Category Archives: SWTOR

Making Friends with Khem Val

05 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by in companions, screenshots

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When Khem Val and I were first thrown together by fate, we got off to a bit of a rocky start. At every convenient juncture, he made sure to let me know just how dissatisfied he was at being requested to do my bidding. This grumbling was interspersed with the occasional not-so-veiled threat to eat me alive.

But the will of a Sith is not easily swayed. I was not about to put up with that sort of insolence. And I certainly wasn’t afraid of my loin-cloth wearing new buddy. Even though he could probably crack me in half with ease if he was operating at his alleged former capacity.

Slowly but surely, as I took Khemmy out into the TOR universe, and he saw my bravery, and got to eat many evil doers, he started to warm up to me. I am pretty sure the occasional companion gift helped as well, but it was mostly his seeing my bravery in battle that did it. And as my Dark Side points have pushed into level IV, he’s only become more of my champion.

That’s not to say all is rosy in our relationship mind you. He still talks about his former master entirely too much. If he was sooo amazing, then why isn’t he here right now, Khemmy? Hmmm? And when I show that despite being an uncompromising bad ass I still have manners and acknowledge and thank others for their collaboration in my missions, well that all raises his hackles. But it’s nothing a little punishment (or a killing spree) doesn’t take care of.

It warms my heart when he calls me his little Sith now. But what really pleases me is when he threatens to eat anyone who crosses me or doesn’t treat me with the respect that is due a Sith Lord of my stature. We’ve come a long way, Khemmy!

Anexxia’s Rare or Better Synthweaving Patterns (level 50)

01 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by in crew skills, gear, synthweaving

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I’ll be listing all the rare or better level 50 synthweaving patterns I can make here. See also my post of items up to level 49. BOE items available to Coconut Monkeys with your mats.

Light Armor

Bracers 

Chest

Head

Legs

Medium Armor

Chest

Legs

Heavy Armor

Head

Legs

My SWTOR Year in Review

30 Friday Dec 2011

Posted by in administrivia

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I’ve been doing a variation on this meme for as long as I’ve been blogging. I find it’s a nice way to frame up how I’ve spent my time over the course of the year, as it relates to my gaming life. And I love looking back on them the following year to see what’s changed.

1) What were you most excited about in the past year?

That would be having my 2 weeks of vacation time I took off overlap nicely with the early game access and launch dates. Didn’t plan it that way (had to take whatever time off in December I could wrangle), but sure am glad it worked out!

2) What was the best thing you bought?

I haven’t made many significant purchases so far, but I am loving zipping along on my speeder so it wins for now. Once I purchase my level 40 speeder and training, and purchase my mouse droid pet from the security vendor, this answer will change to “my security authenticator.”

3) What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

A level 50 character. I suspect this will happen in January, even with only having post work and weekend paytime to advance my characters.

4) What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Managing to get my level 25 speeder AND still keep the synthweaving at my level. Of course, that was only possible due to a tiny loan from my SO, which I was able to pay back within the same level.

5) What was your biggest failure?

Not purchasing the Collector’s Edition. Because if I had, I would already be running around with an adorable little mouse droid following me…

6) What do you wish you’d done less of?

Waiting in queues after getting booted off the server. But these are the realities of a new MMO launch so I am not bitter. I would also have been fine with less Huttball and more other Warzones.

7) What did you do in SWTOR in 2011 that you’d never done before?

N/A. This year was my first year of playing SWTOR.

8) What was your favorite new place that you visited?

Hmmm. I liked snowy Hoth quite a bit. But I am also growing fond of all the tombs on Dromund Kaas.

9) What was your favorite SWTOR blog or podcast?

This is a hard one! I’m enjoying listening to/reading all the community sites you see on my blogroll and podcast list. That said, it’s been fun participating in a few TORreporter shows, and I hope to get to do more of that next year. Blog-wise, I am a big fan of the many individual player blogs that have been sprouting up that chronicle a player’s personal experiences playing the game, and you will see a ton of those folks on the blogroll.

10) Tell us a valuable SWTOR lesson you learned in 2011.

Slice your way to SWTOR financial security! Alas, that will not be the case for 2012…

Highlights from Stephen Reid’s reddit chat

29 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in community, SWTOR team interviews

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In case you weren’t already aware that Stephen Reid, SWTOR’s Senior Community Manager, has the patience of a Saint, you should see how many questions he fielded yesterday in his reddit chat. 954 comments –amazing!

Here were some of the tidbits I found to be most interesting.

On guild banks and guild housing…

Guild banks and guild ‘housing’ (of some type; ships are most popular as people know) are both on the list for future development. As always it’s a question of priorities and so on, but they’re definitely discussed. I will say that guild banks are higher priority.

Guild banks… pretty soon, but my definition of soon is probably different from yours. I’ll say before E3 or PAX East, that seems fair.

On the guild housing/ship thing, I’ve had this conversation a few times with folk in person – the thing is the basic idea seems simple, but the actual reality of doing it can be hugely complex.

For example – and this is entirely me, personally, making stuff up: it’s possible guild capital ships could be just open spaces for people to hang out in. Cool, but likely ‘not enough’ for many people. So then you add on, say, the ability to customize that space. Then maybe you want to move those ships around – maybe put them in orbit over planets, or go fight with other guild capital ships. Woah, did we just add a space combat game? You can see how it easily gets bigger.

The short version: something like guild capital ships sounds super cool and the development team likes the idea. There’s a big distance between ‘likes the idea’ and ‘is fully developed and in the game’.

On the lack of neutral gear…

As I understand it neutral gear was harder to implement than first thought, and was unfortunately moved out of the launch window. It’s not ‘dead’, and James Ohlen brings it up as something he’s a fan of quite often, so.. chances are pretty good it’ll make it in someday.

On the constant pleas for UI customization…

UI customization is coming for sure. 🙂

On the requests for Advance Class Respec’ing…

Currently AC respeccing is not ‘on the table’ – ie, it’s not seen as being a feature we’ll be adding in soon. It’s back at the philosophical discussion stage, AFAIK.

Even if you’d need to reroll, having been through the story once (and I’ve been through Ord Mantell a few times myself!) you’ll go through a lot faster. Experiment with different moral choices, I enjoy it myself. 🙂

For the whole 900+ comments, read the thread on reddit.

Keep Your Account Safe, and Gain Access to Vanity Items with the SWTOR Authenticator

28 Wednesday Dec 2011

Posted by in administrivia, companions, pets

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In case the peace of mind associated with knowing your SWTOR account has an extra layer of protection against cybertheft wasn’t enough, your purchase of a Star Wars: the Old Republic authenticator also gives you access to the security vendor you may have noticed lurking around the fleet or your faction’s capital city.

No, the Security Vendor’s goods won’t make you unstoppable in the warzones, but it does provide a number of fun little toys and vanity items, which on the Empire side include:

  • Khem Val Customization 14,  4 and 9 (12,500c)
  • Kaliyo Djannis Customization 8 (12,500c)
  • Mako Customization 8 (12,500c)
  • Vette Customization 2 (12,500c)
  • A full set of Imperial Dancer’s gear (4,900-5,950c per piece)
  • Exchange Bandit speeder (1.5 mil credits)
  • Mouse droid vanity pet (25,000 c)
  • Rhythm Augmentation Droid (55,000 c)

My first purchase from the vendor, after I splash out on my level 40 riding skill and speeder, will definitely be the mouse droid. Can’t believe I’ve gone this many levels without a pet!

You can order your physical authenticator from the Origin store for $4 plus shipping, or download an app for your Android device or iPhone. Well worth it in my opinion.

Inquisitor Companions: What You Need to Know

24 Saturday Dec 2011

Posted by in companions, crew skills, spoilers

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Please Note: If you do not wish to know anything at all about your Inquisitor’s companions prior to them joining you in game, stop and please head to another page.

The purpose of this page is to help you effectively understand amd manage your Companions. As I am only level 33 as of this writing, I only have 3 of the 5 companions thus far and will update the post as I obtain the new companions.

Khem Val

When do you obtain them, and where?

He joins you as you do your class quests on Korriban, anywhere from levels 7-9.

What do they wear?

Wears heavy armor with strength and endurance his two primary stats. Uses a vibrosword as his main hand and a shield generator as his off-hand.

What kind of gifts do they like?

Weapons and Cultural artifacts are his favorites. Will also give points for Trophy, Technology and Imperial Memorabilia gifts.

What wins their affection in conversation?

Anything involving killing everyone, strength and fearlessness will earn you +affection points with him. Has an aversion to your being polite or well-mannered in your responses to other people. i.e. saying thank you to someone or noting how their support helped you be successful tends to earn you -1 affection. And never ever let someone go if there is an option to kill them instead. He positively HATES that. And if you are gong light side with your alignment, it will probably be best if the two of you part ways quickly.

What is the best role for this companion?

If he is by your side as you quest, you will typically want to have him in a tanking role. When he is back on the ship doing your crew skills bidding, note that he has the following Crew Skill bonuses:
+15 Artifice Efficiency
+5 Investigation Efficiency

Andronikos Revel

When do you obtain them, and where?

He joins you as you do your class quests on Tattooine, anywhere from levels 24-26.

What do they wear?

Wears medium armor with cunning and endurance his two primary stats. Uses blaster pistols as his weapons, which is appropriate given his gunslinger/pirate life style.

What kind of gifts do they like?

It’s no surprise that this former pirate likes Luxury, Underworld Goods, Military Gear and Weapons gifts.

What wins their affection in conversation?

I have to start of by saying he pretty much hates everything I say, as a dark side aligned player. He balks at asserting one’s authority, or acknowledging hierarchy/others’ authority, and using any means other than a brawl to settle a dispute. He seems to react more favorably to jumping in and taking action quickly, keeping your promises, and getting yourself into complicated situations.

What is the best role for this companion?

If he is by your side as you quest, you will typically want to have him in a single-target ranged DPS support role (though you can change his active abilities to do AOE damage.) He is also allegedly the Sith Inquisitor female’s romance companion, but I wouldn’t know because he hates my guts. When he is back on the ship doing your crew skills bidding, note that he has the following Crew Skill bonuses:
+2 slicing critical
+2 underworld trading critical

And as noted in the comments on TORhead, at some point early on you have a conversation with him during which you can ask him to be your pilot. If you do that, during space missions his will be the primary voice you hear instead of your character.

Ashara Zavros

When do you obtain them, and where?

She joins you as you do your class quests on Taris, anywhere from levels 32-36.

What do they wear?

Wears medium armor with strength and endurance her two primary stats. Uses dual lightsabers as her weapons.

What kind of gifts do they like?

She likes Weapon, Military Gear, Republic Memorabilia, and Cultural Artifact gifts.

What wins their affection in conversation?

Like Andronikos, she pretty much hates everything I say, as a dark side aligned player. She seems to like it when I reassure her she’s made the right decision by coming over to the dark side with me, and likes when I am lenient and don’t purple lightning everyone for fun. She has also responded well to my attempts at humor. She reacts negatively when I ask an NPC why their petty situation is my problem/why I should care.

What is the best role for this companion?

If she is by your side as you quest, she will be in a melee DPS support role. Those of you playing male Inquisitors will likely want to try your hand at romancing her, but note that if you’re not a light side aligned player, you are going to have a rough time getting on her good side for that. When she is back on the ship doing your crew skills bidding, note that she has the following Crew Skill bonuses:

+10 Synthweaving Efficiency
+10 Diplomacy Efficiency

Need Some Holiday Wrapping Auditory Diversions? Check out TOR Reporter

23 Friday Dec 2011

Posted by in podcasts

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I would be remiss not to mention that I’ve been honored to guest on a couple of recent editions of the TOR Reporter podcast. Guesting on an MMO podcast was one of my bucket list to do items for this year so I was excited to squeeze that one in under the wire.

In the most recent episode, I totally derail the podcast within the first three minutes, due to my comment about the lack of much PvPness on our server. Say that last sentence aloud and see why our chat room was awash in lolols for a solid 5 minutes. Oopsie!

You can also check out an earlier edition where I was part of a roundtable discussion about the BETA stress test weekend, and our impending launch plans.

My Post-Launch Update

22 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in administrivia

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Now that we are midway through the first week post-launch, I thought I’d take a breather to update on how I’ve spent my Early Game Access time and the first few days post-launch.

My Sith Inquisitor Sorcerer Anexxia has, as expected, been my primary time and credit sink. The credit sink, more specifically has come in the form of keeping her crafting profession current, as previously noted. Pleasantly, the bugged nodes have thinned out as I’ve leveled, so I am now at the point where my crafting is a little bit ahead of my ability to wear my craftables, which makes me happy.

Another happiness bringer is zipping around on my speeder. I ended up just shy of purchasing it when I hit 25 thanks to not noticing that my one trainable skill cost me 7k. Oopsie! But thanks to my SO, I was able to get my speeder before we touched down in the sand waste of Tattooine.

This financial instability led me to push my Bounty Hunter alt up to level 10 so she could be easily parked in the Galactic Trade Market while her companion went out running slicing missions to fill my coffers. Yes, it’s cruel to put her to work as my own private merchant services coordinator, but they didn’t name me Lord Anexxia at level 30 for nothing, now did they?

In addition to the shiny title at the completion of Chapter 1 of my class story, which was much shiner than the title I earned from hitting Dark Side level 3 earlier in the week, I also got to set my Legacy name. This also means I got a new huge, barely scratched legacy bar at the bottom of my screen underneath my level progress bar. That’s right, much like achievements in other games, your legacy bar will monitor your progress in the game across all your characters on the same server. Every time you kill a mob or complete a quest you’ll earn a few legacy points. I encourage my alt-loving friends to try to push through Chapter 1 one at least one of their characters so their alting will count towards their legacy level.

I’m still getting used to the eternal vigilance that is necessary for thriving on a PvP server but am dong a fair job of it thus far. I am a little concerned, however, that the debilitating lag I’ve encountered in the open world on Alderaan is going to get me killed. Repeatedly. I’ll also be interested in seeing if the lag carries over to Operations. It’s been a huge adjustment going from having gorgeous high quality graphics and great computer performance to low resolution graphics and having subpar performance. I’ll continue to cross my fingers that Bioware eventually decides to make a Mac native client for the game, which I expect my year-and-a-half old iMac would be able to stomach just fine.

How have you been spending your first week or so of playing SWTOR?

SWTOR Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

19 Monday Dec 2011

Posted by in administrivia, FAQs, SWTOR

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With the launch of Star Wars: the Old Republic underway, you may be finding that the same questions keep popping up with each new recruit who logs in and joins your guild. With that in mind, I’ve started this handy FAQ of the questions I am most frequently seen asked, and their answers. Feel free to point your new players this way to get their questions answered.

Is there a Guild bank?

No, there currently isn’t a guild bank. But it is on the developers’ “to do” list.

What do I do with all my crafting materials and extra gear then, if there isn’t a guild bank?

Store your crafting materials and extra gear that you intend to use at some point in your cargo hold. And use gchat to find a home for any items you don’t intend to use. You can also try selling some items in the Galactic Trade Network, but economies are still pretty soft on most servers.

I don’t have my ship yet, so how can I access my cargo hold?

Go to a major city and look for Cargo hold access, noted with a key on your map.

But if I leave my crafting materials in the cargo hold, how can I craft anything?

Your enterprising companions actually use the workbench next to the cargo hold on your ship for their crafting activities. They are able to use any materials you store in the hold to complete the items you ask them to craft.

When do I get to choose my advanced class?

You get to choose your advanced class after you finish the first part of your class storyline. You will have a quest that will hook you up with the NPC that will help you choose your preferred class. Characters are in the 8-11 range when this occurs, depending upon how many heroic and bonus quests you decide to complete on your starter world.

Where do I go to train up my advanced class skills?

Your same class trainer will be able to train you in your advanced class skills; just click on the second tab to see those trainable skills.

When I open the guild window, it only shows 2 people but we have 20 folks on. How can I fix it?

Hit Ctrl+U twice to reload the UI. You should know be able to see your full guild window contents.

I didn’t get a chance to pick my quest reward before the window closed so now I can’t get my reward!

Don’t panic! Look at the upper right corner of your screen. You should have a pending box flashing at you that will allow you to pick your reward.

I picked my quest reward and didn’t get it. And my inventory is full…

Go and clear out some of that bag space. You’ll find that the item you selected from your last quest turn in will show up when you make your next quest turn-in.

Can I fast travel to my ship?

No. At best, you can probably fast travel to the spaceport in which your ship is docked.

Why should I care if my companion likes me or not?

You end up with different interactions with your companion depending upon their affection level, including the possibility of romance with some of them. It should become clear very quickly what kind of answers make them angry with you; avoid that language to win points with them. And give them companion gifts that match their interest to increase their affection level. The SWTOR loading screen tips also note that companion affection level also affect the speed and quality of the crafting they perform for you.

How do I split this stack of [consumable/crafting item]?

Hold down shift and right click and drag to an open slot in your inventory. This will pop up a window that will allow you to split the stack into your desired quantities.

Where is the speeder piloting trainer?

There isn’t one. When you hit 25 and can train speeder piloting, visit your regular class trainer. They will train you on it for 40,000 credits.

Where do I buy my first speeder?

If you purchased the Collector’s Edition, you’ll have a special speeder. For the rest of us, the speeder vendor is available on the fleet. The starter option is 8,000 credits, putting your total cost for your first speeder at 48,000 credits. This is an attainable goal just from questing provided you loot and cash out on all your grays, and don’t spend your credits on gathering and mission skills quests. Your speeder is your ground mount.

When do I get a faster speeder? How much does my second speeder ost?

At level 40 you can train speeder piloting level 2, which will cost you $210,000. Purchasing your faster speeder will cost you $25,000. This puts your total at $235,000 to get faster ground mount speed.

When Does (Class Y) Get Their Ship?

Again, this is tied to your class quest. You’ll get this in the middle-to-end of the quest line on the second planet. If you’re sticking solely to your class quest and ignore all others you’ll get this around levels 14-16. If you’re doing all of the quests and/or mixing in some PvP action while you level, then you may get it closer to 16-19.
(Thanks to @Psynister for this addition!)

Why doesn’t [insert action/activity here] work like it does in World of Warcraft?

In case you haven’t noticed, this isn’t Azeroth. Furthermore, you shouldn’t assume all your fellow players are WoW players taking a vacation in SWTOR. The Star Wars franchises have a large fan base that don’t necessarily overlap with other MMOs. I personally know several folks who haven’t played MMOs in the past who are really excited about SWTOR and planning to play after the game launches in the US on the 20th.

It was so easy for me to [get the credits for my speeder/ defeat that boss/ do some other game activity] so anyone who can’t do it must be a Noob.

This is one of the most vexxing POVs to deal with. Guess what– your fellow players may have never played an MMO before. Or they may be playing on a Mac with Bootcamp and not used to Windows commands. Or a thousand other variables you can’t possibly know. So before you jump to thinking someone you are playing with is an idiot, you might want to back up a few steps, and chill it out. No one cares how easy it was for you. Rubbing it in someone else’s face that you had no problem with something that they are asking for help with just makes you a jerk at best or a bully at worst. Instead, show your expertise in the game world by helping them out. Maybe you’ll even make a new friend.

When Does (Class X) Get Their Companion?

This is also tied to your class quest, and not all classes are created equal. Warriors get theirs right before the “hardest” part of their class quest on the starting planet. Inquisitors get theirs in the middle of the hardest part of their quest chain. Troopers get theirs at the end of their class quest on the starting planet. The level at which this happens will vary anywhere from 8 to 11 depending entirely upon whether or not you’ve primarily focused on your class quest chain, or have been doing a bunch of other questing.
(Thanks to @Psynister for this addition!)

I can’t find my companion. What do I do?

If you were just on a taxi, it is possible that your companion was left behind. Click on their portrait window in the lower lefthand column of your screen to resummon them. If you were just in an intense firefight and they were killed, you need to go and retrieve them and resurrect them. If none of those options work, if you are at the point where you have 2 companions, summon your other companion then resummon the one you wish to be playing with.

I still can’t find my companion, what do I do?

If you need to resurrect your companion but can’t click the body, you can just click the competence “Resurrect companion” in your skill book (P), General Tab.
(Thanks to @Zahiouninette for this tip!)

None of that worked– my Companion is Still Gone!

Normal flashpoint and heroic group sizes are capped at 4 members, which includes your companions. If your companion’s portrait is pushed over so that you only see the right-most edge of it on your screen, it’s because your party size is maxed and you cannot summon them. Note that in a group with 3 players, one player will get to keep their companion out.
(Thanks to @Psynister for this addition!)

Do I earn rested XP when I am logged out?

You earn Rest XP by entering a Cantina. You continue to earn Rested XP over time if you log out in a Cantina. Rested XP is currently capped at a level’s worth of experience. When you are playing with rested XP in your bar, you earn double XP from any creature kills. Rested XP does not currently contribute to any other sources of experience (completing missions, exploration, codex discovery, etc.) Logging out in your spaceship gives you rested XPas well, but you do not received the rested notification upon entering/exiting your ship which you do receive upon entering/exiting a cantina. Rested XP gains seem to be a percentage of the amount of XP needed to complete your current level, not a constant number.

Do I have to sit here and wait while my companion goes out on that crafting/gathering/missions skills quest? And do I have to queue my crafting items one at a time?

You sure don’t. You can queue up to 5 crafts for your companion by clicking multiple times on the “Make” button. And although you can not queue up a series of missions skills and gathering quests, you *can* send your companion out on a quest and log out, or log onto another character. When you next log on to your character, the results of your missions will be waiting for you.
(Thanks to @Zahiouninette and @Psynister for this addition!)

When Can I Send My Companions On Mission Quests?

Any time you’re logged in. You can send them on missions while you’re in PvP War Zones, running PvE Flash Points, or kicking back in the VIP Lounge. They will return on time to report back with their success/failures, and you can send them right back out on the spot. If you happen to be in the middle of an activity that doesn’t let you accept them turning in the mission results then you should have the window pop up for it after you finish that activity. If it doesn’t, again look at the top right corner of your screen for a flashing “Pending” message which will pop it up.
(Thanks to @Psynister for this addition!)

Can I grab a ride with someone in my party to head to a new planet?

You sure can! Let them enter the hangar first then follow them in. Feel free to poke around on their ship, then settle in to the cockpit and enjoy your free ride to the planet!

How does the Light/Dark side point system work, exactly?

In your interactions with NPCs, you’ll often be given a choice between three options, with 1 being a neutral response, on giving you a red dark side emblem when you mouse over it, and the third showing a sparkly light side circle when you mouse over it. You will want to decide if you want your character to be going for the dark side points or the light side points pretty early on as your alignment to one side or the other will affect your ability to use some crafted and commendations vendor gear that requires either light side or dark side of a specific level. There is not currently equivalent neutral gear in game, so being middle-of-the-road in your decisions may cause you to miss out on some gear. Your fleet will have light and dark side vendors that have a variety of items including relics, gear, and a specific vanity pet.

Does my light side/dark side affinity affect anything else?

Yes, if you are Dark Side aligned you will start to notice some physical changes as your dark side points rack up. You will start to appear as though you haven’t gotten much sleep, and have sucked some of your vitality and life out of you. Must have been all that purple lightning you’ve been throwing around…

How can I see what my Frames per second (FPS) is running at?

Ctrl+Shift+f will bring up a tiny FPS indicator in the lower left of your screen.

I searched for the items I put up for sale in the Galactic Trade Market, but I don’t see them. What happened to them?

If you have sold the items, there will be a mail for you w/notice of the sale and/or your credits. Credits come to you an hour after your item sells. Otherwise, check the Sell tab at the kiosk to see the items you currently have up for sale. They will not show up if you search on the buy tab as you can’t buy from yourself.

Why can’t I log in to the game today? I’ve been playing fine since I started my early game access started.

The grace period ended this morning at 2AM Central. To continue playing, you must log in to swtor.com and enter a Product Registration Code (ie, the code that came with your box or digital copy) and set up a subscription in order to continue playing. Setting up the subscription seems to be the step many folks have not completed. Even though 30days of play time comes with the game, you can not play without setting up a payment method for the recurring subscription.

What do I do with these commendations I see listed in my currency tab?

You can trade in commendations at the specific planet’s commendation vendor. They can be used to purchase gear, modifications, and weapons. You can find the vendors in the main town on each planet or on the fleet.

Can I trade in my commendations for one planet to get commendations for another planet?

No. The vendor that allowed you to trade commendations in BETA is no longer available.

Where/How do I repair my gear?

Any vendor can do this for you. Choose the repair all button in the lower left of their window, or go to the repair tab to repair only specific pieces of gear.

This post will be updated with new FAQs as the game progresses. If I forgot one you keep hearing let me know in the comments. Enjoy your adventures!

I’m Synthweaving my Way to the Poorhouse!

16 Friday Dec 2011

Posted by in crew skills, synthweaving

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Anexxia and a holodancer

Perhaps I can take up Cantina dancing to pay for my speeder?

I ended my SWTOR adventures today at level 20, and no closer than 1/3 of the way towards the speeder I’ll want to purchase at level 25. This vexes me because in that other MMO I play, I’ve never had a character be unable to purchase their transportation at level, even with keeping my professions leveled up with my character.

/cry

This is a symptom of my crafting affliction. I absolutely *HATE* to have my crafting not keep pace with my character’s leveling. Why? Because it sucks to not be able to make items I might actually want to use, that’s why! I’ve made a solid dent in my crafting thus far, and can actually make a few items my guildies might want to wear (see my crafting rare patterns list for details on what I can make.)

But as of now, I am going to have to hoard my credits until 25 to see if I can make it to being able to purchase my speeder training and my speeder. Most unfortunately I think I will just be fast walking my way around, getting the smackdown handed to me.

This really should not be the case. But I have had to spend cash on archaeology missions due to the sheer volume of bugged archaeology nodes I’ve seen in my travels. I get excited about a node on my map ,clear my way too it, then find it’s not able to be collected. Rinse and repeat for about 60-70% of the nodes I saw today on Balmorra.

I do have an evil plan for how to address this gap. I plan to make some sacrificial alts this weekend, and funnel all of their earnings to my main. It’s cruel, but I am going for maximum dark side points, now aren’t I? Which reminds me I shall have to track down that silly woman who was responsible for those 50 light side points. Truly unacceptable…

For those of you crazy enough to follow in my synthweaving leveling footsteps, I do have a few tips:

1) Skip out on the Underworld Trading missions unless you are dead set on making yourself one of the low level fully moddable clothing items and need the special materials.

2) Stock up on the fibrous nylite solution when you visit your first crew skills vendor. You are going to go through this stuff like mad, so buy 20-30 the first go round so you have it on hand.

3) Go out of your way in search of archaeology nodes whenever one pops up on your mini map. Yes, many of them are bugged, but you will need every mat you can scrounge up, so worst case scenario, you’ve gotten a few more credits and a smidge of XP.

4) If you get stuck, use your archaeology missions judiciously. I suggest saving them up for when you need the artifact fragments, or when you are in the transition phase between level 1 and level 2 crystals.

5) Free up your bag space by storing your crafting materials in your cargo hold. Your companions can easily access them for crafting but they won’t keep you from picking up all the grey trash you can find to finance this little venture.

I have to also note that companions are supposed to be able to go and sell your greys for you, but it has been my experience that more often than not, my companion will not, in fact, toddle off on this task. The request seems most likely to fail when underground or in a special quest area. I believe that is a known issue so cross your fingers our little minions are back on taking out our trash soon.

And now for a poll…