What is your opinion of Galactic Command after the recent changes?

[LordArtemis]

Nothing really changed that much. It was all smoke and mirrors (Biowares favourite way to “fix” something)

When they increased the amount of unassembled components you picked up, everyone was happy, but at the same time they doubled the cost of unassembled components when buying gear. So in reality the increase was negated by the rise in cost, hence the smoke and mirrors fix.

 

If they’d increased the amount picked up and left the costs the same, it would have been a fix. What they need to do is reduce the cost of the gear again. Maybe not back to previous levels, but a third reduction would be ok.

 

Ok, so let me fish this one point out....I am going to scour the thread for more.

 

1) Reduce gear costs by 1/3, keep UC rates the same

 

I would like to hear more concrete improvements that can be made to make this system more palatable to all....I have my own, but would rather hear from all of you first.

[denavin]

Gee, what does this DISINTEGRATE button do?

 

Not Much.... It gives you minimal GCX and minute amounts of UC's

 

Ooh, I get this thing called UNASSEMBLED COMPONENTS! Yum!!!!

 

You need 500+ (don't remember the exact amount) per piece per tier, but only get 3 to 7 per piece from Disintegration...

 

Gee, on the fleet there is VENDOR which sells GOLD SHELLS for THE EXACT ITEM YOU WANT...and the currency is wait for it, wait for it...for those who guessed UNASSEMBLED COMPONENTS you win an INTERNET WAFFLE (because waffles are better than pancakes, duh)!!!!!

 

Nice Idea but I spent my entire complement of UC's gathered since November, over 2500 and was only able to get 3 of those GOLD SHELLS you speak of and only tier 2 at that. At that rate it should only take me a few years to outfit all my characters to tier 4...

 

So, if the current system gives me a currency which allows me to buy the EXACT BiS item I want....wait for it... wait for it...

 

IT IS NOT RNG.

Dasty

 

Close but no cookie. RNG controls how many UC you can get from what RNG gives you to DISINTEGRATE.

 

So YES it still is RNG...

Edited January 21, 2018 by denavin

[PennyAnn]

Ok, so let me fish this one point out....I am going to scour the thread for more.

 

1) Reduce gear costs by 1/3, keep UC rates the same

 

I would like to hear more concrete improvements that can be made to make this system more palatable to all....I have my own, but would rather hear from all of you first.

 

Major pass over all content and increase CXP gain in all areas across the board.

 

(Edited to add: speeding up the process of Galactic Command only works to have people stick around when/if you add new content along with buffing the old content). I think they really tried to make us play slowly through all old content hoping that gearing up would be enough of a reason. Then it dawned on too many that the point to gearing up was moot because once we got full 248, then there was nothing new to do. That needs to change, with an expansion. Only hand in hand will this accomplish anything but running off bored people even faster.

 

There doesn't even have to be a "new" raid with the expansion - although it would be great if there were. Just make sure Gods from the Machine is complete, and add the NiM version of that raid in with the expansion. Then start building a new raid promptly so that it isn't more than about another year to year and 1/2 before another raid goes in - with a NiM version as well.

Edited January 21, 2018 by PennyAnn

[Jdast]

Ok, so let me fish this one point out....I am going to scour the thread for more.

 

1) Reduce gear costs by 1/3, keep UC rates the same

 

I would like to hear more concrete improvements that can be made to make this system more palatable to all....I have my own, but would rather hear from all of you first.

 

I would add:

 

1. Keep the bonuses after GC 300 intact.

 

2. Top to bottom review of how much CXP is gained per activity so that it is commensurate with time and difficulty.

 

3. I'm fine (obviously) with a 1/3 reduction in costs of gear from UCs, but agree with PennyAnn (again) that it doesn't matter much absent new content (but that's a different debate).

 

Having read this thread in its entirety, I do also think that there is not just a consensus but uniformity in the belief that the system is convoluted, but that can wait until 6.0. When I first got my characters doing advanced stuff, I had to come to the forums / google to figure out the whole why 242 is bettter than certain 244's and why you only had to transfer armor pieces in sets, etc. Hopefully 6.0 brings a simple Ilvl system with a single currency.

 

Dasty

Edited January 21, 2018 by Jdast

[PennyAnn]

I would add:

 

1. Keep the bonuses after GC 300 intact.

 

2. Top to bottom review of how much CXP is gained per activity so that it is commensurate with time and difficulty.

 

3. I'm fine (obviously) with a 1/3 reduction in costs of gear from UCs, but agree with PennyAnn (again) that it doesn't matter much absent new content (but that's a different debate).

 

Having read this thread in its entirety, I do also think that there is not just a consensus but uniformity in the belief that the system is convoluted, but that can wait until 6.0. When I first got my characters doing advanced stuff, I had to come to the forums / google to figure out the whole why 242 is bettter than certain 244's and why you only had to transfer armor pieces in sets, etc. Hopefully 6.0 brings a simple Ilvl system with a single currency.

 

Dasty

 

Mutual admiration society alert: Dasty's idea about simplifying the system gets a big thumbs up from me.

 

Do away with either the Unassembled Components or the Command Tokens, you don't need both. One currency could work in place of either/both. I'd prefer it be the one that is both legacy wide and kept on the currency tab so that you don't have to store those items, but as long as you only have to track/accrue one of them I won't complain (too much) about which one it is.

 

Not to mention, separate out the vendors for each class or a couple of classes so the vendors aren't packed in their one little space like sausages. The Dark Side/Light Side Token Vendors are standing in a space all by themselves, but every single class is smashed into a room together? Because why?

 

The cluster of vendors just makes it more confusing, even if it is more convenient to go from one to the other. Perhaps group them by class and merge the vendors from the two rooms so that someone can turn in tokens, Unassembled, gear pieces and/or upgrade all in the exact same place - and spread them out more like they used to be when they were on the inner part of the Fleet ring and you turned in just tokens from Ops to get set pieces.

 

Just visually it would be less confusing, IMHO.

[Tsillah]

Yeah fixed it. So that even states how much better the new system now is than before.

 

Easier, not better.

[casirabit]

I couldn't agree more. I had a bout of brief hope when the dailies were "bugged" and got my main and secondary to 300, opened a couple of hundred crates between them by now and neither of them has a T4 gold item yet. It feels pointless and waste of time, and I am no longer interested.

 

I have 2 characters at 300 (Tier 4) and one of them needs 2 pieces to finish the complete set of 248. The other is half 248 and half 246.

[LordArtemis]

So, what we have so far (I still have to go back into the thread to find more) would be....

 

1) Reduce gear costs by 1/3, keep UC rates the same

 

2) Major pass over all content and increase CXP gain in all areas across the board so that it is commensurate with time and difficulty

 

3) Completion of Gods from the Machine with a NiM version

 

4) Keep the bonuses after GC 300 intact

[RagnarAugustus]

Short answer? Its a joke.

 

Long answer? Its a *********** joke.

 

Try having 46 alts and try to grind out gear just by pvp. It is impossible to do. Takes forever.

 

Also why do solo sm heros need bis nim gear? Oh they dont?

 

Oh whats that ben **** irving? Rng is fun? Well F. U. C. K. You

 

I think that we're better off now than we were at the end of 4.0. I can now gear my main, off spec, and alts quickly again unlike when 5.0 started but I'm a raider not a PVPer so your experience may be different.

 

Why do SM heroes need BiS gear? That's been question of mine since 5.0 was first introduced in the live stream and yesterday in group finder I saw the worst case scenario...a group of 248\248 geared PUG DPS who couldn't down a trashmob on KP because they didn't know they're class or even a basic rotation. It was horrible. Pre 5.0 we could check gear to see if the person knew enough to proceed but now we have to check cheevos.

 

Regarding RNG...I still hate RNG in all its forms but overall I'm very happy with the current gearing system from a raiding perspective.

[Quraswren]

SNIP....

Why do SM heroes need BiS gear?

I can answer that for you.

 

Just because a gamer gets to end game that doesn't stop the want or need to get better and better gear that helps them do any content they choose to play faster and easier. Doesn't matter if it's heroics, solo mode only or SM OPS.

 

The better the gear the easier it is for people to do content. Even if they don't know how to play the any class the best it can be played, it still does make that desire for better any less. Better gear is always a carrot on a stick that nearly every gamer goes after. Doesn't matter how you quantify want or need. Gamers are always looking out for better gear so whatever they decide to do is made easier. Even if it's only slightly. Even if they still suck.

Edited January 23, 2018 by Quraswren

[LordArtemis]

Better gear, even if it is not needed, is one of the end goals a player can pursue in any MMO, and has been a staple for MMOs for years.

 

It makes sense that players would continue to pursue character improvement through gear even if they are casual players.

 

The alternative forms of play in this game are not as robust as in other games. Therefore they tend to fall by the wayside over the priorities of better gear and more credits to buy items from the GTN.

[Rion_Starkiller]

Why do SM heroes need BiS gear?

 

This is the question I always want to ask....

 

But I think the answer is simple -- what else is there to do but grind gear?

Edited January 23, 2018 by Rion_Starkiller

[VirtualMorrigan]

Wow, you are either exaggerating or are the unluckiest person on the planet. I have at least half a dozen BIS gold shells/relics/earpieces and dozens of purple pieces sitting in my Command stash along with almost 1500 UCs (I had maybe 20 of those when the disintegrations were implemented). My main could be in full 248s if I cared to do it (only 1 piece left and I'm sorta waiting for that to drop from the crates instead of buying it because I'm in no hurry). All my major level 70 alts are in at least 244s all geared from stuff the main got in crates. Something must be wrong with your random number generator because the pieces aren't that rare. In a couple of hundred crates at GC 300 you should have gotten at least a half dozen or so pieces.

 

I wish. And I'm not exaggerating. I collected enough UC to upgrade some of the pieces, but since I don't even have all golds from the previous tier, and you can't upgrade purple, taking the UC route is not much better, really.

I won't lie, this has pretty much killed my will to actually play.

 

>Something must be wrong with your random number generator

 

Believe me. If I could I would implement a better one...

[Rheshalea]

This is the question I always want to ask....

 

But I think the answer is simple -- what else is there to do but grind gear?

 

Yeah, there's very little else to do. Plus, it's there. It's attainable. It's not just a carrot on a stick, it's a whole carrot cake with sweet, sweet icing and a cup of freshly ground, expensive coffee to go, all served on a gold platter. By beautiful people who smile a lot.

 

...ok I got a bit carried away. But also, quite a few solo players do enjoy (or so I've seen on the forum) doing Master Mode chapters and other content where BiS gear either helps a lot or is absolutely essential. So that's why we "need" it.

Me, I just like carrot cake.

[Tsillah]

Why do SM heroes need BiS gear?

Why does anybody? BiS gear is not needed for anyone.

 

This is simply about wanting to have something to achieve, something to work towards and failing alternatives people want what's out there. I personally feel there should be a different reward tier with different gear sets for casual/solo play, raiding and pvp. So they each have their own BiS gear for their activities and if you're an all rounder you can do all three. And of course 3 tabs for gear so you can equip them all and just swap between them as needed.

 

But what does a player who does only solo content and maybe uprisings and fp's have to work towards at level 70? Currently there is nothing else but the same gear everybody else has.

[DWho]

Why do SM heroes need BiS gear? That's been question of mine since 5.0 was first introduced in the live stream and yesterday in group finder I saw the worst case scenario...a group of 248\248 geared PUG DPS who couldn't down a trashmob on KP because they didn't know they're class or even a basic rotation. It was horrible. Pre 5.0 we could check gear to see if the person knew enough to proceed but now we have to check cheevos.

 

Well, let's look at that question differently. Why do raiders need BIS gear or why do PVPers need BIS gear? The answer is simple and the same as it is for your so called "SM heroes". They want it. You don't need BIS gear to do raids or PVP either. It makes what you do easier (regardless of how easy the content is for you) just like it does for everyone else. It is very easy to get 248 gear as a raider (guaranteed drops in OPs and boatloads of UCs, on top of that you don't need to grind any GC levels to get those drops or UCs). PVPers and "SM heroes" have to grind at least 180 GC levels before they even have a chance at getting a piece of 242 gear and the "SM heroes" don't have a huge pool of UCs to use as upgrades.

 

Getting BIS gear is huge time investment for someone who doesn't do OPs or PVP, it's a little better for PVP, and super easy for raiders. Without the chance to get BIS gear there would be no reason for the "SM heroes" to pay for a sub and the population of the game would plummet further. Seems like a pretty straightforward reason to make BIS gear available to "SM heroes".

[MandFlurry]

Better than at launch, but would rather have the old 4.0 system with new content.

 

I agree, though they have gotten' GC xp at a better percentage, ppl that went along with Biowares stance of all of us creating a mountain full of Alts, only to have a GC command system break the point of having so many alts, means that Bioware still needs to still give a much higher percentage, of doing all the Dailies and Heroics, and such.

 

In my opinion GC command still is a crapshoot, that needs to be destroyed. The Crystal sysemt was good as was, though with GC, we do get higher gear than we would under the Crystal system sometimes. But I think the Galactic Command system needs to be destroyed, as it was probably the worst decision that was ever made for this game, and so many people left just because of it.

[LordArtemis]

I agree, though they have gotten' GC xp at a better percentage, ppl that went along with Biowares stance of all of us creating a mountain full of Alts, only to have a GC command system break the point of having so many alts, means that Bioware still needs to still give a much higher percentage, of doing all the Dailies and Heroics, and such.

 

In my opinion GC command still is a crapshoot, that needs to be destroyed. The Crystal sysemt was good as was, though with GC, we do get higher gear than we would under the Crystal system sometimes. But I think the Galactic Command system needs to be destroyed, as it was probably the worst decision that was ever made for this game, and so many people left just because of it.

 

I dont think it needs to go....I just think it needs to be adjusted to operate the same way crystals (commendations) did prior to when it was changed.

 

If it were up to me, I would bring back all of the armor sets, but make them purchasable with credits or command points.

 

I would make command points the new "crystals" and make them easy to generate....you get CXP and command points when you complete dailies and other content.

 

This way command points would be the currency of the game.

[DWho]

I agree, though they have gotten' GC xp at a better percentage, ppl that went along with Biowares stance of all of us creating a mountain full of Alts, only to have a GC command system break the point of having so many alts, means that Bioware still needs to still give a much higher percentage, of doing all the Dailies and Heroics, and such.

 

Having alts makes it much easier to gear your main(s). There are weeklies out there that are 15K CXP (they were over 20K during the current event) with a pretty cheap boost, that's at least 3 crates for a toon at 300 for 60-90 minutes of play and a lot more for those below 300. Each one of your alts can do the weeklies and generate UCs for your main (not to mention accumulating CXP packs and boosts which can also be used on your main). The real question becomes, how many alts do you really need in BIS gear.

[LordArtemis]

Having alts makes it much easier to gear your main(s). There are weeklies out there that are 15K CXP (they were over 20K during the current event) with a pretty cheap boost, that's at least 3 crates for a toon at 300 for 60-90 minutes of play and a lot more for those below 300. Each one of your alts can do the weeklies and generate UCs for your main (not to mention accumulating CXP packs and boosts which can also be used on your main). The real question becomes, how many alts do you really need in BIS gear.

 

I would still agree, however, that an overall increase in CXP rates would be a wise move.

[DanNV]

GC is still garbage. The "simplified" gearing system is now more complicated and harder for many players to understand than anything this game had before. BW doubled down on GC, Keith has claimed it's great, and people are still leaving. You don't hide the server load info after having it up for 6 years unless you have something to hide. You can go to TOR Status's mirror and see the trends. Every server is trending down. SF is the slowest decline from being the highest, but even it has been trending down. I'd say that tells you a lot about GC and the current state of the game in general.

[PennyAnn]

GC is still garbage. The "simplified" gearing system is now more complicated and harder for many players to understand than anything this game had before. BW doubled down on GC, Keith has claimed it's great, and people are still leaving. You don't hide the server load info after having it up for 6 years unless you have something to hide. You can go to TOR Status's mirror and see the trends. Every server is trending down. SF is the slowest decline from being the highest, but even it has been trending down. I'd say that tells you a lot about GC and the current state of the game in general.

 

I don't know that it has to do as much with GC anymore as the lack of new content, slow release cadence and the rumor mill making so much of all of it meaning it's "the end of SWTOR". Every year at this time there is a down cycle, typically after they've released an expac and it has been played through and everyone is ready to move on to whatever they do in between content cycles here. That exodus came a lot faster with 5.0 because GC was truly hated when it was released, and rightly so. Keith has improved it greatly... credit where it's due. But no one who hated GC and left is coming back based on those improvements, it's just staunched the bleeding of those of us who are still here and playing, keeping more of us around. It's not bringing back anybody new.

 

Only fresh, new, repeatable content of ALL types will do that in this stage of the game. I think the GC system is decent enough in terms of gain rate to stick around, now they just need to simplify it with fewer currencies and vendors and processes and it'll be okay enough to keep around. But not without some new content to make it worth the grind.

[CrutchCricket]

I have a question. Why are the Unassembled pieces bound to character? What happened to "alt-friendly"?

 

Make those legacy and double the base CXP rate and the system might be decent after all.

[DawnAskham]

I don't know that it has to do as much with GC anymore as the lack of new content, slow release cadence and the rumor mill making so much of all of it meaning it's "the end of SWTOR". Every year at this time there is a down cycle, typically after they've released an expac and it has been played through and everyone is ready to move on to whatever they do in between content cycles here. That exodus came a lot faster with 5.0 because GC was truly hated when it was released, and rightly so. Keith has improved it greatly... credit where it's due. But no one who hated GC and left is coming back based on those improvements, it's just staunched the bleeding of those of us who are still here and playing, keeping more of us around. It's not bringing back anybody new.

 

Only fresh, new, repeatable content of ALL types will do that in this stage of the game. I think the GC system is decent enough in terms of gain rate to stick around, now they just need to simplify it with fewer currencies and vendors and processes and it'll be okay enough to keep around. But not without some new content to make it worth the grind.

 

I played for a good bit of RotHC, played for about six months of SoR, played two months of KotFE, and played two weeks of KotET - as the amount and quality of content has declined, so has my sub and play time.

 

Absent new content, I'm not spending a bunch of time on some god awful RNG hamster wheel gearing system - and even then I would still have issues with GC.

 

I just feel it is absurd to award BIS set gear to CXP farmers - nothing like getting the idiot force storm spamming sorc in your group who feels the need to tell you how great they are because they have 248 gear, yet are in fact terrible as you watch them slowly spam force storm on every boss.

 

Put BIS set stuff back in NiM only (and an equivalent for PVP with PVP bonuses - and only for players with actual rank - not mat farmers), then bring back the non-set bonus, less optimal mods, and clicky relic stuff for whatever system is used for terrible players doing content with no challenge.

[CrutchCricket]

I just feel it is absurd to award BIS set gear to CXP farmers - nothing like getting the idiot force storm spamming sorc in your group who feels the need to tell you how great they are because they have 248 gear, yet are in fact terrible as you watch them slowly spam force storm on every boss.

 

Put BIS set stuff back in NiM only (and an equivalent for PVP with PVP bonuses - and only for players with actual rank - not mat farmers), then bring back the non-set bonus, less optimal mods, and clicky relic stuff for whatever system is used for terrible players doing content with no challenge.

Yeah, that has nothing to do with gear and everything to do with being a moron, and a pretentious one at that. Plus I thought one does not simply PUG NiM- how are you getting idiot sorcs in your group again?

 

I didn't really care about BiS or set bonuses in the past but now that they are out there, I don't find "this is the way it used to be" a compelling reason to revert. There's a class of players in between uber pr0 and drooling idiot that rather enjoys and makes use of the new perks, even if they are hostage to RNG. The issues you list do not seem pressing to me. Bads will be bads, kick/ignore and move on.