SWTOR's Legacy System - I am a Master of Unlocking!
Here at TORWars, we’ve been very interested in Star Wars: The Old Republic‘s upcoming Legacy System. It’s been exciting speculating about particulars and learning actual details about the system as bits are slowly revealed by the devs at BioWare. A single surname for all of our characters on a server? Earning Legacy Points when playing an alt? New playable species options? Unlock “abilities and powers”? Yes, yes, yes and yes! Love it.
However, it seems everyone isn’t as thrilled with the Legacy System’s possibilities as we are. Mike at MMOCrunch has written an editorial entitled “SWTOR Legacy System Gimps Non-Alt Players?” As you can tell from the article’s title, Mike is a bit worried about players, like himself, who never play an alternate character and stick to their “mains.” Will “main-only” players suffer from a lack of unlocked abilities and powers? Have a read and see what you think.
MMOCrunch quote:
“Being someone that has never played an alt character and who doesn’t plan to, this Legacy System completely gimps players who choose to stick with a single character. The Legacy System almost forces players to start over with an alt in order to remain competitive with other players.
Since SWTOR is all about story and is the game’s main focus, it’s no wonder BioWare would put in place a system that puts a huge incentive for players to start over. However for those of us who are not alt-players, this system makes it pointless to continue playing as we would do so with a permanently gimped character.”
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You don’t need to copy and paste every article posted elsewhere. Especially when the article is based on pure speculation and is obviously written by someone who has no experience with what they’re writing about. It’s obvious they don’t have a level 50 character or they would have known they were way off base with their assumptions.
Drox,
We don’t “copy and paste every article posted elsewhere”. Far from it. If that were the case you’d see 100 posts a day.
I simply feel that the writer, wrong or right, has a worry about the system that some players may also share.
I don’t share his concerns, but I’m an admitted alt-o-holic.
Your point about being level 50 doesn’t really make sense to me as the entire Legacy System is not yet in place. Until then, it’s mostly speculation.
I think what the writer is worried about is the stated “powers and abilities” that can be unlocked. Said powers & abilities may turn out to be cosmetic and not gimp-worthy at all. If that is the case – you’ll then see some folks complaining about the lack of true unlocked “powers & abilities”.
We’ll see how it all plays out. I thought it worth a discussion at least.
EDIT: Yes, it may also turn out that even someone who only plays a single character gets the same Legacy benefits as a player with a slew of alts. I don’t think that is the intended end result though as BioWare has been designing it (though they may need to change it if there’s an outcry). BioWare has “implied” that the system benefits players who have a family of characters. It also helps BioWare from a business standpoint to encourage players to roll an alt and continue playing and paying.
Yes, this is speculation on my part.
i think it’s a cool system & it levels up even as you finish chapters 2/3 as your main. I’m sorry, but I have no sympathy for someone who is gonna blast this process of gaining rewards for delving further into more of the game content. none whatsoever. play the game, earn greater customizations & options. that’s how… ALL games work. last cool game I played was exactly the same- Arkham city, another great one that offered similar additional content for my playing it more completely was flower, a favorite game of all time for me.
Why is it generally speaking that people can’t just play a game for enjoyment, instead of having to worry about being “competitive” at max level??
Because video games are incredibly serious business.
I’m tired of people threatening to quit the game over every little thing. In WOW, I didn’t like playing the same dungeon over and over with the same character to get the uber leet gear, so I was always “gimped” in that game. Sure, I would’ve liked to have had an equal footing with players that focused on one character and raided all the time with their guilds, but I also recognized that it was a game and it didn’t really matter that much. I guess the point of this ramble is that people need to chill out.
This.
Guys, I didnt get the point of this article. My toon is lvl 50, and I still gain legacy points as when I was leveling.
So, if you play only with one toon, you will get the same benefits as who has 10 chars.
@ Peter… you are exactly correct. I’m not sure exactly what Mike at MMOCrunch is worried about. If someone chooses to play only one main character and no alts, that person won’t be at ANY advantage when it comes to legacy point gains. There is no advantage to playing alts with regard to the legacy system short of for role playing reasons and those are not stat/ability changing.
A lvl 50 on an account with no alts is not at any disadvantage when compared to an account with one or more lvl 50′s (on the same server) even with more alts underneath that.
Mike at MMOCrunch is coming at this from left field with a ton of misinformation.
This is especially true when you concider that you can only play one character at a time anyway. So whether you are playing an alt or a main you’re earning the same Legacy xp.
This was going to be my exact point as well :p
In fact you likely earn more legacy points faster on level 50 than you do as an alt. People need to shut up and sit down and use their noggins’ before moaning about every little thing.
Pretty much pointless even bringing this point up at all. I do not know a single person in ANY mmo that has not created an Alt to play with, most having several. From what I gather from the article, it would almost appear that this is the writers first MMO. I really do not see why he would write this.
I guess some sites lack the quality staff that so many others seem to have. MMOcrunch seems to be grasping at straws for some form of relevance, or they are all F2P fans?
I just want to know how he found out about the Legacy Armor of Altitis Pwnage that makes you automatically win against anyone without alts. That was supposed to be a secret afterall.
Lol, best comment ever!
“Legacy Armor of Altitis Pwnage” ROFL!!!!!!
“If you only knew the POWER of the Down Side!”
Oh Boy, might as well complain as a non-raider that not raiding completely gimps my character:
“Being someone that has never raided in an MMO and who doesn’t plan to, this Operation System completely gimps players who choose to stick with small group content. The Operation System almost forces players to raid in order to remain competitive with other players.
Since endgame is all about Operations and is the game’s main focus, it’s no wonder BioWare would put in place a system that puts a huge incentive for players to raid. However for those of us who are not raiders, this system makes it pointless to continue playing as we would do so with a permanently gimped character.”
Wow, that makes a lot more sense and the part about the main focus is as grounded in reality as MMOCrunch’s thoughts about the Legacy system.
He doesn’t know what the Legacy system does specifically, yet he’s worried he’ll be gimped. ugh.
I think everyone´s opinion has to be respected, but it seems on the surface that Mike from the original article is missing a key element. You dont need an alt to continue gaining Legacy points.
To put it simple, when I log into my alt and earn Legacy points, I am not playing my main who “could” be earning legacy points. But if I dont have an alt, then my main, which takes 100% of my playing time, legacy points as well.
So, I dont see any disparity or disadvantage to not playing an alt.
What bioware has done with this system is provide a bit more RPG elements to the game for those who like to play the game with different characters. I have always wanted something like this in the games I played before, and now that it exists, I dont think it penalizes the players that are devoted to one single character.
If anything, depending on what if any character creation options end up being unlockable, the Legacy system might actually incentivise waiting as long as possible before making any alts.
Yeah, I have to agree with everyone else in saying that this guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
The issue isn’t HOW MANY legacy points he would get, rather WHAT they unlock…ATM the talk was been of new RACES (useless to someone who is not going to create an alt), More CLASSES (again, useless to a existing character) and new powers/ability’s. Now i can’t see the unlocked abilities being retroactively given to your existing characters, so what the OP is worried about, is that to USE all the cool, shinny Legacy upgrades he’s earned, he will have to roll an alt, and that’s not how he wants to play. If this is how the system DOES go ahead, i can see all the characters we are all playing now sitting forgotten as we level up new, cooler unlocked race/class combos with epic legacy powers… and i don’t think its a good idea.
Umm the legacy powers HAVE to work on your main or else the system becomes broken. A legacy isn’t just about your alts its also about your main character and what it has done.
I highly doubt the Legacy system is not going to make or break your characters if you don’t play alts. I’ve gained a fair amount of legacy xp on my main just by running dailies and heroics, and I’m sure whatever will be added will just be another perk thrown on for met to customize my characters. His post feels almost like the players who gripe that they don’t have enough time in their schedule or are in too small a guild to raid, there for they are left out because their equipment is inferior to those that have that luxury. I have a feeling that Bioware wants to add little bits and peices of optional content to the game, and if you want to embrace it, great, but if not… I really don’t see the argument in why Bioware should not adding it.
The thing that I don’t care for about Legacy is it is “used” as a last name. I’d much rather be able to play different species/races and have a Surname for them and a “Clan”/of the _____ Legacy Name. I wish they would add in the ability to get a Surname (say at level 20) and then let me have fun with the upcoming Legacy stuff–but not have to use it as a Surname.
Just switch to show the legacy title instead of a legacy surname in your preferences.
It will show up under your name as “The ______ Legacy”. No last name required!
Or you can just hide the name altogether.
Most likely the abbilities will be unlocked from Legacy Level, and its not hard to get that with playing only one char as you keep gaining Legacy Xp after 50. Just hope they add alot when they first add something, gett depressing to hit new Legacy levels with nothing to gain, Legacy Level 22 and counting
I LOVE the legacy system. Where else can I have a character named Jolee and add Bindo as a surname?
One could argue that only playing on his main at 50 is earning him Legacy xp slower than those that play alts… hear me out.
At 50 he’s getting a cut from every mob he kills. Someone’s level 1 Alt gets the same percentage of kill xp, but they also get codex discovery xp. I think legacy gets a cut of quest xp also, but don’t remember.
I was a 36 Inquisitor before I unlocked the legacy system, and would have been even higher if I’d bothered to finish all the quests on Tattoine and Alderaan. So I already missed out on those first 36 levels of worth of content towards leveling my Legacy level.
I don’t think only sticking to your main is going to make you “less competitive”. For the most part I’ve just been sticking to my main and I’m almost legacy 22 and my highest alt is 16.
I’m confused as to what Mike’s problem is? The fastest way to gain legacy levels is level 50 dailies. So in the case of gaining legacy levels, the system actually punishes people who play alts.
If the rewards only help level alts, why does he care if he gets them or not? Does not affect his game play at all. Just makes legacy a useless system to him.
If he thinks like it will allow you to start a new character with like plus 50 to all stats, I want some of what he is smoking. I highly doubt Bioware would implement anything like this.
Someone help me out I’m confused how the legacy could hurt anyone?
Edit: NVM, in the comments section he says he does not know that you still gain legacy exp at level 50. I expect better from this site than linking an article from a guy who has no idea how a system works
Hi Clymene,
Regardless of whether or not the writer knows everything about how the system works he still brought up an interesting question that a number of players may be thinking/worrying about.
Until the Legacy System is “finished” and in-game and working as BioWare intends there is room for speculation and discussion.
If someone has a link to James Ohlen (or someone else at BioWare) outlining precisely how the Legacy System works and if a single player with no alts gets exactly what a player with alts gets – I’d love to have it. I’ll add it to the post and that will be an excellent piece of information for everyone.
Thanks!
Totally agree with this. It made me smile. It’s like complaining that as a level 35, I can’t compete with level 50s. If you don’t do the extra, you won’t get the benefits. Stop crying about it
Damn it. That was meant to appear under Thorn’s post
They have all ready said in the Legacy system all characters get whats unlocked. It doesn’t gimp you. You can level up your Legacy to max on your main. Im not sure what he is worried about.
I do not think the “main-only” crowd will suffer. Those same abilities will probably be unlocked for the main character as well. I’m actually more concerned about the true “alt-o-holics” like myself, who already have all 8 character slots on their respective servers filled with alts. With the hint of unlockable player races, would I have to delete my lowbie alts that I love just to make a new character with these new races, or will I be granted new character slots as a Legacy reward as well? It seems trivial to most people…I’m sure that my fellow alt-o-holics will agree that this is a legitimate concern to us.
I would say people would have reason for concern if there is anything showing exactly what the legacy consist of….there has not been anything concrete about the legacy system…. we do know there are perks and we know that we can tell a story between all the alts. Without something from the Devs saying this is everything we plan for the legacy system I will not worry whether someone has an advantage over others.
The article was written out of fear that some might have something really good based on the way they play the game and in hopes that it will prevent issues from coming up….
People that write articles like this without getting valid information start a public uproar that might be unwarranted and cause problems in the official forums…
Rule of thumb “Don’t panic unless there is a real reason to panic!!!!”
It’s obvious to me, that a single “main” player will generate more legacy points than a player with a bunch of lowbie alts will, if playing for the same amount of game time, because legacy xp comes as a direct percentage of regular xp awarded, and level 50′s generate the most xp per kill. So I’m not at all worried that there’s the potential for imbalance. That portion of the original poster’s argument is clearly misguided.
Also, the way I’ve always read the “unlock skills” comment, is that it’s likely things like mount riding and sprint would unlock earlier for your alts. That just makes sense. It doesn’t say an alt would get new or additional skills. It says unlock. So a skill you’d already have, will get unlocked (early)…not game breaking by any stretch. If it were, our mains would all need to be retired in favor of a buffed alt. And that’s just “dumb”. To be honest, anyone that thinks that is being irrational.