Check out the Changes Highlights and the full patch notes for SWTOR Game Update 7.2.1, which was released on March 28th, 2023. Find out what this update brings to the game!
The Highlights for Update 7.2.1
The update includes the 64-bit game client, a new stronghold on Mek-Sha, PvP Season 2, Galactic Season 4, initial efforts to correct economic inflation, improvements to PvP, and hundreds of bug fixes.
Going 64-Bit: what it means for the game
This is super simplified, but SWTOR currently uses a 32-bit game client and it’s getting upgraded to 64-bit with 7.2.1. The number of bits refers to the number of 1’s and 0’s that can be strung together (easily) to encode information and data.
For example, if you were to encode each (natural) number as a unique sequence of 1’s and 0’s, you’d be able to get up to the 232nd number before running out of unique sequences. 232 happens to equal 4,294,967,296, which some of you may recognize as the credit cap for an individual toon.
This limit shows up in other places too, most notably in how much RAM the game can access (about 4 GB). For comparison, 264 = 18,446,744,073,709,551,616, which is equivalent to 16 exabytes or 16 billion GB!
Now, just because BioWare can make changes that leverage these new capabilities doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a good idea to implement them right now. You don’t want to start building on something before you have a solid foundation.
BioWare spent about 3 months with the 64-bit client available on the PTS and incentivized players to test it out by rewarding those that did with the Opal Vulptilla mount in order to maximize the chances of a smooth rollout of just the 64-bit client.
Imagine the calamity that could happen if they decided to implement features that were reliant on 64-bit if the new client itself was unstable!
Why did BioWare bother to do this and what would be the effects? The immediate effects will likely be unnoticeable for the majority of players in the community. This is an infrastructural upgrade that is expected to allow the developers to build better and more consistent new content on a platform that allows it (or has fewer restrictions, if you prefer).
Here are some of the benefits that BioWare expects and hopes that players have or will notice with the initial implementation of the 64-bit to SWTOR:
The newer hardware that most of us have in your machines is optimized for 64-bit and this is one of the reasons BioWare also updated their tech that detects and recommends at what settings you should run your game.
Larger and more densely populated areas (The Fleet is a great example) should yield smoother FPS and better overall experience. BioWare finally fixed the framerate limiter. It has been broken for a very long time.
Personally, we (I and Vulkk) did not see much of a difference. Vulkk claims his FPS on the fleet is more stable, but it’s tough to tell if there is a difference.
Edit from Vulkk:
I’ve been having good performance in SWTOR for years and since my most recent upgrade to a 4090 last year, it’s been consistently at the level cap. Where SWTOR’s engine struggled, it continues to struggle today. I still see dips in certain areas and the fluctuations are not gone. It does feel like the FPS is more stable and therefore performance seems kind of smoother. I haven’t had enough time to test and experiment as much as I’d like to, so for now I will leave it with an open end.
If you want to know more or are experiencing issues and need a workaround, you can learn everything about SWTOR 64-bit from the dedicated article we have on that topic.
Mek-Sha Safehouse Stronghold
The Mek-Sha Safehouse Stronghold is available for purchase in exchange for 14 Galactic Seasons tokens. It’s a two-story apartment with four major areas, a main room with vaulted ceilings, two side rooms that span both stories, and a small loft that connects to a large balcony on the second floor.
For more information, check out the full tour and preview of the Mek-Sha Safehouse! The full guide will be available soon.
Galactic Season 4: “A Passage of Peace”
Galactic Season 4 is called A Passage of Peace and features a new Force-wielding companion named Amity as well as a reputation track called Messengers of the Cold Moon. The Galactic Season 4 brings new Rewards Tracks – one for Free and one for Subscribers where you can earn cosmetics, currencies as well as trophies and reputation tokens for the new companion and reputation.
Related:
- Galactic Season 4 Guide and Rewards List
- Amity Companion Mission and Messengers of the Cold Moon Reputation Guide
PvP Season 2: “Piercing the Veil”
PvP Season 2 is here with new rewards on the 25-level track with the same structure of armor sets, decos, titles, and PvP Tokens.
The armor sets have similar elements to the ones from PvP Season 1, but with a clearer emphasis on being samurai. They will last for 12 Weeks, putting the end date for PvP Season 2 on Tuesday, June 20th.
The achievements for completing 25 of the arena and warzone weeklies in order to get extra PvP Seasons Tokens have also been reduced to only requiring the completion of 12 weeklies.
Check out the dedicated PvP Season 2 rewards overview and vendor lists article to get the complete picture of what is available and how you can get it during this season.
PvP Changes
7.2.1 also features several changes aimed at improving the overall experience in PvP, especially in terms of matchmaking and medals.
Matchmaking
Many players have complained about getting matched up against a large group while playing alone or with a buddy, resulting in a one-sided match. Since people want to actually play the game and aren’t interested in sitting in a queue for ages, the matchmaker ultimately has to balance queue times against good matches.
With the new update, BioWare is making it more likely that large groups will be matched up against each other by making it take longer before the matchmaker will pit a group against individuals. This can result in longer queue times, but will mean in more balanced matches.
The next step would likely require them to reinstate the 4-player limit on queuing as a group in PvP instead of the current 8-player limit introduced with 7.2, but I don’t think that is super likely. BioWare has shown throughout this game’s history that they would rather a bad PvP match happen than have no match at all.
Medals
Many also complained that it was too difficult to reliably get 8 medals to be able to progress through the season track. In order to remedy this, 7.2.1 will be lowering the requirement to 7 medals for both the PvP Weekly Objectives and be considered highly decorated for all rewards purposes.
BioWare will be making map-specific changes over time as well so players can more easily earn medals from playing well. With 7.2.1, they have made adjustments to Alderaan Civil War to increase the size around the nodes where Attacker and Defender points can be earned and increased the amount of those points given for defeating enemies and defending.
Mitigating Economic Inflation
With 7.2.1, BioWare is taking their first steps to mitigate the hyperinflation we’ve been experiencing, including adjusting repair costs, equipment durability, adding small costs for Quick Travel, and eliminating free planetary transport via Strongholds and the Priority Transport Terminal.
These changes are deliberately minuscule and will do little to reduce inflation right now, but BioWare doesn’t want to crash the economy while trying to fix things. They have plans for other, more significant measures in the future.
I suspect that BioWare plans to first add the necessary credit sinks that would make an already healthy economy sustainable. Only once all the credit sinks are in place and the inflation rate has plateaued, would it be reasonable to do a more massive change like introducing a currency to replace credits.
There isn’t much of a point in making such a significant adjustment before the economy is sustainable or we’ll just end up with hyperinflation again.
New Cartel Market Additions
As every other update to the game, this one also brings new Cartel Market additions. Armor Sets, Weapons and Decorations are the main focus of this one.
Since lately Mandalorians are overtaking the Star Wars Galaxy, it seems, BioWare saw fit to add a few more Mandalorian-themed items.
The front and center is taken by the Mandalorian Nomad Armor Set. This is a direct reference to the Beskar armor that Din Djarin acquired in Season 1 of The Mandalorian and has been wearing ever since.
As you probably already assumed, and correctly so, I have a Din Djarin Build Guide available to show you how to recreate The Mandalorian as closely to the lore as possible within the constraints of the game and play like the iconic character from the Disney Plus TV Show The Mandalorian, which is currently in the middle of its third season.
You can also check out the new Decoration Bundles Reviews below:
Security Office Decoration Bundle Overview
- Imperial Console Decoration Bundle Overview
- Shipyard Decoration Bundle Overview
Major Bug Fixes and Other Notable Changes
There are a ton of bug fixes and other notable changes coming with 7.2.1, but I want to highlight a few (in no specific order) that stood out to me as being particularly amazing:
- The Map Overlay now shows the position of enemies that you’re in combat with.
- You can once again scroll to zoom in and out on the minimap.
- The PvP Queue button on the Utility Bar now displays the correct message if you are in a queue even if you’re not the leader. (I assume they mean the indicator light is now working).
- The Perfection achievements for the All Worlds Ultimate Swoop Rally event are working and completing the associated bonus missions awards more tokens.
- It is now possible to click through other decorations while in Edit Mode.
- Hovering over the minimap now shows the player’s current location.
- The Master’s Datacron now boosts you to level 80 instead of 70.
Full Patch Notes
Highlight
- PvP Season 2 – PvP Season 2 “Piercing the Veil” will begin March 28th! Learn more about the changes on PvP medals and new rewards in this article: PvP Season 2 “Piercing the Veil.”
- Galactic Season 4 – The new Galactic Season 4: “A Passage of Peace” begins with Game Update 7.2.1. In this new season, players are joined by Amity, a Force user on a pilgrimage, to progress through the Messengers of the Cold Moon reputation track and earn new rewards such as the brand new Mek-Sha Hideout Stronghold!
- Credit Economy Initiative – Our team implemented the first changes to correct some of our economic inflation. More details in this forum post.
- 64-bit Game Client – The new 64-bit game client will be available to all players.
General
- The game will automatically boot up in full screen windowed mode. This can be changed to the player’s preference in settings.
- The “Very Low” Graphic Quality Preset has been removed.
- For players who use laptops, the game will default to using the dedicated GPU.
- The frame rate limiter has been fixed so players can request the max FPS through the graphics settings.
- The “Critical Rate” for Crew Skills tasks in the Profession window is now properly upgraded when the “Legacy of Crafting” perks are unlocked.
- Removed XP from Operations Profiteer guild perks as XP is no longer relevant to Operations Content.
- The “Warzone Training Dummy” is only present on the ship if the Warzone Training Dummy perk is unlocked.
- The Companion influence circle bar now correctly progresses on every level and displays the correct amount of points.
- Helmet no longer reappears in cinematics when enabling the “hide helmet” option.
- Excess credits will now remain in the mail if the amount puts players over the credit cap.
- Players need to close and reopen the mail to see remaining credits.
- Corrected several typos within the game.
- Fixed several texture issues within the game.
- Fixed several issues where buttons in windows are misaligned, misplaced, and cut off.
- Planet Conquest popup now shows up on planet arrival.
- There is now a banner indicating which guild won the Guild Invasion when travelling to Manaan.
- Traveling from deep space to the Invasion Zone on Manaan now correctly shows the planet’s visuals and cinematics.
- Mouse sensitivity has been lowered down for new players.
- Players can now use the mouse wheel to adjust the minimap zoom.
- Fixed several map issues throughout the game.
- Hovering over the minimap now shows the player’s current location.
- Map filters no longer appear outside of the mini-map window when in Maximal style.
- The Overlay Map no longer vanishes if the Quick Travel window is closed by pressing the ESC button.
- Enemies in combat are now correctly displayed on the Overlay Map.
- Hotkeys for in and out Minimap zoom are now correctly working.
- Tooltips are no longer outside of the screen area when placing the mini-map on the left side of the screen.
- Players can now save different tooltip positions based on if the mini-map or the overlay map are enabled.
- Quickslot page numbers are now correctly displayed.
- All quickslot page keybinds now work with the keybinds that they are assigned to.
- Fixed several zoom and texture issues when viewing decorations in the Preview window.
- While in Stronghold edit mode, placed decorations are no longer blocking players from accessing the other neighboring hooks.
- Removed the rewards section of Achievements that doesn’t have rewards in the Legacy window.
- It is now possible to expand and collapse the Currency tab.
- The outfit slots are now displayed in alphabetic order.
- The Outfit Name no longer resets when checking and unchecking the “Show Gear as Outfit” option and unlocking a new slot.
- Fixed an issue where Outfitter Slot names are reset when closing and opening the Outfitter window.
- Fixed several issues where the player’s character is holding an invisible weapon in cinematics.
- Fixed an issue where players were not able to transform into Aivela when using the Control Seat on Iokath.
- Fixed several travel issues on Ruhnuk:
- There is now a button on Ruhnuk for players to travel back to their ship.
- Using the “Travel” button in the Activities now sends the player to the Ruhnuk dailies.
- It is now possible to use mounts in the Mandalore’s Encampment area on Ruhnuk.
- Turrets are no longer floating on Alderaan, Belsavis, Makeb, and Tatooine.
- It is now possible to click through decorations in edit mode: players can now click on hooks covered by rugs.
Cartel Market
- The Cartel Market description of the Reforged Mandalorian Hunter’s Armor Set now correctly lists the helmet.
- The Cartel Market description for the Ball Toss Toy no longer incorrectly states that the item recovers health.
Items + Economy
- 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.
- Exiting from a Stronghold onto a planet that you did not originate from now costs the credits you would have paid to have traveled normally through the Galaxy Map. Returning to the planet you were on when you went to the Stronghold has no cost.
- 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.
- The Master’s Datacron now boosts players’ character to Level 80 (up from Level 70). The armor granted by the equipment bundle has been updated to relevant conquest armor. More details in this forum post.
- The Mandalorian-Marked Package can now be purchased from the Galactic Season Rewards vendor if the player already completed the Ruhnuk storyline.
- The Enlightened Spider Droid now correctly displays the visual effects when viewed in the Preview window.
- The tooltip of the “Collector’s Edition Vendor Access” item now correctly mentions that it unlocks the access to the VIP Lounge.
- Removed the mention of FP-1 Stabilizers from Supreme Decurion Upgrade Caches as they no longer drop this currency.
- Thyrsian Gear Upgrade no longer drops duplicate 332 until all non-implants slots are at Level 332 or higher.
- The following items now have dye slots:
- Master Orr’s Boots
- Master Orr’s Belt
- Fixed several clipping and texture issues on the “Arrangement: Power Station Table (Large)” decoration.
- Fixed the following issues on the Khem Val decoration:
- Interacting with the decoration now correctly displays it names over the head and triggers conversations
- The decoration becomes an holo projection when the companion is summoned
- The visual effect of the Restorative Drive Gauntlets hologram now uses the correct green color instead of blue.
- The “Exiled Revolutionary’s Goggles” no longer clips with the character’s head.
- The “Outer Rim Drifter’s Chestpiece” no longer clips with the “Drifter’s Chestpiece Belt” when mounted and in combat stance.
- The character’s hands are no longer clipping with the “Family of the First Seed Assault Cannon”.
- Fixed stretching issues on the following items:
- Cartel Combatant’s Pants
- Cartel Prospect’s Chestplate
- Fixed the following issues on the Ri’Kan’s Vibro-Axe:
- The Laser Weapon tuning is now fully visible when equipped on the Ri’Kan’s Vibro Axe.
- The Creep Weapon Tuning visual effect is no longer floating near the weapon.
- Fixed the following issues on the Ri’Kan’s Armor Set:
- The Ri’Kan’s Boots, Ri’Kan’s Belt, and Ri’Kan’s Wraps colors are now correctly changed when a dye module is applied.
- There is no longer a gap in the wrists area when equipping the Ri’Kan’s Chestpiece on all Female Body Types.
- The Ri’Kan’s Boots are no longer clipping in the ankle area.
- Fixed the following issues on the Pyke Syndicate’s Armor Set:
- The Pyke Syndicate Chestpiece and Pyke Syndicate Headgear are no longer stretching when equipped together.
- There are no longer gaps in the wrists area and shoulder pads of the Pyke Syndicate Chestpiece.
- There are no longer texture and gap issues on the Pyke Syndicate Headgear.
- Fixed the visuals of the Ruhnukan Lambro (Style 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5).
- Fixed an issue where “Technological” decorations were not centered in the Preview window.
- There is now a visual for the “Dune Umbrella” decoration in the Decoration window.
- A previously selected Companion decorations from the personal decoration list no longer appears in the Preview window when another decoration is selected.
- Qyzen Fess’ decoration displays the correct color of armor set (red instead of green) in the Preview window.
- Items from the Personnel decoration category with drawn items are now correctly displayed when viewed in the Preview window.
- The following Galactic Seasons decorations are now correctly holding a weapon when viewed in the Preview window:
- Shadow Syndicate
- Shadow Syndicate Enforcer
- G.A.M.E. Security Officer
- G.A.M.E. Authorized Pit Boss
Combat Styles
General
- Fixed the visual effect of the drones of the Stealth Scan ability on Mercenary, Powertech, Vanguard, and Commando.
- Added two new Codex Entries under Game Rules: “Special Conditions Glossary” and “Special Effects Glossary.”
Combat Styles
Vanguard
- Tactics
- The visual effect on the target of Thermal Detonator ability no longer persists if detonated by another effect.
Powertech
- Advanced Prototype
- The visual effect on the target of Assault Plastique ability no longer persists if detonated by another effect.
- Pyrotech
- Fixed the visual effect of the Flaming Fist ability.
Commando
- Fixed the issue where Commando receives Level 68 Abilities when log in for the first time in 7.2.
Mercenary
- Fixed the issue where Mercenary receives Level 68 Abilities when log in for the first time in 7.2.
Gunslinger
- Fixed the visual effect of the Vital Shot ability.
- Saboteur
- Fixed the visual effect of Blazing Speed ability.
Sniper
- Marksmanship
- Fixed an issue with Sniper Volley’s animation.
Shadow
- Serenity
- Force Potency ability now has visual and sound effects when weapons are equipped.
Sage
- Reorganized several passives to have effects be given in a more logical order and to shorten their tooltips.
- Balance
- Shifted Balance now correctly plays a visual effect on the target.
Sorcerer
- Reorganized several passives to have effects be given in a more logical order and to shorten their tooltips.
- Madness
- Updated the visual effect of the Death Brand ability to be appropriately sized.
Sentinel
- Fixed an issue where the visual effect of Force Clarity ability was missing.
- Watchman
- Updated the tooltip for Melting Center mod to correctly mention 35% instead of 50%.
- Fixed the visual effect of Blazing Ward passive ability.
- Combat
- Fixed the visual effect of Lance and Driving Lance abilities.
- Fixed the visual effect of Ataru Form passive ability.
Marauder
- Fixed an issue where the visual effect of Furious Power ability was missing.
- Annihilation
- Updated the tooltip for Draining Center mod to correctly mention 35% instead of 50%.
- Carnage
- Fixed the visual effect of the Gore ability.
Guardian
- Vigilance
- Fixed the visual effect of the Whirling Blade ability.
Juggernaut
- Vengeance
- Fixed the visual effect of the Hew ability.
Flashpoints
Blood Hunt
- The encounter with Jos and Valk Beroya in Blood Hunt Flashpoint no longer resets when a companion is defeated.
Missions + NPCs
- The following Shadow of Revan Story Missions now reward the appropriate mainhand and offhand weapons depending on the player’s class:
- Fates Unsealed
- The Devoted Ones
- Players now correctly receive mails from allies after completing “Showdown on Ruhnuk” Mission.
- Torian Cadera no longer appears in “Showdown on Ruhnuk” cutscenes if the player didn’t previously save him.
- Fixed the following issues on Ruhnuk Mission “Relic Hunt: Self-Replenishing Stim”:
- Corrected an issue that prevented players from advancing from the step “Locate the Beast’s Nest.”
- Adjusted the map indicators for the “Retreat and Wait” step to better indicate the areas players need to enter to complete this step.
- The following text is no longer displayed twice when grabbing the relic from the Scrabbler:
- “… and grab the relic!”
- Fixed the following issues on “[WEEKLY] Ruhnuk: Blaze of Glory” Mission:
- The progression of the “[Weekly] Ruhnuk: Blaze of Glory” Mission is now correctly shared with all members of the group.
- Kithrawl now properly despawns if dragged off the platform and onto the bridge on Ruhnuk.
- Eligible group members of large groups now correctly receive Mission credits for defeating Kithrawl in “[WEEKLY] Ruhnuk: Blaze of Glory” Mission.
- Valga Djenn no longer casts Sic ‘Em ability when Bark and Bite are both defeated in [HEROIC 4] Natural Resources Mission.
- Imperial players no longer need to go through a Republic base on Ilum in “Death before Dishonor” Alliance Alert.
- The step “Return to Commander Qrukk” of “A Conservative Proposal” Mission is now correctly displayed on the map.
- The step “Complete Flashpoint: Taral Five” of the Republic Mission “Jedi Prisoner” is now correctly displayed.
- Tasks are now correctly displayed for the following Missions:
- [DAILY] Looking for Droids
- [HEROIC 2+] A Droid Defiant
- The bonus Mission “Treasure Hunt” on Ruhnuk now appears in the correct category in the Mission log.
- The trick abilities of the following companions now appear as an active temporary ability bar while on the Fleet or in a Stronghold:
- Akk Dog
- Nexu
- Pan Morri now dies when knocked off the bridge in the “[DAILY] Proving Our Strength” Mission.
- Players are no longer stuck in the ship in the Imperial Mission on Nar Shaddaa [HEROIC 4] All the Pieces.
- There are now options in the conversation between Bounty Hunter and Rass Ordo if Torian is dead in “A Rock and A Hard Place” Mission.
- The correct animation is now played when the weapon is sheathed by an Assassin in the cinematic of ”Laying Waste” Mission.
Arenas + Warzones
General
- Made adjustments to matchmaking to make it more likely that large groups are matched up against each other.
- The PvP/Warzone button on the Utility bar now displays the correct message “You are in a queue for Warzone or Arenas” when the player who is not the leader of the group is in a queue.
- Player’s discipline now correctly appears in the sent Battle Record window.
- Updated the background image of “Warzones” and “Arenas” Achievements in the Legacy window.
- Class buff no longer disappears when queued in a match group with at least 2 characters of the same Origin Story.
- It is no longer possible to open the Galaxy Map during a PvP match.
Warzone
Alderaan Civil War
- Made the following adjustments to Alderaan Civil War to make earning attacker and defender points easier:
- Increased size of the area around the nodes where attacker and defender points can be earned.
- Increased the periodic points given for defending to 700 (up from 500).
- Increased the attack or defense points given from kills to 500 (up from 250).
Events
All Worlds Ultimate Swoop Rally
- There are now visuals in the Terminal Mission for the Blatant Beks Missions of the All Worlds Ultimate Swoop Rally event.
Pirate Incursion
- There is now a map marker to display the final step of the Dantooine Mission “While You’re Out There.”
Galactic Seasons
General
- All players now correctly receive their unclaimed F2P track rewards via mail.
- Galactic Seasons 2 weapons now appear under the correct categories in the Collection window.
- PH4-LNX, Galactic Seasons 3 companion, now uses the “Time to double down” bark.
Season Objectives
- Defeating the bonus boss of the following Flashpoints in Story Mode now correctly grants points for Season Objective ‘Legacies of Revan’:
- Maelstrom Prison
- Taral V
- Completing Taral V Flashpoint without defeating the bonus boss is no longer completing the Season Objective ‘Legacies of Revan’.
PvP Seasons
General
- Players who participate in the PvP during the Season starts are now receiving the unclaimed rewards in the in-game mail.
- Adjusted the amount of medals needed in a match to earn full PvP season points to 7 (down from 8).
- The requirements for the following Achievements have been reduced to 12 times (down from 25 times):
- Arena Advocator
- Warzone Warrior
- “Hold the Line” medal is now awarded under the correct name instead of “Offense Medal”.
- After completing 4 out of 6 objectives, the last 2 remaining objectives are now greyed out to warn players that they meet the objective cap count for that week.
- Objectives now correctly appear in the PvP Season tab.
- PvP Challenges are now working correctly.
- The end of the PvP Season is now displayed in the PvP Season window.
PvP Season Objectives
- The following PvP Weekly objectives now require earning 7 medals in a match to complete (down from 8):
- Arenas: Decorated
- Warzones: Decorated
The following issue has been previously fixed with a hotfix:
- The “Convert Ship Requisition to Fleet Requisition” item has been removed from the Cartel Market as it is no longer functional.
- Eligible players who participated in the last phase of Public Test Server will receive the Opal Vulptilla Mount in their in-game message when Game Update 7.2.1 launches. More information in this article: Game Update 7.2.1 is coming to the Public Test Server!
The 7.2.1 Patch Notes are sourced from swtor.com.
