[FA_Lite id=”4118″] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XXgrGMmq68&context=C43cf709ADvjVQa1PpcFMBCbrS1jk2y5iJIgwDaSAEbrnRLbKITY0=

Everything you wanted to know about patch 1.2 but were afraid to ask!

Bioware has announced that Star Wars: The Old Republic’s patch 1.2 will be launched on Thursday April 12th. This long delayed update is viewed by many as the “make or break” moment for SWTOR. Serious competition in the form of World of Warcraft’s upcoming Mists of Pandaria expansion as well as the launch of Tera and Guild Wars 2 this summer means that Bioware has a tremendous task ahead if they intend to retain subscribers.

Bioware official patch 1.2 trailer. In this video new features are showcased for the first time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVkONiiZQmA

Star Wars: The Old Republic, State of the Union

The Honeymoon is Over

Let me preface this article with some background on our gaming organization. We are by no means a group of rabid SWTOR critics or “haters”. Like most online gamers we eagerly awaited the launch of SWTOR for years. Almost all of us are long time fans of the Star Wars Universe and Bioware in general. SWTOR was arguably the most highly anticipated massive multi-player online game launched in history and certainly the most expensive. We were drawn in by Bioware’s signature story driven role playing experience and had high hopes for the title.

The addition of the veteran mmorpg developers at Mythic to the SWTOR team further raised our hopes.  We had tremendously enjoyed Mythic’s revolutionary pvp mmorpg Dark Age of Camelot and had made a name for our guilds in Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Star Wars seemed the obvious “WoW Killer” candidate. With news of the addition of a serious world pvp component to Star Wars to compliment their existing instanced Warzone pvp system. We believed that we would finally have a game that combined the best of World of Warcraft and Warhammer: Age of Reckoning.  The added bonus of taking place in the Sci-Fi Star Wars Universe was just additional icing on the cake. What could possibly go wrong?

Premature Release

Unfortunately Bioware made the decision to release SWTOR prematurely during the Holiday season. The motivations were obvious. The consequences are undeniable, most SWTOR servers are now completely empty.  Our server, The Crucible Pits, once filled to capacity with lengthy queue’s has been reduced from high’s of several hundred people online during prime time to less than 20. The reason for this is simple, Star Wars: The Old Republic was launched with a vast quantity of bugs, glitches and major oversights in design present. Most of the “end game” content was barely tested, or in the case of the now infamous world pvp zone of Ilum, not tested at all.

This quickly alienated the majority of the players on our server who found that beyond an exceptional leveling experience SWTOR offered content that was frankly inferior to nearly every other major mmorpg released in recent years. World of Warcraft offered far better pve raiding and better infrastructure for finding groups to participate. In addition ranked play in WOW provided a high end competitive arena for our pvp focused players to enjoy themselves. Warhammer Online provided a far better world pvp system with clearly defined, well thought out objectives while supporting far greater numbers of players.

Patch 1.2 our only Hope?

Although many of Star Wars: The Old Republic’s glaring problems have been addressed and additional content has been released in nearly all areas of game-play there are serious concerns regarding the patch. New content and fixes to many problems in SWTOR are certainly required and provide a much needed morale boost to those who have been playing since launch. But has Bioware done enough to restore subscriber confidence and and stem the bleed out of players? Will the coming changes be enough to keep Electronic Arts from cutting and running as they did with Warhammer Online? Will SWTOR become another “failure” chalked up on World of Warcraft’s kill board?

Right now it is impossible to know for certain. Ultimately the subscribers have the final say. Let’s see what Bioware has to offer in this upcoming patch.

New Features of Patch 1.2

User Interface Customization!

Towelliee covers improvements to the user interface coming in patch 1.2 including the much needed addition of target of target. “I went onto the SWTOR player test server to check out the new UI Interface changes. I was happy to see the Target of Target in effect.” – Towelliee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_7pg–6sTc

Hydrix discusses the advanced options user interface options.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H3Gs8_NMRo

New Corellia Dailies Preview

Anyday from Ruin Gaming covers the new Corellia level 50 dailies. New gear rewards and other perks are discussed in this comprehensive video guide to the new daily zone on Corellia!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy7MVGQfKrU

Anyday provides a complete walk-through of the new Blackhole Dailies on Corellia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Rlbkyk-eYU

New Warzone: Novare Coast

Star Wars: The Old Republic Patch 1.2 brings a brand new warzone, Novare Coast on the planet Denova, to the game – and it’s a lot of fun! In this video I briefly go over the new warzone and let you see some of the gameplay.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqOaw2MDnpE

Denova is a lot like Alderaan because it has a 3 point capture system. but it has a lot of subtle differences that improve the gameplay a lot in my opinion. Capturing a node – unlike Aldaraan, can be done with multiple people and the more people capturing a node the faster it gets captured. Each capture point is housed inside a small enclosed area — and I like this a lot because it give gunslingers and snipers a place to camp out. It also saves the capture progression, so even if you’re interrupted you can continue capturing where you left off.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-41K202rrsU

Offical Bioware 1.2 Update: http://www.swtor.com/gameupdates

Game Update 1.2: Legacy

Game Update 1.2 for Star Wars: The Old Republic, ‘Legacy’, brings a wide range of new content to the game. This includes a new Flashpoint on the planet of Ord Mantell, a new Warzone and Operation set on the planet of Denova, and a number of new systems as well. You can look forward to Guild Banks, a Combat Log, User Interface customization and the next evolution of the Legacy system!

Game System: Legacy

With Game Update 1.2, the Legacy system has been greatly expanded on. Players can now tie their different characters together inside of a Legacy family tree, and those characters will be able to unlock unique abilities for themselves, and for other characters in their Legacy. Over time, as players increase their Legacy level they’ll be able to unlock new “convenience items” for their ship, which include an on-board mailbox and Global Trade Network terminal, among other items.

With Legacy, players can also unlock new species for any character class in their Legacy.

Operation: Explosive Conflict

In ‘Explosive Conflict’, a brutal battle between Imperial invaders and Republic-backed mercenaries has come to an abrupt end, with both forces swearing allegiance to a powerful warlord. Neither the Republic nor the Empire will allow such a betrayal to stand, and that’s why you and your allies must travel to the planet of Denova. There, you and your groupmates will have to work together to battle some of the greatest threats in the galaxy, but you will earn powerful weapons and armor as you progress.

Game Update 1.1: Rise of the Rakghouls

Release Date: January 18, 2012

‘Rise of the Rakghouls’, Game Update 1.1 for Star Wars: The Old Republic, gives players the opportunity to experience brand new content, including a new Flashpoint and a vast expansion of the ‘Karagga’s Palace’ Operation.

Flashpoint: Kaon Under Siege

A new Flashpoint introduced with Game Update 1.1, ‘Kaon Under Siege’ takes players to Kaon, a small world in a resource-rich sector of space known as the Tion Hegemony. A mysterious outbreak of the Rakghoul plague has ravaged the planet’s population, and those not lucky enough to be killed by the virus have mutated into twisted monstrosities. In the midst of the chaos a small group of survivors have been able fend off the seemingly endless waves of Rakghouls, but their time is running short. You, along with up to three of your Imperial or Republic allies, will have to travel to Kaon to rescue the survivors and discover the truth behind the release of the plague.

Operation: Karagga’s Palace, part II

Part II of the Karagga’s Palace Operation picks up where the first section ends. After you first confront Karagga and defeat the monsters in his beast pit, you and your allies will battle your way through Karagga’s palace before confronting the Hutt himself. You and your allies will have your skills and teamwork tested against Karagga’s private army of bounty hunters and Battle Droids, but your efforts will not go unrewarded. Defeating Karagga and his army will reward you with powerful weapons and armor, with even more exceptional rewards for players who conquer this Operation’s hard mode.

Become a Founder!

The Founder’s Medal* is a unique, limited-time item that we are rewarding to early members ofStar Wars: The Old Republic! This special medal will also reward players with the “Founder” title. To learn more about the Founder’s Medal, be sure to check out the Rewards page.

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=363056#Items

Official Forum Information from Bioware:

The patch notes published for the Public Test Server are not final and are subject to change.

The following URL will allow you to link to the Items and Economy PTS Notes directly:http://www.swtor.com/community/showp…44&postcount=6 

Items and Economy

General

• Loot drops from endgame activities, such as Operations and Flashpoints, now take group composition into account.
• The variety of stats and modifications for new endgame items is substantially higher compared to that of older endgame items.
• Orobird eggs of different types may now be poached in several locations. Those who can find means of incubation may find themselves in possession of loyal vanity pet soon.
• Tauntaun vanity pets can now be acquired on the planet Hoth, though the exact means of acquisition are a mystery.
• Several unusual crystal formations have been reported in the mountainous regions of Alderaan.
• The cost of several relics has been reduced.
• Several relics that were previously bound on pickup are now bind on equip.
• The required level of several relics has been reduced by 1.
• Items that are restricted by Valor or Social Rank can no longer be purchased until the player meets the rank requirements.
• Offhand weapons are now more clearly marked as such.
• Some pieces of gear that displayed incorrectly on character models have been adjusted.
• The Collector’s Edition Training Droid can now be used on non-humanoid enemies.
• The required level for equipping the Imperial Trooper and Republic Officer outfits has been reduced.
• The Male Formal Suit can now be purchased from the Coruscant social vendor. The Female Elegant Dress can now be purchased from the Dromund Kaas social vendor.
• Sniper Rifles no longer drop for Republic players.
• Corrected some instances where two items could show the same Armor or Weapon Damage Rating but have different values. The values are unchanged – the ratings have been updated to reflect the correct values.
• An issue that caused some items to be unlinkable in chat has been addressed.
• The modified DTB-27 Bolt Pistol is now displayed as a Custom (orange) weapon. The properties of the item remain unchanged.
• The “Punisher” item no longer has incorrect stats on its Republic version.
• The cost of Tionese gear (in crystals and commendations) has been substantially reduced.
• A set of modifiable Techblades and Techstaffs has been added to the game.
• The Galactic Trade Network’s commission for both neutral and faction-based terminals is now 6%.
• Campaign weapons and off-hand items are now available on the Crisis Point vendors on the Republic and Imperial Fleets. *UPDATED 3/23*
• Tooltips for off-hand weapons now indicate they cannot be equipped by Sorcerers and Guardians. *UPDATED 3/23*
• Modifiable items now have repair costs based on the level of their base modification. *UPDATED 3/29*
• Battlemaster gear now has more Expertise. *UPDATED 4/5*

Modifications

• Players can now remove Armoring modifications from items with set bonuses and transfer those set bonuses to Custom (orange) items. These modifications can only be transferred to an item that is equipped in the same slot.
• Some high-end item modifications are now restricted to particular item slots and may only be transferred into the same slot on a new item.
• A new modification set with Expertise for all item modification types has been added to the game.
• High-end weapons found on Operation bosses now come equipped with more common color crystals. The special color crystals associated with high-end Operations are now separate drops.
• High-end PvP weapons now come equipped with more common color crystals by default. Color crystals associated with specific PvP tiers can now be purchased separately from the PvP vendor.
• Players with the “Razer” Green-Black color crystal may upgrade to a high-end version of this crystal via a vendor on Coruscant and Dromund Kaas.

Vehicles

• New achievement missions that grant the Aratech Ice, Coral, Nightscythe, and Fire are now available on the Fleets.
• The Korrealis line of landspeeders have been removed from vendors. *UPDATED 3/23*
• The Tirsa Prime speeder has had its cost reduced and is now available from the VIP vendor.
• License costs for Vehicle Piloting rank 1, 2, and 3 have been reduced.
• While credit costs for all 110% speed vehicles have been increased, the overall total acquisition cost for speeder licenses and vehicles at level 50 has been slightly reduced.
• All vehicles that are not bound can now be sold on the Galactic Trade Network.
• Summoning a vehicle no longer benefits from Alacrity.
• The Aratech Dagger and Aratech Scythe vehicle items now grant the appropriate vehicle abilities upon use.
• The Longspur Recon vehicle is now an Artifact-quality item.

Vendors

• A Crew Skills trade vendor is now ready for business in the Corellia Spaceport.
• New items purchasable with Black Hole Commendations have been added to Corellia.
• The PvP items vendor now sells Baradium Flux, a grade 7 PvP crafting material used in the construction of Blue, Cyan, Purple, and Yellow Expertise color crystals.
• The PvP items vendor now sells a grade 6 crafting PvP box that randomly rewards crafting materials as well as Mission Discoveries and Expertise color crystal schematics.
• The Fleet commendation vendor now sells grade 6, 7, and 8 crafting material boxes that randomly reward crafting materials.
• Vendors that sell items for Marauders and Sentinels have been added to the Fleets.
• The Imperial Cantina vendors on Hoth now sell similar food items to their Republic counterparts.
• PvP vendors no longer sell Champion Bags.
• PvP vendors now sell the Recruit set, a new entry-level PvP set (for level 50 players), for credits.
• Battlemaster PvP vendors now sell Battlemaster gear pieces for Warzone Commendations.
• The Valor Rank requirement has been removed from Battlemaster earpieces and implants.
• New War Hero PvP vendors can be found on the Republic and Imperial Fleets. They sell the new War Hero and Rated War Hero PvP sets for Ranked Warzone Commendations and the equivalent Battlemaster piece.
• New Campaign vendors can be found on the Fleets. They sell Campaign gear for commendations earned in the new Operation: Explosive Conflict.
• Junk (grey) items no longer appear in the buyback window. *UPDATED 3/23*
• The vendor buyback window has been expanded to 12 slots. *UPDATED 3/23*
• Items to purchase with Unassembled Rakata Implants have been added to the Rakata vendors on the Fleets.*UPDATED 4/6*