Star Wars Galaxies Star Wars Galaxies ( often abbreviated SWG ) was a " Star Wars " - themed developed by Sony Online Entertainment ( SOE ) and published by LucasArts for . The base game , titled " Star Wars Galaxies : An Empire Divided " , was released on June 26 , 2003 in the United States of America , November 7 , 2003 in Europe , December 23 , 2004 in Japan , and in 2006 in Australia . The base game was upgraded with three major expansions since . In addition to the initial cost of the game software , SOE charged a monthly subscription fee ( like most other MMORPGs ) of $ 14 . 99 ( 11 . 15 , 9 . 49 ) , with discounts for 3 - , 6 - , and 12 - month subscriptions . On June 24 , 2011 , Sony announced that Galaxies would be shut down on December 15 of that year . Development and release . On March 16 , 2000 , LucasArts Entertainment announced a partnership with and Sony Online Entertainment ( SOE ) to create the first massively multiplayer " Star Wars " online role - playing game . The then - unnamed game would be developed by Verant with online play supported by SOE . This was the same team responsible for creating and supporting the popular massively multiplayer online game . LucasArts would be responsible for all distribution of the " Star Wars " online game . The announcement included an expected release date some time in 2001 and that the game would take place during the classic trilogy " Star Wars " era . LucasArts officially announced the brand name of the game to be title Star Wars Galaxies on November 29 , 2000 . The announcement claimed the first round of testing for " Star Wars Galaxies " was expected to start in late 2001 which would push back the official release date to an unknown time . The game ' s official information site was launched on November 30 , 2000 in conjunction with SOE and featured frequently asked questions about the game and message boards fielded by members of the development team . On May 17 , 2001 , even before the game went into public , the first expansion ' s development was announced . The yet unnamed add - on , which was expected to be available six months after the initial product release , would be a space simulation and enable players to own and fly starships which would allow interplanetary travel and space combat . The release date of the initial product , the ground - based component , was updated to the second half of 2002 . The staggered release schedule of the space component of the " Star Wars Galaxies " series was said to benefit players because they would have time to establish their characters and explore different elements of the core game before adding the space layer . Traveling between planets would be accomplished through the use of public shuttles , which would ferry characters from world to world . A new official site launched on the same day which placed more of an emphasis behind the community of the game . It included new screen shots , movies , an updated FAQ , concept art , development team member ' s profiles , features about the game , and a new forum . The site reached 100 , 000 users by December 2001 . Throughout the next year after the release of the new site , new content would be revealed . This content included information on species and locations , new images and movies of different game elements , and 360 degree panoramas of different locations . Verant began accepting applications from users in May 2002 who were interested in participating in a closed beta test for SWG . The closed beta test would begin in July 2002 . SOE would share more information on the game as the beta moved forward . This would include more screen shots , information on match making services , the fact that players would be permitted only one character per server , and skill trees and how the skill - based system would function . LucasArts also announced on May 20 , 2002 that both the Xbox and would get a version of the game , but these would later be cancelled . The year 2002 ended with LucasArts officially confirming a release date of April 15 , 2003 . They also announced on December 20 , 2002 that the ground - based component of " Star Wars Galaxies " would be called " An Empire Divided " and that the game ' s online community had grown to over 400 , 000 users since its original release in November 2000 . This represented one of the largest ever fan communities amassed for any game prior to retail availability . " An Empire Divided " would later be delayed to an unknown time , but on June 17 , 2003 , LucasArts confirmed that " Star Wars Galaxies : An Empire Divided " would be released on June 26 . With a " Star Wars " license and veteran designer Raph Koster at the helm , expectations among gamers ran high during the development of " Galaxies " . Many industry professionals expected that these forces would push the subscription numbers past the one million mark . As development wore on , the release date was pushed back , features were cut , and Sony canceled planned ports for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 . The base game , " An Empire Divided " , was released in the United States on June 26 , 2003 to mixed reviews . " Galaxies " was most criticized for numerous bugs and broken features that plagued the game . After release , the developers continued working on the features cut during the delay . In November 2003 , two of those most anticipated features , creature mounts and player - created cities were enabled . Also , on November 7 , 2003 it was announced that the first player had unlocked a Force - sensitive character slot needed to become a Jedi . On November 7 , 2003 , " An Empire Divided " was released in Europe . A localized version for the Japanese market was published by Electronic Arts Japan on December 23 , 2004 . However , Japanese acceptance of the game was low , and in November 2005 the servers were shut down and existing accounts migrated to US servers . Story and setting . " Star Wars Galaxies " did not begin with any sort of over - arching story . Originally , as the original opening crawl states , after character creation , the player started out on an Imperial Star Destroyer after being captured on a passenger ship suspected of illegal activity . After being cleared of any wrong doing , the player was instructed to make their way through the ship towards the shuttle bay . Along the way , various obstacles were used to educate the player in the basics of game play . After reaching the shuttle bay , the player was allowed to choose a starting planet , then city . The planetary choices were Naboo , Tatooine , or Corellia . A majority of the already established cities on the planet of choice could be chosen as a starting point , such as Moenia , Theed , Coronet , Doaba Guerfel , Mos Eisley , or Anchorhead . After choosing , they were loaded up into their city of choice on the planet with nothing but a green and yellow R2 helper droid , a limited use 74 - Z speeder bike and no real direction on what to do next . After the release of the " New Game Enhancements " in late 2005 however , story elements became more important to the development of your character . The introductory sequence was changed . This time the player started out on an Imperial space station . The player was quickly contacted by C - 3PO , who familiarized the player with the basics of the controls , and informed them that Han Solo would arrive shortly to rescue them . Han , Chewbacca , and R2 - D2 arrived and escorted the player to the hangar bay , where they were attacked by three stormtroopers . After killing the troopers , Han , the player and crew boarded the " Millennium Falcon " and escaped the exploding station , with TIE fighters giving chase . The next sequence was meant to familiarize the player with the space combat game play . The player commanded one of the " Falcon " ' s turrets and destroyed several TIE fighters , after which the " Millennium Falcon " hyperjumped to Tansarii Point Station . After arriving on the station , the player was free to complete several story - driven quests on their quest for credits and experience ( the player had to reach level 5 before they could leave the station ) . Once the player was sufficiently experienced , the player had to aid Han Solo in repairing the " Falcon " . Upon doing so , Han Solo dropped the player off in front of the spaceport in Mos Eisley on Tatooine . Before leaving , Han Solo set them up with a speeder , and a contact in Eisley . This led the player to working for Jabba the Hutt , first through Bib Fortuna , then directly from Jabba ' s Palace . Further quests in this over - arching chain ( known collectively as the " Legacy " quests ) took the player to other planets , including Naboo , Corellia , and Talus . All throughout this quest chain , the player met many familiar faces from " Star Wars " canon , including Watto , Ephant Mon , Jabba the Hutt , Boss Nass , and Quarsh Panaka , just to name a few . Opening crawls . From its release in June of 2003 until November of 2005 , " Star Wars Galaxies " used an opening crawl much like the movies as an introduction during character creation . After the release of the " New Game Enhancements " in November of 2005 , a slightly updated opening crawl was used . < br clear = " all " > Timeline . According to the opening crawl of the game , " Star Wars Galaxies " was set sometime after . Meanwhile , the existence of certain characters and quests indicated that the game was set before the events of . Serji - X Arrogantus appeared in the game , and is established to have died in 0 ABY . This seemingly implies that " Star Wars Galaxies " was set very shortly after the Battle of Yavin . However , another character named Sergeant Ruwan Tokai clearly mentioned that the destruction of the Death Star occurred a year earlier , suggesting a timeline closer to 1 ABY . Furthermore , Darth Vader just learns that it was his son , Luke Skywalker , who destroyed the Death Star , a revelation which is said to have occurred around 2 ABY . Cryptic mentions were made in the game about the existence of Echo Base on Hoth . Han Solo ' s appearance on Lok proves that the game was set before the events of 3 ABY , when he became encased in carbonite . This means certain portions of the game took place immediately after the Battle of Yavin in 0 ABY , some immediately before the Battle of Hoth in 3 ABY , and some in between , making a concrete date impossible to determine for the game as a whole . With Chapter 11 in November 2008 , the developers added the Battle of Hoth to the game . However , the developers were quite clear that this did not advance the timeline . It was only intended to be a completely isolated " Star Wars Moment " to give players the opportunity to participate in the iconic movie event without any effect on continuity for the rest of of the game . During the final day of the game on December 15 , 2011 , the developers depicted the second Death Star over Endor , and included a bunker on the moon where Imperial and Rebel players could fight against each other . Not long before the servers were terminated , the second Death Star was shown being destroyed in the sky . This indicates that at least the final day of the game tenuously took place in 4 ABY . It should be noted , however , that characters like Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine could still be visited after the Death Star ' s destruction . Planets and explorable areas . The original basic " game world " consisted of ten simulated planetary surfaces and associated structures . The twelve different planets were taken from the " Star Wars " films and the Expanded Universe : Tatooine , Naboo , Corellia , Talus , Rori , Dantooine , Lok , Yavin 4 , the forest moon of Endor and Dathomir . The game ' s first expansion , " " , added explorable space sectors for every original planet . Two additional space sectors were also included , Deep Space and the Kessel sector . The chapter 8 update also added the Nova Orion Station . In the second expansion , " " , the Wookiee planet Kashyyyk was added . In the third expansion , " " added the planet Mustafar ( the only planet without an explorable space sector ) . Examples of characters and points of interest that players could visit within the game included HK - 47 ( from " " and ) , R2 - D2 , C - 3PO , their escape pod on Tatooine , the Naboo Royal Palace , the abandoned Rebel bases on Dantooine and Yavin IV , the notorious pirate Nym in his stronghold on Lok , Ewoks and rancors . Each of the ten original planets were represented by approximately 225 square kilometers ( 15 km x 15 km ) of game space , with all established cities and locations compressed into that space . In contrast , the expansion planets of Kashyyyk and Mustafar were smaller , constructed differently ( e . g . instances ) and in some cases imposed different rules than the original , such as terrain that was not traversable ( i . e . mountains or hills that cannot be climbed over ) . Kashyyyk was represented by several navigational zones that connected to each other via portals located throughout that planet . Many of these zones were instanced , meaning that only the player or group that selected that zone were likely the only inhabitants of that zone . Mustafar had a traditional layout similar to the original planets , but with many instanced dungeons scattered across the landscape . With the release of Chapter 11 , the planet Hoth was released as an instance . Ord Mantell was also added . < br clear = " all " > Gameplay and features . In basic gameplay , the player used his or her character ' s skills and special abilities to attack targets , complete quests , undertake missions , create useful in - game items , and / or entertain other players . The player ' s character would have opportunities to meet famous " Star Wars " characters , earn in - game fame and fortune ( or infamy and notoriety ) , travel to iconic " Star Wars " locations , and obtain numerous items , artifacts , and ' trophies ' that could enhance his or her character . Species and professions . Players of the game created characters to navigate through these environments . Characters in " Star Wars Galaxies " could be one of ten species , again taken from the films and the Expanded Universe : Human , Twi ' lek , Zabrak , Wookiee , Trandoshan , Rodian , Mon Calamari , Bothan , Sullustan , or Ithorian . A character could be either male or female , and he or she belonged to one of nine iconic professions : Jedi , bounty hunter , smuggler , commando , spy , officer , medic , entertainer , or trader . Chapter 6 has introduced beast master , the NGE version of the pre - NGE creature handler , as a separate expertise tree . A character could also optionally advance in the politician and pilot professions , independent of his or her primary profession . As with all MMORPGs , the feature set of " Star Wars Galaxies " were subject to change . Species . A player could create a male or female character of the following species : There were a number of species that appeared throughout the game as NPCs ( non - player characters ) . < br clear = " all " > Professions . These professions were available in the game ' s later releases , following the " New Game Enhancements " : Player housing , guilds , and cities . Characters could erect , own and decorate a variety of buildings , including houses , cantinas , guild halls and city halls . These buildings , when grouped , could be organized into cities . Players held elections via ballot box for Mayor . Elected mayors granted city members certain rights to place structures within the city and eject players from cities as needed . Reelections were held every three weeks . If another player wished to run for mayor they could add their name at any time to the ballot box to run against the incumbent . As cities grew in population , they became eligible to add services and facilities such as vehicle repair garages , shuttleports , cloning facilities , hospitals , cantinas and garden displays . They could show up on the planetary maps alongside canonical cities such as Theed and Mos Eisley . Starships . The game included a variety of playable and non - player controlled ships : Servers . There were twenty - five different servers — called " galaxies " — in which players could choose to play the game . Most of them were named after obscure ships from the Expanded Universe . Twelve were shut down on October 15 , 2009 , leaving thirteen which were shut down with the game ' s closure on December 15 th , 2011 . They are : < br clear = " all " > Releases , expansions and updates . " An Empire Divided " . At the time of its initial release , the game was very different than it was at the time of its closure . Vehicles and creature mounts were not yet implemented . While player housing was in the game , player cities were not . ( Those features were added in November 2003 . ) Each character and creature possessed three " pools " ( called Health , Action , and Mind ; or " HAM " ) that represented his or her physical and mental reserves . Most attacks specifically targeted one of these three pools and any action the character took also depleted one or more of the pools . When any one of those pools was fully depleted , the character would fall unconscious . Combat required the player to carefully manage his or her actions to avoid depleting a pool . Character progression was vastly different at release as well . Characters started out in one of six basic professions ( Medic , Brawler , Marksman , Scout , Entertainer , or Artisan ) and could pick up any of the other five at any time after character creation . Each profession consisted of a tree - like structure of skills , with a single Novice level , four independent branches of four levels each , and a Master level which required completion of all four branches . Characters purchased these skills with experience points gained through a related activity . For example , an Entertainer could purchase skills to get better at playing music , but only with Musician experience points . Dancing experience points were entirely separate and could only be used to purchase dancing skills . In addition to the basic professions , characters could specialize into advanced professions such as Bounty Hunter , Creature Handler , Ranger , Doctor , and Musician . There were a total of 24 advanced professions , although there was no way for characters to obtain all of them at once . Each advanced profession had certain skill requirements from the base professions that had to be met , some more restrictive than others . Jedi were not available as a starting profession , or even as an advanced profession . The developers stated only that certain in - game actions would open up a Force - sensitive character slot . The actions required were left for players to discover . It eventually turned out that characters had to achieve Master level in five random professions . The identity of four of those necessary professions could be learned via looted holocrons , but the fifth had to be found via trial and error . The first Force - sensitive character slot was unlocked on November 7 , 2003 . Expansion packs . In addition to the base game , three expansions were developed by SOE and published by LucasArts since the game ' s inception : Combat Upgrade . The Combat Upgrade of April 2005 was a major revamping and rewriting of the entire " Star Wars Galaxies " combat , armor , and weapons system . A more restricted tone was set , whereas only certain characters in certain professions would use specific weapons and wear armor . In addition , the method of fighting in the game was redone with skill levels assigned to both players and game creatures . Under the new system , only a creature of equal skill could be attacked by a player , with lesser creatures rendering no experience if killed and the more powerful creatures deemed almost invincible to single player attacks . New Game Enhancements ( NGE ) . On November 15 , 2005 , there was a complete overhaul of all game aspects , reducing the number of professions to nine , down from original thirty - two . New patches came out emphasizing the balance and individuality of each profession . These included : Free character transfers and server closures . Beginning January 13 , 2009 , SOE began offering a free character transfer to all current subscribers of the game . Players were allowed a one - time only transfer from one " galaxy " ( or server ) to another . The departing and destination servers were each part of separate lists . You could only depart from a set list of servers and could only transfer to a set list of servers . This promotion was set to end on October 15 , 2009 . SOE announced on September 15 , 2009 that a number of " Star Wars Galaxies " ' servers would be permanently shut down on October 15th , 2009 . The following is a list of the servers that were permanently closed on this date . All characters , items , and structures still present on those servers were permanently lost when they closed down . < br clear = " all " > SOE later announced that , beginning on October 16 , 2009 , players who had had characters on the deactivated servers , yet did not take advantage of the free character transfer service , could contact SOE Customer Support and , for the standard $ 50 . 00 charge for a Character Transfer , could transfer a character from an inactive server to an active one . However , as a courtesy , when some users submitted their requests to the GMs , the transfer fee was offered to them free of charge . Sony announced on April 20 , 2011 that they would begin offering free , unlimited character transfers between servers on April 26 , 2011 . When this system became active , the paid service was no longer available , however many of the same restrictions on the paid service still applied . Additionally , under this new system , players were unable to transfer to the Starsider server ; however , they could transfer " from " the server and could also transfer between " other " servers every 90 days . The end of " Galaxies " . On June 24 , 2011 , SOE announced that " Star Wars Galaxies " and the " Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game " would be permanently shutting down on December 15 , 2011 . Additionally , the ability to purchase cards and booster packs for the trading card game was also disabled . Starting September 15 , 2011 , the game became unavailable for purchase at retail or through digital download and no new or reactivated accounts were to be allowed after this date . Additionally , all billing for the game was turned off on this date and any accounts that were active and in good standing at the time were able to play the game for the remainder of time for free and any such accounts were able to try any SOE game for free as a full member . After the shut - down , some former players created servers that emulate the pre - NGE version of the game . Reception . Prior to its launch , " Galaxies " won E³ Awards for two years in a row ; first in 2001 for Best PC Game and Best Online Multiplayer , and then in 2002 for Best Online Multiplayer . Reviews for the initial launch of the game in 2003 were mostly positive . The game was praised for its lush graphics , liberal use of the film soundtracks , massive world size , character customization , creative creature ecology , complex skill system , player economy interdependencies and its sandbox approach . Reviewers criticized the overwhelming complexity of the game , / combat imbalances of the professions , bugginess and lack of quest content . The reviews for the first expansion , " Jump To Lightspeed " , praised the new space combat but criticized the ground game for its lack of sufficient improvement . The reviews for the second expansion , " Rage Of The Wookiees " lauded the new quest content for current subscribers but lamented the Combat Upgrade and the continued bugginess of the game . The third expansion , " Trials Of Obi - Wan " ( ToOW ) , once again introduced new quest and content and the planet Mustafar . However , two weeks later a new system called NGE was introduced , which forever changed the play style of SWG and removed some of the content that was included with ToOW . Controversies . Jedi . Players who wished to play a Jedi character had to first unlock their Jedi slot by fulfilling an unknown list of criteria . However , within four months of this stipulation , no player had yet achieved the goal . Jedi forum at the official site turned into a " flamer ' s paradise " as some subscribers accused the developers of lying about the Jedi system being in place . The first player unlocked their Jedi slot on Friday November 7 , 2003 . LucasArts game producer Haden Blackman stated in an interview on December 20 , 2003 , with : " We ' re confident in the [ Jedi ] system because the feedback from players has been extremely positive . Not only are Jedi players happy with the system and the powers they are receiving . . . " This caused a backlash by some players who felt this statement was misleading . Gamespy noted : " GameSpy ' s mail was so flooded with reports from the Galaxies community that we started researching this feature to present both sides of the story . " Because the time commitment to unlock a Jedi was substantial , players complained that perma - death of the character after three deaths was overly harsh . The developers eventually relented and lowered the penalty to skill loss in January , 2004 . Some players further complained that the process of unlocking the Jedi slot , known as " hologrinding " , was overly long , painful and disruptive to the social fabric of the game . In March 2005 , the developers released a quest system as the new path to unlocking the Jedi slot . With the NGE ( see below ) in November 2005 , allowing all players , including new ones , to play a Jedi character , there were complaints that the time and effort that veteran players had expended in unlocking their Jedi slots were all for naught . Combat Upgrade . SWG developers promised a " Combat Upgrade " or " CU , " which was released April 27 , 2005 , and represented a major re - writing of the combat , armor , and weapons systems , wherein only certain professions could use specific weapons and armor . The combat mechanics in the game were shifted from a skill system to a combat level system for both players and game creatures . The UI icon graphics were changed from monochromatic to color . This alteration resulted in controversy caused by players who criticized the changes , and cancellations during that time . New Game Enhancements . Another set of game changes dubbed the " New Game Enhancements " ( NGE ) began testing on November 4 , 2005 , going live on November 15 via digital download , and became available in retail as the " Star Wars Galaxies : Starter Kit " on November 22 . Changes included the reduction of the 34 original professions to nine " iconic " ones . There were criticisms of the changes in some reviews , and negative player feedback was noted by media outlets outside the gaming industry , including , , and . On , president of SOE explained that they felt it necessary to revamp the game to the NGE in order to reverse the deterioration they were seeing in the subscriber base . The development team affirmed this was their desired direction for the game , and they were slowly modifying parameters to address players ' desires . This progress included the re - introduction of some pre - NGE features that were removed , such as creature handling , target locking , auto - firing , the ability to fire special attacks from their keys , and the option to keep the camera behind the character , rather than the NGE ' s over - the - shoulder perspective . The development team also gave each profession a set of " Expertise trees " to bring back some complexity and differentiation to characters . Thousands of players canceled their accounts as a result of the NGE . In a 2014 chat , Smedley wrote that he " would do everything differently " if given a chance to relaunch the game , and that SOE ' s next project would please players of " Star Wars Galaxies " . Expansion refund . The " Trials of Obi - Wan " expansion met with controversy as , two days after the expansion was released , the development team announced the NGE . Many players objected that they would not have purchased the expansion if they had known in advance about the NGE . SOE eventually offered a refund to players who had purchased the expansion prior to the NGE ; though this refund was quickly rescinded due to what the player community believed was an overwhelming number of refund requests . Subscriber numbers . Many industry professionals expected that the subscription numbers would exceed the one million mark , a feat accomplished only thus far in Asia by MMORPGs such as " " and more recently by " " . Based on NPD figures as of February 2004 , SWG sold more than 300 , 000 boxed copies at retail for a total initial revenue of over $ 18 million dollars . SOE confirmed in March 2004 that there were well over 200 , 000 monthly subscribers making it the second largest MMORPG in North America . The company later reported in 2004 that they had 250 , 000 subscribers . In August 2005 , SOE reported that they had now sold 1 , 000 , 000 boxed copies of the game . Media sources reported that the subscriber numbers had fallen substantially since the release of the CU and the NGE . In early 2006 after the NGE , allegedly " hacked " numbers purported to show that only 10 , 363 subscribers were playing on a particular Friday night . The President of SOE , John Smedley , denied that subscriptions had fallen this low : " " Have the numbers in Star Wars Galaxies gone down ? I will tell you that the concurrent numbers have gone down . Are they as low as what was shown there ? Absolutely not " . " As of the second quarter of 2006 , according to charts at MMOGchart . com , there were estimated to be between 110 , 000 and 175 , 000 subscribers . However , even MMOGchart . com rated the subscriber number as a " C " which mean they are " merely industry ' best guesses ' or are otherwise questionable " due to SOE not releasing SWG subscriber numbers . Continuity . When Leland Chee was asked on the StarWars . com Message Boards if " Star Wars Galaxies " is generally ignored when it comes to canon , he replied with : When asked about player - created characters , ships , and events featured on the official " Star Wars Galaxies " website , Leland stated that such aspects of the game are : Inconsistencies . The game developers drew many aspects of the films and expanded universe . However , in some cases , they do not fit into the era . Keeping in mind that the time frame of this game was meant to be shortly after the Battle of Yavin ( 0 ABY – 1 ABY ) , there are some elements of the game that arguably should not be there : In few of the above cases , the developers provided a reasonable in - universe explanation as to how these elements exist . However , it is unknown if other sources will accept them as canon . The game focused more on allowing its players to experience as many facets of Star Wars lore as possible , sometimes at the expense of consistency inside its own universe ( for example , the mayor of Mos Eisley highlighted the incident in the cantina when Obi - Wan revealed himself as Jedi as something special , even though Jedi were a common part of the game population ) . Unlike the historic chronology of " Star Wars " , where almost all Jedi are extinct by the time frame of , " Star Wars Galaxies " allows for hundreds or thousands of Jedi playing in the game , which is set in the period of time between the first film and . Under the original Jedi system , a player could only become a Jedi after mastering professions chosen randomly for you at character creation . When fewer Jedi entered the game than was anticipated , players were helped by finding several holocrons which would tell a player which game professions to play and master . This resulted in several " career " players spending hours on end writing program macros and mastering almost every profession in the game . However after complaints from a large portion of the player base ( especially those that weren ' t constant and devoted players and thus more unwilling to master multiple professions ) , Star Wars Galaxies was altered to a new Jedi system called the Jedi Trials . Under the Jedi Trials , only after obtaining several various goals as a regular character was a character considered " glowing with the Force " and deemed worthy to train to become a Jedi . Several new tasks then became available to the player , which were revealed through various non - player characters . Such tasks included obtaining skills , destroying creatures , and visiting several Jedi related locations . Even with the Jedi revamp in place , many in the " Star Wars Galaxies " community expressed feelings that the game would become an " Army of Generals " where the number of Jedi playing in the game will be extremely high , thus making the game less interesting for those playing non - Jedi characters . The method of obtaining Jedi skills was changed considerably under the " Combat Upgrade " system released in April 2005 . After the NGE , anyone could become a Jedi by selecting the " profession " when creating their character . Arguments came up proposing that Jedi , once the NGE was released , to still be unbalanced , only this time with the odd against them . Many Jedi came into the NGE and saw that their former power was dramatically reduced . At one point , the village of Aurilia ( the in - game location that served as a hub for pre - NGE Force - sensitive questing ) became inactive . Players that were still inside when this happened found only a few NPCs left . Some players still wished to see the village reopened as a sort of training center for the Jedi made to ensure the old prizes don ' t disappear from the game . But it was later announced that Aurilia would never be returned to its former state , and was re - opened in a different form ; in Chapter 7 , it became the location where a player could receive quests , which , upon completion , will allow the player to access the " heroic instances , " which were battles against multiple " bosses " , with puzzle and strategy elements mixed in . These heroics were designed to be completed with a group of players , usually eight .