Star Wars: The Old Republic | How SWTOR Force-Persuaded Me | MMORPG

SBFord · August 2015

Star Wars: The Old Republic | How SWTOR Force-Persuaded Me | MMORPG

Victor explains the circumstances that caused Star Wars: The Old Republic to finally shine brightly for him.

Alomar · August 2015

I was beyond disappointed with Swtor at launch, it failed in every area but the class and companion stories. Yet, their change of focus to just story and the 12x class xp bonus has brought be back twice just for leveling. So it's still not a game I'd ever play more than a month at a time, but it has good Star Wars stories that allow even me as a hardcore pvper to stomach the horrible tab target combat for a while just to enjoy the story.

jesteralways · August 2015

Victor, what is your point of view regarding EAWare Austin monetizing actionbar/quickbar/abilitybar , mission reward, flashpoint loot, "hide helmet slot" option?

jbombard · August 2015

Well I spent I think was around $20 in coins and a security key when I started. The security key gives me a 100 free credits every month, not much but it adds up. The F2P system treats F2P players so poorly, after my initial $20 it made me decided that the only thing I would give them from then on out was my finger. After figuring out what unlocks I wanted but couldn't ever likely get from the galactic network because of the currency cap, I bought those using the credits I purchased. Everything else I gradually bought off the galactic network while leveling. Leveling my first character felt somewhat grindy and crappy at first, but I eventually unlocked all the inventory upgrades, and cargo holds on my account, all the trade profession slots, the epic gear, and a ton of shit in my legacy as time went on. My actual recommendation would be if you just want to see and enjoy the story, tough it out on your first character. It gets much better on the second, and don't give Bioware anymore than you have to to get preferred status until they stop treating F2P players like second class citizens. You will constantly be hitting the cap, so buy unlocks or giving the money to alts. Unlock the all the legacy perks for exploration xp and quest xp, and you shouldn't have too many problems with xp while leveling.

Archlyte · August 2015

The "sub for a month" comment toward the end of the editorial was the only thing that ringed true to me. There is about a month's worth of fun at best in SWTOR, then you will inevitably find yourself killing through the static field of mobs realizing that there is no point to any of it outside of group dungeons, and then you will realize that the group dungeons have no interface with the rest of the gameworld resulting in your character being in a sort of limbo with no context in either gamespace. Do yourself a favor and avoid the game, or at least don't spend any money on it.

victorbjr · August 2015

jesteralways said:

Victor, what is your point of view regarding EAWare Austin monetizing actionbar/quickbar/abilitybar , mission reward, flashpoint loot, "hide helmet slot" option?

I'm still not sold on it, honestly, but right now, due to the subscription with purchasing that bundle, all of those are unlocked for me, at least temporarily. It's still nickel and diming people, sadly, but from what I understand, people are having fun actually subscribing just to explore the story during this 12x period. I'm guessing that when 12x disappears, people may try to use their saved cartel coins (Keep your security key on your account, get 100 CC monthly) to bypass some of the visual unlocks (like the head armor hiding unlock)

strawhat0981 · August 2015

This was the last boxed pc game I bought.

ZoeMcCloskey · August 2015

Also the last boxed game I've gotten, for me it was the CE as a present. Have also quit and returned to SWToR a couple times. Right now playing it casually with a group of friends, so now I actually have a character who is at Social 7 or 8 or so, lol. As stated I would agree the game is worth a look again. Just buy a sub though, easier to just bypass all the silly limitations noted.

jesteralways · August 2015

victorbjr said:

jesteralways said:

Victor, what is your point of view regarding EAWare Austin monetizing actionbar/quickbar/abilitybar , mission reward, flashpoint loot, "hide helmet slot" option?

I'm still not sold on it, honestly, but right now, due to the subscription with purchasing that bundle, all of those are unlocked for me, at least temporarily. It's still nickel and diming people, sadly, but from what I understand, people are having fun actually subscribing just to explore the story during this 12x period. I'm guessing that when 12x disappears, people may try to use their saved cartel coins (Keep your security key on your account, get 100 CC monthly) to bypass some of the visual unlocks (like the head armor hiding unlock)

Yeah sure but you do realize that those are standard gameplay feature for any mmorpg that they are monetizing? they should have monetized class story from chapter 2, could have sold chapter 2 and 3 each for 25$ and for every class too. They could have monetized both sith and jedi classes. instead they choose to monetize standard gameplay feature. And everyone accepts it without much word because it is a Star Wars game. If this was not a SW game this very site would have given the game a very harsh review.

ishist · August 2015

I hate EA and everything EA has ever touched. That being said, all the irritating blockers and limitations can be easily bypassed by subscribing. Not every class story is worth the price of admission, but enough that I'm not gonna squabble over the $15 per month. I guess I'm from the previous generation who were accustomed to paying a monthly fee for MMOs. For me, if I want to play SWTOR for a month or two, $15 is a small price to pay to dodge all those stupid F2P trappings. If they didn't have a sub option, free would not be cheap enough to make me play.

Fdzzaigl · August 2015

Yeah, the 12x XP bonus really did hit home from a class storyline perspective. Which just shows that they should have focused a lot more on that aspect of the game instead of voicing every NPC who gives you a random "kill 10 worms" quest. They could even have saved on space and kept large areas and the bonus series quests specifically for endgame, thereby creating even more content. In each case, TOR has been the only game that made me roll a lot of alts too. You also just made me remember that I still have to go and finish my Agent's and Inquisitor's story too lol

Konfess · August 2015

Subscribing to a game is always the way to go. Playing for free is NOT meant to be easy, much fun, or Free 2 Win (F2W). The whole reason SWTOR was made with VO and cut-scenes was to make the side quest seem more like part of the story. Or at least part of the life of your character. Those who enjoy a game at 12x XP are in the class of preferring their MMOs dumbed down and set to EZ mode. If that is how you prefer to play I would hope you buy the XP bonus buff from the cash shop and remove that final barrier from your enjoyment of the game.

Konfess · August 2015

"The F2P system treats F2P players so poorly." They aren't paying, they DESERVE to be treated poorly. Imaging if somebody walked into your house, sat at your table, eat your food, watched your cable TV, used your bathroom, slept in your bed, and laughed or got insulted when you asked them to play rent. Games are made to make money, so their makers can pay bills. They are free so you can test out the game and see if you want to pay for it. Does my character move around smoothly or is it choppy and glitchy? Do I like the combat, crafting, and community (CCC)? Is the game fun to me? Most people answer yes to these questions. But answer NO, because they can't play for free at the same level as paying customers. The answer to them will always be, "To Bad, So Sad."

Fdzzaigl · August 2015

Konfess, I played through the sidequests on 4 different characters from release, on both sides, and I mean ALL of them. All heroics, all bonus quests everything.

That's enough to make you not wonna go through the stuff for another 4 times to get all the class stories done. It hasn't got anything to do with easymode, just with being bored with the world quests. Because even though I love SW:TOR and I have always defended it despite its many failings; many of the side quests are cheesy shit that shouldn't ever have received as much effort as they did.

Treating F2P players poorly means fewer of those F2P players will have any desire to actually spend money on your game. Anyone who runs a business should know that you'd do everything in your power for a customer BEFORE and AFTER a purchase and not just during one. They're your lifeblood, without them you die.

TOR has flourished again through the F2P program. People who shit on F2P players in the TOR community are not doing any good for the game at all.

jesteralways · August 2015

Fdzzaigl said:

Konfess, I played through the sidequests on 4 different characters from release, on both sides, and I mean ALL of them. All heroics, all bonus quests everything.

That's enough to make you not wonna go through the stuff for another 4 times to get all the class stories done. It hasn't got anything to do with easymode, just with being bored with the world quests. Because even though I love SW:TOR and I have always defended it despite its many failings; many of the side quests are cheesy shit that shouldn't ever have received as much effort as they did.

Treating F2P players poorly means fewer of those F2P players will have any desire to actually spend money on your game. Anyone who runs a business should know that you'd do everything in your power for a customer BEFORE and AFTER a purchase and not just during one. They're your lifeblood, without them you die.

TOR has flourished again through the F2P program. People who shit on F2P players in the TOR community are not doing any good for the game at all.

At this point people who are actually playing the game are die hard SW fan and die hard EAWare fan. I don't believe any f2p player goes beyond level 20 these days. If they dropped at least the quickbar, mission reward, fp loot and hide helmet restriction, they would have much more players playing the game and upgrading account with hutt and revan dlc even if they don't subscribe. There was a time i personally sold hundreds of swtor standard edition cd key for credits, there were so many f2p players in my guild, these days the "new" people i manage to recruit are all subscribers leveling with 12X. So treating f2p poorly or like a 2nd class class citizen has no effect in game, EAWare have already milked those who they could, they have realized that and thus their new direction of content release : must subscribe to get content.

Fdzzaigl · August 2015

I don't know about the EAware fans. I'm definitely not (fuck you Dice)... But I still play this game now and then.

But yeah I agree. You have to treat your customers with respect to get their money.

A few months ago I was leveling an alt during the first 12x XP when I came across this newbie on Dromund Kaas. He had no idea what to do, his quickbars were getting full, he kept getting any decent quest rewards denied to him while everyone else was running around with uber twinked gear. Guy was about to quit, even though he was quite friendly and actually ready to learn and help, an addition to the community (unlike the umpteenth elitist prick).

Guess what, I went around on my mains. Spent a few million credits getting the guy all manner of account-wide unlocks... He subbed to the game within a week.

So yeah.

jesteralways · August 2015

@Fdzzaigl Ahhh regarding those unlocks and credit cap for f2p/preferred, what were EAWare thinking really? did they think someone will spend 10$ buying an unlock and sell it to some f2p/preferred for 200/350K? And did they think each and every susbcriber will be nice enough to spend millions of credits buying unlocks from GTN or buy with real money and hand them over to f2p/preferred? This entire model looks like it was either designed by an ignorant child or by a very greedy bastard who is hellbent on milking the crap out of already subscribed players.

eddieg50 · August 2015

I have to agree with Konfess, if you make your F2P just like a sub why would you go ahead and sub, it does have to be a bit of carrot and stick though

FrodoFragins · August 2015

Leveling alts is only tolerable if you pay to get the 8x story XP boost. Even then it wasn't enough for me when I tried again recently.

I really enjoyed leveling my Sith Inquisitor when the game launched but I quickly got bored. Monetizing the quick slot bars was a poor and greedy decision.

heider89 · August 2015

i recomend giving swtor a new try

aswel if only for the story ^^

Instigator-Jones · August 2015

eddieg50 said:

I have to agree with Konfess, if you make your F2P just like a sub why would you go ahead and sub, it does have to be a bit of carrot and stick though

I completely agree; it's usually the vocal minority of FTP'ers that scream the loudest and try to get things changed. As it is now SWTOR has a bright present and potential future, and can surely ignore that crowd.

Malabooga · August 2015

It would be awesome if you could play solo mode SWTOR and get away from all MMO rubbish and just play it like KOTOR.

Something like ME3 or DAI, optional coop mode for flashpoints only.

Instigator-Jones · August 2015

Malabooga said:

It would be awesome if you could play solo mode SWTOR and get away from all MMO rubbish and just play it like KOTOR.

Something like ME3 or DAI, optional coop mode for flashpoints only.

here ya go:
http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/367/feature/9837

Malabooga · August 2015

Instigator-Jones said:

Malabooga said:

It would be awesome if you could play solo mode SWTOR and get away from all MMO rubbish and just play it like KOTOR.

Something like ME3 or DAI, optional coop mode for flashpoints only.

here ya go:
http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/367/feature/9837

Nope, i dont want to walk into empty enemy camps, play tag for mobs, run into chest spawn camping bots running around, form queue for quest monsters etc etc like it was in SOR.

Konfess · August 2015

Fdzzaigl said:

Konfess, I played through the sidequests on 4 different characters from release, on both sides, and I mean ALL of them. All heroics, all bonus quests everything.

That's enough to make you not wonna go through the stuff for another 4 times to get all the class stories done. It hasn't got anything to do with easymode, just with being bored with the world quests.

@Fdzzaigl, I realize that some gamers prefer a streamlined gaming experience. And yes it does have everything to due with EZ mode and dumbing down of games. Today you have gone through all the quest 8 times, now you want to bypass all that and get to the meaty goodness. Why not buy the 12x XP pill and have at it? Next month you can buy the 36x XP pill for another game. I am not against bypassing content. I don’t write quests, but I feel sorry for those who do. WoW had a quest in the Orc starting zone. On your way to the Capital city at the north of the map you ran through a gorge. When you came out the other side, there was a quest giver with a broken down cart. I don’t remember the details, though I did that quest 60+ times. It’s gone now. The Play 4 Free (P4F) are not customers, they will never spend money. What they are is a blight on the gaming community. They are not the lifesblood, but the open wound that blood escapes from. They bring death, in the form of cries of P2W. I am not trying to throw shade on any one, but P4F gamers. There has been a lot of “Devs keep dumbing down games.” When Devs read articles like this one, and post like your’s. What they take away from it is that Gamers want to get through content faster and bypass the stuff they aren’t interested in. What I want is for the community to accept that this is what they asked for, and got.

Keldor837 · August 2015

There's a lack of understanding in SWTOR's f2p offering that just about everyone seems to fail at. The f2p is meant to offer players the chance to play the game and enjoy the individual world quest chains, and more importantly, your class quest chain. Similar to a KoToR game. It is NOT meant to be a true f2p mmo experience with their model. Yes, if you WANT to, you could play for some time without a sub, by purchasing unlocks and weekly passes. But the games design is basically this... f2p=KoToR game with some multiplayer features. Sub=Streamlined leveling, and MMO end-game content. With the option of being able to use accumulated cash shop currency from time spent subbed. To still be able to return and play the game without paying at varrying intervals for casuals. And/or for returning players to peak at the current state of the game and it's content before resubbing. That's it! If you want to play SWTOR as an mmo, you sub (at least most of the time). If you just want to play a star wars story-driven game without extensive mmo features. Then you play as a f2p and enjoy the story. Understanding is half the battle people. See the walls of your preconceived box, and look beyond them. This was never meant to be a fully-f2p MMO.

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