Star Wars The Old Republic Roll Call

[crazy canuck]

After my initial enjoyment with the game I haven't played it again.  Getting the subscription was worth the price of the few hours I spent with it.  Going to put it back away again.  I just don't enjoy MMO type games anymore. 

[Caliga]

I just don't enjoy MMO type games anymore.

Same.  I just can't keep up with the multitude of players who (apparently) do nothing all day but play them.

[celedhring]

I'm pretty much playing it for the class stories, and the fact that you don't need to grind in order to enjoy them anymore. But yeah, if I had to play this like I played WoW 10 years ago (raids, rep grinds, daily quest grinds...), I probably wouldn't.

[Barrister]

Well I've never gotten to the endgame in SWTOR so I never had to worry about that.

The trouble is that combat in these games can be rather tedious.  The same-old rotations every time.  They "fixed" that problem in SWTOR by making combat extremely easy, and streamlining the quests so you get much more storyline and much less fighting.  I'm going to keep playing because I've never actually seen the end of the story for any classes, and I'd like to see at least one.

[crazy canuck]

The problem I found was the ease of getting through the story.  Enter room, make sure companion is set to heal, hit main attack skill buttons without any particular attention to what you are doing, finish quest.  It was ok for the first few hours.  But I would rather read a book or play EU.

[Barrister]

The problem I found was the ease of getting through the story.  Enter room, make sure companion is set to heal, hit main attack skill buttons without any particular attention to what you are doing, finish quest.  It was ok for the first few hours.  But I would rather read a book or play EU.

Yeah you can pretty much face-roll through combat.  Though the patch last night made things a little bit more difficult.  Playing a trooper, had the big battle that concludes Chapter 1, and I actually had to pay attention / cast some heals.

[celedhring]

I haven't got to play since the companion nerf, so I can't say how it is right now, but yeah combat was a bit too easy and you didn't need to use most of your resources to kill mobs. I didn't mind the combat being easy for the same reasons Barrister says, but I can see why people would find it unappealing. The problem with combat is that it's pretty much a WoW copycat, and WoW is a 10 year old game. It just doesn't fit with the more sophisticated approach (for an MMO) to storytelling.

I have only completed one class story so far (Jedi Knight), but I have started several and I look forward to completing them.

[celedhring]

After playing a bit after the patch, I can't say I find the nerf that noticeable. Yes, the companions are weaker but combat is still pretty much a breeze. I have tried a few heroics without issues, but not the Star Fortresses - which are the hardest solo content currently in the game.

Incidentally, I'm devoting more time to my agent alt and the story is fantastic.

[celedhring]

I shouldn't have done it, but I pugged a raid yesterday 

It went well, actually, but it felt like it was 2009 again playing WoW while I was a student. I can't get into that shit anymore 

[Syt]

I finished Makeb today (overall ok-ish campaign, and a fun end as Imperial).

Shadow of Revan is next.

[celedhring]

Shadow of Revan is terrible, they pretty much destroy the character in it.I haven't played it as Imperial but I presume the plot is similar.

The 9 released chapters of Knights of the Fallen Empire are pretty great though, narrative-wise.

[Syt]

Yeah, I'm playing through it once to see if it's worth it. I arrived at Manaan yesterday, and while it was nice to be in a familiar place, with familiar music, it made me want to install KotOR instead. Hint to Bioware: nostalgia is fine, but it's dangerous when it harks back to better games.

Still love my Sith Warrior, Darth Vultris. Her voice is a bit like a British version of Cpt Janeway, so if you buy into the sadist/macchiavellian Janeway theory, then it fits. She's a Sith, and I played her so that she puts the good of the Empire before her personal ambitions. The personal story ends with you becoming the Wrath of the Emperor (basically his envoy for when something requires special, violent attention), and the stories afterwards (Ilum with its flashpoints, Makeb) don't feel too slapped on, but rather as extension of your new role. And it's neat that most NPCs address you as Wrath.

[celedhring]

They do that with all characters. My trooper has been a Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain and now Major, and NPCs always talk to her using the right rank. It's neat.

The Jedi Knight story also segues well into the late content. I'm told Sith Warrior and Jedi Knight are the best fits for the overall arc of the game.

[celedhring]

Also, they've been hyping up the developer stream they are broadcasting tomorrow. There's gonna be some big announcement in it, apparently.

[Syt]

Wouldn't surprise me, considering that Darth Malgus (a Sith Warrior) featured very prominently in the promo material. And Jedi Knight seems like a default choice for many people, so makes sense to choose for the Republic main arc.

I've read the Old Republic novel "Deceived" which starts with the Sith attack on the Jedi Temple and features several characters from the game. Malgus is a main character in those, and it nicely ties together his role at the start of the game, and his grab for power on Ilum.

But yeah, I found the Sith Warrior arc very well written and executed. You can add your own nuance through dialogue choices. The Sith Inquisitor, by comparison, is a Saturday morning cartoon villain by comparison.

I should finish the Agent story, though, since SF Debris is reviewing it now and I don't want the ending spoiled (I'm now on Vos).