Star Wars: The Old Republic’s Public Test Servers are now live following the recent developer livestream, and if you want to check out some of the new content that will arrive in update 7.4, you can participate in the test right now.
Chains in the Dark Storyline
The Chains in the Dark storyline will see us help Rass Ordo investigate Heta Kol’s whereabouts. The premise of the new storyline is all about the Hidden Chain targeting various locations across the galaxy, and one of the targeted locations is the Republic world of Ord Mantell.
We will be heading to Ord Mantell in the new questline, where we will be trying to find information about Kol, and it will lead us to a new explorable area called Kessan’s Landing. The new location is supposed to be under the control of the Republic military. However, the place was abandoned amidst the war with the Mentellian separatist movement, and the Republic has been ignoring it for a while now.
While Ord Mantell has a closely-knit community where people rely on each other for survival, it is hostile to strangers. Their trust in the Republic is waning, and we are sure to interact with some interesting NPCs during our playthrough. The locals are the key to helping us locate the Hidden Chain, and earning their trust will not be easy.
New Characters
Rass Ordo will likely be the primary NPC who helps us figure out the location of the Hidden Chain. Republic players will be joined by Arn Peralun who will help you investigate Kessan’s landing.
Darth Krovos will be joining the Imperials and is looking to turn the tides in the war between the Empire and the Republic. Captain Blyes will also return as he tries to negotiate between the Republic and Mantellian force. Other characters who will be making it to the game are Gimzel Gam from Ord Mantell and Petra Nihrum from Kessin’s Landing.
Itemization Changes
We are getting an item ceiling increase of up to 344, and to match the new increase, we will also be getting a bump to legendary Implants. Non-legendary implants will no longer drop from bosses or be given upgrade crates above item rating 336.
Rakata Gear will be earnable “no matter what you play.” The devs did not elaborate on this further, and it looks like there will be multiple ways to get the new gear as part of the game’s itemization changes. We were promised more information as we got closer to the release of the new update.
We are also getting Hyde and Zeek mods that will be accessible at item rating 340. You need to talk to Hyde on the fleet to begin a new mission that will get you the new mods once the update drops. Purple gear will also become more accessible, and the devs will reveal more information as we get closer to the update.
More Events!
A new PvP season will kick off on November 7. Not much is known about the balance changes but we will get detailed patch notes when Star Wars: The Old Republic's Season 4 kicks off. In addition to the new PvP season, we are also getting a new Life Day seasonal event.
You can hug Wookiees, throw snowballs at other players, and earn Snow Covered Parcels to get rewards. The main reward for the venet is the Life Day Officer Armor which looks amazing based on the preview model that was shown at the livestream. We can expect the event to drop sometime around the second week of December, just in time for the holiday season!
Galactic Trade Network Overhaul
The trade economy is undergoing some massive changes in the upcoming update. The developers have two phases of changes lined up for the game. The first phase of changes will arrive in patch 7.4. The entire GTN system is getting a rework while keeping things familiar for players who have been using the trade network.
SWTOR will allow you to use advanced search features and you can choose categories and subcategories. Players will no longer need to go to the mail to collect items after making a purchase and there’s a claim option in the GTN menu itself. Items can also be purchased and sold in stacks, which is a great quality of life change.
Trade offers can stay up for up to seven days and the fee for trades will be on the buyer. There is a “progressive fee” that ramps up based on the price per unit. There are protection systems in place to prevent the fees from going too high and we will get a better explanation of the system in the coming weeks.
The Future of SWTOR
These were just some of the changes that are coming to the game. There are lighting changes coming to the game that should overhaul how the game looks and feels. There will be a lot more shading and the preview that the devs showed off during the livestream was really impressive. SWTOR is definitely showing signs of age graphically but it’s great to see that we are getting some visual overhauls to spice things up.
Update 7.4 will pave the way for more content in the future, and SWTOR continues to be a great game if you are a Star Wars fan. I do not know how much one would enjoy the title if they are not already a fan of the franchise but even in 2023, I am excited for what comes next to the game. While updates come less frequently than I’d like them to, there is still over a decade’s worth of content if you want to jump into the game and have not given it a shot. We do not have a release date for 7.4 yet but you can hop into the PTS and check out the update or simply wait for the official release.
