BioWare has announced Game Update 7.2.1 for SWTOR! It contains 64-Bit, Galactic Season 4 and PvP Season 2, initiatives to combat economic inflation, and some changes to PvP medals. Not everything is available on the PTS, though BioWare is strongly encouraging players to test things out this time around.
64-Bit Client update and testing progress
BioWare released 64-bit to the PTS for testing back in December and has released several updates since then to fix bugs and crashes associated with the upgrade.
Everybody wants a smooth rollout of 64-bit, and in order to accomplish this, BioWare needs as many players as possible to download and log onto the PTS so they can test it out on as many system configurations as possible and fix crashing before it’s released to Live.
Many of you will remember the headaches associated with the launcher upgrade last year, so if you want to minimize the problems for you and your friends, you can hop onto the PTS for a moment and if your computer crashes or you notice anything weird, follow BioWare’s instructions in this post.
I especially recommend briefly hopping onto the PTS for this update if you’re using a potato/toaster PC or more unusual hardware configuration (think Xeon, Threadripper, ECC Memory, Quadro, not Windows, etc.) since your parts are less likely to have been tested by someone else and you may be more likely to experience crashes.
Here’s the data from the January 2023 Steam Hardware Survey for Windows showing the most popular hardware. The less average your computer is, the more important for BioWare it is that you go onto the PTS, though it’s still a good idea to go on the PTS anyway for this update, just in case.
PvP Season 2: Piercing the Veil – rewards preview
PvP Season 2 is called Piercing the Veil and seems to be taking heavy influence from things like samurai, shinobi, ninjas, and bones. We can only see the armor sets and one title based on what is previewable on vendors and in collections so far. The character title is called “The Unseen”, which is pretty great for any of the stealther combat styles.
Just like with PvP Season 1, it seems there will be 1 model with 4 variations that alter either the color or presence of VFX/lights.
Here are some shots that better show off the added VFX and potentially a new vibrosword weapon:
We didn’t get any weapons with Season 1, only armor, so it’s possible that weapon will be from the CM, but I think it’s more likely to be some sort of PvP Season Reward.
The weapon itself looks to be a heavily modified version of the Ancient Force-Imbued Blade (included in the in-game preview). The grip is basically identical, but the blade is different. It’s more jagged and damaged, red, glows at the base, and only has 1 leather cross instead of 3.
The actual Season 2 Rewards track has not been updated yet and achievements seem to have been copied. It’s unclear if BioWare will be incorporating one of the most common complaints about how you need to do twice as many Arenas despite them not taking half the time.
Galactic Season 4 and New Mek-Sha Stronghold
We don’t have too much information about Galactic Season 4 (GS4) yet other than it will be called “A Passage of Peace” and the companion will be named Amity. Given the name of the season and the fact that amity means “a friendly relationship”, I would guess that the companion would be a Jedi or (very) weird Sith, but this is pure speculation.
We’ll also be getting a new apartment stronghold on Mek-Sha similar to the Fleet penthouses. It doesn’t appear to be available on the PTS yet though.
I can’t say I’m too excited for a Mek-Sha stronghold, but BioWare seems to like this planet a lot given its incorporation in seasonal events and its location for the entrance to the R-4 Anomaly Operation.
At least we’ll have a place to put all those Mek-Sha decos that don’t match anywhere else at all. The inevitable asymmetries, centering issues, and design flaws will also be slightly more forgivable at such a scrappy location.
In general, there is basically nothing on the PTS about Galactic Season 4 at the moment. The only thing that seemed to be updated was Ki’at Thavo with some of the rewards from Galactic Season 3 purchasable for 2-5 GS Tokens:
Strangely, that vendor still contains the GS1 rewards (Altuur, Exquisite and Ornate weapons, Teithek mount, etc.), but nothing from GS2. It is still the PTS though and it seems like GS4 is still very much a work in progress.
Combatting Economic Inflation
BioWare is finally attempting to tackle the economic hyperinflation we’ve been enduring for the past few years starting with a few initiatives:
- Quick Travel now has a credit cost associated, with a minimum cost of 100 credits and a maximum cost of 5000. The cost to travel is dependent on the distance traveled.
- Priority Transport Terminal now costs the original planet travel costs to transfer between daily areas.
- Travel to Strongholds now costs the original planet travel costs to transfer between planets.
- Repair cost formulas have been adjusted across the entirety of the game so that repair costs increase in relation to item level.
- Durability of equipment should now be lost at a LOWER rate on death, but a slightly HIGHER rate in normal gameplay.
Notably, it does not appear that the credit cap has been increased past the existing 4.29 billion. Many players want the credit cap to be increased thanks to high inflation and this should be more doable with the upgrade to 64-bit. The 4.29 billion credit cap likely exists because the largest number that can be (easily) expressed with 32 bits (that is 32 1’s and 0’s) is 2^32, which is 4,294,967,296.
It’s perfectly reasonable that BioWare is holding off on making changes dependent on 64-bit until after they get it fully working so it’s still possible that a credit cap increase is in the works, perhaps with 7.2.1 or a future update.
However, it’s also reasonable that BioWare doesn’t want the existing credit cap to be an issue in the first place, so it’s also possible that they aren’t increasing it because it shouldn’t (and hopefully won’t) be an issue as we start feeling the effects of their efforts to mitigate inflation.
These changes are quite small, and I’m not sure they’ll do anything substantial to combat the billions in circulation, but BioWare is definitely aware that these are small changes and offered the following explanation:
“We understand that there is demand to fix things now, but we are taking special care to introduce these measures over time as correcting the economy is not something that can be done overnight. Immediate implementation can have the opposite effect and potentially crash the economy instead.
We have been identifying key areas where improvements and changes can be made, and weighing how these will impact both the player experience and the economy. Our general economic balancing goals are as follows:
- Reduce tax/credit cost avoidance
- Reintroduce credit sinks as some were removed in the past
- Adjust inflow in certain repeatable content
- Use these changes as opportunities to improve the experience while also reducing credits
- Monitor how these changes impact the economy over time and adjust accordingly if needed
I’m glad that BioWare is finally attempting to address inflation, though it does feel like these things are too small to do anything consequential at all beyond hurting the poor. Perhaps they want to get the economy trending toward balance and then they’ll make a bigger move like replacing credits with a new currency.
A day after the initial announcement and the launch of PTS 7.2.1, SWTOR Lead Game Producer Eric Musco responded to the feedback from the community regarding the planned changes. He called them “a starting point”.
Changes to PvP Medals and the Opal Vulptilla
BioWare also wants players to hop into a match of Alderaan Civil War on the PTS so they can test out increases and additional avenues for how Attacker and Defender Points are earned, resulting in it being easier to earn Attacker and Defender medals, even if your team is losing:
- Defender points per tick have been increased from 500 to 700 points per tick.
- Turret Control Zones have been increased.
- When within the control zones of a turret controlled by your team, you will receive 500 defender points when defeating a player.
- When within the control zones of a turret controlled by the opposing team, you will receive 500 attacker points for every player you defeat.
BioWare says they plan to roll out changes to other maps as well to make earning medals easier, but they’re starting with Alderaan because it’s one of the more popular maps and is also similar to maps like Yavin IV and Novare Coast.
In order to encourage and facilitate players testing out these changes, devs will be queueing on the PTS on Friday, February 10th at 1:30 pm CT and everyone who completes a warzone on the PTS will receive the coveted Opal Vulptilla mount.
New Cartel Market Items
There are a few new armor sets listed in Recently Added in Collections on the PTS, which typically means they’ll be coming at some point after the next update.
Armor Sets
There are 2 armor sets listed, but only one set has a unique preview. The sets are named Mandalorian Pilgrim and Wasteland Tech’s Armor Sets.
If I had to guess, this look’s more like something that would be called the Wasteland Tech Armor Set. We can see that the hood is not interacting properly with the helmet yet and in its current state, will look ridiculous without a helmet on.
Weapons
Some of these weapons are inspired by the Sand People and the Book of Boba Fett show on Disney+, including the Jundland Cycler Blaster Rifle and Sniper Rifle along with the Elite Warrior’s Gaffi Stick, which is considered a double-bladed vibrosword.
There’s also a series of blasters called SK-47, though only the blaster has been modeled so far. I think this is a reference to the one that Cassian Andor used in the new series Andor, also on Disney+.
The SK-47 Blaster Pistol also comes with a holster and that almost works properly with these pants, though the leg straps are part of the pants, not the holster, and don’t line up perfectly.
Upgrades to Ability Visual Effects and Animations
BioWare is continuing to make steady progress on updating and enhancing the VFX and animations for combat abilities. For Static Barrier, the 2D circle that always faces you seems to be getting replaced with an actual bubble effect that looks like a purple version of the shields from R-4 Anomaly and Kolto Shell.
The size of Static Barrier doesn’t match that of Force Barrier, though the current animation of that ability hasn’t been updated yet. The bubble also feels a bit empty compared to the current effect because there are fewer arcs of electricity from the body to the barrier. It doesn’t feel like it’s quite done yet, but it’s definitely a great start
Force Armor got a similar treatment and thankfully, the size of both Force Armor and Force Barrier match. The effects have a similar unfinished feel to it. The VFX on both bubbles are fully animated.
In addition, both Lightning Barrier and Telekinetic Defense, the utilities that turn their respective bubbles into quasi-reflects also have dedicated VFX instead of just copying Pyro and Electro Shield.
While these enhancements definitely look cool in solo content, I am a bit concerned about their impact in group content where you have 8 players’ abilities going on at the same time. It’s already quite distracting against some giant bosses like Titan 6 and the TFB where the effect scales to match the size while some abilities like Plasma Probe and the new smoke effects on Merciless Slash and Incendiary Grenade occlude vision directly.
I’m also a bit concerned that BioWare has yet to address some of the problematic issues with animations and VFX concerning abilities like Plasma Probe, Force Breach, Turbulence immediately into an instant ability, Telekinetic Throw, Vigilant Thrust, and Mag Shot.
The Future of 7.0 and 8.0
We aren’t done with modernization. Right now, we know of a crafting system revamp and continued UI improvements. We’ll probably also see some sort of improvement to textures similar to what we got on Ruhnuk, lighting and shadow enhancements thanks to the new shader, and perhaps an upgrade to a newer version of DirectX.
It is unfortunate that so many resources are diverted from content, but once it’s all over, I think SWTOR will be in a much stronger position. I strongly suspect that we’ll be in 7.0 until BioWare wraps up these modernization efforts. We haven’t gotten a new Flashpoint, Warzone, or Lair Boss (Hive Queen, TC, etc.) in quite a while, so I imagine those are next on the docket for BioWare.
NiM R-4 might also happen in the coming months, though I’m not convinced that we’ll get a NiM for this one raid at all, even though BioWare originally said it would have one back when they announced 7.0.
BioWare typically releases the NiM version 6-8 months after the initial release, and we just hit the 6-month mark last week, but R-4 is in a rougher state compared to other operations.
There continues to be almost no semblance of balance between the roles in HM, as in only 1 fight is normally done with the proper 2-4-2 composition, and even that can be solo-healed while mechanically, much of the Operation feels much harder than your average HM.
Fight pacing is also hit-or-miss as some phases are way too long or short while major bugs continue to plague raiders like infinite loading screens, battle rez not working consistently, players not showing up as alive in the raid frame, and the buggy nightmare that is the Nihrot hallway. How can you release NiM with the base in such rough shape?
Despite all that, I do expect that 8.0 will mark a complete return to normalcy so that they get an infusion of new and returning players coming into a far more modern (and hopefully more polished) experience.
SWTOR will be in real trouble if 8.0 isn’t as good as 7.0 was initially billed to be. Thankfully, 6.0 was received better, so we know it’s not impossible for BioWare, and they will have all these modernizations in place offering an improved experience.
As a final note, I couldn’t figure out anywhere else to put it, but I wanted to mention that the Minimap once again has scrollable zoom on the PTS. It also has a new arrow that points north, which is helpful to those that have the map orientation locked to their character’s direction.
