SWTOR Server Maintenance June 11th 2013

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It’s a 5-hour SWTOR server maintenance this week to get Game Update 2.2 up and running. While you’re waiting you can always listen to our latest podcast which is hot off the tape recorders.

Here are thelocal maintenance time conversions:

AEST: 8pm-1am

AWST: 6pm-11pm

NZST: 10pm-3am

 

And finally, the official blurb from BioWare:

On June 11th, all game servers, SWTOR.com, and the launcher, will be unavailable as we perform scheduled maintenance. Game Update 2.2: Operation Nightmare will be implemented during this downtime. Details are as follows:

Date: Tuesday June 11th, 2013
Duration: 5 hours
Time: 3AM PDT (10AM UTC) – 8AM PDT (3PM UTC)

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

SWTOR Oceanic Server Free Transfers Announced

makeb5It’s been a while coming, but Eric Musco from BioWare has announced that the free transfer option for Oceanic players who want to get their characters off the three local servers, will be an option from June 4th.

Additionally, you’ll be able to transfer to any SWTOR server worldwide rather than solely North American servers:

Hey everyone,

I know you have been waiting a bit for an update and I wanted to pop in and do exactly that. Starting on Tuesday, June 4th, you will all be allowed a free one time transfer for each character you have on an APAC server. In the last update I gave I told all of you that we were expanding where your one-time transfer could go to include all NA-West servers. After seeing quite a few requests to expand it further, we are going to allow you a one-time transfer to any SWTOR server. To reiterate, starting on Tuesday, June 4th, you will be allowed a one-time transfer for each character you have on an APAC server to any other non-APAC server.

Thanks!

-eric

So there we have it: next week will see the beginning of the end of local servers as the populations further decline. There’s still some questions to be answered on how this will work for Guilds etc, so we’ll keep you posted as further information is given.

Over to you: will you be transferring immediately?

SWTOR 2.2 PTS Patch Notes

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Game Update 2.2 has hit the PTS for a couple of weeks stay until it goes live on the 11th June. For those who are happy to test it out, here are the full patch notes as they currently stand:

Star Wars™: The Old Republic™
Game Update 2.2 PTS Patch Notes
Last Updated: 5/24/2013
The patch notes published for the Public Test Server are intended to guide testing. They are not final and are subject to change.

The Public Test Server Patch Notes will be provided in English. The final release notes will be provided in English, French, and German when the content is moved to live servers.

 

General

  • Characters in a guild will receive an XP and Reputation bonus based on the number of characters from unique accounts in the guild. For every five active unique accounts in a guild, the XP and Reputation bonus increases by 1% (on top of the base 5%) for the entire guild, up to a maximum of 10%.

Classes and Combat
General

  • All stunbreaks (Determination, Escape, Unbreakable Will, Resolute, etc.) will have their cooldown reset after a character comes back from a defeated state.

Jedi Knight

Guardian
Vigilance

  • Shien Form now increases movement speed by 15%, in addition to its other effects.

Sith Warrior

Juggernaut
Vengeance

  • Shien Form now increases movement speed by 15%, in addition to its other effects.

Jedi Consular

Shadow
Infiltration

  • Breaching Shadows, granted by Shadow Technique, has a new visual effect that persists while 3 charges of Breaching Shadows are active.

Sith Inquisitor

Assassin
Darkness

  • Dark Ward has a new visual effect that persists while active.

Deception

  • Static Charge, granted by Surging Charge, has a new visual effect that persists while 3 charges of Static Charge are active.

Bounty Hunter

General

  • Made visual improvements to Flamethrower.

Crew Skills
Crafting Skills

  • Underworld gear can now be Reverse Engineered and learned as a schematic.

Operations
Terror From Beyond

  • Nightmare Mode is now available for Terror from Beyond!
  • Story Mode drops have been updated to include the following in addition to current rewards:
    • The Writhing Horror now drops the Arkanian Bracer Token
    • The Dread Guard now drops an additional random Black Market Item

Scum and Villainy

  • A PTS sneak preview of nightmare mode is now available for Legions of Scum and Villainy! This will be released as part of Game Update 2.2.2.
  • Story Mode drops have been updated to include the following in addition to current rewards:
    • Dash’Roode now drops the Arkanian Waist Token
    • Titan 6 now drops the Arkanian Implant Token
    • Thrasher now drops the Arkanian Earpiece Token

Items and Economy
Items

  • A new sub-tier of gear is available! Kell Dragon gear can be obtained from Nightmare Mode Operations at level 55.
  • A new vehicle, the Helix Hyperpod, is now dropped in Nightmare Mode Terror from Beyond.
  • A new vehicle, the Titan 6 Containment Vehicle, is now dropped in Nightmare Mode Scum and Villainy.

Vendors

  • New vendors have been added to the Gav Daragon and Ziost Shadow where players can exchange unassembled Kell Dragon tokens for gear.
  • New Rated PvP Weapons have been added to the PvP Ranked Gear Vendor. These new Weapons cost 400 Ranked Commendations, and require a pvp rating of 2400

PvP

WarzonesGeneral

  • Players that are backfilled into a Warzone will be awarded a Reinforcement Medal that will count toward their total medal count for the match. This also means that backfilled players will no longer be put into a situation where they get backfilled into a match and don’t have enough time to get one medal and thus miss out on the warzone rewards at the end of the match.

Alderaan

  • Turret (Objective Control Points) will no longer be interactable while changing ownership.
  • Players will no longer be backfilled into Alderaan Civil War Warzone when one team has twice as many points as the enemy team.

Ancient Hypergates

  • Players will no longer be backfilled into Ancient Hypergate after the 4th explosion.

Denova

  • Players will no longer be backfilled into Novare Coast Warzone when one team has less than 25% remaining on their shields and the other team has 75% or greater remaining on theirs.

Huttball

  • Players will no longer be backfilled into Huttball Warzone after 10 minutes have elapsed in the match.

Gree Event Returns To SWTOR

ilum2May 21 to 28 sees  the Relics of the Gree event return to SWTOR for those after some different gear. I’m very tempted to do the reputation grind with the Gree for the Blue Sphere Transport Enclosure Vehicle which is one of the cooler vehicles I’ve seen in-game.

For those who have forgotten the background story behind the event:

An ancient and powerful Gree starship has suddenly appeared and touched down in the midst of the frozen battlegrounds of the planet Ilum. Launched by the Gree’s ancestors long ago to explore and study the furthest reaches of the galaxy, the fully-automated vessel has been hyper-jumping from one star system to the next for uncounted centuries, examining the planets it discovers and analyzing how their native species respond to various stimuli, from mild atmospheric alterations to direct attacks.

For the modern Gree, the starship has come to be known as ‘Gray Secant,’ and carries an almost religious significance. Having long forgotten the techniques and intentions of their ancient predecessors, the Gree can only look back on their ancestors’ works with deeply-felt reverence and do their best to keep them functional. The reappearance of this unfathomably sophisticated starship is incredibly exciting for the Gree, and they want to do anything they can to further Gray Secant’s now-mythic purpose. Since the starship seems to have taken an interest in Ilum’s battles between the Republic and the Empire, the Gree have reached out to exceptional individuals from both factions, offering lavish rewards for those who travel to Ilum’s battlegrounds to fight and provide data for the Secant’s grand mission of galactic analysis.

You can find out more about the event and the gear on offer by reading the announcement from BioWare.

Will you be giving it a go this time around?

SWTOR 2.1.0 Full Patch Notes

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SWTOR Patch 2.1.0 is with us, and what a bundle of goodies it contains. And here are those goodies in full for you to read through. Enjoy:

 

Game Update 2.1: Customization

5/14/2013

Highlights

  • New Feature! The new Appearance Designer by AestheTech has been added to Dromund Kaas, Coruscant, and the Republic and Imperial Fleets. This kiosk will allow players to modify any feature of their physical appearance, except gender, including taking on a whole new Species. Players can also use the kiosk to access and unlock brand new character customization options. Subscribers get a substantial discount on all Appearance Designer changes.
  • New Feature! Dye Modules are now available via Artifice Crafting, some vendors, and the Cartel Market. They function similar to other item modifications. More details under Items and Economy.
  • New Feature! Collections provides a one–stop interface which is accessible from the Inventory Window or Cartel Market and tracks many items available from the Cartel Market, Packs (Cartel and Contraband alike), Cartel Reputation, and even Friends of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, Pre–order, Collectors Edition, live fan events and more. More details under General.
  • New Unlockable Species! Players of any Faction, Class, or gender can now play as the Cathar Species! Cathar can be purchased via the Cartel Market or directly through the Appearance Designer Kiosk on the Republic and Imperial Fleets and Capital Worlds.
  • Renames Available! Players now have the ability to purchase a Name Change for Character, Legacy, and Guild from the Cartel Market.

Cartel Market

General

      • All Cartel Market Toy items are now Bind on Use. Previously, some of these items did not bind to the player.

New Items

      • The Eradicator’s Mask is now available on the Cartel Market. Cost: 480 Cartel Coins
      • The Huttsbane’s Garments are now available on the Cartel Market. This collection of adaptive gear with no modifications is available to any Class at level 1. Cost: 900 Cartel Coins
      • The Cathar Species is now available for all Classes! Cost: 600 Cartel Coins
      • Escrow Credit Transfers are now available for Free–to–Play and Preferred Status Players. Package denominations are available for 50K, 150K, and 600K . Each Package is a consumable that will immediately transfer the Package’s set amount of credits from the existing Escrow Balance as listed in the Currency tab of the Inventory Window to the Inventory credit balance. This transfer does not affect Inventory Credit Caps. Therefore, newly acquired credits will go into the Escrow Balance as normal. For example, if the player has a Credit Cap is 250,000 / The player has 100,000 in their Inventory. The player purchases a 600K escrow package bringing their Inventory credit total to 700,000. Until the credits in the player’s Inventory drop below 250,000 (the Credit Cap), the newly acquired credits will be funneled into Escrow. Cost:
        • Small Package – 40 Cartel Coins
        • Medium Package – 80 Cartel Coins
        • Large Package – 240 Cartel Coins
      • Players are now able to purchase a Name Change from the Cartel Market. Cost:
        • Character – 1,000 Cartel Coins
        • Legacy – 1,000 Cartel Coins
        • Guild – 3,000 Cartel Coins
      • New Appearance Options are now available in the Cartel Market. Cost:
        • Human Hairstyles 1 – 240 Cartel Coins
        • Human Hair Colors 1 – 180 Cartel Coins
        • Mirialan Tattoos 1 – 90 Cartel Coins
        • Chiss Customizations 1 – 240 Cartel Coins
        • Human White Eyes – 100 Cartel Coins

New Discounts

Permanent Reductions
        • The Carbonite Chamber is now permanently discounted. Cost: 480 Cartel Coins
        • Customization Control: Display Titles is now permanently discounted. Cost: 90 Cartel Coins
        • Customization Control: Display Titles (Account) is now permanently discounted. Cost: 150 Cartel Coins
        • The Gamorrean Axe is now permanently discounted. Cost: 300 Cartel Coins
        • The Major Experience Boost consumable is now permanently discounted. Cost: 90 Cartel Coins
        • 5–Pack: Major Experience Boost consumables are now permanently discounted. Cost: 360 Cartel Coins
        • The Major Valor Boost consumable is now permanently discounted. Cost: 40 Cartel Coins
Temporary Reductions
        • Access Authorization: Section X is now discounted by 25%. Cost: 375 Cartel Coins
        • Access Authorization: Section X (Account) is now discounted by 10%. Cost: 900 Cartel Coins
        • The Fleet Pass (Single Use) consumable is now discounted by 33%. Cost: 60 Cartel Coins
        • The Gamorrean Axe is now discounted by 25%. Cost: 225 Cartel Coins
        • The Major Experience Boost consumable is now discounted by 33%. Cost: 60 Cartel Coins
        • 5–Pack: Major Experience Boost consumables are now discounted by 20%. Cost: 288 Cartel Coins
        • The Major Valor Boost consumable is now discounted by 25%. Cost: 30 Cartel Coins
        • The Covert Pilot Suit is now discounted by 20%. Cost: 720 Cartel Coins
        • Unlock: Guild Bank Access is now discounted by 25%. Cost: 450 Cartel Coins
        • Unlock: Guild Bank Access (Account) is now discounted by 20%. Cost: 1080 Cartel Coins
        • Unlock: Galactic Trade Network Sale Slots are now discounted by 20%. Cost: 100 Cartel Coins
        • Unlock: Galactic Trade Network Sale Slots (Account) are now discounted by 20%. Cost: 224 Cartel Coins
        • Unlock: Additional Quickbar is now discounted by 20%. Cost: 200 Cartel Coins
        • Unlock: Additional Quickbar (Account) is now discounted by 20%. Cost: 432 Cartel Coins
        • Customization Control: Hide Head Slot is now discounted by 20%. Cost: 280 Cartel Coins
        • Customization Control: Hide Head Slot (Account) is now discounted by 20%. Cost: 620 Cartel Coins
        • Customization Control: Display Legacy Name and Titles is now discounted by 50%. Cost: 50 Cartel Coins
        • Customization Control: Display Legacy Name and Titles (Account) is now discounted by 50%. Cost: 100 Cartel Coins
        • Customization Control: Unify Colors is now discounted by 40%. Cost: 210 Cartel Coins
        • Customization Control: Unify Colors (Account) is now discounted by 40%. Cost: 465 Cartel Coins
        • Orange–Yellow Crystals are now discounted by 33%. Cost: 600 Cartel Coins
        • All Level 15 Chestpieces are now discounted by 33%. Cost: 100 Cartel Coins

Bug Fixes

    • Silver–blue crystals sold on the Cartel Market now have appropriate translations in French and German.
    • Cartel Market Species Unlocks will now properly apply to accounts who have not yet unlocked their Legacy.
    • The Life Day Holo–Tree now displays the correct icon on the player’s status bar when in use.
    • The Music Therapy Probe now correctly affects group members.

General

  • New Unlockable Species! Players of any Faction, Class, or gender can now play as the Cathar Species! Cathar can be purchased via the Cartel Market or directly through the Appearance Designer Kiosk on the Republic and Imperial Fleets and Capital Worlds.
  • New Feature! The new Appearance Designer by AestheTech has been added to Dromund Kaas, Coruscant, and the Republic and Imperial Fleets. This kiosk will allow players to modify any feature of their physical appearance except gender, including taking on a whole new Species!
  • New Character Customization options are now available! Players who wish to create a new character using a newly added customization will first need to purchase and unlock the Appearance Option on an existing character via the Cartel Market or Appearance Designer Kiosk.
  • New Feature Collections is a new feature which provides a one–stop interface accessible from the Inventory Window or Cartel Market:
    • Collections will track most items available from the Cartel Market, Packs (Cartel, Contraband, and beyond!), Cartel Reputation, and even Friends of Star Wars: The Old Republic, Pre–order, Collectors Edition, live fan events and more.
    • Rather than being limited to one character or Legacy, items tracked with Collections share across the entire account – all characters, all servers.
    • Once an item or gear set has been acquired on a single character, the player can use Cartel Coins to unlock that item or gear set for all characters on the account, with the exception of level 15, 31, and 43 Adaptable gear and Cartel Reputation items.
  • Decreased the instance population cap on Imperial and Republic Fleet Stations as well as several planets.
  • Removed the 13th Scar Character Customization Option for Female Rattataki Sith Inquisitors, as it was identical to Scar 12.

Classes and Combat

General

      • Players who are killed or rooted while using dive–based abilities (such as Scamper or Covered Escape) will no longer become indefinitely stuck in place.

Smuggler

    • The tooltip for Illegal Mods now properly indicates the Accuracy boost in the German version.

Crew Skills

General

      • Adjusted level 400+ mission rewards to provide Standard Quality crafting materials at a rate more comparable with lower level missions.
      • Failed Crew Skill missions will no longer return a blank Mission Reward Window in some circumstances.

Crafting Skills

General
        • Successful Reverse Engineering attempts will now grant the resulting Schematic and will no longer display the error “Insufficient Skill Level” if the Schematic is above the player’s current Crafting skill level.
Armormech
        • Reduced crafting material cost for level 401+ Premium Quality Schematics to be more comparable with lower level Schematic requirements.
Artifice
        • Players with Artifice can now craft Dye Modules.
Biochem
        • Adjusted all level 401+ Schematics to better balance the use of Artificial Microbe, Metabolic, Enhancement Agent, and Biological Compounding Chemical crafting materials.
        • Viral Residue is now a required material for some Biochem Schematics.
Cybertech
        • Reduced crafting material cost for level 401+ Premium Quality earpieces to be more comparable with lower level Schematic requirements.
Synthweaving
        • Reduced crafting material cost for level 401+ Premium Quality Schematics to be more comparable with lower level Schematic requirements.

Gathering Skills

Archaeology
        • Removed Perfect Corbonic Crystals as a mission reward, and the vendor value has been increased for the crystals currently in distribution.
Scavenging
        • Removed Hollinium as a mission reward, and the vendor value has been increased for the Hollinium currently in distribution.
Slicing
      • Slicing missions will now correctly populate the level 25–32 mission level drop down when reaching skill level 125.
      • Increased the number of Bio–Mechanical Interface Chips and Thermal Regulators provided as rewards for level 400+ Slicing missions.

Flashpoints and Operations

Flashpoints

Cademimu
        • Players will now be able to free group members who are affected by General Ortol’s Magnetic Shackles in Hard Mode.

Operations

    • Players below level 50 are no longer able to enter Operations.

Galactic Solutions Industries

Seeker Droid

    • Players are now able to obtain all parts for the GSI HMF–03 Exploiter, GSI EMP–02 Explorer and GSI PMP–06 Pleasure Speeder vehicles.

Items and Economy

General

      • New Feature! Dye Modules are now available via Artifice, some vendors, and the Cartel Market. They function similar to other item modifications:
        • It is highly recommended that all colors be previewed before the Dye Modules are applied to any piece of gear.
        • To add Dye to a piece of gear, simply open the Item Modification Window and place the Module into the new Dye Module slot.
        • Once slotted in gear, Dye Modules cannot be recovered, and removing a Dye Module will destroy it.
        • Gear that has been slotted with Dye Modules will still update when using the “Unify to Chest Color Theme” option, so only one Module (slotted into the chestpiece) is needed to maintain consistent coloration for an entire set of gear.
      • The Exceptional Powered Exoskeleton Body Armor and Environmental Asylum Body Armor now have the correct icon and appearance when equipped.
      • The Tionese Duranium Faceguard and the Prototype Balmorran Duranium Faceguard will now display properly when equipped.

Vendors

    • The Collector’s Edition and Security Key Vendors now sell Dye Modules.
    • Players can now obtain Dye Module Schematics from Galactic Reputation Vendors.

Legacy

General

      • The description for the Legacy Global Convenience Unlock “Improved Priority Transport: Personal Starship” have been updated to better reflect their effect:
        • Level I and Level II Unlocks now state that they reduce the cooldown on Priority Transport: Personal Starship by 8 hours each to a minimum of 1 hour.
        • Level III Unlock now states that it will reduce the cooldown on Priority Transport: Personal Starship by 7 hours to a minimum of 1 hour.
      • Legacy unlocks that are purchased using Credits will now provide a confirmation window.
      • The Legacy Global Ship Unlock “Galactic Market Kiosk” is now titled “Galactic Trade Network Terminal” and the description has been updated.

Achievements

    • Players will now be properly granted PvP Achievements for Solo Kills, Killing Blows, Total Kills, Damage, and Healing.

Missions and NPCs

Missions

    • Players who are in a group will no longer be prevented from advancing missions which require the use of their ship’s holoterminal.

PvP

Warzones

General
        • Augments are no longer taken into account when calculating bolster.
Voidstar
      • Players will no longer be able to use movement speed increasing abilities to get over the shield wall in the Cargo (final) room.

UI

  • Added new tutorials for Collections and Dye Modules.
  • The tutorial indicator will now sort above some UI windows when a tutorial is available.
  • Subscribers will now see proper Unlocked indicators at Character Creation for Species that they have access to.
  • Whispers sent to an offline character will no longer be forwarded to an online character on the same account.
  • Companions with an active Customization Kit will now display properly in the Preview Window.
  • A background image has been added to the Character Sheet, Legacy Family Tree, and Preview Window.
  • Hovering over the Guilds button will now display the correct text.
  • Dark Side Corruption will now display properly in the Preview Window.

 

SWTOR Server Maintenance 14th May: Game Update 2.1.0.

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A five hour maintenance tomorrow night for SWTOR services, but it’s for a hell of a good reason – Game Update 2.1.0 goes live. Here’s the local time conversions for your convenience:

AEST: 8pm-1am

AWST: 6pm-11pm

NZST: 10pm-3am

The BioWare blurb:

On Tuesday May 14th, all game servers, SWTOR.com, and the launcher will be unavailable as we perform scheduled maintenance. Game Update 2.1.0 will be implemented during this downtime. Details are as follows:

Date: Tuesday May 14th, 2013
Duration: 5 hours
Time: 3AM PDT (10AM UTC) to 8AM PDT (3PM UTC)

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

SWTOR Server Maintenance 7th May: It’s A Quickie!

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A quick, non-patch maintenance this week. Time conversions:

AEST: 6pm-7pm

AWST: 4pm-5pm

NZST: 8pm-9pm

And don’t forget, an hour is a perfect time to catch our latest podcast.

The BioWare blurb:

On Tuesday, May 7th we will be restarting all game servers to maintain and improve stability. After maintenance, there will not be a new patch to download. Details are as follows:

Date: Tuesday, May 7th
Duration: 1 hour
Time: 12AM PDT (7AM GMT) – 1AM PDT (8AM GMT)

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

Paying For Cathar: BioWare Clarify

Cathar SWTOR updateAhhh the long standing promise of Cathar in SWTOR. It’s finally coming, but not in a way a lot of people expected i.e. we’ll all have to pay for it. This has caused quite some angst, to the point that BioWare’s Eric Musco has jumped in to provide a little update:

There is clearly some frustration around this but I believe there are also some misconceptions about Cathar and our intent for subscribers so I wanted to hopefully clarify some of that for you. One thing we have stressed before and one thing we will continue to do with the Cartel Market is to use it for customization and convenience options. Another goal we have stressed for the Cartel Market is to not use it as a method for pay to win.

Game Update 2.1 does introduce entirely new customization options, like the Cathar, which will require Cartel Coins in order to gain access to. Although I understand your frustration around this, we always take into consideration when pricing Cartel Market items that all subscribers receive a monthly grant of Cartel Coins. For example, if you are currently a subscriber who has a security key active on your account, you will be able to outright purchase Cathar with just one month’s worth of Cartel Coins. We also try to give you as much notice as possible around new features like this so that if it is your desire to purchase these unlocks, you will be able to do so solely through saving your monthly Cartel Coin grant.

What I think is a misconception is that this is setting a precedence that we are going to take things away from subscribers. I cannot stress enough that this is simply not something we ever intend to do. The features and functions that you pay for right now as a subscriber will remain in place. We would not, for example, suddenly require you to pay for an unlock to run more Flashpoints. On the flipside of this though, the intent of the Cartel Market is to continually add new and fun cosmetic and convenience features and in some circumstances, subscribers will have to pay Cartel Coins to access these as well. I just want to specifically call out that we will keep these cosmetic as we would certainly not want to place any of our players at a disadvantage for not spending money, AKA not implementing pay-to-win.

One thing I do want to call out for Game Update 2.1, which you will see more details on in the future (from both us and from fan sites) is that subscribers will see a substantial discount on some of the features being implemented in Game Update 2.1, such as Appearance Designer. Not only was your monthly grant kept in mind when pricing the items themselves, but overall things are far cheaper for you as a subscriber than a free-to-play or preferred status player.

I know that just the principle that subscribers are being charged for Cathar is causing some of your frustrations, but I hope that I could at least explain a bit about why and to help alleviate any concerns that we would ever take something away from subscribers.

As a subscriber I’m not too fazed by this, depending on the cost of the customisation when it’s released. What about you?

SWTOR Server Maintenance 23rd April 2013

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A six-hour server downtime to put Patch 2.0.1 live.

Time conversions for you:

AEST: 7pm-1am

AWST: 5pm-11pm

NZST: 9pm-3am

And if you get bored, why not listen to the very latest episode of our podcast?

The original blurb from BioWare:

 

On April 23rd, all game servers, SWTOR.com, and the launcher will be unavailable as we perform scheduled maintenance. Game Update 2.0.1 will be implemented during this downtime. Details are as follows:

Date: Tuesday April 23rd, 2013
Duration: 6 hours
Time: 2AM PDT (9AM GMT) to 8AM PDT (3PM GMT)

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

Rise Of The Hutt Cartel Launch Server Maintenance

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It’s launch time for Rise Of The Hutt Cartel, so the servers are coming down at what’s a pretty unfortunate time for local players, although if it stays at 2 hours as stated it’s not the end of the world.

Here are the time conversions:

AEST: 3.30pm – 5.30pm
AWST: 1.30pm – 3.30pm
NZST: 5.30pm – 7.30pm

The full info from BioWare:

On April 13th at 10:30PM PDT (April 14th, 5:30AM GMT) all game servers and SWTOR.com will be unavailable as we perform scheduled maintenance. This maintenance is to open up access to Rise of the Hutt Cartel for everyone who has purchased the Digital Expansion. We will not be implementing any game changes or bug fixes during this downtime. There will not be a patch to download, because all content was released with the patch on April 9th.

Details are as follows:
Date: Saturday April 13th – Sunday April 14th
Duration: 2 hours
Time: April 13th, 10:30PM PDT (April 14th, 5:30AM GMT ) – April 14th, 12:30AM PDT (7:30AM GMT)

Rise Of The Hutt Cartel: A Targeted Review

Rise of the Hutt Cartel ReviewIt’s only been a few days since early access started, and it’s still a day until the full launch of SWTOR’s first expansion, Rise of the Hutt Cartel. Being the dedicated chap I am, I’ve already put in a solid block of hours to levelling my Jedi Sage from 50 to nearly 52 (yes, yes, I know I have a long way to go).

That amount of ROTHC gameplay has given me enough exposure to the content to feel I can make some considered judgements on it. Instead of going on too much about specific likes and dislikes (make sure you check out Simon’s mini-review here), I thought I’d target my thoughts to particular groups of people.

Also, I’ve thrown in information related to Game Update 2.0 Scum and Villainy as it’s all in the mix now. So here goes:

 

Brickbats and Bouquets In Less Than 200 Words

Bouquets: This expansion is worth the money for the level of extra content it provides, Makeb looks great as a planet and is well differentiated from current planets. The Hutt storyline is engaging as well. Love the improved achievement system.

Brickbats: Quite a few graphical glitches and I’ve had an ongoing issue with staying in combat. It seems related to all the low level droids around – if one’s in an area where you’ve killed a bunch of enemies, you stay in combat even if you kill that droid. Killing the droid before the last mob seems to help sometimes. Very frustrating – please get this fixed BioWare. I also dislike the on-planet transport not showing the full journey – there’s a fade to black and arrival to the destination. Some will love this but for me it takes away from immersion in the game and seems and obvious way to save development time.

 

ROTHC By Play Styles

As promised, here’s some thoughts on how appealing ROTHC is, based on individual play styles:

For everyone: It doesn’t matter what sort of player you are, this release is a sign of SWTOR’s growing maturity as a game. There’s something for everyone here – even with some frustrating issues that have taken some of the fun out of the new content for me (more on that below).

For the cynical ex-SWTOR player: There’s enough in this expansion to make it worthwhile for you to invest a few hours. The reasons each person departs a game are obviously individual so ROTHC may still not have addressed them for you. But if you were wanting more story content, more Flashpoints and Operations and some improvements in interface and usability, then that’s been delivered to a large extent.

For the Achievement Junkie: I well and truly fall into this category and there’s been some much needed updates to the achievement system. For starters there’s a lot more achievements to earn. Unfortunately a lot of them don’t reflect your playtime prior to the new system’s achievements – an example is in regard to companions where you earn achievements for the number of kills done with each companion: all started at zero on my Level 50 Sage. That said, it doesn’t take long to chalk up a bunch of kills so it’s not a deal-breaker.

For the casual / solo player:  aside from the extra story and content, this expansion doesn’t deliver a lot extra for the more casual of us – although for me the achievement system adds to the solo appeal.

For the hardcore raider: For any raider it’s about progression and this expansion definitely offers that. Every new Operation and its challenges are very individual for each guild, so it’ll be a few weeks before we get any serious evaluation of either Terror From Beyond or Scum and Villainy.

For the PvP’er: This is a difficult one, particularly from an oceanic perspective. There’s certainly been changes with tiers and rankings and gear, but that’s about it. The imminent closure of local servers is not going to make many PvP players happy I wouldn’t think.

The Summary

Given the challenges SWTOR has faced over the first nearly 18 months of its existence, there’s been a lot riding on this expansion. The move to F2p saved the game’s bacon for the short to medium term. Rise of the Hutt Cartel has achieved something more: proof of a game with a growing content that integrates well with the current game. If BioWare fix some of the more annoying glitches in the next few weeks, I’ll be one of hopefully many touting SWTOR’s new expansion as one worth exploring.

What’s your take on ROTHC so far?

SWTOR 2.0 Full Patch Notes

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Scum and Villainy has dropped! If you’re stuck at work or somewhere away from your playing rig, console yourself with a browse through the SWTOR 2.0 full patch notes. Enjoy!

Rise of the Hutt Cartel and
Game Update 2.0: Scum and Villainy

4/9/2013

Rise of the Hutt Cartel

The Hutt Cartel has emerged from the shadows to challenge the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire for control, unleashing never-before-seen Droids and monstrous battle stations to serve as powerful weapons of destruction. Join your faction and explore story-driven missions with explosive combat to save the future of the galaxy! For more information about how to access the Rise of the Hutt Cartel features and content, please visit www.swtor.com/rothc.

  • All Classes can now reach Level 55!
  • New Planet: Makeb! The Republic has won victories on Corellia and elsewhere, but the Empire hasn’t given up their campaign for dominance and battles are still being fought across the galaxy. With no end to the war in sight, new forces are rising up to seize the opportunity to profit from the chaos on the idyllic world of Makeb, the Hutt Cartel have been quietly laboring away on something big, making both the Empire and the Republic wary of a third organization entering the war. Members of both the Empire and the Republic who are level 50 or above should expect a holoterminal transmission aboard their personal star ships with further information on Makeb and the Hutt Cartel.
  • New Feature: Macrobinoculars! Both the Empire and the Republic have cleared a new piece of equipment for use in the field. Explore Makeb to uncover exciting new technology that unlocks valuable objects and additional story-driven missions. Imperial players, level 53 and above, can acquire their Macrobinoculars from T4-M7 in the Sith Sanctum on Dromund Kaas. Republic players, level 53 and above, can receive their Macrobinoculars from M3-8Z, located in the Senate Plaza on Coruscant.
  • New Feature: Seeker Droid! A new piece of technology has both Republic and Imperial treasure hunters flocking to unlikely sites on planets across the galaxy. By using these Seeker Droids, players can uncover highly desirable hidden items, treasures, and unique artifacts! Seeker Droids are available to all characters who are level 50 and above. Imperial players can retrieve their Seeker Droid from Z1-3C in the Sith Sanctum on Dromund Kaas. Republic players can pick up their Seeker Droid from BB-6G to at the Senate Plaza on Coruscant.

Game Update 2.0 Highlights

  • New Operation: Scum and Villainy! Scum and Villainy is a new Operation which takes place on the seedy Outer Rim world of Darvannis, where mysterious forces are gathering an army of warlords and mercenaries. This Operation is available at level 55 in four difficulty modes, and it contains seven bosses with lockouts. It can be accessed from the Ziost Shadow or the Gav Daragon on the Imperial and Republic Fleets.
  • New Feature: Achievements! The Legacy System has expanded to include Legacy Achievements, which recognize important accomplishments and milestones across all characters in your Legacy.
  • New Hard Mode Flashpoints! Hard Mode is now available for the following Flashpoints at level 55:
    • Athiss
    • Cademimu
    • Hammer Station
    • Mandalorian Raiders
  • New Feature: Priority Mission Terminal! The Daily Mission Terminal on the Fleet has been replaced by the Priority Mission Terminal. The Priority Mission Terminal provides daily, weekly, and introductory missions for high-priority activities such as Flashpoints, Group Finder, Warzones, and other repeatable content.
  • New Tier of Gear! New, more powerful gear is available from Flashpoints, Operations, and Warzones at level 55! Additionally, many commendation types have been consolidated and simplified. See the Items section for more details.
  • Players who are in a guild will now receive a 5% bonus to all experience gained!

Cartel Market

New Items

      • A new Armor set is available on the Cartel Market. The Eradicator’s Warsuit is a collection of adaptive gear with no modifications. This armor set is available to any class. Cost: 900 Cartel Coins
      • A new Bundle is available on the Cartel Market. The Going Places Basic Bundle offers a selection of items and unlocks to help increase player mobility. The bundle allows players to improve their movement throughout the universe. Cost: 375 Cartel Coins (Discounted by 40% for a limited time!)
      • A new Bundle is available on the Cartel Market. The Going Places Bundle contains a huge selection of items, character perks, and unlocks to increase all forms of travel. The items contained within will increase travel speeds, decrease travel times, and allow for easier access to frequently visited areas. Cost: 2150 Cartel Coins (Discounted by 50% for a limited time!)

New Discounts

      • The Unlock: Inventory Module is now discounted by 20%. Cost: 140 Cartel Coins
      • The Unlock: Inventory Module (Account) is now discounted by 20%. Cost: 312 Cartel Coins
      • Medical Probes are now discounted by 40%. Cost: 240 Cartel Coins
      • The Major XP Boost is now discounted by 25%. Cost: 90 Cartel Coins
      • The Minor XP Boost is now discounted by 25%. Cost: 45 Cartel Coins
      • The Czerka CR-17 Incendia is now discounted by 10%. Cost: 1620 Cartel Coins
      • The Investigator’s Amor Set is now discounted by 20%. Cost: 960 Cartel Coins
      • The Pathfinder’s Armor Set is now discounted by 20%. Cost: 960 Cartel Coins
      • The Clandestine Officer’s Armor Set is now discounted by 25%. Cost: 1080 Cartel Coins
      • The Outlaw’s Armor Set is now discounted by 20%. Cost: 960 Cartel Coins
      • The Malevolent Interrogator Armor Set is now discounted by 25%. Cost: 1080 Cartel Coins
      • The Sanctified Caretaker Armor Set is now discounted by 25%. Cost: 1080 Cartel Coins

Expiring Discounts

      • The Ivory Mouse Horranth is no longer 75% off.
      • The Unlock: Crew Skill Slot is no longer 30% off.
      • The Unlock: Crew Skill Slot (Account) is no longer 20% off.
      • The Customization Control: Unify Colors is no longer 30% off.
      • The Customization Control: Unify Colors (Account) is no longer 20% off.
      • The Sith Raider Armor Set is no longer 10% off.
      • The X-3 Techmaster Armor Set is no longer 33% off.
      • The Noble Commander’s Armor Set is no longer 33% off.

General

    • The Carbonite Chamber and Life Day Orb have been updated to reflect changes to the rest and recovery mechanics.

General

  • Players who are in a guild will now receive a 5% bonus to all experience gained!
  • The Kaas City Central Taxi is now connected to the Kaas City Entrance Speeder.
  • Travel costs on the galaxy map are now based on the destination selected instead of the distance travelled. As a result, higher level areas now cost more to travel to than lower level areas.
  • All resurrection timers have been adjusted:
    • The countdown timer before resurrection will now increase on more consistent intervals.
    • The maximum countdown timer before using a Medical Probe has been a decreased to 3 minutes.
    • The maximum countdown timer before resurrection to a Medical Center has been decreased to 5 seconds.
    • The maximum countdown timer before accepting a resurrection from another player has been decreased to 2 minutes.

Classes and Combat

General

      • All Classes can now reach Level 55! The level cap increase to 55 is included with the purchase of the Digital Expansion, Rise of the Hutt Cartel.
      • All Class Skill Trees have been adjusted significantly, and all player Skill Points have been refunded. Changes to active abilities are listed in the Class sections below. Individual skill changes are not listed in the specific Class sections below. For details on individual skill changes, refer to your Class Skill Tree tooltips.
      • Alacrity has been redesigned to be a more universally useful stat. Now Alacrity reduces the activation time of all abilities, including instant abilities. If such an ability is reduced below the global cooldown, the global cooldown is reduced as well. Alacrity now also increases resource regeneration for all classes by the same amount that it increases ability activation speed.
      • Removed diminishing returns from Expertise such that each point of Expertise will now grant a consistent percentage of bonus until the hard cap is reached. Hard Caps are as follows:
        • PvP Damage Boost – 60%
        • PvP Healing Boost – 35%
        • PvP Damage Reduction – 37.5%
      • Stat bonuses from skills that are smaller than 10% will now show up correctly in the Character Sheet tooltips.
      • Abilities whose cooldowns are not a whole number will now list their cooldown to the nearest decimal place. (i.e 16.5). Abilities whose cooldowns are a whole number will not be affected (i.e 17 will read 17 and not 17.0)
      • The global cooldown will now reset and trigger appropriately when an ability with a cast time becomes an instant due to another ability or skill’s effect.
      • Moving the same moment a stance, cell, ammo, or charge cast finishes will no longer deactivate the effect of the stance, cell, ammo, or charge.
      • Personal shield generators are now effective against all attacks that deal Energy and Kinetic Damage, rather than just direct weapon attacks.

Jedi Knight

New Ability Highlights
        • Sentinel: A new ability, Twin Saber Throw, has been added. Twin Saber Throw throws both Lightsabers at a target up to 30 meters away, striking everything within its path and slows the movement speed of affected targets by 50% for 6 seconds. This ability is trainable at level 51.
        • Guardian: A new ability, Saber Reflect, has been added. Saber Reflect reflects all direct, single target ranged, Force, and Tech damage back to the attacker for 3 seconds. This ability is trainable at level 51.
        • Guardian: A new passive ability, Visionary, has been added. Visionary builds 1 Focus when attacked. This effect cannot occur more than once every 6 seconds.
General
        • Pommel Strike has been removed from the game.
        • Opportune Strike has been removed from the game.
        • Alacrity no longer reduces the channel duration for Force Stasis.
Sentinel
        • A new ability, Twin Saber Throw, has been added. Twin Saber Throw throws both Lightsabers at a target up to 30 meters away, striking everything within its path and slows the movement speed of affected targets by 50% for 6 seconds. This ability is trainable at level 51.
        • Zen (Ataru Form) has been redesigned. Now, while Ataru Form is active, using Zen grants 30% Alacrity, and each attack consumes 1 charge.
        • Rebuke no longer triggers from damage over time.
Focus (Sentinel)
          • Force Exhaustion now slows targets from 50% (down from 60%) to 5% movement speed and deals damage over 3 seconds.
          • Focused Resonance no longer increases the critical damage of Force attacks by 30%. It now increases the critical damage of all attacks by 15%.
Guardian
        • A new ability, Saber Reflect, has been added. Saber Reflect reflects all direct, single target ranged, Force, and Tech damage back to the attacker for 3 seconds. This ability is trainable at level 51.
        • A new passive ability, Visionary, has been added. Visionary builds 1 Focus when attacked. This effect cannot occur more than once every 6 seconds.
        • Guard: Crowd control effects that break on damage will no longer break from damage redirected through Guard. For example, a blinded guarder will no longer be broken out of the blind from damage dealt to a guarded target within guard range.
        • Guard: Effects that are triggered through dealing damage which affect a target who is guarded will no longer also affect the guarder.
        • Sundering Strike has been redesigned. This ability now has a 15-second cooldown, applies 20% armor reduction for 45 seconds, and builds 5 Focus. The armor reduction it applies no longer stacks.
        • Taunt and Challenging Call can no longer miss.
        • Soresu Form no longer generates Focus when attacked.
Vigilance
          • Shien Form no longer generates Focus when attacked.
          • Plasma Brand now has a 12-second cooldown and deals slightly more damage and no longer requires an enemy target to be affected by the Guardian’s Sunder Armor.
Defense
          • Guardian Slash has been redesigned. This ability now deals high damage to the target, and if the target is affected by armor reduction this attack will strike up to 4 additional nearby enemies. Using Guardian Slash enables Riposte and increases all damage reduction by 3% for 20 seconds.
Focus (Guardian)
          • Force Exhaustion now slows targets from 50% (down from 60%) to 5% movement speed and deals damage over 3 seconds.
          • Focused Resonance no longer increases the critical damage of Force attacks by 30%. It now increases the critical damage of all attacks by 15%.

Sith Warrior

New Ability Highlights
        • Marauder: A new ability, Dual Saber Throw has been added. Dual Saber throw throws both Lightsabers at a target up to 30 meters away, striking everything within its path and slows the movement speed of affected targets by 50% for 6 seconds. This ability is trainable at level 51.
        • Juggernaut: A new ability, Saber Reflect, has been added. Saber Reflect reflects all direct, single target ranged, Force, and Tech damage back to the attacker, lasts 3 seconds, and is trainable at level 51.
        • Juggernaut: A new passive ability, Endless Rage, has been added. Endless Rage builds 1 Rage when attacked. This effect cannot occur more than once every 6 seconds.
General
        • Pommel Strike has been removed from the game.
        • Savage Kick has been removed from the game.
        • Alacrity no longer reduces the channel duration for Force Choke.
Marauder
        • A new ability, Dual Saber Throw has been added. Dual Saber throw throws both Lightsabers at a target up to 30 meters away, striking everything within its path and slows the movement speed of affected targets by 50% for 6 seconds. This ability is trainable at level 51.
        • Berserk (Ataru Form) has been redesigned. Now, while Ataru Form is active, Berserk grants 30% Alacrity, and each attack consumes 1 charge.
        • Cloak of Pain no longer triggers from damage over time.
Rage (Marauder)
          • Force Crush now slows targets from 50% (down from 60%) to 5% movement speed and deals damage over 3 seconds.
          • Dark Resonance no longer increases the critical damage of Force attacks by 30%. It now increases the critical damage of all attacks by 15%.
Juggernaut
        • A new ability, Saber Reflect, has been added. Saber Reflect reflects all direct, single target ranged, Force, and Tech damage back to the attacker, lasts 3 seconds, and is trainable at level 51.
        • A new passive ability, Endless Rage, has been added. Endless Rage builds 1 Rage when attacked. This effect cannot occur more than once every 6 seconds.
        • Guard: Crowd control effects that break on damage will no longer break from damage redirected through Guard. For example, a blinded guarder will no longer be broken out of the blind from damage dealt to a guarded target within guard range.
        • Guard: Effects that are triggered through dealing damage which affect a target who is guarded will no longer also affect the guarder.
        • Sundering Assault has been redesigned. This ability now has a 15-second cooldown, applies 20% armor reduction for 45 seconds, and builds 5 Rage. The armor reduction it applies no longer stacks
        • Soresu Form no longer generates rage when attacked.
        • Taunt and Threatening Scream can no longer miss.
Vengeance
          • Shien Form no longer generates Rage when attacked.
          • Shatter now has a 12-second cooldown, deals slightly more damage, and no longer requires an enemy target to be affected by the Juggernaut’s Sunder Armor.
Immortal
          • Crushing Blow has been redesigned. This ability deals high damage to the target, and if the target is affected by armor reduction this attack will strike up to 4 additional nearby enemies. Using Crushing Blow enables Retaliation and increases all damage reduction by 3% for 20 seconds.
Rage (Juggernaut)
          • Force Crush now slows targets from 50% to 5% movement speed and deals damage over 3 seconds.
          • Dark Resonance no longer increases the critical damage of Force attacks by 30%. It now increases the critical damage of all attacks by 15%.

Jedi Consular

New Ability Highlights
        • Sage: A new ability, Force Barrier, has been added. Force Barrier projects a barrier around the Sage, providing immunity to all damage and effects while channeled (up to 10 seconds). Force Barrier is trainable at level 51.
        • Shadow: A new ability, Phase Walk, has been added. Phase Walk allows the Shadow to place a mark that can be instantly returned to at a later time, after which Phase Walk goes on cooldown. This ability is usable in stealth mode and trainable at level 51.
General
        • Tumult has been removed from the game.
Sage
        • A new ability, Force Barrier, has been added. Force Barrier projects a barrier around the Sage, providing immunity to all damage and effects while channeled (up to 10 seconds). Force Barrier is trainable at level 51.
        • Benevolence now costs 70 Force and heals for significantly more.
        • Weaken Mind now costs 30 Force (down from 35), lasts 18 seconds, and the damage has been slightly increased.
        • Force Armor no longer has a cooldown. Force Armor still applies Force-imbalance, a debuff that prevents the target from being affected by another Force Armor for the next 20 seconds.
        • Mental Alacrity is now trainable for all Sages at level 28.
        • Disturbance now costs 40 Force (up from 30) and deals proportionately more damage
Seer
          • Healing Trance now heals for slightly more.
Telekinetics
          • Telekinetic Wave now costs 60 Force (up from 50) and deals proportionately more damage.
          • Turbulence now costs 50 Force (up from 45) and deals proportionately more damage.
          • Mental Alacrity is no longer in the Telekinetics tree. This ability is now available to all Sages.
          • Kinetic Collapse’s effect is now limited to the caster.
Balance (Sage)
          • Sever Force’s damage has been slightly increased.
Shadow
        • A new ability, Phase Walk, has been added. Phase Walk allows the Shadow to place a mark that can be instantly returned to at a later time, after which Phase Walk goes on cooldown. This ability is usable in stealth mode and trainable at level 51.
        • Guard: Crowd control effects that break on damage will no longer break from damage redirected through Guard. For example, a blinded guarder will no longer be broken out of the blind from damage dealt to a guarded target within guard range.
        • Guard: Effects that are triggered through dealing damage which affect a target who is guarded will no longer also affect the guarder.
        • All abilities that formerly required a double-bladed Lightsaber may now be performed with an Electrostaff.
        • Force Breach (Force Technique) no longer has a cooldown. Force Breach (Combat Technique) now has a 6 second cooldown. Force Breach (Shadow Technique) has been redesigned. This ability is now only usable with one or more Breaching Shadows, which builds when Shadow Technique triggers. Force Breach (Shadow Technique) deals more damage per Breaching Shadow consumed. Force Breach (Shadow Technique) no longer has a cooldown.
        • Battle Readiness now additionally increases the chance to trigger Saber Charges by 35% and now heals players for 15% of max health when used.
        • Force Breach’s accuracy debuff now lasts 30 seconds (up from 18) when using Combat Technique.
        • Mind Control and Mass Mind Control can no longer miss.
Kinetic Combat
          • Kinetic Ward no longer has a Force cost and now has a 15-second cooldown.
          • Kinetic Ward now has 15 Charges (up from 8).
          • Bombardment now makes Project generate 15% more threat per point and cost 15% less Force per point while Combat Technique is active.
          • Slow Time now has a 9-second cooldown and costs 20 Force. Damage remains mostly unchanged.
Infiltration
          • Shadow Technique can now only trigger once every 4.5 seconds and deals significantly more damage. In addition, when it triggers it builds 1 stack of Breaching Shadow. Breaching Shadow is consumed by Force Breach to deal additional damage.
          • Clairvoyant Strike no longer increases the damage dealt by Project. Instead, this ability stacks up to two times and builds Clairvoyance, which gives Project a 50% chance per stack to automatically trigger Shadow Technique and bypass its rate limit.
Balance (Shadow)
          • Sever Force’s damage has been slightly increased.

Sith Inquisitor

New Ability Highlights
        • Sorcerer: A new ability, Force Barrier, has been added. Force Barrier projects a barrier around the Sorcerer, providing immunity to all damage and effects while channeled (up to 10 seconds). Force Barrier is trainable at level 51.
        • Assassin: A new ability, Phase Walk, has been added. Phase Walk allows the Assassin to place a mark that can be instantly returned to at a later time, after which Phase Walk goes on cooldown. This ability is usable in stealth mode and trainable at level 51.
General
        • Tumult has been removed from the game.
Sorcerer
        • A new ability, Force Barrier, has been added. Force Barrier projects a barrier around the Sorcerer, providing immunity to all damage and effects while channeled (up to 10 seconds). Force Barrier is trainable at level 51.
        • Dark Heal now costs 70 Force and heals for significantly more.
        • Affliction now costs 30 Force (down from 35), lasts 18 seconds, and the damage has been slightly increased.
        • Static Barrier no longer has a cooldown. Static Barrier still applies Deionized, preventing the target from being affected by another Static Barrier for the next 20 seconds.
        • Polarity Shift is now trainable for all Sorcerers at level 28.
        • Lightning Strike now costs 40 Force (up from 30) and deals proportionately more damage.
Corruption
          • Innervate now heals for slightly more.
Lightning
          • Chain Lightning now costs 60 Force (up from 50) and deals proportionately more damage.
          • Thundering Blast now costs 50 Force (up from 45) and deals proportionately more damage.
          • Polarity Shift is no longer in the Lightning tree. This ability is now available to all Sorcerers.
          • Backlash’s effect is now limited to the caster.
Madness (Sorcerer)
          • Creeping Terror’s damage has been slightly increased.
Assassin
        • A new ability, Phase Walk, has been added. Phase Walk allows the Assassin to place a mark that can be instantly returned to at a later time, after which Phase Walk goes on cooldown. This ability is usable in stealth mode and trainable at level 51.
        • All abilities that formerly required a double-bladed Lightsaber may now be performed with an Electrostaff.
        • Guard: Crowd control effects that break on damage will no longer break from damage redirected through Guard. For example, a blinded guarder will no longer be broken out of the blind from damage dealt to a guarded target within guard range
        • Guard: Effects that are triggered through dealing damage which affect a target who is guarded will no longer also affect the guarder.
        • Discharge (Lightning) no longer has a cooldown. Discharge (Dark) now has a 6 second cooldown. Discharge (Surging) has been redesigned. This ability is now only usable with one or more Static Charge, which builds when Surging Charge triggers. Discharge (Surging) deals more damage per Static Charge consumed. Discharge (Surging) no longer has a cooldown.
        • Overcharge Saber now additionally increases the chance to trigger Saber Charges by 35% and now heals players for 15% of max health when used.
        • Discharge’s accuracy debuff now lasts 30 seconds (up from 18) when using Dark Charge.
        • Mind Control and Mass Mind Control can no longer miss.
Darkness
          • Dark Ward no longer has a Force cost and now has a 15-second cooldown.
          • Dark Ward now has 15 Charges (up from 8).
          • Electrify now makes Shock generate 15% more threat per point and cost 15% less Force per point while Dark Charge is active.
          • Wither now has a 9-second cooldown and costs 20 Force. Damage remains mostly unchanged.
Deception
          • Surging Charge can now only trigger once every 4.5 seconds and deals significantly more damage. In addition, when it triggers it builds 1 stack of Static Charge. Static Charge is consumed by Discharge to deal additional damage.
          • Voltaic Slash no longer increases the damage dealt by Shock. Instead, this ability stacks up to 2 times and builds Voltage, which gives Shock a 50% chance per stack to automatically trigger Surging Charge and bypass its rate limit.
Madness (Assassin)
          • Creeping Terror’s damage has been slightly increased.

Smuggler

New Ability Highlights
        • Gunslinger: A new ability, Hightail It, has been added. Hightail It will roll players forward up to 18 meters, landing crouched in cover. While rolling, defense is greatly increased and any movement-impairing effects are broken. The ability has a 20 second cooldown and is trainable at level 51.
        • Gunslinger: A new passive ability, Ready for Anything, has been added. Ready for Anything increases stealth detection while in cover, building up to 30 additional levels of stealth detection over 30 seconds. The effect ends when leaving cover.
        • Scoundrel: A new ability, Scamper, has been added. Scamper will roll the player forward up to 12 meters. When slowed, players will only roll forward 6 meters. While rolling, defense is increased. Scamper does not break stealth, costs 25 Energy, has no cooldown, and is trainable at level 51.
        • Scoundrel: A new passive ability, Street Tough, has been added which increases Energy regeneration rate.
General
        • Using cover while jumping will now issue an appropriate error message.
        • Sabotage Charge now costs 25 Energy and deals slightly more damage.
        • Vital Shot now costs 16 Energy.
        • Dodge now removes all hostile effects without requiring Lucky Dodge.
        • Headshot has been removed from the game.
        • Cheap Shot has been removed from the game.
        • Energy regeneration rates will now display values rounded to two decimal places (e.g. x.xx).
Gunslinger
        • A new ability, Hightail It, has been added. Hightail It will roll players forward up to 18 meters, landing crouched in cover. While rolling, defense is greatly increased and any movement-impairing effects are broken. The ability has a 20 second cooldown and is trainable at level 51.
        • A new passive ability, Ready for Anything, has been added. Ready for Anything increases stealth detection while in cover, building up to 30 additional levels of stealth detection over 30 seconds. The effect ends when leaving cover.
        • The armor reduction from Flourish Shot can no longer be cleansed.
        • Scrambling Field no longer requires cover. The ability now lasts 20 seconds (up from 15), and deploys at the player’s current position, remaining there for the duration.
Sharpshooter
          • Burst Volley now lasts 15 seconds.
          • Trickshot now costs 5 energy (down from 10) and deals slightly less damage as a result. Trickshot can now be triggered from a complete Speed Shot.
Saboteur
          • Sabotage has been redesigned. This ability no longer requires a target and now has a one minute and 15-second cooldown. Activating Sabotage now finishes the cooldowns on Defense Screen, Cool Head, Hightail It, and Hunker Down.
          • Shock Charge now costs 15 Energy (down from 20) and does not have a cooldown, but only one Shock Charge can be active at a time.
          • Crack Shot now additionally increases the range of all ranged attacks by 5 meters.
Dirty Fighting (Gunslinger)
          • Damage dealt by the weaker versions of Vital Shot or Shrap Bomb which are created by Nice Try will no longer break the target out of stealth.
Scoundrel
        • A new ability, Scamper, has been added. Scamper will roll the the player forward up to 12 meters. When slowed, players will only roll forward 6 meters. While rolling, defense is increased. Scamper does not break stealth, costs 25 Energy, has no cooldown, and is trainable at level 51.
        • A new passive ability, Street Tough, has been added which increases Energy regeneration rate.
        • Lucky Dodge has been removed from the game. This effect is now incorporated into Dodge by default.
        • Blaster Volley is now trainable at level 12.
        • Kolto Pack has been redesigned. This ability now heals for a moderate amount up front in addition to a moderate amount over 9 seconds.
        • Pugnacity is now trainable at level 16 and has been redesigned. This ability no longer requires and consumes Upper Hand. Instead, this ability now has a 2-minute cooldown, grants Upper Hand, and increases alacrity for a short duration.
        • Upper Hand now causes the character to giggle the first time it is applied if Upper Hand is not already active.
        • Diagnostic Scan is now trainable at level 18.
        • Smuggle can now only be activated while Stealth is active. Additionally, Smuggled group members can now use Sneak and Blackout.
        • Smuggle now provides a visual effect that shows the stealth field projected around the Scoundrel.
        • Smuggle now reduces movement speed by 15% (down from 30%).
Dirty Fighting (Scoundrel)
          • Damage dealt by the weaker versions of Vital Shot or Shrap Bomb, which are created by Nice Try, will no longer break the target out of stealth.

Imperial Agent

New Ability Highlights
        • Sniper: A new ability, Covered Escape, has been added. Covered Escape will roll players forward up to 18 meters, landing crouched in cover. While rolling, defense is greatly increased and any movement-impairing effects are broken. The ability has a 20 second cooldown and is trainable at level 51.
        • Sniper: A new passive ability, Spotter, has been added. Spotter increases stealth detection while in cover, building up to 30 additional levels of stealth detection over 30 seconds. The effect ends when leaving cover.
        • Operative: A new ability, Exfiltrate, has been added. Exfiltrate will roll the the player forward up to 12 meters. When slowed, players will only roll forward 6 meters. While rolling, defense is increased. Exfiltrate does not break stealth, costs 25 Energy, has no cooldown, and is trainable at level 51.
        • Operative: New passive ability, Preparedness, has been added which increases Energy regeneration rate.
General
        • Using cover while jumping will now issue an appropriate error message.
        • Explosive Probe now costs 25 Energy and deals slightly more damage.
        • Corrosive Dart now costs 16 Energy.
        • Evasion now removes all hostile removable effects without requiring Avoidance Training..
        • Headshot has been removed from the game.
        • Eviscerate has been removed from the game.
        • Energy regeneration rates will now display values rounded to two decimal places (e.g. x.xx).
Sniper
        • A new ability, Covered Escape, has been added. Covered Escape will roll players forward up to 18 meters, landing crouched in cover. While rolling, defense is greatly increased and any movement-impairing effects are broken. The ability has a 20 second cooldown and is trainable at level 51.
        • A new passive ability, Spotter, has been added. Spotter increases stealth detection while in cover, building up to 30 additional levels of stealth detection over 30 seconds. The effect ends when leaving cover.
        • The armor reduction from Shatter Shot can no longer be cleansed.
        • Ballistic Shield no longer requires cover. The ability now lasts 20 seconds (up from 15), deploys at the player’s current position, remaining there for the duration.
Marksmanship
          • Sniper Volley now lasts 15 seconds.
          • Followthrough now costs 5 energy (down from 10) and deals slightly less damage as a result. Followthrough can now be triggered from a complete Series of Shots.
Engineering
          • EMP Discharge has been redesigned. This ability no longer requires a target and now has a one minute and 15-second cooldown. Activating EMP discharge now finishes the cooldowns on Shield Probe, Adrenaline Probe, Covered Escape, and Entrench.
          • Interrogation Probe now costs 15 energy (down from 20) and does not have a cooldown, but only one Interrogation Probe can be active at a time.
          • Advanced Targeting now additionally increases the range of all ranged attacks by 5 meters.
Lethality (Sniper)
          • Damage dealt by the weaker versions of Corrosive Dart or Corrosive Grenade which are created by Lingering Toxins will no longer break the target out of stealth.
Operative
        • A new ability, Exfiltrate, has been added. Exfiltrate will roll the the player forward up to 12 meters. When slowed, players will only roll forward 6 meters. While rolling, defense is increased. Exfiltrate does not break stealth, costs 25 Energy, has no cooldown, and is trainable at level 51.
        • New passive ability, Preparedness, has been added which increases Energy regeneration rate.
        • Avoidance Training has been removed from the game. This effect is now incorporated into Evasion by default.
        • Carbine Burst is now trainable at level 12.
        • Kolto Infusion has been redesigned. This ability now heals for a moderate amount up front in addition to a moderate amount over 9 seconds.
        • Stim Boost is now trainable at level 16 and has been redesigned. This ability no longer requires and consumes Tactical Advantage. Instead, this ability now has a 2-minute cooldown, grants Tactical Advantage, and increases Alacrity for a short duration.
        • Tactical Advantage now causes the character to giggle the first time it is applied if Tactical Advantage is not already active.
        • Diagnostic Scan is now trainable at level 18.
        • Infiltrate can now only be activated while Stealth is active Additionally, Infiltrated group members can now use Sneak and Blackout.
        • Infiltrate now provides a visual effect that shows the stealth field projected around the Operative.
        • Infiltrate now reduces movement speed by 15% (down from 30%).
Medicine
          • Kolto Probe will no longer display a probe for each activation on a target. Now one probe will remain for the duration of the ability’s effect.
Lethality (Operative)
          • Damage dealt by the weaker versions of Corrosive Dart or Corrosive Grenade, which are created by Lingering Toxins, will no longer break the target out of stealth.

Trooper

New Ability Highlights
        • Commando: A new ability, Electro Net, has been added. Electro Net ensnares a single target, reducing its movement speed and dealing periodic Energy damage which increases over time if the target is moving. While Electro Net active, the target is also hindered and unable to activate high mobility actions and escapes, such as speed boosts, vanishes, and charges. The ability is trainable at level 51.
        • Commando: A new Passive ability, Mortar Salvo, has been added. Mortar Salvo fires 2 weaker Explosive Rounds that combine for 10% more damage. This ability is trainable at level 10.
        • Vanguard: A new ability, Shoulder Cannon, has been added. Shoulder Cannon loads missiles over time which can be fired at an enemy target within 10 meters, depleting 1 charge with each missile launched. When all missiles have been depleted, the ability goes on cooldown for 1.5 minutes. This ability is not affected by the Global Cooldown and can be used while under the effects of crowd control.
        • Vanguard: A new Passive ability, Into the Fray, has been added. Into the Fray increases the duration of Reactive Shield by 3 seconds. In addition, suffering direct damage from area of effect attacks restores 2 Energy Cells and heals players for 2.5% of total health. This effect cannot occur more than once every 3 seconds.
General
        • The Trooper’s Energy Cells have been reworked to be a 100-pt resource system. Players will see Energy Cells be consumed and regenerate in fractions, and all Energy cell costs will be charged against the new 100-pt total rather than the old 12-pt total.
        • Hold the Line is now trainable at level 26 for all Troopers. This ability has a duration of 6 seconds, which can be extended to 10 seconds using the skills in the Gunnery and Tactics Skill Trees.
        • Diversion is now trainable at level 30 for all Troopers.
        • Blitz has been removed from the game.
        • Adrenaline Rush has been redesigned. Adrenaline Rush now gets the player Fired Up which will trigger when they drop below 30% health. Once triggered, Adrenaline Rush will heal the player rapidly up to but no higher than 30% of their maximum health. This effect lasts 8 seconds.
        • The proc rate for Plasma Cell is now 25% (up from 10%), and the damage it deals has been rebalanced.
Commando
        • A new ability, Electro Net, has been added. Electro Net ensnares a single target, reducing its movement speed and dealing periodic Energy damage which increases over time if the target is moving. While Electro Net is active, the target is also hindered and unable to activate high mobility actions and escapes, such as speed boosts, vanishes, and charges. The ability is trainable at level 51.
        • A new Passive ability, Mortar Salvo, has been added. Mortar Salvo fires 2 weaker Explosive Rounds that combine for 10% more damage. This ability is trainable at level 10.
        • Concussion Charge now costs 8 Energy cells (down from 16).
        • Kolto Bomb is now trainable at level 20 to all Commandos.
        • Armor-Piercing Cell now additionally increases Alacrity by 3% while active.
Gunnery
          • The Gravity Vortex applied by Grav Round now lasts 45 seconds. In addition, the Gravity Vortex effect now reduces armor by 20% and no longer stacks. Furthermore, this ability now fires a faster-moving projectile.
          • Demolition Round now deals approximately 16% more damage. The ability deals 25% additional damage if the target is affected by the Commando’s Gravity Vortex. In addition, this ability now fires a slightly slower-moving projectile, ensuring that the Gravity Vortex effect will be properly recognized if Demolition Round is fired immediately after a Grav Round.
          • Gravity Surge no longer affects Gravity Vortices applied by Grav Round.
Assault Specialist (Commando)
          • Assault Plastique has been redesigned: The Trooper now throws a moldable plastic explosive that sticks to the target and detonates after several seconds, exploding for kinetic damage and burning the target for elemental damage over 12 seconds. Standard and weak enemies enter a state of panic when the explosive attaches and are knocked down when it explodes.
Vanguard
        • A new Passive ability, Into the Fray, has been added. Into the Fray increases the duration of Reactive Shield by 3 seconds. In addition, suffering direct damage from area of effect attacks restores 2 Energy Cells and heals players for 2.5% of total health. This effect cannot occur more than once every 3 seconds.
        • A new ability, Shoulder Cannon, has been added. Shoulder Cannon loads missiles over time which can be fired at an enemy target within 10 meters, depleting 1 charge with each missile launched. When all missiles have been depleted, the ability goes on cooldown for 1.5 minutes. This ability is not affected by the Global Cooldown and can be used while under the effects of crowd control.
        • Guard: Crowd control effects that break on damage will no longer break from damage redirected through Guard. For example, a blinded guarder will no longer be broken out of the blind from damage dealt to a guarded target within guard range.
        • Guard: Effects that are triggered through dealing damage which affect a target who is guarded will no longer also affect the guarder.
        • Ion Cell now reduces all damage dealt by 5% while active.
        • Neural Jolt and Sonic Round can no longer miss.
Shield Specialist
          • Smoke Grenade has been redesigned and renamed to Riot Gas. This ability now targets the ground and persists for 15 seconds. Enemies within the area of effect are slowed by 70% and suffer 30% reduced melee and ranged accuracy.
          • Energy Blast has been redesigned and is now only usable with 3 stacks of Power Screen. Using Energy Blast consumes Power Screen to deal elemental damage, recharge 8 Energy Cells, and increase Shield Absorption by 25% for 6 seconds.
          • Power Screen now triggers from shielding an attack or triggering Ion Cell.
Assault Specialist (Vanguard)
          • Assault Plastique has been redesigned. The Trooper now throws a moldable plastic explosive that sticks to the target and detonates after several seconds, exploding for kinetic damage and burning the target for elemental damage over 12 seconds. Standard and weak enemies enter a state of panic when the explosive attaches and are knocked down when it explodes.

Bounty Hunter

New Ability Highlights
        • Mercenary: A new ability, Electro Net, has been added. Electro Net ensnares a single target, reducing its movement speed and dealing periodic Energy damage which increases over time if the target is moving. While Electro Net is active, the target is also hindered and unable to activate high mobility actions and escapes, such as speed boosts, vanishes, and charges. The ability is trainable at level 51.
        • Mercenary: New Passive ability, Missile Salvo, has been added. Missile Salvo fires 2 weaker Missile Blasts that combine for 10% more damage. This ability is trainable at level 10.
        • Powertech: A new ability, Shoulder Cannon, has been added. Shoulder Cannon loads missiles over time. These missiles can be fired at an enemy target within 10 meters, depleting 1 charge with each missile launched. When all missiles have been depleted, the ability goes on cooldown for 1.5 minutes. This ability is not affected by the Global Cooldown and can be used while under the effects of crowd control.
        • Powertech: A new Passive ability, Close and Personal, has been added. Close and Personal increases the duration of Energy Shield by 3 seconds. In addition, suffering direct damage from area of effect attacks vents 2 Heat and heals the player for 2.5% of total health. This effect cannot occur more than once every 3 seconds.
General
        • Hydraulic Overrides is now trainable at level 26 for all Bounty Hunters. This ability has an initial duration of 6 seconds, which can be extended to 10 seconds using the skills in the Arsenal and Advanced Prototype Skill Trees.
        • Chaff Flare is now trainable at level 30 for all Bounty Hunters.
        • Shoulder Slam has been removed from the game
        • Kolto Overload has been redesigned. Kolto Overload now puts a Health Monitor on the player which will trigger when they drop below 30% health. Once triggered, Kolto Overload will heal the player rapidly up to but no higher than 30% of their maximum health. This effect lasts 8 seconds.
Mercenary
        • A new ability, Electro Net, has been added. Electro Net ensnares a single target, reducing its movement speed and dealing periodic Energy damage which increases over time if the target is moving. While Electro Net is active, the target is also hindered and unable to activate high mobility actions and escapes, such as speed boosts, vanishes, and charges. The ability is trainable at level 51.
        • New Passive ability, Missile Salvo, has been added. Missile Salvo allows up to 3 weaker Missile Blasts to be fired in a row before generating heat and going on cooldown for 6 seconds. This ability is trainable at level 10.
        • Jet Boost now generates 8 Heat (down from 16).
        • Kolto Missile is now trainable at level 20 for all Mercenaries.
        • High Velocity Gas Cylinder now additionally increases Alacrity by 3% while active.
Arsenal
          • The Heat Signature applied by Tracer Missile now lasts 45 seconds. In addition, the Heat Signature effect now reduces armor by 20% and no longer stacks. Furthermore, this ability now fires a faster-moving projectile.
          • Heatseeker Missiles now deals approximately 16% more damage. The ability deals 25% additional damage if the target is affected by the Mercenary’s Heat Signature. In addition, this ability now fires a slightly slower-moving projectile, ensuring that the Heat Signature effect will be properly recognized if Heatseeker Missiles is fired immediately after a Tracer Missile. Light ‘Em Up no longer affects Heat Signatures applied by Tracer Missile.
Pyrotech (Mercenary)
          • Thermal Detonator has been redesigned: The Bounty Hunter now hurls a thermal detonator that adheres to the target and detonates after several seconds, exploding for kinetic damage and burning the target for elemental damage over 12 seconds. Standard and weak enemies enter a state of panic when the explosive attaches and are knocked down when it explodes.
Powertech
        • A new ability, Shoulder Cannon, has been added. Shoulder Cannon loads missiles over time. These missiles can be fired at an enemy target within 10 meters, depleting 1 charge with each missile launched. When all missiles have been depleted, the ability goes on cooldown for 1.5 minutes. This ability is not affected by the Global Cooldown and can be used while under the effects of crowd control.
        • A new Passive ability, Close and Personal, has been added. Close and Personal increases the duration of Energy Shield by 3 seconds. In addition, suffering direct damage from area of effect attacks vents 2 Heat and heals the player for 2.5% of total health. This effect cannot occur more than once every 3 seconds.
        • Guard: Crowd control effects that break on damage will no longer break from damage redirected through Guard. For example, a blinded guarder will no longer be broken out of the blind from damage dealt to a guarded target within guard range.
        • Guard: Effects that are triggered through dealing damage which affect a target who is guarded will no longer also affect the guarder.
        • Ion Gas Cylinder now reduces all damage dealt by 5% while active.
        • Neural Dart and Sonic Missile can no longer miss.
Shield Tech
          • Heat Blast has been redesigned and is now only usable with 3 stacks of Heat Screen. Using Heat Blast consumes Heat Screen to deal Elemental Damage, vent 8 Heat, and increase Shield Absorption by 25% for 6 seconds.
          • Oil Slick has been redesigned. This ability now targets the ground and persists for 15 seconds. Enemies within the area of effect are slowed by 70% and suffer 30% reduced melee and ranged accuracy.
          • Heat Screen now triggers from shielding an attack or triggering Ion Gas Cylinder.
Pyrotech (Powertech)
        • Thermal Detonator has been redesigned. The Bounty Hunter now hurls a thermal detonator that adheres to the target and detonates after several seconds, exploding for kinetic damage and burning the target for elemental damage over 12 seconds. Standard and weak enemies enter a state of panic when the explosive attaches and are knocked down when it explodes.

Companion Characters

General

      • Corrected an issue preventing some Companion Characters from using certain abilities, such as HK-51’s “Assassinate” ability.
      • Aric Jorgan: Several cinematic conversations now have improved camera angles.

Affection

      • Companion Affection gained from mission conversations has been redesigned. Companions will still give more or less affection based on their personality preference, but the affection amounts are now scaled based on the level of the mission, and the dialogue options are scaled the same for all Companion Characters.
      • Companion reaction tooltips have been added to companion gifts to illustrate how a companion will react when receiving the gift.
      • Sergeant Rusk: The mission “Master Gend’s Mission” will now grant the proper companion affection.
      • The Sith Inquisitor mission “Thanaton Strikes Back” will now appropriately grant companion affection.

Combat

Sith Warrior
        • Malavai Quinn: This companion will no longer attempt to use Carbonized Stream on a target suffering from a periodic effect (such as damage over time) or who is under 90% maximum health.
        • Lt. Pierce: Flameguard is now usable at 30 meters.
        • Lt. Pierce: Rifle Rush now deals damage to the target, but it can no longer be used against targets in cover.
        • Vette: Blaster Sweep now deals slightly more damage.
        • Broonmark: Violent Toss now utilizes the damage of the weapon Broonmark wields. This will result in a slight damage increase based on the power of the weapon.
        • Broonmark: Cleave now deals more damage and has a radius of 5 meters.
        • Jaesa Willsaam: Freeze now deals damage in addition to slowing the movement of the target.
Jedi Knight
        • Doc: This companion no longer attempt to use Carbonized Stream on a target suffering from a periodic effect (such as damage over time) or target who is under 90% maximum health.
        • T7-01: Flameguard is now usable at 30 meters.
        • T7-01: Intercept now additionally deals damage to the target, instead of only generating threat.
        • Sergeant Rusk: Spread Fire now deals slightly more damage.
        • Lord Scourge: Lightning Punch now deals slightly less damage.
        • Lord Scourge: Savage Charge no longer deals damage and can no longer be used on a target in cover.
        • Lord Scourge: Cleave now deals more damage and has a radius of 5 meters.
        • Kira Carsen: Freeze now deals damage in addition to slowing the movement of the target.
Imperial Agent
        • Doctor Lokin: This companion will no longer attempt to use Carbonized Stream on a target suffering from a periodic effect (such as damage over time) or who is under 90% maximum health.
        • Doctor Lokin: Increased the damage dealt by Swipe and Infect.
        • Kaliyo: Defensive Blast is now usable at 30 meters. Additionally, Defensive Blast will deal slightly more damage.
        • Kaliyo Djannis: Storm’s tooltip has been updated to reflect that the target cannot be in cover.
        • Ensign Temple: Blaster Sweep now deals slightly more damage.
        • Ensign Temple: Force Burst now deals less damage.
        • SCORPIO: Power Attack will deal slightly more damage.
        • SCORPIO: Jet Rush can no longer be used against a target in cover.
        • SCORPIO: Cleave will now deal more damage and have a radius of 5 meters.
        • Vector: Oil Spill will now deal damage in addition to slowing the movement of the target.
Smuggler
        • Guss Tuno: This companion no longer attempt to use Electro-Trap on a target suffering from a periodic effect (such as damage over time) or who is under 90% maximum health.
        • Corso Riggs: Flameguard is now usable at 30 meters.
        • Corso Riggs: Illegal Jet Pack’s tooltip has been updated to reflect that the target cannot be in cover.
        • Corso Riggs: Attempting to activate “Deploy Shields” while out of combat will now provide the proper error message.
        • Risha: Gas Grenade now deals more damage.
        • Bowdaar: Wookie Toss will now utilize the damage of the weapon Bowdaar wields. This will result in a slight damage increase, based on the power of the weapon.
        • Bowdaar: Cleave will now deal more damage and has a radius of 5 meters.
        • Bowdaar: Tooltip on Bowdaar’s ability “Wookiee Roar” has been corrected to properly reflect the ability name.
Sith Inquisitor
        • Talos Drellik: This companion will no longer attempt to use Carbonized Stream on a target suffering from a periodic effect (such as damage over time) or who is under 90% maximum health.
        • Xalek: Shockguard is now usable at 30 meters.
        • Xalek: Charge now deals damage to the target, but it can no longer be used against a target in cover.
        • Andronikos Revel: Blaster Sweep now deals slightly more damage.
        • Andronikos Revel: Low Blow now does less damage.
        • Khem Val: Rake now deals slightly more damage.
        • Khem Val: Consume Essence now heals for slightly less.
        • Ashara Zavros: Freeze will now deal damage in addition to slowing the movement of the target.
        • Khem Val: Cleave will now deal more damage and has a radius of 5 meters.
Jedi Consular
        • Tharan Cedrax: This companion will no longer attempt to use Deploy Holiday on a target suffering from a periodic effect (such as damage over time), or who is under 90% maximum health.
        • Felix Iresso: Flameguard is now usable at 30 meters.
        • Felix Iresso: Rifle Rush will deal damage to the target, but it can no longer be used against a target in cover.
        • Felix Iresso: Incendiary Mortar now deals less damage initially over a slightly larger area of effect radius.
        • Zenith: Collateral Damage will deal slightly more damage over time.
        • Qyzen Fess: Power Attack will deal slightly more damage.
        • Qyzen Fess: Flush Prey no longer deals damage or immobilizes the target, and it can no longer be used against a target in cover.
        • Qyzen Fess: Hunter’s Surge now deals slightly less damage over a larger area of effect radius. Additionally, the tooltip has been corrected to reflect the actual maximum of 3 targets.
        • Nadia Grell: Freeze will now deal damage in addition to slowing the movement of the target.
Bounty Hunter
        • Mako: This companion will no longer attempt to use Electro-Stasis on a target suffering from a periodic effect (such as damage over time), or who is under 90% maximum health.
        • Blizz: Zipline now deals damage to the target.
        • Blizz: Flameguard is now usable at 30 meters.
        • Gault: Poison Grenade now deals more damage.
        • Skadge: Savage Hit now utilizes the damage of the weapon Skadge wields. This will result in a slight damage increase based on the power of the weapon.
        • Skadge: Cleave will deals more damage and have a radius of 5 meters.
        • Torian Cadera: Oil Spill will deals damage in addition to slowing the movement of the target.
Trooper
      • Elara Dorne: This companion will no longer attempt to use Carbonized Stream on a target suffering from a periodic effect (such as damage over time) or who is under 90% maximum health.
      • M1-4X: Flameguard is now usable at 30 meters.
      • M1-4X: Tow Cable now deals damage to the target instead of only generating threat.
      • Aric Jorgan: Spread Fire now deals slighty more damage.
      • Tanno Vik: Power Attack deals slightly more damage.
      • Tanno Vik: Cleave now deals more damage and has a radius of 5 meters.
      • Sgt. Yuun: Tracker’s Strike will now deal damage to the target in addition to slowing the movement of the target.

Crew Skills

General

      • All Crew Skills now have a skill cap of 450!
      • To train beyond 400, players must visit individual Crew Skill trainers and train the Advanced version of each skill.
      • Added new missions, schematics, crafting materials, and harvesting nodes
      • Added new Augmentation Kits.
      • Augmentation Slot Component MK-7 and MK-8 are obtained by Reverse Engineering level 52 crafted items.
      • Augmentation Slot Component MK-9 is obtained by Reverse Engineering level 54+ crafted items.
      • New mission tiers do not contain Companion Gift missions.

Crafting Skills

    • Exotic Crafting Materials at level 55 are now obtained primarily through loot drops and cannot be obtained by Reverse Engineering.
    • Artifice now allows players to Reverse Engineer the following Advanced Indestructible, Advanced Hawkeye, and Advanced Eviscerating color crystals:
      • Black-Blue
      • Black-Red
      • Cyan
      • Purple

Flashpoints and Operations

General

      • Classic Commendations can now be acquired from level 50 Flashpoints, Operations, and daily areas, and they can be used to purchase Campaign gear from the Classic Gear Vendor on the Fleet, in addition to many items previously purchased for Daily Commendations at Mission Support Vendors.

Flashpoints

General
        • Level 50 Flashpoint bosses now drop Black Hole pieces.
Athiss
        • Hard Mode is now available and is balanced for level 55 players!
        • Players will no longer be prevented from using Force Leap on Alchemical Shrieker while at the entrance to the tomb.
Cademimu
        • Hard Mode is now available and is balanced for level 55 players!
Hammer Station
        • Hard Mode is now available and is balanced for level 55 players!
Lost Island
        • Adjusted the encounter with LR-5 Sentinel Droid in Hard Mode
        • The enrage timer has been increased by 1 minute.
        • Lava damage has been decreased.
        • Discharge deals less damage, the cooldown has been increased, the duration has been reduced, and the time between expansions has been increased.
        • Adjusted the encounter with Project Savrip in Hard Mode
        • The enrage timer has been increased by 1 minute.
        • Acid Spit damage has been decreased.
        • Rak Rot can now be cleansed.
        • Adjusted the encounter with Doctor Lorrik in Hard Mode
        • Viral Vial will now take longer to hit.
        • While throwing Satchel Charges, Doctor Lorrik will now face in only one direction.
        • Flutterplume Plaguebearer will no longer repeatedly spawn additional enemies.
        • The slow effect has been reduced for Vile Spit when used by a Vile Shaclaw.
        • Decreased the duration and increased the cooldown for Towline when used by a Utility Droid.
        • Kolto Projection now has a cooldown and Reactive Shield no longer grants interrupt immunity when used by a Hybrid Rakghoul Medic.
Mandalorian Raiders
        • Hard Mode is now available and is balanced for level 55 players!
        • The Boarding Party will now deal less damage in Story Mode.
The False Emperor
        • Players are no longer able to defeat the final encounter by kiting the boss into the chasm without the use of supplied bombs or knockbacks.

Operations

New Operation: Scum and Villainy!
        • Scum and Villainy is a new Operation which takes place on the seedy Outer Rim world of Darvannis, where mysterious forces are gathering an army of warlords and mercenaries. This Operation is available at level 55 in four difficulty modes, and it contains seven bosses with lockouts. It can be accessed from the Ziost Shadow or the Gav Daragon on the Imperial and Republic Fleets.
Eternity Vault
        • All Story Mode bosses now drop Black Hole gear. All Hard and Nightmare Mode bosses now drop Hazmat gear.
Explosive Conflict
        • Explosive Conflict is now available in Group Finder from levels 50-54.
        • All Story Mode bosses now drop Hazmat gear.
        • All Hard and Nightmare Mode bosses now drop Hazmat pieces and Unassembled Dreadguard items.
        • Removed the group of enemies directly before the encounter with Toth and Zorn.
Karagga’s Palace
        • All Story Mode bosses now drop Black Hole gear.
        • All Hard and Nightmare Mode bosses now drop Hazmat gear.
Terror From Beyond
      • Terror From Beyond is now available in Group Finder at level 55.
      • The missions New Frontiers and Ancient Allies are now level 55. Players are still eligible for these missions at level 50.
      • All difficulty modes have been rebalanced to provide proper challenge and reward to level 55 players.
      • Chests in this Operation have been replaced by enemies that drop special loot: Covert Observers and Brutal Invaders. Loot drops have been updated to level 55. Arkanian items will now drop in Story Mode, and Underworld items now drop in Hard Mode.

Items and Economy

General

      • New tiers of gear are now available from Flashpoints, Operations, and Group Finder at level 55! You can view the new gear in the Supplies and Combat Training wings of the Fleet.
      • Relics that have a chance to proc damage will no longer break a character out of stealth upon triggering.
      • The Hyrotii Scrapper speeder now has a new icon.
      • Extracted level 51+ Armoring modifications of Artifact Quality and higher now become bound to the type of gear the mod was extracted from (Chest, Legs, Head, etc).

Set Bonuses

      • All set bonuses are now stored exclusively on Armoring mods instead of equipment shells. Players will now be able to transfer set bonuses shells between equipment shells by simply moving the Armoring mod. The rules are as follows:
        • Set bonuses can be extracted from a shell by removing the Armoring mod.
        • While Armoring mods are not applied to any items, they retain their extracted set bonus.
        • When Armoring mods with a set bonus are placed in another item of the same type (Chest, Legs, Head, etc), the set bonus will then applies to that piece of armor. Modified gear with a set bonus applied will receive a notification when attempting to overwrite the Armoring mod with another Armoring mod with a set bonus. If confirmed, the new mod’s set bonus will overwrite the original set bonus.
      • Some Level 55 Set Bonuses have been updated from their Level 50 counterparts. All Level 55 Set Bonuses are now listed without their “Rakata” or “Battlemaster” prefix.
Class Set Bonus Updates
Juggernaut (DPS)
          • Vindicator’s Gear 2pc (PVE): Reduces the minimum range of Saber Throw by 10m.
          • Vindicator’s Gear 4pc (PVE): Now increases Force Scream damage by 8%.
Guardian (DPS)
          • Vindicator’s Gear 2pc (PVE): Reduces the minimum range of Saber Throw by 10m.
          • Vindicator’s Gear 4pc (PVE): Now increases Blade Storm damage by 8%.
Marauder (DPS)
          • Weaponmaster’s Gear 2pc (PvE): Now increases Ravage damage dealt by 8%.
          • Weaponmaster’s Gear 4pc (PvE): Now in addition to reducing the cooldown of Frenzy, also makes activating Berserk increase all damage dealt by 4% for 15 seconds.
          • Weaponmaster’s Gear 2pc (PvP): Now in addition to reducing the cooldown of Undying Rage, also increases its duration by 1 second.
          • Weaponmaster’s Gear 4pc (PvP): Now increases all damage dealt by 10% for 5 seconds after using Force Charge.
Sentinel (DPS)
          • Weaponmaster’s Gear 2pc (PvE): Now increases Master Strike damage dealt by 8%.
          • Weaponmaster’s Gear 4pc (PvE): Now in addition to reducing the cooldown of Valorous Call, also makes activating Zen increase all damage dealt by 4% for 15 seconds.
          • Weaponmaster’s Gear 2pc (PvP): Now in addition to reducing the cooldown of Guarded by the Force, also increases its duration by 1 second.
          • Weaponmaster’s Gear 4pc (PvP): Now increases all damage dealt by 10% for 5 seconds after using Force Leap.
Mercenary (Healer)
          • Combat Medic’s Gear 2pc (PvP): Reduces the cooldown of Hydraulic Overrides by 5 seconds.
Commando (Healer)
          • Combat Medic’s Gear 2pc (PvP): Reduces the cooldown of Hold the Line by 5 seconds.
Operative (DPS)
          • Field Tech’s Gear 2pc (PvE): Increases Backstab critical chance by 15.
Scoundrel (DPS)
          • Field Tech’s Gear 2pc (PvE): Increases Back Blast critical chance by 15.
Operative (Healer)
          • Field Medic’s Gear 2pc (PvE): Increases healing done by Recuperative Nanotech by 15%.
          • Field Medic’s Gear 4pc (PvE): Increases maximum Energy by 5.
          • Field Medic’s Gear 2pc (PvP): Increases the damage absorbed by Shield Probe by 10%.
Scoundrel (Healer)
          • Field Medic’s Gear 2pc (PvE): Increases healing done by Kolto Cloud by 15%.
          • Field Medic’s Gear 4pc (PvE): Increases maximum Energy by 5.
          • Field Medic’s Gear 2pc (PvP): Increases the damage absorbed by Defense Screen by 10%.
Sorcerer (DPS)
          • Force-Master’s Gear 2pc (PvE): Now additionally reduces the cooldown of Polarity Shift by 15 seconds.
Sage (DPS)
          • Force-Master’s Gear 2pc (PvE): Now additionally reduces the cooldown of Mental Alacrity by 15 seconds.
Sorcerer (Healer)
          • Force-Mystic’s Gear 2pc (PvP): Reduces Static Barrier lockout debuff duration by 3 seconds.
Sage (Healer)
          • Force-Mystic’s Gear 2pc (PvP): Reduces Force Armor lockout debuff duration by 3 seconds.
Sniper (DPS)
          • Field Tech’s Gear 2pc (PvE): Activating Target Acquired restores 10 Energy.
Gunslinger (DPS)
          • Field Tech’s Gear 2pc (PvE): Activating Illegal Mods restores 10 Energy.

Commendations

      • Basic Commendations, Elite Commendations, and Ultimate Commendations can now be earned from content at levels 51-55. These commendation types can be used to purchase increasingly more powerful gear at level 55. The Basic Gear Vendor will prepare you for group content at 55, the Elite Gear Vendor will prepare you for Operations at level 55, and the Ultimate Gear Vendor will prepare you for the most challenging Operations bosses in the Galaxy.
      • Commendations from individual planets have been converted into a single Planetary Commendation type. Vendors that previously traded items for specific planet commendations now trade the same items for Planetary Commendations.
      • Weekly limits are now enforced on Commendation gains for certain Commendation type. Players will not be able to obtain any Commendations beyond the weekly limit displayed in the Currency Window. This limit is reset on a weekly schedule that corresponds with the weekly Operations lockout reset schedule. Limits are as follows:
        • Planetary Commendations – Unlimited Weekly; 50 Maximum
        • Classic Commendations – 200 Weekly; 400 Maximum
        • Basic Commendations – 300 Weekly; 600 Maximum
        • Elite Commendations – 200 Weekly; 400 Maximum
        • Ultimate Commendations – 150 Weekly; 300 Maximum
      • Tionese Crystals have been converted to the new Planetary Commendation type at a 2:1 ratio and no longer drop from any content.
      • Daily, Tionese, Columi, and Black Hole Commendations have all been converted to Classic Commendations. Missions and loot that previously awarded these commendations will now award Classic Commendations instead.
      • Daily, Tionese, Columi, and Black Hole Commendations in your inventory will be converted to Classic Commendations at the following ratios:
        • Tionese Commendations – 6:1
        • Columi Commendations – 4:1
        • Daily Commendations – 4:1
        • Black Hole Commendations – 1:1

Vendors

    • Added new vendors for Classic, Basic, Elite, Ultimate Commendation types to the Supply area of the Republic and Imperial Fleets.
    • Added a new Warzone & Ranked Warzone vendor for each Class in the Combat area of the Republic and Imperial Fleets.
    • The PvP Weapons vendor and PvP Items vendor have had their items modified.
    • A new Warzone and Ranked Warzone Enhancement Vendor can be found in the Combat section of the fleet. This vendor sells Partisan and Conqueror Enhancements.
    • A new Classic Commendation vendor has been placed in the new Hangar Hub area of the Gav Daragon and Ziost Shadow Fleet ships. This vendor will exchange Unassembled Rakata, Columi, or Campaign items for the new Classic Commendations.
    • The Crew Skill Trade Vendor now contains Common (white) rarity crafting items for new level 51+ Crafting items.
    • Commendation vendors on Section X, Ilum, Black Hole, and Belsavis for both Factions have been adjusted to require Classic Commendations and will now include Campaign Chest pieces in addition to their previous items.

Legacy

Achievements

      • The Legacy System has expanded to include Legacy Achievements, which recognize important accomplishments and milestones across all characters in your Legacy.
      • Achievements are granted for completing missions, defeating enemies, clearing Flashpoints and Operations, completing difficult challenges, and many other activities.
      • All characters in your Legacy contribute progress towards all achievements, and rewards are shared across your Legacy.
      • Achievements may unlock titles, grant items, or even add Cartel Coins to your account! You can access your Legacy Achievements through the Legacy Panel, even if you have not yet named your Legacy.

Training Dummies

    • Operation Training Dummy has been updated to Level 55.
    • Warzone Training Dummy has been updated to Level 55.
    • The Warzone and Operation training dummies on the Consular and Trooper ships have been moved so that area effect spells will not hit both dummies.
    • Attacking Training Dummies will now play the appropriate ability sound effect.
    • A scrollbar should now appear for long reputation descriptions in the Legacy Reputation Window.

Missions and NPCs

General

      • Mission Terminals on the Republic and Imperial Fleets have been updated, and various [WEEKLY] and [DAILY] missions have been removed, updated, or consolidated into new missions.
      • The Daily Mission Terminal on the Fleet has been replaced by the Priority Missions terminal. This terminal provides daily, weekly, and introductory missions for activities such as Flashpoints, Group Finder, Warzones, and other high-priority content.
      • The Operations Terminal is a new mission terminal that grants missions that require Operations groups to complete, including a unique [WEEKLY] mission for every Operation at levels 50 and 55. These missions provide commendations, credits, and information about the recommended gear rating for each difficulty mode.
      • “[WEEKLY] The War Front” is a new, weekly Warzone mission available on the PvP Mission Terminal from levels 10-54. This mission is unlocked by completing the “Introduction to Warzones” mission.

Missions

World Missions
        • Added new Priority Transport Terminals to the Fleet and several Orbital Stations, which provide transportation between high level mission areas such as The Black Hole, Ilum, Section X, and Makeb. Planetary shuttles on Belsavis, Ilum, and Corellia have had these transport options removed for clarity.
Ilum
          • Ilum Under Siege: The final cinematic for this Republic mission has been polished for a more enjoyable viewing experience.
Belsavis
            Section X

            • [WEEKLY] Section X Crisis is now Level 52.
            • Missions in Section X now reward Basic Commendations.
Class Missions
Trooper
          • Lost and Found: The loading screen for this Taris mission will now use proper gender pronouns in the loading screen story recap.
          • The Ambush: This mission will now grant dark side points appropriately.

NPCs

    • Enemies with Advanced Stealth Detection will no longer attack players who enter stealth outside of combat range.
    • Enemies of Elite toughness now have 5% Force and Tech defense, and enemies of Champion toughness have 10% Force and Tech defense. This gives greater chance of resisting Force and Tech attacks, and increases the importance of Accuracy when fighting Elite enemies.

PvP

General

      • Players can now exchange 40 Warzone Commendations for a Planetary Commendation at the PvP Items vendor.

Warzones

      • Bolster is now based on item rating rather than character level. Recruit-level gear is no longer available, as players will be automatically bolstered to this level of item power if they do not meet it naturally.
      • Players will now be separated into three level brackets for normal Warzone play: 10 – 29, 30 – 54, and level 55. Ranked Warzones now requires level 55.
      • Made adjustments to balance the Warzone types that players will see when queuing.
Voidstar
      • Voidstar spawn doors will no longer be active for Defenders in the Reactor and Cargo room if the Attackers have not activated the bridges or brought down the shields. This will allow the Defenders to prepare at the doors before the attackers have access to the area.

Space Combat

  • Grade 7 Beam Generators will now deal the correct amount of damage.
  • Repeatable Space Combat missions will no longer provide credit rewards.
  • All Daily and Weekly Space Combat missions have had their credit rewards significantly increased.

UI

  • A new option has been added to Operation, party, player, and target frames to resize the buffs and debuffs. The Operation frames also now have the option to add spacing between party members to allow room for larger buffs and debuffs.
  • Cast bars will no longer incorrectly cut off the bottom of text.

Miscellaneous Bug Fixes

  • Various typos and mistakes in mission and codex text have been corrected for all languages.
  • Looping ambient sounds will now properly play while in range to hear them.