tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post1132840045876750976..comments2024-03-26T20:47:12.919+00:00Comments on Going Commando | A SWTOR Fan Blog: 12 Things That Are Very Different in SWTOR after 10 YearsShintarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16758343475446510635noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post-17211871111096158002021-08-28T12:44:22.718+01:002021-08-28T12:44:22.718+01:00Hahaha, I'm sorry! I actually did start with 1...Hahaha, I'm sorry! I actually did start with 10 in mind, but as I kept writing down more things to add to the list I realised that I'd gone over and couldn't decide what to cut - so I just went with 12, because 12 is also a valid number for list posts, right? ^^Shintarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758343475446510635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post-71177582799297880312021-08-28T11:07:11.848+01:002021-08-28T11:07:11.848+01:00Why 12? 10 things in 10 years. Why 12? OCD is kick...Why 12? 10 things in 10 years. Why 12? OCD is kicking hard.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post-48942408392666500102021-08-27T01:28:49.572+01:002021-08-27T01:28:49.572+01:00You are a pretty big deal by the end of your class...You are a pretty big deal by the end of your class story, so while not "the chosen one", the story treats you as an important person going forward.<br /><br />As for "the battles of space wizards"... looking at all the expansions together, I think Bioware tried to strike a balance between having both stories that are more Force focused (for the Jedi and Sith characters) and ones that are more political/general conflicts (for the non-Force classes). Though there is a major storyline from a few years ago that has very strong "chosen one" vibes (and was therefore not a great time to e.g. be a trooper :P). So it's so-so from that point of view.Shintarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758343475446510635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post-2220321564312265432021-08-26T13:49:45.112+01:002021-08-26T13:49:45.112+01:00That is what I was hoping for back in the day, whe...That is what I was hoping for back in the day, when the game first came out; less focus on the Force and a galaxy that must be saved by The Chosen One. Now that they've streamlined the main stories, is this still the case, or will I - as a trooper, let's say - still get embroiled in the battles of space wizards? I mean, I can probably live with that, if there's a lot of other content on the side (like those exploration missions you mentioned), but it was that promise of multiple storylines that really got me interested in the first place.Kapten Teonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post-76284861584537334642021-08-26T09:01:26.580+01:002021-08-26T09:01:26.580+01:00SWTOR's community... is a mixed bag. Like Bliz...SWTOR's community... is a mixed bag. Like Blizzard, Bioware isn't very good with moderation, and places like Dromund Kaas general chat can be a worse cesspit than the Barrens. But on the other hand there are a ton of super easygoing and helpful players. It depends on who you run into.<br /><br />If you're interested in Star Wars beyond Jedi and Sith (I am too), SWTOR is a great game because you can start as four non-Force using classes! Smuggler and trooper on Republic side and agent and bounty hunter on Empire. They provide really interesting insights into different sort of lives in the Republic and Empire respectively. I think you'd also enjoy many of the optional exploration missions and the world building they provide by giving you glimpses into the lives of more ordinary people.<br /><br />In terms of black and white, the way the game tracks alignment is indeed binary between light and dark, but that's really mostly a cosmetic thing that doesn't affect many things. In terms of actual decisions you can make a character that's a little bit of this and a little bit of that, which I think many players do. Most of the individual story choices aren't that deep (there's a lot of "spare or kill") but what makes things interesting is building up your character's story over time and seeing what sort of person they become.Shintarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758343475446510635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post-60096285253454021482021-08-26T08:43:44.985+01:002021-08-26T08:43:44.985+01:00That was annoying when they originally made the ch...That <i>was</i> annoying when they originally made the changeover to influence, but it should be less of an issue now since it's so easy to level companion influence via crew skill missions. My main's up to 11 comps at influence 50 just from sending them out on crew skill missions every time I'm about to log out.Shintarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758343475446510635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post-67560837458297486262021-08-26T08:13:14.619+01:002021-08-26T08:13:14.619+01:00You forgot the most annoying thing about the compa...You forgot the most annoying thing about the companion changes. If you played through the story back then, your favorite companion is influence level 10 and it's a real pain to get them to 50, whereas if you level a character in 2019 (and I guess, now) you end up with 20-30 at least and it's easier to get to 50.Nogamarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03703565537132612133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post-36664633959885500492021-08-26T00:37:58.730+01:002021-08-26T00:37:58.730+01:00Thanks for this post. A much more verbose response...Thanks for this post. A much more verbose response than what I got when I asked the question. :D<br /><br />I haven't been impressed with Bioware's writing in a while, but I've always been carefully curious about these "different stories" they lauded in the beginning; it's something no other MMO's seem to have.<br /><br />At the end of the day, it's either the setting of the MMO or the community that will make me stick to any specific one for any extended period of time. I don't particularly like the setting of WoW, but the community is great. I'm... sort of a fan of Star Wars, but normally, the more standard stories don't interest me that much. I'm much more interested in stories that don't deal so much in good and evil, but rather some shades of grey and the lives of people not directly involved with the jedi/sith stuff. The Mandalorion probably has my favourite TV/film story, and KotOR2 has my favourite game story, by far, for these reasons.<br /><br />I don't know how this is represented in SWTOR, but in my experience, Bioware's story and characters have always been rather black and white. We'll see, though. I intend to give it a whirl, either way, as well as check out FF14 finally. Some day. :)Kapten Teonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post-4059202881301227312021-08-25T18:56:19.508+01:002021-08-25T18:56:19.508+01:00Very much agreed. I think it was during the Knight...Very much agreed. I think it was during the Knights expansions that they used the refrain "choices matter" a lot, implying that your decisions hadn't really had enough of an impact on your gameplay before, but now it was going to be different! But this really didn't pan out... there were a couple of major story points that made somewhat of a difference, such as whether Koth sticks around or whether to kill or redeem Arcann, but those are ultimately small moments in hours of an otherwise completely linear-feeling story with very little variety.Shintarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758343475446510635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1538233114133115363.post-42521748889498226762021-08-25T17:36:57.011+01:002021-08-25T17:36:57.011+01:00With respect to "how many stories to develop,...With respect to "how many stories to develop," i feel like they have the balance about right in the last expansion I played. There were two very different story lines to play through depending on your faction. I liked this approach in Makeb as well. <br /><br />Eight storylines was amazing at launch, but clearly too ambitious to be maintained. Even if they had managed to attract several million steady subs, I think the logistics of developing all that content never would have been feasible to deal with. <br /><br />AT the same time, the Knights expansions really hurt their replayability by essentially only having one story. They did have impressive production values, but I was disappointed by how little really changed when I went through the second time making radically different choices. Yeebohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08028940396189544294noreply@blogger.com