Ylliarus Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 (edited) While it is true that the expansion is far from perfect, especially with the gearing and crafting changes that - over the past couple of weeks - have been severely bugging me (pun intended) as well, the good sides of Onslaught deserve some recognition. Especially one aspect of the story deserves high praise, as it shows that the devs over at Bioware do listen to their players. What am I referring to? The choice that we are presented with after we finish the Corellia Flashpoint. Before you continue any further, if you want to avoid any spoilers, don't read beyond this line of text. Some of the people here will know me as an ardent supporter of the "return to our original faction" narrative, which I have frequently propagated on these forums in the past. While I and many other players yearned to return our toons to the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic, there were those players who really enjoyed the idea of the Alliance and instead wanted to continue it as an independent faction. In the discussions between proponents of both those desires (returning to our original faction and staying independent), it was agreed upon that the best path forward would be to give players both options, to rejoin their old faction or remain independent as the Alliance. The developers have seen this and listened. It is why I wanted to express my heartfelt appreciation for the fact that our characters are given both the choice to rejoin our original factions fully (with titles and positions and everything), but also get the choice to instead remain independent and keep leading the Alliance. It is true that it remains to be seen how this will develop in the future and how well this can be maintained, but for now I am incredibly grateful that the storytellers listened to both the players who wanted to return to their faction and those who didn't. And yes, I admit, I almost cried (no joke) when I was given the option to reclaim my position and title of Darth Nox. I don't remember being ever so happy about something in this game. Maybe one day in the near future, I will be just as happy about the fact that Twi'lek will get the yellow Sith eyes as an appearance customization option as well Now it is my hope, that the developers will be able to listen to the players like this once more, in regards to the many, many issues with crafting and the new gearing system... Edited November 3, 2019 by Ylliarus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasStarWars Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 Absolutely. All my characters are joining their factions. Never liked the alliance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ylliarus Posted November 3, 2019 Author Share Posted November 3, 2019 (edited) Absolutely. All my characters are joining their factions. Never liked the alliance. I agree, I hated the Eternal Alliance passionately, so I don't think any of my characters will maintain their independence either. However, I am happy that the people who love the Alliance, do get to keep it this way, no one is forced to suffer at the hands of either side of the debate. Edited November 3, 2019 by Ylliarus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Estelindis Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 Completely agree, I love that we were given this choice. Most of my characters will rejoin their original factions, but some are definitely staying independent. Add the option to be a loyalist or saboteur - or even to go back on being a saboteur (though many may not realize this option exists, due to not taking the required choices) - and we have a really good amount of branching in our narrative, which helps player agency. You and I were just agreeing in another thread about how much 6.0 crafting needs to be improved, but 6.0 succeeds in other areas, especially story. It's right that we recognize dev success as well as ask for improvement where improvement is needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goreshaga Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 (edited) I do agree that having that choice was great. So far all the characters i got through decided to keep their independance and their Alliance, which is nice. Edited November 3, 2019 by Goreshaga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyFlynn Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 Yes, I'm really glad they provided choices that should satisfy people from both camps and that allow for something that best fits our characters and their individuality too. While I liked the idea of 'returning home', I was also on the fence about it because we did fight hard to build up that Alliance and we didn't do so just to become a puppet. On the other hand, I wasn't sure whether I even wanted to keep the Alliance so naturally, I've gone both ways here. My Knight and Warrior have maintained their independence, while my Consular and Inquisitor have reclaimed their seats and titles, and holdings in my Inquisitor's case (MY Silencers, homeboy). My IA is a saboteur. The Empire's pulled quite a number on her during her original story and then after years of KOTFEET hell, she reunites with Vector who tells her the Empire used his family (the killiks) for cannon fodder and that he's chosen to leave the Empire. No way she is returning to the Empire now so she's a saboteur and will remain independent. I'm so glad I get the chance to do that, it would be a disservice to her otherwise. My Bounty Hunter and Smuggler will definitely remain independent too, while my Trooper will rejoin the Republic because all the Alliance ever was to her was a means to an end, to get the job done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jdast Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 Like those posting above me, I too enjoyed the option. I have enough alts that I'm going in all directions to see how it plays out. Dasty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzsi Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 (edited) The majority of my characters are keeping their alliance which I am very grateful for. Only a few that it makes sense for will go back. I was very pleased with this option. The devs have also listened in other areas as well such as including other alliance personnel where it makes sense, instead of just Lana and Theron. I am very happy with that too. Now if they will also give vanilla LIs some content I will be a very happy gamer. Edited November 3, 2019 by Suzsi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesira Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 Yeah I am glad we got the choice to remain independent, I have grown attached to my alliance, especially since most of my characters I have played to be more independent spirits, so to speak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SerraShar Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 well..I was hoping we become Empress of the Empire (what ? a girl can hope lol) , as such..even though I hate the Alliance (Cose its pretty much useless as far as I'm concerned), some of my Imp toon gonna stick with it. Others will go back..but..only those who don't care for Titles and such or are loyale lol . But my Repb toon for sure..are going home though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adormitul Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 My chains are broken why the hell would my sith warrior would wanna be in them again. The same applies to the sith sorcere. And he other 2 make no sense to join what is there to gain they have more now then they had in the empire which was an license to kill basically and nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelorfinSiana Posted November 3, 2019 Share Posted November 3, 2019 Meanwhile us saboteurs are like "Ok but what do I win? I'm still lying to Admiral Aygo and my other companions." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth-Obvious Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 My chains are broken why the hell would my sith warrior would wanna be in them again. The same applies to the sith sorcere. And he other 2 make no sense to join what is there to gain they have more now then they had in the empire which was an license to kill basically and nothing. Your chains aren't broken. The Alliance is just a different set of chains, one that has very little uniqueness or identity. It being the same thing for all 8 classes gives little satisfaction to process of being the commander of the Alliance across multiple characters. There's no way to make the Alliance feel like it's an extension of your character but rather instead it's a static thing that exists that your character can run around in. It never feels like we are truly the leader of something, but rather that instead the game is leading us. It also feels/seems like a weird fit for certain classes too, like the Smuggler & Bounty Hunter who feel like very independent characters in their own right rather than the leader of a giant faction responsible for the lives of a large number of people with the weight of the world on their shoulder(s) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother_Wolf_NZ Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 well..I was hoping we become Empress of the Empire (what ? a girl can hope lol) , as such..even though I hate the Alliance (Cose its pretty much useless as far as I'm concerned), some of my Imp toon gonna stick with it. Others will go back..but..only those who don't care for Titles and such or are loyale lol . But my Repb toon for sure..are going home though I stated in a post of mine, Onslaught is a let down. Because I thought it was going to be like KOTFE and KOTET. It's a nice idea you have there, for a single Sith to take the throne and become Emperor/Empress of the Sith Empire. My Agent Sniper is a double agent working for the Republic, and I really was hoping for more to do in order to sabotage the Empire's efforts at victory. The entire story involves around this one shipyard, ONE SHIPYARD! When I completed the story for the first time, I was like "That's it??"! Compared with the previous expansions in the past: Hutt Cartel, Shadow of Revan, KOTFE and KOTET, Onslaught is way too short to be an expansion. There need to be more stories that keeps players on their toes, and find out what's going to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SerraShar Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 I stated in a post of mine, Onslaught is a let down. Because I thought it was going to be like KOTFE and KOTET. It's a nice idea you have there, for a single Sith to take the throne and become Emperor/Empress of the Sith Empire. My Agent Sniper is a double agent working for the Republic, and I really was hoping for more to do in order to sabotage the Empire's efforts at victory. The entire story involves around this one shipyard, ONE SHIPYARD! When I completed the story for the first time, I was like "That's it??"! Compared with the previous expansions in the past: Hutt Cartel, Shadow of Revan, KOTFE and KOTET, Onslaught is way too short to be an expansion. There need to be more stories that keeps players on their toes, and find out what's going to happen. yeah I know. They should've called it DLC.. Expansion originally are larger in content . But eww..you liked Kotfe and Kotet ? Double ew lol I hated Kotfe and Kotet. Boring, meaningless...yurk . I feel like the whole Shipyard thing was just a ruse from Malgus. We'll see if I'm right or wrong, if they ever make more content lol . I think they had more peoples when they made the ''The rise of the Hutt cartel'' and ''Shadow of Revan'' . So keep that in mind....though one could say ''You couldve waited another year to have more '' lol but then, that would mean waiting even more..afterward . Damned if you do, damned if you don't . Well my idea isn't really anything new lol All Sith strive for the Throne . Originally. It just that..it kinda insulting, to go back to be the lackey of Acina ? Hell no.. either get off the chair..or take a Hike . And when I said all sith..I mean in the story..not how peoples role play them (I have goody two shoes Sith who don't want to rules too lol) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nefla Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 Absolutely. All my characters are joining their factions. Never liked the alliance. Same here, I'm worried that my saboteur characters will end up as "orphans" though since the Empire didn't offer them their old jobs back but the Republic is giving them the runaround about openly joining the Republic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother_Wolf_NZ Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 yeah I know. They should've called it DLC.. Expansion originally are larger in content . But eww..you liked Kotfe and Kotet ? Double ew lol I hated Kotfe and Kotet. Boring, meaningless...yurk . I feel like the whole Shipyard thing was just a ruse from Malgus. We'll see if I'm right or wrong, if they ever make more content lol . I think they had more peoples when they made the ''The rise of the Hutt cartel'' and ''Shadow of Revan'' . So keep that in mind....though one could say ''You couldve waited another year to have more '' lol but then, that would mean waiting even more..afterward . Damned if you do, damned if you don't . Well my idea isn't really anything new lol All Sith strive for the Throne . Originally. It just that..it kinda insulting, to go back to be the lackey of Acina ? Hell no.. either get off the chair..or take a Hike . And when I said all sith..I mean in the story..not how peoples role play them (I have goody two shoes Sith who don't want to rules too lol) . Then that's something we can agree on, Onslaught should be labled as a DLC, not an expansion. As for KOTFE and KOTET, I'm not saying that I like them lol. I'm only saying that both expansions gave out a novelty that was like a book series, each with different chapters and plot twists. Sure it's boring lol, but at least both expansions gave out something that was new and fresh to the table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adormitul Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 DLC for an MMO? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ylliarus Posted November 4, 2019 Author Share Posted November 4, 2019 (edited) You and I were just agreeing in another thread about how much 6.0 crafting needs to be improved, but 6.0 succeeds in other areas, especially story. It's right that we recognize dev success as well as ask for improvement where improvement is needed. Full agree again! To me personally, the story of Onslaught was amazing. It got me feeling back when I played SWTOR for the first time, going through all the class stories. It got me that SWTOR feel that I can't give another name other than that. Finally, we get to be one of the heroes again, not the hero of all and everything. We're an important figure on the galactic stage, but not the most important and that is exactly what the class stories gave in the vanilla game. True, the story was on the short side, but honestly, I don't mind giving up length if we get to have two separate stories again. It's why I am bothered by people complaining about length, because in my opinion, they don't see that we finally got two seperate storylines instead of one-size-fits-all, which was absolutely horrible and the main reason why I hate KotFE and KotET. Your chains aren't broken. The Alliance is just a different set of chains, one that has very little uniqueness or identity. It being the same thing for all 8 classes gives little satisfaction to process of being the commander of the Alliance across multiple characters. There's no way to make the Alliance feel like it's an extension of your character but rather instead it's a static thing that exists that your character can run around in. It never feels like we are truly the leader of something, but rather that instead the game is leading us. It also feels/seems like a weird fit for certain classes too, like the Smuggler & Bounty Hunter who feel like very independent characters in their own right rather than the leader of a giant faction responsible for the lives of a large number of people with the weight of the world on their shoulder(s) This exactly. It's why I always hated the Alliance, because it completely doesn't fit a lot of classes actually and offers absolutely no opportunity to create it as an extension of our character. Like, the Sith Inquisitor, they should have had the opportunity to have the Alliance function entirely different than a Jed Knight. Yet both classes get exactly the same build up and layout of the Alliance, the same functionality. It discredits each class story, in my opinion. Like, why would a Sith want to build an Alliance that is obviously centered around cooperation and friendship? The Alliance fits Republic toons, but completely mismatches Imperial ones in my opinion. Meanwhile us saboteurs are like "Ok but what do I win? I'm still lying to Admiral Aygo and my other companions." I bet that there will be a satisfying end to this, but being a saboteur really is a complex and intricate story trope to follow. You can't be like "ok, I'll sabotage this one thing for you and then I'll be top dog in your faction, 'kay?". A saboteur storyline needs a lot of time to be developed properly. From what I have seen, it's being given exactly that. From my perspective, the Saboteur storyline is slowly building up - as it should - and will eventually culminate in a dramatic end where you get the option to fully defect. But it can't be rushed and shouldn't be, otherwise it will lose credibility. Edited November 4, 2019 by Ylliarus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Typhaos Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 (edited) I wonder why saboteurs did not get the invitation to go back. Is this because the mission was a failure? Or is it to avoid confusion if our return is genuine (=end of saboteur arc) or for keeping up appearances? Also I've seen that it is possible to stop being saboteur and this brings interesting implications. Will ex-saboteurs be later blackmailed perhaps? Edited November 4, 2019 by Typhaos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adormitul Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 I do not get why people say our sith characters are still in chain we are at the top as the leader of the alliance we are the chain holders its like saying the sith emperor was in chains. Or Sidious or any sith ruler ever. If you rejoin the empire you are under someone taking her/his orders you are in her/his chains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HollyUSEC Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 Personally I like the Alliance. Most of my toons will stay with it. But yes, the option to choose it very nice. I will probably pick one of my Pub toons and one of my Imp toons to rejoin their original factions and reclaim the trappings thereof, for the purpose of seeing how the story veers along that arc. It's one of the best features of the Onslaught story, being able to choose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth-Obvious Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 I do not get why people say our sith characters are still in chain we are at the top as the leader of the alliance we are the chain holders its like saying the sith emperor was in chains. Or Sidious or any sith ruler ever. If you rejoin the empire you are under someone taking her/his orders you are in her/his chains. Just because you're the leader of the Alliance doesn't mean you're unchained. Nearly every story point from KOTFE onwards is the result of other characters giving you a mission forcing you down a specific path. "Commander, so & so is under attack, the Alliance should help them to win them over as an ally." You as the Commander have no option to refuse that mission or even choose how you want the story to progress. How many missions in the game are a result of what Lana & Theron tell you to do as opposed to what you actually want to do? It's no different than a faction leader giving your character a mission. You just don't seem to realize/understand that what the game is presenting you with is a false sense of leadership or is basically manipulating you into believing that you have a sense of power/control that you actually don't. You feel more like a leader sending characters out on crafting missions than you ever do as the Commander in KOTFE, because at least in that instance you can actually control characters to a degree. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adormitul Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 At the end I can still chose how to do said mission and many of said mission you can suggest said mission and what to do before Lana and/or Theron suggest or tell what to do giving you agency, or at least the pretense of it. Under the empire eve that agency ore pretense of it is gone you can not suggest what to do next like you could in the previous missions you just follow what the empress/emperor said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelorfinSiana Posted November 4, 2019 Share Posted November 4, 2019 (edited) I understand lying to the government, but to our own companions? I wonder why saboteurs did not get the invitation to go back. Is this because the mission was a failure? Or is it to avoid confusion if our return is genuine (=end of saboteur arc) or for keeping up appearances? I don't understand this either. Maybe because of your failures, you're being kept at arm's length? I killed Anathel for nothing, I guess, lol. Edited November 4, 2019 by BelorfinSiana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts