Has SWTOR got staying power?

Hi,

It would be a big investment for me to get into the game. I have a Mac. I'd need to buy Windows 7 Pro, get bootcamp up and running, and buy SWTOR.

So, do you all think that TOR has staying power?

I'm quite hopeful because:

1. Torhead actually exists

2. Lots of positives over on the SWTOR forums, and lots of WoW people saying they're going to play it.

I guess another question is - How is the gameplay? I've heard it's very good from a single-player questing point of view. Apparently, lots of cutscene type stuff and I really enjoyed Uldum, so I should really like it.

Anyway, any options on the staying power or the gameplay? I'm all ears.

Cheers.

"Anyway, any options on the staying power or the gameplay? I'm all ears."

it'll die in a month if the majority of people playing it are from wow,because they'll all get bored and end up coming back to world of warcraft.not to mention how just awesome the community of world of warcraft is,the immaturity will probably drive alot of people who havent ever played world of warcraft before away

as far as gameplay goes,i couldnt really say cuz i havent played the game yet.but i put more faith in bioware as far as pvp goes then blizzard

In addition to WoW players, there seem to be a lot of other MMO players (SWG and LotRO, to name a few) trying it out. Although no single game has as large a playerbase as WoW, it adds up. SWG players don't have the option of going back to SWG if they don't like SWTOR, so that might help sustain some interest. I'm not sure it's a WoW killer (imo WoW is going to kill itself), but I don't think it has to be.

Each class has its own storyline, which means you'll get a unique experience each time you reroll (assuming you don't choose the same class), and you can fast forward through the cutscenes if you're in a hurry/seen them before by hitting spacebar. If you've liked other RPGs Bioware has done, you'll probably like SWTOR. You can play it like a single player RPG or you can group up. It's very soloing friendly because you get companions to help you out.

Ultimately it's your time and money, but I'd point out that even if SWTOR bites it, there will be other games unsupported on Macs so Windows 7 + bootcamp isn't a bad investment either way.

Yeah, I've come to the same conclusion. Skyrim has really good reviews and would be an alternative if I don't like SWTOR. I think I know what I need for Christmas now :)

Cheers.

It's hard to say anything this early. As a previous poster pointed out, it depends on us, the community. Considering most retailers are stating a "sold out" clause on their stocks of the game indicates it sold well on launch. I expect some bugs/lag in the coming week(s) as everyone opens and installs the game.

Admittedly, I am a 7 year veteran of WoW. As a gamer, it's a hard decision to walk away. As a person, I'm still buying Diablo 3 and playing SC2, so Blizzard (a fabulous company in their own right) is still going to get my money. WoW lost a large player base shortly after Cataclysm dropped, just in time for RIFT to swoop in and save a select few. That game is still surviving well, but has not had the launch that his game has experienced. This game has been hyped up for years. This is going to be EA/BioWare's CoD/BF3/WoW (Yea, I totally used a CoD/BF3 comparison, get over it! ^.^).

I can see this game sticking around for a while, as long as they listen to their community. One of the selling points to an MMORPG is the ability to play in a persistent universe. The point of playing a persistent universe is that it is forecast to be around for a long time. The developers must be aware of this in order to keep the ship afloat. Things can get old, fast. It's by listening to the player base, can the proper balances/improvements be made, over time.

Now if only this digital download will go a bit quicker......

Well, there are Star Wars fans and Bioware fans to say for a long time, it's not like Rift with a new lore from a new Company. Plus it's the biggest MMORPG opening ever. So even with worst scenario, there will be some players to play with for a long time.

My opinion (and maybe i'm just hoping, not sure, so don't flame as fanboy) is, it's a very good game and will be second MMORPG after WoW when it comes to subs.

One last thing, i started playing by 20th, i was very tired, and didn't play much (only 3-4 hours at evenings), i was enjoying it as a new game, Star Wars Universe and Bioware Story etc. Last Night something strange happened, after some quests and seeing some areas, i told to myself "Hell, this is a damn good game." Lol. I think i'm completely sold, and my transition to Dark Side is complete ;)

I started WoW for the first time a month ago, and stopped not long after hitting 60. For me, a game's storyline really has to pull me in and make me sympathize with my character or the world I'm in to encourage me to continue playing. WoW did not do this, simply because I did not feel connected to my character at all. I was just leveling him up, quest by quest, hardly noticing the description of each mission before hitting the accept button. I had no incentive to keep playing, other than my next level's new abilities or the prospect of a new mount around the corner. I needed to hit 85 ASAP, and that was my only initiative.

Contrary to this, The Old Republic drew me in from the beginning with its storytelling. The addition of character speech and morality makes my Sith Warrior feel like a fleshed out antihero rather than a mute, generic cartoon, and dialogue choices add an element of personality and customization, making me believe that I really am an evil badass. Gameplay wise, combat is smooth and satisfying. Leveling my character does not seem like a conscious action, it rather flows through the story as my character grows and becomes more powerful. I cannot WAIT to see what the rest of the story holds in store for me.

In short, WoW to me felt like an MMO without the RPG, and I was never a part of that world. No amount of expansion packs, chock full of new dungeons, quests, and abilities could change the fact that I was detached from the world. Now with TOR, I feel like I have become part of the Sith Empire, and I am fully vested in the goings on of the galaxy. I cannot WAIT to see what the rest of the story holds in store for me. If that doesn't keep me playing, I'll go back to Skyrim. But I doubt that I'll stop killing imperial idiots on a whim or torturing innocent civilians anytime soon, and I will continue paying in order to do so.

It's similar to WoW in many ways.

Established IP (Warcraft vs. Star Wars)
Developer with a fanbase, but new to MMO (Blizzard vs. BioWare)

The launch went well, there's no game breaking bugs which I have come across. It's going to come down to how well they manage it from here I think. Whether they will be able to work out which community feedback to use and which is whiny kids, whether they hotfix any major issues quickly, etc

swtor's staying power depends entirely on BW churning out new content. Im talking frequent major content patches and expansions.

That is all. Class balance, features, bug fixes, etc. have less to do with the games success than people give it credit for. It's all about the 'new stuff'

right now I think it got a good call, but only if they can fix and balance classes more

right now some classes is a mess , like sniper where lethality is just plain sucky compare and better suited for operative and enginer got scaling issue that make marksman superior with better gear you get

some bug abuse like mount for instant full hp compaion abuse and warfronts need some seroius tweaks (like we spawn 30 sec waves in waves make attack and defend really easy for attackers, major abuse of cover on hurtball....jump as sniper and press F and I can jump from platforms , bolster need a tweak consider a low level hots can tick for over 1.5k per tick and instead cut the bg in bracket of 2 atleast,bolster won't help that level 10 that much if it is against somone who can put out 4k damage in few sec because he got all his talent that make him more fluid to play)

it all is in the hands of bioware, worstcase scenario it lbecome a second WAR.......

"I think people will hit the level cap, get bored, and then leave."

Seems to be a reoccurring statement. I disagree.

People are drawing this conclusion after 10 days. It's to early to tell ANYTHING about the future of ToR. Guys, do me a favor? Wait three, whole, months (I wanna say 6). We'll then evaluate how bioware handled launch, how it handles patching, and how it handles new content. Then we will have sufficient information to make an educated hypothesis about its future.

Until then? Play the game. Make sure your opinion on what needs to be added/changed is heard and shared, and if enough people agree with you, band together and make signed petitions. Being organized has always worked better for humanity than anarchy. Y'know the whole "Feel, don't think. Use your instincts." You all aren't Jedi. Think first. Then act.

~Jet

Like Rand pointed out this game will appeal to folks who love the Star Wars genre and want to be immersed in the lore. But I know some players will leave SW before too long because of that same point. WoW pulls in a lot of players that really want to level quickly. And lets face it you really can do that if you level with the dungeon finder exclusively. Cut scenes before and after every mission will slow that way down and are fine by me, but I think a lot of "'I want it NOW" type players will not last long even though you can space bar through most of that. Group missions and flashpoints are going to take longer because there is no instant teleportation to the instance like WoW. People gotta travel.

In a nutshell this game will weed out the ADD types that seem to infect other MMO's and make teaming a total crapshoot. And we are better off without them anyway.

Staying power? Absolutely. But (in theory) only the more mature players will be staying for the long haul. Which is fine with me.

Me and a guild mate were the first to hit level 50 in our guild on Christmas day. After several days, I still play my 50 (my guild mate went back to some alts). There is end game content, but since only 2 of us are level 50 in my guild I haven't seen an Operation yet. So I spend my time doing the level 50 dailies, PVP, and helping guildies with heroics or flashpoints.

The game is still very young and immature. There are bugs (stoopid laser bridge datacron on Belsavis!), and there isn't nearly as much content as some other established MMOs (read: WoW). With time, with more players at level 50 doing operations and more content release SWTOR will dethrone all the MMO kings. Just need to be patient.

"Personally, I think Bioware made some pretty terrible design decisions. Far too much focus on questing and not enough focus on the MMO aspect of the game."

What exactly is this "MMO aspect" which is missing?

It's hard to say. The game itself is very good quality. You get the game experience previously only single-player RPGs offered with the cooperative, social, and PvP elements of a MMO game.

However, there are a couple things that could easily put a quick end to it. One is that the community is full of "MMO gamers" (no problem with people who play MMOs, but those who label themselves as "MMO gamers" are awful) who are looking for TOR to be an answer to all their prayers to solve the problems other games had but retain all the elements they enjoyed from those games instead of experiencing it with the mindset of "this is a new game, is it fun?" The other is if BioWare isn't quick enough with content updates and fixes. Fast updates are a HUGE part of MMO success.

I'd have to agree with RandAlThor.

I've been playing WoW since Vanilla and have enjoyed it. But, the one problem that I have is leveling up my characters. The story isn't as compelling as SWTOR, in my opinion. Every character I had to level up I was only aimed at getting level 60, 70, 80, or 85 (the max levels of each expansion). I also have 10 level 85's so I think I would know what it feel like leveling up a character in WoW.

Swtor gives a different feeling and the story is very much interactive and engaging. Making it very enjoyable to play. I would not mind making new characters to level up because I know each class has different story lines. I currently have a level 16 Sith Marauder and it has been great leveling him up. I honestly am not looking forward to getting level 50 because I am enjoying the quests and storyline that I have been encountering. I would have to say it would be worth the investment, if not at least try it to see if you like it.

Good luck!

I believe SWTOR has staying power. They have issues and launch bugs to iron out but compared to the history of MMO releases it's minor. Afaik they have done some really good choices regarding story, questing and the MMO aspects. Contrary to the narrow minded haters beliefs; There are a lot of players that enjoy the story! Combined with the scaling in pvp you no longer need to worry about the first levels in a pvp bracket.

If they Iron out the launch issues, manage the growth pains and keep content rolling we'll see swtor above 5 million subscribers in due time.

If Star Wars Galaxies could exist for as long as it did, this game has long legs.

The most complete, stable, rich MMO launch ever. Our standards have just gotten a little bit out of hand if anything.

I'm just coming back to this thread to mention that I'm personally very impressed with how quickly they've reacted to problems. Not only have they managed to patch a number of problems (occasionally creating new ones, which also were patched quickly) but they're already rolling out more content for those who are at 50 waiting for more to do. Their momentum at this point is very impressive.

Will people leave? Yes. Every game has this and you'd be crazy to think a game will please everyone (especially a game that will draw in players who like the IP, the publisher, or the genre and won't research what to expect from this game). However, the staying power isn't about how many people leave after the first month. It's about how good a job it does of bringing players in.

I would have to say YES, it has staying power.... How much is a unknown at this point.
The game has been out just 30 days "got my first bill" so we have to give it time.

Are there issues...Yep. Will they fix them.. yep
Have you seen the new interview with James O ?
The things most folks were upset about are being addressed "UI"

I see this game going for many years, BW has shown they can update/fix things pretty fast.
With the current patch 1.1 released should tell us something...Not real happy with some of the things it now does to my PC, but over all much better gameplay.

Ask that question again in July, lets see how it goes by then. That will be the standard that most mmo's make or break.

That's a shame. I now I have 5 characters and I am enjoying them all. Let's guess. You rushed one character to 50 and now feel that there's not much to do. Well, go and explore some of the other story-lines.

I just did the Czerka quest-line on Tatooine and was just blown away how epic it felt, even though it's not even part of class story-line.

Cheers.

@lankybrit
Actually no. I don't have a level 50. Highest I got was 40. Besides that I got a 20, 25 and 28, one of each base class so at least the minimum that is the class story is different. Any other tips?

I've played MMO's for ages now. It's pretty apparent for me when I play one when it comes to "is it good enough for me". This one isn't, not in its current state. There's also so very little innovation in it, I almost feel bad for spending $60 on it. If they manage to make the combat more fluid, get rid of the lag on ability activation (warzones) I'll come back to give it another go.

I'm sure there are going to be people that enjoy it, just like there are people that enjoy games like Aion, Rift, Warhammer or AoC which are commonly known as trash, but this won't be huge success with 1+ million subs.

What annoyances is it riddled with? And sorry for the assumption. I just can't imagine anyone going through the story-lines and taking their time not enjoying the game, that's all.

Cheers.