Facebook Image of the Week #40

BioWare have updated there facebook fanpage with a new screenshot. This time we get to see the beauty of Nar Shaddaa Upper City. These Screenshots is getting less and less interesting as we can pretty much se the game by our self now, but we will keep you updated on these images until the game comes out.

Though Nar Shaddaa’s upper city is ablaze with brightly colored neon lights, the lower cities of the Smuggler’s Moon are rife with danger.

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LucasArts to Take "around 35%" of SWTOR Revenue- EA Still to Have Profit

We know that EA will not be pocketing all of the profit from SWTOR, which looks to be a very successful game but has also been quite a large investment. They will have to share with Lucas Arts, who owns rights to the Star Wars name. some have said that EA may not have much to gain in the way of profit from the deal but one analyst said there is plenty to go around. (Isn’t this what I just said yesterday?)

According to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, LucasArts will take "around 35 per cent" of the revenue from forthcoming SWTOR MMO after EA earns back its investment in the game.

"I think [EA] will make a profit," said Pachter, who has proven to be right on these types of things in the past. He adds:

"The revenue split is around 35 per cent to LucasArts after EA earns back their investment. That means EA keeps most of the revenue from disc sales (they have marketing expenses and need to staff up the server farms), so they should earn a nice profit there. 

Keep in mind that EA expensed the development cost when incurred, so much of the disc sales revenue will be profit." 

Pachter had estimated that SWTOR will bring in about 1.5 million subscribers which would be around $80M annually in profits. He also said that the game will only need 500,000 subscribers to see a profit, something that is apparent will happen, at least from the start and launch. So the real question will lie in whether or not EA/Bioware can keep the gamers happy over time after drawing them in for a successful launch.

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Video Guides & Commentaries

Hello everyone, my names Sheriden and I'm new to swtor-strategies. I'll be bringing you articles covering a range of entertaining and helpful videos focused on Star Wars: The Old Republic. I have a YouTube channel myself which continues to publish such videos, but you can expect to see videos other than my own. I will make sure to warn you whether each video contains spoilers or not.

Just like other MMO's and games out there, videos guides can be extremely helpful to your experience. World of Warcraft has the famous 'Tankspot' website, which provides videos explaining strategies for killing bosses in many of the games raids and instances. While it is certainly fun to try out a boss with no idea what to expect, it can soon become irritating when you struggle to take them down after many attempts. Let alone dangerous to the stability and success of your guild. Many guild/raid leaders or officers will want to look up all the details they can before heading in. I expect the same to happen with SWTOR.

So that's when I decided to put not only my knowledge of games and SWTOR itself, but also my video editing and graphic skills to use. I created a channel called SWTOR Extreme on YouTube, and set off trying to provide the community with news, commentaries and guides. After about 2 months, the channel has almost reached 1.500 subscribers, and has over 90,140 video views. Certainly not too shabby.

The first video I'd like to share with you is focused on a play-through of the 4-player Flashpoint named Mandalorian Raiders (contains SPOILERS). It unlocks around level 22, but the current recommended level is 27 according to the quest log. The video provides not only the main cut-scenes and dialogue, but it also provides general tips. It will guide you through the three bosses and their most apparent mechanics or abilities.

The second video worth checking out was a play-through created by the guild Red Rancor, when they got the exclusive chance to play an end-game Flashpoint at BioWare's facilities (just before the NDA was dropped). Some of you may have already seen it, but I'd like to bring it up again because at the time so much information and videos were coming out it was very easy to miss...and you're not going to want too! Again, expect spoilers!

I hope you enjoyed both videos, if you did be sure to give them thumbs up :)

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A detailed SWTOR Beta Review by a MMORPG veteran

When it comes to SWTOR reviews, we’ve got you covered. In addition to writing our own, we like to bring you the best of what we find on the Internet from other fans, game sites and more. We stumbled across another SWTOR beat review from an MMORPG veteran who has a lot to say about the game.

And when we say a lot, we really mean it!

Merecraft of Far Beyond My Capacity wrote over 8,000 words about SWTOR beta. That’s like a small book!

If you want to learn more about the game from someone who has firsthand MMORPG experience, this one is worth your time. Even if you just skim over the sections that interest you, it’s worth it to check it out.

Merecraft is a 12-year veteran of MMOs who has been playing the game for some time now and the drop of the NDA means he gets to share all of his ideas, impressions and opinions with the rest of us.

He first describes his background with gaming and then promises to be as objective as possible in this review. Then comes the warning:

“This is going to be a long and detailed review, so strap yourself in, it could get messy...”

Which is completely true!

8,000+ words is one heck of a review but he has so much to say that I suggest you read over it for yourself (or at least the parts that interest you the most). Let us know what you think.

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SWTOR New Build Deployment- Game Testing

If you’ve been game testing SWTOR, you probably noticed that you couldn’t get in to the game today. This message was posted to the SWTOR community:

Hello Testers!
We are preparing to deploy a new build of the game for testing! At 12:00AM CST (6:00 London, 7:00 Paris/Berlin) on 11/29, we will be bringing the all game servers and SWTOR.com down for extended maintenance.

Note to weekend testers: Your phase of the Game Testing Program has now concluded, and you will no longer be able to play the game.
As part of the internal testing and deployment process, the game servers will remain unavailable for ongoing testers after the website is up at 12:00PM CST (18:00 London, 19:00 Paris/Berlin) on 11/29. We will update the stickies in this forum to keep you informed about when the servers will be available again. While we do not currently have an ETA, we expect the servers to be available again this week.

If you’ve been testing for some time now, you will know that this is not the first time they have brought the game testing servers down for a new build. New builds mean we are another step closer to the launch of the final game for everyone. It’s just another part of the process.

Amber Green, Game Testing Coordinator added some good news about this new build:

“Characters from the last phase of testing will not be wiped and will carry over to the new testing build of the game! (Note: characters from testing WILL NOT carry over to Early Game Access).

You will not need to uninstall this build and the new patch will not be the size of a new build! (This means no 20GB download!)

We are excited to get everyone back to testing, as this is our launch build and it will include wide array of improvements, bug fixes, and updates! Your participation and feedback are truly appreciated!

Please watch this thread for any updates or new information as they become available.”

So there you go testers, we are one step closer to the release of SWTOR. Are you ready?

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The Sith Inquisition Marches Onward

Greetings swtorstrategies.com, we are The Sith Inquisition. Myself and the rest of my team are all diehard Imperials, and would rather shed our own blood as Sith than let the Republic overcome us. For a few weeks now we've been putting out Empire side news and opinion updates, recently being enhanced by a few pieces of beta video content, and now we're happy to be invited to do a weekly column right her on swtorstrategies.com.

You can look forward to a lot of news and opinion on the dark side and the Empire, although we do also like to put out general news content when it's applicable. One thing we'll be doing is short news broadcasts through twitter at least once a week, possible coinciding with the posts we'll be putting up here. We'll also be keeping you up to date on major roleplay and PvP activities that we're emailed about, which we actively update over on our twitter account whenever we receive them.

If you'd like to send news, events, or opinions our way, you can email TheSithInquisition@gmail.com and we'll do our best to get them out there to the community.

You can follow our twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/SithInquisition

Our youtube where all our video and newsread content is posted is at http://www.youtube.com/TheSithInquisition

Thank you for being a part of this fantastic community, and remember... Nobody expects the Sith Inquisition.

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No Need to Uninstall SWTOR Client if You Tested This Weekend

Have you recently beta tested SWTOR? If you were one of the weekend testers this past weekend, you will not need to uninstall the SWTOR client before playing the actual game. Pretty much everyone seemed to be in this massive scale SWTOR game test this past weekend so if you were dreading having to re-download the game client afterwards, you are in luck.

As long as you have the most recent version of the game client installed from the Thanksgiving weekend test, you can save some bandwidth and time and just patch the game client, rather than deleting and starting new.

Stephen Reid tweeted today:

“FAQ: if you played this weekend you do NOT need to uninstall the #SWTOR client. We are planning to patch it to Early Game Access / Live.”

Not only is this good news for those who plan to play but it’s also one more sign that we are closer than ever before to the eventual launch on December 20th.

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Activision Questions Star Wars: The Old Republic's Chances at Profitability

The days are counting down to the December 20th launch of SWTOR and as many are getting excited about the upcoming MMO, there are others who don’t quite fall into all the hype.

Some are predicting SWTOR might not do as well as predicted and that even if it does, there won’t be much room for profit for EA with such an expensive game that they also have to share licensing rights with to Lucas Arts. Will there be any room left for profit from SWTOR?

Activision's CEO Bobby Kotick says EA Will Lose Out with The Old Republic but could he be right? There’s no surprise that there are skeptics when it comes to SWTOR. In fact, with any big thing, there are going to be those who oppose it but how much truth might there be to the questioning? 

Kotick made his remarks about SWTOR at the Reuters Media Summit on Monday. However, shares of Activision are down 5.5 per cent year-to-date while shares of its main rival, Electronic Arts, are up 27.2 per cent so could this just be a stunt to draw attention away from the company that might not be doing so well this holiday season as EA? 

Kotick not only downplayed the notion that EA could steal users from "World of Warcraft" but also questioned whether his rival would make money off SWTOR since it has to pay Lucas Arts for the licensing rights. While he has a valid point, it seems there might be just enough money to go around on this one if it is even a fraction as popular as expected.

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TOR TV: Jedi Knight lvl 1 - 5 with commentary

Jesse from OMFGaming have Jedi Knight gameplay video up now. The last two stories we did about Jesse and his video I said that I found him annoying.

After Looking through more of his stuff, and watching the Trooper and Sith Inquisitor videos again, I take it back. The guy is absolutely amazing at what he do - playing games and comment on it. He is actually so good at the commenting that he make a living out out of it.  Check out this sample video he made.

Oh, and check out the Jedi beta play though below:

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INC Gamers SWTOR PvP Preview

For many MMOs, the PvP is one of the most exciting aspects. Some players choose games based solely on the PvP aspects. We’re still learning about PvP in SWTOR but the good news is that with the past couple of beta weekends and the NDA lifted, we can learn more about SWTOR PvP than ever before.

INC Gamers tells us about about three of the PvP Warzones (it’s assumed there are more). The writer, Tim McDonald talks about playing in Huttball, The Voidstar and the Alderaan Civil War and he gives an account of how he felt when playing each of these warzones.

Here’s a snippet:

“There currently appears to be no way to queue for a specific Warzone, so I've played some more than others. To be more specific: I've played Huttball 52 million times.”

52 million, huh? Sounds like enough to form a good opinion on the experience. We know what he’s talking about from our own experiences in game testing. He goes on to tell us a little more about the game itself:

“Huttball is... well, it's a sport. Sort of. Two teams (the Rotworms and the Frog-Dogs) compete to carry the ball, which starts in the middle, to opponent's goal. If the ball carrier dies, his murderer gets the ball.”

While Huttball might be all that game testers are getting into, it’s not the only PvP in SWTOR. McDonald also tells us some about Voidstar.

“The Voidstar is an assault gametype over two rounds. One team defends a ship that the others are attacking, and then the sides switch at the end of the first round”.

Read more of his SWTOR PvP impressions and let us know what you think in the comments. It’s a long, in-depth review of PvP and it’s worth the time to give it a read. Whether you agree with all of his opinions or not, it will give you a little more perspective on the game.

[Image via]

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SWTOR Graphic Benchmarks and Maximum Graphics

Are you wondering about the graphic benchmarks of SWTOR? Are you wondering how well your computer will run the game or what your max settings will let you get away with? The SWTOR Beta PCGH Nerd Test will give you some good answers to your nerdy questions.

PC Games Hardware was able to take a first look at the current beta build of Star Wars: The Old Republic and they have a few things to offer in ways of benchmarks, which they were kind enough to share online for the rest of us.

Some details:

•  “At the same time, we have first benchmark with ten different cards, and it is tested, the CPU core scaling.”
• “At this point must be emphasized clearly that all tests with a very early beta version of the game were made.”
• “Anti-aliasing is currently disabled in the game itself and the rest of the engine will be updated with regular patches.”

So will you need an upgrade in order to get the most from SWTOR? These benchmarks will help you learn more about high-end graphics and what you can expect from your system and current graphics card. They also have article on their website ( Translated link [Thanks Adamsticks]) that talks to you more about downsampling.

Learn about CPU core scaling in SWTOR, smoothing in SWTOR, and much more from this graphic benchmark article. The only thing they can’t help you with right now is a SWTOR version for the Mac. Bioware doesn’t seem to want to give any of us an answer on that issue at this time.

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Leia and Han Solo in SWTOR

While we have to admit that what this guy did is pretty cool, we also have to admit that it’s going to be very annoying to see loads of Star Wars movie characters running around the SWTOR universe, especially for those who are serious about their storyline and roleplaying.

However, if you’re looking for something fun, here’s how one guy created Han Solo and Leia with the character creator of SWTOR.You can probably play around with the settings and controls and try to create other Star Wars characters that you recognize as well since there is so much customization available in SWTOR.

He even tells you the slider numbers so you can make them yourself.

And here’s some more fun from Starfleet Dental:

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TOR TV: Sith Inquisition on Nar Shaddaa

The Sith Inquisition have submitted 3 beta videos showing some action on the smugglers moon of Nar Shaddaa. These vidio's introduces us to the basic story premise of what the Sith Inquisitor is up to on this planet, as well as some space mission action in the last of the 3 videos.


Unfortunately they are recorded on a pretty crappy computer ( I belive it's recorded on a lab top), but the commentary adds up for most of it. Check it out below:

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The Guild Sphere: Mobility Gaming

Today's guild feature is something different then what we are used to feature here on swtorstrategies.com. Mobility Gaming is a Multi-Gaming organization focusing on many other game types then MMORPG's. Check it out below, and remember to drop us a line, if you wan't your guild featured on our website.




Where did your guilds name come from?
Mobility is the first part of the name for the Multi-Gaming organization we form part of (Mobility-Gaming.com). Also, Mobility is another name for "Movement" which is important because we want to be The "Movement" in Gaming.

Can you give me a quick 2-3 sentence description of your guild?
Mobility-Gaming is a PvPvE guild dedicated to Highend PvP and End Game Raid Content. We’re Hardcore Minded, but understand gaming is not a "second job." We want to enjoy the game most of all, but we think that winning and downing bosses is the best way to have fun.

What kind of play style do you focus on? PvE, PvP, RP:
PvP Highend / End Game and End Game Raiding.

How serious do you play and/or run the guild?
We take gaming very serious. Even though we all have real lives, when we login we get things done; we play hardcore when we play, which is the main focus of the guild, while logged in be ready at anytime to do PvP or PvE if you’re on you’re willing to run organized events… it is not our fault if you think are busy with “something” else :) hehehe.



Do you have ranks or a certain hierarchy in your guild?
Yes, we do but I’d rather not get into that its "Complex." It's important to say that it's the officers who run the guild though.

Why did you choose The Sith Empire?
Fucking SITH BABY@!@!@

Why do you run a guild?
I have been in too many guilds that are not structured towards my playstyle so I run a guild and find "Like Minded" Players to run with me, thus the guild is able to run a Hardcore Raid and PvP Program with people still being able to have "real lives" outside of the game.


How do you approach Raid Planning?
Raid planning is complex, it depends on the raid and the group structure needed, we have a pool of Competent members who all sign up to be on a raid program dedicating their spec to raiding/pvping so everyone is put in a pool and we roll to see who goes on the raid. Be it some members always have a spot if they are "Raid Leaders" until everyone learns all the instances, there will always be a certain predetermined structure to go by.

Are you always open for new recruits or do you want to keep a certain guild size?'
We are usually open for new recruits as long as they meet our needs, otherwise we will not just fill up our guild with "Casual" gamers.

Age Requirement?
18+ pretty strict on this one.

Guild size?
75-150 + Members Would be the ideal guild size for SWTOR - Considering all the server wide events to run that we got in mind.

What makes your guild stand out from everyone else? What makes your guild unique?
This is pretty important… Most of the guild and/or Guild officers are/will also be YouTube Directors for Mobility-Gaming.com and their own interests (personal channels). Like stated before we look for "Like Minded" Players, thus we want to have as many people who also like to record, blog, and "Machinema" their gaming experiences.

How do you spend your time until release? Do you know each other in real life or do you spend a lot of time on forums?
I am currently running a World of Warcraft guild as well as "Mobility-Gaming" so I have my hands full until release for sure, I don't know most of the members In Real Life however, we’re all getting to know eachother via Emails, and YouTube etc. I have avoided the "SWTOR" forums and will avoid them for the most part, I do skim points of interest but avoid posting. Oh and of course playing the BETA!!!

What Other Games are you currently playing as a guild?
I wouldn't say as a "Guild," but as a Community Mobility-Gaming is involved in, CS, CSS, TF2, COD,Quake, SC2, LoL, DOTA1/2, WoW, SWTOR, more to come...

If somebody is interested now how and where can they apply for membership?
They can contact us at: staff@mobility-gaming,
or our facebook page: www.facebook.com/mobilitygaming
or our YouTube channel: www.Youtube.com/user/MobilityGaming
Or our SWtOR Site: http://www.swtor.com/guilds/220023/mobility

One last question, if there was one thing you could ask the Dev's to include, what would it be?
Ooh, one thing I would include in SWTOR would be "ACTUAL BOUNTIES" being a fan of "SWG" before it failed hard because of SOE, I would love picking up bounties on my Bounty Hunter; I hear that SWTOR does not currently have this. /sadface :(

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Will SWTOR Steal Players from WoW and RIFT?

Millions of people are anticipating the release of SWTOR on December 20, 2011 but there many who wonder just how popular this game is going to be. Will it live up to all the hype? Will SWTOR steal players from WoW and RIFT? WoW has been around for a long time and it has many loyal players who won’t leave but many have grown bored with this style MMO and they’re searching for something fresh, which is what The Old Republic offers. Rift is a great game that is growing in popularity due to the quality of the game and its well thought-out updates. But will it lose players to SWTOR? 

A news story from MMOSite reports, “Blizzard admitted that they started to lose World of Warcraft users from the beginning of 2011. Specifically, they lost 600,000 WOW users in Q1 2011, 300,000 in Q2 and 800,000 in Q3.” They go on to say “If SWTOR succeeds in attracting over 1 million WOW users, World of Warcraft can no longer boast having more than 10 million active users.”

That’s a big loss but still, Blizzard has a large fan base with WoW. But WoW is not giving up that easily. They have a few ideas to keep old players interested and maybe even draw in new ones. For example, the new Patch “4.3 Hour of Twilight” and “Mists of Pandaria” the fourth expansion, aren’t going unnoticed. RIFT is not doing so badly either. Many gamers are showing an interest in this game. For this reason, many of the players leaving WoW may choose to try it instead of going with SWTOR.

So maybe these games will lose some players to SWTOR but it’s not likely the launch of Star Wars is going to completely kill the other games. There will still be people who want to play them. It’s hard to say how much of an impact Star Wars: The Old Republic will have on WoW and RIFT but the world will soon find out. You must also take into consideration whether or not they will have what it takes to keep the players they attract long-term.

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Intergalactic Intel: Smuggler and Sith Inquisitor

I tapped my foot impatiently. “Hurry up!”
“I’m coming!” My friend, Varric, exited his apartment with his massive tower in hand. “Why are you so eager to start?”
“There was a 2 hour wait to get on yesterday. I don’t want waste any time. Besides everyone else is already set up.”

He opened his mouth puzzlement. “How many people are over there?”“Mmm about 6 of us...” This was gonna probably be the best beta weekend yet.

Welcome to another installment of Intergalactic Intel! I apologize for the late article post, with the Thanksgiving weekend, and beta weekend I have been quiet busy. Even now as I type this my friends are telling me to stop and throw the ball in hutt ball.

A few reminders, the NDA has been lifted so I’ll be trying to blab as much as I can about the Sith Inquisitor and Smuggler classes today. In addition to the NDA being lifted I have found two co-hosts for my upcoming podcast. My good friend Maui aka Kai will be my co-host. A long time wow player and joker, as well as my brother will hopefully aid me as we begin this journey. Without further ado, The Sith Inquisitor.

Story:
The Sith Inquisitor's story is quiet inspiring. You start off as a slave being told you’re nothing but crap. The starting world reminded me oddly of Harry Potter and his awkwardness in his first year of school. After proving yourself you’re sent to Dromand Kass, where you find a much greater legacy awaits you.

The voice acting I did not like for the male Sith Inquisitor. His voice was...icky. I guess I came in expecting someone who could easily be a snake charmer, but just got the average evil guy instead. The other voice actors or the story were superb.

Combat:
Not much to go over in combat since the Sith Inquisitor is just the Jedi Consular but with lightning Lots of lighting. I did end up going Sith Assassin instead of Sorcerer. The Assassin uses stealth and back stabs for DPS, as well as a sort of stance system for dealing damage, or tanking.

The choreography for the double bladed light sabers is beautiful. At no one point did I ever think my character was about to cut his little Sith hand off. A lot of your abilities come from you being invisible but naturally you gain talents that let you override those prerequisites.

I did do some tanking with the Sith Assassin, and I can honestly say that it’s not much different. They have the same guard ability like the other tanks and through a couple of talents and correct skills have just as much armor as their heavy armor counter parts. 

Pvp with the assassin was a blast. I easily won most of the medals most games simply due to the guard ability. Guard a healer and keep running around dealing damage, making tanking a great and important part of PvP.

Companion:
Khem Val is the companion you receive as a Sith Inquisitor. An ancient being that eats force users. He was apparently once a servant of the great Tulak Hord. He constantly reminds you that you’re not as great and can eat you at any moment. So pissing him off was a past time of mine.

Khem Val is a melee tank, who is unbearably slow and starting fights. I would command him to attack and it would take him a good few seconds to do damage. He’s similar to Qyzen Fess, but I would take Qyzen in a heart beat, due to Khem’s slow movement and attacks.

The Smuggler

Story:
The smuggler’s story is slightly disappointing to me. To me it’s a glorified version of Dude where’s my car? Though I did enjoy returning to Ord Mantell, with different motives. This time mostly for cash, though I was unable to be too cold hearted. I chose a female this time and was surprised to hear it voice acted by Kath Soucie, a familiar and experienced voice actor.

I did how ever enjoy the witty sarcasm and ass hole-ish nature of the Smuggler. No matter what if I could I would make a smart remark which usually left me in stitches. 

Combat:
I ended up going Scoundrel the exact opposite class of the Sniper I covered a few weeks ago with the Imperial Agent. The biggest change was the lack of portable cover. Needing to find a space to go into cover was mandatory, but I ended up grouping with a few friends so there wasn’t a lot of need for cover.

I chose to heal again due to the lack of healers and the dire need for them in PvE and PvP content. At first there as no real difference between the Sage’s and the Scoundrel's healing style. I eventually gained access to slow release med pac, a stack-able heal over time ability. Keeping this up on a target made life ton easier in PvP and PvE.

When not healing sneaking around with a scatter shot, a back stab type ability, combined with a stun and a few shots from a blaster. I do have to wonder why the Smuggler’s stun is a swift kick to the nether region. I’m pretty sure it shouldn’t work on droids.

Companion:
Corso Riggs is the first companion the smuggler receives. A lot like the smuggler story I was disappointed with. A character out for revenge and seems to be your buddy more than anything else. As a trooper for the Galactic Republic there is no pzazz. I feel like he would be first to die on the battlefield. He’s easily my least favorite of the companions next to Khem Val.

In combat Corso does his job as a ranged tank. A good a mount of early damage, and quick dps when needed. Much of the time Corso could finish two mobs before I could finish one. I couldn't’t help but wonder how much better Bowdar the wookie will be.

That’s it for this week! Next week we’ll go over The Bounty Hunter, and Jedi Knight to finish off these mini reviews as we get closer to early access! Soon enough we’ll have a video of myself and a few other players from this weekend’s beta test from the Tarro Blood server. The video shows us fighting the world boss. I’ll also have a strategy for anyone who would like to fight that nasty once release hits!

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How to Create a SWTOR Guild In-Game

If you will be playing SWTOR with a group of friends, it makes sense to form up your own guild so you can all play together and take advantage of any guild perks and benefits right from the start. There are two basic ways to form a guild in SWTOR. One is only available pre-launch and you have to be sure your guild is registered with swtor.com‘s guild HQ. This is what we have done for my WoW guild which has many players who will be moving over to SWTOR to play together.

For this option, you need to create an account and have at least four people from your guilf who have pre-orders of the game. These pre-orders will only count if they players who purchased them entered their early-access pre-order code. If you purchased the game and did not redeem your code, you have a limited amount of time left to do so. Go to swtor.com/preorder to register your pre-order code.

If you do these steps, then your guild will be pre-loaded into the game in what they are calling a guild pre-launch process and those of you with early access to the game will get to play together as a guild for up to 5 days before the official launch of the game to the general public. This will happen on December 15th, 2011.

To Create a Guild Inside SWTOR
If you are not able to pre-launch your guild or if the deadline to do so has already passed, you will need to wait until launch (Dec. 20th) and create your guild inside the game, similar to how it is done in other MMORPGs.

You will need:

• 5000 credits 
• 4 people in group 

Then you just need to go to the capital world for your faction in order to create the guild. This will be at:

• Courescant- Republic (near the Galactic Trade Network under the senate building’s courtyard)
• Dromund Kaas- Empire (at the galactic marketplace in Kaas City)

There is no level requirement as long as you know where to go so even a level one could travel there and form up the guild. You do have to walk past high level enemies though so you will need an escort or you should plan to die a lot along the journey.

Each city has a guild creation NPC that you will need to talk to in order to form your guild. Once formed, the original four signing members will be placed in the guild and you can then begin recruiting/inviting more. Have fun!

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Friday Update: Jedi Consular Class Progression

In this weeks Friday Update, Bioware highlight the character progression of the Jedi Consular with a new video. Will you choose to don the dark, stealthy robes of the Shadow; or take the lighter path of the Sage?

As your character grows more powerful, you will see them gain new skills and abilities to complement the superior gear they acquire.

Channeling the power of the Force to give them strength in combat and clarity in diplomacy, Jedi Consulars are respected for their leadership on the battlefield as well as their evenhanded demeanor at the negotiating table. While many devote themselves to uncovering the ancient secrets of the Jedi and use their command of the Force to defend and protect their allies, others use the Force as a means of slipping into the shadows and becoming powerful servants for the Republic. 

Watch just a few of the many ways the Jedi Consular can progress through their journey in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, and let us know what you think on our Forums.

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TOR TV: Jedi Consular Beta play through.

I must have been living under a rock the last week, or maby I have just been in a constant swtor video overload, but I should have posted some videos from this guys earlier.

I just came about this guy on youtube today. he goes about the name B.R. Brainerd, and in these videos he play Jedi Consular and do commentary.

B.R. enters the world of Star Wars as a Jedi Consular, showing you the game's opening cinematic, server selection, character creation, and gameplay!

B.R. continues his foray into Star Wars: The Old Republic. After exploring the conversation mechanics in the game he ventures through the starting area, receives his first two quests, and engages in combat!


We learn more about the abandoned Jedi holocrons as the main quest takes us to the Jedi Temple and a nearby Twi'Lek village. Hilarity ensues.


B.R. completes a ritual ceremony for the Twi'Leks and gathers more information about the Flesh Raider infestation. Equipment slots and quest mechanics are also reviewed.


B.R. runs for his life, foiling the plans of an evil Twi'Lek. Sidequests are completed and two new abilities are earned. The merits of these new abilities are discussed.


B.R. practices his new abilities on nearby combat droids, breaks up a romance, wins a game show, and completely fails at getting laid. All in a day's work, citizen.

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EA Makes Right the Wrong of BF3 and Battlefield 1943

A few days ago I brought you the story of EA being sued by disgruntled gamers over their BF3 fiasco. It seems they are taking the issue seriously and have decided to remedy the problem. They have issued a statement on their website that all owners of Battlefield 3 on the PS3 will get a free copy of Battlefield 1943 starting this month.

Full details on who is eligible and how to get your copy is available from their site. Do you think this is a good enough response to the whole debacle? Has EA taken the right steps to resolve the matter and smooth things over with gamers everywhere by correcting their mistake and quickly making the game available to those who originally thought they would get it via a promotion?

It’s a nice little bonus to anyone who just bought BF3 and might not have even known about the original promise to get Battlefield 1943 as well.

EA has issued the following statement via the news section of their website:

There have been some misunderstandings around Battlefield 1943 and Battlefield 3. To address this we are making Battlefield 1943 available free of charge to owners of Battlefield 3 on the PS3 beginning this month.

Battlefield 1943 PlayStation 3 vouchers will be available on the following dates via the 1943redemption.battlefield.com portal:

·         November 26th, 2011 for Battlefield 3 players on PlayStation Network Sony Europe.

·         December 10th, 2011 for Battlefield 3 players on PlayStation Network Sony America.

·         December 17th, 2011 for Battlefield 3 players on PlayStation Network Sony Asia and Sony Japan.

To download your copy of Battlefield 1943 for the PlayStation 3 please follow the easy steps below.

1.      Activate your Battlefield 3 Online Pass for the PlayStation 3 using the voucher included in the game (see step #5 for additional instructions).

2.      Visit 1943redemption.battlefield.com on or after the dates outlined above for your region and log in with your Origin ID and password. Click here if you need help with retrieving your account information.

3.      Select your territory. Note vouchers do not work across regions.

4.      You will then receive a PlayStation 3 voucher for Battlefield 1943.

5.      input your voucher into the PlayStation Network store. Instructions below.

1.      From the XMB (cross media-bar) of the PlayStation 3 connected to a network, choose [account management] under the [PlayStation Network].

2.      From the menu select redeem codes.

3.      Enter voucher and select continue.

4.      Download Battlefield 1943.

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Beta Patch notes: 0.742.16

Here are the latest patch notes for SWTOR. Only a Few minor changes is all Bioware did to prepare their game for the stress test today. Check out all the fixes below.


Bounty Hunter

Bug Fixes

• Neural Dart now properly functions to taunt enemies.

Crew Skill

Bug Fixes

• Crafting materials that are no longer usable will now display as “Obsolete Crafting Material” and the item description will now properly read “This item is obsolete. Sell it to a vendor.”
• Fixed an issue that would sometimes incorrectly display which Crew Skills a character has learned.

Items

Bug Fixes

• Players will now be properly notified when they do not meet the requirements to equip an item.

Flashpoints and Operations

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue that was causing players to freeze or see a black screen while in Flashpoints.

Missions and NPCs

Missions

Republic

• Doomsday: Players will no longer see the environment disappear when walking between the Dark Temple and the Dark Temple Grounds.
• The Rescue: Fixed an issue with Sergeant Nidaljo’s conversation which prevented players from successfully completing the mission.

Imperial

• Oasis: The Reflection NPC will no properly spawn while on the step “Defeat Your Reflection.”
• NPCs

General

• High-level enemies of Standard and Weak toughness have been balanced to deal significantly less damage.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue that prevented players from accepting mission rewards if they ever had more than three pending rewards.

PvP

Warzones

• Reduced the amount of experience received for completing a Warzone.

Space Combat

Bug Fixes

• Voice overs will now play properly during Space Combat missions.
• Fixed several issues with sound effects in the mission “Hydian Way Blockade.”

UI

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where opening the Quick Travel map would display the incorrect image on the Quick Travel window.
• The minimap will now correctly display when all icons are toggled on.
• Players will now be able to properly use the “Toggle PvP Flag” option on the GUI.
• Changing graphics preferences will no longer cause the map background to appear as solid black.
• Fixed an issue where non-credit currency, such as Commendations, were displaying as “null” in the inventory currency tab.

Miscellaneous Bug Fixes

• Fixed several issues that were causing players to crash to desktop under certain circumstances.
• Fixed an issue where all European servers were incorrectly displaying German in the launcher.
• Cancelling the opening cinematic for the Smuggler no linger occasionally causes the game to crash.
• Resolved an issue that could prevent new characters from correctly entering their starting phase.
• Corrected a problem that could prevent characters from logging into specific areas.

who will shoot first this time?

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Last Chance to Finalize Your SWTOR Guild

This is your last opportunity to finalize your SWTOR guild before Early Game Access begins! Phase 3 of our Pre-Launch Guild Program had begun a few weeks ago and according to the news reminder from the official SWTOR site, you are running out of time to finalize your guild. If you are a guild leader, now is the time to make sure you have everything in order for launch. 

If you have at least 4 members of your guild who have preorderd the game and you want to get guild early access, you will need to finalize the last details of the guild before it is too late. 

This is your last chance to:

• Make any changes to your guild
• Ensure your guild meets requirements for deployment into the game
• Designate your guild’s Allies and Adversaries
• Review and accept pending guild applications

So what do you have to do?

“It’s simple! All you have to do is make sure at least four members of your guild have pre-ordered the game and redeemed their Pre-Order Code at our Code Redemption Center. Once you’ve done that, you can check your guild’s page within the Guild HQ to see if you have met all of the pre-designated conditions.”

Read the full news story to find out more information on early access, guild early access, pre-launching your guild and more but hurry because time is running out.

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Your guide to this weekend's beta.

The purpose behind this final weekend beta, is to gauge performance of the game's current server architecture. Previous betas have had some minor problems with performance, and this test will be the final chance for some meaningful feedback for launch scenarios.

So, what can you do to help the most?

• Attempt to log in AS SOON AS YOU CAN. We want to hammer these servers to hell and back, don't let up if you have the time to spare.
• Keep trying to connect if you have problems. Be ruthless. The more performance issues we catch during this beta mean that BioWare will know what to tackle before launch.
• Don't start a post on reddit, or the official forums saying "the servers aren't letting me log in". Just keep attempting to connect, the server logs they'll gather will tell them you can't log in.
• Severe lag? Log out and use the survey that will pop up, there's a section about lag, and respond accordingly. Then hammer the server trying to log in again.

So, by now you've probably realized your purpose in this test. While having fun with the game is going to be a very welcome side-effect, the main purpose is for this game to be ready for launch. The feedback we give them this weekend could mean the difference between a good or bad launch. So if you stop trying to connect after the 1st or 2nd try, you may not be giving them as much feedback as you are capable of. Alongside that purpose, BioWare are interested in gathering metrics from people playing the game as you would at launch. That said, this may not be the best beta test for bughunting. I'm sure it's appreciated, but the main purpose is to simulate a launch scenario.

As far as bugs go: Use /bug for every one you see. Don't sensationalize bugs if they aren't gamebreaking, and realize that just because something doesn't work the way you think it should doesn't mean it's a bug.

For those of you trying the game this weekend to see if you'll purchase/pre-order: Please be patient with the servers. I really suggest that you don't take how the servers perform this weekend as an indication of how they will perform at release.

And one more thing regarding /bug: The text you use in this area will be used to determine the cause of bugs. If you are raising an issue with the game, please give as much information as possible relevant to the issue.

And Have fun! Enjoy the game if you get to play.

Image by lumpofcole on Rediit

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1.6 Million WoW players 'could switch to Old Republic' according to surveys

The battle between SWTOR and WoW rages on and as we get even closer to the launch date of TOR (December 20th) we continue to hear talk of WoW players who are or are not planning to jump ship and trade one game for the other.

“Analyst house Lazard Capital Markets thinks World of Warcraft could lose between 900,000 and 1.6 million players following December's Star Wars: The Old Republic launch”, as reported on Computer and Video Games.

 

The stats aren’t really that surprising when you think about it. People are getting tired of WoW. It’s something we’ve written about many times and this also wouldn’t be the first analyst or expert to make such a prediction. 

The story explains:

“A recent survey conducted by the firm in conjunction with Peanut Labs found that over 50 percent of 381 respondents have grown tired of Blizzard's game.”

This really isn’t a big surprise to those of us who have been around the WoW scene a long time. I know that there are WoW-haters out there but I for one, am not one of them. I’ve played the game since beta and really appreciate it for what it is. It was not my first MMO or my first video game but it was one that I have played for quite some time. 

I still enjoy certain things about it but overall, I’ve grown tired of it as well, just as so many others are saying. New expansions only hold interest for so long and new level caps and requirements just feel like more of a grind. I’ve been reluctant to cancel my subscription because I am a guild leader and like to log on and say hi to friends, play with the Auction House and goof off now and then but I no longer play regularly, raid or level characters. I have a max of every class… I feel like I’ve done all there is to do and it just doesn’t interest me anymore. 

According to these surveys, it seems a lot of other people are feeling the same way and they are hoping that SWTOR will give them something new to feel excited about once more. If you’ve had a chance to try the beta weekend, you may be able to answer that question for yourself. Would you quit WoW (or some other MMO) for SWTOR?

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Facebook Image of the Week #39

For some reason we forgot the weekly SWTOR Screenshot yesterday. Our apologies, but BioWare did infact update the official Star wars: the old republic Facebook page with a new screenshot. This time of Nar Shaddaa.

Shrouded by the bright lights of upper Nar Shaddaa, the Undercity is home to countless gangs, cartels and fugitives.

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TOR TV: Trooper lvl 1 - 5 playthrough with commentary

Jesse from OMFGaming have a new video up showcasing some SWTOR Trooper Gameplay. This time he plays the first 5 levels while commentating on it. As last time he get's a little annoying at times, Like I don't see why has has to use 8 minutes choosing how his character should look.

While that being said, it's still a great video, and not a bad way to spend a good hour. Especially if you want to play the trooper when Star Wars: The old republic comes out next month. 

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The Guild Sphere: Vivid

It's Thursdays and time for this weeks second guild feature. Today the guild, Vivid -- a fine US East guild --  took the chance to answer our questions. The guild will focus on the depths of hardcore raiding and competitive PvP. Although they have a strong passion and desire to fullfill these goals, at the core of it all, they are all friendly nerds, who love a personable environment and STAR WARS!

If you want your guild to be features on swtorstrategies.com get in contact with us here.  Check out the interview below, and have a happy thanksgiving, if you are celebrating it in your part of the world!


Where did your guilds name come from?
When we originally sat down and thought about developing a guild, the three of us collaborated and decided we needed a strong, meaningful guild name. We chose Vivid because it's powerful, short, and unforgettable, like Yoda.

Can you give me a quick 2-3 sentance description of your guild?
Vivid as a guild reflects who we are personally as gamers. We are passionate and dedicated, yet at the same time we are personable and enjoy having a good time with our guildmates. By creating a close-knit group of highly skilled and friendly players, we plan to grow into one of the most competitive and prominent guilds in the world.

How did your guild come about?
Destiny.

What kind of play style do you focus on? PvE, PvP, RP:
We will be focusing initially on hardcore endgame PvE, but our competitive spirits will definitely carry over into the PvP realm. We respect people who like to enjoy the lore of Star Wars, so we welcome RP'ers, but it is not our main focus.

What is your guild set up? How do you run your guild?
We have three council members who collectively vote on every executive decision in the guild. Each decision is made with the best interests of the guild in mind, and with progression as a top priority. All input from members in the guild will recieve attention, however the top priority is not any individual, but the guild as a whole.

How serious do you play and/or run the guild?
Serious.

Do you have ranks or a certain hierarchy in your guild?
Council Members - (Leaders) Officers - (In charge of administrative tasks) Veterans - (Experienced raiders) Members - (General audience) Recruits - (Tryouts)

Why did you choose the Republic?
Why wouldn't we choose the Republic? When you watch Star Wars, who gets pwned in the end?

Why do you run a guild?
We chose to run a guild because through our long course of MMO experiences we have built a strong relationship as friends and strongly feel that our order of leadership is the best way to achieve excellence in end-game content.

How do you approach Raid Planning?
We are flexible. Raid times will vary according to the schedules of our top raiders.

Are you always open for new recruits or do you want to keep a certain guild size?
Quality over quantity. We plan to keep numbers minimal to retain a personable and exclusive community, but at the moment we are still actively recruiting top-notch players.

Age Requirement?
18+ however exceptions can, and have been made through convincing display of maturity.

Guild size?
Right now we're thinking 30-40 players max.

What makes your guild stand out from everyone else? What makes your guild unique?
The core of Vivid is the community, in which each member is reputable, mature, and able to perform nothing but their best when the clock hits raid time. Our guild is unique because a member of Vivid displays not only skill, but pride and character.

How do you spend your time until release? Do you know each other in real life or do you spend a lot of time on forums?
We try to soak up every ounce of SWTOR knowledge that we can without spoiling the experience, and when there is nothing new to learn, we try to distract ourselves from the reality that the game isn't coming out for another month.

What Other Games are you currently playing as a guild?
Since we quit playing WoW, we pass time waiting for SWTOR with Counter-Strike, Starcraft 2, and League of Legends.

If somebody is interested now how and where can they apply for membership?
Please take the time to visit our recruitment thread at http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=578422 to learn more information about us. To apply, visit http://www.swtor.com/guilds/242973/vivid and include the guild application template (from our recruitment thread) in your application.

One last question, if there was one thing you could ask the Dev's to include, what would it be?
Each one of us has our own wish.
A'k: I would love if the Dev team implemented a black colored light-saber that had the equivalent of a "WoW Legendary" valued item.
Odu: Personally, I would love the Dev team to implement in-game player owned real estate. I would love to have a giant guild mansion in Coruscant.

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SWTOR for the Holidays

If you’re looking for a popular game choice this holiday season, is there really any surprise that SWTOR tops the lists? Entertainment Weekly has named STAR WARS™: The Old Republic™ one of their 15 Must-Have Videogames this holiday season and The New York Times has placed STAR WARS™: The Old Republic™ on their 2011 Holiday Gift Guide!

With the timely release of SWTOR slotted for December 20, 2011, it’s the perfect opportunity for family members of Star Wars fans or MMORPG lovers to snag a copy of the anticipated game for Christmas. It’s also a great opportunity to do something with that cash or gift cards you get for the holidays.

I think it’s a safe bet to say that we will start seeing SWTOR show up on even more holiday wish lists and “best of” lists as we draw closer to the holiday season.

For those who have preordered, it will be like Santa came a few days early. Just remember to stop playing long enough to actually spend some time with your loved ones during the holidays.

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“BioWare Bets Big With the Old Republic” Says Fast Company

Star Wars: The Old Republic is scheduled to launch December 20, 2011 and BioWare’s expectation for its future is huge. With all the time and energy put into this MMO, BioWare bets big that it’s going to be a big hit. The SWTOR headquarters is located in Austin, Texas. This seems fitting to some since the Lonestar State has the slogan “everything is bigger in Texas” and SWTOR is one of the largest MMO to ever be released.

Fast Company tells us how BioWare bets big with SWTOR. Is it a bet that will pay off in time for the company?

BioWare has put 6 years of testing and debugging into the game and logged 4.6 million hours of beta testing. They are now ready to see if the efforts they’ve put into the game are going to pay off. Will gamers respond to this MMO the way they expect them to and can they keep their interest long-term?

There are many reasons why this game carries risk with the company. Charging for a video game in a weak economy when there are so many free games around could be risky. However, the company believes gamers won’t mind paying when the MMO gives them something worth paying for. In order to make a profit, TOR needs 500,000 gamers to subscribe and play the game during the first year.

Electronic Arts and BioWare have a big competitor in Blizzard’s World of Warcraft who has over 11 million players, so this is a big step for the company. Will they live up to the expectations?

With a launch prediction estimating 3 million subscribers, they’re certainly off to a great start.

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Massively Has Some Early Thoughts on SWTOR: SWTOR Preview

Massively had a few things to say about SWTOR and they offered us all this “early thoughts” piece the other day. As far as first impressions go, this one was fair and many gamers want to hear the

An excerpt:

“I was taken aback by BioWare's lifting of the NDA on Star Wars: The Old Republic last Friday. Few of us saw that coming. I highly suspect that wasn't when the devs originally intended to drop the NDA.”

Ok really Massively? Because I predicted that one the day before it happened…

But anyway, on to their impressions:

“I am happy to tell you that I have a Sith Warrior and Sith Inquisitor on Dromund Kaas and Smuggler on Nar Shaddaa with a peppering of other characters on various other planets. I have PvPed alongside one of the best PvPers I've ever met, and I have plenty to talk about in the coming weeks until launch.”

The preview goes on to describe different parts of the reviewer’s experience, along with screen shots and other goodies.

For example:

“Unlike previous WoW-wannabes, SWTOR actually learned from one of the major mistakes WoW made: Leveling is a grind.”

And another snippet:

“I was completely surprised by SWTOR's PvP, too -- both positively and negatively.”

Read the full piece to hear everything Massively has to say about SWTOR so far.

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Analyst Downgrades Blizzard Stock in Anticipation of SWTOR Launch

Could Blizzard lose more fans as the SWTOR launch date approaches? It’s been called a WoW-killer before but one analyst believes Blizzard stock might take a hit as SWTOR launches. 

Earlier this month, Activision Blizzard revealed that WOW subscriptions had fallen by 10 percent since March, dropping to 10.3 million worldwide. Now Gamespot reports that age and increased competition for the MMOG market can cause Blizzard to lose more stock.

This article explains:

In an investor note today, Lazard Capital Markets analyst Atul Bagga expressed pessimism over WOW's ability to reverse its negative trend. In the process, Bagga downgraded Activision Blizzard's stock from "buy" to "neutral." 

Bagga's move was primarily motivated by a Lazard Capital Markets survey of online players, which was conducted in conjunction with Peanut Labs earlier this month and polled 381 online gamers. The study found that WOW's age, as well as increased competition, could lead to an exodus of 900,000 to 1.6 million players following the launch of EA's Star Wars: The Old Republic in December. 

WoW’s age is one excuse being given as to why the players are becoming bored and looking for something new. Nearly everyone who was there when the game first launched has reached end-game content, max level characters and all that there is to do in the game. Many players leave because their friends have moved on to other MMORPGs.

The common factor in most places who leave the game is boredom. Some have just been playing it for way too long and they’re ready to see something new. SWTOR has that new factor to offer many gamers.

Could pandas be WoW’s only hope?

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TOR TV: Various Level 50 Mercenary Bounty Hunter videos with commentary

Here is a few videos showing some beta gameplay. The first video is a video of a Level 50 Mercenary Bounty Hunter doing PvP in Star Wars: The Old Republic. The video have has some insightful commentary that I personally enjoyed. The guys that made the video is using real PvP situations to illustrate the classes strengths and weaknesses.



If your thinking about creating a Bounty hunter with tne Mercenary tree, I also recoment you to check out this short video. This video is A beta overview of the Bounty Hunter Mercenary advanced class' main damage dealing spec, the Arsenal spec, at level 50 in SWTOR with gameplay footage. This is the same as the Commando Gunnery spec, with different ability animations and names



And finally here is a video of a Level 50 Mercenary Bounty Hunter (Arsenal spec) soloing 2 named boss-level mobs at the same time, wich hopefully should give you a good idea of how the Mercenary plays in solo PvE content.

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TOR TV: Imperial Agent starting zone playthrough - Part 1

TotalBiscuit begins a playthrough of the Hutta Origin world, which is the starting zone for both the Bounty Hunter and Imperial Agent Sith classes

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Die Hard Game Fan brings us 10 Thoughts on SWTOR

We keep an eye out for great SWTOR reviews, previews, news and more to help you stay updated before the launch and to be your one-stop source after launch for useful information. That’s why when we come along a post like the one by Ashe Collins over on Die Hard Game Fan, we want to share it with you.

Collins gives us 10 thoughts on SWTOR. This was from the perspective of someone who only got to play for a small portion of the game and what it has to offer so we’d call these ‘early impressions” more than anything else but sometimes it is those early impressions that make the difference between whether or not someone wants to buy the game.

Each of the 10 thoughts are listed with additional info as to why it made the list. Check out the full article to read all the details. 10 thoughts include:

1. BioWare has always been good at telling stories. 
2. At first the classes seem limited. 
3. Flashpoints and Heroic quests 
4. Wiping and death
5. Character customization
6. Questing and killing stuff
7. Scale
8. Stable for a Beat build
9. User interface
10.  LFG spam 

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