If you’re still holding back on the decision to become a SWTOR subscriber, it might be a good time to go ahead and take the plunge. When you look at all the benefits that come with a sub, you just might ask yourself why you didn’t do it earlier. Honestly, if you’re really into the game and play on a regular basis, it just makes sense to subscribe. Here are five reasons you should be a SWTOR subscriber: Subscriber Benefits in the Cartel Market: Another reason you should be a subscriber is for the Cartel Market benefits. You get access to all 6 quick bars, a minimum of 500 Cartel Coins per month to spend, 10 additional character slots per server, unlimited access to all warzones, flashpoints, space combat and operations, earlier access to sprint and speeder piloting, ability to queue your crafting items and much more. You Get 50%…
SWTOR Takes Top 10 Video Game Marketing Campaigns
Massively noted their top 10 memorable marketing campaigns and no surprise, SWTOR Flash/Freeze mob made the list at #8. Video game makers have to market and advertise just like any other business today. However, they are finding, just like other markets, that they have to get more creative with how they advertise and how they spread the word about their brand. Because of this, some video games have had some pretty interest campaigns to help draw attention to their game. SWTOR was no exception. Here’s what Massively writer Justin Olivetti had to say about it: “Despite your feelings on the game, you have to admit that this flash mob is just a brilliant piece of advertising. I don’t know what I love more: the incredibly detailed costumes, the decision to pose all dramatically instead of staging a hackneyed fight, the fog that comes up, the dad who just yanks his…
JJ Abrams to Direct Star Wars Episode 7?
UPDATE: This has since been confirmed true by Disney and Lucasfilm. Yay! Rumors have been buzzing the internet since Thursday evening when the news broke that JJ Abrams would direct Star Wars Episode 7, despite his earlier comments that he was not interested in directing the film. However, we’ve been unable to find confirmation from Abrams’ representatives, Disney or Lucasfilm that the rumor is actually true. The news was spread by multiple trade reports, including The Wrap, which has now pulled its Abrams story. The Hollywood Reporter still has their Abrams story up which says “Sources confirm to The Hollywood Reporter that the Star Trekdirector is negotiating to direct Episode VII, the next installment in the fabled sci-fi franchise.” But this doesn’t tell us who their sources are and with no official confirmation, we cannot be 100% certain it’s not a rumor. All of the stories we find by official news sites like ABC…
Patch notes 1.6.3a 25/01/13
Servers are back up and BioWare has finished patching the servers. Teral V is now playable again and stuff on the Cartel Market seems to be back to normal. Now go play! Cartel Market The following armor sets will no longer incorrectly list helmet as part of the set description: Sanctified Caretaker Armor Set Malevolent Interrogator Armor Set Clandestine Officer Armor Set Interstellar Privateer Armor Set Valiant Jedi Armor Set Sith Raider Armor Set Flashpoints and Operations Taral V: Players will no longer be prevented from completing this Flashpoint on the step “Defeat General Edikar.”
Sexy Skins for Male SWTOR Characters
Why is it the female characters get all the sexy gear in SWTOR but the males are all covered in their armor? Where is the male eye candy for us ladies (and some guys)? One SWTOR fan has an answer and he’s posted it in the fan art section of the SWTOR forums. Forum user Ixum brings us “The We Want Skimpy Gear For Male Characters” Thread and it’s a riot. If you have not seen it already, it’s well worth stopping by. Whether you want to see male SWTOR in sexy outfits or you just want to get some lolz, you’ll enjoy browsing through the thread that is now 63 pages long and growing. Whenever he hits a milestone in views, he also does a special edition picture. Check out the 6K views leopard bikini, for example. While the thread has been around for quite some time, it’s actually…
Unscheduled maintenance tomorrow January 25th, 2013
Just a heads up. BioWare will take down the servers tomorrow morning to apply a patch. No words on what they will be fixing yet, but it is highly likely they will be fixing Taral V wich have been buggy since last patch. After killing PD-44 and speaking with Kilran you are trapped in the room. Normally, a door to the right would be open but it is closed and you cant open it. Happened on HC and SM. Below are the notice; We will be deploying a patch and performing an unscheduled maintenance this Friday, January 25th, 2013. Patch notes will be made available shortly after the servers come back up. The servers will be down for two hours on Friday, January 25th, 2012 from 7AM CST (5AM PST/8AM EST/1PM GMT/2PM CET/12AM AEDT) until 9AM CST (7AM PST/10AM EST/3PM GMT/4PM CET/2AM AEDT). All game servers will be offline during this period. This maintenance is expected…
Global SWTOR Cosplay Swag
What’s up everyone out in the Star Wars diaspora! We here at SWTORStrategies have previously brought to your attention some epic SWTOR Cosplay models bringing the vision of SWTOR to real life, with menacing smiles, banging blasters and deadly lightsabers! Legendary SWTOR journalist Lisa Mason, wrote these previous articles on two cosplay masters, who brought excellent renditions of Grand Master Satele Shan to planet Earth. Shanoa Abby Dark-Star But these aren’t the only two who did the work for costume design, photo shoots and even some post image production effects. Today, we’re going to share some of those masterpieces which come from numerous countries like Spain, France, New Zealand, the United States and the Netherlands. I’m going to have to look deeper into Japan’s Cosplay movement, because I know I missed some of their work. Though I don’t believe SWTOR was ever released in Japanese. If you find yourself impressed,…
1.6.3 Patch Notes 1/23/2013
Servers are back up after today’s server maintenance. BioWare took the chance to deploy a new patch and updated the game to version 1.6.3. This update also added 3 new outfits and a pod racer mount to the cartel market. Below is a screenshot of the pod racer and armor sets: Below are the new armor sets: 1.6.3 Patch Notes 1/23/2013 Cartel Market New Items The Czerka CR-17 Incendia, is now available. The protection provided from being knocked off this vehicle is greater than Speeder Piloting III. Cost: 1,800 Cartel Coins. Three new armor sets, the Sand People Pillager Set, The Sanctified Caretaker Set, and the Malevolent Interrogator Set can now be purchased. These sets of adaptive armor can be worn by any Class at level 1. Cost: 1,440 Cartel Coins each. The Preferred Access Bundle is now available! This bundle offers the player a selection of popular unlocks and customization options. Cost: 972 Cartel…
Rise of the Hutt Cartel: First Look Video
BioWare just released a new trailer for the upcoming expansion: Rise of the Hutt Cartel. The video is only around 1 minute long, but shows some interesting footage of the planet and what seems to be new armor. At the same time as the release of this video, BioWare have updated the RotHC homepage RoTHC pre-orders now get a mini-pet, Title, and Holo-statue. All players that pre-order Rise of the Hutt Cartel will receive an exclusive Title, Holostatue, and Mini-Pet when the Digital Expansion launches. The Dr. Oggurobb Hutt Holostatue Train under the illustrious Hutt scientist Dr. Oggurobb with this portable training device that he created in his own image. “”Scourge of the Hutts” Title Republic and Imperial forces that adorn this title will be feared and revered across the galaxy. The Makrin Seedling Mini-Pet Get your very own Makrin Creeper to follow you around and “creep” out your enemies! Possessing bark-like skin and grass-like nerve-rich…
SWTOR Flashpoint Guide: The Esseles
Don’t forget to check out constantly growing list of guides for Star Wars: The old republic The Esseles is the very first Flashpoint for the Republic faction and you’ll enter it as soon as you leave the prologue planet. You’ll be asked to board the transport ship the Esseles headed for the capital of Coruscant. Players must be at least a level 10 before you are allowed to enter the transport. While you can go this instance alone, it’s more beneficial if you have at least two players and your companions. Going it alone can be difficult and you will miss the opportunity to fight a bonus boss. It also helps if both players have chosen their advanced class and if one of you is a healer. This is a story based Flashpoint so there’s many cutscenes and dialogue that will earn you social points and there are several bonus missions…
SWTOR Cartel Market Items Guide and Overview
If you have yet to fully explore the Cartel Market, you might have some questions about what’s it in, how much it costs and if it’s worth it. While each player is different and what is worth it to one player can vary with another, it does pay to do a little research into what you can get. So here’s an overview guide of the items in the Cartel Market available for purchase. Don’t forget to check out constantly growing list of guides for Star Wars: The old republic Cartel Packs There are two types of cartel packs that you can purchase and they contain an assortment of the goods and crafting materials. In addition to these, you can receive some very rare bonus items that you can’t find anywhere else. Crime Lord’s Cartel Packs– for 360 CCs, you’re guaranteed to receive two rare bonus items and you have a chance…
Does Your Character’s Lightsaber Have a Name?
So here’s a fun question for SWTOR players: does your character’s lightsaber have a name? And why or why not? We want to hear your lightsaber names and if you don’t have one, tell us why. This comes from a fun thread on the SWTOR Community Forums called “What is the Name of Your Character’s Lightsaber?” where players are discussing whether or not lightsabers should be named and what theirs are named. Halinmonk starts it off: “My Jedi Consular called her first lightsaber “Dawn” and her second “Aero”, my Sith Warrior called her’s “False Friend””. Tahrl brings in an opinion of those who are opposed naming their sabers: Hate to be the boring one, but neither my Jedi Knight nor my Sith Warrior named their Lightsaber. It is a weapon, a tool. Like a really deadly spanner. It’s not befitting a name. It may be damaged, discarded, replaced or stolen….
Reminder: Scheduled Maintenance: January 23rd, 2013
BioWare will be performing Scheduled Maintenance for four hours on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013. All game servers, SWTOR.com, and the launcher will be offline during this period. There are still ~3 weeks till 1.7. This is probably just bugfixes, maybe a Cartel Pack. Don’t forget to purchase your Wookiee Life Day items! They will no longer be available after next weeks maintenance – We are assuming this is the maintenance they are referring to: Don’t forget to purchase your Wookiee Life Day items! They will no longer be available after next weeks maintenance. — The Old Republic (@SWTOR) januar 18, 2013 Anouncement: 01.18.2013 Scheduled Maintenance: January 23rd, 2013 Hello everyone, we wanted to let you know that we will be performing scheduled maintenance for four hours on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013 from 5AM CST (3AM PST/5AM EST/11AM GMT/12PM CET/10PM AEDT) until 9AM CST (7AM PST/9AM EST/3PM GMT/4PM CET/2AM AEDT). All…
Flashpoint Guides: Kaon Under Siege
Don’t forget to check out constantly growing list of guides for Star Wars: The old republic The Flashpoint Kaon Under Siege was added to Star Wars: The Old Republic with Patch 1.1 and it’s one of the hardest in the game. It’s intended for players who are at least a level 50. It takes place on a Spaceshuttle where an infection broke out, which turned everyone into a creature that resembles a zombie. The infection was passed from one person to another until everyone was infected. The main difference between this instance and many of the others is that the mobs are much harder to kill and there are a lot of them in the beginning of the Flashpoint. First Boss: The Mobs Instead of going up against a boss, the first thing your group will encounter is a big mobs fight. The objective is to stay alive as you’re met…
Community Cantina Tour – San Francisco
Recently BioWare released the event date of Community Cantina Tour San Francisco. The event was original planned to happen this month, but do to unknown reasons, the event was pushed back to March. Check out the announcement below: We’re happy to announce that the next stop in the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Community Cantina Tour will be happening on Friday, March 1st, in San Francisco! This is your chance to join the Star Wars: The Old Republic community for a development team Q&A (featuring Lead Designer Damion Schubert) as well as complimentary drinks*, food, and giveaways. Every attendee will be receiving a highly coveted Tauntaun Fawn code and a code for a rare item from the Cartel Market. If you’re in the area, make sure to stop by and hang out with us! Venue: Jillian’s @ The Metreon Date: Friday, March 1st, 2013 Time: 7-11PM PST Address: 175 4th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
Meet the Developers: Rob Hinkle
BioWare posted a new installment of the “Meet the Developers” series. This time the article features Senior Designer, Rob Hinkle. You can check out the full interview here, or our snippet below. Also remember to check out ToRWars podcast back from December, were they had the chance to sit down with Rob Hinkle and ask him questions regarding PVP. What does a typical day look like for you at the studio? My day can be broken down into a couple different major sections, not all of which happen every day but all of which occur with regular frequency. Planning: Discussions that center around what we might want to do for the future, be it the next patch or for the next year Designing: Doing the actual work fleshing out and implementing what has been planned and committed to. This is the lion’s share of most days, as it covers a wide variety of tasks. Polish…
SWTOR Lead Designer Damion Schubert Talks Cartel Packs
Players have been doing a lot of talking about Cartel Packs and there is a thread on the SWTOR community forums that has some very important questions in it. Well, SWTOR Lead Designer Damion Schubert has now popped into answer some of those questions and give us some great info and stats. You can read the full thread for yourself but here’s a snippet: Do items put in the Galactic Trade Network sell? Yes. We have metrics, as well, on what sells, and for what price, which we compare to their drop rates. This gives us a great idea on adjustments we should make for future packs (the drop rates and the pack contents themselves) – which means that our next round of packs will be better, and the ones after that will be better again. Here are some fun stats * The White indestructible crystal Median Buyout price =…
EA to Release Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2013 Results on Jan. 30, 2013
EA issued a press release today that they will have their 3rd quarter fiscal year 2013 results on January, 30th. “In conjunction with this release, EA will host a conference call to review its financial results for the third quarter, discuss its outlook for the future and may disclose other material developments affecting its business and/or financial performance. Listeners may access the conference call live via a dial-in number or audio webcast.” Details as follows: Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013 2:00 pm Pacific Time (5:00 pm Eastern Time) Dial-in numbers: Domestic: 773-799-3213; International: 888-677-1083 Passcode: EA Webcast: http://ir.ea.com EA’s financial results release will be available after the close of market on Jan. 30, 2013, on EA’s web site at http://ir.ea.com. A dial-in replay of the conference call will be available until Feb. 14, 2013 at 203-369-0099 (domestic) or 866-356-3373 (international). An audio webcast replay of the conference call will be available for one year at http://ir.ea.com. This is the first earnings call since SWTOR…
Flashpoint Guide: Battle of Ilum
Don’t forget to check out constantly growing list of guides for Star Wars: The old republic A Sith Lord has taken control over a very powerful Imperial Battle Station, moved it to the planet Ilum and declared himself the Emperor of a new, improved empire. He has attacked both the Imperial and Republic forces to claim the famous crystals found on this planet. He intends to use them to help wipe out the Republic and Empire from the galaxy. Your job is to infiltrate the base, find the Battle Station and put an end to his plan. The Battle of Ilum is open to both Factions as they join forces to stop this Sith Lord from taking over. Players need to be at least a level 50 to take part in this flashpoint and you’ll face 3 bosses and two mini-bosses. Mini-Boss: Gark the Indomitable Shortly after you begin the flashpoint,…
Companions 101: Aric Jorgan
It was a busy day yesterday, so somehow we totally overlooked the newest installment of Companions 101. This time BioWare’s Courtney Woods talks about our all time favorite Cathar – Aric Jorgan. Jorgan is a male Cathar and a companion for the Trooper. He joins the player at the end of the Trooper’s Class quests on Ord Mantell. His primary role is that of Ranged DPS, and he is a romance option for the female Trooper. Meeting Aric Jorgan Efficient, loyal, and a perfectionist, Aric Jorgan is the ideal Republic soldier – and he knows it. Raised to be an officer, Aric is confident in his skills and doesn’t waste his time with niceties or politics. His credentials include four years in the academy and seven years in the field. Most notably, Jorgan was a part of the illustrious Dead Eyes, the finest sniper squad in the Republic. Eventually he was offered a promotion and a…
News on the Oceanic Server Population Issues
It’s no secret that the Oceanic servers didn’t get a server merge. This means they are basically dead now. Most people on the servers have been asking for a merge or for free transfers, but with f2p coming out, Bioware have been hesitating giving players this option. This has off course been frustrating for players down under, but BioWare are now looking for a solution to the problem. Today Community Manager Joveth Gonzalez made a post on the official forums giving an update on the issue and starting to re-open the dialogue: Hi everyone, I know it’s been a while since we’ve updated this thread, and I wanted to let you know that we haven’t forgotten about our Oceanic players. Now that we’re at a more stable point in time (post Free-to-Play transition and post holidays), we wanted to re-examine this issue. We’re going to be completely honest with you: there…
TOR TV: Fan made Eternity Vault trailer.
This fan video is made by LaserLief. The video reminds me of old times when my old guild was grind though Molten Core over and over and over. I liked the build up to the end, but I think it would have been cooler to have the bass drop again there either when Soa breaks his shield, or when he gets hit by a pylon and then fade out from that. It could also be pretty cool if it had the speeches before each boss. Anyways. Check it out below:
SWTOR Jedi Knight Guardian Vigilance PVP 1.6 Build
This post will give you a build for the Jedi Knight Guardian that is focused on PVP and uses the Vigilance tree. This build comes courtesy of http://www.swtorsavior.com which is the best SWTOR leveling guide and general strategy guide so it is well worth a look if you are looking for some help leveling faster. We will post the video that tells you how to allocate the points and then we will give you some rotations and information on how to use the build. Don’t forget to check out constantly growing list of guides for Star Wars: The old republic SWTOR Jedi Knight Guardian Vigilance PVP 1.6 Build Form: Shien Form PVP Stat Priority: Expertise > Strength >= Accuracy (until 105%) > Critical Rating (until 30%) = Surge Rating (until 75%) > Power/Force Power The Guardian in PVP can be one of the most frightening classes to deal with. Uniting a high amount…
Top 10 Gaming Controversies of 2012!
OH NOOOoooo!!! What did SWTOR do now? WHY ALWAYS US?!?!?!!!!! Well, before you all start freaking out, SWTOR was not included in this all out critique of the 2012 gaming world. So why am I writing an article about it, if Angry Joe’s video has nothing do with SWTOR? Because SWTOR is FREAKING AWESOME!!! That’s why! And for a few other reasons. Remember words like TORTANIC? Yeah well the ship hasn’t sunk. In fact we’re all out on deck catching some rays, dirty dancing to reggaeton! I must admit there was that scary moment when after people speed played through the game before it was even finished (EA forced Bioware to release the game unfinished until the March 2012 update which fixed that) finding the lack of end game content, causing way too many subscribers to up and leave. After some time it was like playing SWG in mid 2011…