It’s that time again, weekly maintenance time. Servers will be down on March 20th from 2AM CDT (12AM PDT/3AM EDT/7AM GMT/8AM CET/7PM AEDT) until 7AM CDT (5AM PDT/8AM EDT/12PM GMT/1PM CET/12AM AEDT). All game servers will be offline during this period. This maintenance is expected to take no more than five hours, but could be extended.
If you are itching to see what game update 1.2 has in store for you, now is your chance. BioWare has officially made their newest update, titled “Legacy”, available for play on the Public Test Server, hopefully a sign that it will be moving to the live game by April as predicted.
The Public Test Server now contains a whole lot of the updates we heard about during the Guild Summit, including the big update to the legacy system. Players will also be able to try out a new Operation, a new Warzone, and see the second part of the “Rise of the Rakghouls” in a new Flashpoint that picks up where “Kanon Under Siege” left off.
If you are looking forward to trying out all these new features then hop on over to the PTS and see them for yourself. The more testing that gets done means the better experience for everyone when the patch goes to the live servers! For a full list of all the changes in 1.2 be sure to check out the patch notes on the PTS.
After a short hiatus last week (due to the Guild Summit), the weekly Q&A session between developers and the community is back this week.
As you might expect there are more than a few questions about the game features discussed during the Guild Summit, including the chances of getting an in-combat revive for the Trooper/Bounty Hunter healers (it is something that may be included in the future), increasing the amount of character spots players have on a server, and how changes to the crafting system will affect mats. There was also talk of pop up blockers for crew skills, adding more Quickbars, and upgrading the achievement system.
For all of this week’s questions and answers check after the jump, and let us know what you think of this week’s session in the comments below. Continue Reading »
Since this is a Q&A article (if you’re new here, I do this every 10th issue) and I have a personal story of my own, we’re going to leave Tarik, Yulel and the “MJ Fiction Players” alone this week and concentrate on your questions, especially since one of the questions involves the fiction that kicks off the column each week.
My story involves the near destruction of this column and my life in SWTOR. Ok, my wife would roll her eyes and call that the exaggeration that it is, but as a writer/producer/RPer I tend to lean toward the dramatic. The short form is this: This particular article may seem a bit like it was hastily thrown together. That’s because it was. In fact, if this wasn’t a Q&A week, there probably wouldn’t be an RP XP today.
For those of you who don’t follow me on Twitter, you missed the dramatic story about my dead video card and loss of a couple day’s work on my pending novel and various editing projects – not to mention the loss of valuable MMO time. The short end is… I found a nice card (and highly recommend the GeForce GTX 550 Ti for anyone on a modest budget and, like me, don’t have what I’d call a “gaming rig”). The card is more than a match for Star Wars: The Old Republic as well as graphics grinders like Skyrim. If you’re shopping for a card, check it out. My old one, in case you’re curious, was a GTS 240 and came stock with my Dell Studio XPS, which is a great machine for creative types who aren’t run-gun-slash-kill gamers. There are gaming machines specifically for that.
RolePlayers don’t really need that kind of power though, do we? 😉
Now enough about me. Let’s talk about you. On to your questions.
The Day 2 Embargo on the Guild Summit has been lifted and a plethora of new information is now coming our way. PC Gamer has posted a really nice article that takes an in depth look at they star of the Guild Summit, the Legacy System. While this was an early version of the 1.2 changes, meaning everything is subject to change, it is still a great little in-depth look at some of the features we can expect to see when 1.2 finally hits the main stage.
Today we are excited to announce the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Weekend Pass Free* Trial. Now for a limited time, you will be able to live out your very own Star Wars™ saga with thousands of other players for free! With the Star Wars: The Old Republic Weekend Pass Free Trial, individuals who don’t already have a previously-active Star Wars: The Old Republic account will be allowed to see a portion of what the game has to offer, free of charge, with no payment method required, for up to four days!
Individuals who take part in the Weekend Pass will be able to experience the opening adventures of each of the eight character classes in the game, exploring both their Origin World and their faction’s Capital World. Additionally, Weekend Pass players will have the chance to face off against other players in PvP Warzones, or join up with friends and play through a couple of early faction-specific Flashpoints in the game, The Esseles and The Black Talon.
The Weekend Pass Free Trial opens Thursday, March 15th, 12:01AM CT / 5:01AM GMT and ends on Monday, March 19th at 2:00AM CT / 7:00AM GMT. To learn more, visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com/weekendpass and come back on March 15th to create your account, download the game, and begin your free trial! Have questions? Visit the Weekend Pass FAQ.
*TRIAL VALID ONLY FROM MARCH 15, 2012 12:01AM CDT/ 5:01AM GMT / 4:01PM EDT (AUSTRALIA) THROUGH MARCH 19, 2012 AT 2:00AM CDT/ 7:00AM GMT / 6:00 PM EDT (AUSTRALIA). ONLY VALID FOR NEW STAR WARS™: THE OLD REPUBLIC™ (“PRODUCT”) ACCOUNTS NOT ENROLLED IN A PROMOTIONAL TRIAL FOR PRODUCT. UNUSED TRIAL TIME IS FORFEITED UPON REDEMPTION OF PRODUCT REGISTRATION CODE, PURCHASE OF PRODUCT SUBSCRIPTION, OR REDEMPTION OF A GAME TIME CARD CODE. VALID ONLY IN TERRITORIES WHERE STAR WARS™: THE OLD REPUBLIC™ IS DISTRIBUTED. OFFER MAY NOT BE SUBSTITUTED, EXCHANGED, SOLD OR REDEEMED FOR CASH OR OTHER GOODS OR SERVICES. CANNOT BE COMBINED WITH ANY OTHER OFFER, GIFT CARD, REBATE OR OTHER DISCOUNT. LIMIT ONE OFFER PER ACCOUNT HOLDER.
ACCEPTANCE OF END USER ACCESS AND LICENSE AGREEMENT (“EUALA”), PERSISTENT INTERNET CONNECTION, AND ACCOUNT REGISTRATION REQUIRED TO PLAY. MUST BE 13+ TO REGISTER. AGREEMENT TO SHARE ACCOUNT INFORMATION WITH LUCASFILM ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY LTD. IS REQUIRED TO ACCESS GAMEPLAY. SEE EUALA FOR DETAILS. PRIVACY POLICY AND TERMS OF SERVICE AVAILABLE AT WWW.SWTOR.COM. ALLTERMS AND CONDITIONS TO PLAY THE GAME APPLY AT ALL TIMES.
This week we have been overwhelmed with a cornucopia of various patch notes. We have literally been overwhelemed with patch note goodness.
Wait, did I say overwhelmed? Because I meant there were two notes this week. Yep, two patch notes.
The first fix this week was all about our favorite Wookiee, Bowdaar. Apparently some folks were not being granted Bowdaar when he should have joined your team, denying Smugglers everywhere to send a big, hairy tank straight into the middle of their foes. Bowdaar should no be joining your team as intended, and has been retroactively added to the squad of those players who did not get the Wookiee when they should have.
The second patch dealt with a glitch centered around the Imperial mission “Thus, Always, To Tyrants”. It seems that when players would use the Emergency Fleet Pass to leave the mission they would find a pair of bulkhead doors on the Security Deck to be locked, denying them the ability to complete the mission. This has been fixed so now players are free to leave the ship when they like without fear of being unable to finish the mission when they return.
That’s all for the Patch Notes this week folks, check back with us after next week’s server maintenance to get the run down on all the in gmae changes that come with the fix.
With all the information that came out of the recent Guild Summit it is only natural that players are looking for some clarification on all the various tidbits that have been released. Ever since the summit the SWTOR forums have been flooded with post from people looking for info, wanting more details, and the inevitable complaining about gameplay features they have not even experienced yet. Luckily for everyone the master of the forum posts, Mr. Georg Zoeller, has been laying down some of his famous yellow posts to squash some of the rumors and questions running across the boards. Continue Reading »
It’s time again for our weekly SWTOR server maintenance. The servers will be down from 2AM CDT (12AM PDT/3AM EDT/7AM GMT/8AM CET/6PM AEST) and are expected to be back up around 10AM CDT (8AM PDT/11AM EDT/3PM GMT/4PM CET/2AM AEST-Wednesday). All servers will be offline during this period as BioWare performs their weekly updates and bug fixes.
As always the servers could be down for longer than the intended 8 hours, and could very easily come back online before the 8 hours are up as well. If there are any major changes to the server downtime we will update this post accordingly.
Last week we took our first look at the life of the mysterious Sith Emperor from the time of his birth up to the point when he arrived at Dromund Kaas as the leader of the Sith. Today we will finish looking at what we know of this mysterious being and his life after arriving on Dromund Kaas. Like last week, this article will contain massive spoilers so turn back now if you want to avoid them. Otherwise, join me as we finish our journey looking at this immortal master of the Dark Side. Continue Reading »