MMORPG.com brings us another beta review, this time focusing on flashpoints. The author focused on discussing Esseles, though they got a chance to play through Hammer. One topic that was brought up but doesn’t get much talking about are Commendations.
Flashpoints offer their own set of loot drops and Commendations (tokens) that can be used at specific vendors in exchange for gear. Naturally, I opted to take the Esseles to Coruscant. Upon boarding the Esseles, we soon discovered that a Republic ambassador has stowed away on board and a nasty Imperial Moff would love to have her. Of course, he begins an assault on the Esseles, and when confronted via holocom, offers us the choice of turning her over in exchange for our lives. As upstanding members of the Republic (outside of perhaps our Smuggler) we refused. This put us in a bit of a pickle as Imperial forces began storming the ship and it was up to the four of us to repel the attack and protect the Ambassador. The rest of the Flashpoint plays out in a typical, albeit much more cinematic dungeon crawl, with the requisite boss fights and the like. Where the Esseles sets itself apart from your typical dungeon run is in the choices players will have to make during the encounter. I’m not going to spoil these scenarios for you, but you’ll have to make some very real choices throughout the course of the Flashpoint, and you’ll have to make them as a group. The results of your choices can significantly impact the way the rest of the Flashpoint plays out, including who you fight.
What kind of gear can we find with Commendations and how fast can we earn them? The one thing we find often in MMORPGs that with reputation or faction gear, is that it requires more work than needed due to the fact that you outlevel it quickly enough. Will commendation gear be useful?
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