One of the big announcements to come out of BioWare in recent weeks has to be the upcoming changes to the crafting system in game update 1.2. While the system itself has been generally well received, there have been some big issues with the current end-game viability of most of the skills. In order to improve all the skills many of them are getting new recipes, the ability to craft new modable gear, the removing the Bind On Pickup requirement for some of the recipes. BioWare posted a nice bit of information on the specifics of the changes we can expect to see when 1.2 hits the live server.

Check after the jump for all the info. Continue Reading »

After a short hiatus last week (due to the Guild Summit), the weekly Q&A session between developers and the community is back this week.

As you might expect there are more than a few questions about the game features discussed during the Guild Summit, including the chances of getting an in-combat revive for the Trooper/Bounty Hunter healers (it is something that may be included in the future), increasing the amount of character spots players have on a server, and how changes to the crafting system will affect mats. There was also talk of pop up blockers for crew skills, adding more Quickbars, and upgrading the achievement system.

For all of this week’s questions and answers check after the jump, and let us know what you think of this week’s session in the comments below. Continue Reading »

Today marked the second installment of BioWare’s new weekly Q&A session with the players of SWTOR. Though BioWare has said they will limit the questions they answer to 10 a week they have been unable to limit themselves to that amount, answering a total of 12 questions this week. Topics this week included the possibility of a /roll option being implemented, endgame gear set bonuses being transferred with mods, and a lengthy post about healing during operations.

We will share some of the questions with you after the jump. Continue Reading »

Crafting for reals, I am serious!

Finally SWTOR is released and operating, the NDA is not a problem anymore, and I have had time to experience and digest the crafting system in SWTOR. It has been a long drawn out time of waiting for this game and to find out if I will be pleased or not based on what they have created as their crafting system and dubbed “crew skills”.

Continue Reading »

Like in other games, once you hit a certain level of crafting in SWTOR, you’ll go to your nearest Crew Skill Trainer and learn a number of new recipes.  In this regard, crafting in SWTOR hasn’t broken any new ground, but BioWare has an ace up their sleeve in this department.  Crafting has undergone a number of iterations throughout Beta, but one aspect that has crafters excited is the ability to reverse engineer our goods. There have been changes made to this mechanic as well, to expand its role in how crafters will approach their trades.

Do we have your attention yet?  Excellent.  Now here comes the fun part.

Continue Reading »

Dumbing Down!

As a person who is still not in beta testing at this time I have the freedom to speak my mind and theorize on certain in game mechanics in SWTOR because legitimately I do not know for sure what some of them truly are like.  I have not as yet been infiltrated and absorbed by beta testing knowledge so I am still pure in my speculations and ramblings.

Take crew skills and crafting in SWTOR for instance, they have released a lot of general information in the past from mainly one dev diary and a lot of fansite interviews and some various Q&A’s found on the internet at different sites.

There is information out there, but it is just so up in the air right now what with all the rumors and hub bub I have been hearing floating around about how they are changing so many things about the crafting system at this time.

While I understand that they must change things as a result of feedback from the testers and actual time people have spent kicking the tires and such, the things I am hearing are worrying me to no end.

Why you ask?

Well OK, you twisted my arm.

Continue Reading »

Have you just about dried up and blown away from the lack of information released on crew skills in Star Wars the Old Republic MMO?

I feel your pain and that is why I come to you today to preach the word and let you know to have faith, information is coming!

Monday the 19th TORWARS one of my favorite fansites focusing around SWTOR released an interview they had with my hero on the SWTOR developer team, Lead System Designer Damion Schubert.

In this interview Damion had some nice nuggets of information for us such as this when asked about what system he can’t wait to see players mess with,

Continue Reading »

Sitting here last night playing the beta of the Neverwinter heroes facebook game, I happened to do my nightly stroll across the swtor.com web page on crew skills before I went to bed, just to check on my pretties you understand, when I saw that the rest of the blanks had been filled in.  I have been waiting for this day and still it took me by surprise.

Continue Reading »

Crafting. Yes crafting. The all elusive, god forbid, sucks to level, identical item, farm your ass off, kill a ni-hao slinging bot for a node, shoot your best friend in the face for a plot on dantooine… crafting.  I will admit it. I was a crafter.  Yes. the man you look at today, whom rated a whopping 4 in the wow arena system, the lord of murder, Flagg, the god of pvp carnage and utter destruction was a crafter.  All jokes aside, In SWG. I loved that shit.  LOVED it.  Lived for it. Hell, I’ll admit it. I sold gold (credits) to websites, that resold my gold.  I sold so much of it, i lived on it for 2 years….. no joke.  2200.00 a month. It was heaven.  Then it all changed… wait…what the fuck am i babbling on about now…. Oh the glory days. Back to it then… Crafting.

I really want to get back to it. I want an inquisitor for leveling (my full video on ustream thingy) but for gods sake, I want to grind and level a jedi knight crafter.  A “Force Architect”(@flagg20011-2099). if you will. The crystal making , lightsaber wielding mofo.   The man with the plan.  Or whatever.

The thing is, after reading a few 1/2 assed reviews on the crafting, then reading one post beta guy.. Shit, I cant wait.  He ranted and raved about it, being a crafter from swg himself. Good god that’s tough optimism  to try to break. He went on about how engaging it was, how wonderful it was to craft sex droids, how exciting it was to kill jawas and use their soul to fuel his deadly machine based one demons from….oh wait, wrong game.  The point is he loved it. And I’ll be honest here. I know a lot of people who talk out of school and said the same. The crafting system is fun as hell, unique, and phenomenal.

You know how hard it is to find a game with good engaging crafting? How utterly mindbogglingly hard?  Impossible is the proper term. It’s so bad it almost seems as if these days most companies throw it in as some sore-ass abused after-though of some overworked department full of burnouts.  Not so here, I hope.  How do you guys feel?  This week is my monthly questionnaire, first (and most likely only month) to do this before Derek and Serge shut me down like cancer in a radiation lab.

Q:  Are you excited about crafting?  If so, give 3 reasons.  If not, Post a link to a picture of a cool jawa.

Q: Have you ever thought about drawing or animating a sexy alien chick. Even after a drug fueled binge of “heavy metal” and peyote? if not, please tell us your favorite color, and a 300 word essay on what makes that color whup monkey-ass.

Q: Is time travel possible.  Seriously. I want to know.

Q:Do you play “World of Tanks” and when you kill a tank do you yell ” You underestimate the power of the dark side!”  IF not, explain why you like 90210 in less than 7 words.

Q: Ever get in an argument over your Halloween costume…after you turned 20?

Q: Is the only reason you like Harrison Ford at all:  A: HAN SOLO  /  B: INDIANA JONES   ?

Q: Is there a way to travel faster than light? Think, tachyon…

Q: Do you love swtor?

I eagerly await your ramblings!

/Flagg/

P.S. Notice the sarcasm and fucking lack of fucking cussing i did in the fucking article.  Wo-fucking-rd to your mothers uncle.

/Flagg/

Love you all. Seriously….

/Flagg.

So do you want a Light or Darkside blaster?

From a recent article on Darth Hater by Raiden entitled “Morality Gear”  and a conversation with my friend Zlatto from AskAJedi   I am perplexed by this question.

Just what does morality gear restrictions mean to the crafter in SWTOR?

Continue Reading »