If BioWare wanted to minimize the challenge so completely, perhaps it would have been better off teaming up with Telltale. But I still fondly remember learning to play well in order to defeat some tough single-player bosses back in 20 here, there's none of that.
Star Wars: The Old Republic's MMORPG elements were never as good as they could have been, and the way the new story anchors you to what's essentially one long story instance for five levels precludes any need to play with friends. Ability rotations? Ha! I understand the reasoning behind the new focus on single-player gameplay. Mash some buttons, any buttons, and you should get through fine. I barely bothered with the layout of my hotkeys. I'm normally the kind of guy who reads forum threads in search of the merits of this or that build, but I never bothered in Knights of the Fallen Empire. It's so focused on attracting new players to a legitimately good new Star Wars story (conveniently ahead of the upcoming movie) that it makes combat so easy that it's insulting. Your Powers Are Weak, Old ManIt's all well and good that story is king here, but the problem with Knights of the Fallen Empire is that BioWare pushes it toward despotism. They clash further with the lovely new planets the heroes venture through, and they're light years from the technical fireworks BioWare shows off in the expansion's introductory trailer, which looks at least as good as anything I've seen from the footage for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Sometimes the new direction clashes violently with the old one, particularly in the way the beautiful, semi-realistic models for Knights of the Fallen Empire's NPC cast make the elongated models of player characters look as though they stepped out of a poorly rendered El Greco painting.
Pushed off the stage, for instance, are the lovingly crafted stories for each individual class nowadays, everyone experiences the same story past 60 regardless of whether they wield a blaster or a lightsaber. “The approach isn't without some sacrifices, and some of them would have had us screaming that BioWare had changed the fundamental nature of SWTOR just three years ago. Naturally it's your job to save them all after a carbonite-enhanced vacation, but not without meaningful plot twists, surprising deaths, Sith and Jedi romancing together - mass hysteria! Five years pass in which that so-called "Eternal Empire" takes over the old Republic and Empire. Knights of the Fallen Empire kicks off as the hero follows the missing former Sith emperor to where he's apparently been moonlighting as the emperor of another empire far, far away. The nine available story chapters (short though they are) show BioWare in top form, and its emphasis on bringing factions together strongly suggests some good inspiration from Dragon Age: Inquisition. After all, good yarns have always been what set SWTOR (and its legendary predecessor, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic) apart from its competition, but this expansion takes it to a whole new level. The Story is Strong With This One.That Fallen Empire places such a heavy emphasis on story isn't much of a surprise in itself. On the other hand, Koth's repeated remark seemingly calls attention to the expansion's laughably easy combat, as it shuttles us through around 10 hours of content without the slightest pretense of challenge. These moments highlight the curious split in Knights of the Fallen Empire: on the one hand, the story's never been better, and it's filled with nuanced figures like Koth who break from the comical polarizing of good and bad choices BioWare's games are known for.