SWTOR Reforged: Into the Stars

This episode marks our last in the SWTOR Reforged series. Here, we detail the reasons why and give you our ENDLESS thanks for listening.

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“SWTOR Reforged: Into the Stars”
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Heroic Space Missions Coming in Game Update 1.6

BioWare released a little more information about the new Heroic Space Missions in Star Wars: The Old Republic this week, and they’re designing them to make the player experience more engaging. Their goal has always been to make the player feel that no matter what they’re doing in-game, they’re part of the larger battle in the Star Wars galaxy. So coming in Game Update 1.6, level 50 characters will have access to these new missions.

Jedi Master Evarwyn, Sith Lord Korv, Louis the Loremaster in: The Dejarik Bet

What a strange time of year… A day after celebrating all that we’re thankful for, we beat down doors and run over people for deals on things we DON’T have. Then a couple days later we blow off work to do some online shopping (ok I’m guilty of this one). Fortunately, a new day has been created and is dubbed “Giving Tuesday.” Technically it is designed for remembering what the season is all about and giving some of your time and/or money to a charity you care about, but I thought in that spirit I would give you a little something special today, too.

Episode 19: Grand Theft Starship

With Jedi Master Evarwyn incapacitated, Sith Lord Korv takes the helm to lead this week of mayhem aboard the ship. With a couple of guests and Louis Olan, be prepared for one wild hijacking adventure!

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“Episode 19: Grand Theft Starship”
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SWTOR Game Update 1.6 on the PTS Now!

Interested in what Game Update 1.6 will bring to the table for Star Wars: The Old Republic? Well head on over to the Public Test Server (PTS) to find out for yourself, as BioWare announced today that Ancient Hypergate is now available.

What can you expect in 1.6? For starters, BioWare said there will be a new PvP Warzone as well as a new PvP mechanic and Heroic Space Missions.

Free SWTOR, the Cartel Market, and an Apology to Earth

The first thing I did after Game Update 1.5 launched last week for Star Wars: The Old Republic was buy my Carbonite Chamber.

Nothing else matters.

Great column this week, huh? No? Ok, I’ll give you a little more.

Free-to-Play Will Make the Difference for SWTOR

The big day is almost here, as BioWare launches its Free-to-Play model for Star Wars: The Old Republic on Thursday.

With falling subscription numbers over the last year, SWTOR has been in a bit of trouble lately. The hope is that by opening up the game to more players through a free version, SWTOR will pick back up and continue to be a fun, thriving MMO for a large, growing audience. BioWare is at a crossroads though, as while a great free-to-play system could save the game, a poor one could bury it.

Many players felt that a free option was needed much sooner in order to keep the player base viable, but regardless, BioWare launches the service this week, and it couldn’t come at a better time. With Star Wars making news recently and being splashed all over the Internet and news channels thanks to joining forces with Disney, the time for making this game available to a wider audience is right now. The forces have aligned, it’s time for SWTOR to show what it’s got.

Game Update 1.5 is packaged with SWTOR’s Free-to-Play option, so the best version of the game to date will be available, and subscribers and free players alike will get to experience all the great new content the game will offer. From the in-game store called the Cartel Market, to a new companion in HK-51, as well as several bug fixes to improve stability in the game overall, SWTOR is ready to take the MMO world by storm. Again.

There’s been a lot of criticism over whether or not BioWare has implemented its F2P system in the most effective way. Give away too much and you risk alienating your subscribers. Don’t give away enough and there’s no incentive to play, even for free. Additionally  many people feel that free-to-play should have been opened up much sooner, if not right at launch. It’s the way of the future for MMOs, and I think it was a mistake on BioWare’s part to not do it sooner. We’ll see if time really is on SWTOR’s side, but I’m going to go out on a limb and predict a positive outlook for this game. I expect this game to be around for a long time.

The biggest thing that this game has going for it is that it’s Star Wars. There’s no franchise that is custom made for an MMO quite as well as Star Wars, and who as a kid didn’t grow up wanting to be a hero for the Republic (or Empire)? Throw in the fact that the game looks beautiful, plays on a lot of machines, and has some of the best story development ever seen in a video game, and you have a recipe for a massive success. Don’t forget that the game’s biggest new addition, the Cartel Market, is designed to give players a way to advance through the game’s early stages a little quicker, customize your character with different mounts and items, and give players another reason to login and see what’s new. I don’t know how fans will react to all of this, but I think that in general it will be a fun, easy way for new players to get into the game and feel like they don’t have quite as big a mountain to climb before really getting into the game.

SWTOR is a game that I’ve come back to time and time again since its release, and every time I play, I get a little more enjoyment out of it. Whether it’s finding a new piece of gear that makes my character more epic, or making a decision that impacts my character’s story in a dramatic way, this game has it all. Hopefully we’ll see an influx of new players either returning or experiencing the game for the first time, and hopefully the new additions to the game and the Cartel Market will be enough to keep them around. There’s a lot of great content still ahead for SWTOR fans, and I can’t wait to see what BioWare has in store for us.

Episode 18: You’re FREE, To Play! Part 2!

With F2P launching this week, the crew sits down and talks about the new announcement of the date as well as a blog post from Exec. Producer, Jeff Hickman on the state of SWTOR. Later on, Lou teaches us about “The Sith Academy” in his Jedi Archives and you can look forward to our usual in game experiences and some of your tweets!

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Episode 18: You're FREE, To Play! Part 2! [ 1:37:02 ] Download

Free-to-Play, Game Update 1.5 to launch 11/15

BioWare announced that they will be opening up Star Wars: The Old Republic as a free-to-play game, alongside Game Update 1.5 on November 15.

Additionally, pricing for Cartel Coins was announced. Players will be able to purchase 450 Cartel Coins for $4.99 and can get as mnay as 5,500 for $39.99. Paid subscribers will receive 500 Cartel Coins per month as part of their subscription, and players who subscribe for multiple months at a time will receive bonus coins (the exact number of bonus coins will be released later).

Free-to-Play and Game Update 1.5 are coming. If you’ve left the game. will you be rejoining the fight? If you haven’t yet taken the plunge, is Free-to-Play the enticement you’ve been waiting for?

Episode 17: Ootini!

We have FINALLY returned, and the wait was worth it! The crew sits down with Chill and Teo from Ootini-Cast! After escaping the clutches of Slimey The Hutt, Chill and Teo talk with Evarwyn, Lou and Fred about their week in game as well as the MASSIVE news that Disney purchased Lucas Arts and that there WILL be an Episode 7,8 and 9! Also, the guys talk a bit about F2P model as we learn more information, not the least of which being an announcement from Joveth Gonzalez that 1.5 will not be this week, but rather, VERY soon! After our talk, Lou enters the Jedi Archives where he presents to us the origins of the title “Darth”!

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SWTOR: State of the Game Update

In what he said will be the first of many “State-of-the-Game” posts, BioWare Executive Producer Jeff Hickman laid out how things are going for Star Wars: The Old Republic, and why fans should be confident in the direction the game is going.

In the post on SWTOR’s website, the first thing he addressed was Free-to-Play, saying that after weeks of discussion about what was working and what wasn’t, three things were evident:

A Whole New World

By now you’ve heard all the jokes (“So Leia’s a Disney princess now, huh?”), seen all the memes, and read all there is to read, but for that one person out there who missed it, Disney bought Lucasfilm for $4 billion, and every Star Wars fan in the world simultaneously exploded with excitement upon reading there are more films planned for the future. So what does this mean for Star Wars: The Old Republic?

Practically nothing.

BioWare Should Consider Fans When Building Free-to-Play

When Star Wars: The Old Republic goes Free-to-Play this fall, BioWare will essentially be implementing a plan to save the game. Whether they are openly willing to admit it or not, SWTOR is in trouble, as player subscriptions have declined since its release and something needs to be done to infuse life into the game. The F2P model that BioWare is developing is designed to give new players an opportunity to try out the MMO without having to commit to a subscription, and entice players who left to come back and see how the game has changed. With a new “Cartel Market” set to open alongside the launch, players will be able to purchase items with in-game currency that can either be earned (for subscription players) or purchased with real dollars. It’s this combination of paying subscribers and micro-transactions for Cartel Coins that BioWare hopes will save its game.

Overall I am pretty optimistic about what BioWare is doing. Before we even knew much about the specifics, I was excited to hear of the Cartel Market and that I’d start off with a big chunk of Cartel Coins (since I’ve been a subscriber basically since the game launched). I am encouraged to think that I will be able to purchase some fun pets, new mounts, and any number of other cool items. Now that we know more about what will be available (Carbonite Chambers for healing, armor sets, experience boosts – to name a few), I think it’s pretty exciting, and subscribers have a lot to look forward to for spending their hard earned Cartel Coins, and F2P players will be able to do some catching up.

BioWare Tweaking Free-to-Play Restrictions, Details Preferred Player Status

In posts on the Star Wars: The Old Republic official forums, BioWare employees explained in more detail what players can expect upon the imminent launch of Free-to-Play. In one post we learned that BioWare was going to ease some of the restrictions for Free-to-Play players, and in another we got our first look at what being a Preferred Status Player will entail.

Cartel Market Open for Business on PTS / 1.5 Patch Notes Available

Players can now log on to the Public Test Servers to see what items are available for purchase with Cartel Coins in Star Wars: The Old Republic, and the list is massive!

Once on the PTS, near the top of the screen you should see a Cartel Coin icon that lets you access the Cartel Market. You can find many (if not all) of the items that will be available once the Free-to-Play goes live (which is said to be happening with the 1.5 Patch).

Whether you’re interested in learning about what pets, vehicles, crystals, XP boosts, or a number of other things will be available to purchase, you can log in now for all the details. There are a number of practical, game enhancing items, and a lot of items that will be of no more use than to simply have fun.

Making A Name for Yourself in SWTOR

As I was wandering around Quesh the other day, I realized how alone my Jedi was in the world. It’s mostly Kyraano’s fault, as he’s sort of a jerk. He wears the fancy Jedi robes and gives off the, “Oh look at me, I’m a Jedi, I’m so cool,” vibe, but really he’s just a big fat jerk. He never misses an opportunity to take the low road, cut off someone’s head, or take a cheap shot at his companions. But make no mistake about it, while he may not have many friends, he is definitely well-known.

That’s one of the aspects I love so much about Star Wars: The Old Republic. BioWare took care to make sure I could develop my character any way I wanted to. I didn’t want to be a cliche, good natured, Luke Skywalker-esque Jedi. I wanted to create a character that was unique to the galaxy, yet felt realistic. So the bombastic, larger than life, “what’s in it for me,” and slightly evil Kyraano was born.

Episode 16: Playing Catch Up!

We’re back this week after taking the previous off! Sorry about that, we missed you too! We play a little catch up this week as we talk about the new F2P table that was announced, and we have to get a little critical with how this is being conceived. Also, we discuss our usual gameplay for the week and Lou presents “The Dread Masters” in The Jedi Archives.

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“Episode 16: Playing Catch Up”

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Free-to-Play Restrictions Revealed, More on Cartel Coins

If you’ve been holding out for Star Wars: The Old Republic’s Free-to-Play model, or are just curious about how it’s going to work, BioWare gave everyone a taste of what you can expect when the switch is hit this fall. Additionally there is more information available on how you can acquire Cartel Coins, the new in-game currency.

Start Counting Your Cartel Coins

Curious about how many Cartel Coins you’ll have come the launch of Free-to-Play? We’ve got you covered!

BioWare posted on the official SWTOR webpage an update showing where you can go to find out how many Cartel Coins you’ll get when the game goes Free-to-Play this fall. They’re still not telling us exactly WHEN that will be happening, but it is imminent.

By logging on and visiting the “My Account” section of the SWTOR site, you’ll notice a new option that says, “Cartel Coins.” This breaks down exactly how many you’ve earned and will be able to redeem. Remember, Cartel Coins can be used to claim unique items that won’t be available any other way – such as vanity items and convenience items – but nothing that will give you a competitive edge in PvP.

There is a whole slew of new content and items coming to the game soon, whether it’s in weekly updates, Game Update 1.5, or whenever Free-to-Play arrives, so stay tuned to SWTOR Reforged for all the latest developments.

SWTOR Space Missions: Making Great Even Better

I’m sure this is a tired discussion you’ve already had between you and your friends, but I would love it if BioWare would take Space Missions in Star Wars: The Old Republic to the next level.

Imagine if you could use Space Missions, or your ship in general, to travel from one world to another. Leveling your ship high enough would enable you to install rare hyperdrives to zoom away from trouble or just make getting to the next planet a little quicker, while still feeling like you have some control in the matter. It’s a nice touch that you have to get on your ship to go from world to world, but I want to actually fly there myself, fighting random enemies along the way, exploring random space junk for treasures, and discovering uncharted planets full of side quests or other adventures.

And let’s not forget space combat PvP.

Game Update 1.5 Available on the PTS

Enjoying Game Update 1.4 for Star Wars: The Old Republic? Well don’t get to comfortable, because Game Update 1.5 is in the works, and you can check it out now on the Public Test Servers.

Players with characters on the PTS can explore Sector X, Nightmare Explosive Conflict, and a slew of other new features, including the new playable companion HK-51. Hop into the game to try out the new content and report back here with your thoughts, and of course, stay tuned to SWTOR Reforged for all the latest developments.

You can learn all about the new patch on SWTOR’s official website.

SWTOR Dominates Game Developer’s Choice Online Awards

This should come as no surprise to fans that are currently enjoying Star Wars: The Old Republic and Game Update 1.4, but the online role-playing game took home four awards overnight at the 3rd Annual Game Developer’s Choice Online Awards in Austin, TX.

SWTOR took home top honors for Best Online Game Design, Best Online Visual Arts, Best Online Technology, and Best New Online Game. BioWare’s crown jewel beat out other online role-playing games like Tera, Age of Empires Online, and Diablo 3, as well as megahit mobile games like Draw Something.

SWTOR was also nominated for Best Audio for an Online Game (the award went to Diablo III), and the Online Innovation Award (which went to Journey). With six overall nominations, SWTOR was recognized more than any other game, including World of Warcraft, Diablo III, Rift, Eve Online, Tera, and League of Legends.

SWTOR 1.4.1 Patch Notes

Star Wars: The Old Republic got some love recently in patch 1.4.1 that fixed some of what 1.4 broke, and made some overall general tweaks to the game. Among the long list of fixes, Companion’s “hide helmet” settings should now work in cinematics and conversations, and a fix was made to the Galactic Trade Network that should allow for more specific and refined searches. The entire list of fixes is below.

Enjoying Life in SWTOR

My wife LOVES Star Wars: The Old Republic!

“Lady Brian” told me as much just the other day. I was busy enjoying some spare time by chasing down some Rakghouls when all of a sudden she appeared next to me and started talking. I couldn’t really hear what she was saying because I was so focused on the Rakghouls, and I really wanted to impress her with my skill, so I kept my eyes on the prize. I could tell out of the corner of my eye though that she was really animated in whatever she was saying. It was probably something like, “Oh my gosh this is the most amazing game! I’m so glad you’re playing this right now, you go ahead and keep playing and I’ll change our screaming 1-month-old daughter’s diaper and get the peanut butter out of our other daughter’s hair. This is so cool, I’m so glad you have a hobby like this and I want to support you in any way I can, so you let me know what you need and I’ll make it happen. You’re number one!” Although I’m confused by her choice of finger in expressing that last part…

Episode 15: Too Little?

Join us this week for another ‘around the galaxy’ adventure as we disucuss the departure of Daniel Erickson, ask ourselves what else we’d like to see in the game and talk about our in-game week! During the Jedi Archives, Lou gives us a lesson on “The Death Mark”! We feature an email this week from a listener who calls us out on a mistake, and we introduce our new cast member, the ship droid: Q2F3!

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“Episode 15: Too Little?”

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SWTOR Lead Designer Leaves BioWare

Star Wars: The Old Republic lead designer Daniel Erickson announced via Twitter on Wednesday that he has left BioWare stating, “I’m officially starting a twitter account for job hunt and design thoughts.”

Erickson is the next in a growing line of high profile employees leaving the company, following executive producer Rich Vogel (who just recently took the helm of new company Battlecry Studios, a part of Bethesda) in July and BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuck in September.

What does this mean for SWTOR? With big things on the horizon and the game being in the best shape it’s been in so far, what is driving these employees to move on? Sound off in the comments below.

Future Game Content Leaked!!

As is usually the case, once one great thing happens, people immediately start thinking, “What’s next?”

A leak from the patch 1.4 files indicates there may be a ton of new content coming very soon to Star Wars: The Old Republic. While it’s clear that a ton of work is being put into making this game bigger and better than ever, what isn’t clear is just how soon these new additions may be coming. But from new vanity pets and mounts to new daily quests and a new world boss, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the future of SWTOR.

BioWare Announces the SWTOR Community Cantina Tour

If you live in or will be traveling to New York City, Austin, TX, New Orleans, La., or San Francisco, you may be in for a treat if you happen to be in town at the right time. BioWare announced that they’ll be conducting SWTOR community meet & greets to give fans the chance to interact with their community team and developers.

The announcement said that they will publish a blog with everything you need to know to attend the event, complete with food, giveaways, and more.

The first event will be held at the New York Comic Con on October 11. Dates for the other three scheduled events are not yet determined,  but will be in Austin in November, New Orleans in December, and San Francisco in January.

BioWare will also publish meet & greet summaries so if you’re not able to attend, you won’t be left in the dark on all that goes down.

Game Update 1.4 Bugs Under Review

Game Update 1.4, much like every other update to every other game on the planet, fixed and improved a lot of aspects of Star Wars: The Old Republic, but also allowed a few new bugs to slip through as well.

BioWare assured its fans on Wednesday that they are aware of some of the issues players are experiencing, and are working on getting them fixed in a future patch.

You can view the post by Online Community manager Joveth Gonzalez on their official forums, but below are the issues that they are currently looking into.

• General performance issues.
• Weekly missions are not consistently available.
• Warzone matches sometimes grant the win to the incorrect team.
• Some Crew Skill Missions are currently returning less materials than intended.
• The Bounty Hunter ship cannot be destroyed during the Jindo Krey encounter in the False Emperor.
• Galactic Trade Network searches are not functioning as intended, and Strength is missing from the Stats filter.
• The Hide Helmet option does not function from the Social Tab.
• Hide Helmet for Companions does not currently function correctly.
• Right-clicking player names in chat does not open the context menu.
• Players are able to consume schematics for items that they can already create.
• Same-faction PvP matches sometimes use incorrect voiceovers.

HoloNet News: 9/26-10/3

Here is your SWTOR News from Wednesday to Wednesday, 9/26 to 10/3! Lou and Evarwyn present topics such as the patch to fix graphical bug issues w/ update 1.4 as well as brand new features in the SWTOR Forums and this week in Star Wars Expanded Universe news! The game guide brings us the third boss fight in Eternity Vault “Ancient Pylons”

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BioWare Changing the Way Patches Are Applied?

It would seem as though BioWare is trying a new strategy with their patches. In an update on their website about Tuesday morning’s scheduled patch deployment for Star Wars: The Old Republic, some text was snuck in that may indicate a new direction for the company.

“All game servers will remain online during this period.”

So basically, your playtime won’t be interrupted by annoying updates, you’ll just need to restart the game launcher after the update finishes to have the patch applied.

Blizzard has used this approach for years and is something players appreciate. No longer will late-night gamers get the warning that their server is about to be shut down for a patch. We’ll keep an eye on this to see if it has become a regular part of BioWare’s strategy or if this was just a one-time deal.

SWTOR: To Mod or Not to Mod

For fans of Star Wars: The Old Republic, the game we love has never been better. With the release of 1.4 now under the hood and loads of tweaks and improvements to make the experience better, this is the best version of SWTOR to date. But I can’t help wondering, could it be better?

Episode 14: “Like Buttuh!”

The crew is BACK, and heading out to Hoth on their ship “The Ebon Millenium”(..yeah, we named the ship)! We talk about the impact of 1.4 on our gameplay and some things you NEED to know regarding Black Hole Comms and graphical lag post patch. Later on in the show, Lou gives us the lore around HK-47, the droid we all know and love from KOTOR 1!

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YOUR Old Republic News from Wed 9/19 to 9/26!

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Game Update 1.4 is Live!

BioWare released Game Update 1.4 for Star Wars: The Old Republic today, and players can now log in and experience all that is new in the galaxy. From the new Operation, Terror From Beyond, to an overhaul in the shadow system that BioWare says should run better on many computers, there is something for almost everyone in this update.

BioWare also gave a little more information on what their release plans are for the rest of the year, saying they really want to stick to the “every six weeks” schedule they outlined recently. Their plan is to release two more major game updates, in addition to 1.4, before the end of the year, not to mention going Free to Play.

They also teased by saying that 2013 will be even bigger for SWTOR, so there’s never been a better time to be playing this game than right now. You can see the entire release on the

Let us know your experiences with Game Update 1.4 in the comments, and stay tuned to SWTOR Reforged and the HoloNet News for all the latest developments.

SWTOR Game Update 1.4 Going Live Wednesday!

BioWare announced today that Star Wars: The Old Republic servers would be brought down at 2 AM Central time to begin deployment of Game Update 1.4 and the new Operation, “Terror From Beyond.”

After the downtime is complete, players will be able to start the game launcher to begin installing the update.

There are many changes coming to SWTOR with this patch, as we’ve been detailing for you in the last couple of weeks. Are you excited to get in and check it out? As you play this week, share your thoughts with us and let us know how you think BioWare did.

SWTOR Game Update 1.4 PTS Patch Notes

BioWare has been updating the Star Wars: The Old Republic Game Update 1.4 Public Test Server patch notes periodically on their website, and they are extremely… thorough. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Aside from the major updates, like the new Operation “Terror From Beyond”, new PvE gear, and the significant changes that have been made to crowd control, a host of other tweaks and changes have been implemented as well. What follows is a list of some of the highlights – what we feel are some of the most important or interesting changes in the game, pulled directly from the patch notes. I know it looks like a lot, but trust me… this is a condensed version.

• Classes and Combat

  • Jedi Sentinel – Zen (Shii-Cho Form) has been redesigned. Now, while Shii-Cho Form is active, using Zen consumes 1 charge every .5 seconds, generating 2 Focus for each charge consumed.
  • Jedi Sentinel (Focus) – Zephyrean Slash has been redesigned. It now gives Strike, Zealous Strike, Slash, Blade Storm, and Dispatch a 50% chance per point to reduce the active cooldown of Force Sweep and Zealous Leap by .5 seconds per point.
  • Jedi Guardian (Focus) – Zephyrean Slash has been redesigned. It now gives Strike, Zealous Strike, Slash, Blade Storm, and Dispatch a 50% chance per point to reduce the active cooldown of Force Sweep and Zealous Leap by .5 seconds per point.
  • Sith Marauder – Berserk (Shii-Cho Form) has been redesigned. Now, while Shii-Cho Form is active, using Berserk consumes 1 charge every .5 seconds, generating 2 Rage for each charge consumed.
  • Sith Maruader (Rage) – Overpower has been redesigned. It now gives Assault, Battering Assault, Vicious Slash, Force Scream, and Vicious Throw a 50% chance per point to reduce the active cooldown of Smash and Obliterate by .5 seconds per point.
  • Sith Juggernaut (Rage) – Overpower has been redesigned. It now gives Assault, Sundering Assault, Vicious Slash, Force Scream, and Vicious Throw a 50% chance per point to reduce the active cooldown of Smash and Obliterate by .5 seconds per point.
  • Jedi Sage – Force Mend: This new ability allows you to heal yourself for a moderate amount. It costs no Force, is instant, and has a 30-second cooldown.
  • Jedi Shadow (Kinetic Combat) – Elusiveness has been redesigned. It now requires Double-Bladed Saber Defense and increases the Force recovered by Double-Bladed Saber Defense. Successful shielding, parries, and deflects now reduce the active cooldown of Resilience by .5 second per point. This effect cannot occur more than once every second.
  • Jedi Shadow (Infiltration) – Kinetic Field has been redesigned. Critical hits now cause you to build a Kinetic Field, increasing damage reduction by 1% per point per stack. This effect stacks up to 3 times. This skill is now located in tier 5 of the skill tree.
  • Sith Sorcerer – Unnatural Preservation: This new ability allows you to heal yourself for a moderate amount. It costs no Force, is instant, and has a 30-second cooldown.
  • Sith Sorcerer (Corruption) – Fadeout has been redesigned. It now causes Force Speed to remove roots and snares and grants immunity to roots and snares for its duration.
  • Sith Assassin (Darkness) – Lightning Recovery has been redesigned. It now requires Lightning Reflexes and increases the Force recovered by Lightning Reflexes. Successful shielding, parries, and deflects now reduce the active cooldown of Force Shroud by .5 second per point. This effect cannot occur more than once every second.
  • Sith Assassin (Deception) – Entropic Field has been redesigned. Critical hits now cause you to build an Entropic Field, increasing damage reduction by 1% per point per stack. This effect stacks up to 3 times. This skill is now located in tier 5 of the skill tree.
  • Smuggler Scoundrel (Scrapper) – Fight or Flight has been redesigned. It finishes the cooldown on Sneak when you exit stealth and allows Sneak to be used out of stealth, increasing movement speed by 50% for 6 seconds. It still removes the penalty to healing done and received caused by Disappearing Act.
  • Imperial Agent Operative (Concealment) – Energy Screen has been redesigned. It is now called “Ghost.” It finishes the cooldown on Sneak when you exit stealth and allows Sneak to be used out of stealth, increasing movement speed by 50% for 6 seconds. It still removes the penalty to healing done and received caused by Cloaking Screen.
  • Trooper Commando – Disabling Shot is a new ability that interrupts the target’s current action and prevents that ability from being used for the next 4 seconds.
  • Bounty Hunter Mercenary – Disabling Shot is a new ability that interrupts the target’s current action and prevents that ability from being used for the next 4 seconds.
  • Bounty Hunter Mercenary (Bodyguard) – Peacekeeper is a new 2-point skill. While protected by your own Kolto Shell, firing Rapid Shots at an enemy now triggers your Kolto Shell (this can only happen once every 3 seconds). This does not trigger if your health is full.

• Companion Characters

  • Players can now use “match color to chest” for their companions, and can choose to show or hide companion head gear.

• Flashpoints and Operations

  • [WEEKLY] Deadly Operations now awards 30 Daily Commendations.
  • [WEEKLY] Galactic Operations now awards 10 Daily Commendations and 8 Black Hole Commendations.
  • [WEEKLY] Galactic Crisis Points now awards 10 Daily Commendations and 8 Black Hole Commendations.
  • Explosive Conflict now awards 10 Black Hole Commendations and crafting materials.
  • Explosive Conflict
  • Chests in Explosive Conflict no longer contain Black Hole Commendations. They now have increased amounts of credits and crafting materials.
  • Bosses in Hard Mode now drop 5 Black Hole Commendations each.

• Group Finder

  • Players participating in a Group Finder group now have the ability to teleport to the Group Finder instance at any point.
  • Players who leave an active Group Finder instance can now be returned to the location they were in when they used the “travel now” dialog option to travel to the instance.
  • Once players reach a checkpoint or defeat an Operation boss, they may choose to exit at the normal area entrance when leaving.
  • Completing the Group Finder mission for Operations now rewards a lockbox that contains 5 Black Hole Commendations and 30 Columi Commendations.

• Items

  • A majority of offhand items can now be modified. Shields, Generators, and Foci accept Armoring modifications, and Vibroknives and Shotguns accept Barrels. Additionally, they can contain Color Crystal, Mod, and Enhancement slots (though the Color Crystal slot does not currently impact the visuals of the item). Note that there are some exceptions – not all offhands can be modified.
  • Bind on pickup and Bind on Legacy items can now be traded for up to 2 hours between players that were eligible to loot the item.
  • Items purchased from a vendor can now be sold to any vendor for full purchase price (in commendations) for up to 2 hours. Stackable items and mission items cannot be traded or sold back for full value. The 2 hour time is terminated if a mod is added or removed or an augment slot is added. Bind on Equip items cannot be refunded (in commendations) if they are traded, mailed, put in a guild bank, or listed on the GTN.
  • Lockboxes’ 2 hour timer terminates when the lockbox is opened.
  • Legacy items now drop more frequently.

• PvP

  • Level 50 daily Warzone missions (No Quarter and March Them Down) now only require 4 Warzone completions (down from 6). Winning a Warzone still counts as an extra completion.
  • The Resolve system has been adjusted in the following ways:
  • When a player becomes immune to control due to Resolve, his Resolve meter will not start decaying until after all the current controlling effects expire (instead of decaying immediately after the immunity begins).
  • Players under the effects of a control ability now build less Resolve for other control abilities that target them. The exact amount of Resolve the player builds is based on the time remaining on the ability currently controlling the player and the relative strength of that ability’s effect. If two stuns of similar strength (such as Electrocute and Debilitate) target a single player at the same time, the second ability would generate very little Resolve. However, if the two effects were applied so that the duration of their effects overlapped very little, each effect would grant its full (or nearly full) Resolve to the target.
  • A new Codex entry can be found in the Game Rules section to help players who are unfamiliar with the details of the Resolve system.

• Warzones

  • Huttball – The maximum time limit has been reduced from 15 minutes to 13 minutes.
  • Voidstar – In the event that neither team breaches the first set of doors, the winner of the match is now the team that scored the most kills.

• User Interface

• Players can now set their moods, altering your character’s facial expression. You can find these moods in the emote browser near the chat window.

SWTOR Server Consolidations – A Major Success

When BioWare consolidated the servers for Star Wars: The Old Republic last week, many players weren’t sure what to expect. After finding a home on a server that worked for them, they were uneasy about transferring to the new high capacity servers that the company was rolling out. Would they really work? Would I lose some of my characters? Will there be too much lag? Not to mention players wondering if so few servers meant the game was in trouble.

Now that players have had about a week experiencing the new servers, it seems that most people have only positive things to say about the changes. I spent some time chatting with people in the official SWTOR forums and for the most part, the transfers went smoothly, and in fact, PvP players seem especially pleased with how things went. There were some complaints – namely being forced to change character and guild names and overcrowding in some daily quests – and I thought I would address those here and let people sound off about their own experiences in the comments below.

Personally, my biggest issue was having to change my character’s name. I had very personal reasons for choosing my character names, and I really take pride in role-playing each of them around specific backstories. So when all of a sudden my main character was no longer allowed to keep her identity, it pretty much angered me to no end. I’ll pause right here and say that I’m over that now, and this column won’t be an amateurish rant about the requirement to change character names. I get why it had to happen, and this is one of those “for the good of the game” issues that we must all endure. But it is an issue that many players experienced and were not happy about, and I just wanted to tell you folks, I feel your pain.

In what may be the part of the server upgrade where the biggest changes were felt, daily quests have become overcrowded, especially when trying to pick up certain quest items. This gets frustrating when you find yourself “waiting in line” for an item to respawn, but, fortunately the experience isn’t too bad; yet. This could become a problem, and I hope BioWare addresses it in future patches. With new players coming to the game, if they have to suffer through frustrating periods of waiting for items to spawn, they risk losing them to other games. So please BioWare, either increase the the spawn rate or the number of items available to spawn so this process doesn’t become too tedious.

Speaking of increased server population, I wanted to give BioWare some major praise for how the server consolidation has transpired. Prior to consolidation I was on a moderately populated server and was getting around 30 frames per second regularly – and was happy with it. I would typically only see about 30-50 other people online when I played, so I was very nervous when I learned population size would be increasing. But I’m pleased to report that while I am now online regularly with about 200 other players, my FPS has actually increased to around 45-50, and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve been able to easily group up with other players to get through some Heroic’s, and have had no issues with lagging hard or any other technical difficulties.

Finally, let’s not worry about the “With so few servers is SWTOR on the way out?” question. Let’s face it, SWTOR players are a committed and loyal group of Star Wars fans, who love playing this game together. Now that the servers have been merged, they’ve been brought closer and can now group up even easier than before. With a ton of content coming up the next few months, there are many new adventures for SWTOR fans to experience together, and I believe this community will be united for years to come.

So all in all I feel like the server consolidations went very well. From increased populations to no noticeable server lag, I think BioWare should be applauded for making what could have been a negative into an overwhelming success. As Game Update 1.4 approaches and players start to return to the game, I hope the servers continue to hold up and we find ourselves on solid ground for the future.

What have your experiences been with the new high population servers? Let us know what worked and what didn’t. Is your play more enjoyable now or have you experienced changes that make playing more of a burden? As always, leave your comments below, and may the force be with you.

Episode 13: The One Without Fred :(

This week, we join the show without Fred, but that doesn’t keep us from bringing you our week in game! Lou turns to the trooper as Evarwyn begins his epic journey to Hard Mode Flashpoints! Our “Dark Council” asks: “What should the Cartel Coin marketplace contain”? Lou covers the lore behind Corelia, in “The Jedi Archvies”! We missed you, Fred, get well soon!

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Episode 13: The One Without Fred

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Changes Coming to Modifications, Community Sounds Off

BioWare announced on Friday that changes were coming to the way modifications that are bound to slots are handled in Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Senior Community Coordinator said in the official forums that in talking with Senior Game Balance Designer Jason Attard, they felt the system was being exploited, and were looking to make slot restrictions more consistent across the board for all players, whether PvP or PvE. BioWare feels a loophole was being used to unfairly manipulate armor, so the plan is that when Armoring, Hilt, and Barrel modifications are extracted, they will bind to the equipment slot they were extracted from.

Berryman’s full post is below:

I talked to Senior Game Balance Designer Jason Attard about mods that are bound to slots and our plans for them. Here are some comments he had about the system and its future:

Many (but not all) of our current endgame Armorings, in both PvP and PvE, are bound to specific slots. This is because some less expensive items, like gloves and boots, are much easier to acquire than “expensive” items like a Chestpiece or Helmet. We’ve seen that instead of acquiring an entire set of gear players would often purchase the “cheap” slots multiple times and simply move the mods over into the “expensive” items, allowing players to acquire their gear much more quickly than intended. Now that most of our offhand items have mod slots we are seeing a similar pattern occur with main hand and offhand items.

We plan to make these slot restrictions more consistent in the future, with any Armoring, Hilt, or Barrel you extract from an item becoming bound to the equipment slot you extracted it from. We do not intend to add the same slot restrictions to Modifications or Enhancements, as those item mods have a smaller impact on the overall power of the item.

Fan reaction was mixed on the forums, but one of the major complaints seems to be coming from PvP players, who feel the change makes it even more difficult for them to acquire the gear they need to be successful in PvP.

One forum member pointed out, “The point here is that pve boys can get 26 armorings they can put everywhere. We, as pvpers, can’t put armorings in bracers/belt because there are no free armorings to get by pvp.”

Another felt BioWare missed the point on the problem of why people buy a larger number of boots or gloves and said, “It’s not because they are “cheap” it’s because they were the only items that have the mods or enhancements in them that are needed to fix the poor stat itemization the design team put on the gear in the first place.”

Another person said that this change will make the profession of Armstech obsolete.

What do you think? Is this a good idea? Sound off in the comments below, and stay tuned to SWTOR Reforged for all the latest developments.

Improving Your Quality of Life in SWTOR

BioWare released some additional information on what they’re doing in Game Update 1.4 to improve the quality of life for players within Star Wars: The Old Republic.

We’ve known for a while that you would be able to teleport back to your original location when leaving Flashpoints, but BioWare clarified that a little by saying that as long as players “have killed at least one boss in that Flashpoint (or in some cases, hit a significant checkpoint)”, they’ll be offered a teleport back to where they were before joining, or back to the entry to the Flashpoint, in case they want to head into the Fleet.

In an attempt to alleviate frustration caused by clicking the wrong button, BioWare will be adding a delayed binding system, meaning that “Bind on Pickup” and “Bind on Legacy” will have a two hour window in which they can be exchanged. Think of it as a return policy. The news update went on to expand on this by saying, “If they were a loot item, you can freely give the item to any party member who was in on the kill and therefore eligible to loot the item. Similarly, if you buy something from a commendation vendor, you will have 2 hours to return the item to any vendor and get a full refund of commendations.”

Exceptions to this rule include stackable items or mission items. Additionally, adding or removing mods and augment slots, opening lockboxes, mailing, trading, listing these items on the Galactic Trade Network, or placing them in the guild bank will end the two-hour timer. These actions will permanently bind the item to the player.

BioWare also offered a little more detail on the new “moods” system:

The last update mentioned in the news release was that starting in Game Update 1.4, players will be able to hide the helmet, or unify colors to chest, for their companion’s gear.

Let us know your thoughts on these upcoming changes in the comments below.

HoloNet News: Ep 4

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BioWare Announces Monthly LiveStream Q&A

BioWare announced on Tuesday that in conjunction with LucasArts it would begin producing a monthly Star Wars: The Old Republic LiveStream Q&A Event, designed to answer community questions regarding content within each Game Update.

The first event will be held September 21 from 4:00 pm to 4:30 pm CDT, and will discuss Game Update 1.4, Terror From Beyond.

If you are interested in participating in the LiveStream Q&A Event, questions may be submitted through the official forums or live during the LiveStream through Livestream chat, Twitter (#SWTOR), and on Facebook.

BioWare Co-Founders Retire

BioWare co-founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk announced on Tuesday they are retiring. Each of them wrote personal blogs to detail their reasons for leaving and their future plans.

In Muzyka’s blog he says he decided in April 2012 that it was time for him to step away from videogames and provided parent company, Electronic Arts, six months notice to help make an easy transition. He believes he has accomplished all he wants to in the gaming industry, and is moving on to another passion.

“I’ve largely personally achieved what I wanted in videogames; I now desire to take on a brand new entrepreneurial challenge,” he said. “I believe strongly in the power of free enterprise to enable sustainable change, so my next ‘chapter’ will likely focus on an entirely new industry, something exciting, different and frankly downright scary – investing in and mentoring new entrepreneurs, and more specifically, the field of social/impact investing.”

He encourages people to continue following him on Twitter and he begins his new chapter @RayMuzyka.

In Zeschuk’s blog, he cites that he no longer has the passion necessary to make the acclaimed games the company has become known for. He mentions he will miss the culture that they created at BioWare, one of committing oneself to doing great work and pursuing goals until they are achieved.

As for what Zeschuk has planned for retirement, his interests still revolve around crafting and creating. “After my departure I’m going to be spending significant time with family and friends, as well as pursuing some personal passion-driven projects related to craft beer,” he said. “The main project I will be working on is a web-based interview show called The Beer Diaries where I interview notable brewers and showcase their beers. If things go well, I’ll work on other beer-related shows, apps and projects. If not, I’ll have drunk a lot of tasty beers and may be back in games or even something else completely different. Ultimately time will tell.”

BioWare’s General managerof the Edmonton & Montreal divisions, Aaryn Flynn, shared his thoughts about Ray and Greg and what is coming up for BioWare.

“Love of games, respect for the players, teamwork and integrity – those are the hallmarks of a culture built by Ray and Greg,” he said. “It started in their hearts and minds, ran through their daily actions, and resonated deeply in the people that joined them in their remarkable journey. And now with their retirement, the creative teams at BioWare Edmonton & Montreal are ready to carry on that legacy.”

Flynn’s full blog may be viewed here.

SWTOR High Population Servers Go Live

After monitoring server populations and performance, BioWare announced on Monday that all destination servers for Star Wars: The Old Republic will be upgraded to support a significantly higher number of players, and all characters on origin servers will be moved to the upgraded and consolidated destination servers, effective Tuesday, September 18.

In the press release (which also has a link to SWTOR’s server consolidation matrix), BioWare stated, “By centralizing our player populations on these higher population destination servers, we feel that we can offer our players the best possible Star Wars: The Old Republic experience.”

As of Tuesday, players can search for their new server location by accessing the server selection screen, and BioWare has assured that no characters have been deleted. Some players may be forced to change their characters names due to the consolidation, however, Legacy names are no longer required to be unique per server, meaning everyone will have a chance to create a new Legacy name.

Guild names may have been affected as well, so temporary names have been applied to any that shared a name with another guild on the new consolidated server. Affected guild leaders will be able to rename their guild once.

In addition to this news, the free character transfer that had been in place is now closed, and players that transferred their character onto a qualifying server by July 30th have received their special in-game rewards.

BioWare encourages players to report any issues by posting in the forums, and to learn more in their Server Consolidation FAQ.

Episode 12: Twi’lek Cheese!

This week the crew blasts off around the universe with tales of their mis-adventures in-game as well as their share stories from week 1 of “The Sith Smackdown”, the new segment of the show that challenges the hosts and the listeners each week! As they orbit around Dagobah, the tri0 invite Liz “Mistress LeBeau” onto the show for a bit in the Dark Council and discuss her new “in-game crush” as well as dicuss if they would sacrifice the voice acting in-game for a much more agressive content release schedule. The crew eventually lands on Coruscant and rifle through the Jedi Archives where Lou brings us “The Jedi Trials”! They end off the show with the annoucement of the Epic Video Contest and your emails, just before the Jedi librarian has a chance to boot them out for overly loud and hilarious conversations!

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Episode 12: Twi’lek Cheese!

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SWTOR: Looking Back at the Week’s News

BioWare Opens Up High Population Server Tech Testing

Players experiencing lag on their server of choice in Star Wars: The Old Republic are rejoicing this week after BioWare announced it was preparing to introduce some new high population server technology that should improve performance in-game. A new Public Test Server was opened up, and all characters from East Coast servers were transferred over. This is a temporary move, and any players originating from one of these servers can now log in and begin testing the high population technology for BioWare.

If you aren’t sure if this is a change you wanted to have made, never fear, all character names will remain unchanged, and your character slots have increased from 8 to 12. If you happen to already have more than 12 characters, BioWare has assured players that none will be deleted, but you will be unable to create any new characters on that server until you have fewer than 12. You’re asked to post your feedback, bugs, and experiences on their Public Test Server Forum.

Have you had a chance to check this out yet? Let us know your initial thoughts in the comments below.

Operation: Terror From Beyond

BioWare released a Developer Dispatch showing some footage and providing a little explanation of what players will encounter in the new Operation in the upcoming Game Update 1.4, Terror From Beyond. It will be a followup to the Explosive Conflict operation, and it continues the story of Kephess (a much bigger and badder version), and his backers, the Dread Masters. The story will also include the Gree species. There are many new encounters for players, including one that takes them inside a machine and has them essentially “debug a computer that’s gone rogue.”

Head on over to YouTube to check out the official video.

AusGamers Interviews Matthew Bromberg

A video interview by AusGamers with BioWare Austin General Manager, Matthew Bromberg, digs a little deeper into the company’s thoughts on going free-to-play, both opportunities and hurdles.

“We always want to be sensitive to opportunities. We really saw the market going that direction and thought there was an opportunity to take advantage of it,” Bromberg said in the interview.

He also mentioned that by lowering the subscription barrier, there is an opportunity to introduce the game to a large amount of new people. Conversely, the company is aware of a need to maintain a balance between making subscription players feel appreciated and still let free-to-play players experience enough of the game to make it worth it. He mentioned that through a lot of their own research, they realized that many players don’t want to have to pay a subscription for the game. With that in mind, BioWare is fairly confident that they took what worked best in today’s MMO’s and put their own spin on it.

Bromberg also laid out the company’s plan to roll out major game updates every six weeks, providing an incredible amount of content for the foreseeable future.

For the full interview, visit AusGamer’s website.

HoloNet News 3

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BioWare Committed to Major Game Updates for SWTOR Every Six Weeks

In case you were wondering whether or not BioWare is putting in the time and energy required to keep improving on Star Wars: The Old Republic, fear not, as things are just beginning to get interesting.

In an interview with AusGamers, BioWare Austin General Manager Matt Bromberg said, “We’re committed to, about every six weeks, doing a major update for the game – which would be a new Warzone, a new Operation, a new Flashpoint, a new event – and to doing that on a really frequent cadence, every six weeks. So we’re going to stick to that.”

Bromberg also clarified how former subscribers will be welcomed back into the fold. These players WILL get Cartel Coins (which will be the in-game currency when the free-to-play model launches later this fall), if they decide to re-up their subscription.

“So you get credit, not just for becoming a subscriber now, going forward, but also for all the time that you were a subscriber, you get more credits and more coin. So we’re hoping that that will encourage people to come back to the game and try it now,” he said.

He also talked about some of the challenges that the company will face when launching their free-to-play model, referencing balance and the need to get it right. They don’t want their premium subscription players to feel slighted, so they are working to maximize their experience, while offering a welcoming and worthwhile experience for free-to-play players.

This is all certainly good news for players who have been wondering what the future holds for this game. It’s clear that BioWare is not letting the franchise go, and is still working to make sure players have a great time in the galaxy. Stay tuned for more updates as they become available, and as always, let us know what YOU think in the comments below.

Dread Guard Armor previewed in Game Update 1.4 PTS

Now that Game Update 1.4 is live on the Public Test Server, the new Dread Guard Armor is available to check out for yourself. The armor will be available for both factions, and each class will have an appearance all their own. There appears to be a great deal of detail and creativity in these sets, as BioWare hopes to keep players feeling epic and awesome in their gear.

Check out the screen captures of the armor sets, hope onto the test server to check out Game Update 1.4, and let us know what you think! This picture can be found on Darth Hater

BioWare Releases Game Update 1.4 on Public Test Server

Can’t wait for Game Update 1.4 in BioWare’s MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic? Then wait no more, rush over to SWTOR’s Public Test server to try it out for yourself! The new Operation, Terror From Beyond is now available.

Additional information was released on Monday about what players can expect in Game Update 1.4:

• In the new Operation, Terror From Beyond, players will travel to the Gree-controlled planet of Asation with the objective of saving the galaxy by closing the Ancient Hypergate, which has been opened by the Dread Masters. You’ll fight your way through five new epic bosses, all leading up to an incredible final battle.
• You’ll have access to new PvE endgame Dread Guard gear, which BioWare calls “the most powerful equipment yet.”
• A new key feature in Group Finder will allow you to return to your original location when you leave the group, meaning you won’t have endless amounts of running or traveling to get back where you were.
• You can also expect new PvP class weapons for 3,475 Warzone Comms and brand new daily relics for 400 Daily Comms
• Players will also have the ability to use emotes to set your character’s moods through facial expressions. Theoretically this means that if the player is in a terrible mood, his character can be altered to reflect that. It might be a good idea to steer clear of that player in PvP…
• Finally, you’ll be able to customize your Companion’s outfit to match their chest piece and turn off their helmet so you are able to still see your character’s face/head, which seems important considering you’ll now be able to set your character’s facial expression.

The information keeps rolling in about Game Update 1.4, so continue to check this site and tune in weekly for SWTOR Reforged and SWTOR Reforged Holonet for all the latest news about Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Episode 11: Balmorra STD

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“Steam Box” and SWTOR: A look at how Valve may revolutionize the MMO genre

A couple nights ago I was leveling up my new Smuggler in Star Wars: The Old Republic, and eventually made my way to Taris. This had been a bit of a marathon session for me (as marathon as it gets with a 4-year-old and pregnant wife in the house), and was excited to keep the story going. All of a sudden, while wandering around Taris, I began to notice a terrible lag. This is highly unusual for me, because while I don’t have a high-end machine, it has been able to run all the top games at near-max settings for the last few years, including Skyrim, Battlefield 3, and Diablo 3.

Over the last two days I’ve realized the problem isn’t SWTOR; it’s my computer. I can hear you saying, “Your computer is junk, just get a new one.” I know! That’s what I want to do! But as I said, I have a 4-year-old and a pregnant wife at home…

So this got me thinking about new computers, which reminded me about the news last week that Valve was “frustrated by the lack of innovation” in computer gaming and considering making hardware; a “Steam Box” if you will. What will this mean for the future of gaming, or in this case, MMOs specifically?

MMOs are by nature more of a “hardcore” game than your typical “game of the week.” This is because of the high time commitment and dedication to “just one more zone/level/boss” that the games usually inspire. In turn, many of these players tend to also put more time and money into their computers. Without much detail on how a “Steam Box” would be built, I am expecting a very positive future for MMOs, with more and more gamers turning to the genre once they get their hands on one of these machines.

Let’s say that a “Steam Box” came out at the same time as the Xbox 4 and PS5. If casual gamers purchase Valve’s sexy desktop console over the competition, and don’t already have a desktop at home, this could revolutionize MMO gaming. All of a sudden there is an influx of people to computer gaming, willing to try out the latest and greatest games that were never available to them on any other console. These could be people that couldn’t afford or didn’t understand what kind of computer would be good for playing games on, so they never bought one. Now that a computer exists that is specifically built for gaming – and isn’t a $4,000 Alienware – they may be more inclined to get on board.

Some might argue that having a bunch of n00bs crowding their server in SWTOR wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing. It’s always fun to be part of something that is really awesome but the whole world hasn’t quite discovered yet. But there’s good news here. If a platform like a “Steam Box” really took off, and hundreds of thousands of people signed up for new MMO subscriptions, the player base grows stronger, providing that much more money and incentive to companies to continue producing amazing products.

So I think I’ll try one more time tonight to hop back on my aging computer and see if I can make it through a couple hours on Taris. Hopefully it was an isolated incident and I’ll be able to enjoy myself. If not, I may have to talk to my wife about the benefits having a top-notch gaming computer can have on children…

So what do you think? Is a “Steam Box” a good thing for MMOs? Will a massive influx of people playing the games make you more inclined to look elsewhere, or join in on the fun? Let us know in the comments below.

“Sith Lord’s Paradise” By Sith Lord Korv (Ft. The Old Man From Dungeon Quest)

BEWARE THIS IS REDICULOUS! Now that you have been warned, Fred cut us an epic tale of sith strife in a galaxy far, far away. Its fresh, its hot, its something that would make Coolie /facepalm! OOTINI!!!! …besides, we needed to test our feed with something. So, I (Evarwyn) subjected you to it. ENJOY!

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“Sith Lord’s Paradise”

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“The Party Jawa”, A SWTOR Veteran Reward!

BioWare announced on Friday that current or previous subscribers of Star Wars: The Old Republic whose accounts are active as of August 1 will receive “The Party Jawa, which is a special reward that was voted on by fans. As a way of saying thanks for sticking with the game, paid subscribers will be treated to this exclusive item, and will receive it when the game launches its free-to-play option this fall.

Combining this with Cartel Coins, which are a special in-game currency that paid subscribers will receive monthly and can be used to purchase special items, BioWare is doing its best to keep the SWTOR community thriving, entertained, and unique. With other MMOs cluttering up space online, the SWTOR team is working hard to keep you happy and keep their game at the top of your playlist.

What do you think? Is this enough to keep you online? If you’ve already left will you come back? Let us know in the comments below.

Holonet News Ep2

YOUR SWTOR and Star Wars news from Aug 29 to Sep 5! The Latest headlines, including new information on Operation: Terror From Beyond, Update 1.4, this wee’s Patch Notes AND Legacy Gear tradeable among all Legacy characters! Even some of the more interesting posts from the Forums and even the latest out of the greater Star Wars community! In this week’s Holonet Game Guid, Lou and Evarwyn present: SOA: The 8m Strat in Eternity Vault, written by Padric, the raid leader of the guild Grievance, on Canderous Ordo!

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Holonet News Ep2 

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Developer blog offers insight of SWTOR Game Update 1.4

A Senior Designer for Star Wars: The Old Republic, Austin Peckenpaugh, posted an update on SWTOR’s Developer Blog on Tuesday with some additional information on what we can expect from Game Update 1.4. You can view the full blog here.

In short, Bioware is looking to improve game balance and give the player more control, and the feeling of taking over a fight by tweaking crowd control. In update 1.4, expect to see some adjustments to the range of control abilities, as well as attempting to make them “more readable, more predictable, and less chaotic in effect.” Below are the changes specifically mentioned in the blog:

• Electro Dart, Cryo Grenade, Electrocute and Force Stun now have a 10-meter range
• Whirlwind and Force Lift still have an activation time and still have a 30-meter range
• Plasma Probe and Incendiary Grenade still require an effect and still have a 30-meter range.
• Mind Trap, Mind Maze, Sleep Dart, and Tranquilizer still require stealth and still have a 10-meter range.
• Dirty Kick and Debilitate still have a 4-meter range and still have the shortest stun cooldown in the game.
• Flash Bang and Flash Grenade still have a 30-meter range and are exceptions to this philosophy, as they provide essential gameplay for the Sniper and Gunslinger.

Additionally, in attempt to improve the PvP experience, Overload and Force Wave will now “knock back all targets within a 15-meter 120-degree cone in front of you. Furthermore, these abilities now knock back all potential targets instantly; they no longer wait for an animation note at the end of the ability animation.”

Tweaks are also being made to the Resolve system, and the result is that teams who are not working very well together won’t pay penalties for two or more players trying to control the same target.

A long list of tweaks are being applied to specific classes within the game as well, and for that complete list you are encouraged to read the developer’s blog.

1.3.7 Patch Notes

Bioware released notes for Wednesday morning’s weekly maintenance, and some good changes have been implemented.

*UPDATE: ALLISON BERRYMAN CONFIRMS THAT GEAR FROM EVENTS ARE NOW TRADEABLE AMONG ALL YOUR CHARACTERS IN YOUR LEGACY*

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=5121890#edit5121890

Notably, the Group Finder now retains your role selection when joining or leaving a group, so if you are constantly forgetting to change that, you now can rest easy. This is a small tweak, but just another nice touch that Bioware has added to make your experience all the better.

Additionally, Legacy names are no longer unique, meaning that new Legacies that are created will be able to be the same as one already on the server.

Several other changes were made, and you may view the entire list below. We’ll see you in the galaxy!

1.3.7 Patch Notes
9/5/2012
Flashpoints and Operations
General
Players will no longer be prevented from traveling to their group’s in a Flashpoint or Operation due to the instance being full.
Group Finder
Group Finder now retains a character’s role selections when joining or leaving a group.
Items
General
The event outfits (the Rakghoul Containment outfit and Sand People Bloodguard outfit) now bind to Legacy instead of binding on pickup.
Muse Vestments no longer clip incorrectly with character heads.
Helmets, circlets, masks, and visors now display correctly on Miralukan characters, hiding the Miralukan mask.
Legacy
Legacy names are no longer unique. New Legacies that are created are now able to use a name that is in use on the server. All players will be able to rename their Legacies once, at no cost, in a future update.
UI
Made minor cosmetic changes to the Character Selection and Character Creation UI.

Returning to the Old Republic: A Beginner’s Guide to Beginning Again

“I’ll admit it. I haven’t been keeping up on my duties lately. Despite my responsibilities on Corellia, I’ve been hanging out on Ord Mantell for a few months just trying to find myself. Then I realized I was being a wuss, and decided to get back to work.” – Kyrano

That’s probably how my current character in Star Wars: The Old Republic is feeling after I finally revived my SWTOR account and jumped back in the game this weekend. After about five months off, I decided it was time, and boy am I glad to be back!

I’ll be really upfront here and let you know I never capped out before I quit. I had a slight case of “alt-itis”, and just couldn’t seem to find the right build that made me feel awesome. I would play for a while, not be happy with the choices I’d made, and start over with a new race or profession. This wore on me very quickly, and I soon found myself dreading the nights I logged into the game. This is not good.

So after a few stints with other games, I finally decided to approach SWTOR from another angle; one that would guarantee that I didn’t burn out or get frustrated. It’s a foreign concept for me, as I find myself working so hard to do things “the right way” in a game that I often miss the entire point. So I decided there was only way to do this:

Have fun.

I know, I know, what a dumb idea. But stick with me on this, and maybe, if you’ve left the game or are getting burnt out, it will help you too. While I’m not even close to being the expert on all things SWTOR, I have learned a thing or two about having fun.

• Try not to take the game so seriously. If you’re burnt out, try something new. Try a crazy build that really makes no sense whatsoever. Maybe you’ll find something that really works for you and is a blast, or, if you’re like me, you’ll realize that this was one of the dumbest things you could have done, and you’ll long for one of your earlier builds. I’m now playing a smuggler character, trying to not worry too much about whether what I’m doing is “right”, but just trying to see what works, what doesn’t, and what looks cool on-screen.
• Not a PvP player? Try it! I am not a PvP player, and that is obvious to anyone who has come against me in PvP. I pretty much just lie down and draw a target on my chest. But maybe it’s just the change-up you need to get away from the game without actually getting away from the game. The idea here is to try something you’re not familiar with, and while you should try to get into it and enjoy it, maybe you’ll find yourself longing for your typical PvE, story-driven gameplay. This worked for me, and I’d urge you to give it a shot.
• Play some space missions. To be honest, I spent way more time on these than I should have when I was playing before. I really enjoyed these distractions from the game, and for me, I couldn’t wait to log back in and try them again. I know they’re not perfect, they have their flaws, and there’s so much they could have done to make them even more awesome, but just hop in your ship and shoot some stuff. It’s the best “side game” I’ve ever played, and it’s definitely an effective way to get out of the same old routine.
• Last but not least, do the unthinkable and step away for a while. Get some fresh air, take up gardening, jogging, or fly a kite (ok, moving on to the real suggestions now). Maybe there’s a game you picked up during the Steam sale but have been too busy to actually install. You could even go back to another MMO for nostalgia’s sake. Maybe you’ll remember why you left it in the first place, and come right back to SWTOR as happy as a kid who still hasn’t seen a movie with Jar Jar Binks in it yet.

I said at the beginning that I am by no means an expert SWTOR player. I haven’t seen all there is to see, I haven’t hit the level cap, and there’s so much I still need to learn. But with a refreshed mind, a new attitude, and hopefully a whole lot of “stick-to-it-iveness,” I’ll be traveling the galaxy in search of all the game’s greatest challenges, and overcoming them.

May the force be with you.

Episode 10: Look Out Behind You!

This week the guys talk about their recent week in-game, and Fred even discusses his recent in-game experiences in KOTOR2, recently available on Steam. Also, the crew talks about what they would like to see in their class story for in an expansion in The Dark Council. Also, Lou presents the Republic SIS in the Jedi Archives, and we annouce our winner for the EPIC Screen shot contest! Michael S, the creator of “Look Out Behind You!” You can see the picture above as our icon for this week’s episode. Also, below is the honorable mention for the contest as well. Submitted to us by Chaz D!

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Episode 10: Look Out Behind You!

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Holonet News Ep 1

YOUR SWTOR and Star Wars news from Aug 22 to Aug 29! Stay tuned at the end for the first EVER, SWTOR Game Guide! This week, Lou and Evarwyn present: Crew Skills: A Beginner’s Handguide!

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Holonet News Ep 1

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Episode 9: Take My Kaliyo Away

This week the crew welcomes back Liz LeBeau to catch up with her and her in-game play! Also, we debut a slightly new format for the show, as we prepare to release 2 shows a week now! The Dark Council brings us the question: “What 3 things would you change/like added to SWTOR” and then Lou presents “The Kaleesh” in Jedi Archives.

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Episode 9: Take My Kaliyo Away

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Episode 8: The Great Race!

This week the crew discusses their in-game experiences, thoughts, likes and dislikes about the world event: “The Great Acquisitions Race”! Also, they discuss the main points of interest during the recent Jeff Hickman interview, featuring direct audio and sound clips from Mr. Hickman, himself! Later on, Lou presents The Dark Honor Guard of the Emperor in the Jedi Archives, and we round the show off with an email from the community!

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Episode 8: The Great Race!

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Episode 7: Galactic Booty

We welcome Liz “Mistress LeBeau” Jurgens from Diablo: Off the Record, onto the show this week to gain the some perspective on how she is enjoying the “Free to 15″ experience on her brand new Jedi Consular. We cover the announcement of the world event “The Grand Acquisitions Race” as well as BioWare’s attendance at GamesCon coming up soon. Also, Lou presents “The Unknown Regions” in The Jedi Archives.

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Episode 7: Galactic Booty

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Episode 6: You’re FREE, to play

After a week of being bombarded by negativity on the forums and Other swtor podcasts, we bring you OUR perspective on this amazing, GOOD, community changing news! Also, Lou presents Meetra Surik in the Jedi Archives! Enjoy!

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Episode 6: You’re FREE, to play

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Episode 5: Our Grievance

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Episode 4: Musings of the Jedi

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Episode 4: Musings of the Jedi

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Episode 3: Trials and Legends

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Episode 3: Trials and Legends

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Episode 2: Evarwyn-y

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Episode 1: Reforged!

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Episode 14: Reforged!

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Episode 0: Introductions

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