Star Wars: The Old Republic gets difficulty slider and venture characters to bring back the classic feel

Broadsword, which took over Star Wars: The Old Republic from BioWare in 2023, is preparing a major 8.0 update for the nearly 15-year-old MMO. The patch promises a familiar lineup of big additions: a raised level cap, new abilities, more loot, and fresh zones on Ryloth, the Twi'lek homeworld. But the real headline is two new systems aimed at the game's thorniest design problem — difficulty.

The first is a difficulty slider. Players can pick between "a cinematic story-driven journey, a more demanding combat experience, or the ultimate challenge." Notably, you can still group up with friends no matter which option each of you chose, so it will be interesting to see how the scaling handles mixed parties.

The second system introduces "venture" characters, which run on their own difficulty tier split between classic and expert options. These characters must start a new story from the very beginning, but they earn special rewards for completing extra objectives during normal playthroughs. What those rewards actually are, Broadsword has not yet revealed.

The venture mode seems inspired by seasonal and ironman modes found in action RPGs. The update looks aimed squarely at veterans who miss the game's early days, when it had just launched. More details on rewards and the release date are expected later.