Author: Editor

Attack of the guild – Speaking of power

Following last month’s Attack of the Guild article covering the mission statement of your guild, this month continues our discussion with guild control and sharing the power as a guild leader. I’ve always contemplated on how much control a guild master should have over his/her guild and always challenged myself to find the perfect balance – a task that’s easier said than done.

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Disney confirms “Star Wars” spinoffs

Disney CEO Bob Iger has confirmed some major “Star Wars” news that has long been speculated: spinoff films are on the way. Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg actually are working on movies that sit outside of the planned “Star Wars: Episodes VII,” “VII” and “IX,” and are based on characters that already exist in the “Star Wars” universe. “There has been speculation about some stand-alone films that have been in development, and I can confirm to you today that in fact we are working on a few stand-alone films,” Iger said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo.” “Larry Kasdan and Simon Kinberg are both working on films derived from great ‘Star Wars’ characters that are not part of the overall saga. We still plan to make ‘Star Wars 7,’ ’8′ and ’9′ roughly over a six-year period of time starting in 2015, but there are going to be a…

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Global SWTOR Cosplay Swag

What’s up everyone out in the Star Wars diaspora! We here at SWTORStrategies have previously brought to your attention some epic SWTOR Cosplay models bringing the vision of SWTOR to real life, with menacing smiles, banging blasters and deadly lightsabers! Legendary SWTOR journalist Lisa Mason, wrote these previous articles on two cosplay masters, who brought excellent renditions of Grand Master Satele Shan to planet Earth. Shanoa Abby Dark-Star But these aren’t the only two who did the work for costume design, photo shoots and even some post image production effects. Today, we’re going to share some of those masterpieces which come from numerous countries like Spain, France, New Zealand, the United States and the Netherlands. I’m going to have to look deeper into Japan’s Cosplay movement, because I know I missed some of their work. Though I don’t believe SWTOR was ever released in Japanese. If you find yourself impressed,…

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SWTOR Jedi Knight Guardian Vigilance PVP 1.6 Build

This post will give you a build for the Jedi Knight Guardian that is focused on PVP and uses the Vigilance tree. This build comes courtesy of http://www.swtorsavior.com which is the best SWTOR leveling guide and general strategy guide so it is well worth a look if you are looking for some help leveling faster. We will post the video that tells you how to allocate the points and then we will give you some rotations and information on how to use the build. Don’t forget to check out constantly growing list of guides for Star Wars: The old republic SWTOR Jedi Knight Guardian Vigilance PVP 1.6 Build Form: Shien Form PVP Stat Priority: Expertise > Strength >= Accuracy (until 105%) > Critical Rating (until 30%) = Surge Rating (until 75%) > Power/Force Power The Guardian in PVP can be one of the most frightening classes to deal with. Uniting a high amount…

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Top 10 Gaming Controversies of 2012!

OH NOOOoooo!!! What did SWTOR do now? WHY ALWAYS US?!?!?!!!!! Well, before you all start freaking out, SWTOR was not included in this all out critique of the 2012 gaming world. So why am I writing an article about it, if Angry Joe’s video has nothing do with SWTOR? Because SWTOR is FREAKING AWESOME!!! That’s why! And for a few other reasons. Remember words like TORTANIC? Yeah well the ship hasn’t sunk. In fact we’re all out on deck catching some rays, dirty dancing to reggaeton! I must admit there was that scary moment when after people speed played through the game before it was even finished (EA forced Bioware to release the game unfinished until the March 2012 update which fixed that) finding the lack of end game content, causing way too many subscribers to up and leave. After some time it was like playing SWG in mid 2011…

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DEATHMATCH II – Darth Malgus Versus Sora Bulq

Last week we introduced Star Wars Expanded Universe expert, Jensaarai1 and featured Episode 7 of his Versus Series, Darth Malgus Versus Count Dooku. Coincidentally and almost magically as if the Force itself was involved, Jensaari1 releases his first Versus episode for 2013, episode 11, that very night – 41 minutes of calculated lightsaber dueling Sith/Jedi analysis! He uses Darth Malgus once again. This time he pits Malgus against former Jedi Master turned Sith, Sora Bulq of the Clone Wars era! Both are power houses. Who will win? Only Jensaarai1, the Nerd-Rage Ranter knows! Feel free to share your opinion on this battle. Did you disagree or agree with his conclusion? Why or why not? If the force permits, I hope to see more of Jensaarai’s “Versus Series” featuring more legends from SWTOR and even its predecessor, KOTOR. When he does, you will be sure to find out about it, here…

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Darth Malgus Versus Count Dooku DEATHMATCH

by FrelsAreN, DeviantART   by lelmer77, DeviantART  Jensaarai1 aka the Nerd-Rage Ranter, a video blogger on YouTube, is probably one of the greatest experts on Star Wars I have seen in some time. He appears to be well versed in all the movies, both of the Clone Wars series and the comic book series (Dark Horse). I have not heard him mention the novels in his analyses, but I wouldn’t put it passed him. Rest assured he is an expert on the Expanded Universe of Star Wars, which pretty much trumps those who only know about the movies when it comes to general Star Wars knowledge. What really impresses me is his unique knowledge on everything that is the lightsaber, which is impeccable. He made a 10 episode series throughout 2012, called the “Versus Series” where he pits Jedi against Jedi, Sith against Sith and Jedi against Sith in “what…

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Attack of the guild

I am Elrik of the Alpha Strike Force (ASF) guild on the Jedi Covenant server and this is the newest column of SWToRStrategies.com called Attack of the guild. This monthly column will cover, different aspects of running a guild, offer hints and tips on guild management as well as insights on all the things they didn’t tell you when you signed up to become a leader in the guild. I have been running guilds/clans for about 5 years now and I have certainly seen my fair share of very rewarding as well as challenging times.

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SWTOR Imperial Agent Sniper 1.5 Leveling PVE Build

This post will give you a decent leveling build for the Agent in SWTOR and we are covering the Sniper advanced class. The build is optimized for patch 1.5 and we will give you step by step point allocation as well as some rotations that you can use while leveling. SWTOR Imperial Agent Sniper 1.5 Leveling PVE Build 10 – 11: Energy Tanks 2/2 12 – 14: Gearhead 3/3 15 – 17: Explosive Engineering 3/3 18 – 19: Engineer’s Tool Belt 2/2 20: Interrogation Probe 1/1 21 – 22: Efficient Engineering 2/2 23 – 24: Cluster Bombs 2/2 25: Imperial Methodology 1/1 26 – 27: Experimental Explosives 2/2 28 – 29: Calculated Pursuit 2/2 30: EMP Discharge 1/1 31 – 32: Energy Overrides 2/2 33 – 34: Augmented Shields 2/2 35 – 37: Electrified Railgun 3/3 38 – 39: Deployed Shields 2/2 40: Plasma Probe 1/1 41 – 43: Lethality…

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SWTOR Sith Inquisitor Sorcerer Leveling Build For 1.5

In this post we are going to give you a leveling build for the Sith Inquisitor and the advanced class of Sorcerer for the new 1.5 patch. We will give you the build and then we will give you some rotations that you can use with the build as well: SWTOR Sith Inquisitor Sorcerer Leveling Build For 1.5: 10 – 11: Reserves 2/2 12 – 14: Electric Induction 3/3 15 – 16: Subversion 2/2 17 – 19: Convection 3/3 20: Chain Lightning 1/1 21 – 22: Lightning Barrage 2/2 23 – 24: Exsanguinate 2/2 25: Lightning Storm 1/1 26 – 27: Lightning Effusion 2/2 28: Lightning Spire 1/1 29: Lightning Barrier 1/2 30 – 32: Forked Lightning 3/3 33: Conduction 1/1 34: Polarity Shift 1/1 35 – 39: Reverberating Force 5/5 40: Thundering Blast 1/1 41 – 43: Seeping Darkness 3/3 44 – 45: Will of the Sith 2/2 46 –…

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Impressions – Bioware Cantina Tour from Austin

Two Fridays ago BioWare turned Mr. Tramps, a local Austin hangout, into a cantina straight off Alderaan. The Alpha Strike Force (ASF) guild of the Jedi Covenant couldn’t pass on a chance like that and sent one of its finest officers  to investigate and record his impressions! The backroom of the cantina had three wall-sized screens continuously playing all of the SWTOR videos. To see the arrival of the Sith at Korriban, the battle of Alderaan and the fall of the Jedi Temple on the huge screens was a sight to behold. The videos really set the mood for the night. Approximately eighty players and upwards of twenty designers filled the cantina sharing beers and stories, each in great spirits. Upon arrival, BioWare gave each player a Tauntaun Fawn pet for in-game use and a copy of the Journal of Grand Master Gnost-Dural. This proved an excellent ice-breaker – each designer carried a sharpie and would gladly…

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Cartel Market SNEAK PEAK!

We here at SWTOR Strategies thought it would be nice to bring you a sneak peak of the Cartel Market for those who will have Cartel Coins. Personally, I was pretty impressed. It’s still not available in game, but you can see it for yourself in the Public Test Server before the next update – where we will all probably be seeing the first F2P gamers joining us in this epic war across the Galaxy. First, I had to download 11gigs to enter the Public Test Server. Then I had to ease my security settings into trusting it. My rig hates changes. But after all that, I got to enter a world and make this guy. And then I got to see this. The Cartel Market! [Click on the images to see them in full detail] Welcome to the Cartel, they got fun ‘n’ games. They got everything you want….

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F2P vs Sub: The ‘Real’ Price Players Will Have To Pay

Deirdre Hollis, world renowned TORWARS pod-caster wrote an awesome article, that I wish I could of written myself. I’m so jealous! Deirdre basically predicts with the coming of SWTOR’s F2P (Free to Play) option this fall, a divide that is already surfacing between subscribers (the haves) and f2p gamers (the have nots), akin to class warfare in ancient Rome, will arise.  She puts it all together much more “diplomatically” than I would have. She kept the correlations of the US government to these politically divisive affairs as insinuations. She takes it a step further and predicts that EA will see the profits of SWTOR/F2P and eventually even make subscribers try to pay for extra features like the F2P gamers. She also reminds us how the Bioware we all remember and love is long gone, and that EA is more directly in charge of the path SWTOR will take in the…

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Playing Pazaak on your Android Mobile and one day in SWTOR

Pazaak is an ancient card game from the Star Wars Universe. It’s believed by many controversial Coruscant researchers and historians that this is the origin of Sabacc or Jhabacc, a notorious gambling game frequently played by scoundrels like Lando Calrissian, Mara Jade and Han Solo. Ancient Pazaak was played for the first time, by Star Wars gamers in Knights of the Old Republic I and II. And now, is extremely popular by the deep desire of Star Wars gamers wanting to see it as part of their Massive Multi-Player Online experience, in the game Star Wars the Old Republic – which takes place not too long after Knights of the Old Republic. If you do a search for “Pazaak” in the forums of SWTOR.com you will find 4 pages of threads all asking for Pazaak to be added to the game.  We’re talking about 92 unique threads all demanding Pazaak….

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Star Wars prequels 3D reissues set for back-to-back releases in Fall 2013

Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox are taking a page out of the successful 1997 re-release of the original “Star Wars” trilogy as they prepare for a 3-D launch of two more movies from the space saga next year. “”Star Wars: Attack of the Clones” and “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith,” the fifth and sixth movies — but the second and third chronologically — will be released in 3-D on Sept. 20, 2013 and Oct. 11, 2013, respectively. Lucasfilm announced the news on its Facebook page Monday. Putting the two movies three weeks apart mirrors Fox and Lucasfilm’s strategy 15 years ago when the original “Star Wars,” “Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” were re-released in three-week increments over the winter. The approach can help create the feeling of a major fan event lasting a month or more. It will also save marketing dollars, as Fox (which handles distribution and…

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Star Wars fans gather force for Celebration VI in Orlando

The biggest “Star Wars” party this side of the galaxy continues this weekend in a city not far, far away from Brevard. “Star Wars” fans young and old are in for a real treat as Star Wars Celebration VI returns to the Orlando Convention Center. Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Seth Green, Dave Filoni and Kevin Smith are among the guests, along with the many fans emulating C-3PO, storm troopers, Darth Vader, Princess Leia and Han Solo. For David White of Titusville, a member of the Mandalorian Mercs, which celebrates the subculture of “Star Wars” bounty hunter Boba Fett, the celebration means a chance to don his costume for a good cause. His group will host a jail and bail event in which the Mercs arrest or release folks, with proceeds going to charity. “The last celebration, we only ran it for six or seven hours on one day, and we…

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MTSBWY: Droidfriend – Justin Bieber Boyfriend Parody

Teddie Films wooed us last month with The Star Wars That I Used To Know and this time they’re at it again with what is sure to be another major hit. Droidfriend pits C3-PO in a Bieber likeness putting the moves on a nice Twi’lek. What makes this an even bigger nerdgasm for us is all the extras in the background. In this video, one of the most irritating characters of the original Star Wars trilogy tackles a kindred soul in the music industry – Justin Bieber! And for those who are a bit more purist in their love of Star Wars tributes, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. We’re going to double up this post with an amazing musical homage below in honor of the iconic cantina scene posted by YouTube user CharlesLaurita. Enjoy!

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Gotye Meets Star Wars

Two internet memes collide in a galaxy far far away this week, as Star Wars and Gotye are crammed into one spoof. If that sounds crude, it actually works surprisingly well, with some pointed swipes at the Star Wars prequels and a George Lucas-alike who sings about “all the times I screwed fans over””. The Force is strong with this one, just don’t expect this to be released on Blu-ray any time soon.

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Fans Fix Up Luke Skywalker’s Home

A group of very dedicated Star Wars fans took it upon themselves to recreate and build the “Lars Homestead,” which was featured as hero Luke Skywalker’s home in the first-released installment of the series, “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope,” in 1977, again in the 2002 release of “Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones,” and finally in the last movie theatrically released, 2005’s “Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith.”” The igloo-shaped home, was a venture that fan Mark Dermul of Belgium began dating back to April 2001, noted on the fan’s official website, where he traveled to the African nation of Tunisia to locate where filming for the “Star Wars” series was done. Dermul and a group of other “Star Wars” fans from around the world ventured back to the Tunisian desert over the years, as part of their “Tatooine Reunion,” noted the website, and…

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 5 Trailer

Entertainment Weekly has posted the first trailer for Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 5 which was first unveiled at Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ Star Wars Weekends. The show’s supervising director Dave Filoni says, “There’s a lot of payoff coming. I think people are going to see ways The Clone Wars ties together more and more with A New Hope. We’re setting up elements that eventually become the Empire.” The fifth season will premiere in the US on Cartoon Network this September.

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Star Wars 1313: A New Hope or a Phantom Menace?

Late last month, LucasArts took the wraps off Star Wars 1313, a third-person action-adventure game set on the planet of Coruscant. At the E3 conference in Los Angeles last week, LucasArts has debuted the first batch of footage for its forthcoming title – and safe to say, it resembles very little that has come before. In the clip, which features a cut scene and a few seconds of gameplay from a PC version of Star Wars 1313, a nameless bounty hunter descends hundreds of levels below the surface of Coruscant, to an area called 1313. There, some sort of accident leaves his transport vessel in flames, and the bounty hunter is forced to leap and scramble from one fiery scrap of metal to another. “”Star Wars 1313 dives into a part of the Star Wars mythos that we’ve always known existed, but never had a chance to visit,” Paul Meegan,…

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Intergalactic Intel: How to be a raid leader part 2

“You’re a what now?” Explaining things to your mother is never easy. Especially when it comes to video games. “A raid leader. I’m like the boss.” “What are you killing people’s homes and towns?” “No. What? Why would you ask that?” “You said raid leader. So you’re leading a raid.” I wanted to bury my face into my hands. Welcome back to another article of intergalactic intel. We’re continuing our in depth look at raiding with part two of raid leading. Last time we talked about tips on raid leading as well as qualifications of a good raid leader. Today we’re gonna talk about what responsibilities a raid leader has. As we all know operation encounters can be very confusing and chaotic. It’s the raid leader’s job to make heads and tails of what’s going on in the fight. . A raid leader is like a conductor in an orchestra….

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Intergalactic Intel: How to be a raid leader part 1

  “I could do a better job than you ever did!” I couldn’t believe I was arguing with an ex-raider on facebook. I was even more disturbed that I was being attacked by someone I considered a friend. “Trust me, you couldn’t. It was complex.” “There’s nothing complex about it!” I decided to step away from the situation at this point. I have known for quite some time, raid leading is not for everyone. Welcome back to another exciting issue of Intergalactic Intel! I’m currently explaining the finer points of raiding in detail. Last week we looked at how to analyze a fight, from strategy to team make up. This week we’re looking at one of the hardest duties in a raid being the raid leader. I’m going to split this particular one into two parts, what you need to be a raid leader and tips that I was never told…

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Happy Birthday, “STAR WARS”! When did you first see it?

We got so caught up in all of the Mega server news and BioWare Layoffs, that I almost forgot that last Friday was the 35th anniversary of the premiere of Star Wars. On May 25, 1977, George Lucas premiered “Episode IV: A New Hope” and changed the lives of kids like me (I don’t think I saw the movie until later in the summer, when word spread about how good the movie was). In fact, the anniversary has spawned another “holiday”, known as “Geek Pride Day.” Here’s one of my favorite scenes from the film, the attack on the Death Star (aka the “trench run”). I still get chills watching this: The effects of Star Wars on the world are too numerous to list here on this blog post. From movie-making techniques to the explosion of science-fiction in books, movies and TV and even YouTube, to video games and beyond,…

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