We need a response.

[Hyoga_]

I think Bioware needs to see the severity of the situation and give a response quick. since this time around is the majority of the players that are not happy with the companion changes.

 

I really hope we don't have to wait for 4 weeks again till they decide to do something about it.

[Vankris]

here you go http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=8638050#post8638050

 

eric described how each part of the game should feel for the player difficulty wise according to their design intent.

Edited November 19, 2015 by Vankris

[Xhelis]

I have a very difficult time reconciling how strong the companions were at release and Eric's statements. His statements clearly contradict the reality of the release. I find it completely impossible they didn't realize the strength of companions prior to release.

[mrsrachelm]

here you go http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=8638050#post8638050

 

eric described how each part of the game should feel for the player difficulty wise according to their design intent.

 

The OP means a CURRENT response to the backlash. Something that tells us they are hearing us, and whether or not they give a rat's behind. Instead they are systematically removing threads from General and placing them in the "Off Topic" section if they talk about unsub'g due to the companion nerf, etc while leaving threads which praise the nerf alone.

 

There is clearly a community backlash. It should be addressed. Communication is key and vital right now and we're being utterly ignored.

Edited November 19, 2015 by mrsrachelm

[Vankris]

i don't understand this is a current response, no? been posted an hour ago Edited November 19, 2015 by Vankris

[Stoofa]

What OP means is he'll keep on asking for a response until he gets the one he wants.

[HarleysRule]

The OP means a CURRENT response to the backlash. Something that tells us they are hearing us, and whether or not they give a rat's behind. Instead they are systematically removing threads from General and placing them in the "Off Topic" section if they talk about unsub'g due to the companion nerf, etc while leaving threads which praise the nerf alone.

 

There is clearly a community backlash. It should be addressed. Communication is key and vital right now and we're being utterly ignored.

 

Here ya go

 

Some of you will certainly ask, why the need to nerf Companions? This is something that we definitely saw the community be divided on, and it was good for us to hear feedback from both sides. Ultimately, this decision came down to our own goals for Companions, along with data on how they were performing. What we saw in those instances is that Companions, simply put, were just way too good. Their healing and damage output could be greater than that of a very skilled player with a fully maximized character. In order for you to understand why we are making these changes, we thought it best to explain our goals for Companions in Fallen Empire.

 

In KotFE, with a large focus on going back to story, we wanted to make sure that all of our story content was accessible to all of our players. The power that Companions bring to the table, definitely played a part in that accessibility. Companions, from a combat perspective, should complement and provide support to your character, not overshadow them. However, in looking at how strong Companions are, we may have gone a bit too far in that direction. Simply put, while playing through much of the game, there are a lot of situations in regular combat where it is practically impossible for you to be killed if you have a healing Companion. Although this can be fun for a time, this wasn’t our goal. Companions should be strong, they should fill any role you need, but they should not make your actual gameplay be overshadowed by how strong they are.

[Jumajin]

What OP means is he'll keep on asking for a response until he gets the one he wants.

 

Precisely. I read Eric's post today on the expected Low, Medium, and High challenge areas of the game, and as a very casual player myself, from what I've experienced since the patch, he seems to be spot-on with what I've experienced in Leveling, KoTFE Story, H2, and Heroic SF play after the nerf.

 

I don't see a problem. Sure, there are a couple H2's that could use a balance pass as they are tuned a little too high, but overall I'm experiencing just about what he stated.

 

 

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:

 

• Leveling Content – Challenge Level: Low. To complete this content, a player should have a basic understanding of game mechanics and have level-appropriate gear. Their companion’s role shouldn’t matter.
  
• KotFE Chapters – Challenge Level: Low. Like leveling content, a player should have a basic understanding of game mechanics and have level-appropriate gear. Their companion’s role shouldn’t matter.
  
• [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.
  
• “The One and Only” Achievement should still be possible. As an Achievement, this is definitely intended to be extremely hard and rewarding to players. This means the Achievement can be exceptionally challenging, and similar to HM Star Fortress, you will need to be a skilled player, with moderate to high Influence level with your companion, and very good gear on your character.
  

Edited November 19, 2015 by Jumajin

[geschmonz]

Ultimately, this decision came down to our own goals for Companions, along with data on how they were performing. What we saw in those instances is that Companions, simply put, were just way too good. Their healing and damage output could be greater than that of a very skilled player with a fully maximized character.

 

This quote actually is the proof its just about the devs bias that the performance of the companions was too high, and that healing companions could compete with real healers.

 

At the end its about a bias that everything needs to be challenging and competetive.

Edited November 19, 2015 by geschmonz