So the VIP lounge is where all the cool kids hang out? While BioWare may have had good intentions with creating the VIP areas, there was sadly not much point in going there. Everything that you needed for your character was found in other zones and areas so unless you were RPing or just goofing off, there wasn’t much point in hitting those VIP areas. But the new game update has changed that. Want access to a mailbox without a bunch of commoners hanging around it? Want a new place to get to your cargo hold or to use the GTN without a whole crowd around? Well, if you’re a VIP, you’re in luck. BioWare has now decided to make the VIP areas matter for something other than just hanging out or feeling special. Now the VIP areas also have the Galactic Trade Network terminals, mailboxes and Cargo. This could…
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Free Quick Travel to Your Ship Every Hour, Until They Patch It
Whenever there is a game update, there is the chance that things will go wrong. Sometimes those little bugs work in our favor, even if only for a little while until they get patched. This happened with the most recent update nad you can now get a free quick travel to your ship every hour until it is patched. As Online Community Manager Joveth Gonzalez says in the forums: Hi everyone, With Game Update 1.7, we introduced the new Legacy Character Perk, Priority Transport: Personal Starship. This allows players to quickly shuttle to their personal starships. This ability normally has a 24 hr cooldown, and players have the option to purchase Legacy Global Unlocks to reduce this cooldown. Unfortunately, with Game Update 1.7, there is a bug which automatically unlocks the three levels of Legacy Global Unlocks for any players that is level 20 or above. This is not intended…
SWTOR Relics of Gree Live Event
Star Wars: The Old Republic’s Relics of Gree live event is on the way. Set to begin February 12 in the United States and last through February 26, Relics of Gree is only a few hours away. So what’s the big deal, you ask? Well, the big deal is that you can get weapons and armor sets as rewards for completing the event and its quests. This questline and live event suggests that Update 1.7 is coming very soon, which is also good news for those who are anxious for the new content. So it’s a win-win all around for SWTOR fans. This is all coming prior to the new Galactic Reputation system that is supposed to be on the way with 1.7 and there’s a good chance if you participate in this event, you might even start earning some of that reputation already. So what do you say, are…
SWTOR to Get Animal Mounts
Fun and interesting news coming to us from the SWTOR community forums- we’re getting animal mounts. It’s been talked about since SWTOR launched (and actually some before it launched) and now we finally have some official word on the topic. SWTOR Systems Designer NathanEmmott posts: Howdy everyone!I wanted to pop in here and let everyone know that we are very much reading y’all’s suggestions (and the ensuing debates ). I figured the Animal Mounts discussion would be a good one to jump in and let you know that creature mounts are something we have wanted for quite some time now. Now, obviously I can’t tell you anything concrete yet – mostly because there isn’t anything concrete yet – but I can tell you that Hoth doesn’t feel right without being able to ride a tauntaun. Awesome! So there’s nothing “concrete” as he said but we know they are on the way….
Dulfy Dissects SWTOR Rise of the Hutt Cartel Trailer
We have all seen the trailer for the Rise of the Hutt Cartel but in true Dulfy fashion, she breaks it all down for us so we can understand just what is coming and how it correlates to things we have been previously told by the devs. In this dissection, she talks to us about lore, gear, skins and more. Her breakdowns come complete with stills from the trailer to illustrate what she’s talking about. Here’s a snippet: 10) The frame after that shows what I think is the spaceport for the “city” in Makeb. You can see small shuttles flying in/out. This was the background used for this high res screenshot on swtor.com The armor and weapons used by the four characters on the high res screenshot is interesting. The 1st and 3rd character from the left doesn’t have new armor models. They are using the Empire version of…
Rumor: Spin-off Films Focus on Han Solo, Boba Fett
“Yesterday, The Walt Disney Co. unveiled plans to make a number of spin-off movies set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away — in addition to the post-Return of the Jedi trilogy that had already been announced.” We’ve heard the rumors that there could be some spin-off films in addition to the new Star Wars movie directed by JJ Abrams. These new spin-offs could focus on some Star Wars favorites like Han Solo and Boba Fett. The Boba Fett film would take place either between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, or between Empire and Jedi, and we would see a young Solo, something that Lucas supposedly wanted to do in a previous film but there was no time/room left for it. Rumor Confirmed: According to Slashfilm, the rumors are true: Yesterday Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that Disney and Lucasfilm were also developing stand-alone character-centric spin-off Star Wars films in addition to the previously announced…
Congratulations to Carnage: World First Downing of Dreadtooth Ten Stacks
Big congrats to Carnage for a world first downing of Dreadtooth Ten Stacks combined with the world first downing of 16-man TFB Secret Boss (Dreadful Entity). We love to hear about world firsts and it’s our pleasure to bring the news of this one out to you all. It’s important to show the community spirit of SWTOR as a whole and we celebrate when a feat like this is achieved. Here you can see a video on Twitch. The boss is around the 50-minute mark of the video: And here we have an interview with Carnage by JediConsular about the event: So what do you think? Any points you want to add? Has your own guild gotten close to this? Want to share in a big congrats to Carnage for their hard work on achieving this feat?
Game Update 1.7 Brings Galactic Reputation to Players
The official SWTOR blog has some interesting info about Game Update 1.7 today. There are going to be many new additions such as new legacy titles, reputation and more but the biggest news is the addition of Galactic Reputation to players. Check out this explanation from the SWTOR blog: Game Update 1.7 will introduce Galactic Reputation to all players. This is a new way for your character to advance in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. In a time of widespread conflict and political strife, disparate organizations throughout the galaxy seek allies in the struggle for peace… or conquest. Reputation measures how your character is perceived by these organizations it reflects the prestige you’ve earned through your heroic contributions to each cause. The Reputation track for each organization is divided into six ranks – Outsider, Newcomer, Friend, Hero, Champion, and Legend. You will start with no rank at all, but as you…
1.7 Class Changes + lvl 55 Abilities Datamined
A SWTOR gamer posted to the official forums with some info that was supposedly datamined for the upcoming 1.7 patch. The user (named Kamii) had some information from the latest PTS client update but the thread was promptly removed. All credit for datamined info goes to Kamii. *Disclosure: All Datamined info should be taken with a grain of salt. There is no way for us to verify any of this as true, nor is there any way to prove that Bioware will still leave these features in the game if the info was valid. It’s meant for fun and speculation only.* Now, off to the info: Sentinels – Combat Spec “hand of justice” -> next dipatch can be used on any target also on combat tree – time_dilation (no description) New proc – increases melee and ranged defenses by 1% per charge up to 3 charges, lasts 10 secs, procs…
SWTOR Space Missions Issues
Players have reported issues with SWTOR space missions recently and Amber Green, Live Community Coordinator, came into the forums to make an official response on the issue: We’ve investigated your reports and wanted to let you know that Space Combat Missions are working as designed. However, the patch notes for 1.6.3 were not fully correct, and we understand that this may have caused some confusion. These have now been updated for clarification, and we apologize for the mistake. With Patch 1.6.3, all Space Combat Daily Missions were moved to be available 12 hours later. They will now reset each day at 6AM CST (4AM PST/7AM EST/12PM GMT/1PM CET/11PM AEDT), rather than at 6PM CST the day before. This includes the new missions, of which there are 6, and they are available as follows: Tuesday – Far Cradle Strike (Imp) / Regnant Station (Rep) Wednesday – Kabal Station Defense (Imp) / Ardis Outpost…
JJ Abrams Confirmed as Director of Star Wars VII, Speaks on the Role
It’s official: Abrams is directing Star Wars VII How does Abrams feel about being selected as the director for Star Wars: Episode 7? Reports say he called it “as surreal as it is exciting.” Abrams spoke with some press before heading into the Producers Guild Awards on Saturday night where he was there to accept the Norman Lear Achievement Award for such television works as “Felicity” (1998-2002), “Alias” (2001-2006), “Lost” (2004-2010), “Fringe” (2008-2013) as well as the current series “Person of Interest” and “Revolution.” Abrams is also known for his movie directing of “Star Trek” and “Mission: Impossible.”” He was on my personal shortlist for directors I wanted to do this early on but he initially said he wasn’t interested. Supposedly, the former Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy (who will produce the films) convinced him to change his mind in early January after visiting him at the Santa Monica offices of…
SWTOR Takes Top 10 Video Game Marketing Campaigns
Massively noted their top 10 memorable marketing campaigns and no surprise, SWTOR Flash/Freeze mob made the list at #8. Video game makers have to market and advertise just like any other business today. However, they are finding, just like other markets, that they have to get more creative with how they advertise and how they spread the word about their brand. Because of this, some video games have had some pretty interest campaigns to help draw attention to their game. SWTOR was no exception. Here’s what Massively writer Justin Olivetti had to say about it: “Despite your feelings on the game, you have to admit that this flash mob is just a brilliant piece of advertising. I don’t know what I love more: the incredibly detailed costumes, the decision to pose all dramatically instead of staging a hackneyed fight, the fog that comes up, the dad who just yanks his…
SWTOR Lead Designer Damion Schubert Talks Cartel Packs
Players have been doing a lot of talking about Cartel Packs and there is a thread on the SWTOR community forums that has some very important questions in it. Well, SWTOR Lead Designer Damion Schubert has now popped into answer some of those questions and give us some great info and stats. You can read the full thread for yourself but here’s a snippet: Do items put in the Galactic Trade Network sell? Yes. We have metrics, as well, on what sells, and for what price, which we compare to their drop rates. This gives us a great idea on adjustments we should make for future packs (the drop rates and the pack contents themselves) – which means that our next round of packs will be better, and the ones after that will be better again. Here are some fun stats * The White indestructible crystal Median Buyout price =…
EA to Release Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2013 Results on Jan. 30, 2013
EA issued a press release today that they will have their 3rd quarter fiscal year 2013 results on January, 30th. “In conjunction with this release, EA will host a conference call to review its financial results for the third quarter, discuss its outlook for the future and may disclose other material developments affecting its business and/or financial performance. Listeners may access the conference call live via a dial-in number or audio webcast.” Details as follows: Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013 2:00 pm Pacific Time (5:00 pm Eastern Time) Dial-in numbers: Domestic: 773-799-3213; International: 888-677-1083 Passcode: EA Webcast: http://ir.ea.com EA’s financial results release will be available after the close of market on Jan. 30, 2013, on EA’s web site at http://ir.ea.com. A dial-in replay of the conference call will be available until Feb. 14, 2013 at 203-369-0099 (domestic) or 866-356-3373 (international). An audio webcast replay of the conference call will be available for one year at http://ir.ea.com. This is the first earnings call since SWTOR…
SWTOR Game Update 1.7 – Return of the Gree Coming Soon
BioWare has announced the next game update today- date to be determined and like other game updates, it comes with a new event, new quests and new items. GET READY TO HELP THE GREE – YOUR PROWESS WILL BE GREATLY REWARDED! The new game update 1.7 is called “Return of the Glee” and will allow you to play with other Level 50 players or journey alone to assist the Gree in their continual pursuit of information. Rewards will be available to those “brave enough” to help the Gree. We also noticed there is cartel option to up your reputation gains in the upper right corner. It also looks like they cap your rep gain per week so you can’t grind it all out quickly. From SWTOR news regarding the new game update: NEW RECURRING EVENT: RELICS OF THE GREE Explore Ilum‘s contested area in the Western Ice Shelf to uncover the…
Fox News Strikes! SWTOR Segregates Gay Characters to Gay Planet
Many on both sides of the fence are displeased with how BioWare has handled the issue of same-gender romance in the game but Fox News had something to say about it yesterday in their article, ‘Star Wars’ game segregates gay characters on gay planet. Depending on who you ask, Fox News is either an excellence source for news and updates on all issues and current affairs, or a debacle of news station putting out biased and botched stories disguised as “news””. We’ll let you make the decision for yourself but either way, it’s good to see the topic getting some media attention. SGR in SWTOR has been heavily debated since before the game even launched and BioWare has always taken a positive stance on the issue, despite the complaints from some fans. BioWare’s Jeff Hickman, executive producer of ‘Star Wars: The Old Republic’ has said more than once, “Allowing same-gender romance…
State of the SWTOR Community
With the news that Curse has fired all the Darth Hater team, we see a spur of conversations taking place about the game, its players and the community that revolves around the game. Some are saying that this is a sign of the community falling apart, a reflection of the current state of the game and some are even saying it’s BioWare’s fault for not caring enough about their game and its community. There are lots of different opinions but one very strong opinion comes from someone who was once a very big player in the SWTOR community. The guy who runs SWTOR Extreme YouTube account had some pretty harsh critical words for the SWTOR community: “The game had a massive audience yet some of the best content on the web, whether it was videos like my own or a websites blog/article, they got so little support and none of…
Darth Hater Team Let Go by Curse – Is This the End of Darth Hater?
If you follow DartHater.com, you probably noticed they have not posted any new content since the end of December. The rest of the community definitely noticed and it seems we now have a reason. The whole staff has been let go by Curse and no one knows whether or not they are going to try to revamp it with new staff or One of the most active members of the DH team, Jaspor, admits on Reddit that he is no longer working for them but he doesn’t seem to have any additional info on what will happen to the site in the future. In fact, it seems no one really has any information at all other than- they were let go. It was just back in September 2011 that Curse bought Darth Hater and made them a part of the Curse network. Most of the community seemed happy about it…
Damion Schubert Speaks on Phantom and Spymaster Gear Changes
If you spend any time in the forums the past day or so, you probably know that the community was upset regarding some changes to gear bought from the Cartel Market. Many players want their money back after spending cash in the Cartel Market for Phantom and Spymaster gear based on how it looked, only to have the appearance changed later. They see it as a bait-and-switch and while BioWare claims it wasn’t intentional, we can definitely see the point these players are making. So we were holding on to see when BioWare would chime in with a solution to this problem. Lead Designer Damion Schubert piped in to this thread about the issue: Hey, guys — We care a lot about the fact that you care about the appearances of your characters. In fact, the Mod system is my baby, largely because it allows players to customize their appearance…
Purchase More Character Slots for SWTOR
As we discovered recently, you can now purchase more character slots for SWTOR from the Cartel Market. This is great for people like me who suffer from alt-it is and like to have lots of different characters in the game. Massively brought us to news: Star Wars: The Old Republic’s 1.6.2 patch notes are now live on the game’s website. Along with a laundry list of tweaks and bug fixes, there are a couple of blurbs that might interest free-to-play players concerned about character slots. First of all, slot restrictions are now being enforced, so free players should see a maximum of two per server. Preferred status players get six slots per shard, while subscribers get 12. If you must know, the global active character limit is 350! The Cartel Market is selling additional slots at a cost of 600 Cartel Coins. But there are some players who are having issues with different…
George Lucas Engaged- Congratulations and May the Force Be With You!
Good news for Star Wars creator, George Lucas. His firm announced this week that he is official engaged to long-time girlfriend, investment firm president Mellody Hobson. This is great news for the “Star Wars” and “Indian Jones” creator who has been dating Hobson for more than six years and it seems he may finally be in a position where he can commit to marriage. Known as a man who has been married to his work, it will be nice to see him have time to fully settle down with someone special. Hobson serves as chairwoman of DreamWorks Animation and is a financial contributor to ABC’s “Good Morning America” so she is no stranger to the film industry either. We wish the both of them the best in their upcoming nuptials and for a long and happy life together! Congratulations Lucas and Hobson! “”Star Wars” creator George Lucas will marry his longtime…
Star Wars: The Old Republic – State of the Game #2
It’s been awhile but BioWare decided to give us another State of the Game report. Jeff Hickman, Executive Producer of Star Wars: The Old Republic post an update today to let us all know what is happening with the game. One of the biggest and most anticipated pieces of news: an update on Same Gender Romance in the game! Hickman says: First of all, I want to apologize that this is taking so long to get in the game. I realize that we promised SGR to you guys and that many of you believed that this would be with a companion character. Unfortunately, this will take a lot more work than we realized at the time and it (like some other pieces of content we talked about earlier in the year) has been delayed as we focused on the changes required to take the game Free-to-Play. As we have said in…
Cool SWTOR Lego Build
We love SWTOR Legos. In fact, I love any type of Lego and these sets are really amazing. If you love Legos and you play SWTOR (or you are a Star Wars fan), you’re going to love the SWTOR sets. We’ve written about them before but here we found a guy sharing some pretty awesome photos of his build and the final project of one of the sets. It costs $90 if you want one for yourself and no, it’s not even the most expensive SWTOR Lego set out there right now. In the first few photos, he shares the process of building the body and the wings, then attaching the wings, Malgus and the troopers, and the finished project. He also has some great pictures of the Republic Striker and Sith Fury together. Check it out and let us know if you have this set yourself. Here are some…
SWTOR PvP Imbalance and Possible Solutions
There is a lot of talk about PvP imbalance in SWTOR and the truth of the matter is it does seem to exist. Despite how hard a developer tries to prevent it, there will almost always be some imbalance amongst the classes. The real trick is to reduce this imbalance as much as possible. Some players believe SWTOR is struggling with that. Depending on who you ask, certain classes need to be nerfed and others need to be buffed and it’s the age-old battle with PvP in an MMORPG. The difference being that in SWTOR, some players have some pretty solid evidence on imbalance. Check out this screen shot for example: The fact that anyone, especially AOE, can hit for that hard in pretty outrageous. There definitely need to be some adjustments to the classes and to the types of damage but just what those adjustments are will vary according…