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Star Wars: The Old Republic: Star Wars The Old Republic: Pick a Role, Any Role
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
In his latest column about all things Star Wars: The Old Republic, MMORPG.com Community Manager Mike Bitton takes a look at last week's information about Advanced Classes in the game. See what Mike thinks about Advanced Classes and then add a few thoughts of your own in the comments.
The Sith Inquisitor is a prime example of one fairly unexpected development that I’m quite excited about. Mainly a ranged DPS caster type, the Sith Inquisitor can also become a Sith Assassin which opens it up to rogue-like cloth-wearing melee DPS gameplay, this we’ve known for some time. What I wasn’t expecting to find out is that the Sith Assassin will also be able to tank. As someone who really appreciated the fact that Rogues can tank in RIFT this was certainly some welcome news.
Read more of Mike Bitton's SWTOR: Pick a Role, Any Role.
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Comments
It doesn't matter to me how they try to sweeten advanced classes. The fact that they are using last century tech by using Race-Restricted Classes is beyond lame.
Skills > Classes. Let players define roles!
Race restriction in classes has nothing to do with tech, that's just a stupid statement to make.
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Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
Good news, overall. I'm guessing they took the idea from Rift where each class can do almost any possible role.
Lets hope we get the release date soon now.
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Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world."
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The concept of letting players fill a wider range of roles is a positive.. BUT... the simple fact that they stick to a system where players HAVE to fit pre-determined group roles is not good.
Let's move past the holy trinity concept. It provided a good starting point for game design a decade ago, but we need to start moving on to newer and better concepts. I don't want to hear anymore about group roles and archetypes....
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I always find it odd that people complain about roles. Roles bring order from chaos and even games that claim they have no trinity you know the players will just assign roles to group members.
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We dont really need them to hurry up with releasing it. Do you want a finish product or a glitchy product. Really cant stand people that want to rush production of a game. Takes more time then waving a wand around....of course only those who know about animation and programming would understand this
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I agree.
Write bad things that are done to you in sand, but write the good things that happen to you on a piece of marble
I am happy to hear that, though I can't say I'd consider the development 'new'. Really, they're just giving the players more options because of the limited role choices... If they had started out with all those differences, there wouldn't have been a need. EQ1 had a crapload of choices upfront, EQ2 staggered them out in a sort of 'tree'. I don't know if that made it 'better'. Though it made it a little more interesting to level up.
...Nor is having non-tanks being able to tank new, daoc and other games had that long ago, and with the buzz it created in Rift, I'd say that's probably the new standard for games when they want to 'break the mold'.
Very happy about this development. If all those sub-roles turn out to be viable options and not "illusions of choice", class gameplay will be a lot more diverse and it might make some of a game's secondary aspects more interesting:
-Trying different tactics on bosses by rotating roles between classes in the group: less cookie cutter group make-ups means more options and alternative tactics.
-PVP not being a "one perfect tactic for class A versus class B" affair; i.e. having to guess what your opponents are cabable of by looking at their gear but never really being sure what you are up against.
- Not having to look for dedicated healers or tanks for long when you are getting a group for pve together.
- Not having to feel pigeonholed into a specific role and gimped in others like healbots and damage soakers in many other games.
I can only see positives so far. But everything comes down on the actual implementation. People will always try to optimize class and group strength: if certain roles are much more viable for some classes than other ones, people will bitch and moan for you not being specced or geared correctly and Sith Assassin's wanting to tank might very well end up being the laughing stock of the community if they are not made viable enough, to give an example.
We shall seeeth. I echo Mike's optimism so far. All in all it is a move away from dumbing down classes.
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only thing that bothers me is from the pics, that it looks too clean.
had nothing to do with the topic tho
Idd
Race restrictions in Star Wars has ALWAYS made sense. There are a TON of aliens out there who were very specifically unable to be controlled with the force. So THEY would never be Jedi. In the same way, I fully expect some races to be limited to more force based roles due to the society in which they were brought up. Many of the Sith books include that the sith specifically were GROOMED FROM BIRTH to be Sith.
I'm glad they're bringing it back. The entire "you can be anything you want" should NEVER be the case. There should always be a percieved cost versus percieved gain in your choices in games. For the same reason I've always felt that male characters should have more STR while females end up with more dex or charisma. It's not that there aren't strong females but I've felt that the choices YOU make for your character (no matter how big or small) SHOULD affect gameplay. There are going to be min/maxer's regardless of whether or not it's implemented in game so you might as well utilize the ability to futher customize to make the world diverse.
True enough... roles are there for a reason, even in Eve online... tank, dps, healer..is present, if not in terms of 'class' then in terms of ship roles.. never have a roam without some kind of logi support... typical roam of a few vaga's for tackle and dps, and a scimi for 'healing' and tank.. well.. dps and tank in Eve is often interchangeable... theres nothing wrong with the 'trinity' idea.. its just something that has become the 'norm' in MMO's where group tactics are needed... if the game supports it.. then.. thats a positive thing.. it means their encouraging people to work together. i'd really be more concerned if those kinds of roles werent present in the game.. as that would reinforce the impression that the game was really meant to be played as a single player one.
By all means, suggest a better concept. Too many people complain about things they want to have changed, but have no intention of taking a hand personally in that change.
I gotta agree with this... mostly. I like the fact the game allows players to define the way they want their class to play, yet it still revolves around this archaic Trinity design where "I'm a healer, I heal and that's all that I do". It's just boring and it's that and the sub-fee that are swaying decision, as to whether I'll even buy the game or not.
Sure it can be a lot of fun trying out different specs with your class but it will fall into the same problem as other MMOs. If my class is the best Tank in the game but I hate tanking and rather play DPS, I'll constantly run into a lot of people telling me "Learn to play your role or GTFO". Games like that won't leave a good impression on those people that are new to the MMO genre and just want to play the game (they bought) the way the want to play.
lol, if that's your mainconcern, whatever bro :P
how is a race system technology?
imo a GW Like sytsem where you just switch your skills to whatever fits you most aint much more sci fi either :>
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Maybe I missed it, but I don't remember anyone mentioning the fact that some classes, even though they can technically "tank", aren't the #1 class to do so.
Take Warcraft for example; a Deathknight can tank if they're in a small group, that can't find a warrior, but never in a raid would the DK be the main tank.
If more than one class, or advanced class, can fill the same roll as others, I want them to be on equal playing ground. Maybe each "tank" advanced class could have their own set of weaknesses/strengths, but not to the point that one would always be prefered to the others.
IMO, roles are needed in a large sub based game. It helps increase the interaction in the community for PUG groups and increased the chance to meet others and make friends. If it is just a FFA skill build system, everyone ends up the same. Then only those who know each other end up being able to group and work well together. It is more difficult for PUGs and will lead to more anti-social behavior.
I like the fact that TOR will have multiple choices available to many of the classes. It will allow me to make my class choice based on the story I want to play through. The 200 hours of unique class story will make it important to chose the class that fits you best. If you are forced to pick a class just because of the role you want to play. You may end up frustrated with the story you are playing through. That is a lot of time and effort put into something that you may not realy want to. do Just because of your role. Now you won't have to.
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 for one like the blurring of role lines.
the following is not a SWG is better statemnt only an exaple of my play style.
Pre nge, My main character was a jedi/carbener hybrid. I took skills that boosted my performance while still maintining my ranged abilities. it was for me the perfect combo, since I unlocked jedi, after the good pearls were nerfed from the game, thus making a good lightsaber was impossible.
I found that no only was I harder to kill than the standard jedi, I was able to kite and kill in pvp, and pve quite well
I play City of Heroes, on the villain side more often, because you can avoid teams that are locked into specific roles. Wheras on the hero side its " we ned a tank, a healor, a buffer/debuffer"
Completely remove the ability to tank (especially taunts) and healers. GW2 is doing that and a lot of people are looking forward to it.
Easy... Guild Wars 2. Not saying it's the best for everyone but it's the best for someone like me and is an interesting evolution of the Trinity. Sure you can just come back and say it's a devolution, or bash me as a "Guild Wars 2 Fanboy" for all I care. But as long as the class system allows me to deine myself, without pissing people off and keep me awake during combat, then I'm good. ^_^
If everyone are special then noone is special. So no, I dont agree with this notion that everyone can be everything. I believing in ability to specialise and setting yourself different from the rest.
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People would just end up wiping because everyone would just dps and no one would pay enough attention to heal themselves.
In Bioware we trust!