Experience Changes The Road Longer Travelled

After a few fuzzy days we have at last received clarity on the very important issue of experience gain, specifically when it applies to groups. Though my stance may be unpopular it is the simple truth: it's about time!

To sum what was changed, and to use Tigg's numbers, if you and I hunt solo we receive say 6,000 experience points [per kill]. Alternatively, if we group together - on that same mob - we will receive 3,000 experience points (due to shared experience points penalties) with some minimal bonuses.

The rationale behind this kind of change is quite simple: groups can effectively plough through mobs a lot faster than a soloer (though I admit the solo experience point numbers are quite high in this instance) so the experience points per should be less [per kill]. Let's not forget as well that Star Wars Galaxies historically has been a very solo and casual friendly game so soloing must not just be viable, but very competitive with grouping.

Put aside though the experience point gains that a soloer makes, the formula being used by SOE is not any different then other MMORPGs. Every single one, yes even EverQuest II and World of Warcraft, employ a very similar formula and it has been, and always will be, the formula that is fallen back on.

So what is the problem here?

The problem is not the divided and shared experience point gains. The problem is not the experience point values for mobs. The problem is not the lack of group targets. The problem is, however, how much a soloer does receive.

That is the core of the problem and where I see a lot of concern coming from. Though, I'm not particularly whiny about it.

I've said it before and I will say it as many times as necessary: I am a soloer and a casual player. I am tolerant of the grind but am far from a supporter of it. But I can tell you, objectively speaking, that this change has some serious ramifications that only time will tell whether they come to fruition are not.

So what is this ramification? The end of grouping in Star Wars Galaxies.

Obviously saying "the end of grouping in Star Wars Galaxies" is a little extreme but it definitely has the chance to do that. The question to address this is simple: would you rather go through the pains of grouping (and yes there are plenty) or just log in and solo and receive more experience points, and if you're good, significantly more?

For a lot of people the answer is simple and it is the latter. Though there are a number of people who enjoy grouping simply for the sake of being with other people but they hardly constitute a majority.

In fact I am willing to suggest a dominant reason why most people group: they cannot achieves objectives without it. Whether you are looking at raid-driven games, like EverQuest and EverQuest II, or more casual games like Star Wars Galaxies, it remains the same. Ask yourself this: if you could solo the Corellian Corvette, and no friends of yours needed or wanted to do it, would you organize a group? I'm sure a good majority of you would just go solo, since grouping has an inherent, irreversible flaw.

What is this flaw? It is quite simple: some people are idiots.

Most of my time in Star Wars Galaxies I do solo so I can't comment on groups in Star Wars Galaxies but this problem does exist in a number of games including EverQuest II and World of Warcraft.

I play EverQuest II and I don't make that a secret and I will stand up and say that I never, ever, group with anyone outside of my guild. Namely because you don't know what to expect and that can turn into a very frustrating evening.

But we have digressed a little.

The problem which most people have with this change is that we are simply taking away the incentive to group since soloing could potentially be much more fruitful, or not, depending on the group. But as we all know, really good groups, unless they're friends or guild mates are few and far between.

So it is safe to assume, and this is a very real possibility as far as I'm concerned, is that soloing will go back to being the norm and grouping only done when it is necessary (raids).

This my friends is a problem. It affects the community big time.

Star Wars Galaxies has always been one of the better games, community wise, but I'm sure I don't need to remind anyone of what happened to Cantina's when everyone and their brother decided to grind out Jedi's using those infamous holocrons. I'm sure as well I don't need to tease any readers on how good the community used to be (just after launch) to how it is now.

Will we see similar things if in fact grouping takes a significant hit? I really don't think so. The Cantina's really haven't improved so there isn't much to wreck. But to say they haven't improved at all is a stretch at best.

This is the bottom line: community is huge and anything that erodes community is a very negative thing. So the ultimate question is how much will community be affected?

This is the question that Father Time will provide us the answer to but I believe the vast majority of the population is not at risk and the reason is rather simple: most of the population has maxed out one or more characters. Not only that but the time to max out a character is trivial at best.

So yes, most of the population groups not because of experience point gain but because they need groups to obtain objectives: the reason most of us do it. The developers could make soloing 100 times more viable and I still don't think much would change in this respect.

So are we crying over nothing? Perhaps. But this is a step backward and if grouping does take a significant hit it could have dire consequences in the long term.

But only time will tell.