Hi, so I left SWTOR back near the start of 7.0 due to me being tired of the game's class balance and lack of end-game content. Since then I've gotten into speed-running to the point I'm actually recording and submitting times. Back in the day, I often "speed-ran" heroics and dailies for conquest, but never seriously and never with any video proof. I had played the game for many years and was quite good at it, and still have a lot of knowledge around it's mechanics.
I think a way for me to come back to this game may be through speed running. However, I did have some questions/thoughts before re-subbing to the game.
I noticed that for the none of the categories had any rules or subcategories around combat class. This means that stealth classes will always dominate the leader-boards since skipping mobs is always faster than not. Now, I can kind of understand it for the group runs since it's hard to dictate things there. But for all the solo stuff, I think it makes sense. (Well maybe not 1-10 leveling since I don't think you get stealth until after 10). Just a thought I had there.
For Legacy stuff, I was a little confused, since I have an account where I've maxed out my legacy and unlocked all my legacy perks. Does that mean I can't do any LG runs? I understand I can't use my legacy bank, mail, GTN, Cartel Market (or unlocks thereof), or join a guild.
Final thought: Has there ever been any thought about adding categories for finishing the Weekly missions for daily areas (i.e. Black Hole, CZ-198, Oricon, etc.)? What about completing all Heroics on a planet (you'd need to have separate categories for Empire and Republic sides (For example: complete all Republic Tatooine Heroics)? Maybe even subcategories for with/without all bonus missions? Yes, I know there can be some RNG around the open-world ones, but that's part of the struggle and part of the fun.
Anyways, it would be cool to speed-run SWTOR. It doesn't seem like there's a lot of people doing it, which is surprising given how large the game is, so there seems like there's room for me to set some records.
Hey, welcome to the swtor speedrunning community! i'll happily answer any questions you have.
i already addressed some of your questions on our Discord server but i will repeat everything here in case someone else is wondering the same things.
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- about combat styles:
The introduction of combat styles in 7.0 has indeed reduced the amount of gameplay diversity in most categories because stealth is crucial in most runs.
I understand that this is not always as fun but i think runners should be able to use stealth to optimise a run as much as they can.
It would be possible to add subcategories for stealth and non-stealth combat styles however the Origin Story leaderboard (which is most affected by the introduction of combat styles) already has 4 different subcategories so adding any more to it would make the leaderboard even more complicated and split up than it already is.
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- about No LG runs:
If you have a maxed out legacy you can indeed not run No LG on that legacy.
Since legacy is server-specific you can go onto a server where you dont have any legacy unlocks and do No LG runs there.
As long as you dont collect any datacrons or buy any legacy-wide upgrades on that server you can run No LG as much as you like.
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- about weeklies/heroics:
I have looked into adding categories like this in the past however the biggest problems i see with it is that it would be hard to set up rules because unlike most other categories this one would not involve making a new character and doesnt take place in a personal instance which means there could be a lot of factors that influence the run. the fact that weekly and heroic misions can only be done once per charcter per day would also make it hard to pratice these runs.
The main reason however as to why i would not add it as a category right now is because SWTOR already has a lot of categories with very limited activity and so im not eager to add any more unless there is an influx of new players interested in running them.
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I hope this gave you some of the info you were looking for.
If you have any more questions feel free to let me know here or in the #swtor channel on the discord.
