Archive
Crew Skills Guide
Welcome to the official Crew Skill guide of The Fanatical Swordsman. This constantly updated guide will be the compendium for our site on crafting in Star Wars: The Old Republic.
LAST UPDATED: 8/1/12 for 1.3.4
For those familiar with crafting in other games, Crew Skills in SWTOR are very similar to other games in some ways and different in others. Crafting is not done by the player directly, but by the player’s companions. Up to five companions may be sent out at a time (the maximum increases as you go: roughly, one during Prologue, two during Chapter 1, three during Chapter 2, four during Chapter 3, and five after completing Chapter 3).
There are three types of Crew Skills: Crafting, Gathering, and Mission. You may have three skills in total and only one Crafting skill at a time, but any combination of Gathering and Mission skills are allowed, though there are some definite advantages to pairing certain ones together.
How To Be Socially Awkward Even Among Nerds
Awkward Is An Art
There is this blog I like to read (which unfortunately hasn’t been updated in a while) where the author likes to write about being socially awkward. The name of the blog is Awkward Is An Art. I love the funny stories about the dozens of ways this guy gets in trouble socially as a painfully lovable nerd.
I am reminded of this blog today, because I recently had a socially awkward moment. Not only that, but it was among people known for being socially awkward: nerds. Now, I want to say that Carla, Maer, Jason, and John are not even socially awkward. But it is funny that I was in the company of fellow gamer geeks.
Wait, You Were Talking?
I was recording the July Writers’ Roundtable Podcast for Corellian Run Radio (so hint, hint; go look it up here).
We started discussing the upcoming release of HK-51, and I had a little time to think about the question, as I was not the first in the cycle of writers to talk about it. A thought occurred to me that I could make a funny joke! That was my first mistake.
The joke was as follows: Carla would ask me what I thought about HK-51. As I am a big fan of HK-47 in KOTOR, I would reply, “Declaration: I am very excited for this, Master!” It would be perfect! I would be funny! I would be eternally loved by all HK-47 fans in the audience of Corellian Run Radio! What could go wrong?
My turn came up and I said my joke and was very proud…until I didn’t hear anyone laugh. I was kind of embarrassed; not even a chuckle! I recovered and started talking about how I wanted the questline to get HK-51 to be very long, and suddenly Carla says, “Drew, are you there?”
And that’s when I realized that my mic was muted.
You see, while recording, I muted my mic to answer a question my wife asked, and I forgot to unmute it. I hastily unmuted my mic and explained myself, and even slipped the joke into conversation again in a second, but I botched the delivery. Oh well.
The moral of the story: I shouldn’t try to be funny.
F2P for All!
So yes, SWTOR announced that it is going F2P in November. I had suspected it was going in this direction, but I wasn’t sure.
I think this will be a great thing for SWTOR honestly. People are denouncing it as a massive catastrophe, but I truly believe that it will revitalize SWTOR. I have been through this transition before, remember. I played LOTRO before it went free, and I heard all the doom and gloomers talk about how the gameplay would be ruined and the content would suck, etc. etc. Instead, it was a great chance to get people into the game for fun and friendship. I played for a good year after it went F2P, and I enjoyed the whole time.
I think there will be three responses to this announcement.
Number 1: I am going to reinstall SWTOR. I liked it, but I couldn’t justify the sub.
Number 2: OMG I AM QUITTING THIS GAME RIGHT NOW, YOU ALL SUCK FOR STAYING, SWTOR WILL DIE LIKE I HAVE PREDICTED FOR 9 MONTHS NOW, AND I AM GLAD I CANCELED MY SUB ALL THAT TIME AGO (which seems odd, since they are still on the forums, but oh well.)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111
Number 3: I am glad I will get to try the game and continue my story past level 15. It was just getting good. (this is my brother)
What do you think? Will this be another LOTRO, where F2P revitalizes the game and makes it flush with new players and new friends? Or will this be like the gasps of a dying breed of payment models, solidifying SWTOR in the realm of City of Heroes and Age of Conan where the P2W options are more prevalent?
Big Project Incoming…
Hey all! I am in the process of working on a huge project for this site. I am really excited about this guide, and I should have it up in a few days.
In the meantime, I thought I would refer you to my recent articles on TORWars.com on my Smuggler Weekly Column and on Corellian Run Radio on my PvP column, Tactical Strike. Read more…
Guys Playing Girl Characters aka “I’m not a creeper…maybe…”
“Uh, hey bro. Sorry I hit on you earlier…”
As I have stated in my previous posts, I’ve run the gamut of World of Warcraft since retail release something of 7 years ago. Originally, yes, as an aspiring roleplayer I chose to create male characters to play as. They were strong paragons of might, rising over time from humble beginnings to powerful masters of their discipline. Well, who says women can’t be strong heroes? (Heroines to you feminists.) Well, no one really. More importantly, why can’t a male play a female character, free of any potential stigma that comes with it?
Rhekk
Geldarion
Torvox
The Fanatical Swordsman 