Well the premise of expansions is to keep the current player base in tact,they also IF they are a good team,need to focus on bringing players back or gaining new players.
There is no reason other than no confidence in themselves to give up on a Star Wars IP,it is stil lsimply the most recognized IP probably in the world.
They give a nice introduction to the game from 1-20 via the trial,but where i found the game turned me off was 20+ when the poorly designed skill tree idea kicked in.IMO they need top focus on better combat and ablities and AI and the layout og mobs,if the yhope to improve the player base.
If they are simply satisfied with what they have for players,then i guess,their only focus will be to continue the same old.
Point is,no new xpac ios going to bring players back and i doubt it will have much of an impact on new players becuase msot have already tried this game.I am not saying the impossible ike totally start over,simply add more depth to character customization [not visual looks] and combat and it can be done for sure.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
After what Bioware (or was it EA?) did to SWTOR's F2P model, I'm surprised they have a sufficient player base to bother with an expansion.
When I as a F2P player can't even use what was available to me or earned as a previously subscription player, that's screwed up. When as a F2P player you have to buy basic HUD functionality, that's screwed up.
I've been playing SWTOR solidly for the past 2 weeks and have been having more fun this time around then I did back at launch. The game feels more well rounded now, even though sometimes the leveling game gets stale(still hasn't been addressed at all) but the inclusion of achievements, combat flowing faster and lots of new content at 50+ to look forward too puts this game back on my top 10 list of MMOs that stay on my PC.
Game still has plenty of room to grow, but this expansion is a nice preview of what to expect from here on out, I think. Can't wait to see more.
Originally posted by hypernikao I understand they are in it to make money but after they screwed people who bought the CE and a year sub I havent played for a long while. However, yesterday I deceided to give it another shot. SWTOR is the worst f2p system I have seen. They give you quest rewards that you can not even use/open unless you are a sub. You can not show titles bags its rediculous.
that f2p is really like a unlimited trial with a limit of up to 50. i resubed a week ago and so far i do like the changes they made. illum is alot more diff, the whole game performance has increased by 10 folds. as for the rise of the hutt cartell ending, i really love where it's heading to. i see a huge war coming in the future of swtor. open world pvp although it is still lacking, there is purpose to do them now. but ill say this if youa re to play swtor as f2p i suggest subbing, cause if you already have a lvl 50 char you wont really enjoy it in f2p model. only complaint i have now is republic community still lacks compared to imps, i wish they would find a solution to this, and second i feel that watchman sentinals got nerfed on their burns. i used to be able to dish out almost same amount of dps compared to combat, now combat rocks and i i had to respec lol. combat is fun i really like it now compared to old school. anyways guys give it a shot, and try it out for 1 month, but make sure you get rothc or else you wont enjoy makeb and the new features.
Originally posted by jeeshadow I'm enjoying it, but even at lvl51, i can see that this isn't going to hold me for very long. I'd be interested to know in their business plan, how long they forcasted this expansion would keep players busy and interested?
They thought the launch game was going to keep people occupied for a year.
Free to play = content updates for the cash shop. Buy to play = content updates for the cash shop. Subscription = Actual content updates!
Could have always gone the EQ1 path where initial leveling speed was so horrifically slow, that most of the people didn't reach 50 (initial level cap) when Kunark (first expansion) came out. That was something like 1.5 years. Now people can hit max level cap in days in most MMO's.
I don't think this will really save the game, the core issues are still there, and the F2P model they are using will turn away most people due to how restrictive it is (it seems more concerned on gaining money while people are playing than bringing new people in for a longer time - comically an unlimited trial to 20 would probably have made the game more inviting than this model, though this does get a few more people at higher levels).
I have also found a few large bugs that have went unfixed since launch / beta according to forums (warzone freezing and not finishing, falling through or getting stuck on geometery).
While the game is no doubt in a better state than when it launched I don't see this game recovering from it's earlier issues or the model they are now milking their playerbase with.
I've been playing SWTOR solidly for the past 2 weeks and have been having more fun this time around then I did back at launch. The game feels more well rounded now, even though sometimes the leveling game gets stale(still hasn't been addressed at all) but the inclusion of achievements, combat flowing faster and lots of new content at 50+ to look forward too puts this game back on my top 10 list of MMOs that stay on my PC.
Game still has plenty of room to grow, but this expansion is a nice preview of what to expect from here on out, I think. Can't wait to see more.
I would say the expansion is more of a swan song than a preview. All the stuff that was added with this expansion was announced and in development last year, and nothing else has been announced since. The Cathar race is still yet to come too, which was mentioned before F2P. All this content is long over due (which is like 10 months old), with nothing on the horizon. STO announced their expansion last month, and is going live next month, that is 2 months, and EQ2 last expansion was announced in Oct 2012, and went live Nov 2012, which is one month. 10 months is ridiculous especially when they said it would be live by the end of 2012, and finally went live 4 months after its ETA - They clearly have no more content to come, and just stretching out what little they do have.
As long as they keep trying to make this a subscription based game, they prove they will never see what is wrong with it and thus are not going to fix it for those that wont pay a sub.
/signed former player.
I just hope they stay forever sub based. As I wish this to any good game I have enjoyed a lot. I actually hate f2p as I see it as destroyer of good games. It attracts mainly cheap people (that would love to have anything completely for free) like flyes are attracted to ..... :-)
I have enjoyed the expansion and feel it was worth $10. However, I share the same concern that others have noted. The time required in order to release such a small amount of content is discouraging. At level 55 the content is once again minimal (unless you don't mind replaying content that is 4 or 5 levels lower, including some of the Makeb dailies.) There's a new Operation, a handful of preexisting flashpoints plus one operation with new hardmodes, and the relatively dull Seeker Droid/Marcrobinocular missions. I may have missed a small thing or two but I feel comfortable saying that it's really not much. Level 55 is going to be a drag real soon unless BW can find a way to produce new content much more quickly. At this rate it would take them 2 or 3 years to come out with a sizeable expansion. I have enjoyed the game, and I stuck with it through some dull months, but the time-consuming process of creating new content does not bode well for SWTOR. It's unfortunate. Luckily I still enjoy the pvp in the game. I'll probably stick around for a few months and see what happens, but I honestly don't think BW will be able to keep pace. It would be interesting to know what their intentions are for the remainder of 2013. A new playable race just isn't going to cut it for me. I hope they have some bigger and better things in the works.
Actually I would prefer to pay 50-60€ for TRUE expansion pack, but I'm very happy with this, too. And it is more then fairly priced. Only thing I really miss is true continuation of class quests, to report to general Garza and all the rest main characters. :-) I had prior to expansion pack 5 top leveled republic alts and 4 empire.
i played the game for a few months enjoyed the game play and was really having fun.
Until they did 2.0 and nerfed my main toon lvl 51 Operative so much that i couldn't solo anymore , i have those ended my subscription and have not played since even free its not worth playing a game that gets nerfed to the point u can't solo
"BioWare seemed to arrive (better late, than never) to the conclusion that just about everyone else in the industry has come to and jumped head-first into already: free-to-play is the future."
That is an ingenious statement. There is no clear indication if P2P is dead. WoW does spectacular, EVE plows along. GW2 is B2P. That said, all the other "failed" MMOS that have gone to FTP, LOTRO, STO, AOC, etc, are actually in some form FTP.
SWTOR has such a restrictive FTP model that they themselves are coining it a "Free to Play option".
The only innovation is that the game found a way to introduce a cash shop to a subscription based game. (Granted the playerbase is now much smaller.)
I would expect a bit more objective anaylisis then a regurgitation of corporate double-speak.
As long as they keep trying to make this a subscription based game, they prove they will never see what is wrong with it and thus are not going to fix it for those that wont pay a sub.
/signed former player.
And that's the kind of leecher IGN writes articles about. "Good honest gamers will fit the bill so others can enjoy the same entertainment."
I think it's fine the way it is. I get so frustrated over people who say "for those that wont pay a sub." So it's all about the money? Quit lying to all of us then and saying it's about the game or content.
I will never support freeloaders, no more subsidized gaming. My Blog
As long as they keep trying to make this a subscription based game, they prove they will never see what is wrong with it and thus are not going to fix it for those that wont pay a sub.
/signed former player.
And that's the kind of leecher IGN writes articles about. "Good honest gamers will fith the bill so others can enjoy the same entertainment."
I think it's fine the way it is. I get so frustrated over people who say "for those that wont pay a sub." So it's all about the money? Quit lying to all of us then and saying it's about the game or content.
Bioware has indicated that the game was saved by FTP. THey also have a very restrictive FTP system. Therefore the salvation has come from subscribers buying items from the Cartel Shop. Are you sayin you prefer Freemium with the oppurtunity to buy items from the cartel shop as opposed to paying a monthly subscription and having those items available in-game?
If you argue that the FTP salvation isn't from the cartel shop but from FTP players themselves, then you are railing against your game's salvation.
SO which is it? SWTOR was saved by FTP (but FTP players are scum), or SWTOR was saved by an aggresive cash shop?
Pick your poison. Added scum or added charges on top of your monthly subscription.
As long as they keep trying to make this a subscription based game, they prove they will never see what is wrong with it and thus are not going to fix it for those that wont pay a sub.
/signed former player.
And that's the kind of leecher IGN writes articles about. "Good honest gamers will fith the bill so others can enjoy the same entertainment."
I think it's fine the way it is. I get so frustrated over people who say "for those that wont pay a sub." So it's all about the money? Quit lying to all of us then and saying it's about the game or content.
Bioware has indicated that the game was saved by FTP. THey also have a very restrictive FTP system. Therefore the salvation has come from subscribers buying items from the Cartel Shop. Are you sayin you prefer Freemium with the oppurtunity to buy items from the cartel shop as opposed to paying a monthly subscription and having those items available in-game?
If you argue that the FTP salvation isn't from the cartel shop but from FTP players themselves, then you are railing against your game's salvation.
SO which is it? SWTOR was saved by FTP (but FTP players are scum), or SWTOR was saved by an aggresive cash shop?
Pick your poison. Added scum or added charges on top of your monthly subscription.
"Agressive cash shop." No one deserves a free ride.
I will never support freeloaders, no more subsidized gaming. My Blog
"Agressive cash shop." No one deserves a free ride.
There's a different story for everyone.
For example, I've joined the game 1 month ago. Subbed. Pre-ordered the expansion. I consider this investment fair, as I've not paid a box price for the game. In this subbed month I was able to:
- Raise a character to 55 (double XP weekends helped a lot)
- Obtain full 66 gear
- Fully equip my spaceship with tier 7 items (lol, yea i know)
- Buy (with credits) all the unlocks I need (except the cosmetic ones like "Hide helm" and "Show titles" etc): Bars, full inventory, 2nd bank slot, guild bank access, section X access, artifact equipment (account wide), 3rd crew skill slot, extra 10 GTN sale slots (i don't ever need more than 15) and maybe others that i forgot about here
- Buy (with credits) operations passes for 3 months
- Buy (with credits) flashpoints passes for 2 months (actually these i don't even need, as I mostly do Flashpoints for the quests. I did not ever had more than 3 drops from Flashpoints per week since I've joined the game)
- Unlock a ton of legacy stuff
I've got all these with a somehow casual approach to the game, playing probably 2-3 hours per day, a bit more in weekends.
Yesterday I dropped to "preffered" status. Now I will not be able to do the following:
- can't teleport to fleet every 12 hours (lol)
- credit limit (this bothers me A LOT)
- 2 hours instead of 30min for Quick Travel (this mildly bothers me)
I plan to play only 1 character. I do not enjoy PvP in SWTOR (no idea why). I'm at the "endgame", all I do is what i'd do in games like WoW: raid in the evenings with my guild friends. In WoW I'd have to pay 15bucks/month, here I'll do it practically free. If they would lift the credit limit (with an unlock, not for free) or at least increase it significantly (for the preffered only, not pure F2P's), I would say their F2P (preffered status) approach is very nice for a player like me.
I just love the "there's too many other good stuff coming to enjoy this game". No, there is more of the same. Until we see a complete revamp of MMO's, it's just going to be more of the same. The devs aren't listening no matter where you go. And all the creators care about is money. It's almost bad enough that I'm almost ready to drop MMO's altogether.
That being said, I have played almost two dozen MMO's in my time, and beta'd 6. Only two have I had a hard time leaving. The first is EQ2 which I still love to this day but the devs ruined and I can't justify giving Sony my money ever again. The second is SWTOR. Not only is it star wars, but the companions, the conversations, and the moral alignment gain mean that every other game I've tried feels dead to me. No other game makes me feel so involved in my characters story and actions. It is still lacking in that even the conversations will still eventually lead to the same spot no matter what you say unless they are companions.
We need a full MMO. Not the ones that these companies keep giving us. Really sick to death of the way they are doing it.
I've been playing SWTOR solidly for the past 2 weeks and have been having more fun this time around then I did back at launch. The game feels more well rounded now, even though sometimes the leveling game gets stale(still hasn't been addressed at all) but the inclusion of achievements, combat flowing faster and lots of new content at 50+ to look forward too puts this game back on my top 10 list of MMOs that stay on my PC.
Game still has plenty of room to grow, but this expansion is a nice preview of what to expect from here on out, I think. Can't wait to see more.
I would say the expansion is more of a swan song than a preview. All the stuff that was added with this expansion was announced and in development last year, and nothing else has been announced since. The Cathar race is still yet to come too, which was mentioned before F2P. All this content is long over due (which is like 10 months old), with nothing on the horizon. STO announced their expansion last month, and is going live next month, that is 2 months, and EQ2 last expansion was announced in Oct 2012, and went live Nov 2012, which is one month. 10 months is ridiculous especially when they said it would be live by the end of 2012, and finally went live 4 months after its ETA - They clearly have no more content to come, and just stretching out what little they do have.
I come back to reading about TOR on these forums after a break and what do I see the same names or really name spouting his doom and gloom rhetoric on baseless assumptions, really come on get a frikking life.
To the OP and Eloke.
I've just resubbed and can say that I'm happier than I was about the conversion to f2p, the game has improved and the content offered for $10/20 with RotHC is great. My old guild let me back in after me going AWOL which was nice of them and they all said they really enjoyed Makeb which is encouraging. Cathar and new customation option comes with patch 2.1 and I'm with Eloke that this is a good sign for future content, but if your an ex-SWG player this is another dagger in the back for those who want to see TOR fail miserably or turn into SWG2... et tu Brute as they say.
This doom and gloom thread was brought to you by Chin Up the new ultra high caffeine soft drink for gamers who just need that boost of happiness after a long forum session.
"Agressive cash shop." No one deserves a free ride.
There's a different story for everyone.
For example, I've joined the game 1 month ago. Subbed. Pre-ordered the expansion. I consider this investment fair, as I've not paid a box price for the game. In this subbed month I was able to:
- Raise a character to 55 (double XP weekends helped a lot)
- Obtain full 66 gear
- Fully equip my spaceship with tier 7 items (lol, yea i know)
- Buy (with credits) all the unlocks I need (except the cosmetic ones like "Hide helm" and "Show titles" etc): Bars, full inventory, 2nd bank slot, guild bank access, section X access, artifact equipment (account wide), 3rd crew skill slot, extra 10 GTN sale slots (i don't ever need more than 15) and maybe others that i forgot about here
- Buy (with credits) operations passes for 3 months
- Buy (with credits) flashpoints passes for 2 months (actually these i don't even need, as I mostly do Flashpoints for the quests. I did not ever had more than 3 drops from Flashpoints per week since I've joined the game)
- Unlock a ton of legacy stuff
I've got all these with a somehow casual approach to the game, playing probably 2-3 hours per day, a bit more in weekends.
Yesterday I dropped to "preffered" status. Now I will not be able to do the following:
- can't teleport to fleet every 12 hours (lol)
- credit limit (this bothers me A LOT)
- 2 hours instead of 30min for Quick Travel (this mildly bothers me)
I plan to play only 1 character. I do not enjoy PvP in SWTOR (no idea why). I'm at the "endgame", all I do is what i'd do in games like WoW: raid in the evenings with my guild friends. In WoW I'd have to pay 15bucks/month, here I'll do it practically free. If they would lift the credit limit (with an unlock, not for free) or at least increase it significantly (for the preffered only, not pure F2P's), I would say their F2P (preffered status) approach is very nice for a player like me.
While I have not been as agressivew in my unlocks as you have you sum it up rather well as I went roughly the same route.
Like you there are many things that I find annoying but no where near gamebreaking.
Thank you for another review of how things can be done with minimal effort instead of spouting doom and gloom
Play what you Like. I like SWOTR, Have a referral to get you going! --> http://www.swtor.com/r/nBndbs <-- Several Unlocks and a few days game time to make the F2P considerably easier
"BioWare seemed to arrive (better late, than never) to the conclusion that just about everyone else in the industry has come to and jumped head-first into already: free-to-play is the future."That is an ingenious statement. There is no clear indication if P2P is dead. WoW does spectacular, EVE plows along. GW2 is B2P. That said, all the other "failed" MMOS that have gone to FTP, LOTRO, STO, AOC, etc, are actually in some form FTP.SWTOR has such a restrictive FTP model that they themselves are coining it a "Free to Play option".The only innovation is that the game found a way to introduce a cash shop to a subscription based game. (Granted the playerbase is now much smaller.)I would expect a bit more objective anaylisis then a regurgitation of corporate double-speak.
Objectivity from MMORPG.com about a paid advertiser? Surely you jest....
Comments
Well the premise of expansions is to keep the current player base in tact,they also IF they are a good team,need to focus on bringing players back or gaining new players.
There is no reason other than no confidence in themselves to give up on a Star Wars IP,it is stil lsimply the most recognized IP probably in the world.
They give a nice introduction to the game from 1-20 via the trial,but where i found the game turned me off was 20+ when the poorly designed skill tree idea kicked in.IMO they need top focus on better combat and ablities and AI and the layout og mobs,if the yhope to improve the player base.
If they are simply satisfied with what they have for players,then i guess,their only focus will be to continue the same old.
Point is,no new xpac ios going to bring players back and i doubt it will have much of an impact on new players becuase msot have already tried this game.I am not saying the impossible ike totally start over,simply add more depth to character customization [not visual looks] and combat and it can be done for sure.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
After what Bioware (or was it EA?) did to SWTOR's F2P model, I'm surprised they have a sufficient player base to bother with an expansion.
When I as a F2P player can't even use what was available to me or earned as a previously subscription player, that's screwed up. When as a F2P player you have to buy basic HUD functionality, that's screwed up.
I've been playing SWTOR solidly for the past 2 weeks and have been having more fun this time around then I did back at launch. The game feels more well rounded now, even though sometimes the leveling game gets stale(still hasn't been addressed at all) but the inclusion of achievements, combat flowing faster and lots of new content at 50+ to look forward too puts this game back on my top 10 list of MMOs that stay on my PC.
Game still has plenty of room to grow, but this expansion is a nice preview of what to expect from here on out, I think. Can't wait to see more.
that f2p is really like a unlimited trial with a limit of up to 50. i resubed a week ago and so far i do like the changes they made. illum is alot more diff, the whole game performance has increased by 10 folds. as for the rise of the hutt cartell ending, i really love where it's heading to. i see a huge war coming in the future of swtor. open world pvp although it is still lacking, there is purpose to do them now. but ill say this if youa re to play swtor as f2p i suggest subbing, cause if you already have a lvl 50 char you wont really enjoy it in f2p model. only complaint i have now is republic community still lacks compared to imps, i wish they would find a solution to this, and second i feel that watchman sentinals got nerfed on their burns. i used to be able to dish out almost same amount of dps compared to combat, now combat rocks and i i had to respec lol. combat is fun i really like it now compared to old school. anyways guys give it a shot, and try it out for 1 month, but make sure you get rothc or else you wont enjoy makeb and the new features.
They thought the launch game was going to keep people occupied for a year.
Free to play = content updates for the cash shop. Buy to play = content updates for the cash shop.
Subscription = Actual content updates!
I don't think this will really save the game, the core issues are still there, and the F2P model they are using will turn away most people due to how restrictive it is (it seems more concerned on gaining money while people are playing than bringing new people in for a longer time - comically an unlimited trial to 20 would probably have made the game more inviting than this model, though this does get a few more people at higher levels).
I have also found a few large bugs that have went unfixed since launch / beta according to forums (warzone freezing and not finishing, falling through or getting stuck on geometery).
While the game is no doubt in a better state than when it launched I don't see this game recovering from it's earlier issues or the model they are now milking their playerbase with.
I would say the expansion is more of a swan song than a preview. All the stuff that was added with this expansion was announced and in development last year, and nothing else has been announced since. The Cathar race is still yet to come too, which was mentioned before F2P. All this content is long over due (which is like 10 months old), with nothing on the horizon. STO announced their expansion last month, and is going live next month, that is 2 months, and EQ2 last expansion was announced in Oct 2012, and went live Nov 2012, which is one month. 10 months is ridiculous especially when they said it would be live by the end of 2012, and finally went live 4 months after its ETA - They clearly have no more content to come, and just stretching out what little they do have.
Star Trek Online - Best Free MMORPG of 2012
I just hope they stay forever sub based. As I wish this to any good game I have enjoyed a lot. I actually hate f2p as I see it as destroyer of good games. It attracts mainly cheap people (that would love to have anything completely for free) like flyes are attracted to ..... :-)
Agree with OP.
Actually I would prefer to pay 50-60€ for TRUE expansion pack, but I'm very happy with this, too. And it is more then fairly priced. Only thing I really miss is true continuation of class quests, to report to general Garza and all the rest main characters. :-) I had prior to expansion pack 5 top leveled republic alts and 4 empire.
i played the game for a few months enjoyed the game play and was really having fun.
Until they did 2.0 and nerfed my main toon lvl 51 Operative so much that i couldn't solo anymore , i have those ended my subscription and have not played since even free its not worth playing a game that gets nerfed to the point u can't solo
How is this article different from the other two on the same subject?
How is the new 2.0 bolster system never written about?
It might not be shady, but it gives that appearance.
Not a single mention that this content was previewed in June of 2012 as free.
By all eans Mike B. isn't saying it's all roses, but he seems to be steering away from glaring concerns this DLC raises.
The truth is a whole, only giving a part of it is either ignorance or deceit, in either case it still is not the truth.
"BioWare seemed to arrive (better late, than never) to the conclusion that just about everyone else in the industry has come to and jumped head-first into already: free-to-play is the future."
That is an ingenious statement. There is no clear indication if P2P is dead. WoW does spectacular, EVE plows along. GW2 is B2P. That said, all the other "failed" MMOS that have gone to FTP, LOTRO, STO, AOC, etc, are actually in some form FTP.
SWTOR has such a restrictive FTP model that they themselves are coining it a "Free to Play option".
The only innovation is that the game found a way to introduce a cash shop to a subscription based game. (Granted the playerbase is now much smaller.)
I would expect a bit more objective anaylisis then a regurgitation of corporate double-speak.
And that's the kind of leecher IGN writes articles about. "Good honest gamers will fit the bill so others can enjoy the same entertainment."
I think it's fine the way it is. I get so frustrated over people who say "for those that wont pay a sub." So it's all about the money? Quit lying to all of us then and saying it's about the game or content.
I will never support freeloaders, no more subsidized gaming.
My Blog
Bioware has indicated that the game was saved by FTP. THey also have a very restrictive FTP system. Therefore the salvation has come from subscribers buying items from the Cartel Shop. Are you sayin you prefer Freemium with the oppurtunity to buy items from the cartel shop as opposed to paying a monthly subscription and having those items available in-game?
If you argue that the FTP salvation isn't from the cartel shop but from FTP players themselves, then you are railing against your game's salvation.
SO which is it? SWTOR was saved by FTP (but FTP players are scum), or SWTOR was saved by an aggresive cash shop?
Pick your poison. Added scum or added charges on top of your monthly subscription.
"Agressive cash shop." No one deserves a free ride.
I will never support freeloaders, no more subsidized gaming.
My Blog
There's a different story for everyone.
For example, I've joined the game 1 month ago. Subbed. Pre-ordered the expansion. I consider this investment fair, as I've not paid a box price for the game. In this subbed month I was able to:
- Raise a character to 55 (double XP weekends helped a lot)
- Obtain full 66 gear
- Fully equip my spaceship with tier 7 items (lol, yea i know)
- Buy (with credits) all the unlocks I need (except the cosmetic ones like "Hide helm" and "Show titles" etc): Bars, full inventory, 2nd bank slot, guild bank access, section X access, artifact equipment (account wide), 3rd crew skill slot, extra 10 GTN sale slots (i don't ever need more than 15) and maybe others that i forgot about here
- Buy (with credits) operations passes for 3 months
- Buy (with credits) flashpoints passes for 2 months (actually these i don't even need, as I mostly do Flashpoints for the quests. I did not ever had more than 3 drops from Flashpoints per week since I've joined the game)
- Unlock a ton of legacy stuff
I've got all these with a somehow casual approach to the game, playing probably 2-3 hours per day, a bit more in weekends.
Yesterday I dropped to "preffered" status. Now I will not be able to do the following:
- can't teleport to fleet every 12 hours (lol)
- credit limit (this bothers me A LOT)
- 2 hours instead of 30min for Quick Travel (this mildly bothers me)
I plan to play only 1 character. I do not enjoy PvP in SWTOR (no idea why). I'm at the "endgame", all I do is what i'd do in games like WoW: raid in the evenings with my guild friends. In WoW I'd have to pay 15bucks/month, here I'll do it practically free. If they would lift the credit limit (with an unlock, not for free) or at least increase it significantly (for the preffered only, not pure F2P's), I would say their F2P (preffered status) approach is very nice for a player like me.
The cash shop is aimed at subscribers, that's the thing.
I just love the "there's too many other good stuff coming to enjoy this game". No, there is more of the same. Until we see a complete revamp of MMO's, it's just going to be more of the same. The devs aren't listening no matter where you go. And all the creators care about is money. It's almost bad enough that I'm almost ready to drop MMO's altogether.
That being said, I have played almost two dozen MMO's in my time, and beta'd 6. Only two have I had a hard time leaving. The first is EQ2 which I still love to this day but the devs ruined and I can't justify giving Sony my money ever again. The second is SWTOR. Not only is it star wars, but the companions, the conversations, and the moral alignment gain mean that every other game I've tried feels dead to me. No other game makes me feel so involved in my characters story and actions. It is still lacking in that even the conversations will still eventually lead to the same spot no matter what you say unless they are companions.
We need a full MMO. Not the ones that these companies keep giving us. Really sick to death of the way they are doing it.
I come back to reading about TOR on these forums after a break and what do I see the same names or really name spouting his doom and gloom rhetoric on baseless assumptions, really come on get a frikking life.
To the OP and Eloke.
I've just resubbed and can say that I'm happier than I was about the conversion to f2p, the game has improved and the content offered for $10/20 with RotHC is great. My old guild let me back in after me going AWOL which was nice of them and they all said they really enjoyed Makeb which is encouraging. Cathar and new customation option comes with patch 2.1 and I'm with Eloke that this is a good sign for future content, but if your an ex-SWG player this is another dagger in the back for those who want to see TOR fail miserably or turn into SWG2... et tu Brute as they say.
This doom and gloom thread was brought to you by Chin Up the new ultra high caffeine soft drink for gamers who just need that boost of happiness after a long forum session.
While I have not been as agressivew in my unlocks as you have you sum it up rather well as I went roughly the same route.
Like you there are many things that I find annoying but no where near gamebreaking.
Thank you for another review of how things can be done with minimal effort instead of spouting doom and gloom
--> http://www.swtor.com/r/nBndbs <--
Several Unlocks and a few days game time to make the F2P considerably easier
Objectivity from MMORPG.com about a paid advertiser? Surely you jest....Correction...SWTOR is an ok single player RPG with horrible co-op.