Galactic Civil War FAQ by nebaf

• I just returned the game. Why is my character no longer Colonel? What happened to Restuss? What are GCW points? Ahhhhh!
• Why isn't my progress updating?
• How far will I progress this week?
• Where are the best places to earn GCW?
• Can I gain a full rank in one week?
• What is this diminishing returns formula?
• What is a TEF?
• Why can't I place my factional base?
• I just returned to the game, do my "old" base deeds work?
• What's so special about Restuss?
• Are faction points still useful?
• Where can I get faction armor?
• How do I join a faction or switch sides?
• Where can I find a recruiter?

I just returned the game. Why is my character no longer Colonel? What happened to Restuss? What are GCW points? Ahhhhh!

• Over the past year, several major changes have been made to the Galactic Civil War. First, Restuss was blown up and turned into a major PvP battleground that offers several quests, and the opportunity to earn special types of armor and weapons. Three static PvP bases were also added to the game, which reward powerful stims for those that capture and hold the bases. The biggest change was a revamp of the GCW ranks, which now offer unique special abilities, armor, weapons as well as the old rewards. All players were set to Private when this went live. 

• GCW points are the equivalent of the faction points of the past. You earn them in much the same way you earn faction points, and they are what count towards the overall progression of your character in the GCW ranking system. Faction points do still exist, but they now function in the same manner as any other type of faction points do.

Why isn't my progress updating?

• Currently your GCW progress updates weekly on Thursday at 12 PM PST. You will not see your progress update in real time as you earn GCW throughout the week.

How far will I progress this week?

• Unfortunately, there's no way to know how far you will progress until the weekly update on Thursday. However, a great tool for estimating your progression can be found here: http://swg.activeframe.de/index.pl?faction

Where are the best places to earn GCW?

• GCW points can be earned through PvE or PvP on the ground or in space.

Common PvE Locations

• The Corvette
• Player Bases
• Factional POIs and Dungeons

Space

• Kessel/Deep Space for master pilots
• Tier 4 duty missions from the pilot trainers located at the Rebel Outpost on Rori. (Rebel only)

Common Faction Controlled Cities:

• Nashal, Talus (Rebel Controlled)
• Anchorhead, Tatooine (Rebel Controlled)
• Vreni Island , Corellia (Rebel Controlled)
• Moenia, Rori (Rebel Controlled)
• Dea'ja Peak, Naboo (Imperial Controlled)
• Bestine, Tatooine (Imperial Controlled)
• Bela Vistal, Corellia (Imperial Controlled)

Common PvP Locations*

• Restuss
• SF Player Bases
• Static GCW Bases
• Corellia Static PvP Base (4772, -5233)
• Talus Static PvP Base (1019, -1508)
• Naboo Static PvP Base (1019, -1508)
• Space PvP (Deep Space)

* Note: PvP hotspots vary from server to server. The above are the most likely locations you'll find PvP on all servers. Be sure to check your server's forums and the player event schedule for additional PvP locations and events.  

Can I gain a full rank in one week?

Generally speaking, you can gain a full rank a week up until Lieutenant, where after that it will be impossible to progress to the next rank within a week due to diminishing returns. The most you can reasonably expect to progress in one week is as follows:

• Rank 1 to Rank 2 ~ 100% +
• Rank 2 to Rank 3 ~ 100% +
• Rank 3 to Rank 4 ~ 100% +
• Rank 4 to Rank 5 ~ 100% +
• Rank 5 to Rank 6 ~ 100% +
• Rank 6 to Rank 7 ~ 95%
• Rank 7 to Rank 8 ~ 60%
• Rank 8 to Rank 9 ~ 52%
• Rank 9 to Rank 10 ~ 45%
• Rank 10 to Rank 11 ~ 43%
• Rank 11 to Rank 12 ~ 40%

Note: Some of these values may be inaccurate and will vary depending on how much GCW you earned. This is just to give you a rough idea as to how far you can progress in one week.

What is this diminishing returns formula?

• The current formula used for calculating your progress each week is known and a diminishing returns formula. As the amount of GCW points you earned increases, they will have less of an impact on your progress. In other words, if you earned 10,000 GCW points in one week, the first 1,000 points would yield you 10% progress, whereas the last 1,000 points you only yield an additional 1% of progress as opposed to 10%.

What is a TEF?

• TEF stands for 'Temporary Enemy Flag'. A TEF is place on your character anytime you attack a player or NPC of the opposing faction. While you have a TEF you will not be able to enter any player owned structures. You will still be able to enter non-player owned structures such as the Cloning Facility and Starport. TEFs last a couple minutes, and currently there is no icon to signify whether or not you have a TEF.

Why can't I place my factional base?

• You must be either combatant or SF to place a factional base. Furthermore, each planet has a cap on the number of base it can hold. The cap includes both Rebel and Imperial bases. You are also limited to 3 bases per character as they do not require lots to place. Only 3 bases can be within a 1000 m area.

I just returned to the game, do my "old" base deeds work?

• There actually is no "old" base. All base deeds work the same way regardless of how old they are. The only base related deeds that no longer work are the Covert Faction Scanner and the Minefield deed.

What's so special about Restuss?

• Restuss is a unique PvP battleground introduced in June of 2006. In addition to being a PvP battleground, it hosts a variety of PvE quests which reward commendations, faction points and a small amount of experience. Commendations can be used to purchase special weapons and armor.

Are faction points still useful?

• Rebel and Imperial faction points now function in much the same way as any other type of faction points. They determine how NPCs will react to you. (I.E. having -5000 faction would mean that you will be getting attacked by that NPC.)

Where can I get faction armor?

• There are 3 sets of both Rebel and Imperial armor that you can purchase from an armor smith on your server. Only an armor smith is able to buy the schematics for factional armor from a recruiter.
• There are also three reward factional armor suits that can be obtained:
• Crusader Armor - Can be purchased with commendations (more info below)
• Special Ops Officer Armor - Can be purchased from a factional recruiter at rank 9 and 10.
• Rebel Assault Forest Camouflage Armor - Earn from completing various Rebel Theme Park Quests

How do I join a faction or switch sides?

• In order to join a faction you must either visit a recruiter or pilot trainer. Converse with them to join your faction of choice. If you decide to switch faction you will have to wait 5 days (120 hours) before you can join the opposing faction. To resign from your current faction you must speaker to a recruiter.

Where can I find a recruiter?

Imperial Recruiters

• Bestine (in front of the starport)
• Talus Imperial Outpost
• Imperial Outpost on Lok (POI)
• Imperial Base in Restuss
• Theed, Naboo
• Kor Vella, Corellia
• Dantooine Imperial Outpost
• Keren, Naboo (inside the cantina)

Rebel Recruiters

• Anchorhead, Tatooine (in front of the shuttle and inside the salon/cantina)
• Dearic, Talus (inside the cantina)
• Rebel Base in Restuss
• Rebel Outpost on Rori
• Coronet, Corellia. (inside the cantina)
• Moenia, Naboo (in front of the starport entrance)