Posted by Lethality | 9 Comments

Fan Site Summit: Outlaw’s Den Revealed!

When we headed out to Austin for the latest Fan Site Summit last week, we had no idea what to expect. We were hoping to see some cool new things and of course get our hands on the game for an extended period of time.

Well, I can tell you both of those things happened. And for me, the “cool” and “new” part surpassed all expectations. Perhaps “shock” and “awe” might be a better way to describe it.

What better place than Texas to reveal a brand new open-world area on Tatooine called Outlaw’s Den. The name, as it implies, is a pretty rough place. Just how rough? Well, hold on to your seats – it’s an entire area of the map dedicated to free-for-all combat. Yes, you heard that correctly.

What does free-for-all mean you might ask? Well, it’s exactly as it sounds for the most part. In this dangerous area of Tatooine, everyone is a potential target. This means you can even attack members of your own faction, anywhere, at all times. Even on PvE servers. The only players you can’t attack are any members of the group you’re in, be it a 4 person party or a 24-person Operation group. Beyond that, you can target and be targeted anywhere, anytime.

This is a real gem for old-school MMO players and a bit of a nod to sandbox-style game design. Literally anything goes and although there is loot to be had, the reward is ultimately the wild-west style environment and subsequent rush that you get just from setting foot on this kind of soil.

Here’s an overview of some of the highlights:

• Free-for-all rules: Kill anyone and everything that isn’t in your own party/group, including players of your same faction
• Rare vendors – that are killable – and don’t re-spawn on a regular schedule
• Rare resources for Crew Skills
• Map designed with objects and architectural features such as arenas and pits – to do with as you please
• Commerce area with access to your cargo hold (bank) and the Galactic Trade Network (auction house.) Even this area of Outlaw’s Den is not a sanctuary. Always keep one eye open at the mailbox ;)
• It’s well-marked so players shouldn’t be surprised if they stroll into the area

We didn’t get our hands on Outlaw’s Den, as it was in early stages of development, but we were able to see it in action as Lead End-game Designer Gabe Amatangelo demonstrated. The visuals are very Tatooine, but with a very foreboding feel.

Personally, I can’t tell you how glad I am BioWare is experimenting with this style of gameplay in their MMO. It’s great that they’re really trying to use the huge world they’re creating in the Star Wars universe to offer as many varied play styles as there are players. It may seem hardcore to some, but it’s a breath of fresh air in the genre, and from a mainstream title no less!

If you’re interested in talking about Outlaw’s Den, or anything else from the Fan Site Summit, stop by the Ask A Jedi Cantina tonight, Friday November 18th at 9:00PM EST. We’ll be holding a live Q&A, and while we may not be able to answer everything, we’ll give it a whirl!

We hope to know more about Outlaw’s Den soon, and will of course bring a full report when we do. In any case though, just think: we’ll all have the game in our hands to try it for ourselves in barely 30 days!

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Posted by Kray | 4 Comments

Fully Operational: The First Steps To Max DPS

“Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station!” — There is no better example of damage in the Star Wars galaxy than the scene attached to that quote. Each week in Fully Operational, join Kray as he takes a look at the damage dealing role in Star Wars: The Old Republic. And yes, we’ll blow up a planet if we get the chance.

Good morning, good afternoon, and good night Ask A Jedi readers! Kray here with another episode of Fully Operational. I’ll be honest with you, there’s not a whole lot of really pertinent DPS-related information that got released this week, despite the AAJ team spending a ton of time with BioWare at the Fan Site Summit. Over the next few weeks before launch expect a lot of specifics around classes and gameplay to be revealed, but as for right now let’s take a look at things from a more general standpoint. No listening music today, but take a look at this absolutely stupid and awesome video from one of the guys at R2-DB for your entertainment needs.

The Old Republic isn’t quite out yet (less than 40 days!), and the beta is unfortunately still under NDA for most of the people who got their hands on it. What does this mean for you? Well, simply put, when you fire up the game for the first time and start playing your class of choice, it’s going to be an extremely fresh, new experience. Games like Everquest, Warhammer, World of Warcraft, Rift, etc have the advantage of millions of subscribers who have played the game for years, compiling all their experiences into guide posts on forums and theorycrafting websites. With TOR, on the other hand, it’s going to take a while for people to get to max level and start crunching numbers. So let’s take a look at what you can do to maximize your own effectiveness before the spreadsheets and simulators start popping up.

Step One: How Hard Does it Hit?

The first and probably most important step to figuring out what abilities you’ll want to prioritize is determining exactly how much damage it’s going to do. In order to calculate this relatively complex amount, there’s a few things you’ll want to consider.

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Posted by Lethality | 1 Comment

The Art And Making Of Star Wars: The Old Republic Now Available

We’ve been tracking this book for some time, and it looks like the best estimates by major outlets such as Amazon and even the publisher themselves have been trumped! We’ve seen dates ranging from Novmber 1st – December 15th but the fact of the matter is that The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Old Republic is available right now!

Usually, this kind of book is included as part of Collector’s Editions of MMO games, however BioWare elected not to go that route and instead include a statue of Darth Malgus (the merit of which I will leave up for you readers to debate ;) We got our hands on this at the recent Fan Site Summit, and as you can see in this video by the gents at TORWars, it’s of very high quality and a must for fans of the game.

You can find it listed on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and no doubt other booksellers around the web. Heck, if you still have a book store locally, you might even be able to pick it up there today!

And if you do, let us know if there are any secrets in it we should know about!

 

 

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Posted by Lethality | 0 Comments

Entertainment Weekly Posts Chapter 3 From Upcoming Revan Novel [UPDATED]

One of the upcoming highlights for TOR fans, other than the game itself, has to be Drew Karpyshyn’s latest novel Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan. This novel ties directly to the game, and readers have been promised to learn something about what really happened to Revan when he left for deep space.

Well, in case you haven’t noticed, the release date of November 15th is just around the corner, and book will be in stores before you know it (or in your hands on release day, if you pre-order now!)

To hold you over for a few more weeks, Entertainment Weekly published an excerpt from the novel. Obviously the Revan storyline was THE storyline of Knights of The Old Republic and it has the chance to be really interesting in TOR as well. What better way to ramp up than this!

Head on over to  Entertainment Weekly for the full read and pre-order your copy of Revan now!

[UPDATE] Today, November 3rd only, both Amazon and Barnes & Noble are offering 50% off if you order Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan!

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Posted by Shockum | 8 Comments

Blue Milk & Cereal: Are You A Star Wars Lore Nerd?

No day would be complete without the breakfast of Jedi: Blue Milk & Cereal.  Every morning, the team at Ask A Jedi will get Force-induced thoughts coursing through your head with delicious issues from around the galaxy! Join in the discussion below to make your voice heard!

I have a confession to make. I know very little in regards to the history of the Star Wars universe. My knowledge for the most part was limited nearly exclusively to the movies. I didn’t check out any books, comics, or anything of the like. So to me, it was like none of that existed.

Was I in for a rude pleasant awakening. Since I became focused on Star Wars: The Old Republic, I have put my self through a virtual crash course on Star Wars. Let’s just say, I’ve stepped my game up.

Notably, I’ve read books the recent books in the Star Wars: The Old Republic series like, “Decieved,” and “Fatal Alliance.” Additionally, I’ve had my hands on the Darth Bane trilogy, and now the Thrawn series. I’ll be adding “Revan,” to that list when it comes out in just a few weeks.

But, even with expanding my knowledge as I have, I feel I’m still behind the curve. If you move through the chaos that is the Official Forums, you’ll see there are people who know their stuff. Our very own Professor Walsh can hang with the best of them, having read every single Star Wars novel but two.

So why would I want to do something like this? Well, when it comes down to it, it turns out I’m a lore junkie. I like finding out the odds-and ends-on a particular subject. You never know it may come in hand, to fill in a blank. People have their own reasons why they do it, that’s just mine.

How about you? Would you call yourself a lore buff, or not? Is the backstory to the game world you’re playing in even important to you? Has following TOR made you more interested?

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