We have written here before about the thoughts and impressions of veteran MMO gamers when it comes to SWTOR. In fact, we’re long time MMO players ourselves and we love to hear what others have to say as well. We stumbled across this Reddit post, a la SWTOR review, from a self-professed old school MMO player. What did he have to say about SWTOR? The poster starts with their background in MMO gaming: “My first MMO was Everquest and this was after it had been out for a while” And then some info on other games he’s tried/player: “Since then I have played DDO, STO, and Champions, as well I have tried the trial versions of most other MMO’s out there currently and while some offer a unique experience none have matched the polish and ease of teaching you how to play the game like WOW, until now.” Ok, so…
Author: Lisa Clark
SWTOR Jumps to Number 1 on the Pre-Order Charts
SWTOR has received a lot of attention especially over the last few months but with the launch scheduled for only a few weeks away, it’s gaining even more attention. Last week, I told you how SWTOR was in the top 5 preorders. Well, just as I predicted, it’s now number 1 on the pre-order charts. That’s right, it’s at the top of the list and this jump does have a lot to do with the beta testing that took place over the weekend. After gamers had a chance to spend a little time playing the game, they seemed to be hooked right away. Most players found the game to be intriguing and a few hours of play only made them more curious as to exactly what SWTOR has to offer. Many gamers waited to get a taste of the game to see how they felt about it before placing their…
LucasFilm registers “Star Wars: Identities” domain names
“The acquisition of a new domain name has fueled speculation of what the intergalactic franchise has in store for the future,” writes IFC.com. This is actually really interesting news for fans of Star Wars. There could be something new and exciting in the horizon for the franchise. Lists of recent domain name registrations show that LucasFilm were planning a site called “Star Wars: Identities” of some sort but no one knows exactly what it’s all about. It sure is a lot of fun to try to guess what it’s all about though. Fusible reported that the company registered a number of domain names for this new title. Could it be a series? A game? A movie? Something is in the works at LucasFilm, that’s for sure. Registered names include: StarWarsIdentities.com, the typo-friendly StarWarsIdentites.com and even sw-id.com. In this article, Fusible theorized about what “Star Wars: Identities” might be. Is it…
SWTOR Beta: First Impressions from MMO Crunch
SWTOR beta first impressions are coming in and so far, most players have positive things to say about the game. With so many people who have now gotten to try it out after this past weekend, we’re going to keep seeing those SWTOR reviews, previews and impressions. Here’s what MMO Crunch had to say about first impressions of the game. Players were impressed with how smoothly it ran with no lags or crashes and with the wonderful graphics. SWTOR offers several options for customizing the characters, which is a big plus. Some of the options for characters include different hairstyles, faces, makeup and skin color. Some races even have ridges in the faces, jewelry, horns, scars and tattoos leaving a lot of room for the imagination. Players did notice that some races have more options than others do but this wasn’t a really big deal. One of the main complaints…
Get a SWTOR Beta Key Guaranteed
Would you like to be one of the first players to experience SWTOR? Now’s your chance because EA and CVG have teamed up and they’re offering Star War fans 13,000 SWTOR beta keys, guaranteed! With that many keys being offered, you have a great chance of taking part in the test BioWare and the Publishers of SWTOR have planned. The stress-testing weekend will take place very soon and if you receive one of the keys, you can be part of all the action. Collecting a beta key is easy but first, you need to be registered for the testing program. Once you’re registered, simply visit one of the sites offering beta keys such as Massively or Computer and Video Games.com. If you’re not already registered, you can take care of this technicality at either of these sites and then you can claim your key. Be sure to redeem it by…
Star Wars: The Old Republic engages buyers
What is all the hype of SWTOR all about anyway? We already know that there are a select group of Star Wars fans who have been waiting forever for this game and there will be some SWG crossovers (those who are not blacklisting it) but still, that leaves a massive interest in the game. Where is it coming from? A story on UK’s Gaming Entertainment explains how SWTOR engages buyers, which is one reason they believe it is so popular. A snippet: We are under no illusion that sales will be that of MW3, but we have been surprised at just how much attention SWTOR is having on gamers. According to this source The Old Republic has now made it to the number one position for pre-orders, which is said to be more than 180,000 more than its closest rival. So what are their reasons for why SWTOR is getting…
SWTOR in the top five best selling pre orders
EA Inc.’s Star Wars: The Old Republic Collector’s Edition for the PC held in the top five best-selling pre-order products at Best Buy Co. Inc.’s online division this week due to high demand, reports Punch Jump, but then that’s not really a surprise to us here at all. This week it ranked #5 for best-selling pre-orders but I’m willing to bet the closer we get to the December 20 launch, the higher it will climb up that pre-order list. In fact, due to the massive beta testing weekend they just launched, I’m willing to bet a lot more people who have not pre-ordered yet will jump on the bandwagon to do so now that they get to check the game out for themselves. SWTOR is popular but it’s also not cheap. For some gamers, they need to try it themselves before they fork out that kind of cash on a…
Beta Weekend for Everyone! What?
Notifications were zooming in to me from friends, family, Tweeters and more that they have all received notifications for SWTOR beta weekend THIS weekend. No one seemed to know what was going on. Was it real? Was it another mistake? Then SWTOR/BioWare posted this on their news page: When we started our Beta Testing Weekends, we told you that each weekend would include more testers than the last. We’re excited to announce that later this month we will be conducting our largest Beta Testing Weekend yet, specifically designed to help us stress test our servers in preparation for the launch of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. How can you take part in this coming Beta Test Weekend? Well, for starters we are happy to announce that anyone who has signed up for our Game Testing Program prior to today, November 11th, will get invited! Invites will be sent in the…
The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Old Republic
For the super SWTOR fans, there is a new book coming out that you’re going to want to add to your wishlist. The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Old Republic is set for publication for November 16, 2011. It’s set on Amazon at $26.40 with a retail price of $40 so buying early at the lower price might save you money. About the Author: Frank Parisi is an editor at Lucasfilm, Ltd. He was the co-author of The Art of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, editor of Star Wars Insider magazine, project editor of The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and has contributed numerous articles to GamePro and ALARM magazines. Daniel Erickson is writing director for BioWare’s Austin, Texas studio. He began his gaming career as an intern with Next Generation magazine and is currently lead writer for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Book…
SWTOR Strategies Google+ Page
Are you on Google+? Looking for a new way to follow us and get your favorite SWTOR strategies, news and updates in one place? We know how important it is to get what you want where you want it and some people just aren’t into Twitter and Facebook. Now that Google+ is offering businesses pages (similar to fanpages on Facebook), we have created one as one more way to bring you great SWTOR and Star Wars related news and updates. So head on over to SWTOR Strategies on Google + and show us some love, share us and tell your friends.
Fan Site Summit 2: Roundup
We know how anxious you are to stop reading about this game and finally get to play. We’re with you on that one and as we grow closer to the SWTOR launch date, we’re trying to keep you occupied with any cool info and tidbits we can find on the game. This means updating you on the fansite summit and other good happenings, even if we’re not able to attend them all ourselves. Here’s some more great stuff from the Fan Site Summit (part 2). TORWars is especially chatty about the Fan Site Summit and have a lot to say about their experiences, including some great photos and some audios from the event. It’s their exclusive content so you’ll have to head over there to check it out. Be sure to tell us what you think! Photo Gallery: Deep Inside BioWare Austin – Part One Photo Gallery: Deep Inside BioWare…
Smuggler hands-on from MMOSite
The Smuggler class in Star Wars: The Old Republic is a classic piece of Star Wars lore but what we see in SWTOR is an interesting take on the Smuggler class story. It will be different from the archetype you’re used to and BioWare has some fun things in store. If you want to learn more about the Smuggler, short of being able to play it yourself in game testing, then check out the hands-on from a site that’s been able to play and share (within the NDA, of course). MMOSite.com has a great hands-on SWTOR review of their experience with the Smuggler. If you were trying to make up your mind about whether or not to play a Smuggler, check out this SWTOR preview: Here is a snippet: “Things start to get exciting by level 10 after the “tutorial” aspect of the game comes to an end and players…
Goofy grrl is At it Again with Another Video
This time she says “TOR will suck” and she’s opting not to play. I know that some of you may be completely broken-hearted at this news but I assure you, there will be plenty of similar lonely souls looking to grace the game of SWTOR. If you don’t remember GoofyGrrl, here’s a reminder from her Goodbye SWG video. So now she’s back with a brand new video telling us how she doesn’t want to play TOR and why. She says her desire to not play SWTOR has nothing to do with the game “killing” her beloved Star Wars Galaxies but that she has her own totally unrelated, legitimate reasons for why she is not interested in SWTOR. She’s been really busy lately and she invites us to “like if we agree and if we don’t, that’s fine” because we have our opinion and she has hers (even if hers sounds…
EU Beta Invites Are Sent
Have you been meticulously refreshing your email inbox today hoping for a beta invite for SWTOR? If you haven’t gotten one yet and you already checked your spam folder, then unfortunately, you probably didn’t get in right now. Great news for European players though! European game invites have been sent out in a batch for a selection of players to start testing SWTOR. North American players got another batch of weekend test emails but for some lucky Europeans, it’s more than a weekend test and an actual game testing invite. Access to the general beta test means you get to see what the game is all about before it is released to the general public in December. Game testing characters do not carry over into the live game and there is no guarantee on how long you will get to test but it’s sure exciting news if you did get…
World of Warcraft Loses 2 Million Subscribers in a Year
If you are interested in getting into the game, Here is a world of warcraft digital download price comparison tool. Another great resource is WoW-Strategy.com that helps you find WoW guides that can show you how to level 3x faster and make more gold. Gamasutra Reports WoW subscriptions are down and despite plans to turn things around and a new upcoming expansion, is it too late for Blizzard? Sure, there will always be WoW fans but part of the appeal is starting to wear out for a lot of people. Add to this the buzz and excitement for SWTOR and you can see where the SWTOR vs. WoW wars came from. Gamasutra says: “As of September 30, the game stood at 10.3 million players, Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime revealed Tuesday in a Gamasutra-attended conference call. This is down nearly a million from the 11.1 million reported three months prior, and significantly less than a…
Weekend Beta Testing #3 Invites Going Out
Allison Berryman, Senior Community Coordinator, explains on the official SWTOR forums that invitations are being sent for a weekend test this weekend! That is super exciting news for anyone who’s still been waiting for their chance to get into a game testing weekend to try out the beta. Her post explains: Sent Nov. 8: Beta Testing Weekend #3 Invites Who was invited: Testers from North America What was sent: Beta Weekend #3 Invites Server locations: US East Coast Invite status: We are currently in the process of sending these invites, and will continue throughout this evening and into tomorrow. So have you checked your email? Refreshed it a few times? Checked and rechecked the spam folder? There might still be a chance for you to get into a beta weekend. If you don’t, then just head back on over here for more updates, news and SWTOR strategy, previews and reviews….
Darthhater Brings Us Fan Site Summit 2 Info
While we wish we were at the most recent Fan Site Summit to get a hands-on experience, we were unfortunately not invited. So instead, we’re scouring the websites of those fansites who were invited to help bring you some of the latest and greatest content out there. The guys over at Darth Hater have been great about sharing their experiences and this Fan Site Summit is no different. They have two great write-ups right now to help you learn more about SWTOR and really get you jazzed up (as if you were not already) about playing the game. These are exclusives from their experience at the Fan Site Summit so you have to head over to their site to see the full thing but here’s a recap of why it’s worth your time: Fan Site Summit 2: Voidstar & Ilum PVP Demo Want to learn more about PvP in SWTOR?…
Secure Your Account and Grab a Security Authentication Key
This news just in from the official SWTOR site: it’s time to secure your account. You may have gotten an email about changing your password sometime in the past 24 hours. They also put out this news article explaining the reason for the emails. In addition, BioWare is offering a Security Authentication Key that comes with the Collector’s Edition but will be available other ways as well. The news story explains: “The Collector’s Edition is still available in limited quantities at select retailers. Watch for more information on other ways to obtain The Old Republic Security Key soon!” From the picture Stephen Reid tweeted of the CE package, it looks just like the Blizzard authenticator but with a SWTOR graphic. Anyway, it’s still a pretty nifty device. I have one for WoW and with the popularity of SWTOR, it seems a pretty good idea to grab one for that extra…
Stephen Reid tweeted a pic of SWTOR CE Box
Are you wondering what the Collector’s Edition of SWTOR is going to look like? Have you pre-ordered already or asked Santa to pretty-please bring you a copy for an early Christmas this year? If you’re anxious or curious to see what it’s going to look like, you are in luck. Stephen Reid tweeted a pic of the SWTOR Collector’s Edition box as a fun little teaser for us all to see and drool over. One thing that strikes me right away is how solid this is, which is great for the high price you’re going to pay for it. My office contains a large collection of video game collector’s editions from both myself and my husband. As avid video gamers, we have built a bit of a collection over the years and this box is going to look great added to our shelf. The pic from Reid doesn’t show us…
A Storm is Coming Says Drew Karpyshyn
A storm is coming, as Drew Karpyshyn says on his website- a storm of publicity for his new book. We’ve told you about the Revan novel before but now that we are closer to the release date for the book, the news is really booming. In addition to the synopsis and other excerpts we’ve brought you over the weeks, you can now also find Chapter 3 of the novel. This just might be one of the last sneak peeks we get since the book is releasing very soon! Barnes and Noble now has the book available for preorder if you already know that you want to make it yours. Their overview reads: There’s something out there: a juggernaut of evil bearing down to crush the Republic— unless one lone Jedi, shunned and reviled, can stop it. Revan: hero, traitor, conqueror, villain, savior. A Jedi who left Coruscant to defeat Mandalorians—and…
James Ohlen Twitter Status
There could be more big changes coming to SWTOR as we near the release date in December. We know that the staff is working very hard to get the game in tip-top shape and ready to go for launch. This is why it’s fun to hear posts like this one from James Ohlen about the game. James Ohlen says via Twitter: “Writers finished a major milestone for post release content. We’re going to keep half of the voice actors in Hollywood employed for years.” What do you think it means? BioWare is touting the voice acting as one of the most important parts of their new MMORG and one of the biggest things that sets it apart from other similar games. Ohlen is the Game Director of SW:TOR. He’s also Lead Designer of Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2 (I loved those games), NWN (my husband played this one a lot),…
Entire Chapter 3 of Revan Novel Released
Another chapter of Star Wars’ ancient history is about to be revealed. Drew Karpyshyn’s novel Star Wars: The Old Republic — Revan, due Nov. 15, is the long-awaited follow-up to the 2003 videogame Knights of the Old Republic. We’ve been bringing you updates on this novel as we find them, including excerpts, a novel synopsis and more. Here is a snippet: Star Wars: The Old Republic — Revan picks up two years after Malak’s defeat, when the redeemed Revan is still trying to pick up the pieces of his old life and figure out what exactly made him turn to the Dark Side. All fans have known about Revan’s post-KOTOR life is that he took off for the Unknown Regions on the hunt for a dark threat to the Republic… and was never heard from again. Now his fate is about to be revealed, and EW’s…
SWTOR Server Types and PvP Rulesets Announced
Are you ready for SWTOR yet? As we get closer to the eventual release date, more information is being released via the forums and from official staff regarding different aspects of the game and what we can expect from it. There will be four different server types in Star Wars: The Old Republic and each of these server types will have different rules. You may as well learn about them now so you can start planning which server type you want to play on in order to get the most from your experience in the game. You may also want to talk to your friends who will be playing with you to make sure you are all on the same page about the server type you want to play on. On the official SWTOR servers, David Bass explains the server types that will be in SWTOR: PvE (Player vs Environment)…
Republic Trooper interviews Georg Zoeller about Trooper Combat
If you want to learn more about the Trooper in SWTOR, the guys over at Republic Trooper have hooked you up. They have an exclusive interview with Georg Zoeller about Trooper combat and other class aspects and they are kind enough to share it with the rest of the Trooper fans out there. They’ve asked him some great questions and really know how to get to the root of what the players want to know and they have some brand new Trooper intel you haven’t likely seen anywhere else. It’s more than 1,00 words of communication with Zoeller. Some samples of the questions the Republic Trooper guys ask in their interview: What were some of the challenges of developing ranged tanking for the Vanguard Advanced Class? We’ve spoken with some large guilds that are intending on running exclusively with Troopers. How viable would it be to attempt Flashpoints and Operations…