Since before SWTOR even launched, we have discussed the topic of same gender relationships (SGRs) in the game. There are some who were for it, those who were against it and others who just didn’t care. The one thing that remained consistent throughout is that the topic causes a lot of controversy. While BioWare first said there would not be SGRs in the game, they later listened to fan reaction and changed their minds, promising that there would be – only not at launch. The reasoning made perfect sense- they just didn’t have time to change the story arcs properly. They didn’t want to simply go in and add the option for romantic encounters with either/or sex of character in the game. Rather, they wanted to do it right, in true BioWare-story fashion and make some characters open to SGRs based on their personalities and previous story line. Fans of…
Author: Lisa Clark
Forum Updates Regarding Makeb
The first expansion for SWTOR is coming soon- just after the one-year anniversary. While the size of the dev team has shrunk considerably since launch, BioWare is still devoted to adding new planets, just as they had said when the game was new. Players have a lot of questions about Makeb and while we don’t have all the answers yet, there is some info starting to appear on the forums. Scope of Makeb Here is some info from the forums about Makeb: To give you all a better idea of Makeb’s scope, it’s a planet of equal size to our larger planets and it contains a variety of areas – sprawling mesas, underground caverns, garden estates, and more. It introduces faction-specific storylines, new Heroic missions and bosses, repeatable mission series, and new Datacrons! The 5 new levels will occupy players for a fair amount of time, and there’s plenty of…
Happy Birthday SWTOR!
Dec 20, 2011 was the official launch of SWTOR and one year later, here we are! Happy Birthday to SWTOR, all the SWTOR dev/staff, and all the SWTOR players! Can you believe it’s been a year already? It seems like it was just yesterday that we were anxiously awaiting the game and while a lot has changed over the past year, we’re happy the game is still around, happy the community is still here and happy to have all of our loyal readers still here as well. Let’s recap a few articles and news pieces over the past year: Our Big List of SWTOR Guides Really Cool Fan Art Stories How Stuff Works column There’s also a cool SWTOR t-shirt giveaway here so check it out for your chance to win! Dulfy also has a giveaway: Items that are part of the giveaway includes 40 SWTOR JINX shirts, 5 Cartel…
SWTOR Legacy Perks Guide
Star Wars: The Old Republic introduced players to the Legacy System when the Patch 1.2 went live. The Legacy system opened up a variety of upgrades on a global scale that you can unlock simply by playing more. For example, you can unlock a character’s race when you reach level 50 and it affects all characters on that particular account and server. This helped to make the game even more interesting. To unlock the Legacy System you need to complete Act one of your first characters storyline. This usually happens somewhere around levels 32 to 34. Once you accomplish this, you’ll be prompted to create a legacy or Star Wars Surname. You’ll also gain access to the Legacy UI, which is found on the top toolbar. This gives you access to your family tree and it will show you which class, race, and purchasable unlocks are available to you. The…
Flashpoint Guide: Mandalorian Raiders
Allusis, the Republic warship was stolen by a rogue faction of Mandalorian Raiders under the Clan Varad banner. They are attacking and inflicting mayhem on the defenseless Outer Rim worlds. Strike teams have been assembled and sent out to seize control of the Allusis and end these brutal and senseless attacks. It’s recommended that each member of your team, whether Empire or Republic, be at least a level 25 before undertaking this mission. After choosing your team, prepare to face off with 3 bosses and gain control of that warship. Upon Arrival When you first arrive on board the Allusis, you’ll be greeted by a challenge from Mavrix Varad. He will make this announcement using the ships loudspeaker system. “This is the chieftain of Clan Varad. Whoever you are, you’ve challenged the wrong ship.” For now, just ignore him and move on to the first room of the ship. You’ll…
SWTOR’s Life Day Holiday Event Angers Gamers
SWTOR gamers were hyped up and ready for Life Day. Unfortunately, many were disappointed at what was offered in lieu of an event. BioWare said, “The stuff we are doing for Life Day are absolutely amazing … I am super excited about it. You guys are going to die when you see it.” So you can just imagine the reaction from the fans when the ‘big events’ fell, well… flat. As one player said “I’m a little disappointed that there isn’t a Wookiee Life Day customization for Bowdaar.” It makes sense- it’s Wookiee Life Day- why not even allow players to equip their Life Day items on Bowdaar. Why not have anything in the area to show respect for the date like NPCs in the area in Life Day robes? There wasn’t really any role-playing of it at all. It was pretty disappointing all around and seemed to serve no…
Very Cool SWTOR PC Case
If you’re into case-modding or if you just love cool stuff, then you will be very pleased with what we found. Here are some great pictures of an awesome computer case mod with SWTOR theme. Brian “Boddaker” Carter is the mastermind behind the design and he shows more about this over at The Best Case Scenario. There are some common themes in these cases- each has a mural with a lightsaber extension on one side of the case and they also have a 3-D mask built on the other side. There’s a fantastic holographic display on the front and honestly, even if you don’t like SWTOR, this is all very impressive. Boddaker has some really great projects going on, including this SWTOR PC case. See more here at Bod’s Mods. Check out some of the great images he shared of his modded cases.
SWTOR Augment Slot Guide
One thing that most Star Wars: The Old Republic players have in common is a desire to have the very best gear possible. Building up your character is part of the fun and there are several items available to help you reach your goal. You have the option of modifying gear by using Augments but before you can use them, your gear must have Augment Slots. This Augment Slot guide will show you how to acquire Augmentation Kits, so you can upgrade your character’s gear. Understanding Augments Augments increase the stats of your character to maximize your gear. You can get Augments by using the “slicing crew skill” or you can buy them at the Galactic Trade Network. The type of Augment you use will determine which stats are increased. Here are some examples: Defense – redoubt augments Aim – Reflex augments Strength – might augments Endurance – fortitude augments…
The Inquisitr Talks “Saving SWTOR”- Will F2P Revive the MMO?
It’s been nearly one year since the launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic and we never could have predicted last year that we would be sitting where we are today. The game has changed a lot and key developers have moved on to new projects but BioWare is still working on their project, which some say is a struggling game. “When Star Wars The Old Republic made its much ballyhooed debut in December of 2011, many gamers were promoting it as the next WoW killer”, says Inquisitr. BioWare had high hopes for their game, as did the fans but not everything worked according to plan. SWTOR reportedly cost over $200 million to develop and had 800 developers on four different continents involved in the creation. Some might argue that their first mistake was trying to do too much. KISS (keep it simple, stupid). The entire project took over six years to complete and…
Top 5 Most Popular Cartel Market Items
The Star Wars: The Old Republic new Cartel Market is getting a lot of attention for being the place to go to buy and unlock in-game items for your character. You can also buy or unlock a variety of enhancements and customizations to make the game more interesting and to enhance your online experience. So what can you get there and what’s worth the investment? While you’ll find a large variety of items in the Cartel Market, some of them are more popular than others such as the ones listed here. Here we have the top five popular cartel market items (currently). Carbonite Chamber You’ll need 720CC to buy Carbonite Chamber making it one of the most expensive items you can acquire at the Cartel Market. However, anyone who has seen it used will surely agree that it’s worth the price. This chamber makes your character unique and this gets…
Flashpoint Guide: The False Emperor
The Battle of Ilum has ended and the threat is gone but a new battle is on the way. You’ve learned of the splinter faction leader’s location aboard the stolen Sith Battlecruiser and your squad must fight your way onto the ship. However, this is not going to be an easy task. The Battlecruiser has an army of battle droids ready to go to any length to defend their leader all in the name of the new Empire. The environment on the Battlecruiser is a very unstable one where you’ll go up against 6 bosses. It’s recommended that all of your squad members are at least a level 50 because some of these battles are going to be tough. Tregg the Destroyer The first boss is Tregg the Destroyer and he has two MoBs with him. It’s easier to take out the two MoBs if the tank pulls Tregg into…
BioWare to Tweak Endgame PvP Balance
In an interview with fansite TORWars this week, we found out from Senior Designer Rob Hinkle that BioWare has plans to make endgame PvP more fun- at least, that’s their idea. They want to make the PvP stat (expertise) equal across the board, no matter what the set of PvP armor. For some players, this is a welcome change but of course, there will be those who oppose. As is typical with an MMORPG, Bioware has struggled to keep endgame balanced for all players. There is a slippery slope in giving seasoned gamers something for their hard work and dedication yet not making them so overpowered that others cannot enjoy the game as well. Hinkle said in this interview that he commonly hears from players that they enjoy levels 10-49 but that at 50 (the current level cap), things change. Many players complain about the lack of imbalance in those who are…
Cartel Packs: Why They’re So Popular
You may have heard about Bioware’s statement concerning the Cartel Packs. When it comes to popularity among the gaming community, this item tops the list when compared to other items at the Cartel Market. Do you know why players are so interested in them or what the cartel pack contents will include? It’s speculated that their popularity has a lot to do with the rare items and the super rare items that drop into the Cartel Packs. These items are randomly placed into the packs so you don’t know which one you’ll get and there is no other way to acquire one. Here are the two options available along with the contents of each pack. The Black Market Cartel Packs sell for 180CC or $2 cash and it contains the following: a companion gift a boost item one rare item or one of the super rare items The Crime Lord…
The Official Daily Blink MMORPG Feedback Form
MMORPGs are all about the community- we don’t deny this. But when does the community get a little too demanding and difficult—to-please? Um, probably always… I was just talking about this with a friend the other day. Gamers today seem to be more spoiled than ever before. We want everything done our way, when we want it and how we want it- OR ELSE! Or else we riot, send hate mail, post multiple complaint threads in the official forums, submit in-game tickets or pretty much anything else we can come up with to let the world at large know that we are disgruntled. The Official Daily Blink MMORPG Feedback Form has you covered for all of your complaints, regardless of your particular MMORPG, all in one simple form. While it’s completely hilarious and meant in jest, it does make you do a little self-checking of your own behaviors. I’ll admit…
SWTOR Flashpoint Guide: Directive 7
Recommended Level: 48-50Faction: Republic & EmpireBosses: 6 (3 mini-bosses) Directive 7 is the name given to a group of renegade droids who have joined together as one identity with one mission, which is to go through the galaxy exterminating all biological life forms. Both the Republic and the Empire have suffered at the hands of these renegade droids so both factions have a common interest in taking down Directive 7. Fortunately, for both factions, one of the Directives disagrees with the exterminating of all other life forms and offers them valuable information that will help put an end to this rebellion. Your mission is to travel with your squad of level 50 players to the small moon called Zadd, where you’ll go up against these 6 bosses in addition to one bonus boss. Here’s a vid of the Flashpoint in action: Detector Detector is the first mini boss you’ll encounter when you arrive…
Flashpoint Guide: Taral V
If you’re looking to do the Flashpoint Taral V, it helps to know just what you’re getting into before you get started. It begins when you and your team travel to the Imperial held planet of Taral V and steal the star charts that will lead you to the space station. The recommended level for this Flashpoint is 33 and there are 6 bosses plus a bonus boss (optional). Many of the trash mobs can be skipped if you are looking to do a quick run but killing them for the extra experience and chance of loot is great if you have the time. Now let’s take a look at those bosses: Handler Gattan As his name suggests, the handler has pets- two Vinecats that you will have to fight during this battle. Gattan’s cats will attack random party members and they are immune to crowd control. The technique is…
Ben Cousins Paying to Win Talks about F2P Game Model
In November 2009, EA hit the headlines when the BATTLEFIELD HEROES team made sweeping changes to their in-game economy and virtual item catalogue that many felt would completely destroy the game, as Ben Cousins explains in his “Paying to Win” talk that covers the free to play gaming model and if and how it works. While consumer press, forum users and players claimed that the new game model ruined BATTLEFIELD HEROES, economic statistics would show EA otherwise. Despite the predictions of destruction, over a year on, BATTLEFIELD HEROES continues to be a powerhouse in the free-to-play space, with nearly 7 million registered users, no declining trend in active users, and it long-term future assured. So, what happened? In this talk, Ben Cousins, General Manager of Easy (the EA studio behind BATTLEFIELD HEROES) takes us through the story of this controversy. Through the development of BATTLEFIELD HEROES and the early performance…
SWTOR World Boss Guides
World bosses are a big part of any MMO and Star Wars: The Old Republic is no exception. You’ll need a full raid party to beat these bosses so be prepared to work together as a team. Throughout the galaxy, you’ll encounter several planets with these raid level bosses and they do yield some nice loot and a codex entry. After taking down a boss the reset timer usually last around two to three hours for each. All of the bosses in SWTOR have what is called a “Terrifying buff” that will yield any companions incapacitate as soon as you initiate the fight. For the most part the bosses will be stronger as you move up in levels. For this reason, if you’re having trouble with the lower level ones, you may need to build up more before tackling the higher-level raid bosses. Here are the planets in STWOR where…
BioWare LiveStream Q&A November 29th
BioWare hosted their second LiveStream Q&A November 29 at 3PM CST as we told you about yesterday. They took questions about the upcoming game update 1.6 and it lasted around a half hour. Those who were able to get their questions in early possibly saw them answered live at the event. They have Community Manager Joveth Gonzalez hosting with Damion Schubert (Lead Designer) and Jeff Hickman (Producer) available to answer questions that came in from Twitter, Facebook, the forums and more. Erik Muska was also available offscreen to take live questions during the event. Some very good questions were asked including how the transition to the new free to play model is going as well as what new things we can expect to see in 1.6. When asked how the numbers look for F2P, Schubert says “Almost every conceivable metric is better. The numbers have blown away our expectations, which means…
Section X Crisis Mission and Daily Missions
Game Update 1.5 brings us a new area on Belsavis , Section X, along with daily repeatable missions for both sides- Imperial and Republic, as well as two new Heroics. You will get more rewards from these new missions than previous daily areas and they are well worth the time. You will also gain more Daily Commendations and more Credits from completing them all than previous dailies. So now that you know it benefits you to join the fight in Section X, let’s explore how to do these dailies. Here is a complete walkthrough for the Imperial Section X Dailies [DAILY] HyperBiology [DAILY] March of the Dread Guard [DAILY] Data Raid [DAILY] Targeted Misfire [HEROIC] The Aurora Canon [AREA] Lost Reconnaissance [Weekly] Section X Crisis First, the weekly is easy to understand because it works the same way as the weeklies in any of the other zones. You need to complete…
Ancient Hypergate Preview
Game Overview Ancient Hybergate is a bit unique in that players must kill the opposing team members in order to harvest enough power to open the Gree hypergates, allowing their reinforcements to be transported to the area. The trick though, is that players must have activated pylons in order to harvest the opposing team’s energy. The Map Players of each team will start at North and South areas of the map in what are called spawn zones. Each team can access the map from the East or West, but must do through timed doors. The pylons needed to access the opposing team’s power are located in the East and West and surrounded by piles of rubble. Between the two pylons, players will find a safe zone in which there are energy cubes. The central area is accessible through large openings on both sides. How to Play The goal of the…
Occupy SWTOR- Angry F2P Gamers Protest F2P Limitations
Something is asunder in SWTOR, at least that’s what one user who took this screenshot would have us to think. They protested by blocking GTN mailboxes and sending out this message “Occupying GTN mailbox for 2 more quick bars for free to play players!” One major downfall to their plan? All you’re doing is irritating your fellow players. This is not the way to get your way with BioWare but it might be a decent way to get a ban- temporary at very least. Players used to do this in WoW all the time until Blizz started banning for it and putting it more mailboxes all over the major cities so it hardly matters if one idiot wants to get on a huge mount, drink a firewater and sit on the mailbox. But what we can admire from these SWTOR “riots” is their determination and willingness to stand up for…
XFire Charts Show SWTOR on the Rise
We assume that since BioWare won’t really tell us population info and other stats, that those statistics are likely based on xfire user info gained from the xfire chat client. It would only represent xfire users that play SWTOR, so it’s a very small sample. However, from this we can see that SWTOR saw a jump when it went free to play and if it stays this way for the next few days and even weeks, then that is a good sign that the game is gaining momentum. If you’re not new to SWTOR and you’ve been around since the beginning (or at least for some time now), this still benefits you. More players means more people to do things with and it also means more money and resources being put into making the game great. So seeing that graph climb more and more over the next few days and…
Game Update 1.6: Ancient Hypergate is on Public Test Server
If you’re just settling in to game update 1.5 and learning about all the new content and features, you might be surprised to know that Game Update 1.6: Ancient Hypergate is now on the Public Test Server (PTS). But those who like to jump in the PTS and be on the cutting edge of the next release are probably already anticipating this. BioWare talks about it more on their blog today, letting us know what we can expect with the new game update, including a new PvP Warzone and Heroic Space Missions: Travel to a remote Warzone to discover a brand new PvP battle mechanic. The Republic and Imperial forces are locked in an intense conflict to control two energy pylons. Fight to take control of these powerful pylons and kill enemy forces to discharge energy into your faction’s gate. The first team to open their portal unleashes deadly reinforcements to wipe out…