Open letter to Developers

[xRohanx]

Hello! I’m writing this letter because it’s my only hope that developers will hear me. Please don’t find it offensive, because I don’t want to offend anyone. Just try to understand. And I must apologize for possible mistakes. English is not my native language. Please refrain from ridicule and attacks and try to understand.

 

Now I have made all necessary notes and can tell you my story.

 

My sister, partner and I are playing in SWTOR after work in evenings. It’s a way to “meeting up” and have fun together, because we live in different cities. We can’t create a guild because there are only three and in this period we don’t want to join to the large guilds because some of us have a bad experience.

 

I play this game more 1,5 year. Not too much, you will say. But two days was enough to love it. I really love Star Wars Universe, and my friend advised me to try this MMO. But she left the game after the release of 5.0 because after that game has become the CXP grinding.

 

Unfortunately, I also have grinding experience. Many years ago I played in Lineage II (C4 and Interlude) and Aion 4.0. So I really know what endless grind is. 18 hours spent in trying to take the next level, a few months trying to get the one schematic for high level crafting, the chance of successful crafting is only 60% (about 20% in real), PK outside the gates of the city, loss level and part of the equipment after character’s death, loot steeling in epic boss raid and much more.

 

People in alliances and clans were coming to the game as a job. After that they really changed. It was real bicker for pixel gear parts. Nothing except gearing and “might” in game did not matter, even friendship. These were hardcore Asian games and I don’t want back to that.

 

SWTOR has pleasantly surprised me with a completely different attitude to the players. Comfort and loyalty impressed me. But most of all I was impressed by the beautiful story and I’m still thankful for this.

 

Unfortunately, many things changed since 5.0. I had 216 – 220 gear before version 5.0 was released. I spent 6 months and hoped to improve my equipment. I took changes in hope for the best, but I was wrong. After that I spent 9 months to get what I wanted in endless CXP grinding.

 

Think about it properly please. 9 months of Uprisings, Flashpoints, Heroics, Dailies all evenings. For one character. And every time my abilities did not increase, as I hoped. They decreased, because at first my class was nerfed. I mean sith sorcerer, lighting spec.

 

It's not a scary **** like in Lineage II, I said then, and began to adjust. But when I watched some videos on YouTube, when the mercenaries finished MMFP solo, it was painfully. Or when I heard that the mercenaries can finish story Uprising in 230 gear only with companion. Please, try to understand me. I don’t ask to nerf mercenaries or someone else, I just want to have equal chances.

 

Okay, everything is not so bad, I’ve told to myself, but in new versions sorcs were nerfed again. I began to progress my alts and hoped that I was getting resources and schematics. Something was really compensated in this way. But I was wrong again. In version 5.4 isotopes were deleted from VMFP. Despite all the requests and comments. All players requests for class strengthening were ignored by the developers just as all the questions about isotopes, except the last question in Bug Reports topic. We have only short comment from Eric.

 

The new story chapters were beautiful up to Iokath, but then there was a long break and a new FP completely bugged and some of Uprisings were bugged a long time too. Iokath dailies… No comments. Game becomes intolerable.

 

The same situation is with my relatives. Although they were lucky, they like other classes… But in the end, all these cases slowly but surely killing our interest in the game. Three people – not such a great loss, you will say. And you will be right maybe. But there is something else besides. We’re still loving this game. Otherwise, I would not have been written this letter.

 

I do not want to offend developers or threaten to end my subscription. I do not even believe that you will reply to this letter. I just want to enjoy the game and I'm tired of being afraid of every new patch, after which I will have to leave someday. Please, no more shocks, just save all the good that you have done before and don’t leave us in silence.

Edited August 30, 2017 by xRohanx

[Totemdancer]

Bioware, you need to listen to this OPs feed back. You have another loyal player and family giving you feedback on why this grind and constant nerfing is killing their fun. Do you want to keep driving loyal players like this away? Edited August 31, 2017 by Totemdancer

[iankalo]

BW, give him what he wants! He spent 37 hours to write this. Edited August 31, 2017 by iankalo

[UmbralSpirit]

And they will keep nerfing Sorc/Sage' because the Devs don't learn new tricks.

[VirtualMorrigan]

And they will keep nerfing Sorc/Sage' because the Devs don't learn new tricks.

 

Not sure whether that is even possible, tbh. They already are *********** useless as they are now.

[xRohanx]

Bioware, you need to listen to this OPs feed back. You have another loyal player and family giving you feedback on why this grind and constant nerfing is killing their fun. Do you want to keep driving loyal players like this away?

I am very grateful for your support and I still hope that my voice will be heard. Unfortunately, there is one more problem. Developers force us to PVP. But I do not want to play this way, because I know well what is hardcore Asian PVP is. And I'm tired of it for more than five years of playing other games.

And they will keep nerfing Sorc/Sage' because the Devs don't learn new tricks.

Unfortunately, they do not take into account the real situation and needs of solo players or small groups.

Not sure whether that is even possible, tbh. They already are *********** useless as they are now.

They are still good, if you love this class, have good gear and know how to play. But they are greatly weakened (especially in survival now), other classes are more stable in survival and damage. Even with the same gear, we have completely different chances. I already said above. It's anything but not a balance and it's very distressing.

 

I already had a same experience. Phantom Ranger in Lineage II C4 had monstrous crits, but he could do this only in best gear in full group and only with buffs of 4 supports, otherwise he was absolutely useless and almost dead. Therefore, the groups preferred to use other more stable and resilient classes. A similar tendency with lighting sorcs after last nerf.

Edited August 31, 2017 by xRohanx

[OneHit]

Sadly at this point the number of subs they could save compared to pre 5.0 when no one liked RNG from the start is minimal. The damage has already been done. There is no way to save the game at this point. It started pre chapters. RNG is only here to make it take as long as possible to get geared out. Cause once you have the gear there is still nothing new to fight it with.

And the devs know this. But feeding their families is far more important than being decent to us. No matter what they might tell you a cantina event. They might read this mail. But its payday. And next week has a payday too. So here's some re skins

[JattaGin]

The message is clear: No more nerfs, BW. Classes, CXP, comms... and whatnot.

 

People clearly cannot cope with all the nerfing as of late.

 

We need FUN! Nerfing something is not fun.

 

Wanna have people play MM FPs? Make them easier! Buff DPS and heals. Wait, then the few remaining hc pros complain? Are you catering the game to those 0,1%? If yes, why?

 

Players want to play and enjoy themselves.

 

Go to the live servers (after the downtime), devs! Have a look how the servers are buzzing with life again. And how so? Very easy: A buff of CXP.

 

Stop the nerfs! Buffs ftw!

[TUXs]

The message is clear: No more nerfs, BW. Classes, CXP, comms... and whatnot.

 

People clearly cannot cope with all the nerfing as of late.

 

We need FUN! Nerfing something is not fun.

 

Wanna have people play MM FPs? Make them easier! Buff DPS and heals. Wait, then the few remaining hc pros complain? Are you catering the game to those 0,1%? If yes, why?

 

Players want to play and enjoy themselves.

 

Go to the live servers (after the downtime), devs! Have a look how the servers are buzzing with life again. And how so? Very easy: A buff of CXP.

 

Stop the nerfs! Buffs ftw!

Well said Jatta!!!! OP classes aren't needed, but having everyone equally struggling is the wrong way to approach things. And the double CXP (+ CXP bug on Heroics) is a freaking GODSEND!!!

[blinkerathome]

Unfortunately, many things changed since 5.0. I had 216 – 220 gear before version 5.0 was released. I spent 6 months and hoped to improve my equipment. I took changes in hope for the best, but I was wrong. After that I spent 9 months to get what I wanted in endless CXP grinding.

 

So you had tier 1 and tier 2 gear before 5.0 (3 tiers available) and now you probably want to have tier 4 in gold (4 tiers and extra subtiers available). Maybe someone needs to rethink their own gear needs. In other words many people now have the chance to get higher gear then they used to. Instead of appreciating that there only comes hate. If you have done flashpoints before with tier 1/2 then you can still do flashpoints now with tier 1/2 and the difficulty should be about the same...

[xordevoreaux]

All MMOs are a grind. It's why I left Everquest2. It doesn't have nearly as strong of a thread of a story as SWTOR, and end game, that's all it is... grinding for the privilege of grinding some more. I finally woke up one day and realized that and quit.

 

Hopefully all of the other pieces of SWTOR won't drop off mid-flight like it did in EQ2 and leave nothing but the grind to work with.

[xRohanx]

They might read this mail. But its payday. And next week has a payday too. So here's some re skins

I still hope that everything is not so bad.

We need FUN! Nerfing something is not fun.

Absolutely right.

So you had tier 1 and tier 2 gear before 5.0 (3 tiers available) and now you probably want to have tier 4 in gold (4 tiers and extra subtiers available). Maybe someone needs to rethink their own gear needs.

Just try to complete the Crimson Fang SM Uprising in 216-220 gear with your nerfed lighting sorc. Seriously. Not just complete, but also be really effective without dying every 2 minutes. And now refresh in memory the damage of the first and third bosses. Also try to complete Trial and Error with the same gear, and then everything about our needs will be clear.

All MMOs are a grind. It's why I left Everquest2. It doesn't have nearly as strong of a thread of a story as SWTOR, and end game, that's all it is... grinding for the privilege of grinding some more. I finally woke up one day and realized that and quit.

Too much grinding after the release of 5.0, and with each patch it becomes more and more.

[Mindelmatrix]

I would take to OP's advice under consideration. Sorc/Sage is suppose to basically be a Glass Cannon, and now it's just turning into a glass pistol.

[UmbralSpirit]

I would take to OP's advice under consideration. Sorc/Sage is suppose to basically be a Glass Cannon, and now it's just turning into a glass pistol.

 

More like a glass arrow......covered in tissue paper.

[Neo_Psy]

Bioware, you need to listen to this OPs feed back. You have another loyal player and family giving you feedback on why this grind and constant nerfing is killing their fun. Do you want to keep driving loyal players like this away?

 

moan moan, bloody moan. Yadda yadda.

 

Give them a break, they are trying to fix things. That is life, sometimes things don't go to plan, things break, they go wrong. Just let them fix the problems without never ending crying and moaning. There always seems to be people who pop up during a crisis or hardship who do nothing but complain and kick up a fuss about how badly they are being treated. I personally dislike people like that. Also, if you don't like xp and grinding, then I have news for you... you're playing the wrong genre of game because that is what you do in MMO's.

[xRohanx]

I would take to OP's advice under consideration. Sorc/Sage is suppose to basically be a Glass Cannon, and now it's just turning into a glass pistol.

More like a glass arrow......covered in tissue paper.

Sad metaphors, but it's true.

[shippper]

only thing important to devs its Cartel market

[xRohanx]

only thing important to devs its Cartel market

Of course, Cartel Market will be in priority. This is the equivalent of donate in Asian games. It's good that it does not affect the gameplay so much. But it brings good profit to developers.

Edited August 31, 2017 by xRohanx

[leonlotus]

The "Storyteller thing didnt work. When the game as more of a traditional MMO, it had a healthy community, and now many servers are dead. In about 60 days of subscription i am almost top equiped with 1 toon. I dont think thats a quite a long time.

[xRohanx]

I dont think thats a quite a long time.

Now get 230 gear is not a big problem. But in truth, it's not only your success. This is also the breakthrough of those people, who spent hours on this forum, asking to increase the number of CXP.

 

However, the question of alts progress is still relevant. Because with the nerf of the isotopes it will slow down. I do not want to spend a few more months opening GC crates and repeating the same thing over and over to progress all my characters, and I was hoping that much of this could compensate by the crafting as it happens in other MMO games.

 

Developers should not deprive players of the choice and chances. But this is what happens with every new nerf.

Edited September 1, 2017 by xRohanx

[RagnarAugustus]

Bioware, you need to listen to this OPs feed back. You have another loyal player and family giving you feedback on why this grind and constant nerfing is killing their fun. Do you want to keep driving loyal players like this away?

 

I wish the devs would realize that RNG and grind do the opposite of what they expect regarding player retention. We want return on effort not dice roll chances on our efforts on whether we get a proper reward.

 

We've made A LOT of progress since 5.0 with Keith and the dev team bringing back unassembled operations tokens and increasing CXP rates which helped gearing alts, but there is still far more work to be done. I'd personally rather see us return to 4.0's gearing system with Galactic Command laid directly on top of 4.0's system so we have full control over gearing our toons as well the the chance for non-end game players to get better gear (the dev's stated purpose for GC implementation).

Edited September 1, 2017 by RagnarAugustus

[xRohanx]

This is so, but, unfortunately, taking one step forward, the developers make two steps back, like to nerf loot and characters. The system should be more friendly, but if something really has progress, then other requests remain ignored. It would be great if these questions were discussed in connection with the actual situation in the game.

[darknessrubi]

BW, give him what he wants! He spent 37 hours to write this.

 

thank you for showing so clearly that this game going down isn't the fault of devs only.Retarded people like you are,also,to blame.Took me seconds to be sure of that.

[xRohanx]

2.5 hours in Operation with a random group. 8 people and 2 isotopes, which you need to win in roll. 2 hours of group searches for MMFP. It's just ridiculous. Now it's too expensive to progress other characters, and that's why it's pointless. Alts progress will end with the completion of class story.

[Totemdancer]

I wish the devs would realize that RNG and grind do the opposite of what they expect regarding player retention. We want return on effort not dice roll chances on our efforts on whether we get a proper reward.

 

We've made A LOT of progress since 5.0 with Keith and the dev team bringing back unassembled operations tokens and increasing CXP rates which helped gearing alts, but there is still far more work to be done. I'd personally rather see us return to 4.0's gearing system with Galactic Command laid directly on top of 4.0's system so we have full control over gearing our toons as well the the chance for non-end game players to get better gear (the dev's stated purpose for GC implementation).

 

That's the way to do it successfully. If they had done that it would have been a welcome change or addition to the game. It would have been a win-win for everyone.