2014-05-09

 

HoloNet Links #145

It appears around my area that winter’s grip has been broken and with that warm weather has turned up the heat. It is not just the weather that is telling us we are nearing the beginning of summer, Bruce Maclean’s Summer of SWTOR update was posted in the forums. There are soo many interesting events and dates for us to add to our calendars. First off, Update 2.8 will be heading to live servers June 10th. How could that be celebrated in-game? Hmm, what if players were invited to a Casino Night on Nar Shaddaa?

Summer of SWTOR details, PTS info & more after the Jump…

 

 

 

 

A Casino night?! Yes, as wild and crazy as that sounds BioWare is doing just that. Oh, and when I say Casino night, I mean from June 10th till August 19th. Now, that is some nightlife fun! Bruce explains players will use credits to purchase tokens to use in the Casino’s slot machines. Winners will be given certificates they can use to claim rewards, according to the post.



PVP will be getting their own version of Double Fun this summer. Instead of Double XP in Galactic Starfighter or Warzones, how about Double Rewards? That is exactly what is happening. In Galactic Starfighter, players will get Double Fleet Requisition and Double credits. In Warzones, players will get Double Credits and Double Warzone commendations. This will be going on Update 2.8 till 2.8.1 for Galactic Starfighter. Warzone event will be Update 2.8.1 till 2.8.2.

Speaking of events, the usual suspects of recurring events will make an appearances sometime between release of Update 2.8 and 2.9. That means be ready for the Gree Event, Bounty Contract Week and Double XP Weekend. While you are gearing up for summer take some time to read what will be happening this summer in SWTOR.

 

 

 

Old Republic Insider – May

The May edition of Old Republic Insider was posted on the official SWTOR website. The video is hosted by Eric Musco, Community Manager. Eric introduces us to Jack Wood, producer on Galactic Strongholds.

Jack gave us a brief list of things that will be featured in the Galactic Strongholds expansion. These features would not have been in the expansion, if the dates had not been pushed back. Some of the features are: the Tatooine Homestead, ability to place mounts, pets & companions and Guild flagships/weekly Conquest events. Don’t forget to make sure you are a subscriber by May 11th, so you qualify for your very own Nar Shaddaa Sky Palace with 5 additional rooms unlocked.

Eric reminds everyone about the start of Season 2 of Ranked PVP. The season is going to be shorter, so jump in a ranked PVP match and start working towards those season ending rewards. Eric also mentions the newest Cartel Market packs on sale, the Hotshots Starfighter pack. Lots of new armors, weapons, and mounts. Speaking of mounts, this pack contains the newest animal mount, the Ghorfa Bantha mount.

One last mention in the video, May 16th will be the next Community Cantina event. This one will be in Vancouver, British Columbia.

If you haven’t had a chance to watch the video, here is your chance now. Check out some of the great footage in the Nar Shaddaa Sky Palace.

 

 

 

Dev notes

TaitWatson Sticky: Game Update 2.8: Spoils Of War PTS Update – 5/8/2014

Hi everyone!
Today we updated the build of Game Update 2.8 on the Public Test Server. Below are the changes made to the existing notes (which will be updated with the new information shortly).

Highlights

Group Finder Operations have been redesigned! Story Mode Operations are now more accessible to endgame players (levels 50 – 55). The Operations section in the Group Finder window will list available Operations on a predetermined schedule, rotating in different Operations every few days. Players who meet the level requirement of the Operation will be bolstered, removing the requirement for endgame gear. Rewards have also been improved, making this a great opportunity for players to earn Ultimate Commendations and experience new content!

 

 

 

More changes have been added to the PTS. These changes on PTS is going towards testing of the next big update, 2.8. It looks like we have a title, Update 2.8: Spoils of War. Above, you can read the major changes coming to the Group Finder in regards to Operations. It appears there is being made a bigger effort to making Story Mode Operations more accessible. Besides offering more commendations, they are using a similar bolster system found in Kuat Drive Yards. Everyone who meets the level requirement will be bolstered up to the proper gear requirement. This will help those who have not had a chance to get all their endgame gear yet.

At first glance, this seems like “giving away” endgame content. Shouldn’t these players work to get their gear? I would say yes and no. Yes, there should be a requirement, but then again we are talking about Story mode content. If bolster works, why wouldn’t you use it? Everyone talks about how they dislike the “gear grind.” Bolster on Story mode Operations means more people are getting to try more content that they might have never tried, if not for this option. For the hardcore raiders, there still is Hard and Nightmare modes to earn the higher level gear and more challenge. This also seems like a great way to provide more content geared to guild night activities. I know several guilds who utilized the Kuat Drive Yard Tactical Flashpoint for guild events. It allows players across levels 50 to 55, to run the same content at the same time. It might not be perfect, but I do think getting more players to see endgame content, might help convince some players to possibly renew their subscription to play more Operations.

Be sure to read to entire post by Tait Wilson on the latest patch notes for Update 2.8 on the PTS. There are more class changes, along with a few tweaks to Starship Upgrade vendors and requirements updated for being able to purchase items from these same vendors. It might just some organizing to these vendors, but these changes and rework being done to Story mode Operations all point towards the level cap being raised. No posts or articles to confirm this, just a hunch on my part. Only time will tell if I happen to be right or not.

 

 

 

 

TaitWatsonPTS Combat Issues | 05.08.2014, 04:19 PM

Hey everyone,
As many of you have noticed while testing the new Class changes, after putting the new update onto the PTS today we discovered a bug in the combat formula that is causing some serious issues with abilities.
To that end, we are going to be taking the PTS offline indefinitely while we sort the problems out and get things working as they should be. I will make sure to keep this thread updated as I get more information.
Thank you all for your patience, and for continuing to help us test out the new upcoming patch!
-tait

 

 

That is why they put these things on the Public Test Server. As bad as it is to not be able to test the new class changes, Group Finder updates for Story mode Operations, and Galactic Starfighter upgrades, it is far better if it “breaks” now instead of happening when Update 2.8 goes live. We will update you all when we hear the PTS is back up and running.

 

 

 

Star Wars Community News & Events

Corellian Run Radio’s Weekly Nav Coordinates

While you read through any of the articles or listen to the podcast below, we encourage you to take a moment and submit your feedback and suggestions in the comment sections. We love to hear from you. Thanks again for your support and for following the site, enjoy the links below! If you are interested in joining the writing staff at Corellian Run Radio, please contact us at corellianrun@gmail.com

05/02 HoloNet Links #144 by Jason Taylor

05/06 Episode 117: Floating Awesomeness – podcast

05/08 SWTOR Community Cantina Guide by Heather Nazareno

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Corellian Run Radio’s Facebook group

 

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SWTOR Music video

This week’s music video is from Youtube user HabanaSWTOR. When I came across this video, it immediately transported me back to an earlier time in music video history. It is a no frills story all set to music, in this case the Alice Copper song “Sex, Death and Money.” Now where in the Star Wars universe, would this video’s setting best fit? That’s right, Nar Shaddaa is the setting in this fan-made video. Habana, the female gunslinger, is our guide through the rough streets and even rougher lifestyle/nightlife of Nar Shaddaa. The TV style intro is a great nostalgia addition to the video. Check out this music and let us know what you think!

 

 

If you have created a video about your adventures in SWTOR let us know by emailing a link to corellianrun@gmail.com or jason@corellianrun.com. We would love to share it on our website!

 

 

If you have a particular link, story, video, or topic related to SWTOR we would love to hear about it! You can send those to us here at Corellian Run Radio and we can place it in a future article. Just email us the links and/or the details for the event at corellianrun@gmail.com, or you can also leave any link suggestions in the comments below, or in Corellian Run Radio’s Facebook group. See you next week!

 

 

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