BioWare announced an all-new War Zone for Star Wars: The Old Republic at gamescom 2011, which called Huttball. This is the third game mode that SWTOR has released. Here is the brief sum-up of the three modes for those who want to learn more details about the game.
The first mode is Flashpoint, which to some degree can be said The Old Republic's version of dungeons. It is self-contained sequences of gameplay designed for a small group of players. Flashpoints are action-packed, story-driven adventures that test a group of players to their limits, putting them up against difficult foes in volatile situations. You and your group need your wits, your skills, and all your resources to emerge victorious.
However, different from other typical dungeons, SWTOR development team is aiming to infuse some of their iconic storytelling techniques into these sequences. The trailer below shows brief snippets from the flashpoint's storyline. These revolved around a high-stakes rescue operation to recover an incarcerated Jedi.
Star Wars: The Old Republic: Taral V Flashpoint
Every Flashpoint begins with an exciting story and contains difficult decisions – choose carefully, because your group's choices have a meaningful impact on the challenges you'll face, the enemies you'll fight, and the outcome of the story! All the danger is certainly worthwhile; the rewards from Flashpoints are some of the most powerful you'll find.
The second mode is Operations. The large end-game missions are TOR's version of raids. The operation can be attempted with anywhere from 8 to 16 players. Its difficulty will scale depending on how many players you bring along. The Trailer below hightlights the Eternity Vault, a massive prison compound built to contain a powerful Force wielder. The Eternity Vault is an eight or sixteen player mission on an ice planet "where an enemy older than both the Republic and the Empire has been contained." It's a prison, and it must hold some real bad people inside.
The presentation ended with a trailer showing little glimpses of later segments of the raid: droids, rancor beasts, and lava caves.
As to the PvP mode, the high-action PvP arena Huttball pits players against others of not only different factions, but also the same factions as well, to fight over a ball which they try to carry over their enemy's line to score points. The two teams in HuttBall are randomized. The arena is littered with traps. Push or lure your opponents into a fire trap or have them dive into a pool of acid.
