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Gear Progression Goes RNG with Eternal Throne’s Galactic Command
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
Gear Progression Goes RNG with Eternal Throne’s Galactic Command
BioWare’s latest live stream event detailed the new Galactic Command system coming to Star Wars: The Old Republic with the release of the Knights of the Eternal Throne expansion this December. The structural changes made to gear progression with this system are set to have a far-reaching impact on the game, and the community isn’t exactly too happy about it.
Comments
We are fossils it would seem. G
Sounds like Bioware want to make lockboxes an integral part of game play. Clever move really, it will probably increase the rate of Cash Shop conversions in the long run...
My MMO jargon always had "farming for X" means you are killing the same stuff over and over again until the RNGesus cause the loot table to drops what you are looking for (or you get enough of what you are looking for). So what you wrote reads as "I hate RNG, but I prefer RNG" to me, lol.
Now about this new.
I'm still trying to find the difference between 5.0 and 4.0 in term of behavior when it comes to getting gear. It has always been:
1. get pieces of random loot while playing the game and/or buy it from a vendor (with credits or crystal) and/or get it from your collection (aka CM stuff)
2. keep what you like, strip mods from what you don't like, sell/trash the rest
3. buy($ or crystal) or/and craft missing mods, put everything into your adaptive gears
4. done
5.0 isn't changing that (GC crate gear is adaptive, mods/gear of that level will be craftable). What is seems to be changing is removing the gear progressing split by game mode. With 5.0 you either get gear from GC crates (require sub), you buy it (everyone) or you craft it (probably harder for non-subs going by crafting limitation already existing), there is no more tokens (and bosses top end gear drops in raids, I haven't read anything about mobs outside of raids suddenly stopping to drop gear just because you are level 70).
What the SWTOR community is melting down over seems to be the time it will take to get the gear under the new system which is 100% speculation at this point. It is also something that can be tweaked by changing drop rates of crates/credits and the GC progression XP gains. Now though, I doubt their plan is to let people get NiM ready get in 2-3 hours like it is apparently possible of doing right now (unless you buy all of it with lots and lots of credits I guess).
The way I see it, the changes to the itemization drops is to:
- revitalize crafting and game modes that felt less rewarding (like Galactic Starfighters)
- give a chance (not necessarily the same one) to everyone to get end game gear as long as they play the game (F2P/Preferred might get screwed over by people overpricing the stuff in the GTN though)
- increase the pool of players who are gear-ready for harder content overtime
- reward subs with cool stuff (the GC crates also have vanity items and materials) so they stay subbed longer
- add progression pass post level cap with the GC
Although, I find it super hilarious that SWTOR followed the opposite path of all MMOs. Instead of adding more tokens, each new major release have reduced the amount of it. From planetary commendation (one per planet dammit), to basic/classic/etc comm to raining crystals to basically none in 5.0.
edit: I forgot to mention. Pre 5.0, you have to do old content to get crystals/tokens to buy gear. Post 5.0, you will do old content to progress GC or get credit to get your gear. 5.0 add a lot more old content that reward participation at max level.
These gear (sans set bonuses) will be available from crafters along with the corresponding armoring, mods and enhancements, etc. to put into adaptive gears (even the crate gear is adaptive), so RNG is not the only system.
Might I add that the RNG is limited to you AC which is not mentioned in the article...
In my guild half the members have 2+ legendary items while the other half has 0.
The fact that crafters in TOR will be able to craft top tier gear remedies the RNG system's discrepancies to some extend.
We'll have to wait and see.
https://streamable.com/5u1e
I would suggest at least sticking around for the nine chapters of Eternal Throne (if you care about story). I only saw a short bit of it, but it looks great so far. Hard to say how the raiding scene will shake out after this. My only hope is that BioWare Austin makes some changes due to the feedback.
21 year MMO veteran
PvP Raid Leader
Lover of The Witcher & CD Projekt Red
vast majority of players are just doing the stories that interest them, then they quit til the next content pack
Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women...
You can't start grinding until level 70. So a L70 PvP player who has gone through 100 command levels is going to be in 244 set gear while a new L70 player or alt, is going to be in 228 non set gear to start. Talk about lopsided PvP matches. This is going to be frustrating for a great many players. Today, you can start PvP with low level toons and by the time they hit level 65 you have enough commendations to get a full set of PvP 208 gear and be competitive. Now that is completely gone.
The more you think about this system, the more you realize it is going to have a extremely negative effect on raiding and PvP. I am willing to bet, it will almost kill off those parts of the game completely.
Did you ever played SWTOR before?
1. In 4.0 you knew what piece of gear drop from which boss. So you could target that specific operation to get loot you want(need). (In 5.0 impossible)
2. If you played with guild or friends, you could get equipment for new guy within few ops. By letting him have all gear from the OP. (In 5.0 impossible)
3. All set items from OPs were tokens so when ever you won some piece of gear. It was always right piece you can use on character you wanted to use it. (In 5.0 impossible)
4. You could farm equip for your different alt class so once alt get to max lvl it can jump right into anything you want (In 5.0 impossible)
Yes there was still a bit of RNG element, but only a lot less then now.
I would be Ok with providing more ways to get gear. But as addition, not as complete replacement. Also with recent experiences i would not be surprised if material for crafting gear would also drop from GC crates. After all, material for crafting previous High End gear dropped from OPs too.
To you other points:
1. We have no idea, if gear crafting will required exclusive material from GC it might be worse than it is now.
2. As long as they PAY for the game, if you stop pay for a month or so, everything you will do in game will be like wasted time.
3. it might be right opposite, since people who was doing harder content will not want to farm gear for no idea how long to be able to do same content as they did 100xtimes before. Since F2P/Pref are out of question now, number of ppl to play harder content will go down and down
4. this might be only valid point, but i dont have big hopes for free cool stuff, with their kind of CM style
5. What progression? Farming GC give you nothing except gear. No skills, no stats. It is just grind, nothing to do with progressions.
Sry but statement "5.0 add a lot more old content that reward participation at max level." Is hilarious. They actually removed old content, because everything will give you SAME reward so no need to play different things in my opinion.
In other word, you are assured a piece of gear you can use* in 5.0 when you finish a raid (even if you end up unmodding it or turn it into CXP because you already have that one), while in 4.0 you were only ~51%** assured of walking away with something after a raid. *GC crates loot table is based on your character AC, so the gear dropped is always usable, just not optimized. **Stat according to people currently calculating/speculating drop rate for gear pieces from GC crates on the official forum.
You cant compare TOKEN with piece of gear. When you got token you could change it for item you WANT, now you will have another 50% gamble with modded gear. And even much worse gamble with ear/implant/relic items.
Also with each item you use, your odds of getting next one you WANT will be lowering much faster than in current setup where you could target specific gear and so improve your chances to get it.
Btw you can use any piece of gear, but it does not mean it is good to use it. Tank/heal/dps stats. Which was not problem with tokens.
Designers should be trying to find the best ideas on content and gameplay in other MMO's and trying to see how they could incorporate that into their game. Instead they are forever working on how to bring the latest bad business practice to their MMO.
The problem that EAware keeps tap-dancing around is that set bonuses are essential to doing the harder content. Not nice-to-have, must have. Crafted armorings do not include the set bonus therefore they do not mitigate the damage these changes will do to progression raiding and high-end pvp.
Whatevs... smells a lot like a set-up so that they can sell "workarounds" in their cash shop.