PioWare relapsed the Patch Notes for 1.1.5 yesterday. Among the usual general bug fixes there were some updates included to get players ready for game update 1.2, as well as the inclusion of the much sought after /roll function.

Several high-end speeders have been reduced in price until 1.2, making this the optimum time to pick up that expensive speeder you had you eye one. Previously unavailable endgame color crystals are also on sale for a limited time at the fleet, and the Dark/Light side requirements on some crystals have been removed as well. Word is that these items will only be available for purchase until update 1.2 is deployed, so head to the fleet and pick them up today while you still can.

There have been several changes to the PvP game as well. Now players can compete in Warzones and earn progress towards completing their Ilum daily and week quests. Healers will also be happy to hear that they will start receiving medals when a target they healed makes a kill in game. The Valor gained from Warzones has been increased, medals are now worth 500 Valor and 10 Commendations, and players affected by Damage Over Time abilities will no longer be interrupted when interacting with objectives.

These are only a small sampling of the changes made in the recent patch. If you want to read all of this week’s notes you can check them all out after the jump. Continue Reading »

Tags: Flashpoints, operations, patch notes, PvP

The first official SWTOR GUild Summit officially kicks off today! As a special treat BioWare is going to be doing a livestream of today’s festivities starting at 10 am CST. Can’t catch the stream as it goes live? Don’t worry! We will be providing up to the minute details about the various reveals and facts announced by the developers as the day progresses.

Just check after the jump for all the reveals. This post will be updated all day long with all the facts, so keep checking back for more info! For a schedule of today’s events check out our previous post.

Update: The livestream is over. Thanks to everyone who joined us for the updates and a big thanks to BioWare for streaming today’s events for us! Continue Reading »

Tags: 1.2, Austin, crafting, Flashpoints, guild summit, operations, PvP

Guild leaders from around the world will be heading to BioWare offices in Austin, Texas on Monday to participate in the first ever SWTOR Guild Summit. Players will get the chance to talk with developers and get a first look at upcoming game features. Though thousands of applications were sent in BioWare simply did not have the room to allow everyone in, which is why they are going to be live streaming some of the events on Monday. The schedule for the live stream is as follows:

• 10:00AM CST (4PM GMT) – Welcome and Introductions
• 10:30AM CST (4:30PM GMT) – State of the Game and Game Update 1.2 Presentation
• Break (Livestream offline from 11:00am to 2:00pm)
• 2:00PM CST (8:00PM GMT) – Operations and Flashpoints Discussion
• 2:45PM CST (8:45PM GMT) – Player vs. Player Discussion
• 3:30PM CST (9:30PM GMT) – Legacy Presentation
• 4:00PM CST (10:00PM GMT) – Economy and Crew Skills Discussion
• 4:30PM CST (10:30PM GMT) – Roleplayer’s Discussion
• 5:00PM CST (11:00PM GMT) – Guild Features Discussion
• 5:30PM CST (11:30PM GMT) – User Interface Presentation
• 6:00PM CST (12:00AM GMT) – …And The Rest

If you can’t watch the events live don’t worry, BioWare will be posting recordings of the events for people to view at their leisure. We here at SWTOR-Life will also be posting updates of new game information as we watch the live stream, so make sure to check us out on Monday for all the latest news and updates!

To watch the events as they unfold head over to http://www.swtor.com/guildsummit on Monday.

Tags: austin texas, guild summit, livestream

It’s Friday and that means it is weekly Q&A time from the developers over at BioWare. They only released answers to 8 of the community member’s questions this week but with them going over the limit every week up till now it is hard to complain about something like that, especially considering as we should get a bunch of new info this week from the Guild Summit.

We get a little insight this week into the chances we will get mailboxes and GTN hubs in our ships and it looks like these options, or ones similar to them, will be included as unlockable features within the legacy system. Snuck into the end of this answer was the hint that BioWare will be talking more about legacy features in the near future, something everyone is looking forward to. BioWare also talk about neutral alignment gear, server maintenance times, and crfated gear v.s. endgame gear in patch 1.2.

See all of this week’s questions and answers after the jump. Continue Reading »

Tags: community Q&A, crafting, legacy system, PvP, server maintenance, ships

Georg Zoeller shared an exciting new blog post that gave players a sneak peak at some economy changes coming our way in the near future. In a particularly awesome touch it was presented to us in a nice little story fashion, making it the first blog post that was full of a little lore flair (keep it up Georg!).

According to the post we should be seeing a decrease in the speeder prices of certain high end models, as well as the ability to sell back speeders they already purchased. It also looks like the tier 1 and 2 speeder licenses are going to be reduced in price, though the tier 3 speeders may be seeing an increase in price to offset these discounts. Make sure to keep an eye on all the speeder vendors once 1.1.5 drops to check out all the changes.

It also looks like players can expect to see a bunch of new color crystals coming to the fleet for them to purchase. These will including purple crystals for the Republic players, high level black-yellow crystals at the pre-order crystal vendor, and some of the rare white crystals everyone has been talking about since a player was able to obtain one through an exploit (the player had his crystal taken away once it was determined that he gained it through illegitimate means). No word yet on the pricing of these crystals, but don’t be surprised if some of the rarer crystals set you back a large amount of credits.

Head on over to the SWTOR site and read the full post in all its story-based glory for the full rundown.

Tags: crystals, dev blog, economy, Speeders

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 »

((The RP XP with MJ #28))

Yulel came awake after a short dream about floating on a cloud. It was then she realized she’d been moved, chair and all. She was still on Mannett Point but in a different room of the separatist base. A gruff-sounding man shouted, “And you…. You can untie her once we leave.”

A weak female voice responded, “Yes, master.”

Master?

The smuggler forced herself to remain calm. She held her breath and listened as the man left the room. Once he was gone, Yulel flinched at the sudden touch of gentle fingers around her head as the female who spoke removed her blindfold.

When she felt the cloth float away, Yulel gradually opened her eyes to a squint. The separatists had moved her to a small dark room made of bars with an electromagnetic lock. The cell was in a larger room filled with crates and supply canisters all marked for orbital transport.

Joining her in the room were several female Twi’leks, all of them bruised and dressed in tatters of former street clothes or uniforms, all huddled together in a corner. The one who removed Yulel’s blindfold and was now working on the knot at her ankles was dressed as a dancing girl. “Wait,” she said. The girl stopped working on the bonds and looked up at her. The young Twi’lek’s skin was the color of a clear winter sky, her eyes a brilliant green that should have been filled with the wonder of youth. Instead they looked dull and sullen.

Yulel spoke softly with a slight tremble in her throat. “W-What are they doing with us?”

Continue Reading »

Tags: character, Roleplay, roleplaying, RP, RP XP with MJ

Do you want to help BioWare test out new and upcoming content? Do you want to be one of the first people to see what is in store for the SWTOR world? Well now you have your chance.

BioWare is looking to expand its testing and is looking for experienced players in Austin, Texas to help them test upcoming game content. This includes new Flashpoints, PvP Warzones, and end game Operations. Players will be expected to dedicate at least one weekend an month to testing new content. As an added bonus, this is a fully paid position. That’s right, you can get paid for testing new SWTOR content! If you are interested then fill out and submit this survey.

Don’t live in Austin and still want to help out? Well you are in luck. BioWare is also looking to get teams of players from various guilds to help them test the new content we will be seeing in the 1.2 game update. This includes the new Warzone, Flashpoint, and Operation that will be included with the patch. Guilds will need to put together a group consisting of anywhere between 8 and 20 players that will be willing to put their live games aside for a while to test new content on the Public Test Server. You can read all the details and requirements in this blog post. Space is limited, so if you are interested get those applications in soon!

Tags: 1.2operations, Austin, Flashpoints, guilds, testing, warzones

We are going to take a break from our regularly scheduled activities this week on TOR Lore and forgo the explanation of a facet of Star Wars lore. Instead we are going to looking at a single individual, one of the most influential people to exist at the time of The Old Republic, the Sith Emperor.  This article will contain heavy spoilers for both TOR and some of the novels associated with the game, so if you wish to keep these things a secret I suggest you turn back now. Otherwise I welcome you to join me as we examine the life and exploits of one of the most influential figures of this time. Continue Reading »

Tags: Dromund Kaas, Emperor, Empire, lore, sith

Today marks the much anticipated day where The Old Republic officially brought servers online for the Oceanic regions. Though players in those areas could play during the US/EU launch they were forced to log onto servers located across the globe, forcing them to deal with all the latency problems one would expect from not having servers devoted specifically to their region. Now these players will finally get a chance to play SWTOR on localized servers. Three servers have opened up for these players; the Dalborra, the Gav Daragon, and the Master Dar’Nala, each being a PvE, RP, and PvP server respectively.

However there is some bittersweet news to go along with this story as well. Players have been told that they will be able to transfer their current characters to the Oceanic servers, as long as they meet a list of requirements that qualifies them for the transfer. But it turns out they will not be able to do so until sometime in late April, and any characters made on or after this day will not be transferred. Also, full guild transfers will not be possible,  forcing guilds to basically start from the ground up on these new servers. This is forcing players to choose between what they consider more important right now; playing their high level characters on their current server, or starting fresh on localized servers. To make matters worse some players are reporting a might higher latency rate on these new servers, making the decision to start over even more difficult.

despite these issues it is still a great day for players in the Asia Pacific Territories. BioWare has set up a handy FAQ thread for these servers to help answer any questions players might have. We here at SWTOR-Life and SWTOR-Spy would like to extend a warm welcome any new players from that region into the game, hopefully your Star Wars experience is a great one!

Tags: asia pacific, Character Transfer, launch, oceanic, servers