No, I’m not talking about E3. I know that the last time I posted, I was packing for LA. But that was weeks ago, E3 is over and we’ve all internalized and processed all the information. Let me just say, for the record, that I had a great time. It was stressful, and at the end I was a tired mess, but it was wonderful. Now to get ready for Gamescom…
Anyway, what I’m talking about is Star Wars Galaxies. I started out in November last year, planning to give the game a month to see if all its bad rep was deserved or not. I ended up falling in love with it, and the week after E3 I hit level 90 – the cap. During that time I have been a Jedi, a Bounty Hunter, a Smuggler and back to Jedi. I have grinded a Trader to level 90, I’ve picked up a second account where I got an Entertainer to cap as well.
Now I am getting ready for “endgame”, which in Star Wars Galaxies I’m not sure really exists. At least not in the traditional sense. I’ve put my foot in one of the heroic dungeons, the Temple of Exar Kun, and I’m hoping to finish up the few remaining heroic pre-quests I have left this week and see the rest of them soon. I’ve started to dabble in invasions, I’m trying to re-decorate my new house, trying to learn about crafting enough that I can actually use my Trader for…well, for something.
I feel at home in Star Wars Galaxies. It’s a great game, with a long and sad run. Seven years of constant controversy. But also seven years of sandboxy goodness, with a dedicated playerbase and ideas that haven’t been seen in other MMOs. I plan to stick around for a long time coming, even if I’ve started to feel the call of the classic fantasy MMO. My Lord of the Rings-account is still active, and Vanguard’s server merge has put it back on my radar…
What a long strange journey it’s been. And what a long strange journey I have yet to look forward to.
Excellent slideshow!
I’m not bitter about the NGE. I DO miss SWG on some days. I played a pure crafter…I don’t think I ever even fired a weapon. It had/has the BEST crafting system in any MMO, IMO, which I miss.
Neither myself nor any of my friends ever reached the level cap during the time we played, but it’s good to hear that it’s still doing strong despite the grief it gets.
Thanks!
You should have done like Pete and Victor and picked it up for $5 during the Steam sale…
Glad you’re still enjoying it. The heroics can be a pretty fun way to test yourself and get some good loot. Exar Kun is the longest of the heroics (not counting Hoth) and IMO the hardest. Once you have a good group, and even with mediocre ones, you should be speeding through IG and AM if you have the right equipment (elements and a medic or two). Tusken King is near EK in length but again can be a great time to develope as a player and group member.
Great slide show. Die flag, die! Loved that
Yeah, I’m looking forward to seeing the other heroics – especially Hoth and TK! We have our dedicated heroics time, which I’m considering signing up for. Which would be the first time I signed up for anything like that since raiding in WoW…
And yes, all flags deserve to die. I love life-stealing from them and barricades. Feel the power of the dark side, inanimate object!
Damn, I’m very very tempted to give SWG another shot. I’m growing ever more tired of the end game community in WoW and feel like I need to give something else a shot. The graphics in SWG do look quite dated now, not sure if I could get past that, but the gameplay does sound like a lot of fun.
Sure, they are dated, but except for some animation issues I don’t think about it anymore. Mostly because the atmosphere is generally great. And yes, you should. Join ussssss.
I’m always too embarrassed to ask this since I completely skipped on SWG and regret it, but do the characters have a cell-shaded aesthetic of some kind? SWG really catches me off guard with some if it’s beautiful stills.
No, the game isn’t cell-shaded – it’s the shadows that gives the game that look.
What would you say if I said I’d randomly decided to pick up Star Wars Galaxies and give it a go despite never having EVER read, researched, or even accidentally glanced at the game before this article?
Hypothetically speaking of course.
[...] }); }It’s not often that I read very complimentary posts about Star Wars Galaxies, but when I do it brings back several positive memories. I did very much enjoy SWG before the [...]