The much-anticipated launch of SWTOR is on the way in less than 2 months now- are you ready? If you don’t know all the lingo, then you might not be as ready as you thought you were. Maybe you thought you already knew all there was to know about SWTOR but if you’re new to the game, there is one thing you will notice- the lingo is full of abbreviations and acronyms. This is pretty typical of an MMO or any video game for that matter, but if you want to know what’s going on and avoid looking like a SWTOR newb, then you need to crash course on what the big ones mean (unless you plan on pulling out the SWTOR dictionary each time you play). Luckily, someone has already done all the hard work for you and compiled a full list of SWTOR and MMORPG abbreviations and acronyms…
SWTOR Guild Ranking and Progressions
Is your guild registered for SWTOR? Do you know what you will be playing? What type of server will you be on? Will servers be faction balanced? These are all great questions for anyone looking to play SWTOR. With less than 2 months to launch, we can expect to learn a lot of the data that is out now and how that will change once release comes. A lot of people are still decided on what they are going to play so the hopes are that the sides and the classes will balance themselves out more post-launch. However, early figures we have seen from multiple sources are showing a clear imbalance on sides and there is a website set up that shows this perfectly. There are some interesting statistics found on SWTOR Progress about guilds and who will be playing what. World stats show 39,370 people as “Undecided Empire” and…
SWTOR Game Testing Forums to Merge to One Forum
While SWTOR game testers wait around for the servers to be back up once again, they check the forums regularly for any updates. Some, I’m sure, are obsessively refreshing their browsers, awaiting the news that the newest game client will be ready and they can once again resume playing their favorite game before official launch. Today, there was news in the beta forums but it wasn’t about the servers being back up. Instead, Allison Berryman, Senior Community Coordinator, had news about the SWTOR game testing forums and upcoming changes. She made this post, explaining that while the new build is not here yet, there will be changes to the testing forum structure. From the time the new build is available (which it isn’t yet), all testers will share the same testing forums. This means all players will see English, French and German testing forums. This might actually be good news…
Random House Releases Revan Novel Excerpt
Good news for Revan fans today! Random House posted an excerpt of Chapter One from Revan, Drew Karpyshyn‘s upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic novel. This is an add-on from the synopsis we previously reported this week. The book, which goes on sale November 15, 2011, is a must-read for SWTOR lore fans or anyone who follows Star Wars story or Karpyshyn’s work. Here in the excerpt, you can learn more about the environment and the people of Dromund Kass, and learn more about Lord Scourge. The novel synopsis is also available here, along with a bio of the author if you’re not familiar with his work. Check it out for a sneak peek at Chapter One and let us know what you think. Visit the Random House site to read the full excerpt. More from us about Revan: Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan Revan Mini Excerpts Drew Karpyshyn…
A New SWTOR Flashpoint – The Hammer – Has Been Released
More big news about SWTOR from IGN; a new flashpoint has been released and they are here to tell us something about it. IGN writes today about The Hammer, SWTOR’s newest flashpoint and what we can all expect from it: “The Hammer, a separate Flashpoint set on an Empire-controlled superweapon, is more focused on the cooperative aspects of group play. The Flashpoint is set on a massive weapon designed to fire gigantic asteroids indiscriminately at planets, and you have to shut it down.” If you want to learn more about The Hammer and dungeon runs in SWTOR in general, you will love this 1,000+ word write-up from IGN. They give us a complete, honest walk-through of The Hammer. If you’ve had an opportunity to play a flashpoint already, we’re curious what you think about the potential of the newly announced The Hammer, as well. Spoiler Alert: If you don’t want…
‘Oh Lisa’ Interviews Cory Butler at NYCC
Here is a slightly different view from some of the other stuff we covered on NYCC and if you have not seen it yet, it’s worth the four minutes to watch it. ‘Oh Lisa’ Interviews Cory Butler at NYCC Lisa Oh! Actor, host and voiceover artist brings us a fun interview with Cory Butler (Bioware producer) from NYCC and in addition, some interesting and fun feedback on her website about her experience at NYCC and her dive into the world of MMOs with SWTOR. Cute girl- first MMO – fun interview- and apparently she’s going to blog/vlog her path from “MMO Newb to Competent Gamer”, sounds good to me! Lisa says she’s never played an MMORPG before and that she’s excited SWTOR will be her first. She writes: “As part of my jedi training, I went to New York Comic Con to play the beta version of TOR, listen to…
Clever SWTOR Guild Names
Do you think your guild has the coolest name for SWTOR? Is your guild name clever, a play on words, a Star Wars pun or something else you deem awesome? Anexxia over at Inquisitor’s Roadhouse says: “Every so often, as you are traveling about in a game world, you come upon a guild name that makes you giggle, or even laugh out loud. Inevitably, if I am able to quickly stop and do so, I tweet out the cool guild name and then go about my business.” To this, I wholeheartedly agree but just like Anexxia, I also agree that Tweets get lost in time and it’s a much better idea to have all of your great SWTOR guild names in one list in one location so you can see, gloat, laugh and admire them all at once. And that is exactly what Anexxia has done in this blog post….
Species of Starwars: Jawa
Jawas are diminutive humanoids from the rim world of Tatooine, often described as “rodent-like”, and speaking in a randomly variable language that is very difficult for outsiders to decipher, when they want it to be so. Little is known of their physiology, but they are believed to be natives of Tatooine, along with the larger “Sand People” (also known as Tusken Raiders). Some xenologists have theorized that Jawas have human origins. The normal body temperature of a Jawa is 116 degrees, and the only feature usually seen of a Jawa is a pair of glowing amber eyes peeking out from under its cowl. They are best known as scavengers of the desert, traveling in huge, lumbering machines known as sand crawlers, legacies of an earlier era when Tatooine was home to massive mining operations — When the corporate mining operations closed, the tracked mining/processing vehicles were left behind, and claimed…
SWTOR Impressions from a Veteran MMORPG Player
I’ve mentioned before that I have played a lot of MMORPGs. We’re talking years of games- free to play, subscription based, betas and more. I’ve tried every MMORPG I can get my hands on and surprisingly, really enjoyed some of the oddball ones that my friends had never heard of. Since we’re coming up on SWTOR release soon, I thought it was a good time for a write-up on SWTOR compared to other MMORPGs. A lot of my friends and guidlies keep asking me what I think so here we go. The sci-fi genre of MMORPGs takes up a very small piece of the pie compared to your typical medieval genre. This fact alone sets SWTOR apart from the sea of other games out there today. So what other aspects set it apart and in what ways is it similar to other MMORPGs? TOR is not so far different from…
Ultimate SWTOR Trailer Remix by Awall, ft. Atlas Plug
Today we have a special treat for your visual and audio senses. A great SWTOR trailer remix from Awall- excellent for SWTOR fans. It’s 5 minutes of awesomeness you’re going to want to play again and again.
Facebook Image of the Week #35
It’s wednesday again and BioWare have added a new screenshot to the official Star Wars the old republic Facebook page. This time it’s a really interesting screenshot as we get to see how the jedi temple looks like ( from the out side) after the Sith had fun with it – remember the first cinematic trailer from back in 2009? Once home to the Jedi Archives, the Jedi Temple on Coruscant now lays in ruin years after the Sith’s sacking of Coruscant.
SWTOR Strategies Turns 3 Years Old
Will you be around to celebrate with us on November 3rd? We’re having a birthday here soon as the site turns three years old! This is our very first post ever on the site- have you read it yet? Back then, we were talking about the announcement of SWTOR. Details were still coming in and we didn’t know a lot about it yet. All we knew was the title and obviously, the theme and that it would be an MMORPG. After what many people considered to be the failure of Star Wars Galaxies, gamers were super pumped about SWTOR. Do you remember when you first heard about SWTOR? Where did you hear about it? What did you think? My first thought was “I’m so excited!” and my second thought was “I hope they don’t screw it up!” Three years later, we are nearly there to launch date and so…
What will you be playing to level 50 first?
Most everyone planning to play SWTOR is asking the question, “What will you play?” I know I get asked pretty regularly on my Twitter and Facebook and by real-life friends and buddies from other games. The big question is “Are you playing SWTOR?” followed up with “What are you going to play to 50 first?” A poll on the official forums asked this question and some of the results are not that surprising. Is this because gamers are just that predictable or are certain classes more appealing than others? Let’s take a look at what classes took the top slots for votes. Is it what you would think? Taking the top of the poll is Sith Sorcerer with nearly 14% of the votes. Next in line is Sith Juggernaut with 10.01%. Next is Sith Assassin with Jedi Guardian right behind. At the bottom with the least votes were Gunslinger and…
Star Wars: TOR: Revan Mini-Excerpt part 2
A few weeks ago, we reported that Star Wars Books on Facebook presents their a mini-excerpt from Drew Karpyshyn’s upcoming Darth Revan novel. Now Star Wars Books on Facebook presents their second mini-excerpt from the book: “It’s not enough to secure your silence through threats and blackmail. When we finally move against the Emperor, I want you on our side.” “And how do you intend to convince me?” … “Have you ever heard tales of the Emperor’s childhood?” Scourge shook his head. “I don’t even know what planet he’s from.” “Few people do. He’s hidden his past, because if the truth came to light none would follow him.” The book is scheduled to be released on November 15th, 2011 from Del Rey Books. No official reviews are up from the book yet, but we will keep you informed as they show up.
Jedi Shadow PvP Footage
Russian MMORPG website innrey.ru just released some fresh Jedi Shadow PvP Footage. The video is 20 min long and shoves quite a few interesting find I personally didn’t know yet. Stuff like a Marauder can use a viborblade: Anyways. Enjoy this Solid footage of the shadow/assassin class. Personally this is seriously making me consider rolling one of these for PvP purposes.
Here’s That Phantom Menace 3D Trailer You Haven’t Been Waiting For
Lucasfilm apparently snuck a trailer for their 3D rerelease of Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace into theaters this past weekend, where it played in front of such not-screened-for-critics fare as The Three Musketeers 3D. (Sadly, I missed Musketeers because I was at Paranormal Activity 3 instead, thinking not so much about that movie but rather about the lady who had brought an incessantly screaming infant to a movie made up of little more than cheap jump-scares.) Here is is: It’s a weird trailer, but if you’ll allow me to get even geekier than usual for a second, it’s interesting to see how it takes a very different approach from Episode I’s original trailer (which I still think is pretty impressive, and which I still have fond memories of watching over and over in a friend’s dorm room on her slow-ass computer, looking at every goddamn frame for evidence of how…
Hall Hood and Chris Collins interview
Swedish website bobafett.se had the chance to talk to Hall Hood and Chris Collins, when the guys was in Stockholm for the Nordic Immersion Day Event a few weeks ago. The website is in Swedish but the interview is in English, so it’s definitely worth checking out. Here is a snip: I have to ask about the story itself, what is your favourite story ingame?Hall Hood: I cant choose. I know all the stories and they are great. The reality is our game is such that every class has it’s own unique story. It fulfills its own different fantasy of the Star Wars setting and fills a different niche. So a lot for me depends on what mood I am in on any given day what story I want to play through. That said, I am a smuggler guy. so that is what I want, that is what I enjoy. If push comes to shove I want…
Know your Lore: Zayne Carrick
Since it was announced last weekend that Zayne Carrick would return in the KOTOR comics, we thought it would be time to do a “Know your lore” Piece on this interesting character. Many fans have speculated about Zayne’s future. If the Jedi Masters’ fears turn out to be accurate, there is a possibility that Zayne could become one of the characters from the Knights of the Old Republic games. In particular, many fans predict that Zayne may become the Jedi Exile. Others theorize that Zayne may be Darth Nihilus, judging by the “destroyer of worlds” prophecy. Non of these theories came through though, but we might see him or notes about him when the game comes out. Zayne Carrick was a young Padawan learner in the Jedi Order during the Mandalorian Wars who wielded a yellow lightsaber. He was brought to the Jedi Order when he was several years old, coming from a…
Project TOR- Fan-site PvP Faceoff – NYCC 2011
Project TOR Organizes a SWTOR Fan site PvP Faceoff at NYCC 2011! What happens when you gather a bunch of SWTOR fan site members together in one place and give them a chance to check out the game they are super excited about? Well, if that game has PvP then you can bet there will be some friendly challenges come about. That’s exactly what happened at NYCC 2011 with the fansite faceoff. This video is a great break from the SWTOR previews and impressions we’re seeing from NYCC 2011 and the release of the press embargo on Star Wars The Old Republic this week and it’s great for laughs, too. Find out how the fan-site PvP Faceoff came to be.
Intergalactic Intel: First Thoughts
Intergalactic Intel: First thoughts Intergalactic Intel: First thoughts “I heard you got into the beta.”“You’ve heard correctly…”“So what’s it like?”“…” I smiled. “Nothing I had expected.” Now with the press NDA lifted, we here at SWTOR strategies can begin talking about the specifics of The Old Republic. For the next few weeks I’ll be giving you my experience from levels 1-16, (as much as the press NDA allows). Let’s begin with one of the biggest things Bioware has been promoting is the full voice acted game. The install time is ridiculous. I literally started installing one morning at 6am, and it was not finished until 4pm that evening. It’s a lot to download, and lot of patching, but overall well worth the wait. Originally I was a skeptic thinking it would not change my experience as an MMO player. It did. The voice acting is superb for every single…
SWTOR Game Testing Halted- New Build Development in Progress
Big changes are happening in SWTOR game testing from what we hear. This is expected as we grow closer to the eventual launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic. We are down to less than two months before the December 20th worldwide launch and fans are growing more anxious than ever. If you’re part of the current game testing group, you might be even more anxious than usual, since you cannot play right now. All game testers had to uninstall the game last night and servers go down for an indefinite amount of time. They are pulling this beta test block down and installing the new block over the weekend (and until who-knows-when). They have not told any game testers how long it will take or what changes will take place. They asked all game testers to uninstall the game and all content and wait for word (via the forums)…
Activision Blizzard Stock Ticker Report: Any New Tricks Up Their Sleeve?
A report this past week about Activision Blizzard’s stock showed us that they have nothing big going on and stand a chance to drop later in the year. They are the second most valuable game company in the world, below Nintendo, but there are other companies looking to edge in on some of that profit. We’ve heard the comparisons made before, especially in the MMO scene. Time and time again over the past 6-7 years, there have been companies who hoped to do what Blizzard has done with the very popular MMORPG World of Warcraft. The article from Games Industry talks about Activision Blizzard’s stock and how they are faring particularly well against a large platform holder like Nintendo. Titles like Call of Duty and World of Warcraft have helped soar them to their current level but how long will they reign? With many anticipators feeling SWTOR might be the…
Mount Library / Jedi Sentinel End Game PvP Gear
As our servers are going down on Saturday for a new build, our secret friend decided to get most of the mounts and show them to you guys. He wasn’t able to specifically name them due to time issues, but those are the looks of them for the most part. He is also wearing the full set of Sentinel PvP gear.
SWTOR Nordic Immersion Day Event
Excitement for SWTOR is going wordwide! Immersion Day has arrived! swtor.dk visited the Nordic Immersion Day Event, which was also under the Star Wars: The Old Republic embargo lifted this week. There were guilds and fan sites who attended on October 15th and now they are able to share their experiences. The event was held at Inferno online, in their e-sport arena in Stockholm, a closed area of the gaming center. The event featured SWTOR fans from Scandinavian guilds who were all super excited to try out the game and learn more about it. The event began with senior writer Hall Hood showing some fun trailers, introducing the classes and the features of the game and building enthusiasm from the crowds. Scandinavian fan sites: Star Wars Sverige, Star Wars Norge and Star Wars DK have videos up of the event. Ruthless Guild Q&A Videos: And for more, check out the…