How many are looking forward to KOTET?

[Aowin]

Sure, I'm looking forward to KotET. I liked KotFE a lot, though I would have liked more class-specific dialogue and more interactions with companions, romantic and otherwise. I'm sure KotET won't be perfect, but I expect to enjoy it.

 

I'm definitely with you on all of those points. Hopefully, KOTET will improve upon KOTFE via all of those points.

[DarthTyranid]

I am. One expansion closer to getting back to Sith Empire vs Republic.

[Aowin]

I am. One expansion closer to getting back to Sith Empire vs Republic.

 

Truth be told, I don't see how things can go back to the way things were prior to KOTFE. Honestly, this game has never been about Republic vs. Empire anyway. Everything has changed with KOTFE and I don't see Zakuul just disappearing into obscurity. More than likely we are just seeing a new side of Star Wars and I don't think that's going to change.

Edited August 26, 2016 by Aowin

[DarthTyranid]

Truth be told, I don't see how things can go back to the way things were prior to KOTFE. Honestly, this game has never been about Republic vs. Empire anyway. Everything has changed with KOTFE and I don't see Zakuul just disappearing into obscurity. More than likely we are just seeing a new side of Star Wars and I don't think that's going to change.

 

Time bubble. Valkorion uses the force to transport zakuul to another galaxy. Anything bioware can think of in order to get back to the status quo.

[Aowin]

Time bubble. Valkorion uses the force to transport zakuul to another galaxy. Anything bioware can think of in order to get back to the status quo.

 

Well that's the thing -- I don't think BioWare is interested in the "status quo." Especially with how the game keeps alluding to the Outlander becoming the Emperor/Empress of the Eternal Throne, I don't see anything ever going back to the way it was prior to these expansions. If anything, BioWare will just continue to explore new stories and territories. I'm not against the idea of exploring new kinds of story, myself. As I said before, this game was never even about Republic vs. Empire to start. Unless BioWare brings back Ilum World PvP, it never will be.

[devincor]

The problem with your statement is "quality" is a subjective phrase. What is quality to one person is trash to another. Thus, money is the obvious equalizer to determine the success of a product. If enough people buy it and continue to do so, then that lends credibility to the idea that many players are enjoying this new content. Whether that means it is a "quality" product or not is irrelevant.

 

The problem with using money to determine is also subjective. How much money do you consider successful? Did it make more money than launch? Compared to other Expansions? Compared to other MMO's or Single player games? What is the "magic number of dolllars" criteria for the success?

 

Also since this was a new release style, I imagine alot of us tried it out to see if we would like it. Of course there would be a big spike from release of a new expansion but the stretching it out over time has not sit well with some people (yes, i know some people also like it). I don't think you can judge whether this "time release" style of expansion is successful until after KoTET comes out. If the spike matches KotFE or close to it, then I would say it was successful. However if subs maintain status quo or drop it might not be (I can speak for at least 12 subs that will drop (or have dropped already) if the monthly chapter rollout continues - they will wait till the end and sub for one month for all the story. ) Time will tell.

[Nempo]

Time bubble. Valkorion uses the force to transport zakuul to another galaxy. Anything bioware can think of in order to get back to the status quo.

 

Why be so limited? They could take this into a 3 way war with 4 zakuulan classes, 3 way PvP!

A story that weaves between them all.

 

That and, frankly StarWars has NEVER been about republic vs empire, it has always been about the heroes journey, finding your morality in the face of evil. Everything else is a backdrop.

[SerraShar]

Not really..

 

I'm so ''Meh'' about it , that I probably be playing others games that are coming .

 

Especially if they gonna release it chapter 20min per month . I just wait till it's all out and I be watching YT before I do that . Cose if it's the same ''Choices don't matter'' and ''you are all a Jedi Knight'' .....

 

yeah , no way . I may skip it .

 

I still find Rise of the cartel and Shadow of Revan more fun then KOTFE .

 

Already have 8 main in Kotfe , but the remaining 9 toons gonna stay on Ziost and won't move from there to Kotfe .

[LyraineAlei]

Well that's the thing -- I don't think BioWare is interested in the "status quo." Especially with how the game keeps alluding to the Outlander becoming the Emperor/Empress of the Eternal Throne, <snip>

 

Then the expansions will be Knights of The Eternal Paperwork.

 

Not sure that would go over very well, since Emperor/Emperess people spend a lot of time in court and not out doing stuff and being heroic. Lot of Bureaucratic and Political stuff.

 

It's part of why Star Trek Next Generation had expanded the main crew from Captain-Doctor-XO Guy-Engineer Sometimes to Captain-XO-Doctor-Engineer-Security Chief, and iirc, there was a protocol in place for the captain of the ship to not be the one out on field missions unless the XO was remaining on the ship, so Piccard left the Enterprise-D very rarely.

 

Who wants to watch a show for years about Captain Piccard following up on reports of his crew's adventures and him getting "Earl Grey, Hot."

 

Nononono, if our PC's get too high up the chain of command, the less activity they would face. If my Trooper became a General, that would be as high as I could reasonably expect, based on TCW's Generals being active in the field (most were Jedi, but still, they balanced paperwork and reports with field work). If my Trooper became Supreme Chancellor, however, I cannot see any of them sitting around listening to votes all day and BW successfully making a video game about it without the example Trooper maybe losing the position very quickly because Plot Says So.

 

*takes off her soapbox*

 

Paperwork.

[Eshvara]

I am, because there's an Arcann Romance chance, we need a romanceable male force user!

 

 

Pleaseee Bioware!

[Aowin]

...

 

Just because we may become the Emperor/Empress of the Eternal Throne doesn't necessarily mean we won't do anything else. Frankly, I think Valkorian is just biding his time until he can take over our bodies and reclaim the throne himself. That being said, I could see a scenario in which we have someone "rule" while we are out adventuring. There's a lot BioWare could do with this. Lana and Theron are already our self-appointed advisors for the Alliance. Why not the Eternal Throne as well?

 

Arcann certainly wasn't hanging around the Eternal Throne very often and I doubt Vaylin will either. We are already the Commander of the Alliance, which should suggest we shouldn't be doing anything already. Obviously we have to be the center of the story, so BioWare builds the story around why it's necessary that we are at the center of every conflict. I think it could be interesting if we were to become the Emperor/Empress and to see how the Republic and Empire would treat us after we take the Eternal Throne.

Edited August 26, 2016 by Aowin

[Pirana]

So... Skytroopers in Lawn Dwarf skins would be fine then.. yeah?

 

My point? They are NPCs... to be slaughtered on the way to objectives. It does not matter if they are Skytroopers, Giant Man Eating Gerbils, or Robot Cats that have an AoE "death-purr" with a 100% crit rate. In other words, they are fodder for XP, credits, and some semblance of not being able to just stroll immediately to the objective and finish your chapter in 2 minutes.

 

Odd that's what you would come up with, some sort of fetish I take it. If Lawn Dwarfs are what do it for you... Regarding your last point, that is indeed what they're there for. The fact you're pointing that out.... Good Job! We certainly need more of your wit.

 

[Aowin]

Odd that's what you would come up with, some sort of fetish I take it. If Lawn Dwarfs are what do it for you... Regarding your last point, that is indeed what they're there for. The fact you're pointing that out.... Good Job! We certainly need more of your wit.

 

 

In fairness, Star Wars has always been known for its cannon fodder enemies. Stormtroopers. Clone troopers. Droid armies. Etc.

 

Skytroopers are merely remaining faithful to the source material. Not to mention we have to feel "heroic," so there's always going to be trash mobs to kill. What BioWrae can do is make these encounters more engaging rather than just the same "walk 10 meters and kill X."

[HollyUSEC]

I see I wasn't specific enough and everyone thought I was asking for story chapters where we're FORCED to group up. This is not the case. I'd like to see story chapters where we have the OPTION to group up, where we can CHOOSE to bring a friend or two along to enjoy the story together. No, I don't want players to be FORCED to group up for the main story arcs. This game should always have solo options. The big issue with KOTFE, in the minds of a lot of people, is that there was far TOO much emphasis on solo stuff. We need a little of solo, or at least, soloABLE stuff, and a little group stuff.

[Aieranda]

Not really interested in KotET at all.

 

The story for me was massively underwhelming and did not live up to the historical heights of the Bioware storytelling reputation. The original class stories did ok the first time through because it was wrapped in a successful illusion of many other quests and dialogues, but even on repeat play through of those stories now I quickly get bored, log out, and go play something else until I feel like bopping into Star Wars for a little bit again. In particular, the increased companion effectiveness and rates of experience gain have exposed many flaws of the original class stories as well.

 

I have actually tried replaying all of the class stories with multiple genders and alignments in a focused fashion and just get less impressed by the stories every time. Other Bioware titles from the past, even those with less unique story lines (such as one per class here vs only one for the main character in old stuff) still hold much more interest for me from their simple inherent quality and little twists.

 

So then with KotFE, they doubled down on all the things that actually were not the best parts of the original class stories in an effort to make a story driven expansion. This was likely due to a desire to try to entice back players that claimed they left after launch because of story droughts. Unfortunately, they lacked the resources to bring back 8 stories, and instead took us down to just 1 story for any character now. They further took away any reason to need to do anything else to try to get through the story successfully by overpowering companions, reducing the need for gear, and reducing the need for any meaningful use of your palette of skills. They gave passing/minimal efforts at repeatable content (EC) or group content with KotFE, gambling that the story would carry the day. And I suppose, for a lot of people maybe it does. But from watching my guild and my server population evaporate, I'm not convinced it worked. And if KotET is released the exact same way that KotFE was (I don't think it will be), I don't actually think it means KotFE worked. I think it just means they don't really have the capacity to do anything bigger than KotFE at the moment.

 

On top of that, KotFE added little to no incentive to run group content because the rewards are not particularly relevant (worthless hard mode flashpoint loot for example), and they couldn't successfully tease the gear carrot as a treadmill anymore since gear rating for the actual story is 100% unnecessary. Again, if the story is the focus, I guess that's fine, but erasing gear relevance all but guarantees many people only briefly log in to play the story and then hit pause for a month or more. That's even more true if there is nothing remotely approaching a consensus that the story is good or great, or even has universally agreed to replay value. It doesn't, and the complaints are more than just a few haters and trolls; there are many nuanced and well reasoned posts about problems with the story. If it was truly acclaimed, nearly all negative feedback would be on par with mere trolling, but I'd say a noticeable portion has been effectively critical and serious without trolling. And if players aren't logging in daily or weekly to see the splash screen advertisements or open the cartel market, then they aren't buying and using as many CCs, so it's a problem that could become a feedback loop for them. Hence why I again think they'll slightly alter the purchase model for KotET somehow.

 

Then there is level sync. I actually think level sync was necessary, but unfortunately the way it was implemented tripled down on the irrelevance of gear. Some other MMOs that level sync do a percentage of your stats at each sync step based on your endgame gear, so your stats are always slightly better at lower levels if you actually try to max your gear out at endgame. But now, if I wear green 190s or purple 224's, I'm the same as any other level-synced level 65. So if they don't change how level sync works in KotET, that will continue the irrelevance of gearing for nearly all of the game outside of PvP and the extremely limited amount of Nightmare Ops runs that might still exist.

 

KotFE introduces no relevant changes to a stale gameplay style of very old MMO sacred cows of extremely poor AI, regularly respawning, mostly static mobs with no changes of note in the state of the zones. The appearing out of thin air skytrooper spawns were a lame attempt to mix things up, and I think it failed miserably. Some other games have innovated in the directions of events or things happening in the zones besides static mob spawning and wandering. A few of them were released around the same time as SWTOR 1.0, and they have excelled far beyond SWTOR in these regards to offer interest and fun in their zones, rather than the same stale mobs. Unfortunately the SWTOR engine and mob lock system all but guarantee that no major innovation or change is possible along these lines.

 

And on top of it all, my biggest reservation about supporting KotET is that the way SWTOR has gone through its life to this point is sending the message the Star Wars IP will be used to emphasize micro transactions for stylizing your in-game avatar with minimal investment into gameplay features and innovation. To me, the lack of quality in the story and the decline in gameplay compared to my (possibly unreasonable) expectations comes across as lack of reinvestment in the game to actually make it better, in favor of gimmicks and keen marketing. That gives me huge reservations about future SW games to the point where I likely will never again play one without very solid positive feedback from other people I know and respect actually playing and telling me they enjoy it before plunking down my money.

 

For years I supported this game through 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0, but many of my out of game Star Wars friends really couldn't understand it. I think most of it was playing with in-game friends and guildies in endgame content. Now with 4.0, I understand my out of game friends' early boredom with the game when they tried it and left before even getting out of the starter worlds on a single character. Also, when people don't have incentive to group up and play together, I feel it lowers the replay value and enjoyment for a significant portion of the player base that will just walk way. A large segment may stay for story, but I think another large segment that wants group play is hanging by a rapidly fraying thread.

 

With KotFE, I wanted the story. I really did. But it fell short of the quality I expected. I feel like I got duped by the company standing on its marketing credentials of, "Bioware Story Telling!" without the company actually putting the full investment into delivering the "epic" part of that story telling that was always implicitly understood by invoking the Bioware brand.

 

Not again. Not again.

 

 

TL;DR - I'm not looking forward to KotET. I will not be renewing my subscription no matter what KotET markets to us because I no longer believe the marketing and I don't enjoy the game, its story, and the direction the game systems took. Some of this might have been forgivable had the story actually been good. For me, and many people I know, it wasn't. I've lost confidence in the game and its brand due to overuse of the marketing invocation of, "traditional Bioware story telling!" that fell far short of delivering those traditional peaks. My skepticism over this will spread to all future Star Wars and EA game titles until they prove they are about more than just invoking brand reputation.

Edited August 27, 2016 by Aieranda

[Ethern]

KotFE introduces no relevant changes to a stale gameplay style of very old MMO sacred cows of extremely poor AI, regularly respawning, mostly static mobs with no changes of note in the state of the zones. The appearing out of thin air skytrooper spawns were a lame attempt to mix things up, and I think it failed miserably. Some other games have innovated in the directions of events or things happening in the zones besides static mob spawning and wandering. A few of them were released around the same time as SWTOR 1.0, and they have excelled far beyond SWTOR in these regards to offer interest and fun in their zones, rather than the same stale mobs. Unfortunately the SWTOR engine and mob lock system all but guarantee that no major innovation or change is possible along these lines.

Eloquently said. It feels as if swtor' design was stuck in the early 2000's in that regard.

 

Besides fighting mechanics , let's hope KOTET introduces entirely new game systems. Turning in supply crates is not what I define as interesting tasks.

 

I hope reaching 20 influence with Hylo & co will matter

I hope recruiting all those companions or not will have consequences

I hope Vaylin will be romanceable.

I hope for new group content. I like raiding in MMOs but I did not feel enough incentives to do so in Kotfe.

 

So many hopes, but I think I will be disappointed regarding all of them.

[Chiltonium]

largely depends on whats in it. If it's another KOTFE, im done. Done with SWTOR. I've only been coming back for a month every 4 months or sot to catch up on the VERY little content and pvp a bit.

 

If its a real MMO expanions, I will be happy as a fly on poop. However if it's like all their other "expansions," it will have 1-2 days of content, MAYBE an op, a near gear set or two, all in all if you want EVERYTHING out of it, prolly 2-4 weeks of content.

 

If this is a REAL expansion, like a NORMAL mmo, like an EQ expansion worth of content, HNNNGH I will be so happy. If it's another DLC sized one, I'll be sad. Even TESO does bigger DLC, and more often.

[Ralei]

I am, because there's an Arcann Romance chance, we need a romanceable male force user!

 

 

Pleaseee Bioware!

 

lol wot

 

I agree with the male force user romance ( there's already a campaign for Lord Scourge ). I think that the game releasing with FIVE female force user romances and not ONE SINGLE male was a huge FU to the women who play that has yet to be rectified. It sucks a huge nut not to be the default audience in ANY aaa game we play. We are so mad you guys.

 

But Arcann??? Really?? That guy is so ****ed in the head, you'd just end up being his mommy or shrink.

[Ralei]

.

 

That was a well written wall of text that hurt my eyes tremendously.

 

(I need to figure out how to change the background and font on here. This yellow on black is making me go literally cross-eyed.)

[Ralei]

I hope Vaylin will be romanceable.

.

 

I don't understand what the draw of Vaylin or Arcann is. We've watched them do nothing but act and speak like angry small children the entire story. What they have in force power, they lack in IQ.

[Aowin]

...

 

It's actually somewhat strange none of the male LI were force sensitive. Especially since some of the class writers were women, such as the Jedi Consular, I'm not really sure what happened there. I think it was just a major oversight. Scourge would be awesome as a potential romance, but I'm sure new KOTET companions will be introduced as well. There's a chance a male will be force sensitive there.

[Aowin]

I don't understand what the draw of Vaylin or Arcann is. We've watched them do nothing but act and speak like angry small children the entire story. What they have in force power, they lack in IQ.

 

I'm not sure of the appeal for Arcann. With Vaylin, I'd imagine it is some BDSM fetish.

[ekwalizer]

Not looking forward to it. Not in the least.

 

Far too many companions in my selection window. Episodic rollout was bugged to high heaven all but what the last two episodes?

 

By the time the new episode came out, I had forgotten what did in the previous one. This is mainly because the first 9 ... well the whole thing ... was boring as hades. Slogging through each chapter/episode felt more like a chore than an adventure.

 

Little to no replayability. I seriously have exactly zero interest in running any of my alts through this monstrosity.

 

Virtually nothing to do "in the meantime". My four alliance NPCs have been influence capped for months. So, no need to do the dailies.

 

"Choice matter", didn't. Boohoo Karth left. Guess what, he came back as promised months ago.

 

Playing 1-9 full light vs full dark results in a slightly different cutscene.

 

No new OPs, no new FPs. Two new WZs - like 3 years since the previous most recent. The last operations released were with SOR in December 2014. At that time they *promised* to never go "another 14 months" without a new operation. Quickly approaching 24 months.

 

I log in once every 30 days to keep my guild.

Edited August 27, 2016 by ekwalizer

[Ralei]

It's actually somewhat strange none of the male LI were force sensitive. Especially since some of the class writers were women, such as the Jedi Consular, I'm not really sure what happened there. I think it was just a major oversight. Scourge would be awesome as a potential romance, but I'm sure new KOTET companions will be introduced as well. There's a chance a male will be force sensitive there.

 

meh, I think it's just as simple as all the class stories were written with a male in mind and then tweaked to accommodate female afterwards.

[Chiltonium]

Not looking forward to it. Not in the least.

 

Far too many companions in my selection window. Episodic rollout was bugged to high heaven all but what the last two episodes?

 

By the time the new episode came out, I had forgotten what did in the previous one. This is mainly because the first 9 ... well the whole thing ... was boring as hades. Slogging through each chapter/episode felt more like a chore than an adventure.

 

Little to no replayability. I seriously have exactly zero interest in running any of my alts through this monstrosity.

 

Virtually nothing to do "in the meantime". My four alliance NPCs have been influence capped for months. So, no need to do the dailies.

 

"Choice matter", didn't. Boohoo Karth left. Guess what, he came back as promised months ago.

 

Playing 1-9 full light vs full dark results in a slightly different cutscene.

 

No new OPs, no new FPs. Two new WZs - like 3 years since the previous most recent. The last operations released were with SOR in December 2014. At that time they *promised* to never go "another 14 months" without a new operation. Quickly approaching 24 months.

 

I log in once every 30 days to keep my guild.

 

I'd say maybe they learned from all this. But they didnt from Makeb or SoR. In fact they made it WORSE. Makeb was a masterpiece compared to the stuff that came after.