Darth Hater

Welcome back to yet another installment of the Darth Hater PvP column, where we’ll collect and update the news about PvP that matters to the PvP community. This thread will be updated periodically as necessary throughout the week, so you can refer back to it for new information. If you have any tips on current content that should be featured, or if you think your PvP video or PvP guild should be featured in a future column, send them to darth@darthhater.com.

This week, we ask you what you think about the F2P PvP Warzone restrictions, look at a PvP video that examines the Powertech changes, and check up on the Rage/Focus builds in the eyes of BioWare. Read on to get the good stuff.

News

Official SWTOR Posts

Though not strictly PvP-related, if you haven’t looked at the post showing how many Cartel Coins you’ll be able to claim in November you should do so.

Devtracker Highlights

Allison Berryman check in about Rage/Focus builds, saying that the developers are keeping a close eye on them.

PvP Patch Changes

Patch 1.4.2 hit live servers last Tuesday, with a single PvP-relevant change.

Warzones

Implemented changes to correct issues that prevented Warzones from backfilling when a pre-made group member let the Warzone invitation time out.

Community Highlight

Around the Forums – Discussion Highlights

Banderal asks about a specific Novare Coast strategy.

Hairyzac asks if World PvP will ever truly return.

FallenGuardians asks if an essential element is missing from PvP.

PvP Video Spotlight

MittFisto provides us with a great post-1.4 summary of the Powertech/Vanguard. MittFisto’s stuff is very in-depth and is worth a look. The commentary is enjoyable and informative! Check out all of MittFisto’s content on their YouTube channel.

Op-Ed: The Details, Part I

In case you missed it earlier this week, we got confirmation from BioWare as to the specifics of the restrictions for F2P accounts earlier this week.

Therefore, we now know that the Warzone limitation for F2P accounts is three per week, and that lifting this restriction without subscribing requires a weekly pass. Both of these points are good discussion topics, but today I just want to touch on the weekly limit.

In a previous PvP column, I asked readers what they thought the weekly Warzone limit was likely to be. A significant portion of respondents (about 42 per cent) thought that the limit would be five to nine a week. I myself had guessed over ten.

No one who responded to the poll thought that BioWare would allow less than five a week.

It definitely took me by surprise. It seems extremely restrictive, and makes the sample size rather small for prospective subscribers. You could play a couple bad games and just decide that PvP is not your thing. In this case, BioWare ends up losing a potential hook for new subscribers. It also makes F2P accounts essentially non-competitive at level 50, since they can complete their daily a maximum of once per week. While it isn’t “Pay-to-win”, it definitely seems a lot like “Pay-to-not-lose."

What do you think about the announced F2P weekly Warzone limit?