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SWTOR Knights of The Fallen Empire Details

June 16, 2015 by

You’ve got to love E3 and the lead-up to it. BioWare have not surprisingly been busy behind the scenes working on the next large expansion for SWTOR and they’ve unveiled it in a big way to coincide with E3.

First, the trailer:

For mine, this is easily the best trailer for the game since Hope back in 2010.

Other details we know so far:

1. Release date is October 27th, free for all SWTOR subscribers. Subscribers will also get up to 7 days early access.

2. You can become The Outlander, starting the story at Level 60. You can also play your class storyline throughout. The new level cap is 65.

3. Subscribers get a bunch of rewards including Nico Okarr as a companion. He’s the guy you met in the Hope trailer. They also get a 12 times XP boost until early access starts October 19th for levelling between 1 and 50.

4. Eleven story chapters come with the expansion, with five on the way after that.

Check out the official Knights of the Fallen Empire sub-site for more details.

Over to you: do you think this expansion looks to be one of the more promising ones? What do you think about the more single-player approach this seems to be? Others are already saying it’s KOTOR 3. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Filed Under: From the internets! Tagged With: ,

SWTOR 3.1 Conflict on Rishi – Full Patch Notes

February 14, 2015 by
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Highlights

Ranked Warzone Arena Season 4 has begun! Get in there and go berserk! Season 3 leaderboards have been archived.
New Hard Mode Flashpoints! Hard Mode Blood Hunt and Battle of Rishi are now available through Group Finder in the Hard Mode Flashpoint category at level 60.
New Legacy Unlock – Improved Mounting! You can now summon any vehicle or creature mount while moving!
Relics of the Gree is back! The Gray Secant has been spotted on Ilum, which means only one thing: the Relics of the Gree Event is back and now available for Level 60 players! From February 24th at 4:00PST/12:00 GMT to March 3rd at 4:00PST/12:00GMT, Black Bisectors are called upon to complete missions for new rewards!
Bounty Contract Week Returns! Hunt wanted criminals in this returning event. The event begins February 12th at 04:00 PST/12:00 GMT and ends February 17th at 04:00 PST/12:00 GMT
Progress faster with a Double XP Weekend! Get twice the experience from February 13th at 10:00 PST/18:00 GMT to February 16/17th at 23:00 PST/07:00 GMT!

General

  • Ship Droids can now equip 1-Handed Blaster Pistols in their Main Hand.
  • Hard Mode Battle of Rishi and Blood Hunt have been added to the Mission “[WEEKLY] Galactic Conflicts.”
  • The following exit points have been added to Guild Flagships:
    • Republic: Yavin 4: Coalition Staging
    • Republic: Rishi: Raider’s Cove
    • Republic: Rishi: Blaster’s Path Cantina
    • Imperial: Rishi: Blaster’s Path Cantina
  • Fixed an issue where player Utility Points would not reset when the data had changed, resulting in players not always meeting the criteria for the Utility set up they have.
  • The Achievements for killing Commander Mokan now have a proper icon.
  • The BH-7X Custom Hunter vehicle now correctly banks into turns.
  • The Decoration UI no longer lists the Decoration “Life Day Holo-Tree (Green)” as available.
  • The Cyan Sphere vehicle is now purchasable from the Gree Reputation vendor.

Cartel Market

  • The Apprentice’s Shadow Pack is now available from the Cartel Market!
  • Corrected the jet pack animation locations on Shae Vizla’s Chestguard.
  • Selecting the “Bright Yellow Eyes” option in Character Creation or the Appearance Designer no longer makes it impossible to make further changes.
  • The Dathomir Shaman’s Hood now appears properly when equipped or previewed.
  • The Investigator’s Robe no longer has two hoods.
  • The Icon for the Appearance Modification Station Decoration is now blue instead of green to appropriately match the required Floor Hook size.
  • The Collections UI no longer has images of the Juhani set while viewing or unlocking the Underwater Explorer’s Armor.

Classes + Combat

General

  • Incremental healing and damage from already-applied effects no longer get inadvertently cut off when Alacrity buffs are activated.

Jedi Knight
Guardian
General

  • Fixed a dynamic tooltip bug that caused Soresu Form to appear like it reduced ability damage dealt by 20% instead of 10%.
  • Narrowed Focus is now a Skillful Utility.
  • Gather Strength is now a Masterful Utility.

Defense

  • Dust Storm now additionally increases Blade Storm damage by 40%.
  • Pacification now increases Force Sweep damage by 75% (up from 65%) and the critical strike chance of Cyclone Slash and Master Strike by 30% (up from 20% and 0%, respectively).
  • Warding Power now additionally increases Warding Strike damage by 15%.
  • Lunge has been redesigned: While Soresu Form is active, Riposte is off the global cooldown and costs 1 less focus.
  • Warding Call now has a subtle, persisting visual appearance while the effect is active on the Guardian.

Sith Warrior
Juggernaut
General

  • Fixed a dynamic tooltip bug that caused Soresu Form to appear like it reduced ability damage dealt by 20% instead of 10%.
  • Deadly Reprisal is now a Skillful Utility.
  • Pooled Hatred is now a Masterful Utility.

Immortal

  • Quake now additionally increases Force Scream damage by 40%.
  • Heavy Handed now increases Smash damage by 75% (up from 65%) and the critical strike chance of Sweeping Slash and Ravage by 30% (up from 20% and 0%, respectively).
  • Consuming Power now additionally increases Aegis Assault damage by 15%.
  • Lash Out has been redesigned: While Soresu Form is active, Retaliation is off the global cooldown and costs 1 less rage.

Jedi Consular
Shadow
Kinetic Combat

  • In addition to its previous effects, Double-bladed Saber Tactics now increases the damage dealt by Force Breach by 75% whenever you successfully shield, parry, or deflect an attack. This effect lasts for 10 seconds and does not stack.
  • Changed the name of “Double-bladed Saber Defense” to “Double-bladed Saber Tactics” to better fit the new additions to the skill.
  • Reduced the damage dealt by Cascading Debris.
  • Force Break now increases the damage dealt by Force Breach by 30% (up from 15%).

Infiltration

  • Shadow’s Respite now properly gives a 50% Force Bonus after stealth ends.

Sage

  • Jedi Consular trainers on Balmorra, Taris, Nar Shadda, and Hoth now properly display Sage abilities.

Sith Inquisitor
Assassin
Darkness

  • In addition to its previous effects, Lightning Reflexes now increases the damage dealt by Discharge by 75% whenever you successfully shield, parry, or deflect an attack. This effect lasts for 10 seconds and does not stack.
  • Reduced the damage dealt by Depredating Volts.
  • Mounting Darkness now increases the damage dealt by Discharge by 30% (up from 15%).

Smuggler
Gunslinger
General

  • Improved the visual effects for Vital Shot, especially when dual wielding Blaster Pistols.

Scoundrel
Ruffian

  • Fixed a bug that caused Sanguinary Shot to deal damage twice.

Imperial Agent
Sniper
Engineering

  • Interrogation Probe no longer flies away while the damaging effect remains on a target. Instead, it now fades out when the effect ends.

Flashpoints + Operations

Temple of Sacrifice

  • Players no longer receive “Out of Range” errors when attacking The Underlurker, and the Devastation mechanic now functions more reliably.
  • Malaphar the Savage now only uses Frustrated Howl in appropriate situations.

The Ravagers

  • The Repair Droids present during the Torque encounter now have more health in Story Mode.
  • The damage of Torque’s Floor Vents has been reduced for 16-Player Story Mode.
  • The Shoots Lasers droids now more accurately target and destroy the Repair Droids deployed during the Torque encounter.
  • Being defeated by the Bridge Crew no longer causes Coratanni to fight the Escape Pod.

Dread Palace

  • It is now possible to complete the healing challenge during the Dread Master Raptus encounter on all difficulties.

World

  • Players now get a warning if they pull the Ancient Threat close to its combat reset range while in combat.
  • Ancient Threat’s Force Whisper and Force Silence now have the correct dispel types in the debuff tooltip.
  • All units of the Lance Squadron on Yavin 4 now have boss immunity.

Flashpoints

  • The Demolition Probes during M2-AUX Foreman’s encounter in Hard Mode Depths of Manaan now center the damage radius on the probe instead of the player who triggered the detonation.
  • Commander Jensyn and Darth Soverus can no longer die of mysterious causes after using the Force Unleashed ability during Hard Mode Korriban Incursion.
  • The Imperial/Republic Commanders in Hard Mode Assault on Tython now reset if moved too far from the combat area.

Items + Economy

  • Self-Perpetuating Power Cells have replaced Synthetic Energy Matrix as a crafting material required to craft Dark Projects.
  • Bosses in 16-Player Story Mode Shadow of Revan Operations now drop two MK-2 gear pieces and two set piece Tokens.
  • One of the duplicate M1-4X’s Defense Gear Lockboxes has been renamed to SCORPIO’s Defense Gear Lockbox. The newly named SCORPIO’s Defense Gear Lockbox has had its requirement changed to SCORPIO.
  • Corrected the jet pack animation on the Headhunter’s Body Armor.
  • The icon for the Rishi reputation item “Raider’s Cove Saber” now looks more like its description.
  • Following items have had their stats corrected:
    • Devoted Allies Force-lord’s Gloves
    • Devoted Allies Force-lord’s System
    • Devoted Allies Assault Focus
    • Devoted Allies Force-lord’s Vestments
    • Devoted Allies Force-lord’s Relay
  • Fixed backside cloth stretching issue on Trooper Massassi, Yavin MK-1, Resurrected, and Rishi Maze MK-2 chest armor.
  • Fixed hair clipping issues with the Yavin MK-1 helmet.
  • The Kurtob Alliance speeder has had its item icon, name, and description fixed, and it now appears correctly in the Stronghold Decorations list.
  • Numerous Shadow of Revan head slot items have had voice modulation added.

Missions + NPCs

  • The Missions “[WEEKLY] The Ravagers” and “[WEEKLY] Temple of Sacrifice” are now shareable.
  • The Republic version of the Mission “[WEEKLY] Tactical Flashpoints” now correctly states that it is for level 60 Flashpoints.
  • It is no longer possible to do the Shadow of Revan arc twice.
  • The GSI Combat Support Droid now correctly exits combat when entering stealth mode during Solo Flashpoints.

Warzones

  • Huttball Fire Trap damage is no longer mitigated by damage reduction for level 55+ characters, effectively reducing the number of hits required to defeat a player.
Filed Under: Patch Notes, Support, SWTOR

SWTOR 3.0 Shadows of Revan Full Patch Notes

December 10, 2014 by

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Shadow of Revan*

*Shadow of Revan content is only available to players who pre-ordered the Shadow of Revan Digital Expansion before November 2nd, 2014. All other players who have purchased the Shadow of Revan Digital Expansion will be able to access the content on December 9th, 2014. 

All classes can now reach Level 60! 

New Planet: Rishi! A dangerous pirate haven at the edge of the galaxy!

New Planet: Yavin 4! Home of the fearsome Massassi warriors!

New Gear and Reputation Rewards! Powerful new Revanite gear, crafting schematics, and new mounts, including armored vehicle transports.

New Flashpoints! Ruthless Mandalorians and an army of fanatical Revanites stand between the Players and their ultimate goal in two new Flashpoints for levels 56-60!

New Operations! Take on the galaxy’s most savage pirates, then face Revan’s most dedicated protectors in two new level 60 operations, providing the ultimate challenge for groups of 8 or 16 players!

New Hard Mode Flashpoints! Level 60 Hard Mode versions of Assault on Tython, Korriban Incursion, Depths of Manaan, and the Legacy of the Rakata Flashpoints are now available!

Highlights

New Feature: Disciplines! Disciplines is a major overhaul to the class system. At its very core, the Disciplines System replaces the current Skill Tree system while offering a wider array of impactful Utility choices to expand their character and the ability for a character’s identity to surface much earlier in the level path. The Disciplines System changes the way we think about and develop the classes themselves, which translates into a more balanced game and the capacity to expand levels and abilities more often. We’re excited about this system and the possibilities it unlocks for the future.

For a full description of what Disciplines is, please see our Dev Blog.

Single-Player Forged Alliances: Prelude to Shadow of Revan! Players who haven’t completed the Forged Alliances story arc can find the new Mission “Prelude to Shadow of Revan” on their ship. This Mission provides the necessary Fleet Passes to move through Parts 1-3 of the epic Forged Alliances story. Use the provided Fleet Pass to be taken directly to T3-G2 or A7-M1 on your faction’s Fleet to begin your journey.

While on the Mission “Prelude to Shadow of Revan,” players also have access to the Solo Modes of the Forged Alliances Flashpoints when the chain calls for them to be completed.

strong>New GUI Element: Effect Procs! A new visualization system called Effect Procs is now live! This system plays an eye-catching visual effect around hotbar buttons when the ability in that button has been “powered up” by another effect.

Ranked Arena Season 3 has come to a conclusion! Congratulations to all the reward winners! In preparation for Season 4, Ranked stats have been reset and the Leaderboard for Season 2 has been archived.

Bounty Contract Week Returns! Hunt wanted criminals in this returning event. The event begins December 9th at 4 AM PST/12:00 GMT and ends December 16th at 4 AM PST/12:00 GMT.

General

  • To celebrate our impending 3rd Anniversary, the Dromund Kaas and Coruscant Strongholds are now available for 3 Credits!
  • The Centerpiece Decoration “Grand Statue of Revan” is now available to players who pre-order Shadow of Revan by December 1st, 2014.
  • All Stronghold Commanders are now level 60.
  • Medical Droids on the Fleets have been newly stocked with level 50+ Med Packs and Stims.
  • Elder Game Weekly and Daily Missions have had their objectives and rewards updated for Shadow of Revan:
    • “[WEEKLY] Tactical Flashpoints” has been updated to level 60 and rewards players for completing Blood Hunt and Battle of Rishi.
    • “[WEEKLY] Galactic Conflicts” has been updated to level 60, and offers Elite Commendations for completing level 60 Hard Mode Flashpoints.
    • “[WEEKLY] Classic Operations” is now completed by finishing Terror from Beyond, Scum and Villainy, The Dread Fortress, or The Dread Palace, and is available from levels 55-60.
    • “[WEEKLY] The Ravagers” and “[WEEKLY] Temple of Sacrifice” are available from new terminals on Rishi, Yavin 4 and either Fleet, and reward Ultimate Commendations for completing the two new Operations in any mode.
  • All PvE Commendations are now Basic Commendations.
  • The Commendation types “Classic” and “Planetary” have been removed from the game.
  • “Elite” and “Ultimate” Commendations are still available in-game, but currently held Commendations have been converted to Basic Commendations. Warzone and Ranked Warzone Commendations remain untouched. The conversion rate is as follows:
    • 2 Classic Commendations = 1 Basic Commendation
    • 1 Basic Commendation = 1 Basic Commendation
    • 1 Elite Commendation = 2 Basic Commendations
    • 1 Planetary Commendation = 3 Basic Commendations
    • 1 Ultimate Commendation = 3 Basic Commendations
  • Players can now send 6 Companions on Crafting Missions at level 56 (up from 5).
  • Expert Crew Skill Training is now available on all Crew Skill Trainers. This allows players to advance to 500 Skill Rating, and requires 440 Skill Rating to learn. Only accounts that have access to Shadow of Revan can acquire this Training.
  • Advanced Crew Skill Training now requires 390 Skill Rating (down from 400).
  • Players with AMD Radeon R9 200 video cards no longer have graphical corruption when using “High” Anti-Aliasing.
  • The back rooms on the Crew Deck of the Republic Guild Flagship no longer have inoperable Decoration Hooks.
  • Interacting with Missions next to a Priority Mission Terminal no longer causes the Missions GUI to close and the Priority Mission Terminal GUI to open.
  • The “Flashpoint Havoc” Conquest Event now includes the Legacy of the Rakata Flashpoint.
  • Addressed an issue with the Small Wall Hooks over the west door in the First Floor Hallway of the Dromund Kaas Stronghold that prohibited Trophy placement.
  • Tech and Ranged Resistances are now properly labeled in the Character GUI.
  • Med Centers on Oricon now have specific names.

Cartel Market

  • New Cartel Market items are viewable in Collections.
  • The Initiate’s Shadow Pack is now available for purchase in the Cartel Market.
  • The Pilgrim’s Shadow Pack is now available for purchase in the Cartel Market.
  • Balanced Combatant’s wrist attachment now appears correctly on Male Body Type 3.
  • The Austere City Bench is no longer misnamed as the Metropolitan Bench, and now appears correctly in the Decorations Window.

Classes + Combat

Introduction + Synopsis
While the Disciplines System is the major cornerstone of the changes coming to Classes and Combat (for more on the Discipline system, see our Dev Blog), we have also made adjustments outside of Disciplines that change combat on a global scale:

  • All classes now do less damage overall at Level 55 and gain that damage back as they get closer to 60.
  • Enemies Level 50 and below are now less difficult to defeat.
  • Operation-wide abilities have been given to every Advanced Class.
  • Player Damage over Time abilities (DoTs) can no longer be cleansed by another Player. They can, however, still be Purged by abilities such as Resilience/Force Shroud. DoTs inflicted by Enemy NPCs can still be Cleansed and Purged.
  • Most player-applied Crowd Control (CC) abilities can now be cleansed by another Player.
  • The cooldowns of abilities that Cleanse has been increased.
  • Abilities that Interrupt now have longer Cooldowns.
  • Channeled abilities are no longer affected by pushback, but can still be stopped by Interrupts or Stuns.
  • Channeled abilities now consume resources every time the Ability deals – or would deal – damage or healing, and does not have an upfront resource cost.
  • All Accuracy-increasing abilities have been removed.
  • Accuracy Rating grants more Accuracy per point.
  • Tank classes in the appropriate Tank stance get 10% Accuracy at the cost of a decrease in damage dealt.
  • Alacrity has been reworked, and now speeds up Ability Activation, Global cooldown, Resource Regeneration, DoTs (the speed that damage is dealt as well as the duration), and reduces Internal Cooldowns on certain passive abilities.
  • Many new Interface options, including Effect Procs, moveable Player Buffs/Debuffs, and Effect Highlighting. See the GUI Section for more details.
  • Most player-activated abilities now have a 270 degree Line of Sight.
  • All AoE healing abilities now prioritize the target with the lowest health percentage first.

Combat Change Philosophy
Leading up to 3.0, we knew we wanted to make changes to how we handled customization and choice, as we felt like the tree-based Skill System lead to many problems, including the loss of class identity, uneven power gains, and overly complex rotations. While we wanted to maintain the feeling of progression and gain that this system provided during the leveling process, we wanted to move past the tree-based system. This lead to the introduction of Disciplines, which you can read all about here. Given this chance to reimagine how combat and classes work in The Old Republic, there were also some changes we wanted to make on a more global scale in order to address some concerns and feedback.

Damage + Health
Towards the end of the 2.0 patch cycle, classes began to exceed the baseline damage values that we intended. In order to get back to where we wanted the damage output to be, we are lowering the damage output across the board. Players at level 55 will find that their damage has dropped, while players at level 60 end up having about the same amount of damage output that they did pre-3.0 at 55.

In a similar fashion, we weren’t happy with how long it took to level from 1 to 55 in the pre-3.0 game. In order to speed up the low-level game, all enemies from level 50 and lower are no longer as tough, and now die faster.

Operation-Wide Abilities
With the release of Game Update 3.0, Operation-wide abilities have been given to every Advanced Class. This change was made in order to address the idea that you had to have a Sentinel/Marauder in your Operations group in order to be at the best that you could be. These new abilities stack with each other, but not with themselves, and include defensive and offensive abilities. These abilities also ensure that any Operation group composition is well equipped to tackle what’s ahead of them, even if they don’t have a specific class available.

DoTs, Interrupts, and Channels
In order to make Damage-over-Time Disciplines more viable in Warzones and Warzone Arenas, player DoTs can no longer be cleansed. They can, however, be purged by self-targeted abilities such as Force Shroud/Resilience. DoTs inflicted by Enemy NPCs can still be both cleansed and purged. In order to make cleansing abilities more viable after losing a major component of its functionality, cleanses can now be used to remove Crowd Control (CC) abilities, such as stuns and roots.

Interrupts now have a longer cooldown, as we want players making informed, tactical choices when choosing what to interrupt instead of indiscriminately interrupting everything possible.

Channeled abilities now cost resources at the intervals when damage or healing would be dealt, instead of costing the full amount at activation. This is mostly a quality of life change, as players would spend a large chunk of resources and get interrupted, pushed backed, stunned, etc. and lose those resources. Additionally, channeled abilities can no longer be pushed back. They can, however, still be interrupted with interrupting abilities and stuns.

Stat Changes
Accuracy skills have been removed from the game, and Accuracy is now a gearing consideration only. Additionally, Accuracy Rating now gives more Accuracy per point. Tank Classes now gain 10% Accuracy for being in the appropriate “Tank Stance,” but lose some damage. This change was made in response to their being no counter-play to Taunts in PvP – it was simply a damage reduction with no recourse for those afflicted by it.

Alacrity now speeds up ability activation, speeds up global cooldowns, resource regeneration, Duration of DoTs (DoTs deal the same amount of damage, but faster), and reduces internal cooldowns. This change was to make Alacrity more useful as it now always makes you faster, and eliminates situations where Alacrity could actually be disruptive to your rotation or resources.

Bolster
Augments now interact with the Bolster system. Like other slots, Players with low level (or no) Augments will be given some stat compensation to bring them up to a more competitive level. Higher rating Augments still have an advantage over these Augment slots.

Due to Augments now being handled inside the Bolster system, the power gap between the Bolstered level of stats and the high end PvP gear (disregarding any Augments attached) has been increased slightly. The “worst case” to “best case” power gap remains the same.

Class Changes

Jedi Knight/Sith Warrior
Jedi Knights and Sith Warriors will notice that Riposte/Retaliation is now specific to the Guardian and Juggernaut Advanced Classes instead of being an ability that all Knights and Warriors get. This change was made due to Sentinel and Marauder Disciplines not supporting the effective use of Riposte and, barring fringe cases, Riposte was a poor use of Focus/Rage. Guardians and Juggernauts will find that the new Riposte is part of the Global Cooldown, deals more damage and consumes less Focus/Rage than Slash/Vicious Slash. Sentinels and Marauders will also notice that Crippling Throw/Deadly Throw has been removed, but the healing received debuff it applied has been added to Crippling Slash. For further changes, see below:

Sentinel and Marauder
Guardian and Juggernaut

Jedi Consular/Sith Inquisitor
The most substantial Base Class change for Jedi Consulars and Sith Inquisitors is that Force Potency/Recklessness now affected numerous channeled abilities instead of just one. Sages and Sorcerers will find that a few abilities that used to go to all Shadows and Sages have been moved into specific Disciplines, but Rejuvenation/Resurgence is now available to all. Shadows and Assassins have received a few quality of life improvements, such as Force Cloak no longer inhibiting healing while active. Additionally, Whirling Blow/Lacerate has been adjusted in order to make it more viable in a rotation. For further changes, see below:

Shadow and Assassin
Sage and Sorcerer

Smuggler/Imperial Agent
The Smuggler and Imperial Agent Base Classes have been refined, and a few abilities have been moved out of the Base Class and into appropriate Disciplines. Gunslingers and Snipers will likely first notice that being in cover is no longer a requirement for many of the abilities that previously required it, but also that being in cover is advantageous. Scoundrels and Operatives will find that they have more survivability with the inclusion of an instant activation heal and gaining Scamper/Exfiltrate earlier in the game. For further changes, see below:

Scoundrel + Operative
Gunslinger + Sniper

Troopers/Bounty Hunter
Troopers and Bounty Hunters will find that their resource costs have been adjusted in order to make resources more manageable, and that the order that abilities are received has been streamlined to allow for easier leveling and earlier access to tanking and healing abilities, depending on Discipline. Additionally, Diversion/Chaff Flare is now just for Commandos/Mercenaries, while Vanguards/Powertechs can reduce their threat with Sonic Round/Missile while Ion Cell/Gas Cylinder is not active, but it continues to be an area taunt while Ion Cell/Gas Cylinder is active. For further changes, see below:

Commando + Mercenary
Vanguard + Powertech

Flashpoints + Operations

  • Blood Hunt has been added to the Tactical Flashpoint category for levels 56-60.
  • Battle of Rishi has been added to the Tactical Flashpoint category for levels 56-60.
  • Assault on Tython has been added to the Hard Mode Flashpoint category at level 60.
  • Korriban Incursion has been added to the Hard Mode Flashpoint category at level 60.
  • The Depth of Manaan has been added to the Hard Mode Flashpoint category at level 60.
  • Legacy of the Rakata has been added to the Hard Mode Flashpoint category at level 60.
  • The Ravagers has been added to the Operations category at level 60.
  • Temple of Sacrifice has been added to the Operations category at level 60.
  • The Depths of Manaan Flashpoint now properly grants the Codex Entry for C2-D4.

GUI

  • New GUI Element: Effect Procs! An eye-catching visual effect is now played around hotbar buttons when the ability in that button has been “powered up” by another effect.
  • The Player Buff and Player Debuff trays have been removed from the Player Frame and have been moved into new, separate frames that are moveable in the Interface Editor.
  • New Option: Show Personal/Group Mission Progress! This option has been added to the User Interface section of the Preferences Window. When enabled, Mission progress will be shown in the large tooltip when placing your cursor over an object in-game that is involved with a Mission the player/party member is on.
  • New Option: Highlight Effects! This option allows the user to enable effect highlighting, which adds a border to buff and debuff icons.
  • New Option: Effect Highlight Max Duration! This option allows the user to define the max duration of the effects they would like highlighted.
  • New Option: Personal Effects! Allows the user to enable personal sorting on the effects. If this option is selected it will separate the buffs into two lists apply the sort to those two lists then merge them back together displaying personal first.
  • New Option: Effect Sort Type! This option allows the user to define the sort for the selected frame, and has been added to the Player Buff, Player Debuff, Target, and Focus Target Frames:
    • Apply Time: This option sorts the effects by the time they were applied. This is the most similar to how effects are currently sorted.
    • Total Duration: This option sorts effects by the total duration of the effect.
    • Time Remaining: This option sorts the effects by the time remaining until they are finished.

Missions + NPCs

  • Corrected an issue that caused certain Companions to grant more bonus stats than intended.

Warzones

  • A PVP Mission Turn in Terminal has been added to the Southern base in Ancient Hypergates.
Filed Under: Patch Notes, SWTOR Tagged With:

Shadows of Revan Expansion Details Announced

October 7, 2014 by

▶_SWTOR_Shadow_of_Revan_Expansion_Announcement_Trailer_-_YouTubeIf you’re a SWTOR and WoW player like I am, the last two months of this year are going to be insane. Warlords of Draenor is of course launching in November, and now the next big SWTOR expansion hits less than a month later on December 9th.

When I say ‘big expansion’ I mean one with lots of new story and a new level cap, which is exactly what Shadows of Revan is promising.

The short story is:

–          Level cap jumps from 55 to 60

–          Two new planets hit the severs: Rishi and Yavin 4.

–          introduction of Disciplines to replace Skill Trees (link)

–          Two new Flashpoints that will be ‘role-neutral’.

–          Addition of four Hard Mode Flashpoints and two level 60 Operations.

–          Limited time XP boost for Subscribers: you get a 12 times XP boost to allow you to get a character to 55 before the expansion hits.

There’s certainly plenty of incentives on offer to get new subscribers: the XP boost, the usual 7-day early access to the expansion, and if you didn’t follow-through to Rise of the Hutt Cartel, you get that free as well.

Have a look at the announcement vid for some shots of the new content:

December 9th is when everyone gets access to Shadows of Revan, with subscribers able to log in from December 2nd.

That gives me three weeks to get to Level 100 in WoW…. We will of course dissect the expansion announcement in this week’s podcast.

Over to you: what do you think of the announcement? If you’re a lapsed subscriber, is there enough goodies in there to lure you back?

Filed Under: News, SWTOR Tagged With: ,

Revan is Back in SWTOR

September 17, 2014 by

If this doesn’t get you interested for a new Old Republic expansion I’m not sure what will:

What do you say – will these draw you back to the game?

Filed Under: General News, News, SWTOR Tagged With: ,

SWTOR 2.9: Galactic Strongholds – Full Patch Notes

August 20, 2014 by
swtor-patch-incoming-banner

Game Update 2.9: Galactic Strongholds Early Access

Highlights

Galactic Strongholds Early Access! Subscribers can now purchase a Galactic Stronghold on Nar Shaddaa, Tatooine, Dromund Kaas, and Coruscant by visiting the Stronghold Directory on the Fleet or on the Stronghold’s planet.

Guild Flagships now available! Guilds can now purchase a Flagship and use it to compete with other guilds and conquer the galaxy! Visit the Flagship Directory on the Fleet for more information.

Battle for control with Conquest! Conquest events are now available in the Mission Log! Each week a new Conquest event will become active with new objectives. Complete your personal point target to earn special rewards – or if you’re in a guild with a Flagship, invade a planet and compete with other guilds for planetary domination. Special perks are available to those who conquer a planet by placing at the top of the Guild Leaderboard at the end of the event.

New Flashpoint: Depths of Manaan! Continue the Forged Alliances storyline with a new Level 55 Tactical Flashpoint set on the water-covered planet of Manaan.

Ranked Arena Season 2 has come to a conclusion! Congratulations to all the reward winners! In preparation for Season 3, Ranked stats have been reset and the Leaderboard for Season 2 has been archived.

General

  • The GSI Satellite Support Service is now in open beta testing on Makeb. Once registered with the GSI support satellites, GSI will track your every move and provide you with the following support services:
    • Gear is now bolstered to a 156 rating while on Makeb, increasing all stats!
    • When combat is detected, a Medical Probe will be deployed to administer long-lasting, refreshing Kolto, healing you for 2% every 3 seconds while you remain in combat.
    • There is now a 250% boost to exploration Experience while on Makeb.
  • Pets now occasionally make noises.
  • Victorious Battler Headgear now has voice modulation.
  • The Czerka Executive Speeder now tilts appropriately when turning.
  • The World Map window now blocks right-click interactions like other windows.
  • Oricon’s Galaxy Map appearance now accurately reflects that the moon is actively on fire.

Cartel Market

  • The first Stronghold Packs for Shipment Five – The Builder’s Stronghold Pack and The Gatekeeper’s Stronghold Pack – are now available in the Cartel Market!
  • Shipment Five Reputation – Binary Star Realty – available now!
  • Decorations and Decoration Bundles are now available for purchase!
  • Corrected the Rarity Icons of several Cartel Market items.

Galactic Strongholds

  • Galactic Strongholds on Nar Shaddaa, Tatooine, Dromund Kaas and Coruscant are now available to Subscribers.
  • Strongholds can be purchased by going to the Stronghold Directory on either Fleet or on the respective Stronghold planet.
  • An introductory Mission that grants a set of starter Decorations is offered by the Stronghold Commissioner, who can be found on either Fleet or on either Capital planet.
  • Mounts, pets, and companions can be placed as decorations in your Stronghold.
  • Guildmasters can purchase a Guild Headquarters at any Stronghold Directory. This purchase requires a Guild Bank with enough credits.
  • Decoration items can now be donated to your guild through the Guild Bank interface (this will consume the decoration unlock). Decorations that cannot be physically donated may be purchased for your guild through the decoration collection window (you will not lose the decoration).
  • Guildmasters can now purchase a Guild Flagship by visiting the Flagship Directory on the Fleet.
  • Flagship room expansions can be unlocked with a combination of credits and Framework items:
    • Frameworks come in three varieties: Engineering, Command, and Logistical.
    • They can be obtained either by crafting and exchanging Dark Projects at the Flagship Commissioner, by earning the guild reward in a Conquest Event, or by defeating enemy Sith and Jedi Commanders on planets across the galaxy.
  • Conquest events are now accessible in the Mission Log!
    • You can view the current Conquest event in the Conquest tab of the Mission Log.
    • Each week a new event will appear with a new set of objectives and contested planets. You can participate and earn rewards even if you aren’t in a guild.
    • If you are in a guild with a Flagship, your Guildmaster can choose to invade one of the contested planets and compete on the guild leaderboard! The top guild on each leaderboard will take control of the planet at the end of the event. Guild members who meet their point contribution target and place on the leaderboard will earn special guild-exclusive rewards. You will control the planet until your guild conquers another, or until another guild conquers it when it next becomes contested.
    • Conquering planets will earn your guild special privileges. Your guild will be advertised in a banner on the planet, your guild members will be displayed as ‘Conquerors’, your Flagship Orbital Support will have its effect doubled, and you will have access to special equipment, including the Commander Walker mount!
  • New Schematics are available on all Crew Skill trainers, under the “Strongholds & Conquests” category.
    • Industrial Prefabs can be crafted by Armormechs, Armstechs, and Cybertechs.
    • Synthetic Prefabs can be crafted by Artificers, Biochems, Synthweavers.
    • Universal Prefabs and their material components can be crafted by any crafting profession.
    • Prefabs are divided into three tiers: MK-1, MK-2, and MK-3. These schematics may be trained at skill levels 150, 300, and 450 respectively.
    • War Supplies are a new type of crafted item used to earn points in Conquest events. They may be exchanged for special decorations, Conquest equipment, and Flagship items. Each type of War Supplies may be crafted by the professions that specialize in the associated materials. All crafting professions may train the Invasion Force and Dark Project schematics.
  • Prefabs may be exchanged at the Fabricator Droids in the Strongholds & Crew Skills quadrant of either Fleet for a wide variety of Decorations.
  • Decorations now drop from every Flashpoint and Operation.
  • Many Flashpoint and Operation Achievements now provide special Trophy Decorations that can be placed on the walls of your Stronghold. You can view them in the Achievement Reward Window. These Decorations will be automatically unlocked when the Achievement is earned. You can also right-click the item icon to unlock it once the Achievement is earned.
  • Decorations may be purchased for Warzone Commendations and Fleet Commendations at the Starfighter & PvP Decorations Vendor on either Fleet.
  • Jawa scrap materials can now be obtained by earning Conquest rewards.

Flashpoints + Operations

  • Nefra, Who Bars The Way has a new “Frustrated Howl” ability, and now deals damage to all players participating in her Dread Fortress encounter if she reaches 80% health and is unable to reach a target.
  • The Achievement “Defeating Colonel Vorgath” is now properly granted when defeating him in 8-Player Story Mode Explosive Conflict.

Missions + NPCs

  • The density of enemies on Makeb has been reduced.
  • The Jedi Knight Mission “Doomsday” has had its difficulty reduced.
  • The Jedi Consular Mission “Chaos and Harmony” has had its difficulty reduced.
  • The Trooper Mission “The Battle of Corellia” has had its difficulty reduced.
  • Corrected the items that the Jawa Scrap Vendors have available, and they no longer sell unused Materials.
  • Group scaling has been removed from the following Missions, and the difficulty of the boss encounter no longer scales based on the number of players in the group:
    • Stealing Thunder (Imperial)
    • Revenge of the Archon (Imperial)
    • Hitting the Hutts (Republic)
    • Taking on Toborro (Republic)

Warzones

  • It is no longer possible to escape behind the series of pipes in the Tatooine Canyon Arena.
Filed Under: Patch Notes, SWTOR Tagged With:

Location of Skill Mentor Leuro-Khian on Republic Fleet

June 29, 2014 by

If you’re looking for the location of skill mentor Leuro-Khian on the Republic Fleet, here’s the map location:

skillmentor-fleet

This is the person you go to reset your skill tree on the Republic Fleet.

Filed Under: How-To, Support, SWTOR Tagged With: ,

SWTOR 2.8 Full Patch Notes

June 11, 2014 by

swtor-patch-incoming-banner

 

 

Soovada (“Spoils of War” in Huttese) is an annual celebration of total extravagance in Hutt culture, originally celebrated in the summer season of Varl after successful military campaigns. Rival clans compete to prove their superior wealth, attempting to sponsor the most parties, pit fights, bounties, gambling, and every other public display of fortune and excess imaginable.

Popularized among outside cultures during visits to Nar Shaddaa, this exuberant holiday is now celebrated on hundreds of worlds across the galaxy, where it’s simply known by its Huttese name; any connection to ancient wartime looting is largely ignored.

Highlights

NewPlayers can earn double Ranked Warzone Commendations, Warzone Commendations, Fleet Requisition, and Credits from PvP participation, and can try their hand at the slot machines on Nar Shaddaa for exclusive rewards during the Nar Shaddaa Nightlife celebration.

  • Earn double Fleet Requisition and Credits in Galactic Starfighter battles from Game Update 2.8 to 2.8.1.
  • Earn double Ranked Warzone and Warzone Commendations and Credits from 2.8.1 to 2.8.2.
  • Keep an eye out for intriguing advertisements for the Club Vertica and Star Cluster casinos for more information on the Nar Shaddaa Nightlife celebration!
  • Earn Golden Certificates from Smuggler’s Luck and Kingpin’s Bounty machines and redeem them for prizes.
  • Earn exclusive mount prizes directly from Kingpin’s Bounty machines.
  • Smuggler’s Casino Chips can be purchased with Credits or Warzone Commendations.
  • Kingpin’s Casino Chips can be purchased with Credits or Cartel Market Certificates, or won from Smuggler’s Luck slot machines.

 

Return to Oricon to face off against Dread Masters Bestia, Tyrans, Calphayrus, and Raptus, who are now more powerful than ever before! Defeat this new difficulty while Nightmare Power is active to earn a new title!

Story Mode Operations are now more accessible to endgame players (levels 50 – 55). The Operations section in the Group Finder window will list available Operations on a predetermined schedule, rotating in different Operations every few days. Players who meet the level requirement of the Operation will be Bolstered, removing the requirement for endgame gear. Rewards have also been improved, making this a great opportunity for players to earn Ultimate Commendations and experience new content!

The event runs from June 10th 12:00 GMT to June 17th 12:00 GMT. Get twice the experience from July 1st 07:00 GMT to July 8th 07:00 GMT. Participate in the Relics of the Gree event from July 22nd 12:00 GMT to July 29th 12:00 GMT.

General

  • Added Shadow Map options to the Preferences graphics tab:
    • Shadow Map Cascades: Increases the number of shadow maps used by the shadow system. Increasing this will improve quality but reduce performance.
    • Shadow Map Resolution: Increases the effective resolution of the shadows. Applies to interior and exterior shadows. Increasing this will improve quality but reduce performance.
  • Removed 6 Location and 1 Bestiary Codex entries that were erroneous and not obtainable through gameplay.
  • Corrected an error that caused /say messages to not send as expected.
  • System Messages are now able to have their location moved with the Interface Editor.

Cartel Market

  • New Nightlife Pack now available: The Star Cluster Nightlife Pack! Cost: 320 Cartel Coins.
  • Hypercrates containing 24 Star Cluster Nightlife Packs are now available! Cost: 6912 Cartel Coins (Discounted 10% for a limited time!)
  • The Star Cluster Nightlife Pack items can now be previewed in Collections.
  • Several Pets and Emotes from the Hotshot’s Starfighter Pack are now in Collections as intended.
  • Moods now have a description indicating which slash command they unlock (ex: /goofy).
  • The item “Holographic Disguise” now indicates in its tooltip that the effect will break when performing any action besides moving.

Classes + Combat

General

  • Fixed an issue that would occasionally allow abilities to affect targets, even if those targets had a 100% or greater chance to defend against attacks.

Jedi Knight

Sentinel

Watchman

  • Merciless Slash now deals more damage and costs 4 Focus.
  • Dispatch and Merciless Slash now have a 25/50/75 percent chance and Slash now has a 15/30/45 percent chance to trigger Mind Sear, which finishes the active cooldown of Cauterize.
  • Inexhaustible Zeal now also makes the Damager Over Time effects from Cauterize and Overload Saber uncleansable.
  • Overload Saber now requires Juyo Form to be active.
  • Plasma Blade now increases the damage dealt by burning effects by 7/14/21 percent (up from 2/4/6 percent).

 

Guardian

  • Focused Defense now lasts a maximum of 10 seconds (down from 40).

Sith Warrior

Marauder

 

Annihilation

  • Annihilate now deals more damage and costs 4 Rage.
  • Vicious Throw and Annihilate now have a 25/50/75 percent chance and Vicious Slash now have a 15/30/45 percent chance to trigger Pulverize, which finishes the active cooldown of Rupture.
  • Indefatigable Onslaught now also makes the Damager Over Time effects from Rupture and Deadly Saber uncleansable.
  • Deadly Saber now requires Juyo Form to be active.
  • Hemorrhage now increases the damage dealt by burning effects by 7/14/21 percent (up from 2/4/6 percent).

Juggernaut

  • Enraged Defense now lasts a maximum of 10 seconds (down from 40).

Jedi Consular

Sage

 

Balance (Sage)

  • Sever Force now deals slightly more damage.
  • Telekinetic Focal Point now grants a 9% per stack bonus to the damage of Rippling Force.
  • Mental Scarring now increases the damage done by Telekinetic Throw to targets affected by the player’s Sever Force by 8.3/16.67/25 percent.
  • Containment now reduces the activation time of Force Lift by 0.5/1.0 second (up from 0.25/0.5).

Shadow

  • Shadow’s Training now decreases the activation time of Force Lift by 1 second in addition to its other effects.
  • Mass Mind Control now taunts NPCs when Combat Technique is active, and lowers threat when Combat Technique is not active.
  • Reduced the activation time of Phase Walk to 0.5 seconds (down from 1.5 seconds) and increased the maximum duration to 5 minutes (up from 2 minutes).
  • Combat Technique, Force Technique, and Shadow Technique no longer require 100 Force to activate, and instead use all available Force regardless of amount.
  • Force Technique’s Force Breach now deals slightly more damage.

 

Balance (Shadow)

  • Sever Force now deals slightly more damage.
  • Mind Warp now increases the damage of Mind Crush by 16.5/33 percent instead of extending its duration.
  • Sever Force now also triggers the damage and Force regeneration of Rippling Force.
  • Containment now lowers the activation time of Force Lift by 0.5/1.0 second while Force Technique is active.
  • Mental Defense now enables Mass Mind Control to grant a 15/30 percent reduction in damage taken by 6 seconds.
  • Force Strike now has a 100% chance to activate on melee attacks (up from 60%).
  • Crush Spirit now grants a 15/30 percent chance for periodic damage over time effects to trigger Crush Spirit, which finishes the cooldown of Spinning Strike and makes your next Spinning Strike usable on a target of any health level.

Sith Inquisitor

  • Guard damage no longer cancels the effects of Whirlwind.

Sorcerer

 

Madness (Sorcerer)

  • Creeping Terror now deals slightly more damage.
  • Focal Lightning now grants a 9% per stack bonus to the damage of Lightning Burns.
  • Creeping Death now increases the damage done by Force Lightning to targets affected by the player’s Creeping Terror by 8.3/16.67/25 percent.
  • Haunted Dreams now reduces the activation time of Whirlwind by 0.5/1.0 second (up from 0.25/0.5).

Assassin

  • Assassin’s Training now decreases the activation time of Whirlwind by 1 second in addition to its other effects.
  • Mass Mind Control now taunts NPCs when Dark Charge is active, and lowers threat when Dark Charge is not active.
  • Reduced the activation time of Phase Walk to 0.5 seconds (down from 1.5 seconds) and increased the maximum duration to 5 minutes (up from 2 minutes).
  • Lightning Charge, Dark Charge, and Surging Charge no longer require 100 Force to activate, and instead use all available Force regardless of amount.
  • Lighting Charge’s Lightning Discharge now deals slightly more damage.

 

Madness (Assassin)

  • Creeping Terror now deals slightly more damage.
  • Lingering Nightmares now increases the damage of Crushing Darkness by 16.5/33 percent instead of extending its duration.
  • Creeping Terror now also triggers the damage and Force regeneration of Lightning Burns.
  • Haunted Dreams now lowers the activation time of Force Lift by 0.5/1.0 second while Lightning Charge is active.
  • Shapeless Spirit now enables Mass Mind Control to grant a 15/30 percent reduction in damage taken by 6 seconds.
  • Raze now has a 100% chance to activate on melee attacks (up from 60%).
  • Bloodletting now grants a 15/30 percent chance for periodic damage over time effects to trigger Bloodletting, which finishes the cooldown of Assassinate and makes your next Assassinate usable on a target of any health level.

Smuggler

Scoundrel

 

Scrapper

  • K.O. now allows Shoot First to interrupt the target.
  • Slippery Devil now offers a 15/30 percent reduction in area of effect damage in addition to its other bonuses.
  • Surprise Comeback now grants a 10/20 percent reduction in damage received while Stim Boost is active in addition to its healing effects.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Surprise Comeback from healing a fifth time.

Imperial Agent

Operative

 

Concealment

  • Jarring Strike now allows Hidden Strike to interrupt the target.
  • Shadow Operative Elite now offers a 15/30 percent reduction in area of effect damage in addition to its other bonuses.
  • Revitalizers now grants a 10/20 percent reduction in damage received while Stim Boost is active in addition to its healing effects.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Revitalizers from healing a fifth time.

Trooper

Commando

  • Tech Override now grants 6 seconds of interrupt and pushback immunity after it has been used to activate an ability immediately. For Commandos with Overclock, the immunity is triggered after the second use.

Vanguard

 

Shield Specialist

  • Shield Cycler now also regenerates Energy Cells when an attack is defended against in addition to shielding.
  • Static Shield now has a chance to finish the cooldown on Stock Strike when an attack is defended against in addition to shielding.

 

Assault Specialist (Vanguard)

  • Riot Augs now increases the damage of periodic elemental damage by 35% in addition to its other effects.
  • Rapid Recharge has been replaced by Critical Recharge. Critical Recharge increases Critical Hit chance by 1/2 percent, and reduces the cooldown of Recharge Cells and Reserve Powercell by 15/30 seconds.

Bounty Hunter

Mercenary

  • Power Surge now grants 6 seconds of interrupt and pushback immunity after it has been used to activate an ability immediately. For Mercenaries with Power Overrides, the immunity is triggered after the second use.

 

Pyrotech (Mercenary)

  • Superheated Rails no longer gets damage from both Primary Hand and Off-hand Rail Shot attacks.

Powertech

 

Shield Tech

  • Shield Vents now also vents Heat when an attack is defended against in addition to shielding.
  • Rapid Venting now has a chance to finish the cooldown on Rocket Punch when an attack is defended against in addition to shielding.

Pyrotech (Powertech)

  • Power Bracer now increases the damage of periodic elemental damage by 35% in addition to its other effects.
  • Rapid Venting has been replaced by Critical Venting. Critical Venting increases Critical Hit chance by 1/2 percent, and reduces the cooldown of Vent Heat and Thermal Sensor by 15/30 seconds.

Flashpoints + Operations

  • The effect of Nightmare Power has been removed from Nightmare Dread Fortress, and the “Conqueror of the Dread Fortress” Title can no longer be obtained. Congratulations to those who overcame this challenge!
  • Nightmare Mode is now available for the Dread Palace Operation.
  • Dread Master Brontes and the Dread Council now drop a Dread Guard Cranial Scan for each member of the Operation.
  • Players who are defeated in an Operation now have the option to spawn inside of the instance when all other players in the group are out of combat.
  • Players accessing Operations through Group Finder will now be Bolstered to an appropriate gear rating while inside the Operation. This Bolster effect will also provide increased incoming healing and increased shield chance and shield absorb.
  • Operations in Group Finder will now group players for the 16-Player Story Mode version of the Operation.
  • The Operation category of the Group Finder now rotates through a different available Operation every 2 or 3 days. The currently available Operation, the time remaining and the next available Operation can be accessed through the Group Finder panel.
  • Dread Fortress and Dread Palace have been added to the Operation rotation.
  • Mass Manipulator Generators no longer drop from every boss in Hard Mode Dread Fortress, and now only drop from Dread Master Brontes as intended.
  • Enemies outside of boss encounters in the Dread Palace now correctly follow players when engaged in combat.
  • Added additional gating to the Dread Fortress to block access to unintended areas of the map.
  • The Sovereignty buff players receive after claiming a Dread Master’s throne is now properly dispelled when leaving the Dread Palace.
  • Rewards for completing content via the Group Finder have been improved!
    • Operations:
      • Upgraded to 30 Ultimate Commendations at Level 55.
      • Upgraded to 25 Elite Commendations between Levels 50-54.
    • Hard Mode Level 55 Flashpoints:
      • Upgraded to 10 Ultimate Commendations.
    • Tactical 55 Flashpoints:
      • Upgraded to 10 Elite Commendations.

Galactic Starfighter

General

  • Spawn locations are now chosen randomly for players by default. Players can override this from the Map screen by manually selecting a spawn location.

Ships + Hangar

  • A new Gunship variant has been added! The SGS-S1 Condor (Republic) and the GSS-4Y Jurgoran (Empire) are now available via Fleet Requisition. These Skirmisher Gunships are a more up-close-and-personal Gunship with a Railgun and Missile-focused loadout, including an option for the new Interdiction Missile.
  • A new Bomber variant has been added! The Sledgehammer (Republic) and the B-5 Decimus (Empire) are now available via Fleet Requisition. These Assault Bombers are heavily armored Bombers that are best in the thick of the battle, and are able to deploy Drones or Mines for maximum effectiveness.

Components + Crew

  • Interdiction Mine damage has been increased, but no longer has Shield Piercing.
  • Feedback Shield’s damage has been increased and now correctly activates off of Primary Weapon attacks.
  • Fortress Shield now increases shield strength by 130%.
  • Mine area of effect now obeys line of sight.

Items + Economy

  • Serendipitous Assault, Focused Retribution, and Devastating Vengeance Relics no longer activate from both dealing damage and healing within the same rate limit.
  • Scrap Peddler Lockbox has been added to the PvP Items vendor on the Republic and Imperial Fleets for 600 Warzone Commendations. This Lockbox gives a random Jawa Scrap item that can be exchanged at the Scrap Peddlers in the Cartel Bazaar.
  • Master Hunter’s Headgear has been given voice modulation.
  • The Imperial version of the Battlemaster Force-Mystic’s Headgear has been given a more appropriate voice modulation.
  • The inventory of Fleet Commendation vendors has been updated:
    • All PvE Starship Upgrades have been moved to the Starship Upgrade vendor.
    • The Pilot Suits sold by this vendor no longer have Social Level requirements.
    • Reduced the cost of the Legacy Item Kits sold by this vendor.
    • Merged Grade 6/7/8 crafting Lockboxes into a single “Level 50” crafting Lockbox containing 3 random types of crafting materials.
    • Removed Level 50 Premium and Prototype Equipment Lockboxes.
    • Reduced the cost of the Level 50 Artifact equipment Lockbox.
    • Added a new Lockbox that contains a Rating 144 Prototype Item Modification, identical to the one purchased from the Makeb Planetary Commendation vendor.
    • Added a new Lockbox that contains a Rating 140 Item Modification, identical to the one purchased from the Makeb Planetary Commendation vendor. This Lockbox is weighted so that it is more likely to contain Modifications appropriate to your class.
    • Added a new Level 55 Crafting Lockbox that contains 3 random types of Grade 9 or 10 crafting materials.

Missions + NPCs

  • Slicing Missions now grant the correct grade of Lockbox.
  • The Starship Upgrade vendors S-1A0 (Empire) and S-4S0 (Republic) have been changed to Fleet Commendation vendors.
  • The Galactic Starfighter Daily Mission now additionally rewards 40 Fleet Commendations.
  • The Galactic Starfighter Weekly Mission now additionally rewards 90 Fleet Commendations.
  • The French voiceover for Darth Arkous in Assault on Tython and Korriban Incursion has been updated.

Warzones

  • The Acid Trap Burn effect from the Toxic Sludge in Quesh Huttball Pit is now applied faster, and is no longer avoidable by using abilities that increase the player’s speed.
Filed Under: Patch Notes, SWTOR Tagged With:

Conjecture on Future of SWTOR

June 1, 2014 by

and-another-thing

A reproduction of this Reddit post claiming to be inside knowledge of what’s happening over the next couple of years in SWTOR. Fantasy or fact – you decide:

Star Wars: Prelude to Darkness

A bunch of us ended up being privy to some meetings that were meant to be kept secret from us, so I should be safe and anonymous enough to share this information. I’m only doing this because I love this game and I think the plans to keep all of this secret until the last moment are only to the game’s detriment. I’m not actually a super lore-nerd, so I might miscommunicate some of what I heard—I tried SO hard to get this accurate and to remember as best as I could for you guys.

  1. EA and Disney have a brilliant plan for SWTOR. It will be upgraded to canon in the next expansion and will have some subtle tie-ins with Star Wars 7. (Specifically, a certain planet will be used and lord Vitiate will be an off-screen influence on the main villain of 7). The first step, although it won’t be obvious how, to SWTOR’s ending has begun in Forged Alliances.
  2. The storyline for SWTOR is going to end in about 3.5 years, and the sequel is already in development. These next 3 years are going to see an increase in funding as the game is brought back in line with initial expectations. There is a fun plan to let SWTOR run for as long as players want it to, with dynamic and scaling end-game content, but focus will shift to SWTOR 2. It will run on the Cryengine 3 Frostbite 3 (sorry I was excited and they look similar to me), so your first preview of how the game might look/run will be Dragon Age 3 later this year.
  3. The personal stories of SWTOR will continue in the next major Xpac, and they will each have an “ending”. YOUR character from SWTOR will appear in the as-yet-unnamed SWTOR 2 in various forms. Force Ghosts, holocrons, etc. As of right now, only one class appears to be able to survive until SWTOR 2 (Sith Inquisitor), but that might change. These will use your appearance settings and dialogue based on the actions you chose in the game. I will detail what I could gather about the plot later on in this post.
  4. There will be a newgame+ option added to SWTOR, some big bonuses for players who use it, and some major tweaks to the leveling experience and early planets. For example, coroscant lets you turn in most quests via holocalls rather than walking back. Newgame+ will be important as some characters that were not previously able to will become companions if certain story options are taken, and same gender romance will be added. It appears LucasArts was the one behind not allowing them in the first place. There will be some hefty rewards and updates to the original game that make going through newgame+ for that new companion romance feel less painful if you don’t want to. For example, a “rocket boots” type move for each class that is specific to each class (SI get to ride the lightning), and a class specific mount granted at level 15, that upgrades to a better appearance at level 30.
  5. The engine will be heavily revamped, and with the expansion, the game will be brought to consoles as a buy-to-play title with a cartel market. The goal will be to revamp all existing game systems so that everything fits nicely into place as one coherent whole game.
  6. New species—Torgruta, some other ugly thing

Gameplay/expansion features:

-Most level 60 content will involve cross-faction queues, when story appropriate.

-There will be some cross-faction planets where you can work cooperatively with the other faction. On PVP servers, you can flag yourselves PvP on these planets anyway.

-New action mode that allows mouselook and changes some of your move to macros to reduce your number of keybinds.

-Can use appearance changer on most companions, including species change.

-Same sex romance for most companions, including a few new romance options (Jaesa Lightside is one)

The Ending of SWTOR:

-Lord Vitiate has regained his power for the most part. His 300 year link to Revan allowed him to subsume Revan at the end of Foundry. (The two are now one, mostly integrated personality, although both sides will have chances to flash to the forefront). He has also been able to absorb power from the “deaths” of many powerful force users. (Spoilers: Darth Thanaton, for example, and Lord Baras if you’re on a Sith Warrior who didn’t spare him, same thing for Syo Bakarn and many other characters, Jadus, etc. You kill a lot of powerful Sith, and apparently the Emperor had their essences on tap. Choosing to spare various Sith will make Vitiate a bit weaker for your account).

-Vitiate has assembled a host of what are basically all the enemies that have been fought in SWTOR—Directive 7, some dread stuff, some cosmic horrors. Not all of them realize they are directly controlled by him, instead acting as puppets, but they serve his purposes.

-NEW CLASS STORIES: Each of the 8 characters will take on a major role in opposing Vitiate’s new attempt to absorb all life in the galaxy and become a God. Interesting, many characters and companions will appear in each other’s stories, and will make the dialogue choices that your character would based on LS/DS alignment. Some combinations will even have flirt options and such, which is fun, and some dialogue options will change based on how your characters are placed on the family tree (for example, rude options chosen if they are a rival, some indication of family/alliances/relationships between others. No, you wont be able to flirt with family, even if this is star wars).

Story spoilers:

The planetary story arcs will all deal with differing elements of fighting Vitiate and what he is doing. Many planets will be returned to for new level 55+ content

Korriban and Tython are important because Vitiate gets some powers from these planets, and some ancient droids/force-weapons.

-IA story will deal with infiltrating elements of the Republic AND Sith fleet that have been secretly taken over by the Emperor. A long series of manipulations will lead to the two sides of Vitiate’s stolen fleet fighting one another while the IA assassinates most of the leaders of Vitiate’s Navy.

-The JK storyline will be very dark, with one companion being forced back into Vitiate’s sway at intervals. The Emperor will also be closely connected to you, and try to take over your mind at times. This will lead to the Jedi Council trying to reign you in and keep you from going on missions—forcing the JK to ask mostly without the support of the Jedi or Republic. The JK will attempt to assassinate Vitiate and fail, losing a companion’s life. There will actually be a branching story where the JK can turn to the dark side if he is not already, or gain enhanced DS power. At least one companion will turn with you. The JK will then focus on defense—using powerful force artifacts to create barriers to Vitiate’s attempts to drain all life from the universe. These arcs will be assaulted by the most powerful enemies Vitiate can muster, and it will be the JK’s job to defend them. Vitiate WILL get to begin his ritual, and it will be the Jedi Knights job to protect the primary Arc—located on coroscant. Lightside choices allow the Jedi Knight to sacrifice themselves—they become a force ghost that can still take corporeal form. The Dark Side choice allows the arc to be destroyed instead, but the JK gains access to powerful dark-side alternative visuals for some moves.

-The Sith Inquisitor will hunt down various artifacts, force-users, and even some ghosts that are aiding Vitiate’s power. The SI will have no choice but to take this power for themselves, leading to visions that show the SI taking Vitiate’s place as sort of God. As the story progresses and Darth Marr is killed, you take over leadership of the Empire. You have multiple options to waste resources by attacking the Republic to your own benefit, or could allow for an alliance that leads to Vitiate’s destruction. The SI gets an option to take Vitiate’s place and become a cosmic force entitity—killing all those that Vitiate would kill, but taking the power for themselves instead. The SI passes off this choice to others by saying Vitiate did it.

-The Consular will lead the Jedi Council’s efforts in the war. You can make peace with the Empire or launch several surprise attacks and take some of the Empire’s forces for yourself. You will focus mostly on macro level conflicts, and getting all the chess pieces in place for the final assault on Vitiate. You will have the option to destroy Korriban.

-The Bounty Hunter is the one who actually gets to kill Vitiate as he is in the middle of his Dark Side ritual. Building up to this point, you get to assassinate a HUGE amount of important characters in both the Empire and The Republic—anyone standing in the way of destroying Vitiate efficiently and effectively will be eliminated by you. The Voss will aid the BH in becoming resistant to force attacks prior to the showdown with the Emperor.

-The Sith Warrior gets the option to play in support of Vitiate, however, at the end of the story, he betrays and attempts to kill you, so you don’t actually get to help him fully destroy the Universe. There are some arguing internally for non-canon endings to allow some stuff like this. Basically, you will be wrapped up in the Emperor’s Orders and organization, and have the LS options to betray him as much as possible, at some cost to yourself, or the DS option to simply act as his hand. You will come under attack from MANY sides, including some aggressive attempts by the Sith Inquisitor and Bounty Hunter.

-The Smuggler will essentially serve as an evacuator, as many planets fall to Vitiate, you will extract essential personnel from both the Republic and the Empire—or just their information on how to defeat him. Helping a powerful light-side sith early on will get your ship the ability to ignore many of the force-barriers and powers Vitiate will use. You will get to save the lives of 2 of the other player characters at various points in the story and will get the option to have T7 join your crew. You will also seek out some of the parts and designs that allow the Arks that will resist Vitiate to be built, and be charged with some essential backups of information that will help rebuild the universe if all else fails.

-The Republic Trooper—this one is a bit confusing. The trooper is sent to help the Empire prepare for the attack, since the Republic learns of it first. The Sith Inquistor charges him with the defense of Korriban from one of Vitiate’s first attacks. The trooper gets multiple options to weaken the Empire, or keep their forces to help fight vitiate. Throughout the story, you basically earn the respect of Imperial Citizens, oppose and can even kill Sith Lords who seek personal power or craziness instead of fighting Vitiate, and you end up leading many combined forces of Imperial and Republic forces against Vitiate. Your character becomes the main reason the two sides can work together on the missions that are surprisingly successful against Vitiate, and which allow the other characters to conduct the business as they are. This character gets referenced in many of the planetary quests.

–So, basically, the way the story ends is that Lord Vitiate is about 25% successful with his plans. Most planets near the core experience significant loss of life, except for the ones that had force artifacts shielding them via some of the story lines, the ones that had some sort of protection via deception (IA gets a planet to pretend to be allied with Vit to protect it). The arcs are successful depending on light-side/dark-side options.

-Elder game content will involve rebuilding the galaxy, as the Republic and the Sith Empire have basically crumbled, and the galaxy will now be lawless.

-The final patch of the game will involve Warlords rising to power. This will be to set up the next Star Wars MMO, which will take place about 100 years later, in a time period where the Republic and Sith Empire do not exist as they do now. Players will instead choose between multiple factions that have various relationships with each other. The Republic will be a monarchy that exists mostly only on Coroscant with influence on few other worlds, but will be able to be partially restored as the next game progresses. The Sith forces will be divided into multiple factions.

-The coolest thing will be seeing YOUR character get imported into the next game. Some scenes will just be via recorded holos—such as the BH taking down Vitiate. But some of the characters will have a major role. The Sith Inquisitor character will remain alive and well due to absorbing Vitiate’s power, and will be a major player on at least one planet of the next MMO. The JK Force Ghost will be influential.

There’s so much more, but I’m tired from all this typing. Enjoy!

Filed Under: From the internets!, Opinion, SWTOR

Where Is The Curator On The Republic Fleet? Right Here

May 22, 2014 by

If like me you’ve accumulated a bunch of premium or ancient gift fragments in SWTOR, you might be wondering what to do with them. You need to go see the Curator, whose name is Luna on the Republic Fleet. Here’s the location:

curator

Hope that helps – the Curator on the Imperial Fleet is in the same location.

Filed Under: How-To, SWTOR Tagged With: ,

SWTOR 2.7.2 Patch Notes

May 20, 2014 by

swtor-patch-incoming-banner

2.7.2 Patch Notes

General

  • Preferred players no longer have Chat restriction, as intended.

Cartel Market

  • Jori Daragon’s Loincloth no longer causes missing textures on the wearer’s legs.

Flashpoints + Operations

  • Corrected an issue which unintentionally granted Energy Spheres immunity to Challenging Call and Threatening Scream during the Dread Master Brontes encounter in Dread Fortress.

Warzones

  • The Lingering Sludge affect from the Toxic Sludge Pipes in the Quesh Huttball Pit is now applied to afflicted players immediately.
  • The ability “Throw The Huttball” is now granted when first entering any Huttball match instead of when first touching the Huttball.

 

Filed Under: Patch Notes, SWTOR Tagged With:

Seeker Droid Quest on Voss: Still Glitched

May 4, 2014 by
voss21

Welcome to Glitch Swamp

For those SWTOR players trying to complete the Seeker Droid quest line, I’m afraid you may be in for some disappointment. I’ve been slowly working through the quests and had gotten up to ‘Where Madness Takes Root’.

Voss is the location and it’s just another case of using your seeker droid to capture a rage seed. The only trouble is, in this location your seeker droid doesn’t work. When you enter the area it will tell you your seeker droid detects something, but after a few seconds say it no longer doesn’t. If you activate your seeker droid before that notification, it starts the seeking process but doesn’t progress.

Given this, I lodged a ticket (after searching the net and finding this is a common issue) and got the following response from BioWare support:

seeker-droid-glitch

So basically – if you experience this issue you can’t complete the quest line. There’s no fix in the works and nor is there an ETA on when there will be. Frustrated much?

UPDATE: As of Game Update 2.8 this issue is now resolved. Yay!

Filed Under: News, SWTOR Tagged With: , ,
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