Level 50. My view of the current state of the game (wordy)

[Gordknight]

Having reached level 50 5 days back and having a chance to do pvp, finish my class questline completely and run some flashpoints, I feel somewhat dissapointed overall. Now im not a cry baby troll looking for sympathy as I rage irrational expectations to the masses and declare "Im quitting" after investing a lot of time and 60 bucks into the game. The BIGGEST problems I feel this game has is as follows:

 

1. It really feels like a single player game with multiplayer functionality. (the diablo series is a good example of what I mean.) Every server is overpopped with empire and underpopped with republic. I rolled republic and its astounding how few of us there actually are. Another thing that contributes to this feeling is the constant storyzones and instances. Now dont get me wrong, I think bioware did a fantastic job with the story and the immersion of your character aspect. Unfortunately much of this is lost when you see how railed the zones and planets are. Everything feels like a straight line.

 

2. So many bugs. Now I am not naive enough and unrealistically demanding enough to expect a bug free MMO launch. Far from it. The problem here is many of the bugs are debilitating to the entire game and are broken/flawed core game mechanics. Examples: Ability delay (and at times they dont even go off at all), Raid Frames not updating properly and showing actual health (feel so bad for you healers), the absolute dependency on your companion for survival in everything outside of raids and pvp. The chat window becoming active if you click on it or near it on accident. The extremely buggy UI (again see the raid frames) and the fact that you cannot move it, customize it or change it in any way. The CC bar that displays that you cant be ccd for a short time seems to never work right. Im getting ccd when its full all the time. Abilities canceling themselves in mid attack because you happened to dodge or parry an attack. The guild window never updating. The list goes on and on. I have to reload the UI at least ten or more times per play session. These bugs were present in beta for a long time and were not ever addressed and dont even get me started on the fact that all my romantic storyline options with Kira Carsen are bugged. I have max affection rating with her and have had no dialogue with her at all. Constant settings getting changed back to defaults each time you zone. Confirmed bugs back in beta.

 

3. Features that the game should have but doesnt. A good example is the ability to /roll or the fact that you have to constantly run to your airlock and cant use your mount in the shipyard every time you want to leave a planet. The fact that when you queue for a WZ as a group and when the warzone ends you are no longer in a group. The inability to queue for the WZ that you wish to queue for. No mailbox on your ship. No dual spec feature and an extremely high cost to respec. The inability to search/filter properly on the AH.

 

4. PVP feels incredibly out of whack. I thought there was too much CC in WoW and then I played SWTOR. You move at less than 60% speed 90% of the WZ. The lack of brackets for pvp combat. The broken RNG system of getting pvp gear... why make getting pvp gear so RNG based? Feels like arch in WoW all over again. Of course I know the classes need to be balanced and that it takes time, I realize that and accept that. But how in the hell do you balance a game where level 50s are put on the same team as a level 10? No real rewards for world pvp at all. Even Ilum. Have done it, you get practically nothing.

 

Overall the game has potential if bioware can make the necessary changes and make them quickly. Right now though as a whole, the game feels unfinished. I am not a QQr crying for everything to be like wow, nor am I a fanboi. But the excuse I hear the most from fanbois when any issues are brought up is "They are adding that soon." or "They are doing that but it wasnt ready for launch." The WHOLE game wasnt ready for launch imo with so many glaring problems with basic core functionality that any modern MMO needs to have.

 

In the end I stand by my previous statement. The game feels like a single player game with multiplayer functionality. It doesnt feel like an mmo to me. Im not rage quitting, Im going to give bioware and EA a chance to make things right, but Im not going to wait around forever for basic functionality features and bugs that have been present since the first beta phase to be repaired. Worst case Id quit and come back in a few months if things are different.

 

The game has a lot going for it... Descent PVE flashpoints, awesome crafting system and a great storyline with descent voice acting, but in the end of that is all it has Id rather play SW:KOTOR 1/2 or Mass Effect because those have even better and more immersive stories.

 

Flame if you will.

Edited December 27, 2011 by Gordknight

[skaaz]

in before the first flame

[NSix]

Good insight, but inb4fanboybadssayalliswell

[Ignito]

1. agree, mostly

 

2. time will fix the bugs

 

3. time will address features

 

4. combat in general is completely out of whack, see the 100+ page thread

 

 

Yes, it is a promising game, and the game is unfinished, probably a result of EA's notorious business practices.

 

In general, combat and UI need fixing immediately, and the other issues such as social aspects and so forth can be addressed over time.

[Hayduke]

Am I nuts for thinking that blue font on a blue background is a bit hard to read?

[MadCuzBad]

I won't be re subbing.

 

Disappointed in so many areas I am not gonna waste my time listing them all.

 

Adios

[Kazu]

is it just me that feels like this game has no replay value since there's only 1 planet per lvl bracket? First character is fun but why would I make a second one? I don't feel like doing all the same boring side-quest only to see a new story thats probably doesnt even represent 10% of my quests. WoW usually had atleast 2 zones per lvl brackets.

[Erenax]

The game hasn't even seen it's first major patch yet.

[OhKrapitsChris]

The game came out just recently. lol Give it a break.

[Kazu]

omg stop it with the stupid the game just came out argument, it's the core of the game that is problematic and that is really hard to patch

[Casil]

I'm enjoying SWToR right now, but I definitely agree with the OP. As I play, I can't help but feel like Bioware took a 5 year old manual on how to create an MMO and went from there, ignoring the various quality-of-life improvements that have been introduced to the genre since then (although I do appreciate area looting).

[Gordknight]

The game hasn't even seen it's first major patch yet.

 

I realize that. But should a game that is the next generation of the genre itself need a first patch to make the game acceptably functional? I am going to reference WoW's launch here. It has a lot of problems. Most of them had to do with lag, server downtime, queue times, lag lag and more lag, but the combat system worked. Grouping worked, guild windows worked... etc etc etc...

 

SWTOR is a good game, but it was released in a terrible state. Bioware did good in avoiding too harsh of queue times for most servers and the lag for me anyway is virtually non existent. No complaints there. But youd think Bioware/EA would have learned from other mmos and especially from their own beta what players expect from their gameplay/ui etc etc.

[MadCuzBad]

omg stop it with the stupid the game just came out argument, it's the core of the game that is problematic and that is really hard to patch

 

QFE and Agree!

[JimG]

The game feels like a single player game with multiplayer functionality. It doesnt feel like an mmo to me.

 

Well that's how you feel. Everyone's entitled to their feelings. Doesn't feel that way to me at all. In fact, I've had much more fun in group missions here than I did previously. Doesn't feel like I'm teaming up with other people simply because it's a more efficient way to grind levels and gears.

[Rotant]

I feel inclined to agree with the OP in most respects, and I appreciate how the post was more rationally considered than 99% of the terrible, whining excuses for opinions that flood this forum. However, there seems to be a slight contradiction in your argument, insofar as you suggest that the core of the game is bugged, yet nearly all the criticisms you list seem rather superfluous and very easy to fix, aside from the assertion that the game is "like a single player mmo." I would disagree with that in particular, and perhaps expect more evidence to support this claim - as far as I can tell every aspect of the game has the same multiplayer functionality as most other mmo's on the market. If you solo the leveling content (as is the case in nearly every mmo) I suppose it could feel more like a single player experience, but I don't think that having an actual narrative and voiced conversations detracts anything whatsoever from multiplayer functionality. Edited December 27, 2011 by Rotant

[Wishpig]

Very well written and polite OP. However, it sounds like you just described WoW after it's initial release (minus the zones on rails... WoW didn't have that issue imo).

 

Nearly every MMO I've played (and I've been playing since EQ), has suffered a poor release. Most of the time there are AWFUL bugs, little endgame content, extremely unbalanced classes, and just a general beta feeling.

 

Sadly, many players were introduced to MMO's by WoW and started playing WoW long after it's initial release. Thus they assume all MMO's should be as polished and as content rich as WoW is now.

 

It shocks me how pissy people are getting over TOR's problems, because nearly ALL of it's problems are basically expected of an MMO at release.

[Sunstarr]

Having reached level 50 5 days back...

 

I see.

[Arkimor]

Good insight, but inb4fanboybadssayalliswell

 

Sums it up right here.

[EspenLH]

I actually agree with you. It's like a single player game with multiplayer functionality.

And worst of all, you need to pay an additional charge (subscription) with your 60$ copy.

[Drudenfusz]

Haven't reached level cap yet, but I also see the same problems OP listed already. Hope BioWare will do something about it.

[Lord_Indomitus]

Am I nuts for thinking that blue font on a blue background is a bit hard to read?

No you are not, damn Republic and their blue color. Use red ffs!

 

1. I am sure enough like it this way, I mean... what would you change it to make it a "true MMO"? I am curious to see your suggestion.

2. This game has the least bugs of any other MMO launch I am aware of. If you disagree, mention one MMO launch that had less bugs or less important bugs. I've yet to find a gamebreaking bug.

3. I agree on this, hopefully it will be fixed in the future.

4. I really haven't tried PvP yet. If there's indeed too much CC (like start of WAR + other multiple examples), then blame the Mythic devs They should had known better after WAR, which ended up to have WAY LESS CC than the average you see in a WoW clone, so SWTOR having too much CC (if what it;s being said in this thread is true) makes no sense.

 

Finally, about your:

1. "Right now though as a whole, the game feels unfinished", this means nothing really. If you just wish to let some steam out by saying this, ok.

 

2. "The game feels like a single player game with multiplayer functionality.", that's during leveling which is fine. I expect it to be different at 50 (I am 48atm, so I will soon find out I guess). If you say otherwise, please explain why it feels like that at 50, compared to like WoW. Also keep in mind that some -among those myself too- don't mind having a game that feels less MMOish and tbh better to have such a thing, instead of having a WoW like fake feeling of multiplayer.

 

I hope your (and other's) idea of multiplayer is not the laughable "Random Dungeon" system, where people are "soloing along 4 others" an instance just to farm some badges/valor points, often WITHOUT even saying a single word for the whole duration of the instance. And that wasn't the exception, it was the rule.

Edited December 27, 2011 by Lord_Indomitus

[Gordknight]

Sorry for the blue color. Deal with it

[betaguy]

PVP is actually something they got right, leave that to the pros.

[ArisTotLEx]

Whats funny is that these same complaints were on the forums of world of warcraft the day after it released. Every mmo ever made will have people that dont like it.

[JonnyBigBoss]

I understand your woes. Quite frankly, though, this game has a better foundation than any MMO I've ever seen. All they need to do is release a couple patches and all of our worries will be over.