Planets

Rakghoul’s Rising

The Latest flashpoint for Star Wars The Old Republic, Rakghoul’s Rising, recently hit selected live servers, and has proven to be one of the best ever yet made.

The mission introduces players to a host of new characters, both good and evil, as well as the Galaxies first ever Hutt Mobile.

This one technological advantage is a peculiar one, as it provides protection for the bloated beings entire body, except for the most essential part, the Head. Perhaps Galactic engineers might have a career after all if they can solve problem, but whether his opulence Is willing to part with his swish new ride remains to be seen.

With the flashpoint available to players of both factions, it has received a wealth of testing over a very short time, and any bugs present seem to have been ironed out quite early.

With updates planning to be brought in thick and heavy, it is no surprise that this is only a single flashpoint, and a dual-faction one at that. Some have predicted that we may rarely see any single-side battles again, which although disappointing, seems reasonable due to the amount of fury that would erupt from SWTOR devotees should bioware decide to give one side an update and not the other.

One possibility is that large updates may be planned, which might introduce large new explorable areas to the game, which would surely be very popular with more adventurous players.

We have yet to hear news of any PvP updates that might be coming out over the coming weeks and months, however, it is a safe bet that If SWTOR values the money of their dedicated gamers they will make these plentiful, less they lose interest and move elsewhere.

 

 

Voss

Voss is a planet inhabited in SWTOR by sentient, but largely un-advanced beings. The Gormak, like our Human race, they are a pre-space civilisation, so were not members of the Republic for quite a long time.

This species was thought to be the only one on the surface of Voss when the Republic first landed, but after many months they caught word of another, more dangerous species, that live solely on the peak of a single mountain. This species call themselves the Voss, and by all accounts are highly skilled in a number of force disciplines, iin particular prediction of the future.

Their war with the Gormak has gone for centuries, but the Voss have managed to survive by knowing where the Gormak even before they do. They utilised this skill when the Sith and Republic first tried to make contact with them, and the resultant was an entire Sith fleet lost, and Republic emissaries turned away.

Perhaps for the best, neither of the major factions tried to inflict themselves on the Voss after this, instead both attempted to open diplomatic relations with this strange race.

Sith and Jedi alike agree that the Voss are an extremely gifted race in the ways of the force, which is why so much interest is showed in them. There is also evidence of ancient Jedi and Sith ruins on the planet, perhaps meaning one or both of the factions once inhabited the planet.

Voss is likely to be a high level adventure world, with many missions for and against the Voss. It will be a good location for the Consulars and Inquisitors to work their political trades, and perhaps a training ground for force users all across the spectrum. With both sides vieing for allegiance with the Voss, there is sure to be high tension between them, and we may even see an outbreak of all out war on the surface.

Whether the Voss will stand for this, or even any occupation by the Jedi and Sith remains to be seen, but it appears that regardless, both factions will have to learn the hard way.

Tython

Tython has been home to the earliest recorded force users in the Old Republic galaxy. Like about half a dozen planets in The Old Republic, some of Tython’s inhabitants left and quickly forgot the location of their home world.

These adventurers would later become the Jedi order of SWTOR, and only rediscovered their planet after the Jedi temple on Coruscant was sacked by the Sith, and they were in need of a new headquarters. The Jedi order returned to their home world, and had soon constructed a temple for training their newest generations of peace keepers.

As such, Tython is the jedi command centre of Star Wars The Old Republic, and is the starting world of Jedi Knights and Consulars alike. Although the Jedi have lived there for some time, it is largely un-explored. Evidently they are more interested in conducting inquisitions into dangerous and ruined worlds such as Taris.

It is unlikely that any Sith players will ever see the surface of Tython, just as Jedi will be few and far between on Korriban or Dromund Kaas. This will make it mainly a planet of training and meditation, although the occasional outbreak of nature or wildlife is sure to happen.

With all worlds so strong in the force, most events on Tython will undoubtedly turn into the usual bath-robe convention of Jedi masters, knights and younglings. Regardless of what actually goes on inside the great temples on the surface, it is sure to be a tactical centre of the Republic, and a world that must be defended at all costs.

Taris

Taris in the time of The Old Republic is a world sought by for the Republic, for nothing more than a symbolic victory. With their forces stretched thin across the galaxy it is surprising that such a costly endeavour was undertaken, but evidently re-colonising yet another world is worth the many Jedi and technicians working on the job.

Three hundred years before the events of SWTOR, Taris was laid waste to by the Sith, and they conducted genetic experiments on the planets wild life.

This is where we find Taris today. There are mutant critters running around, which are still highly contagious. This has meant the demise of many jedi, and will surely continue to do so in The Old Republic. Republic bases and military outposts account for all of the civilised life on the planet, although if the planet has its way this will change quickly.

There are rumoured to be deadly viruses, which in the past were contained in the lower levels of the surface’s run down metropolis. However, with recent rebuilding and discovery efforts there have been occasional outbreaks, and the ever present threat of the virus escaping in a transport ship off planet is always in the back of the settlers’ minds.

Taris will be a predominantly Republic controlled adventure world. Players will have a chance to gleam some experience against the diverse yet deadly wild life. Perhaps Taris was only added due to its featuring role in the KOTOR games, which explains the lack of content on its surface. Regardless, we expect so see many references to the older games, and perhaps opportunities to visit many sites players will remember.

Nal Hutta

Many Star Wars translators have surely double checked their work when translating Nal Hutta and finding the basic equivalent ‘Glorious Jewel’. Although it may seem like a paradise to the Hutts of The Old Republic, through any other species’ eyes it looks more like endless toxic swamps, with a good dose of dangerous flora and fauna. So bad is the surface, that upper-class Coruscanti families often resort to threatening their children with the idea of moving there.

In at least the universe of SWTOR, Hutta was originally occupied by the Evocii. Unfortunately their business sense must have been about as advanced as their world, so they soon found themselves indebted to the Huttese Gangsters. Things went ok for them, until the Hutts decided they needed a new home world and moved right on in.

The benevolent beings that they are, the Hutts refused to share, and instead enslaved the Evocii which is where we find them during the events of The Old Republic. Hutta is well under Hutt control, although the particular clan in charge has been known to change due to the many internal disputes.

The Hutt clan still remains neutral in the war, however as seen in Fatal Alliance, this may change at any time, as both the Republic and Sith could benefit greatly from an alliance.

Surprisingly, Hutta is the starting point for Bounty Hunters and Imperial Agents. Perhaps Nar Shaddaa would have been a better and more sensible option, however these players will have to do their research on the ‘Glorious Jewel’ instead. This will make Hutta mostly a low level, non-PvP planet, however there are sure to be missions available from the Hutt cartels for the more experienced adventurer.

Korriban

Korriban has long been the ancient home world of the Sith order. Generations lived in the hot and arid environment, as they pondered the ways of the force, and gradually grew stronger, generation by generation, until they were ready to challenge the Republic in what would be come the Great Hyperspace War.

Most players of SWTOR will recognise Korriban from KOTOR one and two, as it was the planet on which Revan and Malak turned to the dark side. This was helped greatly by the planets great Sith heritage, which makes it an incredibly focused location of dark side energy.

At a number of points in time Korriban was completely deserted by the Sith order as the conducted inquests out into the Galaxy. However, for every time they left there has been a return, and the wayward Sith always seem to be able to stumble back again to the planet which nurtured their ancestors.

Korriban is a world incredibly important to any Sith, so as such it is one of the most heavily aligned and fortified in the galaxy. Although it holds minimal strategic value, the Republic would love to possess it no other reason than to crush their opponents morally.

Korriban will be the starting planet for Sith Warriors and Inquisitors. It is located in the Outer Rim, so it is by no means a great galactic crossroads. As it is so tightly in the grasp of the Sith there would be minimal petty crime on the surface, however the number of political and honour-bound assassinations is surely astronomical.

Players that have played Bioware’s previous games set in The Old Republic will be familiar with the planet, and we can expect to see many of the features from those games. This will mean a grand Sith Academy along with Ancient tombs, and perhaps if we are lucky some invisible lizards waiting at every turn…

Hoth

Where would we be without Hoth. This entirely unremarkable planet has been central to Star Wars galactic events over the millennia, and it seems this will be no different in Star Wars The Old Republic.

According to Old Republic lore, Hoth was the location of a major battle of the great law, which saw many damaged ships finding themselves crashing into the surface of the planet. However, when space craft in the Star Wars universe begin uncontrolled descents straight down at a planet’s surface they survive mostly in tact, so there is now a wealth of advanced technology all over the planet’s surface. This has been preserved to an extent by the cold, so it is now ready to be salvaged by any prospecting marauders that just happen to be passing through the system.

Evidently, this is what happened, and a major pirate operation went under-way (they are organised now??) to reclaim this abandoned technology and sell or use it for whatever nefarious purpose they see fit.

After the treaty of Coruscant, with the Republic and Empire no longer officially at each other’s throats, both sides decided they had enough resources to spare to make a move on Hoth to reclaim whatever they could find.

Regardless of any peace treaties, this brought war to the planet between the two major super powers, and the poor innocent pirates caught in the middle. This will make Hoth both a good PvP and PvE zone. Players will undoubtedly have quests focused around salvaging items, as well as defending good quality junk from the opposing factions. There are also likely to be missions conducted against the Pirates, in order to re claim some of the loot they accrued whilst the major factions were beating each other up at the other side of the galaxy.

Hoth looks very similar to what it did in the Star Wars Saga, so you can expect ice, snow, and blizzards. We at SWTOR Republic feel this is kind of disappointing. It would have been nice to have seen a lush green Hoth, the precursor to that which had been afflicted with an Ice Age two millenniums into the future.

Dromund Kaas

Dromund Kaas in Star Wars The Old Republic is one of the ancient home worlds of the Sith. For centuries the planet has incubated the Sith Empire, until they were finally ready to venture back into the Galaxy and wage war on the Republic.

In the Great Hyperspace War, after their defeat at the hands of the old Republic, they searched for decades for an appropriate world to land and re-establish their civilisation on. After many random hyperspace jumps they happened upon the planet which had been originally found by their ancestors decades before, then had been completely forgotten.

Dromund Kaas in SWTOR is the epitome of everything Sith, and it houses the high council and Emperor of the order along with many of the Empire’s highest up officials and Moffs. This makes it an ideal location for Imperial officers and Sith alike to work on their political careers, and strive for advancement and reward.

The Republic has no known presence on this Sith stronghold, un-surprising due to the amazing concentration of Dark side energy and supporters all across the planet. It is unlikely then that any Republic players will ever actually get to see the world, unless Bioware implements some kind of game-wide story arcs which may allow things such as an invasion to happen.

For as far as we know Dromund Kaas will be a place for Sith players to be trained in the dark arts, and stage incursions into the rest of the Galaxy. It will also be the target of Republic attacks, as if Dromund Kaas were to fall, the Sith Empire will take a considerable and perhaps fatal blow.

Alderaan

Alderaan will unsurprisingly be one of the most important and affluent worlds in The Old Republic. Since the early days of galactic government, it’s long line of nobility has been at the forefront of inter-system politics. However, the Treaty of Coruscant did not sit well with many of the nobility, and this saw the planet’s withdrawal from the Republic. Unfortunately this opinion on intergalactic politics was not shared by vast swathes of the population, so consequently decades of civil war were to follow.

Alderaan still has an environment that is just the way it has been for millennia, which is quite a rarity during the times of The Old Republic. It’s environment is a peaceful one, devoid of many of the large predators found on other more treacherous worlds. The planet’s tranquillity attracts many tourists, and is perhaps what inspires their political traditions of peace and understanding.

During the Great War Alderaan was temporarily invaded by the Empire, but this occupation has left its mark on the environment, as well as the people. Some of its noble families have since adopted parts of the Empire’s mentality, which has sparked a number of problematic recent events.

More and more we are seeing both the Republic and Empire lend their support to the noble families of the planet which is only throwing more fuel on the potential blaze that is Alderaan during the events of SWTOR.

From the video Hope we are already aware that Alderaan will be one of the major war zones of TOR. There will be large Jedi and Sith forces on the ground, with many opportunities for both player vs player and player vs computer combat. This should make Alderaan a very popular locale for advanced players, although the thought of huge amounts of combat happening at a world famous for its peaceful ways may seem odd to many.

Throughout all Star Wars literature a large focus has been on Alderaan and it’s inhabitants, so it really came as no surprise when it was included in SWTOR. Lets just hope that the developers can portray the mythical planet in all its glory, as never before have fans really had the opportunity to explore it.

Ord Mantell

Ord Mantell is another planet which has featured in many Star Wars Books, Comics and Games. In The Old Republic it is like most of the galaxy at the time, a very violent planet. Decades of civil war have laid waste to its environment, and the fighting between Republic troops and the separatists resisting their rule does not look like it shall cease in the foreseeable future.

 

Ord Mantell was apparently settled during the early days of the Republic by Corellian colonists, so it is another very humanised world. Also like Corellia, it became something of a breeding ground for Smugglers, Bounty Hunters and other even less classy characters.

The signing of the Treaty of Coruscant marked the start of Ord Mantell’s civil war, as many underground groups wanted to see the planet pry itself free of the controlling hand of the Republic. Ord Mantell is currently the starting planet for Republic Troopers and Smugglers, so it will most likely be a low level world providing many missions for them to train on. They will get a chance to face off against less organised separatist factions whilst still on planet before their journeys take them out into the Galaxy to join the fight against the Empire. This should make it an ideal place for these players to learn their trades, as it will simulate the war torn environment that is most of the Republic during the events of SWTOR.

Before SWTOR Ord Mantell appeared in Star Wars Galaxies, although only as a space zone. Players were able to travel there to accept various pilot missions, although their ships were restricted to landing at the orbital space station.