Attention Smugglers. Your Companion List Page has been Updated

Some of our most popular content are the lists of information about companions. Each one has been getting an overhaul over the last few weeks so that they look better and it's easier to find what you need. The Smuggler Companion List has just been updated. On it you'll find out all of the character information about each Smuggler companion, where you get them and what gifts they like.

Here's the section on Guss Tuno, the last companion for the Smuggler class.

Guss Tuno

Character Information

Gender: Male

Species: Mon Calamari

Age: Unknown

Gameplay Information

First Encountered On: Hoth

Becomes a Companion: In the class mission called Trick or Treat

Companion Type: Healer

Armor: Medium Armor

Crew Skill: +10 Underworld trading Efficiency, +2 Critical Investigation

Primary Stat: Cunning

Primary Weapon: Blaster Pistol

Secondary Weapon: Scattergun

Likes: Mocking Force users, profit from those who can afford it, a good scam

Dislikes: Killing innocents, risking your neck for nothing

Gift Preferences for Guss Tuno

Love	Underworld Goods
Favorite	Luxury Technology
Like	Imperial Memorabilia Courting Republic Memorabilia Cultural Artifact Trophy
Indifferent	Weapon Military Gear

Tips

Guss is an almost comical companion. He can be quite useful as a healer, especially in the end game daily missions for most non-healing smugglers. He describes himself as a blank slate and is a little too eager to please sometimes.

Guss Tuno Background

Guss Tuno prefers the underworld lifestyle's potential for material riches. In a perfect galaxy, Guss would spend his retirement lounging in a heated swimming pool surrounded by exotic beauties while consuming a steady diet of fresh fish and expensive cocktails.

Although he often speaks before he thinks, Guss has talked his way out of certain death many times. He often uses his minimal knowledge of Jedi-and the lightsaber he stole from his old Master-to fool gullible criminals into leaving him alone. When that fails, Guss reveals he's a much better shot than anyone would believe.

Get ready for game update 1.2 with user interface options

Big changes coming this Thursday are with the user interface options. I found myself in awe at what you can do with them in the editor. for example, I play on a 27" screen and I've always found  the HUD to be too big. using an option in the new update I was able to shrink it all down to 0.8 and I moved all the buttons closer together, as you can see in this screenshot below.

I know I'll change it more as I start to PvP and do Ops but I saved this interface I created ready to go for Game Update 1.2. Here's the snitch from Bioware, with a video guide:

Game Update 1.2: Legacy for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ introduces several new systems to the game, including the option for you to customize your User Interface. You'll be able to alter the placement and size of each UI element to suit your own personal preference.

Guild goes from 0-50 in under 30 days

The opening of the new Asia-Pacific servers forced a lot of players to re-roll. I ended up in a raiding guild (set up for operations) in the first week that the new servers were opened. To my surprise, the guild got a complete raid team together and it only took 29 days for them to clear all the standard operation content. Now is that too fast or is it just right? 

New raid content in games like WoW took far longer. The attempt would be spread out across several nights which got quite frustrating at times. You'd want to complete the raid but you'd also want to do something other than WoW some nights ... at least with the length of the SWTOR raids that balance is easier. I am finding that the current amount of raiding is allowing me to spend time doing other things ingame including leveling alts and PvP. With alts being a crucial part of the legacy system, maybe Bioware doesn't want players raiding 3-4 nights per week.

Everyone on the guild had already played a character to level 50 previously, so that probably sped things up since we knew where to go and what to do. On the other hand, I had never tanked most of the content so although I'd played for over five months, a lot of the boss kills were new to me and others in the operations. Undeniably, the content was cleared due to exceptional leadership. 

The swift progress through these operations has also revealed that new level 50s are very capable of doing operations. We took a lot of the guild members into the operations just days after they reached level 50. A lot of the content can be completed without the need for high end epic gear. A lot of players believe you need to spend weeks gearing up before you start doing operations but that's just not true. The operation story-mode content is for new level 50 players. It's just as efficient to gear up as you do operations as it is to gear up using heroic flashpoints or PvP. So if you think you're not ready for doing operations yet, take my advice and give it a go. If you can take somebody who knows the strategies it will help a lot. Having a vocal leader who knows the content is a necessity for success. A big kudos to Tombstone, Fusion's raid/operation leader.

In Star Wars The Old Republic, operations consist of eight players and can be completed in story mode, hard mode and nightmare mode, once a week.

SWTOR Legacy Companion Unlocks in patch 1.2

Bioware is giving us a real reason to get in the good books with our companions. As of patch 1.2 increasing your companions' affection to 10 000 unlocks a unique enhancement for that specific class of companion. There are a total of five different companion classes and they are healer, melee damage, ranged damage, melee tank and ranged tank. Also, every single companion you cap affection with grants you 10 bonus Presence with all your characters under your Legacy name. So theoretically you can eventually have a default 400 bonus Presence on all your characters, if you play all eight classes and max out affection with all the (40) companions.


Somehow I think people are going to be spending a lot more time chasing companion gifts!


After doing some testing I discovered that the bonus I unlocked by maxing out Kira's affection on my Jedi Knight was applied to every other character I created, on both Republic and Sith sides. For Kira it was a bonus to surge and although it applies to all characters, the bonus surge can only be unlocked once. The Presence, on the other hand, can be unlocked on every companion and every class.

In the notes about what is unlocked is says "You may only receive this bonus for one healer/melee tank (etc) companion". It took me a bit of research to figure out that what this means is that if you unlock a healer companion on your Jedi Knight, you get the bonus for all the characters you create. It is not stacked or re-applied when you unlock another healer companion though on a separate character.

Here you can see the bonus surge applied to a naked level one Trooper. It is clearly not present in patch 1.1. Interestingly, base DPS with no weapon equipped seems to be higher in 1.1.

So, let's look at the bonuses that you get with each class of companion.

Achieving maximum affection with a healer grants you a bonus to the total healing you receive, increases your heroic moment by 12 seconds and reduces the cooldown by 1 minute. (Also grants 10 bonus Presence to all characters)

Surge rating goes up. Heroic moment goes up by 12 seconds and cooldown goes down by 1 minute.

Critical Hit Chance gets a boost for ranged damage companions as well as the usual increase of heroic moment by 12 seconds and reduction of cooldown by 1 minute.

With the melee tank companions you get a bonus to your accuracy (plus the usual).

With ranged tank it's the usual plus a Max Health bonus.

Here's a summary:

Campion class	Bonus*	Heroic Moment*	Cooldown*	Presence
Healer	Healing Received	Increased by 12 seconds	Reduced by 1 minute	+10 bonus
Melee Damage	Surge rating
Ranged Damage	Critical Hit Chance
Melee Tank	Accuracy
Ranged Tank	Max Health

* Is only unlocked once

All this means that getting on your companions' good sides is even more important than ever. To review the gift preferences of companions, check out our information pages.

Trooper Companion Information Updated

Troopers, it's your turn: our Companion List information for Trooper Companions has now been updated to our latest style of presentation. Character information, Gameplay information and Gift Preferences are all included.

Sith Inquisitor Companion Details in Full

If you want to romance Andronikos Revel, or maybe Ashara Zavros is more your style, you'll need to know what gifts can give you extra mileage. We've updated our Companion List information for the Sith Inquisitor class, with the gift preferences information and a whole lot more.

Go forth, you Force-attuned, Empire aligned players and get to know your companions! 

Jedi Consular Companion List Update

If you are playing a Jedi Consular then bookmark our page of information about their companions so that you can quickly alt-tab to check out the facts as you play. The list has been updated so that not only does it look pretty, it's got more information and no blank areas.

Check it out now.

Big update to our Bounty Hunter Companion List

Now that we've had the opportunity to spend more time ingame we'd thought we'd go back and optimize our companion pages which we started way back in Beta (which was only a little over 3 months ago!). We've included new information about when your companions are obtained and what quests actually award your companions. Information about gift preferences has also been updated and presented in a new easy to follow chart. We've gathered all this information for all companions and will be updating our pages over the following weeks. Today's update is of the Bounty Hunter companion list and it of course also includes the customizations for Mako.

I'd like to thank everybody for providing their feedback which has lead to these updates. Feel free to add tips in the comments section.

Don't forget, if you find the information useful, share it with your friends on Google+, Facebook or 

The Many Looks of Risha

Complete Guide to Risha Customizations

Risha is the third companion Smuglers' get. She joins you very early on in the game as a class mission giver aboard your ship, although she doesn't become a full companion until you finish Act 1 in the Smuggler class story line. Risha's personality remotely resembles Princess Leia's and her personality isn't the only thing that the writer of this story got from the original trilogy. I've included two detailed screenshots of ALL of her currently available customizations. The reason that I have had to include two is that you'll notice in the first screenshot that even though she has a scantily clad bikini top she has quite a sour look on her face. The expression she has on her face when she is your active companion is depressing and when I said that her personality remotely resembles Princess Leia, it's because the story writer forgot to put in the fun side; she can be rather bitter. Personally, I'm not enjoying her as a companion but I'll see what happens by the time I finish Act 3.

Now Rish usually wears smuggler gear as you can see in the second screenshot. Due to popular demand I have equipped the metal bikini top. Please note that the bikini top is light armor and I wouldn't recommend it for combat use, no matter how hot she looks in it!

This set of screenshots taken (below) aboard the ship definitely does her more justice. As she is working away on your ship she seems to lose her sour look, although she's still not smiling. After i purchased all of the customizations I have chosen to use customization 8 which in this screenshot is the top right. It has that Carrie Fisher buns on the side look that any Star Wars fan loves. When you get this close to your companion you really see the detail in their complexions. Unfortunately, you can't get this close to your companion ingame when you have them out exploring the world as they continuously move away from you as you try to get close, as they are constantly trying to follow you. I used a camera trick to get these shots on my ship.

Something seriously needs to be done about the preview of customizations ingame. This screenshot below shows you what you get to see at max. detail and 1900x1080 resolution. Hopefully these shots I have taken will help you decide on what look you want for Risha.

Captain Kneely on the Ilum docking station, on your way down tot he level 50 planet has customization 8 available for 12500 credits.

Captain Kneely is only available to people who are using a security key to login to their account. This can be the keychain you got with your Collector's Edition, or an Android or iPhone app solution.

For customizations 1-6 you will find Guunta in bug town on Balmora, right near the entrance of the main base.

Although I started this exercise with over 70 000 credits in my bank account, as you can see from the above screenshot, my Smuggler now has just over 12 000 credits. There is no buy-back scheme ingame for stuff you decide you don't want and that combined with the low quality preview screens can make for a very unhappy customer, so take a look at my screenshots before you buy!

If you liked having a closer look at Mako, don't forget to check out similar posts here:






Don't forget to check out similar posts:

Our full list of companions and gifts
The Many Looks of Elara Dorne
The Many Looks of Kira Carsen
The Many Looks of Vette
The Many Looks of Mako
The Many Looks of Risha
The Many Looks of Nadia Grell

For information on customization options for other companions check out the other 'Many Looks of ... ' posts on SWTORFace.






For more information on Mako and Bounty Hunter companions, check out our companion pages.

SWTOR New Players Guide: Lesson One

If you have a partner who is new to gaming and you'd like them to play SWTOR with you, get them to read this blog. If you are, like many SWTOR players, new to MMOs but playing it or hoping to play SWTOR because of a love of Star Wars, welcome to my world and let's find out about it together! Welcome young Padawans! This is going to be like the blind leading the blind! Let me explain ...

John, who set up this site is my husband. We met over 17 years ago at ... wait for it ... a Star Wars fan club Christmas party! So you might think that we've both been playing Star Wars: The Old Republic since the day of launch but actually, I've never played an MMO before. A couple of years ago, after months of begging, I set up a character in WoW and played through one mission, nearly died of boredom and never played it again. But SWTOR is Star Wars and the allure is too hard to ignore.

I am sooo new to this I didn't even take any fraps shots of myself from the front last night! Tip: make sure you like the back of your character's hairdo; you'll see it a lot.

Years ago I played fps games, almost obsessively for a while there. I was pretty good too if I do say so myself. So I am no stranger to playing PC games which means that when I write about it, I hopefully won't sound like a complete idiot from the Outer Rim. Hiding behind all that though is someone who is not used to all the options and controls in an MMO, so I will learn to play and explain it all. Besides, I'll have John sitting right next to me explaining things.

Last night I created a Jedi Consular character and I completed one class mission and two side missions. Here's some tips on things that you might miss:

As you get to the stage where it's time to learn new things a little rectangle with a yellow border will pop up center right. Click on it and it will explain how to use something (maps, groups, inventory, etc).

After you've got a mission, if you need to travel to get to where it is, look for the double green arrow. That's where you need to head, in this case, to get a taxi.

But then when thee are many mission objectives they are shown by little green triangles with a yellow border. Head to each of them in turn.

To follow these blog posts aimed at new players, follow the Blog tags 'New Players Guide'.

It's all about the color of your lightsaber

I recently got excited when I found out that you can get a white lighsaber crystal ingame. A player going by the name of CatchDeathwalker became legendary overnight after posting screenshots of the first white lightsaber ingame. His fame was short-lived when the developers confirmed that he had actually used an exploit to get that color crystal. Looking through history, it looks like CatchDeathwalker had actually found the color exploit in beta and then used it in live. According to the Devs, action has been taken on this idiot's account. If you're going to exploit, or use a known bug to get something that you shouldn't have, it's probably not wise to brag about it in the forums! It's definitely not a good idea to insult the intellect of other players for not being able to work the exploit out. Overnight CatchDeathwalker has gone from legendary to hated in both the SWTOR forums and on Reddit.

But what's all the fuss about? Why do people get so excited about the color of lightsabers? For as long as I can remember, all Star Wars games have had some way to change the color of your lightsaber. I still remember the first time I saw Luke's green saber in Return of the Jedi. It's funny but the color of that humming blade can make all the difference. I personally hate the yellow/black color crystal supplied with a pre-order of SWTOR.

Part of the reason why people are so up in arms about colors of crystals is that data mining sites originally posted lots of different color crystals. A whole rainbow variety was available, and every Jedi, myself included, was desperately seeking how to discover these elusive colors. I even know of players who dumped level 40 Republic Jedi Knight avatars for the sole reason of not being able to get a purple lightsaber! Considering that the only purple lightsaber that you see in the movies is Mace Windus, I am surprised that purple is a Sith-only option in SWTOR!

So I have started a list of the different color crystals you can get and how to find or craft them. I will keep updating the list as i find more information and please, if you have any, let me know.

Lightsaber Crystal Colors and Crafting Information

What we have here is a list of all of the currently available colors in the game, with information on how to get them (if we've found that yet). This information was gathered from both SWTOR official forums and Reddit, from a variety of different contributors.

This list is a work in progress and will be updated as more information is found.

Black Blue
Republic Rakata Gear

Black Red
Empire Rakata Gear

Black Yellow
Pre-order Bonus

Black Green
Obtained as bonus for Razer TOR hardware - http://www.razerzone.com/swtor

Blue
This crystal pattern is learnt from an artiface trainer. High quality versions of this crystal are discovered through reverse engineering.

Cyan
REPUBLIC ONLY!!! Obtained from Columi gear, listed as "Light Blue" [LTBLUE]. Champion versions can be Cyan, but not removable.

Green
This crystal pattern is learnt from an artiface trainer. High quality versions of this crystal are discovered through reverse engineering. 

Magenta
This is one of the rarest items in the game. It is not acquired through reverse engineering. Also listed as "Light Red" [LTRED], Magenta has a few steps to do before you can get this one. Gargath, on Hoth drops a +33 Power schematic. Belsavis's Worldboss's, The Primal Destroyer, drops a +33 Endurance, a +33 Crit schematic and a +33 Power schematic.. The following are the steps for the main ingredient. Thanks to Taskcommnda




Quote: Originally Posted by Taskcommnda
First Step - Tattooine: Click the base plate of any Water Vaporator (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Moisture_vaporator ) for a refresh buff (waterglass icon) -- I found mine north of Mos Ila, but they are scattered about. Note: they seem to be on a fairly long cooldown.
Second Step - Travel to the top of the really tall mountain on Hoth (X-907,Y 637) - The closest speeder is at the Leth Outpost and the mountain is clearly visible from here. Your buff will disappear and you will get the "Pure Shockfrozen Water" item placed into your inventory.
Third Step - Take a couple of level 50 friends and go to the Depleted White Adegan Crystal node on Ilum; to the west (-553,-5) and click it. A Force Ghost will spawn from the frozen pool (boss level 50 mob). A crystal will then spawn for the group a few yards away from the depleted crystal. Loot this for the Magenta Crystal.

note: the moisture vaporator's are around outpost Rennar in the Jundland area of tatooine

CONFIRMED: drops from a nearby crystal formation that appears after you defeat the force ghost, seems only 1 crystal per formation, though no one else in the group had the frozen water to summon the ghost we could only try it once.

Orange
High level Artifice (lvl 400), also drops from Corusant Worldboss, Nar Shadda Worldboss and Ulgo Siegebreaker on Alderaan [Note - "Normal" gems can be found in vendor sabers/gear as well]

Purple
EMPIRE ONLY!!! Tier 2 Empire Columi Gear, obtained via Hardmode Eternity Vault [Unconfirmed]. They can also be obtained from PvP sabers, but YOU CANNOT remove the crystal.

Red
This crystal pattern is learnt from an artiface trainer. High quality versions of this crystal are discovered through reverse engineering.

White
The white crystal "found" by CatchDeathwalker was confirmed by Bioware to be a fraud. It is not available inagme at the moment.

Yellow
This crystal pattern is learnt from an artiface trainer. High quality versions of this crystal are discovered through reverse engineering.

Let me know if you have any more information about how to get color crystals. I am going to update my 'New Players Guide to SWTOR' eBook soon and might include a complete list if I can put one together.

Taking Full Advantage of Bonus XP Leveling

Now that my main character is level 50 and fairly well geared, I'm spending some more time exploring other classes and their class stories. The problem is that I have already done all of the side quests three times now! So although I am enjoying the main class story lines, which are fresh and new for each class, I'm finding myself not wanting to repeat the hundreds of side missions yet again. 

To avoid them I'm playing avatars at the same time and taking full advantage of rested XP. As you can see in the screenshot here, I have three quarters of a bar available in rested XP. The green outline indicates how much double experience I will get. The double experience applies to all NPC kills but does not include the actual experience you get from the quests or from space. With three quarters of a bar of rested experience I will be getting double XP for all my kills for up to three levels. This is allowing me to skip a lot of the side quests on most of the planets for all my alt avatars.

To get rested experience, all you need to do is log out in a cantina or on your ship. Rested experience will cap out at a full bar. 

Other things I'm doing to avoid side missions are the daily space missions, which are quick and profitable, and also PvP. Spending all my warzone commendations on gear for for my alt characters and their companions makes up for the loot that I missed out on getting by choosing to not do side missions.

Defeat Bonethrasher!

This is not your average Rancor!

Bonethrasher is the first boss you will encounter in the Karagga's Palace Operation. Once you enter the operation you will need to clear your way through the guards and into the front door where you are met with a bit of "Hutt Hospitality". Karagga the Hutt will quickly pull the trap door out from underneath you (just like when Luke Skywalker confronted Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi). You will fall onto a platform surrounded by a pit of poisonous liquid which will kill your character off instantly if you fall into it or are knocked back. A set of four creatures await you at the onset of the fight. With crowd control and focused fire, they are really not much of a challenge.

Once the creatures are defeated, Bonethrasher will make his way into the arena. He's big, mean, and hungry! During the fight, unfortunate Gamorean Guards will be thrown into the pit to keep Bonethrasher "well fed", giving him an increased damage buff. Also unique to this boss is an ability that will not allow him to be taunted. His aggro will spread randomly to different members of the group and you will need to stay close to the center of the platform or he will simply swing at you, knocking you into the poison around the stage.

Your best bet is to keep behind him as best as you can. When he turns to face someone, you will then know where his interest has turned to. During the fight he will actually pound you into the floor, pretty much planting you in place and you will actually need to crawl out to keep battling.

This is a pretty entertaining fight but you will need quite a bit of DPS to take him down. The inability to taunt him makes it quite challenging, and having to constantly stay on the move really makes it hard to lay down alot of damage.

He has a 7 minute enrage timer so you will need to defeat him before then or become his next meal.

Rammy's Quick Look at Huttball PVP Battles in SWTOR

Firstly, I would just like to say the terminology used for this PVP warzone will be from the Republic side. Any abilities used can be directly related to the Imperial side, with the relevant skill.

Huttball is for all intents and purposes a very easy warzone to interpret. And if BOTH sides are capable it involves an extreme amount of fun.

Huttball teams can be made up of Sith vs Republic, Sith vs Sith, or Republic vs Republic.

The goal of Huttball is simply to grab the small metal ball in the middle and get to your opposing team's end and over the line to score. The opposing side is marked with hexagon purple lights.

The methods and tactics for getting this done require teamwork.  These can be varied by using class skills such as the (charge/leap) abilities by Jedi Knights or Troopers, or the (rescue) abilities by Jedi Consulars and Jedi Guardians.


We strongly advise anybody with leap or intercept abilities to utilize them to get around the flame pits which block your path on the way to the goal.

Another method which is vitally important is an understanding on how to pass the ball to another team member. This can be done by clicking on an ability which is automatically loaded onto your toolbar when you enter Huttball.  Simply click the button and a large luminescent area will highlight on the ground and click again with the highlighted area placed over a team mate. Be very careful though ... an inaccurate throw can go to the other team !!

Communication with your other team members is crucial and if you aren't communicating properly then prepare to get beaten.

There are more advanced tactics that can be taken advantage of but I suggest you get in there and try it.

Good Luck and May the Force be with you.

Bonus Series Missions tips

What a lot of people don't realize as they're advancing through the levels is that some planets offer a bonus series of missions. At Alderaan for instance, there are a level 40 series of missions that provide some sweet epic loot upon completion. Hoth has a series of missions that are unlocked at around level 47 and Belsavis has a level 50 bonus series mission line that gives you daily commendations. Although some of these missions to go back to the planet are based on your fleet space station, the Hoth one for instance, is only found by travelling back back to the planet once you've reached level 46/7. If someone hadn't told me about the Alderaan and Hoth bonus missions, I would have never known they were there!

What these bonus missions did was to put me ahead of the base level required on the advanced planets. for
example, although Corellia is a level 47-50 planet, I was actually level 49 by the time I got there. I am now level 50 and still have a tonne of missions to complete, which all provide commendations and much needed credits. As all these missions are green to me, they are very easy to complete. I under a week, I've got my 110 speed speeder and I'm well on my way to decking out all my companions. I've also got all my crafting skills maxed and able to craft a number of epic items. My experience on Beta was very different; I had no credits at level 50 and my gear was no where near as good as it is this time and things were a lot harder.

I strongly advise that you take the time to do the Alderaan bonus missions at level 40 and Hoth at level 47.

New Players Guide to SWTOR

As you find your feet in SWTOR, it's handy to have some inside information.

This guide covers getting set up with the game including:

• the right hardware
• a look at the background story
• how to choose a server and guild
• key terms and roles for characters like DPS, tank and healer
• the options for setting up a character
• Advanced Class options
• Complete lists of information about Companions
• preferred gifts
• Crafting with Companions
• upgrading equipment and mods
• keyboard and mouse controls
• navigation
• general tips on Missions, combat, targeting
• using Companions in combat
• setting up Quick Shots
• full Maps to planets

This eBook is available on Amazon which means that with the appropriate free app or utility you can look at it on your phone, second monitor, laptop or tablet while you game.

If anything that SWTORFace has posted has ever been useful to you, purchasing the guide is a great way to say thanks ... and ensure I get fed!

Thanks everyone ... and let me know if there is a burning topic you'd like me to put a guide together on.

Flashpoints: Do's and Don'ts

Hey guys and gals, just thought I'd list a few of the basic rules when looking for Flashpoints and getting into a group to do them.

First of all what are Flashpoints?  For the most part Flashpoints are important story line sequences which offer a social and entertaining side line away from your normal missions. Flashpoint couriers usually take the form of Droids on the Imperial or Republic Space stations and are also scattered around various planets as well.

Flashpoints are level based. The first one is found as you leave your starting planet where you have learned the basics of combat and how to play your character.

Do's

1) Try to get into a balanced group, for example a tank, healer and a couple of dps. The beginning one is reasonably easy and will give you a basic understanding of group encounters.

2) Try to be understanding of new players and be as helpful as possible.  These encounters are not the standard "dungeons" that most WoW players are used to and the roles required by each player can change during a Flashpoint. Sometimes a player will be needed to off-tank or interrupt special abilities; other times they might just need to do as much dps as possible.

3) Listen to the story lines and enjoy them.  Obviously repeated occurrences of the same Flashpoint will make you want to skip through options but be courteous to players who haven't done the Flashpoint before and want to listen to the story line.

4) Asking people if they would like to join should never be a problem. Most likely you will notice in the general chat multiple people asking for members to specific encounters. Sometimes people tend to ignore this chat and sometimes getting asked to come do a Flashpoint can be a nice breather from missions etc.

5) Enjoy yourself.

[Editor's addition 6) don't go AFK without at least informing the group if an emergency comes up.]

Dont's

1) Be rude or overbearing. Obvious reasons.

2) Actually most people should know how to behave so I won't go into these issues of etiquette.

3) Don't be scared to ask questions on how to better play your character in an encounter. Some people will no doubt not expect this and may act rude or unaccommodating but the majority of people will see this as an opportunity to try and work together.

4) Don't be afraid to try new things.

[Editor's addition: 5) don't start a Flashpoint if you know you won't have the time to finish it, unless you've cleared it with the group first]

These listings are pretty much commonsense but one important thing I've noticed about all of the Flashpoints I've done so far is that they are far more geared towards the social aspect of the game with gaining social points and unique pieces of gear, than that of gaining or farming experience. Quite frankly some of these encounters are very long and you should only do them if you have the time and want some unique entertainment and social activity. [Editor's addition: be prepared to set aside up to two hours]

The SWTOR Leveling Experience, Levels 1 - 10

My first experiences in SWTOR began in the beta 2 weeks prior to launch.  I had initially been invited to join earlier but thought I would wait for launch and avoid any disappointment. Whilst I had faith in Bioware, I had bad experiences with other MMOs and decided I would just wait and see what would happen.  I finally decided to take up the option for the open beta after hearing a lot of discontent with the WoW die hards saying what a poor game SWTOR was looking to be. To me this could mean only that it was looking to be a decent game and this encouraged me to take advantage of the open beta and take a look for myself.

I decided very early that I wouldn't try to rush through and level as fast as I could as a lot of people in betas are inclined to. So instead I would take a look at every class and look at the dynamics and gameplay of each class. 

The first 10 levels of every character are extremely diverse and the story content of all 8 character classes was extremely unique and very well thought out. The play style of each of the 4 characters in each faction is also quite interesting and whilst a lot of people will say this is a WoW clone in the combat arena, I couldn't disagree more heartily. I feel that the differences are amazing and the only way you will learn these is playing for yourself.  I didn't want to make this a guide on how to play, guides like these have been posted all over YouTube and if you want a step by step guide then you are losing the experiences and surprises in the game. This is more about what information is important, and what you might like to know without any spoilers.

Hotkeys
Combat very early on is, as you would expect, limited to a couple of hotkeys, but knowing exactly the function of each ability is invaluable. Making certain you understand what each hotkey is for should be the very first thing you do and as you level, read and invest a little time in looking at your abilities to know what they can do. Whether or not you chain keys for higher damage or just spam a single button, early combat is really quite easy and does not make it a difficult game for the novice player. This gives you the ability to become immersed in the story and develop your skills as you go.  By about level 4 or 5 you will have 6-7 abilities which you can use to your own play style.

Missions
Questing [editor's note: it's called Missions in SWTOR you old WoW player!] is amazingly simplified in SWTOR. Your objectives are placed straight onto your minimap and the primary zones are slightly linear to allow the learning experience to progress. What a lot of experienced MMO players fail to realize is that with each new game release there is an over-abundance of new players who really have no idea what they are doing. The beginning quests for each class begins with, why your character is where they are and their immediate goals.  This leads on to a primary class quest beginning with ACT 1 and leads you into an immersing story line which is both interactive and entertaining.  Side quests are abundant and are pretty much the meat and vegies for leveling.  Not once have I had to grind or worry about not being too low to do my quests.  

Dark side vs light side
One of the first things I noticed, while getting engaged in each story line, were the light and dark side options. As a general rule I decided that if I wanted to be dark I would play dark.  I was playing light then I chose light side options.  There were no exceptions and I found by level 10 I was easily past the first tier of dark or light side points. Choosing a combination did not seem very important as it seemed to balance you closer back to a neutral option.  This may be tempting for the role players out there who are not swayed by the choices they make. 

Companions
People have heard all about companions and these in my view are a game-changing asset whether you like to play solo or with friends. Group partys are limited to 4 members which includes the use of  companions. Since beginning the actual game I have leveled with my close friend Jean (ingame name) and the 2 of us with our companions have been, for lack of a better term, "tearing it up".  I cannot stress this enough.  LEARN how to use your companions. This is vital. 

Social points
This brings up another extremely important facet of the game that a lot of people are not taking so much notice of yet, "Social Points".  Whilst you are grouped with a friend or any other person and you do quests not related to your private class quest, you will gain social points for each interaction within quest dialogue. for example, whenever you are talking to a quest giver and make a choice within this conversation you will receive points which accrue and give you access to superior (both looking and functional) equipment. 

Finally as the beginning zone draws to a close, your primary class quest becomes more prominent and those initial desires seem to be coming to fruition, for example, if you're Jedi / Sith type character your lightsaber looks to be closer at hand.

What I would dearly love to recommend is that you try to do every quest and explore these beginning zones thoroughly. This will make for a much more enriching experience and will allow you whether you are an experienced MMO player or a complete beginner, a fantastic experience which you will thoroughly enjoy. 

Star Wars: The Old Republic Mobile Security Key

I can't express the importance of a secure account. With MMO games there is a lot more at stake than just a character file. If you lose your account you lose years of work and not only that, but your friends can also be affected, especially if you're involved in a guild. 

In WoW, we saw hackers time and time again logging into people's accounts and clearing out everything they could get access to. In one circumstance the hacker even decided that he would start removing people from the guild that the account was on, as it happened to be an officer's account. 

It's obvious that SWTOR is going to be a hot target for hackers these holidays. I have a tough enough job keeping their horrible spam from the comments section of this site! I highly recommend that if you have not purchased the Collector's Edition of the game, which comes bundled with a security key, to download the free app from iTunes for your iPhone if you have one (full guide below). Hopefully they release an app for other platforms like Android soon as well. 

The other option is to purchase the security key key chain from BioWare. I can't remember the exact price, and the site is down for pre-launch maintenance so I can't check, but I think it was around $2-4. That's a small price to pay to know that your avatar is not vulnerable to hackers.

There seems to be some confusion about how the app works. You can use the app if you have an account (even if you don't have your hard copy yet). Here's how to use it:

Log into your SWTOR account on your PC.

Go to Security Key.

Click Mobile Version.

This will provide you with a 7 digit key and a 20 digit key.

Then open the app and enter the 7 digit key in the 'Serial number' section.

It will then ask for the 20 digit key. Enter it.

The app will then provide you with a code (sample above).

Go back to your SWTOR account on your PC and type in that code.

If you start using this app then make sure that you keep a copy of the Serial number that is generated, just in case you ever loose your phone, or have to reset it. Every time you go to log into the game from then on you'll have to fire up the app on your phone and enter the serial number, get the security key and then enter it on your SWTOR login on your PC.

Description:

Keep your STAR WARS: The Old Republic account protected with the official STAR WARS: The Old Republic Mobile Security Key app for your iPhone and iPod Touch! The STAR WARS: The Old Republic Mobile Security Key app is an optional program that will allow you to apply an additional layer of protection to your STAR WARS: The Old Republic account by generating a unique, one-time passcode that you can use in addition to your regular password. By using the STAR WARS: The Old Republic Mobile Security Key app, you can rest assured that your account is secured from hackers, Trojans and other unauthorized users.

How To Use: How To Use: Once you have installed the app on your iOS device you’ll need to visit www.starwarstheoldrepublic.com to associate the Mobile Security Key with your account. Log in to the STAR WARS: The Old Republic web site and go to the My Account page (link on the upper right of the page). From the menu on the right side of the page choose Security Key and then follow the instructions to set up your Mobile Security Key.

Airtime or Wi-Fi connection required for use.
For more information on how to register the STAR WARS: The Old Republic Mobile Security Key app to your starwarstheoldrepublic.com account, please visit www.swtor.com/support.
Languages Supported:
• English

http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/star-wars-the-old-republic/id488420295?mt=8