Belsavis is located in the Outer Rim Territories, specifically Ninth Quadrant of the Bozhnee sector. The Rakata made use of Belsavis as a prison world, trapping many prisoners for a millennia. Around 5000 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin) Belsavis entered an ice age that resulted in the prisoners being housed in three volcanic jungle rifts. After the disappearance of the Rakata, Belsavis was simply abandoned. Even after the Republic encountered the planet, long before the Great Hyperspace War, it remained forgotten in the star charts.
About 50 years before the events of Star Wars: The Old Republic takes place, Republic scientists manage to unearth the prison. They discovered a network of vaults and prisoners protected by strong metal and powerful forcefields. After the realization that it was only a matter of time before the complex failed, the Strategic Information Service of the Republic decided to take over the facility and to use it in times when execution wasn't possible.
The prison, now dubbed "the Tomb," had a huge population boom after the Great War erupted with an influx of Mandalorians, Sith, and the creations of Sith alchemy. As word spread about a super prison under Republic control, Imperial Intelligence began the search to find it and, despite efforts by the Republic to keep it secret, the Sith managed to locate and send strike teams to liberate the prison. With the arrival of the Sith the compound has been turned into a battleground in an attempt to gain control or maintain order. It is into this situation that players will find themselves once they are able to journey to Belsavis in The Old Republic.
The final line of the overview section on the Holonet page for Belsavis reads, "the threat of the mysterious evil breaking loose from its ancient prison is becoming all too real." This line could mean multiple things for players in TOR. The Rakata's ancient technology was powered by the dark side of the Force resulting in the Rakata becoming increasingly powerful and corrupt at the same time. For something to have been feared by the Rakata, it would have to have been powerful indeed. Coming from the race that constructed the Star Forge, one can only imagine that such a "mysterious evil" could be an organic/technological/Force hybrid capable of large amounts of destruction that might require the efforts of many individuals to subdue.
The entire summary for Belsavis implies the planet is under constant conflict by both sides in an attempt to gain control of the prison compound. If this is indeed the case, the prison facility could act as an open-world PvP zone. It may also be possible that whomever controls the compound would then be capable of running missions deep inside the prison in an attempt to gain access to what they desire; whether that be Sith prisoners or untold riches.
Although these are purely speculation, the information we see on the Holonet certainly points to a variety of different play styles all being represented on one planet. Prisons are purposefully defined and segregated, allowing BioWare to place flashpoints, open world PVE, and PVP zones throughout the world without compromising consistency or immersion.
With so much untold history regarding this prison world, BioWare is once again showcasing their willingness to develop their own lore along side that which is already present. Additionally, Belsavis offers an opportunity that the other planets have failed to showcase: nothing could be more dangerous than fighting for a facility that neither side fully understands. Belsavis is a welcome addition to lineup of planets available in Star Wars: The Old Republic and one we can't wait to visit.
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Posted 3/31/2010 2:52:14 PMAside from the world PvP aspect that comes with being a "contested" planet, we would like to see two instance portals into the prison, one for each faction. Players can either choose to queue into the instance and wait for the computer to pair you up with another raid of the opposite faction, or you can select NPC opponents as your "competition" while in the prison instance. The concept is that two "raid" groups enter the instance, consisting of opposing factions. One raid group (Republic) will be focusing on maintaining control, policing the prison, resecuring some of the prisoners and correcting the chaos brought about by the other raid group. The other raid group (Empire) will also be trying to gain control of the prison; however, they will be trying to cause as much chaos as they can by releasing prisoners and causing destruction to the facility along the way.
This adds an added emphasis on team work as you have "player characters" that you are competing against inside of a traditionally "non-player character" instance, resulting in a PvPvE scenario where you have some faction battles as well as instance battles. I think it would be 100x more enjoyable if you weren't strictly focusing on computer controlled mechanics, and had to also plan for the randomness that comes with predicting what a "player character" raid will do to try to stop you from your objectives.
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Posted 3/31/2010 5:32:24 PMWound in the Force::GoHann (lvl 35 Maurader)
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Posted 3/31/2010 3:38:29 PM- View User Profile
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Posted 3/31/2010 7:47:39 AMAfter reading this article, I feel it is strongly reminiscent of Wintergrasp mechanic: an area with timed large scale pvp event and whoever controls the zone has access to raid content.
Just my 2 credits.
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Posted 3/31/2010 1:16:34 AMThen again it's just speculation
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Posted 3/31/2010 7:11:33 AM- View User Profile
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Posted 3/31/2010 1:02:22 AMOn a side note: It also appears that with each new planet reveal Dromund Kaas, Taris and now Belsavis that Bioware is showing more of their own take on the universe and lore. Introducing planets that are less known (from a movie stand point) to the average fan, and more based on lore, expanded univ stuff. I love it, I really think we will see (16) planets upon release.
Wound in the Force::GoHann (lvl 35 Maurader)
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Posted 3/31/2010 1:00:38 AM- View User Profile
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Posted 3/31/2010 12:45:48 AM- View User Profile
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Posted 3/31/2010 1:38:08 AM- View User Profile
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Posted 3/31/2010 12:57:15 AM- View User Profile
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Posted 3/31/2010 12:21:34 AM