AlphaHydri Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 (edited) With all the threads on the forums crying for a nerf to companions I keep getting horrific flashbacks of what happened to the Contraband Slot Machine early this year... For those who don't know, the Contraband Slot Machine is a decoration that drops from the Acolyte's Shadow Pack. When it was released, the thing was utterly incredible. At 500 credits a gambling token, the machine constantly dropped Cartel Market Certificates, Contraband Resale Corporation reputation trophies, and all three types of Jawa scrap universal mats. It was an amazing decoration, and many heralded it as "the best thing released since launch". People who were lucky enough to obtain the decoration were opening their strongholds to others to use, often free-of-charge. It was one of the greatest community-bonding things I had ever seen in SWTOR. Crafting became immensely cheaper and more doable for the average player because of how easily one could get these universal mats. Alas, the good times did not last long. Within a week of the decoration being released, many were crying for a nerf to the slot machine's drop rates because it was, as many claimed, "tanking the market for crafting mats and high-end crafted goods". And so, BioWare with its metaphorical Nerfbat, took the the machine and proceeded to figuratively smash it into the ground. The drop rates on the reputation trophies were substantially increased, why the CM Certificates and universal mats had their drop rates reduced by over 1,000% in some cases. As a consolation, a rare walker mount was added, with a 0.001% chance of dropping. Now, the Contraband Slot Machine, though still valuable to those who have not maxed the Contraband Resale Corporation reputation, is basically useless to the rest of the playerbase. With the gruesome tale of the Contraband Slot Machine now retold, I hope all of you players calling for a nerf to companions will realize that, when it comes to BioWare, one must be very, very careful what they wish for. Their Nerfbat has proven itself in the past to not be a precision instrument, and so those of you hoping for little balance changes and tweaks to the combat capabilities of companions may find yourselves in for a shock when they too get figuratively smashed into oblivion. "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana Edited October 24, 2015 by AlphaHydri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaHydri Posted October 25, 2015 Author Share Posted October 25, 2015 My fellow gamers, please do not forget the past once more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaForceiswithme Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 My fellow gamers, please do not forget the past once more! "that's not fear i smell, is it?" in all seriousness though. You are not arguing that they not over powered but you are arguing that they should stay this way because Bioware will make them useless? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teladis Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Just because a few people feel they are op does not mean they will get nerfed. If bioware listen to players, It would not have turned into a wow clone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaHydri Posted October 25, 2015 Author Share Posted October 25, 2015 (edited) "that's not fear i smell, is it?" in all seriousness though. You are not arguing that they not over powered but you are arguing that they should stay this way because Bioware will make them useless? No, what I'm arguing is that like the Slot Machine before, the companions the way they are now are not overpowered, but rather a nice and welcome change to the game by many. I fear, yes fear, that if people whine enough BioWare will take notice and make changes, most likely for the worst. Besides, nobody is being forced to use companions. If someone wants a challenge and they feel having their companion out isn't doing it for them, then they should dismiss them and try stuff on their own. There are alternatives to solving issues in this game other than things being buffed/nerfed. As someone in another thread said, "I don't need a challenge to have fun." Other people may, but that doesn't mean that the game should be made more challenging by nerfing companions so those people can be happy while people like me and the quotee above get less happy. Edited October 25, 2015 by AlphaHydri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max_Killjoy Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 "that's not fear i smell, is it?" in all seriousness though. You are not arguing that they not over powered but you are arguing that they should stay this way because Bioware will make them useless? You have to admit that Bioware is not always so great at nuanced or careful "balance" adjustments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DalrisThane Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 (edited) I don't think it's specific to Bioware. I have played, what, 4-10 MMOs, ish... dragged there kicking and screaming by RL friends... and most of them had the same pattern (esp. EverQuest, though I'm sure there are worse...) 1-Release Expansion 2-Players rejoice in the new drops, levels, powers, AA (alternate abilities), etc... 3-Devs / suits adjust (ahem, "nerf", ahem) the drop rates, level/power/AA bonuses, etc... 4-Players complain 5-Time Passes 6-Devs / suits announce a new Expansion 7-Go back to step 1... That's my experience anyways. I have no doubt that companions will be... "adjusted"... and then, after a while... BW/EA will announce a new SWTOR expansion, and attention will go to THAT and people will forget about companions, or the slot machine, or whatever else was adjusted... It's one way to monetize. Gets people buying the expansion day 1, doesn't it? Edited October 25, 2015 by DalrisThane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djiini Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 I don't think it's specific to Bioware. I have played, what, 4-10 MMOs, ish... dragged there kicking and screaming by RL friends... and most of them had the same pattern (esp. EverQuest, though I'm sure there are worse...) 1-Release Expansion 2-Players rejoice in the new drops, levels, powers, AA (alternate abilities), etc... 3-Devs / suits adjust (ahem, "nerf", ahem) the drop rates, level/power/AA bonuses, etc... 4-Players complain 5-Time Passes 6-Devs / suits announce a new Expansion 7-Go back to step 1... I love to complain. And I have no doubt that companions will be... "adjusted"... and then, after a while... BW/EA will announce a new SWTOR expansion, and attention will go to THAT... It's one way to monetize.... You're wrong. Here's what happened. 1. Contraband Slot Machine came out. 2. Crafters complained loudly and constantly instead of adapting. 3. Bioware nerfed it heavily. 4. People complained loudly and constantly after not having stood up to the complaining crafters. 5. Now we're here here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DalrisThane Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 (edited) You're wrong. Here's what happened. 1. Contraband Slot Machine came out. 2. Crafters complained loudly and constantly instead of adapting. 3. Bioware nerfed it heavily. 4. People complained loudly and constantly after not having stood up to the complaining crafters. 5. Now we're here here. I stand corrected then. If that's the case, then people complaining against other things have a chance (see other threads, about, well, anything really)... Edited October 25, 2015 by DalrisThane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaHydri Posted October 25, 2015 Author Share Posted October 25, 2015 (edited) You're wrong. Here's what happened. 1. Contraband Slot Machine came out. 2. Crafters complained loudly and constantly instead of adapting. 3. Bioware nerfed it heavily. 4. People complained loudly and constantly after not having stood up to the complaining crafters. 5. Now we're here here. Seriously. The people that were complaining about the Contraband Slot Machine were the ones who were full-time crafters and were sitting on millions of credits that feared having their profits cut in half. With this companions debacle, most of the people complaining are the "elitists" who feel that everyone needs to struggle through content and be challenged by the game in order to have fun. They think the companions now make the game too easy, and so that is a problem for everyone, even when a lot of people are enjoying the way companions are currently. Edited October 25, 2015 by AlphaHydri Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djiini Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Seriously. The people that were complaining about the Contraband Slot Machine were the ones who were full-time crafters and were sitting on millions of credits that feared having their profits cut in half. With this companions debacle, most of the people complaining are the "elitists" who feel that everyone needs to struggle through content and be challenged by the game in order to have fun. They think the companions now make the game too easy, and so that is a problem for everyone, even when a lot people are enjoying the way companions are currently. Yo, for real. This is a victimless 'crime' @ companions. I don't know why someone would play an MMO for the 'challenge', MMOs aren't challenging, they're tedium, generally speaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falensawino Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 (edited) I hope all of you players calling for a nerf to companions will realize that, when it comes to BioWare, one must be very, very careful what they wish for. Someone should make a list of all the people who want companions nerfed, submit the list of playernames to Bioware. Bioware should patch in a debuff to the companions of each person on the list, reducing their stats and make their nightmares come true. Just the players who asked for a nerf of course. Leave me out of it. Companions working as intended. Edited October 25, 2015 by Falensawino Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chirru Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Seriously. The people that were complaining about the Contraband Slot Machine were the ones who were full-time crafters and were sitting on millions of credits that feared having their profits cut in half. With this companions debacle, most of the people complaining are the "elitists" who feel that everyone needs to struggle through content and be challenged by the game in order to have fun. They think the companions now make the game too easy, and so that is a problem for everyone, even when a lot people are enjoying the way companions are currently. I could not agree more. Leave the Comps as they are and start complaining about something else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlphaHydri Posted October 25, 2015 Author Share Posted October 25, 2015 A bump for more attention! Take heed of past events, my friends! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasmineMoldovia Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Perfectly agree with op don't cave bioware you did GOOD with our companions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heythereqt Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Ah yes I remember that fateful day...the day of "The Nerf Heard Around The Galaxy" Haha but on a serious note, those slot machines really were something great, and thinking about how badly they were nerfed still makes me a bit sad. I agree with the OP. When I saw a handful of complaint posts about "overpowered" companions, I immediately thought of the Contraband Slot Machine situation...and how a handful of people that take this game way too seriously completely ruined something that so many of us enjoyed. It was inevitably going to be nerfed, but the useless complaining from a minority of people got it nerfed into oblivion. I really, really hope this doesn't happen with companions in the incoming patch. If it does, I would bet money on the forums exploding with ton of people extremely upset about the unnecessary nerf...just like what happened with the slot machines. All we can do now is hope for the best Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CloudCastle Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 I was thinking about this exact same thing the other day. People! Think about what you are asking. If we do and say nothing, then it's possible the devs will take a look and make some minor adjustments here and there on their own and everything will work out. But if people start screaming and wailing and gnashing teeth, then companions will be nerfed to the ground and no one will be happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eanelinea Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 Bioware better not even THINK of nerfing the companions. If they do, they better let me gear them up like I did before. I don't want some ***** companion, I want an uber force of power that does damage/heals/tanking without me having to baby sit the stupid companion. LEAVE THE COMPANIONS AS THEY ARE OR GIVE US BACK THE OPTION TO GEAR THEM WITH STAT'ED GEAR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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