The Guild Sphere: Scions of Rage

  It’s Monday and time for a new guild feature. This week Scions of Rage is in the hot chair. Scions of Rage is a PVE orientated Sith guild. Check it out!   Where did your guilds name come from? Originally I wanted to name it “Scions of Mandalore” but Mandalore was a reserved word and so I couldn’t use it. After that didn’t work I was thinking about what sort of Scion would exist in the Star Wars universe and I went with the token selection: Rage, as it is featured prominently as a Sith emotion. It’s the opposite of inner peace which is what the Jedi strive after. So in that sense the implication is that the members of my guild are focus their hatred and anger as a fuel for combat. Can you give me a quick 2-3 sentence description of your guild? Currently we’re a group of friends…

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A Storm is Coming Says Drew Karpyshyn

A storm is coming, as Drew Karpyshyn says on his website- a storm of publicity for his new book. We’ve told you about the Revan novel before but now that we are closer to the release date for the book, the news is really booming. In addition to the synopsis and other excerpts we’ve brought you over the weeks, you can now also find Chapter 3 of the novel. This just might be one of the last sneak peeks we get since the book is releasing very soon! Barnes and Noble now has the book available for preorder if you already know that you want to make it yours. Their overview reads: There’s something out there: a juggernaut of evil bearing down to crush the Republic— unless one lone Jedi, shunned and reviled, can stop it. Revan: hero, traitor, conqueror, villain, savior. A Jedi who left Coruscant to defeat Mandalorians—and…

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James Ohlen Twitter Status

There could be more big changes coming to SWTOR as we near the release date in December. We know that the staff is working very hard to get the game in tip-top shape and ready to go for launch. This is why it’s fun to hear posts like this one from James Ohlen about the game. James Ohlen says via Twitter: “Writers finished a major milestone for post release content. We’re going to keep half of the voice actors in Hollywood employed for years.” What do you think it means? BioWare is touting the voice acting as one of the most important parts of their new MMORG and one of the biggest things that sets it apart from other similar games. Ohlen is the Game Director of SW:TOR. He’s also Lead Designer of Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2 (I loved those games), NWN (my husband played this one a lot),…

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Entire Chapter 3 of Revan Novel Released

Another chapter of Star Wars’ ancient history is about to be revealed. Drew Karpyshyn’s novel Star Wars: The Old Republic — Revan, due Nov. 15, is the long-awaited follow-up to the 2003 videogame Knights of the Old Republic.    We’ve been bringing you updates on this novel as we find them, including excerpts, a novel synopsis and more. Here is a snippet:       Star Wars: The Old Republic — Revan picks up two years after Malak’s defeat, when the redeemed Revan is still trying to pick up the pieces of his old life and figure out what exactly made him turn to the Dark Side. All fans have known about Revan’s post-KOTOR life is that he took off for the Unknown Regions on the hunt for a dark threat to the Republic… and was never heard from again. Now his fate is about to be revealed, and EW’s…

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Friday Update: Imperial Agent Progression Video

It’s progression video time as the folks from Bioware give us a glimpse into the progression of an Imperial Agent. In this video we are being shown both the differences in equipment and abilities players can expect as they level up as one of the subtle hands of the Sith Empire’s will. As players grow in power, they can either take the route of the stealthy and aggressive Operative or the resourceful ranged Sniper. As you progress in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, your character will gain experience, growing more powerful and discovering new skills while also acquiring more advanced gear. Through cunning, stealth, and ruthless tactics, the Imperial Agent has no shortage of ways to complete his objectives. Even so, as the complexity and importance of his missions increase, the Agent will have to acquire new skills and equipment to help him combat the ever-growing threat to the Empire….

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Intergalactic Intel: Imperial Agent

Image by Tony Vassallo “Your article on the consular is on Reddit.” I turned to my brother with awe. I had posted the blog before; only to have it downvoted into oblivion. “What are they saying?” My curiosity had been grabbed. “They want the Imperial Agent.” “Didn’t I specifically say that was next week’s article?” Welcome back to this week’s Intergalactic Intel on the Imperial Agent. Before we begin I’d like to make a few disclaimers I didn’t put in last week’s article. As anjunaxbeats from reddit stated, “Take every review you read with a truck load of salt.” I’m only allowed to discuss the classes from 1-16, the classes will play very differently at max level and change from build to build. With that being said let’s get into it the Imperial Agent. Story: Intergalactic Intel: Imperial Agent Thus you use trickery, lies and a few well placed blaster rounds…

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SWTOR Server Types and PvP Rulesets Announced

Are you ready for SWTOR yet? As we get closer to the eventual release date, more information is being released via the forums and from official staff regarding different aspects of the game and what we can expect from it. There will be four different server types in Star Wars: The Old Republic and each of these server types will have different rules. You may as well learn about them now so you can start planning which server type you want to play on in order to get the most from your experience in the game. You may also want to talk to your friends who will be playing with you to make sure you are all on the same page about the server type you want to play on. On the official SWTOR servers, David Bass explains the server types that will be in SWTOR: PvE (Player vs Environment)…

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Republic Trooper interviews Georg Zoeller about Trooper Combat

If you want to learn more about the Trooper in SWTOR, the guys over at Republic Trooper have hooked you up. They have an exclusive interview with Georg Zoeller about Trooper combat and other class aspects and they are kind enough to share it with the rest of the Trooper fans out there. They’ve asked him some great questions and really know how to get to the root of what the players want to know and they have some brand new Trooper intel you haven’t likely seen anywhere else. It’s more than 1,00 words of communication with Zoeller. Some samples of the questions the Republic Trooper guys ask in their interview: What were some of the challenges of developing ranged tanking for the Vanguard Advanced Class? We’ve spoken with some large guilds that are intending on running exclusively with Troopers. How viable would it be to attempt Flashpoints and Operations…

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Star Wars: The Old Republic Cosplay

As we await the December 20th release of SWTOR, we look for new ways to entertain and occupy ourselves. We are constantly on the lookout for really cool Star Wars and SWTOR stuff to pass on to you, our dear readers, and this is a pretty cool find. Spanish cosplayers Shanoa and Erikku-kun made themselves as Satele Shan and Sith Pureblood and it’s some of the best, realistic cosplay we’ve seen on SWTOR so far. Shanoa also said that she has been lucky to find a fabric that looks pretty similar to the original one. The cool blue lightsaber was made by their friend Obi. Shanoa says, “I really like the Star Wars TOR trailers and I’m looking forward to playing this game.” You and me both girl! (Source: Deviantart.com)

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Early Game Access Could be Up to 5 Days

Will you get early game access to SWTOR for pre-ordering the game? That is the word on the street but many people who have already pre-ordered complained about not getting their code or about not knowing how long the early game access will last. Will it be days? Weeks? Hours? After anxiously awaiting months to years for it, people want to know when they are going to get it. The order in which you redeem your Pre-order Code is the order in which you will gain Early Game Access before the game’s official release. This part seems to mean that it will be staggered based on when you pre-ordered the game. So does this mean that those who pre-ordered the earliest will get a full 5 days of early game access and those who pre-ordered later may get less time? How staggered will it be and how much time will…

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Video: Chimaera Chats With BioWare’s Alexander Freed

Guild Chimaera has interviewed BioWare’s Alexander Freed, a Senior Writer on Star Wars: The Old Republic and were kind enough to post it and share with all of us SWTOR fans. The interview took place in France during Paris Games Week and focuses a lot on story and lore (as to be expected). This was an especially fun video for me since I had the opportunity to meet Alexander Freed here in Austin and get a signed copy of the first episode of The Lost Suns comic. He’s a great guy, a fantastic writer and all-around fun to get to chat with. The chat is in English with French subtitles. If you don’t read French, you have to guess a bit about the actually questions asked but you get the gist of it based on Alexander’s answers. It’s well worth your time to check out the video.

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Georg Zoeller Teaches you how to Fight Snipers

Are you wondering how to fight snipers in SWTOR PvP? Greg Zoeller, Principal Lead Combat Designer, has some solid advice in the official SWTOR forums. Zoeller explains: It’s much worse than you think. No, a Sniper in cover cannot be charged with Force Leap. Yes, your warrior will have to move into melee range to engage the Sniper (or use ranged abilities like saber throw). Marksman specced snipers specifically are a very defensive class. He talks about how you will see them operate in combat, where you will encounter them on the battlefield and what you need to know in order to beat them. He talks about the tools they get (root/Leg Shot, ambush, etc) and how you want to approach them in order to be successful. For example, Zoeller says you don’t want to just charge them head on. So the sniper sounds pretty awesome which has players asking…

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Star Wars Fan Killed His Wife after ‘She Smashed His Toy Collection’

In a terribly sad report of the news, one Star Wars fan lost it and killed his wife after she supposedly smashed his Star Wars collectibles after a fight. According to news reports, “Rickie La-Touche, 30, told a court that his Thai wife Pornpilai Srisroy, 28, had damaged his precious Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker memorabilia.” He choked her allegedly to death and then ran to tell his mother what he had done. La-Touche, also known as Rickie Nehls, was found guilty of murder and was ordered to serve a minimum of 12 years. Tragic wife Pornpilai Srisroy Was this another case of a crazed fan gone wild or is this just the media trying to make it into more than what it really was? The news reports say that the couple fought often and that his Thai wife was threatening to leave him and go back to Thailand. He…

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The WoW Gamer’s Guide to Star Wars the Old Republic Characters

As if you’re not tired of the comparisons between SWTOR and WoW, we have a real winner for you. The folks over at The Old Republicordie have given us a complete Wow Gamer’s Guide to SWTOR characters. If you want to know how the characters in SWTOR are similar to those in WoW or if you’re just looking for a good way to explain the game to a WoW-gamer friend that you’re trying to convert, this guide will really rock it for you. An overview of the breakdowns: WoW Warrior = Jedi Knight and Sith Warrior WoW Priest = Jedi Consular and Sith Inquisitor WoW Death Knight= Sith Warrior and Jedi Knight WoW Hunter= Smuggler Gunslinger and Imperial Agent WoW Druid = Jedi Consular and Sith Inquisitor WoW Mage = Jedi Consular: Sage and Sith Inquisitor: Sorcerer WoW Paladin = Jedi Knight and Sith Warrior WoW Rogue = Imperial Agent…

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It’s Time to Finalize Your Guild

There was an important update to SWTOR news today, especially for guild leaders. They’re letting us know that it’s time to finalize your guild before it’s too late. From Official SWTOR news: Last month we expanded our Pre-Launch Guild Program with the implementation of Phase 2: Alignment, where guilds could designate other guilds as allies or adversaries. Now, as Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ moves ever-closer to launch, we are excited to announce that we have initiated the first part of Phase 3: Deployment! Phase 3: Deployment will see any guild that meets the pre-designated criteria be transferred into the game for launch. Before we begin this process, though, we want to give all of you who are in guilds the opportunity to make sure your guild meets the following requirement for transfer: ·         Four members of the guild must have pre-ordered the game and redeemed their Pre-Order Code at…

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SWTOR New Build Introduces Racial Social Abilities

We talked before about what the new game testing build might bring to SWTOR. While it seems to have brought some much-needed upgrades, it also has introduced some fun tidbits. If you’re in game testing, you can log in and check them out now. If not, you’ll just have to wait a little longer with the rest of us but so far, they seem fun. These are the new racial Social Abilities: Human: Rally – Rallies nearby allies. Miraluka: Sense Force Alignment – Senses the target’s alignment with the Force. Twi’lek: Parlor dance – Perform an unique cultural dance. Zabrak: Inspire loyalty – Inspires loyalty from nearby allies. Mirialan – Focusing Ritual – Undergo a focusing ritual to rest and recuperate spirit. Cyborg: Scan target – Scans target with a critical cybernetic eye. Sith: Punish – Punish your companion for his or continued failures. Rattataki: Shadowbox – Perform a series…

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The Guild Sphere: DarkSith

Earlier this week I had a chance to talk to some of the leadership of DarkSith. A sith guild (doh!) that wan’t to experience all kinds of gameplay available in SWTOR. I hope you all enjoy reading the interview. Would you like to have your guild featured in The Guild Sphere? Drop us a line. Where did your guilds name come from? Back in 2009. I played a game called Star Wars: Forces of Corruption. There were 3 known clans there. TrueSith,TrueJedi,and DarkJedi. *I* feeling left out decided to make a clan called DarkSith. Can you give me a quick 2-3 sentance description of your guild? We are are fun well rounded group of people. We are like a big family just looking to be respected and able to be popular. How did your guild come about? Same for question 1 basically. I was new to the whole clan thing….

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3 Years with SWTOR Strategies: An Anniversary Post

As we approach our 3rd birthday here at SWTORstrategies.com, we look back over the years, the posts, the updates and the progression of SWTOR as a game. We are now closer than ever to a launch date, with less than two months before the game will be available worldwide. It’s an exciting time and we’re thankful you’re here to share it with us. We’re even more thankful to those of you who have been here for quite some time now. We’re excited to continue bringing you great Star Wars and SWTOR related content and we appreciate you for dropping by. In honor of the occasion, we’ve compiled a list of some of our most popular posts. Here are some of our most popular posts to date: New Game Mod Brings Star Wars and Call of Duty Together May the Schwartz be with You: Entire Star Wars “A New Hope” in…

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New SWTOR Beta Build Returns Wednesday

Have you been waiting for game testing to return? If you’ve been bored waiting for the news that your beta build would be back up for re-download, then today is your day. The new SWTOR beta build is up; get ready to download. This message was posted by Allison Berryman today: Hello Testers! Welcome to the new testing forums! We’re excited to announce that the new build is being deployed! Today, you’ll receive an e-mail letting you know that the new build is available for play, and you’ll be able to log into the launcher and begin downloading the new build. Please make sure to remove your old installation before downloading the new one (see instructions below). European players: The servers in our European datacenter (Carth Onasi and Mission Vao) will not be available today. If you are European, we ask that you please roll characters on those servers when…

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Facebook Image of the Week #36

Once again BioWare updated there official Star Wars: The old republic Facebook page with a new screenshot. This time we get to see a screenshot from the diplomatic quarters on Coruscant. Also on a side note. Now we only get 6 more Facebook images before the game is released 🙂 The Senate on Coruscant has played host to countless diplomats from every corner of Republic space.

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Sith Inquirer Interview with Daniel Erickson

Don’t you wish you could learn more about the Sith Inquisitor? Would if you could have a behind-the-scenes interview with the lead writer and ask them whatever you wanted about the class? That’s exactly what our friends over at Sith Inquirer did and they’re sharing it with us. While they originally wrote David Bass to ask some questions about the Sith Inquisitor, it was Daniel Erickson who actually gave the answers in the form of an exclusive interview with the site. Some of the questions they ask: Where did you start when thinking about what you wanted the Sith Inquisitor story to be like? What stories were your inspirations? Do any main characters tie into our own story? People like Darth Malgus, Baras and Angral from the comics and Deceived novel, Darth Jadus, or anyone else of note? Describe some of the companions, if possible? We know of Khem Val and Xalek…

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SWTOR PVP: What You Need to Know

For those who love PVP in MMORPGs, SWTOR is going to have some various options for you. Video gamers are always particular when it comes to their PvP. It’s difficult to create a game with PvP that will please everyone, especially when that is not the main focus of the game itself but rather a side portion or mini game aspect. What will SWTOR PvP be like? It’s a great question and one that GameSpy attempts to answer for us with this post about Voidstar, Alderaan and Huttball. As they explain: SWTOR will feature three PvP “Warzones”, each with its own unique objectives and gameplay. The first warzone is called “Voidstar”, and sees players fight for the control of a spaceship. The second warzone, “Alderaan”, involves an all-out war on the famous planet, while the third warzone is known as “Huttball””. See more with the Huttball trailer: For more videos…

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Know your Lore: Lucien Draay

Lucien Draay was a Human Jedi Master stationed at the Jedi Temple on Taris as of 3,964 BBY, and was apparently the leader of the Masters there. He was trained in the Jedi arts by Haazen and eventually trained Zayne Carrick as his own Padawan. He alone of the Jedi Masters on Taris was a Warrior Master, and he wielded a blue lightsaber. He was also a member of the Jedi Covenant. Biography Born into a prestigious family with a substantial fortune and respected Jedi heritage, Lucien was son to Krynda Draay (a talented but distant seer) and Barrison Draay (a Jedi warrior who died in the Great Sith War). His mother neglected him in favor of students who, like her, demonstrate clairvoyant aptitude, but Lucien took after his father. Krynda made Lucien the guardian of her young seers circle, becoming First Watch Circle of Krynda’s Jedi Covenant, sworn to…

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