Any of you complain about stuff that dev already said to be temporary:

- the number of faction pets will depend on the rank, actual limit of 1 is just a step to change the subsystem gestion of faction pets.

- ATST is a vehicle, yes, but driven by solduers inside, so it's considered like a unity responding to commands etc.

... I have an ATST and some things are meaning no PVP for it. There're stuff to complain about.

But I would like to complain about people not even reading DEV posts and still complaining about problems that are not problems but just a step announced in a longer walk.

The primary issue I have with these rebalancing changes is the effect they will have on Rebel or Neutral Artisan characters.

With the majority of my skill points commited to the Artisan trees and a little in Medic/Doctor, I don't have many skill points left over for combat. This suites my play style fine, and I very much enjoy a character that spends the vast majority of his time creating things and healing people. I have enough skill points left over to fill out the Carbine skills in Marksman and a few boxes in the Carbineer profession. This gives me enough bite to be able to defend myself, walk the world, etc.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of the "extra cool stuff" in the world -- from attaining Jedi to finishing monthly missions to theme parks -- are centered solely around how effectively you can kill things. Healers and Artisans need not apply. In the past, I've muddled through this by grouping with my other artisan focused friends who are also pathetic fighters and primarily by working with them to each build up 3x Rebel faction pets.

While the Rebel faction pets are pretty useless on the offensive, they do act pretty well as 'tanks'. And with a Master Medic behind them with a Carbine for some added punch, I can keep them in the game while adding some offense and make it through many of the "extra cool stuff" missions. Of course, they're not *that* good tanks so I end up losing 1 or 2 of them in many big battles and end up spending time between missions just earning faction points to replace the soldiers who gave their life for (my) cause.

The issue here is that you are reducing by a factor of three my ability to sustain damage in combat in the name of play balancing the "uber fighter" characters who spend all their timeoiling their AT-STand cleaning up after their Rankors. You'll eliminate my ability to complete any "extra cool stuff" in the game, effectively shutting out the Artisan and Medical oriented players from all this extra content you work so hard to create. That won't be very fun. And before you fall back on the "but you should group" theory, I'd like you to spend some time trying to get together a coherent group of random people near a theme park to all work on missions for the "weakling artisan" before you condemn me to this fate.

Here's my suggestion. Please allow non-combat oriented characters to obtain strong combat capabilities by buying or earning them in some other fashion. Think of this as a the "Jabba the Hut" model if you like, I'm certain you'll agree that *he* didn't need to develop his Pistoleer skill trees but he could still take down a Dathomir Force Witch if he *really* needed to.

Here are things I've tried in the past:

• Earn enough Rebel FPs to get three Senior SpecForce Troopers and use them like shields while healing them rapidly enough to keep them in big battles.


• Purchase the biggest, baddest droid out there (Probot all hyped up) and add him to the troops


• Look for the biggest pet tank I can use to add to the force (Rock Beetle? Still looking?)

Here are some suggestions for how you might be able to help work this problem while still balancing out the uber killers:

• Allow Rebels to attain higher level Faction Fighters as they gain rank. Really, if I hadjust oneAT-ST or AT-AT at my disposal I think my problems would be mostly solved :-)


• Allow some other form of high level firepower to be added to non-Creature Handlers or non-Droid Engineers, for all those classes who don't have the SPs to dedicate to killing.


• *Gasp* work on non-killing oriented paths to the badges/jedi/etc. I can still see Yoda's shining blue ghost tsking you for making the primary path to attaining the Force tied most directly to the slaughter of others.

Good eeeeevening.

I just wanted to give a heads up while we are still in the testing stage. fficeffice" />

As many of you know, the AT-ST is a faction pet and the new Publish is going to be bringing some changes to pets in the grand scheme of things. Among the many changes to the game world in this publish are going to be the Creature Handler Profession changes and the Creature Balance changes. Both of those changes will have an impact on pets in general and there will be additional improvements after this first pass. I’ll be doing a more detailed post on the creature balance and you can find information elsewhere on the Creature Handler changes in the development forum, but in the meantime, I wanted to go over the AT-ST changes that you’ll be seeing right away.

With the Creature Handler Profession changes, Creature Handlers will be able to have more than one pet (up to 3 pets) and everyone else will be able to have a single pet. In the wake of this change, any factioned Imperial who is not a Creature Handler will only be able to have one pet. I know some of you are used to having three pets out, but the reason Creature Handlers are being re-balanced is because players can get the combat benefits of the Creature Handler Tree for the skill point cost of 2 trees (essentially all the benefit for half the skill point price) and having three pets out is a major perk for Creature Handlers. If everyone can do it, then its not a perk. The reasoning is that if you really want to have and control three pets, a player should make a commitment to the profession. For example, Teras Kasi Artists and all melee combatants commit themselves to the challenge of playing a short-range game on a playing field where most of the advantages are long-range. Crafters commit their skill points to crafting disciplines and are at a greater risk while searching for resources in the wild and maintaining their harvesters. All professions have to make hard choices at some point - - that is what defines them and makes them interesting.

The next overall change that will effect AT-ST’s is the Creature Balance. The Creature Balance definitely needs a post all to itself, but as it pertains to the AT-ST’s, it is currently a pet. Pets are part of the creature system and creatures overall needed to be balanced. What I mean by “balanced” is that there are lots and lots of creatures in the game world and in the overall view of things, it’s a great system, but there are certain aspects that are out of alignment. That is to say, when armor, hit points and resistances are compared against HAM costs, weapon and damage types, there are some instances where combat with creatures is too easy and instances where it is too difficult. Some creatures have poor armor and high resistances and low hit points and are glass-jaw targets and fall in combat too easy. Other creatures have high armor, high resistances and high hit points and they are too difficult. In the interest of making the game fun and challenging across the board, places where combat with creatures was too easy was stiffened up a bit and made to be more difficult and where the game was too difficult, the numbers were loosened a bit so the system should make more sense and be more fun. As part of this change, AT-ST’s have less armor and Hit Points went up.

Another aspect of AT-ST’s that has been changed has to do with PvE combat. In my original AT-ST thread, the majority of players wanted to remove AT-ST’s from PvE, except in cases of Faction Missions and we agree with you. That change has been implemented. Our reasoning was pretty much in line with yours in that for the most part, Imperial Soldiers don’t have free reign with their equipment and shouldn’t be off shooting womp rats and collecting money from settlers for doing odd jobs. AT-STs are war machines and should be off fighting the war. Sure this is an MMO and players get a lot of leeway to do what they want, but in the greater scheme of things, AT-ST’s should be chasing down rebels and not farming pelts.

Some other changes that also effect AT-ST’s are the DoT or Damage-over-Time effects. AT-STs are now only effected by Fire. DoT effects (bleeding, poison, etc.) will no longer effect the AT-ST’s and DoT’s won’t cause pets in general (including AT-ST’s) to randomly aggro on nearby PvP enemies.

Now, with all this being said, there are people that are going to love the changes and some that hate the changes. Currently, AT-ST’s are on Test Center, so if AT-ST usage is very important to you, then I would encourage you to log onto Test Center, get some faction points and pick up an AT-ST or see some Imperial Allies and play with them. See what you like, see what you don’t like and get involved. Go check ’em out and then post your feedback here and pass it along to our Galactic Civil War Player Correspondent, JEST3R.

For those of you that don’t have a character on TC and don’t have a lot of Faction points, I’ll be working with Jester to get a Faction Point Terminals we can get more of these armored beasties in action.

I looked forward to hearing your feedback.

Summary of AT-ST changes in Test:

• Less armor, more hit points


• Non-Creature Handlers can have 1 pet (ie, 1 AT-ST)


• AT-ST’s can only fight PvEwhen they are on Factional Missions


• DoTs that can effect AT-ST’s are only Fire.

Creature Handler Profession Balance and Upgrade

"Oh my…sir, he says there are several creatures approaching" Pt 2

http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=Developers&message.id=7098

"Oh my…sir, he says there are several creatures approaching" Pt 3

http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=Developers&message.id=8551

Message Edited by Thunderheart on 12-02-2003 11:11 AM

Does the PVE for the AT-ST affect all faction pets? or just the AT-ST?

How the heck would you be able to burn an AT-ST ? with every raid there are rebel commando's , so you always lose it when using it , same with TK , knockdown , dizzy , dizzy , dizzy , GONE

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Ford86 wrote:
Does the PVE for the AT-ST affect all faction pets? or just the AT-ST?

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All faction pets

By making the armor lighter, the AT-ST will be even more useless in PvP than it is now. Imps won't bring them out now because commandos take them out solo. That's the balance that should be addressed! You shouldn't be allowed to be incapped over and over by the rebels while they kill your AT because you can't give it orders or store it.

"Another aspect of AT-ST’s that has been changed has to do with PvE combat. In my original AT-ST thread, the majority of players wanted to remove AT-ST’s from PvE, except in cases of Faction Missions and we agree with you. That change has been implemented"

"AT-ST’s can only fight PvE unless they are on Factional Missions"

hmmmm

Also thunderheard,

The reward for killing an At-St is Only 7 Faction points, will this be increased to 50 or so?

I'm an imperial who has AT-STs and uses them in PvE and I agree with the change in principle, but I wonder if you DEVs realise just how truely useless AT-STs are in PVP... the flame DoT on them is the main reason they are so useless and even with the new hit point increases it won't really make a difference. An AT-ST might survive an encounter with a commando now but it will be so badly wounded that it won't survive a 2nd encounter becaue there is no way to repair it.

There are too many Rebels in this game for the AT-ST to ever be what it once was, and perhaps it should never have existed despite the story line and the actual power of them in the movies but the fact is alot of players spent a considerable amount of time getting the faction points necessairy to get one (especially non-humans...) and these changes are so drastic I think its only fair they there should be a trade in scheme for them just like in real life how the government buys back firearms it decides are now illegal.

If you guys are going to make Them pvp/pve faction only and lessen armor and leave them weak to FIRE only dots, you had better consider making them healable or the at-st will be extinct. A single flame dot with flamesingle2 can do about 3000+ dmg of UNREPAIRABLE damage. That's not including that all flame dots are stackable so it's feasible that in 20 seconds you can have 3 flame dots all ticking for about 800 dmg each. So then within a minute you will lose your at-st. ( and no it's not hard to get some pet to tank them, or in a city clone and put another dot on )


Think before you hange please.

good good, removed AT-STs from PVE and fixed their absurd vulnerabilities, while bringing them in balance w/ more conventional pvp.

wait...you mean they still burn? oh...well, the increased HAM will make that not too bad then, at least they'll take 2 or 3 seperate flame DOTs to die now. good thing they're repairable or they'd still be useless for pvp.

wait...you mean they can't be repairedor healed still & commandos can still stack 5,000+ wounds w/ a single hit, while doing 20,000+ damage w/ thatsame hit? oh...

good changes, thanks.

~pentjak

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Halaka wrote:

I'm an imperial who has AT-STs and uses them in PvE and I agree with the change in principle, but I wonder if you DEVs realise just how truely useless AT-STs are in PVP... the flame DoT on them is the main reason they are so useless and even with the new hit point increases it won't really make a difference. An AT-ST might survive an encounter with a commando now but it will be so badly wounded that it won't survive a 2nd encounter becaue there is no way to repair it.

There are too many Rebels in this game for the AT-ST to ever be what it once was, and perhaps it should never have existed despite the story line and the actual power of them in the movies but the fact is alot of players spent a considerable amount of time getting the faction points necessairy to get one (especially non-humans...) and these changes are so drastic I think its only fair they there should be a trade in scheme for them just like in real life how the government buys back firearms it decides are now illegal.

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What about our rebel Faction pets? They are even more worthless then an At-st?

Come on, You still have a medium armor pet we have to to use No armor or light ones with very low resists.

Be happy with the at-st, it could have been much worse.