary missions? Planetary missions?

-> What about Story Replay? If not a full replay, how about just letting us watch our previous conversations?

-> Any plans to actually make companions more powerful now that we are deep into single player territory? This especially applies to "Tank" companions who are just laughably bad at their role(25% DR...really? A DPS Guard has more than that!)

[annabethchase]

I agree, it's time to give us an idea so we can finish our current leveling projects or save them for 4.0. This would go for those in game or those currently taking a break until 4.0. With more information, it might encourage some to start subscribing again now.

[TravelersWay]

I also am awaiting this information and how it will work. This is the one major piece of info that is important to me as the leveling game is the bread and butter of my gameplay experience and will most likely determine whether I continue playing the game after the expansion launches.

[RavenscarX]

12x ends October 19th... It's been known for a WHILE now....

[Muljo_Stpho]

12x ends October 19th... It's been known for a WHILE now....

 

The speculation is that they may be including higher xp values in by default, so that even back down to "1x" we'd be seeing higher xp values than we used to.

 

Because they've made it sound as if the 1-50 leveling experience in 4.0 will continue to be pretty quick, with content outside of class story coming across as optional / unnecessary. (They just haven't given any clarification of anything. I think the most they've said was they gave a time estimate and said running any swtor class story from 1-50 would be more comparable to a run through KotOR or KotOR2.)

Edited September 13, 2015 by Muljo_Stpho

[Bobs_YourUncle]

One thing Eric did clarify was that they were not going to remove any side quests. But yeah, can't wait to see what the streamlining will entail.

[Cuiwe]

I mean, it's short over a month till KoTFE launch and we know precariously little. I know, I know. Both overhype(Terminator Genisys is a perfect example of this: A trailer spoiled the whole movie) and underhype(my precious SECRETS! aka Bioware speciality) are bad for business. And I am not asking for them to spill out everything, but this is a MAJOR PART for a LOT of players and they really should release this info. Because, let's count: there is 5 and 1/2 weeks until KoTFE launch and they still need to elaborate the following:

 

 

1. Companion systems overhaul(probably will be bundled with levelling)

2. Crafting revamp or streamlining(probably will be bundled with comps and hence with leveling)

3. Streamlined leveling

4. Trooper / Bounty Hunter blog

5. Consular / Inquisitor blog

6. Misc informations(gfx, sfx, engine improvements, optimisation etc)

7. NYCC Cantina tour

 

So: We most likely have 3-4 blogs remaining, which is...too tight for my taste tbh. Definitely too tight a schedule.

[MandFlurry]

Telling us how our New Xp system is gonna be for 1-50 or 1-55 is Not/ Will not have any spoilers for KOTFE, or more like SWTOR 2. So telling us about the New Xp system will not ruin a dammed thing.

 

We Should be able to have 12X xp if we want it, and not have 12X xp if we don't want it. It's that damned simple for me, and a lot of other ppl here.

[Aries_cz]

When will we know more about it? I spend a lot of time replaying stories and sub 50 is just as important to me as new KoTFE bits are. And I doubt I'm the only one who does this. So...some info would be nice, wouldn't you agree? Anyhow, these are points that we DO KNOW:

 

-> You will be able to choose your companion's role (what happens with Stance buttons / skills, hm?)

Stances will presumably be gone, or there will be several DPS modes, etc (bleed vs armor penetration, for example). We don't actually know

-> Stat squish, now there is only Mastery, Presence and Endurance (what about secondary stats, such as Alacrity?)

Nothing has been officially said about secondary stat squish (or was it?)

-> Important story flashpoints(say Revan chain) will be in solo mode, every other leveling FP will have tactical format

More accessible group content is always nice

-> Crafting simplifications

Not necessarily a bad thing, that system needs some trimming

-> They won't actually streamline disciplines so they become more fun more early(and a mighty shame that!).

Compared to talent trees, disciplines already provide "more fun early".

 

Now for some interesting questions / discussion:

 

-> Will 12x XP stay? If so, in which form? Anyhow, xp stuff will most certainly be interesting to read...

Plan is to make 1-60 take about 30-50 hours (length of first KOTOR). Playing class and planetary arcs is about that long, in my experience (when listening to stuff)

-> What about secondary missions? Planetary missions?

Nobody knows

-> What about Story Replay? If not a full replay, how about just letting us watch our previous conversations?

That would be nice, and I think developers said they might explore it eventually, if Resources™ allow it. But probably in a way that is just a replay, no chance to make different choices, you can always play the class again for that

-> Any plans to actually make companions more powerful now that we are deep into single player territory? This especially applies to "Tank" companions who are just laughably bad at their role(25% DR...really? A DPS Guard has more than that!)

We do not know how will the new "effectiveness based on levels and affection" work. And it is probably a lot more tweakable if they decide it needs tweaking

 

Green

Edited September 14, 2015 by Aries_cz

[JattaGin]

Whatever timetable they set up and whoever set it up in the first place: I don't understand it.

 

I have planned many projects in my life. My job relies on proper planning for the whole season.

 

They have said for months that they plan to release this and that option and now it is less than 6 weeks to go and except for 2 story blogs and some minor info about some changes, they offered nothing.

 

Now, with all the things they promised to tell us and with the little time left: If they present us all the things they said, then there will be a total overkill of information within a very short time.

 

Why?

 

Why flood us with information on short notice, so to say, when there were several months time for it? I am sure that everyone would have been happy if we would have received a bit of information regularly every 2 weeks. It's not rocket science. I would have planned it like this:

 

Every second (or maybe every) Friday, I would have released one information bit about KotFE. I would have made a list about what has to be revealed, then I would have gathered the information and write something interesting about it. If it turns out that at a certain deadline some info wouldn't have been ready to give out, I would have written more generally about things without revealing anything detailed.

 

Either way, constant information flow keeps the customers happy and strengthens the confidence in the developers.

 

If waiting until 4 weeks before release, the feeling that they aren't even remotely done with things and therefore cannot write about anything, gets stronger with every day. I might be totally wrong about that. I'm just saying what feeling this lack of communication and bad planning of info (in my opinion) causes in me. It's a pity, really.

 

Streamlined leveling... what exactly does that mean? BW, please enlighten me.

[Aries_cz]

Why flood us with information on short notice, so to say, when there were several months time for it? I am sure that everyone would have been happy if we would have received a bit of information regularly every 2 weeks. It's not rocket science. I would have planned it like this:

 

Every second (or maybe every) Friday, I would have released one information bit about KotFE. I would have made a list about what has to be revealed, then I would have gathered the information and write something interesting about it. If it turns out that at a certain deadline some info wouldn't have been ready to give out, I would have written more generally about things without revealing anything detailed.

 

Either way, constant information flow keeps the customers happy and strengthens the confidence in the developers.

 

What we know is changing that would not involve story spoilers

Classes - 4 blogs

Crafting - 1 blog

Alliances - 1 blog

 

That is 6 blogs. Stretching that over 4 months would not be much better.

[Jedi_riches]

Yeah I want some answers on this, my main server TRE has become so cluttered with characters that I made a clean break for it and started some new characters on a different server so I really want to know how these changes might affect my enjoyment of levelling 1-50 I mean I like the idea of being able to use characters that I like not just the ones that are helpful for me (usually healer) and some solo flashpoints along with the rest being tacticals.

 

I know that levelling is supposed to be quicker than previously but not 12x xp and that sidequests are being reworked into alliances stuff (KoTFE only?) but no information on this as yet.

 

Should I just not bother with any crafting skills as yet? as we have yet to find out what changes are happening there either.

 

So I would dearly love to see if any of the changes planned will affect me too much or should I stop levelling and just wait 1 month.

Edited September 14, 2015 by Jedi_riches

[-Silver-]

The 12x EXP has been the most fun I've ever had in this game. It now genuinely feels like the KOTOR 3 they infamously promised back at launch. I always knew the class stories were fantastically written and voice acted - it was all the level barriers and "go grind a bunch of filler side-quests before the next part of the story" that made it a chore to play before. 12x EXP solves all those issues, and I'd hate to see it go without a decent replacement. Planetary missions are pretty awesome too though, so I could a 4-6x EXP boost applying to all quests working well. Can still skip the filler that way.

 

Mainly I want an Ability Squish. I HATE having multiple hotbars filled with skills, most of which have similar names and do similar things, just with different cooldowns forcing you to use them all. I'd love an emphasis on only a handful of skills, each of which are highly versatile in their use and impact, and have low cooldowns. Kind of like ESO, modern WoW, Guild Wars 2, and MOBAs. That's my only sticking point with SWTOR these days, and the reason I'm not a permanent subscriber. Still becomes a chore to play, and all those skills make it so difficult to return to the game and jump in where I left off. I come back, look at the hotbars, freak out and create a new character instead.

Edited September 14, 2015 by -Silver-

[Cuiwe]

The 12x EXP has been the most fun I've ever had in this game. It now genuinely feels like the KOTOR 3 they infamously promised back at launch. I always knew the class stories were fantastically written and voice acted - it was all the level barriers and "go grind a bunch of filler side-quests before the next part of the story" that made it a chore to play before. 12x EXP solves all those issues, and I'd hate to see it go without a decent replacement. Planetary missions are pretty awesome too though, so I could a 4-6x EXP boost applying to all quests working well. Can still skip the filler that way.

 

Mainly I want an Ability Squish. I HATE having multiple hotbars filled with skills, most of which have similar names and do similar things, just with different cooldowns forcing you to use them all. I'd love an emphasis on only a handful of skills, each of which are highly versatile in their use and impact, and have low cooldowns. Kind of like ESO, modern WoW, Guild Wars 2, and MOBAs. That's my only sticking point with SWTOR these days, and the reason I'm not a permanent subscriber. Still becomes a chore to play, and all those skills make it so difficult to return to the game and jump in where I left off. I come back, look at the hotbars, freak out and create a new character instead.

 

While I agree with notion of ability bloat and the need to reduce it-perfect example is Z.Leap(imo it should be just a Leap with buffed damage)-there isn't that many skills that could be merged. Feel free to suggest whatever you see as a "needless" ability bloat.

[CaraExas]

Mainly I want an Ability Squish. I HATE having multiple hotbars filled with skills, most of which have similar names and do similar things, just with different cooldowns forcing you to use them all. I'd love an emphasis on only a handful of skills, each of which are highly versatile in their use and impact, and have low cooldowns. Kind of like ESO, modern WoW, Guild Wars 2, and MOBAs. That's my only sticking point with SWTOR these days, and the reason I'm not a permanent subscriber. Still becomes a chore to play, and all those skills make it so difficult to return to the game and jump in where I left off. I come back, look at the hotbars, freak out and create a new character instead.

 

fk it, im just gonna ask...

 

 

exactly what abilities do you feel have similar names and do similar things that the game forces you to use?

[DomiSotto]

The one I can think off hand that has the abilities that are all very similar is a Lightening Sorcerer. Maybe not the same in what they do, but in how they are named, iconed on the bar and animated. Not saying anything have to change, just that it is too similar imo.

 

With the streamlining, it would be great to know, but on the other hand, I am actually thinking that I am going to keep a few characters at lower levels, around 40 or so, to play after the 12xXP. I have enough level 60s to get the eventual level 65s and dab in the end-game, and I am starting to miss the part of the game when things are not moving at a crazy pace, and you can do absolutely everything in the same set of gear. It would be nice to just relax and play a while with disregard to leveling. For a change, you know.

[ImmortalLowlife]

The 12x EXP has been the most fun I've ever had in this game. It now genuinely feels like the KOTOR 3 they infamously promised back at launch. I always knew the class stories were fantastically written and voice acted - it was all the level barriers and "go grind a bunch of filler side-quests before the next part of the story" that made it a chore to play before. 12x EXP solves all those issues, and I'd hate to see it go without a decent replacement. Planetary missions are pretty awesome too though, so I could a 4-6x EXP boost applying to all quests working well. Can still skip the filler that way....

 

SO MUCH THIS!!!!

 

Regardless of how "AWESOME" KotFE might be, the answer to THIS will determine if I continue my sub. I spend 95% of my playtime creating and playing alts through the vanilla story. Can we get some kinda info BW?

 

 

And "soon" DOESN'T count as an answer. Lol

[DirtyDiggler]

They almost have to streamline leveling at this point.

[Jedi_riches]

I just want to know the information just so I know if it looks like I will enjoy the levelling experience more after the changes or perhaps less, just so I know what I should do in running stories again also infor regarding crew skills would be nice so I know whether to bother much with them (even if I go just gathering are some of the materials going to be removed).

[branmakmuffin]

They almost have to streamline leveling at this point.

Well, they have to (well, they don't have to)make the leveling from 1 to 65 take about the same amount of time as leveling from 1 to 50 took at release. Game companies know they have to find the "sweet spot" in between "leveling too fast," causing player boredom from reaching cap too fast and player boredom form feeling stagnated and bogged down with a too-slow leveling process.

 

fk it, im just gonna ask...

 

exactly what abilities do you feel have similar names and do similar things that the game forces you to use?

And apparently it's "most of them."

Edited September 14, 2015 by branmakmuffin

[TUXs]

I agree, I'd really like to know more about this. This is the kind of information they should be releasing.

[EricMusco]

These are good questions! We are working on a blog which will talk about what streamlined leveling means for Fallen Empire. My hope is to get it out sometime next week and we can talk through any unanswered questions then. Thanks everyone.

 

-eric

[Andryah]

These are good questions! We are working on a blog which will talk about what streamlined leveling means for Fallen Empire. My hope is to get it out sometime next week and we can talk through any unanswered questions then. Thanks everyone.

 

-eric

 

OK.. somebody has to say it.. so here goes....

 

You know what would be really fantastic... once.. just once, and every once in a while? ----> be proactive rather then reactive. As in.. prepare and publish blogs before people ask and get themselves all worked up about it.

 

Personally, I don't care one way or the other, but I DO understand that many players do care and do want more proactive communications and disclosure of major features. It's not some major tragedy that you do not... but think about how surprised we would all be if you beat us to it once in a while.

Edited September 14, 2015 by Andryah

[Pietrastor]

OK.. somebody has to say it.. so here goes....

 

You know what would be really fantastic... once.. just once, and every once in a while? ----> be proactive rather then reactive. As in.. prepare and publish blogs before people ask and get themselves all worked up about it.

 

Personally, I don't care one way or the other, but I DO understand that many players do care and do want more proactive communications and disclosure of major features. It's not some major tragedy that you do not... but think about how surprised we would all be if you beat us to it once in a while.

 

"We're working on crafting blog"

"We're working on Alliance blog"

"We're working on gearing/stats blog"

"We're working on companions/influence blog"

 

Bioware, you do realize it's 1 month left till the expansion right?

[DOHboy]

OK.. somebody has to say it.. so here goes....

 

You know what would be really fantastic... once.. just once, and every once in a while? ----> be proactive rather then reactive. As in.. prepare and publish blogs before people ask and get themselves all worked up about it.

 

Personally, I don't care one way or the other, but I DO understand that many players do care and do want more proactive communications and disclosure of major features. It's not some major tragedy that you do not... but think about how surprised we would all be if you beat us to it once in a while.

 

whose to say they didn't plan on putting this out already, just that people asked the questions before they could get them answered. Its hard to stay ahead of the insatiable lust for all things information. They could dump out just about everything they have day one, people would STILL complain it wasn't enough and anything they do give after that, will take too long and again not be enough.

 

if community has to wait more than 30 seconds the devs are lazy and withholding information and not communicating. The time between annunciation and release will always be too long, and void of enough information to satisfy just about anyone.

 

patience is a virtue long void in these forums.

 

how fast should they have given out any information? day after they announced it?