Either you’ve always been a Star Wars fan or The Force Awakens converted you to it. Whatever the reason is, it’s a great time to be a Star Wars fan. The new movie was great, and the follow-up movies are certain not to disappoint. The tv shows and board games are equally amazing as well. One of the best things to come out of the franchise is the Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) MMORPG. It’s a unique MMORPG that can bring you the universe of Star Wars 4000 years before the main story with only your gaming laptop or PC.
Why should you play SWTOR?
Have you always wanted to be Jedi, a guardian of peace? Or a Dark Lord of the Sith? Maybe a shadowy agent for the Sith Emperor? Or a soldier protecting the Republic from oppression? Or just be a free spirit and be a smuggler or a bounty hunter?
Or you just want to kill things with a lightsaber.
You can do all of this and then some. You can have dogfights in space with your personal starship. You can be Sith that does good things. Or a Jedi that is veering towards the Dark Side little by little. The narrative aspects of the game are overwhelming. The space-faring will be one of the best parts, adventuring in different parts of the universe. You can witness important side stories of the Star Wars lore as it unfolds. You essentially become a hero (or villain) that will live on through history.
What sets SWTOR apart from the rest?
SWTOR, like all MMORPGs, has an excellent social gameplay construct. People can engage in just community building within the game. It has also had an amazing storyline typical of Bioware, meaning it has a strong player choice-driven narrative to it that is a complement to the standard to the MMO elements of the game.
Initially, this was a problem because the line was so divisive that most players were forced to invest in the MMO side of it, to progress.
The latest expansion fixed all that. Knights of the Fallen Empire made it possible to play through the whole story by yourself and reach the max level of 60. The compelling story was written by a game studio that has made a reputation for unforgettable stories.
You can play SWTOR like a standard video game from character creation to level 60. You will only mess around with the MMO parts of it (gear grinds, raiding, dungeons and the like). When it comes to party building, you get to pick from well-crafted and smart AI NPCs that fill any tactical voids your character has.
What you need to know
SWTOR can be free-to-play, but it also has a paid version. With the paid version, you have access to more races and special items. You can still enjoy the SWTOR experience with the free version, but premium opens up a lot of other fun things that you will enjoy.
The tech specs are good; even a basic gaming laptop can handle it. For the OS, you need Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7. An AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 4000+ or better or Intel Core 2 Duo Processor 2.0GHz or better, for the processor. You will 1.5GB RAM (for XP) or 2GB RAM (for Vista and Windows). PCs using a built-in graphical chipset, 2GB RAM recommended. And for the graphics, you need at least ATI X180, nVidia 7800, Intel 4100 Integrated Graphics or better (minimum of 256MB of on-board RAM and Shader 3.0 or better support).
***
A galaxy far, far away is waiting to change it. Jump to hyperspace and become a Star Wars Legend!