Update 2.0 on PTS

[Fairbairn]

http://www.darthhater.com/articles/f...nt-coming-soon
March 25th 9pm PST. Special (exclusive) announcement from Bioware via this website.
No solid info on what the announcements are yet, could be something about the "Barbershop", "New Species" or perhaps the "SSSP" (super secret space project). It's likely there will be more than one announcement, one on the 25th and another on the 26th.

- Thanks to Viozaer for the heads-up..... milord.

Announcement: Rise of the Hutt Cartel to Launch on April 14th with early access on April 9th
http://www.darthhater.com/articles/f...ing-april-14th

Just looking forward to that Xenomorph sir.....
Let's go and burst some of those slugs!

[Fairbairn]

Key points in Patch 2.0

NOT FINAL: These incorporate 3/14/2013 PTS updates only

Talent Calculator for PTS: / Patch 2.0 - http://pts.swtor-spy.com/skill-tree-calculator/

My advice is forget about builds/gear in the current version of the game and focus on these. Hybrid builds are on the way out.

• Players who are in a guild will now receive a 5% experience bonus
• Alacrity has been redesigned to be a more universally useful stat. Now Alacrity reduces the activation time of all abilities, including instant abilities. If such an ability is reduced below the global cooldown, the global cooldown is reduced as well. Alacrity now also increases resource regeneration for all classes by the same amount that it increases ability activation speed.
• The global cooldown will now reset and trigger appropriately when an ability with a cast time becomes an instant due to another ability or skill's effect.
• Increased amount of critical chance given per point of primary attribute.
• Increased amount of critical chance given per point of critical rating.
• Reduced effectiveness of Absorb and Shield rating; as compensation, the base damage of Champion NPCs has also been reduced.
  (- Despite my usual utterly positive attitude, these last points are a joke, balanced slightly by the fact that power screen now triggers on Ion-cell or shielding because first you bring in shields with the capability which should have been there since launch, then you reduce the effectiveness of shield/absorb. I don't know how much by this has been reduced, but I will check on my PTS character copy. It does however imply one thing, that the game team think we are all about PVE encounters, and makes no reference to PVP balance.)
  
• Shields operate additionally now on force/tech damage. Not internal.
• Removed diminishing returns from Expertise such that each point of Expertise will now grant a consistent percentage of bonus until the hard cap is reached.
  
  Hard Caps are as follows.
  
• PvP Damage Boost – 60
• PvP Healing Boost – 35
• PvP Damage Reduction – 37.5

Anyway, read on, and "Apto quod Victum" as we always do.



Vanguard

• Vanguard: A new ability, Shoulder Cannon, has been added. Shoulder Cannon loads missiles over time which can be fired at an enemy target within 10 meters, depleting 1 charge with each missile launched. When all missiles have been depleted, the ability goes on cooldown for 1.5 minutes.
• Vanguard: A new Passive ability, Into the Fray, has been added. Into the Fray increases the duration of Reactive Shield by 3 seconds. In addition, suffering direct damage from area of effect attacks restores 2 Energy Cells and heals players for 0.25% of total health. This effect cannot occur more than once every 3 seconds.
• Guard: Crowd control effects that break on damage will no longer break from damage redirected through Guard. For example, a blinded guarder will no longer be broken out of the blind from damage dealt to a guarded target within guard range.
• Guard: Effects that are triggered through dealing damage which affect a target who is guarded will no longer also affect the guarder.
• High Energy Cell will now increase the damage dealt by elemental and internal effects to 8% (up from +5%).
• Ion Cell now reduces all damage dealt by 5% while active.
• High energy cell now increases all internal and elemental damage dealt by 5% - down from 8%
• Proc rate for plasma cell is now 25% - up from 10% - the damage it deals has been "rebalanced"

Shield Specialist

• Smoke Grenade has been redesigned and renamed to Riot Gas. This ability now targets the ground and persists for 15 seconds. Enemies within the area of effect are slowed by 70% and suffer 30% reduced melee and ranged accuracy.
• Energy Blast has been redesigned and is now only usable with 3 stacks of Power Screen. Using Energy Blast consumes Power Screen to deal elemental damage, recharge 8 Energy Cells, and increase Shield Absorption by 25% for 6 seconds.
• Power Screen now triggers from shielding an attack or triggering Ion Cell.

Tactics

• Combat Tactics has been redesigned: While High Energy Cell is active, damage dealt by Stockstrike makes the next High Impact Bolt an automatic critical hit. The Vanguard skill tree has been rearranged, making Combat Tactics require Cell Generator instead of Serrated Blades.
• Charged Loaders no longer increases ranged critical chance.
• Blaster Augs now further improves the internal and elemental damage done while High Energy Cell is active by 1% (down from 3%).
• Havoc Training now increases Gut critical damage, but no longer increases Ion Pulse critical damage.

Assault Specialist

• Assault Plastique has been redesigned. The Trooper now throws a moldable plastic explosive that sticks to the target and detonates after several seconds, exploding for kinetic damage and burning the target for elemental damage over 12 seconds. Standard and weak enemies enter a state of panic when the explosive attaches and are knocked down when it explodes.
• Assault Trooper (Vanguard) no longer increases the critical damage done by Charged Bolts, but now increases the critical damage done by Ion Pulse.
• Rain of Fire (Vanguard) no longer increases Full Auto damage to burning targets

Commando

• Commando: A new ability, Electro Net, has been added. Electro Net ensnares a single target, reducing its movement speed and dealing periodic Energy damage which increases over time if the target is moving. While Electro Net active, the target is also hindered and unable to activate high mobility actions and escapes, such as speed boosts, vanishes, and charges. The ability is trainable at level 51.
• Commando: A new Passive ability, Mortar Salvo, has been added. Mortar Salvo allows up to 3 weaker Explosive Rounds to be fired in a row before consuming Energy Cells and going on cooldown for 6 seconds. This ability is trainable at level 10.
• Commando: Kolto Bomb is now trainable at level 20 to all Commandos.
• Commando: Armor-Piercing Cell now additionally increases Alacrity by 3% while active.

• The Trooper's Energy Cells have been reworked to be a 100-pt resource system. Players will see Energy Cells be consumed and regenerate in fractions, and all Energy cell costs will be charged against the new 100-pt total rather than the old 12-pt total.
• Hold the Line is now trainable at level 26 for all Troopers. This ability has a duration of 6 seconds, which can be extended to 10 seconds using the skills in the Gunnery and Tactics Skill Trees.
• Diversion is now trainable at level 30 for all Troopers.
• Blitz has been removed from the game.
• Adrenaline Rush has been redesigned. Adrenaline Rush now puts a Health Monitor on the player which will trigger when they drop below 30% health. Once triggered, Adrenaline Rush will heal the player rapidly up to but no higher than 30% of their maximum health. This effect lasts 8 seconds.

UPDATES that will NOT go onto the PTS but will be there on launch:
Source: http://www.darthhater.com/articles/f...nformation-and
Trooper
Commando

• Electro Net: This ability now applies its effects instantly instead of waiting for a projectile to finish travelling.

Gunnery:

• Grav Round: The Gravity Vortex applied by Grav Round now lasts 45 seconds. In addition, the Gravity Vortex effect now reduces armor by 20% and no longer stacks. Furthermore, this ability now fires a faster-moving projectile.
• Demolition Round: This ability now deals 25% additional damage if the target is affected by your Gravity Vortex. In addition, this ability now fires a slightly slower-moving projectile, ensuring that the Gravity Vortex effect-checking will work properly if fired off immediately after a Grav Round.
• Gravity Surge: No longer affects Gravity Vortices applied by Grav Round.

[Fairbairn]

IMPORTANT - Information on commendations in Patch 2.0.

http://dulfy.net/2013/02/22/swtor-co...-in-patch-2-0/


IMPORTANT - PVP Gearing Changes in 2.0

http://dulfy.net/2013/02/22/swtor-pv...hanges-in-2-0/
(Be aware that some of this information is old, especially regarding expertise. Refer to the SWTOR patch notes or my summary in previous posts for accuracy.)


Makeb - Information on Plots, Datacrons - (Warning spoilers)
http://dulfy.net/2013/03/26/swtor-ma...roids-preview/

[Viozaer]

Slowly they are working decent changes to Commando.... Now watch as all the Force Users bitch and moan we get nerfed in Patch 2.01

And yes Ricky, that was me moaning again.

[Fairbairn]

SIS Republic Tactical Assessment of Makeb
http://www.swtor.com/info/news/blog/20130404

[Kjvago]

If everything goes as scheduled 2.0 should be live at 3AM EST.
Anyone staying up? lol

[Viike]

Haha I don't have to stay up til 3, it'll be 1 am here!

[Neves Eanur]

Umm not this guy haha. I'm on a data plan here anyways so I'm going to dowoad this at my friends place I think lol. Have fun boys.

[Viozaer]

ROTHC is live boys!

[Kjvago]

Yup yup, now lets see how long this download takes.

[Neves Eanur]

Waiting for dowloads reminds me of standing post...

[Aerees]

Looks like our uniforms are indeed gone unless theres a vendor somewhere that sells similar now

[Neves Eanur]

Looks like our uniforms are indeed gone unless theres a vendor somewhere that sells similar now

What!? Yeah fucking right BW fix yourself!!

Our armor looks awesome! Where else can similar/alternate sets be found?

[Waters]

I vote for the old des camo

[Neves Eanur]

Hahah, we're ways fighting on Tat anyways right? Lol