SWTOR Masters of the Force Still Undated, DX12 Port Advances

SWTOR Masters of the Force Still Undated, DX12 Port Advances

Star Wars: The Old Republic still hasn't given Masters of the Force a release date.

The update was announced back in August, and the calendar hasn't moved since. But Broadsword, the studio that now runs the long-running BioWare MMORPG, spent part of last week reminding players what's coming. The post reads a lot like the kind of drumbeat studios start just before they're ready to commit to a date. Nothing is confirmed, of course. Still, it's hard to read a fresh feature rundown, a graphics engine progress report, and a new test server phase all landing together as anything other than a team warming up for launch.

What's in Masters of the Force

If you've kept an eye on the update's landing page, the list won't surprise you. If you haven't, it's a fairly meaty package.

The headline narrative piece is the Galaxy in Chaos storyline. Alongside it comes Ryloth, the homeworld of the Twi'lek - the species with the head-tails that has been part of Star Wars since the original films. It's a recognisable location to bring into the game, and the kind of place fans tend to want to visit.

There's plenty on the gameplay side too:

  • Classic and expert ventures
  • Difficulty modes
  • A new operation with three bosses (operations are SWTOR's name for raids)
  • A level cap increase to 85
  • Quality-of-life improvements and class balancing

None of that is a reinvention of the game. It's a broad update that touches story, endgame and day-to-day play all at once. For a game of SWTOR's age, that breadth matters more than any single feature.

The DirectX 12 move keeps grinding forward

The more technical half of the post covered the game's ongoing switch to DirectX 12, the newer version of Microsoft's graphics API that modern PC games are built on. It's the sort of work players rarely see, yet it decides how well an old client holds up on current hardware.

According to Broadsword, the user interface has now been fully ported over. There are still some visual differences that need fixing, so it isn't quite finished, but the core job is done.

The next steps are spelled out clearly. The team needs to update essential shaders, port over character customization, and re-implement the particle dyeing systems. That last one is a small detail on paper, but anyone who has spent time getting an outfit's colours just right will understand why it can't simply be dropped.

And then the promise players actually care about: a chance to test the DX12 version themselves "soon." No date there either. Broadsword didn't put a number on it, so it's best not to assume one.

PTS phase five is live

While the main update waits for its date, the public test server - the separate server where players can try upcoming changes before they go live - has moved on to phase five of Masters of the Force.

This round brings expert ventures for a couple of classes, balance changes for the Mercenary and the Commando, and queues for PvP warzones and arenas. Warzones are SWTOR's objective-based team battlegrounds, while arenas are the smaller-scale PvP fights. Broadsword has set up a series of feedback threads so testers can report on each of these features directly.

That's the useful bit for anyone who plays a Mercenary or Commando. If your class is about to be adjusted, the PTS is where you get a say in how it lands.

Our Take

This suggests Masters of the Force is closer to the finish line than the missing date implies. A feature recap, a public test phase that is already into its fifth round, and PvP queues being tested all point to a team that is wrapping up rather than starting out. It's worth stressing, though, that Broadsword itself hasn't said so.

The DirectX 12 work is arguably the bigger long-term story. Older MMORPGs keep facing the same choice: modernise the tech under the hood or slowly fall behind. CCP's Python 3 migration for EVE Online is another recent example of a veteran game doing that unglamorous foundation work. For SWTOR, a playable DX12 test would be the first real proof that the effort is paying off.

Timing is the other thing to watch. Autumn is crowded for veteran MMOs, with LOTRO's Wolves of Mordor expansion set for October 21 and EverQuest II's next expansion already revealed. It will be worth watching whether Broadsword names a date soon, and whether the DX12 test arrives before or after the update itself.