Rise of the Hut Cartel: What to Expect (no spoilers)

The Rise of the Hut Cartel is Star Wars The Old Republic's first digital expansion. If you were really keen and pre-ordered back in January then you'll have access on April 9th, everybody else (who pre-order between 7th January and 13th April) will get access on April 13th. But what is this expansion? What will you get with it? Well, I had access to it for about a month so read on and I'll tell you what to expect, without revealing any story line spoilers.

What you get for $10

Just like all things in this world, you get what you pay for. This is a $10 expansion (or $20 if you are not a subscriber) and you really do get $10 worth of content. This digital expansion is more like a bloated major patch. It doesn't come with all the regular things we're used to receiving in our MMO expansions, like new player races, fifty hours worth of play time in missions, and new classes. The Rise of the Hut Cartel expansion is one new planet, two separate story lines - one for Imperial and one for Republic - and a bunch of new missions.  I was able to finish the story arc in two casual days of playing. If you are expecting this to compete with the expansions you may have experienced in WoW, Rift, and other MMOs, you will be disappointed. If you are expecting $10 worth of content, you will be satisfied.

Story lines

All eight classes have their own unique introduction to the main story line on the new plant, Makeb. After these introductory video cut scenes though, the story and missions are then the same for all Republic players and for all Imperial players. The re-play-ability is limited for players with multiple alts. BioWare tried to disguise the lack of variety by telling players that all their characters will have a unique experience but really, that is an overstatement. The only difference after that initial cut scene is what the NPCs refer to you as. The story on Makeb is not a continuation of your classes' main story.

The story also doesn't use your companions - they have nothing to say on any of the missions. Your companions do comment on things like the scenery though, but they have nothing more than a superficial role. It has been said in multiple interviews that class missions in SWTOR finish at 50 and that it is not cost effective for BioWare to extend with the same level of detail as in the first three Acts. So after playing through the first story on Makeb I tried it again on a second character. I found myself tabbing through identical blocks of voice acting to speed it up.

Leveling

The Makeb story arc and adjacent missions don't provide enough experience to level from 50 to 55. If you start the new story in the expansion at level 50 then you will finish at around 53 or just above. The missions can be a challenge if your level of gear is basic. My full war hero geared Gaurdian had no problems for the first few levels but also didn't get any new gear until level 55. Players in recruit gear or story mode operations level gear will find it a little bit harder and might find the occasional upgrades at around level 53. I found the missions easier the second time around by first going out and doing a whole heap of dailies and getting to level 54 before even starting the missions on Makeb.

Mini games

Outside of Makeb there is a variety of new content in the way of microbinocular and seeker droid missions. These missions will excite people who like travelling all over the Galaxy on exploration style journeys. Using microbinoculars to reveal hidden items, or seeker droids to track down missions objectives - similar to tracking for Bounty Hunters in Star Wars Galaxies or mining in WoW - these new missions will be loathe by some and loved by others.

But what about my alts?

Playing through the story line in Makeb seemed very fluid as it moved from island to island and the story itself is very well written and enjoyable. Because the story is the same for all Republic or Imperial  players I think that many players will focus on playing one or two characters rather than a legacy of characters.

Same Sex Romance - The Gay Planet

This is an overstatement! There was an uproar all over the Internet about same sex romances being introduced in this expansion. People are still upset, but for a different reason. The story arcs only have ONE flirt option for each faction. Republic players will get to flirt with one female NPC, regardless of their gender and Imperial players will get to flirt with one male NPC, regardless of their gender. Players were expecting multiple romance options but this is simply not the case. The characters I played through on were both male, Republic and this new romance option was just no different to the options I'd had before the expansion. What a load of hooha for nothing.

In conclusion

So all in all I am disappointed that my character's story is not continued by this expansion but hey, let's get real - it's $10, it's new content, it's fun and it's worth every penny. End game really hasn't changed a lot, with one new operation and no new warzones. Expect to be doing exactly the same thing you're doing at level 50 when you reach level 55.

Are you happy with the Asia-Pacific servers closing down?

So the votes are in!

Merge all the APAC servers into one server
 (82%)

Transfer option for a server of your choice
 (16%)

Do Nothing
 (11%)

Merge APAC servers to US servers
(8%)

We are getting what 16% or people wanted its not good but we are are the mercy of BioWare... :( back to crap PVP at 220 ping for us Aussies, Frack you a lot for that BioWare! But they are in it for the money and not the fun like us so I may hate it but I do understand it.... Noooooooo 

We want your vote! I just posted a Poll on the right side of this site please vote and let us and BioWare what you think about the closing down Asia-Pacific servers of SWTOR. Go vote now! V

Let the lag wars begin Asia-Pacific servers close down!

BioWare are closing down Asia-Pacific servers of SWTOR. I just found this news on Google+ and I must say, I think it's shocking that BioWare would not listen to the suggestions made and would instead opt to close down the Australian servers completely. This will force me, and other Australian and New Zealand players, back to the laggy experience we put up with when the game first came out in the US and did not yet have Oceanic servers.

To make it even worse, names that we had secured on original servers are now gone, forcing us all to now change our SWTOR identities. I understand that other players had to change their names as well when the server merges took place, but older veteran players at least had the opportunity to keep their identities if they had active accounts. We are now going to be limited to hyphenated weird names because of the massive populations on the US servers.

Being an avid PvP player, the 200+ ping is going to be completely unacceptable and won't allow me to be competitive.

This is one massive nail in the coffin for Oceanic players.

One of the three Asia-Pacific servers has a more than satisfactory population and a simple merge of all Oceanic players to that most populated server would solve the issues that BioWare have.

Fans suggested several ways to address the problem, with BioWare eventually opting to remove the servers altogether. Musco says the studio will need to update the Free Character Transfer System in order to cater for recent game updates, as well as the forthcoming 2.0 update and Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion pack, so it may be some time before the transfer is completed.

Once those issues are addressed, players on APAC servers will be offered Free Character Transfers to the buzzing North American servers of the same gameplay type. “Mastar Dar’Nala (PvP) will transfer to The Bastion (PvP), Gav Daragon (RP-PvE) will transfer to Begeren Colony (RP-PvE), and Dalborra (PvE) will transfer to The Harbinger (PvE),” the community post reads.

Making the most of Double XP

The first weekend of Double XP was definitely a success for most players. I personally got 2 of my level 40-odd characters through to level 50, giving me a total of 6 completed level 50s.

One of the characters I leveled from 43 to 50 in about 7 or 8 hours. I did this by:
1) using the Double XP
2) combined with the 25% bonus buff and
3) I played through the class story line and the planet story main mission line only.
I found that by doing this, by the time I reached Corellia, I was level 50. By the time I finished the planet I was on at level 43, Belsavis, I was way ahead of the level requirements for all missions, making it very easy gameplay.

By sticking to just the class story line and planet story main missions, it was almost like being involved in a movie. Gone were the distracting side missions that I've already done four times by now on other characters. I generally find that leveling characters, especially alts, can be a little bit confusing when it comes to stories, especially if you have a gap of weeks between major chapters. Throw in one or two other alts stories and it can be quite confusing.

With my second character, my Comanndo, I used a different tactic. I was invited to join a group in my guild that was power-grinding on Ilum. A full raid of 30 players were all leveling at lightening speeds. So I took my level 43 Commando out there and within 2 hours he was level 50.

Bioware will be fixing this play style on Ilum before this weekend's Double XP by removing the boost in stats for sub-level 50 players. To be honest, I don't think that leveling in this way is as big an advantage as people thought. Yes, you get to 50, but you have no credits, no companions and you haven't unlocked any of the story line bonuses to do with your legacy. So even though it only took 2 hours to get from 43 to 50, I still had to spend the following day finishing off my character's story line. If anything, all this did was to make it a little bit easier to play through the class missions - not that they are hard, especially if they're green (playing above the level requirements). Having spoken to other guild members who also leveled in this way, they also agree that it wasn't the best tactic after all, as they now have had to spend this week farming credits to pay for training and gear.

This coming weekend I have a level 14 Inquisitor to level. In preparation I have maxed out warzone experience and class mission experience bonuses in my legacy for this character. I also have boosters in the character's inventory. I intend on playing through her class story line and PvP only, skipping all other side missions. This will give me more than enough experience and credits to have an enjoyable leveling experience, whilst still achieving my goal of getting to level 50 by the weekend's end.

In my quest to provide detailed companion information, by the end of this Double XP weekend I will have all eight classes with completed class story lines - and also all companion story lines completed to maximum affection.

Video The Old Republic Insider Episode 5

Get ready for some weekend Grinding!! Dubbed XP weekends!!


Bioware has announced the game’s first – Double XP weekends, scheduled on the following dates:

• March 15, 2013 at 1:00PM CDT / 6:00PM GMT to March 18, 2013 at 2:00AM CDT / 7:00AM GMT
• March 22, 2013 at 1:00PM CDT / 6:00PM GMT to March 25, 2013 at 2:00AM CDT / 7:00AM GMT
• March 29, 2013 at 1:00PM CDT / 6:00PM GMT to April 1, 2013 at 2:00AM CDT / 7:00AM GMT
• April 5, 2013 at 1:00PM CDT / 6:00PM to April 8, 2013 at 2:00AM CDT / 7:00AM GMT

Double XP weekends will help all SWTOR fans prepare for the upcoming Digital Expansion: Rise of the Hutt Cartel. As a part of this promotion double XP affects literally everything (space, quest rewards, PvP, etc). If you’ve already hit Level 50, don’t worry your Legacy XP will double too, but this does not affect things like Valor.


Today we are pleased to announce that Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Insider Episode 5 is now live! This video details some of the new Cartel Market items including the Luxury Skiff Speeder and the Contraband Shipment, a set of five Cartel Packs! Also, preview the exciting gameplay updates coming in March and get a glimpse of the new Operation coming with Game Update 2.0: Scum and Villainy.

SWTOR Face needs your Help!

OK we need help! With all the news and content out there we are swamped! We are looking for people that can help out with the site in any way. If your a SWTOR fan and want to get involved please email me

Gree event Back March 12th with a new cool mount!

I don't know if I like it being back so soon, I still have a stockpile of rep tokens in my bag will the event be ass cool if we see it every 2 weeks? I think if its an event make it that keep it away for 1/2 months or keep it live all the time and just make it new content!

 From EricHere are the details! Game update 1.7.2 is going live with tomorrow morning's maintenance! That's right, you will be playing the Gree Event once again within 24 hours. Also since I know this will come up, the Gree Event will be running from March 12th - March 26th.

There are some other things I wanted to keep all of you apprised of as well. Aside from the Golden Scalene Armor being embargoed from the Cartel Market, so are a few other items. They are:
Dire Taskmaster's Robe
Dire Overlord's Vestments
Dire Warmaster's Body Armor
Dire Eliminator's Chestguard
Guard Captain's Chestplate
CZ-27k Stealth Ops Suit
CZ-18x Avalanche Chestplate
Honored Master's Vestments
Honored Champion's Robe
Honored Sabarist's Harness
Honored Adept's Shroud
MA-52 Med-tech Chestplate
Emergency Responder's Overcoat
MA-53 Overwatch Chestplate
Jawagram "I Love You"
Jawagram "It's A Surprise"

One last thing I wanted to tease... Make sure you check out the Gree Event vendor. You will see what I think is the coolest looking mount in our game to date. Like, seriously it is amazing.

Making of Rise of the Hutt Cartel Part 1: Creating Makeb video and screenshots

In this video, Hall Hood, Lead Writer, and Ryan Dening, Lead Concept Artist, join forces to give more insight into the exciting new planet, Makeb, coming with the Digital Expansion: Rise of the Hutt Cartel.

Watch as they discuss unique areas never-before-seen in The Old Republic™ universe, including the exotic settlement on Makeb and the vast plateaus that await you on the planet's volatile surface. Find out how Makeb continues your character's storyline with a galactic struggle for the planet's dwindling resources. Plus, get a sneak peak at the beautifully rendered Taloas City and other new graphic enhancements that will compliment your gameplay experience!

The Many Looks of Jaesa Willsaam Light & Dark

Companion customizations: Jaesa Willsaam Light & Dark

Jaesa is a unique companion as she has a split personality. Depending on your decisions prior to unlocking her, her persona will be either Light based (as in a Jedi Consular) or Dark (as in a Sith Assassin). The difference between the two personas effect her looks, personality, skill set, missions and the story line.

Light Jaesa is the type of girl you'd be proud to take home to your Mom for dinner. Dark Jaesa is the type of girl to take home if you wanted to really upset your parents. These are the two default looks (Light on the left and Dark on the right). It's mainly her makeup and eye color that is different with the default looks. When it comes to customizations though, there are four extra looks for each and they involve different skin colors, hairstyles and makeup.

It's not only her looks that change but it's her complete story. The conversations that you have with the Light Jaesa are completely different to the ones you have with a Dark Jaesa. Her gift preferences are different and the way in which she responds to conversations is also different. Light Jaesa likes compassionate Light side decisions. Dark Jaesa is evil to the core and will not approve of you being soft in any way. To fully experience the Sith Warrior story line you'll need to play it through as both Light and Dark. Even different missions are unlocked. The only way to experience them both is to play Sith Warrior as Light side and then play it again as a Dark warrior. I personally felt that the Light side story line was more intriguing.

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First let's have a look at the five Dark side options, each one of them bad-ass in their own way. She's definitely a bad girl and her looks show it. In combat she will taunt your enemies and exclaim how she loves pain.

As you can see in the close-up images below, she's a passionate person and her passions control her connection to the Force. Be careful not to cheat on her, or she'll hunt down your mate and slice them up into little pieces.

These are the looks for the Light side Jaesa. She's clean cut, her hair is pulled back for practicality and there's very little make-up. She's the girl next door. She's sweet, compassionate and loving in everything she does. She'll help you convert the Dark Lord's of the Sith from within using her unique power to uncover other compassionate Sith to join your cause.

Customizations 1 (Light) and 5 (Dark) are available from the security key vendor on Illum orbital station. To access this vendor you will need a security key attached to your account. You cannot purchase customizations for a companion you don't have. If your Jaesa is Light then you can't purchase a Dark look. Customizations 1 and 5 are 12,500 credits each.

You can purchase customizations 2, 3 and 4 (Dark) and 1, 2 and 3 (Light) from the customization vendor Keth on Taris. Each one costs 12500 credits.

At first I thought it was going to be a bit of a chore having to level a second Sith Warrior to get this information and screenshots. I was pleasantly surprised at the diversity in the story lines that was revealed simply by making Light or Dark decisions. The Sith Warrior story line is definitely one of the most engaging and I'd highly recommend playing through it in both forms, Dark and Light, if you're passionate about experiencing the full extent of the SWTOR story.


D

SWTOR Public Test Server Character Copy Fix!!

Someone on reddit discovered this. I tried it and it worked for me.

1) Take off all your companion gears. All of them, every single companion, including customizations. Put them in cargo bay or sell them.

2) Log off to character select

3) Log on to your account and do the transfer

http://www.reddit.com/r/swtor/commen...r_copy_to_pts/

Off to do some testing!!!