Does he love me. . . does he love me not? Theron

So last night I finished the playthrough of my agent, Velvete's, storyline in the game.  I've been playing through it mostly so I can make notes for a story I've been working on.  And its interesting that some things  have been popping out at me as supportive of some of my fan theories about Theron Shan.

If you don't like SPOILERS, then stop reading now and come back after you played through Traitor Among the Chiss.

One of the biggest parts of my storyline with Theron and Velvete is their connection,  not just from their love for each other but also because as both of them are spies, there are some things that just don't need to be said between them.  And I'm not going to go down the whole list of places where Theron either proved to me that something more was up, or was so obvious a toddler could have gotten the hint (however, if, in the furture, a few people want to see my list I can post it in a different blog post).  I want to focus on a couple of things that popped up during and after I finished Traitor Among the Chiss.

The first one was what I'll start calling a Toddler Moment -  a hint done so obviously, the writer in me physically cringed watching it.  The moment I'm talking about is right at the end of the flashpoint where Theron is observing the holomap with the Chiss, Valss, and his hestitant "Yeah."  People aren't stupid.  If you're still in the pocesss of proving yourself to an organization, especially if they are illegal or have a dark purpose, like The Order of Zildrog is hinting at, any hesitation could be seen as not fully committed to the cause and thereby making you look suspicious. Certainly made me suspicious.  But I guess that's the point, we're supposed to question his motiviations.

The next is a very interesting letter I got from Theron after I got back to Odession.  It reads as such:

"I saw your message on the HoloNet.  I wish I could drop everything and leave with you.  Somewhere awa from all this war and death.  But that's just a nice dream -- reality is much harder.

Feels like I've fought for peace all my life, but everyone has let me down.  The Jedi, the Republic, even the Alliance.  The galaxy doesn't deserve this endless war for power.  I just want it to stop.  But now, I've finally figured out how to end the desctruction.  Trust that eveything I do is for the good of the galaxy.

I don't expect you to understand.  But however this ends, I just want you to know that I loved you from the moment I saw you.  And I always will."

Cryptic, much?  Possibly even a letter of intimation, dare I say?  Until we know all, all I have is supposition colored by hope.  I do hope Theron does come through, at least for Velvete.  Regardless of what happens to her, the galaxy will go on with or without the Alliance.  So I can't see why, even despite his best heroics his current plan falls apart, they can't reunite and fight through the aftermath together.  Time will tell, as it always does, as Lana says.

And since we are on a vein of romance today, let me share with you another letter I got about the same time.

"From: Arcann

Suject: The Alliance

We've spent such a short time as allies, but laready I feel a connection to the Alliance, and to you.  Your victories give me strength -- and I feel the sting of your setbacks.  This betrayal unsetttles me.

I realize you're strong enough to take care of the matter yourself.  I witnessed your power, not so long ago.  But as you protect the Alliance from this dangerous man, know that I am a weapon for you to wield however you see fit.  My hand is yours.  You need only ask."

Holy what???  I mean I have heard rumors that some time in the future they will be making Arcann a romanceable companion, but short of saying he's madly in love with me, its almost, ALMOST the same.  Guess time will tell on this one too!

What's your thoughts about any or all of it?  Do agree with my assessment?

No stream tonight.  And no stream on Saturday -- maybe.  I would normally stream this Saturday but we have Cmdr_Blackhorse's company party that night.  I might try a day time stream on Saturday, but only because I've been challenged to widen my gaming net and try Elder Scrolls Online.  Check Twitter for the most update to date gaming time updates, or check my channel's panel wall.

~~~  Scrappywheelz  ~~~~

Ch-ch-ch-changes . . . on my channel!

Green Screen Fail!

So you may have noticed a few changes already on my channel.  First was an ill-fated attempt at a DIY green screen.  We are now waiting for a properly colored backdrop to come in the mail.  In the mean time, you'll just see me in a little box in the corner until I can get this fixed and looking better!

While I am wearing the same headset, I'm not using the mic anymore!  My husband decided to surprise me with a Blue Snowball.  I love it.  I've always had a problem with the mic being in front of my face, and the Snowball solves this problem, not only because its a free standing mic that makes it unnecessary to do much adjusting of my desk set up to accommodate it.  It also sounds clear as a bell despite being 15 inches away from my face!

Lastly and most fun, I've added a few fun commands to the channel exclusively for my Followers.  They are sound bytes that can be played during the stream.  I plan on adding more but for now here are the ones you can use:

!booyah - sound of Cyborg saying 'booyah' !leia - 'from now on, we'll do as I say, k?' !strange - 'what a strange person' from Monty Python !vadar - 'i have you now' !wesley - 'shut up, wesley'

Let's not abuse these, k?

And for those who play Star Wars: The Old Republic and did not already know or see my Tweet yesterday - if you are interested in playing the new Traitor among the Chiss flashpoint with the cinematic, you must play it as Solo, not Story. Otherwise, you'll be looking at doing that flashpoint all over again (took me just over an hour to complete it the first time) just to see Theron's new do.

And be on the look out later in the week or on the weekend for information about my upcoming Christmas party!


~~~  Scrappywheelz  ~~~

For your FYI . . .

Welcome to your news bomb!  Lots of little bits that I think you'll find useful --

 

You might have noticed the names on the yellow leaves on my overlay.  Those wonderful people have subscribed at one point or another to my stream and I wanted to highlight them as a way of thanking them for their generosity.  The next time you see them in my channel, please give them a virtual high-five.

A Song Request system is now available on my stream!  Thursday night was  blast as some of my regulars tested it.  To access this feature, you just type in !sr or !songrequest in the chat box along with the name of the song or the link for it from YouTube.  Viewers of my stream have the ability to request up to five songs, but if you need more than that, asking me or my mod for extra requests shouldn't be a problem.

Did you know that you can get bits for free from Twitch?  Yes ma'am you can!  In the bottom right hand corner of the chat column you'll see a diamond-ish symbol next to the emotes symbol.  Click on it and it will prompt you to either pay for the bits OR watch a video.  You watch the video (commercial) all the way through and Twitch rewards you with 5 bits!  Its a nice way to cheer on your favorite Twitch content creator (me, of course!) without breaking the bank!

Through November 20th, get your free Special Forces gear in celebration of the new Star Wars: Battlefront II.  Go to www.swtor.com/redeem-code and enter the code SPECIALFORCES.  You'll find a little package in the mail the next time you log on, and its account wide!

Through November 27th, if you complete any three Group-finder PvE activities (flashpoints, heroics, ops) or three warzones, you'll  be eligible for a new companion, Darth Hexid.  She'll be showing up in your inboxes on November 28th if you complete the requirements for her eligibility.

Also, if you logged on at all between November 8th and November 27th, Karraga the Unyieldingly Little (aka Mini-Mogul NM-1) pet in the mail on November 28th.

Tonight would normally be a World of Warcraft night but considering there's still a lot of stuff to do since the server merges, I'll continue on with my kitty trooper leveling.  Feel free to stop by, say hello and request a song or two!

www.twitch.tv/scrappywheelz

~~~   Scrappywheelz   ~~~

SWTOR Roadmap Reviewed

So my man of the hour, Keith Kannig, released the lastest roadmap for Star Wars: The Old Republic on Monday.  I'm one that will mull over things and see what other people are saying before I start throwing out opinions.  Hence the few days delay in my own review.

The future is quite beefy for the next couple of months.  The meat and potatoes of it all is the United Forces updates, starting with some major updates with the release of game update 5.5 on October 10, 2017.  The official release date for United Forces is November 8, 2017 where we will see some very juicy changes.

The first change is the most important and informs all the other exciting changes coming up.  Yes, we are seeing server merges this year!  On November 8, 2017, SWTOR will be consolidating what servers they have currently to the following:

There is a huge article regarding the mergers and how it should impact or not impact your characters, legacy, guilds and GTN.  For the sake of time, I'll refer you there.

With the new servers established, they have finally decided to implement a system people have been enjoying for a while in World of Warcraft - cross-server queuing.  This is not just for PvP or Flashpoints, this affects everything!  Uprisings, Ops, GSF are all included.  And if you haven't figured it out yet, this means shorter queue times because you have a bigger pool of people to pull from.  Unfortunately this will not affect the quality of the player one would queue up with, and they weren't exactly clear if the group organizing algorithm sets up a balanced group (tank, heals, dps), or its same ol', whatever-we-can-get group.  Regardless, the mere fact that queue times will be shorter is always a reason to celebrate.

Now on to the highlights!  And when I say meaty, I meant it!

-- Starting on November 8, 2017, they will be bringing back the double CXP/EXP bonus through November 14, 2017.
-- Be a subscriber from November 8 through November 27 and you will earn a new mini-pet, Mini Mogul (Karraga the Unyielding), to be delivered to your mailbox on November 28.
-- At the same time, you also have the ability to earn a new companion, Darth Hexid, by completing Group Finder PvE or PvP instances.  He, too, will be sent to you by mail on November 28.
-- United Forces PvE and PvP group finder achievements.
-- New Legacy perks - for every character you have at 300 galactic command level, you give your Legacy a 25% bonus cxp boost, up too 100%.  Apparently, you have to buy the first 25%, but then the other levels are free.  Even better -- these perks are retroactive!!

Now a word about Galactic Command Crates.  We are getting an additional crate slot which is meant to give an improved higher tier item drop rate.  This also includes a chance at Unassembled Components.  They are also planning on changing the way Disintegrate works.  Instead of command experience, it awards Unassembled Components.  This might be disappointing except for the fact they are making UC Legacy bound, making tiering up alts a lot easier.  People had been asking about a new gear tier.  There will not be one, though the roadmap did say they planned on making an upgraded augment available.

One of the more interesting parts is the new flashpoint "A Traitor Among the Chiss".  Ensign Temple will be returning, and we find out how what happened in "Crisis on Umbara" is directly linked to what the Traitor may be up to and why.  This flashpoint's release is scheduled to coincide with the United Forces release date of November 28.

And last but not least (in my opinion), the highlight of the roadmap.  They mentioned they will be allowing Legacy banks to hold credits.  Thank you!!  Toon hopping to find wayward credits gets really old, really fast.

So with all that said, what is your favorite part of the roadmap?  What are you looking forward to most?

Remember to join me tonight at 9pm MST for the continuation of my Veteran Mode Eternal Empire chapters, starting with my favorite chapter - Chapter XIV: Mandalore's Revenge.  You can find me at www.twitch.tv/scrappywheelz.

See you then!



~~~   Scrappywheelz   ~~~