Darth Vader for president! Nope, it’s not a joke. Darth Vader is now running for president in Ukraine. The official announcement of his candidacy was made my Vader this weekend, where he was supported by Stormtroopers as he declared, “I alone can make an empire out of a republic, to restore former glory, to return lost territories and pride for this country.”
We Hit 35K Followers on Facebook!
We have some very exciting news to celebrate this week- we have 35,000 fans/followers on Facebook now. We know a good number of those are you so we wanted to take the time to tell you all a very big, genuine THANK YOU. It has given us a great deal of pleasure to bring you Star Wars and SWTOR news for all of these years and our Facebook page is one more place where we bring you our updated blog posts plus other tidbits, news and cool stuff. If you have not spent time on our Facebook page yet, you might not know that we share more there than just our blog posts. Not only can you stay updated on all of the news and info we share daily but you’ll also connect with other SWTOR and Star Wars fans. You can communicate with us directly, send us messages or…
EA Won’t Be ‘Worst Company in America’ for the 3rd Year in a Row
Remember when we told you it looked like EA might take home the prize of ‘Worst Company in America’ for the 3rd year in a row? Well, it looks like good news for them that they fell out of the running in round one. While they may have made some mistakes this year, it looks like there are some other companies who have people upset enough to bump them up in the rankings, sparing EA this year. In the first round, Time Warner Cable beat EA with a 51.2% vs. 48.8% margin. It was a close one but as a TWC customer, I can’t say I am surprised. In past years, I was a huge TWC fan but recent months have told a different story and now their impeding merge with Comcast just pushes them more negative territory. As Consumerist explains: In the narrowest margin of victory since 2011, when BP beat…
New Star Wars Video Game out Today: Star Wars: Assault Team
Disney Mobile has just launched Star Wars: Assault Team, a brand new collectable card game (CCG) set in the “Star Wars” universe, on the App Store. You can pick up the new application free of charge now and it’s optimized for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Developed in parntership with LucasArts, the game allows iOS device users to build up a deck of cards featuring their favorite characters from the popular space opera franchise, and to do battle against the Galactic Empire. The app’s storyline is set between “Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope” and “Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back,” and in its release notes, Disney explains: Infiltrate enemy fleets and outsmart your opponents in exciting, face-to-face combat. Embark on epic missions to escape from enemy ships, find the Wookiee resistance, survive ambushes on the streets of Mos Espa, and much more! Fight for ultimate…
EA Plans to Model Star Wars Games after Batman Arkham Series
Reports and interviews coming out say EA plans to model their Star Wars games after the Batman Arkham series. “We’re not trying to build a game that replicates the storyline of any particular film,” says EA boss. EA is telling the fans we shouldn’t expect the upcoming Star Wars games to be based directly on the Star Wars films themselves. Instead, EA will approach it in the same way that Warner Bros. did with the Batman Arkham series. Basically they are not planning to build a game that copies any particular storyline of the films. Instead, they are going to take the core roots of the IP and create an additional interactive experience that fans can enjoy. This is interesting because it also gives the more flexibility with what they do with the games. Remember EA acquired the Star Wars license exclusively last May and it will last for at…
Imperial Entanglements – Original Star Wars Comics, Humor and Art
You know how we love to bring you cool and interesting stuff related to Star Wars? Well, one thing we really love is comics and fan art. So you have to check out this Tumblr blog we found, Imperial Entanglements. It contains original Star Wars comics, humor and art and we think you will enjoy it as much as we do. She’s been playing SWTOR since beta and enjoys creating and sharing fan fiction and art related to SWTOR. We are highly impressed with her talent and creativity and we highly encourage you to head over and check it out. The website/blog updates every Monday. She also visited The Community Cantina on March 23rd in Boulder, CO and took some great pics as well as talked about her questions to the BioWare staff and showed us the cool stuff from her thumb drive. She even won an awesome t-shirt (even…
PTS Closing Monday, March 31st
Game update 2.7 is close by, and the public test servers will be taken down on Monday, match 31st. I don’t think we will see game update 2.7 go live on Tuesday, but Tuesday April 8th might be a good bet. Below is the official announcement: TaitWatson PTS Closing Monday, March 31st | 03.26.2014, 12:36 PM Hey everyone! I wanted to let you all know that the PTS will be closed on Monday, March 31st at 10AM CDT. Thank you for providing us feedback and helping us test the new content coming in Game Update 2.7! -tw
Bastilla Shan Cosplay by Dahlia Thomas
This is an amazing Bastilla Shan cosplay from Dahlia Thomas. She has been costuming/cosplaying since July 2012. She makes her own costumes, gives panels at conventions about cosplay related shenanigans, works with photographers all over Florida and help support other cosplayers. Awards and recognitions for Dahlia: -Dana Snyder’s Judge’s award in the Florida Supercon Supergirl competition. [Morrigan, Dragon Age Origins] -Publication in We Rise Magazine. [Cortana] – Cosplayer of the week on Chicks With Lightsabers. [Bastilla Shan] Cosplay by: https://www.facebook.com/DahliaThomasCosplay Photo by: https://www.facebook.com/sghphotoartfans
SWTOR is now OFFICIALLY on Instagram
If you are a SWTOR fan who also loves Instagram, then you’ll be happy to hear this news. SWTOR is now officially on Instagram!
Powertech Top 3 Answers
Eric Musco posted an update on the forums that Bounty hunters will like. Here is the summary of the post Changes coming: Game Update 2.8: Rapid Venting changed from alacrity to critical chance increase. Shield Tech/Specialist skills will be able to proc from misses and resists instead of just shielding attacks, except for Heat/Power Screens. DPS Boost for DOTs for Pyrotech/Assault Specialist to increase DPS. (Unknown timeframe) Ways to make pure tanks more viable in PvP: Developers are asking for input on how to do this Other info: Powertech/Vanguard tanks have the best Ranked Arenas PvP win ratio, even though they have the least amount of stuns. And here is the post in full: 3 Questions for PT. Lets DO IT! | 03.25.2014, 01:07 PM Hey folks! Here are your top 3 questions, answered: Question 1 – PvE DPS This question is plain and simple. Both specs for Powertech DPS are…
Boulder Cantina Tour News and Info
Non of us here at swtorstrategies were at the Boulder event, so the information below is from Lumberj, and all credits goes to him. The tour was just like most others, a Q&A round, followed by trivia to a room full of nerds and then a meet and greet. Who was there? Courtney Woods, some Australian dude who lost a arm wrestling match, Blain and Cory Butler. First off, they said they could not talk about strongholds other than what was originally announced. The exact details of what the legacy storage could hold was still being worked out in response to a ? about placing bound items in them. Guild ship battles is on the Wall of Crazy (WoC) Space PvE — WoC and no current plans Open space Pvp – WoC Class Story – Not at the moment, would rather have story that all classes can experience such as what they’ve…
Star Wars Facts: The Three Branches of the Jedi Order
The Jedi Order was an ancient and noble monastic peacekeeping organization unified by its belief and observance of the Force. The Jedi were the guardians of peace and justice in the Galactic Republic, and became the most famous of the various groups that relied on the Force for their power. Led by a series of Jedi Councils, the Order grew over the millennia despite facing many trials, most often threats from the Sith, wielders of the dark side of the Force. For a full reading about the Jedi order check out our article about them here. Below is a walk through of the Three Branches of the Jedi Order: The Sentinels Jedi Sentinels were often considered a blend between the Consulars and the Guardians. However they were more than that. Whilst the other branches focused on what they could achieve with Force powers or Lightsabers Sentinels realised that the Force…
Why SWTOR Was a “Failure”
We keep hearing it everywhere- “SWTOR was a failure” and with many new MMORPGs coming out, we hear the claim that it might end up being a failure “Just like SWTOR”. Why all this hatred for the game? First, let’s clear the air and say that we don’t think SWTOR is a failure. And with the numbers they are bringing in financially, the stats don’t say it’s a flop either. But we hear this far too much to just write it off as a handful of trolls. So for this reason, we’re going to entertain this opinion for just a bit and see why some people think the game failed. When we talk about why SWTOR is seen as a failure to some, we have to look at player expectations vs. how SWTOR was hyped. As a standalone game today, most people will agree it’s a pretty decent game, even…
PTS Update – March 21st, 2014
The public test server is now back up. The only thing to note (besides the aforementioned patch notes) is that the only Warzone available will be the original Huttball map instead of the Quesh Huttball Pit. The developers found some issues that they are working through with the Quesh Huttball Pit, so it won’t be available for this phase of PTS testing. The restof the changes are listed below: General All equippable gear pieces have their Item Rating displayed in the tooltip. Weapons and armor have not changed. In the equipment tooltips, mods/enhancements now display their Item Rating in parentheses instead of their Item Level. While unequipped, mods/enhancements display their Item Rating in their tooltip. Classes + Combat Sith Inquisitor Assassin Spike is now a stun rather than a knockdown, but it will continue to knock down standard and weak enemies. Jedi Consular Shadow Spinning Kick is now a stun…
Wookieepedia What?
So if you are a follower of Wookieepedia you may have already run across from hilarious, witty or downright cute entries on the Star Wars themed database. It’s one of the reasons we like it so much. That and the fact that we love Star Wars. I mean where else can you find such a complete database of Star Wars characters, story, canon and more? What is Wookiepedia? (for those rare few in our audience who may not know yet) The Star Wars encyclopedia that anyone can edit. Warning: this wiki contains spoilers. So anyway, let’s go back to those funny entries we were talking about. We’ve found some really good ones lately. For example, have you seen The Emperor’s New Clothes or Order 66 Cookie? Or here is an entire page just about breasts… “Breasts were the mammary glands of mammalian species and some reptomammals, and were normally a distinguishing feature of…
Frequently Asked PvP Questions
Eric Musco and PvP Designer Alex Modny will be on Twitch later today, playing Warzones on Prophecy of the Five at 1:30PM PDT. As with most of the BioWare streams, they get quite a few questions which are commonly asked by PvPers. Therefor Eric talked with the combat team about many of our questions and got answers to many of the commonly asked questions. Below you will find those questions/answers. Will we ever be able to choose a specific Warzone to queue for? From the design side, we do like the idea of allowing our players to be able to impact which Warzone they want to queue for, but it is not as simple as letting everyone select which Warzone they want and call it a day. Because of a few reasons (queue population, preventing ‘de facto’ best Warzone, making sure all Warzones are being played, etc.) it would require…
Galactic Strongholds forums updates
With the announcement of the new upcoming Star Wars: The old Republic expansion, it was only expected that the official forums would go nuts. So many questions needs answering, and Eric Musco is trying to keep up. Here is a rundown of all the yellow posts on the official forum: Post #1 EricMusco Watch New Galactic Strongholds Announcement Trailer | 03.19.2014, 10:01 AM Quote: Originally Posted by ninjonxb Woo! So if Subscribers are getting early access on June 24th can we assume that this will not be the focus of 2.8? 2.8 was originally said to come on June 10th and “is going to be the biggest update up to this point”http://www.swtor.com/info/news/news-article/20140203 Good catch Ninjonxb, Subscriber Early Access to Galactic Strongholds is coming as a part of 2.8. As you can see the decision has been made to move the 2.8 date out two weeks from its original target. We wanted…
New Star Wars: The Old Republic expansion “Galactic Strongholds” announced
You heard that right folk’s. BioWare just announced the next expansion for SWTOR titled “Galactic Strongholds”. This new expansion brings customizable player housing known as strongholds to the game, as well as Guild capital ships! You will be able to acquire multiple Strongholds on different planets and customize them yourself. To start you’ll have options to set up on your faction’s capital world, the gambling planet Nar Shaddaa, or both. Decorating your crib can get you Prestige score, which can rise you to the top of the Stronghold Directory. Aside from the benefits of living stylishly, having a stronghold will let you transport friends directly to it so you can kick back and socialize. Guilds will also be able to launch Flagships when the expansion officially releases, though that functionality won’t be enabled for the early access. Here’s the official blurb: In Galactic Strongholds, players can live on multiple planets…
Community Cantina Tour Arrives in Boston, Massachusetts on April 11th, 2014
BioWare posted news regarding the Star Wars: The Old Republic Community Cantina. The next event will still be this Saturday, March 22nd, in Boulder. BUt the next after that will be happening on Friday, April 11th, in Boston. 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 M8-3R Astromech code. Space is limited so be sure to come early. If you’re in the area, make sure to stop by and hang out with the BioWare team. Check out details below: Venue: The Hyatt Regency Boston Date: Friday, April 11th, 2014 Time: 8:00PM – 11:00PM EDT Address: 1 Avenue De Lafayette, Boston, MA 02111 Space will be limited, so be sure to arrive early! You can RSVP on Facebook here (Facebook RSVP is not required for attendance).
STAR WARS: EPISODE VII to Start Filming in May 2014
Have you been as anxious about Star Wars: Episode VII as we have? We have been waiting to share with you some good news and it’s finally here. Disney and Lucasfilm are excited to announce that principal photography on Star Wars: Episode VII, directed by J.J. Abrams will begin filming in May 2014 (just 2 months away) in London’s historic Pinewood Studios.
Patch 2.6.2 Notes – 3/18/14
Patch notes for tomorrow’s servers maintenance is up. Check it out below: 2.6.2 Patch Notes General Players who activated the Makeb datacrons prior to 2.6.1 will have the Codex entries retroactively granted. Cartel Market The Charcoal Dewback can now be unlocked through the Collection. Corrected the appearance of the Wastelander’s Gloves so that the metal attachments appear on all body types. The Indomitable Vanquisher’s Saberstaff no longer has a gap between the hilt and the blade. The Scrublander’s Gloves and Wastelander’s Gloves now correctly display on all body types, and their icons have been updated to reflect the correct appearance. The “Emote: Chair 1” unlock available from the Rare Reputation Vendor in the Cartel Bazaar (an ICE Reputation item) now correctly unlocks the emote. The Infiltrator’s Compact Sniper Rifle and the Vindicator’s Lightsaber are no longer missing weapon proficiency requirements in their Cartel Market descriptions. The Korrealis Duke has returned…
Eric Musco Addresses Double XP Weekend Bugs
If you tried to play SWTOR this weekend for the double XP event, you may have encountered some bugs and not gotten your double experience like you should have. Don’t worry- you are not alone and Bioware is aware of the issue. Eric Musco addresses it in the forums: I know that there was definitely some unhappiness that came out of this past double XP weekend and I wanted to address a little bit about what happened, and we are doing about it. There are two main issues which plagued the weekend: In certain group compositions, no experience is granted during a Flashpoint. The Kuat Drive Yards Flashpoint was awarding only normal experience for NPC kills, it was not being doubled. Understandably, many players look to Flashpoints to level during our double XP weekends and so there is quite a bit of frustration that these bugs were present. Let’s take…
Does the Bolster System Need Fixing?
A lot of SWTOR players are saying the bolster system is broken. Is it really? Let’s take a look at the topic. First, bolster was believed to be a friend of the new PVPer but now that it’s out, many are questioning whether or not this feature is really a positive. While bolster was meant to bring a more even playing field to the PvP aspects of SWTOR, many players feel like it has succeeded only in bring more problems. Some players don’t believe it has leveled the playing field at all. So the idea behind Bolster is a good one- it’s intended introduce and level the playing field in PvP of SWTOR. It could also be a good way to introduce new players to this aspect of the game and its content. And some will say that level 10-54, Bolster is working as intended. But what happens at level…
Scheduled Maintenance: March 18th, 2014 – Patch 2.6.2
On March 18th, 2014, all game servers and SWTOR.com will be unavailable as BioWare perform maintenance. Patch 2.6.2 will be implemented during this downtime. We don’t have the patch notes yet, but be sure to check back, and we will post them when they become available. Details are as follows: Date: Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 Duration: 7.5 hours Time: 11:30PM PST on 3/17 (6:30AM GMT) – 7AM PST (3PM GMT) During maintenance, all updates and additional information will be posted on our Twitter account. 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 March 18th, 2014 01:00 AM March 18th, 2014 03:00 AM -10 hours AKST March 18th, 2014 02:00 AM March 18th, 2014 04:00 AM -9 hours PST March 18th, 2014 03:00 AM March 18th, 2014 05:00 AM -8 hours MST March 18th,…