Great teaser. Thank you!

Well... I thought it was only a matter of time until the Hutts made a play for control of the Galaxy at large. Presumably, they banked on the war, playing on both sides of the fence so to speak. But as the war dwindles down and the warring parties are weak, why not play the trump card if you are the Hutts?

Makeb... yes... there is a specific reason for its importance and it will be great to find out exactly what it is.

All of Makeb’s livable space is located on top of massive, towering stone mesas.

So it's a planet of Voss-Ka's?

Looks like its shaping up to be a very exciting expansion.

I hate to be a downer, but the description kinda doesn't make much sense from a practical standpoint.

 

Yes we all know the Hutts are greedy, but since when is the Hutt Cartel made up of incompetitent idiots...

 

Your own descriptiong says that the planet seems to be trying to shake itself apart, under that logic wouldn't people be trying to get off that rock?

 

Why would the Hutts want to be on a planet that is shaking itself apart, does the Hutt have a death wish or something?

 

Yeah it sounds cool as far as the scenery, but the planet being that geologically unstable makes it look like the Hutts are complete idiots and the Republic and Empire can just sit back and relax as the Hutts get wiped out by the planet they are trying to exploit.

They also say they found something very valuable there. So, everyone wants it. Maybe something that could turn the tide of the war?

They also say they found something very valuable there. So, everyone wants it. Maybe something that could turn the tide of the war?

If it's shaking the planet apart, maybe it's Tesla's seismic device thingiemagjig. Or a hypergate.

With the bugs that have occured already ingame that many people fall thru maps already.....

In case of Makeb, is not bug. Is feature!

Also, lol at the Hutt with the slicey arm. Seeing as how they have the reach of a T-Rex and the speed of a slug, it's just not that intimidating.

So it's on Balmora? I mean Quesh? I mean Belsavius? Once lush world devastated by ecological disaster?

Don't forget Taris...

You bring up the story as covered in chapters prologue to 3 and it is clear that the Imperial stories are for the most part pointless. No matter what choices the Warrior, Inquisitor, Agent and Bounty hunter have made they are losing, with the players being the hero of the new age they are shown as not being up to the task of those that have come before.

So with that in mind what is being done to allow for the Imperial Player choices to have an effect on the galaxy and the story of the old republic. What lies in store for Imperial players who so far have seen very little other than in fighting and pointless story arcs that are unwritten in the Republic story arcs? When will the Empire strike back or will Rise of the Hutt Cartel be nothing more than pointless running around tomb raiding for the Empire players which will end up going no where.

In case of Makeb, is not bug. Is feature!

 

Also, lol at the Hutt with the slicey arm. Seeing as how they have the reach of a T-Rex and the speed of a slug, it's just not that intimidating.

Actually they can be pretty fast, just that most of the time they're just to lazy, so they let their hired muscle do the work

You bring up the story as covered in chapters prologue to 3 and it is clear that the Imperial stories are for the most part pointless. No matter what choices the Warrior, Inquisitor, Agent and Bounty hunter have made they are losing, with the players being the hero of the new age they are shown as not being up to the task of those that have come before.

 

So with that in mind what is being done to allow for the Imperial Player choices to have an effect on the galaxy and the story of the old republic. What lies in store for Imperial players who so far have seen very little other than in fighting and pointless story arcs that are unwritten in the Republic story arcs? When will the Empire strike back or will Rise of the Hutt Cartel be nothing more than pointless running around tomb raiding for the Empire players which will end up going no where.

Things going badly at present doesn't make anyone's quests pointless. For a start things would be going worse without the contributions of the players in their stories and things can't go the Empires way constantly. One hopes BW intend to have the ebb and flow of the war alter as the story progresses.

Complaining that your side currently losing renders the stories 'pointless' smacks of entitlement more than anything else and I say this as a loyal servant of the Empire myself.

Hi,

Great read, I'm so excited about this new digital expansion, I'm not even explored the present TOR universe and this addition just makes all that more incredible and enjoyable.

Thank you Bioware and Lucas Arts!...

You bring up the story as covered in chapters prologue to 3 and it is clear that the Imperial stories are for the most part pointless. No matter what choices the Warrior, Inquisitor, Agent and Bounty hunter have made they are losing, with the players being the hero of the new age they are shown as not being up to the task of those that have come before.

 

So with that in mind what is being done to allow for the Imperial Player choices to have an effect on the galaxy and the story of the old republic. What lies in store for Imperial players who so far have seen very little other than in fighting and pointless story arcs that are unwritten in the Republic story arcs? When will the Empire strike back or will Rise of the Hutt Cartel be nothing more than pointless running around tomb raiding for the Empire players which will end up going no where.

Hi,

Well I'm playing TOR because it's SW and deep lore story, not because it's random MMO game with typical scenario, besides I hate Democracy so I can't even play Republic side so I'm playing Empire side and as you sad Empire will loose regardless of players efforts, but this is SW story, it's LORE how it's should be and I enjoying every second of it...

Thank you!.

Hopefully a planet shaking itself apart doesn't mean lots of random headache inducing screen shaking. That would be a game breaker for me as i suffer from migraines and occasional video game induced motion sickness. SWTOR is one of the few 3d games I can actually play for extended periods.

I'm looking forward to the expansion. it's going to give me a chance to unbox some alts and play them agiain.

I am pretty sure that it was already revealed that Makeb could hold a resource that would be able to tip the balance of power in favour of whoever controls it, some mineral or other that has unique properties (echoes of Ilum's crystals there I think).

The Hutts want it for its monetary value with which they could march across the galaxy simply buying up planets with the wealth they would gain, probably by selling said resource to both the Imps & Repubs & letting them decimate each other as the Hutts grow in stature & power, eventually giving them the capacity to crush both the Empire & Republic (or assimilate them) & assume galactic control economically.

Looking forward to the expansion a lot myself, hope it has a few surprises up its sleeves as so far it does seem to echo a few too many previously explored story-tropes.

Makeb looks and sounds very similar to Taris and a few other planets which have the "disaster planet" theme.

Any idea when the war between the Republic and Empire will actually become the focus point of the story and game play? Star Wars and the conflict between Republic and Empire hold so many excellent story and PVP opportunities, it's frustrating to see bioware/ea squander these opportunities time and time again.

Hi,

 

Well I'm playing TOR because it's SW and deep lore story, not because it's random MMO game with typical scenario, besides I hate Democracy so I can't even play Republic side so I'm playing Empire side and as you sad Empire will loose regardless of players efforts, but this is SW story, it's LORE how it's should be and I enjoying every second of it...

 

Thank you!.

No no, you misunderstand the issue. The Empire is ALREADY losing. From a story perspective, the Empire should currently be winning? Currently it's pretty much a case of the Empire retreating- I think the only planet where Imps "won" was Taris.

Imagine, for instance, that the Emperor and Darth Vader were aboard the first Death Star, thus ending the war in a single film. That's what playing the Empire feels like. Yes, the Empire will obviously lose in the end (or not, since some of their tech looks like Clone Wars era Republic tech, so maybe the two groups merge somehow?) but the point is people want to feel like there's a war going on. The Republic is essentially cleaning up what's left of the Empire atm.

Time for Satele Shan or Jace Malcom to be killed off imo.

I may have misunderstood but haven't we already been told there is a new a rare isotope on Makeb and thats what the empire and the Hutt's are after?

I like the write up but I am not sure how a once nice planet ruined by hutts/mining/industry is any different from a load of other planets we already have.

Hmmm.... So does SW:TOR have more than one lead writer? I thought Hall Hood was a lead writer as well.

 

In any event, I am looking forward to seeing what Makeb is like, albeit with some trepidation. I am so slow playing thru all the class stories. I still don't have a good feel for how the Republic is in an advantageous position over the Empire at the end of all 8 class stories and still don't want to spoil it for myself.

They can't keep staff long enough. I've seen 2-3 lead writers, 2-3 senior directors, etc...