RNG is perfect for SWTOR and I'll explain why.

[StupidWiz]

It will truly be a eye-opening day for you once you realize you do not represent "99%" of players in this game. Honestly, if that were truly the case no one would be playing this game right now. Again, if the experience this game offers is not to your liking, you have no one but yourself to blame for sticking around. Any rational person who is not having fun would have left years ago.

I wish more people on this forum realized this.

 

I'm playing this android game by S*****y, Walking Dead: RTS. In that game, the chance to get a five star character with $100 worth pulls is astronomically low, and many people on their forums were (and still are) cussing, and threatening to uninstall and even sue them because they felt that their $500 were just wasted to a lot of three stars, that they've been scammed by the greedy developer. I uninstalled the game like a year ago and was really sure that the game wouldn't last three months. A year later, now, the game is still kicking and even having a lot of new features.

 

My point is, just because you don't enjoy playing the game, not pleased with the new system, doesn't mean a lot of people feel the same way like you do. Like Aowin said, RNG is going to stay, so either move on and play other games, or stay sub to adapt. Your choice.

Edited December 18, 2016 by StupidWiz

[MeNaCe-NZ]

Like Aowin said, RNG is going to stay, so either move on and play other games, or stay sub to adapt. Your choice.

 

Or continue to voice our opinions as we are doing in the hope BWA listens and makes changes accordingly.

 

A person who only puts options of "adapt or quit" - no one should EVER listen to a person like this.

[Eli_Porter]

Not having the system Legacy based means that while it's difficult to gear alts with T2/3 sets, it's easier to gear them with T1 set armorings because of how much faster you get crates in the T1 area (1-90). Also, with the new system introduced in 5.1, T2/T3 armorings will be made accessible via Operations which means that your alt's CRank isn't that important.

 

So the system does cater to those who play heavily on their mains, but it doesn't actually discourage you from playing your alts as much as people think.

Edited December 18, 2016 by Eli_Porter

[AlatarTheGrey]

This is good as BioWare still understands the importance of slowing down gear progression. Allow people to get the BiS gear too soon and then there will be even more complaints that there is nothing to do. .

 

Clueless.

 

This game in it's prime had both the excellent class story lines for people who wanted solo PVE (and early expansions like Makeb and SoR) as well as PvP and Ops we could run with our guildies. MMO gearing needs to be predictable, and reward groups playing together and cooperating. The guild masters tried to talk to BW about the lack of new group content (Ops and PvP) years ago and they didn't listen. No it's not only that but a gearing system that prevents gearing alts so we can fill different roles groups.

 

There is nothing "good" about it as entire raid groups of people head toward the door.

 

If this game only wants to be a single player game like KOTOR then go ahead and rebrand already. With the KOTFE and KOTET cut scene fest it's close enough already.

[LordArtemis]

The point is no game is perfect. There will always be that one person who isn't pleased with something. The fact is many players will continue to play regardless of the recent changes. Some in this thread would have you believe the entire game is leaving, and that's just not reality. Most players are content and will continue to play the game.

 

RNG is here to stay. That's not going away. I know that's unsettling for some on these boards, but that's the new norm in SWTOR. BioWare is making tweaks and additions, but they aren't going to outright remove anything.

 

Well, again, to be fair, you really cant state that RNG is here to stay with any reputable finality. It is likely, certainly, but I would assume you know as much about Bioware's intentions as the next person.

 

Same thing was said in this very forum for 4 player heroics, quicktravel cooldowns, sprint, companion strength, comms/crystals, lack of F2P, lack of cash market, cosmetics, space combat, housing, etc.

 

There is no way to determine, with any finality, what will remain and what will go in the life of this game. Even Bioware has failed to read the tea leaves on that one from time to time.

Edited December 18, 2016 by LordArtemis

[WhiteOsprey]

75% of the player base left because they finished the story and the only endgame at launch was one broken operation. 75% of the player base did not leave because of RNG.

 

SWTOR has plenty of endgame content now unlike at launch. It may not be new for you, but it's new for plenty of newcomers and late adopters. KOTFE was the most successful expansion SWTOR has had and KOTET is very much following that same model. I don't think BioWare has anything to worry about, considering raiders left years ago and were only a small portion of the player base. Any raiders still here are beating a dead horse and hoping for content that isn't coming.

 

Galactic Command is here to stay. All you can expect or tweaks and alterations. Don't expect features to just be removed since a vocal minority does not agree with the system.

 

Again with this vocal minority nonsense. How do you know that may I ask? It could be argued more convincingly the exact opposite. If it was just a vocal minority why on earth would bioware be in panic mode trying to bandaid this mess so quickly after its release? It's far more likely that they have received overwhelmingly negative feedback about the system and that's why they are rushing to change it.

 

Also this Bioware line of "kotfe was our most successful expansion ever" seems pretty suspect to me. If that truly was the case why did they abandon the format with the very next expansion?

Edited December 18, 2016 by WhiteOsprey

[Aowin]

Again with this vocal minority nonsense. How do you know that may I ask? It could be argued more convincingly the exact opposite. If it was just a vocal minority why on earth would bioware be in panic mode trying to bandaid this mess so quickly after its release? It's far more likely that they have received overwhelmingly negative feedback about the system and that's why they are rushing to change it.

 

Also this Bioware line of "kotfe was our most successful expansion ever" seems pretty suspect to me. If that truly was the case why did they abandon the format with the very next expansion?

 

The forums comprise a minority of the player base. People who tend to come to forums are those who have complaints or would like to coerce the studio to their will. These types of players are never a good indication of whether a "majority" is being represented or not as there will always be those who complain.

 

BioWare isn't in any "panic mode." They are making minor adjustments to provide more certainty. If they were truly in a "panic mode," they'd just get rid of Galactic Command and go back to 4.0 progression.

 

KOTFE had more concurrent subscribers than any other SWTOR expansion. Monthly chapters were received with mixed feelings, so BioWare decided to go another direction.

[Wayshuba]

75% of the player base left because they finished the story and the only endgame at launch was one broken operation. 75% of the player base did not leave because of RNG.

 

SWTOR has plenty of endgame content now unlike at launch. It may not be new for you, but it's new for plenty of newcomers and late adopters. KOTFE was the most successful expansion SWTOR has had and KOTET is very much following that same model. I don't think BioWare has anything to worry about, considering raiders left years ago and were only a small portion of the player base. Any raiders still here are beating a dead horse and hoping for content that isn't coming.

 

Galactic Command is here to stay. All you can expect or tweaks and alterations. Don't expect features to just be removed since a vocal minority does not agree with the system.

 

Keep going around with those blinders on. The world always looks better with those rose colored glasses.

 

I was here since early beta (2009 to be exact). The two biggest complaints back in v1.x era were lack of end game content and the terrible RNG in Ops and with Battlemaster boxes. Go back and read a bunch of the TORtanic articles and follow the comments section. I can definatively say you are 100% incorrect in your assessment and it almost caused this game to close.

 

That being said we have a similar situation today. Lack of fresh end game content - sure there is a bit of it now, but it has now all been played to death over the last two plus years. RNG with this system is even worse than what was in the 1.0 era.

 

Lastly, you are without doubt in the minority here. Two livestreams within two weeks of launch all dealing with band aids to the system and, for the first time in the games history, a survey issued by EA. Those are a clear pattern of indicators that this is costing them financially in subs, otherwise none of this would be happening.

[Tsillah]

Again with this vocal minority nonsense. How do you know that may I ask? It could be argued more convincingly the exact opposite. If it was just a vocal minority why on earth would bioware be in panic mode trying to bandaid this mess so quickly after its release? It's far more likely that they have received overwhelmingly negative feedback about the system and that's why they are rushing to change it.

 

Also this Bioware line of "kotfe was our most successful expansion ever" seems pretty suspect to me. If that truly was the case why did they abandon the format with the very next expansion?

 

He doesn't know anything he says. He just decides it's true and then treats it as facts. Now, it doesn't mean, he never makes any good points and I certainly don't agree with him but any good points he may have tend to get lost in his arrogance that comes from him thinking he's right and knows what's going on. He doesn't know what's in BWA"s mind anymore than any of us do, but he insists he does. He's not a telepath, he's just easily convinced of his own deductions.

 

He calls RNG perfect for SWTOR. Some people may agree with him and others don't. So why say it's perfect for SWTOR if it chases a good amount of players away? BWA are doing very uncharateristic things like sending out surveys, adding, livestreams and making a new plan in a matter of weeks to be released the next month. BWA has never been this quick. Clearly, too many people unsubbed and that's simply not good for the game. Love or hate the RNG, if it drives too large a percentage of people away it factually is not good for the game.

 

And nobody can really disagree that BWA have been behaving very strangely the last two weeks. I say strange because it's unusual, not because what they're doing is a bad thing. On the contrary, I think they should've done such things much sooner and more often.

 

I suppose they want to go into the holidays not feeling too horrible so now they can tell themselves they've done their best to accomodate us and hope that come January things aren't as dire as they were. Maybe it won't be, maybe it will. It seems that a good number of the unsubbers are not planning to come back at all and others have a wait and see attitude about it. I think I can safely state I belong to the latter group.

 

I leveled all my relevant toons to 70, so it won't feel like I'm totally screwed if I come back. The reality is that by that time I probably will have fallen behind considerably in gearing compared to the rest of the guild and it remains to be seen if the new plan will help enough with that.

 

The only reason why some people are more positive now that we know what the plan is for 5.1 is the simple fact that the RNG will be reduced for raiders and pvp' ers and we get new tokens again. People can call them tweaks all they want but those are fundamental changes. I think right now I'm on the fence if I want to give it a try when 5.1 comes out or wait and see how people react first before I decide on resubbing.

 

But clearly if it costs too many players and the changes to stem the tide basically mean stepping away from RNG in part and adding tokens, then it's clear that the system as it was implemented didn't just need tweaking but it was fundamentally flawed for what it needed to be.

Edited December 18, 2016 by Tsillah

[MeNaCe-NZ]

Well, again, to be fair, you really cant state that RNG is here to stay with any reputable finality. It is likely, certainly, but I would assume you know as much about Bioware's intentions as the next person.

 

Same thing was said in this very forum for 4 player heroics, quicktravel cooldowns, sprint, companion strength, comms/crystals, lack of F2P, lack of cash market, cosmetics, space combat, housing, etc.

 

There is no way to determine, with any finality, what will remain and what will go in the life of this game. Even Bioware has failed to read the tea leaves on that one from time to time.

 

In less than a few short weeks they arte already talking about ideally eliminating parts of the RNG by adding set tokens to bosses and also with PVP I assume those unassembled pieces or whatever they are called will allow you to pick the exact unassembled token you want.

 

If you then went down either of those 2 paths you could entirely bypass RNG.

 

So for AoWin to imply RNG is here to stay when they've already announced they've made it optional is pretty well off base.

[MeNaCe-NZ]

The forums comprise a minority of the player base. People who tend to come to forums are those who have complaints or would like to coerce the studio to their will. These types of players are never a good indication of whether a "majority" is being represented or not as there will always be those who complain.

 

BioWare isn't in any "panic mode." They are making minor adjustments to provide more certainty. If they were truly in a "panic mode," they'd just get rid of Galactic Command and go back to 4.0 progression.

 

KOTFE had more concurrent subscribers than any other SWTOR expansion. Monthly chapters were received with mixed feelings, so BioWare decided to go another direction.

 

You call removing forced RNG minor? Heh ok.

 

Double CC referrals, free chapter 1, couple of weeks in already removing forced RNG ... yeah it doesn't sound like they are panicking at all.

 

Also KoTFE at LAUNCH had more concurrent subs than any other expansion - there is nothing to suggest it's overall financial success as a cycle was better than previous expansion cycles. In fact seeing as they have moved away from episodic chapters one could easily argue it did not meet expectations even with the big boost at launch.

[DarthSpuds]

#2 though is how legendary items drop rate works in WoW if i'm not mistaken =) that might work better hehe:D:D

 

Nope.

 

WoW's so called "bad luck protection" was confirmed on a Dev Stream by Ion to be "play more to get more chances at a legendary".

 

All The Best

[WhiteOsprey]

The forums comprise a minority of the player base. People who tend to come to forums are those who have complaints or would like to coerce the studio to their will. These types of players are never a good indication of whether a "majority" is being represented or not as there will always be those who complain.

 

BioWare isn't in any "panic mode." They are making minor adjustments to provide more certainty. If they were truly in a "panic mode," they'd just get rid of Galactic Command and go back to 4.0 progression.

 

KOTFE had more concurrent subscribers than any other SWTOR expansion. Monthly chapters were received with mixed feelings, so BioWare decided to go another direction.

 

I don't deny the forums consist of a minority of the player base. My issue is with you declaring that the people not satisfied with the product are over represented here. You have no way of knowing that. That's your opinion but you have nothing to back it up. It's certainly not my experience. My main guild moved to ffxiv after 4.0. None of us were happy with the direction Star Wars was going so we left. I'm the only one who posted anything about it on the forums, the rest just unsubbed without a word.

 

If you don't think adding dev streams, sending out surveys and making big changes (sorry those are hardly minor adjustments) to a new system only a couple weeks after release isn't some degree of panic I don't know what to tell you.

[Aowin]

Keep going around with those blinders on. The world always looks better with those rose colored glasses.

 

I was here since early beta (2009 to be exact). The two biggest complaints back in v1.x era were lack of end game content and the terrible RNG in Ops and with Battlemaster boxes. Go back and read a bunch of the TORtanic articles and follow the comments section. I can definatively say you are 100% incorrect in your assessment and it almost caused this game to close.

 

That being said we have a similar situation today. Lack of fresh end game content - sure there is a bit of it now, but it has now all been played to death over the last two plus years. RNG with this system is even worse than what was in the 1.0 era.

 

Lastly, you are without doubt in the minority here. Two livestreams within two weeks of launch all dealing with band aids to the system and, for the first time in the games history, a survey issued by EA. Those are a clear pattern of indicators that this is costing them financially in subs, otherwise none of this would be happening.

 

The real question you should be asking yourself is which one of us actually has the blinders on?

 

Considering there was no endgame content early in closed beta (I was there), I don't know what your point about being a supposed beta tester adds. EV was added late to closed beta and it was always a buggy mess. All BioWare tested in closed beta was primarily class story, some flashpoints, and then warzones.

 

The biggest reason most left is because they finished their class stories and there was only one broken operation at launch. Nobody left because of RNG. For one, that was exclusive to PvP. Secondly, barely anyone was even a Battlemaster as getting to 60 valor back then took a lot of effort. I would know considering I was one of the first Battlemasters on my sever.

 

Producer Live Streams were confirmed to be happening even before KOTET launched. There have been other surveys for SWTOR. You may just have never received them. Continue to warmonger and doom and gloom all you like. Your fantasy is not reality and this game is not in trouble of collapsing. I don't have to convince you of that though. The game will continue regardless of whether you are here or not.

[Wayshuba]

The real question you should be asking yourself is which one of us actually has the blinders on?

 

Considering there was no endgame content early in closed beta (I was there), I don't know what your point about being a supposed beta tester adds. EV was added late to closed beta and it was always a buggy mess. All BioWare tested in closed beta was primarily class story, some flashpoints, and then warzones.

 

The biggest reason most left is because they finished their class stories and there was only one broken operation at launch. Nobody left because of RNG. For one, that was exclusive to PvP. Secondly, barely anyone was even a Battlemaster as getting to 60 valor back then took a lot of effort. I would know considering I was one of the first Battlemasters on my sever.

 

Producer Live Streams were confirmed to be happening even before KOTET launched. There have been other surveys for SWTOR. You may just have never received them. Continue to warmonger and doom and gloom all you like. Your fantasy is not reality and this game is not in trouble of collapsing. I don't have to convince you of that though. The game will continue regardless of whether you are here or not.

 

Keep those blinders on.

 

I have been second officer in a long running guild through multiple MMOs. We had over 325 players leave in the v1.0 era and move to another MMO. I know exactly what bothered so many of them and RNG was a big issue.

 

You, my friend, are indeed in the minority. The two livestreams within two weeks of launch about changes to the awful system (part of them to get around the awful RNG) and the survey from EA is proof enough.

[Aowin]

Keep those blinders on.

 

I have been second officer in a long running guild through multiple MMOs. We had over 325 players leave in the v1.0 era and move to another MMO. I know exactly what bothered so many of them and RNG was a big issue.

 

You, my friend, are indeed in the minority. The two livestreams within two weeks of launch about changes to the awful system (part of them to get around the awful RNG) and the survey from EA is proof enough.

 

Again, who really has the blinders?

 

Funny you say that considering most of the players I knew quit the game once they realized the story was over. I don't know anyone who quit over RNG, and all I did primarily was PvP.

 

Again, you can try and claim live streams that were already planned as some sort of "panic mode" on BioWare's part. The truth of the matter is you are fabricating a fantasy that doesn't exist. If you do not like the game, you do not have to play the game.

 

As I said before, SWTOR will continue to exist whether you are here or not.

[Wayshuba]

Again, who really has the blinders?

 

Funny you say that considering most of the players I knew quit the game once they realized the story was over. I don't know anyone who quit over RNG, and all I did primarily was PvP.

 

Again, you can try and claim live streams that were already planned as some sort of "panic mode" on BioWare's part. The truth of the matter is you are fabricating a fantasy that doesn't exist. If you do not like the game, you do not have to play the game.

 

As I said before, SWTOR will continue to exist whether you are here or not.

 

As of this post 135 pages in this thread. Go through and count the number supporting your argument and the number contradicting it. Then you will understand who is wearing blinders and living in a fantasy.

[MadCuzBad]

As of this post 135 pages in this thread. Go through and count the number supporting your argument and the number contradicting it. Then you will understand who is wearing blinders and living in a fantasy.

 

He is a white knight that ignores everything except what he wants to see. Even if what he sees is not real or true, he will still only see that.

[LordArtemis]

It does seem a bit odd, at this point, to try and cling to the notion that Bioware finds the original GC system design anything short of flawed, considering that comments from Bioware clearly demonstrate they think otherwise.

 

At this point it is reasonably clear they feel the initial design was a mistake, and have intent on correcting that mistake.

I personally feel any comments or positions that clearly contradict Bioware's obvious position on the matter at this point are likely more combative and baseless than substantive.

[eartharioch]

At this point it is reasonably clear they feel the initial design was a mistake, and have intent on correcting that mistake.

 

No. it's not. My take on this is that BW knew that it would be hated and released it anyway, knowing that it was overtuned on the grind side, hoping it wouldn't be hated quite as much as it was, but still ready to dial it down until it reached an acceptable level of hatred.

[Aowin]

It does seem a bit odd, at this point, to try and cling to the notion that Bioware finds the original GC system design anything short of flawed, considering that comments from Bioware clearly demonstrate they think otherwise.

 

At this point it is reasonably clear they feel the initial design was a mistake, and have intent on correcting that mistake.

I personally feel any comments or positions that clearly contradict Bioware's obvious position on the matter at this point are likely more combative and baseless than substantive.

 

Read the OP again and watch the Producer Live Stream before 5.0 was even released. BioWare was already planning on tweaks and corrections. You can try and fabricate this revisionist history all you'd like, but you merely are unwilling to accept that the system is remaining the same with some additions to help alleviate pitfalls. GC is not changing. RNG is not changing. All of that is here to stay no matter how much you claim the "majority" seems to hate it.

[Ninja-x]

I refuse to believe people have their head stuck inside their *** so much.

You just want gear and everything handed for you, I've been playing since launch, and completing every ops this game has to offer, I've had to go trough the process of learning classes, rotations, priorities, mechanics, and so much more, while players like you guys expect everything handed to you, you guys probably don't even know what your skills do.

 

When 5.0 screwed gearing over, my guild made a global effort to gear up everyone, by running piss easy content, farming schematics, finding crafters, donating to help others, etc... We're almost fully 240-234, in just no more than 2? weeks. Fights are getting easier, progression has been amazing, and by January we'll probably have cleared most things once again.

 

Real life doesn't work like this either, you don't get the best stuff just because you think you deserve it, you work for it, the same way raiders had to, but you know, you're showing how big of a failure you are both in life and in game.

 

Point is, you don't deserve the same gear as that raider that spent days, months and even years learning his class, tactics and mechanics, you only deserve **** you've worked for.

Edited December 22, 2016 by Ninja-x

[Wayshuba]

I refuse to believe people have their head stuck inside their *** so much.

You just want gear and everything handed for you, I've been playing since launch, and completing every ops this game has to offer, I've had to go trough the process of learning classes, rotations, priorities, mechanics, and so much more, while players like you guys expect everything handed to you, you guys probably don't even know what your skills do.

 

When 5.0 screwed gearing over, my guild made a global effort to gear up everyone, by running piss easy content, farming schematics, finding crafters, donating to help others, etc... We're almost fully 240-234, in just no more than 2? weeks. Fights are getting easier, progression has been amazing, and by January we'll probably have cleared most things once again.

 

Real life doesn't work like this either, you don't get the best stuff just because you think you deserve it, you work for it, the same way raiders had to, but you know, you're showing how big of a failure you are both in life and in game.

 

Point is, you don't deserve the same gear as that raider that spent days, months and even years learning his class, tactics and mechanics, you only deserve **** you've worked for.

 

It is impossible you are in the 240-242 tier at the moment. You don't start getting those drops until CxP rank 181. With the weekly cap of 318k CxP, best you could do in Week 1 was Rank 100 barely into Tier 2, Week 2 you could reach rank 174, still not even to Tier 3 gear yet, and Week 3 would bring you to rank 243.

 

Now, assuming an entire guild put that many hours in (which equates to about 60 hours a week of play figuring the fastest way of 1,800 CxP hour) you still would only be 63 CxP levels into 240 gear. With 14 pieces to fully set, it would mean everyone in your guild was pulling the right piece of slot gear every 4 crates. As many people have seen, that is almost an impossibility with this system.

 

There is a difference between working smart and working hard. Grinding for hours on end is not hard work, it is stupid work since it is only for gear. I find it hard to believe that an entire guild has been putting in 60 hours a week since 5.0 launch grinding CxP levels.

 

Your final comment about raiders makes no sense. You say people shouldn't have (need) the gear raiders do yet with the CxP system, getting that gear never requires you to step foot in a raid to start with. The old system required you to learn the bosses, raids and mechanics in order to achieve that gear.

 

Lastly, no one has said they want gear handed to them. Most of the arguments are they are willing to work for the gear but want to know the specific things they need to do to achieve the specific gear.

 

Think about this for a minute, imagine going into you job and putting in a 60 hour workweek. You worked hard that week, but your paycheck is determined by a random pull of an RNG machine. So, at the end of the week, your boss pulls the leveler and SURPRISE, you get no pay that week for putting in 60 hours. The next three weeks are all the same as well. How long before you would be sick of a job that you had no clue what you would get for pay after putting in 60 hours a week? That is the frustration people have with the RNG. Some, like myself, have got 18 crates in a row with nothing save some jawa junk.

Edited December 22, 2016 by Wayshuba

[Aowin]

I refuse to believe people have their head stuck inside their *** so much.

You just want gear and everything handed for you, I've been playing since launch, and completing every ops this game has to offer, I've had to go trough the process of learning classes, rotations, priorities, mechanics, and so much more, while players like you guys expect everything handed to you, you guys probably don't even know what your skills do.

 

When 5.0 screwed gearing over, my guild made a global effort to gear up everyone, by running piss easy content, farming schematics, finding crafters, donating to help others, etc... We're almost fully 240-234, in just no more than 2? weeks. Fights are getting easier, progression has been amazing, and by January we'll probably have cleared most things once again.

 

Real life doesn't work like this either, you don't get the best stuff just because you think you deserve it, you work for it, the same way raiders had to, but you know, you're showing how big of a failure you are both in life and in game.

 

Point is, you don't deserve the same gear as that raider that spent days, months and even years learning his class, tactics and mechanics, you only deserve **** you've worked for.

 

While I agree with your sentiments that gear should actually be a challenge and require more time to obtain, especially for these "progression raiders" who keep on complaining about how running raids are no longer fun since gear drops are currently no longer guaranteed until 5.1, I think you are being a little over the top.

 

SWTOR has never been hard or a challenge. This is by far the most casual and easiest MMO I have ever played, and I've been playing MMOs for over a decade. For the record, I have been following this game since it was just a rumor in 2006 and the website was officially unveiled in October 2008. I was a closed beta tester on the Revan server and I went through more builds than I can remember consistently testing all the content BioWare had to offer for many months.

 

I had participated in both progression raiding at launch as well as top tier PvP, acquiring the first full set of Rakata gear for my class/role on my side for my server as well as one of the first Battlemaster sets. Why am I explaining all of this, you ask? Quite simply, everything that I had to accomplish in this game, even at launch, was a cake walk compared to any previous MMO experiences I had.

 

BioWare has done nothing but continue to simplify and dumb down SWTOR since closed beta with consistent nerfs in difficulties to flashpoints, heroics, operations, and a constant "streamlining" or outright removal of features, from class trees to disciplines, class stats to mastery, active class forms/cells to passives, the removal of expertise and separate gear progression paths, and so on and so forth.

 

Yes, even progression raiding in this game is simplistic and casual compared to MMOs from ten years ago that had far more complex mechanics, weren't all tank & spanks, and never guaranteed that certain loot would ever drop. SWTOR was never that kind of MMO, and admittedly it was probably for the best as MMOs of old did not appeal to many players as they were far too hard, far too complex, and they weren't games you could just easily get into without many months of trial and error.

 

My point for saying this is you are absolutely right that even under 5.0 getting quality gear (240-234) is not that hard, particularly those who grinded a ridiculous amount of command ranks legitimately (or not). Most of the players here have been complaining about not having guaranteed set pieces, which is what BioWare is trying to alleviate. It's really BioWare's fault for making gear so easily obtainable before, as now anyone who has been playing this game for years just expects to get handed gear on a silver platter the moment a new expansion releases.

 

It's a horrible sense of entitlement and I hope BioWare slowly weens people off of that ridiculous expectation, as gear progression has been far too fast and too easy in this game for too many years. My only hope is that 5.1, while making a path to set piece gear certain, is still a very long grind. I think it likely will be as the chances of getting unassembled pieces off anything other than the final boss, which is a specific piece, are incredibly low (based on Musco's example post). PvP may be a bit faster, depending on how many components are needed to create an unassembled piece, but even that will be slowed due to the necessity of having to trade lower tiers for higher tiers.

 

As with anything in life, people will always complain about something new and unfamiliar. It was inevitable with how game-changing Galactic Command was for gear progression that those who were the most dependent on gear progression would cry the loudest. That being said, I believe this was absolutely necessary for SWTOR's longevity and health and hopefully the tweaks that are coming in 5.1 further refine and compliment the system, rather than undermining it and disrupting it as some want.

[LordArtemis]

Read the OP again and watch the Producer Live Stream before 5.0 was even released. BioWare was already planning on tweaks and corrections. You can try and fabricate this revisionist history all you'd like, but you merely are unwilling to accept that the system is remaining the same with some additions to help alleviate pitfalls. GC is not changing. RNG is not changing. All of that is here to stay no matter how much you claim the "majority" seems to hate it.

 

I'm sorry....what?

 

You must have me mistaken with someone else. You are most certainly completely unaware of what I am willing or unwilling to accept. I am more than capable of determining my own tolerances and certainly do NOT require your assistance in that respect.

 

So, for the sake of clarity, I will explain my position, so you can be better informed moving forward and we can dispense with this kind of silliness. Even a cursory search of my posting history would have provided this information Aowin.

 

First, I don't play hardcore content. I am perfectly happy with the system as it is NOW. Of course I am...I am a casual player. It gives me an opportunity to gain access to armor I would NEVER see. My concerns about the current system were based on the concerns that were expressed by hardcore players, and I support those concerns.

 

I think the changes Bioware proposed sound good, lack of exact details not withstanding. We shall see if it appeases the hardcore community. I am sure some will still be disappointed that RNG will remain, but I think it is silly to expect it to be removed at this point. It is likely a done deal.

 

I made some suggestions to improve the system, but I would accept it as is....I personally have nothing against RNG as an armor mechanic...but of course I do not raid or PVP, so that is to be expected.

I might refer you to a recent comment I made in this VERY THREAD.....

I am wary as to what they might do, but hopeful as always.

 

They don't have the greatest track record, but hopefully they find some way to make changes that most folks will enjoy and appreciate. I still feel this system has great potential if structured properly.

 

I am not against the removal of RNG elements if that happens, though that would be a disappointing for casual players perhaps...not that casuals likely care that much about end game gear.

 

But I expect it will land somewhere in between, like it likely should.

 

Second, revisionist history? I am basing my conclusions on actual dev interviews AFTER THE FACT. I find a devs comments much more credible than ANY other source.

 

Galactic Command has been the most controversial, I suppose. We really wanted to do something different with endgame progression and change how parts of the game were played. I think in many ways we did that, but we missed the mark for some of our core players. - Ben Irving, Producer, Star Wars: The Old Republic

 

Link to interview article

 

We took a risk here; we took a shot. I think we got most of it right, but there are things that we didn’t get right. And that was providing goals for those who are doing the hardest content and providing specific gear-chase items. So two weeks after we launch, we reviewed that data and had a heart-to-heart discussion with ourselves to say this is what we’ve got to do. It’s the right thing to do for the game.- Ben Irving, Producer, Star Wars: The Old Republic

 

Link to interview article

 

And your comment that I claim the "majority hates it"...I am not sure where you got that from, but that comment is completely ludicrous. I challenge you to find ANY comment I made that is remotely close to that kind of dramatic drivel. It doesn't even SOUND like something I would say.

 

I would assume it is likely you took offense to my comment, expecting it was aimed directly at you, and decided to fire back before taking the time to perhaps think about what you were doing, and to whom you were directing the vitriol.

 

In the future Aowin I would strongly recommend that you take some time to perhaps consider what you are posting before you post it, otherwise you risk making yourself look rather foolish.

Edited December 22, 2016 by LordArtemis