Darth Hater

Today, visitors to the official SWTOR website were treated to a new developer blog on the subject of Galactic Reputation.  This has been something many players are curious about, so the news is very welcome.  Outlining the system in some very specific ways, the blog is a must-read for anyone who is curious or excited about the upcoming update.

For a link to the full blog post, our analysis, and to discuss this with others, hit the jump.

Galactic Reputation Overview

Debuting as a feature new to SWTOR but very familiar to veterans of other MMO's, the Galactic Reputation system will give players more ways to advance their character, as well as the story surrounding themselves and the galaxy as a whole.  As covered briefly in a previous article, there are six ranks of reputation for each faction, and they include:

• Outsider
• Newcomer
• Friend
• Hero
• Champion
• Legend

Aside from giving you a way to become a living legend on a dozen star systems, Reputation will allow you access to unique gear.  Items and equipment become available at certain ranks, and may only bu purchased, used, or equipped if you meet the requisite Reputation level.

Legacy: Sins of the Father

Along the way to become the embodiment of some native world's cause, you'll occasionally unlock new Legacy Titles that are shared across all characters in a given Legacy.  So, it's worth noting that your Galactic Reputation is shared across all characters in the Legacy.  Did your parents help further the cause of the Voss decades ago?  Then the Voss will remember you, their child, and will honor you as such.  It remains to be seen, but there don't appear to be negative reputation standings, which is really a shame; there could've been some latitude there for great Dark Side options.  As it stands now, they've said that you can never lose standing, so it appears that it can never drop below Outsider.  Still, the system appears to be exciting, with respect to Legacy.

Also worth noting are competing factions; assuming that you have both Republic and Imperial characters in the same Legacy, there are causes that mirror one another on each side.  The article makes use of the Republic Hyperspace Armada and Imperial First Mobile Fleet.  Although on opposite sides of the war, if your Republic character furthers the cause of the Armada, a legacy increase will occur for Imperial characters with relation to the Mobile Fleet.  The article goes on to say that it's more of a measure of your impact on the war or conflicts, whether good or bad.

Gaining Reputation

A new item, called Reputation Trophies, are making a debut alongside this system, and they are how Reputation is earned.  Each trophy is tied to a specific organization, and can be earned by doing various tasks and missions for that organization.  They vary in quality, and include:

• Premium (small)
• Prototype (medium)
• Artifact (large)

There is a weekly cap on Reputation earned, but only for each faction.  Also, you can continue to earn trophies for that faction, even at the cap, you just wouldn't be able to consume them.  So, once you cap one faction, you can feel free to work on another, or keep acquiring trophies for that faction for future use.

It's worth mentioning that subscribers will receive a 50% bonus to reputation gains as well, so there's a nice incentive to sub up.

We'll end here by listing the factions that have been revealed:

• The Voss
• The Gree Enclave
• Republic Hyperspace Armada
• Republic Fifth Assault Battalion
• Imperial First Mobile Fleet
• Imperial Guard on Belsavis

Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think about this new system in the comments below.