32 replies to this topic

[licho]

Hello!
I noticed that there is no dedicated general SWTOR topic on GW2 Guru.
Which may make sense, since after all if someone is interested in SWTOR GW2 Guru is probably not a 1st pick.

But maybe there is some demand for it, so lets provide a supply.
There are some other SWTOR related topics but they are not exacly general discussion, more about some news.

Also please keep the discussion without unnecessery hate, fanboyis, and all that crap.
However its still internet, so the only way to be safe is to not expect much, the only way to not get disappointed. ;-)

Disclaimer:
Dear Trolls, if you jump her to do troll stuff you will be ignored. By me, by everyone.
Disclaimer done so lets go:

Star Wars The Old Republic
Quite old MMO from Bioware/EA
Anyone played it?

I must admit i played it, have some nice time, to be honest playing it a little more at the moment than GW2, but the main reason is that im Star Wars freak.

As the review:
- The gameplay seems to be MMO classic. There is a lot of abilities, however they seems to not be much different from each other, save cooldown, duracion, demage output, sometimes channeling or activacion time. No matter if im fensing with lighsaber, shot with rifle or burn enemies with lighting it feels preatty much the same. Only animacion is different. ;-)

- Generally the gameplay is similar to GW1. Unfortunetly for each of 8 classes the skill set is same, and there is no much room for personalizacion.

- The game looks nice enought for me. (something around Knight of the Old Republic level) also the music and sounds are right. There is also some voice acting. Always nice to hear.

- There are also personal stories for each 8 class, which are ok but nothing special.

- Unfortunetly SWTOR is just a MMO, WoW clone in Star Wars universe. It has nothing in common with Knights of the Old Republic or The Sith Lords (exept the universe). Plot is not as exithing, characters do not have as much dialogue options, neither background, sidequest are minimal, and very simple like "kill 20 bad guyes" or "smash 8 boxes" or "come to X and press big red button", general mmo standard. Personal choices are rare, and hardly matter. Im feel almost sorry for programist who had to made this. :-)

- There is also PvP with at least 2 setups. One is Huttball - american football in space style, the other is classic control (similar to GW2 spvp) its quite fun, the classes are mirrors among sides so balance is almost perfect. However pvp lose a lot when your team is disorganized (in most cases it is)

- It has free to play mode, however playing this way is not very fun (at least for me) since you are cut from a lot of stuff, even some weird choices like stupid toolbars, and in games as such having enough toolbars is kinda important. But the sub is not really expensive. Especially if you are "see everything and move on" type of player.

So here came my basic impression, maybe someone has some questions, or view it in different ways? Discuss, share and take  care.

Edited by Kamatsu, 14 January 2013 - 09:50 AM.
Removed trolling/baiting 'joke'

[Caerulei]

-Best storyline in any MMO ever!
-Terrible gameplay in comparison to GW2

I actually quite like SWTOR.  Playing the Trooper storyline at the moment and loving the plot!  However the game is not as gripping as GW2, and it feels like it will be forever before I will get to level 50 (as in much longer than it took to get to level 80 in GW2).

[Lorfean]

No offense to the OP, but I think the casual nature of his review leaves some of its content vulnerable to misinterpretation so I just want to elaborate a bit on some of the points he makes:

• The game is actually quite new as opposed to quite old -- it was released in December 2011 as a subscription-based MMO and switched to a Free to Play model in November 2012.

• The gameplay is indeed what is generally considered "classic MMO" gameplay, meaning it is very similar to World of Warcraft. It does not have a lot in common with GW1 at all, really, so I can't agree with the OP on that comparison. When ignoring the personal story aspect (which IMO no one considering playing SW:TOR should, as it is its strongest feature) the game is, like the OP says, very much a WoW clone.

• The game is fully voiced and every single dialog sequence, from personal story to small side quests to everything else, is a cut scene with dialog options. This is the game's "main feature" -- BioWare attempted to take WoW's basic gameplay structure and add a major story-based component to the progression.

• The personal stories are more involved and, arguably, better than those in GW2. There are dialog options, choice and consequence, dark side / light side implications, and companions that have their own story-lines and opinions on what you are doing and how you are handling the situations you encounter. You also have your own space ship, which is unique for each class, and acts as a base of operations. As I said above -- this is easily the strongest component of the game.

So, in conclusion, I agree with the OP that the skill system and overall gameplay is uninspired and that's a real shame. I also agree that the Free to Play model leaves a LOT to desired, as it is severely limiting in its current form. My opinion is that the most enjoyable part of the game is the personal stories -- they are very well done but, sadly, even if a player would want to play the game just for that, there would still be stretches of time where they'd have to "wade through the crap" to get to the good parts. If you like Star Wars then give this game a try. You'll very likely enjoy the personal story and the companions and their stories. If you're indifferent about the setting or sci-fi in general... I see very little reason to recommend it.

[Heart Collector]

Well... There was a SWTOR general thread at some point... But I don't think many people here enjoyed it enough to keep the thread going.

This game basically made me realize that "traditional" WoW/EQ style MMOs are really not my cup of tea. I was enjoying my Agent's storyline, the class abilities felt "meaty" enough, the classes were conceptually cool, flashpoints were fun with the story system, companions were nice to have whilst questing, and I was pleasantly surprised by the crafting (which whilst anything but phenomenal surprisingly didn't really feel like a drag)... But it was too similar to WoW - a game which is excellent but has too many things I don't like in a videogame. So much so that I unfortunately didn't even make it past lvl 35 on any character...

This was a game I wanted to like, I thought that the story, Star Wars setting, companions etc would hold me, but sadly they didn't. This style of game just does not appeal to me, and nothing can change that.

And not to mention... WHY the hell is Bioware so crappy at designing proper worlds? They looked and felt great, but they had such a linear feel to them. Even Tatooine which was awesome made me feel boxed in with its stupid exhaustion zones.

My biggest beef though is the space combat. I knew it would start off as a rail shooter, and it was actually good for what it was, with intense action and great visuals. But rail shooters are not my thing. I grew up with Wing commander and Privateer and have poured hundreds of hours into Freelancer, and whilst I didn't expect something on that scale... I was hoping they'd at least add free flight and PvP hotspots - not to mention ship customization. Pffft...

You know what? I wish they'd actually take Faster Than Light and slap it into the game in place of the rail shooter. With companions it would have worked like a damn charm !

I know this is a rather negative post... But it's mostly disappointment rather than butthurt fanboy rage SWTOR is far from a bad game, I'd say its rather good for what it is. But there was so much Bioware could have done with their budget, so many opportunities to create something really special and groundbreaking...

I think I'm done with Bioware. I still have my eye on SWTOR to see if some things change to my preference, and I'm having an eye on DA3... But unless they change their overly money-driven approach I don't see myself bothering with their products again. I know they're a business first and foremost wanting to make a profit... But as it is now I don't think they're worth what little I can spare for my gaming entertainment.

[MazingerZ]

Good story, shitty engine.

I tried to get back into it this weekend.  I play GW2 at max and get flawless FPS unless it's LA.

In the Korriban starting area, I was stuttering like a bitch.

[kaldemeo]

I played it for an hour. The agro range is so small. I don't know if it changes later in game, but that is is really a let down for me.
I know mmo's do this to lower the server costs, but i really don't like it.

Edited by kaldemeo, 14 January 2013 - 11:01 PM.

[licho]

kaldemeo, on 14 January 2013 - 11:01 PM, said:

I played it for an hour. The agro range is so small. I don't know if it changes later in game, but that is is really a let down for me.
I know mmo's do this to lower the server costs, but i really don't like it.

Could you elaborate what you mean.
Maybe i have not got right what you said, but i havent noticed any agro issues, expet maybe there is pleanty of mobs everywhere with who i do not always want to fight. And its kinda tiresome if i need to get to the objective, and cut my way thought some mobs with who fighting is neither challenging nor interesting.

Also funny (for me) thought about SWTOR: Each time i start thinking about log in i realise that i would rather just install The SIth Lords again and play it. ;-)

As for storylines:
I got with Sith Inqusitor and Imperial Agent to something around 44 both and in both case it was quite enjoyable, generally i have a impression that imperial side is more interesting.
Imperial Agent is good since there are some secret identity actions + cover ops with blowing stuff up.
Sorcerer is cool since we seek ancient power to defeat our enemies, which is what is expected from good sith lord.

Still i would be happy if there was a much more dialogue options with companions, and there was some visible result from me sticking to one of the sides.

I also played Commando (trooper) to around level 30 but dont get hook so far. Maybe its republic side, maybe its the story, or just commando gameplay is horible and lack any cool ability.

The other classes i just touched but so far Sith Warrior looks semi interesting, and jedi knight has some hilarious companions.

Edited by licho, 15 January 2013 - 01:46 AM.

[Corsair]

Heart Collector, on 14 January 2013 - 08:20 PM, said:

And not to mention... WHY the hell is Bioware so crappy at designing proper worlds? They looked and felt great, but they had such a linear feel to them. Even Tatooine which was awesome made me feel boxed in with its stupid exhaustion zones.

Can't speak for much of it, but this is likely an artifact of MMO game design. You have to make your zones linear and point your players in a specific direction due to leveling systems and how they affect combat. Doing it radially would be difficult to pace the content and giving no direction could be frustrating.

[Naskapi]

Corsair, on 15 January 2013 - 06:56 AM, said:

Can't speak for much of it, but this is likely an artifact of MMO game design. You have to make your zones linear and point your players in a specific direction due to leveling systems and how they affect combat. Doing it radially would be difficult to pace the content and giving no direction could be frustrating.

I miss SWG...

[Heart Collector]

Corsair, on 15 January 2013 - 06:56 AM, said:

Can't speak for much of it, but this is likely an artifact of MMO game design. You have to make your zones linear and point your players in a specific direction due to leveling systems and how they affect combat. Doing it radially would be difficult to pace the content and giving no direction could be frustrating.

I believe it's a Bioware thing. Look at KOTOR, ME (especially ME2, didn't play 3), DA:O... The worlds feel more like corridors than open zones to me. I loved all of the above games, but the way the worlds were designed always bugged me. Even WoW which is quite a linear game doesn't feel as "cramped" to me - at least pre-Cata. And with the quest helpers that are staples to MMOs, I don't think a world being more radial would affect the pacing too much. Tatooine for example, a planet I liked a lot, would have been perfect if they didn't have those silly exhaustion zones. All they needed to do was sprinkle a few random doodads and mobs in those zones, would have been fine.

I can understand exhaustion zones in the seas around a massive continent like in WoW, or the "strong current pushes you back" in GW2, but I don't like 'em within the zone itself

[Tellia]

i actually downloaded the game over the weekend but only got around to playing it today. i was looking forward to it cause i am taking a break from gw2 (kinda bored...again) and swtor was top of my list of alternative games to give a go.

at 1st, i was liking it. yea gameplay is pretty standard stuff but i dont play many sci-fi mmos and those i did i didnt like much. the different setting is enough to interest me, as is the rich universe of star wars. the storytelling really sets swtor apart from other mmos even in the very low levels. the quests objectives are not too different but the npcs are well voiced (yes, even shitty "kill these mobs" quests are voiced) and there is some meaning behind the quests.

once i got to level 6, i went to my skill trainer and bought a buttload of new skills. i thought this was good, cause i had many options even at a low lvl of skills to use, and i was getting bored of the few skills i was using up to this point. with all my new skills i thought to myself "time to add in a new quickslot bar" and...well, disappointment is an understatement. it seems that by default there is only 1 quickbar for a reason - if you want more bars you have to buy them. with real money. i just...dont understand how anyone could think this was a good idea. i mean, if they gave you 3-4 bars and made people buy more after that, i might not mind so much. but there is no way in hell anyone could manage with just 1 bar with 10 slots for very long. at lvl 6 i already had about 8 active skills. which means by lvl 10 or so i am pretty much forced into needing another bar. then more, and more, and i have to buy each additional bar.

bad enough already and enough to make me nauseous (figuratively), but the bars you buy are for that toon only. you can buy an unlock of additional bars for your account (so all toon get default more bars) but that just costs a crapload more money, doesnt it...

so i immediately closed the game and am wondering if i should just uninstall it now.

dont get me wrong, i dont mind paying for a game. i bought gems for gw2 despite buying the box, ive used cash shops in other games, and i even subbed wow for a few years. but to charge money for something as basic as a 2nd quickslot bar is an atrocity in my opinion.

[Corsair]

Heart Collector, on 15 January 2013 - 07:36 AM, said:

I believe it's a Bioware thing. Look at KOTOR, ME (especially ME2, didn't play 3), DA:O... The worlds feel more like corridors than open zones to me. I loved all of the above games, but the way the worlds were designed always bugged me. Even WoW which is quite a linear game doesn't feel as "cramped" to me - at least pre-Cata. And with the quest helpers that are staples to MMOs, I don't think a world being more radial would affect the pacing too much. Tatooine for example, a planet I liked a lot, would have been perfect if they didn't have those silly exhaustion zones. All they needed to do was sprinkle a few random doodads and mobs in those zones, would have been fine.

I can understand exhaustion zones in the seas around a massive continent like in WoW, or the "strong current pushes you back" in GW2, but I don't like 'em within the zone itself

Well, at this point we're getting more into the nitty gritty of the game design. BioWare, in my eyes, seems to be about crafting experiences. The more linear a game is the easier it is to craft these since you can predict player pacing, level, direction of approach, and dozens of other factors. This is an entirely valid way to make a game, but tends to be at odds with pure exploration and adventure which are more common found in sandbox games. From KOTOR to ME3, the worlds are relatively linear because BioWare has the story it wants to tell. Compared to, say Fallout 3 where you do things and go places at your own pace. The WORLD is the focus in sandbox games. The STORY takes more focus in linear titles. They've never tried to create a proper world because their mantra is STORY STORY STORY. They make fantastic and fleshed out universes for their stories to live in. But the world isn't what they are after. SWTOR, not that I've played it, seems to follow in a similar vein reinforced with MMO mechanics. They are just slightly worse at hiding it than WoW was due to the zones just being a planet, wheras WoW could send you in any which direction it chose for it's next section and had a few different areas you could hit.

Personally I've felt enough freedom in movement to not feel clustered in BioWare games, unlike Final Hallway. It seems to me you want more sandbox which is entirely fine, but that isn't what they provide, in general.

[Heart Collector]

Corsair, on 15 January 2013 - 07:56 AM, said:

Well, at this point we're getting more into the nitty gritty of the game design. BioWare, in my eyes, seems to be about crafting experiences. The more linear a game is the easier it is to craft these since you can predict player pacing, level, direction of approach, and dozens of other factors. This is an entirely valid way to make a game, but tends to be at odds with pure exploration and adventure which are more common found in sandbox games. From KOTOR to ME3, the worlds are relatively linear because BioWare has the story it wants to tell. Compared to, say Fallout 3 where you do things and go places at your own pace. The WORLD is the focus in sandbox games. The STORY takes more focus in linear titles. They've never tried to create a proper world because their mantra is STORY STORY STORY. They make fantastic and fleshed out universes for their stories to live in. But the world isn't what they are after. SWTOR, not that I've played it, seems to follow in a similar vein reinforced with MMO mechanics. They are just slightly worse at hiding it than WoW was due to the zones just being a planet, wheras WoW could send you in any which direction it chose for it's next section and had a few different areas you could hit.

Personally I've felt enough freedom in movement to not feel clustered in BioWare games, unlike Final Hallway. It seems to me you want more sandbox which is entirely fine, but that isn't what they provide, in general.

Very good points. I am a fan of open worlds, but I could always overlook the "corridor" feel of Bioware games because I was invested in the experience itself. I still consider it a weak point, but I was always willing and able to put it aside whilst playing, simply because the story had me invested. This didn't happen with SWTOR, but that was because of its WoWishness (which as I said turned out to just not be my thing) rather than the linear planets.

However! Gothic (dunno if you've played it, it's a niche RPG by a small German developer) and its sequel + expansion had open worlds that were a delight to explore, but still had a linear story after the first more open chapter where you'd choose your faction. OK the quality of the storytelling was not as good as Bioware's games, but it was still very engaging. Yeah the total gameworld was smaller, but it was still packed with stuff to discover and it felt very open. I guess I was just spoiled by those games

[licho]

LInear design is not so big deal for me.
Mass Effect 2 outside hubs was quite linear, each recruit or loyality was TPS shoter linear but in the same time the gameplay was quite fun, shoting with superpowers never gets old.

In SWTOR it is problem since:
- smashing keys to perform 'rotacion' is not really my thing
- to often dialogues just are, but are not very long nor complicated.

[Heart Collector]

licho, on 15 January 2013 - 02:18 PM, said:

LInear design is not so big deal for me.
Mass Effect 2 outside hubs was quite linear, each recruit or loyality was TPS shoter linear but in the same time the gameplay was quite fun, shoting with superpowers never gets old.

In SWTOR it is problem since:
- smashing keys to perform 'rotacion' is not really my thing
- to often dialogues just are, but are not very long nor complicated.

Yeah, it's more of a personal peeve for me but it doesn't diminish the value of said games. I just consider open world exploration to be an important pillar in RPGs, sure I can overlook it for a great game like ME2 but as the old meme goes... "Why not both?"

And yes the dialogs didn't have as much consequence as in other Bioware games - but I accepted it as a necessary "evil" due to the MMO nature of the game. It did lessen the experience compared to other story driven games but it was still a great thing to have.

Which reminds me: I was disappointed that Bioware removed the option to kill our companions It would have been awesome if it could happen, but you could replace them with some "generic" mercenary or droid - which could mechanically fill in companion roles but simply wouldn't have story attached to them. It wasn't game breaking, but it would have been cool.

Edited by Heart Collector, 15 January 2013 - 02:37 PM.

[licho]

As for killing companions, i never feel much urge to do it to any of them (exept maybe Fezz) . Also some of them are already quite generic so you cant replace them with anything more generic. Ok Vector is quite fun and t701 is pure cute, but others are quite simple. Especially Aric, Andronikus xelek felt generic for me.  Where are champions like Wrex or jaheira or Garrus or Alistar or Mordin or Thane?

And as we talk about petpevee some of mine:
- Why i just cant go and start conversation with my companions? We are blowing stuff together you are on my ship bastards! If i want talk i should get one. All of them are bunch of introverts who will not talk till ready, even m14x. I miss good old ME1/2 and DAO when i can just talk to companions and learn the story as well as nice bit of universe. It really helped to shape companions into something more than range dps into fictional character which you can like. Also great way to sneak knowledge about universe.
- Loyality missions, i unlocked 2x of Kaylo, some of Khem and something of vector (it wasnt exacly a mission so not sure if count). And it all was boring and standard. (1st of Kaylo was quite interesting) Generally as i think of loyality mission for Tali@ME2 or JoeBindo@Kotor (its damm 2004 game) its sad to compare.

We gamers get better and better graphic, but not much of better games.

Edited by licho, 15 January 2013 - 05:05 PM.

[Bryant Again]

Pretty fun as a preferred customer. A year ago I claimed it 'crap' when in the light of a sub-based game. As is now it's genuinely entertaining. The conversations are also a bit more enjoyable now that they're not backed by a fee.

Expect plenty of 'give us money!' ro*s, though, most notably the pricetag stamped over the 'hide helmet' checkbox.

**Whoa that gets censored?? Surprising!

Edited by Bryant Again, 16 January 2013 - 04:40 AM.

[DreadlockrastaGW]

I played it for about 4 months, completed everything, got really bored and quit (sold my account for about 300 bucks)

I think my biggest gripe about the game was the complete lack of open world pvp, (Please don't even mention ilum, it was an abomination that needs to be deathstared). Another problem was the huge amount of bugs in the operations, SoA was bugged from launch, and was bugged 4 months later when i quit, and probably still is bugged. There is also the issue of speed hacking in warzones, which from what I hear still happens, all you have to do is youtube directions on how to do it.

In my mind the game was a prime example of how throwing tons of money into a gimmick (fully voiced) does not equate to success. The game could have been so much more, but it was clearly rushed for the holiday season despite criticism from the beta testers.

It really is a themepark mmo, and banks on the fact that it is in the star wars universe. I don't think it would still be around if it didn't have that star wars IP to cling onto.

Good parts about the game?
The story was pretty good, but it would have done better as a single player rpg.

[licho]

DreadlockrastaGW, on 18 January 2013 - 09:39 PM, said:

Good parts about the game?
The story was pretty good, but it would have done better as a single player rpg.

Yeah this is a pain, that with the same money they could probably do quite good KOTOR III.
Maybe something with gamplay of Jedi Knigh and full crpg features or ME2 in Star Wars Universe.
But instead we get kinda avarage wow clone, so cool.

[xarallei]

I played it for a few months back when it came out and then left. The story is really great. However, the rest of the game is not. It's very dull and just a typical traditional mmo. It just was not worth a subscription. When I heard it was going F2P I thought this was a good thing so I updated my client and hopped on.....and saw to my horror the TERRIBLE f2p system they put in place. They nickle and dime you for just about EVERYTHING. I was so disgusted I haven't been back since. It's too bad. If they did something like Tera's upcoming f2p model I would return, but I won't with this current model.

[Robsy128]

I gave this a go today after downloading it for 3 days straight. It's okay... the cinematics were great and I seriously hope they'll make a Star Wars movie with that kind of action in it. The story is okay... well, I got to level 2. So far I'm a Jedi Knight without a lightsaber who just killed a load of flesh eaters in a cave.

I might play some more of it later, but the combat just bores me to tears. The scenery isn't very interesting and the map is confusing. I keep double-tapping W to dodge or roll, but instead I find myself running away from hordes of enemies because I can only attack one at a time and the agro is a bit too much. So I got tired of running away from enemies and haven't touched the game since midday today. Like I said, though - I might go back because people say the story is so good.

Also, on a sidenote, it was a bit weird how they were walking along in a space station and then (all of a sudden) the female Jedi says she feels something and a Sith army appears out of nowhere. Surely they would have heard rumours of a Sith presence re-emerging? I know the galaxy is big and all, but even so.
Also, technology in the Star Wars universe seems to remain the same, no matter what period they're in. And is the Republic using clones again? It seems a bit rubbish considering we've already had a clone army in the movies. Couldn't they have come up with something a bit more original? Or is there some kind of Star Wars lore I'm just not seeing where the Republic have to have clones once again, even if the story is set in the past?

[Leyana]

The story is pretty good. This game is practically KOTOR3 with terrible and poorly thought out MMO elements stapled onto it. I'm glad it's free now and that Bioware have so kindly allowed the best part of the game to be accessed fully by free players.

[Robsy128]

Can I access the entire story free of charge? Do I have to level up quite a bit? And how much time does that take?

I just don't fancy grinding boring quests in order to get more of the story. It's what I hated about WoW and even disliked in GW2. If I want to do my personal story - let me do my personal story!

[licho]

Robsy128, on 21 January 2013 - 06:41 PM, said:

Can I access the entire story free of charge? Do I have to level up quite a bit? And how much time does that take?

I just don't fancy grinding boring quests in order to get more of the story. It's what I hated about WoW and even disliked in GW2. If I want to do my personal story - let me do my personal story!

Maybe others got more luck but for me SWTOR still is grindfest to some degree.

Story quests generally have level suggested (affecting level of enemies) and story mode quest alone do not provide enought EXP to be up to date. Which means we need to do some open world quests.

And this quests are generally one of or combinacion:
- KIll X bad guys, they deserve it seriously
- Smash Y things or pick it up or just click it dammit
- Go to Z and do something, generally talk to somone and kill other.

And here we go for 10 planets.
Most of this grind quests have some story around it, which for sure is nice.

From the other side, most games can be sum up to killing, clicking and going somewhere.
But in SWTOR its extra boring, since the gameplay is kinda wooden and static.
Of course they could do it right providing Jedi Knight MMO, but instead we have WoW in Spaaaaace.
Nevertheless, everyone likes it own genre, and thats cool. Many players like WoW, and thats good for them.

Edited by licho, 21 January 2013 - 06:52 PM.

[Gilles VI]

Tellia, on 15 January 2013 - 07:49 AM, said:

i actually downloaded the game over the weekend but only got around to playing it today. i was looking forward to it cause i am taking a break from gw2 (kinda bored...again) and swtor was top of my list of alternative games to give a go.

at 1st, i was liking it. yea gameplay is pretty standard stuff but i dont play many sci-fi mmos and those i did i didnt like much. the different setting is enough to interest me, as is the rich universe of star wars. the storytelling really sets swtor apart from other mmos even in the very low levels. the quests objectives are not too different but the npcs are well voiced (yes, even shitty "kill these mobs" quests are voiced) and there is some meaning behind the quests.

once i got to level 6, i went to my skill trainer and bought a buttload of new skills. i thought this was good, cause i had many options even at a low lvl of skills to use, and i was getting bored of the few skills i was using up to this point. with all my new skills i thought to myself "time to add in a new quickslot bar" and...well, disappointment is an understatement. it seems that by default there is only 1 quickbar for a reason - if you want more bars you have to buy them. with real money. i just...dont understand how anyone could think this was a good idea. i mean, if they gave you 3-4 bars and made people buy more after that, i might not mind so much. but there is no way in hell anyone could manage with just 1 bar with 10 slots for very long. at lvl 6 i already had about 8 active skills. which means by lvl 10 or so i am pretty much forced into needing another bar. then more, and more, and i have to buy each additional bar.

bad enough already and enough to make me nauseous (figuratively), but the bars you buy are for that toon only. you can buy an unlock of additional bars for your account (so all toon get default more bars) but that just costs a crapload more money, doesnt it...

so i immediately closed the game and am wondering if i should just uninstall it now.

dont get me wrong, i dont mind paying for a game. i bought gems for gw2 despite buying the box, ive used cash shops in other games, and i even subbed wow for a few years. but to charge money for something as basic as a 2nd quickslot bar is an atrocity in my opinion.

This is exactly why the f2p of SW:ToR is considered a real failure..
It doesn't even give people a chance to get into the game, which should be the purpose of a f2p option..

Robsy128, on 21 January 2013 - 06:41 PM, said:

Can I access the entire story free of charge? Do I have to level up quite a bit? And how much time does that take?

I just don't fancy grinding boring quests in order to get more of the story. It's what I hated about WoW and even disliked in GW2. If I want to do my personal story - let me do my personal story!

It works like personal story in GW2, you need to level up in the open world to keep up with your "main quest".
And the questing in the open world is standard WoW experience, although they succeeded in making it even more boring by creating one of the lamest open worlds ever..

[RawNG]

Game was fun until they nerfed Battlemaster so it made it easy for all the nubs to get it.  But I can say that the time I played this game which was up until RWZs that I've had some of my best times on this game.  The PVP was really fun, Hutt Ball was a great game if you had a team that knew what they were doing.  At the time I ran with the top PVP guild on my server and was #1 Assassin on my server.  I still miss the game and what it USED to be.  My entire guild quit due to them taking FOREVER to put stuff into the game.  The storyline in the game was amazing.  REALLY loved playing my Sith Assassin, Marauder, and Darkside Scoundrel.  Very well done.
But they did do awful with the world design I must agree, they had SOOOO many walls that you HAD to go around.  Walls EVERYWHERE!!!!!   Also the maps were HUGE and had like nothing in them.  Took forever to get from point A to B.

Edited by RawNG, 21 January 2013 - 07:24 PM.

[dawdler]

Gilles VI, on 21 January 2013 - 07:04 PM, said:

It works like personal story in GW2, you need to level up in the open world to keep up with your "main quest".
And the questing in the open world is standard WoW experience, although they succeeded in making it even more boring by creating one of the lamest open worlds ever..

Lol that is horrible!

I havent played SWTOR but just watching this make me glad that I didnt. GW2 is a million times more alive and dynamic than this crap.

[Robsy128]

Gilles VI, on 21 January 2013 - 07:04 PM, said:

What the... xD It looks like everyone is on drugs and stuck in a time loop. I bet they're silently screaming xD

Playing this game made me realise one thing - the mesmers in GW2 are like Jedi Masters as they can create illusions and perform mind tricks. I wonder... is there anything like a Jedi robe in GW2? Because if so, I'm so making a mesmer

[Gilles VI]

dawdler, on 21 January 2013 - 09:58 PM, said:

Lol that is horrible!

I havent played SWTOR but just watching this make me glad that I didnt. GW2 is a million times more alive and dynamic than this crap.

You could give it a try though, the cinematics/personal story is superb.
The open world is just a huge fail.

[MazingerZ]

Gilles VI, on 22 January 2013 - 10:18 AM, said:

You could give it a try though, the cinematics/personal story is superb.
The open world is just a huge fail.

The engine is shit too.  They bought a beta (I think more like alpha) engine because they were too damn lazy/cheap to develop their own.

Then they proceeded to severely hack it to get it to work since it was a alpha/beta piece of software.  And it was shit.  Even on top end-PCs at launch, it ran like shit.

And obviously since it's been cut down on staff severely, there's probably not much work being put into making it function moderately well.