Last night, BioWare held their December Producer's live stream. This was much hyped, which ultimately worked against them. Only hype expansions. They eventually revealed the big news was going to be subscriber rewards. That's cool, just another bonus. So what is coming down the pipe?
Chapter X. The next chapter of the Fallen Empire will release on February 11th. This is a month later than I would have hoped, but what can you do? Some interesting companions will be coming back with it.
Game Update. Chapter X will also be a Game Update (4.1?). We are getting an Arena, the Eternal Championship. This is a solo experience, where you fight off waves of bosses. The main reward is recruiting the Wookie companion. It sounds like if you 'beat' it, you also get a title. There will also be some crafting additions, nice.
Subscriber Rewards. Basically, If you are subscribed the 1st of each month, when there is a new chapter, you get a reward. For February, you'll get a mission to obtain HK-55 as a companion. You also get 2 days early access, which really doesn't do anything for me.
Now, if you are subscribed until the end of Fallen Empire (well, maybe the end) you get a special reward. They are introducing a 'Play as HK-55' story/mission/quest. So you'll take his role and go on a mission. That sounds pretty cool, hopefully it is pretty involved.
Overall, I liked what I heard. To keep it in perspective, this was mainly about Subscriber Rewards, not an expansion announcement. Getting a new reward each month is pretty good. I like companions (even if they are shallow), and I like story (even if it is HK-55's).
Of course, group content is still the major issue with some players. None was announced. I think it's time people take the hint. It may come, but it is clearly not what BioWare thinks is a priority. So if it is that important to you, then tough decisions need to be made. As an aside, I've done more group content since 4.0 launched than ever before.
January is going to be a slow month though, since no Chapter X :(
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