As was foretold, we've added advertisements to the forums! If you have questions, or if you encounter any bugs, please visit this thread: https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/240191/forum-advertisement-faq-and-reports-thread/
We're funding a new Acquisitions Incorporated series on Kickstarter right now! Check it out at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pennyarcade/acquisitions-incorporated-the-series-2

[SWTOR] - The thrilling F2P adventures of Henroid, Bounty Hunter and snappy dresser.

17677798182100

Posts

  • ShadowenShadowen Snores in the morning LoserdomRegistered User regular
    Acharenus wrote: »
    Shadowen wrote: »
    Acharenus wrote: »
    you mean:

    I played a female character and killed them instead. You and I have very different definitions of "rape" btw. I suspect you don't remember quite a few things about your empire playthroughs very well.

    True, memory is probably playing tricks on him.

    He might be conflating that scene and
    the one where you can rape Vette's sister and make her watch.

    And you mean:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0dxgbtLumk

    I can't help but feel memory's all around are playing up. Thankfully we have youtube.

    I like the way you both delivered though...I could practically here the *dun* *dun* *dunnnn* dramatic sting.

    Do you guys want to keep up with the rather disturbing fixation on rape, or can we get back to swtor discussion and you know facts?

    You're right, the most disturbing thing about that is how Vette just accepts it.

    Let's not mince words here. This is Nar Shaddaa, which is like Coruscant except your favorite vices are legal, and she's a slave. Star Wars is a franchise mainly aimed at kids, and thus they're terrified of a hint of nontraditional sex; "dancing" is a way to have their cake and eat it too, as a pretty heavy-handed metaphor for prostitution--except since most are slaves, the money pretty obviously doesn't go to the dancers.

    I don't know what else you would call it, really. He buys a sex slave, tries her out, and sets her free after. Even if you argue against the dancing-as-metaphor thing, the trying-out part would still be skeezy as fuck even if your character were doing this of their own volition and not as a favor to a friend/girlfriend.

    Orca
  • AcharenusAcharenus Registered User regular
    I don't believe anyone mentions dancing there. Or that anyone forces themselves on anyone else, I assume we've stopped throwing it around like a party favor for shock value then?

  • CambiataCambiata Commander Shepard The likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
    Acharenus wrote: »
    Shadowen wrote: »
    Acharenus wrote: »
    you mean:

    I played a female character and killed them instead. You and I have very different definitions of "rape" btw. I suspect you don't remember quite a few things about your empire playthroughs very well.

    True, memory is probably playing tricks on him.

    He might be conflating that scene and
    the one where you can rape Vette's sister and make her watch.

    And you mean:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0dxgbtLumk

    I can't help but feel memory's all around are playing up. Thankfully we have youtube.

    I like the way you both delivered though...I could practically hear the *dun* *dun* *dunnnn* dramatic sting.

    Do you guys want to keep up with the rather disturbing fixation on rape, or can we get back to swtor discussion and you know facts?

    Errr... "fuck me for your freedom" is pretty rapey, dude.

    ShadowenOrcaCorehealeremp123Seidkona
  • ShadowenShadowen Snores in the morning LoserdomRegistered User regular
    Acharenus wrote: »
    I don't believe anyone mentions dancing there. Or that anyone forces themselves on anyone else, I assume we've stopped throwing it around like a party favor for shock value then?

    If they're not dancing, what wares is he sampling? He's not paying for the sex, he's paying to get her set free. "Sure I'll free your sister from slavery, but she has to let me fuck her first." That's extortion, which when combined with any sexual act, walks and talks and quacks like sexual assault.

    As it so happens I agree with you on the Grathan thing (and for that matter, most dark side options on the Imperial side--yes they're monstrously sociopathic, you're the bad guy in a Star Wars story), and I apologize for misremembering and transplanting the "make Vette watch" thing onto the scene with Tivva. It's a little demented that you can go and kill someone's husband at their request and then have sex with them right after (even ignoring the time constraints and the fact that, you know, you're raiding their palace) and that's light side, but as the Inquisitor notes, Sith prefer the term "differently rational". Anyway, if you don't make Vette watch it's not evil.

    But I still am of the opinion that the one possibility with Tivva and Vette is, at best, messed up.

    CambiataAcharenus
  • AcharenusAcharenus Registered User regular
    Cambiata wrote: »
    Acharenus wrote: »
    Shadowen wrote: »
    Acharenus wrote: »
    you mean:

    I played a female character and killed them instead. You and I have very different definitions of "rape" btw. I suspect you don't remember quite a few things about your empire playthroughs very well.

    True, memory is probably playing tricks on him.

    He might be conflating that scene and
    the one where you can rape Vette's sister and make her watch.

    And you mean:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0dxgbtLumk

    I can't help but feel memory's all around are playing up. Thankfully we have youtube.

    I like the way you both delivered though...I could practically hear the *dun* *dun* *dunnnn* dramatic sting.

    Do you guys want to keep up with the rather disturbing fixation on rape, or can we get back to swtor discussion and you know facts?

    Errr... "fuck me for your freedom" is pretty rapey, dude.

    I think a prostitution=rape discussion is quite above the restraints of forum guidelines...as is the whole comment thread if I had any say in it, and that this discussion started with someone throwing around rape incorrectly ostensibly to imply anyone who took dark side options...in a game, were sociopaths. No shame at all about that?

    I mean I realize the penny arcade forums are a cliquey place...but really, that's your only issue with this?

  • CambiataCambiata Commander Shepard The likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
    You're evading the discussion by making it about prostitution, which is pretty not cool?

    Prostitutes can also be raped, in case you weren't aware of it.

    Shadowen
  • Regina FongRegina Fong Allons-y, Alonso Registered User regular
    I'm not engaging this discussion beyond stating the fact that sex by coercion is rape. Even if the victim is the one who suggests sex because, you know, you're about to murder her whole family.

    CambiataShadowenCorehealerSeidkona
  • AcharenusAcharenus Registered User regular
    Cambiata wrote: »
    You're evading the discussion by making it about prostitution, which is pretty not cool?

    Prostitutes can also be raped, in case you weren't aware of it.

    I'm evading nothing In one of my first posts I mention that empire side has a lot of evil discussion that even light side options are lesser evil...I don't buy the rape interpretation of those two scenes does that fact somehow translate in your mind that I'm sitting here with a "Pro rape" shirt, rape is evil. And as I've said I find it...sickening that people got this whole ball rolling ostensibly so that they could label a whole swath of people sociopaths for what gain I have no idea.

    How about you stop evading that.

  • AcharenusAcharenus Registered User regular
    I'm not engaging this discussion beyond stating the fact that sex by coercion is rape. Even if the victim is the one who suggests sex because, you know, you're about to murder her whole family.

    I agree. Now what does that have to do with either of those scenes?

    Shadowen
  • ShadowenShadowen Snores in the morning LoserdomRegistered User regular
    ...so!

    Putting my first toon through Ilum, and am very glad I probably won't have to go through the whole thing to ding 55. Oh look, it's Hoth again, but at night and with more mountains and most of the quests are dailies.

    (That said, being at night makes the glare less irritating, and the skybox is really pretty.)

  • OwenashiOwenashi Registered User regular
    You don't HAVE to do the dailies on Ilum to progress through it's story. Just handle the missions given out there by the NPC you visit in the first place (assuming it's the same for Republic players as it is for Empire).

  • ShadowenShadowen Snores in the morning LoserdomRegistered User regular
    Owenashi wrote: »
    You don't HAVE to do the dailies on Ilum to progress through it's story. Just handle the missions given out there by the NPC you visit in the first place (assuming it's the same for Republic players as it is for Empire).

    Ah, but commendations! And XP! And money! (It's my first time doing 'em on any toon, so there's still a bit of novelty for them.)

  • EgosEgos Registered User regular
    so...with the affection system are you essentially forced to buy gifts in order to progress or? I'm not that far (20 is the highest I have) but not even close to the first rank (like 800 out of 2k).

  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    Egos wrote: »
    so...with the affection system are you essentially forced to buy gifts in order to progress or? I'm not that far (20 is the highest I have) but not even close to the first rank (like 800 out of 2k).

    No, you're not - stuff later on is worth more point. But you can powerlevel through the first couple tiers pretty cheaply by buying the intro gifts, if you want.

  • Regina FongRegina Fong Allons-y, Alonso Registered User regular
    Egos wrote: »
    so...with the affection system are you essentially forced to buy gifts in order to progress or? I'm not that far (20 is the highest I have) but not even close to the first rank (like 800 out of 2k).

    Yes.

    I mean, in theory if you had a million years to play the game you could max everyone's affection by running dailies, but yeah, no. You need to buy gifts.

    The best way to do gifts, which some people consider cheesy but fuck those people, is to take a brand new companion with zero affection straight over to the gift vendor and keep feeding them their preferred type of rank 1 gift until it stops giving them affection completely, which should be somewhere like around 6k affection, which is not bad at all, and not actually that terribly costly.

    Then, do nothing with them. Don't talk to them on the ship, don't do their quests (which just consist of conversations anyway except for your starting companion who has real quests). Continue to play and level your character. You may use those comps while questing or you may not, but all of them are at least going to get some affection from your big class quests which feature conversations that involve all of your companions, not just the one tagging along.

    Once you're done with your character's main storyline (sometime shortly after completing Corellia) take a look at the character and note where his or her affection is. If it's less than 8k at this point, you should buy them some gifts off the auction house. Look for level 3-4 blue and purple gifts of the type they prefer. You might have acquired some level 4-5 gifts from tradeskill missions too. I would save the level 5 ones, and use the level 4 ones to get them up to around 8k affection.

    Now, visit them on the ship and complete all conversations with them. Affection gains vary by character and by which choices you make, but for many companions the whole collective series of companion quests (including the very very last conversation which always nets a big chunk of affection) will grant you about 2k affection, putting you at 10k and finishing off the companion (achievement unlocked).

    Some characters won't quite make it to 10k this way, either because they don't have that much affection in their dialogues or because you chose the "wrong" options. Either way, don't sweat it, just shovel a few rank 5 blue/purple gifts at them and they're done.

    This is by far the cheapest way to max a companions affection short without a ridiculous time investment.

    Now, the companion who you favor most will probably get to max affection without any gift giving by the time you reach the end of the game, but not multiple companions, and if you adventure with all of your companions and switch around frequently you'll just wind up with 5 companions who all have 3k affection, which is nice and all, but you could have gotten them to 6k cheaply with vendor gifts. It's the last 4k affection that are actually difficult.

  • kmzkmz Registered User regular
    I usually use the rank 2 gifts until they reach 8k affection. Then I do all the convos I can because it's really nice XP for leveling.

    Trying to rank up Ashara as a female Inquisitor is just the worrrrrrst. If you don't romance her, she'll at most "Like" a gift. And I thought Elara was hard on my female Trooper when she at most "Faved" gifts but didn't "Love" anything.

    Commodore75DivideByZero
  • Regina FongRegina Fong Allons-y, Alonso Registered User regular
    kmz wrote: »
    I usually use the rank 2 gifts until they reach 8k affection. Then I do all the convos I can because it's really nice XP for leveling.

    Trying to rank up Ashara as a female Inquisitor is just the worrrrrrst. If you don't romance her, she'll at most "Like" a gift. And I thought Elara was hard on my female Trooper when she at most "Faved" gifts but didn't "Love" anything.

    Nah, enough rank 2 gifts to raise them 2k is more expensive than buying some rank 4 gifts from auction (unless your server is like bizarro land where gifts are super valuable, which would be awesome since like every mission tradeskill can easily get rank 4 gifts) or even better if you've leveled a mission skill on one or more characters you very likely have a little stockpile of rank 3-5 gifts in your cargo hold.

    ElvenshaeEmporium
  • kmzkmz Registered User regular
    Hmm... I guess I haven't actually checked GTN prices for gifts lately. I do actually have a stash of level 3-5 gifts from various mission skills that I use when I'm feeling lazy and impatient.

  • Regina FongRegina Fong Allons-y, Alonso Registered User regular
    edited February 2014
    kmz wrote: »
    Hmm... I guess I haven't actually checked GTN prices for gifts lately. I do actually have a stash of level 3-5 gifts from various mission skills that I use when I'm feeling lazy and impatient.

    While it's theoretically possible that gifts are really that pricey on your server, I doubt it (they aren't on mine). The vendor rank 2 gifts don't give a lot of affection and actually add up in price pretty fast, whereas you can often find a blue (or even better, purple) gift for 10-30k which raise affection hundreds of points in one go if you have the companion gift enhancement from legacy unlocked (and trust me, if you have Azshara, you want to unlock this!)

    Regina Fong on
  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    kmz wrote: »
    Hmm... I guess I haven't actually checked GTN prices for gifts lately. I do actually have a stash of level 3-5 gifts from various mission skills that I use when I'm feeling lazy and impatient.

    While it's theoretically possible that gifts are really that pricey on your server, I doubt it (they aren't on mine). The vendor rank 2 gifts don't give a lot of affection and actually add up in price pretty fast, whereas you can often find a blue (or even better, purple) gift for 10-30k which raise affection hundreds of points in one go if you have the companion gift enhancement from legacy unlocked (and trust me, if you have Azshara, you want to unlock this!)

    The rank 2 gifts are a trap, most of the time.

    From 1-2k affection, rank 1 gifts give the best bang-for-the-buck. Once you hit 2k affection, rank 1 gifts drop to 50% effectiveness, which might make you think that the rank 2 gifts are the ones to use now, but they're 3x the cost of rank 1 gifts, so rank 1 remains the cheapest per point.

    Don't use above-rank gifts (e.g. a rank 3 gift when your companion has 2k-4k affection); the bonus from being above-rank is not worth the savings later on.

  • Regina FongRegina Fong Allons-y, Alonso Registered User regular
    Elvenshae wrote: »
    kmz wrote: »
    Hmm... I guess I haven't actually checked GTN prices for gifts lately. I do actually have a stash of level 3-5 gifts from various mission skills that I use when I'm feeling lazy and impatient.

    While it's theoretically possible that gifts are really that pricey on your server, I doubt it (they aren't on mine). The vendor rank 2 gifts don't give a lot of affection and actually add up in price pretty fast, whereas you can often find a blue (or even better, purple) gift for 10-30k which raise affection hundreds of points in one go if you have the companion gift enhancement from legacy unlocked (and trust me, if you have Azshara, you want to unlock this!)

    The rank 2 gifts are a trap, most of the time.

    From 1-2k affection, rank 1 gifts give the best bang-for-the-buck. Once you hit 2k affection, rank 1 gifts drop to 50% effectiveness, which might make you think that the rank 2 gifts are the ones to use now, but they're 3x the cost of rank 1 gifts, so rank 1 remains the cheapest per point.

    Don't use above-rank gifts (e.g. a rank 3 gift when your companion has 2k-4k affection); the bonus from being above-rank is not worth the savings later on.

    Buying the rank 4 gifts is for after you hit 6k from rank 1 gifts. At that point they are correct-level not above or below, and then when you get to 8k you do the companion quests and finish off any remaining to 10k with rank 5 gifts.

  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    Elvenshae wrote: »
    kmz wrote: »
    Hmm... I guess I haven't actually checked GTN prices for gifts lately. I do actually have a stash of level 3-5 gifts from various mission skills that I use when I'm feeling lazy and impatient.

    While it's theoretically possible that gifts are really that pricey on your server, I doubt it (they aren't on mine). The vendor rank 2 gifts don't give a lot of affection and actually add up in price pretty fast, whereas you can often find a blue (or even better, purple) gift for 10-30k which raise affection hundreds of points in one go if you have the companion gift enhancement from legacy unlocked (and trust me, if you have Azshara, you want to unlock this!)

    The rank 2 gifts are a trap, most of the time.

    From 1-2k affection, rank 1 gifts give the best bang-for-the-buck. Once you hit 2k affection, rank 1 gifts drop to 50% effectiveness, which might make you think that the rank 2 gifts are the ones to use now, but they're 3x the cost of rank 1 gifts, so rank 1 remains the cheapest per point.

    Don't use above-rank gifts (e.g. a rank 3 gift when your companion has 2k-4k affection); the bonus from being above-rank is not worth the savings later on.

    Buying the rank 4 gifts is for after you hit 6k from rank 1 gifts. At that point they are correct-level not above or below, and then when you get to 8k you do the companion quests and finish off any remaining to 10k with rank 5 gifts.

    Yeah - I agree. I was mostly expanding upon your "The vendor rank 2 gifts don't give a lot of affection and actually add up in price pretty fast" point.

    Regina FongCorehealer
  • Fixer40000Fixer40000 Registered User regular
    It's very easy to level up your first companion's affection by running Esseles or Black Talon runs. There's a million conversations in there that can pop affection.

    Have left PA forums.
    If this community believes that hating someone based soley upon their gender is acceptable and understandable, I have no interest in being a part of it.
    Elvenshae
  • BrainleechBrainleech 機知に富んだコメントはここにあります Registered User regular
    Well I started playing again and well I have no idea what I am doing
    I remember my trooper was a dps but the talents I have no idea

  • emp123emp123 Registered User regular
    Grav round all day is basic trooper dps play.

    I'm kinda in the same boat though, I'm diving in to my 37 Knight to finally finish the last story and I'm not super sure what's going on and if I'm smashing correctly.

    Fortunately the game is pretty forgiving, though I do wish it was a little better with story refreshes.

    Bullhead
  • StraygatsbyStraygatsby Registered User regular
    Finally started my consular in earnest and loving the rock to the face action. I haven't yet decided if I want to go full dps while leveling or level in the heals tree (like I did with my scoundrel).

  • DivideByZeroDivideByZero Social Justice Blackguard Registered User regular
    I'd suggest speccing as Balance for the early levels as Force in Balance is a meaty AOE that will melt packs of normals and make things much faster. Then once you get Force Quake around 35? switch to TK as it has bonkers AOE damage. Especially with the Sage changes coming down the pipe.

    First they came for the Muslims, and we said NOT TODAY, MOTHERFUCKERS
    Commodore75
  • OwenashiOwenashi Registered User regular
    Well, this is a neat prize for the top PvP players come patch 2.7.

    S1_Rewards_P3_854x718.jpg

    ElvenshaeShadowen
  • AcharenusAcharenus Registered User regular
    I really loath arena pvp

  • CorehealerCorehealer The Apothecary The softer edge of the universe.Registered User regular
    Acharenus wrote: »
    I really loath arena pvp

    Even if that's a mount, which at first glance it appears to be, it's not worth the soul searing experience of SWTOR arena PvP.

    Huttball championships or GTFO.

    488W936.png
    Acharenus
  • StraygatsbyStraygatsby Registered User regular
    I'd suggest speccing as Balance for the early levels as Force in Balance is a meaty AOE that will melt packs of normals and make things much faster. Then once you get Force Quake around 35? switch to TK as it has bonkers AOE damage. Especially with the Sage changes coming down the pipe.

    Thanks for the tip. I ended up doing this and 20-24 were incredibly enjoyable between force in balance and wave. This'll definitely keep me in bloodlust until forcequake. I don't even miss being in heal spec right now.

  • StraygatsbyStraygatsby Registered User regular
    Acharenus wrote: »
    I really loath arena pvp

    I admit that I'm one of those awful people who, when random warzone pops arena, I just don't even try. Sorry. I can't. It's just....ew.

  • ShadowenShadowen Snores in the morning LoserdomRegistered User regular
    So there's a thing in TOR where if you fill in all of a planet's codex entries, you get a small experience bonus. I think it's like 1% per planet.

    However, there are codex entries that are bugged. They were made impossible to get but not removed from the tracker. There are codex entries that are supposed to trigger but don't. There are a lot of them.

    Currently I'm Preferred status, and so with my level 50+ characters I have been working on grinding commendations and other such things to get them and their companions the best possible gear before tackling the expansion content. Among other things, I've gone back to old planets and cruised through low-level heroics, and while there I decide to fill in the blanks, as it were.

    From the 13 planets I've visited so far as a Trooper, there are 4 where you can actually complete the set.

    That's not inherently bad. Well, it is, but Bioware have taken steps to counteract it. For example, on one site that gives instructions on how to find a lot of these entries, there's a lot of comments to the effect of, "talk to a CS about it and they'll unlock it for you". And that's pretty nice.

    Except of course for everyone who's not a subscriber, for whom CS might as well not exist.

    If you're thorough enough to be getting all the codex entries anyway, you're likely getting more than enough XP, even without rest XP, but still it's kind of a catch-22 that the only people who would really need a feature are the ones who can't utilize it.

  • AcharenusAcharenus Registered User regular
    edited February 2014
    It's hard to imagine a more boring or frustrating task then seeker droiding.

    I just want one pair of dreadseed boots, I have 4 belts 3 star forager boots and 1 star belt, which doesn't look to bad really...not to mention the dozens of speeder parts.

    Edit: Finally at what must have been close to or over 24 actual hours of searching on Hoth all up, for a pair of dreadseed boots. I wasn't always there specifically for the boots but I'm counting that time.

    Acharenus on
  • StraygatsbyStraygatsby Registered User regular
    Man, once you hit 34 the dps TK sage just takes off. Between that wave and the double wave/disturbances, I'm just shooting wooshes of blue light with an occasional helping of quake. It's just...melty. The nice part is that even though it feels AE-centric, I can really push single target kills for questing and bigger mobs, too.

    I may just be shaking off the balance spec I was leveling in prior, but it feels like balance was easier to use in PVP with it's insta spells and whatnot. I'll see how this grows on me. Really fun, though.

    I'll still probably switch back to a primary heal sage at 55, but this definitely makes the last chunk of planets that much more fun to blast through. I might even get this guy up there before the double XP weekend. Then I'll have to start all over again! =P

    Commodore75
  • ShadowenShadowen Snores in the morning LoserdomRegistered User regular
    Man, once you hit 34 the dps TK sage just takes off. Between that wave and the double wave/disturbances, I'm just shooting wooshes of blue light with an occasional helping of quake. It's just...melty. The nice part is that even though it feels AE-centric, I can really push single target kills for questing and bigger mobs, too.

    I may just be shaking off the balance spec I was leveling in prior, but it feels like balance was easier to use in PVP with it's insta spells and whatnot. I'll see how this grows on me. Really fun, though.

    I'll still probably switch back to a primary heal sage at 55, but this definitely makes the last chunk of planets that much more fun to blast through. I might even get this guy up there before the double XP weekend. Then I'll have to start all over again! =P

    At level 34, Sorcerer/Sage just becomes so much easier to level/quest with in general. I am almost literally addicted to Force Storm when I play my Sorcerer. I was heal specced and only ever had to heal during during boss fights.

    Also last night I finally found a robe for my Sentinel that wasn't completely boring. Does anyone have any suggestions (aside from the GTN, because I am currently not subscribed and all my characters are therefore poor) for where I might find a helmet that looks like a helmet? The Sentinel in question is 53, so no worries about level, but the trick I use for every other class (going back and doing all those heroics skipped because I don't have time for pugs) just gets me the option for more glorified headbands/tiaras.

    Commodore75
  • DivideByZeroDivideByZero Social Justice Blackguard Registered User regular
    I think the endgame commendation vendors have some helmety things. Campaign/classic comms come to mind.

    Also check out Smuggler gear, it's still medium and there's lots of hats to be had.

    First they came for the Muslims, and we said NOT TODAY, MOTHERFUCKERS
  • emp123emp123 Registered User regular
    There's a bucket head available on Oricron or whatever the expansion planet is called. And I think you can get a mohawk helmet from the HK daily place. I know there's a more Stormtrooper looking one available somewhere.

    Tor-fashion or whatever it's called will probably be a bigger help.

  • NEO|PhyteNEO|Phyte They follow the stars, bound together. Strands in a braid till the end.Registered User regular
    I wish there was a Cartel version of the Colossus trooper helmet, to go with the Stalwart armor set.

    It was that somehow, from within the derelict-horror, they had learned a way to see inside an ugly, broken thing... And take away its pain.
    Warframe/Steam: NFyt
    Nocren
  • ShadowenShadowen Snores in the morning LoserdomRegistered User regular
    Cool. Thanks guys.

This discussion has been closed.