Originally posted by Ekor04

Hi, I loved deep seer pvp healing pre-patch 1.2.

I didn't enjoy how much they changed the play style, so I quit and focused on

my studies.

Now, I hear there're very few sage/sorc with 31+ in healing trees, but

instead they are using this bubble stun BS.

I'll give opertive healing a try, but I had a few concerns.

 

Is it easy and fast for a fresh 50 to catch up in pvp gear?

Absolutely.  Within a week of moderate play time you can have all the pvp gear you'll need.

Has class balance improved?

From 1.2?  I'd say yes.  There are very few trees (some hybrids too) that don't have at least a decent amount of parity with even the most pvp-oriented specs.  But...

Has kill time gone up at all?

Kill time is so bloody short against good comps played by even only decent players.  It's nothing short of ridiculous and, for me, that it has been this way pretty much since 1.2--which was like 6 months ago--is an utter embarassment.

Is there any other group pvp that isn't instance?

Potentially, but unlikely.  There are hints that Ilum is being significantly revamped--perhaps for expansion coming in two or three months from now.

Are rated wz's required for BiS?

No.

Thanks for any input!

 

 

Answers above in yellow.

From my answers I'm sure it's clear that I'm not overly enamored with TOR's developers regarding pvp.  I think it's fairly obvious at this point that they have given up on tweeking for the slower and more strategic combat they were selling us on before release.  I do respect the overall class and spec balance that Bioware has given us, but it's usually irrelevant within the current system where even the most skilled and knowledgeable are dying too fast to make even a small difference to warzone wins and losses.

And, yes, bubble stuns are >>>>>> than top tiered spec (ground targetted aoe heal).  Healers are generally shafted by this current system--if we are talking about playing against the best comps and players.  Any spec that relies heavily (though not even exclusively) on warm-up ('casting') mechanics is significantly disadvantaged.

I say all of this as an absolute ardent fan of Bioware, and as someone who can tell you many things that I find great about TOR.  I generally only pvp, so this area of the game is where my main interest resides.

Sorry about negativity though.  :)

I like your post, OP.  I'm detecting a sense of humour in it, though perhaps I'm imposing my own views on the subject.  What I wanted to comment on was this phenomenon of doomsayer prediction that so often is seen on these forums.  I'm sure you recognize the common refrain of 'I knew this MMO would fail.'

I have to say that I cannot believe anybody finds it remarkable that any given MMO is struggling, especially Western ones.  Success story, in terms of what is so obviously the mark of greatness (sarcasm)--mass appeal, it would seem is limited to that favourite of favourite MMO's World of Warcraft.  In second place, clearly failure--The Old Republic or Guild Wars 2 (again, for clarity, talking Western development.  So if I suggest that TESO will 'fail', using the received standard of success, I submit--when TESO does not attain this high summit of beyond all doubt greatness--that I will not deserve any recognition or credit for my truly not very wild speculation of 'fail.'

Please do not take this as my condemnation of your post, OP.  It is only a small gripe that might at best enlighten only a small flaw in your assumptions.  Truthfully I feel like my emotional reactions are quite similar to yours regarding people's commentaries on games (and other subjects).  Also, I do note that you actually appear to have a different standard than the simplistic appeal to the majority, and that you also are not limiting your prediction method to only suggesting failure but also success.  Personally I prefer 'I like this' or 'I dislike this' to 'this will fail' or 'this will succeed.'

But I don't resent speculation.  I wouldn't read forums if I did.  In that spirit, I predict that I will buy TESO and enjoy it--unless it's free-to-play, in which case I'll simply enjoy it.

Fantastic replies, JC-Smith.  Very informative and well stated.

I personally have no reason to doubt that a small dev team can work efficiently and, moreover, passionately on their game.  Some of the smaller development companies, like Trion, have shown us bigger is not necessarily better.  Though Repop's team may be smaller yet, there is plenty of room for them to surprise and impress MMO fans with how greatly they can overachieve.

Originally posted by AlBQuirky

 

---

Originally posted by YakCast
I agree with you on what you are syaing in this article but I have noticed you keep misspelling MMO's with MMOs and it's driving me nuts. You are refering to MMO's in general not in the plural sense! I was going to let it slide on this article but looked ata  few of your articles and you keep doing it. This needs to stop! 

---

Apostrophes indicate possession or contractions. "MMOs" is neither a possessive noun nor a contraction like "MMO is/was". MMOs is a plural, for which one does not use an apostrophe.

 

EQ is an MMO.
Rift, EVE Online, and UO are MMOs. Plural, not possessive or contractions.

Everything you said is correct, AlBQuirky.  I wanted to add that there is a further convention with apostrophes and abbreviations that's worth noting here: if there is internal punctuation in the abbreviation--Ph.D., for example--than an apostrophe would be required; thus, Ph.D.'s not Ph.D.s.  So possession and contraction are not the only justifications for apostrophes.

/cheer grammar

Originally posted by toddze

Originally posted by SirBalin

[mod edit]

[mod edit]

Edit: Flip flopping runs rampant these days, even myself is guilty of it, most recently was XIV for me. I knew better, I broke my own cardnial sins, I knew the word potential is a term for a fast sinking ship yet i convinced myself maybe its real. Long story short if your using the potential excuse your already done. I got burnt, if I would have just listened to my normal pesimistic self it never would have happened.

This simply is being unfair to Pokket.  She long ago said these things about replayability related to story in TOR.  There is no waffling except, and she admits this, that she enjoyed the story greatly the first run through, and then not quite as much in consecutive play throughs.  She also admits to still being a fan of the game which is distinct from fangirl/fanboy.

Personally, I'd prefer more context oriented storytelling in addition to the great class storytelling in TOR.  In other words, get rid of those damn side quest cut scenes!

Originally posted by tiefighter25

Originally posted by Kickaxe

Originally posted by tiefighter25

Originally posted by Skuall

Originally posted by tiefighter25

Originally posted by altair4
If any, it's a proof that F2P turned out alot more horrible than they thought. Population peaked last sunday and has been dropping since. I think a very small percentage of new players are gonna put up with F2P for long and retention from returning players is gonna be even lower.

You are correct. (IMO) To say Bioware is listening to their fans should be ammended to Bioware is listening to their potential customers' wallets.

There has been weeks of people complaining that the FTP UI restrictions were overstepping. A money grab of unprecedented greed. Bioware's response was to decrease the UI restriction from 1 bar to 2.

Now, with over a week's metrics to analyze, Bioware, in all likelihood, is seeing that both prefered and FTP players are just not willing as a whole to pay for UI unlocks.

That combined with a 12% drop off in 1 week's population from Sunday to Sunday (based on that unmentionable metric) and voila, an easing of the UI restrictions.

12%?

 

Does that number seem high or low to you?

I want to answer typical, but I have to admit that I don't have enough data to justify that view.  Is the 'unmentionable metric' XFire?  If so I'm guessing your numbers are not Sunday to Sunday but rather Thursday to Thursday--which happens to be peak after FTP to last Thursday.  Only one Sunday on XFire falls within FTP period, unless I'm misunderstanding the data, and that Sunday shows better than 100% upswing from the previous Sunday which was of course before FTP launch.

My personal sense is that so far FTP has benefitted the game in terms of population very well.  Playing on two servers, Harbinger (likely most populated server) and Dalborra (Asia Pac server), I've seen significant to steady improvement in population--not just Fleet numbers but all zone numbers.  Nonetheless, I'm sure that the negative feedback regarding some of the FTP restrictions has had an adverse impact on retention as well as enticing more players.  For good reason in my view cause some of the restrictions are simply oppressing or at very least dubious.  So this recent decision to ameliorate some of the negatives of the FTP system are for good reason regardless of greed or good will.  Still, I'd like to see artifact quality and credit cap restrictions changed as well.

For the record, I'm a subscriber with no intention of unsubscribing in the near future.

FTP Nov 15th. Sunday post FTP Nov 18th comparison to Sunday November 25th shows a 12% decline on that certain metric.

Although I'm guessing as FTP accounts hit post level 20 and aren't buying UI unlocks (and presumabling stopping) adds to Bioware's new stance on UI restrictions.

Sorry, you're right on days.  Somehow I was looking at an October calendar.  So, 12% is measuring peak after FTP launch and the most recent data.  Sunday 18 to Sunday 25.  I still want to answer typical to the question does this seem high or low.  I'm suggesting that this recent decision needn't be read as an action of desperation, but rather one of practicality.  I certainly think that they should continue to remove some of these overbearing type restrictions.

Originally posted by tiefighter25

Originally posted by Skuall

Originally posted by tiefighter25

Originally posted by altair4
If any, it's a proof that F2P turned out alot more horrible than they thought. Population peaked last sunday and has been dropping since. I think a very small percentage of new players are gonna put up with F2P for long and retention from returning players is gonna be even lower.

You are correct. (IMO) To say Bioware is listening to their fans should be ammended to Bioware is listening to their potential customers' wallets.

There has been weeks of people complaining that the FTP UI restrictions were overstepping. A money grab of unprecedented greed. Bioware's response was to decrease the UI restriction from 1 bar to 2.

Now, with over a week's metrics to analyze, Bioware, in all likelihood, is seeing that both prefered and FTP players are just not willing as a whole to pay for UI unlocks.

That combined with a 12% drop off in 1 week's population from Sunday to Sunday (based on that unmentionable metric) and voila, an easing of the UI restrictions.

12%?

 

Does that number seem high or low to you?

I want to answer typical, but I have to admit that I don't have enough data to justify that view.  Is the 'unmentionable metric' XFire?  If so I'm guessing your numbers are not Sunday to Sunday but rather Thursday to Thursday--which happens to be peak after FTP to last Thursday.  Only one Sunday on XFire falls within FTP period, unless I'm misunderstanding the data, and that Sunday shows better than 100% upswing from the previous Sunday which was of course before FTP launch.

My personal sense is that so far FTP has benefitted the game in terms of population very well.  Playing on two servers, Harbinger (likely most populated server) and Dalborra (Asia Pac server), I've seen significant to steady improvement in population--not just Fleet numbers but all zone numbers.  Nonetheless, I'm sure that the negative feedback regarding some of the FTP restrictions has had an adverse impact on retention as well as enticing more players.  For good reason in my view cause some of the restrictions are simply oppressing or at very least dubious.  So this recent decision to ameliorate some of the negatives of the FTP system are for good reason regardless of greed or good will.  Still, I'd like to see artifact quality and credit cap restrictions changed as well.

For the record, I'm a subscriber with no intention of unsubscribing in the near future.

Originally posted by ThumbtackJ
Is this dropping in 1.5.1 (as in in like 3 1/2 hours once maintence is over), or later?

This is the dev post indicating the upcoming change:

Hi everyone!

As you know, we take player feedback very seriously and we wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for being a part of our Free-to-Play transition.

When Game Update 1.5 was on PTS, we heard your feedback and increased Quickbars for Free-to-Play Players, increased Warzones from three to five per week, and reduced the Cartel Coin temporary bind.

We want to let you know that we are constantly listening to you folks, and we’ve heard your feedback regarding limited Quickbars for Preferred Status Players.

This is why, after an upcoming patch that is scheduled for next week, Preferred Status Players will be given two additional Quickbars (for a total of four) that will immediately improve their gameplay experience.

We’ll have more details for you – including information for Preferred Status Players that have already purchased extra Quickbars - once the change goes live.

Thanks again for your feedback and please continue to provide it for us!

That post is dated November 26, so by 'next week' I gather not today but a patch coming next Tuesday (maintenance day).

Originally posted by colddog04

Originally posted by TwoThreeFour

Originally posted by bcbully

First official response.

https://forum-en.guildwars2.com/forum/game/halloween/22-Chests-opened-nothing-unique/page/6#post508704

ReginaBuenaobra - North American Community Team Lead

You are not guaranteed to receive a rare item after opening a Black Lion Chest. You have a chance to get a unique/rare item. Some people are luckier than others. The Halloween skins are tradeable, so if you aren’t able to get them in a Black Lion Chest, you can obtain them on the Trading Post.

The responsible way to do lotteries of that form would be to in form of numbers, clearly hand out information about the probabilties to get different items. However, few online lottery companies would ever do that, they are under the expectation that if they keep the probabilities hidden, the company will earn more due to psychological factors. It is a dishonest and shameful practice, in my opinion and Arenanet is far from the only company abusing it. 

So can you answer the question about whether the cash shop offers all Halloween armor pieces for 15 gold or not?

 

Somebody... for fuck sake, tell me if there are unique items to boxes...

No, all the pieces are not available from the cash shop.  There are some items that are craftable; there are some (I think two) pieces that come from the Black Lion chests; and there is at least one set that you can buy directly from the cash shop.  All of these pieces are unique from one another.  In other words you cannot get the set from the cash shop from Black Lion's chests.  Side note: I believe only the set (witch costume, I believe) from the cash shop is transmutable with your 'combat' armor, and that the other pieces are strictly town clothes.

Keep in mind that my information is exclusively through reading forum posts and not from in-game sources.

Originally posted by Vesavius

Originally posted by keithian

I don't care if the game has 1 server, 20 servers, 100 servers, cost $200MM or $80MM to make, whether it is a clone or not, whether those who have nothing better to do then hover in these forums think the game is a failure or not, etc

 

But why the post?

Didn't have anything better to do? ;)

Server maintenance may be a factor, MMO fan.  :)

Originally posted by Tocks

What MMO besides insane Aion has a more robust character creation? Not challenging, just curious. People complain about GW2's character creation options all the time and I've personally yet to see anything better.

Let's give City of Heroes some respect.  A truly great character creator.

As far as GW2 character creation goes, I love the mechanics but not so much the actual options.  So much clear-faced, child-like emphasis, and so very little variety and mature, battle-worn options.  On a side note, I can't wait to see the Sylvari and Asura creation.

Originally posted by faefrost

... Low estimates put it around $250 million US. Others have hinted that development, marketing and licensing hit closer to $500 million...

I'm calling made up figures here.  Low estimates have been around $80 million; high estimates $300 million (ala EALouse); insane estimates > $300 million.  Generally we see $200 million as the current favourite speculative figure.

Not that I entirely disagree with some of your other points, however.

Hello my fellow, though former, JJT'er.  I've been kickin' myself over the fact that at launch I chose JJT instead of Harbinger--it was a close decision hinged on the availability of a name one of my characters coveted greatly.  But alls well that ends well so long live The Harbinger!

What about Metacritic?  3.4 with 1694 ratings.  Harsh.

Originally posted by Teala

Originally posted by Kickaxe

Originally posted by Teala

Doesn't surprise me in the least, I knew this games was going no where just a couple of hours into beta.   I was surprised I actually beta tested it for as long as I did before I deleted it from my HD.   I was really looking forward to a good MMO, what  I found in beta was far from it.   

What is bad is that when I and others came forward and gave our opinions we were called trolls, haters and every other name under the sun for telling the truth and now...now many of those same people are on these very boards  saying the things some of us were telling you back when they dropped they dropped the NDA - before the game launched!  

That's one of the reasons I stopped reviewing games.   Nobody cares to hear the truth.  Nobody cares about someone elses opinion, even if it means they could save themselves $60 or $150 dollars - they do not care.   So why should I care.  Waste your money on bad games.   Keep giving it to game companies that make half-baked games.   You can make bank that as long as people keep throwing money at bad games - you'll keep getting bad games.

 

Oh hey about all those professional reviews!  How about them?  Huh...places giving the game - game of the year!  LMFAO!  

You're still making little sense, Teala--still making the same mistakes.  Consider your overuse of the terms truth, trolls, and haters.  Are you certain those terms have any real applicability, and that they aren't simply cliches drawn from a well of false assumptions?  The terms are neutral because none of us here are certain to what and whom they can properly apply.  It is only ego that would make us believe otherwise.

You're a new poster here I take it.   You're clueless to the history I and others have on this board.  We that come forward and discuss games openly on this board are often shouted down by fans because we dared to critic or give an opinion that was not favorable to them.  

As for making any sense....your response to what I said - made very little.   Saying terms like troll and hater are neutral.   LOL!

I've read the forums here for years.  Don't be so quick to dismiss people or opinions based on unfamiliarity.  Also, you misunderstood my point.  I was not suggesting that 'troll' and 'hater' were emotionally neutral but rather that they are intellectually neutral in meaning within this discussion.  You and I, for instance, heaving insults at one another may yield much anger and frustration, and yet very little actual enlightenment on subject matter.  Daring to criticize and daring to be a fan are often two equal sides in an argument, wouldn't you say?

Originally posted by Teala

Doesn't surprise me in the least, I knew this games was going no where just a couple of hours into beta.   I was surprised I actually beta tested it for as long as I did before I deleted it from my HD.   I was really looking forward to a good MMO, what  I found in beta was far from it.   

What is bad is that when I and others came forward and gave our opinions we were called trolls, haters and every other name under the sun for telling the truth and now...now many of those same people are on these very boards  saying the things some of us were telling you back when they dropped they dropped the NDA - before the game launched!  

That's one of the reasons I stopped reviewing games.   Nobody cares to hear the truth.  Nobody cares about someone elses opinion, even if it means they could save themselves $60 or $150 dollars - they do not care.   So why should I care.  Waste your money on bad games.   Keep giving it to game companies that make half-baked games.   You can make bank that as long as people keep throwing money at bad games - you'll keep getting bad games.

 

Oh hey about all those professional reviews!  How about them?  Huh...places giving the game - game of the year!  LMFAO!  

You're still making little sense, Teala--still making the same mistakes.  Consider your overuse of the terms truth, trolls, and haters.  Are you certain those terms have any real applicability, and that they aren't simply cliches drawn from a well of false assumptions?  The terms are neutral because none of us here are certain to what and whom they can properly apply.  It is only ego that would make us believe otherwise.

Originally posted by ignore_me

Originally posted by Dahkot72

From they hyperspace beacon interview , this jumped out at me more than any of the crap James Clueless O had to say about PVP.

The interviewer started off a question with this,

"I love the overall vision for PvP in general, and it's been said that SWTOR has some of the most balanced PvP in MMOs. Where do you feel you sit with that balance currently? And what provisions have you taken to help maintain that balance or improve on it?"

 

Mother of god , the person who did that interview makes the Jim Jones followers look reasonable and lucid.

 

 

Larry Everett, he's on Gamebreaker too. Funny thing is he's an RP guy I think.

Yup, he's all about the RP.  Taugrim, one of the most lucid and knowledgeable well-known PvP'ers, also from gamebreaker, has the same general opinion of TOR pvp as Larry Everett.

Originally posted by eycel

I dont see where u guys are getting of on, I like SWOTOR and TSW rocks.

This thread is worse then racist old people, Id rather listen to C-span then read this crap drivel.

Unsurprising though, wouldn't you say, Eycel?  In general, forum participants are content dealing with half truths construed in whatever light their pre-concieved notions would support.

I have plenty of criticisms of TOR, but the linked article is nowhere particularly arrogant.  In fact, I would say it is simply honest and refreshingly direct.

Originally posted by Distopia

I can't believe so many get so heated about this topic, I really can't. What does it matter how many subs TOR has and why has this argument continued for so long? It's been months of this back and forth, for what?

There is an absolute confusion of reasons that this topic is so rabidly followed and desseminated.  Much of it is simply the hubris that has come out of months (perhaps years) of arguing over this game--somehow, so many of us have become emotionally invested in the topic.  But what else is new on forums?  For me, I can only take some small offense at the typical stupidity we often see here, but overall I experience it as just another type of gameplay--another type of interaction (though superficial) with all the others that can sometimes affirm or disaffirm my sense of reality (either, or; not necessarily comforting).

On topic: for my part, I only wish to see TOR maintain enough subs and player activity that I have a satisfactory amount of people with which to play, and a satisfactory amount of subs that will allow for a satisfactory reinvestment into the game by the developer.

Originally posted by NBlitz
Certain GW2 fans' attitudes are really off-putting. 

Surely you're not indicating anyone on these forums, right?