Jump to content

Galactic Command Gearing Changes, 5.1 and Beyond


EricMusco

Recommended Posts

Think your mainly referring to 234 pieces, because trading in a 230 purple gear from the crate works every time, unless your missing the necessary Unassembled components, or the tokens to transfer. However 234 gear, and 240 gear can not be upgraded, and to be blunt that is garbage. At least make them upgradable to the same tier of gold. For example: 234 purple piece upgrades to gold 236.

 

no it dont I have 12+ 230-236 set peice from crates spanning 4 toons and not single piece is tradeable and I not only persons that noticed this. The vender simple dont see the piece as in inventory. if it did said peice would show up green next to its "number"

 

230-236 piece that dropped from crates after this5.1 might work, but pieces that drop before that do not. The pieces I got after 5.1 work fine ,but this does me and many other no good that are like tier 3 and RNG is pretty much say screw you have some empty shells and jawa crap. we grind those tiers and kept those 230-236 we got if rng wasnt ****** just be told screw you by bw grind some more.

 

The system is crappy as it but they didnt make work with peices that dropped BEFORE the patch.

Edited by Kyuuu
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 240
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

I'll keep it short cause we have all said it time and time again.

 

The amount of grinding of content that people have been playing for the last 5 years is not worth a random box containing in all likelihood junk. Everyday that people regrind the same old tired content the more labourious it becomes, so sooner or later it is going to drive people away.

 

The content is not good enough on its own, while the reward is generally just some crap to disintegrate. And even if it is usable and amazing what good is it. Come the next story expansion 220 stuff will be good enough to do it, so its going to have minimal impact on any future content if you have the gear or not.

 

For the 100's of hours of grinding of repetitive content in its current state short of find Jaesa waiting at the end of it, Its hard to see how its worth it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well . . we lost 2 more officers and a casual player from our guild this week, with more to go as soon as their subscriptions are up. Some players with subscriptions are no longer logging in, including several officers and raid team members. Many were waiting to see how those last "fixes" were implemented, but it wasn't enough to bring them back or keep them from leaving. :(

 

People (customers) are understandably frustrated and I have heard multiple times that "if I wasn't a huge Star Wars fan I would have been gone long ago," but even some of them have now left the game. Not every player (customer) who is unhappy posts in the forums, some quietly leave while many others discuss it with other people in and out of the game. Some of that negativity is also what has driven off at least one of our members.

 

 

Almost everyone wants all of this to just get fixed and be able to stop having to wonder whether to continue playing or not. This is game they pay for and they just want to log in and have fun and do the content they want to do without having to wait for RnG to give them gear so they can go back to running the stuff they were running before 5.0 hit and locked them out of the content.

 

 

I really don't understand how long it is taking to address any of this. This is not good from any standpoint, the uncertainty, constant negativity, along with it being horrible from a business stand point.

 

I mean, I have no idea overall how much business has been lost, but just two of our players who still have subscriptions (paid ahead), but aren't playing any more, and so far aren't coming back, used to spend hundreds of dollars on hypercrates each time a new pack came out along with other occasional cartel market purchases, on top of their subscriptions. Not that I advocate that, but looking at it from a business stand point, running off customers who spend that kind of money just doesn't make sense to me.

 

 

 

Pros

 

  • Progress on returning SOME unassembled tokens on bosses
  • Bringing back the gear vendors so players have a choice in turning in the tokens
  • Progress towards returning the equivalent of "commendations" / "crystals" for gear
  • Announcing a new operation - Great :)

 

 

 

Cons

 

  • ADDITIONAL Grind added on top of already bad grind
  • During OPs runs the lack of unassembled tokens dropping off bosses is a huge issue for almost everyone.
  • NO true help for legacy toons gaining cxp, HORRIBLE legacy "perk"
  • Additionally it almost doesn't matter what rate you are getting cxp, when due to RnG, nothing is decent in the boxes or it is duplicated so it is just disintegrated
  • Horrible PVP grind for gear
  • Low cap on the command tokens

 

 

Solution

 

Return the gearing system, completely, to the way it was prior to 5.0 where ALL bosses dropping an unassembled token and players can turn them in for what they want!!!! (it wasn't broken) All of the players I have spoken with in our guild, plus others who run group content, want the entire gearing system back (tokens, crystals, vendors, etc.) including the PVP system, prior to 5.0.

 

 

I know I have been told by many of our raid team members they would come back if the gear system went back to pre 5.0

 

 

 

Make command crates something people strive to get, rather than something they have to grind out in order to get something they need, the gear, in order to do the content they want. I can think of all kinds of items that could come in the crates that might make people want them, I am sure you guys can too.

 

Maybe a couple of example ideas might be:

  • Adding chances for some of the currency that was removed from the game, but the vendors still sell items players want that require the currency that no longer drops
     
  • Many have also mentioned they would like to see the level 6 companion gifts go back to being able to be bought with "crystals" or "what ever" and lessen the horrible "grind" with so many companions in the game. That has been mentioned to me as a "reward" that was removed from the game, using your earned crystals to buy the gifts. Personally I know I would like to see that returned, so maybe "command tokens" could be used for that.

 

I mean there are probably endless things that could be thought up that players might want so that getting the command box would feel like a reward and not a disappointment and wasted time.

 

Would it still be grinding? yes, but if it is for something you actually want and feel it is worth the effort then normally it feels different than HAVING to grind something out to get something you need in order to be able to do what you want.

 

Now with this awful grind you only get what you need if you are lucky enough through RnG to get the gear you actually need

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's just me or i'll have to play with 1 toon only for at least 6 months to TRY gearing him up while my others 16+ toon will have to wait to 6.0 ?

 

I'm mostly pvp player and there is no way i can gear up all my toons.

 

#rip

 

No not just you. Sadly, at this rate, I feel like it might take almost a year for me to just get one toon fully geared where I can start running the content I was running before 5.0, and I have about 37 alts that will not get played that much.

 

It's one thing to log in and play end game and maybe have a chance at winning a gear piece or gearing for PVP in the prior system, but an entirely different thing to try to grind out points for random chances of gear or grind the low token reward rate for PVP. I have work and school, so I can't play as much as some individuals can, and when I can play I would like to be doing what I enjoy, not worrying about grinding for gear.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Same in EQ2. Horrible grind. There's something called Tithe and reaching level100 (maximum level) of that would take a good 10 years in 1 branch out of 3. Then they force you to log in daily to claim your "exp enabling ticket".

I actually left EQ2 because of this to move here, to see... the same sith in a different color.

If it at least was consistent, but it isn't.

Up to rank 90 you get 230 gear. And schematics, crafting those schematics is a waste because you can neither remove the components or exchange it for unassembled gear.

Your enemies however, for the most part, will wear augmented gear. So it doesn't matter if you have 228 or 230 blue or 230 purple. You need to grind and grind more. At least the grind is not as boring as in EQ2.

But it is quite repetitive. You can only do the same old zones and quests before they become tiresome.

Or get beaten up only that much before you say, "I had enough".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I cancelled my sub a few weeks ago because I kept getting numerous duplicate items. This week though I decided to try gearing a tanking alt a bit with the 250% cxp event.

 

After about 60 cxp levels and 3 duplicate helmets and 5 duplicate main hand blasters my sub is staying cancelled.

 

Bioware really should have addressed the crate drop rate first and only after that address the speed at which we get the crates.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well . . we lost 2 more officers and a casual player from our guild this week, with more to go as soon as their subscriptions are up. Some players with subscriptions are no longer logging in, including several officers and raid team members. Many were waiting to see how those last "fixes" were implemented, but it wasn't enough to bring them back or keep them from leaving. :(

 

... snip ...

 

Return the gearing system, completely, to the way it was prior to 5.0 where ALL bosses dropping an unassembled token and players can turn them in for what they want!!!! (it wasn't broken) All of the players I have spoken with in our guild, plus others who run group content, want the entire gearing system back (tokens, crystals, vendors, etc.) including the PVP system, prior to 5.0.

 

I know I have been told by many of our raid team members they would come back if the gear system went back to pre 5.0

Our entire raid team would come back if the gear and progression system went back to pre 4.0 ... when RNG was limited to a drop's stats ... when crates were exclusive to the Cartel Market ... when the game had established and farmable loot tables and comms ... built around a progression system that was intuitive, balanced and uncomplicated ... a progression system based purely on tier completion and the earned (not lucked into) gear rewards associated with clearing progressively more difficult content. Edited by GalacticKegger
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly, all 5.1 changes have done is shown how terrible Galactic Command is currently and the unassembled tokens from operations or unassembled components from pvp/GSF doesnt do much to counter those negatives. It takes 50-100 matches to get just one piece of gear because the devs decided to make it excessively expensive to purchase these items with pvp/gsf comms and made the drop rates excessively low. The tokens on bosses wouldnt be terrible, if there were drops guaranteed on every single boss but you can run all of the current operations and only ever see tokens on one boss per op if your RNG is terrible. Then theres the gamble boxes themselves where you can go from 180 to 300+ and see tons of duplicates of the same ear or implant (my luck ive gotten the same exact implant or ear piece out of a majority of my boxes in teir 3) or 238 gear that you do not need and never see an actual set bonus you can use. Its a ****** loot system that kills progression, at a time when bioware is claiming they want to focus on group content again. You cant progress through HM and NiM content if you cant get the gear to do the content.

 

Since Bioware seems intent on keeping this system that the majority of people seem to hate or at least complan about, at least find a way to positively reform it so it works. It currently does not. One thing that would help is potentially adding tokens to the command crates themselves that you can use not to purchase a specific piece of gear but rather any piece of gear so you arent stuck with duplicates of the same tokens over and over. Put unassembled tokens on each boss, not just a chance for a token but a guaranteed drop. Remove the stupid requirement that you have to spend both "command tokens" and unassembled tokens in order to buy gear. Command tokens are great for alts so you can use them to buy boosts and such but its idiotic to require them to purchase gear when you are already also requiring unassembled tokens. Its a ridiculous requirement. Lower the cost of gear with unassembled components and increase the amount from matches as well as rewarding components for completing the daily and the weekly.

 

All 5.1 did was increase the amount of gamble boxes a person was getting and show just how stupid a gearing system that is completely 100% dependent on rng and luck really is. You all should go back to the drawing board, and if you arent going to remove the system at least revamp it so its not so terrible

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To quote myself

Increase the drop rate for all Operations bosses to 100% and make them all drop specific items. EV and KP HM drop only 230 except final bosses. Cora and Revan drop T2 plus T3 Implant and Relic like they do now respectively as a small incentive. It's frustrating doing 4/5 DF NiM or 6/7 SnV NiM or any amount of non Apex NiM bosses and not get any loot. Please fix.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

When's the next update going to be on changes on 5.1.2. and the next livestream?

 

I hope it's this week as isn't 5.1.2 supposed to come out on the 28th?

 

I'm sure it will just be them patting themselves on the back for all the changes they're making to CG even though the changes won't be enough to save CG. They say they are listening to our feedback but you can almost guarantee that absolutely none of the community's suggestions will be put into 5.1.2.

Edited by Screaming_Ziva
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope it's this week as isn't 5.1.2 supposed to come out on the 28th?

 

I'm sure it will just be them patting themselves on the back for all the changes they're making to CG even though the changes won't be enough to save CG. They say they are listening to our feedback but you can almost guarantee that absolutely none of the community's suggestions will be put into 5.1.2.

 

Considering they said they wanted to get full raid teams in so they could get feedback off the PTS and then failed to invite full raid groups, I very seriously doubt they actually care about any feedback. They are pushing forward with this crappy gearing system regardless of how negatively its received even with their lackluster improvements that have done little to nothing to actually fix whats broken with the system.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let me be among the many to say that the new gearing system takes waaaayyyy to long. You need to double the number of assembled components you get. Cut the cost of using them by at least half . AND MAKE THEM TRANSFERABLE BETWEEN LEGACY TOONS ! If you don't I'm out of here when my sub expires. I'm starting to like my PS4 better anyway. Oh and as for the alleged positive feed back... I haven't seen or heard a single one. Edited by UberOne
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the idea of Galactic Command is awesome! Play whatever content you like and gear up. Keep doing that.

 

I've just gotten my first tier 2 command crates. And in that time, I have not gotten a full set of tier 1 gear. So the amount of gear and type of gear the player gets does need some work. I have barely been able to play any of my alts as I work on gearing up the one character I play the most. So the process is way too slow, even now.

 

Some of the gear I can transfer to legacy bound armor pieces and give to alts, but that doesn’t work for everything. So it would be nice if something could be done about that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the idea of Galactic Command is awesome! Play whatever content you like and gear up. Keep doing that.

 

I've just gotten my first tier 2 command crates. And in that time, I have not gotten a full set of tier 1 gear. So the amount of gear and type of gear the player gets does need some work. I have barely been able to play any of my alts as I work on gearing up the one character I play the most. So the process is way too slow, even now.

 

Some of the gear I can transfer to legacy bound armor pieces and give to alts, but that doesn’t work for everything. So it would be nice if something could be done about that.

 

Bioware would have us believe that Galactic Command is the new content we level through and gearing up is the goal. That is wrong on every level.

 

It is all about the journey to mastering teamwork, class & role responsibilities versus progressively more difficult and varied content tiers - not the gearing system. Acquiring better gear is merely one of many objectives along the way to reaching the real goal which is progression to the next level of content difficulty. Which of course requires periodic releases of new and more difficult content. Which of course Galactic Command is not.

 

Under Galactic Command's promiscuous XP system players can essentially get an Ops drivers license from mowing GSF lawns. Which populates Operations queues with oblivious wrecks waiting to happen. Which is why so many of the remaining experienced raiders just say no. GC is nothing more than a single player tablet RPG achievement system whose Command Ranks, CXP and RNG crates are all incompatible with MMORPG progression.

Edited by GalacticKegger
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If Bioware is serious about regrowing our game back into a real AAA Star Wars MMORPG, then imho this is what the official 5.2 and beyond announcement's CliffsNotes have to look like:

 

  • Galactic Command will be the new Eternal Championship-themed RPG achievement system;
  • The pre-4.0 MMO progression, loot & comm systems will be returning for everything else;
  • Normal leveling planet H4s, Flashpoints, HMs and Operations (and their original loot tables) will be returning;
  • Bolstered Heroics, Flashpoints, HMs and Operations will remain available as "Hyperspace" queueing options;
  • Leveling planet Flashpoints will have both Normal and the current solo story mode options;
  • All future story content will have a group dialogue & play option;
  • Custom combat gearing for companions will return as an option;
  • Planet Level Sync will now be an instance option along with Normal, similar to world PvP;
  • 2 new 8v8 Warzone maps are planned;
  • 2 new GSF maps are planned;
  • The War for Iokath remains on schedule;
  • All future expansions will be P2P and include the following:

    - A new large and explorable open world planet (think Makeb or Balmorra in scale);


    - 5 additional levels with story that is playable solo or in a group;


    - 2 to 4 new full-scale leveling Flashpoints (Normal and Story modes) with HM equivalents;


    - Separate elder game heroic zones, each with their own themed Uprisings;


    - At least one full-scale Operation with 6 to 12 bosses;


  • We will release new playable content updates every six weeks like we promised (twice) featuring:

    - A new zone, heroic, Uprising, Flashpoint, WZ map or GSF map; and


    - A new story chapter; with


    - A new full-scale Operation every 6 months.


 

THIS would allow us to play the game our way and it's not unrealistic ... because the only things listed above that we didn't already have in the game as recently as November 30th, 2014 are Galactic Command, level sync, Uprisings and of course Iokath. Everything else is already in code. Were this to happen I guarantee that 90% of our guild would leave where they are now to come back and reform the band within a week. Who knows ... the servers might even fill up again.

 

And just because ...

  • An official Huttball league will be forming;
  • Dyeable uniform sets will be made available for sale in the Cartel Market;
  • Capital ship flair for all-guild teams will be made available for sale in the Cartel Market; and
  • Map lighting hues will change based on the color of the home team uniforms.

 

:D

Edited by GalacticKegger
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bioware would have us believe that Galactic Command is the new content we level through and gearing up is the goal. That is wrong on every level.

 

It is all about the journey to mastering teamwork, class & role responsibilities versus progressively more difficult and varied content tiers - not the gearing system. Acquiring better gear is merely one of many objectives along the way to reaching the real goal which is progression to the next level of content difficulty. Which of course requires periodic releases of new and more difficult content. Which of course Galactic Command is not.

 

Under Galactic Command's promiscuous XP system players can essentially get an Ops drivers license from mowing GSF lawns. Which populates Operations queues with oblivious wrecks waiting to happen. Which is why so many of the remaining experienced raiders just say no. GC is nothing more than a single player tablet RPG achievement system whose Command Ranks, CXP and RNG crates are all incompatible with MMORPG progression.

 

Galactic Command isn't content. It's a method of getting gear. It isn't an ops driver's licence, it's a method of getting gear. Galactic Command is not a journey of teamwork, class, role, and difficulty. it's a method of getting gear.

 

See where I'm going with this? Being good at teamwork, class, and role and knowing how to ops will help you get gear faster, but that's not what GC is about.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Galactic Command isn't content. It's a method of getting gear. It isn't an ops driver's licence, it's a method of getting gear. Galactic Command is not a journey of teamwork, class, role, and difficulty. it's a method of getting gear.

 

See where I'm going with this? Being good at teamwork, class, and role and knowing how to ops will help you get gear faster, but that's not what GC is about.

All true, though I apologize for not seeing where you are going with this. Because being good at teamwork, class, role and knowing how to play well with others is how players progress their characters through more varied & increasingly difficult content. Gear is just something that happens along the way and doesn't need Galactic Command's help.

 

We aren't playing SWTOR any more, where fresh content was king ... where intuitive and straightforward progression through it's tiered levels of content difficulty walking hand-in-hand with story was the game from starter planets through Operations. Now we are playing Galactic Command, where fresh content is minimized by comparison (it's almost an afterthought actually) and a wanton Cartel Market lottery crate opening experience is masquerading as the game's loot system.

 

No. Just ... no.

 

Galactic Command sucks as a loot system. I have no problems with crates being a daily or weekly mission completion reward. But I do have a problem with them being anywhere close to a live loot system unless they are occasional loot drop extras that contain nothing more than cosmetic fluff. Loot (not crates) needs a 100% drop rate, with the only randomness being which spec(s). The challenge should be in overcoming advanced content to earn guaranteed loot, not winning some delusional "Thrill of the Hunt" loot lottery crap shoot.

 

Galactic Command sucks as a MMO progression system. Progression through the game's progressively more difficult levels of playable content has been replaced with advancement through Galactic Command's Command Ranks. They tried to subliminally render moot our expectation of receiving ongoing and playable next-progression-level content by removing the old system and hiding it behind Galactic Command. It didn't work. We weren't as stupid as they thought we were so we publicly called them out on it. Now they find themselves wedged between a rock and a hard place as a result.

 

Van Halen pulled this same stunt when they inexplicably tried wiping Michael Anthony from the band's identity, and used Wolfgang Van Halen as their Galactic Command smokescreen. The betrayal cost Van Halen a huge number of their long time fans - to the extent that Van Halen as a band has been largely in maintenance mode since their last release in 2012 bombed. Conversely Michael Anthony's career has blossomed nicely. Most notably since he, Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani and Chad Smith formed the super group Chickenfoot. And don't you know ... those betrayed Van Halen fans followed him there.

 

SWTOR directors are narcissistic legends in their own minds whose heads should have already rolled over this but didn't. Which leads me to believe that they're running open loop with no oversight.

 

Lest I digress, you're right, Galactic Command isn't content. Though Bioware would have us believe it is because further convoluting Unassembled Component rates and Command Crate gear allowances (if you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance ... baffle 'em with bull ****) is way cheaper than creating actual playable tiered content.

Edited by GalacticKegger
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm going to finish leveling all my alts and completing their stories (which should consume a few months) before returning to my main. If they haven't come up with a more reasonable solution for gearing by that time, I'll take my gaming money elsewhere.

 

I'm not going to re-iterate the various suggestions made by people but I'm all in favor of a system where those of us who are primarily solo players have a reliable way of getting gear again.

Edited by light_senshi
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Returned when this GXP event started.

And this is quite a good change. This rate of gaining boxes should stay PERMANENT.

 

Bioware, take my advise: combine current CXP rates with FIXED and GUARANTEED drops from op's bosses and you will make people happy.

And i think MANY people will agree with me on this.

 

Just DO it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hiya, just returned [again; another year gone by] and this command thing is completely new to me. Two questions:

- are command ranks legacy-wide or character-restricted? Important for me as I have 16 chars and wouldn't want to pick one or two to stick with;

- isn't the command stash account-wide (like the CM one)? Leveled my jugg and got a few chests, left some things in the stash, then leveled my merc to 70 yesterday and the stash for him was empty..

 

Thanks for clarifying.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hiya, just returned [again; another year gone by] and this command thing is completely new to me. Two questions:

- are command ranks legacy-wide or character-restricted? Important for me as I have 16 chars and wouldn't want to pick one or two to stick with;

- isn't the command stash account-wide (like the CM one)? Leveled my jugg and got a few chests, left some things in the stash, then leveled my merc to 70 yesterday and the stash for him was empty..

 

Thanks for clarifying.

 

the command ranks are per character for now maybe it will change and the stash is also per character I know the pain for alts I have a lot of characters but that's why I used legacy gear for my alts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


×
×
  • Create New...