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/

Star Wars: The Old Republic - Make a new thread already.

19495969799

Posts

  • Dizzy DDizzy D NetherlandsRegistered User regular
    As I've played mostly healers (Smuggler, Sage, Sorceror and now Merc.) and generally got good feedback from others, here's my experience:

    If you start levelling a new character as a healer, the flashpoints do a good job of building it up for you. As in the first flashpoint, it's all pretty straight forward, around Hammer Station you learn how to move and heal and deal with a bit of burst damage, then around Athiss you get add swamping and a boss that does big damage to other targets than the tank and so on.

    Sage/Sorc: these are probably the easiest or at least most straight forward to start out healing, Merc and Smuggler both have a bit more interesting mechanics that doesn't make them worse, but for a beginner I'd suggest using a Sage or Sorc.

    Steam/Origin: davydizzy
  • Commodore75Commodore75 gothenburg.seRegistered User regular
    edited July 2013
    korodullin wrote: »
    I don't say stuff like this often, but I'm pretty confident in saying that outside of some extremely specific circumstances, if you're using your threat dump as a tank in TOR, you are flat-out doing it wrong, period.

    In nearly all of the operations fights, especially on hard and nightmare modes, a tank dying is recoverable. Losing a DPS almost never is.

    Tanks dumping threat in flashpoints is wholly unnecessary, and tanks doing it in operations will probably wipe the raid.

    Yeah, for me ops are guild things (so no need to threat dump), and it's not like it's part of my tank rotations.
    So I'm talking PUG SM FP:s.
    It's for when the rare exceptions. Like when I've painted myself (and my healer) into a corner with to many enemies hitting me, and the dps are topped off...
    Not for the progress raids.

    HM/NiM stuff usually have too much of a dps race.

    That said, I wish more people would make an effort to stay alive, and not leave it up to the bodyguard and/or medic.
    If you jump in and ground smash away the CC, you can have some of my threat. :P

    Commodore75 on
  • Commodore75Commodore75 gothenburg.seRegistered User regular
    Owenashi wrote: »
    Is there a good key to bind that 'heal specific target' ability too? I'd be less afraid to try healing myself if I knew of a better key to use for it then the End button.

    Is that the focus target modifier?
    Do you use "V" for voice chat? Then maybe "B"?

  • Eat it You Nasty Pig.Eat it You Nasty Pig. tell homeland security 'we are the bomb'Registered User regular
    taunts generate such a hilarious amount of threat in TOR (especially in scenarios where tanks are taunting back and forth) that using a threat dump during a tank transition is never going to be necessary. Frankly I doubt the threat dumps are big enough to even be noticeable, since (iirc) they all dump static amounts of threat rather than percentiles.

    Aside from that, there's realistically no scenario where a tank should actually want to lose aggro, unless it's to another tank who is taunting. If a tank is taking too much damage to be survivable then DPS won't last long either, and you have more survivability cooldowns than they do.

    honestly aside from some specific circumstances in operations (i.e. avoiding ground effects, using tank cooldowns during appropriate timed mechanics, etc.), survivability is not really a gameplay concern for tanks. Your primary jobs are 1) hold aggro on everything you're supposed to and 2) manage mob positioning correctly. Watching your health bar is the healers' job and for the most part will only serve to distract you.

    NREqxl5.jpg
    it was the smallest on the list but
    Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
  • Commodore75Commodore75 gothenburg.seRegistered User regular
    Dizzy D wrote: »
    As I've played mostly healers (Smuggler, Sage, Sorceror and now Merc.) and generally got good feedback from others, here's my experience:

    If you start levelling a new character as a healer, the flashpoints do a good job of building it up for you. As in the first flashpoint, it's all pretty straight forward, around Hammer Station you learn how to move and heal and deal with a bit of burst damage, then around Athiss you get add swamping and a boss that does big damage to other targets than the tank and so on.

    Sage/Sorc: these are probably the easiest or at least most straight forward to start out healing, Merc and Smuggler both have a bit more interesting mechanics that doesn't make them worse, but for a beginner I'd suggest using a Sage or Sorc.

    Also ask around for good rotations.
    At first when I tried out sorc healing I got force starved quickly. I just assumed that was Bioware telling me to tone down on the healing.
    Turns out I just missed a couple of steps in my rotation.

  • Dizzy DDizzy D NetherlandsRegistered User regular
    Dark Heal is a trap!*

    *= on low levels, oh and hyperbole (of course)

    Steam/Origin: davydizzy
  • NEO|PhyteNEO|Phyte They follow the stars, bound together. Strands in a braid till the end.Registered User regular
    Regarding aggro and the pulling thereof, assuming relatively even gear levels, is being able to pull aggro off the tank a major red flag, or just a thing that'll happen periodically, particularly at the start before he's got a lot a threat buildup. Been noticing it a fair amount on my commando.

    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
  • Dizzy DDizzy D NetherlandsRegistered User regular
    Not as experienced as a tank, but Death from Above and it's Commanda equivalent were terrible for my Juggernaut and Guardian to keep aggro through.

    Steam/Origin: davydizzy
  • Eat it You Nasty Pig.Eat it You Nasty Pig. tell homeland security 'we are the bomb'Registered User regular
    sorc should be able to heal stuff like FPs almost entirely by rotating their hot/channel (forget the terminology for sages.) The hardcast direct heals are mostly for backfilling spikes or for spot healing, and even then the quick heal is pretty much unused for pve; it's far too inefficient to see regular use in a system that emphasizes maintaining neutral resource regeneration.

    but yeah, sorc is the easiest healer to play and arguably still the strongest, at least for pve

    NREqxl5.jpg
    it was the smallest on the list but
    Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
  • korodullinkorodullin What. SCRegistered User regular
    NEO|Phyte wrote: »
    Regarding aggro and the pulling thereof, assuming relatively even gear levels, is being able to pull aggro off the tank a major red flag, or just a thing that'll happen periodically, particularly at the start before he's got a lot a threat buildup. Been noticing it a fair amount on my commando.

    Depends on the tank and the fight. If aggro within the first 5-10 seconds of a boss fight with a Juggernaut/Guardian tanking is a bit shaky, that's normal. If it's with an Assassin/Shadow tank, then the tank's probably not doing their threat rotation properly. I'm not 100% certain on PTs/Vanguards, but I believe it's a similar deal with the Assassin.

    ZvOMJnu.png
    - The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
  • Commodore75Commodore75 gothenburg.seRegistered User regular
    taunts generate such a hilarious amount of threat in TOR (especially in scenarios where tanks are taunting back and forth) that using a threat dump during a tank transition is never going to be necessary. Frankly I doubt the threat dumps are big enough to even be noticeable, since (iirc) they all dump static amounts of threat rather than percentiles.

    I don't think you will lose any of the big guys you've been pounding on for most of the fight, but a couple of weak ones you picked up (by mistake) late in the fight might break free.

    I don't use threat dump during tank swaps, because it was my understanding that taunts feed of the highest aggro (and would thus punish the tank taking over my target if they taunt after I dump).
    Is that wrong?
    Aside from that, there's realistically no scenario where a tank should actually want to lose aggro, unless it's to another tank who is taunting. If a tank is taking too much damage to be survivable then DPS won't last long either, and you have more survivability cooldowns than they do.
    Off loading some strongs on the dps can make a difference. Unless the dps are already low on health.
    But, yeah, rare (theoretic) exceptions.
    honestly aside from some specific circumstances in operations (i.e. avoiding ground effects, using tank cooldowns during appropriate timed mechanics, etc.), survivability is not really a gameplay concern for tanks. Your primary jobs are 1) hold aggro on everything you're supposed to and 2) manage mob positioning correctly. Watching your health bar is the healers' job and for the most part will only serve to distract you.

    :) Will do.
    I'm grateful that I tried out operative healer long ago. So I don't get nervous just because my health is approaching 30%. Au contraire.
    I wish more tanks would try out different healing classes first. Might lead to less whining.

  • NocrenNocren Lt Futz, Back in Action North CarolinaRegistered User regular
    edited July 2013
    DarkPrimus wrote: »
    I haven't tried a healer build yet because I'm terrified of being bad at it and ruining a flashpoint.

    It's not that bad. It can be less complex than Damage Dealing.
    Resource management is usually the challenge.
    Once you figure that out, all you need to know is which fights have something that needs cleansing (and when it's OK to cleanse), and to try to talk people out of breaking line of sight (LOS).

    First time I encountered trouble on my Healer Ops was my first time doing Kaon (on hard at that!). But that was a combo of bad tanking (We would get hit by AoEs and be affected) and me finally learning how/when to cleanse. (Usually I just healed, healed, and more healed.)

    EDIT: And this was after I hit 50, before Makeb launched. So, 35 levels of pure healing (cause let's face it, everyone's DPS for the first 15 levels) with hardly any problems.

    Nocren on
    newSig.jpg
  • Commodore75Commodore75 gothenburg.seRegistered User regular
    Nocren wrote: »
    DarkPrimus wrote: »
    I haven't tried a healer build yet because I'm terrified of being bad at it and ruining a flashpoint.

    It's not that bad. It can be less complex than Damage Dealing.
    Resource management is usually the challenge.
    Once you figure that out, all you need to know is which fights have something that needs cleansing (and when it's OK to cleanse), and to try to talk people out of breaking line of sight (LOS).

    First time I encountered trouble on my Healer Ops was my first time doing Kaon (on hard at that!). But that was a combo of bad tanking (We would get hit by AoEs and be affected) and me finally learning how/when to cleanse. (Usually I just healed, healed, and more healed.)

    EDIT: And this was after I hit 50, before Makeb launched. So, 35 levels of pure healing (cause let's face it, everyone's DPS for the first 15 levels) with hardly any problems.

    KuS is horrible on so many levels.
    And until everyone in the group recognizes which/when guys are about to explode ... I don't envy the healers.

    Also, my only tip for healers:
    Go to the Interface Editor, and increase the size of debuffs.
    If you're already using the operations window for groups, then it's just that window (and maybe main char's).
    If you use Group Member #1, Group Member #2 and Group Member #3, then I think you need to adjust the size of debuffs for each of them.
    Helps when doing Athiss. :)

  • CambiataCambiata Commander Shepard The likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
    edited July 2013
    Eh, tanks shouldn't be overly focused on their survivability, but it's definitely something they need to pay some attention to. That's what your cooldowns are there for. If you see your health jumping around at the low end of the scale (a sure sign the healers are struggling to keep you alive), you use your cooldown, or two cooldowns, or your absorb adrenal, or perhaps all three to keep yourself up until that burst damage passes.

    Of course I'm probably way spoiled as a Guardian, having defensive CDs out my backside. The only reason I say I might use my threat drop on a tank swap is because Guardian threat drop is their only self-heal, and in some rare circumstances it would be called for. I don't see it ever being called for in an FP though.

    Cambiata on
    "If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
  • Commodore75Commodore75 gothenburg.seRegistered User regular
    edited July 2013
    We’re approaching 100 pages
    So in an attempt to be more inclusive, how about

    Terminology
    an incomplete list, with lacking descriptions:
    Aggro – . . . I can’t explain it… it’s a Tank(in) thing. See threat/tank.
    (“Pulling aggro” is when a non-Tank player generates enough threat to get one (or more) enemies to target them instead of the Tank. One way to get unpopular with the Tank and/or the Healer.)

    AME – Armor, Mods and Enhancements. Used to upgrade modifiable gear. Just make sure that the Armor/Mod/Enhancement piece has the (primary, and when applicable secondary) stats you want.

    Buff – An effect that has a positive impact on a character, over a (short) period of time.
    Example the “Class buffs” that each class has. Sith Iquisitors and Jedi Consulars share the same buff, increased Primary Stat. As do Jedi Knights and Sith Warriors (increased …?); Smugglers and Imperial Agents (increased chance to do Critical Damage); and Troopers and Bounty Hunters (increased Endurance). Other buffs can come from some of your abilities/skills, and may reduce/remove the “cost” of your next [Ability X]. Or increase your health regeneration. Or make [Attack Y] automatically crit.
    (“Buff plz” means they are missing some class buffs, and want any group member that can cast that buff to do so. Usually occurs at FP entry, or after death (which removes these buffs.)

    CC - see Crowd Control.

    Cleanse – The act of removing a debuff and/or dot. Only some classes can do this. Not all dots/debuffs can be cleansed.

    Commendations – Earned from completing missions/flashpoints/operations. Used to acquire (schematics/modifications for) gear. A good (great?) way to keep your, and your companion’s, gear at the appropriate level.

    Companion – A NPC that can help you in fights. They can have one or two roles. DPS (and Tank/Healer). You can tell them who to attack. And can change this mid-fight.

    Critical (crit) Damage – There is a chance that your attacks will deal additional (critical) damage. The chance is influenced by how many points you have put into Crit. How much damage a crit deals is dependent on your “surge” number.

    Crowd Control (CC) - Stuns an enemy (player) for a (short) period of time. (Usually up to a minute.) Useful for taking strong/dangerous/difficult enemies out of the fight.
    Not all enemies can be CC:d.

    Damage Over Time (dot) – Not all attacks deal their full damage immediately. Some deal a portion initially, and then deals X amount of damage per second, over Y seconds (or until cleansed, if possible). Which means that you can do other things while the “dot” keeps on dishing out damage.

    Debuff – Effects that have a negative impact on the affected character. Can affect movement, healing received, ability to use some skills, increases the risk of enemy attacks crit:ing, etc.
    Some debuffs can be “cleansed”.

    dot – see Damage Over Time

    DPS – Damage Per Second. The amount of damage done (on average) per second.
    Note: Also used for the role of damage dealer. I.e. the players whose primary task is to damage/kill enemies as fast as possible. (Other roles are Healers and Tanks.)

    Dungeon – What World of Warcraft (and thus most MMO:ers) call Flashpoints.

    Flashpoint (FP) – A confined area that has you (skip) fighting monsters and bosses. For loot, XP, credits, commendations and glory.


    Guard – An ability players in a “tank stance” have that lowers the threat the guarded person generates. Also redirects some of the damage to the person g
    (Example: Healer says “Guard plz!” Meaning they want the tank to guard them. Usually a good idea to do at the beginning of every Flashpoint.)

    GUI – Graphical User Interface. What you see, and interact with on screen. Your interface to the game. And how the game informs you of things. You can greatly benefit from configuring it to your liking. Figuring out what needs changing is the hard (subjective, and/or role specific) part. But I’d always recommend you enable “Target of Target”. Healers might want to increase the size of debuffs.

    Healer – A role in groups. Healers are best at healing, so their primary mission is to keep the group alive. This means healing the tank (who will be taking the most damage).
    This doesn’t mean that it’s the healers fault if any group member dies.

    PvP – Player vs. Player.

    Open world PvP – Areas where people can attack other players. Upon entering these areas players are flagged for PvP, and can now be attacked by others, whether they want to or not.

    Soft CC – CC that doesn’t put you (and your group) in combat mode. ( ??? Only works outside of combat ??? )


    Tank – Role in groups. Tanks can take more damage than the other players, therefore they try to get enemies to target them. This also makes it easier on healers (who aren’t being attacked by enemies, and have less group members to keep healing). Tanks are also often well suited for trying to round up, and position the enemies so that the rest of the group can more easily kill the enemies.

    Taunt – An ability that (in PvE) forces the taunted monster to attack you, or (in PvP) punishes the enemy player if they don’t attack you by making them deal less damage.

    Threat – How much of a threat (priority target) monsters (in PvE) see you as. Tanks will want to build high amounts of threat, to keep the enemies focused on them (the tank).
    For example, some tank abilities “generates a high amount of threat”.

    WZ – War Zone. PvP areas that have special objectives. Some items don’t work here. Some items only work here.
    Only accessible by queuing up for PvP War Zones. (Lower left corner of the mini-map. If it says that you have to be level 10, even when you are, toggle the GUI off and on. (ctrl + U; then ctrl + U again; wait a couple of seconds ofr the GUI to load.)

    Commodore75 on
  • Dizzy DDizzy D NetherlandsRegistered User regular
    Nocren wrote: »
    DarkPrimus wrote: »
    I haven't tried a healer build yet because I'm terrified of being bad at it and ruining a flashpoint.

    It's not that bad. It can be less complex than Damage Dealing.
    Resource management is usually the challenge.
    Once you figure that out, all you need to know is which fights have something that needs cleansing (and when it's OK to cleanse), and to try to talk people out of breaking line of sight (LOS).

    First time I encountered trouble on my Healer Ops was my first time doing Kaon (on hard at that!). But that was a combo of bad tanking (We would get hit by AoEs and be affected) and me finally learning how/when to cleanse. (Usually I just healed, healed, and more healed.)

    EDIT: And this was after I hit 50, before Makeb launched. So, 35 levels of pure healing (cause let's face it, everyone's DPS for the first 15 levels) with hardly any problems.

    KuS is horrible on so many levels.
    And until everyone in the group recognizes which/when guys are about to explode ... I don't envy the healers.

    Also, my only tip for healers:
    Go to the Interface Editor, and increase the size of debuffs.
    If you're already using the operations window for groups, then it's just that window (and maybe main char's).
    If you use Group Member #1, Group Member #2 and Group Member #3, then I think you need to adjust the size of debuffs for each of them.
    Helps when doing Athiss. :)

    On Athiss the debuff is usually on the guy that's bleeding health like crazy. (And a good chance that most healers on Athiss don't have their cleanse yet.).

    Steam/Origin: davydizzy
  • Dizzy DDizzy D NetherlandsRegistered User regular
    Great post, Commodore75!
    Buff – An effect that has a positive impact on a character, over a (short) period of time.
    Example the “Class buffs” that each class has. Sith Iquisitors and Jedi Consulars share the same buff, increased Primary Stat. As do Jedi Knights and Sith Warriors (increased …?)

    Warrior/Knight is increased damage/healing.
    Commendations – Earned from completing missions/flashpoints/operations. Used to acquire (schematics/modifications for) gear. A good (great?) way to keep your, and your companion’s, gear at the appropriate level.

    Gotten a lot more useful since they just made them all the same. Used to be you could only use your comms for specific planets and you ended up with loads of comms you'd never need (for lvl 10 planets while you were lvl 20-30.
    Soft CC – CC that doesn’t put you (and your group) in combat mode. ( ??? Only works outside of combat ??? )

    I think all soft CC requires stealth to use, but I'm not 100% sure.

    Would add (my descriptions are lacking as well):

    Channel: Abilities that take some time to cast for their full effect, during which you can't take other actions. Force lightning for instance.

    Datacrons: Hidden objects that give either permanent boosts to a stat or a crystal shard which you can use to craft certain objects. Players usually give up on them around Tatooine.

    Heroics: Missions on planets that are recommended for more than 1 player (usually 2 players or 4 players). These quests are repeatable every day.

    Ops: Basically larger Flashpoints/Dungeons, for 8-16 players.

    SP: Social Points. Points you get for grouping with other players instead of soloing the game. Some gear requires (required? Too long out of the game) you to have a certain level of SP.

    WB: Worldboss, big ugly critter that usually takes a large group of players to kill (or a bored lvl 55 for the lower level planets).

    Steam/Origin: davydizzy
  • Commodore75Commodore75 gothenburg.seRegistered User regular
    .
    Dizzy D wrote: »
    Nocren wrote: »
    DarkPrimus wrote: »
    I haven't tried a healer build yet because I'm terrified of being bad at it and ruining a flashpoint.

    It's not that bad. It can be less complex than Damage Dealing.
    Resource management is usually the challenge.
    Once you figure that out, all you need to know is which fights have something that needs cleansing (and when it's OK to cleanse), and to try to talk people out of breaking line of sight (LOS).

    First time I encountered trouble on my Healer Ops was my first time doing Kaon (on hard at that!). But that was a combo of bad tanking (We would get hit by AoEs and be affected) and me finally learning how/when to cleanse. (Usually I just healed, healed, and more healed.)

    EDIT: And this was after I hit 50, before Makeb launched. So, 35 levels of pure healing (cause let's face it, everyone's DPS for the first 15 levels) with hardly any problems.

    KuS is horrible on so many levels.
    And until everyone in the group recognizes which/when guys are about to explode ... I don't envy the healers.

    Also, my only tip for healers:
    Go to the Interface Editor, and increase the size of debuffs.
    If you're already using the operations window for groups, then it's just that window (and maybe main char's).
    If you use Group Member #1, Group Member #2 and Group Member #3, then I think you need to adjust the size of debuffs for each of them.
    Helps when doing Athiss. :)

    On Athiss the debuff is usually on the guy that's bleeding health like crazy. (And a good chance that most healers on Athiss don't have their cleanse yet.).

    True, but it's also useful to help see who is being targeted by the four fireballs.

    (I didn't switch to Ops frame until I did Athiss HM as healer. :) No looking back.)

  • Dizzy DDizzy D NetherlandsRegistered User regular
    edited July 2013
    yeah, I mostly play just the storylines till level 50 and don't do much endgame stuff. Was in a guild for like 5 seconds and did do some Ops as a healer, but I know the HM versions can be quite different.

    Edit:

    Oh and to add to the list:

    Bind on Pick, Bind on Equip, Bound, Bound to Legacy: Bound items can only be used by your character or his NPCs, they can't be traded. Bind in Pickup immediately binds to your character (there is a timer on it these days though) the moment you get it in your inventory. The rest speak for themselves (see Legacy below).

    Legacy: The different characters from the same player on a server can be bound together by a Legacy once he/she reaches a certain level. (Don't know the exact level). The Legacy Name can be displayed as a surname and you get some bonuses from it or can unlock certain bonuses. Legacy has levels which are independent from your character levels, but both are raised by questing. ... this is a really bad description. Somebody can do this better.

    Need/Greed/Pass: Had way too many people recently that didn't understand this. When questing as a group, sometimes you find items of a better quality that several members of your group might be interested in. This system lets each player roll a virtual dice. Player with the highest score wins the item.
    Ethiquette can differ from server to server, but selecting Need when you can't directly use the item is usually frowned upon. Do that more than once and your group members will probably kick you from the group.
    Need: Stuff you can use yourself and that is better than the stuff you currently have. Highest chance to get the item.
    Greed: Stuff that you either can't use yourself, but you still want. For an alt, an NPC or just to sell usually.
    Disassemble: You can't use it, but if it's broken down to components, you can use it to craft something.
    Pass: You can't use the item and don't really need the money or think somebody else in the group needs it more than you do. Pass means you don't roll for the item.

    Dizzy D on
    Steam/Origin: davydizzy
  • ElvenshaeElvenshae Registered User regular
    Legacy unlock is technically independent of level; it unlocks as soon as you complete Chapter 1 on your first character. This tends to happen around ... what, levels 25 - 30 or so?

  • korodullinkorodullin What. SCRegistered User regular
    Actually, it was changed back when TOR went F2P. It now unlocks at level 10, regardless of storyline completion.

    ZvOMJnu.png
    - The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
  • emp123emp123 Registered User regular
    NEO|Phyte wrote: »
    Regarding aggro and the pulling thereof, assuming relatively even gear levels, is being able to pull aggro off the tank a major red flag, or just a thing that'll happen periodically, particularly at the start before he's got a lot a threat buildup. Been noticing it a fair amount on my commando.

    Im in all 72s on my sniper (basically bis 31 style, except this stupid verpine implant I cant get rid of) and I will occasionally pull off our extremely well geared (and skilled) main tanks at the initial pull during boss fights, even with guard. After the first minute or so its not really an issue.

    In HM FPs with random tanks? I pull all the time. Mostly because a lot of tanks guard healers, which for me is a clean indication that we have a dumb tank.

  • Commodore75Commodore75 gothenburg.seRegistered User regular
    edited July 2013
    now with working link

    PvP
    Ever wondered why you're suddenly loosing objectives (pylons, canons, bunkers...)?
    It's because Guarding the objective is BOOOOOORING!!!. No one want's to stand around (for 7-16 minutes), waiting to be attacked/stunned.
    Seriously, it's really boring, so jump forward to 07:27

    P.S. Ever wondered why you're suddenly capturing objectives your team have given up on?
    It's because Cathar Tanks out-dps Marauders Lightning Sorcerers who are calling in reinforcements.
    Meaow!
    I Love This Game™

    [edit] Sorc != Mara

    Commodore75 on
  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    So there's this Family Tree thing in the Legacy. How do I do anything with it? All I can do is scoot one portrait around.

  • NEO|PhyteNEO|Phyte They follow the stars, bound together. Strands in a braid till the end.Registered User regular
    I haven't touched the family tree in ages, but there's a way to link your other characters to each other in assorted ways, though it wasn't terribly robust last I fiddled with it.

    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
  • AlexandierAlexandier Registered User regular
    My family tree is super in depth with my head canon relationships.

    My Empire characters are friends with the other Empire characters and rivals with my Republic characters who are friends with the other Republic Characters.

    None of my characters are parents because they are focused on their careers.

  • UncleChetUncleChet N00b Lancaster, PARegistered User regular
    Family tree: Drag a character say, gender opposite to the main character on to the main character portrait. A flywheel should pop up giving you options such as spouse, sibling, enemy, etc. I Believe that's how it works. It's been a while.

    I'm sometimes grumpy and random, feel free to overlook the strange man in the corner.
  • ShadowenShadowen Snores in the morning LoserdomRegistered User regular
    Does anyone know if they've added "mentor/student" to the options?

    Still flabbergasted they left that out in Star Wars.

  • ButtcleftButtcleft Registered User regular
    edited July 2013
    Now that theres been some time to experiment, is the F2P nerfs to free players still in existence, and if so how much of a negative impact would they have on the game on a scale from "Can play with no problem" to "Everything pushes you to the store to spend cash"?

    Buttcleft on
  • Commodore75Commodore75 gothenburg.seRegistered User regular
    edited July 2013
    I don't think the f2p game should be viewed as anything other than a (very) limited demo of the (full) game. It's only there to annoy you into paying some money or subscribe.

    The second tier, "Preferred Player" (requires that you have some time paid for something ... subscription, cartel coins, authenticator, anything...) remove enough obstacles to make the game enjoyable.
    . . . as long as you don't plan on playing the "end game". Then you pretty much should subscribe. (Or buy enough unlocks and/or weekly passes.)

    Others know more about the specifics of the different tiers.


    [edit]
    Terminology
    an incomplete (but updated) list, with lacking descriptions:
    Aggro – . . . I can’t explain it . . . It’s a Tank(ing) thing.
    Check out some of imperialZenta's videos on the subject. See also threat/tank.
    (“Pulling aggro” is when a non-Tank player generates enough threat to get one (or more) enemies to target them instead of the Tank. Prefered solution is to use threat dump as often as possible. Other option is to do less damage/healing … :( this is not always an option. Tip: Don’t yell at people, or call them “Aggro monkeys” just because they are well geared and/or output a lot of damage/healing. See if they can hold of their attacks/healing a couple of seconds until the tank has built up a little more threat…)

    AME – Armor, Mods and Enhancements. Used to upgrade modifiable gear. Just make sure that the Armor/Mod/Enhancement piece has the (primary, and when applicable secondary) stats you want.

    Bind on Pick, Bind on Equip, Bound, Bound to Legacy - Bound items can only be used by your character or his NPCs, they can't be traded. Bind in Pickup immediately binds to your character (there can be a timer on for example items acquired in FP/op (can be traded/mailed only to those who are/were in the group/op), or bought from merchant (can be sold back for full price until the item binds)) the moment you get it in your inventory. The rest speak for themselves (see Legacy below).
    Note: Crafted items that “Bind on Pickup” will bind to the crafter.

    Buff – An effect that has a positive impact on a character, over a (short) period of time.
    Example the “Class buffs” that each class has. Sith Iquisitors and Jedi Consulars share the same buff, increased Primary Stat. As do Jedi Knights and Sith Warriors (increased damage/healing); Smugglers and Imperial Agents (increased chance to do Critical Damage); and Troopers and Bounty Hunters (increased Endurance). Other buffs can come from some of your abilities/skills, and may reduce/remove the “cost” of your next [Ability X]. Or increase your health regeneration. Or make [Attack Y] automatically crit.
    (“Buff plz” means they are missing some class buffs, and want any group member that can cast that buff to do so. Usually occurs at FP entry, or after death (which removes the class buffs.)

    CC - see Crowd Control.

    CD – See Cool down.

    Channel – Abilities that take some time to cast for their full effect, during which you can't take other actions. Force lightning for instance.

    Cleanse – The act of removing a debuff and/or dot. Only some classes can do this. Not all dots/debuffs can be cleansed.

    Commendations – Earned from completing missions/flashpoints/operations. Used to acquire (schematics/modifications for) gear. A good (great?) way to keep your, and your companion’s, gear at the appropriate level.

    Cool Down (CD) – The time it takes before the same ability can be used again.
    To prevent spamming of one single ability/attack. Forcing the player to think about when to use an attack, and when to save it.
    See also Global Cool Down (GCD).

    Companion – A NPC that can help you in fights. They can have one or two roles. DPS (and Tank/Healer). You can tell them who to attack. And can change this mid-fight.

    Critical (crit) Damage – There is a chance that your attacks will deal additional (critical) damage. The chance is influenced by how many points you have put into Crit. How much damage a crit deals is dependent on your “surge” number.

    Crowd Control (CC) - Stuns an enemy (player) for a (short) period of time. (Usually up to a minute.) Useful for taking strong/dangerous/difficult enemies out of the fight.
    Not all enemies can be CC:d.

    Damage Over Time (dot) – Not all attacks deal their full damage immediately. Some deal a portion initially, and then deals X amount of damage per second, over Y seconds (or until cleansed, if possible). Which means that you can do other things while the “dot” keeps on dishing out damage.
    Some dot:s also provide a debuff.

    Datacrons - Hidden objects that give either permanent boosts to a stat or a crystal shard which you can use to craft certain objects. There are three on each starter planet (Tython, … , Korriban, Ord Mantell.) Players usually give up on them around Tatooine. (See also “Trolling the players”.)

    Debuff – Effects that have a negative impact on the affected character. Can affect movement, healing received, ability to use some skills, increases the risk of (specific) enemy attacks crit:ing, etc.
    Some debuffs can be “cleansed”.

    dot – see Damage Over Time

    DPS – Damage Per Second. The amount of damage done (on average) per second.
    Note: Also used for the role of damage dealer. I.e. the players whose primary task is to damage/kill enemies as fast as possible. (Other roles are Healers and Tanks.)

    Dungeon – What World of Warcraft (and thus most MMO:ers) call Flashpoints.

    Flashpoint (FP) – A confined area that has you (skip) fighting monsters and bosses. For loot, XP, credits, commendations and glory.

    Global Cool Down (GCD) – A (short) cool down at affects most abilities.
    Without this players could set up macros that chain several attacks in a very short time, leading to burst damage executed to quickly for any healer to be able to counter them. Reducing the tactics to who has macros, and who do they focus their damage on.
    Note: Some abilities/attacks don’t respect the GCD.

    Guard – An ability players in a “tank stance” have that lowers the threat the guarded person generates. Also redirects some of the damage to the person g
    (Example: Healer says “Guard plz!” Meaning they want the tank to guard them. Usually a good idea to do at the beginning of every Flashpoint.)

    GUI – Graphical User Interface. What you see, and interact with on screen. Your interface to the game. And how the game informs you of things. You can greatly benefit from configuring it to your liking. Figuring out what needs changing is the hard (subjective, and/or role specific) part. But I’d always recommend you enable “Target of Target”. Healers might want to increase the size of debuffs.

    Healer – A role in groups. Healers are best at healing, so their primary mission is to keep the group alive. This means healing the tank (who will be taking the most damage).
    This doesn’t mean that it’s the healers fault if any group member dies.

    Heroics - Missions on planets that are recommended for more than 1 player (usually 2 players ("H2") or 4 players ("H4")). These quests are repeatable every day.

    Legacy - The different characters from the same player on the same server can be bound together by a Legacy once he/she reaches a certain level. (Don't know the exact level). The Legacy Name can be displayed as a surname and you get some bonuses from it or can unlock certain bonuses. Legacy has levels which are independent from your character levels, but both are raised by questing. ...

    mDPS – Melee DPS. Damage Dealers that need to be in melee range to perform most of their most useful attacks.

    Need/Greed/Pass - When questing as a group, sometimes you find items of a better quality that several members of your group might be interested in. This system lets each player roll a virtual dice. Player with the highest score wins the item.
    Ethiquette can differ from server to server, but selecting Need when you can't directly use the item is usually frowned upon. Do that more than once and your group members will probably kick you from the group.
    Need: Stuff you can use yourself and that is better than the stuff you currently have. Highest chance to get the item. If anyone “Needs” on the item, only those that selected “Need” will “roll” for the item. (Imagine a 1-100 die roll for each person, highest roll wins the item.)
    Greed: Stuff that you either can't use yourself, but you still want. For an alt, an NPC or just to sell usually. If no one selected “Need”, then the people who picked “Greed” or “Dissasemble” will “roll” (d100) for the item.
    Disassemble: You can't use it, but if it's broken down to components, you can use it to craft something. If no one selected “Need”, then the people who picked “Greed” or “Dissasemble” will “roll” (d100) for the item.
    Pass: You can't use the item and don't really need the money or think somebody else in the group needs it more than you do. Pass means you don't roll for the item.

    Open world PvP – Areas where people can attack other players. Upon entering these areas players are flagged for PvP, and can now be attacked by others, whether they want to or not.
    In some areas imperial players can only attack republic players. (For example: Outlaw’s Denn on Tatooine.) In other areas players can attack anyone who isn’t in their group. (PvP area of the Gree Event on Ilum.)

    Ops - Basically larger Flashpoints/Dungeons, for 8-16 players. (Takes about twice as long to complete as a FP.)

    PvP – Player vs. Player.

    rDPS – Range DPS. Damage Dealers that can perform most of their most useful attacks from afar. Since few (or none, depending on AC)) of their attacks require them to be at least ‘X’ meters away from the enemy they are a lot more flexible in their positioning than mDPS are.

    Soft CC – CC that doesn’t put you (and your group) in combat mode. Requires the person performing the CC to be stealthed. Does not work on enemies in combat.

    SP - Social Points. Points you get for grouping with other players instead of soloing the game. Some gear requires (required? Too long out of the game) you to have a certain level of SP.

    Stance - An ability that can be toggled (on or off), and allow the player to change what type of damage to do; increase healing; or help with tanking (increase armor/threat). Only one stance(Knights & Warriors) or barrel (Troopers & Bounty Hunters) can be active at the same time.
    (“PT, why aren’t you in tanking stance?” (Or “… using your tanking barrel?”) mean the player is wondering why the Powertech isn’t using their Ion Barrel. The Ion Barrel increases the Powertech’s armor, and increases the amount of threat generated by each attack.)

    Tank – Role in groups. Tanks can take more damage than the other players, therefore they try to get enemies to target them. This also makes it easier on healers (who aren’t being attacked by enemies, and have less group members to keep healing). Tanks are also often well suited for trying to round up, and position the enemies so that the rest of the group can more easily kill the enemies.

    Taunt – An ability that (in PvE) forces the taunted monster to attack you, or (in PvP) punishes the enemy player if they don’t attack you by making them deal less damage.

    Threat – How much of a threat (priority target) monsters (in PvE) see you as. Tanks will want to build high amounts of threat, to keep the enemies focused on them (the tank).
    For example, some tank abilities “generates a high amount of threat”.

    Trolling the players – See “Jawa Baloon on Tatooine”.

    wb – “Welcome Back”. Usually used when someone reconnects after being disconnected while in group/op.

    WB - Worldboss, big ugly critter that usually takes a large group of players to kill (or a bored lvl 55 for the lower level planets). Can have mechanics that require special tactics.

    WZ – War Zone. PvP areas that have special objectives. Some items don’t work here. Some items only work here.
    Only accessible by queuing up for PvP War Zones. (Lower left corner of the mini-map. If it says that you have to be level 10, even when you are, toggle the GUI off and on. (ctrl + U; then ctrl + U again; wait a couple of seconds ofr the GUI to load.)

    [edit2]
    Character Creation
    What race/body/eyes should I pick?
    Each race has one “social ability”. Some cute thing they can do. Other than that, it’s purely cosmetic AFAIK.
    Some in game dialogue has the NPC say different lines depending on if you are a human or hot, but it doesn’t affect the mission(s) or their rewards. (AFAIK.)

    Body types actually make a difference. There are (were?) some shortcuts you can’t take if you are large (Body type 4).
    AFAIK there is nothing you can’t do just because you have a smaller body.

    Cosmetic stuff (Head, Hair, Eyes, etc.) is cosmetic.
    It can be changed later, but it will cost you Cartel Coins.

    Which Class should I pick?
    Class is the big one.
    Which Advance Class (AC) you want to play definitely plays a role here. As does which role (DPS, Healer or Tank) you want to play.
    But so does quality of the story.
    Will you be playing through several different classes, then maybe pick a class with only a good story, while you are focusing on trying to figure the game out
    Are you pretty sure you will only play through the game once (yeah, right!) then maybe pick the class with best story. Or most fun companions.

    The Jedi Consular has its ups and downs. Some interesting companions, and lore. But nothing special.
    (Good Advance classes, though, IMO. Which makes it a good starter class.)

    The Jedi Knight seem to have the most Star Wars:y story. If you want the Star Wars experience, then you want this.
    It also has some extra fan service if you’ve read the Revan book. (Available on audible:))

    Everyone but me seems to agree that the Imperial Agent has the best story.
    While the first 20 levels are mind numbingly boring, after that it quickly picks up. Which is right around when you’ve probably figured out the basics of the game.
    It then delivers what is straight up a fantastic adventure.
    It also make Voss make sense. (This is a biggie in my book.)

    Bounty Hunter actually has the best storyClass Experience.
    While you’re adventures aren’t as interesting/grand/important as that of the Imperial Agent, the BH class story, was IMO the best at giving you a reason for your actions. Incentivizing you.
    It also involved your companions in your class story more than most other classes did. I liked that. Everyone else hate their companions.

    Sith Inquisitor and Sith Warrior both have good stories, and good companions.

    I haven’t finished the Trooper or Smuggles stories, but Female Trooper is voiced by Jennifer Hale.
    A.K.A. The Voice of FemShep.

    If you asked me, I’d say start out with Jedi Consular or Sith Inquisitor. (Basically your pick between the Republic and the Empire.)
    Second, do Jedi Knight.
    Third, enjoy the Imperial Agent.
    Then do Bounty Hunter or Trooper.
    By then you should have a better feel for what you wanna do next. :)

    Which Advanced Class is best (for me)?
    AC affects which role(s) is/are available to you.
    (I.e. Tank, DPS, Healer.)
    Tank is the role that usually requires the most experience/knowledge of the player. Please don’t attempt to play as tank your first time through the game.
    That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t pick a class that can Tank. (You can still pick a DPS role, even if you pick an AC that can Tank. And then DPS until you feel comfortable trying out Tanking.)

    And the AC make a big difference. Darth Maul is a Sith Assassin. The Emperor is a Sith Sorcerer.
    They are both Sith Inquisitors. But they are very different.
    Assassins are crazy fun to play. But come on … Lightning!

    Vader is a Juggernaut. (Sith Warrior AC.)

    Wanna stealth in, shiv someone and shoot them point-blank with a shotty?
    Imperial Agent’s Operative it is!

    Prefer to hoover a few feet above ground while raining down rockets, and then rocket jump into a small group, pull another enemy over to your huddle with a harpoon, and then start blasting everyone with your flamethrower?
    Then the Bounty Hunter’s Powertech is you choice!

    All AC have their pros and cons. But they are not always obvious.
    Think about what you want to do, then ask around for an AC that will let you do this.

    Note: Regarding Stealth. Just like most games SWtOR will not reward you for using stealth.
    Like most games it will just mean you lose out on a lot of XP, that you would have getting if you just killed everyone. :( But when you’re playing through the same(ish) planetary mission the third time, and you’re over-leveled, maybe you just want to get through it, and don’t need the XP. This is when a stealth class is perfect.

    Commodore75 on
  • spamfilterspamfilter Registered User regular
    edited July 2013
    So I just finished the Agent storyline.

    I have a few questions. BTW spoilers for also the Jedi and Smuggler story lines.
    So Kolovish on Tython is just spying on the Jedi for the Star Cabal, so that whole twiliek refugee thing was just a cover. Wow that changed how I view the entire Tython Jedi/Twilek refugee settlement relationship from the Jedi storylines.

    And how is Nok Drayan talking to Hunter? Wasn't he carbonited for years, and as soon as he came out he died in the Smuggler storyline? Was his death faked?

    spamfilter on
  • Commodore75Commodore75 gothenburg.seRegistered User regular
    edited July 2013
    spamfilter wrote: »
    So I just finished the Agent storyline.

    I have a few questions.
    So Kolovish on Tython is just spying on the Jedi for the Star Cabal, so that whole twiliek refugee thing was just a cover. Wow that changed how I view the entire Tython Jedi/Twilek refugee settlement relationship from the Jedi storylines.

    And how is Nok Drayan talking to Hunter? Wasn't he carbonited for years, and as soon as he came out he died in the Smuggler storyline? Was his death faked?

    Smuggler spoiler?

    Commodore75 on
  • Dizzy DDizzy D NetherlandsRegistered User regular
    Shadowen wrote: »
    Does anyone know if they've added "mentor/student" to the options?

    Still flabbergasted they left that out in Star Wars.

    They haven't yet (I wanted my newly created Shadow to be a student of my Sage, but couldn't).

    Steam/Origin: davydizzy
  • Dizzy DDizzy D NetherlandsRegistered User regular
    So... error 208 when trying to launch right now (there goes my day off.) Bit of looking around, it seems that it's on Bioware end cause a lot of people on the boards from all over the world suddenly have the same error. Bioware says they're working on it.

    Steam/Origin: davydizzy
  • PreciousBodilyFluidsPreciousBodilyFluids Registered User regular
    spamfilter wrote: »
    So I just finished the Agent storyline.

    I have a few questions. BTW spoilers for also the Jedi and Smuggler story lines.
    So Kolovish on Tython is just spying on the Jedi for the Star Cabal, so that whole twiliek refugee thing was just a cover. Wow that changed how I view the entire Tython Jedi/Twilek refugee settlement relationship from the Jedi storylines.

    And how is Nok Drayan talking to Hunter? Wasn't he carbonited for years, and as soon as he came out he died in the Smuggler storyline? Was his death faked?
    remember how Nok stayed with Risha while your Smuggler retrieved the reliquary? He even mentions during the meeting that it's his last participation

  • AspectVoidAspectVoid Registered User regular
    spamfilter wrote: »
    So I just finished the Agent storyline.

    I have a few questions. BTW spoilers for also the Jedi and Smuggler story lines.
    So Kolovish on Tython is just spying on the Jedi for the Star Cabal, so that whole twiliek refugee thing was just a cover. Wow that changed how I view the entire Tython Jedi/Twilek refugee settlement relationship from the Jedi storylines.

    And how is Nok Drayan talking to Hunter? Wasn't he carbonited for years, and as soon as he came out he died in the Smuggler storyline? Was his death faked?
    remember how Nok stayed with Risha while your Smuggler retrieved the reliquary? He even mentions during the meeting that it's his last participation

    Its timeline shenanigans. The fact is that not all of the class stories in the game happen at the same time, nor in the same order in every chapter. You can mostly piece the timeline together by looking at who's alive and who's dead in what class story (for instance, there is a Sith Lord alive in the Sith Warrior ending who is killed by the Sith Inquisitor in his Chapter 3, thus the Sith Warrior Chapter 3 has to end before the Sith Inquisitor Chapter 3).

    PSN|AspectVoid
  • RetabaRetaba A Cultist Registered User regular
    Hello! I played this a bit ago and got a Sorc up to 45ish.

    Getting into Kotor 2 recently I am interested in playing again and would like to start a Jedi character, but I'd like to play with someone/group. Would anyone be interested? We can discuss timing arrangements (I'm on Eastern) and have quite a bit of leeway. Looking for something decently often.

  • rtsrts Registered User regular
    Does anyone still play hutball in this game? How has the PvP changed/improved since release?

    skype: rtschutter
  • NEO|PhyteNEO|Phyte They follow the stars, bound together. Strands in a braid till the end.Registered User regular
    Since release? They changed the PvP Bolster so it adds expertise, meaning that max-level guys don't get their shit completely wrecked by the guys that already have full PvP gear.

    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
  • CambiataCambiata Commander Shepard The likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
    rts wrote: »
    Does anyone still play hutball in this game? How has the PvP changed/improved since release?

    Oh yeah, I PVP frequently. Huttball is still my favorite game, and also still the game most likely to get me to lose my cool.

    The changes to PVP is that now there are 3 PVP levels: 10 to 30, 30 to 55, and 55. Nothing before 55 requires PVP gear, and even at 55 there is bolster (as mentioned by Neophyte) which levels the playing ground a little for new level 55 pvpers. They also added a new pvp warzone, ancient pylons, which is actually a pretty sucky game IMO (but this is someone who thinks Huttball is the best pvp game ever devised, so make of that what you will). Additionally, they completely ruined resolve such that it does nothing worthwhile.

    "If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
Sign In or Register to comment.