Official [H] Star Wars:The Old Republic Thread

I am just sad I found a ton of armorings and enhancements that were boe and worth good cash, now near worthless :p. Oh well. I am trying to decide what class to really jam on... I loved my sentinel watchman but I hear they are gimp now? Considering finishing a guardian alt or a shadow, although the scoundrel has always had my eye. I need one of each base class for the buffs anyway, so I will be doing some alts. I love pve and pvp so I am trying to keep an eye towards both.

Also unsure if I am wealthy or poor nowadays with the cash I have. I used to be very up there with with 10-15mil credits and tons in assets close to launch but don't want to play the market right now with no idea if I am a small fry at this point (9m cash, a few more in assets saleable). Anyone?
 
I haven't played for a long time... perhaps someone can illuminate me if they changed my one "nitpick" that really bothered me back when I was playing.

I was drawn to the Imperial Agent class (and eventually Operative subclass) when I started back at launch. One thing that always bothered me was, despite the fact there as a slot for it on my equipment sheet, there was no graphic for the "Knife-slot" item in game (ie Vibroknife). Hell, the abilities that used a knife just conjured a static, unchanging generic animation. This affected the entire Agent class, but at least Snipers got to equip visible cool-looking Sniper Rifles they could brandish and would visually change as they went up in level and picked up new equipment. Operatives however, had a generic blaster rifle that wasn't even their main weapon most of the time. The lack of having a knife that was visible on my character really felt to me as a lack of visual progression, not to mention RP issues - it was annoying not to be able to equip a new vibroknife and see it on my belt, in my hand when ready for battle, and used in attacks that became the bread-and-butter of the Operative's close-range "rogue" DPS playstyles.

It seemed this cut corner wasn't limited to just the Agent, but there was a distinct difference in visual "reward" between classes that used dual wielded or 2-single handed weapons, and those with only one. Sith Marauders for instance could have 2 different sabers that each had different graphics etc... but Juggernauts only had 1...and nothing to make up the "other" visual element of their weapon. Likewise, Mercenary Bounty Hunters had 2 blaster pistols that were visually distinct, but Power Tech did not if I recall. This kind of thing made some classes more visually rewarding upon progression than others, and that's a huge no-no in terms of MMO design; I couldn't believe that such corners were cut. Is there any chance they've remedied this sort of thing? If my Agent has a knife-slot item that is fully realized int he world, maybe they've made some improvements to so many of their other cut corners from launch...
 
Nope they haven't fixed or expanded that area at all. :( I do think they've done a good job at expanding the options available to make your character visually unique now. There's a lot of armor that is cross-class and cross-type (i.e. a chest piece that looks like trooper armor but can be worn on a sage if you so choose) so you can get a LOT of really neat combinations, and they add new armor sets every couple of weeks.
 
Colonel Sanders said:
Nope they haven't fixed or expanded that area at all. :( I do think they've done a good job at expanding the options available to make your character visually unique now. There's a lot of armor that is cross-class and cross-type (i.e. a chest piece that looks like trooper armor but can be worn on a sage if you so choose) so you can get a LOT of really neat combinations, and they add new armor sets every couple of weeks.
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Totally. I love how they added in adaptive armor, and you can look the way you want, all while keeping the set bonus's from raiding.

That was really a nice touch.
 
Is the way to get new gear still by grinding operations? Any cash shop shortcuts?
 
Mr. K6 said:
Is the way to get new gear still by grinding operations? Any cash shop shortcuts?
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Nope. Cash shop is mostly for people who dont pay for subs, and legacy perks, and gear for looks. Also for cartel packs, which can drop more gear for looks, and mounts and crystals.

For the best gear, do dailies/flashpoints/ops
 
Here is an updated gearing guide. http://dulfy.net/2013/04/14/swtor-level-55-endgame-gearing-guide/
There aren't any direct cash shop shortcuts but you can buy things in high demand on the cartel market and sell them on the gtn for credits which you can use to get geared. The second highest tier of gear can be crafted and as more people learn the schematics the prices will fall. However I would not recommend this route. Dailies and HM flashpoints aren't very difficult and will get you sufficiently geared to tackle all of the content
 
Nah, I just don't have the time to be honest. If there was a way to drop some cash and gear up quickly to check out Makeb I might subscribe and jump in, but I just don't have the time to play games like I did when I was younger. Thanks for the replies guys :cool:
 
Well the guild tried the game and we gave up on it. Too many restrictions and the guys with 50's can't play their characters on the server we agreed upon because of a lack of transfers. They understand that EA wants them to sub, but they feel handcuffed. The straw that broke the camel's back was when I told my buddy to type /angry and it told him to go to the Cartel Market and purchase it. Then 30 seconds later an epic level 12 mod dropped for us and we couldn't equip it without a subscription or Cartel Market unlock. I should have recorded the voice chat for you'll. :)

EA does have a nice free demo for their game though. Wish them luck.
 
cageymaru said:
Well the guild tried the game and we gave up on it. Too many restrictions and the guys with 50's can't play their characters on the server we agreed upon because of a lack of transfers. They understand that EA wants them to sub, but they feel handcuffed. The straw that broke the camel's back was when I told my buddy to type /angry and it told him to go to the Cartel Market and purchase it. Then 30 seconds later an epic level 12 mod dropped for us and we couldn't equip it without a subscription or Cartel Market unlock. I should have recorded the voice chat for you'll. :)

EA does have a nice free demo for their game though. Wish them luck.
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Next thing you know you'll have to pay $2 to change video settings. What the hell is going on here...
 
BiH115 said:
Next thing you know you'll have to pay $2 to change video settings. What the hell is going on here...
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Every MMO has like this, when they have F2P game demo - At least in here, you can reach to the top, and enjoy all the stories. In WoW you can only level to 15 or so, before you have to pay.
 
BiH115 said:
Next thing you know you'll have to pay $2 to change video settings. What the hell is going on here...
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I mean, you get to play for free, and you pay a whole $15 for a 1 month sub.

So basically you are buying the game for $15.....Even wow is like that, you can only level up to 20.

Guild wars has stuff you cant get unless you pay. Same with LOTRO etc etc.

It is honestly worth paying a whole $15 for it. I mean thats 2 packs of smokes....really
 
I get that, and if I had some people to play with that wanted to give EA money, I'd gladly pay $15 a month. But why make the game "free" if you're going to impose ridiculous "oh, buy some more shit if you want to use this great item" restrictions. Might AS WELL make it just a subscription based game then, heh. Or at least take away that silly restriction. That's all I'm saying.
 
BiH115 said:
I get that, and if I had some people to play with that wanted to give EA money, I'd gladly pay $15 a month. But why make the game "free" if you're going to impose ridiculous "oh, buy some more shit if you want to use this great item" restrictions. Might AS WELL make it just a subscription based game then, heh. Or at least take away that silly restriction. That's all I'm saying.
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at the same time, they have to make a difference from people who are willing to pay $15, to people like yourself that dont want to give EA any money.

No money = shitty experience.
 
DASHlT said:
at the same time, they have to make a difference from people who are willing to pay $15, to people like yourself that dont want to give EA any money.

No money = shitty experience.
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Shitty experience = no way in hell my guild would subscribe also. First impressions mean everything in this world. I would have subbed as I have played the game unrestricted before, but only if the guys who have never played want to play it. At level 13 we were more concerned about not activating a restriction and becoming sad than what the next quest reward was.

Actually as soon as we entered the main fleet and saw that we couldn't use the item that changed the look of your companion made everyone pissed as it took up space in our limited bags. Then we made a guild but nobody could put items into the bank. Nobody ever said a word in guild chat because it was pointless to be in it as there was a restriction on the guild making it free to play only.

The first impression for a new player was more anger than amazement. The only wonderment they encountered was what it would be like to play the game as intended. If it wasn't for the nostalgia from the lightsabers and blasters we wouldn't have made it out of the starting areas in all honesty.

Now I know that the game is in a much better state than launch and it's well worth $15 a month to play with my friends. But it's not worth $15 to play it solo like I did for months before they went F2P. I only play with my buddies now as they have the same interests as me. They would have done better with a F2P until level 20 type deal without bullshit restrictions than pissing off potential customers.

Just the opinion of me and a few other guys that have been going to see the movies since 1977.
 
I dunno. You're still getting ASSLOADS of story content for $0 that can be played with friends, too. I think you have to give DASHIT's point some credence, they (EA/Bioware) needed a way to save the sinking ship that was TOR and apparently the F2P model they have in place is working fairly well for them.

There are downsides to the "open to level 20" method, too.. instead of people bitching about being limited on many things, they then start bitching about how level 20 is only a small glimpse of the world, how are they supposed to know what Ops are like, yadda yadda.

Ultimately the whole thing is really EA's fault for pooping out another WoW clone and expecting to make billions off it, but you have to understand why they are doing what they are doing.
 
Colonel Sanders said:
I dunno. You're still getting ASSLOADS of story content for $0 that can be played with friends, too. I think you have to give DASHIT's point some credence, they (EA/Bioware) needed a way to save the sinking ship that was TOR and apparently the F2P model they have in place is working fairly well for them.

There are downsides to the "open to level 20" method, too.. instead of people bitching about being limited on many things, they then start bitching about how level 20 is only a small glimpse of the world, how are they supposed to know what Ops are like, yadda yadda.

Ultimately the whole thing is really EA's fault for pooping out another WoW clone and expecting to make billions off it, but you have to understand why they are doing what they are doing.
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Well what they could have done also is not restrict you until a certain level, then notify you that you can continue on playing for free but with handcuffs on. At least I could have shown them what it's like to say pwn noobs in warzones for a few hours straight. Then say hit level 20 and you need to subscribe to continue playing like before. Or just spend X amount of dollars per month to unlock unrestricted play. All I can show them at this point is explain to them continuously why they can't do this and that.

These are older guys 27 - 60 years old who aren't poor, so $15 means nothing to them. What does mean something to them is what value they perceive in a product. So far all the things that they take for granted in other MMO's has a price tag attached to it. So the first thing they did was add up the price of all of the 'boost packages" for F2P. They knew that they didn't have to buy them to play, but it just ticked them off more that EA told them to buy some packs to unlock emotes like /angry.

All it did was leave a bad taste in their mouths. But like you said it's working for Bioware so it must be the way to go. I really did want to play SWTOR with the guys, but it's all good. Always more places to spend money. I spent over $200 on PoE because I never felt handcuffed. I bought the founders pack from The Secret World and lots of costumes. My buddies all bought silly mounts in Tera because I had the collector's edition mount. So it's not an issue of hating on F2P models in general; just this one. :)

Also I'm not hating on Dashit or you. Nor trying to dissuade anyone from subscribing and having fun as the game is really good. Just telling you how my guild's first impression went and what Bioware could do to make F2P players feel at home playing their game. And as far as the story goes everyone is hitting space bar except one guy. Just a FYI. :)
 
Mr. K6 said:
If $15 is nothing to them why didn't they just pay the $15 up front?
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No perceived value. I don't have the time to explain every restriction type and is this one a subscription issue or a cash shop issue to them. For example the first thing they noticed was they didn't move as fast as 3 of us. I had to start explaining about Preferred Status and how purchasing one item from the cash shop would unlock this. So then we stopped questing and debated the merits of having the system in the game. This lasted for 10 - 15 minutes and one guy quit the game from boredom as we eloquently discussed it. He was like this is MMO prison and made jokes about Han Solo encased in carbon. Then another guy linked the carbon prison you can buy from the cash shop and across our Origin accounts we saw that our buddy was now playing Battlefield 3.

These guys didn't get their station in life throwing money around unless they were 100% sure about it. Only exception is escort services. :) So I think you can understand why they didn't stick around for long. Also we all bought Warfighter at launch to play as a guild so EA isn't on the best of terms with some of the guys right now. BF4 should clear that up though.
 
they came out with a patch today that you can get back the credits you have in escrow via spending cartel coins

best thing they've done for f2p..that was one big gripe by alot of people

they added the ability to dye armor, change your name, etc. too...again, spending cartel coins
 
Bangorang said:
they came out with a patch today that you can get back the credits you have in escrow via spending cartel coins

best thing they've done for f2p..that was one big gripe by alot of people

they added the ability to dye armor, change your name, etc. too...again, spending cartel coins
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totally lovin the patch, although I didnt get Cathar because im waiting for my monthly sub to go in, so I can get the 600 Cartel Coins to buy em.

Cant wait for the new Ops rumored coming out on June 11th.
 
And opposing to some other MMOs, I can change my appearance and get new race for the coins I get monthly. No need to shell 20 euros, if I'd have to change something, like it would cost me in other MMO :)
 
MorgothPl said:
And opposing to some other MMOs, I can change my appearance and get new race for the coins I get monthly. No need to shell 20 euros, if I'd have to change something, like it would cost me in other MMO :)
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I know its pretty nice. I always get 600 points a month. So it's not like people who sub are fucked over.

They will get the new race for free after 1 month sub (with security key).
 
DASHlT said:
totally lovin the patch, although I didnt get Cathar because im waiting for my monthly sub to go in, so I can get the 600 Cartel Coins to buy em.

Cant wait for the new Ops rumored coming out on June 11th.
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June 11th should be Nightmare Terror from Beyond. It's not a completely new operation.
 
Hey guys, I wanna to ask you This game is worth anny attention? I like Bioware products: SWKOTOR or Mass Effect are one of my favs, but i don't know what think about this game. Could you shere with me your opinnion?
 
.winchester said:
Hey guys, I wanna to ask you This game is worth anny attention? I like Bioware products: SWKOTOR or Mass Effect are one of my favs, but i don't know what think about this game. Could you shere with me your opinnion?
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Free to play sucks. If you are going to experience the game try out at LEAST a 1 month sub. It will give you 500 cartel points to spend on the on-line store.

BUT if you honestly cant afford $15 to try it out for 1 month. Try out the free to play. Never tried it out myself, but hey there is a f2p option for people who want to try it. Just....so much stuff they hold back if you go f2p.
 
.winchester said:
Hey guys, I wanna to ask you This game is worth anny attention? I like Bioware products: SWKOTOR or Mass Effect are one of my favs, but i don't know what think about this game. Could you shere with me your opinnion?
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yes..grab a sub for $15 and play the imperial agent storyline...enjoy
 
Bangorang said:
yes..grab a sub for $15 and play the imperial agent storyline...enjoy
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The Sith Warrior, Inquisitor, and agent storylines are all good. I don't know about the bounty hunter. On the Republic side the Smuggler story is hilarious and the Jedi Knight story is just fucking awesome. Easily one of the best in the game.
 
Dan_D said:
The Sith Warrior, Inquisitor, and agent storylines are all good. I don't know about the bounty hunter. On the Republic side the Smuggler story is hilarious and the Jedi Knight story is just fucking awesome. Easily one of the best in the game.
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I totally loved the Bounty Hunter storyline, was badass.

LOVED the imperial agent story, Just didnt like the class mechanics.
 
The only class storyline I hear bad things about is the Jedi Consular. And really based on what I've seen it isn't terrible but rather just subpar compared to the other 7 storylines.
 
I kinda liked consular - mostly because I played a lot as consular in tabletop RPG, and that was what I expected - more talking less pewpew ;)

Can't stand the trooper though, it's too filled with "For the Republic, leave the brain at home" moments :)

Pity though, that they didn't continue stories in the expansion, and it looks like they are abandoning them, only adding small touches into NPC dialogues, like every class is being recognised for their achievments in regular game. Not like in other MMOs, where your hero gets generic response from NPCs.
 
DASHlT said:
Free to play sucks. If you are going to experience the game try out at LEAST a 1 month sub. It will give you 500 cartel points to spend on the on-line store.

BUT if you honestly cant afford $15 to try it out for 1 month. Try out the free to play. Never tried it out myself, but hey there is a f2p option for people who want to try it. Just....so much stuff they hold back if you go f2p.
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I disagree. I played one character to level 11 and another to level 20 before I put any money into the game. I recently laid down $10 and spent it on a cosmetic item! I do get 100 coins per month since I've been using the security key phone app since beta, so I was able to buy the speeder early. I've also been playing with my daughter the whole time and rarely by myself, so that probably is a large reason why it's fun without paying. I never need to find a group and we never spend time on professions or the market. We just do quests. That has been a blast for me. To me, it's like playing an RPG cooperatively since the quests are all voice acted. I love it, really.
 
014 said:
I disagree. I played one character to level 11 and another to level 20 before I put any money into the game. I recently laid down $10 and spent it on a cosmetic item! I do get 100 coins per month since I've been using the security key phone app since beta, so I was able to buy the speeder early. I've also been playing with my daughter the whole time and rarely by myself, so that probably is a large reason why it's fun without paying. I never need to find a group and we never spend time on professions or the market. We just do quests. That has been a blast for me. To me, it's like playing an RPG cooperatively since the quests are all voice acted. I love it, really.
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yeah.. I leveled to 44 as preferred, then subbed. The best thing is to spend just 5 bucks for the preferred account to get early access to sprint and mounts. Though he will still be limited to 5 warzones, 3 space missions, and 5 flashpoints.. the later levels with 25% reduction in exp is kinda a drag though, which is one of the reasons i subbed then.
 
DASHlT said:
I totally loved the Bounty Hunter storyline, was badass.

LOVED the imperial agent story, Just didnt like the class mechanics.
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Not a fan of the agent. I leveled one to about 15 or so and got bored with it really fast. Ended up deleting it. I've helped people with their class quests and have seen some of the class story. I don't think it gets good until very late in Act I at the earliest. Before that it's a snooze fest. Tons of people use snipers these days as they are one of the highest parsing DPS classes in the game. I just can't stand them personally. I love the Smuggler class though which is odd as the mechanics are similar. Still prefer the Marauder/Sentinel and Jedi Guardian / Sith Juggernaut though.

The Bounty Hunter / Mercenary is actually one I tried recently and really enjoyed. I don't have enough time to seriously level the shit out of it though. In fact after playing since launch off and on I've only got two level 55's.
 
Dan_D said:
Quote:

Originally Posted by DASHlT

I totally loved the Bounty Hunter storyline, was badass.

LOVED the imperial agent story, Just didnt like the class mechanics.

Not a fan of the agent. I leveled one to about 15 or so and got bored with it really fast. Ended up deleting it. I've helped people with their class quests and have seen some of the class story. I don't think it gets good until very late in Act I at the earliest. Before that it's a snooze fest. Tons of people use snipers these days as they are one of the highest parsing DPS classes in the game. I just can't stand them personally. I love the Smuggler class though which is odd as the mechanics are similar. Still prefer the Marauder/Sentinel and Jedi Guardian / Sith Juggernaut though.

The Bounty Hunter / Mercenary is actually one I tried recently and really enjoyed. I don't have enough time to seriously level the shit out of it though. In fact after playing since launch off and on I've only got two level 55's.
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yeah the agent is terribad before level 25. I leveled an operative and healed all major HM and NM raids with him for a long time because its an extremely fun class to heal on. the mechanics really keep you on your feet.


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Pringle said:
yeah the agent is terribad before level 25. I leveled an operative and healed all major HM and NM raids with him for a long time because its an extremely fun class to heal on. the mechanics really keep you on your feet.


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Most of the healers I know have switched to Operative healing over Sorc healing. Being able to heal on the move is one really nice draw to Op healing. Though AoE heals on the Sorc/Sage are still easily the best in the game.

As far as healing being fun, I'm not sure about that. If I ever get my Sorc to 55 I'll give it a shot but as of right now I enjoy DPS and tanking but not healing.
 
Dan_D said:
Most of the healers I know have switched to Operative healing over Sorc healing. Being able to heal on the move is one really nice draw to Op healing. Though AoE heals on the Sorc/Sage are still easily the best in the game.

As far as healing being fun, I'm not sure about that. If I ever get my Sorc to 55 I'll give it a shot but as of right now I enjoy DPS and tanking but not healing.
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I havent been able to try out my lvl 50 Bounty Hunter Merc on DPS since their Tracer Missle was nerfed to shit. How's their damage been mitigated since? I know they originially placed more emphasis on Unload after the nerf and that peeved a ton of people.
 
Pringle said:
I havent been able to try out my lvl 50 Bounty Hunter Merc on DPS since their Tracer Missle was nerfed to shit. How's their damage been mitigated since? I know they originially placed more emphasis on Unload after the nerf and that peeved a ton of people.
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They are still one of the better DPS classes. There are Mercs parsing around 3k DPS. I think they are definitely competitive with other DPS classes. They may be slightly behind the sniper and even the Marauder, but they are a bit more mobile than the sniper is and more versatile than the Marauder. The way the game seems to be balanced is that pure DPS classes tend to be slightly harder to play but have the best DPS overall. Other classes which have dual roles may have slightly less DPS but they have additional utility which the pure DPS classes lack.

A Mercenary can heal or DPS. A Juggernaut can DPS or tank. In operations both can serve as an off spec on the fly if necessary. A Juggernaut can tank for a very short time while a battle rez goes out on another tank for example. Take the Terror from Beyond for example. If it kills one tank the other tank can taunt off of him but if the other tank doesn't get up and get healed fast enough then that scream has to be taken from the surviving tank or they'll be killed. A Vengeance Juggernaut can handle it for a very brief period.

I did that in a TC Story Mode when 2.0 first dropped. The main tank sucked ass and died in about 10 seconds, got rez'ed and died in another 20 seconds. (And I was ripping off him the entire time anyway.) So knowing the tanks role I just taunted the thing, changed stances and tanked it in DPS gear. (Had an awesome healer which made that possible.) But getting back to balance the Juggernaut DPS rotation is easier than say the Marauders. But they've got utility the Marauder sometimes lacks. Marauders of course bring nice buffs to an entire raid, but beyond that they have terrible utility. No knockback, no offspec, etc. The point being that even though the Mercenary may not parse as high as Sniper's do, they have more utility and in general I think are a lot of fun.

My Merc isn't high enough to really know the class beyond what I know talking to some of the better Mercs I know. I believe that tracer missile, heatseaker and railshot are kind of their bread and butter.
 
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I always thought Marauders were horrible to Raid with. I rolled one and took it to 50 on purely PvP, as the mechanics were awesome to play with when it came to that. But raids? I wouldn't dare take one into a raid.

Still hilarious to PvP with though. They were extremely OP for a while, but only for those who knew how to use them and their insane amount of abilities.
 
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