With Patch 1.2 out and Patch 1.3 on the way, “soon” the much toted Group Finder will be upon us. Whether it will be a success or just a stepping stone for cross-server is yet to be determined.

To be same-sever or not to be, that is the question.
Bioware initially was not a fan of an LFG queue system, but in 1.3 they will be adding a LFG queue system. Although details are scarce, Bioware has stated that it will be same-server, following in the footsteps of Rift. When Rift first introduced its LFG system it was same-server; unfortunately, players had to wait hours for the queue to pop up, and eventually Trion, Rift’s developer, expanded it to cross-server.

You have a brand new lightsaber and you really want to drive home the news to the opposite faction players. Seeing them in an occasional warzone isn’t enough, you want those PvEers to know too. Reputation is important right?

Or maybe your on the other side of the coin. There is a brand new lightsaber repeatedly striking at your head. Don’t these guys have something better to do than stop me from doing my dailies? Actually no we don’t. Queue times are long and Ilum is abandon. It’s up to us to make our own world PvP. Why to gank, where to gank, and how to not get ganked.

Find out how after the break!

After canceling the release of Ranked Warzones a single day before players were expecting them, Bioware has yet to give us an update on their status. They haven’t even said the typical “we’re working on it but can’t set a deadline” and no one on the dev team has commented. Unfortunately, if they had good news I bet we would hear it, but right now all we get is silence.

Of course the fans aren’t being silent. There are rumors that thousand of players resubscribed to the game just for ranked warzones. From their perspective, Bioware waited to announce the delay of ranked warzones as a marketing and business plan to gain subscriptions.

Tatooine is free from the encroaching rakghoul plague, and players have had a lot to say about the event and how it all went down. Most players were pretty satisfied with Star Wars: The Old Republic’s first major in-game event, and many had some excellent feedback for James Ohlen. He asked for our player feedback on the official forums. Could aspects be improved for the next big in-game event? That answer’s easy: Of course.

The first thing to remember when looking at the event through an objective lens is the fact that, yes, this was BioWare’s first attempt at an in-game event. That doesn’t mean the developers were delving through unfamiliar territory, however. Similar events are popular in most MMORPGs currently, although each developer tends to take different routes when it comes to the details, approach, and overall style of in-game events.

Just in case you haven’t done the quest yet to grab the Crimson Rakling– your very own red rakghoul vanity pet– now’s your chance to find out how! The Rakghoul event will continue until Monday night, so there’s still plenty of time to complete the quest chain.

First things first, let’s head to Tatooine. The quest requires you to discover a few things in either Mos Illa or Anchorhead, whichever perspective side you’re a part of. Make sure and do these first few discovery parts together, because afterwards, you’ll get a buff that allows you to grab the actual quest needed. Once that quest is received, however, you’re free to take your time collecting the fragments. Let’s begin, shall we?

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!

People have been afraid of +6k Force Sweeps for a while now, but the biggest buffs to Guardians were in the Vigilance tree. Players of all classes should know that Master Strike is now uninterruptable and does 15% more damage. Don’t bother kicking a Master Striking Guardian, either stun or run. Also, Dispatch, a Guardian’s finishing move, is now usable on targets with less than 30% health, up from 20%. Those two buffs, which affect all Guardians, synergize best with the talents of the Vigilance tree.

The buff to Master Strike, combined with the buff to Zen Strike, a top tier talent in the Vigilance tree, makes it look a lot more viable than before the patch. In addition to resetting the cool down on Master Strike, Zen Strike now also grants 2 focus. Until now, the Vigilance tree has been overlooked in favor of massive Force Sweeps and more snares, but Vigilance’s high sustained single target damage cannot be ignored when it comes time to down a ball carrier or healer.

BioWare’s original stance was that implementing cross server PvP and LFG would destroy the community by ruining the social aspect of the game. However, Cross-server Warfront will be coming soon after patch 1.2. Despite the fact that BioWare has changed their stance on cross-server Warfront, they still hold the belief that cross-server LFG is bad.

If anything, cross-server PvE would make much more sense than cross-server PvP, because “PvPers” tend to place a lot of value in forming rivalries against opposing guilds or specific players on their server. Thus, same server rivalry should be nurtured and not neutered. BioWare needs to go in the other direction and look at enhancing faction rivalries by merging servers and offering extra rewards for completing Warzones.

Leveling has come a long way. Back in the newborn age of MMOs, leveling in a game like EverQuest was an adventure in itself that took months of grinding and teaming up with other players to make the most out of everyone’s time. Many Eastern MMOs followed the same tradition, and feature experience curves that steepen considerably as a player gains levels, forcing them to slay hundreds of mobs to conquer the leveling grindstone.

Now, in popular MMORPGs like World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, and RIFT, players can easily reach level cap without any assistance whatsoever in a couple weeks or less. The amount of choices available in each of these games while leveling is fairly ridiculous, in fact, and players can skip entire maps and still easily see endgame. A quick and simple leveling experience helps players easily reach endgame, which is useful when the game’s most exciting content begins at that time.

The Seer spec of the Jedi Consular Sage advanced class is a healing focused character class. When you’re not healing as a Seer you can put out a respectable amount of DPS, and have several utilitarian tools and crowd control abilities. Thanks to your strong healing capabilities and decent damage output Seer survivability is high, making the leveling process a smooth and painless one. In group quests and flashpoints you can heal or do DPS (or both simultaneously), protecting yourself and your party members with a powerful armor spell. In PvP matches you will be appreciated for your ability to shield and heal teammates while slowing, knocking back and interrupting those who would try to do them harm. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First let’s learn the basics of the Seer spec as they apply to the leveling process.

Welcome to SWTOR Mechanics 103.  Previously we discussed Attributes with SWTOR Mechanics 101: Attributes and Game Mechanics with SWTOR Mechanics 102: Game Mechanics.  But what about Crew Skills?  Crafting has been an integral part of many MMO’s over the years, but BioWare’s take on the familiar is definitely a departure from the classic mold.  Click to the “jump” for your new “laws of reality”.

Ilum is one of two areas created purely for world PVP. Swtor’s initial foray into this area of gameplay was a bit bumpy, but after the 1.1 patch, the area has become much more stable. This commentary will show viewers the basics of Ilum as well as some neat little tricks to ensure a fun gaming experience!

Hello all and welcome to another guide by myself, Elicas. This is my guide for Commando healing. I’m hoping to make this guide the ”go to” guide for all things Commando PvE, from healing your first instance to healing the MT at the latest raid boss. This guide will include which companions you can get, what their specialisations are, where to get them and also what crew skills work well for a Commando. I will not however, include any hidden companions or anything about the Story Arc. I’m not here to ruin you’re enjoyment of the game, there are no spoilers ahead!

During SWTOR’s beta, the fan base questioned whether or not the two factions would have a balanced population come launch. Many fans worried that the population would lean heavily toward the Imperial side, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing now. Most servers are experiencing a higher Imperial population, somewhere between the range of 3:2 and 2:1. Choosing to make Republic and Empire the two factions was probably the most logical choice for BioWare, but there’s a risk in only developing two factions– that they won’t end up balanced.

Faction population balance is important in a two-faction MMO. With two balanced factions, players are able to experience a healthy, thriving community on either side of the game’s coin. Instance groups are easily filled, guilds always have a pool of players to recruit from, faction hubs are full of chatter and activity, and world PvP can, and will most likely occur. Without population balance, players on the least-populated side may become frustrated at the lack of activity, community, ability to find groups/guilds, and PvP options. This frustration may result in a faction switch, which creates an even larger population gap.