Oct19

It’s been over 6 years since my last post and closing this blog down which I think says enough about how that “hope I get back to playing” went. In a combination of guild drama, disappointment in certain things (such as multiple people taking credit for things you worked hard on), people just not trusting in you, the terrible loot boxes with the free to play change, and getting excited about a special feature only to have it blow up in your face, it was hard to WANT to keep playing SWTOR.

My husband (who was just my boyfriend at the time of my last post) and I always still hoped to at least play to finish our character’s stories, but something always happened to end up preventing us doing so– whether it be the subscription just not coming at a good time, no time to buy the expansions, or still feeling burnt out.

I loved collecting pets and the various puzzles and so many being put into just raids or loot boxes was exhausting and literally the biggest reasons I stopped playing.

I still hope one day we can finish those stories, but for now, this is likely my last update.

If you’d like to find me elsewhere, you can check out my main homepage or twitter.

If you are seeing this…

Jun4

That means you are one of the few people who have an account and are logged in! So, I am going to redirect you over here to the page anyone without an account is currently seeing.

Thank you for liking the blog enough to make an account. It means a lot. I’m prettysure most of you with accounts have my e-mail so feel free to e-mail me to talk about the game at anytime 🙂

I just am so stressed out with things and a bit frustrated/sad when it comes to SWTOR and time is definitely not something I have much of right now. Not to mention even having the money to justify paying a subscription for a game I’m barely even logging into lately.

In general, my faith in MMOs has completely fallen and I just can’t really look at them the same right now.

If you need me, again, just send an e-mail (heck, the contact form should still be up too). Hopefully I will feel like writing/playing again soon.

@-@

May27

Haven’t had much time to play lately. I’ve seen the Gree event is back up, but I don’t like it enough to want to do it even though I know I should >>

I know a new recurring event is planned for 2.3. Sad to see more mounts in Nightmare mode, although, not surprised. 2.2 doesn’t really have anything too interesting to me and of course, more pets in Cartel packs 🙁

Still wish there was a plain primary pink dye. Hopefully I can buy some in the future.

Overall though, things are just way too busy among other issues ._.

2.1

May14

2.1 hits today so I’m already patched and waiting for the servers to go up now 🙂

I don’t know what I want to do first. I’ll probably check out the new appearance stuff on the fleet I guess? Then go hunting around for all the different dyes.

And if there isn’t a light pink one (I know one was shown, but I don’t know if it’ll be out at release), I will be sad.

Gonna also see how that new long hair looks on Zoara–if it’s even a choice. I really wish horn and hair selections were separated 🙁

I also wish all characters got jewelry. ._.

Besides that, may look into modifying Mari’s face slightly. I felt her face looks too long/narrow/thin for a while and it’s really supposed to be a bit rounder like Cellina’s.

but yes, time to wait. >3

Edit: It’s up!

The fact that the Dye Module thing in the Cartel Market is random makes me very sad.

Collections seems a bit glitchy. Says I don’t have the Public Test Server titles… weird.

if I made a Cathar, this would probably be her:
Cathar:
2
5
1
1
4
11
9
7
6

I’d probably want to give Cathar the 45 hair for humans if it was available :/

Edit 2: Hair is human only as I thought… which means I can’t put it on my Zabrak. Super disappointed. Hair 45 really makes me wish there was a long ponytail though… sad there is only a long braid.

Edit 3: Dye seems to be the same per security vendor… Checking reputation vendors now

Edit 4: Still going through reputation vendors. Just Gree left. Any that do have them just have a single schematic :/ Weren’t like half supposed to be crafted?

Anyway, bought some of the random crafting things from the Cartel Market. Here’s what I got:
Light Blue and Medium Blue
Medium Brown and White Dye
Dark Purple and Light Blue
Dark Brown and Medium Brown
Medium Brown and White
Deep Red and Dark Purple x2
Deep Red and White (reverse of Security Key vendor one)
Black and Black
Deep Red and Dark Blue

All the doubles are worrying me as I really just want a light pink primary :/

Edit 5: Last 7 I bought:
…apparently I accidentally bought the Human Hairstyles 1? oh well, at least they are okay… I guess.

so umm…last 6 bought then:
Deep Red and Dark Purple x2
Deep Red and White x3
Dark Brown and Medium Brown
Medium Brown and White
Dark Green and White
Medium Brown and White
Dark Brown and White
Light Blue and Medium Blue
Medium Gray and Dark Green

… ._.

Edit 6: And Inquisitor’s Vestments do not have dye module slots 🙁 very sad.

Edit 7: So Deep Pink and Dark Purple is the only Pink dye right now. I could maybe use it for my Mercenary, Commando, and Scoundrel, but it wouldn’t fit my other characters… and that still means no light pink and gold or just light pink and that makes me very sad ._.

Dates and Things

May8

So, if you read the forum, you’ll know the current aimed dates are May 14th for 2.1 and June 11th for 2.2.

I didn’t expect 2.1 to be so soon @-@ So I’m pretty excited about that. However, I really hope we won’t see another Cartel pack. I mean, it’s likely we will since it’s kind of a cartel coin update, but I feel there will be enough to spend Cartel Coins on without that added factor X__x now if the stores around here would actually start carrying the cards… ._. (Pets T~T)

The Gree event should also show up inbetween the two… maybe I can finally get the other pet… but I don’t know if I could deal with the repetition and PVP still makes me sad. v-v

June 11th doesn’t surprise me TOO much. That is also the day E3 starts and I’m guessing it’ll be mentioned there (lucky people going to E3 *envies*) plus be a good thing to bring up.

A lot of people think the game is dying or it’s not very good and that’s really really silly (also comparing to WoW is silly in itself because WoW copied many things from other games too–like the stuff that makes an MMO an MMO in the first place). Due to not feeling too great lately, my sleeping has been a mess–so I have been playing at quite odd times. Despite that, I can find up to about 150 people and multiple instances on some of the lower level planets and people chatting away. The game isn’t perfect, no, but I’ve never played a game that didn’t have its flaws.

If I had to pick one flaw (and let’s be honest, there’s a bunch I have–like with the reputation system or my problem with set bonuses and how they work and etc.), I would mostly say it’s with raiding.

Not everyone wants to be in a guild. After three bad experiences, I just… I don’t want to be in a guild ever again, to be blunt. And yes, Netto, Telanis, I know your doors are always opened 😛 I honestly just don’t want to do it anymore though. I had my very first MMO ruined due to guild drama along with 3 friendships that will never heal. And while some people have stayed friends with me despite these guild dramas in recent time, I’d be lying if I said everything was okay because it’s not. And there’s always so many lies–so many lies on why someone left or what they were trying to do or how they did this or that. The funny part is, I was never needed in any of those–I was always a back-up and a last resort. So if something went wrong suddenly due to my leaving, I will tell you right now–it wasn’t my fault.

So, unsurprisingly, I’m more content playing with my boyfriend and some friends. Of course, you can’t do raids with 4 people (unless you get super overleveled or something and even then, certain puzzles would definitely have a problem).

But that isn’t my biggest issue either–it’s that in a story-based game, you can not access that story without a guild. I mean, recently (with the really strange gear changed), EV ad KP were just kicked off group-finder… this is a story-based game. They have story elements in them that take place before the current content. You can’t just write them off.

And people who play for the story can’t just go and do them and that stinks. This is the first game to ever make me create characters to not be just item mules. Why? Because the story interested me. I was able to create characters and this world they live in and when it comes down to it, the only one who can (and I would) raid on is my sage. But I wish I could still access that story. I wish I could see it. But I have no interest in running some crazy raid ops and doing dailies and other junk on my other 6 characters (Speederisk and Speederisk2 don’t count).

I also hate that vanity items have only been dropping on HM or higher only. Story mode is essentially for those who want to witness the story (although, you still need to find 7 people for it -_-), but I am unable to collect them all without actually raiding on harder modes and even then, it’s a lovely luck of the draw. It just really stinks. People who are doing it on harder modes are usually doing it for gear in the first place :/ so yeah, there’s my other complaint on raids.

But since I mentioned story, I guess I will mention my other big complaint during the leveling process… I’ve seen all the planet quests. Every side quest and every main quest. I do not want to do them again. And no matter how many experience boosts I buy, I will never be able to play just the class story and that’s super disappointing. They just don’t give enough experience. All 5 class story boosts, all 5 exploration boosts, and a major experience boost plus tons of rested experience just… it doesn’t do that much. You will be levels behind and get to a point where you can’t even continue without help or backtracking to do other quests and that really stinks.

So yeah, despite those isues, I do enjoy the game–it’s why I still play it, afterall. Anyway, shall be looking forward to the next patch.

The Imperial issue

May7

So, after the immense failure that is trying the car quest on our imperial side again I’m not really sure what to do.
The problem with the quest is:
1. Our companions do not do enough DPS to get rid of the Observation Probes
2. Our Imperial characters are much less geared which makes a Heroic 4 a bit more complicated for them.
3. We can’t find any DPS to do the quest anytime we ask (of course, people end up doing it RIGHT AFTER)
4. Nobody can just come into the quest later. If someone has done it already or you are further along, they can not access the launch pad which means you can’t get help later and have to restart and that sucks.

So bleh.

Thus, to cheer up, I’m going to be working on Miisha a bit with my boyfriend’s vanguard and a friend of mine. I’ve been looking forward to her story and should get my mind off continue failure with my Sorcerer v-v

Edit: And done for now due to the server going down @-@ Thank you to those who showed up and chatted :3 Was fun <3

Collecting (About Collections in 2.1)

May6

Now, if you have read this blog whatsoever or know me at all, besides my incredible love for pets, you will also know I love collecting. Collecting is a big part of any MMO for me, whether it be lore, pets, mounts, or whatever I decide to collect. Of course, as a collector, I know it can be hard. Especially if you play multiple characters–or worse, finally get that special item, but not on the character you wanted it. That is one of the worst feelings ever.

Which is why I’m incredibly happy to talk about one of the new upcoming features in Patch 2.1–Collections. What is Collections, you may ask? The answer to a lot of people’s needs.

To start, Collections is a special new interface that will show you well, things you collected! Stuff you got from the Cartel Market (Packs and not in packs) and Special Promotions, things you still need, how much percent you’ve completed, and even let you preview these items. You will even be able to track certain items.


SWTOR_Collection_01

So yes, you essentially have a portable checklist–but that’s not all. Let’s say you wanted to have an army of characters with the Revan Mask, but were only able to get one. Well, with Collections, one is all you need. For a fee in Cartel Coins (depending on the item), you can unlock this item account-wide. Yes, ACCOUNT-wide. Not faction-wide, not server-wide, ACCOUNT.

From then on, you can duplicate as many of that item as you want for your characters. Of course, these are bound to you so get any ideas of crazy money grinding out of your head–that’s not what collecting is about.

Not only that though, once you have earned something, it’s there forever. Tired of having your Ball Toss or Republic Banner on you at all times? Simply discard the item and when you feel like using it again, just grab it from Collections later.

I was lucky enough to be able to ask a few more detailed questions about Collections (some especially for those who love pets and mounts like me) and am happy to be able to share them 🙂 So here you guys go!:

1. A small fee was mentioned to essentially unlock an item. Does the fee depend on the item or is it the same amount for everything?

Once you have bound an item on a character, it becomes unlocked in your Collection and you can create unlimited copies for that character. It is only the account-wide access unlock that costs Cartel Coins. For pack items, the Cartel Coin cost is based on item rarity, and ranges from 60 to 600 CC. For direct-sale items, the unlock fee is a fraction of the item’s base price.

2. Once you do unlock it, is that it? Or do you have to keep giving a fee for each version? Essentially more clarification on this would be awesome.

You’ll never pay more than a single fee per item. Once you pay for account-wide access, any character on your whole account can create additional copies of the item at no extra cost.

3. One of the things mentioned to come in the future were special promotion items and Pets (yeeeees). Is there any chance event/social items/speeders in general could be a part of that in the future as well?

We will have some special promotion items in the Collections system when it launches. We’d like to reiterate that Collections is a new system and so we will be actively trying to fit things like you mentioned above into it as best we can. This will be something we continue to improve on as the Collections system grows, and your feedback as to which items you’d like to see in Collections is invaluable to us.

4. Similarly, for items like Pets and Speeders which become abilities. Would they still be accessed through collections (once added anyway) even if you used them?

Yes. Once added to your Collection, you will have the ability to purchase account-wide access and create unlimited copies on all your characters at no additional fee. For example, if you purchase the Czerka CR-17 Incendia speeder on one character and add it to your list of Vehicles, this will unlock it in your Collections. Once you pay the Cartel Coin fee to gain account-wide access to the item, all of your other characters can get the Czerka CR-17 Incendia mount at no additional cost.

Annnnd #5. One of the examples was essentially discarding an item and being able to just pick it back up from the Collections UI. Do you have to pay to get it back/a one-time charge or is it always free to get it back on the character it was originally on/free once unlocked for characters that didn’t have it?

Great question. It will always be free to claim any number of copies of an item from Collections on the same character that originally unlocked that item. For example, if you get Revan’s Mask for one of your characters and later destroy it, you’ll be able to re-claim the item from Collections at no extra cost. Heck, you can even claim free additional copies for all of your companions! The fee will only come into effect if you wish to gain account-wide access to the item, and this will be a one-time, account-wide fee. Continuing the above example, once you’ve paid the unlock fee for Revan’s Mask, all of the characters on your account—even those on different servers—will be able to claim unlimited copies of Revan’s Mask for free.

So, I hope you guys are as excited about Collections as I am! It is definitely one of the features (if not the #1 feature) I am most excited for with 2.1 🙂 And I’m so happy I got to share it with all of you! <3 Edit: So many people and comments @-@ I shall try and add a bit more information (as I've seen questions roaming around) from what I know: 1. This is pretty much said in the Q&A, but just to say again: for pets and speeders, they are unlocked once you use them. They get added to abilities and then they unlock. 2. As for gear, whether it unlocks as soon as you get it or you need to bind it to a character first--I honestly do not know. I wouldn't be surprised if they made you bind first, but they might not considering I'd expect the percentages/interface to update when you get it. Again though, I don't know. 3. It'll start mostly with Cartel Stuff and some special promotions stuff but as mentioned to the FAQ, they DO hope to add in other things (like all the pets and mounts) so hopefully we will even see event stuff and stuff from Flashpoints too. So for those who collect orange gear as well (like my boyfriend), I hope this will be helpful to you guys too!

Random thoughts

May1

So, my commando is officially a commando as she has passed the level cap to be one 😛 Hopefully I’ll get her ship soon, but I don’t think I will be getting Zoara up too quickly. I’d probably like to finish Miisha first.

As for Amidaia and the Binocular quests and things, I was sad to see them not vary afterall 🙁 Especially with how cool the puzzle was at the beginning. We’re currently at the car hopping–unfortunately, it glitched at the end and the enemy didn’t spawn on his ship… so we had to reset the instance :/ We’re only level 53 though and much more undergeared than our Republic counterparts so not going as great. I just hope we can finish, to be honest.

I’m really really really excited for 2.1.

I still think Cartel Boxes are pure evil.

and I continue to stalk the GTN for the Desert Drake because until I’m overleveled to the point of being able to two-man an operation, I don’t see myself ever getting one.

In which Mari plays her Sorcerer

Apr27

THAT FIGHT WAS SO NOT FOR TWO PEOPLE 😐 So many things to hit and evil red circles…

I still love the Brontosaurus-bots though. I want to ride one. And have one as a pet.

Anyway, continuing with the imperial Makeb storyline…

Edit 1: YAY IT LOOKS LIKE WE ARE SAVING MAKEB! No wonder the Republic side didn’t.

Edit 2: Doing binocular and seeder droid quests now! So many puzzles already @-@ SO EXCITING.

2.1 Customization

Apr26

Well, I’m sure most of you have already seen this, but regardless, since I really love customization, I’m going to talk about it for a bit! 😛

So, the Appearance Kiosk! It’ll essentially be the barber and other stuff people have wanted, but better! Not only will it allow you to change your haircolor, but also your eye color and entire appearance. There will even be new hairstyles and colors so even if you may be happy with your character, you may want to take a look!

The appearance kiosk will be Cartel Only, but there will be a huge discount for Subscribers (Like 50% off everything).

It’ll look very similar, if not exactly, like the character creator 🙂 With all the options there. It’s charged on a per slider basis so adding a scar or just changing eye color is very cheap. You can even preview making a character of another species to see how you like it and unlock stuff through there.

Now, probably the thing I am most excited for… DYE MODULES! You just open up the modification panel of whatever it is you want to dye, drop the dye in and hit accept. Be warned that not everything will dye as consistently–but thankfully, you can also preview everything first before dying.

It also recognizes unified colors so you only need to dye the chest piece if you want a single color. Many of the dyes will be available through crafting, the security key vendor, and other vendors. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Collector’s Edition vendor got some too.

Of course, not all items can be dyed. It will say if you can or not. Anything below level 15 most likely can’t be. Most green items can’t be. Hopefully the lower level social items can be dyed (PINK PRINCESS DRESSES).

Everything from crafting can be dyed. Lore outfits (Like the Last Handmaiden) can’t be dyed.

There are Primary and Secondary colors for most outfits. Some dyes come in Primary only, some dyes come in Secondary only, and some that are a mix.

I’m pretty excited to be honest. My light pink and gold princess dress is not far off T~T And maybe I can dye that one shirt for Amidaia now! …of course, I think that’s lower than level 15. Well, hopefully it’s one of the few that can be!

(seriously though, if there’s no light pink dye, I will cry >> and I mean real pink, not ugly purple-ish pink pink :P)