Rain Plays SWTOR

Rain of August's side blog for SWTOR guides and tips. All material was written before 7.0; your mileage on guides may vary.

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break the cycle

[rainplaysswtor]

Rain Plays SWTOR: Full Index

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Player Guides and Tips New Player Tips Surviving Toxic Players Avoiding the Fleet Tatooine Shortcut to Avoid Outlaws Den Rest Up Avoiding Shared Tagging

Tech Fragment Suggestions Decos on a Budget Part 1 Decos on a Budget Part 2 Contending with Bugs Light It Up: Illuminated Armor Avoiding GTN Gouging Preparing for Preferred Preparing for Preferred Pt. 2 Unlocks Worth Considering

Reputation 101 Curing Womp Rat Fever!

Flashpoints A Traitor Among the Chiss Athiss (solo) Hammer Station (solo) Call to Arms #1: Boarding Party Call to Arms #2: The Foundry Spirit of Vengeance Directive 7 The Nathema Conspiracy Crisis on Umbara False Emperor

Other missions Dread Seeds/Seeker Droids Solo Macrobinoculars Solo (most of it) Pt. 1 Macrobinoculars Solo (most of it) Pt. 2 Macrobinoculars - Video of Maki'Voro fight solo Veteran Star Fortresses Veteran Star Fortresses Revisited Veteran Star Fortresses: Exarch Fight Video Veteran Star Fortresses: Exarch Fight 2 Video Mek-Sha Explorer Mek-Sha Tradehouse Missions Saboteur Quests Echoes of Oblivion Galactic Seasons Help Galactic Seasons Help 2 Where to Find Instanced Mobs HK-51 Quest Chain Flirron Friend - Onderon Loyalist and Saboteur Locations More Loyalist and Saboteur Locations

Swoop Bike Rally Extra Area on Ziost KOTET Voss Walker, KOTET Chapter 1 How to Save Bergola and her friends, KOTET chapter 6 Uprisings

Part 1: Firefrost, Fractured, Crimson Fang Part 2: Inferno, Divided We Fall, Trench Runner Part 3: Landing Party, Destroyer of Worlds Pt 4: Trial and Error Uprising Achievements and Finding the Inferno Agent Bosses Defeating Revan (solo, Shadow of Revan fight) HK-47: The Foundry Vaylin: KOTET

Daily areas/Events Oricon Black Hole: End of Torvix Puzzle Rakghoul Tunnels Sensors Matrix Shards Section X: Aurora Cannon Easy/Fun/Pointless Quests

Harlow Ricks The DvL Holocrons Yavin 4 Sensors Companions Optional Companions: Reviews

[rainofaugustsith]

Rain Plays SWTOR: 7.0 Damage Control

Huh, I said I had done my last Rain PLays SWTOR for a while, and here I am. I've been keeping an eye on the dev announcements and streams, and I wanted to do a guide to help anyone who may still have loose ends in the game. The devs have apparently decided to completely alienate anyone who isn't a NiM raider of a certain stripe, and I honestly don't think the game will survive it. I have already decided I will not be playing once 7.0 drops. Bioware has made it clear that players who are not raiders are not welcome, and frankly I don't think a lot of raiders will be happy with the changes either. They are making characters slower, more squishable, with less abilities and far fewer opportunities to tailor your gear to your own needs. They are pushing everyone into the same daily and weekly areas to force more grouping. Frankly it all sounds extremely unpleasant to play, and my goal is to finish up with my remaining characters, enjoy SWTOR while I still have it, and then leave it at 7.0. If they reverse some of these changes later, I may return, but it would have to be an entire sea change, and I'd have to be convinced that SWTOR actually accepts its non-raider playerbase. Having said that - if you are interested in playing 7.0 or hopes to come back later, or you have loose ends to tie up, here are some suggestions to do damage control on the things the devs are about to nuke. Mods

IMHO this is one of the most egregious and unforgivable changes being made with 7.0. The devs have decided that only the top echelon of gear will be moddable, and that will at least initially only be available to raiders. Anyone else? SOL. Everything else will be static, and as per the PTS forum, isn't exactly optimized. If you want any mods for your gear at the lower levels - get them now. Hang on to some 306 stuff if you think you will have a character reaching 75 in future. Your crafters can learn recipes to craft mods through the high 200s. My crafters have been unable to retrieve schematics for higher ranked mods, hilts or enhancements by reverse engineering, but 268-274 should at least get your characters through level 75. I don't know if they will disable the ability of crafters to make the mods/hilts/barrels/enhancements once 7.0 rolls around if they already know the recipes. That isn't how it's worked with other things like certain crystals which have schematics that are not obtainable now. As long as you have the recipe and mats, you can still make the item.

Having said that the devs are being especially evil with removing anything that offers players any semblance of choice on how they play or gear their characters - so put nothing past them. Artifice - hilts Cybertech - enhancements, mods Armstech - barrels Armormech - armoring

Social points In 7.0, social points will only be earned through group finder. Because Bioware apparently feels that it's not social to hang out with your actual friends, but it IS social to be involuntarily paired with complete strangers in group finder. Okay then. From what I understand, and I will freely admit I don't understand the social points system entirely - the social rank you have will remain in 7.0, they won't be erasing that. I believe they have also said the vendors will still be there. Having said that if this is important to you and you would like to be social with people you know and not random dudebros, now might be the time. DvL tokens

Currently, you earn one Dark Side or Light Side token depending on your alignment when you hit a renown level, if that side is winning the galaxy. For example, if you hit a renown level and are aligned LS, and the LS is currently triumphant, you get a LS token. But if the DS is triumphant at that moment you don't get the token. Reports seem to be that there will not be a way to earn DS or LS tokens in 7.0 and that the ability will only eventually be returned with DvL bosses. Thus, if you want to earn these tokens, you need to do it now. The LS and DS tokens can be used to buy some very cool looking armor, weapons, pets and vehicles. It seems that the vendors will remain after 7.0 drops, but you need to have the currency in advance because you will no longer have a way to earn it. DS/LS aligned gear Unless I've read the dev announcement incorrectly, everyone's LS/DS level will be reset in 7.0. If you have already reached DS or LS V on characters those achievements will remain - but nobody will be that rank anymore. In 7.0 you are also unable to adjust the toggle to your desired alignment and you will only be getting DS/LS points from conversations/etc. Some armor and weapons require a specific LS/DS alignment to be equipped, even if it's only in outfit designer. If you want any of that armor or gear on your characters, add it now. As it stands at the moment, what matters is your alignment when you equip the armor - Viri was more or less LS aligned during her class story run and thus was able to unlock those pets and armors. She can still use them because they're already in her outfit designer slots, but I can't add them again now that she's DS aligned. Hopefully that will be the case in 7.0. Having said that, again - I put nothing past the devs to make things absolutely miserable here, too.

Renown Renown is going away, so if you want any of the achievements for reaching Renown level 100 or 999 on one or more classes, now's the time. If you still have Renown boosts, time to use them up. Daily area reputation The weeklies will not be available for every area every week - and as per the devs, they intend to shove everyone onto the same mission. They are also tying it to gearing in an attempt to once again recycle older content. Thus, count on the daily/weekly areas being an absolute zoo once 7.0 drops. If you're interested in raising your rep in these areas to Legend, it might be wise to tackle that now. Daily areas involved with story arcs By the same token, if you need or want to finish Oricon, Ossus/Jedi Under Siege or the Yavin 4 section of Shadow of Revan - best do it now. Those areas are daily areas as well as story areas, and they stand to be very, very crowded once 7.0 drops. 6.0 armor Some of the 6.0 armor sets that drop from Conquest/Tradehouse Missions/etc. are actually pretty cool for your character to wear, and they are clones or close cousins to armor that was previously available from things like ranked PvP. So if you want your character to wear any of these sets, buy them now. Also, if you're interested in any of the achievements for collecting all pieces of armor for a set, those will be unattainable in 7.0 so do them now. Any difficult solo content Bioware seems to have adopted the NiM dudebro elitist code of "you don't need that armor if you're not a raider, and how dare you try to solo content we wanted to force you to group to do." The armor that is being given to anyone who is not a raider - that includudes not only solo players but also PvPers and fans of Veteran/NiM flashpoint group content - appears to be poorly optimized and is not moddable. They are saying it's good enough to do the solo/story content. That probably means it's not good enough to strike out on your own and challenge yourself by soloing more difficult stuff. So - if you have any lingering Veteran Star Fortress companions to collect, you want to do the Dread Seeds or most of the Macrobinoculars, you want to solo veteran flashpoints or do the Uprisings - carpe diem.

[rainofaugustsith]

SWTOR: Getting Away from Shared Tagging

This is likely going to be my final Rain Plays SWTOR game guide post at least for a while. I love SWTOR. I want it to do well. But it's hard to keep writing a guide for a game where the devs have made it very, painfully clear they don't want players like me, ie, solo players who just want to be left alone. They have tried every way they know, and then some, to shove players into grouping, and now they've added shared tagging for 7.0.

That's a deal breaker for me. It's not about not wanting to share credit or loot - it's about the fact that playing with others, especially strangers, is extremely upsetting and distracting to me, and there will now be no way to stop that. That makes the game unplayable for me. I literally cannot see what is going on when several players and their companions are bouncing around on screen with me, and I get very overwhelmed.

So...once 7.0 drops I doubt I'll want to play at all, since open world will now be off limits to me. I just want to be left alone to play solo in the game and it's not what Bioware wants, apparently. Anyway, if you are like me and find the idea of having to play with strangers all the time extremely upsetting, here are the places in SWTOR that you may want to avoid or can still play after 7.0 drops. If you're trying to get content done, this is also stuff to keep in mind. Right now, once they've reached the Meridian Complex, everyything after that is instanced. But on the other hand there will be major combat changes and set bonuses are getting nuked in 7.0 so you may still want to look into doing them now. In the meantime, thanks for reading Rain Plays SWTOR.

Lost Cause: Forget about these missions. There's no way to do them without significant open world content, even if they have a lot of instanced areas and cut scenes. Class story: All Planetary arcs: All Planetary bonus series: All Oricon story arc Oricon daily area Ilum (up until flashpoints) Shadow of Revan: Rishi Shadow of Revan: Yavin 4 Onslaught: Onderon Onslaught: Mek-Sha CZ-198 daily area Dantooine daily area Rakghoul tunnels Gree daily area Most KOTFE-era Alliance Alerts Star Fortress recruitment missions Makeb (both factions) Jedi Under Siege Ossus daily area Onderon daily area Feast of Prosperity: Gathering and story quest missions Heroics: Some.

What does that leave you with? Some open world but still has several instanced areas or is still patially doable without shared tagging: Iokath (the daily area has a lot of instanced quests and most of the story arc is instanced) Black Hole daily area (several instanced missions) Section X daily area (several instanced missions) GSI macrobinoculars missions GSI seeker droid missions Swoop Rally races (open world, but no mobs to be tagged) Instance, Glorious Instance: KOTFE (there's a tiny snip of open world content but 98% of this is instanced) KOTET (all) Echoes of Oblivion Relentless Ambition and other small Alliance cut scenes Flashpoints Shadow of Revan: Prelude (all flashpoints and cut scenes) Traitor Arc (all flashpoints and cut scenes) Eternal Championship Later Alliance Alerts Star Fortresses Feast of Prosperity: kitchen and cantina missions Heroics: Some.

[rainofaugustsith]

Rain Plays SWTOR: The Nathema Conspiracy

Continuing with our "play before 7.0" series: The Nathema Conspiracy is the third flashpoint in the traitor arc, also known as Fractured Alliances. Your character will return to Nathema to deal with more fallout from Valkorion/Tenebrae's legacy - but Nathema is no longer a desolate wasteland. There's gorgeous scenery in the jungles with lush waterfalls and plants. There are also a number of suitably creepy abandoned temples holding deadly secrets. 

None of your decisions can prevent your character from taking major losses in this story segment, but you still have a win, in one respect. In another: if you have romanced Lana or Theron you really, really do not want to miss this one. 

How to get it: 

If you are playing through the story progression you will be given this mission after completing Traitor Among the Chiss. There will be a short story mission beforehand, as well as some story-specific scenes during and after the flashpoint. 

If you are playing this as a standalone you can pick it up from your activities menu: Activities -> Solo -> Flashpoints -> The Nathema Conspiracy. Or go to the Odessen base and pick it up from the terminal - it's across the hall from Umbara. 

General caveats: 

1. If you are doing this as part of the story progression you will have two companions to help you through most of this flashpoint, including all of the boss fights except one. They are companions you may have influenced in the story already, and one is melee while the other is ranged. It's a good team that can handle a lot, and the difficulty should be on the level of Umbara or Copero. 

If you are doing this as a standalone solo flashpoint, it's going to probably seem more challenging than Umbara or Copero. The reason of course is that you are handling content with only one companion instead of the two you get in the story. There's no combat assistance droid. 

2. This is also a bit longer than Umbara - easily 40 minutes simply because of the thick mobs. 

3. ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY: There are several sections of this flashpoint that have very low light and paths that may be hard to see. If you have any armor with illumination  you may want to put it on your character for these stretches. 

4. ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY #2: The Guardian Droid, which is the second boss in this flashpoint, makes a very, very loud and jarring repeated noise during the stage of its fight cycle where it curls into a ball and spins. If you have sensory sensitivities you may wish to mute your audio or turn it way down during this fight. 

5. CONTENT ADVISORY: If you're playing the story progression, there will be a cut scene before the last set of bosses that shows several dead bodies. The corpses will be visible for the rest of your time in this area and you will have to interact with the cases they are in. There's no blood or guts, you're just told they are dead and their eyes are closed. Another character will have visible blood and injuries on their face, so be aware that is coming.  

If you are just playing the standalone flashpoint you will not get these scenes, but you will still see the dead bodies  around the edges of the area and have to smash the cases they are in. But there are no closeups of the corpses.

6. Some cool decos drop from every boss, including plants, statues, temple arches and even a waterfall. There are also a few decos that seem pretty creepy to me, like crypts of essence, and I don't personally keep those. But if you're building a scary stronghold, maybe they will work. 

There's also a bonus mission to find seven treasure chests, which will grant you the choice of a Valkorion or Dramath holo. Hey, if you want Dramath's ghost lurking around your stronghold, here's your chance.

7. This is to my knowledge the only flashpoint where you can actually earn a companion - the droid H2-4F drops sometimes from the bosses. The droid actually keeps up well and is a good healer, especially when leveled up. 

8. If you have H2-4F, you may wish to come back to do this as a standalone solo flashpoint - there's an achievement for defeating the Guardian Droid with it as your active companion. 

9. Make sure you use the repair droids that dot the landscape. You will likely take a bit of damage in this flashpoint even if you are doing fine. 

10. There are a lot of platforms and ledges, so mind your self and don't fall. 

This flashpoint will see you running first through the lush Nathema jungles, through various enemy camps, and finally into ancient temples to face the Order of Zildrog. The mobs you face in the first section will consist of Force sensitive zealots and creatures; as you get closer to the temples the enemy NPCs will shift to rogue Knights of Zakuul, reprogrammed skytroopers and such. There are a few sections where you will need to watch your step to avoid falling off cliffs or platforms, but it's not as treacherous as, say, False Emperor. 

Boss #1: Voreclaw

The Voreclaw has a formidable stomp, which will fling you backward. Mind your step and don't stay near the edge of the cliff, or you may find that this fight will be very short. 

The adds in this fight are Juvenile Voreclaws. I recommend ignoring them and concentrating on the main boss. 

The way to win this fight is to get the giant Voreclaw to follow you into one of the three green circles in the area. This may be difficult - if your companion(s) are battling it, or the Juvenile Voreclaws, the boss may be ignoring you. Put your companion(s) on passive to get them to run to you in the circle, use a Taunt if you have one, do what you need to do to get the big guy to come to you in the green circle. Make sure you are standing next to the blue panel. Once it's there, click the blue panel, and the Voreclaw will be temporarily stunned and immobilized by a shock. Use this time to wail on it as much as you possibly can (and make sure you take your companion off passive so they can help you!), throw Heroic Moment abilities at it, the works. 

When the shock wears off, lead the Voreclaw to the next green circle and repeat. 

Just beyond the Voreclaw, there's an open elevator you will take to the next section. You will keep running through the lush forest toward the temples. Expect heavy mobs, and watch your step on the numerous catwalks. You will weave in and out of temples and forest paths until you get to a second elevator. 

Bonus Bosses: Hands of Zildrog 

Beyond the second elevator the path splits. Both will get you to the Guardian Droids, but the lefthand side has fewer mobs. It also leads you past the bonus bosses - the two Hands of Zildrog - and another treasure chest for the bonus mission. The Hands can be completely ignored, but if you fight them they do drop more decos and grant an achievement. They're Force sensitive and hit like the Zealots or Knights of Zakuul, with a bit more oomph to their game. 

If you've fought the Hands, give yourself a moment before the Guardian Droid to let your abilities cool down. 

Boss #2: Guardian Droid, or the Very Bad Dog

ACCESSIBILITY ADVISORY: The Guardian Droid makes a very, very loud and jarring noise during one stage of its fight cycle. If you have sensory sensitivities you may wish to mute your audio or turn it way down during this fight. 

BUG: There's a bug that makes it impossible to complete this fight because the Guardian Droid never wears down and the Hunter Droids don't change. If this happens you will know because the fight will go on and on and on. The only way out is to let the droid kill you. That seems to reboot whatever makes this fight go wonky. 

This Very Bad Dog will bound all over the place to bother you, followed by a sequence where it spins in a circle and throws things at you. There are Hunter Droids around the perimeter; hit them until the y cast a blue field instead of a red one. And then just keep hitting the Guardian.

Final boss sequence

There are three bosses in this sequence, but you will be able to pause between GEMINI-16 and Vinn Atrius. You will absolutely NOT be able to pause between Vinn and Zildrog. 

Make sure you have repaired your gear at the medical droid before venturing onward. Ready? Here we go.

CONTENT ADVISORY: If you're playing the story there will be a cut scene here with dead bodies, and one character will be injured with visible blood on their face, so be aware that is coming. If you're just playing through the flashpoint GEMINI-16 will be waiting for you to start your battle with her. 

Remember that there are four kolto stations around the sides of Zildrog. The one that is the most visible is the fifth - right on the edge of the platform. Be very careful if you're accessing this fifth kolto station for obvious reasons. 

There are three separate bosses to fight in this section, so get ready. You do have a pause between GEMINI-16 and Vinn Atrius. If you need to take some time to stretch or shake out your wrists, do it. 

Boss #3: GEMINI-16 

The GEMINI-16 fight is IMHO the most difficult one in the flashpoint. You will need to be on your toes, and there will be a lot happening at once. This fight will be considerably easier if you're playing through the story because again, you will have two companion NPCs helping you out. If you're playing the flashpoint as a standalone, it's going to be a bit tougher. 

You want to make sure you get out of the way of GEMINI-16's Integration Beam, because it will fry you faster than you can say "deadly droid." My strategy in the beginning of the fight is to hit her as hard as I can with as much as I can before she starts attacking, starting with Orbital Strike from Heroic Moment, and then attack as I circle, avoiding the Integration Beam. 

As the fight goes on, GEMINI-16 will summon lots of NPC adds and duplicates of herself. They draw power from four of the Crypts of Essence - shown in the picture above- which will light up. As soon as they light up, you want to destroy those Crypts one by one, avoiding the Integration Beam as well as you can. You may need the kolto stations, and it's honestly safer to run around Zildrog to grab a boost than to venture into the fray at the edge of the platform. 

Toward the end of the fight GEMINI-16 will begin using Obliteration Protocol - which, unlike Integration Beam, you cannot run away from or avoid. Just know where your kolto stations are, pop Unity or your self-heals as needed, and hang on. 

After you defeat GEMINI-16 you will have to click a panel on Zildrog to continue. You can pause for a moment if needed to wait for your abilities and Heroic Moment to cool down, shake out your wrists or just take a breather for a minute or two. 

Boss #4: Vinn Atrius 

Vinn Atrius is considerably easier than GEMINI-16 - and that's because in the story, he's engineered as a battle for two and not three. The key thing with Vinn is to stick close to your companion. Vinn will try to separate you and push you back - mind the edges of the platform for obvious reasons. Stick to your companion like glue, using Intercede if you have it to get close to them if you are separated. Vinn will draw power from the large yellow diamonds - Essence of Zildrog - that appear around the perimeter. Take these out if you can, but you don't need to kill them all to defeat Vinn. 

Boss #5: Zildrog

Zildrog is that large machine in the center of the platform. Just target and hit it the way you did with Mentor in Directive 7. The Zildrog fight starts immediately after Vinn Atrius dies. And being as how he's a large, immobile machine, he won't really attack...yet. See this little red buff above that nameplate? When that number reaches 20, Zildrog will release an attack that will instantly kill you. You don't want that to happen. So hit the machine with anything you have left - by now Heroic Moment may have well cooled down, so don't be shy about calling upon it again. You and your companion need to wail on that machine until it dies, before it reaches 20. 

After Zildrog dies, you do need to destroy any remaining yellow diamonds to get out of combat, but the countdown clock to annihilation has stopped so it's not quite as urgent. 

And, you're done. Hooray. If you are playing the story, there will be a purple triangle on one of the NPCs for you to click to get your concluding cut scene. If you've romanced Lana or Theron and you're playing the story, trust me, you will probably really be happy with this cut scene. If you're doing the flashpoint without the story, you can press exit area to leave.

[rainofaugustsith]

Rain Plays SWTOR: False Emperor

As we continue the "play it before 7.0" theme, I'm going to talk about False Emperor, the second of the two flashpoints at the end of the Ilum story arc. The Ilum flashpoints are long. As in, Suvia (Sith Inquisitor Assassin, level 75 with 306 gear and a companion at level 50 influence,) stealthed her way through, watched all cut scenes, made steady progress and had no deaths, and False Emperor took her more than 30 minutes. If you are actually fighting the mobs, count on being there for far longer. This flashpoint and Battle of Ilum the predecessors to Spirit of Vengeance: long, tedious and boring. It's mob after mob. I only do this flashpoint now as part of the story on Viri's clones (my main) or stealthers. Quite frankly there are IMHO only probable five reasons you'd want to play this: 1. You haven't and want the achievement. 2. You really want the deco offered at the end (a large statue of a hooded man - could be the Emperor but also could be headcanoned as another Sith) 3. You want your main to do all the story content. 4. You are doing the HK-51 quest. There is a component in this flashpoint you need and cannot get anywhere else 5. You have a stealther who can skip most of the enemies and walk through Have I scared you off? No? You need to do this for the story? Here we go. Where do I pick this up? If you're doing the story quest that began with "Crystal Ball" (it was granted to you at the end of the class story) this flashpoint is the culmination. It will be granted automatically when you complete "Battle of Ilum" in the story AND the subsequent cut scene. If you are doing this as a standalone, go to your activities tab -> solo -> scroll down to flashpoints and choose "The False Emperor." The mobs are mobs. They're there. They are large in numbers and tedious. There isn't much I can tell you about them, so we'll concentrate on the bosses. Like Battle of Ilum and Directive 7, this has a lot of mini-bosses you cannot skip. This flashpoint also has a lot of platforms. With one exception all the bosses and mini-bosses you will fight will be in areas where you can get yeeted over the edge, and so will most of the mobs. Mind your step.

Mini Boss #1: Tregg the Destroyer

You're on a very narrow bridge here, and Tregg's got a knockback. One part of the bridge (shown above) has walls on both sides. Try to stay in there so Tregg can't send you flying to your doom. Otherwise, no tricks.

Boss #1: Jindo Krey Jindo Krey is a Mandalorian and he will get increasingly more damage as the fight goes on. As the screencap here shows, there's also a ship that looks like the bounty hunter's ship (IT ISN'T, AFAIK!) that will be firing missiles at you to complicate things. Run up to the console pictured in the second screencap and click it to temporarily send that ship away. Other than that: once again, you're on a platform with open sides so mind your step.

Mini-Boss(es) 2: Prototype B-16 and Prototype A-14

Eh. Droids. Just kill B and then A. That's how it usually shakes out for me. No major tricks. You're on a platform again. Boss #2: HK-47

If you are doing the HK-51 quest, HK-47 will drop a part you need when you defeat him. He should have a yellow loot "ray." YOU DO NOT NEED TO DO THIS FLASHPOINT ON VETERAN OR NiM TO GET THE PART! I can personally vouch that it drops from HK-47 in story mode. HK-47 is not quite as lethal as he was when you faced him in The Foundry, if you did. He doesn't have the insta-kill or any panels to frantically click. He mostly stays in the center for this entire fight. Just stay out of his line of fire and keep moving around him. And guess what? You're on a platform! Surprise! When HK-47's health gets low he will vanish and reappear to hit your character with a very long stun. This is his most formidable trick in this flashpoint. Mini-Boss #4: Chondrus Berani

This is the only boss/mini-boss you will fight in this flashpoint who is NOT on a platform where you're in danger of falling over the edge. Enjoy it while it lasts. Chondrus does have a knockback but the most he can do here is throw you around the hallway Final Boss: Darth Malgus

BUG: If the fight goes on too long, or you get too far away from Malgus, he has been known to reset. He will return to the bottom of the stairs and reset himself back to 100% HP. That's not fun. So make sure you stay close.

Malgus has a nasty knockback that will toss you right into the air shaft if you are unlucky. He also throws Inquisitor skills like Force Storm as well as single lightsaber skills. There are a few on-screen announcements about how you will have to face Malgus alone or whatever - just keep fighting. The trick for this fight is to anchor yourselves on the stairs, with your back to the wall, so that Malgus cannot throw you anywhere. He will actively try to do that. He will also sometimes end up fighting your companion and the combat assistance droid at the bottom for the stairs, so taunt him or put your companion on passive to pull him back to you. Remember: when Malgus is defeated the loot will not be on his person. It will be in this box that appears at the bottom of the stairs.

Make sure you click that little blue console at the bottom of the stairs to wrap things up. You're done! Yay! Press "exit area" and escape. If you are continuing the story arc, you will have a cut scene in the instanced area when you are back on the Ilum base.

[rainofaugustsith]

So...after playing Ziost for years I discovered there was an area I'd never seen. I was trying to figure out why I could not find one of the walkers needed for the Aegis achievement, did some Googling, and the comments at Dulfy's were actually useful this time. So you know after you finish the showdown at the People's Tower and go back to the orbital station? When you approach the console again, you get this message?

Caption: Ziost transportation terminal: You notice a warning that planetary sensors detect a "planetary anomaly." A widespread crisis might be imminent. If you choose to investigate, further travel to Ziost's surface may become impossible, leaving any open concerns unresolved. That is - "if you haven't done any of the side quests you wanted to do, or want to look around again, this is your last chance before Vitiate eats the planet." I've never chosen the first choice, "Go to landing zone," because I've always finished the quests (well one time I forgot to go back to the crate for that speeder mission by the People's Tower, but otherwise...). Today I did. Entirely new area of Ziost appeared. There is a taxi here to go back to any of the other three areas you quested through, but it's intriguing in its own right.

Remember how Lana said in the story arc that Vitiate was staying around New Adasta? This seems to be an area outside of New Adasta proper - one rogue walker, but otherwise nobody is possessed. Just very frightened and trying to get off the planet.

You see civilians waiting to get on an evacuation shuttle that is right behind them.

There's a glimpse at Ziost's railway system, which looks a lot like the one on Dantooine, doesn't it?

Remember these two droids. HMC-10 and B-7G2? You see them in the Ziost daily area when you pick up the macrobinoculars mission. They're here too. The missing Aegis walker is here, but other than that, the only enemy NPCs are some random bogwing type critters.

I just can't believe that after all this time there was an area on Ziost I missed. It's a really cool one.

[rainofaugustsith]

Additional caveat to this: if you complete all the side quests on Ziost, you will not get this option to go back. The easiest to leave open is the world boss at the top of the hill near the People's Tower. I am not sure if 'Temporary Residence' (the bonus quest where you save civilians outside the People's Tower. It is very very bugged and most mobs don't give you credit even if the civilian is right there. I usually leave that and the mini world boss incomplete. I didn't consider the mini world boss an actual quest - but apparently it has been enough to leave access to Ziost open.

But just remember that or you will not have the option to return and explore the extra area.

[rainofaugustsith]

Rain Plays SWTOR: Crisis on Umbara

We're continuing with our "play it before 7.0" series with Crisis on Umbara. This is the first post-KOTFE/KOTET flashpoint, and it's got a few changes from the older flashpoints. We're not going to discuss the story of Crisis on Umbara - it was very deeply upsetting to fans of a specific character, and even if that isn't my personal fave, I fully respect and want to show sensitivity that it was upsetting to that character's fans. It was another tired betrayal storyline (as though SWTOR hasn't already had about 500 of those), so beyond the character issue, it took the story back into boring territory IMHO. We're talking strictly about the gameplay here. 

Crisis on Umbara is a train heist that turns into a (literal) train wreck. The design of Umbara is spooky and intriguing. This is another planet I wish we'd get to visit again, because running around in this gothic sci-fi landscape is pretty amazing. 

From this flashpoint onward you will not have the assistance of a combat droid, even in story mode. However, if you are playing this to get through the story, you will have two of your own companions (no choice; the story dictates who joins you) to help you through the section with mobs. One of the companions will leave after the train section, but the rest of it is honestly like an open world planetary area. You'll also have access to a flamethrower and a lot of incendiary barrels to help you along.  This flashpoint will occasionally drop holo decos of the bosses, but they are not guaranteed.

Basic caveats: 

1. This is a very short flashpoint. With Viri and Lana moving right along at level 75/306 gear rating in solo mode, it took about 25 minutes. If you're going through the story you will have some cut scenes before, during and after, but it's still not a very long stretch of story.

2. In my own experience, the section on the train tends to have a fair amount of lag. Be aware that enemies may take a second or two to render, your character may be moving slowly, and it may look very choppy. 

3. You know what to do to the medics, right? There are some in just about every group on the train and in the part of the wreckage where you're dealing with the Umbaran soldiers. They should be your first priority to dispatch!

4. You will have a lot of exploding barrels to work with in this flashpoint, and they can significantly cut down on your fighting time. 

5. From this flashpoint on, there is a new type of kolto station that you may not have seen before. They had these in the Uprisings, but if you've played through story you may not have seen these yet. You need to run through them instead of clicking them. They also tend to be a little more hidden than they were in the older flashpoints, but they're still there.

6. On the train only, there will be one room with kolto barrels you can click on to receive some heals.  

7. There is no combat assistance droid in this flashpoint, or any of the ones to follow.

If you're doing this as part of the story, you will have two specific companions that you cannot choose or change who accompany you on the train, but will lose one when the train wrecks. If you're going through the flashpoint as a standalone, you will have one companion of your choice. 

How do I get it? 

1. If you are doing the story progression, the mission with cut scenes is granted after you finish Iokath, ie, Fractured Alliances/the Forgotten World. 

2. If you are doing the flashpoint as a standalone, pick it up by going to your activities panel, choose the solo tab and scroll down to Crisis on Umbara. 

3. You can also pick up the standalone flashpoint on Odessen. Go to the base elevator all the way on the side of the Odessen plaza, near the two Star Fortress quest givers (Lt. Marko is one). Take the elevator to the Alliance Staging Area level. The terminal for Umbara is on the lefthand side of the room before you go up the stairs. Go to the little blue terminal, click, choose difficulty level you want, and then go through the blue curtain into the instanced area which is right there. 

Section 1: Great Train Heist (or not)

You will be fighting to the front of an Umbaran train. BUG: The game often is very laggy here. Also remember that you are on a train that has wide open gaps on both sides - you absolutely can be thrown over the side or fall. Conversely, if you have any skills that will yeet enemies over the sides, they will work here. 

The mobs here are not particularly challenging if you are max level. Remember to give the medics your undivided attention first. 

You will notice that a lot of the rooms have explosive barrels. You can't just click them; you have to target them with a skill to get them to break. They explode, and if you are strategic about this, you can get rid of a lot of your enemies very quickly. 

Several of the rooms also have trip wires and red areas on the floor. If you step on these, a turret will appear. You can use skills like Force Charge or use the boxes and crates around the train to get across without touching them, but honestly, the turrets aren't a huge deal and stepping on them isn't likely to be the end of the world. 

When you get to the part of the train that appears to be a dead end, after you dispatch the three NPCs, mouse around on the boxes to find a datapad to click. Now click the console in front of you that has turned blue. That will make a grapple box flashing green appear on the next train car appear. Click it to grapple across. 

In the last room before the bosses, you will notice four kolto barrels in the corners of the room. These are your kolto stations, more or less. Click on them to kick them open and heal yourself and your companion(s) if needed. This is a challenging room with heavier mobs and a lot of trip wires and turrets, so you may need the kolto, and they're fun to smash at the end of the fight regardless/ 

You can also pick up a flamethrower in an early room. Why not? The more help you have, the better. It will stay as a temporary ability for the entire flashpoint and you can keep using it. Look for the clickable red/blue bottle on the crates. If you don't get one here, you'll have another chance just before the final boss.

Bosses #1 and #2: Technician Canni and Assassin Elli-Va

Canni's big claim to fame is his ability to summon autoturrets. Elli-Va is a Force user who will disappear and reappear at will. There's a knockback, so be careful and mind the edges of the train. I find the easiest way to handle this fight is to anchor my character against the train door, so if they are knocked back, they're not flying over the edge. Let your companions work on Canni and concentrate on Elli-Va while you are in your corner, who will come to you and stay on your character until she is defeated.  After Elli-Va is dead, join your companions in fighting Canni, who will keep calling turrets. After both bosses are defeated, you will have to also defeat any remaining turrets; they will not vanish on their own. 

Trainwreck time!

2. Great Train Fail 

So your great train heist...sort of failed. A lot. This section will have you going through the train wreckage. Run up the hill and stay to the right to avoid pulling every mob in the joint. There's an achievement for defeating a certain number of Injured Umbaran Soldiers. They appear as neutral yellow-name plate NPCs but you may find that you accidentally pull them very quickly  while fighting other enemies. 

In the second section, you will be gathering six canisters of Umbaran crystals. Veer left to avoid the heaviest mobs and look around the back of the train. There are a bunch of crystal canisters at the back around the train cars with minimal enemies. When you have enough, you will find an opening about halfway through the wrecked train cars so you can get to the other side and toward the next section. 

An Alpha Slybex is also at the back of the train. There's an achievement for defeating it, but if you want to skip it you can easily do that too. 

After you have enough crystals, run up the next hill to Boss #2. 

Boss #2: Vixian Mauler

The Mauler stomps and pounds its fists. It has a knockback, which should not be a problem so long as you don't position yourself near the train cars that are on fire. No real tricks. Stay out of the nasty circles and cones and mind the knockback. 

Now walk along this train car, carefully avoiding the trapdoor, and jump down at the end. You will be walking through another short area, this time with angry Umbaran wildlife. At the fork in the road, veer left to the huge angry mob of critters and soldiers. Steer clear; a lot of them will kill off each other and you can take out many with the two explosive barrels. You will get a message telling you that you need to find a way through the rubble. 

Go back to the fork in the road and veer right. At the dead end of the path, you'll find blue clickable boxes. It doesn't matter which one you choose, they are all the same. You will get a temporary ability for a missile launcher. Go back to that critter-soldier mob area. You will see a green circle light up. Stand in it and press the temporary ability button on your screen to fire your missile launcher and clear the path. Now head up the hill. If you need a repair droid, there's a poor one stuck IN the metal scrap to the left. 

It's another short run up the hill, past angry Umbaran fauna, to the final boss. 

Boss #3: Spider Droid 

If you have not picked up a flamethrower, get one here - there are some on the table on the righthand side of the area. by the repair droid. Visit the repair droid before you start the fight so you're at your best. 

The Spider Droid does not move, but it summons huge mobs of soldiers and assassins. I usually like to start by throwing Heroic Moment Orbital Strike at it, and then the Heroic Moment grenade, and then jump in, doing as much damage as possible before the first wave of mobs shows up. Stay out of the fire circles; the safest place is often under the droid. 

The droid calls huge mobs, and if you are underleveled, they can easily overwhelm a companion. But remember that flamethrower? Use it! Or lead the mobs close to the barrels and use that, or your other skills, to explode the incendiary barrels around the perimeter of the fight area. You can take out a lot of the mobs and do a lot of damage to them. There are some barrels right around the droid as well; make sure you ignite them to cause more damage. 

After the spider droid is defeated, you will still need to ignite all the barrels AND defeat any remaining mob NPCs to get out of combat and end the fight. Now click that blue tower on the right or press exit area, and voila, you're done.

[rainplaysswtor]

Rain Plays SWTOR: Full Index

If you enjoy these guides and find them helpful please like and share!

Player Guides and Tips New Player Tips Surviving Toxic Players Avoiding the Fleet Tatooine Shortcut to Avoid Outlaws Den Rest Up Avoiding Shared Tagging

Tech Fragment Suggestions Decos on a Budget Part 1 Decos on a Budget Part 2 Contending with Bugs Light It Up: Illuminated Armor Avoiding GTN Gouging Preparing for Preferred Preparing for Preferred Pt. 2 Unlocks Worth Considering

Reputation 101 Curing Womp Rat Fever!

Flashpoints A Traitor Among the Chiss Athiss (solo) Hammer Station (solo) Call to Arms #1: Boarding Party Call to Arms #2: The Foundry Spirit of Vengeance Directive 7 The Nathema Conspiracy Crisis on Umbara False Emperor

Other missions Dread Seeds/Seeker Droids Solo Macrobinoculars Solo (most of it) Pt. 1 Macrobinoculars Solo (most of it) Pt. 2 Macrobinoculars - Video of Maki'Voro fight solo Veteran Star Fortresses Veteran Star Fortresses Revisited Veteran Star Fortresses: Exarch Fight Video Veteran Star Fortresses: Exarch Fight 2 Video Mek-Sha Explorer Mek-Sha Tradehouse Missions Saboteur Quests Echoes of Oblivion Galactic Seasons Help Galactic Seasons Help 2 Where to Find Instanced Mobs HK-51 Quest Chain Flirron Friend - Onderon Loyalist and Saboteur Locations More Loyalist and Saboteur Locations

Swoop Bike Rally Extra Area on Ziost KOTET Voss Walker, KOTET Chapter 1 How to Save Bergola and her friends, KOTET chapter 6 Uprisings

Part 1: Firefrost, Fractured, Crimson Fang Part 2: Inferno, Divided We Fall, Trench Runner Part 3: Landing Party, Destroyer of Worlds Pt 4: Trial and Error Uprising Achievements and Finding the Inferno Agent Bosses Defeating Revan (solo, Shadow of Revan fight) HK-47: The Foundry Vaylin: KOTET

Daily areas/Events Oricon Black Hole: End of Torvix Puzzle Rakghoul Tunnels Sensors Matrix Shards Section X: Aurora Cannon Easy/Fun/Pointless Quests

Harlow Ricks The DvL Holocrons Yavin 4 Sensors Companions Optional Companions: Reviews

[rainofaugustsith]

Rain Plays SWTOR: Call to Arms Arc Pt. 1

Call to Arms is an Imperial-only purple story mission that comprises the Boarding Party and Foundry flashpoints. Of course, you can play through these flashpoints at any time individually, provided you're a high enough level - but the actual story that ties the two together is not repeatable. 

Rewards: In story/solo mode you are awarded a science station deco, plus a wall trophy, for completing Boarding Party.

Where do I get it? 

Once again, if you are doing these flashpoints once for the experience, I urge you to do the full story mission so you get the whole picture. This story chain is important for two reasons: Revan and Malgus. And if you played KOTOR you will encounter another old pal, although he won't exactly greet you warmly. Chronologically, it follows the Republic's story chain with Taral V and Maelstrom Prison. 

The quest giver astromech for the non-repeatable story chain is on the Imperial Fleet right next to the one for the Shadow of Revan Prelude. It's near the elevator between the Galactic Trade Market and the section where you buy mods and enhancements and find Kai Kyken. 

A short cut scene will play and you will be directed to meet with Moff Phenir on the White Nova. Use your quick travel (you have it automatically) to get to the White Nova quickly, and then find the instanced room. You'll speak with the Moff and Darth Malgus, and then leave the room to enter the flashpoint nearby. 

Alternative: If you have already done the story or just want to play the flashpoint without it, you can pick up the solo/story version by clicking on it from your solo tab on the activities console. Press CTRL+G, go to the solo tab, and scroll down to flashpoints to find Boarding Party. 

Story: The Boarding Party is the first part of the Call to Arms quest. You will be commandeering a Republic cruiser. You've done this before, with the Black Talon. Simple enough. 

This isn't the flashiest or the most interesting flashpoint, but you'll need to get through it for the story. 

General caveats: 

1. Kill. The. Medics. The medics in this flashpoint are really slick and like to hide behind boxes and ships. No joke. Get rid of them. You will notice that two of the bosses have healers. Same drill. 

2. This is another long flashpoint. It took Viri and Vette about 45 minutes, with no stops, no difficulty and no deaths, including all cut scenes and the bonus boss. 

3. Once again, make sure you have your Legacy Field Repair Droid perk, because there's only one at the very beginning of the flashpoint. 

4. If you're working on companion kill count achievements, you'll find it very easy to rack up big numbers here. 

5. This isn't a particularly difficult flashpoint, it's more of an endurance run. Expect a lot of mobs. 

Bonus Quests: 

There are numerous opportunities to pick up XP and credits on bonus quests, and honestly, you will be doing these things as you move through the flashpoint without much effort. 

1. Kill 50 enemy NPCs

2. Kill 10 Jedi 

3. Click 8 panels 

4. Click 6 comm towers

There really isn't much to say about navigating your way through the ship. It's a standard Republic vessel, and you and your team will run from room to room to get toward the bridge. 

Every now and then you will see these comm towers. Make sure you click them. There's a bonus mission attached to them, but they will also call backup. 

Boss #1: HK1 Juggernaut. The HKJ is a giant droid. Every now and then it will unleash a stream of lightning that can drain your character very quickly. Stay on your feet and keep moving. 

Boss #2: Sak'an Donair

This Jedi is flanked by a pair of Jedi Healers. You know exactly what to do, don't you? Once the healers are dead, he goes down like a ton of bricks, very quickly. 

You will have a short cut scene where you will learn that the captain of the ship has set it to self-destruct. Well, that's not good. Hopefully you have been clicking and defeating and finishing the bonus stages as they have arisen. At this point on the map, you should be able to head down the ramps to confront Chief Engineer Kels and his Modified Assault Droids.  Bonus Boss: Chief Engineer Kels and his Modified Assault Droids

This is the one battle in the flashpoint that is challenging. You will notice pylons with electricity cracking at the four corners of the platform. As you fight, messages will flash onscreen, alerting you that one of these pylons will unleash its energy. You obviously don't want to stand in that particular area when it happens. 

Also, you want to take care not to kill Kels himself before you take care of his droids. If Kels dies first, the droids get enraged and become considerably more lethal toward your PC and harder to kill. If you're a geared level 75 with a high level companion, you may still be able to cope, but if not, the droids' enrage mode will likely pick off you and your companion and support droid very quickly. 

Go back up to the main level of the ship and continue toward the bridge. 

Boss#3: Storm Squad, waiting for you on the bridge. One of the gold NPCs here is a healer/medic. Once again...you know what to do. Once you've dealt with the medic, the rest of Storm Squad goes down easily. 

After this there will be a short cut scene with a chance to make a LS/DS decision. Once that's over, exit area. If you're doing the story, you will find yourself back on the White Nova and enter the instanced room again for another scene with the Moff and Malgus. If you're just doing the flashpoint without the story chain, you're finished.

Now we get to the really fun one...The Foundry. 

[rainofaugustsith]

Rain Plays SWTOR: Call to Arms Arc Pt. 2

Call to Arms is an Imperial-only purple story mission that comprises the Boarding Party and Foundry flashpoints. Of course, you can play through these flashpoints at any time individually, provided you're a high enough level - but the actual story that ties the two together is not repeatable. 

Rewards: In story/solo mode you are awarded a Rakata chamber and a wall trophy for completing The Foundry.

Where do I get it? 

If you are doing the Call to Arms story chain you are granted this flashpoint as a purple mission after completing Boarding Party and speaking to Malgus and the Moff. You will find the entrance to The Foundry flashpoint on the deck of the White Nova very close to that instanced area. 

Alternative: If you have already done the story or just want to play the flashpoint without it, you can pick up the solo/story version by clicking on it from your solo tab on the activities console. Press CTRL+G, go to the solo tab, and scroll down to flashpoints to find Boarding Party. 

Story: The Foundry is the second and final part of the Call to Arms quest. You will be taking the commandeered cruiser to the mysterious Foundry, a space station on an asteroid which Malgus surmises is one of the mythical Star Forges. 

General caveats: 

1. I'd strongly suggest a ranged companion for this flashpoint. For the HK-47 and Revan fights it will be very important to have a companion who can physically stay away from them. 

2. Kill. The. Medics. The medics in this flashpoint are really slick and like to hide behind boxes and ships. No joke. Get rid of them.

3. This is a very long flashpoint - close to an hour even if you're moving right along - but it's interesting. However, know that you're in for a workout here. 

4. Once again, make sure you have your Legacy Field Repair Droid perk, because there's only one at the very beginning of the flashpoint. 

5. If you're working on companion kill count achievements, you'll find it very easy to rack up big numbers here. 

Bonus Quests:  

As in Boarding Party, you're given numerous opportunities for bonus quests. 

1. Kill 50 enemy NPCs

2. Kill Extermination Droids

3. Click 4 generators

4. Click 20 ancient terminals

5. Click 2 shield terminals.

You will begin this flashpoint with a short cut scene on the bridge of the Republic ship you've commandeered. You have a few minutes to give your team an encouraging speech, if you wish, before you head into the asteroid itself. The mobs you face will be a mixture of droids, Jedi and Republic troopers. It's quantity over quality, and you will want your combat assistance droid's help. Look around at the cool Rakata decor. 

Boss #1: Guardian Droid

This boss is very similar to the first boss in Boarding Party. I found that Viri was actually safest standing directly under the droid.

Continue through the ship, fighting more droids and Jedi. You will eventually have a cut scene with HK-47 - yes, that one - who tells you all about the Republic's genocide program against Sith. The HK-47 fight can be extremely difficult, and I actually have dedicated an entire post to it in the past. To recap:

The HK-47 fight does not auto-start. You can use the time to make sure you and your companion and combat droid are ready to go. I’d suggest starting the fight behind him or to his side. I use the time to go around the room, do the bonus quest to click the four generators, and make sure I'm really set for the fight. 

The goal for you will be to stay out of HK-47′s direct line of view, and also out of the octagonal area on the ground around him. If you are melee, make sure you are ready to throw anything in your arsenal that is a ranged or AOE attack.

If you have the Legacy Heroic Moment abilities, many of them will come in handy. I usually start this fight with the Legacy Orbital Strike, and then toss the Legacy Plasma Grenade. The Legacy Project and Force Lightning can be used while outside the octagon, but be careful. 

There are three parts to the fight. In the first, HK-47 will stand in his octagon and fire at you. Run around, stay out of the octagon and be careful.

In the second, HK-47 will say “Extermination units…converge!” and disappear. He will appear on one side of the room, still attacking, and there will be several droid adds. Leave these to your companion and the combat support droid and stay on HK-47.

Third: HK-47 will disappear and reappear back in the center. The second you see him vanish, you need to get very close to that octagon - but not in it. The chamber above HK-47 will come down and four blue panels will light up around the perimeter. 

You want to be close to that octagon - but not in it, as soon as you see HK vanish because you have a matter of seconds to click all four panels. If your character has any sort of speed run, now’s the time for it. If you’re on the other side of the room you will not get there in time.  You do not want to be IN the octagon because if that chamber comes down on you, it’s an insta-kill. 

Assuming you clicked all four panels, the chamber will rise and HK-47 will keep trying to kill you. Run around, use your ranged/AOE skills and keep hitting him.  If you didn’t click all four panels, HK-47 will be much stronger. It’s now especially important to stay out of his line of view because he can hit you with a blast that will knock down quite a large percentage of your HP.  

If you don’t kill HK by the end of this cycle, the three phases will repeat.

HK-47 does also have a knockback, and there’s one side of the room with a drop. Keep your back to the doors and not the droids if you can. 

After HK, the rest of this is cake. Or at least not as hard. 

After defeating HK and taking care of any bonus quest clickables in the room, you'll head outside. Dude, you're running around on an asteroid, look at you. Make sure you click the blue panels on the little domed huts to the left and right sides of the main path. You will summon the Bonus Boss, who is a giant klor'slug by another name. You've got this. 

Now you'll head back inside to another Rakatan area, and will finally reach Revan. 

If you got through the HK-47 fight, Revan might be a walk in the park. However, he's not a pushover. In tune with his background, he can pull both Sith abilities like Force Storm and Jedi ones. He has a wicked knockback and he can and will try to pull you toward the edge so he can knock you over. You want to stay as close to the middle of the platform as possible and use a ranged companion who can hit him from a distance, like the support droid. 

If you are doing the HK-51 quest, remember there is a component you need to pick up on Revan's console. Don't leave without it. You can't get the component if you're not doing that quest, so don't worry about it otherwise. 

Also, don't forget that your loot is in a box that appears in the middle of the room, not on Revan. Don't forget it!

There's a short cut scene regardless if you're doing the story chain or doing the flashpoint on its own. You can then 'exit area.' If you're doing the Call to Arms story chain, you will have one more cut scene in the instanced area on the White Nova for the conclusion. 

[rainofaugustsith]

Rain Plays SWTOR: A Traitor Among the Chiss

For now, Rain Plays SWTOR is going to highlight content you may wish to try or enjoy as a solo player before 7.0. Given the way combat is drastically changing, one's ability to complete this content (or interest in playing) may also change. 

Today: A Traitor Among the Chiss. 

A Traitor Among the Chiss, AKA Copero, is IMHO my favorite flashpoint in the entire game. The planet is so well designed and heavy on the detail, there are several different sections with puzzles and mazes so it's not just "kill mobs for an hour," there are great rewards, and I just think it's neat. 

When this flashpoint was first released it was notoriously mob-heavy and long, but they've scaled it back quite a bit. 

Why would I want to play it?

Here's one big reason: Copero has some of the nicest decos you can get in the game and they drop with every boss. There are some industrial decos like air vents, but you can also get palm trees, paper lanterns, elegant chandeliers, fountains, wall fountains, a full bar and more. 

You can also get pieces of Ascendancy armor, although these unfortunately are not guaranteed to always drop and they're bound to your individual toon. 

Many bonus missions and achievements exist in this flashpoint that will grant a Copero Propaganda decoration. You will get 999 of them, even. 

How do I get it? 

1. If you are doing the main story you will be granted the mission that includes this flashpoint after completing the Crisis on Umbara section. This will include some non-repeatable story cut scenes.

2. If you're just doing the flashpoint solo: press CTRL+G. Go to the solo tab. Scroll down to A Traitor Among the Chiss and highlight it on the list. Click the green button. Voila. 

General caveats: 

1. Kill. The. Medics. First. 

In this flashpoint, they're helpfully labeled for you and are all the same model NPC. They're very weak so you can probably kill them in one or two shots, but if you let them live they will make your fights complicated and long. They hang at the back of the mob and won't usually run to you, they'll just quietly heal their compatriots and fire a shot from their vantage point now and again. Kill. The. Medics. First. 

2. Always repair your gear. 

This flashpoint has a lot of medical droids, and it's great. Don't pass by a medical droid without repairing your gear, because it's going to take a beating.

3. It's long but not as bad as some of the other long flashpoints. 

There are several sections that are combat-light and mostly rely on solving easy puzzles and navigating mazes. Your wrists and hands will get a break from the fighting. 

4. Take some time to look around.

Sure, you can crash through this flashpoint at warp speed - but you'll miss a lot. It's worth it to take some time to explore all the nooks and crannies, especially while you're in town. This is, in my opinion, one of the most richly decorated and designed areas of the entire game. Wander around. Take in the view. Come back and look again. You won't regret it. 

When you pass by this holoscreen in a cafe area, you will get an update on the state of the galaxy after Iokath, as well. 

Ready? Let's go.

1. Town 

You'll land in the urban heart of Copero. If you stop to look around anywhere, let it be here. You'll find alleys and concert stages and outdoor cafes, lovely gardens with fountains and waterfalls, and truly beautiful views. The heaviest mobs in the game are in this section. Some of the snipers and operatives vanish and reappear, so you won't necessarily see them all at once. 

There are several opportunities for bonus missions: 

Good Listener: Plant listening devices on the towers. 

Supply Demands: Destroy the supply barrels

When you reach the concert stage, you will encounter Security Chief Li'Dali. She's one of the three named Chiss NPCs you need for the Defeat the Operations Chiefs achievement. If you don't want to tangle with her, you can also go around the other side of the concert venue and ignore her. 

Boss #1: The Guardian Droid

What's that you say, it looks just like an isotope-5 droid from Makeb? Luckily it doesn't have the same tricks as those, but it can still take you down. Ignore the adds - they will vanish when you defeat the droid. 

The Guardian Droid is stationary but you really don't want to be. Several of the droid's attacks, such as Incinerate and Mortar Volley, will kill you before you know what hit you if you stay under the droid. Heat beam follows you and is difficult to shake. Keep moving. Your companion may become distracted by the adds - don't let yourself be. Keep moving, focus solely on the Guardian Droid. The adds will disappear as soon as you've vanquished it. 

2: The Factory

Now you're going into a Chiss factory! It's kinda cool. There's another bonus mission possibility here - Terminal Intelligence - if you click on the blue consoles around the factory. Doing so will also require you to kill off the other two named Chiss NPCs which will count toward the Defeat the Operations Chiefs achievement. 

Be careful not to fall off the catwalks - it's dark in here and a lot of fighting occurs on those catwalks. Be aware that Force Push and other abilities to launch enemy NPCs over the edges usually don't work here. 

Use the green grapples to get to the upper platform to continue. BUG: Sometimes the grapples don't work and you die. If that happens you'll respawn at the Guardian Droid medical droid (the Guardian Droid and all the NPCs you've already defeated will still be defeated). 

Boss #2: Syndic Zenta 

Syndic's main attack is a damage over time (DOT) that "scans" you like a healing probe - but it's there to kill. Her main defense is that she will vanish from time to time and reappear in other spots in the room. 

Completely ignore the adds as much as you can, and just stick to Zenta like glue. In the first part of the fight she will be on the ground floor and relatively stationary. When her HP reduces to a certain point she'll grapple up to the second level. You can use the grapples to follow her or take the ramp upstairs. If you have a skill that helps you jump to the enemy, like Force Charge, that will also work as long as you are close enough. 

When Zenta's health is really depleted, she will return to the ground floor and unleash some damaging abilities that can drain your HP very quicly. Steer clear of the rays of doom and keep attacking. At this point in the fight she won't hop from place to place so you will have a stationary target again. 

Once you've dealt with Zenta, remember there's a medical droid on the second floor of her room. Pay it a visit. After that, you're going to head out on the ground floor through the large door that opened, and make a left. 

If you continue to the end of the hallway you will find the bonus boss. It's a walker with a strike team. You've fought them before. No tricks, and it will grant you the Defeat the Strike Team achievement. If you want to continue, the exit from the factory is on the right hand side about halfway down the hallway, and is a hard to see cave. 

3. The ruins 

From here, you're outside in the snow and it's getting dark (Copero has night and day too, which is really cool). You will mostly be dealing with droids, wampas and ice cats from here on out. The temple cats can vanish and reappear, and the wampas have a savrik-like stomp. Be careful on the stairs and pathways because that stomp can pitch you over the side if you're not careful. 

Take the sharp right and you'll see an archway with a giant temple cat just beyond. DO NOT kill the kitty! Don't get close enough to aggro it. You see that blue basket of fruit? Click it. That will give you a temporary ability. Click the kitty (WITHOUT AGGROING IT) to target it and then press the temporary ability button to toss a piece of fruit to it. Kitty will be happy and will go away. Isn't that better? 

After the temple cat has been bribed with fruit, head straight through and up the path on the right hand side. You will find yourself in an area with three doors. Click the one at the far left with this light blue light. Now click the little flame inside. If you linger here too long you will be attacked by droids. 

Go back down the path and go over to that giant clickable generator you ignored before. The flame you picked up will make it work, and another archway will melt so you can continue. 

Go up the stairs (mind the wampas!) and into the maze. There are ways to navigate the maze by moving the walls, but you have the full map above to find your way.

Once you're through the maze, you're at another puzzle. You will have to defeat the droids but if you're careful you can avoid aggroing the cats. The clickable you need is the one closest to the main archway as seen here. Click it and the archway will melt away. Go through, go up the path on the right, and then you've reached Valss.

Boss #3 Valss

Valss has two lightsabers AND a rifle. He'll use the rifle at the beginning, and will call Orbital Strike, but will quickly switch to his lightsabers. Valss will vanish at some points during the fight and conceal himself among the numerous whirlwinds he will call. The whirlwinds will obscure the area and confuse your companion, who will try to attack them. If you continue to throw any available AOE attacks, you can find Valss in the storm. There will be a buff that pops up on the whirlwind when Valss is close. 

And now...you're done! A shuttle will land right outside the Valss battle area. You can click the door or just press 'exit area' to be transported back to Odessen. 

[rainofaugustsith]

Rain Plays SWTOR: Directive 7

Directive 7 is one of the solo flashpoints set during the class stories or shortly thereafter, that you can play. If you've never gone through, I'd suggest trying it out now, before 7.0 drops. 

Rewards: In story mode, Directive 7 drops this cool deco. It's technically a mentor processing core, but it looks Voss, and it looks neat in a wide variety of settings. 

trStory: 

Directive 7 is basically an Order 66 type deal - the liberated droids are going to send out a galaxy-wide signal that will compel every single droid on every single planet and system to murder all the organics (yes, we're basically dealing with the droid version of Vitiate). The head of the rebellion, Mentor, has also connected almost all the other droids to their own hivemind. Luckily, one of the liberated droids, C5-M3, tips you off and assists you. Off you go to the planet Zadd to stop Mentor before the slaughter signal can be broadcast.

Where to get it: If you plan on doing this flashpoint once for the experience, I'd strongly suggest getting the full story experience. Imperial side, you can find the droid quest giver either on the fleet near the GTN and gift vendors (upper tier) or on Corellia by the Imperial War Camp. I could not find the Corellia quest giver for the Republic, but there's one on the fleet in the same area - it is marked "Galactic Trade Market" and is the section where you buy companion gifts or browse the GTN terminals. Talking to the droid will give you the Immediate Vengeance story chain. 

There will be a short cut scene with the droid, in which you will learn that your faction's soldiers were murdered en masse by their own droids. And the other faction isn't responsible. Board the nearby shuttle, which will take you to the Ziost Shadow (Imperial) or Gav Dagaron (Republic) fleet ship. There will be a nearby instanced area for another short story scene. After you finish the flashpoint you will return here for another cut scene to complete the mission. 

Now, the interesting thing here is that it's a purple - that is, main story - mission. The flashpoint was considered critical to the story and given a solo mode. To the best of my knowledge, however, you never hear anything about the planet Zadd or these droids again. There isn't even a Codex entry for Zadd. Vestiges of a discarded plotline, perhaps? 

Alternatives: 

If you don't care about the story or have already done the mission, you can pick up the flashpoint by a) talking to the droid outside the instanced area on the Ziost Shadow or b) Press CTRL+G to bring up your activity panel. Go to the 'solo' tab. Scroll down to the flashpoints and choose Directive 7. 

Basics: 

1. This is a long flashpoint. With Viri (Sith Warrior Vengeance Juggernaut, level 75/gear 306) and Lana (influence level 50, set to heals) moving right along and skipping the bonus missions, it took about 45 minutes. 

2. Expect heavy mobs in a lot of places. It's quantity, not quality, but you can get overwhelmed. Make sure you use the combat support droid that is provided to accompany you! And remember you can re-summon the droid if it dies (look on your mission tab in your inventory for the device to re-summon)

3. The only repair droid is at the shuttle where you land, so make sure you have the perk to summon your own. 

4. If you are trying to get a companion kill count achievement, this is a good place to work on it. Without any effort you can defeat more than 100 droid NPCs in here. 

You will be let off the shuttle on a hillside. Head toward the compound. There are several places to do bonus missions. You can finish the "kill 50 droids" one without any effort on your part at all. When you get to the gate, click on the console for a short cut scene with C5-M3. 

Go inside and deal with the first boss, Detector. No real tricks here. Just keep hitting him. Now head down to the end of the dock to click this pile of blue missiles. There will be an explosion, and a bridge will appear behind the column. Cross the bridge to the factory and keep fighting until the next cut scene. 

Mentor Assassins Theta, Beta and Zeta: All three droids will attack you at once. You need to hit whoever is not shielded. Other than that, no tricks. BUG: when I've played this, the Assassins have not shown up at first, so I've had to fight invisible enemies. Use your AOEs until they appear. 

BUG: As you go into the next room, your companion will refuse to follow you. I handle this by going halfway into the room (veer right, don't pull the mobs)  and sending my companion to sell junk. When they return they will be in the room with you. From here you will be going through a very mob-heavy section with unfortunate victims of Mentor's cyborg experiments, and you will need your companion and the combat droid with you. 

Interrogator: This droid's deal is that they will periodically call a "clone" of one of your party members. Spoiler alert: you're solo, so that's you, so be prepared to deal with an NPC that shares your toon's abilities. No other tricks. 

Head through the factory, outside and then back into the factory. 

Bulwark: This fellow spews a lot of electrcity until you click on the panels on both sides of the room to destroy them. Repair astromechs will appear every so often to try to fix the panels - make sure you or your companion or support droid dispatches them quickly. 

More factory. 

Assembler: Remember how in the Imperial Agent story you get to be a droid? This is a supersized version. No real tricks, just make sure you destroy the turrets. 

Mentor: This fight is difficult. Just saying. It goes in several stages. 

You will start the fight by attacking Mentor - you know, the giant thing on the wall. Mentor will target you with their claw. The claw will follow you around the room, trying to fling you, zap you with green lasers and generally be annoying. Use this time to take out the elite turbolasers. 

An announcement in red will flash on your screen, letting you know that one of the four processor cores has overheated. The minute you see that announcement, haul ass over to that processor core. Ignore anything and everything else and click the core. If you don't get to it in time, the core will stop overheating. 

The fight just keeps cycling - claw/turbolasers, processor cores overheating, and this charming fellow. After you have finished destroying all four cores and this jumbo droid twice, your focus will then shift to hitting Mentor directly. As in, the wall. Just keep wailing on it. 

If you are doing the story chain, 'exit area' and go back to the instanced area on the Ziost Shadow or Gav Daragon for your concluding cut scene. If not, you can still click "leave area" and will be taken back to the fleet ship for your faction. Yay! You did it!

[rainofaugustsith]

Rain Plays SWTOR: Spirit of Vengeance Survival Walkthrough

As we head toward 7.0, I thought it would be a good idea to check in with a Spirit of Vengeance Survival Guide, 2.0. I have my own feelings about SoV - namely that it's boring, tedious and was tuned way too high for a main story solo flashpoint - but let's move on to the actual guide. 

This is a guide specifically for those of you who just want to get this flashpoint over with so you can move on. 

I personally would advise trying to knock this flashpoint out of your story progression BEFORE 7.0. We have no idea how hard content is going to be once you lose some of your abilities and utilities, so if you have any characters who are planned to continue with the main story, I'd take them through now while you have all of the tools in your toolbox and are familiar with them.

After literally months of complaints the devs finally toned down this flashpoint to a more manageable level, but there are still a lot of mobs that hit hard, and it's still really long. When I went through with canon Viri and Lana at level 50, with Viri fully geared toward 306, I moved right along through the flashpoint without difficulty or deaths. It still took almost exactly an hour. It's even longer when you're contending with Rass Ordo and a lot of cut scenes. 

You will want to gear as well as you can for this - you should not have to since this is a story/solo flashpoint in the main story, but it will help you here. Remember you DO NOT have to group to get good gear. There are numerous solo missions that will give you gear up to 306 - the Mek-Sha Tradehouse missions, Personal Conquest each week, solo flashpoints, including the Onderon weekly and daily missions. Other suggestions: 

1. Buy and use the Supplied Kyrprax Command Stim, available at any medical droid in the flashpoint, including the one when you first land on Ship #1. If you're doing this as part of the main story, you unfortunately still have Rass Ordo as your companion. Rass Ordo, despite being influence level 25, still has the AI of a cardboard box. You'd be better off bringing along a Jawagram as your companion. This stim will up your presence for an hour and make him slightly less incompetent. 

2. If you can, equip yourself with the Life Warden tactical. This tactical drops fairly frequently from personal conquest and other gold gear boxes. It essentially gives you an extra heal in a tight situation and can come in handy. 

3. Medpac on your abilities bar. You hopefully won't need this, but have it handy just in case. You may want to invest in the Supplied Kyprax Med Unit medpac, which will heal you AND your companion. 

Within the flashpoint, some general caveats. You're looking at quantity, not quality here. It's just a lot of NPCs piling in on you. 

1. KILL THE HEALERS FIRST. KILL THE HEALERS FIRST. KILL THE HEALERS FIRST. Just about every mob here has healers. They have different names on each ship: 

- Varad Churl

- Darmanda Medic

- Ashade Lorekeeper 

If you don't kill the medics first the fights will be even more interminable. Get rid of them. 

2. Remember there are kolto stations in a lot of the rooms, not just the boss areas. 

3. Be very careful because there are a lot of mob groups close together. Watch where you are blasting/Force-whatevering because you don't want to pull more than one group at once. 

4. Get your gear repaired as often as you can. If you've fought a tough mob and there's a medical droid nearby, go to it and patch up, even if it means you have to backtrack. 

5. Get really familiar with any AOE (area of effect) skills you have. Know where they are on your abilities bar and how to use them. Given the mobs in this flashpoint, anything you have that can clobber several NPCs at once is welcome.

Now, here we go.

SHIP #1: 

Banquet room: after you fight the first mob and take the elevator, you will find yourself in a large "banquet room" with a lot of mobs. Pick a straight line and go forward, taking care not to veer too far to the sides. If you wander, you'll invariably pull the mobs on the sides of the room. 

The rest of this ship is pretty straightforward; it's just a lot of mob NPCs converging on you at once, over and over again. 

Gorga Brak: Straightforward; stay out of the red circles. Be aware that Rass Ordo will helpfully stand in these circles and let Gorga set him on fire, so don't expect any help during the fight. 

SHIP #2: 

More of the same: lots of mobs, now with Dar'manda nameplates. The Dar'manda medics try to hide more than the healers on the other ships, sometimes even going behind crates or other barriers, so keep your eyes peeled for them. 

First thing of concern here: after a few rooms of mobs, you will arrive at the notorious jumping puzzle. Just stay on the right side of the room and walk along the beam. There are a few jumps up onto pieces of metal but they are not hard, ambitious jumps. Otherwise you just have two places where you have to make sure your character drops down onto the beam and not into the flames. Angle your camera overhead so you can see what you are doing. 

Now it's time to go through the notorious Room After The Kitchen. As the name would suggest, you will know this is coming when you go through the kitchen. All the NPCs in the kitchen are neutral; leave them alone and keep going. The next room is a ballroom and you will find a lot of mobs. 

You can get through this room by fighting only two mobs IF you watch where you are fighting and blasting. I like to try to get the first mob up onto the stairs so there's less of a chance that anyone else in the room will be disturbed. Kill the medics first. Then go straight foward - right through the fountain - and up the stairs to the second mob. I again like to try to fight them in their alcove up the stairs so I don't pull the other NPCs in the room. 

You will now go down some corridors with more mobs - the space is tight, which in a way is good because you can't aggro more than one mob unless you really try. If you are going for bonus missions there are some rooms here to visit off the main path. If you're just trying to get this damned flashpoint over, continue straight down the hall toward that green arrow. 

After taking the elevator you'll get to the tether room, and a yellow message will flash onscreen about it. There will be a very large mob here with a lot of Dar'manda Commander silver NPCs. If Rass Ordo decides to up and die on you, it may be here. Remember there's a kolto station to the immediate right of where you walked into the room. 

Click the blue box to release the tether. Do NOT get too close to the rancor in the cage, Goldie. Back when SoV was first released, she'd aggro on you even from in her cage, and you couldn't kill her or get out of combat. They seem to have fixed that bug, but you know how that goes. 

Bask Sunn: Kill. The. Medics. First. After that, Bask Sunn has a wicked knockback, but he can't knock you *out* of the ship anymore. Remember Bask Sunn leaves a crate with your loot (look on the bridge), it's not on his person. 

SHIP #3: 

Your first challenge here will be another room with a lot of intense mobs. Take care not to pull more than one mob at once. Rass may decide to try to die here. 

You will quickly reach the sniper room. It's a long room with two snipers by the far doorway, shooting at you. Don't try to engage them; just keep running forward. As you cross this room, you will drop through the floor. It's a long fall but you won't take any damage; it's what the game wants you to do. 

Rass will not fall with you, and you will have a room of tentacles to fight on your own. Hit Unity and Heroic Moment BEFORE you fall, when you are still in the sniper room with Rass. You can use your HM abilities against the tentacles. If you really  have trouble with them, try to get out of the garbage pit; you will find a kolto station at the top of the small ramp. 

Now we come to...oh look, another room with a lot of mobs. They're so creative here. Do your best not to pull more than one at once, kill the medics, you know the drill by now. 

Troya Ajak: No special tricks. Stay out of the red circles. Her songbird volley is nasty, but she's perhaps the easiest boss in this flashpoint. 

FOURTH SHIP (The Spirit of Vengeance, I think?) 

Thankfully this is almost a straight shot to the final boss encounter, and there's a medical droid just before it. You may wish to wait for your Heroic Moment to cool down if you have recently used it. 

The silver NPC in the small mob right outside Heta Kol's area sometimes does not die. If you find that they keep recharging to full health, walk past them, put Rass on passive, and wait by the medical droid.  They should eventually give up and go back to their original spots and you can go on. 

Heta Kol: This fight has mercifully been toned down. There are two stages: 

You'll fight Heta Kol straight on. She has a serious knockback, but there aren't any special tricks here. 

1. Stage One: fight Heta. 

2. Heta disappears and a mob appears at the bottom of the stairs. There are two medics, and the Commanders will have knockbacks to keep you from killing the healers. 

3. After all the mob NPCs are defeated, Heta will return. Keep trying to hit her. 

4. Heta disappears. This time there's a mob with two gold Varad NPCs and two weaker ones at the stairs, plus two silver Dar'manda snipers on the platform. If you have any AOE skills, make sure they are available here so you can take out as many as possible at once. You may wish to consider saving Heroic Moment for this point so you can use Orbital Strike if you have it. Rass Ordo loves to die at this point so be mindful of where your kolto stations are. You might need the kolto for him, even if you don't need it for you. 

5. Heta Kol returns with a much more serious knockback and red circles of doom that increase in size and are hard to avoid. You're going to get thrown around a lot. 

And...you're done. Thank the stars. 

[rainofaugustsith]

Rain Plays SWTOR: Option Companion Reviews/Info

Given that several companions are being offered with Galactic Seasons, it's time to revisit this post on optional companions. 

You get five class companions and a ship droid, plus many more in KOTFE/KOTET and onward. Why would you even want optional companions? Simple:

-  If you can’t stand your class story companions, they can act as replacements while you quest. You might find that one of your toons seems to get along with one of them. They usually can craft, and some of them, like Darth Hexid, seem really good at it. Some, like Shae Vizla, have very strong DPS; others like Z0-OM have excellent healing.

- Most of the companions also have small recruitment missions attached to them; many have achievements.

- It's fun and adds variety to your game. 

Subscription Rewards: As the name suggests, these companions were obtained by being subscribed to the game at a certain time. There was no other action required. All three are now offered in the Galactic Seasons vendor for 5 tokens. 

Shae Vizla

Nico Okarr

Paxton Rall

All three of these characters have recruitment missions/conversations that can be accessed once you get to a certain point in KOTFE and complete "To Find a Findsman." However, these characters ALSO come with a “communicator” that you can use to add them to your companion list without the recruitment scene as early as Level 1 if you don’t want to wait (you can still do their recruitment missions later). Yes, you can run around Tython or Korriban with Shae, Nico or Paxton if you want.

If you received Nico, Shae or Paxton as a subscription reward they are unlocked free for your legacy. Every new character you create will receive mail with the item that can summon them. If you received Nico, Shae or Paxton through Galactic Seasons you will need to pay 10 CC to unlock each for your legacy.

IMPACT ON MAIN STORY: 

Shae Vizla is the only one of these companions with a substantial impact and inclusion in the story. As you may know, you encounter Shae during Shadow of Revan, and again during a chapter of KOTFE. She may send you mail later, depending on story decisions. She's also heavily included in the Spirit of Vengeance storyline and has several cut scenes on the Odessen base. 

SHAE IS IN YOUR STORY REGARDLESS IF YOU HAVE THE COMPANION. However, if you do have the companion and bring her along to meet Indigo on Mek-Sha in Onslaught, she will have special, specific dialogue. 

If you have Paxton Rall before completing Hearts & Minds, there is one line of dialogue in which he’s mentioned. You can also click on Paxton if he’s in the Odessen cantina or out as a deco in your stronghold to chat with him. 

ACHIEVEMENTS:

Paxton Rall: There is a “cantina crawl” achievement not directly tied to the companion. You click on Paxton Rall when you find him in cantinas on the worlds you visit.

Nico Okarr: There’s an achievement for completing Nico’s Alliance Alert. There’s another if you waited until the Alliance Alert to recruit him, ie you didn’t use the holocommunicator to summon Nico before KOTFE.

QUALITY OF COMBAT/HEALING: All three of these companions are formidable, especially at influence level 50. All three are ranged. Shae is known for being a particularly strong DPS with some abilities pulled from the Mercenary rotation, including Death From Above. 

Hexid/Ranos Darth Hexid: Originally could be earned by completing three flashpoints or warzones of any difficulty via group finder. Now requires 40 flashpoints or uprisings. Unlocked free for the legacy.

Master Dazh Ranos: This companion was originally a reward in the Dark vs. Light event. She is now available from the Galactic Seasons vendor for six tokens. Can be unlocked for legacy with 10 CCs if you got her through GS. Otherwise, if you earned her through DvL, every character you create will get a mail with the item that summons her.

Both Hexid and Ranos have Alliance Alerts once you get to KOTFE, complete "To Find a Findsman" and get to a certain point. However, like Shae/Nico/Paxton, they come with a communicator that allows you to unlock and use them whenever you want.

IMPACT ON MAIN STORY: Darth Hexid will send you a letter after Ossus which differs with your faction. I’m not sure if Ranos does. Both Ranos and Hexid can also tell you about missing class story Force-sensitive companions who have not yet returned at that point in the narrative, if you ask. Otherwise, none. Ranos and Hexid both hang out in the Force enclave after being recruited; you can click on them to chat.

QUALITY OF COMBAT/HEALING: Like the subscription companions, and Hexid are absolute powerhouses, especially if you get them to influence level 50. I took Ranos through the Umbara flashpoint with my squishiest, hardest to play Jedi character, and they rocked it. Hexid can literally clear content on her own when she's still set on heals. Darth Hexid also has some very charming battle banter and ambient comments. 

Caption: Master Ranos: I'm not that kind of Jedi. I don't want to change you, I want to join you.

ACHIEVEMENTS:

Darth Hexid: There is currently an achievement, “With a Little Help from My Friends,” for completing the correct number of uprisings/flashpoints/etc. to earn Hexid.

Master Ranos: I’m unfamiliar with the DvL achievements but I imagine there was one for her.

THE HKS AND OTHER DROID FRIENDS

You only need to complete the recruitment mission(s) once, but each subsequent character must pay an unlock fee to gain the companion:

HK-51: Can be earned by completing a mission arc that includes several different quests and flashpoints on numerous worlds. HK-51 requires an unlock fee for each character who wants him, but you do not have to run the original missions again.

IMPACT ON STORY: If you bring HK-51 as your companion in the False Emperor flashpoint (you know, the really long one with Malgus), there is special dialogue when you encounter HK-47. In addition. HK-51 has his own series of companion conversations.

ACHIEVEMENTS: There is an achievement for 100 and 1000 kills with HK-51 as your active companion.

Must be earned on every character who wants them:

Each of your characters actually has to run the missions to obtain the companions.

HK-55: Was originally a companion for all in KOTFE, but was killed off in the story. Was able to return via Arma Rasa, an Alliance Alert mission. If you subscribed to SWTOR at a certain point you got free access to this mission; if not you can now buy it as a bundle with Shroud of Memory in the Cartel Market. It unlocks for all characters who get to Chapter 9 of KOTFE and complete "To Find a Findsman."

ZO-0M: Available via the Shroud of Memory chapter. This was once given as a subscription reward but now comes bundled with Arma Rasa as a Cartel Market purchase.

IMPACT ON STORY: Arma Rasa has no impact on the main story, and unfortunately HK-55 never appears there again. However, if you complete Shroud of Memory before doing the Iokath section of the game (post-KOTET), one of Lana’s lines will be different.

ACHIEVEMENTS: There are several associated with completion of Arma Rasa and Shroud of Memory.

COMBAT/HEALING: ZO-0M is known as one of the strongest healing companions in the game. She's not bad in combat, either. The HKs are okay, with 55 being slightly stronger than 51 in my experience. 

Galactic Seasons

Altuur Zok Adon

This companion is granted to everyone - subscribers, free to play and preferred alike - in level 1 of Galactic Seasons. The gifts needed to raise him to high influence are also earned in various GS levels, but some are only available on the subscriber track. 

IMPACT ON MAIN STORY: None as of July 2021. He has a small alliance alert conversation. 

ACHIEVEMENTS: There are achievements for getting him to influence level 50 and for killing a certain number of insectoid NPCs with him as your active compaion. 

COMBAT/HEALING: He's good. He has some very unique skills and is pretty high powered. 

The Star Fortress companions

Once you reach Odessen and finish chapter 9 of KOTFE (or have skipped to KOTET) you can do these missions. You need to pick up the Star Fortress story arc on the Odessen base (the quest giver is in the hallway outside the military wing). You’ll run a story version of the Star Fortress, and then run individual quests with each of these companions on different planets. Once those are complete you can earn each companion by running the VETERAN level Star Fortress for their planet. The Veteran SF can be soloed, but it has become more difficult than it was before 6.0.

These companions were reviewed here: https://rainplaysswtor.tumblr.com/post/190237305230/rainofaugustsith-yay-star-fortress-companions

Veeroa Denz (Nar Shaddaa)

Choza Rabat (Alderaan)

Rokuss (Voss)

Hemdil Tre (Hoth)

Khk’hrol (Belsavis)

Deadeye Leyta (Tatooine)

IMPACT ON MAIN STORY: If you have Rokuss recruited before doing the first chapter of KOTET (about Voss) there will be dialogue about him, a few different background NPCs and one bonus mission auto-completed for you. All of these companions also send you an email once recruited. Otherwise, these companions have no influence over the story.

ACHIEVEMENTS: There are numerous achievements for the Star Fortress gameplay and completion. All of the companions have achievements for completing 100 and 1000 kills. There are also achievements for recruiting each of the companions.

COMBAT/HEALING: Veeroa Denz, Kkhrol, and Rokuss are first-class companions who will support your characters well. Choza Raabat is virtually useless with very weak sage skills. Leyta and Hemdil Tre are middle of the road.

[rainofaugustsith]

SWTOR: Echoes of Oblivion Fight Bug

So there's a new lovely (LOL) bug I discovered in Echoes of Oblivion: even when you take Valkorion down to 0% HP, he will automatically regenerate himself to like 60%. Over. And over. And over. There's literally no way to end the fight even if you play it exactly as you've played it on other characters. I've brought 15+ different characters through Echoes now and I've only encountered this recently - on two Bounty Hunters. What I finally did with both bounty hunters was to take them to the edge of the platform and let them jump off and fall to their deaths. That seemed to reset whatever bee was in Valkorion's bonnet, and the fight progressed normally next time. Remember you can always report bugs in SWTOR, even if you are free to play or preferred, by using the /bug function and filling out the form that pops up. If you encounter this bug, please report it!

[rainofaugustsith]

Rain Plays SWTOR: Mek-Sha Explorer Achievement

I have not seen any guides to the Mek-Sha Explorer achievement, so here you go. 

Mek-Sha is a maze, and getting all of the areas you need will require you to really make sure you have explored every alley, nook and cranny. Specific points: 

1. It's easier to do this with an Imperial character. There are two points that can only be reached with an Empire-side heroic, unless you want to spend your time doing jumping puzzles. 

2. A few of the areas are instanced and you won't necessarily be able to get in. In most cases (most, not all), going up to the red instance curtain will still give you credit for the area. 

3. Use a stealth character if you have one. If not - the alleys are very narrow and in a few cases, faction medical/rest stops are right there in close quarters. You will need to take care to stay as far away from them on the street as possible so the guards don't attack you. 

4. Look into doing the Mek-Sha Sightseer Achievement. There's a good guide for it at MMOBits. You will be in a lot of the areas where you can find things for this achievement. There are sixteen points you have to find for the achievement. We'll go through them map by map.

Closest QT: Junker's Junction (Republic); Slugfall Harbor (Imperials) Atmospheric Systems Access, Sanitation Access, Drifter's Quarter: Easiest way to do these is to have an Imperial character do the Junking Jott's Crew heroic mission. Pick it up at the main Imperial base in the Red Zone.The mission will QT you right to the correct location AND give you access to the areas you need. Be careful, it's a hard heroic. Do NOT pull more than one mob at once or you will be sorry.

Junker's Junction: This is where Republic players start the main story on Mek-Sha. Imperial players will also visit as part of their story, or you can visit by following the arrows from the Slugfall Harbor map.

Closest QT: Red Zone

The Red Zone is the starting area for Imperial players. You will visit if you're Republic, too. The Scrap Pits and Refugee Camps are just outside the Imperial base, and then north (make a left as you walk out of the Imperial base). Make sure you run up to the red curtains to ensure you get credit for the Refugee Camps. If you are Imperial you can run The Value of Labor mission here. If you are Republic some of your main story will happen in this area. 

Last Chance Pier is where Imperials will pick up the taxi to Huttbreaker's Compound. From the Imperial base, go straight down the main street, make a right when you get to the ramp and head toward the taxi droid. 

Closest QT: Three Points

Contested Gangland, The Bazaar, Harido Wald Territory are all well marked on the maps and there are no tricks here to finding them. You should have been able to clear at least one of these during the Mek-Sha main story, since these are the areas where you deal with Veek the Sneak. The Bazaar is where Nar Shaddaa Nightlife is happening on Mek-Sha.

Closest QT: Slugfall Harbor (the large Slugfall Cantina). 

Closest Taxi Points: Slugfall Harbor, Brzo's Wells. Interestingly there is a taxi point to Brzo's Wells but not a QT.

From outside the cantina, facing the piers, go to your right. Go down the ramp and through the alleys to reach Brzo's Wells. 

Brzo's Wells: You're there now. 

Mynock Corner: Look for the PC marker arrow on the map below. Just walk up to the red curtain. It's right near an Imperial rest stop so if you're on a Republic character, be careful not to pull the Brothers. 

Renegade's Run. To get to this area look for the big 'gap' you see on the map with the words "Renegade's Run" going right across it. you will see stairs and a bridge next to each other. Take the bridge and walk across. If you go downstairs you will find yourself nose to nose with the World Boss for Mek-Sha and if you are alone it will be a very, very quick meeting. 

Grift Alley: Go up to the red curtain. 

Hideout Pass: Easy enough to find this one.