Hello Holotable Heroes,
Ten years. A decade. It's difficult to believe that it's been this long since we first invited you to pull up a seat at the Holotable and begin your journey in Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes. Together, we've achieved numerous milestones, assembled legendary squads, and watched as this incredible community has grown and flourished. Thank you for being the heart and soul of SWGOH.
To properly honor this momentous 10-year anniversary and set the stage for the next exciting era of the game, we are thrilled to announce a foundational overhaul in the biggest update we’ve ever made! We're bringing sweeping changes to the structure of the game, designed to revitalize the core experience, enhance progression, and introduce new ways to play.
There is a lot of information below, so grab a beverage, find a comfy chair and enjoy the update notes!
Eras
Last year we released Episodes, and with them we mentioned this concept called Eras. These are Galaxy of Heroes’ new seasonal structure. The guiding principles for seasonality can be found at the end of this document.
Each standard Era will consist of:
- Three Episodes per Era
- Six Marquee units
- A Journey Guide event and associated unit
- Weekly Episode Quests
- Era Challenges to test your Marquee Squads
- And multiple pieces of content for all players to enjoy
Periodically we’ll have non-standard eras that may only last one Episode or that may not have a Journey Guide event, but we will communicate about these as they occur.
As part of these changes we are also expanding the availability of Episode Quests, the Episode Track, and the Episode Pass to all players starting at Level 10 instead of Level 85. Players will get a different set of Episode Quests in each Episode depending on their level when the Episode starts.
- Players who are below Level 85 receive a standard set of introductory Episode Quests
- Players at Level 85 receive the bespoke set of Episode Quests for that Episode
Additionally, Character Quests will become available for all players at Level 20, which is the same level that unlocks Marquee Events.
Era Isolation
Eras will be isolated from the rest of the game, which we’re referring to as “Legacy” content. During the Era in which each Marquee and Journey Guide unit is released, both the Journey Guide and Marquee units will be considered an “Era Unit”. When an Era ends, all of the current Era units will become Legacy units. When the next Era begins, the newest Marquee and Journey Guide units released during this new Era will be considered Era units for its duration.
This is an important distinction for a few reasons:
- Era units can only be used in Era modes and will not be allowed in Legacy modes.
- Era Units only use Era resources for progression while Legacy units will continue to use existing materials and recipes for upgrades.
- Legacy units cannot be used in Era modes or be upgraded with Era materials
This isolation is primarily to allow players to progress in both the latest content and grow their rosters with Legacy content without having to choose where to put their resources, but a more detailed explanation of why this distinction and isolation is important can be found at the bottom of this update.
Era Journey Guide will work a little differently than normal Journey Guide events. The Era Journey Events will start in week 9 of the Era, which is when the 5th Era Marquee is released. Era Journey Guides Units will be available at 4* to allow players to use them early during the Era. This Era Journey Guide will be structured as follows:
- Tier I requires the first 5 Era Marquees at 4 at Era Level 45 and will unlock the Journey Guide Unit at 4
- The 5 Era Journey Guide Unit will require 5 Marquee units at 5
- The 6* and 7* versions of the JG will become available when the 6th Marquee releases and will require all 6 Marquees at 6* and 7* respectively.
- A significant amount of time after the Era, the Journey Guide will become a Legacy event, but it will have different requirements as the Marquees will no longer be Era units
Era Levels
To support our design pillars, we’re introducing a new progression system for Era units. This system uses new resources instead of Legacy gear or Relic materials, allowing all players to simultaneously continue their existing farms and chases while building up and playing with new units.
Era Levels are a linear progression path that unlocks stats or abilities at each level. Unit Stars is another way to power up your Era units and are required to upgrade Era Levels beyond certain levels:
- 4* is required for Level 66+
- 5* is required for Level 76+
- 6* is required for Level 86+
- 7* is required for Level 91+
Players will need a variety of Era Materials to upgrade a unit’s Era Level. These can be earned from participating in the Era through Coliseum, Era Marquee Events, Era Journey Events, and Episode Track milestones or purchased from the store.
When Era units become Legacy units at the end of an Era, their Era Level will convert into the Character level, Gear tier/Relic level, and Ability level associated with that Era Level. Any Era Materials and Era currencies will be converted to Legacy materials at the end of an Era. The specifics of this new economy are still being finalized, but here are some examples of how your Era Units will be converted over:
- Era Level 65 - Lv 85/Gear 12(Base)/Ability Level 7
- This is where we expect most players to reach with F2P
- Era Level 80 - Lv 85/Relic 2/Ability Level 7
- Era Level 95 (Max Era Level) - Lv 85/Relic 6/Ability Level 8 (Zeta abilities!)
Now let’s look at the first round of changes coming to the game in support of Eras, followed by what players can look forward to next year.
Coliseum
Coliseum is a new game mode and the first Era mode to be added to Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes. Unlocking at Player Level 10, this game mode pits individual players against formidable foes from the Star Wars universe. Bosses will rotate daily, with players attempting to achieve new high scores each day. These high scores will earn rewards in two ways: one-time rewards for reaching certain score milestones (that reset each era) and daily leaderboard rewards competing against other players’ high scores for the day.
The Coliseum leaderboard is one of the primary places to earn the new Relic 10 materials. More on Relic 10 below.
To support this new leaderboard, players will be randomly assigned to new Era Shards. These are similar to Squad Arena and Fleet Arena shards, but are completely separate. An Era shard is not tied to a player’s Squad or Fleet Arena Shard and will not affect either of those in any way. Players will be randomly assigned to a new shard each Era, giving everyone an opportunity to prove their mettle against a variety of opponents.
Era Challenges
Era Challenges are another place to use Era units in this release. These will be replacing Galactic Challenges in an effort to help manage how much time players spend completing their daily tasks. The difficulty tiers are balanced around having Era units & squads at certain Era Levels, and the feats reward those appropriately. These will be available during the weeks between marquee releases, and players will have the full week to complete as much as they can on their own schedule.
Time In Game
Time needed to complete all the events and modes daily is an important topic to discuss as part of all these changes. With the addition of Coliseum and managing an Era roster on top of your existing roster, it is critical that we ensure the time spent in game daily doesn’t increase significantly. We designed the systems and the scale of Eras to something far more manageable.
For this release Coliseum is a huge focus, but we were careful to ensure that only a few battles a day are needed to complete most of the Era content and advance up the leaderboard. Your score for each Coliseum boss is a high water mark that persists over the Era, which means once you achieve your best score, you don’t need to keep battling over and over again that day.
A new type of event is Era Challenges, which replaces Galactic Challenges. Every other week, Players have 7 days to complete Era Challenges and use their newly powered up Era Squads. This should make Era Challenges less time intensive than Galactic Challenges overall.
Lastly, we wanted to reduce some time spent in Conquest and Territory Battles. For players who are over-invested in the Squads needed for the zone, Relic Delta will make those battles faster and need less micromanaging during the encounters.
In the future, we will continue to examine which modes should be supplanted by the Era system and which ones are the important drivers of your Legacy roster that should stay front and center. We are also scrutinizing which areas of the game are not only time intensive but become repetitive once mastered. This is a space we are continuing to examine and determine if they should be addressed with quality of life changes or removed entirely. More on this in the future as we watch this release closely for how it impacts time spent in the game.
Cantina
We have long wanted to spice up the cantina with new characters, story elements, tie-ins to current events within Galaxy of Heroes, and more. While our Art team is hard at work preparing larger changes, we wanted to put seasonal content front and center. To facilitate this, we’ve condensed the Light Side and Dark Side tables into the Cantina Battles table and renamed it the Campaigns table.
We will be continuing the work to modernize our Cantina in an update scheduled for next year. Our goal is to provide an easily-navigated home screen that informs you of the most relevant information to you and what exciting new content has been released.
Future Seasonal Content
Oftentimes players will be building two or even three squads out of the marquee and Journey Guide units they unlock during an era, and we want to support player agency in developing those squads. Early next year we plan to release what we’re calling Loaned Units - a system where players will temporarily be granted a variety of additional Era units based on Legacy units for use in Era modes.
- Loaned units will not require direct investment to increase their power, and they will go away at the end of the era.
- Until then, we’re utilizing summoned units within Coliseum to provide a better and more well-rounded combat experience.
We recognize that there are players who want to duke it out in direct PvP rather than fight big bosses. With that in mind, we want to bring a PvP mode to Eras in the future. For this to be the compelling PvP experience we want it to be, it needs to be supported by Loaned Units and a system for stat differentiation.
However for Era PvP, mods can be complicated, and they introduce a wide variance in player experience and competitive viability based on random rolls. While the system provides interesting texture to legacy content and long-term progression, it is not conducive to seasonal content where all players start from the same place each era. With all that said, any Era PvP will be introduced alongside a new system for stat differentiation among Era units that will allow Era PvP to be an intriguing competitive landscape for players to deeply engage with. More on the next Era features as we get closer to their releases.
We should note that this is not the end of "Legacy" content as the Era system works in conjunction with new events and modes that are outside of Eras. We have many plans to release more features and content like Raids, Territory Battle Planets, and Units in the future.
Legacy Changes
Alongside the new era content, we have a number of changes coming to the rest of the game. Let’s take a high-level look at what those are.
Marquee Cadence
A long time ago, we established a cadence for Marquee units. Since then, we’ve added to the cadence (shards become accelerated approximately one year later) and introduced new versions of Marquee events. With the introduction of Eras, we are evolving Marquees to the next stage.
Players will be granted all of the Marquee units from an Era the first time they log in during that era. These units will not be accessible for upgrades or battle use until their individual marquee event starts, but they will exist in your roster. This way, all players will have access to the same Marquee units at the same time, even if a particular Marquee event is missed during an Era. (You’ll still want to play the Marquee while it is active to earn more shards for your Era Units, though!) It also helps players jump straight into Era content.
The other notable change to marquee units is when they transition to shipments, nodes, and accelerated status.
- Marquee characters’ shards will be available in Shipments approximately the second week after their release Era ends and they become legacy characters.
- Marquee characters’ shards will be farmable on a node approximately 13 weeks after their marquee event.
- Marquee characters’ shards will become accelerated around one year after the start of their release Era, even when this would mean an individual character may become accelerated earlier than one year after their marquee event.
- This is also when Marquee units are eligible for Lightspeed Tokens, as a change from our earlier plan of having them become eligible one year after the end of the Era.
Relic Economy Changes
As part of this major Eras update, there will be a number of changes to the Relic economy. Eras create a path for players to reach the higher tiers of Relics if they want to invest deeper into their squads. Relics are also a critical part of the rewards for the Era, and there are three ways we are improving the Relic experience for players:
- Reduce the Pinch of Gear and Relic Materials
- Increase inflow of Relic resources to majority of players
- Improve Access to Relics
Reduce the Pinch of Gear and Relic Materials
The first way we are reducing some of the Relic pressure on your roster is through the changes to Eras. Eras significantly change how players interact with Legacy unit progression as Era Levels provide a head start on new units when they convert at the end of an Era. This reduces the amount of Gear needed for new units and instead can be used at the Scavenger to obtain the Relic materials you need.
Outside of the newest units, Era rewards will also impact many older Journeys. Lightspeed Tokens are rewarded from engaging or investing in the Era and can be used on Legacy units to accelerate access to squads and Journey Guide events. Again, this reduces the amount of Gear you need to get Journey Guide requirements up to speed and freeing up Gear to be used elsewhere. Our goal for Eras is to be an efficient way to acquire Journey Guide units and power up your roster.
Additionally to alleviate some pressure on Relic materials for Relic 9, we are removing Fragmented Signal Data, Chromium Transistor, and Aurodium Heatsink from the Relic 9 recipe.
All of these changes combined allow you to use less Gear for upgrading Units and save Gear for the Scavenger to get the Relics you want faster.
Increase amount of Relic Material inflows
While reducing the number of places you need Gear, it is important to get more Relic materials into players’ inventories. This primarily comes from the updates to milestones on the free Episode Track.
- Relic 1-5 materials and Tier 1-3 Signal Data will be replacing existing GC Salvage Boxes on the free Episode Track milestones.
- Players engaging daily in Eras will still be able to complete the Episode Track, and we expect most players to be able to earn these resources monthly.
On top of that, we are updating Episode Shipments to include items like Signal Data (Fragmented and Incomplete) so players can use their extra Episode currency to also boost their Relic farms.
Improve Access to Relics
More resources and less pressure on Gear when upgrading Characters is great, but without access to more of the important materials to upgrade higher tier Relics, players would be unable to utilize these additional resources. With that in mind, the Scavenger will be updated with the following changes:
New Relic Material recipes
- Aeromagnifiers
- Mk 12 ArmaTek Tactical Data Prototype = 270 points
- Mk 12 ArmaTek Tactical Data Prototype Salvage = 9 points
- Mk 7 Kyrotech Shock Prod Prototype = 450 points
- Mk 7 Kyrotech Shock Prod Prototype Salvage = 9 points
- Mk 9 Kyrotech Battle Computer Prototype = 450 points
- Mk 9 Kyrotech Battle Computer Prototype Salvage = 9 points
- Points to create 1x Aeromagnifier = 175 points
- Droid Brains
- Mk 12 ArmaTek Tactical Data Prototype = 270 points
- Mk 12 ArmaTek Tactical Data Prototype Salvage = 9 points
- Mk 7 Kyrotech Shock Prod Prototype = 450 points
- Mk 7 Kyrotech Shock Prod Prototype Salvage = 9 points
- Mk 9 Kyrotech Battle Computer Prototype = 450 points
- Mk 9 Kyrotech Battle Computer Prototype Salvage = 9 points
- Points to create 1x Droid Brain = 245 points
New Relic Signal Data recipe
- Corrupted Signal Data
- Fragmented Signal Data = 6 points
- Incomplete Signal Data = 8 points
- Flawed Signal Data = 10 points
- Points to create 1x Corrupted Signal Data = 145 points
In addition to the Scavenger, Raid Shipments are being updated:
- Electrium Conductor and Zinbiddle Card are being changed from costing Mk III Raid tokens to Mk II
- Electrium Conductor Cost = 75 MKII Raid Tokens each
- Zinbiddle Card Cost = 100 MKII Raid Tokens each
- Carbonite Circuit Board, Bronzium Wiring, Chromium Transistor, and Aurodium Heatsink are being changed from Mk II Raid tokens to Mk I.
- Carbonite Circuit Board Cost = 35 MKI Raid Tokens each
- Bronzium Wiring Cost = 40 MKI Raid Tokens each
- Chromium Transistor Cost = 50 MKI Raid Tokens each
- Aurodium Heatsink Cost = 55 MKI Raid Tokens each
The goal here is to make these Relic materials easier and cheaper to acquire.
Updated Rarity Requirements
The number of Stars required for certain Relic Amplifier Levels has been reduced as well:
- Relic 4: Now requires 5 Stars, reduced from 6.
- Relic 5: Now requires 6 Stars, reduced from 7.
- Relic 6: Is now the first Relic Amplifier Level to require 7 Stars.
While we lift the floor of Relics for many players, we also want to raise the ceiling with the introduction of Relic 10. Earned from Era Shipments, Relic 10 materials will be the most valuable for players competing at the high end of Grand Arena Championships and Territory Wars. While new units and content are exciting for our most veteran players, the competition at the top end of our PvP modes is what drives the excitement for many of our top players. Increasing the accessibility of Relic 9 means players should feel more comfortable with pushing their competitive squads to higher Relics.
This is some major context for why Relic Delta is important and how the access to Relics is becoming easier. Speaking of which…
Relic Delta
Thanks to the efforts of those involved in the recent playtest, we have finalized the values for Relic Delta as shown below. This system will not be active in Conquest during the Stranger arc. For the Conquest arc after the Stranger, we are working on changes to improve quality-of-life and ease pain points so that the Relic Delta’s effect on the Conquest experience is purely positive.
We knew this was a critical but difficult change to make, which is why we ran a playtest to help tune this to the appropriate levels. Thanks to your feedback, we lowered the overall impact of these modifiers at lower Relic differences and reduced their power at the top. Even now, the numbers above are something we will monitor closely to ensure there is a robust meta based on squad synergy and strategy that respects players’ ability to theorycraft and push squads to their limits. If you want to know more about Relic Delta and our intentions for its impact, check out our Design Fireside Chat on Relic Delta here.
Episode Track Updates
This release also contains a number of changes to the Episode Track. With the release of Era Levels, a variety of Era Materials will be added to the Episode Track. The Pass and the Pass+ will contain even more Era Materials to accelerate your Marquee upgrades and help you climb the Coliseum leaderboards.
Additionally Relic 1-5 materials and Tier 1-3 Signal Data will replace Gear on the free Episode Track milestones. Overall, this adds more value to the Episode Track, the Pass and the Pass+ while the price will stay the same.
Galactic Challenge Episode Points Migration
With this release we are discontinuing Galactic Challenges in their current form and adapting the GC system to create new Era Challenges as detailed above.
- Episode Points awarded from these feats have been fully distributed across Episode Quests.
- Only the points from feats requiring Episode Pass ownership were applied to quests requiring it.
Specific point changes to Episode Quests are as follows:
- Free Episode Quests award 5,000 EP, up from 2,000
- Episode Quests requiring the Episode Pass award 7,000 EP, up from 4,000
- Chapter Headline Quests award 11,000 EP, up from 8,000
There is also a new Daily Quest for playing in the Coliseum, making eight total. Individual Daily Quest rewards have changed as follows:
- Daily Quests reward 300 EP, reduced from 350
- Completing all Daily Quests rewards 1600 EP, increased from 1500
- This results in an overall increase of 50 EP/day from Daily Quests, (3,950 vs 4,000,) or 1400 per Episode.
Lightspeed Tokens
Future Lightspeed Tokens will have tiers updated to better match current character power levels. These consumables still instantly upgrade characters, but now grant higher Gear and Relic tiers. Note that this does not affect any existing Lightspeed Tokens.
Updated Tiers
Tier 1 – Carbonite: Level 85, 3 Stars, Gear XII, Ability Level 3
Tier 2 – Bronzium: Level 85, 4 Stars, Relic 1, Ability Level 4
Tier 3 – Chromium: Level 85, 5 Stars, Relic 3, Ability Level 5
Tier 4 – Aurodium: Level 85, 6 Stars, Relic 5, Ability Level 6
Tier 5 – Kyber: Level 85, 7 Stars, Relic 6, Ability Level 7
All other upgrades granted by each LST remain the same.
The Anniversary Era
For our 10th Anniversary, we wanted to do something special with our Marquee characters. We looked at characters that were in the game in our original launch back in 2015, and paid homage to them with new characters that have a modern place in the SW:GoH meta. The ones we chose all focus on either lifting squads that we feel could use a little help in certain areas, or building entirely new squads out of currently “homeless” characters.
Anniversary Era Marquees
Stormtrooper Luke - One step up from Farmboy Luke, this somewhat short Stormtrooper makes Stormtrooper Han and Princess Leia part of a real Rebel squad along with R2-D2 and Old Ben prior to unlocking Leia Organa.
IG-90 - Counting up from IG-86 and IG-88, we get IG-90, a notorious bounty hunter who provides Doctor Aphra and her squad with a much-needed tank.
Yoda & Chewie - Take Clone Wars Chewbacca, add one Jedi master, and bake into a powerful addition to Tarrful’s Wookiee squad.
Asajj Ventress (Dark Disciple) - As a bounty hunter, Asajj Ventress looked for a place to belong as she made her way through the galaxy… much like the Scion whose squad she’ll join.
Inquisitor Barriss - As Barriss Offee falls from grace, she will be part of a strong Inquisitiorius squad in 3v3 as well as a potential Unaligned Force User for Cere Junda to take under her wing.
Darth Vader (Duel’s End) - As a Stranger steals away Vader’s apprentice from legend, this Elite Marquee joins his new master and the Emperor’s Hand as the backbone of a true Empire squad.
Anniversary Era Journey
Maul (Hate-Fueled) - Rebuilding his broken body from scrap metal and pure rage, the former Sith apprentice Maul will seek out a Stranger to give him new purpose and lead him in battle.
Important Note: The Era Journey Event will now begin with the fifth Marquee unit’s release. This will allow you to unlock the Era Journey Guide unit at 4* and can get enough shards to get to 5*. When the final Era Marquee unit releases you can then play the last tiers of the Journey Event and get enough shards for 6* and 7*. Like their Era Marquee companions, the Era Journey Guide unit also uses Era Levels until the Era ends.
Anniversary Era Coliseum Bosses
Dryax - A vicious pair of apex predators from the planet Wayland!
Jotaz - A bulky, ferocious brute from the mysterious planet of Zeffo!
Pirate AT-ST - Abandoned by the Empire and salvaged by a bloodthirsty crew of pirates!
Zeffo Tomb Guardians - An emotionless trio recovered from Zeffo’s Jedi tombs!
10th Anniversary Quest Celebration
Starting with the release of this Title Update, and continuing over the next six months, we are releasing a series of Anniversary Quest chains that will appear in all players’ Journey Quest logs starting at Player Level 10. These quests will take a little longer to complete than a typical Journey Quest, but will be especially attractive for brand-new or returning players, granting Lightspeed Tokens to accelerate them through unlocking a number of Journey Guide characters. That said, all players should see at least some benefits from these quests! These quests will remain available until November 17, 2026.
Unless otherwise specified, LSTs rewarded in these quest lines upgrade the character to 7 Stars and Gear XIII (a.k.a. Relic 0), with all abilities upgraded to maximum level. This includes Zeta upgrades but not Omicron upgrades. Below are the total rewards granted by each Anniversary Quest chain:
Quest Chain 1-A (Start Date 11-18-2025):
Hera Syndulla LST
Sabine Wren LST
10x Zeta Ability Materials
3x Omicron Ability Materials
Quest Chain 1-B (Start Date 12-2-2025):
Ezra Bridger LST
Chopper LST
10x Zeta Ability Materials
3x Omicron Ability Materials
Quest Chain 1-C (Requires completing chains 1-A and 1-B):
Captain Rex LST
Rebel LST
Emperor Palpatine LST (Requires completing final quest in chain to unlock Palpatine)
Does not grant Star upgrade, but all other upgrades are the same
Quest Chain 2-A (Start Date 12-16-2025):
Ahsoka Tano (Snips) LST
Jedi Knight Anakin LST
10x Zeta Ability Materials
3x Omicron Ability Materials
Quest Chain 2-B (Start Date 12-30-2025):
Mace Windu LST
Shaak Ti LST
10x Zeta Ability Materials
3x Omicron Ability Materials
Quest Chain 2-C (Requires completing chains 2-A and 2-B):
Kelleran Beq LST
Jedi LST
Grand Master Yoda LST (Requires completing final quest in chain to unlock GMY)
Does not grant Star upgrade, but all other upgrades are the same
Quest Chain 3-A (Start Date 1-13-2026):
Eighth Brother LST
Ninth Sister LST
10x Zeta Ability Materials
3x Omicron Ability Materials
Quest Chain 3-B (Start Date 1-27-2026):
5th Brother LST
Seventh Sister LST
10x Zeta Ability Materials
3x Omicron Ability Materials
Quest Chain 3-C (Requires completing chains 3-A and 3-B):
2nd Sister LST
Empire LST
R2-D2 LST (Requires completing final quest in chain to unlock R2)
Does not grant Star upgrade, but all other upgrades are the same
Quest Chain 4-A (Start Date 2-10-2026):
Princess Leia LST
Luke Skywalker (Farmboy) LST
10x Zeta Ability Materials
3x Omicron Ability Materials
Quest Chain 4-B (Start Date 2-24-2026):
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Old Ben) LST
Stormtrooper Han LST
10x Zeta Ability Materials
3x Omicron Ability Materials
Quest Chain 4-C (Requires completing chains 4-A and 4-B):
Admiral Ackbar LST
Droid LST
Commander Luke Skywalker LST (Requires completing final quest in chain to unlock CLS)
Does not grant Star upgrade, but all other upgrades are the same
Quest Chain 5-A (Start Date 3-10-2026):
Boba Fett LST
Bossk LST
10x Zeta Ability Materials
3x Omicron Ability Materials
Quest Chain 5-B (Start Date 3-24-2026):
IG-88 LST
Dengar LST
10x Zeta Ability Materials
3x Omicron Ability Materials
Quest Chain 5-C (Requires completing chains 5-A and 5-B):
Fennec Shand LST
Bounty Hunter LST
Chewbacca LST (Requires completing final quest in chain to unlock Chewbacca)
Does not grant Star upgrade, but all other upgrades are the same
Quest Chain 6-A (Start Date 4-7-2026):
The Mandalorian LST
Cara Dune LST
10x Zeta Ability Materials
3x Omicron Ability Materials
Quest Chain 6-B (Start Date 4-21-2026):
IG-11 LST
Kuiil LST
10x Zeta Ability Materials
3x Omicron Ability Materials
Quest Chain 6-C (Requires completing chains 6-A and 6-B):
Greef Karga LST
Mandalorian LST
The Mandalorian (Beskar Armor) LST (Requires completing final quest in chain to unlock BAM)
Does not grant Star upgrade, but all other upgrades are the same
Pillars of Seasonality
Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes has evolved so much over the last 10 years. As we looked at the future of the game, we wanted to build an ecosystem where all players could enjoy the latest content together. We established a few pillars for this ecosystem, eventually called Eras (seasonality), around which all of our design decisions were based and where we looked for guidance whenever an issue popped up. Let’s walk through the following 4 pillars to understand why they exist and how they affected the design of this release.
Pillar 1: Seasonal Play is for All Players
Whether players have been playing for 10 days or 10 years, we want everyone to play with the newest Marquee characters together. The first step to getting all players to experience the newest content together was to put all players on the same footing at the start of an Era. One option was to simply grant everyone the units for each event tier, but “borrowing units” doesn’t allow players to upgrade units in a unique way or support theorycrafting. Just using borrowed Units for an Era fundamentally didn’t feel like a fun or compelling way to grow a roster.
This led to the creation of a new progression system called Era Level. Now everyone would start from the same place each Era when playing with the new Marquee Units, and players could invest as they wanted.
Great! But now we had some questions to answer:
- How would these Era units interact with existing rosters and game modes?
If it’s not the highest relic level, how can players get that unit to a state of competitive viability? - What constitutes game-wide competitive viability when players could have a roster full of G7s or R7s?
Ensuring that these Units felt competitive for all types of players in existing modes regardless of where they are going on their journey was impossible. What was viable for one player in Grand Arena for example was completely useless or overpowered for another. We could have picked an average spot that would have these units be competitively viable for most players but we would be leaving someone out and it would violate our pillar of “Seasonal Play is for All Players.” Additionally, having these units live side by side also creates an in-game communication issue where the unit could exist in two very different states based on which mode(s) you used them in.
This left us with a choice:
- Allow players to use characters at a level that may or may not be competitively viable, which could mean the unit is usable by some and unusable by others
- Isolate seasonal play so that all players could use the new units in modes specifically designed to accommodate the new progression system
We chose to isolate seasonal play as we believe it is the cleaner solution that results in a better player experience across the board and lets everyone enjoy the newest content together.
Pillar 2: Focus on the Fun
One of our main pillars with introducing Seasonality was to create an experience for all types of players that focused on doing what is fun in Galaxy of Heroes. Fun means different things to different people, but here we are defining this as getting new characters, using them in exciting battles, and experiencing epic Star Wars stories. This distills not only what makes character collecting games exciting, but also why Star War: Galaxy of Heroes is a game we have loved for years.
So how do we do that? In our early game, players see rapid advancement in Gear levels and a matching pace of progression through early content. It’s fun watching multiple numbers go up every day, making clear progress toward content goals, and frequently getting stronger. It’s natural that as players get to higher investment and content, pacing slows down. This is evident in practically every RPG or game with a leveling curve. It’s something to embrace, yet it can sometimes leave us wishing we could experience that rapid progression again.
To that end, we wanted new Marquee units to be usable in content immediately with rapid and consistent incremental progress. This means Marquees need to be relevant at lower power levels and to receive frequent upgrades that result in direct improvement in gameplay performance. Eras should provide a consistent progression experience to all players.
This pillar informed some of the shaping of the Era Level system, but its primary impact was on the content landscape. We needed one or more new game modes that could be designed specifically for this new, isolated ecosystem. Content where players could feel the impact of upgrades while witnessing large accomplishments over the course of an Era.
Enter the Coliseum! The first of our new seasonal modes provided opportunities for boss encounters on a rotating schedule so players could feel the experience of making significant progress on a daily basis. It also gives our designers space to come up with fun and exciting content more frequently while revisiting some of the awesome units we have created in the past but were only used a handful of times.
Now remember Pillar 1, Seasonal Play is for All Players. With this in mind, we aimed to keep the Coliseum boss encounters simpler. However, the Coliseum still needs to be a place where veterans and new players alike can experience the fun of mastering a new challenge together. A variety of bosses at the right level of complexity allows theorycrafters to have a space to explore nuances while others can enjoy the progression from day to day. In short, we’re aiming to bring the whole community together to have fun.
Pillar 3: Tell a Star Wars story
Our love of Star Wars is what brings us together. It’s a wonderful universe full of stories we enjoy reading, watching, hearing, and playing. We wanted to make sure that through Eras we were providing deep, immersive stories and rich narrative experiences for players.
While the Coliseum provides some narrative elements, we want to do more. The Cantina and the overall game need to evolve to better support the Star Wars stories we want to tell. This is arguably our largest update ever to the game, and yet it doesn’t contain nearly all of the stuff we wanted to build for you, our players. We have much more in store for Eras in the future, and that’s where we want to continue to grow this Pillar with more story-driven content.
Pillar 4: Eras are the Most Efficient Path for Player Progress
This Pillar has been a top priority as we’ve developed these systems. At every turn we kept asking “how is this helping players grow their roster?” Players who’ve played for 10 days have drastically different goals than those who’ve played for 10 years and require very different rewards.
All players need to see durable progress from participating in Eras. For Eras to be the most efficient path for growing your roster, any progress made during an Era needs to translate directly into progress after the Era ends. It is critical that players did not feel like they lost any progress or their resources were wasted when upgrading characters during an Era.
This is the reason for several choices, including (but not limited to):
- Why Era Levels use unique materials instead of Gear/Relics - Players no longer have to choose between progressing toward their goals or playing with the newest characters.
Lightspeed Token Rewards and Era Units Conversion - Seasonality provides players with - Lightspeed Tokens to help them achieve their goals while also growing their roster with the newest Era units, all without using their Legacy resources.
- Relic 10 Materials Rewards - For veteran players, Eras allow them to power up their existing Legacy units to greater heights by competing on Era leaderboards to earn Relic 10 materials.
- Era Currency gives Players Agency over their Rewards - Players need to earn relevant rewards for their legacy roster, and Era Currency and the new Shipment tab allow you to earn the resources that are most valuable to you.
With these, players can continue to work on Territory Battle and Raid squads, hone their PvP capabilities, and unlock new Journey Guide chases while still acquiring, using, and advancing the newest characters.
Conclusion
Hopefully this post provides you with a better understanding of how we made some of the choices we did for this monumental 10th Anniversary update. We want to move to a world where Galaxy of Heroes players both new and old are strategizing and playing together in the latest events and with the latest characters without feeling like they are missing out on their favorite Star Wars experiences. Where newer players can feel like they are contributing to Guilds meaningfully without years of catching up while respecting our most engaged players who have been playing for years.
Ultimately, Seasonality needs to provide real progress towards your existing goals. We don’t want you choosing between playing the latest cool stuff and actually preparing your roster for long term success. It’s a tough balancing act and we know there will be feedback on how we achieve this. It won’t be perfect but we are truly excited to continue this journey with you all!
Thank you again for 10 years of amazing holotable stories. We could not have done it without you.
- SWGOH Dev Team
We know this was a long post, so if you have questions, feel free to submit them HERE
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