As of yesterday update 1.7 went live on all SWTOR servers, introducing the event 'Return of the Gree'; and here is a brief review of the event and content it has brought to their players.
This event, like previous events from SWTOR, opens from the fleet of either faction with a news report regarding the Gree's starship being visible over Ilum. Immediately after viewing the report the player is signaled directly from a droid representative of the Gree inviting them to Ilum for the fun to begin.
The opening of the event is really not much different from previous events, the only real teaser of this event is the title being 'return' of the Gree, when most players likely have had minimal if any exposure from this species in SWTOR, let alone Star Wars™ in general. The likely intent of this title is more so for future instances of its actual return, since that is evidently the plan beyond the 02/24/13 end date of this visit. The key piece of this event that is aimed to enthrall their players is not so much the event itself as their introduction of the new reputation system.
The actual story content involved is not too unlike quests and story elements found throughout the course of the game; kill this, collect that, click these glowing objects etc. While this is all fairly run of the mill the major update to these quests would be the free-for-all PVP area now opened up on Ilum to support the PVP driven quests it has to offer. While the PVE quests can be completed without ever venturing into this area of the map, the challenges they present are still just as active within those zones and will still qualify in completion thereof.
The fact that Ilum is again evolving closer to a fully contested world with this PVP-zone and quests, has definitely been successful in stimulating their players. While online during peak times, there were as many as 5 separate instances of Ilum running simultaneously! What this ultimately means is the first day for this event definitely received a strong welcoming reception from their players, whether truly enjoyed or not.
Some of the major enticements offered from the event include legacy bound armor & weapons, and a couple of non-combat pets for players to purchase. The catch 22 of the event; you've got to build the reputation points with the Gree in order to make the purchase, let alone use any of it. Beyond that the question of true value comes down mostly to the individual player. While legacy bound armors can be bought from either of the capital worlds on either faction, legacy bound weapons have only been available during events, and this is the first event throwing legacy bound lightsabers into the mix. This is probably the strongest enticement for players seeking to send old used hilts from saber wielding characters to their alternates. Most players since legacy's release may already know they can send bound mods, armor plates, enhancements, and augments to their alternate characters using these items. With lightsabers now arriving many a player is looking forward to handing off hilts now too, since the only legacy bound weapons until now were guns from a previous event now gone, and hilts could not be loaded in them. Though the armors' look and appeal is not much more than new coloring on armor templates that existed prior to this event, previously the look they provided was exclusive to the class that armor was intended for. The armors are not only legacy bound, but adaptive as well, making them available for any class to equip.
While the more casual player may look over the points involved and find themselves at a complete loss as to how, let alone when, they might be able to achieve the reputation required for any of the purchases to be had; the regularly hardcore MMO gamer will not likely be as daunted by the amount required so much as to find there is actually a weekly limit on how many points can be achieved within this new system. Granted glancing over these figures and then comparing them with the amount of points each completed quest awards could turn players either direction, further in or out of this event. The fact that this it is planned for returns over the course of the year certainly helps in relaxing some of the more casual players that may otherwise surrender their efforts to even bother.
Without devotion of time and effort to this event, the rewards it offers may be far off but as the title of the event implies, it will be making more than one 'return' to provide the opportunity again. With the introduction of the reputation system and the re-vamping of Ilum, it is difficult to really give a low score on this event. However the brief window offered in which to fulfill the daunting reputation points prior to being elligible to purchase any of its offerings does make for a fierce challenge that may be good for the hardcore MMO gamers in their populace may not have as encouraging affects over the more casual players. Ultimately making for the 3/5 score given by this examiner.
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