SWTOR: Patch 1.3 and the Week After

There are days when I am glad I don't play games at any relatively hardcore level anymore, and the release of patch 1.3 for Star Wars: The Old Republic is one of them.

Why do I say that? Well, there is no new content in this patch, so if I'm already tired with the current operations, that feeling would not be alleviated. Even if I were just farming the same hardmode flashpoints over and over again, I would have gotten quite disgruntled a long time ago, and stay that way even with this patch release.

No, this patch is not about making the game fresh again with new content, its about making it fresh again by enhancing current content. A week after the patch, I am actually having a lot of fun again.

I can't go too far without mentioning the recent server mer...I mean....transfers and how the effect of a larger population in-game just makes the game world/galaxy feel alive again. With over 300 people in the respective fleets at peak hours, and many more on other planets or flashpoints/operations, there is just a sense that the game has gotten it's second wind, even if it was at the expense other servers. Even trolls in general chat was a welcome relief to almost nothing happening just a month ago. The server transfers were, in a way, an early extention of Patch 1.3 itself, especially when you consider the Looking For Group tool.

Bioware did get some flak by not making the LFG cross-server, but really, it doesn't really need to be. At least, not yet. It's current incarnation does what it needs to do, and that is all that matters in the end. I get into flashpoints when I normally would not be able to, such as when on other planets. That, in itself, is already a huge benefit for someone like me who doesn't like staying on the fleet and it gets better when I level an alt. Queue times as DPS becomes tolerable when you decide to do other things while waiting.

Rewards for random hardmode flashpoints and normal operations are quite interesting. Daily commendations can drop in the instance and completing it yields 5 black hole commendations. And it appears to be repeatable. It is clear that Bioware wants people to gear up faster, so it is possible that new content is just around the corner. Or maybe they just want more people to get into Denova. Whatever the case, it is a welcome change for those unable to commit to a regular operations group.

Rated warzones have also been implemented with patch 1.3. Unfortunately, having just moved to the server and having a weird schedule for my day job, I was unable to participate in this yet. Hopefully I would be able to get a group for this pretty soon.

Character legacy perks were also opened up with the patch and there are finally things I would be willing to spend credits on. I immediately bought the respec perk and so far, it has served me well. As good as it is, I really wish they would just go full out and give dual specs. Some of the perks are relatively trivial, but thankfully are not costly. Although, since the perks are character-specific, the costs will add up if you want them on all characters.

Patch 1.3 does not have anything completely groundbreaking, but at least it had fewer disappointments than patch 1.2 and that in itself is a huge plus. Still, Bioware has quite a ways to recover from half a year of .... unflattering press, but their latest update is a good start to a positive trend.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Selling junk items in only 5s. Really, really worth the credits if you got them.
• Leveling has always been amazing in SWTOR and that hasn't changed. Having a LOT of fun with my Jedi Shadow right now.
• Adaptive gear is only good if end game set bonuses can be transferred with armouring. Until that happens, adaptive gear is not appealing unless you don't care about the bonuses.
• Augment kits. Totally love them. Saves me the frustration of getting 40 non-crit crafted items in a row.
• Remembering how much fun this game is. Even with relatively archaic mechanics, it is a good game.

SWTOR: Farewell Keller's Void

Today Star Wars: The Old Republic starts handing out free server transfers to and from selected servers. It is not an unexpected move and, frankly, it's taken far too long in coming. 

Can't say 'It's been nice knowing you' KV. Didn't really know you

Keller's Void has sadly slowly been going downhill when it comes to population. Most nights, it's hard enough to find same faction PvP. There are some guilds that strive to keep going, but things get harder when newer games start releasing *cough*DIABLO*cough*. 


While transfers aren't necessarily a bad thing, the service coming at the heels of complaints about low population, or "dead" servers just helps underscore the fact that the game isn't retaining as many players as they thought they would. Is SWTOR still doing well? I personally think they are, but they have made way too many rookie mistakes that gave totally bad impressions of the game and the company. And then there's EA being EA, they figured no one would unsubscribe to their Star Wars game. 


Targetted servers were also a good idea. Given a choice, everyone would just flock to whatever server appears to be the most populated i.e. The Fatman. And then there will be complaints about queues. There are more people than one server can hold, and really, only Bioware has any idea about the number of active players so they can strategically funnel people into selected servers in order to help even out the population. 


I have to say, I look forward to the prospect of playing on a server that has a healthy population again. If nothing else, the resulting infusion of trolls in general chat will be amusing. 


Ready or not, here we come Jedi Covenant!

Diablo 3 Review: Pure. Mindless. Fun

Basically, I can end this review right there at the title. As a TLDR statement, that's as concise as it can get. But then again, that might just be an excuse to stop typing and play more. To be completely honest, this review is weeks overdue simply because I've been playing. It's that much fun. 


At a glance though, it's hard to see what makes the game fun. It's a point and click hack and slasher game with really not that much complexity to gameplay and only one point of view and two zoom modes. You point the mouse and left click an area, your character moves there. If a monster happens to be where you clicked, you bash it on the head. Or zap/shoot it.  There are also so few abilities - seven including the health potion - that it is entirely possible to just play with just the mouse, leaving your other hand free to do other things...like....eating chips. 


The Diablo franchise has also always been a game of grinds. You are encouraged to keep fighting through the same areas over and over to improve your character. Can't beat the next boss in the next area? Kill the one you just beat over and over and hope for some better gear to drop. The process will get you enough gear or levels so that the next stage will be easier and you can move on. Yes, many games tend to fail because of how grindy it is, but Diablo seems to be a game that thrives on it. I really hate grinds in games, but I just ended my most recent farming run so I can type up this post. 


What makes the Diablo grind so tolerable is a combination of small things. For starters, there are monsters to fight almost everywhere. In a given map, you can count on a group of them waiting just around the next corner. There will always be the threat of your character dying if you are not careful as long as you play through an appropriately challenging area. 


The randomness in the game also keeps everything fresh. Maps have some parts that are randomly generated and monsters are also randomly placed in there. That room of that dungeon you just farmed may no longer be there and may suddenly contain elite monsters hell bent to farm you for loot. Yes, this is also probably one of the more frustrating things in the game. The random monster generator can give you four that each shoots lasers, leaves fire trails, spits fire, and shields itself and there's nothing you can do but scream and whine while you reload your game.


But with the randomness comes the desire to try to beat whatever the game throws at you and the ability system of Diablo 3 allows you to costumize how you play. As I mentioned earlier, there are only 7 ability buttons in the game, one of which is reserved for the health potion, but there are a LOT of abilities for each character. And each ability comes with several runes that will add some effect or change how that ability works. By the time you hit level 60, you will have several options on how to play the game. Experimenting with builds and gear sets is also part of what makes the grind fun because now you are benchmarking yourself. Does the build work or feel better than the last one? No? Then switch up a few things to see if you can make it work. 


Co-op games also make the grind bearable by being able to share the misery with others. People in your friends list can join your games at any time and it makes the encounters have they difficulty increased appropriately. Yes, this means that people will need to work together to beat some fights. As expected, joining a public game with strangers is far less satisfying than working with friends that have access to voice communications like Ventrilo or Skype or cans tied with really long string. 


The last thing that makes the grind fun is the game's simplicity. Every action you do has some reaction. Be it moving from one place to another or hitting a monster so hard, pieces start flying off screen. There is that instant gratification factor in the game of just signing on and beating on monsters or finishing quests that, ironically, may make you forget the time of day. Even more ironically, Diablo may not be a game for you if you only have an hour or so of play time. 


The auction house adds yet another level of instant gratification where you can help alleviate  the game's random loot system. With gold relatively easy to make, and millions of people in the game, its not too difficult to find some bargains. Whether that will be true when the Real Money Auction House hits, that will be left to be seen. 


One of the biggest flaws of the game is partly one of it's strengths in that Diablo 3 is a purely online game. If you do not have a BattleNet account, you cannot play. If the BattleNet servers go down, you cannot play. There's no offline mode for those who don't really care too much about the online aspects of the game. This could not have been more apparent than launch day where literally millions of people were trying to log on at the same time. And no, I waited it out and everything has been working well since then. But I would have love to have some kind of way I can play offline even if it means that gear and characters don't carry over. 


With all that said, Diablo 3 is still not a game for everybody. As enjoyable as it is, the game is still a grind and not many really care for that. The difficulty levels can also discourage some players. Normal and Nightmare modes can be done through some brute force, but Hell and Inferno mode are deadly. I've personally hit a wall with Inferno mode and my time has been spent trying to find a way I can beat encounters. It is a wall that has had me thinking that perhaps the game has beaten me. Maybe I just need a few more hours to work out my build. Or a few days. 


Time for more Diablo 3 to find out then. 


Highlights

• The graphics are simply amazing! There is quite a lot of detail in the game world and it's a shame that the isometric view zoom level does not do it too much justice. 
• Whimsyville. Google or Bing it. I suppose Yahoo works too. 
• Co-op. It really is the best way to play. 
• Auction house has revealed me to be a closet bargain shopper. Nothing like digging through the dollar box to find a good deal on an armour set. 
• Inferno mode makes me want to kick a kitten. But it is very, VERY satisfying when progress is being made. I meant Inferno mode and not kicking kittens.

Guild Wars 2 : Second Beta Weekend

I have the unfortunate situation of needing to be at work during the second Guild Wars 2 beta weekend event. Granted, the first event didn't quite get me anxious to play again, I did want to try as hard as I can to really like the game. I wanted to see what all those who are hyping up the game are seeing.

But for the hour or so I was playing, only one thing came to mind: I wanted to go back and do something else. Specifically, I wanted to play more Diablo 3.

Guild Wars 2 has yet to show itself as THE game to play. While I do not have any buyers remorse for pre-purchasing the game, I do want to try to find out why I am not raving about the game. ArenaNet seems to just have everything done right. Graphics and visuals are just amazing. The cities feel alive and vibrant and are large enough to actually be cities. Motion and combat is fluid and the ability system is pretty interesting.

But something just feels....generic....about the whole thing. Not a whole lot of the game feels new and refreshing. Certainly not how RIFT was at launch. SWTOR's game universe also had a freshness to it despite relatively archaic game design. The world of Guild Wars 2 feels like the run of the mill medieval fantasy world that I've seen many times over.

I guess a huge part of the letdown is the story. Particularly the dialogue cutscenes. If they just removed those and replaced it all with quest text, it may actually feel more immersive than it is now. The awkward animations really, really detract from any attempt to lose myself in the story. There is also something creepy about how characters barely move and stare in just that one way in all those cutscenes. It has been rather painful to watch.

There are also some disconnects with the story. In the human lands, there does not seem to be much connection between the prologue and the story after it. An invasion of centaurs leads to some huge bone hands....and they are never mentioned again. At least the centaurs re-appear, but the bone hands and elementals; their involvement is not touched upon. Perhaps it will later in the game, but by then, the event would probably have been forgotten. You would think that something able to summon such a montrosity would be looked into by authorities and would require a hero to help figure deal with a larger, overarching threat.

Dynamic events have been a huge part of driving the hype of the game, but it too is not quite as good as I was led to believe. The problem is that the dynamic event feels less dynamic if you can wait for it to happen. Granted, there does not appear to be set times for events to happen, but they do happen fairly often. Unlike RIFT's titular rifts, GW2's events are strictly local to just a small area and so they are far more predictable. Some of the events are also very boring.

As alive and as dynamic as ArenaNet wants the world to feel, ironically there isn't really all that much to do. Yes, exploration is supposed to be a major activity, but exploration can only go so far. I go into a new area and see wheat fields. Yay. But also nothing happening at the time so it's several minutes of nothing really happening except for me walking across large farmland. After dealing with an area's quest, you don't really get an option to do it again.

All this said, everything is in beta. Even if some complaints are about things that will likely not change, there's still time for ArenaNet to put some more meat into the game. As it is, I don't look forward to the game as I normally do for big releases. Its come to the point where I won't mind only being able to play a week after release if timing does not line up right with my schedule.

Highlights:

• Yes, even after an entire article saying how I dislike the game, there are still highlights. Lets not say I'm not an impartial reviewer
• They have Asura models in the world now and one gives an activated event. I haven't tried repeating it though. The novelty of herding little Moas into a pen really wears out quickly.
• Yes, the Asura are really cute. I am now 100% sure I won't be playing one.
• Abilities seem to have been buffed. I don't remember dealing quite as much damage as I do now with some guardian abilities.
• Speaking of which, purchasable abilities have been streamlined to weed out the weird or weak ones. Skill point costs are also lower.
• Skills are now tiered. No more getting some more advanced skills until you get enough of the lower tier skills.
• Some UI enhancements. Mostly minor, but definitely makes sense.

SWTOR: Patch 1.2 Test Impressions

TLDR: Patch 1.2 felt like the second release date of Star Wars The Old Republic. While the core mechanics of the game haven't changed, it's the many small things that did makes the game feel new again. 


While 1.7 million subscribers would indicate the game is far from a failure, Star Wars The Old Republic has not been without it's major problems. A good chunk of these problems were in the end game and Bioware seemed surprised that so many people would hit 50 in such a short time, much less be finished with end game content. While the debate can go on that it's the player's fault for rushing through the game, it doesn't excuse released content that really isn't all there. 


The complete changes for patch 1.2 is just very massive. Without a level 50 on the test server, I could not reliably say anything about the end game changes and really, there is just too much content to cover. But with pretty much every change, you cannot shake the thinking that they should have been available at launch. 


Interface Editor

So many boxes.....

Probably one of the biggest criticisms about the game is the lack of movable user interface elements. Or even more interface options for that matter. At launch, the game only has 4 action bars, only 2 of which are on the center and easily seen. With all the abilities that I have keybindings for, I had to use the side bars and looking over at them is just not ideal in a PvP situation. 


Patch 1.2 makes up for it by not giving you more action bars, but by making almost every UI element modifiable. Each individual item can be re-sized, enabled, and have it's opacity changed. Settings are also saved into an XML file so they can be easily shared. A bit of a crafty method of not needing any third party mods. 


Bioware also moved the raid frame editor to the interface editor, which is a good move. This allows some better control for the window without cluttering the already cluttered preferences screen. 


I easily spent almost an hour just messing around with the UI and I am not even at the point of being really content with my choices. I found something usable for now and will see how it all works later on. 


Somewhat Improved Galactic Trade Network

No, it doesn't quite look like much has changed, but it does have one very important tweak. You can search by name without selecting a category. Yes, they finally made the trade network work as it should have, and it only took 4 months. No, I'm not bitter. Well, maybe a little. Modable gear now has its own category too so it will make it much easier to find them. Sadly, there was nothing for me to find at the time I was typing this up. 


New Gear...Which Still Looks Like Crap


Behold the new tier of Sith Assassin PvE gear!

Well, at least the skirt is gone...

Now I'm not the most artistic person in the world. Heck, I have trouble drawing a box, let alone designing my own clothes, but I've never been happy with how most gear looks in this game. I mean, yes, the skirt is gone, but what is the deal with those....hook....thingies? 


Luckily, all mods can be removed from the gear pieces and added on to other modable gear. This includes the armoring, which transfers the set bonus. Unfortunately, I was not able to get a level 50 transferred so I could not test it out and get more details. 


Still, the additional tier of gear will help out end game raiders by keeping progression in the game. Having all three end game tiers in 2 really easy operations allowed the upper echelon to get their gear too quickly. Its like having the carrot on so short a stick that the horse was able to reach it by sticking out it's tongue. 


These were just a couple of major changes to the game and this made me decide to play on the test server to find everything else.


Highlights and Small Changes

• Sprint at level 1! Some may wonder why bother having Sprint at all. There are some puzzles/datacrons that are not possible to reach when Sprint is on, so this makes sense as an ability for now. 
• When I started playing, there were 149 people on Korriban, and that number did not go down appreciably as I left for the fleet. At the time of typing this up, there are over a hundred people on Drommund Kaas. It's like beta all over again. 
• Winning PvP is more important now and the disparity of rewards between winning and losing is much larger. Winning a match gives additional medals so you can get 80-100 commendations winning a game vs just 20-40 by losing. 
• Pre-50 PvP weapons cost 900 warzone commendations. Ouch. 
• 40 Minute Hutbball match! No, that wasn't pleasant. It seemed that the game would not end until one side got 6 points. Was crazy though.
• The new Warzone was nice and intuitive. A more involving version of the Alderaan map. 

Mass Effect: On Stories and Endings

No, I have not played any Mass Effect game. No, I don't care about spoilers. I'm the kind of person who enjoys the experience even if the ending is known. To that end, I plan to get and play all three Mass Effect games in one continuous story. And no, there won't be any spoilers of any sort on this post. Perhaps this invalidates me from making an opinion on the matter, but there are more things than Mass Effect when it comes to storytelling.

For the past week since Mass Effect 3 released, I've been seeing tons of discontent over the ending. But I've also been seeing a lot of posts about people who really liked the ending. Then again, those that hate it are very vocal about it so they are the most heard. Of course, it doesn't bother me, but I am perplexed about the reactions.

I am familiar with the emotional investment in a story whether it is from a movie, book, or video game series. But I also realize that, no matter the medium, it really isn't OUR story. This becomes harder in video games, especially those with multiple endings, because the expectation is that we are playing through our own story. We are forging our character's path, whether it is to die a gruesome death or live a happy life with bunnies and rainbows.

But once again, it isn't our story. As much as we feel we are the writers of our character's destiny, that really isn't the case. Take the Choose Your Own Adventure books. Yes, there are some with good endings and some bad, but those are endings that are pre-chosen by the book's writers. They are what the authors thought would make sense based on your choices, and they may not make sense to you.

I know there are people who will try to get the "best possible ending" and it usually means a "happily ever after" situation and I suppose that is what people have learned to expect. From what i've been gathering from the internet, this was not the case for Mass Effect 3 and hence the uproar. Of course, this makes it very obvious that this matter is extremely subjective. What one thinks as the "best" may not be the "best" for others.

As an example, one of my favourite games is Dragon Age: Origins. From what I gathered, the "best ending" happens to be the "happily ever after" situation. Sure, there are some kinks, but people strived to get the ending where everyone is content and happy. No war, no disgruntled nations, peace throughout the land. But that never was the best ending for me. The best ending was one that made sense for the character.

I played a good guy, a city elf who fought knowing that he needed to do the right thing. He feels compassion, but it is not what drives him. His moral compass was set and decisions were made from that direction and nothing else. In the end, chaos still existed and his story ended the way it should have ended. Was it perfect? Not at all. But the ending brought closure to a character that I invested a good bit of emotion on and that was enough. Yes, there were parts of the ending I got that surprised me and made me feel a bit sorry for my choice, but I realized I would have made the choice no matter what with that character. I did play the Awakening DLC, but I didn't enjoy it as much because it wasn't about my character.

Perhaps that's the whole point of the rage. People did not get the closure they expected or wanted for their Shepard. They wanted the REAL ending. But what about those that were happy or satisfied with their endings? Won't a "real" ending just mess it up for them? For those people, there had been closure and, while maybe not 100% agreeable, it was proper. A "real" ending patch would mean their experiences are invalidated, closure suddenly removed.

Yes, it feels that those that really liked the endings are a minority, but is that really the case? one thing about the internet is that, usually, only the angry make their voices heard. There really aren't that many people who go online to just say "yeah, it was alright".

So if you felt wronged somehow by Mass Effect 3's ending, there is no need to feel that way because it is quite certain Bioware will release a DLC to help bring your proper closure. Perhaps the same way Fallout 3 did with it's Broken Steel DLC. This way, those who liked the current ending can opt not to get it while the rest can download it and (hopefully) get the best ending they wanted.

Still, I think it's high time we just accept that not everything will be tailored to our liking. Not everything will have what we want and not everyone can be happy at the same time. Take value in what the game has provided you the whole time you were playing it...and then move on.

SWTOR: Patch 1.1.5 Now Ilum Free

So there are quite a few changes in the most recent patch and most of them relate to PvP. After a night of trying it out, it left an overall positive impression on my increasingly cynical mind.

Ilum Dailies/Weeklies can be completed in Warzones.

I don't think anyone can see this as more than a stop-gap solution to the atrocity that is Ilum. As much as I've raged about Ilum, I always thought it had potential. I'm pretty sure Bioware thought the same way but it appears that the actual fix to the zone will take a long time.

Until then, both sides can get their daily and weekly rewards with ease. Each warzone game played counts as 3 Ilum objectives obtained, no matter if you end up winning or losing the game. That means 10 games a night and that gives a good chance of getting the daily warzone daily done as well...or at least getting something toward the warzone daily. Yes, I am being optimistic that people would get at least 1 win out of 10 games.

Champion and Battlemaster Gear from Warzone Commendations

Its not really that simple, but rather you are allowed to trade up your warzone commendations for the Battlemaster and Champion versions. Conversion is

1 Champion Commendation = 120 Warzone Commendations

1 Battlemaster Commendation = 1000 Warzone and 1000 Mercenary Commendations

This may seem a like a lot and I certainly balked at the rates when I first saw it. But then, Warzone Commendations wouldn't be the main source of Champion and Battlemaster gear. You'd still be relying on the bags from the weekly and daily quests. Puchasing the bags will also be more cost effective (7 Champion commendations = 840 Warzone Commendations while the bags are at an effective 7:800 ratio and adds in Centurion Commendations as well).

What this does is allow you to get that last commendation or two for that piece of gear if the weekly/daily bags fall short and you really want to get it now. It also softens the blow on bad losing streaks. While the numbers seem very unfavourable in such a case, it helps when the patch also has ....

Increased Commendation/Valor Rewards

Patch 1.1.5 introduced added rewards by earning medals, as well as new medals. Each medal (up to 4) gives 500 valor and 10 warzone commendations in addition to regular valor/commendation rewards for game due to overall medal count and if the game is a win or loss.

To put that into perspective, before the patch, a loss with 6 or so medals would net me just 700 or so valor and 30-40 commendations. Last night, I had a lot of losses, but never got less than 1800 valor and 60 commendations per match. Winning a game typically nets me 2500 valor and between 90-100 commendations. In just 10 games, I went from middle of rank 51 to hitting rank 53.

Another thing I noticed in my games is that, win or lose, more people seem to be trying harder. Now, I can't say for certain if it is just that small subset of people are actually trying or if the rewards are causing this, but it definitely made the games more fun. I didn't mind the losses as there were not that many certain loss situations. Even losing 4-0 in Huttball, our team tried to make a comeback, and that is where the fun is in a game.

Purchasable High End Crystals

I consider this a minor thing because it was stated that this will not last. The crystals are indeed powerful, with the highest level, beyond what artificers can currently make, going for 250k credits. not cheap, but certainly accessible for those who really want the stats. But the colour....oh the colour. The same hideous black/yellow from the first pre-order bonus gem. I'm glad I'm not at the point where I need to min/max anything so I plan to pass on this one.

Bioware has definitely been increasing confidence with the SWTOR gamers with their patches. While it can be argued that SWTOR should not have been in that rut so soon, the damage was done and its time to see what they do to get that excitement back into the game. News about patch 1.2 is indeed promising and potentially changes the game. If nothing else, it's something to keep us talking for a few more weeks.

Highlights

• Not related to changes, but an Alderaan win stolen right under the opponents. down over 100 points, with only a side turret, we managed to capture center and eak out a 5-0 win. The changes to the side speeders did make it more challenging to defend the side turret, but luckily, we were not easy to kill and kept them off the objective long enough for reinforcements to arrive.
• One of the more fun nights of PvP in a while. Sure, there were frustrating moments, but that's always been part of the fun.