Tag Archives: The Beej Republic

SWTOR PvP Guide – Valor Titles, Ranks, and Medals Explained

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SWTOR Sith Inquisitor Force StormOutside of the fantastic story you get while leveling up in Star Wars: The Old Republic, the most interesting part of the game for me is PvP. Unfortunately, it’s hard to jump right in because the system can be a little overwhelming.

Even so, it’s awfully hard to find a comprehensive guide to SWTOR PvP. So I thought I’d do my best to put one together. This entry is going to cover Valor Titles, Valor Ranks, and Medals earned while in Warzones.

 

Valor Ranks and Titles

First of all, you have to know what Valor is. Valor can be considered “PvP XP” because you gain it by completing Warzones (you can queue up for Warzones by clicking the faction icon on the lower-right of your minimap—but only after you reach level 10.)

As you gain Valor, you gain ranks, up to Rank 100. However, you cannot have a higher Valor Rank than your character level, so Ranks 50-100 can only be gained at max level.

SWTOR PvP TitlesFor every 10 levels of Valor you gain, you get a new, special title for your character.

The titles—up to Rank 100—are as follows:

  • Valor Rank 10 – Skirmisher
  • Valor Rank 20 – Duelist
  • Valor Rank 30 – Gladiator
  • Valor Rank 40 – Centurion
  • Valor Rank 50 – Champion
  • Valor Rank 60 – Battlemaster
  • Valor Rank 70 – War Hero
  • Valor Rank 80 – Conqueror
  • Valor Rank 90 – Warlord
  • Valor Rank 100 – Elite Warlord

 

Warzone Medals

SWTOR PvP Warzone MedalsAs you compete in PvP Warzones, you may notice that you gain medals. These medals increase your rewards for participating in the Warzone, but only up to a certain point. You can gain as many medals as possible, but you will only gain rewards for the first 8. These medals appear as a buff near your character’s lifebar.

For each medal, you gain the 250 Valor and 5 Warzone Commendations (used as currency to purchase PvP weapons, armor, and consumables).

While 8 medals may sound daunting, it’s really not. There are some 34 medals you can be rewarded.

  • Offense Basic – 1k Attacker Points
  • Offense Bronze – 3k Attacker Points
  • Offense Silver – 5k Attacker Points
  • Offense Gold – 7.5k Attacker Points
  • Offense Platinum – 10k Attacker Points
  • Offense Diamond – 15k Attacker Points
  • Defense Basic – 1k Defender Points
  • Defense Bronze – 3k Defender Points
  • Defense Silver – 5k Defender Points
  • Defense Gold – 7.5k Defender Points
  • Defense Platinum – 10k Defender Points
  • Defense Diamond – 15k Defender Points
  • Dauntless I – 10 Minute Victory
  • Dauntless II – 9 Minute Victory
  • Dauntless III – 8 Minute Victory
  • Dauntless IV – 7 Minute Victory
  • Dauntless V – 6 Minute Victory
  • Dauntless VI – 5 Minute Victory
  • Demolisher – 2.5k Damage Single hit
  • Annihilator – 5k damage from a single attack
  • Combatant – 75k Damage Dealt
  • Destroyer – 300k Damage Dealt
  • Commando – 10 Kills
  • Soldier – 25 Kills
  • Quick Draw – 1 Killing Blow
  • Assassin – 1 Solo Kill
  • Shield – 5k Defense
  • Protector – 50k Defense
  • Guardian – 2k Defense in 1 Life
  • Paladin – 10k Defense in 1 Life
  • Healer – 75k Healed
  • Savior – 300k Healed
  • Medic – 2.5k Single Heal
  • Trauma Surgeon – 5k Single Heal

In order to facilitate participation—i.e. no one AFKing their way through the Warzone—you must earn at least 3 medals in a Warzone to gain any reward at all.

I think that about covers it, but if I’ve missed anything or you have any questions, be sure to leave a comment, hit me up on Twitter, or shoot me an email.

Picture of the Day – “May the Fourth Be With You!” Edition

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When I was a teenager, Star Wars – Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast was new and awesome. It, however, lacked one crucial feature: the ability to choose your character’s species. So I fixed that by modding my game files, and Kyle Katarn the human became Kyle Katarn the Chiss.

So when Star Wars: The Old Republic announced Chiss as a playable species, my hopes were high that I would be able to finally have my Chiss with a lightsabers. No such luck. Chiss were limited to non-Force-sensitive classes.

However, with the advent of Patch 1.2, the Legacy system allowed universal species unlocks, and my nerdy teenage dream became a reality. I now have a Chiss with not one, but two lightsabers. Awesome.

SWTOR Chiss Jedi Sentinel

May the Fourth be with you. Always.

 

SWTOR Exit Survey

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My SWTOR account is on the way out. I decided not to resubscribe, but I have no doubt that I may eventually go back. Give the game a year or so, maybe less, and it may be worth the price of the subscription.

Since BioWare didn’t have a very robust comment system upon cancellation, I thought I’d fill out my own, brief exit survey.

What Did You Like Best About Star Wars: The Old Republic?

The story.

One thing BioWare does without parallel is tell a story. The narrative pulls you in and really doesn’t let go. Despite glaring technical issues that prevented me from finishing my class quests, the class quests are by far the best part of the game. Between the high-quality voice acting and writing, you almost forget the gameplay is standard themepark MMO fare.

Every planet has its own story, which isn’t that different from most MMOs–each zone usually has its own self-contained narrative. However, in SWTOR, the player is compelled the care. Some planets are fantastic (Vossvossvossvossvoss!), while others are simply mudholes you want to leave ASAP (Balmorra, that would be you).

Give the game a few years and a couple of expansions, and the storylines alone will be worth the price of a month or two here and there. As it stands, there just isn’t enough variety to warrant an extended stay. Like Keen and Graev said, this is a 3-monther.

What Feature Did You Like Least About Star Wars: The Old Republic?

Honestly? You want my honest opinion here? Really? Well, you asked for it, remember.

The worst feature of SWTOR is its online component. As a single-player game, Star Wars: The Old Republic is great. There is a ton of content with lots of extras and secrets. I mean, two separate factions with 4 distinct storylines each? That’s a lot of stuff to do!

But what if you want to play with a friend? Well, too bad! You can’t! Or, well, you can…but it’s not nearly as cool as if you had done it alone. Despite the inclusion of the tacked-on social points system, the game is about you. Not you and a buddy. The vast majority of the game can be enjoyed alone, and that’s great…because you will most of the time. You’ll find a person here and there while questing, but even on a PvP server, I wish you luck interacting with them. They’re off doing their own thing while you’re doing yours. Talking or fighting together (or each other!) would just slow you both down.

If You Could Improve One Aspect of Star Wars: The Old Republic, What Would It Be?

I would make gear mean less. As soon as players hit level 50 (the current level cap in SWTOR), the gear grind begins and the game moves from being a pretty cool single-player RPG into a fairly mediocre MMORPG. The playerbase begins fighting amongst itself, nitpicking about DPS numbers or mitigation percentages, or just measuring their epeens and proving–beyond a shadow of a doubt–that your purpz are indeed greater-than-sign mine.

If I had it my way, gear would mean less. It would mean something, but the people with the best gear wouldn’t be tiers above people with the worst. They’d be maybe–maybe!–15% more powerful. Just powerful enough to give them an advantage in any given situation PvE or PvP, but not enough that player skill wouldn’t be able to make up for it.

Without a focus on gear, players could then focus on more important aspects of online gaming, such as building a community. Ultima Online proved this kind of gameplay was possible. Sure, people with magic armor and weapons were tough (who didn’t hate fighting a Lumberjack with a Vanquishing axe or a Fencer with a tribal spear?), but if you had a better combination of skill, keybinds, and luck, anyone could beat anyone or anything else.

Final Thoughts?

One: Chiss with lightsabers. Please. Please.

Two: SWTOR stands distinctly as two separate games–one that demands a monthly fee for a story that would be better told offline and one that spent too much time in development limbo to incorporate advances in the genre.

How much is SWTOR Worth?

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Me: “I don’t think I’m going to be sticking with The Old Republic.”

My wife: “Wait, you paid $150 for the stupid collector’s edition and aren’t sticking with it? Are you serious?”

The discussion then proceeded into her asking me if the extra stuff was worth it, to which I answered a solid.”Actually, no. It’s not.”

Now, I’ll get my money’s worth eventually.  I intend on playing SWTOR for a while (around 4 months to justify the cost vs. purchasing other games), but I can’t see myself playing for the seven years I dedicated to World of Warcraft.  Instead, I intend on playing Star Wars: The Old Republic as though it were Knights of the Old Republic 3, experiencing the various stories and classes with the endgame gear-grind only a tingle of a thought in the back of my mind.

If you’re like me, you’ve been fiending for BioWare to release KOTOR 3 for the better part of a decade.  So when they announced the MMO entry of the franchise, the online addict in me rejoiced.

As an MMO, SWTOR is every bit as polished as any other triple-A MMO (and more than most). But what about as a single-player game? I mean, it wouldn’t be a BioWare title if the storyline didn’t take precedence over anything else, right?

Well, yeah.  And the storyline’s are good.

So it’s KOTOR 3, then?  Or just as good as?

Eh…well, maybe.  Kinda.  Let’s just say that I’m torn on that particular point.

Having made my way to level 50 on my Sith Inquisitor, I can honestly say that the game’s leveling content is phenomenal. The class quests are brilliant, and each planet has its own enthralling narrative.  The flashpoints (instances) are hit or miss, with some being story-driven and others being WoW-style dungeon crawls.  Depending on your preference, there have to be a couple you’ll really enjoy.

The thing is, though, SWTOR is still a themepark MMO with straight-outta-Azeroth combat (don’t let the no autoattack fool you; it’s WoW combat with a laggier UI) and The Burning Crusade‘s endgame.  Only with lightsabers and a fantastic story.  If that’s not your kind of game, let’s just say these aren’t the droids you’re looking for.

After having done a week’s worth of dailies and PvP, I’m tired of the game at 50.

I still have a lot of content to see (especially as my class quest bugged just a little into Chapter 3–I’ll have to finish it up once BioWare figures out how to fix me), but I’m having a hard time making myself log into my 50.  Instead, I’ve been playing a Jedi Guardian and Jedi Shadow, trying to decide which one will let me most enjoy the Republic’s storylines.

Given that I kind of dread logging into my main, I have to ask the question, is SWTOR worth it?  After splurging on the CE to my wife’s chagrin and setting up a subscription, is SWTOR worth the time and the money?

I think so, yes.

The leveling content is good.  Real good.  Awesome good.

While the gameplay mechanics may be old-hat and the endgame a carbon copy of The Burning Crusade, the narrative is solid BioWare.  And if  the developers are even half as good as Trion in producing regular updates, then you’ll definitely see a lot of value for your subscription. (The first patch they’ve announced already includes a new 4-person flashpoint and additional raid bosses, so they seem to be on the right track.)

If you’re a sucker for a good story, The Old Republic is worth every penny.

In fact, the more you can immerse yourself in the narrative and get over the fact that you’re repeating planet quests on alts, the value of the game skyrockets.  At just $15 a month, getting 200+ hours of gameplay (which is what BW estimated each playthrough should have) isn’t a bad deal.

But if you’re an endgame junkie, if min-maxing is your thing, and you have to grind for gear, points, progression, whatever, I’m not sure that The Old Republic is the game for you.  It’s probably not even close to worth it because the content just isn’t there yet.  It will be eventually, but right now, there just isn’t much variety for that playstyle.

Personally, my plan is to experience the stories, work through the Republic side of the planets, and hook up with friends whenever we can.  I’m not worrying about gear or progression or even seeing the raids and level 50 content just yet.  I am going to be playing other MMOs at the same time (F2P offerings, actually–Dungeons and Dragons Online and DC Universe Online are my current mistresses) and doing what I can to enjoy myself and not burn out.

As a game, SWTOR is worth it.  As one’s sole hobby, it’s not quite there yet.  You’ll have to determine how and why you play MMOs to see if it’s worth it to you.

 

The Beej Republic: A Week of SWTOR

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On December 13th, I got up at 5:45am, turned on my computer, and waited to see if I was one of the lucky few who got in the first wave of early access to Star Wars: The Old Republic.

A few failed login attempts later, and I found out that I was. After a few frantic minutes of creating junk characters on multiple servers to save the three names I want to use for my primary characters (Damien, Lesser, and Beej on the server “Prophecy of the Five” if you care), I settled in for my first week of my next MMO.

And it was glorious.

SWTOR is not without its issues and bugs, but for the most part, I haven’t seen an MMO release with this much polish since 2004 when World of Warcraft sucked me away from Star Wars Galaxies. Even after just a week of early access, I can safely say that if BioWare allowed for lifetime subscriptions, I would snag one as soon as my free month runs out.

Your Own Saga

Taking a page from Syp’s book, I decided to play a single character until the level cap of 50 before even starting an alt. From the moment you start in SWTOR, you feel as though the entire game is about you.

Now, there are other people running around, and The Old Republic is very much an EverQuest/World of Warcraft-inspired themepark MMO, but the way BioWare structured the narrative, that doesn’t matter. This is Knights of The Old Republic 3 for all intents and purposes.

After 7 days of taking my sweet time, I’m level 30. The leveling has slowed down significantly over time, and the story has only ramped up. Just before the servers were taken down tonight, I hit level 30, finished chapter 1, and unlocked the Legacy system–which I’ll get to soon.

The end of Chapter 1 is intense to say the least, and it is certainly compelling me to keep playing. I find myself leaving planets before I run out of quests because I finish the class quests and want to move forward with them. I don’t think that will happen nearly as often now that I have unlocked my legacy and don’t have another narrative-oriented goal to work toward.

Overall, BioWare has done a great job implementing the story, and I fully intend eventually to go back to the planets I didn’t give my full attention initially–except for Balmorra. That place is a mudhole.

The Wyrmsbane Legacy

In Ultima Online, my character’s name was Damien Wyrmsbane. In EverQuest, it was Dammiienn. Star Wars Galaxies ushered in the days of Damiiyynn the Wookiee Jedi, and in World of Warcraft, my first character was a warlock named Wyrmsbane.

So you can see, being able to log on early and snag Damien on a few servers and eventually unlock The Wyrmsbane Legacy is just that–my old characters’ legacy continued into a new MMO.

I don’t know exactly what the whole system entails (here’s hoping for new race/class combos so we can have Chiss with Lightsabers), but now all of my characters on “Prophecy of the Five” will have the surname Wyrmsbane, whether they’re Empire or Republic.

I’m very excited to see how BioWare expands the Legacy system in upcoming patches.

And just in case you’re wondering, the end of Chapter 1 unlocks the Legacy, which for Sith Inquisitors is right after the class quests on Alderaan. I assume other classes are similar.

Crafty McCrafterson

I hate crafting in MMOs. I can’t remember a game in which I’ve ever really enjoyed it. But in SWTOR, I don’t actually have to craft; my companions do it for me. All I have to say is “go do it” and 10-60 minutes later, they come back with loot of some kind.

Then I reverse engineer it (disenchant it, for emigants from Azeroth), learn the upgraded version of it, then send them out again to make the new and improved version. Then I repeat it until I can make the best version of that item (green, blue, purple progression).

Initially, you only get one companion. So you have to choose either to adventure without him or her or to craft. But once you get a ship, you get the failbot droid who you can send on missions while you bring your other companion with you. The more companions who join you, the more you can have out gathering and crafting for you.

But I warn you: crafting can get very expensive. I wouldn’t worry with it too much, as you will find replacements for the gear you can craft pretty regularly, but if you do it occasionally, you can get a decent Prototype (read: epic) item every few levels through reverse engineering.

Also, every character needs to take Slicing as a gathering profession. I don’t care if you think you want it or not. Take it. It’s just like you’re printing money. You send a companion (or companions) out for 2,000 credits. He or she comes back with between 1500 and 5,000 credits in a lockbox. Badabing Badaboom. Free money.

I don’t know how long the skill is going to stay like this, but right now, I’m riding the gravy train with the rest of the 1% and being able to buy pretty much anything I want whenever I want it. Riding skill for 40,000 credits at level 25? Easy. 210k riding training at 40? I had it before I was even 30.

Seriously, level Slicing. Thank me later.

Looking the Part

I decided to go with Empire for two reasons:

The first being that I thought the Sith Inquisitor storyline/voice acting was stronger than the Jedi Knight/Consular. The story is–initially, at least–full of more intrigue and politics, and that’s what I love.

The second reason was that I wanted to be a cool Darth-type character. I wanted to wear a hood and a mask that made me sound robotic like Vader or Malgus or even Revan. So I did my research, and after noticing what Dark Side Corruption looks like on various races, chose to make my guy a bald Sith Pureblood solely because of how it would look with a hood/mask.

And when I found my first mask…my hood went away. Oh, well, that’s no big deal, I’d rather have the hood. So I turn off my helm graphic and go about my merry way.

Then I find a half-mask on a vendor. It was Heavy Armor. Crap. Sith Inquisitors (or at least Sorcerers; I’m not sure about Assassins) can only wear Light Armor. I pop it into the item preview window anyway, and lo and behold, it shows up with the hood.

Cool!

But I can’t wear it. I look around, ask some folks, and the people from beta tell me that those masks don’t come in Light Armor. Not even moddable Light Armor.

So here I am, playing a character who looks a very specific way because of a costume, and I can’t get that costume. Lovely. I can’t even change the way my character looks to give him hair now. Even lovlier. I really hope they put in some kind of barber shop/image designer soon, or I’m going to be one unhappy man. #firstworldproblem or not, it’s irritating.

Problems, Bugs, and Issues

The graphics on this game are great. Really great. In fact, they’re so great, you probably will never get a chance to see them look great. There’s a nifty thread on Reddit’s r/swtor about running SWTOR on max graphics settings.

I took it’s advice, and what do I get? Pretty graphics that run at under 20fps whenever there’s anything going on. A few client_settings.ini tweaks later, and I’m doing just fine with my old 9800 GTX+. But there is still a good amount of lag when I hit the fleet and when I PvP.

I really hope that BioWare makes some improvements to the engine through patches and makes the game smoother for folks. Until then, it feels just a little clunky, but nothing games like RIFT and Warhammer Online haven’t also dealt with, too. In fact, Warhammer Online was much worse than SWTOR in terms of graphics issues.

Another issue that I haven’t experienced yet is the planet Taris has a quest tracking memory leak. I don’t know when a fix is going in, but until it is, I will be avoiding Taris except for my class quest.

Probably the biggest issue for me right now are the login queues. WIth times reaching upwards of 2 hours for some servers before the game even officially releases, I’m not exactly looking foward to seeing what they’ll look like in the coming days and weeks.

BioWare has said they are aware of the issue and are working on alleviating some of the waits, but that doesn’t seem to be happening. I wish they’d take RIFT‘s strategy and open up a ton of servers for launch and then allow free transfers or mergers once the tourist population drops to a sustainable level

I don’t care about the rhetoric about server communities and all that. I just care about being able to log in and play a game I pay for in the time I have to play it. I shouldn’t have to decide 2 hours early that I want to play a video game and then go prep for it. I just want to type in my info and go shoot lightning out of my hands.

The Force is Strong with this One

In the end, Star Wars: The Old Republic does exactly what it set out to do. It doesn’t do anything new with the MMO genre, but what it does, it does well. The emphasis on storytelling gives the genre a much-needed (for me, at least) boost of immersion and rates really highly on the Make-Me-Give-A-Damn-O-Meter.

I think I’ll definitely be sticking with this one for the long-haul, even if the end-game isn’t anything but raiding. The PvP is awesome, the crafting is actually fun, and any new story content that gets put in is just icing on the cake. With 8 individual class stories to play through, I don’t think I’ll be getting tired of SWTOR‘s main draw any time soon.