THE BUZZ: A Rakghoul plague has struck Star Wars: The Old Republic players and is spreading fast, so you had better make sure you have plenty of vaccine with you.

The event began yesterday and sees all interstellar trips banned by the Imperial and Republic Governments. A ship has crash landed on Tatooine carrying the virus and now the whole planet is under quarantine.

Anyone infected by the virus will suffer a transformation before dying a horrible death. Luckily you can just click to revive.

The event doesn’t just bring a new death animation though, it also unlocks a new daily quest chain on Tatooine which you can begin by heading to the crash site. Completing quests grants DNA Samples, these can be traded in for a Rakghoul pet and several Black-Green lightsaber crystals. There’s also a special gear set which you can gain pieces of by completing the quests.

EGM’s TAKE: I spent most of yesterday working through the quest chains and collecting samples. It was great fun and the first ever event in The Old Republic. BioWare completely sprung this on everyone with no mention of it anywhere before it went live. It seems to be an all-around success. The new quests aren’t just simple kill quests, but they aren’t super imaginative either. The best one is a daily quest that involves infecting other players by dying next to them from the disease.

Have you had a chance to experience the event? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below.