SWTOR: Spoils of War Livestream Recap

Here is a recap of everything we talked about on the livestream today. We will be posting a robust blog with the same information in the next few days. Keep in mind that all of this is still in development so is subject to change. Here goes!

Se “Spoils of War” Community Livestream @ 4:00pm CDT fra SWTOR på www.twitch.tv

Communication and Feedback(00:09:10)

• Our plan for Onslaught communication is to follow this cycle. Deliver information (stream, blogs, etc), gather your feedback, circle back to discuss that feedback with you, move into hands-on on PTS.

Itemization is split up into two primary categories, the items themselves, and how you acquire them. We will break those out individually.

Items(00:19:55)
There are two major types of items we want to talk about (sets and tactical items) and a new bonus stat that those items will receive (Amplifiers). Let’s break each down.

• Set Bonuses
  • In combination with tactical items can be playstyle defining
  • Multiple new sets for Advanced and Base Classes
  • General options also available
  • Sets now come in various sizes
• Tacticals
  • In combination with set bonuses can be playstyle defining
  • Multiple options for Disciplines and Advanced Classes
  • General options also available
  • Rare item in a new item slot
• Example Effects that could be found on these items for….
  • Inquisitor – The cooldown of Whirlwind is reduced, also, killing an enemy before Whirlwind ends resets the cooldown of Whirlwind
  • Sorcerer – Activating Unnatural Preservation removes Static Barrier’s Deionize effect from you
  • Assassin – Force Shroud also applies to any ally you are guarding
  • Lightning Sorc – Crushing Darkness’s damage over time is increased and the chance that Forked Darkness causes Crushing Darkness to double-tick is improved
  • Madness Sorc – Death Field does more damage to all targets and spreads Force Slows effects
  • Corruption Sorc – Revivification heals more for each ally it affects
• Amplifiers
  • New Bonus stat that will appear on Shells, Armorings, Hilts, Barrels, Mods, and Enhancements
  • Not included in PvP balance targets
  • Effects appear on specific mod types (ex: Shells and Armorings have different types of Amps)
  • Examples: Armor penetration, increased healing received, better harvesting results, increased XP
  • Amps can be rerolled (recalibrated) for credits.

PvP Impact(00:34:15)
Here is how all of this will impact PvP in Onslaught.

• All players will be bolstered to maximum item rating while in PvP.
• Only tactical items, set bonuses, and amplifiers impact PvP.
• Players can earn tacticals and sets from ranked and unranked.

Item Acquisition
Now that you know what the items are, one of the things that is very important in spoils of war is ensuring that acquiring items is also a good experience! We wanted to learn from the lessons of Galactic Command’s launch, frustration around Ossus gearing, and adding on the things we have done well. Ultimately, getting loot is a loop that all starts with…

Play Your Way(00:38:10)

• All content is a viable path to getting gear with harder content being more rewarding.
• Drops now scale based on your characters current gear. At a certain item rating breakpoint is when sets and tacticals start dropping.
• There is built in RNG protection on set and tactical items.
• New items can now be freely moved through your Legacy.

Galactic Command and Conquests(00:43:00)

• Both of these systems are supplementary (not primary) ways to gear your character.
• Galactic Command is now Galactic Renown.
• Every rank is now valuable, no more tiers.
• Renown is now seasonal, beginning with Onslaught.
• Renown crate rewards scale based on your current item rating.
• Renown XP is derived from a percentage of all XP earned (including the current CXP perks)
• Conquest Points are also earned from a percentage of all XP earned (this is coming in 5.10.3)
• Gear is now also delivered in Personal and Guild Conquest Rewards

With all of this you will be getting much more gear than before which certainly means you will not want some of it. What do you do with it?

Deconstruction(00:50:10)

• New interface where players will now be able to deconstruct unwanted items (reverse engineering will have an advantage here). Can breakdown items quickly by quality.
• Items breakdown into crafting materials and a new currency.

Crafting and New Vendors(00:53:10)

• Crafters will be able to make competitive end-game gear (to continue the trend of play your way).
• Crafters can make un-moddable max item rating gear and mods. They will have some min/maxing drawbacks.
• Crafters will be able to make crafted only tactical items.
• New currency can be used on a vendor to allow you to purchase a random item of a specific slot (chest pieces, etc).
• New currency can be used on a vendor who appears regularly has a changing selection of specific set and tactical items (to purchase exactly what you want).

There is a lot of information here. We definitely recommend watching the VOD to see our full conversation around spoils of war. Also, look for the spoils of war blog in the next few days with a more in-depth snapshot of this information. Look for our relevant feedback threads on the forums to let us know your thoughts, where we will also answer any questions. We are going to work on doing a Reddit Spoils of War AMAA if you prefer to use Reddit. And lastly we are working on getting a survey setup to get your thoughts there as well. 

We are really excited about bringing spoils of war to you in Onslaught, so let us know your thoughts!