Classes

Family Tree of SWTOR

With a puzzling new Video and Update, Bioware has announced their new Family Tree system, which has left players across the galaxy confused and perplexed.

As it looks at the moment, the Family Tree is something  of a reward for making ungodly numbers of characters, then clicking on linking options in game to create your own ‘family tree’. How a single human can ‘produce’ five chiss offspring is both perplexing and even, some would say, unrealistic, but this has not stopped Bioware from making it possible for yours truly.

Not only do you make this fictional family tree, but being part of a developed one grants each character buffs and special abilities. Things to make them stronger in combat, and able to earn more money, if early reports are to be believed.

Valid concerns have been raised on the official forums by players who have instantly seen through to the core of what these updates represent, and that being rewards for players that spend copious amounts of time grinding up character after character.

As far as we know here at SWTOR Republic, this is really the first time any MMORPG has awarded players credit for how many characters they have. At least in others things are kept blissfully separate. It doesn’t matter if you are a level 90 Elder Jedi on one character, when you are on a low level you are a low level (and that is it!).

Since the exact potency and details of what being a member of such a family tree might grant a player, we are only speculating at this point as to how much of an effect to the game at large it will have, but players across the boards are hoping that Bioware will not go overboard with this blatant encouragement for players to invest even more time to remain competative.

PvP To be fixed!

Although there have recently been a plethora of complaints from players on the way developers have recently changed the PvP system, this is set to be (if Bioware can be believed) brought back into line with the next update.

Recently updates had the opposite affect when compared to Bioware’s noble goals for Star Wars The Old Republic a few months ago, as they saw things become more linear, unbalanced and in general ass backward.

Hopefully during the significant amount of Data analysis Bioware has done over the last month, which much to players dismay slowed down the game considerably, they will now have the information they require to fix exactly the problems that exist, no more, and no less.

This is often a problem with the MMORPG industry, so It is no surprise it has reared its ugly head in SWTOR. Quite often developers try to fix something, but over do it, meaning something else must then be adjusted. A popular example of this was basically every update in Star Wars Galaxies long 8 year history, as almost all involved some change to a profession that (until the next update) made it excessively powerful.

For the next few weeks no updates are planned, we assume this is because for this period Bioware will be working on cementing their current player base, in order to bring a plethora of new features with the public holidays in the later half of February.

For now, we can wait with open minds, as Bioware IS quite a reliable company, and Star Wars The Old Republic has been in good hands so far. The only worry is that if the constant updating of SWTOR gets out of control, we may see EA step in and do what has made them the bane of the gaming industry, but that is only a last resort!!

Beta Numbers Swell Pre-Release

In the largest recruiting drive attempted thus far the Bioware executives have decided to more than double the number of current Beta testers of the past fortnight.

This has included the addition of the first batch of overseas players, including a large number from Australia and Europe. Supposedly this is with the hope to find flaws in the game’s combat system which will be exaggerated by the latency such locations entail, but far more likely is to bring news of the game to countries where it may not get quite as much direct advertising.

With the recent lift on confidentially clauses imposed on testers, we have seen a flood of screenshots and videos of the game make it onto social media sites such as Facebook and Youtube. Whilst this has not caused any problems so far, it has revealed that the game is not quite as flawless as it may have seemed from the early testing.

There are evidently quite a number of bugs with the player combat system, meaning so far battles have been far from balanced.
Trooper is the pick of the bunch as of now, with each being more than a match for 2-3 of any other class. This isn’t helped by the fact that classes such as consular are far from perfect, with many abilities misfiring right when the player is counting on them.

With more than two months to go before the game is released there is still plenty of time to iron these last bugs out. Lets hope this is done with plenty of time to spare, or players might be quite under-impressed after parting with their hard earned money.

Strong Pre-Order numbers for SWTOR

In an annual report released yesterday by Bioware, among the pages of budgeting and productivity reports, discerning fans of Star Wars The Old Republic saw that the game, still months from release has already broken 36 thousand subscribers.

In a somewhat surprising move it seems the developers of the game have neglected to mention this on their website, even though it seems like a very impressive statistic. However, this may be just a temporary business decision, as they may wait until the number reaches another substantial milestone, such as 50 thousand.

With the date for release officially ‘set in stone’ for the 20th of December, it is somewhat surprising that so many players would be interested in securing the game so far ahead of time. Previous games, even ones as large as World of Warcraft, did not have nearly this many subscribers such a distance before they would actually enter the game.

It is probably no coincidence that the release date has been scheduled for the 20th, four days after the planned shut down of the previous Star Wars MMORPG, Star Wars Galaxies. Perhaps Lucasarts’ juggling of these dates is why it took so long to have a confirmed release for SWTOR, as they want to transfer as many players as possible straight from one to the other.

Since the announcement of SWTOR there has been almost continual speculation as to how the two games will coexist, which has thankfully been put to rest with the conclusion of one chapter in the Star Wars game-saga, and the opening of another. Lets just hope the strong subscriber numbers will reflect the strength of Star Wars The Old Republic when it is released, or we may find a lot of players wishing to move back to their previous game, which will no longer be there.

Bounty Hunter Progression

For players of the ever popular Bounty Hunter class in SWTOR there will be two main choices of pathway, Powertech and Mercenary. These will demonstrate contrasting yet similar play styles, but both will of course focus on hunting down and bring to justice (or at least what is seen as justice on one side) players from the Republic.

Powertech BHs will be one of the most technologically savy classes in the game. Equipped with jet packs and advanced toxins they will make short work of other players, and with such a wide arsenal of weaponry and equipment, they will almost always be able to take advantage of one weakness or another.

In contrast, the Mercenary BH will be more of a heavy duty beat-em-up like class. In later levels players will be equipped with a rocket firing back pack (think Jango Fett), which as shown in the video should take huge chunks out of anything that stands in the Mercenary’s way.

Both classes have a large focus on armour, with them being some of the most well protected players in the game. By the end both will have full face shielding of different varieties and a suit that goes along with it perfectly. The advanced Mercenary suit was perhaps a bit of a surprise, as it looked almost like Daedric armour from the Elder Scrolls series of games, with its many intricate patterns which had not been seen before in a Galaxy far far away.

Regardless of the minute details of the profession’s two paths, BH will be one of the most popular professions in SWTOR purely due to its prominent part in the movies, and of course the freedom and entertainment that comes with hunting down other players when they least expect it.

Bounty Hunter Progression

Bounty Hunter will undoubtedly be one of the most popular classes in Star Wars The Old Republic. This should have been evident from the game’s precursor- Star Wars Galaxies – which was always filled with players trying to ply their trade by hunting down others.

The latest Bounty Hunter progression video shows just how the players of the class will progress as they climbs the ranks of SWTOR. Like other professions, the class separates into two main strains, each with their own special abilities and armoury.

All of the armour and weapons shown so far seem to be very befitting of the way the class has been depicted in previous games and movies.
Many long time fans of the trade may have played Star Wars Bounty Hunter back in the days of Playstation 2. Although it may not have been one of the headline Star Wars games of the console (Battlefront series anyone?) It was certainly up there with the likes of Jedi Starfigher and their many run-offs.

One thing that players of Bounty Hunter might find interesting in SWTOR is sure to be the music, as once again the Game composing legend Jeremy Soule will be on the scene. Although we have not heard much of the game’s soundtrack so far, mainly because no testers are quite game to lose their testing rights, soon all will be revealed with the release in upcoming months. One thing is for sure however, like similarly composed Knights of the Old Republic, the developers will not look past the soundtrack, and every profession and past time, Bounty Hunter included, will have its own theme for players to grow to love.

Troopers make some Progress

Today we were blessed with a new release, this time on the progression and stats of the Trooper class.

Like the other classes, Trooper will have quite a number of ways to specialise in order to cater perfectly to each players particular style. This is bound to make it one of the most popular classes, and we haven’t even begun to take into account its survivability and serious damage output capabilities!

Troopers of SWTOR will be the archetypical heavy blast-em class. Think Terminator or Rambo. Most will roam the battle field with heavy armour, and even heavier weapons which should make short work of enemies.

Although they do not possess any force abilities whatsoever, their ever-so-elegant weapons will probably be more than a match for most Jedi.

As we saw there are a number of different armour and weapon combinations already available, including a helmet which is for all intents and purposes identical to those found during the times of Episode III.

Despite its un-canonical nature this armour suit does look sufficiently bad-ass that we should see slim to nil complaints about it.

The two trooper specialisations, Commando and Vanguard look fairly similar, however as always fights are decided in the details, so each will certainly have their own places on the battlefield. At this stage Commando seems to be the stereotypical lock and load, shoot em up class, whilst vanguard is a more tech-savy and environment-aware specialisation. It appears they will even be more than a match for the occasional Sith Inquisitor!

With the release of SWTOR growing ever closer we can only hope Bioware continues producing these revealing, and always appreciated videos. If nothign else, they give players a good idea of what to expect once they begin play, and how they might find themselves facing up with enemies across a galaxy far far away.

Sith Inquisitor Update

Today the SWTOR developers at Bioware released an update on the Sith Inquisitor profession.

Players have been asking for more details on this much awaited profession for some time now, and it was good to finally get the information so many had waited so long to see. This will put many of the professions most excited supporters at ease, and should give them something to talk about and look forward to in up and coming updates.

With the short article came a number of new articles, which included Khem Val, a new companion for the class, and the tech specs on the professions unique vessel, the Fury-Class Imperial Interceptor.

The Interceptor, perhaps unsurprisingly, bares many similarities to Darth Maul’s Sith Interceptor from Star Wars Episode 1. Even further, in many ways it appears to be a scaled up version of a TIE Interceptor, with a similar front window and side panel design.
This is toted as one of the most maneuverable ships in the Sith fleet, so the Inquisitors of SWTOR will be able to live up to their slippery reputations that so many have earned over the years. Also, unlike the usually spartan commodities of the Jedi, The Sith Interceptor has a luxurious interceptor which will make it a joy to pilot, even against numerous enemy forces.

Khem Val, our exemplar sidekick is certainly not one chosen for his looks. In fact, his apparent century long freezing has left his body worse for wear, even if his mind IS as sharp as ever. Khem will perhaps not offer the intellectual conversation afforded by some of the other classes’ sidekicks, but he will be a formidable force in combat and every inquisitor in The Old Republic’s best friend.

Warrior Progression

Perhaps the most anticipated class of SWTOR is the much fabled Sith-Warrior. The warrior has its roots in famed Star Wars characters like Darth Vader and Darth Maul, which have proven to be some of the most popular with audiences across the world.

As Sith Warriors advance through the ranks of The Old Republic they are awarded with all kinds of new Armour, weaponry and special abilities. This ensures that as their opponents becoming stronger and more intelligent, the Warrior evolves along with them, ideally to stay one step ahead! At the beginning of the video we see a warrior wielding a basic plasma sword, but then as he continues to develop, little to our surprise, he is equipped with a lightsaber to deal with his enemies more effectively.

As can be seen in the video at the bottom of the page, the two different Warrior paths are vastly different, although perhaps equally powerful. To many players’ surprise, Bioware strayed from traditional Sith Garb of black robes, to more heavy duty armor profession. If nothing else, this really makes the Juggernaut warrior really look like his name sake.

In the footage SWTOR’s Warrior is shown to be an ideal class for solo play, and focuses primarily on lightsaber combat and a handful of dark side abilities. Although not as dependent on the force as their inquisitor brethren, Warriors are still more than capable of throwing down the occasional force choke in the heat of combat. This makes them truly a force to be reckoned with, and we are sure that no republic players will take combat with them lightly.

The jury is still out on whether players will get the extensive customization options like those present in SWG, and so far things do not look promising. With armor that is awarded as you level up the chances of this seem bleak. Even any chance of being able to chose from a wide range of different armors may be out the window, but ideally Bioware will finally realize that variety is the spice of life in SWTOR and we can see a diverse and interesting game like all hope for.

Chiss

The Chiss will be a race that many will be familiar from the Star Wars Expanded Universe. They have been portrayed as characters such as Grand Admiral Thrawn, who was voted one of the top 10 characters from the entire Star Wars Universe.

Chiss are completely humanoid in physique, differing only in their bright blue skin and blood red eyes. This gives them a very fearsome look to the un-initiated, which is un surprising as the species became decades ago the first official allies of the emperor. In exchange for their military might and exorbitant taxes the Sith agreed to leave them alone, which marks them as the first race in the history of the galaxy which has managed so strike such a fair deal. Sith annals show a history of violent destruction of newly discovered races, not military agreements.

The Chiss species plays a dominant role in governing what the republic calls the ‘Unknown Regions’, which is perhaps why the race is so unknown to the outside galaxy. In fact, aside from the highest military generals and politicians in the republic, and their front line forces, most do not even know this extra-galactic race exists.

Chiss are likely to make Ideal Imperial agents and bounty hunters in SWTOR. It is unknown whether they will be able to access force sensitive classes, however the lack of any Chiss jedi or Sith in the expanded universe makes this somewhat unlikely.

Regardless, they will be a popular class, and one who’s traditions and battle prowess every republic player will have to be constantly aware of. To underestimate one of these knifing opponents is likely to be the last mistake many will make.