Companion Balance Changes

[Kianabamin]

Yeah, I laughed in the office when I read that. Like, for reals, that's the mainstay of post chapter 9 content in the game right now. What were they expecting people to do instead of clearing that out every week to grind alliance rep?

 

If they were caught that unawares, then there are far bigger problems of incompetence along the lines of "We expected people to take 3 months or more to hit level 50 at launch and were blown away people managed it in a matter of days/weeks!"

 

Well I for one tended to stay away from H2's, now I'll go back to doing them again.

[PorsaLindahl]

You lost me forever. What a bunch of BS. You didn't expect people to play H2s, that's the daily content in 4.0. You designed it this way. You just lied to sidestep admitting you messed up.

 

Oh well it was fun. I'll probably check out the story on youtube but beyond that it's clear this isn't a game anymore, it's an interactive movie and that's not what I signed up for.

 

Heroics are weeklies, not dailies.

 

And what did you sign up for? As far as mission cinematics go, nothing has really changed since launch, other than the new cinematics that are based on KoTOR conversations. So, again, what did you sign up for?

Edited November 23, 2015 by PorsaLindahl

[jrwellworth]

Totally agree! I wish he posted more often

I look forward to testing the changes!

 

Right? Plus he said they wanted to make heroics 'sexier', I lol'd. Great post.

[ScarletBlaze]

Thank you and hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving this week as well.

[AngFour]

I don't understand why they can't make the Solo Star Fortress progress the Alliance story and have the Heroic Star Fortress be renamed Flashpoint just for the extra loot and challenge. BW said that they wouldn't lock story behind group content anymore and while, yes, technically a very skilled player with the proper class (ie, NOT a pure DPS character) can solo them, a lot of players will still be left out. (FWIW, I have my husband who can group with me and we can complete these, so it doesn't matter to me-in B4 "Get a group, you Filthy, Anti-Social Casual!")

 

Or, as a compromise, do what you did when SoR first came out: GSI droid for one run through (per fortress). If you want to farm it, get a group or gear up properly, and be very very good at your (non-DPS) class. But to progress the story, having those locked behind mandatory group content goes against what BW had stated when they announced KotFE, which was to appeal to solo players.

 

My hopes for KotFE going forward:

 

Alliance Specialist influence is legacy wide.

Tank Comps get their shields and mitigation fixed. It's utterly asinine that that hasn't been fixed yet.

If Alliance isn't Legacy wide, then at least double the Alliance crate rewards (just those, not asking for more crystals or credits). Even better, let us choose which crates we want.

Solo Star Fortress progresses KotFE Alliance story.

Vector's voice is ACTUALLY fixed. Because Kaliyo is currently still Zashing him.

Allow us to skip companion alerts that we don't want from the get go so we can get the next alert. Not all my characters want Xalec or Qyzen or Lokin.

 

That's all I can think of at the moment. I'm sure when I have more coffee, or when I get back into SWTOR and get irritated by small things that ought to have been looked at a while ago, I'll come up with more.

[morfius]

What about companion tanking - too low defense and shield/absorb missing totally?

What about their AI ... tanking ones doesn't change target until it's dead, waiting half of combat to engage & so on?

It is not just about raw power ... even if it masks bugs and bad AI.

 

H2+ SF - gold mobs do more damage than platinum ones, something is not right here...

[Alssaran]

That's...actually a sensible middle ground.

 

Keeping Heroic 2 quests possible and easy for casual players, while at the same time balancing the SF so that at least some achievements (like One for All) are still a challenge, despite the Heroic SF being soloable in decent gear.

 

It's...too good. I'm afraid they'll delete the GTN now. Or they might destroy the Empire by accident. Karma.

 

What about companion tanking - too low defense and shield/absorb missing totally?

 

Already discussed. That is in the 4.0.3 patch.

Edited November 23, 2015 by Alssaran

[Arkeran]

Thank you Seems about fine changes ! Looking forward to test all of this.

[Joefjr]

• Companion healing has been increased by roughly 48%. (Influence level and character level will determine exact amount.)
  
• Companion damage has been increased by roughly 15%. (Influence level and character level will determine exact amount.)
  
• Companion base stats have been increased by about 15%. (Influence level and character level will determine exact amount.)

 

So does this mean that for example at Rank 1 lvl 65 companion will have 500 mastery and Rank 50 lvl 65 will have 1000 mastery?

 

Because presence increases a companions DPS, HPS, and HP. Only the HP aspect effects tank role and the problem is a Rank 1 Tank gets hit for 10K and a Rank 50 takes the same exact hit and takes the same exact amount of damage, by hitting Rank 50 he can take 1-2 more and thats it. Which means the power between a Rank 1 and Rank 50 Tank role is around half as effective as their Healer/Damage counterparts.

 

Does Expertise that companions get come out of their stat budget or is it just extra?

Edited November 23, 2015 by Joefjr

[RealKraschman]

The OP is all well and good, and definitely welcome. But if gathering new contacts is part of the Story, then the Star Fortress mission you're sent off on to complete getting that Alliance contact should be the Solo mode, not what is currently called Heroic.

 

The Heroic SF should be reserved for those who want the gear and such, but shouldn't be a requirement of the story if it's not at the level of the other Heroics.

[Satsuke]

Already discussed. That is in the 4.0.3 patch.

 

When's that coming, though? Because for those of us who are a healing spec, having mostly useless tanking/dps companions makes doing open world content a major drag.

[Caulderone]

So it ends up a 35% reduction in power where a lot of us said it should be... Wow....

 

As for Star Fortress, why not call it Tactical 2. That would fit with the desired goal for naming I think. Good players could solo (even on level) Cerka FPs when they were Tactical 2. Just a thought...

 

EDIT: For clarity, we know Tactical means group content. We've been raised that way so to speak.

 

EDIT 2: Also on this point, you could always retune it later for more "content" and make a HM4 person version for it as well.... Plus saying Tactical 2 allows you a new in between from solo to full 4 tactical FPs.

 

This seems like a very decent way to rename them. As someone else noted, add them to Group Finder then, too.

 

I also think the companion changes will put them close to where they need to be, though they still may need some tweaking (and tanks need some defense/shield).

Edited November 23, 2015 by Caulderone

[littleming]

15% damage seems low, my healer does more damage than my influence 38 companion in DPS mode at the minute.

 

Making heroic star fortresses whatever you want them to be is fine, but you shouldnt be putting the things into peoples mission logs and gating companions behind it if they are end game stuff.

 

This is basic game design here, you dont go from easy content and direct people straight to the hardest stuff in the game to do outside of the big group content. Solo mode should be where it stops for the story, the heroic version should be about gear and achievements. (It only drops 208 gear remember)

 

This, exactly this. I have no problem with the existence of challenging content, but I do have a problem when it creates a wall for my ability to enjoy, experience, and progress in the story.

[Nebdar]

Thanks for response:)

Every group content should be thrown in group finder,

 

[HEROIC 4] The Alchemy of Evil/Uprooting the Last Seed

[HEROIC 4] The Shroud’s Last Stand/The Shroud Revealed

 

and solo stuff should now be named from this day an HEROIC 2+

[Dornaa]

Just chiming in to say thank you, Michael. And thank you to the rest of the team for listening to us. I can't wait to test out the changes.

[Avorniel]

yes they are heroic's are dailies since they reset every day, the only thing that is classed as a weekly is the instant travel to the heroic area,you can still go and find the quest giver and do the heroic the normal way... Edited November 23, 2015 by Avorniel

[Master-Nala]

I don't understand why they can't make the Solo Star Fortress progress the Alliance story and have the Heroic Star Fortress be renamed Flashpoint just for the extra loot and challenge. BW said that they wouldn't lock story behind group content anymore and while, yes, technically a very skilled player with the proper class (ie, NOT a pure DPS character) can solo them, a lot of players will still be left out. (FWIW, I have my husband who can group with me and we can complete these, so it doesn't matter to me-in B4 "Get a group, you Filthy, Anti-Social Casual!")

 

Respectfully, no one will be left out. Being asked to grab another person a few times isn't that onerous. And you know, there's always the option of gearing and practice.

 

Or, as a compromise, do what you did when SoR first came out: GSI droid for one run through (per fortress). If you want to farm it, get a group or gear up properly, and be very very good at your (non-DPS) class. But to progress the story, having those locked behind mandatory group content goes against what BW had stated when they announced KotFE, which was to appeal to solo players.

 

Since, it appears that a lot of people consider any bit of story to be their Bioware given right, I think just making the solo Star Fortress advance the story is the best option.

[talonmke]

When's that coming, though? Because for those of us who are a healing spec, having mostly useless tanking/dps companions makes doing open world content a major drag.

He stated that it would be in the game tomorrow. So 4.0.3 is heading to you in about 24 hours.

[Master-Nala]

yes they are heroic's are dailies since they reset every day, the only thing that is classed as a weekly is the instant travel to the heroic area,you can still go and find the quest giver and do the heroic the normal way...

 

Are you sure about that? I'm not saying you're wrong, but have you tried this yourself? If so, then the 'grind' for alliance crates is pretty much nil.

[Caulderone]

Since, it appears that a lot of people consider any bit of story to be their Bioware given right, I think just making the solo Star Fortress advance the story is the best option.

 

I concur.

[Sarfux]

Now THIS! THIS is the communication that is fantastic! I love it and bravo for noticing that you nerfed them too much and will be putting the numbers up quite a bit

 

Thank you very much.

[tmwfte]

I wanted to take a minute to apologize for the recent Companion changes and address combat balance.

 

Responsibility and ownership. This is appreciated.

Edited November 23, 2015 by tmwfte

[ScampiV]

Thank you and well said.

 

Hello, everyone.

 

My name is Michael Backus, and I’m the Lead Designer for Star Wars: The Old Republic. I wanted to take a minute to apologize for the recent Companion changes and address combat balance. I wanted to do so personally because as fans of Star Wars: The Old Republic and our customers, we cherish your feedback and value all of you, and I feel you deserve to hear this information directly.

[KnightOfTython]

Thanks for your detailed post Michael but I have one question and I would really appreciate if you could explain this to us or discuss this with your teams internally.

 

With KOTFE 4.0 the damage reduction, defence , shield and absorb is really low for tank companions.

Since we are not able to push defensive stats any longer with equipment for companions it seems like you have not recognized this part when calculating base stats and player level for companions in KOTFE.

 

 

[*]Companion base stats increased by 15%

 

In your post now you said you want to increase the damage for tank role by 15%, why not the defensive stats or are they part of the base stats? I assume this includes absorb, defence, reduction and shield?

At lower levels its fine but with 65 you will notice a severe defensive drop since 4.0.

 

I really hope that someone of your team will look into this.

Edited November 24, 2015 by KnightOfTython

[Satsuke]

He stated that it would be in the game tomorrow. So 4.0.3 is heading to you in about 24 hours.

 

I see no mention of fixes to tank mitigation/threat in his post, though, and was under the assumption that the patch tomorrow is the 4.0.3 patch that they had planned but more of an emergency "Oh **** the community is flipping out we need to do something." patch.