Star Wars: The Old Republic [Archive]

Katrin Laran

Nov 29th, 2011, 02:59:32 PM

Definitely going to be rolling a Human Sith Inquisitor (Karl Valten :cool: ) and then probably a Mirialan or Cyborg Republic Trooper.

Question for the group:

Did you pick the class(es) you want to play long term during beta, and were they what you expected? Is there anything you did / any choices you made that you think you'd do differently when the game goes live, or are you likely to play the live game in the same way you played beta?

Yes I did, but it played completely different than expected. I was caught off guard by the variety of battlefield roles available....including tanking, DPS, and healing.

Probably going to think out my spec trees a lot more as I really had no idea which route I was going to go. Tanking as an assassin just seems so amusing now. :)

For me, having spent time getting familiar with the voice actors is definately going to have an impact on the conversation choices I make - the Imperial Agent is very posh and British, for example. I'll also be rolling him as either a Chiss or a Rattataki: despite being on Hutta (where both of the Chiss classes start out) I didn't encounter a single one all weekend.

I wasn't really a fan of the male Sith Inquisitor voice-acting. He sounded much more blunt and arrogant than coniving and secretive.

And the female Republic Trooper totally gives me the femeshep vibes which I am digging a ton.

And I was totally right! Jennifer Hale is the voice for both the female Republic Trooper and Satele Shan!!

Captain Untouchable

Nov 29th, 2011, 04:29:50 PM

Also, the male Jedi Knight is voiced by David Hayter - aka Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series.

Droo

Nov 30th, 2011, 12:09:53 AM

Class stories have three chapters and a prologue (which doesn't end until you leave your first planet, if I remember correctly) and are entirely independent of each other, for example, I got to level 22 and was still only on chapter one of my Bounty Hunter's story. While world story arcs and minor story arcs intertwine, your class story is your story throughout the entire levelling process, and it should get you to level 50 in the end.

As for me, I'm going to be all over the Powertech Bounty Hunter, but of what I played of the Sith Warrior story I really enjoyed.

Captain Untouchable

Nov 30th, 2011, 05:59:37 AM

Just found out that Claudia Black is the voice of the female Sith Warrior! :eee

I'm seriously considering giving some of my characters a sex change. :uhoh

Crusader

Nov 30th, 2011, 09:32:27 AM

^^So you want to play male characters as well? :P

You wouldn't be the first G.I.R.L. (guy in real life) on SW:TOR :D

I am still undecided on whether I should go with the Sith Agent, the Bounty Hunter or the Sith Inquisitor. Although I did not want to play a Force User this kind of character becomes more and more intresting to me from a story telling point of view.

Captain Untouchable

Nov 30th, 2011, 01:12:16 PM

I have no problem playing female characters in general - my Smuggler is/was/will be a badass Mirialan chick.

Unfortunately, the Republic Trooper and the Sith Warrior are the two that I'd consider switching for the voice... and they're the two that I have the most fully-formed character ideas for. >_<

Morgan Evanar

Nov 30th, 2011, 02:48:27 PM

Dasquian Belargic

Nov 30th, 2011, 03:19:01 PM

I'm sticking with my initial choice of Sith Inquisitor for my main. I'll probably role a Republic character too, but I'm not decided on the class yet. The only class I'm not interested in at this time is the Trooper, which is a shame when Jennifer Hale is voicing the female Troopers :( Then again, maybe I can recreate FemShep in SWTOR... :ohno

Peter McCoy

Nov 30th, 2011, 03:49:09 PM

Also, the male Jedi Knight is voiced by David Hayter - aka Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series.

Thats one gender/class combo I won't be playing. I don't hate David Hayter. Quite the opposite. I love his voice acting as Snake, which is why I won't play a male Jedi Knight. For me, that voice belongs to one character and one character only.

I'm the same as Droo, I'll be playing a Powertech Bounty Hunter. I like the idea of screwing over as many associates as possible. In the Beta there was a point where I had to make a decision that affected the relationship between my character and his companion, Mako. I opted to play it safe and go for the choice that gave me brownie points with her, but in retrospect I think I'll go the opposite way when the game is released - it meant more credits and if I'm going to play my vision of a Bounty Hunter I need to be ruthless and not worry about who I upset.

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 1st, 2011, 03:58:08 PM

If you follow the SWTOR official Facebook page, you might have noticed that they are currently sharing music tracks from the game. The first one just went up today and is called The Mandalorian Blockade:

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Dasquian Belargic

Dec 2nd, 2011, 03:57:55 PM

Our next music track, some spooky/atmospheric music from Korriban

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Dasquian Belargic

Dec 3rd, 2011, 11:02:10 AM

Todays track, Yesterday's Jawa! This is a totally different style of music to the previous two. Did anyone hear this one in game?

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Dasquian Belargic

Dec 5th, 2011, 02:35:32 PM

Two more tunes!

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Crusader

Dec 5th, 2011, 02:44:36 PM

Hey guys guess who is registered and ready to go?

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 5th, 2011, 02:48:24 PM

Good stuff. It can't be too long now before we get our early access!

Glen Fiddich

Dec 5th, 2011, 04:51:58 PM

Early access will begin rolling out following our next BananaQuest weekend. So much awesomeness in a handful of days!

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 6th, 2011, 02:30:21 PM

Nal Hutta, the Glorious Jewel... very mysterious sounding

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Dasquian Belargic

Dec 7th, 2011, 01:37:42 PM

More mood music, this time from Tython. This has more of what I'd call a 'traditional' Star Wars sound to it, especially since it uses some motifs from the movie soundtracks themselves.

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Crusader

Dec 7th, 2011, 01:58:42 PM

I think it is great that not every song sounds like a John Williams ripp off since we will be spending quite some time in this world so I do not need to hear the same music over and over again that I used to be hearing for years anyway.

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 7th, 2011, 02:00:02 PM

I agree :) It's just nice to hear nods to the John Williams soundtrack every now and then. If there's any world that warrants it, I'd say the Jedi home-world definitely does.

Crusader

Dec 7th, 2011, 05:52:01 PM

Let the preloading begin...

Droo

Dec 7th, 2011, 06:24:38 PM

And an extra two days of early access to boot. Happy days!

Crusader

Dec 8th, 2011, 02:20:38 AM

Oh and our guild has been locked down for transfer to a server.

Karl Valten

Dec 8th, 2011, 05:00:03 AM

Pre-loaded and ready to rock.

Name of guild and server?

Crusader

Dec 8th, 2011, 05:09:27 AM

BTW what is the color of your gem stone guys?

Captain Untouchable

Dec 8th, 2011, 06:31:07 AM

The preorder gem thingy was some weird black and yellow thing, that gave a slight bonus (a +4 to something, rather than the usual +1). Dunno if it's the same for everyone, if that was just a temporary beta one, or what... was a little disappointing though. :(

Crusader

Dec 8th, 2011, 08:42:21 AM

You mean making 4 times the bonus damage is not inbalanced enough to appreciate it. :p

Captain Untouchable

Dec 8th, 2011, 09:07:54 AM

It isn't a damage bonus - it's an endurance bonus. An additional 3 points of endurance doesn't make a huge difference. You can't actually slot it into a weapon until you reach Level 7, and according to the number crunching people on the interwebs, you can get better bonuses from crystals that will make it obsolete by Level 15 (or there abouts).

I didn't preorder the game to get the crystal, so I don't particularly mind - particularly since changing the colour of your weapons is really easy anyway. Seems like a wasted opportunity is all; and doesn't much seem like a colour "change" crystal. *shrug*

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 8th, 2011, 12:27:49 PM

Pre-loaded and ready to rock.

Name of guild and server?

http://www.swtor.com/guilds/121117/guns-reckoning

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 8th, 2011, 02:03:45 PM

More ambiance!

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Karl Valten

Dec 8th, 2011, 06:55:59 PM

http://www.swtor.com/guilds/121117/guns-reckoning

Awesome sauce, and how would I go about enlisting in the ranks?

:)

Droo

Dec 8th, 2011, 07:51:29 PM

http://www.swtor.com/guilds/121117/guns-reckoning

Awesome sauce, and how would I go about enlisting in the ranks?

:)

Well, all guild registration has been frozen now, so there's no way to sign up on the official site anymore. Not that it matters since you can just get an invite in game. In the meantime, you might want to sign up on the guild's website (http://www.gunsofreckoning.com), which if all goes according to plan will go live tomorrow with a nice new lick of paint.

Karl Valten

Dec 8th, 2011, 10:48:46 PM

Well, all guild registration has been frozen now, so there's no way to sign up on the official site anymore. Not that it matters since you can just get an invite in game. In the meantime, you might want to sign up on the guild's website (http://www.gunsofreckoning.com), which if all goes according to plan will go live tomorrow with a nice new lick of paint.

"Forum Offline for Maintenance" :p

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 9th, 2011, 01:36:52 AM

Ohh, it looks like our forums are getting upgraded to vBulletin?

Drin Kizael

Dec 9th, 2011, 08:21:00 PM

Hey guys.

So I got in on weekend testing twice. The game definitely lived up to expectations. I'd say surpassed, but I had high preconceptions going in because it's BioWare. Played a female Imp Agent and discovered that I really didn't want to play an Operative like I thought I would. Going for sniper this time around for my first character. There's a few things that I don't like, but what MMO is perfect? Preorder code is in and I'm all installed and ready to go.

So I guess Guns of Reckoning is going to be the "SW-Fans guild"? That kind of bums me out because I really hate PVP.

Anyone making a toon for PVE and happen to know what server you're gonna hang out on?

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 10th, 2011, 02:40:11 AM

Huh. I hadn't even noticed we were PvP.

Crusader

Dec 10th, 2011, 03:21:25 AM

I did not notice it either.

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 10th, 2011, 04:17:57 AM

Has that changed since we originally set the guild up?

Droo

Dec 10th, 2011, 07:10:04 AM

No, it's always been that way. It doesn't mean we're a PVP guild, just that we're on a PVP server.

Captain Untouchable

Dec 10th, 2011, 11:18:41 AM

Bearing in mind what we know about PVP, I don't really understand what the difference is. I thought there were only a handful of planets that could have members of both factions there at the same time (Alderaan, that eight-player place with the giant robot, etc), and that you can 'duel' with a member of the same faction if you so wish.

I don't understand what activities are disallowed on a PVE server. And if PVP is geographically contained anyway, surely a PVP server is the more diverse option: those who want to do it can, and those who don't just need to be careful on certain planets.

I doubt we're going to get Jedi camping at the shuttle ports waiting to ambush any unsuspecting people with a faction flag like we did in SWG.

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 10th, 2011, 11:23:36 AM

PVP servers generally mean that any time you encounter a member of the opposite faction, you can attack them / they can attack you. In PVE, you either have to turn PVP on manually or enter a PVP battleground/arena.

You can play PVP on both types of servers, it's just that PVP-specific servers mean you are always fair game if a member of the opposing faction wants to attack you, where as PVE servers allow you to be selective about when you want to PVP.

I doubt we're going to get Jedi camping at the shuttle ports waiting to ambush any unsuspecting people with a faction flag like we did in SWG.

Ganking is present on all MMOs so I wouldn't rule it out for SWtOR.

Drin Kizael

Dec 10th, 2011, 11:44:15 AM

No, it's always been that way. It doesn't mean we're a PVP guild, just that we're on a PVP server.

Unfortunately, that kind of amounts to the same thing. I don't even want to create a character on a PVP server basically for the reason Dasq gave. PvP in MMOs does indeed = shuttle camping and random ganking. The reason I never even considered going for Jedi in the SWG days of yore is because I watched that happen way too often. Where there is a chance for loot, there will be farmers.

PVE servers limit the threat of being attacked to certain zones and if you have your flag set. On PVP servers, it's open season on any planet where factions might run across each other.

If you were not aware of that ... you've now been warned. :o

Crusader

Dec 10th, 2011, 11:55:40 AM

As long as this is not game breaking for me I am cool with it but if it hurts our experience we can always relocate and start from scratch again later.

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 10th, 2011, 12:00:53 PM

I suppose it depends on what the rewards/penalties for PVP are, outside of non-battleground/arena scenarios. I can't imagine that Bioware would have put a system in place that encourages players to kill each other at every possible chance, so as long as that isn't the case you just have to worry about the inevitable griefers. The population of our server will have a big impact on how fun PVP is.

Droo

Dec 10th, 2011, 12:09:58 PM

As experienced MMO gamers, we opted for a PVP server because we like that extra element of risk and fun. Jace is right, open world PVP content does seem more controlled than in other MMO's, however, that doesn't rule out chance encounters with members of the opposite faction that can turn into skirmishes that are either enjoyable or frustrating depending on your perspective. For me personally, I find PVE servers a little unnatural in the way you can dictate when and where you're fair game to the opposite faction, it is a roleplaying game after all and you are enemies.

Also, there is a difference between being a PVP guild on a PVP server and a PVE guild on a PVP server, sure, there are some of us who actively pursue PVP in an out of battlegrounds, however, the guild's focus will be on the games PVE content. A PVP guild centers its attentions on competition in battlegrounds, warzones, arenas, and the like. And not all open world PVP is a lame gankfest either, sure there could be annoying campers from time to time but that kind of behaviour is not limited to PVP-only servers, nor of course is any other kind of unfriendly griefing. Most of my experiences of open world PVP have been exhilerating, unpredictable, and hugely entertaining, a simple one-on-one encounter can turn into enormous battles between groups of twenty or thirty people.

Ultimately, it boils down to whether or not you enjoy the added risk of a random PVP encounter thrown in amongst your travels, personally I find it adds more to the game - in fact, in a non-sandbox sort of game it's the only real player generated content. But it is a question of personal taste.

Captain Untouchable

Dec 10th, 2011, 01:47:42 PM

Fair warning - huge block of sur-soapbox text incoming. I've put it in a quote box to make it easier to ignore.

I think it's perhaps unfair to jump to the "that's what all MMOs are like" conclusion, especially given what we know about how the PvP system - and the game in general - so far.

The first really important thing worth noting comes in the form of a question: in all the hours you played SWTOR, how many times did you actually see a load screen? I can't remember ever having to wait for something to load, except for when I was travelling from planet to planet. Instead, you had those green and red "forcefields" blocking off particular areas; beyond that, you moved seemlessly from place to place.

Since one of the most common griefing techniques is to attack people while they're contending with a load screen, they already have countermeasures in place for that. All they need to do is stick a faction-specific forcefield over the entrance to the starport / loading area, and not only do you have a safe place to load: you have a safe place to retreat to as well.

Further credence to that theory is added by taris and Balmorra. While the Republic and Empire visit those worlds at Level 16 (immediately after their capitol) respectively, the opposite faction visits the planet much later in the game - at around Level 32. That's a kind of level disparity that you can't overcome with dumb luck; even superior numbers would make it tough. That suggests that it is possible to play through those planets without excessive death, even when there are high level enemy players around.

On top of that, worlds are instanced. Another common griefing technique is to form a posse and attack enemy players with superior numbers. The fact that each planet is instanced means that not only can the game limit the number of players per instance in total, it can also limit the number of faction members, preventing one side from vastly outnumbering the other. The instancing will also make it logistically more difficult to form a mob: ganking would take a lot more coordination, and it suddenly starts becoming harder than the legitimate Warzones, rather than easier.

Speaking of legitimate Warzones - while you do recieve experience and credits for a PVP kill (note: there is no mention of "loot" in any of the released information on PVP), you also recieve Tokens and Valor. Tokens are like the starter world Tokens you got on Korriban or Hutta: they can be exchanged for special items, in this case PVP orientated ones. Valor meanwhile is a social type score, which allows you to acquire extra titles and such. You can only earn Valor and Tokens while you're in Warzones; so there's even less of an advantage to griefing players outside of those areas.

That effectively leaves just the one reason for griefing people - because you're an asshole. And yeah, as we all know, MMOs attract a lot of those. However, SWTOR has measures in place to protect you from them as well. In an effort to cut down on the immature squabbling and insult-tossing between factions, the World/Planet channel is faction-exclusive; and there is no way to tell or email an enemy player. (This also stops people "cheating" by emailing equipment from a high level Imperial account to a low level Republic account and visa versa: but that's good for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with PVP)

The only way to insult someone is to their face; and for every second they spend typing /say commands, that's an extra second you have to snipe them in the face.

As a general rule, I have first person shooters; but Mass Effect won me over because of how well put-together it's combat system was. Given all of the effort that BioWare has gone to in combatting griefing and negative PVP experiences, I for one plan to give them the benefit of the doubt, and reserve my judgement until I've actually tried PVP for myself.

I may end up hating it, but I'm certainly not going to dismiss it out of hand without giving it a shot.

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 10th, 2011, 01:56:18 PM

I'm not suggesting that being on a PVP server is going to put me off playing SWTOR, just saying that it's a different gaming experience and, like Droo said, down to a matter of personal preference as to whether or not you like it. Personally, I like to have a little more control over my gaming experience.

However, SWTOR has measures in place to protect you from them as well. In an effort to cut down on the immature squabbling and insult-tossing between factions, the World/Planet channel is faction-exclusive; and there is no way to tell or email an enemy player. (This also stops people "cheating" by emailing equipment from a high level Imperial account to a low level Republic account and visa versa: but that's good for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with PVP)

If I'm understanding you right, this is exactly the same as the chat/mail system for WoW.

Captain Untouchable

Dec 10th, 2011, 01:59:16 PM

Much as I loathe World of Warcraft, doing something the same as WoW doesn't automatically make it a bad idea you know. ;)

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 10th, 2011, 02:22:08 PM

I know, but you can't really use that as an example of an anti-griefing measure, given the amount of griefing that takes place on WoW.

Captain Untouchable

Dec 10th, 2011, 02:34:14 PM

It's less the what, and more the why. When they started beta testing, you were able to contact other players. It was only after the inter-faction chat started getting misused that they removed it from the game.

That suggests to me that they're taking added efforts to combat griefing. As part of a larger scheme it seemed worth mentioning, even if it's an approach that doesn't work on it's own elsewhere.

Drin Kizael

Dec 10th, 2011, 02:48:40 PM

Well if they have that much control on the environment, it might be worth giving it a chance with a backup character, so I can hang out with you guys. If that's okay. :ohno

Captain Untouchable

Dec 10th, 2011, 03:35:26 PM

^ I recommend either Bounty Hunter or Sith Inquisitor if you do. Both of them had a fairly swift payoff in terms of "cool" (wrist rockets / force lightning) abilities: the Sith Warrior was much more "hit with glowy stick" orientated, which might not be so suitable for a secondary / backup character.

I'll be playing one of everything: but those (plus Smuggler and Consular) felt much more casual; the others were more hands on and involved.

I guess there's just something inherently casual about force-throwing a large rock or firing a missile when you get bored of hitting / shooting things. :mischief

Jedi Master Carr

Dec 10th, 2011, 03:54:16 PM

I am going to have at least two characters anyway, so I can have one on this server.

Drin Kizael

Dec 10th, 2011, 04:34:44 PM

^ I recommend either Bounty Hunter or Sith Inquisitor if you do. Both of them had a fairly swift payoff in terms of "cool" (wrist rockets / force lightning) abilities: the Sith Warrior was much more "hit with glowy stick" orientated, which might not be so suitable for a secondary / backup character.

Probably SI for this. I know that a buddy of mine who will definitely make toon only on the PVE server is jonsin for Force Lightning. So he'll want to run an Inquisitor first and I'll probably roll with him as a SW so we both start on Korriban. Chances are likely I'll have 4 or 5 characters pretty soon out of the gate. Now that I finally have my life back, I figure I'll have the time.

Captain Untouchable

Dec 10th, 2011, 04:51:50 PM

I'm sorely tempted to roll all eight straight away, just to make sure I get names that I like. :uhoh

Drin Kizael

Dec 10th, 2011, 05:10:42 PM

Is having a cool name really possible? Or did BW come to their senses with the naming conventions? Meaning that they allow spaces in character names now and the Legacy XP is no longer linked to your character's last name. That is so indescribably stupid whoever thought of it needs to be beaten.

Captain Untouchable

Dec 10th, 2011, 05:26:14 PM

I dunno. Some of my beta accounts had pretty awesome names. My Mirialan smuggler chick was called Captain Bellatrix. :cool

The lack of a space in the name is a bit of a pain, though I suppose it's some sort of necessary evil for coding references and somesuch. On the upside, it does prevent people from giving themselves ranks and titles and what-not... though I was kinda looking forward to creating a Cyborg character called "General Grievance".

(I so need to work that into a comic strip now :uhoh)

Crusader

Dec 10th, 2011, 05:53:11 PM

I am going to have at least two characters anyway, so I can have one on this server.

I guess if Yogs joins us as well this will be like in the old GRU days... just less buggy. It will be a pleasure playing with you guys again.

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 11th, 2011, 06:45:26 AM

It definitely seems like we will have a fairly big group of people, from launch, to group and game with :)

Droo

Dec 11th, 2011, 01:02:05 PM

www.gunsofreckoning.com (http://www.gunsofreckoning.com)

Guild website is back up at last. There's still a couple of features unfinished and still a little house-keeping to do, but any who haven't yet been able to can sign up.

Captain Untouchable

Dec 11th, 2011, 01:46:04 PM

^ Looking damned spiffy!

In voice actor news, I found out who the Imperial Agents are voiced by. Both are actually British people rather than faking it (though the pseudo American accent while you're undercover on Hutta is pretty funny), and they're both relatively unknown. Bertie Carvel has had one-shot parts in Doctor Who, Primeval, and Sherlock. Jo Wyatt meanwhile is one of the voice people from Angelina Ballerina and The Mister Men, as well as having game experience in Dragon Age: Origins and II, Fable I - III, and a few others.

Sorry guys - my voice acting roxxorz more than yours. :smokin

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 11th, 2011, 02:07:31 PM

Can anyone really top Jennifer Hale as the female trooper? :lol

If I have one criticism of the voice acting (at least as I've seen it so far) it's that there doesn't seem to be any variation between species.

Captain Untouchable

Dec 11th, 2011, 04:27:49 PM

I'd quite like to top Jennifer Hale as the female trooper. :mischief

That's probably my only gripe about the voice acting as well. Even if there weren't different voices for each race, it would have been nice to have maybe an alternate option: when I tried out a Sith Pureblood he was very polite and white-sounding, whereas something a bit deeper might have suited him better.

That said, there's already an insane amount of voice acting in the game as it is. There are more planets than any other Bioware game, not to mention more NPCs and quests per planet; with sixteen main characters and all of those supporting ones, the poor voice recording technicians / directors / etc must have spent a ridiculous amount of time in the sound booths.

Droo

Dec 11th, 2011, 05:39:57 PM

I'd quite like to top Jennifer Hale as the female trooper. :mischief

Well played. You took the words right out of my mouth. :lol

Jedi Master Carr

Dec 11th, 2011, 06:23:24 PM

I thought I registered but guess not. I registered as laytonc32.

Karl Valten

Dec 11th, 2011, 08:33:35 PM

Registered as Nungunz

Crusader

Dec 12th, 2011, 03:13:48 AM

http://www.swtor.com/guilds/121117/guns-reckoning

Rats, it is 10 am overhere and they still have not added our server for deployment.

Droo

Dec 12th, 2011, 08:42:33 AM

Rats, it is 10 am overhere and they still have not added our server for deployment.

It looks like none of the guilds have as of yet been deployed to a server. They're leaving it very late in the game. If we start getting our early access before they manage to email us about our guild's chosen server, then we'll just set ourselves up on any server, and naturally, the details for which will go up the moment one is chosen.

Crusader

Dec 12th, 2011, 09:43:49 AM

Bioware's facebook feed said that servers would be asigned to guilds today.

Droo

Dec 12th, 2011, 09:50:33 AM

Yeah, Stephen Reid tweeted about half an hour ago that the guild deployment emails would start going out in a few hours. Watch this space, I guess.

Droo

Dec 12th, 2011, 11:51:09 AM

Guns of Reckoning was successfully imported into Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. Web support for this guild will be removed on January 03, 2012.

Taken from our swtor.com site (http://www.swtor.com/guilds/121117/guns-reckoning). Our server is called Scepter of Ragnos. :cool:

Crusader

Dec 12th, 2011, 12:25:38 PM

Nice, a Jedi Academy Reference

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 12th, 2011, 12:43:37 PM

Our server is named after a Dark Side artefact... this bodes well >D

Crusader

Dec 12th, 2011, 12:53:58 PM

Is it nerdy to read the name and to know instantly what it is.

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 12th, 2011, 01:15:12 PM

No more nerdy than the fact that we're all playing this game in the first place :mneh

Captain Untouchable

Dec 12th, 2011, 02:41:25 PM

Holy crap, that's freakin' badass. :ohno

I know some of us are planning on having a Republic character fairly early on as well. are we going to stick with the same server, or pick a different one for our lame-o namby-pamby good guys?

Droo

Dec 12th, 2011, 03:14:43 PM

Well, a number of us on Teamspeak have already been discussing the option of establishing a Republic guild on the same server, although I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that. I'm a real altoholic, and with only eight character slots available per server, that would limit me to only one advanced class per class per side, and I think I'd rather keep the four slots free should I wish to make a Bounty Hunter mercenary, or Sith Assassin, etc.

In other words, while I like the idea of having my Republic characters on the same server for the sake of rolling with the same server community, I don't like having to limit my class options. So... I'm probably more in favour of rolling on another server for the Republic shizzle. What would you guys prefer?

Edit: Strike that, I just remembered that the Republic and Imperial advanced classes are identical, except for a cosmetic difference. So with that in mind, since I'm rolling a Powertech Bounty Hunter, then my Republic Trooper would be a Commando and all would be right with the world. :)

Captain Untouchable

Dec 12th, 2011, 06:19:33 PM

Prior to the beta I'd probably have agreed with you Droo... but I think there are actually more than just cosmetic differences between some of the advanced classes.

Just off the top of my head, a Bounty Hunter seems to get some sort of Batman style grapple ability, and the rocket pack that we saw in the trailers. I haven't come across an equivalent for the Trooper. And while they may end up doing the same damage at the same distance, the telekinesis abilities for a Consular feel very different to the lightning abilities for an Inquisitor: I found myself naturally using them in a different way. Same for the Sniper and Gunslinger abilities too - maybe it's just the psychological difference of multiple Gunslinger gunshots versus one big Sniper one.

And even if you do pick the "same" advanced class, that doesn't necessarily mean you're in for the same gameplay experience: you could have a Mercenary or Sniper who focuses on the ranged damage tree, while your Commando or Gunslinger focus on the DOT or healing trees.

While collecting all sixteen Advanced classes might be overkill, it might not be a bad idea to split the factions across two servers just in case you want to pick up more than just four per faction.

Besides, it's not like you can talk to / email people from the opposite faction anyway, so it's not like you could roll with the same server community anyway.

Droo

Dec 12th, 2011, 06:35:43 PM

Captain Untouchable

Dec 12th, 2011, 07:25:13 PM

*shrug* Fair enough. I still stand by my point about different tree combinations, though. If you've focussed on the Shield Tech tree for your Powertech, you're going to end up with a very different experience if you have a Tactics-based Vanguard.

Also, is there a jet pack type ability for Troopers? If so, I'm not seeing it.

Droo

Dec 12th, 2011, 07:54:48 PM

If you've focussed on the Shield Tech tree for your Powertech, you're going to end up with a very different experience if you have a Tactics-based Vanguard.

Well, there's always the option of doing a skill tree respec with the Powertech and have an Advanced Prototype build to the same effect. I'd be more inclined to do that and level up a different advanced class instead.

Also the Death from Above equivalent for the Trooper is called Mortar Volley. There's no jet pack flying involved as it's merely a cosmetic difference and only bounty hunters have jet packs.

Captain Untouchable

Dec 12th, 2011, 08:16:06 PM

I think you're perhaps oversimplifying by saying it's "merely" cosmetic. There are a lot of common advanced class abilities for the Vanguard/Commando/etc and Sniper/Operative/etc too. It looks like we'll have to agree to disagree on that one.

We seem to have deviated from the initial topic: are we putting Republic characters on Ragnos for the sake of convenience, or are we going to split between two servers to allow people the option of more than four characters per server if they so choose?

I seem to remember us discussing the possibility of putting Republic characters on a US server (if possible) a while back, as a concession to US Fans people playing their Sith on a European server. Is that still a potential option?

Droo

Dec 12th, 2011, 08:40:44 PM

I think you're perhaps oversimplifying by saying it's "merely" cosmetic. There are a lot of common advanced class abilities for the Commando and Sniper too. It looks like we'll have to agree to disagree on that one.

I'm really not. Here, a quick google will link you to all sorts of articles (http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/367/feature/5863/Mirrored-Classes.html) about it, although that one is rather damning. They're supposed to be identical in their abilities to the point that they're practically the same class with just a different skin and animations, and that was the point, for the purpose of balance. Although Bioware have gone to the trouble of making them appear as different as possible, it's a smart move in my opinion, after the imbalancing issues in WoW with shammies and paladins when they used to be faction specific. Look for any ability for any class and I'm absolutely certain you will find its equivalent in its mirror, even for things like Force Choke and Force Lightning have their Jedi equal. To say that we'll have to agree to disagree on this is a bit dismissive, it's like saying we'll have to agree to disagree that the sky is blue.

As for what we should do with our Republic characters, I'm easy, although I recommend taking it to the guild forums so everyone can discuss it.

Captain Untouchable

Dec 12th, 2011, 10:16:58 PM

Technically the sky *isn't* blue, but that's another issue entirely. I just felt that we were at risk of burying a relevant issue - what we're doing re: servers - underneath a lengthy debate about class equivalencies. I'll happily elaborate on my disagreement elsewhere - right now I'm just trying to change the subject. :)

I'd just rather give people the opportunity to weigh in on the server question first, since early access is starting soon and I want to roll my Republic Trooper right away. :ohno

Jedi Master Carr

Dec 12th, 2011, 10:48:35 PM

I am an open minded either way.

Crusader

Dec 13th, 2011, 11:30:25 AM

So has everyone checked their email account today?

Apparently their is so much demand on Origin right now that the whole service went offline and since I got no email from EA today and Battlefield 3 MP does not work without Origin I will have to play on Xbox today.

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 13th, 2011, 11:48:56 AM

As for what we should do with our Republic characters, I'm easy, although I recommend taking it to the guild forums so everyone can discuss it.

Good thinking, especially if we are going to make a guild with the same people!

Yog

Dec 13th, 2011, 01:05:53 PM

Jedi Master Carr

Dec 13th, 2011, 02:22:29 PM

Regarding the PvP server thing.. my understanding is, you can get ganked while you mind your own business questing, for example during dialogue and cut scenes? Or is there some rudimentary mechanism to prevent that?

Well some parts of the quests only allow those in the group to enter so that prevents it from happening there. I am not sure about anywhere else. I would hope you couldn't be attacked when talking to a NPC.

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 13th, 2011, 05:21:58 PM

First impressions: this game is great. The voice acting makes a huge difference and definitely makes this feel like you're taking part in a story, rather than just cycling through quest giver text.

Morgan Evanar

Dec 13th, 2011, 06:42:51 PM

My preorder isn't working. I'm so frustrated.

Peter McCoy

Dec 13th, 2011, 06:47:38 PM

Got my early access. Made all 8 classes with the names I wanted :)

Superego - Bounty Hunter
Garrett - Sith Warrior
Asmodai - Sith Inquisitor
Nikita - Imperial Agent

Kal - Smuggler
Pile - Soldier
Acacius - Jedi Consular
Chuck - Jedi Knight

Morg, whats up with your pre-order?

Droo

Dec 13th, 2011, 07:26:20 PM

My preorder isn't working. I'm so frustrated.

What's the problem?

Morgan Evanar

Dec 13th, 2011, 08:24:38 PM

Jedi Master Carr

Dec 13th, 2011, 08:28:54 PM

I wanted to preorder but money has been tight. Probably won't get it until Christmas.

Karl Valten

Dec 13th, 2011, 08:34:24 PM

Blarg still no access. Probably a good thing as I still have two final projects, a final exam, and two grant proposals.

Why the hell am I in grad school again?

Captain Untouchable

Dec 14th, 2011, 12:18:03 AM

Why the hell am I in grad school again?

For the girls, obviously.

Chicks dig a guy who can survive on minimal sleep, and resolve vector problems and orbital mechanics equations.

...right? :uhoh

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 14th, 2011, 01:51:26 AM

I put in my preorder code just now and fuck all is happening. I submitted a support ticket and tried to call in to support but have yet to hear anything. I'm rather infuriated.

I've tried re-entering the code but it now says in use.

Have you had the 'Your Saga Begins' email yet? If you haven't, your early access hasn't started yet. People who put their pre-order codes in at earlier dates are getting in first, in waves.

Crusader

Dec 14th, 2011, 02:13:42 AM

This makes me wonder when I will get my code... probably in 2 days when I am not at home...

Crusader

Dec 14th, 2011, 06:38:31 AM

Why the hell am I in grad school again?

For the girls, obviously.

Yeah we engineers are like the Chippendales among the academics.

Crusader

Dec 14th, 2011, 10:11:00 AM

Captain Untouchable

Dec 14th, 2011, 12:18:26 PM

My Saga has Begun. :cool

And my name-of-choice is not yet taken. :eee

Did we decide what we're doing with Republic characters? I want to make sure I register my Trooper and Smuggler before anyone snipes my preferred names. (Sniping is my job. :colbert)

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 14th, 2011, 01:45:39 PM

Got all my names reserved :) (all on the same server)

Vile - Bounty Hunter
Mars - Sith Warrior
Shodan - Sith Inquisitor
Dash - Imperial Agent

Jenny - Smuggler
FemShep - Soldier
Pythia - Jedi Consular
Jaime - Jedi Knight

Peter McCoy

Dec 14th, 2011, 02:20:27 PM

Dromund Kaas is an awesome planet!

Crusader

Dec 14th, 2011, 03:12:45 PM

Still no invite today...

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 14th, 2011, 04:59:16 PM

I just played my first 'Flashpoint' - the Black Talon. It was so cool. I love how cinematic this game feels.

Captain Untouchable

Dec 14th, 2011, 05:06:37 PM

As for what we should do with our Republic characters, I'm easy, although I recommend taking it to the guild forums so everyone can discuss it.

We had a chat about this on Teamspeak today, with a bunch of guildies. I don't know if we've reached a final decision / consensus yet, but there seem to be a couple of pros for the "different server" option, and not many cons.

Pro - Eight character slots per faction

While the 'one of each advanced class' angle may seem like the sort of crazy thing that only Droo or I would want to do, you may find yourself in a situation where you want to have more than four Sith characters. When designing the companions the developers decided there were five vague types of character - Ranged DPS, Ranged Tank, Melee DPS, Melee Tank, and Healer - and having more than eight slots would let you try out a Healer without saccrificing one of your Ranged DPS people to do it. Also, since you can't trade between characters of opposite factions on the same server, being able to have six Sith or Republic characters would let you pick up all of the crafting abilities and mail those items to yourself.

Pro - 'Legacy' Surnames are the same for each server

The only way to earn a surname is to unlock the legacy thing at the end of chapter one. If you pick an awesome Sith/Evil sounding name, that might not jive very well with your goody-goody Jedi/Republic characters.

Pro - Being on a different server will let us create a guild with the same name

Or at least, we think so. We'd be able to have a Guns of Reckoning on a Republic server as well as the Sith one. If we're on the same server, we'd have to have a different guild name if we wanted to hang out with the same community.

Con - You might not be able to hang out with the same non-guild people on the other server.

If we / the guild makes any friends or frenemies on the Ragnos server, you wouldn't be able to interact with them as a Republic character. That might affect you playing Huttball, might stop you volunteering to play a Republic Trooper during an organised guild event, etc.

I think that was everything we brought up, Droo / Peter?

Peter McCoy

Dec 15th, 2011, 09:41:13 AM

Thats pretty much it.

Personally, I'd prefer to be on a different server mainly for the crafting limitations since I'd like to have all skills available across all my characters of each faction.

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 15th, 2011, 02:11:30 PM

Amazon is reporting that my copy of the game shipped today and should arrive by tomorrow :o

This is particularly relevant, given the recent post about the 'grace period' that is being offered for pre-order members: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=28618

Captain Untouchable

Dec 16th, 2011, 12:19:15 AM

Hey Droo - you know you were asking about the purple icons next to someone's name earlier? If it's a picture of three people, that's the LFG tag, apparently.

Crusader

Dec 16th, 2011, 05:12:59 AM

Oktavion is now infiltrating Hutta on a quest to win over the alien scum for the Empire.

My character looks like a fraking Emo but I like this since I want to make him a good guy in an evil place that thinks he is fighting for something bigger than himself.

I really like the roleplaying aspect of this game. I try to appear tough when I talk to people but that is basicly just the front for him. Deep inside he will try to help people but if doing the right thing contradicts with the loyalty to the Empire he will do what is necessary to secure the victory for the Empire.

Like this one day where I shot a father infront of his child because he did not want to send his son to Korriban for Sith training.

I have only played this game for 3 hours but my character already feels a lot more like a person instead of a collection of stats.

Karl Valten

Dec 16th, 2011, 03:24:30 PM

Want to play game.....

......but extended kalman filter for final project isn't working.....

......dammmit......2.5 hours left to turn in my code and I'm really starting not to care about the stupid EKF.

Karl Valten

Dec 16th, 2011, 09:42:06 PM

Hoo rah. Finallly in the game. How do I go about signing on for the guild?

Character names:

KValten - Sith Inquisitor
Nungunz - Imperial Agent
Scribbles - Republic Trooper

Oh and I am loving this game and agree with Crusader. Valten is already being a coniving bastard going behind his master's back, manupulating her, and lying to her. Just waiting for the right time to get rid of Lord Zash and them I'm in charge. MUHAHHAAAA.

Also, I look like a complete boss.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a105/Hockeyman506/Screenshot_2011-12-16_20_34_13_691406.jpg

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 17th, 2011, 05:01:52 AM

It's really amazing how much better than the average MMO is. By removing a few aspects of gameplay and adding others in, they have made something that feels more like a single-player RPG epic that you just happen to be able to play with your friends on the internet.

Case in point, death. When you die within an instance, any member of your party appears to be able to revive you. There's no need for everyone to trek back through lengthy zones to rejoin the fight. If you don't have a 'healer' with you, it doesn't matter. Anyone can do the job. This simple change removes one of the most laborious parts of playing through instances/raids in MMOs.

On the flip side, the addition of cut scenes and dialogue makes quests actually rewarding. Whenever you get or hand in a quest, you have the chance to improve your standing with your companion, get more light/dark side points and also hear your character talk like a badass. I loved playing as part of a group and rolling for who got to speak to the NPCs, especially when it comes to the light/dark side options. Whatever you're doing, you are achieving more than one thing at a time, so even gathering quests aren't a chore.

PS. Zash is a jerk. I can't wait until we get the chance to sick Khem Val on her.

Yog

Dec 17th, 2011, 06:11:23 AM

FYI, I will be on from 20th. I am not sure how much time I will have time to play honestly. But I guess it will be some casual entertainment a few months, until the launch of The Secret World.

Karl Valten

Dec 17th, 2011, 08:34:47 AM

Anyone figure out if you can have multiple targets selected? Or at least a secondary so you can have an ally selected for heals and an enemy selected for attacking?

Because shifting back and forth with ctrl-click is too god-awful annoying.

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 17th, 2011, 10:02:14 AM

Not that I'm aware of, although perhaps that will be something that will be added in the future. The UI could definitely do with some refining.

Karl Valten

Dec 17th, 2011, 12:27:21 PM

Not that I'm aware of, although perhaps that will be something that will be added in the future. The UI could definitely do with some refining.

Definitely.

That is the one thing I really, really, liked about Warhammer Online. Being able to target one friendly (including yourself) and one enemy. Any buffs or heals automatically were directed at the friendly target without you ever having to switch away from your primary target.

Karl Valten

Dec 17th, 2011, 03:03:17 PM

Well, the have focus targeting which is okay.

This is actually a pretty cool feature. Still would prefer dual targeting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BujnSlyXhGs&feature=player_embedded

Droo

Dec 17th, 2011, 03:10:43 PM

Hoo rah. Finallly in the game. How do I go about signing on for the guild?

Added Kvalten to my friends list, so when you're next online I'll toss you a guild invite.

Glen Fiddich

Dec 18th, 2011, 01:59:53 AM

Well, the have focus targeting which is okay.

This is actually a pretty cool feature. Still would prefer dual targeting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BujnSlyXhGs&feature=player_embedded

That is pretty cool.

I can see this being pretty useful for my sniper - I'll be able to set a boss / alternative tough mob as my focus target, to make it easier to switch back to them after I'm done defending myself from anyone gunning for me.

Edit:

ut-oh... (http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd259/o6untouchable/SWTOR/Cylon.jpg) :ohno

Karl Valten

Dec 18th, 2011, 05:21:27 PM

That is pretty cool.

I can see this being pretty useful for my sniper - I'll be able to set a boss / alternative tough mob as my focus target, to make it easier to switch back to them after I'm done defending myself from anyone gunning for me.

Edit:

ut-oh... (http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd259/o6untouchable/SWTOR/Cylon.jpg) :ohno

Yeah, useful for keeping the boss as the focus and being able to pick up adds that go for the healer or something.

Glen Fiddich

Dec 19th, 2011, 08:43:16 AM

We decided that we were going to go with an RP-PVP server for Republic characters, mainly because they statistically have fewer asshole type people on there. After an exhaustive selection process, we settled on the only English-speaking RP-PVP server available in Europe... so now we'll be setting up our Republic alts on Lord Calypho.

Vince

Dec 20th, 2011, 10:57:01 AM

My friend pre-ordered the game, so yeah. I spent all weekend playing. My Jedi Sentinel (I was going to go Sith Inquisitor, but my friend had already done that one, and we all wanted to try the different options first) is presently stuck in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, unable to defeat the Sith Apprentices by himself.

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 20th, 2011, 12:45:31 PM

Yog

Dec 20th, 2011, 10:08:00 PM

Reserved characters:
Zancle - Bounty Hunter (Main)
Ryland - Imperial Agent
Yog - Sith Inquisitor
Syla - Sith Warrior

I will spend some time with my bounty hunter today, probably, and check in on Team Speak. :)

Drin Kizael

Dec 21st, 2011, 12:03:33 AM

Kay, so... I met some folks on a PVE server that are part of a guild that I think I'd like to join. The Old Timers Guild welcomes casual players, right up my alley. As much as I'd like to roll with you guys, the idea of world PVP really scares the crap out of me.

If anyone is on Sith Meditation Sphere, I've got a Sniper named Jileina. I made a Counselor on Shadowlands, but I don't play him so much because of the stupid waiting queue. His name is Chi-Shen.

While playing him, I saw that BioWare created a felnoid NPC, presumably Togorian. This gave me hope that some day when they add more races I can make Drin in the game. :)

Captain Untouchable

Dec 21st, 2011, 04:04:44 AM

What have the queue times been like for everyone since launch? I'm just waiting to log in now and I'm about 220th in the queue.

We decided that we were going to go with an RP-PVP server for Republic characters, mainly because they statistically have fewer asshole type people on there. After an exhaustive selection process, we settled on the only English-speaking RP-PVP server available in Europe... so now we'll be setting up our Republic alts on Lord Calypho.

Has anyone registered there yet and started the guild??

No one has started the guild yet, but some of us have registered characters. Since I've already played Hutta twice, and will need to play it again if I want to create a sneaky-sneaky backstabby Operative, I'll probably focus on levelling up a Republic character next.

People in the group have been using alts to level up with the same people. Some people created new Bounty Hunters and Imperial Agents at the same time, and only level up those characters when they're all online; the rest of the time, they play one of their other characters. Would anyone be interested in a Fans Levelling Pact on the Republic server, so that we've got a group of similar level players that we can go on Heroic / Flashpoint / PVP exploits with?

In other news -

My Imperial Agent and Bounty Hunter are producing an assortment of Prototype and Artifact guns and armour that you can start using / wearing when you get to Dromund Kaas. I need to increase my crafting skill by making things in order to get access to better blueprints, so if you've just finished Hutta or Korriban and would like some free better-than-in-the-shops gear, let me know.

Also, my Sith Warrior can make Prototype colour crystals in Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow for your lightsaber or blaster; and between my characters I have most of the mods available for Moddable weapons at that sort of level, so let me know if you want anything there.

A quick guide to the sometimes baffling world of coloured item names and crafting, for those who feel like having a go -
Standard items cannot be crafted. These are only available as loot.
Premium is the lowest craftable item category. The items you craft from green blueprints have the same stats (more or less) as items you can buy in a shop.
Prototype blueprints are obtained by Reverse Engineering the green items you have crafted. There is somewhere between a 1-in-5 and 1-in-10 chance that Reverse Engineering a green item will make a blue one. Some blue stuff is available at vendors, but player-crafted blue gear is better. Turning a green blueprint into a blue blueprint increases the stats; it also adds an extra bonus to Critical, Power, or something like that. This bonus is random each time the blueprint is created, so you can end up with blue blueprints of the same gun, but with a different random bonus.
Artifact blueprints are made by reverse engineering blue ones. There is no new random roll (since the roll was done for the blue item), but once again the stats increase. These items are miles better than anything available in the shop for a character of that level; but purple blueprints are much less likely to appear when you Reverse Engineer.
Moddable items look absolutely pants at first glance. This is because all of the stats come from the modifications (barrels / crystals / mesh underlay, etc) that you put in. At very high levels there are player-crafted red/orange weapons, but you mostly get these from loot drops or by trading your Hutta / Korriban / Dromund Kaas / PVP / etc commendations with a special vendor. Item mods are available in all of the same categories as everything else: you could have a Moddable weapon with Artifact mods, and you would be both awesome and fashionable.

If you Reverse Engineer an item from a shop, you recoup some of the components, but do not get a blueprint. Materials for crafting are obtained either by looting the little yellow suns that show up on your map (a mound of metal to scavenge; a crystal formation to... archaeologise; etc).

If you right-click on all the Crew Skills vendors before picking anything, you get a bunch of free experience for adding codex entries. You can also go into the codex, read up on the profession, and find out which gathering skills fit best with your chosen crafting skills. (For example, Artifice needs Archaeology and Treasure Hunting to find various crystals and doodads)

Karl Valten

Dec 21st, 2011, 10:15:50 AM

Weird, I was able to reverse-engineer an Artifact type item from a Premium one.

Karl Valten

Dec 21st, 2011, 01:06:43 PM

Haven't touched the Inquisitor character in a few day unfortunately. Been more focusing on two other characters:

Female Chiss Operative: Holy crap I love the story and I like how the agent plays. That and being a pseudo-healer means I always can find a group. Figuring out the whole focus-targeting mechanic has helped a lot.

I've been playing her very much like a deep-cover operative. On Nal Hutta, she wasn't acting the part of the Red Blade, she WAS the Red Blade and behaved accordingly.........which somehow got me laid in the first twenty minutes of game play or so. Guy was going to blow my cover, so I seduced, had fun along the way, and dumped the damn Twi'lek's corpse in a gutter afterwards. Nobody tries to manipulate the Red Blade and lives.

Female Mirialan Vanguard: Okay so I've been trying to find every damn datacron with this toon. And so far I've gotten every single one on Ord Mantell and Coruscant (working my way through Taris now). Holy hell some of these are reeeeaaaallly hard to get to. One of the ones on Taris I finally figured out.......but I still am having trouble not falling off the wrecked skyscrapers getting to the stupid thing.

All this for some +2 bonuses to stats. XD The lore entries are pretty cool though. Well worth the pain in the neck getting some of the datacrons.

Anywho, she was very much gung-ho and strictly following the Republic. She thinks that Tavus and company are wrong.....but is more unsure now....and more jaded. She's turned down several mission dealing directly with the politicians she no longer trusts....and has been forced into making some difficult choices between duty to the republic and what she thinks out to happen.

Captain Untouchable

Dec 21st, 2011, 04:20:26 PM

Weird, I was able to reverse-engineer an Artifact type item from a Premium one.

What kind of item was it? It might be that some items are missing certain steps step. There certainly isn't a green step for yellow crystals (you learn the blue direct from the trainer), apparently there are purple and white crystals which are only available as Prototype / Artifact / etc items... no idea if you can reverse-engineer those for blueprints.

Oh, and if you're looking for an orange crystal, your best bet is to talk to a Bounty Hunter or Imperial Agent buddy - some of the moddable weapons come with an orange crystal in.

Female Mirialan Vanguard: Okay so I've been trying to find every damn datacron with this toon. And so far I've gotten every single one on Ord Mantell and Coruscant (working my way through Taris now). Holy hell some of these are reeeeaaaallly hard to get to. One of the ones on Taris I finally figured out.......but I still am having trouble not falling off the wrecked skyscrapers getting to the stupid thing.

All this for some +2 bonuses to stats. XD The lore entries are pretty cool though. Well worth the pain in the neck getting some of the datacrons.

I'm trying not just for all the datacrons, but to complete all of the codex entries for each planet with my Imperial Agent. I'm missing two or three on Hutta; I think I'm going to have to wait until a guide comes out, because I scoured the entire planet and couldn't find one of the Evocii lore totems. >_<

Karl Valten

Dec 21st, 2011, 05:20:32 PM

What kind of item was it? It might be that some items are missing certain steps step.

Techstaff of some sort. Also now can create a few artifact quality assault cannons.

Though I kept the [Mastercrafted] one for Jorgen. Cuz I like him so he gets the best gear even if I could make 5k or more off of the thing.

Captain Untouchable

Dec 21st, 2011, 06:09:43 PM

I was so happy when Jorgan turned out to be the Trooper companion. He's such a lovable asshole. :3

I've got a mixed bag of companions at the moment. Maybe it's because I don't have years of WOW experience making me play the game a certain way, but two of my companions don't fit my playstyle, while three absolutely do.

Corso Riggs (who is more or less a Trooper) is great for providing covering fire while my Smuggler scampers from cover to cover. Mako (a healing-focused Smuggler) is a blessing for my tanking-orientated Bounty Hunter, letting me concentrate on carpet-bombing the area in front of me with missiles rather than worrying about not dying. Aric Jorgan is also a great match for my Commando... and we both have awesome big guns, which just looks bloody cool.

Kaliyo Djannis (a DPS-focused Smuggler) is certainly good at attracting the attention of enemies so that they don't go after my Sniper; unfortunately she has a habit of drawing aggro from huge groups of mobs and then dragging them towards me, which isn't ideal when you're trying to be stealthy. Vette (another DPS Smuggler) is also good at drawing mob attention... unfortunately that makes all the bad guys run away from my Sith Warrior, forcing me to run / jump back to defend her. Also, Vette's guns are obnoxiously loud. :uhoh

I've found ways to make use of both Kaliyo and Vette, but I've had to adapt my play style to do it, and I spend a lot of time micro-managing them - telling them who to attack, switching them between passive and other stances, etc - whereas I can just rely on other companions to do their thing. My Sniper will probably get on better with either his healer or his melee tank; and my Warrior probably needs a melee DPS sidekick.

That said, I'm planning a stealth-focused Operative as well, so we'll see if Kaliyo works out better for her.

Captain Untouchable

Dec 22nd, 2011, 01:38:26 AM

Interesting observation: if you attempt to quick travel from the Republic Fleet hub, the "world map" it shows includes not just the station, but a bunch of ships outside as well. I wonder if that's a clue to where "guild halls" will be...

Edit:

Also, the Crew Skills trainers et al are in different corners from the Imperial Fleet. That's just plain mean. >_<

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 22nd, 2011, 04:59:09 PM

I started up a smuggler named Gunner on our Republic RP/PVP server. Friend me :)

Also, just for reference.. I haven't actually done any PVP yet. I've passed a couple of Republic characters on Nar Shaddaa, while playing as my Sith, but they were heading in the opposite direction and I guess too busy questing to get into a fight. So that's good.

Captain Untouchable

Dec 23rd, 2011, 03:03:58 AM

I ran out of money with my Level 10 Jedi Sage, so I popped into PVP to score a few creds (I was crafting stuff).

I chased a red dude into the bit underneath the central gun turret on the Alderaan map. Dude turned out to be a Level 46 Sith Juggernaut, at full health.

And I killed him. On my own.

WHAT. :|

Edit:

For reference, current Lord Calypho characters are -

- Leonis, Republic Commando
- Maisan, Jedi Sage

I have a total of six names reserved (one for each crafting profession :uhoh) which I'm working on grinding through to the Republic fleet - that way I can always buy materials / send credits from one account to artificially boost their crew skills, and get 'em crafting the bits and pieces that I need.

As a result I don't have anyone on the server above Level 11 as yet, and I also haven't done the Essales flashpoint with anyone... so if you find yourself on the Fleet wanting do do that, give me a prod. :ohno

Logged off before I saw your post Jenny, so I'll Friend you later. :)

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 23rd, 2011, 10:56:28 AM

I've heard that in PVP all of your stats are basically... levelled up, so that everyone is on an equal standing. You won't get any new skills or abilities, but your base stats are equalized with everyone elses, so that you can actually go up against someone who is much higher level than you and win.

I think I'm going to start a Jedi Knight or Consular in addition to my smuggler, so we will have all 4 classes covered together then, Jace :D

Morgan Evanar

Dec 23rd, 2011, 11:21:55 AM

Those abilities make a huge difference in terms of control.

Karl Valten

Dec 23rd, 2011, 12:29:51 PM

I have all my Republic characters on Sceptor of Ragnos along with the Sith. Created the character before the new server was selected. Anyone else still have goody-two-shoes chars/alts on Ragnos?

Also I can craft a few more artifact level guns now. I'm really liking this reverse engineering thing. Only real downside is that it feels like artifact gear is less special.

On the moddable gear. I'm finding that even with all the mods,armoring, and enhancements, my moddable armor is still pretty subpar......I just use it because it looks cool.

Oh! And also I'm finding it hilarious that other players that really don't care about RP are sticking to their character! Like I was with a PUG running through Black Talon and we paused to have a huge IC debate on whether or not to kill "The General".

As the Operative I wanted him alive for interrogations and kept saying the Kilran did want the guy alive. Where the Sith just wanted to off him and as did the bounty hunter (quoting "Easier to kill him and I'll still get paid anyway").

I won the roll-off. :lol

Gloated over them saying "That's right! I'm the Operative, I'm in charge of this mission, we do it my way! I control your paycheck and I don't give a rat's ass about you Sith. Stay out of my way!"

It was fun.

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 23rd, 2011, 04:49:17 PM

I just ran through the Essales flashpoint as my Gunslinger. I was playing with two Jedi so every time I tried to go down the 'kill bitches, get money' route, the Jedi ended up winning the roll :grumble They robbed me of my opportunity to put some people out of an airlock!

Captain Untouchable

Dec 23rd, 2011, 09:59:02 PM

Has anyone been keeping up with the SWTOR-themed issues of CTRL+ALT+DEL?

Far, Far Away, Page 1 (http://www.cad-comic.com/cad/20111212)
Far, Far Away, Page 2 (http://www.cad-comic.com/cad/20111214)
Farming (www.cad-comic.com/cad/20111221)
The Gift of Giving (www.cad-comic.com/cad/20111223)

I believe I may actually have lol'd.

I've heard that in PVP all of your stats are basically... levelled up, so that everyone is on an equal standing. You won't get any new skills or abilities, but your base stats are equalized with everyone elses, so that you can actually go up against someone who is much higher level than you and win.

Those abilities make a huge difference in terms of control.

Pretty much what Morg said. I didn't have access to any of my major damage-dealing moves, whereas the Sith Warrior did. What I did have was Force Lift and Stun; my Project / throw a boulder attack also stuns. Luckily, that meant that I had enough spare stuns so that when he used his breakout ability, I was able to re-stun him before it's cooldown ended. Even so, the only damage that I could deal at that point was with the stone throwing and lightsaber abilities that unlocked at Level 2.

He on the other hand should have had a lot of powerful damage dealing moves by that point. He also had Force Choke... but after I was able to break out of that, he couldn't incap me at all.

I hadn't played a Consular or Inquisitor prior to this, but I had been on the recieving end of a lot of them - particularly Inquisitors - in PVP. I'm less bothered about the actual victory itself, and more about what I've now learned about those classes in PVP. I now have a better understanding of how they work; and I know which of the abilities I've already unlocked for my Sniper and Bounty Hunter are going to be more effective at countering them.

Darth 48 meanwhile probably doesn't have that insight, which is why I was able to catch him out.

And yes, I am contractually obliged to be a nerd about absoultely everything. :mneh

On the moddable gear. I'm finding that even with all the mods,armoring, and enhancements, my moddable armor is still pretty subpar......I just use it because it looks cool.

Presumably you've got the best, highest-level, artifact mods you can possibly use in your moddable gear?

There are better items of moddable gear out there. I may be completely wrong, but it seems to me like there's a new moddable item every ten levels? If you get the Level 11 moddable item it will serve you well most of the way through the teens, but by the time you hit the twenties you need he Level 21 moddable item, and so forth.

PVP and Commendation vendors are a good place to look for moddable items. And also, don't forget that while the armour value may be lower than non-moddable gear, the fact that you can whack a honking great Endurance upgrade in there means that you can boost your HP: so you might take more damage, but you'll also be able to survive more damage. And if you've got the right Aim / Cunning / Strength / Willpower stat boosted for your class, you'll be dealing out more damage than you would with prototype gear, with the possibility of a boost to your Critical or Power too.

Oh, and apparently if your companions have an epic success while crafting a blue item, it will unlock a single enhancement slot. I have no idea what goes in it, or what that will do... but it's worth looking out for. Such items are usually called Resolute Ion Blaster [Superior], or something along those lines. (Resolute refers to the random bonus; [Superior] refers to the bonus slot)

Also, red and yellow. Didn't want any part of the spectrum to feel left out in our colourful crafting discussions. ;)

Captain Untouchable

Dec 23rd, 2011, 10:41:26 PM

During the Jedi Knight's stint on Tython -

Derrin Weller: A flesh raider shot me in the leg while I was saving Padawans!

He was clutching his knee at the time. Looks like he won't be adventuring anymore. :(

Also, part of me wishes that after killing everyone with a Force Leap / Force Sweep combo, my Jedi would dust his hands off. He doesn't seem smug enough about being badass.

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 24th, 2011, 05:13:29 AM

With reference to PVP, doesn't your damage scale up as well?

By the time you can PVP, you (at least from the two classes I've played beyond level 10) have access to crowd control, dots, stuns, abilities that break stuns/cc, AOEs, abilities that can boost your crit chance and abilities that can be charged to overpower them. All of these, plus your basic damage dealing skills (e.g. Force Lightning) also get leveled up by your skill trainer every other level, so when they're scaled up in PVP their duration and effectiveness is enhanced, so that a low-level stun or dot is actually pretty effective (though lacking in the improvements that would be gained by investing talent points into them, perhaps.)

With all of that stuff, and playing against an opponent who wasn't as tactically minded, I don't see why you couldn't win quite easily.

As far as crafting goes, I'm loving Armormech on my Gunslinger. The gear I can make is definitely superior to the gear I'm finding, with the exception of the occasional moddable quest reward. I didn't craft as much on my Inquisitor from the beginning so I'm rectifying that now by sending Corso Riggs off to do some crew task every time I'm not in combat.

BTW Jace! I tried to friend you as Gunner on the character names you mentioned earlier, but the game insisted that they didn't exist? :huh

Captain Untouchable

Dec 24th, 2011, 10:24:18 AM

I'll try friending Gunner, and see what happens. It might be that you can only add someone as a friend if they're online at the time though: you certainly can't guild-invite offline accounts. :uhoh

Regarding PVP - it's probably more to do with the fact that Consulars already know most of their moves at Level 10 - certainly most of the non-damaging ones. That seems to be why their so successful in PVP - they don't have as much brute force as some of the other classes, but they learn most of their "spells" a lot sooner than other classes learn the corresponding "counter-spells". The buff in a warzone gives them a smidge of extra survivability, and they're able to incap players for long enough to whittle them down with weaker attacks. Don't forget: you only get one "break out of incap" ability, whereas by Level 10 a Consular/Inquisitor already has three or four ways that they can immobilize your character.

As for this specific example - this was a Level 48 player, Jenny. I was utterly convinced that I was about to lose, and so was punching wildly at my number keys. Fortunately, there were so many stun effects lined up on there that I managed to incap him by sheer fluke, and beat him to death with my glowstick. Pretty sure that my "tactically minded" approach didn't outsmart someone who'd made it to level 48 within two weeks of the game launching. ;)

Bearing in mind how many hours he must have put in, he probably just fell asleep at the keyboard or something. :lol

* * *

Regarding Crafting - I picked up Biochem with my Gunslinger. I crafted a single Compact Medpack, which spat out a blueprint immediately for a Prototype Compact Medpack: that does an extra 325 bonus healing over 15 seconds. I crafted five and, forgetting that they stacked, ended up reverse engineering in one go. Out popped a Reusable Compact Medpack!

Yes - reusable. As in, it isn't consumed when it is used. Every 90 seconds I can use it, and it will still be there. :cyduck

That is the first type of medpack that you can craft, and it does more healing as a guarenteed bonus than is the current maximum on what I can buy from vendors. The bonus on the prototype version makes it way better than the standard shop-bought one too: which is pretty damn spiffy. Based on what I've seen of crafting, it looks like Biochem is the best one for "Holycrapbetterthanintheshops" produce.

Alas, the purple one requires Biochem 1 to use, but given how ridiculously cheap they are, I will be producing vast quantities of blue Medpacks that I can mail out to people. :ohno

Does anyone use stims (I'm looking at you, Kendra Shaw :shakefist) at all? I can make those too, but I always forget to use them so I may not bother grinding the purple blueprints.

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 24th, 2011, 01:57:47 PM

I discovered my first purple schematic today, yay :) Pity it's for some kit that isn't actually all that good. Most of my blue gear is way better. Ah well!

I tend to use a stim whenever I'm about to go up against a boss, but otherwise not really. Don't use drugs, kids!

...made it to level 48 within two weeks of the game launching

Hey, two weeks is a long time for an MMO :mneh you don't need to be a genius to get near the level cap in that amount of time. You just need to be playing the game a lot.

Captain Untouchable

Dec 25th, 2011, 08:44:37 AM

I'm sorry to everyone else who recorded voices for this game... but Jennifer Hale really puts you guys to shame. Don't get me wrong - there isn't anything bad about most of the other voices. The male Bounty Hunter has the kind of sexy purr that could charm a statue out of it's pants, and even the Imperial Agent - who most people find bland/boring - gets pretty awesome once you get past level 10 and start picking the snarky options. There's just something about the amount of characterisation that JH puts into every line that is just inescapably awesome.

Case in point: a few days ago, Captain America (male-voiced Trooper) walks up to a Cathar and explains "Somebody stole some medicine. I'm looking for the thief." Straight up, informative, like a normal person. Yesterday, my Mirialan Smuggler walks up and says pretty much the same thing, though with a slightly sexy-flirty lilt. Both of those fit with the characters as I'm playing them, so I was perfectly happy.

Today, Jennifer Hale walks up to a Cathar, and tells her: "Somebody stole some medicine. I'm looking for the thief." There was just something about the way the words were stressed, the hint of distain towards stealing, the pacing... Yeah, it's exactly the same way that she voiced FemShep, but I think we all know that's exactly why they got her to voice that character.

I wish I'd played a female Trooper in beta. That way, when the "What did you think of the voice acting in this quest?" box popped up, I could gush about how amazing she is. :love

Edit:

And yes, I may have ESC'd out of the conversation just so I could re-listen to the dialogue. ^_^;

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 25th, 2011, 01:23:03 PM

^ This is so noticeable in Mass Effect too. The differences between the delivery for BroShep and FemShep are so obvious. Jennifer Hale is just born to play a bad-ass :cool

Captain Untouchable

Dec 25th, 2011, 01:58:38 PM

I have no idea how it would work, but I think I want her babies. :ohno

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 26th, 2011, 05:24:41 PM

I got my second companions (after your get your ship/droid) for both my smuggler and inquisitor today :D

Vince

Dec 26th, 2011, 06:46:30 PM

What server are you guys on for your republic dudes again? I might make a Jedi Guardian for that on my friend's account, and I wanna be part of the geek gang finally instead of just hearing about it on the boards.

...Reading down the list below the posting box, I see Karl's on Scepter of Ragnos. Or is everyone on another server?

I won't be on often (as often as I can hang out with my friend really), but I don't think I can move my Sentinel to another server, so yeah.

Karl Valten

Dec 26th, 2011, 07:19:24 PM

What server are you guys on for your republic dudes again? I might make a Jedi Guardian for that on my friend's account, and I wanna be part of the geek gang finally instead of just hearing about it on the boards.

Currently have my on Sceptor of Ragnos....but a lot of the others on Lord Calypho.

I won't be on often (as often as I can hang out with my friend really), but I don't think I can move my Sentinel to another server, so yeah.

I found a non-SWfans guild that I could possibly invite you to. Though I'm not back at my desktop until January 4th....cursed vacation cutting into my gaming time. XD

On the plus side I'm getting productive stuff done.

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 27th, 2011, 05:12:32 AM

Every single server is down for maintenance for the next 5 hours :cry why would you do this to EU servers during the day, on a day that you know a lot of us are off work and want to play?

PS. My Republic char (called Gunner) is on the Lord Calypho server.

Vince

Dec 27th, 2011, 04:40:34 PM

Three Questions:

ONE:

All right, this reverse-engineering stuff is getting annoying. How is it that you can get the schematics through reverse-engineering? I get a small boost to the next level and roughly half the stuff I need to make it, and that's it. I've had to buy the schematics for the mods and such that I use now.

TWO:

Also: I want to make lightsabers, dang it. I'm sure it's artificing (otherwise I'd be unable to reverse engineer the lightsabers I get), but what level do I need to be to make them?

THREE:

Ship modifications. I found them once, and now can't seem to find the vendor to save my life. Apparently he/she's up in Carrick (or whatever) Station. If it's in Combat Training I'll turn dark and slice up some poor Ugnaught in the Works to alleviate my anger and frustration at the labyrinthine placement of vendors.

Comments

PVP is frustrating, but I always end up killing more people than I am aware of. Perhaps they count it as a kill assist for hitting them and whittling down their health. Placing the names of my allies over the left hand abilities bar frustrated me greatly.

Using the mouse for anything other than aiming in PVP will get you killed. However, I cannot seem to get the hang of moving and attacking/targeting at the same time, whereas some people (not ranged, but melee at that as well) literally run circles around me while attacking. I am at a loss at how they manage this. I've come to learn a system: Use the jump attack to go from enemy to enemy; Master Strike is a very very good attack to use immediately after a jump attack on a stunned ranged character, I can occasionally get a clean kill from the combo; Zen and Saber Ward are not nearly as useful as they are during missions.

ALSO:

I've made a Jedi Guardian on Ragnos, and will work on him now and again when I can. Next up is a Sith/Imperial on The Sith Server. What do we have a lot of, and do we have a lack of any particular type of character? It will most likely be an Agent, given the types of characters my friends and I are playing (most of the comments I get are: "Fag, you're playing Republic." which in part is likely a holdover from WOW and antipathy toward the Alliance, and "No imagination, he looks like Obi-Wan." when in fact I'm trying to make them look like me, because I want to be a Jedi, and the only stubble option for complexion comes bundled with "flushed or fevered".)

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 27th, 2011, 04:49:30 PM

1) Getting a schematic through reverse engineering seems to be down to chance. Sometimes you won't get a new schematic in spite of reverse engineering the same items numerous times. Other times, you'll reverse engineer just the one item and it will give you a new schematic.

2) Pass. I don't have any characters that use artifice. I've generally used quest hilts with quest or commendation mods/enhancements.

3) They're normally in the main spaceport on any given planet. Once you've come out of the elevator for your hangar, fire up your map and set it to track vendors. They should show up then.

PVP) I haven't managed to do it yet, actually. I tried to join a warzone today as my smuggler and got an 'admin server error' message that booted me out. I did have the amusing experience of killing a lvl 31 gunslinger as my lvl 25 inquisitor earlier, though. Totally by accident, but he was in the middle of a group of mobs when I popped off chain lightning.

In terms of what characters you should role.. I'd say go with whatever appeals to you. There are a lot of DPS chars on the server as a whole though so if you want to play something that can function as a tank or healer as well, you'll probably have an easier time if you're playing with randoms - but for the purposes of the guild, I'd always say play what you think you'll enjoy most.

Avis Satyra

Dec 27th, 2011, 05:28:06 PM

Vince -

Sith Character

Since you're playing casually-ish, pick a Bounty Hunter. The entertainment value of the various abilities is pretty high (you get to fire missiles at people, rain blaster fire on them while on your jet pack, and you use your rocket boots while uppercutting them in the face), and because it's a tank-orientated class it can take some punishment if you're a little clunky with how it works - particularly when you get your companion, who follows you around and heals you periodically.

Imperial Agents take a lot more concentration and skill management. They can be pretty good for PVE - you an do a fair bit of damage to things before they get too close; and if you have a companion to keep them distracted it works pretty well - but they're lousy at PVP, because so many of their abilities require them to stay still and kneel down. I haven't tried the sneaky-sneaky backy-stabby Operative version yet (it's on my list), but I hear that it too is fairly involved.

Ship Vendor

The easiest one to find is in the Galactic Trade Center on the Imperial / Republic Fleet. They are in the center room on the outer edge of the station, in the same compartment as the guy who sells speeder bikes. You want the two vendors to the right of the bikes: one sells upgrades for credits; the other sells gear for space commendations.

Crafting

The yield for blue blueprints is around 15%. Purple blueprints drop considerably less frequently. Most of the time you should be able to get a blue blueprint by reverse engineering less than ten things.

If you want to know what you'll be able to make, go to your crafting trainer, interact with them, and change the left-hand filter so it shows you all items, not just the ones that are trainable. You'll then be able to see what you will be able to make in the long term, and what level of crafting skill you will need to get it. Lightsabers will probably be moddable / orange items, since you'll need to be able to plug in a colour crystal / et al.

You don't need a specific character level to craft anything, but you may need a specific character level to equip it.

Karl Valten

Dec 27th, 2011, 06:23:35 PM

Vince: (also hit me up on Ragnos with the republic character you have. My handle is Scribbles)

I've been cleaning through PvP fairly well running a Sith Assassin (Tank/DPS hybrid spec) and Imperial Operative (healing spec) mostly.

Go to preferences and check your key bindings. You can play around with the targeting ones and set them to how you like. There are several options such as "Target Closest Enemy", "Cycle Enemy Targets", and other things along those lines. There are also ally targeting abilities.

In addition check out the video I posted in the other thread about focus targeting (also set in Keybinds).

Also in PvP you should honestly never be using the ability icons (point-and-click) as it takes your eyes off of the main battle. And yeah, the UI really sucks for PvP, but can be modified a bit (also in preferences).

You can keybind abilities as well. I usually use numbers 1 - 5 and then shit + (1-5) or alt + (1-5).

Most important abilities go in 1-3. Second most important abilities go in shift/alt + (1-3) and longer cool downs under 4 and 5.

Google search how others set up their keybinds and how they spec the characters for PvP.

Once you get away from the point-and-click, it becomes a lot more enjoyable. As you can focus on what's happening rather than searching for the right button to push and then realize you got pwned because your eyes came off of the battle.

Unfortunately my problem is that my box is about 8 years old and the internet connection isn't the best so I lag like hell and only rank mid-tier anyway in most battles.

Speaking of PvP is there anyway to hold level advancement? PvP gives you a shit-ton of experience (and credits)......I honestly find myself leveling too fast O_o in this game. I really want to explore content (flashpoints/hunting for lore/hunting for datacrons and matrix shards) or just want to play at one level (PvP) in order to get some more experience on what works best for key binds.

That and the space missions give a stupid amount of XP (usually 10k or more).

Vince

Dec 27th, 2011, 06:54:12 PM

Actually, I've been getting lower middle rankings also, which surprises me. I think it's due to the fact that I learned my flaws quickly and stuck with mobbing the force users with allies while waiting for my jump attack to cool down, and taking on enemies targeting allies and too busy too keep me from stunning them.

I did fix up the UI for the times when I PVP. The money is the main draw for me, as I unloaded a lot of credits on lightsabers in the market.

Karl Valten

Dec 27th, 2011, 08:07:16 PM

Noice. Yeah, the credits earned are great! I really enjoy the assault based game-type (hate, hate, hate Huttball, but then again I lag so badly that I'm almost useless.)

On the topic of crafting lightsabers. As it stands I don't think it's possible to actually craft a lightsaber with crew skills. I think it is something that will be added in later patches.

Vince

Dec 27th, 2011, 08:40:24 PM

Huttball wasn't so bad, but I never even tried to get the ball; I simply stuck with attacking any enemy player in range. We lost horribly, but for me the points were the credits and the Valour Points.

On a side note, one only receives PvP medals when your team wins, or upon reaching a certain threshold, or do you loot them from the corpses of the defeated? I don't know if the last one is even possible given the short time we need to respawn, but I was wondering after looking at some of the loot the PvP vendor had on him (most of the armour doesn't work for me, but some of it really can be useful).

The Alderaanian Civil War was awesome, but I didn't know quite what we were doing. I jumped in late, and we were down already. I managed to bag 11 of those dirty Sith and was cut down five times.

Karl Valten

Dec 27th, 2011, 09:31:10 PM

The medals automatically kick in and give you XP bonuses that are figured into your score (may give credit bonuses too, but I'm not sure).

You don't loot anything off of the other players.

Those special commendations required for some of the PvP gear you need to buy the Champion Gear Bag and the like (for Centurion Commendations, etc) or trade Warzone/Merc commendations for them (Battlemaster, Champion, Centurion, etc)

Avis Satyra

Dec 28th, 2011, 03:54:47 AM

Does anyone have any Republic characters on Lord Calypho who haven't done the Esseles, or fancy doing it again? I've been levelling my characters on that server to the Republic Fleet, but I'm not looking forward to having to mass-recruit randoms to run through it with me.

On a side note, one only receives PvP medals when your team wins, or upon reaching a certain threshold, or do you loot them from the corpses of the defeated? I don't know if the last one is even possible given the short time we need to respawn, but I was wondering after looking at some of the loot the PvP vendor had on him (most of the armour doesn't work for me, but some of it really can be useful).

There are all sorts of different criteria for getting medals. I think if you mouse over them you can see which ones you got (though I may be imagining that). They're dished out for things like a solo kill, dealing 2.5k damage in a single hit, and stuff like that.

It isn't really worth trying to score in Huttball unless you were in a group when you entered. Passing is a very tricky process, since you need to activate the "throw" ability and then designate the area you're throwing it to; I've only ever had the ball once or twice, and trying to pass it to someone else was confusing as hell.

You can't successfully charge through the enemy line American Football style too many times... your best bet is to get in there with some buddies (if you queue as a group, all up to four of you will be in the same game), have one person designated the ball carrier, and then have your buddies dropping shields and heals on you as you go. Even if the other four players in the match are just running around killing at random, a core of three or four of you can rack up a pretty decent goal count while everyone else keeps the other team off balance and distracted.

My big pet peeve with PVP is that you don't get to pick which match you go into. I've learned how to make my Sniper useful in Huttball, but I haven't had enough practice at Alderaan; and I haven't even been in the third Warzone at all. It would be nice if you could deselect certain Warzones. It might put you in a queue for longer, but I'd rather wait and definately know what I was doing than wind up capturing turrets when I really wanted to be knocking people into fire and acid.

Dasquian Belargic

Dec 28th, 2011, 11:28:13 AM

I'd be up for doing the Esseles again as Gunner.

Cor Leonis

Dec 28th, 2011, 06:58:35 PM

My companion has an awesome sense of comedy timing.

Every now and again I find myself in the situation where I seem to be fighting a tough enemy alone. Just as the words "Damn it Jorgan, where the hell are you?" tumble out of my mouth, there's this huge explosion of gunfire; the mob tumbles forward, and Aric is just standing there calmly holding his massive cannon.

It's the most epic thing ever. :3

Edit:

Blue triangle, green perpendicular, pink elephant... :cyduck

Screw you, confusing Gree droids. You can kiss my black bisector. :grumble

Jedi Master Carr

Dec 29th, 2011, 11:50:22 AM

I got the game over Christmas and have started playing. I created a Chiss Bounty Hunter on Scepter of Ragnos by the name of Naligli. I didn't realize that Chiss could be a Bounty Hunter as well as Imperial Agent. Hopefully, I will see you all next time I am in the game. Now I have created a republic character too but I had to join a different server because I have a friend who invited me into his guild on that server.

Cor Leonis

Dec 29th, 2011, 02:34:28 PM

Sergeant Leonis just got experience points for getting into someone's pants. :smokin

Edit:

Just arrived on Taris. Rakghouls. Why did it have to be rakghouls? :ohno

That said, I think I just met my next companion. She called me "Leftenant" - I like her already.:eee

No disrespect to the people who designed the Sith worlds / missions or anything, but thus far I'm finding Republic stuff much... not easier, but more straightforward I guess. Maybe it's because Hutta and Dromund Kaas were somewhat open-plan whereas Ord Mantell and Coruscant aren't, or because it's easier to lay things out in a linear way when you're on a temperate island or in a giant city rather than a sprawling swamp or jungle, or because Coruscant is a few discrete areas linked by speeders whereas on DK you have to walk everywhere... I dunno. I certainly feel like I'm spending less time running back and forth, and as if things aren't quite so far away (even though they probably are).

On the flipside, I'm finding space combat less easy as a Republican. Partly, I think it's because my Thunderclap looks like it's constantly lying on it's side... (:grumble) but the red engine exhaust on Sith ships doesn't stand out quite as much as the yellow-white for the Republic, and the hulls of Sith ships aren't quite so easy to make out either. Plus, on the Republic capital ships that you face off against (especially the escorts) the guns and what-not are really easy to target, whereas the Imperials seem to have the guns clustered along the center line so that the dagger shape affords them some protection. Not that I'm complaining, mind you - I love a bit of added trickiness, and I think it's cool that the bright and colourful Republic is slightly easier to shoot as a result.

Oh, and I like that they haven't quite mirrored ships in the same way as classes. There's an Imperial mission where you're attacking a Thunderclap (the Trooper's ship); whereas in the Republic version you're after a Phantom (the Agent's ship). Rather than go for the opposite number in terms of class balance, they've picked the respective "government employee" ships. Presumably the Smuggler and Bounty Hunter ships will wind up being equivalent in later missions.

Karl Valten

Dec 29th, 2011, 04:26:51 PM

Sergeant Leonis just got experience points for getting into someone's pants. :smokin

Lol. Did the same thing with my Imperial Agent. As a curiosity which mission/quest was it?

Cor Leonis

Dec 29th, 2011, 05:28:40 PM

Sergeant Leonis just got experience points for getting into someone's pants. :smokin

Lol. Did the same thing with my Imperial Agent. As a curiosity which mission/quest was it?

It was a side mission after you've been to Port Raga: unlike most of the classes I've played (where you have a quest to get your ship), the Trooper is just assigned a ship as if it's a pretty standard every-day thing. Instead they get sent on a mission immediately after, to a space station in Hutt space which nobody else gets to go to: the Trooper-only phase begins a few meters past the airlock, so the best anyone else can do is stand in the porch. :mischief

After completing the mission, Sergeant Jaxo - who you met earlier on Coruscant and had flirt options with - invites you back to her place. "Her place" happens to be where you met her previously: deep inside Black Sun territory on Coruscant, and ages from any kind of speeder or quick travel point... so you have to fight your way through an army of criminals to get laid. :lol

Speaking of the mission to Port Raga... I'm pretty sure the dude I rescued is Lion-O... (You'll know what I mean when you see him)

Edit:

Taris fangasm update: OMG, I'm about to go to the crash site of the Endar Spire. :ohno

Karl Valten

Dec 29th, 2011, 10:51:49 PM

Ah, already been through the whole Port Raga part. Rolled a female character though so didn't get the option to have some fun.

I like Jaxo, I wish she was one of the companions. Having someone snarky along would be fun a nice change to my current two (non-droid) companions.

Cor Leonis

Dec 30th, 2011, 04:07:32 AM

If you had Jaxo in tow though, wouldn't it be like rocking around the galaxy with three of the seven dwarves... Grumpy, Prissy, and Sleazy? :uhoh

As for the remaining three companions (the non-human trio), it looks like we get a Gand, a Weequay, and a Robot. I guess this marks the end of me understanding my companion's dialogue. >_<

Out of interest, do you still use Aric as your companion, or have you found that one of the others is better / better suited to your playstyle? I know that Elara is the Trooper's version of Mako (the healer), and she works out pretty well for my Bounty Hunter, but even though I didn't pick the healer tree for Leonis I still have a bunch of self and ally heals. Everyone else seems to be a bit more "melee but with a gun" stylie. I see a lot of people with M1-4X, but I don't know how much of that is about usefulness and how much is cool factor.

Captain Untouchable

Dec 30th, 2011, 02:55:08 PM

You know we were discussing moddable armour, crafting and what not a few days ago?

There's some weird sort of glitch with moddable armour, which is best to explain with an example. I picked up a Commando Helmet for my Trooper, which has a base armour rating of 25. I stuck a Commando 5 armour module in there, with an Armour Rating of 44... but even after I hit apply, closed and reopened my inventory... it still showed as 25. As soon as I whacked it on my character's head however, the armour rating leapt up to 254.

Similarly, I bought (with Coruscant Commendations) the best heavy blaster they had in stock... which looked exactly the same as the moddable "Standard-issue Repeating Blaster" you get as soon as you pick the Commando AC, but in a crappy-looking "dirt + rust" colour scheme. I ported the mods across figuring that I'd accept a little stat drop in the interests of style... but the weapon wound up with exactly the same stats. Same story when I repeated the process with the Esseles Revolving Autocannon: completely identical stats.

By comparison to the off-the-peg gear I'm getting: I haven't upgraded my chest armour yet, so it's still packing "Commando 5" stuff. It is providing 307 armour; about on a par with the stuff in vendors and slightly less than the quest rewards at the moment. Once I upgrade to Commando 7 stuff, it will be much better than anything else Taris has to offer.

I haven't sussed out why certain items can be equipped at Level 9 while others need you to be Level 27 (but seem to have identical unmodded stats): I dunno if they're trying to restrict the "cooler" items to higher levels or something? I dunno.

In any case, Sergeant Leonis is looking pretty boss right now. :smokin

Edit:

Also, if you hold CTRL and left-click an item at a vendor, you get a teeny-tiny preview of your person wearing it.

Do not CTRL and right-click. You may think you're being smart by previewing an 8,000 credit item before you buy it... but you'll end up accidentally buying it instead and will lose all your moneys. :(

Karl Valten

Dec 30th, 2011, 04:09:28 PM

Captain Untouchable

Dec 30th, 2011, 05:17:15 PM

Oh and on the companions I still use Aric almost exclusively. Granted I just really want to get his affection score up. ;)

Affection score, eh? :mischief

Karl Valten

Dec 30th, 2011, 05:39:02 PM

Affection score, eh? :mischief

Yeah....that's it...... :hat

Karl Valten

Dec 30th, 2011, 05:42:10 PM

http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/i-C3xHKPs/0/L/i-C3xHKPs-L.jpg

Captain Untouchable

Dec 30th, 2011, 06:31:17 PM

The question is, will option 3 gain you affection with Aric, or will he be put out that you're not shampooing your Cathar instead?

Cor Leonis

Dec 30th, 2011, 11:59:56 PM

So... Taris archives. Not what I was expecting.

Not what I was expecting at all. :ohno

Glen Fiddich

Jan 2nd, 2012, 06:37:13 PM

CTRL+ALT+DEL (http://v.cdn.cad-comic.com/comics/cad-20120102-58761.png) Oh no! :eek

Edit:

In other news, I just spoke to a Gand on Coruscant as a Jedi Consular. I don't want to give anything away - but they seem to have paid attention to the Gand pronoun rules from the X-Wing series (which are my favouritest Star Wars books ever) which is pretty cool. Every now and again there are little references that make it clear that Star Wars fans were definately involved in making this! :3

Edit 2:

Some familiar characters just showed up in my Jedi Consular quest! Not only Master Vandar (the Yoda guy) from KOTOR, but also Arca Jeth! My Gand grammar geekout seems pretty minor right about now. :eee

Also, I managed to spoiler myself by looking at the voice cast on iMDb. After reading a particular name, I discovered that there is apparently an additional companion that can be quested for on Hoth, available for all classes and factions. An HK-51 Droid. :ohno

Dasquian Belargic

Jan 3rd, 2012, 12:23:55 PM

We haven't talked too much about what we *don't* like about this game, at this point, so here's my main gripes with SWTOR.

1) Corridors.
There was a lot of talk during development about how boring games are when you're running down the same series of corridors, fighting the same mobs, over and over... and yet sadly, there is a high amount of this in SWTOR. What annoys me particularly about this is that there are non-instanced quest areas that force you to fight your way through a pack of mobs to get to a goal, only to force you to fight back through their respawns on the way out. If you're going to have a corridor with only one exit, please make it instanced :(

Mob placement in general is really obnoxious. You can barely get anywhere, even by speeder, without getting attacked and every mob group is essentially the same 3-5 with one strong/gold enemy.

2) Lack of ambiance.
I love some of the world designs. The planets that I've visited so far are great, but the game really fails when it comes to creating living, breathing NPC communities. Everywhere you go there are NPCs, who generally all look the same, silently miming the same actions at one another again and again and again... There are very few patrolling NPCs, or non-vendor NPCs that are even clickable. There don't seem to be any animals which aren't mobs, and even these all look like copies of each other. There's also barely any sound other than the orchestral score. All of that adds up to the fact that whenever I go to a city, I don't feel like I am experiencing somewhere new.

2a) Empty world.
By extension, the way that everything is instanced means that aside from when you're aboard the Fleet, everywhere feels completely empty of other players. I barely ever run into other people questing in the same area as me, which is helpful in one way but in another, if you're trying to run a group or heroic quest, is a pain in the ass. Any time you do go anywhere (i.e. the Fleet) where there's a lot of people, the game starts to run like shit.

3) No guild functionality.
What is the point of guilds right now? There are no guild banks or guild XP. Effectively it's just a chat channel and a line underneath your character name.

4) No decent LFG/LFD system.
Every single general chat channel is full of people trying to find groups. I know that you can mark yourself as LFG, but this is useless for flashpoints since all of the flashpoints start on the fleet. There are no instances that *start* on the planets themselves, so you have to stop questing, travel up to the fleet and then begin your search for a group, instead of just adding yourself into a queue and carrying on doing the other quest related stuff.

5) Armor doesn't look cool.
...with the exception of some pieces, I have not encountered anyone whose gear made me think "Wow, how do I get that?!" In a lot of cases, people are wearing the same gear for 10-15 levels at a time and just modding it. I don't know if they are holding out on the cool looking gear for later updates and patches, but by and large right now everything is just.. meh. I know that lightsaber hilts will all have a similar look to them, but the variation in blasters might as well be non-existent since you can't see your weapon most of the time.

Dasquian Belargic

Jan 3rd, 2012, 12:37:58 PM

On a non-gripe related note, Bioware has been temporarily banning people for travelling to Ilum before they have reached the proper level and looting the resource nodes/chests there: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/330952/bioware-confirms-old-republic-ilum-exploit-bans/

I guess this will probably result in something that blocks low level chars from either visiting high level planets, or will make the mob placement / aggro radius more aggressive.

Vince

Jan 3rd, 2012, 03:05:47 PM

Karl: I tried to friend ya on Ragnos, but "Scribbles doesn't exist". I heard of that happening before, so I wasn't surprised. I didn't try the mail feature (actually, my friend noted that despite being a long, long time ago in a galaxy far away, the symbol for mail is still an envelope), so perhaps there's that.

If you get a chance to do it, my character's name is Syrilla.

Notes:

I'm enjoying playing a Guardian far more than a Sentinel, as far as play style goes. The armor sundering move has helped me through bosses and the stronger enemies that hurt me viciously as a Sentinel (for example, the Sith in the Esseles Flashpoint). It doesn't hurt that I made a cute little Mirialan to be the Tank, and I'm surprised with how much I like the design. The move to keep enemies from moving away/around from me seems like it would be useful for PvP.

The voice acting for the female Jedi seems to be a bit lacklustre at times, but at others it's so perfectly bland and smooth I can see Obi-Wan (or maybe a female Obi-Wan) saying it.

I seem to be a lot more natural with it. I chose Synth-weaving to boost up my armour (choosing Archaeology and Scavenging as the gathering skills), but though I'm learning new schematics fairly regularly, I can't seem to find Terenthium, which is an underworld metal and is used for all the blue schematics I've learned. Should I have chosen Underworld Trading as the other gathering skill?

Also, with artificing, I had no trouble with reverse engineering, but now my cargo bay is full of armour I'm waiting to reverse-engineer but can't. Do I need to bulk up my synth-weaving, learn the schematics for them (unlikely, I think), or do I simply wait to hit higher levels in general? Most of the items are actually green, so I'm not sure what it is that's keeping me from reverse engineering them, though I have a couple theories.

I'm pretty sure I'll be making a Smuggler to play with you guys on the other Server (Lord Calypho, I think), and an Inquisitor on Ragnos.

My friend made a Bounty Hunter, named him Bobba Phatt, and his undeclared speciality is... Booty Hunting. My friends are awesome.

AS TO MOB PLACEMENT:

I don't find it hard to skirt the mobs at all, actually. Some are placed that I have to attack them, but for the most part, I can get through most of an area fighting only two or three groups in total. In the instances, I make a point to fight the Strong to Champion (and sometimes Elite) enemies again, just for the experience and sheer awesomeness.

Case in point: During the Black Sun quest-line in Coruscant, I fought the Vigo in the Black Sun Headquarters. She wasted me the first time, and I revived and continued the quest, which levelled me up. I come back through and destroy her, and in a moment of vindictive triumph, say "Eat it, bitch!" as the little Mirialan tank blasted her off her feet. My friends laughed and said that my triumphant declaration was the epitome of the Jedi-way.

Dasquian Belargic

Jan 3rd, 2012, 03:57:15 PM

The obnoxious mob placement becomes more prominent as you level up. The "fight through a corridor of trash mobs, find quest goal, fight back through the same corridor of trash mobs" motif has happened a little too often for my liking, most often on city/indoor environments.

In instances, I don't care where they place mobs, though. The fact that they stay dead once you've killed them means that trekking back over the same ground that you just covered to get to your goal is not a big deal. It's only when the same enemies respawn on the way out that it irritates me.

Something else I forgot that I don't like: how many elevators you have to ride. Just the act of getting onto my ship from a spaceport should not take this many steps >_<

Captain Untouchable

Jan 3rd, 2012, 04:21:02 PM

I can see where you're coming from with some of those gripes Jenny, but I think some of them are a lot easier to avoid than you realise.

1) Corridors.

You can navigate most maps without retreading your steps too much if you do things in a certain order, or invest a little extra walking early on. There are quite a few cases where a quest sends you half-way up the road to the next taxi / quick travel point: if you push on and ride the speeder back, that extra bit of walking saves you an entire trip down the whole length of the road in the long run.

Similarly, on planets like Ord Mantell, Coruscant, and Nar Shaddaa, each area you travel to is more or less a loop. Since you're going to end up back at the quest hand-in by completing the circuit anyway, just keep pushing round. Even those multi-stage bonus missions (Kill 10, Kill 30, Kill Boss) seem designed to coax you around that loop.

You can also get a lot closer to mobs than you'd think. It's surprising, but you can actually navigate through mob-filled areas pretty easily without getting aggro'd. More often than not it's by sticking to the road, and just hugging one side of it if there's a critter around. I'm going through Coruscant with a Consular at the moment, and I haven't been attacked by a single mob that I didn't want to be attacked by; and this isn't an invisible Consular, just a wibbly-wobbly avoidily-woidily one.

2) Lack of ambiance.

Some planets have animals that are "green" mobs - ones you can't attack - rather than yellow or red. Tython for example has some big green space cows that are one of the species you need to unlock for the codex: you have to hang around with the critters to pick them up, rather than attacking.

I find that the small places are generally okay - they've got plenty of NPCs or yellow mob people dotted around the place adding some atmosphere. It's the bigger areas that seem empty - it'd be nice if the spaceports on Coruscant or Dromund Kaas were a bit busier... and maybe they could treat the Senate tower on Coruscant a bit more like the Presidium, and have an Avina droid giving you codex stuff or something?

3) No guild functionality.

Bioware never planned to have guild functionality at launch. They've been saying all along that those features will be added in the first big update. The reason that they allowed guild registration and creation prior to the launch was mainly to encourage a community to develop.

As someone who does a lot with people from our guild, I find it pretty good. There are always people around who can answer questions and give tips; people are always willing to share items that they can craft with each other, or stuff that they can loot but can't use; and it's much easier to find people to take part in a flashpoint via the guild than by shouting for it in General.

5) Armor doesn't look cool.

Speak for yourself, my characters look awesome. ;)

I'm with you that a lot of the gear looks a bit goofy. Especially for a Smuggler or Inquisitor thinking about it, so you've maybe got a bum deal there.

I have to disagree that modding level 10 gear is bad, though. I've quite regularly been turning down gear because I don't like the look... and the fact that you can find get moddable armour that you like and then use it for the entire game is surely a good thing. Aside from maybe the PVP gear at level 50, you can use crafted mods and commendation mods to increase the level of your armour and keep it as good as or better than anything available in vendors or as loot.

Personally, I'm more pissed off that certain armour isn't moddable. I really liked the snazzy blue stuff that I had on when we did the Esseles, but I've had to stop wearing it because the stats are so far below the curve. Luckily I managed to find something similar, and I'm now working on collecting a full set of moddable armour; but it's reaching the point where that stuff is even too low for my companion, so I'm going to have to retire it. I really don't want to have my characters wearing white-and-yellow, but that's how most of the Republic heavy armour looks.

One thing to be aware of with moddable gear: you can't get a matching set that is entirely moddable. I have a pair of moddable Atriss pants, but the matching boots aren't moddable. If players do choose to go down the moddable route, they might be forced to mix and match their gear... which I kinda like, since it'll hopefully encourage more variety.

I'm not keen on the fact that you can't tweak colours on things, though... or that you can't get the same gear but in different colours. I've seen a lot of people dressed in Republic heavy armour who look like a Stormtrooper that's been thrown up on by a bag of skittles, and while some of the high-level Bounty Hunter helmets might look cool, if the colours don't match your armour you're a bit buggered.

I know that lightsaber hilts will all have a similar look to them, but the variation in blasters might as well be non-existent since you can't see your weapon most of the time.

Huh? I haven't encountered that at all. There's quite a big variety in the blaster pistols that my bounty hunter has had; some of them just didn't look right on his hip with the armour he was wearing, so it took me ages to find one that I liked. Some of the blasters I've been using for my Gunslinger just look stupidly huge on her teeny slender thighs. And if you're a Trooper or Agent, the differences between blasters are huge; and when you aren't using them, they're constantly bolted onto your back.

I most definately don't have samey blasters. Maybe I just have my client zoomed in more, or my graphics turned up higher than you or something?

Dasquian Belargic

Jan 3rd, 2012, 04:42:39 PM

Similarly, on planets like Ord Mantell, Coruscant, and Nar Shaddaa, each area you travel to is more or less a loop.

This is true in some cases - and as someone who has played MMOs for a number of years previously, I am always conscious of picking up every quest in an area before starting on any of them, to minimise the amount of backtracking I do over a particular area - but I have been on numerous quests that have literally take me into an area that has only one entrance and exit, for the sole purpose of reaching the last room in that area and then fighting my way back out again. There is literally nothing else to do in that part of the map... which would be fine, if it was instanced but it's not :(

It's the bigger areas that seem empty - it'd be nice if the spaceports on Coruscant or Dromund Kaas were a bit busier...

They should have used these two planets in place of the Fleet stations, I think. There is so much unused open space in this game... but again I am dubious about whether the game is actually able to handle filling that space up, since the Fleet lags a lot around the central cantina area.

Having actual cities as capitols would also make for much more fun PVP too, to be honest. So far I have run into about 3 Republic players in the entire 30-odd levels that I've played through, and fought only one of them. If you could raid a city like Coruscant or Kaas City, that would make for a lot of fun... although they would also then have to make it so that every NPC was actually clickable, so you could attack them/they could defend the city. Right now, there are a lot of non-clickable NPCs who don't appear to have any capacity to interact with you / react to anything.

Bioware never planned to have guild functionality at launch.

I just don't get why they even bothered allowing you to pre-create the guild before launch, with this is mind. I mean its cool that everyone was preassigned to a server and a guild member from the word go. Most of the good stuff you've gotten out of the guild so far is from the guild members themselves and through communicating on TS rather than any features that the guilds themselves have. I can live without guild XP but a guild bank would be really really useful for sharing equipment and materials without having to meet up face to face.

I most definately don't have samey blasters. Maybe I just have my client zoomed in more, or my graphics turned up higher than you or something?

I zoom out completely because of the size of the UI and the size of my companion, generally, and since your viewpoint is normally from behind your character, I don't tend to see Gunner's weapons at all. Even when I do, though, there is nothing particularly remarkable looking about any of them that I've had so far.

I definitely have the graphics all on max settings as well, though that isn't saying much for this game.. the textures look pretty poor whatever setting you have them on.

Captain Untouchable

Jan 3rd, 2012, 06:51:10 PM

I just don't get why they even bothered allowing you to pre-create the guild before launch, with this is mind.

The reason that they allowed guild registration and creation prior to the launch was mainly to encourage a community to develop.

I agree that a lack of guild bank is frustrating. But saying that there is "no advantage" isn't the same as there being "no point".

What they've done is established the groundwork for guilds. They have the players on the same server, and the software knows they are connected by a guild. They also have an approximate idea of how many guilds they have, and thus what resources they need to commit to hosting guild banks and guild halls; and also how large guild banks need to be in order to be useful. Also, registration in advance has allowed guilds to recruit more people and grow larger, which means fewer instances needed to support them.

If they hadn't allowed guild registration in advance, they'd be going in blind. Without the pre-launch guild creation to encourage players to cluster together, they might have wound up with more (smaller) guilds. If there hadn't been the pre-launch phase, we might have just stuck together as a group of Fans players, and might have wound up wih a guild of half-a-dozen players, rather than however many Guns has. They'd also have a huge amount of guild registration traffic as soon as new content was added.

Implementing guilds and adding features later is easier / more logical / more stable. It's a pain that the features aren't there... but there's certainly no harm in them having implemented guilds without them.

As for everything else... I'm sorry you're having a shitty experience with it, but I'm afraid it's not an experience that I've shared. :\

Tear

Jan 4th, 2012, 07:20:04 AM

You can dance if you want to. You can leave your enemies behind. (http://kotaku.com/5872895/old-republic-lets-you-dance-your-way-out-of-trouble)

Also, some commenter in the article linked this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mmSavoUazYQ#%21) which there is also a part 1 of, if you need more dancing star wars. Pretty fun.

Dasquian Belargic

Jan 4th, 2012, 12:35:08 PM

On the whole, I wouldn't describe my experience with the game as shitty - I would cancel if that was the case - but I feel like there are a lot of areas that need improvement right now. I know that you can use the excuse of "it's just a new MMO" but it's been in development for so many years, it just seems bizarre. They have devs who have worked on MMOs in the past so are aware of the features that players generally want/use in this type of game.

There is a huge amount of discussion at the moment, for example, about the response time for using/casting abilities: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=119676

For example:

<object width="960" height="720"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mj6LD6H0ys8?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mj6LD6H0ys8?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="960" height="720" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

Also, here's a weird bug whereby if you type an emote mid-combat, the enemy you're targetting is unable to select/attack you. Just the animation of an emote somehow interupts the enemies casting ability:

<object width="1280" height="720"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vun5geNHA5M?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vun5geNHA5M?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="1280" height="720" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

Captain Untouchable

Jan 4th, 2012, 02:23:25 PM

The casting time thing is deliberate, though. More than that, it adds an extra dimension to the game.

Using an example that I'm highly familiar with: knockback abilities are the bane of an Imperial Agent. They knock you out of cover; and most of your main attacks require you to be in cover in order to function. However, as you progress into the Sniper advanced class, you get an ability called Entrench that protects you against being knocked out of cover... but it only lasts 20 seconds.

When your opponent is activating an ability that has a long cast time, you get a progress bar under their name. As a Sniper, you can keep an eye out for the knockback abilities; and if you're quick enough and observant enough, you can activate your 20 second resistance to knockbacks before it takes effect.

There are all manner of similar situations that make use of the delay on casting times. It's an integral mechanic of the game, and if they changed it to copy WOW it would completely throw off the way that they've balanced abilities against each other.

I feel sorry for game developers, particularly when it comes to World of Warcraft comparisons. Everything they do is either a blatant rip-off of World of Warcraft, or isn't enough like World of Warcraft: the internet will bitch about it either way. If this was a console game and people didn't like the casting times on abilities... sure, they'd maybe gripe about it, but they'd also suck it up and learn to come to terms with it; it'd just be part and parcel of getting the hang of a new game.

I didn't like the introduction of ammo in Mass Effect 2 (it's not a feature I'm fond of in any game), but I learned how to work with it. I may grumble about my Agent getting knocked out of cover, but I don't want them to change it. That's just how the game works... and frankly, when I manage to learn a way to overcome that difficulty, I'll feel a whole lot better about it than if the developers just nerfed the game in response to my bitching about it.

Dasquian Belargic

Jan 4th, 2012, 02:40:52 PM

I'm not talking about knock-back affecting/interrupting casting time, or about the length of casting time itself. These are features of all MMOs and I have no problem with a channeled cast being interrupted, for example, if I am attacked.

What I mean is that when I push the button to activate an instant cast ability, which has no cast time, it is not instant. There is a noticeable delay between me activating it and the ability actually taking place. For instant cast abilities, the global cool-down of the ability often fully resets before the ability itself actually triggers and registers as having damaged/healed my target.

The result of this is you will hit a button to trigger an attack, nothing happens immeadiately (i.e. no cast bar appears to indicate that the game is processing your request to use the ability), so you push it again and can subsequently end up interrupting your own cast because of the delayed appearance of the cast bar. I have my companion standing right next to a mob and hit his physical attack ability, which should prompt him to attack immeadiately, but instead there is about a 2 second delay before he even registers that I've asked him to attack.

There is some kind of delay occurring between the ability being triggered, the cast bar appearing, the animation playing and the ability completing.

For example:

<object width="1280" height="720"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GfDTbmd7vTw?version=3&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GfDTbmd7vTw?version=3&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="1280" height="720" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

Mounting is an instant cast. You can see in this video that the player hits the mount button, the cast bar fills and indicates that the mount has been summoned so they start to run. Instead, the mount de-summons because the player has moved - albeit after the cast bar has filled, indicating that the cast should be completed and the player should be free to start moving about on their mount.

Captain Untouchable

Jan 4th, 2012, 03:25:43 PM

Then wait a microsecond rather than starting to run the very instant that the bar fills up?

I really don't see why it's as rant-worthy a topic as the game forums are making it out to be. As long as you know it happens, it just takes a teensy dose of patience in order to get the rhythm right. I have the exact same issue with combat abilities - if I get over-eager hitting the next attack, it maybe won't go off because it isn't quite ready to go again, or it might cut off the end of Full Auto or something... but it's just a matter of rhythm, timing, and patience.

It's irritating. It's maybe even gripe-worthy. But it isn't "OMG THE WORLD IS GOING TO END I MUST BITCH ON FORUMS" worthy, like most issues are getting made out to be.

Maybe I'm just mellowing out in my old age. :uhoh

Dasquian Belargic

Jan 4th, 2012, 03:53:06 PM

Then wait a microsecond rather than starting to run the very instant that the bar fills up?

There isn't really any point of having a cast bar if it doesn't give you a concrete indication of when an ability will heal or damage your target. Either have a cast bar that ends at the exact moment the ability casts, or extend the length of the cast bar to accommodate for the fact that a spell with a 2 second cast will actually heal your target after 3.5 seconds. It's a pretty simple mechanic that just isn't working that well at the moment and will hopefully be fixed in the future... which is the main reason people are bringing it up on the official forums.

During the beta period, and these initial few months following launch, there are going to be a lot of things that people will complain about which are valid, and a lot of things which aren't. I am not ragging on this game just for the sake of it, because I am enjoying the game, but the simple fact that I am enjoying the game as it is doesn't mean that there aren't improvements which can be made. That's all part and parcel of MMOs, especially an MMOs which hasn't even been live for a month yet.

SWTOR isn't like Mass Effect in that there is a single build of Mass Effect released, which has been thoroughly tested before its available for public consumption. The testing and patching of SWTOR is going to be a much more incremental process with the developers addressing bugs on a weekly basis. There have already been 10 patches and in a dev blog they acknowledged that patches will be released weekly (http://www.swtor.com/blog/word-bugs-james-ohlen) and that this kind of frequency of patch is necessary due to the size and complexity of the game.

Bioware admit themselves that the game is flawed and I don't think that any of my criticisms are unjustified, when so many other people are experiencing the same problems, or that came across as hyperbole.

Dasquian Belargic

Jan 4th, 2012, 04:14:50 PM

Some cool PVP related news: http://www.swtor.com/blog/new-year%E2%80%99s-pvp-update

Includes the announcement that PVP brackets will be implemented, starting off with a bracket solely for lvl 50s. Also there is going to be the option to choose, eventually, which PVP type you take part in (i.e. huttball, voidstar) and a wider variety of PVP events.

Particularly good to see (although kind of vague at the minute) is:

Combat Gameplay: You’ll see several optimizations come online in January, and we are going to continue to tune this as time goes on.

We also have other exciting features coming in the near future including Ranked Warzone Matches, PvP Stat Tracking, Open World PvP Loot Drops, more Warzone medals for different objectives, Guard Optimizations and Target Optimizations.

So there will be a lot of tweaking going on. Yay.

Captain Untouchable

Jan 4th, 2012, 06:16:01 PM

My criticism directed at you personally Jenny - you're one of a handful of people I know who can actually explain their grievances in a rational and objective way. It was more to do with you pointing out that a lot of people were complaining about particular issues on the forums. These are computer game forums: of course a lot of people were complaining. That is what people on MMO forums do, and there would be a lot of people complaining even if the game had launched and been 100% perfect.

Like I said - your grievances are perfectly justified; I just object in general to the way that the collective internet handles itself when it comes to complaining, and feel sorry for the developers for being on the recieving end of it.

Dasquian Belargic

Jan 5th, 2012, 01:39:54 AM

http://www.swtor.com/blog/patch-notes-update-upcoming-patch

More patch news:

We are working on getting a patch deployed to address the issues that some players are still experiencing after 1.0.2 including:

* Fixing an issue that causes in-game chat channels to stop functioning for some players.
* Preventing social emotes (like /getdown) from interfering with combat.

Good to see that second one in there :)

Captain Untouchable

Jan 6th, 2012, 11:32:26 PM

Dasquian Belargic

Jan 7th, 2012, 04:41:05 AM

There's an NPC on Alderaan called Daria Thul!

Figrin D'an

Jan 8th, 2012, 12:13:35 AM

Finished 'The Jedi Prisoner' quest line. Very cool way of linking the two KOTOR games and the MMO. And, we finally know what happens to Revan. It will be interesting to see if they continue to fill in the details later on with more flashpoints/quests.

My Guardian is at level 40. The Jedi Knight storyline is... pretty good. It has some predictable moments, but it reasonably well constructed.

Worst part about the game for me at the moment is wanting to be a completionist on planets I visit, but then not being able to find groups for the Heroic quests. Really frustrating for Balmorra in particular, since there's like 10 of them.

That and the clunky interface. Fortunately the content is easy enough (for now) not to have it end up being a major factor in combat.

Dasquian Belargic

Jan 8th, 2012, 05:53:25 AM

Honestly, I am not even attempting the heroics most of the time now. I do the normal and class quests, plus some space missions and PVP, and that gives me more than enough XP to progress to the next planet. Speaking of, I just arrived on Hoth after an incredibly brief stay on Quesh. Is it just me,or was there barely any content on Quesh?

Vince

Jan 9th, 2012, 11:43:30 AM

So I made a smuggler on Calypho; his name is Ikarus.

I am really enjoying the smuggler storyline. The Jedi line could have used a bit more of the humour that's actually quite prevalent in this one.

Specifically, those bodies over there.

The first girl I get to flirt with isn't that much of a looker though. Doesn't mean I don't shamelessy flirt with her every chance I get, but more options wouldn't hurt. He's only level 7 or so, but once he's up there, we can hang.

Captain Untouchable

Jan 12th, 2012, 01:15:02 AM

Doing a little early-morning ass-blastering (:mischief) with my Commando. I've already encountered a Welsh Imperial, a Scottish Imperial, a Sean Bean Imperial, and an Imperial Medical Droid who sounds like Droo... now my Commando has stumbled across an Imperial who sounds like Christopher Eccleston.

Why do the bad guys have such awesome voices? :ohno

Dasquian Belargic

Jan 12th, 2012, 02:07:44 PM

Did you get to Alderaan yet? Lots of people there talk with a Yorkshire accent. It's like they watched Game of Thrones and though yes, men who live in a frozen wasteland *must* speak this way!

Captain Untouchable

Jan 12th, 2012, 07:12:58 PM

I just arrived on Alderaan, and my Imperial Agent has been ordered to speak to the head of the House of Thul. With all the political intregue, and the fact that the Thuls were exiled to the snowy north... my brain has decided that this guy needs to look like Liam Neeson, but sound like Sean Bean. :ohno

Yes. :mneh

Edit:

I just had to edit my comment, because something happened that made everything more awesome. I've been playing my Trooper the last couple of days, working on unlocking my legacy title on Lord Calypho (in the hopes that I can have the same one on both servers), and I just wanted to sing the praises of the Trooper storyline.

The whole arc that I'm playing through at the moment is incredibly character-driven, in an almost television show type way. Each planet feels like a self-contained episode, with a major NPC - often a new companion - being introduced as an important part of the story. I have recieved something important - a companion or ship - in all four "episodes" so far. On top of that, Having unlocked the first part of my companion's personal quest line, we've returned to Nar Shaddaa to call in a favour from one of the NPCs that was already introduced. I'm getting a lot of "off-the-map" missions too - rather than flying to a spot on a planet and going into an instanced area, my instanced areas are sometimes on ships or stations, which makes it feel like the Trooper has a bigger scope than some of the other classes I've played (Imperial Agent does a little of this too).

I've got an episodic storyline that follows a traditional three-act structure; I've got a heavily character-driven story within each episode; I've got recurring characters; and I've got a strong arc/theme for the series. It's like playing Stargate or something here, and I've actually reached the point where I'm anxiously awaiting the next episode.

I have three companions already though, and I've only just reached the end of Planet #4 (Nar Shaddaa). That seems a heck of a lot faster than my other characters: Bounty Hunter and Sniper don't recieve their second companion until Planets #5 and #6 respectively. Do any other classes get companions this fast, or is it just part of the story style for the Trooper?

Vince

Jan 12th, 2012, 10:12:06 PM

Jedi get three by the time they leave Coruscant (2nd planet).

I can't wait for tomorrow night... My smuggler will get his ship back, damn it!

Captain Untouchable

Jan 13th, 2012, 08:19:32 PM

Vince

Jan 13th, 2012, 10:13:19 PM

Jedi get three by the time they leave Coruscant (2nd planet).

I can't wait for tomorrow night... My smuggler will get his ship back, damn it!

Is that including the droid on your ship? I'm not counting that one - so technically my Trooper has four.

I am counting the one you get on the ship, so excluding the Protocol droid, Jedi get two by the end of their second planet.

Karl Valten

Jan 14th, 2012, 04:37:07 AM

I am counting the one you get on the ship, so excluding the Protocol droid, Jedi get two by the end of their second planet.

Not if you're a consular. I still only have the droid and the Trandoshan.

Cor Leonis

Jan 19th, 2012, 01:40:59 PM

I have now completed Act 1 with my Republic Trooper on Lord Calypho.

As a result I have been promoted to Captain, and have unlocked The Untouchable Legacy.

Hells yeah, bitches. :smokin

While the storyline for the Republic Trooper isn't quite as strong as the Bounty Hunter, I've got to admit that I've been impressed with the way they've tied everything into the story. You get several companions very quickly, and while you're only ever taking one of them, you very soon get situations where they'll start chipping in during mission briefings. Each planet feels like it's own self-contained mission, but the class story always justifies your helping out the locals, so the side quests don't feel like you're deviating from the mission. There are also stand-alone instances on ships and stations, which makes it feel like the story has a bigger scope. I didn't have the arbetrary "go back to Hutta" type stage at the end of Act 1 either.

I guess it feels a little like Mass Effect (especially ME2) did: you turn up Spectre style on every planet and shoulder your way into whatever is going on; and while you have a specific reason for being there, you chip in and save the day while you're at it. Being a Bounty Hunter may make you feel like a badass, but playing a Trooper makes you feel like a big damn hero.

Edit:

Which reminds me: Droo and I were chatting the other day about trying to do a team of Troopers - eg. a Vanguard Tank, a Commando Medic, etc. Would anyone else be up for that?

Vince

Jan 19th, 2012, 02:02:20 PM

Playing a smuggler makes me feel like Mal Reynolds.

Cor Leonis

Jan 19th, 2012, 02:03:32 PM

^ Playing with a smuggler makes you feel Mal Reynolds.

Vince

Jan 19th, 2012, 02:05:28 PM

But I don't play with smugglers. That's got "BAD IDEA" written all over it in capital letters. In aurebesh too.

Cor Leonis

Jan 19th, 2012, 02:14:11 PM

Are you sure it doesn't just say "ΞK7 17VIK" in a funky, stylised font?

Because "BAD IDEA" in Aurebesh would kind of look like that.

What?

Why are you looking at me like that? :uhoh

Vince

Jan 19th, 2012, 02:31:15 PM

A smuggler's guild called "BAD IDEA" seems somewhat intriguing at the moment, but I think I'll give it some time to see whether it lasts in my head.

Anyhow, yes. It does say that. Especially when I saw that someone was going for the same objective as I was, so I waited for them to engage the last enemy, bolted in there, and took it before they finished. It was a dick move, but I was on an RP-PVP server, and Ikarus isn't all that concerned with fair play.

Captain Untouchable

Jan 19th, 2012, 07:57:08 PM

:verymad :verymad RAGE! :verymad :verymad

The class quests for the Imperial Agent are fucking stupid. The story is pretty dull, but the placement of stuff is ridiculous. I have a contact that I have to talk to several times in order to progress with missions. He is at the end of my first quest area. Each time I go to talk to him, I have to fight my way through hoardes of rakghouls, including a number of Elite ones: two of which are unavoidable for a Sniper.

At this point I don't have either my melee or ranged tanks (Kaliyo can draw aggro, but is too squishy to survive very long at this level), and despite being several levels higher than I should be, I don't do enough damage to make a dent on these Elites. Worse, the only 60 second stun I have only works on droids; the other two last 10 seconds, and require me to be within 10m... so I can't even stun the Elite for long enough to take care of the herd of lesser mobs swarming around him.

My only option is to let Kaliyo soak up damage while I run bravely past, and hope that I can get close enough to the green forcefield to sneak through it once I've revived myself and am briefly invisible.

The most annoying thing is that a melee tank would be fantastic right about now... and the dude I'm talking to is my fucking melee tank. GRARGHFGFHDFH. :verymad

Nothing in this game has wound me up before now... but this whole set-up just seems really badly thought out. After the fantastic experience I've been having with my Trooper, I am really disappointed with this. :(

Vince

Jan 19th, 2012, 09:54:51 PM

I'm doing the Taris stuff now, as a Scoundrel (I think the Gunslinger is the Republic's answer to the Sniper), and I kind of understand your beef with this. The Taris missions weren't so hard for me, but without that stealth field I can generate (and a tranquilizer that stuns for 60 secs while stealthed), things would be a lot more annoying and time consuming.

That said, Corso helps out a lot; even though he's not a tank per se (I think he's more like a commando or something), he's got a bit more hit points than I do, and I frequently act as a more mobile bait/tank for the big Sith baddies when I'm in a party.

Dasquian Belargic

Jan 20th, 2012, 01:50:13 AM

:verymad :verymad RAGE! :verymad :verymad

And now you understand my issue with mob placement.

Captain Untouchable

Jan 20th, 2012, 04:20:58 AM

:verymad :verymad RAGE! :verymad :verymad

And now you understand my issue with mob placement.

No, I do not. This is one instance out of the entire game: it's the only time I've ever had a problem with this, and it's taken me until Level 35 to get it. I have only experienced it on one of my many characters: with everyone else it has at most been a very minor inconvenience. I haven't had the "everywhere is like that" experience that you seem to.

Besides, this single situation could be easily fixed if I had recieved my companions in the same order that the Smuggler does. Corso Riggs and Bowdaar are your Ranged and Melee Tanks, respectively. By contrast, while Kaliyo and Vector are both capable of drawing aggro, they're DPS pets and thus don't have the endurance to actually survive for very long once they draw it. I can deal enough damage to take the mobs out... I just don't get the chance because my companion dies too quickly, and I get swarmed.

Agent Procyon

Jan 20th, 2012, 07:57:36 AM

I'm very confused by my companions right now. The internet tells me that the one I just got is a melee tank... but he's a ranged healer. He does have a melee stance/toggle, but that reduces his threat generation, and I can't seem to give him anything other than a vibroblade (he's basically an Operative). This does answer the whole "Huh, why do I get two melee tanks?" confusion that I previously had... but my final companion is allegedly a healer, so now I get two of those?

Edit:

Aha! Explanation hidden for spoiler reasons: Doctor Lokin can "Hulk out" transform into a Rakghoul at will (his melee stance). However, if you want to use him as a melee tank you have to get him to do extra stuff in his lab before you leave the ship. That permanently hulks him out (for the duration of that trip), and completely changes all of his abilities / proficiencies / etc.

That just makes no sense. :cyduck

Karl Valten

Jan 20th, 2012, 11:23:42 AM

That just makes no sense. :cyduck

Eh, you just have to decide before hand if you're going out with Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde.

Captain Untouchable

Jan 20th, 2012, 12:40:24 PM

If it was that straight-forward, I think I'd be less annoyed. It just feels really gimmicky, as if they're trying to make up for the fact that most of the other classes had a tank or healer already. I'd rather it was just one or the other, particularly since my next two companions pretty much cancel him out anyway.

Karl Valten

Jan 20th, 2012, 01:50:10 PM

Ah that's true.

As a Jedi Consular I really have no need to use anyone other than the original companion. Qyzen is boss.

Only thing is he doesn't like it when I flirt with people. Something about people not showing The Herald (me) proper fear and respect as the his deity's avatar in the galaxy..........

I think it's just an excuse he's using to justify being a complete prude.

Captain Untouchable

Jan 20th, 2012, 02:41:20 PM

Qyzen thinks you're Jesus - maybe he'll only be happy about you flirting with Mary Magdeline?

Agent Procyon

Jan 21st, 2012, 05:42:27 AM

My next companion... is Australian?

:eee

Karl Valten

Jan 23rd, 2012, 12:30:13 AM

Ugh....okay so I'm a completionist for the content here and I'm finding myself leveling waaaaaaaaaaaay too fast.

My Consular has pretty much become my main and I'm just hitting tatooine now.....at level 32....for a 24-28 planet.

This is a bit annoying as I like seeing all the content and right now I'm just hitting class quests and nothing else as nothing is really a challenge.....also getting stuck with low-level drops and not advancing my equipment much.

Anyone else having this problem?

Agent Procyon

Jan 23rd, 2012, 10:23:31 AM

The game seems to be designed so that you can miss things out. As an obsessive completionist it is a bit of a problem (especially if you do any Flashpoints), but the advantage is that you can skip certain planets and save them for other characters.

I for example find the third planet (Balmorra / Taris) extremely frustrating; the way that the game is set up allows you to miss out everything back class quests on those, and still be at a decent level when you reach the planet.

Vince

Jan 23rd, 2012, 11:44:14 AM

I kinda understand the problem, though I'm not quite levelling as fast as you are, Karl. My biggest beef is the fact that there's almost always nobody on Taris when I am and I have a bunch of heroic mission signs along the right side of the screen breaking up the scenery and changing my mind.

I got my smuggler laid, though it could also be construed as just a drinking session. I also hope I'm getting close to killing Skavak.

Karl Valten

Jan 23rd, 2012, 01:20:47 PM

I kinda understand the problem, though I'm not quite levelling as fast as you are, Karl. My biggest beef is the fact that there's almost always nobody on Taris when I am and I have a bunch of heroic mission signs along the right side of the screen breaking up the scenery and changing my mind.

What character, faction, and server? I might be able to help you out there. :)

Vince

Jan 23rd, 2012, 05:21:11 PM

Captain Untouchable

Jan 23rd, 2012, 05:53:58 PM

Well, Syrilla (Jedi Guardian) I don't think has gone to Taris yet, or I've not done much with her there. She's on Ragnos.

Ikarus (Smuggler - Calypho) is pretty much done on Taris save for the heroics and the Vault mission.

I won't get much if any play time until Friday night after 7 EST, but any help would be appreciated!

I'm both behind and ahead on Calypho - Leonis (Commando) has finished Act 1 (after Nar Shaddaa), whereas Maisan (Jedi Sage) has just finished Coruscant. Depending on what mood I'm in this week, I may well catch you up with my Jedi, so give me a shout if you're around. :)

Karl Valten

Jan 23rd, 2012, 11:48:45 PM

Argh! Sorry Vince, the factions don't work out. :(

Karl Valten

Jan 25th, 2012, 09:21:00 AM

Why does being on Alderaan feel like being in Game of Thrones?

They even have the Kings Road let alone a giant wall in the north......and the damn politics and intrigue.....hello George Martin.

Captain Untouchable

Jan 25th, 2012, 09:36:07 AM

Why does being on Alderaan feel like being in Game of Thrones?

They even have the Kings Road let alone a giant wall in the north......and the damn politics and intrigue.....hello George Martin.

Know exactly what you mean! :eee

Have you met the NPC who sounds like Sean Bean yet?

Karl Valten

Jan 25th, 2012, 09:39:00 AM

Know exactly what you mean! :eee

Have you met the NPC who sounds like Sean Bean yet?

Possibly. I've pretty much skipped all the content on Tatooine and Alderaan except for the class quests and snagging the datacrons just so I'm actually appropriately level for the planets I'm on.

I've missed out on a lot. :(

Dasquian Belargic

Feb 4th, 2012, 04:27:48 AM

How's everyone enjoying the game?

Karl Valten

Feb 4th, 2012, 11:40:39 AM

Classes have taken over a lot of my time, so I haven't gotten a ton of play time.

Generally enjoying it so far, but there are several gripes I have with the game that will hopefully be dealt with in future patches and updates.

Currently running around on Balmorra after saving a bunch of Republic secessionist senators. and taking them all aboard my ship. Almost crashed a rather large ship into a planet in the process. Now I have to put up with their bitching as I try and convince them to stay with the Republic.

Vince

Feb 4th, 2012, 12:18:05 PM

I may get some more time to play tonight, though I've been playing more Skyrim lately.

Captain Untouchable

Feb 4th, 2012, 10:53:16 PM

I was a little disappointed in Act 2 for the Imperial Agent. It felt like a ridiculously cheesy premise, and I don't think the animation and visuals quite managed to pull off what they were intending. The fact that no matter what you said, the mind control made you default to the exact same response every time felt like a big cop-out, particularly since it eliminated one of the features that makes this game different from other MMOs.

On the other hand, Act 3 is shaping up to be something a lot more interesting and intreguing. I guess the Imperial Agent is obeying the Inverse Trilogy Law: the middle one isn't the best.

Firebird1

Feb 5th, 2012, 01:10:23 AM

I'm out there too... I'm having a blast!

Oh and BOO!! and stuff....

Dasquian Belargic

Feb 18th, 2012, 04:43:58 AM

I cancelled my subscription. I haven't logged in to play for about a month now, so it seemed kinda pointless remaining subscribed.

Figrin D'an

Feb 18th, 2012, 10:21:14 PM

I hate to say it, but I'll probably be canceling as well. I might play through one of the Sith side story lines, but I've been busy lately and just haven't felt like starting a new character.

The Jedi Knight story line was pretty decent. Essentially, I feel like it was enough of an homage to the KOTOR games basically consider it 'KOTOR 3'. I'm sure some of the other class stories are pretty good as well. Unfortunately, while Bioware did very well with the 'RPG' part of the game, they've got a lot of work to do on the 'MMO' portion of it. Once you hit level 50 and finish your class and companion quests, unless you have a server population to support raiding guilds and consistent flashpoint/pvp groups, you'll find yourself becoming bored very quickly. So many servers are just plain dead, especially Republic side.

I think the game still has some potential, but it needs some work. Might be work checking out again in 6-9 months as some of the problems are worked out.

Dasquian Belargic

Feb 19th, 2012, 03:27:32 AM

Yeah, I'll probably check it out again in the future once its had time to develop.

Crusader

Feb 19th, 2012, 07:11:24 AM

I am in the same boat, I guess. I am still catching up with the games of the holiday seasion and the next few big games are already on the horizon.
And I should not fool myself: I like my multiplayer experience fast and crowded and my single player experience personal and epic.
I will have more time during the summet hole depending on the weather.

Glen Fiddich

Feb 19th, 2012, 09:50:12 AM

I think the problem is the lack of "anything else to do" in the game.

It was very easy to procrastinate on SWG. Crafting was a task that you could focus on, as was gathering resources and checking your harvesters. You could sit around in cantinas getting your buffs, or you could be sat playing in a cantina. You could muck about programming new strings of emotes as macros. You could explore player villages, build player villages, and help decorate your house or guild hall. With JTL, you could hop in a ship and fly around aimlessly for a bit.

Crafting and resource gathering on TOR however is something that goes on while you're doing something else. Leveling, space missions, and PVP are all very involved. The game doesn't give me an excuse to be logged in if I don't fancy doing anything involved. And frankly I feel like I'm in a bit of a catch-22 - I need to get to Level 50 to take part in the guild, but with the amount of complaining the guild does I'm not exactly looking forward to getting there.

I've got a three-month subscription already, so I won't be stopping any time soon. I just hope they cook up some stuff for me to fart around with so that I've got a reason to log in: otherwise the game ends up out of sight and out of mind.