Everything we know about Star Wars the Old Republic Game Update 7.7.1 including when to expect the next Story Update, Galactic Season, DirectX 12 and More!

Release Date

It is not currently confirmed when SWTOR will release game update 7.7.1 however predictions most likely indicate when the current Galactic Season or Nar Shaddaa Nightlife Event ends on August 19th.

An official livestream will be held on July 30th at 1:00pm CT / 6:00pm UTC.

Star Wars Story Trailer

Our first official look at the upcoming (and much delayed) story update for SWTOR 7.7: Master’s Engima was finally shown off on the big screen at Star Wars Celebration in Japan, which dropped this amazing trailer.

The trailer was highlighted AGAIN in the latest ‘Executive Producers Letter’, detailing the currently finished but unreleased Story Content for SWTOR that is yet to release.

It was confirmed during the livestream on July 30th that 7.6’s story will release as 7.8 and 7.7s Master’s Enigma will release as 7.8.1 this holiday period.

F2P Improvements

Artifact Authorization

Subscriber Login Event

The subscriber login reward event will let players earn special tokens that can be spent on endgame endgame gear, augments, materials, exp boosts or a “special Andor inspired droid reward”.

Once December 9th rolls around, both the event and currency will be gone for good, use them or lose them!

Game System Changes

Flashpoint Changes

Players can now choose between ALL combat style roles when queueing for PVE Group Activity Content in the Flashpoint, including your second combat style based on your premade Loadouts!

You will no longer have to be able to select ALL flashpoints for the groupfinder role bonus, you only need to choose some (stream showed 11/13).

All cutscene choices in Groupfinder are made for you (no dark or light choices), if you want to experience cutscenes you need to manually enter the phase gates with a group.

Loot for Flashpoint Bosses under level 75 has been adjusted for all players, from 1 loot reward up to 3-4 pieces per flashpoint.

Security Key Update

Security Key no longer automatically generates cartel coins, going forward you must log in to the game once per month to be eligible for the free cartel coins.

Feast of Prosperity

Runs in October with many new Rewards!

Cartel Market

The Nar Shaddaa Nightlife event is scheduled to start on July 8th and run until August 19th, this is most likely the earliest release date for 7.7.1.

New Cartel Market Additions

Here is a sneak peak for new Cartel Market additions for game update 7.7.1

Glasses are dyable on the frames and the lenses are reflective!

There will also be a Test Pilot outfit but not available on stream.

Cartel Market Summer Sale

Character Modernization Art Update

In Game Update 7.7, further changes were made to the existing character models in order to bring them closer in line to how the developers want the new textures to display.
We recieved additional confirmation during the Q2 Executive Producers Letter that the next species to be given a major Graphical Update will be the Rattataki!

Character Select Screen Updates

Updates coming to shadows, modernisation and art in the Character Select screen in the game!

Character Customisations

There are now hundreds of uncapped hair and monral (togruta) style colors available to all players.

In game update 7.7, over 400 new character customisations for existing player species were added to all SWTOR accounts for FREE!
See ALL 400+ NEW character customization options for every playable species here:

Twitch Livestream Rewards

It is very likely that there will be a free Twitch Livestream giveaway Code or a Livestream reward.

Starting today until August 13th.

Game Update 7.7.1 Livestream Reward, watch for 4 hours.

Date Nights

Kira Carsen and Torian Cadera confirmed as the next two date Nights!

Coming in 7.8.1.

DirectX 12 Update

Over a year ago the developers teased that the game would be recieving a much needed update from the games old DirectX engine to DirectX 12. Here is what Keith Kanneg had to say about it

” We also saw a lot of questions during our 7.7 livestream asking for updates on DirectX 12 (DX12). Currently, we have a working version of the game running in DX12! However, we still have more to do before we can release a version for players to test such as converting the game’s UI system to DX12 and ensuring any major bugs are identified and resolved. We will have more to share later this year, but I am pleased with the progress the team has been making on this initiative! “

Direct X 12 alpha test server coming ASAP, no time given!

Galactic Season 9

Coming off the end of Galactic Season 8 (the current ANDOR themed season), we can quickly expect a near back to back Galactic Season 9!

” Those familiar with our content calendar will know Game Update 7.7.1 is our next release. With it, players can expect the next Galactic Season. When we get closer to talking about the next season, we will unveil the theme and its new rewards.  “

Story Update Speculation

While a majority of the trailer for SWTOR showed content upwards of 10 years old, to interest convention goers to try all of SWTOR’s content, appealing to Star Wars fans that have never played the game before. The final minute of the Celebration trailer showed story cutscenes for the main game storyline that was delayed back in November of 2024.

So lets deconstruct the trailer and combine what we know about the existing story of Legacy of the Sith compared to what the new trailer showed us!

Spoilers Ahead!

Malgus Monologue

The final minute of the trailer depics several brand new cutscenes, assumably from the unreleased 7.6 and upcoming 7.7 main story quest. While the video clearly shows a bunch of old and new cutscenes stitched and edited together, Darth Malgus features a unique narration over each segment of the trailer.

Darth Malgus Narration with reference to each cutscene the video originates from

Our paths are not destined they are forged. – A compilation of Darth Malgus boss fight and capture at the start of Legacy of the Sith (7.0 Elom Flashpoint and immediate Jail cutscene)

Shaped by Ambition… – A player character and Lana Beniko inside a throne room on Ilum (not yet released content)
… And Fear. – Cutscene depicting Sahar Kateen taking the Datacron of Nul (7.0 Elom Flashpoint)

The desire for Power… – Heta Kol staring at the banner of Clan Cadera (7.2 Showdown on Ruhnuk)
…the need for Control… – Flashpoint Cutscene before Malgus Boss fight at the throne room of the False Emperor Flashpoint (1.0 Ilum)
…The price of Obedience. – Ri’kan Kateen becoming jealous as Heta Kol talks to Sahar Kateen about the Holocron of Nul (7.2 Showdown on Ruhnuk)

We allowed corrupt doctrines… – An Imperial player character in the Jail cutscene with Darth Rivix and Krovos (7.0 Jail cutscene after Elom Flashpoint)
… to dictate the paths before us… – What appears to be a hologram of Darth Jadus standing infront of the player character (not yet released content)
… No Longer. – Shae Vizla breaks Darth Malgus out of his jail cell on the fleet. (7.5 Mimboosa District)

A change is coming to the galaxy… – The Darth Nul machine from Heta Kol’s ship with its shield activated (7.5 Mimboosa District)
… Forged from Pain and Rage and Sacrifice. – A compilation of Heta Kol vs Shae Vizla on Ruhnuk (7.2 Showdown on Ruhnuk), Darth Rivix vs Tau Idair (7.3 Voss Retreat) and Sahar vs Rikan vs the Player Character (7.6 Mimboosa District)

My Chains are Broken and Now… – A new cutscene depicting a Rakatan Mind Prison being activated (not yet released content)
… I will break them all! – A compilation showing Shae Vizla’s crew and Darth Malgus ransacking Tatooine (not yet released content)

Return to Ilum

There are two separate sections of the video that show a Mirialan Jedi Knight (pictured above, likely representing the player character) and Lana Beniko wandering around Ilum.

The room appears to be the destroyed remains of the Space station Throne Room that players fight Darth Malgus in during the False Emperor flashpoint from the end of the vanilla game (14 years ago).

Given that the space station appears to have survived relatively unharmed. It is likely that our player characters and Lana Beniko will be exploring the destroyed remains of Darth Malgus’ space station from the original flashpoint in search for clues as to his whereabouts.

As the 7.6 game update released without a story BUT released with a new Raid boss, XR-53, that also takes place within the crashed ruins of the space station on Ilum, we could easily assume that this part of the video takes place in the unreleased story content for game update 7.6 which was meant to release in November of 2024.

Heta Kol and Mandalorians

Heta Kol and the Hidden Chain do not feature in any new capacity in this cutscene, nearly as if the developers themselves are pivoting the story away from the Twilek twins and the Hidden Chain and instead focusing towards the newly unchained Darth Malgus and the rogue Shae Vizla.
In fact the current ‘substitute’ leaders of the Mandalorians, Jekiah and Rass Ordo, are not even mentioned in the trailer.

The trailer shows an old cutscene from a prior game update, with Heta Kol looking at the new banner of Clan Cadera (Torian Cadera) which was stolen during the Showdown on Ruhnuk update in 2022. It is likely a reference to the fact that Heta Kol throughout the expansion has accomplished nothing except the continual loss of power of her faction, the Hidden Chain.

Darth Malgus and Shae Vizla

Darth Malgus and Shae Vizla both feature prominently in the trailer, while most of the earlier trailer segments are dedicated to showing cutscenes from Legacy of the Sith that we have already played:
Malgus Capture on Elom
Malgus failing to escape on his own
Shae Vizla breaking out Malgus

There is a rather large 10 second cutscene (pictured above) that depicts Darth Malgus, Shae Vizla and her rogue militia, seiging Hidden Chain strongholds on what appears to be Tatooine.

Just like the previous snippets of Ilum, it is very likely that these cutscenes of Malgus on Tatooine also take place during the events of the unreleased 7.6 story (November 2024), as it would lend continuity and lore as to why there are Dynamic Encounters featuring Hidden Chain Mandalorians on Tatooine.

Sa’har and Ri’kan Kateen

Two of the biggest unresolved plot points going into Master’s Enigma is the fate of Sa’har and Ri’kan Kateen.

Both of these characters can potentially either live or ‘die’ (or so we assume) based on your choices at the end of the Mimboosa District storyline – 7.5 Desperate Defiance.
There is no new footage of Ri’kan or Sa’har shown in the teaser trailer, instead it focuses only on compilations of cutscenes from 7.0, 7.3 and 7.5.

So for now, the fate of Ri’kan and Sa’har is still ambiguous until otherwise.

Rakatan Mind Trap

One of the most interesting parts of the trailer is this specific cutscene which appear to be part of the upcoming and unreleased main story content.

The cutscene depics what appears to be a Rakatan Mind Prison being powered on and activated. However the location and technology around the Rakatan Mind Prison does not match any locations we have seen in SWTOR already.

For those that need a refresher, a Rakatan Mind Prison is a pyramid like device powered by the force, that was created by the ancient an extinct Rakatan Infinite Empire, it first appeared in KOTOR before briefly reappearing for a minor side quests on Belsavis in SWTOR.

Rakatan Mind Prisons are physical pyramids that are able to ‘suck a person’ into a kind of alternate reality where they live ‘inside’ of the mind prison in a form of infinite stasis. Theoretically meaning anyone stuck inside a Mind Prison could live forever, trapped inside, until they are ‘set free’.

Due to the fact we see the camera get ‘sucked in’ and the screen turns white, it is likely that we will either be Opening a Mind Prison, or our characters are going to be sucked into a Mind Prison in whatever cutscene awaits us in the next game update.

Darth Jadus!?

Towards the end of the trailer, we see Darth Malgus narrate over the holographic image of Darth Jadus. As there is no spoken words by the ‘player character’ or Darth Jadus in this cutscene recording, we dont know if Darth Jadus is actually involved in the story or if it just the developers teasing his character.

However if you look closely, Darth Jadus has an all new appearance, being a custom Chestpiece (based off of level 80 R4 Anomaly gear) and a Cartel Market robe. So it is very likely if anything that this means that Darth Jadus will return in at least a small capacity if they have updated his appearance.

That being said we must all wait and see how he is involved in the story, whether he is an ally to Darth Malgus, the Empire, or us.

Opinion Segment:

In an absolute twist of Ironic Fate, I made up an April Fools post earlier this year with my Discord Server that coincidentally teased the return of Darth Jadus at Star Wars Celebration.
While wholly unintentional, based on nothing more than the main storyline on Iokath in KOTET where Lana Beniko says Darth Jadus is alive and working in the shadows. We decided the shadow planet of Dathomir would be an awesome place for Darth Jadus to raise an army of Nightsisters to attack the Empire, despite it being literally impossible due to canon/lore impossibility.

And I somehow struck lightning twice with Star Wars Celebration ‘leaking’ that Darth Jadus would return. Which technically came true I guess.
Broadsword please don’t ban me.

Read More:

Star Wars Celebration Leaks SWTOR: Darkness Over Dathomir

Placing the Timeline

As Game Update 7.6 released without it’s main story (most likely due to ongoing SAG-AFTRA Voice Acting Union Strike) component. It still released all of its side quest and new content, such as the XR-53 lairboss on Ilum, Dynamic Encounters and more.

However, as the side content, which assumably takes place AFTER the ‘main quest’ was meant to be completed, some plot holes appeared to have been opened. As the story we will most likely be getting in 7.7 takes place BEFORE the content from 7.6 that released Last November (2024).

So knowing what we know about the SWTOR Star Wars Celebration trailer, lets attempt to piece together the timeline:

Legacy of the Sith: Starting on Elom, Darth Malgus is finally captured by the player character and put in Jail on the Fleet.
7.1 Our character is then tipped off by Mex Briggam and the newly reformed Czerk Interstellar (not Corporation) that a rogue Sith Cult has uncovered the Mass Shadow Generator from Malachor and is attempting to use it for nefarious purposes, we travel there and destroy them all.
7.2 Our character then heads to Ruhnuk in order to aid Shae Vizla in attempting to track down Heta Kol, who escapes. However we defeat several Hidden Chain leaders.
7.3 Our character goes to Voss where the mystics have a vision of the Galaxy in flames, before we are sidetracked by a corrupted ancient Sith presence taking over the underground tombs on Voss, also Czerka Corporation is involved for some reason and it’s never mentioned again.
7.4 After Voss, our character aids in the liberation of Kessan’s Landing on Ord Mantell from the Hidden Chain attempting to recruit the Separatists, we defeat one of the Hidden Chain clan leaders and ally with Sa’har Kateen.
7.5 Desperate Defiance: Set on the Mimboosa District of Hutta and finalising a battle between our player characters and Ri’kan/Sa’har Kateen for ownership of Darth Nul’s Holocron.

7.6(7) Master’s Engima Story: Assuming the trailer is accurate to the unreleased story content, it is likely that the footage depicting a Player Character + Lana Beniko on Ilum AND the cutscene showing Darth Malgus attacking Hidden Chain on Tatooine takes place during this time.

7.6 Galactic Threads: Released in November 2024, The XR-53 Lairboss on Ilum and the Dynamic Encounters featuring the Hidden Chain stealing technology on Ilum and Tatooine most likely take place after the 7.7 story on Ilum as our characters should not know the location of the crashed Space Station of Darth Malgus and its reactivated droids if we have not been to it in the main story yet.

7.7 and Beyond?: The sections of the trailer featuring the Rakatan Mind Prison and Darth Jadus most likely are related to the planned story content fo 7.7 or take place after the actual playable events of 7.6.

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