Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG by Bioware

[lerath666]

Original EQ was amazing.
I wonder, have you ever tried WoW?
They took alot of what EQ did right, and improved upon it.
part of what makes it so successful.
playing with my eventual children is something i'm looking forward to.

 

[ExMem-LarjaThwei]

My problem with WoW is that they've made it to where everything is pretty much pointless and boring.. I miss the days of queueing for BGs at the Battlemasters, I miss getting a group together and traveling to the dungeon..
All anyone seems to do now is RAIDRAIDRAIDRAID.

I remember when I first started playing, back in BC. It was fun..there was so much to do, it took more than an hour to hit the level cap..everything wasn't handed to you. It felt like a TRUE RPG. Like you were in this wonderful, mystical world...but now it's just a competition to see who can get the best gear/mount and sit in Org on it for hours while trolling Trade chat.

Since it seems like SWTOR is going to be more about the RPG part, more about the lore, exploration, adventure, more realistic, etc.. I'm going to try it out.

 

[lerath666]

All anyone seems to do now is RAIDRAIDRAIDRAID.

There is a reason for that.
That group is your CORE mmo demographic. They are the ones who keep mmo's alive, and not in F2P model.

I agree, however, I am kinda drawn to the story aspect of Old Republic.

Curious, though. have you played wow at all since cata rolled out?

The story driven quests they put in to the old world are one of the things that drew me back in.

 

[vareika]

So wow has been out for 10 years? I played about two years in college and it feels like ages ago, but I didn't realize it has been going on for 10 years. Good times.

 

[ATCollector]

From my playtime with the game (2+ months), I dont get the feeling that Bioware is trying to make TOR to be the "WoW Killer". They are combining the best parts of their RPG games (Mass Effect, Dragon Age, KOTOR) with MMO gameplay.

I for one welcome this new style of gameplay. I've played numerous MMO's (my main addiction was EQ2) over the past 8 years. I'm sick of clicking through quests and grinding mobs just to reach max level and then raiding endlessly to see the end game content. It's a cool experience to actually care about the story and world your interacting with instead of just grinding to reach max level.

I'm sure TOR will have great end game content too, it just seems like a nice change of pace so far. I do think that people who expect the game to be a Star Wars version of WoW will be disappointed. But if you love the Star Wars universe and concepts... this is a game you should enjoy.

 

[ExMem-LarjaThwei]

There is a reason for that.
That group is your CORE mmo demographic. They are the ones who keep mmo's alive, and not in F2P model.

I know, I just don't understand how anyone could consider doing unnecessary chore-like raiding, enjoyable.

Curious, though. have you played wow at all since cata rolled out?

The story driven quests they put in to the old world are one of the things that drew me back in.

I bought Cata this September, cancelled my subscription earlier this month..then for some odd reason they permanently cancelled my account.

..had 102 mounts, one of them being the Time Lost Proto-Drake.

But anyway..I can't stand Cata to be honest. It doesn't really seem like they've added much..just wrecked all the zones I enjoyed, took out the secret hide-outs I had discovered over the 3 years I played, ruined all of my favorite dungeons (SM, SFK, Deadmines..)..etc.
Just seems like they've made everything much less enjoyable and more chore-like. Which I guess is what the hardcore raiders enjoy..

The one thing that made me purchase Cata and renew my subscription was Gilneas and it's lore. I have always loved the Werewolf and the atmosphere it brings, and was so happy to learn that the Worgen would be a playable race.. Not really enough to keep me playing though, considering the fact that after the low level quests..the place is abandoned and forgotten.

It would be nice if they made servers for each specific x-pack, also..

Edit: I'd like to add that when creating a new character, you shouldn't be rushing to hit the level cap asap. The low level content should not bore you, but be very enjoyable. With WoW all you do now for alts is stock up on BoA gear, and dungeon until you hit 85..which is usually in a week or so.

 

[OSCORP]

From my playtime with the game (2+ months), I dont get the feeling that Bioware is trying to make TOR to be the "WoW Killer". They are combining the best parts of their RPG games (Mass Effect, Dragon Age, KOTOR) with MMO gameplay.

I for one welcome this new style of gameplay. I've played numerous MMO's (my main addiction was EQ2) over the past 8 years. I'm sick of clicking through quests and grinding mobs just to reach max level and then raiding endlessly to see the end game content. It's a cool experience to actually care about the story and world your interacting with instead of just grinding to reach max level.

I'm sure TOR will have great end game content too, it just seems like a nice change of pace so far. I do think that people who expect the game to be a Star Wars version of WoW will be disappointed. But if you love the Star Wars universe and concepts... this is a game you should enjoy.

Well said, my thoughts exactly.

 

[Shropt]

I finallly got to play this game and I am REALLY looking forward to the full release. I was able to play 3 characters and enjoyed the stories on all of them. My only problem with the game is they made the jedi stories WAY more interesting than the other characters which could result in a lot of Jedi characters in the beginning.

 

[Darth Caedus]

I finallly got to play this game and I am REALLY looking forward to the full release. I was able to play 3 characters and enjoyed the stories on all of them. My only problem with the game is they made the jedi stories WAY more interesting than the other characters which could result in a lot of Jedi characters in the beginning.

Think that was going to happen regardless

 

[OSCORP]

Is it dec 15th yet?

 

[ATCollector]

I found the bounty hunters story to be much better than the Jedi consular. Just my opinion though, and I am a Fett die hard.

Edited: I shouldn't say better... I just found it more interesting.

 

[Cryoguns]

I found the bounty hunters story to be much better than the Jedi consular. Just my opinion though, and I am a Fett die hard.

Edited: I shouldn't say better... I just found it more interesting.

I agree...played the following to 10 or higher:

Jedi Knight
Smuggler
Republic Trooper
Sith Warrior
Bounty Hunter
Imperial Agent

I got the Jedi Knight got into the first couple of missions on Coruscant. Not a bad arc, but I thought the Bounty Hunter's was much better. I also thought the trooper's had the potential for a great second one. The one I probably enjoyed the least was the Smuggler's...too much running odd jobs and not enough effort expended in trying to find your ship.

All that aside, I still plan to roll a Jedi as a main and a Bounty Hunter as my secondary. I'm likely to play each class through at some point just to enjoy the stories.

 

[jasong888]

i only played 2 classes. imperial agent up to 16 and smuggler up to 12. i liked the storyline of the smuggler more than the imperial agent. the playstyle felt better as a smuggler than imperial agent. prolly b/c i could run-and-gun lol.

 

[Drakul]

I played 4 characters up to the end of the starting zone to get a good idea of various gameplay and feel.

2 character Republic side (Jedi Knight, Trooper)

2 characters Empire side (Imperial Agent and Sith Inquisitor)

Jedi Knight was alright but felt a bit bland to me. T7 is a really fun companion. Also 'Riposte' needs to not cost focus.
Trooper was fun. Started will ok missions but ended with a bang and has good potential.

Imperial Agent was really fun and I dig the infiltration story. Gameplay is fun too and the companion rocks.
Sith Inquisitor story was a blast. Companion is so-so.

Overall I think I liked to play the blaster type characters better but I'm not sure what I'll be when game comes out.
Though I'm sure I'll be Empire, dialogue is more flavorful, settings are cool...

Some goodbye fun at the cantina.

 

[Jair]

Still playing WoW after 10 years. and i'm eagerly looking forward to the next expansion.

Here is the thing, wow lost approxamately 10% of it's player base from december of last year to december of this year.

which means they dropped from 12 million active accounts, to 10.5 million active accounts. and is hovering around 10.5

mmo annalists are putting 10 million as wow's "critical mass" for it's player base. meaning that they expect this to be the general number.

additionaly, having played both games, there are things in Old republic that are going to repell your hardcore mmo croud, but attract general RPG players.

and it's exactly the opposite in games like WoW, and RIFT.

short version, WoW has nothing to fear from Old republic, as it's going to attract a different auidence than WoW will.

yes, SOME people will leave wow for TOR. there will also be "crossover kids" ( like me ) who will play both, and flovor of the month gamers who switch MMO games every time a new one comes out.

How long Will WoW last? As long as blizzard keeps the servers running.
the ORIGINAL Everquest still has people paying a monthly fee to play it ( close to 20 years old now), so does ultima online( even older). Trust me, wow is not going anywhere any time soon.

Not to be picky here but for someone who was a guide in EQ in the beginning.... it's only been about 12 years or so, game went live in 1999. WoW has only been live for 7 years, I know in MMO time it feels longer but 20 years, that would have had me in beta testing 22 years ago for EQ

I agree with most folks here, while WOW will lost some subscription numbers it will be minimal, most will keep their WoW subs and just play TOR as well. I've been in beta for over 16 months and really can't wait to play live but it's a far cry from the open sandbox world of EQ.


Evan

 

[jasong888]

I played 4 characters up to the end of the starting zone to get a good idea of various gameplay and feel.

2 character Republic side (Jedi Knight, Trooper)

2 characters Empire side (Imperial Agent and Sith Inquisitor)

Jedi Knight was alright but felt a bit bland to me. T7 is a really fun companion. Also 'Riposte' needs to not cost focus.
Trooper was fun. Started will ok missions but ended with a bang and has good potential.

Imperial Agent was really fun and I dig the infiltration story. Gameplay is fun too and the companion rocks.
Sith Inquisitor story was a blast. Companion is so-so.

Overall I think I liked to play the blaster type characters better but I'm not sure what I'll be when game comes out.
Though I'm sure I'll be Empire, dialogue is more flavorful, settings are cool...

Some goodbye fun at the cantina.

sweet screenshot. our last hour of beta'ing, we tried to take out the world boss in corusant that just patrols this square area. there was about 40 or so players and we barely put a dent in that thing. out of 275k health, we brought it down to about 215k before it would one shot each of us after the tanks were killed.

 

[Crimsonbob]

I played a Sith Juggernaut to lvl 16. Very cool tough as nails and the story line is interesting. I did want to kill Vette my companion though as she's annoying.

I played a Sith Assasin to lvl 12 kinda squishy but fun anyway and i loved the 1st companion as its all about the evil with this toon.

I tried a Smuggler got to about lvl 7 and i wasn't feeling the love at all tbh.

My fav was the Trooper, i got him to lvl 11 just before the server went down. He sure can kick botty and i felt very comfortable in the role and the storyline is quite good.

I'm gonna go for Bounty hunter as my 1st char though

 

[Drakul]

sweet screenshot. our last hour of beta'ing, we tried to take out the world boss in corusant that just patrols this square area. there was about 40 or so players and we barely put a dent in that thing. out of 275k health, we brought it down to about 215k before it would one shot each of us after the tanks were killed.

Sounds like good times!

 

[THX-182]

I can't decide what to play as. I want to make just one character to concentrate on and level so I don't get bored playing the starter areas over and over. I really like Sith Inquisitor but I also really like the Jedi Consular. I'm also leaning towards Bounty Hunter, Trooper and Imperial Agent. Tough choices.

 

[OSCORP]

Sith Warrior - Juggernaut for me.

BH as my alt.

But i know i'm gonna do more