So you’ve finally done it, you hit the level cap. Hours spent
gathering, slaying and exploring have all culminated in this most
glorious of moments. Of course a celebration is in order, but after all
the fireworks and champagne the inevitable question arises; what now?
For some, it’s right back to the field gathering materials and supplies
for that epic armor set. Others dive straight into PVP, honing their
skills and farming points or marks for gear. For the PVE-ers it’s into
the instances we go, building up an assortment of quality items to take
on bigger, more challenging bosses and raids. This has been the way of
things for quite some time now, and with The Old Republic on the horizon
it’s time to take a look at what it will be bringing to its endgame
experience. Will it be more of the same, or will BioWare be our “only
hope” for something new? Let’s go over what we know.
First,
there’s the most familiar to all MMO folks: raids. The Old Republic
will offer large scale raid encounters called “operations”, which are
almost definitely comprised of the standard clear mobs to bosses, get
loot, repeat. Trailers released so far appear to show around 20
characters comprising a raid group, performing the standard tasks of
tanking, DPS, and healing. Not much is new here other than the addition
of full voiceovers, which will be great for immersion in raids as well
as every other part of the game.

Flashpoints
play out on a smaller scale and are taken on with a group of four of
your closest allies. Describing flashpoints, Bioware makes a point to
say that decisions made while in a flashpoint will greatly alter the
experience you will have during its play through. Whether or not these
changes will be numerous and large enough to make each play through a
very distinct experience will be interesting to see. The rewards from
completing flashpoints are said to be some of the most powerful loot,
but it does not say if they are the result of a quest picked up at the
beginning, or of the corpse pillaging variety.
PVP is a large part
of any MMO’s endgame, and of course TOR will be no exception. As of
right now we know that warzones will most likely be the sole source of
PVP at launch. Specific gear for PVP has also been confirmed, almost
certainly being received in exchange for points gathered during combat.
Open world PVP will make an appearance but looks as though the player’s
from opposing factions will have to consent to the fight using some sort
of flag system.

Those
of you handy with a hot glue gun and popsicle sticks are in luck,
crafting will add some content to your endgame experience. Although from
what we’ve heard it will be primarily carried out by your crew, no
doubt players will have to gather materials and items out in the field
to supply your shipmates. It also wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that
certain recipes will require items crafted by other professions to
complete, and in the process create a nice source of revenue for those
able to craft them.
The effect that a characters alignment will
have is still a bit of a mystery. What we do know is that it will change
the amount of force, energy and so on to use the ability depending on
whether it is geared to the light or dark side. For example, if a Jedi’s
alignment is more towards the dark side, light side abilities would
“cost” more than if he was aligned to the light. This will definitely
have an effect on endgame raid groups as well as adding another
interesting dimension to characters.

If
this is starting to sound a lot like WoW, that’s probably because so
far that’s what it looks like. What we don’t know yet are the details
surrounding this “brand new” content mentioned by TOR’s creative
director James Olhen. He goes on to describe it as something that
“…hasn’t been done in an MMO before.” As for what this could mean, your
guess is as good as mine; solo endgame, a whole new type of raid, a
variation on daily quests, the speculation is endless but I’m hoping
it’s truly something new and unique.
Even if the game does turn
out to be similar to WoW, I don’t think that’s a deal breaker. I mean, I
got a lot of good playtime out of WoW. Switch the setting and story
over to Star Wars, a place I find much more interesting, and I’m having
ten times the fun. Of course I want TOR to be its own game, something
unique and fresh in a genre full of raids and grinding, but as it stands
I find it hard to be worried about the end of a game that I haven’t
even started yet. But of course, the time will come when that ceiling is
hit, so future inhabitants of The Old Republic, what will you want to
do next?