New info + really good news for PvPers

http://darthhater.com/2011/04/15/buffedde-reveals-new-warzone-the-voidstar/

Lets hope TOR will make the diminished returns work really well on PvP, but the tanks being able to absorb 50% of the damage dealt to a party member might be a little too much if we take in consideration the possibility of multiple stuns, and the multiple ways of harassment the tank has.

The 200 hours to lv50 seems a bit too much for me, but maybe that means the game doesnt -start- at max level, so end-game is not necessarily all there is to this MMO.

200 sounds about like what Vanilla WoW required for max level. I know the record holders were doing it in about 5 days of /played if they picked the correct class and pre-planned every move all the way to 60. A normal played, especially on their first run through, would require more like 200. WoW has since accelerated the process to compensate for the extra 25 levels, as well as provided +experience items for accounts that already have high level characters.

Not sure that I like it that long, but if the story is as good as they claim, I'm not sure that I'll dislike it either

200 hours to level 50 is the class story (or mostly the class story). We have known that for 2 years already: we can reach max level with only the class story and it is ~200 hours per classes.

It also mean 2 things:
1. World stories and flashpoints aren't required to reach max level.
2. Once you reach max level, you will have lots of stuff not done (world story, class story, flashpoints, etc).

#1 mean that there is a lot of content that will be out-leveled and that a lot of people won't bother with.
#2 mean that soloers can play the whole class story, then return back to lower level world stories and flashpoints and complete them solo.

And you are also free to re-roll to see the remaining 1400 hours of class stories once you are done with one.

As for the PvP stuff, Gabe just took his idea from WAR.


I personally find the "- Companions "Almost as strong as other players." extremely funny...

azarhal wrote:

It also mean 2 things:
1. World stories and flashpoints aren't required to reach max level.
2. Once you reach max level, you will have lots of stuff not done (world story, class story, flashpoints, etc).

#1 mean that there is a lot of content that will be out-leveled and that a lot of people won't bother with.
#2 mean that soloers can play the whole class story, then return back to lower level world stories and flashpoints and complete them solo.

Either that or you'll have plenty of story left at max level (which I expect to be the case for most, at least for their first char). More often than not people will probably do world stories and flashpoints alongside the class story while leveling.

This applies even more considering you can earn xp with pvp too. (and space? and other things)

Either way, there is really a lot of time you could just spend playing the story parts of the game!

Aldemarran wrote:

Not sure that I like it that long, but if the story is as good as they claim, I'm not sure that I'll dislike it either

I think they're bringing back the fun to leveling (not that it was ever lost but there's a trend). I usually like to take my time, goof around, hang, relax, explore. I think it will be a lot of fun to play the leveling part, instead of being a race to max level!

On a first character I expect to get deeply involved with the story. However I will probably focus on class story with a goal of maintaining my leveling progression. I've been left out in the weeds enough when trying to participate in end-game that I don't want to fall too far behind the curve.

Why? With a good drama-free group even tough raiding is some of the most fun I've ever had. It has just been *** **** hard to find and then keep such a group of people.

Endgame's going to be there for a while Ald, I wouldn't worry about getting "lost in the weeds" especially with the RiG at your back.

It's up to you though, you know we've got your back

I'm simply excited for the 200 hour per class, I can't weight to tackle them all.

I am happy that it will take so long to get through one character, if I am paying monthly for this then I want the game to last longer then a week to max lvl.

Grome wrote:

Either that or you'll have plenty of story left at max level (which I expect to be the case for most, at least for their first char). More often than not people will probably do world stories and flashpoints alongside the class story while leveling.

This applies even more considering you can earn xp with pvp too. (and space? and other things)

Either way, there is really a lot of time you could just spend playing the story parts of the game!

Most people will probably finish their class story after they reached max level, because like you said lots of things give you XP (PvP, space combat, killing mobs, side quests, etc).

People who will be rushing to the end-game are going to be the real losers here (Well until after a few months and people come up with "how to maximize level in SWTOR").

Kai-Sun wrote:

Endgame's going to be there for a while Ald, I wouldn't worry about getting "lost in the weeds" especially with the RiG at your back.

It's up to you though, you know we've got your back

I'm simply excited for the 200 hour per class, I can't weight to tackle them all.

My frustrations have been that I find it hard to get along in P.U.G.s or get into raids if I'm behind the curve. Of course that could just be the elitist mentality that's become so pervasive in some areas of WoW. There is sooo much I want to do in SW:TOR already!

One of my goals is to become serious crafter. My Imp (Imperial Agent) will likely be a Biochemist for various strategical reasons, though I'll have to review the skill once we know more. This will actually be a strange echo of my Rogue Alchemist in WoW...

And don't get me wrong, I am eager to see all the stories! That's one of the big reasons I'm targeting Class Story with the first character, as that is the thing unique to that class and I'll be able to do more exploring of other stories and things with a second character. Therefore my current intent is to focus on class story for the first character and then really delve into doing as much as possible with the second, more personal character.

I think sometimes I come off as elitist because my focus on efficiency seems like I'm rushing through the game. To my way of thinking I know I have a limited amount of time to play, so I want to experience as much as possible in that amount of time. Because of this I'm always trying to get something done when I'm playing, trying not to lose any precious minutes. Yet this game is an MMO, an inherently social experience and I would be missing out if I neglected that aspect of gaming. Further, I enjoy helping others out so I usually have no problem dropping what I'm doing and lending a hand. Conversely I think it sometimes throws people off that when I'm having a complex conversation with them I'm usually getting some farming done in the background. Of course I've long since worked out how to do so efficiently, so it doesn't usually absorb any real concentration from me.

And above all else I am really looking forward to working with a community again, not just inside one.

Well, I'm sort of an elitist as well, but arguably not in making the most of my time ingame. I have always been the type that doesn't take his alts serious, instead I always invested a lot of time in my first char and this char felt very personal to me (I used to just jump around for hours while having conversations, or just do other random stuff - well, I wasted a lot of time haha) .
I don't know, maybe things will change and I'll pick up more chars, after all they will all have amazing stories to back them up. It's just amazing how much time you could spend JUST playing through all the story. And then there's probably a lot more to do. I think this game will never get boring.

The crafting system has me very excited as well. I think it will provide people with an arguably easier entry to raiding too, as some crafted equipment is supposed to be on par with equipment gained through raiding.

Aaaaaaaahh! Elitist!

I think the sticking to one character is normal. There will always be a class/spec that you prefer and spending more time on a character make you "closer" to it. Personally, it's rarely my first character though, usually the 3rd one. I usually delete the first 2, as well.

Ald, the game won't go away if you don't play it. Also, the classes story structure mean there should be lots of people at every level to do content. Actually, I expect lack of players at higher levels in SWTOR, especially if the only thing to do is Raids and PvP. Players will prefer redoing lower level flashpoints if they are more fun and take a lot less time to finish.

The current Guild list on the SWTOR forum list more casual <10 hours/week than hardcore >20 hours/week guilds, almost a 2:1 ratio. Moderate is almost double casual.