Can we get Nico Okarr at all?

[GelstonJ]

And this is why sub rewards or things only obtainable for a limited amount of time should be purely cosmetic or convenient. Nico and HK-55 is neither one of these things and remain mechanically useful throughout his entire existence which creates this sort of empty feeling when you don't have him, and you feel... sort of... "handicapped" persay when you don't have them. As bad as all those other HK rewards are they remain cosmetic or convenient which doesn't cause to much distress in not having them, albeit they could feel better if it revolved around a better theme.

 

Instead of these "one time limited off deals" they should include a loyalty system where each month you remain subbed you get a certain amount of points, after awhile you can obtain enough of these points you buy Nico... or whatever you want, as this rewards long time subs and doesn't have that empty/handicapped feeling missing out on him knowing you can always obtain them later.

 

I can see the argument for Nico, but how is 55 not cosmetic?

[LyraineAlei]

I can see the argument for Nico, but how is 55 not cosmetic?

 

If you had subscribed by a certain date, in August you'll get a special chapter where you can play as HK-55, and you got to recruit HK-55 post-Chapter IX

[GelstonJ]

If you had subscribed by a certain date, in August you'll get a special chapter where you can play as HK-55, and you got to recruit HK-55 post-Chapter IX

 

Yes, I know that. How is that a mechanical advantage?

[peter_plankskull]

Yes, I know that. How is that a mechanical advantage?

 

He becomes unobtainable after chapter 8 unless you subbed by a specific date where you can then continue to use him. Or maybe this is allowed to everyone? I thought their was a sub only alert ... arma rasa or whatever.

[GelstonJ]

He becomes unobtainable after chapter 8 unless you subbed by a specific date where you can then continue to use him. Or maybe this is allowed to everyone? I thought their was a sub only alert ... arma rasa or whatever.

 

55 is sub reward only alert, yes, but he is a purely cosmetic feature. He doesn't provide any mechanical advantage. Nico, sure, maybe. Since you can get him from level 1.... You can't get HK until KotFE though and he dies at the same time for everyone.

Edited June 15, 2016 by GelstonJ

[IanArgent]

Yes, I know that. How is that a mechanical advantage?

 

He's one more mission-deployable companion. Depending on companion acquisition rates and your personal levelling rates, you have a higher deploy cap than you do companions, even with Treek and HK-51. Also, Nico does not cost credits or CC to obtain.

 

The fix for this would be to put a companion terminal in Fleet so that differences in companion acquisition rates and levelling faster than you get companions don't mechanically impact you

[PorsaLindahl]

So, now we get to the real rub of the situation: People are angry that, because they didn't qualify for Nico, they can't have him at level 1 to help their newbies through their first few missions, until they get their first real companion.

 

Out of my 36 characters, 2 have used Nico as newbies. 2 have used HK-51 (back before the companion cookie cutter). The rest? I leveled them the old fashioned way.

 

Since you (insert non-qualifier) didn't meet the requirements for Nico, your options are:

 

• Do the HK-51 mission with any alts that can do it, and legacy unlock him for whatever characters you want.
  
• Purchase one of the new CM companions.
  
• Play the game and get your companions as they come (the old fashioned way).
  

[IanArgent]

So, now we get to the real rub of the situation: People are angry that, because they didn't qualify for Nico, they can't have him at level 1 to help their newbies through their first few missions, until they get their first real companion.

 

Out of my 36 characters, 2 have used Nico as newbies. 2 have used HK-51 (back before the companion cookie cutter). The rest? I leveled them the old fashioned way.

 

Since you (insert non-qualifier) didn't meet the requirements for Nico, your options are:

 

• Do the HK-51 mission with any alts that can do it, and legacy unlock him for whatever characters you want.
  
• Purchase one of the new CM companions.
  
• Play the game and get your companions as they come (the old fashioned way).
  

 

I have Nico. I was observing that he is a mild mechanical advantage, and noting how the mechanical advantage could be removed, and classes be balanced in terms of their companion acquisition rate, by placing a companion terminal on Fleet. The underlying issue is the disconnect between obtaining companions and levelling.

 

At which point I'd be fine with Nico not being available until completion of Ch.IX, as with HK

[Ethern]

So, now we get to the real rub of the situation: People are angry that, because they didn't qualify for Nico, they can't have him at level 1 to help their newbies through their first few missions, until they get their first real companion.

 

Out of my 36 characters, 2 have used Nico as newbies. 2 have used HK-51 (back before the companion cookie cutter). The rest? I leveled them the old fashioned way.

 

Since you (insert non-qualifier) didn't meet the requirements for Nico, your options are:

 

• Do the HK-51 mission with any alts that can do it, and legacy unlock him for whatever characters you want.
  
• Purchase one of the new CM companions.
  
• Play the game and get your companions as they come (the old fashioned way).
  

Well you assume too much. I'm not even sure how you jumped to that conclusion that some want Nico for that particular reason.

Anyway the motive is irrelevant if you reduce everything to utility purposes.

[lightSaberAddiCt]

Instead of these "one time limited off deals" they should include a loyalty system where each month you remain subbed you get a certain amount of points, after awhile you can obtain enough of these points you buy Nico... or whatever you want, as this rewards long time subs and doesn't have that empty/handicapped feeling missing out on him knowing you can always obtain them later.

 

See I am against giving sub rewards after the date, but that is a really good idea to help keep people subbed. But THEN what would happen, is that people would come to the forums and complain that the loyalty system isnt fair.

[AlienEyeTX]

And this is why sub rewards or things only obtainable for a limited amount of time should be purely cosmetic or convenient. Nico and HK-55 is neither one of these things and remain mechanically useful throughout his entire existence which creates this sort of empty feeling when you don't have him, and you feel... sort of... "handicapped" persay when you don't have them. As bad as all those other HK rewards are they remain cosmetic or convenient which doesn't cause to much distress in not having them, albeit they could feel better if it revolved around a better theme.

 

But why should sub rewards only be cosmetic? As long as they stay out of the realm of P2W, then I don't see the issue. And, in fact, I wouldn't even have a big issue with that if it were a sub reward and not offered for sale on CM.

 

Paying customers are the ones who keep this game afloat. There is no reason that we should not get something useful that others do not, if BW sees fit to offer it to us.

 

But, for the specific topic at hand, Nico only provides a very small advantage in the early stages of levelling. And even then, you are only playing against the game, not other players, so the point is moot.

 

By not making Nico available again, BW is providing an incentive for people to keep subs active. The incentive is that you will then not miss out on the occasional cool reward.

[AlienEyeTX]

See I am against giving sub rewards after the date, but that is a really good idea to help keep people subbed. But THEN what would happen, is that people would come to the forums and complain that the loyalty system isnt fair.

 

Of course they would. Some would want it to require sustained sub. Some would want it to be cumulative. Others would want it to be retroactive. But, still others would say it should only count moving forward.

 

And so and so forth.

 

Honestly, I'd be fine with it either way. As long as they are clear in their message and consistent. Which they have been.

[IanArgent]

And this is why sub rewards or things only obtainable for a limited amount of time should be purely cosmetic or convenient. Nico and HK-55 is neither one of these things and remain mechanically useful throughout his entire existence which creates this sort of empty feeling when you don't have him, and you feel... sort of... "handicapped" persay when you don't have them. As bad as all those other HK rewards are they remain cosmetic or convenient which doesn't cause to much distress in not having them, albeit they could feel better if it revolved around a better theme.

 

Instead of these "one time limited off deals" they should include a loyalty system where each month you remain subbed you get a certain amount of points, after awhile you can obtain enough of these points you buy Nico... or whatever you want, as this rewards long time subs and doesn't have that empty/handicapped feeling missing out on him knowing you can always obtain them later.

 

HK-55 as a companion is purely cosmetic. (His chapter will not be, and I've already ranted about how bad an idea that was). By the time you can access HK-55, you have access to literally more companions than you can use, many of whom (tech/ranged) are, or ought to be anyway, mechanically identical to him. It was (IMO) a mistake to allow access to Nico prior to Ch.IX KotFE. But the terms of access were unclear for him (and I noticed they "clarified" them for HK-55 himself).

[IanArgent]

But why should sub rewards only be cosmetic? As long as they stay out of the realm of P2W, then I don't see the issue. And, in fact, I wouldn't even have a big issue with that if it were a sub reward and not offered for sale on CM.

 

Paying customers are the ones who keep this game afloat. There is no reason that we should not get something useful that others do not, if BW sees fit to offer it to us.

 

But, for the specific topic at hand, Nico only provides a very small advantage in the early stages of levelling. And even then, you are only playing against the game, not other players, so the point is moot.

 

By not making Nico available again, BW is providing an incentive for people to keep subs active. The incentive is that you will then not miss out on the occasional cool reward.

 

I don't mind as much the mildly advantageous sub rewards such as: the GSF ships(? I don't play enough GSF to know how advantageous they are), the holotrainers, legacy weapons and armor, or Nico. Of the stuff that affects me (nico, holotrainers, legacy gear) I don't like those being advantageous for other reason (I'd rather have had the legacy gear in collecitons, the holotrainers should be legacy perks a la QT recharge time etc, and I'd rather that the classes be balanced in companion access in the regular game, by putting a companion terminal in Fleet). But if they want to give sub rewards with minor mechanical benefits, it's fine by me in general.

[lightSaberAddiCt]

HK-55 as a companion is purely cosmetic. (His chapter will not be, and I've already ranted about how bad an idea that was). By the time you can access HK-55, you have access to literally more companions than you can use, many of whom (tech/ranged) are, or ought to be anyway, mechanically identical to him. It was (IMO) a mistake to allow access to Nico prior to Ch.IX KotFE. But the terms of access were unclear for him (and I noticed they "clarified" them for HK-55 himself).

 

Have you played his "chapter"? Because you will be disappointed. You do not play as him, basically you pick him up and run a couple scenario tests on him, but you do not play as him. There is no expanded story. So yes, HK is cosmetic.

[LyraineAlei]

Have you played his "chapter"? Because you will be disappointed. You do not play as him, basically you pick him up and run a couple scenario tests on him, but you do not play as him. There is no expanded story. So yes, HK is cosmetic.

 

His chapter hasn't been released. That's due in August. That was just the recruitment mission (I was disappointed at first too).

[IanArgent]

Have you played his "chapter"? Because you will be disappointed. You do not play as him, basically you pick him up and run a couple scenario tests on him, but you do not play as him. There is no expanded story. So yes, HK is cosmetic.

 

I wasn't aware that the subscriber bonus chapter had been released

 

If you're referring to the recruitment mission, well, that's not what I'm referring to. I'm referring to the subscriber reward for being subscribed for the entire length of the KotFE period; where you are promised to be able to play as HK. How they deliver on this is irrelevant - that's resources that could have gone towards putting a "class-themed" mission/sidequest into KotFE for all.

 

/rant

[Aowin]

People will always complain about getting things they missed due to not being subbed. Take the Jawa Party as a perfect example. I wasn't subbed when the game went F2P, so I never got it. Thus, there are certain achievements I'll never be able to complete. Is it a bummer? To some extent. Am I going to demand BioWare allow access to that item in the future? No.

 

I think there's a chance BioWare might monetize companions like Nico Okarr on the CM. At the same time, I think it's equally likely, unless you were a subscriber, he'll never be available as there are just so many companions to choose from who do the exact same thing. Is it convenient having a companion at level 1? Sure. Is it that unfair of an advantage? Not really.

 

With how easy the game has become and with level sync, you can plow through starter planets rather quickly and get your first companion. As with everything else, this is just another thread that really isn't a problem and more so a call for a luxury that isn't actually a necessity.

 

Personally, I don't think Nico should be available on the CM or otherwise just because he was a subscriber reward. As it stands, the subscriber rewards are already rather superficial and pointless. If non-subscribers can just achieve them later, then why even be subscribed to start?

 

One thing SWG did was subscriber milestones would accumulate, so the longer you are subscribed the better your rewards are. That would be a way for everybody to eventually get a specific award, unless the game shuts down. Otherwise, most of these subscriber rewards aren't fantastic enough to really make a big deal out of this.

[Aowin]

I wasn't aware that the subscriber bonus chapter had been released

 

If you're referring to the recruitment mission, well, that's not what I'm referring to. I'm referring to the subscriber reward for being subscribed for the entire length of the KotFE period; where you are promised to be able to play as HK. How they deliver on this is irrelevant - that's resources that could have gone towards putting a "class-themed" mission/sidequest into KotFE for all.

 

/rant

 

That's not exactly how it works. The HK-55 bonus was due to BioWare having extra time to do something special. It in now way took away from the main story. Not to mention, there is another arc coming of chapters, so this is just a bonus for loyal customers who have been subscribed since the beginning. Honestly, I doubt the HK-55 mission is even going to be that great. It might offer a few laughs, but my expectations are pretty low.

[IanArgent]

That's not exactly how it works. The HK-55 bonus was due to BioWare having extra time to do something special. It in now way took away from the main story. Not to mention, there is another arc coming of chapters, so this is just a bonus for loyal customers who have been subscribed since the beginning. Honestly, I doubt the HK-55 mission is even going to be that great. It might offer a few laughs, but my expectations are pretty low.

 

My expectations are pretty low. I mainly think it's "too big" a thing to be kept for a limited pool of players (of which I'm one - continuously subbed since before KotFE, and next renewal isn't till September)

[AlienEyeTX]

That's not exactly how it works. The HK-55 bonus was due to BioWare having extra time to do something special. It in now way took away from the main story. Not to mention, there is another arc coming of chapters, so this is just a bonus for loyal customers who have been subscribed since the beginning. Honestly, I doubt the HK-55 mission is even going to be that great. It might offer a few laughs, but my expectations are pretty low.

 

No, it certainly didn't take away from doing class missions. They had time to do one silly extra thing. They would have had to do 8 "extra" things to do class missions.

 

That being stated... I really wish they had the time or budget or desire to make a quick mission or two for each class. That's something I advocated for a long time ago. That or just some conversations specific to class. It would be nice to have something that would make it more interesting to run the same basic story 8 (or more) times.

[AlienEyeTX]

My expectations are pretty low. I mainly think it's "too big" a thing to be kept for a limited pool of players (of which I'm one - continuously subbed since before KotFE, and next renewal isn't till September)

 

I respect your opinion on this. But, I disagree with you. I think they should do this sort of thing more often and really give people a good reason to sub.

 

My guess is that it will be very short, whimsical, and mostly cutscenes anyway. It will not be relevant in any way to the story, so nobody will be missing much if they don't get it.

[peter_plankskull]

But why should sub rewards only be cosmetic? As long as they stay out of the realm of P2W, then I don't see the issue. And, in fact, I wouldn't even have a big issue with that if it were a sub reward and not offered for sale on CM.

 

Paying customers are the ones who keep this game afloat. There is no reason that we should not get something useful that others do not, if BW sees fit to offer it to us.

 

But, for the specific topic at hand, Nico only provides a very small advantage in the early stages of levelling. And even then, you are only playing against the game, not other players, so the point is moot.

 

By not making Nico available again, BW is providing an incentive for people to keep subs active. The incentive is that you will then not miss out on the occasional cool reward.

 

Just because it isn't exactly a competitive atmosphere doesn't mean it can't fall into the realm of p2w. Although I will admit Nico doesn't fall into that category completely, but he sure is a large bump up compared to previous rewards, as he is free of charge and obtainable at level one and remains useful till you get your 6th comp, which for a inquisitor is all the way at Voss I believe.

 

The disparity of him being that large of a mechanical component and giving a huge boost of convenience and being obtainable only by subs who subbed at specific time imo doesn't bode well. He should be a reward gained not by a specific sub date at a certain period of time, but given to all subs eventually by continuous subbing. Having it on some sort of loyalty system gets rid off the huge mechanical and convenience mechanic balance upset it has at the moment as it brings it in closer reach to paying customers and make sure the development time doesn't go to waste by only allowing a few people to get it.

 

Not to mention with some form of a loyalty system with points, we could actually save up or pass on the current reward at the time ensuring that we get what we want instead of Bioware giving out HK weapons we can't use for that sub reward. Bioware could get additional metrics by seeing what subs purchase in this "loyalty store" showing we want emotes, weapons, comp skins. etc. etc.

 

The only downside to a loyalty system may be that the p2w scenarios may rise a little. Back during my first online FPS... battlefield heroes... (damn you EA!!!) it was noticeably a little pay to win with certain weapons only obtainable by real cash, not merely cosmetic skins like CS:GO, but then came more and more bonuses only available via cash and more and more OP guns. It came to the point that their was 1 hit recoilless sniper rifles with 10 shots that's semi automatic... being able to summon a tank with a press of a button on a infantry only map... with another press of a button instantly restoring 45 health... then further gaining 10 base health... then ramming a tank and flying in the air. Each game became filled with only those who throw out the most cash to become on top... and skill was slowly shuffled to bottom under the wallets of whales...

 

HK-55 as a companion is purely cosmetic. (His chapter will not be, and I've already ranted about how bad an idea that was). By the time you can access HK-55, you have access to literally more companions than you can use, many of whom (tech/ranged) are, or ought to be anyway, mechanically identical to him. It was (IMO) a mistake to allow access to Nico prior to Ch.IX KotFE. But the terms of access were unclear for him (and I noticed they "clarified" them for HK-55 himself).

 

I guess you kind of caught me here in terms of HK-55 being cosmetic...

 

Still... I wish they have the HK chapter on a loyalty system as im sure a much larger portion would play it over six months of a sub, rather than six months of a continuous sub over a set period of time.

 

People will always complain about getting things they missed due to not being subbed. Take the Jawa Party as a perfect example. I wasn't subbed when the game went F2P, so I never got it. Thus, there are certain achievements I'll never be able to complete. Is it a bummer? To some extent. Am I going to demand BioWare allow access to that item in the future? No.

 

The Jawa Party itself was okay as its cosmetic, however the achievement provides a mechanical advantage and imo offset the balance a bit. Should be available to all subs imo, but only the most loyal ones as its one of the more prized and valued items for some reason.

 

I think there's a chance BioWare might monetize companions like Nico Okarr on the CM. At the same time, I think it's equally likely, unless you were a subscriber, he'll never be available as there are just so many companions to choose from who do the exact same thing. Is it convenient having a companion at level 1? Sure. Is it that unfair of an advantage? Not really.

 

Although however slight, it IS an unfair advantage as it gives certain subs, over a period of a certain time, access to something that's useful to some classes all the way up to Voss.

 

Personally, I don't think Nico should be available on the CM or otherwise just because he was a subscriber reward. As it stands, the subscriber rewards are already rather superficial and pointless. If non-subscribers can just achieve them later, then why even be subscribed to start?

 

No one... as I know of yet... has asked for non subs to get Nico.

Edited June 16, 2016 by peter_plankskull

[Jedi_riches]

People will always complain about getting things they missed due to not being subbed. Take the Jawa Party as a perfect example.

 

Jawa party? is that the thing I continually scrap/delete emails from on new characters I don't think I have ever used it.

[SteveTheCynic]

What? you don't need anyone else, you've got MC Valkorian to keep you company, then you get LANA! ARCHER! erm, sorry, then you get DJ Kothy Koth. and your team is complete. What else could you possibly need? Oh yeah, and Senya. But, she's just a groupie so yeah, just hanging out back stage, trying to get a glimpse of MC Valk and ribbing DJ Koth.

 

oh, and for those of you wondering it was chocolate peanut butter ice cream.

The statement was that we can get our old companions back via the terminal, but that isn't true in the conditions I highlighted.