Assistant Community Coordinator Nick Avola, took on the forums to clarify on the endgame crafting blog Tuesday with regards to operation and conquest mats. Crafting Changes in Fallen Empire | 10.07.2015, 09:27 PM Hey, team! Long time no see A lot of great questions here. I’ll pass along some clarification from the Developers, regarding the endgame crafting portion of this blog: “There will be two new endgame purple mats: Conquest Mat called “Strategic Resource Matrix”. Operation Mat called “Dark Matter Catalyst”. The Conquest Mat can only be acquired by completing your personal conquest goal. The Operation Mat can only be acquired by killing bosses in Operations. The Conquest Mat is used to craft Endgame equivalent gear. This gear is initially trainable from your trainer. You can then reverse engineer it to Storymode-equivalent gear, and again to Hardmode-equivalent gear. This gear is un-moddable, Bind-on-Equip, and slightly better than the gear found…
NYCC Community Cantina and Cosplay Contest
The time has come for another SWTOR Community Cantina, the last on the calendar for 2015. This time the Cantina lines up with New York Comic Con and there was a decent turnout at the Hard Rock Cafe. When I arrived around 6:20, there was already a line forming outside the building. They got the cosplayers inside early and the rest of us promptly at 7pm. We were given tickets for free drinks and our other goodies and Hard Rock staff were walking around with some good food (great for those who had just come over from NY Comic Con and also for those of us standing around in line awaiting entry.) As always, the staff are super friendly and always around to chat and answer questions. They’re a lot of fun to hang with and in addition to the cosplay contest and the Q&A, they made sure to mingle…
DICE GM Admits They Almost Passed on ‘Star Wars Battlefront’
In the most recent issue of Official Xbox Magazine, the studio general manager of DICE, Patrick Bach stated that the Swedish video game developer nearly passed up on creating Star Wars: Battlefront, and its already looking to be one of the biggest games this year. “Disney came to EA looking for a partner to make games and suggested, ‘Maybe DICE should make a Battlefront game.’ On our side, we had this opportunity, but were fully booked with other work and thought, ‘Argh, we can’t do that!’ But then the heart kicks in, says ‘we will figure it out,’ and we figured it out. Because you can’t say no to a project like that. You piece it together based on competence, passion, availability – although that’s easier to fix. You need the right people in the right place to do the right ‘thing’. Even though you don’t know what that is…
Star Wars: Episode VIII Rumors: Two Female Leads Added
The speculation never ends with the highly anticipated Star Wars: Episode VIII. In the latest of rumors are some stories about film casting. There is supposedly a new female lead with a shortlist of actresses to include Gina Rodriguez, Tatiana Maslany, and Olivia Cooke. Rumors said this female casting was for a role with John Boyega. But now there is a new rumor that there is another female lead being cast and Gugu Mbathha-Raw has auditioned for the role. This would mean there is not just one but TWO substantial female leads in the new film. We also have no idea yet if these lead roles are as heroes or villains. As usual with rumors, know that they are not true until you see it in the movie and especially with a Star Wars flick, you can expect everyone to be very tight-lipped about what is actually going on. We follow the…
Conquests turned off temporarily after SWTOR Fallen Empire
Due to bugs, the Conquests system will be turned off for the first month of Fallen Empire: Conquest Reward Issues and Fallen Empire | 10.06.2015, 09:37 PM Hey folks, We have read a few threads about issues with Conquest rewards not being granted and acknowledge there is definitely an issue with that system. As a result, beginning on October 20th when we launch Early Access to Knights of the Fallen Empire, we will turn off Conquest events for at least the following month. Once we resolve the issue, we will let you know when to expect Conquest events to return. For those who have not received this week’s Conquest rewards, we’re reviewing the situation and will give you an update soon. As a note, it is likely that over the next few weeks leading up to Fallen Empire there may be continued issues with Conquest rewards being granted. If you…
Crafting Changes in SWTOR Fallen Empire
BioWare posted another blogpost, laying out the crafting changes in Fallen Empire from the SWTOR developers. In Knights of the Fallen Empire, we are making quite a few adjustments to how Crafting will work. In this blog we will cover each of these changes and how they will affect your character in Fallen Empire. Ultimately we had a handful of goals for our crafting changes: Balance the Crafting skills, so that the benefits of all Crafting skills are relatively equal. Improve the quality of Crafted items, so that Crafting is a valid method to gear yourself. Ease the barrier of entry, making Crafting easier to understand for our newer players. Let’s get started. General Crew Skill Changes While leveling in Star Wars: The Old Republic, we want to ensure that Crew Skills are a way to help supplement your experience. We have made a few changes to help streamline your experience…
SWTOR Companion Affection Achievements in Fallen Empire
Eric Musco just informed us that via the official forums, that Some companion affection achievements will be removed and others adjusted in Fallen Empire. Check it out: Companion Affection Achievements in Fallen Empire | 10.06.2015, 06:34 PM Hey folks, I wanted to pass on some information regarding changes to Companion Achievements in Knights of the Fallen Empire. As many of you know, Affection is being changed to Influence to coincide with your Character’s Alliance. Due to this, we are going to be removing all of the “Reach Max Affection” Achievements from the game, along with the Achievement points which they have granted. We didn’t want to create a situation where a very large number of Achievement points was no longer accessible. You can click the spoiler tag below to see a full list of all of the Achievements being removed. As a note, the Achievements for “Loyalty to the [Class…
SWTOR All Cartel Market Packs 33-40% OFF
BioWare is doing a sale on all the cartel market packs in SWTOR at 33% for single packs and 40% off for hypercrates. Single Packs are 33% OFF (200 CC each), Hypercrate are 40% OFF (4320 CC each). This includes everything from Crime Lord’s Cartel Pack all the way to the recent Wild Space’s Explorer Pack. The sale will end on October 20, with early access of Fallen Empire
Star Wars Battlefront Beta Has No Offline Mode of Play for Survival Missions
If you’re revving up to try out the Star Wars Battelfront beta that begins next week, you’re going to want to know first that it has no offline mode of play for the Survival Missions. You will need an internet connection in order to play. “Offline gameplay will not be available within the beta,” Battlefront community manager Mat Everett wrote on Reddit. “For the beta, an Internet connection is required to play Missions.” He doesn’t go on to explain why they won’t be playable offline in the beta. We do know that the beta will be open to everyone across the various platforms the game is being released on and that it will also include the 40-player Walker Assault and Drop Zone modes. The Survival Mission mode is set on Tatooine and you can play by yourself or with a friend online in co-op or local in split-screen. Gamespot explains…
EA Answers Questions about Star Wars Battlefront Beta
With the Battlefront beta on the way in just a few short days, publisher EA and developer DICE are putting the final touches on the game and the team has offered some more info about what we can expect from the testing period, as well as what might be missing when it begins next week. “Vehicles in Star Wars Battlefront come with their own weapons and abilities that make them authentic to the Star Wars universe,” says Mathew Everett, Battlefront’s community manager. He also took time to answer some of the most common questions from the community about the beta: Q.) Will I be able to play Missions offline? A.) For the Beta, an Internet connection is required to play Missions. However, when Star Wars Battlefront ships on November 17 you will be able to play Missions offline. Q.) Will there be any AI bots in multiplayer in addition to…
Developer Blog: Fallen Empire Core World Changes
BioWare posted a bew blog post detailing the changes to core worlds with the Knights of the Fallen Empire. Check it out: Drawing inspiration from the success of last year’s 12x XP boost and the more recent Epic Story XP Boost, in Fallen Empire we’ve altered the core leveling experience from 1-60 for all players, making it quicker and more story-centric. Our goal is to create a tighter leveling experience that alleviates the fatigue associated with having to complete dozens of Missions per planet and that allows players to focus on the core storylines of their characters and companions amid the backdrop of the Great Galactic War. To accomplish this we’ve established a new critical path, reducing the number of Missions players are required to complete in order to progress along with an adjusted experience curve. Additionally we’ve made a number of changes to Heroic Missions and re-classified Missions not considered…
SWTOR Cosplay Contest – New York Comic Con
If you’re going to be in New York City for New York Comic Con this year, then you’re also going to want to stop by the SWTOR Cosplay Contest. Here is the official info from SWTOR.com: DRESS TO IMPRESS COSPLAY CONTEST AT NEW YORK COMIC CON OCTOBER 8, 2015 – COMPETE FOR GREAT PRIZES! (DOORS OPEN 7PM EDT @ THE HARD ROCK CAFÉ ON BROADWAY) Compete in the first ever Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Cosplay Contest! Join us on October 8, 2015 at the New York Comic Con Cantina Event.Celebrate the upcoming launch of Knights of the Fallen Empire and come dressed to impress. Send in the email portion of your entry by October 5th! This event is FREE for everyone who wants to come, watch and share the fun with us and the Star Wars: The Old Republic community. Or, watch the contest live on www.twitch.tv/swtor at 8PM…
Packs on Sale Oct 6- 20
In honor of the upcoming Cartel Market changes, all of your favorite packs will be returning on sale from October 6-20, according to an official Star Wars: The Old Republic post on Facebook. The sale will have 40% off Hypercrates (4320cc) and 33% off Packs (200cc). In honor of the upcoming Cartel Market changes, ALL your favorite Packs will be returning ON SALE from October 6-20! Posted by Star Wars: The Old Republic on Friday, October 2, 2015 How cool is that? What better time than now to stock up if you want more packs? Fallen Empire is bringing Cartel Market changes so take this time now to save on packs. What are some of the packs we have so far and what you can find in them? Cartel Market packs are organized into shipments. Here is an idea of what you can see in each pack/shipment (compiled and shared by Dulfy…
Drew Karpyshin Working on New Content (after KOTFE)
One of the best parts of following your favorite game writers on Twitter is that from time to time they will drop little hints about what they are working on. Contracts prevent them from flat-out telling you the real deal (and where would be the fun in that anyway?) but they will often give the nerdy fans at home (yeah, that’s me) some insight into what they’re actually doing. Such is the case recently with Drew Karpyshin who had this little gem on Twitter: .@aeriston77 Workng on new content that won’t be out for quite a while. Lots of lead time in the games industry. — Drew Karpyshyn (@DrewKarpyshyn) September 24, 2015 So this tells us two things: Ask Drew a question on Twitter and you very well might get an answer. Drew is working on new content after KOTFE. As he explains in his answer, there is a lot…
If SWTOR Voice Actors Go on Strike
So if you’ve been following the industry news, you may have heard rumor about a potential voice actor strike. Negotiators for SAG-AFTRA are seeking a strike authorization from video game voice actors after failed negotiations for a successor deal, according to reports from Variety. They set a fast-approaching deadline of Oct 5th and the contract covers work done for Activision, Electronic Arts, Warner Bros., Disney and more. So this leaves us with a curious burning question: if a strike happens, how will the game be affected? It could be a large impact, seeing as how voice acting is such a huge part of SWTOR. That said, some previously datamined info gives the impression that most of the script is in the PTS files already so this would only be problematic if they needed to make edits. Basically, if this is the case, they are stuck with what they have and they…
SWTOR Cartel Market Changes in Fallen Empire
The Cartel Market will se some big changes the upcoming expansion to Star Wars: The old Republic. Check it out: Hi all! I wanted to take a moment and let you all know of some exciting changes coming to the Cartel Market with the release of Knights of the Fallen Empire. We are touching almost every portion of the Cartel Market in some way or another, and below are some of the bigger changes that we hope you guys will be excited about. Our primary goal behind most of the Cartel Market changes for 4.0 is making things easier to understand at a glance and making things more accessible. Below are a few examples of how we are attempting to address this goal: Players have had feedback on navigating the Collections interface for a while now, so we are focusing on making some quality of life changes to make it…
Combat Changes in Fallen Empire
BioWare just posted a new blog post, explaining the combat changes, we can expect in the upcoming expansion – Knights of the fallen Empire. Combat Changes in Fallen Empire With the launch of Knights of Fallen Empire, we are planning quite a few general changes to combat. This includes everything from how some stats work to a new feature called Level Sync. Let’s jump in and talk about these changes. Stat Changes We have reworked some of our stats with the goal of helping in itemization as well as cleaning up some lingering imbalance between stats. These changes will reduce the amount of items that you find in game which simply don’t apply to your character. No more throwing items away because it has the wrong main stat, or hating that you have to get both Critical Hit Rating and Surge just to make the stats effective. These changes include:…
A Starter Guide for Star Wars: Uprising
The newest mobile Star Wars game is from Kabam and it’s an online RPG called Star Wars: Uprising. We are sure that most of you have heard of this new mobile game by now but we are going to give you some great tips and strategies to use in the game. The games set is that you are a smuggler who is trying to earn money and work off his debt while the Empire strengthens its grasp on the galaxy with an “iron blockade.” Read on to learn some useful tips to take over Star Wars: Uprising. Your roll move is the best asset with enemies Star Wars: Uprising gives players access to a great roll move that will send you rolling away from enemies and danger when you are in a tight spot. All you need to do is double-tap on an area on the map and you will…
Star Wars Battlefront Will Have Dedicated Servers
After speaking with PlayStation LifeStyle at TGS, Jamie Keen senior producer has confirmed that even though it was recently reported that the sci-fi shooter would not offer a server browser, there will definitely be dedicated servers to give players an “unparalleled” online service. “We’ll still have dedicated servers. Absolutely,” said Keen. “It’s one of the hallmarks of making sure we deliver an unparalleled online [service] for the game.” Keen has given more details about Star Wars: Battlefront’s Hero System, where players take control of iconic and powerful characters in the Star Wars film saga. “Our goal was to give an average player around two minutes as a Hero or Villain,” said Keen. “But if you’re good enough, you might stretch that to around five minutes. In theory, you could play as Luke Skywalker for a whole match, but that is extremely unlikely. That said, the gauntlet is thrown!” The release…
Star Wars Gaming Headset
There is an awesome new headset being released in November and their name is the Star Wars X-Wing Pilot headset. The release of the new headset is to celebrate the long wait fans have been through for the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in December. The headset is being sold as a “low-cost universal headset that is for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.” The earphones are super lightweight and themed after the signature orange jumpsuits that are worn by the Rebel Alliances pilots in the Star Wars series. The Star Wars X Wing Pilot headset features include 40mm Neodymium speakers that give you amazing highs and booming lows, In-line controls that give users access to control Master Volume and Mic Mute right at their fingertips and also multiplayer chat with an adjustable boom mic. One spokesman stated: “Planned to launch this November in advance of the film,…
Alpha Tester Says Star Wars Battlefront is “Broken”
One game tester says there is something deeply wrong with Star Wars Battlefront and simple patches after launch aren’t going to fix problems on this level. This Alpha tester spoke out to say the game is broken beyond what can be fixed and ready by launch but he doesn’t go into too many details about specially how it’s broken. eoGAF user Illucio, wrote: “I’ve been Alpha testing a few games and I can say Battlefront is a complete mess and is broken. Considering that their deadline for the game is in a few weeks and they still haven’t fixed the majority of the in game problems let alone the connection problem me and other testers were having, yes it’s going to be a mess. And even a day 1 patch won’t fix all of them, I don’t know too much outside what I played, but the game is indeed rushed and it’s…
Introducing the SWTOR Answers HQ Page
The SWTOR Customer Support Forum will be moving to the EA HQ page, where non subscribers can also receive support. Introducing the SWTOR Answers HQ Page | 09.28.2015, 03:43 PM Hi everyone! I wanted to let you all know of an upcoming to change to the Customer Support forum – namely, that they won’t be around anymore. We are creating a new Answers HQ page for SWTOR atanswers.ea.com. This move from the existing Customer Support forum will allow players to help players in a better capacity, with EA employees monitoring replies and ensuring correct and useful information is promoted, in an environment where active and helpful players are rewarded. As part of this, non-subscribers will also be eligible to receive web-based support by utilizing the Answers HQ page! We are currently planning for this transition to occur on October 5th. As of this date, these forums will be in read-only…
Star Wars: Uprising Review: The Mild Side of the Force
December is getting closer and we are all getting anxious and ready to visit the galaxy far, far away. The months that remain will not have any mercy on Star Wars fans that are shaking as they await more news about the upcoming Star Wars movie. The one thing that is making this wait even worse is that Disney has not been too shy about giving us supplementary merchandise that is based on the Star Wars: The Force Awakens movie. For example, you can play Star Wars: Uprising, which is a mobile MMOG that seems to be running parallel with the upcoming movie’s events. At least, it mainly is the same but there are some moments when the game does not intersect with the new movie releasing in December. However, you should not worry because you will not ruin anything or cause any spoilers. That’s actually kind of hard to…
THE SECRECY about KOTFE IS LUDICROUS
During a recent interview, Anthony Daniels who stars as C-3PO in the Star Wars films stated this about The Force Awakens, “The secrecy has been beyond ludicrous.” This can also be said about BioWare and their expansion for Star Wars: The Old Republic, Knights of the Fallen Empire. As many of the people reading this and Star Wars fans across the globe can agree that the information about key system changes has been completely non-existent. The new expansion is a release date in six weeks and there are still many unanswered questions, and most of them have nothing to do with the story at all. Going off what we have been informed of, Knights of the Fallen Empire brings up nearly every aspect of the game. This doesn’t mean that everything will be different, however, players will have to overcome four years of their memory of the game to adjust…