Eric Musco posted a pretty lengthy blog post on exactly how the developers try to reach optimal class balance in Star Wars: The old Republic. Quite an interesting read if you are into PVP: How Class Balance Happens | 06.15.2017, 02:33 PM Hey folks, Over the next few weeks, as you know, it is our plan to give you specifics on upcoming Class/Discipline changes. One things that we have never done before is really get down in the trenches and explain how we balance Classes. With our continued move towards more transparency, we really wanted to lift the hood and provide as much context as possible for those changes. Below you will find an elaborate breakdown from our combat team on not only how they balance Classes, but why. I highly recommend you read the entire post (I know it’s long!). For the non-reader among you… TLDR – We do not…
swtor pvp
SWTOR Season 7 Rewards
BioWare has posted a blog update with details about the coming PvP Rewards for season 7. Season 7 will be coming with launch of KOTET. 09.19.2016 Season 7 Reward Blog Magnificent PvPers! Season 7 is coming to close this Fall with Knights of the Eternal Throne. Giradda the Hutt and Baron Deathmark appreciated the entertainment you have provided and look to reward the best around with some exclusive gifts from their personal collection. Below is a table with information and cost of the specific rewards, let’s get to it! Arena Themed Titles (1000 tokens each) Cove Cutthroat Character Name Mesa Mauler Character Name Orbital Station Obliterator Character Name Canyon Crusher Character Name Slayer of the Square Character Name There is still time to get your rewards so get in there and go berserk!
SWTOR ExtraLife Event with Many Rewards
Greetings, everyone! I will have the honor to host the first few hours of the SWTOR ExtraLife Live Eventon my Twitch channel Live. Start is ~16GMT or 8AM Pacific. It is organized by Unholy Alliance / Wookiee Mistake and PC_Podcast. The number of rewards, big and small, is unbelievable! For those of you who donate to the good cause more than $20, you will have a chance to win the incredible Sphero BB8 Droid, a real live toy, app-controlled. The requirement for Sphero was a $1000 total amount of donation to the team and it was already met! Next goal is $2000. If… no… WHEN this happens, a new item will be rolled again among the $20+ donations. You will have a chance to win an awesome huge SWTOR Custom Cartel Mega Pack 31 packs (contains packs from all 8 Cartel Store shipments). That’s not where Unholy Alliance and Wookiee Mistake draws the line….
SWTOR Knights of the Fallen Empire – Flashpoints and Operations in 4.0
Today Bioware released a new Blog-post on the official website. The information about upcoming changes to Flashpoints and Operations was not exactly the most welcomed one, but we can only hope it is for the best! Here is the post. If you are interested, check Vulkk’s analysis and overview of this article in the video attached at the end. Operations and Flashpoints in Fallen Empire I’m George Smith, Senior Designer in charge of Operations and Flashpoints and I am here to talk to you a little bit about what Knights of the Fallen Empire has in store for you. First, a little bit of a backstory about the current state of group content in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. As you level your character, you have the opportunity to play through quite a few Flashpoints for gear and a break from your story. As you continue to play and progress…
STAR WARS History & Lore – THE GREAT GALACTIC WAR (Part 1)
This is a Part 1 of a 3 episodes miniseries by Vulkk, explaining everything there is to know about The Great Galactic War, one of the most significant events in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. The war is seriously embedded also into Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR). For the narrations Jason or as everyone knows him Teo from OotiniCast has made yet another appearance on a Lore video by Vulkk to do the narrations. Here’s the intro in a written form. The rest you can hear and see in the video, attached in the bottom. The Great Galactic War, known as the Great War during the conflict and in the years afterward, was a war between the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic between 3681 BBY and 3653 BBY, lasting for a total of 28 years. Also known as the Republic–Sith War, the conflict was ultimately the culmination of a…
SWTOR Knights of the Fallen Empire Announced – Trailer Overview, Analysis and Opinions
The EA’s appearance in E3 2015 lasted more than 1 hour. The special moment for Star Wars: The Old Republic was short, but intriguing enough. Without sharing any specifics or exact details, Jeff Nickman managed to light up the spark in all of us, the loyal SWTOR fans and makes us hope for a better future of our favourite game. The new web page or a sub-page reveals important information of how to get the expansion, what is needed to earn early access, what will players receive when they subscribe, bonus subscriber program with rewards and the most important – THE RELEASE DATE – 27th Octobe 2015. Early access will likely begin on 20th October 2015, a week earlier In the following 2 videos you can explore the brief announcement from E3 and hear Vulkk’s opinion on the upcoming changes to the game.
Yavin 4 Stronghold and Togruta Reveal First Look – SWTOR Dev Stream Recap
On 3rd of June the SWTOR Developer Stream showed to the gamers for the first time the new playable Species coming with Update 3.3 – Togruta. They also walked us through the new Stronghold on Yavin 4. Here are some of Vulkk’s notes. For more, check the video below. * The event was hosted by Community Manager Eric Musco and the Designer Tobby * There will be male and female Togruta. At this point the team is not ready to show Character Creation and details. * Togruta is targeted for release in Patch 3.3. Its date for now is 21st July 2015. * The new Yavin 4 Stronghold is very very big. Has decoration slots both inside and outside and many, many hooks. * The limitations related to GSH remain the same, meaning players with 4 Strongholds will have to deactivate one if they want to have Yavin 4. *…
SWTOR GUIDE – Marauder Annihilation and Sentinel Watchman (Patch 3.2.1)
Greetings, Ladies and Gentlemen This is the 3rd Guide for Sith Marauder Annihilation and Jedi Sentinel Watchman Disciplines I make in a never-ending struggle to always cover the latest changes with my favourite class. We all know Patch 3.2.1 can easily be called “The Broken Marauder and Sentinel”, but in every evil and sadness, there’s goodness and positivity! In this over 35 minutes long video I have shared everything I could think of. This doesn’t mean there’s nothing to be added or maybe even corrected in the future if test results show better approach. I have structured it in 3 major parts: – Overview of the Changes to the Advanced Class in Game Update 3.2.1 – Gearing and Stat Priority, Skill Priorities (rotation is a bad word :P) – Personal Opinion, Analysis, Suggestions, Tips and Tricks It is the longest video guide I have ever produced. Even though some of the basics…
SWTOR Basics – Gearing for Leveling, Basic Comms Usage, Fleet Vendors
SWTOR Basics guide for newer players. How to use the Basic Commendatinos, Gearing tips for leveling, Fleet Vendors location and contents, 12x vs Normal Leveling plus many more Tips and Tricks to help and guide you through your journey. Since this is a “Basics” video most of the things you will see and hear may be familiar to the veteran players. However, if you have a few minutes, stay around, watch and listen. You may discover a fact or trick you didn’t know or perhaps add to the information I shared. Some of the bullet-points covered in the video are: ♦ Location of the Basic Comms vendors on both fleets ♦ Vendor names and changes in Patch 3.2 ♦ How to best use basic comms for gearing with and without 12x ♦ Difference between orange shells and normal gear. How and what to use ♦ Crafted gear vs vewndor mods ♦…
SWTOR Ziost Ending and the 2 New Boss Encounters
Today after a little bit of a delay Bioware launched the 12x Epic XP Boost. A bit earlier the remaining Story content on Ziost became available for players to explore and complere. Players now have access to: ♦ A couple of new Cinematic Cutscenes showing the end of the Patch 3.2 Ziost Story Arc and a daily area on the new planet with a few quests; ♦ New World Boss called Worldbreaker Monolith; ♦ New Operation Boss called Colossal Monolith with Story and Hard Modes available for both 8 and 16 players. In the videos below you will see the updates through the eyes of Vulkk (Sentinel, Republic Light Side). Ziost Republic Story ENDING Apocalypse on Ziost. The Emperor Vitiate is determined to eraze every creature or plant standing on his way. This epic conclusion of the Ziost Story Arc builds up the tension and prepares us for the greatest…
SWTOR 12X Event 2015 – How to Best Use It (Tips and Suggestions)
On May 4th 2015 the 12x Class Mission Experience Boost is returning to SWTOR. To fully and best benefit from it, you need to know a few simple and not so basic things. How to gear up your character – at which level to visit the vendors for upgrades, which classes fair better if you want a speed leveling or rather slow and careful playthrough. Who is best suited. How much is this event beneficial for new players and what are the possibilities of it being helpful or harmful to the personal experience with the game. Having gone through the first 12x XP Class Boost event in late 2014 helps a lot to prepare for the upcoming Summer Leveling Madness. Watch and hear what Vulkk has to share. Hopefully, you will find the ideas, suggestions and tips useful. If you have something more to add, don’t hesitate to leave a…
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…
Stat Scaling for 2.0- Are Your Stats Lower on the PTS?
If you’ve logged into the PTS recently, you probably have already seen that the scaling is different from what is live in the game. Stats are usually around 50-70% of the character sheet value in live. Everyone on the PTS was aware that BioWare would be changing the scaling formula but we didn’t know exactly what that would be. Now with 2.0, you can tell what these changes are going to look like. One user on the forum has taken the time to work from the old formula and try to build new co-efficients that will govern the stat scaling (yes, lots of math involved but it’s really interesting.) Here are some of his breakdowns: Defensive Defense Rating – Now scales roughly 118% slower Shield Rating – Now scales roughly 50% slower Absorb Rating – Now scales roughly 127% slower Armor – Now scales 2.5% slower, but remains on a linear progression HP – Buffed…
BioWare to Tweak Endgame PvP Balance
In an interview with fansite TORWars this week, we found out from Senior Designer Rob Hinkle that BioWare has plans to make endgame PvP more fun- at least, that’s their idea. They want to make the PvP stat (expertise) equal across the board, no matter what the set of PvP armor. For some players, this is a welcome change but of course, there will be those who oppose. As is typical with an MMORPG, Bioware has struggled to keep endgame balanced for all players. There is a slippery slope in giving seasoned gamers something for their hard work and dedication yet not making them so overpowered that others cannot enjoy the game as well. Hinkle said in this interview that he commonly hears from players that they enjoy levels 10-49 but that at 50 (the current level cap), things change. Many players complain about the lack of imbalance in those who are…
Does Player Marking Belong in PvP?
Here’s an interesting topic of debate- player marking in PvP. Both SWTOR and WoW have it and some people love it, where others hate it. I often play a healer in PvP (in both games) and I know what it’s like to be targeted for focus fire with a big mark over your head. You don’t have to see it to know it’s there. So here’s the question: does this feature belong in PvP? Some will say it is an essential part of the game, allowing teammates to coordinate and plan their attack, shut down the enemy healers and spot a targeted enemy from clear across the field. Others say it causes an unfair advantage and that is changes the play of the game, especially when the marks do not get removed upon death. So what do you think? Is player marketing an essential feature of PvP and warzones or…
SWTOR Scapper Smuggler PvP Guide- Understanding Stealth
If you’ve played a stealth character in other MMOs, expect things to be a little different in Star Wars: The Old Republic. The main difference is in the way you engage your target and in the stealth detection. At first, it may seem a little awkward and harder but once you understand the concept, you’ll probably enjoy the gameplay even more, especially if you like a real challenge. Engaging Your Target The way you engage your target is much different from what you’re probably used to. When you engage a single target and they die, you can restealth immediately as long as you have not attacked another target and no one else has attacked you. In this scenario, you’re considered “out of combat” when you send out the deadly blow. However, if you engage someone else or if anyone else engages you before the cool down period is up, you’re…
Massive RP-PVP Event On The Progenitor EU Server
Some gamers still know how to have a good time and this Massive RP-PVP Event held on the Progenitor EU Server is a great example of that. The last game that I played where people did role-playing events was World of Warcraft. I was not on an RP server but (often out of boredom), players would get together to do something fun or silly. We raided Hogger, we met in Elywnn Forest to goof around or we went to gank the lowbies if Elwynn (if we were on the other side). Once we made a huge batch of gnomes and had a naked dance party in the snow. I was never a huge RP-er but I always thought it was fun and interesting and I love to see what others come up with while roleplaying in a game. While my experiences were short and silly, what these guilds did over…
James Ohlen Explains SWTOR PvP Nerfs
What do you think about the current state of SWTOR PvP? I was just talking with a guild member about this earlier. The funny thing about SWTOR is that it began as a game where no one expected PvP to be a big aspect of it. Sure, some players would enjoy it but it would not be the main premise of playing. Yet now, there are many players who PvP every day and some who admit they only keep the game subscription because of the PvP. I think BioWare noticed fairly quickly they would need to rethink PvP a little and maybe even revamp the way they were doing things. After game update 1.2, we saw many changes and upgrades to SWTOR. All were meant for the better but in all honestly, there were some that just don’t seem to make sense or that cause us to question why BioWare…
TOR TV: “How I PvP to WIN In SWTOR”
We haven’t featured ThisIsRefmo stuff, mainly be course she is more into other gems these days, but here are another of her adventures. like the easy mode datacron video we showed a few month ago. WARNING: If the combination of Refmo and doity woids offends your delicate ears, please do us both a favor and watch anyway. HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY PVP: Use “morale boosters” to support your team mates. They’ll play better and/or kick you from the warzone. Don’t SUCK. This was my second time ever doing warzones. The first time I ever pvp’d was back in beta and it was literally a joke (I ran around following Shaz only using Hammer Shot). Basically I’m saying I had no idea what I was doing. Interested in SWTOR Movies? We have new movies most weekdays here on swtorstrategies! Have suggestions for movie we ought to feature? Get in contact with us here
Over 50% of SWTOR Players Play Warzones
Have you ever wondered just how many players are playing warzones? I’m in a PvP guild on a PvP server and pretty much all of us do warzones on a daily basis. I typically do not have to wait too long to get into a warzone but I have noticed a trend that I start to see the same people over and over again. You start to learn who people are and discover their personalities. You spot the full-time PvPers fairly quickly. Lead designer Daniel Erickson over 50% of TOR players take part in PvP matches, dubbed Warzones, on a daily basis. Erickson said in an interview with GamerZines: “It’s not actually giving players something additional to do, I mean it does that, but it isn’t the motivation,” he explained. “What happened was that we also brought in the guys that had worked on PvP for Warhammer Online. Those guys…
Fresh out of a PvP Team Meeting from Georg Zoeller
Are you happy with SWTOR PvP or like many of us, do you still feel like there are some things missing or lacking? Here’s what Georg Zoeller had to say about a team meeting over PvP at the BioWare headquarters: Hey guys, A few additional notes on this topic, fresh from a meeting with Gabe and the PvP team. (a) Expertise difference between combatants is the single most important factor in time to kill in PvP. Having zero or little expertise on your gear (e.g. pure PvE gear) is the primary reason for people to experience a sped-up time to death in Game Update 1.2. While it was quite viable pre-1.2 to bring your Rakata or Columi gear without any added expertise into PvP, the increased focus on expertise in the PvP track of gear has made it much harder to compete with that equipment compared to even the entry…
Devs Admit Players were Right on Warzone Scoring and Rewards
Players have been complaining since the launch of 1.2 that some things just didn’t seem right in PvP. At first, BioWare denied any problem but now, the devs have come forward to address the issue after more investigation. BioWare says they are aware of some of the problems with warzones and that they appreciate the feedback. As usual, they said they are working on a solution to complaints. But is there proposed solution going to be the kind of fix most players are looking for? Lead Game Designer Daniel Erickson had this to say on the forums: Hey folks, Some follow up news from observations of play and feedback over the weekend. In the next couple of days we will be deploying a small patch that will address the following issues: As discussed, minimum medals to gain rewards will go from 3 to 1 to better reward those who are…
Bioware Reveal More on Novare Coast Warzone
BioWare just revealed more great info about Novare Coast, the upcoming warzone. They released a news article which states: We are excited to reveal Novare Coast, our latest Player-vs-Player Warzone featured in the upcoming Game Update 1.2 “Legacy” for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™! On the war-torn planet of Denova, opposing forces vie for control of Novare Coast, a strategically vital beachhead that leads to the open oceans of Denova. Whoever controls this coastline will have a decisive advantage in taking control of the planet. To secure the beach, sides battle for control of three mortar turrets which can be used to pound the enemy with artillery fire. See the Warzone for yourself by checking out the latest video. Here’s the video yourself so you can check it out. What do you think? I had the chance to check it out briefly myself and I am excited for it. Plus,…
James Ohlen Wants Your Ideas on Open World PvP
My guild is all about PvP in SWTOR and most members are not happy with the current state of open world PvP. Ilum was broken and they have to go back to the drawing board and while leveling on a PvP server, I think I came across someone I could kill a total of 3 times. It’s very boring, honestly. There don’t seem to be many open world PvP elements in the game at this time and there is a large player base that would like to see this remedied. In this post, Stephen Reid asks players what we want to see from open world PvP: Hello everyone. James Ohlen, Game Director for Star Wars: The Old Republic, is asking for feedback once again – getting into more detail regarding PvP. Once again, he’s going to be taking feedback directly via his Twitter account, but if you’re not on Twitter,…