STAR WARS™: The Old Republic™ News

You read that correctly, the Public Test Server is now open for players to experience Star Wars: The Old Republic in 64-bit! This is yet another of our modernization initiatives that we are bringing to the game.

Why make the move to 64-bit?
Star Wars: The Old Republic was initially released in 32-bit on the game client in order to run on the widest variety of PCs available at the time. A decade later, 32-bit PCs are much less common. The last 32-bit PC processor was released in 2010.

The first advantage of moving to 64-bit code is memory. With 64-bits players can use more memory and aren't limited to 4 GB per process. This limit applies to the game client itself, and restricts things like how much content we can be placed in each area.

That ties into the limits that our tools have because they’re based on the same code. SWTOR has ten years of content in it: planets, characters, conversations, missions, systems, NPCs, etc... The migration over to 64-bit removes that limit and will help us streamline the process of building compelling content for years to come.

Additionally, we are future-proofing. With each new generation of Windows PCs, 32-bit support is slowly disappearing. Moving to 64-bit will help keep the game running smoothly by making sure it is running in the preferred mode for the hardware.

What should players expect to see differently on PTS?
We’re releasing the content that was included in Game Update 7.2 for testing. Ideally, there should be no difference in the player experience in terms of playability. We want to verify that the game still works the same as it did previously.

What feedback are we looking for?
Please be on the lookout for crashes or anything that seems different. There are thousands of permutations of processor, memory, graphics card, etc. We're especially on the hunt for issues that show up with specific configurations.

We are aware of a known issue currently with trees and foliage as they will look broken or be completely invisible. Upgrades are being made with the modeling software that builds these environment assets which is why they will not appear as functional during this phase of testing.

We encourage all feedback and reports to be submitted in our PTS sub-forums.

For details on how to access PTS, read here.

This is a huge stride forward in our modernization efforts, and we cannot wait to begin this new journey with all of our players.

Please note that PTS is provided in English only.

Steam PTS
When PTS is available, there will be a new prompt on our storefront page. Clicking the link there will start the process to getting the PTS installed!

Every year that passes, I am amazed by the work that has gone into Star Wars: The Old Republic. Today, we have hit our 11 year anniversary, and I have been reflecting on everything that transpired throughout the year. The updates, team changes, meetings, challenges, forums, live streams, and more come to mind.

At the beginning of 2022, we launched our 8th expansion. We took the time needed to overcome unforeseen obstacles, polish and test the content to ensure it will be enjoyable for players. There was a lot of effort, love, and care that went into “Legacy of the Sith” and just as much going into the most recent and future updates.

A lot of changes happened this year, and many times the unknown can be intimidating and scary, but the SWTOR team was able to adapt and truly strive forward with meaning and purpose. We took the time to focus on what was good and what was working for us while also acknowledging what could be improved upon and how we could move forward and upward.

Now we are on the heels of the launch of 7.2. I am thrilled to see all of you enjoying the new planet, the new Mandalorian storyline and Daily Area, and I am right there with you in celebrating the amazing UI updates and quality of life changes that were included in this update. I even see quite a few of you making your way through the PvP Reward Track. “Showdown on Ruhnuk” is a fun update, and it brings me great joy to see our players experiencing all of the content in it.

On top of creating content, we made huge strides from a technical standpoint. We’ve been talking about modernization efforts for some time, and now players are able to see some of this on the front end. We’ve updated our forums and game launcher with new tech, are in the midst of bringing the game to 64-bit, and have been successful in testing content on servers hosted in the cloud. This was an initiative that we’ve been working towards for the better part of the year, and we are now in a position to talk about it. The last few rounds of testing on the Public Test Server have been done on AWS! Current testing is proving to be successful, and we look forward to next steps. Moving servers entirely to the cloud in the near future will enable us to improve the game experience for our players and create opportunities to increase the player base over time. All of these initiatives are to lay the groundwork for even more to come.

A bit of a sneak peek into the future. Eric and the design leads have been working together to build upon and in some areas rebuild internal processes and plans that impact the cadence of content. Take it from me that game development is more than putting pieces of code together and then pushing it live. Building, testing, and polishing take time, and the plans this team is putting together are coming to fruition, beginning with 7.2. We will have more to share and what all of this looks like early next year.

In closing, here are some anniversary specials you can enjoy:

Double XP Event begins today and will run until December 27, 2022

• 50% off Pets and Companions from now until December 27th, 2022
  
• 50% off Toys and Flair in the Cartel Market from December 28th until January, 4 2023
  
• 50% off all Collections from now until January 1, 2023
  

And a reminder for the following:

• Character Transfer Sale is currently active and will run through January 9, 2023
  
• Life Day is running until January 10, 2023
  
• The Coruscant and Kaas City Strongholds are discounted to 11 credits (down from 5000) until the next game update.
  

Thank you all for coming along this journey with us, and thank you for playing Star Wars: The Old Republic. Stay safe and stay healthy. May the Force be with you.

-Keith Kanneg and the SWTOR Team

• Increased the weekly cap of the following currencies to 2500 (up from 1500):
  
  • Conquest Commendations
    
  • Daily Resource Matrix
    
• Players no longer receive the error message telling them their Mission log is too full when attempting to complete the Ruins of Nul Flashpoint - Solo-Story Mode.
  
• The Thyrsian Mender’s weapons can now be purchased from the PvP upgrade vendors, as expected.
  
• The Thyrsian Targeter’s weapons are now only unlocking the corresponding upgrades in the PvP upgrade vendor’s inventory.
  
• There is now a visual effect on the following weapons:
  
  • Family of the First Seed Lightsaber
    
  • Family of the First Seed Dualsaber
    
• The following crates no longer reward Implants:
  
  • Elite Decurion Upgrade Cache
    
  • Supreme Decurion Upgrade Cache
    
  • Rakata Upgrade Cache
    
  • Tionese Upgrade Cache
    
  • Columni Upgrade Cache
    
  • Thyrsian Upgrade Cache
    

Fixed with a previous maintenance:

• PvP Season progression is no longer resetting after being logged out for at least 1 hour.
  

We will be taking the servers offline on December 20, 2022 to deploy Game Update 7.2a.

Details:
DATE: December 20, 2022
TIME: 7:00 AM - 10:00 AM CT (1:00 PM - 4:00 PM UTC)
VERSION: 7.2a

Patch notes will be available on Monday.

Thank you for your patience as we maintain Star Wars™: The Old Republic™!

Game Update 7.2 brings plenty of new content to the game. Players will be able to explore a new planet, Ruhnuk, fight Heta Kol and her faction of Mandalorians in the story update “Showdown on Ruhnuk,” experience the changes made to PvP, and more! Let’s dive into the details of what players can expect with this new game update!



Story Update - “Showdown on Ruhnuk”
In this new story update, “Showdown on Ruhnuk,” players help Shae Vizla in her hunt for Heta Kol, a rogue Mandalorian who has gathered an army of rebels under the banner of the Hidden Chain. This pursuit brings them to Ruhnuk, an inhospitable planet at the center of an electrical nebula.



New planet - Ruhnuk
This new planet–a dry, arid, and plateau-based world–was originally occupied to mine its various resources. The planet, now abandoned, is Heta Kol’s base of operations.

Ruhnuk Daily Area
Explore Ruhnuk in our new Daily Area! Alongside Mandalorian Lane Vizla, expand your faction’s influence with all new weekly and daily Missions, Achievements, and a Reputation Track, and unlock new rewards and titles.

User Interface Enhancements
To improve players’ experience in our game, we’ve made updates to the UI! Some of the changes and improvements include adding visual updates to our Welcome Window and more customization for the utility bar, a new deconstruct and delete window, a Colorblind Mode UI, and Map System Revamp! Jump into the game to check out these improvements.

Gearing changes
In addition to the new content described above, we’re bringing changes to gearing with new item ceilings and new item floors. Details in this forum post: Gear and progression changes coming with 7.2.

PvP Revamp
Game Update 7.2 brings changes to PvP Mode! There is no longer any distinction between Unranked and Ranked PvP. Players will now queue solo or as a group for 4v4 or 8v8 matches.
Our first PvP Season is starting now with a new PvP Map, “Onderon Palatial Ruins!” Jump into the game to complete PvP content and earn PvP points from our new PvP Reward Track! More details here.

Life Day Celebration
Our Life Day celebration starts now and runs until January 10th! It’s the time of the year to throw snowballs at your friends to complete Conquest Objectives and Achievements and earn festive rewards. For the new edition of the event, we’re introducing new rewards, such as a new Gala Hat and new snowglobes themed around the R-4 Anomaly, Manaan, Ruhnuk, and Elom.

Best view in SWTOR 2022
Contest-winning decorations are now available at the “Anniversary Personnel” vendor on the Fleet! Winners will receive their own decorations in their in-game mail. Check the ten winners here.

Eleven-Year Anniversary
To celebrate The Old Republic’s Eleven-Year Anniversary, Coruscant and Kaas City Strongholds can be purchased at a discounted price of eleven credits until the launch of our next game update.

Log in to the game now to experience the new content and changes. The full list of patch notes for this update is available here.