Wait, your staying star wars didn't sell itself on skinny women with nice boobies? Jabba lied to me. As to the rest, if it is an issue they will work it out. They have already said they want to have space based pvp and group fighting later on in space, but it will not be an at launch thing. They want it to be more like KoToR and less like STO, space battles were never the main focus of the star wars fanchise.

The reason you can't customise your companions is also obvious, because they are not npc man 102 that you can play around with nameing and altering like in STO, they are actually characters with a back story and everything that bioware has made up. If they were just normal, random, npcs it would be different. As to the look of armor and dyes, I don't see that as a big deal either. Aside from mandolorians most troops in the galaxy at any time have had unifrom outfits, even jedi.

Most of the other complaints the op had have either been hinted to be in the works, or are a little dumb. They have said that you might see non humans in later expainsions, and they were really considering it, but wanted to do a whole race origin thing to make you understand them better.

As to fighters they don't work with the theme of the game, how are you going to pack a bunch of companions into a fighter? Also the companions are more than cannon fodder and they make sense to be there. The game has a lot of the clone wars cartoon series look, and it works out well. It won't make people have to buy super powerful computers to run it when it comes out.

Lastly, in any game with optional pvp battle grounds the pvp gear is an option you can opt out of. The game is not made as much for gear grinding as story, so it won't appeal to people who want to just rush to the end, get gear, and be awsome. As well a social clothing tab, to date has been in only three or four of the many mmo's. It's an addition most dev's see as pointless.

Let's forget the cartoonish look, the big and spiky shoulder pads and the heroic proportions and the goblinoid looking Trandoshan because we can agree it's a matter of personal taste. In my book they don't fit a SW theme, but I can understand some (a lot?) people like them.

Then let's not take into account the space feature because, as stated by the devs it's a ,mostly avoidable, mini game. (Note: you will have to do some easy space missions through your class story).

Now for an MMO more oriented towards story and let's say RPG:  Character's customization should not be dictated by the stats and some iconic looks, nor should  you be required to play a pet class in a MMO. (BTW I always play pet classes).

We're certainly not going to play a moisture farmer in TOR and that's fine, even if it could have been pretty fun. However in the end when every maxed out character will run around with the same slave (companion tagged with his master's name) in quite the same iconic gear I do have an issue: this is not the WoW factor I'm looking for.

Will the game be fun, certainly. Still the uniqueness and sense of ownership of our characters might certainly taste a bit bitter.

It will be my pleasure to review my bold statement once the NDA is lifted. Until then I invite you to read the assumed review I wrote some time ago.

No thanks, I'll pass lol.

Originally posted by Deewe

We're certainly not going to play a moisture farmer in TOR and that's fine, even if it could have been pretty fun. However in the end when every maxed out character will run around with the same slave (companion tagged with his master's name) in quite the same iconic gear I do have an issue: this is not the WoW factor I'm looking for.

 How do you know they will all be using the same companion? I am not even sure people from the same class will always be using the same companion as people have different tastes. Also, it has been stated that there are thousands of armor sets, so what makes you think everyone is going to be running around looking the same?

Originally posted by Thorak

Originally posted by Deewe

We're certainly not going to play a moisture farmer in TOR and that's fine, even if it could have been pretty fun. However in the end when every maxed out character will run around with the same slave (companion tagged with his master's name) in quite the same iconic gear I do have an issue: this is not the WoW factor I'm looking for.

 How do you know they will all be using the same companion? I am not even sure people from the same class will always be using the same companion as people have different tastes. Also, it has been stated that there are thousands of armor sets, so what makes you think everyone is going to be running around looking the same?

Companions will always get the 2nd choice of gear.

I can be wrong but we can predict templates will emerge mixing specific classes with specific companions.

=> Class / Companions mix won't be that different from each others contrary to what BioWare is seeing in their test sessions as when it will hit mainstream it will all converge at some point. Well... maybe ;)

Note to GMan3 and Horesechocker, I would invite you to read the other thread I linked before you go away. Honestly if there wasn't people like me fighting for such details in 10 years we would still be playing dumbed down version with lack of choice.

Funny thing is last time I spoke with a close friend that's senior designer on multiple AAA games and we agreed that

• I look too much in details, details that the designers nor producers didn't even thought about most of the time
• I'm way too far thinking for the player, too often the designers just don't look that far...
• It's just about games ;)

Originally posted by Deewe

Originally posted by Thorak

Originally posted by Deewe

We're certainly not going to play a moisture farmer in TOR and that's fine, even if it could have been pretty fun. However in the end when every maxed out character will run around with the same slave (companion tagged with his master's name) in quite the same iconic gear I do have an issue: this is not the WoW factor I'm looking for.

 How do you know they will all be using the same companion? I am not even sure people from the same class will always be using the same companion as people have different tastes. Also, it has been stated that there are thousands of armor sets, so what makes you think everyone is going to be running around looking the same?

Companions will always get the 2nd choice of gear.

I can be wrong but we can predict templates will emerge mixing specific classes with specific companions.

=> Class / Companions mix won't be that different from each others contrary to what BioWare is seeing in their test sessions as when it will hit mainstream it will all converge at some point. Well... maybe ;)

 

Note to GMan3 and Horesechocker, I would invite you to read the other thread I linked before you go away. Honestly if there wasn't people like me fighting for such details in 10 years we would still be playing dumbed down version with lack of choice.

 

Funny thing is last time I spoke with a close friend that's senior designer on multiple AAA games and we agreed that

• I look too much in details, details that the designers nor producers didn't even thought about most of the time
• I'm way too far thinking for the player, too often the designers just don't look that far...
• It's just about games ;)

UHm I think GMAN3 and Horsechocker are right , you seem to be producing lots of meaningless text that adds little to the real discussion.

Your wrap up and summary just seems scewed in some way can't put my finger on it.  I think you are trying but am not ure what your real intentions are... But I don't think you are adding any value, I may be wrong...

I think I will put my faith in Bioware rather than someone who "believes" , he is better than the designers or thats the impression you are trying to make, I just had to laugh at that line.

I think what hinders the fun in MMORPGs, are people who take the games too seriously and demand certain features that play against longevity and the persistant nature of the gaming world. I could go into the design concepts that support each of these but guess what I'm not being paid to ham it up on these forumns. And you understand all of this anyway...

The ability to be concise is an Art you should try it maybe that way you may get a point or two accross...

I think I'm boired now

Originally posted by Isane

Originally posted by Deewe

Originally posted by Thorak

Originally posted by Deewe

We're certainly not going to play a moisture farmer in TOR and that's fine, even if it could have been pretty fun. However in the end when every maxed out character will run around with the same slave (companion tagged with his master's name) in quite the same iconic gear I do have an issue: this is not the WoW factor I'm looking for.

 How do you know they will all be using the same companion? I am not even sure people from the same class will always be using the same companion as people have different tastes. Also, it has been stated that there are thousands of armor sets, so what makes you think everyone is going to be running around looking the same?

Companions will always get the 2nd choice of gear.

I can be wrong but we can predict templates will emerge mixing specific classes with specific companions.

=> Class / Companions mix won't be that different from each others contrary to what BioWare is seeing in their test sessions as when it will hit mainstream it will all converge at some point. Well... maybe ;)

 

Note to GMan3 and Horesechocker, I would invite you to read the other thread I linked before you go away. Honestly if there wasn't people like me fighting for such details in 10 years we would still be playing dumbed down version with lack of choice.

 

Funny thing is last time I spoke with a close friend that's senior designer on multiple AAA games and we agreed that

• I look too much in details, details that the designers nor producers didn't even thought about most of the time
• I'm way too far thinking for the player, too often the designers just don't look that far...
• It's just about games ;)

UHm I think GMAN3 and Horsechocker are right , you seem to be producing lots of meaningless text that adds little to the real discussion.

Your wrap up and summary just seems scewed in some way can't put my finger on it.  I think you are trying but am not ure what your real intentions are... But I don't think you are adding any value, I may be wrong...

I think I will put my faith in Bioware rather than someone who "believes" , he is better than the designers or thats the impression you are trying to make, I just had to laugh at that line.

I think what hinders the fun in MMORPGs, are people who take the games too seriously and demand certain features that play against longevity and the persistant nature of the gaming world. I could go into the design concepts that support each of these but guess what I'm not being paid to ham it up on these forumns. And you understand all of this anyway...

The ability to be concise is an Art you should try it maybe that way you may get a point or two accross...

I think I'm boired now

Thanks for taking the time to post this. I will try to take the needed time to digest it for sure.

I'm not as picky as most people but I think the thing that bothers me the most so far is the expectation that we need to bring a companion with us EVERYWHERE.  I hope it doesn't feel like every class is a pet class as a result.

Originally posted by Elox1

I'm not as picky as most people but I think the thing that bothers me the most so far is the expectation that we need to bring a companion with us EVERYWHERE.  I hope it doesn't feel like every class is a pet class as a result.

 From what i know of pet classes they tend to lack any sort of physical abilities and rely on the pets to hold aggro, so they can deal damage, kinda like necromancers/magicians

Now the way i understand the companions in they are an addition to your character,  You pick a warrior and a healer companion, now your basically a paladin.  You can tank while letting your companion heal.

Your companion will never be as good as another player. It's just another way to tweak your characters abilities. I think one reviwer stated that you could tank 3 while your companion could tank 1.

Same for the healer pet they can only do so much.  However if your group is missing a healer, 4 people can come and bring their healer companions along and mostly fill the role of that one healer.

It's still better to actually have a healer speced person but the companions can help fill the gap that might be missing in the groups.  As for the pet class? I feel it's just an extra added person.  You can use them to gather items or fend off enemies while you gather. 

Originally posted by whilan

Originally posted by Elox1

I'm not as picky as most people but I think the thing that bothers me the most so far is the expectation that we need to bring a companion with us EVERYWHERE.  I hope it doesn't feel like every class is a pet class as a result.

 From what i know of pet classes they tend to lack any sort of physical abilities and rely on the pets to hold aggro, so they can deal damage, kinda like necromancers/magicians

Now the way i understand the companions in they are an addition to your character,  You pick a warrior and a healer companion, now your basically a paladin.  You can tank while letting your companion heal.

Your companion will never be as good as another player. It's just another way to tweak your characters abilities. I think one reviwer stated that you could tank 3 while your companion could tank 1.

 

Same for the healer pet they can only do so much.  However if your group is missing a healer, 4 people can come and bring their healer companions along and mostly fill the role of that one healer.

It's still better to actually have a healer speced person but the companions can help fill the gap that might be missing in the groups.  As for the pet class? I feel it's just an extra added person.  You can use them to gather items or fend off enemies while you gather. 

I think what bugs me the most about the companions is if they are there to tweak your characters abilities as you say then will I have full control over their skills or will I need to rely on the AI to try it's best.

Also as for a pet class, just going under the assumption that DPS is usually the most efficient way to level and if you so choose a DPS AC then it's likely you'll have a tank companion or healer companion and if it's a tank companion it would indeed seem to play out like a pet class.

Originally posted by Elox1

Originally posted by whilan

Originally posted by Elox1

I'm not as picky as most people but I think the thing that bothers me the most so far is the expectation that we need to bring a companion with us EVERYWHERE.  I hope it doesn't feel like every class is a pet class as a result.

 From what i know of pet classes they tend to lack any sort of physical abilities and rely on the pets to hold aggro, so they can deal damage, kinda like necromancers/magicians

Now the way i understand the companions in they are an addition to your character,  You pick a warrior and a healer companion, now your basically a paladin.  You can tank while letting your companion heal.

Your companion will never be as good as another player. It's just another way to tweak your characters abilities. I think one reviwer stated that you could tank 3 while your companion could tank 1.

 

Same for the healer pet they can only do so much.  However if your group is missing a healer, 4 people can come and bring their healer companions along and mostly fill the role of that one healer.

It's still better to actually have a healer speced person but the companions can help fill the gap that might be missing in the groups.  As for the pet class? I feel it's just an extra added person.  You can use them to gather items or fend off enemies while you gather. 

I think what bugs me the most about the companions is if they are there to tweak your characters abilities as you say then will I have full control over their skills or will I need to rely on the AI to try it's best.

Also as for a pet class, just going under the assumption that DPS is usually the most efficient way to level and if you so choose a DPS AC then it's likely you'll have a tank companion or healer companion and if it's a tank companion it would indeed seem to play out like a pet class.

 Well it really depends on person i suppose.

You can use AI kits to change it to a more dps/tank/healer type of companion but they still won't be able to do the job as well as someone else..

As for the tanking, in most cases you'll be fighting multiple mobs at the same time, if your tank companion tried to fight 4 mobs at once, it is likely they would get wiped out pretty quickly.  They are just an extention not a seperate class all together, a tank pet is more of an offtank, to take a few mobs off of you for a little bit while you kill the other 2 or 3.  they won't be able to tank the mob all together.

Edit: in one of the interviews they said your companion only could take out 1 of the mobs while you took out the other 3.  Kinda like a shadowknights skeleton pet.  Only more customizable as they can wear all the equipment you can and can be customized with AI kits.

Additional edit: one good thing though about the companions is that if your missing a healer class, and you have a full group of 4, each one can switch to their healer companion and fill the role enough to play out the dungeon as if they had a healer, still not going to be as effective but thats to be expected.  This allows you to not have to wait for hours for a healer to pop up.

Originally posted by Deewe

Originally posted by keithianw

Originally posted by Deewe

 

Heroics proportions

"Required" companions for PvP, PUGs and RAIDs.

No body customization for companions.

No animal based pet classes

No display pet classes

Sith pureblood that look like red skinned elves

Trandoshan that look like goblins from a fantasy MMO

No non humanoid playable races

Oversized and spiky shoulder pads

PvP specific gear (more mess to manage)

No social clothing tab

No gear dyes, or class limited color palette

No Advanced Classes respec

No multiplayer space combat, PvE & PvP wise

Very short space combat scenarios: 2-8 minutes only

No fighter type small space ships

No choice of space ships chassis

No planetary housing (instanced or not)

Maybe not even guild halls

No day/night cycles

It's SW, made by BioWare ==> should be awesome.

 

However there are quite a few things leveraging the fun factor for a SW based MMO:

 

Leveraging and Hindering are two different things.

 

• Heroics proportions Whats wrong with this? 
  • Awkward looking characters: too big hands, anorexic females with huge breast and so on.
  • Unproportioned toons never hurt WoW.  I mean god have you seen the hands on those night elves?
• "Required" companions for PvP, PUGs and RAIDs. Source please? I've always read that companions are optional. Regardless, doesn't bother me in the least.
  • James Ohlen: "Right now we are assuming that you are using your companion character. If you don’t use your companion you will be at a big disadvantage because all the DPS that your companion would be doing isn’t going to be there. So there is no point to not bring your companion character, unless you want to challenge yourself by not bringing him around."
  • Nothing in that quote says BW is forcing you to use your companions.  If you don't want them with you... loose some DPS, it's YOUR CHOICE.  So please, where are they required? 
• No body customization for companions. Who cares. Could use customize any pets (which aren't even as complex as companions in this game) in any other game that has been successful to date?
  • Companions will end as twins, it would have helped lighten the issue a lot, a gearing them up won't be sufficient.
  • What's your point exactly? 
• No animal based pet classes This has been confirmed? Regardless, Id rather have a more complex companion that have a life of their own and add value to the quest and storyline then a pet with a few commands like attack, stay, passive, defensive.
  • Fond of playing pet classes but not having blabling companions
  • Hmmm, this is Star Wars not WoW Wars or EQ Wars.  How many animal pets are there in Star Wars?  I haven't read many of the books, and it's been years since I have, so I am probably wrong, but I don't remember any pets other than Jabba's annoying little critter.
• No display pets Where are you getting confirmations for this stuff? Regardless, this is another who cares. Maybe it will be sold in their store?
• Sith pureblood that look like red skinned elves Who cares.
  • Some do, at least for a SW themed game
  • I'm sure there are some that care, but they are almost all force sensitive, so I would figure that their physical characteristics (muscles, bone structure) would have gotten smaller over the years with Darwinism and all, just saying.
• Trandoshan that look like goblins from a fantasy MMO Who cares
  • See above
  • Meh, never really noticed, but I guess some might.
• No non humanoid playable races  Though I wish there were, I think this is one of the most over hyped criticisms of the game. I disagree with others that they simply look like humans in different colors. They look varied enough to me and more may be added in expansions. In addition, the starter areas will probably be different and isnt that more important than a bunch of different races in more generic starting areas like Ive seen in other games? AOC had everyone starting in the exact same place.
  • One of the appeal of being a SW game is the specie diversity.
  • Yes and yet, do you want a fairly polished game at launched with just playable humanoids or do you want vast diversity, years added to the development timeline and another horrible launch because the game stinks?  Let's get a good polished, playable game with humanoids then demand the furry Ewoks and stuff later. 
• Oversized and spiky shoulder pads This is not the case for each and every class and for each and every gear. In addition I can think of something similar to this in terms of 'out of proportions'' in just about EVERY game out there.
  • At least every asian based MMO, it's not the case in LotRo, DDO, SWG, and not so much in AoC
  • You missed the real game that was being eluded to... WoW.  Like the armor in that game are totally and truly proportional.
• PvP specific gear (more mess to manage and gear to grind) How come you know more about this than even the beta testers?
• No social clothing tab I have no idea what this means, but since I wasnt looking for this feature I don't care. Also, I remind you that the game is in beta and we don't know what the final build will be.
• Social clothing is a "tab" that allows a player to put gear on that will displayed regardless of what is actually equiped.  It's a purely cosmetic thing and I could care less if its there at launch or ever.
• Controversial art choice for some gear sets, especially Inquisitor and Sith. Who cares. This is so subjective.
  • Especially when a Sith Inquisitor looks like an African voodoo priest. So much for a SW setting.
  • Well, all Jedi/Sith could just run around in earth toned robes or black leather and capes, the bounty hunters will never show their faces, the Empirials will all look like the walking dead wearing all dark colors... An African Voodoo priest?  Really?  I don't see it.
• No gear dyes, at best class limited color palette I dont even know if this is true. We haven't seen the final build yet. Either way, the game looks colorful enough.
  • Just a matter of being able to have our charcters look like we want
  • Can a player get a good game at launch and then have the stupid cosmetic crap added later?  All we want is a good stable gamee on day one!  Armor dyes can come year 2, 3 or whenever. 
• No Advanced Classes respec   Same answer. We havent seen the latest build yet. How do you know this? Regardless, I think I am torn on this subject. Even if it is true, I'm wondering if this wouldn't be a bad thing so everyone isn't copying and pasting generic trees at release and it forces some variations among those who are in the same advanced class. Regardless, I'm not so sure they won't allow change with some money involved. I though it was more that you cannot change your advanced class, not that you can't respec them.
  • SO far you can't change your AC class that's the issue. There will be a skill points respect.
  • Yup, and who says it wont come later.  Besides, if you made a bad choice... roll another toon.  This isn't push button X and you win... at least I hope it isn't.
• No multiplayer space combat, PvE & PvP wise You've seen the final build? Either way, doesn't bother me at all.
  • Guess you're not into space sim, nor multiplayer .
  • As this horse has beaten into glue long ago... Space combat in Star Wars was NOT the point of the movies/books.  If a player wants endless space combat/exploration... play Eve.  That IS the main theme of that game.
• Very short space combat scenarios: 2-8 minutes only   You've seen the final build? Either way, doesn't bother me at all.
  • It's been officially stated.
  • See above.  Yes it going to be short scenarios, but again, space combat was not the main theme of Star Wars and shouldn't be the focus of this game.
• No fighter type small space ships     You've seen the final build? Maybe it will be in their store or expansion? Either way, doesn't bother me at all.
  • We are speaking about launch, and yes it's true.
  • Yup, it's true
• No choice of space ships chassis You've seen the final build? Either way, doesn't bother me at all.
  • Nope, your space ship chassis is imposed by your class choice. It's official.
  • True it is, for now at least.  I can see this changing in time.
• No planetary housing (instanced or not)   You've seen the final build? Either way, doesn't bother me at all.
  • Housing will be implemented through space ships only, at launch.
  • True true
• Maybe not even guild halls You've seen the final build? Either way, doesn't bother me at all.
  • Wait and see... but there's no multiplayer space content so guild ships.... 
  • I can't see how this takes away from the game anyway.  Look at EQ2, there are guild halls there and the cities are deserted due to it.  It takes away immersion IMO.  Keep them out as far as I'm concerned
• No day/night cycles   You've seen the final build? Either way, doesn't bother me at all.
• Overwhelming story: not so short dialog cutscene  TOTALLY DISAGREE. Most of us are hoping the story makes us actually pay attention to the quests again.  Also, you;'ve timed the length of each of the dialogue choices in the over 40 novels they are releasing and they are all long and the same length of time?
  • Only very short dialogs fits the fast paced MMO group play
  • But the player can skip through it.  The story is important to this game, elitists may be upset because they have to hit more buttons than normal to get on with the quest.  Oh well.
• No player bounties ;)   You've seen the final build? You know for sure there won't be quests that leverage this idea in some way? (I am using the word leverage correctly).
  • Been said long time ago, plus there's no BH equivalent class on the republic

 

The game will be polished for sure, maybe not as much as WoW is now. But it feels very restricted at this point.

 

Just about everything in your list is nonsense and won't impact the fun factor for most normal gamers out there. A game can't have everything. This game is going to have a HUGE amount of options, variations, choices, etc when compared to other games. I expect it to be just as polished as WOW or even more so ( I can't tell you how many bugs I have encountered in Cataclysm).. This list makes me wonder how it is possible for you to enjoy any game out there, because if I dissected every other game that is currently released in the way that you just did, this list would be 100 times the size of what you wrote.

 

/agree with most of this.  If this is as good a game as BW has put out before, it'll be just fine

 

 

I don't know what's a normal gamer but at least I'm pretty well informed. I'm glad the designers choice fits your liking though. For my part I'd rather be the one in control of my character's look and behavior.

 You are still in control, well as much as any other game out there that isn't a sandbox.  You can be a fallen jedi if you want.  There are several different choices to make in game, besides, do WoW, EQ2, LOTRO, AOC or any themepark style game really let you decide your characters path?  Not really unless you just don't quest very much.  Most only allow one real choice, and even if you choose the smart a$$ answer, you still get the reward and nothing happens to you later because of it.  /shrug

Look wise, we'll have to see.  But, even the most subscribed to game only has a few choices for your toons look at creation.   

BTW In case you have any doubts none of this comes from leaked infos.

 

It will be nice to have companions for the dungeon content as far as the LFG situation is concerned, but I really hope they do a good job on the AI so they don't go aggroing things and cause a wipe.  Have they said anything about whether or not we'll be able to flag them like heroes in Guild Wars or will they always just be following you at all times?

Originally posted by whilan

Originally posted by Elox1

Originally posted by whilan

Originally posted by Elox1

I'm not as picky as most people but I think the thing that bothers me the most so far is the expectation that we need to bring a companion with us EVERYWHERE.  I hope it doesn't feel like every class is a pet class as a result.

 From what i know of pet classes they tend to lack any sort of physical abilities and rely on the pets to hold aggro, so they can deal damage, kinda like necromancers/magicians

Now the way i understand the companions in they are an addition to your character,  You pick a warrior and a healer companion, now your basically a paladin.  You can tank while letting your companion heal.

Your companion will never be as good as another player. It's just another way to tweak your characters abilities. I think one reviwer stated that you could tank 3 while your companion could tank 1.

 

Same for the healer pet they can only do so much.  However if your group is missing a healer, 4 people can come and bring their healer companions along and mostly fill the role of that one healer.

It's still better to actually have a healer speced person but the companions can help fill the gap that might be missing in the groups.  As for the pet class? I feel it's just an extra added person.  You can use them to gather items or fend off enemies while you gather. 

I think what bugs me the most about the companions is if they are there to tweak your characters abilities as you say then will I have full control over their skills or will I need to rely on the AI to try it's best.

Also as for a pet class, just going under the assumption that DPS is usually the most efficient way to level and if you so choose a DPS AC then it's likely you'll have a tank companion or healer companion and if it's a tank companion it would indeed seem to play out like a pet class.

 Well it really depends on person i suppose.

You can use AI kits to change it to a more dps/tank/healer type of companion but they still won't be able to do the job as well as someone else..

As for the tanking, in most cases you'll be fighting multiple mobs at the same time, if your tank companion tried to fight 4 mobs at once, it is likely they would get wiped out pretty quickly.  They are just an extention not a seperate class all together, a tank pet is more of an offtank, to take a few mobs off of you for a little bit while you kill the other 2 or 3.  they won't be able to tank the mob all together.

Edit: in one of the interviews they said your companion only could take out 1 of the mobs while you took out the other 3.  Kinda like a shadowknights skeleton pet.  Only more customizable as they can wear all the equipment you can and can be customized with AI kits.

Additional edit: one good thing though about the companions is that if your missing a healer class, and you have a full group of 4, each one can switch to their healer companion and fill the role enough to play out the dungeon as if they had a healer, still not going to be as effective but thats to be expected.  This allows you to not have to wait for hours for a healer to pop up.

As Whilan is saying it seems the companion is doing about 33% of the player's damage but out of context it does not really help, but only to say: any PUG / RAID / PvP leader would not easily afford to loose such DPS output from his group.

Now the #33% is based on one non official single quote, so take it with a grain of salt as it can be much less, or more.

All in all it will all depend on the player Advanced Class and Companion combo. For example, a  Consular healer with a DPS companion could see dramatically different numbers than say a Sith DPS with a companion healer.

Bioware stated multiple time that you can play the game without companions. They aren't mandatory. Still I tend to see them as required, especially since this quote:

James Ohlen :Right now we are assuming that you are using your companion character. If you don’t use your companion you will be at a big disadvantage because all the DPS that your companion would be doing isn’t going to be there. So there is no point to not bring your companion character, unless you want to challenge yourself by not bringing him around."

Finally you can bring companions in PvP along you, but we don't know yet if it's one companion per player or limited companions slots per War zone (aka battlegrounds).

Originally posted by Elox1

It will be nice to have companions for the dungeon content as far as the LFG situation is concerned, but I really hope they do a good job on the AI so they don't go aggroing things and cause a wipe.  Have they said anything about whether or not we'll be able to flag them like heroes in Guild Wars or will they always just be following you at all times?

 Not sure on the flagging system but this is what they have to say about the aggro system

Take that for what it is.

Originally posted by Elox1

I'm not as picky as most people but I think the thing that bothers me the most so far is the expectation that we need to bring a companion with us EVERYWHERE.  I hope it doesn't feel like every class is a pet class as a result.

Its a challenge option if you don't like PUGs or have no friends on. Nothing more or less.  Mainly for the core Storyline which is 100% soloable. It allows Bioware to utilise all the colatteral Bioware has produced to give fans of KOTOR itterations 3,4,5,6,7 etc etc etc....

On top of all of thios storyline and solo content that can be completed in groups as well, you have all the standard MMOP fare.

No game is going ot have all the features that each and everyone of are going to want. So while i see some features on your llist that i also would like to see. More for vanity than anything else. I cant say it really bothers me if they are not there either.

Originally posted by Isane

Originally posted by Elox1

I'm not as picky as most people but I think the thing that bothers me the most so far is the expectation that we need to bring a companion with us EVERYWHERE.  I hope it doesn't feel like every class is a pet class as a result.

Its a challenge option if you don't like PUGs or have no friends on. Nothing more or less.  Mainly for the core Storyline which is 100% soloable. It allows Bioware to utilise all the colatteral Bioware has produced to give fans of KOTOR itterations 3,4,5,6,7 etc etc etc....

On top of all of thios storyline and solo content that can be completed in groups as well, you have all the standard MMOP fare.

It's not really much of an option to turn on or off when the content has been tuned for always bringing a companion.  You don't think it would be nice to have a PvP mode where no companions are allowed at the very least?

Originally posted by Elox1

Originally posted by Isane

Originally posted by Elox1

I'm not as picky as most people but I think the thing that bothers me the most so far is the expectation that we need to bring a companion with us EVERYWHERE.  I hope it doesn't feel like every class is a pet class as a result.

Its a challenge option if you don't like PUGs or have no friends on. Nothing more or less.  Mainly for the core Storyline which is 100% soloable. It allows Bioware to utilise all the colatteral Bioware has produced to give fans of KOTOR itterations 3,4,5,6,7 etc etc etc....

On top of all of thios storyline and solo content that can be completed in groups as well, you have all the standard MMOP fare.

It's not really much of an option to turn on or off when the content has been tuned for always bringing a companion.  You don't think it would be nice to have a PvP mode where no companions are allowed at the very least?

We don't know what all the PVP options are or what you can or cannot do yet because Bioware hasn't released most of the information around PVP, but hopefully there will be PVP without the need for companions.

Originally posted by keithianw

Originally posted by Elox1

Originally posted by Isane

Originally posted by Elox1

I'm not as picky as most people but I think the thing that bothers me the most so far is the expectation that we need to bring a companion with us EVERYWHERE.  I hope it doesn't feel like every class is a pet class as a result.

Its a challenge option if you don't like PUGs or have no friends on. Nothing more or less.  Mainly for the core Storyline which is 100% soloable. It allows Bioware to utilise all the colatteral Bioware has produced to give fans of KOTOR itterations 3,4,5,6,7 etc etc etc....

On top of all of thios storyline and solo content that can be completed in groups as well, you have all the standard MMOP fare.

It's not really much of an option to turn on or off when the content has been tuned for always bringing a companion.  You don't think it would be nice to have a PvP mode where no companions are allowed at the very least?

We don't know what all the PVP options are or what you can or cannot do yet because Bioware hasn't released most of the information around PVP, but hopefully there will be PVP without the need for companions.

For the little story I read sometime ago, somewhere , someone saying that supposedly there won't be as many companion slots as players slots in Warzone.

However we have no infos at all about companion less Warzones. There was quite a lot arguing about this on the official forums. It's a much requested feature but so far it seems BioWare wants us to use companions. It can change but I'd say the initial plan was to have them anywhere and it's not a small change to undertake, even if they're using agile development methodology...