A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Tag: SWTOR Page 11 of 19

Biggs On: SWTOR Going F2P

I have to admit, while I knew that Bioware would eventually go F2P with SWTOR, I wasn’t expecting it to happen so soon. I know this game has been under very heavy scrutiny by players and gaming pundits since its release, and now they are all screaming “First” upon the Free-2-Play announcement. It does sadden me that this game has become such a flop because I honestly really enjoy this game, though I am beginning to understand the end-game criticisms.

What does Free-2-Play mean for me? Well I think I am going to try to maintain my subscription until it becomes Free-2-Play and then make the switch, especially since I will be playing Mists of Pandaria. I hope to have earned enough Cartel Coins to unlock some of the F2P restrictions so I don’t notice the changes so much. There are many that are saying that this will save the game, and in a way I hope it does. I know that the servers will likely become flooded with players and trolls.

Honestly its the trolls that have me most concerned.I know there will be trolls that will make it their purpose in life to grief players by trying to belittle Bioware and the game as much as possible. I hope that people will take advantage of the ignore list and other methods to diffuse the trolls instead of abandoning the game. Unfortunately all the trolls will also contribute to any login queues.

I hope the decision to go Free-2-Play is a success. I hope to see Bioware receive the same returns as SOE did with DCUO. I am excited that it seems several of my friends will be returning to the game when it does go Free-2-Play and the ability to use my Cartel Coins to unlock some of the restrictions is pretty cool.

The MMO Times: Mechs, Pandas and More!

Issue 42

Greetings Gamers. I want to start this issue off by offering my thoughts and prayers to the families of the Aurora movie massacre. It’s awful that such a thing could happen but don’t let that discourage you from seeing the movie. Its a great film and a great finale to The Dark Knight Trilogy (you can read my review here). I’ve only managed to see it once but I would see it multiple times (if it weren’t so expensive to see a movie in the theater).

So if you have the Guild Wars 2 beta test out of your system (unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to participate in the beta) and you are on a break between your viewings of TDKR, check out the following headlines. It has been a pretty interesting week this week. Of course some big announcements from Blizzard (which I’m sure most of you have already heard) as well as some more MechWarrior Online videos. Read on and enjoy!

The MMO Times: Before The Dark Knight Rises

Issue 41

Greetings again, Gamers! Now that all the hype of Comic-Con is out of our systems we are all watching diligently for news of the next big titles. Granted Gamescom is coming up and there might be a few surprises for MMO gamers. I know everyone is also anxiously awaiting the final Batman movie (to begin at midnight tonight) so here are some articles to keep you occupied while you wait in the lines.

In this issue there is more news for those awaiting MechWarrior Online, more news about SWTOR despite all the vile hatred spewing from some gamers and MMO “pundits”, and the reviews are in for The Secret World. Read on gamers and don’t spoil the ending of Batman for those that haven’t seen it yet.

The MMO Times: The 40th Issue!

Issue 40

It’s Comic-Con week this week and man I wish I was there. William Shatner, Felicia Day, the entire Firefly cast (including Joss Wheadon) are just a couple of the big reasons I wish I were there! It’s also been a slow week in gaming this week not only because of Comic-Con but also because SWTOR patch 1.3 and The Secret World are now in full swing. So I know we are all busy doing what we all do best, but perhaps you will find some of the following articles and posts interesting.

In this 40th issue of the MMO Times there is more information regarding the Game of Thrones MMO, a new Ultima MMO from EA, some more reviews for The Secret World and the announcement of some new incentive programs from Bioware. Read on and enjoy!

The MMO Times: Freedom Edition

Issue 39

Greetings Gamers! I hope everyone had a happy, and safe, Fourth of July. I don’t know what its like in your neck of the woods but around here it has been sweltering. A perfect reason to stay in doors and play some MMOs.

It has been an exciting week as Funcom’s latest project, The Secret World, went live on the 3rd. More news about Bigpoint’s new Game of Thrones project, as well as some reviews about the newest SWTOR content patch. There is some good stuff to check out this week so enjoy!

SWTOR: Patch 1.3 Impressions

Game Update 1.3 has been out for a week now so perhaps I should talk about my impressions of the changes to the game before I get too lost in the new content. I think its important to note that had Bioware not offered the server transfers it would have adversely affected the quality of this patch. I can actually complete the Black Hole heroic daily now, and oftentimes before I have finished the other quests.

I still think that the best feature in this patch is the addition of the Group Finder. I have now used it a couple of times and the only misfortune I have experienced (so far) is a tank that disconnected. Its great to be able to get Tionese crystals, Daily Commendations and Black Hole Commendations more consistently now. Gearing up for Lost Island Hard Modes and Operations should be much easier and create a better end-game experience for the casual player. Generally the queue times have been roughly about 10 minutes for my DPS toon, I haven’t tried it on my tank yet.The biggest concern that some people have voiced have been that since its not a feature that was available at release that nobody will use it but I think that isn’t entirely accurate. I do, occasionally, still see people advertising for a group in the fleet channels, but most of the time its followed up by other people suggesting that they use the group finder tool. I think its great that other players are helping to encourage the new tool.

I don’t pvp much so I can’t comment on the new ranked warzones but based on the activity of those in my guild I’d say its pretty popular. My guild has already assembled a couple of ranked warzone teams and there seems to be less complaining on the fleet channels about the lack of challenge in pvp and warzone queue times. I can imagine this is a very popular feature, and probably the most popular, among pvper’s. If anyone has some feedback they would like to offer about this feature, please feel free to post a comment.

I really like some of the new legacy perks, and not all of them are just for leveling alts. You can increase your companion affection gains from all sources by paying an increasing amount of credits (the bigger the increase, the more it will cost you). If you are an altoholic (like me) then purchasing increased experience gains is going to be worth the credits. There is a new legacy perk that unlocks speeder piloting at earlier levels which might make early Tatooine less cumbersome.

The new augment system is great. If you were struggling on a boss in an operation and you needed just a tiny bit of a DPS boost from your teammates, well this may just be the inch you need. All items can be equipped with an augment slot by using an augment kit appropriate for your level. I haven’t fully explored this feature yet but I think I may do a separate post once I get it all figured out. It seems like there are some that don’t quite understand how it works so perhaps I can provide some help.

As you can see this patch actually has a lot to offer and it didn’t even have new content (in the form of new flashpoints, warzones or operations). I really suggest getting back in there and checking out the new features and experiencing a much more populated universe.

Cheers!

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