Star Wars: The Old Republic as a single player game.

[Mister K]

OK, so from what I've gathered about SWTOR it seems that you can basically play this game alone and just enjoy story missions, as you would with a single player game, only online. If it is so, then I am willing to give it a whirl. However, I'd like to read some opinions about certain aspects of the game:

1. Story. Is it different for each class? Is this story/Are those stories any good? I mean, I understand that it can't have the depth of KOTOR II, but still.

2. Companions. How good/bad are they as characters and gameplay wise?

3. Will I need to grind?

I am most grateful for your answers.

 

[mavkiel]

1) Each class has its own story. Personally I find the republic stories to be rather boring.

2) Each class has its own companions, some are really neat, some are boring. They all have their own quests, some of which impact their outlook on life.

3) Right now, no. Its the easiest time to level. Honestly, if you do it right, it won't even feel like a grind. Many of the quests you can decide on various outcomes. And many of them you receive a little follow up message in your in-game mailbox.

 

[Gizmo1990]

I played purely for the story and then stopped once I was finished with the classes I liked so here is what I think:

Each class does have their own unique storyline. Each planet also has its own mini storyline which is the same for all 4 classes.

Story Republic: I really enjoyed the 2 Jedi classes. The Jedi Knight storyline is probably better out of the two tho I enjoyed the Jedi Consular Class more. I found Chapter 1 of the Smuggler storyline really fun but chapter 2 and 3 were a litte less enjoyable for me as you go from free agent doing your own thing to free lance republic lacky. Trooper is just plain dull.

Story Empire: Both Sith classes have quite fun storylines. Personaly I don't enjoy being the bad guy so I played light side Sith characters but honestly you are still kind of the bad guy. I found the Bounty Hunter storyline to be ok at the start but it never really got interesting for me so I never actually finished it. Imperial Agent is considered the best storyline. I found myself enjoying it quite a bit, not as much as most other people but as I said I don't like being the bad guy all that much. I should say that I never actually finished the Agent story either but that was due to me disliking the class I had picked and I just could not be fucked to start a new one.

Companions: Honestly all the classes have some good comps, some bad comps and some completly forgettable comps. Personaly I found the Smuggler to have the 2 best. I will not spoil any of them except to say one of them is a Wookie and he is the best friend you could ever ask for.

Grinding: This one is hard to answer for me. I have only ever played as a sub and as I understand it f2p players get reduced exp so keep that in mind when reading what I say next.

I never had to grind really. I simply did whatever quests I found while exploring a planet. Never did any dailies, flashpoints or PvP but I did do space missions as they are quick and get good exp. I would do Heroics but never more than once and if there were no groups to be found to do them I skipped them. Taking this approch I was always at least 4-6 levels higher than the recommend level for my story missions. I will say however that by your 3rd or 4th char it can be very difficult to get through a planet because you have done everything 2 or 3 times already and the only new stuff is story only.

One final thing and this is of course just my opinion (like everything else I just typed) but I would try to stay away from anything connected to Kotor or Kotor 2 in the game. I think they really fucked up when it came to Revan and the Exile got even more screwed, tho I care lass about her as I did not like kotor 2 very much.

Hope that all helps.

 

[The Madman]

1. Yes, each class has their own story. No, the story aren't very goood.

So this is where I tend to disagree with a lot of SWTOR fans, but I've tried 4 different classes and without exception they all either started decently and fell apart story-wise, or were so plodding and inept from the start I was unable to get far enough into them to the point where they're supposed to become 'good'.

And then just to add insult to injury as a fan of both Kotor 1 and 2, SWTOR just butchers the previous games storylines. Bioware either outright ignores or retcons 90% of Kotor 2 and even Kotor 1 doesn't get away scot-free with characters like HK-47 and Revan turning into mustache twirling raid boss villains and caricatures of their original selves. It's only a good thing the story is set hundreds of years after the previous games so the mortal characters from the previous Kotor games like Jolee, Atton, or Kreia aren't butchered.

2. Gameplay-wise I actually really liked the companions in SWTOR. They're not as good as an actual player, but they are competent enough to allow you to accomplish things solo you otherwise might not be able to if you build them properly. Say for example you're playing a 'healing' style character, then having your companion as a straight up tank is ideal. Meanwhile playing as a tanky character having a healer companion for long fights or a dps one to speed things up across weaker enemies worked great. The way they do crafting is also a really neat mechanic I'd like to see other games mimic.

In terms of personality though they're pretty sparse. Don't go into it expecting Mass Effect or even previous Kotor levels of dialogue, as it's not there. You can't for example, to the best of my knowledge, piss off an ally enough that they'll leave and they wont really interact among one another or fight ala Viconia/Keldorn or Tali/Legion. They're just sorta someone you talk to.

3. Not really. When I played was over a year ago now (I think?) and there wasn't much in the way of grindy stuff, and from what I understand it's only become more streamlined over time.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well the stories are very modern Bioware, lots and lots and lots of drama with sprinkles of progress on top.
That is not something I personally like but some people absolutely adore that shit, well I guess it's those people who wrote the story.

There are one or two companions that are cool, but most you just lug around for the fighting.

And while there is no grinding dead space it is all very MMO, most of your missions involve going out into a field of random spawning mobs to collect X bear asses, or mercenary asses in this case.

 

[Fdzzaigl]

OK, so from what I've gathered about SWTOR it seems that you can basically play this game alone and just enjoy story missions, as you would with a single player game, only online. If it is so, then I am willing to give it a whirl. However, I'd like to read some opinions about certain aspects of the game:

1. Story. Is it different for each class? Is this story/Are those stories any good? I mean, I understand that it can't have the depth of KOTOR II, but still.

2. Companions. How good/bad are they as characters and gameplay wise?

3. Will I need to grind?

I am most grateful for your answers.

1. There are class storylines, but keep in mind that those stop at level 50. The newer expansion storylines are faction based. Other than the class storylines there are also world arc storylines, those are generally weaker with some rare exceptions. Some of those world arcs are also build around groups, but they can usually still be solo'd by an experienced player.

2. Like with the classes some companions are better than others story-wise. The most useful companion gameplay wise will depend on the role you decide to spec in. If you're speccing as a healer, a tank will usually be the most useful. Otherwise the healer will be more useful. In general they made the game easier though, so you won't really be stuck using one companion or the other.
Companions are counted as a player in terms of group gameplay (they take up a player slot), though they're obviously not as good.

3. Only if you decide to take part in the MMO economy, the endgame or the PvP aspects of the game.

As it's still an MMO I do advise you to take a risk and try the group aspects of the game. SW:TOR is a blast if you're leveling together with a friend and you're experiencing each other's storyline while sharing the choices in the group dungeons and world storyline.

Classes with the best storyline according to me are (in no particular order): Smuggler, Jedi Knight, Sith Warrior, Sith Inquisitor, Imperial Agent

Avoid the trooper storyline imo., one of the blandest stories ever.

 

[Daniel Dearing]

1. As other people have said, each class has a story of its' own, at least in the original core game. On top of that, each of the original planets has their own plotlines and side quests, although I tend to find the Empire's stories are lot easier to follow than the Republic's. The plot becomes a lot more centralized after you hit level 50, but I personally feel the the plotlines have been improving since the 'Shaodow of Revan' expansion. Personally, I feel the Empire class's stories are better than the Republic's. I think that's more because I mostly enjoy the concept of playing light-sided characters on what is supposed to be a dark-sided team. On the flip side, I feel playing a dark-side Republic class makes the characters come off more as jerks than evil, mostly because nothing seems to come of it. You can theoretically fall to the Dark Side as a Jedi Knight, for example, but you can't run off and join the Empire if you do.
I do agree with others though when they say the class stories tend to plod on. I think this might be though that originally, you had to grind in order to keep up.
My personal favorite is the Imperial Agent's story, which I feel holds up well by emulating various genres of spy films. The first chapter of the Bounty Hunter's story is also enjoyable, but tends to plod a bit as it goes on.

2. As of the latest update, companions are just faces on a mechanic. It doesn't matter who they are, they can all do the same jobs depending, so it really depends on who you actually like and whose face you you want following you around. Most of them are fairly 'Meh' though, personality wise. I think the Bounty Hunter's group is my favorite bar one, and it actually annoys me that you have to recruit them all whether you want to or not. You can also get a couple of legacy companions if you want to put the effort in or shell out some cash, but again, they're now little more than skins with personality.

3. When I first played, I made the mistake of ignoring the side-quests, and pretty soon found myself outmatched, so you had to play through the planet's storyline and sidequests just to keep up. Now that they've streamlined it though, you can play the core quests only without falling too far behind, which I think makes for a better experience. It also makes it less like an MMO though, to the point I wouldn't be totally surprised if they somehow packaged at least the core elements as an offline single player game when the servers eventually shut down (unlikely, but it still wouldn't surprise me).

Overall, I enjoy The Old Republic. I picked it up when it went Free-to-Play because I'd heard and read good things about the original KotOR games and I wanted to explore a Star Wars Universe without the baggage that comes with following the films or the original Expanded Universe. It's not Mass Effect or Dragon Age by any standard, but with Knights of the Fallen Empire though, I definitely see it improving with age. Sure, you need a subscription if you want access to everything, but you don't need everything if all you want is to play the class stories. I would recommend you get preferred status though. I think that's the best balance between subscription and free-to-play experiences. I've included a link to the features advertised when the game went free-to-play: http://www.swtor.com/free/features
Hope this helps

 

[LetalisK]

SWTOR is probably the most solo friendly MMO out there(granted, I haven't played even close to all of them). As for #3: No. You will never need to grind while levelling.

3. Only if you decide to take part in the MMO economy, the endgame or the PvP aspects of the game.

Eh...since you also mention endgame, I'm going to also assume you mean endgame PvP too, since PvPing while levelling is a quick way to outlevel the planet you're on.

 

[Buckets]

Played one character to level 50 (cap at the time), tried numerous classes at various levels.
The levelling experience did flow very nicely with some challenging moments but overall not too overpowering.
Whilst the story is different for the first 15 or so levels the overarching story is the same for the characters after the starter worlds (The light/dark side factions do have different story goals, just like horde/alliance in WOW)

The companions can heal/fight but you only take one at a time on the missions so choose whichever suits at the time. They do have missions specific to them to get better gear/upgrades, but more often than not they ain't necessary (think I stuck with one companion through the whole story), which I suppose leaves a bit of the story unseen, making multiple playthroughs a bit more fun.

I have not played since the original game went free to play, so not seen the hutt cartel or the new fallen expansion, I have reinstalled recently with a view to possibly trying them out but the time involved might make it a slow process.

 

[Mikeybb]

The only thing that's putting me off jumping back in now is I've heard from some players that the companions are now very powerful.
Far more powerful than the main character.

Now, in fairness, this comes from players who have maxed out their lineage stuff and buffed said companions a bit through that, but from the outside I'm worried that I'd be stepping in and acting like a monster handler as I wander the world unleashing my minion on people then sipping tea as they give wedgies to rancors.

I liked the companions when I originally played and I like the idea they had that lets you set any companion to any job so you can take the ones you like with you rather than the one you need to compliment your class.
Just worried that the buff to the companions will make it so easy I'll be way too bored way too quickly.

I guess the answer is to load in anyway as a freebie account and see what's what.
Or bug you guys for the answer instead.

 

[LetalisK]

The only thing that's putting me off jumping back in now is I've heard from some players that the companions are now very powerful.
Far more powerful than the main character.

Now, in fairness, this comes from players who have maxed out their lineage stuff and buffed said companions a bit through that, but from the outside I'm worried that I'd be stepping in and acting like a monster handler as I wander the world unleashing my minion on people then sipping tea as they give wedgies to rancors.

I liked the companions when I originally played and I like the idea they had that lets you set any companion to any job so you can take the ones you like with you rather than the one you need to compliment your class.
Just worried that the buff to the companions will make it so easy I'll be way too bored way too quickly.

I guess the answer is to load in anyway as a freebie account and see what's what.
Or bug you guys for the answer instead.

I haven't played in probably 3 or 4 months, but I'd say the companions are a bit less powerful then the character, though with the right class + companion match up both sides strength is magnified considerably. This isn't to say a non-ideal match up is underpowered, but rather that the ideal match up is probably overpowered. Though that OPness only becomes a factor if you're trying to solo areas you're not intended to. I routinely rolled with a DPS+DPS setup and didn't have any outstanding issues. I pretty much have no legacy traits.

 

[happyninja42]

1. Story. Is it different for each class? Is this story/Are those stories any good? I mean, I understand that it can't have the depth of KOTOR II, but still.

Yes the story is different, though the quality of stories can vary greatly from class to class. Most people say (that I've heard anyway) say that the Agent storyline is the absolute best, as it apparently has the most nuance to the plot, and more depth to it. Many people feel that the other storylines were done after Agent, and suffered from reduced resources and deadlines, but I have no way to verify this.

2. Companions. How good/bad are they as characters and gameplay wise?
They are very good now with the newest expansion changes. You can alter their combat role to suit your own needs (Tank/Dps/Healer), instead of being forced to use a specific companion to fit a specific function. Plus, now that their stats are no longer governed by the gear they have (all gear is now cosmetic for them), they are pretty freaking OP in my opinion.


3. Will I need to grind?
Newp, not at all. They've drastically increased the xp rewards for class storyline missions, and for the planetary story missions, (the mission icons that glow purple on your map, those are the really juicy missions). The other random missions are still there, but people who have already experienced that content with a previous character of that faction, usually skip it for the more time efficient purple missions.


My opinion on content up through Hutt Cartel expansion
I personally find the content to be somewhat bland a lot of times, mostly because the writers had to have the final result of the various missions end up the same, whether you go Dark Side or Light Side. So, for example, when given a mission to save this planet from an evil Sith warrior, whether you A) Do the good thing, and defeat him, rescuing all hostages/slaves at the cost of valuable resources to the Republic, or B) Turn the Sith warrior to your service as a minion, sell his slaves for profit, and hire mercenaries to pilot a fleet of starships as your own personal armada, the end result at the end of the day, when you stand before the Republic representatives is that "You were a fine and noble champion of the Republic, who is worthy of praise and honors!" It makes the various factions seem completely oblivious to what goes on around them, which I find personally annoying. Your individual actions have ZERO direct impact on the actual storyline itself.

Now, the above statement does not refer to the newest Knights of the Fallen Empire content, which they have hyped as "having choices that actually matter!" I personally don't know how accurate this is, as I have not reached that new content yet with my characters, but if it is true, then I would find that content very interesting and enjoyable indeed. Regardless, I do find the game fun, especially now that I can play it solo with my companion, and not miss out on that much.

 

[meiam]

It depend what you mean by grind, it's still an mmo, so you have to go and kill X amount of Y on the barest of reason.

 

[Jadak]

Every class has it's own story. The story is often good, the characters are good, that stuff is generally what's you'd expect of Bioware and exceptionally good for an MMO.

But, yes you will have to grind. Much of the difficulty is not scaled well for solo play and many of the missions being such a pain in the ass to complete solo without leaving to grind is why I stopped playing the game.

 

[Nimcha]

The new expansion made the game pretty great in my opinion. Knights of the Fallen Empire basically plays like KOTOR 3. I loved it.

 

[happyninja42]

Every class has it's own story. The story is often good, the characters are good, that stuff is generally what's you'd expect of Bioware and exceptionally good for an MMO.

But, yes you will have to grind. Much of the difficulty is not scaled well for solo play and many of the missions being such a pain in the ass to complete solo without leaving to grind is why I stopped playing the game.

Based on what you've said, it sounds like you haven't played the game in quite a while. It is completely different now. It is VERY easy to solo play pretty much whatever you want without the need for tedious grinding just to make up a level disparity. Seriously, the new updates with the Knights of the Fallen Empire have made solo play quite doable.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

1. Story. Is it different for each class?

Yep, up to level 50. Then I believe it becomes faction based as opposed to class based. However, it's also meant to improve at that point.

Is this story/Are those stories any good? I mean, I understand that it can't have the depth of KOTOR II, but still.

They're...okay? Fun, in a very campy/lightweight "whee, it's Star Wars" way? Some are clearly better than others, but none of them are going to get mistaken for high end story based single player games.

Companions. How good/bad are they as characters and gameplay wise?

As characters, they're a mixed bag. Bioware has a flair for tacking generally affable personas on companions and you'll find more of that here. You'll usually find at least 1-2 per class you're keen on.

Gameplay wise they're ridiculously OP. Make the game trivially easy at the moment.

Will I need to grind?

No, unless you're employing an extremely gratuitous definition of "grinding". Leveling in SWTOR is too goddam fast, not too slow. This was always the case, and it's just exacerbated now. You'll easily have your choice of quests and activities, and if you dip into some of the more "MMO" aspects like PvP or Operations you'll rapidly outlevel story and mission content.

The only thing that's putting me off jumping back in now is I've heard from some players that the companions are now very powerful. Far more powerful than the main character.

They're not more powerful than the main character unless the main character is horribly geared or being played by someone completely inept, but they're more powerful than they should be for proper game tuning. I'm playing a tanky Sith Warrior at the moment, and the GF is an Imperial Agent. With the companion set to heal my health quite literally never falls below 95% no matter how much trouble I make for myself.

Just worried that the buff to the companions will make it so easy I'll be way too bored way too quickly.

Combination of companion power and fast leveling WILL make the leveling process absurdly easy, yes, particularly early on. You can try and challenge yourself by soloing operations or doing 4+ group content on later planets.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

The new expansion made the game pretty great in my opinion. Knights of the Fallen Empire basically plays like KOTOR 3. I loved it.

it's been over a year since I've played...is that new expansion easy to find/get to, or do you have to do a whole ton of shit before you can access that content? and is it obvious to find or a pain?

 

[flying_whimsy]

So far, it seems like all of the people answering the OP's questions have been folks that have been paying for the game.

Any word on what the answers to these questions would be for someone trying the free to play route?