Last week, BioWare hosted a pretty cool question and answer session on the official forums. Players were able to send in a bunch of questions. Some were chosen, then answered. Here are last Friday’s Q&As if you happened to miss them. Every week a new batch of questions will be answered. Some new information was revealed last Friday, and as the weeks continue, we’ll hopefully get a glimpse of some of the answers we really want the answers to.
One question and answer made me pretty dang excited this past week. Target of target is finally being added! Here is the question that was asked and its answer:
Question: Will Bioware implement Target of Target (including a visible cast bar above the portraits) in the new UI?
Gabe Amatangelo: Yes. Target of Target on primary target and party frames will be part of Game Update 1.2. Primary target already has a visible casting bar on live right now. In Game Update 1.2 target of target frames will have visible casting bars as well. Additionally, there will be various customization features in all of those frames (e.g. repositioning).
We’d previously seen information and even a little video on some of the incoming UI customization options, but this target of target bit is new. All I can say is: about friggen’ time.
As a player who customarily enjoys playing tank and healer characters, I have been missing target of target so much, on all of my characters. I’ve whined about the lack of this feature since beta. It just seems kind of necessary, and a simple addition. We’re not talking about a fancy, 3D new feature here. I just want to see who that mob is targeting, and who my tank is targeting, without having to play a guessing game in the middle of a hectic fight.
While tanking, I find target of target useful for boss fights that consist of tank switches. It’s also great when you catch a mob flipping around toward the ranged DPS/healer pile, and can immediately see who it’s targeting and react accordingly. It lets me know which of the DPSers are most likely to take aggro before things get hairy. It also lets me know which direction I should charge toward, say, when a group of adds spawn and scurry toward my healers.
As a healer, it’s a fantastic way of watching out for random boss casts. If I can see where that big nuke is going, I can rev up a heal beforehand. Likewise, if I can see which tank has the attention of the mob, I can focus primarily on that tank. It’s also amazing for assisting while DPSing. On my healing Operative, I tend to find myself twiddling my thumbs quite a bit during leveling flashpoints. A quick glance at the target of target window would let me know which target my tank’s focused on. Let the random stabbing begin, and it’ll die faster!
Sure, I can simply target the mobs and find the one with the lowest HP. I do that currently, but it’s a little clunky to fiddle with tab targeting when I could just, you know, glance at my target of target window instead. I already have my tank targeted, and I don’t want to un-target them unless I absolutely have to. It’s just so much easier with target of target. It’s a quality-of-life issue, sure, but there should be no shortage of quality-of-life features in a BioWare game.
There isn’t a shortage of issues currently regarding The Old Republic’s UI, either. We all feel some sort of frustration about the lack of customization and lack of… well, being able to do what we want with the UI. It’s workable, but it’s not great, and that’s pretty disappointing in a game of this magnitude. Luckily, we’ll get a little love in patch 1.2 with the introduction of some much-needed customization options. And target of target!
Sometimes it’s the little things that make a game more enjoyable. Speaking of little things, I’d suggest speaking up in the future Q&A sessions if there’s a question on your mind regarding the current state of SWTOR and its future. The questions are gathered in the General forum, and collected every Tuesday afternoon for that Friday, when the answers will be posted. Don’t hesitate to give BioWare feedback. Our questions may be answered.
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