tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922857679980740630.post1696577135809090351..comments2024-03-27T10:35:46.596+01:00Comments on Ravalation: Flashpoint thoughtsRavanelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03447777640056476366noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922857679980740630.post-29620974518940828592016-09-28T00:19:49.083+02:002016-09-28T00:19:49.083+02:00PS And welcome to the blog - great to have you. :)...PS And welcome to the blog - great to have you. :)Ravanelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03447777640056476366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922857679980740630.post-46639018559288568342016-09-28T00:17:45.381+02:002016-09-28T00:17:45.381+02:00Totally agree with you there (as you can probably ...Totally agree with you there (as you can probably tell from the article). HM flashpoints still are a lot of fun, so it would be great if more incentive to play them would be added to the game. They used to drop good equipment and it's really puzzling why they don't anymore - Backus' response to that question didn't really make much sense to me.Ravanelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03447777640056476366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922857679980740630.post-23463349076118106812016-09-27T08:34:54.428+02:002016-09-27T08:34:54.428+02:00Hey! First time commenting here, nice blog! As for...Hey! First time commenting here, nice blog! As for my thoughts on flash points, my problem is this, I'm a pretty hardcore raider (yeah, I know, I'm a rare breed now). The problem with flash points is that there is no incentive for a player like me to do them, or even a more casual player to do them. They don't drop anything worthwhile. I would love to see flash points go back to like they were in vanilla days, where they dropped set bonus tokens, had their own loot tables, and helped you improve as a player. I wouldn't mind them dropping story mode tokens even if only on final boss and bonus, as, operations would still be a more consistent way to get them. The fact is, flash points were once an important part of endgame PvE and gear progression, and now? Not at all. It's sad. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10495359247868517831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922857679980740630.post-21465799156745338432016-09-26T12:20:25.295+02:002016-09-26T12:20:25.295+02:00Well, I don't think of something along the lin...Well, I don't think of something along the lines of "don't stand in the bad" as raid mechanics, but more along the lines of "jump over here during A, then stand over there during B, then make sure to interrupt C, you can only use D right now, and have someone ready to use E during this phase" in rapid succession. Non-heroic FPs don't typically require the sort of attention to detail that, say, killing Arthas in WoW would have. Most FP bosses have specific mechanics that you are exposed to, but the difference between a raid/ops and a FP/instance is both the speed and complexity of those mechanics. For example (dipping into my WoW experience), the mechanic of "the boss is dead but is resurrected/returns to life" is used repeatedly in both 5-man instances and raids. However, there's a big difference in speed and lethality between The Black Knight in the 5-man Trial of the Champion and C-Thun in the old Ahn'Qiraq 40 man raid.<br /><br />Or maybe a better way of saying it is that you have to have the situational awareness that comes with raiding that allows you to recognize a specific set of mechanics and how to counter it without needing to study the fight beforehand.Redbeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05306063084983025771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922857679980740630.post-85167278851176448192016-09-26T10:50:14.382+02:002016-09-26T10:50:14.382+02:00I would say that's a typical example of people...I would say that's a typical example of people not playing their role well and others having to compensate for that.<br /><br />I understand what you're trying to say; I just wish there was an option available to tune the difficulty up for people with general spatial awareness and insight in MMO mechanics. It makes group instance much more interesting. I used to love flashpoints - I'm not 100% sure if I don't as much anymore because I've become a better player or because tactical flashpoints are easier than vanilla flashpoints. Probably a bit of both.Ravanelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03447777640056476366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922857679980740630.post-72220970325182480752016-09-25T12:46:33.190+02:002016-09-25T12:46:33.190+02:00@Redbeard: that's absolutely correct. A consid...@Redbeard: that's absolutely correct. A considerable portion of incoming damage in MMOs is usually avoidable. I don't think of these as "raid mechanics", but as "general spacial awareness" because they are not restricted to SWTOR, nor to raids. You will find such mechanics everywhere (to varying degrees), even in landscape. The difference is that in raids, you cannot get away with messing it up, while landscape quests and flashpoints are much more forgiving. And (as I wrote in the article), people generally need to be challenged in order to improve. Thus raiders are generally better at this than non-raiders - the best, though, are PvPers, because being successful in PvP requires extremely fast movement reactions to <i>unpredictable</i> damage.<br /><br />SWTOR is relatively fast paced (especially compared to LOTRO), so it's not the easiest game to develop these reflexes. But once you manage to identify sources of damage and how to avoid them, and translate this to your default movement behaviour, things will become a lot easier in any game you play.<br /><br />So I would definitely give this a try. Even though it might not be easy to start with, there's a lot to gain and it will definitely make your Star Fortress attempts easier.Ravanelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03447777640056476366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922857679980740630.post-80957562444312372142016-09-25T05:18:28.241+02:002016-09-25T05:18:28.241+02:00Something I've been thinking about the Star Fo...Something I've been thinking about the Star Fortresses' Heroic mode is that whether it is soloable or not is dependent upon whether you're used to raid mechanics. A lot of FPs don't require the sort of mechanics dance that you'd typically see in a raid, and if you're not exposed to it you might not be ready to deal with the constant movement and knowing what to do when. I suspect that's part of my issue with the Star Fortresses' Heroic mode in that I'm simply not used to that sort of dance (and I'll also admit that I'm reaching the age where some of my hand-eye coordination is what it used to be).Redbeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05306063084983025771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922857679980740630.post-76791802250473326602016-09-24T10:20:16.813+02:002016-09-24T10:20:16.813+02:00I'm actually not too worred about future flash...I'm actually not too worred about future flashpoints being more like the Star Fortresses. They may be a bit dull, but I thought the same of the Czerka flashpoints originally (since they were the first flashpoints without an interactive cut scene in them) and yet I still enjoy running them. In my opinion the Star Fortresses' biggest problem is that they just don't feel like group content, since finding a group for them is a pain and even the heroic mode can be soloed. If they can address that with Star Fortresses v.2 and actually make them worth grouping up for, we should be fine.<br /><br />And yes, the decoration drops are the one thing I forgot to ask about, mea culpa. :) Nobody of the people I asked for suggestions thought of them either though! I guess we're just not enough into deco collecting.<br /><br />I think you are doing tactical flashpoints a great injustice. They are designed to be the first step into group content, tuned for a levelling group with no tank or healer, and for those they absolutely are challenging! Going in with experienced players and a full trinity group is <i>making</i> it easymode. If you want more of a challenge to tackle with your friends, there are the hard modes - which have a problem with rewards I'll admit, but I don't think they are too easy.<br /><br />Anyway, even so you said that your friend actually had to learn how to heal so it sounds to me like that tactical did its job. :P As far as I'm aware the second boss isn't bugged, he just hits hard; I only know of Kilran being buggy sometimes.<br /><br />I've been thinking it would be fun to tackle some tacticals with a group of all dps characters at level 16 - I can promise it wouldn't be easymode. :P Unfortunately you level up so quickly these days...Shintarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758343475446510635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922857679980740630.post-69190965913406413442016-09-24T05:09:40.671+02:002016-09-24T05:09:40.671+02:00Hmm.... My most recent FP adventure involved a Man...Hmm.... My most recent FP adventure involved a Mandos run, and while we did have a healer, we had a Sentinel who would just simply wail away and pull aggro away from the tank. I, as a DPS Scoundrel, had issues trying to keep up with the fight as I kept chasing down the baddies who'd be following the other two around. And the Sentinel kept going away from healing range, which drove the healer nuts. After two wipes on the first boss fight (the canine handler), we finally brought down the boss when the Sentinel froze and couldn't move. We booted him at next opportunity.<br /><br />The moral of the story is that you still have to learn to play a role while fighting in even the tactical FPs, and if you don't you make life miserable for everyone else.<br />Redbeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05306063084983025771noreply@blogger.com