THE BUZZ: BioWare has detailed the upcoming changes to crew skills in patch 1.2 for Star Wars: The Old Republic.

“The Crew Skill system has been incredibly popular,” said the game’s Principal Lead Combat Designer, Georg Zoeller. ”Every week in-game, 52 million items are produced or harvested, 4.5 million item mods are installed and more than 35 million items change hands. Players actively participating in the Crew Skill system are generally better geared and have more credits in the bank than pure consumers.”

“That said, we still believe the Crew Skills can be made better,” he added.

The rather lengthy list of changes can be viewed here.

EGM’s TAKE: I personally use Biochem, which hasn’t received any buffs at all, but that isn’t a bad thing as it was already hands down the best crew skill to take. Slicers will certainly be happy with the upcoming changes, as after a pretty hefty nerf they will become the sole providers of augment pieces, something that is going to be in high demand after patch 1.2. This is because most armor and weapon crafters are able to create gear with augment slots allowing extra stats to be added to gear. On paper these changes look good, but how they will transfer to the game?