Star Wars : The Old Republic : Rise of the Hutt Cartel Star Wars : The Old Republic : Rise of the Hutt Cartel is the first digital expansion pack to the " " , released on April 14 , 2013 as part of Game Update 2 . 0 . Plot summary . In the wake of Karagga ' s death , the Hutt Toborro seizes the leadership of the Hutt Cartel , establishing himself as the new Supreme Mogul with Szajin , as his right - hand man . Seeing the Empire weakened , Toborro decides to continue Karagga ' s campaign of expansion , but with the planet Makeb at the heart of a new era of Hutt conquest — for Makeb is home to deposits of the incredibly rare and powerful mineral known as isotope - 5 . Isotope - 5 is capable of warping electromagnetic and gravitational fields , and a gram of the substance can generate immense amounts of power . Toborro therefore pays off Makeb ' s defense force , the mercenary army known as the InterStellar Regulators , to help the Hutts conquer the world , and the Cartel blockades the Makeb system as Toborro begins to mine the isotope - 5 in Makeb ' s core without any regard for what it would do to the planet . Republic . Upon learning of the Hutts ' actions , Chancellor Saresh consults with the Jedi Order and learns that the Hutts will likely try to continue their conquests if they are not stopped , so she pledges Republic aid to the citizens of Makeb . Saresh ' s forces make contact with Shalim Avesta , leader of the Makeb resistance and the planet ' s de facto Head of State , and help him rescue his niece Lemda , who is a geophysicist who was captured by the Regulators after she discovered that Toborro ' s drilling will cause the planet to break apart . After breaking into the Hutt Embassy in Makeb ' s capital Talaos City , the Republic forces and the Makeb resistance learn of the Ark , an enormous vessel being constructed inside the hollow Giant ' s Spear mesa that will ferry Toborro , the other Cartel personnel , and their isotope - 5 stores off of the planet when the planet begins to break apart . The Republic and resistance forces promptly seize the Giant ' s Spear and the Ark , repurposing the vessel to carry Makeb ' s civilians as a true ark to safety . A furious Toborro unleashes the Regulators against the Avesta Plantation , but the Republic forces head off the Regulators on the Fingers mesa and also destroy the " Storm Carrier " warship , killing the Regulator Vice - Commandant Grevin in the process . Toborro then reveals that the Ark is powered by isotope - 5 before sending his Regulators to attack the settlement of Tarlam along with isotope - 5 droid s , powerful war droids powered by isotope - 5 , though the Republic and the resistance evacuate Tarlam ' s civilians to the Ark . Desperate for a fuel source to power the Ark , the Republic and resistance forces assault the Sanctuary research complex in order to locate Dr . Juvard Illip Oggurobb , a Hutt scientist and the creator of the Ark and the isotope - 5 droids . The Republic forces are able to successfully locate Oggurobb with the Hutt ' s help in bypassing the Sanctuary ' s security systems , as Oggurobb wishes to defect to the Republic because he has realized Toborro has gone insane . Oggurobb confirms that Toborro possesses the fuel rods , but warns the Republic that the Hutt leader has increased mining operations to maximum levels — an action that will result in the destruction of Makeb long before the civilians are evacuated . Republic forces then disabled several mining platforms and vented the planet ' s core , reducing the buildup of heat and the seismic activity , giving them more time . Around the same time , most of the leaders of the Hutt Cartel , having come to recognize that Toborro has gone insane , approach Shalim Avesta and the Republic with a request to board the Ark . The Republic convinces Avesta to allow the Hutts aboard the Ark in exchange for an alliance between the Hutt Cartel and the Republic , gaining the Republic a new ally in the ongoing war . Using a secret entrance provided by Oggurobb , Republic forces infiltrate Toborro ' s Palace and search for the fuel rods , confronting the mad Cartel leader . Toborro unleashes a powerful isotope - 5 droid known as Toborro ' s Glittering Fury upon the intruders , but after it is defeated , the Hutt commits suicide by igniting his isotope - 5 stockpiles in an attempt to kill the Republic forces . However , the Republic forces escape with the fuel rods before the palace ' s destruction and return to the Ark , where the fuel rods are installed and the Ark is launched just as the Giant ' s Spear collapses . The Hutt Cartel is ordered to supply a new home and credits to the people of Makeb as part of their alliance with the Republic , but the Republic is surprised to see that Makeb ' s destruction did not come to pass — unbeknownst to them , Darth Marr ' s Imperial strike team was able to prevent the planet ' s destruction . As the crisis passes , it is discovered that Regulator holdouts are still alive down on the surface with thousands of civilians who were believed to be dead , leading Supreme Commander Malcom to devote Republic forces towards rescuing the people and securing the still - valuable world . Empire . Around the same time , the Dark Councilor Darth Marr learns of Makeb ' s valuable isotope - 5 resource and dispatches a small strike team to secure the isotope - 5 reserves for the weakening Empire . The team crashes on the planet due to Makeb ' s violent atmosphere . They are contacted by an Imperial agent who tells them to take control of Gravity Hook 7 to secure Imperial transport on - and off - world . Once they do so , they meet the Imperial agent in person , who introduces herself as Katha Niar , formerly of the Ministry of Logistics . She introduces the rest of her team as Lord Cytharat , their tactical advisor ; Doctor Nadrin Tro , a Neimoidian scientist ; and the Cathar Hanthor and Sergeant Bedareux . The Imperial team goes to the resort of Solida Hesk , a Makeb collaborator with the Hutts . They learn from Hesk that the isotope - 5 is being held at a facility called Stronghold One . In order to gain access to the stronghold , they decide to foment a rebellion against the Hutts to distract them . They track down the rebel leader Pollus Avesta and convince him to attack the Hutts . With the Regulators distracted , they attack Stronghold One . However , they find that the Hutt Archon Szajin has already processed all of the isotope - 5 stored there into battle droids . They report back to Darth Marr , who is displeased with their failure . They decide that the only way to acquire isotope - 5 is to secretly stabilize Makeb ' s core , allowing the Empire to take control of the abandoned planet . First , they travel into the planet ' s core via a mining shaft to locate the deposits of isotope - 5 using an energy pulse . Doctor Nadrin finds a way to stabilize the core , but they require Makeb engineers to operate the drilling lasers . They rescue one group of engineers from the Regulators and abduct others from a Republic refugee convoy . They then enact their plan by attacking the drilling platforms to secure them from Hutt forces . The scientists and engineers accelerate the destabilization of the core , allowing it to settle into a new equilibrium before the mantle cracks . Darth Marr congratulates them on their success . They return to Niar , but find she has been captured by Szajin ' s forces . They assault Szajin ' s Palace and rescue Niar , however it is too late , as now Szajin knows about Makeb ' s stabilization . They confront Szajin , who fights them in an isotope - 5 powered mech . After Szajin is defeated , he orders his mercenary leaders to transmit the truth to the Hutt Cartel , but they use the mining lasers to provoke a massive groundquake that kills most life on Makeb , assuring the secret will be kept . They kill Szajin , and Niar dies from her injuries . Seeker droids . During this time , the forces of the Dread Masters acquire the Seeds of Rage — powerful dark side machines constructed by the Sith Lord Fulminiss — when they convince a guard to help steal them from the " Arcanum " , the Sith Emperor ' s secret storehouse of Sith artifacts and dark side experiments . The Dread Masters bury the Seeds on planets across the galaxy so that they can sow fear and darkness as the Seeds warp the environments around them , prompting both the " Arcanum " keeper Darth Acina and the Jedi Master Cedral Gend to recruit help in locating and recovering the Seeds . However , the Sith Lord Tagriss leads a raid on the " Arcanum " after learning of the station ' s location , wreaking havoc and making off with the powerful Darkstaff . Macrobinoculars . The mysterious spy known only as The Shroud threatens the Republic and Imperial capital worlds of Coruscant and Dromund Kaas . Features . Major additions . Makeb . " Rise of the Hutt Cartel ' s " central theme is a new planet , Makeb , to both the game and the Star Wars canon . This will introduce a new story in which the Hutt Cartel conquers Makeb in order to rival both the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire in power . Operation : Scum and Villainy . " Rise of the Hutt Cartel " also adds an all - new level 55 operation , Scum and Villainy . The operation entails the players heading to the planet of Darvannis to prevent a Hutt army of mercenaries from forming . Also included in the expansion is a level 55 nightmare mode version of the " Terror From Beyond " operation . Operation : Toborro ' s Courtyard . In addition to the main Operation , Scum and Villainy , the digital expansion also adds a mini - operation , Toborro ' s Courtyard , which can be accessed on Makeb . Level 55 Hard Mode Flashpoints . Included in the purchase of " Rise of the Hutt Cartel " is the addition of Hard Mode Level 55 versions of flashpoints such as " Cademimu V " and " Hammer Station " . Feature improvements . The expansion also features the long - awaited increase of the level cap from 50 to 55 .