Choose your side. Feelings?

[Kattla]

Nope. They said on Stream faction change is impossible to do.

 

Then "choose your side" is a BAD name for 5.2. Unless they launch it on 1st of april.

Thanks for telling me anyway.

[SithKoriandr]

Sounds good if we got to actually switch sides mechanically too.

 

I'd most likely make my choices based on RP rather than Quinn or Elara. Does one want to support the dictatorship, still hates aliens and makes people slaves? Even if one thinks the politicians of the Republic are terrible, one must realize, the Empire ones are no better. Look at Minister Loman (sp?).

 

It does have the down side that a Warrior who has been waiting for her husband but would choose Republic, now lost their LI.

[AlienEyeTX]

I'm just wondering how much we're locked in once we make the choice. Would I be able to back the opposing faction in a future update? Or would I have to decide in April which side's companions I want and then be stuck with that throughout?

[TUXs]

/shrug. That's how I feel.

[JattaGin]

I feel curious and cautiously positive about 5.2 and the choices that might be possible. I nowadays play the new content only with two chars: My main, a republic-loyal commando medic. Welcome back, Elara. For the Republic!

 

And on imp side: With 5.0 I assigned my completely insane, evil sithblood Warrior to rule the galaxy. She only cares for herself. Let's see how this plays out. "Hello, Quinn. You remember how I said I forgive you? I was lying." *swingshergamorreanaxe*

[casirabit]

I feel curious and cautiously positive about 5.2 and the choices that might be possible. I nowadays play the new content only with two chars: My main, a republic-loyal commando medic. Welcome back, Elara. For the Republic!

 

And on imp side: With 5.0 I assigned my completely insane, evil sithblood Warrior to rule the galaxy. She only cares for herself. Let's see how this plays out. "Hello, Quinn. You remember how I said I forgive you? I was lying." *swingshergamorreanaxe*

 

It would even be more fitting if she saw him and say oh btw I want you to meet my new lover and then kill him. (lol)

[Gwena]

Theoretically, it sounds pretty neat, and kinda makes sense -- our characters have been gone long enough, and become involved enough with a third faction, to not really be considered Imperial or Republic anymore.

 

My Operative is technically a defector, though she can hardly be a double agent anymore. Given the choice, she'd side with the Republic now. And so she can, great! But here's where it falls flat. She can't visit Coruscant (but is welcome on DK). She still has to pay the "smuggling fee" to get to a Coruscant apartment. Republic NPC's are still hostile. She can't visit the Republic Fleet. She can't group with Republic characters. Outside of the bubble of KotET, she will still be Imperial. At least, if I understand correctly.

 

Actual faction switching would be exciting. What we're getting looks mildly interesting, but also potentially limiting our future companion choices in ways we can't be sure of. I also dislike the idea of characters not being able to get their original class companions back if they choose the opposite faction. I hope it doesn't work like that.

[AbsolutGrndZero]

Wait wait what? How is this working? Where can I read about this? I missed the livestream...

[thepilk]

Wait wait what? How is this working? Where can I read about this? I missed the livestream...

 

Its mostly speculative at this point.

In the next story step you can basically choose to help either republic or imperial forces in the area, which determines which companion returns (republic- Elara Dorne, imperial- Quinn). Thats the only thing really confirmed at this point.

[VanderII]

I don't think you can choose a side, I think that a the end of the story, during the last video, somene will ask you "which faction will you give this supe weapon?" and you can choose "give republic" or "give empire" but at the end you'll remain the alliance comander, some companion'll aprove your decision others do not and you'll have a new companion and stop, nothing else...

[ivanhedgehog]

Yeah, I kinda wish there was an option to just stay your own thing with the Alliance. Sure, the Republic is a big Charlie Foxtrot right now, but as much as I think Acina is an awesome Empress, I know she's going to betray me as soon as she thinks she holds the advantage. I mean, she's a Sith, that's how Sith work. I don't hold it against her!

 

I would love a neutral station with dueling arenas and a daily hub for coop missions. coop heroics and neutral vendors. They could build a huge amount of content out of it. Missions to deal with pirate groups and all sorts of other interactions.

[Ralei]

What I think will be funny, is if siding with the Empire, means Quinn lives. Would those who want to kill Quinn, side with the Republic, just to kill Quinn?

 

Oh my god that would suck and I hope it's not the case.

 

I have a feeling you'll have to side with the Empire for Quinn to return, and then you'll get the choice of whether to work with him or not.

 

Or maybe both Elara and Quinn show up in the beginning, you get to interact with them both, and whichever side you choose in the end gives you the choice of Elara or Quinn to keep/kill.

 

My best case scenario is that you'll get to kill both/ keep both/ kill one keep one/ keep neither. The kind of thing that would happen in as close to reality as possible. I feel like they should write the story to compliment the game mechanics, not force us into arbitrary choices.

 

And I hope there's lots of extra dialog for the Warrior concerning The Betrayal that settles it once and for all.

[OFAWFletch]

I got Mako back And she's as cool as ever no matter what choices I make as dark as I choose

[ivanhedgehog]

I must say I like it. I was curious how they would get back to the old pub vs imp conflict and this is a good way of doing it. You pick a side and ally with them, which leaves all sorts of interesting scenarios. My light side sorc will probably make the plunge to republic. I'm hoping I will be able to take him to Tython or Coruscant.

 

I would love a mission chain that brings your sith to tython to turn yourself over to the jedi council and go light side. they could create so much cool content.

[SithKoriandr]

Oh my god that would suck and I hope it's not the case.

 

I have a feeling you'll have to side with the Empire for Quinn to return, and then you'll get the choice of whether to work with him or not.

 

Or maybe both Elara and Quinn show up in the beginning, you get to interact with them both, and whichever side you choose in the end gives you the choice of Elara or Quinn to keep/kill.

 

My best case scenario is that you'll get to kill both/ keep both/ kill one keep one/ keep neither. The kind of thing that would happen in as close to reality as possible. I feel like they should write the story to compliment the game mechanics, not force us into arbitrary choices.

 

And I hope there's lots of extra dialog for the Warrior concerning The Betrayal that settles it once and for all.

 

The problem with the superweapon at the end, is one could just say "I'll keep it for myself"

 

So, it's likely you'll have to choose in the beginning, rather than the end.

 

The only two companions I figure that won't leave based on choices is Lana and Theron, but that's only a guess, because I can't imagine Theron staying around and working for the Empire and Lana I can only imagine tolerating the Republic if she's close to the Outlander.

[Ralei]

The problem with the superweapon at the end, is one could just say "I'll keep it for myself"

 

So, it's likely you'll have to choose in the beginning, rather than the end.

 

The only two companions I figure that won't leave based on choices is Lana and Theron, but that's only a guess, because I can't imagine Theron staying around and working for the Empire and Lana I can only imagine tolerating the Republic if she's close to the Outlander.

 

My warrior would absolutely keep it for himself, no question. He would use the Empire to keep the Republic down and then use the weapon to keep them both in line. I'm excited to see how they'll set it all up, though.

 

I think it would be easy to keep Lana around if you side with the Republic, that's her thing, pragmatism. And I've only ever done Kotet as ds romancing Theron. He actually professed his love to me - dark V - which shows he has more loyalty to the Outlander than the Republic.

Edited January 27, 2017 by Ralei

[AnisaBadgett]

Bad idea. Boring and binary.

 

Weren't we supposed to be transcending the whole Empire vs. Republic, Jedi vs. Sith, light vs. dark paradigm?

 

But as soon as KotFE ended, everything became Dark vs. Light. It is the State of the Galaxy both in continuing story and grinding day to day gameplay.

 

It makes me angry because KotFE Chapter 12 just seems like a lot of running around and getting lectured by Darth Dad and Grandmaster Mom for nothing. I forgot to equip my Super Dooper Speshul Lightsaber for the Arcann battle and you know what? It didn't make a bit of difference.

 

I liked the way the story of KotET 1-9 went but now it looks like that's going to just get tossed in the bin of irrelevance, too.

 

I said two years ago that bringing back Quinn would make us feel like crap and boy, am I sorry I was right.

[XeniasLatin]

So I said the whole choosing sides ONLY for Elera and Quinn or as it been confirmed that is will affect all future companions?

[JennyFlynn]

So I said the whole choosing sides ONLY for Elera and Quinn or as it been confirmed that is will affect all future companions?

 

Right now the choosing sides method of recruitment applies to only Elara and Quinn, but that may change. The choice you make now though, between Elara or Quinn, can/might affect future returning companions though, ie; a Republic companion who doesn't like that you sided with the Empire in this Iokath scenario.

[Aeneas_Falco]

Bad idea. Boring and binary.

 

Weren't we supposed to be transcending the whole Empire vs. Republic, Jedi vs. Sith, light vs. dark paradigm?

 

.

 

Abandoning the struggle between factions aligned with the light and dark side of the Force was the bad idea. It was a mistake.

 

The struggle between the light and dark sides of the Force *is* Star Wars. It's the central conflict of the entire series. Deviating too far from that from that results in a story that feels like it doesn't belong in the Star Wars universe. Additionally since this is a prequel setting, it is pointless to introduce a story where Jedi & Sith discover the power of friendship and are cooperating. It can't last unless this is going to shoot straight into AU territory. The films and other EU sources are fairly clear that the conflict between Jedi and Sith continues all the way up to the film era, with periods of peace between only in eras when the Sith have been defeated or destroyed.

 

The other issue is that it squeezes every character into a single faction. There's little incentive to playing alts if they all share the same exact story. The resources probably are no longer there for separate class stories and haven't been since 2012, but separate faction stories should still be doable. We had separate faction stories in Rise of the Hutt Cartel after all, which was also after all the layoffs.

Edited February 1, 2017 by Aeneas_Falco

[grania]

Abandoning the struggle between factions aligned with the light and dark side of the Force was the bad idea. It was a mistake.

 

The struggle between the light and dark sides of the Force *is* Star Wars. It's the central conflict of the entire series. Deviating too far from that from that results in a story that feels like it doesn't belong in the Star Wars universe. Additionally since this is a prequel setting, it is pointless to introduce a story where Jedi & Sith discover the power of friendship and are cooperating. It can't last unless this is going to shoot straight into AU territory. The films and other EU sources are fairly clear that the conflict between Jedi and Sith continues all the way up to the film era, with periods of peace between only in eras when the Sith have been defeated or destroyed.

 

The other issue is that it squeezes every character into a single faction. There's little incentive to playing alts if they all share the same exact story. The resources probably are no longer there for separate class stories and haven't been since 2012, but separate faction stories should still be doable. We had separate faction stories in Rise of the Hutt Cartel after all, which was also after all the layoffs.

 

I couldn't have said it better

[masterceil]

Wait wait what? How is this working? Where can I read about this? I missed the livestream...

 

You can still go to http://twitch.tv/swtor and watch their last video (the livestream). They're only about a half hour long.

[stoopicus]

Abandoning the struggle between factions aligned with the light and dark side of the Force was the bad idea. It was a mistake.

 

Disagree completely. One of the best things about KotOR (1, but even more so with 2) was that is explored the Force from a more nuanced perspective than the simplistic black/white paladin/demon duality in the A New Hope era stories. It's one of the reasons I find the TOR era stories so much better than the later ones. I'm super glad SWTOR is continuing that.

[SlthBounteHuntah]

Abandoning the struggle between factions aligned with the light and dark side of the Force was the bad idea. It was a mistake.

 

The struggle between the light and dark sides of the Force *is* Star Wars. It's the central conflict of the entire series. Deviating too far from that from that results in a story that feels like it doesn't belong in the Star Wars universe. Additionally since this is a prequel setting, it is pointless to introduce a story where Jedi & Sith discover the power of friendship and are cooperating. It can't last unless this is going to shoot straight into AU territory. The films and other EU sources are fairly clear that the conflict between Jedi and Sith continues all the way up to the film era, with periods of peace between only in eras when the Sith have been defeated or destroyed.

 

The other issue is that it squeezes every character into a single faction. There's little incentive to playing alts if they all share the same exact story. The resources probably are no longer there for separate class stories and haven't been since 2012, but separate faction stories should still be doable. We had separate faction stories in Rise of the Hutt Cartel after all, which was also after all the layoffs.

 

I completely agree with your post.

 

I'll do the new content on my Sith Inquisitor, but only on her because I don't like the new content but I push myself through it. After all, how can I judge it if I don't play it for myself.

 

I don't care to create new characters anymore, I finish Chapter 3 and/or hit level 70 then just go back to my main character. The only reason I play in between the stories is because I'm running an Imperial and Republic guild.

 

The sooner the Eternal Empire/Alliance becomes history and we return to it being the Republic vs. the Sith Empire, the better. Hopefully the War for Iokath is the beginning of this return.

Edited February 1, 2017 by SlthBounteHuntah

[Fygee]

I'm kind of torn. With my Sith Inquisitor, she's always been light side and intended to be a fish out of water with the Empire. She's where she's at because she was forced to be there. I would have loved to have her jump ship to the Republic if the game gave her the chance.

 

However, with the latest content with the Eternal Empire, Empress Acina seems like someone that could give hope to reform the Sith Empire into something other than a giant, oppressive regime. Do I then continue to side with her in hopes of doing that? Do I betray her and side with the Republic as I've wanted to do? Will my choice even end up mattering in the long run in terms of how the game proceeds from this point?

 

Dem choices tho.

Edited February 2, 2017 by Fygee