SWTOR content patch “Rise of the Rakghouls” for next Tuesday

Only a month after the official release of Star Wars: The Old Republic, the first content patch is already planned.  Next Tuesday, January 17^th, Rise of the Rakghouls will be added to the budding game.  This new patch will include higher level content, balancing, and bug fixes.  The next update is planned for March 2012.  This future patch will include new Flashpoints, Operations, and Warzones.

The official quote from BioWare states:

“A month ago when we launched the Early Game Access program for Star Wars: The Old Republic, we promised our fans that this would just be the beginning of our journey together,” said Dr. Greg Zeschuk, General Manager of the BioWare Label’s MMO Business Unit and Co-Founder of BioWare. “Rise of the Rakghouls adds a lot of the things our community has been asking for – additional higher level group content, features like anti-aliasing, PvP bracketing and more. In the future, game updates will be even more substantial, as we promise to continue to not only add to The Old Republic, but to also improve and refine the experience with the full Legacy System and new Guild features.”

Just what is Rise of the Rakghouls?  It is a new Flashpoint, a new Operation, and a 50’s bracket for PvP Warzones and changes to PvP on Ilum.  Stright from the mouth of the press release is the deeper explanation below:

Flashpoint: Kaon Under Siege is a completely new and unique group combat experience located on Kaon, a planet in the Tion Hegemony, a strategically important sector of the galaxy that has remained neutral, groups of up to four Republic or Imperial players must race to Kaon to eliminate the Rakghouls outbreak, securing the allegiance of the Tion Hegemony for their respective sides. This Flashpoint will be available for level 50 characters only and will feature Normal and Heroic modes.

Operation: Karagga’s Palace, is a continuation of the game’s second launch Operation. In the Operation, teams of 8 or 16 players will face off against Karagga and the Hutt Cartel after the Hutts abandon their famous neutrality and breach agreements with both the Republic and Empire. Concerned by the threat of another combatant in the war for galactic control, both factions send teams of their most powerful heroes to confront Karagga and determine his intentions. This Operation will feature Normal, Heroic