SWG stratics exclusive interview

[Guest DarthMaulUK]

SWG Exclusive Profession Update Interview!

 

 

The SWG Stratics series of exclusive Profession Update interviews continues! This interview covers Bounty Hunters, Jedi and, one particular question on the minds of many players gets answered. Tim Temmerman, aka Neif, associate producer at Lucas Arts once again took time out of his busy schedule for an interview. Thanks Tim!

RainStar: Will the new high-end rifles and carbine weapons be energy damage only or will they also have some form of elemental damage?

 

Neif: The weapons coming out are designed to be competitive with the current lineup, so expect to see some hefty elemental damage, both heat and cold.

 

RainStar: What is the new collection quest all about and what are the rewards?

 

Neif: The collection quest spans a variety of activities, but we’ve taken the approach of making some unique and unorthodox collections. We wanted less emphasis on the kill/grind quests, and more reward for doing fun activities like claiming NPC bounties or taking wildlife photography.

 

RainStar: Now that the ability has been improved, what is the maximum burn damage for Scorch?

 

Neif: The damage type was changed to Heat, which should slice through armor more efficiently, so the damage has been toned down a bit to compensate. The overall damage should remain on par with what’s currently in-game, but the exact numbers are still being balanced.

 

RainStar: The improved tracking ability will help players find player bounties. Does this mean Bounty Check will also be improved?

 

Neif: Bounty Check has been reworked now to be more rewarding and a little more challenging. If you use Bounty Check on NPCs between level 70 and 90, you have a chance of discovering a disguised fugitive – each one comes with a reward and gives you a piece of the new collection.

 

RainStar: I'm pretty sure I heard a collective cheer when it was announced that Take Cover will be improved. This ability will remove Bounty Hunters from enemy radar which will help them stalk their prey. I know several who will be doing an expertise respec.

 

Neif: Yes, exactly! What kind of bounty hunter gets spotted from hundreds of meters away? In true stalker fashion, they can now mask their location from the radar.

 

RainStar: In what way have Concealed Traps been made more effective?

 

Neif: It’s much easier to use now. Conceal Traps is treated like a buff, so you just fire it and drop a trap. That trap will be invisible right off the bat, rather than the old way of having to drop it, then target it, then finally use the conceal trap ability to hide it. This should make it more accessible.

 

RainStar: Do you have any plans on changing Detect Camo?

 

Neif: Not at this time, no.

 

RainStar: Why did the dev team feel it necessary to give Bounty Hunters, who are already major DPS dealers, even more powerful abilities (eg. 10% critical & range) increasing their imbalance against other, lesser played professions?

 

Neif: We still have play testing yet to do on the bounty hunter profession – these modifications are currently in flux. As usual, we’ll be looking for player feedback during the public Test Center phase. In fact, we’re going to hold this particular update a bit longer on public TC so we can ensure the Jedi and bounty hunter professions are thoroughly played and all balance issues resolved.

 

RainStar: Is block getting nerfed? If not, what will happen to it?

 

Neif: There should be no change to the block action in combat.

 

RainStar: Will players be able to color the new robes? If not, will this option be added in the future?

 

Neif: There will be two versions of the new robes, Light and Dark. Each will also have the ability to have its hood up and down. Dark and Light robes are fixed black/brown colors.

 

RainStar: What are the armor values of the new robes?

 

Neif: All of the Jedi robes are being given a balance pass. As with other specifics, they will need to see some play testing before final numbers are nailed down. We’re shooting for somewhere around 6500 armor values.

 

RainStar: Please tell us about the new 5th gen lightsabers.

 

Neif: The 5th generation lightsabers feature new artwork and obviously more damage. We’ve allowed yet another crystal slot in the 5th gen sabers, so expect to have damage levels equivalent to, or better, than the top melee weapons.

 

RainStar: Are there any other changes Jedi can expect with current lightsabers or other items?

 

Neif: New cloaks, new lightsabers, and a new waistpack are the new Jedi goodies that will be released in Update 3.

 

RainStar: Jedi would like to be able to use a waistpack and psg like other professions. What are the restrictions on the new waistpack?

 

Neif: The new waistpack will take up your backpack slot, but can still be equipped alongside a bandolier. The waistpack will give you some hefty attribute bonuses, so we didn’t want it to be slot-free.

 

RainStar: The lightside expertise has been posted, what is new on the darkside?

 

Neif: Both sides of the Jedi path are being restructured to make either Light or Dark viable on their own. In the case of Dark, players should receive a DPS boost and a Life Drain ability to compensate for the lack of a 10k heal.

 

Ruthless Precision: 2% per point bonus to all damage up to a maximum of 8%.

Tempt Hatred: A constant effect instead of a chance to gain action on damage dealt. 2% per point to a 4% maximum action gained from damage dealt.

Maelstrom: No longer snares. AOE snare is too powerful. Moved from the last tier to the second to the last tier (swapped with Wracking Energy).

Force Drain: Deals damage (2000 unimproved at the top end) to an opponent and heals you for the amount of damage dealt. This damage is reduced by armor, unless Wracking Energy is maximized. Ruthless Precision improves this ability as well as Fidelity. You can hit for a critical hit and get 50% additional damage and 50% additional healing with this ability. If you miss, you do not deal nor gain any points. It's semi-unpredictable as compared to the very predictable self-heal on the light side. Force drain has a 10 second cool down (2.5% faster than the 90th level self heal). 4000 * 2.5 = 10000 healed per second with Wracking Energy and Improved Force Drain (no damage increase, no misses, no crits, etc).

Wracking Energy: Increases Force Lightning's snare. Increases Armor Ignore up to 100%, after maximizing its points. Armor Ignore applies to Force Lightning, Maelstrom, and Force Drain.

Improved Force Drain: Increases Force Drain's heal by 100%.

Maelstrom is no longer in the same cool down group as Force Lightning.

RainStar: Will the General Expertise Window be updated/tweaked to allow for more diversity with full temp Stance and Focus Path users?

 

Neif: Diversity is available through the new layout. Other than Crippling Accuracy, no changes are being made to the general tree during this update.

 

RainStar: What is being done to allow full Beast Masters a viable solution with Jedi?

 

Neif: They can continue to be a Jedi, although the uber heal they are used to will require more talent points, requiring more commitment to being a Jedi to obtain. Jedi still have the best self-heal in the game at 5000hp, without the healing bonus. As with all professions, being a full beast master will require you to sacrifice certain profession perks.

 

RainStar: Any news on Jewelry/Meditation being updated/tweaked?

 

Neif: Meditation is back! Jedi will have a meditation collection quest that will unlock one of three different meditation techniques. Each technique, called the Past, Present, and Future, will grant a different meditation buff to the player. In addition, we’ve brought back the cool meditate animation.

 

RainStar: Where do Jedi go from here, after Update 3 is out the door, will there be consideration in the future for Jedi specific content as highly requested by the community?

 

Neif: As with other professions, we are adding new profession-specific features, abilities, and balance through the Update system. The Chapter releases (things like the Exar Kun heroic) are for the entire playerbase, regardless of profession. However, if we find that certain professions are still off balance or in need of more love, we will consider a revisit.

 

RainStar: Last question, what is the news on fixing the Bestine elections? This 9 page thread shows players are still wondering if the issue will be addressed.

 

Neif: We’ve checked out the issue and found these cases are not the result of a bug or broken system, but rather some odd design quirks. We’ve acknowledged these issues and will look into tweaking the design to make it clearer what’s going on.

 

Editor's Note: An update to this interview will include screenshots. Stay tuned!