SWTOR Update 7.6: Changes Overview and Full Patch Notes

SWTOR Update 7.6 “Galactic Threads” releases on December 10th, 2024. It features a new lair boss, augments, PvP Season 7, new Comlink dialogue system, Dynamic Encounters, enhanced visuals for both environment and character art, Life Day, and more!

Despite the “Galactic Threads” story getting delayed, Game Update 7.6 is shaping up to be a mini-expansion. There’s just so much new stuff coming.

How game updates work in SWTOR

Game updates in SWTOR are pretty consistent and predictable these days. SWTOR’s update schedule features alternating major and minor updates released roughly every three months. We will typically get 2 story updates, 2 Galactic Seasons, and 2 PvP Seasons per year.

Expansions are released every few years for free to subscribers and are denoted by the first number in the build version (5.0, 6.0, 7.0, etc.).

Major updates always contain solo story content and mark the beginning of a new PvP Season. The second number in the build version denotes major updates (7.1, 7.2, 7.3, etc.).

Minor updates contain a new Galactic Season, which is SWTOR’s Battle Pass system. They also include bug fixes and sometimes smaller features. The third number in the build version denotes minor updates (7.1.1, 7.2.1, 7.3.1, etc.).

Lettered patches (7.1a, 7.1b, 7.2a, 7.3.1c, etc.) are hotfixes for their associated major or minor update. They are typically meant to fix an immediate issue that was discovered after the update was released.

“Galactic Threads” Solo Story Delayed

The “Galactic Threads” storyline has been delayed. Broadsword did not provide an official explanation, but many believe it has to do with the ongoing SAG-AFTRA Voice Actor’s Strike, myself included.

SWTOR is not the only live service game impacted by the strike. Some other games have opted to release story content that’s missing some or all vocal performances.

I think it’s for the best. Imagine a plausible cutscene with Shae and Malgus. Because of the strike, we could only hear Shae’s voice and have to read subtitles for Malgus. It would be weird to see some characters randomly without voices.

Check out our previous coverage on this development for more details on the storyline itself and my perspective on why this delay is a blessing in disguise.

Comlink System

Comlink is a new text-based communication system coming to SWTOR in 7.6. It that will act as the main alternative to KOTOR cutscenes going forward, including for more complicated mission interactions that would otherwise use that system. It’s story-only and has no connection to game chat (as in the MMO element).

Broadsword emphasized that Comlinks are not replacing fully voiced and animated cutscenes. The system is meant to add remote communication functionality as it exists in most other modern open world RPGs, including texting and dropboxes.

It will also increase the depth of storytelling by providing additional opportunities for the player to interact with other characters, like a more expanded version of the letters you get in the mail after story missions.

The Comlink system will likely completely replace KOTOR cutscenes in future content, but it’s unclear to what extent Broadsword plans to integrate the system into existing content, like interacting with your Alliance Lieutenants.

There’s a good chance we may get some sort of new Comlink content on a more regular basis than the major story updates so that the happenings stay more fresh in our minds. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s something regarding the “Galactic Threads” storyline.

Dynamic Encounters

Dynamic Encounters are a new style of mission in SWTOR, though if you’ve played any modern open-world games, MMO or not, you’ll likely be familiar with the style.

Many have compared them to the system that goes by the same name in Guild Wars 2, and they’re quite like [AREA] missions if you remember those from back in the day.

Rather than picking up these missions from an NPC or terminal, they exist out in the field on your map. All you have to do is reach the marked location and the objectives will pop up automatically.

Everyone can see all currently available Dynamic Encounters on all maps, and anyone can complete them, though they’re only available for a set time. As old events expire, new ones become available.

With 7.6, planet-specific Dynamic Encounters will only by fully available on Hoth and Tatooine, while attacks from the Hidden Chain will be available galaxywide. However, the devs intend to offer these missions on every planet.

There are a host of achievements and unique cosmetic rewards for completing Dynamic Encounters. You will find everything you need in our Dynamic Encounters Guide.

Propagator Core XR-53 Lair Boss

The Propagator Core XR-53 is a new lair boss (8m Operation Boss) that takes place in a fragment of the False Emperor’s space station on Ilum. The Propagator Core is Rakata tech that can create biomechanical life.

Similar to other lair bosses, it’s a positioning-focused fight with a ton of adds that takes place in a huge room. It incorporates mechanics you’ll be familiar with if you’ve done other popular raids in SWTOR, but it’s most reminiscent of The Eyeless.

The Propagator Core XR-53 has been nerfed heavily since its initial reveal on the PTS, to the extent that VM is substantially easier than the first version of SM.

Traditionally, lair bosses have only existed in SM/VM difficulties, and while we’ve never gotten a NiM (MM) lair boss before, it’s abundantly clear from the first version of the PTS that they already have most of the pieces required to create a NiM difficulty.

Our guide to Propagator Core XR-53 is now available. It will explain everything you need to know to access and defeat the boss all available diccifulties.

New Augments

There are 3 new tiers of augments coming alongside 7.6. These tiers will effectively replace the augments we’ve been using since 6.0. The 2 blue tiers offer roughly the same stats as current 300 gold augs, while the purples offer ~13% more stat, equivalent to if you could equip 16 gold augments instead of 14.

All 3 tiers of these new augments require a new material that drops exclusively from the new lair boss, Propagator Core XR-53, and significantly more materials drop in VM compared to SM.

You’ll need to refine these Corrupted Bioprocessors from the lair boss using Biochem and Artifice and then combine them with other materials using the other crafting skills to make the actual augments.

The middle (302 blue) and higher (310 purple) tiers require CM-1337s, while the low (296 blue) tier does not. The Tech Fragment prices of OEM-37s and RPM-13s are also getting halved and will now cost 1800 Tech Fragments each, down from 4000.

The purple 310 augs will likely cost about the same as the 310 golds do now, at least after the spike in demand subsides, while the blue 302s will probably be about half the price. The blue 296s will be significantly cheaper as they do not require any CM-1337s to craft.

Repair costs should also come down because the price is primarily determined by the rarity of your equipment, and many of us will be moving from gold to purple or purple to blue.

Check out our 7.6 Augments Guide for more details.

PvP Season 7 and Changes

Since PvP Seasons are now synchronized to begin with major updates and last for 16 weeks, PvP Season 7 “Path to Mastery” is coming alongside Game Update 7.6. This time around, the armor sets are quite eccentric and will cover you with feathers.

There will also be new titles, an Emote (with animation this time), and more decos. In the 7.6 livestream, the devs also showed a picture of the trophy decos with a player for scale, but it made me realize that they could just give us some NPC decos with the new armor sets instead of the truly worthless Warzone Adrenal and Medpacs they added to account for the extended season.

In addition, Broadsword is FINALLY making some changes to make Warzones and Arenas more fun for everyone:

• Players can now only queue as a group for Warzones with a maximum of 4 players, down from 8
• Level 75 Spoils of War Set Bonuses are now disabled in Warzones and Arenas

Players will still be able to use tactical items at level 75, though you can use the Masterwork Set Bonuses on Ossus from levels 70-74 to counteract this, along with any other older set bonuses from prior expansions.

Given it took them 7 seasons to implement these basic changes, I wouldn’t expect anything more on this front until we inevitably get 8.0. The devs must take a more holistic approach to fix remaining issues.

Set bonuses need to be completely eliminated, legendary implant effects should be migrated to weapons, and tacticals should be merged into ability trees, but I digress. You guys, I’m so excited for diminished curb stomping potential!!!

Our detailed PvP Season 7 Guide and Rewards list will give you all the information you need to know about the fresh new season and what you would be fighting for during it.

And if you are new to PvP or haven’t played in a while, we have a SWTOR PvP Maps Guide and Tips for all Roles that will help you get up to speed. We also have a collection of in-depth guides to all Warzone Map in SWTOR.

Life Day, Double XP, and Holiday Sales

Life Day is back! You’ll be able to chuck snowballs at strangers, get intimate with Wookiees, and cool off some steamy droids. You’ll be rewarded with holo-trees and parcels, the latter of which you can exchange for fancy holiday garb and a bunch of other cosmetics.

There are new Life Day-themed items including Ornate Life Day Robes, a reforged version of the original red Snuggy™ and a Tirsa G1-F7 mount! The Ornate Life Day Robes are available on the vendor, while the Tirsa G1-F7 is available on the Cartel Market.

You can also swing by the Anniversary vendor (available now) and pick up a slew of new painting decos featuring the winning photos from the 2024 Best View in SWTOR contest.

Check out our Life Day Event Guide and Rewards List. We have updated it for 2024-2025 ASAP.

All Important Holiday Event and Sale Dates

As is tradition, there are a bunch of sales during the holidays, including for Collection Unlocks and Character Appearance Modification. Most of the sales and events go from 7.6 launch on December 10th, 2024, to January 7th, 2025. However, a few of them have different schedules.

• Collection Unlocks are 50% off starting on December 13th
• Character Renames are 90% off from December 10th to December 17th
• Character Appearance Customizations are 90% off from December 10th to January 7th
• Life Day items from prior years on the CM are 25% off from December 10th to January 7th
• All Dyes will continue to be 50% off in purpetuity
• Double XP is active from December 22nd to January 2nd
• Life Day is active from December 10th to January 7th
• The Amethyst Vulptilla mount Twitch Drop is obtainable by watching 4 hours of SWTOR live streams on Twitch from December 10th to January 7th
• The Meirm Cicada mount is free for all players who subscribe or are subscribed between November 29th and January 4th.
• SWTOR 13th Anniversary is active from December 20th to January 3rd, featuring the Best View in SWTOR 2024 Decos
• Master the Fight Bundle: Starbolt Edition is available from November 15th to January 14th

Other mounts will receive support for companions and/or mini pets, but it is unknown how far they’ll go with this.

Face and Environment Art Improvements

Throughout 7.0, the devs have been making substantial visual enhancements across the galaxy. This time around, significant improvements are getting finished up on Ilum, Korriban, and Tython, with smaller improvements coming to Hoth and Tatooine.

Based on the loud gurgles from so many players frothing at the mouth, you’ve probably heard that 7.6 is also enhancing the detail on the faces of all player characters and standard NPCs.

The finished changes Broadsword has presented are good, though there were bugs on the PTS (AKA Public Test Server) that resulted in widespread pandemonium. I suspect many of the players coming out of the woodwork are just irate that their Ivankas and waifus don’t look exactly how the players remembered them in their dreams.

Our goal was to improve the visual fidelity of characters across the game while keeping YOUR character uniquely yours.

Eric Musco, 7.6 Livestream

Broadsword has been empathetic and emphatic that this has been their mission the entire time. Nonetheless, some players will be unhappy despite this being one of the most requested visual improvements by players, so Broadsword is offering a 90% off sale on Character Appearance Designer changes until January 7th.

Check out our investigation into SWTOR’s Character Art Modernization on the PTS and the insights about future improvements we can glean from Cyborgs on LIVE.

Cartel Market Items

There are a bunch of Cartel Market items coming with 7.6, many of which are Inspired by Skeleton Crew^TM, a new Star Wars show on Disney+.

Fearless Buccaneer Weapon Series

The Fearless Buccaneer weapon series adds both a vibrosword and a vibrotwinsword to the usual stable of 6 weapon types. All of the weapons are pirate-themed, with the most eye-popping being a flintlock blaster pistol.

Mysterious Rogue Armor Set

This pirate garb is inspired by Jude Law’s attire in Skeleton Crew. Rather than a helmet, you’ll get a second chestpiece with the jacket removed.

Check out our dedicated post on all of the 7.6 Cartel Market Character Customizations for more information.

Galaxy’s Edge Deco Bundle

There’s also a gigantic new decoration set inspired by Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. It comes with a couple of extra fancy mini-pets and Comlink missions that will let you unlock the restored version of the originally neglected decos.

Praxon Trackmaster Mount

This isn’t part on the Cartel Market, but there’s a new mount available at the Voss Reputation Vendor called the Praxon Trackmaster. It costs 250k credits and requires Legend standing with the Voss.

Inactive Character Name Purge

If you aren’t subscribed, any toon you haven’t logged into since January 1st, 2024, will have your name flagged as available for others to take. F2P and Preferred players need to either subscribe or log into each of their toons before December 10th to keep their names.

You won’t necessarily lose the name if you haven’t logged into that toon in 2024, but it will be up for grabs. Character Renames will be 90% off for the first week of 7.6 (December 10th to 17th) so that players can claim names they want that have become available.

If you’re reading this before 7.6 is released, remember, there’s still time to coerce your (soon-to-be former) friends into coming back to the game by threatening to take all of their toon names! Check out our Inactive Character Name Purge Guide for more details.

Mac Launcher Beta

The native Mac Launcher for SWTOR is moving to Public Beta in the coming weeks with the following system requirements:

• M-Series Chipset Mac (M1, M2, M3, M4)
• Latest MacOS Sonoma 14.X

They emphasize that this will not work on Macs with Intel CPUs, including everything released prior to 2020. It also sounds like some older MacOS versions might eventually be supported, as they specified that only Sonoma 14.X would work for the test.

In general, it’s an exciting time for people who want to game on a Mac. SWTOR doesn’t take much to run these days, but the M-Series chips are quite powerful. CD Projekt Red is releasing Cyberpunk 2077 for Mac with path tracing and frame generation, and Apple Silicon can handle that, it can handle everything else.

7.6 Full Patch Notes

Full 7.6 patch notes from swtor.com, reformated and slightly edited for clarity.