90 Cartel Packs Opened at a cost of $240!

Remamian from the Swtor Forums shows us why it not a good Idea to get Cartel Packs:


So its getting that time of year when i normally have an extra flow of cash laying around, just so happens i have something to spend them on now. So i figured hey! I had nearly 3000 cartel coins from my sub and collectors i figured i'd buy a few extra. There were really just a few things i was looking for that i saw people had gotten from the packs. The Throne, which is the ultra rare, which i wanted just so can sell it. The only thing honestly that i wanted for myself was a Covert Belt, i really wanted this to complete a look on one of my characters.

Well i bought an extra 5500 cartel coins so i can get enough packs to pretty much guarantee that i can at least get my belt. 

Well it just soo happens that after opening ALL those cartels packs, i still had nothing i wanted.......

I've now purchased 33,000 cartel coins (6x the 5500 39.99 group = 240$) and here are my findings

XP BOOSTS (Major)
Class Mission x2
Experience x5
Flashpoint x6
Exploration x2
Warzone x4
Social x1
Space Mission x1



XP BOOSTS (Minor) 
Class Mission x10
Experiance x2
Flashpoint x11
Exploration x7
Warzone x9
Social x9
Space Mission x7

Vehicles
Rendii Nightshade x7
Lhosan Manta x5
Longspur Elite x4
Ubrikki Sand Devil x7
Ubrikki Crimson Claw x10

Pets
Mountain Lizardbat x7
Golden Lizardbat x5
Slate Mouse Horranth x6
Golden-skinned Vrblet x3
Red-Backed Gizka x1
Low Atmosphere Miniprobe x1

Weapons - Crystals
Hyperstorm Heavy Cannon x1
Rangehunter EE-1 Carbine Rifle x2
Devastator's Double-Bladed Lightsaber x2
Max-Tac Precision Sniper Rifle
Advanced Pink-Purple Indestructible Crystal (End) x 3
Advanced Pink-Purple Hawkeye Crystal x1
Advanced Pink-Purple Eviscerating Crystal x1
Advanced Pink-Purple War Hero's Crystal x1

Consumables
Emote: Menace x5
Emote: Intimidate x3
Title: The Cartel Collector x9
Title: The Crime Lord x2

Clothing
Elegant Loungewear Bottoms x3
Elegant Loungewear Top x7
Elegant Loungewear Cap x5
Trailblazer's Helmet x4
Trailblazer's Boots x1
Trailblazer's Legs x1
Spymaster's Helmet x1
Covert Torso Energy Armor x6
Mask of Nihilus x2

Other
Imperial Banner x4
Republic Banner x9
Glowing Eyes - Gold x2
Glowing Eyes - Red x4
Satele Shan Holostatue x1
Darth Malgus Holostatue x4
Ball Toss x10

Companion Gifts and Materials
These items i didn't keep tally's of or any records as i already had a bunch of them. I did note some of the rarer items

Molecular Stabilizers x5
Radioactive Paste x10
Enriched Durasteel x80
Ciridium x40
Subelectronic Data Module x30
Biometric Cystal Alloy x110
Alien Data Cube x70
Dallorian Alloy x60
Corusca Gem x5
Nanosilk x60
Lorrdian Gemstone x10
Perfect Yellow Crystal x40
Perfect Orange Crystal x50
Mandalorian Iron x5
Self-Perpetuating Power Cell x60
Smart Cells x40

So recap, I got a boat-load of stuff out of the 90 some packs i opened....

No throne
No Covert Belt

-- really .... no covert belt, that's like the only thing i wanted!


to see How to get the most value out of your Cartel Coins check out this post 

SWTOR's First Digital Expansion Rise of the Hutt Cartel

Coming in Spring 2013
Continue your Star Wars™ saga with a new level cap of 55.
Experience new epic story content with fully-voiced cinematic conversations.
New Planet: Makeb - Explore a vibrant alien landscape.

it will be $19.99 or $9.99 for Subscribers..

That's all we know just yet more info to come soon!

Check it out here

Scheduled Maintenance for Game Update 1.6: December 11th, 2012

Hello everyone, we wanted to let you know that we will be performing scheduled maintenance for six hours on Tuesday, December 11th, 2012 from 2AM CST (12AM PST/3AM EST/8AM GMT/9AM CET/7PM AEDT) until 8AM CST (6AM PST/9AM EST/2PM GMT/3PM CET/1AM AEDT). All game servers will be offline during this period. This maintenance is expected to take no more than six hours, but could be extended.

Game Update 1.6 introduces a new Warzone, Ancient Hypergate, where you can team up with other players to fight for control of powerful energy pylons to unleash the power of the ancient Gree hypergate against your enemies. Six new Heroic Space Missions are also available for each faction. These missions will be a challenge even for the greatest pilots in the galaxy!

Please Note: PvP Warzones and Space Missions are available to Subscribers at no additional cost. Players without a subscription have limited free access per week and may purchase additional access in the Cartel Market.

After this maintenance is over, restart the game launcher to patch to Game Update 1.6: Ancient Hypergate.

Scheduled Maintenance
Date: Tuesday, December 11th, 2012

Time: 2AM CST (12AM PST/3AM EST/8AM GMT/9AM CET/7PM AEDT) until 8AM CST (6AM PST/9AM EST/2PM GMT/3PM CET/1AM AEDT)

All game servers will be offline during this period. This maintenance is expected to take no more than six hours.

Thank you for your patience as we maintain service for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.

How to get the most value out of your Cartel Coins

With the Cartel Market embedded in our game, I thought I'd better work out what is the best value for your coins. Read on, because I can save you 5 million credits worth! The first thing I did, like everybody else, was to blow all the coins I earned via my subscription on Cartel bags. I ended up with a whole heap of crap that nobody wants. Unlike the bags I opened on the test server, the frequency of good stuff in the bags was low. I ended up with lots of very similar mounts and lots of worthless titles.

The value for almost all of these items - that were meant be rare items from Cartel packs - have dropped to about 10k each because SWTOR is flooded with them now. You can see here from the screenshot of the Galactic Trade Market from my server the mounts are desperately being sold for as little as 10k.

So, what do you spend your 500 coins on each month if you're a subscriber? Well, if you have multiple alts, I found that the best value is in Unlocks. The Cartel Market gives you the option to use credits or Cartel Coins to unlock things like extra bank slots. If you purchase the low level bank slots using credits you can save millions of credits by using Cartel Coins to unlock the extra bank slots on all your characters on your account!

Another thing I did was to use all my Cartel coins like the target dummies, mail box and Galactic Trade Market on my ships. These unlocks, paid for by Cartel Coins, are account wide and extremely good value for money when compared to paying for it in credits. For less than the cost of a set of armor you get to unlock the Galactic Trade Market on your ship. If you were to use credits it would cost 5 million! For 5 million credits you could purchase almost every item available in Cartel packs off the Galactic Market including exclusive mounts like the Emporer's chair.

So at this stage I would highly recommend that you don't spend your Cartel Coins on the random packs - especially  if you're looking for individual items. Due to the massive volume of initial packs that were sold it is far cheaper to get this stuff from the Galactic Trade Market now.

New SWTOR Free To Play Video

This is one cool video if your a Star Wars fan and have not played SWTOR this is your chance it free to play  all the way up to level 50! Max level the story's are amazing and the game has 8 full story's to pick from.

The Free-to-Play option is now live! Step into the Star Wars™ universe and play a role in the ongoing battle as you start your own personal saga. Play now as a Jedi, a Sith, a Bounty Hunter or as one of many other iconic Star Wars roles up to Level 50 for free. Watch "A Galaxy of Possibilities" and see the action-packed adventure that awaits you in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™!

Game Update 1.6: Ancient Hypergate is on Public Test Server!

 SWTOR Game Update 1.6: Ancient Hypergate is on Public Test Server!

Game Update 1.6: Ancient Hypergate is now on the Public Test Server (PTS) allowing players to experience brand new in-game content, including a new PvP Warzone and Heroic Space Missions.

Travel to a remote Warzone to discover a brand new PvP battle mechanic. 

The Republic and Imperial forces are locked in an intense conflict to control two energy pylons. Fight to take control of these powerful pylons and kill enemy forces to discharge energy into your faction’s gate. The first team to open their portal unleashes deadly reinforcements to wipe out enemy players. But beware, those who attempt to control these objective points may find them to be a bit volatile!

Take on the best pilots in the galaxy.

Navigate your ship to victory in new LeveI 50+ Heroic Mode Space Missions! With six new repeatable Heroic Mode Missions per faction, these updated Space Missions will challenge even the most skilled pilots. Players will earn Black Hole Commendations to spend on ship upgrades, high level gear, and more!

For those of you that already have a character, we encourage you to explore Ancient Hypergate and Heroic Space Missions. For your convenience, all Warzone matches on PTS will automatically be set to Ancient Hypergate. Please give us your feedback by posting on the Public Test Server forum. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to offer the ability to copy characters for this test. Be sure to visit the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Test Center to learn more.

Game Update 1.6: Ancient Hypergate - PTS Patch Notes



UPDATED 11/20/2012

The patch notes published for the Public Test Server are not final and are subject to change. Currently, only English notes are available, but French and German versions will be published when they are available.

Highlights

• Ancient Hypergate, a new Warzone, is available for play! Travel to an ancient ruin built around a Gree Hypergate and battle to control the precious lost technology for your faction.
• New incredibly challenging Weekly [HEROIC] Space Combat missions are available!
• All new Grade 7 Artifact Quality Starship Upgrades are now available!

Group Finder

• Added a new Level 50 "Introduction to Group Finder" mission to the Daily Mission Terminal on the Republic and Imperial Fleets. This will be granted when players complete the Advanced Gear mission for their Class.
• Group Finder categories have been updated with tooltips that provide a recommended gear rating and an outline of the rewards available from the content.
• Increased Black Hole Commendations awarded by Story Mode Operations in Group Finder from 5 to 10.

Items

• Tionese gear available from the Tionese vendor no longer costs Tionese Crystals, and their commendation costs have been reduced for most items.
• Ancient Artifact Storage Boxes can now be purchased for 25 Tionese Crystals from all Tionese vendors.

Missions and NPCs

• Added a new Level 50 "Advanced Gear" mission for each Class to the Daily Mission Terminal on the Imperial and Republic Fleets.

UI

• The tooltips for several currencies will now explain how they can be acquired and what they can be used to purchase. These currencies include: Tionese Commendations, Columi Commendations, Black Hole Commendations, Daily Commendations, and Tionese Crystals.
• The Flashpoint Commendations category on the Currency Window has been renamed to Endgame Commendations. Daily Commendations will now appear under the Endgame Commendations category.

HK-51 Companion Guide

HK-51

Character Information

Gender: Droid/male voice

Species: Droid

Age: Unknown

Gameplay Information

First Encountered On: Belsavis Section X

Becomes a Companion: On completion of Lord of Agony– Heroic 2+

Companion Type: DPS 

Armor: Droid Armor

Crew Skill: +5 Mission Efficiency +1 Crafting Critical

Primary Stat: Aim / Cunning

Primary Weapon: Blaster Rifle, Sniper Rifle

Secondary Weapon: Vibroknife

Likes: Strenth and killing anything,

Dislikes: weakness and not killing someone when you could have.

Gift Preferences for HK-51

Love	None
Favorite	Weapon
Like	Technology Trophy Military Gear
Indifferent	Courting Luxury Republic Memorabilia Imperial Memorabilia Cultural Artifact Underworld Good

Tips

To Unlock HK-51 you will need to star the Quest chain that start in Belsavis Section X

New arrives to Section X will be greeted by a droid called G0-A1-Empire and B6-31 -Republic not far from the ship landing pad. He will hand you a quest called Fatal Errors Heroic 2+  for Empire players  The Fatality Heroic 2+ for Republic players and ask you to track down General Avrun - Empire and  Bren -Republic out in the Frozen Lake.

HK-51 Background

"Revelation: We have already begun construction on a new generation of HK units. When the last of our deficiencies are accounted for and corrected, they shall be the most formidable assassination droids in the galaxy."
―An HK-50 assassination droid

HK-51 assassin droids were advanced versions of HK-50 assassin droids. They were acquired by the reconstituted Sith Empire around a decade into the Cold War. An Imperial freighter containing the droids had crashed on Belsavis some time later. Sometime between 3,643 BBY and 3,641 BBY, renegade Sith rediscovered the freighter.

Characteristics

"Schematics for HK generation 51: Blaster to accuracy ratio: increased by 21%. Durasteel impact frame resistance: increased. Conclusion: halting production. Units are in standby mode, pending further testing of behavior cores and assassination protocols."

―Log of the HK-51's development status

HK-51 Companion Droid Quest guide

SWTOR HK-51 guide with detailed walkthroughs on obtaining HK-51, the new companion droid introduced to SWTOR in Patch 1.5.

Things to know before starting the quest (i.e. how to prepare)

• You will need an alt of the opposite faction. It doesn’t have to be high level (Level 15 is ok). This is because one of HK 51’s components is obtained from the other faction’s territory but it is bind on legecy (i.e. you can mail it to your main)
• 
  
• The more the merrier. When hunting down HK-51’s components, the more people you have to cover territory, the better. Once a component is unearthed, anyone nearby, regardless of if they are in your party/ops, can loot it. If you scanner detects a component nearby, make sure to call it out so other players can benefit as well!
• 
  
• You will need to run two specific flashpoints as part of the quest.
• 
  
• Only Coruscant and Dromund Kaas compoents are bound to legacy, rest of the components go straight to your mission tab of your inventory and are bound to that character. So yes, you will need a level 50 character to unlock HK-51 but there might be an option in the future to unlock it for other characters in your legacy.

We can try and re post all of this information but dulfy has done an unreal job on this guide!  Read on at dulfy.net for the full quest guide!

Press Release STAR WARS™: THE OLD REPUBLIC™ LAUNCHES FREE-TO-PLAY OPTION TODAY

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Senior Publicist   Andrew Wong
Electronic Arts    Director of PR
512-287-7732    Electronic Arts
alogan@bioware.com 650-628-2781
anwong@ea.com

STAR WARS™: THE OLD REPUBLIC™ LAUNCHES

FREE-TO-PLAY OPTION TODAY

Award-Winning MMO from BioWare and LucasArts also adds New Content

AUSTIN, Texas – Nov 15, 2012 – BioWare™, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA), and LucasArts announced today that the new, Free-to-Play option for the critically-acclaimed, massively multiplayer online game Star Wars: The Old Republic is now live. Players can experience the complete storylines of all eight, iconic Star Wars™ classes, all the way to level 50 for free. This new option complements the existing subscription offering, providing players with maximum flexibility in how they choose to experience Star Wars: The Old Republic.



“We want to give our players the freedom to enjoy Star Wars: The Old Republic when and how they want,” said Matthew Bromberg, General Manager of BioWare Austin. “There has never been a better time to start playing with us.”

Also today, BioWare released Game Update 1.5: HK-51 Activated, which adds new areas to explore, a new Companion character and more, including:

Get ready for an action-packed adventure to earn control of one of the galaxy’s most deadly Assassins, HK-51. Submerged beneath the icy surface of Belsavis lies a derelict ship and if you are brave enough to venture through the wreckage, you will embark on a mission that ultimately rewards you with a powerful new, yet familiar, ally: the ruthless Assassin Droid, HK-51.
Explore Section X, a previously untouched area of the prison world of Belsavis. The Dread Masters’ servants are searching for a powerful and ancient weapon. Fly to Section X and secure the target of their search to be richly rewarded.
Travel to Denova to take on Operation: Explosive Conflict – now with a Nightmare Mode! Teams who complete in this new mode can earn the final pieces of the Dread Guard gear set and a brand new mount that will be sure to cause tank envy!

Star Wars: The Old Republic is a story-driven, massively multiplayer online (MMO) game with a Free-to-Play option from BioWare and LucasArts. Set thousands of years before the classic Star Wars movies, players team up with friends online to fight in heroic battles, explore a galaxy of vibrant planets and experience visceral Star Wars combat, all set to a sweeping musical score. Players are asked to join forces with either the Galactic Republic or Sith Empire and choose one of eight iconic Star Wars characters, including the Jedi Knight, Jedi Consular, Smuggler, Trooper, Sith Warrior, Sith Inquisitor, Bounty Hunter and Imperial Agent.

For more information on the different ways players can now experience Star Wars: The Old Republic, including the Free-to-Play option, please visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com/FREE or http://Origin.com. As always, be sure to check StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com for latest updates and follow us on Twitter®, Facebook®, and YouTube®.

For new screen shots of Game Update 1.5: HK-51 Activate – click here.

ACCEPTANCE OF END USER ACCESS AND LICENSE AGREEMENT ('EUALA'), PERSISTENT INTERNET CONNECTION, AND ACCOUNT REGISTRATION REQUIRED TO PLAY. MUST BE 13+ TO REGISTER. ACCOUNT IS NON-TRANSFERABLE ONCE USED. PAID SUBSCRIPTION, VALID AND ACCEPTED PAYMENT METHOD OR PAID GAME TIME CARD (IF AVAILABLE) REQUIRED TO ACCESS SUBSCRIPTION GAMEPLAY. PAYMENT METHOD AGE RESTRICTIONS MAY APPLY. SWTOR ONLINE SERVICE MAY BE DISCONTINUED. SEE EUALA FOR DETAILS. AGREEMENT TO SHARE ACCOUNT INFORMATION WITH LUCASFILM ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY LTD. ('LUCASFILM') IS REQUIRED TO ACCESS GAMEPLAY. GAME INTENDED FOR PLAY ONLY WITHIN NORTH AMERICA, EUROPE AND CERTAIN OTHER TERRITORIES. USE OF CARTEL COINS SUBJECT TO DIGITAL SERVICES AGREEMENT. PRIVACY POLICY AND TERMS OF SERVICE AVAILABLE ATWWW.SWTOR.COM. ALL TERMS AND CONDITIONS TO PLAY THE GAME APPLY AT ALL TIMES. THE FIRST 30 DAYS OF SUBSCRIPTION ARE INCLUDED IN THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THE PRODUCT. SUBSCRIPTIONS MAY BE CANCELLED AT ANY TIME. SEE WWW.SWTOR.COM FOR DETAILS.

###

About LucasArts

Founded in 1982 by filmmaker George Lucas, LucasArts is a leading publisher and developer of interactive entertainment. With development facilities in San Francisco and Singapore, LucasArts leverages the global skills, technology and resources of the Lucasfilm family of companies -- including visual effects leader Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Animation and Skywalker Sound -- in addition to strategic partnerships with best-in-class external partners, to further the boundaries of game development. LucasArts is dedicated to delivering deeply immersive, visually spectacular and engaging experiences that inspire and amaze generations.

About Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) is a global leader in digital interactive entertainment. The Company delivers games, content and online services for Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones, tablets and social networks. EA has more than 250 million registered players and operates in 75 countries.

In fiscal 2012, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.1 billion. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, EA is recognized for a portfolio of critically acclaimed, high-quality blockbuster brands such as The Sims™, Madden NFL, FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed™, Battlefield™ and Mass Effect™. More information about EA is available at http://info.ea.com.

The Sims and Need for Speed are trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. BioWare and Mass Effect are trademarks of EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. Battlefield is a trademark of EA Digital Illusions CE AB. John Madden, NFL and FIFA are the property of their respective owners and used with permission.

LucasArts, the LucasArts logo, STAR WARS and related properties are trademarks in the United States and/or in other countries of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. © 2012 Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd. or Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

The Many Looks of Bowdaar

Complete Guide to the Bowdaar Customizations

Every Smuggler needs backup and what better companion is there to watch your back than a Wookie with a life debt to you? Bowdaar is your 2nd companion as a Smuggler and a real help keeping enemies off you. 'The Force' help them if anyone tries to attack you! He will be in there roaring and pulling arms off some and just tossing others like rag dolls.




Theoretically you should be able to get Bowdaar by yourself at around level 21, although if you have a friend to help, like I did, you can get him at level 16. Just have your higher-level character friend run you through the class quests.

Bowdaar has 7 unique looks to chose from including the default look. Unlike other companions though, it's not his appearance that changes but rather his outfit. Equipping armor to Bowdaar does not change what he is wearing; the only way to change what he is wearing is through the use of customizations. For Bowdaar, changing customizations is just like changing outfits. Our dearly beloved Chewie only ever needed the one outfit - a single bandoleer - for the entirety of the original trilogy though. Customization 2 is the closest to Chewie's look.

Customizations 2, 3 and 4 are just variations on the same gear, adding a vest and shoulder pads to the classic bandoleer look. If you prefer your wookie au-naturale so for customization 1 to show off the most amount of hair! The default look is really cool - it has an old school Star Warsie/Old Republic look and feel. Customization 5 shows a working class wookie's outfit, the true gear of any wookie engineer. Finally, customization 6 looks like a wookie gladiator armor, only worn by the most elite warriors.

Captain Kneely, the Security Key Vendor on the Ilum Space Station, is the only vendor where you can get customizations 5 and 6. You'll need 12.5k apiece and a security key attached to your account.

Out big buddy Guunta in Bug Town on Balmorra is whee you'll find customizations 1, 2, 3 and 4. There is a customization 7 in the game files but it's not available in the game at the moment. I expect we'll see it in the Cartel Market in the near future.

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.

The Many Looks of Ensign Raina Temple

Complete Guide to Ensign Raina Temple Customizations

Like most end game companions, Ensign Raina Temple's customization's are not found in low level zones but I have found them all and taken screenshots and tails to make it a breeze for you to choose the look you like most. If you wait until you have reached level 50 to purchase her customizations you will find that you have already got used to the way she looks by default. This guide will give you an idea about her personality and show you where to purchase the options so you can go get the one you want as soon as she joins you at around level 40. Even though her customizations are found in the level 50 zone, you are able to safely get there with no risk

Ensign Raina Temple is the 4th Imperial Agent Companion and I have found her to be my companion of choice at level 50 on my Operative. She uses the same gear as my agent so it's easy to deck her out. She is also easy on the eyes and she doesn't have an annoying voice.

Georgia Van Cuylenburg the voice of  Ensign Raina Temple

Her accent sounds a bit like my wife's and looking her up on IMDB I found out Georgia Van Cuylenburg is an Aussie with a British BBC accent (my wife is an Aussie who spent a lot of time in the UK!). Georgia is a rare talent who, at her young age, is a successful and credited comedian, TV host, actor and voice-over artist. Through her production company "I am Spartacus Entertainment", she is also a credited writer and producer.

Temple is 1 of 3 female companions that Imperial Agents get and no doubt the most sane of the 3. She never wants to kill you and seems to look up to you.

I like her personality and she seemed to like the choices I made in the game. She's a typically patriotic example of the rank-and-file Imperial military -a true believer in Imperial superiority and duty. No matter how easygoing or empathetic she may be at times, the needs of her nation have to come first.

Ensign Raina Temple has 8 looks including the default look. Her voice seems to suite the default look well  and I think she looks real nice in any of the Imperial officers' uniforms as seen in the first image in this post. But if you like the bikini look, you're in luck as she also looks hot in the the full slave girl outfit.    

Customizations 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are all for sale on Ilum from the Supply Officer Mikaen. At 20k each she is not a cheap girl!

To get Customization 8 you need to go to the Security Key Vendor on the orbital station above Ilum. 

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.

SWTOR Free-to-Play is Coming on November 15th

"Today we are excited to announce that the global launch date of the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Free-to-Play option will be November 15, 2012. This release will be simultaneous across all of the territories and countries The Old Republic™ is available.

If you’re a paying Subscriber at the launch of the Free-to-Play option on November 15th, you will be granted all of the Complimentary Cartel Coins currently listed on your Cartel Coin Ledger page, plus a one-time grant of 250 Complimentary Cartel Coins!

Additionally, we are extending the Rewards Program! All former subscribers who reactivate their subscription by the new date of December 20, 2012 at 11:59pm CST will be granted Complimentary Cartel Coins for their prior paid months up to November 15, 2012. For more information on all of the rewards you could potentially receive, visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com/FREE."

• Free to Play and Update 1.5 go live on Thursday, 11/15/2012. (No details on the maintenance period were given.)
• The cheapest package for Cartel Coins: $4.99 for 450 Coins. (90 Cartel Coins per dollar.)
• The most expensive package for Cartel Coins: $39.99 for 5500 Coins. (137 Cartel Coins per dollar.)
• Several additional packages will be available in between those two prices. The more expensive the package, the better value the player receives.
• Subscribers on the one month plan will receive 500 CC per month. * Players on the 3 month or 6 month plans will receive more per month. (Exact numbers were not given but will be available next week.)
• Former subscribers automatically receive "Preferred" status.
• New F2P players receive "Preferred" status upon buying anything from the SWTOR store. The $5 CC package and the security key fob being the cheapest items that will grant Preferred status.
• buy.swtor.com will be the site for purchasing Cartel Coins and other items.
• Services such as character renames and appearance changes being purchased with CC are possibilities for the future.
• Most items bought on the Cartel Market, including content unlocks, can be traded or sold on the GTN by design.
• Physical Cartel Coin packs will be available from retail stores. They'll make a great stocking stuffer!
• The plan is to update the Cartel Market with new items every month or so.
• Players will be able to purchase additional character slots with Cartel Coins shortly after F2P launches.
• Limited time or seasonal Cartel Market items are something they're considering but can't commit to at this time.
• There are currently no plans to adjust the monthly cost for subscribers.
• There are currently no plans to sell subscription time (ala Plex system in EVE) via the Cartel Market.
• Character transfers to the PTS are something they are currently working on and will be available in the near future.

State of the Game with Jeff Hickman

Hello everyone,

This is the first of many regular “State-of-the-Game” postings to you, the players. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and finally have the opportunity to get it started. I’m hoping to use these postings as a direct way to address some of the top unresolved issues that most concern our community. I won’t get to everything all at once, but I’ll try to hit some of the big ones, and talk about these topics as openly as I can. It’s my hope that you’ll respond with more comments, questions and concerns. As you do, I will then take these and either roll them into my next update, or have the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ community team answer them directly as we usually do. Sound good? OK!

Before we begin, let me introduce myself for those of you who do not know me. My name is Jeff Hickman and I am the Executive Producer for Star Wars: The Old Republic. I have been working on the team for about 2 years now and was responsible for most of the Live Services and ultimately the launching of our award-winning game. Twelve years ago, I joined the industry as the Director of CS for Dark Age of Camelot (DAoC) with Mythic Entertainment. In the years since then, I have engaged in just about every role you can imagine on an MMO team (except art, because I suck at art). In the early days at Mythic, I helped design several expansions for DAoC, produced and ran their daily operations and in 2005 was given the opportunity to become Executive Producer for that beloved game. Between then and now, I built, launched and operated Warhammer Online and I was also Executive Producer for Ultima Online. I’ve devoted my life to MMOs and the people that play them, and have some cool tattoos to prove it:

When we decided to go Free-to-Play earlier this year, we had weeks of discussion with everyone on the team about where we thought the game was going, what we thought was going right and what was going wrong. We uncovered a lot of issues, but three things really stood out:

1. Our game is awesome. People love it and want to play it.

2. The subscription requirement was driving away huge numbers of people who do not want to commit to paying monthly.

3. The frequency of our Game Updates was way too slow. People were leaving because we were not releasing new content fast enough to keep up with the pace at which it was being consumed.

You are now seeing the results of these conversations. Free-to-Play goes live this Fall, and we are dedicated to getting Game Updates out to you every 6 weeks or so. Though each of these efforts is incredibly challenging for the team, they have accepted that challenge and have tackled them head on!

But we know there is more we can do, more you want us to do. So today, I thought it might be more useful to dive into some more granular and “hot” topics.

Topic #1: Staff: Why are some developers leaving The Old Republic™? How will the game be affected?

Answer: People leave for a lot of reasons. Some have worked on the project for 6+ years and are simply tired and want to go work on something else. Others may not agree with the direction that the game is heading – Free-to-Play is not for everyone and requires a big shift in thinking and culture within the studio. Still others do not have the right skills for the roles that we have as the studio evolves and changes. When any single person leaves, whether we make the decision or they do, it is difficult, but the studio and game live on and thrive as we change, actually thrive because we change. The core of what makes the game and studio great are still here; quality in our game and in our workplace, people that are passionate about both, a camaraderie with each other that helps us support one another, and key people like James Ohlen (who was at BioWare from the very start) who continue to help us carry the banner of BioWare and who are dedicated to help evolve and improve Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Topic #2: Bugs: How does testing work? Why do bugs get through? Why did Game Update 1.4 have so many of them? What are we doing to improve the process?

Answer: MMOs are undoubtedly one of the most complex games on Earth. We employ hundreds of QA professionals to ensure that our game is high quality, but sometimes bugs get through. We test every step of the way as we develop the game or change to the game. We have many, many development environments that work in a sequence to push updates from initial construction, to code and content integration, to internal end-to-end testing, to player facing testing on Public Test Servers and then on to the Live servers. Sometimes (like in Game Update 1.4) we make changes that have unintended (and undiscovered) consequences on completely different parts of the game (the performance issues that showed up in the update are a great example of this). These unintended changes happen more often than you would think (or we would like), though we usually catch them before they go live. We have recently put new measures in place both on the development teams and in QA, as well on Public Test Server (where we should find many of these types of issues), to catch things like this in the future. I am not saying it will not happen again – bugs will always happen – but we will strive to give you the best, high quality, bug-free experience that we can. As a side note, we finally got a lock on the last of the major issues from Game Update 1.4 and appreciate your patience with that one.

Topic #3: Oceanic populations. Are we doing anything about them?

Answer: We are very aware of the concerns with the population levels on the Oceanic servers. The problem is pretty complex, as the solutions we have either split the populations further (like allowing Oceanic players to move to North American servers), or would force players to go to server types (PvP or RP, etc…) that they do not want to be on. Our current plan is to wait for Free-to-Play to launch and see what the influx of new players does to the populations of these servers. We will give it a little time and if we do not see significant improvement, then we will move ahead with the solution that offers the best playing experience for the Oceanic community.

OK, that is it for now. Please keep your comments and questions coming and I will try to answer the biggest, unresolved questions in these “State-of-the-Game” posts. I want to thank you all for the opportunity to be involved with such an amazing game like Star Wars: The Old Republic. I will do everything in my power to take care of the game, and help guide it to a great future.


Jeff Hickman
Executive Producer
Original

I don't know that this tells us a lot of stuff we didn't know but it is all in the one place now right?

Video Guide to Voiced Emotes on the PTS

I have put together this video guide showing off all the voiced slash commands (like /cheer, /chuckle, etc) that are on the public test server and coming to live in patch 1.5.
It's not complete yet - at this stage there are a lot of the voiced commands that have filler sound files. A note that pops up telling you what the sound is and a note that "actor to improvise". So before all of these slash commands are put on the live server there will be more new sound files to come!

the /commands are:

/apologize

/Bye

/cheer

/chuckle

/congrats

/Farewell

/followme

/giggle

/Goodbye

/goodjob

/Hello

/Hi

 /Introduce

/kiss

/laugh

/no

/nod

/sorry

/thanks

/woot

/yes

Enjoy the video ...

New PvP content "before year's end"

From Allison Berryman

Hi everyone! I asked Damion Schubert for any news or information we can share. There are many questions about the topic, but he did have a bit to say about new Warzone content:

Fear not! New Warzone content is in heavy testing and should be in the next major patch after 1.5. We hesitate to give exact timing, but definitely before the year's end.

So in the next 2 months we will see new PvP content but what will it be? New gear? 1 new warzone or more?

Is it taking too long for PvP content?

George Lucas and Kathleen Kennedy discuss the future of Star Wars movies.

The Walt Disney Company announced that it is acquiring Lucasfilm -- the global entertainment company founded by George Lucas and the home of the legendary "Star Wars" franchise. Watch Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company Bob Iger and George Lucas, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lucasfilm, discuss the announcement. 

Lucasfilm has agreed to be acquired by Disney, a joining of forces that offers tremendous opportunities for the future of Star Wars. As the leading global family entertainment company, Disney is the perfect partner for everything Star Wars. The original six films of the Saga saw Anakin go from a young boy to a Jedi Knight to a Sith Lord and ultimately through to his redemption, but there are still many more stories to be told. With this announcement, George Lucas passes the torch to a new generation of filmmakers to make Star Wars films that will faithfully carry on the legacy.

A Closer Look at the Crime Lord's Cartel and Black Market Packs

Players on the test Server received 2400 Cartel Coins today to test new goodies and I decided to use the coins to compare loot in the two different Cartel Packs (the Crime Lord's Cartel and the Black Market). 

I'm still really impressed with the randomness of the loot in these packs. Out of the nine packs I opened today, I received only one duplicate item and if I include the four other packs I purchased yesterday, I have received a total of 3 duplicate items over 13 packs-1 mount and 2 transparent chess pieces. 

But which of the two packs is better value for money and which has the better loot? Let's break down ...

Crime Lord's Cartel Pack

The Crime Lord's Cartel packs cost 360 Cartel Coins. You get two special items and three non-special items (like XP boosts, hand crafting mats, etc.) The Crime Lord's pack also has the chance of a super-rare item. Out of the four packs I opened I got two chest pieces (one in an upper body kit containing a chest piece and gloves), one mount, one pet, one relic, one crystal, one emote and one banner. Details are in the screenshot compilation below.

Black Market Pack

Out of the five Black Market Packs I bought I got two chest pieces, one pet, a lightsaber, and a banner. Details are in the compiled screenshot below.

So which type of  pack is best?

So although the Black Market Packs are exactly half the cost, making them seem like great value for the total items you get, the chance for rare items is reduced. I have not seen any mounts drop from the Black Market Packs yet, whilst I've already got a total of four mounts out of the seven Crime Lord's Cartel Packs I have opened over the last couple of days. Having said that, I did get some cool stuff from the The Black Market packs like the Tythonian Force Master lightsaber and the Bastilia's Sash relic. If you can afford it, the Crime Lord's Cartel packs are better, but if I only had the coins for a Black Market Pack I wouldn't not buy one, especially when you're just starting to buy them. Down the track, once you've collected most of the cool items you will find it hard to get what you want from a Black Market pack, especially mounts, crystals or seemingly hard to get drops.

Some cool stuff from packs

To give you an idea of what some of the cooler items are, here are some screenshots. The Menace Emote pictured above makes you glow red while you hold your hand out and gesture for someone to come closer to you.

You can't be taken as a serious crime Lord without a monkey-lizard. Just make sure he stays clear of R2 units as they like to shock them.

The Tythonian Force-Master's lightsaber adds a cool glow effect to the bottom of your lightsaber blade as you can see in the above screenshot. This smokey-glow effect works with any color crystal, including the pink/purple pictured here. Is it just me, or is my character getting ready for a madi-gras? Shirt off: check. Pink glow-stick: check.

The two new relics can be seen in action here. Although the Tulak Hord Force apparition seems to just stand there and not attack, the Bastila's Sash apparition heals you with no problems at all and as you can see, both are able to proc at the same time.