Give an incentive for SOLOERS to go through STORY flashpoints

[Pricia]

I mean... what's the point? I'm getting FP gear parts that I will NEVER use because I don't run vet or MM FPs and such have nothing to upgrade anyway.

 

STORY flashpoints are for SOLOERS. The worst slap in the face of 7.0 for soloers is not getting any gear at all from a flashpoint anymore...

 

And please don't give us Conquest parts for it either because most soloers are ALREADY CAPPED every week. Getting at least one piece of gear for it isn't too much to ask, considering how crappy solo gear is compared to everything else anyway...

 

(And yes I mentioned that on the PTS forum in December).

Edited April 7, 2022 by Pricia

[cjmarsh]

I don't see a problem with giving out green 320 flashpoint gear as an end reward to solo story flashpoints. Might be a good way to get players geared for veteran flashpoints, especially new players.

[Pricia]

I don't see a problem with giving out green 320 flashpoint gear as an end reward to solo story flashpoints. Might be a good way to get players geared for veteran flashpoints, especially new players.

 

And it would give us something to upgrade too.

 

That's a great idea.

[Muckbeast]

The reality is there should only be ONE gear path that everyone upgrades along. The different types of content just drop you in at a different point.

 

A Better Gear System:

 

1) Conquest/Heroics/Story: 316-320 green gear with removable 316-320 green mods.

 

2) FPs: 322 blue gear with removable 322 blue mods.

 

3) OPs/PvP: 324 purple gear with removable 324 purple mods.

 

4) 701-800 (new tier) Crafters make 326 purple mods using a rare material that drops from FPs, OPs, WBs, conquest boxes, heroic weekly boxes.

 

*ONE* upgrade currency. Maybe aquatic matrices?

 

Mods are upgraded along this path:

.

• 316 green ->
  
• 318 green ->
  
• 320 green ->
  
• 322 blue ->
  
• 324 purple ->
  
• 326 purple ->
  
• 328 purple ->
  
• 330 purple
  

 

Mods are then used in adaptive armor, weapon skins, etc. as usual.

 

Why is this better?

.

1. This system provides bonus value for "harder content" since they are a couple steps further along the gear upgrade path immediately.
    
    
   
2. This system ensures that every player can eventually get the final upgrade no matter what kind of content they play.
    
    
   
3. This system includes crafters.
    
    
   
4. This system includes the mod system we have loved for 10 years.
    
    
   
5. This system doesn't break weapon skins.
   

[JediQuaker]

I always thought that the "incentive" for Solo FPs was the "story" and the ability to watch the cutscenes without annoying others and/or being annoyed by "Spacebar" and/or "W.O.G.M." (Waiting On Group Members).

Plus you get to explore every nook and cranny at you're own pace. Do you really need a 'treat' as well?

[cjmarsh]

I always thought that the "incentive" for Solo FPs was the "story" and the ability to watch the cutscenes without annoying others and/or being annoyed by "Spacebar" and/or "W.O.G.M." (Waiting On Group Members).

Plus you get to explore every nook and cranny at you're own pace. Do you really need a 'treat' as well?

 

Do I want more dopamine hits every time I play the game? Yes, yes I do. That's why I play games in the first place.

[Pricia]

I always thought that the "incentive" for Solo FPs was the "story" and the ability to watch the cutscenes without annoying others and/or being annoyed by "Spacebar" and/or "W.O.G.M." (Waiting On Group Members).

Plus you get to explore every nook and cranny at you're own pace. Do you really need a 'treat' as well?

 

Yeah sure... the first time.

 

Half of my toons haven't even done Ruins of Nul yet because it feels like a massive waste of time...

Edited April 8, 2022 by Pricia

[OlBuzzard]

The reality is there should only be ONE gear path that everyone upgrades along. The different types of content just drop you in at a different point.

 

A Better Gear System:

 

1) Conquest/Heroics/Story: 316-320 green gear with removable 316-320 green mods.

 

2) FPs: 322 blue gear with removable 322 blue mods.

 

3) OPs/PvP: 324 purple gear with removable 324 purple mods.

 

4) 701-800 (new tier) Crafters make 326 purple mods using a rare material that drops from FPs, OPs, WBs, conquest boxes, heroic weekly boxes.

 

*ONE* upgrade currency. Maybe aquatic matrices?

 

Mods are upgraded along this path:

.

• 316 green ->
  
• 318 green ->
  
• 320 green ->
  
• 322 blue ->
  
• 324 purple ->
  
• 326 purple ->
  
• 328 purple ->
  
• 330 purple
  

 

Mods are then used in adaptive armor, weapon skins, etc. as usual.

 

Why is this better?

.

1. This system provides bonus value for "harder content" since they are a couple steps further along the gear upgrade path immediately.
    
    
   
2. This system ensures that every player can eventually get the final upgrade no matter what kind of content they play.
    
    
   
3. This system includes crafters.
    
    
   
4. This system includes the mod system we have loved for 10 years.
    
    
   
5. This system doesn't break weapon skins.
   

 

I like this with one (possibly 2) caveat(s): One random drop (limited to "X" number of drops per day / week or "points complete") with said drop at 326 (or current max available).

 

#2 caveat optional: better accessibility to places to spend tech fragments for whatever gear we choose.

 

(just a thought).

 

BTW... I really like the fact that Muckbeast is looking at solutions !!

 

[/two thumbs up]

[JediQuaker]

Yeah sure... the first time.

 

Half of my toons haven't even done Ruins of Nul yet because it feels like a massive waste of time...

You want to do the Solo more than once?

The solo mode is part of the 'story'. If you want take your toons through the 'story', you need to take them through RoN. That's all the reward you get (a participant ribbon). 😅

[TheRealExozone]

The reality is there should only be ONE gear path that everyone upgrades along. The different types of content just drop you in at a different point.

 

A Better Gear System:

 

1) Conquest/Heroics/Story: 316-320 green gear with removable 316-320 green mods.

 

2) FPs: 322 blue gear with removable 322 blue mods.

 

3) OPs/PvP: 324 purple gear with removable 324 purple mods.

 

4) 701-800 (new tier) Crafters make 326 purple mods using a rare material that drops from FPs, OPs, WBs, conquest boxes, heroic weekly boxes.

 

*ONE* upgrade currency. Maybe aquatic matrices?

 

Mods are upgraded along this path:

.

• 316 green ->
  
• 318 green ->
  
• 320 green ->
  
• 322 blue ->
  
• 324 purple ->
  
• 326 purple ->
  
• 328 purple ->
  
• 330 purple
  

 

Mods are then used in adaptive armor, weapon skins, etc. as usual.

 

Why is this better?

.

1. This system provides bonus value for "harder content" since they are a couple steps further along the gear upgrade path immediately.
    
    
   
2. This system ensures that every player can eventually get the final upgrade no matter what kind of content they play.
    
    
   
3. This system includes crafters.
    
    
   
4. This system includes the mod system we have loved for 10 years.
    
    
   
5. This system doesn't break weapon skins.
   

 

When a random guy/girl on the forum comes up with a much better gearing system in minutes than the team of paid developers in over a year

[kirorx]

I made the mistake of getting 330 gear, now I dont have any incentive to play any content aside from Nefra and The SnV guy. Hardmode flashpoints, storymode operations; its all pointless because it drops lesser gear than I am wearing.

[Damask_Rose]

I always thought that the "incentive" for Solo FPs was the "story" and the ability to watch the cutscenes without annoying others and/or being annoyed by "Spacebar" and/or "W.O.G.M." (Waiting On Group Members).

Plus you get to explore every nook and cranny at you're own pace. Do you really need a 'treat' as well?

 

There are several problems with this.

 

One is that the newer story flashpoints are grindy bores. They are too long and the story inside them isn't engaging enough to compensate. I group the Ilum flashpoints in that category. Too long and not enough interesting story.

 

Two is that once you've done the newer flashpoints for the story, the story isn't repeatable, only the endless trash killing. So the "story mode" version has no actual story. (I think that started with Umbara)

 

Three is that most of the newer flashpoints don't have interesting environments. Nathema has a couple of interesting spots. That's about it. They are pretty generic. There are too few cool nooks and crannies to explore. I would love, love, love it if Kaon and LI had story modes! The best flashpoint experiences I had was back in the day when you could over-level them and explore the spooky environments on your own! I really wish they'd release story versions of all of the old flashpoints.

 

Four is that everyone likes to get at least some rewards for their time spent. Over the past few years, Bioware has been systematically removing any and every reward for repeating story flashpoints. If they take anything else away, we might as well just save some time and watch the cutscenes on Youtube.

[TheRealKingCrazy]

There is plenty of incentives for solo peeps to go through story flashpoints. For one, you don't have to rely on group members to complete it (outside of a few fights which are known to be bugged (e.g. Malgus in the new FP) or suspected to be bugged (e.g. Revan being level 38 in a FP where everything else is level 36, Assembler always being in Repair Mode in Directive 7, etc.)).

 

Also, the blue Isotope Stabilizers that you get for every "main boss" you take down can either be used in crafting, or can sell for a not-insignificant amount of credits on the GTN. The gear, once deconstructed, can also net tech fragments and sometimes other stuff that you can trade in for high value stuff you can either use or sell on GTN (and if you find a Legendary Ember when deconstructing, the GTN value would instantly put a free/preferred account over the credit cap).

 

And also, if you're like me and want to kill everything in sight, a story mode flashpoint is the way to go. Most of the time, vet or master difficulty flashpoints (which require a group) turns into a "stealth run" where the express goal of most players is to stealth your way to each boss, kill the bosses, and only fight mobs/trash if there is no other option (which is why some other MMOs require players to clear a certain amount of mobs/trash in addition to all bosses before awarding completion credit for a particular dungeon/flashpoint...at least for some high level/high difficulty dungeons/flashpoints).

[Pricia]

There is plenty of incentives for solo peeps to go through story flashpoints. For one, you don't have to rely on group members to complete it (outside of a few fights which are known to be bugged (e.g. Malgus in the new FP) or suspected to be bugged (e.g. Revan being level 38 in a FP where everything else is level 36, Assembler always being in Repair Mode in Directive 7, etc.)).

 

Also, the blue Isotope Stabilizers that you get for every "main boss" you take down can either be used in crafting, or can sell for a not-insignificant amount of credits on the GTN. The gear, once deconstructed, can also net tech fragments and sometimes other stuff that you can trade in for high value stuff you can either use or sell on GTN (and if you find a Legendary Ember when deconstructing, the GTN value would instantly put a free/preferred account over the credit cap).

 

And also, if you're like me and want to kill everything in sight, a story mode flashpoint is the way to go. Most of the time, vet or master difficulty flashpoints (which require a group) turns into a "stealth run" where the express goal of most players is to stealth your way to each boss, kill the bosses, and only fight mobs/trash if there is no other option (which is why some other MMOs require players to clear a certain amount of mobs/trash in addition to all bosses before awarding completion credit for a particular dungeon/flashpoint...at least for some high level/high difficulty dungeons/flashpoints).

 

You're kidding right?

 

YOU GET NO GEAR. That's the whole point of my post. You get gear parts for GROUP flashpoints. And you can't even spend them unless you actually do a group FP to get some gear to upgrade.

 

And again, I'm talking about repeatability. There's no reason whatsoever to run a story FP more than once as a soloer if all you get are gear parts you can't use and a few crafting items.

 

And you can do your "sight seeing" the first time.

 

But yes of course I'd like to see every single FP have a story mode, so I can run it... once.

Edited April 9, 2022 by Pricia

[cjmarsh]

And also, if you're like me and want to kill everything in sight, a story mode flashpoint is the way to go. Most of the time, vet or master difficulty flashpoints (which require a group) turns into a "stealth run" where the express goal of most players is to stealth your way to each boss, kill the bosses, and only fight mobs/trash if there is no other option (which is why some other MMOs require players to clear a certain amount of mobs/trash in addition to all bosses before awarding completion credit for a particular dungeon/flashpoint...at least for some high level/high difficulty dungeons/flashpoints).

 

I've often wished for a separate veteran mode flashpoint queue with a mission to clear all the enemies and watch all the cutscenes. Sometimes I just want to slow down and play the game the way it was intended. Killing trash mobs for the umpteenth time isn't always fun but jumping on ledges and skipping large parts of the content always makes me feel like I might as well be skipping the game. Also, I like playing with new players and don't mind being patient with them. It reminds me to appreciate the little things about the game I've started to take for granted.