The next update to Star Wars: The Old Republic releases on May 28th. Patch 5.10.3 “The Dantooine Incursion” will take you to Dantooine (surprised?) for a new recurring event. The planet has a lot of secrets on the side in the form of achievements and easter eggs. BioWare closed the Public Test server and released a chunk of new information about the upcoming event. Come with me for a first look at the Dantooine Incursion!
BioWare announced that the new recurring event – “The Pirate Incursion” on Dantooine will be available for two whole weeks after the release. After that it will fall in line for a monthly appearance with the other regular in-game events.
The two weeks will be split into two weekly events side-by-side. This means that you will be able to complete the Weekly missions twice on each one of the characters you decide to bring through it.
Every character at level 20 or above can visit Dantooine and participate. BioWare revealed that if you are level 70 and have completed the Ossus storyline, you will see some unique scenes and lines.
“With war intensifying across the galaxy, you find yourself in a unique position to influence the outcome at critical moments. Once you complete the storyline on Ossus, you’ll find that your pivotal choice there affects certain missions on Dantooine.”
The fact that you can go to Dantooine and do the event at level 20 means that most likely some generic or incomplete cinematics will play instead of the original choice-based ones. If you are not eligible for a specific scene or dialogue, you will see a short standardized placeholder cinematic in its place. BioWare has done this several times in the past (good example are the Story Flashpoints released in 2017 and 2018) to prevent players from spoiling the content for themselves by witnessing events that their characters are not ready for.
The event on Dantooine will surely be the main attraction, but BioWare promises activities in the area even when the event is not running:
“You can still visit and explore Dantooine when the event is not active, and you’ll even find a few Daily Missions unique to the peaceful landscape”.
Dantooine is probably one of the (if not THE) most stuffed areas with achievements, both visible and hidden ones. There will be unfriendly mobs and creatures on each step, sure, but this is typical for an MMO and even more so for SWTOR’s “open world” maps.
What do we know about the event’s story? Let’s check up with BioWare’s most recent article on that subject:
“During the event, you’ll embark on a variety of both Normal and Heroic Daily Missions to support your faction’s interests on Dantooine. The Republic aims to drive off the marauding Nova Blades and thwart the small Imperial strike team sent to destabilize the planet, while the Empire will do anything it takes to weaken the Republic’s hold on Dantooine. The Nova Blades have one goal: plunder everything they can, no matter who gets in the way.”
The return of the conflict between Republic and Empire and the fact that this event will be available to low level players really makes me interested in what did BioWare come up with to cover the gaps and present the same content (with the obvious limits we discussed above) to all players.
Rewards? Sure! And quite a few. The new Reputation Vendor offers a variety of cool items. I mean cool, not just crap generic re-skins. Here’s what you will find:
- Nova Blade and Dantooine Homesteader Armor Sets
- Ugnaught Companion
- Walker Mount
- Kath Hound Mount
- Kath Hound Mini-pet
- Dantooine-inspired Stronghold Decorations
The Ugnaught companion and the new armor sets are the highlights of the vendor’s offerings. The secret achievement (but not the only one!) allowing you to glow in gold* is a little more than a bold money-sink attempt from BioWare, but at least it was done with taste and integrated into the event – it’s part of one of the Heroic missions.
I will have a full guide to the Dantooine map, event and achievements shortly after the patch goes live. During testing on PTS BioWare kept adding and fixing some components and I was not feeling confident enough with the quality and quantity of the content to make a guide based on what we were allowed to test. PTS is now down and we have two weeks to prepare for the next content update to SWTOR. Are you ready… to spend 150 million credits to GLOW IN GOLD?
* BioWare added a secret achievement requiring you to spend 150 million credits to complete. The reward is a 30 seconds long special effect added to your character, which changes its appearance to gold and adds a special glow.
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Based on additional reveals in the coming days from BioWare, it is likely that I will have for you the traditional “Everything you need to Know” article about SWTOR 5.10.3 The Dantooine Incursion shortly before the release. For now, I leave you with this brief preview of the upcoming event and the new explorable area. More details will be available in the full guide I am currently working on and will be adapting/updating when the patch goes live.
