It’s official! Star Wars: The old Republic Rise of the Hutt Cartel is to be released on April 9 – or at least the early access for people who have pre-ordered the game get’s access to the game that day. Everyone Else will get access april 14. The internet has been busing all day with news and interviews about this, and we will have a write up on Interviews & Information later today. With the news about the release date, BioWare also released the seccond part of the developer dispatch: Making of: Rise of the Hutt Cartel. Check it out below, and check out the official BioWare announcement below that. We’re thrilled to announce the launch date of Sunday, April 14, 2013, for the release of the first Digital Expansion: Rise of the Hutt Cartel. Introducing five new levels of gameplay and the vibrant new planet of Makeb, Rise of the Hutt Cartel will be available for download beginning…
Scheduled Maintenance – 3/26 – 1.7.3
Just a friendly reminder that BioWare will be taking down the servers on March 26 to preform maintenance and apply game update 1.7.3 . Hopefully this patch update will bring us the “Ready Check” function we mentioned back in the beginning of the month. We will of course post the path notes as the become available. Until then, check out the official announcement below: On March 26th, all game servers will be unavailable as we perform scheduled maintenance. Patch 1.7.3 will be implemented during this downtime. Details are as follows: Date: Tuesday, March 26th, 2013 Time: 3AM PDT (10AM GMT) – 7AM PDT (2PM GMT) Duration: 4 hours Thank you for your patience as we maintain service for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.
Will Blizzard Bring MMOs to Console?
Since before SWTOR first came out, there has been talk about bringing it to the consoles. But that is all it was… talk. What began as a mixup turned into rumors that were debunked by BioWare. While some players scoff at the idea of SWTOR on console, there are some who really want to see it happen one day. The idea of bringing MMOs of consoles is not a new one but it’s not one that any developer has been ready to tackle. That is, until now. World of Warcraft lead systems designer Greg Street would be keen to bring the company’s MMO experience to next-generation consoles, says VG 24/7. They go on to say: “I would personally be very excited to see that, it would be a huge challenge to take something like World Of Warcraft with its massive hard drive footprint and its reliance on mouse and keyboard,”…
1.7.2b Patch Notes
All the servers are coming back online and BioWare released the patch notes. BioWare removed the Bolster trick people were using to power level characters doing the double XP weekend. Patch Notes 1.7.2b General Bolster has been temporarily removed on The Western Ice Shelf of Ilum so that lower level players can no longer use the area to level up more quickly than intended.
Reminder: Scheduled Maintenance: March 22nd, 2013
Just a quick reminder that BioWare will be taking the servers down tomorrow for Scheduled Maintenance. This Might be to fix some of the PRO leveling tricks Lisa Wrote about earlier today unfortunately, but we will keep you updated with the patch notes a s the surface. Rad the statement below: AmberGreen | 03.21.2013, 12:30 PM We will be performing scheduled maintenance on Friday, March 22nd, 2013 from 3AM PDT (10AM GMT) until 5AM PDT (12PM GMT). All game servers will be offline during this period. Thank you for your patience as we maintain service for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. Maintenance Date: Friday, March 22nd, 2013 Time: 3AM PDT (12PM GMT) until 5AM PDT (2PM GMT) Patch Note Bolster has been temporarily removed on The Western Ice Shelf of Ilum so that lower level players can no longer use the area to level up more quickly than intended.
SWTOR State of the Game #3
BioWare executive producer Jeff Hickman posted a new state-of-the-game update for Star Wars: The Old Republic. In it, he talks about many topics, including: upcoming features and the fact that SWTOR have had over 2 million new accounts created and have thousands of new players jumping in every single day since free to play was launched. Check it here below! Hi everyone, With the launch of the Relics of the Gree event behind us, I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about the general state of the game and the launch of our Free-to-Play option. Judging by the conversation in the forums and elsewhere, there appears to be a level of curiosity among many players to learn how things are going at the studio since the launch of the Free-to-Play option. Of course, that’s natural. We’re now about 120 days post-launch and more than 5 months into our new series of content…
Pro Tips for SWTOR Double XP Weekends
Do you want to make the most of the SWTOR double XP weekends? Just in time for the next weekend on the way, we have some tips and ideas for getting the most from your Double XP weekend. Double XP weekends will be held at the following times: March 15, 2013 beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET to March 18, 2013 at 3:00 a.m. ET (passed already) March 22, 2013 beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET to March 25, 2013 at 3:00 a.m. ET March 29, 2013 beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET to April 1, 2013 at 3:00 a.m. ET April 5, 2013 beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET to April 8, 2013 at 3:00 a.m. ET There was an exploit that allowed you to go to Ilum and get powerleveled up especially quick. One guy claimed he hit a record of 1-50 in under 16 hours. As one poster explained: …
Which Is the Best Star Wars MMO?
Do you love Star Wars? Have you played all the Star Wars MMOs? We say “all” like it is a lot but really it’s only 3 (2, depending on who you ask). Well if you ask Massively writer Jef Reahardm, he’ll tell you there is three. They did a recent poll on their site to see what the readers thought was the best: Star Wars has gotten the MMO treatment not once, not twice, but three times. This is assuming that you count SOE’s Clone Wars Adventures browser title, which I do since it features extensive progression, non-combat activities, and a slew of other MMO-like features in spite of its heavy use of instancing. Then there’s Star Wars Galaxies, of course, followed by Star Wars: The Old Republic. For today’s Leaderboard, help us pick the best Star Wars MMO (or at least, the most popular according to Massively commenters). Vote…
New SWTOR Players- How to Pick Your Advanced Class
If you’re new to SWTOR, one of the first questions you might have is about which advanced class you should play. Don’t worry- everyone asks this question. The truth is, there is no wrong class. There are good things about all of them but you will want to choose the one that best suits your player style for starting out, until you learn the game more and really get into it. Don’t forget to check out constantly growing list of guides for Star Wars: The old republic Many players find after playing SWTOR for awhile, that they want to have one of every class or at least a couple of different Advanced Classes that interest them. So we’ll take a look at the different Advanced Classes and help you know how to make the decision for yourself. The first thing you need to know is that once you choose an Advanced…
Companions 101: Mako
BioWare has brought us the latest Companions 101 installment and this time, it’s all about Mako! I’m a fan of the bounty hunter myself so I’ve been looking forward to this one. If you want to learn more about Mako and her backstory, then you will enjoy this Companions 101. Just remember, there are spoilers in these! Meeting Mako Despite her energetic and upbeat attitude, Mako’s life hasn’t always been easy. She grew up on the streets of Nar Shaddaa without any idea who her real family was or how she received her cybernetic implants. Because of these implants, Mako has a constant connection to the Galactic HoloNet. At a very young age, she showed great skill in computers – particularly slicing. After finding out that the Red Light Orphanage she belonged to was going to sell her, Mako used her skills to crash their accounts and escaped to the…
Was the Death Star an Inside Job?
Video creator Graham Putnam describes the video as “an examination of some questionable events and circumstances leading up to the destruction of the Death Star, through the eyes of an amateur investigative journalist within the Star Wars galaxy. The focus is mainly on the connections between the people who created and operated the Death Star and those responsible for destroying it.” The seven-minute video documents “that fateful day” when “the terrorist organization known as the Rebel Alliance blew up the Death Star with a squad of single manned fighters … destroying the prominent political target. “But could the destruction of the Death Star have been an inside job perpetrated by top-ranking Imperial officials and royalty?” Comments on the video’s YouTube site were getting rambunctious and critical Tuesday morning: “Why does the narrator keep calling the destroyed planet ‘Alderbraun’?” … “Aldebran!? Have you even seen the movies!?” Another comment recalled President…
Cross Promotional Pets: Clarification
Many people have been confused about the Cross Promotional Pets we mentioned a few days ago. Yesterday Eric Musco made a post on the official forums clarifying how, exactly, these pets might be obtained: I have the answer to these two questions which I think is what most people are looking for (especially B) A. In order to get the pet you will have to have received the email mentioning the pet promotion. Then you would need to create a new SWTOR account with that email address. That account will then, at a later date, receive the pet. B. At this moment subscribers cannot get the items, no. This was intended as a cross-promotion to other EA free-2-play games. However, I can tell you that subscribers will have access to these items in the future. We are still working out both the when and the how. I will share any details as…
John Riccitiello Resigns From Electronic Arts
EA CEO John Riccitiello submitted his resignation, effective March 30, the video game company announced Monday. In a blog post on the company’s website, executive chairman Larry Probst said the Board of Directors will immediately begin a search inside and outside the company for Riccitiello’s successor. Check out the Press release below. Electronic Arts Announces Change in Executive Leadership Larry Probst Appointed Executive Chairman, Effective Immediately Company Updates 2013 Fiscal Outlook REDWOOD CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) today announced that John Riccitiello will step down as Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors, effective March 30. The Board has appointed Larry Probst as Executive Chairman to ensure a smooth transition and to lead EA’s executive team while the Board conducts a search for a permanent CEO. The Board will consider internal and external candidates with the assistance of a leading executive search firm. Mr. Probst has played a leadership role…
Should You Do the SWTOR Bonus Series?
We wrote about this before in the past- those bonus series of quests on each planet. Just when you think you are finished with all there is to do, there is another quest that leads to a whole chain of more missions. So what do you do? Do you do them or do you skip them and move on to the next planet? That is the magic question, after all! Well, of course it is your personal decision as a player- some people like getting all the content completed where others just want to blow through to that level cap. But let’s explore the pros and cons of doing the bonus series quests and you can make a decision for yourself. Rewards- Well first, there are rewards for doing these quests and there are some differences in these rewards from regular rewards. While you will get the same credits and…
EA Believes “Freemium” is the Future
Are free to play games with paid upgrades the way of the future? What happened to the days when you go to the store, buy a game and then own it outright- all of it, the full versions of it to play as you choose? Some said that SWTOR would be the last pay to play MMORPG and even it has now gone F2P. Of course, many question how “free” it actually is when there are so many restrictions that you need to pay to unlock. This is what many call “freemium” gameplay models. And if you ask Electronic Arts, freemium is where it’s at. Gamespot tells us: The freemium business model is “where things are going,” according to Electronic Arts vice president of mobile and social studios Nick Earl. Speaking to GameSpot sister site CNET about the recent launch of Real Racing 3, the executive explained that the mobile…
So you hit level 50….now what? Gearing up at level 50 (Part 2)
Guide was written by Fantine of the Alpha Strike Force SWToR Guild – Part One can be found here Rolling into Rakata The step above Columi is known as Rakata and when the game was released was the highest level of gear. This level of gear requires a player earn the appropriate tokens. It’s nearly identical to the Columi system above, however, you must take on a higher level of challenge to earn them. Rakata tokens are mostly earned from Operations. The one exception to this rule of the chest token which is dropped from the final boss of the only Tier 2 hard mode flashpoint, Lost Island. The link at the bottom shows the specific drops by boss, but in general you’ll need to complete hard mode tier one operations (Eternity Vault and Kagara’s Palace) and / or story mode tier two operations (Explosive Content and Terror from Beyond). Rakata’s gear has a…
Electronic Arts launches new cross-game pet promotion!
In an effort to draw more attention to other Free-to-play (F2P) titles, Electronic Arts (EA) recently started a new cross-game pet promotion for Star Wars The Old Republic (SWToR). EA’s catalogue of free games is quite extensive and using a popular game like SWToR certainly makes sense. To get these pets, all you need to do is register with the games listed below by April 1st and you will receive an in-game pet. The mini-droid pet you get for Battlefield It’s worth noting that this listing is incomplete since only the following games have been confirmed. This doesn’t mean that other EA F2P titles aren’t eligible. (In parenthesis is the name of the pet) Command & Conquer Tiberium Alliances (2C-TA Commander) Battlefield Heroes (J9-BH Mercenary) Battlefield Play4Free (BF-4F Warrior) Need for Speed World (N4-SW Runner) Lord of Ultima (LU-20 Builder) Does this mean that SWToR’s conversion to F2P is yielding the expected for EA results? If…
Can’t Get What You Want on the Cartel Market?
The Cartel Market seems to be a winner for BioWare because just recently, they issued another game update with yet another change to the Cartel Market. The problem is not all players are happy with this system. Before we get to that, it’s important to note that nearly every update since November of 2012 has brought updates to the Cartel Market. The Spry Minds says best what a lot of players are already thinking: Why can’t I buy what I want? Here’s a snippet from a post they did on this very topic: In the latest game update, Bioware has released some of the best gear creation the team has done to date and of course it’s only available for purchase outside of the game. ot surprisingly, they are only available via Cartel Packs, which is nothing short of playing slot machines at your local casino. Put your money in…
New Star Wars Game Info Leaked Online: First Assault
Star Wars: First Assault footage was leaked to Kotaku and is supposed to be the predecessor to Battlefront III. While we’re reading that this game could also be in limbo (like 1313), we’re hoping it’s still going to production. Some say it’s just another generic shooter game but there are fans who had high hopes for the potential of Star Wars: First Assault . As Kotaku posted on March 11th: Today, Kotaku can reveal that Star Wars: First Assault is a downloadable multiplayer shooter that was originally slated for release this spring. The game supports up to 16 players—one eight-person team of rebels and one eight-person team of Stormtroopers—as they face off on Star Wars worlds like Bespin and Tatooine. And according to one person familiar with the project, First Assault is “step zero” to the heavily-rumored, highly-anticipated Star Wars: Battlefront III. If First Assault sells well—assuming it is released at all—the third Battlefront could be next. They go on to describe the game in…
What is Your Plan for SWTOR Double XP Weekend?
It’s Friday! And this weekend, that means double XP in SWTOR. It’s here to kick off the Relics of Gree event and if you have been away from SWTOR for awhile, it’s also an opportunity to come back with preferred status AND the double XP. This is the first of four double XP weekends coming up as follows. Double XP weekends will be held at the following times: March 15, 2013 beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET to March 18, 2013 at 3:00 a.m. ET March 22, 2013 beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET to March 25, 2013 at 3:00 a.m. ET March 29, 2013 beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET to April 1, 2013 at 3:00 a.m. ET April 5, 2013 beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET to April 8, 2013 at 3:00 a.m. ET These double XP weekends are lining up with the Relics of Gree event in game and gives you…
TOR TV: Tribute to the relaxed Jumpsuit!
Another SWToR-based fan video has surfaced recently that specifically highlights one the newly-released Cartel Market items – the relaxed jumpsuit. The 2 1/2 minute video was made by Youtube user ResidentPenguin and showcases some of the latest cartel market items in addition to the before-mentioned item. The whole recording ties in perfectly with the selected soundtrack and really puts the relaxed jumpsuit in a new spotlight!
Bioware releases The Old Republic Insider Episode 5
Bioware released today the latest episode of The Old Republic Insider that covers the latest news about their game. The brief 3 minute video covers some of the new Cartel Market items including the Luxury Skiff Speeder and the Contraband Shipment, a set of five Cartel Packs! It also offers a glimpse on upcoming updates as well as the new operation coming with Game Update 2.0: Scum and Villainy.
SWTOR Developer Blog March 13: Cartel Reputation
03.13.2013 – We have some updates on Cartel Reputation from the Developer Blog this week. See a snippet below: Developer Blog: Cartel Reputation In Game Update 1.7: Return of the Gree, we released our exciting Legacy Reputation System, allowing players various rewards for their interactions with many different organizations across the galaxy. Now, with Game Update 1.7.2, the nefarious Hutt Cartel wants a cut of the action. The Contraband Resale Corporation Representatives from the Contraband Resale Corporation have convinced officials from both Republic and Imperial Fleets to allow them to set-up business. The Cartel’s blockade of Makeb has created some exceptional business opportunities for everyone, including a brand new Shipment from the Cartel – the Contraband Packs. The Contraband Resale Corporation is looking for ways to reward its most frequent customers by tracking the Reputation they gain. Players increase their Reputation with the Corporation through the acquisition of the new…
Patch Notes – 1.7.2a (3/14/2013)
BioWare took down the servers for scheduled maintenance today. The servers were down for 2 hours, and was done in order to make general improvements and to check performance of the game so that they can continue to provide a consistent, quality experience. At the same time BioWare applied a new patch. Below are the patch notes: 1.7.2a Patch Notes General Character gift packages will now contain the correct items when granted to Digital Deluxe and Collector’s Edition players. Characters who were granted incomplete gift packages after Patch 1.7.2 can contact Customer Support to have the missing items restored. I’m glad this was fixed. I happened to create a new character last night to get the most out of the double XP weekends, and only received my Holocamera, 2x Flare Guns, and my Black-Yellow Crystal.