Level Changes in SWTOR Update 8.0

Currently, leveling in SWTOR is extremely quick; players who only follow the main story will almost inevitably overlevel and have little time to truly learn their class and its ability rotation. With Update 8.0, the developers want to ease the pace a bit.

Star Wars: The Old Republic

MMORPG

While leveling will still remain accelerated, overleveling should be significantly reduced. Experience multipliers will be smoothed out, and players who primarily engage in main story missions will no longer automatically reach level 85. Details about specific adjusted EXP sources will be provided by the developers later.

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New Difficulty Levels in Star Wars: The Old Republic 8.0

With Update 8.0, you can switch your difficulty directly in the open game world, between three levels:

Story: Corresponds to the current difficulty in the game.
Veteran: Increased difficulty, reminiscent of the release era of SW:TOR.
Master: For those seeking the ultimate challenge.

The chosen difficulty level affects taken damage, received healing, and likely also EXP.

Important: The difficulty is a purely personal effect, so you can continue to play with friends at different levels. The setting has no impact on instanced multiplayer content like Flashpoints or Warzones.

What are Ventures?

Complementing the new difficulty levels, the developers are also introducing something called Ventures. For this, you create your own Venture character, which is permanently tied to one of the two new variants:

Venture: Classic is linked to the Veteran difficulty and is intended to replicate the classic SWTOR experience. This includes playing through the original era, completing planetary story arcs, learning and developing Crew Skills, and defeating the original story Flashpoints.
Venture: Expert is linked to the Master difficulty and is aimed at experienced players seeking the highest endgame challenge. This involves exploring the galaxy, defeating rare and named enemies, completing Heroics and Dailies, and advancing with characters at level 80 into current eras and areas.

Both Ventures also bring new gameplay during your journey along with their own exclusive rewards.

New Class Abilities in SWTOR Update 8.0

Each discipline will receive a new active ability and a new passive ability starting at level 83. The new abilities will replace an existing ability in an improved form, and the improved version will be considered a shared ability of the respective Combat Styles. Currently, three classes with their new abilities are playable on the test server.

New Operation: Children of Nul

The new operation is called Children of Nul and takes place on the Enigma, the massive ship of Darth Nul. In this operation, you will explore new areas of the ship and uncover further details about Nul’s experiments with the Force.

The operation features a total of 3 bosses, who will be playable in the Story and Veteran difficulties. Currently, the first boss is already available in both difficulties on the test server; bosses 2 and 3 are expected to be included in upcoming PTS updates.

Additional Changes and Innovations in SWTOR 8.0

In addition to the major systems, Update 8.0 also brings some smaller but noticeable improvements. Over 500 equipment items that were previously only available as Fitted Pack items from past Cartel Packs will be retroactively moved to Collections and can thus be permanently unlocked.

Toys are being technically converted into abilities, which includes Cosmetics, Trainers, as well as Rest and Recharge items. Additionally, the developers are improving the persistence of decorations in your Strongholds, making sure that decoration objects like screens or holograms remain reliably displayed.