Yearly Archives: 2012

SWTOR: Journey of a Sith Episode 2

Star Wars The Old Republic: Journey of a Sith Episode 2

By Remko Molenaar (Proxzor), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

In last week’s SWTOR column I reached level 10 and had chosen my advanced class at last. I decided to go for the Sith Assassin to better roleplay as a sneaky backstabber. If you read the opening of this series last week you will know that I left off just as I stepped aboard the Black Talon flashpoint with a group of random players!

 

 

After looking at every store in the Imperial Fleet and visiting the VIP store which is specially made for players that preordered a Collector’s Edition or the Digital Deluxe version, I found a group that was ready to go on its first adventure through space doing the Black Talon flashpoint. I went there together with a Sith sorcerer and he got the role of the healer and helped us a lot in the battles to come. We also brought with us a Sith marauder for the extra DPS and off tanking if needed. And the last player that joined our party of four was a Bounty Hunter that had the defensive abilities to help us out as a tank.

 

 

When we got into the Black Talon we all had to join the first conversation so it would start the checkpoint, when everyone was gathered around and buffed up we began the first scene of the flashpoint. We thought it was just a small flight through space to our destination but our hopes were crushed as a republic ship came into view. Teamwork was the key to surviving this flashpoint but unfortunately we figured that out too late as our party was decimated on the first boss because everyone just tried to DPS him down. This Flashpoint wasn’t your average MMORPG walk in the park dungeon and required us to establish some party roles before our second attempt. After our second try everything went much smoother and we didn’t have any trouble at all dealing with the first boss.

 

 

An interesting note of the Flashpoint is that in each conversation every player will automatically roll some sort of number to get the right to represent the group in the cutscene conversations. Luckily if you get a question where you can answer between Light and Dark, each player will always get his Alignment of choice regardless of what the party leader decides. But you will see the different outcome if a person with the other Alignment has won the higher roll. This will make each conversation a unique outcome for every experience if you go through the Flashpoint again.

 

 

After killing a lot of trash mobs along the way to the second boss it was time to discuss tactics. Since I had done the Flashpoint before during beta, I knew we had to kite the upcoming boss to prevent our marauder from getting destroyed in melee combat. Thanks to my superior education in the ways of the Sith, we were able to dispatch the second boss with no problems. Our coordination was growing rapidly and by the time the third boss came around he was no match for our deadly synergy.

 

 

The last boss we had to face was a Jedi Padawan with the name Yadira Ban. She is a really hard boss to tackle if you haven’t experienced her abilities before as her skill set is a real trip. The key is learning her skills and then calling out the signature animations and defending yourself appropriately. After a brief huddle our Sith superteam charged in. Unfortunately someone wasn’t paying attention and met a swift end at the hands of Yadira. This early handicap made the entire battle a struggle for survival and our marauder finally fell in exhaustion. Luckily the sorcerer had paid close attention to my prebattle lesson and kept out of reach of Yadira while I assumed the role of tank. It was a photo finish but Yadira finally fell with my hp bar barely visible! We quickly resurrected the other players and enjoyed a trial free ride to our destination of Dromund Kaas.

 

 

When I arrived at Dromund Kaas I did a few quests before heading to Kaas City in order to help the residents with their problems. Because the Black Talon was such a big Flashpoint I got to level 11 and was halfway through to the next level. My random and uncharacteristic acts of kindness in Kaas City leveled me to 12, and I decided a shopping spree was in order to celebrate. After fitting myself with some gear fitting a great Sith like myself I arrived at my new master’s office to report in.

 

 

I was tired of questing however and decided I would test my strength in some warzones because I am always up for some PvP. I got matched against some fellow players of the Empire in a game of Huttball and experienced the result of an addiction. After successfully winning the first warzone I was invited by a group of three players from the previous game to do some more games as a group. I thought why the heck not and played some warzones for several hours. I got to know each player and really kicked things off as we went undefeated throughout the evening. It wasn’t so much superior gear but superior coordination and focus on objectives that made us an unstoppable team.

 

 

Because of this successful group I leveled to fifteen without doing any quests and was behind on the story. Mobs don’t level up to match your level in SWTOR so the next few missions I ran were a breeze.  After rushing through the quests I was still way ahead of the level you had to be for the quest zones I was in which was quite frustrating since my addiction to jump back into more warzones was nagging at me. After completing all the quests on Dromund Kaas my master informed me that it was time to go intergalactic with my quest to collect special Artifacts…

Silkroad-R The Return of the King

Silkroad-R The Return of the King

 

Joymax, a developer and publisher of interactive entertainment for the global market, today announced the successful launch of their new blockbuster title, Silkroad-R. The newest iteration of the Silkroad family is its own game, with unique accounts and servers, and is as always completely free to download and play! Newcomers to the Silkroad franchise alongside series veterans can now enjoy the cleanest gaming experience yet. To celebrate the game’s successful launch, Joymax is featuring numerous events and promotions, including OnRPG’s Ipad 2 leveling contest!

 

In addition new players can join now for a chance to win Amazon Gift Cards by reaching level 30, 50, or 70 with randomly selected winners in February.  This give-away is in addition to all the in-game items awaiting players, starting at level three and available every 4-6 levels.  Already joined?  The race to 80 is on!  The first 100 players to hit this plateau will be gifted special Seals to upgrade their armor and weapons.  These bonus items include amazing buffs like the Berserk Regeneration Potion, HP Increasing Scrolls, Skillpoint Scrolls, Pandora’s Boxes, and many other items that allow players to level faster and/or customize their players in ways they had previously not imagined.

 

Feeling creative?  Submit a wallpaper or greeting card to Joymax and win a coveted Hanbok Avatar Set, along with a Magic Lamp Cleaner. Those just looking for a quick boost can pop by the NPC So-OK for a 5-hour exp buff that can be used once per day. Players seeking an even bigger boost can find a variety of items in the cash shop to enchant their items, improve their experience rate, and so much more.

 

 

“There’s many aspects of Silkroad-R that we changed or improved based on user feedback, and we took a long time investigating the cash shop and evaluating each item.” said Joymax CEO, Nam-chul Kim.  “Players will find all the items they love in the cash shop, but every item has been buffed in some fashion, making the Silkroad-R cash shop the strongest yet!”

 

In addition, a new server, Merv was added based on player feedback, to ensure that players will have the perfect gaming experiences from log-in to finish.

Star Trek Online is Now Free-to-Play

Star Trek Online is Now Free-to-Play

 

Star Trek Online

 

Perfect World Entertainment and Cryptic Studios along with CBS Consumer Products, have announced the launch and immediate availability of the highly anticipated Star Trek Online Free-to-Play.

 

 

“We couldn’t be more excited,” said Jack Emmert, CEO, Cryptic Studios, Inc. “Updating Star Trek Online to the popular free-to-play model removes those barriers of entry that previously kept fans and casual gamers away. Anyone can download and play Star Trek Online at no cost. There’s no better way to see how sitting in the captain’s chair feels.”

 

Star Trek Online

 

With the launch of Star Trek Online free-to-play, anyone can download and play the game for free without a retail copy or subscription. All players may enjoy Star Trek Online’s many features for free.  Players do, however, have the ability to access additional optional features through a virtual store.

 

 

In Star Trek Online, the Star Trek universe truly comes to life on a massive scale. Players captain their own starships as part of the Federation or Klingon Empire in a persistent online universe, journey to strange new worlds and take part in epic ground and space missions.

 

Star Trek Online

 

The Universe is Your Only Limit — Play as much as you like for as long as you like at no cost. No subscription is required, nor is payment of any kind required.

 

 

Episodic Gameplay — Experience new weekly episodes that feature story-based gameplay and put your captain’s ability to command to the ultimate test.

 

 

Your Captain, Your Crew, Your Destiny — Become a captain, seek out new life and new civilizations and encounter hostile beings as you advance to maximum level for free.

 

 

Familiar Places, New Experiences — Travel to Starfleet Academy, Deep Space Nine, The First City of Qo’noS and many other iconic locations and notable worlds from the beloved Star Trek universe.

 

 

The Foundry — Create and build brand new missions and stories to share with the entire Star Trek Online community.  Use the specialized toolset to create missions in space or on the ground.  Create custom missions, or design an entire series of episodes from the ground up.

Red 5 Studios Launches Non-Profit League for Gamers

Red 5 Studios Launches New Non-Profit, League For Gamers

 

 

League For Gamers

 

 

Red 5 Studios today announced the League For Gamers (LFG), an organization with the lifelong mission of promoting games in a positive way, spreading the passion of gaming and protecting gaming interests in politics. Red 5 will shut down Firefall and its website on January 18th in a 24 hour show of solidarity, encouraging gamers, developers and all industry supporters to join LFG and stand together against misguided and overbearing legislative initiatives such as SOPA, (Stop Online Privacy Act), and PIPA, (Protect IP), in order to perpetuate and continue industry growth.

 

 

The League For Gamers was founded on January 14, 2012 by Red 5 Studios and its CEO, Mark Kern, through a $50,000 pledge. It was established as a true alternative to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and its subsidiary organization, the Video Game Voter’s Network (VGVN).

 

 

Fuck SOPA

 

 

“The VGVN and the ESA claim to represent gamers and developers, but they have turned their backs on them by supporting and funding legislation such as SOPA and PIPA,” said Mark Kern. “Developers such as Red 5 Studios and other game makers no longer have an organization to represent their true position on this kind of destructive legislation. LFG’s first action will be to petition the ESA to withdraw their support from PIPA, which still looms large in the Senate.”

 

 

While it was announced on Monday that SOPA has been “shelved” – for the time being – its sister bill PIPA is still an immediate threat to the gaming industry and online freedom. The Senate is scheduled to vote on PIPA January 24th, leaving one week for gamers and developers to add their support and get the attention of representatives. Interested parties can join LFG and its ESA petition at the following link: http://www.leagueforgamers.org/2012/01/17/help-lfg-join-now/