The Old Republic Beta: Community Reactions

[Mav]

Those of you that frequent StarWarsMMO.net may remember an article in which we took a short survey from a few of our members about their impressions on TOR's showing at this years E3. Well we're going to do the same thing here except this time we're going to open it up to everyone to reply instead of doing it through PM's like last time. The questions will be about your reactions to the past few weekend tests, of course regular testers are more than welcomed to chime in as well. Before we get to the questions, a few guidelines:

 

• Keep everything as spoiler-free as possible, or else your posts may end up being ninja-edited.
  
• Put some effort into your answers, try to keep the grammar neat and your answers will have a better chance at being selected for the article.
  
• Be honest, the goal is to get a wide range of opinions.
  
• If you have something to say that doesn't fit with any of the questions feel free to elaborate at the end of your post.
  
• The article will go up on Monday, Dec. 5th @ 13:00 EST, so you have until the Sunday night before to leave your replies for a shot at being in the article.
  

 

1. Which Classes did you try out during your time with the beta? Which did you like the most and least? Which surprised you the most?

 

2. What was your favorite part of the game; questing, combat, story-telling, crafting, space, etc.?

 

3. What did you think of the starter planets and the leveling, questing, difficulty and overall pacing early on?

 

4. If there was one thing that you could change, fix or add to the game before release on December 20th, what would it be?

 

5. Will we be seeing you playing The Old Republic on release day?

 

Thanks in advance for the replies, and you can expect to hear about the test reactions from the StarWarsMMO.net staff in a future article as well!

[Miltiades]

1. During my short test period, I tried out the Smuggler and the Sith Inquisitor, two classes that weren't high on my 'to play' list. What the experience with these two classes taught me, I think, is that certain classes appeal to certain kind of people and that you can like one, but not so much the other. Which happened to me: I was disappointed in the Smuggler's storyline, but found everything I liked about Star Wars during the Sith Inquisitor's. Of course, keep in mind I only went as far as play through both of the classes' prologue, but I do think my statement holds true nevertheless. And yes, I can say the Inquisitor class really surprised me, when I never thought it would. [Edit] The last Beta Weekend allowed me to test two additional classes. I didn't go far with the Imperial Agent, mainly because I didn't want to spoil things too much. Needless to say, the short period with the Imperial Agent left its mark already and I'm dying to play more of it. I love the IA's dry responses, for one. I had a longer time playing the Consular and it's my least favorite so far. I don't particularly like Tython and the story of the Consular hasn't moved me so far.

 

2. I didn't have the time to experience every aspect of the game (crafting and space combat, for example), but to me, it definitely was experiencing the world itself. Korriban especially was a joy to explore, strengthened by the familiarity through its appearance in the two KotOR games. I don't think I've seen enough of the story or the quests to make an opinion, but it's certainly going to be the aspect I'll be keeping an eye out the most.

 

3. Ord Mantell really felt like a war-torn planet and Korriban delivers as I expect it would. Hutta feels like the most lively of the starter planets, however. It all works well. The only critique I can give, and it's been mentioned before, is that they're all too big for the amount of things there are to do on it. Especially when half of the world is either filled with mute, unmoving people or not filled with people at all.

 

4. I think the chat's a bit user-unfriendly and clunky so I'd change that. And maybe I didn't get far enough to see it, but if there aren't any armor sets (or if they aren't clearly pointed out as sets), I'd do something about that.

 

5. Probably not, no. I simply don't have the time to play games during that period of time, but perhaps I'll try to get in a few hours, I don't know yet. I think the soonest you'll see me play for real is end of January, begin February.

[Jae Onasi]

Those of you that frequent StarWarsMMO.net may remember an article in which we took a short survey from a few of our members about their impressions on TOR's showing at this years E3. Well we're going to do the same thing here except this time we're going to open it up to everyone to reply instead of doing it through PM's like last time. The questions will be about your reactions to the past few weekend tests, of course regular testers are more than welcomed to chime in as well. Before we get to the questions, a few guidelines:

 

• Keep everything as spoiler-free as possible, or else your posts may end up being ninja-edited.
  
• Put some effort into your answers, try to keep the grammar neat and your answers will have a better chance at being selected for the article.
  
• Be honest, the goal is to get a wide range of opinions.
  
• If you have something to say that doesn't fit with any of the questions feel free to elaborate at the end of your post.
  
• The article will go up on Monday, Dec. 4th @ 13:00 EST, so you have until the Sunday night before to leave your replies for a shot at being in the article.
  

 

1. Which Classes did you try out during your time with the beta? Which did you like the most and least? Which surprised you the most?

 

2. What was your favorite part of the game; questing, combat, story-telling, crafting, space, etc.?

 

3. What did you think of the starter planets and the leveling, questing, difficulty and overall pacing early on?

 

4. If there was one thing that you could change, fix or add to the game before release on December 20th, what would it be?

 

5. Will we be seeing you playing The Old Republic on release day?

 

Thanks in advance for the replies, and you can expect to hear about the test reactions from the StarWarsMMO.net staff in a future article as well!

 

1. I played Consular, Smuggler, and Jedi Knight. I enjoyed all 3 but smuggler surprised me the most as one of the most enjoyable in terms of story. The one-liners written for this class were hilarious. Listening to a friend play smuggler in this last weekend beta had me laughing at his reactions to what happened to his character, since I knew what was coming.

He was so indignant when his ship got stolen in the opening act!

 

 

2. Favorite part--the story-telling with the great voice-acting.

 

3. The starter planets are designed to teach you how to play your class, so while they provide a challenge, they're not as difficult as later planets. I noticed Ord Mantell has a much rockier terrain, full of places for smugglers to take cover, while Tython was flatter, allowing for more force jumping. There are plenty of side quests to do that help you reach an appropriate level for taking on the boss you face in the final class quest on the starter planets.

 

4. The one thing I would change--make all the items on the UI movable and resizable. Right now, the only thing that can be moved is the chat box, and that just drive me crazy. I want to move the party character portraits to a different spot so my chatbox doesn't sit on top of them when I move it from the top to the bottom, but I can't.

 

5. I've pre-ordered, so I should be in early release!

[Ztalker]

1. Which Classes did you try out during your time with the beta? Which did you like the most and least? Which surprised you the most?

Only played Inquisitor, quite liked it though since it all took place on a planet we recognise from the Kotor games.

2. What was your favorite part of the game; questing, combat, story-telling, crafting, space, etc.?

Quests and combat felt good. Combat felt fast paced, good choreographed in comparison to Kotor too. Crafting system was solid as well.

3. What did you think of the starter planets and the leveling, questing, difficulty and overall pacing early on?

Very linear, but they´re supposed to be. Don´t expect anything earth-shocking.

4. If there was one thing that you could change, fix or add to the game before release on December 20th, what would it be?

Perhaps a dungeon finder...I didn't know where the dungeons where or how I could cue for them. It would be nice if there were directions towards them of if you would receive a quest to seek them out when you're the apporpriate level.

5. Will we be seeing you playing The Old Republic on release day?

Pre-ordered it, so yes.

[mimartin]

1. I played around with Consular, Jedi Knight, Bounty Hunter and Smuggler. Really liked them all, Bounty Hunter was most likely my least favorite, but it was because the Smuggler system had me spoiled by that point and not really into the Sith side of things. The bounty Hunter was the most surprising too, because of my preconceived perception of the Sith side I wasn’t expecting the depth of lightside options. Also was not expecting the flirt options for a deadly Bounty Hunter.

 

I have never played a MMO, so in the beta I played the class I set my sights on for TOR’s launch most, Smuggler has been in my sights since the day I decided to purchase TOR, so I decided to focus on the Smuggler in the beta. I wanted to get somewhat proficient with the Smuggler so I don’t let down anyone in the LF guild (don’t want Lynk to take away my thermal detonator privileges). Pretty much enjoyed everything about the Smuggler class.

 

2. Never got as far as crafting, or space combat so cannot comment on either of those. I did mod a gun, but I would hardly call that fun or exciting. My favorite part of the game was the story-telling and that all the classes have their own unique background story.

 

While I would like to see more options in character creation, I was really happy that even I could make a character that didn’t look like a total freak.

 

3. I thought the first planets were great. Had no problem with the lack of NPC in some areas as it made sense to me being that Ord Mantell was a war torn planet. Thought there were plenty of quests that allowed leveling up, but without taking away from your main goal. I did feel that Tython did a better job of introducing The Old Republic universe.

 

4. Missing weapons. While shooting enemies with my finger was fun the first beta weekend, got annoyed it happened again the second time I got into the beta.

 

5. Yes

[adamqd]

1. Which Classes did you try out during your time with the beta? Which did you like the most and least? Which surprised you the most?

 

All but one of them to at least level 4 or 5 (I purposely didn't roll an Inquisitor, as not to spoil the story, the rest just to see the intro and skill set-up). Favorite would be Smuggler or Warrior, least favorite was Imp Agent, just because the profession doesn't interest me. Surprise? I played a Smuggler on SWG for 6 years, and expected to go in there as a glass canon, it was a pleasant surprise to survive solo

 

2. What was your favorite part of the game; questing, combat, story-telling, crafting, space, etc.?

 

I enjoyed getting to Imperial/Republic Fleet, and Coruscant's immensity, I haven't really played enough levels to get a solid opinion on any aspect of the Game.. Which was my intention, I dont want to spoil my first week on the game come the 15th.

 

3. What did you think of the starter planets and the leveling, questing, difficulty and overall pacing early on?

 

I liked it because it wasn't so hard or in-depth that you get aggravated by dying or re-doing quest lines. It was relaxed and easy, yet exciting.

 

4. If there was one thing that you could change, fix or add to the game before release on December 20th, what would it be?

 

Chat Bubbles... literally all I can think of lol, the Chat system is crap.

 

5. Will we be seeing you playing The Old Republic on release day?

 

Nope... You'll be seeing me five days before that

[Tommycat]

1) really only played two classes. Imperial Agent and Smuggler. IA has probably the best story, and a reasonable reason not to have your name spoken. Smuggler was the most fun to play though.

 

2) Crafting feels disconnected. More of an afterthought. Space is similar. But now that they added companion voices it kinda helps(plus being a smuggler on an escort mission and hearing her say "What? Is this thing on autopilot?" was pretty funny). By far questing was the most fun. The story is engaging and at times the options are high-larious.

 

3) Early levels and starter planets are pretty well cake walk. It should be though. It's the tutorial. That's where you really learn your character. They are straight forward and pretty much hand hold you through them. By Nar Shaddaa you begin to be left more to your own devices. Your class story become less of what you use to level.

 

4) Imma agree with Jae. I would REALLY like to be able to move stuff around. I mean it would be really nice to be able to have my inventory, character screen and mod screen open without completely blocking my view of the game. Those people with the 3 monitor setup have to look left and right to see a bunch of their UI which could be painful in a Raid. Also looking at your minimap while out with that kind of setup could be bad.

 

5) It's Star Wars. It's BioWare. There was never any doubt.

[snommism]

1. Which Classes did you try out during your time with the beta? Which did you like the most and least? Which surprised you the most?

I only played Smuggler, got to level 22. It was pretty much as I expected so no real surprises. When playing with a group, at times I felt weak and encumbered since in order to do some real damage I have to get behind cover and my pistols have to charge up.

 

2. What was your favorite part of the game; questing, combat, story-telling, crafting, space, etc.?

I liked questing quite a bit, and I think the story telling made this much more enjoyable. I never really felt like I was doing meaningless tasks like in most MMOs. The "fetch me x amount of item y" or "kill x amount of monster y" never felt like a grind. Of course its hard to judge that based on the 3 days I was allowed to play

 

3. What did you think of the starter planets and the leveling, questing, difficulty and overall pacing early on?

I thought everything was level appropriate and didn't have any troubles. I think the only time I even died was when I entered an area after someone had been there previously and the monsters re spawned directly behind me. The variety allowed for good explanation of the games features & functions.

 

4. If there was one thing that you could change, fix or add to the game before release on December 20th, what would it be?

Real space play I know that is not realistic though, but other than that, I don't feel there is anything lacking.

 

5. Will we be seeing you playing The Old Republic on release day?

Yes, and before that as well I'm a pre-order so should be given early release. I am anticipating that this game will keep me entertained (read:addicted) for years to come.

[Mav]

Thanks for the replies everyone! The article will get posted tomorrow at the scheduled time. Feel free to carry-on with the discussion about your experiences in the beta. The beta did end earlier this evening so share some screenshots with us if you have them!

[Lynk Former]

The last place I left my last played character was somewhere on Tatooine...

 

[Miltiades]

A question for those who got their character pretty far if not to the end of the story: how much time did you need to get so far into the story and do you think it'll be worth it to keep logging in into that character? In other words, have you gotten a glimpse of the endgame content?

 

To be honest, I'd be a bit sad if I had already completed the main story of a class in the beta.

[mimartin]

I'm sure Mav finished the main story, but he wasn't just a weekend beta user.

[Mav]

A question for those who got their character pretty far if not to the end of the story: how much time did you need to get so far into the story and do you think it'll be worth it to keep logging in into that character? In other words, have you gotten a glimpse of the endgame content?

 

To be honest, I'd be a bit sad if I had already completed the main story of a class in the beta.

I got my Bounty Hunter to the end of his main story and leveled up to the 50 cap early yesterday, the last day of beta. As mimi said though, I've been in continuous beta not just weekend stuff. As far as how long it takes, I wasn't really keeping track but I'm sure since you've tried the beta you know the first planet and level 1-10 can be done in one sitting pretty easily. Once you get off that starter planet, I'd say early on you can do 1.5 planets a day. Meaning you can get through 1 planet's quests and start another in a 6-7 hour day, so doing nothing but sitting there gaming.

 

Towards the later planets it definitely took me longer, obviously more XP is required to level-up, so more side quests need to be done to stay on track, so I was prolly looking at 10 hours or so to go from 47 to 50. One interesting thing, for the planet Voss it is 44-47, I did the first half of that planet solo took ages, teamed up with some random dude for the last half, finished the rest of the quests in less than half the time, so even if you're just using the buddy system, time wise it benefits you to play with another.

 

I got the tiniest glimpse of endgame content, but for right now there is... 'enough' I think. Once you get to level 50 you gain the ability to participate in Operations, they are like Flashpoints, but instead of a group of 4, you're a team of 16, presumably the best PvE attainable loot will come from these. Speaking of Flashpoints though at level 50 you do also unlock "Hard Mode" Flashpoints, I didn't get a chance to try one out, but I think basically all the enemies from previous Flashpoints just get scaled up to lvl 50 or higher and stomp you. Basically whereas the during the main story you can no doubt get through it on your own, endgame is more focused on the co-operative and competitive aspects of an MMO. There is one more planet that I didn't go through that has "extra" solo story driven stuff in lvl 50 Ilum. I imagine future expansions with level cap increases will add more quest planets as well.

 

Oh, you were talking about playing Sith Inquisitor, and some guy had me help him push through his story quests at the end of beta since he was under-leveled, and my sound was off so as not to spoil too much, but the ending cut-scene looked FANTASTIC. If you have any more specific questions, or if I failed to answer one properly cause I suck, let me know. Also we're thinking of doing a live Q&A session for SWMMO.net, but I don't know when that's going down yet.

 

Oh, here's an beta ending cantina party...

[Miltiades]

Thanks for the answer, that helped a lot!