Companion Change Feedback

[Nicklausse]

Level: 65

Discipline: Serenity Shadow

Gear 208 MH, 216-ish gear (one 208, one 220)

Companion: Koth Vortena

Companion role: Healer / DPS on easy trash pulls

Influence level: 25

Mission: Star Fortress Heroic solo.

 

Overall trash is harder but not too hard.

Knights of Zakuul gold mobs ambushes and patrols are IMHO overtuned.

Praetorian is still quite easy.

Champions - Thundering blast ones are quite doable

Melee ones are bad. Around 8-10k per assault attack.

 

Two Knights of Zakuul "boss" is brutal. Parsec shows incoming damage 1k dps more

than healing and self-healing with cooldowns combined. If both knights are up, they wipe the floor

with me. If one is CCd then it is still negative hp balance since I exhaust CDs on one of them.

 

Did not go further.

 

Did The One the Only achievement pre-nerf and it was not in any way, shape or form a faceroll.

I used CC, interrupts, DCDs, Heroic moments on two knights boss, two last solar arrays (or whatever they are called) and the last boss.

 

So I am genuinely baffled.

Between gold trash mobs harder than champs and bosses easier than gold star trash (Praetorian),

difficulty levels seems a big mess to me.

Healing of companions could use a buff for sure.

 

All of the above is absolutely MHO and not claiming to be anything more than that.

 

P.S. Quite fun to watch Koth trying to heal me up out of combat. Poor thing, he tries so hard.

[MrGoldsilver]

I have had no problems at all with companion nerf (I mean, I can run without a companion and do fine usually when just leveling up) EXCEPT for the final boss on a Heroic Star Fortress.

 

Engineering Sniper

 

Full min/maxed ranked pvp gear with mastery augs.

 

-lv 27 (or was it 37, lets go with 27) Lana as a comp.

 

For the entire Star Fortress, save the last 2 pulls before the boss (With the 2 droid elites, and constanty spawning mobs) I easily ran though the FP with Lana in tanking stance. She died maybe once since I forgot to heal her in between pulls.

 

The final Fight, I tried Lana in Tank (she died before the boss lost 20% health) tried her in Healing (Better but she stood in aoe's until she died, at best I got the boss to maybe 30%) I also tried switching to MM, which helped a little, but not much.

 

Bottom Line: The final boss in the Heroic Star Fortresses is much harder than any of the other pulls are. That said, Since I WAS in PvP gear, had only a medium influence level comp and didn't get any of the beginning buffs (I was trying for the One and Only title), so in a way I'm glad I didn't win. This now gives me something I can work to achieve if I feel like it, and if not oh well I have non-heroics I can do, or I can run with a guildie.

 

So I wouldn't be opposed to a small buff to healing comps, but I don't feel it is required to do.

[Bakuryu]

My feedback in short, playing a Guardian (Tank) with a healer companion inf 40 or so: combat is a bit too slow, downtimes between encounters kill the game.

 

I'm somewhat alright with the power level of companions in combat, but adding the kind of downtime that gives me DaoC flashbacks back in is not a great choice in a 2015 game. If companions are supposed to stay where they are now, out of combat regeneration should be upped massively.

 

You know what? This is actually a fantastic suggestion. Yes, I feel companions should receive a bump (not to 4.0 levels, mind you), but the tedium is what really bothers me. Nothing drives that home like the rest gaps between fights. Five or so seconds out of combat to have a full health bar would actually go a long way towards alleviating my gripes on a lot of my characters.

[revkashepard]

Here's a solution to all everyone's misery. Bring back functional companion gear. No more cosmetic gear. Give us more control for damage/healing output. They're all deadweight at the moment.

 

While I don't mind all companions being able to take in any role you want but with the current change, you create a system where you took away our control of every comp's damage and healing output. Everything became a mess, you can't gauge companions effectiveness at all because now they're wholly dependent on the level syncing and your affection level. Before the patch, I could still use low influence (hated) companions without the urge to grind their influence level, now they're plain pathetic UNLESS you raise their affection. Even with the ridiculous gift drops over Schemetic : Ice Scrabbler Jerky, gifting is still a pain. Your priority for this was rearranging who like what gifts and making the time sink stay by ignoring alacrity. Do you think I like spending an hour smashing one key every 2.9 second for just ONE gift.... and several hundred time just to level to 10 for just ONE companion. Fix the gifting system and fix the gift drop rate. Drop only random rare Rank 3 and above gifts... if I want rank 1 and 2 gifts, I can buy them cheap on the fleet anyway.. oh wait, now I give you the idea to kill the Companion Gifts vendor...

 

And while the latest patch improve the performance for me (thanks for that) but for heaven's sake, there are more bugs in the game that you haven't fix. Nerfing comps shouldn't be a priority. The least you could do was taking the time trying to balancing them right even with the level syncing rather than smite them because how dare the companions didn't suck.... What is the use of leveling your character to 65 when your companion still behave like they're fresh out of the oven every time you travel between planet?

Edited November 20, 2015 by revkashepard

[ShepardSpock]

Story is not very long, People do the story, people go somewhere else.

 

So all those 65's on Fleet standing around suddenly found somewhere to go without any new 65 level content being added to the game since the patch day? Riiiight. I'd find it more believable that you were selling the Brooklyn Bridge. And Harbinger not going to Heavy or Very Heavy as normal in prime time, how does that fit your idea? Server status has nothing to do with population decrease?

Edited November 20, 2015 by ShepardSpock

[Atalantia]

But fix what? Change their entire paradigm for the expac in terms of difficulty levels and time to complete content? People keep saying "give me back my companion" when the reason why they nerfed them was because of their master plan for the expac. When have you seen a company do a turn around on a master plan 4 weeks in?

 

Funny how that master plan changes with every post Eric has made in the past two days. Reference one post assuring a poster than H2+s will still playable with PC and Comp and then the next saying that same content was moved to HARD. make up your mind.

 

No biggie, I can still do stuff tested the changes. all the change did was add more grind for me, which now that I know that, I'll probably not do anymore alliance stuff and leave till may or so and come back do those chapters in a day or two them leave again.

 

I can grind in other games for better rewards than 5 tokens, for a SFH+2, and a toy box to turn in.

 

Not my idea of fun nor of time well spent.

 

If you're happy with that great. I think as long as I live in a country with free speech I should be able to say it sux's

Edited November 20, 2015 by Atalantia

[Vember]

If the history of MMOs is anything to say, not by much. Now you may be the exception, I don't know you so I would never say you would the following. Also note the core of this premise is that tuesday's change puts the game in a state not demonstrably different than before 4.0, it is only different from 3-4 weeks ago

 

Usually, if they are an existing player, when stuff like this happens people who will stop playing stop with in a very short time of an incident, like this one, lighting their fuse. If they keep playing "for the duration of their existing sub" they stay. Why? Well they were an existing player for a reason, they liked the game. Even though a big change occurred the change is only to a short term experience and the game is not all that much different that it was when they liked it before. So the people who were angry enough to say "I don't care if I have 3 months left" are gone and with them their rhetoric. The emotions of those who stayed to play cool, they get used to playing the game like they did before their brief period of OP and they keep playing.

 

How many people raged and said they were going to quit over the "bait and switch" of the slot machine here? How many actually left? Just as one example.

 

I know you're trying to put out fires here man, and I can respect that, as I am a diehard SWTOR fanboy myself, but they made a huge mistake with this, even I have to accept that. This one is bad, and they need to fix it, fast. These people talking about population decreases aren't joking, it's real.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Vember

[tmwfte]

I'd find it more believable that you were selling the Brooklyn Bridge.

 

I'll give it to you for the "friends & family" rate of only three hypercrates. Old shipment hypercrates, not any of these new fandangled "Alliance" pack hypercrates.

 

I can also hook you up with a very nice Nigerian Prince who is looking to flee his country...

[Nyla]

Earlier this evening i convinced my sweetheart to take the game lightly, and lets just go scavaging for datacrons.

i took my lvl 65 sentinel with Kira to accompany her lvl29 healing sage with qyzen. both companions in Tank stance...

we went into a cave on alderaan where star killycks (lvl34) loiter the place... both companions died constantly with mobs of 3-4... i myself almost died a few times when i couldnt hold aggro and they went to kill the healer... My sweetheart ragequit... changed diapers, put the eldest to bed for school tomorrow...

apparently Tank was boosted? imagine if we had brought healers or dps in their nerf state?

 

Is this the vision the devs have for casual players?

 

Well I know only one cave with datacron and killiks on Alderaan, there's an HC2 in there and every day solo players do it alone...

[ShatteredFang]

Hey folks,

 

Following the Companion changes we made Tuesday in 4.0.2, we want to gather your feedback on your gameplay experiences.

 

Thank you all in advance for your feedback!

 

-eric

 

Eric,

 

How about, NO. I ceased paying you to be your beta tester when I cancelled my subscription this morning (which had been a reoccurring sub since the original launch of the game).

 

If you'd like feedback you can see my cancellation notes. Or look at the multiple posts (even the ones the mods moved to 'Off-topic') if you'd like to get feedback from the segment of the player base these changes impacted the most.

 

Or better yet, why don't you and your team start a few toons (with no legacy buffs, dev perks, and standard gear/credit drops) and level them through various content and H2+'s and evaluate the gaming experience yourselves.

 

At this point I don't really care how you and your team respond. The damage has been done. Strolling into the forums like you have no idea what is happening in your own community and posting this thread with an aire of complete ignorance of the situation just makes you and your team look foolish.

 

I had held out hope that you and your team would respond in a way that actually addressed this debacle (and not just the companion nerf, but lack of addressing critical bugs, the rodeo of the patch install, etc.) But the utter lack of communication on your part has simply allowed this to continue to degenerate and drive division within your community.

 

Maybe the cancelled subscriptions will not effect your bottom-line. Or maybe, because many of us have weeks to months of playtime still available after our cancellations, the impact may not be fully realized until some time has passed. Or maybe, you simply don't care.

 

Whatever the case may be, it is still my hope that you do something to salvage this situation for the players who remain.

[Nommaz]

Because he said the bit about "more challenging" first and foremost. That in and of itself implies that experiences may vary. Next we can take his other part of that statement literally he simply said "yes you are supposed to be able to solo them". He want to know if you can't yes, BUT under what circumstances? He did not say " you should be able to solo them right now this minute in the exact same way you did yesterday. It was a comment regarding general intent not immediate effect.

 

Well this shows quite simply that he did not explain it well at all, due to our totally differing views on what was put there.

[ShepardSpock]

I'll give it to you for the "friends & family" rate of only three hypercrates. Old shipment hypercrates, not any of these new fandangled "Alliance" pack hypercrates.

 

I can also hook you up with a very nice Nigerian Prince who is looking to flee his country...

 

Now watch. Brooklyn Bridge in the next crate for Cartel Coins.

[TFBWYAG]

Now watch. Brooklyn Bridge in the next crate for Cartel Coins.

 

Better then the Droid Companion in this pack, let's see, we Nerf Companions to the ground, and hey, let's put a new Companion in this new pack which releases the same day as Nerfday!!

 

Awesome idea, I think that will sell

[Ghisallo]

Funny how that master plan changes with every post Eric has made in the past two days. Reference one post assuring a poster than H2+s will still playable with PC and Comp and then the next saying that same content was moved to HARD. make up your mind.

 

It has only changed in the minds of people who read into those statements what they wanted to. If you take them in complete context using words like "more challenging" and the like mean a lot. Additionally any who actually looked at the mechanics inside the H2 SF knew he was NOT talking about them.

 

Half the reason for this OP I think was to tell people "okay need to hold their hands on this one" because I posted what was in essence the same analysis of the content on Tuesday but was told I was wrong. I read the exact same original comments by Eric BUT I also looked at the game mechanics and applied them to his comments. You can't really understand a statement unless you understand what they are talking about, in this case the expac design.

 

No biggie, I can still do stuff tested the changes. all the change did was add more grind for me, which now that I know that, I'll probably not do anymore alliance stuff and leave till may or so and come back do those chapters in a day or two them leave again.

 

This was an issue I saw happening BEFORE the expac even launched due to the phasing in on the story.

Pretty much everything you said actually were things that I said were making this expac a gamble from when it was announced until August when I took a break but people were so busy talking about "focus on the story" they said I didn't know what I was talking about.

[grrrly]

My main is a 224/220 geared merc with high presence and all datacrons so no real issues with soloing heroic content with companions on that toon, but this is to be expected. People who primarily play solo usually aren't ops geared. I have had more difficulty soloing heroics on other lower level and lesser geared toons and my observation is that the nerf didn't take into account the issues with companion AI. Companions just don't always do what they are meant to be doing, and this is when their reduced healing becomes a real issue. I notice that companions often stand there and do nothing, or DPS while I am taking damage. I always turn their CC ability off so that heals aren't interrupted by it, so the lack of heals definitely isn't caused by this. By the time they do decide to start healing again, it's hard for them to catch up on heals because their healing output has been significantly reduced since the nerf.

[Malchessar]

My main character is a level 65 Annihilation Marauder with a 216 Item level rating (with a few 220's). The companion I currently use is Lana Beniko (because I wanted to use her as my main companion), she is in the healing role as well. I have 23 influence on her, all extra obtainable presence from Legacy Perks and Datacrons and before this update I have never had any problems.

 

It is now difficult for me to solo the Heroic 2+ weekly missions (especially on Voss), and I now have trouble soloing Star Fortress solo mode and die at least 1 or 2 times. Don't even get me started on the Heroic Mode Star Fortresses, I can't solo it anymore for the love of me even with the alliance specialist buffs. I am all for being part of a group, but not if it has to be incorporated into my daily/weekly routine.

 

When this expansion was released, companions were put at a point where they were meant to be simple yet powerful. Anyone soloing quests or has a routine they follow are now finding it more difficult to do basic and simple things. These three days I have spent more credits on repairs than I make with my dailies, I can no longer generate an income to keep myself where I need to be (which is frustrating), plus it has ruined any kind of solo gaming for me which I have done since launch.

 

While I know I am certainly not the best Marauder out there, I am really great at playing one because of the time I had to master the class. But now I feel insulted by how fast I am being cut down by a large group of mobs I could normally take down with ease, and I'm sure if I changed my discipline to Carnage I would probably be experiencing the exact same thing as I am now. So if our skill isn't that of a raider that's one thing and can easily be acquired with practice, but if somebody who is new that has no skill whatsoever coming into this game will find that not being healed by a companion set to healing role will find this game to be too difficult to play and lose interest.

 

I sincerely hope that the combat effectiveness for all companions are restored to post 4.0.2 levels which will not only keep everyone happy, but also avoids potential loss of many Subscribers. In the past, I have seen many things that have given me reasons to want to leave but those feelings are always changed when things are added or fixed. I want to believe that this time, I really do... but if nothing about this change gets addressed and is going to be kept the way it is, then I am going to call it quits as I am currently having a hard time in trying to find enjoyment out of a game that I love.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Malchessar

[tmwfte]

Better then the Droid Companion in this pack, let's see, we Nerf Companions to the ground, and hey, let's put a new Companion in this new pack which releases the same day as Nerfday!!

 

Awesome idea, I think that will sell

 

It would have been funny if it had have been the Nerf Companion that I've been asking for for awhile now. One that just stands there, chewing on grass or the scenery, while you're doing the battle.

 

Seems they mistook that for the companions nerf. Granted, part way through battle healers do seem to just stop healing, not really sure what they're doing though. I suggested daydreaming further up thread, wondering what life was like before the nerf, or perhaps suffering PTSD from the time that BioWare pantsed them.

[Ghisallo]

Well this shows quite simply that he did not explain it well at all, due to our totally differing views on what was put there.

 

No, he made an assumption. He assumed that people would take it in context. Part of that context in the mechanics of the game itself since that is what the statement concerns. If you turned off your play experience and looked at the mechanics and asked not "how does the game feel" or "how do I want the game to feel?" But rather "how SHOULD the game feel based on these mechanics and paths of progression?". His statement is clear. The problem is people were looking at his statement in the best possible light because of their bias on how they wanted the game to feel.

[Halinalle]

I see I have a fan <3

I drop another game for a couple of hours, go do SF because conversations about companions were a hot topic, wanted to test it myself, come to the forums for 2 hours. Now I have spent a total of 3½hours away from Fallout4, and you are curious why I'm still not playing it? Sheesh.

 

When you say "git gud" you mean "What? You don't have FD? Hahaha!". Guardians/Juggernauts have the best DCDs and ED/FD is borderline OP.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Halinalle

[Lev_N]

I've only been playing for around a week, but maybe a fresh perspective will be useful.

 

Your level: 35-42

Roughly Average Item Rating: 80-98

Discipline: Jedi Sage / Balance

Companion: Tharan Cedrax

Companion role: Tank

Companion Influence level: 8-12

Content: Heroic missions while leveling

Your personal experience while playing this content:

 

I went with a tank companion because my Sage felt pretty squishy and once the heroic missions got a little harder I was having issues running DPS/DPS. With a tank companion, I have to be careful to manage my aggro. Silver/gold mobs deal decent damage to me even in mostly blue heroic cache gear. My companion is honestly pretty terrible at holding threat on more than one mob, so I have to try and burst silver/normal mobs down before his AoE taunt wears off or I need to use CC. If there's more than one gold I'll probably need to use CC. I learned early on to turn off my companion's AoE grapple because it usually just pulled more mobs.

 

This is mostly fine, IMO. Some areas with multiple gold mobs per pull were kind of annoying, but doable. I think my biggest annoyance is having to meditate after most pulls to heal my companion because health regen is abysmal. I can bypass this outdoors by mounting/dismounting to heal him up, but indoors is another story. I would love it if tank companions had increased regen out of combat. I have to be more mindful of his health now because he's not as survivable post-nerf.

 

From my limited experience with SWTOR and companions, I think it's worth keeping in mind that not every class is created equal. I see melee classes having a much easier time because they're quite survivable and can run with a healer or dps companion. For my Sage, I don't think the tank companion is really fulfilling the role as well as dps/healing. I've even considered switching to healing so I can run with a dps companion. Tank companions could probably use a boost for AoE threat so they don't feel like the weakest option. Oh, and out of combat health regen.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Lev_N

[Deathsightofhell]

Hey folks,

 

• 
  Following the Companion changes we made Tuesday in 4.0.2, we want to gather your feedback on your gameplay experiences. We hope by this point you have had some time to jump in and get your hands on the changes yourselves. First, before we get into the feedback we are looking for, let’s talk a bit about our specific design goals related to Companions:
   
  
• [Heroic 2] Missions – Challenge Level: Medium. To complete this content, a player should have a good understanding of their class and game mechanics, as well as level appropriate gear. Their companion’s role should begin to matter at this point, supplementing the player’s own Discipline. We expect some players to find these challenging initially—maybe even needing a friend’s help--but once the player earns better gear, a few levels of Influence with their companion, and has a greater understanding of the game, they should be able to solo the hardest of these missions.
  
• Star Fortress – Challenge Level: Medium. These are similar to [Heroic 2] Missions. Star Fortresses should be similar to [Heroic 2] Missions. To complete this content, we expect you to have level-appropriate gear, a good understanding of your class, a companion with a few levels of Influence, as well as being in a role that supplements the player’s. We expect most players to be able to solo these with a little practice and effort on their part to gain some increased power.
  
• Heroic Star Fortress – Challenge Level: High. At this point we expect players to really understand their class, their companion, and their gear. Players should have sought out gear upgrades, as well as increased their companions’ Influence level. These are meant to be challenging and difficult to do solo.
  

Based on these statements above, do you think that these are true after Tuesday’s changes? What content is more or less difficult than you expected? Is there something that is just flat out impossible?

 

 

If you have a video or other related content to go with your feedback, feel free to link that as well as it will allow us the best insight into your experiences.

 

The team will be reviewing all feedback, along with supporting data, to see what / if any future adjustments need to be made. Thank you all in advance for your feedback!

 

-eric

 

• Your level : 65
  
• Roughly Average Item Rating : 208-220 (PvP Gear/Data crystal gear)
  
• Discipline : Deception
  
• Companion : Ashara
  
• Companion role : Heal (even some dps later down the video to show how much they can hold their "own"
  
• Companion Influence level : 24
  
• Which Mission or Star Fortress are you playing (Solo Mode? Heroic Mode?) Heroic
  
• Your personal experience while playing this content :
   
  The Content is barely possible without wasting more cash on Health meds, and companion never able to help attack in the long run , making it just like a slow regen Buff while i'm fighting 'solo'
  

 

I even providing a video, as most people won't have the guts, I have no problem

 

 

https://youtu.be/nD6Z_otBZcY

 

I'll be posting soon what it like for "leveling content" and the same format.

[TFBWYAG]

It would have been funny if it had have been the Nerf Companion that I've been asking for for awhile now. One that just stands there, chewing on grass or the scenery, while you're doing the battle.

 

Seems they mistook that for the companions nerf. Granted, part way through battle healers do seem to just stop healing, not really sure what they're doing though. I suggested daydreaming further up thread, wondering what life was like before the nerf, or perhaps suffering PTSD from the time that BioWare pantsed them.

 

A little humor always helps a bad situation. I think you're onto something, it could be our Companions are stopping half way through a fight thinking: "I know I had better heals then this just a few days ago, crap, my Master is gonna die now"

[Taerann]

Terrible change IMO. Won't be renewing my sub, you just took away all the fun. I get a ton of damage with a 38 influence lana beniko healing me.

 

Shame because I was enjoying this game again after subbing last month.

[tmwfte]

A little humor always helps a bad situation. I think you're onto something, it could be our Companions are stopping half way through a fight thinking: "I know I had better heals then this just a few days ago, crap, my Master is gonna die now"

 

Heh.

 

"I healed you with Jedi powers...no, wait the Combat Log says 'kolto bomb', have I been lying to you all this time? Oh...crap, you're dead. I'll never be a real Jedi now!"

Edited November 20, 2015 by tmwfte

[Malchessar]

Terrible change IMO. Won't be renewing my sub, you just took away all the fun. I get a ton of damage with a 38 influence lana beniko healing me.

 

Shame because I was enjoying this game again after subbing last month.

 

Sadly, I feel the same way.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Malchessar