Octogenarian Worried About Expansion

[scratcha]

Aside from being an old f@rt, I've got some serious physical issues that make playing this game almost impossible.

 

First, with rheumatoid arthritis and an advanced tremor, mashing buttons on a toolbar is pretty tough. Worse, because of strokes I stress easily, which makes the tremors more pronounced. As a result I seldom do group events or PvP. Mostly, I do the story quests solo, in addition to some Heroics and the easier Flashpoints (again solo).

 

Back in 2011 I couldn't do any of this and quit after six months. I've come back a few times, but it was too hard and certainly not enjoyable.

 

Little over a month ago I returned and paid to have my character at 70, but still worked through the class and planetary stories. With good gear and being over leveled the game has been enjoyable such that I'm on 12-15 hours a day and have my legacy to Legend. All the Legacy perks have been a blessing, too.

 

Here's the problem -- on February 15th the game will strip away my sets, mods, and amplifiers. And as a solo player I can only look forward to inferior gear for a long time. I'll lose much of my advantage and I'm not sure I'll be able to get through Chapter 4 and above on my characters. This is a potential game-stopper for me.

 

(I'm sorry this is so lengthy, but I needed to explain my circumstances.) Am I over-stating the potential problem, or should I really be concerned?

[xordevoreaux]

Your gear will not be stripped away. There just won't be any means to acquire more of that same gear. When I transferred a toon wearing all 306 gear with 276/286 augs, that character still had everything on him when he landed on PTS. Nothing got "stripped away."

 

What happened was the set bonuses on the pieces went away, but the stats on the gear themselves did not.

You will not be losing any gear.

 

And, if all you do is story and PvE content, none to worry. True, you won't gear as fast as you would under 6.0, but nothing PvE has been adjusted to level 80, only operations and a couple flashpoints. Planet sync levels have not changed, for as far as I rummaged around on PTS, so if you're 70, and you're not trying to level alternate toons, and all you're doing is playing PvE, you're fine.

 

With the latest notes from the devs, your solo PvE activity will now produce replacement upgrades for completing story weeklies, so between that and earning tokens from conquest to upgrade that gear, you're fine.

 

It's the solo PvE people sitting on a ton of alts who'll find side-grading not as easy as it was in 6.0.

Edited February 1, 2022 by xordevoreaux

[Sarova]

 

It's the solo PvE people sitting on a ton of alts who'll find side-grading not as easy as it was in 6.0.

Yep, this is a bit of a concern. I did end up two full extra sets of upgraded gear on the PTS, however as I was running an assassin, this could only be used by other characters with that spec. Whilst getting the initial 318 (316? I forget) set is easy as you can just buy it, altoholics are a bit doomed when it comes to upgrading.

[Rolodome]

Your gear will not be stripped away. There just won't be any means to acquire more of that same gear. When I transferred a toon wearing all 306 gear with 276/286 augs, that character still had everything on him when he landed on PTS. Nothing got "stripped away."

 

What happened was the set bonuses on the pieces went away, but the stats on the gear themselves did not.

You will not be losing any gear.

 

And, if all you do is story and PvE content, none to worry. True, you won't gear as fast as you would under 6.0, but nothing PvE has been adjusted to level 80, only operations and a couple flashpoints. Planet sync levels have not changed, for as far as I rummaged around on PTS, so if you're 70, and you're not trying to level alternate toons, and all you're doing is playing PvE, you're fine.

 

With the latest notes from the devs, your solo PvE activity will now produce replacement upgrades for completing story weeklies, so between that and earning tokens from conquest to upgrade that gear, you're fine.

 

It's the solo PvE people sitting on a ton of alts who'll find side-grading not as easy as it was in 6.0.

I thought it was a whole topic of discussion that stuff has been adjusted such that it takes longer to kill than on live. Whether that necessarily translates to difficulty, idk, but I've read it in multiple places from people who tested on PTS. I distinctly remember something about reportedly with the level 80 gear they hit less hard than they did with BiS 75 gear on live. Like it's being adjusted to a downgrade in power, essentially, while increasing the level cap to make it seem like you're going somewhere. And since it will be harder (if not impossible?) to gear up all the way to BiS as a purely solo player in 7.0, that downgrade will be felt even more for some.

 

I'm not saying whether it's enough it'll be a problem for OP, I don't know, but I want to make sure the details are straight.

Edited February 2, 2022 by Rolodome

[JediQuaker]

Aside from being an old f@rt, I've got some serious physical issues that make playing this game almost impossible.

 

This is a potential game-stopper for me.

 

Am I over-stating the potential problem, or should I really be concerned?

1. Physical issues shouldn't concern you that much. This game is not that fast paced that reaction times, etc, make that much difference (except, of course, for PvP). Don't let concerns about physical issues keep you from doing flashpoints or SM OPs. Clicking on skillbars is perfectly fine. And, miss-clicking because of twitches is not that big a deal (from experience), unless you do have the misfortune to run into an group ***hole. (It happens. 🙂 )

 

2. As a senior citizen you should be well aware of how often 'potential' problems become dust in the wind.

 

3. Yes, over-stating, over-concern. 😇

[Rolodome]

First, with rheumatoid arthritis and an advanced tremor, mashing buttons on a toolbar is pretty tough. Worse, because of strokes I stress easily, which makes the tremors more pronounced. As a result I seldom do group events or PvP. Mostly, I do the story quests solo, in addition to some Heroics and the easier Flashpoints (again solo).

Oh BTW, if you're up for giving it a try, I'd recommend setting up keybinds and trying to use those instead of clicking abilities. I used this video to help me with some ideas for it in the beginning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjhuVACT7_8. I'm much younger than you, prob my tremor is not as bad, but sometimes in the past when I've played games like these and I got really stressed in group content, it would be hard to click abilities at all cause of the tremor. Eventually, I decided to give keybinds a try and it took some getting used to the muscle memory of it, but now if my hands are shaky, I don't have to worry about floundering around on a toolbar and I feel much more skilled as a player overall.

 

Hopefully the arthritis would not make keybinds too difficult to try, but thought I'd share that thought with you in case it can be a help.

 

Also, one other thing is I find I'm less stressed in general when I don't have the music on. The combat music makes me way more stressed than I would otherwise be. Idk if that's just me being weird, but for some reason it makes a difference for me and I play much more calmly and clear headed.

Edited February 2, 2022 by Rolodome

[Pricia]

 

It's the solo PvE people sitting on a ton of alts who'll find side-grading not as easy as it was in 6.0.

 

Tell me about it. But at least we get drops now, so we'll get upgrades faster that way...

[Mongorr]

Not trying to diminish the physical challenges you are facing, OP, but honestly I don't think you need to worry at all. I have played a number of MMOs in the last 20 years and this is by far the easiest I ever played.

 

Sure, there are challenging modes for those who like it, but general solo PvE story gameplay is ridiculously easy. Sometimes I do a mission or heroic and I wonder "why do I suddenly need three global cooldowns instead of two for this enemy", then I realize I left my 306 IR legacy gear in my legacy hold and my toon is basically fighting naked.

 

What I expect for the expansion is fights taking a little longer than they do now. I believe the main cause of death for my characters will still be missing the elevator.

[Khaleijo]

Yep, this is a bit of a concern. I did end up two full extra sets of upgraded gear on the PTS, however as I was running an assassin, this could only be used by other characters with that spec. Whilst getting the initial 318 (316? I forget) set is easy as you can just buy it, altoholics are a bit doomed when it comes to upgrading.

Aren't all gear pieces legacy bound though and the 'set' bonus on implants with 7.0? What's stopping you to use a so to speak generic dps , tank or healer armor set that you share between your characters of the same role? Only weapons, implants and tacticals would be individual for the specs.

Except maybe for the inconvenience to have to put in and pull the pieces from the legacy bank or mail, which I readily admit is a bother, but at least at first it's a viable option until you reach the item rating limit of your play style and get spare pieces you can use on other characters.

[Sarova]

Aren't all gear pieces legacy bound though and the 'set' bonus on implants with 7.0? What's stopping you to use a so to speak generic dps , tank or healer armor set that you share between your characters of the same role? Only weapons, implants and tacticals would be individual for the specs.

Except maybe for the inconvenience to have to put in and pull the pieces from the legacy bank or mail, which I readily admit is a bother, but at least at first it's a viable option until you reach the item rating limit of your play style and get spare pieces you can use on other characters.

The armour pieces are legacy bound but NOT generic. Legacy bound items that dropped for my assassin could only be equipped on an assassin alt.

[mike_carton]

The armour pieces are legacy bound but NOT generic. Legacy bound items that dropped for my assassin could only be equipped on an assassin alt.

What about changing a combat style, how did that impact this?

 

Can anybody else speak to this? Confirm or contradict? I was also under the impression that the DPS pieces (*) could be shared between all DPS characters.

 

(*) The 10 pieces. Everything except weapons and implants.

Edited February 3, 2022 by mike_carton

[Damask_Rose]

I thought it was a whole topic of discussion that stuff has been adjusted such that it takes longer to kill than on live. Whether that necessarily translates to difficulty, idk, but I've read it in multiple places from people who tested on PTS. I distinctly remember something about reportedly with the level 80 gear they hit less hard than they did with BiS 75 gear on live. Like it's being adjusted to a downgrade in power, essentially, while increasing the level cap to make it seem like you're going somewhere. And since it will be harder (if not impossible?) to gear up all the way to BiS as a purely solo player in 7.0, that downgrade will be felt even more for some.

 

I'm not saying whether it's enough it'll be a problem for OP, I don't know, but I want to make sure the details are straight.

 

You are the only respondent who hit the nail on the head. The changes, as seen on the PTS, greatly affect time to kill. While fights might not be any harder than now, they definitely take longer. The longer a mob takes to kill, the more buttons that have to be mashed. The more buttons that have to be mashed, the more stress there is on arthritic hands. 7.0 might not make the game unplayable for the OP, it will make it more painful.

[JediQuaker]

As an old timer, I'd have to say that clicking a mouse button to activate a skill, isn't very stressful - unless, of course, you're using some sort of $5 Walmart mouse that requires brute force. Get yourself a good, sensitive, Logitech (or similar) mouse and a good mousing surface.

 

Also, spend some time arranging:

- the speed of the mouse so you don't overshoot the skillbars.

- the size of the skillbars, to reduce overshoot.

- the placement of the skills to reduce mouse travel distance.

Edited February 4, 2022 by JediQuaker

[scratcha]

As an old timer, I'd have to say that clicking a mouse button to activate a skill, isn't very stressful - unless, of course, you're using some sort of $5 Walmart mouse that requires brute force. Get yourself a good, sensitive, Logitech (or similar) mouse and a good mousing surface.

 

Also, spend some time arranging:

- the speed of the mouse so you don't overshoot the skillbars.

- the size of the skillbars, to reduce overshoot.

- the placement of the skills to reduce mouse travel distance.

 

I have used Razer mice, keyboards, and Tartaruses for over a decade. I like them because they are almost infinitely customizable. Though I was never a programmer, I was able to suss out Synapse 1.0/2.0/3.0 to great advantage. Moreover, my UI is arranged to help compensate. That said, despite heavy meds to stem the tremor, and devices like specially weighted tableware, I'm still challenged to get a spoon of food in my mouth, and my signature is an unpredictable Picasso scribble gone wild. Stressed, I cannot type as my fingers will bounce all over the keyboard.

 

Now, I'm not complaining -- old age and its baggage are facts of life. Notwithstanding, it still hacks me off when developers make playing their games more difficult for no specified reason. I'll likely continue playing SWTOR because I'm enthralled by the theme, but I think for many of us we'll be returning to a time when more challenging game aspects will be denied to us because we either can't do them or the innate fear that often toxic groups will deride us for sucking at the game.

[Sarova]

What about changing a combat style, how did that impact this?

 

Can anybody else speak to this? Confirm or contradict? I was also under the impression that the DPS pieces (*) could be shared between all DPS characters.

 

(*) The 10 pieces. Everything except weapons and implants.

Re: changing combat style - I had guardian secondary class spec on my assassin and I bought a set of guardian gear to use with that spec (unfortunately the loadout to easily switch did not work correctly. Devs are aware but have not commented on a fix for when 7.0 goes live). I can't remember for sure if I had to buy that set for the guardian class spec or chose to I wish had made a note of why I bought a set for each spec.

I'm pretty sure that my lightning inq could not equip pieces that I got on my assassin even though both were dps.

Edited February 4, 2022 by Sarova

[WNxAbaddon]

Aside from being an old f@rt, I've got some serious physical issues that make playing this game almost impossible.

 

First, with rheumatoid arthritis and an advanced tremor, mashing buttons on a toolbar is pretty tough. Worse, because of strokes I stress easily, which makes the tremors more pronounced. As a result I seldom do group events or PvP. Mostly, I do the story quests solo, in addition to some Heroics and the easier Flashpoints (again solo).

 

Back in 2011 I couldn't do any of this and quit after six months. I've come back a few times, but it was too hard and certainly not enjoyable.

 

Little over a month ago I returned and paid to have my character at 70, but still worked through the class and planetary stories. With good gear and being over leveled the game has been enjoyable such that I'm on 12-15 hours a day and have my legacy to Legend. All the Legacy perks have been a blessing, too.

 

Here's the problem -- on February 15th the game will strip away my sets, mods, and amplifiers. And as a solo player I can only look forward to inferior gear for a long time. I'll lose much of my advantage and I'm not sure I'll be able to get through Chapter 4 and above on my characters. This is a potential game-stopper for me.

 

(I'm sorry this is so lengthy, but I needed to explain my circumstances.) Am I over-stating the potential problem, or should I really be concerned?

 

Hey.

 

I have rheumatoid arthritis and I also suffer with ASD So I know a little of how your fealing about 7.0.

 

Let me say right of the bat DONT PANIC, there a few issues that ill get to to try and put your mind at ease.

 

7.0 and (in a Dramatic Voice) AND THE END OF THE WORLD

 

Am sure at some point you have read (what I call) the end of the world posts, how 7.0 is going to come into your home and pull out your eyebrows 1 by 1 untill you scream if you dont join the hate, all mmo forums are like this when things change and people dont like it.. It's not the end of the world and for 99% of the content you will be doing 7.0 wont be that much of a change. Yes you may feel weaker in some fights but thats perfectly normal for the beginning of a new expansion.

 

 

Take it slow and enjoy the game experance

 

As a solo player myself, I find myself saying the classic (oh one more mission) the best advise I can give you is SLOW down, if you find a mission hard or you find yourself in a panic ( I do alot ) its always down to the fact am tired or am overplaying, one of the bigest challanges is not always the game, but knowing when to just turn off and come back later. One of the hardests fights for me is

Arcann vs Vaylins Horizon Guard

And ill keep doing it untill I beat the fight, till I get angry and frustrated. But now I just get up and put it down and come back the next day and wonder why am not buffed or my companion is set wrong then I do it again and 1 shot it, I was to focused on beating the fight I was missing a buff or something dumb that I just overlooked. Taking a brake even for a hour just to relax means my hands dont hurt as much and I can refocus.

 

Focus on gear to much

 

In MMO gaming theres a focus on gear to the point where people convince themselves that if they don't have the best gear "it can't be done" Its just not true, for story mode content even just having basic green gear is more than enough to do all the content, feeling the need to get the "best" gear is often a crutch, am not going to tell you to "get better bro" or some other nonsence, but with people that suffer with anxiety myself also, my brain tells me something like "Oh don't bother you will fail and because of your hands you cant do it" when in truth I can but low confidence and the fear of failing always tells me not to try. The only way to beat that IS TO TRY.

 

Its never as bad as you think

 

Anxiety is a usefull tool sometimes, but in gaming its never useful. There a lot of solo players on swtor that play solo for lots of different reasons, some people (like myself) have social phobias or there people that convince themselves that there not worth playing with or convince themselves there just to bad at the game. None of them are true, next time your doing a mission see how meny people are in that zone and Just say HI! the worst that will happen is no one talks back and your no worse off. Just think you may find someone just like you who wants a friend to play missions with, someone who you can help and in return they can then help you.

[Toraak]

Aren't all gear pieces legacy bound though and the 'set' bonus on implants with 7.0? What's stopping you to use a so to speak generic dps , tank or healer armor set that you share between your characters of the same role? Only weapons, implants and tacticals would be individual for the specs.

Except maybe for the inconvenience to have to put in and pull the pieces from the legacy bank or mail, which I readily admit is a bother, but at least at first it's a viable option until you reach the item rating limit of your play style and get spare pieces you can use on other characters.

 

Nothing, since the rest of the gear other then Implants, and MH/OH are not only Legacy bound, but also not restricted by class. So you could use the Assassin head, chest, gloves, bracer, belt, legs, boots, eapiece, and relics on any character regardless of class. Unless your looking for a specific stat number, alts can just use a generic set for common play and just hold it in the legacy storage. Pull it out on whatever character you want.

 

When I played on the PTS, I could use my Sniper targeter's gear pieces on my Assassin, so not sure why someone above me said they couldn't. I had no issues doing that.

Edited February 4, 2022 by Toraak

[mike_carton]

Re: changing combat style ...I'm pretty sure that my lightning inq could not equip pieces that I got on my assassin even though both were dps.

 

Thanks for the additional information. This is unfortunate and significantly increases the gear grind for players - like me - with several characters that are relatively actively played.

[scratcha]

Hey. ... .

 

I've been fretting about a game I generally enjoy immensely, and while I'm a bit concerned about 7.0's impact on me, I'll certainly hang in there. I generally don't care for melee, so my first 8 characters included only a Jugg and Knight. Now, I'm playing a Consular Shadow and Inquisitor Assassin; and despite them being melee they're quite possibly my favorite characters.

 

Because of my stress issue it's a real joy to stealth around everywhere. I'm more at ease exploring everything and I don't have to worry about fighting my way every few feet. Heroics are also a lot easier. My Shadow and Assassin destroy everything so comprehensively I guess I'm worrying too much about 7.0 -- even if fights take a bit longer, it will still be eminently doable.

 

Thank you, everyone, for your input and encouragement!

Edited February 5, 2022 by scratcha

[WNxAbaddon]

I've been fretting about a game I generally enjoy immensely, and while I'm a bit concerned about 7.0's impact on me, I'll certainly hang in there. I generally don't care for melee, so my first 8 characters included only a Jugg and Knight. Now, I'm playing a Consular Shadow and Inquisitor Assassin; and despite them being melee they're quite possibly my favorite characters.

 

Because of my stress issue it's a real joy to stealth around everywhere. I'm more at ease exploring everything and I don't have to worry about fighting my way every few feet. Heroics are also a lot easier. My Shadow and Assassin destroy everything so comprehensively I guess I'm worrying too much about 7.0 -- even if fights take a bit longer, it will still be eminently doable.

 

Thank you, everyone, for your input and encouragement!

 

Good for you!

 

Really the truth is, it's just a game. Its ment to be fun people get so "stressed" over different aspects of SWTOR that it really dose stop being fun. I count myself in that group sometimes, but the truth is its better playing something you enjoy over something that is "work" Sometimes its better to stop and ask yourself why your not enjoying the game, sometimes it can just mean you change a class or playstyle never be scard to try new classes ones you dont enjoy dont play.

 

Am glad you seem to have found a perfect fit, remember to take things slow and at your own pace and remember things are NEVER as bad as they seem.