{"id":3913,"date":"2022-02-10T18:00:22","date_gmt":"2022-02-10T23:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.generic-hero.com\/ThisWeekinAurabesh\/?p=3913"},"modified":"2022-02-18T03:13:47","modified_gmt":"2022-02-18T08:13:47","slug":"onslaught-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.generic-hero.com\/ThisWeekinAurabesh\/2022\/02\/10\/onslaught-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Onslaught<\/em> Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Onslaught\u2019s<\/em> final hours tick down, I struggled to find a topic to discuss in the lead up to Legacy of the Sith<\/em>. Things like SWTOR<\/strong><\/em>\u2019s tenth anniversary<\/a> or the possibility of cross-faction grouping<\/a> that I thought might make interesting posts seemed to work out better as quick tweets. I did consider writing about Boba Fett, but I\u2019m not sure I\u2019m able to untie the Gordian Knot that is\u00a0my conflicting reactions<\/a> to his new show.<\/p>\n

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Instead, I think it\u2019s fair to stick to tradition and go with an overview of the\u00a0Onslaught<\/em> expansion. I liked it and I\u2019m glad I got to go along for the ride. As I indicated during\u00a0reviews<\/a> of individual<\/a> game updates<\/a>, I had fun with each new story addition, and I\u2019m sure I\u2019ve run out of ways to describe how amazing each new location we get to visit along the way is, but I genuinely enjoyed exploring Onderon, Mek-Sha and Dxun, confronting an ancient enemy in the theatre of the mind, fighting my way through Mandalorian warships and exploring the ruins of Dantooine.<\/p>\n

The Stories<\/h3>\n

Unlike the Fallen Empire<\/em> saga, Onslaught<\/em>\u2019s story has been rather more episodic with three major arcs that seem to be only lightly connected to each other. The Sith Emperor\u2019s tale has likely come to a conclusion, although, I don’t imagine that we have seen the last of \u201cSyl\u201d just yet. However, the ambitions of Darth Malgus and Heta Kol, the antagonists of the other two storylines, have yet to fully play out. I wrote last year that I wish those stories had a bit more heft, but I am certain that those arcs will indeed bend in Legacy of the Sith<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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The edges between the various\u00a0SWTOR<\/em><\/strong> expansions have always been fuzzy. Is the Forged Alliance arc part of Rise of the Hutt Cartel<\/em> or Shadow of Revan<\/em>? Certainly the two Fallen Empire<\/em> expansions elide together almost seamlessly. And I suspect this will be true for Onslaught<\/em> and Legacy of the Sith<\/em> as we pick up where we left off on Manaan and Elom.<\/p>\n

I do want to briefly touch on the Swoop Rally<\/a> and Feast of Prosperity<\/a> events, which were added during Onslaught<\/em>. I think both are worthy additions to the game. That I don\u2019t need to equip proper gear to race on a swoop bike or even put on any at all to cook a meal of spicy glowshrooms in the kitchen is, for me, a welcome change of pace. SWTOR<\/strong><\/em> is filled with an endless array of ways to shoot lasers and swing lightsabers at my foes. But sometimes it\u2019s nice to just do something different. Your mileage might vary, and I can understand that someone else might instead prefer to spend their time in the game fighting the actual star war. These events remain optional with cosmetic rewards, as they should, and I’m glad they’re here to mix things up.<\/p>\n

Spoils of War<\/h3>\n

Onslaught<\/em>\u2019s gearing system \u201cSpoils of War\u201d seemed to work as intended. I\u2019ll be completely honest, I don\u2019t find gearing to be interesting. Getting upgrades is nice, but I\u2019ve always considered min-maxing to be nothing more than busy work. With Onslaught<\/em>, it was a relief to spend the majority of the expansion rarely if ever worrying about gear, which was, I think the chief intent and benefit of the Spoils of War system.<\/p>\n

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It wasn\u2019t all perfect, I pushed some Veteran and Master Mode content this expansion but was rewarded with bags and bags of junk. From what I saw on the PTS, Legacy of the Sith<\/em> hopes to bring back the thrill of getting upgrades from defeating more difficult content.\u00a0 This is a good thing!<\/p>\n

As a Vanguard tank for my guild team, I did go through the expense of acquiring the Emergency Power set, partially from Veteran Mode Dxun, but mostly from Kai Zykken. I\u2019m glad I finished the set, but having to spend months of Tech Fragments on spins of the dial for random loot was not a fun way to gear up. Hopefully Bioware will not repeat that experiment.<\/p>\n

Without any vertical progression, Onslaught<\/em>\u2019s attempt to introduce horizontal progression was a mixed bag. There were countless sets for each class to collect, but most of them were not worth the space they might take up in your inventory. Moreover, I suspect most players just took the advice of fellow players or online guides about which sets and Tacticals and maybe Amplifiers to use and never gave it a second thought.<\/p>\n

I do think there was some fun to be had with builds and sets that were not recommended as \u201cBest in Slot.\u201d I would swap gear, especially Tacticals, depending on circumstances, but I wonder how many other players were also doing so, even when it might benefit them. The Victor\u2019s set, for example, was brilliant for solo play in daily areas and heroics where bonuses from other sets would rarely, if ever, make a difference. The new Sage\/Sorcerer ability Telekinetic Blitz\/Volt Rush was roundly derided, but when paired with the Endless Offensive set and the proper tactical, it opened up a neat way to play as a healer, even in dps spec! I don\u2019t know how much action it saw in \u201creal\u201d content but I enjoyed dusting it off for runs with friends.<\/p>\n

The Nature of Progress<\/h3>\n

Speaking of Dxun, this time around I did complete the expansion\u2019s signature operation, the Nature of Progress, on Storymode and Veteran Mode (I\u2019m not nearly competent enough for Nightmare!). I had a fun time learning it. Red is an excellent first boss to get a group\u2019s feet wet and the two containment breach encounters are exciting run-and-gun fights, something that SWTOR<\/strong><\/em> doesn\u2019t do very often.<\/p>\n

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Up next comes the Mutant Trandoshan Squad, quite possibly my favorite operation fight in all of\u00a0SWTOR<\/strong><\/em>. I\u2019ve always been fond of council fights, but I like that the bosses\u2019 mechanics feel like natural parts of the encounter, that different group compositions need to approach the fight in different ways, and that raid members who feel up for the challenge get to perform extra duties during the encounter. And that defeating each Trandoshan requires running them over with a high speed train has not gotten old for me in the least. I love this fight when the team executes it perfectly, but I think I love it more when it goes a little sideways.<\/p>\n

I also enjoy the next encounter against the Huntmaster, despite some desync glitches. It\u2019s chaotic and random, but in a good way. And that it also includes comedy deaths at its climax is another point in its favor.<\/p>\n

After all that, the final boss, the Apex Vanguard is a bit of a let down. In Storymode, its mechanics are in the hands of just one player while everyone else simply beats the boss down. Assuming the group has one person who knows what to do with the battery, Apex is probably the easiest encounter in the entire operation.<\/p>\n

For my Hard Mode progression, I was on flare duty, which is a tense job critical to beating the boss, but it was not very engaging. I spent most of the encounter watching cool downs and running in circles around the room. To top it off, the fight is long, very long, and the final burn required, for my group at least, cresting its own separate learning curve. Wiping at 3% meant having to slog through another 10-15 minutes of fighting just to get to the same point again and again.<\/p>\n

Overall, however, it is a fun operation, with a lighter comedic touch. It\u2019s not as intimidating as Gods from the Machine, and I\u2019ve had lots of fun introducing many new players to it. I think it\u2019s a good example of why I enjoy raiding in SWTOR<\/strong><\/em>. I also have a bet going regarding whether ARIA, the rogue Czerka artificial intelligence from the operation, will return in Legacy of the Sith<\/em>\u2019s upcoming R-4 Anomaly operation. I\u2019m confident I\u2019m gonna win that dollar.<\/p>\n

Launching into Legacy of the Sith<\/em><\/h3>\n

I try always to be sanguine about SWTOR<\/strong><\/em>. No, there wasn\u2019t as much content as I would\u2019ve liked last year. And I\u2019d be lying if I said that I wasn\u2019t disappointed that some of Legacy of the Sith\u2019<\/em>s features are delayed, but I also know that the last couple of years have been tough on everyone. I commend the good folks at Bioware who managed to produce an expansion to be proud of. I\u2019ll remember Onslaught<\/em> as an expansion that made some difficult times a little easier to take, and that counts for a lot in my book.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m looking forward to seeing SWTOR<\/strong><\/em>\u2019s tenth anniversary begin in earnest in a few days. I\u2019m looking forward the new stories the game will tell. And I\u2019m looking forward to the adventures I\u2019ll get to have with friends old and new.<\/p>\n

I hope to see you on Manaan and beyond next week!<\/p>\n

Opal Vulptilla, You Say?<\/h3>\n

Just as I was preparing this post, the good folks at Bioware provided me with a fresh batch of Opal Vulptillas in search of a place to call home. To be entered in a raffle for one of these glittering beast mounts, let me know in the comments what your favorite part of Onslaught<\/em> was. Just like last time, the more comments I get, the more winners I will draw!<\/p>\n

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To enter, leave a comment below with the following information:<\/p>\n