Friday Update: Warzones, and (voting for) a new name for the Jedi Wizard.

Warzones, crafting and (voting for) a new name for the Jedi Wizard. That’s what BioWare has for us today.

This week was EA’s annual winter showcase in London, during which they revealed details on warzones in The Old Republic as well as details on crafting. With the warzones BioWare released a new video showing some PvP; here is the official news:

We’ll be offering more insight into how Warzones work in the near future, but for now, we hope this video will give you a good sense of the Warzone experience in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™! Also, be sure to check the screenshot section to see how this battle is heating up.

Next to all that BioWare is showing that it’s listening to the community. After the massive outcry over the “Jedi Wizard” advanced class name they’ve now selected three names (plus “Jedi Wizard”) for the community to vote on, saying that the winning choice will be the final name ingame. And to help people decide they’re giving use a breakdown of the general Jedi Wizard skill branches:

Next to all that BioWare is showing that it’s listening to the community. After the massive outcry over the “Jedi Wizard” advanced class name they’ve now selected three names (plus “Jedi Wizard”) for the community to vote on, saying that the winning choice will be the final name ingame. And to help people decide they’re giving use a breakdown of the general Jedi Wizard skill branches:

Earlier this year, we announced the Advanced Classes System which allows you to customize your character according to your play style. We also revealed the advanced classes for the Jedi Consular: Jedi Shadow and the Jedi Wizard. Since then, we’ve been working on a new name for the ‘Jedi Wizard’ Advanced Class and have come up with three new possibilities.

Now we want to open it up to you, the fans. There’s been some great feedback on class names in the past, so we’re offering you the chance to help us make the final decision!

The chart below presents a high-level overview for the Jedi Consular’s advanced classes:

  • Telekenetics: Ranged Damage using Force attacks, such as ‘Telekenetic Blast’ which does high damage in an ‘area-of-effect’

  • Balance: Overall survivability and utility, with abilities that enhance both melee and Force attacks

  • Seer: Healing and buffs using the Force, with abilities like Serenity to boost Force regeneration and reduce damage taken

There are four names to choose from: Jedi Sage, Jedi Seer, and Jedi Adept – along with the option to keep it Jedi Wizard. This poll will determine the final title that appears in game. We’ll be tallying the results from the English, French, and German communities to determine the winner. Voting ends at 5:00PM CST on Thursday, December 2nd so vote now!

We look forward to hearing from you!

As of this posting “Jedi Sage” has more than half the votes in all three (language) polls, so it’s looking very likely that that’ll be the winner. Personally I just voted the most popular option in an “anything but ‘Wizard'” vote, but I’m quite happy with Jedi Sage.