BioWare released an information page with details about what we’ll be seeing in Game Update 1.7, which is being called Return of the Gree. Yep, the Gree are back, and with them, the ice-covered planet of Ilum is making a return in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Ilum will be returning as a contested area where players can gain exclusive items and battle a powerful opponent who awaits them. The area will be part of a recurring event. The details of this event will be forthcoming, but from the sounds of it, certain parts will unlock and continue to unlock during the next year. And yes, Free-to-Play players will have access to the event.

A new addition to the Legacy system is also coming in Game Update 1.7. Ever wanted to earn galactic reputation with certain factions throughout the galaxy? Now’s your chance. The prestige system will be an alternative method of character progression and will be tied to the Legacy system so players can enjoy earning reputation across multiple characters.

For more information as well as some nifty screenshots BioWare released, check out the full Game Update 1.7 information page.

During Massively’s coverage of this year’s Game Developer’s Conference in Austin, Texas, the staff published some interesting thoughts on a panel held by Damion Schubert, one of the original developers of Star Wars: The Old Republic. During the panel, Schubert discusses some of the difficulties in meshing together the elements of an MMO with pure story-driven elements– those most familiar to the BioWare team during SWTOR’s development. His presentation was quite frank, it seems, and he admitted that the team made a few mistakes in trying to accomplish their goal of creating a well-balanced, story-driven MMO:

If you have ever play any BioWare single-player game, then you know that the questlines can and will take you all over a given setting. Knights of the Old Republic had you visiting planets like Taris, Korriban, and Kashyyyk, finding bits of Star Map. Mass Effect allowed you to travel from one end of the Milky Way galaxy to the other attempting thwart Sovereign’s indoctrination of all known life. As Schubert pointed out in his presentation, in a single-player game, it doesn’t matter which of these planets you visit first because the NPCs scale based on your character’s level. However, he argued, “That’s not as easy to do in an open world, where different people of different levels are sharing the same space.” Consequently, BioWare “ended up kind of backing up that scale and going to a branching story.”

Schubert went on to discuss the sustainability of SWTOR, which is a subject that many of us understandably worry about. Schubert believes the current SWTOR team is on a better track now, and realizes where the game’s sustainability lies. Interestingly enough, he cites the game’s Legacy feature as a solid example of sustainable content, which might be true, but I think most SWTOR players would argue that the Legacy system isn’t actual content, and that content is king when it comes to sustaining any type of playerbase.

Check out Massively’s full take on the subject and the GDC panel here.

So, last week we got an interesting little note in SWTOR’s Patch Notes: “Legacy names are no longer unique. New Legacies that are created are now able to use a name that is already in use on the server. All players will be able to rename their Legacies once, at no cost, in a future update.” This change came as a surprise to quite a few players, namely because BioWare didn’t exactly make any sort of announcement previous to the change. It was a total out-of-the-blue change, and sure, maybe it was done to aid our remaining server merges (which stubbornly weren’t referred to as merges until quite late in the process), but, yes, BioWare– players like to be notified about changes of this nature before they occur.

It also surprised folks because of the way Legacy names were originally hyped– Legacy names were supposed to be the ultimate, unique way to proudly proclaim your character’s legacy. Yep, unique. Not any longer, unfortunately, partially due to the effects of server transfers, and partially due to this change. Ever want to see seven Skywalkers aboard your fleet? Well, maybe now’s your chance.

In recent patches, we’ve seen some much-needed changes to SWTOR’s Legacy perks, but one thing we haven’t seen is any new rewards or perks for players who have reached the higher Legacy levels. Quite a few players are above Legacy level 25 now, with many sitting at level 50. Yet, there aren’t any special rewards for the levels above 25, which has been a disappointment to many fans.

In one community forum thread, this subject was brought up, and Joveth Gonzalez said the following:

Originally posted by JovethGonzalez (Source)

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Hello! So I spoke to Principle Lead Systems Designer Damion Schubert about this, and he feels that with some of the Legacy rebalancing that has occurred recently, he definitely agrees that there is a need for more rewards for players with Legacy levels 25 and higher. The team hasn’t made any decisions yet, but it is something that they are exploring.

The word “exploring” is admittedly a little less encouraging than the usual Soon™, but at least it’s knowledge that the team is working on some type of reward.

SWTOR’s Legacy system is unique in the fact that it can be used to easily add quality-of-life features to the game in the form of Legacy perks. Most of the perks so far haven’t been game content, but rather– cool bonuses that make life easier. And speaking of content, since we’re kind of in a new content “in between patch” void at the moment, it’s an ideal time for players to think outside the box a little bit and imagine what other types of quality-of-perks they’d like to see added to the Legacy system.

One thread on the official forums has been made just for that purpose. In it, some players have very good ideas. We thought we’d share some of them. Keep reading, and feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments section!

Currently on the PTS, Game Update 1.3′s new Legacy perks are available for player testing. Here is a preview of them, along with screenshots of tooltips, information about the different ranks, costs, and cooldowns for each of the abilities. There are four new types of perks: advancement, companion, travel, and convenience. Like other Legacy perks, they can be unlocked with Legacy levels or with credits. Most have multiple ranks.

Unless otherwise noted, all higher ranks require previous ranks to be unlocked. Every new Legacy perk added in 1.3 is only unlockable for one character at a time. These perks aren’t account-wide. Note: All information listed here and on the PTS is subject to change at any time. For each category, costs, etc. are listed in this manner: Rank 1, Rank 2, Rank 3.

No MMO is complete without mini games. SWTOR is no different. Many people were excited about BioWare’s April’s fool joke of playing virtual janitor. During the Guild Convention, they did confirm that mini games would be coming, but they have yet to announce any. While we wait, in no particular order, here are 4 mini game ideas: Swoop Racing, Gambling, Holochess and Companion PVP. More on mini games after the break. 

After only 4 months SWTOR has seen a staggering array of changes, both good and bad.  And while some events have sent fan boys raging, others have brought frustrated players back into the fold smiling.  So it’s time to take a look at those changes and how they have affected the game.

We’ll discuss everything, but you’re going to have to click Continue Reading to find out!

The legacy system has many fantastic features in store for the game, from new emotes to strange race/class combinations, but the idea that all of your characters must be related has caused a stir amongst the roleplaying community. Sure, the dev blog video has revealed that you have the option to list your character as allies as well as relatives, but inventive roleplayers may see the opportunity to create some of the epic family legacies that Star Wars is famous for. The tools that this system gives us can allow us to create epics of our own. Jump past the cut to see how family matters in a galaxy far, far away.

Game Update 1.2: Legacy is finally here, bringing a wide range of new game features and playable content to Star Wars™: The Old Republic™! With Legacy, you can now create your very own Legacy family tree, sharing the skills mastered by one character with everyone in your family tree. You will also be able to experience new adventures, including the new Operation, Explosive Conflict, the Novare Coast PvP Warzone, and much, much more!

We appreciate the support of our community throughout the development of the Legacy game update. As a ‘Thank You’ gift, we are giving all active subscribers (as of April 12, 12:00PM CDT, 5:00PM GMT or April 21, 12:00PM CDT, 5:00PM GMT) the in-game Legacy reward: the Legacy Tauntaun Ram Pet*, sure to be your new best friend!