well bioware was looking at an early fall release . But it's been pushed back . Instead look for somewhere around american thanksgiving , early december for a release .
Beta is already underway . an Alot of balance issues and pvp issues being addressed . Bioware is actually working with the beta testers and omg listening . Atm there's really two classes that with the right build . totally steamroll everything in the game . Republic soldiers and bounty hunters atm are mass murdering lunatics with guns . It's rough when one soldier can walk into a pvp area an totally wtf pwn everything . Same with bounty hunters .
the soldier combat medic template . Just runs around in heavy armour . with grenades , bio weapons ( dots ) , heavy weapons . and don't take alot of damage . AN they can self heal and group heal an single target heal . as well as tank .
the bounty hunters pwn everything from range . and currently just use there jet pack to fly up outa melee range and drop an aoe missle salvo into the battlefield . Boom your all dead . they can shoot micro darts from wrist launchers with nerve toxisn to poison you or paralyze you . then just obliterate with ranged weapons . while your helpless.
the Imperial agents are uber nasty in pvp . they just sit off to the side with a stealth field . an Snipe you all day long . Melee tend to die long before they can close on the sniper . Plus if it's a large group the imp agent stay's stealthed , calls in an orbital air strike which will kill off a party . an snipe away at the survivors .
Jedi knights an sith warriors atm . have it doubly hard ... they got no in combat heals . just a tiny out of combat heal with a long cool down . and they are all melee based damage dealers with reall weak medium ranged force push attacks an chokes . Even with heavy armor they suck for a tank unless they are in melee range .
the smugglers totally kick butt . they sneak around an can dominate in clerical healing levels on a godly level . an can still maintain decent ranged dps . Or they can go fro a scoundrel gunglingers build which is some very sick fast rolling dps .
the jedi counsilers and sith inquistors actually more powerfull then knights / warriors ... these force weilders have awesome healing power , very high end ranged dps . and they have viable melee dps . the Jedi shadow is tons fun ... you get to run around stealthed an rogue your way through stuff . an the double bladed sabers provide more then adequate dps . plus you still have ranged dps attacks . the jedi sages can become strong healers just as good as smugglers or they can go ranged dps with the force an toss some sick dps out .
the inquistors same thing as counsilers ... tho the inquistors force lighting aoe attacks can really ruin a party if caught off gaurd .
the sith side atm have 3 /4 classes all having stealth capablity ... while you have two advanced classes on the republic side capable of stealth . with really the jedi shadow the better of the two at stealth .
Bioware does have heavy story emphasis and the stories are well written and very good . the instances are replayable and alot of fun . the cut scenes are amazing and smooth . Ie , whe nyou take off in your ship you get a cut scene . the Cut scenes play while your zones are loading . so you don't have the rubbish please wait , loading screens .
the game isn't even finished yet . atm level 20 is as far in the game anyone's able to reach . the whole product at launch will have 50 levels ... an from what we've seen of the game , levels 21 - 50 aren't done yet . An bioware also is working on putting things into the game like pod racing an pazzak playing in cantina's ... while being able to enter dance competitions an other fun mini games to do .
they are also having stuff to do onboard ships while your travelling .
the pvp is pretty nicely laid out ... the areas offer alot of terrian for places to hide , sneak around . an set up ambushes an establish choke points . Plus the pvp areas also have pve elements to it . so your always on alert or your toast . and the pvp areas , if you enter it ungrouped you enter a grouping que . ala wow . and once the group's filled you go in an kick butt . and the group filling is pulled from a que pool from all the servers . Or you can enter with a formed group .
but server stability requires work ... Space is still vastly unfinished . and the game still isn't polished . Bioware's told the beta testers at every oppertunity . were not releasing this unfinished and unpolished . We are not making a swg mistake .... they want a smooth low as bug free launch as possible. Like turbine had done with Lotro . That's the launch model biowares taken with tor .
Also of side note, biowares starting another MMORPG slated to begin development in winter of 2012 , they are doing Mass Effect as an mmorpg . Bioware has no plans for a dragon age MMO , as that genre is already saturated enough .
