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Just curious, is there any grouping while leveling?
Legato89
Member Posts: 297
I played the trial about a month ago and although I enjoyed it, there were a few things that kind of got to me. It may have been my server but the game world was very empty of other players. I was also told I wouldnt be doing any group dungeons until the level cap at lv 90. Also, the fact that you always walk around with your sword or gun out, pointed at everyone is annoying. The graphics and textures look really dated at this point too. Perhaps if I joined a guild I'd like it? I dont know. Im fascinated by the character run towns and space combat, and how you can invite people on your ship and fly from planet to planet.
Comments
They killed grouping, which was a main point to the game, I loved groups, I probably met more people in groups than any other way in game.
Thiers only ent groups, which Im suprised isnt like it once was. Combat groups for pvp, and last the instance groups. No one is grouping up to go out and level like they used to. levelings become a boring solo grind.
Whenever I level a new character, I make sure to group as often as possible as you can get a lot more XP that way.
The key is to group with people that are around the same level as you. You can do this by using the Player Search tool and filtering by combat level, about 5 levels difference is best but you can get away with 10. For instance, if you are level 38, use the tool to send a tell to all players that are level 33-43 and ask if they want to group up.
It's fun to run terninal missions in groups of eight, you get double and sometimes even triple the XP from doign them solo due to the huge number of kills you get on top of the COMPNOR. If you set up a group just before 12:00 PDT when the COMPNOR reset occurs then everyone will be ready to do their missions.
It's also a great way to make new friends. As well as COMPNOR missions you can also do quests and collections together.
Which server were you playing on when you tried the trial? To get an idea of which servers are more populated, take a look at some statistics I put together here: SWG Galactic Civil War and Player City Statistics - October
You can use a macro bound to a key on your keyboard to easily and quickly equip/unequip your weapon. See the "User Interface and Macros" secion of Guide: Combat Preparation for more information.
To invite someone aboard a multi-passenger ship have them stand near you at the ship terminal and click the "Invite" option, you will see their name in a list and can click on it to invite them. Once acceeted, when you launch they will receive a pop-up notification asking if they wish to join you and when they accept this they will appear on your ship with you.
I hope this helps.
I've been levelling a toon on Starsider lately, granted there are more players there but grouping is the same and so are the incentives. Im always amazed at how hard it is for new players to figure out the best way to group up and have fun. Im a veteran player so I don't really have any problems with it, but whenever I run groups I always get at least 6 that haven't done it before.
Players tend to congregate in Mos Eisley to get buffed up. After that they head out to various hotspots across the planets. Some players keep to themselves or allready have buffhouses so they don't really come to Mos Eisley during their normal gameplay sessions though.
Now, to adress your post heres some ideas:
You didn't mention what server you played on during your trial or if you are actively subscribed.
Most of the servers have declining populations, so you would be best off going to Starsider (or even maybe Flurry) which attracts new players and player rerolls. The grouping tool is limited since the credit sellers like to use the tool too. Your best bet will be hoping to find someone close or at your level in the Mos Eisley Cantina buffing or running into them during Legacy quest grind (PUG opportunity). I am sure there are some good AFK leveling spots that could be recommended to lessen the leveling pain.
Try going to your server forum at the O-boards and see if you can find a guild that will take you in. A guild is your best resource for advice and assistance. Only you can decide if all this is worth buying the game and/or paying the monthly subscription fee.
If you need to read a guide to grouping to play an MMO, you know something is wrong right off the bat mate.
The problem with almost any "mature" MMO is that there are fewer and fewer noobs to band together to group, and SWG is particularly brutal in penalizing XP for those who group with people too far above or below your level. Fortunately only XP for killing mobs is affected by this, so while you're using the one quest line for leveling (the legacy quest) you can get others to help you take out overly difficult mobs along the way without losing the XP from the quests themselves.
With a couple of exceptions where you have to deal with elites that are overly difficult, the legacy quest line is quite soloable for combat toons; it's of no use at all to those who are entertainers or traders.
CH, Jedi, Commando, Smuggler, BH, Scout, Doctor, Chef, BE...yeah, lots of SWG time invested.
Once a denizen of Ahazi
amen!
As far as the player search tool, it really isn't that great of help. Most people /anon to avoid credit farmer spam and never think of it again. So that whole system is useless for the majority. Those that know how to help and could most likely are /anon, and the new people are getting spammed and getting no results from their search.
amen!
As far as the player search tool, it really isn't that great of help. Most people /anon to avoid credit farmer spam and never think of it again. So that whole system is useless for the majority. Those that know how to help and could most likely are /anon, and the new people are getting spammed and getting no results from their search.
I agree. I put together the following concept to address SPAM which looks like it will be included in the roadmap for next year: Game Play Focus: SPAM Prevention
While were on the topic on concepts, I also put this together regarding ways that players can group together effectively across level ranges: Game Play Concept: Apprenticeship System + Spendable XP
That SHOULD have been a focus years ago. Spendable (and bankable) XP, more so than the Jedi grind, was one of the most unique aspects of SWG and one of the biggest losses of the NGE IMO. God...the system was brilliant! Your version only improves upon a nearly perfect system to include lower levels in more than just grinding. But at the time, the system SoE had was just awesome.
Sadly...I don't think SWG will ever see the day where this returns. If the game lasts until ToR, Lucas Arts will shut it down. There's no way Lucas Arts will invest as much as they have into ToR and allow SoE to keep SWG running. Unlike EQ and EQ2, SWG and ToR will be directly competing products run by different companies.
I don't think this is the case at all. Having come to SWG from Ultima Online, a game that is still running twelve years on it seems to me that SWG is also unique enough and profitable enough to keep going for the foreseeable future.
TOR is what Lucas Arts would have wanted the NGE to be, an easily accessible casual MMORPG based on the Star Wars franchise.
Their attempts to lever that kind of gameplay into an immensely complicated sandbox game like SWG was a dismal failure but it is testimony to the core gameplay found in SWG, the improvements made since then, the community and the Star Wars IP that SWG is still going today and looks to be still going in another six years time.
As long as SWG is still the license to print cash that it is, it will keep going. Eventually the concepts and systems that we all think will be good for the game will be implemented. I've learnt to be very patient with these things over the years.
I don't think this is the case at all. Having come to SWG from Ultima Online, a game that is still running twelve years on it seems to me that SWG is also unique enough and profitable enough to keep going for the foreseeable future.
TOR is what Lucas Arts would have wanted the NGE to be, an easily accessible casual MMORPG based on the Star Wars franchise.
Their attempts to lever that kind of gameplay into an immensely complicated sandbox game like SWG was a dismal failure but it is testimony to the core gameplay found in SWG, the improvements made since then, the community and the Star Wars IP that SWG is still going today and looks to be still going in another six years time.
As long as SWG is still the license to print cash that it is, it will keep going. Eventually the concepts and systems that we all think will be good for the game will be implemented. I've learnt to be very patient with these things over the years.
the only aspect of SWG they are 'printing cash' from now is the TCG garbage. people eat it up gladly because its the primary way for them to get new stuff they should be getting from playing the game. they surely aren't making a lot from new subscriptions. i'd be willing to bet the majority of the purchases from steam are from exsisting accounts
i want more heroics.. more stuff for me and my friends to do together.. not solo collection stuff.. not additions to legacy. heroics tied to GCW content. PVP heroics.. meaty content. not Legacy quest buffet system
every update they have pushed this year has been horrible.. and the dwindling populations reflect it...
a person can only be patient for so long
Respectfully Badger, do you not ever get the feeling your being taking advantage of by SoE? Do you not see that as long as you're paying to be "very patient" SoE has no strong motivation to get those concepts and systems you want implemented? It just seems to me that by dangling carrots in front of the paying subscribers noses SoE can assure themselves of continued payment by those desperate enough for a "Star Wars" experience.
Like seriously, 4 years for a Galactic Civil War - which I might add is the entire basis of this game!
Most of the updates this year were profession focused, primarily because that was what the majority of players were calling for. I'd expect to see content heavy publishes be king next year which should be ideal for players like you and your friends.
Respectfully Badger, do you not ever get the feeling your being taking advantage of by SoE? Do you not see that as long as you're paying to be "very patient" SoE has no strong motivation to get those concepts and systems you want implemented? It just seems to me that by dangling carrots in front of the paying subscribers noses SoE can assure themselves of continued payment by those desperate enough for a "Star Wars" experience.
Like seriously, 4 years for a Galactic Civil War - which I might add is the entire basis of this game!
Having been in the somewhat unique situation of being able to have concepts implemented in the past my expectations are somewhat different from people who take a more vocal and aggressive approach to influencing the Development Roadmap.
I don't think much of taking six months or more to fine tune and document a concept and wait a couple of years to see it some to fruition, if indeed it ever does. While you're waiting you get to play the game though, so it's not all bad.
There have been GCW updates in the past, none of them really captured what the players wanted though, this update is make or break for many players and SoE need to get it right this time.
2009 was Profession focused? I'm not sure I agree mate...2009 was the year of "Chronicles"...remember the Producer note where Dotanuki said they started work on it right after Hoth?! And then zombie Troopers...because every good Star Wars game needs...zombies. 2009 was also the 1st Ewok Love Fest...and subsequently purple flying Ewoks with pink hearts and the introduction of "wings" (fairy for ELF and now Bat for GMF). To say 2009 was profession focused isn't quite accurate sir.
IMO, the highlight of 2009 was the PvP Update...but that was/is a miserable failure! Badger, Hanse is the same guy who is doing the "GCW" Update...after his complete and utter **edit** up of PvP/Battle Fields, I have NO HOPE for the GCW Update. Hanse may be a decent guy and a great Dev at some things, but the mans ability to **edit** up the simplest of ideas (ie global PvP, LoS, ONE story bunkers) outweighs any of his redeeming qualities.
So...recap:
While some professions did get updates in 2009, I would certainly not say that 2009 was profession centric.
I think it's rather cool that you have managed to get some of your ideas implemented in-game too, but I do not think SWG has "years" left mate. I will still maintain that more could have been accomplished by using just the current in-game chat tabs and adding in a HELP and LFG tab for ALL players rather than taking the time to develop your tool...but in typical SoE fashion, they ignored the obvious and went for new and untested.
I know you blow off my concern over ToR, but ToR is a Bioware product that has been heavily invested in by Lucas Arts. You can't compare EQ/EQ2 to SWG/ToR because the parent company of EQ (SoE) also developed EQ2. I wont claim that SWG goes down the day ToR comes up, but Smedley himself has stated that they'll look into sunsetting SWG when ToR is released. That just reminds me of all the people who said "the handwriting was on the wall" or "It was obviously going to happen" when they announced server closings - even though SoE denied they had any plans...in fact, they said they had NO PLANS to close the "transfer from" servers.
GU15 may be "make or break" for the short term, but I think long term the plan is already set.
/shrug
Let's just agree to disagree then.