As 2012 comes to a close and we celebrate the one-year anniversary of Star Wars: The Old Republic, we thought it'd be interesting to take a look back at the articles Darth Hater has published over the past year and see which ones were the most popular. Browsing the articles that have had the most views of 2012 gives an interesting snapshot of how the year went for SWTOR and Darth Hater. Patch notes during major updates (and long downtimes) account for several of the top viewed articles, so those were excluded from the list. Hit the jump for the list in full.
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Anticipating the Next World Event
In the excitement of last week's free to play announcement, the mention of a new world event coming this month was somewhat overlooked. The EA press release, however, mentioned new content coming in August:
BioWare will be increasing the frequency of game content updates, with the first of many new releases coming in August.
An MMORPG.com interview with Jeff Hickman and Matthew Bromberg presents a more specific description of what to expect:
They also have a brand new event for all subscribers coming in August which is a public world event like the Rhakgoul Invasion.
As players eagerly await the start of the new event, Darth Hater takes a look back at the timeline of the Rakghoul plague, discusses how that event unfolded, explores what to expect with this next event and examines some possible quests and items involved.
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News Report: Rakghoul Plague Contained, not Eradicated
While word trickles in that containment troops have brought the Rakghoul Pandemic under control, incidents of infection reportedly continue to occur in isolated pockets of both the Republic and Imperial populaces. While the rate of exposure has decreased rapidly in recent days, it may be some time before the virus runs its course and is no longer deemed hazardous. In the meantime, medical droids will continue to stock Rakghoul Vaccine in abundant quantities in an attempt to help speed population recovery:
We wanted to warn players that the effects of the plague may linger after the event is over. Vaccines will still be readily available.Citizens are advised only to congregate in groups on their fleet stations at their own risk.
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World Event: Rakghoul Pandemic Guide
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.
UPDATE (4/20/12): No new mission was added today, and as the complete Containment Officer gear set can be acquired through the previous days' quests, it appears that all of the missions associated with the event have been released as of 4/19/12
UPDATE (4/19/12): A new mission [DAILY] Newly Infected was added today and awards a fifth piece of the Containment Officer set (chest OR belt).
UPDATE (4/18/12): A new mission [DAILY] Pure Virus Sample was added today and awards a fourth piece of the Containment Officer set (helmet).
UPDATE (4/17/12): BioWare reveals the end date of the Rakghoul Outbreak as April 24th at 2AM CDT (12AM PDT/3AM EDT/8AM BST/9AM CEST/5PM AEST).
UPDATE (4/17/12): A new mission [DAILY] Hybrid Strain was added today and awards a third piece of the Containment Officer set (legs). A small patch was also implemented to address the issue some players were having with the Urtagh world boss Codex entry, preventing them from receiving the event title:
An issue that prevented players from receiving the final Codex entry for the event has been corrected. Players that previously defeated Urtagh but did not receive the Codex entry and associated title will need to defeat the boss again in order to obtain it.UPDATE (4/16/12): A new mission [DAILY] Passenger List was added to the event today and awards a second piece of the Containment Officer orange gear set. The game files list a total of 6 pieces in this set and if the pattern of adding one additional quest per day with an additional piece of Containment gear as a reward continues, we can assume the Rakghoul Pandemic event will last through at least Friday, 4/20/12.
In case you missed the news, the first ever Star Wars: The Old Republic world event went live on servers yesterday and as of this writing, continues in full swing. A Rakghoul pandemic has erupted amongst the sands of Tatooine and threatens to spread rapidly throughout the galaxy, or at least your local faction fleet station. If you've noticed players standing in close proximity to one another exhausting toxic fumes and exploding in a violent green mess of gooey bio-contamination, you've had your first taste of this limited-run outbreak without ever having to leave the comforts of your sterile high-orbit social hub. But if you've yet to hop in your starship and make the run to Tatooine, now's the time before the curtains close on this most virulent occurence and all the fun goodies (and world PvP!) that come along with it. Oh, had I not yet mentioned the Black-Green color crystals, Rakghoul pets, title, Containment Officer gear and new infected companion customizations? Well, read on for everything you need to know while the getting's still good.
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Rakghoul Event Live on Tatooine
Today marks the first of the live in-game events for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Earlier this morning, two mysterious objects appeared in the faction fleets. The Republic feel saw the inclusion of a blimp and on the Imperial side, a communication terminal. Players who click on the objects are told to stay away from Tatooine due to a Rakghoul Outbreak. According to sources on the official forum, if players take part in the event, they will gain several codex entries and possibly a reward. The event is still ongoing, so if you’re thinking of playing today, you should head on over to Tatooine.
Videos of the live event introductions are available after the jump.
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Bestiary: A Guide to the World of Star Wars: The Old Republic
A few months back we compiled a list of creatures seen in the Star Wars: The Old Republic marketing. As more information was released, this list became out of date and in need of a drastic overhaul. With the addition of the Inhabitants section to the HoloNet, we felt now was a good time to take a second look at who or what we may encounter in TOR. 
Updated: June 1, 2011 2:33 PM EST -
Taris Developer Dispatch Dissection
Here is Darth Hater's dissection of the latest Developer Dispatch from Star Wars: The Old Republic, which focuses largely on the recently revealed Taris. As in our prior dissections, we will add new content in as we find it, so keep checking back. Feel free to let us know if you notice something we missed, and we will be happy to add it to our dissection with credit. Note: if something is mentioned in a prior dissection, then we do not reiterate it again here. Low bandwidth users should note there are numerous images contained in this article. -
Lore Update: Taris
Last Friday, Taris became the tenth announced planet for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Taris is an iconic and special location for fans of BioWare, first seen in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Taris was mentioned in numerous books and other video games, such as Star Wars: Empire at War. Perhaps by understanding how Taris evolved into abandoned ruins, we can understand why the Republic would wish to start anew. 
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Friday Update: Taris
Sean Dahlberg introduced us to Taris, another planet included in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Once home to a thriving civilization, Taris was razed by the Sith Lord Darth Malak 300 years ago during the Jedi Civil War. As a symbol of hope, redemption, and defiance, the Republic has begun an unlikely effort to re-colonize Taris. To do so, they will have to deal with the toxic soil, dangerous pirates, and ferocious rakghouls the only survivors of the Sith bombardment. Determined to overcome the challenges, Republic and Jedi leaders are moving forward with the effort. However, Imperial intelligence has other plans
Access the Holonet to read about the history of Taris and the re-colonization of this ruined world swarming with rakghouls. Also, see the scarred surface of Taris in this video and visit the media section for exclusive screenshots, concept art, and wallpapers
Aurebesh translations after the jump. -
Fear->Anger->Hate->Suffering->Red Lightsabers
Sith. Is it a species? Is it an empire? Is it an ideology? Lets go with all of the above. Most important when thinking of the Sith these days is the ideology. The Sith Order is the evil counterpart to the Jedi. They stole their name from the first aliens they subjugated when they were exiled from the Jedi Order. Time to put on your thinking caps class, because it is time to study the Dark Side
