Star Wars: The Old Republic PvP and Space Combat Tips

It doesn’t get massive than this! Bioware’s latest MMO blockbuster may probably be more popular than World of Warcraft in the coming months. Why? Because it offers everything WoW a player wants. Plus there are plenty of new and exciting features that are going to give other MMOs a run for their money.

Like other massively multiplayer role playing games, Star Wars: The Old Republic offers a memorable gameplay experience. But a newbie player might be lost in the near-infinite Star Wars universe and so may be in need of useful SWTOR tips, tricks and hints to at least help him get started with PvP battles, space combat and modding. This guide attempts to give useful hints and key information to help new and experienced MMO players get the most out of this game.

In SWTOR, you engage in player vs. player conflicts in “warzones” - SW-speak for “battlegrounds”. You can participate in key battles by opening the PvP menu. Once a queue is available, be ready for your first evenly-matched battle against your opponent. Besides ground player vs. player combat, there is space dogfights as well. Here are some key SWTOR PvP and PvE tips for beginner and intermediate gamers:

• To join a PvP warzone, you will have to level up. Reaching level 10 will give you the opportunity to fight in player versus player battles. To enter a queue, just click on your affiliation Logo located near the mini-map.
• Remember, you earn valor points once you participate in battlegrounds. The more the valor points, the more the chances of elevating to higher ranks. This will give you more opportunities to unlock PvP gear.
• In a PvE combat, you can easily kill NPC enemies by pushing them from a great height.
• If you’re stuck with a quest, you can press the reset button to start the quest once again. Whatever you do, just don’t dump quests. And yes, do not waste time searching for the NPC who gave you the quest. Just hit the reset button and you’re done.
• You can take advantage of objects scattered in a warzone. You are at a greater advantage if you are fighting against multiple enemies.
• When playing against opponents in PvP warzone, consider playing in trios or at least in pairs. You can pick the best classes to join you in your battles. Make sure you get a healer, marauder (if you’re with the Empire), sentinel (if you are loyal to the Republic) before getting ready for battle. They often do much damage, but are vulnerable to attacks. You can also add a ranged class when fighting against a group.
• You can also choose to be a healer. This way you might have more chances to get invited by well geared sentinels or marauders in your server. There are more chances of winning than losing if you choose the healer class. Best, players in your server will accept you. The healer class is at a winning advantage in warzones like the Huttball.
• In the Huttball warzone, there are dangerous traps. Avoid them. Make sure you don’t fall into acid pits. It will take only a few seconds to get killed. You can also take advantage of the acid pits by knocking down NPCs to these traps and killing them instantly.

The best way to rake in maximum SWTOR credits is to first know what the most useful crew skills are. Crew Skills are a great way to take advantage of rare resources, schematics and rare items without personally exploring the entire Star Wars Universe. You order your crew members to scavenge galaxies, go for a treasure hunting spree, gather resources, craft valuables and take missions. This will help you earn rewards, especially credits. Here are some key SWTOR crew skills tips that will help you rake in maximum credits:

1. Gathering Skills – Bioanalysis and Scavenging: Both these skills allow your your crew members to hunt down and collect genetic codes from exotic plants and creatures as well as be resourceful by gathering parts from damaged starships, gadgets and other technology. Your crew members’ Crafting Skills rely on materials gathered from bioanalysis and scavenging and any material created using this skill earns you more cash.

2. Crafting Skills: Cybertech and Biochemistry: Cybertech skills allow crew members to have technical competence to develop key gadgets and gadget parts. This crafting skill helps you cash in more credits. You can rake in lots of credits by selling the newly-created gadgets and components. Make sure your crew is adept in gathering skills like scavenging and mission skills like trading in order to excel in this skill.

Similarly, items created using the biochem skill also sell for higher profits. The items made in this skill category are perishable and hence in higher demand. Make sure you have the bioanalysis skill and diplomacy skill to take maximum advantage of this skill.

• There’s absolutely no need to go to a modification station to modify your items! All you have to do is press and hold the Control key and right click on an item. Up pops the modding screen.
• It would be foolish to sell or dispose off gear that can undergo modification in future. The modable gear can be incomplete and to make it complete you will have to undertake tasks every day.
• Overwriting modifications is possible, but you will lose any enhancements you’ve made so far.
• Collect all blue and purple items that appear randomly scattered on planets. You can make a lot of cash if you sell them via the Galactic Market.

One of the most fun features of Star Wars: The Old Republic is exploring the universe in your own star ship. Besides navigating through plenty of stars and planets, you will also take part in critical missions, fight against large fleets of ships and maneuver through dangerous cosmic debris traps.

Space combat gives you an opportunity to fight against enemies SW style. The splendid cinematic experience it offers while engaging in a dogfight is a treat to see. However, battling rival starships can be difficult and so here are some key SWTOR space combat tips to help you survive intense battles in the vast space:

• Make sure you grab any space quests you receive. The more you undertake space quests the faster you gain experience.
• For a few seconds, stop firing at your enemies. This will help your starship to regenerate shields quicker than expected.
• Once you get access to a ship, acquire all upgrades and complete every mission on hand quickly. Doing this will help increase XP quickly. Once you get your own star ship, you will get space quests every day.
• In space combat, you have two types of attacks in your arsenal. You can either left-click to unleash lasers or right-click to launch missiles. The best type of attack is launching a missile as it does more damage than lasers.
• Pressing the left button for some time will unleash lasers. Initially, the rate of fire will be less, but once you upgrade lasers, you will get more fire power per minute. Make sure you stop firing for few seconds to regenerate your shields.
• Elevating to level 50 will help you get access to a potent torpedo and an EMP.

You might want to know what are codex entries, or what should you do if you get stuck in a locked interface. These simple SWTOR tips and tricks will help you troubleshoot certain problems and also know what some hidden secrets in the Star Wars universe are.

• After reaching the Dromund Kaas Spaceport, wait for some time to see a wonderful scene of gorgeous starships flying out of the hangars.
• The best ways to level up faster is to perform Player versus player missions daily. You can also engage in a space combat or jump into emerging conflicts daily to level up faster.
• There are times when your game user interface freezes and you wonder what to do next. Just press the CTRL and U keys two times to reset it.
• Codex entries were used by Bioware in games like Dragon Age and Mass Effect. They are a great way to know more about the Star Wars lore and key details about each character and creature. Don’t miss those entries once you discover them. Who knows you might jump into some unknown fact and history. You can check the codex collected so far. To see how much you have, navigate to Planets.
• Bonus quests can be triggered if you explore a planet. You might bump into creatures and who knows a bonus quest is waiting for you somewhere near.
• Like other Bioware games, conversation is one of the key aspects that can help you unearth key information, quests and get other goodies. However, many times a conversation with an NPC may not be in a direction favorable to you. In such situations, press the escape key. This will reset any conversation and you can converse with the NPC once again.

All images © Bioware/The Official SWTOR Website