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Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR's Dread War, part 2
This past week, I finished up exploring all aspects of the new Star Wars: The Old Republic patch save for the final showdown between my guild and the Dread Council. If you have been following my livestreams, then you'll know that we should finish that up on Wednesday. In this column, I've covered everything from the history of how the Dread Masters arrived at this point to the first offensive on the moon of Oricon to the first phase of the attack on the Dread Masters' fortress. Overall, it's been exciting. BioWare concluded this chapter in SWTOR history with as much flare as it started it two years ago. In the final confrontation between the player and the Dread Masters, we understand more about the characters of the Dread Masters and their motivation to conquer the known galaxy. We've already confronted Dread Master Styrak in the Scum and Villainy operation and Dread Master Brontes in the Dread Fortress operation from last week. Dread Masters Bestia, Tyrans, Calphayus, and Raptus remain. And that's who we will study this week.
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR's Dread War, part 1
When I freed the Dread Masters on the prison world of Belsavis, little did I know that a year and a half after the launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic, I would not only be fighting against these amazing foes but trying to destroy them. As I mentioned the last couple of weeks, the Empire and the Republic found the secret base of the Dread Masters on the planet Oricon, where they have been hiding and experimenting on the local fauna while amassing their subjugated army. Eventually, a strike team will have to invade the Dread Master's fortress, and in the two new operations of Update 2.4: The Dread War, you will get to do just that. Although I'm still not sure where this falls on the fun scale when compared to other SWTOR operations, I can tell you that it is challenging and exciting. I'll break it down for you, and if you hadn't guessed already, there will be spoilers. That said, I will limit the story-related ones.
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR's Oricon daily adventures
If you missed last week's overview of the Oricon storyline and the history leading up to it, then check that out because today we are going to continue on that same theme. I have played through the content on the new daily area of Oricon set to release on October 1st, and I am surprisingly impressed with the storyline. The writing team for Star Wars: The Old Republic has yet to fall short. Despite the smaller production team and the number of people who claim that the game didn't live up to their expectations, BioWare continues to deliver a wonderful and compelling story. And if that is what you're looking for in your MMORPG, then SWTOR is still your game. However, many MMO gamers aren't looking for story, specifically. These gamers want to hear about the mechanics. I can appreciate that. Once the story becomes tired, the mechanics of a questline are going to be what holds a player to the game. How does the new questlines on Oricon stack up? That's a good question. I'd usually judge quests on the environment, challenge, flow, and overall immersion. But since these quests are supposed to be done on a regular basis (thus the name dailies), that means there has to be a repeatability factor. Let's examine these categories.
Hyperspace Beacon: Exploring Oricon in SWTOR (Exploricon?)
Star Wars: The Old Republic announced a few weeks back that Update 2.4: Dread War would introduce players to not only arena PvP but also two new operations and a daily quest area by way of the planet Oricon. The next update has been sitting on the public test server for a bit over a week now, but unfortunately thanks to lag issues, I've barely been able to spend any time there. But now most of the lag seems to have disappeared, and I can give you my take on the new daily area and the story that goes along with it. Warning: I will spoil a lot of the story that leads up to Oricon!
Hyperspace Beacon Extra: SWTOR's expansion 'refunds'
On Thursday, BioWare gave all Star Wars: The Old Republic subscribers the Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion for free. From that moment forward, if you subscribe to Star Wars: The Old Republic, you can level to 55 as well as participate in Makeb planetary content and endgame content like operations Terror from Beyond and Scum and Villainy. By doing this, BioWare increased the value of its subscription, which it has been struggling to do all this year. Disgruntled subscribers will be happy about paying their $15 a month, right? Well, not exactly... As expected, most subscribers already own Rise of the Hutt Cartel. In fact, the most loyal players pre-ordered the expansion early this year and have been paying a subscription for the full six months prior to the expansion's being given away. BioWare also announced that the subscribers who bought the expansion within the last month will receive 1050 Cartel Coins, credits to the in-game cash shop equal in value to the price of the expansion -- kind of like a refund. This seems to be a reasonable compromise, right? So why are players split on the issue? Why do some players believe that this a perfectly reasonable compromise while others are readying their hatchets and pitchforks? I think it is directly related to how players define the game. Is SWTOR a product or a service?
Hyperspace Beacon: Five reasons to love SWTOR's Bounty Contract Week
If you missed the first Bounty Contract Week for Star Wars: The Old Republic, never fear because it's on its way here again -- today, in fact. I didn't really talk about this event when it first came out because I was too busy talking about the free-to-play experiment, and frankly, I thought the event was pretty straightforward fun and didn't need too much explanation. That was before I spent a week actually participating in the Bounty Contract event. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I actually enjoyed the new content. The basic premise for this SWTOR event centers around the Bounty Brokers Association. This organization, totally made up by BioWare, is overrun with the number contracts that it needs fulfilled and is willing to pay anyone for completing the bounties. (To be fair, that's not too much different than a normal bounty contract, but let's just run with it.) Participants can complete one standard contract and one kingpin contract a day per character level 15 or higher. Players travel to one of eight planets (two Republic-only planets, two Empire-only planets, and four shared planets), hunting down eight different henchmen and eight different kingpins. Players earn credits, experience, reputation, achievements, and titles. Let me give you my top five reasons for loving Bounty Contract Week.
Hyperspace Beacon: The final SWTOR free-to-play experiment... for now
After several months of playing Star Wars: The Old Republic on a free account, I think it's time to put this experiment to a rest. Some players have been able to conquer the grind that is a brand-new free character. I am not one of those determined individuals. However, if you've been following me in this little experiment, then you know that I have met a couple of people who have been able to persist through the free-to-play version of SWTOR. For the sake of understanding, I would like to reiterate my hypothesis: A player can get what he wants out of SWTOR effectively without paying any real money but instead by using the GTN and other in-game means to buy items from the Cartel Market. But as we know with every experiment, the hypothesis gives the experimenter a goal. Right or wrong, I wanted to see the experiment to the end. As it turns out, my hypothesis was not completely right, nor was it completely wrong. I discovered that if I wanted to "win" at SWTOR's free-to-play, I could not approach it as I would a game that I bought off a store shelf and just started playing.
Hyperspace Beacon: Winning at SWTOR's free-to-play
Disclaimer: This guide is not for everyone. If you already have a preconceived notion that the free-to-play model in Star Wars: The Old Republic does not work and that you will never play it, then this guide won't be of much use to you. If you feel that free-to-play players deserve the same benefits and ease of gameplay that subscribers do, then this guide is not for you either. And lastly, if you do not have a lot of time to dedicate to one MMO, then SWTOR's F2P model will not work for you. I have been skeptical of SWTOR's F2P model myself. I continue to despise the leveling process when a player has to start from scratch at level 1 and then attempt to level up a brand-new free character. However, I have a guildie who had existing characters at max level when he quit playing many months back. He recently returned to the game as a preferred member, and in the two months since his return, he has every unlock and about 3 million credits not in escrow, and he PvPs without buying a weekly pass with Cartel Coins. When I asked him how he did it, he jokingly replied, "Masochism." But then when he realized that I was seriously curious, he began to break down some of his methods and why they work for him.
Hyperspace Beacon: Six misconceptions about SWTOR free-to-play
I am not an apologist for the Star Wars: The Old Republic free-to-play model, but many people (mostly those who have not seen it in action) make it out to be something that it's not. But before I begin breaking down those misconceptions, I would like to talk about some cold hard facts. For Instance, completely free players do have a significant experience point penalty, so much so that I could not finish grinding my way to level 50 in my free-to-play experiment. It was a bust on that front. I believe that BioWare needs to work on changing that portion of SWTOR. However, the game changes when you hit maximum level; at that point, the free-to-play model becomes unlike any other F2P model I've ever seen. In my guild, we have a couple of players who no longer pay for the game through a subscription. Most are raiders who do nothing but raid or roleplayers who are just interested in telling their characters' stories within the MMO. However, there is one member of my guild who I believe has truly beaten the free-to-play model. Surprisingly, he has spent nothing on the game since coming back a little more than a month ago. He has everything unlocked, a stockpile of bonuses and weekly passes, and about three million credits sitting in his bank that he can actually use despite the escrow limitation. During the next couple of editions of my free-to-play experiment, I will focus on his experience. But first, let's debunk some misconceptions about F2P.
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR Czerka dailies, the F2P experiment, and sitting in chairs
Commenters and followers of my work have asked about multiple things over the last couple of weeks. When are you going to finish the free-to-play experiment? Are you going to do a monetary breakdown of the new Star Wars: The Old Republic daily zone? What do you think about the sitting-in-chairs news revealed at the cantina tour? The unfortunate bit about all of those questions is that the answers are far too short to make up their own article and far too long to answer on Twitter. So I've decided to answer all of these questions in one hodgepodge of an article that I'm calling nuna nuggets.
Hyperspace Beacon: Five quick and dirty tips for SWTOR update 2.3
This morning, the third major installment to Star Wars: The Old Republic since Rise of the Hutt Cartel hit the servers. BioWare calls Update 2.3 Titans of Industry; I call it Czerka, Czerka, Czerka. I've been on and off test center for the last few weeks, checking out not only the latest zone planet CZ-198 but also the Bounty Contract Week, and I figured that since you guys will likely be jumping right into this new content, I will give you a few tips of my own to help you better succeed in this new venture. Disclaimer: These quick and dirty tips are not endorsed by Czerka Corporation, the Galactic Republic, the Sith Empire, or their affiliates. The Hutt Cartel might endorse these tips, but seriously, when have you known Hutts not to be quick and dirty -- well, at least, dirty?
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR PvP solutions
I will freely admit that I do not have all the answers. I also admit that I believe that BioWare is trying to change the face of PvP in Star Wars: The Old Republic. But I think it's safe to say that the vast majority of the efforts so far have failed to the point that I said it would be more worthwhile for the PvP team to just stop in its tracks. PvP needs a fundamental refocus almost from the ground up. If the team continues to build on the currently shoddy foundation, the whole game will fall under its own weight. Last week, I talked about some of these foundational issues, but I don't like presenting a problem without also representing possible solutions. But first, let's get an understanding of what players are looking for. I could present the things that I personally want, but that will help only those who play SWTOR for the same reasons I do. We wouldn't have 500,000-plus players in the game if everyone thought the same as I do. So let's take a quick look at player motivation before diving into the solutions.
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR PvP rant 2013
I will not pretend that I see the whole picture. All I can see is the situation presented to me. And from my perspective, PvP in Star Wars: The Old Republic is broken. This decision doesn't come lightly. I don't believe that I'm making a hyperbolic statement, either. The flaws within SWTOR PvP exceed and trample on the positive parts of the PvP game. Despite being one of the most balanced and fun parts of the game in December of 2011, changes to the system have caused this part of the game to become less and less fun over time. What happened? If PvP used to be enjoyable and now it's just a drag, what changed? The unfortunate answer to that question isn't a simple one. We can't point to one action or one flaw that broke the system that everyone used to enjoy. I went so far as to say that the team at BioWare needs to stop working on PvP because it's taking the team away from expanding on the things that actually work. In fact, PvP changes ruined high-end PvE for some classes like Shadow/Assassin tanks. From my perspective, the team working on PvP is focused on the wrong aspects of the game. I will break it down the best I can.
Hyperspace Beacon: Celebrating new SWTOR content
It's pretty crazy to think that BioWare's first foray into the Star Wars Universe, Knights of the Old Republic, turns 10 years old this week. For me, it doesn't seem that long ago that the game came out. Although I have trouble going back to play the game now (it's not aged well), I still appreciate what that game did to change a genre. At the time, the biggest story-driven RPGs tended to be JRPGs like the Final Fantasy series. Although Bethseda did a bang-up job with Morrowind, Knights of the Old Republic captured its audience by weaving in an amazing story with classic table-top style RPG elements. Happy birthday, KOTOR! To celebrate the tenth anniversary of KOTOR's release, BioWare gave every subscriber 500 Cartel Coins to spend any way he or she would like. And for a limited time, subscribers can buy the title Revan's Heir from the Cartel Market for 10 Cartel Coins, about 10 cents in US currency. But really this is small protatoes* compared to the new content coming out in Update 2.3, which includes Bounty Contract week, two new flashpoints, and a new daily area. With the recent update to the public test server, I was able to take my level 55 Assassin on a trip through the planet of CZ-198 (the daily area) to get a sense for what it's like to visit this Czerka-controlled world. Let me tell you that story. *protato -- a protein-enhanced synthetic vegetable, orange with no eye spots on the surface. Not to be confused with potatoes, which are vegetables shaped like Kessel that make Duros sick.
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR mid-term report card
It's history lesson time. In 1996, Dr. Richard Bartle, who earned his PhD in artificial intelligence from the University of Essex, wrote a paper analyzing the different types of gamers who play massively multiplayer games. At the time, these games mostly consisted of MUDs (a genre Bartle helped create), but there were certainly enough data from Bartle's study that could be ported over to MMORPGs, which is exactly what Erwin Andreasen and Brandon Downey did in 1999 and 2000 when they created the Bartle Test. Since then, the Bartle Test, which breaks up online gamers into four general categories (achiever, explorer, killer, and socializer), has been used as a standard in discovering which online games players would enjoy most. Why bring this up? Well, we are about six months into the second year of Star Wars: The Old Republic. The first year was fraught with high expectations and slow delivery. Many failed attempts at greatness made the first year of SWTOR a bit of a downer. However, in this second year, in light of the ever-changing market of MMORPGs, the Star Wars MMO took steps to put itself on a better path. Using the Bartle Test as my litmus test, I will break down and grade this year's performance so far.
Hyperspace Beacon: Breaking SWTOR canon one Ewok at a time
Well, BioWare's done it. It dismantled Star Wars canon with one small fuzzy teddy bear. Perhaps that's an exaggeration, but when Star Wars: The Old Republic releases update 2.3, it introduces players to a new possible companion: Treek, the Ewok. That's right: the Ewok. It makes my soul hurt; my inner canon-lawyer is screaming. I don't want to admit that the developers were out of their minds when they created this creature, but they probably were. Maybe this is a call-out to the five year old child in all of us who actually enjoyed watching stuffed animals beat the crap out of Stormtroopers. OK, let's give this furball a chance; maybe she's actually awesome. Let's take a moment to examine her abilities. We can tackle that canon thing later. Players constantly complain about not having enough companions, plus Treek represents some new story content. It's about time that we received new content that doesn't require a Cartel Market purchase.
Hyperspace Beacon: Why I roleplay in Star Wars: The Old Republic
"There is a diabolical twist to Star Wars fandom, you see, that defies comprehension and yet is the life-blood of all Star Wars fans. It is this: Star Wars fans hate Star Wars." That singular truth was originally penned in a JIVEmagazine essay titled The Complete and Terrifying Reality of Star Wars fandom. Unfortunately, the essay no longer exists on the internet. Don't click on the link; I just wanted to credit the original author. That link is quite dead. The essay goes on to explain that the true Star Wars fan does not actually like the core aspects of the franchise. From the stiff and forced script of the prequels to the whiny mouth of Luke Skywalker, a "true" Star Wars fan hates all of it. Even the cuddly Ewoks and comical Jar Jar Binks don't escape our nerdy wrath. I can't even pretend that I have all the answers, but I believe the same compulsion that drives Star Wars fans back to each and every movie and convention despite the primary principles that he or she finds wrong with the franchise is the same compulsion that drives a Star Wars: The Old Republic player back to the game. Just read some of my past Hyperspace Beacons; you don't have to step back far to find an article where I extensively berate the development decisions. Yet here I am still playing nearly every day since day one.
Hyperspace Beacon: The roleplayer's guide to SWTOR event planning
Amidst the critiques and patch reviews, the reasons I stick with Star Wars: The Old Republic sometimes get lost in the shuffle. Despite being irritated by the way BioWare handled specific parts of this Star Wars MMORPG, I still find the setting and the storytelling to be superb. These interwoven tales of adventure and chaos provide an incredible platform for my favorite thing to do in an MMO: roleplay. I've covered several topics about roleplay in this column. From breaking into the community to an RP wishlist to resolving RP-related conflicts, I've might have covered everything except for one of the most basic of roleplay elements: How do you host a roleplay event in SWTOR? Although Star Wars: The Old Republic varies in its presentation and tools, the types of events you can throw are pretty similar to the ones you can throw in any other MMOs. The tiny details vary, but the three basic type of events can be narrowed down to social, PvE, and PvP.
Hyperspace Beacon: The summer of SWTOR
Every time I listen to the BioWare developers talk about Star Wars: The Old Republic, I am impressed with how passionate they are about the game. When Producer Bruce Maclean, Executive Producer Jeff Hickman, and Community Manager Eric Musco spoke to us yesterday, they sat on the edge of their seats because of how excited they were about telling us about the next updates coming to their game. Despite the game being a year and a half old, these three appeared to be riding the same hype-train the game launched with. Although these three BioWare employees suggested that the majority of the conversation on the livestream would feature discussion about Game Update 2.2, they ended up highlighting features and events taking place beyond the next patch. The questions they answered, filtered from the forum, Twitter, Facebook and the chatroom, jumped all over the place, but I believe they can be narrowed down to three major categories of concern: events, PvP changes, and the valued subscriber.
Hyperspace Beacon: The SWTOR F2P experiment, flashpoints edition
I am beginning to wonder whether I just don't like the leveling process in Star Wars: The Old Republic anymore. In Mike B's video The 12 days of Smack Talkin', Darnell called all the extra NPC talking "98 minutes of unnecessary commentary." The story definitely had an impact on me the first time I ran through it, but this was the third time I've run through the Balmorran storyline on the Republic side, and truth be told, I was never a huge fan of it. This time, on my free-to-play character, it was definitely 98 minutes of unnecessary commentary. Of course, once I started the featured adventure through the tremendous story that was bugtown, I had to find a way around that compositional trainwreck. My character is a Smuggler, not an exterminator. Mind you, I've yet to actually smuggle anything, but that's beside the point! I figured the best way around that insect hole was to level through flashpoints. To my surprise, it actually worked.
