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SWTOR players love that butt-ugly black-yellow lightsaber blade
BioWare has released another Shadow of Revan dev blog focused on Star Wars: The Old Republic's class changes. This time, Scoundrels and Operatives take center stage. The firm has also published one of those really long infographic things that gives your scroll wheel a workout. Among the stats are the number of active players (one million), the number of PvP kills since launch (1,790,161,866), and the game's most popular lightsaber crystal (that godawful yellow-with-a-black-center debacle). Click past the cut to see all the numbers!
SWTOR's 2.6 patch adding new ships, boosting Operative/Scoundrel DPS
BioWare community manager Eric Musco took to Star Wars: The Old Republic's forums earlier today to deliver a preview of the game's next major patch. The 2.6 update will unlock the Galactic Starfighter expansion for F2P players as well as introduce a new gunship variant and two new bomber variants. The patch will also feature "a few class changes" including significant DPS boosts for Operatives/Scoundrels. You can read the full post on the SWTOR boards.
Hyperspace Beacon: All SWTOR classes are useful in Huttball, part 1
I'm excited about this week's topic. It's not often that I get to put Star Wars: The Old Republic's misconceptions to rest. As I said last week, my guild does recreational PvP, which is to say that we do it for the fun of it and not because we have to be the best of the best. This helps us enjoy the sport of it without having the pressure of maintaining a ranked-PvP score. Unfortunately, that also means we run into a lot of other players who don't know exactly what they are supposed to be doing in games like Huttball. Those same complaining players are also the ones who claim that their particular class is deficient in one way or another based on the PvP map. The biggest cringe in SWTOR comes from Huttball. Naysayers complain that one class or another does something different or better than they do. Today, I'm going to break down a couple of the classes to show you how each of them can be more effective. Let's dive in.
SWTOR: So you want to play a Smuggler
If someone were to ask Star Wars fans which of the characters had the most personality, most likely they would answer Han Solo. In the Expanded Universe, and most notably in the Star Wars video games, smugglers always mirror this dashing rogue of a character archetype established by none other than Harrison Ford. If that's why you're wanting to play the Smuggler class in Star Wars: The Old Republic, then you're in luck because you'll get exactly what you're hoping for. The SWTOR Smuggler starts out on the world of Ord Mantell, a fringe planet on the brink of civil war. Of course, being a Smuggler, he breaks through the planetary blockade to deliver his shipment of weapons to gangsters on the ground. After that, things get really interesting...
Lifting the beta curtain: Larry's hands-on with SWTOR's beta
Many of my friends in gaming media have speculated as to why BioWare has allowed some media outlets to report on the heavily veiled Star Wars: The Old Republic beta, but frankly, I don't care. It doesn't matter to me that BlizzCon happens to be tomorrow or that there is a possible connection between the start of that event and the lift of this embargo. All I really care about is that I can finally tell you about actual gameplay for this new Star Wars MMO that I've been personally following for over three years now. However, it will be extremely difficult to contain all my experience of SWTOR within the confines of this one article. However, I will do my darnedest. Over the past couple of weeks, BioWare allowed us access to the Republic side of this highly anticipated MMO and pretty much set us free. We can report on nearly every gameplay aspect within the first two planets. Two weeks -- that's enough time for me to run more than one class! And that's exactly what I did. Originally, I wanted to run through two classes that weren't going to affect me much when the game goes live. I accomplished this goal with the Jedi Consular. However, when I started to play the Smuggler class, I just could not stop. I was completely engaged in the story. Jump past the break and I'll tell you all about that -- and more.
Hyperspace Beacon: Find your blaster at your side
"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side," Han Solo said, enlightening us on the smuggler philosophy in the original Star Wars film. (I'm fairly certain that line has not been cut from the Blu-Ray edition.) In Star Wars: The Old Republic, it's not just the blaster that gets him by -- it's all the other dirty tricks this scoundrel has up his sleeve, in his pockets, or under his hat -- that's right: hat. In past editions of the Hyperspace Beacon, we've talked about some specific abilities of the Jedi Knight and Jedi Consular. We have learned that the Advanced Class determines the role and playstyle of a specific class and that the overall class determines the story. Even more so, the specific skill trees narrow your focus. I believe that hybridization weakens your character, but there are others (including those who have played the game) who believe that hybrids are viable. Given that this game is still in beta, actual playtime has been limited to conventions and other special events. The Smuggler class is the class of the weekend. BioWare released the progression video on Friday, and as anyone who knows me can tell you, I love this class. After the break, we'll chat about some of the announced abilities of this unique character.
SWTOR shows us how to level like a Smuggler
Star Wars: The Old Republic fans were hitting the F5 key for hours waiting for BioWare to reveal today's Friday update. If you are a Han Solo fan, then the wait was totally worth it. The community team decided it was time for everyone to witness the armor progression of the Smuggler class. As usual, this video is wrapped in iconic themes and Star Wars-y goodness. The keen eye can pick up on some of the Smuggler abilities, as well as the obvious armor sets. One of the first Smuggler-specific abilities happens about 30 seconds in when our rebel rogue kicks the large alien in the groin followed by a roll towards cover. No other class can distract a foe like that. And speaking of crowd control: pay close attention to his other abilities. The Smuggler can misdirect enemies by dropping everything out of his pockets or launch a gas cloud so he can step in for a sucker punch. Of course, hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, right? Smugglers are the masters at the dual blasters. Catch the full two-and-a-half-minute video after the break. You'll love it. We know.
New Star Wars: The Old Republic dev blog dishes on advanced classes
Ready for another Star Wars: The Old Republic Friday feature? Whom are we kidding, of course you are! BioWare's Georg Zoeller is happy to oblige via his new dev blog that focuses on TOR's advanced classes. His previous entry laid the groundwork, whereas today's exercise is all about the details. 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. This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, since Zoeller goes into quite a bit of detail in terms of the various skills, skill trees, and even decision-making and testing metrics (and of course, it's all sprinkled with a liberal dose of pretty pictures). Devour all the details on the official TOR website.
Newly "smuggled" information from Star Wars: The Old Republic
Just when we think there isn't anything more that can be revealed about the smuggler class, BioWare proves us wrong. The Old Republic website just launched a slew of screenshots, advanced class data, and videos about Han Solo's favorite Republic class. Let's see if we can break this down into bite-sized pieces. First, we know the smuggler's duck-and-cover combat techniques are not new, but we now have an official breakdown of the advanced classes. The scoundrel advanced class is all about sneaking in, hitting hard, then getting out before anyone notices. The stealth belt, med pack, and single blaster are his equipment of choice. The gunslinger advanced class controls the enemies' movement as well as packing a nice DPS punch. All the gunslinger needs is two blasters and perfect aim -- if you bust an enemy's knees or blindshot him, he ain't gonna move. Secondly, we have one of the smuggler's companions: Bowdaar. This Wookiee is most likely picked up on the Smuggler's Moon, Nar Shaddaa, since he is a gladiator in the arenas there. Although he uses few -- if any -- weapons, this strong-armed companion has never been defeated in battle. This sets him up well to be the tank to the smuggler's healer or crowd control role. Plus, what's a smuggler without a Wookiee partner, right? Lastly, what would a smuggler be without a starship? The Corellian XS Stock Light Freighter serves at the smuggler's transportation of choice. As with most Corellian-designed vessels, the XS Stock Light is perfect for cargo transportation, crew accommodation, and pirate defense. Everything your smuggler will need to find consistent work throughout the galaxy, plus a few added features to hide not-so-legal items. Check out more information about this sneaky class on the official site, and don't forget to visit our gallery for some awesome screenshots. %Gallery-103218%
