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Jedi Knight officially steps into The Old Republic spotlight
Rumors and speculation have been floating around this week about the Jedi Knight, so no big surprise when BioWare reveals that, yes, Knights of the Jedi persuasion are in fact a player class in Star Wars: The Old Republic. The news comes with all the expected class page accoutrements such as screens, concept art and a few videos showing off three Jedi Knight attacks. It's all standard practice information release at this point, which only slightly dilutes the excitement of the announcement. The videos all show the proper level of Jedi powerhousing that you'd expect, although we're not entirely cool with all the droid destroying that's happening. Sure, we're aware that unlike Sith, Jedi are limited to disabling droids and pushing things around but that's no excuse to pick on the little helpless mechanical people. Yes, we said people -- robots are people too! In all seriousness, this is probably the class reveal everyone has been waiting for and/or expecting all along. Jedi and Sith were a given, so from here on out it's almost entirely anyone's guess. Spy? Rogue? Droids? Wookiees? Albino Ewoks? Okay, that's a little silly, nobody wants to play a rogue over a spy.%Gallery-35034%%Gallery-35033%
The Old Republic timeline video chronicles heroic last stand at The Battle of Bothawui
One of the things we like about the lead up to the Star Wars: The Old Republic launch is BioWare's series of timeline videos that explains the political and military background of the upcoming MMO. The fifth holorecord from the Jedi Archive is The Battle of Bothawui which recounts a major Republic victory against the Sith. It also chronicles the last stand of a heroic group of Jedi knights and Republic troopers, who became martyrs in the struggle against the Sith Empire. If you're following along with the lore of Star Wars: The Old Republic you'll want to watch "The Battle of Bothawui" on the game's official site.
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.
Latest lore update for The Old Republic chronicles shadowy Imperial spies
A few of us on the Massively team are fans of the Lance Henriksen-narrated lore updates for Star Wars: The Old Republic that explain the MMO's timeline in video. The guy was Bishop, after all! So far these videos have given us a good idea of the game's backstory and have dropped some clues as to what we may see in the title. One of the more recent episodes was Return of the Mandalorians which focused on the independent warrior nomads who rose to challenge even the Jedi. While they aren't evil, war is their way of life and they thirst for conquest. According to the latest timeline update, "The Empire Changes Strategy", the Mandalorians had some help along the way from the Imperial spies who orchestrated their ascent to power. Henriksen narrates a tale of Imperial intelligence operatives pulling strings from the shadows for their Sith masters, and of the rise and fall of Mandalore himself. We think this continuation of the Star Wars: The Old Republic story is worth a look, and you can find it on the game's official site.
Impressive: Star Wars: The Old Republic's Sith Warrior class detailed
If pale white skin and sulking over lost love sounds like your cup of tea, then you'll likely identify with the Sith Warrior class in upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic. It's the latest class to be revealed, one that "channels the destructive emotions of fear, anger, and hatred to purge weakness from body and mind and become a being of pure, brutal efficiency." Yes, but can he also make julienne fries? Hit up the gallery below for a look at some different Sith doing what they do best: killing Jedis. And if that's not enough for you, head past the break for some short snippets of gameplay showing off a few of the Sith Warrior's moves. %Gallery-71239%
Sith Warrior officially the next SWTOR class
While not entirely unexpected -- especially since it was playable, but unnamed, at this year's E3 -- Star Wars: The Old Republic's Sith Warrior class has now been officially revealed and discussed by BioWare. We're expecting an official class page by Friday, but for now this Gamespot interview from GamesCom will have to sate our curiosity.It'll come as no surprise that in their effort to emulate classic iconic movie characters, BioWare has decided to make the Sith Warrior a physically aggressive front line fighter who dons somewhat heavy armor. So, if your aspiration as a little boy or girl was to grow up and become just like Darth Vader, here's your chance.Interestingly, while abilities such as Force Choke will be present in the Sith Warrior's skill set, the class leans between pure offense or a balanced defensive-offensive build. With such an emphasis on nitty gritty physical combat, many are starting to wonder if another Sith class will represent something akin to Emperor Palpatine, a heavy force user. We think there's a good chance that may happen, although it's all speculation until the actual reveal.
What are SWTOR's three final classes?
Looking at the official Star Wars: The Old Republic class page reveals four slots on both factions, with three total filled thus far. Of course, you'll notice that Jedi and Sith aren't shown here, but it's a forgone conclusion that they'll be filled sooner or later. While nobody but BioWare can be sure what the final classes actually, half the fun is trying to figure them out before they're announced.So with that said, it's time to take a few educated guess stabs at potential classes, and formulate our wish lists. I'm sure you've all got ones of your own as well, so feel free to share!
What are SWTOR's three final classes? part 2
Also, unlike the blaster-for-hire that is a Bounty Hunter, this class would be a loyal member of the Sith Empire, meaning they would know when and how to show discretion. This hypothetical Sith "Agent" class would answer directly to Sith Empire superior officers. Finally, an agent/assassin class offers the opportunity for BioWare to supply frothing HK-47 fans with the ability to play a hunter killer droid.
The Old Republic's free online comic Threat of Peace begins act two
Well that didn't take very long. The second act for Star Wars: The Old Republic's Threat of Peace is now live over at the official BioWare site and it starts off with a classically delicious Jedi vs Sith fight. The comic is still adhering to the four pages per installation approach but at least this week they're really good pages. You can never really go wrong with lightsabers and a battle.Ever since the series first began several weeks ago we've noticed that forcing the creators into four pages sometimes caused odd panel transitions. That doesn't seem to be the case here, as the story is well conveyed from start to finish. It seems like the writer and artist are finally figuring what works in this small space, so it should be interesting to see how act two develops over time.
Mandalorians smack down the Jedi in SWTOR's new timeline update
One of the most common questions asked regarding Star Wars: The Old Republic and the easily accessible Jedi is, "Who's going to take on an army of Jedi?" We've long since had the answer tucked away here at Massively, but now BioWare has been kind enough to illustrate it for us in their latest timeline update, which features the fearsome Mandalorians.The nomadic Mandalorians are strikingly unique and much like the Jedi and Sith in that sense they're not an actual species; yet war is their singular goal in life. Their mantra is that strength is not merely good, it is great, it brings honor through battle. Thus, it's no surprise that Mandalorians are generally opposed to the Jedi and get along better with the power hungry Sith. At this point, the Republic Trooper's coutnerpart is pretty obvious. That powerful Jedi army doesn't seem so intimidating against legions of Sith, Bounty Hunters and bred-for-war Mandies, now does it?We highly recommend you check out the timeline video. It's not only informative, but quite entertaining if you've got even the slightest amount of interest in Star Wars: The Old Republic.
The Digital Continuum: SWTOR turns up the heat
E3 2009 has come and gone, with it came new information on Star Wars: The Old Republic -- and fresh concerns. To call BioWare ambitious would be an understatement of vast proportions. Every NPC receiving full voice acting ratcheted up my curiosity as much as it did my eyebrows. We may need a new word to describe the depths of this game's ambition.As if the voice acting news wasn't enough, BioWare revealed a cinematic trailer that reminded me how powerful this property can truly be, in the right hands. The excitement was so immediately potent that it caused some people to cry "over-hyped!" in the few short minutes between the trailer's beginning and ending.I think it's time to asses the current situation, and maybe ponder a few things about Star Wars and BioWare.
This is the Star Wars: The Old Republic trailer you're looking for
Bioware released the first cinematic trailer for their Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO, and it's so awesome you might just forget that Jar-Jar Binks ever existed. Bounty hunters, Jedis, lightsabers, blasters, dramatic orchestral soundtracks, and gravelly Sith voices making threatening statements -- if it's from a long time ago and a galaxy far away (and incredibly awesome), you'll find it in this trailer.The trailer itself is called "Deceived," and apparently it's about the Sith Empire's sacking of Coruscant. And that's how it begins -- Sith baddies are invading a Jedi temple, and dispatching the meager forces they find there. But a Jedi temple has some strong defense of its own... and that's where the video gets really good. Bioware has also released information about something called The HoloNet, an ingame database of gameworld history, classes, planets and factions, and they've told us that the game is "fully voiced" -- every character you meet will have audio to share. Head on over to our sister site Massively for more.
Hints of the Smuggler class in new SWTOR timeline update
Who broke the Mandalorian blockade on Coruscant? Why, it was those wily Smugglers, that's who! The Sith weren't expecting the Galactic Republic to find assistance with that particular criminal aspect, but find it they did -- and you can learn all about it through the latest Star Wars: The Old Republic timeline update.Of course, if this second update doesn't just scream, "Smuggler class!" then we're not sure you were paying close enough attention. Then again, BioWare could just be trying to throw us off the trail by making the Smugglers such an obvious component to the back story. The problem is that, either way, you really cany have Star Wars without these guys somewhere in the story. Who knows, maybe they'll be called Scoundrels instead?And of course there's the possibility that Mandalorians will be featured as an Empire class, or at least the new update seems to loosely imply as much. Either way, we should expect some kind of shady character classes to be announced sometime in the near future.
A diversity of worlds in newest The Old Republic developer video
There are already many diverse worlds in Star Wars: The Old Republic, and so it's probably fitting that this newest developer dispatch video is named just that: Diverse Worlds. Tython is the ancient forgotten home of the Jedi, full of forests and mystery. Korriban is similarly the home of the Sith, but its lands are thematically angular, painful, deadly and dry. Hutta is a literal swamp of filth and decay, while Ord Mantell is almost a paradise in some places and yet a living volcanic hell in others.And that's without getting into the story of each world and what choices can be made by the players.With four planets revealed, we've begun to wonder how many more BioWare is keeping close to their chest. It's a big galaxy out there, so we wouldn't be surprised to find that less than half of the game's worlds have been touched upon. To see Star Wars: The Old Republic's developers get all chatty about their work, check out the video in its entirety after the break.
Threat of Peace issue #4, need we say more?
The Sith have strange ways about them; strange but effective means of getting exactly what they want. This is why when Coruscant came under siege by the Sith Empire just as they were beginning peace talks with the Galactic Republic, we had a feeling there was an deeper motive beneath the obvious. It all becomes clear in this week's issue number four of BioWare's Star Wars: The Old Republic webcomic, Threat of Peace.Beyond here things should only get more interesting. We're hoping for a timeline update next week along with issue five, because at four pages a pop the cliffhangers can sometimes be a real pain in our geeky butts.
Bounty Hunter is Sith Empire only and full of choices in latest BioWare dev blog
We know about the basics of the Bounty Hunter class in Star Wars: The Old Republic, but not the finer details of the how and why. That's where BioWare's first developer blog on classes comes into the picture. The focus of the piece is to explain the reasoning behind choices made concerning the Bounty Hunter, and in its mission to do so a little bit more of the game is revealed.For instance, since each class will have its own story and both the Republic and Sith Empire are to have different quest experiences entirely, a character class will only exist on one side. This means that Bounty Hunters are Sith Empire only -- so we hope those who're planning on rolling this class aren't too set on being on printing business cards with "The Republic" on them.What excites us most is the bevy of choices BioWare is attempting to make available to players. "Does your honor come from getting the job done or being a good person? Is your loyalty to your crew, your conscience or your credits?" It's questions like these that perk the ears on our heads. And our hope is that delivery will be made so that our precious time can be ticked away on a galactic battle between forces of good and evil.
Creating Hutta out of thin air for The Old Republic
What's a developer to do when tasked with the creation of a never-before-seen planet in the Star Wars universe?The answer to that question is easy: a lot of hard work. When it comes to places previously featured in movies or games, the creation of a planet -- while not a walk in the park -- isn't too tough. These are places like Korriban or Coruscant where visualization has taken place many times in the past. Then you've got the purposefully polluted Nal Hutta, or Hutta if you like -- home world to those giant slugs with a thing for crime, the Hutts.And because this is such a different task, the most recent dev diary at the Star Wars: The Old Republic official site a very interesting read. We, for one, can't wait to trudge through the grime and muck on a quest for ancient Sith artifacts. BioWare has finally unveiled Star Wars: The Old Republic, their new MMO! Massively's got you covered on all the details. Check out our comprehensive guide on everything we know so far about the game, or just peruse our screenshot/concept art galleries. Join us in the Galaxy far, far away!
New screenshots and concept art of The Old Republic revealed
You don't need to travel to distant worlds, or perform any jedi mind tricks to get more looks into the deep world of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Today's website update provides more concept art, in the form of desktop backgrounds, and screenshots for those hungry for Star Wars information.These screenshots focus on the planets of Korriban and Tython, and much of the action that can take place in those two very different environments. Some of the highlights of these screenshots include the showdown between a Mon Calamari and a traitor outside of a jedi academy and a jedi facing off against a very large, and equally scary, Acklay.Check out the screenshots in the galleries below and see the action for yourself!%Gallery-35033%%Gallery-35036% BioWare has finally unveiled Star Wars: The Old Republic, their new MMO! Massively's got you covered on all the details. Check out our comprehensive guide on everything we know so far about the game, or just peruse our screenshot/concept art galleries. Join us in the Galaxy far, far away!
New screenshots and concept art released for The Old Republic
BioWare sure has been busy with The Old Republic lately, as we can see from an impressive amount of new concept art and screenshots released by the company late yesterday. With eight new images in each category, this reinforces our speculation that this game might just be a little further along than we're led to believe.In the concept art gallery, some samples include a detailed Republic Troop Transport, a Jedi Lightsaber, Sith Blaster Rifles, a Wraid and more. In the screenshots gallery, we see some amazing shots of Droids, Sand of Korriban, a Tython village and more. Check out both galleries linked below with new and old images, and check out BioWare's main site for more information on each piece.%Gallery-35034%%Gallery-35033%
BioWare releases new TOR screenshots, sans oversized lightsabers
In yet another installment of BioWare's visual teasers for their upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic, we get a look at some amazing screenshots depicting more environments, characters and action shots than we've seen previously. Of the environment shots, we get a look inside the main hall of the Sith Academy in one, while another shows the Jedi Enclave on Tython, where many Jedi moved after the destruction of the Jedi temple on Coruscant. A character screenshot shows a detailed look at a Kel Dor, while the action shots show some exciting battles between Jedi, Sith and a Nexu. Check out the TOR screenshot gallery below for all of these new shots, plus the previous gems from last month.%Gallery-35033%
