((The RP XP with MJ #55))

One issue facing RolePlayers in any MMO is where to find a good place to RP. For an RP location to be “perfect,” it needs to fit three criteria: 1) It’s free of trolls and “noisemakers” who have nothing better to do than disturb your RP session while they wait for the PvP queue to pop, 2) It matches the specifics of the location you have in mind for your story, and 3) You can get to it with minimal difficulty (You don’t want to limit your RP possibilities by establishing a setting on the other side of a field of Level 50 mobs unless all of your RP partners are Level 50 or above. Even then, it can be annoying if conflict is not part of your story at the time).

This week I thought I’d start a new segment on the RP XP where I scout out locations for RP and give you some ideas to play with. Most of the locations I give you will be easily accessible for any character with a starship (Level 15+ depending on class story and how much you have to grind to get there). They’re also fairly open. In fact, my first example is one you probably pass through every day. As far as the first of my criteria for location scouting, /shrug you’ll find trolls everywhere, but anyone you’re going to see in today’s subject are on their way from point A to point B. They don’t have time to stop and AOE into your chit-chat.

SPACEPORTS

For this example I’m taking a look at the Anchorhead Spaceport with a Republic Smuggler, but the examples are the same (or close) no matter your class or faction.

One of the earliest beefs about SWTOR was targeted at the spaceports; specifically, the spaceport design (singular) and how they all look alike. While this is true, the beef quickly became moot as players discovered that the ports weren’t necessarily meant to be social hubs. They’re transit points, and anyone playing the game since launch probably rockets through them on a speeder without giving them a second glance. That’s said, I think it’s sad that more people don’t put the spaceports to better use. I’m talking to you, my fellow RPers.

So let’s take a look at a spaceport located on one of the most iconic planets in the Star Wars universe, and let’s see if there’s any RP that can be done here…

Every spaceport in the game is MASSIVE. Sure, they only have two “rooms,” the main body of the map and your hangar (with one exception that I know of: there’s a lift to a hidden hangar on Dromund Kaas. Datacron hunters know the one I’m talking about). However, “rooms” do not make the space, and there’s a lot you can do with the spaceports in SWTOR. The game architects worked wonders creating the illusion of multiple rooms and levels through subtle placement of stairs, platforms, obstacles and furniture. I’m reminded of BioWare’s Mass Effect game and the layout of the Citadel. It was meant to be a massive space station, but the map itself is rather small. “Unnecessary” corners, bridges, alleys and long or winding ramps gave you the impression that you were in a huge location without actually having to stretch the map out in all directions. Many of the smaller locations in SWTOR are the same. Don’t believe that you can fit something big inside something small? The next time you’re on Vaiken Station’s hangar ring, take a look at the map and note how small the bounty hunter’s ship looks. Doesn’t feel that way inside, though, does it? That’s because it has multiple levels. In many cases, building “up” instead of “out” can create more space to play with.

A quick tour of the Anchorhead Spaceport reveals a central “lobby” and two “wings.” The wings, like the one pictured above, are usually festooned with small lounge-like areas, sculptures, potted plants, customs droids, and usually a good smattering of artifacts that let you know what planet you’re on. The spaceport on the Republic side of Taris, for example, features a hologram of Governor Saresh inviting you to her “lovely” planet and warning you to watch out for the nasty things outside the established safe zones.

Each spaceport features a centralized lounge area. Some, like the Anchorhead spaceport pictured above, include comfy-looking sunken lounge spaces with subdued lighting. These are perfect for clandestine meetings or conducting “business” between a Smuggler and his spice-dealing contact, or a Jedi and her new Padawan. Other ports may fill these spaces with statues or pieces of art. Either way, they’re open for your RP.

There are some great gems planted throughout the spaceports in SWTOR that remind you of modern airports or transportation depots. As far as RP is concerned, note the sparse NPC placement in the terminal pictured above. How easy would it be to establish a scene here? You’ve probably seen characters hop behind the bar on your local space station to serve drinks and act as your friendly neighborhood bartender. How about hopping behind this counter and acting as your not-so-friendly neighborhood DMV employee?

(No offense to DMV employees intended. I’m sure many are sunny and thrilled to do what they do.)

Now let’s take a look inside the hangar. One of the greatest aspects of RPing in the hangar space of a spaceport is also its only drawback: it’s private. If you want to RP with someone else in the hangar, you have to invite them into a group (and don’t forget to check your preferences to allow same instance access for same classes).

Hangar interiors are nearly as big as the rest of the spaceport. There are lounge areas, loading platforms and control centers, many with unmanned computer terminals and sweet locations to stage an RP sequence.

The control center rooms in each hangar are spacious and detailed. It only takes a small amount of imagination to transform these locations into something else. Imagine them as factory control centers, training centers, control towers, commerce centers, hidden bases, etc.

There are a surprising number of unmanned computer terminals and machines inside the hangars. The new sitting emotes could come in handy here as many of the computer terminals are designed so they can be accessed by a character standing in front of them or sitting. Your choice if you have one of the “/chair” emotes.

And let’s not forget the hangar itself: a huge factory-sized space with workers and droids, manned and unmanned machines, computers and load lifters, fuel lines, magnetic loaders and repulsorlift crates.

The trick to RPing in locations like this is to use your imagination. Say you’re setting up a scene where your trooper (and two members of his unit) have been assigned to guard a freighter. Just imagine your own BT-7 Thunderclap as that beat up old Corellian freighter and utilize the hangar space accordingly.

That goes for exterior locations as well. Feel free to draw upon your Star Wars lore and create new locations inside existing ones. Coruscant isn’t the only planet-sized city, especially during the time of the Old Republic. Use the slimy pools and forests of Taris as the swamps of Mimban. Use the sandy caves of Tatooine as the sandy caves of Geonosis. Use the bases on Illum as a hidden Jedi enclave on Rhen Var.

There’s no denying that the world maps in SWTOR are gigantic. Even players who beef about the game have spoken favorably about the immense landscapes compared to other MMOs. The bottom line is this: If you’re an RPer, step away from the bar. Take your RP on the road and forge your own adventure in the galaxy far, far away. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is once you get started.

((The RP XP with MJ)) appears exclusively at swtor-life.com almost every Friday. If you want to contact MJ about a story idea, questions about RP, or comment, feel free to reply below, follow him on Twitter @MJswtor, or write to him at swtorliferp(at)gmail.com. He answers every email, message and post. 😉 ))

((RP XP with MJ – I answer your questions))

It’s time for another round of YOUR RP QUESTIONS! (Insert John Williamsesque fanfare here).

For those of you keeping track at home, or building a reference library of RP how-tos, here are the links to the previous Q&As here on swtor-life.

#3

#2

#1

Every 10th RP XP I’ll take a moment to answer your burning RP questions. Now I haven’t been back all that long, so I really had to scrape. At least one of these is from an earlier batch I never got to. So, if you’ve been holding back because you didn’t think I’d get to you, /yell PLEASE don’t be shy. Send your questions to me A) Here, in the form of a reply to any of my columns, 2) By writing to me directly at swtorliferp(at)gmail.com, or C) Hitting me up through Twitter (I’m @MJswtor).

Now on with this week’s questions….

I tried RP, got pulled into ERP. How do I get out?

Ooh. That’ll happen. Let me guess. You had a nice lead-in to RP at a local cantina (see my guide to BARPing in the last two RP XPs) and were excited to find yourself invited back to his/her ship to continue chatting “in private.” Maybe you were lured with the promise of continued RP. Maybe your new chit-chat buddy dropped character for a moment to complain that the chat box was getting too crowded. Whatever the case, you found yourself getting groped (In-Character, that is).

Before I can really answer, I’d need to know what you did. It sounds like you “went with it” regardless of how uncomfortable it made you feel, or maybe you simply logged out and now you’re afraid to go back. Depending on your solution to the matter before you brought your question to me, I have good news and bad.

The good news is if you logged out in a panic, the other person should get the clue. If they hit you up again, just tell them politely, “((Sorry. I don’t do ERP.))” It’s that simple. Even in a virtual world, “No” means “No.” Though I’d warn you now that you will encounter the odd (and I do mean ODD) ERP “rapist” who likes to act out violent sexual fantasies or fetishes. Don’t let that deter you from living your character, though. Those people are few and far between. Just remember, you can always log out, and if you feel you’re being harassed, you can report the offending character/player to BioWare. Be wary of anyone who doesn’t begin an ERP with an Out Of Character dialogue to set boundaries (or who doesn’t respond when you try to set the boundaries).

The bad news is just going to require a little work on your end–and this is only if you went along with it even though you were uncomfortable. Chances are the other person may hit you up again for RP. If that’s the case, you’re just going to have to come clean and tell them you don’t want to do it again. Send the character an in-game mail message if you want to avoid a live confrontation. Chances are they’ll be embarrassed that they lured you in to something you weren’t comfortable with and you won’t hear from them again. And there’s always “/ignore” if that’s not the case.

Be aware of your surroundings and what’s going on in your RolePlay. If you begin to grow uncomfortable with something in the other person(s) RP, break character and ask for clarification, or tell them you’re not into that particular thing.

When creating a story for a plotted event, how do I know how long to make it?

A TV or film script is generally one minute per page. That’s great if you’re shooting your own internet video. That’s not the case in RP, however, because you’re going to have a lot of breaks in the action to explain things OOCly, you’re going to have pauses while you wait for players who had to AFK (Away From Keyboard) in the midst of the story, or you’ll have to hand-hold slow typists and endure pauses that are typically much longer in RP conversation than in the real world.

What works for me is to keep to the Three Act Rule and keep your notes extremely short. If your story is dialog heavy, be sure to include a lot of exposition or carry the dialog to different locations in order to keep the play interesting. If your story includes a lot of dueling or in-game combat, keep in mind that people’s play styles will now ebb into the flow of the story as they have to switch gears to beat the Heroic you threw them into as part of your story.

Here’s an example of what I mean by “short”:

ACT 1 – Establish contact on Tatooine (My character informs the others that a vital piece of Republic intel was taken by the Imps. I’ve traced it to Voss).

ACT 2 – Travel to Voss (We are attacked on the way. Each person will pretend to either fly the ship or man a turret. [Here is where you can establish rules for the “/roll” command (more on that below)]).

ACT 3 – The group fights their way to the stolen intel and recovers it. (Using the Cyber Mercenaries HEROIC+4).

Doesn’t seem like much, but keep in mind that any time you switch locations, move the story, or something new happens, you’re changing acts. Generally, even a fast-moving RP can run from 20 minutes to an hour per act. That’s an hour minimum for the story outlined above, and that’s not including any internal conflict. Say for example one of the people in the party plays an undercover Imp. Naturally, they’ll try to sabotage the intel rescue mission. That will add some great drama to the story, but it will also add time.

I hate that we can’t sit in chairs. When will that happen, and what do we do in the meantime?

You’re preaching to the choir. I would much rather see a sit-in-chair animation than chat bubbles at this point. While pondering your question, I searched the Web for anything on SWTOR and chair-sitting. No surprise: I was lured to a forum post under the heading of “Chair Sitting: The Final Post on the Topic.” I never read the forums. I can’t stand flaming and name-calling and BioWare bashing. It’s just a lot of ignorance.

But, every once in a while you come across a gem of wisdom you hope the Devs will pick up on.

Here’s a Dev quote someone found and regurgitated: “We’re always looking to add things that enhance and support roleplaying, but we have to weight the impact some of these new features might have on performance or other quality-of-life improvements. There may be room for us to create specific social spaces with sittable furniture, for example, but converting all furniture in the game would be a monumental task.”

The poster went on to (no surprise) rail against BioWare for being so “helpful,” but not without a good point: Why worry about creating sittable furniture when you could simply create a “sit-in-chair” emote? It worked for Star Trek Online, among others. You simply hop up on a chair, turn around, and type “/sitchair.” Viola–chair sitting ANYWHERE! I don’t blame BioWare for wanting to concentrate on other improvements (though they should really leave PvP alone. From what I hear they spend a lot of time fixing things that PvPers complain don’t need fixing). Other quality-of-life and performance enhancements should always be top of list, right before “New Content.” But this poster makes a good point. Don’t waste time on furniture, BioWare… Just create a new emote.

As for what to do in the meantime, I suggest “Expositional Standing.” Meaning: Walk up to a chair, stand in front of it, and type, “/e sits down and crosses his legs ((pretend I’m sitting)).”

Lame, I know. But that’s as good as it gets unless you want to do the “/sit” command… which, admittedly, looks very awkward in a chair.

I’ve never seen anyone use the dice roll command. Isn’t that an RP thing? What would you use it for?

By typing “/random” or “/roll” you can generate a random number from 1 to 100. This command is useful for people who RP D&D style and affect using multi-sided dice to generate results. For example, say two adversaries are facing off and want to duel. The problem is that both are supposed to be equal (say they’re both Sith Lords), but one is Level 18 and the other is Level 53. By facing off and having each person “roll” to determine a successful hit, you can level the playing field. Granted, it’s not as dynamic and cool-looking as an actual duel, but it does the job.

The great thing about the “/roll” command is you can use it to generate any random number in virtually any random span. Let’s use the example of two Jedi Padawans sparring. We’ll call them Myx and Jevv.

Myx: /roll 1-100 (generates a random roll from 1-100) = 23

Jevv: /roll 1-100 (generates a random roll from 1-100) = 50 (Jevv’s strike wounds Myx)

So, next round:

Myx: /roll 1-50 (generates a random roll from 1-50) = 13

Jevv: /roll 1-100 (generates a random roll from 1-100) = 72 (Jevv’s strike wounds Myx a second time)

So, final round:

Myx: /roll 1-25 (random from 1-25) = 24

Jevv: /roll 1-100 (random from 1-100) = 13

So, Myx got in a lucky jab when Jevv wasn’t expecting it. The duel can go on like this, each wound costing the opponent half of their points (or however you choose to cut it) per round, diminishing their chances of maintaining strength or footing in the duel without ruling out the chance of a comeback.

Do you have a question for MJ? send it to him directly at swtorliferp(at)gmail.com, reply here, or follow him on Twitter @MJswtor. ((The RP XP with MJ)) appears right here on swtor-life.com exclusively every Friday.

((The RP XP with MJ #37))

No, it’s not the next expansion, and I seriously doubt we’ll see “playable droids” in our SWTORian future, but who says you can’t make your own rules in an MMO?

ONCE IN A LIFETIME

Here’s a run-down on your typical cantina RP:

~ A Jedi Knight who has become disillusioned with The Code and seeks peace through passion. (Could also be a Sith who has become disillusioned with the Empire and seeks power through peace).

~ A Twi’lek slave/dancing girl looking for a master (or temporary master, or any form of ERP).

~ A Mandalorian who drinks Corellian whiskey through his helmet while spouting phrases in Mando’a.

~ A Smuggler who drinks hard, flirts with the ladies, and swears (sometimes using actual canon swears like “kriff” or “kriffing”)

~ A Soldier fresh off the front lines looking to drown his sorrows (until the next PvP queue pops).

Sound familiar? The pain behind your eyes from rolling them so much is almost enough to send you into PvP–not that there’s anything wrong with a stereotype now and again (that’s how they become stereotypical), but you’d like to see something new. Once in a great while you find a RolePlayer who breaks the mold, who creates a character so rich with background, so unique with characterization, so specifically animated, it renews your RP spirit and gives you hope that there’s more beyond the “bar scene.”

I was lucky enough to bump into one of these characters while trolling around Vaiken Spacedock looking for a random RP encounter. When my character was “scanned” (Cyborg species emote) by a heavily armored individual who then walked away without a word, my curiosity was piqued. I ran him down and immediately went into a stream of IC incredulity, throwing out my best “Hey! What’s the deal!?” exposition. To my delight, the response was instantly intriguing: “That information is restricted to personnel without authorization.” No matter how I pressed, I was flatly denied and told repeatedly that I was “not authorized to access the unit.”

The lack of emoting, the painstaking enunciation of every word… By the moons of Corellia, I’m talking to a droid! Sure enough, this character (whose floaty name identified him (it) as “Sentient” from the guild “Execution”) was a flawless portrayal of an assassin droid, even down to the look—which reminded me of the poor victims Lord Grathan’s cyberneticist on Dromund Kaas. **SPOILERS (for anyone who just picked up the game yesterday)** Remember Captain “Duchess” Sarnova’s quest just outside Grathan’s estate? The one where she asks you to find her missing troops, and you eventually find that the poor slobs are being turned into droids to do the Empire’s bidding? Sentient even had that “look,” though somewhat sharper and more fear-inducing.

IMAGE: Left – One of Captain Sarnova’s (inset) men converted into an assassin droid. Right – The real deal, “Sentient.”

After our brief RP, which was even more inspiring because Sentient refused to be baited into a drawn-out chit-chat (he is an assassin droid, after all, and has programming to follow—no time for idle BARPing), I caught up with him and asked if he’d mind being interviewed for the RP XP.

AN INTERVIEW WITH AN ASSASSIN DROID

How long have you been RPing?

“I must have been about fourteen or so when I first started RolePlaying, though it might be even further back than that. One of the first places I RolePlayed was in an infamous Korean MMO called Ragnarok Online. I don’t RolePlay on any other MMOs at the moment, though I had a brief stint on World of Warcraft.”

How did you come up with the concept for Sentient?

“When I initially joined SWTOR, I recognized a lot of similarities between the different characters I observed. I always like to do something that would provide me with an interesting challenge. I’d always been fascinated by the concept of artificial intelligence and non-organic characters in video games, for example, Legion in Mass Effect… They can often end up coming across as more human than the human characters—and subsequently acting as social commentary on our own species and its shortcomings. I was not someone who wanted to see a droid class at first, but I believed it would be a welcome addition to the game and one that I personally would love to see. In addition, I’ve always been something of an in-universe droid sympathizer, seeing as most characters view them as nothing more than slaves and tools for a decadent organic culture.”

Well said.

Do you keep notes on how you believe a droid would behave? How do you keep consistency in the portrayal of Sentient?

“Interestingly enough, I’ve never kept any notes, but I make sure to keep the character acting in a subservient role. [I do, however] take regular screen shots of conversations with other characters to form a literal ‘record’ of dialogue and information so I can refer back to it at a later date and pull up that information much like a droid would when accessing memory logs within its internal databanks.”

What is Sentient’s background?

“Sentient’s creation is one that is marked with a number of underlying agendas, many of which I can’t go into detail about as they’re relevant to an upcoming storyline within the guild. I can provide you with some basic information, however. Sentient was created as part of a secret black project called the ‘Sentient Heuristics Initiative’. The objective of which was to develop an operative that would be infallible and utterly loyal to Imperial Intelligence, and more importantly the Dark Council. No danger of being reprogrammed or brainwashed, and incapable of going rogue as a number of organic agents had no doubt done so in the past. Holowan Laboratories, a well known canon staple, were employed as external contractors to build the actual unit itself. However, just as the project was nearing completion and the unit was just about ready for launch, the entire initiative was scrapped and shut down. All records were destroyed, all personnel involved in its development were quietly taken care of and the unit itself was scheduled to be consigned to the scrap heap…”

Now that’s a lot of detail. While it’s not typically necessary to go that deep into your character’s background, the more you have stored up as backstory, the easier it will be to “act” when RolePlaying in the open world. Sentient’s “role” becomes easier for the player to articulate because he knows what the character has been through.

What advice would you give to other RPers out there looking to improve their RP, or enhance their RolePlay?

“Don’t be afraid to experiement. Don’t settle for something that’s within the realm of familiarity. I also suggest observing other characters and seeing what others have done, and noticing what kinds of characters seem to be more popular. …At the end of the day, RolePlaying is about having fun!”

Absolutely!

If you’d like to know more about Sentient’s portrayal, his guild, or the possibility to crack his programming in RP, feel free to send him a PM or in-game message. You’ll find him on the Ebon Hawk server.

BUILD-A-DROID WORKSHOP

Sentient allowed me to break protocol (pun intended) and share with you his recipe for crafting the appearance of an “assassin droid” based on what I glimpsed from “Inspect Character.” Note, these are only suggestions, and most of the medium and heavy gear (particularly on the Sithy or BH side) look fairly “mechanized.” There is a lot out there to pick up, craft or buy that can be mixed and matched (and now “dyed”) to fit any droid portrayal you want to create. If it looks “droidy,” go for it. Here’s some of Sentient’s recipe:

Head – Polished Marauder Headgear / Ablative Turadium Headgear

Chest – Ablative Turadium Vest

Belt – Black Hole Mender’s MK-2 Belt

I do believe you can craft the head and chest pieces at Synthweaving Level 54.

If you come up with your own droid character, let me hear about it! My smuggler is in need of a new protocol droid to replace C2-N2. If you have a special twist on characterization, motivation or appearance, let me know. If you have any RP ideas or “spins” unique to the art and you want to be featured in a future column, drop me a line!

((The RP XP with MJ)) appears exclusively here on swtor-life.com. You can contact MJ directly at swtorliferp(at)gmail.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @MJswtor.

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.

Be sure to check back to www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com, as well as our Facebook and Twitter for all the latest updates!

*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.

I rolled out on one of those many servers that have a vast faction imbalance in favor of the Imperials.

I knew well before launch day that the Imp’s would be the most played side in SWTOR. Though I had not gained Level 50 in beta, I was unsure how this would affect the end-game content by way of PvP.

Sure, I don’t mind playing the underdogs, but where Ilum is concerned two or three versus one in favor of the Empire makes for some fun battles and tactics. Everything else in that zone just does not stand up to what the rest of the game has to offer.

Continue Reading »

PvP: Act 1; Scene 2

Our next world PvP planet is Tatooine.

There are two safe zones on Tatooine. Anchorhead is the space port and Republic safe zone. Mos Ila is the space port for the Imperial side. Everything in between is PvP. There is even a small area that you can go free-for-all called Outlaw’s Den.

Here are a few things I’ve noticed. First, I play Republic, and on a PvP server. As I roam the sands of Tatooine, I see very few Imperial players. I am not sure if it’s just how the quests are spread out, but as I leveled on this planet, and coming back for a visit to refresh my memory, I saw very few Imperial players. Continue Reading »

This series began here: The Prologue

Within Hutt controlled space is the Las Vegas of Star Wars. It is also referred to as “Smuggler’s Moon,” and is best known for one thing: anything can be bought here if you have the credits, or the trade. This is a world of gangsters, pirates, slavers, and of course the Hutts and the Hutt Cartel.

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We have the third installment of this series. I am going to try and put together a meal from appetizer to dessert in this one. To see the other two installments go here and here. Continue Reading »

In hindsight, maybe should have done a video of this, but it’s a little too late now since beta has ended. So, I’ll have to make do with what I have now.

I’ll split this into two parts as I have way too many screens to do just a single post on this subject.

The following is what I used in beta over the past three weeks. I’ve seen countless videos and live streams where it is quite evident that the people playing have not even glanced at the functions that TOR has to offer. If you are one of those players this is for you.

These are tailered to my needs, and your’s may differ from mine, though this will serve as a good starting point for those that have not yet looked at what TOR has to offer.

Continue Reading »

This week’s Most Wanted comes to us from the EU and has a brand spanking new baby boy to introduce to the world of Star Wars. He goes by the name WeekendJedi, but you can just call him Lee.

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