Companions, Alliance System Detailed In ‘Knights Of The Fallen Empire’ As Early Access Begins For ‘Star Wars: The Old Republic’ Subscribers

Players that were actively subscribed to Star Wars: The Old Republic October 19 can now play the new Knights of the Fallen Empire a week before it officially releases. The latest expansion to the space saga brings back a completely story-drive narrative shared between the game’s classes, raises the level cap, ushers in big changes to the Cartel Market, and introduces the Alliance System. This system includes a number of alterations to the game’s companions making them more accessible and even adding a huge long-term goal for players that love experiencing all that Star Wars: The Old Republic has to offer.

In Knights of the Fallen Empire, no matter what class a player chooses, that character is the Outlander ready to meet Emperor Valkorion and the Eternal Empire with a show of force. According to the Star Wars: The Old Republic website, you will need the aid of your companions and new allies to accomplish your goals. That is why the new Alliance System is important to all character classes regardless of their Republic or Empire affiliations.

The latest developer blog details how companions are changing and introduces the new Alliance System to players. Star Wars: The Old Republic players will now be able to use any companion in any role rather than having to use a specific character just because of their limited roles. Companions now longer need gear, although they can still equip it to be fashionable, and will grow in power as they level. Additionally, instead of having to agree with your companions’ order to please them and raise their Affections, you will instead measure your relationship with them through Influence. Even if a companion disagrees with one of your decisions in Knights of the Fallen Empire, a level of Influence will still be earned. A higher level of Influence will increase a companion’s power, too.

As companions level up through Influence, their rank increases which also gives them bonus Presence. Presence, the statistic that increases companion health, damage, and overall healing, will also make a companion better at Crew Skills. Finally, for the truly dedicated Star Wars: The Old Republic fan, a huge boost of Presence can be earned by completing all story missions for all classes found within the game. Completing this hefty objective even rewards the player with a special icon next to their name in the game according to the patch notes.

All of these companion changes will also manifest in the new Alliance experience. As you journey through Knights of the Fallen Empire, you will build an alliance of your companions and other allies in an effort to take on the Eternal Empire. The developer blog notes that you can even recruit companions from other classes to your alliance. This Alliance interface also includes alerts — missions offered by contacts of the Alliance that utilize “Classic Conversation” missions. The entire Alliance System is meant to bring you back up to date with your previous companions and some new ones as you face the main storyline. These missions are described as “more intimate and character driven” versus the main narrative, giving more personality to the story.

Of course, the 4.0 game update including content for Knights of the Fallen Empire is not just centered on companions and the Alliance System. Many new changes to the game’s classes, the ongoing story, and the leveling experience are also included. The leveling experience, in fact, benefits from the new level sync feature which lets higher level players return to old zones and planets at the appropriate level while retaining their abilities. Moreover, as the Inquisitr reported, the journey from level one to level 60 should also be a little smoother. Star Wars: The Old Republic players will only need to complete their story missions and each planet’s core missions to hit level 60. This is a far cry from the number of side quests and missions required to level properly before the expansion.

Players that were not subscribed in time to gain early access to Knights of the Fallen Empire can start enjoying the new story and leveling up to 65 on October 27. If you are already playing the expansion, be sure to swing by the official Star Wars: The Old Republic account on Twitter to let the developers know your opinion on the new content.

[Images via BioWare]