Star Wars: The Old Republic is getting another expansion
Super trooper, tractor beams are gonna blind me.
Star Wars: The Old Republic has been around for some time now - nearly 10 years, in fact - and to mark the occasion the game is getting another expansion.
The new expansion, titled Legacy of the Sith, was announced in a livestream last night. It's due to add a mixture of additional story content, player rewards and new gameplay features.
"The war between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire spreads to new worlds," the announcement post explains. "Dangerous fringe groups rise in the dark corners of the galaxy and Darth Malgus pursues an unknown plan... Unravel these mysteries and more as your choices continue to shape the galaxy."
The new storyline begins on ocean planet Manaan, which has been invaded by the Sith Empire for its abundance of kolto, "a vital medical resource on all sides of the war". Players will have to battle through underwater facilities to gain control of the planet for either the Empire or the Republic - but doing so will unlock a new base of operations for your faction, along with a new daily area.
The story then moves to the planet Elom, where a ruined Sith Fortress that was "mysteriously erased from all records" has been discovered. It sounds like Darth Malgus may be up to no good again, and may have found something "critical to the future of the Jedi and the Sith". The storyline will be playable as either a solo experience or multiplayer Flashpoint.
There's also a new operation called R-4 Anomaly Operation, which sees players take on a galactic threat in deep space. On top of this the expansion adds a new gameplay feature called Combat Styles, which means "players can now separate their Class Story from gameplay style". This means Troopers can wield sniper rifles, for instance, while Sith Inquisitors can dual-wield lightsabers "or even secretly use Dark Side powers while posing as a member of the Jedi Order". The game is also getting loadouts, allowing you to easily swap between playstyles and gear. A first look at the updated Jedi Guardian Combat style is being added to the public test server next week.
Oh, and if you've already hit the level cap, there's now a little more room for you to grow: the limit has now been increased by five levels to 80.
The Legacy of the Sith expansion is set to arrive sometime this Christmas and will be free for all players. And it seems that's not the only thing planned for SWTOR this year: the character creation experience is due to be overhauled, with "new looks for the character sheet, inventory, and much more".