One overlooked aspect of the new SWTOR expansion is that SWTOR seems to be moving away from class-based armor entirely. This is unusual for an MMO based on classes.
The primary stats (Strength, Willpower, Aim, Cunning) are being replaced with a single stat called Mastery. So all gear becomes interchangeable class-wise. There are still multiple secondary stats, including some role-specific ones like Defense or Accuracy. But no longer will an item drop and you can say that it is Warrior gear or Agent gear.
The other element is that most newer armor is "Adaptive". This means that if you're a class that uses Light Armor, the armor is Light Armor for you. If you use Heavy Armor, it's Heavy, and so on.
The link between armor and class in a class-based MMO is usually very strong. But with these changes, the link becomes very weak. I'm sure that there will still be gear with class-specific set bonuses. But outside of that, we're setting up for a situation where any class can wear any gear.
I'm not so sure that I like this change. I like having different armor for the different classes. I suppose that it can be annoying to wait for your one piece to drop, though. Still, it does feel like the game has lost something.
Maybe this is an inevitable result of selling cosmetic gear in a F2P game. You don't want to restrict costumes to different characters, so you sell costumes that all characters can wear. And then there's not much point in forcing the player to find a Strength mod compared to an Aim mod.
I am a bit surprised that SWTOR hasn't taken the next step and started dropping armor shells separately from the mods in instances. That would separate the cosmetic part of the armor even farther from the mechanics aspect. People who wanted the mods would roll specifically on them. People who wanted the costume could roll specifically on the armor shell.
It's a strange direction because in SWtoR already had one of the most "interchangeable" approach for armor, with adaptive + all the stats being in the modifications. And I admit I already more or less hated it, because while I can stand absurd costumes in WoW, bikini-tanks are really not on my list of "good idea" for a game based on an established and relatively serious IP.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what problem they are trying to solve? Too many credits spent moving mods around? The horribly bloated crafting tables where you have to hunt across a hundred mods to get the one with the right stats?
The only thing I can think of is that they had too many problems with new players taking the wrong type of gear. For example, Snipers and Gunslingers thinking they needed Aim when they really needed Cunning. With the new Star Wars movie coming out shortly, perhaps they anticipate an influx of new players, and so are optimizing for them.
DeleteIt doesn't really make a lot of difference for experienced players though, and I guess it does simplify gearing and the modifications system a fair bit.
New players with the wrong type of gear isn't unique to SWTOR, it's just that they're trying this method of dealing with it. Typically, the wrong gear is one of the standard reasons why newbies get beat up, and I applaud Bioware for trying to address this problem.
DeleteWhether it works well in the long run I'm not sure of, but at least they're trying.
Is this more a cosmetic thing? Where Sorcs can look like Bounty Hunters now? That'd be an odd swap. You'd think with the effort made so far, you'd want some distinct line between classes but I guess with the F2P costumes, that's mostly done for already.
ReplyDeleteAdaptive armor though, that's not so much new as it is a next step. WoW has something a little similar, though not to that extreme, what with gear that changes stats based on your talent spec. Wildstar just finished homogenizing stats across all classes as well (it was admittedly obtuse before), which makes it a LOT easier to gear. Still limited to classes though.
Dropping the class restrictions... that seems like it will either increase group drama (a-la That's Hunter Gear) or decrease player frustration with lack of drops options. Am I more ticked that I lost all the rolls, or that there was nothing to roll on the entire run?
There's two parts. The Adaptive Armor is cosmetic, allowing any class to equip any armor.
DeleteThe Mastery stat is mechanical, meaning that all classes get the same mechanical benefit from any armor. If a chestpiece drops, it might be an upgrade for both the Warrior and the Agent.
I too am surprised that SWTOR didn't go the separate shell/mod drop. Its not like you don't already find both off of fights as it is, so it would seem to be an easy to implement change.
ReplyDeleteIt might be a case of they don't want too many items dropping. Like if the boss dropped 2 items before, it now drops 8 (2 shells, 2 armorings, 2 mods, 2 enhancements). That might be a bit much.
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