Thank you Devs for the difficulty bump - overall, it feels just right finally.

[grrrly]

The problem isn't group content - it's just fine (I don't even mean how bolster now works). Open world stuff is a slog and, at least for me, turned into 'how to avoid mobs because fights are long and boring'.

 

Exactly this. I used to do a lot of solo heroic content. The increased difficulty level does not require me to think about fights strategically, or work out when I am going to pop my DCs so I don't die. No, it just means that the fights are going to take a really long time because the mobs take ages to die. It is so, so very boring. I am not doing as much of the solo content I used to enjoy, and if I need to do heroics for conquest I don't do them on my main, I switch to a stealth class because it's quicker.

[TrixxieTriss]

With a bloated underwhelming skills.

 

The new deception assassin ability is so pointless that I’ve removed it from my task bar. At least the new Jugg, Mara and Sorc abilities actually do something to improve damage or combat performance.

[Nemmar]

In general difficulty is just right.

 

Love it. It's one of the reasons this xpac is good. Don't do something dumb like nerf it all.

 

The new deception assassin ability is so pointless that I’ve removed it from my task bar. At least the new Jugg, Mara and Sorc abilities actually do something to improve damage or combat performance.

 

Watch out with that one Trixxie. He is the type that would like the classes to have 4 skills. He does not have in mind the same thing you do.

Edited November 4, 2019 by Nemmar

[TrixxieTriss]

 

Watch out with that one Trixxie. He is the type that would like the classes to have 4 skills. He does not have in mind the same thing you do.

 

Still, you have to admit the new deception sin ability is worthless.

[sentientomega]

In general difficulty is just right.

 

Love it. It's one of the reasons this xpac is good. Don't do something dumb like nerf it all.

 

I couldn't disagree more, BW needs to make things accessible, so does every gaming dev. But it also needs to ensure that players like you can get the challenge you want, and *not* at our expense.

 

"Dumb" was making the changes that 6.0 exemplified, the way BW can win now would be making sure that an entire range of universal difficulty settings can be implemented, and *are* implemented. People could get their 4.0, their 6.0, their 1.0, etc. Do you see?

 

It's also worth mentioning that the desire for an arbitrary *universal* increase in difficulty does also mean a desire to make the game inaccessible to people less skilled and/or less inclined to see challenge, whether those hungry for a difficulty increase even think of that at the time, because that is an inevitable and not wholly welcome side effect.

Edited November 7, 2019 by sentientomega

[DarthSpuds]

Watch out with that one Trixxie. He is the type that would like the classes to have 4 skills. .

 

Well that's an outright lie.

 

Wanting less than 30 skills is NOT the same on only wanting 4 skills.

 

Every class could still have variation, versatility and utility even after losing 10 skills.

 

All The Best

[Goreshaga]

In general difficulty is just right.

 

Love it. It's one of the reasons this xpac is good. Don't do something dumb like nerf it all.

There are some parts who are clearly not right, can't really comment on KOTFEET as i haven't played the chapters recently, but it seems to be too hard for some fights, and the 3 Sentinels fight on Iokath is clearly not right when you end up in an endless fight were whenever you're fighting the last one, another one pops up.

 

In some heroics, the ennemies with a golden star are harder to kill than the ones with a gold and silver star, shouldn't that be the other way around ?

[Oreget]

Ima with guildies only go with roles now:tank heals and 2 dps.

Like it used to be in fp's.

[VarnieTsk]

****long, heavy sigh**** As a returning player, this all makes me very sad. I played at launch, pre-ordered, etc. Been away a long time and just came back, coincidentally at the time of an expansion. Got to thinking about the game and missing the casual, story driven, solo-friendly bit so decided to try it again.

 

What makes me sad is this conversation, and other similar conversations on the subject I've been seeing since my return, and seeing that this game is going down the power-creep path that so many others have gone down like DDO, Neverwinter, Lotro. *sighs again*

 

The conflict between the hard-core players, the spreadsheet warriors, the belligerent L2P adrenaline junkies , etc., and the casual, solo, story loving, flower sniffing players is a never ending one, and yet game after game decides to go down the path of catering to the hard core players and "balancing" the game around those who blast through content and then loudly demand "Moar" while berating anyone who doesn't care to jump on that power train.

 

Everything I've been reading since I've been back is leading me to believe that this game is indeed joining those other games with their power-creep, and that eventually anyone who wants to see the story beyond the lowby levels will have to become a spreadsheet warrior, plan their character from level one, "learn to play," (gods, how I hate that phrase), and in essence give up any hope of ever being able to just enjoy the story and content. In DDO that's called being a "Flower Sniffer." So why is that such a bad thing?

 

Why does every game have to be an intense adrenaline rush? And why can't game companies learn that it really is possible to cater to both crowds without ruining it for either one? Very sad indeed. Well I guess I'll just play the original content for a while for old time's sake and then continue my search for a game that isn't doing this to the solo crowd.

[sentientomega]

****long, heavy sigh**** As a returning player, this all makes me very sad. I played at launch, pre-ordered, etc. Been away a long time and just came back, coincidentally at the time of an expansion. Got to thinking about the game and missing the casual, story driven, solo-friendly bit so decided to try it again.

 

What makes me sad is this conversation, and other similar conversations on the subject I've been seeing since my return, and seeing that this game is going down the power-creep path that so many others have gone down like DDO, Neverwinter, Lotro. *sighs again*

 

The conflict between the hard-core players, the spreadsheet warriors, the belligerent L2P adrenaline junkies , etc., and the casual, solo, story loving, flower sniffing players is a never ending one, and yet game after game decides to go down the path of catering to the hard core players and "balancing" the game around those who blast through content and then loudly demand "Moar" while berating anyone who doesn't care to jump on that power train.

 

Everything I've been reading since I've been back is leading me to believe that this game is indeed joining those other games with their power-creep, and that eventually anyone who wants to see the story beyond the lowby levels will have to become a spreadsheet warrior, plan their character from level one, "learn to play," (gods, how I hate that phrase), and in essence give up any hope of ever being able to just enjoy the story and content. In DDO that's called being a "Flower Sniffer." So why is that such a bad thing?

 

Why does every game have to be an intense adrenaline rush? And why can't game companies learn that it really is possible to cater to both crowds without ruining it for either one? Very sad indeed. Well I guess I'll just play the original content for a while for old time's sake and then continue my search for a game that isn't doing this to the solo crowd.

 

I could not possibly agree more, and I certainly couldn't've put it better myself.

 

I love Star Wars, and that's what kept me going through the tough times when started playing in mid-2013 during 2.2.3, through to 3.x. When 4.0 dropped, I had *much* more reason to play. There was a dip when they did a monstrous nerf to companions which they subsequently reversed, and I kept playing through the rest of 4.x and 5.x.

 

What 6.0 should've been was the gateway toward everybody *really* being able to play how they wanted, from the most casual, to the most hardcore players. And while we're talking about player types, there seems to be an awful lot of hatred for casual players, especially solo casual players, and the way we play.

 

MMOs should be about accessibility, but this one certainly isn't anymore. We don't get recreation, everything's got to be running up sandhills at the bare minimum, everything's got to be a stress-fest. And, as if 6.0 wasn't bad enough, there are *still* players demanding even greater nerfs to solo content.

 

This is the only decent Star Wars game for miles, in which we can create our own custom characters. Correction, *was*. An over-intense adrenaline-fest it is, I'm afraid. BW has duty to undo this awful mistake and be more welcoming, or is every Star Wars fan supposed to be an instant expert gamer now? I'm definitely a "Flower-sniffer", and my endgame has never been FPs, or Ops, or anything like that, but RP.

 

Frankly, I've little hope that things will change for the better. But, just in case they do, I'm still on standby, sort of.

Edited November 11, 2019 by sentientomega

[Theradonh]

I don't understand how people say it is harder.

 

I run very little risk of dying.

 

Anyone with basic MMO understanding is not dying to this "tougher" stuff.

 

 

All they did is make it take longer and be more tedious.

 

With a bloated underwhelming skills. i am not shocked at all people not doing end game content that much.

 

^this

 

 

I can't speak for every class and for solo FP on max level (because I only do group FP) but for everything else: For me it feels like almost nothing has happend. Every Heroic Mission, Daily Mission or leveling characters up to max is still extremly easy. Of course, I didn't do every single one, but the ones I did were of the difficulty as usual or atleast pretty close. (I don't count if an opponent lives 2 seconds longer or not.)

Edited November 11, 2019 by Theradonh

[sentientomega]

^this

 

 

I can't speak for every class and for solo FP on max level (because I only do group FP) but for everything else: For me it feels like almost nothing has happend. Every Heroic Mission, Daily Mission or leveling characters up to max is still extremly easy. Of course, I didn't do every single one, but the ones I did were of the difficulty as usual or atleast pretty close. (I don't count if an opponent lives 2 seconds longer or not.)

 

They need to reverse the sync changes, specifically the endurance and bonus damage loss, and while they're about it, make sure that comps are actually paying attention, and using everything the moment it comes off the cooldown, then I can play again; do everything that I did before, because until they improve the level sync and comp attentiveness, I've no reason to come back after my sub time's up.

 

Btw, playing as if you're playing 16-peep NiM Ops and calling that "basic MMO understanding" just isn't going to wash.

Edited November 11, 2019 by sentientomega

[Kogarvandalin]

I do not enjoy the difficulty bump, I am on the verge of canceling, I haven't logged in once this week. I am waiting to see if any more content comes out for the winter break. If so I'll stick around otherwise I'm gone.

 

I am a solo player that doesn't mind having to use all my abilities. However there are Heroic 2s that I use my CC, heroic moment with 8 classes, and the unity buff. Yet still manage to die because Trash respawns before I can kill the boss in a Heroic 2. After it took an increased amount of time to get there.

 

On top of that I am having difficulty doing my conquest objectives. Previously i'd do it on 5 characters a week just playing the game and having fun. Now I am having to struggle and figure out how to get it completed for 1. Which isn't the way I want to play.

[JYthelifesaver]

I like the new difficulty Edited November 12, 2019 by JYthelifesaver

[ZionHalcyon]

I do not enjoy the difficulty bump, I am on the verge of canceling, I haven't logged in once this week. I am waiting to see if any more content comes out for the winter break. If so I'll stick around otherwise I'm gone.

 

I am a solo player that doesn't mind having to use all my abilities. However there are Heroic 2s that I use my CC, heroic moment with 8 classes, and the unity buff. Yet still manage to die because Trash respawns before I can kill the boss in a Heroic 2. After it took an increased amount of time to get there.

 

On top of that I am having difficulty doing my conquest objectives. Previously i'd do it on 5 characters a week just playing the game and having fun. Now I am having to struggle and figure out how to get it completed for 1. Which isn't the way I want to play.

 

 

The part I bolded seems to be the group that hates the new difficulty the most.

 

While I can understand the frustration, the game overall feels healthier now building it around grouping.

[UltraFlashStar]

I do not enjoy the difficulty bump, I am on the verge of canceling, I haven't logged in once this week. I am waiting to see if any more content comes out for the winter break. If so I'll stick around otherwise I'm gone.

 

I am a solo player that doesn't mind having to use all my abilities. However there are Heroic 2s that I use my CC, heroic moment with 8 classes, and the unity buff. Yet still manage to die because Trash respawns before I can kill the boss in a Heroic 2. After it took an increased amount of time to get there.

 

On top of that I am having difficulty doing my conquest objectives. Previously i'd do it on 5 characters a week just playing the game and having fun. Now I am having to struggle and figure out how to get it completed for 1. Which isn't the way I want to play.

 

If it’s the Mek-Sha one then just defeat the Slave Merchant and everything despawns.

[Aeternali]

The part I bolded seems to be the group that hates the new difficulty the most.

 

While I can understand the frustration, the game overall feels healthier now building it around grouping.

 

I disagree, forcing group has been tried many times before and it ends with people unsubscribing. This was an unwanted move, returning players are hitting the new content, becoming very frustrated and leaving the game. By the time the devs notice anything, those players will be gone for good. This was SWTOR's last change to get some of those players back and the devs by listening to people like you, blew it.

[ZionHalcyon]

I disagree, forcing group has been tried many times before and it ends with people unsubscribing. This was an unwanted move, returning players are hitting the new content, becoming very frustrated and leaving the game. By the time the devs notice anything, those players will be gone for good. This was SWTOR's last change to get some of those players back and the devs by listening to people like you, blew it.

 

And yet - the servers say differently.

 

Look, I get the frustration. BUT.

 

Its not like every outgoing group doesn't do the whole "AND BIOWARE WILL RUE THE DAY THEY CROSSED ME! RUE! FOR THEY ARE DOOMED, DOOMED I TELL YA, BY THEIR MISBEGOTTEN PLANS! RUUUUUEEEE!!!!" routine.

 

And they are still here. And the servers are still more filled than I have seen them in quite some time, not to mention by this point after an expansion, we normally would be seeing a decrease in server numbers, whereas going by what I've been seeing, the servers, at least Satele Shan, has remained steady and perhaps even INCREASED in activity.

 

So yeah. I think they won't be regretting this decision.

[Goreshaga]

The part I bolded seems to be the group that hates the new difficulty the most.

 

While I can understand the frustration, the game overall feels healthier now building it around grouping.

Problem is when as a solo/story player, you can't even advance your own story because some parts in the story are unplayable... Like the walker/droid fights...

I have a friend who ended up skiping nearly half of KOTET plus the whole traitor arc just because he couldn't pass the fight on Iokath where you're in the big droid fighting waves of smaller droids and had to skip directly to Ossus just to get past that point.

I am considering skipping the whole traitor arc because i'm stuck in an endless fight against the Sentinels on Iokath, but while i can somehow accept doing that on a very secondary and unimportant character, i can't do that on my mains who are not up to date and with who i'm recording, which makes them unplayable as long as these walker/droid fights are not fixed...

 

And trying to force grouping on people who don't want to group will never work anyways, just annoy them so much they'll leave and stop paying for the game

Edited November 12, 2019 by Goreshaga

[Iymurra]

I disagree, forcing group has been tried many times before and it ends with people unsubscribing. This was an unwanted move, returning players are hitting the new content, becoming very frustrated and leaving the game. By the time the devs notice anything, those players will be gone for good. This was SWTOR's last change to get some of those players back and the devs by listening to people like you, blew it.

 

Count me as the opposite here, I'm resubscribing BECAUSE of the difficulty bump. In terms of normal content I've noticed almost no difference but I can now turn my attention to soloing things like Aurora Cannon and feel like thats actually an accomplishment now rather than just a part of a weekly chore.

 

Having more content push folks towards grouping is only beneficial in my mind. We as a playerbase have a tremendous amount of experience and wisdom to pass on to the folks who came after us. 4.x & 5.x left no-one wanting to learn, SM Ops were a chore. People fled at the sight of Manaan, EC, Rav, ToS, Nathema... etc. The games difficulty hasn't even increased all that much. Folks still run solo tank/healer SM EVs. We've lost a level or two on synced planets and the incredibly large crutch which was healing companions has been nerfed. And that isn't even a big deal. The Aurora Cannon boss has a lifetap with massive self heals, so you can't exactly outlast that fight... however... basically all the other heroics can be soloed by a tank companion/healer player or vice versa at need, and a hell of a lot are still playable with dps companion/dps player.

 

If you're having difficulty with the removal of the healing companion crutch then my advice to you is this: Change how you play. Instead of having the companion heal for you, try healing for the companion. Instead of healing a DPS companion, try healing a tank companion. Gear up, get set bonuses (some of which are SPECIFICALLY designed for solo players >>> The Preserver, Taskmaster & Victor spring to mind) choose your tacticals wisely, switch out what you use depending on what you need.

 

Instead of looking at this as a chore, look at it as a way to improve your play. Because god only knows the average skill of the playerbase has declined precipitously since Makeb & SoR, and most of us here in this thread would be happy to help you improve if you'd but ask for help instead of demanding crutches.

 

As it pertains to the Iokath sentinels, wasn't that declared as bugged and/or not WAI by the devs a couple weeks ago?

[_NovaBlast_]

And yet - the servers say differently.

 

Look, I get the frustration. BUT.

 

Its not like every outgoing group doesn't do the whole "AND BIOWARE WILL RUE THE DAY THEY CROSSED ME! RUE! FOR THEY ARE DOOMED, DOOMED I TELL YA, BY THEIR MISBEGOTTEN PLANS! RUUUUUEEEE!!!!" routine.

 

And they are still here. And the servers are still more filled than I have seen them in quite some time, not to mention by this point after an expansion, we normally would be seeing a decrease in server numbers, whereas going by what I've been seeing, the servers, at least Satele Shan, has remained steady and perhaps even INCREASED in activity.

 

So yeah. I think they won't be regretting this decision.

 

And how do you know this is not just because of other factors other than difficulty and group

 

honestly imo this is just more MMO = group cult propaganda.

 

IMO there are a term for people with your position ...vocal minority as I also believe ( and have just as much statistics as you do for your claims none ) that the hardcore content , raiders etc are just a small niche faction of the overall population compared with soloing store driven easy mode players.

 

Honestly as i said in my long unsubbed post to keith http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=971484&page=3

 

If you really wanna see what your demographics are ... make everything equal ... give the solo easy mode the raids and other group content but keep the loot table the same no matter what you do.

 

My OPINION is that the "hard content" and "group" crowd is artificially inflated with people who don't really want to but feel they have to due to design and if given the chance to get the same rewards and the same contest solo I think the vast majority would do so.

 

YOU would then also see people whine about group ques not popping ...which would mean ..that the

 

people who want to group would actually have to put in effort to find others that did since the people being forced to would not be there anymore.

 

and then that group would be whining and unsubbing on the forums ....I have been here long enough to see the raiders and hard core poele complaining about too easy . not enough ops ops not hard enough

 

even when multiple people try to give them suggestion on how to make the content harder for them filling up the forums

 

just like the solo er are doing now .

 

So since you make all these posts with demands for communication , solutions for their serves and pats on the back for the rise in difficulty maybe you can start giving suggestions on how to make the game easier ...how someone can solo contented now without having to go to a 20 hour course on how to "git gud"

 

I did not have to "learn" anything before i just used stuff i thought was cool and mashed buttons ...I could just have fun how I wanted to have fun....

 

please since you seem to like to make posts on behalf of the community and try to give suggestion about everything else . give me some tips on how I can play the way I want to play like solo player have given tips on how to make the game harder for people who wanted it .

 

Or is it a case of as long as you're happy nothing else matters ?

 

honestly i read though some of you posts and i can't find anything I can actually agree with including what i thought was very entitled post DEMANDING communication. no suggesting , not asking ...Demanding.

 

It's their game when they have something to communicate they will tell us when THEY feel it's the right time and that is a perfectly legitimate right. regardless of what "other " devs teams do...

 

but let me guess ...Your a "CUSTOMER" and are "ENTITLED" to "DEMAND" to information when "YOU" want it because "CUSTOMER " right?

Edited November 13, 2019 by _NovaBlast_

[red_onion]

I've been biting my tongue.. trying to give 6.0 a chance before complaining too much.

 

The first thing I noticed, on day one, was that I couldn't face roll the heroic on CZ. This was an easy enough fix, I just had to turn my companion on heal which I previously avoided for most content. I could still get away with turning the channeled heal off for a little bit more DPS. So, an annoyance, but not a game breaker by any stretch and probably a realistic change given that I'm talking about a heroic mission/objective. That's about as far as I can agree with the OP.

 

I don't find my lower health pool (and the necessary comp always on heal to compensate for this) adds any challenge to the game; it just adds annoyance. Likewise, the fact that enemy NPCs take longer doesn't up the challenge, it just makes it take longer. We don't have more difficulty in any entertaining sense, we just have a bunch of changes that slow the game down and make most combat long, dull, and boring. Adding mechanics, adds, puzzles... sure, those things add difficulty the right way but just nerfing our damage and health relative to the NPC we are fighting does nothing for me. So, me personally, I'll take facerolling through mobs and golds over monotonous repetitive clicking that adds no dynamic other than more clicking of the same buttons.

 

Playing a low level toon through DK last night was a real eye opener for me. I have all the perks of being an established player (bonuses from datacrons, a full heroic bar, etc.) and even that wasn't sufficient for my level 20 something Sin and Khem (somewhere in the area of influence 10). Friends of Old which is listed as a Heroic 2+ is barely soloable now. I died four times trying to complete this heroic, once by the mob and three times by the hand of Lord Tytonus. I doubt that I would have had an issue playing through with a level 70+ toon that has some defensive abilities but playing a lower level toon I don't have as many options. I finally did manage to get through this mission once the CD on my heroic moment was up and I was able to just lay on a heavy dose of DPS.

 

It took a Heroic Moment to get through, a feature that many new players won't be able to take advantage of.

Of course I can just increase the influence of my companion (since then, I've taken Khem up to about 41 and increasing) but again, new players aren't going to have the credits to significantly increase their comp's influence level; this is a problem.

 

So being objective about this, there are a lot of variables to consider... level and available abilities to start, companion influence, companion type (ranged/melee), player type, etc. What may work for one person playing a level 75 toon with a level 50 companions isn't going to translate. The changes don't seem to account for these variations at all. The "difficulty bump" as you put it is going to chase newer players away. I've only been playing a year, this is my first MMO. I'm learning. If it were this level of difficulty when I started, I would have never moved on from F2P. Bioware/EA wouldn't have gotten the last ten months of subscription fees from me. Just something to consider given that this game is aging and its player base already shrinking. It's important to let the development team know that you approve of the changes, but frankly, I'm not sticking around if all of these changes stick.

[jstankaroslo]

The part I bolded seems to be the group that hates the new difficulty the most.

 

While I can understand the frustration, the game overall feels healthier now building it around grouping.

 

You're trying very hard to antagonize the forums on this issue (and I bet this is not the only issue you're doing this). Just stop.

I'm a solo player, yes a solo player and I love the increased difficulty, this is the reason I re-subbed.

 

So no, this isn't us vs them and trying to spin it that way serves no one.

[sentientomega]

MMORPGs are supposed to be accessible to a whole range of groups, but it's pretty obvious to me and anyone who isn't an elitist Gamers' Pudding Club signatory that this game is now anti-solo-, anti-casual, and anti-solo casual. And the fact that it is Star Wars isn't cutting any ice anymore, because it is now truly Swtor meets Dark Souls *and Final Fantasy XIV.

 

Congratulations, you hardcore players, your conquest of the game's territory is almost complete; thanks to successfully lobbying BW to essentially banish casual/solo players by being incredibly exclusionary in attitude, this game is now "yours" for the reshaping and turning into Ultima Online and company. BW truly gave solo/casual players the finger, and I think that's what your kind really like more than anything else, even more than having the content you desire at the expense of every other player base. Having those for whom you feel nothing but smug contempt on the run...

 

Why couldn't you have had one ounce of generosity in your hearts?

 

Just because it's a game, why does it automatically have to be as hard as it can possibly be for every single tiny aspect of the gmae? Why?!

 

I hope you're all happy...

Edited November 12, 2019 by sentientomega

[JYthelifesaver]

Alright.. So, I started some new characters after 6.0 launched and I did the dk heroics. Like a lot of other players I did notice the increase in difficulty but after a few more alts were made I was able to solo the dk heroics as early as level 13 (was level 15 by the end) with a level 1 influenced comp. Had said comp on tank till the boss of friends of old.

 

It seems like the difficulty comes from people playing the game based on their understanding of old mechanics for gear/stats. These new amplifiers, tactical and set bonuses are the key to playing now.