An Open Letter to BioWare From a Chronic Pain Gamer

Open Letter to BioWare from a Chronic Pain GamerDear BioWare Developers,

Let me start by saying that you’re doing a great job with SWTOR. Others may be quick to criticise, because they expect perfection for a small fee / month. I don’t, but maybe that’s because I do database development as part of my day job. The cinematography, the creation of new worlds, intricate plots and great voice acting mean I get engrossed in chapters really easily.

The reason I’m writing this open letter, though, is because the Outlander is at the centre of Fallen Empire and not the gamer. Your ‘auto playing’ of the next chapter is becoming a burden to me. Let me explain why:

I have Chronic Pain due to a condition called ‘Fibromyalgia’. That means I have to play at a level that suits each day’s pain levels. As KotFE Chapters are intense I can’t always play them if my pain is really high. So, often, I want to play a character but not a chapter, maybe

  • Go to a planetary arc I haven’t done
  • Start the Macrobinocular or Seeker Droid missions
  • Do Alliance Crate Heroic Missions
  • Do an expansion I skipped – e.g. Ilum or Makeb

However I no longer have a way to play to my strengths or pain levels because you auto-play chapters, very often locking out all companions. You can’t easily return crates to the Alliance Specialists because the chapter auto-plays. Granted, I can escape out of it, but that still locks out my companions.

This means I log a character but can’t actually play it due to the pain levels. Please can you return power to the gamer by not auto-playing chapters or by not auto-locking companions until you travel to the chapter’s location?

That way I can still give my characters love even if I don’t have my pain under control, or I have really low energy, and can’t do ‘intense’ Fallen Empire chapters.

Short Attention Span
One of the annoying things about Fibro is an inability to concentrate. So I need a steady pattern in life, combined with some variety. Fallen Empire is the same story for all classes. I keep creating new characters to re-gain the variety. Maybe in a year or so, could you consider doing ‘the next bit’ of the class stories, maybe as Empire/Republic regain control of their borders or something? I’d hate to not want to play some of my characters because of repetitiveness.

Yes I’m just one gamer, and maybe more vocal than most, but an opinion ‘out there’ is better than one just writhing in my head!

I know BioWare is a business, as a business-owner I understand that. But there are more important things than Cartel Random-packs and free gifts. At least for me, I’m not speaking for other SWTOR or BioWare fans.

But, please consider the diverse needs of your gamers and allow us to control our own destiny, rather than the droids of BioWare trying to control it for us. Then we can continue enjoying SWTOR doing what we want to do, at our own pace.

My Thanks,

FibroJedi
(many characters on Red Eclipse and Shadowlands Servers)

My SWTOR Characters

Please take a moment to look at some of my creations. I enjoy your game…a lot. Please help me keep it that way.


About the Author

Fibro Jedi
Fibro Jedi

I have been playing MMOs for about ten years and began writing guides to The Lord of the Rings Online in 2017. I've only been creating content about Final Fantasy XIV since 2022, but I am glad for the mix. My current games include LOTRO, FFXIV and the occasional Palia session too.

LOTRO Posts | FFXIV Posts | Please support me on Ko-Fi Donate Coffee | Author Page


New Related Posts


Updated Related Posts