Star Wars: The Old Republic 1.2 "Legacy" patch arriving in April, friend trials go live tomorrow

Star Wars The Old Republic

We already have a pretty good idea of what the big 1.2 update for Star Wars: The Old Republic will contain. Bioware have already dropped details of Legacy races and dual spec support , updated crafting and companion dances , white lightsaber crystals and more. Now Bioware have confirmed that it'll definitely be here in April, and have revealed a little bit more about the new Flashpoint, Operation and Warzone that'll be added when it arrives.

The new Flashpoint (one of TOR's 4-player dungeons) is called Lost Island, a follow up to Kaon Under Siege, which was added in 1.1. The mission will send players to Ord Mantell to discover the origin of the Rakghoul virus. The new 8/16 player Operation is set on Denova, where a band of shifty mercs are shifting volatile Baradium bombs. That's called "Explosive Conflict," fittingly enough.

There's a new Warzone, too, which is good news for PvP fans. Novare Coast will have you and your team fighting for control of mortar points which can then be used to bombard the enemy base. In addition to the new endgame bits, 1.2 will add extensive UI customisation and guild banks.

The patch will also expand the Legacy system, letting you create a family/friend tree that will combine your alts together. Legacy XP amassed across all of your characters will unlock new race options for each class and give you access to convenient bonuses like "an on-board mailbox and Galactic Trade Network terminal" for your ship. In addition, "companion character affection and moral alignment will also benefit from Legacy bonuses, giving players even more control over their crew mates."

That's all to come next month, but the Friend Trial will launch tomorrow. That'll let players invite up to three friends for a seven day trial. Their progress will be capped at level 15, but they'll be able to try out all the classes.

The Star Wars: The Old Republic guild summit is kicking off in an hour, so there's bound to be plenty more info on upcoming features arriving over the course of the next day or so.

Tom Senior

Part of the UK team, Tom was with PC Gamer at the very beginning of the website's launch—first as a news writer, and then as online editor until his departure in 2020. His specialties are strategy games, action RPGs, hack ‘n slash games, digital card games… basically anything that he can fit on a hard drive. His final boss form is Deckard Cain.