Now that you’ve hit level 50, starting furiously farming your dailies, hit up the GTN for some cheap gear, and finally gotten around to steamrolling that Alderaan Bonus Series, you might be wondering: what’s next? Sure, gear is great…but where do you put all those shiny Artifacts to good use?

Hard Modes. Classic flashpoints reimagined with the level 50 health pool and damage capacity in mind. Hard Mode Flashpoints are where you stop hiding behind your healing companion and put yourself to the test. As a reward you can earn various commendations, Tionese (or Energized) gear, and a chance at a Columi token. That’s right folks, Hard Modes drop comparable loot to Normal Operations, so let’s get cracking.

A good place to start for both Republic and Empire is also the last place you’ll be as a fresh 50: Darth Malgus’ Space Station and The False Emperor flashpoint. In order to start the flashpoint in Hard Mode, simply speak to the quest giver right outside the instance portal and select the Hard Mode option. Unlike some Hard Modes, having completed the flashpoint on normal isn’t a requirement.

When we last left off, we had just finished our look at the overall time period that leads up to Star Wars: The Old Republic. Today, we will be shifting gears and focusing on a pivotal figure of the time: Darth Malgus.

A word of caution, though: our look into the life of Darth Malgus will contain SPOILERS from SWTOR: Deceived by Paul Kemp. If you do not wish to have the novel spoiled, take the time to read it instead. It is one of the better novels set in this particular time period and is definitely worth the read! Otherwise, follow me after the jump, and together we can take a look at the history of one of the Sith Empire’s greatest assets.