BioWare posted a short role playing blog post about the Rakghoul Plague Outbreak yesterday. The event is live and kicking in SWTOR now, and another highly contagious outbreak seems to be spreading from Alderaan and has possibly made it top the Imperial fleet. Both the Empire and the Republic governments are seeking assistance so be sure and visit you local GSI representative. EMERGENCY ALERT: Rakghoul Plague Outbreak on Alderaan – AVOID ALDERAAN! 01.22.2014 The Hyland Organization for Rakghoul Neutralization (T.H.O.R.N.) has issued an official level-2 emergency alert concerning an outbreak of the Rakghoul plague on Alderaan. Wide-spread infections have been reported near both House Organa and House Thul, while scattered reports of infection traceable to Alderaan are now flooding in from across the galaxy. Quarantines have been put in place to restrict traffic of the plague off-world, but exceptions will be made for individuals with priority clearance. T.H.O.R.N. is recruiting qualified…
Author: Soeren Kamper
Bounty Contract Event Returns – 2/11 thru 2/14
The bounty contract event will return on February 11 and run for 4 days until the weekend. If you are new to Star Wars: The old Republic, I can tell you that the Bounty Contact Week is a monthly recurring event that runs one week of every month. The basic premise for this SWTOR event centers around the Bounty Brokers Association. This organization, totally made up by BioWare, is overrun with the number contracts that it needs fulfilled and is willing to pay anyone for completing the bounties. (To be fair, that’s not too much different than a normal bounty contract, but let’s just run with it.) Participants can complete one standard contract and one kingpin contract a day per character level 15 or higher. Players travel to one of eight planets (two Republic-only planets, two Empire-only planets, and four shared planets), hunting down eight different henchmen and eight different…
Swtor-mined: 2.6 PTS Patch | 1/21/13
SWTOR-miner have been playing around with game update 2.6 witch is currently being test on the public tests servers. There’s a bug with some of the ship component listings, but there’s some good stuff in there. One of them looks like being a Manaan flashpoint! New/Changed/Removed Abilities New/Changed/Removed Achievements New/Changed/Removed Areas New/Changed/Removed Codex Entries New/Changed/Removed Collections New/Changed/Removed Companions New/Changed/Removed GOM Items New/Changed/Removed Items New/Changed/Removed MtxStoreFront Entries New/Changed/Removed Npcs New/Changed/Removed Quests New/Changed/Removed Ships New/Changed/Removed Talents Looks like the NovaDive/S-12 Blackbolt got some love with the new EMP Field Component: Causes and electromagnetic pulse around your ship that will damage and disable all hostile mines and drones in a 3000m radius for 15 seconds. Hostile ships caught in the pulse will have their accuracy reduced by 10%, their sensor and communication range reduced by 5000m, and their system ability disabled for 15 seconds. Some nice upgrades to it as well that can…
Alderaan Rakghoul Event Runs – 1/21 through 1/28
I hope everyone is having a good time with the Rakghoul Event. here is just a headsup that the event will be running from 1/21 through 1/28. So that give us one week to farm all the Rakghoul achievements. Source NOW LIVE: RAKGHOUL PLAGUE OUTBREAK ON ALDERAAN (JANUARY 21 – 28, 2014: BEGINS AND ENDS AT 2AM PST/10AM GMT) LEVEL: Levels 25+ MISSION: Wide-spread infections have been reported near both House Organa and House Thul, while scattered reports of infection traceable to Alderaan are now flooding in from across the galaxy. Quarantines have been put in place to restrict traffic of the plague off-world, but exceptions will be made for individuals with priority clearance. T.H.O.R.N. is recruiting qualified volunteer emergency responders to travel to affected areas to combat the spread of the Rakghoul plague. More information about the outbreak can be found by checking the News Terminals on the Fleet!
SWTOR Players can be Great Casino Players
Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) is a huge global multiplayer role-playing game based on the Star Wars universe. Players connect together online from all over the globe to compete against each other. The game was developed by BioWare and launched in 2011. Players join in the game as either of two main factions: the Sith Empire or the Galactic Republic. The leader of each faction could be good or bad and the game is structured so that each player can have a morality set anywhere along the spectrum. In order to be successful in the game, players must make the right decision at the right time, and they must manage their resources efficiently. Players only have a certain amount of weapons and money and must use them in the most effective way to level up and gain power. Many of the characteristics of a good SWTOR player can actually…
Patch Notes 2.5.2a
Servers are back up, and the Rakghoul event has started! Todays patch notes says nothing about the event, but if you head to Alderaan there is a new codex entry in the space port. There will be plaguebearer mobs at house Thul and already I’m infected with stage 1 of the virus. Enjoy the even! Below are the official patch notes: Patch Notes 2.5.2a Cartel Market Premium Redeemer and Mailoc Gunships can be directly purchased with Cartel Coins in the Cartel Market or the Hangar, providing an alternate look for the Quarrel/Mangler. In Collections, the Firmament Tauntaun now properly states that it is found in the Dogfighter’s Starfighter Pack. Republic Strike Fighter Paint Job 03 will now properly show its name in French and German, and is now able to be listed on the Galactic Trade Network in all languages.
Documentary: Titan – A Place Like Home?
The Greeks believed the titan Prometheus gave humanity the great gift of fire. Throughout history, a select group of humans (from Thales to Kepler, Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Maxwell and Einstein, among many others), have given the rest of humanity an even greater gift: science and the scientific method. No other discipline is as self-critical as science, and no other discipline is able to deliver the goods so consistently. If you don’t already love it, you’ll fall in love with it after watching this documentary. When the Voyager One Deep Space Probe (famous for carrying the golden record assembled by Carl Sagan and his team) flew by Saturn in the early 1980’s, it took the first set of detailed pictures of the ringed planet and its moons, and one moon clearly stood out: Titan. It then became obvious we had to go back. Roughly half the diameter of Earth, with its chemistry, thick…
Developer Blogs – RE: Kuat Drive Yards
Here is a new role playing Developer Blog from the BioWare crew. This one is journal entries were logged by Shroud SF-4 in advance of the mounting situation concerning Kuat Drive Yards, and he seems to be quite concerned which side will win the battle of Kuat. Makes me wonder if the Shroud is possibly working with the Star Cabal, as they are notoriously known for putting the republic and empire at each other. For those who may not know who the Star Cabal is, play the agent’s story 😉 The original blog post can be read here or you can read our copy paste below: Developer Blogs – RE: Kuat Drive Yards 01.17.2014 ### 21.7 // Kuat City // Observation of embedded Imperial asset K-33 continues. Recent marriage into the Kuat family further integrates K-33 into the planet’s political power structure. Appointment to Kuat Drive Yards oversight panel imminent. Analysis:…
Scheduled Maintenance – January 21st – Patch 2.5.2a
Just a heads up letting you know that BioWare will take down the servers on Tuesday for some scheduled maintenance. We will post the patch notes as soon as the become available, so be sure to check back. ServerDroid Maintenance: January 21st | 01.17.2014, 05:45 PM On January 21st, all game servers and swtor.com will be unavailable while we perform maintenance. Patch 2.5.2a will be implemented during this downtime. Details are as follows: Date: Tuesday January 21st, 2014 Duration: 2 hours Time: 3AM PST (11AM GMT) – 5AM PST (1PM GMT) Thank you for your patience as we maintain service for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. Time Zone Start Time Scheduled End Time UTC Offset HST Tue Jan 21, 2014 01:00 AM Tue Jan 21, 2014 03:00 AM -10 hours AKST Tue Jan 21, 2014 02:00 AM Tue Jan 21, 2014 04:00 AM -9 hours PST Tue Jan 21, 2014…
BioWare Austin working on “several unannounced projects”
According to a job listing posted by BioWare Austin this week, we now know that the company is working on several new unannounced projects. This is pretty interesting news, since BioWare Austin was born to make SWTOR. Original the staff were brought together in 2006 explicitly to make that game, and since its release five years later they’ve done nothing else but run its operations, reconfigure its systems for free-to-play, and develop its expansions… Or so we thought… According the the new job listing, BioWare’s call for a Senior Software Engineer. The job listing says: BioWare Austin is home to the critically acclaimed and award winning Star Wars®: The Old Republic™ MMO. After the hugely successful addition of its Free 2 Play option and the highly praised launch of space PVP with the Galactic Starfighter expansion, the Austin team continues driving forward with SW:TOR and is also hard at work on…
TOR TV: Opening 24x Dogfighter’s Starfighter Packs
KranitokoGames made an interesting experiment. Basically he purchased a hypercrate of the new Starfighter Packs released in Patch 2.5.2. and filmed what goodies he found inside? When I clicked the video, I figured there was no way I would watch the whole 20 mins. I skipped him running around Tatooine, but thoroughly enjoyed watching him get giddy over the pack items. Seeing previews like we posted earlier today is nice, but it’s always nice to see exactly how many cool things (and lame things) you would get in a single hypercrate. Check it out below:
Videos with Dogfighter’s Starfighter Pack goods
Both Dulfy and TheOldRepublic.Ru have been active posting videos of what we can expect to find in the upcoming Dogfighter’s Starfighter Pack. The new pack includes both weapons, armor, speeders, emotes and what have we not. Check out below videos to get see what’s coming: Dogfighter’s Starfighter Pack: Pets (Model GSS 5C Dustmaker & Model Blue Hutt Barge) Dogfighter’s Starfighter Pack: Kalakar Strike Fighter Simulator Speeder Dogfighter’s Starfighter Pack: Interstellar Regulator’s Assault Cannon Aurek Dogfighter’s Starfighter Pack: Interstellar Regulator’s Blaster Aurek Dogfighter’s Starfighter Pack: Interstellar Regulator’s Blaster Rifle Aurek Dogfighter’s Starfighter Pack: Interstellar Regulator’s Sniper Rifle Aurek Dogfighter’s Starfighter Pack: Fearless Retaliator Lightsaber Dogfighter’s Starfighter Pack: Battleworn Triumvirate Armor Set (Male&Female) Dogfighter’s Starfighter Pack: Badlands Explorer Armor Set (Male&Female) Dogfighter’s Starfighter Pack: Frenzied Zealot Armor Set (Male&Female) Dogfighter’s Starfighter Pack: Dramatic Extrovert’s Armor Set (Male&Female) Dogfighter’s Starfighter Pack: Starfighter Battle Camera (Regen) Dogfighter’s Starfighter Pack: Emotes (Recline, Dejarik) & Mood Crying…
Galactic Starfighter Spotlight: The Gunship Trailer
Servers have been up for a while now after today’s maintenance. Patch 2.5.2 has been applied, and Preferred Status Players can now log in and play Galactic Starfighter. BioWare have released a small promo video with the new patch, spotlighting The Gunship. Check it out below:
Patch Notes – 2.5.2
Patch notes are up. One thing to notice is Bounty Contract Week Returns – 1/14 through 1/21. No info on any rhakghoul event yet. 2.5.2 Patch Notes Highlights Preferred status players may now access and play Galactic Starfighter! New Ship Variants: Gunship – The Gunship role has been expanded, with 4 new ships available for Galactic Starfighter: New Comet Breaker and Dustmaker Gunships are flexible long-range fighters, able to equip heavy laser cannons and torpedoes in addition to their railgun. The existing Quarrel and Mangler Gunships are available for purchase in the Hangar using Fleet Requisition. Premium Strongarm and Demolisher Gunships can be found in Dogfighter’s packs, providing an alternate look for the Comet Breaker/Dustmaker. Bounty Contract Week will be returning on January 14th and will run through January 21st. Cartel Market A new Starfighter Pack, the Wingman’s Starfighter Pack, is now available on the Cartel Market. Cost: 160 Cartel…
More Patch 2.6 PTS video footage
If you haven’t had the time to play around the official swtor public test servers, we got you covered. Here is a bunch of videos showing the updates you can expect when game update 2.6 goes live. First off, here is an animate Crew Preview (Republic&Empire). Crew members now animate within the hangar preview window. I just wish they would match my customization. Empire Bombers Visual Upgrade Battle Record Preview Gaddock Teeg takes a look at the new Battle Record feature added to Galactic Starfighter on the Patch 2.6 PTS. Gaddock Teeg takes a look at the new Kuat Drive Yards Tactical Flashpoint and experiences the Anti-air gun and Ship Assembly scenarios.
The Old Republic Insider – January 2014
BioWare posted a new Insider Video, were the producers offer an inside look at exciting Galactic Starfighter updates, new Kuat Drive Yard Flashpoint missions, the next round of Cartel Market items and more coming to Star Wars: The Old Republic! It’s interesting to watch, and you are interested in learning more about Kuat Drive Yard Flashpoint, check out our update about it here. Notice Andrew Horwitz confirmed that Rakghoul Event is coming mid-january (go to 02:25 to see the event teaser).
Kuat Drive Yards Background story and gameplay
Lot’s of awesome new stuff is tested on the PTS right now. If you haven’t been playing around on the PTS your self yet, you are missing out. Here are a few of the new cool things you can experience. Here is a little story/cutscene background for those who havn’t experience the Kuat Drive Yards flashpoint on the PTS yet. The PTS is kinda buggy right now as you cannot get to that GS area in the fleet where the intro cutscene for the Kuat Drive Yards begins unless you do the flashpoint first via the group finder. This mess up the sequence a bit so it can be a bit confusing. Luckily Dulfy rearranged the cutscenes in order they are meant to be viewed. This little clip give you some intro on Kuat Drive Yards, the recently introduced GS exclusive companions, and a bit of connection between the ground…
Game Update 2.6: Galactic Starfighter PTS Patch Notes – Last Updated: January 9th
The patch notes for the public test servers are up. It’s now possible to go help out beta testing game update 2.6. Here are the patch notes. Please be aware, that all content and features on the Public Test Server are not final and are subject to change. Highlights New Galactic Starfighter Ship Role: Bomber – The Bomber ship role has been added to Galactic Starfighter, with six new ships available for unlock/purchase! Bombers are tough support ships that drop mines and drones on the battlefield. Mines detonate when enemies get into proximity, inflicting damage or crippling debuffs to all nearby foes. Drones attack nearby enemies with a variety of weapons, while Repair Drones restore the hull of nearby allies. Bombers can also place Hyperspace Beacons which function as mobile respawn points for their allies. New Galactic Starfighter Game Mode: Team Deathmatch – Team Deathmatch is a new game mode which pits…
Swtor-mined: 2.5.2? PTS Patch | 1/9/2014
SWTOR-Miner has been playing around with PTS patch 2.5.2, and found alot of new interesting stuff. First off smugglers and agents seem to get some fairly hefty changes: Smugglers/Imperial Agents: Upper Hand/Tactical Advantage’s buff duration increased from 10 to 15 seconds. Shoot First/Hidden Strike had their energy cost decreased by 2, cooldown increased by 1.5 seconds, and had their damage increased by ~14%. Gunslinger/Sniper PvP 2pc/4pc Set Bonuses got swapped. XS Freighter Flyby/Orbital Strike is now a 2.5 second cast that costs 10 Energy with a 45 second cooldown. It’s coefficient also got reduced by ~62%. Also Troopers and Bounty hunters are getting some changes that haven’t’been announced yet. This is pretty much the end of the hybrid DPS: Troopers/Bounty Hunters: Pulse Generator/Prototype Flame Thrower talent now requires High Energy Cell/High Energy Gas Cylinder Here are the images found in the patch: Lot’s of new stuff for Galactic Starfighter is…
Developer Update: Bomber Class Starfighter
BioWare have posted a new developer update. This time, senior game designer on Star Wars: The Old Republic, Jason Attard tell us about the first new ship being added to the game with game update 2.6. — The Bomber! This ship makes alot of new strategies possible. Personally I expect to see: Scout rushes to a cap a point super quick, defended by a strike fighter. Once they successfully cap the point, and the strike fighter is in place to properly defend the point, the scout intentionally crashes so they can respawn as a bomber. Then they get the bomber on the point they control and spawn mines on it to further entrench that point. You can read the original post in its full here, or our copy pate below: Developer Update: Bomber Class Starfighter 01.09.2014 Greetings Starfighters! I am Jason Attard, a senior game designer on Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, and today I’m…
Bolstering and You: A letter from the Combat team
Tait Watson got the Combat team to write an in-depth explanation of the Bolster system. I’m raelly starting to like this bird. You can read the whole thing in it original here, or our copy paste below. If you ask me, bolster still a bit broken, its still way better then the recruit gear system they previously had, Personally I would like to see it in a place where people that did end game pve could use that gear for pvp and have it be perfectly viable. The fact that a set of 66 blue’s are better for pvp then full dreadguard is lame. Hey gang! I know a number of people have been waiting on a post about some more specifics on how bolster works and interacts with items and the regular stat system, so I thought I would try to bring a little light to what is one of…
Upcoming Bug Fixes
Eric and Tait have been busy today, updating the community about bug fixes we can expect in near future. I have consolidated a list of the forum posts for your viewing pleasure: Source TaitWatson Relaxed Vestments Chestwraps: Graphical Glitch (Picture) | 01.09.2014, 11:01 AM Hey everyone! I know that this issue has been a really big one for a lot of people, so I’m really happy to be able to let you all know that it has a fix coming next week in 2.5.2. The fix won’t just affect the Relaxed Vestment Chestwrap, however, and will resolve fur/skin color on many pieces of gear that have revealed skin. Tait Source EricMusco Don’t worry Bioware..I got this!! Things SWTOR WILL see in 2014!! | 01.09.2014, 10:56 AM Quote: Originally Posted by Tyrth 1.) A QOL adjustment, most likely around 2.7-2.8 allowing the ability to queue for both GSF AND WZ simultaneously… This…
New Weekly Community Live Stream!
Eric Musco is starting a weekly community live stream were he will be playing through the game. In the beginning only Eric will host the live stream, but in future, both Courtney and Tait will get on there as well. If possible, they will kidnap the devs to play also. Below is the announcements: Post #1 EricMusco New Weekly Community Live Stream! | 01.09.2014, 11:07 AM Hey everyone! I alluded to it during our GSF stream at the end of the year, but I wanted to let you know that we are going to start having a weekly community live stream! Early on, you will see me playing but in time we will definitely get both Courtney and Tait on there as well. We may even expand it to other folks in the studio but that remains to be seen. The stream will be more of a “let’s play” than…
Community Cantina Tour – Phoenix, AZ – 1/31/14
Bioware will be having there next Community Cantina in Phoenix on January 31. Unlike all previous Cantina Tours this one is listed as 18 years + rather than 21+. I’m not sure why that is? Local state laws? I don’t have much knowledge of US law, so I’m only guessing. Below is the official statement: The Star Wars: The Old Republic Community Cantina Tour Arrives in Phoenix, AZ! 01.06.2014 We’re happy to announce that the next stop in the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Community Cantina Tour will be happening on Friday, January 31st, in Phoenix, AZ! This is your chance to join the Star Wars: The Old Republic community for a development team Q&A as well as complimentary drinks*, food, and giveaways. Every attendee will be receiving a highly coveted Tauntaun Fawn code. Space is limited so be sure to come early. If you’re in the area, make sure…