Star Wars: The Old Republic II: Hutts don't have feet!

[Squark]

Game Update 1.6 is now on the PTS


Nice to see they're keeping their commitment to more frequent updates. 1.6 brings us a new warzone, and 6 new Space Combat missions per side- Which will have Black Hole commendations as rewards.

[Leon]

Will it fix all the annoying graphical errors that have appeared since the last few patches?

[Philistine]

Game Update 1.6 is now on the PTS


Nice to see they're keeping their commitment to more frequent updates. 1.6 brings us a new warzone, and 6 new Space Combat missions per side- Which will have Black Hole commendations as rewards.

I don't want to think about how much of a PITA those are going to be - not when I only have about a 60% mission-success rate in the existing top-tier missions, even with Level 6 upgrades on my ship.

[Sith_Happens]

Can't wait for the new space missions. Only problem is they're apparently rated/balanced for the new grade 7 ship parts, and said parts are absurdly expensive (1500 fleet comms, 300 daily comms, and 300k+ credits for the full set).

[Neftren]

Can't wait for the new space missions. Only problem is they're apparently rated/balanced for the new grade 7 ship parts, and said parts are absurdly expensive (1500 fleet comms, 300 daily comms, and 300k+ credits for the full set).

That actually doesn't sound so bad compared (well, maybe the 1500 Fleet Comms). 300 Daily Comms is what a Dread Guard relic costs, and anything less than a million credits is chump change if you do your dailies regularly (which makes daily comms well, rather trivial as well).

[NEO|Phyte]

SWTOR's first digital expansion has been announced, Rise of the Hutt Cartel.

• Experience 5 new levels, including story-driven missions, as the level cap increases to 55!
• Face-off against a frightening new enemy when you battle the nefarious Hutt Cartel.
• The fate of the new planet Makeb is at stake... and in your hands.
• Stay tuned for more information coming soon - Over the next few months we will reveal more exciting new features!

Coming in "Spring 2013" assuming no delays, price is $20, half off for subscribers, and you get 5 days of early access if you preorder before Jan 7.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Hello all. I just started playing this game a few days ago. I have two characters on the Ebon Hawk server. Currently just playing as free to play, but I might subscribe within the next month.

So, guess I'm just looking for people to get in contact with in the game. My username is IvazErizo.

[Kesnit]

Hello all. I just started playing this game a few days ago. I have two characters on the Ebon Hawk server. Currently just playing as free to play, but I might subscribe within the next month.

So, guess I'm just looking for people to get in contact with in the game. My username is IvazErizo.

Let me put in a plug for my guild, Pax Gaming. We have guilds on Repub and Imp with toons ranging in level from starting to 50.

I personally have 7 toons, ranging from a LVL 12 Smuggler/Scoundrel to a LVL 42 IA/Sniper. (The only class I don't have is a Jedi Knight, because I am saving up credits to buy Sith Pureblood through the legacy market.)

[Neftren]

Hello all. I just started playing this game a few days ago. I have two characters on the Ebon Hawk server. Currently just playing as free to play, but I might subscribe within the next month.

So, guess I'm just looking for people to get in contact with in the game. My username is IvazErizo.

Imperial or Republic?

[Philistine]

Hello all. I just started playing this game a few days ago. I have two characters on the Ebon Hawk server. Currently just playing as free to play, but I might subscribe within the next month.

So, guess I'm just looking for people to get in contact with in the game. My username is IvazErizo.

I don't know how up-to-date it is anymore, but one place to look might be the spreadsheet found in the first post of this thread.

********************
ION, one very nice thing I saw is that the Tier 7 Missile Bay for the ship boosts missile damage instead of meaninglessly increasing your total inventory again. Finally!

[KerfuffleMach2]

Let me put in a plug for my guild, Pax Gaming. We have guilds on Repub and Imp with toons ranging in level from starting to 50.

I personally have 7 toons, ranging from a LVL 12 Smuggler/Scoundrel to a LVL 42 IA/Sniper. (The only class I don't have is a Jedi Knight, because I am saving up credits to buy Sith Pureblood through the legacy market.)

I'll check into your guild next time I play.

I currently have a LVL 5 Jedi Knight and a LVL 8 Sith Warrior.

Imperial or Republic?

One of each. Anytime there's a chance to do a good and an evil character, I go for one of each. To get the whole experience.

I don't know how up-to-date it is anymore, but one place to look might be the spreadsheet found in the first post of this thread.!

I will definitely look into that. Thanks.

[Philistine]

One of each. Anytime there's a chance to do a good and an evil character, I go for one of each. To get the whole experience.

Note that it's entirely possible to play a good Imperial - even a Sith! - or an evil Republic character. It may make more or less sense for different classes (Impside, SI seems to assume you'll be playing not just Dark Side, but Crazy McCrazypants Dark Side; Pubside, the DS options in what little I've seen of the JK story so far stuck me as distinctly "Stupid Evil.") but any character can go either way on the ol' Morality Meter.

And as you progress through the game, you'll find more and more evidence that the Republic isn't all that much better than the Empire. ***coughTariscoughBelsaviscoughcough***

[Guancyto]

So, I don't think anyone here browses the SWToR official forums (could be wrong though). They're kind of a hole.

Did you know you aren't allowed to discuss how much of a hole they are any more?

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...psd97cdbef.png

[Philistine]

How very... EA... of them.

[NEO|Phyte]

So is that actually legit? There's been plenty of falsified 'proof' of Bioware/EA being terrible, like how they were supposedly banning people for playing the GTN market.

[HalfTangible]

So, I don't think anyone here browses the SWToR official forums (could be wrong though). They're kind of a hole.

Did you know you aren't allowed to discuss how much of a hole they are any more?

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...psd97cdbef.png

How very... EA... of them.

Don't think we're allowed to do that HERE, either, and the playground is a perfectly fine community

[The_Jackal]

Well, it's totally unproductive, and devolves rapidly into a name-calling contest, so I understand perfectly why it's on the terms of use. That said, the forum sewer is just part of the charm of the MMO market. I suspect it's largely because you have too many competing agendas trying to get crammed into one game: Raiders vs. PvPers. Hardcorez vs. Casuals. Inter-class rivalries. Plus the fact that official boards for ANY game tend to be the typical spot for the airing of grievances.

[Guancyto]

To follow up on this (yes, it is legitimate), had an interesting email conversation with a (or the) senior community coordinator.

Basically, how it breaks down is thus:

It's not against their forum rules, terms of use or code of conduct, so they won't hand out warnings or infractions for it (my own warning, and later infraction, was for discussing moderator action which is at least against their rules of conduct).

However, it's a standing policy among their forum moderators to delete any discussion of the forum's community or the game's, regardless of content, whenever they see it. Under the notion that yeah, no matter how well-intentioned it is or how good it starts, it will eventually devolve into a flamewar (or in ToR's case, the ever-dreaded "fanboys vs. haters" shouting match).

I can't precisely disagree that community discussion is a magnet for that sort of trash, but the community of an MMO is at least as important an element as the class balance or the raids. It seems like "Commandos are overpowered/underpowered" is also a divisive and unproductive discussion, and nobody's running around erasing those.

Ultimately even if I don't like the decision, the response once I emailed them about it was prompt, polite and well-considered, so that's a definite plus. I honestly hadn't expected a reply.

[Acanous]

Impside, SI seems to assume you'll be playing not just Dark Side, but Crazy McCrazypants Dark Side

It's not *Crazy* dark, it's more along the lines of "Solve everything with Force Lightning".

Interrogating someone? Force lightning. Evidence of imperial crimes carved into ancient ruins? Force lightning. Someone calling in a favor you owe them?
Force lightning. Guy claims to be immune to force lightning? FORCE LIGHTNING.

It's like all you have is a hammer, and the entire galaxy is being warped into nails for your amusement.

That said, there's a lot of really interesting looking options for a light side SI, and I do want to do a light side playthrough one day (Maybe I won't even have to buy off Ashara's affections)

[Philistine]

It's not *Crazy* dark, it's more along the lines of "Solve everything with Force Lightning".

Interrogating someone? Force lightning. Evidence of imperial crimes carved into ancient ruins? Force lightning. Someone calling in a favor you owe them?
Force lightning. Guy claims to be immune to force lightning? FORCE LIGHTNING.

It's like all you have is a hammer, and the entire galaxy is being warped into nails for your amusement.

That said, there's a lot of really interesting looking options for a light side SI, and I do want to do a light side playthrough one day (Maybe I won't even have to buy off Ashara's affections)

I'm approximately in the middle of a LS playthrough now - level 33, and headed for Alderaan as soon as I finish off the NS Bonus series. The problem I have is that the writing and the voice acting of so much of the "neutral" and "setup" dialog sounds like a giggling homicidal maniac already, before a LS/DS choice even pops up, that the LS dialog comes across as jarring... forced... out-of-character.

The SW sees some of this too, where seemingly neutral dialog choices like "I'll take care of it." result in rhetorical excesses like "I will paint the walls with their blood!" But not nearly as much - I think. It's possible that my impressions are faulty, as the Jugg was my very first character when the game went live a year ago, but it felt like I ran into that more in getting the SI through the climax of DK than I did in taking the SW all the way to 50.

[Acanous]

that would make sense. I wouldn't notice, as I take the dark choices on purpose >.>

What can I say? I'm like a toddler with a noisy toy for Force Lightning. It never gets old and amuses me like crazy.

[The_Jackal]

I can't precisely disagree that community discussion is a magnet for that sort of trash, but the community of an MMO is at least as important an element as the class balance or the raids. It seems like "Commandos are overpowered/underpowered" is also a divisive and unproductive discussion, and nobody's running around erasing those.

Well, I'd say the difference between a thread titled 'SW:TOR community bites' and one titled 'Commandos are IMBA' is that the devs might theoretically be expected to FIX a balance problem with a particular class, whereas the only way to fix the MMO community is to start banning players, which is a tiny bit counter to the developers' financial best-interests.

[Kesnit]

So, I don't think anyone here browses the SWToR official forums (could be wrong though). They're kind of a hole.

The General forums are awful. The New Player forum and (as best I can tell) class forums are fine. I read both and post in New Player. (I'm not a new player.)

[Squark]

To be fair, some of the over the top lines can be explained away as your player trying to stay low key in regards to their goals of reforming the empire.

[Antonok]

Well I've been forcing myself to do the f2p method just to see if it can be done. (and thanks to christmas, no money for a sub )

Currently have a level 23 marauder and a level 11 assassin, and a level 2 legacy.

The speeder at level 25 can be negated with the legacy perk, as can some of the xp penalty (f2ps and preferred get 25% less xp then subs for those who don't know).

Biggest issues I'm having are the 200k credit cap, the one crew skill slot, and the 3 loot rolls per week for flashpoints though you can get the passes/unlocks off the GTN if you can find some listed within your credit cap, and the xp boosts are fairly cheap (3-5k each for the minor on the server I'm on).

All in all, taking into account legacy and being able to grind credits for the cartel stuff off the gtn, the f2p isn't bad, just grindy, and end game seems to be near non existent for anything but subs (obviously).

[KerfuffleMach2]

Note that it's entirely possible to play a good Imperial - even a Sith! - or an evil Republic character. It may make more or less sense for different classes (Impside, SI seems to assume you'll be playing not just Dark Side, but Crazy McCrazypants Dark Side; Pubside, the DS options in what little I've seen of the JK story so far stuck me as distinctly "Stupid Evil.") but any character can go either way on the ol' Morality Meter.

And as you progress through the game, you'll find more and more evidence that the Republic isn't all that much better than the Empire. ***coughTariscoughBelsaviscoughcough***

Yeah, I'll probably end up going through many alignment-class combos just to try them all. I'm always interested in that stuff.

[Acanous]

Well I've been forcing myself to do the f2p method just to see if it can be done. (and thanks to christmas, no money for a sub )

Currently have a level 23 marauder and a level 11 assassin, and a level 2 legacy.

The speeder at level 25 can be negated with the legacy perk, as can some of the xp penalty (f2ps and preferred get 25% less xp then subs for those who don't know).

Biggest issues I'm having are the 200k credit cap, the one crew skill slot, and the 3 loot rolls per week for flashpoints though you can get the passes/unlocks off the GTN if you can find some listed within your credit cap, and the xp boosts are fairly cheap (3-5k each for the minor on the server I'm on).

All in all, taking into account legacy and being able to grind credits for the cartel stuff off the gtn, the f2p isn't bad, just grindy, and end game seems to be near non existent for anything but subs (obviously).

You can get around (some of) the credit cap by mailing yourself money. You're still stuck to 200k on your person at any one time (Thought it was 250?), but can continue earning. If you spend your excess on legacy unlocks, you shouldn't have much of a problem, there.

Personally, I am of the opinion that F2P is the way to go until you have two characters at 50. Then sub.

But I am a bit of a casual, I rarely play for more than a few hours a week. So weekly caps don't actually hinder me at all, and I rarely use them anyhow.

[The Glyphstone]

I find it a little ridiculous that the new ship upgrades are priced higher than it's possible to carry in Fleet Commendations for a non-subscription player.

[Sith_Happens]

I find it a little ridiculous that the new ship upgrades are priced higher than it's possible to carry in Fleet Commendations for a non-subscription player.

Presumably that's why they're also in the Cartel Market. Or maybe it's the other way around, but I try to keep my cynicism out of my gaming.

some of the over the top lines can be explained away as your player trying to stay low key

That, to me, summarizes what's so great about the Inquisitor. Only as a Sith do you deflect attention away from yourself by being a huge ham.

[HalfTangible]

That, to me, summarizes what's so great about the Inquisitor. Only as a Sith do you deflect attention away from yourself by being a huge ham.

"I WANT TO WEAR ROBES MADE OF SOLID GOLD!!!"