Galactic Command - Tier 4 and More

[Quraswren]

They will have to do something to reduce the 1-300 grind after 5.2, like reducing CXP required per level or something like that, or else a built-in boost that only applies to earlier Tiers of GC (maybe that's why they changed all boosts to be additive rather than multiplicative?). If they don't, I agree, new players will be completely demoralized without the CXP boost we currently have.

 

You would think they bw would have to do something but in reality and given the extremely bad decisions they have been making in 5.0 and after. Do you really expect to see a catch up mechanic for the levels of 1-300 that would be adequate?

 

I don't. Look at the poor changes to PVP and unassembled tokens.

I would also bet the changes that are coming to RNG crates will be pretty minor as well.

 

At this time I wouldn't expect bw to make a logical decision that makes the game better for the gamer and if they do it will be such a small change you will have to wonder if any change came at all.

 

bw wants gamers trapped in the grind. The content is not strong enough so the only real carrot they have is the crates or unassemble tokens in PVP to keep gamers hooked. I wouldn't expect much to change that.

 

Prediction: 5.3 will bring tier 5 and another 100 command levels.

 

I fully expect that to come out around June or so to entice gamers to stick around when there is little else in the game to do.

 

Another 100 levels to grind on doing extremely old content and maybe 2 bosses by then (one of which will be old).

Edited February 27, 2017 by Quraswren

[Death-Hammer]

Hey folks,

Hold tight! We have forum posts coming this week with a detailed breakdown of all that is coming and changing in 5.2.

 

-eric

 

We don't want to wait till Friday to get answers. You started this with that weekend post. Why not make the posts now?

[WheresMyWhisky]

Eric,

 

From a Public Relations standpoint you guys really need to get ahead of the data miners. Because this info was all over the net a week or so ago and everyone is already mad. You are releasing a new T4 with a 100 more levels that require more CXP at the same time the 350% bonus that you have on right now will be ending. While you said you plan to increase CXP rewards it won't be to that level. So people that have been grinding up CXP on 1 or 2 chars to even get T3 have more in front of them. People that have several characters in their Legacy still have no idea how they will ever get those other chars into good gear without spending another mountain of time grinding them up.

 

All the while you have people that have been players for years feeling like they don't want to deal with this hot mess anymore and moving on. I mean I have subbed for 5 years straight since release for instance. Even when I took breaks for months to do play other games and give myself a SWTOR rest I still would pay my sub because I wanted to support the game because I always planned to come back. Now I'm really considering just taking a full permanent break from the game, cancel sub and move on. I finally got 2 chars to T3 by just buckling down and grinding hours on the fastest CXP gain items on those 2 chars until I got them there, using boosts along the way that cost me RL money on top of my sub fee. This was probably the worse experience I have had with this game in 5 years. Who wants to play that way just to get 1 or 2 characters ahead? Instead of playing content I like I made myself just grind the largest CXP over quickest time items.

 

If you have all these grand plans to fix things and make the community want to play this game and resub then I suggest you get it out there and stop being so secret. MMO's are long haul games and people want to know the road map. After all you don't take a cross country drive without a map right!

 

One easy fix would be to take out all if not some of the RNG from crates. Make certain levels of CXP give out a certain specific piece. Eventually when you get to T2 you should had got every T1 piece, same when you get to T3, every T2 piece and so on. If you switch between tank and dps on a character then maybe just give one of each so if the person never plays tank they will just disgard them but if they play both char types they can still do that.

 

Have to totally agree with this person

[AmadanNaBrona]

So the 40 T3 cxp boosts that I bought for 44 Command Tokens each are now worth 1000 credits each because tomorrow I'll be T4 pretty much instantly

[Margoth]

At some level I like the new system for gearing. I like having options on how to gear instead of Ops being the only way. That being said I'm not at all happy about adding another gear tier so soon. The biggest issue for me is the difficulty in gearing alts now. I tend to be a "utility' player for my guild, Tank, Heal or DPS as needed. Short of a complete revamp of GC I think the following would go a long way toward making GC palatable.

1. Keep the current boost or decrease the CXP requirements per level.

2. Either make your Tier Legacy wide, or make GC legacy wide completely. Part of the frustration is that going to an alt means starting over at the lowest gear level and grinding through 300 levels and soon to be 400 levels.

3. Instead of dropping actual items for set pieces drop the trade in tokens. That way if I get a second chest it's not as frustrating as it can become gear for my off-spec or gear for an alt.

4. Remove the GC level restriction on Superior CXP boosts.

5. Up the % boost for regular CXP to 50%

6. Get rid of the CXP bump for GC victory. Leave it in place for tokens but the CXP I earn for doing something should be changed.

7. Add unassembled pieces for all methods of earning CXP.

8 . Make GC stashes legacy wide (let's you get relics/implants for alts when you get Dupes)

 

These changes would go a long way toward mitigating the RNG and making it more alt friendly.

[Quraswren]

So the 40 T3 cxp boosts that I bought for 44 Command Tokens each are now worth 1000 credits each because tomorrow I'll be T4 pretty much instantly

 

This change does not come tomorrow.

 

It shouldn't come till 5.2 which is first of April. We have a month left of the CXP boost and there is no way BW would left the few gamers at GC 300 get a 350% boost into T4.

 

Thats not to say your T3 CXP boosts will be worth much because once you hit 300. Those particular boosts are worthless.

[Nightblazer]

If anyone really expects GC to be removed or anything how it was in 3.0 or 4.0 needs realize it's not going to happen. If and when GC is removed or the RNG part probably won't be till 6.0 if its done.

 

Till then I feel all Ops bosses should just have the 100% drop for the slot piece, remove all green and blue gear from the crates and just have the crates give the gifts, rep items, unlockable via collection the modable gear and then the tokens.

 

Have the vendors sell the tier gear for the slot piece plus token cost or components only which should be earned via all solo, group PvE and PvP content such as heroics, WZ, Ops, Arena, Fps, uprisings, etc.

Edited February 27, 2017 by Nightblazer

[Tsillah]

It's a big mess but I get you're doing whatever you think you can to make this mess still work somehow. I get that you can't throw GC out just like that without looking like real idiots to the bosses but reality is, this has been a complete disaster as far as I'm concerned.

 

I really hate playing in spite of this crap system instead of being excited about it and this announcement doesn't help.

 

Sure, you're gonna make more changes but whatever. I'll take what I can get at this point but I'm still hoping to wake up one day and realise 6.0 is here and RNG gearing as we know it is out the window again.

 

A guy can dream right?

[Wirewolf]

I feel like a a dog being teased with a treat on a string. Every time I'm about to catch that glorious treat, you guys yank it away from me.

 

I have played almost every night since 5.0 launch, and even with the boosts am still not 300 (280-FML). I have 4 alts rotting away that use to get a lot of love, simply because I only have time for my main. I have been grinding Fractured, PvP, and Master Mode Story to the point where I want to bash my head on my keyboard. Group content is not rewarding, because only a few of us get gear per OP, and the CXP handed out is inefficient compared to grinding the fore-mentioned activities.

 

Eric. Here is how you fix the Command System.

• 
  Make every boss drop a piece of Unassembled gear in OPS.

• Quadruple the amount of Unassembled components PvP yields.
  

• Have the CXP crates drop UNASSEMBLED pieces, rather than pieces determined by your current spec.
  

• If you MUST drop more tiers on us, make leveling manageable by leaving at the very LEAST a 250% CXP boost in place permanently.
  

 

If you guys have so much exciting content on the way, you won't need this endless grind to keep people engaged. I appreciate the spirit of what you guys are trying to do through the CXP system, but please STOP treating this like it's a Korean MMO. If I wanted to play a game where all I do is grind, I have plenty of other options to choose from!

 

/lightsaberdrop

[RiVaN_]

Dear Mr. Musco,

 

 

Given the Stream Dream Team's comments about Galactic Command, Command Experience and 5.0 in general I understand that Ben Irving has a vision and this vision is related to the metrics that you all refer to, but do not publish. So lets talk about your metrics for a moment.

I'm sure your metrics are showing you that people are playing through GC, gaining CXP, repeating old content over and over and over again. I'm sue that when you look at the raw metrics related to the Command system it paints a beautiful picture, of course it does because that is the available system, that is what you have given us and no matter if we like it or hate it we are going to play it, at least some of us will.

Why?

Because we truely love Star Wars and SWTOR is the only Star Wars RPG available to us right now.

 

Notice I didn't say MMORPG. That is because there aren't enough people on most servers to call this game Massive, you spent 2 years with a tunnel visioned focus on single player content and making the game more alt an single player friendly. This summer you ran an event that many in the community didn't like, but played anyway because it was better than running the same tired old dailies over and over.

I wonder, do you have a metric to show how many times players "space-bared" through cut scenes and how many toons were leveled through heroic missions and dailies only?

Do you know how many characters created this summer made it past chapter 1? I know of at least 48 characters (me and my guild mates that finished DvL)

However I bet the base metrics show that people liked DvL.

 

I would like to see your metrics on Sub #'s over the past 32 months as compared to players playing teh content you have released. I would like to see this broken down by account and not by character.

 

I would liek to see your comparisons on Content releases and subscriber numbers. Your metrics on player satisfaction based on number of people paying a monthly subscriptions and playing content other than the CXP grind.

 

I would like to know if you all are excited about what you are seeing, if the player feed back makes you feel good about the direction your game is taking and if you think that players appreciate, truly appreciate how things are going in SWTOR these days.

 

Mr. Musco, I have to be honest, I noticed that, right after Mr. Irving took over SWTOR started this spiral into what we see now.

I understand that you all wanna milk this cash cow as long as you can, but seriously dude. At this point you are just abusing the poor folks who haven't unsubbed yet. That doesn't include me anymore. I unsubbed Sunday night.

[Clarian]

Hold tight!

Why...?

[ZambedosNB]

The majority of the community is struggling to get into tier III and/or to 300 on a single character and you're adding more levels? The drought of operation content is bad and while I'm excited for the new boss, honestly this is just as narrowing to the game as that has been. In 4.0 I would raid on every single advanced class. In 5.0 It's been only one. I just got my main to tier III and was looking forward to catching up some other roles, but now it looks like I'll need to keep pushing my main. Not having or at least working on top tier gear is not an option for me as a prog raider. Every level between 1 and the final tier is an obstacle towards playing the game how I enjoy it. And every level just makes it more unlikely that I'll bother to gear an alt. This is actively making the game more stale. I knew this would happen but I thought we'd at least have until 6.0 before a cap increase and we would have time to gear a few different specs (Is this going to happen every boss? If so as much as I hate to say it, just release it all at once. Regearing for one nugget of content is really hard to swallow after regearing for TOS for the THIRD time).

I understand GC is different/better for more casual players. I'm not one of those people who thinks there's nothing good about it or that no one likes it. But the system was advertised as allowing people to play their way, and so until you hit that balance for raiders I'll keep giving feedback like this.

[jimmorrisson]

Here is the Sunday morning twitter post (note the reaction):

 

Edited February 27, 2017 by jimmorrisson

[Ryenke]

Why...?

IKR

 

Hold tight for what? More of these 'tweaks' that are like giving Aspirin to a person suffering from Appendicitis?

[Padreus]

I used to love this game, now I find it hard to enjoy it anymore. It's just a grind and I'm no longer happy with the daily grind. Where are the wide open planets I used to love exploring? The DvL contest turned me off and now... meh, Way to many story lines that are just funnels to the end, that are all the same for all the characters. It's getting harder and harder to resub to what used to be my favorite mmo. I still play but for how long. Hard to say. The SWTOR ship is floundering and is in danger of sinking.

[Edyn]

I really wonder about these the vaguely mentioned improvements and whether or not BW is on this incomprehensible path that will continue to adjust the GC system so that it more closely resembles the pre-GC system? If so, at what point will GC exactly mirror pre-GC or just supplement a pre-GC system? I mean, how many tweaks to GC will it take to bring it full circle back to a system that the players previously enjoyed, but was subsequently taken away?

 

This is just asinine. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that this whole GC fiasco is BW using SWTOR players as paying testers for a future GC-type system that they plan to implement in a new and different game.

...or...

They have absolutely no idea what they're doing with GC and they're flying at the seat of their pants. This might explain all the tweaks, plus certain oddities such as this communication blackout that was followed by a very vague announcement via Twitter, which was then followed by a forum post that looks like damage control complete with more vague information, which then mentioned a future announcement about GC to contain more details.

 

Either scenario is definitely not good for the players.

Edited February 27, 2017 by Edyn

[LJ_Gibbs]

Your announcement Sunday makes me feel like Padme. I have lost the will to play.

 

Half of my raid team has unsubbed in the last 36 hours.

 

I will not hold tight. We have been holding tight for 2 years. One OPs boss and 100 more levels of grinding (at original CXP gains) is a kick to the groin, no matter what buffs you've given to OPs, FPs, etc.

[cyrusramsey]

So what happens when a new cycle hits? A full reset, or just more tiers?

 

The thing is.. I don't mind putting a lot of work into something, but as it stands, I cannot bring one server worth of characters to even the first tier within one cycle, so there's been very little incentive for me to login at all anymore.

 

If the GC leveling experience becomes less of a sludge, and 6.0 would not require having to fully start over, then I would be inclined to start putting in the work. But just constantly adding more tiers would eventually make things very unpleasant for new characters.

 

On the other hand.. if we're getting more tiers and things end up resetting with a new cycle, then please tell me now so I know to give up waiting for anything sensible to happen..

Edited April 13, 2017 by cyrusramsey

[Kirtastropohe]

Thanks for all these changes now that I've got 300 levels. What are you doing for those of us that you tortured making us open these crates with the crap drop rates. What are you going to do for all the effort and time we've put in for months??? Those of us who used your broken, POS system now get screwed twice...not getting rewarded..then watching everyone else get an easier time and get stuff faster than we did (and btw, I still haven't gotten fully decked in good tier 3 gear)? Edited February 27, 2017 by Kirtastropohe

[Batwer]

Hey folks,

 

As many of you saw from our social media post over the weekend, we are going to be adding Tier 4 gear and another 100 Command Ranks to Galactic Command in Game Update 5.2. I wanted to let you know that there is quite a bit more to it than just another Tier! Here are some other notes:

• Tier 4 Command Crates are going to work a bit differently than Tier 1-3. You will much more consistently get set bonus gear in this Tier.
  
• We are making adjustments to Tier 1-3 as well to make that leveling/gearing experience better. We want to make sure it feels rewarding to get higher in Command Rank/Tier.
  
• There are other gearing related changes coming based on your feedback such as adjustments to boss drops in Operations.

Hold tight! We know that you have a lot of questions about why we are doing a new Tier and more Command Ranks. We have forum posts coming this week with a detailed breakdown of all that is coming and changing in 5.2.

 

Thanks everyone.

 

-eric

 

A few updates later ...

 

....lvl 80 = T10 = Command Rank 1.000. Or what?

[TinaLovesHan]

I've tried really hard to stay optimistic about the future of the game, but this GC thing has pretty much killed any excitement I have for most things.

 

My main character is only level 49 GC. I feel like I can't play alts because I have to level my main and I don't have the time needed to get any decent level in GC. She has only 2 set pieces.

 

I will stay subbed for story and the return of my companions, but I find myself logging in less and less and that makes me sad.

[kysan]

how this affect the crafting? we will get better schematics?, because you're increasing the gap between actual players vs new or returning ones...

[Radzkie]

It makes sense to add 100 new levels/another tier since a new operation is coming out. Also I don't see it as a big deal because I suspect a bigger uproar in the future.

 

What do you guys think will happen when level cap is raised from 70 to 75? My moneys on our GC ranks being reset to 0.

[Zafaria]

Thank you for the heads up. Looking forward to the additional info.

I am very disappointed in the news there is going to be another 100 levels added to command system.

I have 16 characters most people have many characters. There is no way I will ever get the 16 to level 300

let alone another 100 levels added. I may get with the 250% boost one character to 300. I have been

plying hours to get just one there. It will be impossible to get many to level 300. People are going to

lose interest and will lose many more as if you can't compete in anything there is not much sense in playing!

I am all ready very tired of trying to get the one to cxp 300.and drops stink. May need to find a new game!

[Cuiwe]

edit: it's not worth it. It really isn't. Edited February 28, 2017 by Cuiwe