Star Wars: The Old Republic attracts two million players for beta test

By Rick Marshall December 6, 2011

Star Wars: The Old Republic hasn’t even hit shelves yet, and the upcoming MMO game already has two million players.

That’s the official word from Electronic Arts, which revealed the numbers from its recent beta test of The Old Republic during a press event earlier this week. According to EA’s CFO Eric Brown, 725,000 unique users played the game over Thanksgiving weekend, spending an average of 12 hours in the game over the three-day weekend.

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EA reports that at the peak of the beta-testing period, there were over 250,000 users playing The Old Republic at the same time.

Pretty good for a game that won’t be released until December 20, eh?

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Rick Marshall

Former Digital Trends Contributor

A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…

Gaming

All Experts in Star Wars Outlaws and where to find them

star wars outlaws interview returning characters qi ra

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How learning new skills works

As we mentioned, you won't find yourself leveling up after completing missions or dispatching enemies. The only way to learn any new skills is through finding an Expert.

Gaming

The best abilities in Star Wars Outlaws

EMBARGO 7/30: Kay snakes through a base.

While Kay Vess is no amateur when you begin Star Wars Outlaws, she's far from a pro. She is a decent shot, can hack basic computers, and even pick locks, but she's not much more complicated than that. Unlike a traditional open-world game — especially a Ubisoft one — you won't find any skill trees or XP bars here. Instead, Kay can only pick up new abilities by meeting special Experts. These NPCs are scattered across the various planets and need to be found and befriended before you can start working on unlocking new skills. It's a long process no matter how you approach it, so we're here to pass along the vital info you need on the best skills in Star Wars Outlaws.
Armored Undershirt

The first Ability you should aim for is Armored Undershirt, which you can start on right away since it is part of Bram's set. This Ability is a passive buff that increases your default HP by 1, which is incredibly valuable at the start of the game when you only have three. Hunt down or purchase Ironweave and 8 Coarsweave on Toshara to snag it.
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Gaming

How to play Kessel Sabacc in Star Wars Outlaws

Kay Vess will do just about anything to earn credits in Star Wars Outlaws. She's mixed up with a lot of dangerous people and cash is always tight. While there are plenty of missions you can do for the various Syndicates, as well as loot and treasures to find, plus locks to pick for some cash, those all come with a lot of risks. If you want to earn some credits the honorable way, Kessel Sabacc is this universe's preferred way to gamble. You'll be introduced to the game early on and instantly hit with a wall of tutorials and rules to somehow master in just a single game. While it shares elements with some card games you may know, it is entirely its own beast. Let's break down the rules so you know how to play the winning hand every time.
How to play Kessel Sabacc

Kessel Sabacc is played in three-turn rounds and goes as many rounds as it takes for only one player to be left with chips. You start with six chips and are dealt two cards with the option to draw and discard one card each turn for the cost of one chip. You can hold to pass your turn and keep that chip as well. At the end of three turns, everyone's hand is shown.

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