Knights of Fallen Empire Livestream Coverage

[Zyera]

Watch it: http://www.twitch.tv/swtor/v/18528261

LINKS:

• http://dulfy.net/2015/09/30/swtor-knigh ... -coverage/

There is a lot of awesome stuff here so please head over to the links and check them out. Feel free to post questions and talk about new information here!

[Teigra]

So many QoL changes! Basically, me watching stream: YES! YES! YES! Noooo! YES!

The only one I don't really care for is mandatory level sync. It kinda feels like they're trying to slow the influx of credits into the game? On the plus side, I'm not sure world bosses will be missing as much because some 60+ came along and soloed it. I wonder if the 4 person heroics becoming 2+ means the Section X heroic got a makeover? It's pretty much the sole reason my Section X rep is taking forever to raise. :P

Collection screen sorting and searching, though. OMG. And interface editor grid... and AKK PUPPY!

Lastly, I'm glad they didn't entertain the "pvp brats". While watching the chat during the stream, it was clear that the SWTOR community would probably be better off without them. Maybe being pretty much ignored will cause a few to throw in the towel and go play LoL or something where their childish behavior would be the standard.

[Intisar]

I think the benefits of level sync so out-weigh the negatives that its not even close. I have friends who are very, very slow levelers; that I'll always be able to play with them without having to have an alt in their level range or knowing that I'd just kill everything while they watch if I brought my main is terrific news.

I know people are calling for a toggle for level sync, but I think they're over-reacting. Soloing old content has become a hallowed MMO activity (I remember soloing Molten Core 8 year ago), but bolstering group content in an expansion that folks are worrying might be too solo-based is for the best.

I don't know how much we'll actually be running old heroics. Not that much, I hope. But I like the idea that when we want to run Voss heroics for Conquest points, it will be a group activity. Commander hunting will be more inclusive since you won't have to be max level to participate. I honestly believe it's all good. I like the idea that we can do World Boss hunts again, that the challenge will be legit for everyone who participates and that a boss may actually be up and not already killed by some bored level 60 marauder. Honestly, get ready for level appropriate Dreadtooth. It's a humdingah!

That said, I hope they do look at some of the issues around world bosses and heroics. Long respawn timers are pointless; Dreadtooth has a 30 minute respawn and that's fine. I agree that the Section-X heroic should be tweaked. Every other Heroic-4 in the game can be done with two players and two companions; that you need two extra warm bodies just to click buttons is silly.

I was out last night, but don't regret missing the twitch chat. The news from this stream is very positive. And, yeah, OMG SNAP TO GRID!

[Soulfinger]

Wow, so many changes! Some notables for me from the Duffy summary:

Instant Level 60 characters also come with 3 level 500 crew skills. I remember reading before that they said that you would be able to auto-level 1 character to 60 immediately, but this refers to cartel market.. hopefully we get one free one. However, later on they talk about the advantage of playing ALL class quests, and that once you go beyond 60 into the new story line that you will not be able to do any of the class missions... so this would probably be only for people that have either leveled all the classes already, or people who want an alternate (e.g. a Vanguard when they already have a Commando).

No more 12X experience, but it also mentions "With the expansion, you just need to play the class missions and the planetary main story mission to level up. The side quests are now classified as exploratory missions and can be hidden." Presumably that means that you can go from 1-60 doing only class missions (similar to the 12X XP). Sounds like this change is for everyone (as opposed to the subscriber-only 12X bonus).

I am a fan of the synch mechanic - makes it more fun to help out (not just a cakewalk). That said, anyone that wants to do all the flashpoints to get the aurtech ice (sp?) speeder from the Hutt better do them quick!

Overall sounds pretty good.

[Windemere]

Also impressed by the number of QoL enhancements and very positive on the changes, but I can't get behind mandatory level sync with the same level of enthusiasm. It has pros and cons, but strikes me as quite jarring to go from duking it out with a level 65 champion and coming out victorious, only to die to a pack of flesh raiders on Tython. It takes away from the sense of character progression. I tend to dislike level scaling in any game though. I think a nice compromise would have been to level scale only when you're in a group.

[Zyera]

I remember reading before that they said that you would be able to auto-level 1 character to 60 immediately, but this refers to cartel market.. hopefully we get one free one.

Yes, subs get 1 free one, rest are bought on the CC market. Price hasn't been announced yet as far as I know.

However, later on they talk about the advantage of playing ALL class quests, and that once you go beyond 60 into the new story line that you will not be able to do any of the class missions

It's the idea that once you start the KotFE story line, you can't go back and finish your personal class chapter 3, Ilum story quest, Makeb, Revan Story Quest or Ziost. So, you either complete it and go into the new storyline or it bascially gets "dropped" on that specific character that chose to move on into the new chapters.

The only "advantage" you get for doing all 8 story missions is posted here:

Reward for completing all class stories

• Legendary status, you get a cool icon ingame next to your name
• You have to finish all 8 class stories, level doesn’t matter.

No more 12X experience, but it also mentions "With the expansion, you just need to play the class missions and the planetary main story mission to level up. The side quests are now classified as exploratory missions and can be hidden." Presumably that means that you can go from 1-60 doing only class missions (similar to the 12X XP). Sounds like this change is for everyone (as opposed to the subscriber-only 12X bonus).

Basically, the way they based lined it is you do class missions and the main planetary story arch to level from what I understand. Any other side quest on the planet will be labled as Exploration Missions, which can be hidden. Quests will be easier to know which ones to pick up with the new mission markers.

---

Also impressed by the number of QoL enhancements and very positive on the changes, but I can't get behind mandatory level sync with the same level of enthusiasm. It has pros and cons, but strikes me as quite jarring to go from duking it out with a level 65 champion and coming out victorious, only to die to a pack of flesh raiders on Tython. It takes away from the sense of character progression. I tend to dislike level scaling in any game though. I think a nice compromise would have been to level scale only when you're in a group.

If you watched the stream, he goes into Kaas at level 60 with actually a few pieces of gear missing and was able to go into a heroic area and kill stuff easily in a few shots, took a little damage but it wasn't like you are level 18 all over again.

Your base stats get lowered but you still have all of your gear, abilities, utilities, etc. From the stream, it seemed to only affect 3 stats: Power, endurance and mastery while Crit, accuracy, defense, absorb, presence were all the same.

I basically agree with everything that Intisar said, it will be great for leveling and helping out guildies and going back to old planets will be fun. I think it's a great change from what I can see. Sure, they have a theme of making old content relevant again, but eh. Makes the game feel a bit bigger.

[Valikk]

If you haven't watched the stream yet, it is very important to do so before making assumptions. (I didnt like the idea as well before so, but now I don't think it's so bad)

For the lvl sync part, starting at 2 hours in (2:00:00) he goes to explain a bit. Looking at his gear and it being lvl 60 starting gear, it is very poorly optimized, plus he didn't have any of his class buffs on. If you have normal lvl 65 gear optimized to an extent you will find it very easy to still kill stuff. Sure you can't just blow stuff up in literally one basic attack but this adds a bit of realism to an area where you still find something to do.

Lets be real here. For me, going back to Drom Kaas to do heroics that I'm at least 50 lvls over for and having no difficulty would get extremely boring and repetitive after a bit of time.

And as Eric Musco said and I quote from 2:02:28-

If you are a capable player, you'll be able to solo them, and it really won't be a problem.

Food for thought.

[Windemere]

So if a max level character is barely taking damage and easily killing stuff, then we're back to one player making the heroics a one person show when grouping with non-scaled players. The two goals are in tension with one another. If you don't prioritize one or the other, I suspect you get a watered down return on both. The balancing seems to rest on a knife edge.

Like I said, I see pros and cons with both and find the idea intriguing in some ways but annoying in others. Just going to have to see how it works out in practice. I won't be surprised if it's a great change, nor if it's a bad one.

[Soulfinger]

One thing to remember is that you go back to the other planets at "max level for the area". That means that you won't be running level 22 missions as a level 22 player, but more likely a level 26 player. At least... that's what I'm assuming. I guess the only question is if the max-level for the planet is greater than the highest level quest...

A side note - SWTOR really isn't set up for you to do "at-level" missions. I'm running my IA, and doing a level 31 mission at level 31 is a challenge. Usually you should be a couple of levels over to make it easier (unless you are well geared).

I played a lot of City of Heroes, and also a ton of Guild Wars 2 (unfortunately not on the same server as NOR), and both had the down-leveling thing... it made it much more fun to go back and do old content (especially in GW2).

[Windemere]

Sure, they have a theme of making old content relevant again, but eh. Makes the game feel a bit bigger.

That's actually a significant positive for me. I know Bioware is getting teased about recycling old content, but I think it's the right thing to do and probably the biggest positive with the level syncing as well. Having weekly missions where they are all relevant and giving you an option to go back to your favorite planets when you already have a full legacy is a welcome thought for sure. While it's unfortunate we're not getting new ops with the expansion and perhaps for a while, I think this was best for the long run and we just have to make some sacrifices to get there. Seeing all the quality of life changes takes quite a bit of the sting out of the lack of new ops too.