The sky has not fallen (yet)

[Falconeer]

In my experience, a traditional MMO pet class means the pet is dishing out significant chunks of your damage and/or soaking up enemy damage for you. With the player having to manage the pet, making sure it grabs any adds and uses it's abilities semi-intelligently.

Half in jest if you want, but I have to disagree with that statement.
Or, if you want, you could say that SWTOR's companions are nothing like recent history's MMORPG pets. They are like past century's MMORPG pets.

[Ingmar]

The only time it would be like a traditional pet class, would be if you went full heal spec on something. Then a lot of your damage output and solo viability is tied up in how effective your companion is. Heal specs are also the ones which get the most use out of the variety of companions.

I haven't come back here cause kicking dead horses is only so much fun but this statement is absolute bullshit.  Character balance is completely tied to companions and soloing without your pet/companion is nearly impossible, they are absolutely necessary for solo content which is balanced around having them and therefore are pets in the traditional mmo sense.

Having to use it != having to manage it.

[Lakov_Sanite]

Even if in other games the power balance is 70%pet 30%pc when in swtor it's more like 70%pc 30%pet, pets are still absolutely required.  To me that was the shittiest part when playing, not only did fights get harder, take longer and generally become duller as you leveled but you also had to take your pet with you is you wanted to live.

You know what's intense? A sith lord shooting lighting and a giant monster with a brutal sword hacking away at a little jawa with a shitty rifle that holds his own....fucking epic.

[Sky]

The statement about pets was using the word 'nursemaid'. You only have to do that if you're a pure healing spec. I played a necro in EQ, I know what babysitting a pet is. You turned the gripe into something else.

I may agree with you on the power scaling toward the end of the game, but you dislike the game for so many reasons I'm having a hard time understanding why you're going on about this stuff. I'm probably done with the game for now, I've said my bit about being unhappy with the merger....err...transfers, and I still was able to enjoy two hours on Sunday with my trooper. Just let it go, man.

[Riggswolfe]

Even if in other games the power balance is 70%pet 30%pc when in swtor it's more like 70%pc 30%pet, pets are still absolutely required.  To me that was the shittiest part when playing, not only did fights get harder, take longer and generally become duller as you leveled but you also had to take your pet with you is you wanted to live.

You know what's intense? A sith lord shooting lighting and a giant monster with a brutal sword hacking away at a little jawa with a shitty rifle that holds his own....fucking epic.

As Sky pointed out you're arguing something that wasn't even part of the discussion. No one said you can get away without using companions. (though some people do) It was said you don't have to nursemaid your companions. Most of the time when I was playing I generally forgot about my companion as far as the actual playing went unless I wanted to tweak which skills they were using. No micro managing required.

Now, I do agree with you about how the game scaled. In early closed beta it wasn't like this. You felt like a bad ass all the way to cap, happily leaping in and mowing down whole crowds of enemies almost non-stop. However, a vocal minority of beta testers (probably raiders) whined that it was too easy and the Devs caved and jacked up the difficulty towards the very end of beta. As a result the bad-ass feeling mostly dissipated which I think hurt the game.

[Sky]

Also, pet classes needed their pets for group content, which is what balancing class power with pet power is really about. So an EQ necro was a 30% class power without his pet but a BH is 100% power without his companion. They just balanced solo content for 130% (using your made-up numbers).

Otherwise, using lakovmath, a group of 4 companion-less pcs would be 280% power.

[Soln]

Even if in other games the power balance is 70%pet 30%pc when in swtor it's more like 70%pc 30%pet, pets are still absolutely required.  To me that was the shittiest part when playing, not only did fights get harder, take longer and generally become duller as you leveled but you also had to take your pet with you is you wanted to live.

You know what's intense? A sith lord shooting lighting and a giant monster with a brutal sword hacking away at a little jawa with a shitty rifle that holds his own....fucking epic.

As Sky pointed out you're arguing something that wasn't even part of the discussion. No one said you can get away without using companions. (though some people do) It was said you don't have to nursemaid your companions. Most of the time when I was playing I generally forgot about my companion as far as the actual playing went unless I wanted to tweak which skills they were using. No micro managing required.

Now, I do agree with you about how the game scaled. In early closed beta it wasn't like this. You felt like a bad ass all the way to cap, happily leaping in and mowing down whole crowds of enemies almost non-stop. However, a vocal minority of beta testers (probably raiders) whined that it was too easy and the Devs caved and jacked up the difficulty towards the very end of beta. As a result the bad-ass feeling mostly dissipated which I think hurt the game.

This was the last straw for me:  I couldn't finish the JC story arc boss on Tat with just my companion and me in greens (maybe 1-2 crafted blues) at level.  And with no reliable LFG/LFD... well basta.   There's no reason people shouldn't be able to reliably faceroll every story at level or even level+1.  I mean, isn't the epic story the whole point of the game?  I don't mind paying for a solo game, except for those times when I can't advance or attempt (e.g. flashpoint) without another.

[Sjofn]

No offense, but um. If you couldn't beat a story arc boss at level on Tatooine ... you were doing something wrong, I think.

They nerfed some of the bosses that were hard (end of Tatooine smuggler was nerfed by my second time past it, the JK end guy, etc) but the boss you're referring to I don't remember being hard at all (and yes, I soloed it, because Ingmar didn't want zomg spoilers, so he was off doing his JK quest while I did my JC one). In any case, I suspect you'd be fine if you gave it another whirl, especially since we've been squashed onto a big server now.

Not trying to convince you to, of course, just ... I don't know. Game ain't that hard (especially now with the legacy shit).

[Sky]

There were a couple in the BH arc I gave up on. Furi helped me with one and the other (on Voss, an Inq iirc) I never got around to (think that was planet arc, though).

[Phred]

I think if you enjoy group mechanics, companions are a pretty big addition to the traditional formula.

Psst.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild_Wars_Nightfall

 

Fixed a minor typo in your post. 

Guild Wars wasn't a real MMO.

(waves red flag in front of bull)

And Everquest was effectively dead and buried by the time they added companions.

I have to say, SWToR held my attention longer than Diablo 3 managed to.

[Amaron]

Now, I do agree with you about how the game scaled. In early closed beta it wasn't like this. You felt like a bad ass all the way to cap, happily leaping in and mowing down whole crowds of enemies almost non-stop. However, a vocal minority of beta testers (probably raiders) whined that it was too easy and the Devs caved and jacked up the difficulty towards the very end of beta. As a result the bad-ass feeling mostly dissipated which I think hurt the game.

Is this why all the npcs have truly obnoxious yawn inducing amounts of HP?  Or did they just up other stuff like damage?

[Fordel]

Now, I do agree with you about how the game scaled. In early closed beta it wasn't like this. You felt like a bad ass all the way to cap, happily leaping in and mowing down whole crowds of enemies almost non-stop. However, a vocal minority of beta testers (probably raiders) whined that it was too easy and the Devs caved and jacked up the difficulty towards the very end of beta. As a result the bad-ass feeling mostly dissipated which I think hurt the game.

Is this why all the npcs have truly obnoxious yawn inducing amounts of HP?  Or did they just up other stuff like damage?

It used to be WORSE, wrap your mind around that.  This current live version of mobs is them backing back down from their "make it haaaard" patch in the beta.

There was a patch cycle where every silver elite mob could 2-4 shot any non-tank during the beta.

[Amaron]

I always figured they just pumped up the mob hp at some point to slow down leveling.  The HP is so badly tuned that I weep for joy every time I play a stealth class able to skip mobs.

[Phred]

Now, I do agree with you about how the game scaled. In early closed beta it wasn't like this. You felt like a bad ass all the way to cap, happily leaping in and mowing down whole crowds of enemies almost non-stop. However, a vocal minority of beta testers (probably raiders) whined that it was too easy and the Devs caved and jacked up the difficulty towards the very end of beta. As a result the bad-ass feeling mostly dissipated which I think hurt the game.

Am I the only person who remembers one of the Make it Harder folk posting here in the first month of retail bitching about how weak his character felt at high levels? Damn I wish I'd saved a link to that post.

[Der Helm]

Does anyone know if I have to have an active subscription to start up the launcher ? Wanted to pre-load a few patches in case I resubscribe for a month next weekend.

[Lantyssa]

Yes, you have to log in before it patches.

If you know anyone locally that plays, they could log in their account on your machine.  Maybe you could make a trial account and use that.  Otherwise you'll have to wait to re-up.

[Rokal]

Does anyone know if I have to have an active subscription to start up the launcher ? Wanted to pre-load a few patches in case I resubscribe for a month next weekend.

I was able to patch today with an expired sub so it looks like you'll be fine.

[Ingmar]

I always figured they just pumped up the mob hp at some point to slow down leveling.  The HP is so badly tuned that I weep for joy every time I play a stealth class able to skip mobs.

This is just utterly, completely removed from my experience.

[koro]

Bioware really, really, really, really, really wants you off the old servers.

Earn Rewards for Free Character Transfers

The response to the Free Character Transfer Service so far has been fantastic. Hundreds of thousands of players have already taken advantage of this free service to move their characters to new servers where it’s easier to find groups and play with friends. This initial service is still available and allows qualifying characters to be transferred at no charge from selected origin servers to selected destination servers.

In appreciation for the community’s support of the Free Character Transfer service, we are giving all characters on qualifying servers (including all destination servers) an in-game pet, the Gannifari, and 25 Black Hole Commendations to help purchase high level gear. Visit www.swtor.com/transfer for a list of qualifying servers.

If you haven’t moved your characters yet, it’s not too late. Transfer now to receive these in-game rewards!

http://www.swtor.com/info/news/news-article/20120705

[Ingmar]

Woo free stuff!

Side note, the Black Hole commendation stuff is HIDEOUS for JKs.  that they cut the costs down for stripping mods out.

[Zetor]

I didn't notice this originally, but you can transfer your characters to the selected destination servers even if your sub is not active. You can't transfer a guildmaster character without leaving/disbanding the guild though, so our GM is kind of in a pickle. Shouldda made a level 1 mailbox dancing alt the leader before cancelling!

[Raknor]

Still expensive if you're moving raid drops to your alt.  Bleh  

It's expensive to cheese the system.

[Rokal]

I didn't notice this originally, but you can transfer your characters to the selected destination servers even if your sub is not active.

Awesome, thanks!

[Fordel]

Bioware really, really, really, really, really wants you off the old servers.

Earn Rewards for Free Character Transfers

The response to the Free Character Transfer Service so far has been fantastic. Hundreds of thousands of players have already taken advantage of this free service to move their characters to new servers where it’s easier to find groups and play with friends. This initial service is still available and allows qualifying characters to be transferred at no charge from selected origin servers to selected destination servers.

In appreciation for the community’s support of the Free Character Transfer service, we are giving all characters on qualifying servers (including all destination servers) an in-game pet, the Gannifari, and 25 Black Hole Commendations to help purchase high level gear. Visit www.swtor.com/transfer for a list of qualifying servers.

If you haven’t moved your characters yet, it’s not too late. Transfer now to receive these in-game rewards!

http://www.swtor.com/info/news/news-article/20120705

Still not server merges! 



Do we get the points now, or is there some date in the future?

[Ingmar]

Looks like July 30 is the deadline to get the reward so presumably after that.

[Phred]

Looks like July 30 is the deadline to get the reward so presumably after that.

I guess I should transfer in case I ever start playing again. What server did bat country go to again? I looked for a sticky on this but it still says we're on Shien. (Nudge nudge). And where did Slap go? Hopefully not the same server again.

[koro]

Shien transferred to Ebon Hawk.

[Ingmar]

Still all the same server (Ebon Hawk). I don't think Sky ever actually set up new BC there.

[Lantyssa]

If guilds didn't transfer, couldn't anyone start it up?  Do we really need him to create it then transfer leadership?

[Phred]

Still all the same server (Ebon Hawk). I don't think Sky ever actually set up new BC there.

Wow. And no one else has either? Is anyone still playing or is it pretty well over?

[Ingmar]

The same core 6 or 7 people from Slap are playing, but I haven't seen many f13ers around, no. The server itself is very full though, so there are tons of people around to group with in a general sense. I've yet to visit Dromund Kaas or Coruscant with the population under 100 there, and I play fairly late by the server's time zone.

[Lantyssa]

It has a lot more people on late than early.  I've seen well under a 100 on fleet during the day.

[Ingmar]

It has a lot more people on late than early.  I've seen well under a 100 on fleet during the day.

Possibly you were in a 2nd fleet instance. The only time I've seen it under 200 is after midnight Pacific - every other time that I've logged in and said "wtf, 60 people in fleet?" I've actually been in a spillover instance because the main one hit 300.

[Sjofn]

If guilds didn't transfer, couldn't anyone start it up?  Do we really need him to create it then transfer leadership?

I was under the impression that it had to be the old GM petitioning for the guild vault to re-exist without having to pay for it. If that's not the case, I could start it up or something if people really want.

[Ingmar]

That may be moot anyway since Sky transferred old BC to Furiously before he left, and the original guild has to be disbanded before they'll do a vault transfer. So unless Furiously is actually still subbed and can disband old BC, there's nothing we can do about the vault anyway.

I figured if Sky didn't organize something soon we'd just make a guild on the Imp side for Slap people and just keep it open for f13 anyway. (Probably using the #2 vote getter in our rename vote, Droid Rage.)