Entertainer Archive
Thread: My top entertainer issue
My top entertainer issue is that there is no reason to play an entertainer.
I hope the devs see this and seriously consider the implications, because it is pretty profound.
Right now, there is no reason for the entertainer class to exist in the game. I will break this down by what the class is intended and what it has become.
Entertainers as mind healers
The basics first here.. Entertainers are mind healers. When weary adventurers return home with severe trauma from battle, they sit back and relax in the local cantina, throw back a few drinks, and watch the cute dancer over there shaking her moves to the sounds of the local band.
However, every planet has at least one cantina with someone impersonating an NPC providing mind healing. There is no reason to find someone who is actually playing an entertainer, and people have gotten used to the fact that they can go nearly anywhere and find a mind healer.
Entertainers as socializers
The entertainers see each other in the cantina all the time and swap gossip about the local fighters. How that tough looking guy over there is really pretty weak and relies on intimidation... How the weaponsmith has an eye for the pretty twi'lek... How the brave looking soldier over there singlehandedly held back an onslaught of terrorists... How the new dancer has a crush on the handsome soldier that keeps coming in...
Most the cantinas these day are full of people running macros. It is pretty difficult to socialize with people who aren't there. As a result, many of the people who were there have given up and started running macros themselves, contributing to the lack of social people there. And, in the end it doesn't take entertaining to be social. Cantinas have turned from a social place to somewhere you get in, get healed and get out, since theres not much else to do there.
Entertainers as mind buffers
There is a tough battle ahead. The rebellion has received intelligence as to a top secret transportation of plans of assault. The rebels prepare to strike, waiting for the right moment. It will be a tough battle ahead. Some may not come back. They sit around in the cantina in a nervous silence. One of the dancers catches the eye of the men and does a few moves for him, then gives him a wink. The musicians strike up a song of victory. One by one the soldiers join in singing. Their spirits raised, they strike out into battle, their minds set on victory and on returning home for the things worth living for, and the things worth dying for.
The best buffs come from masters, and so few masters stick around where people can find them. Either they care about the profession, and are sick of what the cantinas have become, or they are only doing it because a mystic voice told them to. Most the cantinas are filled with people that either can provide a much smaller buff, or none at all, if they are even there to be able to start the process. Some entertainers have even incorporated buffing into their macro, passing more of the duties of the class over to people impersonating NPCs.
Entertainers as roleplayers
"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy." I can only imagine the class was put into the game to cater to the type of person who doesn't find going out and killing things constantly to be so enjoyable. These people tend to be more roleplayers or socializers. The class was quite a success in that many people who were getting worn out with the same old thing had something new to come to. A lot of people who would not have gone to a Star Wars game, or possibly not even a MMORPG have started playing Star Wars because of this bold new aspect.
Lately, unless you want to roleplay a zombie movie, the cantinas have not become a very interesting place. With all the normal AFKers, combined with the hologrinders, and the new class of grinders, those who just want to place a city cantina, a lot of the people in the cantina entertaining are the exact opposite of roleplayers.
Entertainers as members of hunting parties
A long trek out into the middle of nowhere is up ahead. It will be tough, both physically and mentally. The brave adventurers find a local musician to come along with them and provide some much needed relaxation as they sit around the campfire each night.
I am sure I'm not alone when I say I have NEVER been invited on a hunting party as an entertainer for the 5 months I've been an entertainer, 3-4 as master dancer. This is probably even less common now that there are player cities dotting the map.
Entertainment for Events
The big day was fast approaching. The guests had been invited, the food ordered, the clothes selected, the rings ordered. All that was left was to hire a musician to come play for the party, and dancers to mingle with the crowd and get people dancing.
No big event in SWG is complete without hired entertainment. This is one thing the profession still has going for it. However, since most the entertainers have left the cantinas due to the atmosphere in there, it is hard to be able to round up entertainment. Some people just settle for having whoever is in their guild that has skills come park themselves and start their macro.
So all that we have left as entertainers is events. The profession that SWG was bold enough to step forward and include, targeting a whole new demographic, has been lowered to a bunch of NPC impersonators and people doing what amounts to over-glorified social animations for the occasional non-combat oriented gathering. 3 whole classes worth of over-glorified social animations at that.
I ask the developers, is this what your grand vision for entertainers was? I love being an entertainer. I wouldn't give it up for anything. It is the reason I am still playing Star Wars. However, I'm having trouble justifying the existence of the class, and as a result, questioning myself as to why it is I was playing. Everything that people who play entertainers are could be provided by getting rid of the classes (And BF) and giving everyone the ability to play music and dance.
The holocrons have just made the situations worse. People will do anything a mystic voice tells them to do, even if it goes against common sense that they would do things the find fun in a game. As a result, most the people playing entertainers aren't even interested in the class at all. There are a few diamonds in the rough who are going with the spirit and getting all the way into the shoes of the entertainers. I salute those few.
All I ask is that the class be given back to who it was created for in the first place, or is eliminated completely. This middle ground doesn't make anyone happy. The true entertainers aren't happy because the profession and their turf (The cantinas) are diluted with the swarm of people just in it for the title or for their guild. The combatants aren't happy because they are forced to go be healed by someone that didn't even need to do anything to get to where they are. The prospective jedi aren't happy because they feel they are forced to do something they don't think they will be interested in, so find every way they can to stay as far from it as possible while doing it. Who is happy with the current situation? By leaving things as they are now, the class serves no purpose but to leave everyone frustrated.
End the frustration. Either put us out of the misery and strike the class completely, or give the roleplayers and socializers their class back.
I wrote a long and involved response to this which got eaten for some reason. In short, I agree with the fact that there are serious problems with the entertainer professions right now. These problems stem from both issues intrinsic to the profession itself, such as game mechanics, and extrinsic concerns such as holocron hunting, or a "bot" mentality. I do hope the devs take notice of your analysis of the situation.
In the meantime, perhaps a focus on entertainer missions may mitigate some of the adverse effects which have happened lately and revitalize the profession. My vision consists of entertainer missions which meaningfully reward (i.e MORE CASH) entertainers for travelling to planets where people need healing (including to player-run cantinas), which encourage entertainers togather with other entertainers who have taken the same mission, and socialize with adventurers on these planets. I would also like to see an option for group missions.
In addition, the adventure planets need more visible cantinas. Yes, they are crude outposts, but a tavern like in Anchorhead wouldn't be too far-fetched. That way hunting parties will know where to find the entertainers. Not to mention - there's no incentive to entertain in a small generic house. I'll pass on that one.
- J
Good post, Tiaga. I'm increasingly worried about our professions, too. More and more, my role seems to be to buff. Don't get me wrong, I love my buff, but I sure wish there were more things to do. In my dreams, I imagine epic quests geared solely to Musicians, Dancers, Entertainers, and Image Designers; gig missions that require puzzle-solving or social interaction or decision-making or other use of the brain; dozens of new songs that will stay fresh for months, making us more valued at parties and events; and new abilities like leading a band or hiring an NPC "pet" musician to play alongside you.
The devs do have some things planned -- new songs are in the works, as I keep saying like a broken record -- but I'm not sure they have enough planned.
Unfortunately all indications are that nothing will ever be done about this situation. Until they eliminate the professions from the game, which I think they probably will do eventually. Perhaps with the 2nd expansion (I doubt they'll do it in the space expansion).
C
I'm not sure it really matters. That forum is so much noise, it's hard to find anything. I'm sure that thread is so long that wading through all the people who just posted their friend's thread would make most people just give up.
I did repost this on the discussion board (here for those who are curious) and while it got 5 stars, it quickly fell off the front page with no replies, and I'm not one to bump posts into oblivion, which is what you need to do to get heard there.
picklesSW wrote:
I'm not sure what bothers me most...the pathetic state the entertainer professions have sunk to, or the fact that there is no proof, not a single post or shred of evidence that the devs give a **edit** about the situation.
- J
so true... they couldn't even respond to our top issues untill 4 months later than the other proffessions... judging on that and that they refuse to comment on any of the milions of posts on the different entertainer boards, i would say the could give a flying ****
This thread prompted me to post a note on Musician morale in the Correspondent forum, and while I didn't want to speak for Dancers, Entertainers, or Image Designers, I did suggest that morale in all the entertaining professions is really low. We all need more content. I keep reading posts by Musicians who are bored and are quitting. If we can't have more content, at least we need the cantina atmosphere to return to what was so fun at launch: a hospitable environment for role-playing and socializing. I still do some of that, but mostly in private cantinas these days.
Anyway, I'll bump my own morale thread until I get an answer.