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Star Wars: The Old Republic gears up for Revan and new collections
Revan is kind of a big deal in Star Wars: The Old Republic. As in the past, the team behind the game has already started posting lore pieces about the upcoming expansion, Shadow of Revan, and those pieces are equally clear about what a big deal he is. The latest official entry is a look at the Revanites, a group that low-level Sith players likely remember dealing with extensively. There's more going on, and intelligence operations are taking note of far more ornate and subtle activity than the group had previously displayed. If the brief lore tease isn't enough, the game's latest patch has also teased out some new items that should soon be available in the game's store: decorative lightsaber hilts, rotating-barrel blasters, and a new vanity outfit. Check out the full preview to see just how you can prepare to take on Revan's machinations in style.
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR and the transparency dilemma
This past week on The Republic, I talked to prominent community members about transparency and broken promises in regard to Star Wars: The Old Republic. Both Heather from Corellian Run Radio and Redna from Ootinicast agreed that BioWare's community team has communicated too little and too infrequently with the players and has actually driven people away from the game because of that lack of dialogue. Also this past week, former Operative Class Representative Snave interviewed Community Manager Eric Musco, asking why the community team has been so quiet as of late and why it promised to deliver information by the end of September but it didn't. Snave also asked why there hasn't been more transparency from community team, especially when Musco specifically said that one of the things that he wanted from the community team was more transparency. Snave accused Musco of speaking out of both sides of his mouth when he said that he wanted more transparency but then wouldn't reveal what was going on with the announcement. Compounding recent events was a kerfuffle over the ongoing Cantina Tours. Players became upset when the Cantina Tour date for Las Vegas was moved from November 7th to November 15th, even though back in February, Community Coordinator Courtney Woods posted the planned dates of the Community Cantina Tour with the caveat that they were "subject to change." As a community, SWTOR players don't seem to be happy with or without transparency. The SWTOR community team cannot, as the saying goes, win for losing. What is the solution here? Let's discuss the details and maybe a solution or two.
SWTOR's experience boost enables altaholics, story-lovers
Eagle-eyed gamers probably noticed the "leveling boost" tucked in with Star Wars: The Old Republic's Shadow of Revan pre-order announcement, but just in case you missed it, BioWare wants to make absolutely sure you understand what it entails, and it entails story -- a whole bunch of stories in a short amount of time, in fact. In a new dev blog, the studio is calling the boost a "class leveling event" in which players are effectively "treated to an all-new epic BioWare roleplaying campaign, uninterrupted." The 12.32 multiplier to experience that players pick up by preordering the expansion and subbing up for a month is "enough to play through the game all the way to level 55 playing only epic story missions," meaning that you can play through the class stories with no quest grind in between. Skill training is free during the promotion too. But you'll have to move quickly; the promo ends on December 1st. I've already lost two writers and three guildies to the leveling frenzy. Jef thinks he'll be done leveling all eight of his characters in 10 more days. Who'll be next?!
Try out an early discipline builder for Star Wars: The Old Republic
Star Wars: The Old Republic players will have to adjust to a new system of leveling and advancing when the Discipline system goes live with the expansion. But you can start preparing yourself, at least. A prototype Discipline Calculator is now available on Dulfy.net courtesy of swtor_miner; it utilizes data presented during livestreams as a starting point for building a reasonable picture of the trees. As of this writing, the only advanced class available to play with is the Sith Sorcerer, but clicking around on the calculator should at least clarify the structure if not the details for all of the various classes. The calculator will likely be expanded as more data become available; until then, you can play around with what's provided.
The Daily Grind: What little things in MMOs put a smile on your face?
I loaded up Star Wars: The Old Republic for the first time in a while this week, and it seemed like BioWare upgraded its planetary approach cutscenes since the last time I played. Maybe it's just the one on Tatooine, or maybe it's always been that spiffy and I just don't remember it. Either way, it's a nice touch that tickles my Star Wars fancy. What about you, Massively readers? What little things about the last MMO you played put a smile on your face? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Leaderboard: Warlords of Draenor vs. Shadow of Revan
Last time in Leaderboard we pitted this winter's Warlords of Draenor expansion against this fall's Nightmare Tide expansion. This week, let's see how the top dog fares against another highly anticipated MMO content dump, this one bolstered by the worldwide media juggernaut that is Star Wars. How about it, Massively readers? Warlords of Draenor or Shadow of Revan? Vote after the cut! Ever wish that you could put to rest a long-standing MMO debate once and for all? Then welcome to the battle royal of Massively's Leaderboard, where two sides enter the pit o' judgment -- and only one leaves. Vote to make your opinion known, and see whether your choice tops the Leaderboard!
Galactic Starfighter's going to be less grindy after SWTOR's 3.0 update
Star Wars: The Old Republic continues to make headlines, this time as a result of some changes slated for Galactic Starfighter in the 3.0 patch. The game's space PvP component isn't getting any new maps or ships, but the requisition reward curve is "getting a permanent boost," according to BioWare designer Alex Modny. Modny says BioWare's going this route because of data that shows "new and moderate" GSF players having difficulty matching up against veteran pilots. You can read more about the changes on the SWTOR forums.
SWTOR: Shadow of Revan will include new class missions
Butting heads with famous Revan and his cronies is one thing, but will the new Star Wars: The Old Republic expansion allow our characters to continue their individual class stories? BioWare Community Manager Eric Musco confirmed on the forums that, yes, every class will get a single new mission with Shadow of Revan: "Each player class will be given one unique class story mission as part of the storyline; these are entirely different from one another," Musco wrote. SWTOR: Shadow of Revan was officially announced yesterday with a December 9th release date.
Hyperspace Beacon: Eight quests you should play before SWTOR's Revan expansion
The next expansion for Star Wars: The Old Republic is coming in December, and any BioWare fan already knows the primary antagonist: Revan. Revan has been BioWare's focal Star Wars character since its first Star Wars game, Knights of the Old Republic. SWTOR even features Revan in multiple questlines. I could recommend that you read Drew Karpyshyn's book Revan, but there are plenty of ways to get Revan's story in-game. In fact, there are eight different questlines that you should run if you want to get caught up, and more importantly, if you want to prepare yourself for the next expansion. If you have been living under a rock for the last three years, be forewarned that this article will contain spoilers for you.
SWTOR's Shadow of Revan expansion arrives December 9th, nukes skill trees
After a brief delay and much speculation, BioWare has officially revealed Star Wars: The Old Republic's next digital expansion, and it will indeed be called Shadow of Revan. A tweet from the official account names the title and promises a new level cap of 60 and a launch just in time for Christmas on December 9th. BioWare's press release previews two new planets (Rishi and Yavin 4), four hard mode flashpoints, two "role-neutral" flashpoints, two level 60 operations, and a mission storyline that will unite Republic and Empire to fight Revan's army. Players who pre-order the expansion (19.99 USD) receive a limited time leveling boost, early access to SoR, and free access to TOR's first expansion, Rise of the Hutt Cartel, which was granted to all subscribers last year. Most intriguing is the addition of disciplines, a hefty class overhaul that will delete skill trees from the game. "No longer are you forced to purchase skills that are, in essence, necessary for your character to function; you simply get them automatically as you level up and progress down what we call the Discipline Path," says a new dev blog covering the 3.0 overhaul. "Much like the old Skill Trees, each path is made up of active abilities, passive abilities, and a new type of progression concept called a utility selection." We've included the announcement trailer below, complete with the requisite ominous Star Wars music.
BioWare delays SWTOR's Revan expansion reveal
Dulfy.net has collected BioWare forum statements to confirm that Star Wars: The Old Republic's upcoming expansion announcement has been delayed. The studio had originally slated the reveal for September, but it's been delayed by "a couple of weeks." Community Manager Eric Musco advised players not to read too deeply into the delay because "the delay of announcement has no effect on the expansion schedule": "In short, the process we go through internally to announce something as big as an expansion is actually quite complex and extensive. Although you are correct in that the end process may be a video, a landing page with some copy, etc. the process to get there requires a large amount of moving parts across multiple teams. Aside from just the assets and webpages there is arguably one of the most important aspects of these types of announcements, the game! "By the time we announce we have to have a concrete idea of what will be coming in the game with the expansion, what types of perks we might give our subscribers, etc. Unfortunately with so many moving parts, we can sometimes run into the scenario like we did today. If we are not 100% confident in what we are going to put out, for a multitude of possible reasons, it can lead to a delay of announcement." Forumgoers suggested the expansion will be titled "Shadow of Revan," "Spawn of Revan" or "Shroud of Revan"; dataminers have carved "Shadow of Revan" in stone. Musco reiterated BioWare's "commitment [to] launching it this year."
Hyperspace Beacon: Exploits and SWTOR_Miner
Over the last couple of years, the Star Wars: The Old Republic community has changed. I believe it's matured. We changed from a community that wants everything yesterday to one that understands timetables but is still very interested in what's coming next. When we hear about the next storyline, we want to see how that's going to fit with everything that came before. Originally, I wanted to talk to the king of predicting the future of the game, SWTOR_Miner, about where the game is headed and what hidden secrets are in the client files. However, last week something happened that redirected my thinking. Late last Monday night, Miner posted on Twitter, "Just got word that @SWTOR is cutting ties with fan sites that have dealings with me. Guess I won't be coming in from the cold." Of course, the whole community went bug-eyed, wondering what exactly had happened. So when I sat down to talk to SWTOR_Miner, the only thing I wanted to talk about was what's going on?
Forumgoers speculate on the name of SWTOR's next expansion
Forum poster Jerba explored the files posted on the official teaser page for the next Star Wars: The Old Republic expansion... and may just have stumbled on its name. Without any datamining or any breach of EULA, he found three files with the initials SOR in the filenames (SORTeaser_854x480.jpg, SORTeaser_550x120.jpg, and gt_sor_FINAL_US.mp4). Forumgoers speculate that it stands for "Shadow of Revan," although some runners up are "Spawn of Revan" or "Shroud of Revan." Unfortunately, BioWare is not commenting on the name just yet, but that gives players room to continue speculating. Maybe it's "Same Old Revan" or "So, Obviously Revan." Look for more information regarding the new expansion later this month.
This video reveals part of SWTOR's new expansion
Be careful watching this video because there are huge spoilers about the Forge Alliance series of flashpoints. However, if you have played all the flashpoints, then you will not be surprised that the star of the next Star Wars: The Old Republic expansion is someone we've seen before. Writer Charles Boyd and Community Manager Eric Musco blasted through the Rakata flashpoint in a live stream today, then premiered the video for "A Deadly Force Returns," which is hopefully not the name for its next expansion. However, it does make for a great teaser. You can catch the full 22 seconds of it after the break.
One Shots: Avian servitude
Birds? I don't hate them, but I don't trust them either. Anything that can travel passportless with impunity is something to be wary of, especially if it has access to flight without clearing it with the FAA. And ever since the bird flu scare, I'm quite sure that our feathered "friends" are out to eradicate our entire race. That said, I'm happy for reader Bill because he's finally putting birds where they belong: under us in full service of their land-masters. "Luck has found me again on RIFT patch day when this 'Lovely Budgie" popped out of a box. I can't help but think there is evil hidden beneath pink feathers and those big black eyes!" Bill wrote. Oh, but there is evil, Bill. No doubt about it. Hopefully the rest of this week's player-submitted screenshots will not reek of foul intent the way that this cute birdie does.
Full SWTOR expansion information coming this month
If you're like many other players of Star War: The Old Republic, then you've been wondering and waiting to hear what the fabled next expansion is supposed entail. Producer Bruce Maclean told forumgoers earlier this week that they will have to wait only until the end of the month, explaining that the team didn't want to give away any content spoilers. Now that the gurrcat is out of the bag with Update 2.10, information about 3.0 is right around the corner. Maclean wrote today, "We're letting folks have a little time with Rakata Prime and then spilling the beans on 3.0. Look for a teaser within a week, and then a full announce before the end of [the] month!" We're guessing the Rakata Prime flashpoint has more than a little to do with it...
Star Wars: The Old Republic launches the Legacy of the Rakata
The Rakata are kind of a big deal in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Their influence is everywhere in both the leveling game and in the overall lore, and finding out what their deal is kind of trumps other priorities of the week. So the new Legacy of the Rakata flashpoint that's just been added to the game should be of particular interest to lore hounds, as well as anyone looking to the completion of the game's Forged Alliances storyline. The flashpoint sees players exploring the ruins of Rakata Prime, learning more about the Star Forge with Agent Theron Shan and Lord Lana Beniko, and exploring the ruins with smuggler Jakarro. It's a tactical flashpoint, as well, which makes it that much easier for players to explore and discover more of the story while leading into the next major expansion storyline. If you're interested in seeing what the Rakata left behind, you can log in now and try the flashpoint out.
Hyperspace Beacon: Five tips for making SWTOR conquests work for smaller guilds
In my last column, I explained the shortcomings of the conquest system in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Despite the issues I have with the system, I still think it's a great way to encourage players to revisit older content, and most importantly, to build guild unity. I know there are some guilds on my server in which members don't even have to participate at all in conquests for that guild to appear on the top ten. But what about those guilds who don't have hundreds of members? What about those guilds who have maybe 20 or so members? Can they even compete? My guild has about 20 people who log in on raid nights; when the raid is done, maybe five or six will stick around. Now, I'm not saying that this is a healthy state for a guild (we are looking for more members!), but the few dedicated members pulled us ahead. For the last two weeks, our guild was in the top 10, and not barely in the top 10 either. This week we hit number seven, and the week before we were six. Here are my tips for how your small guild can get ahead in conquests, too.
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR conquests are good but not there yet
I'm writing this late on Sunday night, and I have some disappointing news: My Star Wars: The Old Republic guild did not make the top 10 on the planet we were attempting to conquer. It's partly my fault; I happened to choose the planet that would be the most hotly contested. Who knew that other guilds would flock to Makeb when conquests went live? It wasn't all bad. In fact, I'd say that SWTOR kind of pulled our guild together a bit. We participated in content we hadn't done in a long time. It was a rallying cry for us: "Hey, look, this stuff is fun, and you can still have fun doing it." On top of that, it's reintroduced the idea that open-world PvP is possible. But with all the good that it's done -- player housing, guild housing, and open-world PvP -- there are somethings that have fallen short of what it could be. I think the best way to explain is to tell you about my week.
SWTOR's Galactic Strongholds expansion is live
Early access to Star Wars: The Old Republic's Galactic Strongholds expansion is now live for subscribers. BioWare Producer Jack Wood welcomed players to SWTOR's third expansion with a lengthy developer blog about the studio's goals in this housing-centric update, boasting that it offers "something for everyone," whether you want to "sit back and relax in your personal stronghold," establish a guild base, participate in conquest leaderboard content, or take on the new tactical flashpoint, Depths of Manaan. We've included a brand-new guild flagship launch trailer below.
