The Real Deal on SWG

[TekDragon]

This is a summary for everyone who might be thinking of getting into SWG. As some of you may remember i was a HUGE fan-boy of SWG when it first came out, insitigating several flame wars in my defence of this (once) great game. I even met my current fiance on SWG and married her in game. This should convince you that i am not going to give an impartial bashing.

Alas, Sony has RUINED the game. Do NOT get into it. The great reviews you might read are old news. What is left is a empty husk of a game that has been stripped of all virtue by poor designer desicions, power gamers, and l33t tards.

The first thing you need to realize is that SWG is NOT a leveling game like EQ. Due to the the lack of Sony having a backbone, they catered to the losers who wanted everything on a silver plate. Master rifleman (or any proffesion for that matter) used to take 2-3 months of work to master. Now, it takes 3 days.

The second thing you need to realize is that, once upon a time, problem 1 was NOT a problem. The reason is that SWG was fun because of what you did once you hit the top. Mainly, PvP. There were almost infinite varieties of skill combinations you could do to make a fun PvP charachter that acted in combat differently than anyone else.

Alas Sony has ruined this as well, ruining several proffesions and overbalancing several others creating a handful of cookie cutter templates that are either "defence stackers" who are impossible to hit, even with massive range mods and "combat medics" who are extremely unblanced and simply run around diseasing everyone without there being a counter for them (5 doctors can't keep up w 1 combat medic in terms of healing).

The result is that PvP is simply a matter of watching the defence stackers fight for god knows how long, neither doing any damage due to huge defences and extreme armor made from buggy loot drops. That is, until, a combat medic shows up and ruins any "fun" that might be had.

The only other aspect that is (or was) of any interest in SWG is the social aspect. The cantinas and streets used to be filled with fun players. Now, however, EVERYONE is AFK macroing their way to unlocking their "Holocron" and becoming a jedi.

Cantinas are filled with dozens of AFK dancers spitting out canned macroes and begging for money. Markets are flooded with the results of holocroners who worked their way up archetect or tailor. Banks are flooded with people begging for this or that.

The game is simply NO FUN.

The ONLY POSSIBLE WAY for SWG to be saved is if the devs finally balance combat, balance loot drops, do away with "uber armor", get rid of holo grinding, and wipe the servers.

Anything short of that will just allow the downward spiral to continue.