BioWare’s Lead Combat overlord, Georg Zoeller, recently supplied a few infobitz on the official Star Wars: The Old Republic forums. In a thread entitled “How will the sage fair against up close melee characters?” Zoeller responded: “You’ll die. To elaborate on this: If you try to outdamage any of the melee DPS classes at close [...]

From the crystal-laden caverns of Ilum to the Jundland Wastes of Tatooine, this is your guide to discovering the distant worlds and locales of Star Wars:The Old Republic. Welcome to The Nerfherder’s Guide to the Galaxy!

“This planet was a lifeless hunk of rock before the Republic came here; and if this war goes on much longer, that’s how we’ll leave it. You’re all here because you made some very good or very bad decisions, and I don’t care which. All I care about are the next few days, and seeing peace restored to this world. Now, who’s ready to put some dents in their pretty armor?”

-Commander Antilles, Havoc Squadron

Located in the Bright Jewel system, Ord Mantell lies in the middle of a bulge in the northern section of the Mid Rim. It was largely settled some 9,000 years before the Treaty of Coruscant by an expedition of Corellians.

The major establishment of Ord Mantell as a galactic presence, however, came with the world’s designation as an Ordinance/Regional Depot (ORD) planet. This made it an important military base for the Republic during its middle period of expansion.

Ord Mantell’s position in the northern section of the Mid Rim made it a military outpost of great importance. As the centuries passed, however, much of its role in the Republic military was diminished. Though the planet’s name retained a military root, private organizations began to move in and take over.

Many of these groups operated outside of the law, and Ord Mantell became a haven for gangsters, smugglers, and pirates. The political leaders of the Bright Jewel system turned a blind eye to the actions of these groups. Bribes became a standard commodity within the system’s political organization.

Following the Sacking of Coruscant, the leaders of Ord Mantell chose to remain loyal to the Republic. Some of the planet’s citizens, however, supported neither this decision nor the corrupt politicians who controlled their world. Guerrilla assaults from these Separatists over the last two years have plunged Ord Mantell into a civil war.

As the flames of war threaten to be stoked once more throughout the galaxy, Ord Mantell has already fallen into chaos and conflagration.

In Star Wars: The Old Republic, Ord Mantell serves as the starting planet for both Republic Trooper and Smuggler player characters. On this war torn world, Republic players can take up their blasters and charge into the fray.

Much of the planet’s surface is dominated by different mountainous features, including craggy peaks and flat mesas. There is also a great deal of volcanic activity on this world. The Separatists have taken advantage of this terrain for the establishment of their bases and stronghold.

Separatists have created a network of subterranean bases and passageways throughout the high mountains. This allows them to utilize raids and guerrilla tactics to strike against the planetary leaders who remain loyal to the Republic.

In response to these attacks, the Republic has sent the elite Havoc Squadron to end the civil war. A military base serves as the staging ground for these operations. This base provides the troopers of Havoc squadron with a forward command from which to strike against the Separatist stronghold.

To the north of these operations sits Drelliad Village. Smugglers have been seen flying into the Drelliad spaceport, making deliveries of much-needed supplies to support the Republic efforts against the Separatists.

Drelliad Village itself, however, smolders after numerous battles between Separatist and Republic forces. Those smugglers who make it into the village may find themselves drawn into a conflict they never signed up for.

How will you make your mark on the scorched surface of Ord Mantell? Will you take up the mantle of a Trooper and fight against the Separatists in the name of democracy? Or will you use this conflict as an opportunity to fatten your own bank account? Civil war has begun, how will you end it?

This is a very tough question and one I’m sure many people are asking themselves! How much time will you devote to Star Wars: The Old Republic when it first launches? Since SWTOR is being released over the Christmas holiday it will naturally affect the amount of time we’ll will have to play the long [...]

If you’re a fan of the Crew Skills system, this should come of interest. It seems that some item drops in SWTOR can be “reverse engineered”, and may yield plans. What are the plans used for? Why, to create new (and possibly rare) items, of course! Momus over at AskAJedi has a great column on [...]

Everyone here at TORWars wishes you a Happy Halloween! In celebration of the day where we dress up as our favorite Star Wars characters, get drunk and beg for sugary treats – here is a poster created by Fail Hunter cartoonist Tim Yates. Hope your evening is spooky, fun and safe!

BioWare are holding a second Star Wars The Old Republic Fan Summit and TORWars has been invited to attend. Jeff Hollis and myself will be winging our way to the offices of BioWare Austin next weekend for a three-day visit, November 6-8. While there we should get our hands on the game and chat with [...]

There has really only been one game system related post from the devs since my last article with the rest being about game testing in some form or another. So, without further ado… Forum poster IICONAIRII in his post “Force Pull” wanted to know if Jedi Consular’s get access to a Force Pull ability. Georg Zoeller, Principal Lead Combat Designer, confirmed that they do have a Force Pull ability called “Rescue” which targets friendly units (but only for the Sage advanced class):

Sages also get access to ‘Rescue’, a friendly pull with accompanying threat reduction. Not just useful for pulling out your friend when they get themselves into too much trouble, also quite nice for quick vertical plays in Huttball.

For those EU guilds that are hoping to be invited to the Guild Testing Program, there is still a chance for you! David Bass, Senior Community Coordinator, updated the official “Guild Testing Program Details” thread which confirmed that EU guilds have and will continue to be invited into the beta as part of the Guild Testing Program:

I’ve updated the original post with the following: 

Quote:

Are European guilds eligible for Guild Testing? 

Yes, guilds are eligible for Guild Testing regardless of their chosen region in the Guild Headquarters.

This has actually been true for quite some time now, as we’ve been inviting EU guilds over the past few months. Apologies that the post was not updated sooner.

Did you pre-order your copy of SW:TOR from Best Buy? Have you not received your pre-order code yet? If so, Stephen Reid, Senior Online Community Manager, wants to know about it. Forum poster Nolan_Grey has had a less than favorable experience pre-ordering from Best Buy and Stephen Reid commented on his post “Here’s reason why Best Buy pre-orders haven’t received their code; Clarification, BW?”:

Hey there. Apologies for any issues you may have had with Best Buy over this.

We’re going to investigate and report back, but I’ll tell you immediately that there are no plans to give ’30 days of Early Access’ to anyone. The likelihood is that there may be confusion there over the 30 days of game time that are included with the game.

To help us in this, I’d appreciate a PM from you, Nolan_Grey, with more specific information – especially who you spoke to at Best Buy, any emails you’ve sent to our Customer Service team, etc. Thank you!

So, if you are having trouble with your pre-order code that you got from Best Buy and you haven’t been able to resolve the issue on your own, a private message to Stephen Reid on the SW:TOR forums may help you get it sorted out (be sure to include the requested information when doing so!). Definitely try Best Buy and/or BioWare customer support first, but if all else fails, “The Conductor” might be able to come to the rescue (please accept my preemptive apologies should your inbox explode, Mr. Reid ).

Last up is your public service announcement for the week. Forum poster Zhit wanted to know if everyone who pre-ordered the game is bound by SW:TOR’s NDA or if only beta testers are. The answer is somewhat technical: most information about the game is still protected by the NDA and discussing that information on the forums is against the SW:TOR Forums Rules of Conduct, but forum posters are not actually bound by the NDA. Got it?

Ahh heck…Allison Berryman, Senior Community Coordinator, explains it way better than I ever could:

In order to be selected for testing, you have to opt-in and agree to the Game Testing Agreement. Pre-ordering the game, however, does not require agreeing to the Game Testing Agreement – the agreement only binds testers and those who have opted-in to be selected for testing.

It is not necessary to agree to the Game Testing Agreement to participate on the forums, but the Rules of Conduct (which everyone must adhere to) do state that “Posting, linking, quoting, reproducing, or discussing confidential information from the game testing program is prohibited on the forums.” Even if you did not agree to the Game Testing Agreement (meaning you didn’t opt-in to be selected for testing), the discussion of confidential information [i.e. beta leaks] is not permitted on the forums. Hopefully that clears up any misunderstanding!

For those anxious to read new, legitimate information about the game, I would encourage you all to check out the multitude of articles released as part of the recent press embargo drop.