Video Games Star Wars: The Old Republic - Page 74

keg in kc · 12:12 PM

Don't believe there's a dedicated thread, and since they're starting to release information now, I figure it's time for one.

Pants · 11-17-2011, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

In somewhat related news... just finished the Darth Revan book. Those of you who enjoyed KOTOR I and KOTOR II should definitely take a look at it. Definitely fleshes out the story of the game, which I feel is ALWAYS the beauty of a Bioware game.

Several concepts that I think will have an effect in TOR:

Spoiler!

KOTOR was a top 20 story I have ever been told. I'm talking about all forms of media, here. Just absolutely brilliant.

duncan_idaho · 11-17-2011, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pants

KOTOR was a top 20 story I have ever been told. I'm talking about all forms of media, here. Just absolutely brilliant.

Agreed.

The reveal moment was pretty incredible. I was shocked at the time.

Spoiler!

WhiteWhale · 11-17-2011, 02:00 PM

Yanno, I loved KOTOR... one of the best games EVER. It smokes every star wars MOVIE except for Empire.

I don't play MMORPG's, so I won't play this game. I was very disappointed with the direction KOTOR 2 took with the story. Killing all the Jedi? Uhh... The whole concept behind KOTOR was a time when Jedi were prevalent. That was one of the cool hooks behind the original.

I wish Bioware had just kept making these games as the original was.

keg in kc · 11-17-2011, 02:04 PM

The beauty of this game (for me at least) is that you can play it like a single player game if you so choose. I've played about 120 hours of it so far, and haven't yet spoken to a single other player ingame. There are things you won't be able to do, obviously, there is a lot of group content, but there's also an incredible amount of content there for the solitary individual.

(I am playing it with others at launch, I just happen to like to play alone a lot as well..)

As far as story quality, I've enjoyed my time in SWTOR as much as I did my time in kotor. It's pretty amazing. Although I've only played three classes so far, Bounty Hunter up to about 15, Smuggler up to about 18 and Sith Inquisitor into the mid-20s. The Sith Inquisitor story is the only one where I got all the way through the first act. They're massive stories, meaning the class portions of it.

WhiteWhale · 11-17-2011, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by keg in kc

The beauty of this game (for me at least) is that you can play it like a single player game if you so choose. I've played about 120 hours of it so far, and haven't yet spoken to a single other player ingame. There are things you won't be able to do, obviously, there is a lot of group content, but there's also an incredible amount of content there for the solitary individual.

(I am playing it with others at launch, I just happen to like to play alone a lot as well..)

As far as story quality, I've enjoyed my time in SWTOR as much as I did my time in kotor. It's pretty amazing. Although I've only played three classes so far, Bounty Hunter up to about 15, Smuggler up to about 18 and Sith Inquisitor into the mid-20s. The Sith Inquisitor story is the only one where I got all the way through the first act. They're massive stories, meaning the class portions of it.

Well, it's not just that.

Going on a five man raiding party with a guy named lovestospooge and another named slappingskins69 doesn't do much for my ability to immerse myself in a story.

I'm glad you're having fun. Bioware does a fantastic job with pretty much everything.

keg in kc · 11-17-2011, 02:34 PM

Pretty simple. Don't go into an instance with people who give themselves reeruned names. And if names annoy you (they do me, I've been contemplating moving my guild to an RP server, except they're not instituting naming conventions on those, either...), turn off nameplates.

I also run with general chat off. In ever game I've ever played. You can do a lot to limit your contact with reeruns.

Some interesting patch notes:

Quote:

A Flashpoint and Operations mission board that grants daily and weekly missions has been added to the Imperial and Republic fleets.
• Two new Flashpoints, Colicoid Wargame and Cademinu, are now available for play!
• All Flashpoint missions have been adjusted to better reflect their level range.
• All difficulty modes for Operations and Flashpoints now have appropriate drops and mission rewards.
• Made several improvements to enemy combat in Flashpoints.
• Adjusted item drop rates for non-boss enemies in Flashpoints.
• Flashpoints now reward players with planetary Commendations rather than using unique Flashpoint currencies.
• Added additional loot drops for many Elite enemies.

Hard modes are now available at level 50 for the following Flashpoints:

• Boarding Party
• Directive 7
• Maelstrom Prison
• Taral V
• The Battle of Ilum
• The Black Talon
• The Esseles
• The Foundry

Directive 7
• Added loot and mission rewards for normal mode.

The Black Talon
• This Flashpoint has been balanced for two players.

The Esseles
• This Flashpoint has been balanced for two players.

The Battle of Ilum
• Added loot and mission rewards for normal mode.

The False Emperor
• Added loot and mission rewards for normal mode.

Operations

• Two Operations, Eternity Vault and Karagga's Palance, are now available for play!
• The Lockouts tab in the Mission Log will now display your progress in Eternity Vault and Karagga's Palace.

keg in kc · 11-17-2011, 02:46 PM

Ahh, what the hell. The full notes (like...really long):

Spoiler!

keg in kc · 11-17-2011, 02:48 PM

Part 2:

Spoiler!

keg in kc · 11-17-2011, 02:49 PM

The rest:

Spoiler!

Huffmeister · 11-17-2011, 02:56 PM

What's the difference between a Flashpoint and an Operation? In MMO nomenclature, is one a dungeon and the other a raid? If so, which is which?

keg in kc · 11-17-2011, 02:57 PM

Flashpoints are 2 or 4, Operations are 8 or 16.

Barret · 11-17-2011, 03:00 PM

I see they fixed the two starting flashpoints to be more friendly for low level players. A lot of angst currently about Sith Warriors and Jedi Guardians not having a aggro ability for those low level flashpoints.

Two players and their 2 companions should be able to do well in those instances.

keg in kc · 11-17-2011, 03:04 PM

I haven't run any flashpoints yet, myself, but I'm pretty sure they were doable before with 2 players and 2 companions (I've seen videos of it...). It might have even been better than with a group of 4 since several of the starting companions can fill roles that level 9-10 players can't. That is to say you aren't really able to do much beyond dps until you're in your mid-teens. You basically can't tank at all in that level range and the healing skills are limited at best.

(I could also swear that in my first beta phase, black talon was a heroic 2+ rather than a heroic 4, so I'm not really interpreting this as an enormous change - but I think it does make sense for that stage of the game.)

Barret · 11-17-2011, 03:19 PM

Oh no I agree with you. The problem during the test weekend was everyone not understanding that and asking for tanks and healers for Esseles. I wasn't able to do it since I was a Sentinal and they were always full on dps.

People are still locked into a WoW world and having to fill specific things even at low levels. If you are running "The Burning Chasm" or whatever it is called located in Orgimmar then yea you had to have a tank, healer and dps roles filled. They were expecting the same thing for TOR and come to find out you really don't need to.

edit: at least at low level

allen_kcCard · 11-17-2011, 03:42 PM

I ran two of the Sith starter ones...Armed and Dangerous, and the Hate Machine...they were easy as heck with 4 people, I did one of them with just two, and no companions. Hate Machine was the one that we did with two. A&D definetly would have needed more than 2 I think unless one was good at pulling. As a sith warrior, I should likely have had some sort of ranged attack to pull with if possible...force charge isn't so great to avoid getting adds.

03-20-2009, 09:15 PM
keg in kc oxymoron Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: OP/KC/Whatever Casino cash: $9556299	Star Wars: The Old Republic Don't believe there's a dedicated thread, and since they're starting to release information now, I figure it's time for one. Last edited by keg in kc; 12-18-2012 at 12:12 PM..
Posts: 58,682

11-17-2011, 02:00 PM	#1098
WhiteWhale Bring it on Ahab! Join Date: May 2011 Location: Doo-Dah Casino cash: $10015152	Yanno, I loved KOTOR... one of the best games EVER. It smokes every star wars MOVIE except for Empire. I don't play MMORPG's, so I won't play this game. I was very disappointed with the direction KOTOR 2 took with the story. Killing all the Jedi? Uhh... The whole concept behind KOTOR was a time when Jedi were prevalent. That was one of the cool hooks behind the original. I wish Bioware had just kept making these games as the original was.
Posts: 14,861

11-17-2011, 02:04 PM	#1099
keg in kc oxymoron Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: OP/KC/Whatever Casino cash: $9556299	The beauty of this game (for me at least) is that you can play it like a single player game if you so choose. I've played about 120 hours of it so far, and haven't yet spoken to a single other player ingame. There are things you won't be able to do, obviously, there is a lot of group content, but there's also an incredible amount of content there for the solitary individual. (I am playing it with others at launch, I just happen to like to play alone a lot as well..) As far as story quality, I've enjoyed my time in SWTOR as much as I did my time in kotor. It's pretty amazing. Although I've only played three classes so far, Bounty Hunter up to about 15, Smuggler up to about 18 and Sith Inquisitor into the mid-20s. The Sith Inquisitor story is the only one where I got all the way through the first act. They're massive stories, meaning the class portions of it.
Posts: 58,682

11-17-2011, 02:46 PM	#1102
keg in kc oxymoron Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: OP/KC/Whatever Casino cash: $9556299	Ahh, what the hell. The full notes (like...really long): Spoiler! Welcome to Star Wars: The Old Republic Build Date 2011.11.17 Patch 0.742.07 Welcome If you encounter any issues while using the patcher, please exit and restart it. For more information on the test, view the Test Details. To discuss this with other testers, access the Game Tester Forums. Note that you may need to log into the website to view the above links properly. If you encounter any issues that prevent you from playing the game, please e-mail testing@swtor.com and we will do our best to address your concern quickly and efficiently. May the Force be with you! Build Notes General Cinematics throughout the game have been polished and improved. The VIP area on the Republic and Imperial Fleets is now open to players with access. Classes and Combat General When selecting an Advanced Class, the player now receives a bag containing special gear tailored to that Advanced Class. More information about Advanced Classes, as well as the ability to preview skill trees, has been added to Advanced Class selection. Area of Effect abilities have new faction-specific ground markers (an Empire and Republic logo) to assist in distinguishing between friendly and enemy abilities. The training cost of many abilities has been adjusted to match changes in ability rank progression. Fixed several issues with the ability queue system that could prevent player actions from being properly queued. A new option in the Preferences menu allows players to select the length of the ability queue window. This option also allows player to turn off the ability queue feature. Dueling is no longer allowed inside Flashpoints, Operations, or Warzones. The challenge marker will now remain for the duration of a duel. Players in conversations or on taxis can no longer be asked to duel. Players that are stealthed are no longer targetable unless they have been detected. Activating an ability to enter stealth will now interrupt abilities with activation times being used on you. Players will now leave stealth when trading or requesting a duel. Jedi Knight General The Riposte animation now utilizes both weapons if you are dual wielding. Sentinel Zealous Strike has had its cooldown and Focus generation adjusted. Cauterize has had its duration and cooldown adjusted. Disable Droid now causes the target to regenerate health over the duration. Force Camouflage has had its cooldown and duration adjusted and no longer breaks when the player is damaged. Valorous Call now immediately grants 30 stacks of Centering. New Sentinel Abilities Centering: a passive ability that provides a stacking buff upon defeating enemies and activating abilities that use Focus. At 30 stacks, various new Zen States are enabled. Zen: consumes 30 stacks of Centering to grant an effect based on the activated Saber Form. Transcendence: consumes 30 stacks of Centering to increase the movement speed and defense of the player and their group for a moderate duration. Guarded by the Force: grants high damage reduction at the expense of health. Inspiration: consumes 30 stacks of Centering to increase the damage and healing dealt by the player and their group for a moderate duration. Watchman Replaced Momentum with Jedi Promulgator, which causes each use of Riposte to reduce the active cooldown of Rebuke. Watchguard now additionally reduces the cooldown of Force Kick. Valor now reduces the cooldown of Valorous Call and increases the amount of Centering stacks gained from activating abilities that use Focus. Repelling Blows now increases direct damage dealt by Cauterize. Focused Pursuit now further increases the movement speed granted by Transcendence. Mind Sear now grants Slash and Merciless Slash a chance to finish the cooldown of Cauterize. Force Fade now causes Force Camouflage to substantially increase damage reduction while active. Force Fade now causes Force Camouflage to substantially increase damage reduction while active. Focused Slash now also affects Dispatch. The following skills are now located in new tiers in the skill tree: Watchguard is now a tier 4 skill. Force Fade is now a tier 5 skill. Combat Righteous Zeal now reduces the cooldown of Zealous Strike instead of building additional focus. Defensive Forms now additionally causes Centering to accumulate stacks when the player is attacked. Temperance now increases the Centering stacks gained from defeating opponents. Displacement now additionally causes Crippling Throw to immobilize targets briefly and no longer increases defense. The following skills are now located in new tiers in the skill tree: Ataru Mastery is now a tier 3 skill. Immaculate Force is now a tier 4 skill. Displacement is now a tier 4 skill. Fleetfooted is now a tier 5 skill. Focus (Sentinel) Replaced Visionary with Blade Focus, which reduces the cost of Blade Storm by one while in Shii-cho Form. Inner Focus now grants several stacks of Centering when Transcendence ends. Replaced Saber Buffet with Enduring, which increases damage reduction and reduces the cooldown of Guarded by the Force. The following skills are now located in new tiers in the skill tree: Pulse is now a tier 3 skill. Inner Focus is now a tier 4 skill. Guardian Combat Focus is now a Guardian-only ability that generates six Focus and has a one-minute cooldown. Defense Replaced Windforce with Momentum, which has a chance to make Blade Storm free after a Force Leap or Zealous Leap. The following skills are now located in new tiers in the skill tree: Warding Call is now a tier 3 skill. Hilt Strike is now a tier 5 skill. Guardian Slash is now a tier 7 skill. Focus (Guardian) Replaced Saber Buffet with Sundering Throw, which reduces the cooldown of Saber Throw and causes it to inflict stacks of Sunder Armor. The following skills are now located in new tiers in the skill tree: Pulse is now a tier 3 skill. Inner Foucs is now a tier 4 skill. Bug Fixes Fixed an issue that could cause Force Leap to move the player to an invalid location. Sith Warrior General The Retaliation animation now utilizes both weapons if you are dual wielding. Marauder Battering Assault has had its cooldown and Rage generation adjusted. Rupture has had its duration and cooldown adjusted. Disable Droid now causes the target to regenerate health over the duration. Force Camouflage has had its cooldown and duration adjusted and now no longer breaks when the player is damaged. Frenzy now immediately grants 30 stacks of Fury. New Marauder Abilities Fury: a passive ability that provides a stacking buff upon defeating opponents and activating abilities that require Rage. At 30 stacks, various new Furies are enabled. Berserk: consumes 30 stacks of Fury to add an effect based on the activated Saber Form. Predation: consumes 30 stacks of Fury to increase the movement speed and defense of the player and their group. Undying Rage: grants high damage reduction at the expense of health. Bloodthirst: consumes 30 stacks of Fury to increase the damage and healing dealt by the player and their group for a moderate duration. Annihilation Replaced Battle Cry with Cloak of Annihilation, which causes each use of Retaliation to reduce the active cooldown of Cloak of Pain. Short Fuse now reduces the cooldown of Frenzy and increases the amount of Fury stacks gained from activating abilities that use Rage. Replaced Annihilation with Deep Wound, which increases the direct damage dealt by Rupture. Ferocity now further increases the movement speed of Predation. Replaced Inescapable Torment with Pulverize, which grants Vicious Slash and Annihilate a chance to finish the cooldown of Rupture. Phantom now causes Force Camouflage to substantially increase damage reduction while active. Enraged Slash now also affects Deadly Throw. The following skills are now located in new tiers in the skill tree: Subjugation is now a tier 4 skill. Phantom is now a tier 5 skill. Carnage Enraged Assault now reduces the cooldown of Battering Assault instead of building additional Rage. Defensive Forms now additionally causes Fury to build when the player is attacked. Erupting Fury now increases the Fury built from defeating opponents. Displacement now additionally causes Deadly Throw to immobilize targets briefly, and it no longer increases defense. The following skills are now located in new tiers Pin the skill tree: Ataru Mastery is now a tier 3 skill. Towering Rage is now a tier 4 skill. Displacement is now a tier 4 skill. Unbound is now a tier 5 skill. Rage (Marauder) Replaced Endless Rage with Enraged Scream, which reduces the cost of Force Scream by one while in Shii-cho Form. Relentless now grants several stacks of Fury when Predation ends. Saber Buffet has been replaced by Undying, which increases damage reduction and reduces the cooldown of Undying Rage. The following skills are now located in new tiers in the skill tree: Strangulate is now a tier 3 skill. Relentless is now a tier 4 skill. Juggernaut Berserk has been renamed Enrage, and is now a Juggernaut-only ability that grants six rage and has a one-minute cooldown. Immortal Replaced Echoing Scream with Battle Cry, which has a chance to make next Force Scream free after using Force Charge or Obliterate. The following skills are now located in new tiers in the skill tree: Invincible is now a tier 3 skill. Backhand is now a tier 5 skill. Crushing Blow is now a tier 7 skill. Rage (Juggernaut) Saber Buffet has been replaced by Sundering Throw, which reduces the cooldown of Saber Throw and causes Saber Throw to inflict stacks of Sunder Armor. The following skills are now located in new tiers in the skill tree: Strangulate is now a tier 3 skill. Relentless is now a tier 4 skill. Jedi Consular General Cloud Mind is now only available to Sages. A charge of Force Potency now increases the range of Telekinetic Throw to 30 meters. When Telekinetic Throw ends, it now consumes a charge of Force Potency rather than consuming charges over the duration. Reduced the effective knockback range of Force Wave to 10 meters. Sage Force Lift now causes non-player targets to heal rapidly over the duration. Seer Preservation no longer reduces the duration of Force Armor's debuff effect. Shadow The ability Mass Mind Control, which taunts all enemies within 15 meters and forces them to attack the player for six seconds, has been added. Infiltration Masked Assault now immediately restores Force when Blackout is used out of stealth. Profundity now has a 100% chance to activate at max rank. Sith Inquisitor General Cloud Mind is now only available to Sorcerers. A charge of Recklessness now increases the range of Force Lightning to 30 meters. When Force Lightning ends, it now consumes a charge of Recklessness rather than consuming charges over the duration. Reduced the effective knockback range of Overload to 10 meters. Sorcerer Whirlwind now causes non-player targets to heal rapidly over the duration. Corruption Efficacious Currents no longer reduces the duration of Static Barrier's debuff effect. Assassin The ability Mass Mind Control, which taunts all enemies within 15 meters, forcing them to attack the player for six seconds, has been added. Deception Darkswell now additionally immediately restores force when Blackout is used out of stealth. Saber Conduit now has a 100% chance to activate at max rank. Smuggler General Finalized the sound effects for all abilities. XS Freighter Flyby now involves a bombing run by the Smuggler's starship. Scoundrel Shoot First now grants Upper Hand. Sawbones Slow-release Medpac now stacks up to 2 times and costs less energy. Scrapper Scrappy now affects Back Blast instead of Sucker Punch. Browbeater now additionally increases the damage dealt by Flechette Round. Underdog no longer affects Blaster Whip. Dirty Fighting (Scoundrel) Wounding Shots (Scoundrel) is now an instant attack and requires and consumes Upper Hand. Bombastic has been replaced by Street Tough, which reduces the cooldown of Pugnacity and causes Pugnacity to immediately restore energy when used. Gunslinger Slice Droid now causes the target to heal rapidly over the duration. Bug Fixes Players will no longer be able to select cover points that will cause them to become stuck. Imperial Agent General Finalized the sound effects for all abilities. Orbital Strike now uses several powerful energy blasts from space rather than a hail of rockets. Operative Hidden Strike now grants Tactical Advantage. Concealment Surgical Strikes now affects Backstab instead of Laceration. Imperial Brew now additionally increases the damage dealt by Acid Blade. Meticulously-Kept Blades no longer affects Shiv. Medic Kolto Probe stacks up to 2 times and costs less energy. Lethality (Operative) Cull is now an instant attack which requires and consumes Tactical Advantage. Targeted Demolition has been replaced by Combat Stims, which reduces the cooldown of Stim Boost and causes Stim Boost to immediately restore energy when used. Sniper Slice Droid now causes the target to heal slowly over the duration. Engineering Renamed Detonate Probes to EMP Discharge. Bug Fixes Players will no longer be able to select cover points that will cause them to become stuck. Bounty Hunter General The Firebug skill tree has been renamed to Pyrotech. Explosive Dart now detonates if the target dies while the effect is still present. Blaster bolt color is now determined by the weapon's color crystal and is no longer affected by the active Gas Cylinder. Mercenary Renamed Lesser Healing Scan to Rapid Scan. Rapid Scan has had its activation time decreased to 2.5 seconds. Concussion Missile now causes non-player targets to heal rapidly over the duration. Healing Scan now has a 12 second cooldown. Powertech Carbonize has had its cooldown and duration adjusted, and it now affects up to 5 targets. Shield Tech Jet Charge now interrupts the target's current action. Combust now has a chance to be activated by Flame Sweep in addition to Flame Burst. The following skills are now located in new tiers in the skill tree: Oil Slick is now a tier 3 skill. Jet Charge is now a tier 5 skill. Jet Speed is now a tier 5 skill. Heat Blast is now a tier 7 skill. Advanced Prototype Immolate has had its damage output decreased and now builds eight heat. Hydraulic Overrides has had its activation increased to 30 seconds. Prototype Electro Surge no longer affects Carbonize. Pyrotech (Shared Tree) The Pyrotech skill has been renamed to Firebug. Thermal Detonator now detonates if the target dies while the effect is still present. Trooper General Sticky Grenade now detonates if the target dies while the effect is still present. Blaster bolt color is now determined by the weapon's color crystal and is no longer affected by the active Cell. Commando Concussive Round now causes non-player targets to heal rapidly over the duration. Medical Probe has had its activation time decreased to 2.5 seconds. Advanced Medical Probe now has a 12 second cooldown. Vanguard Neural Surge has had its cooldown and duration adjusted, and it now affects up to 5 targets. Shield Specialist Storm now interrupts the target's current action. Static Field now triggers off of Explosive Surge in addition to Ion Pulse. The following skills are located in new tiers in the skill tree: Smoke Grenade is now a tier 3 skill. Storm is now a tier 5 skill. Charge! is now a tier 5 skill. Energy Blast is now a tier 7 skill. Tactics Containment Tactics no longer affects Neural Surge. Hold the Line's cooldown has been increased to 30 seconds. Fire Pulse has had its damage output decreased, and now uses 1 energy cell. Assault Specialist (Shared Tree) Assault Plastique now detonates if the target dies while the effect is still present. Companion Characters General Companions are now automatically affected by player-provided buffs (such as Mark of Power, Force Valor, etc) when revived or resummoned. Companion Codex entries now include information about preferred stats and weapon choices. The Grapple ability on ranged tank companions has been replaced by a new ability that varies by companion. Added a new line of companion-specific mission rewards. The game will now properly reflect when a companion character is unavailable for story reasons. Companions now will now join players in holo conversations. Andonikos Revel Updated affection conversations to better fit with overall storyline. Ashara Zavro Updated affection conversations to better fit with overall storyline. Kaliyo Kaliyo now starts equipped with a shield generator. T7-01 Added a set of T7-01 loot to the Jedi Knight Quest "Dark Secrets." Bug Fixes Fixed an issue that could cause affection gains or losses to be displayed incorrectly during conversations. Fixed an issue where Companion Character conversations would not trigger properly when in the Black Sun Cantina on Coruscant.
Posts: 58,682

11-17-2011, 02:48 PM	#1103
keg in kc oxymoron Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: OP/KC/Whatever Casino cash: $9556299	Part 2: Spoiler! Crew Skills General Adjusted the overall level requirements for Gathering and Mission Skills. Removed all Prototype gathering materials. Prototype materials received from Mission Skills will be used in place of them. Disassembling crafted droid armor now unlocks research variations. Crafting Skills Players can now use their personal starship's cargo hold for crafting if sufficient crafting materials are not available in their inventory. Added vehicles that Cybertech can craft. Added Yellow and Orange color crystal schematics for Artifice. Added rare Magenta Adegan color crystal schematics for Artifice. Crafted modifiable armor pieces have been added to Armormech and Synthweaving. Added some endgame schematics that can be learned from crafting trainers. Gathering Skills Adjusted respawn timers for Slicing nodes. Increased the overall density of resource nodes in Open World PvP areas. Added tech schematics for vehicles that can be found via Slicing. Slicing now yields credit mission boxes. Using right click will now default to sending companions to gather. Mission Skills Rewards for Mission Skills have been adjusted more expensive missions are now more rewarding. Players can now choose a mission level range and send companions on lower-level missions. Missions for Mission Skills are now classified by their yield, allowing the player to more clearly understand the quality potential of the mission's rewards. Investigation now yields Researched Compounds that can be used to craft weapons and blaster barrels of Prototype and Artifact quality. Renamed some Investigation materials to be less armor-specific. Underworld Chemicals have been replaced by Medical Supplies, which are available from Diplomacy missions and are used to craft Prototype and Artifact quality Biochem implants and consumables. Added schematics for modifiable armor that can be obtained as a rare reward from Underworld Trading. Underworld Trading now yields Luxury Fabrics that are used to craft Prototype and Artifact quality light armor. Underworld Metals are now used to craft Prototype and Artifact quality medium and heavy armor, armoring items, mods, droid armor, earpieces, grenades, vehicles, and space upgrades. Treasure Hunting Gemstones are now used to craft Prototype and Artifact quality enhancements, generators, foci, hilts, color crystals, and endgame lightsabers and relics. Treasure Hunting now yields mission boxes that can contain items or credits. Prototype and Artifact quality mission materials can now drop from defeated bosses. Flashpoints and Operations General A Flashpoint and Operation mission board that grants daily and weekly missions has been added to the Imperial and Republic Fleets. Flashpoints Two new Flashpoints, Colicoid War Game and Cademimu, are now available for play! All Flashpoint missions have been adjusted to better reflect their level range. All difficulty modes for Operations and Flashpoints now have appropriate drops and mission rewards. Made several improvements to enemy combat in all Flashpoints. Adjusted item drop rates for non-boss enemies in Flashpoints. Flashpoints now reward players with planetary Commendations rather than using unique Flashpoint currencies. Added additional loot drops for many Elite enemies. Hard modes are now available at level 50 for the following Flashpoints: Boarding Party Directive 7 Maelstrom Prison Taral V The Battle of Ilum The Black Talon The Esseles The False Emperor The Foundry Directive 7 Added loot and mission rewards for normal mode. The Black Talon This Flashpoint has been balanced for two players. The Esseles This Flashpoint has been balanced for two players. The Battle of Ilum Added loot and mission rewards for normal mode. The False Emperor Added loot and mission rewards for normal mode. Operations Two Operations, Eternity Vault and Karagga's Palace, are now available for play! The Lockouts tab in the Mission Log will now display your progress in Eternity Vault and Karagga's Palace. Itemization World bosses now drop new Artifact quality items. Updated item appearances throughout the game. Increased overall stat variety to reduce cases of items with different names but duplicate stats. Added new weapon appearances throughout the game. All aspects of the endgame are now properly itemized. Increased the levels for Companion Character gear throughout the game. Most items of Artifact quality are now modifiable. Added a wider range of stat configurations to item modifications. Hand slot items with modification slots now become available at level 24. Foot slot items with modification slots now become available at level 28. Enemies now have a slightly increased chance to drop item modifications. Items General Hundreds of very rare Artifact items are now dropped by enemies. Kallig's Countenance is now a Prototype quality modifiable item. Added more random lightsabers starting at level 32. Added many new item icons. Commendation costs have been modified for many items. Reduced overall Commendation drop rate. New endgame items are available for purchase with Commendations on the Imperial and Republic Fleets. The Overcharge PvP consumable (formerly called "Recharge") now improves damage and healing for a short duration. New leveling up and endgame PvP items are available for purchase with Commendations on the Republic and Imperial Fleet stations. Red color crystals now require that the player has not achieved Light 1 or above. This does not affect weapons that come pre-slotted with a color crystal. Green and blue color crystals now require that the player has not achieved Dark 1 or above. This does not affect weapons that come pre-slotted with a color crystal. Added many new item modifications. Adjusted the cost of extracting an item modification to be based on the item's level. Made several visual and optimization changes to lightsabers, double-bladed lightsabers, and training sabers. Vendors Players are no longer able to use vendors belonging to the opposite faction. Vendors no longer exchange one type of planetary Commendation for another. Added vendors that sell endgame gear for various currencies. Republic and Imperial Fleet vendors now stock many new items. Added social gear to Dromund Kaas, Coruscant, Nar Shaddaa, and Balmorra social vendors. Added item vendors to Ilum. Added hilts and barrels to Commendation vendors. Added pre-order vendors to the Republic and Imperial Fleets. All Starship Upgrade vendors now offer the same full set of upgrades. Added Commendation vendors for all planets to the Republic and Imperial Fleets. Added PvP Commendation vendors to the Republic and Imperial Base Med Centers on the western shelf of Ilum. Speeder vendors with common speeders are now available on the Imperial and Republic Fleets and on Tatooine, Alderaan, Quesh, and Voss. Bug Fixes Fixed incorrect voice filtering for several helmets. Fixed many issues that caused items to display blank icons. Fixed a bug that caused some random items to have excessively high stats. All consumable items are now properly consumed when used. Fixed many cases where class-restricted items would drop for the wrong faction. Added missing appearances for all head slot items. Fixed a customization item for Qyzen Fess that was incorrectly flagged for M1-4X. Fixed an issue where double- or right-clicking a mission reward object would attempt to use it. Players will no longer be able to equip a mission item if their inventory does not have a slot for the item being replaced. Missions and NPCs Missions General Improved visual effects for several objects related to mission objectives. Having a full inventory no longer prevents players from accepting currency rewards. Many late-game Heroic missions have had enemy numbers decreased and now have more challenging bosses with unique mechanics. Many enemy NPCs throughout the game now have more interesting abilities and mechanics. The Hoth bonus series is now available before the player travels to Corellia. Players can now access some missions in the Nar Shaddaa bonus series at an earlier level. All Advanced Class training missions now provide rewards. Adjusted the number and type of enemies required to complete several bonus missions. Many more missions now receive in-game mail follow-ups. Adjusted rewards to more closely match the level of completed missions. Increased the item level for many low-level mission rewards. Adjusted mission progression for staged bonus missions and Chasing History in Transport Station 5. The Belsavis bonus series is now available after Corellia and offers a challenge for level 48-50 players. Non-class missions no longer contain forced conversations. Republic A Clean Sweep: New animation added when destroying cameras. A Fine Line: Players no longer get stuck behind the forcefield after speaking to Aelan Kalder. Bomb on Board: Players are now eligible for this mission before leaving the outpost for Panteer Cave. Crystal Ball: Players are no longer able to prematurely begin their conversation with the Shuttle Pilot, thus blocking the mission's completion. Down the Hole: Adjusted enemy levels to better match the level of the mission. Exploding Mines: Private Falk will no longer remain alive if the player chooses to kill him. Facing Lord Nefarid: After the conversation with Lord Nefarid, he will now attack the player so the mission can progress. Factory Meltdown: Adjusted the timing on the droid's explosion ability. Fate of the Jedi: Companion Characters now properly follow players through doorways. For Future Generations: Sand Demon Hatchlings now count towards the bonus objective. Landing Party: Defeating the ambush party will now allow the mission to properly progress. Last One Out: Players will no longer have access to Grommick's phase during the step "Recover Czerka Files." Local Trouble: Decreased the respawn time for the Corona Blaster Cannon. Fall of the Locust: The Locust will now properly attack players. Mandalorian Rage: The Imperial crate no longer gives double credit when used. Overloaded: The conversation with Garza now ends properly. Paladins: Fixed an issue in which all group members were not receiving the title for completing the mission. Power Vacuum: Added a reward for completing this mission. Public Relations: General Garza's conversation now correctly matches player actions earlier in the mission. Reclaiming Ft. Orrus: The Captured Organa Officer will now die instead of remaining in a choking animation indefinitely. Scavengers: Esh-kha Seekers now count towards the bonus objective. Storming the Front: Armed dud bombs will no longer explode. The Defector: Fixed an issue that would sometimes prevent the intercom from working properly, preventing the mission from being completed. The Final Piece: Yuun is now properly granted after speaking with General Garza. Victims of War: Selecting "Come with me" when speaking with Jaen Kett will no longer drop players from the conversation. Imperial A New Master: Fixed an issue that prevented the conversation with Phyle from beginning properly. Absolute Terror: The number of usable items has been increased. An Iron Fist: Fixed an issue that caused the Shock Collar ability to malfunction occasionally, causing the Rebelling Nobles to attack the player. Chaos on a Broken World: The conversation with Dr. Lokin will no longer trigger automatically more than once. Choke Point: Fixed an issue that caused certain circumstances to prevent friendly NPCs from assisting the player in the step "Repel the Ulgo Attack." Closing the Deal: Players can now interact with the Evocii corpse to advance the mission. Culling the Nekghouls: Approaching Master Sulan no longer triggers a forced conversation. Droid Repossession: Factory Droids now assist players in the final combat sequence. I Spy: Lowered the drop rate of spy recordings. Information Warfare: Restraining collars now work properly when used on enemies. Into the Assassin Temple: Fixed an issue that prevented the mission from being completed. My Sponsorship: Mako is now automatically summoned upon completing Juda's conversation. Once and Future: Players can now properly access phases associated with this mission. Rock & Hard Place: Adjusted combat difficulty for this mission. Sacking the Gardens: Patients will no longer stand up in their beds if players choose the conversation option to kill them. Shadow in the Dark: Players are now able to use the computer behind Vyord. Shield Breach: Properly labeled the option to refuse the mission. Silver Tongues: Fixed an issue that prevented players from entering the House Rist phase. Tactical Reprisals: Added a reward for completing this mission. The Assassin's Fortress: Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented male Imperial Agents from completing this mission. The Devouring Plague: Fixed an issue that could prevent group members from properly unlocking the Taxi destination. The Eagle's Nest: Fixed an issue that prevented The Eagle's bodyguards from engaging in combat. The Mandalorian Killer: Tarro Blood no longer remains available for conversation if players choose to kill him. The Mountain's Eyes: This mission is no longer Heroic in difficulty. The Oasis: The "Reflection" will now properly reflect gender and Advanced Class. The Whispering Dust: Assassins now attack the player as intended. To Walk in Dark Places: The conversation with Torian is no longer automatically triggered. Bug Fixes Fixed several issues that prevented some bonus missions from being completed. Corrected several instances of improper mission rewards. NPCs General Most World Bosses have new combat mechanics and are now a challenge for full Operation groups. Increased the variety of enemies and NPCs encountered on many planets. PvP guards have had their level increased to 50 for most major settlements and now match the level of the surrounding content for bonus series settlements. Adjusted the level of bonus series NPCs on Alderaan to match the level of the surrounding missions. Tarisian Devourers are now neutral rather than friendly towards players. Improved and modified some NPC appearances. Bug Fixes NPCs in the Kintin Arena area now properly respawn. Added and fixed voiceovers for many NPCs. PvP General Players now receive a reset to their medical probe timer as well as increased stealth duration upon revival if they are defeated in PvP outside of Warzones or Open World PvP areas. Players no longer remain in combat when they use a reoccurring effect (like a Damage over Time ability) on an enemy and then travel more than a designated range from that enemy. Players can no longer interact with any objects while under the effects of stun or sleep. Warzones General Increased experience gained at the end of Warzone matches. Increased rewards for longer matches with close scores. Values required to attain medals now better reflect the current damage, healing, and defense potential of the classes. Huttball Decreased the initial damage of fire traps. Dynamic mapnotes now appear on the map and minimap showing which direction the ball carrier needs to go to score for their team. The spawn shields now display a countdown to show players when the shield will lower and allow them access to the Warzone. Voidstar Players will now be frozen between rounds (no matter where they stand) in the Voidstar. Players now receive a broadcast when a bomb is successfully defused. It now takes less time to defuse a bomb than to plant one. The spawn shields now display a countdown to show players when the shield will lower and allow them access to the Warzone. Bomb detonation timers have been reduced to 15 seconds. The spawn field for defending teams now opens and closes at 20-second intervals. Modified the tunnels leading between rooms to be straight paths. Mapnotes now appear on the map and minimap when a bomb has been planted on a door. Environmental objects in Voidstar rooms have been reduced and reorganized. Players now travel through open doors when riding the Taxi, and the doors will close when the round starts. World PvP Battle for Ilum The Ilum battlefield now has five objectives that are marked with mapnotes: Imperial Base, Northern Assault, Central Assault, Southern Assault, and Republic Base. Added stackable PvP reward buffs various PvP accomplishments throughout the area. Added new speederbike paths around the Assault Points. Bug Fixes Alderaan Civil War Players are no longer able to leave the Warzone boundaries or climb on cannons. Scoring blasts from the cannons now occur at roughly 20-second increments instead of 10-second increments, and remove 10 points of shield strength instead of 5. Rewards that are based on how much a faction wins by will now take into account how well one team did relative to the other. Battle for Ilum Cancelling the use of a particle cannon no longer causes the cannon to appear attached to the character. Huttball Players who catch the ball while in the scoring area now immediately score a point. Fixed an issue that would allow players to avoid taking damage from fire traps. Fixed an issue that caused the ball to disappear in some instances. The Outlaws' Den (Tatooine) Players are no longer dismounted when entering the area. Space Combat Bug Fixes Fixed many issues with sound and music. Fixed an issue that could prevent daily missions from becoming available each day. Smugglers are now able to use the Power to Blasters ability. Fixed an issue that prevented abilities from resetting if a mission was failed. Objectives no longer remain highlighted in the world once completed.
Posts: 58,682

11-17-2011, 02:49 PM	#1104
keg in kc oxymoron Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: OP/KC/Whatever Casino cash: $9556299	The rest: Spoiler! UI General Players are now able to create chat channels from the chat context menu. Players are now able to accept or decline group invitations using /accept and /decline. Players can now quit from the server selection screen. The default resolution will adjust to automatically match the display used when the game is launched the first time. Replaced or renamed several bindpoints. Updated several tooltips and tutorials for accuracy and clarity. Modified tooltips for several game options to better reflect the functionality of the option. Character creation now displays the number of steps in the creation process. Several improvements have been made to visual effects in character creation. The Warzone invitation dialog box will now reappear if the invite is active and the player loads into a new area. Overhead health bars now match nameplate color. Added an option for overhead health and resolve bars to always be on. Nameplates can now be seen from a greater distance. Replaced the /surrender emote with /giveup. /Surrender now ends a duel. Removed /flourish and /brandish emotes. Items now properly display as locked in mail and inventory. Codex Made several changes to the way that Codex entries are sorted and displayed. New Codex entries have been added to explain the combat rules system. Updated many Codex entries on Voss. Galactic Trade Network Players must now specify a category (and sometimes a subcategory) to search the GTN. GTN results can now be filtered by name. There are now subcategories for crafting materials and schematics. Navigation through pages of results is now faster. Maps Improved the appearance of several area maps across multiple planets. Improved performance for several planet maps. Corrected several text errors in the Space Combat screens of the Galaxy Map. The map for Anchorhead has been expanded to include the areas behind the Spaceport. Maps no longer display vendors belonging to the opposing faction. Bindpoints now correctly indicate if they are located on a different elevation level than the player. Mapnote(s) have been added or corrected for several missions. Fixed several instances of Taxi points displaying before they were available to players. Toggling filters for map icons no longer occasionally causes them to appear in the incorrect location. Nameplates no longer display while the player views the Galaxy Map. Crafting trainers are now identified by a diamond-shaped icon. Bug Fixes Fixed an issue that could cause the name of the Jedi, Bounty Hunter, and Trooper Personal Starships to sometimes display incorrectly. The Companion Character bar now retains settings after logging out. Vendor windows no longer display blank spaces if the vendor sells items of the same cost or type. Abilities in the skill tree UI no longer list their names more than once. Corrected an issue that could prevent subtitles from displaying during some conversations. All selectable elevator panels and shuttle doors now properly bring up area selection menus. Fixed several issues with localized text and dialogue. Closing the "delete attachment" confirmation window for in-game mail now properly cancels the delete request. Miscellaneous Bug Fixes Fixed several terrain and object issues that could cause characters to get stuck. Added music and missing sound effects in several places. Resolved an issue that prevented some characters from logging into the game. Fixed an issue that prevented guests from exiting ships after the owner. Area loot will no longer allow certain chests to be looted more than once. Fixed a bug that would sometimes allow players to keep requisitioned speeders while riding a Taxi. Fixed a bug that could significantly extend the loading time for Taris, or could cause it to fail to load in some cases. Fixed several text bugs, including the spelling and orientation of several instances of Aurebesh writing. Social points from losing rolls in multiplayer conversations are now awarded properly. Players can now properly travel from Nar Shaddaa's Republic spaceport to the Promenade. The Troida Military Workshop Hangar on Balmorra now has an elevator to the third floor. There will no longer be a long delay after pressing "Play" on the game launcher.
Posts: 58,682

11-17-2011, 02:56 PM	#1105
Huffmeister Veteran Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Kansas City, MO Casino cash: $9904277	What's the difference between a Flashpoint and an Operation? In MMO nomenclature, is one a dungeon and the other a raid? If so, which is which?
Posts: 1,245

11-17-2011, 02:57 PM	#1106
keg in kc oxymoron Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: OP/KC/Whatever Casino cash: $9556299	Flashpoints are 2 or 4, Operations are 8 or 16.
Posts: 58,682

11-17-2011, 03:00 PM	#1107
Barret Still Lurking Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: East Texas Casino cash: $3743790	I see they fixed the two starting flashpoints to be more friendly for low level players. A lot of angst currently about Sith Warriors and Jedi Guardians not having a aggro ability for those low level flashpoints. Two players and their 2 companions should be able to do well in those instances.
Posts: 1,062

11-17-2011, 03:04 PM	#1108
keg in kc oxymoron Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: OP/KC/Whatever Casino cash: $9556299	I haven't run any flashpoints yet, myself, but I'm pretty sure they were doable before with 2 players and 2 companions (I've seen videos of it...). It might have even been better than with a group of 4 since several of the starting companions can fill roles that level 9-10 players can't. That is to say you aren't really able to do much beyond dps until you're in your mid-teens. You basically can't tank at all in that level range and the healing skills are limited at best. (I could also swear that in my first beta phase, black talon was a heroic 2+ rather than a heroic 4, so I'm not really interpreting this as an enormous change - but I think it does make sense for that stage of the game.)
Posts: 58,682

11-17-2011, 03:19 PM	#1109
Barret Still Lurking Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: East Texas Casino cash: $3743790	Oh no I agree with you. The problem during the test weekend was everyone not understanding that and asking for tanks and healers for Esseles. I wasn't able to do it since I was a Sentinal and they were always full on dps. People are still locked into a WoW world and having to fill specific things even at low levels. If you are running "The Burning Chasm" or whatever it is called located in Orgimmar then yea you had to have a tank, healer and dps roles filled. They were expecting the same thing for TOR and come to find out you really don't need to. edit: at least at low level
Posts: 1,062

11-17-2011, 03:42 PM	#1110
allen_kcCard Veteran Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $4273183	I ran two of the Sith starter ones...Armed and Dangerous, and the Hate Machine...they were easy as heck with 4 people, I did one of them with just two, and no companions. Hate Machine was the one that we did with two. A&D definetly would have needed more than 2 I think unless one was good at pulling. As a sith warrior, I should likely have had some sort of ranged attack to pull with if possible...force charge isn't so great to avoid getting adds.
Posts: 2,768