With the implementation of Group Finder and the recent release of Free-to-Play, we've decided to make some Flashpoint guides. Over the next couple weeks, we will be adding new Flashpoint guides until we have them all. Hit the jump for our thoughts on how to approach the various bosses seen in this Flashpoint.
With the implementation of Group Finder and the recent release of Free-to-Play, we've decided to make some Flashpoint guides. Either that, or maybe I’m just sick of having to furiously type “KILL THE DROID” during boss fights. Over the next couple weeks, we will be adding new Flashpoint guides until we have them all. Hit the jump for our thoughts on how to approach the various bosses seen in this Flashpoint.
A Mercenary, when used effectively, can be one of the deadliest, most versatile classes on the battlefield. While they may lack some of the mobility, gap-closing ability, and burst damage like other Advanced Classes, their steady, sustainable output of ranged damage makes them a versatile option in almost any Operation or Warzone group. In this guide, I will be covering the Arsenal specialization. I will highlight how best to equip your Mercenary, cover the important skills on your talent tree, and discuss the viability of the myriad abilities Mercenaries possess. Let the hunt begin!
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. For our fifth installment, we cover the Bioanalysis (Imperial side) nodes of Tatooine.
Game Update 1.5 for Star Wars: The Old Republic is on the PTS this week and with it came the inclusion of HK-51. Fans of the Knights of the Old Republic series are sure to want HK-51 due to the resemblance and lore of HK-47. To assist in players acquiring this new companion, we created a guide. To see the guide in full, hit the jump.
Note: This guide contains potential spoilers. If you do not wish to have the quests spoiled, do not hit the jump.
Update: A portion of this quest is currently bugged but there is a workaround for it.
Just wanted to confirm that there is indeed an issue here - When someone uses the Foundry / Maelstrom Prison component (depending on faction), you will likely see the "Recover HK Components" task's counter tick up by 2-4, instead of just 1. Even with the bug, though, each player in the group should still be getting proper credit for finding the Loyalty Chip when someone clicks on it.
In practical terms, this actually winds up being more of a display issue than anything else. You should be able to continue to gather the other components, and your quest will advance when you have them all. Alternatively, if you save the HK Loyalty Chip component for last (as others have suggested here), you can circumvent the issue entirely.
This issue will be addressed, and I apologize for any inconvenience experienced in the meanwhile.
Game Update 1.5 for Star Wars: The Old Republic continues to expand on the Dread Masters story line. Included in the update is a new hub for daily missions. Located on the planet Belsavis, the area known as Section X is seeing unusual activity as it has drawn the attention of the Dread Masters. The missions located there will help understand what is going on in this area as you attempt to thwart their nefarious plans.
After the jump is a detailed guide for the Imperial versions of the new Section X quests.
For centuries, Taris was a major hub for interstellar travelers, offering vast spaceports with vendors and residences to accommodate both short and long-term guests. That all changed when Darth Malak ordered his Leviathan to reduce the planet-wide city to rubble. For three hundred years, priceless archaeological fragments and beautiful crystal formations have been hidden amongst the city’s ruins. Explorers with a passion for gathering up pieces of history and clusters of colorful crystals are now free to seek their fortunes amidst Taris’s fallen skyscrapers. Continue forward for detailed information and maps to aid in your search, or check out our first guide to Republic archaeology on Coruscant.
Please note that this guide will be continually updated as more information emerges and becomes ready for publication. Images will be added as they are available. If you see something we missed, feel free to chime in and add your thoughts in the comments section. If we use something you mention, we'll give you credit in the post.
UPDATE (8/17/12 3:00am EST): The time-lock on quest "Another Lead" has been lifted and players can now pursue acquisition of the Plasma-Sealed Jar.
UPDATE (8/16/12 11:40am EST): The Grand Acquisitions Race will draw to a close on Tuesday, August 21st, so get your missions done now if you're after a sweet bowcaster or Sand People costume:
The Chevin Conglomerate has decreed that you will have until next Tuesday (August 21st) at 2AM CDT (12AM PDT/3AM EDT/8 AM BST/9AM CEST/5PM AEST) to finish up the Grand Acquisitions Race. They've also decreed that the Shady Dealer will remain for an additional week after the race ends, citing "feedback" as the primary reason.
Good luck!
UPDATE (8/16/12 3:00am EST): The time-lock on quest "A New Lead" has been lifted and players can now pursue acquisition of the Black-and-Orange Sphere.
UPDATE (8/15/12 3:41pm EST): Allison Berryman confirms that the Sand People Bloodguard vanity outfit associated with the event (as well as the Containment Officer outfit from the previous Rakghoul event), currently restricted as Bind on Pickup, will be changed to Bind on Legacy in the future:
I asked Systems Designer David Hunt why the Sand People Bloodguard outfit is currently bind on pickup instead of bind on Legacy, and he let me know that it will be changed to bind on Legacy in the future - this will also affect the Imperial and Republic Containment Officer outfits from the Rakghoul event.
UPDATE (8/15/12 3:00am EST): The time-lock on quest "A Lead" has been lifted and players can now pursue acquisition of the Akar Kesh Meditation Mask (thanks DJThomas07).
UPDATE (8/14/12 1:30pm EST): Joveth Gonzalez weighs in with a tip concerning resetting bonus missions associated with the Grand Acquisitions Race:
Hi there! If you ever get frustrated and delete a bonus mission during the Grand Acquisitions Race's main mission, the easiest way to get it back is to reset the main mission for this event. You'll still retain all of your previous items and you will only lose the progress that you've made towards the current item that you're pursuing. Hope that helps!
The Grand Acquisitions Race is on! With this kind of World Event, it is important for us to share information as it comes in. To assist in this, we’re creating a work in progress guide that will document our progression through the event. A detailed recounting of the new quest line along with screenshots is contained after the jump. Video and further information is coming soon but for now, hit the jump to find out more.
Now that BioWare has announced that Star Wars: The Old Republic will be going free to play, we can expect an influx of new players to the game. For some, it will be their first time playing. For others, this will be their first time playing an MMO. As it is a vast and complex title, playing can be daunting for any first timer. Therefore, instead of spending hours trying to explain the game’s various systems and intricacies and getting frustrated to the point of head butting your best friend, we have put together a primer for beginners detailing just that. If this is your first time traveling to a galaxy far, far away, hit the jump.
DarthHater has already brought you guides covering the first three boss encounters in Operation: Explosive Conflict - Toth & Zorn, Firebrand & Stormcaller, and Colonel Vorgath. Now comes the final battle: Warlord Kephess. As befits a boss of his stature, he won't relinquish Denova without a seriously challenging fight. Making full use of all the armaments at his disposal, players are sure to find that this Warlord is no pushover. For the details necessary to bring this boss to his knees and reclaim Denova, hit the jump. - jump
Colonel Vorgath is the third boss encounter in Operation: Explosive Conflict, after Toth & Zorn and Firebrand & Stormcaller. As befits the right-hand man of Warlord Kephess himself, Colonel Vorgath is as deadly as he is shrewd. This is a unique boss fight, in that it is as much an intellectual challenge as it is a test of martial skill. For inside intelligence on how to checkmate this tactical genius, hit the jump for our strategy on sending Colonel Vorgath packing.
Explosive Conflict is a challenging Operation oriented toward teams of well-prepared players. Darth Hater has already released a guide on defeating Toth and Zorn, Explosive Conflict’s first pair of bosses. We now turn our attention to the Operation’s second boss encounter, the warmachines Firebrand & Stormcaller. These vehicular monstrosities may be technologically superior to your Operations group, but with the right strategy and a little teamwork you’re sure to triumph. Hit the jump to learn how to put these two buckets of bolts in the garage — permanently.
Star Wars: The Old Republic, like many other MMOs, uses the Trinity System to define player roles in group combat. This means that players tend to fit into one of three roles when partied up: tank, damage dealer, and healer. For a quick explanation; a tank takes damage, a damage dealer deals damage, and a healer heals damage. These roles are obvious in a Player vs Environment situation; however, it is a lot harder to see where a tank fits in a Player vs Player situation. A tank’s role is more ambiguous in Warzones, where objectives and strategies are involved. After many hours of arduous PvP in Warzone after Warzone, I have come up with some strategies to optimize a tank’s performance in all four of the currently available Warzones. Hit the jump for the full breakdown.
With the 1.3 game update, entitled "Allies," now available, we've organized all of our 1.3 coverage into an easy-access compendium for your referencing pleasure. Below the jump you'll find a convenient table of contents linking to all of the related patch notes, guides, previews, interviews, Dev highlights and more we've produced here at Darth Hater. This guide will be continually updated as new content is added to the site, so take a second to bookmark it and tell your friends.
A lightsaber ignites with a snap-hiss, bathing the room in a pale glow and emitting a soft, ominous hum. An assault cannon unleashes a volley of bolts in a barrage of withering fire. The iconic weapons of the Star Wars universe have an established legacy of being personalized tools that usually reflect the bearer in some way. In SWTOR, our ability to customize our weapon’s appearance is limited to only a few options: the overall look of the weapon, which is often a standard Rakata/Campaign/Battlemaster/War Hero design or an augmented standard craftable one, and the color crystal within.
As a result, a rare color crystal is often a highly-sought addition to add the finishing touch to your perfect weapon aesthetic. One particularly rare option is the Magenta crystal, which, as of Patch 1.2, has end-game versions (as well as lower level incarnations) providing +41 Endurance, Critical Rating, or Power. The simplest and most expensive method of obtaining one is to find a crafting player and purchase it. Keep in mind that this is also the only method if you don’t have an appropriately skilled Artificing character. This guide will show you where and how to obtain the schematics and ingredients for yourself, circumventing the need to rely on other players. Read on for full details.
Ord Mantell is a planet rife with suffering. A civil war, precipitated by the planet’s corrupt government, has raged for over five years. Refugees are common place, Imperial spies lurk in the shadows — and to top it all off, rebel Separatists fight from a volcano stronghold. Now in fairness, that last part sounds pretty cool (volcano stronghold!), but the rest is bleak as Ord Mantell’s grey skies.
It should come as no surprise that this war-ravaged world has attracted a number of soldiers and smugglers. For Troopers, Ord Mantell recalls the best parts of movies like Apocalypse Now or Full Metal Jacket, where everyone’s shooting at you and the good guys are just as bad as the bad guys. As a Smuggler, well – if there is one truth to war, it’s that there is always good money to be made running smuggled goods in and out of a warzone. With this bit of background on the planet, let’s delve straight into its codices!
Patch 1.2 introduced a new Operation, Explosive Conflict, which takes players to the war-torn planet of Denova. An important source of baradium, the planet has fallen to a collection of elite mercenaries and Imperial traitors. Both the Republic and the Empire are scrambling to regain control.
The first encounter players face after landing on the planet of Denova are the twin terrors of Toth & Zorn. This pair of fearsome Drouks are under the control of their handler, the nefarious Murdok, and will slay any foolish enough to seek entry into the baradium mines, a key resource for the Warlord Kephess and his seemingly unstoppable army.
If, however, you seek to gain access to the rest of this planet and the battles within, then hit the jump as we provide a sure-fire strategy for taming these beasts.
The widely publicized augment system coming in Game Update 1.3: Allies is now available for players on the PTS. An in-depth guide to the current build of this new system can be found after the jump.
UPDATE 6/19/12: The latest update to the Public Test Server included some changes to the Augmentation system. Specifically, the crafting recipes for the MK-5 and MK-6 Augmentation Kits have been changed to additionally require some slicing components. The installation costs for some kits have been modified as well, most notably the cost for a MK-6 kit installation increasing from 25,000 credits to 30,000 credits each. It also appears that the issue with orange/moddable equipment not returning the components when being reverse engineered has been fixed. The guide has been updated to reflect these changes.
UPDATE 6/27/12: Update 1.3 is now available on the live servers. The guide has been updated to reflect adjusted costs to train each augmentation kit schematic. The prices were increased slightly.
Unlike obtaining the other adventure-acquired vanity pet, the Orokeet, getting your hands on the Taunlet requires a bit more luck and cannot be done solo very easily. This guide will walk players through the different paths one can take to obtain their own Taunlet. For the guide in full, hit the jump.
Slicing can make someone a wealthy and dangerous member of the Star Wars: The Old Republic economic community. Within the Star Wars universe, Slicing involves hacking and controlling computer systems to get what you want, and it is no different in The Old Republic. Slicing can keep a player supplied with a constant stream of easy credits, as well as increase his store of augment crafting materials and the Crew Skill mission discovery items that everyone needs, but only Slicers can retrieve. While anyone is capable of running the lockbox missions and selling anything that comes of them to a vendor, ensuring that you get every single credit possible takes a bit more knowledge and skill. This guide will run you through what you need to know to become a SWTOR Slicing mogul.
