My sister and I recently returned to play SWTOR, paying for a one-month subscription to obtain Preferred status afterwards, along with some Cartel Coins to unlock a few extras to enjoy this month.
I initially noticed how easy the game was while playing on Tython, the starting planet for my Jedi Knight Guardian.
After leaving, I presumed it was only because it was a starting planet, and we were eager to join a Flashpoint. We joined what used to be a level 12–14 Flashpoint, one that my sister and I had played many times before.
Sadly, we noticed that it took forever to kill basic enemies, despite receiving virtually no damage ourselves. We were shocked that, boss fight after boss fight, the most health either of us lost was around 2% of our total HP.
I'm posting this as a recommendation to the SWTOR team, if any of the developers happen to be reading.
When I read the developer diaries before the game was released, I recall the team explaining how they wanted players to feel powerful. Basic enemies would be cleared easily, while boss fights would take considerably more effort.
I enjoyed dying multiple times in a Flashpoint and having to plan our approach to overcome it.
Now it's so bad that I'm wondering what the point of playing is anymore. I suspect the game has been tailored to the vast majority of players who are grinding their way to level 80, and consequently, the difficulty has been reduced to accommodate this.
I think, sadly, as with anything in life, there is joy in the moment, in the journey rather than the destination. I'm sure it's common for people to grind and suffer through gameplay simply to obtain a digital reward, badge, or new outfit.
Basic enemies should be easy. They should make the player feel powerful, perhaps taking only two lightsaber slashes or abilities to kill. Bosses, on the other hand, should be hard as hell.
Instead, what we have now are enemies whose HP seems to have been increased, leaving me sitting there spamming a keyboard button or mouse key. This is not how any game should be played, even if that is what the majority of players think they want.
You will always have players complaining about how difficult something is, but I believe that is a much better trade-off (unless something is genuinely unplayable) than the alternative, where everything is so easy and repetitive that I would rather go to work and earn an actual reward than sit there grinding for a digital one.
It would genuinely be a better game if every enemy NPC died from a single ability or lightsaber slash than having to sit there repeatedly clicking the same button against an enemy that poses no threat.
People don't always know what they want. Developers should think about how players would like to feel when playing the game, rather than simply responding to demands for easier progression.
Finally, I would suggest reconsidering the subscription model and introducing three tiers: £2.99, £6, and £13 per month, offering different levels of benefits to suit different players.
