Star Wars: The Old Republic

How long has it been since BioWare announced the new player-species for Star Wars: The Old Republic? Officially, it was a year ago at E3. Today, SWTOR explained via fansites that Cathar will finally come in the next major patch, better known as GU 2.1: Customization.

Producer Cory Butler explained that Cathar can be unlocked for 600 Cartel Coins on an account for subscribing, preferred, and free-to-play players alike. Previous species unlocks have been per server only. When asked why BioWare implemented the cat-like race, Butler told SWTORFace, "One of the reasons we chose Cathar is because they are new and unfamiliar to many of our players -- in much the same way as Rattataki and Chiss -- but have been well-received by our players."

Check out the announcement video after the cut.

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The complaints about free-to-play and Star Wars: The Old Republic have been itching at me. Although I'm sure there are legitimate issues that players have with BioWare's F2P model, but with all the vitriol, it's hard to tell the difference between which problems are caused by BioWare and which are misconceptions generated by a dissatisfied playerbase. So I aim to challenge those perceptions. One way or another, we'll find out which side is telling the truth.

For this project, I created a new Smuggler on The Ebon Hawk server. However, I made this character on a brand-new account with none of the perks of my real account. I plan to take this character all the way to level 50 without subscribing. Then, to top it off, I plan to play endgame as well, all without playing a dime. I believe it will be difficult, but I don't think it's impossible. My hypothesis: A player can get what he wants to play SWTOR effectively without paying any real money but by using the GTN and other in-game means to get items from the Cartel Market.

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There's probably no gulf as wide as the one between historical pirates and the pop culture versions that we venerate. As a guy who had a pirate-themed 30th birthday party, I can't say that I'm against our off-kilter brand of scallywags. Neither is reader Phinneas, who sent in our featured screenshot from Pirate101.

"These shots are of the main starting area with my fearsome pirate looking to the horizon for adventures ahead," he writes.

Best of luck to ye, laddie! May the wind be at your back, your enemies in Davey Jones' locker, and a bottle of ginger ale in your belly! Yet pirates are only the beginning of today's adventure through One Shots...

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Star Wars: The Old Republic has finished up the last of eight dev diaries featuring changes to the game's classes following Rise of the Hutt Cartel's release. On the docket for today is the Sith Inquisitor and Jedi Consular, mirrored classes that have mirrored adjustments.

Both classes now have stronger heals (Dark Heal and Benevolence), cooldown-free shields (Static Barrier and Force Armor), and class-wide access to 10 seconds of faster casting and interrupt blocking (Polarity Shift and Mental Alacrity). Both classes also have been treated to a new skill, Force Barrier, which offers total protection for up to 10 seconds of channeling.

There are plenty of other detailed changes to the advanced classes and roles, so check these diaries out if you're in tune with the Force in a way that makes the rest of us jealous.

The dev diary march to cover all of the changes to Star Wars: The Old Republic's classes continues, with today's twin postings focusing on the Bounty Hunter and Trooper.

Bounty Hunters should have an easier go at it now, as BioWare's handing out Hydraulic Overrides and Chaff Flares to everyone. The team also redesigned the Kolto Overload skill to give the class a huge bump to survivability when it activates. Over on the Trooper side of things, the team's brought the class' resource mechanic in line with the Trooper's Bounty Hunter counterpart. All Troopers now get Hold the Line and Diversion skills, as well as a more survival-happy Adrenaline Rush.

The smaller but still significant tweaks to the advanced classes are worth reading carefully if you play one of these classes, as there are plenty to note.

Star Wars: The Old Republic's Game Update 2.0 brings some changes to the Sith Warrior and Jedi Knight classes, and today's two newest dev diaries from BioWare detail the changes.

Aside from DoT and shield improvements, the Accuracy Rating will mean much more towards sustained damage in boss fights. Each advanced class for the two main classes now has new skills and general improvements to the way skills are balanced.

You can read more about the changes that have come with GU 2.0: Scum and Villainy on the official site.

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With Rise of the Hutt Cartel finally open for business, the folks at BioWare are doing their best to educate players on the significant changes in Star Wars: The Old Republic's first expansion. Today sees not one but two class dev diaries itemizing the tweaks and upgrades to the Smuggler and the Imperial Agent.

As both classes mirror each other and use similar skills, the twin dev diaries cover mostly the same basic topics. Alacrity has been buffed to genuinely speed up attacks, DoTs are cheaper to throw down, shields now absorb any type of damage, and accuracy's importance has been raised when you're fighting elite and tougher mobs.

The diaries also cover changes to specific advanced classes and skill trees. BioWare says that it will be releasing similar diaries for the remaining six classes in the near future.

How much of an expansion can you really get from one new planet and five new levels?

I've been subscribing to Star Wars: The Old Republic since launch day, so buying Rise of the Hutt Cartel wasn't exactly a difficult decision. I like the game, I'm pleased with it, and I'm going to pick up the expansion. But the pre-launch marketing for the expansion looked pretty sparse. A new planet was nice, and a level cap raise was great, but it seemed very low-key even for the price point. Ten bucks for one new area and more leveling felt thin.

After a week on Makeb, I can comfortably say that it was worth the price of entry. There have been a lot of changes made to the game with the expansion and its connected patch, and with only a handful of exceptions, those improvements make the game universally better. And it all starts with a reversal of the game's status quo.

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So Rise of the Hutt Cartel descended on Star Wars: The Old Republic last week, bringing with it some new content and five additional levels.

BioWare hosted a series of double XP weekends leading up to the expansion's early release, presumably to aid players in getting a few of their avatars to the level cap. I partook as much as I could, but I didn't quite make it as I'm still sitting at 48 on my Gunslinger. I'm not usually a grinder, but for some reason I found myself disappointed that I didn't hit the cap before it was raised.

What about you, Massively readers? Do you grind for max level when you know a cap increase is on the way, or do you just go about your normal business and enjoy the experience?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

Dungeons and Dragons Online newcomers and veterans alike are quite familiar with the waterlogged Sahuagin and all of their wacky antics. Basically think "level 1 mermaids from hell" and you're right with the rest of us. It's a good thing that the game doesn't have smell-o-vision because the tutorial would be reeking of a fishery, that's all I'm saying.

Reader Sharvis photographed his initial journey through the game and delivered this familiar image of an odd cellar. "Oh great, the Wavecrest Tavern's basement has flooded," he writes. "And who let the Sahuagin in? They're making everything look tacky again!"

We'll get the sump pump working while you check out the rest of today's player-submitted screenshots!

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BioWare world designers Steven Chew and Michael Ammer want you to know about Galactic Solutions Industries (GSI), a new faction that debuts in Star Wars: The Old Republic's Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion. The firm is a weapons research and manufacturing conglomerate, and you'll find its mission terminals scattered across multiple planets.

When your GSI reputation level is high enough, you'll be able to purchase certain rewards from GSI headquarters on Nar Shaddaa's upper promenade. Full details are yours for the reading via the latest SWTOR dev blog.

Looking for a reason to explore those gorgeous Star Wars: The Old Republic environments apart from the usual questing paths? Look no further than the new macrobinocular system that BioWare has implemented with the game's new Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansion.

The new system "allows players to scan and analyze objects far out in the distance, uncovering hidden objects and revealing interesting details about them," BioWare's latest website update proclaims. "There may even be a reward for finding certain hidden objects!"

For more on SWTOR's macrobinoculars, take a look at Massively's latest Hyperspace Beacon.

BioWare co-founder Dr. Greg Zeschuk may have traded in RPGs for craft beer, but the ex-developer still has plenty to say about his former profession. In a phone interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Zeschuk explains why he's open to games consulting and how he doesn't game as much as he used to.

Zeschuk also rejects any notion of Electronic Arts being a negative influence on BioWare. "They don't second-guess you, they don't say you shouldn't do that," he explains. "We had complete creative control over a lot of it; some fans didn't like some of it and some of it was experimental, quite frankly."

Finally, Zeschuk has some interesting insights into gamer culture and the negativity that surrounded BioWare's recent projects. "At the end of the day, for every one person complaining there are a whole bunch of other people who actually like it," Zeschuk says. And while he admits to enjoying the fact that beer lovers aren't prone to arguments and invective like gamers, there's something to be said for that level of engagement. "I think the problem with gamers is you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't. But what it talks to is the power of games as art and the power of games as a medium where people get really, really passionate," Zeschuk explains.