Hmm, Back in SW:TOR Am I.

Well, well, well we've been on a break for 5 months or so but we're now back together - I'm playing Star Wars: The Old Republic again and oh how things have changed.

The biggest of these is that it's now Free to Play**, which I'm sure has brought a good few people back to the game after the shinyness of release wore of and players left in their thousands after the game was left wanting on broken promises. With a F2P account however you are limited to what you can do, see this comparison table to get an idea of how limiting it is. That being said if you really are limited in your available game-time then it may be ideal for you.

I decided, with a few e-friends to pick up things on Empire as after playing the Republicans (I gave them that name!) we found the character story-lines much more enjoyable on the baddy side, and hey, who doesn't like electrocuting people...

Crackle, crackle!

I'm currently getting to grips with gearing up my Juggernaut in the new kit that's available post the F2P transition. I've nearly completed by War Hero set and once that is done I'll begin the "Elite" War Hero set (must have taken ages to come up with that name) as you can't get the Elite without first obtaining the lesser set.

Sithage.

I have subscribed for a month and will assess the situation after that to see if I'm still enjoying it, but as things stand I am. They have added a little more PvP content to the game, albeit a sole new warzone but it is enjoyable and there's always something to do when you're playing an MMO with friends or have to grind out gear....

Ish


** In my eyes you're severely handicapped as a F2P player only.

Oppy Operative

Pew pew!

When my guild - Fallen Legion were deciding as to what SW:ToR server to roll on, I didn't think that 4 months into my Star Wars experience I'd be re-rolling onto a new server due to a severe lack of players. Well that's exactly what's happened and we lifted and shifted from our PvE Republic side server (Peragus Mining Facility) over to a PvP Rule-set Empire side server (Tomb of Freedon Nadd).

Now I was rather enjoying my Scoundrel on PMF and ANNOYINGLY I was half a level away from 50, which made the re-rolling pill that little more harder to swallow, but I did for the good of the guild - what a team player this guy is!

I have stuck to my guns, and my class selection on the new server by rolling an Imperial Agent Operative and from what I've experienced so far (up to level 21 at the time of writing) it's as good, if not a smidgen more enjoyable over the Scoundrel. However that is to be taken with a pinch of salt as I'm only level 21, but I do prefer the dagger over the shotgun for looks ;)

On a more negative note, patch 1.2 is due shortly and to me it's like being given £50 in your one hand and then your severed leg in the other, notable because of:

• Backstab now has a 12-second cooldown and deals approximately 5% more damage

This is one of the most frequently used skills and it's getting an additional 25% cooldown duration slapped onto it, which is going to play havoc with carefully researched rotations.

• Hidden Strike now has a 7.5-second cooldown

Another cooldown crotch-kick as HS currently is instantly usable, however with this substantial CD, it is again going to be a complete swine for worked out rotations. And we thought the last round of nerfs we go were the only ones.....Ha!

There are some pretty useful buffs too, but those are quite heal focused and I didn't roll a DPS char (read: Kinda DPS) to pump out heals in either PvE or PvP.

Ish

Ordered SW:ToR, I have.

So after much debate and mulling I have finally done it .....pre-ordered Star Wars: The Old Republic. It took me a good while to finally take the plunge, but they way I think of it is that this is the only real MMO I have an interest in until Warhammer 40k comes out in 2013 so I may as well give it a go.

So the next question I have to answer is what class will I be playing? Well, during my MMO gaming years I've grown accustom to playing more DPS orientated careers with some sneakyness and stealthyness thrown in too, therefore I plan to roll a Jedi Consular at launch and specialise down the Shadow path.

This entails pretty much what the official gubbins states:

I'll no doubt have a play with other classes, including the Empire ones but for the short-term I think this one will take up the majority of my time.

PvP is a big deal for me in MMOs too and if you've not seen the latest Voidstar Warzone (PvP) Trailer then here it is:

If like me you were originally sceptical about the PvP elements in SW:ToR then the amount of info that's been released detailing what's in at launch should help ease those worries, regardless of what may come post launch. And we all know the story element to the game will be well done, so that makes me think they will continue to build on the PvP elements further down the road.

Ish