Star Wars: The Old Republic's Game Update 1.3 is coming and more details about it come out each day. We were fortunate enough to get some questions answered about a few major SWTOR game systems from a round table of BioWare developers. No specific details on Explosive Conflict's Nightmare mode or Open World PvP yet, but we hope we hear more about new content during Darth Hater's coverage of E3 this year.
In an interview with Inquisitor's Roadhouse, BioWare Designers David Hunt and Patrick Malott talk about Crew Skill changes coming in update 1.3 of Star Wars: The Old Republic. The discussion gives us some of the most detailed information yet regarding changes to the Augment system, the costs associated with adding Augment Slots to armor, how different levels of armor work within the system, and the possible impact the changes will have on the economy.
Inquisitor's Roadhouse
Q: What kind of pricing are we looking at?
A: There are two costs to add an augment slot: credits and an Augmentation Kit. The current cost progression starts at 4,500 credits and ends at 50,000 credits, while the kits come in the same MKs that match the types of slots you can add to an item.
Kits are acquired through three crew skills: Armstech, Armormech and Synthweaving. There is no difference in the kits they make, and they can find the recipes on the trainer. In order to create a kit, you need 10 Augmentation Slot Components of the appropriate MK. You receive one component whenever you Reverse Engineer a piece of crafted gear. Note that this is a non-random addition on top of the other returns you already get from RE, meaning that every 10 consumed items will reliably give you the components for one kit.
Be sure to head over to Inquisitor's Roadhouse to check out the full interview.
Given that a greater amount of players are now level 50 and spending additional time with Crew Skills, maps and guides to gathering node locations are becoming more important. When starting new alts to farm gathering materials for Crew Skills, resource maps can be extremely useful in speeding the rate of acquisition for raw components. Our intention is to begin assisting the hunting-gathering player base with a means of locating and identifying all known nodes on each planet. Now with the second week here, we cover the nodes of Balmorra.
For now though, hit the jump for our Balmorra Bioanalysis node guide.
Star Wars: The Old Republic is now three months old, and many players have reached maximum level on at least one character. During the leveling process, the story component of the game takes center stage, leading players through the galaxy as they fulfill their destiny and play the lead role in what is often a very compelling experience. However, what happens once players reach level 50 and the story is over? Aside from the obvious activities (such as PvP and Operations), we explore other things people can do to keep themselves entertained at max level. In addition, with the highly anticipated 1.2 update now available on the Public Test Server, we will look at how some of these things will change once that update is live.
Game update 1.2 will have some significant changes to Crew Skills. In the latest Developer Blog entry, Georg Zoeller discusses some of what can be expected. Among the topics he covers are augment crafting, adjustments to reverse engineering, adjustments to gathering skills and how the ever popular ship maintenance droids can play a larger role.
Georg ZoellerSince the launch of Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, the Crew Skill system has been incredibly popular. Every week in-game, 52 million items are produced or harvested, 4.5 million item mods are installed and more than 35 million items change hands. Players actively participating in the Crew Skill system are generally better geared and have more credits in the bank than pure consumers.
That said, we still believe the Crew Skills can be made better. Without further adieu, here are some of the things you can expect for your profession when Game Update 1.2: Legacy goes live.
The full post can be found after the jump.
For players who prefer to jump into a fight head first and with reckless abandon, then perhaps the Sith Warrior is the class for them. Quick, powerful and ruthless, the Sith Warrior is a flurry of lightsaber slashes and stabs, leaving a trail of bodies behind him. The Juggernaut advanced class can withstand any attack unleashed upon him. In this article, we will look into the Juggernaut advanced class and explore his various skill trees, abilities and everything in between.
Note: This article may contain spoilers.
The Trooper is a very tactical class, with an exceptional amount of tools available to take down opponents, mitigate damage and heal allies. The Commando advanced class makes use of the Assault Cannon, an over-sized blaster that requires two hands to wield, for both damage and healing. We have created a guide detailing this advanced class, its roles and how to play them most effectively after the jump.
Note: Audio quality on the following videos is not ideal. Companions list could possibly be deemed spoiler territory, if that's a problem, don't scroll down to the bottom of the post.
Gabe Amantangelo: What you'd know as raids in other MMOs, we're calling "operations" in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Operations will be epic, multi-group events with settings and immersive gameplay inspired by scenes in the Star Wars movies. For examples, players will have to navigate the environment as a powerful Force wielder brings down the room around them; they'll have to work together to solve a code and fend off enemies while they're cornered, and so on.
Additionally, players will be able to enjoy operations as soon as they hit level 50. There will be varying difficulty modes, much like what is found in other BioWare games. The challenge, mechanics, and rewards will vary with the modes. So both the casual and hardcore player will be able to enjoy epic content alongside multiple groups of friends.
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