Jedi Consular Character Progression

With the (likely) last beta weekend, and by far the biggest, slowly drawing to a close we take a look at the Jedi Consular character progression video that BioWare released last Friday. Here is the official news:

As your character grows more powerful, you will see them gain new skills and abilities to complement the superior gear they acquire.

Channeling the power of the Force to give them strength in combat and clarity in diplomacy, Jedi Consulars are respected for their leadership on the battlefield as well as their evenhanded demeanor at the negotiating table. While many devote themselves to uncovering the ancient secrets of the Jedi and use their command of the Force to defend and protect their allies, others use the Force as a means of slipping into the shadows and becoming powerful servants for the Republic.

My, those Jedi Sages sure do get some silly hats. Let's all be imminently thankful for the "hide helmet" option. In general find it hard to get excited by this video at all. The gameplay doesn't look very interesting (the closest it gets to interesting is the Shadow's stealth, but even that doesn't feel that exciting) and the clothing doesn't look very compelling either (large shoulderpads and all). I get that it's difficult to make a healer look that interesting (and I've no issue with robes, quite the contrary), but this video failed to make me excited for the Consular. It failed to make me feel "Yes, I want that", which is a pity. Particularly since I'm still planning to make the Jedi Sage one of my two main classes.

Anyway, with all the beta stuff going on there are a lot of articles to go through again. That and the developer quotes after the break.

Bringing Down the Hammer (on the NDA)

The NDA has been lifted! That means that all across the world people can finally inform their significant others what they've been so secretive about all these months. And it means that you'll see a bunch of previews articles appear all across the net, that too.

But before we get to that the official Friday update, consisting of a trailer for another Flashpoint and the announcement of a new (non-fiction) book. Here's the official news on the Flashpoint video:

The ‘Hammer,’ a powerful prototype battle station developed by the Republic, was thought to have been destroyed in the war, but it has mysteriously reappeared in the possession of the expansionist Advozsec. Determined to assert their new power, the Advozsec have been using the weapon to conquer neutral worlds in the Outer Rim. Now, before the Hammer can strike again, both the Galactic Republic and Sith Empire have set plans in motion to bring the station down.

We are excited to present a new preview of ‘Bringing Down the Hammer,’ just one of the many Flashpoints in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.

It's one of those movies which, while decent, I doubt I'll remember a month from now. Then again, I'll be playing The Old Republic a month from now so I doubt it'll matter much anyway.

Continue reading after the break for the book news and a wave of articles come out of the NDA lifting and news on the newly announced Legacy System. That and the developer quotes of course (this week with a special guest star).

Choose Your Side: Inquisitor vs. Trooper

It's Friday, which means another BioWare update. Which I'm posting now. Before BioWare posts it. Because this is actually last week's update. Ahum. So I'm a little late... blame Skyrim.

Yes, so... last Friday BioWare posted a couple of updates. Primarily among them a "Choose Your Side" video pitting the Sith Inquisitor against the Trooper. Here's the official news:

From the moment we announced the eight classes in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ fans have been pitting them against each other, arguing who would have the advantage in a one-on-one fight. The hallways of BioWare echo this debate, with the writers, combat designers and other developers all chiming in on which classes they feel will have the upper hand.

In the video series “Choose Your Side,” members of the Star Wars: The Old Republic team plead their cases, highlighting some of the many skills and abilities that set each class apart from the rest. In the second video of the four-part series, two of the most iconic classes in the Star Wars™ universe face off as the Force-wielding Sith Inquisitor battles the stalwart Republic Trooper.

I have to say, my money's on the Inquisitor.

So that's two more "Choose Your Side" videos to go and I think we can tell with near certainty that those will be Jedi Consular vs Imperial Agent and Smuggler vs Sith Warrior. Because they're not going to do Smuggler vs Agent (as they're pretty much the same class mechanics wise and thus wouldn't make for a very interesting versus debate) and we've already had the other classes.

After the break we'll look at the other updates; news on the next (and probably final) beta testing weekend, news about TOR appearing at Dreamhack, account security issues, news from the second Fan Site Summit and a few more previews.

Imperial Agent Character Progression

As you can see from the title of this post, this Friday BioWare released the Imperial Agent character progression video, showing a number of Imperial Agent outfits and skills. They also announced the length of Early Game Access (up to five days) and something about Revan preview chapter, but honestly who cares... Agent outfits:

As you progress in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™, your character will gain experience, growing more powerful and discovering new skills while also acquiring more advanced gear.

Through cunning, stealth, and ruthless tactics, the Imperial Agent has no shortage of ways to complete his objectives. Even so, as the complexity and importance of his missions increase, the Agent will have to acquire new skills and equipment to help him combat the ever-growing threat to the Empire. This video shows you a sampling of the many different armors and abilities the Imperial Agent can obtain as he travels the galaxy.

I must say that I quite like the outfits, even if the Operative high level one makes her look more like a Sith with the hood up and everything. The Sniper ones are much more my speed. And I'm particularly happy that they're showing a female character for a change (after the other five progression videos we've had all had male characters).

And that leaves just the Jedi Consular and the Sith Inquisitor to get their progression videos (with only about a month-and-a-half left before the game releases).

Now, for those of you who do care about the other news as well (which, in fairness, includes me too), read on after the break for the Early Game Access details, previews from the upcoming Revan novel, previews and interviews, and the developer quotes.

Prepare for Guild Deployment

BioWare has updated the Guild HQ to include an indication of whether a guild is ready for Phase 3: Deployment. This isn't phase 3 just yet (the game needs to launch for that), but it does help guilds get ready for it. Here is the official news:

Last month we expanded our Pre-Launch Guild Program with the implementation of Phase 2: Alignment, where guilds could designate other guilds as allies or adversaries. Now, as Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ moves ever-closer to launch, we are excited to announce that we have initiated the first part of Phase 3: Deployment!

Phase 3: Deployment will see any guild that meets the pre-designated criteria be transferred into the game for launch. Before we begin this process, though, we want to give all of you who are in guilds the opportunity to make sure your guild meets the following requirement for transfer:

• Four members of the guild must have pre-ordered the game and redeemed their Pre-Order Code at the Code Redemption Center.

(NOTE: We have removed the additional requirement for the guild leader to log in to the website and verify that their guild remains active and wants to be imported.)

To help clear up any confusion as to whether or not your guild is ready for deployment, we have now given each guild page a small status indicator. This indicator will show you the number of people in your guild who have pre-ordered the game, and will inform you whether or not your guild meets the criteria for deployment into the game.

Now is the time to make sure that your guild meets the criteria to be transferred into the game so visit the Guild HQ now! Make sure to secure your copy of Star Wars: The Old Republic by visiting our Pre-Order page, and then redeem your Pre-Order Code at the Code Redemption Center to ensure that your guild is among the first to explore The Old Republic!

To learn more about guilds in The Old Republic, check out the Guilds Game System page for details and visit the Guilds FAQ for answers to commonly asked questions.

Additionally David Bass made a detailed post on the forum explaining the server types and PvP ruleset TOR will have. Read that after the break.