Game Update 5.2: The War for Iokath is the second major update to be released this year for Star Wars: The Old Republic and it’s one of the most significant updates to be released for the game in some time.
The War for Iokath, as you might imagine, is set on the planet Iokath, a dyson sphere which played a critical role in the story of SWTOR expansion Knights of the Eternal Throne. With the events of KOTET now concluded, the original struggle between the Sith Empire and Galactic Republic is being brought back into focus, and it’s up to players to choose a side when a superweapon is discovered on the planet. Both factions seek to control the weapon in order to use it to strike a decisive blow against their enemy and the choice you make here will remain with you throughout the continuing story of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Old allies such as Malavai Quinn (Sith Warrior) and Elara Dorne (Republic Trooper) will return as part of this story, and yes, you can continue your romances with them if you romanced them as part of your origin story.
Once you’ve completed the non-repeatable story content on Iokath, a new daily area will open up. Even though the story will remember your faction choice, it will be possible to switch factions up to once per day in the new daily area so that you can team up with friends (current grouping restrictions still apply) who may have chosen a different faction in the story. Or if you’re a completionist, to complete both of the new reputation tracks. Special currency can be earned in the Iokath daily area to purchase consumables which allow you to take control of walkers, stationary turrets, mouse droids, and monitor droids. Yes, this means you can complete your daily quests as a walker – or even do walker vs. walker PvP if you’re flagged or switch to the PvP instance of the zone.
The real star of the update is Gods From the Machine, the first new Operation added to SWTOR since the release of Temple of Sacrifice with the Shadow of Revan expansion in December 2014. 5.2 will only include the first (of five) of the Operation’s bosses, though the remaining four will be added to the game via subsequent updates released throughout the rest of 2017. For now, you’ll face off against Tyth, the God of Rage, available in story and veteran difficulty modes for teams of eight or sixteen players. Master mode will be unlocked once the next boss in the Operation is released to live servers. Tyth has been on PTS for quite some time now, and there’s already a ton of information and video available to help get you through the fight once the update releases next Tuesday. In addition to the new Operation, 5.2 will unlock master mode for all 10 of SWTOR’s Uprisings, so there should be a good deal of new, challenging content for players to work on.
Galactic Command is getting some serious love in 5.2, as well. The current (boosted) GXP rate found on live serves will be the new baseline rate with the release of the update. You may notice that you’re getting slightly less GXP in 5.2 than you are now for the same activities, but this is made up by the fact that enemies throughout the game will now grant GXP. In the end, it should work out to be the same as the currently boosted rate. GC crates will also improve in quality as you rise up in the GC ranks and you’ll have better chances at finding set bonus gear. Ops bosses will also guarantee drops of Unassembled Gear.
Finally, there’s a new Galaxy Map in 5.2. The new map is a lot easier to understand and navigate, but most importantly, you can access it from anywhere in the game world, allowing for quick travel to places you can currently fly to through the map on your ship. This should make getting around the game a good deal less tedious.
What’s your take on the additions and changes coming with Game Update 5.2: The War for Iokath? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
