After moving the release date, it will finally happen on August 18, the long-awaited major patch 2.9 arrives on the “Star Wars: The Old Republic” servers and presents players with a new Flashpoint, changes to Makeb, Guild ships, territory wars, and the long-awaited Housing – at least for those who had an active subscription on July 16. We summarize the highlights of the upcoming update for you.
Housing in SWTOR – 4 Walls and 4 Locations
Once a character reaches level 15 and has the necessary credits, they can now purchase their own accommodation, the eponymous strongholds. There are a total of 4 locations to choose from, but only three per faction. Supporters of the Republic can settle on Coruscant, while members of the Empire find a rainy home on Dromund Kaas. However, all players can alternatively acquire a home on the Smuggler’s Moon Nar Shaddaa or on the desert planet Tatooine.
All accommodations vary in size and cost, but multiple rooms can be purchased for each stronghold to gradually expand it. The various furnishings, such as tables, chairs, trophies, or paintings cannot be moved freely but must be aligned to special anchors; however, they can be tilted and turned as desired. Particularly ambitious homeowners can compare their strongholds with those of other players and see how many unique objects they own in the prestige ranking.
Decorations – Now Everywhere!
With the introduction of housing, it is of course necessary to provide players with a certain variety of decorations, which can now be obtained at every corner of the game world.
Some can be obtained for PvP tokens from the vendor on the Fleet, others will be dropped by the final bosses of operations and flashpoints, and a whole bunch of them will be awarded by unlocking certain achievements. Speeders can also be displayed in one’s own accommodation, and access is granted automatically once the corresponding vehicle has been unlocked for that character. Of course, some will only be available through the cartel market or cartel packs.
Guild Flagships – Some Shipyard Will Get Very Rich
From now on, players will be able to play and unlock their own guild ships, but it comes at a hefty price: 50 million credits must be stored in the guild bank and then change ownership for the fancy ship to navigate the orbit. But even then, one only has one level; the other four must be unlocked through effort and credits – the total cost of 125 million will also require many hours of effort, as the additional rooms require different materials to be unlocked, which can primarily be obtained from guild activities, such as the new conquest campaigns.
However, those who endure these hardships will receive a fully operational guild base, which will serve as a hub for all activities – cool ship parties included.
Territory Wars – My Padawan, My Stronghold, My Planet
In weekly rotation, guilds can now fight for control of planets. Each week there is one of 11 campaigns, and up to 4 planets can be conquered per campaign. Once the guild has chosen one of the planets, they must complete tasks on it to boost their score – these can involve visiting flashpoints, defeating world bosses, or crafting specific items; there is something for every player type.
The guild with the most points at the end of the week will be named the “Conqueror of [Planet]” and can look forward to the new “Runner” mounts for the upcoming week, which can only be used on the conquered planet.
In addition to exclusive titles, there will be mainly components for housing decorations and expansion modules for the guild flagship, but also crafting materials will be abundant. If a guild manages to have control over all 15 planets (not simultaneously) at some point, they will receive the legacy title “Conqueror of the Galaxy”.
New Level 55 Flashpoint
Stealthily, the new tactical flashpoint called “The Depths of Manaan” has snuck into the patch. The planet, nearly entirely covered in water, should be familiar to some veterans from the “Knights of the Old Republic” era and will advance the storyline of the “Forged Alliances.” As usual, you can visit the tactical flashpoints without having to take a tank or healer with you – four damage dealers can handle it all on their own.
Makeb Changes: Better Late Than Never
Questing on Makeb will be significantly more enjoyable, as it was quite a steep difficulty curve for many fresh level 50s, especially completing the daily missions will be massively eased. To assist the heroes of the Republic and the Empire, GSI has dispatched satellites that will help players on the planet. Thus, the gear level is set to 156, and as soon as you are in combat, health points will regenerate permanently. Experience gained from exploring the planet will be increased by 250% due to the satellites, and lastly, Makeb is now a little less populated – it was about time considering we’ve been stomping enemies into the ground there since ages.
