#swtor decorating

[a-master-procrastinator]

Two big things happened in the game today (to me at least).

First: finally got to do Terror from Beyond for the weekly objective. Thought yesterday would be a better day to find a group, but apparently not. Everything went super chill, no wipes or deaths (yes, it was only 8 man SM, but I was super nervous and could easily make a lot of mistakes), and this just improved my confidence. So, my first ops run (not TC) with randoms went good!

Oh, and got this beauty.

Second: I have first 100% decorated stronghold! (though technically, I have more decorated hooks in Rishi SH, but the percent is just around 33%)

My first thought was "Wow, got 100% even before I placed all deco I've planned", and then found out nope, you can't place new decos when you're at 100%, so had to rearrange a bit. There are still some small details I'll probably change, but aside from that I'm finished with Nar Shaddaa stronghold.

[rainofaugustsith]

Rain Plays SWTOR: Feast of Prosperity Decos

In addition to the cute pets, some of the decorations at the Feast of Prosperity are pretty nice. 

The refreshments probe, for instance. 

Some of the food arrangements on pillars that are on small hooks can be dragged to sit on existing tables, and the grey pillar thing can resemble a tray.

 The “arrangement: meal for three” is basically the merchant’s table with food on it, and uses the same medium hooks, so you can substitute it in anywhere you have tables. 

[a-master-procrastinator]

IT HAPPENED AGAIN

Once again, I found hooks in places I wouldn't think to look in Manaan stronghold, this time underwater. I'm surprised I didn't see this before, but it's surely fun to discover.

hehe, time to apply Sponge Bob physics

[a-master-procrastinator]

And another decoration story today: opened a few cartel packs (bc I could and wanted a treat) and got a couple of decos. These two (on the left) didn't look promising from the preview window (they probably would look better if we could at least move them while previewing). I literally thought one of them was a trash bin until I actually placed it and saw that it was, in fact, a very neat quenching barrel (did not know what it meant bc my English still suffers). Also it makes boiling sounds, and now my (poor version of) kitchen actually sounds like one. The second one (with a panel) is brewing van, and I thing they fit together.

[a-master-procrastinator]

!

Idk how this looks but I love it (even with my low self-esteem). Zakuulan lamps really brought these two rooms to life (kind of, I don't know how to word it). All thanks to @sadangstbitch (who gave me a shock moment, but thank you again!).

[a-master-procrastinator]

Dear Manaan SH, please stop placing hooks in locations where I can hardly see them, or I found out that there is a one starship hook in Manaan SH yesterday.

[afragileflame]

After seeing @blitzindite ‘s post about using the achievement trophy decos to make fake stained glass, something I never would have thought to do on my own (and I’ve always just hated both the trophy decos and the walls of my strongholds, because I never have enough wall decorations), I got inspired

I’m still working out some patterns and shapes, and playing around with just using all the sizes of one trophy (as mostly seen in the Yavin stronghold - featured are: a flashpoint boss I can’t remember who..., Karagga, Eyeless, Thrasher, Shae Visla, Dread Master Raptus, the Hive Queen, the Dxun containment breach, Gharj, the Terror from Beyond, Dread Master Brontes, Dread Master Calphayus, and in the only ones I did mix, Dread Masters Bestia and Tyrans, because I liked the way their bubbles looked together) or mixing multiple different trophies (as seen in the Alderaan throne room; that’s Brontes, Bestia, the Dread Council, and the Dread Guard).

I’m finding that the Medium and Small A mix layout (one blue hook surrounded by small green hooks) is the easiest to work with, because you can put a Veteran Mode trophy on the middle hook and then pull several Story Mode trophies on top of it in various fun arrangements from the green hooks. But I also really like the small simplicity of just pulling four Story Mode trophies at 45 degree angles into a tight cluster for some fun designs.

I’m actually looking forward to designing some stained glass for each of my strongholds now. There are some very good windows in some of them, and since I’ve vaguely got my strongholds actually assigned to toons, some of them I can use meaningful trophies for (for instance, my Alderaan stronghold is Eleison’s in-game, and that one there is made from Dread Master trophies).

[impe-comic]

Sure, though my strong hold isn't really meant to be cantina themed. I do however have a cantina in my Nar Shadda Strong hold, I'm not quite finished decorating it yet, but I can still give you some pointers.

The most important thing in a cantina is the bar.  I think the best option for this is of course the Underworld Bar. Look how pretty it is! (picture from tor decorating)

Unfortunately it's incredibly rare. If you do manage to find it on the GTN it's probably going to be REALLY expensive. Despite being AWESOME it’s not really going to be viable for most people, so lets explore some alternatives.

The Cantina Bar Set is also an option, but I find it to be kind of small, too small for where I was planning to set up my cantina. It does however make a pretty awesome counter for the little outdoor Cafe' that I made.

Because I can’t find/afford an underworld bar I made this instead.  Which I think turned out pretty cool. Most importantly I was able to put it together for WAY less then what an underworld bar would have cost me.

First thing I did was throw down an Arrangement: Vendor Stall on the large hook. Vendor stalls can be crafted so can be bought reasonably cheap off of the GTN or you can make it yourself. Then I set a Zakuulan Cabinet down on the medium narrow hook next to the wall, and moved it forward so it was inside the vendor stall and covered up all the boxes and shelving.

The end result is a pretty convincing looking bar.  All that's left is to set up some bar stools.  I used Cantina Stools (basic) because they matched the rest of the decorations I have in my bar but you could also use the Cantina Stools (fancy) which can be crafted so might be a bit easier for you to get a hold of.

Hope this helps answer your question.