Star Wars: The Old Republic will kill WoW - outsourced to Broadsword

[Morality Games]

Well, from my point of view, none of it exists because its all fiction.

Thus EA should go full steam ahead on Kotor 3 "despite" Star Wars: The Old Republic continuity. End the saga the way it was meant to be ended.

You implication that they had a plan for a trilogy is pretty funny.

Well, LucasArts had ended pre-production and was ready to start development before the third one got cancelled.

According to designer John Stafford, "we got quite a bit of traction... we wrote a story, designed most of the environments/worlds, and many of the quests, characters, and items."

I mean they were obviously making it up on the fly, but I think there was a vague understanding this would work well as a trilogy.

 

[Lord Carlos Wafflebum]

It took me far too long to figure out you guys did not mean European Union by "EU." Things make more sense now.

I've been curious about trying this. So, they're introducing the reapers as a third party for everyone to fight?

 

[Ulminati]

It took me far too long to figure out you guys did not mean European Union by "EU." Things make more sense now.

I've been curious about trying this. So, they're introducing the reapers as a third party for everyone to fight?

A new immortal emprah at least (since the current immortal emprah gets killed twice in the current game). I think the plot is that there's another empire somewhere in the unexplored parts of the galaxy. And after the Sith/Republic blow each other up in the current war, they swoop in to take over. They've done cross-faction zones before (Shadow of Revan mini-expansion), but they seemed to indicate the 2 factions would be fighting the new enemy separately.

I've played this a bunch - and I still do now and again when the fancy strikes me. It's basically a worse WoW with pretty star wars trimmings and bioware cutscenes. It's anyone's guess how the new content they're rolling out for high levels will be. I'm cautiously optimistic. They've rolled out 3 adventure arcs post-release so far (and some strongholds and space combat stuff). The first one was pretty awful. The second had derp story but ok missions. The third is actually pretty 'k. So they're improving at least.

My recommendation is to try the free2play version. There's some quality of life features you'll miss, but it's still pretty playable if you're just grinding the lv 1-50 content. The main draw of the game is the bioware storeh for better or worse. There's a *lot* of voiced dialogue/cutscenes a la mass effect and the quality varies wildly from class to class. If those aren't your thing, you're better off passing on the game. Your time owuld be better spent playing owo or posting the same star trek gif in this thread fo rthe 400th time. If you can enjoy bioware cutscenes as a guilty pleasure, the base (F2P) game is worth running through a couple of times. The voice acting and writing is - as mentioned - all over the place. The least retarded/most enjoyable class storyarcs are:

1 Imperial Agent
2 Sith Warrior
4 Sith Inquisitor/Republic trooper
5 Bounty hunter
10 Jedi Knight/Smuggler
11 billion Jedi Consultard

YMMV. But impagent is considered the best one writing and VA-wise by far. It's a decent enough space spy opera.
Sith warrior starts out a little derpy, but there's some good bits along the way and some hilarious reactions if you go light-side on the jedi
Sith inquisitor starts out strong with you being a moustache-twirling villain who is posessed by spirits, but peters out near the end.
Republic trooper has cmdr. Motherfucking femShepard as a VA and a decent "hunt down and murder all the ones who betrayed you" plot.
Bounty hunter is just you hunting bigger an dbigger bounties to become rich and famous. It's not terribly exciting, but it's consistent with the class and some of the sidekicks have fun quips.
Jedi knight is super bland. You're the whitest of knights and you want to kill the evil emprah.
Smuggler is not terribly good either. You're a super boring Han Solo wannabe. Also, you never actually smuggle anything.
Consular is the one you'd think was interesting (politics, mediating etc) but it's a snoozefest. You're reseaching a plague but you don't actually know why. Just avoid it.

 

[Dreaad]

Eh I didn't find consular that bad, better than smuggler and trooper anyway.

 

[Ulminati]

Maybe I'm just biased because I SWTOR and got to name my trooper Shepard

 

[Excidium II]

I liked the BH story well enough apart from it having zero C&C, mainly because the female VA has a really sexy voice

 

[Ulminati]

Zero c&c is a hallmark of bioware games and MMOs both. You're meant to put your brain on autopilot, sit back and enjoy the ride. (A bit like those "space combat" rail shooters that came with the vanilla game). If you can't/won't do that you're going to be bored and fustrated fast.

 

[Excidium II]

Yeah, I knew what to expect. It just sucked that one of the contracts turns out to be a companion so you can't kill him, which wasn't very cool since I larped the all honorable and pragmatic no-questions-asked type.

 

[Lord Carlos Wafflebum]

Mass Effect is a guilty pleasure of mine, so it sounds like I might actually enjoy this. I was playing STO for awhile, but good lord did that start to kill the fun at high levels.

Thanks for the response Ulminati. I'll take your advice and play through as an Imperial Agent.

 

[Excidium II]

Mass Effect is a guilty pleasure of mine, so it sounds like I might actually enjoy this. I was playing STO for awhile, but good lord did that start to kill the fun at high levels.

Thanks for the response Ulminati. I'll take your advice and play through as an Imperial Agent.

If you played femshep you're gonna like the republic trooper, same voice actor

 

[Lord Carlos Wafflebum]

I loathed the FemShep acttess. She always just sounds like she has something caught in her throat.

 

[Excidium II]

I loathed the FemShep acttess. She always just sounds like she has something caught in her throat.

My throbbing boner

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

Mass Effect is a guilty pleasure of mine, so it sounds like I might actually enjoy this. I was playing STO for awhile, but good lord did that start to kill the fun at high levels.

Thanks for the response Ulminati. I'll take your advice and play through as an Imperial Agent.

but in ass effetc you shoot, you actually do something. in swtor you put skills in slots and push the buttons from 1 to 9 waiting for a bar to deplete, then you go to the next bar and repeat.
entertaining.

 

[Ulminati]

Mass Effect is a guilty pleasure of mine, so it sounds like I might actually enjoy this. I was playing STO for awhile, but good lord did that start to kill the fun at high levels.

Thanks for the response Ulminati. I'll take your advice and play through as an Imperial Agent.

It starts out a little weak, but gets a lot better as time goes on. Combat is standard MMO fare and not paticularly good. But the impagent gets to stealth past most of it and beeline for objectives so that's nice. Quest XP makes up the bulk of your XP anyway, even if you didn't sneak past all the trash encounters.

 

[Hoaxmetal]

Also subscribers have 12x xp or something for story missions during this summer, so you can level 1-50 doing only story missions if you buy the game (base game+30 days is p. cheap).

 

[Kem0sabe]

BioWare goes back to its roots for: Knights of the Fallen Empire

What goes into crafting the new expansion for Star Wars: The Old Republic - Knights of the Fallen Empire?



Creative director Jesse Sky takes things back to the beginning.



Back to basics

Last year, I decided to re-watch The Empire Strikes Back® and write down everything that shocked the audience back in its original theatrical run. It’s a very long list.



That film packs a real emotional punch—it’s full of twists, betrayals and revelations the entire way through. I’ve wanted to tell a Star Wars™ story like that ever since the first time I saw it.

When we began conceptualizing Knights of the Fallen Empire, the story was our first priority.



We decided very early on that we wanted to get back to our roots as a BioWare roleplaying game. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is the game that made me want to work for BioWare. It showed me just how immersive cinematic storytelling can be.



In its best moments, Star Wars: The Old Republic captures the same magic, but we want the whole experience to feel that way. That’s why we’re revisiting the early gameplay experience to focus entirely on the story, in addition to crafting a brand new epic storyline.

Choices and consequences

People want choices that matter, and they want companions to play a bigger part in the story.



The hard part is recreating the magic. A huge element of successful storytelling is mystery, and that often means straying away from what the audience knows or expects.



In Knights of the Fallen Empire you are the main character, and it’s really an origin story. As the Outlander, you have a chance to take control of your destiny and reshape who you are.



The villains in this story aren’t just out to conquer the galaxy—they’re after you, personally. You’ll be tempted by the Dark Side and that’s going to have a huge impact on what you eventually become.



Your companions also now have minds of their own. If they don’t like what you’re doing, they may leave. The choices matter. This is an ongoing story, and your choices may have surprising consequences down the road.



Keep your friends close

Companions are one of the things that set Star Wars: The Old Republic apart. We have a new cast of characters joining you for the main storyline, and we’ll be bringing back many fan favorite companions as major characters in post-release story chapters.



You’ll have a chance to recruit even more companions once you complete the story chapters at launch. We’re also overhauling the companion system so that they’re more useful and more fun to use in general.



You’ll see older companions returning as major characters, more shocks and twists, and the consequences of your choices will really start coming into play. We’ll be building towards a season finale late next year.



Whether you start at Level 1 or Level 60, the game is going to feel a lot more like a traditional BioWare title. You won’t need any knowledge of the game to play the new story, and we aren’t going to pollute your story with needless grinding or travel. You can just focus on the parts of the game you like.



If you tried the game at launch and enjoyed the story, now is a great time to come back.

 

[RK47]

Thank you Kemosabe, and now for a word from our sponsors.

 

[Dreaad]

Bet they wished they had just made a single player game now. Fucking idiots. Could've probably at least gotten to KotOR 10 before series died.

 

[Kem0sabe]

Bet they wished they had just made a single player game now. Fucking idiots. Could've probably at least gotten to KotOR 10 before series died.

single player kotor would have been exponentially cheaper and also have strengthen the brand a lot more with gamers.

 

[Ninjerk]

can't have enough epic storylines

 

[Kem0sabe]

Operations and Flashpoints in Fallen Empire
I’m George Smith, Senior Designer in charge of Operations and Flashpoints and I am here to talk to you a little bit about what Knights of the Fallen Empire has in store for you.

First, a little bit of a backstory about the current state of group content in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. As you level your character, you have the opportunity to play through quite a few Flashpoints for gear and a break from your story. As you continue to play and progress in the game and pass the level range of those Flashpoints, you no longer play them, as they become obsolete. Similarly, due to the nature of gear progression or an increased level cap, as we release new Operations we continue to make older Operations obsolete. What this means is that we have a situation where we have a lot of group content, that many players don’t get an opportunity to play through. We believe that all players should be able to enjoy all the content in the game, and have exciting experiences available to them every week, and that is what we intend to bring you with Knights of the Fallen Empire!

Flashpoints
For Flashpoints, we have made quite a few changes to give you more options on what to play, and how to play them. For starters, all of the Flashpoints which are important to the core story have had a Solo Mode added, similar to what we did for the Forged Alliances Flashpoints. Also, those Solo Modes are repeatable, so you can play through them again if you want! These Solo Mode Flashpoints use a new level sync system that lowers your character’s level and power to the level of the Flashpoint, ensuring that you’re experiencing the content at the difficulty level intended - you never have to skip story content because you’re over-leveled for it!

Next, most of our Story Mode Flashpoints have been converted to Tactical, meaning you can play them at any level between 10 and 65! These Flashpoints also bolster your character, so you never have to worry about being under-geared or under-leveled, and can play with friends of varying levels. As an added bonus, each player can also receive loot specific to their Class and their non-bolstered level, so running these Flashpoints is always beneficial.

Hard Mode Flashpoints are getting love as well! All Hard Mode Flashpoints, including the Red Reaper for the first time, will be available starting at Level 50 up to Level 65. There will be a small Bolster to allow different level ranges to play together, but you’ll need to bring a balanced group with a Tank and Healer just as with Hard Mode Flashpoints currently. Just like the new Tactical Flashpoints, each player can get their own individual loot suited for their class from entirely new sets of gear. This will provide the perfect jumping off point for getting you ready to tackle Operations!

Operations
Operations are a larger change, in that every single Operation in SWTOR will be raised to level 65! Every Operation will drop a new tier of Elder Game gear, as well as new vanity rewards such as Mounts, Vehicles, and Decorations for your Stronghold. Story Mode Operations will be playable from Level 50 to Level 65, and will grant a Bolster to ensure everyone in your group is prepared! Soa will once again be the ancient Rakatan Warlord who threatens to take over the Galaxy, with the challenge to match!

We are also making several Quality of Life improvements to Operations in the Group Finder to make a better, more engaging experience. Each day, a new Story Mode Operation will be available in Group Finder, and will all drop relevant gear for your character.

Nightmare Mode will also be available for all the Operations that had it previously, and will reward the same as the highlighted Hard Mode, as all as all the unique mounts and titles available currently.

For Hard Mode Operations, one Operation per week will be highlighted to give even greater rewards! Ultimately, the goal is that you will have a reason to visit all of our Operations and will feel rewarded for doing so.

We know that many players love our Operations and look forward to the introduction of new challenges, however with Knights of the Fallen Empire there will not be any new Operations. We felt it was important to first address some of the issues with our Elder Game before moving on to new content. These changes will allow us to be more flexible with how we release new content, as the content no longer needs to be tied to a new gear tier or level cap increase. Even without new Operations, though, you will have a whole lot of content to play at the level cap. Let’s go over everything you will be able to play in Knights of the Fallen Empire!

Solo Mode Flashpoints
These Flashpoints are repeatable, and made to be played solo or with a Companion. Your character will be adjusted down to the appropriate level so that you are experiencing the Flashpoint at the level and difficulty that is intended.

• Black Talon
• Esseles
• Boarding Party
• Taral V
• The Foundry
• Maelstrom Prison
• Battle of Ilum
• The False Emperor
• Assault on Tython
• Korriban Incursion
• Manaan Research Facility
• Legacy of the Rakata
• Blood Hunt
• Battle of Rishi

Tactical Flashpoints
These 4-Player Flashpoints are available from level 10-65. Your character will be Bolstered so that friends of any level can play together!

• Hammer Station
• Athiss
• Mandalorian Raiders
• Cademimu
• Red Reaper
• Kuat Drive Yards
• Czerka Labs
• Czerka Core Meltdown
• Korriban Incursion
• Assault on Tython
• Depths of Manaan
• Legacy of the Rakata
• Blood Hunt
• Battle of Rishi

Hard Mode Flashpoints
These Level 65 Flashpoints are designed to present more of a challenge to players. They provide a small Bolster, but still require a full 4-Player group, including a Tank and a Healer.

• Black Talon
• Esseles
• Boarding Party
• Taral V
• The Foundry
• Maelstrom Prison
• Kaon Under Siege
• Lost Island
• Battle of Ilum
• The False Emperor
• Hammer Station
• Athiss
• Mandalorian Raiders
• Red Reaper
• Cademimu
• Kuat Drive Yards
• Czerka Labs
• Czerka Core Meltdown
• Korriban Incursion
• Assault on Tython
• Depths of Manaan
• Legacy of the Rakata
• Blood Hunt
• Battle of Rishi

Operations
These 8 and 16-Player Operations are all available at level 65 in both Story and Hard modes. A different Story Mode Operation will be available in the Group Finder each day.

• Eternity Vault (5 bosses)
• Karagga’s Palace (5 bosses)
• Explosive Conflict (4 bosses)
• Terror From Beyond (5 bosses)
• Scum and Villainy (7 bosses)
• Golden Fury (1 boss)
• Dread Fortress (5 bosses)
• Dread Palace (5 bosses)
• Ravagers (5 bosses)
• Temple of Sacrifice (5 bosses)

As you can see, while leveling your character, and when your character reaches level 65, there is a whole Galaxy out there available to you. So whether you want to take the journey alone, or with 15 of your closest friends, we can’t wait for you to get your hands on Knights of the Fallen Empire!

May the Force™ be with you!

George

 

[Mangoose]

Mass Effect is a guilty pleasure of mine, so it sounds like I might actually enjoy this. I was playing STO for awhile, but good lord did that start to kill the fun at high levels.

Thanks for the response Ulminati. I'll take your advice and play through as an Imperial Agent.

It starts out a little weak, but gets a lot better as time goes on. Combat is standard MMO fare and not paticularly good. But the impagent gets to stealth past most of it and beeline for objectives so that's nice. Quest XP makes up the bulk of your XP anyway, even if you didn't sneak past all the trash encounters.

This. Being able to stealth past everything is what actually makes the game playable. Note you'll have to choose the Operative subclass. You can also stealth as a Sith Inquisitor -> Assassin subclass.

Actually most importantly -> To play this game you gotta be high the whole time.

Anyways, I did both classes. Could not make it very far with any of the other classes. Don't even try the Republic versions... Hamburgerhelper wrote the Smuggler. Probably the Consular, too.

Also, doing both, Imperial Agent has a much better storyline than the Inquisitor, which Ulminati may have mentioned. On the other hand the Assassin is more fun in PVP because knockbacks. I love knockbacks.

Now I'm missing those days playing Warhammer Online and knocking people off cliffs with my Squig Herder...

 

[Kem0sabe]

If anyone wants a free exclusive cantina event mount and a random item... click on the link bellow

http://www.swtor.com/user/ce/2wbq6

 

[Night Goat]

 

[RK47]

Got it. Thanks.