We have waited and waited and waited, and finally it is here – Game Update 1.3: Allies will live this coming tuesday! Some people call this the “Jesus patch” as – together with the server merges, it should resurrect the game with it’s Aguement updates, ranked warzones and group finder! Let’s party! The patch is out same day as ME3 Extended Cut, so expect a lot of downloading that day. Posted by: CourtneyWoods Hello everyone, we wanted to let you know that we will be performing Scheduled Maintenance for four hours on Tuesday, June 26th, 2012 from 2AM CDT (12AM PDT/3AM EDT/8 AM BST/9AM CEST/5PM AEST) until 6AM CDT (4AM PDT/7AM EDT/12PM BST/1PM CEST/9PM AEST). All game servers and SWTOR.com will be offline during this period. This maintenance is expected to take no more than four hours, but could be extended. Game Update 1.3: Allies introduces new features for all Star Wars™: The Old Republic™…
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Fans Fix Up Luke Skywalker’s Home
A group of very dedicated Star Wars fans took it upon themselves to recreate and build the “Lars Homestead,” which was featured as hero Luke Skywalker’s home in the first-released installment of the series, “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope,” in 1977, again in the 2002 release of “Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones,” and finally in the last movie theatrically released, 2005’s “Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith.”” The igloo-shaped home, was a venture that fan Mark Dermul of Belgium began dating back to April 2001, noted on the fan’s official website, where he traveled to the African nation of Tunisia to locate where filming for the “Star Wars” series was done. Dermul and a group of other “Star Wars” fans from around the world ventured back to the Tunisian desert over the years, as part of their “Tatooine Reunion,” noted the website, and…
TOR TV: The Sith Code
Here is an older fanfilm made before SWTOR became mainstream. This video was made by DuduFilm, and uses material from the three cinimatic trailers combined with material from “force unleashed” and material from Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Add to that the music from X-Men Origins (Magneto’s theme I believe? ), and you have a pretty decent way to present the Sith code: Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me
Interview with Lead Operations & Flashpoint Designer – Jesse Sky
It has been a while since we last heard from Lead Operations & Flashpoint Designer Jesse Sky. Last time Lat time we posted any word from him was back in match, but now he have news from him again. The guild Methodica recently had the chance to meet with Jesse Sky, and gained some great insight into the details and thought-process that goes into designing the content that raiders enjoy so much. Here is a snippet We generally balance bosses to be progressively more difficult over the course of a single Operation. However, our balance sheets are not always the best indicator of difficulty, especially as we increase our focus on mechanics. Some bosses require strict coordination checks, and that may pose a greater challenge to certain players than gear checks. We were surprised, for example, at how long it took players to down Toth and Zorn on PTS. That said, we do want the…
TOR TV: Dubstep and Dancing
It has been a while since we last posted a community created SWTOR movies, there for in honor of it’s Friday we give you not one, but two videos. The first movie is made by Youtube user antemb and is called “why I play the Old Republic”. The movie is a classic dancing video as enjoyable as the can get. The second movie is made by Edvard Huseby, and represent the cinematic E3 trailers cut together in a dubstep mix. Check it out: Why I play The Old Republic. Star Wars: The Old Republic – DUBSTEP
SWTOR Patch 1.3 Preview – What’s Coming Soon?
Patch 1.3 is definitely going to be one of the most influential game updates to SWTOR and any MMORPG free update. It packs a big punch with loads of new features that players have been waiting on for a very long time. Here are some of the main features coming with Game Update 1.3 and what you need to know about each. Patch 1.3 Preview -SWTOR Group Finder The long awaited group finder is finally coming. Some players have even stated previously that the lack of a group finder was a deal breaker for the end-game. It made it too difficult to find other players to do a Flashpoint or Operation with. You could spend hours (literally) sitting around spamming chat channels and begging someone to join a group with you. Then if you do get a group, there is no guarantee that any one in it really knows what…
Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 5 Trailer
Entertainment Weekly has posted the first trailer for Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 5 which was first unveiled at Disney’s Hollywood Studios’ Star Wars Weekends. The show’s supervising director Dave Filoni says, “There’s a lot of payoff coming. I think people are going to see ways The Clone Wars ties together more and more with A New Hope. We’re setting up elements that eventually become the Empire.” The fifth season will premiere in the US on Cartoon Network this September.
E3 Blaine Christine interview
Lucas Siegel from Newsarama.com goes in-depth with senior live producer Blaine Christine about SWTOR. They cover new features in the latest Star Wars – The Old Republic update including companion characters, social hubs and the future plans for SWTOR.
Intergalactic Intel: How to be a raid leader part 2
“You’re a what now?” Explaining things to your mother is never easy. Especially when it comes to video games. “A raid leader. I’m like the boss.” “What are you killing people’s homes and towns?” “No. What? Why would you ask that?” “You said raid leader. So you’re leading a raid.” I wanted to bury my face into my hands. Welcome back to another article of intergalactic intel. We’re continuing our in depth look at raiding with part two of raid leading. Last time we talked about tips on raid leading as well as qualifications of a good raid leader. Today we’re gonna talk about what responsibilities a raid leader has. As we all know operation encounters can be very confusing and chaotic. It’s the raid leader’s job to make heads and tails of what’s going on in the fight. . A raid leader is like a conductor in an orchestra….
Intergalactic Intel: How to be a raid leader part 1
“I could do a better job than you ever did!” I couldn’t believe I was arguing with an ex-raider on facebook. I was even more disturbed that I was being attacked by someone I considered a friend. “Trust me, you couldn’t. It was complex.” “There’s nothing complex about it!” I decided to step away from the situation at this point. I have known for quite some time, raid leading is not for everyone. Welcome back to another exciting issue of Intergalactic Intel! I’m currently explaining the finer points of raiding in detail. Last week we looked at how to analyze a fight, from strategy to team make up. This week we’re looking at one of the hardest duties in a raid being the raid leader. I’m going to split this particular one into two parts, what you need to be a raid leader and tips that I was never told…
1.2.5 Patch Notes – 5/30/2012
BioWare have taken the servers down for scheduled maintenance. The servers are still not up, and the maintenance have been extended a few times already. Do I smell patch 1.3 coming up on the public test servers? General Optimizations have been implemented that decrease instances of crashing to desktop. Any players required to change a character’s name due to Customer Support request must now make all name changes before logging in with any characters on a server. Classes and Combat General “”Heroic Moment” abilities no longer persist after players log out or transition areas. Companion Characters General Corrected an issue that could cause Companion Characters to appear without a head when wearing certain headgear. Flashpoints and Operations General Boss encounters no longer drop rewards until the entire encounter has been cleared of enemies. Flashpoints Corrected an issue that could prevent Flashpoint mission steps from updating properly if players were disconnected…
MCM Expo features SWTOR Presentation
This Star Wars: The Old Republic presentation took place recently in London at the MCM Expo. There was a Q&A session to provide more info about the game and upcoming updates and patches as well as new features we can expect to see soon. The discussion had the following topics: General Presentation of the Game Previous Updates Game Update 1.2 Legacy Presentation The Old Republic said this: This information was gathered from the available livestream provided by Gamespot and it summarizes the topics discussed in that hour, along with the Q&A. Keep in mind that at the Q&A the answers capture the essence of what was spoken. The host of this presentation was Emanuel Lusinchi, Technical Design Director for Star Wars: The Old Republic. The discussion included Game Update 1.3 Allies Presentation which tells us more about what we can expect from this update, including: Group Finder: • Bonus…
Happy Birthday, “STAR WARS”! When did you first see it?
We got so caught up in all of the Mega server news and BioWare Layoffs, that I almost forgot that last Friday was the 35th anniversary of the premiere of Star Wars. On May 25, 1977, George Lucas premiered “Episode IV: A New Hope” and changed the lives of kids like me (I don’t think I saw the movie until later in the summer, when word spread about how good the movie was). In fact, the anniversary has spawned another “holiday”, known as “Geek Pride Day.” Here’s one of my favorite scenes from the film, the attack on the Death Star (aka the “trench run”). I still get chills watching this: The effects of Star Wars on the world are too numerous to list here on this blog post. From movie-making techniques to the explosion of science-fiction in books, movies and TV and even YouTube, to video games and beyond,…
Intergalactic Intel: Making change
“Do you ever visit the official forums?” I laughed at my guild mate’s naiveté . “Why on earth would I visit the official forums?” “Well there are a lot of good ideas on it.” “And a bunch of whining babies…” “Well, how else do you get Bioware to pay attention to you?” Welcome back to another installment of Intergalactic Intel! Our topic this week is something that isn’t just limited to The Old Republic, but games in general. Being a veteran gamer I’ve seen games change, different communities evolve and adapt. I’ve also seen companies literally go to war with their customers sowing seeds of distrust and discontent. So this week we’re going to go over ways gamers can work with developers to create a better product. Step 1: Think before you post Before you start with a forum post raging about how they nerfed your class, or a fight…
Q &A for Friday May 28- Ranked Warzones is on track for 1.3!
This week’s Q&A is a special edition because we have great info on the upcoming 1.3 game update. One thing that many players are very excited about is the inclusion of ranked warzones. But that’s not all that we should expect for game update 1.3. Let’s see more of this special edition Q&A to find out. Here’s a snippet: >llesna: Can you please tell us why the upcoming Legacy additions for Game Update 1.3 are character-specific rather than Legacy-wide? Daniel Erickson (Lead Game Designer): Legacy Perks have a different purpose than global unlocks and are specifically designed to enable players to customize each individual character. Since you may not care about Space XP or running the Bonus Series missions on one character it is important that you’re not paying a premium that is calculated at the expense of 8 or more characters all gaining this benefit. This also means the…
SWTOR Smuggler Gunslinger Leveling Build For 1.2
Today we have another build form the guys over at www.swtorsavior.com and continuing the trend of builds for 1.2 that will help you if you need a hand leveling up fast. This one is for the Smuggler and the Gunsliner advanced class. Here is the build: SWTOR Smuggler Gunslinger Leveling Build: Here are some rotations you can use with the build: Your best bet on a companion with this build is Corso Riggs or Bowdaar. Here is the rotation to use from level 10-20: Aimed Shot > Sabotage Charge > Vital Shot > Charged Burst > Flurry of Bolts At level 20 you will get a skill named Shock Charge and your rotation to use is: Aimed Shot > Sabotage Charge > Shock Charge > Vital Shot > Charged Burst > Flurry of Bolts Lastly at level 40 you will get a skill called Incendiary Grenade and at that point…
Did Stephen Reid just get Canned?
EDIT. Yes he did. Here is the article. Yesterday we told you about upcoming restructuring at the BioWare Austin studio. All the the details are still extremely sparse, and We do not know the numbers, nor do we know of any specific staff members who are affected. Rumors are starting to spread around the internet though, as people like Stephen Reid updated his LinkedIn page to read that his tenure with BioWare ended on May 2012… Tina Wall, a former BioWare QA tester also had a few tweets yesterday worth noticing. @ChemicalPink: I am sitting at a very large table of newly unemployed people. We’ve all ordered booze. @ChemicalPink: Despite the overtones of sadness at the table, most everyone is fairly optimistic and seems to be dealing well. This article on the layoffs, the development team consisted of eight hundred developers across three cities and two countries. That’s absolutely MASSIVE team! Too many cooks in the kitchen, that many…
Guide to End Game Stuff
I just can’t say enough how appreciative I am of Dulfy from Dulfy.net and all the great game content she brings us for SWTOR. So she does all the things I want to do but don’t have the time to. And now, she’s done it again with a great list if leveling heroics, bonus series and their associated rewards. Empire list: http://dulfy.net/2012/05/13/heroic-quests-bonus-series-and-their-rewardsempire/ Republic list: http://dulfy.net/2012/05/13/heroic-quests-bonus-series-and-their-rewardsrepublic/ She also explains as follows: For every quest there are 1) Torhead tooltips for the mission so you can see the steps or get more details. 2) Name of the NPC to start the quest (first name recorded only) 3) Location of the NPC (Both the area and the exact coordinates) 4) General and class specific rewards. As you can see, this is a very useful resource so bookmark the URL that applies to you (or both if you play both sides) and refer to…
SWTOR vs. SWG: Place Your Vote Now
Gemtrix has brought us an interesting survey that they say they will leave up indefinitely to serve as a guideline for what people think about Star Wars: An Empire Divided vs. Star Wars: The Old Republic. This 73-question survey asks you to give answers to questions about each game. All questions are optional but the more you answer, the more data we all have about the games. Here is what Gemtrix has to say about how this will work: We are going to leave this survey up indefinitely, so as time goes on, we hope it will serve as a set of data points that bloggers can use when talking about these two games. The results will be posted weekly, so check back next week for the first set of results.
Intergalactic Intel: Analyzing Boss battles
“Ugh this is impossible!” I heard over the vent channel. “What’s impossible?” I was curious, what “This damn OPS boss!” I chuckled. “What’s going wrong?” “Everything!” Welcome back to another intergalactic Intel! Sorry for the lack of articles, I’ve had a busy past few weeks! If any of you remember, one of my original posts was about raiding. How to become one, and how to do well. Recently I’ve been looking at a bunch of posts on Diablo 3 boards, The Old republic and World of Warcaft boards about bosses. These posts have inspired my next set of articles, the Art of Raiding. I’ll go over, how to build a raid group, leading, tanking, dpsing and healing raids. Today’s is probably the most important one of all. Analyzing fights. Every fight is unique. Only because one fight has a similar mechanic doesn’t make it any easier. Each new encounter is…
TOR TV: Unnecessary Bleeps – Sith Inquisitor
Back in february we did a TOR TV on Unnecessary Bleeps in SWTOR. Back then it was a trooper version. Today we have new one, this time with the Sith Inquisitor. For people who don’t know what Unnecessary Censorship is, it refers to the practice of adding censor bleeps, mosaic blurs or black bars to source materials that were neither profane or explicit to begin with. The bleeps are typically dubbed over words to make it sound as if they were explicit. Mosaic blurs and black bars are placed over people, objects, or text to make it appear as if they are covering up pornographic or explicit material. And in !@#$ing me, you !@#$ the Emperor… golden 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
SWTOR Sith Warrior Juggernaut Leveling Build For 1.2
Today we have another post from the team over at www.swtorsavior.com and this post will give you a build for the Sith Warrior Juggernaut if you need an updated build for leveling since the 1.2 patch. First we will go over the build and then give you a bit of information about it: To use this build you should use Quinn or Vette as your companion and here are some rotations that you can use: Levels 1-30: Force Charge > Smash > Sundering Assault > Force Scream > Ravage Focus on adding in extra assaults to keep your rage up and vicious slash when you have built up enough rage. Levels 30-40 your rotation will change to: Force Charge > Smash > Sundering Assault > Force Scream > Impale > Ravage Then lastly from 40+ you will have the full rotation: Force Charge > Smash > Sundering Assault > Force…
Jedi Consular Shadow PVP Build For 1.2
Today we have another PVP build and this time it is for the Shadow class and this one comes courtesy of SWTOR Savior. This build should help you out if you need a good PVP build for 1.2. The build will allow you to be awesome 1 vs 1 duellist and makes for some awesome survivability and you will also have very high damage output. To use the Consular Shadow you want to try and single out high priority targets or the squishy DPS players and healers. Although PVP is all down to the situation and the people you are facing at the time these rotations will help you if you need a guide: You will start a fight by stealthing or pulling your target with Force Pull and then use Spinning Kick. You can then follow up with Double Strike or Shadow Strike and Force Breach. Just keep an…
SWTOR Guide to Vanity Pets
When it comes to MMORPGs, I’m a pet girl. I have always loved my vanity pets and in every game that has them, I try to collect them all. I found out shortly after I got my first 4 that there were many more I did not have yet and I was on a mission to track them all down. I’m going to make it easier for you to get the pet or pets that you want by telling you just how to get them. We will update this guide as new pets are introduced to the game. SWTOR vanity pets are non-combat pets that can be obtain in different ways: As a monster drop Purchased from the Collector’s Edition vendor Purchased from Vendors with some restrictions like Social Level, Dark Side/Light Side Level As part of the Collector’s Edition If you want to have the best chance of getting…