Force Sensitive Archive
Thread: It really sucks to be a casual gamer....
JediMasterZero wrote:
Hey all, I'm gonna send a PM to Tiggs, encouraging him to read this thread. Perhaps, just perhaps, something good may yet come from it.
No flames...just letting you know Tiggs is a She...not a He.
I have to respectfully disagree that it is unattainable for those of us on limited play time.
I am a casual gamer with a plan and I am within 1 tree worth of XP to complete my XP requirements for the quests. I still have another 3 unlocks to go so that puts me a while away from unlocking Padawan. I have about 13 more combat XP caps to go and I expect to do it before this phase switches out.
I try to cap twice a night, that takes me a little more than 1.5 hours of game time. A little planning and a bit of routine will get it done if you have a few things going for you. Since December 1 I have racked up a little over 5 million FS XP by hitting these goals.
First I use Thermals. It takes about 1 crate per 100K of FS XPas a general rule with the thermals doing about 2300-3700 damage per hit to attacking mobs. I try to maximize the grenades by only using them when I have at least 5 aggros on me minimum. I shoot for 80K+ Combat XP per lair and once I cap I just go to the village and ignore any remaining mobs.
Here is a general list of tips and things to look for to expidite your grind as a casual gamer. it's the runing around looking for crap time that kills the grind. minimize that and you are 1/2 way home.
1 - Get a grenade supplier on retainer. I did, it cost me a lot and my weaponsmith benifited greatly from this but from my perspective so did I. This more than anything is the number 1 thing to me as it has saved me a ton of time looking around. I also make my own powerups for +33% max damage with my alt - more runing around time saved.
2 - Have backup armor ready to go at all times - easy one for me as my alt is a Master Armorsmith. I figure I've gone thru 5 sets of good comp on this grind (I was too lazy to repair it..I just ran all sets into the ground)
3 - Stay in a big group with entertainers. I didn't need the buffs as I use brandy but try to heal the BF after each cap so it doesnt affect your other statstoo much. The groups over 17 people seem to give better missions with 2-4 more mobs per lair, that can add up to 22-24K combat XP - every bit helps.
4 - when getting ready to logout always heal up and logout in coronet so you can buff straight away when logging in. Again this minimizes the screwing around time, I frequently pay for VIP buffs to...as they say time is money.
5 - Have JTL and a hyperdrive capable ship and use it when travelling. This has saved me a ton of time
6 - Do giant baz nitch missions on dath and on the second 2 missions of a cap session take them in the SE direction only as that is towards the village. Or if you cap and go back to the Science outpost first, grab 2 more in the SE direction and hit them on the way back from the village.
I bet my game time is right near 20 hours per week or so with the occasional 4-5 hour spot on a random weekend when my wife isn't home or I have spare time. I will finish this within 2 weeks if not sooner. Not too shabby considering I got glowy the week before Thanksgiving.
Good luck to everyone else - and look me up if anyone needs help with Michealle (sp) on Bria
Hylidex wrote:
Jessian wrote:
Star Wars (New Hope) is currently playing behind me curtiously of ITV (UK) and its a totally different thing than this game, Luke skywalker is in his 20's, a farmer, and is Handed a lightsaber. only training, is against a robot.I love this point. Not a single quenker slaughtered for xp. Maybe DE's could make training droids for leveling up the lower levels?
Last night I was informed that the ranged FS enhancements don't work (as mentioned on the rifleman forum.) As a bio-engineer with limited combat skills and a profession that earns xp in trees the profession cannot unlock, and professional enhancements in trees that are earned by combat, I was depending on these to get me through the long FS grind. At my current level, earning xp as I do, I calculated last night that I would have to kill over 7000 enraged rancors with my friends to unlock. Sigh, and to think I gave up ranged support to free up the xp.
I love the idea of a simple moisture farmer gradually becoming more in-tune with the force, with a combination of practice (with the droid), special training quests (as Luke did with Yoda), and gradual improvement by using the force sensitivity in daily aspects of life (as Luke continued to improve between episodes V and VI), ie. by playing the game itself.
The single most important difference between a boring progression and a fun one is the existence of intermediate rewards and successes.
I believe that the Devs intended people to get Jedi just by "playing the game", converting XP they gained along the way, but they were quite naive. With the goal being Jedi and, the XP requirements being so high, and gamers being the way they are, it was inevitable that this became a grind.
DRWolfe wrote:
Hylidex wrote:
Jessian wrote:
Star Wars (New Hope) is currently playing behind me curtiously of ITV (UK) and its a totally different thing than this game, Luke skywalker is in his 20's, a farmer, and is Handed a lightsaber. only training, is against a robot.
I love this point. Not a single quenker slaughtered for xp. Maybe DE's could make training droids for leveling up the lower levels?
Last night I was informed that the ranged FS enhancements don't work (as mentioned on the rifleman forum.) As a bio-engineer with limited combat skills and a profession that earns xp in trees the profession cannot unlock, and professional enhancements in trees that are earned by combat, I was depending on these to get me through the long FS grind. At my current level, earning xp as I do, I calculated last night that I would have to kill over 7000 enraged rancors with my friends to unlock. Sigh, and to think I gave up ranged support to free up the xp.
I love the idea of a simple moisture farmer gradually becoming more in-tune with the force, with a combination of practice (with the droid), special training quests (as Luke did with Yoda), and gradual improvement by using the force sensitivity in daily aspects of life (as Luke continued to improve between episodes V and VI), ie. by playing the game itself.
The single most important difference between a boring progression and a fun one is the existence of intermediate rewards and successes.
I believe that the Devs intended people to get Jedi just by "playing the game", converting XP they gained along the way, but they were quite naive. With the goal being Jedi and, the XP requirements being so high, and gamers being the way they are, it was inevitable that this became a grind.
I agree with every word of your assessment. I only wish it weren't true. I can't think of any easy solution to this.
DRWolfe wrote:
Nohoah wrote:
DRWolfe wrote:
Grrrr. Jedi is meant for anyone who pays $15 a month to play this game, which I believe we all do.
I found a Jedi FAQ that SOE put out shortly after SWG was released:
Will only the extremely lucky or hardcore players get to play Jedi?
Jedi status is not determined based on "luck." However, Jedi is considered an advanced objective to achieve within the game. Casual and hardcore players alike can reach this objective because the path is different for each player. However, it might take a casual player considerably longer to unlock a Force Sensitive character slot.
Your quote agrees with me, however you highlighted the wrong phrase. The correct part of that statement is "Casual and hardcore players alike can reach this objective"
I never said it wouldn't take longer for casual gamers to become Jedi. I simply hate it when people say "Jedi isn't for casual gamers" because everything in this game is for everyone who pays to play this game. This Dev quote supports my position.
EDIT: Besides, that FAQ is so old, much of it is completely innacurate. Let's look at a few things:
- "we will not to put in official "Jedi Trials." (What about Padawan Trials and Knight Trials?)
- "Player Jedi Masters may come up with their own requirements for those they choose to apprentice" (PC Jedi have nothing to do with other Jedi's advancement, in fact being around another Jedi is just as dangerous, visibility wise, as being around anyone else. No Apprenticeships here.)
- "We don't want lightsabers to be really easy or quick to produce, but we also don't want it to take an inordinate amount of time. According to continuity, it took Luke quite some time to build his lightsaber on Tatooine and he "failed" many attempts." (Lightsabers are crafted just like any other item in-game, so it seems they're really easy and quick to produce. The only thing is having to have a looted crystal to make it work. Guess that's what really makes them harder to produce. Wonder how many millions of credits Luke paid for his crystals?)
- "Learning how to build a double-bladed lightsaber will likely be more difficult than learning how to build a normal lightsaber...And, it may be more difficult to learn how to wield the weapon effectively...it is so rare during the original trilogy's time period." (Just another branch in the lightsaber tree.)
- "a Jedi has the knowledge necessary to maintain a lightsaber, preventing such decay." (Well, the lightsabers don't decay any more, just the crystals. Wonder when Luke had to spend more millions of credits on crystals because his decayed?)
Message Edited by DRWolfe on 12-28-2004 04:30 PM
/agree
I realize alot of the things in the FAQ no longer apply, after all the FAQ was released by SOE shortly after SWG went live, and I highlighted the wrong piece of it as well. I was juggling several things at the time of that post so I didn't check to make sure I had it correct.... my bad
Nohoah
SniperRedFox wrote:
I just wanna know something, why does becoming a Jedi have to be so hard anyway? I know at this time in the movie/story that there are only 2 "Jedi" in the Universe, and 1 "Jedi in Training". But this is different from the movie and
I have to disagree with Jedi being 'hard'..Time consuming yes..Hard No.
Don't give up hope, pace yourself, like a marathon runner. My friends this is not a sprint. As a casual player it will take more months, but the same amount of play time.
May the force be with you, always......
smuggler,
roleplayer (try),
the force is wirh me since jedi revamp,
no free unlocks (i am smuggler, was smuggler, will be smuggler),
managed to fill 2 BOXES (not branches)..
now i know why there are NO Roleplaying Jedi out there...
The problem is the casual walker that wants to cross the finish line but wants a bus to take them there. Sorry, no shortcuts.
ChoNaguriai wrote:
Anyone who says Jedi is not obtainable by a casual player is a liar. It is. The only difference between a hardcore player and a casual play is time. Those who work harder at it get it quicker. If a casual walker enters the Boston Marathon they might finish it in two or three days. In the end they still cross the same line as the person who crosses it in two hours. Its no different for Jedi.
The problem is the casual walker that wants to cross the finish line but wants a bus to take them there. Sorry, no shortcuts.
Lazarus__Long wrote:
day 1 player,
smuggler,
roleplayer (try),
the force is wirh me since jedi revamp,
no free unlocks (i am smuggler, was smuggler, will be smuggler),
managed to fill 2 BOXES (not branches)..
now i know why there are NO Roleplaying Jedi out there...
Sounds like me. However, I believe there are RPing Jedi (I will be one of them). There's just no RPing Jedi-to-be. No time, gotta grind!
Message Edited by DRWolfe on 12-29-2004 02:05 PM
JediMasterZero wrote:And I think that if Jedi were knocked down a few notches on the uber-scale and recreated as a normal profession, we wouldn't have ANY disgruntled players (other than the folks who are currently Jedi, so clearly that ain't gonna happen. hehe).
Ah, so here we have the rub of it. Normalize Jedi? Why? So people can have instant gratification? Let me tell you something, the biggest threat to this game is the contingent of whiners asking for it to be continually made easier. Easy = boring. Take away the challege of Jedi and this game will fold.
Jedi isn't something bestowed upon a select few. Its open and available to EVERYONE. If you don't have the patience to get it, you only have yourself to blame. The reward needs to be in line with the challenge, to that effect Jedi need to be more powerful than normal professions.