To coincide with the release of the new content addition dubbed 1.1 “Rise of the Rakghouls” on this Tuesday, David Bass from Bioware sent us some pictures to publish and I decided to gather up what info I have been seeing on the internet about it for you to read as well. A new flashpoint is a very exciting thing when talking about new content being added to the game because they are very fun from my experience. They are a great diversion from all the other outstanding features that Bioware has in SWTOR from the story, the crewskills and crafting, the PVP, and on with many other great things they have in store for you.
This is what some RPers do in beta before trying out a Flashpoint.
Veetha stood as she was commanded, in the rain and darkness of Dromund Kaas while her master went inside to report to a representative of the Dark Council.
The platform on which she waited was a circular speeder taxi pad a few hundred feet in the air above the rain washed streets of the Imperial Capitol. There were no guard rails, only the speeder taxi she and Lord Tagious brought here. Veetha stood soaked, in the middle of the pad, her shoulders hunched and her fists clenched. A squat maintenance droid and its human handler stood nearby, the droid buzzing and squawking as it worked over some inane droid task. The human leaned against a short stack of crates he had yet to move inside where it was dry. He stared at her from under the dripping bill of his cap.
Veetha felt his eyes upon her, felt his hatred of her alien presence, but also felt his lust at her female form made prominent by the rain pressing her robe down against her body. She didn’t look in his direction, didn’t acknowledge him. She only waited, still, her eyes locked on the distant door.
“Whatsa matter, Rattataki?” The human shouted to her through the downpour. Distant thunder echoed his question. “Afraid of a little rain?” Continue Reading »
Month of July will be remembered as special because none of the Friday Updates were a Fan Friday (although I think Fan Site spotlights are a great idea and Biware should make sure those continue – they mean a lot to hard working fansite people). It will also be remembered as a month that ended with a 13 minute long, epic gameplay video showcasing the Esseles flashpoint. For those of you that have been following the game for a while, you’ll probably notice that Esseles turns out to be the instance they showed a part of when they first showed group content for The Old Republic.
Watching this video really made me feel like I was watching one of the scenes from the original trilogy, or, worst case, one of the Clone Wars episodes. Felt very Stars Wars-y. Also, once again, they chose the dark side option and actually flushed some people into space – sans space suits. This is one of the videos that definitely deserves your time.
Past two official Friday updates concentrated on the group content in the Old Republic. Bioware decided to call its small group content Flashpoints, but if you hear people saying instances or dungeons they are talking about the same thing. Here is all the information I could gather up about this game mechanic so you, our readers, can know what to expect.
We first were introduced to flashpoint content back in 2009 at E3 and Gamescom. The next big group content was revealed last year as a multiplayer demo that was played by Bioware staff (at E3) and fansite members at Pax. At Pax 2010 we also saw a video called “Mysteries of Knights of the Old Republic” showcasing a late game flashpoint/dungeon that hints at an old enemy – Darth Malak – known as the villain in the KOTOR game. With the addition of the two Friday updates solely dedicated to the flashpoint mechanic we now have enough information on what to expect from small group content in SWTOR.
Important Flashpoint Information
Maximum number of players that can enter is four (plus companions).
Flashpoints are repeatable.
Flashpoints are much more challenging than single-player missions, but they offer valuable loot and rewards.
There might be choices associated with a flashpoint (save the captain/kill the captain). When running multiple runs of a flashpoint it is still not 100% clear whether the last choice you made counts, or the first choice you made counts. This feature is being fine tuned in the game testing.
Based on your dialog choices and bonus objectives you perform, the flashpoint can change so that you get access to more bosses or more ways of beating the dungeon.
Types of enemies, AI and mob abilities are connected to the story the flashpoint is trying to tell.
You will be able to take companions into the flashpoint, which means that if your group has no healer you can have 4 healing companions to compensate.
There will be heroic versions of Flashpoints
Flashpoints that are known to be in the game so far
The Esseles – Republic Only, early level
The Black Talon – Empire Only, early level
Taral V – Republic Only, mid game, ~90 to 120mins for completion, Level 32+
