Eic Musco updated the SWTOR Community about BioWare taking actions against PVP Win traders in Star Wars: The old Republic Hey folks, Now that we are a few weeks into the Season I want to give you an update on actions we are taking to keep the Season as fair as possible. First, we have identified some players who were participating in win-trading. Those players have had appropriate actions taken against their account. We will continue to monitor this throughout the rest of the season. Accounts that partake in win-trading will receive action up to and including suspension time and ratings being reset across their account. We know that there have been questions this season specifically regarding the use of hacks and exploits. Know that since the start of the season we have been very aggressively seeking out and sanctioning the accounts involved. If you suspect that a player is…
pvp
Did SWTOR Miss an Important Opportunity?
Recently, over three weekends (26-27th February, 4-5th March, 11-12th March), Bioware organised playtesting sessions, on the PTS, for players to test the new Warzone, and the new Arena, Rishi Cove. This is typical of when they want to test new zones and other areas of the game. However, some players believe they may have missed out on a valuable opportunity when it comes to playtesting this time around. BioWare announced the times for the play sessions on the forums and also played along with players incognito, but they never did anyting else to advertise the PTS or to try to get more players to join so they could test these new areas. Xam Xam is one of these players and she explains what she sees as a missed opportunity for BioWare on her blog: The three weekends of playtesting sessions were inadequate to test the new Warzone. There were too few…
SWTOR World PVP: The Battle of Oricon II
If you have not had the chance to see what great world PvP really looks like, then you will want to check out the video below, uploaded by Swtorista of a world PvP event this weekend. While it’s probably not typical of average world PvP that usually is 8v8 or so, it does look like a good time, lag and all. Here’s a video from Swtorista that shows some world PvP on Oricon. [Note: Video contains large unfiltered voice chat group.] Who: PvP enthusiasts What: Open World PvP for the Scare Bear title Where: Oricon (Instance 1) When: Saturday, April 2nd @ 8pm EST This is what world pvp looks like in SWTOR, when it happens! The goal of this event was to try and kill other players for an achievement. If you skip to later in the video you can see the huge number of players, causing the game…
SWTOR 4.3 PTS #3 Warzone and Arena Change List
BioWare posted an update on the new changes for the Odessen Warzone and Rishi arena in SWTOR PTS 4.3 version 3. Check it out: 4.3 PTS #3 Warzone and Arena Change List | 03.11.2016, 02:02 PM Designer Note: Thanks to everyone who has tried out the new warzone on PTS, made videos, guides, etc. We are blown away with the support y’all have shown and want to thank you for your enthusiasm. We are pleased with the gameplay after the last Update so we spent more time on polish and optimization this last PTS patch. Of course, we will continue to eliminate bugs and listen to feedback, so please keep the bug reports and constructive criticism coming! While we don’t have any major optimization results for this patch we have identified a culprit and are working on fixes to eliminate its impact on the Warzone’s performance. The Speed Up Battle…
The SWTOR Eternal Championship will be Delayed
SWTOR Eternal Championship is delayed, and will not part of Patch 4.2. Read hwy below: The Eternal Championship | 03.04.2016, 10:27 PM Hey folks, We have been doing a lot of internal playtesting on the Eternal Championship and it is currently not at a level that we believe our players deserve. In keeping with our commitment to offer the highest quality experience possible with our latest expansion, we have decided to delay the launch of the Eternal Championship. We are focusing on overall balance, ensuring each boss fight is challenging, endeavoring to exceed quality expectations, and most of all, making sure it is a fun experience. Please note Bowdaar will also be delayed, but will continue to launch alongside the Eternal Championship. To help ensure we deliver on the deeper experience we promised, we have decided to make the Eternal Championship available on our Public Test Server (PTS) prior to…
SWTOR: PTS Warzone and Arena Changelist
Odessen Warzone and Rishi Arena is going through some changes on the SWTOR Public test servers. Here are a list of what has been changed this time: Odessen Warzone Performed a small optimization pass on Odessen Warzone visuals. Designer Note: We are expecting a slight increase in client performance while in the Odessen Warzone with this update. The update included removing the VFX that plays your team’s color while in a Control Point area. We are still performing additional optimization passes but wanted to get this out into the wild to see how it played. Control Points are active for approximately 90 seconds, up from the previous 75 seconds. Designer Note: We found that players didn’t have enough time to react to changes during a round and that this would allow more time for attackers to remove defenders. In Round 1 only the three middle Control Points (Defense Cannon, Cantina,…
SWTOR Odessen Warzone Mechanics explanation
BioWare have posted a short explanation about the Odessen warzone. Apparently there have been a lot of confusion about the mechanics of it. Odessen Warzone Mechanics | 02.26.2016, 08:52 PM Hey folks, We have seen quite a few questions around some of the mechanics in the Odessen Warzone. Here are some points of clarification. Control Points Spawning At the start of the match 2 control points spawn at random Control Points last for one round, a round lasts for 75 seconds The amount of Control Points active increases as more rounds occur There are 8 rounds in total (though a team can win before the 8th round starts) Round 1,2,3: Two Control Points active Round 4,5,6: Three Control Points active Round 7,8: Four Control Points active After Round 1 Battle Mods spawn, Battle Mods have different impacts on points depending on which Mod you have. Capping a Control Point Control Points…
Details about the comming Eternal Championship Arena in SWTOR
Bioware has posted a lengthy list, outlining most of all the details of what to expect with the Eternal Championship Arena coming with Chapter XI. Gear Rewards from Eternal Championship | 01.22.2016, 08:46 PM Hi everyone, I’d like to share some additional details on the Eternal Championship with you. This will touch on several topics as follow: What is the story behind the Eternal Championship? The Eternal Championship is the latest trend in entertainment among Zakuul’s decadent upper class, who happily “tour” the lower levels of their capital to watch their social underlings engage in brutal death matches for fortune and glory. More details regarding the backstory will be revealed next week in the Developer Live Stream with Charles Boyd! Leading up to the launch of Game Update 4.2, we’ll also post a Developer Blog about the Eternal Championship. How does the Eternal Championship work? You start the Eternal Championship by…
SWTOR Season 6 PvP Statistics
Are you curious about how SWTOR PvP went along in Season 6? You know how we love bringing you player-based graphics, videos and other goodies? Well, here’s a good infographic that gives us a ton of interesting stats about Season 6. You can see the best solo PvP classes, some notable players like Sirox and Fitvelkiz, the best NA and EU servers and a graph of their ratings, and the links to more figures. It’s fairly simple and I would love to see even more data in there but overall, it’s a pretty decent chart. I love data so I’m all about seeing more but as I said, it’s still pretty interesting. If you want the actual figures, you can find them here. It contains much more data about class-specifics in Star Wars: The Old Republic. This spreadsheet really got my interest even more than the infographic because I just…
SWTOR Season 6 Predacious Reward Teaser Blog
BioWare just posted a tears on the upcoming PVP rewards for Season 6 in Star Wars: The old Republic. Check it out: Glorious PvPers! Season 6 is upon us and we hope everyone is enjoying the intense action. Giradda the Hutt and Baron Deathmark cordially invite you to hunt each other down for their entertainment, all in the hope of taking home some brilliant prizes from their personal collection of antiques and beloved possessions! In Season 6 there will be a new reward system in place which you can read about in a previous blog. Below is a table with information and cost of the specific rewards, let’s get to it! In Season 6 there is a brand new tier exclusive item – The Battle Flag of Recognition – that can be used to place a holo-flag over a fallen enemy in either appreciation of the honorable fight or recognition…
SWTOR Season 5 Gold Tier Reward Granted
All Players who reached Season 5 Gold Tier in Star Wars; The old Republic, will get another Nexu mount as compensation. Season 5 Gold Tier Reward Granted | 08.18.2015, 04:32 PM Hey folks! As we mentioned before, with Patch 3.3.1 the plan was to issue each Season 5 Gold tier PvPer a new reward which would be exclusive to only them and would be a bit of a make-good for the issues that occurred in granting the reward previously. We wanted to make sure to give you something which is comparable to your previous Gold tier reward but still something special. So when maintenance is over today Season 5 Gold Tier characters should have a different and new Nexu mount in their mailbox. This Nexu shares the same model as the Gold tier mount but with a new, traditional colorization pattern. If you were a Gold tier participant in Season…
Update on SWTOR Season 5 PvP Nexu
Players who accidentally received the Season 5 Nexu will be able to keep them. BioWare Bioware is planning to add something exclusive for gold tier in patch 3.3.1. though. Check it out: The Season 5 Nexu | 07.31.2015, 03:10 PM Hey folks, Good news! We have granted Nexu to all of the remaining Gold tier characters who had not yet received it. If you were missing the Nexu, we isolated the issue to characters who had transferred or changed their names during the course of the season. I know there are questions about what will happen now, so here’s our current plans: Mistakenly Granted Nexu – Anyone who was granted a Nexu, will be allowed to keep it. This was our error and we are not inclined to take it away from everyone. Gold Tier Exclusive Reward – We know letting those extra players keep the Nexu, it takes away the exclusivity…
SWTOR: Update on Win Trading from Season 5
Eric Musco took on the forums to tell players about the actions BioWare have taken against win trading in the past PvP season. Check it out: Update on Win Trading from Season 5 | 07.23.2015, 06:07 PM Hey folks, With Season 5 recently ending, I thought I would give an update on what we have been doing to curb players who continue to win-trade. To recap from before, players who were caught win-trading were receiving actions ranging from a warning, up to having their character’s rating reset. Specifically, the character who we caught doing the win-trading itself. Depending on the character’s history, this can also include suspension time as well. Over the course of the last few Seasons, we have seen an overall decline in win-trading action, and we hope that you have seen that as well. However, in a handful of cases, there are players who continue to win-trade…
The Combat Team wants your opinion on set bonuses in SWTOR
The combat team over at BioWare want’s for your opinion and feedback on current and previous set bonuses in Star Wars: The old Republic. You can let the game developers know by replying to the official thread over at the official forums. We would also love to hear you opinion in the comment section below. Check out the official announcement: The intent of these set bonuses is not not increase HPS/DSP/survivability by more than 5%. Note from the Combat team on this… Quote: Originally Posted by Zoom_VI Is there are particular reason why you guys are looking to change them? With Knights of the Fallen Empire being just around the corner, we just wanted to give you all a chance to let us know if there are any particular set bonuses that you dislike and give you an opportunity to suggest your ideas for improvement. We are not looking to…
SWTOR Announcing End Season 5 Gladiatorial Rewards
BioWare has just announced the season 5 pvp rewards and what ratings are required. I didn’t know how much I wanted the title Maximum Decimator until now: Greetings PvPers! The finale of Season 5 is fast approaching so we hope you are on top of things! The end of Season 5 will come with Game Update 3.3 and your Highest-earned rating, when the servers come down for the update, will determine which tier you are in and what rewards you receive. The higher your tier the more glorious your rewards! Just like in previous seasons, the Highest Earned rating that determines the tier you are in – not Current – so no need to feel like you are risking Rating by going after the next tier up! To see your Highest Earned Rating, check the Warzone Rating and Stats page in the Warzone Queue GUI. Please note that the Rating displayed…
PvP Economy and Ranked Rewards Restructure for Game Update 3.3
The SWTOR Combat Team published a new blog post today about the upcoming PvP Economy and Ranked Rewards change for patch 3.3: 06.01.2015 PvP Economy and Ranked Rewards Restructure for Game Update 3.3 Hello PvPers! As some of you may have heard on the Bad Feeling Podcast, we are making a few changes to Warzones and Ranked Warzone Arenas. Alex covered several of these changes in the interview but for clarity, and as an official jumping-off point for discussion, we wanted to go over the changes and the reasoning behind them here. Please feel free to join us in the discussion thread linked below. Let’s get started! PvP Gear Cost We think that getting a full set of PvP gear is too much of a grind. This is so much the case that only about 2% of PvP players have a full Dark Reaver set. Having at least Exhumed gear is a barrier…
Upcoming PvP Changes comming to SWTOR
The bad feeling podcast had the chance to sit down with Alex Modny and discuss PCP changes comming with game update 3.3 I encourage you to listen to the podcast, as it includes more stuff then in the notes below. There are some discussions on how new warzone maps get designed from start to finish for example. Podcast link to listen (1hr long) Notes: General Alex Modny (Systems Designer) and Eric Musco are present from Bioware Most of these changes will be coming with Game Update 3.3. No new PvP maps coming anytime soon. GSF is not dead, they might be doing some balance changes in the future but no plans for new game modes or new maps. They are changing AoE in warzones – they can no longer interrupt captures. No more force storms, Death from Above, Death Field etc. AoE CC still work to interrupt captures. This change is…
New Dev Post – Update on Win-Trading in Season 5
Eric Musco just posted on the official SWTOR forums regarding Season 5 PvP Win Trading. Apparently this practice saw a 90% decrease in win trading activity and 50% decrease in trolls. Update on Win-Trading in Season 5 | 05.21.2015, 07:22 PM Hey folks, I am here to give an update on win-trading and ranked “trolls” for Season 5. As of earlier this week we sent out another round of warnings and action against players who were participating in win-trading or being trolly in ranked play. I did want to provide some additional information besides just letting you know timing of action going out. Many of you requested that we be more up front about the action we were taking against players, and you were right in asking for that! Our aggressive action against these players along with being up front and transparent about has led to a fairly substantial change, let…
Season 5 Reward Teaser Blog
BioWare have posted a new developer blog. This one is teasing the season 5 rewards for PVP. Top ranking PvPers in Season 5 can expect a Gladiatorial Nexu mount as one of the rewards. Glorious PvPers! Season 5 is upon us and we hope everyone is enjoying the intense action. Giradda the Hutt and Baron Deathmark cordially invite you to dismember each other for their entertainment, all in the hope of taking home some exceptional prizes from their personal collection of antiques and cherished goods! Without further ado, here is the concept for the Tier 1 reward. This should give you a taste of what is in store for gladiators of the arenas this season: This mount is just one of the rewards available in Season 5. In addition to this Nexu mount, Giradda will be offering unique Decorations, Titles, Color Crystals, as well as a unique Gladiatorial weapon set. Additionally…
SWTOR Update: Win-trading and “Trolls” in Ranked PvP
Eric Musco rleases two statements today, regarding Season 5 PvP rewards and BioWares stance on win trading and trolling in PvP: Season 5 Update | 04.30.2015, 09:11 AM Hello PvPers! Season 4 has come to a glorious conclusion and Season 5 is underway! We hope y’all enjoyed the action and are looking forward to a new season to test your mettle. I have a quick note to share with y’all about the Season 5 Reward Teaser. Unfortunately the teaser for Season 5 will not be posted this week. We strive to have the teaser come out at the start of the season but right now with everything that is going on this Spring we are in a bit of a log jam and unfortunately the teaser blog will be coming out later in May. Featured in the blog is concept art of a reward that we feel is the best we’ve ever…
Clarification on SWTOR Season 4 Weapon Rewards
SWTOR developer Alex Modny responded to some questions regarding the upcoming season 4 PvP weapon rewards. Season 4 Weapon Rewards | 04.16.2015, 01:58 PM Originally Posted by Jinre_the_Jedi Two questions: 1)Will the weapons have particle effects like the S3 ones? 2) Will we get off hands too? Specifically vibroknives and generator/shields? 1) There aren’t any fire-esque visual effects on the Swashbuckling weapons but they do have visual effects that adjust to the color crystal attached. In the teaser blog you can see the circle/gears on the side of the blasters, those rotate and glow pretty fantastically. On the lightsabers the crystal glows at the base of the hilt and right above the guard. More extravagant visual effects are great and something we want to do more of for season rewards but creating ones that fit into the lore and aesthetic of the game is a delicate process. We would love to…
Know your Enemy: The Simple Guide for Class Symbols and Stances
If you want to have one great visual source for everything you need to know about the different class symbols and stances, you are in luck! While it is color coded and contains images and icons as well to help you know, the main goal of this Know Your Enemy guide is to match the stance to the spec. Have you ever struggled to figure out what your opponent’s spec was so you knew how to properly combat it? Some hybrid classes can be really challenging when it comes to figuring this out. So now you have this handy dandy chart to help you Know Your Enemy! From the creator: I tried to keep it simple. So if a Discipline have a number of AoE skills i marked it as a AoE. Focus/Rage is close to Burst, but as Smash still have some minor AOE capabilities and some AoE buffs…
SWTOR: Changes to Stronghold Titles Coming in 3.1.2
Stronghold Labels sold by the Warzone Decoration vendors will become BoP when patch 3.1.2 goes live today. This is to prevent players from trading them for warzone commendations between characters. PSA: Changes to Stronghold Titles Coming in 3.1.2 Tomorrow | 04.06.2015, 04:18 PM Hey PvPers, Heads up on a change that some of you spotted as being in Game Update 3.2 on PTS, it is actually a part of 3.1.2 which is coming tomorrow. The change is around three Stronghold titles, which some players are using to move around Warzone Commendations in a way we did not intend. Here are the changes: The following Stronghold Titles are now Bind on Pickup: Stronghold Label: Imperial Sanctuary Stronghold Label: Republic Sanctuary Stronghold Label: Starfighter’s Lounge If you have any of these titles unbound, they will bind to you as of tomorrow. Thanks! -eric
SWTOR Season 4 Ranked PvP Rewards
BioWare just announced the complete SWTOR season 4 ranked PvP rewards. Season 4 will end on April 28, 2015. The culmination of Season 4 is fast approaching so batten down the hatches! The end of Season 4 will come with Game Update 3.2 and your rating, when the servers come down for the update, will determine which tier you are in and what rewards you receive. The higher your tier the more booty you will plunder! Just like in previous seasons, the Highest Earned rating that determines the tier you are in – not Current – so no need to feel like you are risking Rating by going after the next tier up! To see your Highest Earned Rating, check the Warzone Rating and Stats page in the Warzone Queue GUI. Please note that the Rating displayed on the Leaderboards are the Current Ratings, not Highest Earned. Once Season 4 has…