What I disagree with so much, is the GW point. Having Hero/hench groups pretty much made GW a SOLO only game. I hated that. When I first started playing, everything was group with random people. Did that make it hard? Sure. Did you sometimes not complete the mission/bonus? Of course. But it was a social thing. You talked to people, you learned of people. You got new people to play with. Now, you have people that make fun of you for not wanting to do it with a npcs.
I could see doing those flashpoints with companions to the point where you bring two people, and 2 companions. Instead of 4 players.
And that was the beauty of SWTOR's system of Companions: they wouldn't replace people - you still needed to have 4 real players to form up a team - but they would add to group gameplay by adding flexibility.
That was the part that I liked a lot in GW, especially the first half year when it was busy in hubs: there was no waiting around for groups to be complete, if your team of live players missed a full healer, then you just grabbed an NPC one and head into the instance.
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
Well art if thats the case i guess i'm where i always am with news. in a wait and see approach. Hopefully they will be useful in flashpoints, i can see them not being used in raids. Not sure how much companions would help anyway in a raid situation. Poor people would probably get incinerated by a bomb by accident. Raids really require people to be at their top form, which companions never could be.
I'm completely okay if they allow them in everything but raids, it gets iffy when they take em out of flashpoints though. As that was the point like you said of them saying you can have 4 healers to make up for not being able to find one. I'll be disappointed if they do take them out. Heres hoping they leave em in.
That may be one of the main reasons the game is being worked on longer and may launch later. That one mechanic can change the dynamics of flashpoint grouping IMO. No need to wait for a healer, just use the 4 players you have and each take your healer companion with you. You may have a more difficult time with the flashpoint, but it could be done. So it would be great to have that feature before launch.
I wonder if the reason why we now have 6 possible healers out of 8 classes is the fact that companions arn't working the way they want them to. I hope not, but it would make sense seeing that we have not seen companions in action other than a random open world clip.
How many people long for that "past, simpler, and better world," I wonder, without ever recognizing the truth that perhaps it was they who were simpler and better, and not the world about them? R.A.Salvatore
Well art if thats the case i guess i'm where i always am with news. in a wait and see approach. Hopefully they will be useful in flashpoints, i can see them not being used in raids. Not sure how much companions would help anyway in a raid situation. Poor people would probably get incinerated by a bomb by accident. Raids really require people to be at their top form, which companions never could be.
I'm completely okay if they allow them in everything but raids, it gets iffy when they take em out of flashpoints though. As that was the point like you said of them saying you can have 4 healers to make up for not being able to find one. I'll be disappointed if they do take them out. Heres hoping they leave em in.
That may be one of the main reasons the game is being worked on longer and may launch later. That one mechanic can change the dynamics of flashpoint grouping IMO. No need to wait for a healer, just use the 4 players you have and each take your healer companion with you. You may have a more difficult time with the flashpoint, but it could be done. So it would be great to have that feature before launch.
I wonder if the reason why we now have 6 possible healers out of 8 classes is the fact that companions arn't working the way they want them to. I hope not, but it would make sense seeing that we have not seen companions in action other than a random open world clip.
actually they have said part of the reason for the addition of the trooper/BH healing trees was because they were having trouble getting people to play healers which im guessing was because people figured why not just dps and have my companion heal me.
Well art if thats the case i guess i'm where i always am with news. in a wait and see approach. Hopefully they will be useful in flashpoints, i can see them not being used in raids. Not sure how much companions would help anyway in a raid situation. Poor people would probably get incinerated by a bomb by accident. Raids really require people to be at their top form, which companions never could be.
I'm completely okay if they allow them in everything but raids, it gets iffy when they take em out of flashpoints though. As that was the point like you said of them saying you can have 4 healers to make up for not being able to find one. I'll be disappointed if they do take them out. Heres hoping they leave em in.
That may be one of the main reasons the game is being worked on longer and may launch later. That one mechanic can change the dynamics of flashpoint grouping IMO. No need to wait for a healer, just use the 4 players you have and each take your healer companion with you. You may have a more difficult time with the flashpoint, but it could be done. So it would be great to have that feature before launch.
I wonder if the reason why we now have 6 possible healers out of 8 classes is the fact that companions arn't working the way they want them to. I hope not, but it would make sense seeing that we have not seen companions in action other than a random open world clip.
actually they have said part of the reason for the addition of the trooper/BH healing trees was because they were having trouble getting people to play healers which im guessing was because people figured why not just dps and have my companion heal me.
Ok that's true too.
At least multiple Advanced Classes will have a healing spec. So players can just go hybrid or re-spec to a healer if need be without companions in flashpoints I guess. Stealth Healer Smuggler? But I would really like to see the companion feature work as it was intended.
How many people long for that "past, simpler, and better world," I wonder, without ever recognizing the truth that perhaps it was they who were simpler and better, and not the world about them? R.A.Salvatore
What I disagree with so much, is the GW point. Having Hero/hench groups pretty much made GW a SOLO only game. I hated that. When I first started playing, everything was group with random people. Did that make it hard? Sure. Did you sometimes not complete the mission/bonus? Of course. But it was a social thing. You talked to people, you learned of people. You got new people to play with. Now, you have people that make fun of you for not wanting to do it with a npcs.
I could see doing those flashpoints with companions to the point where you bring two people, and 2 companions. Instead of 4 players.
And that was the beauty of SWTOR's system of Companions: they wouldn't replace people - you still needed to have 4 real players to form up a team - but they would add to group gameplay by adding flexibility.
That was the part that I liked a lot in GW, especially the first half year when it was busy in hubs: there was no waiting around for groups to be complete, if your team of live players missed a full healer, then you just grabbed an NPC one and head into the instance.
Hm. I must admit I am quite on the fence on this.
On the one hand, having companions fill the role of players would make you less wait and less be lost with dipshit players. More freedom to play at your leisure. But on the downside, if you WANT to group with real people, it would make it impossibly difficult, because what CAN be soloed WILL be soloed. Or in this cased duo'ed.
Or as Kosh used to say: truth is a three edged blade.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
If I want to just play with my girlfriend in a duo group with two companions. I can do that. Less time waiting and no need to deal with immature players with ego complexes, attitudes or ones who feel the need to be an absolute dick.
Have a friend that wants to join in on your duo group? Sorry, we have a full gr- oh wait, they're just npcs. Just toss one aside and invite the friend in!
If you don't like companions, don't use them, no one is forcing you to. Every body wins.
I liked them in guild wars, used them to duo and solo zones if I pleased. I had no problem with that.
If I want to just play with my girlfriend in a duo group with two companions. I can do that. Less time waiting and no need to deal with immature players with ego complexes, attitudes or ones who feel the need to be an absolute dick.
Have a friend that wants to join in on your duo group? Sorry, we have a full gr- oh wait, they're just npcs. Just toss one aside and invite the friend in!
If you don't like companions, don't use them, no one is forcing you to. Every body wins.
I liked them in guild wars, used them to duo and solo zones if I pleased. I had no problem with that.
I'm all for it.
It is different in TOR. If they get it to work that is. You couldn't duo plus two companions any flashpoint that is your level. They are intended for 4 players. Companions are only worth about 1/4 of a player as intended. So they would only take the place of a trinity role, not a player spot.
But that seems to be the problem at the moment. They may not be working as intended. We just don't know and won't know untill the devs tell us or show us.
But all other content as in the class stories, world stories and open world quests can be done solo, duo or full group with or without companions. Or as in other MMO's, just out level the content and go back when you can do it solo or duo.
How many people long for that "past, simpler, and better world," I wonder, without ever recognizing the truth that perhaps it was they who were simpler and better, and not the world about them? R.A.Salvatore
I have only seen the dev flashpoint and it seemed horrible. Generic gameplay, kids mode(or staged for the devs so they wont die)... I mean elite hits robe user and he loses 5 health...
It seemed INCREDIBLY sloooow and boring. Hope i am wrong and pvp is fast and good which i highly highly doubt
I have only seen the dev flashpoint and it seemed horrible. Generic gameplay, kids mode(or staged for the devs so they wont die)... I mean elite hits robe user and he loses 5 health...
It seemed INCREDIBLY sloooow and boring. Hope i am wrong and pvp is fast and good which i highly highly doubt
I will point out two things concerning difficulty
1st most everyone completely wiped at the 40% mark (thats less then half way through the instance) which basically means they all wiped on a mini-boss.
Now i understand most are new and don't understand it, so with that i can understnad that it may be easier then they are showing, except for the 2nd thing
The encounter was "dumbed" down to accomidate that people would be new to the game.
So the actual game will be harder then what you saw there.
Even still most everyone wipped completely at the 40% mark. Thats before you even get to any of the hard hitters. The devs themselves know the instance and how to play it effectively. So they aren't noobs. But they are still working with a dumb down version o fthe instnace so i would take that and increase it a good bit. Much easier to die.
Help me Bioware, you're my only hope.
Is ToR going to be good? Dude it's Bioware making a freaking star wars game, all signs point to awesome. -G4tv MMo report.
an mmo is about multiplay and other people from around the globe having to rely on other people from around the globe to complete the content within the game.
COMPANIONS!!!!!!!! REMOVES!!!!!! THIS FEATURE !!!!!!!!!!! FROM AN MMO!......... its not an mmo if you dont have to play with other players. too many recetnt mmo's are getting this aspect wrong, we are seeing more and more of this cropping up. online games sporting npc team mates to compensate for teaming with players..
this my friends is a game mechanic which should be explicitly reserved for single player titles such as kotor 1 and kotor 2.. there should never ever be companions in an mmo.#
just think about the classification of the game and its abreviation - MMO - what does MMO actually stand for ???? who actually knows!!!
my understanding of mmo is massive multiplayer online - let me break it down for you as i undersatand each part of the abreviation.
massive = huge game world which is persistant with many areas and place to travel and explore that can be traversed by the players!
multiplayer = lots of people from around the globe shareing the same game experiences together.... in a kind of cooperative form of game play.
online = on the internet/over the internet.
to me thats pretty simple to understand, and as i say again my understanding of what an mmo is leads me to believe that companions do infact ruin the very fabric of what an mmo is supposed to be!!
companions removes the multiplayer aspect from the online gameing experience.
once this is gone it is no longer an online multiplay game. it becomes a single player experience with the option to have online first person pvp with other players.
there is a massive diffrence because you can have this with battlefield 1 and 2 already, or even global agenda.
its a good thing that they are not alowing companions into these flashpoints/instances. it shows they are finally understanding what an mmo is meant to be. in all honesty they should remove companions period. its a very very very bad idea and only works in single player games.
Massive Multiplayer online role playing game. Its not Massive multiplayer online grouping game... Nowhere does it ever have anything about grouping only that there are other players around..In that there are others to talk to and play with and buy goods from and interact with,.
Interacting with other players can be done in so many ways and for so many other reasons then grouping to go into some cave and beatdown a dragon for eating the local farmers cows. Just cause theres 1 million ppl doesnt mean that you gotta group with them. In most games with only 10 thousands theres tons ull never see or meet. To many seem to think the whole reason for the creation of MMO is so a ton of ppl from around the world can group up and go beat quest and instances together.
From my first mmo experience i didnt need huge groups for most the game. I did need other players and a guild helped in getting me gear and teaching me aspects of said game i didnt understand or hadnt even found out about yet. I will believe in the whole grouping in MMO is required and needed when they add an extra G to MMORPG...
Far to many games now go for and give all the best rewards to the ppl with alot of time or a style of play called raiding. Raiding for all intends is a difficult function and should have great rewards but if two friends get together and spend 40 hours killin 100 times more stuff then they to should enjoy great rewards. Thats where most to all games ive played lately fail. They seem to go with the logic that either you should make time for raiding or be left behind. If you got the time and the patience then good for you and the rewards should be hefty, but there should be a longer but other way for those that dont have the time to wait or run serveral hour long raids to get gear of the same level.
Originally posted by Wolfy2449 I have only seen the dev flashpoint and it seemed horrible. Generic gameplay, kids mode(or staged for the devs so they wont die)... I mean elite hits robe user and he loses 5 health... It seemed INCREDIBLY sloooow and boring. Hope i am wrong and pvp is fast and good which i highly highly doubt
Seems people do not understand what a 'demo' is.
Start complaining when the game is in beta at least. That's when things matter and are being finalized.
Originally posted by artemisentr4 Originally posted by AzurePrower If I want to just play with my girlfriend in a duo group with two companions. I can do that. Less time waiting and no need to deal with immature players with ego complexes, attitudes or ones who feel the need to be an absolute dick. Have a friend that wants to join in on your duo group? Sorry, we have a full gr- oh wait, they're just npcs. Just toss one aside and invite the friend in! If you don't like companions, don't use them, no one is forcing you to. Every body wins. I liked them in guild wars, used them to duo and solo zones if I pleased. I had no problem with that. I'm all for it.
It is different in TOR. If they get it to work that is. You couldn't duo plus two companions any flashpoint that is your level. They are intended for 4 players. Companions are only worth about 1/4 of a player as intended. So they would only take the place of a trinity role, not a player spot. But that seems to be the problem at the moment. They may not be working as intended. We just don't know and won't know untill the devs tell us or show us. But all other content as in the class stories, world stories and open world quests can be done solo, duo or full group with or without companions. Or as in other MMO's, just out level the content and go back when you can do it solo or duo.
I really don't see any other reason why they set the player limit to 4 if they aren't going to accommodate for duoing with companions in flash points.
And that was the beauty of SWTOR's system of Companions: they wouldn't replace people - you still needed to have 4 real players to form up a team - but they would add to group gameplay by adding flexibility.
That was the part that I liked a lot in GW, especially the first half year when it was busy in hubs: there was no waiting around for groups to be complete, if your team of live players missed a full healer, then you just grabbed an NPC one and head into the instance.
Hm. I must admit I am quite on the fence on this.
On the one hand, having companions fill the role of players would make you less wait and less be lost with dipshit players. More freedom to play at your leisure. But on the downside, if you WANT to group with real people, it would make it impossibly difficult, because what CAN be soloed WILL be soloed. Or in this cased duo'ed.
Or as Kosh used to say: truth is a three edged blade.
Eh... I think you're missing the point, or what was the difference between GW's and SWTOR's implementation of the Companions.
In GW you could get NPC characters to fill up a group as replacement of real players, which led to problems in later years with the introduction of Heroes, NPC characters that are so awesome that they often outperform real players.
In SWTOR there is no way that an NPC will replace a real player, you can't go with 3 real players and 1 Companion go off into a Flashpoint like in GW: you always need 4 real people, and you could bring 4 Companions next to those 4 people. What Companions in SWTOR according to former dev statements were able to do, was to fill in a gap in group functionality: if you had 2 dps, 1 tank and 1 utility/cc, you could have your 4 Companions specced as healing Companions so that that role is compensated.
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
Sorry, but I found the whole argument about the Companions not being as good in Flashpoints as real players and therefore they should be left out bollocks and a weak excuse.
Best Example: Guild Wars. In there henchmen and Heroes were used even in the toughest PvE encounters and missions without having any mentionworthy troubles with AI or complaints about getting wiped because presumable of NPC AI.
ANet could make it work in GW, and showed how it can be done, so why not other companies as BW? Also, the AI of your companions in ME and ME2 I found adequate as well.
And even the more important argument: Bioware devs themselves have stated how Companions could solve the age old problems of group forming and having to wait around for ages shouting 'LF healer' or 'LF tank'.
Like they said, you could invite your friend(s) into the group no matter what Class they are, instead of having to refuse your friend because you're waiting for a healer or tank. Companions would fill the gap in needed functionality.
It's one of the rare features that made SWTOR unique and different from the current themepark MMORPG's and standards.
Instead, with scrapping Companions for Flashpoints, not only is this the first time that Bioware has to come back upon their earlier made statements by devs that 'they only talk about features that have made it in the game', which makes them - a little bit - more like other game companies (AoC, WAR) were there was a lot of talk about features that didn't make it ingame. It also means that SWTOR group combat will be more the bland 'same old same old' group combat as other standard MMO's, with the obvious 'LF healer/tank' problems that go with it.
Losing Companions in flashpoint group combat means that SWTOR will lose one of the precious, very few features that made it to be different from standard themepark MMORPG's when it comes to gameplay mechanics.
i agree that companions would be to much in an organzied attack, they would be agroing every thing around u and jsut cause random havok... are there constantly "pets" following the heros around in the star wars moviesor books? no it was the actually heros being the heros when the heros are needed...
I have only seen the dev flashpoint and it seemed horrible. Generic gameplay, kids mode(or staged for the devs so they wont die)... I mean elite hits robe user and he loses 5 health...
It seemed INCREDIBLY sloooow and boring. Hope i am wrong and pvp is fast and good which i highly highly doubt
if u actually listen to the commentary the guy makes on the flashpoint preview...its jsut that... a slowed down fraction of a flashpoint vs only what is called "jsut the first level boss"
Originally posted by obeloviper95 are there constantly "pets" following the heros around in the star wars moviesor books? no it was the actually heros being the heros when the heros are needed...
Anakin was Obi-wan's companion.
Windu had a bunch of companions when he went to face Palpatine, but they sucked and all got one hit by the boss. Then Anakin tagged along and wiped the group at the end by being a noob.
i agree that companions would be to much in an organzied attack, they would be agroing every thing around u and jsut cause random havok... are there constantly "pets" following the heros around in the star wars moviesor books? no it was the actually heros being the heros when the heros are needed...
I get what you're saying, and not that I think that the movies should be the be all end all of sticking to when it comes to game design (in fact, I don't believe so), there are a number of examples of where your "pets" or "companions" are around:
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums: Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
i agree that companions would be to much in an organzied attack, they would be agroing every thing around u and jsut cause random havok... are there constantly "pets" following the heros around in the star wars moviesor books? no it was the actually heros being the heros when the heros are needed...
I get what you're saying, and not that I think that the movies should be the be all end all of sticking to when it comes to game design (in fact, I don't believe so), there are a number of examples of where your "pets" or "companions" are around:
- Chewbakka
- R2D2 and C3PO
and outside Star Wars:
- Robin of Batman
- Harlequin of the Joker
etc
yeah i get that, i thought about that too as i was typing that.... but its kinda like they where all heros anyway who just happened to team up... like if me and u ran every mission in the game together...
it is a lil iffy... maybe if they have a easier version of each flashpoint depending on actually players to companions ratio ... kinda like LOTRO does ...
are there constantly "pets" following the heros around in the star wars moviesor books? no it was the actually heros being the heros when the heros are needed...
Anakin was Obi-wan's companion.
Windu had a bunch of companions when he went to face Palpatine, but they sucked and all got one hit by the boss. Then Anakin tagged along and wiped the group at the end by being a noob.
see my thinkin is those where all heros...grouped together...
while there actual companions were at home cleaning there ships and working on all the new limbs everyone will need....
Originally posted by obeloviper95 are there constantly "pets" following the heros around in the star wars moviesor books? no it was the actually heros being the heros when the heros are needed...
Anakin was Obi-wan's companion. Windu had a bunch of companions when he went to face Palpatine, but they sucked and all got one hit by the boss. Then Anakin tagged along and wiped the group at the end by being a noob.
see my thinkin is those where all heros...grouped together... while there actual companions were at home cleaning there ships and working on all the new limbs everyone will need....
Then explain the KOTOR 1 and 2 companions that came along and fought with you?
I some times even chose to play as certain companions because they were more powerful than my main character at times.
You even had the option to not bring them along if you really didn't want to. (hint hint)
Well, at all i dont care so much if companions make it into raids or flashpoints nor found i the videos underwhelming. But i hope they play to implement a pet class in a later expansion, i like pet classes and the micromanagement. Beeing a droid engineer commanding them could be nice.
"Torquemada... do not implore him for compassion. Torquemada... do not beg him for forgiveness. Torquemada... do not ask him for mercy. Let's face it, you can't Torquemada anything!"
Flashpoints are going to change the way we play the game. Its like dungeons on roids. BW took the concept of dungeons and said now lets make them fun and interactive. I want more then killing mobs from point a-b.
- Smuggler healing with that annoying med thing....it looked ridiculous. I bet the smuggler class lost a lot of potential players due to that video...lame visuals, lame gameplay and doing nothing but heal bot the whole time with the same spell.
- Trooper range-tanking mobs on his feet. How awesome is to throw a grenade on your own feet? Shoot a mob one yard away? lame as hell.
- The pace of gameplay looks slower than watch paint dry. Sure the game is aimed at a large audience and that means bad players too, but why so slow and clunky? a game almost 7 years old like WoW is faster paced and much smoother.
- The dungeon itself was simple, nothing special about it. Just the same old...plus a mandatory SWTOR "on rails" feel.
Nice things about Taral V video:
- Jedi knight looked alright. Some nice moves, looked more engaging.
- Graphics seemed a lot better than previous builds.
Comments
And that was the beauty of SWTOR's system of Companions: they wouldn't replace people - you still needed to have 4 real players to form up a team - but they would add to group gameplay by adding flexibility.
That was the part that I liked a lot in GW, especially the first half year when it was busy in hubs: there was no waiting around for groups to be complete, if your team of live players missed a full healer, then you just grabbed an NPC one and head into the instance.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
That may be one of the main reasons the game is being worked on longer and may launch later. That one mechanic can change the dynamics of flashpoint grouping IMO. No need to wait for a healer, just use the 4 players you have and each take your healer companion with you. You may have a more difficult time with the flashpoint, but it could be done. So it would be great to have that feature before launch.
I wonder if the reason why we now have 6 possible healers out of 8 classes is the fact that companions arn't working the way they want them to. I hope not, but it would make sense seeing that we have not seen companions in action other than a random open world clip.
How many people long for that "past, simpler, and better world," I wonder, without ever recognizing the truth that perhaps it was they who were simpler and better, and not the world about them?
R.A.Salvatore
actually they have said part of the reason for the addition of the trooper/BH healing trees was because they were having trouble getting people to play healers which im guessing was because people figured why not just dps and have my companion heal me.
Ok that's true too.
At least multiple Advanced Classes will have a healing spec. So players can just go hybrid or re-spec to a healer if need be without companions in flashpoints I guess. Stealth Healer Smuggler? But I would really like to see the companion feature work as it was intended.
How many people long for that "past, simpler, and better world," I wonder, without ever recognizing the truth that perhaps it was they who were simpler and better, and not the world about them?
R.A.Salvatore
Hm. I must admit I am quite on the fence on this.
On the one hand, having companions fill the role of players would make you less wait and less be lost with dipshit players. More freedom to play at your leisure. But on the downside, if you WANT to group with real people, it would make it impossibly difficult, because what CAN be soloed WILL be soloed. Or in this cased duo'ed.
Or as Kosh used to say: truth is a three edged blade.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
If I want to just play with my girlfriend in a duo group with two companions. I can do that. Less time waiting and no need to deal with immature players with ego complexes, attitudes or ones who feel the need to be an absolute dick.
Have a friend that wants to join in on your duo group? Sorry, we have a full gr- oh wait, they're just npcs. Just toss one aside and invite the friend in!
If you don't like companions, don't use them, no one is forcing you to. Every body wins.
I liked them in guild wars, used them to duo and solo zones if I pleased. I had no problem with that.
I'm all for it.
-Azure Prower
http://www.youtube.com/AzurePrower
It is different in TOR. If they get it to work that is. You couldn't duo plus two companions any flashpoint that is your level. They are intended for 4 players. Companions are only worth about 1/4 of a player as intended. So they would only take the place of a trinity role, not a player spot.
But that seems to be the problem at the moment. They may not be working as intended. We just don't know and won't know untill the devs tell us or show us.
But all other content as in the class stories, world stories and open world quests can be done solo, duo or full group with or without companions. Or as in other MMO's, just out level the content and go back when you can do it solo or duo.
How many people long for that "past, simpler, and better world," I wonder, without ever recognizing the truth that perhaps it was they who were simpler and better, and not the world about them?
R.A.Salvatore
I have only seen the dev flashpoint and it seemed horrible. Generic gameplay, kids mode(or staged for the devs so they wont die)... I mean elite hits robe user and he loses 5 health...
It seemed INCREDIBLY sloooow and boring. Hope i am wrong and pvp is fast and good which i highly highly doubt
I will point out two things concerning difficulty
1st most everyone completely wiped at the 40% mark (thats less then half way through the instance) which basically means they all wiped on a mini-boss.
Now i understand most are new and don't understand it, so with that i can understnad that it may be easier then they are showing, except for the 2nd thing
The encounter was "dumbed" down to accomidate that people would be new to the game.
So the actual game will be harder then what you saw there.
Even still most everyone wipped completely at the 40% mark. Thats before you even get to any of the hard hitters. The devs themselves know the instance and how to play it effectively. So they aren't noobs. But they are still working with a dumb down version o fthe instnace so i would take that and increase it a good bit. Much easier to die.
Help me Bioware, you're my only hope.
Is ToR going to be good? Dude it's Bioware making a freaking star wars game, all signs point to awesome. -G4tv MMo report.
Massive Multiplayer online role playing game. Its not Massive multiplayer online grouping game... Nowhere does it ever have anything about grouping only that there are other players around..In that there are others to talk to and play with and buy goods from and interact with,.
Interacting with other players can be done in so many ways and for so many other reasons then grouping to go into some cave and beatdown a dragon for eating the local farmers cows. Just cause theres 1 million ppl doesnt mean that you gotta group with them. In most games with only 10 thousands theres tons ull never see or meet. To many seem to think the whole reason for the creation of MMO is so a ton of ppl from around the world can group up and go beat quest and instances together.
From my first mmo experience i didnt need huge groups for most the game. I did need other players and a guild helped in getting me gear and teaching me aspects of said game i didnt understand or hadnt even found out about yet. I will believe in the whole grouping in MMO is required and needed when they add an extra G to MMORPG...
Far to many games now go for and give all the best rewards to the ppl with alot of time or a style of play called raiding. Raiding for all intends is a difficult function and should have great rewards but if two friends get together and spend 40 hours killin 100 times more stuff then they to should enjoy great rewards. Thats where most to all games ive played lately fail. They seem to go with the logic that either you should make time for raiding or be left behind. If you got the time and the patience then good for you and the rewards should be hefty, but there should be a longer but other way for those that dont have the time to wait or run serveral hour long raids to get gear of the same level.
Seems people do not understand what a 'demo' is.
Start complaining when the game is in beta at least. That's when things matter and are being finalized.
It is different in TOR. If they get it to work that is. You couldn't duo plus two companions any flashpoint that is your level. They are intended for 4 players. Companions are only worth about 1/4 of a player as intended. So they would only take the place of a trinity role, not a player spot.But that seems to be the problem at the moment. They may not be working as intended. We just don't know and won't know untill the devs tell us or show us.
But all other content as in the class stories, world stories and open world quests can be done solo, duo or full group with or without companions. Or as in other MMO's, just out level the content and go back when you can do it solo or duo.
I really don't see any other reason why they set the player limit to 4 if they aren't going to accommodate for duoing with companions in flash points.
-Azure Prower
http://www.youtube.com/AzurePrower
Eh... I think you're missing the point, or what was the difference between GW's and SWTOR's implementation of the Companions.
In GW you could get NPC characters to fill up a group as replacement of real players, which led to problems in later years with the introduction of Heroes, NPC characters that are so awesome that they often outperform real players.
In SWTOR there is no way that an NPC will replace a real player, you can't go with 3 real players and 1 Companion go off into a Flashpoint like in GW: you always need 4 real people, and you could bring 4 Companions next to those 4 people. What Companions in SWTOR according to former dev statements were able to do, was to fill in a gap in group functionality: if you had 2 dps, 1 tank and 1 utility/cc, you could have your 4 Companions specced as healing Companions so that that role is compensated.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
i agree that companions would be to much in an organzied attack, they would be agroing every thing around u and jsut cause random havok... are there constantly "pets" following the heros around in the star wars moviesor books? no it was the actually heros being the heros when the heros are needed...
if u actually listen to the commentary the guy makes on the flashpoint preview...its jsut that... a slowed down fraction of a flashpoint vs only what is called "jsut the first level boss"
Anakin was Obi-wan's companion.
Windu had a bunch of companions when he went to face Palpatine, but they sucked and all got one hit by the boss. Then Anakin tagged along and wiped the group at the end by being a noob.
-Azure Prower
http://www.youtube.com/AzurePrower
I get what you're saying, and not that I think that the movies should be the be all end all of sticking to when it comes to game design (in fact, I don't believe so), there are a number of examples of where your "pets" or "companions" are around:
- Chewbakka
- R2D2 and C3PO
and outside Star Wars:
- Robin of Batman
- Harlequin of the Joker
etc
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
yeah i get that, i thought about that too as i was typing that.... but its kinda like they where all heros anyway who just happened to team up... like if me and u ran every mission in the game together...
it is a lil iffy... maybe if they have a easier version of each flashpoint depending on actually players to companions ratio ... kinda like LOTRO does ...
see my thinkin is those where all heros...grouped together...
while there actual companions were at home cleaning there ships and working on all the new limbs everyone will need....
Then explain the KOTOR 1 and 2 companions that came along and fought with you?
I some times even chose to play as certain companions because they were more powerful than my main character at times.
You even had the option to not bring them along if you really didn't want to. (hint hint)
-Azure Prower
http://www.youtube.com/AzurePrower
But i hope they play to implement a pet class in a later expansion, i like pet classes and the micromanagement.
Beeing a droid engineer commanding them could be nice.
"Torquemada... do not implore him for compassion. Torquemada... do not beg him for forgiveness. Torquemada... do not ask him for mercy. Let's face it, you can't Torquemada anything!"
MWO Music Video - What does the Mech say: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF6HYNqCDLI
Johnny Cash - The Man Comes Around: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0x2iwK0BKM
Flashpoints are going to change the way we play the game. Its like dungeons on roids. BW took the concept of dungeons and said now lets make them fun and interactive. I want more then killing mobs from point a-b.
Lame things about the Taral V video:
- Smuggler healing with that annoying med thing....it looked ridiculous. I bet the smuggler class lost a lot of potential players due to that video...lame visuals, lame gameplay and doing nothing but heal bot the whole time with the same spell.
- Trooper range-tanking mobs on his feet. How awesome is to throw a grenade on your own feet? Shoot a mob one yard away? lame as hell.
- The pace of gameplay looks slower than watch paint dry. Sure the game is aimed at a large audience and that means bad players too, but why so slow and clunky? a game almost 7 years old like WoW is faster paced and much smoother.
- The dungeon itself was simple, nothing special about it. Just the same old...plus a mandatory SWTOR "on rails" feel.
Nice things about Taral V video:
- Jedi knight looked alright. Some nice moves, looked more engaging.
- Graphics seemed a lot better than previous builds.
No companions in dungeons? That's social engineering plain and simple, by forced grouping.
They must be afraid of charges that it's a solo game with a monthly fee.
Or maybe balancing for all the possible group make ups proved challenging.
In Bioware we trust!
they have said it was because the companion a.i. isn't good enough and they want wipes to be the players fault not the companions