Seeing the Empire weakened, Toborro decides to continue Karagga's campaign of expansion, but with the planet Makeb at the heart of a new era of Hutt conquest—for Makeb is home to deposits of the incredibly rare and powerful mineral known as isotope Isotope-5 is capable of warping electromagnetic and gravitational fields, and a gram of the substance can generate immense amounts of power.
Toborro therefore pays off Makeb's defense force, the mercenary army known as the InterStellar Regulators , to help the Hutts conquer the world, and the Cartel blockades the Makeb system as Toborro begins to mine the isotope-5 in Makeb's core without any regard for what it would do to the planet. Upon learning of the Hutts' actions, Chancellor Saresh consults with the Jedi Order and learns that the Hutts will likely try to continue their conquests if they are not stopped, so she pledges Republic aid to the citizens of Makeb.
Saresh's forces make contact with Shalim Avesta , leader of the Makeb resistance and the planet's de facto Head of State, and help him rescue his niece Lemda , who is a geophysicist who was captured by the Regulators after she discovered that Toborro's drilling will cause the planet to break apart. After breaking into the Hutt Embassy in Makeb's capital Talaos City , the Republic forces and the Makeb resistance learn of the Ark , an enormous vessel being constructed inside the hollow Giant's Spear mesa that will ferry Toborro, the other Cartel personnel, and their isotope-5 stores off of the planet when the planet begins to break apart.
The Republic and resistance forces promptly seize the Giant's Spear and the Ark, repurposing the vessel to carry Makeb's civilians as a true ark to safety. A furious Toborro unleashes the Regulators against the Avesta Plantation , but the Republic forces head off the Regulators on the Fingers mesa and also destroy the Storm Carrier warship, killing the Regulator Vice-Commandant Grevin in the process.
Toborro then reveals that the Ark is powered by isotope-5 before sending his Regulators to attack the settlement of Tarlam along with isotope-5 droids , powerful war droids powered by isotope-5, though the Republic and the resistance evacuate Tarlam's civilians to the Ark.
Desperate for a fuel source to power the Ark, the Republic and resistance forces assault the Sanctuary research complex in order to locate Dr. Juvard Illip Oggurobb , a Hutt scientist and the creator of the Ark and the isotope-5 droids.
The Republic forces are able to successfully locate Oggurobb with the Hutt's help in bypassing the Sanctuary's security systems, as Oggurobb wishes to defect to the Republic because he has realized Toborro has gone insane.
Oggurobb confirms that Toborro possesses the fuel rods, but warns the Republic that the Hutt leader has increased mining operations to maximum levels—an action that will result in the destruction of Makeb long before the civilians are evacuated.
Republic forces then disable several mining platforms and vent the planet's core, reducing the buildup of heat and the seismic activity, giving them more time. Around the same time, most of the leaders of the Hutt Cartel, having come to recognize that Toborro has gone insane, approach Shalim Avesta and the Republic with a request to board the Ark. The Republic convinces Avesta to allow the Hutts aboard the Ark in exchange for an alliance between the Hutt Cartel and the Republic, gaining the Republic a new ally in the ongoing war.
Using a secret entrance provided by Oggurobb, Republic forces infiltrate Toborro's Palace and search for the fuel rods, confronting the mad Cartel leader. Toborro unleashes a powerful isotope-5 droid known as Toborro's Glittering Fury upon the intruders, but after it is defeated, the Hutt commits suicide by igniting his isotope-5 stockpiles in an attempt to kill the Republic forces. However, the Republic forces escape with the fuel rods before the palace's destruction and return to the Ark, where the fuel rods are installed and the Ark is launched just as the Giant's Spear collapses.
The Hutt Cartel is ordered to supply a new home and credits to the people of Makeb as part of their alliance with the Republic, but the Republic is surprised to see that Makeb's destruction did not come to pass—unbeknownst to them, Darth Marr's Imperial strike team was able to prevent the planet's destruction. As the crisis passes, it is discovered that Regulator holdouts are still alive down on the surface with thousands of civilians who were believed to be dead, leading Supreme Commander Malcom to devote Republic forces towards rescuing the people and securing the still-valuable world.
During this time, the forces of the Dread Masters acquire the Seeds of Rage —powerful dark-side machines constructed by the Sith Lord Fulminiss—when they convince a guard to help steal them from the Arcanum , the Sith Emperor's secret storehouse of Sith artifacts and dark-side experiments.
The Dread Masters bury the Seeds on planets across the galaxy so that they can sow fear and darkness as the Seeds warp the environments around them, prompting both the Arcanum ' s keeper Darth Acina and the Jedi Master Cedral Gend to recruit help in locating and recovering the Seeds.
However, the Sith Lord Tagriss leads a raid on the Arcanum after learning of the station's location, wreaking havoc and making off with the powerful Darkstaff. The Seeds are recovered from the planets where they have been buried, and the Darkstaff eventually traced to the Dread Guard on Belsavis—the Dread Guardsman Varrow has been experimenting with the weapon, but is ultimately defeated, and the Darkstaff vanishes.
Tagriss is tracked down to an abandoned temple on Ilum, where he is experimenting with the Seeds of Rage; Tagriss's death ends the threat that the Seeds pose to the galaxy. When the Mandalorian warlord Rimark captures the plans for the Republic's secret mining facility known as the Void Anvil , the Coruscant Aegis is deployed in the Thanium sector to prevent Rimark from selling them to the Empire, and they also head up a preemptive strike against the Sith Lord Darth Ordrem 's fleet in the Baros system.
The Coruscant Aegis defends the Republic's Ardis Outpost from an Imperial attack, destroys the Empire's Regnant Station refueling outpost, wipes out Imperial starfighters and prototype satellite-controlled mines in the asteroids of the New Cov system , and also defends the Republic's prototype bomber, the Gilded Meteor , on its test flight through the Ferra sector when the Empire attacked it over Hypori.
The Mandalorian warlord Varek Tarn manages to steal the plans for the Imperial shipyard Sovereign Forge and attempts to sell it in the Cha Raaba system , though the Empire's Fury prevents the sale of the plans to the Republic, and the unit also eliminates the Republic's Captain Duma and his plans to hunt down the Empire's top pilots. The Empire's Fury protects the D-1Z prototype bomber from Republic forces on its maiden voyage over the planet Lorta , destroys the Republic refueling station known as the Far Cradle in the Unknown Regions, defends the Empire's Kabal Station from Republic attack in the Outer Rim, and also wipes out the Republic's attempt to lay mines in the Bimmiel system and thereby restores Imperial traffic through the Kanz sector.
Amidst the conflict, the SIS and the Dark Council learn of a new threat—the legendary superspy known only as the Shroud has resurfaced, having gone independent after being hired by the Hutt Cartel to gather information for their planned invasion of Makeb. While the SIS discovers the Shroud's activities through standard intelligence-gathering, the Empire—still without an intelligence organization—instead receives the Shroud's lieutenant Evie Bo , who fled the Shroud's organization.
SIS agent Deena Riss spearheads efforts to track down the Shroud and his agents in hopes of foiling whatever attack on the Republic the spy has planned, while Darth Mortis 's operatives do the same, and it is soon discovered that the Shroud intends to use hyperspace beacons to crash remote-piloted capital ships into both Kaas City and Galactic City. The Shroud's efforts are ultimately foiled, though Evie Bo is killed and the Shroud survives thanks to body doubles.
Styrak gathers an army of mercenaries on the desert planet of Darvannis in Hutt Space, though the mercenaries and the galaxy at large believe they have been gathered to work for the Hutt Cartel.
The Republic learns of the threat thanks to the GenoHaradan, while Moff Varnus Orlec learns of the arms bazaar and mercenary recruitment when the Empire captures the smuggler Shaedo ferrying ordnance to Darvannis. The governments send in strike teams to disrupt the gathering and eliminate the threat they represent, and Styrak is ultimately defeated and killed in a battle with the invaders.
At Styrak's death, the other Dread Masters take their fallen comrades' power, and the Sith Lords begin to advance their plans to destroy the galaxy. In light of the incident on Tatooine involving the Imprisoned One, and the Empire's attacks on Czerka's Corellia facilities, the Republic decided to seize the company's assets and property in an effort to nationalize the collapsing and corrupt organization.
Negotiating a deal with the Republic, Czerka submitted to the Department of Adjudication 's investigations and the Republic takeover. Blys activated a prototype security system called the Vigilant , prompting the Republic to send in forces to breach and secure the facility; the Empire also sent in their own forces to capture CZ in hopes of sealing the deal with Kaayz.
CZ's defenses are unable to hold against the invaders, and Blys unleashes a number of strange experiments against the attackers in a failed attempt to drive them back. Blys is killed, but in his dying moments he unleashes the Vigilant—a massive Flesh Raider who has been merged with the facility's security systems. The Vigilant primes the facility's core to explode, prompting the invaders to head deeper into the facility and battle the Vigilant's droid forces.
The Vigilant is ultimately defeated, averting the facility's destruction, and the Republic and Empire continue to battle for control of CZ When the SIS learns of the Dread Masters' base on the moon Oricon —having sent an independent operative undercover in the Dread Host [23] —the Republic organizes a large fleet supported by Jedi to bombard the moon.
However, the Dread Masters overwhelm the fleet from orbit with their power, and Master Ogan-Dei marshals the remaining members of Strike Force Oricon on Oricon's surface, though many of their forces are driven insane before the Jedi can shield the soldiers. The Empire also sends a task force under Lord Hargrev , who shields his own forces from the Dread Masters's fear powers.
Republic and Imperial forces battle crazed soldiers, Jedi, and Sith as well as the Dread Host; after one faction disables the security around the Dread Fortress , the Dread Masters broadcast their plans to seed the planets of the galaxy with exotic technology and biological weapons that will drive the galaxy insane with fear.
Brontes is the first to fall, slain by her enemies in defense of the fortress, and the other Dread Masters are defeated in battle as the Dread Palace , the inner sanctum of their fortress, is besieged.
However, the four remaining Masters—Bestia, Tyrans, Calphayus, and Raptus—retreat to the heart of the Palace and, supported by the spirits of the fallen Styrak and Brontes, clash with their enemies in a final battle. The Dread Masters ultimately fall, and their mad plan to destroy the galaxy is brought to an end. With the threat of the Dread Masters eliminated, the Republic and the Empire return their attention to each other, and full-fledged war resumes among the galactic powers.
Starfighters clash in engagements across the Kuat sector as the two factions vie for control of KDY. Darth Arkous , the successor to Darth Arho as head of the Sphere of Military Offense , learns of a hole in Tython's defenses and plans an assault to take the Jedi Temple. Both attacks are simultaneous and successful.
Arkous's subordinate Lord Goh locates Arkous's true objective: something powerful hidden in the Jedi Council's vaults. Defeated, Soverus rants about an old man and a vision before the Jedi commander Jensyn cuts him down. Darth Arkous is enraged to learn of the Republic's attack on Korriban, and the Empire's forces land in force on the planet to retake the Sith Academy. Despite the heavy Jedi presence, the Empire retakes Korriban and the Academy, though the dying Jedi commander Jensyn cryptically warns the Sith that "it is happening.
At the same time, Shan warns Darok of the attack on Tython, sparking a Republic counterattack that overwhelms the Imperial invaders. Their suspicions are soon confirmed: Beniko and Shan both track their quarries to the ocean world of Manaan , where they are set to visit Genetics Laboratory G-1 on the ocean floor.
In their search, Shan and Beniko encounter each other, and enter an uneasy alliance as they pursue the traitors who orchestrated the attacks on Tython and Korriban. Their allies pursue Arkous and Darok to the underwater facility, where it is discovered that they have hired the Selkath scientist Gorima to create cybernetic soldiers using Rakata technology stolen from the Jedi and Sith.
Arkous and Darok are part of the Order of Revan, albeit a radical new version that has members in both the Republic and the Empire, and the two escape before bringing down the facility on their pursuers. Shan and Beniko's agents escape the laboratory with the help of the Sith and the SIS agent, and recruit the Wookiee smuggler Jakarro —who was also left to die by the conspirators—in their search for the Revanites. The group's search leads them to the Rakata homeworld of Rakata Prime , where the Revanites have begun embedding pieces of the Star Forge in their conscripts for the Infinite Army.
The allies destroy the Army in its infancy and take down Arkous and Darok atop the Temple of the Ancients , but the true leader of the Revanites arrives with a fleet of warships—Revan himself, reborn after his earlier defeat. Revan bombards the Temple with his fleet, and though the allies escape the planet nonetheless, the Revanites among the Empire and the Republic put out bounties on Shan, Beniko, and Jakarro, forcing them to go into hiding.
Beniko and Shan's investigations soon uncover Revanite activity on the planet Rishi , a pirate haven above the galactic plane, and they find links between the Nova Blades pirate gang and the Revanites. Dismantling of the Nova Blades' operations and command structure leads to the discovery that Revan has gathered a fleet hidden on Rishi, and that the Nova Blades have been raiding Republic and Imperial fleets in order to modify their patrol routes and thus force a confrontation between them above Rishi.
Shan is captured by the Revanites and tortured by his ancestor, who unsuccessfully attempts to turn the agent to his side before Shan is rescued. Beniko and Shan's group is unable to prevent the resulting battle between fleets commanded by Darth Marr and Grand Master Shan, but after disabling the Revanites' signal jammer on Razorback Island , Beniko and Shan are able to report the situation, and the Republic and Imperial forces disable the Revanite traitors among them.
Players control an avatar in third-person view, interacting with the various elements of the game world and other players, and earn their own starship as part of their class story, which functions as an in-game base. Player-versus-player combat occurs in warzones, either Jedi vs. Sith or Republic vs. Sith Empire.
New characters are required to choose to align with one of two factions waging war on each other—the Galactic Republic or the Sith Empire. Several gameplay elements differ between the factions, such as story and available classes. In The Old Republic , players control their character in a third person view that is framed by the user interface, or UI.
While each player can customize their UI, the standard interface features the primary quickbar, an easy-access area for players to place their preferred abilities and attacks, at the bottom of the screen. On the left side of the primary quickbar, a portrait of the player character is featured with their name, class, level, health, and their resources—which vary between Force power, energy, ammunition, or other options depending on the player's class.
The right side of the quickbar features a portrait and health bar for whichever character or enemy is currently selected by the player. Effects that are currently active on the player or the targeted enemy are featured above the health bar.
Various other hotkeys allow the player access to different menus and features. The bottom right corner of the screen is occupied by the mini-map, which can be expanded and customized to show different types of vendors and NPCs.
The bottom left corner features a smaller quickbar, portrait, and health bar for the player's current companion, which can be expanded to access the full range of the companion's abilities.
The middle right edge of the screen will highlight new tutorials that have become available to the player, and the upper right corner is occupied by the mission tracker. The tracker will display the name and objectives of as many of the player's current missions as can fit. In the middle of the screen's upper edge is the menu panel, which allows access to the Character Sheet—where the player can modify the weapons and gear currently equipped to their character and companion—the Inventory, the Abilities menu, and the Skill Tree menu—where players can spend the skill points they receive for leveling up on additional abilities and bonuses—as well as the Mission Log and the Options menu.
The final part of the interface is the chat window, which is in the upper left corner and can be customized to show chats with various groups of users.
Further customization of the UI can add additional quickbars, as well as move the location of the other parts of the interface. In conversations, players watch cinematics until they reach a decision point, at which time they can select one of either two or three dialogue options. Some dialogue options will reward the player with light side or dark side alignment points, and some options cause players to lose or gain affection with their current companion.
A major part of The Old Republic is the ability to join groups of other players and participate in group missions to take on more powerful enemies and gain greater rewards. One player is designated the leader of the group, with the ability to add new members, and the Group Finder feature helps link players from all across the server who are looking to group together for specific planets, Flashpoints, or Operations.
Defeated characters and chests can be looted for credits and equipment, and equipment, gear, and other items can be purchased for credits at the dozens of vendors that are present throughout each planet and hub. A large number of Stims Vendors and a set of Crew Skill Trainers were created for each planet, but many of them were ultimately removed from the final release of the game.
When a player gains a new level, they will often unlock new abilities that must be trained at the various Class Trainers that are scattered across the planets and fleet hubs. Abilities generally fall into three categories: General, which includes abilities that are usable by all classes; Class, which are abilities that can be trained by that specific class; and Advanced Class, which are abilities that are only usable by the player's advanced class.
When a player loses all of their health, they are defeated and their equipment takes damage. Players can choose to wait a brief period of time to summon a medical probe, which will revive them in the same place and give them several seconds of stealth so that they can heal, or they can choose to be revived at the nearest medical center. However, the amount of time one must wait to use the medical probe ability increases after each use until a player revives at a medical center, at which point the time is reset, and Free-to-Play players are unable to use the probe unless they purchase or acquire items that grant them a limited number of uses.
Within The Old Republic , there are restricted areas known as "Phases" that are separated from the rest of the game environment by either green or red walls of light. Class Phases are restricted to a specific class and are the sites of specific class missions and cutscenes, and Group Phases are areas where group missions occur.
Players must form groups to bring other players into their Class Phases, and two players who are not in a group together will unable to enter the same version of a Group Phase and therefore be unable to see each other. Some missions are "Heroic," meaning that they are best completed in groups, and as such their difficulty is increased beyond normal levels. Within Star Wars: The Old Republic , there are a total of eight classes divided between the two factions, Republic and Imperial, and each class has two advanced classes.
If players choose to side with the Galactic Republic, they can decide whether to be a Jedi Knight or Consular of the Jedi Order, a Republic trooper, or a smuggler. When creating a character, there are ten different species available, though each class is restricted to only four or five by default.
Players can unlock the ability to create characters with the other locked species as they progress through the game with that species in another class. The species initially available were the Chiss, cyborgs , Humans, Miraluka , Mirialans , Rattataki, Sith Purebloods, Twi'leks and Zabrak [18] of which, only Humans, Cyborgs and Zabrak are available to non-subscribers , although later updates added Cathar [30] and Togruta [31] as playable species, purchasable through Cartel Coins.
With Game Update 3. Instead of using skill points to purchase abilities and perks from one of the three available trees, which forced players to buy unwanted perks in order to reach perks on higher branches, players choose one Discipline and spend their points on perks and abilities that are designed specifically for that advanced class.
In addition to active and passive abilities, Disciplines included utility selections that are a mixture of old abilities and skills from the original system as well as new perks. The Trooper class is the primary long-range class for the Republic faction, and utilizes a variety of blaster weaponry depending on the player's advanced class. Players initially chose between a Cyborg, Human, Mirialan, or Zabrak before the release of game Update 1.
Vanguards are classified as Ranged Tanks or Close-Quarters Damage, and are equipped with rifles, melee weapons, and shield generators. The second advanced class, the Commando, is classified as either Ranged Damage or Healer, and they carry large assault cannons as their primary weapon.
Both advanced classes share the Assault Specialist skill tree, which teaches the use of explosives and grenades, and the Vanguard's Tactics and Shield Specialist trees deal with close-range combat and shielding respectively. For the Commando, the Combat Medic tree boosts healing abilities, and the Gunnery tree aids in maximizing the damage dealt by assault cannons.
Elara Dorne, Tanno Vik, and Yuun. The Jedi Consular class is one of the two Force-using classes for the Republic faction, and primarily focuses on the use of Force powers for offense and defense over the use of a lightsaber.
Players choose between the Jedi Shadow and Jedi Sage advanced classes. These trees teach stealth abilities and double-bladed lightsaber combat respectively, and the Shadow shares the Force power-based Balance skill tree with the Sage. The Sage advanced class is classified as either Ranged Damage or Healing, and they can train in the Telekinetics skill tree, which benefits offensive Force powers, or the Seer tree, which supports healing and protection, in addition to the Balance skill tree.
Only the Human, Miraluka, Mirialan, Twi'lek, and Zabrak species were available for the Consular class initially, though the Legacy System unlocks the other species. Like the Jedi Knight class, the Consular receives a Defender -class light corvette as their personal vessel. The Smuggler class is the long-range covert class for the Republic faction, serving as the counterpart for the Imperial Agent class and favoring blaster weaponry, stealth abilities, and healing. The Smuggler's advanced classes are the Scoundrel, which focuses on healing and stealth, and the Gunslinger, which wields two blasters and focuses on damage, and both utilize the cover mechanic to fire on their enemies from relative safety.
The Ranged Damage Gunslinger uses the Saboteur skill tree, which adds explosives and advanced technology abilities for prolonged fighting, and the Sharpshooter tree, which works on precision and high-damage attacks, and the two advanced classes share the Dirty Fighting tree which focuses on general damage and avoiding the enemy's attacks.
Only the Human, Cyborg, Mirialan, Twi'lek, and Zabrak species were initially available for the Smuggler though all species are now available, and the Smuggler uses a XS stock light freighter as their starship. The Jedi Knight is the second Force-using class for the Republic faction, and focuses on lightsaber combat with Force powers as a secondary asset.
Players choose between the Jedi Guardian and Jedi Sentinel advanced classes, which focus on heavy armor and dealing damage respectively. Guardians, which wear heavy armor and carry a single lightsaber, are classified as Melee Tanks or Melee Damages, and they make use of the Vigilance and Defense skill trees.
These trees teach single-blade combat and defensive abilities respectively, and the Force technique-centered Focus skill tree is shared by both Guardians and Sentinels.
Sentinels are classified only as Melee Damage and make use of two lightsabers, forsaking the ability to use heavy armor in exchange for increased damage. The Sentinel's Watchman skill tree adds to the player's single-blade offensive potential, while the Combat tree teaches general combat to help quickly eliminate enemies.
Only the Human, Miraluka, Mirialan, Twi'lek, and Zabrak species were initially available for the Jedi Knight, though all species are now available. The Bounty Hunter is the Empire's long-range tank class and counterpart to the Trooper, focusing on blaster weaponry, armor, and damage-dealing equipment and abilities. The Bounty Hunter advanced classes are the Powertech and the Mercenary: the Powertech wears heavy armor and shielding and focuses on defensive tactics, while the Mercenary focuses on overwhelming force, using missiles, blasters, and an array of other weapons.
The Powertech can be classified as a Ranged Tank, Ranged Damage, or Close-Quarters Damage, and uses the Shield Tech and Advanced Prototype skill trees to boost one's defensive technology and to heighten the versatility of the player's gear and skills respectively. The Firebug skill tree, which focuses on missiles and flamethrowers, is shared between the Powertech and Mercenary, and the Mercenary makes use of the Arsenal and Bodyguard skill trees to focus on their rocketry or healing respectively.
The Chiss, Cyborg, Human, Rattataki, and Zabrak species were available for this class initially, though the other species are now available. The Sith Inquisitor is one of the Empire's Force-using classes and counterpart to the Jedi Consular class, focusing on Force powers over lightsaber combat. The Inquisitor's advanced classes are the Assassin , which uses a double-bladed lightsaber and stealth abilities, and the Sorcerer , which relies on offensive Force powers and healing.
The Assassin is classified as either a Melee Damage or Melee Tank, and uses the Deception and Darkness skill tress, which add stealth abilities and defensive abilities respectively, and the Assassin shares the Force-focused Madness skill tree with the Sorcerer. The Human, Rattataki, Sith Pureblood, Twi'lek, and Zabrak species were available for the Inquisitor initially, though the other species are now available.
The Imperial Agent class is the long-range covert class for the Empire, favoring stealth abilities and healing in addition to blaster weaponry. The advanced classes of the Imperial Agent class are the Sniper, which utilizes a long-range blaster file and improved probes to focus on damage, and the Operative, which focuses on healing and stealth.
Both advanced classes utilize the cover mechanic to fire on their enemies from relative safety, and the two share the Lethality skill tree that benefits the Agent's toxin and poison skills. The Ranged Damage Sniper uses the Markmanship skill tree, which adds long-distance damage abilities from behind cover, and the Engineering tree, which benefits the Sniper's probe droids to damage enemies and aid the player.
Only the Chiss, Cyborg, Human, Rattataki, and Zabrak species were initially available for the Agent though all species are now available, and the Smuggler uses an XB Phantom -class prototype as their vessel.
The advanced classes of the Warrior class are the Juggernaut and the Marauder , which focus on heavy armor and damage respectively, and the Juggernaut uses heavy armor and a single lightsaber while the Marauder uses two lightsabers.
The Juggernaut serves as a Melee Tank or Melee Damage and uses the Vengeance skill tree, which focuses on powerful attacks, and the Immortal skill tree, which grants defensive abilities and bonuses; both advanced classes also access the Rage skill tree that benefits Force powers. The Marauder, on the other hand, is a strictly Melee Damage class, and accesses the heavy attack-focused Annihilation tree and the Carnage tree that benefits attack speed.
The Cyborg, Human, Sith Pureblood, Twi'lek, and Zabrak species were originally the only species available, though the other species are now available, and the Warrior uses a Fury -class interceptor as their starship. The only exception to this rule is the Jedi Knight class, which visits Dromund Kaas during the final mission of the class storyline, but otherwise Coruscant is only accessible by Republic players and Dromund Kaas by Imperials.
Four planets serve as starting worlds for two classes, and like the rest of the planets in The Old Republic , they offer a number of secondary side missions that can be completed by any class in addition to the class storylines. The sixteen planets that are not starting worlds or capitals also offer a world arc of interconnected missions, and all of the planets in the game offer a number of Heroic Missions.
A nineteenth planet, Oricon, was added in Game Update 2. Oricon differs from other planets in that while it includes a world arc, it lacks a spaceport and has Daily Missions instead of normal side quests.
Each planet's map is divided into different sections for ease of use by players, and players must explore the terrain and discover each of these sections' own areas to remove the shroud from their map. Bases and points of interest also feature Quick Travel points, which allows players to use a Quick Travel ability that lets them instantaneously travel back to the location from any place on the map with a cooldown time, and taxi speeders, which allow cheap travel between bases with no cool-down time for a small number of credits.
In some cases, we will allow credit to be shared with any player regardless of faction. This should minimize griefing opportunities and really encourage players to help each other out in order to defeat these bosses! In addition to dealing damage to an NPC in order to tag it for credit, healing another player who has damaged that NPC will also grant credit. These are great improvements. It will be really nice to just jump in and participate in an ongoing world boss fight that you see happening.
That said, there will still be major issues. World Boss griefing from individual players will remain quite possible by just taunting the boss and dragging it out of its aggro range, causing it to evade and reset.
It would also be nice if World Bosses were a bit more consistent in the time it takes to defeat them. The more recent endgame bosses like those found on Ossus are okay at this, but it would be better if their health scaled directly with the number of players engaged with it. Vanish abilities are being slightly redesigned to remove unintended use, specifically dropping from combat and reviving in specified situations. For all Flashpoints and Operations, Vanish abilities will instantly drop all threat and allow players to enter stealth at max level, however, players will no longer exit combat.
We understand the benefit of resurrecting more frequently in group content, so we are removing the Operation wide lockout timer from combat rezzing. This is a massive change for PvE and is perhaps the biggest change BioWare has ever made globally to Operations. The big change is removing the 5 minute groupwide lockout on battle rezzing. BioWare has been moving in this direction for a little while now though.
Given that BioWare is now willing to play around with the number of battle rezzes available per fight, this opens the door to a more well-rounded experience throughout raiding. Imagine if rather than putting battle rezzes on cooldowns at all, players were just given a set number of charges of battle rez to apportion for the entire fight. Now imagine if this number were to change depending on the fight and difficulty of the encounter.
Suddenly, SM raids can return to having more punishing mechanics like they used to, but still be quite forgiving if rezzes are handed out like candy on Halloween.
For players that want to do HM and NiM, fewer rezzes could be available, similar to how things are now. This would result in less forgiving fights and raise the requirement for how often players must correctly execute mechanics.
BioWare could also opt to make battle rezzes abundant throughout all difficulties, but only grant achievements if the fight were completed when using X number of revives or less. I am very interested to see how BioWare will end up balancing battle rezzes in 7. This change has the potential to greatly improve or completely ruin raiding depending on how it is balanced. Beginning in 7. Purification Beam Phase 1 -2, cast by Glares at points of diamond-shaped platform : A long conal telegraphed attack.
It deals very high damage over multiple ticks of its channel and is likely to kill the player unless they match the color. The player should match the color and move to the side of the platform to ensure the conal does not go through the group and damage anyone else.
Purification Beam is the most important mechanic to match colors. Radiance takes bottom priority over Polarized Energy Beam and Purification Beam and should only be matched when players are not targeted by any other mechanics. Players should match these colors immediately and preferably in advance once the pattern is known.
It does not hit super hard but is noticeable. The player should move away from the group to take this hit and use a defensive if below half health. It is possible for a player to be targeted by multiple mechanics. For example, during Phase 2 a player can be targeted by Polarized Energy Burst small AoE , Purification Beam long conal and be standing in a boss' Radiance large AoE , any of which could be different colors. In this example, the player should match colors to the Purification Beam until after the channel is done, match the Polarized Energy Burst if it hasn't hit yet, then once both are done match the Radiance color and go back to attacking the boss.
Nahut is a boss encounter with three distinct phases. The second phase has a brief transition to kill some adds then involves the main team kiting Nahut around the room while a few DPS go kill turrets that spawn around the room. Once five turrets are sucked in, the group begins the Phase 3 burn phase that involves moving Nahut around the edge of the room as it slowly fills with lightning and killing it before the group runs out of room.
Nahut has two primary mechanics for the encounter. The first is that Nahut will attempt to remain cloaked during the fight. In story mode Nahut will be visible to anyone within melee range and the person holding the candle.
The second mechanic is a singularity black hole that begins forming in the middle of the room after phase 1, which introduces a variety of physics and AoE effects in the remainder of the fight. Phase 1 begins with Nahut channeling Preparing the Field, a 12s channel that causes pins to be placed on the map.
Sufficient damage can break the cast early and causes fewer pins to be placed. Nahut begins the fight in stealth and will remain in stealth through Phase 1 and Phase 2 unless the person with the Candle uses its Suppress ability.
In Story Mode, while in stealth Nahut will remain visible to the player with the candle and any players in melee range of Nahut. Key Mechanics introduced in this phase are:. Preparing the Field: Nahut's 12s channel that is used at the beginning and midpoint of Phase 1 to place pins. Sufficient damage will break the channel.
Suppress: Ability available to player with candle. It places a 15s duration debuff on Nahut disabling its stealth ability. It has a 40s cooldown so one player cannot keep Nahut permanently suppressed.
Energized Slice: Nahut's conal attack that is used frequently in Phase Keep the boss facing the tank and away from the group as this hits fairly hard even in Story Mode. Mass Distortion: 5s cast ability used by Nahut frequently in Phase It applies a 4s duration debuff that deals increased damage if the player moves i. After the debuff expires, it places a medium-sized blue circle on the ground that deals heavy AoE damage to anyone standing in it.
The basic strategy for Phase 1 is to have everyone other than the tank s stack in the middle of the platform to damage Nahut. The tank with aggro should stand just outside the inner circle right at the edge of the fire vents. When the tank is targeted with Mass Distortion and drops a blue circle, they should move around the inner circle perimeter. As for the candle, a simple strategy is to have the tank hold the candle and use the Suppress ability on cooldown.
This will mean Nahut is stealthed a little over half the time. However, since the tank's position is known the team should have minimal difficulty coordinating with DPS to stay close enough to Nahut to see it. Alternatively, a rotation can be used between 3 DPS-healers to keep Nahut permanently suppressed and visible to everyone.
Once the channel either completes or is interrupted, the same mechanics and strategy should repeat. The team should immediately move to the outside ring at the NW section on the mini-map. Two Power Couplings will spawn and need to be damaged down to 1 health they will not die within 1 minute or the group will wipe. Adds will spawn periodically and should be picked up by tanks and DPS'd down through DoT spreads or direct damage after the Power Couplings are done.
Nahut will target the person carrying the candle with a rail shot attack. The attack cannot be LOS'd and will deal damage and apply a debuff that increases with each subsequent rail shot attack.
Any nearby players take damage and receive a stack of the debuff, so the player with the candle should stand away from the group.
DPS or Healers can take hits of the rail shot. Anyone carrying the candle with too many stacks should pass it to another player. Phase 3 involves most of the team holding Nahut and damaging it while moving around the edge of the room. Also, rail turrets spawn around the room, one at first and then in pairs.
At first, the turrets rail shot attack can be LoS'd to avoid damage until they enrage at which point they cannot be LoS'd. The key mechanics in this phase are as follows:. Energized Slice: Nahut's cleave is very dangerous in this phase as the group is moving steadily and it deals heavy damage. The tank needs to be careful to pull Nahut ahead of the group and facing away at all times. Mass Distortion: The DoT goes out every 14s 10s after each blue puddle drops. The tank will need to re-position Nahut each time and try to position themselves so the blue puddle is dropped in such a way that DPS and healers can readily avoid them.
Gravity Pulse: Happens every 25s. A large white circle around the edge of the room rapidly shrinks down to the middle, then right afterwards the group is pulled around half the distance to the middle. Players should make sure to avoid being pulled into the expanding red circle. Once 5 droids are pulled in the phase pushes to Phase 3. Everyone on Nahut duty should be behind the boss except for the tank who moves Nahut around the edge of the room as blue puddles are dropped by Mass Distortion.
Candle usage should follow a similar strategy to Phase 1. Once 5 turrets are pulled into the middle, the group immediately moves to Phase 4. Phase 4 Nahut?? Phase 4 is a traditional burn phase where the outer platforms gradually become electrified and deal heavy damage to anyone standing on them, such that eventually the team runs out of room to avoid damage.
Also, a red circular line gradually expands leaving the group less and less room to stand to avoid that additional damage. The team gets a brief break of about 25s at the beginning of Phase 4 before the platforms start to become electrified. Any players chasing turrets should immediately rejoin the main group and attack Nahut. This free burn phase is an ideal time to hit all cooldowns, adrenals and raid buffs. Beginning around 25s into Phase 4 and every 12s thereafter, sections of the platform will become electrified.
There are three large outer platforms and each one has four sections for purposes of this mechanic. The section in which Nahut is standinb will become electrified. The tank should pull Nahut to about a quarter of the way across each platform then hold it until lightning pops then move again, and repeat.
DPS and healers should stay ahead of Nahut as much as possible to avoid taking damage from the electrified sections, particularly ranged DPS and healers. Lastly, the red circle expands into the outer platform as this phase continues. Players need to stand out of the red circle, which will mean only using the outer bridge to cross from platform to platform and can be very tight if the group comes close to running out of non-electrified platform sections.
The timing for this phase gives the team almost 2 minutes to kill Nahut before running out of room to stand. The Scyva encounter has 3 phases. The first phase involves killing the droid that initially spawns in the middle of the room.
The second phase involves killing two turrets in the front left and front right corners of the room. The third phase involves killing Scyva itself. The overall objective of the phase is to 1 kill the OPD; and 2 destroy the two generators in the back left and back right corners of the room.
The rail turrets in the front left and front right corners will periodically target players with a conal telegraph, usually healers. If the team groups up near the droid and does not move, this kiting will happen automatically. The droid has several cast abilities that should all be interrupted.
Accelerated Destruction is a 5s channeled attack that deals heavy and increasing damage to its target, while Explosive Force is a 3s cast ability that deals heavy group damage if not interrupted. Also, various small floating droids spawn from the sides of the room and float towards the group. If not killed quickly, they start a channeled attack on players that can hurt and will eventually explode and deal AoE damage.
Phase 2 simply requires killing the two turrets in the front corners. When both generators die or based on a timer, Phase 3 begins. An optional activity that will make damage taken easier on healers is to kill the various Ignition Catalysts that spawn during this phase.
Each one has a long cast that cannot be interrupted and causes the Catalyst to explode if it completes. Killing the Ignition Catalysts prevents the explosions, though these will not wipe the group if they explode.
Phase 3 finally involves the group fighting Scyva, who stays fixed in the middle of the room. The overall fight is a fairly straight-forward burn phase but there are some mechanics to consider and then a special mechanic that deserves its own special explanation.
First a quick observation about sides of the room and gravity. These have unusual effects on things like alacrity and base damage, but more importantly various physics effects have a stronger effect on the LEFT side and less or not at all on the RIGHT side. Atomic Scattering: A cast ability by Scyva periodically.
It deals AoE damage in a radiating circle. The damage is not very high in Story Mode though so typically this mechanic is ignored and healed through.
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