A Home in the Jungle

When it was announced that there was going to be a new stronghold added to SWTOR I quickly voiced my desire for it be on Manaan. I also predicted that it would be on Alderaan. I was wrong about both, and boy am I glad that I was.

If you tuned into the SWTOR live stream on June 3rd you were treated to a grand tour of the Yavin IV stronghold. It’s incredible, and I can’t wait to move in.

Yavin IV is a deadly and savage world. Its dense jungles are host to an array of terrifying creatures. The native Massassi are a ruthless and unforgiving species who prey on unwitting adventurers for sport. If that weren’t bad enough there are hundreds of ancient temples packed with the power of the dark side; many of them haunted by Sith spirits long forgotten. It is home to some of the most deadly flora and fauna in the known the galaxy, and soon it will be home to you and me.

Nestled high above the jungle canopy is an enormous temple compound and it’s for sale. If you like stunning vistas, giant waterfalls, and secret areas to explore then this is the place for you.

My favorite room features an indoor waterfall. There is a walking bridge that runs close to an outdoor waterfall that leads to a smaller temple. You can even access the temple rooftop by clicking on an ancient stone hook. There are also rumors of a hidden cave somewhere on the premises.

Despite the inhospitable surroundings, it is the picture of peace and serenity.

yavine_outside
If you look to the left you can see the small waterfall streaming into the temple.

The stronghold is enormous. It’s on par with Tatooine if not larger. There are a total of nine rooms and 485 hooks, which include 16 centerpiece and two starship hooks.

Costs are not finalized, but the current data-mined information shows that it will cost just over 13 million credits to unlock everything.

I’ve yet to spend any amount of time decorating a stronghold; in part because I find it all overwhelming. I’m just not that creative and I have a profound respect for those whose job it is to do the world building in The Old Republic.

I mostly use strongholds for quick travel and other efficiencies such as having close by mailboxes, GTN, legacy and personal storage. I find the Yavin IV stronghold inspiring, and decorating it may become my new passion. I’ve already caught myself perusing the GTN for decorations, and I can feel my wallet getting lighter.

Yavin IV is the fifth stronghold added to the game, and with a stronghold limit of four, you will have to deactivate one if you want it.

I feel sorry for anyone who has fully decorated all five strongholds. As for myself, I’ll probably vacate Coruscant or Dromund Kaas.

The Yavin IV stronghold will release with Game Update 3.3 on July 21st. Looks like it’s going to be another Summer of SWTOR for me.

3 Comments on “A Home in the Jungle”

  1. I’m so torn. I have 3 strongholds at the moment, so I could get Yavin IV, but then again I already had plans for Coruscant (my hypothetical 4th). I so wish we could just get 5…

    Also, I better get saving up again. I don’t have 13 million ready even with all my characters combined. I usually unlock them room by room, though, only opening a new one when I have plans for what to put in them. 🙂

    1. Yeah I’m kinda bummed that there will be a limit to strongholds allowed. I’ll likely live vicariously through guild mates and visit their Yavin SH, since I don’t have time to decorate. I have all current SH’s unlocked in order to get 100% bonus for conquest, but out side of decorating the landing deck on Nar Shadaa all my interiors are Picture Palaces.

  2. When I first heard about the new stronghold being on Yavin, and not on Rishi as I had hoped, I was a bit disappointed. But then I realised that a Yavin 4 stronghold made much more sense for my roleplaying alt. I love how this thing looks – it will make a great archaeological excavation site!

Comments are closed.