TERA

TERA used to rule the world of Asian MMORPGs for a time, with its tactical action combat system which was ahead of its time, until Black Desert came along. TERA in 2019 is all but a shadow of its former self, with player numbers whittling down. While the game has announced major plans for 2019, including a level cap increase to 70 in May, it still needs something special to bring players back. This is where classic servers or limited time progression servers, where the focus is more on events or leveling for rewards to bring back to the main server once it’s over could definitely help entice players to come back.

Star Wars The Old Republic

How the mighty have fallen. But don’t let SWTOR’s inclusion in this list fool you. The problem with SWTOR however, is how Bioware and EA are slowly but surely, killing it with the slow pace of content updates and its infuriatingly increased focus on the Cartel Store, aka the cash shop. What players really want to see is new meaningful content and story for the game, especially one that fleshes out their class stories, or brings back the heart of the Star Wars saga.

A fresh start server here that hearkens back to the humble beginnings of the Republic vs. Empire would excite many players, where the focus is on level 50, and perhaps some timed leveling events offering free ways to gain much sought after items from the store that one could take back to the live servers would all be things players might like. Knowing “EAware”, they would charge a sub for this server, but you’d be surprised at how many would pay up for that close to vanilla experience.

Final Fantasy XIV

While FFXIV certainly doesn’t need any help with player numbers, this popular subscription MMORPG by Square Enix has no reason for an event server of any sort. Or does it? A classic FFXIV server could definitely be interesting, as it focuses on the vanilla game to give new players an chance to experience what it was like at the beginning, or for veterans to relive their early days. The problem is, vanilla FFXIV wasn’t all that great was it, as the newer expansions, its stories and dungeons and raids are what truly makes the game. So while this one is up for debate, it may happen in the future when FFXIV gets older.

The post The MMORPGS In 2019 That Need Classic Servers appeared first on Mmos World.

Overall Difficulty

SWTOR can probably be played with one eye closed if all you’re doing is playing through the main story chapters for both class and the newer expansions. Gameplay has been streamlined so much that compared to launch 7 years ago now, leveling and finishing up content solo has become a walk in the park and the norm. Boss fights in story instances aren’t a threat since your companions can pretty much overcome them with minimal help, and the overall feeling of the game is that it’s focus seem to be entirely on the store, rather than tweaking these gameplay annoyances.

Should SWTOR be harder? I think so. Finding the right balance is crucial, and to be fair they do have multiple difficulty versions of things like Story chapters for those that want a challenge. But what about new MMO players to the game who want that classic feel while leveling through all the classic planets? XP rates are so dumbed down that you can in-fact, skip all side quests and just do the main story to get to the level cap.

Galactic Command and CXP

This one’s sort of new. SWTOR’s new end-game progression mechanic for level 70 – the max level – players are something similar to Elder Scrolls Online’s Champion Point system. Once at the cap, daily activities like Heroics, Flashpoints, Starfighter, PvP and even Chapter Stories all reward Galactic Command XP, or CXP for short. Every time a player fills up that XP bar and level up, they earn a new Command Rank. However, instead of earning something tangible to grow your character with, like a point to put into better stats, or guaranteed reward like currencies to get gear, you instead get a load of RNG.

Every new rank gives you a CXP Loot Crate that has its own interface and opening crates are totally based on luck. You could get most junk, featuring items that can be deconstructed on the spot to gain a slight chunk of more CXP, and in some instances you get CXP bonus consumables as well. In the best case scenario, you could get some nice gear but good luck with that, you have over 300 ranks so that’s 300 RNG boxes to try getting a full set of end-game gear. The grind up the ranks will also be painful, since there isn’t much new to do in SWTOR regularly. Overall, this entire post cap progression system needs a revamp, and fast. It’s not the only way to get end-game gear thankfully, as there’s still crafting and raid Operations that probably has the BiS gear you want.

New Player Restrictions

Personally, I think the game makes more money from loyal subscribers and from the Cartel Market cosmetics, that they don’t need to pay wall new players anymore in 2018. Get rid of them. What are the current barriers? There’s no customization options that lets you hide your helmet, show titles and flairs or unify colors. There’s also limited hotbars for skills which is rubbish. The good news is all the 8 class stories are free until level 50 which is nice, but at this point SWTOR can definitely ease up and give new players a less restrictive look at the game. By dropping these restrictions or letting players unlock all of them for a one time/one month subscription price would be the way to go.

Fix Story Grouping

One of the most frustrating things about SWTOR for all players is just how far they’ve strayed from its MMO roots. Yes it’s unmistakably and online game shared with hundreds of other players, but recent content especially for story does little to encourage players to play together. Take for example, the Knights of the Eternal Throne and Eternal Empire expansions. You can play with another player through the chapters, but you’ll have to do it twice – once to play with a friend to get their chapters done, and once for yourself to get yours done. Completion of the chapters don’t count if you joined another player’s story. That’s totally backward design and needs a fix moving forward.

Luckily, other aspects of this MMORPG is still trudging along but barely. Operations (raids) and other group content are still being developed and released which is good news, but SWTOR needs to focus on the total MMO package if they want more than just Star Wars fans to play the game for the long haul.

Twitch Drops

Finally, on the social media front, Star Wars: The Old Republic is pure business, dollar and cents. While other MMORPGs and MMOs use their Facebook and Twitter pages for a less direct platform to market the game, SWTOR almost exclusively uses it for selling Cartel Shop items. It’s not just downright unappealing to potential players and Star Wars fans, it’s also pretty gross, considering where we are in 2018 with all the negativity surrounding EA and micro-transactions.

But Bioware and SWTOR can redeem themselves with better use of their social media platforms, beginning with taking advantage of Twtich. Twitch has become a fantastic avenue for MMORPGs, their developers and players to interact, share and also attract an audience, which can translate into new players. Elder Scrolls Online does this superbly, with plenty of Twitch Drops available to reward both its streamers and audiences, with items in-game that aren’t pay to win. It’s a nice touch as does a lot to show that SWTOR gives back, as opposed to just asking players to visit its cash shop.

The post SWTOR 2018: 5 Things Star Wars The Old Republic Should Change To Attract Players appeared first on Mmos World.

Gods from the Machine Master Mode

SWTOR will be reducing veteran mode difficulty from “hardmare” to pull it in line with other veteran operations. Master Mode for GftMMM will be unpredictable and is balanced for 248 augment or higher.

Masterwork Armor: Tier 5

There will be two sets of Masterwork Armor, iLevel 252 Artifact Gear with set bonus and iLevel 258 Legendary with set bonus.

• Crafters – Bind on Equip
  • Acquire schematic from trainer
  • Use materials from crew skills, Ossus, PvP, Conquests and Gods from the Machine Bosses
  • Fastest way to get the gear this way but you will need to do be able to do Master Mode Gods from the Machine (only drops from Master Mode)
• Gameplay – Bind on Pickup
  • Gear can be purchased from Reputation vendor with Masterwork Shards
  • Masterwork Shards can be earned from a new “special” weekly mission( (i.e. weekly dailies, weekly flashpoint etc), Ossus Weekly, Unassembled Components (limited time per character per week and gets more expensive the more you do it), and Command Crates
  • 252 gear can be acquired rarely from Command Crates at Rank 300 and from the Ossus World Boss Weekly.

SWTOR Ossus Planet and New Storyline (Minor Spoilers)

• Ancient center of Jedi activity, devastated by the Sith via  chain of supernovas, wiped out pretty much all life and destroyed most of the structures.
• Two separate storylines for Sith and Republic, becomes a daily area after storyline completion
• 10+ daily missions for each faction
• New Reputation track
• New datacrons to discover (3 datacrons)
• Two world bosses
• Seeker Droid and Macrobinoculars (Seeker Droids will be improved)
• Tons of Stronghold Decorations to unlock

SWTOR Ossus Storyline

• New storyline based on the rivalry between Sith and Jedi
• Becareful to not get the story spoiled by datamining
• You can autocomplete previous story to access Ossus as long you are Level 70
• There will be alliance alerts
• Saboteur and Loyalist – If you sided with the opposite faction during the previous storyline, you will have the opportunity to become a double agent/saboteur and work for the enemy or just stay loyal to your previous faction.

Ossus Storyline (Contain general spoilers)

• Planet is very remote and very unpleasant place. A group of Jedi that survived Zakuul have traveled here and built a base.They started a farm etc to make the planet more hospitable.
• Sith is not very happy about this Jedi development. The first shot of the war between Sith and Jedi will be ignited here.
• Empire characters will be recruited to take out the Jedi, Republic will be asked to help.

The post SWTOR Jedi Under Siege Stream Highlights: Are The Good Times Returning? appeared first on Mmos World.

Story Goes Back To Star Wars Roots

The next major story update Bioware is cooking will be related to a new storyline based on the old rivalry between Jedi and Sith. It’s been far too long since we last had this classic narrative, which to be honest, is what Star Wars is all about. With Game Update 5.10 – Jedi under Siege, the next phase of the SWTOR storyline will kick off with a bang on the ancient Jedi world. Ravaged by a cataclysm centuries in the past, this beloved planet has been part of Old Republic stories since the original Tales of the Jedi comics. It also features a new Daily Area with separate storylines for Republic and Imperial players.

Return of Fan Favorite Companions

Equally exciting is the news that some old companions will be returning to us as well. They are:

• Doc – Jedi Knights will be able to reunite with the galaxy’s most lovable, charming, roguish, brilliant, skilled, and–above all—a handsome doctor.
• Nadia – Jedi Consulars will be rejoined by their former Padawan, who has grown into a skilled Jedi Knight in her own right.
• Jaesa – Sith Warriors will be able to reunite with Jaesa provided they turned her to the dark side in her original storyline.

Unfortunately, Light-side Jaesa isn’t mentioned for a return, so players will have to wait a little longer for news on the good version of her. Otherwise, this is fantastic overall.

Improved SWTOR Guild Functionality

For the longest time, SWTOR’s guild system felt outdated and meaningless – just a standard MMORPG guild panel to group like minded people. That’s all about to change as the game is implementing systems to make guilds meaningful again.

• Progression System – A new progression system that allows active guilds to customize and improve their experience the more they play
• Heraldry – Personalize your Guild
• PVP Challenge System – Create custom warzone, arena, and Galactic Starfighter skirmish matches and track your record against other guilds
• Conquest improvements – supporting the new guild features

New Huttball PvP Warzone

And last but not least, PvP players will also have something to shout out about. The Fame and Fortune update is now alive, as of 2nd October, and it features a new Huttball Warzone, the Sky Shredder. It’s an 8v8 map, where Giradda the Hutt invites players to compete on the giant gas planet of Vandin.

Set in an abandoned industrial complex above a large ravine, the new ‘Sky Shredder’ Warzone pits two cross-faction teams of eight, the Frog-Dogs and Rotworms, in a ruthless battle for fame and fortune. Your team’s mission is simple. Grab the ball, throw the ball and work together to take it over the opposing team’s line to score points. At every turn, you’ll have to watch out for deadly pillars of acid fire, electric shock traps and poison gas.

The post Here’s Why You Should Be Hyped For SWTOR This Fall 2018 appeared first on Mmos World.

The Lord of the Rings Online

LOTRO’s version of Middle Earth has just entered its 11th year, and the game has tons of content to chew through. As a new player, you rise from nothing to become a guardian of the Fellowship, and eventually help influence the outcome of the One Ring saga from behind the scenes. Launched in 2007, LOTRO has seven expansions and a multitude of quest packs that will take a new player on average, a few months to complete before they get to level cap. Many will argue that the game has strayed from its path somewhat, having had to drop the sub model in favor of free to play. As a result, many design decisions and in-game cash shop shenanigans now exist in the game.

A fresh start progression server would be fantastic for LOTRO. New players that arrived after F2P would be able to experience what vanilla was, questing at the cap in the Shadows of Angmar era where difficulty was hard at level 50, and the focus on group content was at its peak. Not only will the nostalgia factor play a big part in bringing ex-LOTRO players back, but new players will also be curious and jump in as well, giving LOTRO some time in the MMO limelight.

Wildstar

Carbine Studio’s charming MMORPG Wildstar had a ton of hype surrounding its release, alas the game could not hold on to its sub only model and like LOTRO, adopted free to play. Wildstar has some seriously fun combat mechanics, but the superstars of the game are undoubtedly the world, the characters and the story, not to mention the insane housing system. Sadly, whatever population the game had is no longer there, as evident by the reduction of servers.

A fresh start progression server would be welcome for Wildstar, especially to capture former players. But it needs a reason to have one, and Wildstar currently hasn’t progress the game far enough, which means there hasn’t been a plethora of new zones, dungeons or even a new level cap since launch to justify a fresh start server. Fret not however, we have some ideas. The first of which, is to focus on the two things that used to be good, which are now in shambles. PvP and Dungeons. PvP in Wildstar used to be amazing, but it takes more than an hour to pop today. A fresh start server that focuses on PvP progression would probably gain some hype, as will a Dungeon server that offers a more streamlined and easier than usual difficulty. Both might sound horrible to some, but let’s disagree to agree that a fresh start server would be good to bring back players.

Star Wars The Old Republic

How the mighty have fallen. But don’t let SWTOR’s inclusion in this list fool you. Unlike LOTRO and Wildstar above, SWTOR has a ton of players that the former two would kill for. The problem with SWTOR however, is how Bioware and EA are slowly but surely, killing it with the slow pace of content updates and its infuriatingly increased focus on the Cartel Store, aka the cash shop. What players really want to see is new meaningful content and story for the game, especially one that fleshes out their class stories, or brings back the heart of the Star Wars saga.

A fresh start server here that hearkens back to the humble beginnings of the Republic vs. Empire would excite many players, where the focus is on level 50, and perhaps some timed leveling events offering free ways to gain much sought after items from the store that one could take back to the live servers would all be things players might like. Knowing “EAware”, they would charge a sub for this server, but you’d be surprised at how many would pay up for that close to vanilla experience.

The post Top MMORPGS In 2018 That Could Use Fresh Start Progression Servers appeared first on Mmos World.