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

All classes can now reach Level 60! 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Highlights

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

General

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

Cartel Market

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

Classes + Combat

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Class Changes

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

Sentinel and Marauder
Guardian and Juggernaut

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

Shadow and Assassin
Sage and Sorcerer

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

Scoundrel + Operative
Gunslinger + Sniper

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

Commando + Mercenary
Vanguard + Powertech

Flashpoints + Operations

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

GUI

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

Missions + NPCs

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

Warzones

• A PVP Mission Turn in Terminal has been added to the Southern base in Ancient Hypergates.