That's Not a Leprechaun Waiting for a Pot of Gold!

This is a common sight on the planet Ilum. You've just battled your way through enemy forces in hopes of obtaining some sort of epic reward. But when you reach the end of the dark tunnel you find a level 11 character using a 3rd party program to "AFK" loot the security chest that spawns about every 5 minutes.

Inside these chests, players can usually find reward items which scale in level or value to the planet's difficulty. Armor pieces, weapons, stims, or sometimes just a good amount of credits can be found inside these chests.

Many players have voiced their displeasure with what is happening here. On Keller's Void, an East Coast US server, there are even stories circulating about a character who made it all the way to level 50 just by entering warzone PvP matches and going AFK in the corner until the match was completed, gaining all the experience the players who participated in the battle would recieve. Obviously this person pictured here rode the back of another player, perhaps even of their own creation, simply to "camp" the security chest, robbing anyone who actually fights their way to it of any riches it may have inside.

What can BioWare do to prevent this from happening? It is quite obvious that a 3rd party program is being employed here as the chest is opened and looted the very second it spawns into the world. Didn't BioWare state that they would not tolerate the use of 3rd party programs in this manner shortly before the game's release? These items are ending up on the Galactic Marketplace, making these "credit farmers" a fortune.

Here are suggestions from some of the players I have spoken to :

- Spawn a "boss" NPC along with the security chest every 5 minutes which would very easily dispatch any character not of the appropriate level in the vicinity. This boss could also hold the "key" to the box itself making it impossible to open unless the key is obtained from the NPC.

- Put a level requirement on the security chest, making it impossible to open unless the character is 5 levels above or below the items actually inside the chest itself.

- Put a level requirement on the entire planet, making it impossible to set foot into the areas where these chests spawn until a good portion of the character's class quest is completed.

Please feel free to comment and give your suggestions as well. Nothing is more frustrating than finding someone who is obviously away from keyboard taking away your opportunity to gain items which may help you accomplish your goals in Star Wars the Old Republic.

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.

Security Key Vendor FTW!

Account security is a big concern on BioWare's part. I do not know how many times I have heard someone say "my WoW account got hacked."

By adding an extra layer of account security via security key, BioWare has insured themselves of alot less problems and having to retrieve accounts for players. Players also can rest assured knowing it will be that much harder to have their accounts hacked into.

The Security Key Generator itself is a small keychain sized device which generates a 7 digit security code required when logging into the SWTOR launcher. It is powered by a simple watch size battery which can be easily replaced by opening the actual key generator. There is also a smart phone application that can be used.

As incentive to use this extra layer of protection, BioWare has added in-game Security Key Vendors that can only be accessed if you have logged onto your account using a security key.

There is a unique Dancer's Uniform which can be modded, a collection of extra Companion Customizations, a Rythym Augmentation Droid, which will play music for you for 20 seconds after being summoned, and my personal favorite, Fleet Passes.

Fleet Passes can be purchased from the Security Key Vendor for 1,000 credits each and they stack in your inventory. They are bound to your character so they are exclusive to those using a security key to log in. They have only a one hour cooldown as opposed to the Emergency Fleet Pass ability which takes 16 hours. These make it much easier and quicker to get back to your respective faction's hub for quick access to flashpoints, storage, vendors, the Galactic Market, or even just a rest area to log out.

In my opinion, the Fleet Passes alone make it very worthwhile to use the security key option when logging into your account. I do also enjoy the Rythym Augmentation droid despite it's 55,000 credit price.

By adding these incentives to use the security key option, BioWare has probably saved themselves alot of headaches and have added a few very convenient items for players who will have exclusive rights to the Security Key Vendors. They can be found on your faction's Fleet Hub, and some of the orbital stations like the one found on Ilum.

Imperial / Republic Fleet Quickly Becoming Everyone's Hang Out.

It did not take long for players to start to congregate on Fleet for both factions. It is the place to be for Galactic Market buying and selling, along with a wide assortment of vendors, quest givers, Flashpoints, and trainers. Fleet has been a very lively place. So much in fact that you may need to turn off the option to display other player's nameplates to increase performance. The cantina band generates music which echoes throughout the hallways, giving an almost stadium like feel to the entire place. My guildies danced away on top of one of the bar counters as they waited for group members to ready for the next Flashpoint.

Was Ilum and SWTOR's Endgame PvP Content Rushed?

Since launch, the planet Ilum has caused much concern for BioWare and the players of Star Wars the Old Republic. From overall performance issues, loopholes in the daily PvP quests, to "bots" farming high end loot chests while away from keyboard, Ilum has raised alot of issues with the player base.

With yesterday's 1.1 patch, players are no longer able to "trade off" with the other faction in order to complete their PvP daily quests. They now HAVE to PvP to complete the PvP daily.

As a result, players from the Sith Empire have now found another loophole. It became apparent that they were farming Valor (PvP Rank) by simply completing quests while inside the actual Republic Base. Some players made it all the way to rank 60 in just one day by taking advantage of a mechanic that was not intended to exist. Sith players going inside of the Republic Base were to be killed almost instantly, but this was not the case, and the damage has been done. In turn, there was nothing similar for the Republic players to take advantage of.

Many Republic players are claiming that the gap has already been breached, and many of the Imperial players have literally cheated their way to the top by taking advantage of this exploit. They are now able to use alot of the top end gear, leaving the Republic players months behind.
Players have threatened to cancel their accounts, and some are demanding a roll-back to make the stage even once again.

Today, in response, BioWare is implementing an emergency patch which will eliminate Imperial players from being able to go inside of the Republic Base without immediate death. Whether they take action or not on those players who took advantage of this exploit remains to be seen. It is uncertain at this time if they will roll back Valor ranks on these players as well.

Has the damage been done? Will the players involved see their Valor ranks rolled back? Is it fair to leave it as is?

With any MMO it will always be a work in progress. Some are calling yesterday's 1.1 patch the worst patch in MMO history. While myself being a former Star Wars Galaxies player, I can definitely beg to differ. However, there are many players who are dedicated to PvP and are quite upset over what took place yesterday. Hopefully BioWare will take some sort of action to even out the scales and make the players happy.

With this being said, do you feel SWTOR's end game PvP content or even the planet Ilum as a whole were rushed to live? Would more beta time have revealed some of these problems before the player base got involved? Should the PvP on Ilum have been instanced like the warzones?

More to come as we see what BioWare has in store with the emergency patch going in right now at the time of this post.

New Content and Guild Banks to Come

Bioware today launched this new video which covers some up and coming features in SWTOR. This includes new warzones, interface changes and guild banks. Probably the coolest thing with the up and coming changes is that they are designed by the team that designed the original game which is different to many other games where one team designed the original and then separate teams designed add-ons.  I have experienced it many times when the feel of the original game gets lost in an expansion because of creative differences between design teams. Knowing that the up and coming editions have been in development for over a year is also exciting. With a guild of close to 100 members, I am really looking forward to the guild bank features.

Patch 1.1 Killed PvP

This was the view for most Republic players in Ilum today after 1.1 went live. These changes to the open world zone let players camp spawn zones and show the unbalance in faction population in its full glory.

The changes in 1.1 to Ilum are:
Ilum
The daily and weekly mission objectives in Ilum now require defeating enemy players and/or collecting armaments from the center objective.
Players now gain increased Valor from player kills in Ilum.
Players now gain increased bonus Valor for kills based on the number of objectives controlled by their faction.
Increased bonus Valor is now granted for player kills when defending an objective your faction owns.
A notification is now displayed when a player gains Valor.
Three new respawn points have been added for each faction.
Companions are now restricted from the PvP objective area on Ilum.
Notifications are now displayed when enemy players are close to an objective.

Adding the multiple spawn points proved absolutely pointless if the game announces where the players are. Even if you manage to get into the zone as a Republic payer and find an equal fight of one or two Imperials, before you have a chance to actually kill them you have several players ganking you. In most PvP scenarios it relies on players to communicate when they need assistance. The announcements are the first thing that need to be taken out of this zone. Due tot he massive faction imbalance, some sort of population cap for PvP zones may need to be implemented, in fact, maybe the whole battle zone needs to be scrapped and re-thought out. They might want to take some inspiration from the way that Blizzard designed Tol Barad which has scheduled PvP events and limited amounts of players that could be involved, ensuring a balanced and fun time for all. Bioware have already taken actions and disabled shuttle points in Ilum, pending a fix.

Kotaku have a video on what it is like to PvP in Ilum as a republic player. Thanks to Klintz for the link.

More Players Logging in to SWTOR than WoW in the US and EU

This is some interesting stuff I found around the net. What the numbers show us is that about 100,000 more people may have logged in to SWTOR over the last week or two than World of Warcraft.

Year on year stats from http://www.warcraftrealms.com/weeklyfactionactivity.php  show that World of Warcraft has a total of 266, 435 players per week on average, logged on during peak hours in the US and EU regions combined. ( Note: this is just peak numbers)


According to http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01...current-users/ SWTOR has 350, 000 peak concurrent users and BioWare have confirmed that there are now over 1 million accounts.

Now just keep in mind SWTOR is new, so people who might have played WoW are checking out SWTOR. The question is, will they stick around? Of the 80+ players in  my guild I know of 1 player who did not like SWTOR and has gone back to another game. He first played a Jedi Knight and told us all it was too hard, then he played a Trooper and told us all it was too easy ... the truth was it was just not the game for him.

SWTOR will get a lot more players than the first 1 million and some people who play SWTOR will find it's just not what they wanted. I think it will be moths until we see what SWTOR can do. I feel it's way too early to call SWTOR a WoW killer yet, and besides I think it would be inaccurate to call any game can be a WoW killer; WoW has already surpassed what it needed to do to be successful. 

January 17th Patch 1.1: Postponed

Nooooooo Noooooo Patch tonight!

From AmberGreen:

Hello everyone! Because we care about ensuring that Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ provides you with a consistent and quality game play experience, we will be postponing weekly maintenance this week. Downtime was originally scheduled for Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 from 2AM CST (12AM PST/3AM EST/8AM GMT/9AM CET) to 10AM CST (8AM PST/11AM EST/4PM GMT/5PM CET) and will now occur at a later date due to issues requiring additional testing that have been discovered with the Game Update 1.1 content on the Public Test Server. 


These issues were primarily brought to our attention by the diligent players on the Public Test Server Forums. Your participation in testing helps to improve the game as a whole, and we appreciate your discussion and feedback. The bug reports you provide are a valuable part of the development process. Thank you!


We’re working hard to bring you Game Update 1.1: Rise of the Rakghouls and are working hard to ensure your overall experience with Star Wars: The Old Republic is spectacular! The maintenance window for Game Update 1.1 will be rescheduled for some time within the next few days, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. When there’s a definite time, we will post here on the forums as well as on the Community Blog. Please keep your eye out for updates, and we will provide information as soon as it’s available.

Analyzing SWTOR Game Update 1.1

I thought I'd have a closer look at what we should all expect with the patch 1.1 going live tonight. I'm actually really surprised that we've got a content update so early in the piece. On the first month anniversary, BioWare are ready to release new end game content. And what could be more fun than the Star Wars version of zombies, Rakghouls!

We're also getting a much needed fix to the farm-fest that is Ilum. The last couple of Tuesday nights have been a little bit like scenes from Brave Heart, with piles of Sith and Republic troops standing on opposite sides of each other, trading caps while also firing off the occassional pot-shot or insult at the oppossing faction. Too bad we don't have a /lift kilt!

The patch notes are below in gold, with my comments throughout.

General

Anti-aliasing is now available and can be enabled in the preferences menu.
First up, for anybody with a decent enough PC, you are now going to be able to turn on anti-aliasing. Keep in mind though that if you notice performance dropping a bit too much, trading off things like shadows might enable you to keep anti-aliasing on while keeping the performance level up.

Classes and Combat

General
Healers will rejoice at the reduction of threat. This will also make it easier for Gaurdians or Jedi tanks to keep threat on general mobs, tanking flashpoints has been an utter nightmare as a Jedi Knight Gaurdian. I have literally had to tab target to keep threat. I've also had a few healers curse me out. Thank you for this fix!
Healing caused by crowd control abilities no longer generates threat.
Tooltips for abilities modified by skill points now display correct damage values.


Guard
This ability now transfers to a new friendly target without requiring deactivation on the previous target.
Activating this ability while targeting a guarded or invalid target will still toggle the Guard ability off.
A distinct visual effect is now present on characters using Guard on another character, and another effect is now present on the guarded character if they leave Guard’s range.
This has been another issue I've had with my Jedi Gaurdian, especially in PvP. Trying to gaurd the dude who picked up the Hutt Ball was a right pain in the rear end. Hopefully this fixes that issue.

Taunt
A new visual effect has been added to the user and the target of the Taunt ability for the duration of its effect.


Jedi Consular
Project: This ability no longer shakes the screen of onlookers.
So all you Jedi Consulars shaking up the space station ... your fun has ended!

Shadow
Battle Readiness: Now allows Combat Technique to trigger once every 3 seconds.
Combat Technique: Healing received through Combat Technique has been increased, scales properly at higher levels, and can only be triggered once every 4.5 seconds.
Slow Time: This ability’s damage has been increased by 15% and it now slows the movement speed of all affected targets.


Jedi Knight
Force Leap: This ability no longer functions on Portable Holo Dancers.
But oh ... that was fun!

Sith Inquisitor

Assassin
Dark Charge: Healing received through Dark Charge has been increased, scales properly at higher levels, and can only be triggered once every 4.5 seconds.
Overcharge Saber: Now allows Dark Charge to trigger once every 3 seconds.
Wither: Damage has been increased by 15% and it now slows the movement speed of all affected targets.
These are nice little buffs for our Assassin buddies. You might have a chance of killing me now ... wait, do they need these fixes?


Sith Warrior
Intercede: This ability no longer functions on Portable Holo Dancers.
Shatter: this ability’s tooltip now correctly reflects its damage; damage from this ability has not been adjusted.

Imperial Agent

Bug Fixes
Corrected an issue where activating cover, using Explosive Probe, and then using Snipe could cause Snipe to be interrupted.


Bounty Hunter

General
Incendiary Missile: This ability is no longer misclassified as an Area of Effect ability.


Companion Characters

General
C2-N2 and 2V-R8 no longer vocalize crafting commentary during combat.
Oh, thank God! Now is there any way to stop them from jabbering on every time I walk around my ship?! Even C3-P0 had an off switch for when he got too annoying!
The Carbonized Stream companion ability no longer breaks prematurely.
This has been a major gimp on most healing companions. It will be interesting to see how effective Doc is now as his CC effect has been absolutely useless.Companions

Kira Carsen
Fixed an issue that caused players to be unable to progress in Kira’s affection conversations. Players previously affected by this issue can now speak to Kira and progress normally.
All I can say to all you evil Jedi that went to the Dark Side to get a bit of coitus with Kira, serve yourself right! You see us light Jedi that were good boys and didn't try to hit on her just after they killed somebody important to her, never had a problem. Call this bug karma.


Bug Fixes
Companions will now sell trash items when requested, regardless of group size.
Companion healing abilities no longer apply a permanent green effect on the character.
My dude has looked like a Christmas tree since beta. The fact that I'll be able to see my guy's armor again rather than the goofy green holonet over my entire body, is a major relief.
Fixed an issue that caused Companion Characters to sometimes have the incorrect appearance in cinematics.
What, no more naked companions?! I thought it was entertaining seeing Lore Scourge in his jocks right after killing a major Sith competitor (sorry no spoilers here).


Crew Skills

Bug Fixes
Corrected an issue that prevented recently completed Crew Skill missions from showing up in the next list of available missions.
Fixed a bug that could cause Crew Skills a character didn’t have to appear in the Crew Skills window.
Players can no longer loot harvesting nodes they do not have the appropriate Crew Skill for after a group member harvests (but does not loot) a node.


Flashpoints and Operations

General
A new level 50 Flashpoint, Kaon Under Siege, is now available for play in Normal and Hard Modes!
The Gav Daragon and the Ziost Shadow have been expanded to accommodate the Kaon Under Siege gateway.
The difficulty of some non-boss enemies in Flashpoints has been adjusted.
Enemies now drop credits more frequently in Flashpoints.
This is the big add-on provided in this patch. I'd recommend that players get a couple of runs at normal before going head-strong into hard mode.

Flashpoints

Cademimu
General Ortol’s rocket fire damage no longer occurs when the rocket is not active.
The Black Talon
Some enemies in this Flashpoint are no longer invisible.
The Foundry
Corrected an issue that could cause the final boss to become stuck at 10% health.
The Battle of Ilum
Krel Thak’s Allied Weequay Pirates have had their toughness reduced in Hard Mode.
The False Emperor
The Sith Entity’s affliction ability now properly deals damage in Hard Mode.
HK-47 now has the correct amount of health in Normal Mode.
Some fixes to some very frustrating bugs on that list!

Operations

Eternity Vault
Players are now able to successfully loot the chest after defeating the Infernal Council.
Perimeter Defense Cannons have been re-tuned and have improved targeting behaviors.
Soa’s Mind Trap and Force Throw abilities no longer target the same player multiple times; they now target every player in the group once.
Ball lightning enemies summoned by Soa deal damage in a smaller radius.
The Annihilation Droid’s rocket burst attack no longer deals double damage in 16-player Operations.
Soa now summons fewer ball lightning enemies during the final round in 16-player Operations.
Karagga’s Palace
Four new bosses can now be battled by players in Karagga’s Palace!
Players no longer get stuck attempting to exit the Karagga’s Palace phase.
Bug Fixes

Flashpoints
Corrected an issue that prevented some enemy NPCs from spawning in Flashpoints.
The correct error message now displays when a player attempts to enter a different Flashpoint than the rest of the group.
Flashpoint gateways no longer display as orange in incorrect circumstances.
Fixed an issue that prevented Flashpoint difficulty from being set properly.
Fixed an issue that caused mapnotes directing players to some Flashpoints to not appear correctly.
Corrected map issues that made locating mission objectives on the Gav Daragon difficult.
Fixed an issue preventing some players from opening a chest after a boss fight if the group was previously defeated by the boss.
Items

General
An Item Modification Table has been added to the Supplies areas of the Republic and Imperial Fleets.


PvP

Battlemaster Gear Tokens have been converted into Battlemaster Commendations, which can be used to purchase any Battlemaster gear. This allows players to purchase any piece of gear instead of requiring them to purchase the piece indicated by the token.
Battlemaster Bags now contain Battlemaster Commendations instead of Battlemaster Gear Tokens. They still also contain Champion Commendations.
Although I haven't had many issues with double of tokens, I can see how this could be an issue with some players. It's hard enough to get these tokens in the first place and as I need two separate sets, one DPS and one tank, this is a welcome change.


Missions and NPCs

General
All Bonus Series missions and their required missions can now be abandoned.
You mean I can get rid of that level 16 mission now?!. Thank the maker!
Certain Wampas on Hoth that were preying on lower-level characters have had their level reduced.
Oh come on; why change this? Wampas are meant to be feared. They took out Luke for Pete's sake.


Missions

Imperial
Pressure Points: The Lerantha Lurker no longer engages players in combat before completing its spawn sequence.
Geroya be Haran: Objectives related to this mission now glow when selected.
In Cold Blood: Enemies that use Armor Piercing Cell during this mission no longer each stack a debuff on the player.
Shadow Spawn: The Sith Spawn no longer knocks players down for longer than intended.
Thuggish Behavior: Corrected an issue that could cause the player to remain stuck in combat during this mission. The required kills to complete this mission have been reduced.
Republic
Climbing the Ladder: A conversation related to this mission no longer ends prematurely.
Droid Clean Up: Corrected an issue that caused the bonus mission to persist in the player’s mission log.
The Summit: The difficulty of the encounter with Sidone has been reduced.
Vivicar Awaits: Lowered the amount of enemies that attack the player during the step “Find a Way Past the Force Field.”


NPCs

Bug Fixes
Jilcoln Cadera’s abilities now correctly take into account whether a player is immune from knockbacks.
The “Primal Destroyer” World Boss on Belsavis is now “Overwhelming” as intended.
The World Boss “The First” on Dromund Kaas no longer inhibits Bounty Hunter’s Rapid Shots, and Imperial Agents will no longer be knocked out of cover during combat with it.PvP

General
The shuttle room in Dorn Base Command Center on Hoth is no longer considered contested territory.
Ka on Voss is now a PvP Sanctuary.


Warzones


Level 50 players now participate in their own Warzone bracket and will not be matched with lower-level players.
It's going to be interesting to see how this effects queue times. Although I find it frustrating to have multiple level 10s in my group, waiting half an hour for a match might be just as frustrating. The good thing is that I don't think I'll see as many AFK players trying to get experience in my level 50 groups.
Ilum
The daily and weekly mission objectives in Ilum now require defeating enemy players and/or collecting armaments from the center objective.
Players now gain increased Valor from player kills in Ilum.
Players now gain increased bonus Valor for kills based on the number of objectives controlled by their faction.
Increased bonus Valor is now granted for player kills when defending an objective your faction owns.
A notification is now displayed when a player gains Valor.
Three new respawn points have been added for each faction.
Companions are now restricted from the PvP objective area on Ilum.
Notifications are now displayed when enemy players are close to an objective.
I am curious to see how this effects the overall PvP experience in this zone. on the server I'm on it's pretty obvious that the Sith out-number the Republic. Will the Sith bother going to Ilum considering there will not be enough Republic players to compete, or will it be a massive onslaught every time I enter the zone?


Bug Fixes

General
The scoreboard value for “Highest Protection Per Single Life” now functions correctly.
Players who have left a Warzone can no longer receive an MVP vote from teammates.
Your PvP status will now be toggled automatically upon leaving a PvP region.
Additional feedback is now provided when a player attempts to toggle their PvP flag.
The Bolster tooltip now more accurately represents the buff’s effects.
Huttball
Corrected a rare issue that could cause the Frogdogs to be declared the winner in a 0-0 match even if the Rotworms held the ball last.
Ilum
Mountable turrets in Ilum no longer deal damage to targets behind them or outside their range.
Turrets no longer immediately dismount the player after use.
UI

Maps
Fixed a bug that prevented the minimap title from displaying when loading into the game or refreshing the UI.
Corrected an issue that caused some mapnotes to disappear from the minimap when other mapnotes were updated.


Items
Item hyperlinks now display stats for crafted research items properly.
Item hyperlinks no longer display erroneous additional information relating to schematics when examined.
Attempting to place a non-mission item into the mission inventory now displays an error message.
Dragging equipment onto the character paper doll no longer prompts an item deletion notice. Items dragged to the paper doll are now equipped if possible.
Item set bonuses now appear on the tooltip when viewing an item on a vendor.
Items that can be modified now display with the correct loot color in the loot roll window.
Comparative tooltips now correctly display stat differences when mousing over items in the Crew Skills window.


Bug Fixes
Fixed the tooltip display for ability cooldowns over one hour in length.
The interface for splitting stacks of items now displays correctly.
Servers that are online now always display on top of servers that are offline in the Server Select screen.
Corrected a typographical error in the “Additional Commands” context menu option.
Players nearby a player who achieves a new Legacy level no longer receive the Legacy level-up notification.
Legacy name display preferences now persist when travelling between planets.
A new confirmation dialogue now appears when submitting spam reports in game.
Sorting now works correctly in the Guilds tab.

Miscellaneous Bug Fixes

The owner of a holocall conversation is no longer shown in the last frame of the cinematic.
The spacebar button is now recognized when a player presses it to progress after a loading screen even if the spacebar button has been re-bound.
Additional issues that could impact performance on Taris have been addressed.
Vanity pets can no longer be considered targets for any abilities.
Corrected an issue that could cause some preferences to reset to defaults upon area transitions.
An Aim Datacron on Ilum is now accessible and no longer repeats its initial cinematic once used.
A Datacron on Coruscant is no longer blocked by unintentional collision.


There are lot of other useful bug fixes and I'm sure players will still have new bugs to report or old ones that aren't fixed int he patch. I for one truly hope the red error text messages get a toggle on and off switch in the options. I even find the text notification that pops up in the middle of space missions, to be extremely annoying. The text notifications in the center of the screen take away some of the immersion for me, but Like all other patches, the patch will include changes that are not documented publicly.