Let's talk SWtOR!

[Twani]

I hate my lawyer, but it looks like things are going smoothly. This whole thing is horrible, but considering I got some serious back pain from the whole thing that my insurance is all 'blargh we are stupid' about covering, I need to win this. Which I probably will- everyone but the jackass has agreed to testify, so yay and all that. But ugh.

 

The only time he can meet me is on weekends, though, so we're going to have to see how that goes with gaming.

 

I've basically completely fallen out of interest with SWTOR, unfortunately. The problem is to me, all SWTOR really has going for it is the story and voice acting. I can find better group/raid content, better and more reactive gameplay (as well as less pidgeonhold), much better housing (strongholds in SWTOR were so disappointing for me with their hooks- I mean, come on, this is not LOTRO! =/), better guild quests then conquest, prettier characters with more interesting races, more diverse classes and so on so forth on many other MMO's.

 

The story and voice acting is good, don't get me wrong- but I've pretty much played the stories I cared about save for maybe the Warrior. I've been playing other MMO's with better gameplay, and just generally having more fun... as when I want story, I can always play one of the hundreds of single player RPG's I have. So I'm probably going to let my subscription lapse, though I haven't made any final decision.

 

Lately, I've been playing Rift. Fantastic F2P model (save for bag slots) (basically, you get everything besides stuff everyone has to pay for). Not as fond of the characters looks (they're very standard fantasy), but the easy to get groups for everything is a major plus.

[SapphireIce101]

Here's my thoughts on 2.10, and it's going to be spoilerish.

 

I'm not really impressed. At first the whole Forged Alliances arc was awesome, especially as it was promised as the follow up to the Dread Masters arc. Now, in 2.10, you go to Rakata Prime. It starts out great. Then, towards the end it just starts to go...Meh. Uncle Gamlen Arkous and Darok have one last hurrah before you kill them, and they never tell you anything about what they were planning. Then Revan, or not Revan, shows up and basically explains why he's finally controlling the Revanites, and says that he plans on killing you.

 

When it's all said and done, Lana, Theron, and Jakarro have to go on the run because they couldn't expose the Revanites because Arkous and Darok didn't say anything.

 

Again, to me this wasn't all that impressive. It's more or less introducing Revan as one of the antagonists for 3.0.

 

One thing I did like is that Theron gets all hot and bothered if you flirt with him during this last bit. In fact, he wanted to get out of the room as fast as he could as soon as Jakarro and his droid bring up the fact that he's gone flush. Hah.

 

Can we have Theron and Lana as companions in 3.0? That would be cool, and great. I feel like either one of those are a better LI than Andronikos.

[Kulyok]

I liked Theron being hot and bothered and flushed! I bet there's going to be a romance in the expansion. And I like the cross-faction thingy. I really recommend playing Rakata Prime at least once on both factions - dialogue's worth it. And combat - Rakata Prime's really easy - and I thought Manaan was easy. Heh. Now everyone's going to run it again and again for the palm decoration(beautiful, but costs 600k on the GTN now). Compared to the Tython/Corriban, I liked both Rakata and Manaan - new vistas, new enemies, reasonable difficulty(I hated that Tython encounter with orbital strikes!).

 

And, yeah, everyone in my guild is saying that Revan would probably be the antagonist in a new operation - final boss or something. What for, though? I mean, it's obvious they aren't going to kill him off. (Especially if he's voiced by Xan!)

 

But while I like Theron, I don't like Lana enough to see her as companion - and I think we'll have more dialogue with them as quest-givers, anyway. So I hope they'll keep giving us quests in the expansion. There's a long wait, though.

 

 

Those PvP moves seem great, but yeah, I don't think I could do it. Now I just don't feel like I want PvP or GSF. And now that they've been nerfed for the conquests... probably never for me.

 

Speaking of the conquest, it's really easy this week: Nar Shaddaa heroics are simple(though it's hard to find the objectives: everyone's playing and killing them! Too bad they're not instanced for the most part.) We're getting the triple bonus plus my 1.77 stronghold bonus, so we might even take the first place again.

 

 

As for other MMO's... I don't know, I never really cared for gameplay/group content/character looks all that much, I really prefer the story, and the story of SWTOR still gets me - after all, not a Founder. So we'll see how that goes - conquest and decorations have me hooked for now.

 

 

Doctor Who continues to be good, btw - an episode inside of an actual Dalek is pretty good, though the new Doctor is rather cruel, I think.

[SapphireIce101]

Yeah, I like Theron all hot, bothered, and flushed. Especially when it comes to a very Dark Sided SI.

 

My conquest screen decided to break, so I'm showing last week's conquest, instead of this week's conquest. Which is bad, since my Mandalorian guild is trying to get Tatooine.

 

Also, I was tanking the end part of Black Talon on my Powertech, and I asked if people were ready for Yadira, and this one SI just runs up to her and aggros her for no apparent reason. In the end that didn't matter though, I kind of took aggro and tanked her like I was supposed to.

 

To be honest, I love SWTOR because of its story as well. It beats WoW's any day of the week. Especially now since Garrosh is going back in time and getting a huge army of orcs that out number us like 10 to 1 as well as bringing some technology from our time and developing it for 35+ years in pre-dark portal times. So, not only does he outnumber everyone, but he also should have them out-gunned too. However, since we're the protagonists, we already know that Garrosh is going to lose.

 

I love RIFT because of the fact that you can be whatever you want. I mean, mages can now be tanks, and Trion didn't tease you about it like when WoW did it with the Warlocks. Why would you do that Blizzard? That's not cool.

 

Oh, it's also Bounty Week, so pick up your bounties! It's time to go hunting!

[Domi]

Well, Twani, you did get into this one well before any of us! You have an amazing gaming palate!

 

I doubt they will be doing new companions. Everything up to this point in the endgame looks like the game philosophy changed to having a mule companion and less emphasis on the dialogues. On Makeb they do not seem to be as nice, and frankly some of it is a bit too self-aware.

 

After giving it a bit of a thought, I think I like PvP so much because it fits my lifestyle so perfectly, with its high intensity, low time-investment and high reward. See, any Flashpoint requires you to know the fights, kill order, your role in that particular FP. And there are a lot of them. Memorizing all of it is to much of a load for me, because I have to keep plenty of the other stuff in mind. If you don't do it, you definitely can't play a tank, and you risk being kicked out after investing time (and credits for Cost of Death). Then comes the actual time investment, and that's a huge problem for a family woman like me. Because if my kiddo patters down in a middle of a warzone and wants something, waiting 5 minutes is normally Okay (and she will often get fascinated enough to sit there and wait for the zone to end). If it's urgent, exiting WZ is no biggie. They'll pug someone right away, no roles. If she distracted me, and I died, again, no biggie. In a FP? All of it will end up on my gaming criminal record, and a minimum will earn me a kick from the committed and aggravated teens.

 

Despite it all, I think I will get up early this Saturday and try to pug or beg on the Fleet to do the Manaan and Rakata Prime.

 

Anyway, I had the best ever PvP yesterday on my lowbie Vanguard, finishing a Voidstar with 2nd placement gold, and 2 MVP votes. And then, I went onto Huttball and scored for the first TIME! We also won 5:0... so the other team sucked, but HA! My first ever goal!!!! I will need to see if Tishujen's guild is interested in taking on a lowbie alt for the PvP points, because I am actually netting solo and killing blows on that sucker. Tish doing tons of damage, actually, but I need to get smarter about applying it to the right red person's ass.

 

Anyway, only pulled one Bounty yesterday, owing to finishing Coruscant on Tageren (he still has to go back to finish exploration and the 2 H4+'s). He is now 18, so I will solo Esseles. I made a super-important decision of investing into him, meaning slapping MK-9's on his orange gear, but I decide to keep it on the right side only save for the chestpiece which I will alter till I get a look for him that I will love forever. He is actually looking dashing right now, in that mud-green of the Armormech crafted L15 armor. All color-coordinated with his proud Miri skin. Heh.

 

 

Anyway, Kira's classes start this week, so tonight my humble goal is 1 Bounty, 2 if I can. Went through a few alts for GTN purposes, and man, are we in collapse and slow-down Oh, well, it was good while it lasted. I am sure, some weeks will be better than others with the Conquest impacting it.

 

My husband is probably good for the weekends only from now on, so I can focus on my solos.

 

In reading news, I am thoroughly enjoying my Locke Lamora, even though I see what clever Lynch did - it is a lot of backstory, and a lot of funny dialogue, but the main plot is slow to come out. So, he is padding up his page count. But, Locke is one of the most loveable Mary Sues out there, so I don't mind. His writing of Lamora's crash on Sabetha bears comparison to fanfiction.net - obviously with more mastery. He is not Martin, Abercrombie of Bakker, but, what the heck, he is fun.

[Kulyok]

Domi, gratz on PvP! Saw your post on the SW:Tor forum thread. You're really an experienced PvP'er right now!

 

Yay for tacticals! You don't have to pug or beg, tacticals are easier than that. Just tell people it's your first time, they're going to be okay. Unless there are four first-timers, but even then you can do it after a few wipes. Just know that there are colto stations for the boss fights, so you can always heal yourself if your health falls below half.

 

But first, you have to start the story properly(it's not advisable to do Rakata before Tython, for example), talk to the droid/Theron Shan, do Tython/Corriban, and then talk to the droid again, and get the quest for Manaan.

To get fp's in order, you have to de-click everything but the flashpoint you need and then enter the queue.

 

Your queue length will be about one minute, and the flashpoint itself takes about half an hour, so not very long.

 

As for GTN, you have to check it twice a day, or it's a no go, I'm afraid. I have GTN set on two of my mains, but I've neglected my third "the rest of my auctions" char and my progenitor char, and as a result, no money.

 

 

I'm reading the first Locke novel, and it's not bad - I'm bored, but not bored enough to stop reading(translation might be at fault, though). So I'll get through it eventually, I hope.

 

 

@SapphireIce: I think nobody really pays attention to roles on BT/Esseles, I'm afraid. It's mostly "dps away". I try to wait for the tank, but usually nobody does. Not until Hammer station.

 

And wow, you and Twani really have played a lot of MMO's! SWTOR is my first and probably the only one for the time being.

[Domi]

You are loosing a lot in translation, as the dialogue is the best part of it. Wanna me to send you the English versions? I have the first two books somewhere iirc.

 

Could you tell me which one I need to line up for to start with on the Pub side? Is it the Tython tactical? I don't have anyone at L55 on the Imp side yet (or for that matter any character I am comfortable with playing - I'll do it once I am running Becchino again).

[Kulyok]

Thank you! But I think I'll try to read the Russian version of book 1 first - after all, that worked with Aberkrombie and others. If it clicks, I'll get the rest in English/search for better translation, I think.

 

Okay, Pub side: there's a droid on the fleet near the hangar with the flashpoints. Talk to him, and then just follow the quest(you'll have to go to the hangar and talk to Theron Shan and Darok, and only then queue). Your first flashpoint is going to be Korriban Incursion, then talk to the quest-givers again.

Here's a guide, if you need one: http://dulfy.net/2014/04/07/swtor-korriban-incursion-flashpoint-guide/

 

That's it for one day, but if you want to continue, then queue for Tython, and after the flashpoint, talk to the quest-givers again.

 

That's part 1. Part 2: you have to find the droid, then go to Manaan, then do Manaan flashpoint.P

 

Part 3: find the droid, talk to the quest-giver, do the Rakata flashpoint.

[Domi]

Okay, got it. Will give it a shot, particularly if we are not meeting up over the weekend. I guess, I will have to switch the gym to short KB sessions, lol. The long barbell workouts take too much time. Good thing I like kettllebells too.

[Kulyok]

Yeah, about the weekend: I'm available, I think, but I would like to know in advance, so I could make plans. Both Sunday and Saturday work for me.

 

Yesterday I've done another fp run(tactical Rakata + another HM Athiss). Turns out Athiss is a cakewalk if you have a shadow tank and an operative healer - mobs just stay cc'ed and everyone sneaks past. A nice shortcut on the way to the boss, too(nobody ever takes it, 'cause it's high-level Archeology). I did stand in stupid, but I was lucky enough to notice it immediately(didn't die).

 

Rakata flashpoint sometimes grants a very beautiful palm tree decoration: I bought it, because it doesn't drop often(never dropped in two of my runs) - it's 600k.

 

I also did a few heroics, to help the conquest - we're in the first place, but the second place is trying, too. (Fortunately, I can just do three grey heroics and two flashpoints, and I already have 10k a day. But if the second place starts gaining, I can do all eight - I really want that Conqueror title!)

 

I'm starting to outfit my sniper - I think I'll leave my mara in 168's, but gear my sniper in 180's, because snipers are much more viable for ops. But mara's are so much more enjoyable for regular play! So I'll outfit my mara eventually, too.

 

(I can buy this stuff, but it's crazy expensive, and fp's give me experience and valuable lessons.)

 

Finally sold that Czerka speeder I bought for 900cc when it was on sale. Almost 2 mil. It makes sense to wait, I think.

 

(If you want to pull a trick like this: check out speeders from Galactic Ace pack on Dulfy.net. It's on sale now, so chances are it's going to be off the market soon, and in three months you'll be able to make a killing.)

 

 

Also about DAI: went to Bioware forums and wrote at length how sick Cole's actions were in Asunder and how it's rather more appropriate to make him an antagonist than a companion.

[Domi]

I can do Sunday or a short (~90 min) on Saturday. Twani?

 

Heh, I have just bought Eric the Directive X unlock, so my CC's are basically gone, but I think I ran out of things to spend them on, so I will be investing them, I think soon enough into credits conversion.

 

Can't help but admire your FP performance, Kulyok, way to go! I am afraid for me Conquest is out of the window this week altogether. Well, there is always the next week!

 

Okay, yesterday I did not do zip, just some inventory on Kira's character, 'cause the kid wants 'that jumping quest' - datacron, and I need to re-eqip her. She got enough sales now to bump both Rigg's and Treeks affection, and start collecting again for the equipment. I can obviously equip her from Bayar, but I am trying to teach the kid how you do it properly, plus I am surely NOT playing another gunslinger, no way, so if Kira doesn't play her, I don't care.

 

Got up early to start pulling bounties. 3 this morning, all Imperial, all DK (cause via stronghold it's GREAT!) But they put the damned droid there (RX?) so I was in for a big surprise. My Sin goes through it on a second try. Okay. Normal. Haven't played Bestiya for a month. Pulling out Yvolgar, the Immortal Jugg, thinking I will be done in no time... 4 death later (FOUR!) another player I stood aside for wsp me: Summon him, I'll kill him for you". At that point I am taking it. Just asked the guy if he needed achievement or anything. Anyway, he lends me a hand, chatted for a couple min, he told me he had troubles on the Guardian with the droid as well. That's on my L19-20'ies too. So, I feel kindda down, pulling out my Mara, almost went to Nar Shaddaa. Then she goes and finishes off the droid on a second try (and that's with me barely remembering her binds), without even losing Pierce (it might not be a traditional combo, but they do good together). Then it dawns at me - ah, must be DPS special. Tanks probably just don't put out damage fast enough (even though Yvolgar had Vette). And, of course, Becchino leveled to 44, so now it is even MORE tempting to play her, as the magic 45 is within reach!

 

So, that's 4 bounties total so far, 8 to go as a min, 19 would be better.

 

In the annoying news, 2 of my character on the close inspection are still not keybound. If I have time to keybind them after I pull bounties on all others, I certainly should. Not my fav process, particular since I have to sync both with their Pub mirrors. But I will prefer that to doing bounty on my Seer+Zenith combo. I can try and pull Eric as a back up if I wipe. Just not used to playing her solo.

[Kulyok]

Gratz on the bounties! If you take 10 certificates, you'll be able to buy a great decoration, btw. I'm going for it, I think(I don't want frozen people on my walls, but I do want that thingy).

 

As for keybinding, meh, I'm terrible at it - 1-7-0 is my combo, and I'm sticking to it.

 

I killed one bounty on the Progenitor yesterday with my mara - just to spend time while crafting(I slowly get money for all the armors/mounts in the next packs). With heroic moment, bounties seem to be faster - you don't have to worry about your health bar, at least. And, yeah, maras are amazing when it comes to damage. Twice the swords - twice the leadership! Especially if you have that lovely last ability in the left tree... mmm!

 

Also, I bought an orobird to my varactyl - would make a nice decoration, now that they're silly cheap.

[Domi]

nah, I need the 2 legacy bowcasters for my endless Treeks. One for low levels, and one for L50. Sheesh, I should try Heroic Moment in the afternoon/tomorrow. Seeing it is a one shot deal, it should be perfect for the event. But I hesitate to send the Jugg back to DK tomorrow even with HM (and I am too lazy to equip Treek). Do they keep the bounty the same on the planet each day or switch it?

[Kulyok]

They randomize the bounty the moment you speak with your contact in the cantina. I.e. if you didn't like your adversary, you can reset(but I think you might have to go to the shadow characters again!). And if you want, you can buy immediate Dromund Kaas center plaza access - it costs 50k per character. I got it on my main, very nice, 1 hour cooldown, but it's enough for me.

 

As for the jugg, you are a subscriber, so you can go to the fleet, combat section, and re-assign the skill points to the middle tree for this week. Excellent damage and survivability. You're level 19, right? With level 19 blue hilts and level 15+ blue armorings, regular bounties won't stand a chance.

[Domi]

I'll do just that, respec him to Vengeance, thank you for the idea. I am pretty sure Yv has a purple hilt, since he is a spoiled rich boy he was failing only just anyway - I was actually surprised I was not getting the Carbofreeze option, the droid was so low.