An open letter to our players

[Dael_Adaon]

You talk about new content but yet you still haven't fixed the massive amounts of bugs that are already existing.

 

Please, for the love of god, fix the broken things first.

 

This. Only this.

[DieAlteHexe]

This. Only this.

 

Pretty sure that separate teams work on these things.

[DarkJediMage]

Thanks ben for your too little/too late letter. if you have a backbone, stop EA's greed and destructive role, fund swtor to get back to its glorious state of player base balance in content.

[docbenwayddo]

Pretty sure that separate teams work on these things.

 

You mean that one overworked intern puts on a different hat when working on different things.

[DieAlteHexe]

You mean that one overworked intern puts on a different hat when working on different things.

 

No. I don't.

[Agobi]

Well,I just cancelled,after being stopped in my storyprogression by a bug that has been present since 2014 o.O

 

Good luck with your "quality" and "support" and stuff ?

[DzastinBiberi]

Same here. When they start acting and working like they should, I'll think about subbing back.

I mean, they didn't even fixed that Darth Malak's armor glitch bug for over TWO years, I mean, c'mon, why I'm I paying this broken game??? And chapters, oh that's another story, naked cat men, infinite spawn of storm troopers etc.

Now I can't even queue a group of 4 people for wz cause of the new bug.

If that's quality for you, maybe you should check your head mate or quit your job. Go sell burgers or something.

[commanderwar]

Same here. When they start acting and working like they should, I'll think about subbing back.

I mean, they didn't even fixed that Darth Malak's armor glitch bug for over TWO years, I mean, c'mon, why I'm I paying this broken game??? And chapters, oh that's another story, naked cat men, infinite spawn of storm troopers etc.

Now I can't even queue a group of 4 people for wz cause of the new bug.

If that's quality for you, maybe you should check your head mate or quit your job. Go sell burgers or something.

 

Btw they fix the group queue bug check patch notes

[LordFell]

Really kinda sad, and also telling, that this is not a dialogue... this is a piece of bloody sedative-tainted meat thrown into a cage of angry beasts. Well... I ain't biting.

 

1) There are a lot of really, really basic "MMO 101" stuff that the current mechanics of the game haven't bothered to touch on. For example, I'm a believer in Level Scaling... I'd just like it if you could actually fix your stupid numbers. I'd also like it if my companion was scaled to a reasonable level. I'm still seeing that the companions are both stupid over-powered (in some roles) and unable to perform their role well at all, and that companions aren't well balanced to each other at all.

 

2) Basic bugs. I have reported, and continue to report, that some of the vendors in my stronghold don't work. You click the thing, you open your inventory, you buy and sell things... not having a solid handle on this mechanic gives me rage. I mean... I'll be honest, I'm not "loving" the game right now. I'm kinda... "meh" about the new story line... if I were loving the story, this wouldn't bug me. Because I could really take it or leave it, a really basic bug like this, that you seem unwilling or unable to fix, drives me freaking berserk. Of course... it's not just the one bug, you guys have a list of bugs that you should have dealt with years ago.

 

3) Looking at the story, there's a bunch of ways in which I'm disappointed. I've yet to see choices really matter. There's also a LOT of railroading. A simple example; my Juggernaut fell in love with Quinn, and decided that she loved him enough to forgive his betrayal and marry him. Given a rebellion against Arcann, and finding her husband... Arcann can wait; she would Choke the Galaxy until it relented and produced her consort... but no, finding the petty criminal Firebrand is more important. (No. No it is not)

 

...and, the strength of the original 1 - 50 story was in companion interactions. I mean, I was thrilled when I discovered I could flirt with Senya. Let's roll out that romance!

....still waiting!

 

The original 1 thru 50 game offered EIGHT stories. The 51 - 55 expansion offered an Imperial story and a Republic story. Since then, there has been only 1 story; whether you're Imp or Pub, the narrative is the same. That awkward moment when World of Warcraft (which I quit with extreme prejudice two years ago) has better story telling than SWTOR.

 

Anyways...

It's nice that you're still developing the game, but... can you fix some stuff? Can you develop GOOD stuff?

 

Please?

[Icestar]

If there is anything I would like people reading this to take away it’s this: SWTOR is absolutely being supported into the future. We have a lot of content coming over the next few months and even more exciting things to talk about later this year. All of us here at BioWare appreciate your ongoing support and we are committed to providing the best experience possible.

 

It’s because of you, our players, that this game continues to thrive. Thank you for playing Star Wars: The Old Republic.

 

Ben Irving

 

This is awesome, I really look foward to what will happen after the chapters

[Idoya]

You're kidding right?

 

You think you made flashpoints more challenging?

 

By making them more annoying?

 

Flashpoints are piss. I can run most tacticals solo with a companion healing me. In fact, tacticals with four people now are just tedious, not hard. If one person drops, you pull out a companion for heals and finish it easy. No, by turning all flashpoints into tacticals without rebalancing them to BE tacticals, ie not need a proper healer-tank-dps team, you have done little more than break them for most people who used to enjoy running them while levelling through the story. Now, there's no point to them at all, because story XP is all you need, with a few sidequests, to be at level 65 before you've even completed chapter two of the core game, no flashpoints required.

 

Additionally, new content is all well and good, but a few days ago, I was running Blood Hunt solo as part of the story, and the fight with jos and valk kept resetting, even though I was winning. After a few resets, I got tired of it and tried to exit the FP. I couldn't, cuz I was 'in combat', despite the fight having reset and apparently waiting to begin again. So I typed /stuck to kill myself so I could get out of it. I died, and remained in combat, unable to do anything at all.

 

So as I was saying, new content is all well and good, but you gotta fix what's broke BEFORE you release more broken stuff on top of it. Because right now, you've got broken piling on top of broken. I know your EA slave drivers demand certain release schedules etc, but they're not paying the bills, your customers are. And I'm not playing broken trash, regardless of how much of it there is.

 

And if I ain't playin', I ain't payin'.

 

One more thing. Here's just one example of the things your 'new content' has broken. When I see Corso pointing air-blasters at people, and everyone's taking him seriously, I just feel all immersion slipping out the window. Not that long ago, prior to KOTFE, I was one of those few people who didn't spacebar through those two hundred million dollars worth of dialogue you had in your game. Now I see things like this, and I have to switch sides. Team spacebar ftw! This isn't an RPG for me anymore, it's an arcade game that's fast becoming not worth what I pay for it. And playing for free? I think you'd have to pay ME to do that.

Edited April 24, 2016 by Idoya

[aristrokratie]

We desperately need some attention on the PvP forums, too.

I suggest you create a similar ''open letter'' there and ask for constructive feedback rather than trying to fix stuff that didn't need fixing in the first place (eg. new wz wasn't needed or specifically asked for but class balance and matchmaking were... A LOT)

 

At the moment the biggest issues in pvp are (in descending order)

-player<->dev communication

-class compositions in regular wz (we need crossserver or at least crossfaction and some basic kind of matchmaking

-class balance:

(classes that are op and need adjustment: sorc healer, pt carbonize in arenas, tank spank jugg, shield tech aoe damage)

(classes that need buffs: dot merc and pt, dot operative, merc and operative healers, slight survivability buff to mercs and snipers)

-population issues: implemet either crossfaction or crossserver or both

-premade issues: would become much less drastic if matchmaking was added, alternatively try to group premade against premade

Edited April 24, 2016 by aristrokratie

[Jerba]

Class balance only means all classes will be either cut down or improved, both to the same point which results in all DPS classes having the exact same output. To achieve that they have to either remove abilities that are too strong or nerf them into the ground. In the end you will have eight classes but one tank, one healer and one damage dealer. They play slightly different but have the same output. The opposite of what you have now.

Just look at WoW. The class balance destroyed the fun of mostly all classes. Since they started to balance pvp it heavily affected pve aswell and they cant get out of that nightmare.

 

You need diversity! Ask yourself which scenario is more beneficial for the game.

No one is saying that all classes should be made identical; obviously there can be a middle ground. Saying that class balance destroys class flavors is a weak argument to justify the current imbalances between classes.

 

Imbalance becomes a problem when a certain class outperforms other classes to the point where only this class is viable - e.g. Sorcs being able to survive the poisonous cloud in arenas longer than any other class, or raid groups using only Powertech tanks on Master & Blaster to cheese the knockback.

In certain situations, one class will always be better than another class, that's the downside we accept as part of class flavors, but it has to be balanced; e.g. with lower DPS/HPS or by not having a counterplay for other situations.

 

But I find it funny how you say SWTOR has more diversity than WoW, I'd even go as far as saying that post-4.0, SWTOR has the least mechanical diversity of the past 4 years, now that pretty much every class has a leap/escape or other gap closer.

Edited April 24, 2016 by Jerba

[aristrokratie]

No one is saying that all classes should be made identical; obviously there can be a middle ground. Saying that class balance destroys class flavors is a weak argument to justify the current imbalances between classes.

 

Imbalance becomes a problem when a certain class outperforms other classes to the point where only this class is viable - e.g. Sorcs being able to survive the poisonous cloud in arenas longer than any other class, or raid groups using only Powertech tanks on Master & Blaster to cheese the knockback.

In certain situations, one class will always be better than another class, that's the downside we accept as part of class flavors, but it has to be balanced; e.g. with lower DPS/HPS or by not having a counterplay for other situations.

 

But I find it funny how you say SWTOR has more diversity than WoW, I'd even go as far as saying that post-4.0, SWTOR has the least mechanical diversity of the past 4 years, now that pretty much every class has a leap/escape or other gap closer.

 

Exactly.

 

The true homogenization is not taking place in ways to deal damage or heal, it's utility like gapclosers roots escapes etc.

 

This causes some serious problems and imbalances in pvp because certain classes have multiple ways to deal with the excess amount of cc while others cannot.

 

pvp is a root/snare/slowfest it's crazy. On my sorc I don't notice it at all but on my op it's really hard to not get nailed down forever.

 

Actually we could fix balance by making classes more distinct from each other:

-operative healers could heal more through their hots and instant casts which none of the other healer could

-merc healers could be really tanky with strong ststionary heals

-sorc healers could be really squishy with lots of escapes (just like now) but less mobility (remove innervate on the move

 

additional thoughts:

-powertech dds could lose leap and pull and still be viable because of low cd lolrun and high range

-dotsorcs could lose dotspread and focus more on heavy single target pressure

[Zasszz]

No one is saying that all classes should be made identical; obviously there can be a middle ground. Saying that class balance destroys class flavors is a weak argument to justify the current imbalances between classes.

Thats exactly my point. To achieve balance you have to make them all stand on the same level which destroys the unique flavor of each class. You wont choose a class, you only choose a playstyle because the things that made a class unique are either all gone or available to every role.

 

Imbalance becomes a problem when a certain class outperforms other classes to the point where only this class is viable - e.g. Sorcs being able to survive the poisonous cloud in arenas longer than any other class, or raid groups using only Powertech tanks on Master & Blaster to cheese the knockback.

In certain situations, one class will always be better than another class, that's the downside we accept as part of class flavors, but it has to be balanced; e.g. with lower DPS/HPS or by not having a counterplay for other situations.

As I said, you are promoting the idea to destroy what makes each class unique. Choosing a specific class in a specific situation is what makes a game diverse. You would have an argument if certain bosses could not be killed without choosing only specific healers. Same with DPS or tanks.

 

If the problem is that certain healers/DPS/tanks are kicked from those fights, thats another problem entirely.

 

One is a mechanics problem, the other a player created problem.

 

But I find it funny how you say SWTOR has more diversity than WoW, I'd even go as far as saying that post-4.0, SWTOR has the least mechanical diversity of the past 4 years, now that pretty much every class has a leap/escape or other gap closer.

It makes sense for melee classes to have a gap closing ability. But I didnt test all specs on my melees and tanks. But I cant say the same for my ranged classes. As far as the escape goes, it has a very long cooldown. Some classes even have two with the second having only a third of the cooldown of the button for all classes. As far as I know the skill trees offer another escape passive on another ability. But thats only for pvp.

 

The whole balance problem is that in order to balance pvp, you have to balance it against pve and visa versa. You basically have to create twice the spells and skill trees. Otherwise you end up like wow where they ruined both pve and pvp by "balancing" all abilites to offer the same results regardless if its pvp or pve. Which was only a nerf to pve.

 

Werent there completely different skill trees years ago for pvp and pve, making them seperate?

 

I think Im going to start a thread about how people like to see this balance happen.

[Lhancelot]

Thank you for acknowledging we exist. Seriously. My biggest problem with EA/BW right now has been a total lack of communication between the playerbase and the devs/representatives.

 

Having a recurring sub since the inception of the game, I canceled my sub purely due to what I felt was a show of apathy on behalf of this company.

 

A little communication goes a LONG way. Just some recognition, some acknowledgment of the players and their concerns would show that the company actually does care about the customers.

 

The majority of my concerns and many others involves the present situation of PVP.

 

Instead of going through all of those concerns, I urge you to please view a thread we created in the PVP section of the forums that addresses possible improvements that could be made to PVP.

 

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=867066

 

Many people have even signed and commented on this petition, over the months since it has been in existence. You'd think that such a "petition" would have garnered some attention, but it too has been totally ignored.

 

I understand that new content has bugs in it, class balance is impossible, etc. The biggest complaint I have, is that there is a total shutdown of communication over such problems.

 

If anything is improved upon, I hope it includes better interaction between this company and it's playerbase. Only then would I consider paying for a sub again.

[aristrokratie]

Thats exactly my point. To achieve balance you have to make them all stand on the same level which destroys the unique flavor of each class. You wont choose a class, you only choose a playstyle because the things that made a class unique are either all gone or available to every role.

Please explain what you mean by class flavour because in my opinion class flavour comes from the playstyle.

As I said, you are promoting the idea to destroy what makes each class unique. Choosing a specific class in a specific situation is what makes a game diverse. You would have an argument if certain bosses could not be killed without choosing only specific healers. Same with DPS or tanks.

It's not hard to balance numbers out and slightly adjust certain abilities to not completely render anything else useless.

 

Every class should at least be viable for anything suited for their role.

It makes sense for melee classes to have a gap closing ability. But I didnt test all specs on my melees and tanks. But I cant say the same for my ranged classes. As far as the escape goes, it has a very long cooldown. Some classes even have two with the second having only a third of the cooldown of the button for all classes. As far as I know the skill trees offer another escape passive on another ability. But thats only for pvp.

 

There's a huge difference between everyone having acess to about same cd/potent gapclosers and everyone having a leap/teleport.

The first version is balanced the second one is homogenized.

 

The whole balance problem is that in order to balance pvp, you have to balance it against pve and visa versa. You basically have to create twice the spells and skill trees. Otherwise you end up like wow where they ruined both pve and pvp by "balancing" all abilites to offer the same results regardless if its pvp or pve. Which was only a nerf to pve.

So you say the lazy devs should leave pve alone and pvp broken so you can be happy an we can drown in our own misery because pve outweighs pvp?

 

Again there'd be ways to balance things out at least well enough for both aspects of the game to work.

Werent there completely different skill trees years ago for pvp and pve, making them seperate?

Partly. I guess there were cookiecutter builds but all in all what they've done is eliminate hybrid specs and make it easier for noobs to not **** up their skillpoints.

 

We don't need to seperate pve from pvp balance, we just need to alter some mechanics and utilities rather than nerfing damage or heals.

[Ksilvante]

As long as people keep buying tons of stuff off the CM the devs wont change a thing. Why work on bugs when people are happy to lap up the latest bug ridden drivel and thank them for it? They still make the money and loose nothing. I love this game and will play it I'm sure until the yank the servers but perhaps they could do something truly shocking and 'incredible'? Maybe like fixing LONG existing problems before pushing out the new load of shiny.

[Jagganatha]

you can twist it to make it sound like you guys have been doing something to the game any way you want... your frosting is not working anymore. RIP SWTOR 2017 .. ill be back to tell you "I told you so.."

[commanderwar]

Thank you for this letter communications goes a long way

[Fordbird]

First of all, thanks for the post Ben. I'm glad to see that you and your partner's are happy with the success of the game as it is. Your players however, are not. This game is a ghost town compared to what it was even a year ago. We (the players) do not measure success on how much money you and your partner's make on microtransactions. Many of us would like to see more group content such as NEW operations, flashpoint, and heroics. While the single player experience you have provided is entertaining ONCE, it has very little to no replayabilty. I believe many of us would gauge success on a populated game, fun, and choices that actually matter. A good start would be to a address class balance so that when the single player content becomes stale, we have an alternative game mode that is exciting, challenging, and enjoyable. Next would be to introduce NEW group oriented content with the same aforementioned goals in mind. Please save your (our) game before it becomes a solely CM driven game that only caters to those who want to play dolly dress up, or Barbie mansion decorator.

[minearne]

I'm so tired to do olds operations...

Please new content for group ! And really for group, like new operations, new flashpoint ( no tactic please, we're players and not littles childrens who want a cookie !)

Stories are cool, really ! But this is a mmorpg ! So please do something for mmo players, or try to do a new game like kotor 3 why not ? but swtor is still an mmorpg, please don't forget that !

 

thanks

[KevinQCowart]

OP hasn't responded to any of the replies to his original post. That is generally considered to be rude or apathetic among internet forums. I mean, if you are going to start a discourse then give feedback, refine your statements, defend your arguments, and help keep the conversation on topic.

 

So I guess this is just a one way conversation? gotcha

[Cherubel]

OP hasn't responded to any of the replies to his original post. That is generally considered to be rude or apathetic among internet forums. I mean, if you are going to start a discourse then give feedback, refine your statements, defend your arguments, and help keep the conversation on topic.

 

So I guess this is just a one way conversation? gotcha

 

HHAHAHAAHAAAAAAH!!!

 

OP an Co are so out of reach with reality that is it painful!!

 

Ben prob taught that this thread would be the entire forum standing at ovation and clapping til we made thunder with our combined effort!

 

The theme that keeps repeating is :

- Please Bioware give us MMO players more MMO content ( NOT single player crap, but Operations )

- Please Bioware fix the broken stuff ( in both pvp and pve )

- Please Bioware communicate more with us (Musco doesn't care, as a community manager he is just 1000% AWOL)

 

In stead we are getting:

 

- Story crap that is the same for all classes

- More companions that we dont need as we can STILL only send 6 to do stuff at the same time so having more than 7 companions defeats the purpose of having more ( 6 to be on missions and 1 to run around killing everything so while we are alt tabbed coz (them chevos!!)

- More Cartel market s.hit that is JUST some old-*** repainted model of gear that we got ages ago

- Group content getting dumbed down so you dont even HAVE to do it with other people ( I remember Heroics being HARD to do even with 4 other people. now they are totally solo able )

- More solo s.hit coz ye who cares if this is a MMO game ( Thinking about the new Eternal championship. They dumbed everything down so new ppl trying to do end game content is just a PAIN. Enter Eternal Championship where you learn how to move, what to dps, when to dps etc... *Sarcastic clap* for whoever made this joke possible )

- Non existent communication ( NO monthly backslapping state of the game doesn't count as communication as it is only there to promote the next chapter and NOT communicate with the player base. )

[MeNaCe-NZ]

OP hasn't responded to any of the replies to his original post. That is generally considered to be rude or apathetic among internet forums. I mean, if you are going to start a discourse then give feedback, refine your statements, defend your arguments, and help keep the conversation on topic.

 

So I guess this is just a one way conversation? gotcha

 

Want to know what makes it worse?

 

This.

 

2 posts on the forums and rather than reply to the *****torm he started in this thread he felt it more pertinent to reply to a thread about how he feels like he needs a better monitor.

 

I get it , he's trying to come across as he's part of the community or something but sorry one "casual" post isn't going to cut it especially when he blatantly ignores the thread he started.

 

Anyway what ever happened to Bruce? He not around anymore? I ask because this is how Bruce rolled and at the least we got some information on things we didn't know before.

 

Bring back Bruce and his lovely roadmaps perhaps?