Below in full is BioWare’s latest round of answers to selected community questions. One of the interesting ones for me is the confirmation of special titles for anyone that levels a new character on the PTS to Level 10 and then to the end of their character’s Chapter 1 storyline. There’s much meatier stuff than that though, so read on:

Thangunis: Soon I will hit level 50 and was wondering what to do with my commendations. If I understand correctly the new Recruit gear set is more PVP oriented and has less PvE stats? Is the old gear worth buying or should I wait for the new Recruit? I would like to buy Battlemaster directly with commendations but I can only have 1000 commendations, right?

David Hunt (Sr. Systems Designer): PvP gear going forward has more Expertise than the initial PvP gear, which includes the Recruit set. The Recruit set is also purchased for credits. You have a few options for handling your existing commendations, but what you should do depends on what types of commendations you have.

Centurion, Champion, and Battlemaster Commendations: These currencies are getting deprecated in Game Update 1.2. There are a few miscellaneous things you can purchase in Game Update 1.2 that are currently on the vendors on PTS. Most players will be best served by spending any of these commendations that they have now before 1.2 goes live.

Warzone Commendations: The cap on Warzone Commendations is increasing in Game Update 1.2, and they buy many more valuable items. Characters that do not have Battlemaster gear will probably benefit the most by spending Warzone Commendations to stay below the cap, but should try to keep 1,000 commendations for 1.2 to spend them on Battlemaster gear.

Unassembled PvP Tokens: These currencies are deprecated and have no value in Game Update 1.2.

Giolon: I read in patch notes that sniper rifles will no longer drop for Republic players – what about Risha and Zenith? These companions use sniper rifles. How are we supposed to gear them up if sniper rifles no longer drop for Republic players?

David Hunt: There are still several ways to get sniper rifles for Republic players – this change primarily removed them from boss drops. Sniper rifles can still be crafted, purchased from vendors, and modded. And with Game Update 1.2, weapons that drop more frequently on one side can always be mailed across from the other side with legacy characters.

 

CamoCladn: If I reverse engineer orange items, will I be able to obtain the schematics for them in Game Update 1.2? It would be great if I can get schematics to attempt to get augment slots as this would grant the ability to look just like I want.

Patrick Malott (Systems Designer): While in reverse engineering mode, items that can provide research variations will display a ‘Chance to Research a Schematic: x%’ tooltip. Otherwise, the tooltip will read “No Research Available.” Reverse Engineering to get Armormech Schematics pertains to the new endgame tier of Operation items and PvP Battlemaster/War Hero items.

 

Ironcleaver: I was under the assumption that the three crafting classes would gain the new augment schematics through their trainers… but seeing what’s listed under Slicing, does this mean the schematics are only gained as critical rewards through Slicing?

Patrick Malott: Correct. Augment schematics are not learned via the crafting trainers. They are acquired as Sliced Tech Part mission critical rewards through Slicing.

 

Shaynae: According to the patch notes: The chance of researching schematics via reverse engineering has been significantly increased. However I’m not seeing this on the stuff I’m trying, in fact I am getting purples from blues much less often than on the live servers. Yes, I do understand that some of it is luck. I found the Tier one stuff came pretty easier, but now the Tier three stuff I’m having either a really long run of bad luck or there is something wrong.

Patrick Malott: As stated earlier, while reverse engineering, items that can provide research variation will display a ‘Chance to Research a Schematic: x%’ tooltip. This chance will currently either be 20% or 10%. Pre-Game Update 1.2, Artifact items (Purples) had as low as a 4% chance for research. In addition, the “You already know that schematic” bug we fixed for this patch was preventing some research variations from being learned. Research chances overall should be significantly higher in 1.2.

 

Babouine: Will you guys add new stuff to the VIP area on the Fleets?

Daniel Erickson (Lead Game Designer): We will definitely be adding new items to the VIP areas on the fleets in the future, but we can’t give you an exact estimate on when just yet.

 

Xsmspiffs: Could we get an option to allow others to see the Guild Ledger, and show the Guildmaster on it? 

Damion Schubert (Principal Lead Systems Designer): The Guildmaster not showing will be corrected in Game Update 1.2. We will eventually allow the Guildmaster to set who can see the guild ledger via permissions – this will not make 1.2, but is definitely coming in a future update.

 

Alexbeav: I love the new Smart Camera toggle option! However, I have one observation to make: when you move (with smart cam off), the camera does not rotate, but when you use an ability, the camera resets back behind the player. The same thing happens when traveling by taxi. Is this an oversight or is it intended?

Damion: That’s a bug – good catch! I’ll get a bug into the system, and hopefully we’ll get a fix either in Game Update 1.2 or a patch shortly afterwards.

 

Mysquine: Whilst trying to do “/who x” (x being level) or “/who x-x” it does not return anything, if you type “/who x [planet]” then it will return the appropriate results. Is this intended?

Damion: That’s not intended. I will investigate.

Leonalis: When will we get the titles promised for playing on PTS? Will it be for all my characters?

Stephen Reid (Senior Community Manager): Short answer: after Game Update 1.2 goes live and yes! There are two in-game titles that will be granted to anyone who created a new character on the Public Test Server. Both titles will be placed after your character’s name. The first title is given for attaining Level 10 with any new character on PTS, and it is ‘First Line of Defense’. The second title is given for finishing Chapter 1 with any new character on PTS, and it is ‘The Cutting Edge’.

We’ll be granting these titles soon after Game Update 1.2 goes live, and you’ll receive the titles across your account for all characters, both existing and new. You’ll get the titles via in-game mail, similar to the Founder’s Medal, so keep an eye on your mailbox. In addition, these titles will still be available to be gained from playing on PTS in the future.

Daezihang: Are Mortar Volley and Death from Above actually functioning the same now? How much faster does MV start its damage?

Austin Peckenpaugh (Senior Designer): Yes, this was the motivation for the change. Mortar Volley and Death From Above now fire projectiles at the same time and those projectiles travel at the same speed, dealing the same damage. As for how much faster MV starts its damage – the answer is “much faster.”

Rystet: I have done extensive testing on the Training Dummies and I have spent over 2 hours beating on the Operation Training Target. I have not had any attack Dodged or Parried. Is this a bug?

Austin: Training dummies currently do not parry/dodge as intended. We are working on a fix for this.

PerfectDuke: Are you really removing the giggle/laugh for scoundrels when Upper Hand procs in Game Update 1.2? As a healer, having the audio cue is great for focusing on… well, healing. Especially if the proc comes off of my hot, slow-release medpac.

Austin: The change was intended to prevent sound fatigue when lots of these procs were going off in a small area (especially in operations). We are looking into ways of making this proc more visible going forward.

Zilvra: I have a level 32 Scoundrel Scrapper. I am already having problems killing my on level bosses due to the 1.1 nerfs. What will the 1.2 nerfs do to me in PVE? It seems really unfair to the purely PVE players when the nerfs hit?

Austin: Many of the class story bosses are intentionally very difficult. This is something that all classes face and is not unique to Smugglers. The fact of the matter is that Scrapper DPS is closer to target in 1.2. Understandably, if you were already struggling with an encounter, you may view this as an undesired change. For clarity, we don’t agree that this is “unfair” for “pure PVE” players as the changes are not meant to (despite popular perception) specifically target PVP over PVE.