New SWTOR Content Coming

Alongside the announcement of SWTOR going Free to Play in the fall, five new bits of content are coming up. Dates have not been announced yet.

New operation: Terror from Beyond

A raid raid takes us to planet Asation to fight a variety of new bosses and to stop the rise of the "Dread Masters". This operation is one of the things that you will need to be subscribed for to experience. I've been having a lot of fun helping new players complete operations over the past few weeks. Sitting back and experiencing the story backbone of the operation is far more gratifying than blasting through content in an attempt to be first on the server, for me at least.

New warzone: Ancient Hypergate

That new planet, Asation, features here again. With the promise of "new game mechanics" the addition of another warzone is greatly appreciated for anyone who loves PvP. The benefits that Free to Play willbring to PvP are exciting. More players means more time fighting and less time in queues.

New space combat missions

This is a Godsend for anybody who likes space. I find space combat missions to be a great way to make credits ingame. Unfortunately, until now, there have only been a couple of viable missions at level 50. All the lower level missions don't make anywhere near enough credits to bother spending your time on. With 10 new level 50 missions this will no longer be an issue. If you're a Cybertech crafter, start stockpiling ship parts now!

HK-51 Assassin Droid Companion

HK-51 has been hiding in game files since before the game was launched. Players will finally be given the opportunity to participate in an epic story line with this awesome droid as a reward.

Cartel Market and Coins

Although at this time we don't know who is running this Cartel ... is it the Hutts, Bounty Hunters, or do the Jawas have their act together ... but cartel coins will be rewarded to subscribers, for subscribed players, the amount being based on how long you've played for. That's right, if you been a subscriber since launch, you will be paid for every month you subscribed for. Prepare to deck out your toons with some sweet gear.

SWTOR Free to Play This Fall!

With this surprising announcement this morning from EA, the biggest questions are, how will it effect the current subscribers, and why is SWTOR going free to play?

Obviously many people will come to the conclusion that the game must have failed. As an active subscriber, with multiple toons, I can tell you that the population is healthy. Although it's not booming, it's greater than a lot of other MMOs out there. So why go free to play?

The free to play system is what we in sales and marketing refer to as a "puppy dog close". This type of close, as in the end pitch of a sale, is designed for products that a sales rep is confident that the consumer will love once they experience it. And once they have invested time into the game, they'll be more than happy to pull out their credit card and finalize their commitment. Now the free to play system that BioWare are launching for SWTOR gives you full access to the character story line, but only gives you limited access to flashpoints, races, auction houses and other crucial game elements. It also gives you no access to end game operation (raid) content. After you have invested hours with your beloved character, if you want to participate in end game content you will have to subscribe.

Flashpoints: Do's and Don'ts

Hey guys and gals, just thought I'd list a few of the basic rules when looking for Flashpoints and getting into a group to do them.

First of all what are Flashpoints?  For the most part Flashpoints are important story line sequences which offer a social and entertaining side line away from your normal missions. Flashpoint couriers usually take the form of Droids on the Imperial or Republic Space stations and are also scattered around various planets as well.

Flashpoints are level based. The first one is found as you leave your starting planet where you have learned the basics of combat and how to play your character.

Do's

1) Try to get into a balanced group, for example a tank, healer and a couple of dps. The beginning one is reasonably easy and will give you a basic understanding of group encounters.

2) Try to be understanding of new players and be as helpful as possible.  These encounters are not the standard "dungeons" that most WoW players are used to and the roles required by each player can change during a Flashpoint. Sometimes a player will be needed to off-tank or interrupt special abilities; other times they might just need to do as much dps as possible.

3) Listen to the story lines and enjoy them.  Obviously repeated occurrences of the same Flashpoint will make you want to skip through options but be courteous to players who haven't done the Flashpoint before and want to listen to the story line.

4) Asking people if they would like to join should never be a problem. Most likely you will notice in the general chat multiple people asking for members to specific encounters. Sometimes people tend to ignore this chat and sometimes getting asked to come do a Flashpoint can be a nice breather from missions etc.

5) Enjoy yourself.

[Editor's addition 6) don't go AFK without at least informing the group if an emergency comes up.]

Dont's

1) Be rude or overbearing. Obvious reasons.

2) Actually most people should know how to behave so I won't go into these issues of etiquette.

3) Don't be scared to ask questions on how to better play your character in an encounter. Some people will no doubt not expect this and may act rude or unaccommodating but the majority of people will see this as an opportunity to try and work together.

4) Don't be afraid to try new things.

[Editor's addition: 5) don't start a Flashpoint if you know you won't have the time to finish it, unless you've cleared it with the group first]

These listings are pretty much commonsense but one important thing I've noticed about all of the Flashpoints I've done so far is that they are far more geared towards the social aspect of the game with gaining social points and unique pieces of gear, than that of gaining or farming experience. Quite frankly some of these encounters are very long and you should only do them if you have the time and want some unique entertainment and social activity. [Editor's addition: be prepared to set aside up to two hours]