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Drew Karpyshyn’s New Novel Revealed

Soeren Kamper

If you love Star Wars lore, then you are going to be really excited about the news that Drew Karpyshyn’s new novel has been revealed. The new book titled, Raven will expand beyond the core game and into novels and comics of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.   Del Rey Books has already published two novels in the Old Republic timeline, Fatal Alliance and Deceived, and they announced last year that there would be a third Old Republic novel. Drew Karpyshyn, Principal Writer at BioWare would be the author of this book. Fans may know him from the Darth Bane series of Star Wars™ novels. In an exclusive Q&A, Karpyshyn shares some information about the book. This part will be rather interesting to those who are anxiously awaiting the release of SW:TOR MMO:   Q: In what ways will readers who have read Revan benefit when playing Star Wars: The…

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Know your Lore: Arca Jeth

Soeren Kamper

Arca Jeth was an Arkanian male who was a Jedi Master and Watchman of the Onderon system during the time of the Old Republic. He was known to have been one of the wisest Jedi of the Old Republic era, and trained Barrison Draay, Haazen, Ulic Qel-Droma, his brother Cay Qel-Droma, and the Twi’lek Tott Doneeta in the ways of the Force. He was also one of the first known Jedi to use the ability of battle meditation. In 4,050 BBY Master Jeth was part of a Jedi/Republic task force which was sent to the Hapes Cluster to eliminate the threat of the Lorell Raiders, who had been preying on Republic shipping lanes for decades. Following the defeat of the Lorell Raiders, Jeth took part in the Hyabb-Twith Campaign and helped drive the Nelori Marauders from the Hyabb-Twith Corridor. He served the Galactic Republic on Coruscant during the Great Droid…

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Know your Lore: Cay Qel-Droma

Soeren Kamper

Cay Qel-Droma was a Jedi Knight during the Great Sith War. Born to a great warrior family on Alderaan, Cay and his brother, fellow Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma, were instructed by Master Arca Jeth at his training compound on Arkania. Cay’s first mission came in 4,000 BBY, when, along with his brother and fellow trainee Tott Doneeta, he was sent to Onderon to put down an uprising of the savage Beast Riders. The Jedi succeeded; however, Cay’s career in combat was just beginning. He fought in the Great Sith War not long after, a galaxy-spanning conflict that started when the Krath attacked Onderon, home to the dark side-using Naddists. During the war, Ulic turned to the dark side, becoming a Sith, and second-in-command under Exar Kun. In 3,996 BBY Cay was forced to duel his brother on Ossus. Ulic killed Cay; however, this act stunned Ulic enough that he abandoned the…

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BioWare Auctioning Off Exclusive Goods for Japan Relief

Soeren Kamper

If the thought of donating to charity for Japan relief without getting something in return doesn’t really sit well with you, Bioware have you covered. BioWare is holding a charity auction, and all proceeds go to the Red Cross to aid Japan and it’s citizens in light of the recent disaster. The items being auctioned are as follows; two Dragon Age 2 custom painted PS3′s complete with signatures from the founders of BioWare Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, two Dragon Age 2 custom painted Xbox 360s also signed by the founders and ten Mass Effect hoodies signed by the team that created Mass Effect. All of these items are exclusive to the auction, so be sure to check it out and bid on these incredible items for a worthy cause. If you’d like to help out, the auctions can be found here. Related Posts Know Bugs with SWTOR Patch 4.0Ranked…

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Friday Updates: Environmental Polish and Class Q&A

Soeren Kamper

BioWare returns this week with a two-part update for Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR). The first part of the update goes behind the scenes with Senior Environmental Artist Robby Lamb, who details how the game environments evolve and transform. Lamb details the creation and polish of environments in SWTOR and how he works and re-works the content to make it as epic as possible while maintaining the best game performance. The second part of the update comes in the form of a Community Q&A, which addresses a number of different questions from the community. To summarize, each class will have a number of companions from each archetype. Players can choose which of those will become their main companion and can enhance them through the use of kits. Bounty Hunters will not be able to use jetpacks outside of battle and the Jedi Knight and Sith Warrior will have no…

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Do you need to read the books to understand the game?

Soeren Kamper

Star Wars and BioWare are both characterized by an enormous amount of Lore and stories. So far two novels and a bunch of web comics has been released describing the characters and surroundings in the massive universe of Star Wars: The old republic. The first book that was released was Fatal Alliance by Sean Williams. The second – released a few weeks ago – is Deceived by Paul S. Kemp. At least one more novel is in the works by Drew Karpyshyn – but that is still nameless. Other then the above novels and webcommics, Darkhorse has released countless of  printed comics and Del Rey lot’s of books describing famous lore characters Such as Exar Kun, Ulic Qel-Droma, Freedon Nadd and so on. Taken this into account, it’s obvious that some people get nervous that they won’t get a clue when they start up the game if they aren’t prepared. A forum poster by the name…

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SWTOR Open Beta closing in!!! … Not!

Soeren Kamper

For 12 long hours I was so psyched! TorWars pointed me to a great interview  GameInformer.com did with Dr. Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk from Bioware. The Interview was original about Mass Effect 3, but the interviewer also had some interesting questions on the chance of an upcoming Star Wars: The old Republic Beta. On this the good doctors answered in the a more possitive way then ever: “You’ll have to watch our website and see. At this point we’re still in more of a closed beta period. We’re definitely making great progress on it. The feedback’s been great. There’s always lots to do, but it’s really really shaping up. Before too long you guys will get a little crack at it. Keep an eye out for that.” What was that? Wait a second. You said what? Did I here that right? What was that again? Before too long you…

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The Guild Sphere: Browncoats

Soeren Kamper

Today I sat down with the leader of the Browncoats, a Republic guild that has an interesting commonality binding them all together, and had a very entertaining interview with her, yes guys a female guild leader and look out, she really knows her stuff, read on for the rest of the interview. Q) Where did your guilds name come from? Firefly (TV show). Browncoats fought for the Independents against the Alliance. “Browncoat” also means you are an avid fan of Firefly / Serenity. Q) Can you give me a quick 2-3 sentence description of your guild? “Tell you, we get a mechanic, get her up and runnin‘ again, hire a good pilot, maybe a cook. Live like real people. Small crew, them as feel the need to be free, take jobs as they come. Ain’t never have to be under the heel of nobody ever again.” — Captain Malcolm Reynolds,…

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Know your lore: Dor Gal-ram

Soeren Kamper

Dor Gal-ram was a Sith Lord in the years leading up to the Great Hyperspace War, 5,000 years before the Battle of Yavin. A member of the Sith species, Gal-ram was native to an area of space known as the Sith Empire. After the death of Dark Lord of the Sith Marka Ragnos, Gal-ram sided with one of the contenders for the title, Ludo Kressh. Kressh’s main rival was Naga Sadow, a progressive Sith Lord with expansionist ambitions. In 5,000 BBY, Sadow staged an attack on the Sith Empire, meant to appear like a Galactic Republic assault, and used this opportunity to declare himself the new Dark Lord of the Sith. This led to a schism between Sadow and Kressh, with Gal-ram siding with Kressh. Sadow then staged another raid, this time leaving evidence that he was actually complicit; upon seeing this evidence, an angered Kressh ordered Gal-ram and a…

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Friday update: SWTOR Dev Blog – Advanced Classes Update

Soeren Kamper

Following last week’s April Fool’s joke, it looks like BioWare decided to make today’s dev blog entry on the Star Wars: The Old Republic site an in-depth and interesting read. Principal Lead Combat Designer Georg Zoeller has given players an update on the game’s Advanced Classes, and he covers everything from skill trees to improvements that have been implemented through game testing. Players will choose their advanced class at level 10, and each base class offers two advanced class choices (i.e., the Smuggler will need to select either the Gunslinger or Scoundrel as her advanced class). Each advanced class provides two exclusive skill trees and shares a third tree with the other (non-selected) advanced class. Zoeller also covers how the team makes these important class-changing decisions. He shows off a couple of images from their metrics system that feature death details and character movement on Ord Mantell. Of course, the…

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SWTOR PAX East 2011 Highlight Video

Soeren Kamper

BioWare just published a short video showing some of the highlights from this years Pax East. The video provides footage of fans rushing to the SWTOR booth, as well as fans standing in line and talking about what they experienced. We also get to see clips of Daniel Erickson and Stephen Reid at the Space Combat Demonstration. The video definitely captures the excitement of being at PAX East. Check it out below: Related Posts Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic II Restored Content ModCrafting Changes in SWTOR Patch 4.1TOR TV: Ode to Corso RiggsWill the Novelty of SWTOR Stand the Test of Time? EA Explains Why Star Wars: Battlefront Had No Single Player CampaignHarrison Ford Star Wars Episode 7 Contract NegotiationsScheduled Maintenance: October 15th, 2013 – Patch 2.4.1PvP vs PvE Mounts Philosophy

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How Stuff Works: Valley of the Dark Lords

Soeren Kamper

The Valley of the Dark Lords, also known as Valley of the Sith Lords was a valley and burial ground of Korriban’s Sith Lords. The Sith Great Temple was located in the valley. A number of different layouts and appearances have been given to the valley in various publications. This is, in the case of video games, mostly due to memory restraints and practicality. For instance, its appearance in Knights of the Old Republic lends itself to being easily traversed and places less demand on hardware than a full scale valley. In Darth Bane: Path of Destruction it was found that the road from the Academy to the Tombs was actually quite long and the area that the actual Valley was barren and harsh, hard to travel through for even the Sith Lords. In Jedi Academy, on the other hand, the valley is designed similar to the appearance of the…

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Know your Legends: Horak-mul

Soeren Kamper

Horak-mul was a Sith Lord who sided with Ludo Kressh after the death of Marka Ragnos. The prosethic he used as replacement for his right eye was a Sith artifact. Biography Horak-mul was a Sith Lord in the years leading up to the Great Hyperspace War, and was native to a region in the galaxy known as Sith Space. In 5,000 BBY, longtime Dark Lord of the Sith Marka Ragnos died after a century of iron-handed rule; two Sith Lords, Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh stepped in to try and fill the power vacuum. Horak-mul supported Kressh, the more conservative Sith Lord, over Sadow, an ambitious Lord who wanted to expand the Sith Empire’s boundaries. During the Funeral of Marka Ragnos, a ship coming from the Galactic Republic, the Starbreaker 12, landed in the Valley of the Dark Lords, and its crew, two Humans, Gav and Jori Daragon, were detained….

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Facebook Image Of The Week #6

Soeren Kamper

BioWare have updated their Facebook page with another image of the week. This time BioWare teses us with a screenshot of Belsavis. The verdant beauty of Belsavis’ volcanic craters can almost make one forget the galactic horrors imprisoned on the planet. Related Posts The Most Interesting Railway Lines in the WorldNew LEGO Star Wars Game Free Download but Compatibility IssuesConquest Week Watch – Results for week 3Capital Supremacy is Coming to Star Wars: Battlefront 2 on March 26 Changes to the Cartel Market — Tuesday August 07 2018Natalie Portman Open to Reprising Role as Padmé Amidala in Star WarsEA’s Survival Has Been “A Rare Feat”Amazing Jedi Sage SWToR Fanart!

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Know your Lore: Azkul

Soeren Kamper

Azkul was a Sith veteran of the Jedi Civil War who later became a mercenary of the Exchange. If the Exile helps Azkul invade Khoonda, he later appears on Citadel Station, aiding the Telos Security Force in their fight against the Sith forces. The Exile can also manipulate Azkul into thinking that she will help him, which will be admired by Kreia. Mandalore the Preserver would give caution on how Azkul knows who to trust because he knew his kind. Teammates who have very strong senses in justice will despise such an act, though, while Brianna will instantly despise joining Azkul to where which response results in being influence-related. This act will not lead to a Dark Side shift, but no Light Side shift either. Biography Azkul served under Darth Malak during the Jedi Civil War as a Sith Commando part of an elite Sith Special Forces detachment. A good…

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1.5 million interested in Star Wars: The Old Republic beta

Soeren Kamper

As we reported yesterday Chief financial officer Eric Brown reviled that around 1.5 million gamers have registered their interest in being part of a Star Wars: The Old Republic beta. … We’ve got well north of a million, million and a half ready to test for free,” he said of Star Wars the Old Republic beta. “We’re not that concerned about generating initial demand. For us it’s about creating the right experience, expanded beyond the tier one and the tier two users. You’ve got people that have never played an MMO before but are interested in Star Wars, to engage and give it a try. What’s really important to us is striking the right balance so that we serve the needs and demands, requirements of the core, pre-existing MMO subscribers. “They demand a lot of content, a lot of community, guilds are very important, special group activities, raids and things…

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Wednesday Reviews: The Old Republic: Deceived

Soeren Kamper

Deceived tells the tale of Darth Malgus, a fierce Sith Lord who lived during the time of the Great Galactic War as he deals with the coming peace treaty between the Empire and Republic, his Sith “allies”, and his own conflicted feelings on the events transpiring. Deceived is a novel that does its job perfectly; being a tie-in to a huge upcoming game (Star Wars: The Old Republic, of course) it had to be not only a separate story that could stand on its own two feet, but a novel that ties in with the events of the SWTOR so that it makes the readers curious about the game itself. Luckily, it does just that, dragging you into the universe the game takes place in while making you curious enough to check out more. Deceived introduces us to the situation of the galaxy and the important characters making an impact…

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Third SWTOR Novel in the works

Soeren Kamper

Random House has published their 2011 Fall Catalog, and it has goodies for us Star Wars: The old republic fans. Apparently Drew Karpyshyn will be the auther of a upcoming SWTOR novel yet to have a titel. Drew Karpyshyn was Senior Writer on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic as well as both Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2. He has also wrote Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, Darth Bane: Rule of Two, and Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil which are some of my favorite Star Wars novels. With the success of the New York Times bestselling Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance and the release of Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived in Spring 2011, this original new novel set in the world of the game by BioWare and LucasArts is sure to bring fans who want a truly immersive, transmedia experience! Key Points # EXCITING FAN-FAVORITE…

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Pax east 2011: Sith Warrior – 14 minutes on Korriban

Soeren Kamper

Here is a 14 min video showing all cutscenes and questing inside on of the caves on Korriban. This footage can be compared to the material we saw at last years Gamescom. Related Posts DICE dev says Star Wars Battlefront won’t have Battlelog supportJesse Sky Answers Questions From CommunitySWTOR: Game Update 7.1.1 is live!SWTOR Dev Story Roundtable – Valkorion, Family Ties, Star Wars Influences and More Mixed Reactions to Fortnite’s Star Wars Day 2024 EventThe Guild Sphere: The Greek LordsKnights Of The Old Republic Is STILL The Best Star Wars GameExperience Classic Star Wars Action with PS2 Emulated “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” on PlayStation Store

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Friday Update: Pax East 2011 Fate Of The Galaxy Trailer

Soeren Kamper

PAX East 2011 officially kicked off today and BioWare was on hand to show off a brand new trailer for Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR). The latest trailer “Fate of the Galaxy” shows the escalating tension between the Republic and Sith Empire and offers a look at some of the gameplay for SWTOR. Related Posts Star Wars: Battlefront 2’s The Rise of Skywalker Drops Next MonthBlasters, Ewoks, and Jedi: A Deep Dive into Star Wars: Return of the Jedi the Video GameFree comic book day is comingWhy You are Losing Money in Poker by Not Learning SWTOR Sith Inquisitor Assassin PVP Build For 1.2SWTOR Flashpoint Guide: The EsselesDoes ‘Battlefield Hardline’ Resolution Bode Ill For ‘Star Wars: Battlefront’?May the schwartz be with you: The Cute Side of the Force

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Imperial Agent Gameplay Compilation

Soeren Kamper

Redrancor has put together yet another excellent SWTOR gameplay compilation video. This time, the video features the Imperial Agent class showcasing his unique stealth and ranged capabilities. Check it out below, and remember to visit Redrancor and Hi5 him. Related Posts 2.2a Patch NotesGabe Amantangelo InterviewNew digital expansion “Galactic Starfighter”Game Update 2.2.2 Patch Notes – 7/10/2013 1.1.4 Patch Notes — 2/22/2012Bounty Hunter Character Progression VideoChanges to the Cartel Market — Tuesday November 03 – 07 2015E3: Operations Preview Trailer & interview with Gabe Amatangelo

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How Stuff Works: Vibroblade

Soeren Kamper

Vibroblades are the galaxy’s main cutting weapon of choice. Though they come in many different shapes and sizes, ranging from knives to longer swords, vibroblades are all equipped with a compact ultrasonic generator in the hilt. This causes the blade to vibrate at enormous speeds, thus giving the weapon its name. Because of this ultrasonic vibration, even the slightest glancing blow become a gaping wound. It could be fitted with cortosis weave, allowing it to parry the blows of lightsabers and energy swords. As it is quieter than a blaster, the vibroblade is popular among assassins, but it can also be easily carried as a secondary weapon for close-range fighting. In the past these weapons were often minted containing a weave of the rare material cortosis, which allowed blade to parry even lightsaber strikes, a property that made the vibroblade a weapon of choice among Sith assassins. However, this practice…

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Know your Lore: Kavar

Soeren Kamper

Kavar was a Jedi Master and member of the Jedi High Council during the Mandalorian Wars and Jedi Civil War. He was also close friends with the Jedi Exile, who learned under him as an informal Padawan prior to the Mandalorian Wars. From conversations between Kavar and the Jedi Exile, it is known that she received some degree of training under the Jedi Master; however, Kavar specifically states that she was not his Padawan. If the player has set the Exile to the dark side, they will side with General Vaklu. The Exile will then battle against Kavar, who will be surprised to see his former friend fallen so far. As a result, the player is forced to kill Kavar, resulting in his absence on Dantooine. Should the Exile support Talia, there is still a chance to kill Kavar in the Enclave if the Exile killed either of the other…

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Know your Lore: Lonna Vash

Soeren Kamper

Lonna Vash was a Jedi Master and member of the Jedi Council during the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War. She was one of the Masters who banished the Jedi Exile from the Jedi Order. Lonna Vash’s role was bigger in the original vision of the developers, Obsidian Entertainment, but like many other incomplete things it had to be cut because of the forced premature release of the game. She was planned to be found by the player on M4-78, a planet populated by droids, where she came searching for the Exile with her Padawan, Kaah Ohtok. The corresponding conversation the Exile has with Vash was even recorded and put in the game file, but, like the incomplete planet, was never used in the actual game. However, as Vash was a Council member shown in an important cut scene, the developers placed her dead body on also-incomplete Korriban to…

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