Bonus XP and maxing out companion affection with gifts

This post is a bit of an update on what I'm doing in SWTOR at the moment, including information on using bonus XP and low level gifts to boost up a new companions affection quickly.

With the server transfers opening up last week I finally managed to get two of my other characters over to my main server. The characters I have right now are:
Level 50 Miraluka Jedi Consular Shadow who is blind and cannot be seen
Level 50 Jedi Guardian who looks just like me, or a fitter version of me
Level 40 Smuggler gun-slinger with a cyborg eye-patch for the win
Level 20 Miraluka Sith Warrior, and I'm sick of people asking me where I got my helmet from that looks like glasses
Level 22 Trooper Comando, and why does anybody like to heal? I am finding this character almost painful
... and a couple of level 1s.

They are all on the same server (now). What I'm planning on doing is having one of each style spec. So my Jedi Knight is a Guardian and my Sith Warrior is a Marauder. My Jedi Consular is Shadow and my Sith Inquisitor will be a Sorcerer. That's the plan. So in the end I will have played every style of advanced class.

PvP vs PvE

Pre-patch 1.2 I leveled my Shadow up to 50 mainly through PvP. But post-1.2 I'm finding the going is a bit slow. I am having a blast on my Sith Warrior and it's real fun to PvP with but the PvP rewards have been nerfed to the extent that it's a lot faster to PvE level, especially if you're stacking your bonus XP like I am.

Stacking bonus XP

What I mean by stacking bonus XP is that I'll let a character sit and max out their bonus XP for a few days whilst I play with another character. With five characters on the go it's really easy to spend 100% of your game time leveling with bonus XP. PvP is way slower than this.

Note to self: remove the Ratghoul customization if you plan on making out with your companion

Maxing affection with new companions

The other thing I'm doing with all my alts is maxing out affection with a companion as soon as I get them. Using the Companion Items Vendor on my fleet station, I start by purchasing 50 or 60 level 1 gifts which that particular companion loves. (Check what they like in our Companion Lists) These cost 200 each. I pop that gift in the number 1 spot and turn on a repeating macro on my G19 keyboard, so that every four seconds a gift is presented to the companion. So in four minutes they get 60 gifts they like. As soon as they reach around 3000 affection they stop liking the level 1 gifts and then require the level 2s. Another 40 or so level 2s will take your companion to just over 5000 affection.

What I found after leveling 3 level 50s (2 in live and 1 on beta) is that at the end of all your mission lines, most companions are sitting on 4000 - 5000 affection. By starting them off with the cheap gifts from the vendor and getting them to the 5000 mark before you even start using them on missions, means that at the end when you do reach level 50 they will be maxed or close to it.

Every companion costs about 60-70 000 to get started in this way. So this is impractical for a new player. But anybody who has got level 50 alts knows how easy it is to make 60-70K. To try and bump them up once they have reached 6-7000 affection with gifts ends up costing a lot more because the higher level gifts cost more. Best case scenario, if you're getting your gifts through missions, you're looking at 2-2.5K each. After you have topped up your companion to about 5000 affection, then take them to the cantina or ship and start their missions. You will see your affection go up approximately an extra 1000 just from the first group of missions.

See-through bikini on Ratghoul plagued companion

With the Ratgoul plague ending tonight I've been rushing frantically trying to collect all of the Ratghoul customizations for companions that have only been made available during the plague time. Bioware made eight available, one for each class. To get the customizations you had to purchase a random role customization chest from the Jawa on Tatooine and I ended up with six unique different ones and about five duplicates. Luckily I was able to get three of the female ones that are available for Kira, Mako and Elara Donne. Like always, I thought I'd take some nice high res images of the female companions in bikinis. Unfortunately, Bioware didn't think anybody would consider equipping bikinis on their female plagued companions! The result was inappropriate to say the least.

I was shocked when I saw how much the bikini revealed on Elara. How did this get into the game? She is showing way too much! :)

The default naked look for Elara has a long sleeve shirt and pants equipped. I guess Bioware didn't want to spend the time creating body skins for female zombies. Let's hope they fix it. I'll check Mako and Kira and post what I find. I only just got those customizations minutes before the servers went down.

At first I thought it was because she wore heavy armor but Kira wears light armor and it will be interesting to see if she can pull off the bikini zombie look.

The Many Looks of Vette

Complete Guide to Vette Customizations

Vette is undoubtedly one of the cutest female companions in all of SWTOR. As you would expect from a Twilik female, she has a bubbly personality but can be a little bit naughty at times. Although she doesn't like cruelty she is definitely no goody two shoes when it comes to the law.

[Spoiler Alert in next two sentences only] Even though she was brought up with Risha, the Smuggler companion, being playmates throughout their childhood years, she has a very different persona to Risha. She is way more likable.

Her witty comments add a certain something to a lot of the mission story lines.

When you first gain access to Vette you get a reward which allows you to choose between customizations one, two and three. You only get to choose one and the others are then available from vendors.

In this image you can see that she has a total of nine looks available ingame. The looks in the image above are in order, the default look on the left and then 1-4 on the top row and 5-8 on the bottom row.


1, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8 are available from your regular customization vendors on Balmorra and Taris, found in the cantinas.
2 is available from the Security Key vendor and also made available when you first get Vette, as one of the three choices.
6 is available from the Collector's Edition vendor in the Imperial Fleet.

All customizations, apart from customization six, are 12500 credits. Customization six, from the Collector's Edition vendor is just 2000 credits.

The vendor on Taris.

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 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.

Get Ready for SWTOR Space Combat

There is absolutely no timeline on this but in an interview with NowGamer, SWTOR's lead developer Daniel Erickson has spilled the beans on a major future update to SWTOR that will include space combat. He wasn't explicit about it but the cracks between the lines are pretty obvious. He said:

"the next iteration of space is the single thing I’m most excited about in the entire future plan."

Pick up a novel by Michael A. Stackpole and flip on over to a space battle scene and imagine that playing out in SWTOR!

Further on in the interview Erickson referred to BioWare's commitment to listening to what their gamers want. The next iteration of space must at least in part be a reaction to the recent official poll which had 46.54% of respondents say that "Full 3D space battles" is the "Star Wars fantasty that excites you the most." A further 28.06% voted for "Capitol ship battles."

I can't wait. Memories of X-Wing vs Tie Fighter and Star Wars Galaxies are flooding in ...

SWTOR 1.2.0c Patch Notes

1.2.0c Patch Notes


4/19/2012


General


Corrected an audio issue that could cause a loud, perpetual "jet engine" sound that is most noticeable on the Republic and Imperial Fleets.


Corrected a rare issue that could cause players to be unable to access their guild.


Classes and Combat


Bounty Hunter
Mercenary


Heatseeker Missile: This ability will now only gain extra damage from your additional stacks of Heat Signatures and will not incorrectly detect debuffs from other players.


Trooper
Commando


Demolition Round: This ability will now only gain extra damage from your additional stacks of Gravity Vortex and will not incorrectly detect debuffs from other players.


World Event
Jeelvic the Jawa will no longer take more DNA samples than intended for purchases.


Players who were not properly granted final event codex entry and title for defeating Infected Trapjaw, Zama Brak, and Urtagh will be granted both the title and codex entry.


PvP
Increased rewards for players on the losing side of Warzone matches.
Players will now receive rewards for Warzones if they have earned at least one medal.

Sith Warrior Companion Update

I've noticed over the last week, since game Update 1.2 came out, our companion pages are getting quite a beating. It seems that every man and his tantuan are trying to get the most out of our companion gifts sections, because of the new presence buff and other unique buffs you get from maximizing your companion's affection. To make it easier on you we've been updating all of our companion pages.

Today we've just published a new version of our Sith Warrior companion page. Sith Warrior is our most popular page next to Sith Inquisitor. To get the most out of your game experience as a Sith Warrior, check it out now.

To all you Republic players that are sick of getting your ass whipped in PvP, Sith Warrior might prove to be beneficial as your next character.

'Tracking The Origins' Mission Guide, With all Maps

With the attack of the rakghouls world event taking place, players are running around like mad trying to get the most they can out the new content. Apart from items you can purchase through the daily missions, there is also a mission where you are awarded this awesome little non-combat pet called the Crimson Rakling. Unlike other missions, no waypoints are provided for the objectives in this mission, so I have put together a complete guide, with maps, of all the objectives in this mission called Tracking The Origins.

Note: This guide has been done with a Republic character. Although the first section leading up to collecting pieces of the ship Stardream, are Republic only, all the parts of this mission where you have to collect the ship parts, and where they are located, are the same for Republic and Sith players.

To start this mission head to Tatooine and go to the Anchorhead Starport. Click on the Emergency Notice Terminal at 1726, 455. This will give you a first buff called ‘Informed’, you will then need to go get the ‘Attacked’ and ‘Exposed’ buffs (explained below). All 3 buffs have a 10 minute timer.

Rakghoul Live Event Emergency Terminal Broadcast

To get the next buff 'Attacked' head to the North-Western part of Anchorhead and click the crashed escape pod in a wall. You get attacked but the guards help you out.

'Attacked' Buff 1783, 444 in Anchorhead

Now to get the ‘Exposed’  buffs go to the medical supplies at 2352, 434 Anchorhead.

When you have done all 3 you get a buff called  'On The Trail'. You then need to go to the Containment Operations Console next to the speeder transport point.

The Containment Operations Console is located at 1824, 445

Clicking on the console will start a mission, the objective of which is to scan 12 pieces of the downed ship called Stardream. Start your search in the Dune Sea. Unlike other missions in the game, no map or waypoints are provided, unless you have this guide ... :) If you have a mobile device, this site is optimized for mobile browsing, so you can have this guide open on your phone while you play.

Note: Some of the waypoints in the screenshots display incorrectly. Use the ones written in text and use the visual image from the maps to see where the parts are.

Part 1: The first piece of the wreckage is located at: -1395, -442.

Part 2: -2411, –756 (On the top of a half circle cliff surrounding a Sandpeople camp).

Part 3: -2030, -1896 (Next to a Mandalorian landing pad).

In between parts 3 and 4 you'll need to head to the Jundland. Take the speeder to the Dreviad Outpost.

Part 4: 738, -2545 (North of Dreviad, on top of an underground entrance).

Part 5: 1191, –1267 (Around the center of the map)

Part 6: 1094, -443 (Lodged in the side of a cliff. Jump down to get it!)

Part 7: 754, -913 (On a small ledge quite far down the wall of a sheer cliff).

Part 8: 306, 433 (On a ledge a bit east of the Sith base at Mos Anek).

Part 9: 1097, 724 (In a Heroic area (circa level 24-25) east of Imperial base Varath. If you're doing this quest at a lower level you can easily dodge the elite mobs to get to the objective).

Part 10: 1796, 602 (Find the Shattered Basin Tunnel at 1260, 575 to pass into Severin Mesa Windfarms where the fragment landed).

Shattered Basin Tunnel at 1260, 575

Part 10 found at 1796, 602

Part 11: -592, -1445 (You will find it up on a little hill nestled against a wall behind a Sand People Mooncaller and his Bantha).

Part 12: -500, -331 (Heroic quest area, the Transport Ship Crash Site. It's in between the Jundland and Dune Sea maps. you will find a wide sand ramp at -359, 136).

When you have all 12 you will get the codex entry: Rakghoul Pandemic 5 – Origins of the Outbreak and your mission tracker will change to say ‘Find the infected Risp’. Republic players should head to Outpost Largona, Imperial players can fly to Outpost Rennar. From there it should be a short drive to your mission marker at 2302, -161 where you will find a small box marked ‘Animal Carrier’.

Inside you'll find your new non-combat pet growling and attempting to bite your ankles. In the same area where you pick him up you'll find several daily missions which award tokens that will allow you to purchase this little guy's brother, a pale rakling.

I hope this guide has made it easier for you to find the objectives for this mission. If you have any feedback or comments, please leave them in the comments section below.

Attention SWTOR Smugglers

Some of our most popular content are the lists of information about companions for SWTOR. 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

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.

How do you skin a baby tauntaun?

As the owner of a Collector's Edition, I was excited about the release of Taunta in the Game Update 1.2. The first thing I did when I logged in last night was to go out and buy him. Now 200 000 credits is a big outlay considering the extra I had to pay for the Collector's Edition but as there hasn't really been anything else to show for it - the speeder and other goodies are just for leveling and not end game use - the little baby tauntaun was a perfect way to show off. But then this morning when I got up, I was welcomed by an email telling everyone, not even just Collector's Edition owners but everybody, is getting a free baby tauntaun as a gift!

Now hang ... you can come up with baby Jawas, Ewoks, anything ... a Bantha for Pete's sake! But why give what could have a been a cool, unique, must-have-credits pet to everybody, especially after I already paid 200 000 credits just a few hours earlier! I want my credits back! This is rude and lazy of Bioware. I have no qualms about them giving everyone a gift; great idea, but to give the only update to the Collector's Edition to everybody after some of us buy it, makes it a poorly handled PR exercise. Oh but wait ... the free one has a saddle on his back.

So if you're going to skin a baby tauntaun, do the think the lightsabre might burn the fur? I am betting he's "Luke" warm inside!