What Content to expect in 2018 in The Old Republic

We don’t really know that much about what content to expect specifically for Star Wars The Old Republic in 2018 as of yet. But, the Developers have dropped some clues in recent months. Let’s take a closer look at them.


Fall Road Map

Keith did drop some hints in the Fall Road Map about what we could expect in early 2018.

A Look Ahead to Early 2018

And, just a few tidbits about what’s right around the corner:

  • The conclusion to this chapter of the story is coming where the Traitor reveals his true plan once and for all via a new Flashpoint.
  • The final bosses and details about Master Mode for ‘Gods from the Machine’ Operation.
  • An upgraded Conquest system and new Daily Activity system with great rewards.
  • More multiplayer gameplay experiences for both PvP and PvE.

Speaking of Road Maps, Keith did say that we would be getting another Road Map in early 2018.

The next Roadmap update will arrive in the early part of 2018 and will highlight the changes we plan through subsequent months.

Remaining Gods of the Machine Bosses

While we were expecting all the Gods of the Machine Operation Bosses to all be out by the end of 2017, Keith sadly revealed in the Fall Road Map that the final two bosses will be delayed to early 2018. So hopefully within the first half of 2018, the Gods of the Machine Operation will finally be complete.

Theron Story Arc Conclusion

We were eventually going to get to this but to have tentative confirmation that his arc will be ‘concluded’ fairly early on in 2018 is a good thing for those anxiously awaiting to see his fate. And, for those wanting to see the story progress back to being about the Republic versus Empire conflict (which we got a little of on Iokath).

I’ve personally not been a big fan of Theron’s betrayal arc and I hope it has a good conclusion. They know he is a well-liked character so there is some hope.

Upgraded Conquest System

We don’t have any details yet about what exactly this will entail as of yet. But any improvements made to the system to help smaller Guilds be more competitive and discourage mega-Guilds would be appreciated. Some new objectives to do for Conquest certainly wouldn’t hurt either or even increasing points acquired for content that’s less played (World Boss kills, GSF). In reality, it could be something as simple as a UI change and/or a couple of new Quality of Life tweaks.

Also considering the issues they’ve been having with distributing Conquest Rewards of late, they could possibly end up incorporating some kind of brand new method of rewards delivery (if they have the means).

New Daily Activity System with great rewards

While we did recently have an overhaul of the Group Finder UI in Game Update 5.6, this seems to indicate that there could there be more stuff incoming. In the Fall Road Map, Keith did outline 5.6 Group Finder changes while also mentioning this new Daily Activity System in the ‘Look Ahead’ section.

From the Fall Road Map:

This is indeed what we got in Game Update 5.6. Since the Daily Activity System is mentioned separately from the new Activity Finder UI we got in 5.6, I believe it’s safe to say that it’ll be some kind of brand new additional thing and/or it could be tied into the upcoming Conquest System Changes.

More Multiplayer Gameplay Experiences for both PvP and PvE

Honestly, there isn’t much point speculating over such vague information. It could mean anything. A little or a lot. Only time will tell. All we can safely say is that it’s highly likely we’ll get more Flashpoints as that is how we get more Story now. Beyond that, who knows?


Companion Returns

On the Fall Road Map Developer Livestream (starts ~5:40), Charles Boyd revealed that they were working on, at the time, the stories for the return of nearly all Companions who are still ‘missing’ as well as an Arcann Romance arc. Since then, voice work has also been done for, what we can gather, companion returns as evidenced by tweets from Charles Boyd and a couple of Voice Actors. Also in Bad Feeling Podcast Episode 183, Cinematics Designer Katie Johnson (starts ~26:18) mentions that she got to work on Companion Return Cinematics and talked about working on cinematics for Arcann’s Romance Arc.

All this information put together means that it is inevitable that the Arcann Romance and a lot of remaining Companion returns will happen in 2018. Whether it be early or later in the year, a gradual or all at once release remains to be seen.

A full list of mentioned companions on the Livestream. Note that just because a companion wasn’t specifically mentioned doesn’t mean they’re not coming back:

  • Lord Scourge
  • Kira
  • Andronikous (implied to be sooner than the rest)
  • Corso
  • Risha
  • Akaavi
  • Mako
  • Vector
  • Dark Side Jaesa
  • Felix Iresso
  • Ashara

Update: 19th January

Since writing this, Bioware announced Game Update 5.7 coming 23rd of January, which will include:

  • The fourth Boss of the Gods of the Machine Operation, Scyva.
  • Companion Returns –
    • Andronikous
    • Risha & Corso

The Patch Notes should be out on Monday so hopefully, there will be more to this update.


What do you think we can expect in 2018? Are you looking forward to seeing more Companion returns?

 

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