Spring Has Sprung

At the end of May, SWTOR’s game update 7.5 launched. Called “Desperate Defiance”, it includes a continuation of the expansion’s main story, the next PVP season, a new springtime event, and a system of activities called “Ventures” the first of which is focused around our character training Lane Vizsla’s Basilisk prototype droid project: Bessie. And there is even some Aurebesh for me to translate!

It’s a busy time for both SWTOR and Star Wars, which also saw the debut of the new Disney+ series, The Acolyte. I haven’t been able to make time for all of it, and my desire to cover all of 7.5 in a single post has proven to be impossible. Between the ongoing Galactic Season, a new PVP season and my regular activities, the addition I’ve spent the most time on over the last three weeks is the “Festival of Abundance” the game’s new spring-time event. Given that I publically speculated that there was a gap in SWTOR’s yearly calendar where a spring focused event could naturally fit, I was, as you can imagine, glad to see this addition.

One of the aspects I enjoy most about MMO-RPGs is simply being in the world the game creates for players. I like having an excuse to go out and do things. In SWTOR, these things are most often dailies and heroics, stuff I’ve repeated many times over the years. So I embrace events like the Feast of Prosperity,  the Swoop Rally and now the Festival because they offer a relaxed change of pace. Their focus is less on combat than on just existing as a person in the game world.

If I want to fight and test my skills there are already plenty of ways for me to do so in this game. This new event instead offers me opportunities to pet baby Tauntauns, cook vomit inducing pies, dance around a futuristic Maypole and traverse the galaxy hunting hidden eggs. It’s all very silly, and I’ve been having fun with it.

That’s not to say there is no combat. To my surprise, the event’s story quests include encounters with a few fairly tough opponents. Don’t forget to put your pants on and have a companion at your side, or you might be in for a rough go.

In general, however, the event’s objectives have been very low key. That’s just the way I like it. There are lots of activities and achievements, including many hidden ones, to chase and plenty to keep me busy during my play sessions. I honestly enjoy that I’ve been able to summon my favorite companion and hop on my favorite speeder and just run around and do stuff for neat rewards. There will be plenty of time in the weeks and years to come for me to put my game-face on and jump into the action, but for now I’m having a good time with the event.

Is it perfect? Not quite. The Festive Footwork quest to dance at the holo-ribbon could be more interactive. As it is now, you approach the pole, click a button and wait. That’s it. Being able to move around, try different dance moves or cross the holo-streams for different results might’ve been fun. In addition, if you want to earn more than a handful of the rewards, you really need to commit wholeheartedly to the event. I know Broadsword wants players coming back again and again, but I think the rewards, especially from the story quests, could stand to be more generous with the event currency. And, to be honest, I wish the armor and weapon rewards were legacy bound. SWTOR has done so much to make Legacy gear an integral part of the game, but that I’ve had to “farm” up currency for multiple pairs of both versions of the goggles for all the characters who could use ‘em doesn’t feel great.

But other parts of the event do feel good. Setting a pie on an empty table is satisfying. Chilling out while I zap fishies or dance around the holo-pole for Conquest points beats the heck out of any heroic mission. The “dark side” option at the end of the story made me laugh; that my Sith Inquisitor has put on display an ancient, obviously active Sith relic in the barn of her farm feels very much like something she’d do. And given that the event is mostly about being nice, healing sick animals and sharing pies, it’s fair that those who walk the path of the Dark Side should get the last word in one regard.

And that’s just the tip of the 7.5 iceberg. There are elements of “Desperate Defiance” from how it advances the story, its presentation and a major change in the cast that I want to discuss, but that must be a topic for next time. And later after the series concludes, I also want to explore The Acolyte’s parallels to SWTOR’s lore.

But this post is late enough as it is! Next week, I’ll be back to my routine, but for now I encourage everyone to check out the Festival of Abundance and have some fun with it.