7 things I would like to see in Star Wars : The Old Republic

-Group size and level scaled instances (from Lord of the Rings Online)

-Achievement system

-Great deal of ship interior customization

-Instances with random events

-No preorder bonuses

-Pazaak

-PvP system that focuses on PuG fighting

1.)Group Size and Level Scaled Instances

I first saw this feature in Lord of the Rings Online and thought it was super neat. It basically allows the player to scale the instance by choosing the group size, the level of enemies, and then finally the difficulty. To me this allows for a lot of re-playability of the instances. The counter to that however is that the instances do become repetitive eventually, so while it's a neat feature I wouldn't be traumatized if it wasn't around, maybe limiting it to a level that you can enter it while leveling, and then making a higher level version of it like in WoW, would be a better way to go about it.

2.)Achievement System

I personally enjoyed playing WoW before achievements came out, but I only really started to like it again after the system was implemented. I also really liked the gamer point system that the Xbox 360 came with except for the fact that maintaining a high game score required a lot of money, and playing games that you normally wouldn't have fun playing. In any case, I think achievements really are a selling point for a lot of people including myself in that they expand the game's life span as well as adding extra things to do.

3.)Ship Interior Customization

I know that ship interiors are basically confirmed after looking at the screenshots on swtor.com however I don't believe I've heard much about how many features a ship will actually have. If a ship has one feature I would like to be able to add things such as furniture to it, or trophies, rather than being able to completely change the ship interior layout around.

4.)Instances with Random Events

Everyone who has played most games in their life has experienced some form of repetition, RPGs especially suffer from this in the form of dungeons or instances. While instances are usually a blast to go through the first time, the third, or possibly even the second time around never actually feels the same. In ToR I know that there's a story emphasis on flashpoints as well as outside of them, however I do think that further imposes on the problem of repetition, as stories don't change often, unless the developers allow them to change anyway. That's why I think instances with certain random events that can happen while a group goes about completing them can greatly expand the instancing experience. It's true that there could only be a finite amount of events, but even one slight change to the instance can make a whole new experience.

5.)No Pre-order Bonuses

This is probably one of the smallest complaints I have about anything, however I generally don't like games that give bonuses of any kind that players get simply for buying the game before price reductions occur. Due to popularity alone a large amount of players will have no problem paying full price, however I don't think the players who join late should be penalized in anyway even if it is like not having a unique light saber color or a similarly minor benefit.

6.)Pazaak

A lot of people didn't exactly enjoy Pazaak in Knights of the Old Republic 1 or 2, however I think if it's implemented in ToR it will be quite a new experience as long as it remains primarily a multiplayer one. It would be great to be able to collect a deck of Pazaak cards and be able to play Pazaak with other players for fun or maybe with a wager of a few credits. My main point being that unlike the Pazaak AI in KOTOR 1 or 2, players can't really accuse another player of cheating unless the system allows for cheating, unlike the before mentioned games. Maybe modify or limit the types of cards players can get, and then I believe Pazaak can be quite a hit for just hanging around, or relaxing after a day of instance grinding, or questing.

7.)Player versus Player system that focuses on “Pick up Groups”

While this opinion is definitely not shared by everyone, I believe that one of the best ways to balance PvP is to limit how many players one party can join with. The reason for this is because with too many players that join together, one side loses any sort of balance set by the game in favor of people coordinating on a third party voice program, and with both sides being completely equal in that regard the game turns more into competition rather than fun.

I don't necessarily think all of that is a bad thing, but I generally didn't like the PvP in WoW when it became more of a sport than an activity to do. I believe an ideal PvP system would sort the people who join in groups and put them against other people who join as groups. I also don't mind WoW's BG system of limiting 5 people in a group to join other “PuG” members or other groups, this way does allow players to join together somewhat, but not in a great enough number that would drastically affect the battle.

All in all, I don't think there's anything wrong with people PvPing in a group, I think a system needs to sort them accordingly however, to allow people who don't join as a group, a fair chance in battle, as well as keeping all of the rewards accessible reasonably.