Cartel Market

New Items

• The Czerka CR-17 Incendia, is now available. The protection provided from being knocked off this vehicle is greater than Speeder Piloting III. Cost: 1,800 Cartel Coins.
• Three new armor sets, the Sand People Pillager Set, The Sanctified Caretaker Set, and the Malevolent Interrogator Set can now be purchased. These sets of adaptive armor can be worn by any Class at level 1. Cost: 1,440 Cartel Coins each.
• The Preferred Access Bundle is now available! This bundle offers the player a selection of popular unlocks and customization options. Cost: 972 Cartel Coins (Discounted by 40% for a limited time!)

New Discounts

• Access Authorization: Section X (Character) is discounted by 10%. Cost: 540 Cartel Coins.
• Access Authorization: Section X (Account) is discounted by 10%. Cost: 1,215 Cartel Coins.
• Unlock: Cargo Hold Access (Character) is discounted by 20%. Cost: 380 Cartel Coins.
• Unlock: Cargo Hold Access (Account) is discounted by 20%. Cost: 840 Cartel Coins.
• Unlock: Additional Cargo Bay (Character) is discounted by 20%. Cost: 380 Cartel Coins.
• Unlock: Additional Cargo Bay (Account) is discounted by 20%. Cost: 840 Cartel Coins.
• The Newcomer Bundle is discounted by 50%. Cost: 405 Cartel Coins.
• Medical Probes are discounted by 50%. Cost: 250 Cartel Coins.

Expiring Discounts

• The Gamorrean Axe is no longer 30% off. Cost: 350 Cartel Coins.
• Fleet Pass (Single Use) is no longer 33% off. Cost: 90 Cartel Coins.

Items Removed From the Cartel Market

• Czerka LD-1 Celebrator
• Life Day Robes
• Life Day Holo-Tree
• Life Day Orb
• Life Day Tinsel Bomb
• Life Day Bundle
• Imperial Fireworks x10
• Republic Fireworks x10
• Fountain Fireworks x10
• Finale Fireworks x10
• Fireworks Bundle x12

Bug Fixes

• Players who have purchased vehicles via the Cartel Market will now find that their protection against being knocked off has been scaled up to Speeder Piloting III regardless of current Speeder Piloting level.
• All color crystals from the Cartel Market and Cartel Packs can now be placed on the Galactic Trade Network.
• The Fancy Reveler’s Outfit pieces now correctly display an icon.
• Players will no longer be able to use unlocks such “Unlock: Additional Quickbar” if they already have the maximum allotment of that unlock.

Cartel Market

New Items

• Players can now unlock additional character slots! Cost: 600 Cartel Coins.
• The Newcomer Bundle is now available! It contains a wide range of items to help new players expedite their travels. Cost: 405 Cartel Coins (discounted by 50% for a limited time!).
• Two new armor sets, the Interstellar Privateer Armor Set and Clandestine Officer Armor Set, can now be purchased. Each armor set costs 1,440 Cartel Coins.
• A new Cartel Pack, the Skip Tracer Cartel Pack, is now on the Market. Cost: 360 Cartel Coins.

New Discounts

• The Gamorrean Axe is discounted by 30%. Cost: 245 Cartel Coins.
• Fleet Passes (single use) are discounted by 33%. Cost: 60 Cartel Coins.
• The Life Day Bundle is discounted by 35%. Cost: 2,400 Cartel Coins.
• The Newcomer Bundle is discounted by 50%. Cost: 405 Cartel Coins.

Bug Fixes

• Unlock items no longer stack in the inventory.
• Revan’s Mask no longer clips through hoods on some body types.
• The textures for the Forward Recon chestpiece now display properly.
• The appearance of the Phantom and Preceptor’s armor now matches the appearance seen in the Cartel Market.
• The Stylish Dancer’s Top no longer binds on pickup.
• The Statele Shan Holo-Statue and Darth Malgus Holo-Statue no longer allow the use of Heroic Moment abilities.
• The Cyan-blue War Hero’s Color Crystal now binds on equip.
• Using Imperial and Republic Firework items now causes the player to kneel down.
• Tinsel Bombs can now be used on both friendly and hostile targets.
• Players no longer move when using Fountain Fireworks.
• Tooltips for equipment that requires the Event Equipment Requisition Authorization now update when the player unlocks the requirement.
• The Carbonite Chamber and Life Day Orb now properly regenerate Ammo for Troopers.
• The Remote Control Starship now regenerates a player’s health and energy pool when channeled.

In case you haven’t heard the news, at E3 yesterday, EA made some pretty huge announcements about SWTOR and the next year of updates to come. This was exciting news to many fans of the game. Content updates are always important in an MMO, and many SWTOR players are especially eager for additional content to explore.

One of the most interesting announcements was regarding the addition of a higher level cap. This bit of information in particular is seeing a high amount of community feedback– both good and bad. Players were, in general, quite surprised by this news. Let’s take a look at some community opinions, shall we?

With game update 1.2 now in the past, the community is already looking forward to 1.3. IGN brings us a preview of the update along with an interview with James Ohlen. Here are a few highlights of that interview:

IGN: The group finder has been a requested feature since The Old Republic’s launch, though there seemed to be some initial resistance against the idea because it would disrupt the flow of exploration. Why is now the right time to implement it? And does it support cross-server play?

Daniel Erickson: In the early days post-launch we wanted players to be discovering the game for the first time and forming natural social groups. A huge wave of players come in all at once in the beginning and finding a group is never really a problem for the bulk of players. Now players have spread all across the leveling curve and the Legacy system is causing players to roll new characters like never before which means we need a simple, flexible system to put players together with other players in their level band. We still want to respect the communities that have developed on servers so it does not support cross-server play.

While I think many players would disagree with Daniel’s statement for waiting on a dungeon finder, it is a most welcome addition to the game. From my point of view, I couldn’t find one dungeon group easily while leveling up at launch. Hopefully this helps new and old players alike.

Read the rest of the interview over at IGN and watch the included video. One of the other major features of the game update is crafting and augment slots.

By now, we all are probably familiar with the rumors spreading mass amounts of doom and gloom about SWTOR across the MMORPG community. Practically every forum and review site has at least a handful of negative opinions regarding the game. The term “TOR-tanic” is often used, comparing SWTOR to both a legendary disaster and a sinking ship. And then there’s this article, and others like it that seem to support these disastrous claims.

As if all the sinking ship images aren’t enough, EA has to throw us this iceberg. Now folks out there are really spreading doom and gloom about SWTOR, and it’s difficult to even avoid it over on the official forums. And I know– you’re wondering why I’m wasting my time discussing the negativity here, where actual fans of the game want to read about cool stuff, and not leaky framework hulls and wildfire-filled articles. Sometimes, I think it’s important to embrace a portion of negativity– a bit of the storm– because it lets us look at our games objectively, and discover what really matters to us in an MMO.

The galaxy is in turmoil. War rages across countless worlds as Republic and Imperial forces struggle for control of critical resources. Amidst the chaos, threats emerge from all sides. The planet Denova, known for its extensive deposits of baradium ore, has been seized by a band of mercenaries and veteran Imperial defectors with mysterious motives. If they are not dislodged, the explosive arsenal they can create will give them the power to destroy any armed force – Republic or Imperial. On Corellia, a corrupt councilor attempts to maximize hypermatter profits by playing both sides of the conflict, and the crazed mastermind behind the Rakghoul outbreak, discovered on Ord Mantell, continues to threaten the lives of all sentient beings in the galaxy…

Game Update 1.2 – Legacy introduces exciting new content and features for all Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ players. Dig deeper into your personal Star Wars saga with the expanded Legacy system! Construct your family tree and unlock new rewards, abilities, and perks for all the characters in your Legacy as you advance your characters.

Visit the Black Hole area on Corellia to complete new level 50 daily missions, experience the finale of the Rakghoul outbreak storyline in the Lost Island Flashpoint, and get ready to challenge the mercenary warlord Kephess and his deadly allies for control of Denova’s critical resources in the all-new Operation: Explosive Conflict. You’ll also have the chance to face off against your foes or participate in a same-faction training mission in the all-new Novare Coast Warzone, a 3-point domination battle!

Game Update 1.2 brings even more new features to Star Wars: The Old Republic. UI Customization has been added to the game! Detach, move, resize, and arrange UI elements to suit your personal playstyle in the new Interface Editor. Guild Banks are also available – store and share resources with your guild! Additions and changes have been made to Crew Skills, classes, and more – read the full patch notes to discover all the changes!

Today Gabe Amatangelo talks about the 1.2 changes to PVP in the latest dev blog on SWTOR.com.

We believe competitive measure is an important part of a complete PvP experience. As such we are excited to be introducing the first phase of that to Star Wars™: The Old Republic™’s PvP gameplay in Game Update 1.2: Legacy, with Pre-Season of Ranked Warzones. We want to emphasize this is Pre-Season while the community and development teams collect data and refine the system in preparation for Season One, which will begin with the inclusion of cross-server Warzone queuing. The Pre-Season ratings will be reset when Season One officially begins.

Source: PVP in Game Update 1.2

A screenshot of the new race selections from the new Legacy Updates coming up in 1.2.