Originally posted by AdamTM

Originally posted by Yuui

(as if retconing KOTOR II in tor is not infuriating enough)

Oh fuck no, they didn't....?

 

Not sure if sarcasm, but yes. TOR retcons a lot of stuff, like Rakatan language shown in KOTOR I  and Revan Novel + current torcraft plot retcons a lot of Exile's story and significance.

Should I also speak about the now already famous Emperor Of Retcons that pretty much destroyed Revan's character of the KOTOR games?

-The worst part for me is not that the quests are presented.

Once i took the Balmorra Bonus quest line and decided i was done (wasn't going to complete it) my quest tracker will not let me abandon the quest.

Even after resetting.

Ultimate Troll quest: the game refuses to let you abandon it.

Jergis

The Balmorra and Tatooine bonus series were fun, just be ready to accept that you're not going to be leaving those planets as soon as you thought. Some of the rewards are moddable items which you would otherwise have to get from grinding flashpoints or a rare loot drop.

Nar Shadaa and Alderaan are at higher levels than you would typically be when you leave the planet so I recommend leaving, then if you feel you need the xp/loot/tokens later on, return.

hey Michael ^^

nice to read the emotional sponge between all your "I" lines :)

maybe you need to adjust some of your "how i normally play a MMORPG" principles to get into all this, especially to not do something, what is at least a decision ^^

The biggest problem with the bonus quests is they are so long. that you literally outlevel the next planet you go to. I did the early ones,  Balmorra, I think Nar Shadda, Alderaan (Some of these may be wrong).

What did I get for it? I was levels ahead of the planerts after it. Was a planet 36-39? I was 41. It's only after I stopped doing them that I'm finally back on par with the level I should be for the planet.  They severely need to reduce the amount of XP. Even finishing all content on Droumund Kaas I was still half way through the level  for Balmorra.  And Kaas doesn't even have a bonus series.

I think the bonus series of quests are fine. The problem, I believe, is that Balmorra just plain sucks to get around. Period. The planet layout, at least for the Empire, is absolutely horrid to get anywhere. So every time you get a quest to go to such-and-such hub and you see 5 more quest icons, it forces you to let out a sigh. No other planet has done this to me.

All of the other planets' bonus quest lines I've come across, I've rather enjoyed. I treat the bonus quest as a midway point once I've received it. Would it suck to those who think that they've completed the entire planet's content? Sure. But a simply look at the planet's map would indicate to them that there are large areas they have yet to discover; implying there is content undiscovered as well.

I do, however, agree with the poster above me: With the added bonus series and the quest hubs along with it, you find yourself out-leveling the next planet in-line in your story.

My spouse and I have been 2-4 levels above the level range of each planet we've visited ever since leaving Drumand Kaas.

Originally posted by Alalala

An article whining about optional content on a gaming site? Since when have the WoW fanbrats been given a column on MMORPG? Is there not a single editor working on this site? Hands down one of the dumbest columns ever on this site.

 

I guess you anger management teacher failed ;)

Notice that he writes it with a "smile in the eye" and he is somewhat humorous about it,

take it for what it is, and there is indeed a few points of truth in the article, but i took it with a smile, especially the "troll ambush" on balmorra, i laughed because i felt the same way :)

Originally posted by Yuui

Originally posted by logan400k

This is said with due respect to the author of the column: this really feels like a "Have to say something bad about SWTOR" article to me. Especially considering so many dancing around with their death masks on proclaiming the game does not have enough content to keep people interested.

 

Frankly game DOES NOT have enough content. 

 

Bioware was better off:

1) making it within the timespan of KOTOR.

2) making it singleplayer.

3) making it closer to KOTOR story-style and play style and art style.

 

The "mmo" just does not stick to this title. If you take out voiced quests its bassically TORCRAFT, the wow in space. 

 

KOTOR should have never become mmo and eveyrone should have gotten a perfect third part of the game closing the series for good instead of this(as if retconing KOTOR II in tor is not infuriating enough)

 

but this way they will make a lot more money, also completely beats piracy because its online game, and people pay every month to play it. If I were them I would do the same.

I think the main problem is not that there is additional content, but the way you get it. I felt the same way on Taris; the planet had some very nice quests, including some heroic ones with almost as much scripted story as some flashpoints. Besides, I liked a lot the tie-ins with KOTOR (like the fate of those outcasts that went to search for the Promised Land).

However, when I was getting back to my ship and suddenly saw that person at the spaceport, and then realised that I had quite a few more quest hubs to cover, I was irritated. Nothing against Taris, but I did grow weary of the plant at some point, and even though I didn't want to miss on the story, I felt somewhat cheated.

Of course, I realise that you don't have to do these quests to be on par with content, but I wish the presentation was somewhat different. I don't mind the additional content at all, but I think you can be led to this content in a better way.

Lol, even the writers on mmorpg are SWTOR haters, I mean... dude! It's called bonus for a reason, you don't NEED to do it, okay.

I haven't touched heroic 2 / 4 mans, FP's or any bonus series all the way up to 47.

My main source of XP is main story, coupled with a few sidequests, and PvP.

If you feel that much pressure from an NPC asking you to do something, then I feel bad for you mate, real life must be hard.

What's even worse about these shitty quests is that you can't even abandon them. They don't even know how to properly make all the functions in the fucking questlog work.

i have been skipping the bonus series mainly so i can have other quests to do on alts i make. however i certainly feel your pain as that was similar reaction i had in my first time in testing.  however, i like that some of them are higher lvl.  its way of giving a reason to come back to the planet at a later time.

I need the bonus series to help get into level range for the next planets.  This is primarily due to me not liking and doing heroics.  As far as I'm concerned, Bioware wraps way too much XP in the heroics dungeons, making it really difficult for hardcore soloists to level fast enough for their next quest hub and or planet.  On average, everytime I go to a new area, people are generally 3 to 4 levels above me and it's because they do their heroics and I do not.

So, while the bonus series tend to be too late to help me with level discrepencies within the quest hubs of a particular planet, they at least get my character leveled enough for the next planet's first area.

I had no trouble skipping quests in WoW and other MMOs, simply because of level differences.

I have a tougher time of it in SWTOR, because of the story telling. I feel like I need to complete these quests or something bad will happen! Consequently after completing Taris I have actually outlevelled Nar Shadaa before I even started.

As a Shadow I'm starting to use stealth to skip most of the combat other classes have to engage in, and am being more selective of my quests (if some don't seem "in character" I'll start turning them down). This should make the bonus quests less frustrating.

Originally posted by logan400k

This is said with due respect to the author of the column: this really feels like a "Have to say something bad about SWTOR" article to me. Especially considering so many dancing around with their death masks on proclaiming the game does not have enough content to keep people interested.

I agree.

I think MikeB is trying to make himself look cool to the haters since he gave ToR a good review in the roundtable write-up. I think Bioware made tons of extra content to give people more options. I for one hate Taris, so if I can quest somewhere else and skip it, I am a happy man.

Stick to your guns MikeB and don't cave to the haters. GW2 will be out before long, so hang in there. They will settle down soon and we'll be back to semi-normal.

Now...in other "important" news...

These quests are called 'Bonus' means extra content along with your regular ones. I would care less if they are presented in 'trolling you' manner as long as there is enough content for me to level alts without repeating the same quest.

Atleast, this articles debunks another lie by SWTOR haters that there is not enough content to level up and they have to repeat every quest while leveling alts..buzzzzz..wrong!!

Thing is, it's not like MikeB didn't know about the bonus series, he got to test the game, and made a review of the game too.

In one of his videos he even said that he would only be doing main story, and PvP for replayability, you know a whole new experience when he runs through second time.

So ye, this write-up is either:

Trying to look cool to the haters, as mentioned by other posters or, just writing something for the sake of writing something.

MikeB, you're losing it mate, you're way off the road you were on when you did your "Unbiased" review of Aion.

I loved Aion, but I found that review hilarious.

It's like you are just trying to hang on to the fame for the sake of fame, come on man, find that creativity hat we know you got stashed away somewhere, and let's see some originality.