Macetheace Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 well, i'm relieved not to have to worry about companion stats while levelling true, but i totally see your point about end game. they should find a way to allow you to improve the comp too.. they did say that your comp will increase with your level of gear, so maybe they will add a bonus "influence" or "presence" stat to all the end game gear you get, that increases with every successive tier, making your companion upgrade sufficiently with you. An alternative is to have influence levels increase with each tier, so every time you introduce a tier, you have a means of increasing your comps influence some more, and reaching the max influence ofr a tier would give your comp the equivalent gear of what you would have. a third alternative is to have companion stats mirror yours, so as you gear up they do, and influence is the extra bonus they get on top of your gear cos remember they do not have relics, they don't have ear pieces so they are down 4 slots and are down a host of other abilities and combos that you use, so they tend to need to have higher raw stats than you to make up for that, and their biggest disadvantage is not even that, it's that they are AI controlled so will never be quite as good as you.. so even if their gear matches yours, they would really need the boost influence gives them to rise to the faithful sidekicks they're supposed to be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codedrago Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Effectively, those companions that can display equipped gear will be in "outfit designer tab" mode by default. As for comp gear, Eric did say they'd look into, maybe, something for the original companion gear, maybe - who knows, I wouldn't hold your breath. The existing comp customizations will still work as they do now. So the mulletted "good ole boy" Theran will still be good to go in 4.0, even with his toffee-nosed accent What I meant was, since there are those who still enjoy having stats dictated by gear for companions, the outfit designer would be good for the cosmetic side and a vendor specifically for companions would make it easier for those who simply don't want to pay that much attention to their companions stats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gokkus Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Yeah Im not too fond of it either. All those Yavin weeklys to get all my companions in 192 gear and there is no use to it anymore. Even worse, they all look generic now...it pretty much just removes part of the game seemingly without good reason so thats a bummer yes. I dont mind them boosting comps to a minimum power level or something but dont remove it altogether. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leehambly Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 I want to know a lot more about this Influence system and how much it will affect a companion's stats or combat abilities and if it's the same regardless of the companion (new or old). Did they explain it and I missed it or is this just another aspect of 4.0 they are still needlessly keeping under wraps? Not being able to add augments to your companion's gear at max level is a massive loss of stats. Eric didn't discuss it in depth in the last stream and was clearly avoiding it... it is something they are desperate to keep under wraps. It's possible to view that from whichever perspective you decide you want to. But there were a few things you could see in the companion selection window. Sure, regarding augments - but this might well be replaced and taken further on with influence. You have to go into it trusting their judgment on it.. yes, mistakes have been made, but if you are going to let those effect each and every other aspect of every release, well... tbh, the developer and game is probably done for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiesu Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Yeah Im not too fond of it either. All those Yavin weeklys to get all my companions in 192 gear and there is no use to it anymore. Even worse, they all look generic now... Grinded generic looking yaving gear on all comps -> complains they look generic. Who would have thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leehambly Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Yeah Im not too fond of it either. All those Yavin weeklys to get all my companions in 192 gear and there is no use to it anymore. Even worse, they all look generic now...it pretty much just removes part of the game seemingly without good reason so thats a bummer yes. I dont mind them boosting comps to a minimum power level or something but dont remove it altogether. Well, first off the Yavin comp gear can be vendored... 60k odd per set... not great but a reasonable return if you have many many sets. Secondly, the companion restriction will be removed from the gear, so it can be used on alts at level 55, which is kinda nice... 192 at level 55? I'll take that as a fall back, even with poor focus/balancing. Thirdly, they won't all look generic, they'll look like whatever gear you decide to put on them. And finally... "without good reason"... the individual gearing may not have an obvious apparent reason, but as we've seen over the life of the game... the focus of a PC has expanded from character to legacy. This release is expanding this even further... you choose which companions are in your Alliance... they have alluded to how it might work... it might be that as you level influence with one companion, you lose influence with another... ie: managing your Alliance as a whole rather than micromanaging individual companion's gear. It looks like it could be interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eillack Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Was disappointed by that additional dumbing-down choice. I loved gearing my companions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quraswren Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 (edited) Yeah Im not too fond of it either. All those Yavin weeklys to get all my companions in 192 gear and there is no use to it anymore. Even worse, they all look generic now...it pretty much just removes part of the game seemingly without good reason so thats a bummer yes. I dont mind them boosting comps to a minimum power level or something but dont remove it altogether. It's a bit disappointing at just how generic there making companions come max level. I don't mind so much losing the work I put into them, that comes with every level increase but turning them all into a tank, DPS or healer and each and everyone doing the same tanking, the same healing. the same DSP depending on their weapon. Thats some pretty bland design. There all going to have some base stat and it will all move up as you level on the same scale and only change depending on your influence but then only change in just a raw %. "X" goes up Y% and so on and so forth. Pretty "F"ing boring coming from what we had. The loss of customization is a bummer. Not a game killer but a bummer. Kinda like any of these and losing them: Lokin turning into a rakghoul, I like that Temple can use force blasts, I like that Tharan can drop Holiday into a fight, I like Nadia being an AOE wrecking machine, I like that Guss has a trap, I like that Bowdaar can throw people, I like that 4X has a towline instead of a leap, I like that HK-51 can actually assassinate people, I like that Scourge, Xalek, and DS Jaesa have lightning attacks. I love that Blizz has a rocket launcher. (cant remember where/who quoted this) It's just a bummer and killer of uniqueness and customization. Edited October 3, 2015 by Quraswren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LydMekk Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Getting gear for your comps was a minigame by itself, e.g. something more to do. The old crowd that has been here since beta: we seriously need more activities. Takeing them away (when NOONE was asking for it) is a bad designchoice. There has been a lot of those lately... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max_Killjoy Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 (edited) I have been paying attention. Especially to the drivel you've tried to post about how we should wait and there being no way to see this for what it is. While I think the story is going to be great, that is a small and quickly completed part of the journey. the destination here is just as important because that journey you're talking about will be completed in less than a week. Journey not the destination might work if I'm traveling this long road that takes a lot of time. The new SWTOR story isn't that. The destination and what I do there is the long game. I don't even think the story is going to be great. IMO, the story is going to suck (butt). Where have we seen the plot conceit of "Something happens in a cut scene that you can't avoid, that puts you out of commission for a long time. When you come back, your old team is scattered and you'll need to build a new team and save the galaxy." Oh, that's right, in ME2. That was ME2. Of course, this wouldn't be the first time that Bioware recycled their own story elements. http://infothread.org/Video%20Games%20and%20Gaming/BioWare%20Cliche%20Chart.png As for the now-known fact that Valkorian is actually Vitiate, well, gee, sorry if I've grown tired of Vitiate and would rather have just seen the current arc wrapped up with a ritual or some crap to finally end the silly space god once and for all. Instead, we get at least the fourth moment of "You cannot comprehend my power, my existence is beyond your understanding, and my plans are plans inside plans wrapped in plans and then coated in another plan" from this worn-out antagonist. That same crap, over and over again. The first JK encounter with him, then his surviving the second encounter, then his return on Yavin and the little speech at the end of Ziost, and now KotFE. Just die already, Vitiate. You're not compelling, you're not interesting, you're not awesome, you're just tedious and pathetic as a character. Edited October 3, 2015 by Max_Killjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bakakiba Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 (edited) I don't even think the story is going to be great. IMO, the story is going to suck (butt). So you won't miss it once you're gone, right? Edited October 3, 2015 by Bakakiba Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiesu Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 (edited) It's a bit disappointing at just how generic there making companions come max level. I don't mind so much losing the work I put into them, that comes with every level increase but turning them all into a tank, DPS or healer and each and everyone doing the same tanking, the same healing. the same DSP depending on their weapon. Thats some pretty bland design. I for one am happy I can actually now use the companion I like rather than the one that compliments my class the most without losing anything in terms of efficiency. In the original design vor vanilla cap, the one where you could still kill companions, they would have replaced your medic companion with a generic BobMcHealer. I always loved this idea. And now they're putting it in. +1 from me Edited October 3, 2015 by Kiesu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leehambly Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Getting gear for your comps was a minigame by itself, e.g. something more to do. The old crowd that has been here since beta: we seriously need more activities. Takeing them away (when NOONE was asking for it) is a bad designchoice. There has been a lot of those lately... It's just changing to managing your Alliance overall rather than individual companions. Different - yes. Better? Worse? Dunno... all conjecture. Who knows... It might just be the activity you are looking for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScarletBlaze Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 And what about legacy 192 companion gear? Should I just merch them before KotFE goes live? 192 gear from Yavin will be legacy bound to your characters and you can wear it according to the stream information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quraswren Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 (edited) I for one am happy I can actually now use the companion I like rather than the one that compliments my class the most without losing anything in terms of efficiency. In the original design vor vanilla cap, the one where you could still kill companions, they would have replaced your medic companion with a generic BobMcHealer. I always loved this idea. And now they're putting it in. +1 from me I think using any companions is a plus side. I just don't think it outweighs the losses to unique animations, companions, and customization. With the screwing up Treek and HK I think that alone will piss off people that paid real money for them. After you take someone real money, it's a bit to late to start changing things even in a game. Gamers don't tend to like that. So you miss it once you're gone, right? Probably not. He might like to run OPS with friends more than anything. Nothing wrong with that. Edited October 3, 2015 by Quraswren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max_Killjoy Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 192 gear from Yavin will be legacy bound to your characters and you can wear it according to the stream information. I doubt any of my characters would be caught dead in that gear. Ugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leehambly Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 (edited) I doubt any of my characters would be caught dead in that gear. Ugh. None of the droids then? Ah fair play - you said chars not comps... fair play. SO, not a level 55 leveller then? Edited October 3, 2015 by leehambly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savej Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Yes, I am. I'd much rather have the final say, than get the cookie-cutter stats that Bioware thinks are most appropriate. Remember, this is the same team that gave us tank gear with Alacrity... And... do we really want "tank Mako" and "tank Khem" to be utterly identical for PCs of the same level, etc? In what way will Mako and Khem be identitical? Same power level, sure, but otherwise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eillack Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 I doubt any of my characters would be caught dead in that gear. Ugh. I was so happy to shed that gear, haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quraswren Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 None of the droids then? Hell no. I geared HK myself. He's a single target wreaking ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leehambly Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 Hell no. I geared HK myself. He's a single target wreaking ball. In 186's or 192's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackosaur Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 (edited) I'm not. Edited October 3, 2015 by Jackosaur Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max_Killjoy Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 In what way will Mako and Khem be identitical? Same power level, sure, but otherwise? If both are filling role X for the same PC, then they will be identical in every way. Nothing about the companion will change except for their role, as long as the PC they "work for" has the same level, presence, and "influence". A healer is a healer, a tank is a tank, and a DPS is a DPS, once 4.0 hits. It's very likely, based on what BW has said, that even the special abilities like Khem's "nom-nom" and HK's "terminate" will be completely gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quraswren Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 (edited) In 186's or 192's? Made 192's for armoring and 198 for the rest from drops. Edited October 3, 2015 by Quraswren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiesu Posted October 3, 2015 Share Posted October 3, 2015 I think using any companions is a plus side. I just don't think it outweighs the losses to unique animations, companions, and customization. With the screwing up Treek and HK I think that alone will piss off people that paid real money for them. After you take someone real money, it's a bit to late to start changing things even in a game. Gamers don't tend to like that. Where did they say they are taking animations, customs and companions away from you? Nowhere. I don't know what you're been reading or from where, but that has been some false info. The abilities that WILL look generic, are bound to you making your original companion class do something they werent doing vanilla. Your Xalek will still shoot thunder, your Scourge still generates a death-field and your Treek will still jump around on glider, your HK still rollbangs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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