How to resolve the companion nerf issue

[Ursakar]

So, the companions were nerfed. Personally, I don't think they were nerfed too much but that is not the point of my post.

 

The thing I want to point out is that, no matter how you look at it, this move on developers' part was not very good for game's publicity and this game can hardly afford something like that. Making the game less player friendly to appease part of the loyal customers is not a very good idea.

 

The developers must always try to compromise and here is my suggestion on how to do it - the best way to appease both sides is to give the power to the people. Let the players chose if they want to have strong companions or the current nerfed version.

 

To do that, you can add another skill, an active "toggle" skill like "Passive Mode", to all of the companions that will, when toggled, boost the primary stats, damage and healing of the companion. You can call it "Heroic boost" or something. I'm not a software developer but I'm somewhat certain that introducing one companion skill should not be something impossible.

 

And that's it, both parties should be satisfied and this will not affect the game balance in any way.

Edited November 18, 2015 by Ursakar

[jaswulf]

So, the companions were nerfed. Personally, I don't think they were nerfed too much but that is not the point of my post.

 

The thing I want to point out is that, no matter how you look at it, this move on developers' part was not very good for game's publicity and this game can hardly afford something like that. Making the game less player friendly to appease part of the loyal customers is not a very good idea.

 

The developers must always try to compromise and here is my suggestion on how to do it - the best way to appease both sides is to give the power to the people. Let the players chose if they want to have strong companions or the current nerfed version.

 

To do that, you can add another skill, an active "toggle" skill like "Passive Mode", to all of the companions that will, when toggled, boost the primary stats, damage and healing of the companion. You can call it "Heroic boost" or something. I'm not a software developer but I'm somewhat certain that introducing one companion skill should not be something impossible.

 

And that's it, both parties should be satisfied and this will not affect the game balance in any way.

 

A fine idea in a volatile environment, having just subbed a week ago, I am now canceled as evidently they do not want my 'causual' money. That is all I wish to say.

[Juggle]

The bait and switch caught me too. I fell for it hook, line and sinker. I even bought a 6 month subscription, with stars in my eyes thinking about finally being able to do all of the class stories and Heroics, on my own time, and without it feeling like a trudging grind. Well, fool me once...

[teclado]

Here's a scenario. Brand new player with a purchased 60 is running through content with a super-companion, thinking "I'm doing pretty good, think I have the hang of this - maybe I should try something else." Said player queues up for a flashpoint, operation, or warzone and gets annihilated and raged at by teammates because he/she had no idea what DCDs were, CC, rotation, self heals, red circles, taunts, roles, etc.

 

There is no reason to allocate resources to develop something that allows players to play the game outside of the intended operating parameters, and open the door for said players to be set up for failure in the future. Why even have any abilities other than a "kill target" button if we're going that far? The intent of having multiple abilities that do different things is to make the player think about how to use them effectively in order to defeat an enemy.

 

It's Bioware's game. They can run it however they want. We can choose to pay them for access to it, or not.

[Bluttoh]

A fine idea in a volatile environment, having just subbed a week ago, I am now canceled as evidently they do not want my 'causual' money. That is all I wish to say.

 

I hear you brother, just canceled myself, all you elite peeps can pay twice the price to make up for us lamers leaving.

[captradface]

Here's a scenario. Brand new player with a purchased 60 is running through content with a super-companion, thinking "I'm doing pretty good, think I have the hang of this - maybe I should try something else." Said player queues up for a flashpoint, operation, or warzone and gets annihilated and raged at by teammates because he/she had no idea what DCDs were, CC, rotation, self heals, red circles, taunts, roles, etc.

 

There is no reason to allocate resources to develop something that allows players to play the game outside of the intended operating parameters, and open the door for said players to be set up for failure in the future. Why even have any abilities other than a "kill target" button if we're going that far? The intent of having multiple abilities that do different things is to make the player think about how to use them effectively in order to defeat an enemy.

 

It's Bioware's game. They can run it however they want. We can choose to pay them for access to it, or not.

 

How is the different than any MMO on the market?

 

At least those games have interesting mechanics, combat, and content. Not a tacked on trash mob grind people are perceiving as "challenging."

[Xhelis]

I think that what most people are upset about is the degree to which BW nerfed the comps. Most people were willing to accept that the companions were strong. At the same time, BW led people to believe this was intended. Any change was going to make some people upset but then BW just went completely nuclear with the change and that's what people are angry with. If the change was a slight modification this would probably not be an issue.

 

I take exception to the fact that BW posted that the datamined information was likely incorrect because the numbers weren't finalized yet. What came to pass was that the datamined info was 100% correct.

 

In any case, there might be another adjustment to comps but I wouldn't hold my breath.

[Ursakar]

There is no reason to allocate resources to develop something that allows players to play the game outside of the intended operating parameters

 

If it bring more paying players, it's reason enough.

 

It's Bioware's game. They can run it however they want. We can choose to pay them for access to it, or not.

 

It's not just Bioware's game. It's also EA's game, because they are the publishers. And it's not a piece of art, where only the authors' opinion matter, it's a business project. Customer satisfaction is important.

 

I'm not saying they should do it. I'm just offering an option, an easy option, in my opinion, on how to satisfy both side of this conflict and bring in more players in the future.

[JattaGin]

It's Bioware's game. They can run it however they want. We can choose to pay them for access to it, or not.

 

I can only speak for myself, but if I would run a company like BW (or EA) and I want to make money with it, I would make sure that I would get as many players as possible to pay as much as possible. That includes offering an easy game. Because an easy game makes it more likely that a player who tries it out for one month, decides to sub for another month. While a new player who wipes all the time is more likely to quit and bring in no further money.

 

And I wouldn't worry about "baddies" (what a horrible term) in FPs or OPs. The hardcore players who are in it for this kind of content do it with their guilds, friends, whatever. And if a "baddie" gets a ragestorm when entering a FP and failing, I would make sure that he gets an option to solo the FP, so that he doesn't have to face such a scenario again. Oh, wait, they did. So they know all this. But then why such a nerf? It makes no sense.