Fans of BioWare’s upcoming MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic can officially start preparing for the game with its pre-launch guild program. Sure, fans have been able to watch various trailers about different classes featured in the game and have seen video showing off character creation, but that all just amounts to passive preparation – fans imagining what they will do and what class they will choose when the game launches. The game’s pre-launch guild program lets fans form official guilds for the game.
The pre-launch guild program lets fans find a group now that suits his or her play style, or start his or her own guild. Players can reserve their preferred guild name and begin recruiting members for that guild. When the game launches, those that created pre-launch guilds will have the opportunity to transfer that guild directly into the game, as long as certain criteria are met.
Some of the necessary criteria includes: (a) the guild leader must verify that their guild remains active and wants to be imported and (b) the guild has at least four members who have pre-ordered the game by the time BioWare initiates the import. Importing only active guilds makes sense, and importing guilds whose players have pre-ordered the game makes business sense. It also provides a nice incentive for hard-core fans to pre-order.
Currently, the pre-launch guild program is only in its first phase, allowing users to create guilds or apply to join those other guilds fellow players have created. Each guild will have a mini-site with a set of public and private forums. The pre-launch guild program will then continue with Phase 2: Alignment, and Phase 3: Deployment.
In Phase 2, guild leaders will have the opportunity to select other guilds that they expect to play with – these are either allied guilds from the same faction, or adversarial guilds from the opposite faction. And in Phase 3, all guilds that meet required criteria will be assigned to specific servers in the game and guild rosters will be prepared so that players can join when they log in.
And now, a little news of our own. We know you’re asking, “Hey, is there going to be a Game Rant SWTOR guild?” We’re happy to report that yes, there already is. Head on over to The Game Rant Coalition and sign up, then get ready to represent your guild with honor when Star Wars: The Old Republic launches later this year.
Is the pre-launch guild program something you are excited about? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Star Wars: The Old Republic is expected to launch this spring exclusively for the PC.
Source: SWTOR.com
