patrick-malott
Latest
TOR dev diary takes a closer look at crew skills
Crafting has been something of an afterthought in many of the MMORPGs released over the past half decade. Bucking that trend is BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic, which recently made waves with the reveal of its crew skills system. Today the TOR team brings us a closer look at the mechanics via a new dev diary. Systems Designer Patrick Mallot is our host on this particular tour, and though he spends a good portion of it rehashing things we already know (like NPC companions performing your gathering tasks), there are some interesting nuggets relating to armstech near the end. Armstech is a crafting discipline that allows players to create blasters, rifles, and assault cannons. The scavenging skill provides the raw materials, and basic alloys and metals will let you get your feet wet immediately. Progression takes the form of both schematic complexity and item quality increases, and eventually vendor-bought materials and rare resources will come into play. Armstech features three quality levels (premium, prototype, and artifact), and Mallot hints at crafters playing an important role in The Old Republic's economy. "We've worked hard to ensure that crafted items have an important place in The Old Republic's economy, and that crafters will be well-rewarded for the effort they put into the crew skills system," he says. Check out all the details at the official TOR website. In other TOR news, BioWare also announced that the Jedi Wizard has been officially christened the Jedi Sage via popular fan vote.
