Rise of the Hutt Cartel

SWTOR Shadow of Revan and Rise of Hutt is now free to play Until Nov 1

Due to Revan has been released in Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, the devs over at Bioware Austine has made the two SWTOR expansions, Shadow of Revan and Rise of Hutt Cartel, free until Nov 1. So if you haven’t yet tried them, now is your chance! Below is the official news: The Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ team is excited to celebrate the release of classic KOTOR characters in the acclaimed Star Wars™ mobile game – Star Wars™: Galaxy of Heroes. In Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, players can unlock and play as beloved KOTOR companions, including the devoted Bastila Shan, the cynical Jolee Bindo and now the Savior of the Republic… Jedi Knight Revan! Join us in celebrating KOTOR’s legacy in both games: Star Wars: The Old Republic – Play the Shadow of Revan Expansion for free* and uncover the fate of Revan! Now through November 1, 2018 at 11:59PM PDT / November 2,…

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New Rise of the Hutt Cartel Launch Trailer

BioWare just released a new trailer for Star Wars: The old republic – Rise of the Hutt Cartel. This is the second trailer for the new digital expansion so far. If you haven’t already seen the first one which is titled “Fight for Makeb” be sure to do so.  You can do so here.  Check out the new one below: The first Digital Expansion: Rise of the Hutt Cartel has just launched, bringing with it an action-packed storyline focused on factional conflict against the Hutt Cartel. Watch the “Fight for Makeb” launch trailer to find out more about the new gear, new abilities and new challenges waiting for you in Rise of the Hutt Cartel.

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Game Update 2.0 “Scum and Villainy” Trailer

With the early access to Star Wars: The old Republic Rise of the Hutt Cartel in full swing, a new trailer for the digital expansion sees sees the day. The trailer is not as bad ass as the old E3 trailers that took the world with storm back in the days, And it doesn’t bring a ton of new stuff to the table. It’s still worh a look though as it features some of the new attack animations that comes with Game update 2.0, as well as armor, environments, and stufflike that. Check it out below:

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Rise of the Hutt Cartel Preparation and Guide

Are you ready for the Rise of the Hutt Cartel? Whether you waiting until the last minute to start preparing or if you’re ready and rearing to begin right now, you’re going to love the new, fresh content. In order to ensure you get the maximum benefit from the experience, we have some tips and guidelines to follow. There are many guides and tips already available so when appropriate, we might make a link or referral to an external site as a resource. It’s all about getting you the best info as quickly as possible. Prelaunch So here are some things you can do/should do as preparation before the launch: Get more experience boosts- whether minor or major, these boost will help you as you are leveling up. Using the exp boosts, you can get the max level as quickly as possible. Do some dailies and weeklies- you’re waiting anyway,…

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Rise of the Hutt Cartel and Game Update 2.0 Patch Notes

The official patch notes for Rise of the Hutt Cartel and Game Update 2.0: Scum and Villainy are now live. BioWare have made so many changes, updates and tweaks to the game. There are about 500 notes, over 11K words in in these patch notes! Check it out below, or over at the official website. Rise of the Hutt Cartel and Game Update 2.0: Scum and Villainy 4/9/2013 . Rise of the Hutt Cartel The Hutt Cartel has emerged from the shadows to challenge the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire for control, unleashing never-before-seen Droids and monstrous battle stations to serve as powerful weapons of destruction. Join your faction and explore story-driven missions with explosive combat to save the future of the galaxy! For more information about how to access the Rise of the Hutt Cartel features and content, please visitwww.swtor.com/rothc. All Classes can now reach Level 55! New Planet:…

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Servers going down at 6PM PDT tonight

BioWare are taking all the servers down later tonight for maintenance and the launch of Game Update 2.0: Rise of the Hutt Cartel.  SWTOR: RotHC will go live tomorrow for everyone, whether or not you’re in Early Access, or have pre-ordered the expansion, but for all of you with Early Access, the servers will come up at approximately 12PM pacific. On April 8th at 6PM PDT (April 9th, 1AM GMT) all game servers, SWTOR.com, and the launcher will be unavailable as we perform scheduled maintenance. Game Update 2.0 will be implemented during this downtime. After maintenance, Early Access will begin for those who preordered Rise of the Hutt Cartel by January 7th, 2013. For more information and announcements about this exciting new Digital Expansion, please visit our Digital Expansion Page. Details are as follows: Date: Monday April 8th- Tuesday April 9th Duration: 6 hours Time: April 8th, 6PM PDT (April 9th, 1AM GMT ) – April…

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Developer Blog: PvP in Game Update 2.0: Scum and Villainy

Assistant Designer Alex Modny made a developer blog Friday,  about the upcoming PvP changes coming with Game Update 2.0. SWTOR’s current bolster system is receiving a complete overhaul as part of the 2.0 update. It should fix issues of fairness which are encountered when players turn from level 49 to 50. Now, rather than a universal buff to their abilities, players will receive a boost determined by the equipment they have attiring their character. With Bolster, the most important change is that the stats are no longer granted on an assumption of stat power based on character level. Rather we look at each one of the Item Ratings (including the Mods, Augments, Armorings, etc. that go into the armor/weapon) of the current equipped gear and base the amount of stats given based on these values. The worse your items are the more stats you are given to get you to the base value we want…

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PSA: Class XP Boosts/Unlocks Do Not Affect Makeb Quest XP

Just another friendly heads up.  Don’t waste your credits / cartel coins on XP unlocks from the cartle market. Eric Musco  just confirmed via a forum post that they  do not benefit you in Star Wars: The old republic Rise of the Hutt Cartel.   I believe this have been pointed  out before but the BioWare developers, but since there have been some confusion was to whether any of Makeb’s quests count as class quests or not, I thought it was appropriated to do a PSA about it 🙂 As some have already alluded to in the thread, class mission bonus experience will have no effect on Makeb. Technically speaking, the missions you will be going through in Rise of the Hutt Cartel are planetary arcs, etc. and are not classified as class missions. Thanks! -eric

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Rise of the Hutt Cartel to release April 9 (early access)

It’s official! Star Wars: The old Republic Rise of the Hutt Cartel is to be released on April 9  – or at least the early access for people who have pre-ordered the game get’s access to the game that day. Everyone Else will get access april 14.  The internet has been busing all day with news and interviews about this, and we will have a write up  on Interviews & Information later today. With the news about the release date, BioWare also released the seccond part of the developer dispatch: Making of: Rise of the Hutt Cartel. Check it out below, and check out the official BioWare announcement below that. We’re thrilled to announce the launch date of Sunday, April 14, 2013, for the release of the first Digital Expansion: Rise of the Hutt Cartel. Introducing five new levels of gameplay and the vibrant new planet of Makeb, Rise of the Hutt Cartel will be available for download beginning…

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SWTOR PVP Changes in Patch 2.0

As you may already know, Patch 2.0 is going to bring a variety of changes and additions to SWTOR, all meant to improve the game overall and how we as players experience it. PvP and gear are two things we expect to see some changes in. In fact, there seems to be an overall trend of new gear stats, minus the pants, and a reduction in the stats provided by mods to gear. Some secondary stats are seeing changes or tweaks and War Hero gear critical rating has been replaced with power for some classes. There are new set bonuses for level 55 gear which we can see here: Marauder/ Sentinel DPS Weaponmaster’s Gear 2pc: Reduced the cooldown of Guarded by the Force or Undying Rage by 15 seconds, also increased its duration by 1 second. Weaponmaster’s Gear 4pc: Increased all damage dealt by 10% for 5 seconds after using…

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Eric Musco Explains Differences between ROTHC and 2.0

Many players are asking what the difference between Rise of the Hutt Cartel and game update 2.0 are. Changes are coming to SWTOR, which is always a good thing, but some of this is confusing to players. Do you need to purchase ROTHC? Where is the clarification on this issue? Here, Eric Musco explains the difference: Here is a bit more clarification on the differences between Rise of the Hutt Cartel and 2.0 put as simply as I can! What subscribers will get without purchasing Rise of the Hutt Cartel: Class changes and balancing levels 1-50 Any itemization/world changes which affect levels 1-50 Legacy Achievements What subscribers will get if they do purchase Rise of the Hutt Cartel: New Operation: Scum and Villainy Nightmare Mode Terror From Beyond Upgraded level 55 Hard Mode Flashpoints Level cap increase to 55 All new Makeb storyline The new Operation and Hard Mode Flashpoints in Game Update 2.0…

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UPDATE: SWTOR 2.0 Armor sets

With game update 2.0 – Rise of the Hutt Cartel live on the public test servers, we finally get the chance to see all the awesome new armor and weapon artwork. The Smuggler armor is sweet. The agent is cool, but I LOVE that Bounty Hunter helmet. Looks like the helmet from old Boba Fett concept art. If you haven’t already done so, you can read all about yesterdays update on Rise of the Hutt Cartel here, and check out the NEW 55 level Class Abilities Video here  Update: Lightsaber  from the-old-republic.ru  mailed us a new video showing all the Arkanian gear sets in action.  This is live demonstration:

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SWTOR-RP Interviews Damion Schubert and Charles Boyd

They guys over at  swtor-rp.com got a chance to do an Exclusive Q&A with Damion Schubert and Charles Boyd. The interview  is of course about the upcoming  Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion, and being a Star Wars: The old Republic Role playing community, the interview covers mostly story and RP questions. Reading through the interview Interveiw we get the feeling the developers answered  answered the questions prior to patch 1.7 as they speak about a major new system coming “sooner than you think””.  The Q&A Also get’s around Makeb and the new  Cathar race.  Below is a snippet: SWTOR-RP: Is the planet Makeb a pre-existing planet in Star Wars canon, or is this a completely new planet in lore to be uncovered by players as they travel through it for the first time? Charles Boyd: Makeb is a completely new invention of the Star Wars: The Old Republic team, and personally as a writer, I can’t tell you what an honor it is to have a chance to add something…

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SWTOR 2.0 level 55 Class Abilities Video

The guys from the-old-republic.ru mailed us a bad ass movie showing off the new level 55 class abilities. There is no denying that the Russian guys have been quick capturing this video, so kudos for their work! Electro Net, Force Barrier and Double Saber throw look pretty awesome, and its great that agents and smugglers finally get real mobility. The sith sorcerer defensive bubble animation is also exactly how I’d imagine it–as the sith sorcerer uses all their energy to repel all attacks. Good stuff! Check it out below:

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Rise of the Hutt Cartel: First Look Video

BioWare just released a new trailer for the upcoming expansion: Rise of the Hutt Cartel. The video is only around 1 minute long, but shows some interesting footage of the planet and what seems to be new armor. At the same time as the release of this video, BioWare have updated the RotHC homepage RoTHC pre-orders now get a mini-pet, Title, and Holo-statue. All players that pre-order Rise of the Hutt Cartel will receive an exclusive Title, Holostatue, and Mini-Pet when the Digital Expansion launches. The Dr. Oggurobb Hutt Holostatue Train under the illustrious Hutt scientist Dr. Oggurobb with this portable training device that he created in his own image. “”Scourge of the Hutts” Title Republic and Imperial forces that adorn this title will be feared and revered across the galaxy. The Makrin Seedling Mini-Pet Get your very own Makrin Creeper to follow you around and “creep” out your enemies! Possessing bark-like skin and grass-like nerve-rich…

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BioWare are hiring playtesters for Rise of the Hutt Cartel!

Are you living in the Austin area? BioWare Austin is hiring temporary playtesters for the “Rise of the Hutt Cartel” digital expansion coming to Star Wars: The Old Republic. Current and former players of all experience levels are encouraged to apply. SKILLS/REQUIREMENTS Must be 18 years of age or older Must not have previous professional game development experience Strong verbal communication skills Comfortable giving objective feedback (positive and negative) in a group setting Passion for SWTOR or other massively-multiplayer online games Available to work weekends

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First Digital Expansion Announced for SWTOR: Rise of the Hutt Cartel

BioWare updated their webise this morning with a new addition to the swtor.com/buy page.  It’s now possible to pre-order the first ever expansion for Star Wars: The old republic, named  Rise of the Hutt Cartel. The sales page also reveals new details regarding price, content and of course, how to pre-order.  The drop date listed is Spring 2013. Here is the run down:  Continue your Star Wars™ saga with a new level cap of 55.  Experience new epic story content with fully-voiced cinematic conversations.  New Planet: Makeb – Explore a vibrant alien landscape.  Subscribers save 50% off the Regular Price – Only £5.99 (£11.99 Regular Price).  Receive five (5) days of Early Access* if you Pre-Order by January 7, 2013 11:59PM CT // 5:59AM GMT! The page also includes  a new FAQ about the new expansion.  In it, there is a pretty lengthy description of what players can expect with the release of Rise of the…

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