Revan, the Forcemeister formerly known as Darth, is returning to The Old Republic in a new expansion entitled Shadow of Revan. But he's not siding with either the Jedi or the Sith this time around; instead, he's put together his own army of fanatical followers, and he's looking to bring down both sides. His return will be accompanied by the game-wide launch of Disciplines, a new system of character development that will replace the current skill trees.
It's been more than a decade since BioWare turned Star Wars on its ear with Knights of the Old Republic, and yet it was so good that even now I worry about spoiling the experience for those who haven't played it. So I will simply say that Revan made an awfully big splash in the game, and that his return to The Old Republic is thus what I'd call Pretty Big News.
Shadow of Revan will increase The Old Republic level cap to 60 and add two new worlds, Rishi and Yavin 4, as well as two new role-neutral Flashpoints, four Hard Mode Flashpoints and two level 60 Operations. New Revanite gear, crafting schematics and mounts including armored vehicles will also be up for grabs.
The Old Republic is also undergoing a game-wide overhaul to its class system with the addition of Disciplines, which will replace the current skill tree system. BioWare says the new Discipline system will allow for "a more balanced game and the capacity to expand levels and abilities more often."
"While Skill Trees appear on the surface to provide flexibility and choice, in practicality they give very little of either," BioWare wrote. "With Disciplines, we can focus on creating strong and fun play styles from level 10 on, without having to worry about how people are spending 50 skill points and whether some people are making bad decisions or if others are finding crazy untested combinations that vastly exceed what we want to happen. Attach to that the idea of expanding the amount of and type of utility each player has access to and you get a system that creates better and more balanced characters with a stronger identity while allowing players actual choice."
The Disciplines system will be released with game update 3.0 on December 2, while the Shadow of Revan expansion goes live on December 9. Preordering the expansion by November 2 will net seven days of Early Access beginning December 2, as well as a subscriber-exclusive XP booster granting 12 times the experience from the time of preorder until December 1. Details and all the rest of the usual business are at SWTOR.com.
