Those of you who have been here with us since the beginning will remember vanilla SWTOR and here is something that might remind you of that era of the game. It reminds me of some of the instances in KOTOR, for example, where you had different paths. There are crew skills in the storymode Flashpoints and they are worked in like “hidden” gems for you to find. Here’s a really cool chart that tells you (almost) all of them in one place. Take a look: If you plan to try to find all of these, want specific ones, or just want to see what’s around in a Flashpoint you’re doing already, this is a handy chart to keep around. Bookmark it or print it out – whatever works for you – but keep it around to refer to. Have fun!
Former SWTOR Lead Writer Daniel Erickson Working on Chapter 2 for SW: Uprising
Curious what former Lead Writer for SWTOR Daniel Erickson has been up to lately? Well, his recent Tweet will set the record straight (sort of): Sorry for the lack of updates lately. Deep in dev on Chapter 2. Which is literally more than 150% the size of the entire present game. — Daniel Erickson (@DanielAErickson) September 26, 2015 The former Bioware writer is now Director of Star Wars: Uprising and like those of us here, a BIG Star Wars nerd. I don’t know about you but I love seeing people who are truly passionate about games work on games. Being a writer myself, I also have a special kind of love for game writers. It’s why I was such a fangirl over meeting Erickson and Alexander Freed. These guys are not in it for the money or for fame (so many don’t even recognize their names). They are in it…
Preview Dice Star Wars: Battelfront companion mobile app
Recently, EA Star Wars Twitter revealed a mobile app called My Career that will be a companion to the upcoming game Star Wars: Battlefront. The app will allow players to see statistics, customize their gameplay, and much more. The app will be released in the early part of November and it allows the user to check their progress, connect with friends on PSN, Xbox Live, and Origin, customize loadout, and receive updates from EA. The beta for Star Wars: Battlefront is fast approaching and you still have time to pre-order a Darth Vader PS4 bundle on Amazon for release day delivery. Build your perfect Star Wars Battlefront loadout on the go with the Companion App: http://t.co/ptKN4ONRlQ pic.twitter.com/bSP1g6uZT3 — EAStarWars (@EAStarWars) October 4, 2015
Datamining Yavin PvP Map
Are you curious to know what Yavin is going to be like? It’s a work-in-progress map but thanks to some datamining, we can get some info on what it’s going to be like. As always, keep in mind that datamined info is not necessarily what you will see as a finished product and it’s also the miner’s interpretation of the data. You can head over to TOR Community to see the data in its entirety but here are some things you will find in the summary: Is most likely 8v8. Probably won’t be released in 4.0, but a lot of work has been done on it so possibly 4.1 but don’t hold your breath. Has a VIP, the VIP gets special abilities on a temporary quickbar. Has a game mode chooser that allows someone to choose Bounty or VIP mode. Possibly a CTF mode to but this might just be…
HYPERSPACE BEACON: Six things to do before SWTOR’s Knights of the Fallen Empire launch
Once the long-awaited Knights of the Fallen Empire for Star Wars: The Old Republic launches, certain activities will not be available in the game anymore. To be specific, quests such as the Makeb staged weeklies and the Nightmare achievements for Eternity Vault will be gone. You also need to know that many of the basic story missions will not be available once you begin the KotFE missions, and the developers have stated that those missions will affect the story in KotFE, as well. There is only one more month left until the expansion is available to the public, so we need to prioritize which mission achievements you must have before you get the expansion. Here are six suggestions to get you started on the right path. Companion missions The first suggestion is to do as many companion missions that you possibly can. Many of them only require that you go…
Why Is There So Much Hate on Star Wars: Battlefront?
If you’ve been following the news and updates on Star Wars: Battlefront then you are surely no stranger to the fact that there is a lot of negativity surrounding this game. The community seems to be really torn on whether to love it or hate it. While there are some who straddle the fence in the gray zone, most everyone is in one camp or the other. What is it about this game that has so many people either super hyped or super let down? I have a lot of theories on this answer but of course, it’s all speculation. My guess is that with any big Star Wars game, the community is going to be anxious. We love Star Wars. We love games. We want great Star Wars games. And the truth is, we’ve been let down before. A lot. Some of us are bitter about that. Some of…
My Favorite Things About the Star Wars: Battlefront Beta
The Star Wars: Battlefront closed beta has become available a couple of days ago and it instantly vindicated all those who have put their trust into DICE to make this a game that would live up to the tremendous hype that preceded it. Indeed, as we followed the development of this game one bit of rumor/news at a time, it has become clear that no amount of effort would be spared to make this good and now all I can say is: it shows. The beta isn’t all milk and honey obviously, there are a number of smaller problems with it, but being positive a person, I’m not going to dwell on any of these minute and ultimately insignificant details, and I’m only going to focus on the bits that have left me thoroughly impressed. To start off: the graphics. In this day and age, raving about the visuals of…
3 Marvel/Star Wars Crossovers We’d Like To See
Now that Disney owns everything (or at least, Marvel and Star Wars), we’ve already seen a lot of changes for some of our favourite entertainment franchises. The most noteworthy of these changes is of course the forthcoming third Star Wars trilogy. However, we’re also seeing Star Wars spin-off films, new Marvel TV shows, and all kinds of spin-offs, side projects, and novelisations that weren’t around before. What we haven’t seen much of yet is crossovers between Marvel and Star Wars, arguably the two most significant branches of Disney’s modern entertainment empire. So here are a few ideas in that category that we think it would be fun to see, starting with gaming concepts. A Crossover Video Game The first idea that comes to mind in this regard would be a fighter series; first because these games are almost impossible not to enjoy and second because they’re probably the easiest ones…
Clarification on Endgame Crafting in SWTOR Fallen Empire
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…