The orange moddable armor system in this game is one of its saving graces. I am perfectly happy with the earlier, simpler orange armor sets, and I often go back and do low-level heroics just to get the various pieces. Then I stick with those sets through the rest of the game.

Very few MMOs know how to make normal-looking endgame armors.

Here's a hint for MMO devs: make your armors look like something people might actually wear. I know, right?

WoW's recent concession on this issue -- transmogrificaion -- is amazingly clumsy, tedious to access, and stupid. It's better than nothing, I guess, but it was still a disappointment.

LotRO handles this issue best with its easy-to-use appearance tabs.

Originally posted by Ozmodan

"a ton of new content"?  

1.2 has a lot of new content, but not close to a ton of it.  If you raid or pvp, you are getting help in 1.2, other than that not so much. 

Really did not understand the point of a guild leader summit so early in the games life cycle.  

I wish those that like this game continued fun, but I do not think the patch is going to bring a lot of players back.

 

^^This, more than anything.

I love the individual and small-group personal, tailored feel of this game. I will never join a guild and I do not give a rip about guild functionality and "new" (woo-hoo!) endgame operations and other mindless, "busy work" gear grinds.

Bioware needs to focus on what they do best -- single-player and small group content and story-rich content. I am enjoying playing SWTOR, but the endgame- and guild-oriented players (lots of overlap there) aren't going to be sticking around long in this game, no matter what Bioware does, and Bioware needs to focus instead on improving and expanding on the content for "regular/casual players".

SWTOR is never going to have lasting appeal for "endgamers", imo, and should target players who "enjoy the journey" and are not charging hellbent for leather for the max-level, endgame content. This is a game that works best for "sippers", rather than "chuggers".

Bioware, that's your niche. Let WoW, etc., focus on the mega, massive wash-rinse-repeat endgame raid crap.

My favorite game addressing this issue was GW1. It was largely soloable (using heroes/henchmen), but it was (1) much more fun in player groups, (2) most of the missions/dungeons a lot more difficult when just using AI assistance, and (3) Guild Wars reserved its elite areas for player groups only. Any MMO that offers a viable henchman/hero alternative to just having to skip group content altogether in low-player-population areas/zones is more likely to keep me playing their game.

I thought GW1 had a pretty good game design -- and it allowed players to progress (using AI, if need be) and not get stuck in "LFG Limbo". Many games -- LotRO and vanilla WoW come to mind -- incorporated lots of elite group content that became unplayable once player populations thinned down. In SWTOR, which I'm currently playing, it's already becoming difficult to run 4-man heroics on thinly populated worlds. My hope is that Bioware will (1) improve the LFG mechanism somehow, (2) nerf these 4-man heroic areas so they can be soloed or duoed, or (3) make them all instances in which you can use more than  just one companion at a time.

Ideally, I think all MMOs should gradually "solo-fy" their lower-level content once player populations thin out, reserving the higher-level zones/instances for player groups only. I'd probably resubscribe to WoW if they did something like that to the level 1-60/65 dungeons or offered "mirrored" versions of those dungeons for solo players.

For all the criticism thrown at Cryptic and Bioware, some of it justified, I really hope their games succeed, if for no other reason than I dearly want to see more voiced content, more story content, more player character story choices, and more options for building player-created content in future MMOs. I applaud Bioware and Cryptic for their efforts on these fronts.

While Rift and WoW have a lot of polish and great features, they both bored me senseless by their lack of real STORY content or sense of character progression beyond ("ding!") going up another level.

Also, as a general rule, I VASTLY prefer the design(s) of low-level armors in these games. Appearance options, such as those afforded by LotRO, are greatly appreciated. Higher-level armors in virtually all of these games grow progressively more ridiculous and hideous, to say nothing of being impractical for combat. (Some of us actually try to RP in MMO*RP*Gs, ya know....)

I have been playing and enjoying SWTOR quite a bit.

There are a number of things I'd like to see as patch fixes, though, and was wondering what other "minor" improvements other players would like to see that would help a great deal.

The following is a list of things that I *think* would be relatively easy to fix (from a coding perspective) that -- for me, anyway -- would much improve my "quality of life" in SWTOR:

(1) A "Hide Helmet" option for Companions
(2) Completed crafting missions should go into "Pending" (rather than just closing any open active windows)
(3) Make the Fleet Pass a 2-way ticket... (a long cooldown is fine)
(4) An option to silence the droid on your ship
(5) An option to turn off the "combat chatter" of companions
(6) Allow players to "Friend" their alts
(7) Allow players to obtain/purchase shared storage space for alts on a server
(8) A "sell trash items" button for players to use
(9) Maps should be able to display multiple items (mailboxes AND trainers, for example)

I have been playing MMOs for many years and seldom if ever do I join guilds. Guilds are more hassle, drama, and trouble than they are worth.

I never seem to have any trouble finding groups, and if I ever get to a point in any game where I would actually need the support of a guild to move forward or to play content, that's my cue to move on to another game.

"Guild functionality" is fine for them as wants it, but it means squat to me.

Heh, thanks for the preview.... but this looks every bit as boring (and exasperating) as the original Myst games. But for all you Myst fans, more power to ya. :)

Originally posted by precious328

The voice work was an innovative touch to gaming. However, SWTOR isn't a MMORPG. It's a gigantic KoTOR Co'op game that you have to pay monthly for. Bottom line.

 

Comments like this baffle me. How is SWTOR any different from WoW or LotRO in MMO terms? You group up occasionally in all of these games but most of the content is completed solo. I've actually done far more grouping with other players in SWTOR than I ever did in WoW, LotRO, STO, CoX, or Rift -- but then, these are probably not MMORPGs either, right?

OP:

Well, I must admit I am in a quandary.

I really enjoy playing SWTOR, but I also think your review -- and in particular your criticisms of this game -- are entirely fair, valid, and spot on. You did a very good job reviewing this game.

The thing is, if one happens to be an "MMORPG" player who is VERY interested in the RPG (as I am), the MMO of choice is SWTOR. There's very little else out there. Even LotRO, with all its good "epic storyline" intentions, did not make me feel like a distinct character the way that SWTOR has done.

In fact, for all its limitations, the "RPG" of the SWTOR "MMORPG" blows the "RPG" of most other ""MMORPGs" right off the map. WoW's and Rift's "RPG" content is abysmal, imo. All these games offer on the RPG front is a whole lotta boring lore and very little sense of an individual's story/character progression beyond leveling.

As for the "MMO" part of SWTOR, though, I'd say Rift, LotRO, WoW, AoC, STO, CoX, etc., all handle the "MMO" part much better.

I still think GW1 has done the best job of merging a story-based RPG with some MMO elements, but since the GW1 platform was not persistent, it is not an MMO. I am hopeful that GW2 will (finally!) be able to offer generous helpings of both MMO goodness and RPG richness -- two great tastes that will go great together eventually, assuming some MMORPG developer finally figures out how to do it.

Obviously, this is a SWTOR-bashing thread so I won't be staying here long, but saying a game needs to fail is just illogical.

I have no interest, for example, in EVE, but I wish neither for it to succeed nor for it to fail. If it succeeds, it's because a sufficient number of players like and enjoy it, and who am I to wish otherwise? More power to them. And if it fails, so be it.

It just strikes me as juvenile sour grapes to wish something to fail simply because it does not appeal to you personally -- but then, I suppose, that is the very essence of 90% of the anti-SWTOR comments I have read on these forums. (I'll grant that SWTOR has its issues, a number of which have been validly and reasonably pointed out by fans and critics alike.)

I cannot imagine enjoying a game like EVE, but I wish its developers and players well. In a few months, I suppose, the ragers will have moved on from SWTOR to their next target, but the absurdity of these kinds of comments (and threads) never ceases to amaze me.

SWTOR's "innovations" are simply significant improvements upon features I've encountered and liked in other MMOs: a focus on storytelling, voicework,  and cutscenes (LotRO, GW1), the use of companions (GW1, DDO, STO, MMO pet classes), and a sci-fi setting (STO, etc.).

I'd say that Bioware has really raised the bar in all of these areas. SWTOR is still lacking in UI and various in-game features we've come to expect, but I think they'll get there eventually.

I hope the game does well -- or at least well enough for it to thrive and be economically profitable for Bioware. I don't care whether it "beats WoW" or not, there is enough in this game that's new here to keep me interested for a long while.

SWTOR wove together several elements that I have appreciated and enjoyed in other MMOs into a single game. I recognize that SWTOR is not for everyone, but it sure fits my playstyle really well, and I love the voicework, Star Wars setting, and companion system in particular.

It'll be interesting to see how and whether Bioware can keep adding content for this game that matches the quality I've seen thus far. If it's all to be raid content and PvP stuff, I'll probably unsubscribe once I've maxxed out my various characters (this will take me quite a while, though!), but if the new content includes more of the solo and small-group friendly content I've seen thus far, I'll be subscribing to SWTOR for quite some time.

I suspect that GW2 or Diablo 3 may ultimately draw me off from SWTOR, but it's hard to imagine ever going back to past games I've played (LotRO, STO, GW1, and AoC) after playing SWTOR. I *may* go back to WoW at some point, though.Assuming Bioware keeps adding solid content and improving the game in other ways, SWTOR will be my MMO of choice at least until GW2 or Diablo is released.

I am actually looking forward to late January when that first "free month" runs out for all those people that got the game at release and are unhappy with it, since they will -- finally! -- move on to something else and take their unhappiness with them. Then we'll see how things look in terms of player populations. That'll be the real test, imo: what the (re)subscription numbers look like come February/March.

I am very interested in playing SWTOR, but I probably won't start it till February or March at the soonest -- I simply do not like dealing with "new game furor" and I am perfectly content to wait till (1) the box price drops, (2) server populations thin out or at least spread out more, (3) game glitches get resolved, and (4) the queues go away.

In the meantime I am quite content ... in Azeroth.

Another entertaining interview. I'm liking this game more and more.

Is anyone else getting a Firefly/Malcolm Reynolds vibe here from Buck? It's very refreshing. This is not a Firefly MMO, of course, but it's looking like it might be the next best thing. :)

Very well done, all around. This kind of creativity makes me want to play this game even more.

Originally posted by Nadia

what I dont like about 4.3

 

with Cata, all under level 60 outdoor heroic quests were changed to solo player

with 4.3, the same was done for BC / LK content  -- there are no more heroic outdoor quests

http://www.wowwiki.com/Patch_4.3.0

 

the only heroic quests under level 80 you will find in dungeons now

WOW was never hard, but removing more challenge reduces the fun

 

Strangely enough, this was, imo, the BEST thing about patch 4.3.

Maybe you haven't been in Outland or Northrend lately? There's virtually NO ONE around. Obtaining one group quest after another in these zones -- only to have to abandon them later because there were 0 to 2 other players in your zone -- is a major drag. Outland and Northrend are a whole lot less frustrating now.

I think MMO devs need to learn that, over time, lower-level zones and dungeons become, for all intents and purposes, single-player zones. Blizzard, at least, understands this. And that's OK. It's just how it is. Changing quest requirements to reflect that reality is simply common sense.

Personally, I'd like to see similar adjustments for the low-level dungeons. Even with LFG, the wait to find groups is becoming longer and longer and the odds of landing in a "fail group" when you finally find one are on the rise.

Originally posted by CujoSWAoA

God I hate holidays in MMORPGs.

[snip]

They're a goofy distraction from a game's real meat.

 

I totally agree with you. I hated them in LotRO, WoW, GW1, etc. Fortunately, you can get away from the holiday stupidness for the most part just by avoiding the "social hubs" as much as possible. I like holiday stuff in real life, I really do, but it's just a nuisance in MMOs. If Blizz et al. offered "Holiday-Free" servers as an option, I'd definitely go for that.

Good list, OP! :-)

I also consider chat -- of virtually any kind -- to be a major immersion breaker (which is why I usually turn all chat channels off ASAP), as are stupid avatar names and stupid armors (which generally look stupider and stupider the more you level up, what with all the spikes, swirly bits, and sparkly sparkles). Kudos to any MMO (such as LotRO) that offer workarounds for those of us that like simple, realistic armors.

1. The cape thing matters not to me. I usually "hide" the stupid things anyways. Likewise for tabards.

2. I have people to talk to in RL. I have always found guild chat extremely distracting. It's one of the many reasons I shun guilds nowadays.

3 and 4. A guild bank is nice, but it's NOT worth the hassle of being in a guild, imo. Ditto for guild housing.

5. The lack of endgame is definitely a bummer, but it's not that hard to just unsubscribe and find another game once you max out your character(s). Smart MMO devs are gonna figure out one day how many subscribers they lose by not offering solo-oriented endgame options.