Combat Changes in Fallen Empire

[Doqtyr]

Quick ... Backpedal

[DarkJediMage]

bioware can force lvl syncing in the game. however, they cannot force me to participate in lvl syncing in groups. i will shun low lvl groups. do my dailies, stick my lvl group content, which is lvl 60,

[Plan-of-Exit]

Love all the changes but Level sync. Also see there's like 2 or 3 people that are harassing people that don't like level sync too bad there wasn't a feature to place some forum posters thread post on ignore so you didn't have to see there flooding those posters who share there concern with out seeing the same people harassing and arguing with peoples options just cause they disagree and want to dictate people that are against level sync.

 

I agree. I like every change but level sync. I cant actually play the game without wincing because of it. I hope they actually read these reviews and realize that half the people like it and half the people dont like it. Possibly losing half of your population is worse than reverting it back to no sync and maybe getting some people who like sync to be upset.

[Plan-of-Exit]

why are you even playing swtor or in this forum? a last stitch of hope they will rolled back the core features?

 

all i want is lvl syncing to be optional.

 

Stands up. /clap

 

Yes. Optional.

[Plan-of-Exit]

btw - if lvl syncing is not optional, i stick to my lvl in content, do the endgame several times, unsub, wait a content update, resub, download and do the update, and unsub, repeat. i am pretty sure other players will do the same thing. meanwhile, bioware loses money.

 

**writes down strategy**

 

Thhhank you.

[Plan-of-Exit]

I am opposed to the mandatory lvl snyc, but I suffer from a God complex as I play. My character, which is me in this world worked to get where he is. I am Sith Lord and a council member. I shouldn't have to be bothered by low lvl gutter vermon. If you want to challenge me bring me challenge. If a person wants to go back and redo a quest THEN they should be lvl syncd. If they want to run with a low lvl friend then they should be able to lvl sync. Again, God complex trying to be super evil, and sometimes just want to go around slaughtering hapless minions who happen to be in my path whilst out for a stroll. I think more content should be created for lvl capped players rather than dumbing down the entire universe. This is virtual space after all, can't the two sides expand to new horizons new threats, new wars? The new stories are really all that I continue to play for minus the occasional return to do evil. . ok just felt like writing a paragraph today. Also, I need more minions to do my bidding. And a larger fleet. Thank you.

 

Before level sync: **slaughter slaughter slaughter slaughter slaughter**

 

After level sync: "Dammit! This womp rat is kickin my ***!"

[Plan-of-Exit]

The idea is now you will get exp and level appropriate rewards while you do his mission for him.

 

Personally if I was helping one of my friends do stuff like this I had a character that was at the same level and point in story, but that's just me.

 

It is already way to easy to level up. Why the heck would I want something to make me level up even faster? Now - because I dont need the experience and because its a black hole of time to go back to previous planets, I will probably just skip all material/missions of planets that are beneath me. Basically, I lost end-game material because people would go to low level planets to enjoy the non-threatening atmosphere.

[Max_Killjoy]

Love all the changes but Level sync. Also see there's like 2 or 3 people that are harassing people that don't like level sync too bad there wasn't a feature to place some forum posters thread post on ignore so you didn't have to see there flooding those posters who share there concern with out seeing the same people harassing and arguing with peoples options just cause they disagree and want to dictate people that are against level sync.

 

The forum has an ignore feature, that's been very useful in dealing with the forum-griefers and the trolls.

 

Use the link under their forum avatar to the left of the post to go to their profile, then look kinda lower-right, and it says "add to ignore list".

[DraculNoctivagus]

Lots of good changes, guys. Great job! Make level sync. optional, though, like the 12* XP. It's not for everyone. Game levelling and killing mobs is waaay too easy, but I look forward to seeing these new features in action.

 

In my opinion, though, the idea of stripping us players of the ability of customizing the gear of our companions is downright horrible... Giving us the possibility of choosing which role they inhabit on the battlefield is a good one, but haven't you now made the choice of companion totally and utterly obsolete, by making all the companions into hybrids that can occupy each and every role the same as one another?

 

This is, IMO, a huge step backwards for the game. Customizing companions is fun, and it rewards the players who are really into it during levelling gameplay. Please, do NOT make this game completely streamlined and STRIPPED (like WOW), just in order to please the small kids, who wants to power-level through the entire game and feel invulnerable during the entire experience without having to think about how to use skill and thought, both in regard to your own gameplay, but also regarding your companions use and setup.

 

So, lots of great initiatives here, guys, great job on you! But IMO, you should really rethink the concept of streamlining the game too much... Trust me, it WILL bite you in the butt eventually, as both hardcore and casual players will tire of the game quickly, if it gets too "quick and easy". And by removing the possibility of customizing companions you have just taken away a huge chunk of fun for lots and lots of PvE-loving players, who have enjoyed finding gear for them since the brand ol' "KOTOR"-games, and who actually likes the difference in fighting styles of the different companions, instead of having a group of hybrids, whose only difference is their appearance and personality.

 

I hope I am wrong about this, and that I've just misinterpreted these new functions... That would render this rant obsolete, but also make me a happy man.

Edited October 21, 2015 by DraculNoctivagus

[Porphyriacus]

I challenge you to list for me the cons of Level-Sync which don't stem from A: you being bad at the game, B: you being antisocial, or C: you still being pathetic enough to make money via dailies. Do you have any reason which doesn't fall into those categories? If you do, please, by all means, let me know. If not, you should take a moment to think about why you're so opposed to this change.

 

 

Being a solo player is not akin to being anti social that is a big assumption. I don't have a lot of time to sink into an mmo. Without a KOTOR 3 to jump into, SWTOR is the only real immersive rpg style starwars game at the moment. A large number of folk I would generally play with are in the same boat, we have jobs, lives, hobbies, families and general other things going on outside of a mmo.

 

Ok so the game was never that difficult and typically finding another person for a heroic or a flash point was not that hard, however these groups are where a large amount of anti social behaviour takes place. I like to sit through the cut scenes, listen to the voice acting, bioware went to a lot of trouble to voice script this game and its a shame that I can't sit though it without random darth jerk yelling at me to hurry up. So I solo run low level dungeons for the immersion it provides. This is no longer an option for folks like myself with level sync. I've tried it and where before I could fight my way through at my leisure it is now not possible without a group. This is just a little bit disappointing. If this makes me bad at the game from your perspective then fine, but I don't feel my 'skills' are any less than most other players. So the option to remove level sync would be a great feature from my perspective as it permits me to play the game on my terms.

 

If a solo option is introduced for all dungeons at all levels then great problem solved, I guess that would be 'anti-social' of me though.

 

I don't feel the need to face roll my way through the game, but on a lower level planet it is kinda nice to feel like the powerful Sith/Jedi you are meant to be rather than what I've seen so far under level sync, which is leaving your companion to tank everything while you sit back and chill.

 

Ok it helps with balance in pvp and with mob grief by a higher level. However I have experienced very little 'griefing' in this game compared to others, the lower server population for a start tends to result in less of that. So the balancing argument is largely irrelevant from that perspective at least based on my experience. Although I don't play on PVP servers however it has always amazed me how people sign up for pvp then complain when it happens. That to me is a more misguided form of complaint, than that of the issues people have with forced level sync. I played pvp on wow and its part of the game, occasionally you'll get ganked or sometimes grief-ed, if you don't like it play on pve, its why I play pve on SWTOR I'm interested in story and immersion not player vs player. Also the skill sets are not lost and you are set at the higher level of the planet you're on so the pvp ganking is still not that balanced, the problem is only partially corrected and not fixed for a substantial reduction in my game satisfaction. Another argument against.

 

What has happened is the time I waste now trying to find a group partner to do that heroic 4 quest on a planet that I probably previously could have solo'd in the absence of someone being around. The threat radius forcing me to kill a bunch of unwanted mobs just to get to the heroic I want to do, wasting more of my game time is also a little annoying. Its only a few minutes but it is a lil tedious. Its about time and how much of it you spend doing the stuff you want and the stuff you don't want. Level sync kills time which is great for devs not so great for players. Unless all you do is play your typical mmo of choice day in day out. Guess I could wait for KOTOR 3 but that will never happen so I'm stuck at the moment with SWTOR.

 

I fail to see how the loss of game satisfaction here is linked to my being bad at the game, anti social or some form of farmer. I feel there are some very generic labels you have made to attack the person highlighting their issue with the changes rather than their reasons behind the change. Its a little bit straw man on your part. I don't think it balanced out much I still managed to progress at the same rate un-level synced, I found the game challenging enough to be interesting without being a tedious grind a condition many mmo's suffer from, and finally I found it time efficient pre-level sync to have to rely on a group only when really needed. To have an option that gave me that level of game satisfaction again would be nice and it appears a toggle of some form for level sync would solve it. They had a remove the bonus xp from pre 4.0 release for those who wanted it, why not an option for sync.

 

If the issue is pvp balance than you sync when flagged or in neutral pvp zones, simple solution with minimal impact targeted at the problem area. Seems like a more elegant solution to me. Mob grief will still happen regardless of sync and this game has far less of the aoe mob grind that other mmo's have so I have to admit again its a minor fix that has involved widespread game impact. I like the other changes of 4.0, choosing my responses based on my character rather than trying to salvage influence over my companions with a contradictory answer. The crafting has thrown me a little but I haven't tried it much yet so I'll reserve judgment. I'm just not sure what level sync was trying to achieve outside of making the game a little more tedious and grindy something that doesn't improve player satisfaction. At least for this player. The devs obviously knew this would be the case or why would they implement a solo dungeon option for a selection of dungeons. I'll be holding back my sub till there is some form of work around, I'm sure an adequate compromise can be reached if the devs listen.

[bdatt]

Stands up. /clap

 

Yes. Optional.

 

Would you be willing to give up all rewards, e.g. locked supply crates from heroic missions (this will be the only reason I run them), when you unselect level sync? If so I would support making it optional.

[Xenomorph]

While I appreciate the intent of level sync, those like me who want to play every mission suffer because we hit the level cap of each planet. I say that it should have an optional off switch.

[papragu]

While I appreciate the intent of level sync, those like me who want to play every mission suffer because we hit the level cap of each planet. I say that it should have an optional off switch.

 

There is no real level cap. If you outlevel a planet then you get synced and recieve the ammount of xp for your actual level. That is the whole point of the level sync system. You can do lower level mission but still recieve xp according to your level.

 

Here taken from the patchnotes:

However, while under Level Sync we will not take away any abilities or passive effects that you have. Also, while under Level Sync you will earn scaled experience. So if you are a level 60, killing level 30 mobs, you will gain experience appropriate for being a level 60

 

Reading those helps sometimes.

Edited October 25, 2015 by papragu

[Master_Timothy]

I don't know if this has been answered, but I'm asking anyway! What about the bonus series? Can you activate those if the zone they are in is higher then what you are shifted too? Can they be activated at all? Can a Dev get back to me on this please? As I seem to be having hard time activating the Alderaan bonus series which are at level 40 and I'm scaled down to 35 while on the planet!

[Ganhob]

Dear Rob Hinkle

How about some comment the feedback that player have given about not wanting level sync? Why not remove level period because level no longer matter.

 

Says you. Its funny because the amount of people saying they like level sync vastly outweighs those who do not want it. For once WE want this, and for once YOU are the minority, so deal with it.

[denavin]

I did not think I would, but I have to say I like the way Level Sync is working. Was able to go back to old missions that I missed and not only was I able to totaly smoke them but I got level 60 experance for killing level 26 mobs. Agro range is still what I am used to at level 60, I don't get knocked off my ride. Heroics are still soloable. Would be nice if the drops were also uped to my level but I can live with that. The solo versions of Flashpoints are well done and very doable solo.

 

I was afraid, like most people that I would be back to what I was at the lower levels when I was that level the first time but It's turned out not to be that way at all. I am still level 60+ just lower level in number, now I take some damage and can die if I'm not carefull but don't have to worry too much about that, still can kick major butt, mobs melt before me, and not suffer the pain of being dominated by my foe just for being low level again.

 

All in all I am very pleased with the way Level Sync has been done and the way it works.

Edited October 25, 2015 by denavin

[idnewton]

*Looks at ingame client*

*Looks at thread*

*Looks at ingame client*

*Looks at thread*

*Crosses arms*

 

What'd I say...?

 

I am surprised at how well they implemented this, though. I wasn't expecting that. But the feature works just as well as I thought it would (and I've noticed several of the cons people pointed out aren't really the case, since every terminal-based heroic (that I've done, at least) has been EASILY soloable).

 

In truth, my goal was never to "be right". My goal was to keep BW from acting on the negative feedback and revoking a feature the community as a whole hadn't experienced yet. In that regard, I did accomplish my goal, and I think it was worth the effort. This feature is just as awesome as I thought it'd be.

 

On top of my support for the concept of the feature, I can now also say that in practice Level Sync's pros heavily outweigh its cons, and that's not even counting the long-term benefits (ability to easily create more planetary events, for example).

Edited October 26, 2015 by idnewton

[sharkninjapanda]

i think that level sync should have an off switch

[idnewton]

i think that level sync should have an off switch

I think armchair devs should not even.

 

I get that it's part of the preference territory, but it's also part of the "ingame change suggestion" territory which, if those suggestions are given with little to no thought or foresight, definitely cross the line into "armchair dev" territory.

[DarkJediMage]

I laugh at lvl syncing and solo moding heroics and flashpoints. they do not bring players together socially to form groups unless it is the endgame or pvp. players will always take the less stressful or easy way to progress. whenever someone spams for LFG heroics, the response is 'they are soloable'. lvl syncing fanbois, lvl syncing failed socially. it is only a laughable, e-z xp gainer. Edited October 29, 2015 by DarkJediMage

[DarkJediMage]

The class trainers are messed up, too. the trainer skill lvls constantly increase when you lvl up. you cannot upgrade class skills. when you lvl up in unsynced zones, only new skills are accessible sometimes. Edited October 31, 2015 by DarkJediMage

[Joefjr]

The class trainers are messed up, too. the trainer skill lvls constantly increase when you lvl up. you cannot upgrade class skills. when you lvl up in unsynced zones, only new skills are accessible sometimes.

 

Your skills auto update ranks when you level, that's why you see them under show all. But you only need to visit the trainer when you get a new skill.

[DarkJediMage]

Your skills auto update ranks when you level, that's why you see them under show all. But you only need to visit the trainer when you get a new skill.

 

ok. thanks. i never seen that in the patch notes. do you have the webpage reference?

[Joefjr]

ok. thanks. i never seen that in the patch notes. do you have the webpage reference?

 

Just common sense in reading tool tips, and that fact you never have to train new ranks again as well as the HUGE list of skills listed if you have it set to Show All. Other mmo's have done it before, its nothing new.

[DarkJediMage]

Just common sense in reading tool tips, and that fact you never have to train new ranks again as well as the HUGE list of skills listed if you have it set to Show All. Other mmo's have done it before, its nothing new.

 

Thanks.