There’s been a lot of news lately about the Legacy System which is being further developed in patch 1.2. I say further developed when I suppose really I mean developed at all. As it stands now the legacy system is non-existent, existing only to be added too in the future. That future being patch 1.2. So what is there to say about it? Well actually a fair bit, about a posts worth in fact.
Right now at the end of Act 1 of your first character on a server you pick a last name. This last name is unique on your server and shared across all your characters. You can choose whether or not it’s displayed which is good. As Heather (thank you!) so kindly pointed out in her comment on my previous post, I create storylines for my characters. Therefore the last name is a very cool tool as I can display it if they’re related and not display it if they’re not.
With the coming development this is being built on and made even more awesome. In game you actually get to create a family tree. What impact this will have I don’t think anyone outside the swtor dev team knows yet. I can’t wait to see though. However, as with all things it doesn’t seem to be perfect. There are a number of limitations on this, some of which I think should be tweaked a little.
The additions to the legacy system were revealed at the recent guild summit therefore there were people on hand to ask questions. One such question was what would happen if you had characters of different races. The answer was that limitations were in place and that they could only be adopted sisters/brothers etc. While I understand that inter-race breeding isn’t possible for a number of reasons least of all the game mechanics. I don’t see why inter-race romance isn’t allowed. Twi’leks dance in clubs and on Hoth there’s some Imperial soldiers talking about Chiss women. It seems to me that inter-race romance is canon so I think it should be allowed.
Not much else has been concretely revealed so I’m just going to speculate on what I’d like to see, whether we get it or not is another matter entirely. The legacy spans both Imperial and Republic and therefore it unlocks rewards for both. This is good but it could be even better. I know faction separation exists for a reason but I think it could be done in a way that didn’t harm it. What am I talking about? Cross faction mailing of course. Anything mailed cross faction would have to be made bind on account so as to not to disrupt the economy. However, this way professions could be used whatever faction that character was affiliated with. Drops could be shared and so on. This cross-faction mailing ability could be linked to a high legacy level so it’s a perk to aim for.
Obviously I’m hoping to see heirlooms. Having them bound to the legacy is a great solution (and something I wish warcraft would consider). Once they’re unlocked then they can just be activated and no messy mailing and storing needed. Another practical perk could be unlocking each classes sprint ability earlier. This could be phased so reaching a certain legacy level could be a bit earlier, the next a bit earlier than that and so on. There could even be legacy achievements for having one of every class, or every profession or something. This could be a semi big reward like unlocking a starter speeder. Aside from practical perks there could also be fun perks. In patch 1.2 non-combat pets seem to be being added. Perhaps a legacy level could unlock one or two of these.
Right now a lot is unknown about this legacy system. It has great potential and I don’t know about you but I for one am looking forward to exploring it.