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A SWTOR review"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-94B6mUx3f3U\/Wh8veAtoxSI\/AAAAAAAAGBk\/Lh2UeoaZOPQrJfG9lILjwDP2Kr7SlOLwwCKgBGAs\/s1600\/Lana%2Band%2Bcommander%2Bfighting%2Bhuge%2Bdroid.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"879\" data-original-width=\"1600\" height=\"350\" src=\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-94B6mUx3f3U\/Wh8veAtoxSI\/AAAAAAAAGBk\/Lh2UeoaZOPQrJfG9lILjwDP2Kr7SlOLwwCKgBGAs\/s640\/Lana%2Band%2Bcommander%2Bfighting%2Bhuge%2Bdroid.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nIt's no secret that I've been enjoying drawing more than gaming lately. And when I did play the past weeks, it was mostly Lord of the Rings Online's Mordor expansion. Nevertheless, I did fire up Star Wars: the Old Republic eventually, and decided it was about time to take on the Crisis on Umbara storyline on my main character. Which brought me straight to the Umbara flashpoint.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nSome warnings are in order. This (overdue) review contains huge spoilers about the storyline, and also some crazy theories (that I, of course, believe are completely plausible). I recommend saving it for later if you're yet to play through the Umbara story.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nRight from the very first moment, things seemed a bit off; it was all too rushed. Theron comes to you with a report, saying something along the lines of \"we have a lead on the traitor, we have to go to Umbara, NOW!\" - and that raised some questions. As a commander, I wouldn't just jump into a spaceship without a clue what's going on. But somehow, my character was satisfied with the promise that things would be explained underway. There was no conversation option to protest.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/xJ4nJA5.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"432\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"344\" src=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/xJ4nJA5.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\nSure, walking on the roof of a train is much more efficient than having to squeeze yourself in between the passengers down below.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nNext thing I know, we jump out of a shuttle craft, on top of a moving train. Wtf? There is no convincing explanation as to why this is a good idea, but my character acts as if it's business as usual. I mean, I get that it looks cool and stuff, but wouldn't it be a lot less dangerous to arrest the traitor when the train makes a stop? I've seen this happen several times myself when a drunkard or aggressive person was harassing people. It's clean and efficient, and when it's handled professionally, most people don't even notice anything is going on. But apparently boarding the train the regular way is a no go since people on Umbara for some reason hate the Alliance.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nSo with the thought \"this is all a bit random and unbelievable\" in the back of my mind, I proceeded to explore the train, which apparently had to happen via the roof.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nI enjoyed the puzzle elements of trying to find my way around, jumping over things, evading illuminated floor panels (of course, every train is booby trapped...). Unfortunately, the ride was heavily guarded and I was forced to take out many random people that I had no quarrel with; I had no idea who they were and who they're allied with. Theron wasn't very helpful in this regard.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/8H1RDag.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"401\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"320\" src=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/8H1RDag.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\nTheron looks guilty as he makes his contribution to this chapter's cliche lines\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nWhen we got to the front of the train, Theron locks my character and Lana up and makes the train crash, sodding off while making up some lame excuse, \"the Alliance doesn't do enough for peace\". Lana and I manage to escape the train alive and look at each other. So Theron is the traitor. Rather than the \"OOooooooomg, mindfuck!!\" effect that's undoubtedly sought after by the writers, I sigh to myself while I'm fighting through the Umbara jungle. It feels like a cheap writing trick to go with the least likely character as the traitor.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/WdPfbQI.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"450\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/WdPfbQI.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\nOn another note, the Umbara landscape is fairly pretty, though a bit odd\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nAfter battling through a lot of aggressive natives, we finally make it off Umbara. My character offers Theron a chance to talk - extremely reasonable seeing the circumstances - but he refuses, repeating his lame excuse. It's just so out of character that it's unbelievable. Perhaps if you're the dictator like leader type that rules the Alliance with an iron fist it might be believable, but for my peace driven jedi it is not.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/RriB145.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"440\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"352\" src=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/RriB145.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\nMe being my extremely reasonable self\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nAt the end of the chapter, in a sort of epilogue, a scene appears that I had been half expecting: a teaser that might explain Theron's extreme out-of-character behaviour. Theron speaks to a cloaked figure. The theatrical way to 'dump the commander' was apparently a test to see if Theron would be fit to join his mysterious order (or whatever \"we\" stands for). I guess we're supposed to wonder who this hooded figure is next. Instead I wonder if it's all just a ruse and Theron will come back later to say \"sorry, but this was the only way I could get into this super secret order and I needed to find out what they were up to because they are influential behind the scenes\". It would be the only way I can think of that makes sense of it all - especially since the train crash is a bit of a half assed attempt on the commander's life. From up close (as Theron was), he could have chosen a much more effective, immediate method. The whole Umbara thing seemed mostly theatrical - which would make sense if you'd want to impress your secret figure without actually harming the commander.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/It8clqS.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"383\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"306\" src=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/It8clqS.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\nTheron wants to be recruited by this weirdo\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nOr it turns out he just actually betrayed you, and that doesn't make any sense at all if you're a peaceful commander. Unless you're a dick commander, of course, then he \u003Ci\u003Eshould\u003C\/i\u003E betray you, or choices don't matter at all.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nOverall, I must say I am a bit disappointed by this chapter, and it's all because of the writing. The Umbara events are simply not believable. I feel detached as I watch the major characters speak their cliche lines. This will only make sense if all gets resolved more or less as described above, but then it's too predictable. More than excitement, the chapter makes me experience boredom and annoyance, and that's disappointing indeed.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/feeds\/7197410028385709633\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/2017\/11\/disappointment-on-umbara-swtor-review.html#comment-form","title":"6 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/5922857679980740630\/posts\/default\/7197410028385709633"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/5922857679980740630\/posts\/default\/7197410028385709633"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/2017\/11\/disappointment-on-umbara-swtor-review.html","title":"Disappointment on Umbara. A SWTOR review"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Ravanel"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/03447777640056476366"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-94B6mUx3f3U\/Wh8veAtoxSI\/AAAAAAAAGBk\/Lh2UeoaZOPQrJfG9lILjwDP2Kr7SlOLwwCKgBGAs\/s72-c\/Lana%2Band%2Bcommander%2Bfighting%2Bhuge%2Bdroid.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"6"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922857679980740630.post-7066192483615709861"},"published":{"$t":"2017-07-21T19:22:00.002+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-07-21T22:00:03.677+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Strongholds"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SWTOR"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Updates and Expansions"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Manaan stronghold review"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-Zxl8-2teyEU\/WXHSJEg8aXI\/AAAAAAAAF1w\/FefqK0pneCECRAkI9NtN-Cf0ImGh6IP5wCKgBGAs\/s1600\/Ravanel%2Breviewing%2Bstronghold.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"865\" data-original-width=\"1600\" height=\"346\" src=\"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-Zxl8-2teyEU\/WXHSJEg8aXI\/AAAAAAAAF1w\/FefqK0pneCECRAkI9NtN-Cf0ImGh6IP5wCKgBGAs\/s640\/Ravanel%2Breviewing%2Bstronghold.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\nLast week, a lot of my gaming time was spent in LOTRO, trying to finish the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/2017\/07\/lotro-scavenger-hunt-review.html\"\u003EScavenger hunt\u003C\/a\u003E and the Summer festival in time. But when SWTOR's update 5.3 went live Tuesday last week, I just had to login to check out the Manaan stronghold. As I had been rooting for a Rishi stronghold instead and was occupied in LOTRO, I had totally forgotten how online decorating excites me. Apparently my guildies know me better, though, because two of them were already there, waiting for me to purchase the stronghold so they could look around. Their reactions were mixed, just like those of my fellow bloggers and people on Twitter.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/3S6W5ei.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/3S6W5ei.jpg\" data-original-height=\"450\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nThings I love\u003C\/h2\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nLet's talk about the good stuff first: it's Manaan. Although I'm more of a Rishi kinda gal myself, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/2015\/02\/daydreaming-about-our-new-strongholds.html\"\u003EManaan has been requested (and predicted)\u003C\/a\u003E as a stronghold location ever \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/2014\/03\/swtor-whats-this-stronghold-stuff.html\"\u003Esince strongholds were introduced\u003C\/a\u003E. Similarly to Tatooine, there's a nice intro video when you travel to the stronghold - although, frankly, I wish there was an option to turn it off, since it comes up every time and most people just spacebar through it by now.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/4fDpHV0.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/4fDpHV0.jpg\" data-original-height=\"450\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nThe characteristic Manaan music from KOTOR is present, setting the correct tranquil atmosphere. From outside, it looks exactly as you would expect from Manaan in KOTOR (see above).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/qHdQA2G.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/qHdQA2G.jpg\" data-original-height=\"418\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"334\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\nThe Makeb gazebo looks like the remains of an ancient civilization in underwater Manaan\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nYou can place things under water in the under water part of the stronghold, which is a nice touch. I'm happy that the underwater outdoor hooks hold centrepieces, because most strongholds don't have that many centrepiece hooks. Through the years, I've ended up with more cool centrepiece decorations than I have space to put down. The hook typing also makes sense stylistically, since if you'd place anything that's not a centrepiece, it would look quite small from that distance.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/EWNV6dw.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/EWNV6dw.jpg\" data-original-height=\"450\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\nInside, a glass plate on the floor allows you to see the coral and fish underneath, while a huge Firaxen shark can be seen in the distance, circling around the stronghold.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/pDSmWms.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/pDSmWms.png\" data-original-height=\"428\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"342\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nFun fact: the Manaan stronghold doors remind me of HK! Now I've seen it, I can't 'un-think' it anymore and I greet them with \"Good morning, meatbags\" every time I pass.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nDespite these cool things, many disappointed voices can be heard in the community. This sentiment stems from two concerns: the hook system and missed opportunities. In the rest of this post, I will look into more detail into this criticism. I will also review the Deepwater Essentials decorations that were released with the Manaan stronghold in mind.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Ch2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nHook system\u003C\/h2\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nOut of all available strongholds, the hook placement of the Manaan stronghold is by far the worst. Like many MMOs, SWTOR has a pre-set hook system with decorations and hooks being tied to certain sizes (small, medium, large, centrepiece and starship etc). There are some options to change hooks to smaller hook combinations, but you cannot set them to larger types than preset. Floor decorations can be moved horizontally (usually not by very much), but not vertically.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/UvGOJGj.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/UvGOJGj.jpg\" data-original-height=\"447\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"356\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nIn the outdoor part of the stronghold, the hooks are spread out and few, so the place will look empty, no matter how much stuff you place there.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/vJ4IXeS.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/vJ4IXeS.jpg\" data-original-height=\"460\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"366\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\nWelcome to Manaan! -xxx- Your neighbour's army of naked companions (bug)\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nThe two long rows of small hooks along the route to the stronghold interior are a strange choice: you can only put small decorations, like NPCs or small plants there (see above). Other logical decorations to place there, like benches that one can sit on and enjoy the fountains, cannot be placed because they require at least a medium narrow hook. A row of medium or medium narrow hooks would've been much more useful, because they can always be changed into two small hooks when needed (while pre-set small hooks cannot be changed into larger hooks).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAnother minor annoyance is that the rug hooks are so far apart that you can never connect the rugs to each other.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/RWyOz7t.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/RWyOz7t.jpg\" data-original-height=\"450\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\nThe observatory completely lacks large hooks, ruining my plans for a cantina\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\nMany places in the Manaan stronghold suffer from the same mistake: pre-determined small \u0026amp; medium hooks at spots where large(r) hooks would've been appropriate severely limit the possibilities of decorators. It looks like they were designed with specific decorations in mind, which leaves little room for creativity.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/gfesMfz.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/gfesMfz.jpg\" data-original-height=\"450\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nAnother example of this is the interior part of the Rooftop Garden level. Only allowing for medium hooks and smaller on the sides, many cool decorations are barred from being used.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/zgBzIZ7.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/zgBzIZ7.jpg\" data-original-height=\"450\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nThe opposite is the case for the siderooms of the underwater interior: here a centrepiece hook is placed. It's a strange place for a hook of that type, because most decorations that require a centrepiece hook are quite tall and clip through the ceiling. This specific hook seems to be intended for the new Manaan: Lounge Set decoration that requires a centrepiece hook.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/lkdWW5M.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/lkdWW5M.jpg\" data-original-height=\"450\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nIt's a bit silly that this decoration needs a centrepiece hook, though, because it's quite small. As you can see, placing the Manaan Lounge Set leaves a huge space undecorated in this room. You can't even put a rug in front of it to cheer up the place, because there is no hook for it at that spot.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nFor decorating purposes, four or more large hook tiles (each with 9 small ones attached) would've been a lot more useful.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/MOlsjzx.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/MOlsjzx.jpg\" data-original-height=\"450\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\nGenerator Ceiling Lights\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nThere are more oddities. For instance, it bugs me that the middle ceiling lamp in the central underwater room cannot be changed; it comes with the stronghold. I guess it has something to do with the optimal lighting for the glass floor below. Speaking of which, it actually does a poor job of lighting the surface floor. I wish the reflection of the glass was a bit less so you could see better what's swimming down below.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/qTbZcRI.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/qTbZcRI.jpg\" data-original-height=\"450\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nIt's downright weird that the underwater siderooms have small hooks for the ceiling lights. The Huttese Wall Sconces are the best looking on this spot, but if you don't want your room to be green or orange, you're out of luck. There's basically just the Basic Junker's Light to go with, and that barely emits any light at all. Regardless of what small light you put up there, the rooms will stay badly lit.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nPerhaps the developers really like the thought of the rooms being very dark for some reason, but I would have preferred to have a choice in this. As is, I went with luminescent decorations so you can at least see \u003Ci\u003Esomething\u003C\/i\u003E.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nThe hook system in SWTOR is always a challenge when you're trying to realize decorating plans, but it seems particularly bad on Manaan. Overall, I get the impression not much testing was done before assigning the hooks of this stronghold.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/6fZQ1OP.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/6fZQ1OP.jpg\" data-original-height=\"450\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\nThe Fountain of Tranquility\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Ch2\u003E\nDeepwater Essentials bundle\u003C\/h2\u003E\nOkay, so there are a couple of wonky things about this stronghold and you're allergic to the word \"hook\" by now. Let's have an intermezzo and look at the things that came with the Deepwater Essentials Bundle before we go straight on to Missed opportunities. (As a stronghold addict, I couldn't stop myself from buying one to see what's inside.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nFirst off, there's the Fountain of Tranquility, a pretty gold statue that requires a centrepiece hook (see above). The spot above is the only place that makes sense and I must admit that it does look magnificent.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAnother item from the bundle that I adore is the Manaan Floorlamp. Sadly, you only get one per bundle, so these inevitably end up being rare and sought after on the GTN. The developers seem clueless when it comes to what types of decorations are needed in which quantities. It's telling when lamps and trash cans are among the most expensive items on the in-game market.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/ZTcb1Om.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/ZTcb1Om.jpg\" data-original-height=\"450\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\nManaan Lounge Set\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nThe aforementioned Manaan Lounge Set looks best outside, where the enormous space in front of it looks more intentional, pretty much like a square. The lights don't make a lot of sense that way, but, ah well. It would be a shame to let the decoration go to waste since I've already consumed it.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nThe Manaan Office Set is another decoration with strange hook assignment. It needs a large hook, whereas the old CZ-198 Arrangement: Executive's Desk is an almost exact copy that can go on a medium tile (see the right picture below). With the Manaan Office Set, my underwater rooms looked empty (the conversion from centrepiece hook had me pick between either 4 large hooks or 1 large hook and 8 medium hooks). So I ended up selling mine on the GTN to fill it with several Executive's Desks instead.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/ghWBfck.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/ghWBfck.png\" data-original-height=\"425\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"340\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\nAquarium: Laa\/Faa Scalefish (left) and Large Aquarium (right)\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nI was pretty excited about the aquarium decorations. Unfortunately, the lighting in the fish tanks is done poorly: you barely see that there are any fish in there at all. The small ones look a bit better on the picture above, but that's just because I put them in front of a (built in) wall light.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nI do enjoy the Manaan Patio Set (below) and the fact that they fit on a medium narrow hook. I wish they came with more than one per bundle.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/ALHFyGj.png\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/ALHFyGj.png\" data-original-height=\"428\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"342\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\nThe Firaxen Shark (left) and the Manaan Patio Set (right)\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Ch2\u003E\nMissed opportunities\u003C\/h2\u003E\nAlthough I generally like what I see, my friends and I concluded that there are many missed opportunities, most of them in the underwater area. As mentioned earlier, the ocean below the glass floor in the Underwater Observatory is dark, so you can't see what's below very well. It's nice that there's that little extra realism with the reflection of the glass, but in my opinion it's a bit much: you can barely look outside now, even if the bottom of the ocean would be well lit. Surely that isn't the intention!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nI must admit that I had hoped the ocean floor to look a bit more impressive, with cool fish and plants. It's a bit bland as is. That said, perhaps it's more realistic like this.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nHowever, what's a real shame is that the windows to look outside aren't that big. I'd have loved to have a real underwater observatory, with rooms of which the walls and ceiling are completely made of glass. Think of something along the lines of the \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/tord.mmo-fashion.com\/odessen-command-center\/\"\u003EOdessen Command Centre\u003C\/a\u003E decoration. I also wouldn't mind the pretty water reflection that can be seen at the edges of the underwater rooms (see above) cover the entire side rooms. Now that would be something!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nWhile we're at it, why not allow us to go outside in one of those funny underwater spacesuits from KOTOR to inspect those decorations we've put down? #Pipedreams\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/teN18iZ.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/teN18iZ.jpg\" data-original-height=\"450\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\nAerial view of the Manaan stronghold (check \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/2015\/03\/swtor-aerial-photography.html\"\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Ci\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/i\u003Ehow to make these)\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nOther complaints involve people saying that the stronghold isn't big enough for its price. A Manaan stronghold costs 2,5 million credits, whereas the much larger Tatooine stronghold (I jokingly call it my Tatooine village) costs 2,8 million credits: not all that much more for a much larger amount of space.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nThere's something to say for that, although I don't mind the price that much (I realise I fit in the category \"stronghold addict: will pay anything for SWTOR housing\", though). There is a lot of space in the outside area, although it's not all that exciting to decorate. Mox, on the latest CRR show, theorized that the luxurious Manaan being more expensive per square metre makes sense, because everybody would want to live there; naturally, nobody wants to live on a backwater planet like Tatooine! That gave me a good chuckle.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/uX3GWhK.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/uX3GWhK.jpg\" data-original-height=\"450\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nIt's also a bit of a shame that you cannot get to your ship - in fact, it took me a while to find the starship hook, as it's not on a very obvious spot (if you are with your back to the statue, facing towards the stronghold, it's to your right on top of a building). It's just a minor detail, but if I'd roleplay I would be sad.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/2Xy7Bdd.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/2Xy7Bdd.jpg\" data-original-height=\"482\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"384\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nTo end on a positive note: the outdoors part of the Rooftop Garden is done exactly right. I finally found the perfect spot for my spa decoration. As you can see above, Ravanel approves (+10 influence).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Ch2\u003E\nConclusion\u003C\/h2\u003E\nManaan is a cool planet, and I'm happy to have a new project that allows me to obsess over decorating. However, it's clear that there is some missed potential: the hook system could be implemented in a less obnoxious way, and the stronghold overall - the underwater area in particular - could have looked a lot cooler. For SWTOR housing addicts, this stronghold is a must have, but others might be content visiting their friend's place instead.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/feeds\/7066192483615709861\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/2017\/07\/manaan-stronghold-review.html#comment-form","title":"6 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/5922857679980740630\/posts\/default\/7066192483615709861"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/5922857679980740630\/posts\/default\/7066192483615709861"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/2017\/07\/manaan-stronghold-review.html","title":"Manaan stronghold review"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Ravanel"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/03447777640056476366"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-Zxl8-2teyEU\/WXHSJEg8aXI\/AAAAAAAAF1w\/FefqK0pneCECRAkI9NtN-Cf0ImGh6IP5wCKgBGAs\/s72-c\/Ravanel%2Breviewing%2Bstronghold.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"6"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922857679980740630.post-6645200137218928230"},"published":{"$t":"2017-06-28T23:31:00.000+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-06-29T23:13:06.874+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Opinion"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"PvP"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SWTOR"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Updates and Expansions"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"SWTOR roadmap highlights (summer 2017)"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-dmNib0dJb_k\/WVQeLHNpPrI\/AAAAAAAAFwM\/kGUZjv04wIk1450Kx_X99hbupNA1yOkzACPcBGAYYCw\/s1600\/Roadmap%2Bvisualized.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" data-original-height=\"563\" data-original-width=\"1000\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-dmNib0dJb_k\/WVQeLHNpPrI\/AAAAAAAAFwM\/kGUZjv04wIk1450Kx_X99hbupNA1yOkzACPcBGAYYCw\/s640\/Roadmap%2Bvisualized.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nWhen I returned from holiday in Sweden a few weeks ago, Mox and Jason of Corellian Run Radio gave me homework. \"Let us know what you think of the roadmap\", they said - and so I read through \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.swtor.com\/info\/news\/news-article\/20170531\"\u003Ethe document\u003C\/a\u003E and created a page full of notes like a good girl. I figured that, since I'd already written it out, I might as well put together a blogpost. Of course this was two weeks ago and now the roadmap is already old news. But you're going to read this post anyway. *Waves hand*\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Ch2\u003E\nKeith and the road map\u003C\/h2\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nThere's a lot of fangirling and -boying going on around SWTOR's new game director, Keith. Xam Xam has a whole \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.xamxamsays.com\/category\/star-wars-the-old-republic\/dev-watch\/\"\u003E\"Keith Watch\" blog series\u003C\/a\u003E dedicated to him, in which she monitors and evaluates his forum posts. And when I'm scrolling through my Twitter feed, motivational pictures featuring Keith catch my eye.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/bHWm5kw.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/bHWm5kw.jpg\" data-original-height=\"501\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"400\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\nOne such motivational picture, posted by\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BrianInHawaii\"\u003E@BrianInHawaii\u003C\/a\u003E on June 23rd, 2017\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nBefore Ben Irving's departure, Keith's presence in this universe was unknown to us. But then the whole \"grind your life away for CXP\" mentality got thrown out of the window and a new, fresh wind brought us Keith the Saviour, who was going to steer SWTOR in the direction of... an MMO. After the game having focused primarily on story content (2015) and then on an RNG gear treadmilll (2016), that's actually refreshing.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nStrictly speaking, what Keith's doing is not all that revolutionary, but it's clear that a 'back to basics' approach is currently very much appreciated by the SWTOR community. One of the first things he did - in addition to promising more dev communication (and immediately delivering) - is announcing a roadmap. This was a great move, because a roadmap not only shows that you're sincere in communicating more, it's also a nod in the direction of veteran players, who still remember the time when SWTOR used to make such roadmaps.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAs for the content of the map, I enjoyed that it covered both broad long term views and detailed plans with a time indication. The latter is dangerous terrain for MMO developers because of unexpected delays, so this is where Keith's communicative skills might be put to the test.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/6UcPeje.png?1\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/6UcPeje.png?1\" data-original-height=\"379\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"302\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Ch2\u003E\nNews that make me fangirl\u003C\/h2\u003E\nMore concretely, here are some things from the roadmap that make my fangirl heart beat faster.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cul\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ENew flashpoint\u003C\/b\u003E: It felt like the devs were kind of done with flashpoints, after transitioning to tactical flashpoints (a sort of 'flashpoint lite' , faster paced and with fewer cutscenes) and, ultimately, uprisings. I'm happy they are not. While I do like uprisings, I find myself enjoying the old fashioned flashpoints most. And since I do a lot of them each week, something fresh is very welcome.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EStory update Crisis on Umbara\u003C\/b\u003E: I must admit that I was a tad disappointed with the War for Iokath story, as it went for the easy option by adding new danger and power struggles rather than explore what's happening in the galaxy on a social and cultural level in these stressful times. That's probably just the archaeologist in me getting a bit bored by the focus on power in Star Wars storytelling, though. Nevertheless, I'm hoping for more answers to my questions and of course visiting a new planet is always cool, too. I expect the new flashpoint to be involved with the story.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003EMore operation bosses\u003C\/b\u003E: Of course we already knew this was coming, but it's something that makes me very happy nonetheless! I really like Tyth's design, so I'm looking forward to the second encounter - a twin boss fight.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cb\u003ENew stronghold\u003C\/b\u003E with 'view over the ocean': Everyone is predicting this will be the often-wished-for Manaan. Then again, that's \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.nl\/2015\/02\/daydreaming-about-our-new-strongholds.html\"\u003Ewhat people said in 2015\u003C\/a\u003E, too - and then it turned out to be Yavin IV. I hope the developers surprise everyone and it's Rishi! I'd love my own tropical island with, indeed, a view over the ocean.\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nFinally, there are also things that sound less exciting, but are definitely worth some dev time. One of them is \u003Cb\u003Eincreased companion influence\u003C\/b\u003E through doing stuff. This is sorely needed after the absence of influence gain from non main story quests (ever since the Makeb expansion) and - more recently - the change from companion affection (max 10) to influence (max 50). Part of this is already live with the addition of influence gained from sending companions on crafting missions. This is not something that you feel the effect of right away, but I'm sure it makes a positive impact long term.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/AHyVqYU.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/AHyVqYU.jpg\" data-original-height=\"351\" data-original-width=\"800\" height=\"280\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\nY'u-no misses her favourite spot in Civil War\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Ch2\u003E\nWhat's missing\u003C\/h2\u003E\nI'd love to see \u003Cb\u003Etime to kill\u003C\/b\u003E go down \u003Cb\u003Ein PvP\u003C\/b\u003E. Right now every class has so many defensive abilities that level cap PvP feels like the boring part of 8v8 ranked used to: long stalemates in the middle with the party that manages to cap a node first practically winning the fight. After trying to muddle through for a few weeks in 5.0, I realized I wasn't having fun and gave up on PvP altogether. I have a huge army of PvP characters sitting at the ready with all the roles for all different brackets, but they're not getting used at all.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nUnfortunately, this problem isn't mentioned in the roadmap at all, so either it's just me that doesn't like the situation or the developers aren't aware of it. However, after the announced nerfs to sage heals, this partly may get solved when the other healer classes get adjusted accordingly.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nOverall, I'm happy with the roadmap and the change in direction towards an MMO that's more focused on... well, being an MMO, is a welcome one for me. What do you think?\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/feeds\/6645200137218928230\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/2017\/06\/swtor-roadmap-highlights-summer-2017.html#comment-form","title":"7 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/5922857679980740630\/posts\/default\/6645200137218928230"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/5922857679980740630\/posts\/default\/6645200137218928230"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/2017\/06\/swtor-roadmap-highlights-summer-2017.html","title":"SWTOR roadmap highlights (summer 2017)"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Ravanel"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/03447777640056476366"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-dmNib0dJb_k\/WVQeLHNpPrI\/AAAAAAAAFwM\/kGUZjv04wIk1450Kx_X99hbupNA1yOkzACPcBGAYYCw\/s72-c\/Roadmap%2Bvisualized.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"7"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922857679980740630.post-3524900218890913791"},"published":{"$t":"2017-04-27T20:47:00.000+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-04-28T01:24:01.882+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Opinion"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Pets"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Super serious"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SWTOR"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"A modest proposal. Solutions to the grophet overpopulation problem"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-W8uZMkCReik\/WQIylLn0hKI\/AAAAAAAAFsg\/UU3ZF_YtR1wi4mfqUAnAEJWxZq_DN-KlgCPcB\/s1600\/grophets%2Bon%2BRIshi.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-W8uZMkCReik\/WQIylLn0hKI\/AAAAAAAAFsg\/UU3ZF_YtR1wi4mfqUAnAEJWxZq_DN-KlgCPcB\/s640\/grophets%2Bon%2BRIshi.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\nOn Rishi, players are able to observe what happens when things get out of hand\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nStar Wars: the Old Republic's latest update, 5.2, had one nasty surprise in stock: the tier 4 command crates have a chance to drop... fiery grophet pets. It is no secret that I despise these repugnant little creatures. They remind me of handbag dogs that constantly get spoiled with food by their owners \"because they're so cute\", or - in the best case - of the final destination of guinea pigs during a \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.odditycentral.com\/travel\/the-guinea-pig-festival-of-huacho-has-rodents-on-the-menu.html\"\u003EPeruvian guinea pig festival\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(do check out that link if you aren't familiar with this event): on a plate. Indeed, there is a peculiar similarity between the roasted guinea pigs and fiery grophets. Surely this is more than a coincidence; this is fate!\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/SAJZqo9.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/SAJZqo9.jpg\" height=\"334\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\nIf only cooking was a crafting profession in SWTOR...\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\n(Picture to the bottom right by Shintar)\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nBut I don't need to explain the revolting nature of these critters: their hideous appearance speaks for itself. So naturally, when I find a fiery grophet in a command crate, my eyes light up, and with an explosive expression of joy I exclaim: \"Oooh yeah! DISINTEGRATE!!\" *insert cackling Dalek noise here*\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nHowever, Shintar of Going Commando \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/swtorcommando.blogspot.nl\/2017\/04\/a-tale-of-tier-four.html\"\u003Ehas a different approach\u003C\/a\u003E:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"tr_bq\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\"I hit disintegrate on a grophet and immediately felt a terrible jolt of guilt. It doesn't really make sense. I don't worry about what an uncomfortable life these creatures must lead, being stashed away between armour pieces and companion gifts inside of crates that mysteriously appear out of thin air. But when you ask me to take action myself, to actively destroy them... I suddenly feel bad.\"\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nSince she cannot get herself to disintegrate them, Shintar is considering opening a Home for Fiery Grophets. And because I'm not totally unreasonable, and such a course would fit my light side V sage better (role-play wise), I can support this thought.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/HE6yaTU.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" src=\"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/HE6yaTU.jpg\" height=\"360\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003E\nA possible solution: send your grophets to Shintar!\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nMeanwhile, the problem stands: players in tier 4 will get showered with the undoubtedly highly nutricious fiery grophets for eternity. What is your solution to this dilemma? Let me know in a comment or vote in the Twitter poll.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\"\u003E\n\u003Cdiv dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\"\u003E\nWhat do you do with the grophet (command crate tier 4 reward)? \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/swtorfamily?src=hash\"\u003E#swtorfamily\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n— Ravanel Griffon (@Rav_Griffon) \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Rav_Griffon\/status\/857651739532681216\"\u003EApril 27, 2017\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003Cscript async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"\u003E\u003C\/script\u003E\n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/feeds\/3524900218890913791\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/2017\/04\/a-modest-proposal-solutions-to-grophet.html#comment-form","title":"13 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/5922857679980740630\/posts\/default\/3524900218890913791"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/5922857679980740630\/posts\/default\/3524900218890913791"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/2017\/04\/a-modest-proposal-solutions-to-grophet.html","title":"A modest proposal. Solutions to the grophet overpopulation problem"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Ravanel"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/03447777640056476366"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-W8uZMkCReik\/WQIylLn0hKI\/AAAAAAAAFsg\/UU3ZF_YtR1wi4mfqUAnAEJWxZq_DN-KlgCPcB\/s72-c\/grophets%2Bon%2BRIshi.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"13"}},{"id":{"$t":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5922857679980740630.post-7116629554173446952"},"published":{"$t":"2017-04-08T23:30:00.000+02:00"},"updated":{"$t":"2017-04-09T02:26:27.446+02:00"},"category":[{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"DAW 2017"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Developer Appreciation Week"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"SWTOR"},{"scheme":"http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#","term":"Updates and Expansions"}],"title":{"type":"text","$t":"Love for the SWTOR Stream Dream Team"},"content":{"type":"html","$t":"\u003Cdiv class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both; text-align: center;\"\u003E\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ivxOvsEcxOI\/WOTdYqm1zSI\/AAAAAAAAFos\/tQeYQObNv28SzDix2ENn67Wlq1m1MJiiwCPcB\/s1600\/DAW%2B2017%2BSWTOR.jpg\" imageanchor=\"1\" style=\"margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;\"\u003E\u003Cimg border=\"0\" height=\"372\" src=\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ivxOvsEcxOI\/WOTdYqm1zSI\/AAAAAAAAFos\/tQeYQObNv28SzDix2ENn67Wlq1m1MJiiwCPcB\/s640\/DAW%2B2017%2BSWTOR.jpg\" width=\"640\" \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nYesterday, a \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.twitch.tv\/videos\/134080312\"\u003ESWTOR developer stream\u003C\/a\u003E reminded me of the need for a \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/2017\/04\/developer-appreciation-week-2017.html\"\u003EDeveloper Appreciation Week\u003C\/a\u003E once again. For those who don't know: Star Wars: the Old Republic is about to release a major update (5.2) coming Tuesday, adding an operation boss after two years without a new raid. I was expecting news about that and indeed we did, but the team also revealed another cool new feature coming with 5.2: a renewed galaxy map. Right now, you can only access the galaxy map when you're on your ship. But with 5.2 you can use it from everywhere to travel, as long as you've unlocked a legacy perk. The map also looks very slick now and it is easier to locate planets. I was really happy with this quality of life addition.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nHowever, Twitch chat wouldn't be Twitch chat if people would use it to complain. When Eric and Charles said they were working on tweaking class balance but it was delayed, people felt the need to complain about one dev working on class balance being on maternity leave. At this point, the developers felt obliged to state that no, there was not just one dev working on class balance, it was a team effort; they had just mentioned the maternity leave on other media to congratulate their collegue.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Ca name='more'\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nI feel sorry for the SWTOR devs - that are actively trying to communicate with the playerbase by organising live streams - to constantly have to deal with these kind of comments. I know that it happens all the time on Twitch and that it isn't restricted to the SWTOR streams, but that doesn't make it right or fun. Devs: know that there are also tons of people out there that enjoy watching your streams and do appreciate your hard work! I certainly do.\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cdiv style=\"text-align: justify;\"\u003E\nI first started watching SWTOR livestreams in the fall of 2016, after the implementation of the Galactic Command system with 5.0. As SWTOR players reading this will know, that system was received very negatively by the community, resulting in many unsubs and even a Massively OP award for the \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/massivelyop.com\/2016\/12\/16\/massively-ops-best-of-2016-awards-worst-mmo-business-model-2016\/\"\u003EWorst MMORPG Business Model of 2016\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E. (Read \u003Ci\u003E\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/2017\/03\/three-months-of-galactic-command-from.html\"\u003EThree months of Galactic Command from the perspective of an endgame raider\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E for my opinion on the matter.)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nRegardless of what I personally think of the system, I honestly think that the devs truly believed it was a good idea. After all, \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.newoverlords.com\/swtor-escape-pod-cast-173-rng-not-what-we-deserve-but-what-we-need\/\"\u003Escience was on their side\u003C\/a\u003E. Releasing an expansion is usually worthy of a good party celebrating the hard work, but in this case that didn't work out as planned.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nIt cannot have been an easy period, but nevertheless a team of producers (Eric Musco, Ben Irving and Charles Boyd), from then on known as \"the Stream Dream Team\" (a name jokingly used by themselves) started streaming almost weekly to keep us updated with changes to Galactic Command. The intend was to show that the developers took players seriously and were really listening to community feedback. I followed the streams loyally, at first because I had to be up to date with the latest news for my appearance on the \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/www.corellianrun.com\/\"\u003ECorellian Run Radio\u003C\/a\u003E podcast, but soon also because it was just really cool to get such frequent updates from the people working on my favourite MMO! The streams gave a face to (some of) the developers and definitely made me feel more connected to and involved with SWTOR. Sadly the regular streams disappeared in 2017, but I remain hopeful for more of this type of communication to come in the future. Even if Eric, Ben and Charles have to do without the technical help of Tait, who \u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/massivelyop.com\/2017\/02\/08\/swtors-tait-watson-departs-bioware-trades-austin-for-socal\/\"\u003Eleft for California\u003C\/a\u003E earlier this year.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGo SWTOR Stream Dream Team!\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Ci\u003EThis post is part of the eight annual\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/2017\/04\/developer-appreciation-week-2017.html\"\u003EDeveloper Appreciation Week (DAW)\u003C\/a\u003E, running from April 3rd to 10th 2017. Everyone is welcome to join the prompt and spread some game dev positivity (\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?src=typd\u0026amp;q=%23DAW8\"\u003E#DAW8\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/i\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n\u003Ci\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/i\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n"},"link":[{"rel":"replies","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/feeds\/7116629554173446952\/comments\/default","title":"Post Comments"},{"rel":"replies","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/2017\/04\/love-for-swtor-stream-dream-team.html#comment-form","title":"7 Comments"},{"rel":"edit","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/5922857679980740630\/posts\/default\/7116629554173446952"},{"rel":"self","type":"application/atom+xml","href":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/feeds\/5922857679980740630\/posts\/default\/7116629554173446952"},{"rel":"alternate","type":"text/html","href":"http:\/\/ravalation.blogspot.com\/2017\/04\/love-for-swtor-stream-dream-team.html","title":"Love for the SWTOR Stream Dream Team"}],"author":[{"name":{"$t":"Ravanel"},"uri":{"$t":"http:\/\/www.blogger.com\/profile\/03447777640056476366"},"email":{"$t":"noreply@blogger.com"},"gd$image":{"rel":"http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail","width":"16","height":"16","src":"https:\/\/img1.blogblog.com\/img\/b16-rounded.gif"}}],"media$thumbnail":{"xmlns$media":"http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/","url":"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-ivxOvsEcxOI\/WOTdYqm1zSI\/AAAAAAAAFos\/tQeYQObNv28SzDix2ENn67Wlq1m1MJiiwCPcB\/s72-c\/DAW%2B2017%2BSWTOR.jpg","height":"72","width":"72"},"thr$total":{"$t":"7"}}]}});