BioWares Eric Musco took on the forums to address the weapon tuning issues the swtor community have been talking about. Check it out: Hey folks, I wanted to stop in to this thread and address some of the questions/concerns that have arisen since we introduced Weapon Tunings yesterday. First off, please keep the feedback coming. We have seen a lot of feedback relating to things like drop rates, adding the tuning to Collections, etc. The team is actively looking at all of your feedback and considering what future changes, if any, need to occur. Here are a few of the common questions we have seen: Is the Weapon Tuning more rare than other rare items? The Weapon Tuning’s drop rate is on par with most other rare items found in a pack. At times there are rare items which are exceedingly rare, such as the Unstable Lightsaber, but the Weapon Tuning…
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It’s Star Wars Day: May the Fourth Be with You!
It’s my favorite day of the year: Star Wars Day! It just wouldn’t be a May 4th without a post here about all the wonderful ways you can celebrate this awesome day. If for some reason you are not up to date on this very special day, StarWars.com has you covered: Say “May the 4th Be With You” out loud and you’ll hear the pun that Star Wars fans worldwide have turned into a rallying cry to proclaim their love of the saga. It’s the worldwide day to say “May the Force be with you” to all, and celebrate the beloved Star Wars story that binds our galaxy together. One of the earliest known records of “May the 4th” used in popular culture is in 1979, as described here by author Alan Arnold while he was chronicling the making of The Empire Strikes Back for Lucasfilm: Friday, May 4 “Margaret…
Battlefront May Update Lined Up – What to Expect?
To address the alleged shallowness of their much-hyped Star Wars: Battlefront, DICE have come up with an impressive solution: throw content at the player-base every now and then and make that content as easy on the eyes and as appealing gameplay-wise as possible. Their recently released Outer Rim expansion represented the first stage of this strategy and it looks like it hit the nail on the head, although it came packed with bugs, which have to be ironed out. While the next DLC is scheduled for June, the team will not rest on their laurels till then. In fact, there’s a major update scheduled for May and although its release date is not yet set, most believe that it will come in the early part of the month. Obviously, the first objective of the update will be to iron out the problems and bugs brought about by Outer Rim, of…
More New Content Coming For Star Wars: Battlefront
Emboldened by the success of their recently released Outer Rim Expansion, the creators of Star Wars: Battlefront have put out an announcement the other day, promising still more great content to come, some of which will apparently be free. While it’s been known for a while that Bespin is set to land in June, laden with new content, DICE have made public more details about it, as well as about the various events meant to drive player engagement scheduled for May. There will apparently be more community missions, double-score weekends, as well as special login events, all meant to hand players new opportunities to collect more XP, credits and items in ever more entertaining ways. In addition to all the above, there will be new Hutt Contracts as well, which will yield Star Card rewards, such as the Ion Neutralizer and the Bacta Bomb. On May 4, to celebrate Star…
First Battlefront DLC Lands, Plenty More to Look Forward To
Star Wars: Battlefront’s eagerly awaited first DLC, Outer Rim, has landed earlier this month, for those who have Season Pass, and indeed, it hit the nail right on the head: it expanded a universe often derided for its shallowness, it added new game modes and overall, it addressed one of the most easily identifiable shortcomings of the original title. Obviously, there’s still plenty of room for improvement depth-wise in the game, but Outer Rim does represent a massive step in the right direction. How massive? The DLC is about 8 GB big, so for those on slower connections, it may cause a few headaches, but it is a must. It expands the game world and it brings so many new goodies, it completely revamps the title. Above and beyond all that though, you will need it because none of the future DLCs already in the works apparently, will work without…
Star Wars: Battlefront Outer Rim Expansion Arrives Today!
It is safe to say that after years of building up hype, Star Wars: Battlefront was something of a disappointment depth-wise when it was finally launched, even as it blew the expectations out of the water technically and visually. One of the strengths of the game was to depict actual movie locations in great detail, making one feel like he/she was actually involved in the Star Wars canon. That strength is apparently what the franchise is banking on going forth, as it seeks to address its oft-decried lack of depth. Outer Rim, the first expansion to the game, will look to attack the problem from several angles. It will introduce players to locations like the palace of Jabba the Hutt, and it will also introduce no fewer than five new weapons/cards as well as a new game-mode called Extraction, which will see one of the teams protect and escort cargo…
Outer Rim Set to Land This Month
According to many, DICE’s Star Wars: Battlefront failed to live up to some of the pre-launch hype and expectations, primarily on account of a rather glaring lack of depth. Fortunately, that problem is one that can be righted on the go and that’s exactly what the developer is looking to accomplish by adding no fewer than three DLCs this year and another one in 2017. The first such DLC is scheduled for March, and given how there will apparently be a free update preceding it, we’re looking at a wealth of new content coming online this month, content which is obviously much-anticipated and much-needed too at this point. The March Battlefront update is set to deliver the usual selection of bug-fixes and tweaks, along with a new Endor map aimed at big game modes as well as a survival map for Tatooine. Exactly what the DLC will bring to the…
New Star Wars: Battlefront Update Reportedly Underway Bringing Weapon and Vehicle Buffs
A living-breathing world like that of Star Wars: Battlefront is in continuous need of updating and tweaking, and the community is indeed very demanding in this respect. The January patch brought many improvements, tweaking various weapons and even characters, looking to smooth out the balance, and while most of these tweaks were welcome indeed, some of them ended up generating unwanted side-effects. The Homing Shot and the Bowcaster for instance got seriously nerfed, so much so in fact that according to the community, the two said weapons have become all but useless. There was naturally a lot of upheaval tied to these botched tweaks, but help is apparently already underway. According to Battlefront Community Manager Sledgehammer70, the next update will target the above said two weapons, and they will be restored to what they should indeed be. The Community Manager also admitted that the tweaks in the works for the…
SWTOR: News on the Item Stack Resale Exploit
Eric Musco has some updates from the swtor devs over at Bioware,regarding the Item Stack exploit. Apparently more than 500 accounts have being perm banned for now. Make me wonder if you can sue BioWare for a banning? Anyways. Below are the news: Here is another update on the exploit, and the action we have taken. We are continuing to investigate accounts and action is on-going. Here are the actions we have taken against accounts: Suspension time, up to and including a permanent ban (more than 500 accounts have been permanently banned so far) Removal of all Credits Removal of all Currencies Removal of all items which could be gotten from the exploit, including recurring Event Currencies and Companion gifts Resetting of all Companion Influence to 0 Resetting progress of all Alliance Commanders to 0 The nature of this exploit is that players could use it to gain a wide array…
SWTOR KotFE Chapter 1 free trial for former subs
The first chapter of Star Wars: The Old Republic – Knights of the Fallen Empire, is now for a limited time only, available as trial for former subscribers. This will go on until January 4, so here is your chance to heck out the new expansion, if you haven’t already done so. LIMITED-TIME FREE TRIAL* FORMER SUBSCRIBERS – YOU’RE INVITED! OFFER ENDS JANUARY 4, 2016 (VALID FOR FORMER SUBSCRIBERS WHO OPT IN TO RECEIVING EMAIL) Step into your own Star Wars™ story in Chapter 1, “The Hunt” – ON US! Create your new Level 60 character now and jump right in! Experience a return to BioWare-style storytelling. Confront a powerful new enemy, The Eternal Emperor. Make choices that matter and recruit Companions into your Alliance. Subscribe at any time to continue your saga – Knights of the Fallen Empire is free for Subscribers!
“Night at the Museum” Meets “Star Wars”
The Oklahoma Science Museum knows how to keep a child’s interest. In fact, I wish I was a kid and I wish I lived in Oklahoma because I would be all over this. On Friday,December 11, Oklahoma Science Museum is hosting a Science Overnight program inspired by the wildly popular “Star Wars” movie franchise. It’s like a big, Star Wars-themed slumber party! The museum director of education and training, Clint Stone, said the overnight exhibit will have trained science educators who teach the visitors about the science of “Star Wars”, comparing ways the real world stacks up against a galaxy far, far away. It’s a timely event, considering the upcoming release of Star Wars: A Force Awakens but it’s more than just exploiting the popularity of the film to get kids interested in science. This is a great example of how Star Wars truly is a culture, rather than just a movie franchise….
SWTOR NiM Loot Issue / Update
Eric Musco took on the official forums, to report that Nightmare loot are not a guaranteed drop from nightmare operations. I have a few updates to pass on regarding the current issues with Nightmare Loot Drops. First, we discovered there is a bug with the percentage chance of a 224 rated item dropping in any of our Nightmare Operations. We plan to address this when we release Chapter 10 (Game Update 4.1) scheduled in February. If we are able to address it sooner, I’ll pass along an update. Aside from that, we realized that we need to make a correction to our Operations and Flashpoints in Fallen Empire blog. Currently it states the following: Nightmare Mode will also be available for all the Operations that had it previously, and will reward the same as the highlighted Hard Mode, as well as the unique mounts and titles available currently. This statement is in…
Fourth Anniversary Rewards for SWTOR
BioWare just publiched the Rewards for SWTOR 4th anniversary MOVE INTO CORUSCANT OR DROMUND KAAS FOR ONLY FOUR CREDITS – PLUS NEW DECORATIONS! Help us celebrate the fourth anniversary of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™! Beginning December 8th, you can use the “Emergency Fleet Pass” ability located in your ability bar to get the Republic or Imperial Fleet. Then, visit the “Strongholds and Crew Skills” area of the Fleet to get your rewards: Purchase your very own Coruscant and Dromund Kaas Strongholds from the Strongholds terminal for only FOUR CREDITS each. Plus, visit the “Anniversary Personnel” vendor to claim exciting in-game rewards including the HK-51 Commemorative Statue, Ebon Hawk Starship Wall Mount and the Ebon Hawk Rest and Recharge animation! Hurry – get your celebratory items by Sunday, January 3, 2016* to help us make this a year to remember! *The Fourth Anniversary promotion for Star Wars™: The Old Republic…
Happy Life Day! The Star Wars Holiday Special Anniversary
Today marks the anniversary of The Star Wars Holiday Special. I wasn’t alive back in 1978 but as a long-time Star Wars fan, I heard about it and of course, wanted to see it. While November 17, 1978 marked the first AND last time this two-hour musical variety show would be aired (thank you CBS), it is still possible to find it on the Internet if you’re so inclined. While the special was intended to capitalize on the success of the 1977 movie and hold fans over until the 1980 release of The Empire Strikes Back, things did not go as planned. It ended up being a terrible flop. I mean, really terrible. Reportedly, George Lucas was only tangentially involved in the production and he hated it so much, he tried to make it disappear. Leave it to the Internet to revive what should be left to die, but I digress. The basic premise of the…
Star Wars: Battlefront – Battle of Jakku Teaser Released
It has been known for a while that Star Wars: Battlefront, the much hyped and hotly anticipated game developed by DICE, set for a November 17, 2015 release, would be tied into the canon pushed forth by Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and that the game would be used to explain some of the storylines from the movie, filling in the canon-gaps specifically with the Battle of Jakku, a downloadable batch of content which will be made available some 3 weeks after the official release of the game. Star Wars: Battlefront was conceived and marketed as the game which would allow gamers to relive some of the most iconic battles of the Star Wars universe, from a novel and immersive perspective and considering that, the addition of the Battle of Jakku, a canon-episode unknown to everyone, is indeed a master-stroke which delivers more than what has been promised. The Battle…
SWTOR 4.0 Class Changes: Inquisitor and Consular
In the following 2 videos you can see and hear the details about the recent changes Bioware announced today for the Sith Inquisitor and Jedi Consular Classes in Knights of the Fallen Empire, the next Digital Expansion of SWTOR. Narrated and recorded by Vulkk. In a nutshell, players receive 1 new ability at lvl 61, reshuffle of active and passive abilities gained through leveling with no change of their effects (for now) and 3 new Utilities, 1 for each tier. Bioware’s short message and reasoning for these changes: With 4.0, we wanted to give Assassins and Shadows a better way to stealthily approach or return to their enemy target, and their new ability was specifically designed to do just that. For Sorcerers and Sages, we wanted to give them an additional way to escape peril, so we made Phase Walk available to them. All of the following notes are subject to…
SWTOR 4.0 Imperial Agent and Smuggler Changes (Video Overview)
In the following 2 videos you can see and hear the details about the recent changes Bioware announced today for the Imperial Agent and Smuggler Classes in Knights of the Fallen Empire, the next Digital Expansion of SWTOR. Narrated and recorded by Vulkk. In a nutshell, players receive 1 new ability at lvl 61, reshuffle of active and passive abilities gained through leveling with no change of their effects (for now) and 3 new Utilities, 1 for each tier. Bioware’s short message and reasoning for these changes: In Game Update 4.0, we wanted to increase the mobility of these formidable combatants in order to allow them to realize their full potential on the battle field, and to make them more difficult to kite. The new Knight/Warrior ability – Blade Blitz/Mad Dash – emphasizes this design intention, and Knight/Warrior players will find that they have an easier time staying on target…
Special PS4 Bundle for Star Wars: Battlefront
Star Wars: Battlefront is big. Indeed, the game is one of the most hotly anticipated titles of the fall in the whole of gaming and not just within the Star Wars community, which has followed the evolution of the project for more than a year now. With the release date drawing near, it seems like everyone is eager to jump on the Battlefront bandwagon, and yes, that includes the maker of the PS4, Sony too. The game will be honored through a special PS4 bundle, which includes tons of must-have goodies not only for fans of the game but for those of the entire Star Wars universe and canon. The Bundle is centered around a PS4 console sporting a Darth Vader-themed design. Included in the bundle is a Deluxe edition of the game (the bundle launches together with the game itself on November 14), as well as a number of…
SWTOR 3.3 Yavin 4 Stronghold Tour & Overview
In the video linked below you will have a chance to explore the full unlocked Stronghold of Yavin. It was released with SWTOR’s Patch 3.3 on July 22nd. The initial purchase is 2.5 mill credits or 2500 Cartel Coins. You can unlock 9 more rooms and areas for a total of 10. The price for all is 13 mill credits or 20 500 Cartel Coins. There are 16 hooks for a big decoration (centrepiece) and 2 starship hooks. Each room costs between ~500k and 2.5 mill credits or 2000 Cartel Coins, they also add between 25 and 50 new decorations for a total of 750. The initial unlock grants 250 decorations. To unlock this new Stronghold for your guild, you will have to pay the much higher price of 15 mill credits.
SWTOR 3.3 Togruta Overview – Appearance, Customization, Unlocks (Female & Male)
In the video linked below you can see all possible customization options for both Female and Male Togruta species, available as of 22nd July 2015 and Patch 3.3. The unlock costs 600 Cartel Coins and even subscribers will have to pay for the chance to play it.
Revealed: ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Behind-the-Scenes Footage
The most exciting panel at San Diego Comic-Con, on Star Wars: The Force Awakens was full of surprises. Harrison Ford took the stage, we found out Simon Pegg will be playing a creature in the movie and there was an exclusive Star Wars party afterward with free lightsabers and everyone at the panel was invited. But the biggest surprise out of the entire thing was this behind-the-scenes footage. Fans at San Diego Comic-Con’s Hall H were treated to a special look behind the scenes of Star Wars:The Force Awakens by director J.J. Abrams, producer and Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy and writer Lawrence Kasdan. The filmmakers were joined on stage by cast members Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Gwendoline Christie, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford to the surprise and delight of fans. At the end of the Hall H presentation, the entire Hall H audience of…
SWTOR Knights of the Fallen Empire – Flashpoints and Operations in 4.0
Today Bioware released a new Blog-post on the official website. The information about upcoming changes to Flashpoints and Operations was not exactly the most welcomed one, but we can only hope it is for the best! Here is the post. If you are interested, check Vulkk’s analysis and overview of this article in the video attached at the end. Operations and Flashpoints in Fallen Empire I’m George Smith, Senior Designer in charge of Operations and Flashpoints and I am here to talk to you a little bit about what Knights of the Fallen Empire has in store for you. First, a little bit of a backstory about the current state of group content in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. As you level your character, you have the opportunity to play through quite a few Flashpoints for gear and a break from your story. As you continue to play and progress…
Star Wars: Battlefront Delights, Raises Questions/Concern at E3
Like last year, DICE, the developer behind one of the most hotly anticipated gaming titles of the Star Wars Universe, Star Wars: Battlefront, made use of E3 to add further hype to the product it’s currently working on and to showcase the progress that’s been made. The work-in-progress footage that was shown this time around was captured off a PS4 and – although impressive- it gave rise to some controversy and concern among fans in regards to a number of performance issues and game features. Most of the “problems” which apparently surfaced in this year’s E3 showing could probably be attributed to the overly impressive footage released back in April, the one about the battle in Endor’s woods, which was in-engine footage indeed, but it wasn’t in-game footage and the differences are indeed quite significant. The Endor footage was set to a totally different tune: it was rendered at a…
SWTOR E3 Livestream Recap and Summary
The EA livestream begins at 1PM PT (4PM ET) today, June 15th. This post will serve to recap all SWTOR coverage. First you will see a timeline of the E3 livestream and down below you will find more details of the SWTOR-related portions of this event. 4:00 PM – EA CEO Andrew Wilson takes the floor 4:05 PM – “Need for Speed” coverage 4:15 PM – Jeff Hickman, Studio General Manager, Bioware Austin, takes the floor [Expansion is announced, trailer is revealed, full recap below.] 4:20 PM – “Unravel” coverage 4:25 PM – “Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2” coverage 4:35 PM – “NHL 15” coverage 4:36 PM – “Rory McIlroy PGA Tour” coverage (first EA game using Frostbite Engine) 4:38 PM – “NBA Live 16” coverage 4:45 PM – Mobile Gaming coverage 4:48 PM – “FIFA 16″ coverage 5:00 PM – “Mirror’s Edge” Coverage 5:05 PM – “Madden NFL…