Gearing Changes in Eternal Throne

[Deaconik]

Okay, even given this optimal case, it still wouldn't change the fact that even if a F2P player had the 224 equivalent crafted gear, he still wouldn't be ready for the new Master level of Operations, which used to be Nightmare... because for Nightmare you need those set bonuses, and those cannot be crafted.

 

The main problem I see with this is that currently skilled F2P-players just pick up a pass and go raiding, whereas with 5.0 skilled F2P players are either forced to sub completely, then gear up again through RNG grind, to then ultimately be able to go on Master OPs, or they will simply quit raiding altogether.

 

I fear the latter will happen much more often than the former, thus meaning that a sizeable number of skilled raiders will leave the game for good.

 

Yes, this change is stupid. Though I still don;t understand why they need to have subscriber to level the GC? OK, you need subscriber to get the crates, why not. This way F2P could level and then pay for a month so they can get all the crates(with retro levels, meaning they don't get all the top crates ). I hope they will change this.

 

Edit> you still need to pay to get to level 70, don't you? Or is only story content behind subscriber?

Edited October 18, 2016 by Deaconik

[HomerMorisson]

Oh, don't get me wrong, I would love to have such wall with proper healing/tanking content! Oh boy, how would I love that! I would be in the healing/tanking version of Eternal Championship all day long But right now we have only DPS check which tells nothing about healer or tank.

 

Yeah, we totally agree on that front - Eternal Championship is really only properly enjoyable as a DD... maybe as a Healer still somewhat, using a DD companion... tho then aggro management and general micromanagement of the companion would be a ***** I guess.

 

I for one as a DD thoroughly enjoy Eternal Championship every now and again, still hoping to get that elusive rancor mount one of these days too! =)

But I have pretty much given up hope on getting the 15 minute achievement on my sorc... maybe it would be possible with full 224 gear, but with my still somewhat mixed 216/224 gear and of course a class that doesn't really excel in single target DPS, it is pretty hard to get all ten rounds done so quickly.

 

Doing all ten without dying once, i.e. getting the Deathless Champion achievement, is pretty much a walk in the park for Sorcs, so there's that at least.^^

[Tsetso]

Yes, this change is stupid. Though I still don;t understand why they need to have subscriber to level the GC? OK, you need subscriber to get the crates, why not. This way F2P could level and then pay for a month so they can get all the crates(with retro levels, meaning they don't get all the top crates ). I hope they will change this.

 

Edit> you still need to pay to get to level 70, don't you? Or is only story content behind subscriber?

 

Yes, you need to be a sub to get to 70

[HomerMorisson]

Edit> you still need to pay to get to level 70, don't you? Or is only story content behind subscriber?

 

Good question, how was it handled with KotFE?

I have been a subscriber before it launched back then too, so I don't know from experience... but I guess the entire addon will be locked behind being a sub, thus also the level cap increase to 70?

[tonitirola]

well they are on the last part of killing the game now.

" THE END PHASE "

 

you guys just better switch the game off at all rather then make so many many many people unhappy with your expansions.

looks like i not only stop my sub in december after it runs out.

i think at this point i stop the game at all

[Mevan]

This game is legitimately being run by a cluster of morons. Galactic Command is the worst 'addition' (though let's face it it's just recycling old content so the devs don't have to actually work, with a sprinkle of RNG tedium just to make it even more of a ****** idea) to the game to date.

[Rheshalea]

As a solo player.... what do I even need the best gear for?

Yes, I know there's going to be some different difficulty levels (as in, I can replay KotFE and KotET chapters on a harder difficulty, ....yaaay...) but seriously.

 

The raiders and hardcore PvPers are the ones who need the best gear. Not us more casual players. Why should I be given BiS gear for doing casual stuff? To do the casual stuff slightly faster?

The poor raiders don't even get any new content to use their new gear in. The PvPers don't, either, but at least they'll get a "new" challenge from other well-geared players. (Except when all us scrubs farm PvP for CXP. Apologies in advance for all my derpiness.)

 

Still. It's kinda cool that I, as a casual scrub, will be able to eventually obtain the best gear. BUT I shouldn't. The best gear in the game should absolutely be reserved and rewarded for the most difficult challenges, not because I bothered to run some heroic missions three thousand times. I don't need the gear to own those heroics anyway, so .... WHY?

[Nebdar]

Hey folks,

 

One of the things we talked a bit about on the stream is that there are gearing changes happening with Knights of the Eternal Throne. This thread is meant to give you a few more details on some of the things that will be happening in KOTET, along with being a place that I can address questions or concerns you have with these changes. First, here are the details on how gearing will work at level 70:

• Once you hit level 70, the source of end-game gear will be Command Crates from Galactic Command.
  
• Most activities in the game will earn Command Experience Points (CXP), which will earn you Command Ranks. Each time your Command Rank increases, you earn a Command Crate.
  
• The higher your Command Rank, the better gear that will drop from your Command Crates.
  
• The highest difficulty Operations and Uprisings, along with Ranked Warzones are intended to be the fastest ways to earn CXP. This means they are the fastest way to get the best gear.
  
• Both PvP and PvE gear will come from Command Crates. Their gear is now shared as Expertise is being removed (head to this thread to discuss PvP/PvE itemization specifically).
  
• Gear will no longer drop from bosses as all gear will come from Command Crates. All cosmetic/unique drops will still remain on those bosses (Stronghold Decorations, Wings of the Architect, etc.).
  
• Players will be able to craft comparable item level gear without set bonuses.
  

That should cover most of the basic changes coming to itemization in KOTET. I know this is a lot to take in, so please ask any questions you may have in this thread and I will work to answer what I can!

 

-eric

 

While Idea that do anything you like and get best gear/rewards is nice and good change but:

1.if you increased the amount the CXP so that highest difficulty Operations and Uprisings, along with Ranked Warzones will grant more CXP then:

a) there will be people that will achieve the highest rank to fast and will be upset because there will be nothing NEW to do

b) once again the ppl that love to have the best gear available MUST do the activities that they had DONE many times AGAIN... to get the best gear as fast as they can

c)the difference(both in gear and social attitude) between those that do the solo easy/moderate content group/hard mode content will rise, the greater the disparity the greater the social tensions

d)F2P and Preferred will have no incentive to help to get faster queue pops for end game group activities

e)The RNG in Command Crates ia also very troubling (trading, bound to legacy may help to solve those) but i also creates an exploit mechanism via the disintegrate - you disintegrate everything that you get in crates till you reach like lvl50-75, because you won't use the 208 gear when you know you will get 220 for example.

 

2.I think that by design you want to that every player spent at least 6-9 months of getting the gear before you can launch some new expansion/new content so in your best interest is:

a)make all Galactic Command activities (aside from daily bonus) give the same amount of CXP regardless of the lvl of the difficulty(per avg time spent to complete H2,FP,OPs,Wz,GSF) as much the same as possible so

*that everyway is the fastest way to lvl up,

*so the Veterans PvP or PvE doesn't have to do the same stuff again.

*Now everyone can do everything, the content that some ppl skipped because it didn't give them raid PvP gear or enough credits so everything will be viable this time

b)The same amount of CXP will also extend the grind time for everyone so there will be less players with ' hey i done everything and there isn't anything new to do'

c) The higher difficulty lvl should provide better cosmetic gear/items/decorations but should ensure that GC lvl progression will be the same as other player who played the same amount of time but different activity

 

3.What about the F2P and preferred players... what can they do when they stay at lvl65 or at lvl70:

*they can't earn credits because the credit cap

*they can't earn commendation ,so if you increase the price of items that can be bought now with commendations over the 200k, 350k limit whats the point them staying here?

*if the materials necessary to craft gear will be in content, that will require certain lvl of gear(they can't obtain)or the price on GTN will be above the credit cap

Edited October 18, 2016 by Nebdar

[DarthSalt]

... are y'all intentionally trying to drive away the playerbase?

[SplitBolt]

... are y'all intentionally trying to drive away the playerbase?

 

Well my car has a nav system and it's telling me to get off the next exit...............

[tummiswtor]

All we wanted is a new ops. Still using old content to get gear...

[valeita]

These changes are totally mental. How you ever thought that rewarding the best gear from doing heroics or GSF (you don't even need gear to do GSF since it's totally unrelated to it) was a good idea? Say goodbye to the few left from the raiding community. GG BW. Really well done =.=

[mydocs]

What will happen to the Odessen Alliance Crates with 5.0? Will they still exist? I still haven't all Sets complete.

[Nebdar]

Please add additional button 're roll the crate content'

[AussieAlan]

OK Eric let me see if I get this right.

 

Doing anything earns CXP, the higher your level the better the gear, GC is the only way to get gear post 70, so I know I am an ok player, but not good enough for ops, I can spend 100s of hours running heroics redoing chapters, never do ops, and I can still end up with the highest grade armour with set bonuses?.

 

Good, I always hated you could get example 220 off hand with comms, but not 220 main with comms.

 

So if gearing comes from GC, then what are level 70s to do with left over comms?.

[Elothan]

OK Eric let me see if I get this right.

 

Doing anything earns CXP, the higher your level the better the gear, GC is the only way to get gear post 70, so I know I am an ok player, but not good enough for ops, I can spend 100s of hours running heroics redoing chapters, never do ops, and I can still end up with the highest grade armour with set bonuses?.

 

Good, I always hated you could get example 220 off hand with comms, but not 220 main with comms.

 

So if gearing comes from GC, then what are level 70s to do with left over comms?.

 

No more comms at all.

[psychocamel]

I would have liked to see some more details on the changes for 5.0, but I guess we all have to be a little more patient.

A few things come to mind reading the posts and watching the live stream.

 

I for one am very happy about the removal of the data crystals. Somehow I always hit the caps at moments when I received the most crystals, wasting quite a few of them. I'd rather have more utility for my credits instead of multiple other currencies with restricted use. The only 2 things I spend credits on at the moment are repair bills and the odd GTN purchase.

 

I can somewhat understand the restrictions on the FTP'ers, but I would suggest removing the need to buy weekly passes (OPS/ GFS etc). I believe they will be restricted enough not being able to use GXP combined with the credit cap. This would however give old Subs the incentive to maybe keep playing, thus keeping Guilds alive as well as keeping server population up.

 

I am worried about the RNG loot from the command crates. The example shown in the livestream showed a lot of Items in one crate, but it would really help a lot if some more information of the content of the crates could be shared by Eric. It might also take away some of the anger/frustration in this rapidly growing thread .

 

I hope there will be some more changes for 5.0, specifically to Strongholds, Crafting and Conquest, to make those parts of the game more viable again.

Edited October 18, 2016 by psychocamel

[LordCamTheGreat]

@EricMusco

If the loot from the crates is entirely random, why not have a means by which you can trade in armour/weapons another class/spec might use for tokens which can then be used to purchase the item you do need?

[LordBeeDoO]

Hi all, certainly latest news have brought in some controversy, however I think it is important to clear our heads and come out with something constructive. So I will try to formulate some ideas:

 

1) Unification of PVE and PVP gear - I think Expertise system and gear separation was fundamentally flawed concept, the thing is that the stats on SM and NIM level gear are closer since 4.0, and especially in non-ranked PVP it will not be crucial.

 

2) However, for ranked PVP I think that not only Valor, but also gear rating should gate the access.

 

3) Total RNG of gear drops is strange, especially with TANK/DPS and DPS/HEAL classes - if it at least follows the Discipline, it would be something ... otherwise it will be absolutely annoying. Some balance of quantity of loot drops and rng range must be found. Otherwise it will be totally screwed.

 

4) As the loot from operations is no longer a thing and operations will be run for XP and vanity items - new and interesting vanity rewards from bosses should be added.

 

5) BALANCE of operations should be carefully tuned before release. The situation after 1.4 revamp was that some OPS are primitive in HM while some are similar to NIM difficulty (Master Blaster, Revan) and it is due to bugs, unbalanced encounters. The bosses with annoying RNG and unbalanced mechanics should be fixed.

 

6) Make NIM (master) ops slightly more accessible. The fact is that the raiding community is already reduced. Hard core raiders became minority. I suggest that NIM should be about mechanics, not the numbers - now without full 224 or overprized NIM crystal, you have no chance. All NIM mechanics should stay, but bosses HPs and damage should be equal to HM. (Yes, beat me for being crybaby, whiner, etc. ...) Now NIM ops are interesting content, but for zero audience and there is difference between challenge and desperation and frustration.

 

7) Traditional plead... make also 4-man content on the NIM level (even if it means making new difficulty of flashpoints by tuning bosses numbers up...)

 

Thanks for attention :-)

[AlienEyeTX]

I never cared about having the best PvE gear in game. I simply don't have the time to grind it out. PvP gear was easy enough to get while playing short sessions over time. Now it's going to take forever to grind out decent gear, getting a few points here and there and hoping for the right boxes to drop from command.

 

It is a mistake to remove PvP gear. I'll give it a shot, but I suspect I'll just get constantly stomped and that won't be fun. PvP has enough problems and this one may just be what drives me away from it.

[Engeopathichero]

Bunch of questions here,

 

Will harder ops give more CXP? Or will EV/KP HM give the same as say Ravagers HM?

 

Along those lines, do you get CXP only for completely finishing an Operation? Or is it tied per lockout used (i.e. each boss you down gives CXP)?

 

Are SM Ops still going to be available at 50+ with bolster? Or are they now going to be strictly 70? And will the SM Ops still be bolstered even at 70? Or do you now need gear to get into ops in the first place?

 

When you get gear tokens, are they going to be tied to that particular advanced class? Or will they be tokens that can be turned in to get gear for all advanced classes and specs? In other words can you help gear characters across your legacy grinding CXP on one character? Or is legacy gear now obsolete?

 

What kind of rotation are we looking at for which days are which? Given that many raid teams have set nights to raid, will this change on a schedule that raid teams/guilds can follow and plan around?

 

Hypothetically, if this isn't ideal for the player base, is there any way in place to go back to token drops? I'm interested to see where this goes, but if it turns out to not be a good idea will we be seeing reversions back to the way things are currently/have been?

 

How will conquests be changed by GC? Will they stay the same or will they be somehow tied into GC? As an example, will completing the conquest on a character give them CXP? Or will they only get CXP based on what they did to finish conquest?

 

Sorry for the massive amount of questions, as a guild officer I really want to get some of these questions answered for my guild. I'm very interested to see how this turns out. Sounds like an interesting system.

[DarthValtrix]

Removing expertise from the game? Please... please change your minds. This just ruined all my excitement for this expansion in one post.

[Simpanx]

Just adding my two cents to get the community heard, the RNG boxes is really bad Bioware. As already suggested, make at least the gear (set bonus gear that is) not random.

[noversis]

Thanks, Eric, for clarifying this. Now I have finally closure with SWTOR and can deinstall since progression raiding is now officially dead.

[AlatarTheGrey]

Yes, thanks for all the clarifications. I've been playing regularly since beta - and now I'm out. These gearing changes are clearly designed to condition players towards the cartel market, as opposed to the way gear was earned thru missions (Ops, Heroics, FPs, PvP etc) from the games inception. Anyone remember when you could get a modifiable gear, including an offhand, from a lvl 15 heroics on Dromond Kaas or Coruscant? Guess that doesn't fit the CM marketing strategy either.

 

When you can't even be a loyal subscriber and earn your gear for your toons and have to deal with random pack for each alt instead of gearing in a planned way with your guild mates - no thanks.

 

I'll find a new hobby a better use for my money.