The Immortal Chronicles: Entry 3 - The Tomb of Ajunta Pall

Ajunta Pall i have studied recently. From what i have learned before the Empire, before the Sith Order, Ajunta Pall was the very first Dark Lord.  Ajunta Pall learned how to create and shape life itself through the Force--an art the Jedi feared and sought to end. In an act of defiance, he turned his newfound power against the Jedi Order and rebelled.

The Jedi banished Ajunta Pall and his followers, exiling them to the Outer Rim--where the exiles found Korriban and a Force-wielding native species called the Sith. Ajunta Pall impressed the Sith with his power and technology, and the Sith soon revered the exiles as gods. From his seat of power on Korriban, Ajunta Pall was named Dark Lord of the Sith and founded the Sith Empire.

Upon his death, Ajunta Pall's body was entombed in the Valley of the Dark Lords. After millennia of sandstorms, cave-ins and warfare, the tomb still stands as a testament to his lasting influence.

 I have now entered this sacred tomb. It smells of dust, and blood. I hear the wails of foul creatures deeper inside. I grip my vibroblade and make my way deeper inside in excitement. I get to the entrance of the lower level and find imperial troops in a foothold at the edge of the stairs. They ask me for help and i tell them i will destroy all in my path.

 I wade my way waist deep in Core slugs. They all fall before me. I plant their explosives and do what these mere solders can't. Of course i do not do this for free. I arrived on planet with the clothes on my back. There is power in credits as well as the force. I would be a fool not to use both to my advantage.

 I dispatch some lowly tomb looters along the next corridor. Filthy bottomfeeding scum. There carcasses will now feed the creatures that lurk in the shadows.

 I make my way into an adjacent room quitely. At the end of the room i see a weapon rack with a warblade sitting there for the taking. This looks too easy and i carefully approach the blade. With one quick motion i grab the blade and swing around at the ready. Bursting from coffins that line the room imerge defense droids. So this is my test. I wield the new blade with fury cutting down the droids where they stand. I charge into the next group of droids deflecting blaster fire as i close in. They fall before my might. Yes this blade will do. This blade will do nicely.

 The few rooms i pick up a couple artifacts along the way. I make my way out of the tomb back into the sunlight. As my eyes adjust i see the Sith Academy just up the hill. I sheath my new blade and head to the Sith Academy.

The Immortal Chronicles: Entry 2 - The Acolyte

 My shuttle has landed. I exit out of Korriban and take a moment to gather in my surroundings. There was not a patch of grass or a tree in sight. I was standing in a rocking canyon with what looked like ancient tombs in the area.

 I see a man waiting for me at the threshold of building carved into the rock in front of me. As i walk up to him i see him measuring me. I also feel fear within him. He is a man on edge i sense.

He introduces himself as Overseer Tremel, the adminster of the sith trials to acolytes.

I was brought here to face my trials early. Why he did not say. I sense he is looking for an ally. I am looking to get ahead. For now i will play by this fools rules.

 He warns me of a rival acolyte Vemrim, and also tells me first thing we need to do, and my first test is to retrieve a dominating weapon. I am to venture forth into the tomb of Tomb of Ajunta Pall, survive the natural predators and retrieve the warblade.

 I am eager for action. I loathe the Overseer he is a weak fool. I head to the tomb using my anger against him to feed my power....

The Immortal Chronicles: Entry 1 - Origins.

  I have only been with the imperial fleet for about a month. The instructors on our mobile training ship have been impressed with my sheer power of the force but say i lack focus. They are just jealous of my power. They know that even now i am almost a match for them, and that i will surpass them easily with more time.

Overseer Tremel

They worked me to almost my breaking point today, trying to break me down. BUT I WILL NOT!! My instructors were seething as a high priority transmission came in for me today. I have received a summons to Korriban.

 A man named Overseer Tremel has sent for me. For what purpose i do not know. He used considerable resources to get my instructors to release me, when my training has only just begun. His message was vague yet to the precise. I am to travel to Korriban at once. I am to leave my name and family behind. I will be known only as Chosen, and my life as a sith begins now.

 As i pack my things and head to the shuttle bay i see the looks of distain on my fellow students and instructors. They all want to kill me, i can sense it. I will not forget these images. It fuels my anger. I will be better than everyone on this ship and they regret this day.

 As i sit here and write this and wonder why i record such things. I look what i just wrote and i see that it deepens my anger. Yes, this chronicle, written by my own hand, will be fuel for my fire. My path to my power, and a tool for others to follow years from now.

 My shuttle is about to depart. My destiny lies on Korriban, or my death. Either way i feel the excitment and power well up inside me at the thought!

SWTOR Beta Report: The Final Build!

Hello All

 Beta has been taken down to install the newest build for Star Wars: The Old Republic. This build is slated as the "Launch Build" by the devs. This will be pretty much the same build that we will see at launch later this month.
 When the fulltime beta testers get back in, it is our last chance to test and report on things ingame. It has also been announced that if you tested beta that you do not have to unistall your beta build for launch. You will be able to patch up the release build to save alot of time.
 Last Night we did a stress test on the bug report feature. We ended up freezing the bug report feature but the game itself did not crash. I am anticipating a relatively smooth launch, as far as mmos go.

 Just a short blog today as it is a downday. I will report on what changes are in this last build and how the gameplay is when the servers come back up and we are let in.

Peace

SWTOR Warzone Series: The Finer Points of Huttball

Hello People!
 Well it is Monday, we are coming off a jam packed Beta Weekend. If all the full servers were any indication, the weekend was a successful one. Today i am going to touch on Huttball.

 I played quite a bit of huttball this weekend on a couple different characters. With it being beta weekend we had lots of new testers so i knew going in Huttball was going to be a bit messy.

Ball in the Center Starting Point

 If your new to SWTOR, Huttball is a team based pvp warzone where the ball is in the center. The teams race to the ball. The team that gets it has to carry the ball over the line at the opposing teams end. You can carry the ball or throw the ball to a teamate. Throwing the ball requires you to aim on the spot where you are throwing. If is important if you think somebody is going pass the ball to you that you keep still or ball will hit the ground and reset, or get intercepted by the opposing team.

Huttball Field

 Carrying the ball is a good way to insure a quick death. Quick passing is the key. From what i seen this past weekend is the lack of communication and anticpation. You really have to be smart in Huttball and think a couple moves ahead. You have to anticipate a knockback or stun coming. Generally running a ball over a firepit is a no-no. If you break one stun you are going to get stunned again and burn in the fire. This past weekend i found even  though Sith Warrior is a bit underpowered, force leap a game changer in Huttball. Carrying the ball i would just leap to an enemy across the fire or to a higher platform across a couple pits. Also if you see a class rushing you and you are caught flatfooted turn your back to something quick if at all possible. Let them blow their knockback for nothing.

Huttball Fire Trap

On Defense i have seen the opposite. People standing in perfect positions to get charged on and gain a big advantage for the other team. If the ball carrier is coming your way and can charge, you need to move out of line of sight, They are going to use you to advance the ball.

 Huttball is like football where it is a total team effort. One player is not going to win this game. Healers in this game are also going to have a challenge. As a healer you need to be constantly on the move as the ball is always on the move. The different levels of the zone present many line of sight healing issues. The best move is to not be behind the play. Run ahead of the ball if possible. If you get caught behind you will have difficulty catching up.
Huttball is a double-edged sword. If can be great fun if your rolling with a team that knows what they are doing and where to be positionwise. Ventrillo is really needed. If you are pugging Huttball it is going to be a long frustrating night!

SWTOR Beta Report: Black Friday Beta Weekend Madness!

 It's notorious Black Friday. If you can manage to get off the couch after all the food yesterday, it is shopping time. If you are registered for SWTOR Beta then chances are you have the opportunity to get into Beta on a Weekend Invite starting today!

 Some of you it will be your first time, others have been here on other weekends. Then there are the regular testers like myself who have been around for a while. Seeing how this went last time try to log on as quickly as you can today and stay logged in if you want to play during primetime. The servers are going to fill up fast and there will be a login queue to wait in. I seen the wait queue up to almost 6000 people on Darth Malak Server last beta weekend.

 If you are waiting to download game, or stuck in a wait queue take some time to read the beta forums to try to get some of you questions answered before you get in game. This cuts down on the questions asked in game. Trust me, every question will get asked 100 times over every hour. After a while people get ignorant. If you try to get your answers before hand not only will it save you time in game, it will keep the general chat less clogged and more free of repetitive questions.

 Starter Planets: They are going to be busy this weekend. There is going to be competition for quest items/creature spawns. Try to get in a group with other people. Most of the quests will share credit when one person loots. Eventually you are going to have at least a couple group quests (Heroic Quests) you will get these done easily while in a group.

 Note: If you are the same class as somebody you are grouped with. You have to do your class quests separate. You do not have to leave group. you will just appear in an different instance of the same quest as your groupmate. If you are grouped with a different class, they can go to your class quests and you can go to theirs. This is kind of cool as you can see bits of the other classes story.

 Thats about all i wanted to say about Beta Weekend. Get in game, enjoy the content. If you have any particular questions for me in game, you can find me in game on Darth Malak Server. Look for my Bounty Hunter named Chosen.

For the Empire!

SWTOR Release: Your First Few Minutes in Game

 Hello again! SWTOR release is down to under a month now. I figured i would talk about what goes on and give some pointers on release day.

 GET READY....SET....GO!!!! This is what it is going to feel like when zero hour hits and the mad rush to login begins. First things first, will the servers handle the stress? I am thinking that yes they will. They staggered preorder for this very reason. They have somewhat control of server population with letting preorder people in early on different days. Also they are utilizing server placement. They have set it so your guild and your allies get set on the same server. They can also control what alliances go to what servers to keep population more even among their servers.

 THE NAME RACE: Most people are going to be playing beat the clock as soon as they get in game. People will be whipping through the character creation screen to grab all the toon names they would like to have before others. There will be alot of fast logins and logouts as the first few minutes people will be getting the names they want.

 You got your name! Time to relax for a couple minutes.  Now time to take a drink and a snack as you go back and redo your main character in the character select screen. This time getting the exact look you want. CHOSEN's TIP: If you have beta write down the numbers on the slider right now for the toon look you like. Once release is here use the numbers you wrote down to make your toon quickly.

 You are now in the game what next? Well the next few minutes you can get your interface fixed to your preferences. Mouse speed, resolution, hot keys, etc.  Now it is time to have fun. You have a class quest right from the beginning. On the way you will pick up a couple side quests as well. It is time to carve your niche in star wars history!

SWTOR Beta Report: Melee vs Ranged PVP

Hello again.

 I figured it was time to delve into what i am seeing in SWTOR PVP as it relates to melee vs ranged classes. First lets talk about Crowd Control. Most classes, especially ranged, have at least 2 CC's they can use. Ranged usually have one knockback as well at their disposal. Melee will have at least one type of closing ability.
 This being said this is where the gap widens in favor of ranged. As a ranged class you can use all of your ranged abilities even at pointblank range. There is no deadzone (minimum range) in this game.  Most ranged classes actually gain one or two melee abilites that they can use pointblank.
 Now lets look at melee. You have to be on your opponent do be doing your damage. If you are being kited you are not doing damage, while ranged classes can do full damage while keep the melee at bay. The melee uses a closing ability to attack the ranged. The ranged can still do full damage or choose to use a knockback, or another CC ability if they are off cooldown.

 What i explained above gives ranged an advantage. You have more room for error as a ranged class in SWTOR, and do not have to be as good of a player to take on a skilled melee player. AS always this is not set in stone and melee will beat a ranged, but it will take more skill, and cleverness than playing a ranged class.

 It is important as a melee to always try to start the fight first and not use a range closer to get in range. You want to save your first closing ability for when the ranged uses its knockback. Then you can immediately close right back on your target. As a melee you have to keep pressure on them. Keep moving. Keep trying to get to their back. Let them worry more about what your doing more than what they are doing.
  As a melee save your CC's to interrupt them gaining distance of getting off a big hit or heal. If a ranged can gain distance and somehow gain health as melee you are finished.

 Ranged classes want to save their CC's for when they are being attacked. Gain distance. Creative uses of knockbacks are also key. Knocking melee into a hazzard or off a ledge is the best bang for your buck. Reel the melee to where you want to punt them. Control the playing field. They have to come to you. After a knockback gain more range or get out of line of site if need be. When possible get a snare off after they use a closer, this way you can gain distance while saving your knockback or if it is on cooldown.

To close this off Ranged are not obscenely overpowered compared to melee but they do have an advantage.

Phase 1: "Reigning Death"

This will be my case for my "Reigning Death" gaming computer build. It is a Coolermaster HAF 922. This is a High Airflow midtower case. It comes with a 200mm Red LED fan in the front. Also included is a regular 200mm fan in the top and 120mm fan in the back. There is room for more fan addons in the bottom and side door of the case. I went with a midtower but this is a larger midtower than most. Still roomy and has room for them huge video cards with a couple inches still to spare to the harddrive bays.The case features a screwless system for your harddrive and optical drive trays. I made a small vid of the outside and inside of the case that can be found here: Chosens HAF 922 Review

Intro Blog and New computer build

Hello
 First let me introduce myself. My name is Graham, my online handle for the last few years has been Chosen. I am 35 years old and have played everything from the first Atari systems to the newest console games. Paper Dungeons and Dragons right up to modern day MMO's.
 The point of this blog is to give honest feedback about the Gaming related field, with more concentration on the upcoming SWTOR MMO, with my gaming experience background. I don't profess to be the ultimate expert that is why i love to interact with other gamers and share knowledge to up my game and maybe help sombody also in the process.

 My current dilema is a gaming pc. My PC is about 5 years old and is undergeared to play todays games. I am in the process of starting a computer build, as i save up spare money for the parts. This will be an ongoing side project of the blog that will be called "Reigning Death" The name comes from my gaming guild Reign, which i am a member. The computer is going to be a red/black theme as i am going to roll Empire in the upcoming SWTOR, and these colors are also Reign's colors.

Thanks for reading, and follow my blog! I am off to work on the page layout and design of this blog page, then i will be back with some thoughts on my SWTOR beta experience and Phase 1 of "Reigning Death"