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Topic: Arena Report

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Xinika the Omnispawna
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Arena Report

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Arenas have been fun. Most fun I've had in SWTOR in over a year. It is surprisingly better executed than expected. Of course, it comes with its thorns and flowers which is what will be discussed in this thread. This is a thread solely dedicated to the feedback on Ranked Arena on the PTS. It has nothing to do with Ranked Warzones or its removal. That being said, let's move on.

Pros

- Easy to Setup
- Solo Queue option is an excellent addition
- Overall Class balance isn't that bad
- Solid Execution


Cons
- Deserter Bug
- Over reliance on Operative Medics
- Warrior Dominance
- Bolster Broken (Again)


I think the best part about this new game mode is that it will be very easy for people to get in the action. Setting up a group of 4 is not hard and to top it off, solo queue ranked will assure that pretty much anyone who has the desire to participate in arena, will do so. In addition, the way how the Arena performs is seemingly smooth. Skill will be bled out more evidently and top tier teams will be doing more than just spamming PvE rotations into a target.

The class balance isn't awful. There are multiple successful comps out there - but there is also a flaw. The Warrior dominance is starting to take its toll and this needs to be addressed. Most idealized setups currently consists of anywhere from 1-3 warriors per team. Jugg Tank is mandatory, although VG can substitute this spot with almost complete efficiency. Shadow tanks are absolutely horrible and their PvE issues are actually shining in Arena more than before. But this also brings up the other issue: How exactly would you tone down Juggernauts to make the other two tanks more applicable? Or should we just buff the other two? (Especially Assassin) By default, Juggernauts in their design are superior in tanking, so how would you make the others comparable?

Moving on to the DPS section. Marauder / Sentinel DPS (Mainly pointing the scope at Smash) needs a tone down. They have too many defensives cooldowns combined with consistent burst, respectable single target and an MS (Mortal Strike aka Healing Debuff). They are far too strong defensively for all that they can do. Comps have been stacking two of these classes at once with a great deal of success. This also extends into other 'cheese' comps such as 2xSorcs that will make a Deception Assassin hate their lives. The problem with this is that stacking 2 of any class should not be this efficient, which is why you should consider possibly having a 1-per-class option.

The next issue is probably the biggest one. Operative Healers. They are godly right now. Far too much of a payoff for the ease of the class. It's more survivable than a tank. It does just as much healing as a sage without the burden of having to cast. It's management flows much easier. As it stands, this and this only is the healer to have in Arena and I have a gigantic problem with that. This class | spec needs a serious tone down if we want to help break up some cookie cutters. There's no reason why Arena should only be limited to one healer.

As it stands, Sage Healers are easily shut down and Merc Healers are far too clunky to properly synergize with the small scale environment. I don't think Sorc / Merc heals need dramatic buffs. I believe Operatives need to be toned down so that the other two can shine. If anything, Operatives should receive a nerf whilst Mercs go up. Sages are a bit tricky because of their design for siege warfare / OPs content.

Now to some more technical aspects. Why doesn't this mode have Arena frames? We have Focus Target, so I'm sure setting up some kind of Arena Frames would not be that difficult. It would make the 'flow' of things a lot more smoother. I feel like as it is, it's missing some things. This is one of them and would help to make battle a little less clustered. There's also a heart-wrenching bug known as the Deserter-kick. Players are entering Arena only to be kicked from debuff at random. We generally have to wait at least 30 seconds before entering a game. I'm sure this isn't intentional, but this needs to be looked at.

And what about Bolster? Seems you've created a monster BW. Sooner or later you'll have to address this elephant in the room because from what I've seen on the PTS, you're only sweeping the dirt under the carpet. Thing is, this won't be an easy fix either. You've based a lot of PvP around it and to strip it away would not be an easy feat. However, this problem is growing and now you've added a new layer to the problem. Stop band-aiding this mess and clean it for good. Get rid of bolster.

This is 1 report of things thus far and I'm sure there will be others.
Thanks for the new mode.



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Manhattan
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#NerfJuggTanks :(

Good post. Totally agree about Op heals needing nerfs, the other healers getting buffs, and nerfs to Maras, especially Smash. So far 80% of teams have a Mara, 90% have a Jugg tank, and 99% have an Operative healer. Not good stats...

Also, I'm really not sure if Sorc dps is ok in its current state. It's very fragile, but if played correctly it can lead to kills in literally a gcd. I think if you build your comp and strat around utilizing their insane burst some really unfair things can happen. Just something to keep in mind.

Overall I think Arena was very well implemented, and it has surpassed my expectations. +1 Bioware. Now fix fucking Bolster!


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Manhattan
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Sounds like the smaller team sizes and no objectives are highlighting class balance issues, for example things that didn't look that bad before are now OP as fuck, and things that were OP as fuck are downright game breaking. I think somebody predicted this a week or two ago, can't remember who :)

 

The real test of SWTOR Arenas is how BW addresses these issues. What will they do about it and how soon will they do it? The smartest strategy from a game design perspective is to make tiny tweaks, wait to see how they play out, repeat as necessary to get the right game balance. The dumbest move would be to make massive sweeping changes in a single patch. Of course there's always the default option - do nothing. They've been balancing the PvP in this game around 8v8, now with smaller teams they probably have to do some heavy reworking. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.



-- Edited by Kamdus on Monday 19th of August 2013 09:16:56 AM

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Watchman
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Mara's need buffs!  I need all the help I can get :P

 

Dritz



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Xinika the Omnispawna
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Dritzfury wrote:

Mara's need buffs!  I need all the help I can get :P

 

Dritz


 ARE YOU BACK???



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Watchman
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yup



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