Yesterday, BioWare kicked off a dynamic event for Star Wars: The Old Republic, with a surprising Rakghoul Virus Outbreak which has been contained on the desert world of Tatooine. The Rakghoul plague, which BioWare invented for the original Knights of the Old Republic, is somewhat like a zombie apocalypse in the Star Wars universe.
As of now players are being alerted about the growing threat via news reports at their faction's fleet, with additional reports on Tatooine itself. Players are warned to stay clear from Tatooine, and to avoid travel. The desert planet has been put on a level 1 "state of emergency", and that other planets whether Republic, Imperial or unaligned, are being affected by the growing threat.
Becoming infected is very simple—one scratch can immediately turn you into one ravenous, rampant Rakghoul. You definitely don't want to turn into one, believe me!
This virus outbreak of the Rakghouls has been a part of the game for some time now, but this is the first of many to come for a dynamic world event. This also puts a new twist on the story of Rakghouls, and many players seem to be enjoying what the event offers.
Currently there is an event going on with Urtagh, who's been infected with the virus, and is a level 50 world boss wandering the Outlaws Den. Just north of the Republic Outpost in the Dune Sea is a crashed ship surrounded by Rakghouls.Visiting this area will grant you the first in a chain of new daily quests available for levels 25 and up. If your character is currently traveling through Tatooine finishing its class quests there, you're bound to run into the short quest chain.
Since players can become infected with the plague, they can explode; therefore, spreading the plague to anyone else in the vicinity—this will happen if you're left untreated. You can make yourself temporarily immune with a vaccine sold by all medical droids, and quarantine droids are in place in all major starports to prevent the virus from spreading. Many players are also taking advantage of the virus by using fast-travel and warzones as an expressway to transmit the infection, and by hanging around at their faction's fleet. I've also noticed there is some humor added into this because in the roleplaying aspect, if this were real, you would probably become infected (like being at airports, major transit hubs, commercial districts, etc).
The event will allow you to obtain new Rakghoul DNA items, which can be used for exclusive lightsaber crystals, companion customizations, and you can also receive a new cute, mini-Rakghoul pet.
Here are some screenshots (courtesy of Physo) and info on completing the quests and achievements for this new world event:
There are 3 infected bosses that each give a Codex Entry:
- Trapjaw He's at his usual spot. Still at level 30, this would be a cakewalk for any level 50.
- Urtagh At Outlaws Den. This is the PvP area in which anyone that's not in your group can attack you, even your same faction. Boss does AoE damage from time to time that bursts out to 20 meters, but unfriendly players are the biggest threat. It's recommended you bring lots of friends! Urtagh has a 2 hour respawn timer.
- Zam Brak He's near the Sarlacc Pit. You can't miss him.
- One is located at the northeastern part of the Dune Sea; just north of the Republic Entrance to the Dune Sea (loc. -800, -1700).
- Another is located in the Jundlands, south of Outpost Largona and east of Ridgeside Sentry Post (loc. 2000, -600).
- These are daily repeatable. These 2 AREA quests give 'Rakghoul DNA Sample' (non-bound) that can be traded in at a vendor located at (-889, -1920), for a Rakling pet, crystals with a black-green color and a 'Infected Companion Lockbox'.
More on spreading the infection can be found here.
There is also a title for this event, and killing the 3 bosses should grant you the title. I've heard that the title is quite buggy, and if it ever bugs when you complete it only 1 player in the group will receive the title.
I also noticed that the mechanics of the outbreak strongly resemble World of Warcraft's infamous Corrupted Blood incident,
except in this case it's not a bug. I will continue to inform you all about the world event as it develops.
More information about the world event can be found here.
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