Happy TOR Year! Outside of some catastrophic delay to 2012, in mere months it's very likely that we'll each be rolling our very first toons in The Old Republic. We start the year off right by diving into some questions from listeners about servers, advanced classes, the official forums, and even the lore-heavy world of lightsaber crystals. The advantages of PVP versus PVE servers were laid out right alongside the hard decision we would have to make at level 10 if the advanced class choices remain permanent. Based on replies from questions sent out via Twitter, we also take a hard look at the state of the official forums and why most of our listeners tend to avoid them. While we didn't have it in time for the official show, be sure to check the notes below for an official observation from the Senior Online Community Manager, Stephen Reid. The podcast is rounded out this week with some observations about lightsaber crystals and whether or not Jedi or Sith players should be able to choose any color of the rainbow.

We want to offer a big thanks to Solitare1112 and Morphose X for taking the time to leave us reviews on iTunes.

Music for this show was provided by General Fuzz. Check out more of his work at generalfuzz.net

Discussion Topics
PVE versus PVP Servers
- Confirmation of various server types at SWTOR.com
- Could niche server types be a viable choice for SWTOR?
- Discussion of preference for PVP or PVE servers

Trooper Dossier
- Class update at SWTOR.com
- Do these updates appeal to fans who only want to play a Force-based class?
- How a permanent advanced class choice affects new players and MMO veterans

Do You Use the Official Forums?
- Official forum thread that sparked the discussion at SWTOR.com
- Are the forums too intimidating or frustrating?
- Discussion of "Best Podcast" thread and the bashing that resulted
- Official thoughts from Stephen Reid, "We don't expect every fan of Star Wars: The Old Republic to visit the official forums, and never will. That's why we try to ensure there are a variety of places a fan can visit or keep track of - like Facebook and Twitter - so they can keep up to date with the game. With such an active pre-launch community the forums are very busy, but we're working hard to make them an informative and useful place to visit for those who want to really immerse themselves in the community."

Should lightsaber colors be limited by class?
- Forum thread from the MER Forums
- Info about lightsaber crystals at Wookiepedia
- Does the marketing for the game so far support the lore established by KOTOR?
- Distinction of class by armor instead of lightsaber/blaster color

i remember way back when wow had a debuff for killing players that were lower level (5 levels i believe) it got taken out very quickly unfortunately. i agree and like the debuff for pvp situations, given certain circumstances (ie, they hit you first, your in a pvp area, etc)

just thought id share my incredibly long line of wow knowledge from vanilla lol

Another great podcast gentlemen.

Regarding the cost of what it takes to maintain WoW or particularly a server, here is a small piece of the info we might need to figure it out.

http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/41586 ... o-Maintain

Basically, the article (dated Sept 16, 2008) states that it costs Blizzard about $200 million to maintain the game servers, customer service, infrastructure, etc. I would assume this figure is a yearly estimate.

I have found conflicting numbers regarding the number of realms. I would assume that each time they add a realm it costs more money for Blizzard to maintain said realm. If that is the case, the $200 million estimate should have increased over time to make room for millions of more players.

Here is a list of every realm. I have not taken the time to count them all, so if someone wants to take the time I would love to know how many there are around the world.

Just my initial research.
- Alan

241 servers... my eyes hurt from counting that haha... and worst of all, i realized a much easier way after i finished counting.

241 includes China, France, etc?

"People who don't like world PVP probably shouldn't be playing an mmo"

Let me make the case for why I play PVE. I like to raid. Raiding isn't something you could truly achieve in a solo player game. Sure you can design a game where you are one part of a larger struggle, but there is something about that which doesn't feel the same as doing something with other people. Just like playing against bots in a FPS is different than real people.

Now you can retort, and rightly, that PVP servers have raiding. And this is true, but I am limited in my playtime. Raiding requires a certain amount of prep work weekly to get ready. This can be gathering gear, consumables (potions/healthpacks/disposable buffs), or repair money. So if I were to play on a PvP server raiding becomes a lot harder for me because of the time it takes to do this prep work is elongated because I either need a crew to run these "chores" to reduce other player interference, or I have to spend 20 minutes what should take 5 to get a simple thing done.

So that is the main reason I don't currently play on a PVP server. But you should also consider that mmos aren't just about grouping with other people, there is a social aspect to it as well which is found in guild chat or global chat channels. So if I want a soloable game because I like the story, but I also want to talk and sometimes do things with my friends, then an mmo is a perfect place to do that. I think one of the best things about mmos is that you can have several different playstyles interacting with each other.

Love the show as always.

@alan - im guessing so. the servers are oceanic, latin america, united states. you made me dought myself, and i hurt myself, now im sad . hehe, nah just kidding. i do hope my number is right though.

@blackferne - i agree with both sides, "if you dont like world pvp you shouldnt play mmos" comes up alot in pvp servers. i agree IF your on a pvp server, and tbh i love pvp servers, its more exciting. i agree completely with you though and it takes alot to prepare for a raid so to have to worry about pvp and make it take longer then it needs to be. i play on both and they are totally different experiences. pvp your on edge alot and its more realistic, but pve is more social and relaxed, atleast for me and my friends.

I agree that pvp servers are more exciting because of the "who's out there"/"who's got my back". I just know that I don't have time for that kind of game. I am lucky enough to have a wife who plays mmos with me, but we have full time jobs, a kid, and other commitments which reduce how much time I can dedicate to a game. I don't think it is an either/or situation either. I think the best way to visualize an MMO is like a mall of play styles. Like at the mall I don't shop at Hot Topic, but I understand some people like that thing, so I'm happy that they can get their stuff there, and we can all congregate in the food court afterward.

Great podcast as usual gentlemen!

I'm not really a huge fan of the different server types, i believe that everyone should be able to play the game the same on any server with only having the different servers just to fan out the player base. I like a game where the majority of the world is pve with a certain area being set aside as the pvp area where i can go if im feeling like some pvp action.

I agree that most star wars stuff is marketed towards the jedi/sith, but there has been stuff as of late that is showing off more and more trooper and bounty hunter stuff. In the clone wars many episodes have focused entirely on a certain squad of clones, or there's been episodes focusing on a group of bounty hunters. So i think that mentality is starting to change a little and the lucas camp is starting to show a grander scale of the other parts of what makes star wars, star wars.

I avoid the official forums because i agree completely that it's mostly like you guys said its the fanboys vs the haters which no one wants to read. And what good content there is in the forums is so hard to sift though and find that its almost not worth it. And well I'm not in the 30 something old dad category being only 23, i do like the more mature community and i have the kin in lotro that goes along the same aspect of a more mature group.

Finally i love the fact that you brought back your bloopers in this episode.

Keep up the good work.