SWTOR PTS 5.9.3 Getting New Patch with Tank Changes

Bioware is planning to push the next patch to PTS 5.9.3, containing several improvements of the Vandin Huttball and the delayed from 5.9.2 Tank Changes

Here are the bullet points for some of the planned changes:

• Made some environmental changes to the map to make it feel a bit less “cluttered.”
• Removed the “box stack” in the center catwalks and replaced them with forcefields. This gives more visibility across the map as well.
• Throw the Huttball will now stay in the first pop-up slot if you also have the Gravity Grapple ability. This should address concerns for players who keybind the Throw the Huttball ability.
• The Gravity Grapple ability should now work when hit with a ballistic from all abilities.
• Baron Deathmark will now yell at you when you kick the Huttball, NO KICKING.
• Added colored arrows around the map to help with navigation.
• Fixed various collision and asymmetry issues around the map.
• To help alleviate some concerns such as being knocked in the pit being punishing and challenges in being able to defend properly, the central air vents on the map will no longer be random. Instead they will now always jump the player back to a defensive position on the catwalk.
• Players are now able to shield Critical hits.

There may be more. All changes will be later on included in the official Patch Notes when the update goes live. If you want to test The Sky Shredded (the new Huttball map), you need to be an active subscriber in order to be able to Install and Access PTS.

Like always, we will be running around playing incognito alongside you! Hop in and don’t forget to pass on your feedback on the new map. In order to participate simply have a character of any level on any faction and queue up within the specific window. As a note, if you end up in an Arena match instead of Vandin, do your best not to leave the match. Instead try to complete it as quickly as possible and then requeue.

SWTOR Game Update 5.9.3: “Fame and Fortune” is currently planned for a live release some time from mid to end of September, based on how testing goes and the amount of feedback the devs get from the community about the new Huttball map.

If all goes well, the Tank Shielding Changes should also be included. These were originally announced for Game Update 5.9.2, but due to a major bug discovered by the devs, they were pushed back for a future update and it looks like 5.9.3 is getting ready to introduce them to us.

Since no list was provided, I assume the changes remain exactly as they were announced for 5.9.2. Below is the original message from Eric Musco, as it was posted on 28th of June.

One of the topics we have seen quite a bit of feedback about is the viability of tanks in PvP. There are a few reasons for this which we would still like to address down the line, but we have one change planned for 5.9.2 which we hope will help their survivability in PvP. This will also help incentivize tanks to wear tanking gear in PvP.

• Critical hits are now affected by Shield / Absorb.

Currently, only regular hits from players can be impacted by shield procs. By including crits, this gives the potential for much more damage mitigation for tanks when being targeted by DPS classes. Here is a very basic example. Let’s say a normal hit would do 1,000 damage and a critical hit would do 2,000 damage. You are a tank and when your shield procs, you reduce damage by 25%. Previously you could reduce the normal hit to 750 damage, but would always take the 2,000 from a crit. After 5.9.2 you can also reduce the critical hit damage down to 1,500. This allows shield and absorb to be a direct counter-stat to Crit Rating for DPS classes.

There are two playtests planned for this Weekend:

• Saturday, 9/8 10AM: 12PM PDT (5PM – 7PM GMT)
• Sunday, 9/9 10AM: 12PM PDT (5PM – 7PM GMT)

This is, of course, assuming the PTS gets patched with the new build.