The Other Stories

I have been thinking a lot about the extended story in SWTOR. Being a subscriber I am fully utilizing the 12X XP boost. I love it, I have played a couple classes that I never would have had we not gotten this boost. One of the hardest decision I had to make in game was while leveling my Trooper. I love the battle that raged in my mind while making that decision. Had it not been for the 12X XP, I would most likely never had experienced that. The 12X XP boost is a nice gift for subscribers and I thank BioWare for it.

Now, as I wonder around the galaxy in a blur from planet, starship, asteroid base and back to another planet, I reminisce about the many quest I pass by. Some, if not most of you, likely don’t even give them a second thought. But I find myself looking back on a lot of them fondly. I know, you think I am crazy, and I might be. Those were some really good stories. I continue to do all the side quest on the starter planets, it doesn’t take a whole lot of extra time and I really enjoy them. I have also done one or two of the side quests on each planet as I go through them. It’s weird, but I feel like I am missing something if I don’t at least try to do a one or two of them.

 I’ve enjoyed collecting currency to prove a senators corruption, escorting a cheating wife and struggling with killing her or not, finding a room full of carbonite frozen leaders and talking to a droid that sounds a lot like John Wayne. Helping the Padawan find Jedi relics, shutting down the empires drug facility and finding a piece of Revans history. Getting Revans mask and becoming a Revanite. How many Esh-Kah have I killed anyway? And those damn Rakghoul. What about cleansing the crop fields, and finding out exactly what Czerka was hiding on Tatooine.  And finally, winning the battle of Corellia. Those are but a very few that most of us no longer experience.

I truly feel sorry for the Dev’s that put their heart and soul into creating these stories, only to see them made pretty much irrelevant for subscribers. And what will become of them when KotFE goes live? I will be sad to see them go if that’s what happens.

So take some advice, before dismissing them completely, do a couple of the extended stories. Especially the ones you liked doing. 10 – 15 more minutes on a planet won’t kill you. I am pretty sure you’ll thank yourself later if you do.

Please let me know what you think!!

The Force will be with you, Always.

1977

1977, standing in front of a movie theater, holding my dad’s hand waiting to get in to see Star Wars. I was 10 at the time. Little did I know that in the next few hours my imagination would go from 0 to 1000. What was about to infiltrate my 10 year old brain was beyond comprehension. To put it in T-7 terms “Mind = blown”! How many books have I read? How many games have I played? How many times have I watched and re-watched all the movies, in a row? How many web sites have I gone to? All the magazine articles I have read.

                The reason I bring this up is, I started to look at the 1000+ screen shots I have taken with my Collector’s Edition camera in SW:TOR. I was surprised that there were so many. I took pictures on every planet that I visited and took pictures of just about everything on those planets. Building, signs, companions, iconic characters, water, trees and even pipes. Pipes?? At one point I must have thought it was interesting. The many memories of the last few years are all kept in those shots. They remind me of the reason I truly love Star Wars: The Old Republic. It’s a beautiful and amazing game. So many plot twists and turns. The many iconic moments in every story. I never get bored of it.

                Now, with the new expansion, Knights of the Fallen Empire, everything is changing. I don’t fear change, it can be very good. Honestly, after the announcement I have seen an influx of people coming back or playing for the first time. On all the planets you always hear, “Just coming back after watching the new trailer, looks like it’s going to be great”. The new/returning players are pretty pumped to see what’s in store. BioWare is getting back to its root of storytelling. And I must admit, I’m really excited. Nothing grabbed my attention like the story did. Not Operations, not Flashpoints and not PvP. Looking back at all those screen shots, I could tell you what part of the story I was in. I could remember how it felt to be in that moment, at that time. Forging my first light saber, being betrayed, not once but twice, watching your old Master die, or reveling in killing your old Master, watching your ship fly off without you. I could go on.

                I believe that the new story is going to be great. I can’t wait to make meaningful choices. I look forward to being surprised by what happens next. I eagerly await October so a new chapter can begin, in all of my characters stories.

Thanks for reading and may The Force be with you, always.

Questions Questions Questions

I know I said I was going to talk about the Sith Warrior companions but I really wanted to get this off my chest.

With the announcement of the new expansion, Knights of the Fallen Empire, many questions have come to my mind. A lot of confusion swirls around the expansion and we aren’t getting a lot of answers. As I have said before, I love speculating so I’m not sure I really want to know the answers to the questions I have. I worry that it will take away from the excitement and experience of playing through the chapters the first few times. Do I really want to know what happens to every companion in my crew? Is knowing now what has happened to Vitiate going to spoil the story? Why do I need to know how and why I get put into carbonite? How does Lana find and de-thaw me? I could go on but I think you get the point.

When SWTOR first came out I saw things on the web that spoiled some of the story for me. I regret that. As excited as I was for the game to come out, I tried to find any and all information I could to devour. I forgot the one thing that I was looking forward to the most, the unknown. The unknown excited me, made my anticipation grow and grow. But seeing that stuff almost ruined it for me. I got to the point that I stopped looking, and only read the official BioWare reveals. And that was just enough to keep me going until I got into the BETA.

Having said that I really only want to know one thing about SWTOR and its future with KotFE. What is happening to the MMO aspect of the game? They have said they are concentration on story at this time, but how much does that take away for the group content? One of the reason I play this game is because for the most part, the community is great. I have fun talking and hanging out with them. I don’t want to lose that. I don’t want to run around a station and see nobody else. If I am going to pay for what is supposed to be an MMORPG then I need to know that, that’s still going to a big part of the game. In the coming weeks I sincerely hope that BW drops the “MMO bits” they have talked about to ease my concerns.

Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think!!

May They Force Be With You    Always

What Companions Will You Keep?

I've been thinking about the whole companion situation in the new #KotFE expansion. We know that Lana Beniko will free us from the Cabonite and if we sub by July 31'st then we will get Nico Okarr as a companion. A few things have been said about the other companions, implying you will be able to keep or get rid of them. That could be a very difficult choice if you have become attached to them. What ones do you keep and what ones do you let go? And what about HK and Treek? We paid for those comps. If they take them out of the mix what kind of compensation are we going to get for them? And how will all this play into crafting?

Lets go down the list of comps and decide what ones I will or wont keep.I will do this in the order we receive them.

1. T7-01:

 This little droid has been around for a very long time. He was in the Jedi Temple at the time the Sith destroyed it. He lost his owner, Master Zallow in that battle and went on to server the Jedi on Tython. I like T7. Its too bad though I only used him until Kira unlocked and in the Dark Temple at the end of the JK story. I maxed out his affection so I could get mats for crafting quicker but other then that, I never really used him much.I feel sorry for him, he has been through a lot of owners. But he has no real practical use for me at this time other then a gatherer. T7 is one I can see leaving behind. The difficulty will be if you have to make a choice of turning your back on him or just letting him serve in a different capacity.

:Won't Keep



2. Kira Carsen:
Child of the Emperor, smart ass but all around good person. She brings a different type of attitude to the Jedi Order. One I think more people should adopt personally. Unlike many others I don;t romance companions. I find it silly. But to each their own. The thing I like about her is she fought the Emperor and won. Pushing him away, something very few have done. And that's gotta count for something. Especially with Valkorion, She's fought that battle and knows what it takes. I think she could be invaluable at this time.

:Will Keep



3. Archiban Kimble (DoC):

This will be a tough one for me also. I really like his attitude. And he is a great healer. However, if you get to keep Treek then you don't really need him as your healer. The main reason I will keep him though is for crafting. He makes meds better then anybody. And that's the crew skill I utilize the most. @werit has a blog (www.weritsblog.com) about crafting and if he is correct there may be no need for crafting anymore. I'll have to research if Doc, after 55 is a better healer then Treek. Again, another hard choice.

:Undecided


                                                                                              4. Lord Scourge:

I like what Scourge brought to the JK story. I freaked out a bit when I first met him on Quesh. I remember thinking about just what exactly he meant when he said "What a mystery the Force can be. I came seeking a traitor but found you instead. The time draws near". After saying your little bit about knowing you he says again "Many know your name. Some whisper it, others shout it. I alone recognize what it means.You're strong and touched by darkness. That is unexpected. An advantage? Possibly". Other then that again, I had no use for him. I gave him all my old armor once I upgraded mine and sent him to get mats for crafting. Maybe I missed the boat on him but other comps seemed to be much more useful.

:Won't Keep


5. Fideltin Rusk:
I may be totally off base here but to me, this is the single most worthless comp for the JK, Its like they forgot to add a 5th comp and hurriedly added him. Again, other then using him for collecting mats he is useless to me. I am trying to think of a time I even called him to come fight with me.

:Won't Keep.






Well there you have it. My thoughts on each of the Jedi Knights companions and if I will keep them or not. Of course, all this could change depending on how the process of replacing them comes about. I doubt, as a fully light side Jedi I would send them to their deaths. So we shall see.

Next week I will go over the Sith Warrior companions and decide on them as well.


Thanks for reading and as always please let me know what you think.

May the Force be with you. Always.

Speculation

1. spec·u·la·tion

   ˌspekyəˈlāSH(ə)n/

   noun

   noun: speculation; plural noun: speculations

   1. 1.

      the forming of a theory or conjecture without firm evidence.

   
   

I know what you're thinking, after I totally missed on my last post I am going to do it again?? C'mon, we all love to "Speculate"!!! How many of us do it on a daily basis? I sure do. Especially if it's something I know almost nothing about but really enjoy. Okay enough about speculating and on to speculating.

The announcement of the new expansion, Knights of the Fallen Empire has really brought a new buzz to the SWTOR universe. I've heard more chatter about the MMO since E3 then I had in a very long time. It reminds me of the excitement that surrounded the game before launch. Many of us scouring the internet, looking for any morsel we can sink our teeth into for information.The "Sacrifice" trailer has over 2.6 million views on YouTube. Needless to say I think the hype is real.

 I actually went through and played a Jedi Knight, 1-60 once again on the Jedi Covenant server to see if there were any clues about the new expansion. Below is two things that were said that caught my attention:

***SPOILER ALERT***(Don't read if you haven't completed "Shadow Of Revan and Rise of the Emperor and have avoided information gathered about Knights of the Fallen Empire)

(This is from the Jedi Knight point of view but is relevant to all I believe.)

 

1. On Rishi, when doing your Jedi class quest "Old Scars", Master Orgus Din says " There are dark times coming, for the galaxy and for you". You ask him "if he has seen what's to come?" He admits to "just a little" and sends you on a quest to clean yourself of the scare you got at the Emperors hands the first time you went to take him out. This is to prepare you for those future events.

2. The Emperor says a couple interesting things also, "I have already cheated death, I have other plans now, as you will see.I have decided that life is more interesting with you in it....When I am finished here - when every life on this world has been exhausted, I want you to be alive.To know that I succeeded. Goodbye."

Orgus could have easily been talking about the upcoming events with Revan and Ziost. But I feel like there was more to it then that. Orgus was a stud, and I know he says this is the last time they will meet but I really wish they would find a way to have him come back again.

Now to what Vitiate had to say and how it correlates to the KotFE. Vitiate does not like you, at all. As Darth Marr said "you possibly wounded him more than any other has." Vitiate doesn't just want you dead, he wants to hurt you. Torture you. Make you feel so much pain that you are begging to die. 

XamXam in her blog(www.xamxamsays.com) did a great job of going through several scenarios as to how Vitiate and Valkorion are intertwined. I subscribe to the one where they are brothers or related somehow. They are of the same mind and if you hurt one, you hurt the other. And that's the reason why Valkorion, instead of killing you, captures you, puts you in carbonite and waits to un-thaw you at the very end. When he can show you the full destruction of everything you once knew. So you can see the last sliver of light leave the galaxy as you know it. Then he leaves you alive, tortured and broken.

Speculation

(Please forgive grammatical errors, I need to find me a proof reader.)

Knights of the Fallen Empire & "Sacrifice"

Okay, here I go. This whole blogging thing is new to me so take that in mind as you read this please.

The recent announcement of EA's Star Wars: The Old Republics new expansion "Knights of the Fallen Empire" really has a lot of us who play the game scratching our heads. I'm very excited for the expansion and am seriously considering subbing for 6 months, instead of just month to month, to make sure I get all the goodies.

I want to go over my opinion as to why we may be frozen in carbonite. I had to think about this for some time. Some of the question that came to mind were, For what reason did you get put into carbonite freezing? Did you make the choice your self, or did somebody else talk you into it? Did it happen by some sort of subtlety? Did one of your companions betray you? This and many more. In the end I decided on one scenario that makes the most sense to me.

In a vision, Grand Master Satele Shan see the destruction of both the Jedi and Sith empires to the hands of Emperor Valkorian, the twins and his armies. She also realizes that Valkorian is in fact Vitiate, and at the end of the vision she sees the possibility of you destroying him at a later time. As Jedi like to say " always in motion the future is". And because they believe that, she has two options. Let you help fight now, hoping the vision changes because of you and your abilities or, put you in carbonite and hide you someplace remote and safe. She would then give someone the task of finding and unfreezing you at a given point in the future. That person would help you until you're back to full health, and give you all the details of what happened in the past time you were asleep. And if the battle is close enough and your presence may turn the tide she would unfreeze you early. I guess that's three options. And so that's where the story starts for us.(Insert Darth Marr more Sith).

Let me know what you think. I will be eager to hear more theories!!

Thanks for reading!!

Treyan.