The only thing better than an enormous update for an MMO you play is free game time, and Star Wars: The Old Republic is rocking both today.
SWTOR's second major update, version 1.2, is now live on the public servers. It has been referred to as the first true content patch for the game, and is exactly that. The patch notes are quite extensive and include the Legacy system that BioWare has been talking about for ages now, a new Flashpoint, an additional Operation for raiders, and even a new Warzone to host Viking-style battles full of people whining about how other classes are overpowered.
There is also some great news today for those who have stuck with SWTOR through thick and thin and even those who have quit the past few months. Players who have active subscriptions are being given a free Legacy Tauntaun Ram Pet (it's kind of ugly so don't get too excited). Secondly, any accounts with an already existing level 50 character have received 30-days of free play time (sorry level 49s!). Lastly, those with inactive subscriptions will be able to play for free between April 13th to April 19th and try out the new patch.
Although patch 1.2 is large, it doesn't offer anything too surprising. The Legacy system was talked about even before beta and should have been in the game at launch, and the UI adjustment system is something we've seen in MMOs for over a decade now. The new content will hopefully be entertaining enough to keep fans of the game occupied for a couple months, but feedback so far has been largely negative.
The patch notes are several pages long, so we've posted some of the hot highlights that might catch your attention. See below:
- Players can now unlock a wide variety of rewards by leveling characters and reaching new Legacy levels, including buffs for your characters, unlocking additional Species choices for every class, and upgrades for your personal Starship. Build your own Legacy with the new Family Tree!
- Lost Island, a new Flashpoint, is available for play! Having uncovered the sources of the Rakghoul plague outbreak in the Tion Hegemony, players must travel to Ord Mantell and confront Dr. Lorrick, the mad scientist who engineered this horrific biological weapon.
- Explosive Conflict, a new Operation, is available for play! The Trandoshan mercenary warlord Kephess has seized the planet Denova, a world rich in resources valuable to the war effort. Players must assault his war camp, situated atop a mountain in densely-wooded terrain, fighting Imperial defectors and heavy war machines along the way. 8- and 16-player Story and Hard Modes are currently available for this Operation.
- Novare Coast, a new objective-oriented Warzone on the planet Denova, has been added to the game. This Warzone, like Huttball, supports same-faction matches if there are not enough members of the opposing faction to be found.
- New repeatable high-level daily missions are available in a new area on Corellia, the Black Hole!
- Guilds now have access to a shared Guild Bank, accessible on the Fleets, with expandable storage.
- A new tier of gear has been added for both PvP and PvE.
- Ranked Warzones are here! Players can now queue up and participate in PvP matchups to rank themselves against the competition.
- Players can now customize their User Interface by moving and resizing UI elements!
- A new level 50 World Boss with a challenge for a well-coordinated 16-player Operation Group has been sighted in the Gormak Lands region on Voss.
- Players can now leave comments on entries in their Friends List in the Social Window.
The full list of patch notes are available on SWTOR's official forums.
