StarWarsMMO.net Giveaway – Win the shirt off our back
In celebration of StarWarsMMO.net’s 3 year anniversary, and in anticipation of Star Wars: The Old Republic’s launch in less than a month, we are prepared to give away some awesome prizes to you, the reader. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be giving out some awesome SWTOR swag, as well as pre-order copies of Star Wars: The Old Republic!
This week we are giving out two Star Wars: The Old Republic t-shirts, one Republic themed and one Empire. To enter to win is simple: Simply complete each of the steps below and you will be entered to win.
1) “Like” our StarWarsMMO.net Facebook Page:
If you’ve already Liked us, skip this step.
2) Post a comment below including the phrase “For the Empire!” or “For the Republic!” (or something equivalent) to tell us which t-shirt you are interested in winning.
The contest will end on Monday, November 28 at 12:00pm EST when we will pick two random winners to receive the shirts (ARV $25). The shirts are sizes L for Republic and XL for Empire (though they are the exact same size laying them on top of the other) and have never actually been on our backs. The contest is only open to US residents ages 18 and over. Trust us, we’d love to allow all international countries and don’t mind shipping across the world, but due to legal mumbo jumbo, we have to restrict it.
Terms & Conditions
No purchase necessary; Entries accepted November 22 through November 28 at 12:00pm EST; giveaway open to US residents 18 and older only, void where prohibited; One entry per person per household. See full Official Rules for more details.
Update: The giveaway is now over. We will update this post once the winners have been confirmed.
Update: We have our winners. Congrats to Tyler and Inyri!
Class Focus: Sith Warrior
Fact Sheet
- Species: Human, Cyborg, Zabrak, Sith Pureblood
- Starting World: Korriban
- Combat Type: Tanking, DPS
- Weaponry: Lightsabers
- Armor: Medium Armor, Heavy Armor
- Ship: Fury
- Famous Sith Warriors: Darth Vader, Darth Malgus, Darth Krayt
Summary
The most recognizable of the Sith classes, the Sith Warrior strikes fear into the hearts of his enemies and dominates through strength, power and intimidation. Channeling their emotions of fear and hatred Sith Warriors feed their lust for power by using their affinity to the dark side of the Force to vanquish all who stand in their way. Nobody is safe from these menaces of the battlefield, not even their own masters or apprentices. The Sith Warrior is the strong arm of the Emperor representing the strength and reach of the Sith Empire solely with their presence. Able to take on countless foes in battle or quickly cut lines through the enemies’ defenses the truly skilled Sith Warrior is unparalleled in toe-to-toe combat. Read more»
StarWarsMMO.net Livestream: Bringing Down the Hammer 11pm EST
With the newly removed NDA and The Old Republic free for all to see, we are going to be bringing you live streamed footage of the game on a regular basis. While the ongoing schedule for this is still not determined, tonight we will be having our first scheduled broadcast, of the newly announced flashpoint Bringing Down the Hammer. We will begin the stream at 11pm EST / 8pm PST and hope you will join us as viewers. You can tune in at TwitchTV, or view the embedded stream below. Read more»
Legacy System Revealed
James Ohlen has revealed the Legacy System, a feature that will unlock upon completing a character’s first chapter of their class story. Once unlocked, players will be able to choose a surname for their character, aka their legacy. This name will be shared across all characters on a server, and can be displayed in multiple ways: after your name like a last name, or below your character’s name. After unlocking your legacy, you can receive legacy points that will also apply to all characters on a server. However, what these points will unlock has not yet been revealed. Read the official announcement post below.
Hey Everyone,
This build has our first iteration of the Legacy System! At its core the Legacy system is about allowing players to create a family tree of characters. Family is pretty important to the Star Wars universe, with the Skywalker family having one of the most interesting dynamics in movie history. This version is just the foundational components that we will use to build upon in the future. Here are the features of this iteration:
Once your character has completed their Chapter 1 storyline, they will be able to choose a Legacy Last Name. This Legacy Last Name must be unique and is shared across all characters on that server – so choose carefully!
Once you have unlocked your Legacy, any and all characters on that server will now contribute to that player’s Legacy Experience Points. Much like normal experience points, when you reach certain Legacy thresholds, you will increase your Legacy Level.
We already have plans for how we will expand the functionality of the Legacy System in one of our major post-ship patches. This will include being able to shape your Legacy’s family tree, and give you a reward for all those Legacy Levels.
We look forward to reading your feedback on the Legacy System!
–James
Damion Schubert provided additional clarification about displaying your legacy:
Originally Posted by Raiel
It does. All of my characters have different last names. If there’s a display toggle for the Legacy surname, though, it’s all good in the hood.
You can choose to do one of the following:
- Display your legacy name as your last name (“Raiel Firewalker”)
- Display your legacy name below your name
Raiel
The Firewalker Legacy
- or choose to hide it altogether. This choice can differ per character.
The Old Republic Opens Up: NDA Lifted
Today, the NDA for Star Wars: The Old Republic has been lifted, and fans are free to discuss all aspects of the game. This includes fan sites such as the site you are currently reading, and you can expect a lot of content coming out of us in the near future. Stay tuned, and read the message from BioWare Doctor Greg Zeschuk below.
Folks,
As of now, the non disclosure portion of our Game Testing Agreement is officially lifted. While all players must still accept the Game Testing Agreement, from this point on testers may now freely talk about their experiences this past weekend in the game, as well as post screenshots and gameplay videos of their testing experiences. We encourage you to come join us on the official Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Forums to share your experiences!
The Star Wars: The Old Republic community site will have a copy of this message on the forums and it will also appear in the Patcher. Players may not talk about nor reprint posts from our testing forums as they are still fully covered by the confidentiality portions of our Game Testing Agreement. And all players who want to participate in the upcoming Beta Test Weekends still have to accept all terms of the Game Testing Agreement. So, other than that, free feel to talk about and share your experiences in Star Wars: The Old Republic.
My thanks go out to everyone who has beta tested and continues to beta test the game. It has been with your help and feedback that Star Wars: The Old Republic is where it is today. We really appreciate your efforts.
May the Force be with you!
Greg Zeschuk
VP, Electronic Arts, BioWare Austin, General Manager
Friday Update: The Art of The Old Republic, ‘Hammer’ Flashpoint
Flashpoints are a big part of Star Wars: The Old Republic, and today we get a look at a newly announced Flashpoint in the game, Bringing Down the Hammer. This flashpoint is for both the Empire and Republic and takes place on a Republic battlestation previously thought to be destroyed. Check out the preview for this flashpoint below.
If you love the look and feel of Star Wars: The Old Republic, then The Art and Making of The Old Republic may be right up your alley. This book goes into detail of the making of The Old Republic, and is co-written by former Star Wars Insider editor Frank Parisi and BioWare Writing Director Daniel Erickson. It features both pages and pages of concept art for the game as well as interviews with the development team. You can buy this hardcover collector’s item from Amazon and other retailers now.
Bringing Down the Hammer
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™. (Official Forums)
BringingThe Art and Making of The Old Republic
Chronicle Books has released a new book which highlights the process of creating Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. Co-written by former Star Wars Insider editor Frank Parisi and BioWare Writing Director Daniel Erickson, this book chronicles the creation of the game, with over 150 pages of conceptual artwork and interviews with various members of the development team.
The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Old Republic includes over one hundred pieces of artwork, many of which you have never seen before. Much of the artwork is accompanied by text describing the process of creating each class and, every world as well as, the process of working in this previously unexplored time period in Star Wars™ lore. (Official Forums)
Beta Weekend “Stress Test” November 25-27
Anyone who was signed up for SWTOR beta testing has received an invite for an upcoming beta testing weekend where BioWare is planning a stress test on their servers, and now that weekend has been revealed. The testing will commence on November 25th and run through the 27th. Players will be invited in staggered intervals, so exact timing on when you’ll be able to log in will be notified in an upcoming email.
If you still don’t have a beta key and want to get in, all hope is not lost. Many sites are giving out beta keys – check here for the full list.
Updated the FAQ with this question and answer:
When will the Beta Testing Weekend start?
We are targeting November 25-28 for our upcoming Beta Testing Weekend. Exact timing on when you will be invited will be specified in your invite email.
A Busy Weekend for BioWare
As many of you undoubtedly know this past weekend was BioWare’s largest Testing Weekend yet, and tens of thousands of gamers and Star Wars fans everywhere logged out of the real world and logged in to The Old Republic. Surely several of you participated in the festivities unknowingly contributing to quite the staggering statistic. As revealed by the BioWare doctors in an interview with Eurogamer at last night’s BAFTA in London, over 1 million hours were logged in last weekend’s beta testing alone.
This weekend we had a big test – tens upon tens of thousands. One crazy number is we had over a million hours of testing over the weekend. It was a huge test, and there are even bigger ones coming. The key thing is for us to take those learnings, apply them and make the service really stable. We’re happy with the game.
Our goal is a smooth launch, we want to serve our players really well. We want to serve them with a great, stable, secure, high quality experience. That’s our goal. We’re doing everything we can.
An impressive number to say the least, but probably not unexpected to those who participated and waited through some very long queues. It sounds like we can expect more of these “server stress tests” in the near future so if you haven’t had a chance to test the game, don’t give up yet!
Read the entire interview at Eurogamer.com
Facebook Image of the Week: November 16, 2011
This week the Facebook image shows us one of the first Operations in the game, the Eternity Vault. See all previous Facebook images here.
The Eternity Vault, a remnant of a once powerful empire, is believed to house ‘The Infernal One,’ an ancient and deadly evil that poses a risk to the entire galaxy.
Class Focus: Smuggler
Fact Sheet
- Species: Human, Twi’lek, Zabrak, Mirialan, Cyborg
- Starting World: Ord Mantell
- Combat Type: Ranged Damage, Healing
- Weaponry: Blasters
- Armor: Light Armor
- Ship: XS Freighter
- Famous Smugglers: Han Solo, Hylo Visz, Atton Rand
Summary
Armed only with their sharp wit, charisma and a handy blaster pistol or two,the Smuggler of the Old Republic makes his way in the galaxy through the trading of illegal goods. So even though siding with the Republic may be a bit counter-intuitive, when considering the other option, it isn’t much of a choice. Freedom is perhaps what a Smuggler values most and a tyrannic rule under the oppression of the Sith would offer much less freedom that the democracy of the Republic. By nature of their trade, Smugglers often require a wide array of skills. They are among the best pilots in the galaxy, handy with a blaster and some would say that luck is one of their many skills. Whether you need to transport containers of spice to the seedy streets of Nar Shadaa or weapons through enemy space to resupply troops, you can always count on a Smuggler to get the job done… for the right price. Read more»
