Reminder: Tuesday scheduled maintenance is coming so here’s your chance to get some play time in before the servers go down. Scheduled time is only 4 hours and most of us will be sleeping during this period anyway. Last week’s update brought us server transfers and this update will bring us one step closer to 1.3. Learn more about what’s coming with game update 1.3. What do you do during maintenance? From the SWTOR Community News team: Hello everyone, we wanted to let you know that we will be performing scheduled maintenance for four hours on Tuesday, June 19th , 2012 from 2AM CDT (12AM PDT/3AM EDT/8 AM BST/9AM CEST/5PM AEST) until 6AM CDT (4AM PDT/7AM EDT/12PM BST/1PM CEST/9PM AEST). All game servers and SWTOR.com will be offline during this period. This maintenance is expected to take no more than four hours, but could be extended. This weekly maintenance is…
Author: Lisa Clark
EA plan on being in the SWTOR business “for a long time”
With all the talk about server merges and the possibility of a free to play format in the future, some are getting the impression that SWTOR is a sinking ship but there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. Honestly, it just doesn’t make a lot of sense for a company like EA to put that much work and effort into a game like this and then just scrap it when things don’t seem to be going as well as they would like. My guess is that they will continue changing, adding and reworking things to keep the interest in SWTOR alive. No game ever sees a perfect launch and while some are more rocky than others, SWTOR wasn’t that bad at all. In fact, it was met with a successful launch but the problem came in when players loved the game so much they seemed to blow right through…
How Awesome Would it be if SWTOR Goes F2P?
There have been rumors about it from the start and some experts even predicted that SWTOR might be the last pay-to-play MMORPG. Now that they are offering a free 15 levels of play and have hinted at the possibility of microtransactions, there is a new rumor on the scene- will SWTOR go free to play? Thanks to a story from UK magazine GamesTM, the rumor mill is abuzz again. In the article, BioWare’s associate lead designer, Emmanuel Lusinchi said: “The MMO market is very dynamic and we need to be dynamic as well,” he says. “Unless people are happy with what they have, they are constantly demanding updates, new modes and situations. So we are looking at free-to-play but I can’t tell you in much detail. We have to be flexible and adapt to what is going on.” So this has players wondering if they are going to switch to…
RMT Coming to SWTOR
EA is trying to diversify their gaming experience and increase their earnings potential. This is not really a surprise as they want to keep up with the growing gaming world and give the customers/players what they want. Since SWTOR launched, many have been saying it just might be the last pay-to-play MMO to come out and it’s hard to disagree when you see the direction that games are going in. While SWTOR is not F2P, they are going to give you a free 15 levels to try to entice new players into the game. I think this is a pretty smart move as it gives you a real good taste of the game and helps you decide whether or not you want to purchase the game for yourself. It’s also a smart move on the part of EA/BioWare because it cuts off just as the story is getting good for…
SWTOR Patch 1.3 Preview – What’s Coming Soon?
Patch 1.3 is definitely going to be one of the most influential game updates to SWTOR and any MMORPG free update. It packs a big punch with loads of new features that players have been waiting on for a very long time. Here are some of the main features coming with Game Update 1.3 and what you need to know about each. Patch 1.3 Preview -SWTOR Group Finder The long awaited group finder is finally coming. Some players have even stated previously that the lack of a group finder was a deal breaker for the end-game. It made it too difficult to find other players to do a Flashpoint or Operation with. You could spend hours (literally) sitting around spamming chat channels and begging someone to join a group with you. Then if you do get a group, there is no guarantee that any one in it really knows what…
The Old Republic: Annihilation Cover Art Info
Drew Karpyshyn has announced on his website that the two characters on the back cover of his upcoming novel; The Old Republic: Annihilation are indeed Darth Karrid, the Falleen and Jedi Master Gnost-Dural, the Kel Dor and narrator of the Timeline videos for The Old Republic. Drew says on his blog: The man on the front is Theron Shan, the main protagonist. I’ve had some people ask if he was modeled after me. (People asked the same thing about the default image of Commander Shepard as well.) I guess I can see it, since we do share some features: white guys with shorter, darker hair; two eyes, one nose. But beyond that… not so much. On the back cover of the Annihilation novel, you see Darth Karrid, the main villain in the story. She’s the one with the red lightsaber. You also see Jedi Master Gnost-Dural, the narrator for the history holocron updates for SWTOR. If you…
Community Q&A: June 8th, 2012
The answers for the SWTOR Community Q&A are here. Stubacca: Will the new Group Finder only work for solo players to find random group members, or will two or three friends that are already grouped together manually be able to still play together and fill the open spots in the group with random group members with it? Damion Schubert (Principal Lead Systems Designer): The Group Finder has absolutely been designed to allow 2- or 3-person groups to find the missing players to complete that group. It also has functionality allowing players to easily backfill a group if, for example, you start running a Flashpoint and lose a player. Elperzon: Will we ever be given the chance to ‘forget’ schematics we know? For example, I can make the base item, the 3 upgraded version (crit, power, def), and some of their upgraded versions (alacrity, surge, etc). That makes for a ton…
LFG Tool Bonus with a Pre-Made Group
You can use the new LFG tool with a pre-made group and still get the bonus. Awesome! Here’s the official work from the SWTOR community blog: Yes, you can queue for Group Finder with pre-made groups. However, only the Group Leader can queue your group as a whole. Once you are a part of a pre-made group, you will not be able to queue individually until you leave the group. If you are queued as a group and you are not the Group Leader, the Group Finder will display the content that the Group Leader queued you for. You can queue with a full group that is valid for the content. For example, for a Flashpoint, you’ll need to have characters to fill the tank and healer roles. If your Group is not valid when the Group Leader attempts to queue, it will display a message and give you the…
New Unique Looking Mount on PTS
If you’re on the SWTOR public test servers for Game Update 1.3, you might have already seen that there is a really cool new mount for Kurtob alliance. It is rumored to be from referring a friend and having them subscribe for a month but we can’t 100% confirm that yet. Dulfy got a great screenshot of it for us. A lot of players are saying they’d start their own second account if you can really get this cool mount from referring a friend. Of course there are always some who don’t like it or make fun – it’s not for everyone- but I think it’s pretty cool. And I know all of those gamers who love to collect all of something in a game (pets, mounts, etc) are going to find this fun. So here’s just one more fun thing we are seeing from the PTS that is coming…
Clarification on the SWTOR Server Transfers
Server transfers are coming- this we know. Most of us are really excited about that fact. Now there are a few questions that remain and BioWare is setting out to make us all aware of the specifics, as much as possible. First, we know that there will be only one destination allowed. Allison Berryman | Senior Community Coordinator said on the forums: We do have more information about character transfers coming, and we’ll post a detailed FAQ that will answer many specific questions. As for being concerned about not being able to transfer to the same server as your son during free transfers, you don’t have anything to worry about. Each server that becomes eligible for transfers will have just one destination server, and you’ll be able to move all your characters from your origin server to that destination server. We’ll announce these servers at the start of the program…
Looking Back at HK-47 before the Big SWTOR Reveal
The arrival of HK-47 has been hinted at since PAX 2010, when a SWTOR teaser video had a HK-series droid saying “Interjection: Silence Meatbags” and he’s since appeared in the Foundry Flashpoint. The new 1.3 patch notes have also confirmed that a new companion for all classes is arriving, an HK-51 droid, based on 47’s model. With the forthcoming return of the HK-series droids to Star Wars: The Old Republic, we thought it was time for a look back to the origin of the product line. (More spoilers than a modded car show, watch out.) If you’re a big fan of HK-47, you’re going to be happy to hear the news that a new droid companion is coming to SWTOR. He’s such a fun droid who has real issues with “meatbags” and PCGamesN has decided to take this time to look back on the HK-series of droids and their history….
Daniel Erickson Interview – Players Progress Quicker than Thought
It seems the fans of SWTOR really got one over on BioWare, progressing much more quickly than they thought they would, says Daniel Erickson in an interview with GameSpy UK. This isn’t really surprising news to most who have played the game or even followed the news and updates regarding SWTOR. We saw firsthand how quickly some players barreled through the content, hungry for more. Star Wars: The Old Republic has done a pretty good job with supplying a constant flow of post-release content. Think about it: it’s an MMORPG that has only been out for six months and we continue to get free content updates, and there are even more on the way as evidenced from EA’s Press Conference yesterday. But are these upcoming changes to SWTOR the result of plans that were made far in advance, or are they a response to player behavior? Turns out it’s a…
Class changes and balance in Game Update 1.3
There will be some class changes and game balance updates coming to SWTOR in Game Update 1.3. While there are bound to be some unhappy campers, for the most part, this is a welcomed change for SWTOR players. Here is an explanation of these changes from SWTOR official blog: Hello everyone. My name is Austin Peckenpaugh, and I’m a Senior Designer on Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. My job here is to create, maintain, and balance class gameplay in The Old Republic. As such, I’m here to shed some light on the upcoming changes to classes in Game Update 1.3 to give you all a sense of what’s to come and why it’s coming. Like with any major patch, Game Update 1.3 will bring with it an array of class updates. Before I go into detail on any specific changes, I wanted to use this opportunity to share our philosophy…
Game Update 1.3 is Available On PTS!
It’s finally here- game update 1.3 is on the public test realms. Not only does this mean you might have the opportunity yourself to play this new content before it is released to all players, but it also means we will start seeing news and updates coming from the PTS so we know what to expect from the game update ourselves. Here is the official announcement from SWTOR.com news: Please check out this Welcome to PTS blog for information on how to access the Public Test Server. Game Update 1.3: Allies has a lot of great new features, such as the Group Finder tool and Ranked Warzones, to name a few. One of the big focuses for us in testing this Game Update is the Group Finder tool and as such, we want to help incentivize our players to hop onto PTS and help us test it. There are two…
SWTOR and Beyond- Bonus Missions
Have you ever been about to leave a planet and you think you’ve done everything they want but then… there’s one more quest that pops up? Maybe you’re one of those players who loves to do absolutely everything on a planet before moving on. Or maybe you are already max level and you want to go back and do some more quests in those past zones that you didn’t finish up as you leveled up. If you want to get all there is to get out of SWTOR, then you want to go back to each planet and do the bonus quests in your faction. Here’s an overview of all the bonus quests in each zone. Republic Bonus Quests Taris Bonus Series Minimum Level: 12 Speak to Governor Saresh Speak to Vealo Complete Missing Link for Mola Haxtor Complete Where Darkness Abides for Mola Haxtor Complete Future Threat Complete Power…
Huttball = Soccer Wars? I See a Resemblance
Huttball is my favorite PvP Warzone in SWTOR. Despite what others might say, I really enjoy it. Is it annoying when you get in a group of pugs that don’t know what they’re doing? Sure it is! But I don’t care so much because I still enjoy the game. It’s also a great deal of fun when you tell new players how to win, they listen and you win! So anyway, I noticed something interesting when thinking about Huttball and how it has a big resemblance to another game I play (and coach) offline- soccer. This brought me back to an old post we did here on the site in the summer of 2010. It was from our column “The Guild” and we had a reader write in with a real good idea for a PvP zone in SWTOR (not yet released): This week I’ll be paying attention to some…
How To Get End Game Color Crystals in SWTOR
Do you enjoy collecting color crystals? Or are you looking for a certain color and you want to find the fast- track way to get it as quickly as possible without wasting a lot of your time? Lucky for you, we’ve got just what you need today. Dulfy brings us yet another fantastic guide. I would have loved to do one like this but she’s done a fantastic job so why mess with perfection? She’s put her hard work into this guide so I’m just going to pass it along to you for today’s “How To” of the week. Hey everyone, color crystals in SWTOR are popular vanity items ever since the game’s launch. With the arrival of patch 1.2, we saw the introduction of several new crystal colors (Black-Orange, Black-Purple) as well as upgrades for several existing colors to their endgame stats (+41 crit/power/endurance/expertise). Unfortunately, the method to obtain…
BIG SWTOR News out of E3 Today!
If you were waiting for new updates from E3 on SWTOR, then the wait is over. There were some very exciting things just announced at E3. Here’s an overview: New Space Mission: Space Station Assault New Operation: Terror from Beyond New Companion: HK-51 New playable species: Cathar New Level cap and combat abilities New Warzone: Ancient Hypergates New planet to explore: Makeb Free to Play to Level 15 (that should get most players to their ship and main storyline of Act 1) New abilities for classes Here’s the trailer: Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ – Preview Exciting New Reveals from E3! Pretty exciting news. I wonder if this will entice some players back who have left the game or gotten bored with the content. And with free to play to level 15, I think a lot more people will try out the game to see if they feel it’s worth…
Official Q&A Thread for June 8th, 2012 Q&A Blog Post
For our Question of the Week, we want to ask you what you would ask BioWare about SWTOR. The official Q&A thread for questions to be answered for the June 8th, 2012 Q&A blog post is up and now is your chance to get your questions in but BioWare has a few guidelines before you post your question. If you want to have a higher chance of getting your question answered, then consider these guidelines. From BioWare: In order to increase the chances of having your specific question answered and to help us keep the thread manageable, here are some guidelines on asking questions: Keep your question relatively short. Background details are welcome, but don’t go overboard. Please actually ask a question. We want to hear constructive feedback elsewhere in the Forums. Use common sense – we cannot answer everything, especially on far-reaching content. This should go without saying, but…
SWTOR Server Merges and BioWare Austin Layoffs Bring Out the “I Told You So’s”
With SWTOR server mergers imminent and the big layoffs at BioWare Austin, many SWTOR haters are coming out to say “I told you so!” This really has me thinking, is SWTOR really that bad or are some people just bored or vindictive and looking for something new to troll? While some circumstances do seem to show SWTOR on a decline, there is no solid evidence at this time that the game is sinking, going under or failing. There are still many active players and subscriptions and with all the new promised content, there’s no reason many more players won’t join or come back on board. BioWare responded to the layoffs but as Massively reports, the response was a little weak: Despite the layoffs, Lusinchi said that the development team is still “one of the biggest” in the industry and has detailed plans for SWTOR’s future. Still, that didn’t make dealing…
A Quick Update about SWTOR Server Transfers
If you’re like most of us, you’ve been waiting anxiously for an update about server transfers. You’ve probably been feeling a little lonely on your server (or maybe it’s just mine) and you’re really ready for some more players to interact with on a regular basis. It’s coming, according to BioWare. Joveth Gonzalez, SWTOR Online Community Manager gave this update about server transfers: “I know you are all eager for information regarding character transfers and I just wanted to let you all know that this is definitely a studio wide priority. We’ve just about finished up on the development side of things, but in order to ensure a high quality service, the system needs to undergo extensive testing. The testing cycle, as some of you may know, is variable and highly dependent on a number of things. With that being said, as soon as this process is complete and we…
Unlimited Free Trial and 1.3 Patch Info Released
SWTOR game update 1.3 is coming. Are you ready? The latest patch will hit the test servers very soon and lead designer Daniel Erickson and technical design director Emmanuel Lusinchi have some info for us to help us get prepared. The peeps over at ZAM have a really great article and interview that tells us many of the things we can look forward to such as unlimited free trial (for certain levels) and a new weekly world boss with missions coming in 1.3. Here’s more: Game Update 1.3 – Allies – introduces a strong blend of tools intended to make forming groups much easier, along with even more ways to customize how we play. Currently undergoing internal testing, the update should be available on the public test server soon and live later this summer. Here are some things the update will have: Game Update 1.3 includes a group finder to…
Star Wars 1313 Announced
After much anticipation, Lucas Arts finally announced the name of their new Star Wars game- Star Wars 1313. This is a mature-themed game which is set in a dark, vast subterranean metropolis that is found beneath the surface of Coruscant. You play a bounty hunter (which is think is really cool) but I’m a little curious about where this storyline is going to go and why it’s rated mature. They say this game is definitely created for the adult set. So I want to see more but I guess we have to wait for E3 for that. It’s a third-person action game built with Unreal Engine 3 as a base, and Lucas Arts has mentioned that the production values are quite high with, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Animation Ltd. and Skywalker Sound all working on the game. LucasArts president Paul Meegan said, “Star Wars 1313 dives into a part…
BioWare Announces New Community Team Members and Position Changes
There are some changes happening at BioWare after certain staff members were let go and the BioWare SWTOR team want to let us know about these new team members, new positions and other changes we have to look forward to. In this Community Blog Post they shared a general update as well as introductions of different members: As many of you may already know, Community Coordinator Eric Musco will be taking over for Sr. Community Coordinator David Bass as the community liaison to fan sites and guilds. Eric and David have been working closely together over the past few weeks to ensure a smooth hand off. While we’re sad to see David leave, we wish him all the best in his new endeavor. They go to share some introductions: My name is Joveth Gonzalez and I’m the Online Community Manager. I’m currently overseeing the development of our new community initiatives,…