Force Powers Update

If you follow this blog, then you know that I very recently posted an update about Force Powers, specifically about the Light Side Force Power called Whirlwind. One of our Officers, Winter Vos, not only invested in Whirlwind, but also contributed a post to describe it. This is only the beginning of the story.

Whirlwind is a Force Power that uses the lightsaber to stun all nearby enemies and, in turn, inflict some damage to add injury to the insult. Winter invested in this Force Power thinking that it would stun all nearby enemies, including Bosses who are generally immune to stun. He was wrong. And he posted about this on the forums, which, at last count, had 700 views. 

As it turned out, Winter also sent in a ticket to Kabam about this issue. To make a long story short, he asked the Kabam representative to pass along a note to the infamous Game Team. Thanks to Winter for sending his note to me as well, which I reprint here:

Dear Game Team, 

I have a concern about Force Powers that stun enemies. If a player invests 26 6* electrum in the following Light Side build, they will be practically helpless against Bosses who are immune to stun: Whirlwind 2, Cloud Mind 2, Force Pull 2, and Debris Barrier 2. While this example is hyperbolic, it certainly isn't beyond the realm of possibility. 

The player might as well use a Standard Ability build, e.g., Berzerk 3, Holographic Decoy 3, Durasteel 3, and Think Fast 3. This build requires no electrum, arguably works as effectively against most enemies, and unquestionably works more effectively against Bosses. 

Given the cost, why invest in any Force Power that stuns? This is a particularly important question when it comes to a Directional Force Power. Should Bosses be immune to Force Power effects? 

Thanks for listening! 

Humph. Good point, Winter. Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks so, either. The Kabam representative had a very interesting -- if not worrisome -- reply. I reprint this reply in part:

They [the Game Team] are reviewing all of the information that you have provided. They have also indicated to us here in Support that they are reviewing all Abilities within the game. I would also recommend that you consider keeping an eye out for in-game announcements as more information about changes to the game should be coming soon.

I'm not sure if I should jump for joy, or cringe in terror at the phrase "reviewing all Abilities," which usually means "we're gonna nerf everything." One thing is clear, however. Kabam listened Winter's issue. I truly do hope that the change to which they refer has to do with general Boss immunity to Force Power effects, such as stun.

While I can  imagine that they'd make Standard Abilities weaker to make Force Powers seem  stronger and, thus, more attractive, that would turn out to be yet another move that distances their long-term player base. And I'm pretty sure Kabam knows they can't afford such a move. So, for now, we can only speculate about what changes are in the near future. Let's hope against hope that these changes help make Uprising the coolest Star Wars game ever.

Hoth SB

Congratulations to everyone yet again on a strong Sector Battle. We ranked 79 with 18.6mm VPs and we secured Major Influence. Woohoo!

Which is as much to say, in fact, that an ultimate defeat on Hoth was not our fault. At all. We showed up to grind. And grind we did.

Let's hope Kabam takes notice of the low SB turnouts lately and that, moreover, they take steps to correct the issue.

Good hunting!

The Cool Factor

In my recent "rant," I proposed that Kabam change the game in numerous aesthetic ways to make the game more various and, thus, interesting. To their credit, Kabam has achieved this with the new Dread Omen Raid maps, which are cinematically wonderful. It feels  like I'm playing Star Wars while running through the different destroyer nodes, even if, as it has been pointed out to me, the Mess Hall looks more like another control room than a cantina -- bring on the Chef Vader Boss, already! Who? Well, this guy:

"I find your lack of salt disturbing."

All joking aside, Kabam has made aesthetic changes that do, unquestionably, make the game visually exquisite. I mean, Uprising is essentially a cartoon. And for a cartoon, these new Raid maps look great. But, what other changes could they make? Aye, there's the rub -- as that famous British playwright, Billy the Kid, once wrote.

Why propose any changes at all, though?

Well, Aaron Loeb at Kabam likened the life of a mobile game like Uprising to that of television shows. Core audiences keep the show -- or game, in this analogy -- afloat. How do long-term players become long-term? Well, they're invested, simply put. Now, as we know, The Force Awakens  was put in the very capable hands of a guy you may have heard of, J.J. Abrams. And he did a terrific job! More to the point, Abrams and his go-to company of writers understand that audiences want more than simply a good story. They want cool.  In the final season of another J.J. Abrams project, a television show called Fringe  that ran on Fox for several years, two main characters break the fourth wall and discuss the issue of cool.  Ostensibly, this brief scene was a nod-and-wink to the core audience of the show:

As an interesting footnote, go listen to Governor Adelhard's little speech about the Anoat Sector that plays in the background at Konn-Nevos Spaceport. Sound familiar? If that isn't the voice of actor John Noble, who plays the character of Walter on Fringe  depicted above -- and who, coincidentally, did voice work for the mobile game Infinity Blade -- then it's an excellent impersonation.

Anyway. The propositions I make below aren't simply pragmatic in character. In my opinion, they'll increase the Cool Factor of Uprising. Of course, the more complex the change or addition to the game, the higher the Cool Factor tends to, ahem, rise. Why do I want Kabam to step up their game? In a word, because a Star Wars MMORPG should be cool.  If all you want is a high PR, in other words, then I gently suggest that you stop reading this post and go grind a Raid map or two.

So, rather than simply complain, as I did in my aforementioned post, I compiled a quick, spitball list of potential changes ranging from "easy" to "keep dreaming," and not necessarily just  aesthetic ones. Let's start with the easy changes first and then discuss those of the difficult ilk.

Cartel Banner Borders

As I've previously discussed, the great strength of a post-Cycle 5 cartel is its social character. An essential characteristic of cartels is rank. Each CM (Cartel Master) has their own, individual way to determine cartel member rank, but, at the end of the day, this rank shows some kind of personal achievement within the group.

With this in mind, I'd like to see borders added to the cartel banners that reflect the rank of a given player. A gold border for CM, a silver border for Officer, a bronze border for Regular, and no border for Recruit. It would be a nice touch.

Pragmatically speaking, players would immediately see their ranks in CC (Cartel Chat) as well as GC (Global Chat). As far as our cartel goes, newer low-mid-level players would know outright who to ask about gameplay, since that's one Officer responsibility. As far as GC is concerned, if I want to discuss any aspect of running a cartel with another CM, for instance, then I'd know who to PM.

Cartel Messages

I began this blog because, in the main, cartel communication in-game stinks. The only way that a CM can send a message to every member at once is in the cartel header. That's dicier than Twitter. So, I propose that Kabam devise a way for CMs to message all members in a single communication, ideally as mail that would appear in our inbox. Perhaps the addition of a Cartel Inbox would work nicely. While not strictly an aesthetic change, this could potential prove very useful.

Barring an inbox message, how about an alternative to the PM (Private Message)? A Public Message that every member received would prove invaluable. For instance, what time is the next IB, again? From a CMs perspective, a reminder might stimulate gameplay. And I'm sure Kabam is all for that.

Lando Again

I've posted a lot about the Lando missions, so I'll keep this one brief. In light of the new Dread Omen Raid maps, I propose several different new maps for the Lando missions. Of course, Kabam would have to implement this on its given tier system. Each tier would expand to, say, three different maps, each with unique features. Running the same mission every time is yawn. Make the Lando missions cool. 

Time Zone Bullets

Ever wonder what time it is for another player? I propose that Kabam add a small bullet or clock icon next to the time stamp in both CC and GC. Color code the icon according to time zone, and add a time zone legend in-game. I'd hope that this presumably simple addition to the game would promote social play.

Bev Plar Faction Missions

Thus far, we've seen Imperial and Kouhun missions offered by Bev Plar. I propose mission crates for every Faction. But wait, there's more. As a Best Reward, offer Faction Reputation and Silver Faction Currency instead of gear or crystals. Anyone who runs Best Reward missions probably needs neither of the latter.

What's more, rather than require chromium for these Faction Missions, require bronze Faction Currency instead. Essentially useless bronze Rebel medallions suddenly become useful again, for example. Additionally, such Faction missions would bolster a player's Faction Rank. Doesn't this make sense?

Greater Variety of Species

Anyone who has given the forums even a cursory look eventually comes across a post or two about expanded Species for Uprising. NPC Rodian and Mon Calamari characters already populate social areas where player avatars appear, for example, so why not add these species for player characters? Rodians play a consistent role throughout Uprising's storyline, in fact. What's more, Sullustan seems easy enough to add, too. How cool would this be!?

Character Customizations

With the introduction of fragments -- or shards -- into Uprising, you have to wonder if Kabam simply took a page from the Star Wars: Heroes playbook, which bases character creation and development on a shard system. When it comes to character appearance, I'd like to see Kabam borrow from not only Heroes, but also, and more specifically, the aforementioned mobile game, Infinity Blade 3. In the latter, you can customize your character's stance. Why would I want to do this? Well, characters in Uprising all stand the same. In a word, it's boring. The antithesis of cool. I'd like our characters to have individually developed stances. Heroes does this, too, but in a different way. Take a look at the distinct looks of these Heroes characters:

Darth Sidious got his robes at The Sith's Wearhouse.
You're going to like the way you look. They guarantee it.

While similar in stance, each character has its own unique twist. You can see this most readily with Luminara Unduli and Princess Leia. Uprising could utilize a change of stance feature to allow players a higher degree of individualization. Speaking of which, let's move on to our next and most implausible of all changes.

Dazur Dar Crates and New Side Story Missions 

First, the Dazur Dar crates are terrible for high level players. A 100 Holodisc Contraband crate just dropped 50,000 credits and a 4* crystal for me. Really? The rewards for these crates either need an update, or Holodiscs should be easier to come by. Add full pieces of Legendary Vanity Gear to the 300 Holodisc Contraband crates, for instance.

Now for the insanity.

If Kabam really wants to ratchet up the Cool Factor of Uprising, they not only need to do something about the stances of characters, but their appearance as well. In general, many players don't bother with appearance because it costs precious resources to obtain Blueprints for any usable gear set above the 5* level. The ones who do are generally Commanders and Generals who collect Vanity Gear like candy. But, not all long-term players have the time to earn these ranks and thus the cool vanity sets. I propose that Dazur Dar help rectify this lack of cool for many long-term players.

Kabam could develop new Rumor crates that serve to forward the Force Power side story quests. What might these entail, you ask? Well, there are a number of potential routes:

I. New Trainers. Of course, this means new Force Powers, too. Thus far, however, we've yet to see Combat Passive and Non-Combat Passive Force Powers. How about a Combat Passive Force Power like Knight Speed that upgrades Hit & Run Rank 3? Or how about a Non-Combat Passive Force Power like Mind Trick that rewards the player with Major Influence buffs wherever they go?

Oh, and by the way, why the hell isn't Force Lightning a Directional Force Power yet? How about a Targeted Force Power that freezes enemy attacks, as Kylo Ren uses in The Force Awakens? Like I said, the goal here is not just pragmatic, but cool. 

II. New Swag. Why not offer a number of different Rumor crates to let the player explore varied missions that yield a variety of Vanity Gear pieces? Luminara, pictured above, serves as a great example. If Jedi left behind a lightsaber, albeit a broken one, then other Jedi gear potentially exists in the Anoat sector, too. How about a cool set of robes that aren't necessarily even Jedi gear? A lot of characters in the Star Wars universe wear robes, the majority of whom are just extras in the films and television shows. They shouldn't be that hard to come across.

And what about, on the other hand, a Rumor crate that yields a Vanity Gear set for Tanks and Attackers? At this point in the story, the Clone Wars are long over. But what about an Imperial Rumor crate that leads to a dark, dusty Imperial warehouse filled with not only outmoded clone gear and weapons, but also some nasty Security Droids? Heck, that's so cool even I might run the mission, despite my lightsaber! Or, what about a Diplomat Rumor crate that rewards the player with a Leia-like appearance? You, Kabam, have Solo and Skywalker appearances covered already, bros.  My point here, of course, is that such Rumor Crates would introduce an new, cool element of choice into the storyline of the game.

III. Lightsaber Mods. If you think the above is crazy and that I should keep dreaming, well, hang on to your lunch. While I doubt Kabam will ever  do anything this cool, I've got to suggest that, again, they borrow a page from Star Wars: Heroes and introduce Mods, or modifications, for lightsabers. This would require as many Rumor crate missions as they could imagine into existence!

Since the lightsaber begins at 5* broken and ends at 9* maxed, I propose that a player can begin to make Tier 1 Mods to the lightsaber at 7* maxed. This would include basic aesthetic features. Players could finally change their blade color. They could, at Tier 1, also change design elements. How about a longer, slightly curved hilt?

8* sabers maxed reach Tier 2 Mods, which would upgrade Ranged Protection, Block Chance, and Crit Chance. No need to add anything additional. Mods only enhance the properties of the lightsaber that already exist. Now, here's where this pitch becomes very interesting.

9* sabers maxed reach Tier 3 Mods, which would upgrade Attack Rating, Utility Rating, and Armor Rating. The genius of this modification system is that, once a player reaches Tier 3, the Mods replace the need to ever level up the lightsaber again.  In theory, a player could continue to modify their lightsaber by running Rumor crate missions that drop RNG modification mats forever.   You hear that, Kabam? Forever.  Talk about long-term!

So these are just a few ideas off the top of my head. What do you think would make a cool change to Uprising? Feel free to comment in the box below!

The Story So Far

Before the 3.0 update arrived, I'd no idea what to expect.

I'd hoped beyond hope that 3.0 would include a continuation of the storyline, as was the case with previous updates. We received Lando Missions and Raids instead. Which isn't at all bad, in my opinion. But, with a growing number of cantankerous speculations posted on the Uprising forums that we will never  see a continuation of the storyline, I began to wonder more about character arc than plot per say -- especially considering how, on this blog, I've briefly discussed becoming a Jedi, which is itself arguable. As far as I'm concerned, though, these two points are inextricably linked.

For those not in the know, a character arc is the transformation of a character over the course of a story. That much is simply put. The question is, though, how does the character arc of Uprising unfold? Let's begin with the Uprising Launch trailer:

So, the galaxy needs a new hero. That would be you. How does this unlikely hero begin their journey? Well, the Chapter 1 crawl describes you as a "young smuggler" now in the employ of a gangster named Happy Dapp. And your first action in the game is to shoot an Imperial Officer in the face with a Rat Stunner. Consider the stage set.

Or not so simply. The hero -- or protagonist, if you will -- progresses through levels, gaining power and notoriety in the process, but, in the main, stays a scrappy upstart with either a blaster or vibroblade in tow. What's more, we begin with the character in a questionable place in their life, unsure of their meaningful identity and purpose in this Star Wars universe, while generally on the run from the Empire.

Does this begin to sound familiar? If it doesn't, take what I just said and apply it to this guy:

A down-and-out farm boy leaves his desolate, unexciting home to fight the Empire and, in doing so, he discovers his purpose: "I want to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi, like my father," Luke says. We begin as a down-and-out child of a deceased miner from Burnin Konn. Through as series of fortuitous events -- as though the Force itself were at work -- we, too, join the fight against the Empire. Who is the protagonist's father, again, by the way? It's worth noting that this, ahem, father issue is a highlighted feature of the Force quests, specifically the Force missions.

Now, Uprising didn't begin with the promise of Force Powers and wielding a Lightsaber. The closest we see of such a promise in the release trailer is Deathstick's badassery. But, by the time we reach Chapter 2, the Force Power quests are runnable side stories. In fact, here's the official Kabam announcement for the appearance of the Data Broker, who ultimately sells you the Force Power Rumor Crates:

Note the date. From early on, Kabam had the Force Sensitivity of our protagonist -- you -- squarely in mind. The parallels between Luke Skywalker and Uprising's Hero are fundamental. Some of the details may change, in other words, but if the archetype ain't broke, don't fix it too much. As the saying goes, that is. Very well, then. If the protagonist of Uprising doesn't begin the journey as a farmer, like Luke, then who? A smuggler, just like another beloved Star Wars character, Han Solo. But Solo isn't Force Sensitive. That would be Luke.

It's worth noting that, while Obi-Wan introduces Luke to a lightsaber in the original Star Wars film, the point in doing so is basically demonstrative. In other words, the training scene in the Falcon, for instance, demonstrates the Force. Luke feels it. He senses it. He isn't told about experiencing it,  save for Obi-Wan's original explanation of the Force, which also serves to inform the film's audience. But whatever the Force is or is not, though, you need to experience it -- to know it -- for yourself. Obi-Wan only need prompt Luke at the end of the film to reconnect with the Force, to "let go" of a targeting computer's bloodless, deadly logic.

In this and other ways, the original Star Wars film stages the transformations that Luke undergoes in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.  While I won't belabor this point, the end of Empire  finds Luke having undergone some training by Yodi, but he is hardly a Jedi. Arguably, Darth Vader engages Luke in a saber "duel" merely feel out his potential future apprentice. In fact, Luke uses a blaster while carrying the lightsaber for much of the movie:

But let's return all this to our protagonist, shall we? While Uprising's Chapter 1 Smuggler gear is meant to invoke the appearance of Han Solo, at the end of Empire -- Chapter 2, essentially -- Luke looks like he's wearing Ultimate Adventurer gear:

Remember, the lightsaber that Luke carries in Empire  is blue, not green, as it is in Episode VI. And at this point in Luke's character arc -- and our own, I contend -- he has undergone a number of identity developments. He's officially part of the Rebel Alliance, seeks out training in the Force, and ultimately confronts Vader against the wishes of Yoda. In Chapter 2, our protagonist officially forms an alliance  between different Factions, seeks out training in the Force, and ultimately confronts the very deadly Commander Bragh, who, in a Vaderish symmetry, tries to let you off the proverbial hook to circumvent your, ahem, certain death.

While there are symmetries between the two character arcs, as I've tried to show here, they aren't the same. If they were, we'd get bored and stop playing. Or, at least, many players would. But the fundamental transformative arc is so formally  akin that it makes me wonder about the next installment of Uprising's storyline. I mean, Episode VI is called Return of the Jedi.  Was Luke officially inducted into the Jedi Order? Nope. He just shows up on Tatooine dressed in Jedi robes, wielding a lightsaber of his own construction, and letting the Force flow through him like a badass.

And this is why I think many players have reached a point in their own story where they can legitimately call themselves Jedi. But lightsabers, Force Powers, and cool duds do not necessarily make a Jedi. The choices that a character makes will, in turn, make that character a Jedi. That said, the structure of Uprising is such that the protagonist becomes a Jedi akin to Luke, whether the player wants to do so or not.  The choice, in other words, seems out of our hands. As Vader might say, it is your destiny. Search your feelings, you know it be true.

Ermahgerd Kabam

Thus far, the majority of my posts have been fairly serious in tenor. Today, I decided to buck that particular trend. I'm sure you've noticed the daily message:

Apparently, Kabam wants our feedback. And in light of Aaron Loeb's ostensible focus on long term players -- about which I recently posted -- I suppose it's finally time to rant my opinions. This is a blog, after all! I'll hit major gameplay issues, such as the inconsequentiality of assaults, the stupidity of Lando missions, and why Kabam deserves a Disruption Grenade dropped in their shorts, among other things.

I also suppose that I should remind the good people at Kabam of Brandin Tyrrel's lukewarm review of Uprising for IGN just after its release: "And it's all about the stuff. I'm grinding faction reputation and spending resources to upgrade my gear so I can upgrade my Player Rating so I can on harder missions so I can maybe find better gear that I can upgrade so I can upgrade my Player rating...and so on and so forth." Tyrrel was as right then as he is now. At the end of the proverbial day, today's big issue is yesterday's big issue. Namely, worthwhile rewards.  I'm pretty sure I speak for our entire cartel when I say that grinding isn't a problem per say. We grind hard. But grinding towards underwhelming dissatisfaction, well, here we go again...

Daily Assaults

Issue: In theory, the Lando missions and better Sector Battle rewards were supposed to make Assaults relevant again. In practice, this twofold approach fails. Hard. Even the top tier Gunslinger drops miss their mark and, while Sector Battle Captains are now guaranteed 5 5* electrum, the time commitment's hardly worth such a pithy bump. Yes, I said pithy. And the Lieutenant rewards are even worse. I'll return to these points under "Sector Battles." Suffice it to say, though, that assaults are consequentially inconsequential. Still.

Potential Fix: Best Reward assault missions potentially drop shards for every  Legendary Vanity Gear set available in the game in accordance with standard RNG practices. What's more, ratchet up the chances of such shard drops on multiplayer assaults to incentivize social play, which I discuss under the heading "Cartels." If Raids aren't multiplayer, then you, Kabam, need to step it up on those missions that do run co-op. You're running a mobile MMORPG, remember?

Lando Missions

Issue: As I outline above, Lando missions are lackluster at best for higher level players. Did I say "lackluster"? I meant crap. That's a technical term.

Potential Fix: Raise the bar for Gunslinger drops to at least 5* rewards guaranteed, which includes electrum. The joke called 4* electrum got old yesterday. Also, increase the percentage of Legendary Vanity Gear drops. You know, because people are vain. I am.

Sector Battles

Issue: Fewer and fewer players are bothering with SBs despite the restructured awards, as I so brilliantly outline above. Vain I said! The minimum VP requirement for the rank of Captain, for instance, dropped like a brick from approximately 1.5-1.8mm before the 3.0 update to roughly 800k VPs this past week. Ouch.

Potential Fix: Legendary Vanity Gear salvages only  T2 mats, which includes 1 guaranteed 6* electrum, in addition to the restructured changes. Lieutenants should receive 1 guaranteed 5* electrum in addition to the restructured changes as well. Quit playing us cheap, Kabam.

Imperial Sector Battles

Issue: IBs are usually met with either indignation, or indifference. The indignation's due to the fact that it takes a full 24hr SB to earn system influence, but only a 1hr IB to lose said influence the next damned day. This is not to mention that IB rewards in a 3.0 universe are, in gamer's parlance, garbage  to higher level players. What is more, the current IB timer schedule seems punitive rather than productive. Fuck me once, shame on you. Fuck me twice? Ermahgerd.

Potential Fix: Change all 4* electrum rewards to 5* electrum rewards and  guarantee Imperial Crystals on the standard Recruit to General tier system currently in place. What's more, change the IB imminent timer to 1hr for all  battles. That famous American philosopher, Tina Turner, once asked: What's love got to do with it? SB timers that don't cockblock the accumulation of BPs and rewards that aren't insults added to the injury: That's what love's got to do with it.

Factions

Issue: For a very long time now I've heard players complain that Faction Ranks are incredibly difficult to achieve. Personally, I log on at least 3-4 times a day to run crew on Reputation Finder missions and I've yet to see  any rank higher than Warrior, let alone earn one.

Potential Fix: Increase chances to earn higher Reputation Finder rewards, especially on daily Opportunity Runs. Use Lando missions to this end as well. An increased electrum payout at the end of an entire month  wouldn't hurt our feelings either, Kabam.

Disruption Grenade

Issue: An RNG gateway to control in-game progress? No explanation necessary. Insert string of fucking expletives here. And I already have  a lightsaber.

Potential Fix: Do away with the M-Sec shield, increase chances of DG Rank 1 drops in all crates, make DG Rank 1 purchasable from an existing trainer, or any of the other viable solutions that absolutely litter the Uprising forums. There's a thing called "high time" and -- no, put down the bong, Kabam! -- it means fix this shit.  Now. Pretty and please and thank you very much.

Much Ado About Lando

While I keep hearing from players -- both in our cartel and on the forums -- that the Lando missions are essentially useless for higher level players, I still run them regularly, if only to make Kabam feel a tad better about their fairly obvious attempt to freshly incentivize the daily ops and assaults that trigger these missions for our formerly favorite Calrissian. I ran a Lando mission tonight and realized afterwards that I had accumulated 120 Gunslinger Rewards without bothering to use any of them! Lando gets the shit end of the proverbial stick in this case, though, since it's Tae Nunb's contraband crates that, even at the high end, are full of meh.

More important than my own dissatisfaction with the Gunslinger drops is my newfound appreciation for video. Which is as much to say, I recorded my Lando mission, which I've posted below. I'm doing so for a number of reasons, but mostly to demonstrate to players how effectively Force Powers can work together. Again, my Jedi build: Dark Poison 2, Malicious Fury 2, Deceptive Leap 2, Debris Barrier 1, and Hit & Run 2.

In the comments section of a previous post on Force Powers, I was asked specifically about how much damage Malicious Fury does and, additionally, about the effectiveness of Debris Barrier. As for the former question, I haven't a clue! You'll note, though, that Malicious Fury briefly interrupts enemies while doing damage. More to the point, the more enemies there are in melee range, the more damage the power inflicts. This is uniquely different than other standard Self abilities, such as Armor Piercing. As for Debris Barrier, well, a picture paints a thousand wows. I've used this Force Power for awhile now and, while it doesn't make one immune to stun or knockback, I've yet to take a point of damage from any attack while Debris Barrier is engaged. What's more, you can clearly see that it does a significant deal of damage in its own right. I plan to invest in Rank 2 sooner rather than later.

Good hunting!

Focus On Your Regulars

I recently came across an interesting and particularly relevant article, "Kabam: Look Beyond Whales, Focus on Your 'Regulars'," by Matthew Handrahand. According to Aaron Loeb, Kabam's President of Studios and Live Services, the long-term success of free-to-play games -- such as Uprising -- depends upon the "people who play them all the time." I find this kind of long-term thinking interesting since it wasn't too long ago that one of our cartel members, Winter Vos, pointed out that his approach to the game recently changed to a long-term, sustained mentality with the release of 3.0. Of course, Winter is one of the original members of KoB and has been a consistently daily player since he joined, so his point has more to do with the gaming experience than anything else, but the idea is essentially the same.

The question then becomes how to retain players for an extended period of time. And the answer comes quickly: Make an awesome Star Wars game. Now, that may seem reductive, but it's incredibly complex in practice. For example, the release of Uprising 3.0 gave us three new Raid levels to explore. Are they great? Sure. Are they awesome? Nope. Why? They aren't multiplayer. The forums are filled with indignation about the lack of multiplayer Raids. On the other hand, Uprising has done some things very right. I remember, for example, when the Commando elements to the game were introduced. I immediately spent all my Rebel Faction Currency on Rocket Launcher 2. Whew, it was awesome! Why? Rocket turned out to be a truly ultimate Tank Ability. While it was expensive, it wasn't prohibitively so. And, more to the point, it was fun.  

I suppose my ultimate point here is that, for Uprising to last, Kabam needs to make the daily grind interestingly  worthwhile, not just substantially  worthwhile, for its daily player base. How might they do that, other than increase the trickle of electrum into the game? Well, for starters, improve aesthetic elements that have little bearing on PR. They could easily loosen their belts on the new Legendary Gear shards, for example. Since the first Lando missions appeared, I've earned exactly two Ultimate Gambler shards. Two. In over a month. I understand why 6-8* and 7-9* gear shards are difficult to acquire, but this Vanity gear is even more difficult to find, even if it does drop, more often than not, just 2 5* electrum when salvaged. (I haven't seen a 6* electrum salvage in roughly a month from any Legendary gear I've earned.) And on this note, do you have any idea how difficult it is to find 4-6* Noble gear in the Holo crates? I've been wanting to upgrade my 3-5* set -- which I essentially use as an appearance set -- for a long, long time now. And it wasn't exactly easy to find the full 3-5* set to begin with. Kabam could very easily offer a wide selection of new Vanity looks for the great number of different players who grind this game.

And, as I suggested, all this hardly scratches even the surface of what they could do in terms of aesthetics, never mind anything else. The Star Wars universe is a vast, pluralistic one, full of variety. Shouldn't a great Star Wars game do that fundamental fact some justice? And don't even get me started on changing the color of the lightsaber! That could've been a whole new Rumor Mission crate to buy and explore.