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Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR Marauders will suck but Operatives will not
Update 2.5 for Star Wars: The Old Republic will release at the same time the Galactic Starfighter expansion will hit for subscribers. Perhaps this timing is meant to hide the awful mistakes BioWare is making with two of its best Advanced Classes. One will receive a thorough thrashing with a nerf bat, while the other will only get a stern talking-to -- not even a wag of the finger. Of course, I'm talking about the Marauder/Sentinel class and the Operative/Scoundrel class. Last week, the Inquisitor/Consular class took center stage because there is a chance that the Madness spec might actually become viable in PvP. But at the same time the Assassin/Shadow tank becomes viable in PvE, it'll become a wrecking ball in PvP. (Time to roll another character!) Unfortunately, two of my favorite classes aren't seeing the changes they need in the next SWTOR update. Because I'm so helpful to the SWTOR developers, I will sit in my armchair and tell them exactly what to do. But first, let's talk about the tweaks coming for these two enormously popular classes.
See what has changed with SWTOR's Sith Warrior and Jedi Knight
Star Wars: The Old Republic's Game Update 2.0 brings some changes to the Sith Warrior and Jedi Knight classes, and today's two newest dev diaries from BioWare detail the changes. Aside from DoT and shield improvements, the Accuracy Rating will mean much more towards sustained damage in boss fights. Each advanced class for the two main classes now has new skills and general improvements to the way skills are balanced. You can read more about the changes that have come with GU 2.0: Scum and Villainy on the official site.
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR spoiler alert!
Originally, I had my heart set on playing a Smuggler when Star Wars: The Old Republic went live, so I had intended on not playing one in beta. But the temptation was far too strong. I played a couple of Smugglers to try out the different specs and see the storyline from a couple of different points of view. Unfortunately, that burned me out on the class, and I could never finish the story on the live servers. Another of my intentions when the servers went live was to max out a character as fast as I could so that I could get to endgame in a decent amount of time. Therefore, I picked a class that I didn't think would hold my interest: the Sith Warrior. Unfortunately -- or fortunately depending on your perspective -- I fell in love with the Sith Warrior storyline. I was impressed that an "evil" character could have such an interesting story arc, so much so that by the end I was really rooting for her to win. What I didn't know was that there was a connection between the Sith Warrior story and the Smuggler story. I was right there listening to the characters speak, yet I didn't understand at first why I felt that nagging feeling as if I'd heard certain things before. Once I did discover the connection between those two storylines, I sought out other story connections. I found out that SWTOR is full of these tiny links. Since it's been a year since release, I figured that it's safe to share some of my favorites. Yes, major spoilers follow the break.
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.
Hyperspace Beacon: Top five SWTOR launch day secrets
It's official: The year's most highly anticipated MMO is no longer anticipated. As of today, Star Wars: The Old Republic has officially launched in both North America and Europe (and our Australian friends have had it shipped from the US). Despite some earlier issues about the time of delivery, everyone who pre-ordered can play on launch day thanks to the 48-hour grace period and the adjusted shipping date for most retailers. I guess that'll teach BioWare not to release so close to Christmas. Now that you have the game in your hands, what do you do? Of course, you enter in the code to your SWTOR account, but I mean, what do you do once you get into the game? First, if you have absolutely no clue which direction to go, you should read a couple of the class introductions in Massively's giant SWTOR pre-launch guide. Once you've decided on a class, hop past the break as I give you my top five things you must watch out for very early on in the game -- things that will make your launch day experience just a bit more interesting.
Star Wars: The Old Republic's Smuggler and Sith Warrior fight it out
We know you're all busy, Star Wars: The Old Republic fans, but try to pry your eyes away from the shiny new game for just a minute because it's time for the final Choose Your Side video. This time, the match-up is between the wily, conniving Smuggler and the vicious, rage-driven Sith Warrior. So who will emerge the victor and who will be left eating the pavement? That's ultimately for you to decide, but if you'd like a little bit of help formulating your argument, just give the video a look and see what the game's developers have to say. All you have to do is click on past the cut.
SWTOR: So you want to play a Sith Warrior
No class embodies the Sith philosophy so completely as the Sith Warrior. Inquisitors hide and scheme, but Warriors let their passion run rampant. It's not that they lack in subtlety, merely that they are capable of channeling their passion into destructive force so effortlessly that careful manipulation is often unnecessary. In the army of the Sith Empire, they are the lords and the commanders, the highest aspirations of those with Force sensitivity, and the natural-born masters of nearly everyone else. Sith Warriors are correspondingly limited in their options on the field. They can tear apart armies or hold said armies off single-handed, but they certainly can't help patch the wounds of their comrades. But the whole class philosophy is built around the best defense being a strong offense, and the plethora of Force abilities and agile lightsaber strikes in the Warrior's arsenal give you several options while you're breaking everything that stands before you. It's a talent that comes in handy as you progress through the class questline, a story of expectations, betrayal, and the survival instincts necessary for someone to be a true Sith.
Hyperspace Beacon: Post-launch
Readers of this column have a lot of questions for me, and I do my best to answer all of them. However, the most frequent question I get is "what class are you playing?" followed by "which guild are you going to join?" Thankfully, I work from an office at home, and my time can be very dedicated to playing Star Wars: The Old Republic. Many of the websites and podcasts fall off after a game is launched because, hey, the producers of these bits of entertainment have a game to play now. Fortunately for you, I really want to give my readers something to look forward to once TOR actually launches. Unlike others who lack either the time or dedication to their fans, I am going to be stepping up my game after launch -- literally. I have teased my post-launch plans a few times before, but I figured I should put it all down in writing. This way I have something to reference when the time comes, and I'm sure the readers here will hold me to my word. Most of all, Star Wars: The Old Republic will be an extraordinary experience for anyone who follows me. Hop past the break for the full details.
Hyperspace Beacon: Human High Culture
BioWare games are notorious for interweaving allegories on racism in their plotlines. If you take Mass Effect, for example, Navigator Pressly was a human who had major issues with aliens -- especially Turians. Inversely, the Citadel Council was definitely prejudiced against humans because the human species was rather new to Citadel space and rising to power too quickly by the Council's standards. These undertones help give the Mass Effect story depth and real-world relevance. Although it's not an overt plot point in the Star Wars series of movies, speciesism does sometimes play a heavy hand in the Expanded Universe. In the Galactic Empire, this is known as Human High Culture. In the high political offices of the Galactic Empire under Emperor Palpatine, humans were regarded as superior to other species of the galaxy. Humans were, after all, most numerous, and they also did not originate from a single planet like most species. But the roots of the Human High Culture date back further than the events in Star Wars: The Old Republic. They may date all the way back to the first Dark Jedi to rule over the Sith people on Korriban. With this idea of Human High Culture in mind, I would like to talk about the species available to the SWTOR Imperial classes. In the May edition of PC Gamer UK, an over-ambitious reporter incorrectly announced a list of species and class combinations. What I would like to do today is make my own list based on what I know of Star Wars lore and announced species in the game. Continue after the break as I compile the list.
The MMO Report: Bears and UFOs and explosions, oh my!
This week on The MMO report, Casey's lead story is about the absurdly adorable Cenarion Hatchling pet now for sale on the Blizzard Store. The wee bird-deer-thing costs $10 with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the Red Cross efforts in Japan, therefore making it, as Casey puts it, "good for something other than your own surreally twisted ego." Next up is RIFT's patch 1.2, The Spoils of War. Introducing myriad new features and content, the patch is one of RIFT's largest yet. He also gives Massively a shout-out for delivering information on the newly confirmed Marvel Universe Online. Details so far include the ability to play as iconic Marvel characters to face off against Doctor Doom with a story penned by none other than Brian Michael Bendis. Last up is BioWare's Sith Warrior progression trailer for Star Wars: The Old Republic, which compares the Sith Marauder -- described by Casey as "quick, agile, and a real bastard of a Rogue" -- and the Juggernaut, the Sith Warrior's tanking option. Hit the jump below for all this plus Uncle Casey's Mailbag and a decidedly awesome picture involving Casey, a bear, and flying saucers on The MMO Report.
The path of the Dark Side: The Old Republic shows Sith Warrior progression
Can't wait until Star Wars: The Old Republic comes out so you can get your Darth Vader or Darth Malak on? BioWare's here to help with a tantalizing new video that shows the progression of a Sith Warrior in TOR. While the Sith Warrior begins as an unskilled neophyte with a lightsaber substitute, he soon grows in power and chooses one of two advanced classes: the Sith Marauder or Sith Juggernaut. The video shows off a range of each class' skills from stealth attacks to lightsaber flinging. The Sith Warrior's not about a subtle appearance, of course; both advanced classes are shown wearing truly wicked-looking armor and intimidating masks. If you want even more TOR news, take a look at the new dev blog from lead UI artist Michael Voigt, all about designing the UI for the game. You can check out the Sith Warrior in all his glory after the jump!
Star Wars Insider share the secrets it learned from SWTOR designer James Ohlen
BioWare and LucasArts have not always been very forthcoming with secrets of Star Wars: The Old Republic, but Star Wars Insider Magazine has learned a few tidbits of information that may give us a tingle in the Force. In the article, James Ohlen talks about nearly every major aspect of the game: starting levels, space combat, armor progression, and even the sounds and score of the game, most of which we have covered in here in some way or another. However, he did give a very interesting quote regarding casual gameplay. "A lot of people are scared of massively multiplayer games because a lot of MMOs can become a grind... We've chosen to avoid that. We always give the player a story to drive the game forward." The most interesting part of the article is when Ohlen outlined the Sith storyline. He explains in the article that one of first Sith Warrior missions is to kill your master as well as other students. When that is complete, you are tasked with tracking down and corrupting a very important Jedi Knight. He continues later to explain that the choices a player makes is reflected in his storyline, the light/dark side system, the rewards received, as well as your character's appearance. He explains, "If you're familiar Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, one of the things that we showed was how the dark side started to corrupt you. Your appearance started to change, your flesh started to age and become more like Palpatine from the movies, and your abilities started to change as well. This also occurs in The Old Republic." Go to your local newsstand (do they still have those?) or comic book store and pick up the latest issue of Star Wars Insider to nab more detailed information.
SWTOR announces green, red, blind, and horny Force species
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/pc_games/Star_Wars_The_Old_Republic_reveals_new_playable_species'; To the elation of fans of Star Wars: The Old Republic, the developers at BioWare announced that the Sith "pure blood" and Miraluka will be playable species for the Sith warrior and Jedi knight classes, respectively. On top of that, the Mirialan species will be available to Force push as Jedi consulars, and the Sith inquisitor can slash his dual-bladed lightsaber as an acrobatic Zabrak. In case these species names mean very little to you, here is a brief catch-up. The Sith species is a red-skinned race from the planet Korriban. They were made mention of in this Hyperspace Beacon a little while back. Miraluaka are blind humanoids who see via the Force. The KOTOR II character Visas Marr was Miraluka. Mirialan are a bit less familiar to the casual fan, but two of them are found in the Episodes II and III of the Star Wars movies, Luminara and Barriss. Finally, everyone should be familiar with the devilish face of Darth Maul, the Sith apprentice who killed Qui-Gon Jinn. He was the quintessential Zabrak. Perhaps this writer is the only one excited about this announcement, but it is doubtful. What are Massively reader's thoughts?
Star Wars: The Old Republic's Sith Warrior detailed
There really isn't much we don't already know about the Sith Warrior, right? He's filled with pure evil and the second his master isn't looking, he'll probably plant a Lightsaber in his back. But the above video for Star Wars: The Old Republic's Sith Warrior -- which was revealed to have two advanced classes, the Marauder and the Juggernaut -- offers a fairly less seething individual who apparently has a knack for the spoken word. His calm and smooth tone shows us that it's not just a Darth Maul thing. Is that a result of like a weekend class at the Corruscant Community College or just a byproduct of giving into your hatred?
Does this mean there will be vehicles in SWTOR?
Further insight into the wondrous world of Star Wars: The Old Republic whisked its way to us via a teaser trailer GameSpot posted about the Sith Warrior Class. In this revealing tease, the Sith apprentice relives his training under his master and threatens the Jedi of the galaxy. Wicked lightsabers clash atop a bridge overlooking a glorious rocky canyon calling back to the epic duel between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Our ominous warrior effortlessly deflects blaster bolts from four enemies, sending the deadly plasma flashing back towards his adversaries. Then in a fit of Force rage the dark apprentice slams full-force into his Jedi opponent, tossing the gallant foe over the edge of the bridge many stories to his death. The armored tank of the Sith Warrior is not one to cross lightly. As nail-biting as the trailer is, that is not all. Notice at 1:15 of this exciting video trailer, the Sith Warrior is driving a speeder bike. What does this mean? Are players going to have vehicles in SWTOR? We do not have the answer, but given the footage in this trailer, the answer looks positive. Continue after the break and judge for yourself. [Update] The official site has added more to the Sith Warrior class page. Unfortunately, there is nothing about vehicles.
Square Enix reveals all of Final Fantasy XIV's races and clans
Square Enix has revealed detailed information about the five new "clans" found within the races of Eorzea, the realm in which upcoming MMO Final Fantasy XIV will take place. Clans offer up two slightly different character options within the five overall race choices -- for example, if you want to play as a burly Roegadyn, you can go with the paler and more subdued "Sea Wolf" fisherman clan, or heat things up with the rock-and-fire influenced "Hellsguard" clan. Information on all of the races and clans is now available on Square Enix's website. Unfortunately for Final Fantasy fans, we looked through the whole list of clans, and not a single one of the races lets you become a Sith Warrior. Sure, the Miqo'te Seekers of the Sun look cute and all, but is their one stated goal to kill Jedi? No? Pass, then, sorry. [via Massively] %Gallery-89790%
BioWare on developing the Dark Side of SWTOR
Would you like to know more about BioWare's lengthy effort of creating the dark side classes in Star Wars: The Old Republic? Well, of course you would! We mean, who wouldn't really? Well, probably Jedi, but nobody really listens to those guys anyhow. Except maybe for angst-ridden youth who've just recently discovered their father is a dark lord of the Sith. Oh, wait, nevermind. In this video glimpse into the game's development, we're treated to some insight on the Sith Warrior and Inquisitor's overall design. BioWare details their thought process behind the various aspects of each class, including lightsaber hilt styles, armor styles and of course overall story focus within the game. Our collective jaws were on the floor during the shots of all the concept art for Sith armor. Players definitely won't find Star Wars: The Old Republic to be a game lacking in depth and breadth of loot. Check out the full video after the break.
The balance of force in Star Wars: the Old Republic
It might be a slight exaggeration to say that everyone in the world is looking forward to Star Wars: the Old Republic... but only slight. With the latest class reveal, the Imperial Agent is poised to give an excellent sneak-and-snipe playstyle to the Sith side of the game. All well and good... but as Kill Ten Rats notes, how is this game going to get any PvP balance? To the best of everyone's knowledge there's no equivalent ability in the Smuggler's arsenal, the Republic's counterpoint to the Agent, and it's not much of a matchup when one side is invisible and the other side isn't. Overly Positive recently made a few observations regarding the class balance, noting that BioWare seems to be taking an approach a la Warhammer Online -- each class has a loose equivalent on the other side, but they don't result in being direct copies of one another. However, the downside to this approach is that you can easily wind up with one side's class being overpowered in relation to the other. Direct equivalencies leech some of the flavor, but they ensure that the game remains perfectly balanced for both factions. It's a question worth considering and keeping an eye on as the game moves through development -- after all, if a Jedi and a Sith Warrior can't face off in fair combat, it'll be a sad day for many players.
Embracing the Sith in Star Wars: The Old Republic
Everyone is worried about the Jedi player population when it comes to Star Wars: The Old Republic, but the Sith are in every way a likely -- if not moreso -- threat. With franchise analogs like Vader and Maul, there's going to be a lot of people auto-running around the game to the tune of Imperial March.Even BioWare seems to think the Sith are kind of a big deal in this new developer blog promoting the greatness of embracing the darkness within us all. We're not even exaggerating in this case, the blog really does go on for quite some time about how awesome dark Jedi are -- so don't be too shocked when legions of Sith roam the battlefield looking for Republic blood.
SWTOR's Sith Warrior detailed, cataloged
Gamescom provided us with plenty of information on the newly revealed Sith Warrior class for Star Wars: The Old Republic. So much is already known, making the newly revealed official web page feel like a safe place to keep all that information rather than a source of geeky revelation.We're nothing if not persistent in our quest to discover curious new things, and such is what we found in the concept art on the Sith Warrior's Holonet entry. BioWare seems to be outdoing themselves when it comes to designing various lightsaber hilts for the unscrupulous Sith. Additionally, reading the overview text for the class reveals two storylines: One where your character aligns themselves with the recently formed Dark Council, and the other a path of the renegade seeking their own goals.Watching the short videos cemented it for us, most likely. BioWare will be hard pressed to show us another Empire class that warrants a significant chunk of our time. Then again, with PAX just one week away, they may just do that.%Gallery-35034%%Gallery-35033%
