Probally not, since the game is just a world of warcraft clone with voice acting and worse more boring combat. I'd honestly reccomend you wait for a trial, especally if your sick of/didn't like world of warcrafts gameplay since swtor is just the newest wow clone coming out. World of Warcraft is not known to be a grinder si I doubt swtor will be either. I tried swtor in a beta, and well I have to say I was not impressed with the game at all, it was a rather generic and fairly dull mmo with nothing that was really exciting or intersting. To me the voice acting was just a pain in the ass, and just made stuff take longer than it needed to. I don't need 5 mins of voice acting just to tell me to go kill 5 whomp rats or whatever they are called on Tantooine (as an example). SWToR honestly should have just been a single player game, with maybe a multiplayer mode like dragon age etc. Its not a good enough game to qualify as a mmo in my book. Of course people will buy it in droves, but I think they will end up dissapointed. I'm playing it smart, and gonna hold off for a trial to see if the game has gotten any better, but honestly, I don't expect much.
I think so many people in the MMO world have the improper definition of a grindfest, typically games that are one you sit in one area, having to kill the same mob for hours and hours till you level up , then move on to next little area and kill them mobs by the hundreds or thousands and rince in repeat
Most NA games are not really like that, you move from area to area, zone to zone, planet to planet in very little time, so no this wont be a grindfest,
It will be a game that requires X amount of time to progress, but what do you expect !!!!!!!!!! Its a game, cant just log on and magically reach max level with the best gear, sort of takes the fun of playing a game, so the more time you put in, usually the furhter your character gets ahead in one way or another. Sort of the point of the game, to take time to progress or whats the point of playing it.
Seeing how they tried to make every quest more interesting by voice overs and having a choice in conversations, I'd say; no.
Having an actor tell you to go and kill 10 space rats isn't really that much more interesting than reading it in a quest log.
I love the space rat example people use. You can always tell who hasn't done any research on the game by the people who use this.
There are no "space rat" quests in this game, or anything like it, at least from quest givers. Those types of quests occur automatically as you are doing other quests. If, along the way to doing another quest, you kill a space rat, you'll get a quest that states "Hey, if you want some more xp, kill 10 of those rats." It's not a part of the primary quest, and isn't mandatory to do. It just provides you with a chance at extra xp while on your primary quest.
Now, can we please stop using this retarded example of a quest that doesn't exist in TOR? Thanks.
Seeing how they tried to make every quest more interesting by voice overs and having a choice in conversations, I'd say; no.
Having an actor tell you to go and kill 10 space rats isn't really that much more interesting than reading it in a quest log.
I love the space rat example people use. You can always tell who hasn't done any research on the game by the people who use this.
There are no "space rat" quests in this game, or anything like it, at least from quest givers. Those types of quests occur automatically as you are doing other quests. If, along the way to doing another quest, you kill a space rat, you'll get a quest that states "Hey, if you want some more xp, kill 10 of those rats." It's not a part of the primary quest, and isn't mandatory to do. It just provides you with a chance at extra xp while on your primary quest.
Now, can we please stop using this retarded example of a quest that doesn't exist in TOR? Thanks.
Oh boy. So in Rift if I'm told to run around to ten camps and activate 10 magic beams that's a grind, but when in TOR I'm told to go activate 10 antennas [And let me tell you TOR likes antennas, even from convention footage you can see that] thats not a grind because some guy told me I'm running around for 20 minutes killing mobs (with no excitement, no set pieces etc..) because I have to help him free his sister? Or kill some gansters that stole his weapons?
Really? That's not good story. if you're expecting Mass Effect, heck if you're expecting Dragon Age 2, you will be sorely disappointed.
Seeing how they tried to make every quest more interesting by voice overs and having a choice in conversations, I'd say; no.
Having an actor tell you to go and kill 10 space rats isn't really that much more interesting than reading it in a quest log.
I love the space rat example people use. You can always tell who hasn't done any research on the game by the people who use this.
There are no "space rat" quests in this game, or anything like it, at least from quest givers. Those types of quests occur automatically as you are doing other quests. If, along the way to doing another quest, you kill a space rat, you'll get a quest that states "Hey, if you want some more xp, kill 10 of those rats." It's not a part of the primary quest, and isn't mandatory to do. It just provides you with a chance at extra xp while on your primary quest.
Now, can we please stop using this retarded example of a quest that doesn't exist in TOR? Thanks.
Oh boy. So in Rift if I'm told to run around to ten camps and activate 10 magic beams that's a grind, but when in TOR I'm told to go activate 10 antennas [And let me tell you TOR likes antennas, even from convention footage you can see that] thats not a grind because some guy told me I'm running around for 20 minutes killing mobs (with no excitement, no set pieces etc..) because I have to help him free his sister? Or kill some gansters that stole his weapons?
Really? That's not good story. if you're expecting Mass Effect, heck if you're expecting Dragon Age 2, you will be sorely disappointed.
You obviously miss the point of what I said. There aren't any questigivers that give you a quest to kill 10 mobs. They are incidental extra objectives you get just from doing your primary quest. They occur as you are doing you primary quest, and are called "bonus quests." You don't get them through a quest giver, you don't get a reward aside from experience, and they are completely optional. In fact, most of the time, you finish them naturally during the course of your primary quest without having to go out of your way to search for those mobs anyway.
Not all the quests in TOR are super exciting, but most of the quests in TOR are much more immersive and fun than any quests from any other MMO currently on the market. This is a fact. Whether you want to believe that or not is up to you.
To meet the "200 hours" bs, you have to be extremely casual. Most people will get max level in a week / 2 week tops. The game is extremely easy but I guess that is what people want, easy mode.
To meet the "200 hours" bs, you have to be extremely casual. Most people will get max level in a week / 2 week tops. The game is extremely easy but I guess that is what people want, easy mode.
To meet the "200 hours" bs, you have to be extremely casual. Most people will get max level in a week / 2 week tops. The game is extremely easy but I guess that is what people want, easy mode.
Have fun.
Level cap by a week or two, huh? LOL...no.
It is quite possible. Do not under estimate the power gamers. Also if you stick to just personal storyline and ignore everything else you can hit lvl cap ina week.
Well, any answers you get to this, at this time, cannot be trusted. There is still a NDA in effect, so anyone with first hand knowledge cannot answer this. Though some people will be more than happy to tell you it is a grind fest without having ever touched the game.
Depends what you consider a grind. Aion was a grind IMO, WOW and Rift are not. If you play games for the content, quest, etc you typically dont feel a grind, but almost any MMO if you are trying to level to max as fast as possible will feel like a grind regardless.
Story dirven cutscenes lead you from one area to another, criss-crossing you over a world map zone. You combat with static mobs that spawn on timers to complete these story focused quests to further the chain and move down your levels and develope your character's stats.
First of all, please ask your question clearly. Second, what is your definition of grind? Only AFTER you have stated YOUR OWN definition of GRIND, we might be able to help you better. Each player will think certain aspect of game is grind wherein some other player will have a different opinion. So everybody has their own definition of grind.
It is quite possible. Do not under estimate the power gamers. Also if you stick to just personal storyline and ignore everything else you can hit lvl cap ina week.
A week has 168 hours, take away 4 hours per day for sleep and assume that every waking hour they spend playing the game with nothing else disturbing them, I still find it hard to believe unless they've found some bugs or other speed leveling tricks that allowed them to level even faster.
Besides, it's not possible to just stick to the personal storyline and ignore everything else, you have to do other stuff besides it to be able to gain levels.
As for the OP, grindfest is highly subjective. There'll always be repetitive activities in an MMORPG, it depends upon whether you're having fun with those or not which makes it a grindfest to someone or not.
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."
It is quite possible. Do not under estimate the power gamers. Also if you stick to just personal storyline and ignore everything else you can hit lvl cap ina week.
A week has 168 hours, take away 4 hours per day for sleep and assume that every waking hour they spend playing the game with nothing else disturbing them, I still find it hard to believe unless they've found some bugs or other speed leveling tricks that allowed them to level even faster.
Besides, it's not possible to just stick to the personal storyline and ignore everything else, you have to do other stuff besides it to be able to gain levels.
As for the OP, grindfest is highly subjective. There'll always be repetitive activities in an MMORPG, it depends upon whether you're having fun with those or not which makes it a grindfest to someone or not.
It has been made quite clear by Bioware itself that one can level to max just by doing personal storyline. And TOR is not the first MMO where power gamers will hit a cap within a week. Now whether they do it through storyline, questing or just good old mob grinding. It is do able. Level comes quite easily though, not as fast as Rift but quite fast.
The word grind and it's definition are not up for debate. It has been around longer then MMO's.
If I do the same banal activity over and over and over it is a grind. Thus rift and WoW are both grinds.
Can anyone say the mind numbing raid scenario in WoW is not a grind? it is by definition. Bioware has stated they are handling the "end game" differently. I dunno. Maybe. (just 1 example)
SWTOR will be a grind if the quest do not make us anticipate their resolution. A quest grind is a grind.
While DOAC and WoW both at one time provided entertainment, MMo's desperately need to veer away from this increasingly narrow vision.
While niether were perfect I claim it remains that Star Wars Galaxies and City of heroes were less narrow then what followed.
They wet my apetite for what could be in the future but we keep getting more and more narrow.
I think it is time for a non combatant MMO to show us what can be done. Then perhaps traditional themed MMO's can get away from grinds forever. If companies would let the brilliant creators create we would have something.
It has been made quite clear by Bioware itself that one can level to max just by doing personal storyline. And TOR is not the first MMO where power gamers will hit a cap within a week. Now whether they do it through storyline, questing or just good old mob grinding. It is do able. Level comes quite easily though, not as fast as Rift but quite fast.
I have to look it up or maybe Gaou can, but there have been several quotes from BW people stating that this won't be enough, you'll need to do other quests or xp gaining activities besides Class Quests as well.
As for power gamers hitting cap within a week: I usually don't count regular days but gameplay hours.
WoW vanilla took 200-300 hours to reach level cap, LotrO also 200-250 hours, Aion took something of 350-450 gameplay hours to reach level cap. If people know hacks, bug exploits or other tricks they can speed up that process somewhat and like I said, if people almost skip sleep altogether or play on rotation, as good as all of those 168 hours that are in a week can be turned into gameplay hours. 99.9% won't be doing that, because they have lives, other obligations or heck, because they're not insane in their gaming habits.
Surveys point towards a 20-25 hours average a week for the average gamer, less for the casual gamer and around 40 hours and more a week on average for the hardcore MMO gamer. Besides the occasional guy who found a bug or trick or who is playing on rotation, I very much doubt people will reach level cap within a week.
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."
It has been made quite clear by Bioware itself that one can level to max just by doing personal storyline. And TOR is not the first MMO where power gamers will hit a cap within a week. Now whether they do it through storyline, questing or just good old mob grinding. It is do able. Level comes quite easily though, not as fast as Rift but quite fast.
I have to look it up or maybe Gaou can, but there have been several quotes from BW people stating that this won't be enough, you'll need to do other quests or xp gaining activities besides Class Quests as well.
As for power gamers hitting cap within a week: I usually don't count regular days but gameplay hours.
WoW vanilla took 200-300 hours to reach level cap, LotrO also 200-250 hours, Aion took something of 350-450 gameplay hours to reach level cap. If people know hacks, bug exploits or other tricks they can speed up that process somewhat and like I said, if people almost skip sleep altogether or play on rotation, as good as all of those 168 hours that are in a week can be turned into gameplay hours. 99.9% won't be doing that, because they have lives, other obligations or heck, because they're not insane in their gaming habits.
Surveys point towards a 20-25 hours average a week for the average gamer, less for the casual gamer and around 40 hours and more a week on average for the hardcore MMO gamer. Besides the occasional guy who found a bug or trick or who is playing on rotation, I very much doubt people will reach level cap within a week.
unfortunately i don't have time right now, nor will i likely have time today. stupid 12 hour minimum work days
If they skip the cutscenes then they are doing it wrong. That doesn't negate your point but if you rush through games like this then your going to be missing the point of them.
They aren't to get to max level and grind out gear.
They aren't about server firsts (which is why there is no recognition beyond the community for getting one).
It's why you can't instant warp to locations and have to walk. The game is meant to be taken slow and steady.
Basically what i'm saying is if you skip through the cut-scenes then your time doesn't really count as the marker for how long the game normally is, as your not playing the game the way it's designed to be played. Kinda like playing an adventure game with the walk through on the next screen over and skipping all the dialogue.
Here's the thing about "grinding"...
As a few have already noted, it's not a grind if you're enjoying what you're doing. If doing a long stint of quests back to back is enjoyable to you, then it's not going to feel like a grind. It's going to be fun.
If killing hundreds of mobs in rapid succession for hours on end is enjoyable to someone (and believe it or not, some do find that enjoyable.. "relaxing" even), then it's not a "grind". It's fun to them, no matter how unbelievable that might seem to some.
Ultimately, it comes back to how someone approaches the game. If you treat it like a grind, it's going to feel like a grind. If you treat it like a vast adventure, it's going to feel like a vast adventure. Now remember, I'm talking about how it would feel to each individual approaching a given game in their own way. Someone who feels the game is a massive grind to them may not be able to comprehend how it could feel like a grand adventure to someone else... However, the fact remains that it does and, I would wager, in every single case, it comes back to how each individual is approaching and playing the game.
Honestly, if you think about all the various arguments, statements and assertions that people make on different aspects of MMOs, and do some basic math, it really paints a very complete picture.
1 = Many people feel, and insist, that "MMORPGs are all about the end game" and the lower and mid level content is just useless grind they have to get through to get there.
2 = Many people's first and foremost concern when starting out in a new MMO - before they've even gotten the game installed in some cases - is "what's the fastest and most efficient way to get to level cap? What gives the best xp rewards? What's the best class to play? What's the best build?" and so on... They haven't even made a character yet, and they're already placing restrictions on themself (which, invariably, they'll later claim the developer "forced them to do").
3 = Many people will - by their own admission - spend hours grinding away at their levels, at the exclusion of most all else - in the pursuit of item #1 on this list. They don't take a break to do other things. They don't try out other content. They don't try to mix it up so it doesn't become a repetitive experience. They keep their nose to the grindstone and keep going, ever racing toward that "end game" that they feel is "what it's all about". They scoff at the idea of slowing down, reading the quests, doing other things, etc; often referring to it as "useless filler".
Individually, each of those situations is rather telling enough. However, if you take 1+2+3, the very clear result is that these people are all the sole reason for their own aggravation. They feel it's all about the end-game, they are interested in doing only whatever is most efficient and expedient in getting them there and they choose to spend hours grinding away at levels, doing the same thing over and over again.
My question to that is: How could they feel any differently? They just spent many hours, even days, literally grinding through the game. Your approach to something determines the results you get. They approached the game as a "fast-as-they-could-go" grindfest to the end-game.... so that's what they got. A grindfest.
And then they come on to forums like these at the end of it all, complain of a "lack of content" and how the game is nothing but a boring grindfest. They talk of how the game "forces you to grind nonstop". Only it doesn't. The game doesn't "force you" to do anything. It gives every player the same options as every other. The only ones "forcing" these people into grinding non-stop are the players themselves.
What further illustrates how self-imposed the whole "grindfest" thing is, is that in any MMO you see people complaining about, you'll find others are all around them, mixing it up, doing different things, leveling, questing, PvP'ing, exploring, crafting, doing side-content, etc etc. They're having fun and don't feel it's a grind at all.
They're both playing the same game. They both have access to the same content, the same options, the same activities. So what's the difference that makes it fun for one player while it's a tedious and intolerable grind for another?
Their approach to the game. That's it.
I think when these people who complain of "non-stop grinding" can bring themselves to hit the brakes and learn to experience the MMO in its entirety, rather than focusing only on 10% or so at the "end", they might start to see them in a very different light. Of course, that's assuming some would be willing to acknowledge that maybe they are the cause of their own frustration, and would welcome the idea of making a change in their approach. I guess it's much easier for some to just blame the devs for "forcing" them into making their own choices and demanding the game be changed instead.... while continuing to grind endlessly and being aggravated.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
I think they kind of hide the grinding well in the lower levels at least. You have your main story quest line you will do, and it continues on once you leave your home planet, but there are also a ton of other quests you can pick up along the way. Even just killing a random mob that is in your way can give you a quest.
Dont want to go too much into detail because of NDA, but i got to test the game this weekend, and as far as the lower levels are concerned, it didnt feel at all like a grind.
Well since they did copy a lot of elements of WOW I would say it's a quest grind like wow with voice over really.
Edit: So if you like to sit there and watch cut scenes you would most likely like SWTOR. If you're the type of MMO player that grabs all the quest you can and just get to the point it might be annoying with all the voice over.
Comments
LOL'ed
I think so many people in the MMO world have the improper definition of a grindfest, typically games that are one you sit in one area, having to kill the same mob for hours and hours till you level up , then move on to next little area and kill them mobs by the hundreds or thousands and rince in repeat
Most NA games are not really like that, you move from area to area, zone to zone, planet to planet in very little time, so no this wont be a grindfest,
It will be a game that requires X amount of time to progress, but what do you expect !!!!!!!!!! Its a game, cant just log on and magically reach max level with the best gear, sort of takes the fun of playing a game, so the more time you put in, usually the furhter your character gets ahead in one way or another. Sort of the point of the game, to take time to progress or whats the point of playing it.
Oh whole lot of "grinding" will happen once I get the game in my hands, MHMMM!
I love the space rat example people use. You can always tell who hasn't done any research on the game by the people who use this.
There are no "space rat" quests in this game, or anything like it, at least from quest givers. Those types of quests occur automatically as you are doing other quests. If, along the way to doing another quest, you kill a space rat, you'll get a quest that states "Hey, if you want some more xp, kill 10 of those rats." It's not a part of the primary quest, and isn't mandatory to do. It just provides you with a chance at extra xp while on your primary quest.
Now, can we please stop using this retarded example of a quest that doesn't exist in TOR? Thanks.
Oh boy. So in Rift if I'm told to run around to ten camps and activate 10 magic beams that's a grind, but when in TOR I'm told to go activate 10 antennas [And let me tell you TOR likes antennas, even from convention footage you can see that] thats not a grind because some guy told me I'm running around for 20 minutes killing mobs (with no excitement, no set pieces etc..) because I have to help him free his sister? Or kill some gansters that stole his weapons?
Really? That's not good story. if you're expecting Mass Effect, heck if you're expecting Dragon Age 2, you will be sorely disappointed.
You obviously miss the point of what I said. There aren't any questigivers that give you a quest to kill 10 mobs. They are incidental extra objectives you get just from doing your primary quest. They occur as you are doing you primary quest, and are called "bonus quests." You don't get them through a quest giver, you don't get a reward aside from experience, and they are completely optional. In fact, most of the time, you finish them naturally during the course of your primary quest without having to go out of your way to search for those mobs anyway.
Not all the quests in TOR are super exciting, but most of the quests in TOR are much more immersive and fun than any quests from any other MMO currently on the market. This is a fact. Whether you want to believe that or not is up to you.
Yeah, Big brother is watching
To meet the "200 hours" bs, you have to be extremely casual. Most people will get max level in a week / 2 week tops. The game is extremely easy but I guess that is what people want, easy mode.
Have fun.
Level cap by a week or two, huh? LOL...no.
It is quite possible. Do not under estimate the power gamers. Also if you stick to just personal storyline and ignore everything else you can hit lvl cap ina week.
Well, any answers you get to this, at this time, cannot be trusted. There is still a NDA in effect, so anyone with first hand knowledge cannot answer this. Though some people will be more than happy to tell you it is a grind fest without having ever touched the game.
Depends what you consider a grind. Aion was a grind IMO, WOW and Rift are not. If you play games for the content, quest, etc you typically dont feel a grind, but almost any MMO if you are trying to level to max as fast as possible will feel like a grind regardless.
SW:TOR will be a "storyfest", not a grindfest.
Story dirven cutscenes lead you from one area to another, criss-crossing you over a world map zone. You combat with static mobs that spawn on timers to complete these story focused quests to further the chain and move down your levels and develope your character's stats.
So, is that a grind for you?
First of all, please ask your question clearly. Second, what is your definition of grind? Only AFTER you have stated YOUR OWN definition of GRIND, we might be able to help you better. Each player will think certain aspect of game is grind wherein some other player will have a different opinion. So everybody has their own definition of grind.
Guild Wars 2's 50 minutes game play video:
http://n4g.com/news/592585/guild-wars-2-50-minutes-of-pure-gameplay
Everything We Know about GW2:
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/287180/page/1
A week has 168 hours, take away 4 hours per day for sleep and assume that every waking hour they spend playing the game with nothing else disturbing them, I still find it hard to believe unless they've found some bugs or other speed leveling tricks that allowed them to level even faster.
Besides, it's not possible to just stick to the personal storyline and ignore everything else, you have to do other stuff besides it to be able to gain levels.
As for the OP, grindfest is highly subjective. There'll always be repetitive activities in an MMORPG, it depends upon whether you're having fun with those or not which makes it a grindfest to someone or not.
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."
It has been made quite clear by Bioware itself that one can level to max just by doing personal storyline. And TOR is not the first MMO where power gamers will hit a cap within a week. Now whether they do it through storyline, questing or just good old mob grinding. It is do able. Level comes quite easily though, not as fast as Rift but quite fast.
The word grind and it's definition are not up for debate. It has been around longer then MMO's.
If I do the same banal activity over and over and over it is a grind. Thus rift and WoW are both grinds.
Can anyone say the mind numbing raid scenario in WoW is not a grind? it is by definition. Bioware has stated they are handling the "end game" differently. I dunno. Maybe. (just 1 example)
SWTOR will be a grind if the quest do not make us anticipate their resolution. A quest grind is a grind.
While DOAC and WoW both at one time provided entertainment, MMo's desperately need to veer away from this increasingly narrow vision.
While niether were perfect I claim it remains that Star Wars Galaxies and City of heroes were less narrow then what followed.
They wet my apetite for what could be in the future but we keep getting more and more narrow.
I think it is time for a non combatant MMO to show us what can be done. Then perhaps traditional themed MMO's can get away from grinds forever. If companies would let the brilliant creators create we would have something.
I have to look it up or maybe Gaou can, but there have been several quotes from BW people stating that this won't be enough, you'll need to do other quests or xp gaining activities besides Class Quests as well.
As for power gamers hitting cap within a week: I usually don't count regular days but gameplay hours.
WoW vanilla took 200-300 hours to reach level cap, LotrO also 200-250 hours, Aion took something of 350-450 gameplay hours to reach level cap. If people know hacks, bug exploits or other tricks they can speed up that process somewhat and like I said, if people almost skip sleep altogether or play on rotation, as good as all of those 168 hours that are in a week can be turned into gameplay hours. 99.9% won't be doing that, because they have lives, other obligations or heck, because they're not insane in their gaming habits.
Surveys point towards a 20-25 hours average a week for the average gamer, less for the casual gamer and around 40 hours and more a week on average for the hardcore MMO gamer. Besides the occasional guy who found a bug or trick or who is playing on rotation, I very much doubt people will reach level cap within a week.
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."
unfortunately i don't have time right now, nor will i likely have time today. stupid 12 hour minimum work days
Here's the thing about "grinding"...
As a few have already noted, it's not a grind if you're enjoying what you're doing. If doing a long stint of quests back to back is enjoyable to you, then it's not going to feel like a grind. It's going to be fun.
If killing hundreds of mobs in rapid succession for hours on end is enjoyable to someone (and believe it or not, some do find that enjoyable.. "relaxing" even), then it's not a "grind". It's fun to them, no matter how unbelievable that might seem to some.
Ultimately, it comes back to how someone approaches the game. If you treat it like a grind, it's going to feel like a grind. If you treat it like a vast adventure, it's going to feel like a vast adventure. Now remember, I'm talking about how it would feel to each individual approaching a given game in their own way. Someone who feels the game is a massive grind to them may not be able to comprehend how it could feel like a grand adventure to someone else... However, the fact remains that it does and, I would wager, in every single case, it comes back to how each individual is approaching and playing the game.
Honestly, if you think about all the various arguments, statements and assertions that people make on different aspects of MMOs, and do some basic math, it really paints a very complete picture.
1 = Many people feel, and insist, that "MMORPGs are all about the end game" and the lower and mid level content is just useless grind they have to get through to get there.
2 = Many people's first and foremost concern when starting out in a new MMO - before they've even gotten the game installed in some cases - is "what's the fastest and most efficient way to get to level cap? What gives the best xp rewards? What's the best class to play? What's the best build?" and so on... They haven't even made a character yet, and they're already placing restrictions on themself (which, invariably, they'll later claim the developer "forced them to do").
3 = Many people will - by their own admission - spend hours grinding away at their levels, at the exclusion of most all else - in the pursuit of item #1 on this list. They don't take a break to do other things. They don't try out other content. They don't try to mix it up so it doesn't become a repetitive experience. They keep their nose to the grindstone and keep going, ever racing toward that "end game" that they feel is "what it's all about". They scoff at the idea of slowing down, reading the quests, doing other things, etc; often referring to it as "useless filler".
Individually, each of those situations is rather telling enough. However, if you take 1+2+3, the very clear result is that these people are all the sole reason for their own aggravation. They feel it's all about the end-game, they are interested in doing only whatever is most efficient and expedient in getting them there and they choose to spend hours grinding away at levels, doing the same thing over and over again.
My question to that is: How could they feel any differently? They just spent many hours, even days, literally grinding through the game. Your approach to something determines the results you get. They approached the game as a "fast-as-they-could-go" grindfest to the end-game.... so that's what they got. A grindfest.
And then they come on to forums like these at the end of it all, complain of a "lack of content" and how the game is nothing but a boring grindfest. They talk of how the game "forces you to grind nonstop". Only it doesn't. The game doesn't "force you" to do anything. It gives every player the same options as every other. The only ones "forcing" these people into grinding non-stop are the players themselves.
What further illustrates how self-imposed the whole "grindfest" thing is, is that in any MMO you see people complaining about, you'll find others are all around them, mixing it up, doing different things, leveling, questing, PvP'ing, exploring, crafting, doing side-content, etc etc. They're having fun and don't feel it's a grind at all.
They're both playing the same game. They both have access to the same content, the same options, the same activities. So what's the difference that makes it fun for one player while it's a tedious and intolerable grind for another?
Their approach to the game. That's it.
I think when these people who complain of "non-stop grinding" can bring themselves to hit the brakes and learn to experience the MMO in its entirety, rather than focusing only on 10% or so at the "end", they might start to see them in a very different light. Of course, that's assuming some would be willing to acknowledge that maybe they are the cause of their own frustration, and would welcome the idea of making a change in their approach. I guess it's much easier for some to just blame the devs for "forcing" them into making their own choices and demanding the game be changed instead.... while continuing to grind endlessly and being aggravated.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
I think they kind of hide the grinding well in the lower levels at least. You have your main story quest line you will do, and it continues on once you leave your home planet, but there are also a ton of other quests you can pick up along the way. Even just killing a random mob that is in your way can give you a quest.
Dont want to go too much into detail because of NDA, but i got to test the game this weekend, and as far as the lower levels are concerned, it didnt feel at all like a grind.
Well since they did copy a lot of elements of WOW I would say it's a quest grind like wow with voice over really.
Edit: So if you like to sit there and watch cut scenes you would most likely like SWTOR. If you're the type of MMO player that grabs all the quest you can and just get to the point it might be annoying with all the voice over.