force_fortytwo Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Hi folks, I'm raising this question cuz I couldn't find decent answers in previous topics. If there are any which I might have missed, kindly give me a link so I can contribute there - and please refrain from trolling even if I deserve it in your opinion. Thank you! Most of my character leveling activities have taken place long before 4.0, and I remember having taken a great deal of effort to max the companions on my toons out to 10000 affection. I don't know how many presents it cost me and how many private chats I optimized to get there, but it has proved quite "demanding" to do so. When devs announced that in 4.0 affection would be exchanged for influence, the cap being virtually raised to 50, i.e. new level 10 equalling the old 10000 points affection max, I thought, fair enough, so you don't have to start over. Then two things happened: 1st, I found that level 10 influence in 4.0 endgame is simply the starting stage from which certain companions follow you at all (star fortress separatists etc.) And you get there in a reasonably short time, depending on who you're trying to convince. 2nd, I picked up my lvl20 trooper again lately and leveled the toon up 19 levels, only to notice that during that time companion influence for aric and elara skyrocketed. At the moment I have them at influence lvl 17 respectively lvl 16, and I've only just finished chapter one!!! So of the three companions, two have gone well beyond lvl 10 in about 60% of the pre-2.0 game content and the third one (M1 4X) is on the best way to attaining lvl10 influence. Considering these two situations (and the fact that post-4.0 influence levels are not increasing linearly anymore, as far as I understand it) I have to say that granting influence rank 10 to previously maxed out companions in post-4.0 game now feels like a complete ripoff. Considering that you can basically buy companion influence 10 with 5 alliance lockboxes (as e.g. with the separatists), I think there is a severe misbalance in the way this has been calculated, leading to the experience that old pals for my toons don't feel special at all when you encounter them again. So here's my suggestion: Recalculate companion influence for the regular companions of each class, based on the assumption that 10000 affection pre-4.0 is not just lvl10, but lvl20 or even lvl25 in post-4.0. Like that you could ensure that regaining the old companions is more of an incentive as it is now. I do not think that new companions need to suffer from that, whoever likes Lana or Theron or Koth will use them anyway (I do) and will also likely provide them with presents to pitch up their influence. Maybe you can implement a choice somewhere in the beginning of KotFE (maybe during the initial Valkorion cryostasis chats) where your toon has to name 2 companions he likes best, whose influence stat is then doubled (ideally to lvl20). That way you could at least have a little push for your favourite companions so that they aren't just like the "regular alliance conscripts" later on. What are your thoughts on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
branmakmuffin Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 What are your thoughts on this? My thoughts are "That's the way the game used to work, this is the way it works now." Games change. Accept it. Or don't. Your choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alsyienne Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 (edited) I agree, it was a complete rip-off. But it's probably too late to change things now. It's been several months. Most of us have cried a little inside, then spent millions on companion gifts to bribe our old buddies to an acceptable/useful level. I can't even imagine how they would calculate compensating us fairly. Your suggestions aren't bad, per se, but they'd still leave most of us feeling cheated. Edited March 12, 2016 by Alsyienne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
force_fortytwo Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 One idea I had was a kind of personalized companion gift which you could unlock in the beginning of KotFE and which would then be part of any of the chapters' rewards. This would be the most powerful gift ever, but usable only on one specific companion who had previously been maxed out in affection. For example, if you have a JC and liked tharan cedrax and Nadia, you could be asked in the opening cryostasis conversation with Valkorion about your two favourites, giving you a selection screen. The game would then create two "personalized memory holocrons", one for each favourite, and provide you with it upon completing chapter XIII, Lana or Theron coming up to you and saying something like "by the way, a trusted source found these on sale somewhere, you might want to have them." The item itself would indicate it's a gift and "usable only on xyz". And as soon as you'd have the respective companion back in your alliance, you could just give it to them, receive an overwhelmed answer like " that you've been thinking of me all that time... I think I'm gonna have to cry" or similar... And boom, influence jumps from 10 to 20/25/whatever's appropriate. I think it'd be smart to limit this option to players who choose to wait for their old buddies to return in the course of the story. Players who have already invested in their old companions and have reached the designated special influence level should be compensated with a decent number of crystals or be given the possibility to sell the personalized companion holocrons to a special vendor for a premium amount of credits. I think that would be feasible and give players things to really look forward to, especially if newly introduced companions from new chapters would stay a secret beforehand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XiamaraSimi Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 (edited) At first I blinked when I saw it jumped from 10k to 250k, but then I realized that it didnt really make that huge of a difference because level 10 influence comps are still much better then level 1 inf comps. I also look at it the same way as having the level cap increased. I have to level myself up, now I have to level up my companions too (which most games make you do) just with comps their level you raise is the influence level, which was raised. Even comps with the pre 4.0 crafting skill bonuses only got 1, 2 and the rare 5% crit bonus. And the efficiency bonus was between 5-10. And those were restricted to very specific characters, now they are universal. Each rank of influence gives: ◆ +50 Presence ◆ +1.5% time efficiency for crew skill tasks ◆ +0.5% critical rate for crew skill tasks So at rank 10 they have: ◆ +500 Presence ◆ +15% time efficiency for crew skill tasks ◆ +5% critical rate for crew skill tasks Thanks to companion story missions being tied to level now instead of affection, its a moot point worrying about getting them high just so you can get to chat. You dont need to raise all eleventy bajillian comps aquired through KOTFEs influence to 50. You dont even really need to go higher unless your a crafter, and even then you only need to work on 6 (the max amount you can send out at a time) Im a crafter, one of each type, and I only have one companion on two of them to 50, one has one at 30, another has one at 28, and another has one at 27. The rest sit at 10 because i dont really see any real reason to get them to 50. Especially if I have to sit there for 47 years handing them gifts one at a time Complaining about having all your effort raising vanilla comps up trivialized by the new system is rather like complaining that people get to use xp boosts to help level up now compared to how you had to kill 6787554 kor'slugs on Korriban to get to level 5 back in the days of launch. Then -demanding- to be compensated just makes me sigh. You do realize that things like this is why people make fun of gamers right? The game is easy. As many complaints here on the forums show, some think its too easy thanks to companions, there is honestly -zero- need to get comps above 10, which is where your "old" characters are if you had max affection before 4.0... So you havent lost anything... Edited March 12, 2016 by XiamaraSimi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
force_fortytwo Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 Hey, I thought we're in the suggestions branch here, I can't see a "demand"... Apart from that, it's all cool, I'm not really that angry or upset or even stirred up about the issue. You are right, from the crafter's point of view - but I'm not a crafter, not anymore. You seem to have missed my central argument: old vanilla comps have been set to lvl 10 flat, IF you had them at 10000 pre-4.0. Now, it is easy as frak to push threw of your companions past the lvl 10 margin way before your toon reaches lvl 50. So basically this is what I am concerned about. This "complaint" does not originate from someone who loves complaining. Actually I love the game, am currently a subscriber and I just think that the relation between leveling comps pre-4.0 and post-4.0 is kind of messed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XiamaraSimi Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 I just think that the relation between leveling comps pre-4.0 and post-4.0 is kind of messed up. Its no different then how its changed xp wise from launch to now, but your not asking for compensation for experience... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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