This is ridiculous, it seems the defenders of ToR are far more rabid than their counterparts.
It was a light-hearted article poking fun at Mike's desire to complete the entire planet, and how it thwarted him. He then went on and explained that it was the presentation of the quests that bothered him, not too much content.
If there was a discussion point in the article, it would be: Do you feel that the presentation of the bonus content is a bit trollish, just right or somewhere inbetween? There is absolutely no need to attack him or MMORPG.com.
The problem is indeed to much content BUT only if you do EVERYTHING and everything includes space games and PvP. It also depends on how much your class and style choices require you to be higher level then the quests/mobs you undertake.
For me, the game never feels fun with on level mobs (same level as me). Although you can win most fights you will need to heal up after every single one and just ain't no fun (except for those classes who got a healer companion available). My Sith Warrior tank spec for instance sometimes suddenly loses a lot of health on mobs 2 levels below and healing up again afterwards especially with a DoT interrupting self-heal is just annoying.
So... instead of going straight to DK after the Space Station I run Black Talon until I get sprint and am 3-4 levels above mobs. Makes all the difference, suddenly you are an epic hero defeating most enemies with most of your health remaining and so being able to continue fighting rather then stop and catch your breath for a minute between every 2 minute fight...
----
Levelling up with Black Talon is a nice way but if you run a few space missions, have a bit of rested XP, it is fairly easy to even do DK with a lot of missions greyed out. To much content?
Yes, but if you DON'T like Flashpoints and space missions (and some don't) then you desperately need all the optional side quests to get some levels under your belt. Have seen many a kid trying to tackle the Dark Temple at lvl 11 or so. The Bonus Series are for them except they want to rush through the content to get their ship or speeder or god knows what else.
Bioware ran into a simple problem, providing new exciting environments to explore is hard yet people want lots of content and a choice of content. The bonus series are exactly that, a re-use of content in a new styling to give people who only PvE a way to keep up their levels for the next part of the game.
The only thing they did wrong was make travel such an absolute bitch. Be glad they didn't go the Lord of the Rings Online route and ask you to constantly back pedal back and forth... oh wait, they do...
DK would be a lot more tolerable with a taxi between the two taxi networks and for that matter a small space port.
Be glad for the Bonus series however. If you haven't been paying attention, then the "normal" quest chain is ONE class quest per area and TWO side quests. Had they not gone the Bonus series route then your class quest for every planet would be far far longer and te class quest chain is not optional. Now I know of the bonus series I do it or not do it depending on the chain and my level. I would HATE to have it non-optional or "optinial side quest that is right next to your mandatory quest so you would have to be a fool not to take it".
I don't really have an issue with the bonus series stuff. The rewards are actually very worthwhile. On Republic side, the Bonus series on Balmorra was an Imperial last ditch effort to capture a vital arms factory that could put them back in the war. If anyone was the troll, it was me.
The excerpt from TORhead.com sounded like someone was in a rush. What are we rushing to? The end...the end of what? If I was on a planet and found it teeming with content I would not be willing to leave it so soon. But NOT being able to leave restricts my sense of freedom and cancels any open-world aspect that the game may have. Even quest hubs can make you feel very confined to a certain space if you have to finish all of one quest chain to travel to the next hub.
What happened to sandbox MMORPG gaming? It seems like a thing of the past lately.
Originally posted by Inktomi The excerpt from TORhead.com sounded like someone was in a rush. What are we rushing to? The end...the end of what? If I was on a planet and found it teeming with content I would not be willing to leave it so soon. But NOT being able to leave restricts my sense of freedom and cancels any open-world aspect that the game may have. Even quest hubs can make you feel very confined to a certain space if you have to finish all of one quest chain to travel to the next hub. What happened to sandbox MMORPG gaming? It seems like a thing of the past lately.
They are a thing of the past, but maybe also a thing of the future.
Once you have your ship, the galaxy is more or less open to you. That's why you can have level 14 characters looting level 45 lock boxes. You don't even have to finish the main series of quests on a planet. For that matter, you don't have to start the main series of quests on a planet to skip it.
Even though you can leave a zone without doing the quests, you're still going to be restricted by levels. There's not much point in heading to the high level zone if you die as soon as you walk through the door to the wild areas. This is the case with any game that uses levels, sandbox or theme park.
You should follow the character story line though...that's kind of the point of the whole game. If your goal is to not follow the main story line then you're playing the wrong game.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
(THE NEW MISSIONS ARE NOT THE PROBLEM. PEOPLE (us) ARE NOT THE PROBLEM....)
THE
PROBLEM
IS
ORGANIZATION
AND
SIMPLIFICATION
OF
GAME
CONTENT.
Lets say you had to kill The Blob. Well that sould take forever, his Blobness is all over everything. He covers half your city. You don't even know where to start.
That is how it feels to play SWTOR.
But what if The Blob and his trail of mess you had to kill was divided into sections? Maybe he had five kids, and wasn't as big. Also you have an I-phone app that locates each Blob Child ; ). Problem is with SWTOR....the "I-Phone" App is confusing and a little messy....
Here is how you eliminate The SWTOR Blob...
1. -Flashpoints, Heroics, etc. God help me they are almost exactly the same. Make them the same (or make the titles the same Heroic 4, Heroic 8 [8 people]) Another part of the problem here is the FLEET. The FLEET should be treated as a regular planet eliminating the need for FLashpoints which are just Heroics. So just call them Heroics on the FLEET too.
2. BEING ABLE TO REWATCH THE VIDEOS (HOLOCALL MODE?) SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO RESET AND WALK>RUN> RIDE>WALK>RUN>RIDE....ALL THE WAY BACK to the mission if you forget about it cause you took on too many!
-Bonus Missions-Ongoing Stories that last a little longer..like most of them do
-General Missions-simple storys that are quick and don't keep going..that no one will care if they are playing with friends and the friend misses out etc.
-Flashpoints/Heroics- first makes these the same title-than these would be Planet (fleet) focused missions that can either continue a story (in this case it shold be called Bonus Heroic..people can put 2+2 together here) or be a seperate story but requires a group (4player Heroic or 8 Player Heroic)....eliminate the idea of Flashpoints
4. Interface- The Mission interface etc. needs to be clearer. For example a map that shows which missions are connected with wich, and and option to watch the old videos would help clarify things, Sub Catagories could be set apart (like on a notebook outline example Nar Shadaar would have three catagories underneat it when open; General, Bonus, Heroic missions.
***WHEN BIOWARE DOESNT DO THIS IT SENDS MIXED MESSAGES AND CAUSES DISSAPOINTMENTS!!
*i know this is off topic a little but I had to throw it in there. It still has to do with FOCUS.
-PVP have more engaging videos before hand...that involve emotion and urgency with actcuall characters (favorites) from the game...no body watches the curreent videos, they are wastefull...and WHERES THE HUTTBALL VIDEO I SAW ON YOUTUBE?...that was the best one. also have more interesting PVP quests, where we accuatlly fight with a JEDI Hero. People feel like these quest etc. are just SHLOPPED...this will help PVP feel more real and focused> Less Random
One of the FEW things that did not bother me in SWTOR was the bonus series...it was one of the few actual OPTIONS you had after the first few planets for leveling. You could stay and do them if you wanted OR you could go on to the next planet and do quests there for some variety and then go BACK to the bonus series when you start to get sick of the new planet.
That is something I refuse to complain about...options...something the game is SORELY lacking in everyplace else.
I hope we shall crush...in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." ~Thomes Jefferson
Comments
So ... You're complaining that there's more to do ... or your complaining about how they informyou there's more to do? [Mod Edit]
This is ridiculous, it seems the defenders of ToR are far more rabid than their counterparts.
It was a light-hearted article poking fun at Mike's desire to complete the entire planet, and how it thwarted him. He then went on and explained that it was the presentation of the quests that bothered him, not too much content.
If there was a discussion point in the article, it would be: Do you feel that the presentation of the bonus content is a bit trollish, just right or somewhere inbetween? There is absolutely no need to attack him or MMORPG.com.
The problem is indeed to much content BUT only if you do EVERYTHING and everything includes space games and PvP. It also depends on how much your class and style choices require you to be higher level then the quests/mobs you undertake.
For me, the game never feels fun with on level mobs (same level as me). Although you can win most fights you will need to heal up after every single one and just ain't no fun (except for those classes who got a healer companion available). My Sith Warrior tank spec for instance sometimes suddenly loses a lot of health on mobs 2 levels below and healing up again afterwards especially with a DoT interrupting self-heal is just annoying.
So... instead of going straight to DK after the Space Station I run Black Talon until I get sprint and am 3-4 levels above mobs. Makes all the difference, suddenly you are an epic hero defeating most enemies with most of your health remaining and so being able to continue fighting rather then stop and catch your breath for a minute between every 2 minute fight...
----
Levelling up with Black Talon is a nice way but if you run a few space missions, have a bit of rested XP, it is fairly easy to even do DK with a lot of missions greyed out. To much content?
Yes, but if you DON'T like Flashpoints and space missions (and some don't) then you desperately need all the optional side quests to get some levels under your belt. Have seen many a kid trying to tackle the Dark Temple at lvl 11 or so. The Bonus Series are for them except they want to rush through the content to get their ship or speeder or god knows what else.
Bioware ran into a simple problem, providing new exciting environments to explore is hard yet people want lots of content and a choice of content. The bonus series are exactly that, a re-use of content in a new styling to give people who only PvE a way to keep up their levels for the next part of the game.
The only thing they did wrong was make travel such an absolute bitch. Be glad they didn't go the Lord of the Rings Online route and ask you to constantly back pedal back and forth... oh wait, they do...
DK would be a lot more tolerable with a taxi between the two taxi networks and for that matter a small space port.
Be glad for the Bonus series however. If you haven't been paying attention, then the "normal" quest chain is ONE class quest per area and TWO side quests. Had they not gone the Bonus series route then your class quest for every planet would be far far longer and te class quest chain is not optional. Now I know of the bonus series I do it or not do it depending on the chain and my level. I would HATE to have it non-optional or "optinial side quest that is right next to your mandatory quest so you would have to be a fool not to take it".
I don't really have an issue with the bonus series stuff. The rewards are actually very worthwhile. On Republic side, the Bonus series on Balmorra was an Imperial last ditch effort to capture a vital arms factory that could put them back in the war. If anyone was the troll, it was me.
The excerpt from TORhead.com sounded like someone was in a rush. What are we rushing to? The end...the end of what? If I was on a planet and found it teeming with content I would not be willing to leave it so soon. But NOT being able to leave restricts my sense of freedom and cancels any open-world aspect that the game may have. Even quest hubs can make you feel very confined to a certain space if you have to finish all of one quest chain to travel to the next hub.
What happened to sandbox MMORPG gaming? It seems like a thing of the past lately.
They are a thing of the past, but maybe also a thing of the future.
Once you have your ship, the galaxy is more or less open to you. That's why you can have level 14 characters looting level 45 lock boxes. You don't even have to finish the main series of quests on a planet. For that matter, you don't have to start the main series of quests on a planet to skip it.
Even though you can leave a zone without doing the quests, you're still going to be restricted by levels. There's not much point in heading to the high level zone if you die as soon as you walk through the door to the wild areas. This is the case with any game that uses levels, sandbox or theme park.
You should follow the character story line though...that's kind of the point of the whole game. If your goal is to not follow the main story line then you're playing the wrong game.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Please, Please Read
(THE NEW MISSIONS ARE NOT THE PROBLEM. PEOPLE (us) ARE NOT THE PROBLEM....)
THE
PROBLEM
IS
ORGANIZATION
AND
SIMPLIFICATION
OF
GAME
CONTENT.
Lets say you had to kill The Blob. Well that sould take forever, his Blobness is all over everything. He covers half your city. You don't even know where to start.
That is how it feels to play SWTOR.
But what if The Blob and his trail of mess you had to kill was divided into sections? Maybe he had five kids, and wasn't as big. Also you have an I-phone app that locates each Blob Child ; ). Problem is with SWTOR....the "I-Phone" App is confusing and a little messy....
Here is how you eliminate The SWTOR Blob...
1. -Flashpoints, Heroics, etc. God help me they are almost exactly the same. Make them the same (or make the titles the same Heroic 4, Heroic 8 [8 people]) Another part of the problem here is the FLEET. The FLEET should be treated as a regular planet eliminating the need for FLashpoints which are just Heroics. So just call them Heroics on the FLEET too.
2. BEING ABLE TO REWATCH THE VIDEOS (HOLOCALL MODE?) SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO RESET AND WALK>RUN> RIDE>WALK>RUN>RIDE....ALL THE WAY BACK to the mission if you forget about it cause you took on too many!
3. MISSIONS NEED..... TO..... STAY..... FOCUSED ; ) EX;
-Bonus Missions-Ongoing Stories that last a little longer..like most of them do
-General Missions-simple storys that are quick and don't keep going..that no one will care if they are playing with friends and the friend misses out etc.
-Flashpoints/Heroics- first makes these the same title-than these would be Planet (fleet) focused missions that can either continue a story (in this case it shold be called Bonus Heroic..people can put 2+2 together here) or be a seperate story but requires a group (4player Heroic or 8 Player Heroic)....eliminate the idea of Flashpoints
4. Interface- The Mission interface etc. needs to be clearer. For example a map that shows which missions are connected with wich, and and option to watch the old videos would help clarify things, Sub Catagories could be set apart (like on a notebook outline example Nar Shadaar would have three catagories underneat it when open; General, Bonus, Heroic missions.
***WHEN BIOWARE DOESNT DO THIS IT SENDS MIXED MESSAGES AND CAUSES DISSAPOINTMENTS!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*i know this is off topic a little but I had to throw it in there. It still has to do with FOCUS.
-PVP have more engaging videos before hand...that involve emotion and urgency with actcuall characters (favorites) from the game...no body watches the curreent videos, they are wastefull...and WHERES THE HUTTBALL VIDEO I SAW ON YOUTUBE?...that was the best one. also have more interesting PVP quests, where we accuatlly fight with a JEDI Hero. People feel like these quest etc. are just SHLOPPED...this will help PVP feel more real and focused> Less Random
One of the FEW things that did not bother me in SWTOR was the bonus series...it was one of the few actual OPTIONS you had after the first few planets for leveling. You could stay and do them if you wanted OR you could go on to the next planet and do quests there for some variety and then go BACK to the bonus series when you start to get sick of the new planet.
That is something I refuse to complain about...options...something the game is SORELY lacking in everyplace else.
I hope we shall crush...in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." ~Thomes Jefferson