Gearing Changes in Eternal Throne

[Quraswren]

Let's take a moment to understand why they have RNG loot and maybe even a weekly cap of CXP. Obiously they want us to stay subscribed for longer as it takes more time to get full gear. This is due to they not having enough "new" content to engage players in anyway, hence they need to implement stupid restrictions like those in order to slow down our progression.

SNIP...

 

I ahve no doubt that is why random gear drops is being used.

 

The problem is when big business gets in the way of good gaming. Even though we were running old end game content. It was good gaming expereince because of the gear system. You could plan an evening. Some groups loot rules are designed to plan out gear to make the group strong in areas before others. Our loot system was a suicide Kings. Spread loot out evenly and go to OPS where people wanted certain things.

 

While old content. The experience was entertaining. There was fun in knowing our goals in raiding.

 

Big business moves in. Hinders fun and entertainment and kills off any planning while making sure to add in a carrot on a stick element that you may not ever reach (thats in so many words is exactly what BW said about random gear).

 

We know why BW put in random gear. We just cannot be sure why such a stupid design was used when they have used it before to the detriment of the game. They cannot be that short sighted nor think at this point gamers forgot and I know they cannot really think random gear was somehow a good idea.

 

This was done for business. Not to make the game more fun or entertaining and thats unacceptable.

[guyerg]

That's a BS line, Bioware bolstered the story mode hero's in 4.0 so you can literally go in with all green level 40 stuff and be up and ready to murder whatever scandalously easy boss you come across in the group finder.

 

I said raids not flashpoints but thanks for playing

[KnightOfTython]

Since any activity including solo game play will give players CXP most randoms (70-80%) will not join any raid.

The reality is that the majority of players is fine to work for their CXP and end game gear solo even if it takes much longer.

 

In other words there is no motivation for any group play and it's common sense that this will kill any MMO on a long run. I highly doubt that SWTOR will still be successful with single player subscribers only.

 

How can anyone in gaming industry believe that this strategy is helpful for MMO revenue?

It will be a financial disaster.

[robertthebard]

That's a BS line, Bioware bolstered the story mode hero's in 4.0 so you can literally go in with all green level 40 stuff and be up and ready to murder whatever scandalously easy boss you come across in the group finder.

 

You know, this right here is doing more harm to end game raiding than anything BW or EA could ever do. It's people just like you that pushed me into static groups that don't pug extras if we need 'em. If our group isn't on, we didn't raid, because we didn't need the "elite" to run them. I've watched fully geared toons fail so hard in PuG raids, all the while crying about someone else's gear that it's not even funny, or, ironically, maybe it really is funny.

[Tanitha]

This was done for business. Not to make the game more fun or entertaining and thats unacceptable.

 

If a game is not fun and entertaining, it's bad business. They are shooting themselves, not just in the foot, but in the heart and brain at the same time. Unless the whole 5.0 with RNG is scrapped, and something that has some new content is put in WITHOUT any gearing changes, the game is dead.

 

Raiding: how can you even start HM even S&V if your RNG is soo bad, you can't even get a full 1st tier set bonus, let alone minmaxing gear? How the hell am I supposed to play a mara/sent with 120% accuracy, too much alacrity and little crit (using current setup as example)?

PvP: ranked is going to be hell, as most people won't have the high end set bonus, let alone do some minmaxing.

 

BW/EA is lazy. Instead of concentrating on new content, they are giving us an RNG system which, judging by the CM and Alliance crates drops, is going to be ABSOLUTELY frustrating. 4 months into this idiotic system, and I guarantee raiders won't be able to gear up properly (I shudder to think of trying to minmaxing gear for tanks, changing their mods depending on boss fights), PvPers won't be able to do proper ranked...

 

And all of this because BW/EA want to milk the fly (as a certain saying goes), instead of producing content that people will like. And since 4.0, it's been hard getting new raiders because people don't want to put in the time and effort required to do harder content. Because leveling is sooooo easy, that people DON'T even learn the basics of their class.

 

We will have to grind the same old stuff we've been doing for the past 2-4 years to get gear, without the assurance that we will get the gear we need.

 

I don't understand why code something so awful instead of producing a new ops, or a new event, or something that people will like.

[aghori_Jedi]

Musco man , you said u would b answering us

you really need to clarify these 2 points : (1) will gear with set bonus have armoring extractable ?

(2) [ assuming armoring is moddable ] can I use (example) a GC rank 50 set I got on a level 70 shadow put mods to legacy armor and sended to my level 70 with Level 10 GC ,and be able to use it ?

[Zulufoxtrot]

Because RNG worked out so well in 1.0 and everyone loved it.

[BigDumbViking]

You say you can pull the mods/enhancements/armoring from the gear... but how do you get the mods/enhancements/armoring to help min max?

 

Do you have to grind 500 pieces of gear to hope you get enough duplicates to min/max your gear?

 

Did anyone in your office step up and say that this is a terrible idea?

 

....

 

Why didn't you listen to that person?

[ZambedosNB]

High level raiders such as myself do not care what gear you have. [...] Let anyone that wants the gear get it. What is not ok from a raider's perspective is the grind required for us to get the gear we need to get into the content we want to get into. This system, in its current form, makes the grind to get back into the content we have been participating in (and to be honest the only content we really want to be playing) astronomical. Most of us who raid at a high level raid one night a week due to real life constraints.

[...] Non raiders can get to their desired content in this system and they can play their own way. Raiders such as myself won't be able to.

 

Agree totally. Open up the ability to gear to more play styles. Don't shift the type of player who can get the best gear from raiders to grinders (I'd consider myself both). Allow multiple styles of play to all in their own way reward the best gear and multiple play styles will be happy with the system. Sure, there will always be those who are unhappy that their style of play isn't the only style that gives the top tier gear but meh. I'm much less concerned with a few elitist tears than I am that the general play style of a raider is being put in jeopardy by the new system. I dps at the nightmare level, but I would like to get into tanking and healing at least at the hard mode level as well. Putting too much of a grind before being able to try interesting raid content (since most mechanics were removed from SM) on a new spec is not good for the end game PVE community.

[casirabit]

That's a BS line, Bioware bolstered the story mode hero's in 4.0 so you can literally go in with all green level 40 stuff and be up and ready to murder whatever scandalously easy boss you come across in the group finder.

 

Then pray tell why half the players on the fleet were complaining over the weekend they couldn't kill a boss in a "solo" flashpoint and fussing that they couldn't do it without their "god" droid.

 

I heard this over the weekend so I am guessing they finding out it not as easy as you say. If they can't do a solo flashpoint I am willing to bet they can't do a hardmode flashpoint without quitting and saying it is too hard.

[EricMusco]

1) Will all armor-type gear that drops from command crates have set bonus or will you need to progress to a certain Command level before you can start getting those?

2) Will the bolster remain in SM ops? Will level 50 players still be able to enter SM ops?

3) Currently if you're going into an operation there is about a 5/8 chance of getting a piece of gear, since the ratio of piece to players is 5:8. Can we expect anything near 5/8th of a Command crate for completing an op or is it much more/less? I'd imagine it will be tweaked some since before you could do SM ops all day long and not be working towards 224s and in this system you would be. However, if you can do two complete HM operations and still not get a single gear drop, I'd say the system is failing. While this can happen in the current system the odds are against it happening and there is also the chance for a better than average result: getting 2(+) pieces of gear from two ops. A sort of bell-curve type scenario whereas this new system is much more linear.

 

First off, keep the posts coming everyone! I am still going to try to answer as many questions as I can and I am continuing to pass your feedback on to the dev team. Now, for your questions:

 

1) You can get gear that has your set bonus as early as the very first Command Crate you receive at Command Rank 1.

2) Bolster will still exist in SM. If someone under level 70 is in an Operation they can still loot gear from the boss as they did before. It is when they hit level 70 that they will begin earning CXP instead towards Command Crates.

3) That is a fairly complicated question to answer, so, a few caveats. First, how many Command Crates you would earn from playing an Operation, for example, is dependent on a few factors. What is your current Command Rank, what difficulty is the Op, how many players are in the Op, etc. It is faster to level from Command Rank 1-2 than it will be at higher Command levels. The team is still turning the dials on CXP, but as we get closer to launch I will try to provide a more exact example of how much CXP you could earn in an Op/how many Crates.

 

-eric

[Sareeph]

I said raids not flashpoints but thanks for playing

 

The GF Op of the day (Raid) is bolstered. Are you really playing?

[Ligurio]

3) That is a fairly complicated question to answer, so, a few caveats. First, how many Command Crates you would earn from playing an Operation, for example, is dependent on a few factors. What is your current Command Rank, what difficulty is the Op, how many players are in the Op, etc. It is faster to level from Command Rank 1-2 than it will be at higher Command levels. The team is still turning the dials on CXP, but as we get closer to launch I will try to provide a more exact example of how much CXP you could earn in an Op/how many Crates.

 

-eric

 

Can you tell us if we earn CXP by killing a boss in an operation or do we have to actually finish the operation ?

[Tsetso]

The GF Op of the day (Raid) is bolstered. Are you really playing?

 

All the SM Ops are bolstered

[TUXs]

First off, keep the posts coming everyone! I am still going to try to answer as many questions as I can and I am continuing to pass your feedback on to the dev team. Now, for your questions:

 

1) You can get gear that has your set bonus as early as the very first Command Crate you receive at Command Rank 1.

2) Bolster will still exist in SM. If someone under level 70 is in an Operation they can still loot gear from the boss as they did before. It is when they hit level 70 that they will begin earning CXP instead towards Command Crates.

3) That is a fairly complicated question to answer, so, a few caveats. First, how many Command Crates you would earn from playing an Operation, for example, is dependent on a few factors. What is your current Command Rank, what difficulty is the Op, how many players are in the Op, etc. It is faster to level from Command Rank 1-2 than it will be at higher Command levels. The team is still turning the dials on CXP, but as we get closer to launch I will try to provide a more exact example of how much CXP you could earn in an Op/how many Crates.

 

-eric

Eric, will the command boxes drop one or 2 pieces of gear, like the Heroic loot boxes do?

 

Will you be able to select the box you want for your AC, like with Heroics?

 

What happens when you reach command rank 50, and still don't have that piece you need? What about when you hit 75? 100?

 

RNG gearing is a terrible idea Eric...Whatever dials they're still tuning, have them turn them OFF. This will not help this game in any way. I am all for making gearing easier for players, but RNG top tier gear, is not the way to do it...

[EricMusco]

Can you tell us if we earn CXP by killing a boss in an operation or do we have to actually finish the operation ?

 

If you are in an Operation you will get CXP for the following things:

• Killing any enemy which is "Gold" or higher (this includes any bosses).
  
• Killing the boss will grant each person in the Operation a BoP consumable which grants a burst of CXP.
  
• If you queued through group finder, you will receive bonus CXP for completing the Op.
  

[KnightOfTython]

First off, keep the posts coming everyone! I am still going to try to answer as many questions as I can and I am continuing to pass your feedback on to the dev team.

 

First off, thanks for reading this thread and answering some of our questions.

 

But why do you guys think that CXP speed is enough motivation for majority of players to run OPs?

Even if we all got our end gear by soloing, for what type of content do we need it?

 

Please explain why players would run any OP if there are no rewards anyway?

Fun is an argument for 2-3 weeks but reality is that players need more motivations to feel rewarded , so what is the point for going into OPs? I just don't get it from MMO perspective.

[IanArgent]

Eric, will the command boxes drop one or 2 pieces of gear, like the Heroic loot boxes do?

 

Will you be able to select the box you want for your AC, like with Heroics?

 

What happens when you reach command rank 50, and still don't have that piece you need? What about when you hit 75? 100?

 

RNG gearing is a terrible idea Eric...Whatever dials they're still tuning, have them turn them OFF. This will not help this game in any way. I am all for making gearing easier for players, but RNG top tier gear, is not the way to do it...

 

Well, as a "soft" anti-RNG mechanism, the implication of "multiple crates per op run" isn't terrible. Combine with a robust "discard and draw" mechanism and more availability of end-game statted gear via crafting and the RNG will be more cosmetic and less impactful.

 

But that requires that everyone who goes into an op comes out with multiple boxes, and that the "draw and discard" method is either 1 to 1 or close to. If, at the end of an op, each person playing it is not guaranteed to get at least one desired gear piece, then there's a problem. (And, yes, I know this is a problem under the current system. I've ranted about it before - and the Galactic Command system is supposed to make gearing for casual players easier, right?)

[micnevv]

First off, keep the posts coming everyone! I am still going to try to answer as many questions as I can and I am continuing to pass your feedback on to the dev team. Now, for your questions:

 

Why do you believe that this system will work for PVP? Most games are moving away from gear stats in PVP and providing everyone with same stats to even the playing field.

 

This change goes in the complete and opposite direction of that design idea. As it stands this GC system alienates many players like myself who also play several PVP alts to suit the needs of my group.

 

The change also makes the gear gap between players even worse than it currently is.

 

Edit : Additionally is there a bad luck system in place to negate the fact that people may not receive their relics or set pieces.

Edited October 19, 2016 by micnevv

[Sareeph]

All the SM Ops are bolstered

 

True though I haven't seen any SM Op's forming in Genchat that wasn't an Op of the Day.

[unibim]

Will there be any weekly cap?

 

pls say no

Edited October 19, 2016 by unibim

[Tsetso]

True though I haven't seen any SM Op's forming in Genchat that wasn't an Op of the Day.

 

You have a point.

[Sareeph]

Well, as a "soft" anti-RNG mechanism, the implication of "multiple crates per op run" isn't terrible. Combine with a robust "discard and draw" mechanism and more availability of end-game statted gear via crafting and the RNG will be more cosmetic and less impactful.

 

But that requires that everyone who goes into an op comes out with multiple boxes, and that the "draw and discard" method is either 1 to 1 or close to. If, at the end of an op, each person playing it is not guaranteed to get at least one desired gear piece, then there's a problem. (And, yes, I know this is a problem under the current system. I've ranted about it before - and the Galactic Command system is supposed to make gearing for casual players easier, right?)

 

It can not be that because if it is, then people will just discard the lower gear that they could use to climb the CXP ladder quicker.

Edited October 19, 2016 by Sareeph

[myrdinn]

True though I haven't seen any SM Op's forming in Genchat that wasn't an Op of the Day.

 

It has been a bit (a couple of months), but, during the first month of DvL I did see non-OotD SMs form on the imperial side on Shadowlands (but, not on the pub side). Mainly folks getting their DvLs through the DvL bosses (of which, I'm thankful they let on a primarily solo player pug in).

 

And, here I was thinking I would not have to put up with Ops again. Dangit.Too many alts, too little playtime, and dangit.

[BigDumbViking]

1) You can get gear that has your set bonus as early as the very first Command Crate you receive at Command Rank 1.

 

Can? So there is a less than 100% chance of getting an actual piece of gear from these boxes?