If SWTOR is losing players, how can Bioware turn things around?

[DWho]

Make Double CXP permanent.

 

Not that double CXP is a bad idea but it is the same route we went with regular xp and that has resulted in content becoming blindingly easy because your abilities so far outstrip the NPCs. First every one said make double xp the base so they did. Then a few months later (after the next double xp event) people said make double xp the base (which was now 4x xp compared to where it started and it is now close to 6x xp). We have increased CXP to double the rate once already. Doubling it again makes it 4x CXP from where it started. If they double it, how long before someone wants to double it again. Pretty soon there will be no effort at all to level CXP and they might just as well start everyone at level 300 (then why have it at all - there is an argument there for getting rid of it but what system would replace it) . I would rather see the drop tables for legendary gear adjusted (or have a way to upgrade the artifact gear to legendary gear) than increase the CXP amount further.

[TrixxieTriss]

Not that double CXP is a bad idea but it is the same route we went with regular xp and that has resulted in content becoming blindingly easy because your abilities so far outstrip the NPCs. First every one said make double xp the base so they did. Then a few months later (after the next double xp event) people said make double xp the base (which was now 4x xp compared to where it started and it is now close to 6x xp). We have increased CXP to double the rate once already. Doubling it again makes it 4x CXP from where it started. If they double it, how long before someone wants to double it again. Pretty soon there will be no effort at all to level CXP and they might just as well start everyone at level 300 (then why have it at all - there is an argument there for getting rid of it but what system would replace it) . I would rather see the drop tables for legendary gear adjusted (or have a way to upgrade the artifact gear to legendary gear) than increase the CXP amount further.

 

Double XP is completely different. But yes, it has made the game stupidly easy. Planet sync as it is, needs to be tweaked. All NPCs are too easy to kill, even when you don’t have your companion active.

Double CXP only makes obtaining gear faster for end game content where it’s actually needed, like ranked pvp and NiM OPs. It’s not like having that top lvl gear would make the game that much easier in normal content, which is already a face roll. I doubt people can tell the difference, I know I can’t.

So having faster CXP has zero affect on normal stuff, but it does allow people to be more competitive in pvp or do more NiM OPs

[LordArtemis]

I had suggested a tweak to level sync....difficulty level setting in options.

 

Easy - Level sync cap is 2 levels higher than normal cap. Some NPCs may be grey, and this may effect drops.

Hard - Level sync cap is 2 levels lower than normal cap. Some NPCs may be a higher level than player's character.

 

This would allow the widest range of difficulty to players...on the easy setting a player could choose to run without a companion, truly solo, whereas the hardest setting would return some challenge to leveling, perhaps with higher rewards.

Edited February 8, 2018 by LordArtemis

[olagatonjedi]

I For hardcore players, however, I feel it was a disaster.

Im curious why you believe this.

[supertimtaf]

Im curious why you believe this.

 

For pvp players, especially ranked ones, where you could before get fully geared in a week, now you have even less UC to spend. The gain at the end of a warzone are still incredibly low and the prices have doubled since the initial release of the system. Sure the weekly gives you 200 but that's a weekly, and isn't even enough to obtain a 248 piece or even a 242 and I'm almost certain that you cannot get a 236 piece too. By only doing pvp since september for example, my wife still hasn't been able to gear her mercenary healer in full 248. And this is only one of her many characters.

 

 

As for endgame raids, the worst part is that NiM content rewards you with a random piece of gear, who isn't even 248. Add to that the fact that it is for a random class that isn't even always in your group and you've the reason why endgame gearing is so excruciating. Doing an entire operation in NiM to only see a token that isn't even for your class ? Doing that only once a week because of the lockout ? This is the other reason why gearing is terrible. They made the effort of granting us UC for every boss, but even with that there are too few to be called an «exciting» reward.

Edited February 8, 2018 by supertimtaf

[DarthSpuds]

As for endgame raids, the worst part is that NiM content rewards you with a random piece of gear, who isn't even 248. Add to that the fact that it is for a random class that isn't even always in your group and you've the reason why endgame gearing is so excruciating. Doing an entire operation in NiM to only see a token that isn't even for your class ? Doing that only once a week because of the lockout ? This is the other reason why gearing is terrible. They made the effort of granting us UC for every boss, but even with that there are too few to be called an «exciting» reward.

 

And THAT ^ is why there should be a simple, single universal Token type.

 

All end game content should reward varying amounts of that Token, based on Content Difficulty.

 

Cost 100 Tokens to by T1, then the T1 Item + 100 Tokens to upgrade to T2, then T2+200 to upgrade to T3, and T3+300 to upgrade to T4.

 

That way EVERY TIME a player engages with end-game they are rewarded with some progress toward the next Tier of end-game gear, and RNG has no impact, and no effort is wasted.

 

All The Best

[olagatonjedi]

For pvp players, especially ranked ones, where you could before get fully geared in a week, now you have even less UC to spend. The gain at the end of a warzone are still incredibly low and the prices have doubled since the initial release of the system. Sure the weekly gives you 200 but that's a weekly, and isn't even enough to obtain a 248 piece or even a 242 and I'm almost certain that you cannot get a 236 piece too. By only doing pvp since september for example, my wife still hasn't been able to gear her mercenary healer in full 248. And this is only one of her many characters.

 

 

As for endgame raids, the worst part is that NiM content rewards you with a random piece of gear, who isn't even 248. Add to that the fact that it is for a random class that isn't even always in your group and you've the reason why endgame gearing is so excruciating. Doing an entire operation in NiM to only see a token that isn't even for your class ? Doing that only once a week because of the lockout ? This is the other reason why gearing is terrible. They made the effort of granting us UC for every boss, but even with that there are too few to be called an «exciting» reward.

From the pvp section, it appears many hardcore pvpers feel gear discrepancy is something they dont want. Reducing the ability to gear out completely within 1 week helps keep a competitive gearing balance for longer, since it takes longer to max out. There are outliers, of course, but in general it makes it work. This allows true pvp studs to shine despite having similar gear to their opponent. Besides, its my belief the pvp system has been broken for years and they finally got around to making it more balanced with regards to new players coming in.

 

Perhaps giving hardcore players a chance to gear up so rapidly was not the smartest decision ever made. With the current system, a hardcore player can still gear up rapidly, but only by doing ops as well. So whats the difference? Well, if there are players who go that route, if they are doing ops, they are taken out of pvp rotations which further allows casuals and new players to ease their way in and still manage to participate.

 

Furthermore, every players decides for themselves if they want to limit themselves to certain areas of the game. If someone chooses only to participate in 1 aspect of the game, they go in with the understanding that their progression is limited more than if they participated in 2 aspects of the game.

 

Out of time, cant finish...

Edited February 8, 2018 by olagatonjedi

[LordArtemis]

Well, getting back on topic....

 

I think some kind of PVP event server wide would be a good item to draw players interest....something that they announce, all planets are part of the rotation except the lowest two planets in each faction (starter, capital) and would involve NPC invaders. In PVP mode players would be able to fight each other, PVE mode would see you helping to fight off NPC invaders and protecting factional NPCs from harm.

[gragnongoth]

A server-wide pvp event would be cool. Idk what it should or could entail, but big events are usually well done so I'd be open to almost anything.

[DarthSpuds]

A server-wide pvp event would be cool. Idk what it should or could entail, but big events are usually well done so I'd be open to almost anything.

 

Well that would depend on whether it was an Opt-In PvP Event or Automatic.

 

The vast majority of players don't want to be forced to engage with PvP, and I know many, many players who would just not bother logging in if they were so forced.

 

I genuinely feel most PvP Players have no clue just how much those of that don't PvP despise it.

 

I have 9 toons that have been through all of KotFE/ET but only ONE that has done the Alliance Alert that requires us to PvP to unlock a Companion, and that was a chore.

 

All The Best

[gragnongoth]

Well that would depend on whether it was an Opt-In PvP Event or Automatic.

 

The vast majority of players don't want to be forced to engage with PvP, and I know many, many players who would just not bother logging in if they were so forced.

 

I genuinely feel most PvP Players have no clue just how much those of that don't PvP despise it.

 

I have 9 toons that have been through all of KotFE/ET but only ONE that has done the Alliance Alert that requires us to PvP to unlock a Companion, and that was a chore.

 

All The Best

 

It's true; I don't understand the aversion at all, but I know it exists. You do you, it's your game just as much as mine.

 

I don't want to be forced to pvp as much as anyone else. Seeing as how none of the previous events have been automatic (as far as I know), I thought the option to not participate was a given. My mistake.

Edited February 11, 2018 by gragnongoth

[LordArtemis]

Well, if I were designing it this is how it would go.

 

First, no forced PVP. You actually would have to choose the PVP mode, as you do now, to enable it. So, if you didnt want to fight players, you would not have to.

 

PVE mode would be simply that you would show up on the particular planet being attacked, and there would be waves of NPCs that would enter the battle and fight friendly NPCs that you could assist. The NPCs would not engage you unless you engaged them, so there is no forced interaction...they are neutral to you until you attack them.

 

Also all static NPCs are off limits...can neither be attacked by opposing faction players, nor by hostile NPCs.

 

PVP mode is different. Not only can players attack each other, but the NPCs that zone in will attack you on sight, or defend you immediately. If I were designing this I would also make the NPCs that are quest givers fair play, so a person could wipe out the entire set of NPCs in a particular city with an invasion.

 

This way you choose your level of participation...either a generic invasion event in PVE mode that has little to no disruptive properties to those who are leveling or a brutal battle where all bets are off.

[Lunablade]

As much as people would like to see massive open world PvP fights with maybe even the option of sacking enemy capitals ( something akin to what we seen in the Deceived trailer ) I don't think how that would be possible without the serious rework of the game engine. I still remember into what lagfest Ilum turned back in the days of vanilla SWTOR, people even on the best computers there had huge lagspikes.

 

Even Blizzard tried to bring something like that into the WoW with their Ashran PvP zone but it turned into a total mess.

Edited February 12, 2018 by Lunablade

[LordArtemis]

As much as people would like to see massive open world PvP fights with maybe even the option of sacking enemy capitals ( something akin to what we seen in the Deceived trailer ) I don't think how that would be possible without the serious rework of the game engine. I still remember into what lagfest Ilum turned back in the days of vanilla SWTOR, people even on the best computers there had huge lagspikes.

 

Even Blizzard tried to bring something like that into the WoW with their Ashran PvP zone but it turned into a total mess.

 

I think it can be done the way that the invasion of Voss is done. Small groups that zone in to fight and defend, and they can trim the amount of players allowed in the instance temporarily to keep it smooth.

 

The trick is to test it out first to see how many players they can cram into an instance before it hits the slow down threshold.

[UltiMaxCZ]

2) Offer former players 30 days of free play time and a bonus of 500 coins...and an additional bonus of 500 coins if you sub at the end.

 

FORMER SUBSCRIBERS:

•Rejoin the battle as a Premium Player by February 27, 2018 to receive rewards including 30-days of FREE Game Time added to your account when you reactivate your subscription and apply the "SWTORSHARETHELOVE" code by February 27, 2018.

•Plus, receive two new in-game rewards, the Chiss Talon Interceptor Airspeeder and the Force Veteran’s Armor Set – these rewards will be available beginning March 1, 2018 through in-game mail.

•We’d love it if you share your love of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ with friends who join you and become Premium Players by February 27, 2018; they can receive 30-days of FREE Game Time when they redeem the “SWTORSHARETHELOVE” Promo Code on their account by entering it at http://www.SWTOR.com/redeem-code. (Codes must be redeemed by February 27, 2018 at 12:01AM PDT//8:01 AM GMT)

They really did it!

Link to article

[LordArtemis]

They really did it!

Link to article

 

Fantastic news...I hope they send this out in an email and contact all the relevant game sites.

[LordArtemis]

Well that would depend on whether it was an Opt-In PvP Event or Automatic.

 

The vast majority of players don't want to be forced to engage with PvP, and I know many, many players who would just not bother logging in if they were so forced.

 

I genuinely feel most PvP Players have no clue just how much those of that don't PvP despise it.

 

I have 9 toons that have been through all of KotFE/ET but only ONE that has done the Alliance Alert that requires us to PvP to unlock a Companion, and that was a chore.

 

All The Best

 

I understand the aversion toward PVP in this game, or in general. Some folks simply don't like it, others just tend to dislike the PVP in this game. I think both are perfectly valid points of view.

 

I think it is one of the likely reasons that GSF did not fare as well as they probably hoped it would. Making it a PVP only feature seemed to limit it beyond acceptance by the overall gaming community and kept it as a "splinter" activity, so to speak. I strongly feel it needed a PVE component, even if it was some kind of training mode.

[Aeneas_Falco]

I understand the aversion toward PVP in this game, or in general. Some folks simply don't like it, others just tend to dislike the PVP in this game. I think both are perfectly valid points of view.

 

I think it is one of the likely reasons that GSF did not fare as well as they probably hoped it would. Making it a PVP only feature seemed to limit it beyond acceptance by the overall gaming community and kept it as a "splinter" activity, so to speak. I strongly feel it needed a PVE component, even if it was some kind of training mode.

 

GSF's largest issue is that is very unfriendly to new players. The tutorial is very bare bones and does not really prepare new players at all for actual matches. There is so much they need to know that isn't in the tutorial. Second, the gulf between starter ships and the fully decked out ships fielded by veterans is many times greater than the guilf between 230 and 248 gear in the ground based PVP. The ships you get for your first match are practically useless for anything besides making that new player cannon fodder. Veteran players recognize it, and farm them.

 

What ends up happening is that new players join GSF and get mercilessly stomped by veterans while doing very little damage, and for many that first impression is a last one. A new player in ground PVP is also at a disadvantage versus veterans but most of the time they'll probably at least get a kill or two to make them feel like they did something.

Edited February 16, 2018 by Aeneas_Falco

[LordArtemis]

GSF's largest issue is that is very unfriendly to new players. The tutorial is very bare bones and does not really prepare new players at all for actual matches. There is so much they need to know that isn't in the tutorial. Second, the gulf between starter ships and the fully decked out ships fielded by veterans is many times greater than the guilf between 230 and 248 gear in the ground based PVP. The ships you get for your first match are practically useless for anything besides making that new player cannon fodder. Veteran players recognize it, and farm them.

 

What ends up happening is that new players join GSF and get mercilessly stomped by veterans while doing very little damage, and for many that first impression is a last one. A new player in ground PVP is also at a disadvantage versus veterans but most of the time they'll probably at least get a kill or two to make them feel like they did something.

 

Its a good point I think. If you look at Battlefront, for instance, arguing that it is a good example of a reasonably successful PVP space combat setup, you can see that having the ship generally equal (strong is some ways, weak in others but all on a level field) and simply having boosts available based on PERFORMANCE instead makes for a fun game that is much more friendly to newcomers.

[MingusPho]

1) Bring back some old "no longer available" items from the original planetary token vendors.

 

2) Using existing resources, add a few more heroics or dailies to each planet.

 

3) Bring back special offers for certain "subscribe by such and such date" for companions, mounts, etc.

 

4) institute a massive bug fix gor QoL. Fix clipping meshes, add some physics to capes that don't have them, add dye pstterns to armors that have a dye slot but fail to dye properly, etc.

 

5) Step away from class balance and work on anything else for a while.

 

6) Actually host some in game events (since many of the developers play the game anyway)---costume contests, player weddings, raffles for cartel coins or cm items)

 

These are my low to no budget for new content solutions. Which leads me to my final solution---put revenue back into the game.

 

Ultimately adding fresh content on a regular schedule (every two to three months) is the best solution. It doesn't have to be particularly long just well put together and new---like short dailies and heroics. That little bit would be a good start. Then plan for a new full planet sized expansion every 18 to 24 months. It doesnt need to be free either as long as its good---people will pay for a new expansion. Just concentrate on replayable content. For me class stories are a one time and I'm done deal.

[LordArtemis]

1) Bring back some old "no longer available" items from the original planetary token vendors.

 

2) Using existing resources, add a few more heroics or dailies to each planet.

 

3) Bring back special offers for certain "subscribe by such and such date" for companions, mounts, etc.

 

4) institute a massive bug fix gor QoL. Fix clipping meshes, add some physics to capes that don't have them, add dye pstterns to armors that have a dye slot but fail to dye properly, etc.

 

5) Step away from class balance and work on anything else for a while.

 

6) Actually host some in game events (since many of the developers play the game anyway)---costume contests, player weddings, raffles for cartel coins or cm items)

 

These are my low to no budget for new content solutions. Which leads me to my final solution---put revenue back into the game.

 

Ultimately adding fresh content on a regular schedule (every two to three months) is the best solution. It doesn't have to be particularly long just well put together and new---like short dailies and heroics. That little bit would be a good start. Then plan for a new full planet sized expansion every 18 to 24 months. It doesnt need to be free either as long as its good---people will pay for a new expansion. Just concentrate on replayable content. For me class stories are a one time and I'm done deal.

 

Good suggestions overall, I strongly agree with them putting down the balance crusade for a while.

[sixtydollers]

Bring back the original Tracer Missile animation.

[LordArtemis]

Bring back the original Tracer Missile animation.

 

I actually think they need to bring back quite a few of the original animations, as well as move the triggers from the beginning of the animations back to the end. I think those changes were some of the worst they made to the game, and it really devalues the animations drastically.

 

Just my opinion of course.

[Keta]

GSF's largest issue is that is very unfriendly to new players.

<snip>

What ends up happening is that new players join GSF and get mercilessly stomped by veterans while doing very little damage, and for many that first impression is a last one. [/i]

 

 

QFT. I'll never ever venture into GSF again. Ever.

[SithKoriandr]

New advance classes!

 

Agent who uses a Pistol

Smuggler who uses an Ion Cannon

Hunter who uses an Ion Cannon

Trooper who uses a Sniper Rifle

Inquisitor and Consular who use a Single Saber for melee

Knight and Warrior who use a Dual Bladed Saber

 

This will bring in old and possibly new players! May be redoing old stories, but it's with new options!