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Unexpected patch this evening

March 23, 2012 by

Unfortunately your Friday night SWTOR playing time is going to be a little fragmented, with a four hour patch downtime tonight. And no – it’s not the 1.2 update being deployed.

Time conversions:

AEDT: 6pm to 10pm
AWST: 3pm to 7pm
NZDT: 8pm to Midnight

The details from BioWare:

Upcoming Patch

Date: Friday, March 23rd, 2012

Time: 2AM CDT (12AM PDT/3AM EDT/7AM GMT/8AM CET/6PM AEDT) to 6AM CDT (4AM PDT/7AM EDT/11AM GMT/12PM CET/10PM AEDT)

All game servers will be offline during this period. This deployment is expected to take no more than four hours.

Filed Under: Maintenance and Downtime, News

Diplomatic Investigations: Patch 1.2 for Inquisitors and Consulars

March 22, 2012 by

Welcome to our weekly column dedicated to everything Consular and Inquisitor. If you have a suggestion for a topic you’d like covered in this column, drop Tim a line!

This week I want to talk a little about the changes coming in Patch 1.2 for SWTOR, and specifically how they apply to Jedi Consulars and Sith Inquisitors.  This patch is currently available to play on the Public Test Server (PTS), but it should be noted that the functionality for this patch is not yet finalised.  In other words, some features they have reported in the patch notes may not end up in the final 1.2 that is deployed to live servers.  So keep this in mind when reading below!

I expect it will be several weeks before the change is rolled out, so for the next few weeks I’ll focus on some of the benefits (and drawbacks) to the patch, with an emphasis on how it affects Sith Inquisitors and Jedi Consulars. Do you find it amusing like I do when people are getting upset about how nerfed “XYZ” class is with the 1.2 patch?   All I can say is at least wait until it has been finalized!

Not possessing much patience, I decided I would try out the new changes now, and connected back to the PTS (Public Test Server) and gave the patch (in its current state) a run. If you decide to use the PTS, you have to start your character from scratch again, and due to time constraints I ran out of time to get my newly created Sith Inquisitor off Korriban and to their advanced training, so I’ll report more on that next week.  At this stage I am thinking it’s time for an assassin as I’ve played the Inquisitor and its Jedi equivalent quite a bit.

As an aside, if you are considering using the public test servers, note that characters are NOT deleted, but rather remain.  They will have things happen to them (like reseting of advanced skills when required, etc) but the point is, you don’t have to continually start from level 1 with every patch version.  Yes, it’s relatively safe to create a character and leave it there, and just login and try out new patches from time to time.   Famous last words I know – I’ll probably login and find my characters gone!

Interestingly enough, I actually joined a guild on the test server, and saw a level 37 guy running around. There were a surprisingly high number of people online actually and I was in heaven because there was no trolling in general chat !    If it wasn’t for the aussie swtor lag issue, I’d consider making this my main server!

I did notice some a cool new interface editor for SWTOR where you can now customize your interface (see picture below), a nice target of target option, and some nice animation sequence fixed.  The more I played it, the more I liked it, quite honestly it almost felt like a new game again.

My frame rate seemed to be notably quicker as well.  So this is quite a major patch that Bioware have put together.

On the down side, there was a lot of problems with sound chopping in and out, and I had a bugged quest when I had to defeat someone and I couldn’t due to faulty line of sight indications. But it is a test server after all, so you have to expect that, and they will no doubt fix it before it goes mainstream.

Moving on, lets talk about some useful features for light saber wielding classes in 1.2. Color Crystals are being revamped in this update – Bioware’s thinking was to allow players to not have to be stressed by the numbers (stats) when choosing.  As a result all colour crystals will have top end crystals which eliminates a big problem. The ability to create Magenta crystal is also being added as is an entire activity chain which is cool.

The “mandatory crew skill” award for Jedi Consulars and Sith Inquisitors goes to…..

 

*drumroll* …   🙂

 

Artifice.  At least I think so because of what they have changed in the 1.2 patch. You can now do dedicated PvP Crafting with Artifice.   You can earn crystal schematics of various colours in PvP, as well as the required materials, and with the 1.2 patch Artifice is the only crew skill that offers a permanent expertise bonus! This adds another cool element for those of you who only do PvP, but the benefits are also there if you, like me, only do PvP some of the time.

I’ve usually chosen Artifice as one of my three crew skills anyway, but with these changes I’d have to say for Inquisitors or Consulars this should be mandatory once the patch comes out. One other cool thing I’d like to add is that s an artificer you can make willpower-based shields for the Sith Assassin/Jedi Shadow tanks – a welcome addition.

Ok thats it for me for another week – I’ll be back next week and thanks for watching!

 

Filed Under: Class Columns, Consular, Inquisitor, News Tagged With: ,

SWTOR Weekend Pass: Take 2

March 21, 2012 by

After last weekend’s Weekend Pass initiative, BioWare have announced a repeat of the initiative for this weekend:

The Weekend Pass Free Trial opens Thursday, March 22nd at 12:01AM CDT / 5:01AM GMT and ends on Monday, March 26th at 2:00AM CDT / 7:00AM GMT. To learn more, visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com/weekendpass and come back on March 22th to create your account, download the game, and begin your free trial! Some in-game restrictions apply. Visit the Weekend Pass Free Trial FAQ for more details.

So the time conversions are:

AEDT: Thursday afternoon 4pm through to Monday evening at 6pm
AWST: Thursday Midday through to Monday 2pm
NZDT: Thursday 6pm through to Monday 8pm

Over to you: did you have any friends jump in last weekend? Do you have any likely to do so this weekend?

Filed Under: News Tagged With:

What to do while the servers are down: 20th March 2012

March 20, 2012 by

You’re looking at a five-hour standard downtime this week, which is still plenty of time to browse through an enormous amount of SWTOR stuff we’ve covered over the last week:

1. Have a look through the SWTOR Update 1.2 Patch Notes – to say there’s a lot in there is an understatement.

2. Check out the Combat Log coming soon.

3. Have a browse through the latest instalment of Fleet Pass, our weekly SWTOR forum roundup

4. Jump into our newly minted Oceanic Server forums.

5. Debate the melee vs ranged options for Consulars / Inquisitors

6. Read a fascinating piece on SWTOR haters

7. Finally – if you haven’t already we’d still LOVE you to take part in our Reader’s Survey so we can continue to improve in what we do.

Filed Under: Maintenance and Downtime, News

Server maintenance: 20th March – with time conversions

March 19, 2012 by

It’s maintenance time, so here’s the breakdown:

AEDT: 7pm-Midnight Tuesday night
AWST: 3pm-8pm
NZDT: 9pm-2am

The full details from BioWare (now with built-in AEDT conversion!):

Scheduled Maintenance

Date: Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

Time: 2AM CDT (12AM PDT/3AM EDT/7AM GMT/8AM CET/7PM AEDT) until 7AM CDT (5AM PDT/8AM EDT/12PM GMT/1PM CET/12AM AEDT)

All game servers will be offline during this period. This maintenance is expected to take no more than five hours.

Thank you for your patience as we maintain service for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.

Filed Under: Maintenance and Downtime, News Tagged With:

Fleet Pass: SWTOR weekly roundup

March 19, 2012 by

Fleet Pass is a weekly review of the SWTOR community, a small and non-comprehensive collection of the funny, the insightful, the controversial and any other interesting picks found anywhere but generally in the SWTOR Forums.  Have a suggestion?  Send it in to us with a source link if available, and the name you’d like to be credited with.

Warning:  Article may or may not contain spoilers relating to SWTOR, or any of its variants.

Threads

Mirialol – PvP

★★★[ARENA] – benefits of adding ARENA to SWTOR★★★

…

Arena is far more competitive and skill-oriented than rated warzones.

Arenas will help keep PvPers subscribed to this game

Arena will help balance this game’s PvP

Arenas are breeding ground for skilled players

SWTOR arena will be EASIER to balance than WoW

Adding arenas will be FINANCIALLY productive for bioware

Arena SHOULD NOT reward players with better gear or advantages of any kind

Arena dailies / weeklies

Arena SHOULD reward players with titles and cosmetic changes.

Publicly available data

1v1 arenas

…

PhoenixDream – Story & Lore

Females never given flirt options?

My female guildies and I have discovered that playing a female Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, and Trooper toons have basically ZERO flirt options throught the entire game play.

(The only exception is when we meet our courting companion and we flirt about three times and then it is over for the durration of the game.)

Originally we suspected it was simply because of the class we were playing until we learned that our male guildies–who play characters of the same class–have several flirt options all throughout the game. It is not specific to class, it is specific to female characters alone.

We feel this is quite sexist and are very dissapointed that the males of the same class toon have more flirt options.

We ask that you re-think future writings on how the genders are played, and please do not make the females so entirely boring and frigid. Let us have a little more personality.

Thank you.

…

MuNieK – PvP

To many abilities – piano playing must be reduced…

We want to play some pvp, not be musicians to piano play the keyboard… Consolidate the skills and let us focus on awaraness whats happenign around, teamwork and timing insetad of constant full time piano playing we are forced to do if we want to use all the abilities in pvp… Its just bad design Bioware… PvP should be about reflex and quick thinking, not player vs keybinds tetris or situation where you force people to be clickers due to not enough comfortable hotkeys…

For example jaggernaut immortal:

– taunt enemy attacking our ally
– shield ally being attacked
– intercede ally for more protection
– aoe taunt for reduced dmg to ally
– aoe slow to make pvp with enemy acceptable (slow on ability that is not in main-rotation is also huge mistake – in pvp slow is crucial and should be on all classes’ main abilities)

and thats just to start using actuall combat abilities… wihch also are scattered around to many skills not neccesarily…

Whats the point?

…

Quotes

Back & Forth – 1st & 7th posts, thread in General Discussion

No more color restrictions on crystals ?! Really ?

Gauvi

I am playing a Star Wars game and one thing that was iconic to the franchise is definitely the color of crystals tied to the alignment of its user.

 

AJediKnight

Color has-never-been-nor-will-it-ever-be restricted to morality. Lucas himself has confirmed that there is no direct link. The only lore basis for the restrictions was that, in the time of TPM, AotC etc., Sith couldn’t get their hands on natural crystal supplies, and had to use synthetic crystals. Synth crystals (Luke used a synth crystal in RotJ, too, btw) are created by channeling the force through a forge. In the case of darksiders, this creates a crimson-red crystal… but not all synth crystals are red — nor are all the sabers of Sith red. Certainly, the fact that the Sith in the TOR timeline favor purple just as much as red is proof of this.

Frankly, the limits in TOR make absolutely no sense as implemented in the game. They neither preserve the ‘look’ of the films, nor do they have any basis in the lore. You would argue that color is tied to morality as if picking up a green or a blue saber as a darksider would cause it to explode in my hand. Even in the films, time and again we are shown that darksiders can use ‘light’ colors (Anakin/Vader with blue throughout Ep. III, Vader ignited Luke’s green saber in Ep. VI). Similarly, lightsiders can use red… as in the case of Anakin picking up Dooku’s saber to finish him off with.

…
Getting back on topic, the simple fact of the matter is, there is no canonical basis or otherwise for the current crystal restrictions. They were, quite literally, something Bioware conjured out of thin air. And, what’s worse, they don’t even preserve the look of the films, instead forcing many Jedi to abandon green/blue, and many Sith to forsake red. If you wanted to see more Sith using red, and more Jedi using green/blue as in the films, you should actually support dropping the restrictions.

As it stands now, I believe you simply don’t understand either the lore or the system we’ve got in game.

…

Other

Filed Under: Community, News Tagged With:

Heavy Damage: Tanking Changes in Update 1.2

March 19, 2012 by

Heavy Damage is our weekly Tanking column – if you have suggestions of what you’d like covered, drop our resident Tank, Alec Bailey a line.

The 1.2 patch is now on the test servers, so I will be taking a break from my Flashpoint tanking guides to discuss and theorise what these changes could and will do to Tanks in SWTOR.

Changes for the Jedi Knight

General

  • Awe no longer costs Focus to activate.
  • Dispatch can now be used on targets at or below 30% of maximum health (up from 20%).
  • Force Kick no longer costs Focus to activate.
  • Master Strike can no longer be interrupted.

Guardian Tree changes relating to Tanks

Defense

  • Blade Barrier is now located in Tier 4 of the skill tree.
  • Blade Storm no longer consumes stacks of Courage while the Momentum buff is active.
  • Command no longer reduces the cooldown of Challenging Call and is now located in Tier 5 of the skill tree.
  • Dust Storm is now a 3-point skill that provides the same overall effect.
  • Guardian Slash now generates 50% additional threat.
  • Momentum is now a 2-point skill that provides the same overall effect.
  • Pacification is now a 1-point skill with a slightly reduced overall effect.
  • Shield Specialization is now located in Tier 5 of the skill tree.
  • Stasis Mastery is now located in Tier 4 of the skill tree.

Vigilance

  • Commanding Awe is now located in Tier 5 of the skill tree. It increases the Guardian’s damage reduction while Focused Defense is active.
  • Single Saber Mastery is no longer restricted to certain stances.
  • Stagger is now located in Tier 1 of the Vigilance skill tree.
  • Sundering Throw is now located in Tier 6 of the Vigilance skill tree.
  • Zen Strike now generates 2 points of Focus when it is triggered.

If you’re a regular reader of Heavy Damage, you may remember this article where I talked about the build I use and builds I thought were worth taking a look at.  If you’re following my 18/23 build still (or any other Guardian build) this new patch has some changes that I hope will bring the Guardian back to par with the other two Tanks. Because let’s face it, they are somewhat lacking. Before the Guardians flame me for this observation I just want to say I play all three tanks, all three of my tanks are level 30-32 and it’s not that the Guardian can’t handle itself, it’s just a lot more work for the same outcome.

Now for the changes. Guardian Slash adding 50% more hate makes it a little more viable than the Overhead Slash trade off in the 18/23 build. I would say if you were following that build to take a step back and think of a respec. I will be republishing builds once the patch is in full effect and I have a chance to test all the changes. Blade Barricade is a skill I feel that the Guardian Tank cannot do without, so it being moved up a tier changes the 18/23 build even more to where I know I’ll have to respec.  Command no longer reducing the cooldown on Challenging Call seems like a nerf to a class that doesn’t need any of those, but we’ll see how things turn out.

Shadow

Not a lot of changes here. A few tweaks and cosmetic things:

  • Mass Mind Control: Updated this tooltip to correctly state that the ability does not break Stealth. The ability’s functionality has not changed.
  • Kinetic Combat
    • Kinetic Ward’s appearance now refreshes properly when reapplied.
  • Balance (Shadow)
    • Force Synergy’s activation effects are now more visible.
    • The Force in Balance no longer heals the caster if no targets are hit.

General Trooper changes:

  • Full Auto’s attack animation now begins more quickly to improve reactiveness and faction balance.
  • Mortar Volley’s animation has been updated. In addition, it now has a 5-meter radius to bring its range in line with other Trooper Area of Effect abilities and it now begins its damage sooner after activation.
  • Vanguard
  • Due to changes to the Vanguard skill trees, all Vanguards have had their skill points refunded.
  • Fire Pulse’s visual effect more accurately represents its functionality.
  • Riot Strike no longer costs Energy Cells.
  • Animation timing issues with Energy Blast have been addressed.
  • The hit timing delay on Explosive Surge has been improved.
  • Shield Specialist
    • Ceramic Plating: the Absorb amount gained from this skill has been slightly reduced.
    • Counter Attack is now a 3-point skill.
    • Energy Blast is no longer limited by the global cooldown. Its damage has been reduced by approximately 15%.
    • Power Screen is a new 2-point skill that causes Ion Pulse and Energy Blast to build a stacking buff that increases shield absorption.
    • Smoke Grenade is no longer limited by the global cooldown.

The changes to Vanguards don’t seem to be a nerf, which I feared was coming. Vanguard is in my opinion the most well-rounded and effective tank. I am hoping that the other classes get buffed to its level, not the other way around with nerfs for a class that plays like it should.

The most interesting change to me is the Power Screen ability. Ion Pulse and Energy Blast are two skills I feel like I border on over-using (Explosive Surge too) just because of the damage debuff it places on enemies. Now it has a shield buff it’s maybe the only skills you need. As with the Guardian, I will be republishing builds once I’ve had time to test out the changes. The comsetic and timing changes to the abilities will be welcome sights –  I’m glad they fixed the delay issue with Mortar Volley.

As always stay frosty, and my the force be with you!

 

Filed Under: News, Tanking Tagged With: ,

SWTOR Game Update 1.2 Patch Notes: User Interface and Bug Fixes

March 17, 2012 by

Of all the 1.2 info I’m probably most excited about the UI changes. There’s also a nice list of bug fixes – check ’em out:

UI

General

  • New UI Customization features are now available! Players can customize their UI by moving and resizing UI elements. Customization options can be accessed by clicking the new “Edit Interface” button, which has replaced the “Extend Quickslots” button. Many UI options are now located in the new “Edit Interface” mode.
  • Notification of contact from a Customer Service Representative in-game is now more obvious.
  • Subtitles can now be toggled using the /subtitles command in the Chat Window.
  • If a player attempts to use a shuttle with 3 or more pending mission rewards, the player is asked to accept those rewards before continuing.
  • Tooltips no longer get stuck on slider UI components.
  • Corrected an issue that could cause the UI to incorrectly register a drag when returning from ALT-TAB.
  • The cancel and apply buttons are now grayed out on the item modification table until the player adds a pending modification.
  • The loot window can no longer be drawn off-screen in some circumstances.
  • Companion tooltips now properly reflect whether they are selling junk items or performing a Crew Mission.
  • The language used in tooltips (when referencing damage types and other specific items) has been updated to be more consistent.
  • The preference for “Show Sith Corruption” is now labeled “Show Dark Side Corruption.”
  • New tutorials have been added for Flashpoints, Operations, and Quick Travel.
  • Shift-clicking a stack of items no longer links that item if the Chat Window is not active.
  • The Social Preferences options page has been organized more clearly.
  • Several minor text formatting and alignment issues have been addressed.
  • Players are now able to disable the Smart Camera in the preferences menu.

Crew Skills

  • The mission reward panel no longer closes other UI panels.
  • Crew Skill trainer windows no longer reopen after players move away from the trainer.

Social

  • Hovering over the LFG column in the Social Window now displays a tooltip showing the individual’s LFG message.
  • “Reply” chat targets are no longer cleared upon area transitions.
  • French and German chat commands for speaking in general chat now work properly.
  • The /bow emote no longer loops when used.
  • Base crafted items can now be hyperlinked in chat.
  • A new option to suppress the Crew Mission reward window in Warzones has been added.
  • Items will now compare against all valid equipment slots.
  • Emotes no longer remove a player from stealth.

Codex

  • The Codex entry for killing a player with a turret now correctly requires the player to complete that task.

Groups and Targeting

  • Players can now choose to view the targets of their group members in the group UI. This is disabled by default but can be edited in the “Edit Interface” mode.
  • Target of target can now be enabled for the player.
  • Players can now invite other players to their group via right-click menu from the guild roster.
  • Player class names now appear on the target frame.
  • When characters become hostile or friendly to the player, nameplates are now turned on and off as specified in nameplate preferences.
  • Dead characters and creatures no longer display a nameplate unless selected.
  • Focus target visual effects are now more distinct and recognizable.

Galactic Trade Network

  • The Galactic Trade Network interface now supports text-based searches without category restrictions.
  • The Galactic Trade Network interface has been updated to support better filtering and faster paging.
  • The rarity drop-down in the GTN interface now contains an option for Custom (orange) rarity.
  • A “Slot” pulldown menu has been added to the GTN Interface for more specific item searches.
  • GTN Terminals in Kaas City are now available again.

Maps

  • Players can no longer “click through” the Galaxy Map to interact with the main game UI.
  • The Map no longer becomes translucent when riding a taxi.
  • Map transitions throughout the game have been updated – many instances where a map would incorrectly transition to another have been corrected.
  • The Spaceport section of Coruscant can now be explored correctly.

Miscellaneous Bug Fixes

  • The Jawa Balloon on Tatooine no longer occasionally disappears from underneath players.
  • The Emergency Fleet Pass now takes Republic players to the center of Carrick Station instead of the Tython and Ord Mantell arrival hangar.
  • The camera now collides with water instead of becoming submerged.
  • Opening a taxi terminal now cancels any active ability activation.
  • Corrected an issue that allowed players to use personal Starship doors outside the appropriate range.
  • The /stuck command no longer kills the player if they log out and back in on the ship Holoterminal (or other similar objects).
  • Corrected a rare client crash related to companion weapons.
  • Corrected several ambient conversations that triggered too often or too infrequently.
  • Added musical triggers to some missions and encounters.
  • Numerous spelling and grammatical errors in text throughout the game have been corrected.
  • Corrected several localization errors in text and voiceover.
  • The full area of Club Ufora is now considered a private area (where companions will talk with player characters).
  • Players on Tatooine and Belsavis now only see their own faction’s Quick Travel Points on the map.
  • The Chiss social ability is now described correctly during character creation.
  • Republic players can now access the Lower Office Atrium in New Venture Plaza on Nar Shaddaa without passing through Empire territory.
  • The Aim Datacron on Belsavis is now obtainable.
  • Cantina music now plays more consistently.
  • The Imperial Panteer Hideout Bind Point is no longer visible to Republic players on the map.
  • A Bind Point now exists at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant.
  • The High Profile Ward in Shadowtown on Nar Shaddaa now has a medcenter.
  • Players can no longer use Fleet Passes in areas that are Quick Travel restricted.
  • Corrected an issue that caused windowed resolution to not be saved if the desktop resolution changed while the game was running.
  • Clicking off-screen while in dual-monitor mode no longer causes icons to be accidentally dragged when focus is returned to the game.
Filed Under: Patch Notes Tagged With: ,

SWTOR Game Update 1.2 Patch Notes: Space Combat and Legacy

March 17, 2012 by

Some shorter and sweeter notes here:

Space Combat

General 

  • Visual effects for trajectory and impact on missiles have been improved.
  • The Alien Energy Capacitor now has stats appropriate for its level.
  • Transitions on entering Space Combat Missions have been visually improved.
  • The Grade 3 Beam Generator tooltip now correctly displays a rate of fire of 7 shots per second.
  • The experience rewarded for some “one time” Space Combat Missions (granted when a new tier of missions is available) has been rebalanced.
  • Players who are away too long while in Space Combat Missions are now logged out.
  • Kira will now speak during Jedi Knight Space Combat Missions after Doc has been gained as a companion.
  • Large ships more readily display surface damage as the attached hardpoints are destroyed.

Legacy

  • Players can now unlock a wide variety of rewards by leveling characters and reaching new Legacy levels, including buffs for your characters, unlocking additional Species choices for every class, and upgrades for your personal Starship.
  • Legacy Experience awarded for Warzone completion and Space Combat kills is now in line with rewards from other activities.
  • Legacy names now display immediately once the player chooses one.
Filed Under: Patch Notes Tagged With: , ,

SWTOR Game Update 1.2 Patch Notes: PvP

March 17, 2012 by

It’s hard to imagine PvP’ers aren’t pleased to see a lot of the changes below:

PvP

General

  • Aurak Base and outlying Republic-controlled areas on Hoth have received reinforcements in the form of PvP guards.
  • Certain PvP abilities are no longer removed when a duel finishes.
  • Republic Guardpost Beta on Belsavis is now entirely considered Republic territory.
  • The throne room of Lord Jordan Thul is now considered Empire territory.
  • The medcenter in the Lower Flamewood area of The Old Paths on Voss is now a Sanctuary.
  • Republic Troopers now protect Ken-La Outpost.
  • The buff for the PvP Overcharge powerup now has the correct tooltip.
  • The Warzone Commendation cap has been increased to 2000 (up from 1000).
  • PvP stats, such as kills, Group Rating, Solo Rating, MVP votes received, total Warzone wins, and more are now tracked and can be seen on the Warzone Window. Highest Solo and Group Ratings can also be seen on the Character page. Highest Solo and Group Ratings can also be seen on the “Who” list.

Warzones

General

  • Players in Warzones may now flag another player on the team as potentially AFK by right-clicking their name in the Operation Group window and selecting “Vote to Kick from Warzone.” Once enough team members have flagged a player in this way, the player is given a warning and a small window to begin playing or they are removed from the Warzone.
  • The amount of Valor and Commendations awarded at the end of a Warzone is now based on your team’s score, with a bonus for the winning team. Experience rewards are still based on the amount of time spent in the Warzone.
  • Warzone daily missions while leveling have been condensed to one mission that is always equal to the level of the player.
  • Players who are removed from Warzones for being AFK are now returned to their original locations (instead of to the Fleet).
  • Vendors are no longer available inside Warzones.
  • Credit rewards for Warzones have been rebalanced.
  • The Scoreboard displayed at the end of a Warzone now displays the correct faction icons in same-faction Warzone matches.
  • The Scoreboard’s Objective column now correctly tracks a player’s offensive and defensive objective contribution. Additionally, players now receive notification during the match when their actions have accrued offensive or defensive objective points.
  • Level 50 Warzone daily and weekly missions now reward Warzone Commendations.
  • New medals are now awarded to the winning team based on how quickly they win (up to 6 medals for the fastest victories).
  • New medals are now awarded for offensive and defensive objective actions. There are now 6 offensive and 6 defensive medals awarded for performing Warzone-specific objective actions.
  • The Warzone reward medal cap has been increased to 8.
  • Rewards per medal earned have been rebalanced considering the new medals available.
  • Players who earn few to no medals now have overall rewards reduced (for instance, an AFK player would receive no rewards).

Ranked Warzones

  • Pre-Season One of Ranked Warzones has begun!Participate for more competitive matches and greater rewards.
  • Level 50 players can queue solo or in a group of up to 8 players via the Queue Solo Ranked and Queue Group Ranked buttons in the Warzone Queue Window.
  • After a Ranked Warzone has ended, your Solo Rating or Group Rating will be adjusted based on the outcome of the match and the ratings of all players participating.
  • Players are rewarded Ranked Warzone Commendations based on performance; these Commendations can be used to purchase the new War Hero PvP gear.
  • Players with high ratings can purchase Rated War Hero gear and vehicles. Rated War Hero gear has the same stats as War Hero gear, but has a more prestigious appearance.

Novare Coast

  • The Republic and Empire are locked in a brutal conflict by air and sea on the new planet, Denova. An Imperial dropship has crash-landed near the Republic coastal base and quickly established a fortification.
  • Teams need to turn the mortar cannons on the opponent’s fortification to bring it down. However, both fortifications are shielded and one mortar cannon is not enough to disable the shield. A team must control at least two cannons in order to damage the enemy fortification.
  • This is a majority 3-point domination map with tug-of-war style objective control.
  • Control progress is saved when interrupted and can be resumed by a player on the same team or fought back by a player of the opposing team. The more players involved, the faster control shifts.
  • A training simulation-themed variant of the Warzone supports same faction matches.

Alderaan Civil War

  • Several performance improvements have been made throughout the Warzone.
  • The objective cannons’ rate of fire has been slowed down. The amount of damage dealt by the large turret blasts has been increased proportionally to maintain the same overall score rate.
  • Empire-controlled objective markers now appear purple.
  • Travel time for speeder bikes for the side objectives has been increased. The time it takes to interact with speeder bikes is once again instantaneous.

Huttball

  • Giradda the Hutt now sees to it that any player standing on the ball stand when the ball respawns are slain.
  • The damage hazards deal is now a set percentage of total player health and is elemental damage.

Voidstar

  • The Voidstar can now be played by two teams of the same faction.
  • Players on the defending team are no longer placed on the speeder path if its duration would make them arrive late to the start of the match.
  • The map on the loading screen for the Voidstar has been updated.
  • In the case of both teams reaching the same objective in their respective attacking rounds, the team who reached the objective in the shortest time now wins the match.
  • The game now ends as soon as the Round 2 attacker’s progress exceeds the progress made by the other team in Round 1.

World PvP

Ilum

  • The Battle of Ilum daily and weekly missions have been removed from the game.

The Outlaws’ Den (Tatooine)

  • Quick Travel items that transport players to the hub near Outlaw’s Den are now available from PvP vendors found on the Republic and Imperial Fleets.
Filed Under: Patch Notes Tagged With: ,

SWTOR Game Update 1.2 Patch Notes: Missions and NPCs

March 17, 2012 by

Phew, we told you there was lots of detail! Onto Missions and NPCs:

Missions and NPCs

General

  • Many minor mission bugs have been fixed. Some respawn timers have been adjusted, group credit for mission objectives is granted in more missions, more enemies appear in some instances where too few were available, and many other minor adjustments have been made to improve the experience while completing missions. Not all of these minor adjustments have received an individual note.
  • Some missions that have received updates (fixes for map notes, Story Areas, and some text fixes) have been reset. Players are only affected if a mission they had in progress has been changed in this way.
  • Usable mission items can now be activated from the tracked mission log that appears on the right side of the screen.
  • The chances for one player to win the majority of rolls in Multiplayer Conversations have been diminished.
  • Many missions that were missing mission completion or codex images have been updated to include the correct image.
  • Several missions that require the player to defeat a specific enemy NPC have been updated. In affected missions, the player can now interact with an object in the world to spawn the target (instead of needing to wait for a respawn).
  • Several missions that had missing paraphrase dialogue options have been updated to include the missing text.
  • Corrected many instances where text and voiceovers did not match.
  • Corrected instances in the French and German clients where subtitles for alien dialogue progressed too quickly.
  • Many instances where players could unintentionally leave Story Areas for missions have been corrected.
  • Map notes for a large number of missions have been updated and are now more accurate, and many missing map notes have been added.
  • Several bonus missions that previously were not removed from the mission tracker are now removed at the appropriate time.
  • Corrected many mission conversations and mission-related items that could be re-initiated or re-used.
  • Troopers now receive the Item Modification tutorial correctly.
  • Fleet Passes are now rewarded to players that complete Chapter 1 and 2 of their class story, and new quick travel items are available as rewards for Inquisitors, Agents, Consulars, and Troopers, who must travel to the Citadel, Jedi Council, or Senate at the end of these Chapters.

World Missions

Korriban

  • Dark Science: The correct follow-up mail is now sent for the light side choice in this mission.

Ord Mantell

  • Clearing the Air: Players in groups can now join the first conversation via Holocall.

Coruscant

  • Automatic Maintenance: Rogue Disposal Droids now engage players in combat correctly.

Nar Shaddaa

  • Back Alley: Corrected an issue that prevented players from receiving credit for fighting waves of enemies.
  • Dead Drop: The Flame’s assassin now spawns upon destroying the dead agent’s corpse.
  • Extermination: This mission now correctly recognizes past player choices.
  • Sending a Message: Exchange X4-Z2 Battle Droids now apply to this bonus mission’s kill count.

Taris (Imperial)

  • No Escape: Killing Thana Vesh with Force Push now properly defeats her.
  • The Siege of Olaris: The droid associated with this mission’s objective now consistently exits his cage after being activated.

Taris (Republic)

  • Chasing History: Corrected an issue that prevented players from starting the cinematic at the fourth cairn while in a group.

Balmorra (Imperial)

  • Flight Plan: An issue that could prevent the player from interacting with the shuttle controls has been corrected.
  • Step Lightly: This mission can now be abandoned.

Balmorra (Republic)

  • The Hunt for Lord Tharsis: The stages of this mission that take place in the Heroic area are now correctly labeled and are balanced for 4-player groups.
  • Trash to Treasure: Multiple bosses no longer spawn if players simultaneously activate the input panels or master controls.

Alderaan

  • A Spy in House Organa: An issue that could cause this mission to become blocked has been corrected.I was trying to do just that from here, since they’re behind me, but it’s way better with Ben explaining it now.
  • The Fall of House Cortess: If the player sides with House Cortess, the attacking Killiks no longer despawn and end the fight prematurely.

Tatooine

  • Geonosian War: Players now receive proper credit for completing the final stage of this mission while in a group.
  • Pre-Emptive Strike: This mission no longer resets if a player uses stealth.
  • Timely Arrival: The Czerka Records Terminal can now be used by all members of a group.

Belsavis

  • Old Enemies, Lights Out, Open Communications, The Stasis Generator: These missions are now Heroic 2+ instead of Heroic 4. Their rewards are unchanged.
  • NPCs related to Belsavis daily missions are now level 50.
  • Esh-kha Containment: Players who complete “Key to the Vaults” before completing this mission can now complete it properly.
  • Lights Out: A mission step to defeat Field Commander Anhur has been added to this mission.
  • Riot on Belsavis: Players who completed “Terror in the Flesh” can now proceed past the conversation with Commander Calum.
  • Unintended Consequences: The Malfunctioning Guardian Droids now drop all 3 types of components for this mission.

Voss

  • Into the Crosshairs: Players affected by a bug that allowed them to complete this mission without receiving “Primary Target” can now speak to Pevthak-Fra and receive the latter mission to continue the Voss Republic storyline.

Hoth

  • Unlikely Allies: Players can now complete this mission if they reset it.

Corellia

  • Corsec Crackdown: This mission now progresses properly if a group member was not in combat when the other members of the group were defeated after using the Comm Array.
  • Jaggalors on the Loose: Companion affection is now applied correctly during this mission.
  • Prison Busting: Turrets no longer despawn completely from the world.

Ilum

  • A New Order: Repair Droids no longer repair shield generators even though they have been defeated.
  • Cutting the Cord: Players are now credited with the correct amount of kills even if out of line of sight.
  • Defend the Shipment: Corrected an issue that caused an interactive object to become unusable for 2 minutes if it was used in combat.
  • Pilot Down: The Door Release now correctly starts its cinematic.
  • Sabotage: Corrected an issue that could cause this mission to become blocked.

Class Missions

Jedi Knight

  • A Hero’s Rest: Players can now use the Republic Fleet option on the Tython shuttle to travel there while on this mission.
  • Guided by the Force: Sith Harrowers now animate properly during combat.
  • Desert Duel: Players can no longer block mission progression by knocking Lord Praven off the cliff.
  • Doomsday: The chest attached to the bonus puzzle for this mission is now lootable upon solving the puzzle. Additionally, if the player is defeated near the forcefield doorway, they no longer become stuck due to reviving on the other side of the forcefield.
  • The Defector: This mission can now be acquired via the Holoterminal for Jedi Knights who completed the Taris and Nar Shaddaa class missions without receiving it.

Sith Warrior

  • Pendant of Bone: Corrected an issue that prevented some players from getting credit for defeating the Gormak Warmaster.
  • Request an Audience: This mission now correctly recognizes past player choices.
  • Seek Answers: Players on this mission now see the appropriate loading screen text.
  • The Padawan Exposed: Additional light and dark side point opportunities are now available in this mission. This mission also now correctly recognizes past player choices.
  • The Transponder Station: The player’s companion is now knocked out for the boss fight as depicted in the cinematic, and the fight has been rebalanced to take this into account. Additionally, an issue that could cause players to become stuck in the elevator has been corrected.

Jedi Consular

  • Chaos and Harmony: An issue that could make it more difficult than intended to save the final boss has been addressed.
  • Looking Out for the Little Guy: This mission no longer grants commendations for the wrong planet.
  • New Horizons: This conversation now takes place in person instead of on the ship Holoterminal.
  • The Summit: This mission’s Holoterminal conversation no longer hangs indefinitely.

Sith Inquisitor

  • A Map for the Future: Players can no longer become blocked on this mission if they dismiss Khem Val before clicking on the debris wall.
  • Legacy: Players are informed that Khem Val is required for this mission if the Inquisitor on the mission is in a group.
  • The Dark Council: This mission now grants light and dark side points correctly.
  • Visions and Visionaries: Players now receive dark or light side point rewards for this mission correctly.

Smuggler

  • Beast Mastery: Players who romanced Azalie now see the correct conversation upon returning to the Smuggler Hangar.
  • Brotherhood: Players can no longer become stuck in this mission’s phase if they leave it by entering a Warzone, logging out, or crashing.
  • Illusions: Players can now complete this mission if they were previously unable to re-enter the phase after leaving.
  • Landing Party: Players can no longer defeat ambushers before instructed.
  • Modest Proposals: Ivory now only appears on the player’s ship if they chose to recruit him on Belsavis.

Imperial Agent

  • Defender of the Empire: Line of sight issues when engaging ‘The Eagle’ on the bridge of his ship have been resolved.
  • Epoch of Fear: This mission’s boss no longer experiences line of sight issues.
  • Heist: SCORPIO is now summoned immediately as a guest companion at the appropriate time.
  • Hero of the People: Players in a group can no longer become stuck in the phased area for this mission of the Agent in the group leaves first.
  • The Assassin’s Fortress: Players who are defeated on this mission are now revived at the Outpost Zaroshe medcenter.
  • The Star Chamber: It is no longer possible to explore the entire Star Chamber before the “Gather Information on the Star Cabal” step.
  • Subverting Karrels Jarvis: Light side points are now awarded at a different time in this mission.

Trooper

  • Battle of the Gauntlet: Corrected an issue that caused the bridges crossing the Gauntlet to retract unexpectedly and kill players. Players can now return to the Gauntlet before completing the mission without having to reset it.
  • Catching Up: Players now correctly receive a mission item from Jaxo in the mail.
  • Inconspicuous Valor: Party members can no longer plant the explosives and prevent mission progression. This mission now updates correctly when taking the shuttle from the Republic Fleet to Coruscant.
  • Power Play: Players no longer remain stuck inside the phase if they log out in the phase after completing the step “Speak to Senator Evran.”
  • Public Relations: This mission now recognizes if the chamber is sealed before the step to seal it is acquired.
  • Rescue Operation: The CL-A1 transfer coil is now correctly counted as a mission item.
  • Return to Duty: Prellon Garn now becomes stunned during the escort (instead of dying). Prellon is also now present for the step “Escort Prellon to Safety.”
  • Revenge Served Cold: The Thul Cryo Dragoon is now responsive in combat.
  • Stay Frosty: Players on The Shadow Fist mission will find it has been reset. This mission no longer remains in the mission log if it is not completed.
  • Suppression of Hostilities: The count for bonus objectives now updates correctly.

Bounty Hunter

  • A Dangerous Auction: Players no longer receive an incorrect post-mission mail.
  • A Failure to Communicate: Players can no longer summon a companion devoted to guarding the area’s entrance or advance further into the phase before progressing necessary mission steps.
  • A Thousand Pardons: Zale Barrows can no longer be knocked into the lava, preventing mission progression.
  • Digging His Own Grave: Players can now progress this mission without waiting for the phase to reset if they answer their class holocall outside the story area.
  • Finale: The final boss has been adjusted from level 48 to level 50 to provide the intended challenge level.
  • Hail the Conquering Hero: Corrected an issue that could cause this mission to become blocked on the step “Speak to Crysta Markon.”
  • Honor or Glory: Corrected an issue that caused some dialogue options to be hidden.
  • Imperial Bounty: This mission can now be reset if the player was unable to complete it.
  • Number One with a Bullet: Corrected an issue that prevented some Bounty Hunters from seeing the correct loading screen text after completing this mission. A crash that could occur when speaking to Darth Tormen has been fixed.
  • No Strings Attached: Corrected an issue that caused NPCs to vanish unexpectedly after a fight. For players who were in progress on this mission, the mission’s progress has been reset.
  • Some People Just Need Killing: The class story boss associated with this mission is now level 50.
  • Target Rich Environment: This mission can now be abandoned.
  • The Heart of Darkness: Players now receive credit for this mission if they travel to Dromund Kaas via the shuttle in the Imperial Fleet.
  • The Spirit of Vengeance: corrected an issue that could cause players returning to this area to become stuck in the air.
  • To Walk in Dark Places: Torian no longer remains with the player if they exit the phase after he joins for the mission.

NPCs

  • Strong and Elite humanoid enemies no longer throw grenades at or use Headshot on targets in cover.
  • Master Marksmen on Hoth no longer instantly knock the player back after being attacked with Leap or Charge abilities.
  • Republic Troopers and Officers protecting core Republic interests on Hoth are now properly trained to defend against level 50 players.
  • The World Boss Gargath on Hoth now drops level 50 loot.
  • Some enemies and NPCs that were previously invisible can now be seen again.
  • Many NPCs that were positioned incorrectly or played inappropriate animations have been corrected.
  • Many groups of enemy NPCs that previously evaded in combat or pathed incorrectly have been adjusted.
  • The Sticky Grenade debuff now appears correctly when used by enemy NPCs.
  • Grand Chief Keshk now always drops at least a Premium item.
  • Several vendors and other NPCs that had missing or incorrect voice have been updated.
  • A rather dangerous Wampa specimen has been observed on Highmount Ridge on Hoth.
Filed Under: Patch Notes Tagged With: ,

SWTOR Game Update 1.2 Patch Notes: Items and Economy

March 17, 2012 by

Into the nitty grittys of items and the SWTOR economy:

Items and Economy

General

  • Loot drops from endgame activities, such as Operations and Flashpoints, now take group composition into account.
  • The variety of stats and modifications for new endgame items is substantially higher compared to that of older endgame items.
  • Orobird eggs of different types may now be poached in several locations. Those who can find means of incubation may find themselves in possession of loyal vanity pet soon.
  • Tauntaun vanity pets can now be acquired on the planet Hoth, though the exact means of acquisition are a mystery.
  • Several unusual crystal formations have been reported in the mountainous regions of Alderaan.
  • The cost of several relics has been reduced.
  • Several relics that were previously bound on pickup are now bind on equip.
  • The required level of several relics has been reduced by 1.
  • Items that are restricted by Valor or Social Rank can no longer be purchased until the player meets the rank requirements.
  • Offhand weapons are now more clearly marked as such.
  • Some pieces of gear that displayed incorrectly on character models have been adjusted.
  • The Collector’s Edition Training Droid can now be used on non-humanoid enemies.
  • The required level for equipping the Imperial Trooper and Republic Officer outfits has been reduced.
  • The Male Formal Suit can now be purchased from the Coruscant social vendor. The Female Elegant Dress can now be purchased from the Dromund Kaas social vendor.
  • Sniper Rifles no longer drop for Republic players.
  • Corrected some instances where two items could show the same Armor or Weapon Damage Rating but have different values. The values are unchanged – the ratings have been updated to reflect the correct values.
  • An issue that caused some items to be unlinkable in chat has been addressed.
  • The modified DTB-27 Bolt Pistol is now displayed as a Custom (orange) weapon. The properties of the item remain unchanged.
  • The “Punisher” item no longer has incorrect stats on its Republic version.
  • The cost of Tionese gear (in crystals and commendations) has been substantially reduced.
  • A set of modifiable Techblades and Techstaffs has been added to the game.
  • The Galactic Trade Network’s commission for both neutral and faction-based terminals is now 6%.

Modifications

  • Players can now remove Armoring modifications from items with set bonuses and transfer those set bonuses to Custom (orange) items. These modifications can only be transferred to an item that is equipped in the same slot.
  • Some high-end item modifications are now restricted to particular item slots and may only be transferred into the same slot on a new item.
  • A new modification set with Expertise for all item modification types has been added to the game.
  • High-end weapons found on Operation bosses now come equipped with more common color crystals. The special color crystals associated with high-end Operations are now separate drops.
  • High-end PvP weapons now come equipped with more common color crystals by default. Color crystals associated with specific PvP tiers can now be purchased separately from the PvP vendor.
  • Players with the “Razer” Green-Black color crystal may upgrade to a high-end version of this crystal via a vendor on Coruscant and Dromund Kaas.

Vehicles

  • New achievement missions that grant the Aratech Ice, Coral, Nightscythe, and Fire are now available on the Fleets.
  • The Korrealis Commander and Korrealis Baron landspeeders have been removed from vendors.
  • The Tirsa Prime speeder has had its cost reduced and is now available from the VIP vendor.
  • License costs for Vehicle Piloting rank 1, 2, and 3 have been reduced.
  • While credit costs for all 110% speed vehicles have been increased, the overall total acquisition cost for speeder licenses and vehicles at level 50 has been slightly reduced.
  • All vehicles that are not bound can now be sold on the Galactic Trade Network.
  • Summoning a vehicle no longer benefits from Alacrity.
  • The Aratech Dagger and Aratech Scythe vehicle items now grant the appropriate vehicle abilities upon use.
  • The Longspur Recon vehicle is now an Artifact-quality item.

Vendors

  • A Crew Skills trade vendor is now ready for business in the Corellia Spaceport.
  • New items purchasable with Black Hole Commendations have been added to Corellia.
  • The PvP items vendor now sells Baradium Flux, a grade 7 PvP crafting material used in the construction of Blue, Cyan, Purple, and Yellow Expertise color crystals.
  • The PvP items vendor now sells a grade 6 crafting PvP box that randomly rewards crafting materials as well as Mission Discoveries and Expertise color crystal schematics.
  • The Fleet commendation vendor now sells grade 6, 7, and 8 crafting material boxes that randomly reward crafting materials.
  • Vendors that sell items for Marauders and Sentinels have been added to the Fleets.
  • The Imperial Cantina vendors on Hoth now sell similar food items to their Republic counterparts.
  • PvP vendors no longer sell Champion Bags.
  • PvP vendors now sell the Recruit set, a new entry-level PvP set (for level 50 players), for credits.
  • Battlemaster PvP vendors now sell Battlemaster gear pieces for Warzone Commendations.
  • The Valor Rank requirement has been removed from Battlemaster earpieces and implants.
  • New War Hero PvP vendors can be found on the Republic and Imperial Fleets. They sell the new War Hero and Rated War Hero PvP sets for Ranked Warzone Commendations and the equivalent Battlemaster piece.
  • New Campaign vendors can be found on the Fleets. They sell Campaign gear for commendations earned in the new Operation: Explosive Conflict.
Filed Under: Patch Notes Tagged With: ,
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